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I am building a house. Does it make more sense to pre-wire for solar or should we just wait and get it installed afterwards?
On a new home, my advice is to fit at least 6.6kW of solar with a 5kW inverter. This is the maximum you are allowed to install on a single phase home in most parts of Australia, and is usually the best value per kW due to the way the rebate works.
If you want more than this (up to 20kW) then you need to ask your builder to install a 3 phase power supply.
A solar system can generate about 150W per m² of roof. So for 6.6kW you want about 50m² of roof space. Ideally North facing, but East and West can work too, or a combination.
Is there room next to the switchboard for the solar inverter? Will this be shaded from full sun? An alternative is to place the inverter in the garage.
Where will be a good place to add a future battery? Ideally this should be a shaded spot close to the switchboard and inverter.
Where will the drain vent pipe exit the roof? Will this shade the solar? Can it go on the south facing roof - out of the way. Can you should specify an 'Air Admittance Valve' instead of a roof penetration?
Where will your TV aerial go? Can it also go on the south roof out of the way of any solar?
If using rooftop wireless internet, where will your internet transceiver go? South facing roof again please!
If the sparky is laying new cables to the street, can he make them thicker than normal to avoid voltage rise issues? On a single phase home tell the sparky you want a voltage drop less than 2V when your inverter is exporting 100% - typically pushing 5kW into the grid.
Can you get a 3 phase electricity supply installed from the outset? This gives you the option of a much bigger solar system, reduces issues with voltage rise, and will allow you to charge a future electric car up 6 times faster! Installing 3 phase after the build is incredibly expensive.
I strongly advise pre-installing the wiring for your solar system during the build. The installers can really easily and neatly pre-wire the house for solar before the walls are gyp-rocked. If the installers save time and money then the savings can be passed to you.
The all electric future means that you are likely to add big appliances to your home over time. Ask for a bigger switchboard with lots of room for extra breakers. Upgrading your switchboard later is a big, expensive job!
In a few years you are likely to own an electric car. I'm serious! Get 3 phase cabling put in from your switchboard to wherever you would put a charger in the future. This will be much cheaper than laying the cable later. Tell the sparky a future electric car charger could pull 11kW so he puts in a chunky enough connection. (If you are really keen you might want to consider a 22kW connection - as some Teslas will charge this fast).
Monitoring systems need a data connection. Wi-fi can be unreliable and stops working if someone changes the wifi password. Consider running a Cat5e data cable to the switchboard so you can have a wired data connection that will be rock solid.
Get a solar-ready electricity meter installed from the outset. Then you won't have to replace it. This will save you hundreds of dollars. Ensure the builder's sparky knows to do this. By default you'll get a non-solar meter and then have to pay to replace it!
If you’re building a multi-storey house put your solar panels on the roof before the scaffolding comes down. You don't want to pay for scaffolding twice.
Incredibly - some new homes come as standard with roofs that cannot support a decent sized solar system. Ensure you get written assurances from your builder that every roof face can be filled with solar panels. If you have to 'upgrade' to do this it should only be a few hundred dollars. More info here.
Get A Firm Quote (or quotes) 3-4 months before handover - this timing is usually ties in nicely with getting the walls pre-wired before the gyprocking happens.
I live in QLD and my installer said "5.5kW is the maximum sizing we can go to with micro inverters". Is this true?
What price should I be paying for a solar system?
Should I buy batteries with my solar?
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0.961779 |
What is company culture and how does it impact the workplace? Company culture is the personality of a company. It defines the environment in which employees work. Company culture includes a variety of elements, including work environment, company mission, value, ethics, expectations, and goals.
For example, some companies have a team-based culture with employee participation on all levels, while others have a more traditional and formal management style. Other companies have a casual workplace without many rules and regulations.
At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office café, sitting at whatever table has an opening and enjoying conversations with Googlers from different teams… Every employee is a hands-on contributor… no one hesitates to pose questions directly to Larry or Sergey in our weekly all-hands (“TGIF”) meetings – or spike a volleyball across the net at a corporate officer.
Company culture is important to employees because workers are more likely to enjoy their time in the workplace when they fit in with the company culture.
Employees tend to enjoy work when their needs and values are consistent with those in the workplace. They tend to develop better relationships with coworkers and are even more productive.
On the other hand, if you work for a company where you don’t fit in with the company culture, you are likely to take far less pleasure out of your work. For example, if you prefer to work independently, but work for a company that emphasizes teamwork (or has shared office spaces), you are likely to be less happy and less efficient.
When you work at a company with a traditional management style your job responsibilities will be clearly defined, and there may not be opportunities to advance without going through a formal promotion or transfer process. At a more casual workplace, employees often have the opportunity to take on new projects, and additional roles, as time permits.
If you're looking for a company that's fun to work for, the company culture will be a big component of your decision making when evaluating prospective employers.
Company culture is important to employers too because workers who fit in with the company culture are likely to not only be happier, but more productive. When an employee fits in with the culture, they are also likely to want to work for that company for longer. Thus, employers can improve productivity and employee retention through a strong office culture.
Check out the company website. In particular, look at the company’s “About Us” page. This will often have a description of the company’s mission and values. Some company websites also have testimonials from employees, which can be a useful way to hear about the culture firsthand.
Do some research. Beyond looking at the company website, you can also check out a number of online resources that provide details on company culture. Glassdoor, for example, provides reviews of companies written by employees. Publications and websites like Business Insider and Entrepreneur also create annual lists of organizations with the best company culture.
Ask around. If you know someone who works for a company you’re interested in, ask to set up an informational interview where you can learn more about the company. Check LinkedIn to see if you have connections at the company you can talk to. College alumni, check with your career services or alumni office. You may be able to talk to alumni who are employed by your prospective employer to get a sense of what it's like to work there.
Ask the right interview questions. The employer will likely ask you questions to assess whether you’d fit into the company culture. However, you can ask questions too. Simply asking, “How would you describe your company’s culture?” is a straightforward way to learn about the work environment. You might also ask about particular elements of the company that are important to you, such as the amount of independent work vs. teamwork, or the day-to-day schedule of an employee.
Shadow someone. If you are offered the job and are still unsure of the company’s culture, ask if you can shadow someone in the department for a day or a few hours. This will be a useful way to see the office dynamics in play and to ask any remaining questions.
Jobs aren't just a paycheck, and, given the amount of time spent working, it's important for both the employee and the employer to make sure there's a good fit. If you're not going to be happy working at a job or for a company, it may be better to pass on the opportunity and move on. Before you accept a job you're not sure about, take some to ensure it's a good fit for your skill set, experience, personality, and goals for the future.
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Finding the right hotel accommodations that will meet your needs and expectations is almost like finding a needle in a haystack. Not quite, but almost like it. If you're the type of traveler that has particular preferences, finding the hotel that will suit you, well ahead of your scheduled trip, would serve you best.
1. Are you planning a vacation or a business trip?
2. Are you travelling with an infant or children?
3. Would you prefer downtown hotels, airport hotels or city hotels?
5. How many days do you plan to stay?
SAFETY: First ground rule should include the safety considerations of me and my little girl. Every year when we plan out our trips, I consider hotels that are strategically located near police stations, first aid stations, clinics or hospitals, and even fire stations. If we are going for a really far away trip like our last year's island hopping adventure, I opted to check in hotel accommodations that included 24-hour security, enough hotel staff to assist you in whichever way, with pools that are constantly guarded by "life guards", and most importantly, have great fire proof plans and fire extinguishers on hand.
It is also essential to note that hotels that have garnered a three, four and five star rating would provide their best security and safety assistance to their hotel guests. However, if you prefer a more intimate and personal setting, I have discovered that bed and breakfasts, travel lodges, inns and business hotels prioritize safety in their considerations as well.
CONVENIENCE: Finding a grocery store, a pharmacy or even a parlor should be possible if you are the kind of traveler who would put convenience in your preference list. Hotel accommodations are now being marketed by the convenience that they offer to their hotel guests. Most hotels can be found in the middle of the metropolis or downtown area wherein good restaurants, shopping centers, recreation centers and relaxation centers are within an arm's reach.
Even far flung hotels specified for weekend get-aways, honeymoons and quiet retreats also mark convenience in their priorities. These hotels provide their guests add-on services like in-house massages and spas, free internet connection, room food service, and in-house parlors, boutiques and souvenir shops, restaurants, coffee shops and bars.
It is also important to know if the hotel that you are considering provides airport transfers and that there is a steady stream of transportation for your easy travel. If you are travelling overseas, it is also important to consider that your hotel is located near foreign exchange establishments or banks.
BUDGET: Hotel accommodations abound and the only way to narrow down our choices is if we set our budget from the beginning. Most hotels offer packages wherein discounts may be availed if we stay for more than one night or if we avail of more than one room for groups travelling together. For a lengthy stay like a month or two, hotel accommodations may offer much lower rates and additional perks.
For whatever hotel accommodations you may choose, and whatever preferences you may have, always remember the three: Safety, Convenience and Budget. This will help you achieve a stress-free vacation or business trip and will allow you to maximize your travel plans.
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The regulation of science refers to use of law, or other ruling, by academic or governmental bodies to allow or restrict science from performing certain practices, or researching certain scientific areas.
Science could be regulated by legislation if areas are seen as harmful, immoral, or dangerous. For these reasons science regulation may be closely related to religion, culture and society.
Science regulation is often a bioethical issue related to practices such as abortion and euthanasia, and areas of research such as stem-cell research and cloning synthetic biology.
Unjust events such as the St. Louis tragedy or the Tuskegee syphilis experiment have prompted regulations in biomedical research. Over the years, regulations have extended to animal welfare and research misconduct. The federal government also monitors the production and sale of the results of biomedical research such as drugs and biopharmaceuticals. The FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services oversee the implementation of these regulations.
The Dickey–Wicker Amendment prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from using appropriated funds for the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed.
The issue of experimentation on human subjects gained prominence after World War II and the revelation of atrocities committed in the name of science. In the United States, the 1962 Kefauver-Harris amendments to the FDA included for the first time a requirement for informed consent of participants. In 1966, a policy statement by the U.S Surgeon General required that all human subject research go through independent prior review. The National Research Act of 1974 institutionalized this review process by requiring that research centers establish Institutional Review Boards (IRBs).
Universities, hospitals, and other research institutions set up these IRBs to review all the research done at the institution. These boards, generally composed of both scientific peers from the institution and lay persons, are tasked with assessing the risks and benefits associated with the use of human subjects, in addition to the adequacy of the protection and consent of the participants. The IRBs can approve research proposals, make modifications, or disapprove them entirely. Research projects cannot receive federal funding without approval from an IRB. Noncompliance can also induce sanctions from the institution, such as revoked access to facilities and subjects, suspension, and dismissal.
The National Research Act of 1974 also set up the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, which produced the Belmont Report (Report on Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research) in 1979. This report established a moral framework for the regulation of research involving human subjects.
The Animal Welfare Act of 1966 set standards of treatment of animals in research experiments. It requires all research facilities to register with the USDA and allows officials to conduct unannounced facility inspections. The Health Research Extension Act of 1985 requires that all research facilities using animals establish Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) to evaluate twice a year the institutions' activities involving animals. The IACUCs report to the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare annually.
The Health Research Extension Act of 1985 led to the establishment of the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) within the Department of Health and Human Services. ORI is responsible for reviewing research misconduct allegations and developing policies to improve the responsible conduct of research.
Two divisions of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are in charge of monitoring the production and sale of drugs. The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) is responsible for reviewing new drug applications and requires clinical trials as proof of effectiveness. The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is responsible for implementing federal regulations of biopharmaceuticals such as vaccines, blood components, gene therapies, etc. They approve new drugs on the basis of safety and effectiveness, and issue licenses, which allow companies to market their products.
Nuclear energy is historically linked to issues of national security. From 1942 to 1946, nuclear research was controlled by the military, which conducted research in secrecy. In 1946, the Atomic Energy Act handed over control to civilians, although the government retained a tight monopoly over nuclear energy. The 1954 amendment to this act enabled private industry to pursue non-military applications of nuclear research.
The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 established the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), in charge of licensing and safety. The Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents raised concerns and public apprehension over the safety of nuclear power. As a result, the NRC strengthened safety regulations for nuclear power plants.
Science education is a controversial subject in the United States. Several states banned the teaching of evolution in the 20th century, most notably the state of Tennessee with the Butler Act of 1925. It was followed by the Scopes Trial, in which the state of Tennessee accused Scopes, a high school teacher, of teaching evolution. Although he was found guilty and fined, the trial showed declining public support for Fundamentalists. The Scopes Trial had an important impact in the larger creation versus evolution debate. In the following decades, the term "evolution" was omitted in many biology textbooks, even when the text discusses it. These bans on teaching evolution were overturned by a Supreme Court ruling in Epperson v. Arkansas in 1968. Since 2001, there has been a resurgence of anti-evolution bills, one of which, the Louisiana Science Education Act, was passed. This Act allows public schools to use supplementary material that is critical of the scientific theories such as evolution and global warming in science classrooms.
The U.S. government and state legislatures have also enacted regulations promoting science education. The National Defense Education Act of 1958 was passed soon after the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1 and linked education with issues of national security. This law provided funding for scholarships and science programs. In 2013, 26 state governments worked together to produce the Next Generation Science Standards, which sets expectations for K–12 science education.
The Nuremberg Code was written as part of the trials of Nazi doctors after World War II. It introduced ten ethical principles regarding human experimentation, the first of which requires informed consent from human subjects. It also states that experimentation on humans must be necessary to society, be preceded by studies on animals, and protect subjects from injury, disability and death. The Nuremberg Code was very influential in shaping regulations of scientific research across the world. For example, the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 was developed by the World Medical Association and establishes ethical principles for the medical community.
^ Kearl, Megan (August 27, 2010). "Dickey-Wicker Amendment, 1996". Embryo Project at Arizona State University. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
^ Peltzman, Sam (Sep–Oct 1973). "An Evaluation of Consumer Protection Legislation: The 1962 Drug Amendments". The Journal of Political Economy. 81 (5): 1051–91. doi:10.1086/260107.
^ a b "Office of History, National Institutes of Health - Timeline of Laws Related to the Protection of Human Subjects". history.nih.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
^ Silberman, Sam and Katherine Kahn (December 2011). "Burdens on Research Imposed by Institutional Review Boards: The State of the Evidence and Its Implications for Regulatory Reform". The Milbank Quarterly. 89 (4): 599–627. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2011.00644.x. JSTOR 23073390. PMC 3250635. PMID 22188349.
^ Dula, Arthur M.; Breger, Marshall J.; Boruch, Robert F.; Sutton, Eldon; Walters, LeRoy; Ahrens, Gary A. (Summer 1979). "Government Regulation of Scientific Research". Jurimetrics. 19 (4): 299, 301–384. JSTOR 29761683.
^ "Animal Welfare Act Inspections". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
^ "Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Guidebook" (PDF).
^ "About ORI | ORI - The Office of Research Integrity". ori.hhs.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
^ Research, Center for Biologics Evaluation and. "About the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)". www.fda.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
^ Dunlavey, Dean C. (January 1957). "Government Regulation of Atomic Industry". University of Pennsylvania Law Review. 105 (3): 295–373. doi:10.2307/3310313. JSTOR 3310313.
^ J. Samuel Walker and Thomas R. Wellock (September 2010). A Short History of Nuclear Regulation, 1946–2009. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
^ Judith V. Grabiner and Peter D. Miller (September 1974). "Effects of the Scopes Trial". Science, New Series. 185 (4154): 832–837. JSTOR 1738991.
^ Moore, Randy (Nov–Dec 1998). "Creationism in the United States: III. The Ban on the Teaching of Evolution Reaches the U.S. Supreme Court". The American Biology Teacher. 60 (9): 650–661. doi:10.2307/4450576. JSTOR 4450576.
^ "Louisiana passes first antievolution "academic freedom" law". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
^ "National Defense Education Act (NDEA) | United States ". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
^ Shuster, Evelyne (1997-11-13). "Fifty Years Later: The Significance of the Nuremberg Code". New England Journal of Medicine. 337 (20): 1436–1440. doi:10.1056/NEJM199711133372006. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 9358142.
^ "WMA - The World Medical Association-WMA Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects". www.wma.net. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
This page was last edited on 6 April 2019, at 14:01 (UTC).
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Translated & adapted by A Taylor from an article by Richard Zimmerl; with enhancements from H Pollak.
The end of the war in Austria was not a uniform process. While in Vienna the war ended in the middle of April 1945, fighting continued in the west and south, even while in Vienna the Second Republic was being created. And while on 2 May 1945 the first stamps were being issued in Vienna (Hitler-heads with overprinted "Österreich"), Carinthia and Styria were still part of the German Reich.
While the Soviets were interested in a quick re-establishment of the postal service and the postal operations were never fully interrupted, in the western zones the postal service was discontinued for several months. The postal employees were called back to duty, but for the time being were occupied mainly in repair work. Particular value was put on restoring the bureaucracy, and maximum value on order in the cash-box.
On 20th February 1945 the American Bureau of Printing & Engraving were instructed to prepare stamps for use in occupied Austria. The design was selected on 3rd March, and a die engraved by the 26th. Printing was by offset litho; the finished stamps had arrived at Allied HQ by 23 May. The Americans also brought banknotes denominated in "Besatzungsschillinge" (Occupation Schillings).
In the Post- and Telegraphenverordnungsblatt No. 7 chapter 18 of 21 May 1946, these stamps were meticulously if belatedly described: "All the values from 1g to 5S have the same design in colour on a white background, which is trimmed with simple leaf-shaped ornaments: a white Posthorn, which is entwined with a rope having tassels at its ends; in the upper left and right corners the figure of value on a dark background in white; descending from that in both margins is the denomination (GROSCHEN or SHILLING) and in the lower border the word ÖSTERREICH, all in white block capitals.".
With the official reopening of the postal service in Salzburg on 28th June 1945, the 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 60 groschen values were issued. It is interesting that the stamps although denominated in shilling and groschen were however still paid for with the Reichsmark. On 15th July the 4 and 15 groschen followed, on 13th August the shilling values, and very late, on 20th November, a supplementary value of 1 groschen. The stamps were valid only in the western zones of occupation; however they were also sold in Vienna to collectors, but only to those who also bought the RMark values of the Arms series.
Occupation of the middle and western Mühlviertel was handed over from the Americans to the Russians in the period 24 July to 8 August, and usage there is very rare. At first there were insufficient of the Russian zone Arms-series stamps available, and the Posthorn stamps continued in use for some time. Mixed frankings are avidly sought; they were later also possible with the Landscapes series stamps.
The highest printings were for the most commonly used values of 6 and 12 groschen for inland postcard and inland letter (in the other states of Austria there were fewer local letters compared with Vienna) with about 49 and 69 millions. The late-issued 1 groschen had the lowest printing, 3.2 million, and the shilling values also had printings barely over 3½ million each. For a full table see Krueger.
Each counter-sheet had 100 stamps. The printed sheets consisted of 4 counter-sheets, separated by narrow gutters which were horizontal and vertical lines as well as short strokes in the corners as cutting guides. The cutting was evidently very inaccurate, so that the lines sometimes appear above, underneath, on the right or on the left of the stamps. The sheets display one long single-line marginal inscription, begining about the middle of the second stamp: "(value) GROSCHEN ALLIED MILITARY POSTAGE STAMPS FOR AUSTRIA SERIES 1945". The late-issued 1 groschen value has a different inscription: "1 GROSCHEN SUPPLEMENTAL AUSTRIAN SCHILLING POSTAGE STAMP SERIES 1945".
On the right above (or underneath, if badly cut) between the 9th and 10th stamps is a 5-digit plate number. The sequence of the plate numbers does not agree with the steps in value (see Krueger p6 for a list). The 10 groschen value has the lowest plate number, 46494, and the highest is 46916 on the late-printed 1 groschen value.
The stamps were manufactured by lithography. The printing was evidently done with great urgency and not very carefully! There are numerous plate faults, colour shades, and printing errors. See Krueger; also the Gindl "Posthornserie" catalogue of the "Interessengemeinschaft der Spezialsammler Österreichs".
Left: one of the most popular plate faults is the "Posthorn without rope" found on the 10, 12 and 30 groschen values. Right: damaged "C" on left and "S" on both "GROSCHEN"s.
As well as countless coloured or white dots, strokes or rings are found. The perforation is as sloppy as the printing! (OK, there was a war on at the time.) The crude line perf 11 is not very precise, and is in many cases incomplete so that the "confetti" remains [a "dangling chad"!], as can be seen on several of the illustrations.
On this block of ten 1-groschen, many errors are immediately recognizable including the left-hand sheet cut through the first column of perfs of the adjacent pane; badly-centered perfs; blind perfs; white (= missing colour) splodges on three stamps; etc!
Misalignments are quite common, whereby the perforation extends over the design, in rare cases even going through the middle of the stamp. Since with line perforation the horizontal and the vertical perforation are done separately, either or both can be misaligned.
After the issue of the Landscapes series began, the posthorn stamps were withdrawn from sales counters on 20 Nov 1945 (U S zone) and 21 Dec (British & French zones). They were however still valid for franking until 21st May 1946. On that date, as Dr Kainz explained (Austria 133 p64), the key regulation was issued as BM.Zl.10/149/1946; it states that "with immediate effect the post horn series stamps are no longer valid for postage". As soon as a post office knew the content of this regulation or had a copy of it, it was required to immediately levy a surcharge on a letter bearing a post horn stamp. This is why some offices charge postage due before 31 May 1946 (the commonly-quoted end date). However, these stamps can be found used on internal Post Office forms as late as 1948.
Unoverprinted 60 groschen Posthorn used alongside overprinted ones on a Zustellkarte, an internal Post Office form; cancelled 9 Jan 1948. The delivery fees on the other side came to 10.90 Schillings; 2x5S + 60g + 10x3g = 10.90.
Solbad Hall in Tirol to Vienna. Mixed franking with landscape issue.
8 April 1946; letter rate 12g + registration fee 30g. German-style registration label.
All values (except the 1 and 4 groschen) were issued in 1946 with the horizontal imprint "PORTO" for use as postage dues. These stamps are an Eldorado for plate-fault collectors. Naturally, all the plate faults of the original stamps also occur on the postage dues; in addition very many errors occur in the overprint. Especially expensive are inverted, double, and displaced overprints. Very frequent errors, which occur in all values, are the "thin first O" and the "flat-bottomed second O".
Damaged letters often occur. One finds extra bars caused by overinking around the typeface; part- or wholly-filled-in letters caused by dirt; and missing parts of letters caused by damaged type. Such pieces are very attractive to collectors!. While the stamps of the posthorn series were withdrawn on 20th December 1945 and were invalidated by 1st June 1946, the postage dues remained valid until 7th January 1948, and of course in the whole of Austria.
Large Zustellkarte dated 29 Dec 1947. Note landscape stamps with handwritten Porto used as dues.
(part of the back of a) Zustellkarte dated 27 Nov 1947.
Cancelled 25/7/1947. Treated as underpaid local letter for which the rate was 12g; franked 8g; charged double-deficiency = 8g.
Cancelled 19/2/1947. Inland letter rate 18g; official letter for which the recipient had to pay.
Cancelled 18/5/1946. Local letter rate 8g; official letter for which the recipient had to pay.
Mixed Porto and Russian-zone franking. Cancelled 5/9/1946. Official letter for which the recipient had to pay the local letter rate of 8g.
An article by the late Dr Christine Kainz in Arbeitsgemeinschaft Österreich e.V's Rundbrief Nr. 52 cleared up the uncertainties over the withdrawal date of the Posthorn Series (ANK697-713) brought to Austria by the Allies, and the subsequent levying of postage dues on items franked with them in the period 21 May - early June 1946.
The PuTVB is to be interpreted thus: The relevant regulation dated 21st May 1946 as adopted states that "with immediate effect the post horn series stamps are no longer valid for postage". As soon as a post office knew the content of this regulation and/or had a copy of it (it could have been distributed by fax), it was required to immediately levy a surcharge on a letter bearing a post horn stamp. This is why some offices charge postage due before 31 May 1946.
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For the Ornette Coleman album, see Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation.
Free jazz is an approach to jazz that developed in the 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during this period believed that the bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz that had been played before them was too limiting. They became preoccupied with creating something new. Free jazz has often been combined with or substituted for the term "avant-garde jazz". Europeans tend to favor the term "free improvisation". Others have used "modern jazz", "creative music", and "art music".
The ambiguity of free jazz presents problems of definition. Although it is usually played by small groups or individuals, free jazz big bands have existed. Although musicians and critics claim it is innovative and forward looking, it draws on early styles of jazz and has been described as an attempt to return to primitive, often religious, roots. Although jazz is an American invention, free jazz musicians drew heavily from world music and ethnic music traditions from around the world. Sometimes they played foreign instruments, unusual instruments, or invented their own. They emphasized emotional intensity and sound for its own sake.
Some jazz musicians resist any attempt at classification. One difficulty is that most jazz has an element of improvisation. Many musicians draw on free jazz concepts and idioms, and free jazz was never entirely distinct from other genres. But free jazz does have its own characteristics. Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane used harsh overblowing or other extended techniques to elicit unconventional sounds from their instruments. Like other forms of jazz it places an aesthetic premium on expressing the "voice" or "sound" of the musician, as opposed to the classical tradition in which the performer is seen more as expressing the thoughts of the composer.
Earlier jazz styles typically were built on a framework of song forms, such as twelve-bar blues or the 32-bar AABA popular song form with chord changes. In free jazz, the dependence on a fixed and pre-established form is eliminated, and the role of improvisation is correspondingly increased.
Other forms of jazz use regular meters and pulsed rhythms, usually in 4/4 or (less often) 3/4. Free jazz retains pulsation and sometimes swings but without regular meter. Frequent Accelerando and ritardando give an impression of rhythm that moves like a wave.
Previous jazz forms used harmonic structures, usually cycles of diatonic chords. When improvisation occurred, it was founded on the notes in the chords. Free jazz almost by definition is free of such structures, but also by definition (it is, after all, "jazz" as much as it is "free") it retains much of the language of earlier jazz playing. It is therefore very common to hear diatonic, altered dominant and blues phrases in this music.
The breakdown of form and rhythmic structure has been seen by some critics to coincide with jazz musicians' exposure to and use of elements from non-Western music, especially African, Arabic, and Indian. The atonality of free jazz is often credited by historians and jazz performers to a return to non-tonal music of the nineteenth century, including field hollers, street cries, and jubilees (part of the "return to the roots" element of free jazz). This suggests that perhaps the movement away from tonality was not a conscious effort to devise a formal atonal system, but rather a reflection of the concepts surrounding free jazz. Jazz became "free" by removing dependence on chord progressions and instead using polytempic and polyrhythmic structures.
Rejection of the bop aesthetic was combined with a fascination with earlier styles of jazz, such as dixieland with its collective improvisation, as well as African music. Interest in ethnic music resulted in the use of instruments from around the world, such as Ed Blackwell's West African talking drum, and Leon Thomas's interpretation of pygmy yodeling. Ideas and inspiration were found in the music of John Cage, Musica Elettronica Viva, and the Fluxus movement.
Many critics, particularly at the music's inception, suspected that abandonment of familiar elements of jazz pointed to a lack of technique on the part of the musicians. Today such views are more marginal, and the music has built a body of critical writing.
Many critics have drawn connections between the term "free jazz" and the American social setting during the late 1950s and 1960s, especially the emerging social tensions of racial integration and the civil rights movement. Many argue those recent phenomena such as the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the emergence of the "Freedom Riders" in 1961, the 1963 Freedom Summer of activist-supported black voter registration, and the free alternative black Freedom Schools demonstrate the political implications of the word "free" in context of free jazz. Thus many consider free jazz to be not only a rejection of certain musical credos and ideas, but a musical reaction to the oppression and experience of black Americans.
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0.984409 |
In 2017, Ohio had a population of 11.7M people with a median age of 39.3 and a median household income of $54,021. Between 2016 and 2017 the population of Ohio grew from 11.6M to 11.7M, a 0.381% increase and its median household income grew from $52,334 to $54,021, a 3.22% increase.
The population of Ohio is 78.9% White Alone, 12.2% Black or African American Alone, and 3.75% Hispanic or Latino. 6.95% of the people in Ohio speak a non-English language, and 97.8% are U.S. citizens.
The largest universities in Ohio are Ohio State University-Main Campus (15,203 degrees awarded in 2016), University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (10,382 degrees), and Ohio University-Main Campus (9,278 degrees).
The median property value in Ohio is $144,200, and the homeownership rate is 65.8%. Most people in Ohio commute by Drove Alone, and the average commute time is 22.6 minutes. The average car ownership in Ohio is 2 cars per household.
Ohio borders Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
The economy of Ohio employs 5.36M people. The largest industries in Ohio are Restaurants & Food Services (364,555 people), Hospitals (342,791 people), and Elementary & secondary schools (296,089 people), and the highest paying industries are Agricultural chemical manufacturing ($122,460), Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments ($106,608), and Electric & gas, and other combinations ($105,365).
Median household income in Ohio is $54,021. Males in Ohio have an average income that is 1.33 times higher than the average income of females, which is $46,904. The income inequality in Ohio (measured using the Gini index) is 0.457, which is lower than than the national average.
Households in Ohio have a median annual income of $54,021, which is less than the median annual income of $60,336 across the entire United States. This is in comparison to a median income of $52,334 in 2016, which represents a 3.22% annual growth.
Look at the chart to see how the median household income in Ohio compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.
In 2017, full-time male employees in Ohio made 1.33 times more than female employees.
This chart shows the gender-based wage disparity in the 5 most common occupations in Ohio by number of full-time employees.
In 2017 the highest paid race/ethnicity of Ohio workers was Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. These workers were paid 1.16 times more than Asian workers, who made the second highest salary of any race/ethnicity.
This chart shows the race- and ethnicity-based wage disparities in the 5 most common occupations in Ohio by number of full-time employees.
In 2017, the county with the highest Median Household Income (Total) in Ohio was Delaware County, OH with a value of $106,933, followed by Warren County, OH and Geauga County, OH, with respective values of $84,130 and $82,741.
The following map shows all of the counties in Ohio colored by their Median Household Income (Total).
14.9% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Ohio (1.68M out of 11.3M people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 13.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 18 - 24 and then Males 18 - 24.
The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Ohio is White, followed by Black and Hispanic.
From 2016 to 2017, employment in Ohio grew at a rate of 0.648%, from 5.33M employees to 5.36M employees.
The most common job groups, by number of people living in Ohio, are Registered nurses (147,360 people), Driver/sales workers & truck drivers (136,852 people), and Miscellaneous managers (133,707 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Ohio.
The most common jobs held by residents of Ohio, by number of employees, are Registered nurses (147,360 people), Driver/sales workers & truck drivers (136,852 people), and Miscellaneous managers (133,707 people).
Compared to other states, Ohio has an unusually high number of residents working as Rolling machine setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic (4.29 times higher than expected), Metal furnace operators, tenders, pourers, & casters (4.2 times), and Occupational therapy assistants & aides (3.71 times).
The highest paid jobs held by residents of Ohio, by average salary, are Physicians & surgeons ($207,918), Economists ($181,927), and Nurse anesthetists ($177,291).
The most common employment sectors for those who live in Ohio, are Restaurants & Food Services (364,555 people), Hospitals (342,791 people), and Elementary & secondary schools (296,089 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Ohio, though some of these residents may live in Ohio and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.
The most common industries in Ohio, by number of employees, are Restaurants & Food Services (364,555 people), Hospitals (342,791 people), and Elementary & secondary schools (296,089 people).
Compared to other states, Ohio has an unusually high number of Household appliance manufacturing (4.64 times higher than expected), Rubber products, except tires, manufacturing (4.08 times), and Metal forgings & stampings (3.68 times) industries.
The highest paying industries in Ohio, by average salary, are Agricultural chemical manufacturing ($122,460), Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments ($106,608), and Electric & gas, and other combinations ($105,365).
In 2015, the top outbound false product (by dollars) was Mixed freight with $65.2B, followed by Motorized vehicles with $64.2B and Machinery and $45.1B.
In 2015, total outbound false trade was $614B. This is expected to increase 55% to $952B by 2045.
In 2015, the top outbound false domestic partner for goods and services (by dollars) was Michigan with $44.3B, followed by Indiana with $34.5B and Pennsylvania and $31.7B.
94% of the population of Ohio has health coverage, with 50.9% on employee plans, 18.2% on Medicaid, 13% on Medicare, 10.6% on non-group plans, and 1.35% on military or VA plans.
Per capita personal health care spending in the state of Ohio was $8,712 in 2014. This is a 5.14% increase from the previous year ($8,286).
Primary care physicians in Ohio see 1307 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.538% increase from the previous year (1300 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1656 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 561 patients per year.
Between 2016 and 2017, the percent of uninsured citizens in Ohio grew by 6.15% from 5.63% to 5.97%.
The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Ohio changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.
Ohio is home to a population of 11.7M people, from which 97.8% are citizens. As of 2017, 4.31% of Ohio residents were born outside of the country.
The ethnic composition of the population of Ohio is composed of 9.2M White Alone residents (78.9%), 1.42M Black or African American Alone residents (12.2%), 437k Hispanic or Latino residents (3.75%), 297k Two or More Races residents (2.55%), 256k Asian Alone residents (2.2%), 21.4k Some Other Race Alone residents (0.183%), 17.9k American Indian & Alaska Native Alone residents (0.153%), and 3.42k Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone residents (0.0294%).
The most common foreign languages spoken in Ohio are Spanish or Spanish Creole (246,313 speakers), Other West Germanic Languages (57,528 speakers), and Chinese (49,564 speakers).
In 2017, the median age of all people in Ohio was 39.3. Native-born citizens, with a median age of 39, were generally younger than than foreign-born citizens, with a median age of 41. But people in Ohio are getting staying the same age. In 2016, the average age of all Ohio residents was 39.
As of 2017, 4.31% of Ohio residents were born outside of the United States, which is lower than the national average of 13.7%. In 2016, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Ohio was 4.17%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.
The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Ohio compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.
In 2017, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Ohio was India, the natal country of 63,926 Ohio residents, followed by Mexico with 49,870 and China with 31,441.
As of 2017, 97.8% of Ohio residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.1%. In 2016, the percentage of US citizens in Ohio was 97.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.
The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Ohio compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.
In 2017, there were 6.48 times more White Alone residents (9.2M people) in Ohio than any other race or ethnicity. There were 1.42M Black or African American Alone and 437k Hispanic or Latino residents, the second and third most common racial or ethnic groups.
The following bar chart shows the 8 races and ethnicities represented in Ohio as a share of the total population.
6.95% of Ohio citizens are speakers of a non-English language, which is lower than the national average of 21.5%. In 2015, the most common non-English language spoken in Ohio was Spanish or Spanish Creole. 2.25% of the overall population of Ohio are native Spanish or Spanish Creole speakers. 0.527% speak Other West Germanic Languages and 0.454% speak Spanish or Spanish Creole, the next two most common languages.
Ohio has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 2.34 times greater than any other conflict.
In 2016, universities in Ohio awarded 169,992 degrees. The student population of Ohio is skewed towards women, with 297,316 male students and 378,313 female students.
Most students graduating from Universities in Ohio are White (123,410 and 76.9%), followed by Black or African American (17,037 and 10.6%), Unknown (6,982 and 4.35%), and Hispanic or Latino (5,172 and 3.22%).
The largest universities in Ohio by number of degrees awarded are Ohio State University-Main Campus (15,203 and 8.94%), University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (10,382 and 6.11%), and Ohio University-Main Campus (9,278 and 5.46%).
The most popular majors in Ohio are Registered Nursing (11,909 and 7.01%), General Business Administration & Management (8,755 and 5.15%), and Liberal Arts & Sciences (5,685 and 3.34%).
The median tuition costs in Ohio are $27,600 for private four year colleges, and $5,753 and $14,050 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.
In 2015, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Ohio was Registered Nursing with 6,710 degrees awarded.
This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Ohio according to their major.
In 2016, the Ohio institution with the largest number of graduating students was Ohio State University-Main Campus with 15,203 degrees awarded.
In 2016, 71,294 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Ohio, which is 0.722 times less than the 98,698 female students who received degrees in the same year.
This chart displays the gender disparity between the top 5 institutions in Ohio by degrees awarded.
In 2016 the majority of degrees awarded at institutions in Ohio were to White students. These 123,410 degrees mean that there were 7.24 times more White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 17,037 degrees awarded.
The median property value in Ohio was $144,200 in 2017, which is 0.663 times smaller than the national average of $217,600. Between 2016 and 2017 the median property value increased from $140,100 to $144,200, a 2.93% increase. The homeownership rate in Ohio is 65.8%, which is higher than the national average of 63.9%. People in Ohio have an average commute time of 22.6 minutes, and they commute by Drove Alone. Car ownership in Ohio is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.
In 2017, the median household income of the 4.67M households in Ohio grew to $54,021 from the previous year's value of $52,334.
The following chart displays the households in Ohio distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.
In 2017, the median property value in Ohio grew to to $144,200 from the previous year's value of $140,100.
The following charts display, first, the property values in Ohio compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies and, second, owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property value buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Ohio the largest share of households have a property value in the $100k - $125k range.
This chart shows the households in Ohio distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Ohio the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.
In 2017, 65.8% of the housing units in Ohio were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 65.4%.
This percentage of owner-occupation is higher than the national average of 63.9%. This chart shows the ownership percentage in Ohio compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.
The following chart displays the households in Ohio distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Ohio have 2 cars, followed by 3 cars.
Using averages, employees in Ohio have a shorter commute time (22.6 minutes) than the normal US worker (25.5 minutes). Additionally, 1.61% of the workforce in Ohio have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.
The chart below shows how the median household income in Ohio compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.
In 2017, the most common method of travel for workers in Ohio was Drove Alone, followed by those who Carpooled and those who Worked At Home.
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0.95545 |
People have always said yawns are contagious, but who knew that there was actually something called contagious behavior! Contagious behavior is defined as a more or less instinctive or reflexive behavior triggered by an occurrence of the same behavior in another individual. The first example in the text was yawning. (pg 459) Contagious behavior is apparent in humans and also in some animals. Fear is another thing that is ‘contagious.’ Ducks are another example, when a flock of ducks are together and one duck flies off, all the other ducks follow, even if there is not potential danger. Laughing can also be seen under contagious behavior. People usually do not laugh all that much when they are alone for example watching a funny movie, but when with a group or crowd of people laughing is contagious. Television programs know this and that is why there are laughing tracks or live audiences laughing in comedy shows.
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0.942054 |
How to get table names and their row count from 3 databases?
I have 3 databases with same tables, i want my output with columns (table_name,database1_rowcount,database2_rowcount,database3_rowcount).
If you use the above query against your database you will get the result as you expected.
All the 3 databases are in same server.
You can modify the query and use based on the requirement. You can add the DB name <DB NAME>.sys.indexes in the query.
And also you can inner join or do sub query the three database query based on your table structure and get the result as you required.
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0.999907 |
Can bitcoin transaction data be used to study markets?
The nice thing about bitcoin is that it generates partially anonymous data about every single transaction. Can this data be used to gain insight about real-world markets? Or are there some fundamental differences that cannot be accounted for? If this data can be used, does anybody have any references on academic papers that use the bitcoin data?
There are no academic papers on Bitcoin market behavior.
If Bitcoin or another peer-to-peer currency ever develops a significant closed economy, then it would be a rich source of information on the behavior of markets and economies, as the transaction timing, value and locations (for both the sender and receiver in a transaction) of Bitcoin transactions is publicly broadcasted -and in the case of timing and value, already being recorded in the block chain.
Furthermore, information about the full Bitcoin transaction history of each pseudonymous individual can be deduced through network analysis techniques.
While Bitcoin is reserved for niche use and doesn't form a closed economy though, the data from the transaction history is of limited use for studying real world market and economic behavior.
Also, in the future the visibility of Bitcoin transaction data could be reduced if many participants in the Bitcoin economy begin to rely on private layers built on top of the Bitcoin network to conduct their transactions through, which is likely to happen given the implications for privacy that visible transactions create.
I'm not aware of any serious studies on the topic but I have seen folks on the forum talking about how bitcoin price seems to correlate with the google trends data on bitcoin-related searches. Compare: Google Trends and MtGox Price.
So there's sort of a study on popularity/price ratios, though it's hardly been conducted with any sort of scientific rigor. I'd assume that there are many such studies to be found, the limits from the bitcoin side of the fence are quite few so I'd say the upper limit is your imagination.
This is still a fledgling currency. You can see how Bitcoin lacks credibility by listening to the recent publication on NPR. Overall there is a great deal of misinformation, and lack of credible citations.
Although, there are substantial studies of virtual currency, there are no published studies from accredited sources concerning bitcoin proper.
It makes for a good economics thesis, there are plenty of hypotheses to explore!
The fact that the blockchain records every single bitcoin transaction does mean that it would probably be possible to analyse the data to infer some real market information.
Similar tools and network analysis methods as used in the Reid/Harrigan paper on anonymity in the Bitcoin system could also be used to glean market information from the Bitcoin transaction record. One of the authors (Fergal Reid) of this paper discusses some of these possibilities in this forum post on the bitcointalk.org site. One of the speculated ideas is that it could be possible to identify flows of bitcoins to the exchanges and thus be possibly able to predict if a sell-off is imminent based on a larger than normal volume of bitcoins being moved to the exchanges.
There is a paper by Fergal Reid and Martin Harrigan of University College Dublin, Ireland. PDF can be downloaded from this page. It's called "An Analysis of Anonymity in the Bitcoin System".
It describes, amongst other things, methods and tools for building a Transaction Network and User Network from the data taken from the blockchain and from external sources.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged economy academic-research or ask your own question.
Where can I find people willing to pay me in bitcoin for services?
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0.999824 |
Create a custom course homepage.
Rename a custom course homepage.
Apply a custom course homepage.
You will need to be within your course before you can select the "Course Admin" selection.
2. Select "Homepages" from Site Setup.
3. Select the dropdown next to the current default homepage, and click "Copy".
This step is important as you want to make a copy of the template.
4. Click the "Copy" version of the homepage.
The homepages are a hyperlink, and the dropdowns are the actions for the homepage. Click on the "Copy" version of the homepage to edit the homepage.
5. Change the name of your homepage.
Homepages are often used year after year, so it is a good idea to change the name of your course homepage to something other than the default.
6. Change settings, and then select "Save and Close".
You are able to change the layout of the homepage, if you would like. It is recommended that you have the widgets ANNOUNCEMENTS, INSTRUCTOR WIDGET TEMPLATE, and GREAT FALLS COLLEGE MSU D2L SUPPORT on the homepage. Daylight is mobile responsive and the layout is designed for one or two vertical columns.
7. Choose the homepage you want to apply under Active Homepage, and then click "Apply".
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0.999205 |
Pregnancy App Article: "Your body in week 23"
Painful enough when you’re not up the duff, UTIs can be particularly trying when you are juggling some of the other joyous side effects of pregnancy. Cystitis, the most common form, tends to creep in during pregnancy because pregnancy hormones cause the tubes from your kidneys to your bladder to relax, so your urine flow slows down, giving the bacteria longer to multiply.
Symptoms include a need to pee frequently, pain or a burning sensation when you go and cloudy or smelly urine that might contain blood. You need to visit a doctor to get it diagnosed and sorted out with an antibiotic approved for use during pregnancy. It might help to take a urine sample with you. Untreated, a bladder infection can lead to a kidney infection, which is more of a threat to mother and baby.
Drink shed loads of water on a daily basis. Steer clear of tea, coffee, alcohol and fizzy drinks.
Wear 100% cotton underwear and stay away from tight clothes. Even sleep without something on your bottom half.
Don’t use bubble bath and soap, only warm water to wash your bits.
Empty your bladder fully before and after getting jiggy.
Sit in a warm bath, drink masses and pee in the water. I know it sounds gross but it really helps the pain.
How are things looking this week?
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0.93027 |
How do I find out if my state has a HIPAA policy? I am considering quitting my job, COBRA would cover 18 months, but worried about when that stops.
Your state is covered by HIPAA. HIPAA is federal law, and federal law trumps state law. Some states, such as California, have provisions that extend privacy protections and other features of the bill further than the feds do, but all states are included in coverage. Before you make more decisions, though, please learn what HIPAA can and cannot do for you. Start with the information on this Web site, and follow links to other sites that explain the bill.
Paycut upon completion of probationary period!
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0.954211 |
Microservices is currently one of the hottest topics in the enterprise IT space—and for very good reasons. They offer IT and the businesses they serve many advantages, notably the ability to make small changes to code quickly and efficiently, and with reduced risk. Another big advantage: Services are organized around business capabilities, and lend themselves smoothly to continuous delivery.
Microservices describes a software architecture built around small, decoupled processes that communicate through language-agnostic APIs. Although the services themselves are relatively easy to use, enterprises—especially those looking to transition existing monolithic applications to a microservice architecture—need to realize that microservices do not magically make complexity "disappear."
Rather, the complexity of application delivery and management shifts from being a problem within a single, large application to being a challenge of tracking and visualizing the external relationship between multiple services. Handling complicated, monolithic applications is replaced by the need to deal with a complex network of distributed, comparatively simple components that must work together.
Almost daily, the microservices landscape is being influenced by the impact of mobile and Internet of Things (IoT), which increase the pressures to improve and accelerate software delivery. To respond to this pressure, enterprises need to adopt new delivery models, release strategies, and tools that can handle many services and their dependencies.
Large, monolithic applications—in which release cycles are long and many complex features are packed into each release—will always have their place, but the software development landscape is shifting, presenting new opportunities and challenges.
How can your enterprise move away from monolithic applications that require tens or even hundreds of steps to deploy their many components towards managing a much larger set of individually simpler components?
Workflow tools, which map out what needs to happen step by step, are poorly suited to this challenge because they're designed to string together a complicated set of steps for one large deployment. These tools are generally a poor fit for the task of handling many small deployments, dependencies between components, or concurrent releases.
Delivering an individual service or container with one click doesn't help much if you can't easily coordinate multiple services—especially if you need to have compatible versions of many different services running together to make an end-to-end use case work. Equally, you need to have some flexibility in the choice of services to be deployed, so that a single test failure in one service does not immediately bring your delivery process to a halt, preventing all other services in the same delivery pipeline from going live.
To make the most of microservices architectures, you need a single overview of your deployment dependencies and configuration. This allows you to offer the speed and efficiency benefits best suited to continuous delivery pipelines.
In a microservices environment, individual services may have numerous dependencies. As architectures become more complex and include more components, it becomes impossible for IT staff to track all the dependencies and prevent conflicts without automation. If a dependency is missed, the system will fail somewhere in a potentially long sequence of microservice calls, making it difficult to figure out why or to track down the source of the issue.
In this scenario, coordinating the multiple delivery pipelines for different services is quite difficult. Inevitably, you end up with a network of pipelines that must be able to share information for a seamless path to production.
There will still be plenty of manual tasks to handle as you approach production, so it's very important that your tooling can support manual activities. However, remember that automation will always reduce error and increase efficiency.
Currently, there's a lot of buzz around container technologies, particularly Docker, which is a great solution for many situations. However, who knows what lies ahead? You can implement microservices with technologies other than containers.
Committing to a new technology is always a gamble. If the market changes or the company behind the technology you have chosen goes bust, you will be left in the ditch. It makes sense to ensure your tools and your process work seamlessly regardless of the underlying implementation technologies.
With the market evolving so quickly, it's wise to keep your implementation options open and flexible until you can settle on a solution that works for your enterprise.
Automating, visualizing, and coordinating changes to a complex network of interdependent services is the major challenge of delivering microservices applications.
If the complexity grows to the point where people can no longer manage it, enterprises need to use deployment and release tooling that can manage the numerous relationships between components. Typically, that means embracing a delivery model that is designed to handle dependencies.
Andrew Phillips is the VP of DevOps Strategy for XebiaLabs, the leading provider of software for Continuous Delivery and DevOps. The author is a cloud, service delivery, and automation expert and has been part of the shift to more automated application delivery platforms. He contributes to a number of open source projects including Apache jclouds, the leading cloud library; and is a co-organizer of the DynamicInfraDays container community events. He is also a frequent contributor to DevOps Magazine, DZone, InfoQ, CM Crossroads and SD Times.
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0.999999 |
A self-dividing number is a number that is divisible by every digit it contains.
For example, 128 is a self-dividing number because 128 % 1 == 0, 128 % 2 == 0, and 128 % 8 == 0.
Also, a self-dividing number is not allowed to contain the digit zero.
Given a lower and upper number bound, output a list of every possible self dividing number, including the bounds if possible.
The boundaries of each input argument are 1 <= left <= right <= 10000.
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0.999482 |
"Click the 'Settings' button on tab bar at the bottom, then the Settings page shows up. After pressing 'Configurations' on Settings page, page on which user would enter phone number shows up. After inputting the right phone number, system would automatically determine the mobile phone location."
For supplement instructions of manual and automatic configuration, please check the following paragraph.
'Verify Prefix' page appears after clicking 'Continue'. The initial value appears in the 'Verify international Prefix' input field automatically, which is based on the country code of the phone number inputted by user. For example, the initial value of the United States is '011', which is '00' in mainland and '002' in Taiwan. As shown in page specification, users usually use the initial value.
There is another ticking option of 'Keep international prefix when dialing', which is used to determine whether the 'international prefix' should be added before the international call number to form the right 'calling string'. 'International prefix' will be added in the 'calling string' if user selects this option.
Access number is the headmost component of calling string.
In accordance with the instructions on purchased calling card, user input the access number for manual configuration. Incorrect input or invalid number shall cause the failure of international calling. According to users' demand, user can input '+' on the input keyboard page in version 3.0.1 for Iphone.
There are three mutually-exclusive options on the Separator page, of which user can select one or input information respectively. The option selected by user when pressing 'Continue' button is the verified value. The other two options will not be used.
If one of the following situations occurs, the '#4 separator' page as shown in Figure 4-1 user entering would be default page.
③ User chooses 'Advanced Setup' and input ',,' in the input box in the last configuration.
Only under the circumstance of user selects 'With PIN' in the last configuration (including automatic configuration), page as shown in Figure 4-2 would be default page of #4: separator. User input pin code according to the calling card information.
If user select 'Advanced setup' for the last configuration, and the input value is not ',,', the page shown in figure 4-3 would be default page of #4: separator. User can input any appropriate string to satisfy the needs of the Separator when above two options can't meet the setting of the Separator.
The general input value is '#' on the last page of manual configuration as shown in Figure 5. Whatever, the user can input any value if needed.
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0.999999 |
¿Aumenta el riesgo de cáncer el tratamiento con biológicos?
• En primer lugar, es muy complicado establecer una relación entre una enfermedad tan frecuente como el cáncer y el tratamiento con biológicos. Los motivos son diversos, pero entre ellos hay que destacar los distintos factores exógenos y genéticos que están relacionados con el origen de la enfermedad tumoral y la dificultad que existe para deslindar éstos del efecto causal de un determinado medicamento, como en este caso serían los biológicos. Si a esto le sumamos, que cualquier factor externo causal de un tumor, puede desarrollar la enfermedad muchos años después de haber sido eliminado (el mejor ejemplo es el tabaco, ya que se estima que desde su suspensión y aunque la probabilidad de desarrollar un cáncer va disminuyendo de forma paulatina, el riesgo de padecer un cáncer, probablemente, siempre será algo superior que el de la población que no fue fumadora), las conclusiones se complican aún más.
• Con respecto a las enfermedades autoinmunes y cáncer, hoy parece establecido, que algunas de ellas ya tienen per se mayor probabilidad de desarrollar un tumor, al margen de la terapia. El ejemplo más representativo es el linfoma no Hodgkin y la artritis reumatoide. Hoy está aceptado que esta enfermedad cuando no se controla adecuadamente, tiene un riesgo superior a desarrollar este linfoma que la población general. Sin embargo, y aunque existen estudios contradictorios, la inmensa mayoría de los metaanálisis y estudios de registros, no han podido demostrar que la terapia biológica aumente ese riesgo. Si el etanercept, el único anti-TNF que no es un anticuerpo monoclonal, tiene menos riesgo para desarrollar linfoma que los anticuerpos monoclonales, sigue siendo tema de debate, aunque los estudios de autores franceses y británicos apuntarían en esa dirección.
SAN DIEGO – A new study offers a double message about the potential impact of obesity on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in women: Excess pounds are linked to a higher risk of patient-reported outcomes such as pain and fatigue, and body mass index may be an appropriate tool to study weight issues in this population.
Researchers found “a strong relationship between body composition and worse outcomes,” Sarah Patterson, MD, a fellow in rheumatology at the University of California, San Francisco, and the lead study author, said at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
While researchers have linked excess weight to worsening outcomes in a variety of rheumatic disorders, there have been few studies examining obesity in SLE. Small studies in 2005 and 2012 linked obesity to less functional capacity, and the later study also linked it to decreased quality of life (Arthritis Rheum. 2005 Nov;52:3651-9/ Int J Rheum Dis. 2012 Jun;15:261-7).
For the new study, Dr. Patterson and her colleagues analyzed findings from surveys of 148 participants in the Arthritis Body Composition and Disability study. All participants were women with a verified SLE diagnosis.
About two-thirds of the sample were white, 14% were Asian, and 13% were African American. The average age was 48 years, the average disease duration was 16 years, and 45% took glucocorticoids.
Researchers used two measurements of obesity: BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater and fat mass index (FMI) of 13 kg/m2 or greater.
They calculated FMI with data collected via whole dual x-ray absorptiometry. Of the participants, 32% and 30% met criteria for obesity under FMI and BMI definitions, respectively.
Researchers also collected survey data regarding measurements of disease activity, depressive symptoms, pain and fatigue.
The study authors controlled their results to account for factors such as age, race, and prednisone use. They found that those defined as obese via FMI had more disease activity and depression than did nonobese women: 14.8 versus 11.5, P = .010, on the Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire scale, and 19.8 versus 13.1, P = .004, on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.
On two other scales of pain and fatigue, obese patients scored lower – a sign of worse status – compared with nonobese women: 38.7 versus 44.2, P = .004, on the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey pain subscale and 39.6 versus 45.2, P= .010, on the SF-36 vitality subscale. The researchers reported similar findings when using BMI to assess obesity.
It’s not clear why obesity and lupus may be linked, Dr. Patterson said, though she noted that inflammation is a shared factor. “People with lupus have arthritis and chronic pain, so there may be this vicious feedback cycle with hindrances to be able to live healthy lifestyles,” she added.
The study has limitations, including that the sample is largely white, while lupus is more common among minority women. In addition, the study does not include underweight patients or track patients over time. “It will be important to look at obesity and patient-reported outcomes to determine whether weight loss results in better outcomes,” Dr. Patterson said.
The study does provide an extra benefit by suggesting that BMI is not an inferior tool to measure the effects of obesity in the SLE population, Dr. Patterson said. BMI has been criticized as a misleading measurement of obesity. But the BMI and FMI measures produced similar results in this study. “That’s really good news in a way for the practicalities of using this information,” she said.
But FMI may still be a better measurement of obesity in the general population, where BMI may be more likely to be thrown off by high muscle mass.
It may seem obvious that obesity is linked to worse lupus outcomes, but rheumatologist Bryant England, MD, of the University of Nebraska, Omaha, said that this research is noteworthy because it highlights the importance of focusing on obesity in the clinic.
Rheumatologists shouldn’t leave obesity to primary care physicians but instead confront it themselves, said Dr. England, who moderated a discussion of new research at an ACR annual meeting press conference. But he cautioned that prudence is especially important when talking about obesity with lupus patients because they may be sensitive about medication-related weight gain.
Dr. Patterson and the other study authors reported having no relevant disclosures. Dr. England also reported no relevant disclosures. The study was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
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0.974746 |
"They use more data" was the justification given by ISPs, but let's say your accusation is correct.
They already charge based on data use and always have (even with net neutrality being mandated), as ar the people who use netflix (we pay more for 750 GB of data than we did for 250, for example), because that's the basis of how it works, so their argument doesn't really make sense. They're already being paid more on both ends for having to transmit more data.
If so, it's not a serious justification for regulatory intervention. As you've expressed it, it's virtually tautological; darn near anything any business does for any reason would be an adequate excuse for nationalizing everything. That can't possibly be a good idea, or Venezuela would be the economic envy of the world.
How is a regulation forbidding price discrimination for this specific service nationalisation? The government isn't taking over the ISP's - only laying down market rules, just like there are plenty for physical goods.
How is "you don't get the service you already pay for unless you pay even more" not coerced if there is no other option than using their service?
I generally agree with this statement, but I think (and history has proven) that a completely free market without any playing rules doesn't work. There are cases in which a completely unregulated market can slide or be pushed into a ad status quo that is inherently bad. For example, a company with larger funds can buy or put out of business all its competitors, resulting in a monopoly. This negates the normal capitalistic principle of "if you don't like the offer, you can go get your product or service somewhere else and this competition keeps prices reasonable". And that's why there are antimonopoly laws.
Similarly, there is the Robinson-Patman act which forbids price discrimination for physical goods, because price discrimination means the price is not about selling goods at acceptable prices, but about getting as much profit out of consumers as they can get.
It's not about direct government interference. It's about setting up rules about what you can and cannot do.
-For the same reason doing charging different customers different prices for the same physical product is illegal.
-Unlike what is supposed to happen in a capitalised system, a lot of the ISP's have no local competitors and have basically a monopoly, which means you don't have the option to pick the more competitive offer their competitor offers. This means there's no system to keep prices in check - if they want you to pay extra, you can either pay up or... not have any internet. There is nothing that keeps the prices fair for the customers. So either there needs to be honest competition, or there needs to be regulation, or there is nothing stopping them from screwing over customers for money.
Capitalism only works if the customer actually has the option to not buy the service from a specific company.
In this case, there is no, as you said "creating and selling desirable goods and services at acceptable prices" or "free negotiation between producer and consumer" - there are demands from the producer and the option to accept them or have no service.
-Conflict of interest: a lot of the ISP's have subsidiaries that are direct competitors to their own clients. If price discrimination of their service is legal, they can (and have proven that they will) increase prices for those clients, leading to monopolisation and stiffling of startups, which is against the spirit of anti-monopolisation and free competition.
How does a regulation on the price of a service give the government any access to the content of the data in the first place? I really don't see what they have to do with one another... Our national post is even owned by the government, but that still doesn't mean they can legally open my mail.
ISPs charge their clients for putting data into the network, or for pulling data from the network. In a neutral network, the ISP does not discriminate between a given source or destination for that data; the price has already been paid by the bandwidth fee. In a… polar? charged? network, the ISP might throttle data related to one client (e.g. Netflix) on the other client's end.
The neutral network charges for data in and data out, without changing behavior based on the origin, destination, or kind of the data. The other one does change its behavior.
Interestingly, a neutral ISP has no reason to examine your data except to route it. A non-neutral ISP could argue for inspection to, for example, ascertain whether your data is from Netflix and thus decide whether to throttle or charge. So, in a way, net neutrality could have some security arguments in its favor.
Also, I am somewhat concerned regarding the possible repercussions to users running home services. I don't think I could justify a domain name for the stuff I run, let alone a spot on my ISP's whitelist, but my little game server and IRC bouncer might suffer from arbitrarily-severe throttling or even blockage. You might argue that I'm a cheapskate, but I've already paid for my connection to the internet.
because ISPs have no stake in playing fair.
and letting them play with no rules wont foster innovation.
because they already tried to cut down services that competed with their own.
"hey that special doesnthavewhatyouwant video service (which totally doesnt belong to us by the way) is cheaper than netflix with the additional fees we put on netflix!"
edit: also what narwhalz said. allowing and mandating deep inspection of packets wont increase speed nor safety of the service.
and if at all will slow down services in general (or make them more expensive) and will stifle encryption and data compression efforts.
because every packet that the ISPs cant inspect is going to be throttled.
I honestly did not read the whole argumentations, but I think this is the key.
Indeed, as a libertarian, I am on principle against any regulation. A law (thus a limit to freedom) should only exist if its absence has more risk to infringe our freedom. As an example, a law against thieving (limiting my options!) is acceptable, because otherwise I could not enjoy the freedom to have property in peace. From this perspective you can go more or less far (i need roads to have freedom of movement, I need police... so some form of tax is legitimate... and so on; but we should always keep in mind that any law is an aggression against our freedom).
So if the market would be fully open, net neutrality would not be important, because if any ISP go against it and angers its customers, another ISP would launch on the market to profit of the opportunity to get all those unhappy customers; thus an equilibrium would be reached with some people being in neutral internet, and some people on a controlled one (probably for less costs, or with a more attractive interface, but with less options). So we would not risk loosing freedom... this is why, for example, there is no need for a law forbidding radio that receive only selected FM frequencies - thousands of companies provide radios, so if a company build a limited model, this does not threaten our freedom.
But the market is not so open. It requires billions of investment to build up an infrastructure allowing to have a coverage and a size that make you a reasonable competition to established ISP. So basically, like it has been for operating systems (Microsoft) or energy (Standard Oil) before, we have a situation closer to an oligopoly than a free market. And in such a situation, laws are required to avoid that companies misuse their dominant position on a market. Because it is a logical economic behaviour to misuse of your power - in order to maximise earnings (it's actually something you MUST do for your shareholders!), and in order to grow in new markets: as the pure ISP market has limited growth (everybody is connected, where do you want to grow?), controlling content (paid or as a platform for ad revenue) is a logical way to grow. And how to make sure your content (your ad platform) gets lot's of users? The difficult way is to offer a superior service; but the cheap easy way is just to slow down, decrease the ease of use or increase the access cost for your competitors!
Logical evolution of the system: I have a choice of few ISP each with its (not my) preferred services, so I lost my liberty to do what I want online.
Those solutions have been tried in different situations, as far as I know; the first one seem to be the least damage to entrepreneurial freedom.
Well, the FCC is making the decision today, so I guess we'll see how that goes.
Ajit just doesn't care. Polls show 83% of the US population in favor of keeping the internet as a utility. I imagine Pai is making far too much money off of this to care about the American people. I can only hope congress steps in to do something... but that's seeming like it'll be difficult to make happen.
The United States isn't a democracy and hasn't been for some time. It's an oligarchy.
Ps. the USA is a Republic.
Actually, no, it's not. There were net neutrality rules in place then, too. They only rebranded it as "Net Neutrality" (capitalized) in 2015, but net neutrality (lowercase) laws have been around since 2005, and before that it was lumped in with telephone laws. In essence, this is the first time in its history the Internet in the US has ever not been neutral. I can fetch sources if you'd like, too.
As to whether the US is a republic, ideally, yes, the US is a republic/democracy. However, in reality, politicians are given "donations" by the wealthy to enact laws and bills. No politician would (or could) refuse to accept donations because the system isn't set up for them to make much money otherwise. They are for sale to the highest bidder, provided they can still get re-elected afterwards. Functionally, the US is an oligarchy: the wealthy hold the power, and the politicians are just puppets.
The US is a republic. Though you can reasonably posit that the political system (or process) is dysfunctional and corrupt, that does not negate what it is.
As far as Net neutrality, I was and am wholeheartedly for it.
In my view, the negative effects of its repeal will overwhelmingly fall on smaller and more marginal content providers. Amazon, Apple, and Google all have larger market caps than AT&T and Verizon put together. Disney and Netflix are significantly larger than all of the other telecoms. Google has already rolled out Google Fiber in a number of markets. If push came to shove Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Disney et al. could follow suit. They could just as easily buy a carrier (some of which are financially distressed) or, more likely, form a strategic partnership with one. As an example, CenturyLink has one of the largest fiber networks in the world. It's stock has been under duress during one of the biggest bull runs in the history of US markets. It would be a perfect candidate for a 'strategic' partnership (investment, bailout, call it what you will).
This does not make me feel any better about the fallout from the repeal of Net neutrality in the US. I doubt, however, that we need to worry too much about Amazon or Netflix, they'll be just fine.
I don't think it's correct to say that some "net neutrality" regulations meaningfully similar to those applied over the past 2 years were in effect earlier. If that were true, then there would have been even less justification for the FCC to impose 1934 POTS-era rules on Internet providers.
What did exist prior to 2015, and what will exist now, is regulation by the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit deceptive practices and to penalize anti-competitive ISP actions, encouraging both new content providers and more responsive ISPs to enter the market to the benefit of consumers. This system worked well enough to enable content providers -- Netflix, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and many others -- to be created and to thrive prior to 2015. There is no hard or even persuasive evidence to support declaring with certainty that these providers will now be put out of business (or some of the crazier things that were said today) just because the rules go back to what they were when these businesses were growing.
Asking those who use more of a finite service to pay more is a good policy. When those who want more pay more, they help to keep prices down for everybody else. If you've ever used a toll road, if you've ever used an express mail service instead of regular shipping, then you have supported this "use more, pay more" policy. Today's rule change allows Internet providers to be able to once again apply this sensible policy.
I understand if some still choose to believe that today's action will make things worse. I guess we'll see.
Asking those who use more of a finite service to pay more is a good policy.
And where arent they already doing that?
Or does every connection speed rating with any data cap cost the same where you are?
Most people that get their internet through a wireless devise are all ready seeing caps, limits, down throttling, and other restrictions.
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0.97399 |
Can Huawei convince the U.S. to care about unlocked phones?
The Huawei P8 Lite is an Android phone with decent specs that costs just $249.99.
When it comes to smartphones, everyone has suddenly fallen in love with America.
From ZTE to Xiaomi to Alcatel, overseas brands who previously had little to no presence in the U.S. are now pushing hard to make inroads. The interesting part is how they're doing it — not with ultra-powerful flagships loaded with features but with models that target the middle to low end, hoping to appeal to new buyers with the feature that rings universal: value.
It costs just $249.99 (which you can even pay in installments over 3, 6 or 12 months).
Huawei is only selling it unlocked.
The company hopes the combination of those two factors — along with the fact that the P8 Lite doesn't feel as cheap as its price might imply — will give the phone (and Huawei's mobile brand) some needed recognition in America.
Customers looking for value could do a lot worse than the Huawei P8 Lite. At the company's launch event, I had an opportunity to see what the phone could do, and it's a nice little Android device. Well, not that little: The display is 5 inches, and it has crisp 1080p resolution.
It's powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 615 Processor with 2GB of RAM, which is plenty up to snuff for browsing the web, getting your social on and most other day-to-day tasks. It has a 13-megapixel camera in back and a 5MP camera in front. There's only 16GB of storage, but you can augment that with a microSD card. Huawei is also throwing in a popular feature from overseas: dual SIM card slots, which will let users switch between two networks seamlessly (provided you have two service plans).
The Huawei P8 Lite has a 5-inch 1080p display.
"From our point of view, we have all the technology," Zhiqiang Xu, president of Huawei USA, told Mashable. "We're leading in telecommunications. In LTE, we own 25% of the core technologies."
The P8 Lite is no flagship, though, and it lacks some of the bonus features found in many top-tier phones: There's no fingerprint reader, no wireless charging, no NFC for mobile payments. It ships with Android 4.4 KitKat, and although Xu said the intent is to offer a Lollipop upgrade and eventually one for Android M, there's no firm commitment.
But the lack of high-end features isn't really the problem. Huawei has an uphill battle to get U.S. consumers to even recognize the brand, much less equate it with unlocked phones. It's also going to end up duking it out with the likes of ZTE, OnePlus and eventually Xiaomi in the "affordable" tier of phones.
"It's a matter of execution and delivery," says Xu. "We're positioning ourselves in the middle-to-premium part of the market. The best marketing is to deliver the product into customers' hands."
At least Huawei has a little help: It's partnering with Jawbone to sell the TalkBand B2, the first fitness tracker not made by Jawbone to tie into the company's UP wellness platform. It has a tiny screen for checking steps and is capable of relaying calls and SMS text messages. The wearable was first announced back in March and goes on sale alongside the P8 Lite.
The P8 Lite will also be relatively easy to find. Along with Huawei's website and Amazon, it'll be available at brick-and-mortar retailers including Best Buy, Target, B&H and Fry's.
It's hard not to root for Huawei's strategy with the P8 Lite. More unlocked phones in the market means more consumer choice, and if recent rumors about AT&T and Verizon ditching phone subsidies altogether are true, it means those fake cheap prices might be going away. That's great news for the P8 Lite, whose $250 price tag will look a lot more attractive next to the $650 sticker on the Galaxy S6 or iPhone 6.
Value has always had power — especially in electronics — with brands like Vizio and Apex crushing much more moneyed rivals in U.S. markets by delivering on the promise of as-good products for much lower prices. Does that same equation apply to smartphones? 2015 is looking to be the year we find out.
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0.967984 |
Let's talk about pushing the limits of search engine scalability — especially for very large databases.
There is really only one dimension of size: The total count of documents in the system. Other dimensions of size (very large queries, very large documents, etc.) typically do not significantly affect performance or scalability.
I would say that 95% of systems are small — meaning that they have less than 2 million documents. Such systems can be easily handled with a single machine.
Next up are medium systems, those in the 10 million to 100 million document range. If these systems have any kind of query or index performance requirements — for example, it is a public web site with 10-30 queries per second, or that new documents arrive at a rate of 10 documents per second — then you will likely need an array of machines to handle your needs. Search Technologies has installed and integrated dozens of such systems, and they typically require anywhere from five to 20 machines in a search cluster.
Finally, we have large and very large systems. Large would be 500 million to 1 billion documents, and very large would be 2 billion to 10 billion documents or more.
Search Technologies has experience with extremely large database sizes. We've architected systems approaching 1 billion documents, and expect to be involved with systems with 10 billion to 20 billion documents. Such systems require large data centers with many servers, but are do-able with today's technology, even by organizations of modest means.
Architecting a search system for such enormous amounts of data requires creating replicable, modular, search "units" that can be scaled hierarchically, and it also requires paying attention to both ends of the spectrum — the performance of a single machine, as well as how that machine interacts with others at all levels.
To architect a system for 10 billion documents, you must approach the problem from bottom to top, as follows.
Most search engines recommend a maximum of 10 million documents on a single computer. For a 10 billion document database, that would require 1,000 computers! Clearly, that approach will not be feasible for most organizations.
However, if configured and tested properly, this number can be dramatically increased. This requires 1) creating multiple "virtual search nodes" on a single physical computer, and 2) creating "read only" search nodes — which are only for search and do not perform real-time indexing.
One of the secrets of text search is that indexing is enormously expensive. If you can carefully control the indexing process such that only a single indexer is running on a node at a time, then you can pack a much larger number of documents for search onto a single search node.
Even better, if you are able to perform indexing off-line in large batches, not only will indexing be much more efficient, but then your entire search node can be used for searching.
Using these techniques, one can increase the number of documents per node from 10 million to at least 50 million, and possibly 100 million (depending on the amount of RAM, cores, and query features required). Such increases dramatically reduce the number of computers required, from 1,000 computers down to 100 to 200 computers, a much more manageable number.
The next breakpoint in scalability will be encountered when you get to around 50 to 100 computers in a search cluster.
Each search cluster has a process that distributes a search to multiple machines, each of which searches its part of the database in parallel, and then merges the results. As you get to a very large number of search nodes (and remember, each machine may have multiple, virtual search nodes), one begins to encounter scalability issues with these "distribution and results merging" processes.
Usually, you want to keep the number of virtual search nodes to less than 256 (or so). Some search engine systems allow for multiple layers of results distribution and merging, and these should be leveraged where possible. For example, the first layer can distribute and merge results across 16 nodes, and then the second layer can distribute and merge results across 16 groups, giving a total of 16x16 or 256 nodes.
Disaster recovery testing is critical for creating large, reliable clusters. One cannot depend on vendor guidelines; failure modes must be anticipated, tested, and recovery plans documented.
A key method for improving reliability is to use Storage Area Networks. SAN can be easily reconfigured and targeted toward multiple machines, and contain built-in disk reliability with RAID 5 or RAID 6. Note that, since the large majority of our search nodes will be read-only (see above), any performance penalty for disk writes in RAID configurations will further be minimized.
Search Technologies has extensively tested SAN storage and text search performance. When configured properly, the two technologies work very well together. Using proper amounts of RAM and search index caching, the difference between using SAN storage and Local, Direct Attached Storage (LDAS) can be as low as 3-5% for most text search applications.
Using SAN allows for hardware failures to be quickly overcome. Since the indexes are all on SAN, quick configuration changes are all that's required to replace a failed server node. Pre-configuring off-line nodes can further improve the speed of failure recovery so they can be very quickly swapped into place.
The above configuration allows for a maximum database size of around 2.5 billion documents. Very large indeed.
But to get to 10 billion documents and above, one will need to replicate multiple 2.5 billion document clusters, in a federated environment.
Most search systems contain some element of federation, either built into the product, or as an add-on feature. Federation allows for a search to be sent to multiple search engine clusters — each of which will search in parallel — and then the results are merged when presented to the user. Depending on how the documents are distributed amongst the clusters, the federator may wait for all searches to complete or it may present the results as they are completed.
The primary purpose of federation is to allow for unlimited growth in database size by using multiple search clusters with familiar performance and reliability characteristics. Further, it limits the impact of cluster failure. If any single cluster fails, the other clusters are untouched and can continue to return search results, providing a graceful degradation in performance even in the face of severe hardware problems.
I hope this discussion has been illuminating. Just a few years ago, I would never have considered that such large search databases could be created with off-the-shelf components.
But software, hardware, storage, and search technologies all have improved to the point that search engines for large databases can be and are being created within predictable cost and schedule estimates.
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0.738508 |
Not to be confused with 9 (2009 animated film).
Nine is a 2009 romantic musical drama film directed and produced by Rob Marshall and written by Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella. The film is an adaptation of the 1982 musical of the same name, which in turn is based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical 1963 film 8½. In addition to songs from the stage musical, all written by Maury Yeston, the film has three original songs, also written by Yeston. The ensemble principal cast consists of Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Fergie, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and Sophia Loren. The film premiered in London, opened the 6th annual Dubai International Film Festival on December 9, 2009 and was released in the United States on December 18, 2009, in New York City and Los Angeles, with a wide release on December 25, 2009. Though a critical and commercial failure, Nine was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Penélope Cruz), Best Art Direction (John Myhre (AD), Gordon Sim (SD)), Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood) and Best Original Song ("Take It All", music and lyrics by Maury Yeston).
Guido Contini is a gifted Italian filmmaker in 1965 at the famous Cinecittà movie studios in Rome. At the age of fifty he has developed writer's block and surrealistically summons all of the women in his life, alive and dead, to help him recapture inspiration, as dozens of female dancers and the film's leading ladies appear in his mind: Claudia Jenssen, his star actress; his wife Luisa; his mistress Carla; his costume designer and confidant Lilli; his beloved Mamma; Stephanie, an American fashion journalist from Vogue; and Saraghina, a prostitute from his childhood; ("Overture Delle Donne"). He avoids any clear answers when questioned by reporters about his new movie, because he doesn't have an idea for one.
Guido creates an elaborate fantasy ("Guido's Song"), where he explains that he wishes to have the naiveté of youth yet the wisdom of age. Escaping to a Spa Hotel on the Italian coast, he receives a phone call from Carla, his mistress ("A Call from the Vatican") seducing him as he listens on the other end. Later, she arrives at the spa, expecting to share his suite, but is upset to learn that she's staying in a shabby pensione by the train station. Meanwhile, Guido meets with Lilli, his costume designer, and begs for inspiration, confessing he has no script. Lilli urges him to use his film to entertain, inspired by the Folies Bergère, where she 'learnt her art' ("Folies Bergères"). Then Guido remembers Saraghina, a prostitute who danced for him and his boyhood schoolmates on a beach, teaching them the joy of life's sensual and sexual pleasures ("Be Italian"). Young Guido is caught by his school teachers/priests and punished by his principal while his ashamed mother reluctantly watches.
Back at the Spa, at dinner, he's happily surprised to see his wife Luisa. He embraces her and wishes her a happy birthday. Luisa, deeply unhappy, sings of the life of compromise she's made, abandoning her acting career to be at Guido's side in supporting his art ("My Husband Makes Movies"). She then notices Carla entering the restaurant and storms out immediately, Guido following. Luisa ignores him and leaves and, when he returns to the restaurant and sees Carla, he is furious. Guido demands Carla to leave, which leaves her heartbroken. Later, unable to pacify Luisa in their hotel room, Guido seeks out Stephanie in the hotel's bar, who describes her love for his movies though clearly from the point of view of an ignorant fashion editor ("Cinema Italiano"). She takes him to her room but, watching her undress, Guido realizes how much he cares for and needs his wife and seems to come to his senses.
Returning to Luisa he promises that he's finished with cheating. As she embraces him, the phone rings and he's called away to help Carla, who has overdosed on pills in a suicide attempt. It becomes impossible for Guido to juggle all the women and contradictions in his life. He stays with Carla until her husband Luigi arrives, then returns to the hotel to find that Luisa has abandoned him, and the crew has returned to Rome to begin filming. Distraught, he has a vision of his mother singing him a lullaby when he was young ("Guarda La Luna"). Later, in Rome, he phones Luisa from the studio and begs her to come to view screen tests the next evening. When his leading lady, Claudia, arrives and senses there is no written script, she and Guido go for a drive. Guido confesses that there is indeed no script, but he needs her to inspire one. She asks him what he wants the film to be about and his description closely resembles his own ordeal: a man lost and in love with so many women. Claudia explains that she loves him but he seems to be a man who does not know how to love ("Unusual Way").
When Guido returns to review the screen tests, Luisa also arrives and is devastated to see a clip of an actress in a scene drawn from a private memory she and Guido shared years ago. It is the last straw for her, to see him exploiting her private life so publicly before the world. In an angry and imaginary public striptease she leaves Guido for good ("Take It All"). Utterly abandoned by all those whom he has selfishly exploited, Guido finally comes to terms with the truth ("I Can’t Make This Movie"), realizing that he's lost everything and everyone and has nothing with which to make a movie. Admitting that there never was a movie, he has the set destroyed before leaving Rome. Two years later, Guido is in a café in Anguillara with Lilli and sees an advertisement for a play starring Luisa. He asks about Luisa and Lilli tells him that she's not going be to be the middle-man for them. When she asks if he will ever make a movie again, Guido answers that the only thing he would want to make would be a movie about a man trying to win back his wife.
Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini – based on Federico Fellini.
Marion Cotillard as Luisa Acari Contini – based on Giulietta Masina, Fellini's wife.
Penélope Cruz as Carla Albanese – based on Anna Giovannini, Fellini's mistress.
Nicole Kidman as Claudia Jenssen – based on movie star Anita Ekberg.
On April 12, 2007, Variety announced Rob Marshall would direct a feature film adaptation of Nine for The Weinstein Company. Marshall had previously directed Chicago for the Weinsteins while they were still at Miramax. The film was co-produced by Marshall's own production company, Lucamar Productions. In 2008, a short "teaser" for the film was featured in an episode of the Food Network show, Barefoot Contessa, with the host, Ina Garten, making breakfast and lunch for her friends, producers John DeLuca and Rob Marshall, as they edited their new film, at the end being a "preview" of their film for the host to see in appreciation. In December 2009, the film contracted the soap operas One Life to Live and General Hospital for advertising purposes. The former featured two of the characters watching one of the film's trailers on the Internet on a YouTube-esque website, and there were subtle setting alterations performed for the latter, including movie posters on the walls of various public places.
On April 4, 2008, it was reported that Nicole Kidman had replaced Catherine Zeta-Jones in the role of Claudia Jenssen, who turned down the role when director Marshall refused to expand the role for the film. The film was Kidman's first big-screen musical since Moulin Rouge! After Catherine Zeta-Jones's departure, Anne Hathaway was auditioned for the role, but was turned down. On May 14, 2008, Variety reported Daniel Day-Lewis was in talks to star in the film as Guido Contini, the film's lead character, after Javier Bardem dropped out due to exhaustion. Later, it was reported Day-Lewis sent producers a video of him singing and shocked them with his voice. On May 19, 2008, People reported the actor had landed the role. Antonio Banderas, who had starred in the Broadway revival, said he was "disappointed" at not being cast, but that he thought the trailer to the film looked great and only wished the "best" for everyone involved. Variety also reported that Penélope Cruz auditioned for the role of Claudia, but was cast as Carla, and that Marion Cotillard auditioned for Lili, but was cast as Luisa, and that Kate Hudson had also been cast in a role created specifically for her which had not been featured in the Broadway show. On July 18, 2008, People reported Fergie had been cast as Saraghina. Katie Holmes auditioned for the role of Carla Albanese and Demi Moore auditioned for the role of Luisa Contini, but both failed to win those roles. Barbra Streisand was considered for the role of Lilli, but the role went to Judi Dench.
Day-Lewis already knew some Italian (although he admitted not studying for the role at Q&A session for Screen Actors Guild) he frequently spoke the language in and out of character. According to music supervisor Matt Sullivan, "One day during shooting at London's Shepperton Studios, "Rob and I got called into Daniel's dressing room, which was designed as a 1960s film director's office," says Sullivan. 'He's smoking a cigarette, in full outfit and in character, and he's telling us how he would like to see this number that he's performing. And he's talking to us as Guido Contini. It was a really surreal experience.' " Rehearsals for the film began in August 2008, the songs were then subsequently recorded in late September and filming commenced in October at Shepperton Studios, London. The film had been set to shoot in Toronto, though once Day-Lewis signed on, the production then moved to London. Further filming took place in Italy (in the villages of Anzio and Sutri), and at Cinecittà Film Studios. Nine's schedule required Kidman to begin rehearsals just four weeks after giving birth to her daughter. The teaser trailer for the film was released on May 14, 2009.
(*) Songs not featured in the film, bonus tracks.
Guarda La Luna (Look at the Moon), a lullaby sung by Sophia Loren as Mamma. Yeston tailored this song specifically for Loren's voice, though he based the melody on the song Waltz from Nine from the Broadway score.
Cinema Italiano, a number which Kate Hudson performs as Stephanie. This has "a retro feel" with "elements of '60s pop" that demonstrate how important Italian cinema was in that era and to illustrate the shallowness and vanity of Stephanie.
Take It All, originally written as a trio for Claudia, Carla, and Luisa, but, just before shooting, rearranged as a solo for Luisa, according to music supervisor Matt Sullivan.
These are songs that appeared in the musical, but were not included in the film or in the soundtrack.
The film soundtrack peaked at number twenty-six on the Billboard 200. It also peaked at number three on the Polish Albums Chart and at number nine on the Greek Albums Chart.
The film received generally mixed reviews, although Day-Lewis, Cotillard, Cruz, and Fergie's performances were praised by critics. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 40% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 205 reviews, with an average score of 5.13/10. The critical consensus is: "It has a game, great-looking cast, led by the always worthwhile Daniel Day-Lewis, but Rob Marshall's Nine is chaotic and curiously distant." On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 49/100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The film was also a box office bomb, as it grossed just $19 million domestically and just below $54 million worldwide, against an $80 million budget. Despite less than favorable reception, it received four nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards and received other notable awards and nominations.
Nine was released on DVD and Blu-ray May 4, 2010. The DVD featured an audio commentary by director Rob Marshall and producer John DeLuca, 8 featurettes, and 3 music videos. The Blu-ray Disc included all the DVD extras including another featurette and a Screen Actors Guild Q&A.
^ "Nine (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. December 11, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
^ a b "Nine (2009) Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
^ "Dubai International Film Festival". Dubai International Film Festival.
^ Hernandez, Ernio (January 23, 2008). "Work Resumes on Script for Rob Marshall's Nine Film". Playbill News. Playbill. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
^ "Kidman and Dench Rumored To Star In 'Nine'". broadwayworld.com. Wisdom Digital Media. April 4, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
^ Fleming, Michael (May 14, 2008). "Daniel Day-Lewis eyes 'Nine' role". Variety Los Angeles. Variety. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
^ Silverman, Stephen M (May 19, 2008). "Daniel Day-Lewis Lands Nine Role". People. Time Inc. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
^ "Antonio Banderas and Laura Linney; Interview for 'The Other Man'". Youtube.com. September 3, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
^ a b c "Oscar winners abound in 'Nine' – Entertainment News, Music for Screens: Summer '09, Media". Variety. August 24, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
^ Tapper, Christina (July 30, 2008). "Fergie to Play a Prostitute in the Movie Musical Nine". People. Time Inc. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
^ "Katie Holmes and Demi Moore Audition for 'Nine' Film 2007/07/01". Broadwayworld.com. July 1, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
^ Bamigboye, Baz (June 26, 2008). "BAZ BAMIGBOYE on Gillian Anderson, Nicole Kidman, Roman Polanski and much more... | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
^ "Nicole Kidman and Daniel Day-Lewis take a spin in the Eternal City, dodging the Sixties-style paparazzi | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk. January 29, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
^ ""Nine" Soundtrack Will Hit Stores in December". Playbill.com. October 26, 2009. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
^ "Venerdì 22 Gennaio 2010" (in Italian). EarOne. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
^ "OLiS – Official Retail Sales Chart". ZPAV. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
^ "Top 50 Ξένων Aλμπουμ" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
^ "Nine". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
^ "Nine (US – DVD R1 / BD RA) in News > Releases at DVDActive". DVDActive. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
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0.99997 |
My family has stayed at all of the moderate resorts. Depending on location, the walk can be long at Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach Resort and Coronado Springs from your room to the resort's main areas.
If the walk concerns you, I would suggest looking at Port Orleans French Quarter. This resort is absolutely charming, all rooms were recently renovated and the walk from any of the rooms to the bus stop is quite short. In addition, you would have the Sassagoula Riverboat transportation to Downtown Disney.
Despite the long walks, Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort with excellent amenities. The Dig Site pool area offers a large pool, water slide, playground, volleyball court, hot tub, etc.
If walking is your number one concern, choose Port Orleans French Quarter or consider upgrading to a preferred room at Coronado. This would save you some steps as preferred rooms are closer to the resort amenities.
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0.995321 |
Consequential damages are caused when a business or party is harmed because of special circumstances. They are also known as "special damages." Damages of this kind are indirect and are not a direct result of the breach of contract.
Damages that are incurred because of special circumstances after a breach of contract are considered consequential damages. In order for damages to be recovered, the special circumstances must have been unforeseeable at the signing of the contract. These damages include any preventable damages that the seller had no part in and the buyer could have conceivably stopped.
These damages are caused when a contract is breached. Contract disputes usually won't be an effective way to recover the damages, but the damages may be recovered through a tort lawsuit. Consequential damages are typically compensable through a monetary settlement, granted that it is clear that the breaching party is at fault.
An injury that results from the side-effects of an act that caused, or resulted in the breaching are considered consequential damages. These damages must be considerable enough to warrant a guilty judgment after a lawsuit has been rendered. The act must be special, relatively unforeseen, and directed toward either personal property or an individual affected by the breaching of the contract.
These damages could also be a result of an untruthful statement related to the quality of the product being exchanged, the intentions of one of the parties involved, or an individual third party that is somehow related. Additionally, the damage could come from a privacy breach, or release of secure information.
There is often dispute over what circumstances constitute consequential damages, and what constitutes direct damages.
Consequential damages are contrasted with direct damages. Direct damages are more reasonable in situations where a contract is breached. In other words, direct damages should be expected in the case that one party breaches the contract.
These damages are considered direct if the consequences of the breaching could have been foreseen at the signing of the contract. This means that it would be understandable for either party to look forward and predict the same sort of thing happening.
Direct damages are usually simpler, more direct, and easier to handle in court. Consequential damages are the larger, more catastrophic situations that polarize the two parties and call for further legal actions. This is because the contract would typically account for the larger, foreseeable damages and treat them accordingly.
Because consequential damages are side effects and result in a situation that would typically not occur, they tend to more significant than direct damages.
Both parties that enter into a contract understand that breaches of that contract will be punishable. When one party breaches and causes damages, that party is held liable. A Limitation of Liability clause is a way to check the amount of responsibility that breaching parties must have.
Limitation of Liability clauses have a few primary functions. The clause checks the limit of how much a breaching party can be held responsible for consequential damages. When a party is hired, this clause prevents the cost of hiring from being too high. It also allows for the exclusion of some damages that may result from consequential damages.
This clause is typically utilized when companies or individuals are entering into a contract that provides a high range of possible outcomes. It could also be that the other party is unreliable. In any case, this clause is an effective way to protect against consequential damages.
If you are experiencing a case with consequential damages and you are having difficulty navigating them, it is always valuable to get advice from someone with a lot of experience.
If you need help with consequential damages, you can post your job on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.
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0.999833 |
I worked in broadcast for years. There’s a difference between revising something so it’s understandable for your audience, and completely changing the meaning of it.
If you view your audience as idiotic, you might not understand that difference. You might also find yourself worried more about graphics, and whether your document is littered with enough catch phrases.
You might also spend a lot of time in soliloquy, interrupted only by rhetorical queries to the audience about your correctness.
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0.997146 |
We present a fast, fully parameterizable GPU implementation of Convolutional Neural Network variants. Our feature extractors are neither carefully designed nor pre-wired, but rather learned in a supervised way. Our deep hierarchical architectures achieve the best published results on benchmarks for object classification (NORB, CIFAR10) and handwritten digit recognition (MNIST), with error rates of 2.53%, 19.51%, 0.35%, respectively. Deep nets trained by simple back-propagation perform better than more shallow ones. Learning is surprisingly rapid. NORB is completely trained within five epochs. Test error rates on MNIST drop to 2.42%, 0.97% and 0.48% after 1, 3 and 17 epochs, respectively.
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0.962643 |
is "meta programming" the answer ?
Consider a file. The file is a bunch of records, each with some predefined size, say 128 bits. The bits in each record hold information. For instance, bits 0-5 hold "foo" and bits 123-127 hold "bar". The records follow one another in the file in chronological order. If record B comes after record A, than "foo" had first its value in A and then its value in B, etc.
What I need to do is to decode such files, according to scenarios. The scenarios are similar in many ways, but also different in several ways. An example scenario is - look for "baz" throughout the file, and if it changed from X to Y, report something. Etc. For different scenarios, "foo", "bar", X, Y are all different, sometimes in subtle ways.
For now I have 4 scenarios, and my implementation is extremely ugly - a whole function for each scenario. There's a lot of duplication in there... Many more scenarios will be added, and I fear that my code will turn into a ball of mud. Therefore, I'm trying to think of some advanced solutions.
What I have in mind at the moment is some form of meta-programming. That is, to define some language that describes these scenarios, and write just one program that reads a "scenario", takes a file and runs the scenario on it.
This way I will have just one generic scenario running code, and multiple scenario description files, with minimal duplication between them.
Defining the "scenario description language". A config file ? A simplified programming language (I will need IFs and stuff...) ? This may be quite complicated.
How to reflect the subtle differences between the scenarios... This is very task specific, and I fear that even if I define the language, I will have to constantly adjust it as long as scenarios with new complications appear.
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0.997688 |
Why is it so hard to break away from some patterns of living? Sometimes we get stuck in a rut and form a white-knuckle death grip on habits and patterns. At times I find myself just existing rather than living a deliberate life. I think we all fight the monotony of the everyday grind. Some say that life is about doing what you want to do. I think there is some truth to that, but at the heart of that ideal is the temptation for the person to live a life focused inward. Being selfish or living a life miserably for someone else's sake isn't really living either, there is a balance. Doing what has to be done is a necessary part of life, but there needs to be purpose, a plan, and a deliberate (examined) approach to decisions. Anyone with small children understands that life is not always fun, entertainment, and personal time. Personally, all the selfish "what about me?" thoughts melt away (and they are there every now and then) with one smile from my 2 year old, with one squishy hug from my 4 year old, or with one "Dad, I love you" from my 6 year old. There is something unbelievably satisfying about pulling into the driveway after work and having at least two of my little boys run out the front door screaming "DADDY!"
Concerning selfishness, I'm not necessarily sure it's having kids that makes all the difference, though I think it can make it much easier to forget yourself (I highly recommend the experience for lasting happiness). Having children demands sacrifice, but if you do not require children to be a better giver and a more compassionate person, than you my friend are far ahead of this selfish old codger and are headed in the right direction. Thank goodness for moments, people, and experiences that jolt me and shake me out of the inward patterns of living. Sometimes the blinders are slowly removed from our eyes, one small portion at a time. Other times they are ripped away, but either way we are helped and we can see there is so much more to life than our daily routines. It is hard to do, but when I break away from the plain, selfish, and unexamined and try to focus on others, I find I am truly happy, not always entertained, but truly happy.
The day started with a pretty laid back feeling, something I'm not used to for a day dedicated to fishing. About 10 o'clock the van was all loaded with our gear, and Will and I were on the road. After two trips back home for forgotten knickknacks we picked up Mark. This was to be Mark's second time fly fishing and so we planned a day trip for a small creek full of hungry little trout.
Birch Creek is an excellent location for beginners. Just 20 minutes outside of Mud Lake, Idaho it has 15 miles of easily accessible water. It is very wade-able, holds many smaller wild rainbows and brook trout up high, and is heavily stocked with planters down lower in the campground stretch. It fishes about the same year round, and isn't touched by the runoff. It really is a neat place, and one of the reasons I grew to love fishing so much.
It's been years since I have really fished it, since I usually opt for a bigger quarry, but it felt great heading back to a place I consider my homewaters. Sometimes it is easy to forget that these kinds of fisheries are what generate a love for the sport. The drive up through the desert is enjoyable this time of year since it is in that small window where much of the desert is green with new life.
After arriving, we geared up and tied on big royal wulf patterns. Will was excited to get on the water, despite the chilly breeze.
Will got hooked up with a couple small nymphs and a thingamabobber since it was so windy. I pointed to a small barbwire fence upstream a bit and encouraged will to go try by it while I helped Mark figure things out. Not but a minute after he started casting Will was yelling "Hey Dad, I got one!" I went and helped him release the little rainbow and returned to helping Mark. Will kept catching fish all by himself throughout the day. I was sure proud of him. You don't hear of too many 6 year olds who can hold their own with a fly rod. I did get hooked twice and spent a decent amount of time untangling knots and line from bushes, but I'll trade those hazards anytime for a smile like the one on this kids face.
One of the biggest treats for the day happened toward the end. We had been fishing up higher for the smaller, wild trout, so we decided to go downstream and scope out the campground to see if there were any holdover planters. My grandma loves fish, so we wanted to bring a few home for her. After wading a short distance toward the top of the campground I couldn't believe what I thought I was seeing. Stoneflies (salmonflies) were hatching! I was blown away! I had no idea Birch Creek, a tiny creek in the middle of nowhere, had stoneflies. They were everywhere, so I quickly tied on one of the three patterns I happened to have with me and indeed the fish were keyed in on them! The fish were small, but the takes were remarkably aggressive.
We wandered around, looked at the big bugs hatching, fished here and there, kept a small handful of fish, and by that time the light was failing. Will begged to make some more casts so I let him take my rod for a bit while I cleaned the fish. We then loaded up the car, munched down some cold sweet watermelon slices, and began the trek back home.
Stomach contents: a few adults and a bunch of nymphs.
It was an amazing day. I love watching my son grow to love fishing. I had to laugh when he didn't want to stop. I caught a glimpse of myself at his age, with all the happiness it brought me, and thought if this is what it's like to break away, I need to do it a whole lot more.
I have always enjoyed your blog. I am amazed at all of the huge fish you catch. Those posts are great, but this post with your boy is the absolute best. Way to go dad.
This article really resonated with me. I too struggle with selfishly wanting to pursue my own 'serious fishing' knowing full well that I won't be able to bring my kids along. My current compromise is to fish by myself once every other weekend and that's it until my kids get a little older. I hate it at times but know full well that spending quality time with my little kids is ultimately way more important. But yeah... I really loved reading about the small stream success with your boys. What a great day! Great pics too!
Thanks Seth. The struggle is real. My boys are now getting old enough that they can keep up better, and are more independent in their fishing. I look forward to them becoming even more independent with time. It is getting easier to take them along.
With you teaching them - if they have an passion for it at all - they are going to be some seriously excellent anglers. I can't even imagine.
Also, I appreciate the depth of some of your posts. And I'm talking about the ones that are only tangentially related to fishing. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill fishing blog.
Anyway... keep it up. Your blog is a 10/10.
Thanks again for the kind words Seth.
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0.998629 |
I am technically a twenty year old woman. I say "technically" because I am not at all feminine. I am completely flat-chested and built like a man. I prefer to dress in men's clothing, wear my hair short and spiked like a man, hang out with men over women (I hate shopping and other girly-girl stuff). From the baseball cap I wear on my head to the Michael Jordans [sneakers] I wear on my feet, I look like a man, just a baby-faced one. My problem is that, since graduating high school where I knew everyone and starting a college where I do not, I now get mistaken for a lesbian, which I am not; or hit-on by straight women who think I am a guy, which is also upsetting. Short of wearing a sign that declares me to be a heterosexual woman, do you have any ideas on how to get around this awkward issue?
From the description you give, you fit the description of a female transvestite (which is the scientific term for your style preferences). Among cross-dressers (the preferred term) you are in the minority - most are men who dress as women - but are also among the more socially accepted of the gender diverse.
The fact that you are mistaken for a man by straight women can be corrected by adding simple touches that will not compromise you as a person (for example, jewelry and perfume). If you are truly uncomfortable wearing anything that signals that you are female, you can work towards altering people's perception of you through your use of vocabulary. For example, instead of saying "I have to use the bathroom" you can say "I have to use the ladies' room", thus signaling that you are female by birth. You do not have to be a "girly girl" or dress in pink for the world to understand that you are female; but you will have to make an effort to identify yourself as a straight woman if that is how you wish people to see you.
Most people are accustomed to dividing people into one category OR another; so when someone comes along who fits one category AND another it can be difficult for some to process. Before a woman - straight or lesbian - works up the courage to hit on you, she probably sends out signals that she is interested (flipping her hair, gently touching your arm, etc.). By learning to read these signals, you can self-identify as a straight woman before the conversation takes a turn for the embarrassing.
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0.999996 |
The best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get the flu vaccine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine every year. It’s especially important for high risk persons, including young children, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions and those 65 years and older, to get the vaccine.
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0.999997 |
I haven't done a medical update in a while, mostly because I don't really have any answers. My hospital stay a few weeks ago was due to pain. I've had pain ranging from the side of my right leg above my knee up to my lower right back, near my kidney. The pain was unmanageable at that time from home and I had to go into the hospital. I was there for a few days having tests run and managing the pain. The ultrasounds and leg MRI did not give any results. I also had my ureteral stent exchanged. I actually had my MRI immediately following my stent exchange, this will be important information: I was well medicated going into the MRI machine at St. V.
The following week I had to get additional MRI testing. The daily pain was, and still is, persisting. I was hoping that the additional MRI would give us some answers. This time my MRI would take about an hour and a half. I can safely say it was the worst test experience I've ever had! I got in there and had my port accessed, all is well. Then I got situated into the MRI machine. They had me move my legs apart more and then tilt my toes towards each other, then they taped my feet together so they would stay aligned. They set me up with headphones and my music of choice: Jack Johnson. Headphones in place and it was time to go.
The MRI was so loud and isolating that I can only describe it as torture. I really don't say that to be dramatic. I thought while I was in there that this is what a person would need to do to me in order to get information out of me. The would just have to put me in a running MRI machine. That is it. So, now you know the trick to gathering information from me. MRI.
When they infused the contrast dye it felt funny, but, really all contrast dye feels and tastes funny. When she got me back into the machine I started sneezing and my tongue was tingling. I squeezed the "emergency ball" and they pulled me out quickly. After about ten minutes the symptoms subsided and I was able to resume my scan. It went well through to the end.
I waited and called the nurse late the next afternoon. It was funny because everyone else was saying I hope that the "results are good" and I was over here thinking "I hope they show a problem so we know what this pain is for." Well, the scans were good. No bone mets, which was a concern. My hip and lower back don't show definitive answers for why I'm having this pain.
Tomorrow I have a CT scan to see how the clinical trial is progressing. In the mean time I really don't have any updated information or answers but I know several people wanted to know how the MRI went.
More to come as I have information.
I was able to travel to Boston to properly say goodbye to Jillian, if there is such a thing as a proper goodbye. I was honored to be able to speak and let her family and friends know that Jillian's story would live on. She will continue to make a difference. The Cervivor Community will not forget Jillian and we will make sure that her story is not forgotten.
I honestly am still processing the fact that Jillian is gone. It is hard to imagine that I can't pop onto messenger and run a new treatment option past her to see if she thinks it is something worth trying. I can't imagine never seeing her at another Cervivor event. Being her roommate was hilarious and fabulous in DC. I am grateful for the time I had with her.
I woke up at around 2:00 this morning in the hotel room and I turned on my phone, I wish I hadn't. I turned it on to find that another Cervivor Sister passed away. Late last night Lisa passed away. I quickly found myself crying alone in the hotel room. It is just too much, too fast. I just talked to Lisa on messenger on Saturday to start planning another visit to northern Indiana to visit her. It had been a few months since I had been to her house and it was time to have a face to face chat time again. Saturday. I just talked to her Saturday. The last thing she said was "how is your trial going", it is amazing to me that even in the final days this is where the conversation turned. Lisa and I had similar stories as well. Her story will not go with her, the Cervivor Community will continue to share it.
That is really all I can write for now. Like I said, it is all too much too soon. Too much to process. I am going to go for a walk, catch a plane back to Indiana, and continue to try and process the loss of these two Cervivor Sisters. These Cervivors who both should know, your story has made a difference. Your story will continue to make a difference.
I have been putting off posting this blog, as a matter of fact, I started this blog in July 2016. I didn’t publish it for a few reasons. Firstly, I didn’t have a name for it. I wasn’t thrilled with Bucket List. I thought of a name but decided against it because it wasn’t appropriate to be saying in front of my son…”I completed this and I’m marking it off of my _ _ _ _ list!” When I finally settled on a name I realized it had been staring me in the face the entire time. My blog is all about living life, so, I now have my Living Life List.
Another reason I didn’t share it is that I was scared. I was scared of what others might think. I was scared I might not complete it all. Mostly, I was scared to think in any capacity about my future. I have decided three things: if people think negatively about this I don’t need them in my life, if I don’t complete it all that is okay, and finally I can’t let cancer prevent me from making future plans and/or goals. So, here is my Living Life List!
Help Pass a Cervical Cancer Law – Check!
Be on Live TV – Check!
Have an Article Published in a Magazine – Check!
Volunteer with FD1 – Wyoming in September – Here I come!
Go Skydiving – I am terrified of heights but I like to push myself past my comfort zone.
Drink Around the World @ Epcot – Check! Woohoo Mallory!
Take my family to Universal – Now that I went to Universal I am hooked. I want to take JR and Wylee! I want Wylee to be able to be fitted for a wand and have the entire Harry Potter experience.
Spend the Night at Lego Land in Florida – this is the number one thing that Wylee continues to ask to be able to do.
Ride in a Helicopter – Check! Man, the view of the Vegas strip was amazing!
Spend a weekend in Nashville, Indiana with my family & Mom, Jerry, sisters, brother-in-laws, niece, and nephews. I want to be able to take them horseback riding, to the indoor water park, and spend the night in a family cabin.
Spend a weekend on vacation with my family and Pops, Iryna, and Artem. Maybe a weekend in Chicago or on a fishing excursion on the great lakes.
A friend that I met through Facebook reached out to me and asked if I would be okay with her organizing a fundraiser for my family. I told her absolutely but I wanted it to be clear that the money would be going to making memories and not to medical bills. So, at the start of June she began the campaign to raise funds that my family can use for making memories. She asked me what some things I would enjoy doing would be. It was really hard to think of things I wanted to do but hadn’t done; I think I am not creative, or I don’t think big enough? So, I worked on a wish list of things I would want to do, things to add to my Living Life List.
If you are interested Sarah is extending her fundraiser through the end of July and has had some individuals partner up with her, the link will be in the comments. There will also be a LulaRoe Fundraiser coming up soon which will have the proceeds donated.
I really ask one thing of you. Each of you reading this, can you do me one thing? Can you pick something off of your own personal list, whatever you call your list, and complete it by the end of 2017? Let me know in the comments which item off of your own list that you will be completing! I can’t wait to see all the amazing things you want to do!
I have been on the search for a clinical trial since April. If you haven't had this experience let me tell you that it has been an ordeal. I found one clinical trial that looked like a great match, I would have to drive to Chicago, but it looked like a good match. We had gone through the process of getting all of my files transferred and reviewed and scheduled for me to go up and get testing done. I actually scheduled my appointment to go in for the testing and then two hours later received a phone call that the other cancer center had filled the spot and I could call back in August. August? Really? Who knows where my cancer will be by August.
Onward to trial attempt number two. I contacted a company twice the week I found out I couldn't get into the first trial to see if I could get into another trial which is based out of another location in Illinois. Unfortunately I was not eligible for that trial due to the fact that I have had Carboplatin on two separate occasions during my cancer treatment.
Onward I went. When I contacted my gyn oncologist office we determined that there were two options for me. One would be to see a doctor at Simon Cancer Center at IU in Indianapolis about phase 1 clinical trial options and another would be to try another type of chemotherapy that I had not tried yet. We opted to look at phase 1 clinical trial options.
I woke up today and felt the anxiety. I guess I should be happy that the anxiety about the situation took until today to kick in. I made it to the cancer center to see Dr. O'Neil at Simon. He is a multidisciplinary oncologist who focuses on trials. When I went in the first thing he asked was how I am doing, I told him "I'm pretty stressed today, I don't know what would be worse for you to tell me there's no options for you OR for you to tell me there are options but we don't know what will happen." The answer was the latter worry. We have options, but of course in the nature of a clinical trial we don't know what will be happening.
There were many discussions, one was about where to biopsy if we needed a biopsy. I pointed to an area in my neck and said that my PET scan had shown a spot in that area previously. He asked if I could feel it, I told him no. He then he felt and said he could feel it. I am going to be honest. Every time my hand is near my neck now I have to feel that spot. I cracked up when I told him that is all I could feel now. I mean really, it is the first spot of cancer I have been able to feel externally. It shouldn't be funny, but at this point it is.
The choice we made is to try and get me onto two different treatments in conjunction with each other: BBI503 and Pembrolizumab (Keytruda). The BBI503 treatment is a newly discovered drug that may treat cancer by killing cancer stem cells, a highly malignant subpopulation of cancer cells that are though to be responsible for metastatic cancer. This would be used in conjunction with the immunotherapy medication Keytruda, if approved. The thing about immunotherapy is when it works, it can work for a long time. When it doesn't work...well lets just say that my cancer has a ways to grow before we have to worry about that. Onward to finalizing this clinical trial!
Two years ago today I was in remission. In my memories today popped up the picture shown here. I was heading in for a PET scan, a regularly scheduled PET scan. I was nervous but I had just received three months earlier the news that I was cancer free. I was nervous but I also thought there is no way the cancer is back so soon, I shouldn't be worrying.
I read through my hashtags that are on this picture. One stands out to me #CancerSurvivorProblems. I have a problem with calling my self a cancer survivor. I really struggle with the word, in spite of what everyone else expresses to me. I claim Cervivor, I claim thriver, I claim continuous cancer; claiming survivor is hard for me.
This PET scan is the one that revealed I had cancer for the third time. This time there wouldn't be an "easy" solution, or any solution. This time we would transition to keeping the cancer at bay the best we could. This time, I would start living my life more intentionally.
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This code parses Wikipedia XML data into HTMLtext to display inside a field.
"You can view and copy the source of this page:"
Click the button and XML is converted to HTMLtext.
Notice that the conversion is imperfect, but works as a starting point for future development.
This code parses Wikipedia XML data into HTMLtext to display inside a field. Notice that you could paste the XML data copied from a Wikipedia webpage into the field labeled "Wikipedia XML Data". For example, you can copy the source from this wikipedia webpage: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Computer&action=edit Please copy the Text field under the phrase: "You can view and copy the source of this page:" Click the button and XML is converted to HTMLtext. Notice that the conversion is imperfect, but works as a starting point for future development.
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I hate mushrooms! Can I omit them?
Yes, you can omit without any consequences or substitutes.
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(CNN) — Imagine jet-setting from Tokyo to Paris, enjoying first-class travel, a four-course dinner and a city tour -- all without leaving the ground.
This isn't a sci-fi fantasy. This is the future of air travel according to Japanese company First Airlines, which has harnessed the power of virtual reality to create dream vacations.
Passengers avoid the costly airport transfer, the baggage fees or busy airport terminal -- and instead enjoy the perks of business or first-class travel and a luxurious tour of Paris -- all while remaining stationary in Tokyo.
As well as the City of Light, First Airlines also offers the virtual destinations of New York, Rome and Hawaii.
First Airlines replicates the inside of a real aircraft.
At just 4,980 yen ($46) for business class and 5,980 yen ($56) for first class -- these two-hour flights are far more affordable than their real-life counterparts.
"For me, it's difficult to have a trip because of the cost like time and money," First Airlines manager Hirokai Abe tells CNN Travel.
"If I can easily access the airport and take a flight even though it's virtual, I thought it would be so cool."
The food served depends on the "destination."
After boarding, guests can settle down for the two-hour flight on their state-of-the-art Airbus seat -- surrounded by decor that mimics the inside of an aircraft, for maximum realism.
"There is flight service and VR, foods, music for every destination," adds Abe.
Passengers will be served a delicious meal by air stewards, alongside drinks and other snacks.
The menu depends on the destination of choice -- Manhattan clam chowder and cheesecake for New York and salmon tartar and onion soup for Paris.
Upon "arrival," guests can enjoy a 360-degree tour of the destination -- all thanks to projection mapping and video.
The flights are targeted at those limited by cost or health.
It makes for a supposedly stress-free vacation, perfect for those whose ability to travel abroad is limited by cost or health.
Virtual reality is becoming increasingly omnipresent in the world of travel -- allowing travelers to enjoy the wonders of the world, all without leaving their house.
Tokyo-dwellers keen to experience First Airlines can book a trip on the website, with reservations currently being taken until April 2018.
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Which is better Precision or Archers Focus?
Kiting is some of the best defense around.
Thus my vote is 100% for precision.
You have to choose between IPS and Archer's Focus though.
Assuming you have a feat shortage, I'd go with Archer's Focus. You can kite with it though you lose the benefits slowly, but the added damage from Archer's Focus helps kill stuff quickly. If your party has a tank or can just keep the main baddie in one place, Archer's Focus will add a ton of damage.
As others stated, you can have both active simultaneously; it isn't an either-or proposition. [AF and IPS are mutually exclusive, though.] But if for some reason you have to choose between Precision and Precise Shot (which is what grants AF), which is better is situational: Precision's -25% Fortification makes it more useful vs high-Fort targets; OTOH, AF's stacking dmg bonus is more useful against low-/zero-Fort mobs if you're stationary the whole time and not using Manyshot. So AF's more useful to, say, an arty who parks in the rear pew-pewing mobs like a stationary gun turret than to a kiting monkcher.
If I could only take one, it would be Precision; but if you're playing any sort of serious ranged build, you really want Precision+Prec Shot+IPS if you can squeeze them in.
looks like the OP could clarify a bit more--is it a feat shortage? What is the build?
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The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and—at least 200,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. In the Kingdom of Kush and in Ancient Egypt, the Sahel, the Maghreb and the Horn of Africa.
Following the desertification of the Sahara, North African history became entwined with the Middle East and Southern Europe while the Bantu expansion swept from modern day Cameroon (West Africa) across much of the sub-Saharan continent in waves between around 1000 BC and 0 AD, creating a linguistic commonality across much of the central and Southern continent.
Madeira in a 17th-century map.
The borders of Mali are those of French Sudan, drawn in 1891. They are artificial, and unite part of the larger Sudan region with parts of the Sahara.
the territory of what is now Kenya has seen human habitation since the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic. The Bantu expansion from a West African centre of dispersal reached the area by the 1st millennium AD. With the borders of the modern state at the crossroads of the Bantu, Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic ethno-linguistic areas of Africa, Kenya is a truly multi-ethnic state.
Do you have a question about History of Africa that you can't find the answer to?
Areas controlled by European powers in 1939. British (red) and Belgian (Orange) colonies fought with the Allies. Italian (green) with the Axis. French colonies (dark blue) fought alongside the Allies until the Fall of France in June 1940. Vichy was in control until the Free French prevailed in late 1942. Portuguese (brown) and Spanish (teal) colonies remained neutral.
Arab slave traders and their captives along the Ruvuma River in Mozambique along the Swahili coast.
A traditional Zanzibari-style Swahili coast door in Zanzibar.
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Shu (蜀), also known as Shu Han (蜀漢), is one of the three influential kingdoms in the Dynasty Warriors, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dynasty Tactics series, and Kessen II. In the Dynasty Warriors franchise, the kingdom is symbolized by the color green and a Chinese dragon as a reference to Qinglong. Shu is sometimes symbolized by peach blossoms, a reference to the Peach Garden Oath. Also in the Dynasty Warriors series as of the seventh installment, Shu is the faction that has the most playable characters.
Shu was ruled by Liu Bei, who, along with his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, spent most of his life in exile wandering from lord to lord to escape Cao Cao, until finally seizing the lands of Shu from his cousin Liu Zhang to establish his kingdom. Shu was also comprised of Hanzhong and Jingzhou. Jing was subsequently conquered by Wu in 219 A.D. In 263 A.D after years of war between Shu and Wei, the Kingdom of Shu Han fell.
The cause of Shu's fall has been debated often over the years. Some attribute it to Jiang Wei's foolishness and political corruption, and some attribute it to Shu's poor lands, which were mountainous and rugged.
In the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the kingdom of Shu experienced many troubles, and many triumphs. Before gaining land of his own, Liu Bei had joined the other influential figures against Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turbans, and also against Dong Zhuo. During that time, Liu Bei gained many followers, including his future oath brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. To gain a strategist, Liu Bei visited the hermit Zhuge Liang three times. On the third visit, Zhuge Liang agreed to help Liu Bei on his conquest. With the advice of his new ally, Liu Bei gained lands from relatives, and took his own.
Around the year 208, at the naval battle of Chibi, Zhuge Liang had allied with Wu to attack a common adversary, Wei. Zhou Yu, Wu's strategist, devised a master plan with Shu to burn Wei's ships down. While Shu strategist Pang Tong was placed into Wei, in order to persuade the enemy, Zhou Yu tortured a Wu veteran, Huang Gai, making it seem like the latter would turn against his force. Wei believed this trick, and welcomed Huang Gai into their army. Pang Tong had made the Wei army chain their ships together, and when the time was right, Huang Gai and his following unit lit one Wei boat on fire. Zhuge Liang had prayed at an altar for winds to spread the fire, and because of Pang Tong's chain strategy, the Wei fleet had burned to the sea.
In 219, Lu Meng, a strategist for Wu, had gained the land of Jing. Guan Yu, who had been attacking near there at the time, was captured by the alliance of Wu and Wei, and was executed. This enraged Liu Bei, who, in the novel, had sworn along with Zhang Fei and Guan Yu to die on the same day. Ignoring advice from others, Liu Bei went for the attack on Wu, and was met with no success.
In the year 220, Cao Pi seized the imperial throne, and declared that it was the Wei Dynasty. In response, Liu Bei proclaimed himself the new Han Emperor. A few years after, however, after many battles, including the loss at the Battle at Yiling, Liu Bei died of illness. The Shu kingdom's rule was succeeded by Liu Shan, Liu Bei's son. Zhuge Liang had made several invasions to the north, including the Nanman Campaign, but it was a failure. On the sixth attempt, Zhuge Liang, prime minister of Shu, passed away of illness.
Zhuge Liang was succeeded by many, but the last successor was Jiang Wei. He tried to continue the former strategist's plans to invade the north, but each time, he was left with fewer men and supplies. In 263, Wei campaigned against Shu one last time, and succeeded. Jiang Wei tried to rebel, but was killed. Liu Shan, however, gave up and retired, after being named the Duke of Comfort. Many nobles and commoners alike were displaced, and fled.
Liu Xiong - Liu Bei's grandfather, eventually became an imperial guard in Yanzhou.
Liu Yuandi - Liu Bei's uncle, born in Yanjing, given name unknown. When Liu Bei was a child, he sent his son and Liu Bei to study with Lu Zhi. His wife stated her discontent with Liu Bei studying with her son, but he ignored her complaints.
Liu Deran - Liu Yuandi's son, given name unknown. Went to study with Liu Bei as a child.
Liu Hong - Liu Bei's father, served as a clerk in Yizhou. Went to live with a rich family.
Liu Yong - Liu Bei's second son, mother unknown, style name was Gongshou. Mutually antagonistic with Huang Hao. Surrendered with Liu Shan.
Liu Li - Liu Bei's third son, mother unknown, style name was Fengxiao. Married Ma Chao's daughter. Died of illness in 244.
Liu Feng - Liu Bei's adopted son who served his father as a general.
Liu Xuan (劉璿) - Liu Shan's eldest son, married Fei Yi's eldest daughter, style name was Wenheng. Was crowned prince but died during Zhong Hui and Deng Ai's revolt.
Liu Yao - Liu Shan's second son. Surrendered after the fall of Shu Han. Killed during the massive outbreak of riots that followed the War of the Eight Princes.
Liu Cong - Liu Shan's third son. Surrendered after the fall of Shu Han. Killed during the massive outbreak of riots that followed the War of the Eight Princes.
Liu Zan - Liu Shan's fourth son. Surrendered after the fall of Shu Han. Killed during the massive outbreak of riots that followed the War of the Eight Princes.
Liu Chen - Liu Shan's fifth son. Was crowned prince and tried to convince his father to fight to the death to defend Shu. Liu Shan threw him out of the court and Liu Chen was ashamed by his father's decision. Visited ancestral remains before killing his family and himself.
Liu Xun - Liu Shan's sixth son. Not much more is written about him.
Liu Qu - Liu Shan's seventh son. Suffered the same fate as Liu Yao, Liu Cong, and Liu Zan.
Liu Xuan (劉玄) - Liu Yong's grandson, father unknowzan. Fled the riots that killed Liu Shan's sons and lived in Shu. Became a vassal under Li Fu's grandson. A Jin vassal, Sun Sheng, last reported his whereabouts in Chengdu. Since there are no other records about his family or children, he is considered to be the last relative of this branch of the Liu family.
Empress Gan - First wife of Liu Bei. Mother of Liu Shan. Later named Empress Zhaolie.
Lady Mi - Second wife of Liu Bei and younger sister of Mi Zhu.
Lady Sun - Third wife of Liu Bei and Sun Quan's younger sister.
Empress Wu - Fourth wife of Liu Bei and younger sister of Wu Yi.
Two unnamed daughters - Liu Bei had them under unknown mothers. Historically captured at Changban by Cao Cao's army before Zhao Yun rescued the rest of Liu Bei's stranded family.
Lady Xiahou - Wife of Zhang Fei and the mother of Liu Shan's consorts.
Empress Zhang - First wife of Liu Shan. Zhang Fei's daughter. Mentioned in Romance of the Three Kingdoms to have been wed when she was 17.
Empress Zhang - Second wife of Liu Shan. Zhang Fei's daughter, younger of the two daughters.
Concubine Wang - Mistress of Liu Shan. Liu Xuan's mother.
Consort Li - Mistress of Liu Shan. Said to be favored by him. Said to have been sent to Wei after Shu's downfall to be given to another man. In the story, she refused to accept further humiliation and killed herself.
unnamed daughter of Liu Shan - Wife of Zhuge Liang's son, Zhuge Zhan.
unnamed daughter of Liu Shan - Wife of Fei Yi's son, Fei Gong.
unnamed daughter of Liu Shan - Wife of Guan Xing's son, Guan Tong.
Guan Yu - long-time devoted follower and blood-brother of Liu Bei, killer of Yan Liang, head of the Tiger Generals.
Zhang Fei - long-time follower and blood-brother of Liu Bei, repelled the armies of Cao Cao at a stand-off at Changban Po.
Zhao Yun - former officer of Gongsun Zan, savior of Liu Shan.
Ma Chao - son of Ma Teng, enemy of Cao Cao and head warrior of an esteemed family.
Huang Zhong - former officer of Liu Biao then Liu Bei, victor over Xiahou Yuan.
There is an absence of an explicit mention of the title and the recognition by Liu Bei in official documents. At the same time, there is a possibility that the generals received the rank posthumously via way of Liu Shan. The Records of Three Kingdoms, however, compiles the biographies of the five within the same chapter and the text's author, Chen Shou, gives an analysis on them collectively. It is also interesting to note that in 219 AD, after Liu Bei appointed himself the King of Hanzhong, the generals with the exception of Zhao Yun were promoted into consecutive high-ranking positions.
The novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms could be another source for the grouping. Chapter 73 gives a passing mention of how they were to become known as the "Five Tiger Generals" after Liu Bei ascended into the role of King of Hanzhong, not unlike history. The rank itself had no administrative or military duties attached to it, so the bestowment is generally seen as one of prestige and as one which would inspire fear into the hearts of enemies, especially considering the meritorious careers of the honorees.
The Four Heroes, or Four Ministers, are a circle of ministers accredited with stabilizing the Shu administration. They were all respected greatly, for the most part trusted by Liu Shan, and were relatively high-up in the civil hierarchy for their kingdom. The term does not seem to refer to any official position, but rather simply as a grouping among the Shu people. It is mentioned in an annotation from Dong Yun's Records of Three Kingdoms entry.
Zhuge Liang - long-time adviser for the Liu clan, established alliance with Wu, served as co-regent for Liu Shan, led punitive southern and northern expeditions, steadied policies for the kingdom, advanced to General-in-Chief.
Jiang Wan - recommended as a successor by Zhuge Liang, fair in administrating, advanced to Commander-in-Chief.
Fei Yi - ambassador to Wu, favored by both Sun Quan and Zhuge Liang, attentive in administrating, humble, advanced to General-in-Chief.
Dong Yun - remonstrated excess thus was feared by Liu Shan, kept Huang Hao from power and was also feared by him, was entrusted with Liu Shan early on.
The Five Retainers are five generals of Shu who Zhuge Liang, while on his deathbed, advised Yang Yi to retain after his death. In some translations of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is portrayed as an actual title rather than a passing suggestion.
Liao Hua - former Yellow Turban, lived to see the rise, establishment and collapse of Shu.
Ma Dai - cousin of Ma Chao, slayed the traitor Wei Yan.
Wang Ping - former general of Wei, brave and competent in strategy, but illiterate.
Zhang Ni - brave general, sacrificed his life to save Jiang Wei.
Zhang Yi (Bogong) - friend of Liao Hua, one of Jiang Wei's top generals during the final years of Shu.
Lady Fan - Called Fan Shi in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games. Wife of Zhao Fan's brother. Declined in marriage to Zhao Yun.
Lady Hu - Wife of Liu Yan.
Lady Xun - Mother of Xu Shu, she committed suicide when her son defected to Wei.
Lady Huang - Also called Huang Yueying. Zhuge Liang's wife..
Cuan Xi - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 91. Adviser in Zhuge Liang's second campaign against Wei.
Deng Tong - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 97. Mentioned to have died in the Hanzhong campaign.
Ding Xian - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 91. General in Zhuge Liang's second campaign against Wei.
Du Rui - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 102. Sent by Zhuge Liang to supervise the building of Wooden Oxen.
Du Yi - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 91. Adviser in Zhuge Liang's first campaign against Wei.
Gou An (苟安) - not to be confused with the actual general Gou An (句安). Appeared in chapter 100. Disobeyed Zhuge Liang's orders and was beaten 80 times. Defected to serve Cao Xiu.
Guan Suo - Guan Yu's third born fictional son.
Han Zhen - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 94. Guarded the Xiping Pass against the Qiang tribes.
Hu Ban - Fictional follower of Cao Cao. Hu Hua's son. Helped Guan Yu's escape and was later invited to serve Shu.
Lady Cui - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 102. Wife of Liu Chen and commits suicide to join her dead husband.
Lady Li - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 117. Wife of Ma Miao who killed herself when he surrendered to Wei.
Lady Xu - Mother of Xu Shu. In the novel, she committed suicide after her son was tricked into serving Cao Cao.
Li Hu - Possibly fictional. Appeared in chapter 118. Was sent carrying the Shu terms of surrender to Deng Ai.
Lu Xun (盧遜) - Defeated Zhong Hui at Nanzheng, but was later killed by Xun Kai.
Meng You - Meng Jie's younger brother.
Pei Yuanshao - Former Yellow Turban who tried to steal Red Hare from Guan Yu. Quickly surrendered and introduced Zhou Cang to the general.
Su Shuang - Appeared in chapter 1. Donated horses to Liu Bei's army.
Yan Yan - Historically treated as a guest but no distinct records state that he served Shu.
Bao Sanniang - Guan Suo's first wife in Hua Guan Suo Zhuan.
Cai Mao - Did not join Shu historically.
Cai Wenji - Did not join Shu historically.
Guan Yinping - Guan Yu's fictional daughter.
Huang Xiaoyu - Original character from GREE in 100man-nin no Sangokushi. A young girl who serves as Zhuge Liang's apprentice. According to her flavor text in Sangokushi Legion, she yearns to have a more sisterly relationship with Yueying.
Ma Yunlu - Originated in the Fan Sanguo Yanyi, she is Ma Teng's daughter, Ma Chao's sister and Zhao Yun's wife.
Mei Mei, Li Li, and Luo Luo - Original characters from Koei, fictional interpretations of Zhang Fei's daughters.
Mei Sanniang - Original character from Koei.
Wang sisters - Originated in the Hua Guan Suo Zhuan, their names are Wang Tao (eldest) and Wang Yue (younger). They are both daughters of Wang Linggong, a thief in Sichuan. Unlike their father, however, the sisters were virtuous and considered heroes. Guan Suo only heard of their father's reputation and captured the elder Wang sister. Wang Tao grew to admire his strength and they were soon married. Wang Yue followed her sister and they became his second and third wives. They are said to have fought by his side in battle and were said to be with Bao Sanniang at Jiameng Gate.
Sima Ken - Original character from Koei.
Xingcai - Original character from Omega Force.
Xiaolan (小蘭) - Original character from Koei in the manga Sangokushi Koumei Den. Entering Zhuge Liang's household as a maid, her real identity is Qilin, an assassin sent by Cheng Yu. Initially intent on taking his life when the opportunity presented itself, she came to sympathize with the strategist and defected from her employer as a result.
The description of Shu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms is internationally popular in folktales and fiction.
One of the best references to Shu in other fiction would be Water Margin, one of the four classic Chinese epics. In Water Margin, Guan Yu had a fictional grandson, Guan Sheng. He mirrored his ancestor's appearance and inherited his grandfather's weapon, Green Dragon Crescent Blade. Guan Sheng was fifth rank among the 108 stars and was nicknamed "Large Blade". Another character named Lin Chong was described to nearly match Zhang Fei in appearance and also wielded the same snake lance. Lin Chong was the rank after Guan Sheng, nicknamed "Panther Head", and also had an oath brother named Lu Zhishen. Yang Xiong, who was another of the 108 stars, was also known under the nickname "Ill Guan Suo".
Additionally, both Guan Sheng and Lin Chong were two of the Five Tiger Generals of Mount Liang.
In Japan, the famous three visits that Liu Bei did to recruit Zhuge Liang is adapted for Hashiba Hideyoshi and Takenaka Hanbei. The Taikoki recorded Hideyoshi visiting the hermit three times to appeal to him. Their "Guan Yu" was Hachisuka Masakatsu (Hachisuka Masatoshi's eldest son) and their "Zhang Fei" was Maeno Nagayasu (Tsubouchi Mitsukage). Mitsukage was said to have highly favored Masakatsu and they became sworn brothers.
In select Chinese accounts of Japanese history, Hideyoshi's intellect was compared to Zhuge Liang and Tokugawa Ieyasu's physical might was compared to Guan Yu.
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Whether adding a deck onto your home or sprucing up an existing one, railings can make all the difference in terms of design. Sure, you can stick with a traditional rail and baluster, but other options exist in wood as well as in metal and glass. Check out the following information and examples of interesting railings for inspiration.
Caps - Think of railing caps as an accessory for your deck. They sit on top of the posts, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can even serve as a multipurpose feature. This example from Better Homes and Gardens shows caps with built-in low-voltage lighting that not only add to the ambiance of a deck, but also provide safe passage for those navigating the path at night.
Contrasting Colors - A uniform stain suits certain decks well, but a top railing of a different color complements many architectural styles. This example from Houzz shows a dark stain on the rail atop white balusters. A railing with a color that contrasts the color of the deck surface also works well. Another example from Houzz shows a white railing on a deck with a darker stain.
Patterns - Incorporating a pattern other than traditional vertical balusters also adds interest to a deck railing. A starburst pattern, as shown in this example , uses a cluster of balusters at the bottom center of the rail and fans them out. A Chippendale rail uses an X pattern with diagonal balusters, such as in this example from Better Homes and Gardens.
Metal deck railings allow for a nearly unobstructed view of the surrounding landscape. In this example from Better Homes and Gardens, a simple wrought-iron railing accommodates the visual, and the homeowner even added wrought-iron furniture to match. Steel also works well with a wood deck, especially when horizontal slats create a streamlined aesthetic, as seen in this example from Houzz and this one from Better Homes and Gardens. Other metals such as bronze and copper complement a modern architectural style well, such as in this example from Better Homes and Gardens.
Glass railings offer the least amount of visual interference. The glass used must be safety tempered and shatter resistant, and it can be tinted to help birds avoid hitting it. As it must be custom fitted, glass proves an expensive option. A glass deck will preserve any type of view, and often can be found on waterfront properties. This example from Houzz shows a glass deck railing allowing for a full view of San Francisco Bay.
No matter which elements you want to incorporate into your deck railing, be sure they complement each other and the deck and that they don't create too busy of a visual. Simply make a list and gather images of features you like before meeting with your professional handyman. Together, you can come up with a solution that suits both form and function, as the railing must also meet all safety requirements.
How to Make a Small House Seem Bigger Why is Tile Repair Important?
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Can you explain more about the verse in Ecclesiastes that says all is vanity?
The book of Ecclesiastes is about man’s search for happiness and meaning in life. We see the phrase “under the sun” 29 times in this book, for King Solomon’s search for purpose in life and true satisfaction was limited to “this world.” He tried everything there was to try “under the sun” and in the opening verses he gives us his conclusion. We read in 1:1-2, “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jersusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” The word “vanity” means “meaningless” or “empty,” so Solomon was declaring that there was absolutely nothing in this poor world that has real meaning; it is empty and thus it fails to fill the void that is in every human heart. Let’s look at some of the things “under the sun” that Solomon tried.
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Are you a highly professional office services manager interested in a full-time, permanent role in San Francisco, CA? This role starts at 7:30am sharp, so we especially want to hear from you if you are a cheerful morning person! You will be responsible for all conference room set up and hospitality services, including ordering all food and catering for events and lunches, maintaining cleanliness and presentable meeting spaces, maintaining coffee and pantry supplies, general office organization, employee and client event planning (including set up, participation during, and break down), serving food prepared by caterers and setting up beverage stations for groups ranging from a few to several hundred, and other tasks as assigned. You will also be responsible for reception relief, mail management, faxing, and other administrative tasks as assigned. The ideal candidate will have a highly polished and professional demeanor with a cheerful, no-task-too-small attitude.
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Any suggestions for a DIY locksmith?
TOM: Oh, Spencer. I hope that at the very least, you've learned one of life's most important lessons: Never listen to your younger brother about anything!
RAY: My brother's just still miffed about the time I convinced him that he could get rid of his zits by painting them with a laundry marker.
TOM: I'm not sure I really have any good ideas for you, Spencer. I assume you've tried to fit a pair of tweezers in there. But the key slot is really too small for you to be able to use them, even if they do go in.
RAY: Well, the solution is obvious to me: fire. Wood burns, right? You need to stick a lit match in the keyhole, and ignite the piece of wood. It'll burn up, turn to ash, and the problem will be solved.
TOM: Spencer, if you saw how mad your father was when he found out about the wood, just imagine how he's going to react when he finds his entire car burnt to a crisp. Don't listen to my brother, Spencer! He's a younger brother, remember?
RAY: All right, here's another idea. Get a long pin. Using needle-noise pliers, bend the tip of it 90 degrees. Then try to stick the end of the pin into the piece of wood, and fish it out that way. Or, you might try going to the drugstore and getting a dental tool that has a point on the end. If the shaft is thin enough, it'll be a stronger version of the pin-tool.
TOM: Well, you can try it, Spencer, but I suspect, in the end, you're going to have to call a locksmith. It'll cost you $50, which you'll have to work off by mowing lawns.
RAY: Or just break into your father's wall safe and take the money. You can break in using a piece of wood, you know.
TOM: Spencer, go out and earn the money and get the lock fixed. And consider it a small price to pay for an important lesson about brotherly advice.
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In a religious context, Dark Lord usually means Satan or other similar entities who hold power over lesser fiendish creatures and seek to disrupt the comfort and lives of people.
In fantasy novels, Dark Lords have become something of a cliché stemming from the success of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, in which the main antagonist, Sauron, is often referred to as the "Dark Lord". On occasion, the people of Gondor in Middle-earth refer to Sauron as "The Enemy" or "The Nameless Enemy" despite knowing his real name; arguably starting the practice of avoiding pronouncing a Dark Lord's actual name. In fact the name Sauron, meaning the Abhorred, itself is already a mockery of his actual name given him by his enemies, with his original name being Mairon, the Admirable. He was known by this name before joining Morgoth's forces, and continued calling himself Mairon. In Tolkien's legendarium, Sauron is the second Dark Lord; he was the lieutenant of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth (also a title or epithet meaning "dark enemy"), until the latter's defeat. Morgoth's original name was Melkor (he who arises in might). Following the example of Sauron, Dark Lords in fantasy are always depicted as immensely powerful and implacably evil creatures with a great desire for power. One example of a powerful Dark Lord in the world of literature is the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, earning his place as a Dark Lord having surpassed the magical abilities of any other dark wizard before him, thus he is considered not a Dark Wizard but the first and only Dark Lord within the Harry Potter franchise, being so powerful and evil that his enemies even dreaded to speak his name. Dark Lords have a negative effect in their worlds, throwing them into ruin and despair. Sauron, for example, turned Mordor into a "wasteland where the very air saps one's will". He planned to do the same to all of Middle-earth. Dark Lords have mostly been male, with few exceptions such as the White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia, who casts the world into an eternal winter but never Christmas.
Dark Lord characters do not often engage in direct conflict with protagonists. They are dark gods, demons or rulers of lands who exist in other dimensions, and/or maintain a dark, inaccessible fortress. They rely on a vast network of minions, often with an extremely hierarchical structure. In Star Wars, "Dark Lord" is a rank achieved by those who become Sith Lords as in the "Dark Lord of the Sith". The most recognized Dark Lords of Star Wars are Darth Sidious, and Darth Vader.
The frequency in which the Dark Lord cliche occurs spawned the Evil Overlord List, a website satirizing the mistakes of Dark Lords and major villains. Frequently, antagonists in fiction will display numerous Dark Lord mannerisms while belonging to another genre of the fictional villain, and some pertain to more than one genre. An example is Davros from Doctor Who, whose position as the creator of the Daleks and later ruler of their empire marks him both as a Dark Lord and a mad scientist.
In comics, villains are usually considered Dark Lords either by the format of the story in which the villain appears or because of the villain’s modus operandi. For example, Ming the Merciless, Thanos and Darkseid are alien despots and could fall under the category of alien invaders. However, they exist within stories of such operatic nature, with elements of swashbuckling adventure and mythological analogy, that they are considered specifically to be Dark Lords. Alternatively, comic book villains The Kingpin and the 1990-era Lex Luthor could be considered modern-day versions of a Dark Lord, but more closely fall under the categories of a crime lord or a mad scientist, respectively. This is mostly due to these characters traditionally seeking a public identity as a businessman or a philanthropist, while keeping their criminal activities secret. This is at odds with one of the hallmarks of a Dark Lord, which is that they act from or deliberately seek out a position of legal authority, albeit often self-appointed, and even their most nefarious deeds are often performed publicly.
A recent example can be found on the television series Once Upon a Time, where the title "The Dark One" identifies someone with prolific magical powers whose life and powers are bound to a dagger bearing their name as an inscription. Whoever possesses the dagger can control the Dark One, but if they kill the Dark One with it, they become the new Dark One themselves. In this series, the first Dark One was Nimue the lover of Merlin. For 1000 years the Dark Ones have terrorized the people of the enchanted forest leading up to the current Dark One, Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold.
Many fantasy games, as well as some of the science fiction genre, feature a Dark Lord who rules over one faction in the game. While this character is often the antagonist and final boss, some RPGs, such as Dark Souls, allows the player to earn this title for themselves. As this would often make the player character be in-charge of the game's hordes of enemies the moniker is usually granted at one of multiple endings. In order to make sequel games, this is often considered the non-canon ending, as in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but some games, like Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, use this ending to turn the powered up anti-hero into the series' new antagonist.
Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold from Once Upon a Time — He and his predecessors were known under the title of the "Dark One".
Shai'Tan from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time fantasy book series; also known as the Dark One, Old Grim, Father of Lies or Heart of the Dark.
The White Witch (Jadis) from The Chronicles of Narnia.
^ The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien.
Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 Aŋra Mainiiu) is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 (Anglicised pronunciation: ). Angra Mainyu is Ahura Mazda’s adversary.
Dave the Barbarian is an American animated television series created by Doug Langdale for Disney Channel. The show centers on a barbarian named Dave and his friends and family, who go on surreal Medieval-themed adventures. The series premiered on January 23, 2004 and ended on January 22, 2005, with a total of one season and 21 episodes. Reruns aired from January 23, 2005 to December 28, 2009. Reruns have also aired on Toon Disney until February 13, 2009 when the channel shut down.
The Gita Govinda (Sanskrit: गीत गोविन्द) (Song of Govinda) is a work composed by the 12th-century Indian poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna and the gopis (female cow herders) of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha.
The Gita Govinda is organized into twelve chapters. Each chapter is further sub-divided into twenty-four divisions called Prabandhas. The prabandhas contain couplets grouped into eights, called Ashtapadis. It is mentioned that Radha is greater than Krishna. The text also elaborates the eight moods of Heroine, the Ashta Nayika, which has been an inspiration for many compositions and choreographic works in Indian classical dances.
Jamie Thomson is a British writer, editor and game developer, born 14 November 1958 in Iran and winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012.
Waverly Walter Alford III (born August 18, 1977), known professionally by his stage name King Gordy, is an American horrorcore emcee from Detroit, Michigan. He is a current member of underground rap groups the Fat Killahz and Last American Rock Stars. He is currently signed to Twiztid's Majik Ninja Entertainment.
Lord Voldemort (, in the films; born Tom Marvolo Riddle) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in J. K. Rowling's series of Harry Potter novels. Voldemort first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was released in 1997. Voldemort appears either in person or in flashbacks in each book and its film adaptation in the series, except the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, where he is only mentioned.
Voldemort is the archenemy of Harry Potter, who according to a prophecy has "the power to vanquish the Dark Lord". Nearly every witch or wizard dares not utter his unmentionable name, and refers to him instead with such expressions as "You-Know-Who", "He Who Must Not Be Named" or "the Dark Lord". Voldemort's obsession with blood purity signifies his aim to rid the wizarding world of Muggle (non-magical) heritage and to conquer both worlds, Muggle and wizarding, to achieve pure-blood dominance. Through his mother's family, he is the last descendant of wizard Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is the leader of the Death Eaters, a group of evil wizards and witches dedicated to ridding the Wizarding World of Muggles and establishing Voldemort as its supreme ruler.
In Japanese mythology and fantasy, mazoku (魔族) are supernatural beings, normally evil ones such as devils or demons. A maō (魔王) or maou is a ruler of mazoku, or in fiction more generically a dark lord or powerful monster.
Ragnarok the Animation is a Japanese-Korean anime television series based on the MMORPG Ragnarok Online. The story happens in the same world of Rune-Midgard. An evil entity called the Dark Lord wants to create chaos in the world with the help of seven crystals that represent the seven ambitions (also known as the Seven Strengths) who sealed him away years ago.
It was produced in the first quarter of 2004 and was broadcast on TV Tokyo in Japan. In 2005, it was broadcast on SBS in Korea. It has 26 episodes.
The Philippine and Brazilian distributor of the game, Level Up! Games, Inc., cooperated with ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation for local licensing and distribution rights of Ragnarok the Animation. The anime series was first premiered in the Philippines on ABS-CBN on October 11, 2004, airing right before TV Patrol. It was the very first anime that aired on the network's Primetime Bida evening block.
On January 22, 2007, FUNimation Entertainment announced the U.S. license of Ragnarok on the website's Kickoff 07.
Soma Cruz, known in Japan as Sōma Kurusu (来須 蒼真, Kurusu Sōma), is a fictional character and the protagonist of Konami's action-adventure games Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, part of Konami's Castlevania video game series. He was designed by Ayami Kojima as part of producer Koji Igarashi's desire to try a "different route" for the Castlevania series. His return in Dawn of Sorrow was due to Igarashi's satisfaction with Soma and the storyline in Aria of Sorrow, and he was redesigned with a new anime appearance.In Aria of Sorrow, Soma is an 18-year-old transfer student studying in Japan (or simply a Japanese high school student, in the Japanese version), where he finds himself in the castle of Dracula, the principal antagonist of the Castlevania series. Soma discovers his "power of dominance," or his ability to claim the souls and abilities of the monsters he defeats as his own. As the game's story progresses, Soma learns of Dracula's demise, and that he is his reincarnation, and destined to become Dracula again (a position Graham Jones desired for himself before he was killed by Soma). The only reason he did not become the next dark lord immediately was due to the efforts of Alucard, using the pseudonym Genya Arikado. Soma eventually defeats the chaos running through the castle, narrowly missing both his own corruption and his possible death at the hands of Julius Belmont. Dawn of Sorrow features Soma fighting the attempts of a cult to slay him and create a new dark lord when one did not surface during the events of Aria of Sorrow.Several video game publications have praised Soma's character. Although Soma himself was viewed as a stereotypical echo of previous Castlevania protagonists, the new context that the storyline Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow provided for him rectified this. The storyline in particular that Soma was situated in was compared to the storyline of the widely acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The switch to an anime character design in Dawn of Sorrow was notably criticized, as many reviewers preferred the designs made by Ayami Kojima.
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(CNN) — A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck central Philippines on Tuesday, leaving at least 49 people dead and rattling many who were celebrating a religious holiday.
The quake, which struck early in the morning, crumbled a number of buildings and sent panicked people streaming into the streets, witnesses said.
At least 15 were killed in the city of Cebu, four were killed in the province of Bohol and one died in the province of Siquijor, said Maj. Reynaldo Balido,a spokesman for the Philippines Office of Civil Defense.
Most of those killed were hit by falling rubble, the Philippines News Agency reported.
At least 33 people were missing, and authorities were checking into reports of people trapped in collapsed buildings in Cebu and Bohol, the agency reported. Another 164 were injured, authorities said.
The quake was centered about 385 miles (619 kilometers) south-southeast of Manila, near Catigbian, and its depth was 12 miles (20 kilometers), according to the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Maryann Zamora, a communications specialist with the charity World Vision, reported seeing glass and concrete in the streets of Cebu City, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) north of the epicenter.
Tuesday was a national holiday — the beginning of the Muslim festival of Eid ul Adha.
There was no widespread threat of a tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, but it warned that earthquakes this large can sometimes cause tsunamis within 61 miles (100 kilometers) of the epicenter.
Catigbian, which has a population of 23,000, is in the province of Bohol.
Tourist Robert Michael Poole said he was riding a bike in Bohol when the earthquake struck and cracked the road right in front of him.
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Over five million people in the UK live with arm weakness - approximately one million of them following a stroke, plus others who have neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. Arm weakness contributes to physical disability that requires expensive long-term care. For example, treatment for stroke costs the NHS £9 billion a year, which is five per cent of the total NHS budget. The only intervention shown to improve arm function is repetitive, task-specific exercise but this is limited by the cost and availability of physiotherapists.
The clinical trial was carried out at Charing Cross Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare Trust, between 2014 and 2015. The team is now carrying out a feasibility study in North West London to test the use of the device in patients' homes.
Lead researcher Dr Paul Bentley, who is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust , said: "In the UK 100,000 new cases of arm weaknesses are diagnosed each year following a stroke. Often this impairs people's ability to carry out daily activities, requiring long-term care. The use of mobile-gaming could provide a cost-effective and easily available means to improve the arm movements of stroke patients but in order to be effective patients of all levels of disability should be able to access it.
"We have developed the gripAble™ device to improve arm and cognitive function of patients who have mild to severe arm weaknesses. Unlike other therapies currently on the NHS, gripAble™ is a low cost device which can be used in hospitals and independently by patients at home. As such it could potentially help save the health service millions of pounds. We now intend to further develop the device so we can help more patients who are currently suffering from the effects of poor arm and upper body mobility."
The gripAble™ device is an example of the work of the Imperial Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC). This is a partnership between Imperial College London and three NHS Trusts, which aims to improve patient outcomes by harnessing scientific discoveries and translating them as quickly as possible into new diagnostics, devices and therapies, in the NHS and beyond. The researchers are working with Imperial Innovations, the College's technology transfer partner, to spinout gripAble™ as a digital healthcare start-up to commercialise the device.
Article: Democratizing neurorehabilitation: how accessible are low-cost mobile-gaming technologies for self-rehabilitation of arm disability in stroke? Rinne P, Mace M, Nakornchai T, Zimmerman K, Fayer S, Sharma P, et al., PLoS ONE, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0163413, published 5 October 2016.
London, Imperial College. ""Virtual physiotherapist" helps paralysed patients exercise using computer games." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 6 Oct. 2016. Web.
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What is the difference between Java 8 stream reduce() and collect() method?
1. reduce() method always creates a new value whereas collect() method updates or mutates an existing value.
2. reduce() performs reduction whereas collect() performs mutable reduction.
And using collect(), we calculate sum as follows.
4. In parallel processing reduce() and collect() both uses combiner. reduce() works as follows.
//Here result will be 2*2 + 2*3 + 2*4 that is 18.
And collect() works as follows.
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Swimming holes can be described as natural water bodies like streams, rivers, springs, etc. that are suitable for swimming. Oceans and lakes are not included in this category, for the reason that they do not contain freshwater. Swimming holes were mostly used in olden times. With the increase in the number of artificial swimming pools, the popularity of these natural swimming pools has decreased. However, people are once again resorting to enjoying swimming in the natural environment.
According to Pancho Doll, who traversed 25,000 miles in search of swimming holes, and who is the author of Day Trips with a Splash: Swimming Holes of California, an ideal swimming hole offers privacy, depth, and height. Other features are that of having a ledge to jump from, and a surrounding rock which provides a nice and cozy enclosure.
Peekamoose Blue Hole: The Rondout Creek is where this swimming hole is located. A deep pool where water flows down from a rock opening is the main feature of this place.
Vernooy Falls: 'Catskill Nature Preserve' is the place where Vernooy Falls is located. Situated in scenic natural environment, this swimming hole is surrounded by a camping area; the water is cold throughout summer.
Wilmington Gorge: This gorge is formed by a high fall. The Wilmington gorge is located at a point where the West Branch Ausable River crosses route 86 (RT 86). The gorge takes form of a small waterfall, and finally a deep swimming hole.
It is not advisable to swim alone. Getting any kind of help during emergency situations becomes difficult.
Entering unknown waters barefoot can be risky; the sharp edges of rocks/pieces of glass may lead to injuries.
Stepping into areas that don't offer a clear view could be dangerous. Possibility of snakes hiding in crevices and other such places are possible.
Swimming in upper pools of a waterfall poses a danger of swimmers getting washed off.
Standing directly under the waterfalls too is risky. Small pebbles and rocks are washed off waterfalls.
Acts like climbing alongside the waterfalls have resulted into most number of deaths near swimming holes. One should completely avoid doing any such activity.
Drinking alcohol at these places can lead a person to lose control; this might cause injuries.
Beware of stagnant water; the possibility of contracting amoeba infection increases manifold in such kind of water bodies.
Swimming holes are perfect places to enjoy holidays in the summers.
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The objects present in our environment evoke multiple conflicting actions at every moment. Thus, a mechanism that resolves this conflict is needed in order to avoid the production of chaotic ineffective behaviours. A plausible candidate for such role is the selective attention, capable of inhibiting the neural representations of the objects irrelevant in the ongoing context and as a consequence the actions they afford. In this paper, we investigated whether a selective attention mechanism emerges spontaneously during the learning of context-dependent behaviour, whereas most neurocomputational models of selective attention and action selection imply the presence of architectural constraints. To this aim, we trained a deep neural network to learn context-dependent visual-action associations. Our main result was the spontaneous emergence of an inhibitory mechanism aimed to solve conflicts between multiple afforded actions by directly suppressing the irrelevant visual stimuli eliciting the incorrect actions for the current context. This suggests that such an inhibitory mechanism emerged as a result of the incorporation of context-independent probabilistic regularities occurring between stimuli and afforded actions.
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What are some ways to deal with lack of organization?
People with Autism often struggle immensely with organization. Many people think organization relates to a person’s tidiness. However, it is actually much more than that.
For example, time management is especially difficult for many children with Autism to grasp and put into practice; and yet it is a necessary skill in most areas of life.
School attendance, class assignments, doctor’s appointments, bill payments, and medication schedules are just a few of the many areas that depend on proper time management. And that is just one fragment of organizational skills.
It is important to start young, if possible, teaching your child good organizational skills. This is not an easy skill to teach since it is heavily influenced by the child’s inner perception of time and space. It is never too late to begin making gains in this skill set. Here are some tips that may help you on your quest in conquering organizational skills.
* Use visual aids to support your child’s organizational efforts. Use a monthly calendar with large blocks for each day’s activities and appointments. Make it your child’s responsibility to add items to the calendar and to check them off once complete. Printed checklists and schedules can also help. Since children with Autism are often very visual, use pictures as well as words for these checklists and schedules. This will help your child internalize the information.
* Breaking down assignments and other obligations can make it easier for your child to handle them. For example, an assignment or project that is due in two weeks can give your child a sense of non-urgency. He may delay the assignment until it’s too late. Having the same assignment broken down into several steps can mean success instead of failure.
* Read books to learn more about teaching organization. Have your child read books on the subject if he is old enough.
Learning to organize your physical space can help you learn to organize your mental space. Clutter, whether it is physical or mental, creates confusion and even anxiety. While organizational skills originate within your mind, forming a plan that organizes your child’s room, desk, closet, and bathroom may help motivate him in other areas of organization. It is definitely worth a try!
How can we help our daughter with Asperger’s cope with everyday stress and be happy?
Children with Asperger’s Syndrome often appear unhappy. There are several reasons for this. Anxiety, social skills difficulties, and sensory issues are just a few of the everyday stressors your child may be facing. Learning to cope with everyday stressors and to be genuinely happy are necessary for your girl’s future. To do this, she will probably have to work hard to go against her natural temperament. It will not be easy; however, it is absolutely possible.
The inflexibility of the mind is a characteristic of Autism. This means your child cannot simply overlook the little things that go wrong throughout the day. Many of us take for granted the daily activities and situations that cause a child with Asperger’s Syndrome major anxiety. For example, not having the usual breakfast item available can cause the child to struggle all day long. Running out of time during a test, having a substitute teacher, and sitting in a different seat on the bus are other day-ruining stressors that seem like simple inconveniences to most of us. They all pile up causing so much stress and anxiety for your child that she may be in the middle of a full-blown meltdown by dinnertime.
As a parent, you want nothing more than happiness and success for your child. That is what makes this so difficult. The only way you can fix it is to find ways to offer support and strategies that make your child’s life easier. Here are a few suggestions.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an excellent technique to use for many of the symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome. Anxiety, depression, obsession, and compulsion are some of the most common issues tackled with CBT. This therapy allows the child to understand the connection between her thoughts and her actions. We act the way we do because our thoughts and emotions influence how we perceive certain events. A behavioral therapist uses this knowledge to help the child learn techniques to change her thoughts, therefore changing her reaction to stressful situations.
Talk therapy can help your child release negative feelings by talking to a trained professional counselor. It is best to find a counselor who has experience working with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.
Medication is sometimes needed to control anxiety and depression. Talk to your child’s physician or psychologist about the possibility of antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications.
There are published resources available for families who choose to avoid these types of interventions. Some people cannot afford private therapies or choose not to medicate. Many books teach CBT techniques you can do at home. Videos like Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Behavior Mapping (click the blue link to learn more) (DVD format) can help you get started.
How do we help the outside world learn about Asperger’s, while getting our son to accept criticism?
Even though Asperger’s Syndrome awareness is truly growing, there is still a great lacking of understanding within the general public. When people hear Autism, they automatically think of the movie, “Rain Man”. It is difficult to understand the complexity of the spectrum of Autism if you are not educated on the condition. It is unfortunate that public awareness will come only when the condition reaches epic proportions. People just cannot understand without direct knowledge. The only thing we can do is continue trying to educate our communities, one Autism family at a time.
Criticism is difficult for most people to hear and many people are excessively quick to criticize anything they do not understand. No one wants to be misunderstood and then criticized. Eventually, the negativity will play a major role in your son’s well-being. It would be great if you could find ways to educate your community and reduce the criticism your son has to endure. Here are a couple of ideas.
Some parents choose to speak to the child’s classmates and teachers privately. Set up a time to visit your son’s classroom without his presence. Talk about Asperger’s Syndrome and allow the attendees to ask questions. Understanding your son’s struggles will help his classmates know how to treat him. This is your chance to explain your son’s lack of social skills, his language struggles, and his sensory issues. Do not forget to talk about his many positive characteristics, too. If you have trouble speaking to groups, you can use a video to start the presentation. The Power of Words: How we talk about People with Autism Spectrum Disorders Matters! by Judy Endow, MSW may be a good choice.
Team up with your local Autism support organization to hold open Autism awareness meetings. Begin an awareness campaign by holding these meetings, mailing out brochures, and inviting support group leaders to speak at your church and school.
Do not forget about social media! Use your Facebook and Twitter accounts to educate your followers about Asperger’s Syndrome. Post facts about Autism, examples of things your son endures, and links to educational websites.
As the awareness grows in your community, the volume of criticism your son endures should lessen. However, there is no way you can eliminate it completely. You can help your son come to grips with the unpleasant situations using positive talk and behavioral therapy techniques. A quick Internet search for cognitive behavioral therapy will reveal many resources for home use.
I recently interviewed Dr. Scot Standifer who is an Autism and Asperger’s Employment Specialist from the University of Missouri.
What are the 3 biggest things preventing many people with Asperger’s in getting good permanent jobs?
“A good question! Of course, without hard data, I’ll just have to give my impressions.
One of the things that excites me about autism/Asperger’s employment is that a large proportion of the accommodations needed to support this diverse group in the workplace are basic accommodations that are useful and appropriate for… everyone.
Time and again, we hear that when a business builds autism supports into its work environment, the neurotypical co-workers really like the changes, too.
My short hand for this effect is “autism leads the way” – these are things that we have known for years were not best practices, but we have been able to get by without addressing them.
But folks with autism/Asperger’s force us to rethink and make things better. So the number one barrier, I’d say, is the standard job interview process.
Nobody likes the standard job interview process.
Even the people GIVING the interviews don’t like doing it. We just haven’t though up a better way before now.
I know I have hated the few job interviews I’ve had to do. It is bad for everyone, but a MAJOR barrier for people on the spectrum.
Now a few innovative companies are changing this. AMC Theatres is starting to use a “walking interview” that better accommodates the need for concrete questions and examples when talking with someone on the spectrum.
Ordinarily I would say the next barrier is social situations on the job, but those challenges tend to emerge after a person has the job, and you asked about getting jobs.
Number two, then, would be the lack of understanding between voc rehab counselors and people on the spectrum. I have heard so many stories of bad experiences, and it just breaks my heart.
Every time I hear about an autism/Asperger’s group trying to start up projects to help employment and there is no connection to local voc rehab, I get frustrated. Voc rehab counselors and agencies definitely need to understand people on the spectrum better and do the (usually simple) things to accommodate them.
But the autism/Asperger’s community needs to also recognize that these employment professionals do know A LOT about what works and does not work in finding jobs and supports for people with disabilities. Both sides are at fault, and both need to do a better job of learning about the other. There is so much potential here.
I am not saying that everyone must have voc rehab help to get a job – clearly many people accomplish it on their own. And I know that in some parts of the country state voc rehab has not been supporting people on the spectrum well at all. I am saying that if we can make better connections between these two groups, job prospects for people on the spectrum will get much better.
For people with Asperger’s in particular voc rehab counselors often do not understand why the person needs help: they can speak well, they usually have good school records and often a college degree, and they seem to be functioning well.
I am working hard to try to educate these counselors and the state agencies overall about the significant impact of Asperger’s and the need for “social coaches” instead of job coaches.
Number three barrier is related – bad transition services.
We know that people with autism, including people with Asperger’s, often need more time to deal with changes in routine and their environment. The transition from school to work is one of the biggest changes any of us makes in our lifetime.
For people with autism/Asperger’s, the transition process needs to start two, three, or even four years before graduation and voc rehab needs to be involved if at all possible.
And, again, “autism leads the way” – almost everyone struggles with the transition from school life to work, almost everyone could use a couple of years of preparation and career exploration before leaving school (either high school or college).
Welcome to the 67th edition of “The Parenting Asperger’s Newsletter”.
He gave me some great tips and named a number of big companies in the USA who are starting to operate employment schemes that include people with ASD (including the movie chain AMC).
Next week on the blog I’ve devoted a big article to the area of employment and Asperger’s.
One of the most crucial requirements for success in life is the ability to fit in, to go with the flow. This is not something that comes naturally for people living with Asperger’s Syndrome. It must be taught, and can be, with the right tools and attitude. Focusing on social and living skills during therapy or at home is a great place to start. Click the following links for read more about fitting in and independence during childhood and adulthood.
I hope this month’s newsletter has intrigued you and provided new and useful information.
And as always … please send in any inspirational stories, any questions that you would like our team of experts to answer, any topics that you wish to be discussed, and news stories that you want to share VIA THE BLOG.
We will publish as many as we can.
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It is well established that all PKC isoforms except the two atypical isoforms (l and Z) require phosphatidylserine and DAG for optimal enzyme activity (Nishizuka 1995; Bataini and Mochly-Rosen 2007). The finding that PKC has strict stereospecific requirements for both of these membrane-resident lipids suggests that the lipids interact stereospecifically within binding pockets on the enzyme. Phosphatidyl-L-serine is greatly preferred over its enantiomer phosphatidyl-D-serine (Newton and Keranen 1994), but a high degree of cooperativity in the response to this phospholipid has made it difficult to define a single site of interaction with PKC. 1,2-Diacylglycerols bind to one or both of the C1 domains (C1a or C1b), whereas the enantiomeric 2,3-diacylglycerols do not bind or activate (Sreekumar et al. 1997), nor do the isomeric 1,3-diacylglycerols. Among the C1a/b-containing PKC iso-forms, substantial variation exists in terms of the affinity for DAG as well as C1a/ C1b subdomain interactions. For example, the affinity of C1 for DAG in the conventional PKC isoforms is relatively low, but together with Ca2+ bridging between C2 domains and membrane phosphatidylserine, these interactions are adequate to ensure selective lipid targeting as well as relatively long duration anchoring to membranes (Corbin et al. 2007; Oancea and Meyer 1998). The novel PKC isoforms that lack a Ca2+-binding C2 domain display a much higher affinity for DAG, a difference that can be traced to a single amino acid change in the binding pocket (Dries et al. 2007). This high-affinity interaction with DAG effectively increases the residence time for activated PKC once it binds to a target membrane. This difference in the C1 lipid binding domain may play a key role in anchoring certain PKC isoforms to DAG-rich subcellular compartments such as the Golgi (Giorione et al. 2006).
The importance of Ca2+, DAG and negatively charged phospholipids for subcellular targeting of PKC isoforms should not be underestimated. Localized and transient elevations of DAG are produced by a variety of phospholipase C isoforms with considerable diversity in their regulatory properties (Drin and Scarlata 2007). Similarly, a variety of mechanisms are known for producing localized and transient Ca2+ elevation. Phosphatidylserine may not change rapidly in response to environmental cues, but the DAG precursor phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) does undergo rapid and transient changes that can dynamically influence PKC targeting. The potential for complex isoform-specific control of PKC activity at a membrane surface is substantial without the need to invoke scaffolding proteins. Moreover, other lipids such as ds-unsaturated fatty acids, lysophospholipids, ceramide and phospha-tidic acid are known to influence PKC activity with some preference for certain iso-forms over others (Huang et al. 1997; Pi and Walker 2000).
Studies of defined lipid mixtures using physico-chemical methods have revealed that the physical properties of membranes have a large impact on PKC function (Jimenez-Monreal et al. 1999). Membrane curvature, head-group spacing, head-group hydration, acyl chain fluidity and the presence of non-bilayer structures such as hexagonal phases have all been correlated with PKC activity (Dibble et al. 1996; Sando and Chertihin 1996; Corbin et al. 2007; Escriba et al. 2007; Jimenez-Monreal et al. 1999). A common feature of these physical characteristics of lipids targeted by PKC (small head groups such as DAG, high membrane curvature as in small vesicles, and bulky unsaturated acyl chains) is crowding of acyl chains within the hydrophobic core of the bilayer. An intriguing hypothesis is that such lateral crowding forces can cause local "splaying" of membrane lipids such that individual acyl chains are squeezed out of the bilayer (Escriba et al. 2007). This unusual hypothetical structure featuring acyl chains protruding away from the membrane surface could then be stabilized by acyl chain-binding proteins such as PKC.
This kind of correlation between physical properties of membranes and membrane protein activity is not unique to PKC, but is common among enzymes that function at the 2D boundary between the cell membrane and aqueous cytosol (Hurley 2006), such as phospholipases (Drin and Scarlata 2007) and proteins involved in membrane fission/fusion (Adreeva et al. 2006). Lipid heterogeneity within cell membranes is well documented with the inner leaflet known to contain regions with a high level of phosphatidylserine, PIP2 or DAG (Escriba et al. 2007). With their unique physical properties such as high charge density, divalent cation binding and a tendency to form non-bilayer structures, such lipid mixtures could play a major role in PKC targeting and subsequent substrate phosphorylation, even if such lipids come together only transiently.
Lipid rafts are cell membrane subdomains containing a unique combination of lipids such as cholesterol and sphingolipids, often stabilized by specific proteins (Michel and Backovic 2007). Caveolae represent one type of lipid raft characterized microscopically as cell surface invaginations and biochemically as detergent insoluble membrane microdomains rich in the small oligomeric scaffolding protein caveolin (Couet et al. 1997a,b; see also Patel et al., this volume). Caveolae may play a role in transcytosis across epithelial cell barriers, endocytotic recycling of surface molecules or organization of signaling pathways (Michel and Backovic 2007). PKC isoforms have been shown to interact reversibly with cave-olae in cardiac myocytes and to stimulate phosphorylation of other signaling molecules in the vicinity (Rybin et al. 1999), but it remains unclear how the lipid requirements for PKC activity are met in this environment. The more traditional view is that signaling proteins [e.g., kinases, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs)] are inactive when associated with caveolae (Couet, et al. 1997b). Small peptide sequence motifs that mediate interactions between caveolin and PKC isoforms have been described (Couet et al. 1997a). Other lipid rafts rich in PIP2 and phosphatidyinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3) have been suggested to play a key role in establishing cell polarity in conjunction with aPKCZ and PI3-kinase/ PTEN (the kinase and phosphatase that interconvert these polyphosphoinositides) (Comer and Parent 2007), although membrane proteins almost certainly play a role (see below).
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Presentations designs in slides or PowerPoint Presentation are files used to show in full screen on computers, any type of information ordered in several screens properly called slides or slides.
At the beginning they were used in projectors to present and expose audience reports, now they are used to communicate almost any information either using a PC, a Laptop or a small Notebook.
They can contain text, images, graphics, videos, sounds, links to internet pages and other elements. Slideshows have become very popular, due to the ease of creating and the possibility of grouping different formats into a single file.
Another advantage is that they visualize almost exactly how they were created. The favorite program to create and show them is PowerPoint, included in the famous suite of Microsoft applications, although there are other alternatives, even free and completely free.
Start Office, the default theme of the new presentation is: “Blank presentation”, without background or effects. If you want to use another one, in the Design view, choose the theme among the available ones.
The first device is dedicated to the introduction; enter the data such as title, description, author, etc. You have the option to give a personal and unique background, for that in the Design tab open Fund Style and select: “Background Format”. After creating your own background use the button: “Apply to everything” so that all the following slides use it.
Click on the bottom of the “New Slide” button to insert the next one. Several formats are available, but it may be easier to insert a blank one.
In it you can directly paste text without it being necessary that you have the classic text box, it will appear after pasting. Paste text on a PowerPoint slide. The text box lines are not displayed in the presentation.
To change the format, style or color of the text, select it and use the tools in the top bar on the Home tab. To insert an image on a blank slide, simply drag it from a folder and drop it on top of the slide. Insert images by dragging them on a PowerPoint slide.
Give it the exact size using the selection points. You can also insert it (if you work in full screen) using the “Image” button on the Insert tab. When you select an image, the “Image tool” bar is automatically activated, with tools that allow you to modify it and apply effects to it.
In the same tab Insert you will see the other objects that can be inserted that are: Clip art (Clipart’s), screenshots of an application in Windows or any image of a web page that is displayed in the browser. You can also insert shapes, graphics, videos, audio, etc.
After creating all the slides that the presentation will take, the next step is to configure its operation and test it. From now on, as long as you make a change, you must prove how the presentation will appear when playing.
What Tools Do UX/UI Designers at Google Use?
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Numerai is a crowd-sourced hedge fund where the position trades are determined by AI. The AI models are fueled by a network of independent data scientists who can earn profit when making an improvement. The model uses anonymized data which should minimize the risk of personal projections and overfitting.
You are reading about: "Numerai"
Numerai is a hedge fund where the trading decisions are made solely by AI. The model is improved by contributions from a community of independent data scientists who can download data feed from Numerai for free and improve on the existing preditiction models.
The user improvements are then submitted to a weekly competition where the authors can earn prizes in USD and the Numerai native token Numeraire.
The innovative technology approach of Numerai lies in its use of structure-preserving encryption - data about financial markets are anonymized which prevents biases and overfitting, but as the structure of changes and relationships is kept, it still makes machine learning possible.
Numerai claims the stock market is somewhat inefficient with respect to new developments in machine learning because only a tiny fraction of the global machine learning talent has access to its data.
Structure-preserving encryption was developed as a way to make expensive datasets available to everyone but only for the purpose of feeding a machine learning model, without revealing the full raw data.
In the first month of operations, Numerai users uploaded 10,292 prediction sets — a total of 200,098,002 equity price predictions, which is how the overall Numerai prediction model improves.
Numerai was funded through private placements in 2016. It raised 7.5 MM USD in total from Union Square Ventures, Fred Ehrsam and others.
This new surge in popularity is related to the release of the Numerai marketplace called Erasure early in October 2018.
Numerai deployed its own platform token first in June 2017. It is called Numeraire ($NMR) and is an Ethereum ERC20 token.
As of October 2018, the NMR token trades on Bittrex, Upbit and DDEX.
Numerai was created by South African technologist Richard Craib in October 2015 as Numerai, LLC with headquarters at 101 California, Suite 3125, San Francisco, CA 94111, United States.
Data scientists can download the current Numerai dataset provided from the website and take part in weekly competition.
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Translocations are known to be involved in the etiology of many cancers, and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are an essential first step in the formation of many oncogenic translocations. However, there is a fundamental gap in understanding the mechanisms involved in the generation of DSBs at breakage """"""""hotspots"""""""" in oncogenes. For example, chromosomal breakages frequently occur at genomic """"""""hotspots"""""""" and can result in translocation-related disease. Interestingly, chromosomal breakpoint """"""""hotspots"""""""" are often mapped near repetitive DNA sequences capable of adopting alternatively structured DNA (i.e., non-B DNA, such as H-DNA and Z-DNA), implicating these structures in cancer etiology. The discoveries from the applicant's laboratory that naturally occurring Z-DNA (found at a breakpoint """"""""hotpspot"""""""" in BCL-2) and H-DNA (found near a translocation breakpoint """"""""hotspot"""""""" in c-MYC) are highly mutagenic and can induce DSBs in mammalian cells and in mice, provide the basis for the rationale going forward to test the novel hypotheses that: 1) non-B DNA structures are recognized as """"""""damage"""""""" and are processed by DNA repair proteins;2) non-B DNA presents a block to DNA and RNA polymerases resulting in DSBs;and 3) non-B DNA-induced genetic instability increases with age in mammals, relevant to translocation-related cancer etiology. The long-term goals of this renewal application are to determine the mechanisms of DNA structure-induced genetic instability in cancer etiology, elucidate the mechanisms involved in cancer-associated translocations, and develop novel approaches to reduce genetic instability to prevent and/or treat cancer. The immediate objectives of this application are to elucidate the mechanisms of chromosomal breakage in the cancer-related c-MYC and BCL-2 genes, and to determine the roles of DNA repair, replication, and transcription in DNA structure-induced genomic instability. To accomplish our goal, we will use human cells and novel mutation-reporter mice in the following aims: 1) determine the roles of DNA repair pathways in the mutagenic potential of non-B DNA found in the cancer- related c-MYC and BCL-2 genes;2) elucidate the mechanisms of replication-independent and replication- dependent processing of non-B DNA structures in human cells;3) assess the effects of transcription on non-B DNA-induced genetic instability in human cells;and 4) evaluate the effects of aging on the mutagenic potential of non-B DNA-forming sequences from the human c-MYC and BCL-2 genes in tissues of transgenic mice. The proposed work is innovative because it will test the novel hypothesis that DNA structure, in the absence of DNA damage per se, is recognized and processed by the repair machinery, and that these structures are involved in cancer etiology. The expected contribution of the proposed research is to elucidate the mechanisms of chromosomal breakage in oncogenes to better understand cancer etiology, which is significant because the results will aid in the development of new strategies to help reduce cancer incidence.
The proposed research is relevant to public health because the elucidation of the mechanisms of DNA structure-induced genetic instability is ultimately expected to increase understanding of the etiology of disorders resulting from genomic instability (such as cancer), as well as the development of novel approaches to prevent or treat such diseases. Thus, the proposed research is relevant to the part of NIH's mission that pertains to developing fundamental new knowledge that will help to reduce the burden of human cancer and other diseases associated with genomic instability.
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- His father, Mnesarchus, was a gem merchant and his mother Pythais, was a native of Samos.- Pythagoras had two or three brothers. - He was well educated, and he played the lyre throughout his lifetime, he also knew poetry and recited Homer.- He was interested in mathematics, philosophy, astronomy and music. He worked under and was greatly influenced by Pherekydes (philosophy), Thales (mathematics and astronomy) and Anaximander (philosophy, geometry).- He went to Egypt where he was accepted into the priesthood at Diospolis between the ages of 18 and 20.- He founded a secret society called Pythagoreans who developed a theory that states that everything in the universe can be explained with numbers, specifically whole numbers. - He founded a school in Croton that stressed four disciplines: arithmetica (number theory), hormonia (music), geometra (geometry), and astrologia (astronomy). -The members of his school were divided into the "mathematikoi" (or "learners") the inner circle of which Pythagoras headed. The mathematikoi extended and developed the more mathematical and scientific work that Pythagoras himself began, and the "akousmatikoi" (or "listeners"), focused on the more religious and ritualistic aspects of his teachings.- The mathematikoi had no personal possessions and were vegetarians. They were taught by Pythagoras himself and obeyed strict rules. The beliefs that Pythagoras held were:(1) that at its deepest level, reality is mathematical in nature,(2) that philosophy can be used for spiritual purification,(3) that the soul can rise to union with the divine,(4) that certain symbols have a mystical significance, and(5) that all brothers of the order should observe strict loyalty and secrecy.- There are two popular stories of Pythagoras's death, some say that those who opposed Pythagoras banded together and created an uprising against the Pythagoreans. Others say Pythagoras fled to Metapontum and died from starvation.
*Of Pythagoras's actual work nothing is known. His school practiced secrecy making it hard to distinguish between the work of the individual and that of the group. In Math:- The most profound contribution to mathematics by Pythagoras and his society is the formalization of mathematics with the use of axiomatic systems. - From those axioms, a number of theorems were deduced. Among these is what Pythagoras is most widely known. He is credited for discovering the Pythagorean Theorem of geometry (although this theorem was previously utilized by Babylonians and Indians). It is widely believed that Pythagoras was the first to prove the theorem which says that for any right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the square of the other two sides (as an equation: a2 + b2 = c2).-Among his other achievements in geometry, Pythagoras (or the Pythagoreans) also realized that the sum of the angles of a triangle is equal to two right angles (180°).-The discovery of irrationals, although some tried to suppress this discovery due to their belief in the sole existence of whole numbers. - Pythagoras was also credited with devising the tetractys, the triangular figure of four rows which add up to the perfect number, ten. As a mystical symbol, it was very important to the worship of the Pythagoreans.In Music:- He is credited with the discovery that the intervals between harmonious musical notes always have whole number ratios.In Astronomy: - He taught that the Earth was a sphere at the centre of the Universe.- He also recognized that the orbit of the Moon was inclined to the equator of the Earth and he was one of the first to realize that Venus as an evening star was the same planet as Venus as a morning star.
Atkins, William Arthur; Koth, Philip Edward. "Pythagoras." Mathematics. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 19 Nov. 2014 ."Pythagoras - Greek Mathematics - The Story of Mathematics." Pythagoras - Greek Mathematics - The Story of Mathematics. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014."Greatest Mathematicians Born before 400 A.D." Greatest Mathematicians Born before 400 A.D. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014Hopkins, James. "Contributions of Pythagoras." YouTube. YouTube, 03 July 2008. Web. 19 Nov. 2014."Genius of Pythagoras - Science Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
- With the help of Pythagoras ' discovery that the length and size of strings on a musical instrument corresponds to the tone of the musical not it produces, we are able to tune modern day string instruments. - A few jobs that use the Pythagorean Theorem today are construction managers, architects, aerospace engineers, computer hardware engineers, etc.
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The film stars Justin Long Matthew Gray Gubler, David Cross, Jesse McCartney, Cameron Richardson Jason Lee. Post your comments about free alvin the chipmunks christmas song mp3 download.
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You are a drug developer selling in India. What would you do if you had to choose between developing a drug that would cure 80% of the people who had a certain condition for $1/day or a drug that would cure 99% of the people for $200/day?
This was one of the questions posed by Anil Gupta, professor at the Indian Institute of Management, executive vice chair of the National Innovation Foundation – India and founder of the Honey Bee Network, when he visited MaRS for an event co-hosted by SiG@MaRS and the Queen’s School of Business Centre for Responsible Leadership, in collaboration with TiE Toronto.
Anil created the Honey Bee Network to support grassroots innovators after seeing how the rural poor of India were rich in knowledge and talent, developing myriad inventions out of necessity, but did not have the resources to scale up and convert these innovations into viable products. The Honey Bee Network brings together innovators, farmers, scholars, academics, policy-makers, entrepreneurs and non-governmental organizations through which a cross-pollination of ideas, creativity and grassroots genius takes place.
Anil describes the network as taking the nameless, faceless innovators of India (and beyond) and bringing them into a network where they get an identity.
He calls his work “inclusive innovation.” This concept may be best demonstrated through the following example: Drinking water through pumps often wastes the water, so a grassroots innovator in India developed a two-sided pump: one side for drinking, the other side for filling a bucket and trough that catches the unused water for animals. Inclusive innovation is a concept that starts with the needs of the user, but also considers economics, the environment and animals.
Another example: In India, women carry very heavy baskets on their heads for miles. They often don’t put the baskets down for much-needed rest because they would not be able to lift them up again when they continue their journey. An innovator—simply someone who cared—set up tall table-like entities on which women could rest their baskets along their journey.
Anil describes the value of engaging everyone as innovators—particularly children, who have not yet been told they must do things a certain way. They know that “wrong answers” can be the drivers of innovation. His advice to parents: Simply get out of the way.
He also puts belief in self-correcting design and suggests we allow time for autopoiesis.
He made it very clear that we can ignore grassroots innovators, but by doing so we are missing terrific opportunities. He explained the limits of seeing people through one lens as the bottom of the pyramid—a term that only categorizes people based on their economic status, not on the much more important dimensions that include creativity, values and the ability to innovate.
For more information on Anil Gupta, you can read his national and international publications, listen to his TED talk or visit his blog.
What a pleasure to meet Anil as he actively works to promote technological and social innovation-based entrepreneurship, policies, institutions and networks, and to support social change agents.
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When you discuss socialism, you are guaranteed to hear someone say "socialism won't work because of human nature". This argument is particularly lazy, but I keep hearing it, so I wanted to address it in my own words.
Greed and selfishness is an essential part of human nature, hence socialism will fail.
It often follows that capitalism is the only system that works.
So where does this argument fail?
First off all, human nature is not capitalist. Capitalism means that the means of production is privately owned, and the surplus value of the labour goes to the owner of the production.
The human race has lived far longer without capitalism than with it. In fact, capitalism is a relatively recent invention. In most countries it did not exist until the 19th century. It is simply ahistorical to say that capitalism is a part of human nature, unless you think that human nature is something recent.
It is not human nature to spend most of your day producing surplus value for a small elite, who gives you little to nothing in return. Nor is it human nature to exploit child workers in the third world in order to consume endlessly. This is the inevitable result of capitalism - a system of exploitation.
¹before someone points out that this number is in fact not true: This book was written in the late 19th century and thus not with the knowledge from contemporary sciences.
Trade has indeed been going on since the early days of civilization. It is however distinct from capitalism in an important way, that many people seem to miss: Capitalism means that the means of production is not controlled by the workers, but instead a system of investors, capitalists, etc.. Trade simply means the exchange of goods for money or other goods.
Socialism is in no way incompatible with trade nor ownership². In fact, many socialists (like myself) believes in trade of goods and services.
²there is a distinction between private and personal ownership in socialist theory. Here's a video, which does a good job at explaining this distinction.
Many socialists thinks that human nature is a "spook" (to invoke the wonderful terminology of Max Stirner) and outright nonexistent. I tend to disagree with that. Human certainly have some nature, however there is one particular thing that makes it radically different from other species.
Ability to adaption. This is why the human species is so successful: We are able to adapt to almost any environment we are put in. There is a reason that humans are the only mammal to walk all continents -- it's the adaptive human nature.
The human nature adapts to whatever environment, such as economic system, it's under. If a system A rewards behavior B, then this behavior will naturally become more common under this system.
What is particularly weird about the argument is the point about "greed". Any system that rewards greed will obviously take basis in greed, and humans are greedy, which is why you want to avoid rewarding such behavior.
This is the opposite of what capitalism does: It rewards greed. If you want to build a successful business, you must create as inhumane work condition as possible³.
Capitalism is responsible for this -- and it's not an issue of "free markets", it is at the core of capitalism. Rosa Luxemburg wrote a good book on why reformism fails: Reformism fails to actually address the problems with capitalism. Reformed capitalism is still capitalism, and it will still have the same fundamental properties of capitalism.
The failure of capitalism isn't in its functioning: It clearly works, but it's in its ethical aspect. It relies on exploitation and fails to distribute wealth fairly, causing mass starvation next to extreme wealth.
³although recently this oppression have been moved to the third world. I'll elaborate on this in a future post.
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Description or summary of the audiobook: Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an 'excitement addict.' Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town - and the family - Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.
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eye could reach. In all its vast expanse there was no break but for a single galley, which was slowly making its way from the direction of Sicily and heading for the distant harbour of Carthage.
Seen from afar it was a stately and beautiful vessel, deep red in colour, double-banked with scarlet oars, its broad, flapping sail stained with Tyrian purple, its bulwarks gleaming with brass work. A brazen, three-pronged ram projected in front, and a high golden figure of Baal, the God of the Ph[oe]nicians, children of Canaan, shone upon the after-deck. From the single high mast above the huge sail streamed the tiger-striped flag of Carthage. So, like some stately scarlet bird, with golden beak and wings of purple, she swam upon the face of the waters--a thing of might and of beauty as seen from the distant shore.
Great historical fiction. The stories are brief but impactful. should be more well-known.
The story The Silver Mirror is a bit of a ghost story, but all the remaining stories are historical events, written as fiction stories, most dealing with the Roman Empire. They range from the Roman withdrawal from Christian England, the coming of the Saxons, the end of the 3rd Punic War, coming of the Huns, the brief reign of a Caesar, the indiscretion of a Byzantine queen, and so on.
The writing is good, with a nice balance of description and characterization, and the tales are interesting enough.
Very,Very good book! If you are a fan of historical fiction this is a gem.
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0.993038 |
Despite the hardships, Duberman managed to be incredibly productive: he wrote his biography of Paul Robeson, rededicated himself to teaching, wrote plays, and coedited the prize-winning Hidden from History. His exploration of new paths of scholarship culminated in his founding of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, thereby inaugurating a new academic discipline. At the outset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic Duberman increased his political activism, and in these pages he also describes the tensions between the New Left and gay organizers, as well as the profound homophobia that created the conditions for queer radical activism. Filled with gossip, featuring cameo appearances by luminaries such as Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Vivian Gornick, Susan Brownmiller, Kate Millett, and Néstor Almendros, among many others, and most importantly, written with an unflinching and fearless honesty, The Rest of It provides scathing insights into a troubling decade of both personal and political history. It is a stimulating look into a key period of Duberman's life, which until now had been too painful to share.
Martin Duberman is Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus, at City University of New York, where he founded and directed the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies. He is the author of numerous histories, biographies, memoirs, essays, plays, and novels, which include Cures: A Gay Man's Odyssey; Paul Robeson; Stonewall; Midlife Queer: Autobiography of a Decade, 1971–1981; Black Mountain: An Exploration in Community; The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein; Jews/Queers/Germans; and more than a dozen others. His biography of Charles Francis Adams won the Bancroft Prize, and his coedited anthology Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past won two Lambda Literary Awards. He won a third Lambda Award for Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS. Duberman received the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Historical Association, as well as two honorary degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters from Amherst College, and Doctor of Letters from Columbia University. He was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Duberman lives in New York City.
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0.940254 |
What is 'fair play' in inducements?
Should a larger TV team be able to choose to buy lots of inducements, unopposed by a smaller, poorer team?
Personally, I would refrain from inducing as the overdog in a match where I feel I am the favorite. I sometimes bend this in tournaments, but sometimes I have not and stuck to my guns even when I *wanted* to induce.
For other folks, I don't really mind how they spend their money. BUT I think there is one way this really irks me, and that's a team that is clearly needing to buy players but is choosing to induce as an overdog instead. For example, teams running 3 Jman elves or rats or whatever, that save cash for inducements and then just put those 3 Jman on the line every time... That is just plain abuse of the system. You should be spending money to get to at least 11 before inducing as the overdog. Adding 10K so you can get a babe as 40K underdog? Fine.
Yeah, in a world where you're not supposed to abuse the Journeyman rules, splashing as the favorite while running an incomplete roster is abusive. Perhaps this is the type of behavior that constitutes "Journeyman abuse" in the new environment. Should we be reporting people who seemingly-intentionally spend 50k+ from Treasury while running fewer than 11 rostered players?
The difference between having +ST, a Wardancer or lot of Guards and inducements is that the cash-bought inducements are not calculated BEFORE the game by the matchmaking formula/scheduler (unlike the +ST, Wardancers, Guards), and this may create an unbalanced match-up.
That doesn't really matter since blackbox doesn't have the goal of creating equal matchups (in terms of equal chance of winning) in the first place. If it did it would implement TV++.
Games are already unequal in blackbox very often because sometimes one team will have much higher TV, sometimes one team will be much more minmaxed, sometimes one team will have focused on dodge while the other have focused on tackle and sometimes one of the coaches is much better or much luckier. If one of the teams can also have an advantage by having more money to spend on inducements once in a while, I don't see that much of a problem myself considering the games are often unequal in the first place. If you want games to be perfectly equal, then you should start advocating for TV++.
Also, some teams (generally the bash ones) don't need to replace players as often as low armour teams, it's not due to superior coaching skill, but just to inherent roster differences.
Low armored elves should be glad that they can afford replacing players at all in the new ruleset. When spiralling expenses was around it was barely possible for wood elves to even afford 11 players at high TV. So all in all they have been helped a lot in the new ruleset despite the fact that their opponents might be able to spend money on inducements more often than them.
That's true and it's a flaw in a competitive division. Anyway, the fact that a formula is used to arrange a match suggests that it tries to arrange balanced matches, but, since the community is small, rather than not finding a match at all the scheduler arranges sometimes unbalanced matches (hence the warning in the division description).
If balance were not a factor then the Box would have no rookie protection and the TV/number of games played would not matter.
I don't see that much of a problem myself considering the games are often unequal in the first place. If you want games to be perfectly equal, then you should start advocating TV++.
True, but the fact that games are already unbalanced due to various factors is not an excuse to be blind about inducements abuse.
I never said that high AV is overpowered, my point was simply that having some cash to spend doesn't mean that the coach deserved it thanks to his "management skill", but just because he didn't need to replace players as often as squishy teams.
For sure PO removal has helped Elves, especially at low-mid TV (I remember lot of Humans at 1400 TV when I was playing my EU in CRP).
About having 11 players at high TV: maybe it's me but I rarely have healthy 11 players at high TV, most of times my Elves are crippled (and fired) before they reach high TV.
Not to mention that Tackle is more common now and that the Wizard is not implemented.
Management skills come into play, as do AV and luck. But yeah, some races get to play with extra cash more often, while others are just happy to maintain a stable roster, and if they can drop 50k for a card once in a while, more power to 'em. This is part of the new balance. Does this new balance work? I honestly don't know, because the environment is just beginning to mature.
To come to the point, that's just bad sportsmanship. Everything more than that 50k is lame. And in most cases, if you have a fair game, even that 50k might be too much.
With the expensive mistakes I think spending over 100k will be rare. That said when Wizard comes in I can see people saving for that if they don't need to replace players. That will be a bummer for their opponents.
Yes, that's a potential issue, at 150,000 the Wizard is probably too cheap.
I guess that 200,000 would be a better price (especially because it would be exactly 1,000 higher than the first 100-199k Expensive Mistakes step).
I think it is bad sportsmanship when you complain about using money being bad sportsmansip. This thing is like t16 fouling all over.
Personally I think everything written in the rules is completely fine. If my legend dies in the hands of an overdog star player or a t16 foul, it is ok! Remember people we are playing this game against each other, not as a co-op to build us all 2000+tv teams.
I wouldn't call it abuse to spend money on inducements but I agree with you that some precision is lost in the matchmaking formula when cash-bought inducements are not calculated beforehand. But as I said in my last post I don't think that's a very big deal myself. It also seems quite hard to find a solution for it, so I guess people will have to live with it. But it's wrong to say that GW did a bad job writing the rule just because the rule isn't perfectly adapted to the current blackbox formula when the rule is a big improvement over what we had in CRP in all other ways. So I'm still looking for a strong argument why the new rule is bad. Maybe it's a bit to powerful but nothing gamebreaking I think. If the wizard comes back however things might actually become broken because with the new rule it would be possibe to induce a wizard very often and it wouldn't be fun to have 50% of all games decided by a single dice roll. But here it is the wizard that should be blamed first hand rather than the rule.
All teams have gotten increased income thanks to the removal of spiralling expenses. Elves will use the increased income to get 11 players and even some reserves, bash will use the increased income to buy inducements now and then. Who has the most use of the increased income? Of course the elves since they use it on stuff that lasts for several games and is thus more bang of the buck than using it on things that only last one game. It's more important to have a full team and some reserves (long term stability) than getting extra inducements now and then in individual games. So elves have profited most on these two rule changes.
All teams have gotten increased income thanks to the removal of spiralling expenses.
This is true only if you consider teams with TV 1750 or higher.
I guess that the majority of elf matches in the Box takes place at lower than 1750 TV.
If Elves can have some reserves it's more due to lack of PO than to removal of Spiralling Expenses, I think.
Losing 10k or 20k from the winnings was not terrible, while being cpombed/tacklepombed it was, and it happened even at TVs lower than 1750 (as I well know).
It's more important to have a full team and some reserves (long term stability) than getting extra inducements now and then in individual games. So elves have profited most on these two rule changes.
Again you don't consider that, when a bash (or not bash) team buys some inducements with its own cash before a game starts this meta-advantage is not taken into account by the matchmaking, while if a elf team carries some reserves this TV will be calculated and it might lead to play vs a team with more skills countering the elves' dodge and agility, not necessarily so advantageous.
This will be more true when the Wizard will be back.
Most of the time I play fumbbl, I play my ranked Slann team (3070 TV at the moment). I'm always the overdog, but I never spend my few bucks (150k at the moment) for buying inducements. I might just have to replace a player after the game so I like to have some reserves.
With a TV that high it's also really difficult building up huge amounts of money. I used to have enormous amounts of reserves, but I decided at some point that the game is more fun with a complete roster of 16 players instead of having just 11 or 12.
So I can simply say: spend your money for your team not your inducements, you might win all the same and yout opponent doesn't think that you play unfair.
I’d say play it as you find it until FUMBBL gets around to following the actual rule (GW have said an FAQ item is coming and BB2016 inducements are supposed to work as they did in CRP). It feels funky, but I guess everyone knows how the site currently handles it.
...but I guess everyone knows how the site currently handles it.
Fair enough. Everyone learns how the site handles it after it happens to them the first time. Better?
LOL. Better. But still wrong.
I thought I already posted it in this thread but it must have been another.
No. Some people just don't get it. Some people who do "know" still get bamboozled when they see that they have enough inducement cash to buy babes or a bribe. Then they complain to their commissioner that the league options or a site bug stole their winnings.
Commish: "You got your winnings"
Coach: "No I didn't. I don't have any more money than I had before".
Commish: "It appears that your winnings just replaced the money that you spent on inducements"
Coach: "I didn't spend my own money on inducements. why would I do that?"
Most of them seem to get it after the second time though.
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0.978886 |
This article is about a metropolitan area of the Philippines. For the city in the Philippines, see Cagayan de Oro. For other uses, see Cagayan (disambiguation).
Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro (Cebuano: Kaulohang Cagayan de Oro), also known as Metro Cagayan de Oro, is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Philippines. It is located on the northern coast of Mindanao, and comprises the two chartered cities of Cagayan de Oro and El Salvador and the 13 municipalities of Alubijid, Baungon, Claveria, Gitagum, Jasaan, Laguindingan, Libona, Malitbog, Manolo Fortich, Opol, Sumilao, Tagoloan, and Talakag. According to the 2015 Philippine census, Metro Cagayan de Oro has a population of 1,376,343 people.
Metro Cagayan de Oro is bounded by Macajalar Bay, which curves north. Forty percent of its area is elevated plains, located partially in Bukidnon. In the western portion the Cagayan de Oro River outlines the area, which is divided by the river's tributaries from district 2 of Cagayan de Oro to Gitagum (including Laguindingan, Alubijid, El Salvador and Opol). The eastern and southern regions run from district one of Cagayan de Oro to Tagoloan to Claveria and Malitbog to Talakag, which is bordered by Bukidnon-Central Mindanao and Lanao del Norte.
Metro Cagayan comprises hills, mountains and rain forests. Its biodiversity and greenery helps keep the area's temperature cool. The southern portion has semi-active volcanoes in the Kalatungan Mountain Range, although the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PhilVolcs) maintains that there is little risk of eruption or earthquakes.
Under the Köppen climate classification system Cagayan de Oro has a tropical climate, with an annual average temperature of 28 °C (82 °F). In June 1998, the city recorded its highest temperature to date, 39 °C (102 °F). The city receives a varying amount of rainfall throughout the year; March and April are the driest months, and August and September the wettest. The rainy season lasts from June to November, and the drier season from December to May. The city lies outside the typhoon belt, but is affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone.
Cagayan de Oro is the provincial capital of Misamis Oriental. The executive and judicial branches of government are based in the Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol Building.
Metro Cagayan de Oro has the fourth-largest population in the Philippines, and is the third-largest metropolitan area geographically. Most of its cities and municipalities are located in the provinces of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon.
Since the 1986 People Power Revolution, political power has returned to Misamis Oriental. Each city and municipality is self-governing, divided into barangays led by mayors.
Metro Cagayan de Oro is inhabited by distinct Visayan cultural communities. Christianity (particularly Roman Catholicism) is the predominant religion. Several cultural minorities exist in central Mindanao (Talakag, Sumilao and Baungon), including the Bagobos, Subanons and Badjaos. The city of Cagayan de Oro has a population of 602,088 people, making it the most-populous city in northern Mindanao.
Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, although Protestant denominations (including Pentecostalism and the Seventh-day Adventist Church are increasing in numbers. Followers of Islam were mainly Maranao traders and immigrants.
About 44 percent of households in Metro Cagayan de Oro classify themselves as Visayan (Binisaya or Bisaya), 22.15 percent as Cebuano and 4.38 percent as Boholano; 28.07 percent are from other ethnic groups, including Maranao and Bukidnon. In addition to the city of Cagayan de Oro, there is rapid growth in nearby cities and municipalities (including Tagoloan and El Salvador). According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Philippines, this urban growth is a result of migration from neighboring provinces.
Cultural communities and ethnic groups living primarily in remote areas of Talakag, Baungon and Bukidnon include the Maranaws, T’boli and Bagobo. These groups have declined in population by about 12 percent since 2000 and, despite comprising 20.4 percent of the population of Mindanao, they experience discrimination in Filipino society.
. Cagayan de Oro is the "melting pot of Mindanao" because of its accessibility, business growth and attractions. It is a business hub of the northern Mindanao region, with a reported income of ₱1.8 billion in fiscal year 2010. The city's economy is based on industry, commerce, trade, services and tourism. The city of Cagayan de Oro reported seven billion pesos in investment during the first six months of 2012, primarily in the service and industrial sectors. Investment in Metro Cagayan de Oro focuses on tourism, agriculture and the hospitality industry.
In addition, Every municipalities has public health center and/or mini-hospital that caters their constituents for minor health cases under the supervision of Local government Units and Department of Health.
Education, which has the largest share (about 40 percent) of the Metro Cagayan de Oro budget, is supervised by the Northern Mindanao Region X Department of Education. The 2010 census counted 203 schools in the metropolis, including six universities, 12 colleges, 52 high schools and 64 elementary and primary schools (primarily in urban areas). The student population of Metro Cagayan de Oro is estimated at 380,580.
Metro Cagayan de Oro is accessible by land. There are three bus and jeepney terminals with regular service: Agora Integrated Bus Terminal, Eastbound-Gusa Jeepney Terminal and Westbound-Bulua Integrated Bus and Jeepney Terminal.
Lumbia Airport, also known as Cagayan de Oro Airport (now Lumbia Airfield), hosted domestic service to Manila, Cebu, Davao and Iloilo. Manila is 75 minutes away by air, Iloilo one hour and Cebu and Davao 45 minutes. It was the second-busiest airport in Mindanao, after Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City.
Laguindingan International Airport (which opened June 15, 2013, replacing Lumbia) is in the municipality of Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental. It serves northern Mindanao (including Iligan and Cagayan de Oro), offering domestic service throughout the Philippines. It will offer international flights in the future.
Cagayan de Oro Port is an international seaport situated near the estuary of the Cagayan de Oro River. It has an anchorage depth of 18 metres (59 ft), with two cargo-handling operators. With the recent completion of the 250 million peso rehabilitation project, it is the largest seaport in Mindanao. The port has regular service to Manila, Cebu, Tagbilaran, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Iloilo and Jagna.
^ Ruben G. Mercado; Casimira Balandra (October 1998). "Providing a Metropolitan Perspective to Development Planning: Cagayan de Oro" (PDF). Philippine Institute for Development Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
^ "Lumbia Airport, Misamis Oriental Climatological Normal Values". Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
^ "Lumbia Airport, Misamis Oriental Climatological Extremes". Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
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0.979518 |
Swann powered England back into contention with a quickfire 85 off 81 balls.
Graeme Swann hits 95 to lead England fight back in first Test against South Africa.
(CNN) -- Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson led a fight back by England with a record ninth wicket stand of 106 to leave the opening Test against South Africa at Centurion in the balance with two days to go.
Their batting heroics limited England's first innings deficit to 62 runs and Anderson then struck with the ball to leave South Africa nine for one wicket at stumps on the third day in Pretoria.
South Africa had a stranglehold on the match as England slumped to 242 for eight wickets in reply to their 418, but Swann changed the course of the match with a swashbuckling 85 off just 81 balls.
He found fine support from Anderson, who made 29 before Makhaya Ntini made amends for some loose bowling with the second new ball by having him caught by Morne Morkel after a mistimed drive.
Swann, who was closing on his first Test century, went soon afterwards as he holed out in the deep to slow left-armer Paul Harris, who led the home attack with five wickets for 123.
"It's going quite well at the minute. I've got my way of playing and I've got free license from the dressing room to do that," Swann told Sky Sports.
"Today was one of those days where everything I tried came off and it's got us back in a good position."
Anderson removed opener Ashwell Prince, who played on for a duck, with South African captain Graeme Smith and nightwatchman Harris batting to the close.
England will look to take quick wickets on the fourth day to boost their victory hopes, while the Proteas will want to build a big lead to leave themselves time to dismiss the tourists in their second innings.
South Africa were on top for much of the third day with England losing wickets at regular intervals as no batsman bar Swann scored fluently.
On a pitch of variable bounce, England captain Andrew Strauss added just two runs to his overnight score before a shooter from Ntini bowled him for 44.
His overnight partner Jonathon Trott also struggled and was eventually bowled by Harris for a stodgy 28.
Kevin Pietersen played well for his 40, but he edged a Morkel delivery onto his stumps before England's middle order collapsed, losing their next three wickets for 32 runs, all to Harris.
Ian Bell was bowled for five, leaving a delivery which hit his middle and off stumps, Matt Prior top-edged a sweep to Friedel de Wet at fine-leg for four and Paul Collingwood edged to Jacques Kallis at slip for 50.
Stuart Broad kept Swann company in the early play after tea, but he went when JP Duminy had him trapped leg before wicket, the decision being referred to the TV umpire after a considerable delay.
Replays showed Broad to be plumb lbw for 17, but he was unhappy about the delay in referral and exchanged words with both umpires before leaving the pitch.
But any disappointment England felt about his dismisal was lifted by the contribution of Swann, who took five wickets in South Africa's first innings, and Anderson.
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0.999999 |
pi@raspberrypi:~/Downloads $ sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/haguichi/ubuntu xenial main"
What's the output if you execute the following command in a terminal?
sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/haguichi/ubuntu xenial main"
base-files is already the newest version.
Hmm, maybe the lsb-release package. Is this installed on your system?
Okay, the I guess we have to take a slightly more unwieldy route.
Yup that did the trick! Thank you very much for your help!
I've updated the instructions on the download page to use this more rudimentary method too instead of relying on the add-apt-repository command.
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0.995923 |
Innovation is a very critical aspect to any business strategy. The ability to think “out-of-the-box”, makes any business stand out among others. While most regard innovation as a necessary stimulus to any business, but they look at innovation milestones as a fortuity in terms of strategy and shy away from further strategic planning or making any formula for success in terms of innovation. This, is however not the ideal way to deal with innovation. Given below are a list of keys to ensure business innovation.
1. Having a dedicated innovation team: The most important ingredient to induce innovation is to ensure a team of creative, intelligent and dedicated people to be included in the business. To include them will provide the ticket to multitask, collaborate as well as read minds well ahead of time.
2. Innovation Labs: This is to enhance the ecosystem of our business. With an innovation lab, a group is created that is consistently and exclusively focused on innovation.
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0.968696 |
Important animal for Romania. Dracula comes from there.
This is the animal, bat, correct. Is it also a baseball bat?
The animal. A "(baseball) bat" is "bâtă (de baseball)".
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0.999991 |
Transform your drink into a magical unicorn potion.
ONE BOTTLE MAKES 10+ SERVINGS!
ONE BOTTLE MAKES 25+ SERVINGS!
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0.999165 |
The Attorney General and the Secretary of State jointly are authorized and directed to prepare forms for the registration of aliens under section 1301 of this title, and the Attorney General is authorized and directed to prepare forms for the registration and fingerprinting of aliens under section 1302 of this title. Such forms shall contain inquiries with respect to (1) the date and place of entry of the alien into the United States; (2) activities in which he has been and intends to be engaged; (3) the length of time he expects to remain in the United States; (4) the police and criminal record, if any, of such alien; and (5) such additional matters as may be prescribed.
All registration and fingerprint records made under the provisions of this subchapter shall be confidential, and shall be made available only (1) pursuant to section 1357(f)(2) of this title, and (2) to such persons or agencies as may be designated by the Attorney General.
The Alien Registration Act, 1940, referred to in subsec. (d), is act June 28, 1940, ch. 439, 54 Stat. 670 , as amended. Title III of that act, which related to register and fingerprinting of aliens, was classified to sections 451 to 460 of this title, was repealed by section 403(a)(39) of act June 27, 1952.
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original, "this Act", meaning act June 27, 1952, ch. 477, 66 Stat. 163 , known as the Immigration and Nationality Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1101 of this title and Tables.
1996-Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104–208 added subsec. (f).
1990-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–649 inserted "(1) pursuant to section 1357(f)(2) of this title, and (2)" after "only".
1988-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–525 amended Pub. L. 99–653. See 1986 Amendment note below.
1986-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–653, as amended by Pub. L. 100–525, amended first sentence generally, striking out "and fingerprinting" before "of aliens under section 1301".
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–525 effective as if included in the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1986, Pub. L. 99–653, see section 309(b)(15) of Pub. L. 102–232, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 1988 Amendments note under section 1101 of this title.
Amendment by Pub. L. 99–653 applicable to applications for immigrant visas made, and visas issued, on or after Nov. 14, 1986, see section 23(b) of Pub. L. 99–653, set out as a note under section 1201 of this title.
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0.999952 |
What portion of linear lambda calculus corresponds to using only the B and I combinators (composition and identity)? I have a hunch that it's all lambda terms that use their input variables exactly once and without permuting them, but I'm finding it hard to prove that.
and to eliminate the variable "a" here, I need to use the C combinator.
It depends on using the associativity of composition.
How can I tell which linear terms are in the span of B and I?
composition and identity are the Cut and the Identity principles of an intuitionistic (ie, single-conclusion) sequent calculus, and the arrow is some kind implication (i.e., an internalized entailment). Since presumably you're okay with currying, it seems like you want a multiple-hypothesis calculus.
However, if you want to think about banishing exchange in addition to weakening and contraction, then you should look at a fragment of the Lambek calculus. Here's one -- the loss of exchange means the context here isn't merely linear, it's also ordered.
So we want some d : (A -o B) -o Gamma -o Gamma' -o C.
and bracket abstraction could give a good term for this.
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0.999851 |
John surrounded himself with "yes men" who bent to his will; John tended towards despotic rule; John resented anyone who was smarter than him; John was arrogant; John tended towards giving mepuis; John was possessed of the common touch.
So writes Gabriel J. Christian in the preface to "The Rise and Fall of Patrick Roland John", Dominica's first prime minister, in the 487-page book by Dr. Irving W. André that as launched last Friday evening at the Open Campus of The University of the West Indies.
"To his credit the record does not reveal Patrick John to have been someone given to the speedy amassing of wealth at the expense of the national treasury," says Christian of John, better known as "PJ", who ruled Dominica from 1974 to 1979 until he was deposed in a parliamentary coup following widespread and deadly demonstrations.
For three hours on Friday, about 100 persons packed themselves in the small but cozy UWI auditorium to listen to Dr. André, a judge who lives and works in Canada, outline the history of the turbulent Seventies that ushered in Dominica as an independent state.
"The book traces the rapid rise and spectacular fall of Dominica's first Prime Minister," writes André in the back of the red-covered book. "It analyses the factors that contributed to John's rise to power, the forces that opposed him throughout the 1970's and the causes for his dramatic fall from grace after May 29, 1979".
But are there obvious lessons to be learnt from that painful era in Dominica's history and are there signs that history is about to repeat itself?
"Indeed , the scandals in governance where they have afflicted administrations…should teach us all that constant study of our past is essential to finding true north in the future," answers Christian. "The message inherent to this splendid work is that one should never squander the goodwill of the masses and become deaf to the people's cry for justice. History teaches that arrogance by any leader is a rebuke to democratic ideals of public service and ultimately self-defeating. Political power is never everlasting, and every leader must strive to serve the national interest, not just one's party or cronies".
"It is imperative that we understand history," said Dr. André. "It is imperative that we try not to whitewash it because Dominica is such a fragile democracy".
As a prescription to the creation of a more equitable society, Dr. André said: "Everyone should have this equal opportunity to achieve his or her goals; no one should be excluded because quite frankly they were colour blind or they wear the wrong colour. No one should be excluded because they did not show sufficient loyalty to any deity."
In addition to "The Rise and Fall of Patrick Roland John", on Friday at UWI, André also launched "A century of Dominican Judges and Magistrates" a 200-page book that traces "the island's proud intellectual tradition which has produced, since the early decades of the twentieth century, a number of distinguished legal practitioners and judges who blazed a trail of excellence in Dominica", the Caribbean and the world.
"A century of Dominican Judges and Magistrates", however, does not mention the infamous Leo Austin, the Attorney General who was at the centre of most of Patrick John's notoriously crazy schemes.
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0.965289 |
If I told you I am suffering needlessly, what adjectives would you use to describe me?
Everybody suffers. Some suffering is necessary while other suffering is needless.
Love does not suffer needlessly but neither does it run from suffering when running would be a denial of love. A loving person walks away from harm when possible and stays and faces harm when that is the only way to be loving.
Take a moment and reflect on your current suffering. Can you separate out which suffering is necessary and which is needless?
A mid-life crisis can involve coming face-to-face with the need to grow up. Instead of pressing forward, you decide to run away, refusing the opportunity for growth. Of course, then the only way to go is backward, so your behavior starts to look like your childhood and early adulthood.
Learned helplessness is a cycle of defeat with no apparent escape. The bridge forward might be visible but might as well be invisible because the thought of crossing seems ridiculous.
Start the journey by being aware of how you are suffering needlessly.
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0.996909 |
I think philosophy is important for two main reasons: (1) it can help improve critical thinking skills and (2) it’s a good way to know certain things. Even so, much more can be said—especially considering each specific thing philosophy can teach us. Many things it can teach us are important for various other reasons.
1. Philosophy can help improve critical thinking skills.
Most fields of study, such as physics, history, and economics, are mainly about providing us with knowledge of some sort. However, some fields of study are more practical, such as computer engineering, and they are mainly about providing us with skills. Practical fields are supposed to help improve our abilities, so that we can do something using them. Philosophy is not necessarily a primarily skill-oriented field of study, but it is the specialized field of study for critical thinking, and it can help us improve our critical thinking skills.
Critical thinking skills are highly related to logic (a philosophical domain), which is the study of proper reasoning. That shouldn’t be surprising because the main idea of critical thinking is to reason well. The critical thinking classes taught by philosophers teach students about logic in addition to providing practice problems that can improve their critical thinking skills.
2. Philosophy is a good way to know certain things.
Philosophers have a type of expertise—they know a lot about various philosophical issues, the history of various philosophical debates, and quite a bit about what it means to reason properly. They tend know more about these things than those who aren’t philosophers (and getting a degree is a step in the right direction to becoming a philosopher). For this reason we can learn a lot from philosophers concerning their various specializations, and we can sometimes learn a lot by doing philosophy on our own as well. We can all learn a little about what philosophy has to offer by actually doing some philosophy on our own. After all, philosophers didn’t attain their expertise just by twiddling their thumbs. It took a lot of hard work, and we can attain greater philosophical expertise for ourselves.
Moreover, we know that some people know more about logic than others (such as that shown by the Dunning-Kruger effect), and we know that logic as developed by philosophers is very helpful for improving critical thinking skills. According to the scientific studies examined by Tin Van Gelder, “The lesson from cognitive science is that if we want students to substantially improve their skills, we must at some point help them develop theoretical understanding as compliment to the crucial hands-on know-how.”6 The theoretical understanding he is talking about are logical concepts (and how they are to be properly applied), such as premise identification7, argument form, valid reasoning8, and informal errors in reasoning9.
Moreover, some philosophers think that there’s also moral facts, facts about logic, or facts about mathematics. Philosophers are then thought to be able to help us decide if we should believe such facts exist (and therefore be realists of those things), and if so, what we should believe about them. These are not the type of facts scientists study, but philosophers might still help us attain factual knowledge about these things.
The view that there’s facts about logic and mathematics is especially promising because scientists often have to presuppose that there are certain logical and mathematical facts—that we can discover these facts and that scientific observation is mistaken when it contradicts these facts. For example, logicians almost unanimously agree with the principle of noncontradiction, which states that a statement can’t be true and false at the same time. If one statement is true, then all statements that contradict it are false. Sometimes we have an observation that contradicts a scientific theory we believe to be proven. At one point Mercury didn’t revolve around the Sun as Newton’s theory of physics predicted. We could say that our understanding of the observation is wrong or that the theory is wrong. There is a problem if someone says that both the observation and the theory is true, and there’s a problem if a scientist says that contradictory observations prove the principle of non-contradiction to be false.
Some people who don’t think philosophy is meant to give us factual knowledge still agree that philosophy can be informative and that philosophers have a type of expertise, and they often say that philosophy is really about clarifying concepts and finding logical implications. For example, some philosophers are compatibilists who think we could have free will, even if the world is deterministic (which is the view that everything that happens has to happen exactly one way). They don’t think there’s a logical implication that would make a world with both of these things impossible based on their conceptions of free will and determinism. Compatibilism doesn’t state that we actually have free will or that the world is actually deterministic. It is a view about what could be the case in the world rather than what’s actually the case.
One important question is if conceptual knowledge is really so different from factual knowledge. Some people think philosophers can’t tell us anything about the world, but that they could help provide conceptual knowledge of the type described above.10 They don’t think conceptual knowledge is factual, and some people will hesitate to even call it “conceptual knowledge” because they don’t think philosophy is about generating knowledge. Even so, I think it is clear that even conceptual discussions can involve progress and they can be very informative, such as when we developed the concept of argument form. If it’s not knowledge, then calling it “conceptual understanding” might be more appropriate.
One purpose of conceptual knowledge is to make clarifications and avoid sloppy thinking, but another purpose could be to help us know what beliefs should be rejected, which is quite similar to how I suggested philosophy could provide us with factual knowledge. For example, if compatibilism is true, then we should reject incompatibilism (the view that free will can never exist in a deterministic world).
Even if philosophy can be informative and give us some type of knowledge, we might wonder if philosophy is important in any sense. Some people criticize philosophers for doing research in an armchair or being in an “ivory tower” (with everyday life far from their mind’s eye). One possible answer is simply that knowledge has value—that it’s always better to be knowledgeable. Even if philosophy isn’t useful, it might still be worth doing. Mathematicians don’t always tell us what we can do with their results, but most of us seem to accept that it has some sort of a value anyway. However, there are many other answers as to why philosophy has value and I think philosophy can be of the utmost importance to making our lives better. The reason I think this is the case is because various philosophical issues have unique ways of helping people.
One philosophical domain in particular that I think we should all agree has practical importance for everyday life is critical thinking (and logic by extension). For example, consider the research that shows that people tend to lack in critical thinking skills, and the link between logic-oriented critical thinking education and critical thinking skills. Of course, someone might say they see no reason to think reasoning well is important. My reply would be that reasoning well helps us avoid deception (such as the deception used by advertisers, political pundits, quacks, etc.), make better decisions in general, and to increase the odds of persuading others to believe things that they should agree with.
Finally, the reasons that logic education is important can also be refined based on all the specific things it can teach us, such as logical form, logical validity, and informal fallacies. Each of these things have unique lessons to teach us, as was discussed in Why Logic is Important.
Although many people are unconvinced that that philosophy is important, I think there are good reasons to think it is important. Philosophy can not only help improve critical thinking skills, but it can help provide us with knowledge of logic that can greatly help improve critical thinking. Moreover, I do not find the view that philosophy makes no progress and provides us with no knowledge to be plausible based on the fact that it seems clear that everyone knows something about at least one philosophical domain (logic), and some people know more about that domain than others.
Note: This webpage used to have an entirely different piece. I wrote the newer piece on 8/22/13.
This is a good question. It is best to start with a definition of philosophy. The word philosophy comes from the Greek, which literally means the love of wisdom. So, true philosophy is to love wisdom, grow in wisdom, and apply this wisdom in the context of school (your case), and work. When you do this, you will become a better person. There are two reasons for this. When you love wisdom, then you tend to use your mind more. When you do this, you will be able to make better decisions, rational decisions, rather than decisions based on fear, anger or pain. Secondly, wisdom will enable you to see through the many false things in our world, such as materialism, sexism, and a whole host of other lies. Based on these points, philosophy will even help you in the area of occupational therapy, because it will teach you to work hard and be fair.
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This control is intended to address the confidentiality and integrity of information at rest in non-mobile devices and covers user information and system information. Information at rest refers to the state of information when it is located on a secondary storage device (e.g., disk drive, tape drive) within an organizational information system. Applications and application users generate information throughout the course of their application use. User-generated data, as well as, application-specific configuration data, needs to be protected. Configurations and/or rule sets for firewalls, gateways, intrusion detection/prevention systems, filtering routers, and authenticator content are examples of system information likely requiring protection. Organizations may choose to employ different mechanisms to achieve confidentiality and integrity protections, as appropriate. If the confidentiality and integrity of SQL Server data is not protected, the data will be open to compromise and unauthorized modification. Protective measures include encryption, physical security of the facility where the storage devices reside, operating system file permissions, and organizational controls. Each of these should be applied as necessary and appropriate.
If the application owner and Authorizing Official have determined that encryption of data at rest is NOT required, this is not a finding. If the application owner and Authorizing Official have determined that encryption of data at rest is required, ensure the data on secondary devices is encrypted. If full-disk encryption is being used, this is not a finding. If DBMS data encryption is required, ensure the data is encrypted before being put on the secondary device by executing: SELECT d.name AS [Database Name], CASE e.encryption_state WHEN 0 THEN 'No database encryption key present, no encryption' WHEN 1 THEN 'Unencrypted' WHEN 2 THEN 'Encryption in progress' WHEN 3 THEN 'Encrypted' WHEN 4 THEN 'Key change in progress' WHEN 5 THEN 'Decryption in progress' WHEN 6 THEN 'Protection change in progress' END AS [Encryption State] FROM sys.dm_database_encryption_keys e RIGHT JOIN sys.databases d ON DB_NAME(e.database_id) = d.name WHERE d.name NOT IN ('master','model','msdb') ORDER BY 1 ; For each user database where encryption is required, verify that encryption is in effect. If not, this is a finding. Verify that there are physical security measures, operating system access control lists and organizational controls appropriate to the sensitivity level of the data in the database(s). If not, this is a finding.
Apply appropriate controls to protect the confidentiality and integrity of data on a secondary device. Where encryption is required, this can be done by full-disk encryption or by database encryption. To enable database encryption, create a master key, create a database encryption key, and protect it by using mechanisms tied to the master key, and then set encryption on. Implement physical security measures, operating system access control lists and organizational controls appropriate to the sensitivity level of the data in the database(s).
Develop SQL code or acquire a third party tool to perform data labeling. SQL Server Label Security Toolkit can be downloaded from http://www.codeplex.com. This tool can satisfy all data labeling and securityor application code or acquire a third party tool to perform data labeling requirements.
Identify whether SQL Server is hosting any development database(s) from the system documentation.
If SQL Server is not hosting any development database, this is NA.
-- Run this script to create and start an audit trace that audits required events.
-- Note: Replace 'D:<path>\<filename>' with the path and file name to your audit file.
-- Adjust the other parameters of SP_TRACE_CREATE to suit your system's circumstances.
-- The database server must be restarted for the trace to take effect.
-- Occurs when a user successfully logs in to SQL Server.
-- Occurs when a user logs out of SQL Server.
-- Occurs when the SQL Server service state is modified.
-- Indicates that a login attempt to SQL Server from a client failed.
-- permission is issued by any user in SQL Server.
-- for sp_addlogin and sp_droplogin.
-- for sp_grantlogin, sp_revokelogin, and sp_denylogin.
-- is modified; for sp_defaultdb and sp_defaultlanguage.
-- Occurs when a SQL Server login password is changed.
-- Passwords are not recorded.
-- for sp_addsrvrolemember, and sp_dropsrvrolemember.
-- sp_revokedbaccess, sp_adduser, and sp_dropuser.
-- database; for sp_addrole and sp_droprole.
-- Occurs when a password of an application role is changed.
-- Occurs when a statement permission (such as CREATE TABLE) is used.
-- Occurs when a BACKUP or RESTORE command is issued.
-- Occurs when DBCC commands are issued.
-- Occurs when audit trace modifications are made.
-- Occurs when a CREATE, ALTER, and DROP object commands are issued.
-- database objects, such as schemas.
-- dropped from a database.
-- Occurs when server objects are created, altered, or dropped.
-- as EXECUTE AS LOGIN.
-- such as EXECUTE AS USER or SETUSER.
-- Occurs when the owner is changed for objects in server scope.
-- database and permissions are checked to do that.
-- object and permissions are checked to do that.
This requirement is contingent upon the language in which the application is programmed, as many application architectures in use today incorporate their software libraries into, and make them inseparable from, their compiled distributions, rendering them static and version -dependaent. However, this requirement does apply to applications with software libraries accessible and configurable, as in the case of interpreted languages.
If optional features or components of SQL Server are installed, this is not a finding.
As part of a defense-in-depth strategy, the organization considers routinely encrypting information at rest on selected secondary storage devices. The employment of cryptography is at the discretion of the information owner/stewarddecision whether to employ cryptography is the responsibility of the information owner/steward, who exercises discretion within the framework of applicable rules, policies and law. The selection of the cryptographic mechanisms used is based upon maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the information.
If any database that is supposed to have encryption enabled doeis not list any symmetric keyed as such, this is a finding.
If SQL Server cryptographic algorithms listed are found not to be compliant with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, standards and guidanceIf encryption is not required for this database, this is not a finding.
Run the following SQL scriptEnsure the database is backed up.
Configure symmetric keys to use approved encryption algorithms. Existing keys are not reconfigurable to use different algorithms.
Configure or alter symmetric keys to encrypt keys with certificates or authorized asymmetric keys:.
This control is intended to address the confidentiality and integrity of information at rest in non-mobile devices and covers user information and system information. If the data is not encrypted or protected by other means, it is subject to compromise and unauthorized disclosure, it is subject to compromise and unauthorized disclosure.
If physical protections are in place for the datathis is a system database (master, msdb, resource, tempdb or model), this is not applicable (NA).
Use encryption to protect the data where physical measures are not being utilized. To enable database encryption, create a master key, create a database encryption key, and protect it by using mechanisms tied to the master key, and then set encryption on.
Review system documentation and/or organizational procedures to determine the threshold value for the storage used by the transaction log, above which staff must be alerted. The threshold may be expressed as an absolute quantity, or a percentage of total available space. If this threshold has not been defined, this is a finding. If monitoring software is in use, and has been configured to alert system and database administrators when the threshold is exceeded, this is not a finding. If manual procedures exist for frequently checking the space used and alerting system and database administrators, and there is evidence that the procedures are adhered to, this is not a finding. Otherwise, this is a finding.
Decide on, and document, the threshold value for alerting administrators to a shortage of storage for the transaction log. Establish automated or manual monitoring and alerting.
Weak passwords may be easily guessed. When passwords are used to encrypt keys used for encryption of sensitive data, then the confidentiality of all data encrypted using that key is at risk.
From the query prompt: SELECT name FROM [master].sys.databases WHERE state = 0 Repeat for each database: From the query prompt: USE [database name] SELECT COUNT(name) FROM sys.symmetric_keys s, sys.key_encryptions k WHERE s.name = '##MS_DatabaseMasterKey##' AND s.symmetric_key_id = k.key_id AND k.crypt_type = 'ESKP' If the value returned is greater than 0, a Database Master Key exists and is encrypted with a password. Review procedures and evidence of password requirements used to encrypt Database Master Keys. If the passwords are not required to meet DoD password standards, currently a minimum of 15 characters with at least 1 upper-case character, 1 lower-case character, 1 special character and 1 numeric character, and at least 8 characters changed from the previous password, this is a finding.
Assign an encryption password to the Database Master Key that is a minimum of 15 characters with at least 1 upper-case character, 1 lower-case character, 1 special character and 1 numeric character, and at least 8 characters changed from the previous password. To change the Database Master Key encryption password: USE [database name] ALTER MASTER KEY REGENERATE WITH ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = '[new password]' Note: The Database Master Key encryption method should not be changed until the effects are thoroughly reviewed. Changing the master key encryption causes all encryption using the Database Master Key to be decrypted and re-encrypted. This action should not be taken during a high-demand time. Please see the MS SQL Server documentation prior to re-encrypting the Database Master Key for detailed information.
Backup and recovery of the Service Master Key may be critical to the complete recovery of the database. Not having this key can lead to loss of data during recovery.
Review procedures for, and evidence of backup of, the SQL Server Service Master Key in the System Security Plan. If the procedures or evidence does not exist, this is a finding. If the procedures do not indicate offline and off-site storage of the Service Master Key, this is a finding. If procedures do not indicate access restrictions to the Service Master Key backup, this is a finding.
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Lynnette KellyBusiness News: Coventry and Warwickshire represent region at MIPIMCOVENTRY and Warwickshire will have its strongest ever presence at the world’s largest commercial property show next month, say local leaders.
The EnemyPete Tong to headline first night at new Coventry nightclubWORLD-RENOWNED DJ Pete Tong will be the first headline act to play at a Coventry nightclub which has been granted an alcohol licence despite objections from nearby residents.
Conservative PartyCouncil bosses off to south of France - because they don't want Coventry to be like NuneatonCOUNCIL bosses are heading to the south of France – because they “don’t want Coventry to be like Nuneaton”.
Coventry City CouncilBusiness News: Coventry pioneers new transport planA FRESH approach to city centre planning pioneered in Coventry will be showcased at a major European property show next month.
Royal MailRevised plans for £50m Bishop Gate scheme back before Coventry plannersDEVELOPERS of a £50million superstore in Coventry have revised their plans – but have vowed to push ahead with the Bishop Gate scheme this year.
Royal MailCoventry Telegraph Letters: Coventry's MIPIM strategy is essentialI WRITE in response to the article ‘Nice Work If You Cannes Get It’ (Telegraph, January 3).
Royal MailOld soldiers' club in Coventry saved by property investorAN EX-servicemen’s club in Coventry city centre has had its future secured after a property investor stepped in to buy the building.
Coventry City CouncilCoventry's £50m Bishop Gate gets cash boostCOVENTRY’S ambitious £50million Bishop Gate scheme has received a cash boost this week.
Coventry City CouncilCatalyst for CoventryCOVENTRY’S enthusiasm, central location and overall desire for growth makes the city a magnet for investors, according to a development giant, who is set to revamp the area.
Royal MailTraders welcome £50m plan for former Coventry mail officePLANS for a £50 million supermarket, gym and a multi-storey car park to replace the empty Royal Mail sorting office in Coventry have been welcomed by traders at the Canal Basin.
Royal MailFears over loss of ring road footbridge as Coventry Bishop Gate plan gets go-aheadPLANS to replace a former Royal Mail sorting office with a supermarket have been approved by councillors.
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When and where Ashton Eaton was born?
Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in both the decathlon and indoor heptathlon events, and is the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-point barrier, with 9,039 points. On August 29, 2015, he beat his own world record with a score of 9,045 points.
He competed for the Oregon Track Club Elite team based in Eugene, Oregon. In college, Eaton competed for the University of Oregon, where he was a five-time NCAA champion, and won The Bowerman award in 2010. In 2011, Eaton won the first international medal of his career, a silver, in the decathlon at the 2011 World Championships. The following year, Eaton broke his own world record in the heptathlon at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, and then broke the world record in the decathlon at the Olympic Trials. After setting the world record, Eaton won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He successfully defended his Olympic title in Rio 2016 by winning the decathlon gold medal and tying the Olympic record. Eaton is only the third Olympian (Bob Mathias of the US and Britain's Daley Thompson being the other two) to achieve back-to-back gold medals in the decathlon.
How tall and how much weigh Ashton Eaton?
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0.997794 |
Super Savings! Up to 37% off on Jewelry Design at Translate This Website. Top brands include Arnoldsche Verlagsanstalt. & Arnoldsche Verlagsanstalt. Hurry! Limited time offers. Offers valid only while supplies last.
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Given enough time, all roofs will need to be replaced, but how do you decide if you need a roof repair or replacement? Clearly, replacing your roof is a bigger, more costly job, but sometimes a repair is just not enough. Essentially, whether you repair or replace your roof is mostly a matter of timing. You certainly don’t want to wait until your roof is in shambles before you replace it, but you also want to get the most out of your existing roof.
Indeed, though a new roof may cost you thousands of dollars, water damage to your home and property can also be extremely costly, so you need to determine whether the condition of your roof is suitable for another year. This means you need to be aware of the early signs of roof leaks and when repairs are the most sensible option, especially in regards to your budget. Finally, you’ll want to discuss your options with an experienced professional roofer.
The condition of your current roof is the single largest factor that should influence your decision about whether to get a roof repair or replacement. Ideally, you want to check the condition of your roof on a yearly basis so you can look for signs of damage and determine the extent of the damage. Cracked caulk, rust spots on flashing, damaged shingles, or damage around roofing fixtures may indicate the need for replacement. In addition, there are even internal signs that your roof may need replacement. Dark areas on ceilings, peeling paint in your home or on the underside of roof overhangs, wet spots or water stains on your walls, fireplace, or venting are all signs that your roof is not providing adequate protection.
Similarly, the age of your roof is an important indicator of its quality. On average, a asphalt roof will last around 20 or 30 years, especially if it has been properly maintained. If you know your roof is getting old, and you’re seeing signs of leaks, it may be time for a replacement.
Minor leaks in your roof can likely be repaired. If your roof is relatively new, you should check to see whether it is still covered by a manufacturer or labour warranty. The cost of repairing a roof is considerably less than replacement, so you also need to consider your financial situation when deciding whether to repair or replace. Ultimately, you should discuss your options with a qualified roofing professional. S/he will be able to tell you if there are more serious structural problems that make replacement the sensible choice. Still, unless there is significant, widespread damage, if your budget cannot accommodate a new roof, repairs may extend the life of your roof long enough for you to finance a replacement.
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Since I had last posted about Codewars I have been spending more time trying out the challenges, and I realize now how valuable it is a tool to develop your coding skills.
The last challenge I did required for me to create a function that would evaluate value x and return certain words based on whether the number is divisible by 3, 5, 3 and 5, or neither. I knew how to evaluate whether a number can be divisible by another by determining whether there is a remainder (using %), and I knew how to do if, elif, and else statements, so I put those to work in my code and get a working program.
def multiple(x): if x % 3 == 0 and x % 5 == 0: return "BangBoom" elif x % 3 == 0: return "Bang" elif x % 5 == 0: return "Boom" else: return "Miss"
This code condenses my 8 lines in the function into just one. I didn’t know how to do that before, and now I do! For now I am trying to just get through the challenges without giving up, but eventually I hope that I can make posts that are also well written. I’m very excited to use it as a tool!!
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0.999998 |
Seriously, who in life yearns to be so blatantly ordinary?
People try so hard to mask their own kind of weird because they hunger for acceptance. What's truly sad about this is that they yearn for other people's acceptance more than their own by trying to fit into a mold that's clearly not for them. When I ask people, "what's so wrong about not being like the rest?", no one can really give me a straight answer. Most of them brush me off by saying, "just because." I have never once thought that each and every human was meant to be same, because really, where's the fun in that?
I am weird because I have an unladylike and boisterous laugh.
I am weird because I was never attracted to the idea of being a cheerleader.
I am weird because I would spend my lunch breaks in the library instead of the cafeteria.
Luckily, my family has never been one to agree. I inherited my father's laugh, and my mother's uncanny inability to dance, and just then, my sister turned me into a bookworm. They all encourage each other to foster whatever weirdness is there, because it is precisely that weirdness that makes you distinguished from the rest.
Oftentimes, my mom would say, "If your choices don't hurt anyone, then there'snothing wrong with them."
True story: My section adviser called up my mother once to tell her that she did not like the way my bangs were cut and that I should get rid of them.
At that time, I was young, and I had decided to cut my own bangs because the hairdresser never got it right. And honestly, I didn't think they looked that bad. My mother even said they looked nice. What was funnier to me was that I never knew teachers had a say in my hair choices.
Honestly speaking, the more people argued against my choices, the more I wanted to stick by them. It's not because I wanted to be a rebel, but because from a very early age, I was raised to to fight for what I want and for what I believe in. I think that if you constantly fluctuate between what you want and what society wants, you never really have a clear vision of who you are. The line between who you really want to be and what society wants you be to be becomes blurred. If I don't see anything wrong with my decisions, what did it matter to them? Not once did I conform to what my teachers and peers saw as "normal", unless, you know, I was about to get sanctioned.
I think that if you constantly fluctuate between what you want and what society wants, you never really have a clear vision of who you are. The line between who you really want to be and what society wants you be to be becomes blurred. If I don't see anything wrong with my decisions, what did it matter to them?
Years later, this "weirdness" got me into one of the country's top universities, landed me a spot in a batch of Candy Correspondents, and pushed me into making an online magazine for young and unrecognized talent. When people approach me and ask why I decided to give life to Rumination, I never really know what answer to give them except "because it felt right." Even though it has garnered a loyal following, there are still people who are not so fond of the idea. They tell me that it's just a waste of my time because I don't make money out of it and that I am wasting all my energy when I should be studying hard in school. Though funnily enough, my grades even got higher after I started Rumination. It had never felt like a burden to me because it was something I loved to do—I didn't think of it as work, but rather an escape from school.
I live life comfortably, and without any regrets because I'm not spending all my time thinking of ways I could earn acceptance and validation from society. I do what I what I think is right, entertaining and fun because I don't know how to do it any other way.
To this very day, I would still rather stay at home and play Harvest Moon than go out and party. Whenever I do end up going out, the thing I look forward to the most is the post-party McDonald's drive-thru. Not that I'm saying these preferences are weird, but it is because of choices like these that I am dubbed as killjoy, unusual, and strange. In reality, the only basis society has for being "weird" is when your preferences don't align with that of others'.
There is nothing society hates more than something it cannot understand. That's why our mouths are so loose with spewing out labels such as weirdo, freak, or misfit.
We are all weird, so to speak—we just have different brands of weird.
When in doubt, think of it this way: when people try to force you into this mold that clearly doesn't fit, it is not them who get hurt, it's you.
If being "weird" means not sharing the same preferences and interests with the majority, then I'll live. I don't know about you but I would much rather be called weird than generic. There is no greater insult than being thought of as common and replaceable. No one is ever fascinated with what is normal because people remember the eccentric. Now, when someone calls me "weird", I smile because I know I'm doing me right.
Had I not stuck with my brand of weirdness, I wouldn't not be where I am now—with a solid set of friends who are just as weird as me, interesting career opportunities. Things are different now, but in a good way. For one, I'm no longer sporting bangs.
What makes me a certified Candy girl is my desire and eagerness to present myself as me, but better.
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0.995831 |
Southern Arizona is a region of the United States comprising the southernmost portion of the State of Arizona. It sometimes goes by the name Gadsden or Baja Arizona, which means "Lower Arizona" in Spanish.
Furthermore, the populated areas of Southern Arizona include the major U.S. Army post of Fort Huachuca and Davis–Monthan Air Force Base of the U.S. Air Force.
The most major scientific site of Southern Arizona is the set of several astronomical observatories of the Kitt Peak National Observatory, a reasonable distance west-southwest of Tucson.
Southern Arizona is the location of several large National Monuments protecting the scenery, wildlife, and archaeological sites of Southern Arizona, and the Saguaro National Park, which stands on two large sections of land, one west of the Tucson metropolitan area and the other one east of Tucson.
Sometimes, Southern Arizona is considered to include the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, also. To some authorities, the northern boundary of Southern Arizona can be considered to be the Gila River, which sometimes flows west to the Colorado River, downstream of the Scottsdale– Phoenix metropolis.
The region includes several small mountain ranges including the Chiricahua Mountains, Huachuca Mountains, Santa Ritas, the Santa Catalinas, the Rincons, the Piñalenos, and others. As surprising as it might seem, some of these mountains are high enough, cold enough, and wet enough in the wintertime to provide alpine skiing at regular ski resorts, with ski lifts, not very distant from cities such as Tucson.
Significant distances requiring transportation in Southern Arizona are generally traveled by highway and the railroad. Southern Arizona is the location of the major transcontinental Interstate highway Interstate 10 from the border with New Mexico westward through Tucson, and then continuing northwest via Casa Grande to the Phoenix–Scottsdale–Mesa metropolis. Also, running westward from Casa Grande is Interstate 8, which goes via Yuma into California, crossing the Colorado River. Finally, the short Interstate 19 runs south from Tucson to Nogales, Arizona, and a major border crossing into Mexico. In addition, the much older Federal highway, U.S. Route 80, crosses Southern Arizona from east to west from the New Mexico border, nearly to the California border, and formerly into California to the Pacific Ocean. However, its westernmost stretch has been replaced by Interstate 8, which was built on top of it and its right-of-way.
A Transcontinental Railroad crosses Southern Arizona via Tucson and Phoenix. Also, there is a major railroad south from Northern Arizona, via Phoenix, Casa Grande, and Tucson, to Nogales, where it crosses the border and meets the Mexican railroads.
As for airline transportation, the primary major airport of Southern Arizona is located in Tucson, but also includes the larger Sky Harbor International Airport, just south of Phoenix.
Southern Arizona has been inhabited by human beings for several millennia. The Hohokam were the principal Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the area. In more recent times, the dominant indigenous group of Native Americans have been the O'odham tribe, which continues to reside in this area in their traditional homeland.
Several Spanish missions were established in the early 18th century by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino in what was then known as the Pimería Alta. After the Mexican–American War of 1846–47, much of Southern Arizona was purchased by the United States from Mexico for $15,000,000 in the Gadsden Purchase of 1854.
More recently, Southern Arizona played an important role during the Cold War. Davis-Monthan AFB was the home base of an air force wing of 18 heavy Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles dispersed over a wide area of launch sites – south, southwest, and southeast of Tucson. About 20 years ago,[ when?] due to their advancing age and the advent of several important Strategic Nuclear Weapons Reduction treaties, all of these missiles were retired from service. All but one of their launch silos and command shelters were demolished with explosives. The remaining site, Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, about 15 miles south of Tucson on Interstate 19, serves as the Titan Missile Museum, a National Historic Landmark.
^ Bodfield, Rhonda; Kelly, Andrea (February 24, 2011). "Could Baja Arizona be 51st state in US?". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
^ "A tale of two counties". The Economist. March 31, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
^ "A 51st State? Some In Arizona Want A Split". NPR. 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
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Column: Even many Cuban-Americans now understand that isolation is a failed policy.
Sen. Marco Rubio has his views, and he’s sticking to them. He fiercely opposes all of President Obama’s initiatives to normalize relations with Cuba.
The new Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, has bowed to that passion and outsourced his party’s Cuba policy to Rubio. “I’m … persuaded that Marco’s right about this,” he says.
Cuban-Americans like Rubio deeply despise the Castro regime in Havana, and for more than 50 years they’ve managed to dictate a policy of isolation and intolerance toward their home island. Their fervent defense of freedom deserves respect, even honor.
But there’s no denying the blunt facts: Their policy hasn’t worked. Instead of promoting freedom, they’ve promoted repression. Instead of destabilizing the Castro regime, they’ve reinforced it.
Sen. Jeff Flake, a conservative Republican from Arizona, contradicts the view — popular among Cuban exiles — that Obama’s initiative was a “concession” to the Castro regime.
Even many Cuban-Americans now understand that isolation is a failed policy that undermines our national interest. And hardliners like Rubio are increasingly out of step with the shifting sentiments in their own community.
A recent poll of Cuban-Americans in the Miami area found that more than two-thirds support key elements of Obama’s overtures: re-establishing diplomatic relations and lifting travel restrictions. A smaller majority, 52 percent, also favors ending the trade embargo against Cuba, a shift that would require Congressional approval and that Rubio has vowed to fight.
Significantly, the survey by Florida International University found a growing generation gap in the Cuban community. Sixty-two percent of those under 30 oppose the embargo, and 9 out of 10 want better relations with the island of their forebears.
Rubio and his supporters are not just on the wrong side of public opinion, even in their own universe. They are on the wrong side of history and experience.
Engagement, not isolation, advances the very values that conservatives profess to care so much about: free markets and personal liberty. And three previous Republican leaders have clearly understood that.
In 1972, President Richard Nixon traveled to China and initiated a new relationship with Beijing’s communist rulers. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan made a similarly courageous journey to Moscow (Steve went with him as the New York Times correspondent). In 1995, Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, helped broker the reconciliation between Washington and Hanoi.
The record of these relationships has been far from perfect, and often frustrating to the forces of freedom. Engagement is no magical highway to democracy. But progress is clear and conclusive.
Take China. Today, it is America’s second-largest trading partner, with $579 billion in goods and services exchanged in 2012. Yes, the Communist Party still rules the country with a clenched fist, but personal freedoms -- to work, study, marry and move — have vastly improved. China scholars agree that America’s growing influence was a critical ingredient in encouraging those advances.
If Mao’s China can turn onto “a new path,” then why not Castro’s Cuba? That’s exactly the point made by Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who shares Rubio’s presidential aspirations.
“Inconsistent and incoherent” is exactly right. The difference is that none of those other countries had a cluster of exiles wielding political power in a key state and exerting a chokehold on American policy.
It’s time for that chokehold to end, and for a new era to begin.
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How would you rate Cinderella Phenomenon?
- Heroine's name can be changed.
- 5 routes, each with a unique storyline.
- 10+ side characters, each with their own backstories.
- 250,000 to 300,000 words.
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Start with a proof of concept with blockchain.
Most of what is written today about Blockchain technology is theoretical. What could potentially happen with blockchain and how disruptive it will be.
There are articles after articles on how blockchain will disrupt X industry and change everything. Finance, supply chains, contracts, or venture capital, nothing is safe from blockchain's disruptive force.
Let me know tell this is a lot of hype. Not to say it isn't true but hyped what too fast. This is the environment we live in now where something can go viral immediately.
Hype is good thing when it comes to technology particularly. This is mainly how so much money gets poured into new projects and companies. The hype train brings in money so the infrastructure can be laid out today for a better tomorrow.
Blockchain is not going anywhere. In the US we have a fairly good banking system and things generally work well. However, for many in the world their infrastructure is terrible.
A basic thing such as keeping your money with you is not possible. Governments and banks hold all the cards. Extremely inflation in certain countries make the Bitcoin volatility look like a kids seesaw.
What most companies should be doing though is to start dipping their toes into blockchain. Start with a proof of concept (POC) and see what results you get from these tests. Maybe a smart contract can streamline the supply chain better and reduce costs by 15%. Then make bigger investments into a more wide spread architecture.
There is not also a strong need to build out a full blockchain group internally. Use outside resources and freelance developers to build POCs.
Test. Iterate. Test. Iterate. Look for areas to double down on. Then full steam ahead.
For me personally, I have always been fascinated by technology and finance. The Dotcom boom and bust was a wild ride. From the rubble came a wave of new tech companies. Namely Google, Facebook, and many others. Tremendous investments were made to build out the foundation of the internet.
Every now and then we encounter seismic shifts in how technology will shape our future. Currently, that new technology is the Blockchain. You have probably heard of it by now. Bitcoin and Ethereum are examples of applications built on the blockchain.
There is so much to digest. It can be difficult to filter through the noise as most conversations right now are very technical. This is generally a good thing as we need really smart people to build out the infrastructure of what will blockchain do for everyone.
Although I have been following this technology for some time now. I am just recently focusing more attention to learn more about possible beneficial applications of the blockchain.
A blockchain is a digital ledger of records or transactions arranged in data blocks. Blocks are linked together through a cryptographic validation known as a hashing function. Follow the link if you want to nerd out for a bit or have trouble sleeping.
What makes blockchain and this type of data structure so hot is applications can be decentralized. Records are not stored in any single location, are accessible by everyone, and are immutable. Meaning it is nearly impossible to hack.
How does blockchain help us?
Let’s look at the most popular application of blockchain technology. Bitcoin is a digital currency that is built on the blockchain. There is no physical paper, like a US dollar. It is all digital.
The challenge with making this purely digital is you could copy it for example. Also, how do I know your Bitcoin is legit and you didn’t counterfeit it.
This is where blockchain technology enables us to use Bitcoins to buy and sell goods online with the confidence.
Wait a minute. We can already buy and sell goods online. What’s wrong with PayPal and the current checkout system?
Well, for one thing, these transactions are controlled by just a few companies. We pay a ton in fees just to transfer money. Have you ever sent money overseas? It transfers from bank to bank adding fees upon fees and days to the process.
There is no central company or person controlling Bitcoin. Bitcoin technology does not recognize a person or entity for validation. Completely decentralized. There are blockchain applications which are hybrids though. So it is not all or nothing.
Blockchain hopes to make this more efficient by minimizing the middleman and enabling direct peer-to-peer transactions.
Secure (uses a push mechanism rather than pull). The network only sends what is needed where banks pull information from your account with credit cards for example.
My focus here is to summarize my thoughts around Blockchain and related applications. Specifically around how to apply this exponential technology to everyday businesses. The intention is not to be too technical because Ill get lost myself.
How will blockchain effect banks?
How will blockchain effect supply chains?
How will blockchain be regulated?
How will blockchain affect my parents?
I hope to answer with future discussions. I cannot predict if Bitcoin will hit $20,000 or die out. However, one thing I know for sure is blockchain technology is not going away.
Peer-to-peer networking and cloud technologies are fascinating when you start to think about how information is moved.
Particularly with financial institutions that are prone to aggressive and constant cyber attacks.
A key aspect about blockchain is it is a decentralized network. There is no central control. This is important for security to not have a central point for attackers to focus on.
Illustration from “On Distributed Communication Networks”, showing three types of networks.
This is different from a distributed network. Even though Amazon may have various cloud services with servers distributed across the globe, it is still controlled by Amazon. An issue arises with Amazon and your data could be in danger.
I am personally not so concerned that Amazon controls the servers. It seems to be working well and thousands of businesses are built on AWS. They must be doing something right.
However, the future with blockchain technology promises a decentralized environment where no one company holds all the data.
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There are two kinds of loops in Python. In this guide we'll cover both the "for" loop and the "while" loop. We'll also cover how to control these loops by continuing and breaking out.
The for loop in Python is used to iterate through sequence data types. Some example of sequence data types in Python are string, list, tuple, xrange, etc. Supposing you have a list: my_list = [2, 3, 5, 7, 11] To iterate through this list using a for loop you can do the following: for item in my_list: print item The for loop always looks like this. item is a variable name that we choose. As we iterate through the list each element will be assigned to the item variable within the block of code. For loops are used when we want to look at each element in some sequence. So the block of code inside the for loop is the code that will be executed once for each element in the sequence.
A while loop is used to repeatedly execute a statement as long as the condition is true. Unlike for loops, while is not connected with any sequence. For loops iterate for as many elements as are in the sequence, but while loops iterate as long as the condition is True. Here is a simple example to print all even numbers less than 100. i = 0 while i < 100: if i % 2 == 0: print i i = i + 1 In this example, we are setting a counter i. Then we set up a while loop to execute the following statement as long as the condition i <= 100 is True. The statement simply tests to see if the number we are testing is even by using the modulo operator. In this case, we need to manually increment to counter which is why we finish with i = i + 1. So each time we loop through, the value of i will be increased by 1.
Sometimes you'll want to continue to the next iteration without executing the following code. Continue can be used the same way in both for loops and while loops. We could rewrite the previous example using continue. for item in xrange(100): if not item % 2 == 0: continue print item This does the same thing except we are using a for loop and xrange. Xrange gives us a range of numbers between 0 and 100. And instead of only printing item if it is even, we continue to the next iteration if it is not even. The continue statement means we won't execute the code following it, and instead move on to the next iteration through the loop.
In some cases, we will want to stop executing code altogether if a condition is met within a loop. For example, if we want to test a list to see if it contains any odd numbers we can do this: test_list = [2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10] contains_odd = False for item in test_list: if not item % 2 == 0: contains_odd = True break In this case, we are setting up a test list called test_list. This contains some arbitrary values. Then we are setting a flag contains_odd. We will start by assuming that the list contains no odd numbers, then iterate through the list and test for odds. If we find an odd number we set contains_odd to True and completely break out of the code. Due to the nature of our problem, if we find an odd value in the list there is no reason to keep testing.
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The first industrial revolution started in England towards the end of the 18th century with the use of steam power and revamping of the textile industry through mechanisation. The second revolution began a century later and culminated in early 20th century; it was driven by electricity and a cluster of inventions including the internal combustion engine, the aeroplane and moving pictures The third industrial revolution, which was started in early 1970s, was basically digital in nature—it involved application of electronics and information technology to enhance production, and centred around concepts such as mass customisation and additive manufacturing (for instance, 3D printing) whose applications are yet to be explored fully. The fourth industrial revolution is seen as an upgrade on the third one and is noted for a mix of technologies across biological, physical and digital worlds.
3D Printing. Advances in additive manufacturing, using a widening range of materials and methods; innovations include 3D bioprinting of organic tissues.
Advanced materials and nanomaterials. Creation of new materials and nanostructures for the development of beneficial material properties, such as thermoelectric efficiency, shape retention and new functionality.
Artificial intelligence and robotics. Development of machines that can substitute for humans, increasingly in tasks associated with thinking, multitasking and fine motor skills.
Biotechnologies. Innovations in genetic engineering, sequencing and therapeutics, as well as biological computational interfaces and synthetic biology.
Energy capture, storage and transmission. Breakthroughs in battery and fuel cell efficiency; renewable energy through solar, wind, and tidal technologies; energy distribution through smart grid systems, wireless energy transfer and more.
Blockchain and distributed ledger. Distributed ledger technology based on cryptographic systems that manage, verify and publicly record transaction data; the basis of "cryptocurrencies" such as bitcoin.
Geoengineering. Technological intervention in planetary systems, typically to mitigate effects of climate change by removing carbon dioxide or managing solar radiation.
Ubiquitous linked sensors. Also known as the "Internet of Things". The use of networked sensors to remotely connect, track and manage products, systems, and grids.
Neurotechnologies. Innovations such as smart drugs, neuroimaging, and bioelectronic interfaces that allow for reading,communicating and influencing human brain activity.
New computing technologies. New architectures for computing hardware, such as quantum computing, biological computing or neural network processing, as well as innovative expansion of current computing technologies.
Space technologies. Developments allowing for greater access to and exploration of space, including microsatellites, advanced telescopes, reusable rockets and integrated rocket-jet engines.
Virtual and augmented realities. Next-step interfaces between humans and computers, involving immersive environments, holographic readouts and digitally produced overlays for mixed-reality experiences.
The seeds of the fourth industrial revolution have already been sowed. They are seen by major transformations across spheres of human activities; scientific breakthroughs and discoveries in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printing, big data, the web of things, and biogenetics. These developments bring science fiction to life.
The emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) will transform the world in many ways – some that are desirable and others that are not. The extent to which the benefits are maximized and the risks mitigated will depend on the quality of governance – the rules, norms, standards, incentives, institutions, and other mechanisms that shape the development and deployment of each particular technology.
How are governments to prepare, manage, and respond to the developments associated with the fourth industrial revolution?
What will be its role in forging pathways into the next era?
In the public sector, what sort of impact will these developments have upon the way it is organized and how it functions?
What will all of these changes mean for government, governance and the concept of democracy?
grapple with some very serious challenges.
nature of work itself. Many activities that workers carry out today have the potential to be automated. Unemployment and underemployment are high around the world.
According to MIT Sloan School of Management economists Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, the revolution is likely to increase inequality in the world as the spread of machines increases unemployment and disrupts labour markets. According to Schwab, "in the future, talent, more than capital, will represent the critical factor of production, giving rise to a job market increasingly segregated into low-skill/low-pay and high-skill/high-pay segments, which in turn will lead to an increase in social tensions".
IT systems management. Digital technology also can enable new forms of entrepreneurial activity. Workers in small businesses and self-employed occupations can benefit from higher income earning opportunities. A new category of knowledge-enabled jobs will become possible as machines embed intelligence and knowledge that less-skilled workers can access with a little training.
John Chambers, Chairman CISCO said that about 40% of companies that exist today will cease to be relevant. Replacing humans with robots in manufacturing is a trend that we can’t stop or avoid, but we can be better prepared by being open to learning new skills. Amazon had 30,000 robots working for it. To put that in context, Amazon only has 90,000 humans working in its warehouses. As of today, one in every four full‐time Amazon warehouse workers... is a robot. The creation of new jobsare mainly in more specialised areas such as computing, maths, architecture and engineering There certainly would be an increase in demand for high‐skill jobs. Driverless cars, for instance, will obviate the need for drivers but require a lot of smart coders who can make such cars ply the roads in different parts of the world safely. India would need to look at this issue from both a policy perspective as well as a social perspective keeping in mind to balance both the improvements brought about by the fourth industrial revolution as well as the wants and needs of its own citizens.
need for retraining and redeployment of labor. In India, for example, digital technologies provide the foundation for many innovations that could contribute $550 billion to $1 trillion of economic impact per year in 2025. However, the value of digitization that is captured depends on how many people and businesses have access to it. More than four billion people, or over half of the world’s population, is still offline. About 75 percent of this offline population is concentrated in 20 countries, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania, and is disproportionately rural, low income, elderly, illiterate, and female. The value of connecting these people is significant, and as they enter the global digital economy, the world of work will transform in fundamental ways and at an unprecedented pace. Access to the technology alone is not enough; even in countries where a large majority of the population has access, the literacy and skills needed to capture digital gains are sometimes limited.
Evolve education systems and learning for a changed workplace.
Determine how the private sector can drive training.
Create incentives for private-sector investment to treat human capital like other capital.
Explore public-private partnerships to stimulate investment in enabling infrastructure.
Rethink transition support and safety nets for workers affected.
Capture the productivity benefits of technology.
With rapid developments in technology, it is clear that there will be significant impacts on the economy, on the labour force, and on the ways people work within various sectors of activities. The concept of the demographic time bomb, which has now been debated for years, suggests that as the population ages, there is not going to be enough workers to sustain high economic growth. Countries may even experience labour shortages because of ageing demographics of developed countries. At the same time there is an explosion of young population in countries like India, African continent and some other countries. Technological breakthroughs in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics will potentially lead to firms requiring less human labour. The result of this economic transformation will mean higher levels of unemployment and a larger pool of unused or under used labour. Widespread 3D printing is like to dramatically restructure manufacturing. At its 2016 meeting, the World Economic Forum estimated that five million jobs across 15 major economies would be lost before 2020 because of the fourth industrial revolution The fourth industrial revolution could represent major economic upheavals, with many social consequences unseen by society in decades, if ever. Such consideration warrants further attention, public debate, and possibly eventual action by government.
Other related issues to consider would include education and post-secondary education, labour market training, etc. The fourth industrial revolution raises multiple policy questions, most notably in areas relating to the economy, economic development and the labour force.
The fourth industrial revolution could lead to a more effective, a leaner and cheaper government. Governments may be able toprovide more and better services for less. The fourth industrial revolution could, thus, lead to improved policymaking and policy, increased effectiveness and efficiency and better programs and services for citizens.
Government services will be needed more, especially to address rising wealth inequalities.
The welfare state will be under heavy pressure due to existing trends such as population ageing and new possible realities such as high unemployment and increased welfare needs.
Governments will still be relied upon to deliver key services such as healthcare, education and welfare.
The demand for government services will be high, but public authorities may not have the financial capacity to deliver the goods due to slow growth.
What are the likely impacts of the fourth industrial revolution on our institutions, and democratic practices? The fourth industrial revolution, if not managed, has the potential to generate serious political, economic and social upheavals. The fourth industrial revolution could benefit developing countries via technology transfers, but it could also exacerbate many of the political, economic and social tensions that these countries face.
of any existing regulatory body.
The role of the state will actually become more important even as the center of gravity shifts to the corporate sector. In a world deeply dependent on technology, those who hold a tight grip on it will invariably wield a tremendous amount of power.It is foreseeable that in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, the state’s influence will progressively be eclipsed by those companies A significantly weakened state coupled with a greatly empowered corporate sector can create a serious problem. This is because the corporate sector is accountable only to shareholders and driven foremost by profits. So when technological unemployment hits, it is not incentivized to employ those workers made redundant by new technology. Only the state – through its exclusive use of monetary and fiscal policies – will be able to step in to stimulate demand and generate employment. Even if the state were unable to create jobs, it can at least help the poor and weak through its social programs. While the corporate sector does help the needy at times, only the state retains the policy tools and strategic planning that can prevent the emergence of a persistent underclass.
Apart from that, the state will also be needed to provide security. The fourth industrial revolution has the potential to destabilize societies and unsettle established institutions. Digital vulnerabilities can also lead to a spike in cyber-attacks. Whether it is fending off terrorists or hackers, the state’s role in keeping us safe will actually become more important. While private enterprises do perform a number of ancillary security functions, public safety and national defense still rest principally with the state. There are good reasons why these national priorities are public goods and it is important to bear them in mind as we enter the era of the fourth industrial revolution.
With a population of more than 1.3 billion predicted to become the world’s youngest population by 2022. We have to position ourselves advantageously for new things to come. Historically, in 1600, India contributed more than 22% of the world’s GDP, which plummeted to about 4% in 1990 before economic reforms bought it up to 6.8%. At the time of the first industrial revolution, with the British Empire’s mechanisation of the textile industry, India a British colony, paid a stiff price, as millions of weavers were replaced by machines. India has remained behind the curve on the second revolutions as well. We did much better with the third revolution and should do even better on the fourth. Currently the fourth industrial revolution may be the last thing on the minds of most Indians. India has other issues which it is grappling with ‐ bridging the infrastructure gap, enabling electricity and sanitation in our villages, bridging the digital divide and improving the last mile connectivity across rural areas. We are also working to harness human capital through skill development of the one million youth joining the workforce every month. The Government over the past two years has been on a mission mode with the launch of ambitious initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Smart Cities and Start up India. While such initiatives get under way, and begin to solve some of the big challenges for us namely health, education and skilling, housing and basic amenities like electricity; it is wise to keep a sharp eye on future technologies and adopt those that could significantly accelerate impact.
In India, for example, Google is rolling out the Internet Saathi (Friends of the Internet) program in which rural women are trained to use the Internet, and then become local agents who provide services in their villages through Internet-enabled devices. The services include working as local distributors for telecom products (phones, SIM cards, and data packs), field data collectors for research agencies, financial-services agents, and paratechnicians who help local people access government schemes and benefits through an Internet-based device. Loss of low-end jobs is where India, which is known for a very large low skilled or unskilled youth population, is likely to face severe challenges.
In India, where more than 60 per cent of population still don't have access to basic amenities, lack potable water and toilets, live in one-room huts with no electricity and is exposed to all sorts of pollution, FIR can further unsettle the social fabric, with the rich getting even more richer and the poor becoming more doomed. The country, which still relies a lot on the agricultural sector for a major chunk of its GDP, already faces several crises in farming that include lack of labour, low prices of produce, shortage of water and poor soil. After having seen the immerse perils of being left behind in the first three industrial revolutions, India cannot afford to be a laggard as FIR unravels. However, how to ensure parity among the rich and the poor when it comes to income creation will continue to be a tough nut to crack.
India, like many other Asian states, is struggling to manage cryptocurrencies.
As more consumers and businesses turn to Bitcoin, the Indian government is still studying the issue and has not provided clear regulatory guidance on the payment technology to date.
The internal debate over Bitcoin highlights two competing impulses within the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While officials want to foster innovation in the banking sector, they are wary that such technologies could facilitate cybercrime, bribery, tax avoidance, and money laundering.
Pakistan’s introduction of tactical nuclear weapons has raised questions about two elements of India’s nuclear doctrine. While the issue of no-first-use has gathered much of the public attention, that debate is misplaced. It is not India’s NFU policy, but its massive retaliation posture that fails to credibly deter or counter Pakistan’s introduction of tactical nuclear weapons.
Two high-altitude interceptor tests earlier this year and an ongoing debate about Indian nuclear doctrine raise questions about the rationale for India’s pursuit of a ballistic missile defense shield, potential countermeasures Pakistan could develop, and the strategic implications for South Asian deterrence stability.
On January 9, 2017, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced that the country had successfully carried out the first-ever flight test of a nuclear-capable, submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM)—the Babur-3, a variant of the Babur-2 ground-launched cruise missile.1 With the introduction of the Babur-3, Pakistan seems headed toward adding a sea leg in the coming decade to complement a nuclear force structure that previously relied solely on land-based missiles and aircraft-delivered weapons.
Four years ago, my colleagues Tom Nichols and John Schindler warned that U.S. fecklessness in the Middle East was creating conditions where Russia would be able to emerge as the key player in regional security. In responding to critics of their original article, they penned a follow-up days later that laid out the Russian strategy: to present Moscow as a “viable alternative partner” for the states of the region. At the time, they were roundly criticized for their apparent pessimistic assessment that a collapsing “regional power” would be able to diminish the influence of the world’s sole remaining superpower in the Middle East or even that Moscow would have anything it could offer to compete with Washington’s largesse.
With tensions escalating rapidly again on the Korean peninsula, the attention of the world invariably has returned to the question of whether or not the solution to the crisis lies in Beijing. After months of continuing missile tests by North Korea despite sanctions and global condemnation, Kim Jong-un’s regime claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb and once again launched an intercontinental ballistic missile over Japan. North Korea’s march toward wielding a nuclear arsenal against its neighbors and far off enemies.
Nuclear alarmism is reaching a fever pitch in Washington. President Donald Trump has responded to North Korea’s push toward a nuclear-capable ICBM with paroxysms of bluster: He warned that North Korean threats to the United States would “be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,” proclaimed Kim Jong Un a “Rocket Man” (and now “Little Rocket Man”) on a “suicide mission,” and averred the North Korean regime “won’t be around for much longer.” Other members of the administration have echoed the president’s rhetoric: National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster suggested that Kim is undeterrable. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley trumpeted “plenty of military options.” The White House has engaged in open discussion of preventive war.
North Korea’s defeat in a war with South Korea and the United States is inevitable. At least that’s the consensus among most military experts. The war would be “nasty, brutish, and short” and could cost the lives of up to 20,000 per day even before the use of nuclear weapons. Yet the outcome would never be in doubt: the defeat of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK). This conclusion is drawn based on analyzing the relative military capabilities of North Korea, primarily seen as a function of its military hardware and munitions stockpile, versus the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States.
In order to deter nuclear aggression against its homeland and vital interests, the U.S. must demonstrate that its strategic arsenal is capable of surviving an attack and then retaliating with devastating force against the aggressor. In other words, the losses an attacker would suffer must demonstrably exceed any potential gains. Thus, the paradox of nuclear strategy is that when weapons are postured effectively, they will never be used. We buy and maintain nuclear weapons in the hope they will remain in their submarines and silos forever.
It's a science fiction writer's dream: if AI becomes smart enough to create more advanced versions of itself, pretty much every outcome is on the table. Machines could empower humanity to become enlightened and virtuous. On the less optimistic side? Machines could instead ruthlessly enslave all of humankind to tickle their own warped sense of satisfaction.
As you are probably aware by now, there has been yet another breach of NSA’s security, as another contractor supporting the agency’s mission to primarily steal communications secrets of foreign targets — apparently unwittingly revealed our highly sensitive sources, methods, tools, techniques and procedures. One wonders if there is anything left worth stealing from NSA’s classified network. And,one would have to assume at this point that all these leaks has enabled Russia to embed some well-placed implants in NSA’s network enterprise. One has to assume that Putin’s spies took advantage of these miscues. And, the employment of the contracting community by NSA has, for whatever reason, become its Achilles heel.
With the announcement of the new iPhone X—at a price only a princess royal could afford—I recalled a metaphor that some peers and I tried to employ to describe the importance of integration to future warfare. With the recognition by most defence thinkers and senior military leaders that potential future adversaries have created and employed capabilities that will negate U.S. and ally advantages, different approaches to contemporary warfare will be required. Enter ‘multi-domain battle’, a concept designed to address the diminishing ability of commanders to wage a joint fight effectively on the future battlefield.
Vince Lombardi wisely quipped, “The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there.” Success does not happen by accident…and neither does becoming a leader. The road to meaningful influence is marked by deliberate steps to acquire knowledge, gain experience, and engage in ways that specifically relate to leadership. Followers can do this on their own, but leaders have a tacit responsibility to grow other leaders and must find ways to further the leadership development of those around them.
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LEMPI WALDO vs. A. H. PHILLIPS, INC. FRANK WALDO vs. SAME.
Evidence of the maintenance by the proprietor of a retail store of a smooth unfastened rubber mat upon the slippery tile surface of an inclined step at the store's entrance, warranted a finding of negligence on the part of the proprietor toward a customer injured in a fall caused by the slipping of the mat.
TWO ACTIONS OF TORT. Writs in the Superior Court dated June 29, 1933.
$524.25 and $13 were returned before Goldberg, J. The defendant alleged exceptions.
E. T. Collins, (L. A. Stone & T. T. Murray with him,) for the defendant.
J. J. Shapiro, for the plaintiffs.
FIELD, J. These two actions of tort were tried together. In one of them the plaintiff, Lempi Waldo, seeks to recover compensation for personal injuries sustained by her as a result of a fall in the "entry-way" of a retail store operated by the defendant. In the other action her husband, Frank Waldo, seeks to recover consequential damages. In each case a motion of the defendant for a directed verdict was denied, subject to the defendant's exception, and there was a verdict for the plaintiff.
On the evidence, in some particulars contradictory, these facts could have been found: The front of the defendant's store was on a line with the edge of the public sidewalk. The door of the store was three and one half feet back from the sidewalk and an "entry-way" about two and one half feet wide ran from the sidewalk to the door between two show windows. The floor of this "entry-way" consisted of a "step or platform" which at the edge of the sidewalk was three and one half or four inches high and inclined upward to the door, where it was three and one half inches higher. The surface of this "step or platform" was white vitreous tile, except for the border of red tile about six inches wide. There was a rubber mat on the "step or platform" about two and one half feet wide extending from a line about six inches outside the door to a line about two and one half inches from the edge of the "step or platform." This rubber mat was about one half inch thick.
plaintiffs, testified, apparently as an expert, that the "white tiled body inside the red border is slippery. . . . White tile becomes smooth and slippery from wear, and it is used on flat surfaces but not on inclines and not on a ramp surface without a protection. A floor becomes a ramp when it has a pitch of about three quarters of an inch to a foot. . . . A rubber mat above three eighths of an inch in thickness would have a tendency to slip on a surface constructed as this surface was." Evidence more favorable to the defendant need not be recited. The jury could have disbelieved the testimony of the defendant's witnesses that the mat was fastened to the woodwork of the building, and could have inferred from the other evidence that it was not so fastened.
The evidence narrated warranted a finding that the combination of an inclined "step or platform" with a surface of worn and slippery tile and a rubber mat thereon, worn on top and smooth and worn on its under side, created a dangerous condition which the defendant, by a proper inspection, could and, in the exercise of reasonable care, ought to have discovered. Negligence on the part of the defendant causing injury to the plaintiff Lempi Waldo could have been found. Mulloy v. Kay Jewelry Co. of Quincy, 289 Mass. 264. See also Blease v. Webber, 232 Mass. 165; Shrigley v. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. 287 Mass. 300; Dalgleish v. Oppenheim, Collins & Co. 302 Penn. St. 88. In each case the exceptions are overruled.
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0.999973 |
Be aware that Cobra gives '''and''', '''or''', and '''implies''' equal precedence which is different from the conventions of boolean logic. Since boolean expressions are the basis of contracts you should be aware of the implications to your expressions when writing your preconditions, postconditions and invariants, specifically that additional parentheses will be required where you might not expect to need them.
Be aware that Cobra gives '''and''', '''or''', and '''implies''' equal precedence which is different from the conventions of boolean logic and most other languages including C# and Python. Since boolean expressions are the basis of contracts you should be aware of the implications to your expressions when writing your preconditions, postconditions and invariants, specifically that additional parentheses will be required where you might not expect to need them.
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0.947627 |
Gazelles are a genus (Gazella) found in the antelope family, six species of which can be found throughout Africa. Many of these small, horned creatures are endangered, and their populations in the deserts, plains, and savannas of Africa are threatened due to hunting, farming, and loss of habitat.
The most common gazelle in the Sahara desert is the Dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas), with several subspecies residing throughout northern Africa and the Middle East as well. The appearance of these gazelles can vary by subspecies, and ranges fawn to reddish-brown coats with stripes on the flanks and face in several shades of brown and white. They stand up to 2 feet tall and can weigh up to 44 pounds. Dorcas gazelles are highly adapted to desert life, and are able to get all required moisture from their plant matter-based diet without ever taking a drink of water. While these gazelles are not endangered, their population is considered vulnerable due to illegal hunting and habitat loss, caused by land development and agriculture.
Grant's gazelles (Nanger granti) are named for explorer James A. Grant, who discovered the source of the Nile with John H. Speke in 1862. These large gazelles stand 65 inches high and can weight up to 147 pounds, with pale brown coats and a white patch above their tails, similar to Thomson's gazelles. They are found in the savannas, deserts, and plains of east Africa, and are not considered threatened or endangered.
Slender-horned gazelles (Gazella leptoceros), also known as Rhim gazelles, are easily distinguishable by their pale brown coats and long, slender horns. In males, the horns can reach up to 16 inches, while in females the horns may grow only to 13 inches. Rhim gazelles were once the most common gazelles in the Sahara, but are now endangered due to loss of habitat and recreational hunting. Small numbers of these gazelles can now be found in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia.
Speke's gazelle (Gazella spekei) is named for John Hanning Speke, a British Indian Army officer who led several explorations of central Africa. This gazelle has a distinctive nasal sac that can be inflated when the gazelle is threatened or excited. They have fawn-colored coats, with white underparts, and brown stripes on their flanks and faces. While males and females have horns, males always will have longer horns than the females, with an average of 11.4 inches. Speke's gazelles are endangered in their natural habitat of Somalia, and are now extinct in Ethiopia.
Thomson's gazelles (Gazella thomsonii), which are named for Scottish explorer Joseph Thomson, are found in the savannas of east Africa, and are most common in the Serengeti region of Kenya and Tanzania. These gazelles stand up to 26 inches high at the shoulder and can weigh up to 55 pounds. Their coats are light brown, with dark stripes on their sides and white patches just above the tail. Male Thomson's gazelles have horns, while females may or may not. Their diet consists of grass and seeds, and they are hunted by a variety of predators, including cheetahs, leopards, lions, hyenas, and humans.
This is the largest of all gazelles, standing 3.9 feet tall and weighing up to 165 pounds. There are several subspecies of Dama gazelle (Nanger dama), and their coloring can range from reddish-brown with white patches and stripes, to a completely red-brown coat. All subspecies have slender, S-shaped horns. These gazelles are considered critically endangered, having suffered population decline due to desertification and over-grazing of their natural habitats, as well as civil unrest in their native range of Monoco, Senegal, and Mauritania to the Sudan. They now are found only in Chad, Mali, and Niger.
Soemmerring's gazelles (Nanger soemmerringii) are named for Samuel Thomas Soemmerring, a German and Polish scientist. These gazelles stand up to 3 feet high and weigh no more than 99 pounds, with a tawny red coat and white underbody. Their horns can grow up to 1.9 feet in length in males, and 1.3 feet in females. Soemmerring's gazelle is found in the steppes of Ethiopia and is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
The red-fronted gazelle (Eudorcas rufufrons), as its name suggest, has a red upper coat, which is separated from a white underbelly by a thick black stripe on the animal's side. Males and females have horns, which can reach up to 9.8 inches long in females and 13.7 inches in males. Unlike many gazelles, the red-fronted gazelle do require water occasionally, rather than gaining all needed moisture from their plant-based diet, and migrate seasonally during the wet season. They are considered vulnerable by the IUCN due to illegal hunting in their natural range of the Sahel, a narrow semi-arid zone stretching from North Africa's West coast to the Red Sea.
Cuvier's gazelle (Gazella cuvieri), sometimes known as Atlas or mountain gazelles or Edmis, are two toned, with dark brown upper bodies and backs, and white underparts, and black facial stripes. Male and female Cuvier gazelles have spiral horns that can reach up to 13.7 inches in length. These gazelles are considered endangered, with the most significant threat coming from hunting in their natural habitat of the Atlas mountains.
The springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) is the national animal of South Africa and prefers to dwell in open plains, deserts and savannahs. They have distinctive coloring, with cinnamon colored upper bodies, white bellies, with a white crest running along their backs. The males and females have lyre-shaped horns, with the horns of males being much thicker than those of females. They are not considered threatened by the IUCN, and are classified as Least Concern.
Gerenuk (Litocranius walleri), also known as Waller's gazelle, means "giraffe-necked" in Somali, a reference to this animal's long, thin neck. Like a giraffe, the gerenuk stretches its neck to reach leaves high in the branches of trees. Male gerenuks have S-shaped horns, while females do not. They are found from southern Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia, and from Kenya to eastern Tanzania. They are considered Near Threatened by the IUCN due to habitat loss and agricultural expansion.
The dibatag (Ammodorcas clarkei) also is known as Clark's gazelle. In Somali, dibatag means "erect tail"; this gazelle holds its tail high and waves the tail as it walks. They stand up to 2.83 feet tall and weigh up to 77 pounds, and are found primarily in Ethiopia and Somalia, where they were declared endangered in 1996 due to poaching, habitat loss as a result of droughts, and agriculture. Populations in Ethiopia, where it is illegal to hunt dibotags, are stable.
What Is a Close Relative of a Yak?
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0.99229 |
Wiley College is a four-year, private, historically black, liberal arts college located on the west side of Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it holds distinction as one of the oldest predominantly black colleges west of the Mississippi River. The original college library was a Carnegie Library. In 1907 Wiley received the first Carnegie college library west of the Mississippi. The building is now the current home of the business office. In 2005-2006, on-campus enrollment approached 450, while an off-campus program in Shreveport, Louisiana, for students with some prior college credit who seek to finish a degree, was about 250. In the Fall of 2005, total enrollment approached approximately 700. As of Fall 2006, total enrollment was about 750. Wiley is an open admissions college and about 96 percent of students receive some amount of financial aid. The 1935 Wiley College debate team was the basis for the 2007 movie The Great Debaters, directed by and starring Denzel Washington. In 1935, the Wiley College debate team defeated the reigning national debate champions, the University of Southern California (not Harvard, as depicted in the movie). On December 19, 2007, Denzel Washington announced a donation of $1 million US to Wiley so the team could be re-established.
Question and Answer about "Wiley College"
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0.999677 |
How do I pick a good plumber?
I am having some plumbing work done in my home, and would like to know if there is a good way to choose a reliable plumber.
First I would check with some of your friends and work colleagues. If no luck there, then look in the local newspaper yellow pages. Ask for referrals and then CALL THEM. Ask questions about showing up when scheduled and about cost overages. Also ask who will actually be doing the work. Also ask about insurance and workers comp if needed. You can ask his insurance company to send you a certificate of insurance but don’t accept one directly from him though.
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0.999993 |
Can you name the batters who hold each stat on their team from the 2015 MLB season?
HR = Home runs, SB = Stolen bases, BB = Walks, SO = Strikeouts, R = Runs scored.
The number to the right of the clue indicates the player's statistic for the 2015 season.
Two clues indicates a tie.
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0.999994 |
This algorithm is used to evaluate time series / sequential forecasting algorithms for performance, accuracy and precision. This algorithm can also be used as an important component in an unsupervised anomaly detection process!
This algorithm takes evaluation data in csv form; the algorithm expects each variable to be delimited using a comma and each timestep to be on a separate line. For more information, take a look at our univariate and bivariate examples.
As each algorithm is different, this section will define any caveats or interesting attributes for our supported algorithms.
This algorithm uses a univariate polynomial approximation function to replicate any trend and periodicity in the training data to assist in forecasting.
What kind of data does this algorithm expect?
This algorithm expects univariate (1 variable) dataset. An example of this would be the univariate example.
Does this algorithm use model files?
No, it's not a machine learning based algorithm which means there are no RNN model files. Ensure that your eval_percentage variable reflects how much data you wish to use to create your polynomial approximation function.
If I want to know more about this algorithm, where should I look?
For more information on this algorithm, check out it's algorithm page here: TimeSeries/Forecast.
Any special caveats of this algorithm?
This algorithm is well suited for business based use cases with regular seasonality, trends etc. It does struggle with other types of sequential datasets.
This algorithm uses an LSTM neural network architecture that is capable of forecasting nonlinear and complex trends. When using custom data, you must build a model first. Read the algorithm documentation for more info.
Yes it does, this algorithm utilizes built in memory to remember and preserve data that it has already seen!
This algorithm was designed to be robust and flexible in it's data inputs; it can take any sort of CSV file with continuous variables. However as it does use a checkpoint model, your evaluation data should proceed directly after the data used to train / update your checkpoint model.
Yes, the algorithm makes really great graphs of it's forecasts! After performing an evaluation in advanced mode, write down the UUID associated with any interesting forecast and check your TimeSeries/GenerativeForecasting temp collection to access your graph images.
We calculate error by first normalizing the evaluation data. This is done to enable comparisons across datasets with potentially wildly diverging ranges. Once our data is normalized we then calculate the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) for each forecast. Which all together with our normalized data would be called the Normal Mean Absolute Error. In most cases the resulting error value will be less than 1, however in some cases the error term might be greater.
Looks like a bunch of valuable information; if you compare above with the generativeForecast algorithm output schema, there is something extra here. The index variable defines the location in our evaulation data array that our forecast operation uses as a break point, we pass all data to the algorithm up to this point, and tell it to predict the next N steps. This means that if you want to replicate any particular forecast, you just need the index and the algorithm.
Need more info? below are our API docs!
This algorithm returns two different types of output, depending on mode - simple and advanced.
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Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide (GHRP-6) is a peptide in the growth factor family. GHRP-6 has strong effect on the release of Human Growth Hormone (HGH).
GHRP-6 contributes greatly to the body’s ability to burn fat and build muscle.
of joints, connective tissue and bone mass.
Growth hormone releasing peptide (GHRP-6) is a synthetic hexapeptide which specifically stimulates secretion of growth hormone (GH) by pituitary somatotrophs.
Sometimes, users choose to combine GHRP-6 with CJC-1295, there are very often amazing result with this combo.
peptide is broken down into amino acids or amino acid “strings” incapable of exerting an effect. They are in effect “digested”.
That effect that GHRP-6 exerts is basically “asking the pituitary to release more growth hormone & having the pituitary comply with the request”. After GHRP-6 dies, so dies its request.
night time pulse which happens quickly after you fell into a decent sound sleep.
Remember ,it is pulsation that heals (especially bone). A lot of repair happens at night. So increasing pulsation at night is important to help healing as well as building new muscle cells.
CJC-1295 is a long-lasting analog of GHRH and therefore only twice a week dosing is needed to keep GH levels elevated.
,as soon as they are injected they create a 2 hour pulse of GH release.
In the end, is this combo of CJC-1295 and GHRP-6 even safe, you may ask?
Safe? Unsafe? You can control the level of GH release through dosing. It is possible & easy to dose in such a way as to induce physiological levels of GH release.
Anytime you administer exogenic GH or induce high levels of GH release with CJC-1295/GHRP-6 you are administering a pharmacological dose.
the body in the end decides how much & in what manner it will produce GH.
The saturation dose in most studies on the GHRPs (GHRP-6, GHRP-2, Ipamorelin & Hexarelin) is defined as either 100mcg or 1mcg/kg.
What that means is that 100mcg will saturate the receptors fully, but if you add another 100mcg to that dose only 50% of that portion will be effective.
If you add an additional 100mcg to that dose only about 25% will be effective. Perhaps a final 100mcg might add a little something to GH release but that is it.
So 100mcg is the saturation dose and you could add more up to 300 to 400mcg and get a little more effect.
GHRP-6 at the saturation dose 100mcg does not really increase prolactin & cortisol but may do so slightly at higher doses. This rise is still within the normal range.
GHRP-6 can be used at saturation dose (100mcg) three or four times a day without risk of desensitization.
If desensitization were to ever occur for GHRP-6 simply stopping use for several days will remedy this effect.
Chronic use of GHRP-6 at 100mcg dosed several times a day every day will not cause pituitary problems, nor significant prolactin or cortisol problems, nor desensitize.
You want to avoid your carbs when taking CJC 1295/GHRP 6 for maximum effect. They’re best on a fasted stomach.
Is GHRP-6 effective on its own?
YES ,GHRP-6 alone is effective. It will create a spike on it’s own, but not nearly as high as if used in combination with CJC-1295.
insulin as well as steroids such as deca and equipoise are also great when used along with GHRP-6.
scientists are hoping with to gain a better clinical understanding of the peptide through further research over the next few years.
naturally in the lining of the stomach and increases hunger and gastric emptying.
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0.999997 |
Please provide numbers separated by a comma "," and click the "Calculate" button to find the LCM.
What is the Least Common Multiple (LCM)?
In mathematics, the least common multiple, also known as the lowest common multiple of two (or more) integers a and b, is the smallest positive integer that is divisible by both. It is commonly denoted as LCM(a, b).
There are multiple ways to find a least common multiple. The most basic is simply using a "brute force" method that lists out each integer's multiples.
As can be seen, this method can be fairly tedious, and is far from ideal.
Note that it is not important which LCM is calculated first as long as all the numbers are used, and the method is followed accurately. Depending on the particular situation, each method has its own merits, and the user can decide which method to pursue at their own discretion.
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0.965174 |
from Hinduism in some important aspects. Buddha preached most of his sermons from the Jatavana vihara in Kosala. Tall, strong, and handsome, the Buddha belonged to the Warrior caste. After his enlightenment, Buddha traveled on foot throughout northern India. Prince Siddhartha wanted to live an ascetic life so that he would be able to achieve nirvana, the state of being free from suffering.
Siddhartha, a Hindu prince, gave up his power and wealth that he had in order to become awakened. Buddhas enlightenment, a painting showing the Bodhi tree under which Siddhartha Gautama is said to have attained enlightenment and become the Buddha. Language pair: (Simplified)Chinese TraditionalComorian (Ngazidja)CopticCreole English (Antigua and Barbuda)Creole English (Bahamas)Creole English (Grenadian)Creole English (Guyanese)Creole English (Jamaican)Creole English (Vincentian)Creole English (Virgin Islands)Creole French (Haitian)Creole French (Saint Lucian)Creole French (Seselwa)Creole Portuguese (Upper (Greenlandic)Irish SouthernSpanishSranan TongoSwahiliSwedishSwiss GermanSyriac (Aramaic)TagalogTajikTamashek (Simplified)Chinese TraditionalComorian (Ngazidja)CopticCreole English (Antigua and Barbuda)Creole English (Bahamas)Creole.
After accepting this nourishment, he sat in deep meditation with the resolve not to rise from his seat till he had attained the Enlightenment. In his teachings, the Buddha learned many elements of the Hinduism of this time, including the teachings of Samsara and Karma. He earned an extra-ordinary proficiency in archery and other princely virtues. At Lumbinivana in the Sakya country, situated in region of Nepalese Terai. One of these four short statements states that attachment is the root of all suffering. After spending six is the law always just essay days and nights cutting through minds most subtle obstacles, he reached enlightenment on the full moon morning of May, a week before he turned thirty-five. This non-dogmatic attitude still characterizes. When Gautama attained the age Of 29, a son was born to him, and the boy was named Rahula.
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0.99991 |
Should you find the need to replace the secondary safety lock of the frame lock, following these instructions should allow you to quickly and efficiently complete the job.
1. If your bike is not already partially folded, unlock the main frame lock and fold the bike halfway. Please refer to the owners manual for instructions on how to fold your bike.
2. With the frame unlocked and partially folded, locate the latch retaining screw. Loosen and remove this screw. Take care not to lose this screw.
3. After the screw has been removed, slide off the damaged latch. Note the spring under the latch when the latch is removed. Do not lose this spring.
4. Slide the replacement latch on.
5. With the new latch replaced, align the two halves of the disconnected frame lock and reinstall the screw. Tighten until the screw does not rotate. The repair is completed!
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0.997384 |
If you opt to set your photos in scrapbooks, make certain it's something you truly have time for. Storage Systems It's quite important to store photos safely so as to preserve them for a lot more years to come. Take into consideration how you would refer back to them if searching for certain photos.
Shelves are usually adjustable, and you are able to vary the size based on the sum of space you need to fill. The white shelves look so divine and they're unbelievably simple to make. A minimal corner shelf is simple to secure to the wall, and can also give a display area in addition to the unit.
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0.815954 |
Story: Meet the wildly dysfunctional Bluth family. This family was once at the height of real estate development in Orange County, California. But when the family business - the Bluth Company - goes bust, they're suddenly found penniless with their assets frozen. They move into their last remaining asset - the model home left over from their latest housing tract. Their luxury vehicles are replaced with a reminder of the family's former wealth: 'the stair car that accompanied their private jet'. The patriarch of the family is George Bluth - he's now in prison, and loving every minute of it. His wife Lucille and daughter Lindsay are spoiled socialites who can't handle getting kicked out of family restaurants. His son Buster is in his mid 30's and lives at home. His son George Oscar Bluth is a magician who started a group to get magicians to be taken seriously, and gets kicked out when his own tricks are revealed. Lindsay is married to a man named Tobias Funke, once a psychiatrist, who decides to become an actor. The only sane member of the family: Michael Bluth, along with his son George Michael, want nothing to do with the family business. But one bizarre circumstance after another keeps Michael and George Michael from leaving their eccentric family.
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0.942513 |
Sixty-five million people fling heavy balls down bowling lanes in the United States each year at speeds up to 20 miles an hour. Other than the finger holes and eye-catching colors, the balls look simple—deceptively so. At prices ranging from less than $50 to around $300, the balls are much more than solid spheres.
Bowling balls are designed to perform best on various types of surfaces (lanes are not as simple as they look, either) and to compliment the style and strength of an individual bowler. Wooden bowling lanes are treated with mineral oil daily to protect them from the action of the balls. Typically, the first two-thirds of the lane is oiled rather heavily (the exact degree varies by establishment), while the final third is oiled lightly. As a result, a properly thrown ball will slide straight down the lane until it encounters the less-oiled surface, and then curve toward the pins as it gains better traction. Matching the rotational characteristics of the ball to the release style and strength of the individual bowler gives the best results.
Both lawn bowling (in which balls are rolled at a target ball) and pin bowling have been played for thousands of years. The excavated grave of an Egyptian child buried 5,200 years ago yielded a set of stone pins apparently used for a form of bowling.
Lawn bowling was quite popular in Europe during the Middle Ages. In 1366, King Edward III outlawed the game so his troops would pay more attention to their archery practice. Similarly, ninepin bowling (with the pins arranged in a diamond pattern) was outlawed in Connecticut and New York during the early 1800s because it was associated with heavy gambling. This led to the addition of a tenth pin (arranged in the now-common triangular pattern) to circumvent the law.
Lawn-bowling balls are either weighted or shaped asymmetrically so that they will curve when rolled. Balls used in pin bowling must be exactly round in shape, but they contain hidden weights that affect their balance and rotation. They also differ from lawn-bowling balls by having finger holes; they may have two (for the thumb and middle finger) or, more popularly, three (for the thumb and middle and ring fingers). When a bowler purchases a ball, the holes are drilled to fit his or her hand.
Historically, most bowling balls were made of Lignum vitae, a very hard wood. In 1905, the first rubber bowling ball (the Evertrue) was produced, followed nine years later by Brunswick Corporation's rubber Mineralite ball. Hard rubber balls dominated the market until the 1970s, when polyester balls were developed. In the 1980s, urethane bowling balls were introduced. Around 1990, dramatic changes were made in the design of the ball cores (dense blocks within the ball that modify the ball's balance). Shortly thereafter, reactive urethane was introduced as a new coverstock (the ball's surface layer) option.
Also referred to as resin, the new reactive urethane coverstock was used in combination with innovative core designs, drastically changing the sport. During the first full winter season in which reactive balls were used, the number of perfect games (12 successive throws in which all 10 pins are knocked down) increased by nearly 20%—the American Bowling Congress reported 14,889 in 1991-92 and 17,654 the following year.
Some examples of core shapes are lightbulb, spherical, and elliptical. Combination cores are made by enclosing a core of one shape and density within a second core of another shape and density. The main core may be supplemented by adding a collar or weight block to the core or by embedding small counter-weights separately in the interior of the ball.
Since about 1993, bowling ball manufacturers have been using computerized design software to generate frequent improvements in core design. Designs have become so sophisticated that even for one model of ball, a different core design may be used for different ball weights (e.g., one for 12-and 13-pound balls, another for 14-pound balls, and a third for 15-and 16-pound balls). A developmental chemist working for a major manufacturer was quoted in a 1996 Design News article as saying, "Not long ago, a company could introduce a good ball and keep the market for two years. Now products come out so quickly that you need to have new designs ready all the time."
Manufacturers currently use three types of plastics as coverstock material. Polyester, the least expensive, produces the smallest amount of hook on the back third of the lane because it is relatively unaffected by varying amounts of oil on the lane surface. In the middle of the price range, urethane balls offer more hooking action than polyester balls but are more durable and require less maintenance than reactive urethane balls. At the top of the price scale, reactive urethane (resin) balls provide the greatest hooking ability and deliver more power to the pins on impact. Various ball manufacturers have formed alliances with chemical suppliers to formulate proprietary materials by blending various resins with urethane.
Cores are made by adding a heavy substance such as bismuth graphite or barium either to resin, making a very dense type of plastic, or to a ceramic material. An article written by ball manufacturer Track Inc. asserts that fired ceramic cores result in harder-hitting balls because no energy is absorbed by the ceramic part of the core. It also explains that fired ceramic cores cannot be altered during finger-hole drilling, whereas cores made of millable ceramic alloys can be. Millable ceramic alloys are made by blending ceramic powder with a binding agent. These types of ceramic cores are softer and less adhesive than fired ceramics, and that they do absorb energy upon impact with the pins.
In some balls, 2-4 oz (56.7-113.4 g) of iron oxide is used as a weight block to shift the ball's center of gravity toward one side of the core. Zirconium is used by one manufacturer for counterweights.
Between the early 1800s and the early 1990s, most bowling balls were made of three-piece construction. A small amount of dense material was poured into spherical core mold to create a pancake-like core. Then the remainder of the core mold was filled with a less-dense core material. Finally, the core was centered in a mold and a layer about 1 in (2.54 cm) thick of coverstock was poured around it. Since being pioneered by manufacturer Faball Inc. in the early 1990s, a two-piece construction method has become more popular.
1 For the particular model of ball being manufactured, a mold is formed to the core shape developed during the computerized design process. The appropriate material is poured into the core mold and allowed to harden. The solid core is removed from its mold.
2 A second step may be necessary to finish the core. For example, some ceramic cores are fired in a kiln. A compound core may be formed by inserting the first core into a second mold and pouring material of a different density around all or part of it.
mold. The core is attached to a pin that projects inward from the shell of the mold. The pin holds the core in the correct position. If the pin points toward the center of the mold, the core is said to be pin in; if it is tilted away from the center, the core is pin out.
4 The coverstock material is poured into the mold, encasing the core, and is allowed to harden. The thickness of the coverstock may be as little as 1 in (2.54 cm) or as much as 2 in (5.08 cm), depending on the design of the particular ball.
5 When the ball is removed from the coverstock mold, there is a hole where the core-holding pin had been. A plastic dowel is inserted into the hole and cemented in place. The pin is a different color than the coverstock. After the ball has been purchased, the pin will be used as a guide for positioning the finger holes to take advantage of the core design.
6 Fill material is added to the logo imprint that was molded into the ball. This may be the same color as the pin, or it may be a different color. The logo is located at the top of the ball, that is, above its center of gravity.
7 The ball is finished to the proper size specification by turning it on a lathe and shaving off enough coverstock to achieve the right shape or it may be done on a centerless grinder that scours the ball into the desired size and roundness.
8 Finally, the surface of the ball is finished to the desired texture. It is sanded to either a matte finish or to an appropriate degree of polish, indicated by the roughness of the sanding material (generally ranging from 240-600 grit).
9 The ball is boxed and shipped to the company's distributor.
When the American Bowling Congress (ABC) was founded in 1894, one of its primary missions was to standardize the sport by developing equipment specifications. The current rules require a ball to have a diameter between 8.500-8.595 in (about 21.6-21.8 cm), and to have a weight of 16 lb (about 7.3 kg) or less. No minimum weight is specified, and some balls weigh as little as 6 lb (about 2.7 kg). In order to earn the ABC/WIBC (Women's International Bowling Congress) seal of approval, sample balls of each model must be sent to the ABC for testing and verification of meeting the official standards.
In response to the dramatic changes in ball designs that began in the early 1990s, the ABC issued additional regulations in 1994. For example, the new rules establish limits on the ball's radius of gyration, which is the distance between the ball's rotational axis and its center of gravity. The rule limits this value to 2.430-2.800 in (6.2-7.1 cm). Other ABC specifications govern such technical characteristics as the ball's coefficient of restitution (a measure of the energy transferred from the ball to the pins), surface hardness, and hooking potential.
The dramatic innovations in bowling ball design and materials since the early 1990s have been credited with leveling the playing field for bowlers of all sizes and strengths. Writing in Popular Mechanics magazine, John G. Falcioni noted that some bowlers unhappily refer to the new-generation balls as cheaters. He summed up the impact of ball refinements by writing, "The sport has become so sophisticated that knowledge of engineering and physics is likely to prove more helpful in throwing strikes than doing curls with a dumbbell."
"CAD Helps Bowlers Improve Their Form." Design News (August 26, 1996): 29.
Falcioni, John G. "Strike Force." Popular Mechanics (March 1994): 60-63+.
"Ball Tech. Bowling This Month magazine. http://users.aol.com/phorvick/balltech/htm (15 Feb. 1998).
"Bowling Equipment Specifications." Bowling Page-Information. http://www.icubed.com/users/allereb/equip.html (15 Feb. 1998).
"Frequently Asked Questions." 19 Aug. 1995. Bowling Page. http://www.icubed.com/users/allereb/faq.html (15 Feb. 1998).
"Reactive, Urethane & Polyester. Match the Ball to the Conditions." The Complete Bowling Index. http://www.bowlingindex.com/products/balls/balls.htm (15 Feb. 1998).
"Why Use a Ball with Ceramics?" The Complete Bowling Index. http://www.bowlingindex.com/products/balls/ceramic.htm (15 Feb. 1998).
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0.965149 |
Generate: 15 Fury Cooldown: 12 seconds Smash the ground, stunning all enemies within 14 yards for 4 seconds.
Enemies hit have a chance to drop a health globe.
All enemies hit are Frozen for 2.5 seconds. Furious Charge's damage turns into Cold.
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0.57255 |
Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the Kurdistan People's Congress or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community. Over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy; it began accession membership talks with the European Union in 2005.
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0.971001 |
What is Al-Anon Family Groups?
Friends and family members often suffer when a loved one has a substance use disorder. This may be due to worry about the loved one experiencing accidents, injuries, negative social and legal consequences, diseases, or death, as well as fear of the loved one engaging in destructive behavior, such as stealing, manipulating, or being verbally or physically aggressive. Consequently, a number of mutual aid groups have emerged to provide emotional support to concerned significant others and families and to help them systematically and strategically alter their own unproductive behaviors that have emerged in their efforts to deal with the substance use problems of their affected loved one.
Al-Anon is a mutual aid group commonly sought by families dealing with substance use in a loved one. Like AA, Al-Anon is based on a 12-step philosophy and provides support to concerned family members, affected significant others, and friends through a network of face-to-face meetings, whether or not their loved one seeks help and achieves remission or recovery. More than 80 percent of Al-Anon members are women. The principal goal of Al-Anon is to foster emotional stability and “loving detachment” from the loved one rather than coaching members to “get their loved one into treatment or recovery.” Al-Anon includes Alateen, which focuses on the specific needs of adolescents affected by a parent’s or other family member’s substance use.
Clinical trials and other studies of Al-Anon show that participating family members experience reduced depression, anger, and relationship unhappiness, at rates and levels comparable to those of individuals receiving psychological therapies.
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