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The price for the home located at 1063 Silent Ridge Ct, McLean, Virginia 22102 in the Reserve neighborhood was just reduced to $2,625,000 on 2/15/18. It was originally listed for sale on 8/6/15 for $3,400,000. From 9/18/15 to 9/25/15, the home was under contract. It went back on the market on 9/25/15. The price was lowered to $3,200,000 on 1/14/16 and then the home was withdrawn from the market on 3/16/16. It was re-listed for sale for $3,200,000 on 3/23/16 and reduced to $2,999,900 on 5/10/16, $2,895,000 on 10/11/16, $2,880,000 on 2/13/17, $2,799,900 on 5/26/17, and $2,699,900 on 8/19/17. The price for the home located at 1063 Silent Ridge Ct, McLean, Virginia 22102 in the Reserve neighborhood was reduced to $2,699,900 on 8/19/17. It was originally listed for sale on 8/6/15 for $3,400,000, was under contract from 9/18/15 to 9/25/15, and then went back on the market on 9/25/15. The price was lowered to $3,200,000 on 1/14/16 and then the home was withdrawn from the market on 3/16/16. It was re-listed for sale for $3,200,000 on 3/23/16 and reduced to $2,999,900 on 5/10/16. It was reduced to $2,895,000 on 10/11/16, $2,880,000 on 2/13/17 and $2,799,900 on 5/26/17. The price for the home located at 1063 Silent Ridge Ct, McLean, Virginia 22102 in the Reserve neighborhood was reduced to $2,880,000 on 2/13/17. It was originally listed for sale on 8/6/15 for $3,400,000, was under contract from 9/18/15 to 9/25/15, and then went back on the market on 9/25/15. The price was lowered to $3,200,000 on 1/14/16 and then the home was withdrawn from the market on 3/16/16. It was re-listed for sale for $3,200,000 on 3/23/16, reduced to $2,999,900 on 5/10/16 and reduced to $2,895,000 on 10/11/16.
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Yet historians disagree profoundly over the extent and nature of their involvement. With the modern interest in “putting women back into medieval history”, the role of women in crusading has received some attention. A For example, Ronald Finucane, noting the various accounts of women taking part in crusades, observed that “there are clear indications that women sometimes took a more active part in the fighting.” B However, Maureen Purcell, while admitting that women took part in crusades, denied emphatically that they were true crusaders, except for a brief period in the second half of the thirteenth century. When they accompanied a crusade, they did so as pilgrims rather than as crusaders, and they certainly did not fight. C Instead, some historians have commented on the various roles women played in the armies of the First Crusade, supporting the fighting men with food and water, encouragement and prayer. These academics note that some women were killed in action, but not that they actually took an active role in the fighting. D James Powell studied the role of women in the Fifth Crusade, and argues that women certainly did take the cross and went in person “to fulfill their vows by carrying on important functions,” such as serving as guards in the camp, killing fugitives, and perhaps tending the sick and wounded. However, he was not sure whether they took part in the general fighting. There is a lot of common-sense advice that needs to be given about this question. Clearly, you need to focus on the possesive adjective “their” and make sure that it agrees with both the phrase that comes before and after the place you want to insert the sentence. You also need to pay close attention to connecting words which offer a chance to see the logical relationship between the phrases, and in the phrase to be inserted, we see the word “yet”, clearly indicating some sort of contrast in ideas. Still, there is another piece of advice that has helped my students quite a bit. Normally, students don’t have excessive difficulty discovering which sentence from the original text connects to the sentence that needs to inserted into the text. However, they often struggle in deciding to place the sentence before or after that sentence. In these cases, it is fundamental to keep in mind that the reasoning process in English goes from general to specific. 2. Make sure that this place makes sense with the use of the logical connector “yet” and the possesive adjective “their”. Returning to the text, we can see that with option A we see that the word “yet” offers a nice contrast to the general introduction of the opening sentence, and “women” in the previous sentence matches up well with “their involvement” in the phrase to be inserted. Most importantly, however, is the fact that after the general idea expressed in the inserted sentence, we see the details, including examples, of a disagreement between two historians about the involvement of women in the Crusades. Hence, the correct answer is A. Instead, some historians have commented on the various roles women played in the armies of the First Crusade, supporting the fighting men with food and water, encouragement and prayer. With the modern interest in “putting women back into medieval history”, the role of women in crusading has received some attention. Yet historians disagree profoundly over the extent and nature of their involvement. A For example, Ronald Finucane, noting the various accounts of women taking part in crusades, observed that “there are clear indications that women sometimes took a more active part in the fighting.” B However, Maureen Purcell, while admitting that women took part in crusades, denied emphatically that they were true crusaders, except for a brief period in the second half of the thirteenth century. When they accompanied a crusade, they did so as pilgrims rather than as crusaders, and they certainly did not fight. C These academics note that some women were killed in action, but not that they actually took an active role in the fighting. James Powell studied the role of women in the Fifth Crusade, and argues that women certainly did take the cross and went in person “to fulfill their vows by carrying on important functions,” such as serving as guards in the camp, killing fugitives, and perhaps tending the sick and wounded. D However, he was not sure whether they took part in the general fighting. There are two main things to notice about the sentence to be inserted. First, note the word “Instead”, a clear indication of contrast. Secondly, you should see that this sentence is quite detailed with specific information about the roles that women played in the Crusades. When they accompanied a crusade, they did so as pilgrims rather than as crusaders, and they certainly did not fight. Thus, in option C, we can find both an opportunity to contrast “they certainly did not fight”, and an appropriate place to add details regarding what role these women played in the Crusades. C then is the correct answer. To summarize, always keep the focus on logical connectors and pronoun and possesive adjective agreement, but most of all, make sure that you know if you are inserting a general idea or details. If it’s general, look for an option before the relevant details. If it is a detailed sentence, look for a general statement that those details support.
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What is the perfect thanksgiving meal? The perfect thanksgiving meal would be the one with my family. I would enjoy having my family and relatives over for a great dinner. We could have a big turkey with some home-made apple pie and some cookies. I also would not mind if my family went out for diner. I would like it if we went to a new restaurant that we have never been to before. Then we could start a new tradition! Also, i would like it if the whole family went around saying something that they were thankful for before starting the meal. Thanksgiving is great because i can stay home with my family and eat lots of FOOD!!!
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The sailboats were off to a running start as they passed the buoys. Good outline. You're off to a running start on that essay. We need to improve our offensive play in order to win the football game next week. We need an offensive play in order to get the order. Do you think we can lower the price?
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@@ -50,6 +50,16 @@ Support for Python 3.4 and below has been officially dropped. should end with: :issue:`123456` by :user:`Joe Bloggs <joeongithub>`. :issue:`13157` by :user:`Hanmin Qin <qinhanmin2014>`. I think this wording is still a bit circuitous. warnings.warn("The default value of multioutput (not exposed in " "score method) will change from 'variance_weighted' " "to 'uniform_average' in 0.23 to keep consistent " "with 'metrics.r2_score'. To use the new default, " "please either call 'metrics.r2_score' directly or " """Returns the coefficient of determination R^2 of the prediction. msg = ("The default value of multioutput (not exposed in "
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Nimzovitch on overprotection and the bad bishop So I am finally studying "My System," and low and behold Nimzovitch never mentions the good vs. bad bishop label. Granted, he devotes a lot of effort to the restraint of pawn chains and the freeing of offended bishops who have had to suffer restraint. But I am cautious about calling this an oversight and wonder whether Nimzovitch did not believe that labeling a bishop bad or good could be a reasonable consequence of his system which he defers to time and time again. The explanation I can think of would be that a bad bishop can still participate in the overprotection of a strong point and from that can derive strength and a meaningful role. Comments? I would greatly appreciate it if someone familiar with the book can fill me in on these points. good & bad Bishops Were covered in some detail by Steintz and later Tarrasch. Nimzovitch wanted to cover new ground. You can hardly consider "My System" a complete system at all, it's part of a system, parts that Steintz hadn't covered in his writings. A book you might enjoy after you have digested "My system" and perhaps "Chess Praxis" is Raymond Keene's execellent book "Aron Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal". Right, but why didn't the author make the g vs b bishop distinction? I'm curious because he is otherwise so thorough and likes to take credit for many things e.g. he claims he discovered "the theory of the open file." Interesting isn't it? I've several questions I'd like to ask Aaron Nimzowitsch! Perhaps the idea behind the good and bad bishop is so basic and had been explained so well by Steintz He just took it for granted that everyone would know about it. You might have noticed that at the beginning of the book his writing i8s less imspired you can actually catch him counting tempii like Tarrasch! lol You need only play through a few of his games to relize that counting tempi was not a natural part of his game. It may help to understand Nimzowitsch a little bit better, if you know he was walking around with a business card saying: "contender for the world championship in chess" He held himself very high indeed! and so do I also, I think his influence on modern chess is tremendeous, especial when it comes themes around profylaxi and zugswang. Cairo Nimzo immigrated to Denmark from Riga. But his language is not easy. I had My System but one day sold it to a strong player who begged me to sell it to him. I got rid of the book gladly. After all Overprotection, Zugzwang, maneuvering etc. are things I already learned and assimilated. Now I bought Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals and Primer to chess, Manual of chess of Lasker and of course 300 Schach partien and the book of chess by Dr. Tarrasch. I prefer Capa for his crystal clear writing and Dr. Tarrasch the Praeceptor Mundi (also called Praeceptor Germaniae). They are the best teachers in my opinion. Alekine wrote 3 pro-nazi articles , in which he blamed Capa of leaving the brilliant chess in favor of a Jewish defensive game, which he learned in New York while studying there. Totally wrong. The man with defensive game was Nimzo. Actually we all have to know which style of play suits us best. I try to imitate Capa (somehow getting alive out of the opening, steering away of any danger in the middle game, waiting for the ending, which for him was the main part of the game). After reading what he has to say about endings, especially rook+pawn endings, I score many wins by endgame technique. I am not saying Nimzo's books are useless ( I never read My Praxis), but the two mentioned + Lasker will help you more I am sure. Interesting stuff. I am enjoying the book for its content (Nimzo's attempt to give you a new way of looking at the game) as well as its historical interest. The author wastes no energy in attacking Tarrasch and defending himself from criticism, which all seems de trop coming from a man of his stature in chess history. I have to consistently remind myself that the author's talent went unrecognized for so long. So much for the question about good and bad Bishops; I guess no one will ever know!
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How much do movers in Tennessee charge? The moving cost depends on the size of your home and how far you're moving. For example, moving a 2 bedroom home to California costs $2350 - $2870, to New York costs $1700 - $2080, to Texas costs $1680 - $2050, to Florida costs $1480 - $1810, to Illinois costs $1470 - $1790, etc.
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Artificial intelligence has close connections with philosophy because both share several concepts and these include intelligence, action, consciousness, epistemology, and even free will. Furthermore, the technology is concerned with the creation of artificial animals or artificial people (or, at least, artificial creatures) so the discipline is of considerable interest to philosophers. These factors contributed to the emergence of the philosophy of artificial intelligence. Some scholars argue that the AI community's dismissal of philosophy is detrimental. Can a machine act intelligently? Can it solve any problem that a person would solve by thinking? Are human intelligence and machine intelligence the same? Is the human brain essentially a computer? Can a machine have a mind, mental states, and consciousness in the same way that a human being can? Can it feel how things are? Questions like these reflect the divergent interests of AI researchers, linguists, cognitive scientists and philosophers respectively. The scientific answers to these questions depend on the definition of "intelligence" and "consciousness" and exactly which "machines" are under discussion. Turing's "polite convention": If a machine behaves as intelligently as a human being, then it is as intelligent as a human being. The Dartmouth proposal: "Every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it." Newell and Simon's physical symbol system hypothesis: "A physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means of general intelligent action." Searle's strong AI hypothesis: "The appropriately programmed computer with the right inputs and outputs would thereby have a mind in exactly the same sense human beings have minds." Hobbes' mechanism: "For 'reason' ... is nothing but 'reckoning,' that is adding and subtracting, of the consequences of general names agreed upon for the 'marking' and 'signifying' of our thoughts..." 1 Can a machine display general intelligence? 2 Can a machine have a mind, consciousness, and mental states? 3 Is thinking a kind of computation? 4.1 Can a machine have emotions? 4.2 Can a machine be self-aware? 4.3 Can a machine be original or creative? 4.4 Can a machine be benevolent or hostile? 4.5 Can a machine have a soul? Can a machine display general intelligence? Is it possible to create a machine that can solve all the problems humans solve using their intelligence? This question defines the scope of what machines will be able to do in the future and guides the direction of AI research. It only concerns the behavior of machines and ignores the issues of interest to psychologists, cognitive scientists and philosophers; to answer this question, it does not matter whether a machine is really thinking (as a person thinks) or is just acting like it is thinking. Every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it. Arguments against the basic premise must show that building a working AI system is impossible, because there is some practical limit to the abilities of computers or that there is some special quality of the human mind that is necessary for thinking and yet cannot be duplicated by a machine (or by the methods of current AI research). Arguments in favor of the basic premise must show that such a system is possible. The first step to answering the question is to clearly define "intelligence". The "standard interpretation" of the Turing test. If a machine acts as intelligently as human being, then it is as intelligent as a human being. One criticism of the Turing test is that it is explicitly anthropomorphic. If our ultimate goal is to create machines that are more intelligent than people, why should we insist that our machines must closely resemble people?[This quote needs a citation] Russell and Norvig write that "aeronautical engineering texts do not define the goal of their field as 'making machines that fly so exactly like pigeons that they can fool other pigeons'". Recent A.I. research defines intelligence in terms of intelligent agents. An "agent" is something which perceives and acts in an environment. A "performance measure" defines what counts as success for the agent. If an agent acts so as to maximize the expected value of a performance measure based on past experience and knowledge then it is intelligent. Definitions like this one try to capture the essence of intelligence. They have the advantage that, unlike the Turing test, they do not also test for human traits that we[who?] may not want to consider intelligent, like the ability to be insulted or the temptation to lie[dubious – discuss]. They have the disadvantage that they fail to make the commonsense[when defined as?] differentiation between "things that think" and "things that do not". By this definition, even a thermostat has a rudimentary intelligence. Hubert Dreyfus describes this argument as claiming that "if the nervous system obeys the laws of physics and chemistry, which we have every reason to suppose it does, then .... we ... ought to be able to reproduce the behavior of the nervous system with some physical device". This argument, first introduced as early as 1943 and vividly described by Hans Moravec in 1988, is now associated with futurist Ray Kurzweil, who estimates that computer power will be sufficient for a complete brain simulation by the year 2029. A non-real-time simulation of a thalamocortical model that has the size of the human brain (1011 neurons) was performed in 2005 and it took 50 days to simulate 1 second of brain dynamics on a cluster of 27 processors. Few[quantify] disagree that a brain simulation is possible in theory,[according to whom?] even critics of AI such as Hubert Dreyfus and John Searle. However, Searle points out that, in principle, anything can be simulated by a computer; thus, bringing the definition to its breaking point leads to the conclusion that any process at all can technically be considered "computation". "What we wanted to know is what distinguishes the mind from thermostats and livers," he writes. Thus, merely mimicking the functioning of a brain would in itself be an admission of ignorance regarding intelligence and the nature of the mind. A physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means of general intelligent action. The mind can be viewed as a device operating on bits of information according to formal rules. A distinction is usually made[by whom?] between the kind of high level symbols that directly correspond with objects in the world, such as <dog> and <tail> and the more complex "symbols" that are present in a machine like a neural network. Early research into AI, called "good old fashioned artificial intelligence" (GOFAI) by John Haugeland, focused on these kind of high level symbols. These arguments show that human thinking does not consist (solely) of high level symbol manipulation. They do not show that artificial intelligence is impossible, only that more than symbol processing is required. In 1931, Kurt Gödel proved with an incompleteness theorem that it is always possible to construct a "Gödel statement" that a given consistent formal system of logic (such as a high-level symbol manipulation program) could not prove. Despite being a true statement, the constructed Gödel statement is unprovable in the given system. (The truth of the constructed Gödel statement is contingent on the consistency of the given system; applying the same process to a subtly inconsistent system will appear to succeed, but will actually yield a false "Gödel statement" instead.) More speculatively, Gödel conjectured that the human mind can correctly eventually determine the truth or falsity of any well-grounded mathematical statement (including any possible Gödel statement), and that therefore the human mind's power is not reducible to a mechanism. Philosopher John Lucas (since 1961) and Roger Penrose (since 1989) have championed this philosophical anti-mechanist argument. Gödelian anti-mechanist arguments tend to rely on the innocuous-seeming claim that a system of human mathematicians (or some idealization of human mathematicians) is both consistent (completely free of error) and believes fully in its own consistency (and can make all logical inferences that follow from its own consistency, including belief in its Gödel statement). This is provably impossible for a Turing machine[clarification needed] (and, by an informal extension, any known type of mechanical computer) to do; therefore, the Gödelian concludes that human reasoning is too powerful to be captured in a machine[dubious – discuss]. However, the modern consensus in the scientific and mathematical community is that actual human reasoning is inconsistent; that any consistent "idealized version" H of human reasoning would logically be forced to adopt a healthy but counter-intuitive open-minded skepticism about the consistency of H (otherwise H is provably inconsistent); and that Gödel's theorems do not lead to any valid argument that humans have mathematical reasoning capabilities beyond what a machine could ever duplicate. This consensus that Gödelian anti-mechanist arguments are doomed to failure is laid out strongly in Artificial Intelligence: "any attempt to utilize (Gödel's incompleteness results) to attack the computationalist thesis is bound to be illegitimate, since these results are quite consistent with the computationalist thesis." More pragmatically, Russell and Norvig note that Gödel's argument only applies to what can theoretically be proved, given an infinite amount of memory and time. In practice, real machines (including humans) have finite resources and will have difficulty proving many theorems. It is not necessary to prove everything in order to be intelligent[when defined as?]. Lucas can't assert the truth of this statement. This statement is true but cannot be asserted by Lucas. This shows that Lucas himself is subject to the same limits that he describes for machines, as are all people, and so Lucas's argument is pointless. After concluding that human reasoning is non-computable, Penrose went on to controversially speculate that some kind of hypothetical non-computable processes involving the collapse of quantum mechanical states give humans a special advantage over existing computers. Existing quantum computers are only capable of reducing the complexity of Turing computable tasks and are still restricted to tasks within the scope of Turing machines.[clarification needed]. By Penrose and Lucas's arguments, existing quantum computers are not sufficient[clarification needed][why?], so Penrose seeks for some other process involving new physics, for instance quantum gravity which might manifest new physics at the scale of the Planck mass via spontaneous quantum collapse of the wave function. These states, he suggested, occur both within neurons and also spanning more than one neuron. However, other scientists point out that there is no plausible organic mechanism in the brain for harnessing any sort of quantum computation, and furthermore that the timescale of quantum decoherence seems too fast to influence neuron firing. Hubert Dreyfus Hubert Dreyfus's views on artificial intelligence and expertise depended primarily on implicit skill rather than explicit symbolic manipulation, and argued that these skills would never be captured in formal rules. Dreyfus's argument had been anticipated by Turing in his 1950 paper Computing machinery and intelligence, where he had classified this as the "argument from the informality of behavior." Turing argued in response that, just because we do not know the rules that govern a complex behavior, this does not mean that no such rules exist. He wrote: "we cannot so easily convince ourselves of the absence of complete laws of behaviour ... The only way we know of for finding such laws is scientific observation, and we certainly know of no circumstances under which we could say, 'We have searched enough. There are no such laws.'" Russell and Norvig point out that, in the years since Dreyfus published his critique, progress has been made towards discovering the "rules" that govern unconscious reasoning. The situated movement in robotics research attempts to capture our unconscious skills at perception and attention. Computational intelligence paradigms, such as neural nets, evolutionary algorithms and so on are mostly directed at simulated unconscious reasoning and learning. Statistical approaches to AI can make predictions which approach the accuracy of human intuitive guesses. Research into commonsense knowledge has focused on reproducing the "background" or context of knowledge. In fact, AI research in general has moved away from high level symbol manipulation or "GOFAI", towards new models that are intended to capture more of our unconscious reasoning[according to whom?]. Historian and AI researcher Daniel Crevier wrote that "time has proven the accuracy and perceptiveness of some of Dreyfus's comments. Had he formulated them less aggressively, constructive actions they suggested might have been taken much earlier." Can a machine have a mind, consciousness, and mental states? A physical symbol system can have a mind and mental states. A physical symbol system can act intelligently. Searle introduced the terms to isolate strong AI from weak AI so he could focus on what he thought was the more interesting and debatable issue. He argued that even if we assume that we had a computer program that acted exactly like a human mind, there would still be a difficult philosophical question that needed to be answered. Neither of Searle's two positions are of great concern to AI research, since they do not directly answer the question "can a machine display general intelligence?" (unless it can also be shown that consciousness is necessary for intelligence). Turing wrote "I do not wish to give the impression that I think there is no mystery about consciousness… [b]ut I do not think these mysteries necessarily need to be solved before we can answer the question [of whether machines can think]." Russell and Norvig agree: "Most AI researchers take the weak AI hypothesis for granted, and don't care about the strong AI hypothesis." Before we can answer this question, we must be clear what we mean by "minds", "mental states" and "consciousness". The words "mind" and "consciousness" are used by different communities in different ways. Some new age thinkers, for example, use the word "consciousness" to describe something similar to Bergson's "élan vital": an invisible, energetic fluid that permeates life and especially the mind. Science fiction writers use the word to describe some essential property that makes us human: a machine or alien that is "conscious" will be presented as a fully human character, with intelligence, desires, will, insight, pride and so on. (Science fiction writers also use the words "sentience", "sapience," "self-awareness" or "ghost" - as in the Ghost in the Shell manga and anime series - to describe this essential human property). For others[who?], the words "mind" or "consciousness" are used as a kind of secular synonym for the soul. For philosophers, neuroscientists and cognitive scientists, the words are used in a way that is both more precise and more mundane: they refer to the familiar, everyday experience of having a "thought in your head", like a perception, a dream, an intention or a plan, and to the way we know something, or mean something or understand something. "It's not hard to give a commonsense definition of consciousness" observes philosopher John Searle. What is mysterious and fascinating is not so much what it is but how it is: how does a lump of fatty tissue and electricity give rise to this (familiar) experience of perceiving, meaning or thinking? Philosophers call this the hard problem of consciousness. It is the latest version of a classic problem in the philosophy of mind called the "mind-body problem." A related problem is the problem of meaning or understanding (which philosophers call "intentionality"): what is the connection between our thoughts and what we are thinking about (i.e. objects and situations out in the world)? A third issue is the problem of experience (or "phenomenology"): If two people see the same thing, do they have the same experience? Or are there things "inside their head" (called "qualia") that can be different from person to person? Neurobiologists believe all these problems will be solved as we begin to identify the neural correlates of consciousness: the actual relationship between the machinery in our heads and its collective properties; such as the mind, experience and understanding. Some of the harshest critics of artificial intelligence agree that the brain is just a machine, and that consciousness and intelligence are the result of physical processes in the brain. The difficult philosophical question is this: can a computer program, running on a digital machine that shuffles the binary digits of zero and one, duplicate the ability of the neurons to create minds, with mental states (like understanding or perceiving), and ultimately, the experience of consciousness? John Searle asks us to consider a thought experiment: suppose we have written a computer program that passes the Turing test and demonstrates "general intelligent action." Suppose, specifically that the program can converse in fluent Chinese. Write the program on 3x5 cards and give them to an ordinary person who does not speak Chinese. Lock the person into a room and have him follow the instructions on the cards. He will copy out Chinese characters and pass them in and out of the room through a slot. From the outside, it will appear that the Chinese room contains a fully intelligent person who speaks Chinese. The question is this: is there anyone (or anything) in the room that understands Chinese? That is, is there anything that has the mental state of understanding, or which has conscious awareness of what is being discussed in Chinese? The man is clearly not aware. The room cannot be aware. The cards certainly aren't aware. Searle concludes that the Chinese room, or any other physical symbol system, cannot have a mind. Searle goes on to argue that actual mental states and consciousness require (yet to be described) "actual physical-chemical properties of actual human brains." He argues there are special "causal properties" of brains and neurons that gives rise to minds: in his words "brains cause minds." Gottfried Leibniz made essentially the same argument as Searle in 1714, using the thought experiment of expanding the brain until it was the size of a mill. In 1974, Lawrence Davis imagined duplicating the brain using telephone lines and offices staffed by people, and in 1978 Ned Block envisioned the entire population of China involved in such a brain simulation. This thought experiment is called "the Chinese Nation" or "the Chinese Gym". Ned Block also proposed his Blockhead argument, which is a version of the Chinese room in which the program has been re-factored into a simple set of rules of the form "see this, do that", removing all mystery from the program. Responses to the Chinese room emphasize several different points. The systems reply and the virtual mind reply: This reply argues that the system, including the man, the program, the room, and the cards, is what understands Chinese. Searle claims that the man in the room is the only thing which could possibly "have a mind" or "understand", but others disagree, arguing that it is possible for there to be two minds in the same physical place, similar to the way a computer can simultaneously "be" two machines at once: one physical (like a Macintosh) and one "virtual" (like a word processor). Speed, power and complexity replies: Several critics point out that the man in the room would probably take millions of years to respond to a simple question, and would require "filing cabinets" of astronomical proportions. This brings the clarity of Searle's intuition into doubt. Robot reply: To truly understand, some believe the Chinese Room needs eyes and hands. Hans Moravec writes: 'If we could graft a robot to a reasoning program, we wouldn't need a person to provide the meaning anymore: it would come from the physical world." Brain simulator reply: What if the program simulates the sequence of nerve firings at the synapses of an actual brain of an actual Chinese speaker? The man in the room would be simulating an actual brain. This is a variation on the "systems reply" that appears more plausible because "the system" now clearly operates like a human brain, which strengthens the intuition that there is something besides the man in the room that could understand Chinese. Other minds reply and the epiphenomena reply: Several people have noted that Searle's argument is just a version of the problem of other minds, applied to machines. Since it is difficult to decide if people are "actually" thinking, we should not be surprised that it is difficult to answer the same question about machines. A related question is whether "consciousness" (as Searle understands it) exists. Searle argues that the experience of consciousness can't be detected by examining the behavior of a machine, a human being or any other animal. Daniel Dennett points out that natural selection cannot preserve a feature of an animal that has no effect on the behavior of the animal, and thus consciousness (as Searle understands it) can't be produced by natural selection. Therefore either natural selection did not produce consciousness, or "strong AI" is correct in that consciousness can be detected by suitably designed Turing test. Is thinking a kind of computation? The computational theory of mind or "computationalism" claims that the relationship between mind and brain is similar (if not identical) to the relationship between a running program and a computer. The idea has philosophical roots in Hobbes (who claimed reasoning was "nothing more than reckoning"), Leibniz (who attempted to create a logical calculus of all human ideas), Hume (who thought perception could be reduced to "atomic impressions") and even Kant (who analyzed all experience as controlled by formal rules). The latest version is associated with philosophers Hilary Putnam and Jerry Fodor. This is John Searle's "strong AI" discussed above, and it is the real target of the Chinese room argument (according to Harnad). Be kind, resourceful, beautiful, friendly, have initiative, have a sense of humor, tell right from wrong, make mistakes, fall in love, enjoy strawberries and cream, make someone fall in love with it, learn from experience, use words properly, be the subject of its own thought, have as much diversity of behaviour as a man, do something really new. Turing argues that these objections are often based on naive assumptions about the versatility of machines or are "disguised forms of the argument from consciousness". Writing a program that exhibits one of these behaviors "will not make much of an impression." All of these arguments are tangential to the basic premise of AI, unless it can be shown that one of these traits is essential for general intelligence. Can a machine have emotions? If "emotions" are defined only in terms of their effect on behavior or on how they function inside an organism, then emotions can be viewed as a mechanism that an intelligent agent uses to maximize the utility of its actions. Given this definition of emotion, Hans Moravec believes that "robots in general will be quite emotional about being nice people". Fear is a source of urgency. Empathy is a necessary component of good human computer interaction. He says robots "will try to please you in an apparently selfless manner because it will get a thrill out of this positive reinforcement. You can interpret this as a kind of love." Daniel Crevier writes "Moravec's point is that emotions are just devices for channeling behavior in a direction beneficial to the survival of one's species." However, emotions can also be defined in terms of their subjective quality, of what it feels like to have an emotion. The question of whether the machine actually feels an emotion, or whether it merely acts as if it is feeling an emotion is the philosophical question, "can a machine be conscious?" in another form. Can a machine be self-aware? "Self awareness", as noted above, is sometimes used by science fiction writers as a name for the essential human property that makes a character fully human. Turing strips away all other properties of human beings and reduces the question to "can a machine be the subject of its own thought?" Can it think about itself? Viewed in this way, a program can be written that can report on its own internal states, such as a debugger. Though arguably self-awareness often presumes a bit more capability; a machine that can ascribe meaning in some way to not only its own state but in general postulating questions without solid answers: the contextual nature of its existence now; how it compares to past states or plans for the future, the limits and value of its work product, how it perceives its performance to be valued-by or compared to others. Can a machine be original or creative? Turing reduces this to the question of whether a machine can "take us by surprise" and argues that this is obviously true, as any programmer can attest. He notes that, with enough storage capacity, a computer can behave in an astronomical number of different ways. It must be possible, even trivial, for a computer that can represent ideas to combine them in new ways. (Douglas Lenat's Automated Mathematician, as one example, combined ideas to discover new mathematical truths.) Kaplan and Haenlein suggest that machines can display scientific creativity, while it seems likely that humans will have the upper hand where artistic creativity is concerned. In 2009, scientists at Aberystwyth University in Wales and the U.K's University of Cambridge designed a robot called Adam that they believe to be the first machine to independently come up with new scientific findings. Also in 2009, researchers at Cornell developed Eureqa, a computer program that extrapolates formulas to fit the data inputted, such as finding the laws of motion from a pendulum's motion. Can a machine be benevolent or hostile? This question (like many others in the philosophy of artificial intelligence) can be presented in two forms. "Hostility" can be defined in terms function or behavior, in which case "hostile" becomes synonymous with "dangerous". Or it can be defined in terms of intent: can a machine "deliberately" set out to do harm? The latter is the question "can a machine have conscious states?" (such as intentions) in another form. One issue is that machines may acquire the autonomy and intelligence required to be dangerous very quickly. Vernor Vinge has suggested that over just a few years, computers will suddenly become thousands or millions of times more intelligent than humans. He calls this "the Singularity." He suggests that it may be somewhat or possibly very dangerous for humans. This is discussed by a philosophy called Singularitarianism. In 2009, academics and technical experts attended a conference to discuss the potential impact of robots and computers and the impact of the hypothetical possibility that they could become self-sufficient and able to make their own decisions. They discussed the possibility and the extent to which computers and robots might be able to acquire any level of autonomy, and to what degree they could use such abilities to possibly pose any threat or hazard. They noted that some machines have acquired various forms of semi-autonomy, including being able to find power sources on their own and being able to independently choose targets to attack with weapons. They also noted that some computer viruses can evade elimination and have achieved "cockroach intelligence." They noted that self-awareness as depicted in science-fiction is probably unlikely, but that there were other potential hazards and pitfalls. Some experts and academics have questioned the use of robots for military combat, especially when such robots are given some degree of autonomous functions. The US Navy has funded a report which indicates that as military robots become more complex, there should be greater attention to implications of their ability to make autonomous decisions. The President of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence has commissioned a study to look at this issue. They point to programs like the Language Acquisition Device which can emulate human interaction. Some have suggested a need to build "Friendly AI", meaning that the advances which are already occurring with AI should also include an effort to make AI intrinsically friendly and humane. Can a machine have a soul? In attempting to construct such machines we should not be irreverently usurping His power of creating souls, any more than we are in the procreation of children: rather we are, in either case, instruments of His will providing mansions for the souls that He creates. Some scholars argue that the AI community's dismissal of philosophy is detrimental. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, some philosophers argue that the role of philosophy in AI is underappreciated. Physicist David Deutsch argues that without an understanding of philosophy or its concepts, AI development would suffer from a lack of progress. ^ McCarthy, John. "The Philosophy of AI and the AI of Philosophy". jmc.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-18. ^ Russell & Norvig 2003, p. 947 define the philosophy of AI as consisting of the first two questions, and the additional question of the ethics of artificial intelligence. Fearn 2007, p. 55 writes "In the current literature, philosophy has two chief roles: to determine whether or not such machines would be conscious, and, second, to predict whether or not such machines are possible." The last question bears on the first two. ^ a b c d This version is from Searle (1999), and is also quoted in Dennett 1991, p. 435. Searle's original formulation was "The appropriately programmed computer really is a mind, in the sense that computers given the right programs can be literally said to understand and have other cognitive states." (Searle 1980, p. 1). Strong AI is defined similarly by Russell & Norvig (2003, p. 947): "The assertion that machines could possibly act intelligently (or, perhaps better, act as if they were intelligent) is called the 'weak AI' hypothesis by philosophers, and the assertion that machines that do so are actually thinking (as opposed to simulating thinking) is called the 'strong AI' hypothesis." ^ See Russell & Norvig 2003, p. 3, where they make the distinction between acting rationally and being rational, and define AI as the study of the former. ^ Turing 1950 and see Russell & Norvig 2003, p. 948, where they call his paper "famous" and write "Turing examined a wide variety of possible objections to the possibility of intelligent machines, including virtually all of those that have been raised in the half century since his paper appeared." ^ Turing 1950 under "The Argument from Consciousness" ^ Russell and Norvig would prefer the word "rational" to "intelligent". ^ Russell & Norvig (2003, pp. 48–52) consider a thermostat a simple form of intelligent agent, known as a reflex agent. For an in-depth treatment of the role of the thermostat in philosophy see Chalmers (1996, pp. 293–301) "4. Is Experience Ubiquitous?" subsections What is it like to be a thermostat?, Whither panpsychism?, and Constraining the double-aspect principle. ^ Eugene Izhikevich (2005-10-27). "Eugene M. Izhikevich, Large-Scale Simulation of the Human Brain". Vesicle.nsi.edu. Archived from the original on 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2010-07-29. ^ Gödel, Kurt, 1951, Some basic theorems on the foundations of mathematics and their implications in Solomon Feferman, ed., 1995. Collected works / Kurt Gödel, Vol. III. Oxford University Press: 304-23. - In this lecture, Gödel uses the incompleteness theorem to arrive at the following disjunction: (a) the human mind is not a consistent finite machine, or (b) there exist Diophantine equations for which it cannot decide whether solutions exist. Gödel finds (b) implausible, and thus seems to have believed the human mind was not equivalent to a finite machine, i.e., its power exceeded that of any finite machine. He recognized that this was only a conjecture, since one could never disprove (b). Yet he considered the disjunctive conclusion to be a "certain fact". ^ Graham Oppy (20 January 2015). "Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 27 April 2016. These Gödelian anti-mechanist arguments are, however, problematic, and there is wide consensus that they fail. ^ Stuart J. Russell; Peter Norvig (2010). "26.1.2: Philosophical Foundations/Weak AI: Can Machines Act Intelligently?/The mathematical objection". Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-604259-4. ...even if we grant that computers have limitations on what they can prove, there is no evidence that humans are immune from those limitations. ^ Mark Colyvan. An introduction to the philosophy of mathematics. Cambridge University Press, 2012. From 2.2.2, 'Philosophical significance of Gödel's incompleteness results': "The accepted wisdom (with which I concur) is that the Lucas-Penrose arguments fail." ^ LaForte, G., Hayes, P. J., Ford, K. M. 1998. Why Gödel's theorem cannot refute computationalism. Artificial Intelligence, 104:265-286, 1998. ^ Russell & Norvig 2003, p. 950 They point out that real machines with finite memory can be modeled using propositional logic, which is formally decidable, and Gödel's argument does not apply to them at all. ^ Hofstadter 1979, pp. 476–477, Russell & Norvig 2003, p. 950, Turing 1950 under "The Argument from Mathematics" where he writes "although it is established that there are limitations to the powers of any particular machine, it has only been stated, without sort of proof, that no such limitations apply to the human intellect." ^ Litt, Abninder; Eliasmith, Chris; Kroon, Frederick W.; Weinstein, Steven; Thagard, Paul (6 May 2006). "Is the Brain a Quantum Computer?". Cognitive Science. 30 (3): 593–603. doi:10.1207/s15516709cog0000_59. PMID 21702826. ^ Turing 1950 under "(8) The Argument from the Informality of Behavior" ^ a b c Turing 1950 under "(4) The Argument from Consciousness". See also Russell & Norvig, pp. 952–3, where they identify Searle's argument with Turing's "Argument from Consciousness." ^ Cole 2004, 4.2 ascribes this position to Ned Block, Daniel Dennett, Tim Maudlin, David Chalmers, Steven Pinker, Patricia Churchland and others. ^ Searle 1980 under "5. The Other Minds Reply", Cole 2004, 4.4. Turing 1950 makes this reply under "(4) The Argument from Consciousness." Cole ascribes this position to Daniel Dennett and Hans Moravec. ^ a b c Turing 1950 under "(5) Arguments from Various Disabilities" ^ Turing 1950 under "(6) Lady Lovelace's Objection" ^ Turing 1950 under "(5) Argument from Various Disabilities" ^ Katz, Leslie (2009-04-02). "Robo-scientist makes gene discovery-on its own | Crave - CNET". News.cnet.com. Retrieved 2010-07-29. ^ a b Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man By JOHN MARKOFF, NY Times, July 26, 2009. ^ The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era, by Vernor Vinge, Department of Mathematical Sciences, San Diego State University, (c) 1993 by Vernor Vinge. ^ Call for debate on killer robots, By Jason Palmer, Science and technology reporter, BBC News, 8/3/09. ^ Science New Navy-funded Report Warns of War Robots Going "Terminator", by Jason Mick (Blog), dailytech.com, February 17, 2009. ^ Navy report warns of robot uprising, suggests a strong moral compass, by Joseph L. Flatley engadget.com, Feb 18th 2009. ^ AAAI Presidential Panel on Long-Term AI Futures 2008-2009 Study, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, Accessed 7/26/09. ^ Turing 1950 under "(1) The Theological Objection", although it should be noted that he also writes "I am not very impressed with theological arguments whatever they may be used to support" ^ Deutsch, David (2012-10-03). "Philosophy will be the key that unlocks artificial intelligence | David Deutsch". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-18. Cole, David (Fall 2004), "The Chinese Room Argument", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Dreyfus, Hubert (1979), What Computers Still Can't Do, New York: MIT Press . Gladwell, Malcolm (2005), Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Boston: Little, Brown, ISBN 978-0-316-17232-5 . Haugeland, John (1985), Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press . Hofstadter, Douglas (1979), Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid . Horst, Steven (2009), "The Computational Theory of Mind", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University . Kurzweil, Ray (2005), The Singularity is Near, New York: Viking Press, ISBN 978-0-670-03384-3 . Lucas, John (1961), "Minds, Machines and Gödel", in Anderson, A.R. (ed.), Minds and Machines . McCarthy, John; Minsky, Marvin; Rochester, Nathan; Shannon, Claude (1955), A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence, archived from the original on 2008-09-30 . Page numbers above and diagram contents refer to the Lyceum PDF print of the article. This page was last edited on 22 April 2019, at 15:17 (UTC).
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The sixth largest city in Tennessee, with 68,816 citizens, Murfreesboro is located in Rutherford County, thirty-five miles southeast of Nashville. Adjacent to the west fork of the Stones River, it marks the geographical center of Tennessee. Following over twenty years of earlier settlements in the 1780s and 1790s, land owner and Revolutionary veteran Colonel William Lytle gave land to establish the Public Square, a community cemetery, and its adjacent First Presbyterian Church. The town was initially named Cannonsburgh after Newton Cannon, a political dignitary in the area, for thirty some days, but Lytle then specified, for reasons unknown, that the new community be renamed Murfreesborough in honor of a Revolutionary War friend, Colonel Hardy Murfree. In 1811 Murfreesboro was chartered by the Tennessee legislature and also designated as the county seat of Rutherford County (chartered 1803), replacing Jefferson (designated in 1803) due to its more concentrated population. The city would function under the 1811 charter until it was replaced by a more up-to-date charter in 1931. The first courthouse was completed in 1813 and served as the capitol of Tennessee from 1818 to 1826. In the 1840s Murfreesboro could have become the permanent capital, but local public officials undercut state Democrats hoping to achieve the relocation by refusing to pay the one hundred dollars necessary to move the official records of Tennessee from Nashville to Murfreesboro. Initially connected to markets by riverboat, wagon, and stage for purposes of trade and transportation, the city received railroad service in 1851. A half-century after its founding, Murfreesboro became a household word during the Civil War. In the summer of 1862, the Union army occupied the city only to be driven out shortly afterward by Confederate forces under Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest from neighboring Marshall County. In December 1862 two major armies collided. The Union forces of General William S. Rosecrans and the Confederates under General Braxton Bragg fought for three days in early winter (December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863) with casualties exceeding twenty-four thousand. A national cemetery was established as a burial ground for the Union dead. Confederate casualties were later exhumed and the mostly unidentified bodies were reinterred at the Confederate Memorial Circle in the city's new Evergreen Cemetery. Following the battle, Union forces constructed the massive Fortress Rosecrans as a base and supply depot for the planned drive against Chattanooga and Atlanta. In the late 1920s the federal government designated the Stones River National Military Park, and today the National Park Service administers the battlefield and various remnants of Fortress Rosecrans. The city's rapid growth in the 1990s, however, has made Stones River one of the most threatened national parks in the country. After the end of the war in 1865, Murfreesboro became an early market center with a bustling retail trade on its Public Square while continuing its earlier role in agriculture. One noteworthy planter and businessman, a local physician from Tidewater North Carolina, Dr. James Maney, built a landmark property beginning in the 1810s. The home today is preserved by the Oaklands Association and functions as a Civil War-era museum. The Rutherford County Courthouse, constructed between 1857 and 1859 and bearing a strong resemblance to the recently completed Tennessee State Capitol designed by Philadelphia architect William Strickland, is the community's most prominent landmark. The building's distinctive first cupola was replaced near the turn of the century with a cupola of Victorian design, and in 1997 the interior restoration of the National Register-listed courthouse was completed. Education has always been a prominent interest of Murfreesboro citizens. As early as 1806 a first academy was founded. Later (1840s) the successor building apparently bore the name of an early headmaster named Bradley. One of the most distinguished early graduates of Bradley Academy was future president James Knox Polk, who also married a Murfreesboro woman he met while a student, Sarah Childress. Bradley later merged with local Union University, and after the Civil War the building became a center of black education and a black community center. In 1999 the Bradley Academy was restored by the city as a heritage center. Other prominent natives of Murfreesboro include novelist Mary Noailles Murfree (writing as “Charles Egbert Craddock”), legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice, astronaut Rhea Seddon, and Jean Faircloth MacArthur, wife of the late General Douglas MacArthur. The Murfreesboro City Schools have been early leaders in education reform. One K-8 school is the first in Tennessee to combine a year-round normal calendar and the Paidea teaching method. Another school was one of first two in the state offering a dual calendar, one traditional and the other year-round. Earlier, the city schools system had received national attention for the development of its Extended School Program (ESP). Modern higher education came to Murfreesboro in 1906 with the founding of the Tennessee College for Women. Following enabling legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly to create regional colleges in each of the three grand divisions of Tennessee in 1909, Middle Tennessee State Normal School at Murfreesboro was founded in 1911. In 1997 Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) became the second largest university in Tennessee. The presence of the colleges and an activist Red Cross program led by Simeon Christy encouraged the Commonwealth Fund of New York to launch an innovative rural health program in Murfreesboro during the 1920s. Eventually the project produced both the Rutherford Health Center, an early national training center in public health, and the Rutherford Hospital. The sale of the Rutherford Hospital in the 1980s has since produced a modern medical center, the Middle Tennessee Medical Center, and a key foundation, the Christy-Houston Foundation, which supports the city's quality of life through annual donations to institutions ranging from the Oaklands Association to MTSU. In the late 1930s the Public Works Administration, the Veterans Administration, and other federal agencies built a modern VA hospital on the town's northern outskirts. Now named the Alvin C. York VA Medical Center, the hospital serves veterans from throughout Middle Tennessee, southern Kentucky, and northern Alabama. After World War II Murfreesboro leaders witnessed a decline in agriculture in the area and began to seek a more diversified economic base. The State Farm Insurance Company regional office in Murfreesboro was the first step in that direction. Municipal government services are the ultimate responsibility of the City Council, six members elected at large and an elected mayor as chair. Policies are implemented by an appointed city manager. Recently, the city has begun linking its major historic sites by riverside greenways, and over five miles along Stones River and Lytle Creek had been completed by 1997. Construction plans and fundraising are also underway for the new Children's Discovery Museum and education center at a former city waterworks site. In 1976 Murfreesboro was recognized as one of the national leaders by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration for its “Cannonsburgh: A Living History Museum of Early Southern Life” project, which today is administered by the city. The city also brought together the needs of both the local Linebaugh Library and the city government for new facilities. Its Civic Plaza project provided space for these needs as well as underground parking for almost nine hundred cars and a garden area with substantial outdoor assembly space. In the late 1990s Murfreesboro was named the “Most Livable Town in Tennessee,” and its government was recognized as one of the 1 percent “best performing” in the United States.
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Most people recover from the affliction, but Ballard did not. According to Daily Mail Australia, his last words to heartbroken mum Katie were: "I love you". He died in Sydney on Friday at the age of 28. After some banter, the then 19-year-old ate it. His mother, Katie Ballard, noted that while he was initially unable to move, he later regained some movement. It read: 'Sam was a true battler and hero to his younger brother Joshua and sister Melanie. He understood what was going on around him, his mother said, and his friends still visited. 'His last days were the happiest and he was surrounded by a room full of love'. 'That's awful, my son shared his room with him at the Ryde rehabilitation centre. And Katie doesn't blame Sam or his friends for the prank. "Bang. That's how it happened", a friend of Sam's - Jimmy Galvin - later said. 'Let go of the guilt and try to find some peace themselves. May he rest in peace. Hopefully your friends will keep visiting your mum and family in the coming years. The teen, once a promising rugby player, fell into a coma. Ms Ballard nevertheless previously acknowledged how the incident had "devastated" her and her son's lives, saying: "It's devastated, changed his life forever, changed my life forever". In 2011, Katie wrote: "Sam is doing really well". His mother Katie, who cared for him full-time, was by his side, and Sam was able to express his gratitude to her. "He will walk and talk again (thank god) but the time factor is was we don't know". In 2010, Australian teenager Sam Ballard did something that would change the course of his life forever. "It's huge. The impact is huge".
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Que savons-nous de cet homme et de cette femme? (A) Ils viennent d'acheter une voiture. (B) Ils aiment les voitures de luxe. (C) Ils ont des opinions différentes. The question asks what we know about the man and the woman. The man says that he likes the red car, while the woman prefers the black one. Since the two people have differing opinions, the correct answer is (C) Ils ont des opinions différentes. (A) Ils viennent d'acheter une voiture ("They just bought a car") and (B) Ils aiment des voitures de luxe ("They like luxury cars") are incorrect because the dialogue does not indicate that either one has just bought a car, and while the man likes the less economical, faster red car, the woman prefers the less expensive, more economical black one.
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Pricing discretely monitored barrier options with Monte Carlo comes natural. One just mimics what would really happen, which is to check if the underlying asset crosses the barrier at specific times only. The "simulation" bias is thus zero. In this case pricing can be accurate if our discretization bias is low (preferably using something better than Euler). But things change when the contract specifies continuous monitoring. The simulation cannot mimic the reality of continuous monitoring since we can only use a finite number of time steps for which we can check if the barrier has been crossed. And one would be forgiven to think that using many time steps (such as corresponding to daily monitoring) would be almost equivalent to true continuous monitoring. But this isn't the case. The probability that the asset could have crossed the barrier in between the implemented time steps is still significant and increasing the number of time steps makes the solution converge only slowly towards the continuous limit. Such a naive simulation will therefore always overestimate the value of a continuous barrier option since it ignores the probability that the option knocks out when we are not looking (i.e. in between time steps). Now there are generally two ways of reducing, or even getting rid of this simulation bias in special cases. The first is to shift the barrier closer to the asset spot in order to compensate for the times when we "blink". The question is by how much should the barrier be shifted? This was first treated by Broadie, Glasserman & Kou , for the Black-Scholes model, where they introduced a continuity correction based on the "magical" number 0.5826. Check it out if you haven't. This trick works pretty well when the spot is not very near the barrier and/or when we have many monitoring dates. But in the opposite case, it can be quite bad and produce errors of 5% or more (Gobet, ). This gets worse when there is a steep drop of the value near the barrier, as in a down and out put, or an up and out call with low volatility. The second way is to use an analytic expression for the probability of hitting the barrier between two realized points in a simulated asset path. This is usually referred to as the probabilistic method, or the Brownian bridge technique, since it uses the probability of Brownian motion hitting a point conditional on two fixed end points. As already implied this probability is known analytically (see ) for Brownian motion (and consequently for GBM as well). So for the usual GBM asset model (Black-Scholes), this technique can remove the simulation bias completely. One can just use the probability directly, multiplying each path's payoff with the total path survival probability (based on the survival probability of each path segment S[i], S[i+1]). This is preferable when applicable since it results in lower simulation variance. Alternatively one can sample this probability through a uniform variate draw and use it to decide whether the barrier has been crossed or not. This is the only option when we have to perform regression for American exercise. All this is implemented for the Black-Scholes model in the current version of the pricer which you can download here and check this technique in action (see also here). Below is just a simple example. Now the analytical (Brownian Bridge) hitting probability is only available for a BM/GMB process. But what if we have a not so simple process? Well, as long as the discretization scheme we use for the asset makes it locally BM/GBM (always the case when we use Euler to discretize S, or log(S)), then we can still use this trick. It won't remove the simulation bias completely, but it may do a good job nonetheless. So I thought I'd try it with Heston and see how it performs. I only have two discretization schemes set up, the Full Truncation Euler and the Quadratic Exponential (with Martingale correction). Both are considered short-stepping schemes, though QE-M can do pretty well with long steps as well, especially for vanillas, not so much for path-dependent options. FTE definitely needs short time steps to give acceptable accuracy. Both schemes though use normal increments to march log(S) in time, conditional on the variance process path realization which comes first. So we can still use our BB probability formulas like we did with the Black-Scholes model. The only catch here is that the BB formulas assume constant variance and we have stochastic variance instead (not to mention correlation between the variance and the asset processes). That's why it will only be an approximation. For each asset path segment S[i], S[i+1] we have the corresponding variances v[i] and v[i+1] which we can use in the BB probability formula. Now since we want to see to what extent the simulation (monitoring) bias can be removed, we'd like to get the discretization bias out of the way so that it doesn't cloud the results. For this reason I used the QE-M scheme with daily time steps. The test cases considered are in table 1, all Up and Out calls for 5 different Heston parameter sets, chosen from the literature without too much thought, although I did try to set up case 4 to be a kind of torture test and the Feller condition is violated in case 7. Those two cases are the ones with the largest error as can be seen in table 2. The "exact" price for the continuously monitored options was calculated by the PDE/FDM solver presented in the previous post. The price when the monitoring is discrete (daily) is also shown for comparison. A large number of Sobol-driven paths were used so that the (Q)MC prices shown are converged to all digits shown (last digit may be off by one). As can be seen, it seems that the method yields accurate approximations of the correct continuous price indeed, the highest error being 0.35%. Note also that even with daily monitoring the discrete version prices (plain MC, no correction) are quite different from the continuous ones (up to 37%), showcasing the need for the probabilistic (BB) correction when it's a continuous barrier price we're after. Table 1. Test cases parameter sets for Up and Out call options. Table 2. Effectiveness of Monte Carlo with the Probabilistic Continuity Correction for the pricing of cont. monitored barrier options under the Heston model. The MC prices are converged and the time-discretization error is negligible. Once I set up a more accurate long stepping discretization scheme, I may test to see how well this approximation holds when one uses fewer/longer time steps. Broadie M, Glasserman P, & Kou S. A continuity correction for discrete barrier options, Mathematical Finance, Vol. 7 (4) (1997), pp. 325-348.
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What are some appropriate uses for Sitecore Data Providers? In what cases would one create a data provider instead of importing content? What are examples of practical integration scenarios which would benefit from a Data Provider implementation? It's a difficult one; a question I've considered many times over in the years I've been working with Sitecore. This is especially the case for most e-commerce solutions I've worked. This is usually product data, product meta data, category trees and so on. It's very rare that one can source all of the required information (short descriptions, long descriptions, images, product attributes and so on) from the back-end systems. So what I've ended up doing; is doing multiple integration runs - enriching the product catalogue in each run. Then when complete - publish the enriched data. This is especially true for ERP and PIM systems. They are designed with data integrity in mind, and only secondly have an eye on performance. If even that. Add to this; the nature of data in these systems is rarely a tree-like structure (rather; relational) - making it difficult to make them fit into the parent/child nature that a Sitecore Data Provider has to follow. Lastly; if opening up a Data Provider to a back end system - it needs to be available all the time, or the Content Editor users find themselves out of work. And publishing an empty structure... doesn't really end so well. I argued this in Working with multiple content databases in Sitecore 6. Sitecore offers versioning, language versions, workflows, many types of fields - right out of the box. Writing a Data Provider, one often ends up stubbing most of this functionality out, thus detracting from the overall Sitecore experience. The data looks like it's a native part of the Sitecore content tree, but it's really not. Well I honestly don't see where I would use one today. Unless writing a very specialized tool - like Kamsar's Unicorn or so. For live use on the website? We have so many other ways of abstracting data - Dependency Injection, Services, Web APIs and so on - I really don't see any added value in feeding this data in via a Data Provider, just so we can use Sitecore Query (brr) to query it. I think Data Providers made sense, when XSLT was still the de-facto standard for rendering Sitecore content. I think those days are behind us. The whole point of a data provider is; to bring in content and have it appear as native Sitecore content. The idea being; you then bring in your content from multiple sources, and then have it work just like had it been created natively in Sitecore. And yes; part of that was based on creating XSLT renderings, and they shouldn't need to know what content was native and what was not - and with XSLT renderings there simply is no easy option to render non-Sitecore data. So how are these used? Well presumably your data provider is one-way. You can implement a 2 way provider but I've never had a business case for it. Usually one integrates to a business system and we can't just let any editor simply edit content (by mistake - in Experience Editor this could easily happen) and have it written back to the origin system. So we feed in data from the provider; and we probably feed it directly into "master" and "web" in many instances, as support for publishing of provided data is extra work. Plus - you data provide to have a real time view to the origin system and publishing would sort of ruin that idea. Now you have to decide how to deal with caches; external link to origin system breaking down (and taking your solution down in the fall)... meh the list just goes on. Possible? Sure. But looking at it like this, it becomes obvious it just doesn't make much sense. If there is a case for a Data Provider, it would only be a fully implemented 2-way provider. To save you having to write a web interface to update some data. Nothing else rings any kind of sense to me. Not today, not post XSLT. Not with models, Dependency Injection, Layered Architecture. We have so many better options available. A good example is exposing information from a PIM (product information manager) as native Sitecore items in the Sitecore tree. With this, production information can be accessed via the same API's as you'd use for accessing content managed via Stiecore. The biggest issue I've found is how hungry Sitecore is getting children - this can lead to slowww DPs. Also overuse of the IDTable can cause issues if items with loads of fields (because of the way Sitecore treats all fields as items) - be aware that the IDTable calls aren't cached. I'd say it's a trade-off between how efficient you can make the DP and how often the data needs to be updated. I think there are some good individual examples here of useful Data Provider usage, and some good arguments about when/why you should not use them, but I'd like to summarize the situations in which a Data Provider can work well, and provide some concrete examples. The data is local to the Sitecore instance, with very fast query/API, and has a hierarchical structure that maps well to Sitecore. There are significant advantages to the data being represented as Sitecore items. E.g. being able to browse items for linking or datasources. You want to be able to edit the data within Sitecore OR the data you are exposing does not require "enrichment" within Sitecore. Both uCommerce and Sitecore Commerce use data providers to expose products to the Sitecore content tree. Commerce systems tend to have their own data modeling capabilities, and using a data provider here allows the template model for the product items to be dynamic as well. Having products exposed as items provides huge advantages for linking to products, product URLs, etc. This also allows for product data to be edited in Sitecore as well. If you do allow for editing within Sitecore, you do need to be careful of any locking, caching, etc. that could be happening within the other editing interface. Similar to commerce systems, PIMs tend to have their own robust data model, and there are big advantages to having those products represented as items. Most PIMs will have some sort of language version concept that can be mapped into Sitecore's data model as well. Typically with a true PIM however you will not want to implement data writes, and you will need to disconnect that data through publishing (i.e. a master db-only Data Provider). The PIM will need to have a fast API, or Content Editor and publishing performance will suffer. Many PIM integrations likely can be handled with an import instead, since publishing means the integration no longer provides "real time" data. But in cases where you have a very dynamic data model, a data provider could have advantages. If you are storing media in a DAM of some sort, a Data Provider implementation could allow you to browse those assets in real time, and use them as if they were native Sitecore media, then publish as needed (and disconnect them from the DAM in the process). This is perhaps more of an edge case. Though the Active Commerce module for Sitecore stores products as native Sitecore items, it stores product stock information in its own database, so that stock levels can be quickly queried and transactionally incremented/decremented. However it also uses a Data Provider to expose those product stock levels in the Content Editor, and allow them to be manually adjusted if need be. It's also worth noting in this example that Data Providers do not need to own the "whole item" -- they can just provide particular fields. When it comes to performance, this can have advantages when it comes to exposing, editing, and/or publishing external data. I have used them before to inject custom Security on an item level. In my particular case the security requirements couldn't be fulfilled by Sitecore security, so my data provider would perform the calculation instead and return items appropriately. In the past, I have recommended a data provider while working with a healthcare client. They had a member database that contained HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) protected data that was not suitable for storing in Sitecore, however, was the source of truth for pieces of information that needed to be accessed within the confines of their Sitecore implementation. For a little background, health insurance company that was building a member portal using Sitecore. Recommendation was to use a data provider to access the information that we needed without having to do a bulky import process as well as make sure that we weren't bringing over data protected by HIPAA, while at the same time, having reliance that the data coming over was synced and always up-to-date, without having to build automatic task jobs, etc. As a rule of thumb, I generally tell prospective clients, that Sitecore is a marketing platform, not a database for sensitive information. End result was a great application of the data provider, and met the needs of the client. I have used Data Providers for PIMs, employee/personell/staff/etc. directories, and also for large quantities of data points coming from a source that is managed in another system but referenced by Sitecore items. You can easily tie the "items" that they "provide" into the built in Content Search. Items coming in from a Data Provider are not real items, but they are made to look like items and can be referenced like items. A given piece of content should only ever be editable in one location. If you have a Data Provider that is pulling in content from another system where said content is authored (CMS, PIM, CRM, etc.), do not add two-way authoring support. A Data providers can be implemented with multi-lingual support (leveraging OOTB Sitecore multilingual support), but this means that your data store must support this, as well. We have a situation were we will probably be moving data outside of Sitecore into a custom database and write a data provider on it. Might become a read-only data provider even. We are facing a tree structure with products that has grown over a million items. The back-end systems with the original data cannot be used in a live environment for several reasons: some are not always available (down for an hour during night), some are external sources and do not allow lots of queries. We already have pricing and stock information outside of Sitecore as that is updated at least every hour. The main reason we are considering to move away from the Sitecore databases in this case is the import (add and update) of items. Importing is done through files or through services that are send/called once a day. But sometimes the number of items we need to import is so big that processing the data and creating the items if needed takes so long that we get in trouble. Long meaning here that the job isn't done in a day. More and bigger servers might help, but not in the long run. Requirement is set to be able to import whole sections (few hundred thousand items) at once. Knowing that creating items in Sitecore is not the fastest thing to do (we do also require some side effect jobs such as custom indexes, insert/update statements to custom db, ...) made us really consider a data provider on top of something else (custom db in our case). If you have data in a back-end system that has network access limitations, using a Data Provider allows Sitecore to publish the data as Items, sparing you the need to worry about VPNs or latency when accessing that data from a Content Delivery server. It's not the only path you can take, and there are many caveats, but for front-end performance, it's occasionally useful. They are appropriate when you need to integrate with external data sources and want to take advantage of Sitecore's item processing, tracking and manipulation. One example would be a university: We have many different data sources that we need to work with, one of which is a Course Database. Each course gets it's own page and content associated with it. The problem with this is that we lose the advantages of using sitecore's searching and indexing ability. We can not do site wide HTML rendering and search. There are also secondary tools that are lost out on, namely, Glass Mapper. By integrating the courses directly into Sitecore we can use glass mappers insertion pipeline and reduce the amount of code we need to write (and bugs) by eliminating controllers and rely purely on view renderings. Ultimately, reducing the complexity of our code. One use case for data providers could when you're creating a module. For instance uCommerce (an e-commerce solution using commerce connect) uses Data providers to make product and catalog data available in Sitecore. Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged integration data-provider best-practices or ask your own question. What is Sitecore IDTable usage? What are options for archiving xDB data? Are there Sitecore e-commerce solutions that have native integration with SAP? What is the recommended approach for storing custom data within Sitecore? Are there any reasons to start a new Sitecore project today, using Webforms? What are the available methods for local development when using Azure Search in a PAAS setup?
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Picture yourself in court getting ready to present a first-rate animation created by a professional litigation graphics company. The opposing counsel jumps up to say, “Your honor, we object to this animation since there is no foundation that it’s identical to what happened, it will confuse the jury, and it does not meet the scientific evidence requirements for admissibility.” How should you respond? The basic difference is this: If the presentation is used simply to illustrate an expert’s or witness’s description of what happened, that’s an animation and it’s considered demonstrative evidence only; i.e. it shows real evidence, but is not evidence itself. However, if an expert has to rely on a computer model or program to tell him or her what happened, that’s a simulation, and it’s “real evidence” that requires all the levels of foundation and acceptance of methods used by the expert to create the simulation before it can be admitted into evidence. Under both California and Federal law, it is much easier to obtain permission to show an animation to the jury if the sole purpose of the animation is to explain a witness’s testimony in the same way a witness would be allowed to draw on butcher paper in court. Clearly, a well-done computer animation has the potential to affect and impress a jury more than drawing on butcher paper, but the concept is the same. Rather than take a great deal of time for an expert to verbally explain a theory, an animation (like a drawing) shows the theory, usually in less time than it would take to describe it orally. The main case in California to address the use of computer animations as demonstrative evidence is People v. Hood (1997) 53 CA4th 965, where the court allowed computer animation to explain the expert’s theories. However, it should be remembered that courts always have the discretion to evaluate evidence under Evid. Code § 352, to make sure it is not more prejudicial than probative, and such decisions are very difficult to overturn on appeal. Imagine a complex case involving a railroad car that overturns in a canyon and lets out a toxic cloud that rail workers and neighbors are exposed to, and some people on or near the rail car get sick while others do not. Further imagine that the rail company, in defending the suit, hires a battery of experts who create a complicated computer model to show the wind disbursement of the toxic chemicals through the canyon to try to prove that the plaintiff could not have been harmed; they create a computer-generated visualization of the canyon, the plume and the plaintiff’s location, and they use it to calculate levels of toxins at the various locations. Absent the expert having created this elaborate computer model, the expert actually would have no opinion of whether the plaintiff was exposed to excessive levels of toxic chemicals or not. In California, Sections 720 and 801 of the California Evidence Code control the admission of expert opinion. (See People v. Leahy (1994), 8 Cal.4th 587, 598.) Under §801 and People v. Kelly (1976) 17 Cal.3d 24 (Kelly/Frye test), the admissibility of the evidence will turn on whether it is “generally accepted by experts in the field.” Since the simulation itself is the basis of an expert opinion, such simulation would be required to meet the standard that all such testing and simulating was done in a manner that is generally accepted in the relevant field of science. In Federal Court such a simulation is required to meet the strict requirements of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (1993) 509 U.S. 579, 589. The Supreme Court interpreted Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and found that “the trial judge must ensure that any and all scientific testimony or evidence is not only relevant, but reliable.” The Court gave numerous factors that a party had to meet before any such scientific evidence could be allowed in court. This strict rule regarding the use of computer simulations actually makes a great deal of sense. If the witnesses is really testifying that she has an opinion because the computer told her how it happened, it becomes absolutely key to know what information was put in the computer and how it was calculated, and whether this method of data collection and calculation is accepted; otherwise, a jury could easily be fooled by the patina of scientific credibility of the computer model. (1) Is it intended to be for demonstrative purposes only (i.e. showing real evidence but not evidence itself)? (2) Is the animation used simply to illustrate the already-established opinion of an expert or witness, rather than forming the basis of their opinion? (3) Will showing it enhance the jury’s understanding of a complex issue? If the answer is yes to all questions, you have a good chance of showing it to the jury as demonstrative evidence. However, if the intent is to provide the expert an answer to a relevant question of the case by simulating some action, the much higher standard of Daubert and Kelly/Fry will be applied, and the chance is much higher it will be excluded. Click here to download a legal brief I wrote on this subject. Nice blog on animations. Thanks for the share.
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Is AI going too far? Artificial Intelligence has come a long way from being fictional to encompassing a wide range of categories from logistics, data mining, playing chess or diagnosing medical conditions, to name a few. Image generation has been one of the areas of research of several companies, and Nvidia’s AI seems to have achieved success in creating scarily realistic looking human faces. Nvidia’s Tero Karras, Samuli Laine and Timo Aila have revealed the progress made by their AI in a new whitepaper. The results are actually shocking when considering the fact that the AI has generated faces of humans who don’t actually exist. Nvidia’s researches have built on top of the work of Ian Goodfellow from 2014 by introducing the principles of Style Transfer to a modified version of Generative Adversarial Network, also known as GAN. While GAN generates images after looking at a source, a Discriminator Network tries to separate the fake images from realistic ones. To this, Nvidia’s researchers added style transfer principles to fuse the characteristics of one image into another. In essence, two neural networks combined with style transfer could generate some very realistic looking images of people who don’t even exist. Nvidia’s researchers tried to do the same with cat images too, but cats have proved to be difficult so far. Fake news has been a growing problem for the past few years. Deepfakes have become increasingly difficult to identify, and with Nvidia’s AI being able to generate images of non-existent people, this could pose bigger challenges in the future. There have been several demos of researchers being able to generate fake videos featuring popular politicians, and if this tech is abused, it can be used to create fake videos that look even more realistic. That said, the world of cats may not have to worry about Nvidia’s AI. For now.
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Whether any person aggrieved by any order or decision passed against him has the right to appeal? Yes. Any person aggrieved by any order or decision passed against him has the right to appeal. It must be an order or decision passed by an “adjudicating authority”. However, some decisions or orders (as provided for in Section 93) are not appealable.
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This article is about the fictional character in Ulysses. For the poker entrepreneur and author, see Molly Bloom (author). Molly Bloom is a fictional character in the novel Ulysses by James Joyce. The wife of main character Leopold Bloom, she roughly corresponds to Penelope in the Odyssey. The major difference between Molly and Penelope is that while Penelope is eternally faithful, Molly is not. Molly is having an affair with Hugh 'Blazes' Boylan. Molly, whose given name is Marion, was born in Gibraltar on 8 September 1870, the daughter of Major Tweedy, an Irish military officer, and Lunita Laredo, a Gibraltarian of Spanish descent. Molly and Leopold were married on 8 October 1888. She is the mother of Milly Bloom, who, at the age of 15, has left home to study photography. She is also the mother of Rudy Bloom, who died at the age of 11 days. In Dublin, Molly is an opera singer of some renown. The final chapter of Ulysses, often called "Molly Bloom's Soliloquy", is a long and unpunctuated stream of consciousness passage comprising her thoughts as she lies in bed next to Bloom. Molly Bloom's soliloquy is the eighteenth and final "episode" of Ulysses, in which the thoughts of Molly Bloom are presented in contrast to those of the previous narrators, Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus. Molly's physicality is often contrasted with the intellectualism of the male characters, Stephen Dedalus in particular. Joyce's novel presented the action with numbered "episodes" rather than named chapters. Most critics since Stuart Gilbert, in his James Joyce's Ulysses, have named the episodes and they are often called chapters. The final chapter is referred to as "Penelope", after Molly's mythical counterpart. Joyce noted in a 1921 letter to Frank Budgen that "[t]he last word (human, all too human) is left to Penelope." The episode both begins and ends with "yes", a word that Joyce described as "the female word" and that he said indicated "acquiescence, self-abandon, relaxation, the end of all resistance." This last, clear "yes" stands in sharp contrast to her unintelligible first spoken line in the fourth chapter of the novel. Molly's soliloquy consists of eight enormous "sentences", The concluding period following the final words of her reverie is one of only two punctuation marks in the chapter, the periods at the end of the fourth and eighth "sentences". When written this episode contained the longest "sentence" in English literature, 4,391 words expressed by Molly Bloom (it was surpassed in 2001 by Jonathan Coe's The Rotters' Club). Joyce modelled the character upon his wife, Nora Barnacle; indeed, the day upon which the novel is set — June 16, 1904, now called Bloomsday — is that of their first date. Nora Barnacle's letters also almost entirely lacked capitalization or punctuation; Anthony Burgess has said that "sometimes it is hard to distinguish between a chunk of one of Nora's letters and a chunk of Molly's final monologue". Some research also points to another possible model for Molly in Amalia Popper, one of Joyce's students to whom he taught English while living in Trieste. Amalia Popper was the daughter of a Jewish businessman named Leopoldo Popper, who had worked for a European freight forwarding company (Adolf Blum & Popper) founded in 1875 in its headquarters in Hamburg by Adolf Blum, after whom Leopold Bloom was named. In the (now published) manuscript Giacomo Joyce, are images and themes Joyce used in Ulysses and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. J.M. Coetzee's novel Elizabeth Costello portrays the fictional writer Costello as the author of a fictional novel, The House on Eccles Street, which is written from Molly Bloom's point of view. It was the inspiration for the Kate Bush song "The Sensual World". Bush had originally written the song to directly quote Ulysses, but Joyce's estate refused permission. Thus she wrote her own set of lyrics in a style that echoed Molly Bloom's soliloquy. Bush's 2011 album Director's Cut includes a newer version of the track ("Flower of the Mountain") with new vocals that use the original Joyce text. Molly Bloom's soliloquy was used as the basis for a dance song by Amber, titled "Yes." The soliloquy is featured in a Rodney Dangerfield movie, Back to School, wherein it is read aloud to a college English class by Dr. Diane Turner (played by Sally Kellerman). There is a bronze sculpture of Molly Bloom which stands at the Alameda Gardens in Gibraltar. This running figure was commissioned from Jon Searle to celebrate the bicentenary of the Gibraltar Chronicle in 2001. Part of the soliloquy is quoted by the character Molly Greaney in the Susan Turlish play Lafferty's Wake. The character Ralph Spoilsport recites the end of the soliloquy, with erratic variations in gender pronouns, as the last lines of the Firesign Theatre's album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All. "Yes I Said Yes I Will Yes", inspired by the soliloquy, is the title of a track by Bristol-based jazz quartet Get the Blessing, appearing on their album Bugs in Amber. In the final pages of his novel The Republic of Wine, Chinese author and winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature Mo Yan concludes the book with what could be seen as an homage to Ulysses's Molly Bloom soliloquy. Stephen Colbert's parody of Donald Trump's announcement for his presidential candidacy, entitled "Announcing: an Announcement," recites part of the soliloquy in an otherwise random series of statements. Tom Paxton's album "6" contains a song titled "Molly Bloom" Blamires, Harry (1988). The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide Through Ulysses (Revised Edition Keyed to the Corrected Text). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00704-6. Joyce, James (1992). Ulysses: The 1934 Text, as Corrected and Reset in 1961. New York: The Modern Library. ISBN 0-679-60011-6. ^ Kenner, Hugh (1987). Ulysses. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 147. ISBN 0801833841. ^ Parody, Antal (2004). Eats, Shites & Leaves: Crap English and How to Use it. Michael O'Mara. ISBN 1-84317-098-1. ^ "Special Events". Gibraltar Chronicle. 2001. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013. ^ Stephen Colbert (June 16, 2015). Announcing: an Announcement. Event occurs at 5:18. "Molly Bloom's Website (Rock Band)". 2009-09-30. "Molly Bloom's Website (Canadian Pub)". 2008-01-21.
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In French, do you call your spouse "tu" or vous? You are the same age, have been married for 5+ years. Would you call them "tu" or "vous"? Very often the use of 'vous' between spouses is considered a class-based tradition. usually the upper-classes. Their children are also not allowed to address their parent with 'tu'. Only 'vous'. Tu. How long you've been married and your relative ages don't matter. Vous is for strangers, clergypeople, and superiors. I would consider you to have a strange marriage if you addressed your spouse as 'vous'. Your spouse and other family members would be 'tu'. Most people wpuld use 'tu'. There was a time, long ago, when spouses addressed each other as vous, possibly to set an example for their children, who also respectfully used the vous form with their parents and grandparents. We had something similar in English, in which the parents affectionately called each other Mr. X and Mrs. X, especially in front of the children. I seem to recall that format from Dickens. I have also known Mexican children from rural areas who kept the older customs and formally addressed their parents as usted, kissing their hand when saying good night. ' Tu ' is familiar, we say it to people we know well and for for talk to a kid. We use ' vous ' which is formal, for talk to people we don't know well or if they are many ( even when we know them well), since ' vous ' is also the plural for ' tu '. - you want to show deference or distance from the other person. So, in the case of a married couple, unless they are really stuck up or it was an arranged marriage, obviously, you "tutoie" your spouse.
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Where to live in retirement? You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food. You know that "dry heat" is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is. "y'all" is singular and "all y'all" is plural. "He needed killin' " is a valid defense. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, Mary Sue, Betty Jean, Mary Beth, etc. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and he stops at the day care center. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor. Wherever you go, there's no place like home.
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Washington, DC – December 23, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Central Ohio inventory continues to remain at a record low – lower than any year since 2000. The total inventory of homes for sale during the month of November in central Ohio was 6,976, a decrease of 9.3 percent from the previous month and 16.3 percent lower than November 2014, according to the Columbus REALTORS Multiple Listing Service. The months supply of inventory was also a record low of 2.7 in November, ten percent lower than the previous month and 25 percent lower than 2014. The months supply is calculated by taking the amount of inventory divided by average monthly sales over the last 12 months. In other words, if no more homes were added to the market, it would take about 2.7 months to sell all of the homes and condos current for sale in central Ohio. Although inventory has been down, there were 2,063 homes and condos added to the market in the month of November, which was 2.8 percent more than the previous year. There were 1,845 central Ohio homes and condos sold during the month of November, an increase of 4.0 percent from 2014, although down 21.4 percent from the previous month. Year to date (January through November), central Ohio has seen 27,153 sales, up 9.1 percent from the same period in 2014. Homes spent an average of 54 days on the market in November, which is just four days longer than the month of October. The average sales price in November was $182,845, a 1.5 percent increase over November 2014, and down just one percent from the previous month. The median sale price in November was $152,888, an increase of 2.8 percent from a year ago and down just 1.4 percent from the previous month. According to the latest Housing Market Confidence Index, (By the Ohio Association of REALTORS®) 93 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® would describe the current housing market as moderate to strong. Over the next year, 81 percent expect home prices to rise 0-5 percent and 12 percent expect prices to rise more than five percent. When asked about the change they are seeing in buyers’ preference for condos over single family homes, 53 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® said no change, 33 percent said a slight to significant increase, and 14 percent said a slight decrease. Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 7,200 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.
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Dear Doctor: I'm a 45-year-old woman and, ever since my divorce, I've struggled with depression. I tried yoga and meditation, and they're fine. But when a friend gave me a gift certificate to a gym and I started weight lifting, I saw a real change. I'm less stressed and I feel more like myself again. Am I imagining things, or does weight lifting help you feel better emotionally? Why would that be? Dear Reader: We're very sorry to hear that what is already a difficult life event has been made that much harder by having to deal with depression. The very nature of the condition can make it difficult to engage in new activities, and we're glad that you found something that works. In answer to your first question, no, you're not imagining things. The link between exercise and enhanced mood has been established for quite some time. And while previous research has tended to focus on the effects of aerobic activities like running, a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry earlier this year finds similar mental health benefits in resistance training. The researchers looked at the outcomes of 1,877 participants in 33 different clinical trials. An analysis of the data from those studies showed that resistance exercise training -- that includes weight lifting -- significantly reduced symptoms of depression. What's really interesting is that the positive mental health effects of taking part in resistance training were observed regardless of the study participants' age, their overall health, their skill levels, whether or not they ultimately gained strength or muscle mass from the training, or how much weight lifting they did. This dovetails with previous studies, which have associated resistance training with lower levels of anxiety. There have also been studies that found an improvement in cognitive function among people who added weight lifting to their regular routines. And while the new study didn't address this outcome specifically, in some previous research it appeared that women were more sensitive to the positive effects of resistance training than men. Another encouraging bit of data for novice weightlifters like yourself is that several studies found low- to moderate-intensity workouts yielded better results in terms of anxiety reduction than did high-intensity workouts. As for why resistance training is effective for mood and anxiety disorders, theories vary. One school of thought points to endorphins, the same feel-good hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system that are associated with the "high" experienced by runners. Also of interest to researchers is an exercise-related increase in neurotrophic factors, a family of biomolecules that support the health of neurons in the brain. Weight lifting has also been shown to improve sleep in both quantity and quality. And then there are the benefits that arise from -- and we know this sounds boring -- routine and repetition. Getting to the gym, becoming part of the flow of activity, counting the repetitions as you exercise each set of muscles, seeing and feeling the positive changes to the body -- all of these can add to a sense of independence and self-confidence.
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Eliminate pet odors, from urine stains to bad breath, by employing the following tips. Clean up any accidents quickly. Urine left on carpet or upholstered furniture (like car seats) can leave a lasting odor long after your pet has been there. When urine dries on your carpet or furniture it will smell worse. Clean fresh urine quickly to prevent it from drying. Use paper to absorb the urine: Rely on a combination of newspaper and paper towels to soak up the puddle. Lastly, rinse the spot with cold water. Clean up animal stains with a wet-vac: A wet-vac, or extracting machine, is a way to funnel clean water into your carpet and then extract the dirty water without relying on any chemical treatments. Pet odor neutralizer: After cleaning thoroughly, apply a pet odor neutralizer to your flooring. If the stain has soaked through to the padding under your carpet or area rug, replace it. Purchase some eco-friendly cleaning items. Select products made with all natural minerals as they are non-toxic and will keep your pets safe. Pet grooming includes brushing, washing, ear maintenance and dental hygiene. Brush and bathe your pet on a regular basis to prevent his coat from smelling. Make sure you dry your dog or cat enough so that there is no wet or mildew smells that may linger. Use a blow dryer on a low setting to help dry your pet and any avoid further smells. Brush your pet's teeth to encourage good oral hygiene. You can rely on a combination of baking soda and water for cleaning his teeth. Correct ear problems that cause odors: Clean a dog that has floppy ears regularly to remove dirt and yeast. Clean pet ears with a mixture of white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water. Make sure you remove all the dirt and waxy build-up with a soft pad or cotton ball. Keep all eating bowels and accessories clean and fresh. They can hold odors as well as bacteria harmful to the home and those living in it. Wash your pet's bedding, pillows and mats with a strong laundry detergent and then dry them well. Cleanse all dog toys or buy new ones if they are old and smelly. Clean food and water bowls once a day. Keep the cat's litter box fresh and clean. Use a cat litter that works to eliminate odors. Quickly light a few scented candles. Use plug-in air fresheners to have a constant stream of floral or other scents. Encourage the flow of fresh air throughout your home. This will get rid of that musty pet odor that tends to linger. Simmer a small pot of water filled with cinnamon sticks, orange peels and cloves.
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In colonial times, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana; its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, people laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples were the only inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine. At the time of European arrival in what is now Maine, several Algonquian-speaking peoples inhabited the area. The first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived Popham Colony, established by the Plymouth Company in 1607. A number of English settlements were established along the coast of Maine in the 1620s, although the rugged climate, deprivations, and conflict with the local peoples caused many to fail over the years.
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William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a tragedy, and that makes Hamlet a tragic hero; however, it is important to identify the characteristics common to Shakespeare's tragic heroes before writing your thesis statement. First of all, Hamlet suffers from a fatal flaw, a weakness in his character which eventually causes his downfall. Unlike the characters in an Aristotelian tragedy, Hamlet is aware of his flaw virtually from the beginning of the story, adding to the sense of tragedy. We know that Hamlet's character flaw is indecision, as we watch him waver and vacillate time after time about whether to take action or not. In one sense we admire Hamlet for this, as he clearly recognizes and values human life enough to be sure he is not killing the wrong person. In another sense, we ask ourselves exactly how much evidence he needs before he will finally take some action. It is a rather frustrating journey to see him so resolved at times and then back away from his resolution. Second of all, Hamlet is in a position of power, as the son (and nephew and stepson) of a king, which again means his fall from nobility is more tragic than a fall from a lower social position would be. Though it means nothing to Hamlet, he has been named as Claudius's successor, establishing Hamlet's position as the Prince of Denmark. Third, Like many of Shakespeare's tragic heroes, Hamlet succumbs to the pressures of other people, not all human, who help advance his downfall. In Hamlet, those characters would certainly be Claudius, Polonius, the Ghost and his so-called friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Each of these characters is determined, well intentioned or not, to deter Hamlet from his purpose. Polonius is a distraction both because of his infernal butting-in and because he is Ophelia's father; though he pays for that, he contributes to Hamlet's inactions and is in the wrong place when Hamlet finally does act. Hamlet's rather bumbling friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are another distraction; he is certainly willing to have them killed because of their cumbersome and traitorous meddling. Claudius is an obvious nemesis from the beginning; the Ghost certainly influences Hamlet. Finally, Hamlet has opportunities to save himself but does not do so--or does not do so in time--which leads directly to his death. How often did Hamlet think he was ready to kill Claudius but then could not act, sometimes for good reason and sometimes just because of his flawed indecision. His fatalistic view is part of this point. Your thesis must encapsulate your thinking (which will be reflected in the rest of your essay) about Hamlet as a tragic hero. You and I would probably agree on most of these basic issues regarding Hamlet as a tragic hero; however, what is up for debate between us is whether we find Hamlet's flaw admirable or weak (see first point above). Once you decide that for yourself, you can write your thesis. In Hamlet, Shakespeare gives us a character who knows his flaw but is unable to overcome it because of his own indecision as well as the interference of others. Hamlet is a tragic hero whom we both pity and admire as he falls from his high place due to his own inaction. Write a thesis which matches how you feel and what you will write about Hamlet.
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Facts: The offender was charged and pleaded guilty to damaging property for breaking a window in his partner’s house. He was convicted and sentenced to one month’s imprisonment. This conviction breached a good behaviour order that was made after he was convicted for assaulting his partner. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended upon complying with a good behaviour order for two years. The good behaviour order was cancelled as a result of the breach and the six months’ suspended sentence was imposed, but was ordered to be served concurrently with another term of imprisonment. The offender successfully appealed this sentence. A sentence of six months’ imprisonment wholly suspended on the condition of a 12-month good behaviour order was imposed on appeal. A good behaviour order for the offence of damaging property was also made. The offender was subsequently convicted of traffic offences, constituting a breach of both good behaviour orders. As a result, the good behaviour bond imposed for the offence of damaging property was extended for a further 12 months. He was also resentenced to six months’ imprisonment on the assault charge, suspended for a period of 12 months on the conditions of a further good behaviour order for 12 months and 80 hours of community service. This effectively increased the length of the good behaviour orders as well as requiring the offender to perform community service work. The offender again breached these good behaviour bonds when he was convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm. This conviction arose when the offender choked his partner and threw a chest of drawers that hit her in the head. In relation to this offence, he was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended after nine months with a good behaviour order for two years thereafter. Issue: How should the offender be resentenced for the final breach of the two good behaviour orders? The offender suffered a difficult childhood in which he was sexually abused and had great difficulties in school as a result of having ADHD and dyslexia. After leaving school at 14, he was homeless for many years. He also had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. The offender also suffered from various mental illnesses, including major depressive disorder, borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality traits, for which he was receiving treatment. He had a long criminal history with 122 offences on his criminal record. This reduced towards the time of offending in question and suggested his criminality was abating. The final breach of the good behaviour orders was serious when considering ‘the offence was a family violence offence committed on a complainant who had been the victim of earlier offences of a similar type committed by [the offender], for which the current Good Behaviour Orders owe their genesis’ (). However, there was a need to take into account the offender’s mental health. Refshauge J considered that ‘the option for rehabilitation can be given greater prominence without minimising the need for some level of special and general deterrence’ (). Refshauge J cancelled the good behaviour orders in accordance with s 110 of the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act 2005 (ACT). The conviction of assault occasioning actual bodily harm was confirmed. The offender was convicted to six months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for a period of two years. A good behaviour order was made for two years with the conditions that the offender would be supervised, must complete 180 hours of community service, and must participate in the Detention Exit Community Mental Health Outreach Program for three months. The conviction for damaging property was also confirmed and the offender was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment, taking into account the time already spent in custody. Refshauge J concluded by telling the offender, ‘If you are genuine in your efforts, the Court will support you in this, as I hope I have shown you, but if you are not, then you can expect further custodial sentences and a revolving door’ (). For Refshauge J’s previous decision on appeal, see Guy v Anderson (No 2) ACTSC 245.
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Sella, G.; Bovero, S.; Ginepro, M.; Michailova, P.; Petrova, N.; Robotti, C.Alberto.; Zelano, V. Inter- and intracytogenetic variability was analyzed in 13 natural Palearctic populations of Chironomus riparius Meigen 1804 (syn. Chironomus thummi) by examining hereditary and somatic aberrations (mainly inversions) of the salivary gland polytene chromosomes. In total, 77 different types of inherited inversion sequences and 184 different types of somatic inversions were found. The median percent frequency of inherited inversions was 1.4% and karyotypic divergence between populations was very low. Most hereditary inversions were endemic and always in a heterozygous state. Only six inversion sequences, each of them shared by two very distant populations, may be considered a relic of very ancient ancestral inversions. Unlike inherited inversions, occurrence of somatic aberrations seems to increase with the overall rise in the level of heavy metal pollution of the sediments from which larvae were sampled. In contrast with what occurs in populations of other chironomid species, populations of C. riparius do not seem to undergo a process of cytogenetic differentiation.
0.99992
Here's a delicious pizza recipe for you to enjoy, whether it be for lunch, dinner or a snack! To make the dough: add the flour and salt to a large bowl - mix well. Mix the yeast, sugar, olive oil with the lukewarm water and leave for a minute or so. Create a hole in the middle of the flour and gradually add the liquid until you have a dough. Tip the dough onto a well-floured chopping board. Knead for a few minutes until the dough is springy. Add more flour if needed. Transfer back to the bowl and cover with a damp cloth for about 1 hour. The dough should have doubled in size. Transfer back onto the floured chopping board and knead again to knock back. To make the toppings: add the onion to a large pan with the olive oil and sauté for 20 minutes on a low heat until soft and caramelised. Set aside. Very thinly slice the potatoes then add them to a pan for boiling salted water and simmer for 10 minutes until just tender. Remove from the pan and place on the kitchen roll to pat dry. Sprinkle with sea salt and allow to cool a little. Pop in a bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil and fresh thyme. Mix to combine. Thinly slice the beetroot and place on some kitchen roll to remove some moisture. To make the pizza: heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Lightly oil a large baking tray. Roll out the dough and place on the baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and then spoon the onions onto the pizza. Layer the potatoes and pizza onto the pizza. Scatter with Rosemary. Bake for 20 minutes, until the crust is cooked and a little golden. Remove from the oven, allow to cool a little and top with fresh thyme, chilli flakes, sea salt and more oil if you like.
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There is an article in the New York Review of Books by Susan Dunn on Doris Kearns Goodwin's latest book, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism. This book, like her others, looks like a winner. I take two paragraphs from the article by Susan Dunn. "To a great extent, Goodwin views Theodore Roosevelt's career through the lens of his relationships with the press. Much of The Bully Pulpit focuses on the complex, often constructive, and sometimes contentious partnerships that Roosevelt worked out with a generation of investigative journalists. Goodwin credits these partnerships not only with illuminating the corruption and abuses of the industrial age but with clarifying "a progressive vision for the entire nation," a vision aided by Roosevelt's astute use of his presidential bully pulpit. Notwithstanding the tremendous growth of the industrial age - railroads, telegraph wires, steamships, mines, cities - as Henry George argued in his 1879 Progress and Poverty, these vaunted advances made it "no easier for the masses of our people to make a living. On the contrary, it is becoming harder." Progress had widened the gulf between rich and poor, making the struggle for existence more intense and jeopardizing the stability of a democratic society. "To base a state with glaring social inequalities on political institutions where people are supposed to be equal," George wrote, "is to stand a pyramid on its head. Eventually, it will fall."" President Barack Obama has been influenced by Goodwin's book on Abraham Lincoln, Team of Rivals. He's had an uphill battle there, as people seemed a little more conciliatory in those days, and more willing to work for the good of the country as a whole, but here is another book asking now for the media to step up to the plate and use their investigative power for constructive change. One might ask how much power and independence they have these days. We will see, but the book looks like a fascinating and motivating read.
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Hernando De Soto, a Spanish explorer from Panama, led an expedition north from Cuba in 1539, searching for a trade route to China. After landing in Florida, the expedition marched north almost to the Ohio river valley before returning southwest to Mexico City in 1543. While enroute, De Soto's expedition explored the Appalachians, the Mississippi River valley and parts of Texas. The first De Soto, a side wheel steamer, was purchased 21 August 1861 at New York from Livingston & Co., and outfitted by New York Navy Yard, Commander William M. Walker in command. After fitting out, the steamer put to sea on 19 November with ordnance stores for Fort Pickens, Fla., and vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, arriving off Southwest Pass, Mississippi River, after 11 December. Joining the Gulf Blockading Squadron at that time, De Soto patrolled for Confederate blockade runners near Barataria Bay. Given the sometimes light airs of the Gulf and inshore waters, the vessels shallow draft and steam power gave De Soto an advantage over her mainly sail-powered prey. Cmdr. Walker's first month in the region began poorly, however, when his ship collided with the French war steamer Milan, then adrift off South West Pass, Mississippi River. Although damage to De Soto was slight, the Milan was disabled and thus needed a tow into the Union anchorage. Despite the poor start, the steamers' first capture did not take long, as she and a bluejacket-crewed lugger took schooner Major Barbour off Isle. Derniere, La., on 28 January 1862. Cmdr. Walker's crew discovered 8 barrels of gunpowder and 198 cases of gunpowder, nitrates, sulpher, and percussion caps in the blockade runner. On 8 February, the steamer caught the small schooner Star out of Bayou La Fourche, taking her four-man crew prisoner. Upon Admiral David G. Farragut's arrival at Key West in steam sloop-of-war Hartford in late February, the Gulf Blockading Squadron was split into parts, the Eastern and Western Gulf Blockading Squadrons. De Soto came under the command of the Western Blockading Squadron at that time, although she did not change her patrol station at Barataria. As the steamer continued blockade operations through the spring, De Soto also served as a mobile storeship, carrying extra bread and ordnance supplies. She remained there until early-July, when the warship made a quick run up the Mississippi, carrying letters and passengers to the warships participating in the siege of Vicksburg. Returning down river, De Soto sailed southeast along the coast of Texas, patrolling off Sabine Pass, the Brazos River and Brazos Santiago at the mouth of the Rio Grande. Three months of hot weather and lack of maintenance facilities took a toll on De Soto's boilers and she returned to New Orleans for temporary repairs in early October. A backlog of work and lack of funds forced Rear Adm. Farragut to send De Soto north, however, and the steamer arrived at the Navy Yard at Philadelphia only on 18 November. Two months of repair work followed, during which time Cmdr. Walker was promoted to Captain. De Soto stood down the Delaware River on 3 February 1863 and, after stops at Havana and Santo Domingo, arrived back at Key West onAfter repairs at Philadelphia Navy Yard from November to January 1863, De Soto arrived at Key the 15th. Assigned to the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron under Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey, De Soto spent March and April fruitlessly cruising for C.S.S. Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico. As one of the few fast steamers in Bailey's command, De Soto possessed a speed advantage over most of her blockade running prey. This was demonstrated on 24 April, when De Soto sailors boarded and seized two sloops, Jane Adelie and Bright, sixteen hours out of Mobile and each laden with cotton. Two schooners, General Prim and Rapid, were then taken the very next day, and they too carried cotton. All four prizes were sent to Key West for adjudication. On 27 April, De Soto continued the run of good luck, seizing the British schooner Clarita enroute from Havana to Matamoras. Patrolling north and west of the Tortugas, the warship then captured the schooner Sea Bird on 14 May. Three days later, De Soto pursued the smoke of an unknown steamer and, after an 18-hour chase, forced her to stop in open water well south of Mobile Bay. Before De Soto's boats could board, however, the enemy steamer's crew set fires and abandoned ship, sinking what turned out to be Confederate steamer Cuba beneath the waves. De Soto continued her fast pace of operations the next day, capturing schooner Mississippian on 19 May before finally returning to Key West for repairs. Returning to sea in mid-June, De Soto's luck held and she captured schooner Lady Maria north of Tampa Bay on 6 July, laden with 104 bales of cotton. On the 18th, while cruising near Mobile Bay, De Soto spotted a steamer and closed and took the steamer James Battle, laden with rosin and cotton. At that point, two screw steamers from the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Aroostook and Ossipee, closed with some disappointment, as they had been chasing the blockade runner. Later that same evening, as De Soto and Ossipee independently chased a second steamer, Capt. Walker closed and took William Bagley before the other Union ship could do so. Those actions by De Soto, which put Capt. Jonathan P. Gillis of the Ossipee in mind of "a voracious aquatic bird," led to a dispute over prize claims. The controversy was resolved later in the month when Rear Adm. Bailey and Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, commander of the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron agreed to split prize shares. De Soto continued her patrols in the Gulf of Mexico into the month of August, braving the sweltering heat to board and inspect coastal and seaborne traffic. The steamer Alice Vivian was seized on 16 August, as she had no papers, and the steamer Nita was taken the next day for the same reason. During this month, wear and tear on the steamer's boilers began to show and, despite attempts at repair, De Soto steadily lost speed. On 12 September, following a nine hour chase under steam and sail, the Union ship finally took the blockade runner Montgomery, a chase Capt. Walker claimed should have taken one fourth the time if the boilers were in good order. Tinkering helped build up steam pressure to a point, and De Soto managed to chase down the screw-steamer Leviathan on 22 September. Returning to Key West in late October, De Soto received minor repairs and recoaled. Capt. Walker was relieved of command in early November by Capt. Gustavus H. Scott, before spending the next six weeks patrolling off N. E. Providence Channel. After coaling at Key West in early January 1864, De Soto patrolled off Mobile Bay, where she chased and captured steamer Cumberland on 5 February. The "Anglo-rebel" steamer had loaded arms, ammunition and 100 barrels of gunpowder at Havana in late 1863 and was trying to slip into Mobile when taken. De Soto proceeded to Havana in late February, for dry docking and repairs to her hull, before taking up a patrol station off the east coast of Florida in mid-March. A month later, she was back in Key West for coaling and repairs before returning to her familiar hunting grounds southeast of Mobile Bay. Sometime in April or May, De Soto's crew began coming down with yellow fever and the steamer was sent north in early June, arriving at Portsmouth, N.H., on 16 June. As was normal practice, the warship decommissioned that same day and the crew quarantined until the fever burned out. Sent to Baltimore, Md., 12 January 1865, for the installation of new boilers, De Soto was recommissioned there 12 August 1865 with Capt. Walker back in command. The steamer stood out for Norfolk on 7 September and joined De Soto the newly organized North Atlantic Squadron, whose cruising ground covered the Atlantic Ocean south to the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico. At that time, "revolutionists" in Haiti were fighting the government of President Gerrard from a base at Cape Haiten and De Soto steamed to that port to safeguard Americans residing in that area. On 19 October, following a confrontation between the rebel steamer Providence and HMS Bulldog, revolutionaries in the port seized refugees out of the British Consulate, which was viewed as a "gross outrage against the British flag." On 23 October, despite Capt. Walker's attempts at mediation, HMS Bulldog attacked both the fort guarding the harbor and batteries in town. While so doing, the Royal Navy steamer ran hard aground inside the harbor. She continued to fire, however, and her cannon sank Providence and destroyed many buildings ashore. Being in cold iron, De Soto could not immediately move, but Capt. Walker did send his boats ashore to take off foreigners. A short while later, Captain Wake in HMS Bulldog asked for towing assistance, which Capt. Walker denied, though De Soto's boats did take off the sick and wounded. Following a boiler explosion, and unable to get off the reef, the British blew up their warship and withdrew from the harbor in their boats. De Soto withdrew the next day as well, carrying the wounded British sailors to Jamaica before putting in to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to debark the many foreign refugees picked up at Cape Haiten. After consultations with the American Consul, Capt. Walker took De Soto back to Cape Haiten on 7 November. There, he negotiated with a British squadron under Captain Macguire in HMS Galatea in the hopes of averting a retaliatory bombardment of the town, particularly as the Americans feared such an act would provoke widespread unrest and attacks on foreigners throughout Haiti. These talks failed and on 9 November, the British squadron bombarded the town in conjunction with an attack by President Geffard's forces. With the defensive works destroyed and the town falling to government forces, the rebel leaders took refuge on De Soto. Capt. Walker then carried them to Monte Christo in the Dominican Republic. De Soto returned to Cape Haiten to keep an eye on events until 13 December when she sailed for home, arriving in Hampton Roads on 19 December. Three days later, De Soto stood up the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River to the Washington Navy Yard, where she picked up letters for delivery to the West Indies. Steaming south on 1 January 1866, the warship stopped at San Domingo, Port-au-Prince and Havana before returning to Washington, D.C., on the 28th. She remained there until 19 March when she proceeded down river and into the Bay, reaching Hampton Roads on the 23d. On 10 April the warship was placed under the command of Captain Charles S. Boggs. As the revolutionary disturbances in, and friction between, Haiti and the Dominican Republic continued apace, De Soto returned to the West Indies in June, arriving at Port-au-Prince on the 19th. The steamer also patrolled in the Gulf of Mexico, with an eye on the unsettled conditions in Mexico, where a guerilla war raged against the French occupation of the country. De Soto remained in the region through the rest of the year before returning to Hampton Roads in the spring of 1867. Following a repair period at the Navy Yard in Norfolk, De Soto conducted a cruise to New Orleans in May and June, putting in at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia on the 21st. She stood down the Delaware Rive five weeks later, this time sailing to Mexico. Off Vera Cruz on 17 September, the steamer watched the last of the French occupation end before sailing to Pensacola for repairs in mid-October. De Soto proceeded south along the Florida coast on 22 October, stopping at Tampa Bay and Key West before arriving at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, on 17 November. The ship, in company with side-wheel steamer Susquehanna and screw sloop-of-war Monongahela, were there as part of Secretary of State William H. Seward's plan to purchase the Danish West Indies. The day after De Soto's arrival, however, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the region and a tsunami swept the steamer from her moorings and threw the ship onto a wharf. Luckily, the next wave lifted the ship and carried her back to deep water. With her bottom damaged and leaking badly, De Soto's sailors and carpenters spent the next ten days pumping water and repairing the hull. On 5 December, the steamer sailed north with the Danish Commissioner on board and the ship arrived at Norfolk on the 17th. After completing more substantial repairs over the winter, De Soto sailed to Venezuala on 3 March 1868, to secure the release of crewmen from the whaling schooner Hannah Grant, who had been captured on the peninsula of Paraguano. At Curacoa, Cdr. Boggs learned that the crew had already been released but he remained in Venezualan waters in support of the American minister during interviews with the Venezualan vice-president and other officials of the republic. The steamer steamed to Philadelphia on 28 August, and then proceeded to the Navy Yard in New York in early September. De Soto was decommissioned there 11 September 1868 and sold 30 September 1868.
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Their findings, the researchers say, "indicate that MPT64 tests need to be cautiously used in settings where Maf 2 is common". However, they also recognize that "given the relatively low cost, limited technical expertise and shorter turnaround time associated with using rapid speciation tests compared to alternative speciation methods, MPT64 rapid tests will likely remain one of the preferred options for timely diagnosis of suspected TB despite the possibility of false negative results", and suggest that "a negative MPT64 result would require confirmation by an alternative method". Overall, they say, their results emphasize "the need to consider strain diversity during TB product development", and demonstrate that "careful evaluation and validation of novel tests before implementation, especially in regions with geographically restricted Mtbc lineages, such as M. africanum in West Africa, is imperative". Florian Gehre, Bouke de Jong and Boatema Ofori-Anyinam were supported by a European Research Council Starting grant INTERRUPTB, no.: 311725. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Article: Impact of the Mycobaterium africanum West Africa 2 Lineage on TB Diagnostics in West Africa: Decreased Sensitivity of Rapid Identification Tests in The Gambia, Boatema Ofori-Anyinam, Fatoumatta Kanuteh, Schadrac C. Agbla , Ifedayo Adetifa , Catherine Okoi, Gregory Dolganov, Gary Schoolnik, Ousman Secka, Martin Antonio, Bouke C. de Jong, Florian Gehre, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004801, published 7 July 2016. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. "Rapid TB test accuracy in West Africa compromised by Mycobacterium diversity." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 8 Jul. 2016. Web.
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In short: Facebook entered damage control mode after a top executive attended Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing held last month. The company's Global Policy Head, Joel Kaplan, sat at Judge Kavanaugh's side while he was defending himself against accusations of sexual harassment raised by Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University. Many Facebook employees were disgruntled by the fact, having consequently flooded the company's internal boards with concerns. In a statement released earlier this week, a spokesperson said the firm's "leadership team recognizes that they've made mistakes handling the events" surrounding the Kavanaugh hearing. Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed as the new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States with a 50-48 vote held yesterday. Background: As is the case with the majority of American tech giants, Facebook's workforce is predominantly liberal, whereas Judge Kavanaugh's nomination and subsequent appointment to the SCOTUS has been seen as a power play by the GOP due to the 53-year-old's largely conservative views on abortion and presidential powers. Employee activism stemming from Mr. Kaplan's move hence isn't surprising, even though Facebook's executive defended his hearing appearance as a personal decision, describing Judge Kavanaugh, his wife, and their children as family friends. Google also had recent issues with employee activism revolving around the controversial Project Maven and is now once again facing similar problems due to its widely reported ambitions to launch a censored version of Search for China. Impact: Despite facing some backlash from Facebook employees, Mr. Kaplan's decision may actually help Facebook soften criticism from the political right in the U.S. that claims the Internet juggernaut is biased against conservative views, a notion that it strongly denied on several occasions. The latest development is unlikely to see the company tighten its grasp over its executives as reports suggest that despite acknowledging the aforementioned "mistakes," Facebook remains adamant that all of its employees are free to pursue legitimate political goals in their free time.
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In delegating there are six important steps which need to be considered: analyse, decide, select, plan, delegate and follow-up. While you won't necessarily work through all six aspects when delegating day to day, they form the context for delegation and should be re-visited regularly. 1. Analyse - What are the functions of my role? • What are your actual functions? • What results are expected of you? • Could anyone else do it? • Could anyone else be trained? 2. Decide - Which tasks should I delegate? • In which areas are you uniquely qualified? • In which areas are other people better qualified than you? • Which tasks should be given to someone who needs developing? 3. Plan - How am I planning my delegation strategy? • Clarify suitable limits of authority. 4. Select - Who should I delegate to? • Their interests and abilities. • Who would best rise to the challenge? • Which person's workload logically fits with the new task? • Who would benefit from the development opportunity? 5. Delegate - How do I delegate effectively? • Explain intended results or outcomes. • Clarify degree of authority, responsibility, timeframes and operational parameters. • Take the time to communicate clearly. 6. Follow-up - What are my follow-up procedures? • Ensuring that you are kept informed. • Insisting on results, not perfection. • Not taking back assignments - unless you have to. • Stating when progress will be checked.
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He is standing on a pencil. The flower is in the glass. You can get into the house through this door. The cat is drinking from a bowl. Another very common preposition is "to." There are hundreds of different prepositions and prepositional phrases. To learn them all will take years of practice. The best way to learn them well is by reading books, magazines, and newspapers. Listening to the radio helps as well. You can also learn about prepositions in class from a teacher, but it's important to realize that it requires a lot of practice and memorization. Some common prepositions are listed below in alphabetical order. I'll add more as I think of them. about: They read about the car accident in the newspaper. across: We walked across the street to get a slice of pizza. across from: Across the street from the park is a hospital. after: Tom and Sue had some ice cream after dinner. against: She was so tired that she had to lean against the wall. along: I noticed a lot of garbage along the side of the highway. at: He needs to be at work in the afternoon. before: Tom and Sue bought popcorn before the movie. behind: What's behind the door? beneath: Get beneath the covers and keep warm tonight. beside: I put the shovel beside the fence. between: B comes between A and C. by: You should try to be here by 10:00. down: Let's walk down the street and get some gyros. for: They work for a big company. from: Ali moved to Minnesota from Somalia. in: Now he lives in Minnesota. in back of: John parked his car in back of the store. in front of: The sign in front of the store told him to park in back. into: When we walked into the classroom, we met the teacher. inside: Is there any food inside the refrigerator? near: Jorge lives near the place where he works, so he walks to work. of: There are plenty of apples for everybody to have one. off: She got off the bus at the corner. on: Look on the table and you'll see the books. onto: They walked onto the airplane and sat down. out: A cat fell out the window, but he survived the fall. outside: The teachers are talking together outside the classroom. through: Running through a waterfall is refreshing. to: Did you go to the store yet? with: Who did you go to movies with? or....With whom did you go to the movies? Click here for more examples of prepositions .
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http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | How often do we hear politicians, labor bosses, business leaders and other Americans expressing concern about the nation's children and their children? I generally dismiss such concern as disgusting hypocrisy because their actions don't begin to match their words. If people really cared about the well-being of future generations, what kind of behavior might we expect? To answer, let's use a simple example that can be made as complex as we want it to be. Pretend there are two farmers who express concern about future prosperity of their children. How might we test their sincerity? Let's say that as winter arrives, both Farmer A and Farmer B have 50 pounds of corn seed. Farmer A uses 40 out his 50 pounds to make popcorn to consume over the winter, leaving him with 10 pounds of seed for spring planting. Farmer B uses only 10 of his 50 pounds for winter popcorn, leaving him with 40 pounds for spring planting. It's a no-brainer to conclude that Farmer B is more serious about the future; he is more willing to make greater sacrifices of current consumption. He has a much higher saving and investment rate. The nation's gross domestic product (GDP) stands at $10 trillion. The federal government consumes one-fifth, or $2 trillion, of it. State and local governments consume about $1.5 trillion. Some government spending does benefit future generations, such as those spent for national defense, highway construction and public health. Most government spending is for current consumption. The major items are Social Security ($460 billion) and Medicare ($226 billion). Plus, there's pressure for increased current consumption in the form of a massive prescription drug program for senior citizens. What's the impact of government spending on future generations? More government spending means higher taxes. In turn, higher taxes means less money left in the private sector to be used in many ways, including investment. Less investment means that we bequeath fewer resources to future generations. As a result, future generations will have less wealth. It's easy for people to feign concern for future generations and at the same time rip them off. Why? Future generations have no representation in Congress, and today's young people who'll face the 2030s Social Security disaster have very little. It's a matter of political expediency. Imagine the fate of a congressman who says, out of concern for future generations, "I refuse to vote for a massive prescription drug handout for senior citizens." He'll get no support from the beneficiaries of his actions because future generations don't vote and young people don't vote very much. Selfish senior citizens, who vote in large numbers, will trounce him. Plus, what congressman or senior citizen has a stake in what's going to happen in 2030 or 2050? They'll all be dead. I'm one of today's senior citizens, and what I can't figure out is where the notion came from that just because one is 65 years old one is entitled to use the coercive powers of government to live at the expense of younger people. It surely wasn't a value instilled by our parents. You say, "Williams, today's seniors are part of the great generation that won World War II, and we owe them something." Yes, they did save the nation from the evil forces of Nazism, but the nation's history is one of great generations since 1776. If anything, today's seniors might be called the nation's most morally corrupt generation, for they have made the greatest contribution toward undermining the founding principles of our nation as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.
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As sponsors of Rising Stars for the past 4 years, Pepsi Cola Jamaica will be hosting the latest campaign of promotions for the Rising Stars competition by creating a special edition label for their 20oz and 2 litre bottles of Pepsi which will feature the first Jamaican entertainer ever, 2007 Rising Stars winner, St. Ann born, Romain Virgo. When consumers purchase the soft drink with the Romain Virgo label, during the Pepsi's 2008 Rising Stars competition, they will have a chance to win prizes. Up until September, consumers will be able to text in a code found inside the bottle caps to Digicel to win prizes. Also, consumers who drop bottle labels into a box at any KFC island wide will have a chance to enter into the "Be A Star" Grand Prize, which includes a chance to share the stage with the Digicel Rising Stars finalists on live TV. During the promotions, consumers will have a chance to win cellular phones, free pepsis, tickets to the show, among other prizes. \nAs sponsors of Rising Stars for the past 4 years, Pepsi Cola Jamaica will be hosting the latest campaign of promotions for the Rising Stars competition by creating a special edition label for their 20oz and 2 litre bottles of Pepsi which will feature the first Jamaican entertainer ever, 2007 Rising Stars winner, St. Ann born, Romain Virgo.\n\nWhen consumers purchase the soft drink with the Romain Virgo label, during the Pepsi's 2008 Rising Stars competition, they will have a chance to win prizes. Up until September, consumers will be able to text in a code found inside the bottle caps to Digicel to win prizes. Also, consumers who drop bottle labels into a box at any KFC island wide will have a chance to enter into the \"Be A Star\" Grand Prize, which includes a chance to share the stage with the Digicel Rising Stars finalists on live TV.\n\nDuring the promotions, consumers will have a chance to win cellular phones, free pepsis, tickets to the show, among other prizes.
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Searching for the right substitute for toothpastes which is also loaded with fluoride, sulfates, and other such bacteria killers? If yes, then scientific research has some great news for you: A natural ingredient can do wonders to your oral health. This natural ingredient is the coconut oil, better known as magical oil that is full of “miracle” powers. What makes it unique is that it is not only useful to fight tooth decay, but is known as a killer that crushes the yeast, candida albicans from your mouth. This yeast is said to be dangerous, and can cause deadly infections. Though natural health professionals have been suggesting coconut oil since decades, there isenough of research that proves this natural tooth remedy well. Conducted in the Athlone Institute of Technology, some researchers from Ireland examined theafter-effects of digested and natural coconut oil on some common bacteria strains existing in the mouth. They came up with some amazing findings: The coconut oil could effectively reduce the majority of bacteria strains, and was also proven to be a good source to eliminate candida albicans from the mouth. Since this harmful yeast, candidaalbicans comesinto existence because of the intake of excessive sugar and processed foods, it is crucial to get a solid solution to get rid of this yeast. And yes, the coconut oil is proven to be the right solution to this. Also known as the Candida overgrowth, this candy disease or the Candida infection can be related with various symptoms such as chronic tiredness, digestive issues, and frequent yeast infections. Though patients suffering from the candy disease may know about its treatment already, they can also look forward to using coconut oil for the same. Keeping this in consideration, researchers have been highlighting the usefulness of coconut oil as the alternative for medicines related to dental treatments. In the report, scientists have reported that this natural oil can be one of the best alternatives to chemical dental products that include added fluoride and different sulfate chemicals. Now that you know about the potential contribution of using coconut oil as natural cure tovarious dental diseases, it is essential to ensure that you have purchased the right coconut oil. You have two choices, i.e. to buy high-quality, 100% organic coconut oil online, or from a reputable local store. Though the choice is yours, you need to make sure that you buy the right one. 1. Check the labeling of the coconut oil brand. Is it USDA certified? If yes, then this indicates that it is a reliable brand. 2. It should be cold-pressed, unrefined, and 100% organic. Many people are still not aware of the use of coconut oil as a dental treatment. However, there is still a lot to research on this interesting finding.
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Why would a harpsichordist with a burgeoning career playing pre-classical music begin performing on the modern piano? "I've always felt it was important as an artist to keep growing and changing," states Byron Schenkman, a cofounder of Seattle Baroque and chiefly known as a superb performer on the piano's precursors, the harpsichord and fortepiano. "I want to apply historical performance practice to a modern instrument." Schenkman recently retired from Seattle Baroque to intensify his focus on the piano, which is louder (due to heavier strings and hammers), tonally richer (thanks in part to a taut soundboard and overlapping strings), and much more touch-sensitive (owing to a complex, finely regulated series of levers). So I expected his new disc, Joseph Haydn: Six Sonatas and an Adagio (Centaur) to sound too heavy and leaden, yet Schenkman's touch remains true to Haydn's spirit: feathery, lithe, and delightfully precise. His CD-release recital includes pieces by Haydn, Beethoven, and Bartók. Another dazzling pianist, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, has temporarily departed from his usual trio/quartet format to embark on a brief solo tour in support of his new release, Solo (Blue Note). With the entire piano at his command, Rubalcaba burnishes a freely eclectic, often ebulliently festive style that draws on swing, gospel, and bop with the sharp corners and occasionally piquant dissonance of Bartók. Although superficially separated by genre and geography, the Cuban pianist—who now lives near Miami—shares Schenkman's attention to touch. Notes, chords, and rippling, bravura runs blast or purr or shy away into silence, as if to chase and capture a unique dynamic for every note on the keyboard.
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While some earlier research suggests that moderate alcohol consumption could have a beneficial effect against stroke, a new Chinese population study has emerged, and it contradicts these results. It is well-known that drinking alcohol affects our health in different ways, researchers continue to debate on the frequency and amount of alcohol drinking, and the positive and negative effects this has on our health. Some studies, like the one published in the journal BMC Medicine in 2016 have speculated that moderate consumption of alcohol might have a beneficial effect on strokes. On the other hand, some researchers have disputed these claims and went about doing their own research on this topic. A new study was conducted in collaboration between research teams from Oxford University, in the United Kingdom, and Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Peking Union Medical College, in Beijing, China, and their results suggest that not only does moderate alcohol consumption has no positive effect on cardiovascular diseases – it might even increase such risks. The results of this collaborative study were published in the journal The Lancet, and were derived from analyzing data from over 500,000 people residing in China. Why were East Asians chosen for this study? This study targeted the Chinese population because of their reaction to alcohol, otherwise known as “Asian flushing syndrome,” which is characterized by a reddish color on their face, accompanied by a certain glow when they drink alcohol. Researchers of the study explained this phenomenon, and said that it happens because when people that are affected by this syndrome consume alcohol, their specific genetic composition makes it difficult for their bodies to properly break down certain alcohol components, which leads to said flushing and glow. "The major clearance pathway for blood alcohol is that an alcohol dehydrogenase [...] oxidizes it to acetaldehyde, which causes discomfort at sufficient concentrations," researchers said. They went on explaining that, “An aldehyde dehydrogenase [...] then detoxifies the acetaldehyde, oxidizing it to acetate, which does not cause discomfort. Fast clearance of alcohol or, particularly, slow breakdown of acetaldehyde can cause individuals to limit alcohol intake." Opposed to this, people of European and African ancestry’s bodies have an easier time breaking down acetaldehyde "quickly enough to maintain tolerably low concentrations in drinkers." For people with East Asian descent, this is not possible due to the presence of a variant of the ALDH2 gene named rs671, which prevents this. There is also another variant of the ADH1B gene, called rs 1229984, and since this variance is also found commonly in people of East Asian descent, it also increases their alcohol tolerance, as it boosts their blood alcohol clearance rates. For the duration of this study, researchers analyzed data gathered from 512,715 Chinese adult individuals that were enrolled in the China Kadoorie Biobank initiative, and the first thing they did was to find out if the rs671 or rs1229984 genetic variants were present in these people. Another useful aspect of the China Kadoorie Biobank project participation is that people involved also gave information for their drinking habits, in addition to providing health data during the follow-up period of 10 years. With the help of this data, the researchers involved in this study tried to find the connection between alcohol consumption and stroke risk. "Using genetics is a novel way to assess the health effects of alcohol and to sort out whether moderate drinking really is protective or whether it's slightly harmful," said senior epidemiologist and lecturer Iona Millwood, a co-leader the study. "Our genetic analyses have helped us understand the cause and effect relationships," she added. In the study paper, researchers wrote, "In our population, men drink more than 20 times as much as women, so these two [genetic] variants have large absolute effects on alcohol intake only among men." As far as women were concerned, only 2% of participants reported drinking alcohol on a weekly basis, and even when they did, they drank less than men did. Therefore, women were considered to be a viable control group for the purpose of this study. When researchers took a look at the male data, they discovered that those which had both of the genetic variants, and a smaller alcohol consumption, had a smaller risk of high blood pressure and stroke. After researcher compared the data, they reached the conclusion that even moderate alcohol consumption can lead to increased risk of ischemic stroke by up to 35% for every four alcoholic drinks per day, or 280 milliliters of alcohol per week. "There are no protective effects of moderate alcohol intake against stroke," noted co-senior author Prof. Zhengming Chen. "Even moderate alcohol consumption increases the chances of having a stroke," he added. Prof. Chen also noted, "The findings for heart attack were less clear-cut, so we plan to collect more evidence." However, researchers admit they weren’t able to reproduce this study with participants of European descent, simply because this type of population doesn’t have these two genetic variants. With that being said, they stand firm on their opinion that the results of the study apply to all kinds of populations. "Stroke is a major cause of death and disability," notes Prof. Liming Li, a co-senior author, further adding: "This large, collaborative study has shown that stroke rates are increased by alcohol. This should help inform personal choices and public health strategies."
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Dear Tony: Our strata corporation had a vote at a special general meeting to approve a $100,000 levy to redecorate our two lobbies. Our strata is two buildings and 167 units in total. When the vote was taken, the chairman declared that the vote had passed and the meeting was terminated. Several owners asked for a secret ballot and requested an exact count, but the chairman refused to permit the secret ballot or take an exact count. Many owners are now challenging the details of the meeting and want to know if we can have this vote again. We barely made a quorum, with 61 units present, and have been advised that we can petition for a meeting to vote on this again. Could you please explain the procedures? Dear Dave: If a strata corporation passes a three-quarter-vote resolution where less than 50 per cent of the owners vote in favour of the resolution, people who hold at least 25 per cent of the votes may, by written demand, require the strata to hold another general meeting within four weeks and re-vote on the resolution. In your strata, there are 167 units and, even without an exact count of the votes, with only 61 units present, it is obvious that less than 50 per cent of the owners voted in favour of the resolution, opening the door for a reconsideration. Twenty-five per cent, or 42 of your owners, could sign to demand another meeting to vote again. Under a reconsideration of a three-quarter vote, the demand must be made within one week of the first meeting, so it is important to have an exact count reported at the meeting or at least a report of the quorum present to calculate the requirements. This is not a vote to defeat the previous vote, it is a new vote and if it does not get three-quarters in favour it is defeated. If the one-week period has passed, another option is to petition, by 20 per cent of the strata votes, for a special general meeting and have a three-quarter-vote resolution to defeat the previous resolution. This is not a reconsideration of the vote. However, the strata corporation may, by three-quarter vote, consider cancelling the previous resolution. Whether an exact count or secret ballot is required, if requested by an owner, is determined in the bylaws of each strata. The Standard Bylaws require a secret ballot if only one eligible voter requests a secret ballot. If an exact count is requested, the count must be announced by the chair and recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Unfortunately, there are many strata corporations that have removed these provisions when they adopted new bylaw amendments, which may have left the control of the meeting entirely in the hands of the chairperson. To verify what bylaws apply, print the filed bylaws in the Land Title Registry and compare which are in effect, which have been repealed and whether any of the Standard Bylaws have been repealed or amended. Dave’s strata has retained the Standard Bylaw 27, which requires a secret ballot and exact count if requested. With the Civil Resolution Tribunal on the horizon, strata corporations are going to experience much more scrutiny over their compliance with the Act, regulations and bylaws.
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The Palm Restaurant is the oldest familyy-owned white tablecloth restaurant to expand across the United States and still maintain family ownership. Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi's original New York City Steakhouse on 2nd Avenue has grown into a thriving empire of over 25 restaurants spanning the continent from Boston to Los Angeles. I can't think of one bad thing to say about the Palm. Ever since the first time I walked in there, I felt like family. The service is always wonderful and a manager checks on your table every time you eat there. Their food is great and the people are even better. I would definitely recommend you try it!
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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_radiator - any device that is deliberately designed to produce radio waves.Radio transmitters of all kinds, including the garage door opener, cordless telephone, cellular phone, wireless video sender, wireless microphone, and many others fall into this category.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_communication - or sometimes simply wireless, is the transfer of information or power between two or more points that are not connected by an electrical conductor. The most common wireless technologies use radio waves. With radio waves distances can be short, such as a few meters for Bluetooth or as far as millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications. It encompasses various types of fixed, mobile, and portable applications, including two-way radios, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wireless networking. Other examples of applications of radio wireless technology include GPS units, garage door openers, wireless computer mice, keyboards and headsets, headphones, radio receivers, satellite television, broadcast television and cordless telephones.\nSomewhat less common methods of achieving wireless communications include the use of other electromagnetic wireless technologies, such as light, magnetic, ...used from about 1890 for the first radio transmitting and receiving technology, as in wireless telegraphy, until the new word radio replaced it around 1920. The term was revived in the 1980s and 1990s mainly to distinguish digital devices that communicate without wires, such as the examples listed in the previous paragraph, from those that require wires or cables. This became its primary usage in the 2000s, due to the advent of technologies such as LTE, LTE-Advanced, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.\nWireless operations permit services, such as long-range communications, that are impossible or impractical to implement with the use of wires. The term is commonly used in the telecommunications industry to refer to telecommunications systems (e.g. radio transmitters and receivers, remote controls, etc.) which use some form of energy (e.g. radio waves, acoustic energy,) to transfer information without the use of wires. Information is transferred in this manner over both short and long distances.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_telegraphy - the transmission of telegraphy signals from one point to another by means of an electromagnetic, electrostatic or magnetic field, or by electrical current through the earth or water. The term is used synonymously for radio communication systems, also called radiotelegraphy, which transmit telegraph signals by radio waves. When the term originated in the late 19th century it also applied to other types of experimental wireless telegraph communication technologies, such as conduction and induction telegraphy. Radio telegraphy often used manually-sent Morse code; radioteletype (RTTY) always uses mechanically generated and recorded characters.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_agility - the ability of a radar system to quickly shift its operating frequency to account for atmospheric effects, jamming, mutual interference with friendly sources, or to make it more difficult to locate the radar broadcaster through radio direction finding. The term can also be applied to other fields, including lasers or traditional radio transceivers using frequency-division multiplexing, but it remains most closely associated with the radar field and these other roles generally use the more generic term \"frequency hopping\".\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmitter - an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating current, the antenna radiates radio waves.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_budget - accounting of all of the gains and losses from the transmitter, through the medium (free space, cable, waveguide, fiber, etc.) to the receiver in a telecommunication system. It accounts for the attenuation of the transmitted signal due to propagation, as well as the antenna gains, feedline and miscellaneous losses. Randomly varying channel gains such as fading are taken into account by adding some margin depending on the anticipated severity of its effects. The amount of margin required can be reduced by the use of mitigating techniques such as antenna diversity or frequency hopping.\nA simple link budget equation looks like this: Received Power (dB) = Transmitted Power (dB) + Gains (dB) − Losses (dB). Note that decibels are logarithmic measurements, so adding decibels is equivalent to multiplying the actual numeric ratios.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QRP_operation - refers to transmitting at reduced power while attempting to maximize one's effective range. The term QRP derives from the standard Q code used in radio communications, where \"QRP\" and \"QRP?\" are used to request, \"Reduce power\", and ask \"Should I reduce power?\" respectively. The opposite of QRP is QRO, or high-power operation.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RF_power_amplifier - a type of electronic amplifier that converts a low-power radio-frequency signal into a higher power signal. Typically, RF power amplifiers drive the antenna of a transmitter. Design goals often include gain, power output, bandwidth, power efficiency, linearity (low signal compression at rated output), input and output impedance matching, and heat dissipation.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_receiver - an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna. The antenna intercepts radio waves (electromagnetic waves) and converts them to tiny alternating currents which are applied to the receiver, and the receiver extracts the desired information. The receiver uses electronic filters to separate the desired radio frequency signal from all the other signals picked up by the antenna, an electronic amplifier to increase the power of the signal for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through demodulation.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_receiver_design - includes the electronic design of different components of a radio receiver which processes the radio frequency signal from an antenna in order to produce usable information such as audio. The complexity of a modern receiver and the possible range of circuitry and methods employed are more generally covered in electronics and communications engineering. The term radio receiver is understood in this article to mean any device which is intended to receive a radio signal in order to generate useful information from the signal, most notably a recreation of the so-called baseband signal (such as audio) which modulated the radio signal at the time of transmission in a communications or broadcast system.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_circuit - an amplifier circuit that employs positive feedback (also known as regeneration or reaction). Some of the output of the amplifying device is applied back to its input so as to add to the input signal, increasing the amplification. One example is the Schmitt trigger (which is also known as a regenerative comparator), but the most common use of the term is in RF amplifiers, and especially regenerative receivers, to greatly increase the gain of a single amplifier stage.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuned_radio_frequency_receiver - or TRF receiver, is a type of radio receiver that is composed of one or more tuned radio frequency (RF) amplifier stages followed by a detector (demodulator) circuit to extract the audio signal and usually an audio frequency amplifier. This type of receiver was popular in the 1920s. Early examples could be tedious to operate because when tuning in a station each stage had to be individually adjusted to the station's frequency, but later models had ganged tuning, the tuning mechanisms of all stages being linked together, and operated by just one control knob. By the mid 1930s, it was replaced by the superheterodyne receiver patented by Edwin Armstrong.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex_receiver - occasionally called a reflectional receiver, is a radio receiver design in which the same amplifier is used to amplify the high-frequency radio signal (RF) and low-frequency audio (sound) signal (AF). It was first invented in 1914 by German scientists Wilhelm Schloemilch and Otto von Bronk, and rediscovered and extended to multiple tubes in 1917 by Marius Latour and William H. Priess. The radio signal from the antenna and tuned circuit passes through an amplifier, is demodulated in a detector which extracts the audio signal from the radio carrier, and the resulting audio signal passes again through the same amplifier for audio amplification before being applied to the earphone or loudspeaker. The reason for using the amplifier for \"double duty\" was to reduce the number of active devices, vacuum tubes or transistors, required in the circuit, to reduce the cost. The economical reflex circuit was used in inexpensive vacuum tube radios in the 1920s, and was revived again in simple portable tube radios in the 1930s.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver - often shortened to superhet, is a type of radio receiver that uses frequency mixing to convert a received signal to a fixed intermediate frequency (IF) which can be more conveniently processed than the original carrier frequency. It was invented by US engineer Edwin Armstrong in 1918 during World War I. Virtually all modern radio receivers use the superheterodyne principle.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_mixer - a nonlinear electrical circuit that creates new frequencies from two signals applied to it. In its most common application, two signals are applied to a mixer, and it produces new signals at the sum and difference of the original frequencies. Other frequency components may also be produced in a practical frequency mixer.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodyne - a signal processing technique invented by Canadian inventor-engineer Reginald Fessenden that creates new frequencies by combining or mixing two frequencies. Heterodyning is used to shift one frequency range into another, new one, and is also involved in the processes of modulation and demodulation. The two frequencies are combined in a nonlinear signal-processing device such as a vacuum tube, transistor, or diode, usually called a mixer.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_frequency - a frequency to which a carrier wave is shifted as an intermediate step in transmission or reception. The intermediate frequency is created by mixing the carrier signal with a local oscillator signal in a process called heterodyning, resulting in a signal at the difference or beat frequency. Intermediate frequencies are used in superheterodyne radio receivers, in which an incoming signal is shifted to an IF for amplification before final detection is done.Conversion to an intermediate frequency is useful for several reasons. When several stages of filters are used, they can all be set to a fixed frequency, which makes them easier to build anreflectional receiverd to tune. Lower frequency transistors generally have higher gains so fewer stages are required. It's easier to make sharply selective filters at lower fixed frequencies.There may be several such stages of intermediate frequency in a superheterodyne receiver; two or three stages are called double (alternatively, dual) or triple conversion, respectively.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-conversion_receiver - also known as homodyne, synchrodyne, or zero-IF receiver, is a radio receiver design that demodulates the incoming radio signal using synchronous detection driven by a local oscillator whose frequency is identical to, or very close to the carrier frequency of the intended signal. This is in contrast to the standard superheterodyne receiver where this is accomplished only after an initial conversion to an intermediate frequency. The simplification of performing only a single frequency conversion reduces the basic circuit complexity but other issues arise, for instance, regarding dynamic range and image rejection. In its original form it was unsuited to receiving AM and FM signals without implementing an elaborate phase locked loop. Although these and other technical challenges made this technique rather impractical around the time of its invention (1930's), current technology, and software radio in particular, have revived its use in certain areas including some consumer products.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duplex_(telecommunications) - a point-to-point system composed of two or more connected parties or devices that can communicate with one another in both directions. Duplex systems are employed in many communications networks, either to allow for simultaneous communication in both directions between two connected parties or to provide a reverse path for the monitoring and remote adjustment of equipment in the field. There are two types of duplex communication systems: full-duplex (FDX) and half-duplex (HDX).\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_calling - used to address a subset of all two-way radios on a single radio frequency channel. Where more than one user is on the same channel, (co-channel users,) selective calling can address a subset of all receivers or can direct a call to a single radio. Selective calling features fit into two major categories — individual calling and group calling. Individual calls generally have longer time-constants: it takes more air-time to call an individual radio unit than to call a large group of radios.Selective calling is akin to the use of a lock on a door. A radio with carrier squelch is unlocked and will let any signal in. Selective calling locks out all signals except ones with the correct \"key\", in this case a specific digital code. Selective calling systems can overlap; a radio may have (group call) and DTMF individual calling.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_sign - also known as a call name' or call letters, historically as a call signal, or abbreviated as a call, is a unique designation for a transmitter station. In North America, they are used for all FCC-licensed transmitters. A call sign can be formally assigned by a government agency, informally adopted by individuals or organizations, or even cryptographically encoded to disguise a station's identity. The use of call signs as unique identifiers dates to the landline railroad telegraph system. Because there was only one telegraph line linking all railroad stations, there needed to be a way to address each one when sending a telegram. In order to save time, two-letter identifiers were adopted for this purpose. This pattern continued in radiotelegraph operation; radio companies initially assigned two-letter identifiers to coastal stations and stations aboard ships at sea. These were not globally unique, so a one-letter company identifier (for instance, 'M' and two letters as a Marconi station) was later added. By 1912, the need to quickly identify stations operated by multiple companies in multiple nations required an international standard; an ITU prefix would be used to identify a country, and the rest of the call sign an individual station in that country.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_spectrum - the part of the electromagnetic spectrum from 3 Hz to 3000 GHz (3 THz). Electromagnetic waves in this frequency range, called radio waves, are extremely widely used in modern technology, particularly in telecommunication. To prevent interference between different users, the generation and transmission of radio waves is strictly regulated by national laws, coordinated by an international body, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).\nDifferent parts of the radio spectrum are appointed by the ITU for different radio transmission technologies and applications; some 40 radiocommunication services are defined in the ITU's Radio Regulations (RR). In some cases, parts of the radio spectrum are sold or licensed to operators of private radio transmission services (for example, cellular telephone operators or broadcast television stations). Ranges of allocated frequencies are often referred to by their provisioned use (for example, cellular spectrum or television spectrum).\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_low_frequency - electromagnetic radiation (radio waves) with frequencies from 3 to 30 Hz, and corresponding wavelengths of 100,000 to 10,000 kilometers, respectively. In atmospheric science, an alternative definition is usually given, from 3 Hz to 3 kHz. In the related magnetosphere science, the lower frequency electromagnetic oscillations (pulsations occurring below ~3 Hz) are considered to lie in the ULF range, which is thus also defined differently from the ITU radio bands.\nELF radio waves are generated by lightning and natural disturbances in Earth's magnetic field, so they are a subject of research by atmospheric scientists. Because of the difficulty of building antennas that can radiate such long waves, ELF frequencies have been used in only a very few human-made communication systems. ELF waves can penetrate seawater, which makes them useful in communication with submarines. The US, Russia, and India are the only nations known to have constructed ELF communication facilities. The U.S. facilities were used between 1985 and 2004 but are now decommissioned. ELF waves can also penetrate significant distances into earth or rock, and \"through-the-earth\" underground mine communication systems use frequencies of 300 to 3000 Hz. The frequency of alternating current flowing in electric power grids, 50 or 60 Hz, also falls within the ELF band, making power grids an unintentional source of ELF radiation.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_low_frequency - frequency range between 30 hertz and 300 hertz. They have corresponding wavelengths of 10,000 to 1,000 kilometers. This frequency range includes the frequencies of AC power grids (50 hertz and 60 hertz). Another conflicting designation which includes this frequency range is Extremely Low Frequency (ELF), which in some contexts refers to all frequencies up to 300 hertz.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_low_frequency - frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 hertz and 3 kilohertz. In magnetosphere science and seismology, alternative definitions are usually given, including ranges from 1 mHz to 100 Hz, 1 mHz to 1 Hz, 10 mHz to 10 Hz. Frequencies above 3 Hz in atmosphere science are usually assigned to the ELF range.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_frequency - LF is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 30 kHz–300 kHz. As its wavelengths range from ten kilometres to one kilometre, respectively, it is also known as the kilometre band or kilometre wave. LF radio waves exhibit low signal attenuation, making them suitable for long-distance communications. In Europe and areas of Northern Africa and Asia, part of the LF spectrum is used for AM broadcasting as the \"longwave\" band. In the western hemisphere, its main use is for aircraft beacon, navigation (LORAN), information, and weather systems. A number of time signal broadcasts are also broadcast in this band.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longwave - also written as long wave (in British and American parlance) or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with relatively long wavelengths. The term is an historic one, dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum was considered to consist of long (LW), medium (MW) and short (SW) radio wavelengths. Most modern radio systems and devices use wavelengths which would then have been considered 'ultra-short'.\nIn contemporary usage, the term longwave is not defined precisely, and its meaning varies across the world. Most commonly, it refers to radio wavelengths longer than 1000 metres; frequencies less than 300 kilohertz (kHz), including the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU's) low frequency (LF) (30–300 kHz) and very low frequency (VLF) (3–30 kHz) bands. Sometimes, part of the medium frequency (MF) band (300–3000 kHz) is included.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_wave - the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz, using channels spaced every 9 kHz, and in North America an extended MW broadcast band goes from 535 kHz to 1705 kHz, using 10 kHz spaced channels.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortwave_radio - radio transmission using shortwave frequencies, generally 1.6–30 MHz (187.4–10.0 m), just above the medium wave AM broadcast band.\nRadio waves in this band can be reflected or refracted from a layer of electrically charged atoms in the atmosphere called the ionosphere. Therefore short waves directed at an angle into the sky can be reflected back to Earth at great distances, beyond the horizon. This is called skywave or skip propagation. Thus shortwave radio can be used for very long distance communication, in contrast to radio waves of higher frequency which travel in straight lines (line-of-sight propagation) and are limited by the visual horizon, about 40 miles. Shortwave radio is used for broadcasting of voice and music to shortwave listeners over very large areas; sometimes entire continents or beyond. It is also used for military over-the-horizon radar, diplomatic communication, and two-way international communication by amateur radio enthusiasts for hobby, educational and emergency purposes.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave - with wavelengths ranging from one meter to one millimeter; with frequencies between 300 MHz (100 cm) and 300 GHz (0.1 cm). This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF (millimeter waves), and various sources use different boundaries. In all cases, microwave includes the entire SHF band (3 to 30 GHz, or 10 to 1 cm) at minimum, with RF engineering often restricting the range between 1 and 100 GHz (300 and 3 mm).\nThe prefix micro- in microwave is not meant to suggest a wavelength in the micrometer range. It indicates that microwaves are \"small\", compared to waves used in typical radio broadcasting, in that they have shorter wavelengths. The boundaries between far infrared, terahertz radiation, microwaves, and ultra-high-frequency radio waves are fairly arbitrary and are used variously between different fields of study.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_high_frequency - EHF, from 30 to 300 gigahertz. It lies between the super high frequency band, and the far infrared band which is also referred to as the terahertz gap. Radio waves in this band have wavelengths from ten to one millimetre, giving it the name millimetre band or millimetre wave, sometimes abbreviated MMW or mmW. Millimetre-length electromagnetic waves were first investigated in the 1890s by Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terahertz_radiation - also known as submillimeter radiation, terahertz waves, tremendously high frequency, T-rays, T-waves, T-light, T-lux or THz – consists of electromagnetic waves within the ITU-designated band of frequencies from 0.3 to 3 terahertz (THz; 1 THz = 1012 Hz). Wavelengths of radiation in the terahertz band correspondingly range from 1 mm to 0.1 mm (or 100 μm). Because terahertz radiation begins at a wavelength of one millimeter and proceeds into shorter wavelengths, it is sometimes known as the submillimeter band, and its radiation as submillimeter waves, especially in astronomy.\nTerahertz radiation occupies a middle ground between microwaves and infrared light waves known as the terahertz gap, where technology for its generation and manipulation is in its infancy. It represents the region in the electromagnetic spectrum where the frequency of electromagnetic radiation becomes too high to be measured digitally via electronic counters, so must be measured by proxy using the properties of wavelength and energy. Similarly, the generation and modulation of coherent electromagnetic signals in this frequency range ceases to be possible by the conventional electronic devices used to generate radio waves and microwaves, requiring the development of new devices and techniques. Photon energy in THz regime is less than band-gap of nonmetallic materials and thus THz beam can traverse through such materials. The transmitted THz beam is used for material characterization, layer inspection and developing transmission images.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terahertz_gap - an engineering term for a band of frequencies in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum between radio waves and infrared light for which practical technologies for generating and detecting the radiation do not exist. It is defined as 0.1 to 10 THz (wavelengths of 3 mm to 30 µm). Currently, at frequencies within this range, useful power generation and receiver technologies are inefficient and impractical.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_infrared - often defined as any radiation with a wavelength of 15 micrometers (µm) to 1 mm (corresponding to a range of about 20 THz to 300 GHz), which places far infrared radiation within the CIE IR-B and IR-C bands. Different sources use different boundaries for the far infrared spectrum; for example, astronomers sometimes define far infrared as wavelengths between 25 µm and 350 µm. Visible light includes radiation with wavelengths between 400 nm and 700 nm, meaning that far infrared photons have less energy than visible light photons.\nA.T.V - probably the most extensive aerials site on the Internet and in 2017 we had 370,000 visitors with 810,000 page hits. In fact even “the trade” use this site. Actually, even we use it if we want to check up on anything to do with aerials !\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenna_feed - refers to several slightly different parts of an antenna system: The antenna feed is the wire or cabling (transmission line) that connects between the antenna and the radio, specifically called the feed line; The antenna feed is the location on the antenna where the feedline from the receiver or transmitter connects or attaches; The antenna feed is the matching system at the attachment point that converts the feedline impedance to the antenna’s intrinsic impedance, and makes any balanced-to-unbalanced conversion (if necessary).\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed_horn - In parabolic antennas such as satellite dishes, a feed horn (or feedhorn) is a small horn antenna used to convey radio waves between the transmitter and/or receiver and the parabolic reflector. In transmitting antennas, it is connected to the transmitter and converts the radio frequency alternating current from the transmitter to radio waves and feeds them to the rest of the antenna, which focuses them into a beam. In receiving antennas, incoming radio waves are gathered and focused by the antenna's reflector on the feed horn, which converts them to a tiny radio frequency voltage which is amplified by the receiver. Feed horns are used mainly at microwave (SHF) and higher frequencies.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirose_U.FL - a miniature RF connector for high-frequency signals up to 6 GHz manufactured by Hirose Electric Group and others.U.FL connectors are commonly used in applications where space is of critical concern, most often Mini PCI cards for laptop computers. U.FL connectors are commonly used inside laptops and embedded systems to connect the Wi-Fi antenna to a Mini PCI card. Another common use is connecting GPS antennas.\nAmateur Radio Stack Exchange: antenna - What makes a 5/8 wavelength vertical desirable?\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_antenna - or microwave horn is an antenna that consists of a flaring metal waveguide shaped like a horn to direct radio waves in a beam. Horns are widely used as antennas at UHF and microwave frequencies, above 300 MHz. They are used as feed antennas (called feed horns) for larger antenna structures such as parabolic antennas, as standard calibration antennas to measure the gain of other antennas, and as directive antennas for such devices as radar guns, automatic door openers, and microwave radiometers. Their advantages are moderate directivity, low standing wave ratio (SWR), broad bandwidth, and simple construction and adjustment.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagi–Uda_antenna - ommonly known as a Yagi antenna, is a directional antenna consisting of multiple parallel elements in a line, usually half-wave dipoles made of metal rods. Yagi–Uda antennas consist of a single driven element connected to the transmitter or receiver with a transmission line, and additional \"parasitic elements\" which are not connected to the transmitter or receiver: a so-called reflector and one or more directors. It was invented in 1926 by Shintaro Uda of Tohoku Imperial University, Japan, and (with a lesser role played by his colleague) Hidetsugu Yagi. The reflector element is slightly longer than the driven dipole, whereas the directors are a little shorter. The parasitic elements absorb and reradiate the radio waves from the driven element with a different phase, modifying the dipole's radiation pattern. The waves from the multiple elements superpose and interfere to enhance radiation in a single direction, achieving a very substantial increase in the antenna's gain compared to a simple dipole.Also called a \"beam antenna\",or \"parasitic array\", the Yagi is very widely used as a high-gain antenna on the HF, VHF and UHF bands. It has moderate to high gain which depends on the number of elements used, typically limited to about 20 dBi, linear polarization, unidirectional (end-fire) beam pattern with high front-to-back ratio of up to 20 db. and is lightweight, inexpensive and simple to construct. The bandwidth of a Yagi antenna, the frequency range over which it has high gain, is narrow, a few percent of the center frequency, and decreases with increasing gain, so it is often used in fixed-frequency applications. The largest and best-known use is as rooftop terrestrial television antennas, but it is also used for point-to-point fixed communication links, in radar antennas, and for long distance shortwave communication by shortwave broadcasting stations and radio amateurs.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_antenna - a radio antenna consisting of a loop or coil of wire, tubing, or other electrical conductor usually fed by a balanced source or feeding a balanced load. Within this physical description there are two distinct antenna types. The large self-resonant loop antenna has a circumference close to one wavelength of the operating frequency and so is resonant at that frequency. This category also includes smaller loops 5% to 30% of a wavelength in circumference, which use a capacitor to make them resonant. These antennas are used for both transmission and reception. In contrast, small loop antennas less than 1% of a wavelength in size are very inefficient radiators, and so are only used for reception. An example is the ferrite (loopstick) antenna used in most AM broadcast radios. Loop antennas have a dipole radiation pattern; they are most sensitive to radio waves in two broad lobes in opposite directions, 180° apart. Due to this directional pattern they are used for radio direction finding (RDF), to locate the position of a transmitter.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_feeder - a communications system used in underground mining and other tunnel environments. Manufacturers and cabling professionals use the term \"radiating cable\" as this implies that the cable is designed to radiate: something that coaxial cable is not generally supposed to do.\nAM radio ranges from 535 to 1705 kilohertz, stations are possible every 10 kHz.\nSystem Bus Radio - Transmits AM radio on computers without radio transmitting hardware.\nFM radio ranges in a higher spectrum from 88 to 108 megahertz, stations are possible every 200 kHz.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-band_on-channel - a hybrid method of transmitting digital radio and analog radio broadcast signals simultaneously on the same frequency.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_broadcasting - DAB standard was initiated as a European research project in the 1980s. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) launched the first DAB channel in the world on 1 June 1995 (NRK Klassisk), and the BBC and Swedish Radio (SR) launched their first DAB digital radio broadcasts in September 1995. DAB receivers have been available in many countries since the end of the 1990s.\nAudio quality varies depending on the bitrate used and audio material. Most stations use a bit rate of 128 kbit/s or less with the MP2 audio codec, which requires 160 kbit/s to achieve perceived FM quality. 128 kbit/s gives better dynamic range or signal-to-noise ratio than FM radio, but a more smeared stereo image, and an upper cut-off frequency of 14 kHz, corresponding to 15 kHz of FM radio. However, \"CD quality\" sound with MP2 is possible \"with 256…192 kbps\".\nAn upgraded version of the system was released in February 2007, which is called DAB+. DAB is not forward compatible with DAB+, which means that DAB-only receivers are not able to receive DAB+ broadcasts. However, broadcasters can mix DAB and DAB+ programs inside the same transmission and so make a progressive transition to DAB+. DAB+ is approximately twice as efficient as DAB, and more robust.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_radio_service - Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, used by Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. XM and Sirius both operate in the 2.3-GHz S band, from 2320 to 2345 MHz.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Radio_Mondiale - DRM, a set of digital audio broadcasting technologies designed to work over the bands currently used for analogue radio broadcasting including AM broadcasting, particularly shortwave, and FM broadcasting. DRM is more spectrally efficient than AM and FM, allowing more stations, at higher quality, into a given amount of bandwidth, using various MPEG-4 audio coding formats.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAM-D - Compatible Amplitude Modulation - Digital or CAM-D is a hybrid digital radio format for AM broadcasting, proposed by broadcast engineer Leonard R. Kahn.The system is an in-band on-channel technology that uses the sidebands of any AM radio station. Analog information is still used up to a bandpass of about 7.5kHz, with standard amplitude modulation. The missing treble information that AM normally lacks is then transmitted digitally beyond this. Audio mixing in the receiver then blends them back together.\nUnlike other IBOC technologies like iBiquity's HD Radio, Kahn's apparently does not provide a direct path to all-digital transmissions, nor any multichannel capability. Its advantage, however, is that it takes up far less of the sidebands, thereby causing far less interference to adjacent channels, hence the \"Compatible\" in the name. Interference has affected HD Radio on AM, along with its (like CAM-D) proprietary nature.\nDigital Radio Mondiale, commonly used in shortwave broadcasting, can use less, the same, or more bandwidth as AM, to provide high quality audio. Digital Radio Mondiale requires digital detection circuitry not present in conventional AM radios to decode programming.Special CAM-D receivers provide the benefit of better frequency response and a slow auxiliary data channel for display of station ID, programming titles, etc.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunked_radio_system - two-way radio system that uses a control channel to automatically direct radio traffic. Two-way radio systems are either trunked or conventional, where conventional is manually directed by the radio user. Trunking is a more automated and complex radio system, but provides the benefits of less user intervention to operate the radio and greater spectral efficiency with large numbers of users. Instead of assigning, for example, a radio channel to one particular organization at a time, users are instead assigned to a logical grouping, a \"talkgroup\". When any user in that group wishes to converse with another user in the talkgroup, a vacant radio channel is found automatically by the system and the conversation takes place on that channel. Many unrelated conversations can occur on a channel, making use of the otherwise idle time between conversations. Each radio transceiver contains a microcomputer to control it. A control channel coordinates all the activity of the radios in the system. The control channel computer sends packets of data to enable one talkgroup to talk together, regardless of frequency.\nhttps://github.com/robotastic/trunk-recorder - Trunk Recorder is able to record the calls on trunked and conventional radio systems. It uses 1 or more Software Defined Radios (SDRs) to do this. The SDRs capture large swatches of RF and then use software to process what was received. GNURadio is used to do this processing because it provides lots of convenient RF blocks that can be pieced together to allow for complex RF processing. The libraries from the amazing OP25 project are used for a lot of the P25 functionality. Multiple radio systems can be recorded at the same time.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio - also called ham radio, describes the use of radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communication. The term \"amateur\" is used to specify \"a duly authorised person interested in radioelectric practice with a purely personal aim and without pecuniary interest;\" (either direct monetary or other similar reward) and to differentiate it from commercial broadcasting, public safety (such as police and fire), or professional two-way radio services (such as maritime, aviation, taxis, etc.).\nThe amateur radio service (amateur service and amateur-satellite service) is established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) through the International Telecommunication Regulations. National governments regulate technical and operational characteristics of transmissions and issue individual stations licenses with an identifying call sign. Prospective amateur operators are tested for their understanding of key concepts in electronics and the host government's radio regulations. Radio amateurs use a variety of voice, text, image, and data communications modes and have access to frequency allocations throughout the RF spectrum to enable communication across a city, region, country, continent, the world, or even into space.\nAmateur-radio-wiki - This site aims to enable ham operators and curious alike to document, share and explore the fantastic world of amateur radio.\nham-radio.com - site and it's hosted organizations offered as a free service to the Amateur Radio community.\nFldigi - a modem program for most of the digital modes used by radio amateurs today: CW, PSK, MFSK, RTTY, Hell, DominoEX, Olivia, and Throb are all supported. It can help calibrate a sound card to a time signal and do frequency measurement tests.\nFreeDV: Open Source Amateur Digital Voice – Where Amateur Radio Is Driving The State of the Art - a Digital Voice mode for HF radio. You can run FreeDV using a free GUI application for Windows, Linux and OSX that allows any SSB radio to be used for low bit rate digital voice. Alternatively you can buy a SM1000 FreeDV adaptor that allows you to run FreeDV on any HF radio without a PC or sound card. If you are a hardware or software developer, you can integrate FreeDV into your project using the LGPL licensed FreeDV API. Speech is compressed down to 700-1600 bit/s then modulated onto a 1.25 kHz wide signal comprised of 16 QPSK carriers which is sent to the Mic input of a SSB radio. The signal is received by an SSB radio, then demodulated and decoded by FreeDV. FreeDV 700C is approaching SSB in it’s low SNR performance. At high SNRs FreeDV 1600 sounds like FM, with no annoying analog HF radio noise. FreeDV was built by an international team of Radio Amateurs working together on coding, design, user interface and testing. FreeDV is open source software, released under the GNU Public License version 2.1. The modems and Codec 2 speech codec used in FreeDV are also open source.\nhttps://github.com/dh1tw/remoteAudio - a cross plattform audio streaming application, built for Amateur Radio purposes. The most typical use case for this software is the remote operation of an amateur radio station. remoteAudio is written in Go.\nHamWAN - a non-profit organization (501c3) developing best practices for high speed amateur radio data networks. HamWAN also runs the Puget Sound Data Ring, which is a real-world network implementation of the proposed designs.So far, HamWAN networks have been used for things like low-latency repeater linking, real-time video feeds from distant locations, serving APRS I-gates, providing redundant internet access to emergency operations centers, and more. Any licensed radio amateur in the service area can connect their shack directly to the network with just a small investment in equipment and no recurring cost. Since many traditional uses for Internet at home are not compatible with Part 97 rules, this won't replace your home Internet connection. However, it works and acts just like one.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_control - the use of radio signals to remotely control a device. Radio control is used for control of model vehicles from a hand-held radio transmitter. Industrial, military, and scientific research organizations make use of radio-controlled vehicles as well.\nOpenSesame is a device that can wirelessly open virtually any fixed-code garage door in seconds, exploiting a new attack I've discovered on wireless fixed-pin devices. Using a child's toy from Mattel.\nhttps://github.com/jontio/libaeroambe - an mini-m decoder library.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIS-SART - a self-contained radio device used to locate a survival craft or distressed vessel by sending updated position reports using a standard Automatic Identification System (AIS) class-A position report. The position and time synchronization of the AIS-SART are derived from a built in GNSS receiver (e.g. GPS). Shipboard Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) installations include one or more search and rescue locating devices. These devices may be either an AIS-SART (AIS Search and Rescue Transmitter) (from January 1, 2010), or a radar-SART (Search and Rescue Transponder).\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_link_establishment - commonly known as ALE, is the worldwide de facto standard for digitally initiating and sustaining HF radio communications. ALE is a feature in an HF communications radio transceiver system that enables the radio station to make contact, or initiate a circuit, between itself and another HF radio station or network of stations. The purpose is to provide a reliable rapid method of calling and connecting during constantly changing HF ionospheric propagation, reception interference, and shared spectrum use of busy or congested HF channels.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Packet_Reporting_System - an amateur radio-based system for real time digital communications of information of immediate value in the local area. Data can include object Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, weather station telemetry, text messages, announcements, queries, and other telemetry. APRS data can be displayed on a map, which can show stations, objects, tracks of moving objects, weather stations, search and rescue data, and direction finding data. In its most widely used form, APRS is transported over the AX.25 protocol using 1200 bit/s Bell 202 AFSK on frequencies located within the 2 meter amateur band.\naprs.fi map - The positions of the amateur radio operators and their vehicles are received from the APRS-IS network on the Internet. Most of them are originally transmitted on amateur radio frequencies (typically around 145 MHz), and received and forwarded to the APRS-IS by igate stations run by clubs and individuals around the world. The positions of ships are received from the AIS frequencies by receiving stations around the world. If you wish to receive AIS transmissions and provide them to the service, you're more than welcome to do so.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraph_key - a switching device used primarily to send Morse code. Similar keys are used for all forms of manual telegraphy, such as in ‘wire’ or electrical telegraph and ‘wireless’ or radio telegraphy.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_code a standardized collection of three-letter codes all of which start with the letter \"Q\". It is a brevity code initially developed for commercial radiotelegraph communication and later adopted by other radio services, especially amateur radio. To distinguish the use of \"Q\" codes transmitted as questions from those transmitted as statements, operators used the Morse question \"INT\" (dit dit dah dit dah) as a prefix to the \"Q\" code. Although Q codes were created when radio used Morse code exclusively, they continued to be employed after the introduction of voice transmissions. To avoid confusion, transmitter call signs are restricted; no country is ever issued an ITU prefix starting with \"Q\". Codes in the range QAA–QNZ are reserved for aeronautical use; QOA–QQZ for maritime use and QRA–QUZ for all services. \"Q\" has no official meaning, but it is sometimes assigned with a word with mnemonic value, such as \"Queen's\" (e.g. QFE = Queen's Field Elevation), \"Query\", \"Question\", or \"reQuest\".\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACARS - an acronym for aircraft communications addressing and reporting system) is a digital datalink system for transmission of short messages between aircraft and ground stations via airband radio or satellite. The protocol was designed by ARINC and deployed in 1978, using the Telex format. More ACARS radio stations were added subsequently by SITA.\nJAERO - a program that demodulates and decodes Classic Aero ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) messages sent from satellites to Aeroplanes (SatCom ACARS) commonly used when Aeroplanes are beyond VHF range. Demodulation is performed using the soundcard. Such signals are typically around 1.5Ghz and can be received with a simple low gain antenna that can be home brewed in a few hours in conjunction with a cheap RTL-SDR dongle.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSPR_(amateur_radio_software) - pronounced \"whisper\", stands for \"Weak Signal Propagation Reporter\". It is a protocol, implemented in a computer program, used for weak-signal radio communication between amateur radio operators. The protocol was designed, and a program written initially, by Joe Taylor, K1JT. Software is now open source and is developed by a small team. The program is designed for sending and receiving low-power transmissions to test propagation paths on the MF and HF bands.\nWSPR implements a protocol designed for probing potential propagation paths with low-power transmissions. Transmissions carry a station's callsign, Maidenhead grid locator, and transmitter power in dBm. The program can decode signals with S/N as low as −28 dB in a 2500 Hz bandwidth. Stations with internet access can automatically upload their reception reports to a central database called WSPRnet, which includes a mapping facility.\nWSPRnet - a group of amateur radio operators using K1JT's MEPT_JT digital mode to probe radio frequency propagation conditions using very low power (QRP/QRPp) transmissions. The software is open source, and the data collected are available to the public through this site.\nhttps://github.com/threeme3/WsprryPi - Makes a very simple WSPR beacon from your RasberryPi by connecting GPIO port to Antanna (and LPF), operates on LF, MF, HF and VHF bands from 0 to 250 MHz.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-rate_picture_transmission - LRPT, is a digital transmission system, intended to deliver images and data from an orbital weather satellite directly to end users via a VHF radio signal. It is used aboard polar-orbiting, near-Earth weather satellite programs such as MetOp and NPOESS.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Data_System - a communications protocol standard for embedding small amounts of digital information in conventional FM radio broadcasts. RDS standardizes several types of information transmitted, including time, station identification and program information.The standard began as a project of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), but has since become an international standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) is the official name used for the U.S. version of RDS. The two standards are only slightly different.Both carry data at 1,187.5 bits per second on a 57 kHz subcarrier, so there are exactly 48 cycles of subcarrier during every data bit. The RBDS/RDS subcarrier was set to the third harmonic of the 19 kHz FM stereo pilot tone to minimize interference and intermodulation between the data signal, the stereo pilot and the 38 kHz DSB-SC stereo difference signal. (The stereo difference signal extends up to 38 kHz + 15 kHz = 53 kHz, leaving 4 kHz for the lower sideband of the RDS signal.) The data is sent with error correction. RDS defines many features including how private (in-house) or other undefined features can be \"packaged\" in unused program groups.\nRDS Surveyor — Radio Data System decoder - a complete open-source tool for decoding and analyzing Radio Data System (RDS) data. RDS (also known as RBDS in North America) is a communication protocol for embedding streams of digital information in FM radio broadcasts.RDS Surveyor is Java-based, hence it runs on all platforms. It has been successfully used on Linux, MacOS and Windows.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiary_communications_authority - the United States, and Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation (SCMO) in Canada, is a subcarrier on a radio station, allowing the station to broadcast additional services as part of its signal.\nPhasor is a demo running on a custom minimalistic ATmega88-based demo platform that generates a composite video signal (PAL).\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_television - the transmission of broadcast quality video and audio over the wide range of frequencies of radio waves allocated for radio amateur (Ham) use. ATV is used for non-commercial experimentation, pleasure, and public service events. Ham TV stations were on the air in many cities before commercial television stations came on the air. Various transmission standards are used, these include the broadcast transmission standards of NTSC in North America and Japan, and PAL or SECAM elsewhere, utilizing the full refresh rates of those standards. ATV includes the study of building of such transmitters and receivers, and the study of radio propagation of signals travelling between transmitting and receiving stations. ATV is an extension of amateur radio. It is also called HAM TV or fast-scan TV (FSTV), as opposed to slow-scan television (SSTV). SSTV is a method of transmitting still images over radio, when it is not possible to send video.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow-scan_television - a picture transmission method used mainly by amateur radio operators, to transmit and receive static pictures via radio in monochrome or color. A literal term for SSTV is narrowband television. Analog broadcast television requires at least 6 MHz wide channels, because it transmits 25 or 30 picture frames per second (in the NTSC, PAL or SECAM color systems), but SSTV usually only takes up to a maximum of 3 kHz of bandwidth. It is a much slower method of still picture transmission, usually taking from about eight seconds to a couple of minutes, depending on the mode used, to transmit one image frame. Since SSTV systems operate on voice frequencies, amateurs use it on shortwave (also known as HF by amateur radio operators), VHF and UHF radio.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiofax - also known as weatherfax (portmanteau word from the words \"weather facsimile\") and HF fax (due to its common use on shortwave radio), is an analogue mode for transmitting monochrome images. It was the predecessor to slow-scan television (SSTV). Prior to the advent of the commercial telephone line \"fax\" machine, it was known, more traditionally, by the term \"radiofacsimile\". The cover of the regular NOAA publication on frequencies and schedules states \"Worldwide Marine Radiofacsimile Broadcast Schedules\".\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioteletype - a telecommunications system consisting originally of two or more electromechanical teleprinters in different locations connected by radio rather than a wired link. These machines were superseded by personal computers (PCs) running software to emulate teleprinters. Radioteletype evolved from earlier landline teleprinter operations that began in the mid-1800s. The US Navy Department successfully tested printing telegraphy between an airplane and ground radio station in 1922. Later that year, the Radio Corporation of America successfully tested printing telegraphy via their Chatham, Massachusetts, radio station to the R.M.S. Majestic. Commercial RTTY systems were in active service between San Francisco and Honolulu as early as April 1932 and between San Francisco and New York City by 1934. The US military used radioteletype in the 1930s and expanded this usage during World War II. From the 1980s, teleprinters were replaced by computers running teleprinter emulation software. The term radioteletype is used to describe both the original radioteletype system, sometimes described as \"Baudot\", as well as the entire family of systems connecting two or more teleprinters or PCs using software to emulate teleprinters, over radio, regardless of alphabet, link system or modulation.In some applications, notably military and government, radioteletype is known by the acronym RATT (Radio Automatic Teletype).\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_radio - a form of packet switching technology used to transmit digital data via wireless communications. Packet radio uses the same concepts of data transmission using datagrams that are fundamental to communications on the Internet, as opposed to older techniques used by dedicated or switched circuits. Packet radio can be used over long distances without the need for a physical connection between stations. Packet radio can also be used for mobile communications.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AX.25 - a data link layer protocol originally derived from layer 2 of the X.25 protocol suite and designed for use by amateur radio operators. It is used extensively on amateur packet radio networks.AX.25 v2.0 and later occupies the data link layer, the second layer of the OSI model. It is responsible for establishing link-layer connections, transferring data encapsulated in frames between nodes, and detecting errors introduced by the communications channel. As AX.25 is a pre-OSI-model protocol, the original specification was not written to cleanly separate into OSI layers. This was rectified with version 2.0 (1984), which assumes compliance with OSI level 2.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datacasting - the broadcasting of data over a wide area via radio waves. It most often refers to supplemental information sent by television stations along with digital television, but may also be applied to digital signals on analog TV or radio. It generally does not apply to data which is inherent to the medium, such as PSIP data which defines virtual channels for DTV or direct broadcast satellite systems; or to things like cable modem or satellite modem, which use a completely separate channel for data.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth - a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the ISM band from 2.400 to 2.485 GHz) from fixed and mobile devices, and building personal area networks (PANs). Invented by Dutch electrical engineer Jaap Haartsen, working for telecom vendor Ericsson in 1994, it was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS-232 data cables.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_Low_Energy - Bluetooth LE, colloquially BLE, formerly marketed as Bluetooth Smart) is a wireless personal area network technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) aimed at novel applications in the healthcare, fitness, beacons, security, and home entertainment industries. Compared to Classic Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy is intended to provide considerably reduced power consumption and cost while maintaining a similar communication range.Mobile operating systems including iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry, as well as macOS, Linux, Windows 8 and Windows 10, natively support Bluetooth Low Energy. The Bluetooth SIG predicts that by 2018 more than 90% of Bluetooth-enabled smartphones will support Bluetooth Low Energy.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_low_energy_beacon - hardware transmitters - a class of Bluetooth low energy (LE) devices that broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices. The technology enables smartphones, tablets and other devices to perform actions when in close proximity to a beacon. Bluetooth beacons use Bluetooth low energy proximity sensing to transmit a universally unique identifier picked up by a compatible app or operating system. The identifier and several bytes sent with it can be used to determine the device's physical location, track customers, or trigger a location-based action on the device such as a check-in on social media or a push notification.\nBluez - provides Linux support for the core Bluetooth layers and protocols. It is flexible, efficient and uses a modular implementation.\nhttps://linux.die.net/man/1/hcitool - used to configure Bluetooth connections and send some special command to Bluetooth devices. If no command is given, or if the option -h is used, hcitool prints some usage information and exits.\nhttps://github.com/greatscottgadgets/ubertooth/ - an open source wireless development platform suitable for Bluetooth experimentation. Ubertooth ships with a capable BLE (Bluetooth Smart) sniffer and can sniff some data from Basic Rate (BR) Bluetooth Classic connections.\nhttps://github.com/pwnieexpress/blue_hydra - a Bluetooth device discovery service built on top of the bluez library. BlueHydra makes use of ubertooth where available and attempts to track both classic and low energy (LE) bluetooth devices over time.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LoRa - a patented digital wireless data communication IoT technology developed by Cycleo of Grenoble, France, and acquired by Semtech in 2012. LoRa uses license-free sub-gigahertz radio frequency bands like 169 MHz, 433 MHz, 868 MHz (Europe) and 915 MHz (North America). LoRa enables very-long-range transmissions (more than 10 km in rural areas) with low power consumption. The technology is presented in two parts — LoRa, the physical layer and LoRaWAN, the upper layers.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1G - refers to the first generation of wireless cellular technology (mobile telecommunications). These are the analog telecommunications standards that were introduced in the 1980s and continued until being replaced by 2G digital telecommunications. The main difference between the two mobile cellular systems (1G and 2G), is that the radio signals used by 1G networks are analog, while 2G networks are digital.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2G - short for second-generation cellular technology. Second-generation 2G cellular networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Oyj) in 1991. Three primary benefits of 2G networks over their predecessors were that phone conversations were digitally encrypted; 2G systems were significantly more efficient on the spectrum allowing for far greater wireless penetration levels; and 2G introduced data services for mobile, starting with SMS text messages. 2G technologies enabled the various networks to provide the services such as text messages, picture messages, and MMS (multimedia messages). All text messages sent over 2G are digitally encrypted, allowing for the transfer of data in such a way that only the intended receiver can receive and read it.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Application_Protocol - a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network. A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol. Introduced with much hype in 1999, WAP achieved some popularity in the early 2000s, but by the 2010s it had been largely superseded by more modern standards. Most modern handset internet browsers now fully support HTML, so do not need to use WAP markup for webpage compatibility, and most of them are no longer able to render and display pages written in WAP.\nKannel - a compact and very powerful open source WAP and SMS gateway, used widely across the globe both for serving trillions of short messages (SMS), WAP Push service indications and mobile internet connectivity.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS - Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of most telephone, World Wide Web, and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols to enable mobile devices to exchange short text messages. An intermediary service can facilitate a text-to-voice conversion to be sent to landlines. SMS was the most widely used data application, with an estimated 3.5 billion active users, or about 80% of all mobile subscribers, at the end of 2010.\nSMS, as used on modern devices, originated from radio telegraphy in radio memo pagers that used standardized phone protocols. These were defined in 1985 as part of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) series of standards. The protocols allowed users to send and receive messages of up to 160 alpha-numeric characters to and from GSM mobiles. Although most SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages, support for the service has expanded to include other mobile technologies, such as ANSI CDMA networks and Digital AMPS. SMS is also employed in mobile marketing, a type of direct marketing.According to one market research report, as of 2014, the global SMS messaging business was estimated to be worth over $100 billion, accounting for almost 50 percent of all the revenue generated by mobile messaging.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service - a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from a mobile phone over a cellular network. Users and providers may refer to such a message as a PXT, a picture message, or a multimedia message. The MMS standard extends the core SMS (Short Message Service) capability, allowing the exchange of text messages greater than 160 characters in length. Unlike text-only SMS, MMS can deliver a variety of media, including up to forty seconds of video, one image, a slideshow of multiple images, or audio.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G - standing for third generation, is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. It is the upgrade for 2G and 2.5G GPRS networks, for faster internet speed. This is based on a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunications use services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. 3G finds application in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV.\n3G telecommunication networks support services that provide an information transfer rate of at least 0.2 Mbit/s. Later 3G releases, often denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers. This ensures it can be applied to wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV technologies.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G - the fourth generation of broadband cellular network technology, succeeding 3G. A 4G system must provide capabilities defined by ITU in IMT Advanced. Potential and current applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, and 3D television. The first-release Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard (a 4G candidate system) has been commercially deployed in Oslo, Norway, and Stockholm, Sweden since 2009. It has, however, been debated whether first-release versions should be considered 4G.\nOsmocom - an umbrella project regarding Open source mobile communications. This includes software and tools implementing a variety of mobile communication standards, including GSM, DECT, TETRA and others.\nCellular Infrastructure - a group of Osmocom programs implementing cellular network infrastructure components for GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA, LTE and their associated interfaces and protocol stacks.\nOpenBTS - a Linux application that uses a software-defined radio to present a standard 3GPP air interface to user devices, while simultaneously presenting those devices as SIP endpoints to the Internet. This forms the basis of a new type of wireless network which promises to expand coverage to unserved and underserved markets while unleashing a platform for innovation, including offering support for emerging network technologies, such as those targeted at the Internet of Things.\nUmTRX - The industrial grade dual-channel wide-band SDR transceiver.\nUmSITE-TM3 - A complete mobile network in a single tower mounted base station, one of the key components of the Fairwaves GSM network architecture. Technical details: Osmocom or OpenBTS software suites (Osmocom by default). Ability to run GnuRadio and other SDR software. Output power - 3W per channel (6W total). UmSITE includes internal duplexers and amplifiers. 1-3 km coverage (with external antennas). Two independent TRX's, i.e. two ARFCNs. Based on UmTRX transceiver. Stable reference clocks: 26MHz TCXO (integer multiple of GSM sample rate) with 100ppb frequency stability. DAC for TCXO frequency fine tuning. Integrated GPS module for automatic TCXO frequency stabilization.\nZeroPhone - an open-source smartphone that can be assembled for 50$ in parts. It is Linux-powered, with UI software written in Python, allowing it it to be easily modifiable - and it doesn't prohibit you from changing the way it works.\nMEGA65 - The 21st century realization of the C65 heritage: A complete 8-bit computer running around 50x faster than a C64 while being highly compatible. C65 design, mechanical keyboard, HD output, SD card support, Ethernet, extended memory and other features increase the fun without spoiling the 8-bit feel. Hardware designs and software are open-source (LGPL).\nhttp://wiki.opendigitalradio.org Opendigitalradio.org wiki] - Open digital broadcasting techniques based on software defined radio. Digital radio transmission and development must also become democratized for experimenters and small broadcasters. Opendigitalradio.org wiki is about creating a community for documenting and exchanging experimentations and gather information about existing small-scale DAB projects. Please read Introduction for more information. Opendigitalradio is a non-profit association based in Switzerland (page in french), offering also a broadcast infrastructure for temporary radio stations.\nMyriad RF is a family of open source hardware and software projects for wireless communications, and a community that is working to make wireless innovation accessible to as many people as possible.\nLimeSDR board provides a hardware platform for developing and prototyping high-performance and logic-intensive digital and RF designs using Altera’s Cyclone IV FPGA and Lime Microsystems transceiver.\nhttp://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr - RTL-SDR is a set of tools that enables DVB-T USB dongles based on the Realtek RTL2832U chipset to be used as cheap software defined radios, given that the chip allows transferring raw I/Q samples from the tuner straight to the host device.\nThe frequency range of the RTL2832U / E4000 is generally around 64MHZ to 1700MHz with a gap around 1100MHz to 1250MHz. The RTL2832U / R820T frequency range is 24MHZ to roughly 1850MHz with no gaps (found yet), and no DC offset spike.\nRTL dongles have 2.4 MHz of useful bandwidth.\nRtl Power - a unix-hacker's approach to the waterfall. Its unique features include:Just getting started with rtl_power, and it looks like just the to... Unlimited frequency range. You can do the whole 1.7GHz of a dongle. Unlimited time. At least until you run out of disk for logging. Unlimited FFT bins. But in practice I don't think I've taken it above 100k bins. Quantitative rendering. Exact power levels are logged. Runs on anything. A slower computer will use less samples to keep up.\nhttps://github.com/Make-Magazine/PirateRadio - MAKE Raspberry Pi Automated FM Radio Script.\nhttps://github.com/coup-de-foudre/tesla_coil_fm_driver - Project forked from PNPtutorials.Use Raspberry Pi as FM transmitter. Works on any RPi board.This project uses the general clock output to produce frequency modulated radio communication. It is based on idea originaly posted here but does not use DMA controller in order to distribute samples to output (clock generator), so sound quality is worse as in PiFm project and only mono transmition is available but this makes possible to run it on all kind of boards.\nosmo-fl2k - Since rtl-sdr has been released a couple of years ago, cheap SDR receivers are ubiquitous. SDRs with transmission capability have become cheaper as well, but are still more expensive. osmo-fl2k allows to use USB 3.0 to VGA adapters based on the Fresco Logic FL2000 chip, which are available for around $5, as general purpose DACs and SDR transmitter generating a continuous stream of samples by avoiding the HSYNC and VSYNC blanking intervals.\nrunning the \"volk_profile\" gnuradio utility will detect and enable processor specific optimisations and will in many cases give a significant performance boost.\nGqrx is a software defined radio receiver powered by the GNU Radio SDR framework and the Qt graphical toolkit.\nliquid-dsp - a free and open-source signal processing library for software-defined radios written in C. Its purpose is to provide a set of extensible DSP modules that do not rely on external dependencies or cumbersome frameworks.\nFreeDV - a Digital Voice mode for HF radio. You can run FreeDV using a free GUI application for Windows, Linux and OSX that allows any SSB radio to be used for low bit rate digital voice.\nhttps://github.com/jontio/JMPX - A Stereo encoder for FM transmitters now with RDS, SCA and DSCA support.\nwelle.io - an open source DAB and DAB+ software defined radio (SDR) with support for rtl-sdr (RTL2832U) and airspy. It supports high DPI and touch displays and it runs even on cheap computers like Raspberry Pi 2/3 and 100€ China Windows 10 tablets.\nhttps://github.com/JvanKatwijk/qt-dab - for Windows, Linux and Raspberry Pi for listening to terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB and DAB+). It is the successor of both DAB-rpi and sdr-j-DAB, two former programs by the same author.\nGoogle Play: Wavesink DAB/FM Trial - Turn your phone or tablet into a DAB and FM-Stereo RDS receiver. On USB-OTG compatible phones, simply connect a cheap USB dongle and listen to VHF radio in HiFi quality. Note that the trial version has a runtime limitation and does not support DAB+ but only DAB and FM/RDS.\nIdentification Guide - wiki intended to help identify radio signals through example sounds and waterfall images. Most signals are received and recorded using a software defined radio such as the RTL-SDR, Airspy, SDRPlay, HackRF, BladeRF, Funcube Dongle, USRP or others.\nOpenBTS - a Unix application that uses a software radio to present a GSM air interface to standard 2G GSM handset and uses a SIP softswitch or PBX to connect calls. (You might even say that OpenBTS is a simplified form of IMS that works with 2G feature-phone handsets.) The combination of the global-standard GSM air interface with low-cost VoIP backhaul forms the basis of a new type of cellular network that can be deployed and operated at substantially lower cost than existing technologies in many applications, including rural cellular deployments and private cellular networks in remote areas.\nSDR.hu - On sdr.hu, you can find SDR receivers that amateur radio operators shared, so you can listen to radio signals without even having to buy any SDR hardware! In fact, amateur radio is a great thing and also lets you experiment with transmitting on the air, by using various frequency bands and modulations.\nRootIO Radio - a technology platform for low cost, hyperlocal community radio stations. Tiny FM radio stations that require little investment, maintenance, or contribution from the community, yet at the same time offer more and better modes of interaction than traditional stations. After a few days of installation and training, stations can start to facilitate new economic opportunities, new opportunities for expression and deliberation, and provide information across, into, and out of the community they serve.Each station is amplified by our cloud/telephony Radio as a Service (RaaS). With the cloud, an individual station can receive free voice-quality calls that go straight to air, download audio from the Internet in the background, or run SMS votes. Using any basic phone (through RaaS) local hosts can run live shows with callers; local business people can record ads or announcements; citizen journalists can cover live meetings or sports events. With solar power a station can serve as 24/7 endpoint to emergency services.Four stations have been running in Northern Uganda for the last year, and small rural communities are creating their own programs, reporting their own news, and requesting audio content from the Internet. RootIO, with the help of Resilient Africa Network, is hoping to launch another 20 stations in the coming year.\nRadioWitness - Immutable, peer-to-peer archiving and distribution of police radio calls. Authors use Software-Defined Radios and Dat Archives to record local police radio. Publishers seed archives from Authors and then re-distribute them to larger audiances. Other rolse arise too, such as Studios who synthesize radio archives into archives of audible speech, and Indexers who aggregate metadata on individual radio calls. Stop by #radiowitness on freenode and say hi.\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification - uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. The tags contain electronically stored information. Passive tags collect energy from a nearby RFID reader's interrogating radio waves. Active tags have a local power source (such as a battery) and may operate hundreds of meters from the RFID reader. Unlike a barcode, the tag need not be within the line of sight of the reader, so it may be embedded in the tracked object. RFID is one method of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC).\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microchip_implant_(animal) - an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of an animal. The chip, about the size of a large grain of rice, uses passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, and is also known as a PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tag.Externally attached microchips such as RFID ear tags are commonly used to identify farm and ranch animals, with the exception of horses. Some external microchips can be read with the same scanner used with implanted chips.\nhttps://github.com/Proxmark/proxmark3 - a powerful general purpose RFID tool, the size of a deck of cards, designed to snoop, listen and emulate everything from Low Frequency (125kHz) to High Frequency (13.56MHz) tags.This repository contains enough software, logic (for the FPGA), and design documentation for the hardware that you could, at least in theory, do something useful with a proxmark3.\nThis page was last edited on 12 April 2019, at 06:15."
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One of the main paradoxes1 with regards to defamation law is that defamation only happens when a complaint has been made. No complaint, then no tort. Converging criticisms of an individual by several critics can exist at the same time but only the one complained of by a plaintiff is considered defamatory. Who and how many people read an article can be used to amplify the hurt of a plaintiff. In our case, articles were posted online and are considered newly "published" upon being viewed or "downloaded". Free speech and the right to criticise does not mean critics are free to lie. My criticism of defamation law should not be misinterpreted to mean this. As it has been previously put I go as far to say that defamation law exists to prevent a reputation from being damaged by the truth! In Australian defamation law, the truth remains defamatory even when it is proven to be true. A plaintiff can still prevent the truth from damaging their real reputation which is in reality a lie, though they do not get compensated for the damage done by a defamation that is true. Defamation occurs when and only when a "victim" sues. Prior to this the law is mute on any "offence". Defamation defences simply limit punishment regardless of truth if it is determined there was no "excuse" to impart it. Defamation law is bolstered by punitive underpinnings such that it can through fear or reprisal engender censorship and self-censorship. Defamation law is routinely misused to extort punitive monetary back-downs by a critic to avoid threats of court sanctioned persecution by a plaintiff with greater resources than a defendant (though sometimes this is the other way around). By reason of the above defamation law is designed to achieve an outcome through exertion of fear of financially punitive and damaging claims. Defamation law makes it simple for plaintiffs to utilise it for to achieve a collateral purpose such as prevent something from becoming too well known. Defamation law allows plaintiffs to pick and chose who they claim to be defamed by. Another of the paradoxes of defamation law is that it brings out the best human traits in some, but also, exposes the worst of human traits in many. We do have reason to admire many people and they know this. Brave and true to their convictions and values they will stand for us and themselves in part. They exemplify the notion of displaying courage in the face of adversity. Others have run screaming in the other direction or ducked out of view trying to hide in the shadows, but we still see them. Is this reaction the fault of defamation law? Yes and No. Yes because of the above, defamation law is no picnic, and no because people are subject to their own fears and weaknesses as well as wary of threats which are real. upset her so much she left the gallery crying all the way to the train station initially thinking she'd not exhibit at all. "…We are all in this together and you are not alone. I think we should all stand up against him, spread the word and not let him carry on with his crazy antics." Tan made other very strong claims about Cripps and insisted that someone must stop him from doing more harm. One of the claims Tan makes is redacted intentionally in the attached image (Fig 1) to protect us from the punitive aims of defamation law….another of defamation law's paradoxes because…We would be sued and forced to prove what Tan had claimed, not Tan herself! This and the other claims made in her long blog posting, as pictured, was available and online from October 2010 until July 2013 when my co-Defendant, Demetrios first contacted Ms Tan. He politely wished to check with her the details on what had happened during her show as circumstances which though different in detail broadly mirrored our experiences in terms of Cripps' behaviours and that we too had written about them on our websites. But, as he warned her, now we were being sued by Cripps. Tan quickly pulled her page (Fig 2), as we might have expected, but what we didn't expect is that she also refused direct communication with us by not responding at all. The only communication came through her husband/partner who made contact (by phone) to relay she was very scared and got most of the information off our websites, despite the fact her complaints detail Cripps' hindrances of her own show, and that she had left the gallery crying. Tan's husband further attempted to appeal to our sympathy that, after all, she "was just starting out"…the conclusion being that we are expendable. Significantly Tan's "article" and tweeting had been available from October 2010. Cripps served us with a writ on April Fool's Day 2011. Why did he choose to sue us and not Tan? And, why did he choose to sue us so late? Our "articles" were online from September - November 2009 - updated in my case in April 2010. What are Cripps' motives for suing at all? - see defamation law points above to select the probable answer/s. Cripps is suing us claiming that his business failed because we wrote about him. However, we wrote about our experiences with Cripps, others with a similar experience of Cripps also wrote about their experiences (such as Dawn Tan and others). Others still relayed their experiences, which are equally as bad, orally. Artist after artist suffered a bad experience and relayed their experience to others. Cripps destroyed his own reputation because of his own poor behaviour and is suing us in order to profit from being a prick. His use of defamation law is a business decision, one he intends to use to paper over his extremely poor business acumen and conduct. Other people who have experienced Cripps' antics personally or those who directly witnessed his treatment of us, such as Paul Carter and Cripps' numerous staff and volunteers working at his failed gallery have chosen not to come forward for two main reasons, that I can ascertain. due to their stronger devotion to self-preservation. If people fear the law or Cripps' reprisal or threats (I'll sue you if you complain, you'll be sacked, given a bad report, will never get another job in this industry again etc., etc) this is understandable, but fear alone is not the only explanation. Not wishing to be involved in unpleasant matters is one we've heard and is an incredibly weak excuse. Not wishing to be professionally exposed is another weak excuse if one has any respect for the profession or others who engage within it. Those of course who continue to personally support Cripps must see his actions as warranted and necessary or why else would they support him? They must simply agree he has a right to behave as he has with artists like us, declaring us racist and getting away with it, due to the continued silence of those who witnessed it. They must agree with his declaration that our exhibition was racist and that his further actions to prevent us access to the gallery we had hired was warranted. They might instead provide support out loyalty to him as a friend? Or, are their fears born of other associations that compel their silence? Perhaps the silence or compliance is out of a duty born of mutual benefit, to him as a provider of services and an income that will enhance their own professional standing, relationships or performance careers? Ultimately for them it is a question of one's courage and conviction to one's values. For the Dawn Tan's and Paul Carter's of the world it is clear such conviction collapses where there are concerns for self-preservation. It is their lack of action that illuminates and defines the point. Self preservation is their defining value system. I wish them well, they will likely have more success in this world than I will. I do though hope they have imprinted upon their memory the reality that they lacked courage when it truly counted, and see the visually telling metaphor of them wildly running in the opposite direction whilst someone they could have helped was left dangling over a precipice. Fig 4 - Demetrios Vakras attempts to contact Jacinta Moore ("BawkBawk") who was a recipient of Cripps' "antics" and who commented on Tan's blog above in (Fig 1).
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Allegedly (Kathy Griffin special): Allegedly is a direct-to-DVD special by stand-up comedian Kathy Griffin, and her fourth special overall. It was recorded at Variety Arts Theatre in Los Angeles, California on November 30, 2004 . Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America: The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is an American non-profit pro-Israel media-monitoring, research and membership organization. According to its website, CAMERA is "devoted to promoting accurate and balanced coverage of Israel and the Middle East." The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to the Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general anti-Israel bias".CAMERA is known for its pro-Israel media monitoring and advocacy. Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations: Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations were made by the U.S. government officials who claimed that a highly secretive relationship existed between Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and the radical Islamist militant organization Al-Qaeda between 1992 and 2003, specifically through a series of meetings reportedly involving the Iraqi Intelligence Service . In the lead up to the Iraq War, U.S. President George W. Bush alleged that Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda might conspire to launch terrorist attacks on the United States, basing the administration's rationale for war, in part, on this allegation and others. Legal affairs of Donald Trump: An analysis by USA Today published in June 2016 found that over the previous three decades, United States president Donald Trump and his businesses have been involved in 3,500 legal cases in U.S. federal courts and state court, an unprecedented number for a U.S. presidential candidate. Of the 3,500 suits, Trump or one of his companies were plaintiffs in 1,900; defendants in 1,450; and bankruptcy, third party, or other in 150. Plesiosauria: The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of Mesozoic marine reptiles (marine Sauropsida), belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period, possibly in the Rhaetian stage, about 203 million years ago.
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Slow-cooked scrambled eggs require patience, but reward the eater with exceptional flavor. These slow-cooked scrambled eggs are mixed with ricotta, Parmesan, garlic scapes, and spring onions, but feel free to add whatever cheese and alliums you may have on hand. This recipe requires a bit of willpower, which can be hard to muster in the morning. Slow-cooking eggs allows them to undergo a delicious and sophisticated transformation. As the eggs slowly cook, they take on a silky texture, and a smoky, caramel-y flavor. Add some late spring flavor, such as goat milk ricotta, diced garlic scapes, and green onions, serve with crispy buttered toast, and you have breakfast. Total fortification against yet another rainy day. As ever, feel free to swap out anything but the eggs and butter. If you don’t have cream use milk, and use whatever herbs or allium/allium-derivatives you happen to have around. The main thing is the time. Slow-cooked scrambled eggs require patience, but reward the eater with exceptional flavor. These scrambled eggs are mixed with ricotta, Parmesan, garlic scapes, and spring onions, but feel free to add whatever cheese and alliums you may have on hand. Whisk eggs in a large bowl; add the cream and sea salt. Whisk ingredients well, in a circular motion. Meanwhile, set a medium-sized skillet over low heat, and after several minutes add butter. Once butter is bubbly and fragrant, slowly pour egg mixture into skillet. Scatter garlic scapes and onion over egg liquid, give a brief stir, and wait. Using a wooden spoon, gently stir mixture every so often. After 10 minutes slight ribbons will begin to form, keep waiting and stirring gently. Add several dollops of ricotta, and gently fold in. After 25 minutes large curds should begin to form, stir often to keep the egg from sticking, and wait for eggs to arrive at your desired consistency (somewhere between 30 and 40 minutes total cook time). Just before you pull eggs, check salt, give a few twists of pepper, and scatter in Parmesan. I usually pull them when they have just stopped seeming soggy as it would be a shame to overcook these. Serve on a warm plate with toast and onion strips or herbs for garnish. Is there a microwave version of this recipe? yeah, just microwave on 10% heat for 7 minutes. yum!
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Easily the cleanest, safest and most convenient way to provide heat where it's needed is with an electric heater that can be portable and effective in producing a lot of heat quickly. This is perfect in most situations, especially in the home and where safety is a major factor. However, despite the convenience and ease of use, electrically powered heating devices have drawbacks that take the shine off their appeal in some circumstances. This part of the website is here to take a look at the pros and cons of owning and using heaters powered by electricity while providing information and resources as well as some top product reviews to help you decide if this is the kind of heating device that is right for you and your needs. Most people like to keep things as uncomplicated as possible in their lives. And when it comes to providing warmth where it's needed at home or in the workplace, simply plugging a device into a wall socket then turning it on and walking away is about as simple as it gets. There is no messy solid fuel to bother about, no gas canisters to hook up or replace when they are depleted, no naked flame to worry mothers of small children and no potentially dangerous emissions to cause health problems. Electric heaters are very simple to use and most people like it that way. With no flame produced, there is far less to worry about in terms of potential fires being started by inadvertently knocking over the heater. There is far less danger to children who are naturally curious about fires and have a habit of wanting to poke fingers in to see how hot it really is! While many portable heaters still utilize a heated coil to produce the heat which can potentially set fire to anything flammable that is placed too close to it, in general these devices are about as safe as can be as long as they are not maltreated. By not needing to burn a flammable fuel to produce the heat, these are also free of any noxious gases that are naturally produced by burning such fuels. This is a big safety issue for many who like to keep all their windows and doors tightly closed to keep the precious heat inside the room they are occupying. As already mentioned, with no fuel to have to burn to produce heat, there is no mess with "clean" electricity as the power source, at least not at the point of consumption. More about that further down the page. For parents of families that have the safety of their children in mind as well as the no-mess appeal of an electrically powered heat source, this can be a big plus side when deciding on what kind to buy. No one likes getting all messy stacking wooden logs for a wood fire or central furnace any more than anyone like the idea of getting covered in black coal dust every time the fire needs refilling. Even less appealing is the cleanup time when all the burned fuel residue and ash needs to be swept up, bagged up and then disposed of. Lastly, the convenience angle is often the deciding vote when it comes to which type of heat source to buy. Without any of the mess described above and the simple turn on and turn off usability of these devices, there is little more convenient in this area. That makes an electrical heater very appealing since there is no fuel refill or cleanup afterward to worry about. Just turn it on when it's needed and turn it off when you're done. No matter how convenient, clean or safe an appliance may be, there are several problems associated with heaters that are powered by electricity. These fall into the categories of economy, ecology and vulnerability as shall be explained below. Everybody is well aware that the price of power is constantly and relentlessly rising over time with no sight of it ever being reduced. The gap between the cost of some fuels and electricity is getting wider making this an ever more expensive way to provide warmth during the cold winter months in homes and workplaces. While modern devices are much more efficient than their predecessors, they are still losing ground to modern, more highly efficient burning wood and coal furnaces as central heating systems. It must come to the point where a decision has to be made whether to go for the convenience and other nice things that make electrical heating so appealing, or to add the economy of running such a solution in the home or business budget and weighing up the costs. As mentioned above in the paragraphs on cleanness, while electrical devices of all kinds may appear perfectly clean when used in the home or other point of consumption, the source of that power is in most cases most definitely not clean. Here is why that is. The electricity that supplies homes and businesses in civilized locations must be centrally generated at power stations and fed into the local or national power grid. The most common kind of power station burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or oil to drive the turbines that generate the power. These fuels emit many poisonous, polluting gases that get into the air and water supply. The waste products are dumped in the soil and further poison the land that is meant to feed and support us. The next most common form of power generating station runs on nuclear fuel to produce electricity. The polluting waste products of these station do not break down readily and are a long term problem for governments of all western civilized countries. Much lower down in the power generating percentile are those power stations that produce electricity from renewable sources. In the US, less than tem percent of all electricity is generated by renewable sources with the most common of those being hydro-electric stations. Wind and solar farms are way behind despite them being potentially two of the greatest and cheapest resources that we have. So next time you plug in your electric heater, spare a thought for the source of the power that makes it work. Out of site does not necessarily have to be out of mind. Lastly, there is a massive drawback from having a home or workplace derive its sole or major source of winter heat and hot water from electrically powered devices. As is happening with greater frequency in modern times, when the grid power goes down during brown- and black-outs if you do not have a backup source, you're going to get cold fast. Many businesses have a backup diesel gen-set to provide the electricity they need to keep running, but few homes have this luxury. A backup propane heater or solid fuel fireplace with stored fuel in readiness for these inevitable power outages is a sensible move. While electricity is still the most commonly used power source for providing heat, hot water and somewhere to cook, it has its vulnerabilities in that individual homeowners cannot control when it is being supplied or when it is taken down. This is probably the most important factor to bear in mind when considering your next purchase of a portable heating source whether it's for additional space heating or as a backup in case your home's central system fails.
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Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji is credited with starting the Sikh religion. He was the first Guru of the Sikhs and is worshipped next to God. His sole aim in life was to unify the Hindus and Muslims and form a universal religion of brotherhood and compassion. He believed that true salvation could be achieved only by devotion of thought and excellence of conduct. In the contemporary world, Sikhism is spread far and wide in not just India but also America, Africa, Europe, etc. The life history of Guru Nanak Dev is very motivational and inspiring. We give you a short biography of Guru Nanak Dev. Born in a middle class family on April 15th, 1469, Guru Nanak was born in a village called Talwandi, situated in what is the present day Pakistan. The place is now known as Nankana Sahib and is located 40 miles from Lahore. His father was an accountant named Kaluchand and his mother's name was Tripta Devi. When he was born, an astrologer prophesized that he would grow up to be a spiritual leader and was blessed by God. He would attain much fame and glory and would be worshipped by one and all. When he was five years old, Guru Nanak spoke in detail about God and his spiritual existence much to the surprise of others. By the time he was fifteen, he had mastered Hindi, Persian, Punjabi and Sanskrit. But one thing that stood out was his unquestioned love for God. His way of life started to worry his father who decided to teach him some business. Once, he gave Nanak Rs. 20 and told him to start a business in Lahore. While on his way to Lahore, he met some meditating sadhus who had not eaten for days. He spent the amount to give them food. Upon his returning back, his father asked what he had done with the money. He said he had done his true duty and told him that he fed hungry souls. Next, he was sent to a grain shop to work. He spent his entire earnings on the poor and deprived and never kept anything for himself. He got married when he was 18 years. But he left his domestic life for a higher calling and to quench his thirst for spiritual knowledge. He preached that God was omnipresent and did not adhere to any kind of ritualism or worship patterns. He led a life of purity and clarity and believed that the attainment of enlightenment would relieve one from the cycle of birth and death. He visited many places to preach and spread his knowledge, which includes Burma, Iraq, Tibet and Sri Lanka. Guru Nanak composed a set of poems known as "Japji" that is recited as the Morning Prayer. It forms the first chapter of Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs. These thoughts and poems inspire many till date and are considered the epitome of good living.
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I am working in a software company. One of the colleagues, who is also my best friend, is making some secret plans which will lead to the downfall of one of the employees, whom he is jealous of. He has been hiding this even from me. What should I do to stop him from doing such a thing? first ask your friend what he is doing about the downfall your colleague if he says you about the matter then tell him not do like that and if he is jealous of your colleague who works hard then tell him to do work better then your colleague to your friend if he don't listen to your advice then warn then you will tell this issue to the higher official of the company. tell your friend in cool way so that he can listen your words.
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How is the BJA SAKI different from the NIJ DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program? The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative administered by BJA differs substantially from NIJ's DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program. BJA’s program is focused on SAKs housed in law enforcement storage rooms, or other facilities, that have never been submitted to a crime lab for testing. While the BJA program does include testing of SAKs, it also aims to address why SAKs continue to remain unsubmitted for testing, and help jurisdictions implement new policies and procedures to prevent this from occurring again. Since the critical needs around unsubmitted SAKs in law enforcement agencies extend well beyond simply testing kits and increasing crime lab capacity, the BJA program also addresses the investigative and prosecutorial aspects of sexual assault cases resulting from the testing and enhancing provision of victim’s services. The NIJ program does not provide funding for these activities. NIJ does fund states and units of local government with existing crime laboratories that conduct DNA analysis to process, record, screen, and analyze forensic DNA and/or DNA database samples, and to increase the capacity of public forensic laboratories to process more DNA samples. While many jurisdictions use the funding from the NIJ program to test sexual assault evidence, NIJ’s initiative focuses on all types of DNA evidence, which can include SAKs that have already been submitted to crime labs. The NIJ program does not address systems, evidence collection, storage, police, prosecution, and laboratory practices and policies that contributed to the failure to submit SAKs from being tested.
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Admiral Janeway beams aboard Voyager and meets her younger self, and is moved to see a healthy Tuvok and Chakotay again. In Janeway's Ready Room, the. "Endgame" is the series finale of the American science fiction television DVD collections, but it is shown in syndicated broadcasts as a two-part story. Contents. [hide]. 1 Plot; 2 Secondary/alternate future stories; 3 Production; 4 Awards; 5 Notes In the Star Trek franchise, a classic story plot-line is that characters from the Plot - Secondary/alternate - Production. 3 Aug - 43 min Watch Star Trek Voyager S07E26 Endgame (2) by Baywatch on Dailymotion here. 25 Jul - 5 min - Uploaded by TomParis The final scene of the epic Star Trek: Voyager, after 7 years they finally make it home. Action State of Decay 2 () Kate Mulgrew and Garrett Wang in Star Trek: Voyager () Kate Mulgrew in Star Trek: Voyager () Alice Krige and. Wikipedia gives the details of how the Borg are destroyed. I found a reference that the Borg were chasing Voyager with an entry open and. Endgame, Part 2 Summary: Star Trek: Voyager Season 7, Episode Stardate: 4 At the 10th anniversary of Voyager's triumphant return to Earth from the . 23 May - 87 min Voyager\'s quest to return home is aided by a visitor from the future - Admiral 01/16/95 23 May Watch Star Trek: Voyager - Season 7, Episode 26 - Endgame (2): Stardate: After a decades-long journey to reach the Alpha Quadrant. After a decades-long journey to reach the Alpha Quadrant, Admiral Kathryn Janeway makes a bold decision to change the past in an attempt to undo the toll . Admiral Janeway includes another part to the toast: to those of the Voyager " family" . He goes to Cargo bay 2, quarters of the former Borg drone Seven of Nine.
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The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. In modern India, women have adorned high offices in India including that of the President, Prime minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition, etc. The incumbent President of India is a woman. However, later (approximately 500 B.C.), the status of women began to decline with the Smritis (esp. Manusmriti) and with the Islamic invasion of Babur and the Mughal empire and later Christianity curtailing women's freedom and rights. Although reformatory movements such as Jainism allowed women to be admitted to the religious order, by and large, the women in India faced confinement and restrictions. The practice of child marriages is believed to have started from around sixth century. The Indian woman's position in the society further deteriorated during the medieval period when Sati among some communities, child marriages and a ban on widow remarriages became part of social life among some communities in India. The Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent brought the purdah practice in the Indian society. Among the Rajputs of Rajasthan, the Jauhar was practised. In some parts of India, the Devadasis or the temple women were sexually exploited. Polygamy was widely practised especially among Hindu Kshatriya rulers. In many Muslim families, women were restricted to Zenana areas. In spite of these conditions, some women excelled in the fields of politics, literature, education and religion. Razia Sultana became the only woman monarch to have ever ruled Delhi. The Gond queen Durgavati ruled for fifteen years, before she lost her life in a battle with Mughal emperor Akbar's general Asaf Khan in 1564. Chand Bibi defended Ahmednagar against the mighty Mughal forces of Akbar in 1590s. Jehangir's wife Nur Jehan effectively wielded imperial power and was recognized as the real force behind the Mughal throne. The Mughal princesses Jahanara and Zebunnissa were well-known poets, and also influenced the ruling administration Shivaji's mother, Jijabai was deputed as queen regent, because of her ability as a warrior and an administrator. In South India, many women administered villages, towns, divisions and heralded social and religious institutions. Traditions among some communities such as sati, jauhar, and devadasi have been banned and are largely defunct in modern India. However, some cases of these practices are still found in remote parts of India. The purdah is still practised by Indian women among some communities, and child marriage remains prevalent despite it being an illegal practice, especially under current Indian laws. Sati is an old, largely defunct custom, among some communities in which the widow was immolated alive on her husband's funeral pyre. Although the act was supposed to be a voluntary on the widow's part, it is believed to have been sometimes forced on the widow. It was abolished by the British in 1829. There have been around forty reported cases of sati since independence. In 1987, the Roop Kanwar case of Rajasthan led to The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act. What Is the Role of Women in Ancient, Medieval and Modern India?
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The session focuses on accelerating three complex applications. They all use novel combination of memory and computing elements to achieve this goal. The first paper focuses on pattern matching and proposes to use resistive-RAM (RRAM) to accelerate an Automata Processor (AP). The second one focuses on Homomorphic Encryption (HE) and improves the performance and energy consumption using near-data processing on a 3D-stacked memory (Hybrid Memory Cube). The third paper focuses on Inference (DCNN) proposes a 3D-stacked neuromorphic architecture consisting of Processing Elements and multiple DRAM layers. Homomorphic encryption is a promising technology for enabling various privacy-preserving applications such as secure biomarker search. However, current implementations are not practical due to large performance overheads. A homomorphic encryption scheme has recently been proposed that allows bitwise comparison without the computationally-intensive multiplication and bootstrapping operations. Even so, this scheme still suffers from memory-bound performance bottleneck due to large ciphertext expansion. In this work, we propose HEGA, a near-data processing architecture that leverages this scheme with 3D-stacked memory to accelerate privacy-preserving biomarker search. We observe that homomorphic encryption-based search, like other emerging applications, can greatly benefit from the large throughput, capacity, and energy savings of 3D-stacked memory-based near-data processing architectures. Our near-data acceleration solution can speed up biomarker search by 6.3x with 5.7x energy savings compared to an 8-core Intel Xeon processor. Deep convolutional neural networks have become the mainstream solution for many artificial intelligence appli- cations. However, they are still rarely deployed on mobile or edge devices due to the cost of a substantial amount of data movement among limited resources. The emerging processing-in-memory neuromorphic architecture offers a promising direction to accelerate the inference process. The key issue becomes how to effectively allocate the processing of inference between computing and storage resources for mobile edge computing. This paper presents Mobile-I, a resource allocation scheme to accelerate the Inference process on Mobile or edge devices. Mobile-I targets at the emerging 3D neuromorphic architecture to reduce the processing latency among computing resources and fully utilize the limited on-chip storage resources. We formulate the target problem as a resource allocation problem and use a software-based solution to offer the cross-platform deployment across multiple mobile or edge devices. We conduct a set of experiments using realistic workloads that are generated from Intel Movidius neural compute stick. Experimental results show that Mobile-I can effectively reduce the processing latency and improve the utilization of computing resources with negligible overhead in comparison with representative schemes. Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) is used for estimating pose and trajectory of a system and is a foundational requirement in many emerging applications like AR/VR, autonomous navigation in cars, drones and robots. In this paper, we analyze key compute bottlenecks in VIO and present a highly optimized VIO accelerator based on a hardware-software co-design approach. We detail a set of novel micro-architectural techniques that optimize compute, data movement, bandwidth and dynamic power to make it possible to deliver high quality of VIO at ultra-low latency and power required for budget constrained edge devices. By offloading the computation of the critical linear algebra algorithms from the CPU, the accelerator enables high sample rate IMU usage in VIO processing while acceleration of image processing pipe increases precision, robustness and reduces IMU induced drift in final pose estimate. The proposed accelerator requires a small silicon footprint (1.3 mm2 in a 28nm process at 600 MHz), utilizes a modest on-chip shared SRAM (560KB) and achieves 10x speedup over a software-only implementation in terms of image sample-based pose update latency while consuming just 2.2 mW power. In a FPGA implementation, using the EuRoC VIO dataset (VGA 30fps images and 100Hz IMU) the accelerator design achieves pose estimation accuracy (loop closure error) comparable to a software based VIO implementation. Recently, CapsuleNets have overtaken traditional Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), because of their improved generalization ability due to the multi-dimensional capsules, in contrast to the single-dimensional neurons. Consequently, CapsuleNets also require extremely intense matrix computations, making it a gigantic challenge to achieve high performance. In this paper, we propose CapsAcc, the first specialized CMOS-based hardware architecture to perform CapsuleNets inference with high performance and energy efficiency. State-of-the-art convolutional CNN accelerators would not work efficiently for CapsuleNets, as their designs do not account for unique processing nature of CapsuleNets involving multi-dimensional matrix processing, squashing and dynamic routing. Our architecture exploits the massive parallelism by flexibly feeding the data to a specialized systolic array according to the operations required in different layers. It also avoids extensive load and store operations on the on-chip memory, by reusing the data when possible. We synthesized the complete CapsAcc architecture in a 32nm CMOS technology using Synopsys design tools, and evaluated it for the MNIST benchmark (as also done by the original CapsuleNet paper) to ensure consistent and fair comparisons. This work enables highly-efficient CapsuleNets inference on embedded platforms. Generative adversarial networks (GANs) have shown excellent performance in image generation applications. GAN typically uses a new type of neural network called deconvolutional neural network (DCNN). To implement DCNN in hardware, the state-of-the-art DCNN accelerator optimizes the dataflow using DCNN-to-CNN conversion method. However, this method still requires high computational complexity because the number of feature maps is increased when converted from DCNN to CNN. Recently, pruning has been recognized as an effective solution to reduce the high computational complexity and huge network model size. In this paper, we propose a novel sparse DCNN accelerator (SDCNN) combining these approaches on FPGA. First, we propose a novel dataflow suitable for the sparse DCNN acceleration by loop transformation. Then, we introduce a four stage pipeline for generating the SDCNN model. Finally, we propose an efficient architecture based on SDCNN dataflow. Experimental results on DCGAN show that SDCNN achieves up to 2.63 times speedup over the state-of-the-art DCNN accelerator.
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Walter Walt Whitman (1819 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. Whitmans work breaks the boundaries of poetic form and is generally prose-like. He also used unusual images and symbols in his poetry, including rotting leaves, tufts of straw, and debris. He also openly wrote about death and sexuality, including prostitution. He is often labeled as the father of free verse, though he did not invent it. Whitman wrote in the preface to the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass, The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it. He believed there was a vital, symbiotic relationship between the poet and society. This connection was emphasized especially in Song of Myself by using an all-powerful first-person narration. As an American epic, it deviated from the historic use of an elevated hero and instead assumed the identity of the common people. Leaves of Grass also responded to the impact that recent urbanization in the United States had on the masses.
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The Spanish language was born in these monasteries, San Millán Suso and Yuso, and they form an important part of the history of humanity. Because of the identification and inter-relationship of the two monasteries with elements of the Mozarabic, Visigothic, medieval, Renaissance and Baroque styles, the architecture and the natural landscape bring together highly significant periods in the history of Spain. In the mid-6th century the holy San Millán settled at a site, now known as the Suso Monastery, on the flanks of the Cogolla or Distercios hills, where he was joined by other eremitic monks to found the Cogolla Community. During the lifetime of the saint a small monastery was built on the hillside in Visigothic style. This was enlarged in the 7th century by the construction of a porch or hall up against the caves, in which to receive pilgrims. The church was rebuilt in 929, during the reign of García Sanchez of Navarre and Castille, in Mozarabic style and King Sancho Abarca and his wife, Doña Urraca, attended its dedication in 984. The Codex Aemilianensis 60 was written in the Suso scriptorium in the 9th and 10th centuries by one of the monks, who added marginal notes in Castilian and Basque, along with a prayer in Castilian, to clarify passages in the Latin text: this is the first known example of written Spanish. After the church was damaged by fire in the early 11th century it was restored by King Sancho the Great, with some modifications such as the orientation of the church and the building of a chapel to house the recumbent statue of San Millán. King Garcia Sanchez of Najera ordered the building of the Suso Monastery in 1503, and work began the following year, starting with the church (built within sight of the older monastery), the two cloisters, sacristy, chapter house, library, gallery, and rooms. The north wall of the church was rebuilt alter collapsing in 1595, and in the century that followed the ensemble was extended with the addition of the facade of the church, tower, porter's lodge, main entrance, and abbot's chamber, to the plans of the architect Juan de Raón. The monastery consists of a series of hermits' caves, a church, and an entrance porch or narthex. The caves, originally used by the monks, are cut into the southern slope of the mountain. They form the northern boundary of the church, consisting of twin aisles and five bays. Elements of Romanesque building of the Visigothic period are still clearly visible, including some striking capitals. The Mozarabic arches preserve the identity of the earlier structure. On the south facade there is a series of portals added during the reconstruction, one of which is named after Gonzalo de Berceo, as it was here that he composed his seminal poetry. Archaeological excavations in advance of consolidation work on the west side of the church have revealed the foundations of a number of the other monastery buildings and the sites of the caves used by the original eremitic monks on the hillside above and around the church. The main buildings of the Yuso Monastery, next to the modern village and below the Suso Monastery, cluster around a small cloister known as the Canons' Cloister (Patio de la Luna) and the main cloister, named after San Millán. The latter is two-storeyed, the lower part being open and roofed with star-ribbed vaulting and the upper part closed (now housing the museum). To the west lie the imposing Monarch's Chamber and the great main staircase. The well proportioned church, reached through a fine Baroque portal to the north of the cloister, is rectangular in plan, with a central nave and three aisles and six bays separated by cylindrical columns;there is a lofty choir at the east end. This is separated from the nave by two screens, the outer in wrought iron and of superlative workmanship, and the inner an ornate Baroque masterpiece by Francisco Bisou (1767). On the east are the former chapter house (now the sacristy), an elegant Baroque chamber, with the impressive library of the monastery on its upper floor. Finally, the austere but well-proportioned refectory, with the more ornate Abbot's Chamber above, lie on the south side. Access to the monastery is through a monumental gate to a spacious courtyard and through an ornately decorated archway.
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My lilies are all just green leaves and no Flowers what should I do? This issue can have a few different causes. They can fail to flower because of, either, too much nitrogen or not enough phosphorus and potassium. Adding the latter two will help offset the nitrogen, and will likely fix the problem. Too compact of soil can also cause this, however. This will require digging them all up during dormancy, and tilling the soil while adding in materials to improve drainage before planting again.
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State atheism was an official policy of anti-clericalism in the Soviet Union and other Marxist-Leninist states. It should not be confused with the policy of State Secularism, which is the areligion of government. The Soviet Union used the term gosateizm, a syllabic abbreviation of "state" (gosudarstvo) and "atheism" (ateizm), to refer to a policy of expropriation of religious property, publication of information against religion and the official promotion of anti-religious materials in the education system. Governments that have implemented official policies of anti-clericalism oppose religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is designed to protect the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. In 1993, the UN's human rights committee declared that article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "protects theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief." The committee further stated that "the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief necessarily entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one's current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views." Signatories to the convention are barred from "the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers" to recant their beliefs or convert. Despite this, as of 2003[update] minority religions were still being still persecuted in many parts of the world. After the Russian Civil War, anti religious movements in the Soviet Union (gosateizm) attempted to stop the spread of religious beliefs as well as remove "prerevolutionary remnants". The Bolsheviks were particularly hostile to the Russian Orthodox Church (which supported the White Movement during the Russian Civil War) and saw it as a supporter of Tsarist autocracy. During a process of collectivization of land, Orthodox priests distributed pamphlets declaring that the Soviet regime was the Antichrist coming to place “the Devil’s mark” on the peasants, and encouraged them to resist the government. Political repression was widespread in the Soviet Union, and while religious persecution was applied to most religions, the regime's anti-religious campaigns were often directed against specific religions based on state interests, that varied over time. The attitude in the Soviet Union toward religion varied from a total ban on some religions to official support of others. Despite the Soviet Union's attempts to eliminate religion, other former USSR and anti-religious nations, such as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Moldova, Albania, and Georgia have high religious populations. Author Niels Christian Nielsen has written that the post-Soviet population in areas which were formerly predominantly Orthodox are now "nearly illiterate regarding religion", almost completely lacking the intellectual or philosophical aspects of their faith and having almost no knowledge of other faiths. Nonetheless, their knowledge of their faith and the faith of others notwithstanding, many post-Soviet populations have a large presence of religious followers. State atheism in Albania was taken to an extreme during the totalitarian regime installed after World War II, when religions, identified as imports foreign to Albanian culture, were banned altogether. The Agrarian Reform Law of August 1945 nationalized most property of religious institutions, including the estates of mosques, monasteries, orders, and dioceses. Many clergy and believers were tried and some were executed. All foreign Roman Catholic priests, monks, and nuns were expelled in 1946. The 1998 Constitution of Albania defined the country as a parliamentary republic, and established pesonal and political rights and freedoms, including protection against coercion in matters of religious belief. Albania is a member state of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and 2011 census found that 58.79% of Albanians adhere to Islam, making it the largest religion in the country. The majority of Albanian Muslims are secular Sunni with a significant Bektashi Shia minority. Christianity is practiced by 16.99% of the population, making it the 2nd largest religion in the country. The remaining population is either irreligious or belongs to other religious groups. Before World War II, there was given a distribution of 70% Muslims, 20% Eastern Orthodox, and 10% Roman Catholics. Today, Gallup Global Reports 2010 shows that religion plays a role in the lives of 39% of Albanians, and ranks Albania the thirteenth least religious country in the world. The U.S. state department reports that in 2013, "There were no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice." Traditionally, a large segment of the Chinese population took part in Chinese folk religions and Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism had had a significant role in the everyday life of ordinary people. After the 1949 Chinese Revolution, China began a period of rule by the Communist Party of China. For much of its early history, that government maintained under Marxist thought that religion would ultimately disappear, and characterized it as emblematic of feudalism and foreign colonialism. In August 1960, several bishops signed a joint pastoral letter condemning communism and declaring it incompatible with Catholicism, and calling on Catholics to reject it. Castro gave a four-hour speech the next day, condemning priests who serve "great wealth" and using fears of Falangist influence to attack Spanish born priests, declaring "There is no doubt that Franco has a sizeable group of fascist priests in Cuba." Originally more tolerant of religion, Cuba began arresting many believers and shutting down religious schools after the Bay of Pigs invasion. In 1961 The Cuban government confiscated Catholic schools, including the Jesuit school Fidel Castro had attended. In 1965 it exiled two hundred priests. In 1976 the Constitution of Cuba added a clause stating that the "socialist state...bases its activity on, and educates the people in, the scientific materialist concept of the universe". In 1992, the Dissolution of the Soviet Union lead the country to declare itself a secular state, and Catholic groups have worked to advance the Cuban thaw. In January 1998, Pope John Paul II paid a historic visit to the island, invited by the Cuban government and the Catholic Church in Cuba. The pope criticized the US embargo during his visit. Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba in 2012 and Pope Francis visited in 2015. Although the North Korean constitution states that freedom of religion is permitted, free religious activities no longer exist in North Korea, as the government sponsors religious groups only to create an illusion of religious freedom. After 1,500 churches were destroyed during the rule of Kim Il Sung from 1948 to 1994, three churches were built in Pyongyang to deflect human rights criticism. ↑ CIA World Factbvook : Albania, reporting Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%, but noting, "percentages are estimates; there are no available current statistics on religious affiliation; all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice" ↑ Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. "Population by Religious Confession, census". Archived from the original on 2006-10-01. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>. Updated in 2005. This page was last modified on 8 January 2016, at 07:48.
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I wrote about Autism Speaks a few weeks ago, and my email box has been lively with parents telling me to "check my facts" or sorrowfully wanting correct my ""unsound and terribly flawed" information. One of the issues with Autism Speaks is that they define Autism as tragedy. Then, when confronted by autistics who are clearly not tragic, they respond, "Well your autism is not like our autism," or "you are not like our children." No true Scotsman is an informal fallacy, an ad hoc attempt to retain an unreasoned assertion. When faced with a counterexample to a universal claim ("no Scotsman would do such a thing"), rather than denying the counterexample or rejecting the original claim, this fallacy modifies the subject of the assertion to exclude the specific case or others like it by rhetoric, without reference to any specific objective rule ("no true Scotsman would do such a thing"). Person B: "But my uncle Angus likes sugar with his porridge." Person A: "Ah yes, but no true Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge." That's how Autism Speaks deals with autistic people. Autistic person says: I can! It allows them to dismiss autistic critics as not relevant or not the people they are working to "save." There are, of course, parents who are struggling, but lots of parent groups recognize that the diversity of the autistic spectrum is a strength, a way to build a movement, rather than a threat to fundraising based on sorrow.
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Asgard is a fictional realm and its capital city appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Based on the realm of the same name from Norse mythology, Asgard is home to the Asgardians and other beings adapted from Norse mythology. Asgard first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (August 1962) by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, and features prominently in stories that follow the Marvel Comics superhero Thor. Asgard has appeared in various media adaptations of Thor, including the 2011 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor, its 2013 sequel Thor: The Dark World, the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the 2017 Thor sequel Thor: Ragnarok. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe he portrays the role of Thor, beginning in Thor (2011), and also appearing in The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Doctor Strange (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He will reprise his role in Avengers: Endgame, which is scheduled for release in April 2019. In 2015, he starred in the action thriller film Blackhat, had a comedic role in the fifth installment of National Lampoon's Vacation series, Vacation, and headlined the biographical thriller film In the Heart of the Sea. The following year, Hemsworth had a supporting role in Sony's reboot of Ghostbusters. In 2019, he will star in the spin-off of the Men in Black film series, Men in Black: International. Fandral the Dashing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers consisting of Fandral, Hogun the Grim, and Volstagg the Valiant. They are members of the supporting cast in Marvel's Thor comics and usually provide comic relief and side-adventures. Fandral was portrayed by Josh Dallas in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor and by Zachary Levi in Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. Heimdall () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is based on the Norse deity Heimdallr. Heimdall is described as all-seeing and all-hearing and is the sole protector of the Bifröst in Asgard (comics). Heimdall made his film debut in 2011 and is played by Idris Elba in the live-action films Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War, all set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hela () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Asgardian goddess of death is based on the Norse goddess, Hel. The ruler of Hel and Niflheim, the character has been a frequent foe of Thor. Debuting in the Silver Age of comic books, Hela first appeared in Journey into Mystery #102 and was adapted from Norse mythology by editor/writer Stan Lee and artist/writer Jack Kirby. Hela is portrayed by Cate Blanchett in the 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jane Foster is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly depicted as a supporting character of the superhero Thor Odinson. Created by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #84 (Sept. 1962). For many years, Foster was a nurse employed by Dr. Donald Blake, Thor's first mortal host, before becoming a doctor herself. In a 2014 storyline, Foster is revealed to be deemed worthy to wield Thor's hammer Mjolnir when the former is no longer able. During this temporary period, she adopts the name Thor, the Goddess of Thunder, and joins the Avengers. This storyline ends with the character sacrificing her life to defeat a dangerous adversary, and the reverting of the mantle Thor to its original bearer. Jane Foster has also appeared in various media adaptations of Thor, including the 2011 feature film Thor and the 2013 sequel Thor: The Dark World, in which she is portrayed by Natalie Portman. She is also referenced with photos or in dialogue in The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and episodes of the television series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Captain America: Civil War (2016) is the first film in the franchise's Phase Three, and is followed by Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), and Captain Marvel (2019), with Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) still scheduled for the phase. The first three phases have collectively been called "The Infinity Saga". Two untitled films are scheduled for 2020, three for 2021, and three for 2022. Sony Pictures distributes the Spider-Man films, which they continue to own, finance, and have final creative control over. Loki is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciller Jack Kirby, a version of the character first appeared in Venus #6 (August 1949). The modern day incarnation of Loki first appeared in Journey into Mystery #85 (October 1962). The character, which is based on the Norse deity of the same name, is the Asgardian god of mischief. He is the adopted brother and the often the enemy of the superhero Thor, however over the years the character has been depicted as an antihero. Loki has appeared in several ongoing series, limited series and alternate reality series, including his own 4-issue series Loki (2004). He was the main character of Journey into Mystery from issues 622 to 645, and appeared in the new issues of Young Avengers in 2013. He began appearing in his solo series Loki: Agent of Asgard in 2013 and again in 2016 with Vote Loki. The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, movies, video games, clothing and toys. In 2009, Loki was ranked as IGN's 8th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time and in 2014 was ranked again by IGN, this time as the 4th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. Tom Hiddleston portrays Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, first appearing in the 2011 live action film Thor, and then again in The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013) Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He is also slated to reprise his role in Avengers: Endgame (2019). Marvel Animated Features (MAF) is a series of eight direct-to-video animated films made by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Studios (later Marvel Animation) and Lions Gate Entertainment. Mjolnir () is a fictional mythical weapon appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as the principal weapon of the superheroes Thor and Jane Foster. Mjolnir, which first appears in Journey into Mystery #83 (August 1962), was created by writer Stan Lee and designed by artists Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott. Mjolnir was typically depicted as a large, square-headed gray sledgehammer. It has a short, round handle wrapped in brown leather, culminating in a looped lanyard. The object is based on Mjölnir, the weapon of the mythological Thor. In Norse mythology, Mjölnir (; Old Norse: Mjǫllnir, IPA: [ˈmjɔlːnir]) is the hammer of Thor, the Norse god associated with thunder. Mjölnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome and powerful weapons in existence, capable of leveling mountains. In its account of Norse mythology, the Prose Edda relates how the hammer's characteristically short handle was due to a mistake during its manufacture. Similar hammers (Ukonvasara) were a common symbol of the god of thunder in other North European mythologies. Odin is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is first mentioned in Journey into Mystery #85 (Oct. 1962), then first appears in Journey into Mystery #86 (Nov. 1962), and was adapted from the Odin of Norse mythology by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He is the father of Thor and former king of Asgard. Sir Anthony Hopkins portrayed Odin in the 2011 superhero feature film, Thor, and reprised his role in the 2013 and 2017 sequels, Thor: The Dark World, and Thor: Ragnarok, respectively. Sif is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted commonly in association with the superhero Thor. Based on the Norse goddess Sif, she was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Journey Into Mystery #102 (March 1964). As an Asgardian warrior and lover of Thor, Sif often accompanies Thor into battle. She has also battled alongside Balder, who has developed an unrequited attraction to her, as she never shows affection for anyone but Thor and certain individuals who have proved worthy to wield his hammer, Mjolnir, such as the noble alien warrior Beta Ray Bill and the mortal Eric Masterson. Sif has appeared in various media adaptations of Thor, including the 2011 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor, its 2013 sequel Thor: The Dark World, and the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., in which she is portrayed by Jaimie Alexander.
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Will tax be payable once we move out? Question I have owned a buy-to-let property for four years. However I've recently re-mortgaged the buy-to-let property and realised that we might need to move in genuinely for a few years and move on to a bigger house later. After living in the property for one year and we move out, will I have to pay capital gains tax? If the house genuinely becomes your principal private residence (PPR) then you will be exempt from capital gains tax on the eventual sale of the house for: (a) the one year period you actually lived in the house as your PPR; plus (b) the last 18 months of ownership (unless this overlaps with the one year); plus (c) you will be eligible for lettings relief for the period the house was rented out (unless it overlaps with the 18 months). The rest of the capital gain will be chargeable on you.
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My doctor has told me that I have diabetes and have been for a while. I was prescribed Glucophage. When I asked the doctor what I should do to manage this condition she just told me to avoid white potatoes, carrots and instant rice, but there has got to be more to it than that. Please tell me more about my condition so I can live a long and healthy life. I am sorry to hear you have been given so little information about your diabetes. To keep as healthy as possible, you need a lot of information and understanding about your condition. You will also need regular follow-ups to check your blood glucose levels, and a test called the HbA1c, which measures your long-term blood sugar level. Many people with diabetes also get their own glucometers – an inexpensive electronic device that will measure your blood sugar from a finger prick of blood. This will enable you to keep better control of your blood sugar level. Good control of blood sugar is one of the key elements to avoiding the complications of diabetes. You should be aware of these complications, not because you will get them, but to know how to avoid them, or what action to take if they start to appear. You will need regular eye checks, as well as checks on your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. So there is much more to diabetes than dietary advice, and even that is quite complicated, such as knowing that some foods containing carbohydrates (sugars) are better for you than others if they contain a lot of fibre. You can find information about many of these aspects within this website, and for further information try one of the support groups such as Diabetes UK. But you need regular contact with a medical professional as well. Ask if your practice has a diabetes nurse specialist or runs a diabetes clinic where you can go for advice and check ups. If it doesn't, and you can't persuade your doctor to become more involved, you should find yourself a practice that does offer these facilities.
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In summary, while Beard's (1993b) methods were followed as closely as possible, the results of this exercise do not support the Primatomorpha hypothesis. This is true even when bats are removed from the analysis so that the competing Volitantia hypothesis cannot possibly be supported (Analysis 3). When the results of these phylogenetic analyses are considered together with the results of the character analyses conducted by Hamrick et al. (1999), Sargis (2002d), Stafford and Thorington (1998), and Szalay and Lucas (1993, 1996), as well as the phylogenetic analyses of Bloch et al. (2002), Kriz and Hamrick (2001), Shoshani and McKenna (1998), and Silcox (2001a,b, 2002), the Primatomorpha hypothesis must be rejected. Analysis 2 does, however, support Volitantia (Figures 4 and 5), and this hypothesis has been further corroborated by the character analyses of Hamrick et al. (1999), Stafford and Thorington (1998), Szalay and Lucas (1993, 1996), and Thewissen and Babcock (1992), as well as the phylogenetic analyses of Bloch et al. (2002), Kriz and Hamrick (2001), Shoshani and McKenna (1998), and Silcox (2001a,b, 2002). Based on morphological evidence, therefore, it would appear that the sister taxon of Dermoptera is Chiroptera, not Primates (Bloch et al., 2002; Johnson and Kirsch, 1993; Kriz and Hamrick, 2001; Novacek, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994; Novacek and Wyss, 1986; Novacek et al., 1988; Sargis, 2002d; Shoshani and McKenna, 1998; Silcox, 2001a,b, 2002; Simmons, 1995; Simmons and Quinn, 1994; Szalay, 1977; Szalay and Lucas, 1993, 1996; Thewissen and Babcock, 1991, 1992, 1993; Wible, 1993; Wible and Covert, 1987; Wible and Novacek, 1988; contra Beard, 1989, 1993a,b; McKenna and Bell, 1997). Again, it seems that Primatomorpha represents an unnatural grouping (see previous section; Sargis, 2002d). If Volitantia is better supported by morphological studies than Primatomorpha, then what is the sister taxon to Volitantia? Shoshani and McKenna's (1998) analysis supported a Volitantia-Euprimates clade, but Analysis 2 of this study supported a Volitantia-Scandentia clade (Figures 4 and 5). The latter clade has also been supported by the analyses of Silcox (2001a,b, 2002) and Bloch et al. (2002). The most significant problem with the morphological support of Volitantia is that molecular studies have continually rejected this clade (Adkins and Honeycutt, 1991, 1993; Allard et al., 1996; Cronin and Sarich, 1980; Honeycutt and Adkins, 1993; Liu and Miyamoto, 1999; Liu et al., 2001; Murphy et al., 2001a,b; Porter et al., 1996; Waddell et al., 1999). It is, of course, possible that dermopterans and chiropterans evolved their similarities independently (see above), so Volitantia may represent an unnatural grouping based on convergent, rather than homologous, characters (Sargis, 2002d). While a Scandentia-Euprimates clade has been supported by cranial evidence (Kay et al., 1992; Wible and Covert, 1987; Wible and Novacek, 1988), such a clade is not supported by this analysis of postcranial data. Alternatively, molecular evidence has repeatedly supported a Scandentia-Dermoptera clade (Liu and Miyamoto, 1999; Liu et al., 2001; Madsen et al., 2001; Murphy et al., 2001a,b) with Primates as the sister taxon to this clade (Figure 1D; Liu and Miyamoto, 1999; Liu et al., 2001; Murphy et al., 2001a,b). A Scandentia-Dermoptera clade is also supported by postcranial evidence when Chiroptera is removed from the analysis (Analysis 3; Figure 6). This clade is supported by craniodental evidence as well, but only when Chiroptera is removed from the phylogenetic analysis (Bloch et al., 2002; Silcox, personal communication). The most probable sister taxon of Dermoptera, therefore, may be Scandentia rather than either Primates or Chiroptera. The relationship of plesiadapiforms to Euprimates could not be fully assessed here because of missing data in fossil plesiadapiforms, as well as the fact that only postcranial data were analyzed. In recent studies that included craniodental evidence, however, a Plesiadapiformes-Euprimates clade (i.e., Primates, sensu lato) was supported (Bloch et al., 2002; Silcox, 2001a,b, 2002). Plesiadapiforms should, therefore, be included in Primates rather than Dermoptera (Bloch et al., 2002; Silcox, 2001a,b, 2002). Finally, the inclusion of Ptilocercus in these analyses had significant effects on the results. For instance, when Ptilocercus is used to represent Scandentia in Beard's (1993b) analysis (Analysis 1), the molecular concept of Euarchonta is supported (Figure 3; Table 4), whereas this clade was not supported when Beard (1993b) used Tupaia to represent Scandentia (Figure 2). The inclusion of Ptilocercus also resulted in the identification of morphological synapomor-phies for a Dermoptera-Scandentia clade (Table 4), a grouping previously supported only by molecular evidence. Hence, in studies of primate supraordinal relationships that include comparisons of postcranial characters to those in tupaiids, Ptilocercus should certainly be included in the analysis (Sargis, 2000, 2002a,b,d). Similarly, if tupaiids are chosen as an outgroup in primate phylogenetic analyses that include postcranial evidence, then Ptilocercus should be used as the outgroup because its attributes are more conservative for Scandentia (Sargis, 2000, 2002a,b,d).
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The human noroviruses are a highly diverse group of viruses with a single-stranded RNA genome encoding a single major structural protein (VP1), which has a hypervariable domain (P2 domain) as the most exposed part of the virion. The noroviruses are classified on the basis of nucleotide sequence diversity in the VP1-encoding ORF2 gene, which divides the majority of human noroviruses into two genogroups (GI and GII). GII-4 noroviruses are the major aetiological agent of outbreaks of gastroenteritis around the world. During a winter season the diversity among the GII-4 noroviruses has been shown to fluctuate, driving the appearance of new virus variants in the population. We have previously shown that sequence data and in silico modelling experiments suggest there are two surface-exposed sites (site A and site B) in the hypervariable P2 domain. We predict these sites may form a functional variant-specific epitope that evolves under selective pressure from the host immune response and gives rise to antibody escape mutants. In this paper, we describe the construction of recombinant baculoviruses to express VLPs representing one pre-epidemic and one epidemic variant of GII-4 noroviruses, and the production of monoclonal antibodies against them. We use these novel reagents to provide evidence that site A and site B form a conformational, variant-specific, surface-exposed site on the GII-4 norovirus capsid that is involved in antibody binding. As predicted by our earlier study, significant amino acid changes at site A and site B give rise to GII-4 norovirus epidemic variants that are antibody escape mutants. The ability of RNA viruses to maintain plasticity as well as functionality in their genome has been well documented as a survival mechanism, allowing RNA viruses to adapt to changes in their environment, maintaining fitness in the viral population . Mutation in vivo can have a number of effects including increasing the virulence of a virus or acquisition of antiviral resistance [3, 4]. An important consequence of the accumulation of point mutations in viral structural proteins is the rise of antibody escape mutants [5–7]. RNA viruses generate this diversity in their genome via the lack of fidelity of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), and the mutants with most increased fitness are selected from the progeny by environmental factors such as the host immune response. Norovirus is a genus in the Caliciviridae family, that includes pathogens of humans and animals . Human noroviruses are a highly diverse group of viruses with a single-stranded RNA genome made up of three open reading frames (ORFs), . Noroviruses are classified on the basis of nucleotide sequence diversity in the ORF2 gene, which divides the majority of human noroviruses into two genogroups (GI and GII) and approximately 19 genetic clusters within them . The genogroup II-genotype 4 (GII-4) noroviruses have been the dominant circulating strain since the early 1990s , and in 2002 a variant GII-4 norovirus emerged that caused unusually high numbers of outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the summer of 2002, and epidemic gastroenteritis around the world in the winter of 2002/2003 . This variant possessed a 3 nucleotide (nt) insertion in the hypervariable P2 domain of the VP1 protein at position 6265. This epidemiological pattern was repeated in 2006 when another novel GII-4 norovirus variant emerged, however, no insertions or deletions were observed in the genome of this virus (J Gray, personal communication). Noroviruses are the major aetiological agent of outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the community and in semi-closed settings around the world. During a winter season (September-March), the diversity among the GII-4 noroviruses has been shown to fluctuate, driving the appearance of new virus variants in the population . Studies of the genetic diversity of these viruses have shown that new GII-4 variants appear periodically in the population following evolution of the viruses along neutral networks, and that accumulation of mutations in the hypervariable P2 domain results in antibody escape mutant viruses which go on to cause epidemic gastroenteritis [14–16]. Computer modelling experiments have previously suggested that there are two 3-amino acid motifs (site A and site B) in the hypervariable P2 domain that define the appearance of epidemiologically significant GII-4 variant norovirus strains . Based on these observations, we predicted that these two motifs may be a functional variant-specific epitope that evolves under selective pressure from the host immune response and give rise to antibody escape mutants. Due to the lack of a tissue culture system and suitable animal models in which to study noroviruses, we synthesised recombinant virus-like particles (VLPs) using a baculovirus expression system based on previously described methods [18, 19]. These VLPs were used to generate monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in order to test the functionality of site A and site B. We use these novel reagents to provide evidence that site A and site B form a conformational, variant-specific, surface-exposed site on the GII-4 norovirus capsid that is involved in antibody binding, and that as predicted, significant amino acid changes at site A and site B give rise to GII-4 norovirus epidemic variants that represent antibody escape mutants. Wild-type VLPs were purified from recombinant baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells and were analysed by EM (Figure 1(d)). Negative staining of preparations showed intact VLPs had formed for both strains, and no significant morphological variation was observed within the VLP preparations (Figure 1(d)). Particles were 30-35 nm in diameter, and the surface structure of the particles could be visualised at high magnification (Figure 1(d)). The VLPs were morphologically indistinguishable from native norovirus virions found in clinical specimens, but >10-fold more VLPs were observed per viewing field than are typically observed in clinical specimens. GII-4 Norovirus Major Sturctural Protein. (a) Schematic representing the norovirus VP1 protein, highlighting the hypervariable P2 domain and putative epitopes Site A and Site B (as described in Allen et al., 2008). (b) Table showing amino acid variation at Site A and Site B in the period 1999-2006, as previously described in (Allen et al., 2008). Strains used in the work described here are highlighted. (c) Model of the norovirus VP1 P domain showing the location of Site A and Site B in the three-dimensional protein (structure from Cao et al., 2007). (d) Electron micrograph showing GII-4v2 VLPs purified from Sf 9 cells, the morphology of which is representative for all VLPs described here. Magnification is 105 000× and VLPs are stained with 1.5% phosphotungstic acid. Scale bar is 100 nm. The two wild-type expressing plasmid constructs pRN-GII4v0 and pRN-GII4v2 were modified by PCR site directed mutagenesis so that the ORF2 encoded a VP1 protein that was identical to either the GII-4v0 or GII-4v2 parental protein except at either of the putative epitope positions 296-298 (site A) or positions 393-395 (site B), where the protein would be of the heterologous (non-parental) strain (Figure 2). Successful mutagenesis at the target site without alteration of the remaining norovirus insert was confirmed through sequence analysis (data not shown). Schematic representation of norovirus protein coding region of pRN16 constructs expressing wild-type and hybrid VLPs. Following construction of plasmids pRN-GII4v0 and pRN-GII4v2 expressing wild-type GII-4v0 and GII-4v2 VLPs, respectively, these plasmid constructs were modified by site directed mutagenesis at either putative epitope site A (nt 886-891, aa 296-298), or putative epitope site B (nt 1176-1182, aa 383-395) to generate plasmid constructs that expressed hybrid VLPs. The schematic shows a representation of the region of the plasmid encoding norovirus structural proteins (3'UTR and remainder of plasmid not shown for clarity). PCR mutagenesis was used to generate plasmid constructs that encoded an ORF2 identical to either GII-4v0 or GII-4v2, except at either site A or site B, which was modified to be as equivalent to that position in the heterologous variant. The resulting expressed VP1 protein was a hybrid of the two variants, and so the VLP formed from the hybrid VP1 was antigenically hybrid. Plasmid construct names are given on the left, whilst the hybrid VLPs are represented with VLP names next to them on the right. All GII-4v0 derived regions are shown in solid black, all GII-4v2 derived regions are shown in hatched lines. All four hybrid VLP-expressing recombinant baculoviruses efficiently expressed VP1 (data not shown). Further, EM analysis of GII4v0/A2B0, GII4v0/A0B2 and GII4v2/A2B0 VLPs formed by mutant recombinant VP1 proteins were morphologically indistinguishable from wild-type VLPs (data not shown). However, the hybrid construct pRN-GII4v2/A0B2 did not form VLPs, despite expressing VP1 (data not shown), therefore the hybrid VLP GII-4v2/A0B2 was not available for subsequent work. In addition to the hybrid VLPs described above, a reverse mutant construct, pRN-GII4v0/A0B0R, was also generated by back mutation of the hybrid construct pRN-GII4v0/A0B2 by site-directed mutagenesis (Figure 2). This reverted the amino acid sequence at the site B from STA (GII-4v2) back to N~N (GII-4v0). This plasmid was sequenced to confirm the mutation at the target site had taken place, and that no changes had taken place in the rest of the insert (data not shown). The plasmid was used as described to produce recombinant baculoviruses and produce the VLP GII-4v0/A0B0R. Mice were inoculated with either GII-4v0 VLPs or GII-4v2 VLPs, and five monoclonal antibodies were fully characterised for their isotype, titre and binding specificity (Table 1). Test bleeds from both GII-4v0 and GII-4v2 inoculated mice prior to fusion showed that only a low level of cross-reactivity with the heterologous antigen by ELISA (data not shown). 1Titres were determined by serial dilution between 1:10 and 1:10 000 000 in an EIA. Titres were taken as the reciprocal of the last dilution to give an optical density >0.5 at 450 nm. Three anti--GII-4v0 mAbs (mAbGII4v0.5, mAbGII4v0.8, mAbGII4v0.10) and two anti-GII-4v2 mAbs (mAbGII4v2.5, mAbGII4v2.6) were characterised for reactivity, isotype and titre. The ability of the five mAbs to recognise their respective homologous antigen that had been chemically denatured was also assessed by ELISA. Urea treatment of the homologous antigen significantly reduced recognition of the epitope by all of the monoclonal antibodies (Table 1), and urea treatment of the heterologous antigen did not confer recognition (data not shown). Each of the three anti-GII-4v0 mAbs displayed a slightly different binding pattern, although the data suggested that all three mAbs recognised an epitope formed or influenced by both site A and site B (Figure 3(a)). Average percent reduction in binding of (a) anti-GII-4v0 and (b) anti-GII-4v2 mAbs to wild-type and mutant VLPs in a cross adsorption ELISA. As described in the Materials and Methods, each mAb was pre-incubated in a blocking step with the antigen indicated on the x-axis, before being transferred to a microtitre plate coated with antigen homologous to the mAbs being tested. Percent reduction in binding was then calculated using a PBS control. Cross absorption assays were repeated 3 times independently and the average data is presented here with bars showing the standard error of the mean. Cartoons representing the antigenic structure of the antigen (as described in Figure 2) are shown above the bars (with corresponding labels below the bars). All mAbs were used at 1:10 000 dilution, except mAbGII4v0.5, which was used at 1:1000. More than 75% reduction in binding of mAbGII4v0.5 to its homologous antigen (GII-4v0) was observed following blocking with the homologous antigen, whereas no reduction in binding was observed following incubation with the heterologous antigen (GII-4v2). Following replacement of GII-4v0 site A with the heterologous GII-4v2 site A, VLP GII-4v0/A2B0 failed to block any of the binding of mAbGII4v0.5 to its homologous antigen, demonstrating that site A is essential for mAb recognition of the antigen. When the GII-4v0 site B was replaced with the GII-4v2 site B, VLP GII-4v0/A0B2, reduced binding to the GII-4v0 antigen by ~19% indicating that when the homologous site A was intact, partial mAb recognition occurred, but without the corresponding homologous site B, mAb recognition was impaired. Similarly, substitution of the heterologous site B in the GII-4v2 with the GII-4v0 site B (VLP GII-4v2/A2B0) was not sufficient for recognition of this hybrid VLP by mAbGII4v0.5. Importantly, restoring site B to the VLP GII-4v0/A0B2 was sufficient to restore wild-type levels of binding, to >70% reduction. A 25% reduction in binding was observed following blocking of mAbGII4v0.8 with the homologous GII-4v0 VLP, compared to only 5% reduction in binding following blocking with the heterologous GII-4v2 VLP. Blocking with any one of the three hybrid VLPs resulted in ≤10% reduction in binding; the highest level of reduction following blocking among these VLPs was with the GII-4v2/A2B0 VLP which displays site B from the homologous (GII-4v0) antigen, thereby indicating that mAbGII4v0.8 was able to partially recognise site B, but that complete recognition required the homologous site A to be displayed concurrently. Blocking with the reverse mutant VLP GII-4/A0B0Rrestored binding reduction to 27%, comparable to blocking levels by wild-type GII-4v0. This further supports the observation that both homologous site A and site B must be displayed simultaneously on the virus surface for mAb recognition. Approximately 68% of mAbGII4v0.10 binding was reduced following blocking by GII4v0 VLP, and only one tenth of this reduction in binding observed following blocking with GII-4v2 VLP. Blocking with any one of the three hybrid VLPs resulted in ≤10% reduction in binding; again the highest level of reduction following blocking with a hybrid VLP was with the GII-4v2/A2B0 VLP which displays site B from the homologous (GII-4v0) antigen, suggesting a role for site B in mAb recognition. Blocking with the reverse mutant VLP GII-4/A0B0Rrestored binding reduction to levels comparable to blocking levels by wild-type GII-4v0, of approximately 70% reduction. This confirmed that both homologous site A and site B must be present for mAb recognition of the antigen. Both anti-GII-4v2 mAbs behaved the same in competition immunoassays (Figure 3(b)). Blocking of both mAbs with the homologous GII-4v2 antigen resulted in >85% reduction in binding in both mAbs, and blocking with the heterologous GII-4v0 antigen resulted in <2.5% reduction in both mAbs. When blocking was performed using one of the two GII-4v0-derived hybrid VLPs (GII-4v0/A2B0, or, GII-4v0/A0B2), or the reverse mutant VLP, <7.5% reduction in binding was observed in both anti-GII-4v2 mAbs. In contrast, blocking with the hybrid VLP GII-4v2/A2B0 (which is all GII-4v2 except at site B) produced reduction in binding equivalent to that observed with the GII-4v2 antigen of >80% reduction. These data indicated that both the anti-GII-4v2 mAbs recognised an epitope that is variant specific, but is not formed of either site A or site B, alone or in combination. Efforts to identify sites on the norovirus capsid involved in antibody binding have been hampered by the lack of a cell culture system for human noroviruses , and therefore epitope mapping studies using infectious virus have not been possible. Here we have used VLPs synthesised in the baculovirus expression system (BES) as a surrogate for infectious virus in a mutagenesis study to identify sites on the GII-4 norovirus capsid important in antibody recognition. Previous work has shown that when VLPs expressed in the BES were compared with VLPs expressed in a mammalian recombinant protein expression system, no discernable differences in the biochemistry or structure of the two differently expressed VLPs were observed . The data presented here show the expression of high yields of VLPs representing two norovirus strains, one from each of the previously identified neutral networks: (i) pre-2002 epidemic, and (ii) 2002 epidemic-200 . These VLPs were used to immunize mice to produce monoclonal antibodies against these strains. Both the anti-GII-4v0 and anti-GII-4v2 polyclonal antibody responses were generally specific for the homologous antigen, but a low level of cross-reactivity was observed (data not shown). Cross-reactivity is expected in polyclonal serum because the different antibodies present recognise a range of different epitopes, and have different affinities; therefore polyclonal antibodies will, at least in part, recognise a heterologous antigen. However, following sub-cloning by limiting dilution, cross-reactivity was lost as mAbs were isolated. This confirmed the specificity of these antibodies for a single GII-4 norovirus variant strain through recognition of an epitope that was unique to that variant norovirus and offered no cross-reactivity between other GII-4 norovirus variants. The absence of any cross-reactivity in the EIA between the mAbs and their heterologous antigen also showed that the mAbs were not recognising epitopes from baculovirus proteins or from Sf9 cell-derived proteins. Both antigen preparations were made in the same protein expression system and purified in the same way. Therefore any baculovirus or cell-derived proteins that co-purified with the VLPs were present in both the GII-4v0 and the GII-4v2 VLP preparations used in the immunization of the mice and in the preparation used as antigen in the EIA. Thus any mAb reacting to a baculovirus or cell-derived protein would react equally with both antigen preparations. This is not the case, with all mAbs displaying specificity for the homologous antigen preparation, thereby demonstrating that all five mAbs were raised against norovirus proteins and not baculovirus or insect cell proteins. Urea treatment of both GII-4v0 and GII-4v2 VLPs revealed the three anti-GII-4v0 mAbs recognised a conformational epitope, whereas the anti-GII-4v2 mAbs recognised a partially conformational epitope (Table 1). Treatment of a macromolecular protein with a chaotropic agent such as 8 M urea will denature the three-dimensional structure of the protein by disrupting the non-covalent intra-molecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces. If the mAbs recognised a linear epitope, binding would remain unaffected following chaotropic treatment. However, the epitope recognised by the mAbs must be conformational, as the level of mAb binding to the antigen was reduced following denaturing treatment of the antigen. Demonstrating that the mAbs recognised conformational epitopes was important because site A and site B identified by sequence analysis were shown to be surface exposed loop structures on the virus surface separated by 100 amino acid residues in the linear protein, but in close proximity in the three-dimensional protein (Figure 1(a) &1(c)). Therefore, it was expected that any antibodies raised against these sites would, at least in part, recognise the conformation of the surface structure at these positions, which is why it was important that VLPs were used as the immunogen rather than linear VP1 protein. This was corroborated through the failure to detect a VP1 band in western blots (data not shown). Site-directed mutagenesis was used to modify the norovirus ORF2 gene in the plasmids pRN-GII4v0 and pRN-GII4v2 at putative epitopes site A (aa296-298) or site B (aa393-395). The aim was to generate both GII-4v0 and GII-4v2 hybrid VLPs which displayed either an heterologous site A or site B. It was predicted that the changes engineered at site A or site B would differently affect the ability of mAbs to recognise the antigen, and so demonstrate the roles of site A and site B as surface-exposed sites involved in antibody binding. The three hybrid VLPs that were isolated were found to be morphologically indistinguishable from wild-type VLPs as determined by EM, demonstrating that the mutagenesis had no adverse effect on the structural integrity of the VLP. The exception was the hybrid VLP expressed from the recombinant baculovirus BAC-GIIv2/A0B2, which despite expressing VP1 to high levels, did not form VLPs. As no coding errors were observed in the ORF2 gene, and a high level of protein expression was observed by SDS-PAGE, the lack of VLP formation was not due to truncation of the protein, failure of the baculovirus and expression vector to undergo recombination, or failure of the recombinant baculovirus to express the protein. Therefore, it seems most likely that the mutations engineered in the P2 domain were structurally unfavourable and that they either perturb the correct conformation of the protein or interfered with the subunit-subunit interactions, thus precluding particle formation. It was predicted that the mAbs raised against the GII-4v0 and the GII-4v2 antigens would recognise a site formed of both site A and site B, or would recognise a site formed of one of these sites alone. This was tested in a cross absorption EIA using wild-type VLPs, hybrid VLPs, the reverse mutant VLP and the five mAbs. All three anti-GII-4v0 mAbs recognised an antigenic region formed or influenced directly by both site A and site B, as replacement of either of these sites abolished recognition of the GII-4v0 antigen by the mAbs. This observation was supported by the data from the reverse mutant VLP. The GII-4v0/A0B2 VLP failed to block binding of the anti-GII-4v0 mAbs to the GII-4v0 antigen, but reverse mutation of site B in this antigen back to GII-4v0 concurrently restored the ability of the antigen to block mAb binding. The conclusion that the anti-GII-4v0 mAbs require both site A and site B for antibody binding reflects predictions made using bioinformatics data . It was noted that epidemiologically significant variant strains appeared in the population following a cluster transition event in which biochemically significant amino acid substitutions (or insertions/deletions) were observed at site A and site B concurrently which itself suggested that both site A and site B are required for defining epidemiologically important strains and allowing GII-4 noroviruses to evade immunity existing in the population. The back mutation of the hybrid GII-4v0/A0B2 at site B created the VLP GII-4v0/A0B0Rthat had twice undergone site-directed mutagenesis at site B, so that it was structurally and antigenically identical to the wild-type GII-4v0 antigen. This experiment confirmed: (i) that the site-directed mutagenesis process had no effect on the integrity of the antigenic properties of the particle, other than those created by the targeted mutation, and, (ii) that recognition of an unrecognised hybrid antigen by a mAb could be restored by replacement of the mutated site, thus demonstrating that the mutated site was necessary for antibody recognition of the antigen. The anti-GII-4v2 mAbs recognised only the GII-4v2 VLP and the GII-4v2/A2B0 VLP, therefore demonstrating that these mAbs recognise either an epitope that is dependent on site A being in the structural context of the GII-4v2 antigen, but is independent of site B, or, an epitope that is formed of neither site A nor site B. The former is difficult to evaluate because the VLP GII-4v2/A0B2 was not available, but the latter could be investigated by construction of a GII-4v2 hybrid VLP with site A and site B from GII-4v0, which if recognised by the mAbs, would demonstrate that the mAbs bind a site that is neither site A nor site B. Conversely, if such a VLP was not recognised, this would demonstrate that site A and site B were important for antibody binding, and more detailed mutagenesis studies where individual amino acid residues in the GII-4v2 VLP were mutated would aid in revealing the residues critical for antibody recognition. Whether the five mAbs described here recognise the same or different epitopes remains to be tested in blocking EIAs. In this study, we have used several well characterised experimental systems in conjunction with in silico models, to identify sites on the GII-4 norovirus capsid that are important in antibody recognition. The use of antigenically hybrid VLPs to study capsid-antibody interactions was used as a surrogate for infectious virus because there is no cell culture system available for these viruses, and our approach of systematic mutation of VLPs led to the identification of two 3aa sites on the surface of the capsid required for antibody binding. Whether the regions identified in this work represent neutralisisng epitopes remains to be investigated, but these investigations remain hampered by the lack of a replicative in vitro system or suitable animal model. It would also be interesting to determine whether the mAbs described here could interfere with the ability of VLPs to interact with histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) when used in a VLP-HBGA binding assay . Two faecal specimens were selected from outbreaks that had been characterised by PCR as being caused by a GII-4 norovirus at the Enteric Virus Unit, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London, UK. The two viruses were: (i) a GII-4 norovirus circulating before the 2002 epidemic, classified as a variant 0 (GII-4v0) virus; and, (ii) a GII-4 norovirus circulating after the 2002 epidemic, and classified as a variant 2 (GII-4v2) virus. Samples were prepared as 10% suspensions in balanced salt solution (Medium 199, Sigma, Dorset, UK) prior to nucleic acid extraction. Total nucleic acid was extracted from a 250 μl aliquot of the 10% faecal suspension using a guanadinium isothiocyanate/silica method as previously described . Extracted nucleic acid was incubated at 42°C for 60 minutes with 50 pmol of poly(T)-TVN primer in Tris-HCl buffer, pH8.3, 5 mM MgCl2, 1 mM each dNTP, and 200 U SuperScript® III reverse transcriptase (Invitrogen, Paisley, UK). The genes ORF2 and ORF3 encoding the major structural protein VP1 and the minor structural protein VP2, respectively, and the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR), were amplified by PCR using primers ORF1/2-F1 and TVN-linker. The resulting amplicon 3'ORF1+ORF2+ORF3+3'UTR, was either 2513 bp or 2516 bp in length, depending on the strain. Reactions were performed using High Fidelity PCR System (Roche Diagnostics Ltd, Burgess Hill, UK). PCR amplified amplicons were purified either from solution using Montage® PCR Filter Units (Millipore, Watford, UK), or from agarose gels using Geneclean® Spin Kit (Qbiogene, Cambridge, UK). Both were used as according to manufacturers' instructions. Sequencing PCR was performed using 10 pmol of primer and 100 fmol template DNA. All sequencing was performed using GenomeLab™ DTCS - Quick Start Kit (Beckman Coulter, High Wycombe, UK) according to the manufacturer's instructions, and a CEQ8000 automated sequencer (Beckman Coulter). Nucleotide sequence contigs were generated from trace data using the Assembler tool in BioNumerics v3.5 (Applied Maths, Kortrijk, Belgium). Multiple alignment and phylogenetic analysis was performed using appropriate algorithms in BioNumerics v3.5 (Applied Maths). Amino acid sequence data was deduced from nucleotide data and analysed using BioEdit , and also using BioNumerics v3.5 (Applied Maths). Each of the purified 3'ORF1+ORF2+ORF3+3'UTR amplicons was cloned into the vector pCR2.1-TOPO® (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instruction. The 3'ORF1+ORF2+ORF3+3'UTR amplicon was then modified by PCR using primers deigned to: (i) remove the partial 3'ORF1 sequence at the 5' end of the amplicon; (ii) include two restriction enzyme sites at each end of the amplicons in order to allow for directional cloning into vector pRN16; and, (iii) modify the translation initiation context of ORF2 to match that of the baculovirus polyhedrin gene (PH). The GII-4v0 amplicon was modified as follows: 5'-A-Stu I-Sac I-PH-ORF2-ORF3-3'UTR-Xba I-Stu I-A-3'. The GII-4v2 amplicon was modified as follows: 5'-A-Stu I-Kpn I-PH-ORF2-ORF3-3'UTR-Xba I-Stu I-A-3'. The vector pRN16 contains a region of the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) around the polyhedrin gene (ORF7 (735)) which overlaps the essential ORF8 (1629) gene. pRN16 was produced by ligating the Bst XI/Hin dIII polyhedrin promoter-polylinker fragment from pAcCL29.1 into Bst XI/Hin dIII cut pBacPAK8 (BD Clontech). After digestion of both inserts and vector pRN16 with the appropriate restriction enzymes ligation was performed using T4 DNA ligase (Fermentas, York) to produce the plasmids pRN-GII4v0 and pRN-GII4v2. Positive clones were grown overnight in a 50 ml LB broth culture containing 50 μg/ml ampicillin, and the plasmid isolated using a plasmid preparation kit (Plasmid Midi Kit, QIAGEN, West Sussex, or SNAP Midi-Prep Kit, Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Wild-type sequences for GII-4v0 and GII-4v2 VLPs were mutated in the P2 domain at site previously identified as forming a putative epitope (Figure 1(a)-(c)). Plasmids pRN-GII4v0 and pRN-GII4v2 were mutated in a site specific mutagenic PCR reaction at either a 9 nt site at positions 886-894 (site A), or a 6 or 9 nt site (depending on the strain) at positions 1176-1182 (site B) from the GII-4v0 sequence to the GII-4v2 sequence, or vice versa (Figure 2). For this, the GeneTailor Site-Directed Mutagenesis System (Invitrogen) was used according to manufacturer's instruction, using a touchdown PCR method to mutate and amplify the plasmids. Mutated plasmids were transformed into DH5αT1RE. coli cells (Invitrogen) and purified using SNAP Midi Prep Kit (Invitrogen) according to manufacturer's instruction. Purified plasmids were used to generate recombinant baculoviruses as has been previously described . Following recombination, a clonal population of recombinant baculoviruses was obtained by plaque purification. The resulting recombinant baculoviruses expressed either GII-4v0 VLPs (BAC-GIIv0) or GII-4v2 VLPs (BAC-GIIv2). Plaque purified viruses were used to seed stock cultures of each virus, and these stocks were titred by plaque assay. Suspension cultures of Sf 9 cells were infected with either BAC-GII4v0 or BAC-GII4v2 at a moi of 2-3 and incubated at 28°C for 48-72 hours. Virus-like particles were purified from the intracellular phase by treatment with phosphate buffer containing 1% IGEPAL (Sigma Aldrich) and sequential centrifugation steps for clarification, and finally through 15%-60% sucrose cushions to concentrate the VLPs. Fractions were collected and analysed by SDS-PAGE on a 12% polyacrylamide gel (NuPAGE kit (Invitrogen), according to manufacturer's instruction) and electron microscopy (EM). BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously with 100 μg of either wild-type GII-4v0 or wild-type GII-4v2 VLPs in Freunds incomplete adjuvant in order to produce mAbs. After boosting the mice fortnightly on a further four occasions, the spleen cells were harvested and fused with mouse myeloma cells (NSI) by standard procedures . The fused cells were dispensed into 96 well tissue culture plates and cultured in RPMI1640+GlutaMAX media (Invitrogen), supplemented with 2% hypoxanthine-thymidine (HT) (Invitrogen), 1% oxaloacetate-pyruvate-insulin (OPI) (Sigma) and 1% antibiotic-antimycotic (AbAm) (Invitrogen). Ten to 14 days post fusion, supernatants from the fusions were tested for antibodies to GII-4v0 and GII-4v2 by EIA as described below. Hybridomas secreting norovirus variant-specific antibodies were then cloned twice by limiting dilution. Microtiter plates (Greiner Bio-One, Stonehouse) were coated with either GII-4v0 or GII-4v2 VLPs at a concentration of 1 μg/ml diluted in PBS + 0.08% azide at 4°C. A 100 μl aliquot of test supernatants were diluted between 1 in 100 and 1 in 10000000 in PBST, and detection was performed using a rabbit anti-Mouse IgG-HRP conjugate antibody (Dako, Cambridgeshire) at 1 in 4000 dilution in conjugate diluent (Microimmune) and TMB Substrate (Europa Bioproducts, Cambridge). A 100 μl sample of culture supernatant from each hybridoma was added to coated microtiter plates and antibody isotype determined using a goat anti-mouse IgG1a, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG2c, IgG3 or IgM (Jackson Laboratories, Maine, USA) antibody, diluted 1 in 2000 in conjugate diluent (Microimmune). Detection was performed using rabbit anti-goat HRP-conjugate diluted 1 in 20000 in conjugate diluent (Microimmune) containing mouse serum (Sigma-Aldrich, Dorset, UK) and TMB Substrate (Europa Bioproducts). The EIA was performed as described above, but before the addition of the mAb to the plate, the VLP antigen bound to the plate surface was treated with either 8 M urea in PBS or PBS for 1 hour at room temperature. Wells were then washed 3 times with PBST and the EIA performed as described above. In the competitive immunoassay, monoclonal antibodies were diluted in PBS 1 in 1000 - 1 in 10000 and pre-incubated with either the homologous or heterologous wild-type VLP at a concentration of 1 μg/ml, one of the antigenically hybrid VLPs at 1 μg/ml, or PBST as a control. Pre-incubated monoclonal antibodies were then added to microtiter plates coated with 1 μg/ml of the homologous antigen (as described above) to which the monoclonal antibody was raised. The monoclonal antibody was then allowed to attach, and detected with an anti-mouse HRP conjugate antibody in an EIA as described above. Results are shown as per cent reduction in binding of mAb to homologous antigen (ODtest) compared to level of binding in PBST control (ODPBST): % reduction in binding = ([ODPBST - ODtest]/ODPBST) × 100. The authors are grateful to Ian Jones (University of Reading) for the gift of BAC10:KO1629 and pAcCL29.1. This work was supported by the European Commission, DG Research Quality of Life Program, under the 6th Framework (EVENT;SP22-CT-2004-502571). DJA participated in the design of the experiments, conducted the experiments, and drafted the manuscript. RN participated in the design of the experiments, provided reagents and expertise for production of the VLPs, and editing of the manuscript. DS participated in the design of the experiments, provided reagents and expertise for production of the monoclonal antibodies, and editing of the manuscript. JJG participated in the design and coordination of the study, analysis of the data and editing of the manuscript. PR provided reagents, participated in the coordination of the study and editing of the manuscript. MIG participated in the design and coordination of the study, analysis of the data and drafting and editing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
0.98592
As a couple therapist in Toronto, I’m sometimes asked about what to do if you want to go to marriage therapy or couple’s counselling but your partner refuses. Does relationship therapy work if only one person attends? At first glance, you might think that the answer is obvious—after all, how can you do couple therapy with only one person in the room? Some people might even suggest that if your partner refuses to go to counselling with you, then they aren’t really committed to the relationship. Certainly it’s true that couple therapy looks at the relational dynamics between a couple, the steps that both partners take in their difficulties, and the way that their actions interact to create and maintain their situation. It’s ideal to have both partners involved in this process of examining how a couple got to where they are and then in working to recreate a new and more positive interaction. But if your partner isn’t yet ready to come to therapy, there may still be work you can do on your own through individual therapy. An experienced couple therapist can work with you to identify your part in the interactions between you and your partner, and help you identify the areas for change within your control. Often when one person in a relationship changes, the entire dynamic changes. Over time, this may provide the spur your partner needs to agree to attend therapy as a couple. Alternatively, if you find that you have: 1) taken a hard look at your own part in your difficulties as a couple, and 2) made consistent effort to change your behaviour and maintained this change over time (even despite your partner’s reluctance to engage in the process), yet your partner still refuses to attend couple therapy or have conversations with you about how you might work together to improve the relationship, then at least you have discovered some useful information about the state of your relationship. You’ll also already be working with a therapist who can support you if you realize that your partner is truly unwilling to work on the relationship. Relationship therapy for individuals can help you identify the negative patterns in your relationship, look at your own role in these interactions, and determine your willingness to make change. If you make change and find that your partner is still unwilling to engage in couple therapy, individual relationship therapy can help you explore your next options.
0.994013
The best recipes from Germany - from Bratwurst to Schnitzel and Potatoe Salad to Rotkohl. Here you can find lots of interesting and helpful books about German Cooking from authentic German Home Style Recipes like Schweinebraten, Jaegerschnitzel to cakes (Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte) and cookies (Heidesand). If you know of other great German dishes or recipes please tell me! Staple food in Germany is bread - brown and white bread and lots of other sorts. Germany is well known for its beer but it has also great wine from the different regions like Mosel, Pfalz, Württemberg, Rheinhessen, Rheingau, Franken, etc. What can you find on a typical German Menu? Dining in Germany can be very different. But if you go to a German restaurant you will probably find some of the things I tried to explain in the following table. In Germany the price of your meal already includes the taxes and the tip. However if you enjoyed a fine meal and a not too bad service (you probably won't find the same great service as in the US) you should add a little bit extra to the bill (pay 25 Euro instead of 23.90 Euro). If you are a student or do not earn money by your own, you can go without tipping. Moreover, it is regular to round up the amount payable (pay 12 Euro instead of 11.80 Euro). Würchwitzer Milbenkäse - Cheese Specialty from Würchwitz in Saxony-Anhalt. Enzymes of cheese mites are responsible for the maturation, in contrast to other cheeses, where lab-enzymes or lactic acid bacteria are used. Aal Grün - Fish specialties from Berlin and Brandenburg. Cooked eel with "Spreewaldsoße" fish broth and light roux with butter, cream, parsley and dill. Pfälzer Saumagen - Meat dish from the Palatinate (dialect "Saumage" or "Saumaache") region. From salt pork, meat, diced potatoes. In pig's stomach stuffed and cooked. Blutwurst - Cook sausage of pork blood, bacon, rind, salt, pepper, marjoram, thyme, allspice, ginger. Regarded as one of the world's oldest sausage species that is mentioned in Homer's "Odyssey". Saures Lüngerl - In southern Germany and Austria "Beuschel" oder "Beuscherl": ragout of minced lung in sour cream sauce, served with bread dumplings. Bregenwurst - Raw or smoked sausage made of pork and pork belly. "Bregen" is Low German for brain. This is now banned as an ingredient, but the name has remained. Snuten un Poten - Low German for snouts and paws. North German dish of pickled pork parts. Cooked with bay leaves, juniper berries, peppercorns. Flurgönder - Specialty in the Fulda country. Raw, smoked brawn in the form of bubbles, cooked, often served with noodles. Schwarzsauer - North German, formerly East Prussian meal. From goose or pig blood clotting by the addition of vinegar, is black and the added meat residues and binds rinds. Kutteln - Kitchen Linguistic name for the rumen, the largest of the three rumen of the cow or other ruminants. As a stew, stew or soup in processed or fried. Niere - Kidney (especially veal or pork), as many offal, traditionally prepared rather in Catholic areas. As the "acid kidney" typical Westphalian, South German or Saxon. Kalbsbries - the pituitary gland of young beef (thymus) is linguistically kitchen sweetbreads (German: Bries, Swiss: Milke) called. Popular because of the delicacy, is rich in potassium and vitamin C. Warsteiner USA Homepage one of my favourite beers.
0.955785
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is the only manager who remained in his job throughout the first twenty-one seasons of the Premier League. The Premier League is a professional football league in England which is at the top of the English football league system. The league was formed in 1992 as a replacement for the original First Division. At the time he retired in May 2013, Manchester United's chief Sir Alex Ferguson was the last remaining manager who had been in post continuously since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, a total of 21 seasons. Arsène Wenger has been in charge of Arsenal in the Premier League since 1996, while David Moyes was Everton's manager for eleven seasons from 2002 to 2013, before taking over Manchester United after Ferguson's retirement. Harry Redknapp, Mark Hughes and Sam Allardyce have all managed five different clubs in the Premier League. Redknapp has managed West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers. Hughes has managed Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City. Allardyce has managed Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United and Sunderland. Five managers have managed four different clubs in the Premier League. Ron Atkinson managed Aston Villa, Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday and, briefly, Nottingham Forest. Roy Hodgson has managed Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion. Graeme Souness managed Liverpool, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Steve Bruce has managed Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland and Hull City. Alan Pardew has managed West Ham United, Charlton Athletic, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace. Some of the people have served spells as caretaker (temporary) managers in the period between a managerial departure and appointment. Several caretaker managers such as Paul Hart at Portsmouth and David Pleat at Tottenham Hotspur have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post. Sam Allardyce has been in charge of Sunderland, West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League. Roberto Mancini took over as manager of Manchester City in 2009, his first role in English football. Aidy Boothroyd was only 34 years old when managing Watford in the 2006–07 Premier League season. The list of managers includes everyone who has managed clubs while they were in the Premier League, whether in a permanent or temporary role. Caretaker managers are listed only when they managed the team for at least one match in that period. The dates of appointment and departure may fall outside the club's period in the Premier League, for example, Ron Atkinson was appointed as Aston Villa manager in 1991 (before the Premier League was formed in 1992) and remained in his position through the Premier League's establishment. Similarly, Wolverhampton Wanderers' first spell in the Premier League lasted for only one season (2003–04) but manager Dave Jones remained in his position until November 2004. Chris Coleman is the youngest manager in Premier League history, while Bob Bradley is the first American to manage a Premier League club. A Brian Horton and Steve Ashton took charge of Hull for two days, however no fixtures were played in this time. List of managers who have taken charge of over 300 Premier League matches. Statistics correct at end of the 2015–16 season. "Premier League managers". Retrieved 17 January 2012. 1 2 "The Managers". Arsenal.com. Arsenal Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 1 2 "Stewart Houston". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Pat Rice". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Arsène Wenger". Arsenal.com. Arsenal Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Ron Atkinson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Brian Little". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "John Gregory". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "John Deehan". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Stewart Grey". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Graham Taylor". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "David O'Leary". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Martin O'Neill". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Kevin MacDonald defends decision to pick James Milner". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Gerard Houllier". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier in hospital". BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2012. ↑ "Alex McLeish". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. 1 2 Culley, Jon (11 February 2015). "Paul Lambert sacked: Rising price of relegation pushes Villa into decision". The Independent. Retrieved 11 February 2015. ↑ "Tim Sherwood appointed as Aston Villa manager". The Daily Telegraph. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015. ↑ "Danny Wilson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. 1 2 "Birmingham City managers". Birmingham City FC. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Birmingham 0-2 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 November 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2012. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Blackburn Rovers managers". rovers.co.uk. Blackburn Rovers Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Ian Holloway". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Roy McFarland". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Colin Todd". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Sam Allardyce". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Sammy Lee". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Bolton Wanderers sack manager Gary Megson". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009. ↑ "Owen Coyle appointed Bolton manager". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010. ↑ "Paul Jewell". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Chris Hutchings". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Stuart McCall". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 November 2000. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Jim Jefferies". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Steve Davis steps in as caretaker manager at Burnley". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010. ↑ "Burnley appoint Brian Laws as new manager". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2012. ↑ "Cardiff appoint Watford's Malky Mackay as new manager". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 June 2011. 1 2 3 "Premier League's newest members will be fighting for survival". Sports Illustrated. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. ↑ "Cardiff Sunderland 28 December 2013 Match Report". BBC Sport. 28 December 2013. 1 2 3 4 "Managerial history". Charlton Athletic FC. 18 January 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Ian Porterfield". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "David Webb". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Glenn Hoddle". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Ruud Gullit". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Gianluca Vialli". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Claudio Ranieri". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Jose Mourinho". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Avram Grant". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Luiz Felipe Scolari". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Guus Hiddink". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Carlo Ancelotti". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Andre Villas-Boas - Manager". Chelseafc.com. Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Jose Mourinho returns as Chelsea manager on four-year deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2015. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Managers". Crystal Palace FC. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2013. ↑ "Ian Holloway appointed as Crystal Palace manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2015. 1 2 "Ian Holloway: Crystal Palace boss departs Premier League strugglers". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013. 1 2 3 "Crystal Palace: Neil Warnock named as new manager". BBC Sport. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2014. ↑ "Jewell named as new Derby manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2009. ↑ "Jewell resigns as Derby manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2009. 1 2 "Howard Kendall". Everton.com. Everton Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Jimmy Gabriel". Everton.com. Everton Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Mike Walker". Everton.com. Everton Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Joe Royle". Everton.com. Everton Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Dave Watson". Everton.com. Everton Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Walter Smith". Everton.com. Everton Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "David Moyes". Everton.com. Everton Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ BBC Sport. "Roberto Martinez: Everton appoint former Wigan Manager". Retrieved 27 May 2015. ↑ "Jean Tigana". fulhamfc.com. Fulham Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2012. ↑ "Chris Coleman". fulhamfc.com. Fulham Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Lawrie Sanchez". fulhamfc.com. Fulham Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Roy Hodgson". fulhamfc.com. Fulham Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Mark Hughes". fulhamfc.com. Fulham Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2012. ↑ "Martin Jol – Manager". fulhamfc.com. Fulham Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2012. ↑ "René Meulensteen 2013-2014". fulhamfc.com. Fulham Football Club. Retrieved 29 September 2014. ↑ "Felix Magath: Struggling Fulham sack manager after poor start". BBC Sport. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014. ↑ "Hull City relieve Phil Brown of his duties". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010. ↑ "Iain Dowie confirmed as new Hull City manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010. ↑ "Steve Bruce appointed Hull City manager on three-year deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 June 2012. ↑ "Graeme Souness – Liverpool FC". Liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Roy Evans – Liverpool FC". Liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 1 2 "Gerard Houllier – Liverpool FC". Liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Rafael Benitez – Liverpool FC". Liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Roy Hodgson – Liverpool FC". Liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Kenny Dalglish – Liverpool FC". Liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Roberto Mancini, Manchester City manager". Manchester City Football Club. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Manuel Pellegrini: Manchester City appoint Chilean as manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 June 2013. ↑ "Sir Alex Ferguson". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ Jamie Jackson (22 April 2014). "David Moyes sacked by Man Utd and replaced by Ryan Giggs". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2014. ↑ "Kevin Keegan (1992-97) and (2008 - 2008)". nufc.co.uk. Newcastle United Football Club. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Kenny Dalglish (1997-98)". nufc.co.uk. Newcastle United Football Club. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Ruud Gullit (1998-99)". nufc.co.uk. Newcastle United Football Club. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Sir Bobby Robson (1999-2004)". nufc.co.uk. Newcastle United Football Club. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Graeme Souness (2004-06)". nufc.co.uk. Newcastle United Football Club. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Glenn Roeder (2006-07)". nufc.co.uk. Newcastle United Football Club. Retrieved 21 January 2012. 1 2 "Chris Hughton - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Manager Ins and Outs January 2015". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nottingham Forest's Managers". nottinghamforest.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2013. 1 2 3 4 5 "Former Managers". nottinghamforest.co.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2013. 1 2 "Harry Redknapp". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2012. ↑ "Zajec named as Pompey boss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Pompey unveil Perrin as new boss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 April 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Portsmouth dismiss manager Perrin". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 November 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Struggling Portsmouth part company with Hart". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009. ↑ "Portsmouth appoint Avram Grant as new manager". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009. ↑ "Mark Hughes sacked as Queens Park Rangers manager". BBC. BBC. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "QPR: Harry Redknapp takes over as manager". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012. ↑ "Derby County 0&emdash;1 Queens Park Rangers". BBC. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014. ↑ "Manager Ins and Outs December 2014". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015. ↑ "Ian Bradfoot". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Alan Ball Jr.". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Dave Merrington". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Graeme Souness". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 1 2 "Dave Jones". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Glenn Hoddle". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Stuart Gray". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Gordon Strachan". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 1 2 "Steve Wigley". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ↑ "Paul Sturrock". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 1 2 "Southampton: Nigel Adkins sacked, Mauricio Pochettino in". BBC Sport. 18 January 2013. ↑ "Mark Hughes: Stoke City appoint former QPR manager". BBC Sport. 30 May 2013. ↑ "Paulo Di Canio: Sunderland Sack Head Coach After 13 Games". BBC Sport. 22 September 2013. ↑ "Sunderland interim boss Kevin Ball wants to be Di Canio successor". BBC Sport. 24 September 2013. ↑ "Sunderland: David Moyes replaces Sam Allardyce as manager". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 23 July 2016. ↑ "Brendan Rodgers agrees deal to become new Liverpool manager". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Swansea sack Michael Laudrup and place Garry Monk in charge". BBC Sport. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014. ↑ "Doug Livermore - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Ossie Ardiles - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Hall of Fame - Steve Perryman". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Gerry Francis - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Christian Gross - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "David Pleat - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "George Graham - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "David Pleat - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Glenn Hoddle - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Jacques Santini - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Martin Jol - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Juande Ramos - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Harry Redknapp - Managers". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Andre Villas-Boas axed by ruthless Tottenham with Tim Sherwood set to step in for West Ham clash". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 December 2013. ↑ "Taylor takes a bow after 29 years". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 March 2001. Retrieved 7 March 2012. ↑ "Watford appoint Boothroyd as boss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 July 2012. ↑ "Gary Megson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Wes Brom hold fire on new boss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 3 November 2004. Retrieved 7 March 2012. ↑ "Bryan Robson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Tony Mowbray". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Roberto Di Matteo". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Michael Appleton". Soccerbase. Retrieved 29 December 2013. ↑ "Roy Hodgson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Steve Clarke sacked as West Brom head coach.". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 December 2013. ↑ "Downing should oversee Hull clash". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 December 2013. ↑ "Billy Bonds". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Harry Redknapp". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Glenn Roeder". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Hammers appoint Brooking". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 April 2003. Retrieved 7 March 2012. ↑ "Alan Pardew". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Alan Curbishley". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Curbishley quits as West Ham boss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2012. ↑ "Gianfranco Zola". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Avram Grant". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 February 2012. ↑ "Defiant Keen wants to be West Ham manager". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2012. 1 2 3 4 "Wigan Athletic managers". wiganlatics.co.uk. Wigan Athletic Football Club. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Roberto Martinez, manager". wiganlatics.co.uk (Wigan Athletic Football Club). 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ news.bbc.co.uk. "Roberto Martinez to leave Wigan and head for Everton". BBC Sport. 1 2 "Olsen down and out at Plough Lane". Guardian Online. Guardian News and Media. 1 May 2000. Retrieved 7 March 2012. ↑ "Mick McCarthy sacked as Wolves manager after West Brom defeat". bbc.co.uk. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 October 2013. ↑ "Terry Connor named Wolves manager until end of season". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
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The facilities were tired and lacked comfort. Not enough crockery and cutlery. Furniture and bed not very comfortable and cottage in need of a good spring clean. The current hearing is inadequate. More than one loo roll, I expect to bring or buy provisions, but one loo roll? Put in some comfy chairs, the seating in there is uncomfortable to say the least Up to date information about the area, village, cottage, nearby attractions. Information that is two years old is neither useful nor shows anyone having a thought for the guests At first glance the cottage appeared clean until I used the hoover and moved the chairs, not sure how long the rubbish and stain had been there but I would say at least some months, same under the bed Where is the nearest shop that is noted in the information as 2 miles away? Or is that as the crow flies? I would expect Wi-fi especially as the pub next door gets excellent reception, I know it is not part of the package so this is a suggestion. We were thrilled by the cottage , lovely and clean , crisp , fluffy towels , more than enough for our stay . The garden was quite big , and our little dog enjoyed watching the birds / bats fly past . Pooley Bridge is only afew minutes drive away , and is a must to visit . We felt right at home . The Village of Dacre was very quiet and peaceful , lovely smell of log burners floated round . The Horse and Farrier pub was next door , very close by but no noise or problems . Dog friendly and nice atmosphere . Ok to take dogs in if you want a meal or snack you just sit in the bar area . The Restaurent part is 'nt dog friendly , which is fine . The facilities at the cottage were very good , kitchen very adequate and clean , bathroom was lovely and fresh with modern fittings . The staircase was abit querky , had to be careful not to bang your head at the bottom of the stairs , but it was all party of the cottages charm .Would certainly stay again , a very good base for the surrounding areas , plus we had glorious sunny days and cool mornings/ evenings but we had a great time . It made our Wedding Anniversary treat a delight , thank you . What I liked: - idyllic location - character cottage - lots of walks on the doorstep or close by - nice pub right next door What I didn’t like: - the bed was one of the most uncomfortable I’ve slept on in years, too small, horrible mattress and cheap uncomfortable pillows lead to restless sleep - insufficient provision of towels and limited toilet rolls provided - no off road parking as advertised (unless you drive a very small car) - not properly clean But most of all, what really upset me was when the builders arrived early on Wednesday morning expecting access to put up scaffolding to the side of the building. According to what I heard, access had been agreed with the owners and we were only staying there - so it was nothing to do with us. It is totally unacceptable and disrespectful to have not been informed beforehand and to confirm that it wasn’t an issue. Will never return to this cottage and will never book a holiday through Sykes Cottages ever again. Anyone staying in the next few weeks can look forward to a holiday with builders on site! Only thing was the flies in the cottage done my head in lost count how many i killed. Desperately in need of some TLC eg exterior paintwork and attention to the garden - it wouldn't cost much to plant a few flowers and some climbing roses, clematis and honeysuckle would have made all the difference. I felt it let the village down :-( However, beautiful location and very accessible. We still enjoyed our holiday and will continue to book with Sykes, but not at this cottage, it was not for us. We have always found great accommodation at Sykes I will just have to be careful where I book. I am sure most people would have a wonderful time at the Old School.House, Favre is a lovely village and the village pup is great. Would highly recommend as good base for travelling around. We really enjoyed sitting by the log burner. Nice garden too with great views of the surrounding hills. Unfortunately the pub next door was closed for refurbishment when we stayed but the cottage is in a good location to easily get to Pooley Bridge and Penrith. however this was soon to be changed ! On checking the only bed we discovered that the mattress cover was extremely soiled and only covered with a very thin fitted sheet. This called some distress because it is only a one bedroomed property. After spending a night sleeping on the floor the next day we found spare blankets to cover the offending cover. As it was a weekend and knowing the owner was abroad we were restricted in our options but our eyes were opened to other unhealthy cleanliness points. the outside of the toilet pan were heavily urine stained and covered with a thick layer of grime and dust. The bathroom sink appeared clean but under the lip of the sink was a lump of blue toothpaste which had dried on the surface. Under the sink was a waste bin which was covered in thick dust and cannot be claimed as a minor discrecretion but an accumulation over a long period as well as lumps of dust/dirt around it and stretching as far as the sink pedestal. The blind in the lounge area had obviously not been cleaned for some considerable time as could be exampled by the cobwebs and dust clinging to them. There are many more examples of inadequate cleaning (ie dog hairs covering the door mat ), of what otherwise could have been a totally acceptable cottage.We did not wish to spend our limited time in Cumbria by contacting Sykes but have taken photographs of our observations should anyone need to see them. We have used holiday cottages all over the country for many years & feel that 'School House' did not reach anywhere near the standards required for renters or we probably feel Sykes Cottages. Just spent another wonderful week at this cottage, our forth year in a row. The cottage is very comfortable and cosy with a log burner. Lovely garden for our two dogs and the pub next door run by Susi and barmaid Fran was very homely and welcoming and dog friendly. Looking forward to our next visit! Lovely place for a romantic getaway. Light and welcoming with everything you need to relax. We will be going back soon. Cosy, well equipped, dog friendly, good size garden, satelite tv, dog friendly pub next door that serves fab food and real ales. Sleepy village, church is worth a visit, ideal for Pooley Bridge, Ullswater and Steamers. Down side was that there were very few logs/kindling/fire lighters for burner and bearing in mind there are few shops and the amount paid to rent cottage a few more logs etc would not have broke the bank. The bedroom floor sloped badly so the bed was very uncomfortable as the blood rushed to your head so we had to sleep with pillows opposite end to headboard.The bedroom & bathroom heaters didnt come on before bed and on a morning so it was cold at these times and could not find the timer to adjust settings. There is no WiFi and no signal on most mobile networks due to hills so if your wanting to stay in touch with anyone bear this in mind! These little things just took the edge off our stay considering we paid nearly £300!! That said we did enjoy our stay but once these problems are reviewed it would rate from very good to excellent. lovely cottage, Ideal for a couple, very well maintained. Great pub next door which is also dog friendly. Great location but easy to get to nearby main routes. Would recommend it to anyone. This charming, well-presented detached cottage is in the small village of Dacre, superbly located in the Lake District National Park, within 2 miles of Ullswater, regarded by many as the most beautiful lake in England. Built in the 18th century as the village school, this quaint cottage near Ullswater has many original features and provides warm, cosy accommodation, perfect for couples wishing to enjoy the woodburning stove and generous garden. This Ullswater cottage has one bedroom with original beams and a pitched ceiling, and an open plan living area with kitchen, dining area and a sitting area with beams and a woodburning stove housed in an inglenook fireplace. The spacious lawned garden outside your Ullswater cottage provides a perfect place to plan your activities while catching the morning sun, or to unwind after a long day. The tiny village of Dacre is steeped in history with an ancient church and even its own castle! Not forgetting, of course, the local tavern, conveniently situated next door to this Ullswater cottage, which welcomes visitors with cask ales and traditional bar food. You will find pubs offering a wider menu in nearby Pooley Bridge. With Ullswater a short drive away guests can take in the beauty of the lake by embarking on a cruise on one of the Ullswater Steamers. For the more experienced mountaineer Helvellyn, the third highest mountain in England, is close to hand and of course, the notorious Striding Edge - not for the faint hearted! A 20 minute drive away is the bustling town of Keswick, situated on the shores of Derwentwater. This Ullswater cottage is a perfect base for couples, any time of the year. Note: Stairs in the cottage are narrow and steep.
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In household 215, the enumerator wrote the surname as 'Chaddick', a suggested alternative surname is 'Chaddock'. The person suggesting the alternative surname provided this comment: 'he is shown as Annie Chaddock in the 1911 census'. On line 5, the value for the surname field is "Ha ??", the suggested correction is "Haverstock". On line 6, the value for the surname field is "Chadwick", the suggested correction is "Chaddock". The following comment was attached: She is shown as Annie Chaddock in the 1911 census. On line 13, the value for the givens field is "Ch H", the suggested correction is "Chas. H". On line 13, the value for the surname field is "Chadick", the suggested correction is "Chaddick". On line 21, the value for the month field is "Jul", the suggested correction is "Jan". On line 23, the value for the surname field is "Lumor", the suggested correction is "Turner". On line 28, the value for the givens field is "Allen", the suggested correction is "Allan". On line 29, the value for the surname field is "Haig", the suggested correction is "King". The following comment was attached: He is shown as Richard King in the 1881 census. On line 32, the value for the day field is "12", the suggested correction is "13". On line 36, the value for the givens field is "Percy W.", the suggested correction is "Percy N.". On line 38, the value for the givens field is "Leona Adelia", the suggested correction is "Cora Adelia". On line 40, the value for the month field is "Jul", the suggested correction is "Feb". On line 40, the value for the givens field is "Ethel Jean", the suggested correction is "Ehel Jean". Go to: Subdistrict Number: f-7 District: HALIFAX National: Canada.
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Why do kids become myopic? It's normal for kids to have +2.00 in hyperopia (farsightness) and astigmatism from birth to 5 years old. It goes towards zero at 6 years old. It's very important for the child to get eye exams at least once a year after age 3 years old. If the child is -0.50 or higher in myopia (nearsightedness) at 6 years old, it's normal for the eye to grow -0.50 per year. If the eye grows -0.50 a year, they can grow -1.00 a year during puperty age (11-18). It's a critical to start doing myopia control if myopia starts before age 10. Even if the eye only grows -0.50 a year, they can get over -5.00 after 10 years. By age 20 years old, they can have -5.00. It can continue to grow while they are in university. It would likely stop growing after they finished school. It's considered early onset if myopia started before age 10. So let's get they in proper eye care by an Optometrist, and start monitoring the progressions early.
0.967572
There is only one scenario in life where I’d suggest memorizing information is more important than understanding information. That one scenario just happens to be school. Understanding allows you to do dramatically more with dramatically less. Understanding allows you to infer information. It allows you to think creatively about a subject. Memorizing information has relatively small use for life outside of school. There are only so many things that you really need to remember in life. They’re very limited in scope. Outside of school, there is virtually nothing that you need to remember when you have access to a resource you can look the information up in. Sure, you may memorize information you use on a day to day basis but their is essentially no point to memorizing most of the stuff you go over. Memorization can assist in developing understanding. That amount of memorization usually comes naturally though. In school, memorization tends to be essential. The vast majority of tests you end up taking will not be open book. You can’t go looking up information in other resources to try and solve your test problems. You need to know the information without looking it up. Learning to test well almost always requires a significant chunk of memorization. That being said, you can’t get top notch grades with understanding alone. Understanding can get you most of the way but it can’t get you all of the way. At a certain point, when it comes to school, you have to be willing to just brute force memorize information. The reality is that brute force memorization isn’t as hard as most students seem to think. When it comes to class time, it’s usually best to emphasize trying to understand what the teacher is saying. If you can understand what the teacher is saying then you have the basic knowledge required to pass most tests on the information taught. If all you’re looking to do is pass then you’ve probably learned enough at that point. If you’re looking to boost your grade even higher then you need to emphasize memorization. Understanding may be easy with the basics of any subject but the deeper you attempt to understand a subject, the harder it becomes to understand the information. You can waste hours trying to understand harder concepts. At a certain point, it’s more efficient to just focus your energy on memorizing it. To learn a little more on the subject you might want to get into this article: You Can’t Test Understanding. So… understanding plays a role but when you’re studying, it’s usually better to focus on memorizing. The first big chunk may come cheap from understanding but the next chunk comes easiest through memorization. Do you want to know how to study in less than 15 minutes a night? That’s what this blog is all about. Be sure to check out the archives and follow along. Also, be sure to read the books in the sidebar to learn more.
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Discover why the cPanel Control Panel is believed to be the best web hosting control panel by a lot of web hosting users. cPanel is one of the most popular hosting Control Panels in existence. It includes an easy to use interface along with a large number of attributes which make web presence management fast and easy. With only a few clicks, you will be able to perform a variety of operations with files and folders, to create email addresses and to activate spam security for them, to generate databases and FTP accounts, to see comprehensive usage stats, etc. cPanel also has a reseller counterpart - the WebHost Manager application (WHM). It will enable you to generate hosting plans and cPanel web hosting accounts, to change their features, to view and to change server-side settings through a web-based graphical interface, to modify DNS zone records, to install modules, and much more. cPanel and WHM are licensed apps and they are among the most preferred reseller web hosting instruments, because they can be used on nearly any server and with almost any billing software.
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- **7)** Type "​default"​ (all lowercase) into the "​Name"​ text field, or click the magnifying glass button and select "​default"​ from the provided list of [[predefined animation names]]. If you are creating this animation for a character, you will want to use "​idle"​ for the name. + **7)** Type "​default"​ (all lowercase) into the "​Name"​ text field, or click the magnifying glass button and select "​default"​ from the provided list of [[predefined animation names]]. If you are creating this animation for a character, you will want to use "​idle" ​(also all lowercase) ​for the name.
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Surprisingly, aloe vera has been used for thousands of years as a natural treatment for all kinds of ailments. The Egyptians even referred to aloe vera as the "plant of immortality." Considering that humans have used aloe therapeutically for more than 5,000 years, there must be some benefit to it, right? Aloe vera contains over 200 active components including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, polysaccharides, and fatty acids. This plant is incredibly medicinal, but there are some cautions against long-term use. More is not necessarily better. This is an incredibly potent plant and should be used with a level of respect for its potency. Long-term use can lead to loss of electrolytes, especially potassium. As with any treatment, the best practice is to consult a doctor before using aloe vera.
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The story I am about to relate may be of no historical significance, but it furnishes an illustration of the courage and endurance of the women who first visited these shores. It will be remembered that the third voyage of Cartier, in 1541, was made under Sieur de Roberval, whom Francis the First appointed the first Viceroy of Canada. He was a wealthy French noble of a most determined and cruel disposition. His niece, Marguerite de Roberval, was a member of his household. She was a bright young girl, full of the spirit of adventure of the age, and such a favorite with her uncle that he consented to her accompanying him upon the voyage. Like many another maiden in like circumstances, Marguerite had for some time, unknown to her uncle, been receiving the attention of a poor young cavalier whose love was not unrequited. He could not bear the thought of being separated from his sweetheart, so he managed to enlist as a volunteer with Roberval, and sailed in the same ship with him and his niece. In the course of the voyage the lovers' secret was discovered, and Roberval's affection for his niece gave way to a vengeance cruel and in-human. Off the coast of Newfoundland was an island called the Isle of Demons, supposed to be the abode of evil spirits. Turning a deaf ear to the supplications of the frightened girl, the cruel monster deposited her upon this lonely shore with no other companion to share her solitude than an old nurse. With scant provisions, four guns, and a limited supply of ammunition, he left her to her fate. Her lover was powerless to stay the hand of Roberval, and as the ship was getting under way again, strapping his gun and a quantity of ammunition to his back, he leaped into the sea and with sturdy strokes soon rejoined the heart-broken Marguerite. In vain they hoped and prayed that their pitiable plight might move the stony heart of the Governor. He never returned. Marguerite and her lover went through the form of marriage as best they could without the aid of a priest. Did ever a couple begin housekeeping under such trying circumstances? They built themselves a rude hut. The wild fowl and fish furnished their table, and from the skins of wild animals they provided them-selves with clothing to resist the cold of the approaching winter. In the following summer Marguerite became a mother and devoted most of her time to caring for her baby. Her husband had hoped that the cruel uncle would return to relieve their suffering, and the bitter disappointment he experienced crushed his spirit. Grieving over the suffering of his loving wife, he sickened and died. The baby did not long survive him, and the faithful old nurse also succumbed. In the lonely forest this brave young woman knelt beside the graves she had made with her own hands and prayed for strength and courage to bear' up under her heavy burden. Only a few months before, she was the moving spirit in the castle of the "little King of Vimeu," as her uncle was called, and no luxury was denied her. She was his favorite and had often accompanied him upon his hunting expeditions, where fortunately she had become an expert with the arquebuse. His love had changed to hatred. The gayety of the Court was now replaced by the dreadful solitude of this lonely isle. Want and privation, discomfort and fear now con-fronted her, and the three fresh mounds, bathed with her scalding tears, warned her that she, too, was likely very soon to join the only human beings who had shared her misery. Then there would be no tender hands to caress her in her last hours. She did not yield to these despairing thoughts, but deter-mined to meet her fate with a bold front. For eighteen long and dreary months she wandered about the shores straining her eyes for a glimpse of a sail. Three or four times relief seemed at hand as a white speck appearing upon the horizon soon disclosed the dimensions of a ship, only to melt away again, leaving her more lonely than before. The third winter was almost upon her when she again espied a welcome sail. How was she to lure the ship to this dreaded shore the supposed home of mischief-making demons? Mustering all her strength for one final effort, she sacrificed her little store of fuel that she had painfully gathered from the forest and built a huge fire, in the hope that the smoke would attract the attention of the strangers. Nearer and nearer came the boat, a fisherman's barque. With frantic gestures she signaled for help. The fishermen drew near enough to descry a lonely figure, clad in skins of wild animals, wildly gesticulating as she ran along the shore. In doubt as to whether this was a human being or a dreaded spirit, they concluded to solve the mystery and land upon the island, and thus was Marguerite rescued from her perilous situation and shortly afterwards was returned to France after an absence of nearly three years. Do the annals of any history furnish a more pathetic or a more impressive tale than this? The courage that will lead battalions to the cannon's mouth might well waver when con-fronted with the terrors of the awful exile of this brave young girl. The strength that will carry hardened soldiers through a protracted battle would in most instances succumb to the long months of solitary suffering such as was endured by Marguerite de Roberval. * Some historians regard this narrative of Marguerite de Roberval as pure fiction, but as careful an investigator as Parkman does not hesitate to accept the story as one of the actual events of our early history.
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Military spouses must build their own retirement savings. Well, to be more accurate, everyone needs to build his or her own retirement savings. Male or female, civilian or military, employed or not, young or old, every person must be building some sort of retirement assets in their own name. The "in your own name" part is the key. My husband has served in the military a long time, and so his military pension is going to be relatively significant. In theory, that will benefit me in retirement. However, I can't rely on that. It is essential that I also have some retirement funds that are just mine. If you have a job working for someone else, you have two options: an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) or your employer's plan. In a perfect world, you'll contribute to both. You should choose your employer's plan if the company matches a portion of your contributions. No company match? An IRA may be a simpler choice, especially if you anticipate changing jobs frequently. Self-employed individuals can open a SEP IRA, Simple IRA, or Individual 401(k) in addition to a regular IRA. A small business is a great idea for anyone who is trying to maximize their savings in tax-advantaged retirement accounts. You can open a self-employed account even if you have a job that allows you to contribute to a 401(k) or 403(b). Non-working spouses can open IRAs. If the person opening the IRA does not have earned income, but their spouse does, the IRS calls a spousal IRA, but most people just call it an IRA. Spousal IRAs are subject to the same contribution limits as other IRAs, and the working spouse must earn enough income to cover the IRA contributions of both partners. I often meet with couples who, purposefully or accidentally, are prioritizing one partner's retirement savings over the other partner's retirement savings. It's a bad idea. Creating retirement savings for each partner is financially smart, plus it sets a positive tone for your whole relationship. It's a win-win choice.
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The Church of Scientology has switched strategy to focus on drawing in famous names from Eastern Europe and Asia, according to a new book. In Battleship Scientology: Exposing L.Ron Hubbard's Dangerous Religion by Tony Ortega and Paulette Cooper, Ortega claims that 'second generation celebrities' are shunning the religion known for having hefty membership costs and other negative associations including mysterious deaths, because they 'have less to prove'. With actress Leah Remini recently being the most outspoken against the organization she was a member of for 35 years, less people in the US entertainment industry are willing to attach their name to Scientology according to long-time former members. So the sect founded by American science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard has set its sights on Bollywood, including Indian actress Sheena Chohan, 31, and Mexican singer Michael Ronda, 22, who this month was scheduled to perform at a Celebrity Centre graduation ceremony, The New York Post reports. 'The method for recruiting overseas is that somebody from the US or England will go to countries where they already have business ties and introduce Scientology to their connections,' Fifty-year member Geoff Levin, who left in 2017, told the Post. Scientology was popularized by stars like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley but it more of a taboo subject these days according to Levin. Speaking of how the focus used to be on recruiting US-based stars for the religion, Levin recalled how Scientology tents would be on film sets such as Cruise's 2005 Steven Spielberg-directed motion picture War of the Worlds. But the man who worked with the late founder for some time, has now claimed Scientology has been 'declining for the last 20 years'. There has been a positive response outside of Hollywood, Scientology's former Church of Scientology executive Mike Rinder told the Post. 'There are places where they are having success. One is Taiwan. The others are Eastern Europe and Russia,' Rinder said. With King of Queens start Remini actively speaking in public about defecting and promoting her TV show Scientology and the Aftermath, targeting stars such as ex-member director Paul Haggis for membership, may have backfired. 'They have created their own nightmare with their reliance on celebrities. You have Leah and Paul turning around [in their beliefs] for all the world to see,' Rinder added. A church spokesperson denied the idea they have ditched Hollywood because of a bad reputation and insisted they're expanding. Explaining that it has been practiced in 'Russia, other Eastern European countries as well as in Asia for decades' the spokesperson said it is 'growing around the world'. 'Since 2016, we have opened 16 new churches' and 'launched . . . our own TV network,' the spokesperson told the Post. Rinder however claimed it was all a guise.
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The recently exposed Ponzi scheme by Bernard Madoff is named after Charles Ponzi, an immigrant to the United States, who ran his swindle in 1920, based supposedly on profits from postal reply coupons. He took in a great deal of money for those days that was partly spent on high living. After less than a year he was exposed by a newspaper, and spent many years in jail before being deported back to Italy. In a Ponzi scheme, investors in a fund typically receive good rates of return on their investments for a while because they are paid with new monies that are invested in the fund. Even when such funds do not make bad investments, or when managers do not spend a lot on themselves and their families, Ponzi funds must attract new investors at a rapid rate in order to pay good returns to prior investors. With wasted spending and bad investments, the required growth rate in new monies is even higher. Since high growth rates of new investments are hard to maintain over time, eventually Ponzi funds collapse. Then comes the day of reckoning as investors are shocked to discover that they have been duped, and have lost most or all of what they invested. Ponzi-type swindles probably go back to Greek and Roman times Over 50 years ago I had a wealthy uncle who invested with an individual who seemed to be doing remarkably well with a secretive investment strategy: he paid high returns in the form of monthly dividends, and allowed people to withdraw their investments. My uncle not only increased his investment, but advised other family members and friends to do the same (my father was either smart or lucky enough not to do so). After a couple of years the manager vanished, and investors lost all they had given him. It turned out that he was paying these good dividends not from returns on his investments, but from the new funds he was raising- a typical Ponzi scheme. While he did not lose most of his considerable wealth, my uncle went into a year-long depression after he found out he had been "taken". What was unusual about Madoff's swindle is that it continued for over two decades, and was the largest Ponzi scheme ever uncovered, with perhaps $50 billion lost or missing. It was also the first fully international Ponzi scheme, with investors from Europe, the Middle East, and China, as well as mainly from the US. One hedge fund, the Fairfield Greenwich Group, put over $7 billion into Madoff's fund, and encouraged others to invest in it as well. Bernard Madoff is a 70 year old apparently affable but retiring, person who did not live especially lavishly. He was very active in Jewish circles, so that, many of his investors were wealthy Jews, such as Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and Mortimer Zuckerman, and Jewish organizations, including the Eli Weisel Foundation and Yeshiva University. The enormous scope of Madoff's swindle raises two obvious questions 1) how could this scheme go on for so long without being exposed, and 2) how could so many sophisticated individuals be taken in by a fund that provided almost no information on how it was able to achieve consistent returns of from 8-13 per cent for many years during both good and bad times? In regard to the first question, various hedge fund managers were puzzled by how Madoff could make such consistently high returns with the information provided about what he did. Apparently, one claim was that he placed both put and call options on say the S&P 100 index. That might make money when stocks are falling rapidly, but the fund should have lost money on average during the mainly good years of the scheme's existence. One former hedge fund manager, Harry Markopolos, reported him for a decade to the SEC and also to state regulatory bodies. The SEC conducted some rather superficial investigations, but nothing much came of them-the SEC is now looking into why the swindle was not discovered much earlier. I believe this is another illustration of what has happened frequently, namely, that regulators too get caught in the hype surrounding an investor, or the economic viability of different banks. Of course, it is well documented that after a catastrophic event, many "obvious" signs are discovered that if taken seriously could have prevented the event. For example, after 9/11 it was revealed that the FBI did not investigate carefully warnings that some major terrorist act was being planned. This was also the case with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Roberta Wohlstetter in her outstanding book, Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision, explains why the Japanese plan to attack Pearl Harbor was not discovered despite the considerable prior intelligence about their plans for an attack. This is also the case with the Madoff swindle, which makes it more puzzling. Why did many sophisticated individuals, funds, and other organizations entrust so much money to his management, and to management by various intermediaries, without doing any significant amount of due diligence? Part of the answer is that these individuals are not sophisticated in financial matters, and each successive set of investors assumed that previous investors had done some investigation. This led to an example of "information cascades", where private information is revealed sequentially over time to different individuals. Later participants can be badly misled if the information of earlier participants is far from accurate. Moreover, Madoff had developed an outstanding reputation. He was a respected member of the financial community and exclusive social circles, and a former president of the Nasdaq Stock Market. He helped pioneer electronic trading of stocks, and continued this profitable stock trading business while independently building up his asset management business. He did not let everyone invest with him, so that those who were accepted felt privileged. His activities went on for so long without exposure that newer and older investors alike considered his investments to be legitimate, even if secretive. He bolstered his clients' confidence by quickly refunding investments to anyone who asked. Stock markets are not fully efficient, and a small number of investors, such as Warren Buffet, can consistently do better than the major indices over very long time periods. However, markets are sufficiently efficient that such a record is extremely difficult to maintain. It takes very many years to establish a good investment track record that is due to skill instead of a good record due to plain luck. The numerous investors not well versed in financial matters have great difficulty appreciating that there are no magical or secretive ways to consistently beat the market. This is why when anyone asks me for advice, I recommend buying a diversified portfolio of stocks and other assets that controls risk while providing decent returns. Some money managers may be able to beat that in the long run, but it is extremely difficult to discover who they are. As a result, most investors looking for exceptional returns are likely to be taken for a ride either by charlatans, or by lucky fund managers whose luck eventually runs out. A ``person who did not live especially lavishly''? A $7M apartment in NY, a $9M mansion in Palm Beach, a $3M beach house in Montauk, a 55 foot fishing boat, a yacht moored in the south of France, and half ownership of a $28M private plane? I agree with diversification in general, with the addition of not letting diversification becoming substitute for spending some time and effort trying to understand each investment. Dear Gary, if it turns out to be true, that on November 7th, 2005 the SEC has received a very detailed complaint about what is going on I think the SEC is liable for the scam. I do not expect investors to continue to have any faith in US capital markets and their regulators if us government turns away investors with their claims by saying it is your fold. Not acting on such a detailed complaint is a crime. An innate proclivity to commit the "denial of the antecedent" fallacy on a regular basis pragmatically requires education to tame. The media, an instrument of education for the masses, unfortunately isn't interested in spreading the wisdom of efficient market theory. "Mad Money" and trading tool infomercials spouting technical analysis nonsense are the ruling religion of the day. Keep the good faith. Fight the good fight. Your blog is a step in the right direction. отлично. выражение моих мыслей по поводу в словах. I think a lot of investors are willing to outsource their investment decisions and not ask questions so long as the returns are good. And even when the returns are good, investors will push their managers if they discover that their neighbor is somehow doing even better. The good news is that the current economic situation and the Madoff revelations will compel people to act more responsibly. Investors must always be active and involved in their own investments. And investors need to make sure that their own greed does not overpower their need for security. As for Madoff, what interests me is not that he ran a Ponzi scheme, but rather how he ended up running a Ponzi scheme. Coming from his background, I have a hard time believing that he decided from the start to create a massive Ponzi scheme that he knew would eventually blow up and ruin his good name. I think he started off doing a typical hedge fund. When times weren't so good, he sold some of the invested assets to fund overinflated returns to his investors, expecting that to attract new investors whose money he could use to reconstitute the sold assets. In other words, he may have been borrowing a page from Keynes -- when times are tough, sell assets and pay out good returns; when times are good, pay out lower returns and use the remainder to repurchase the assets. Looks good on paper, except we all know that it just doesn't work. Selling assets when times are bad and buying assets when times are good is generally a losing "sell low, buy high" strategy to begin with. And investors don't stop demanding high returns just because the market improves. Of course, it may be that Madoff intended to start a Ponzi scheme from the start, thinking that he had found a way to create one that would not crash and burn like all those before it. But he just doesn't seem to fit that profile to me. We shall see. This will undoubtedly prompt a new outcry for heavier regulation of Wall Street. Maybe some of that is necessary. But as I see it, what’s mainly needed is a heavy dose of caveat emptor. As Dr. Becker points out, the warning signs were there. I think that there’s a limit on how far government can go in preventing people from doing stupid things (or making stupid omissions). Media reports indicate that the auditing of the fund was inadequate. Adequate auditing seems to me to be the best way to ensure that funds are going to investments, rather than to a Ponzi scheme. I’m not sure what regulations are in place to see to it that an auditor is up to the job on the scale required, but perhaps they need to be augmented (or put in place, if they don’t already exist). The knee-jerk reaction to this scandal along with all the others will be to add layer upon layer of new regulation. While the new regulation may do an adequate job of correcting prior problems there will always be guys just a little smarter (maybe) and a little more dishonest (always) than the next guy. The fact that wealthy individuals lost money is not a shock. Making money and keeping money are two different skills. Did Madoff really think he would get away with that? I mean, he must have known that one day, sooner or later, or even very later, people would find out and send him to jail. If I devised a Ponzi scheme, I would try to get as much money as possible in a short period and then travel to a sunny country without extraditon to the US or elsewhere. But living in New York for years, knowing that every minute someone could find out, that you would go to jail for the rest of your life and lose all what you have? I admit, that is psychology, not economics; but for me this remains the real enigma. The market IS NOT efficient. Example: well published results (see, most recently, Andrew Lo's book 'Hedge Funds') show the very simple technical strategy of longing each day's biggest positive movers and shorting the biggest decliners would have delivered SPECTACULAR returns in the 80's and 90's accounting for transaction costs and risk. And that the opportunity declined to zero in the late 90's and 00's. This is one of many technical strategies with similar return behavior in recent decades. There was an inefficiency in the market, and investors gradually discovered it and exploited it away. But over decades, not the much shorter timescales needed to justify idiotic and poorly informed 'the market is efficient!' statements that regularly spout from academic mouths. Is any of this ever acknowledged? What about strong return performance of funds like Renaissance and Goldman's Global Alpha (which, even including recent terrible performance, still destroys the market even on a risk-adjusted basis)? The market is in a state of some inefficiency, enough so that a number of investors (not just Buffet) can regularly beat it, but not enough that the average investor can. Agreed that it takes years of investment performance (and details beyond just yearly return) to tell the difference between luck and skill in investment success - this central fact is the reason swindlers can succeed, and that is what should be emphasized to investors if one wants to capture the real truth of the situation. Saying 'the market is efficient!' as well just spreads poor understanding and suggests those who work at generating returns in the market are all swindlers. They're not. I agree with James Markels above. Although it's just a hunch, I'm guessing that Madoff probably ran an ordinary business for quite some time, and then only needed to start scheming when things went bad. I wouldn't be surprised if he told himself that when he turned things around, he'd make up the money he lost. Typical gambler mentality - need more money to win back what you lost already. Diversification wouldn't have protected an investor from grievous declines this year. The only strategy that would have done that (other than staying in cash) is hedging. John Hussman, Ph.D., of Hussman funds hedged his Strategic Growth Fund, and so shielded his investors from the worst of the market declines. Under your theory that anybody who consistently beats the market must be a scam artist, how do you know that Warren Buffet or any other money manager with consistent good results is not scamming? Madoff was in business for almost 50 years and for most of it he was managing other people's money and providing good but not spectacular returns. For a great many investors, those facts alone would have provided a great deal of comfort.The huge amount of 20-20 hindsight being exhibited now by many is totally unconvincing. It is also not clear what exactly would have been discovered by an SEC investigation. He clearly had money under management. The question is whether he had sufficient funds to cover all the amounts reported in the statements he issued to his investors. If he had enough funds to cover the amounts he reported he was managing, how would the SEC or nay other investigator have discovered that he was telling his investors (collectively) that he was managing a much larger amount than the amount he was reporting? "Ponzi Schemes", in the heart of the legitimate financial world? Looks like someone has taken a page from the "American Gospel of Success" - "There's a sucker born every minute" and why do you think it's called "SPECULATION". The problem is clearly a lack of transparency that the SEC was supposed to provide. And now the Financial Investment Banks that have taken money from the Nationally sponsored Bailout do not wish to report how that money is being used. When are we going to learn and force these guys to toe the line and operate in the National Interest? Aaah yes......... "transparency". And to think I used to read CPA generated 10Q and K's.......... what are those worth today????????? In an "efficient market?" Anon., Guilt and Innocence has nothing to do with it. A few need to be tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail as a warning to others. Justice works in strange ways at times. This is not the largest Ponzi scheme. That title would have to go to Social Security. On a separate note, for smaller than Madoff investors I recommend Bernstein's book, "The Intelligent Asset Allocator". Pretty much agrees with Prof Becker. Not to excuse Madoff but it is interesting to consider what constitutes a Ponzi scheme; is it intent? Consider Amazon operated at a loss for years, ostensibly plowing all of its revenue into buying market share and striving to preempt competition while its stock rose on expectations of profits certain to come as its founder indicated would be the case. But suppose his model was flawed and Amazon went down as did so many other dot coms? Then with the dot com frenzy in full swing, WERE there hucksters who had no intent of ever being profitable and intentionally just sold a story, churned some dollars for a while (as was, apparently, part of AOL's "business plan" for a while) go public and "diversify" the capital raised. Or, more topically, did very savvy investment bankers REALLY think that they HAD invented something that made the "old" 5 : 1 lending ratio obsolete and that going out to 30 : 1 was a viable business practice? Or? By offering returns far above the historical norm to their investors for selling what MANY insiders MUST have KNOWN was junk also guilty of running illegal Ponzi schemes? Or where they just frisky young capitalists willing to take just a bit more risk in order to maximize returns for their stockholders? Did they think they could reduce their exposure to risk, IF, or before asset prices flattened or fell? By comparison, did Madoff, think, or hope that after "buying customers" with high returns and getting his fund to some size that he could catch up by lowering returns while maintaining most of his client base? Probably not, and I assume there are some rules against running funds in a manner that returns more than was earned in a given year. But what of those lending at 30 : 1? That would make 5% loans yield something like 150% on equity. Would a CPA using generally accepted principles endorse such returns as "earnings?" or denounce them as lucky winnings from wild-azzed gambling? or outright fraud? Èíòåðåñòíûé, ïîëåçíûé è ïðîñòîé ïîñò! Ðåñïåêò!
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If you missed the Billboard Music Awards or just want to find out what I was thinking during the show, check out this recap of the best moments: 1. #BadBloodMusicVideo: When is ABC going to announce a pilot called Bad Blood? And when is Katy Perry going to get Rihanna and friends to retaliate? 2. Why is this old guy in a golf outfit jumping around on the stage? He reminds me of the drunk uncle at Thanksgiving. 3. Shoutout to whoever just tripped on Chrissy Teigen’s dress for getting their 15 minutes of fame. I might steal that move if I’m ever at an award show. 4. I don’t want to watch Chrissy and Ludacris host this, but I would like to drink with them. 5. Britney Spears is me trying to focus in class after multiple cups of coffee. and J.Lo is me trying to act like I don’t care when a restaurant is serving Diet Pepsi instead of Diet Coke. 6. Harry Styles is doing a great job avoiding eye contact with his ex- girlfriends in the crowd. And One Direction just made everyone mourn Zayn all over again. Except Louis. Louis wishes everyone would JUST. STAB. CAESAR (aka Zayn). 7. Calvin Harris is marking his territory on T. Swift. 8. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a Fall Out Boy performance without the camera being on Pete Wentz the entire time. Do you think it’s because he had an awkward run-in with his ex Ashlee’s sister-in-law Tracee Ellis Ross and can’t recover? 9. #RealTalk: How has Kaitlyn not killed Britt yet? 10. I like any opportunity to celebrate Nick Jonas as the best JoBro (even if he looks like an astronaut in that jacket). 11. I wouldn’t be opposed to a Legend-Trainor presidential run. Or a Christmas album filled with duets (they both have the same effect on my life). 12. Adele Dazeem looks nothing like Idina Menzel tonight. 13. Mariah Carey sounds like a combination of my cat when I step oh her tale and me singing in the shower. 14. I don’t know whether I should cry over this Paul Walker tribute or laugh at Wiz Khalifa’s dancing. 15. Kendall and Kylie look like they are gathering material for the burn book. 16. I don’t know if Celine Dion trying to rock that slit or Sam Smith’s acceptance speech was funnier. 17. I could watch John Legend talk about Chrissy Teigen all day. And pretend my name is Chrissy Teigen. 18. Faith Hill’s hair could go. Like at this point she should just shave it all off. 19. DAMN, MEREDITH GREY. DAMN. McDreamy is rolling over in his grave right now (…too soon?). 20. Chris Brown looks a ripe tomato. 21. Rita Ora’s dress looks like it was made by a partially blind Project Runway contestant. 22. Britney is the definition of a cool mom. Like could you imagine her picking you up from school in that outfit? 23. Would low-key do anything to be Austin Swift. 24. I really feel like Taylor might be responsible for Catfish. 25. Nicki looks like a girl who took off half her clothes after she got to the school dance because her mom wouldn’t let her leave the house like that. 26. I can’t even enjoy Tori Kelly’s performance because #WhyHasntScooterDiscoveredMeYet? 27. LET MOLLY IN YOUR CLIQUE, TAYLOR! She looks so much better than that last season of Secret Life of the American Teenager. Good girl. 28. Kendall and Kylie got booed and don’t even care because they could make fetch happen. 29. #HelpFindKanye… Actually don’t. This should just end. Bonus: I’ll leave you with this, because it wouldn’t be an award show recap without it.
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Andreas Klein is widely admired as a pianist of rare sensitivity and musicality. The Washington Post has praised his "articulate and flowing pianism" while the New York Times called him "a pianist who makes silences sound like music." About a recent Glenn Gould tribute (with the Minguet String Quartet), the Calgary Herald reported, "(Klein brings) to his performance a mature understanding...as well as a brilliant execution", while Classical Voice of North Carolina (CVNC) was even more blunt: "Andreas Klein is a stupendous pianist...a stunning performance by any standard, and it brought the audience to its feet in a rousing ovation." He has performed in many of the leading houses of Europe, from Wigmore Hall in London to the Berlin Philharmonie, as well as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and is at home with the grandeur of playing with the Berlin Philharmonic or the vast reaches of the Ravinia Festival (where he received two standing ovations) as he is with the intimacy of Le Poisson Rouge (NYC). He has extensively toured North America, with ensembles including the Salzburg Chamber Soloists (a 20-city tour) and the Festival Strings of Lucerne (10 cities) and in South America, where he performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil. Some exotic places on his concert tours included Damascus and Yerevan. In recent years Klein has added more forays into chamber music alongside his concerto and recital repertoire, including major projects with the Minetti Quartet and the Casals Quartet (Schumann's Piano Quintet - US tour and Casals Festival, Puerto Rico). These collaborations have taken him to important venues such as Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, Spivey Hall near Atlanta and the Wortham Center in Houston. A frequent broadcaster, Klein has often appeared on WGBH Boston, WFMT Chicago, APR in ST Paul and KUHF in Houston. He was the subject of a "Musician Portrait" in Germany and his "Intermezzo with Andreas Klein" was televised by PBS. His recordings, "Piano Sonatas" and his album of music by Beethoven and Berg, have won admiring reviews (he is also an admired recording producer). And his self-composed new cadenzas for Mozart piano concertos have also won widespread praise. "Whatever the composer, whatever the project," he says, "for me it is about being inside the music." "Pianist who makes silences sound like music" "Seasoned Mozartean Andreas Klein, a refined and elegant pianist" "Elaborate display of technical prowess. Klein resembled a sketch artist bringing a scene to life with quick virtuoso strokes and shading - Klein conveyed an impression of narrative momentum underlying a musical structure, regardless of how explicitly programmatic." "Klein is an Interpret above all modern, who gives detailed attention to the interpretation of the work and executes a clear picture of the structure of the piece. He accomplishes with immaculate technique a rare beauty of sound." SURPASSING MUSICALITY - "... played without unnaturalness, often somewhat fragile in tone, delicate, but with strong endings." "Andreas Klein, a pianist of the highest caliber, performed both Beethoven Sonatas in E major, opus 109, and in A major, opus 101, with dramatic expression, bravura, and a flawless technique: yet the slow and lyrical phrases were shaped with subtle sensitivity." A LISTENING INDULGENCE - "The interpretation of Schubert's Impromptu in B flat major belongs to one of the most beautiful pieces presented in this concert. Klein played ingeniously, each single note differentiated, vivid and in every regard intended." CONCERT OF AN EXTRA CLASS - "The virtuoso Klein, a pianist counted among the extraordinary class was able to set a new milestone into the history of the Mosel Festival. Klein's Beethoven was spot-on. In tender moments, such as the Andante, the pianist brought to the music great sensitivity and mystery, and where the score turns boisterous, such as his solo cadenza, Klein tapped reserves of power that seemed limitless." "Internationally renowned concert pianist Andreas Klein joined forces with the Stockton Symphony to tackle Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. His precision and communication with conductor Peter Jaffe made this daunting work a thing of beauty and brilliance. The contrasting dialogue between piano and strings in the brief but moving second movement evoked conflict and sadness, which is soon eclipsed by the ecstatic rondo of the third movement. A bright, unmistakably Schubertian opening sets the tone for the piece. From Klein's first entry throughout the entire Liszt's Schubert Fantasie he played with articulate clarity while displaying expressive technique and craftsmanship. I was particularly taken with his voicing in the slow, second section, one of two solo passages that featured Klein. The ensemble between orchestra and soloist was excellent, providing an uninterrupted flow from beginning to end. Perhaps the most exciting moment was the return of the opening theme in the final section, scored in fugal imitation propelling the fantasy to its grandiose conclusion, where one could not help but hear Liszt's impact on the work." "Magnificent and impressive was Andreas Klein in Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto. In his entire interpretation he gave back the composers torment between intellect and emotion and with the superb command of his technique, the loud passages were never aggressive, his tonal colors were limitless, his scales always sparkled. Most gripping and impressive was his huge dynamic range; his control to produce a flawless shading down to a barely audible sound was breathtaking." "Your performance was nothing short of spectacular. I still have people saying to me that they were blown away by the performance and the experience. And the sponsor was thrilled with performance and the reaction of the public." "Maestro Andreas Klein's impeccable execution, his excellent sense of voicing - a rare caliber of musician - It was only a pity to realize the absence, with few exceptions, of other pianists, musicians and artists, who would have been able to take advantage and enjoy the excellent performance of maestro Klein. The combination of skill and affection he showed as an interpreter was of a quality rare to find in a soloist. Thank you, maestro."
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the security situation in Nigeria after reports of the killing of two Catholic priests and 15 parishioners in Benue State; and if he will make a statement. We condemn the recent attack in Benue State, which included an attack on a church and up to fifty houses. We are deeply saddened by the suffering and loss of life. We are concerned by the substantial increase in serious clashes between farmers and cattle herders in recent months. We urge the Government of Nigeria to hold those responsible to account and to work with the affected populations to develop a sustainable solution to the conflict.
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A court's heard Coleen Rooney was subjected to a blackmail plot involving hundreds of personal photos on her stolen camera. Jennifer Green, 25, and Steven Malcolm, 42, both from Manchester, are accused of demanding the cash from the celebrity wife of Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney. Both defendants were arrested after Coleen Rooney's mobile phone went missing while at a concert at the MEN Arena in Manchester in May 2010. Green, of Heaton Park Road, and Malcolm, of Silkin Close, both deny blackmail and handling stolen goods. Green's partner, Lee Platt, has already admitted handling stolen goods and blackmail, the jury heard. Malcolm walked into the foyer of the Marriott Hotel and identified himself to the undercover officer, the court was told. He handed over the folder of photographs and the camera memory card - and was promptly arrested, the jury heard. Shortly after, Green and Platt were then "desperately'' calling his mobile phone and they were "starting to panic'' with "three-way traffic'' between their mobile phones, but they were getting no response from Malcolm, who told police he was acting on instruction from his "bosses'', the court was told. Platt later pleaded guilty to the charges but Green gave a "no comment'' interview to police after her arrest. The jury was told it was not known whether the Samsung digital camera was stolen from Mrs Rooney's person or from the private box she had been in at the MEN arena while watching a Black Eyed Peas concert on May 24, 2010. After a telephone call to Manchester United, Mr Stretford was made aware of the demands for the return of the camera and spoke to the man named as "Liam Price''. In a statement read to the court Mr Stretford said during the phone call Price told him he "wanted to do the right thing'' after buying the camera for between £200 and £300 either from a pawn shop or off eBay. Mr Stretford offered to buy it from them plus expenses for any inconvenience, but then there was a demand for more money. "He told me he thought it was worth a lot more and he said £1,000,'' Mr Stretford said in his statement. I told him he was being very silly and I would call the police if he continued this line." The court heard Hello magazine was contacted on September 7, 2010, by Liam Price who spoke to Rosie Nixon, an assistant editor at the publication. The conversation was tape recorded and played to the jury. The jury then heard from the undercover officer, given the pseudonym 'Pc James'. Pc James said there was a discussion with Liam Price, who the prosecution say in the conversation with the officer was actually Steven Malcolm, the man on trial, where £5,000 was demanded because the cash would have to be split between three or four people. The two then agreed to meet the next day for the exchange of cash for the camera at the Marriott Hotel in Manchester City Centre, where Malcolm was arrested.
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John D. Carmack II was born on the 20th August 1970, in Roeland Park, Kansas USA, and is a game programmer, who is perhaps best known for being the founder of id Software, and the main programmer of a number of games, including “Rage”, “Commander Keen”, “Doom”, “Quake”, etc. He is also recognized for working at Oculus VR. His career has been active since the late 1980s. Have you ever wondered how rich John Carmack is, as of early 2016? According to sources, it has been estimated that the size of John’s net worth is over $40 million, which has been accumulated through his successful involvement in the business industry as a professional video game programmer. John Carmack is the son of Stan Carmack, who was a local TV news reporter, and he was raised in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. John went to Shawnee Mission East High School and Raytown South High School; both at the same time, after which he enrolled at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, where he studied for only two semesters and dropped out as he began working as a freelance programmer. From an early age John had been interested in computers and programming – while in high school, John was arrested with a bunch of other kids for trying to steal an Apple II computer. John`s career began in the late 1980s, when he was hired by Softdisk, where he soon met John Romero, one of the co-founders of id Software, and Adrian Carmack as well. He worked for Softdisk until 1991, on the platform Gamer`s Edge, but left Softdisk after his first game “Commander Keen”, became successful, which encouraged him to start his own company id Software. From that point on, his career has gone only upwards, and also his net worth. As a part of id Software, John has been credited as a programmer and developer of such popular games as “Shadow Knights” (1991), “Wolfenstein 3D” (1992), “Doom” (1993), and its sequels “Doom II: Hell On Earth” (1994), “Doom 3” (2004), and “Doom 3: Resurrection Of Evil” (2005). Furthermore, he is also credited with such video game titles as “Quake” (1996), “Quake II” (1997), “Quake III: Arena” (1999), “Quake 4” (2005), and many others, all of which added to his net worth. He has also been credited for implementing and creating new technologies in game graphics, including Adaptive Tile Refresh, Raycasting, Surface Caching, and Mega Texture among many others, which have also increased his net worth, and popularity. To speak further of his accomplishments, he has created an aerospace company entitled Armadillo Aerospace, which primary focus was creating suborbital spacecraft which will be used for space tourism. The company won several NASA challenges, including Lunar Lander 1 and Lunar Lander 2, which won the company around $850,000, which further increased John`s net worth. However, in 2013, the company went into hibernation mode, due to the several unsuccessful operations. Most recently, John left id Software, and joined Oculus VR in 2013 as its CTO, which is now the main source of his net worth. Thanks to his successful career John has received several prestigious awards, including induction into the Hall of Fame of Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, and Lifetime Achievement award given by the Game Developers Conference. Furthermore, he was named in the top 10 most influential people in several magazines, including Time, MIT Technology Review, and Computer Gaming World, among others. Regarding his personal life, John Carmack has been married to Katherine Anna Kang since 2000; the couple has a son and they currently reside in Heath, Texas USA. 1 Like most things, it is difficult to come up with a single weighted sum of the value of a programmer. I prefer to evaluate multiple axis independently. Programming is really just the mundane aspect of expressing a solution to a problem. There are talents that are specifically related to actually coding, but the real issue is being able to grasp problems and devise solutions that are detailed enough to actually be coded. Being able to clearly keep a lot of aspects of a complex system visualized is valuable. Having a good feel for time and storage that is flexible enough to work over a range of ten orders of magnitude is valuable. Experience is valuable. Knowing the literature is valuable. Being able to integrate methods and knowledge from different fields is valuable. Being consistent is valuable. Being creative is valuable. Focus is extremely important. Being able to maintain focus for the length of a project gets harder and harder as schedules grow longer, but it is critical to doing great work. I certainly respect the abilities of my primary competitors. Back in the DOOM days, Ken Silverman was extremely impressive, and today Tim Sweeny is producing much of value. 2 If you don't care enough to have something of your own to say, they shouldn't be quoting you. 3 I was sort of an amoral little jerk when I was young. I was arrogant about being smarter than other people, but unhappy that I wasn't able to spend all my time doing what I wanted. I spent a year in a juvenile home for a first offence after an evaluation by a psychologist went very badly. 2 Son, Christopher Ryan Carmack, with Katherine Anna Kang, was born on Friday, August 13 at 12:50 pm weighing six pounds, seven ounces. 6 Every game released by Carmack's company has pushed the game and graphics envelops to new levels, leading the next revolution in 3-D interactive games with both single and multiplayer technology. Wolfenstein 3D (1992) ushered in the concept of the first-person shooter game. This concept was forever changed when Doom (1993) (VG) was released, setting the benchmark for all 3-D action games. Doom II (1994) (VG) further built on this success. Quake (1996) (VG) set the new standard in multi-player, true 3-D, combat action games. Use of OpenGL 3-D accelorator cards for smoother 16-bit graphics and lighting effects were prevalent in Quake II (1998) (VG). Quake III: Arena (1999) (VG)'s graphics engine offers curved surface rendering and high detail textures to create visual features such as moody atmospheric fog and spectacular lighting. 7 One of Carmack's favorite novels is Vernor Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky". 8 Has made enough money from id Software [us] that he really does not have to work anymore. This gives John "the freedom from anybody having the ability to have any leverage" over him and the freedom to drive his exotic cars. John owns a 600hp twin-turbo Ferrari F50 and a 1000hp twin-turbo V-12 Ferrari Testarossa GTO. 9 Lives in Mesquite, Texas with his wife, Anna Kang (ex-director of id Software [us]).
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From my perspective, the reason he didn't ask for laws to be changed is quite simple. It's because what they are doing isn't illegal (i.e. it breaks a law), it's unconstitutional. To bring this program into compliance with U.S. law, he would have to change the Constitution. It's a fundamental right with a clear framework providing what is protected (persons, houses, papers, and effects) and limit upon the government's ability to infringe on that right. If the NSA tapped the communications of all Americans with overseas contact and simply scanned it all for certain keywords, then this President by his own admission has violated the constitutional rights of what could be millions of Americans. Here's a question that pundits could ramble on about for a while: What is the punishment of a President when he breaks the Constitution? It is a defense to a prosecution under subsection (a) of this section that the defendant was a law enforcement or investigative officer engaged in the course of his official duties and the electronic surveillance was authorized by and conducted pursuant to a search warrant or court order of a court of competent jurisdiction. The President has already admitted that he personally approved the program without the oversight of a search warrant or a court order. Democrats - and all rational Americans - have a right to be angry. Abuse of power and violations of the Constitution don't get much clearer than this. The President talks a lot about amending the Constitution for things like gay marriage, but he can't ask for laws that protect Americans from terrorism? I'm not buying it.
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Are you looking for a way to spice up your chicken? Chicken is a good source of protein and there are so many ways to prepare it. Make sure you try this curry-spiced chicken next time you are looking to get creative in the kitchen. 1. Preheat the broiler to ‘High’ for 20 minutes, placing the rack midway in the center of the oven. 2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the olive oil, curry, garlic, and ginger. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Add the chicken and toss until every piece is coated evenly throughout. 4. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and broil until the juices run clear and the top is golden, about 10 minutes. 5. Let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
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The word ‘Albion’ was initially used to mean Britain. However, it was used only for parts of Britain with white cliffs. The name ‘Albion’ was first applied to a football team by Brighton and Hove because there are white cliffs in Dover. The name was later copied by many other English, Welsh, and Scottish teams. However, Albion is an old fashioned and poetic name for the island of Great Britain. Here is a list of football teams with Albion in their name. 1. Witton Albion F.C. – Witton Albion is an English football team in the Northern Premier League Division One North based in Northwich, Cheshire. 2. West Bromwich Albion F.C. – West Brom is the most successful of all the football teams with Albion in their name. They are an English professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands. They have played in the English top flight for many years. 3. Tadcaster Albion A.F.C. – an English football club based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. 4. Stirling Albion F.C. – a Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish First Division. 5. Shepshed Albion F.C. – a defunct English football club also known as Shepshed Charterhouse from 1975 to 1992. 6. Ossett Albion A.F.C. – an English football team in the Northern Premier League Division One North, based in Ossett, West Yorkshire. 8. Burton Albion F.C. – a professional English association football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. 9. Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. – an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton & Hove, Sussex. They currently play in the English Premier League. 10. Albion Rovers F.C. (Newport) – a Welsh football team from the city of Newport. 11. Albion Rovers F.C. (Scotland) – This is a different Albion Rovers, they are based in Scotland. They are a Scottish Football League team from the North Lanarkshire town of Coatbridge. 12. Albion F.C. – This club is far away in South America. They are a football club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. 13. Albion Football Club (WRFL) – This is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Albion.
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Moss's Egg. Task -1- Find the area of the shaded region inside the two circles shown below. The two large circles have a radius of 6cm. The area of the small circle can therefore be calculated using the formula indicated: , where A equals the area and r is the radius. Thus: A = (32) = 9 � 28.3 cm2 Task -2- The same circles are shown below. Find the area and perimeter of the triangle ABC. a) In order to determine the area of triangle ABC, we must adopt the formula: , where b is the base and h is the perpendicular height. From the information we are given, we know that the base of the triangle is 6 cm in length, as we know that this is the diameter of the small circle and that the base extends to its ends (A to B). Linear Function: y=ax+b First, I use two points of (1955, 609) and (1985, 1070) from the given data to find the parameters of the function. I chose these two points because they are the only two combinations that are all integers, which will be easier to calculate. 609=1955a+b 1070=1985a+b Finding value a and b by using simultaneous equation: 1070=1985a+b - 609=1955a+b ________________________________ 461= 30a a = ?15.37 b = 609-1955�15.37=29439.35 Which gives the equation of y=15.37x-29439.35 as below: Graph 2: Population of China 1950~1995 with linear function It appears to be rather fit to the coordinates. Math IA -Modelling Population Growth in China. It is of course not perfectly linear because the growth of a population would not be perfectly linear. This data is close to linear but it is not perfectly linear. A linear function is plausible. This is a graph with the data points on it as well as a linear function: y = 15.496x - 29690.2501 The function of the parent linear function is If in the TI-84 calculator you do a linear regression. You first need to put all the data from the years 1950 to 1995 into L1 and the corresponding population data into L2. After you have put the data in the L1 and L2 lists. After the data has been entered into the lists. Math Portfolio - The Koch snowflake investigation. On the middle part an equilateral triangle is drawn. And this continues in the following stages. Below are the values for the first 4 diagrams, . n Nn Ln Pn An 0 3 1 3 1 12 4 0.57735 2 48 0.64150 3 192 0.67001 (5 s.f) Number of sides Initially there is an equilateral triangle at stage n=0, each of those sides is divided into 3 sides. And there is another equilateral triangle created at the center points. Thus from that I can conclude that each side becomes from sides. as the diagrams are given to us, for the first 4 stages I counted the sides. tn), it is clear that a quadratic equation is formed by this relation, because the second differences are constant and not zero. n tn First differences Second differences Third differences 1 1 / / / 2 3 2 / / 3 6 3 1 / 4 10 4 1 0 5 15 5 1 0 6 21 6 1 0 7 28 7 1 0 8 36 8 1 0 Let f equal the value of tn . Consider any quadratic equation which can be represented as. Stellar Numbers Portfolio. The simplest example of these is square numbers, but over the course of this investigation, both triangular numbers and stellar numbers will be looked at in greater depth. Complete the triangular numbers sequence with three more terms. The given diagrams for the problem were through and are shown below. The next three terms needed to complete the diagram are through . These are illustrated in the pictures below. The white lines on bottom of each diagram are the dots that need to be added to go from one triangular number to the next. Question 2 Find a general statement that represents the nth triangular number in terms of n When completing different trials in attempts to find the general term for Triangular Numbers, the following information was determined. Logarithms. In this investigation, the use of the properties of logarithms will be used to identify patterns, relationships, and limits of logarithms and sequences. A geometric sequence is a sequence whose consecutive terms are multiplied by a fixed, non-zero real number called a common ratio. Therefore, to prove that the sequence is indeed, geometric, the common ratio must be found. When the sequence is examined closely, you will notice that the log number remains the same throughout the sequence and that it is the base of the logarithm that changes with every term. Understanding this, you can use the bases to find the common ratio of the sequence by dividing the consecutive terms by the terms preceding them. Modelling Probabilities in Tennis. In this investigation I shall examine the possibilities for modelling the probabilities in tennis matches of varying complexity. Let X denote the number of points scored by A. We can now state that: and therefore that: . We can hence easily calculate the probability distribution for all possibly values of X: x P(X=x) 0 0.000017 1 0.000339 2 0.003048 3 0.016258 4 0.056902 5 0.136565 6 0.227608 7 0.260123 8 0.195092 9 0.086708 10 0.017342 This can be presented as a histogram: This shows that the modal score will be 7, with the highest individual probability. Based on the binomial distribution, we can also calculate the expected value and standard distribution: Based on this we can see that most scores fall between 4 and 8, with the mean score being 6.6667. Stellar numbers and triangular numbers. Find an expression for the 6-stellar number at stage s7. Find a general statement for the 6-stellar number at stage sn in terms of n. are numbers that can be displayed in the form of a triangular pattern composed of evenly spaced dots. This can be seen below. TASK 1: Complete the triangular number sequence with three more terms. Find a general statement that represents the nth triangular number in terms of n. Given the fact that our current sequence is 1, 3, 6, 10, 15... we need to find the nth term. Looking at the sequence, we see that there difference between each term increases by 1 so for example the difference between u1 and u2 is 2 and the difference between u2 and u3 is 3. In this task, we are required to investigate the mathematical patterns within systems of linear equations. We need to concept of matrices and algebraic equations in this task. To check the solution The solution of this 2�2 system of linear equations is unique. 1. Substituting into equation (1): The solution is x = -1, y = 2. 2. ( Substituting into equation (1): The solution is x = -1, y = 2. 3. Substituting into equation (2): The solution is x = -1, y = 2. 4. (2) �: (3) - (1): Substituting into equation (1): The solution is x = -1, y = 2. 5. Substituting into equation (1): The solution is x = -1, y = 2. From the five 2�2 system of linear equations I have investigated, all of them have a unique solution of x = -1, y = 2. An investigation of different functions that best model the population of China. The year will be represented by x and the population will be represented by y There are restrictions that also need to be set; the year as well as the population can never be anything below 0. My parameter for time will be that for each year, "t" will equal the number of years after 1950. Therefore, for 1950, "t" will equal 0, for 1955 "t" will equal 5 and so on. Below is a graph that plots the above data points. Math portfolio stellar numbers. This assessment will investigate geometric shapes that lead to special numbers. Expressing this mathematically, Rn = Since Rn=2Tn one can substitute Rn in order to get Tn, 2Tn= 2Tn=n(n+1) Tn= Thus it seems like a general statement that represents the nth triangular number in terms of n. After investigating the triangular shapes, more complex Stellar shapes will be investigated. And so forth... Each star has a number of vertices these will be labelled p. Every value of p leads to P-Stellar number, labelled Sn. In this case it is a 6-stellar number. Mathematics SL Parellels and Parallelograms. This task will consider the number of parallelograms formed by intersecting m horizontal parallel lines with n parallel transversals; we are to deduce a formula that will satisfy the above. and (Distance from tip in centimeters). The table below shows these variables. variable - Guide Number from the tip 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 variable - Distance from the tip (cm) 10 23 38 55 74 96 120 149 The constraints or parameters for the two variables are: * variable parameter = 1 ? ? 8 * variable parameter = 10 ? ? 149 Furthermore, the variable, is the Independent Variable, and the variable is the Dependant Variable. Table 1, which gives the distances for each of the line guides from the tip of Leo's fishing rod, is plotted on the graph below: I will consider the variables as a sequence, and from there I shall calculate the polynomial equation modeling this situation. (IB) diploma students are required to take at least one course in mathematics. This furthers your IB education in two major ways: it teaches you to think critically about problems - even those you encounter outside mathematics - and it enhances your international credentials, since maths is a true lingua franca. That said, between the symbols and greek letters, there's still a lot of English to be written. If your writing needs a bit of help, never fear. You can brush up with Marked by Teachers' collection of IB mathematics papers. Study the teacher-marked and peer-reviewed assignments to learn how to write papers that earn top marks. Before long, excellent writing will come naturally to you. IB students who excel in maths will find themselves well-placed to choose a universitydegree from within the physical sciences or mathematical and computer sciences.
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Why do some Bibles say 'Canaanites' in Zechariah 14:21, while other say 'traders' or 'merchants'? Zechariah 14:21 (KJV): Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 14:21 (NAB): And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who come to sacrifice shall take them and cook in them. On that day there shall no longer be any merchant in the house of the LORD of hosts. What do the LXX and MT say? If they differ, what may be the underlying reason? At the time Zechariah was written, the likelihood of Canaanites in the Jerusalem temple seems quite remote. The LXX has Χαναναία in Zechariah 14:21, with other forms of the same word found many times elsewhere in the Old Testament, and also once in the New, Matthew 15:22, where the KJV has the same word as the LXX (Strong's G5478). Looking further at the instances in the LXX (canonical books), it almost disappears after the book of Judges, where it appears in Proverbs 31:24 (KJV as "merchant"), 2 Samuel 23:8 (KJV as "Tachmonite"), 2 Samuel 24:7 (KJV as "the Canaanites"), Hosea 4:18 (obscure connection to the KJV text), Obadiah 1:20 (KJV as "the Canaanites"), Zechariah 11:11 (obscure connection in KJV text as "the poor" of the flock, but the NASB has a footnote "sheep dealers"); and Zechariah 14:21 (KJV as "Canaanite"). The fact that usage of the word dwindles to a trickle beyond Judges, indicates to me that the people group who were once referred to as Χαναναία in the LXX, must have all but disappeared from the land. From the evidence available to me, the word is best translated Canaanite, and any other rendering would require a footnote to provide some reason for not doing so. Based on some feedback in the comments, I thought I'd have a closer look at why Χαναναία appears in Hosea, Obadiah and Zechariah. Are the prophets using the word to refer to people they've encountered, or to a people group who have historically been the very antithesis of what God wants Israel to be? They chose Canaanites to fornicate with, prostituting themselves. They delighted in the indignity of their snorting. It is a direct reference to Israel's willingness, historically -- from the very beginning of her journey into Canaan, even up until the time of Hosea -- to be wooed and ravished by the god's of Canaan instead of remaining faithful to the Lord. The context of Χαναναία, here, is: the land that was promised to Israel as a possession, "that of the Canaanites", the people of the Captivity would return to re-possess. As for those who had interfered with the assignment/charge given to Israel to go in and possess the land, "the day of the LORD" was nigh upon them. At the shattering [of Beauty] in that day, even the Canaanites will understand that the sheepfold is protected, because of the word (Logos) of the Lord. Then "The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.". Jerusalem will be raised up high, and will be forever secure. Dreadful plagues and panic will strike the nations, but those who survive will come annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Those who refuse to come will suffer great drought. Zechariah 14:21 concludes this vision of the future: "there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty." The impression I get from the usage of Χαναναία in these verses is: Canaanites (Χαναναία) are those whose hearts are set on rebellion against God's rule and authority, who would persist with, and/or encourage others to persist with, the abominable behaviour that caused the land of Canaan to spew its people out. The reason there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord is: if he be of a Canaanite heart, then his refusal to come will see him destroyed by the plagues and panic and drought of the day of the Lord. If, however, his Canaanite heart were converted and he come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, then he would no longer be of a Canaanite heart, i.e. not a Canaanite. Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged zechariah or ask your own question. Does “first” demand a “second” in Zechariah 12:7?
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Could you help with some play activities I can do with my daughter who is just under two years old. Here are some ideas below, but remember you don't have to try so hard. Your daughter needs to learn to entertain herself. If you are the primary playmate and also need to get the housework done, get a wall calendar and plan one morning activity and one afternoon activity every day, to get you out of the play-on-demand routine. If she wants to help you, inspire her with her own duster, she can get wet as she helps you clean the shower, or help sort the washing; all the socks together, all the dark things together on a pile. Put the washing in the washing machine. If she doesn't want to join you, be very firm about the fact that you need to get your own chores done and she needs to entertain herself. Act out a story from a book. Bang on pots and pans with spoons. 5. Brush each other’s teeth. 6. Build a wooden puzzle. Buy the Gymboree Toddler Play book or Toddler’s Busy Book by Trish Kuffner which covers activities from 12 months to preschool. 8. Collect and press flowers. 9. Collect rocks in a basket. 11. Count household items: how many chairs, tables or pillows? 13. Dedicate a low cupboard to only plastic packaging containers, pack in and out. 14. Do colours: Point out all the red, green things in the room. 16. Do letter flashcards/ animal flashcards. 18. Draw a balancing beam on the floor: walk along to improve balance. 19. Draw a rectangle, square, circle, triangle on the patio. Name and jump into the right space. 20. Draw faces on fingers with koki, and let the different hands talk to each other. 21. Draw a picture with chalk on the patio; wash away with a hose. 22. Fill an old handbag with toys, and take them for a walk in the garden. 23. Get out of the house; join or start a playgroup. 24. Give a piggy back ride. 25. Give your toddler a large cardboard box and be amazed at her play creativity. 26. Glue shapes onto paper. 27 Go for a walk. 28. Go on a safari in your back garden. What do you see/ smell? Make a drawing. 29. Go to a museum; take a picnic and enjoy in the museum gardens. 30. Go to an outdoor food market; learn the names of vegetables. 31. Go to the park. 32. Go to the pet store. 33. Google games for toddlers and download. 35. Hide favourite toys in the garden / living room for her to find. 36. Invite a friend over for a play date. 37. Lead the dog…put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk about the house. 38. Let your child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich using raisins. 39. Make and wear a tissue paper flower wreath. 40. Make a bracelet for your doll with pipe cleaners and bells. 41. Make a car out of a cardboard box. 42. Make a drum out of an oatmeal box. 43. Make a fort out of cushions and sheets. 45. Make a playhouse with a large cardboard box and towel curtains. 46. Make a puddle on the paving and splash barefoot through it. 47. Make a puzzle from a breakfast box. 48. Make a sandbox; and fill with clean sea sand. 49. Make a shape puzzle by tracing items from around the house and matching them up. Squares, circles etc. 50. Make a shoebox train for favourite toys. 51. Make a super hero costume out of household items. 52. Make a train out of boxes and cushions; place favourite toys/passengers on the wagons. 53. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and / or furniture. 54. Make and try on paper hats. 55. Make and walk along a toilet paper or newspaper trail. 57. Make flower necklaces from tissues. 58. Make music; xylophone, drums, piano. 59. Make puppets out of old socks or brown paper bags with newspaper hats or crown. 60. Name body parts in the bath. 61. Paint your toddler’s palms with wash-off paint and blot on paper. Make a card. 62. Paint, with fingers, an old toothbrush, brushes, ear buds, string. 63. Pick up sticks in the garden and make a pile. 64. Plant a tray of flowers, vegetables. 65. Play dress up in mom’s or dad’s clothes. 66. Play “name the picture”. Cut out themes from magazines. e.g. furniture, kitchen utensils, colours, animals, movement: paste on cardboard. Hold them up to your child to name. Keep it one theme a day. 67. Play chase and catch. 68. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your toddler’s clothes. 69. Play games like I Spy, or Simon Says. 70. Play games with stones and drop them into different containers to hear the different sounds they make. 71. Play hide and seek. 72. Play horsies or airplanes with appropriate sounds. 73. Play paper netball with wadded up paper and a basket or box. 75. Play tea party. Wear hats. 76. Play the matching game with children’s cards. 77. Play the smell and name game with fruit. Blindfold. What is this? An apple, orange, banana. 78. Play tug-of-war with a large towel or blanket. 79. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge NB with CLOSE supervision! 80. Play with learning cards; numbers, names of objects. 81. Play with pegs and a card. 83. Play with play dough. 84. Plays shells/ cups and peas. Hide an object under one of the shells. 85. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other. 86. Practice writing your child’s name. 87. Practice putting things into and taking things out of boxes and bags. 88. Pull your toddler around the house on a blanket. 89. Put a sheet with toys on the lawn and play on it. 90. Put lipstick on your child, kiss a mirror, or make a kiss for Daddy on paper. 91. Put on a puppet show. 93. Record each other on a tape recorder. 94. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor. 97. Rotate your toys; periodically put away and bring out a few weeks later. 98. Say and sing nursery rhymes together. 99. Scoop sand into a bucket, or use a serving spoon and bowl/s. 101. Sketch an outline of your toddler's hands, feet on the patio or paper with chalk. 102. Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other. 103. Stack cushions and pillows and make an obstacle course. 104. Stack plastic mixing bowls or dishes inside each other, vary rounds and rectangles. 105. String circle sweets on a string or a shoelace. 106. String large beads on a shoelace. 107. Take a bubble bath. 108. Take a nature walk around the block and collect stones, or sticks. 109. Throw bean bags into a bucket / onto the sofa. 110. Use toilet paper rolls to make a low wall for your toddler to climb over without touching.
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Who were the Essenes? Was Jesus part of this group? From what I’ve read, the Essenes were a Jewish sect that broke from traditional Judaism because they felt mainstream Judaism was not living the way God wanted people to live. So they started their own community based on the values they believed God wanted. They refused to eat meat or slaughter animals, seeing such practices as ungodly and contrary to what God wanted. This made them heretics in the eyes of mainstream Jews who believed God desired animal sacrifices. The Essenes celebrated holy days without the sacrificing of animals, such as Passover with bread instead of lamb. Given the similarity between this practice and the one Jesus instituted to replace the Passover lamb sacrifice, it makes sense that Jesus and the Essenes were connected in some way, but the historical record is far from clear if or to what extent Jesus was associated with the Essenes. Regardless, Jesus clearly advocated serving the Jewish God just as the Essenes did and both radically broke from traditional Judaism and both sought to end animal sacrifice, the Essenes by explicitly forbidding it and Jesus by freeing the animals from the temple market and acting as the sacrifice to end all animal sacrifices. Given these connections, I personally believe God was guiding the Essenes (or at least I have no reason to disbelieve it) just as I believe God guides present day movements that seek to live a more authentic and pleasing life of servitude toward God and who question cruel traditions that are carried out in the name of God.
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The problem statements in this research are formulated as follows: (1) How are museums as tourist attractions in Ubud area, from the perspective of operators? (2) How are museums as tourist attractions in Ubud area, from the perspective of visitors? (3) How is the relationship between museums and other tourism components when examined from the role of museums as cultural tourism attractions in Ubud area?. This research on museums was conducted in the Ubud area because Ubud has made museums as the cultural tourism attractions in the area, which include the Blanco Museum, Museum Puri Lukisan, Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), the Rudana Museum, and Neka Art Museum. This research is based on the theories of museum management, marketing, and theories on cultural tourism attraction.
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What is your bike build of? This article opens a series of articles called: "Cycling For Beginners" with SickBiker, or me I'm going to write those in a simple way, so that everyone will be able to go to their local bike store and proudly say: "do you have a rear mech with adjustable clutch, the capacity of 45 and polimer coated cable?" ;) Are you ready? Frame - the soul of your bike. The Material - steel, aluminium, carbon, titanium, wood etc. The wheels have to deal with all the obstacles you go through. the look of the bike - just as with the cars, the same bike can look much better on some cool wheelset. The size - unlike with the road bikes, the mountain bikes can have three different wheel sizes: 26", 27,5" and 29". The "small wheels" can be a good choice for smaller riders and many women, who have difficulties maneuvering the bike in the corners. The big wheel - 29" - rolls better through the obstacles and gives the rider better traction in the mud. The number of spokes - the less spokes in the wheels, the lighter and more aero they are, but it affects their durability negatively and requires a lower weight limit of the rider. If your weight is much more than 90 kg or 200 lbs, consider the wheels, that have more than 28 spokes. The material - aluminium wheels are the best choice for everyday rides and training. The rims and even the hubs become more and more reliable in nowadays, but they cost much more and so I would recommend using such a wheels only for those important races. The tires - your contact with the ground. You must trust your tires when braking and speeding trough the corners. the comfort of your rides on different roads. The width - after you've found the right size, think about the width of your tires. The 25 mm are now the most popular for the road bikes, as they provide enough grip, comfort and are still very fast. For the mountain bikes, the 2.1 or 2.25 are definitely a good idea for most of the riders. The tread - the more aggressive the tread, the more grip you're gonna get in the terrain and less on the tarmac. For muddy terrain opt for the tires with less knobs. Tubeless Ready systems - I highly recommend trying out the tires without the inner tubes, as they allow you riding on a lower air pressure for more grip and comfort on the trails. The tubeless system lowers the risk of getting flat tire as well. The crankset can have one, two or three chainrings. The number of front and rear sprockets - the most popular systems are: 3x8, 3x9, 3x10, 3x11, 2x11, 1x11. The more gears you have, the easier it is to find the most comfortable cadence. The number of teeth on the sprockets - unlike with the number of gears, the size of your sprockets defines the range of your gearing, which define how slow or how fast you can ride. The Materials - in some bike stores you'll be told, that the higher and more expensive groupset you buy, the better for you, but the truth is, that the cheapest chainrings made of steel will be the most durable. The aluminium and titanium cogs will need to be replaced more often. The rear derailleur shifts the chain through the cassette. This cassette has 11 sprockets. This crankset has only one chainring, thus no front derailleur. The disc brakes on a road bike give you more control, even in wet conditions. overheating resistance (better brakes dissipate heat more efficiently). Caliper brakes or disc brakes - make sure your frameset will fit the type of the brakes you're buying. Godd quality disc brakes are usually more powerful than the caliper brakes. Hydraulic or mechanical brakes - once again, good quality hydraulic brakes are generally more efficient, than the mechanical ones, but need some more knowledge in terms of their maintenance. Disc brake rotor size - the rotors must fit your frameset and the brakes. the seatpost - this tube slides into the seat tube of the frame and it supports the saddle. The saddle must be comfortable! Carbon seatpost with the curve, that ads comfort on rough roads. With the Rapid Tone Diet, this will not be the issue. Foods contain either fats, carbohydrates, or proteins. All excess carbs are stored as a form of glycogen. When you are low on energy, the body uses this stored glycogen for it.Fats are not a true source of energy.
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Describe your dream trip to France, be it a luxury vacation or a gourmet food & wine tour. We match you with up to 3 top French travel specialists who compete to plan your tour. Admired the world over for its impeccable taste and effortless style, France celebrates beauty, sophistication and style. From elegant chateaux and grand boulevards to immaculately manicured country roads and charming villages; fairytale castles, thousand-year-old cathedrals, and even older vineyards. This is the country that taught the world about joie de vivre and savoir-faire, about high culture and haute couture. France has everything a discerning traveler could wish for. The largest country in Europe and, culturally and historically, one of the most influential in the world, France has a reputation that precedes her. Before even visiting, you already know about the famous boulevards, the gourmet cuisine, the fabulous fashions and stylish cafes. You may have heard the stereotypes, about haughty French waiters, pervasive cigarette smoking and smelly cheese. To put the record straight: the waiters are formal rather than friendly, smoking is on the decline, and strong cheeses are decidedly optional. France is a country of complexities. To truly understand its allure, you have to visit. Centuries of history have shaped France’s rich heritage, and the buildings speak volumes: from the medieval city of Carcassonne to the Renaissance chateaux of the Loire Valley, and the magnificent 19th century Haussmann boulevards in Paris. You can imagine scenes of the Belle Epoque at the Moulin Rouge as vividly as World War II battles at Omaha Beach in Normandy. Despite its weighty past, France is a thoroughly modern nation. Alongside the ancient castles and cathedrals are emphatically 21st century innovations: from the 300 kilometers-per-hour TGV rail service, to the Pompidou Center of Modern Art in Paris and a stadium-sized underground cathedral in Lourdes. France is defined by its diverse topography. The spectacular landscape ranges from the poppy-strewn plains of Picardy to the rolling hills of Champagne, the snowy peaks of the Alps to the serene shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Each region has its own unique character. People have different accents all over the country, and the gastronomy varies as much as the scenery. President Charles de Gaulle once lamented about the difficulty of governing a nation with over 300 types of cheese – but for visitors, the variety of culture and cuisine is something to relish! With its majestic monuments, elegant sidewalk cafes and chic shopping districts, Paris has the finest of everything – from gourmet cuisine to fabulous fashions. You could spend a whole day shopping for designer silk scarves or handmade chocolates, or wandering around the city’s perfectly manicured parks. At the center of Paris, the Notre-Dame Cathedral is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, resplendent with flying buttresses, fearsome gargoyles, and soaring spires. The phenomenal Louvre Museum, located in the former palace of the Kings of France, is the world’s most visited art museum – renowned for masterworks such as Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ and Eugene Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People’. The world’s most important collection of Impressionist art is housed on the opposite bank of the Seine at the Musee d’Orsay, where you can drift between Monet’s water lilies, Cezanne’s rolling fields, Renoir’s bustling sidewalks, and van Gogh’s starry skies. No description of Paris would be complete without a mention of the lattice-work marvel of the Eiffel Tower – the iconic 324-meter tower that holds of the distinction of being the most visited paid monument in the world. The food in Paris is justifiably legendary, from the exquisite patisserie shops and sophisticated salon de the to celebrated cafes such as Les Deux Magots in Saint-Germain des Pres – once the haunt of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Expect the waiters to be brusque and the people-watching to be captivating. The ‘City of Lights’ lives up to its name with a vibrant nightlife, from chic nightclubs to risque cabaret shows, traditional ballet to modern jazz. Paris is also famous for its lively street performances, and every June 21st the city stays up all night for a fiesta of free concerts known as La Fete de la Musique. Just a short train ride out of Paris is one of France’s top tourist attractions, the magnificent Chateau de Versailles. Filled with precious artworks and surrounded by exquisite formal gardens, this extravagant palace stands as testimony to the glory of King Louis XIV’s reign – otherwise known as the Grand Siecle. The chateau was also the residence of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette, who were overthrown during the French Revolution. The most famous room is the Hall of Mirrors, which is literally dripping in chandeliers, gold leaf and fine tapestries. Seeing the opulence of Versailles helps you understand why, in 1789, the chateau was stormed by a mob of angry Parisians who could not even afford bread. Another awe-inspiring historical site near Paris is the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and arguably the most breathtaking Gothic cathedral in France. Brittany in northwest France is alive with ancient history, including the historic seaside town of Saint Malo and the famous medieval abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, perched on a hilltop that becomes an island at high tide. Surrounded by rugged coastline, Normandy is full of historic towns that are associated with Impressionist paintings: the lovely seaside town of Honfleur, Rouen with its famous cathedral painted by Monet, the bustling port of Le Havre, and the coastal resort of Deauville. Another evocative attraction is the Normandy Landing Beaches, where visitors can experience the momentous events of ‘D Day’ on June 6th 1944 – when 150,000 American, British and Canadian troops landed along this coast in what would become a major turning-point in World War II. Glorious Renaissance chateaux and fairytale castles dot the lush valleys and historic towns along the Loire River in central France, where France’s royal families built their homes and hunting lodges between the 15th and 17th centuries. The immense Chateau de Chambord was built for King Francois I and encompasses a hunting estate roughly the size of the Paris metropolitan area. The largest of the Loire chateaux, the magnificent Cheverny Castle was a gift to the mistress of King Henri II. The most unique and graceful, the Chateau de Chenonceau is known as the ‘Castle of Ladies’ because it was designed and built for Katherine Briconnet and Diane de Poitiers. Each chateau has a fascinating heritage, and the tales of visionary architectural projects, grand hunts, spectacular parties, and aristocratic trysts always make for an absorbing visit. Amid the rolling, vineyard-cloaked hills of this iconic region, you’ll find two ancient and spectacular World Heritage Sites: the medieval ‘fair town’ of Provins and the gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral of Reims. Of course, Champagne connoisseurs will also want to visit the prestigious maisons de Champagne, such as Maison Veuve Clicquot and Maison Perrier-Jouet, to sample the legendary ‘bubbly’ of this famous region. Burgundy was once a powerful medieval duchy and, among its idyllic farmlands and lush vineyards, you’ll still find fortresses, castles, abbeys and villages from the Middle Ages. The attractive city of Beaune is the heart of the region’s famous wine trade, while Dijon is a pleasant historic city, known for its gourmet mustard production. Wine connoisseurs will delight in the region’s fine Beaujolais, Chablis and Cote d’Or varieties, and private tours can be arranged at most of the prestigious wineries. Burgundy is equally famous for its hearty country cuisine, with classic French specialties like escargot, chicken in mustard sauce, and beef stew. Only two hours from Paris by high-speed train and an hour from the Alps, Lyon is France’s second largest city: more “French” than Paris, and with sunnier weather. The city boasts interesting Gallo-Roman archaeological sites and has an impressive Musee des Beaux Arts. Lyon is also well-known for its gastronomic excellence, with several top chefs running restaurants here, including the acclaimed Paul Bocuse and Anne-Sophie Pic – the only female French chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. The region of Alsace on the German border has a different flavor from the rest of the country. People here speak Alsatian, a Germanic language with a bit of French influence, and the cuisine also reflects the region’s location, with specialties including sausages, sauerkraut and kugelhopf (a rich almond cake). The capital, Strasbourg, is a charming city with quaint half-timbered houses and an ornate Gothic cathedral. From Strasbourg, it’s an easy day trip to the Black Forest. France’s two mountain ranges offer spectacular scenery, complete with snowcapped mountains, rushing waterfalls and sparkling streams. Both regions have pristine national parks with well-groomed trails ideal for hiking and mountain-biking. There are quaint villages and tiny churches to discover in remote areas, and local bars and cafes serving delicious hearty cuisine. Fondue is a specialty of the Alps, while the cheese-based dish, raclette, is enjoyed in the Pyrenees. The sun-soaked center of southern France, Provence has a deep-rooted Roman heritage that is clearly visible in its dialect and cuisine. The beautiful Mediterranean landscape inspired Impressionist painters such as Cezanne to create vibrant works of art. The city of Arles is dominated by the ruins of a giant amphitheater dating back to the 1st century BC. Throughout the countryside, you’ll find hilltop medieval villages full of charm and character. The beautiful medieval city of Avignon is dominated by the UNESCO-listed Palais de Papes, a monumental 14th century papal palace. Also known as the French Riviera, the Cote d’Azur attracts beach lovers, socialites, celebrities – and of course, the paparazzi. One glimpse of the alluring blue waters and astounding ocean views, and you’ll understand why the Cote d’Azur is a world-famous ‘glitterati’ destination. You can soak up the sun at upscale beach resorts or go for pleasant hikes along the sparkling Mediterranean foreshore. Attractions include the chic principality of Monaco, the picturesque seaside village of Eze, the gorgeous Rothschild Villa on Cap Ferrat, the superb art museums of Nice, and the exclusive seafront promenade in Cannes. Two of the most ancient regions of France, Gascony and Dordogne boast rugged scenery and fascinating history. Gascony is famous for its medieval heritage, its rich foods (including foie gras and Armagnac brandy), and as the original home of the Three Musketeers. Dordogne is renowned for its significant Roman ruins and the prehistoric caves of the Vezere Valley, which house rock paintings dating back 12,000 years. The Basque Country is a distinct region of southwest France, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, with its own language, culture and cuisine. The seaside resort of Biarritz was made fashionable by the wife of Napoleon III, the Empress Eugenie. Her private residence is now the Hotel du Palais, an extravagant hotel with ocean views and an exquisite Michelin-starred restaurant. Romantically situated on a crescent-shaped bend of the Garonne River, Bordeaux is a stunning World Heritage City with a wealth of historic monuments. The city displays its landmarks like an open-air museum – from its Roman-era amphitheater to a splendid medieval cathedral and elegant 18th century boulevards. Bordeaux also has statements of modernity, like its surreal Water Mirror reflecting the Place de la Bourse along the river. In the surrounding vineyards and wine chateaux, the region produces some of the best Grand Cru wines in France. Take a guided tour of the Louvre, the world’s greatest art museum, and marvel at its masterpieces of European art. From the enigmatic smile of the ‘Mona Lisa’ and the sensual curves of ‘Venus de Milo’, to legendary works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Caravaggio and countless others, the Louvre holds some of the world’s most dazzling and valuable art treasures. Among more than 30,000 artworks are incredible collections of antiquities from ancient Rome, Greece and the Middle East, as well as one of the world’s most important collections of ancient Egyptian art. Immerse yourself in the singular beauty of Impressionism at the Musee d’Orsay, home of Degas’ ballerinas, Gaugin’s Tahitian ladies, Toulouse-Lautrec’s cabaret dancers, and Renoir’s joyous Belle Epoque parties. Afterwards, sated on the world’s finest art, treat yourself to lunch at the museum’s exquisite restaurant – itself designated an historic monument. Take in the best views of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, once the tallest structure in the world and without doubt the most enduring symbol of the ‘City of Light’. After soaking up the spectacular sights, there is no more civilized way to end your visit than by savoring the stunning Michelin-starred cuisine of Alain Ducasse at the Le Jules Vernes restaurant on the tower’s second level. Experience the Parisian joie de vivre at lovely parks and legendary cafes, from the manicured lawns of the Champ de Mars next to the Eiffel Tower to the stunning botanical gardens of the Jardin du Luxembourg, close to the Latin Quarter. Pull up a chair at the Jardin de Tuileries, an elegant garden in the formal French style, where you can stop for a crepe or a light lunch at the La Terrasse de Pomone. Or soak up the inimitable atmosphere of the Germain des Pres, where you can people-watch in style on the terraces of the Cafe du Flore or Cafe Les Deux Magots. Absorb the medieval charms of Marais, where you can wander through narrow cobblestone streets lined with cafes and boutiques, admire aristocratic palaces abandoned during the Revolution, or relax in the courtyard of the Place de Vosges – one of Paris’s most elegant squares. Be inspired by magnificent Gothic cathedrals that reflect France’s rich spiritual heritage. Attend a Catholic mass at the Notre-Dame de Paris to soak up the heavenly aura of this immense cathedral, featuring an ornate 13th century choir area and sanctuary. Bask in the spectacular stained-glass chapel of Eglise de Saint-Chapelle, or take the train south to Chartres, where the huge vaulted ceilings, ancient stained glass, and exquisite sculptures of Chartres Cathedral are celebrated by many as the most beautiful place of worship in France. Walk in the footsteps of pampered royalty through some of the world’s most opulent and magnificent homes – from the extravagance of the Chateau de Versailles, where France’s last monarchs lived in Paris, to the storybook splendor of the Loire Valley castles, set amid expansive estates and evergreen forests. Discover tales of bravery and tragedy on the beaches of Normandy, where, on a single day in June 1944, 150,000 troops landed in 7,000 vessels on five beaches – in what remains the greatest seaborne invasion in modern military history. Today, the events of ‘D Day’ are commemorated through a series of informative museums and memorials, and a moving daily flag-lowering ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. Learn about the centuries-old French tradition of viticulture while sampling fine wines and hearty cuisine at some of the world’s oldest and most renowned vineyard estates. From sparkling wines and gorgeous chateaux in Champagne to the classic red wines and sprawling estates of Bordeaux, and the ancient castles and legendary Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of Burgundy, no other country offers so much for wine-lovers. Soak up the country charm and the evocative past of Provence, where you can thrill in the history of the 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater at Arles or walk in hallowed footsteps at the towering 14th century papal palace in Avignon. Sunbathe at stylish French Riviera beach resorts, swim in the Mediterranean Sea, or tour the iconic perfume factories of Grasse – surrounded by the fields of flowers used to make their aromatic essential oils. Savor the Basque Country’s distinctive cuisine and culture, from the picturesque ancient village of Espelette, renowned for its piquant red peppers, to the fashionable seaside resort of Biarritz, and the exquisite old-world charms and new-world spa treatments of Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Delight in the quaint villages and postcard-perfect views of Alsace, from the lovely half-timbered houses along the river in Strasbourg to the tranquil woodlands and idyllic hamlets of the Black Forest. During the holiday season, visit the festive Christmas markets to shop for artisan products while sipping on spiced hot apple cider. Head off the beaten track in some of Europe’s most pristine and beautiful mountains, from the spectacular lakes and hiking trails of the French Alps, to the dramatic forests and mountain-bike trails of the Pyrenees, and the starkly beautiful limestone cliffs and inlets of the Calanques – France’s newest national park. As Ella Fitzgerald’s “I love Paris” eloquently explains, you can appreciate France at any time of the year! The spring offers mild weather, longer days and flowering gardens. Summertime is a lively season with a more lighthearted mood, as the French get ready for their annual vacations. In August, Paris tends to be hot and humid, and many Parisians vacate the city. You won’t see the typical Parisian atmosphere in August, but you may enjoy the slower pace. Expect the French Riviera and Biarritz resorts to be extremely crowded in July and August. If you prefer a more relaxing vacation at this time of year, visit the countryside, such as Provence, le Vars or the Pyrenees Mountains. In autumn, especially September in Paris and October on the French Riviera, you can enjoy great weather and fewer crowds. The holiday season is a festive time to see the Christmas markets and decorations. Most international flights arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, the largest in France. Other international flight hubs are the Bordeaux airport in southwest France and Lyon Saint Exupery airport in the Rhone-Alpes region. If your vacation is based in the French Riviera, you can fly into Nice, although this usually requires a layover in another European city such as Frankfurt or Amsterdam. France has an excellent system of public transportation. Within Paris, you can rely almost exclusively on the metro subway to get to any point in the city. The state railway system covers every major city and many towns throughout the country. There are also high-speed trains known as TGV (Trains a Grande Vitesse) that travel at 300 kilometers per hour. You can take the TGV from Paris to Marseille on the Mediterranean Sea in three hours or in just two hours arrive in Lyon, which is close to many excellent ski areas in the Alps. From Paris to Arles in Provence takes about three hours and from Paris to Nice on the French Riviera takes five hours. Most visitors only need a rental car to visit smaller villages and nature sites that are not accessible by train. France offers a wide range of accommodation to suit every budget and taste, from high-end luxury establishments like the Ritz to simple hotels with basic amenities. The French tourism authorities have a well-defined rating system, from one to four stars, which categorizes hotels based on their level of facilities. For instance, a one-star hotel probably will not have an elevator and may not have common areas, whereas a four-star hotel will have an elevator, concierge, lounge areas, restaurant and amenities such as WiFi access, cable TV and laundry services. However, the rating system does not take into account subjective criteria like a welcoming staff or the style of decor. In France, there are many smaller hotels in charming historic buildings. For a really special experience, the prestigious Relais & Chateaux group provides distinctive luxury accommodation, usually in splendid renovated castles, farmhouses or old monasteries, and often in beautiful natural settings. Whatever your criteria and travel preferences, your Zicasso agent will help you to select the hotels that suit you best for each location on your trip. Most non-European Union nationals require a visa for a tourist stay of 90 days or more. If you plan to stay longer than 90 days, you will need to submit a short-stay visa application at a French Consulate or Embassy before your arrival in France. There are no health precautions for visiting France. The Center for Disease Control recommends that you are up to date on routine vaccines and your yearly flu shot. If a medical issue arises when you’re in France, you can visit a local pharmacy for medical advice. The pharmacy can contact a doctor to provide a “house call” at your hotel room. France has one of the world’s best healthcare systems, and medical fees for most services are reasonable enough to pay out of pocket. You should still consider travel health insurance, to cover the costs in the rare chance of a serious medical emergency. Before your trip, you should also check to see if your health insurance plan will cover any medical costs incurred while traveling overseas. Although France is a very safe country, you should take precautions as with any travel experience. Be aware of pickpockets, especially in big cities like Paris and Marseille. Pay attention to your surroundings in crowded areas like the metro and train stations. Keep your passport and cash in a secure place such as a hotel safe or by wearing a money-belt. Always bring copies of credit card information, so that you can contact your credit card company in the case of theft. Before your trip, be sure to get travel insurance that covers theft and lost baggage. Single women sometimes experience the culture shock of forward French men when traveling alone in France. Usually this is a mere inconvenience rather than a safety threat. Single women travelers should take the same precautions in France that they would elsewhere: be aware of your surroundings and avoid areas that are desolate or not well-lit at night. France is a country steeped in customs and the tradition of good manners. The English word for “etiquette” comes from the antiquated French word “estiquette”, which means “ticket.” In the 17th and 18th centuries, the nobility were presented with tickets that prescribed specific codes of behavior permitted at the King’s court. Although manners today are less codified, they are generally more formal in France than in America. In contemporary French society, children are taught from a young age the importance of “politesse”, and you will see how French people value treating others in a polite way. The French also tend to speak at a lower volume than Americans – and you will fit in better if you lower the decibel level of your voice. Address women as “madame” (or “mademoiselle” for a young woman) and men as “monsieur” – the equivalent of “ma’am” and “sir”. When entering a store, restaurant or other public venue, use the greeting “bonjour, madame/monsieur” or “bonsoir, madame/monsieur”. Do not call waiters “garcon” as this is considered rude. The French address strangers by their last name until the acquaintance becomes more familiar. The French language has built-in formalities; the word for “you” differs depending on how well you know the person. Use “tu” for close friends and to address someone younger, and “vous” for acquaintances and to show respect to elders. The two most essential French phrases are “s’il vous plait” and “merci” (“please” and “thank you”). Whenever you use these expressions of politesse, you will be met with appreciation and politeness. French is the official language in France, spoken by 100% of the population. The French language is also a matter of national pride, and France has enforced the use of the French language by law. The government added an article to the constitution in 1992, stating: “The language of the Republic is French.” In 1994, France passed the Toubon law, declaring that all public notices, broadcast media and advertising must provide a translation of foreign words. In addition, France has several regional languages: Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Flemish and Provencal. The Basque country proudly retains its language and culture; about a third of the local population is bilingual. Schools teach both Basque and French, and road signs are written in Basque as well as French. Except in small towns, in rural areas and among the older generation, most French people speak English reasonably well. The younger generation is often fluent in English and enjoys American movies and music. As a visitor, it is not necessary to speak French: English is widely spoken at tourist locations. However, you will enjoy a much warmer reception if you attempt a few basic French phrases. You can begin by asking “Parlez vous anglais?” (“Do you speak English?”) and most often the answer will be “yes”. In France, all restaurants include the waiter’s service fee in the bill. Including a tip is optional. Most French customers either do not leave a tip or they leave spare change. You may want to tip the staff at your hotel or your guides if you feel that they’ve provided excellent service, although this is up to your discretion. In French stores, the prices that you see are not negotiable and it is not considered good form to bargain. With Zicasso’s customized tours, travelers are presented with hassle-free convenience of pre-packaged group tours and the flexibility of planned independent travel so there are greater options to choose from. Whether you’re interested in learning about French gastronomy and wines from an expert or wanted to travel along the French Riviera on a customized romantic getaway, you will appreciate a variety of unique and authentic experiences meaningful to you. Your trip will be carefully crafted to ensure hassle-free logistics and the selection of the perfect accommodation arrangements. Begin by telling us about your dream trip by filling out a Trip Request. We’ll then match you with 2 – 3 France travel specialists to design a trip just for you.
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If everyone around you is selling mobile phones, do you think you will be able to make profit and survive in the market if you launch one with similar features and design? No, people would continue to opt for the already established brands. In order for you to fetch their attention, you need to come up with something new and innovative. This is where creative strategy comes in. Creativity is required while building a product and also at the time of marketing it. You cannot use those old and stale advertising ideas to lure the customers every time. There has to be something out of the box. Creative strategy involves a lot of brain storming and research. It requires a team of copywriters, a creative director and an art director to accomplish this task. It is an attempt to generate customer's interest in the products and services so as to boost business.
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Do you know about all the Vice-Presidents of India? While we tend to know about the presidents of India, the vice-presidents are often missed out. A vice-president plays an important role and great support to the President in Chair. The Vice-President is the second topmost constitutional post after President. Before taking the responsibility of Vice-President, he worked as the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in the Modi cabinet. He was the National President of Bhartiya Janta Party from 2002-2004. He served as a Vice-President for 10 years in a row. He is the longest-serving Vice-President after Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He has also become the first Vice-President who worked under three presidents. He became the 11th Vice-President of India. In July 2007, he resigned from his post after losing the Presidential election to Pratibha Patil. He served as the 10th Vice-President of India. Before serving as Vice-President he was the governor of Andhra Pradesh for seven years. He was elected as 9th Vice-President of India by the then former Prime Minister V.P Singh. He became the first Dalit to be honoured with the Presidential post. He was elected as 8th Vice-President of India under the Presidency of Ramaswamy Venkataraman. After serving his position, he was appointed as the President of India in 1992. Before this, he served as the Chief Minister of Bhopal for four years. He was the 7th Vice-President of India who served for only 3 years as he was elected as the eighth Indian President in the year 1987. He was a Lawyer and a Union Minister. From 25 February 1968 to 16 December 1970, he served as the 11th Chief Justice of India. He was the fifth Indian Vice-President of India. He began his career as a member of the Municipality. He also served as an Acting President of India from 11 February 1977 to 25 July 1977. He was the 4th Vice-President and the only one who did not serve as the President of India. He also served as the Chancellor of Mysore University, Karnataka University and Bangalore University. He was the 3rd Vice-President of India. He served for two years as he was elevated as the Acting President after the demise of then President Zakir Husain. He fought for the rights of labour force and improvised their condition. He was the only Muslim who achieved the power to serve as a Vice-President. He established National Muslim University in Aligarh. He was a philosopher and a scholar who served as the first Vice-President of India. He served his position for 10 years. When he was the Vice-President, he was awarded Bharat Ratna Award in 1954. For more articles like the Vice-Presidents of India, Like and subscribe to tentaran.com.
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intro: Good luck finding a proclamation. But that's no reason to let a perfectly respectable nickname go unheralded on its day in the spotlight. So, in recognition of Saturday's National Bubba Day, behold these 10 famous Bubbas. quicklist: 1 category: National Bubba Day title: William 'Bubba' Clinton text: "Bubba" means different things to different people, but "42nd president of the United States" is definition enough in this case. Clinton is 65. quicklist: 2 category: National Bubba Day title: Gerry 'Bubba' Watson Jr. text: Underdog golfer Watson, 33 -- and a lefty, no less -- rekindled "Bubba' fever this year with a nail-biting, sudden-death playoff win at the Masters Tournament, his first major title. quicklist: 3 category: National Bubba Day title: Charles 'Bubba' Smith text: Before landing acting roles such as Moses Hightower in the "Police Academy" movies, Smith, 66, welcomed fans' chants to "Kill, Bubba, Kill" as a dominating defensive lineman in college and the NFL. text: The former major league outfielder, 35, once told ESPN that his efforts to shake the "Bubba" moniker failed miserably as a boy in Texas. "I tried to change it in school, call myself Richard, but kids would call for me and ask for Richard, and my parents would burst out laughing and say, 'You mean Bubba?'" quicklist: 5 category: National Bubba Day title: Bubba Sparxxx text: Georgia rapper Warren Mathis, 35, came up with the stage name because "in the rural South," he told the Associated Press, "'Bubba' is like how people say 'dude' in California. It's a name for a regular Southern man. I know a Chinese Bubba, a black Bubba." quicklist: 6 category: National Bubba Day title: Tommy 'Bubba' Facenda text: The rockabilly singer-dancer from Portsmouth, Va., 72, wore his Bubbaness so comfortably that "Bubba Ditty" is among his singles, the best known of which is "High School U.S.A." quicklist: 7 category: National Bubba Day title: William 'Bubba' Paris text: The motivational speaker, 51, who once laid down 6-foot-6-inches, 300-plus pounds of "Bubba" Sunday after Sunday as an NFL lineman, counts three Super Bowl rings from his years with the San Francisco 49ers. quicklist: 8 category: National Bubba Day title: James 'Bubba' Stewart Jr. text: The professional motocross rider, 26, put his "Bubba" to good use with a reality-TV show called "Bubba's World" that ran for two seasons through February. He has 44 Supercross victories. quicklist: 9 category: National Bubba Day title: Bubba the Love Sponge Clem text: Born Todd Clem but now legally Bubba the Love Sponge Clem and host of the radio show that bears his name, Clem, 46, absorbs controversy as well as anyone (witness the on-air hog slaughtering in 2001 that sent the FCC into a tizzy). quicklist: 10 category: National Bubba Day title: Daniel 'Bubba' Franks text: The three-time NFL Pro-Bowl tight end, 34, has a collection of memorable one-hand catches on his resume.
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The Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation (BWF) has issued a plea to former medallists to help pay a $250,000 (£179,652) fine for excessive doping. Eleven Bulgarian weightlifters failed drug tests in 2015, leading to the team being banned from the 2016 Olympics. The Bulgarian government has refused to help, saying "there is no legal basis for paying the fine" issued by the International Weightlifting Federation. The governing body could lose its licence if it fails to pay by 18 June. BWF president Nedelcho Kolev said he had asked for a deadline extension but the request was dismissed. The cash-strapped BWF has now asked the country's former European, world and Olympic champions and medallists to contribute towards the fine, as well as "their coaches and club managers, their families and friends". It also extended its plea to "all citizens of the country" in what it described as a "critical moment". Bulgaria has won 37 Olympic medals in weightlifting, including 12 golds. Bulgarian weightlifters have also won 224 medals, including 79 golds, at world championships, as well as 167 European titles. The 11 athletes involved in the in 2015 scandal tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol during training. Eleven Bulgarian weightlifters also failed doping tests prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, leading to the team's withdrawal, while the team was stripped of three gold medals and sent home in shame after positive tests at the 2000 Sydney Games.
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You are here: In the News Science and Environment Did a giant asteroid kill off the dinosaurs? Dinosaurs existed alongside Man. They HAD to, because everything was created in the same six days! The Flood destroyed not just all mankind except for Noah's family, but also destroyed all animals' except for those on Ark. which would have included dinosaurs. This is why most died out at the same time. It is my logical view that Noah only took on board baby animals that could exist without their parents. That is how dinosaurs were able to fit the Ark. Dinosaurs were very big, but food was scarce after the Flood. Therefore the bigger animals died out first. They were also good for meat, so the descendants of Noah hunted many of them to extinction. However, some survived into the days of the patriarchs, and the text implies this. Extinction of species occurs for many reasons - disease, hunting, natural death, etc. The animals we see today have always been like that. They did not evolve and there is no proof they did. There is no proof at all for the 'evolution' of man. The men we see today have always looked like that. (races are a different matter and are not the result of evolution, but of mutation within species). The constructs we see in museums are from imagination, not from fact, except for a very small number of animals found with their fur or skin on. Even then, much is left to speculation. The above views are based on genuine science and logical deduction. But, go along with evolution and you will believe their wrong perceptions. At any rate, remember that what they say is speculation, not fact. Right now on British TV there is a series that says an asteroid destroyed the dinosaurs. but there is no proof of such an incident! Bear in mind that these spectacular series are produced not based on science, but on the vivid imaginations of graphic designers who make the films! This was admitted-to by scientists who put forward the Walking With Dinosaurs' series!
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You’re the lead detective on the mysterious murder case – a young man has been found dead in his apartment and there are at least 5 people that have connections to the victim. Collect the evidence and ask these people some questions to figure out who’s responsible for the crime. Good luck!
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Is there any limit to the number of future years to which we can apply capital loss carryover? Like so many people, I imagine, 2008 was a banner year for capital losses :-(. Obviously, only -3000 applies to 2008, leaving me with a huge carryover. I can imagine it will take more than 3 years to work off the carryover; and that assumes that it does not grow in 2009. No. In fact I don't believe the carryover form tracks the year of loss, just the dollar amount, e.g. if I lost $100,000 in the netcom bubble, and still show $70,000 carry over, the last set of forms doesn't identify that the original loss was 2001. The loss will carry until you use it all $3000/yr, have gains which the loss can negate, or the tax laws change and make those carry forward losses either not allowed or moot. I'm pretty sure you need to file the Sch. D every year until it's gone, even in a year that you have no regular income or capital gains to apply it against otherwise it is lost. Nope, just keep the annual carryover worksheet for your records. 1. The carryover losses get applied before the deduction for personal exemptions. Therefore, it is possible to have zero taxable income and still use up capital losses. E.g., joint return, 3 exemptions. Without any application of a $4000 capital loss carryover, income after deducting the std deduction is $5000. After deducting $10500 in personal exemptions, TI goes negative. Taxpayer has to first apply the $3000 capital loss carryover. This drops the income after deducting the std deduction to $2000. As this is still positive, taxpayer only has $1000 of capital losses to carry over to the next year. 2. Some states' tax laws don't conform to federal rules on capital gains and losses and some also don't conform to the rules for carryover losses. Therefore, it is quite possible that the state carryover will be different then the federal carryover and how it gets applied will be different. It may not be required, but it's still better to file the return. It doesn't confuse the IRS and gets the period of limitations started. curiousgeorge408> carryover; and that assumes that it does not grow in 2009. I have a related question/observation. Presume a taxpayer has a large AMT-only deferred capital loss, and an AMT credit (think ISO exercise-and-hold, pay tax, see stock plummet, sell shares in later tax year). Given the provisions for tax years 2008 & 2009 that accelerate the return of AMT credit from ISOs, all of the remaining ISO-generated AMT credit is returned to taxpayer in tax year 2009, but only a small part of the deferred capital loss is used up. That means the AMT loss will outlive AMT credits by many tax years. Are there benefits to having such a loss on the books, when there's no AMT credit to be gained? Are there situations where the deferred losses can reduce AMTI and keep taxpayer out of AMT in years when otherwise he'd be paying it? Recession, investments and Capital Loss Carryover - HELP!!!! How to handle built up vacation home carryover expenses when no more personal use? Recession, tax consequences & loss carryover - HELP! Calculation of "Suspended Loss Carryover From Prior Year" on K-1? Short term carryover against long term gain? Gifting stock that has a loss on original basis? C-Corp returns with zero taxable income not filed for ten years, will there be interest on the late filing penalties?
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The inflation rate in Russia between 2006 and today has been 179.42%, which translates into a total increase of ₽179.42. This means that 100 rubles in 2006 are equivalent to 279.42 rubles in 2019. In other words, the purchasing power of ₽100 in 2006 equals ₽279.42 today. The average annual inflation rate has been 7.62%.
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How was the sink invented ? A sink — also known by other names including sinker, washbowl, hand basin and wash basin—is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture used for washing hands, dish washing, and other purposes. Sinks have taps (faucets) that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing. They also include a drain to remove used water; this drain may itself include a strainer and/or shut-off device and an overflow-prevention device. Sinks may also have an integrated soap dispenser. Many sinks, especially in kitchens, are installed adjacent to or inside a counter.
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"Prince" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the American sitcom New Girl, and the sixty-third overall. It was written by David Feeney and Rob Rosell, and directed by Fred Goss. It was broadcast on February 2, 2014 on the Fox network in the United States. In the episode, best friends Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) and Cece Parikh (Hannah Simone) are invited to a party held at Prince's house. When Jess's boyfriend Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) tells her he loves her, she gives him an unexpected response, which results in Nick and his roommates crashing Prince's party, so Nick can talk to Jess. At the party, Prince gives Jess a makeover and advice that helps her tell Nick she loves him too. "Prince" aired immediately after the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII. Writers and producers sought to attract newcomers to the show, as well as creating a special episode for regular viewers. Around the same time, Prince enquired about making a guest appearance on the show and it was decided that the post-Super Bowl episode would be written around him. During production, Prince made contributions to the script and debuted a new song, featuring vocals from Deschanel, during the episode. "Prince" was filmed in December 2013 and became one of the most expensive episodes of New Girl to be shot. It also features guest appearances from baseball player Clayton Kershaw and models Alessandra Ambrosio, Ana Beatriz Barros and Lais Ribeiro. "Prince" was seen by 26.30 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most watched episode of New Girl. It became the highest rated scripted entertainment telecast on television in three years, since the post-Super Bowl episode of Glee. "Prince" received a mixed response from critics, many of whom enjoyed Prince's performance, but most thought the plot was not as strong as previous episodes, with one calling it "a little tedious". Following Prince's death on April 21, 2016, Fox reran the episode on April 26 in tribute. Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) and her best friend Cece (Hannah Simone) are invited to a party held at Prince's house. Just as they are leaving, Jess's boyfriend Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) spontaneously tells Jess he loves her for the first time, and she replies with a finger gun hand gesture. At a bar, Nick admits that he meant what he said, but wanted to tell Jess in a more romantic setting. His roommate Schmidt (Max Greenfield) suggests he crashes Prince's party and takes his "I love you" back. Outside the house, Nick and Schmidt watch on as their roommates Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris) and Coach (Damon Wayans, Jr.) use an improv story to gain entry to the party. After their own effort fails, Nick gets in by hiding behind a group of models, while Schmidt is forced to climb through a hedge. As Nick and Jess catch up to each other, Jess tries to tell Nick that she loves him, but suffers a panic attack and faints. In the garden, Nick tries to take back his declaration of love. As their friends give them a moment alone, Prince appears and asks what the problem is. Nick and Jess explain their situation and Prince asks to spend some time alone with Jess. Nick gets drunk and interrupts Winston and Coach's conversation with two supermodels. Over pancakes, Jess tells Prince that she is scared to admit her feelings and is worried that if something goes wrong, it will be too painful. Prince gives Jess a makeover and advice about telling Nick she loves him back. He also tells her to stop being afraid. Jess returns to the party, where she tells Nick she loves him and he reciprocates. Prince takes to the stage to perform "Fallinlove2nite" and invites Jess to sing with him. The others join them on stage. Back at the apartment, everyone is reminiscing about dancing with Prince, when Jess realises Cece is missing. The scene cuts to Cece, who is still at the house, playing table tennis with Prince. "Prince" marked the first time the musician had ever appeared in a television sitcom. On May 13, 2013, Fox announced that an episode of New Girl would be the lead-out program following Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014. The production team began preparing for the episode the moment they found out the news. The show's creator Elizabeth Meriwether told Michael O'Connell of The Hollywood Reporter that they had an opportunity to introduce the show to a new audience, as well as creating a special episode for regular viewers. The team's main aim was to make it funny and romantic. The last sitcom to follow the Super Bowl was The Office in 2009, while the Friends episode "The One After the Superbowl" is the highest-rated Super Bowl lead-out program ever. On December 12, 2013, it was announced that Prince would be guest starring in the episode as himself, marking the first time he had ever appeared in a television sitcom. Meriwether told O'Connell that near to the time Fox gave New Girl the post-Super Bowl spot, Prince's team also enquired about him making a guest appearance during the third season, and they decided to write the episode around him. Meriwether had heard that Prince was a fan of New Girl and that it was one of the few shows he watched. She also revealed that Prince had previously been offered a guest appearance in the season two episode "Virgins". However, he could not accept at the time, but still wanted to appear in the show. At least two scripts were rejected, as they were not in keeping with the show. One storyline had Prince playing the lead singer of a Prince cover band. Meriwether said that Prince's appearance with the main characters also needed to be believable. Eventually the writers, Rob Rosell and Dave Feeney, scripted an episode that would see the characters attending a party at Prince's house, where he would help Jess and Nick say "I love you" for the first time. In a piece for Vulture, Meriwether recalled that Prince was pleased that he would be the person who helps get Jess and Nick to admit how they truly felt about each other. Prince came up with the idea of helping Jess by giving her a makeover, and asked that the house party on the show was as close as possible to his real house parties. Four days before filming was due to start, Prince decided to pull out as he was unhappy with changes to the script. Meriwether explained that Fox had asked that the episode ended with a scene at the apartment, so she had Nick and Jess declare their love for one another in the bathroom. She realised that Prince needed to be the one to get through to Jess and the script was revised that same day. Meriwether said the episode was "a big milestone" for Nick and Jess romantically, and that the storyline would continue to play out during the rest of the season. The episode was directed by Fred Goss. Filming took place in December 2013, and "Prince" became one of the most expensive episodes of New Girl to be shot, as a house needed to be rented out and new sets built. Prince was on set for three days. Meriwether recalled that he was "fantastic at ping-pong" and told Simone to practice before their scene together. The musician was surprised when she scored a point off him during the first take. Prince also changed a scripted moment in which he shines a flashlight under his chin to a lighter, as he believed it was funnier. The episode featured cameo appearances from baseball player Clayton Kershaw, and models Alessandra Ambrosio, Ana Beatriz Barros and Lais Ribeiro. In May 2016, Deschanel told Conan O'Brien that Khloé Kardashian and Kris Jenner had also filmed cameos. However, their scenes were cut after a member of Prince's team asked about the celebrity appearances and commented "I hope it's not the Kardashians". Prince felt that they would never be at one of his parties. Prince used his appearance in the episode to premiere his new song "Fallinlove2nite", which features vocals from Deschanel. The show had not featured Deschanel singing before, with the exception of the opening theme song. The actress told Sandy Coen of the Associated Press that the producers wanted her character to go up on stage and sing with Prince, so they asked her to lay down a vocal for the sound department, who sent it to Prince. The following day, her vocal was mixed into the song. Shortly before the scene was filmed, Prince asked producer Erin O'Malley for a megaphone. As the song began to play, Prince used the megaphone to call out "Does anyone want to fall in love tonight?". The crowd of actors and extras gave an unscripted cheer. Meriwether admitted that she teared up following the take. The episode also featured Prince's "When You Were Mine" during the scenes where Prince gives Jess a makeover. In its original American broadcast on February 2, 2014, "Prince" was viewed by 26.30 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most watched episode of New Girl and the only episode to reach over 20 million viewers. The episode drew an 11.4 rating in adults between the ages of 18 and 49. It posted a 42 percent increase in adults 18–49 and a 23 percent increase in viewers over the previous year's post-Super Bowl episode of Elementary. New Girl became the highest rated scripted entertainment telecast on television in three years, since Fox's post-Super Bowl episode of Glee, "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle". As expected, New Girl benefited from following the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII, which was seen by 112.19 million average viewers, making it the most watched Super Bowl in history at the time. Following Prince's death on April 21, 2016, Fox decided to replay the episode on April 26 as a tribute to him. The broadcast earned 1.78 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. It drew a 0.7/2 rating/share in adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics. Marc Hogan of Spin commented, "A couple too many of the show's jokes involved characters inexplicably fainting or otherwise being a bit too FOX sitcom-y – couldn't Prince have been a fan of The Mindy Project instead? – but the Purple One's presence was pure gold." Chris Morgan of Paste wrote "it certainly wasn't the greatest episode of New Girl, but it felt momentous. This was the power of Prince's presence, and his aura. Who wouldn't want to see Prince on a sitcom? And who, but Prince, would randomly show up on a sitcom like New Girl? It will surely go down as a strange, fabulous moment in the history of the series, and also a testament to the kind of life Prince chose to live." TVLine's Kimberly Roots admitted that she did not laugh once during the episode, commenting "the installment is not New Girl's sharpest". IGN UK's Max Nicholson thought some elements of the episode were "a stretch", such as Prince taking an interest in Nick and Jess's relationship problems, and called the plot "a little tedious". He added, "but with the help of Prince – and a few asides with Winston, Coach, Schmidt and Cece – this week's "I love you" storyline was made much more enjoyable." Lanford Beard from Entertainment Weekly praised Prince's performance during the makeover scenes, calling it "deliciously understated" and "a nice counterpart to New Girl's frequently over-the-top comedy". Beard said his favourite moment was Prince appearing in the closet with Jess and the lighter. Alan Sepinwall from HitFix praised the episode, saying "it was funny and joyful (especially when the whole group got on stage with Prince) and strange and poignant, all in perfect proportion." Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+ score. He felt Prince improved the plot "that would feel like rote rom-com filler without him." Adams also thought Prince helped give a different angle on Nick and Jess's romance, and "a new spin on a storyline that countless other TV shows and movies have tried out." Adams praised the show's editorial team for the montage and summed up the episode as "very, very funny". Vulture's Josh Gondelman awarded "Prince" three out of five stars. He did not think the conflict between Nick and Jess was believable enough, saying "I was just frustrated because the stakes in this episode were staggeringly low. Nothing seemed to really matter to anyone." ^ "Fox 2013–14 Schedule Announced: 'Bones' On the Move + 'Sleepy Hollow' Monday, 'Glee' Gets Midseason Break & More (Updated)". TV by the Numbers. May 13, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2016. ^ a b c d e f g O'Connell, Michael (January 30, 2014). "'New Girl' Creator Liz Meriwether Talks Prince, Super Bowl Pressure and Letting Zooey Sing". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 28, 2016. ^ Justin, Neal (February 1, 2014). "How Prince ended up on the post-Super Bowl 'New Girl'". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2016. ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (December 12, 2013). "Prince on New Girl! Music Icon Will Guest Star As Himself in Super Bowl Episode and Interfere With Nick and Jess". E! Online. Retrieved May 4, 2016. ^ a b c d e f g h i Meriwether, Liz (April 26, 2016). "'Isn't This Funnier?' New Girl Creator Liz Meriwether Recalls the Making of the Prince Episode". Vulture. Retrieved May 4, 2016. ^ a b c Fernandez, Maria Elena (January 31, 2014). "Prince's 'New Girl' performance leaves creator teary eyed". Today. Retrieved May 11, 2016. ^ "Fred Goss Directs Prince On New Girl!". Company Films. Retrieved May 9, 2016. ^ Justin, Neal (February 1, 2014). "How Prince ended up on the post-Super Bowl 'New Girl'". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2016. ^ Martinez, Michael (January 30, 2014). "Dodgers lefty ace Kershaw to make cameo on 'New Girl'". Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket. Retrieved April 29, 2016. ^ Bueno, Antoinette (January 31, 2014). "'New Girl' Super Bowl Ep Gets Two Supermodels!". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved April 29, 2016. ^ Aquino, Tara. "The Best Prince and Jess Moments on Last Night's "New Girl"". Complex. February 3, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2016. ^ Le Vine, Lauren (May 10, 2016). "Prince Reportedly Refused to Have the Kardashians on His New Girl Episode". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 11, 2016. ^ Grow, Kory (March 14, 2014). "Prince Duets With Zooey Deschanel on New Song 'Fallinlove2nite'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2016. ^ Lee, Ashley (March 18, 2014). "Prince Drops 'New Girl' Duet With Zooey Deschanel, Teams with Epic". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2016. ^ Cohen, Sandy (April 10, 2014). "Deschanel talks fashion, Prince and 'New Girl'". Associated Press. Retrieved May 4, 2016. ^ a b Hogan, Marc (February 3, 2014). "Prince Serves Pancake and New 'Love' Song on Purple-Centric 'New Girl'". Spin. Retrieved May 7, 2016. ^ a b Bibel, Sara (February 4, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'New Girl' Adjusted Up & Final Super Bowl Numbers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 29, 2016. ^ "TV Ratings Sunday: (Updated) Super Bowl Sets New Viewing Record, 'New Girl' Strong & 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Decent". TV by the Numbers. February 3, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2016. ^ Snierson, Dan (April 22, 2016). "New Girl episode featuring Prince to rerun on Tuesday". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2016. ^ Porter, Rick (April 27, 2016). "TV Ratings Tuesday: 'Limitless' finale steady, 'Chicago Med' and 'Containment' rise". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 11, 2016. ^ Morgan, Chris (April 22, 2016). "Remembering the Wonderfully Bizarre "Prince" Episode of New Girl". Paste. Retrieved May 9, 2016. ^ Roots, Kimberly (February 2, 2014). "New Girl Post-Super Bowl Recap: When Loves Try". TVLine. Retrieved May 13, 2016. ^ a b Nicholson, Max (February 2, 2014). "New Girl: "Prince" review". IGN UK. Retrieved May 10, 2016. ^ a b Beard, Lanford (February 2, 2014). "'New Girl' recap: A post-Super Bowl episode fit for a Prince". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2016. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (February 2, 2014). "Review: 'New Girl' – 'Prince': I love u but I don't trust u anymore". HitFix. Retrieved May 12, 2016. ^ a b c d Adams, Erik (February 2, 2014). "New Girl: "Prince"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 10, 2016. ^ a b Gondelman, Josh (February 3, 2014). "New Girl Recap: Dropping the L-Bomb". Vulture. Retrieved May 11, 2016. This page was last edited on 3 January 2019, at 17:03 (UTC).