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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35040 | Upcoming Publications
I also have two new stories coming out this fall:
• "A Liberation" in Conjunctions 73: Earth Elegies. This will be my second story in the print edition of Conjunctions (and I've had two stories on Web Conjunctions), a great honor, because Conjunctions is the literary journal I've read and loved the longest. Many of the writers I most care about have appeared in its pages, and its longstanding genre-bending has influenced me more than I probably even know. "A Liberation" one of the weirdest things I've ever written, a story about a distant place at the edge of the world where permafrost is melting and cities have begun to sink.
• "After the End of the End of the World" in Outlook Springs issue 6. I was lucky enough to have a short-short story ("The Box") in the premiere issue of Outlook Springs, and it's a thrill to return with a longer story. It's partly an essay about the novel I never could figure out how to write, but all the iterations of the novel are here condensed into a single story full of branching possibilities. It's a story of domestic terrorism, gun fetishism, and global warming. I wish it were more fictional.
Additionally, I have some academic writing on the horizon:
• "How to Write and Gertrude Stein and How to Read" is an essay in Teaching Modernist Women's Writing in English edited by Janine Utell and due to be published by the MLA sometime in 2020, I think. It's an essay about using Gertrude Stein's more difficult and abstract texts in writing classes and in literature classes to try to liberate students from preconceptions.
• "Activism and Solidarity in the Comics of Howard Cruse" will appear in The LGBTQ Comics Studies Reader from the University of Mississippi Press, probably next summer. This is a detailed look at Howard Cruse's great Wendel comics and Stuck Rubber Baby graphic novel. (I've written about them previously, especially Stuck Rubber Baby, here.) Cruse ought to be as famous as any other creator of comics, but, sadly, he's mostly only known to a small (and aging) group of afficionados.
There are a bunch of other things I'm working on, as well, but for now this is what's on the horizon.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35086 | One with the Night
by Lenora Rain-Lee Good
Prompt: use the line, "Mingle with the sounds of night" by Marcel Aime Duclos
I'm not sure what is a soul
or if I even have one
but when I recline in my
old hammock
on the back patio,
watch the light disappear
into the blackness of night
I feel as one with the quiet
soughs as trees dance
with the summer breeze.
I close my eyes, lay my head
back and something—my soul?
mingles with the sounds of night
my body releases into the symphony
—cicadas, frogs, 'gators,
night birds down in the bayou.
A symphony of joy
at being alive and, yes,
a symphony of fear at meeting
death by tooth or claw. If
I have a soul, it awakens
during these darkest hours
when it goes forth, searches,
mingles with the sounds of night.
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1. Professional Development | Grades 3 – 6 | Professional Library | Book
BOOKMATCH: How to Scaffold Student Book Selection for Independent Reading
Empower students through choice and independence using the BOOKMATCH strategy, showing them how to select "just right" books.
Describe That Face: An Interactive Writing Game
Make a Splash! Using Dramatic Experience to "Explode the Moment"
Students will have a blast as they use descriptive language to write about an "explosive" and dramatic moment in their lives.
Nature Study Outdoor Treasure Hunts (with Spanish language option)
Students take a walk on the wild side when they research an animal and create a scavenger hunt activity for their classmates.
Thoughtshots Can Bring Your Characters to Life!
Students will walk a mile in the shoes of Solomon Singer as they learn how to use flashbacks, flash-aheads, and internal dialogue to develop realistic characters.
Tracking the Ways Writers Develop Heroes and Villains
Everyone knows that Star Wars character Darth Vader is a villain. This lesson asks students to explore how they know such things about heroes and villains they encounter in texts. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35104 | Find the description of the terms that is being used in SBOBET site.
3 Glossary Terms Found
Jacks or Better 100 Hand
A poker game offered in SBOBET Games. Players can bet on one or more hands at the same time, and the objective is to achieve winning combinations.
Jewels of Anubis
Jewels of Anubis is a scratchcard game with an ancient Egyptian theme offered in SBOBET Games.
The person who rides a horse in horse racing. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35107 | Daddy Long Legs
rating: +51+x
It is, upon reflection, the legs that were the problem.
Certainly, my eyesight hasn't been strong enough for a long time to distinguish those loathsome features. That disturbing thorax, jointed into those long legs, casting a greater shadow than they have any right to. Yes, it must be the legs. I'm almost certain. It's in the name after all-Daddy Long Legs. Such a peculiarly affectionate title for such a twisted creature.
As a boy, when my eyes were stronger and my knowledge of the world less, I thought them demons. Nightmares come to drag me to some terrible shadowland. I would run, howling and shaking with fright, to beg my mother to take it away. It rather disgusted my father, a big bully of a man, whose definitions of manliness and fortitude were hard to reach for a grown man such as himself, let alone a young boy. He would sneak into my room at night, and release them, leaving me to wake up surrounded.
I'm sorry, but I need you to keep still. Here. Let's try this. Let me know if you feel any tingling.
In a sense, I suppose this shock treatment did have a positive effect. I first struck back at them on one of those hateful mornings, wrapping my hand in a sock to crush the life out of one crawling on my arm. Terrified of letting it touch my bare skin, I held it at a distance, watching those legs thrash in their death throes. I had fantasized about killing them before, but their unsettling speed always made such actions seem foolish and unlikely to succeed. An up close and personal action was unprecedented, and empowering.
After that, it wasn't long before I began hunting them, extinguishing those vile souls one by one. A pogrom starting in my back yard and working out into the forests. The sock was exchanged for a pair of gloves, which worked well enough for a time. It was on one of these excursions that I noticed it first. One of the freshly slain was moving-its leg twitching erratically. With a growing horror, I wondered if it was coming back to life. I panicked, the image of my former victims pursuing me like some fearsome legion flooding my mind. I fled the woods, hiding in my room. It was then that I determined that the gloves were not enough, my brain rationalizing the fact that a stronger impact must be needed. My father's heavy yellow handled claw hammer served this purpose well.
I'm afraid I will need you to pray quietly, in your head. You're rather distracting me. Quite rude.
Soon my excursions began anew, and at this point, now a young man of eighteen, I began to see them lurking on people. Nausea struck me as I saw them crawling along the arm of a bus driver in the street, as he went about his pre-set path, unperturbed by the small forms scaling him with those long legs. My vision went grey, as I realized one day, that the pastor in front of me had a pair of tiny legs edging over his clerical collar.
My mind boggled until it occurred to me that they must have realized I'd been hunting them and began to take precautionary measures. I had seen spectators, watching and muttering to themselves as I smashed carapace after carapace. At the time I thought them simply enjoying my good works, but in the light of this new revelation, I realized what they were. Sentries. An attempt to follow my patterns. Learn my strategies. Horrified. I fled home.
It was late that night when a solution occurred. Slowly crawling forward in my mind, ponderous and inevitable. If they were truly being used by these arachnids, then they were worse than dead. I had already learned well. Dealt with their masters. I had to handle the servants. It would be mercy. Freeing them. Letting them onward to whatever reward awaited them. Burdened with new purpose, I went out that very night.
You may be wondering why I am telling you all of this. You've seen me on the street, giving you a startled look. You see, though you may not know it…they have you too. Shhhhh. Shhhhhhh. Don't cry. It's not your fault. It's simply the facts. But you have no need to worry about my qualifications for the task of freeing you. It's been a long time since that bus driver. And I've since learned that a hammer will work just as well on a man as it does on monsters…
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35125 | Download Drawing near : a life of intimacy with God by John Bevere PDF
By John Bevere
The best invitation of all time -- God's pursuit -- shield your starvation -- ardour for His presence -- in the back of the veil -- the buddies of God -- What hinders real intimacy? -- actual worship -- With whom God dwells -- Intimacy with the Holy Spirit -- The promise of the daddy -- The language of intimacy -- complete coverage of religion -- approaching it truly is demanding to wish whatever you do not know you're lacking. unfortunately, many believers have by no means skilled real intimacy with God simply because they do not comprehend what it truly is or how you can in achieving it. yet we people have been created for intimate fellowship with God, and this has regularly been His private wish. Scripture sincerely states that the Lord yearns for us and seeks those that pursue Him. but we needs to come to Jesus on His terms-not our personal. In coming near, John Bevere invitations readers to discover a lifetime of intimacy with God. Emphasizing the necessity for obedience, he urges us to practice-just as we'd perform whatever we are hoping to improve-our conversation with the Holy Spirit. figuring out that prayer is a discussion, no longer a monologue, Bevere encourages us to pay attention on the Father's ft. research questions in every one bankruptcy provide chance for mirrored image, and a "How to attract just about God" part bargains sensible steps towards constructing actual intimacy with Him
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Extra resources for Drawing near : a life of intimacy with God
Sample text
Eph. 1:17 AMP, author’s emphasis) He has made His passion known. God desires every born-again child to know Him deeply and intimately! Wow, does this excite you? If not, reflect a moment and allow the wonder of it to overwhelm you. We serve a living God, the original Father whose heart aches for His children. He is a Communicator, who desires interaction. Paul was quick to point this out to the struggling believers of Corinth: “You will remember that before you became Christians you went around from one idol to another, not one of which could speak a single word” (1 Cor.
There are husbands who leave their wives and children because they don’t see the relationship as worthy of their time and energy. Their own comfort and pleasure is worth much more to them than the lives of their mate or children. There are those who sell themselves in prostitution. The list extends endlessly and results in millions of wounded in our society. There are those who feel unloved or unwanted because of the fact they’ve seen their worth through the eyes of others. OUR VALUE TO GOD THE FATHER What is our value to God?
Their hearts were set on the what, rather than the Who they were to inherit. Moses repeatedly clarified God’s desire to the descendents of Abraham; one such comment was recorded: For He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you. (Ex. ” (Mal. 1:2). Blind to the fact His heart was yearning for them, they mistook His attempts to reach out as acts of judgment. Even through repeated disobedience His desire remained steadfast. In the days of Jeremiah He cried out, “I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer” (Jer.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35156 | The Life of
Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri
Baha’u’llah (“Glory of God”; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892), born Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri, was the founder of the Baha’i Faith. He was the prophetic fulfillment of Babism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shaykhism, and, in a broader sense to be a Manifestation of God. He also was he was the fulfillment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and other major religions.
Baha’u’llah became a follower of the Bab in Persia in 1845. Three years after the Bab was executed, he was exiled to Baghdad (then a part of the Ottoman Empire), where in 1863 he proclaimed the Baha’i Faith when he declared himself He whom God shall make manifest, a messianic figure in Babi theology. Baha’u’llah based this announcement on a vision of the Maid of Heaven he claimed to have had while imprisoned in the Siyah-Chal in Tehran, Persia. He would be further exiled to Edirne and ultimately to the prison city of Acre, Palestine (present-day Israel), where he died. He wrote many religious works, most notably the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the Kitab-i-Iqan, and the Hidden Words.
Baha’u’llah’s teachings focus on the unity of God, religion, and mankind. Similar to other monotheistic religions, God is considered the source of all created things. Religion, according to Baha’u’llah, is renewed periodically by Manifestations of God, people who are made perfect through divine intervention and whose teachings are the sources of the major world religions throughout history. Baha’u’llah is the first of these teachers whose mission includes the spiritual unification of the entire planet through the eradication of racism and nationalism. The Baha’u’llah’s teachings include the need for a world tribunal to adjudicate disputes between nations, a uniform system of weights and measures, and an auxiliary language that could be spoken by all the people on earth. Baha’u’llah also taught that the cycles of revelatory renewal will continue in the future, with Manifestations of God appearing every thousand years.
Early and family life
Baha’u’llah was born on 12 November 1817, in Tehran, the capital of Persia, present-day Iran. Baha’i authors state that his ancestry can be traced back to Abraham through Abraham’s wife Keturah, to Zoroaster and to Yazdgerd III, the last king of the Sassanid Empire, and also to Jesse. According to the Baha’i author John Able, Baha’is also consider Baha’u’llah to have been “descended doubly, from both Abraham and Sarah, and separately from Abraham and Keturah.” His mother was Khadijih Khanum and his father was Mírza Buzurg. Baha’u’llah’s father served as vizier to Imam-Virdi Mirza, the twelfth son of Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar. Mirza Buzurg was later appointed governor of Burujird and Lorestan, a position that he was stripped of during a government purge when Muhammad Shah came to power. After the death of his father, Baha’u’llah was asked to take a government post by the new vizier Hajji Mirza Aqasi, but declined.
Baha’u’llah had three wives. He married his first wife Asiyih Khanum, the daughter of a nobleman, in Tehran in 1835, when he was 18 and she was 15. She was given the title of The Most Exalted Leaf and Navvab. His second wife was his widowed cousin Fatimih Khanum. The marriage took place in Tehran in 1849 when she was 21 and he was 32. She was known as Mahd-i-Ulya. His third wife was Gawhar Khanum and the marriage occurred in Baghdad sometime before 1863.
Baha’u’llah declared Asiyih Khanum his “perpetual consort in all the worlds of God”, and her son Abdu’l-Baha as his vicar. He had 14 children, four daughters and ten sons, five of whom he outlived. Baha’is regard Asiyih Khanum and her children Mirza Mihdi, Bahiyyih Khanum and Abdu’l-Baha to be the Baha’i holy family.
Babi movement
The Bab claimed no finality for his revelation. In his writings, he alluded to a Promised One, most commonly referred to as “Him whom God shall make manifest”. According to the Bab, this personage, promised in the sacred writings of previous religions, would establish the kingdom of God on the Earth; several of the Bab’s writings state the coming of Him whom God shall make manifest would be imminent. The Bab constantly entreats his believers to follow Him whom God shall make manifest when he arrives.
Acceptance of the Bab
Baha’u’llah first heard of the Bab when he was 27, and received a visitor sent by the Bab, Mulla Husayn, telling him of the Bab and his claims. Baha’u’llah became a Babi and helped to spread the new movement, especially in his native province of Nur, where he became recognized as one of its most influential believers. His notability as a local gave him many openings, and his trips to teach the religion were met with success, even among some of the religious class. He also helped to protect fellow believers, such as Tahirih, for which he was temporarily imprisoned in Tehran and punished with bastinado or foot whipping. Baha’u’llah , in the summer of 1848, also attended the conference of Badasht in the province of Khorasan, where 81 prominent Babis met for 22 days; at that conference where there was a discussion between those Babis who wanted to maintain Islamic law and those who believed that the Bab’s message began a new dispensation. It is at this conference that Baha’u’llah took on the name Baha.
When violence started between the Babis and the Qajar government in the later part of 1848, Baha’u’llah tried to reach the besieged Babis at the Shaykh Tabarsi in Mazandaran, but was arrested and imprisoned before he could get there. The following years until 1850 saw the Babis being massacred in various provinces after the Bab publicly made his claim of being the Manifestation of God.
After the Bab was executed in 1850, a group of Tehran Babis, headed by a Babi known as Azim, who was previously a Shaykhi cleric, plotted an assassination plan against the Shah Nasser-al-Din Shah, in retaliation for the Bab’s execution. Baha’u’llah condemned the plan; however, any moderating influence that he may have had was diminished in June 1851 when he went into exile to Baghdad at the chief minister’s request, returning only after Amir Kabir’s fall from power. On 15 August 1852, the radical group of Babis attempted the assassination of the Shah and failed. The group of Babis linked with the plan, were rounded up and executed, but notwithstanding the assassins’ claim that they were working alone, the entire Babi community was blamed, precipitating violent riots against the Babi community that were encouraged and orchestrated by the government. During this time many Babis were killed, and many more, including Baha’u’llah , were imprisoned in the Siyah-Chal (“black pit”), an underground dungeon of Tehran.
According to Baha’u’llah, it was during his imprisonment in the Siyah-Chal that he had several mystical experiences, and received a vision of a maiden from God, through whom he received his mission as a messenger of God and as the one whose coming the Bab had prophesied. The confession of the would-be assassin had exonerated the Babi leaders, and in the context of the continuing mass executions of Babis, the ambassador of Russia requested that Baha’u’llah and other persons apparently unconnected with the conspiracy be spared. After he had been in the Siyah-Chal for four months Baha’u’llah was in fact finally released, on condition he left Iran. Declining an offer of refugee status in Russia, he chose exile in Iraq (then part of the Ottoman Empire); in 1853 Baha’u’llah and his family, accompanied by a member of the Shah’s bodyguard and a representative of the Russian embassy, traveled from Persia, arriving in Baghdad on 8 April 1853.
Mirza Yahya had gone into hiding after the assassination attempt on the Shah, and after Baha’u’llah’s exile to Baghdad, he chose to join his brother there. At the same time, an increasing number of Babis considered Baghdad the new center for leadership of the Babi religion, and a flow of pilgrims started going there from Persia.
Mirza Yahya’s leadership was controversial. He generally absented himself from the Babi community, spending his time in Baghdad in hiding and disguise; on several occasions he went so far as to publicly disavow allegiance to the Bab. Mirza Yahya gradually alienated himself from a large number of the Babis, who started giving their allegiance to other claimants. During the time that Mirza Yahya remained in hiding, Baha’u’llah performed much of the daily administration of Babi affairs. In contrast to Mirza Yahya, Baha’u’llah was outgoing and accessible and he was seen by an increasing number of Babis as a religious leader, rather than just an organizer, and became their center of devotion.
This was increasingly resented by Mirza Yahya, who began trying to discredit Baha’u’llah , thus driving many people away from the religion. Tensions in the community mounted, and in 1854 Baha’u’llah decided to leave the city to pursue a solitary life.
On 10 April 1854, without telling anyone of his intention or destination, Baha’u’llah left his family to the care of his brother Mirza Musa and traveled with one companion to the mountains of Kurdistan, northeast of Baghdad, near the city of Sulaymaniyah. He later wrote that he left so as to avoid becoming a source of disagreement within the Babi community, and that his “withdrawal contemplated no return”.
For two years, Baha’u’llah lived alone in the mountains of Kurdistan. He originally lived as a hermit, dressed like a dervish and used the name Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani. At one point someone noticed his penmanship, which brought the curiosity of the instructors of the local Sufi orders. As he began to take guests, he became noted for his learning and wisdom. Shaykh Uthman, Shaykh Abdu’r-Rahman, and Shaykh Isma’il, leaders of the Naqshbandíyyih, Qadiriyyih, and Khalidiyyih Orders respectively, began to seek his advice. It was to the second of these that the Four Valleys was written. Baha’u’llah wrote several other notable books during this time.
In Baghdad, given the lack of firm and public leadership by Mirza Yahya, the Babi community had fallen into disarray. Some Babis, including Baha’u’llah’s family, began searching for Baha’u’llah , and when news of a man living in the mountains under the name of Darvish Muhammad spread to neighboring areas, Baha’u’llah’s family begged him to come back to Baghdad. On 19 March 1856, after two years in Kurdistan he returned to Baghdad.
Return to Baghdad
When Baha’u’llah returned to Baghdad he saw that the Babi community had become disheartened and divided. During Baha’u’llah’s absence, it had become alienated from the religion because Mirza Yahya had continued his policy of militancy and had been unable to provide effective leadership. Mirza Yahya had married the widow of the Bab against the Bab’s clear instructions; dispatched followers to the province of Nur for the second attempt on the life of the Shah; and instigated violence against prominent Babis who had challenged his leadership.
After his return to Baghdad, Baha’u’llah tried to revive the Babi community, mostly through correspondence, writing extensively to give the Babis a new understanding of the Babi religion, while keeping his perceived station as the one promised by the Bab and a Manifestation of God hidden. He was soon recognized by the Babis, as well as government authorities, as the foremost Babi leader, and there was a growing number of people joining the Babi movement. He also gained sympathy from government officials and Sunni clerics. Baha’u’llah’s rising influence in the city, and the revival of the Persian Babi community, gained the attention of his enemies in Islamic clergy and the Persian government. The Persian government asked the Ottoman government to extradite Baha’u’llah to Persia, but the Ottoman government refused and instead chose to move Baha’u’llah from the sensitive border region to Constantinople.
Declaration in the Garden of Ridvan
On 21 April 1863, Baha’u’llah left Baghdad and entered the Najibiyyih gardens, now the location of Baghdad Medical City and known to Baha’is as the Garden of Ridvan. Baha’u’llah and those accompanying him stayed in the garden for twelve days before departing for Constantinople. It was during this time that Baha’u’llah declared to a small group of his companions his perceived mission and station as a Messenger of God. Baha’u’llah declared himself He whom God shall make manifest, a messianic figure in the religion of Babism. Baha’u’llah based this announcement on an experience he had previously while imprisoned in the Siyah-Chal in Tehran where he is said to have had a vision of the Maid of Heaven. Baha’is regard this period with great significance and celebrate the twelve days that Baha’u’llah spent in this Garden as the festival of Ridvan. He referred to the period of messianic secrecy between when he claimed to have seen the Maiden of Heaven in the Siyah-Chal and his declaration as the ayyam-i butun (“Days of Concealment”). Baha’u’llah stated that this period was a “set time of concealment”. The declaration in the Garden of Ridvan was the beginning of a new phase in the Babi community which led to the emergence of the Baha’i Faith as a distinctive movement separate from Babism.
Baha’u’llah was given an order to relocate to the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. Although not a formal prisoner yet, the forced exile from Baghdad was the beginning of a long process which would gradually move him into further exiles and eventually to the penal colony of Acre, Palestine (now in Israel).
Final years
The final years of Baha’u’llah’s life (1879–1892) were spent in the Mansion of Bahji, just outside Acre, even though he was still formally a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. During his years in Acre and Bahji, since Abdu’l-Baha, his eldest son, had taken care of the organizational work, Baha’u’llah was able to devote his time to writing, and he produced many volumes of work including the Kitab-i-Aqdas, his book of laws. His other works included letters outlining his vision for a united world, as well as the need for ethical action; he also composed many prayers.
On 9 May 1892, Baha’u’llah contracted a slight fever which grew steadily over the following days, abated, and then finally resulted in his death on 29 May 1892. He was buried in the shrine located next to the Mansion of Bahji.
What is the meaning of the ‘Manifestation of God’?
Baha’u’llah stated that he was a messenger of God, and he used the term Manifestation of God to define the concept of an intermediary between humanity and God. In the Baha’i writings, the Manifestations of God are a series of interrelated personages who speak with a divine voice and who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization. The Manifestations of God, as explained by Baha’u’llah, are not incarnations of God, but have a two-fold station; one which is the divine in that they reveal God’s attributes, but not God’s essence, and one which is human in that they represent the physical qualities of common man, and have human limitations. Baha’u’llah wrote that God will never manifest his essence into the world.
In Baha’u’llah’s writings he writes in many styles including cases where he speaks as if he was instructed by God to bring a message; in other cases he writes as though he is speaking as God directly.
Some have interpreted Baha’u’llah’s writing style to conclude that Baha’u’llah had claimed divinity. Baha’u’llah, however, states himself that the essence of God will never descend into the human world. Statements where Baha’u’llah speaks with the voice of God are meant that he is not actually God, but that he is speaking with the attributes of God.
Baha’u’llah declared, as the most recent Manifestation of God, that he was the “Promised One” of all religions, fulfilling the messianic prophecies found in world religions. He stated that his claims to being several messiahs converging in one person were the symbolic, rather than literal, fulfillment of the messianic and eschatological prophecies found in the literature of the major religions.
After Baha’u’llah died on 29 May 1892, the Will and Testament of Baha’u’llah named his sons Abdu’l-Baha and after him Mohammad Ali as the appointed leaders and successors, and the appointment was readily accepted by almost all Baha’is, since the appointment was written and unambiguous.
Baha’u’llah says,
“Verily God hath ordained the station of the Mightiest Branch (Ghusn-i-Akbar) after the station of the former [Ghusn-i-A‘zam]; verily He is the Ordainer, the Wise. We have surely chosen the Mightiest (Akbar) after the Greatest (A’zam), as a Command from the All-Knowing, the Omniscient.”
However, Mohammad Ali Effendi was a cause of hatred within Abdu’l-Baha and the Baha’is as he did not obey the claims of Abdu’l-Baha which were against the divine messages of Baha’u’llah. Not only Mirza Muhammad Ali was hated for his stance on the truth but also his appointment by Baha’u’llah which stated that another one of his sons Mirza Muhammad Ali was to be subordinate and second in rank after Abdu’l-Baha. Abdu’l-Baha however, called Mirza Muḥammad Ali as the ‘Center of Sedition’ and excommunicated him.
Mirza Muḥammad Ali, however, insisted that Abdu’l-Baha was exceeding his powers by calling himself as a Manifestation of God while according to the saying of Baha’u’llah in the Book of Heykal page 176,
“Say, the manifestation are ended, at this Greatest Manifestation; and he, whosoever claimeth directly after this, is a lying imposter.”
Mirza Muḥammad Ali’s actions, however, were rejected by the majority of the Baha’is. The conflict was not long lived; after being alienated by the Baha’i community.
Baha’u’llah wrote many books, tablets and prayers, of which only a fraction have been translated into English. There have been 15,000 works written by him identified; many of these are in the form of short letters, or tablets, to Baha’is, but he also wrote larger pieces including the Book of Certitude, the Hidden Words and the Gems of Divine Mysteries.
The books and letters written by Baha’u’llah cover religious doctrine, the proclamation of his claims, social and moral teachings as well as Baha’i laws; he also wrote many prayers. Jinab-i-Fadil-i-Mazindarani, analyzing Baha’u’llah’s writings, states that he wrote in the different styles or categories including the interpretation of religious scripture, the enunciation of laws and ordinances, mystical writings, writings about government and world order, including letters to the kings and rulers of the world, writings about knowledge, philosophy, medicine, and alchemy, writings calling for education, good character and virtues, and writing about social teachings. All of his works are revelation, even those that were written before his announcement of his prophetic claim. Some of his better known works that have been translated into English include Gleanings, the Hidden Words, the Kitab-i-Aqdas and the Kitab-i-Iqan. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35171 | tuXfiles – Linux command line tutorials for newbies
An introduction to the Linux command line
Learn the basics for staying alive at the Linux command line. If you’re very new to the Linux CLI, these tutorials should provide you with the basic command line skills, as well as teach you some neat command line tricks.
Linux command line terminology
If you know absolutely nothing about the CLI, start here. Learn what is the command line and shell, how to get started with the command line, and what are virtual terminals and terminal emulators.
Moving around in the Linux file system
The very basics of navigating at the Linux command line. Learn how to move from directory to another with cd, how to find out what directory you’re in with pwd, and how to list the contents of a directory with ls. You’ll also learn what are absolute and relative path names.
About your files on Linux
What you need to know about the files on your Linux system. Learn how Linux treats file names, what are hidden files and directories, and how to use the file command to determine the type of a file.
How to view text files with cat and less
Learn how to view text files with cat and less. A short list of the most common less commands is also included.
Copying, moving, renaming, and removing files
How to use the Linux command line as a file manager. Learn how to copy, move and delete files under Linux with the cpmv and rm commands.
Creating, copying, moving, and removing directories
How to create, move and delete directories in Linux with the mkdirmv and rmdir commands. You’ll also learn how to copy a directory with its contents and how to remove a directory that is not empty.
Great Linux command line features >
Now you’ve probably got the hang of the Linux command line basics, so it’s time to get to know these simple but powerful features that make your life at the CLI a lot easier.
Automatic file name completion
One of the most useful CLI features. You don’t have to type or even remember long file names at the Linux command line, because the shell does the typing for you!
The powerful bash wildcards
Without these cool little things called shell wildcards working on the command line would be pretty painful. So make sure you start using the wildcards!
Redirecting standard input and output
Many command line programs use a feature called input/output redirection. This powerful feature allows you to “glue” simple commands together in order to construct more complex commands.
Other command line related >
The humble Linux cheat sheet
The very basic and very essential commands for surviving at the Linux CLI.
Linux keyboard shortcuts
Learn how to make your life a bit easier at the Linux command line and shell.
Viewing and searching the man pages
The quickest way of getting help with a particular Linux command. Make sure you know how to use and search the man pages. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35197 | The Art of Design – An Interview with Alan Roderick-Jones
This week on the Blastoff Podcast, we interview renowned artist and production designer Alan Roderick-Jones, who’s worked on such wide-ranging and varied projects as Papillon, Tarzan and of course, Star Wars: A New Hope.
Comments are closed.
Welcoming the Future, Treasuring the Past. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35209 | 1986 Ford Orion Ghia 1.6 petrol from UK and Ireland
A very reliable and well-built car let down by terrible dealers
Wheel trim began to fall off after 74,000 miles, but had alloy wheels fitted and they stuck on firm.
Clutch plate broke after 92,000 miles, had clutch replaced for £60 and 3 months later I sold it for £45.
No other problems, although the dealer service was awful.
General Comments:
Bought an 11-year-old 86D Orion for £700 in December 1997. Had 65,000 miles on the clock and did another 29,000 before September 2003, until I sold it to my brother-in-law for £45.
The wheel trim and the clutch plate both went wrong, but that was probably because of age and otherwise the Orion was superbly reliable and well built.
Ride, handling and performance were all very good.
The dealer service was a terrible drawback. So bad that after a year I got a friend to do it. When I went to the dealership to ask for new wheel trim, my order took nearly a month to be answered - and I got a rear windscreen wiper instead of a wheel trim!
When I went to complain, I found a notice on the forecourt saying that the dealership had relocated.
Otherwise, the Orion was a really good car and is still giving sterling service to its new owner.
I have since bought a 99T Peugeot 206 1.9 diesel which is good, but not as good as the Orion.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 27th January, 2004
1986 Ford Orion GL 1.6 from UK and Ireland
Deathtrap rustbucket with a great engine
Rust, rust, rust.
Brakes failed completely one wet stormy night and I had to have the whole system replaced. That was the major thing, otherwise it went well.
Had to scrap it when the apron which separates you from the engine had rusted through and there was only a piece of carpet there to protect me.
General Comments:
Once I got the engine tuned correctly it was brilliant. If only Ford could get the rust proofing right they would be more successful. The engine was brill but the bodywork let it down big time. The engine had 76,000 miles on it when it was scrapped, but it would have done that again easily.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 11th January, 2001
3rd Aug 2004, 02:19
Well, I use an Orion (1986 build), and it has more than 230.000 km behind it... Rust is rather a design problem as no serious corrosion appeared. The brake system had to be replaced though. After all, this car proved to be extremely robust - and is far from shredding...
Dude from Hungary. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35231 | Sunday, September 8, 2013
Heathen Identity: Asatru, Wicca, and The Germanic Gods/Goddesses
Identity seems to be a hot-button issue in the Asatru and heathen communities, in a way that, for someone on their way in from the outside, seems to beg the question of when one will be safely inside the fold...if ever. I've watched a lot of discussion, and a lot of not-part-of-discussion posturing, and I think that although some of the points that come up are interesting and important, an awful lot of them come down to non-Wiccan communities having a sort of allergic reaction to any possibility that they will be lumped in with Self-Ordained High Priestess Nummymuffin Coocoolbutter by an unnamed observer.
Orthoprazy vs Orthodoxy
So first of all, we have to look at orthopraxy vs. orthodoxy. These are the two ways religions tend to build cohesion. Orthopraxy is "right action," which means that to belong, one must live the right way, follow the right practices, show up for the right rituals, and so on. Orthodoxy means "right belief," and it means that one must adopt the right beliefs. Now, obviously, these occur on a spectrum, because to some extent you have to have both. There's not much point in calling yourself a heathen if you don't believe in any of the heathen gods; and no matter how much you love Jesus, if you're loving him from the middle of a sacrifice to Ba'al, you're not a particularly good Christian. But on the whole, Christianity has tended to be weighted toward orthodoxy more than most previous religions - Islam is up there as well - whereas most pagan or tribal religions have been weighted toward orthopraxy. This means that the important thing is how you behave.
Why do I bring this up? Because there are modern heathens who seem to want it both ways: they want there to be rather strict rules about both behavior and the beliefs prompting the behavior. One gentleman said that to his mind, someone with Wiccan beliefs could follow the heathen gods and perform blot and symbel perfectly, and still not be a heathen. Now, this can only be termed orthodoxy: he wants to dictate what the mythical Wiccan can believe about the gods before even the more general "heathen" label can attach. But this is an entirely modern idea. To the best of my knowledge, we have no evidence - none! - that any ancient Pagan religion was weighted toward orthodoxy. We have, to the contrary, lots of evidence that they were orthopraxies. Certainly there's a minimum standard - the Germanic gods must be present, and must probably dominate the field (a new can of worms for later) - but there's only so far you can carry it and still be in tune with the original mindset.
The Varying Beliefs
Another interesting aspect of this, by the way, is the limited definition of "belief." Almost invariably, when the issue of right beliefs comes up, the two banners waved are Germanic Gods Only and NNV (The Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru) not the Wiccan Rede. This is a very narrow and, to my mind, superficial way of looking at what the original mindset of our ancestors was. No mention is ever made of whether it's important to have Yggdrasil as one's cosmological map, for example; nor of the Germanic concepts of time and fate (except by the occasional Saxon tribalist or Irminist), what the rituals or holy days really mean and their context, and so on. Sure, these things get discussed with some interest in the better neighborhoods, but they are never anywhere to be found when the "right belief" spectre raises its head. Germanic Gods Only. NNV, not the Rede. That's it.
Firstly, NNV and the Rede are not incompatible. It would be theoretically possible to keep both, which means, by orthopraxic standards, that attempting to do so is nobody's business until the person screws it up. Second, heathens worrying about the presence or absence of the Rede at all is the allergic rash reaction. If it is not a heathen concept, then it should not be relevant to the discussion at all. Third, and this goes back to the allergic rash as well: the popular conception of the Rede is not the traditional conception of the Rede. Judging the Rede as an idea based on what untrained solitaries who read a Silver Ravenwolf book think it is makes about as much sense as trying to understand the nuances of Christian theology by watching the snake handlers. The Rede: either understand it or ignore it. If you're not any kind of Wiccan it doesn't matter to you anyway. If idiots don't get that then it's their problem, not yours.
So okay, on to Germanic Gods Only. Surely it will not come as a surprise to anyone to discover that "The Germanics" were not one unified civilization. Neither were "The Celts" or even, for that matter, "The Greeks" (although they were a little closer). These are blanket terms for what were in fact a variety of tribes that shared distant ancestry and certain cultural markers in common. But, as we still have abundant evidence of today, each tribe could and did have a different set of gods, and different names even for those that were essentially shared by several tribes. Each had different "favorites," and gods could be present in some tribes and absent from others. So when we present a list of "these are the Germanic gods to whom we must keep troth," unless we are really being anal about uncovering a particular tribe's list, we are already generalizing and borrowing to some extent.
Add to this the overall kinship of all the Indo-European groups, the degree of interaction through both war and trade that we know took place and that we know historically always leads to ideas being exchanged, and particularly the fact that there has been scholarly debate over whether the Celtic and Germanic tribes are actually different enough to constitute two different groups. We don't know that deities never crossed the picket line between one group and the other. In fact, in other polytheistic religions past and present, we have plenty of evidence that this happens on a regular basis: for crying out loud, the Irish Brigid managed to become not only a Christian saint but also a Vodoun loa. As long as the overall structure (the orthopraxy) was kept intact - as long as, for example, Maman Brigitte showed a side of herself that fit in with Vodoun and accepted Vodoun-flavored rituals in place of her old Celtic digs - nobody worried about it.
From this perspective, I fail to see how Morgan (a near neighbor), for example, could single-handedly destroy every vestige of heathenism by appearing at a faining. The only reason to think so is the allergic reaction - the assumption/fear that even the slightest capitulation will lead inevitably to people inviting Thor and Yemaya to a peace pipe ceremony.
The other thing that seems to bring on the rash is any similarity, or any comparison whatsoever, to Wiccan ritual of any sort. (Oh, and I forgot to mention the divine law that polytheists must be hard polytheists. But that's covered in orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy, I think, and by the whole rash thing. There are gradations that aren't noticed in this struggle. If you think that Oshun and Aphrodite ultimately spring from the same source, you're a mystic: if you think that you can call Oshun "Aphrodite" and give her Freya's favorite presents on Hathor's altar, you're an idiot.)
Comparing Mystery Based Ritual and Folk Ritual
So I'm going to go through basic Wiccan/witchy ritual structure and make comparisons. My basic theory is that many of the differences, while present, are exaggerated and actually stem from the difference between mystery-based ritual and folk ritual. We have evidence aplenty that these two forms, in a general sense, can exist side by side in the same religion. The Greeks, for instance, had several different mystery cults to which a person could belong simultaneously with following normal "city" religion without any conflict. In other tribal groups it is not uncommon for the shamanic class to participate in normal folk ritual but also to keep other rituals and practices that are unique to them. The needs of those who do magic and move between worlds are in general slightly different than the needs of other people, and likewise, the ritual needs when doing such work are slightly different than what is called for in normal religious celebrations.
1. Setting up the altar: Both Wiccans and heathens do this. What precisely goes there is a bit different, but then again, this also varies within each group between denominations, so there's not much of a set standard. Everyone, however, includes a drink, most traditionally but not invariably alcoholic. Most have a candle. Some Wiccans next have to say special woodgy over the altar to dedicate it.
2. Setting the ritual space: In old heathenry this didn't always have to be done, because there were permanent ritual spaces. However, in both new heathenry and Wicca this usually isn't the case, so - although this seems to be one of the most virulent topics for debate - both groups temporarily consecrate the space in some way. This almost always involves circumambulating the area ritually: a Wiccan while doing so creates an energetic vessel with strict barriers, while a heathen usually leaves it permeable. (Please note, however, that an Anglo-Saxon charm for casting a circle with a wand or staff does exist from olden times, and that Irminists do make use of this.) The heathen may walk the round carrying a flame and chanting, or carrying a hammer and chanting, or may instead use "The Hammer Rite," which I will hit next.
3. Acknowledging the directions: Heathens seem to be more open to this than neo-Celts, but not all of them do it. The Wiccan association of four directions to four elements is, I'll be the first to say it, entirely Greek in origin (as in fact, it was a Greek, Empedocles, who came up with the four elements in the first place, as well as the mystery of a cosmic balance between Goddess and God, Love and Strife). The Hammer Rite sometimes goes here, and it is very much influenced by ceremonial magic: it is basically a heathened-up equivalent of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. The Hammer Rite also acknowledges eight directions instead of four...but then again, so do some Witches. One thing that Wiccans are doing along with this step is acknowledging the level of beings that a heathen would think of as the alfar, disir, and/or wights. The heathen will also tend to do this, but rather than doing it here will give those beings part of what is set aside for the gods.
4. Invitation of the deities: Both groups seem to put it here. Wiccans will tend to invite one or a pair, whereas heathens will tend to invite the whole pantheon, perhaps with an emphasis on the deity or deities particularly associated with the ritual at hand. Wiccans of adequate training/talent "draw down," or "horse." There isn't really evidence that this happened in old heathenry, but some heathens do it anyway because it works and is a powerful way of experiencing the deities.
5. The sprinkling: By this point, the Wiccan will already have blessed a bowl of water, usually by putting salt in it and performing a simple charm, and sprinkled the area and the attendants. In old heathenry, what happened instead was that after the gods were invoked, a blood sacrifice took place, the blood was caught in a bowl, and this was used to sprinkle and bless the area and attendants. Nowadays this seldom happens, and a share of the ritual drink is usually used instead. Still, the overall idea of the thing seems to be the same. Irminists, according to James Coulter, save this step until the very end for some reason - they are probably seeing it as a final sharing of all the good energy of the ritual. That's my guess.
6. The celebrations and ritual dramas: To be honest, I'm still not solid on where this step goes for heathens. I know they have it: several books attest to it and suggest very amusing ideas on how it can be done for various holidays. The Troth seems to put it here in the middle, like Wiccans do, but for all I know, everyone else waits until after formal ritual is over. Wiccans and Irminists, not uncommonly, seem to like to sing here (Wiccans may also dance). This is also where the "what are we all doing here in the first place" speech tends to go, if present, for both groups.
7. Ritualized food and/or drink: In both groups: A ritual drink is shared around, out of a single cup (or horn, but even in heathenry cup happens) if possible. Wiccans tend to bless the drink in a particular way, referring back again to that Empedoclean borrowing that emphasizes sexual polarity. This is, again, a mystery-based addition. Heathens don't seem to need a special drink blessing, but will sometimes preserve the sanctity of the vessel by only allowing a woman of particular ritual standing to carry it from person to person. They also take this opportunity to specifically toast the gods, goddesses and/or wights relevant to the ritual and to themselves, which Wiccans usually do not. Ritual cakes do not have to be present for heathens, although in the case of the Troth, the ritually sacrificed animal cookies are "killed" and shared around at this point.
8. Bringing it home: At this point, everyone says thank you and goodbye to whatever nonphysical beings were invited. Wiccans, having put up a formal enclosure, have to take it down: heathens, who merely blessed the space, don't. Fires are put out, and everything is generally put back the way it was when the ritual started.
9. Post-ritual feasting: This is again common to both groups, and is in fact an Indo-European standard. Originally, the meat from the sacrifice would be cooked up and shared around at this point. The gods' and goddesses' share must, of course, be consigned to the fire or to its special leaving-place, and this happens at various points depending on the culture. Heathens and (trained) Wiccans both likewise dispose properly of the gods' share of the ritual food and drink, plus a portion of any other feast items, usually before going to the feast themselves (but not always).
You can see how those two structures are totally different. Many of us are "eclectic" in how we practice and live our spirituality. Overall, if it works for you, then by all means you are encouraged to pick and choose. It certainly works well for this author.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35241 | the graphic design blog that speaks the truth
In my second WordPress tutorial I will guide you through the process of creating individual options pages.
First off, I think it is necessary to explain exactly what I mean by an “individual WordPress option page”. Whilst there are several tutorials available that tell you how to create a generalized WordPress options page, there seems to be nothing that tells you how to create standalone edits.
By this I mean, say if wanted to add an extra menu item to the admin area that said for example “Edit The Homepage Text”, how would we go about it? This post will tell you how.
Establishing a connection
Firstly, we need to create a link to our new function file that will create our individual option page. To do this, open up your themes functions.php file (or create one if it doesn’t exist) and add the following code:
require_once ( get_stylesheet_directory() . '/home_page_text.php' );
This code simply tells our functions.php file to open our new file “home_page_text.php” file. Once this is done, we need actually create this file and start building our function.
Creating the page
The first part of our file looks like this:
$sa_options = array(
'intro_text' => '',
if ( is_admin() ) : // Load only if we are viewing an admin page
function sa_register_settings() {
// Register settings and call sanitation functions
register_setting( 'sa_theme_options', 'sa_options', 'sa_validate_options' );
add_action( 'admin_init', 'sa_register_settings' );
function sa_theme_options() {
// Add theme options page to the addmin menu
add_menu_page( 'Home Page Text', 'Home Page Text', 'manage_options',
'edit_home_page_text', 'sa_theme_options_page', '', 30 );
add_action( 'admin_menu', 'sa_theme_options' );
// Function to generate options page
function sa_theme_options_page() {
global $sa_options, $sa_categories, $sa_layouts;
Above, we have simply created a new function for registering the new option (home page text) using the register setting wordpress function. The most important part of the above code is the “add_menu_page” bit, which is the code that actually adds a new menu item to the admin panel named “Home Page Text”. The add_menu_page function accepts many other parameters which can be read about here.
I do want to cover two of these parameters though. The fifth parameter sets what function is to be used, and the seventh (30 above) sets where on the menu the item should actually appear. Setting it to thirty as we have above places it just above the Appearance tab. At this stage, your admin panel should look something like this:
Creating the form
So we have successfully created a new menu item, specifically for changing the text on the homepage. Now we need to create some content for this new page. Add the following code directly below what code you have already added:
<div id="icon-edit"><br /></div><h2> Edit The Homepage Text </h2>
if ( !isset( $_REQUEST['settings-updated'] ) ) {
$_REQUEST['updated'] = false; }
if ( isset( $_REQUEST['settings-updated'] ) ) {
$_REQUEST['updated'] = true; }
if (true != $_REQUEST['settings-updated'] ) { echo ''; }
if ( false != $_REQUEST['settings-updated'] ) {
echo '<div id="message"><p><strong>Home Page Test Successfully Changed.</strong></p></div>';
<?php $settings = get_option( 'sa_options', $sa_options ); ?>
<?php settings_fields( 'sa_theme_options' );
/* This function outputs some hidden fields required by the form,
including a nonce, a unique number used to ensure the form has been submitted from the admin page
and not somewhere else, very important for security */ ?>
<textarea id="intro_text" name="sa_options[intro_text]" rows="15" cols="100">
<?php echo stripslashes($settings['intro_text']); ?>
<p><input type="submit" value="Save Text" name="submit" id="submit" /></p>
function sa_validate_options( $input ) {
global $sa_options, $sa_categories, $sa_layouts;
// We strip all tags from the text field, to avoid vulnerablilties like XSS
$input['intro_text'] = wp_filter_post_kses( $input['intro_text'] );
return $input;
endif; // EndIf is_admin()
The code above first of all gives our new page a title that is in-keeping with the style of our admin area. Next up, we define what message to display when our text has been updated. We then create our form for actually entering and editing the home page text. We then validate the value of this text and return it to be stored, using options.php.
Our Final Result should look something like this:
Using The New Value
The final step to our task is to actually reference our new value in our home-page. To do this, open index.php and paste the following code wherever you would like the homepage text to appear:
global $sa_options;
$sa_settings = get_option( 'sa_options', $sa_options );
<?php if( $sa_settings['intro_text'] != '' ) : ?>
<?php echo nl2br(stripslashes($sa_settings['intro_text'])); ?>
<?php endif; ?>
This code simply checks if the text actually has some content, and then outputs the result on the page. NOTE: I am using the “nl2br” php function here to ensure that line breaks are retained when outputting the content. You can remove this if you wish.
Feel free to use this code in your site, and don’t hesitate to ask me for any help getting it working. In the mean time go ahead and download the file.
1. 24/02/12
8:36 am
Very detailed.Thank you！
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35243 | Baby shark vtol drone for mapping
Baby shark vtol drone features a highly advanced aerodynamic design. It is made of composite material, which features high strength and very light weight. BABY SHARK VTOL adopts quick-detach design which makes the plane easy to set up and transport. The fuselage also has big inner space to hold flight controller, batteries or other equipments.
Baby shark vtol drone can take off and land vertically in a small area. The frame of Baby shark vtol drone is only 2.68kg, and max take-off weight is 12kg, the stall speed of the Baby shark vtol drone is 15m/s-16m/s, the highest speed is about 100km/h. In this we suggest to use two 6S 5000mah lipo batteries for lifting motors, and 30000-40000mah Li-ion battery for cruising motor and propeller, so except the battery, motors, ESCs, propellers and other necessary equipments still has 1.5kg payload left for zoom or mapping cameras. Baby shark vtol drone can perform most tasks like long range inspection, survey and mapping etc.
KIT frame material: carbon fiber Composites
Wingspan: 2.5m
Frame Weight: 2.68kg
Total Weight: 5.5kg(without battery)
Max Take-off Weight: 12kg
Max Payload: 6.5kg(including battery)
Max Flight Time: 2.5 hours
Max Speed: 100km/h
Recommended Set-up:
Autopilot: V5 plus 1
T-motor MN505 KV260 4
T-motor FLAME 60A ESC 4
1655 MARKII Matte Carbon Fiber Propeller CW&CCW 4
T-motor AT4120 KV500 1
Hobbywing 120A ESC 1
15×8 Wooden Propeller CW 1
X10 Mini Servo 4 |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35247 | Potassium Channel - Structure
Potassium channels (picture: potassium channels in the bacterium Streptomyces lividans) are channels allowing for fast transport of potassium ions through cell membranes.
Ion channels are found in the cell membrane and are responsible for ion flux, which plays an important role in many biological processes, for example in nerve activity or muscle contraction.
The channels are formed by transmembrane proteins.
Ion channels are highly selective. They contain two parts, which are essential to their role: the selectivity filter and the gate.
The gate determines under which conditions the channel, which is closed and thus impermeable in the resting state, is opened.
The selectivity filter determines which ions are allowed to pass through the channel. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35257 | The Online Encyclopedia and Dictionary
Radical (chemistry)
The term radical can have two distinct meanings in chemistry. The first is that a radical is an atom or molecule with free unpaired electrons. This causes them to be highly reactive as they try to bond these electrons with other atoms. In this sense, a radical is no different from a free radical. In the other sense, a radical is a collection of atoms that act as a common entity in reaction. For example, the ammonium ion, NH4+, is a radical in that it can react as a single entity:
NH4OH + NaHSO4 → Na(NH4)SO4 + H2O
Radicals in this second sense are often enclosed in parentheses in the expressions of chemical formulas (in this case the radical is the trivalent phosphate anion, PO43-):
Radicals, depending on whether they are largely ionic or covalent in character, may also be referred to as a polyatomic ion or a functional group. A radical, such as ferrocyanide, with a central metal atom and dominated by coordination chemistry with ligands, would be called a complex ion.
It needs to be understood that radicals in the first sense may not be radicals in the second sense, and vice versa (though there are radicals that have both properties, for example the superoxide anion is both a functional group and has an unpaired electron). An example of the first kind of radical is the hydroxyl radical, an example of the second is the ammonium ion. Simple examination of the Lewis structure of ammonium will reveal a completed octet around the central nitrogen, hence it has no unpaired electrons.
Historically, the term radical in the second sense was in common use by the second decade of the 20th century, long before the concept of spin angular momentum was discovered by Dirac.
Radical diagnostic techniques include:
Last updated: 05-07-2005 14:57:21 |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35265 | How the Internet And Mobile Are Changing Our Office Postures
Laptops, cell phones and tablets have changed how we work, and according to office furniture manufacturer Steelcase, the little devices also change how we sit. Steelcase surveyed 2,000 office workers in 11 different countries, looking at how people sit when they use technology.
The survey identified nine new working postures people use internationally. We’re adapting to technology use faster than our office furniture, which could cause problems with muscle strain, fatigue and injuries in the future.
The Nine Postures
It wasn’t enough to just identify the new sitting postures: they needed naming. Someone at Steelcase had fun with this. Without explanations the names sound like some strange new office yoga, which I suppose they are.
Without further ado, Steelcase’s nine new office postures. Betcha find one you use!
The Cocoon
A personal favorite of mine, the mobile device user reclines slightly, drawing his feet up onto the chair. The mobile is held close and rests on the thighs. The overall effect looks like a fetal position.
The Draw
Small mobile devices have smaller screens. To focus on those screens, the worker pulls away from her desk, reclining to read information and drawing the device into a comfortable reading distance.
The Multi-Device
This posture can be avoided if you have a hands-free headset for your cell phone. Otherwise, you find yourself sitting forward to read your laptop while one hand uses the mouse and the other holds the phone to your ear.
The Swipe
A person assuming the swipe position looks like a relaxed version of Rodin’s The Thinker if the sculptor had bothered to include a desk.
Used to surf mobiles sitting flat on a desk, someone in the swipe position sits leaning forward with their head positioned over the screen. One hand navigates with swiping motions while the other head rests one cheek in the empty hand.
The Strunch
The strunch, short for stretched out hunch, is a fatigue position. As you get tired, you slowly push the laptop deeper into the workstation so you can rest your weight against the station. Of course, this means you now have to reach forward to work, putting strain on the back and neck, so you use one arm to support your head. Is it Friday yet?
The Take It In
I have, in fact, gone over backwards in an office chair performing this maneuver. Usually assumed when contemplating information from a large screen, the person reclines way back in their chair with their legs extended.
The Text
My daughter lives her life in the “Text” position: arms brought in so close the wrists almost touch the chest, allowing her to read and text from a comfortable position.
The Trance
People assume the trance for long periods of time when reading or surfing on laptops or desktops. They focus on the monitor, leaning in slightly with on hand supporting their head, the other on the mouse and their legs drawn in under the chair.
The Smart Lean
This is a temporary, privacy-based email. Say you’re in a meeting and you get a text from a family member who suddenly realizes he needs help looking for a divorce attorney. You don’t want your co-workers reading the text, so you lean away from them, turning your body slightly to shield the screen. When you’re finished, you return to your normal posture.
New Posture, New Furniture?
The nine postures have one thing on common: current ergonomic office furniture is not designed with these positions in mind. In order to avoid pain, stiffness and long-term back pain, furniture designers will need to develop new chairs and workstations that accommodate our new ways of sitting.
Katie Elizabeth
Katie Elizabeth is a content coordinator and freelance blogger covering many topics including technology, blogging, WebpageFX SEO, career development, music, nonprofits and more. She focuses in many industries, like real estate, energy, addiction rehab centersand variable depth pools. She’s also a communications grad student. When she’s not writing, you can find her at a concert or playing with her new dog. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35287 | The Great Robbery
Played 1834 times
Rate The Great Robbery:Thumb up rating GoodThumb down rating Bad
Thumbnail for The Great Robbery
The Great Robbery game information:
Steal the gold and find the key to escape from police.Find the space to park your car to hide from police.Your objective is to open the the exit gate after stealing gold.All the best
How to play:
Use arrow keys to drive |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35291 | Document Type: Research Paper
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Names as markers of identity are a source of a wide variety of information. This paper explores the names of characters to show the sociocultural factors which influence the choice of names and the effects that the names of these characters have on the roles they play. Using a variety of personal names from Ayi Kwei Armah’s Fragments, Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood, and Nawal El Sadaawi’s Woman at Point Zero, the study revealed that, the choice of names in Akan, Igbo, and Arab societies are influenced by the day of birth, the family one belongs to, circumstances surrounding one’s birth, titles, and religion. Furthermore, writers chose these specific names to reinforce the roles characters play in the literary work. These findings have implications for onomastics, characterization, and further research. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35306 | Friday, 11 May 2018
The Rockit - Wow! #gamechanger
I've been childminding for 14 years now, and many a day I've been rocking a little one off to sleep and dreaming of inventing "something" to make me my millions. Never occurred to me to invent something to rock the buggy for me, but so glad someone did, and I wish them all the best, because this is sheer genius!
I first saw it on This Morning when they were reviewing baby products, due to the impending new Royal baby due to William and Kate. It caught my eye straight away (forgive the dodgy video), ordered it from Amazon - John Lewis had sold out at that point, and having used it successfully since, am declaring it a game changer!
For less than £40 it helps get a little one off to sleep whilst letting you deal with other ones hand free. You are still there next to them, but better equipped to deal with other necessities.
Meh, I'll go write that award winning book instead ha (another daydream), but well done to The Rockit team, I'll be praising this from the rooftops.
I would say that I do like kids to settle themselves, which is easier when the kids are older, but when they are younger, in my instance 9 months old, it's absolute genius!
Just Wow!
Annie x |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35346 | MOTs Racing
2019 was a year with many changes and new challenges for Alice – New bike, new competitions and new achievement levels… At the beginning of 2019 Alice moved to riding for Scorpa UK, supported and maintained by Nigel Birkett Motorsport. This was a decision made by Alice after having tried the new […]
Alice’s 2019 Review |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35350 | Temple Information Page
To paraphrase D&C 123:12, "there are many yet in the Church ...who are only kept from learning more about the temple because they know not where to find it..."
Look no further.
The information collected here is intended to help people prepare for, attend, and understand the temple, and aid in preparing LDS Sunday School, gospel doctrine and especially temple preparation classes.
Click on a category to the right to see resources with summaries, links, and references. Many references appear in more than one category.
Most recent additions to the index appear below as well as in their categories.
Recent Additions
1. Alonzo Gaskill, The Savior and the Serpent: Unlocking the Doctrine of the Fall (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005)
• I haven’t read this, and can offer no opinion.
• Deseret Book
2. Elder John A. Widtsoe, “Is the Gospel Changing?” in Evidences and Reconciliations (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft 1960), 47ff.
3. Truman G. Madsen, “The Temple and the Restoration.” In The Temple in Antiquity, edited by Truman G. Madsen, (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1984): 1-16.
4. Andrew F. Ehat. “‘That they might have known he was not a fallen prophet.’ The Nauvoo Journal of Joseph Fielding.” BYU Studies 19:2 (Winter 1979): 133-167.
• Contains first-hand accounts of relevant information on the restoration and early implementation of the temple ordinances.
eXTReMe Tracker |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35356 | The churches, recognizable by a bright comet star on the entrance door, exhibit beautiful Nativities scenes.
The crib for Christians is the artistic re-enactment of the greatest event in history: the birth of Jesus, the “Savior of the World”, “God who became man and has come to live among us.”
It is a symbolic representation that visually presents important moral values of the Christian humanism:
• the sacredness of the nascent human life, the maternity of woman and family;
• the equal dignity of the children of God;
• generosity in helping those in need, as virtues of the poor;
• peace and peaceful coexistence among different peoples;
• the acceptance of gifts brought by representatives of other peoples and cultures (the Magi from the Orient);
• respect and love for nature created by God (the sky, the countryside, the mountains, the streams depicted in the crib) and the animals, also called them to popularize the scene of the Nativity, to warm up Jesus’ with breath and keep him company. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35357 | Support Managers
show offline managers
English, Hindi, PT, Russian, SP
How to set up the group fees
You may want to receive a group fee from every member joining the group.
This is can easily be done by configuring your group's "Cost to join" field:
Group enrollment fee 0.png
However, you may want to know where that fee goes. The group fee processing scheme is the following:
1. All payments go to the "Group balance" which can be checked here:
Group enrollment fee 1.png
2. Regularly, this balance is being distributed among the group members with the "Pay group liabilities and receive group dividends" ability:
Group enrollment fee 2.png
Group fee setup instructions
1. Configure your group and set "Cost to join" value
2. Make sure that your bot does NOT have the ability named "Pay group liabilities and receive group dividends"
3. Make sure that the "Everybody" role of your group does NOT have that ability as well.
4. Enable that ability for yourself and, probably, for your officers.
This setup ensures that only the group owner receives the group enrollment fees.
Questions, wishes and discussion |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35358 | Tuesday, June 18, 2013
~questions answered about our house~
Wow, I just took a look at all the comments under our home tour and realized there was a lot of questions, so I thought I would address them here in one post! If you have any more, be sure to ask in the comments section, and I will reply to you there!
First question:
What is the color in your son's bedroom?
The dark grey is Seal by Martha Stewart in a eggshell finish.
The bottom is Annie Sloan Old White.
Did you make your daughter's white pom poms in her bedroom?
Yes and no. It's a kit I bought at Michael's. They are Martha Stewart.
Other questions related to Savannah's room were about her bedding.
Most all of it is Simply Shabby Chic at Target.
I made the bed skirt out of 2 ruffly tablecloths.
I also made the euro shams.
Where did you get the sponge vase filler for your bathroom?
I really don't remember, but I know craft stores have them, I've also seen them at Aaron Brothers.
Places like Hobby Lobby I'm sure have them.
Where did you get the mirror in your sons bathroom?
I got the mirror at Restoration Hardware.
Here is the link.
Did you make the silhouettes or buy them?
I made them and here is the link to the original post.
Where did you get the dark bamboo blinds above your kitchen sink?
I actually bought these as a temp. solution until I could afford the "real deal"
but might just leave these up because they work just fine.
I not only have them in the kitchen, but also in our sons room.
They are from a local store called Fred Meyer, kinda like a Target, but not even that fancy!
Where did you get your kitchen stools?
I got them at Pier One and a good friend made the ruffled light leopard cushions.
I don't see them on their website anymore but these are similar.
Do you have an indoor laundry room and does Savannah have her own bathroom?
Yes, we have an indoor laundry room closet.
It sits right off our kitchen and here is a link to a post I did about it.
No, Savannah shares the guest bath.
Where did you find that awesome wine bottle dryer?
I have 2.
The one in this first photo is from World Market, and is around $15.00.
Here is the link to it.
The second picture which holds the mugs in our kitchen was a ebay purchase and was around $180.00
Where are your letter mugs from?
They are from Anthropologie, here is the link.
How can you have a white couch and keep it from looking dirty with boys and dogs, and where did you get it?
Well, it is a slipcover sofa, so when it gets dirty, I throw it in the wash.
I try to keep it full of lots of pillows and throw blankets to keep it clean longer.
I got it at Pottery Barn and here is the link.
Where did you get the decal for your chalkboard wall?
It's actually not a decal, you can find the original post here on how I did it.
How do I find the post on how you refinished your hardwood floors?
Right here!
I think that's it! I hope I answered them all!
I am actually planning on doing an updated home tour shortly, as these photos are rather old.
Have a great day!
Kori said...
I thought you found your 'new' couch on Craigslist? I remember thinking it was a lucky find!
Melaine Thompson said...
I did! It is Pottery Barn!
annmarie sheffield said...
Thank you for answering all the questions. Your blog is very inspiring. It takes quite a bit of time to attach links and and answer questions....thank you. You were the very first blog i followed before I started bloging. Thank you for being an inspiration and for being very real. I need get back into blogging and updating my page soon. Stop by some time..... http://annmariesheffield.blogspot.com/
Terry said...
Did you really mean $180.00 for your mug rack?
Melaine Thompson said...
Yes, it's really old
Bria said...
ahh!! i love this guide, thank you so much! we are still in a rental but i love following your blog and saving some ideas for when we purchase a house. your little girls room is ADORABLE!
Unknown said...
Can you post pictures of the master bedroom? I love your style and I am trying to figure out what type of bedding/headboard to get for mine. I would love to see yours to get some ideas.
Also, what fabric/color is your Pottery Barn couch?
Unknown said...
I love the gallery wall above the couch! Did you hang the frames or use command strips? How did you space them out so perfectly?
Anonymous said...
Hi Melanie,
The "Seal" color in your son's bedroom...I know it is by MS, but which line? Her paint is carried at several stores near us, all with different colors. Do you recall where you bought it? Also, in your son's room...is that a barn door/track in place of his bathroom door. Love it! Did you make that?
Unknown said...
Love your blog. I was wondering if you would kindly show us your master bedroom. I remember there once were pictures of it, but now the pictures are gone. I'm guessing you've redecorated. I would love to take a peek. :-)
Melaine Thompson said...
I do not remember the Martha Stewart line of paynt~sorry!
Master bedroom~yes, coming soon! I am in the middle of a major re-do!
Cody's closet door is a door a got at a salvage yard and we hung it on a barn door track system. It just rolls open and closed. Love it!
Frames behind our sofa. I laid them out on the ground and measured where to screw in the screws to the wall. I used "zots" which are sticky little things on the back bottom of each one to hold in place. You can find these at any craft store in the scrapbooking section~just make sure you buy that brand and the biggest ones for this kinda hold. The other ones are only made really to stick paper to paper in scrapbooks and won't be strong enough.
I do not remember the color of our PB Soafa! Sorry! It's a creamy off white, not white white, not tan, and it looks like linen, although it is not. Hope that helps y'all! :)
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35362 | Can You Hide from God?
Genesis 3:8 (ESV)
This verse is an important verse because it sets the stage for how God will deal with sin while displaying a genuine love for His children through the descriptive words used. From a theological perspective based upon John 1:18, we realize that since God is walking—meaning He has taken on human form—this is one of the earliest Theophanies in the Bible. The very Son of God is there in the midst of the garden strolling, desiring to spend time with Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, the first couple have squandered this opportunity to fellowship directly with the Lord and instead find themselves hiding, using the very created things given by the Father, to become a barrier.
Because of the words used in this verse, we cannot envision a God bent on wrathful judgment (although He certainly would be just in doing so), but rather a gentle, merciful Creator leisurely strolling through the beautiful garden desiring to converse with his creation. Certainly, He already knew of their sin, yet His approach was one of meekness and love—exactly what we witness in His incarnation and subsequent ministry.
Turning back to Adam and Eve, we see the sense of guilt and shame, and the attempt to cover their iniquity by their own works. However, as we see later in this story, there can be no remission of sin without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22) and thus the Lord performs the first animal sacrifice to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve attempted to cloak themselves in their own righteous deeds, but only through the righteousness of Christ can we be reconciled to the Father.
We should learn from this that there is no hiding from God. While we may conceal our sins from one another, we cannot conceal them from our Creator. More importantly, that no matter how bad we fall, He is merciful to forgive us if only we repent and turn from our ways back towards Him. This piece of Scripture is such an excellent example of just how much God wants a relationship with us, fully knowing that we are sinful in nature. "For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
This makes for a good reflection on just how awesome our God is. Consider these relevant verses to carry you through the day and remind you that while nothing can be hidden from God, there is forgiveness awaiting you if only you are willing. Let His blood cover your sins, yesterday, today, and tomorrow:
Numbers 32:23; Job 24:13–17; Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 29:15; Hebrews 4:13; Job 13:9; Psalm 44:20–21; Psalm 69:5; Jeremiah 16:17; Ezekiel 11:5–6; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 10:26; Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 1 John 1:8–9; Psalm 32:5–6
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35384 | PHP – Execute a Function on Shutdown
The given PHP example helps you to Registers the function named by function to be executed when
the script processing is complete.
Code Example:
function say_goodbye() {
print "Goodbye!\n";
set_time_limit(2); // Set the number of seconds a script is allowed to run.
print "Sleeping...\n";
sleep(4); // Delays the program execution for the given number of seconds.
print "Done!\n";
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35408 | Sodium oxalate
From Sciencemadness Wiki
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Sodium oxalate
IUPAC name
Sodium ethanedioate
Other names
Disodium ethanedioate
Disodium oxalate
Molar mass 133.999 g/mol
Appearance White solid
Odor Odorless
Density 2.34 g/cm3
Boiling point 290 °C (554 °F; 563 K) (decomposes)
2.69 g/100 mL (0 °C)
3.7 g/100 mL (20 °C)
6.25 g/100 mL (100 °C)
Solubility Soluble in formic acid
Insoluble in alcohol, ether
Vapor pressure ~0 mmHg
-1,318 kJ/mol
Safety data sheet Sigma-Aldrich
Flash point Non-flammable
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):
11,160 mg/kg (rat, oral)
Related compounds
Related compounds
Ammonium oxalate
Neodymium oxalate
Infobox references
Sodium oxalate, or disodium oxalate, is the sodium salt of oxalic acid with the formula Na2C2O4.
Since oxalic acid is a dicarboxylic acid, the term "sodium oxalate" can also apply to derivate with only one sodium cation, monosodium oxalate (NaHC2O4), although the former is more often called sodium hydrogenoxalate, similar to how NaHCO3 is always called sodium hydrogen carbonate rather than sodium carbonate.
Sodium oxalate starts to decompose above 290 °C into sodium carbonate and carbon monoxide:
Na2C2O4 → Na2CO3 + CO
Sodium oxalate is used to standardize potassium permanganate solutions. It is desirable that the temperature of the titration mixture is greater than 60 °C to ensure that all the permanganate added reacts quickly. The kinetics of the reaction is complex, and the manganese(II) ions formed catalyze the further reaction between permanganate and oxalic acid (formed in situ by the addition of excess sulfuric acid). The final equation is as follows:
5 Na2C2O4 + 2 KMnO4 + 8 H2SO4 → K2SO4 + 5 Na2SO4 + 2 MnSO4 + 10 CO2 + 8 H2O
Sodium oxalate is a white solid, poorly soluble in water.
Sodium oxalate is sold in swimming pool stores as water hardness adjuster, though it's pricey.
Sodium oxalate occurs naturally as the rare mineral natroxalate.
Sodium oxalate can be prepared through the neutralization of oxalic acid with sodium hydroxide in a 1:2 acid-to-base molar ratio. Due to the salt's low solubility in water, cooling the solution will cause to precipitate out. Further evaporation of the water will give the solid compound, that can be thoroughly dried by heating it at 200 °C.
Sodium oxalate, like other oxalate salts is toxic if consumed.
In closed bottles.
Can be safely poured down the drain.
Relevant Sciencemadness threads |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35456 | Monday, October 25, 2010
"any" job
This is easier to read if you click and enlarge. My favorite part is it's 25% off the unknown price of "any" job. Sounds like a "good deal." Thanks, Gabe.
Classic Steve said...
The catch is, the plumber gets to pick the job and the starting price.
darrindickey said...
Sounds more like an ad for a male "escort" service. :-) |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35478 | A Few Steps Ahead, oil on panel, 24 by 48 in.
Kate Protage
While my work is rooted in the real, it's the junction between sensation and fact that interests me. My paintings exist in that grey area between representation and abstraction, where light and solid form are given equal consideration and are almost interchangeable. It's the detail of an individual shape, an expressive brush stroke, and the way everything coalesces into a series of value changes and textural rhythms that excites me.
Only for a Minute, oil on panel, 12 by 12 in.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35488 | Adult-Only Boozy Safari Coming To Nashville Zoo!
One thing that Nashville does really well is drink LOL So it's no surprise that the Nashville Zoo is throwing the first ever boozy safari where you can pet the animals at the zoo!
Spring Flamingle - is an adult-only event where there is unlimited beer & wine samples with up-close encounters with the animals!
The event is happening on April 2 and it's sure to change the way you look at your safari experiences! I know that beer is not for EVERYONE -- so don't worry, there'll be plenty of different wine options as well!
At the event you'll be able to see the animals in a much more chill and relaxed environment! From 7pm - 10pm it's just you, the animals and lots of alcohol! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT IN LIFE!
The other good news -- there will also a ton of different local food trucks in attendance because who can have unlimited samples of alcohol without food?! |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35500 | Introductory theory for Geometric Deep Learning
20 Nov 2020
Introductory theory for Geometric Deep Learning
More and more businesses are leveraging data to improve their customer experience. Researchers and innovators are creating new machine learning tools for all kinds of domains. One such recent advancement is the development of tools and algorithms that can work on Non-euclidean data.
Until now the majority of deep learning is applied to Euclidean representation of data. The difference between Euclidean and non-euclidean data is very well explained by the phrase mentioned in one of these StackExchange answers, in non-euclidean geometry “the shortest path between 2 points isn’t necessarily a straight line.” To elaborate more on this, euclidean space has a notion of left, right, up, and down like images, it is mostly a 1D or 2D representation of actual things. This representation of real things in lower dimensions is often lossy, for example in the case of an image the representation is restricted to a single viewing angle. Non-euclidean data can, however, represent more complex concepts like, the structure of a molecule, 3D objects, social networks, power grids, etc., non-euclidean data does not have any notion of direction, something cannot be above or below some other thing, everything is relational. When we design algorithms to handle non-euclidean data we are giving this information that the relation between two entities is meaningful and we’d like to capture patterns in these relationships.
The reason traditional deep learning algorithms like CNN do not work on non-euclidean data is the absence of direction and the fact that each entity can have direct relations with an arbitrary number of other entities. Geometric deep learning is the subfield of deep learning that deals with non-euclidean data and one important example of non-euclidean data is a graph.
In the rest of the article, I’ll try to clear up some terminologies associated with geometric deep learning and document good resources for in-depth understanding. Let us get started;
This term has multiple meanings as per the context it is being used often it means a chart or a plot or a visualization of some sort. In our context it refers to a data structure composed of nodes(entities) that are connected with edges(relationships) and these nodes and edges can have some properties.
To really understand the importance of graphs in real-world, consider a situation; you are having a discussion with some business folks about how their solution works, in no time you’ll end up seeing bubbles and arrows scribbled down to explain how something moves from point A to point B and so on. There is very little possibility someone will write SQL queries to explain their business model. (Although that would have definitely made my life easier 😉 ). This example might seem like a case of data visualization but it is not, those bubbles and arrows will have some properties and they represent relationships between two processes.
Another example is a command-line tool(tree) which gives a well-arranged view of directories in a tree format, similar to what we see in our IDE’s, tree is a special case of the graph. From content recommendation to the understanding the spread of viruses, graphs are everywhere. Graphs played a really important role in Google becoming a verb from a noun.
This blog post discusses the representation of graphs in great detail.
Knowledge graphs
There is no one agreed-upon definition of the knowledge graph, in fact, there is a paper titled Towards a Definition of Knowledge Graphs which noted important definitions in a tabulated manner.
The paper then goes on to propose a definition:
Knowledge graphs are one of the ways to represent ontology. Usually, an ontology deals with the concepts, not the instances of these concepts, when an ontology is represented with a knowledge graph, it is possible to extend this knowledge graph with the fact that it is extracted from some source and could help in the interpretation of the given source. Knowledge graphs based databases lie somewhere in the middle of relational database and key-value DB, they don’t hold the tight structure but still contains relation between records and because it is a graph we can run graph algorithms on KG.
Wikipedia provides great tool Wikidata Query Service to query there knowledge base with SPARQL(SQL like) language.
this will give a list of rock bands whose name starts with ‘M’
Graph Embedding
Embedding in general means representing high dimensional data in lower dimensions such that similar objects are close in lower dimensions and the object maintains some semantic relation. This is useful for downstream tasks like node classification, link predictions, community detection, etc., This topic and its method are covered in much more detail here.
Graph Convolution
This is another method to solve problems like node classification, link prediction. This is different from graph embedding because it doesn’t transform data to a lower dimension but utilizes the input graph itself. This and this blog posts go into a lot of details about graph convolution.
3D Modelling and Learning
This sub-field of geometric deep learning deals with an understanding of our 3D world and its representation in the datatype that is as close to reality as possible. Some important representation methods are:
Point Cloud
A point cloud is collections of points in 3D space. These points represent the X, Y, and Z geometric coordinates of a single point on an underlying sampled surface. Point clouds are a means of collating a large number of single spatial measurements into a dataset that can then represent a whole. When color information is present, the point cloud becomes 4D. There is a point cloud library that can be used for processing
Voxel grids
These are derived from point clouds. “Voxels” are like pixels in 3D; think of voxel grids as quantized, fixed-sized point clouds. Whereas point clouds can have an infinite number of points anywhere in space with floating-point pixel coordinates, voxel grids are 3D grids in which each cell, or “voxel,” has a fixed size and discrete coordinates.
Polygon meshes
The idea behind the polygon mesh is to approximate the 3D surface of anything with lines and polygons. A polygon mesh is a collection of vertices, edges, and faces that defines the shape of a 3D object with polygonal faces, straight edges, and sharp corners.
This article goes into more details about 3D modeling and learning
Parting Note
Here I have discussed 3D modeling and Graphs as separate topics but the algorithms applied for specific tasks can be the same. With suitable data pipelines and out of the box support for multiple algorithms modern frameworks like PyTorch Geometric, StellarGraph, PyTorch Points 3D, PyTorch Geometric Temporal, etc., will tremendously accelerate the applications and research of Geometric deep learning. In the next part, I’ll try to cover code examples, specific use cases, and basic customization.
Google recently released Objectron which has annotated 3D objects and bounding boxes. Combining Geometric deep learning with Augmented reality is a growing area as well and I believe it will find tremendous use cases and objectron like datasets will help this cause. On an unrelated note check out the amazing work of Anna Zhilyaeva, she is an artist who draws in virtual reality maybe in the coming time we will be able to use GAN’s like algorithm on non-euclidean data to create similar artwork.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35518 | Capital H
Tomorrow marks 10 years that your light has not been here with us. I miss you baby girl. Every day you cross my mind. Sometimes with tears, sometimes with a smile.
Whenever a butterfly crosses my path I know it is you saying hi. It always makes me smile and remember our talks about transformation and starting over. Drake looks just like you and I hear your laugh every time I get your boy rolling. It’s like a double win.
We had a gathering last weekend to celebrate your life. We talked about how much my life has changed since you died. I am not even close to the same person I was when you were alive. Most of my energy then was spent on helping you through your life and assisting you with Drake. Always feeling like I was failing and struggling daily to find the right words to make you want to stay and find your happy.
Now my life seems to be about helping others not go through this type of pain, honoring others loved ones who have passed, creating a business that adds smiles to the world in many different ways. Basically I am just trying to make this world, that you chose to leave, a better place for others that are struggling. To make your loss mean something.
The friends that were in attendance last Saturday were not the friends I had when you were here. I believe there are many reasons why the others didn’t attend. Some walked away 100% right after the memorial. Some later when they couldn’t handle my sadness. Most I believe don’t come around because they find it uncomfortable when I talk about you and they don’t know how to deal with being uncomfortable. Losing a child is the worst pain ever. It’s an ache that will always be part of my heart. I refuse to let others behaviors about their feelings stop me from sharing you with them.
I talk about you just like I talk about your brother. You are both my children, why wouldn’t I talk about both of you. Just because you died doesn’t mean you didn’t live. I won’t stop sharing about either of my children and their families.
I didn’t mean for this to become a rambling of so many of my different feelings. I guess the anniversary of your death makes me want to share about all the messed up thoughts in my head.
I don’t like that others actions cause me pain. I am so tired of hurting. I am tired of the sadness. I am tired of missing you. I am tired of being the mother of a dead child. None of it will ever change. I can’t fix this one for me, for your son, for your brother. This is a hurt that can’t be mended and others will not understand how they make it even harder. I hate it. Hate it with a capital H.
Ten years and I still feel like it just happened. That day I found you is etched into my heart and mind. There are residual affects from that morning. They call it PTSD. It happens every time someone is late, or someone didn’t call as expected, or someone slept in late, or someone doesn’t show up, or someone didn’t answer the phone. It starts me panicking that something is wrong. My mind starts creating stories that are awful and untrue but the panic still sets in. It is just another side affect of your loss that I hate with a capital H.
Kat, I remember the day you came into this world and the day you left it. I just want to find the right place in my head where I can just celebrate all the days in between. The good ones and the bad ones. I want to stop the hurting and feel the happy of having you for 22 years. It’s so easy to say and so hard to do.
I will keep trying. I will keep trying to make your life and loss mean something. I will keep trying to celebrate your brother’s life and his family without worrying about losing them too. I will find joy in watching your son grow into a nice young man and not worry that he will hurt forever because of losing you. I will keep trying to find my happy with a capital H. That feeling suits me better.
I love you baby girl. I always will.
One thought on “Capital H
1. Virginia Ebert (Sonny Lee's mom) says:
Thank you for sharing your story.Big hugs to you and your family. What you said about someone being late, not showing up, or doesn’t answer the phone.I know all to well. Your mind goes in a totally different mode. And it’s usually the worst. And I dont understand people (mostly family) that chose not to talk about our children.And yes I think about Sonny everyday all day.And the nights are worse sleepless nights makes our everyday living terrible. And no we are not the same anymore. God bless you, and thank you once again for sharing your story and feelings.It has helped me alot. Love, Sonny Lee’s forever mom.😘😇
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35519 | I've recently finished obtaining my PhD in a non-English speaking country. All of my papers have been published locally, so I've never felt the need to translate them into English before. Now I'm looking to continue my career as a postdoc in an English-speaking part of the world. One of the basic requirements in Universities abroad is to provide samples of your previous publications. I wonder what my course of action should be.
I have translated all the annotations, keywords, reference information and short summaries of my works into English - but is that good enough? Should I also translate the texts of my most important works and perhaps even my PhD thesis (which would take an enormous effort, to be frank)?
Or should I focus instead on writing more articles on the topic of my research and publish them in international journals? How valuable would my translated articles be to potential employers if they weren't published in an English journal in the first place - would they be taken into account when considering my candidacy for employment?
Thank you!
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"Or should I focus instead on writing more articles on the topic of my research and publish them in international journals?" This would be a worthwhile thing to do no matter what. – GrotesqueSI Sep 8 '19 at 15:11
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What field are you in? Some are much more English-centric than others, and that will affect the answer. – jakebeal Sep 8 '19 at 16:01
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More particularly, is your research topic related to the language of publication? – Anonymous Physicist Sep 8 '19 at 16:51
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@jakebeal, I'm in linguistics, and my PhD topic and all published papers cover the issues of translation from English into Russian (although the methodology can be applied to other languages/cultures, as well). The practical application and results of my work specifically apply to the Russian language. My main area of interest lies in translation theory. – Xaenor Sep 8 '19 at 17:32
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@Xaenor Given that you are specifically working in linguistics as applied to the language your papers are written in, I would expect there to be much more flexibility in people interpreting your CV than if you were working in, say, computer science. – jakebeal Sep 8 '19 at 17:34
It depends on the language
The accessibility of academic publishing is not a binary of English vs everything else. Rather, one can think in terms of a continuum, with major world languages towards one end, and languages with limited global reach at the other. Moreover, this continuum is highly dependent on geography (e.g.: French is spoken widely in Africa; Spanish is spoken widely in the Americas) and context (literature, area studies, and linguistics are obvious examples, but by no means the only fields where languages other than English are very important). In assessing whether the language in which you publish is a "major" language for your purposes, consider:
• is it one of the handful of languages used very widely in large parts of the world?
• is it used widely in the publication's sub-field/specialism?
• is it used widely in the field/specialism of the job/position for which you are applying?
I am based in the UK, and most of the literature I cite is in English, but my field has a lot of important literature published in German, to which I make reference (like many scholars in my field, I can read German reasonably well, although I would not describe myself as fluent). Some of my colleagues have published articles in German despite being native English speakers.
The point I want to make here is that publishing in English is not automatically more prestigious.
For the purposes of applying for a job in an English-speaking university...
• it is important to demonstrate is that you are capable of publishing in English in a medium subject to peer review, and...
• ...translating your existing publications would be one way of demonstrating that, if you then publish the translation in a peer-reviewed medium (in my field, it is quite common for collected volumes to include chapters that are translations of work published originally in another language -- usually, these translations are done by a third party, such as the editor of the volume)
• ...writing a new article/chapter/book and getting it published in a peer-reviewed medium in English would be another way of demonstrating that, with the added bonus that you are enlarging your publications-list
• publications in English are more accessible, but publications in other languages are still valuable, and...
• ...providing an English-language abstract is an excellent idea (in some fields, there are scholarly databases that do this for you)
• ...there is still a good possibility, if the language is used widely, that the publication will be read. When applying for a particular position, you could scrutinise the profiles of your prospective colleagues. It may be the case that one or more of them has published in your language, reviewed literature in your language, or translated literature from your language to another language. If so, there is a good chance that somebody would be able to read your publications.
• so-called "internationalisation" is very fashionable in UK academia at the moment, many British academics take their obligations as global citizens seriously, and engage with non-English publications and...
• ...may value a colleague who has a track record of working and publishing in multiple languages (as long as English is one of them)
Since you have already written English-language abstracts for your existing non-English publications, my advice would be to concentrate on writing new publications rather than spend a lot of time translating existing ones. Having said that, if you have a particularly significant/groundbreaking paper, it may be worth translating that one into English (and into other major languages), ideally with view to publishing the translated version in a peer-reviewed medium (when you do this, make sure that you get credit as the translator of your own work). You may need to get permission from the publisher of the original version, but any decent academic publisher should be accommodating (provided that all parties sign a licensing agreement).
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This is a fantastic reply - I'm very grateful that you took time to write it! Thanks for the links and sources, too. I'm glad to hear that there's a tendency towards inclusion of works in more languages - and like others, you mention how it's important to move forward and write more papers in English. I'll follow your advice and focus on my future work - this is going to be a requirement in an academic field anyway. Once again, many thanks! – Xaenor Sep 8 '19 at 21:16
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You are welcome; good luck with your work. – anon Sep 8 '19 at 22:31
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This answer makes me curious what academic field there is, where German is so important that even native English speakers feel compelled to publish in German. German used to be the language of theoretical mathematics and for a while also Economics, I think, but those times have long gone. The only obvious one I can think of is "Germanistik" (German Studies). Anyway, that's off-topic, but it piqued my curiosity. – Jörg W Mittag Sep 9 '19 at 18:36
Research is done in English
I'm from CS, that guides my opinion/answer. Also, that's my personal opinion, I know plenty of people that disagree with it, and that discussion is a bit beyond the point. I just wanted to say that because in all likelihood your publications will be ignored, translated or not, especially the Ph.D. dissertation (even in English, almost nobody will read it. Maybe parts, never the whole).
They will be ignored because since they were not in English, the venues are not 'top venues'. If I have to choose between a candidate with 1 good English publication (CVIU, PAMI, good IEEE) versus 10 local ones not in English, the former will win, hands down. Why?
• I expect my team to write in English (even while I was in Brazil), not only publications but code comments, documentation, even internal technical notes. Research is about dissemination, by choosing any other language, you are effectively reducing your potential readers. And I would have no idea how you would write in English from non-English papers.
• It is considerably harder to get one paper in a good venue than 10 in local ones. I'd trade all my publications for one paper at Nature in a heartbeat (not that I have a lot, but the point remains). After a while, you know which conferences will publish bad papers, and you just remove them from the list. Even if your paper is the good outlier.
My suggestion would be: do translate the titles/abstracts. Maybe make a short document (4-8 pages) summarizing the best results from that corpus. Then share the English paper that you are currently working on. Personally, I'd give bonus points if nobody else reviewed it because that would be an accurate sample of what you can currently do by yourself (make that redundantly clear, if that's the case, so they adjust expectations).
Additionally, include links (at least) to the original publications, in case someone on the committee can actually read them. Committee diversity is a thing, and it can work in your favor there.
Some fields consider publications in other languages, but it not as highly. Some math can be published in French or German. Some other fields might have similar exceptions.
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Just to follow up on your last comment, in math there are several top math journals that are French and still often have papers written in French. Publications in top journals that are written in French are considered just as highly as they would be in English, and most mathematicians can read math papers in French. I think even German and Russian are very rare for research papers now, and any other language would be used only for expository work. – Noah Snyder Sep 8 '19 at 16:51
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@Xaenor, well, I did, making clear that was unrevised work in progress. My CS bias may be more relevant to you than I thought. Take my answer with a handful of salt. – Fábio Dias Sep 8 '19 at 17:54
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@FábioDias While this is true in many cases, for the specific asker I would disagree with your take, given that they are specifically working in linguistics with application to the language they are working in. – jakebeal Sep 8 '19 at 21:28
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Could you clarify what is CS? Sorry if it is obvious to you but it seems like an important piece of context which I completely missed. – Diego Sánchez Sep 9 '19 at 8:13
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CS = Computer Science, but +1 for avoiding acronyms. – Blaisorblade Sep 9 '19 at 10:15
Just list them. Put a translation of the title into English in parentheses.
It is what it is. Not the end of the World, but sure English is probably better in general. Has become the scientific lingua franca (sorry Francophones).
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What makes you thing the asker is a scientist? – Anonymous Physicist Sep 8 '19 at 16:49
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And offer to provide English summaries of any of them if requested. – Buffy Sep 8 '19 at 18:00
• @Buffy, yeah, I absolutely do that. Just wondered how to maximise my chances of success, since most places don't give you a reason for why they refused your application - you know how it is with employers these days :) Thanks for the suggestion! – Xaenor Sep 8 '19 at 18:03
• I'm guessing you will be fine. Now if you want to translate a mathematics paper in Russian into English, I'd love it. A pretty hard go. The author's native language was Czech. – Buffy Sep 8 '19 at 18:11
• @Buffy, I'm not the one to shy away from a challenge, and I am a professional translator, after all :) If you are serious about that request, could you write me in private somehow? I'd like to assess the scope, terminology and overall complexity of the task before agreeing to something like that. – Xaenor Sep 8 '19 at 18:43
Your Answer
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35536 | After installing the depencies summarized in the appendix C of the User's Guide, you can follow the directions to install Akantu:
1. Open a terminal and go to the folder Akantu using the command: > cd akantu
2. Create a new folder named build: > mkdir build/
3. Go in the build directory: > cd build/
4. Configure the installation using cmake: > ccmake .. and then "c" to start the configuration
5. At this point the terminal will display a list of option that you can install if you want. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35555 | Needing Noel
Needing Noel 400x600
Amber Kell Books | Amazon | B&N
Noel Thistleborn had thought his life had ended when he lost his mate and daughter. Left with nothing but a broken heart he accepted the job as the king’s assistant to give his life new meaning. When King Kylen insisted Noel attend the dragon shifter ball he had no idea his life was about to change.
Hartmut was tired of watching his best friend cuddle with his two mates. He wasn’t greedy he’d take a single partner. In fact his greatest worry was having to deal with a fae double mating.
When the pair meets Noel doesn’t exactly greet the dragon shifter with open arms. Still traumatized by his loss, Noel is hesitant to put his heart out there again. However Hart wins him over and the pair agrees to dinner.
An old enemy comes forward and Noel will need the strength of his dragon mate to help him through. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35613 | Street artist from Sevastopol - Alexey Kislov
Those who have followed the process of subculture in Ukraine, probably already familiar with the work krymchanin. Fortunately, the city of Sevastopol have a huge amount of vacant brownfield sites and asked that decorate them.
Sevastopol though town and famous, but not so big, so this art-hooligans can be counted on the fingers. One of them is Alexey Kislov, not afraid to change the type of activity dramatically. From engineer a young man turned into an artist and designer. He participates in various art festivals, paints for pleasure and is engaged in interior design. Also, Alex often invited to other cities by writers and artists. In particular, his work is in several settlements of the Crimea, Kamenetz-Podolsk, Kiev, Moscow and Odessa.
Photo by Kislow
See also
New and interesting |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35642 | I've created a simple box:
As you can see it has many similar islands that are supposed to use same place on my texture. But when I try to align similar UV islands to same positions (as Shift+S -> Selection to 3D Cursor) Blender removes all regions but one and as result I can see just a gray color on my object at their respective places.
How to fix that behavior? I need all similar UV islands to use the same space on the texture.
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$\begingroup$ I am sure that using the key-combination Shift+S is not the right way, as it pretty much places all vertices of the UV island on the position of the 3D-cursor (the UV islands thus are shrunk to 1 pixel looking as you mentioned). $\endgroup$ – Xylvier May 2 at 22:44
• $\begingroup$ @Xylvier, I didn't know it, thank you for explanation $\endgroup$ – Шах May 2 at 23:23
As far as i know, there is no vanilla functionality that allows to pack all UV islands on the same place, essentially stacking them on each other.
There is an addon that comes with Blender though that can help a bit.
The name is Magic UV, and it comes with it's own Pack UV function:
enter image description here
The needed preparation is not too complicated if you do not have to many of those same islands:
1. First of all, you will have to make sure they are all averaged out:
Average Islands Scale
(this will ensure that the islands are all having the same size in the UV editor, if they are the same size on the object.)
2. Now you adjust the snapping option to vertices
enter image description here
3. Now you have to go through all same islands.(single face or group of faces can be an island, what matters is the island is the same as the one you want to stack on top)
4. Select an Island and while moving it, hold Ctrl to snap on a vertex that makes the islands stack exactly on top of the other. Repeat until all same islands are stacked up.
5. Select all UV islands with A
6. Then finally go in the UV menu and use the above mentioned UV Manipulation->Pack UV function. Adjust the parameters to better suit your needs.
Here a visual demonstration:
enter image description here
Happy Blending
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• $\begingroup$ Thank you very much for detailed answer! $\endgroup$ – Шах May 2 at 23:24
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$\begingroup$ @Шах Hello :). If the answer solved your problem, please mark it as accepted (the green checkmark). Thanks. $\endgroup$ – Jachym Michal May 3 at 16:00
Your Answer
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35653 | I don't know about you, but as a rule, I communicate better via written word.
It gives me time to think. It lets me use the vocabulary that my SAT tutor hammered into my brain so many years ago. And most of all, it gives me a screen to hide behind when I have to confront an uncomfortable topic -- making the situation much less awkward. But there are times when even I, the perpetual wordsmith, have to make an actual phone call.
Speaking to another human being over the phone can be nerve wracking. Maybe it's because so few of us actually use our mobile devices for that anymore -- after all, Pew Research found that text messaging is the most widely-used feature on them
Download Now: 25 Proven Sales Email Templates [Free Access]
But even if it looks like phone calls are fading on the surface, there are times when they're still essential -- especially, it seems, where a sensitive subject is concerned. That means it's time to stop hiding behind the screen, take a deep breath, and dial. We've outlined six of the most important occasions when a phone call is better than an email. Have a look, and start talking.
6 Times a Phone Call Is Better Than an Email
1) When You Want to Apologize
Most of us grow up understanding that, when we do something wrong, we should say, “Sorry” -- 96% of parents think it’s important for kids to apologize when they deliberately upset someone, and 88% believe the same is true, even when it's unintentional. But what constitutes a heartfelt apology?
It’s so hard to admit when we’re wrong. And to actually say it out loud -- “I’m sorry” -- is even more challenging when we have the option of quickly typing it out in an email or text message. That’s why it can carry so much more weight when someone actually calls us to apologize. Assuming he or she means it, we can hear the person’s remorse.
But if you’re afraid of screwing up an apology when you try to do it off-script, you can still write it down before you make the call. That can help to give you an idea of what it is that you really want to say, and can mitigate the risk of stumbling your way through saying sorry. Just make sure it sounds natural -- an apology won’t seem very authentic if it sounds like you’re reading from a script.
2) When You Anticipate a Lot of Questions
My colleague, Leslie Ye, recently had a phone call with someone to discuss a project for the HubSpot Sales Blog. She specifically chose to have a spoken conversation -- rather than explain the parameters over email -- for a few reasons. Among them, she told me, was that she anticipated the writer would have several questions.
As it turns out, she was right. “Calls that have a lot of questions are typically harder to handle over email, because that’s not a real-time conversation,” Ye explained. “With a phone call you, can go back and forth on one question until it's clarified, then move on to the next one.”
In other words, it was more efficient for Ye and her counterpart to address all questions in a single phone call, rather than over a string of emails. When you do the latter, you risk losing track of what’s been asked and answered. But there’s a catch -- if you don’t take notes during your call, it’s just as easy to forget what you’ve discussed, given our declining attention span and retention of details.
For that reason, there are times when it’s a good idea to combine a phone call with an email. Following up in writing is a helpful way to ensure that both parties are on the same page after a conversation, and gives you a point of reference after the fact.
3) When You Have to Explain Something Complicated
There’s a reason why telephone support still exists. We use it here to help HubSpot customers, and for good reason -- 73% of customer service managers say that support inquiries are becoming more complex.
Written instructions are always helpful as a point of reference -- see above. But if you’re trying to follow a series of complicated steps, or you’re simply new to what you’re doing, it’s tremendously helpful to have someone walk you through it via spoken word.
As a channel consultant, my colleague Adrianne Ober deals with this phenomenon daily. “Email is great for getting to the point and keeping on task,” she says, but “a conversation is going to naturally provide deeper context.”
But while it’s great to be friendly, it’s also crucial to stay focused -- it can be easy for the conversation to go off-track, Ober says, especially when you strike a good rapport with the person you’re speaking with. So remind yourself of the purpose behind the conversation, and stick to it until the issue is resolved.
4) When You've Taken Way Too Long to Respond
It’s tough to say how many unread emails exist in the average person’s inbox. When I polled by team, just over 37% of my colleagues responded that they have anywhere between 11 to over 50.
Screen Shot 2017-01-06 at 12.07.08 PM.png
That explains why it’s so easy for emails to be overlooked or forgotten. Admit it -- how many times have you opened an email and marked it as “unread” with intention of answering it later? That habit makes it easy for messages to quickly become buried under constant incoming email.
There are two potential solutions to this issue:
1. Organize your inbox with resources like HubSpot Sales, or any number of the email management tools we’ve listed here.
2. If you’ve overlooked something crucial, call the sender.
Remember our advice to call when you need to apologize? Here’s a great example of when that’s particularly helpful. With inbox overload becoming a workplace epidemic, chances are, the person you’re calling will understand a little bit of neglect. Plus, making the effort to actually call the person and address the issue -- rather than responding with an overdue email that’s just going to flood his or her inbox, too -- speaks volumes. It sends the message that the person is a priority, rather than something at the bottom of endless to-do list.
5) When You Need to Discuss Something Personal
Simply put -- life happens, and sometimes, it’s not so awesome. And on occasion, the less-than-awesome things require us to temporarily step away from certain responsibilities, like work.
As we’ve emphasized, using the spoken word in lieu of email can help to make your counterpart feel like a priority, and to understand the significance of what you’re discussing. So when you need to bring up something personal, like a family emergency or medical issue, skip the email and have a real conversation about it instead.
That also helps to instill a sense of empathy. Not too long ago, researchers at the University of Michigan found that there was a 40% decrease in empathy among certain populations, which correlated with an increased use of technology. It’s a symptom of hiding behind a screen -- and, therefore, not being able to associate emotion with what’s being said.
That’s why we generally advise using the phone -- or an in-person conversation, if possible -- when you need to discuss anything important, as we note below.
6) When It's Really Important
What constitutes “urgent,” these days, has become somewhat fluid. We’re a deadline-oriented culture -- in fact, it’s been found that adding a deadline to a task makes us 24% more likely to do even get it done. But sometimes, we can’t pull off those deadlines alone. We need to interview an expert for a quote, or have an official party sign off on something.
But remember -- a lot of us have unread emails in the double digits. So when an important request comes in, even when labeled as “urgent,” it’s easy for it to get pushed down by a high rate of incoming emails. What’s urgent to me, might not be a priority for the person I’m trying to reach.
Sure, “most Americans would rather type it than say it,” writes Chicago Tribune’s Corilyn Shropshire. But reaching out by phone not only prevents an email from going unread -- and adding to the recipient’s email avalanche -- but also, it helps to instill that sense of empathy we mentioned before, and emphasize urgency.
Here’s another instance when following up in writing can help. If you can’t reach the person at his or her desk, for example, email might be received quicker, since 88% of us check it on our smartphones. Try sending a written summary of what you said in your voicemail, but save the meaty details for a phone call, so that they don’t get lost in the email shuffle, as per Ye’s above example. But be respectful of that person’s time, and ask when it would be more convenient to speak by phone -- that whole “empathy” thing goes both ways.
Make the Call
To be clear, we’re not trying to knock email. We love email -- there are times when it’s an invaluable resource for marketers, and when it’s a perfectly appropriate method of communication.
But we also like to keep a human element to things, which is why -- and feel free to call us “sentimental” -- sometimes, we like to talk it out. These are six instances in which that’s the way to go, and when it can help you accomplish things more effectively.
When do you opt for phone calls over emails? Let us know in the comments.
sales qualification
sales qualification
Originally published Jan 27, 2017 6:00:00 AM, updated October 29 2019
Inbound Sales (Marketing) |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35657 | Category Archives: Lync 2013 SDK
Code – Desktop Apps – Site By Site
I used Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2015 running Windows 10 and targeted Windows Desktop Application to .NET Framework 4.6.1. First I downloaded the Desktop Client SDK and used 7-ZIP to extract the content of the ‘lyncsdk.exe’ distribution. The ‘lyncsdk64.msi’ installed fine on my development environment providing the assemblies needed. The can be found in ‘C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office 2013\LyncSDK\Assemblies\Desktop’.
While exploring the capabilities of the desktop client API, I wanted to be able to run two instances of Skype for Business client on a single desktop. As far as I am aware this is not available out-of-the-box.
Took some time to get everything right but here is the result. On the right-hand site one instance running the official client 15.0.4711.1000, on the left-hand site a second instance running my own C# custom client version Thus two ‘lync.exe’ instances active with different AD credentials. To be honest not yet the full functionality, things like white boarding and application sharing are not yet implemented. But I only needed this to test IM, audio and video conversations during demo on the road using a single desktop. And convincing to evangelise the power of Skype for Business Development Platform for customers that primarily focus on the infrastructure aspects of the platform.
I will not duplicate the entire process of developing applications using Lync 2013 SDK and UI suppression, as these is very well documented and many excellent code samples are available online.
The key take-away of this BLOG post and only line of code is specifying GetClient(true) instead of GetClient() as show below.
Site by Site
So creating a side-by-side endpoint is a one step process that involves calling the static LyncClient.GetClient method, except that you pass a boolean true value in the method if you want a side-by-side endpoint. If you do not provide an argument to this method, the default argument value of false is passed and a standard Lync endpoint is created.
The remaining is business as usual to write a UI suppressed application, although it takes quite some effort to have the user interface exactly as the Skype UI as in client 15.0.4711.1000.
If you run Site by Site mode you will see in Explorer in folder “C:\Users\…\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\15.0” next to the usual “Lync” also a “LyncSideBySide” directory structure. In fact up to 4 instances can run simultaneously.
More information can be found on |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35660 | Enthusiasm is the most important thing in life.
Tennessee Williams
Carles Mateo
Carles is an Engineer which programs since he was 5 years old, he works for Blizzard, and he has created many Open Source Software. Carles blogs about extreme IT and about Operations Engineering and SRE.
Michał Pabich
Cyber security specialist and academic lecturer.
Paweł Bujakiewicz
Keen DevOps engineer. |
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McDonald's Faces Another Labor Suit
Article Placeholder Image
By William Vogeler, Esq. on July 05, 2017 6:57 AM
After McDonald's sold its first 100 billion hamburgers, the company stopped counting.
Now the fast-food chain is counting labor law cases it has settled. Last year, it was one.
This year, the business is facing a class action over a policy that keeps its workers from going to competing McDonald's franchises. That's a lot of employees who want to make more money, and they don't want french fries with that.
No "Poaching" Here
In a lawsuit filed in Chicago, Leinana Deslandes says she was making $12 an hour at one McDonald's restaurant when she applied to work at another one that offered $14.75. Deslandes said she was rejected because of an agreement that prohibits franchisees from "poaching" employees if they have worked for another McDonald's within six months.
"This agreement between and among McDonald's and McDonald's franchisees is a naked restraint of trade that is per se unlawful under Section 1 of the Sherman Act," the complaint says.
To be sure, it is offensive to mention "naked" and "McDonald's" in the same sentence. But what does the lawsuit really mean?
"This practice of 'owning' an employee not only affected Ms. Deslandes and other employees where their franchise owner will not 'release' them, but it artificially holds down the wages of all of the McDonald's workers that are being paid less than their true market value and are struggling to make ends meet," plaintiff's lawyer Richard McCune said in a statement.
Less Than $12 an Hour?
McDonald's is almost as famous for its hamburgers as it is for its low pay. It pays better than the average fast-food worker's wage in America, but at $12 an hour we're talking poverty level for a family of four.
The plaintiffs may find some sympathy in their case, but they may also have a hard time getting McDonald's to pay. After more than 60 years in business, the company settled its first class action with workers last year.
The Illinois-based company agreed to pay $1.75 million in back pay and damages, plus attorney's fees, to 800 employees at five restaurants owned by one franchisee. It's not a lot for a company that has sold billions of burgers, but there are about 375,000 U.S. employees and reasons for McDonald's to consider changing its "poaching" policy.
And no, they don't want an egg McMuffin with that.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35678 | The Chess beta site now has a cool replayer, to allow Chess games/positions to be described, rendered and walked through. It's been around for a couple of months now.
We've been asking for this for some time. We already have a nice renderer, and basic card-linking functionality for , both of which have been great. Now that something has been written for , our 6th most popular game, could we please have the same functionality enabled here?
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Might it be better for questions with that level of complexity to be migrated to the chess site? (If the beta fails, the questions could be brought back here, and the replayer enabled at that point.) – mattdm Jan 7 '13 at 17:55
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@mattdm - No. 1) It's a great way to present even a static board. 2) All Chess questions are on topic here, even/especially complex ones. 3) The question of whether a separate site is needed for Chess is quite undecided, hence the beta. 4) The existence of the Chess beta says nothing about the existence of Chess questions on this site. That beta is in no way more valid than this one. – ire_and_curses Jan 7 '13 at 18:10
This would be nice on occasion, but... At present, it would interfere with the Go renderer. Until such a time as these can be integrated, I would recommend just using the dedicated Chess site for questions that would benefit from this.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35684 | Page images
of certain literal extensions in the Divine Nature ; as if they would distribute it into parts, and divide God the Father, if they could; whereas to entertain even the light suspicion of this, is not only an extreme impiety, but an utter folly also, nay not even intelligible at all, that an incorporeal nature should be capable of divisions.”
To meet more fully this misconception to which the word Son gave rise, the ancient Fathers availed themselves of the other chief appellation given to our Lord in Scripture. The Logos or Sophia, the Word, Reason, or Wisdom of God, is only by St. John distinctly applied to Christ; but both before his time and by his contemporary Apostles it is used in that ambiguous sense, half literal, half evangelical, which, when it is once known to belong to our Lord, guides us to the right interpretation of the metaphor. For instance, when St. Paul declares that “ the Word of God is alive and active, and keener than a two-edged sword, and so piercing as to separate soul and spirit, joints and nerves, and a judge of our thoughts and designs, and a witness of every creature," it is scarcely possible to decide whether the revealed law of God be spoken of, or the Eternal Son. On the whole it would appear that our Lord is called the Word or Wisdom of God in two respects; first, to denote His essential presence in the Father, in as full a sense as the attribute of wisdom is essential to Him ; secondly, His mediatorship, as the Interpreter or Word between God and His creatures. No appellation, surely, could have been more appositely bestowed, in order to counteract the notions of materiality and of distinct individuality, and of beginning of existence, which the title of the Son was likely to introduce into the Catholic doctrine. Accordingly, after the words lately cited, Origen uses it (or a metaphor like it) for this very purpose. Having mentioned the absurd idea, which had prevailed, of parts or extensions in the Divine Nature, he proceeds: “Rather, as will proceeds out of the mind, and neither tears the mind, nor is itself separated or divided from it, in some such manner must we conceive that the Father has begotten the Son, who is His Image.” Elsewhere he says, “It were impious and perilous, merely because our intellect is weak, to deprive God, as far as our words go, of His only-begotten co-eternal Word, viz. the 'wisdom in which He rejoiced. We might as well conceive that He was not for ever in joyo.” Hence it was usual to declare that to deny the eternity of our Lord was all one as saying that Almighty God was once without intelligence?: for instance, Athenagoras says, that the Son is“ the firstborn of the Father; not as made, for God being Mind Eternal, had from the beginning reason in Himself, being eternally intellectual; but as issuing forth upon the chaotic mass as the Idea and Agent of creation?.'' The same interpretation of the sacred figure is continued
8 Bull, Defens. ii. 9, § 19.
9 Bull, Defens. iii. 3, & 1. i groyos.
2 Bull, Defens. iii. 5, $ 2, tov abyov ... doyeds . . . . Apoexo6v ... ιδέα και ενέργεια.
after the Nicene Council ; thus Basil says, “If Christ be the Power of God, and the Wisdom, and these be increate and co-eternal with God, (for He never was without wisdom and power,) then, Christ is increate and coeternal with God.”
But here again the metaphor was necessarily imperfect; and, if pursued, open to misconception. Its obvious tendency was to obliterate the notion of the Son’s Personality, that is, to introduce Sabellianism. Something resembling this was the error of Paulus of Samosata and Marcellus : who, from the fleeting and momentary character of a word spoken, inferred that the Divine Word was but the temporary manifestation of God's glory in the man Christ. And it was to counteract this tendency, that is, to witness against it, that the Fathers speak of Him as the Word in an hypostasis“, the permanent, real, and living Word.
The above is a sketch of the primitive doctrine concerning our Lord's divine nature, as contained in the two chief appellations which are ascribed to Him in Scripture. The opposite ideas they convey may be further denoted respectively by the symbols “of God," and in God" ;” as though He were so derived from the simple Unity of God as in no respect to be divided or extended from it, (to speak metaphorically,) but to inhere within that ineffable individuality. Of these two
3 Petav. vi. 9, § 2.
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conditions of the doctrine, however, the divinity of Christ, and the unity of God, the latter was much more earnestly insisted on in the early times. The divinity of our Lord was, on the whole, too plain a truth to dispute; but in proportion as it was known to the heathen, it would seem to them to involve this consequence,—that, much as the Christians spoke against polytheism, still, after all, they did admit a polytheism of their own instead of the Pagan. Hence the anxiety of the Apologists, while they assail the heathen creed on this account, to defend their own against a similar charge. Thus Athenagoras, in the passage lately referred to, says; “Let no one ridicule the notion that God has a Son. For we have not such thoughts either about God the Father or about the Son as your poets, who, in their mythologies, make the Gods no better than men. But the Son of God is the Word of the Father [as Creator] both in idea and in active power? . . . . the Father and the Son being one. The Son being in the Father, and the Father in the Son, in the unity and power of the Spirit, the Son of God is the Mind and Word of the Father.” Accordingly, the divinity of the Son being assumed, the early writers are earnest in protecting the doctrine of the Unity; protecting it both from the materialism of dividing the Godhead, and the paganism of separating the Son and Spirit from the
6 [Son and Word, “ of Godand “ in God,” however, imply each cther. “If not Son, neither is He Word : if not Word, neither is He Son.” Athan. Orat. iv. 24. “ The Son's Being, because of the Father, is there. fore in the Father.” Athan. iii. 3. “Quia Verbum ideo Filius.” August. n Psalm. vii. 14, § 5.]
i ideą kai įvepyela, as at p. 175.
Father. And to this purpose they made both the “of God," and the “in God," subservient, in a manner which shall now be shown.
First, the “ in God.” It is the clear declaration of Scripture, which we must receive without questioning, that the Son and Spirit are in the one God, and He in Them. There is that remarkable text in the first chapter of St. John which says that the Son is “in the bosom of the Father.” In another place it is said that “the Son is in the Father and the Father in the Son." (John xiv. 11.) And elsewhere the Spirit of God is compared to “ the spirit of a man which is in him” (1 Cor. ii. 11). This is, in the language of theology, the doctrine of the coinherences ; which was used from the earliest times on the authority of Scripture, as a safeguard and witness of the Divine Unity. A passage from Athenagoras to this purpose has just been cited. Clement has the following doxology at the end of his Christian Instructor. “To the One Only Father and Son, Son and Father, Son our guide and teacher, with the Holy Spirit also, to the One in all things, in whom are all things, &c. . . to Him is the glory, &c.” And Gregory of Neocæsarea, if the words form part of his creed, “In the Trinity there is nothing created, nothing subservient, nothing of foreign nature, as if absent from it once, and afterwards added. The Son never failed the Father, nor the Spirit the Son, but the Trinity remains evermore unchangeable, unalterable.” These authorities belong to the early Alexandrian school. The Ante-Nicene school of Rome is still more explicit. Dionysius of Rome says, “We must neither distribute
8 nepixúpnous, or circumincessio.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35693 | 35,258 Pages
Buddy Pine, AKA Syndrome, is a minifigure released in 2016. He is the main antagonist of the first film.
Young Buddy Pine wanted to become Mr. Incredible's sidekick Incredi-Boy, but after endangering himself and others, Mr. Incredible turned him down. Buddy grew resented towards his former idol and became the megalomaniacal Syndrome. Using a line of robots, he planned to make himself seem like a hero to the world. As this would involve the destruction of a major city, the Incredibles assembled to stop him.
Video Game Appearances
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35694 | I have a bin of Lego with a bunch of $100+ sets. The bin contains 29lbs. of Lego. I want to sell them, how should I price them? There are sets like 7743 and such. They are in pristine condition. There might be other small objects in the bin, but I don't know what. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
Sincerely, Nathan
• Please clarify your question with information regarding how you want to sell the sets, individually or in bulk. "They are in pristine condition." for example. Are you referring to the sets or the pieces? – JohnnyB Aug 25 '19 at 20:39
Post an auction on ebay, and let the buyers determine the worth. Include a lot of pictures of what is in the lot, so buyers know what they are getting. If you go random, the most folks will pay is what it is worth with all low valued pieces.
If you want to make more money, sort the Lego out, and see if you can complete sets. For some sets the complete set will sell for more than the individual pieces, for other sets the individual pieces will sell for more.
If you want to maximize profit do some research on sites like ebay, bricklink, brickowl and see what the parts you have are selling for. If not, then just post it as you described it here, as an auction on eBay, and see if anyone bids.
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Your question could use some clarity. "Bin of Lego" and "pristine condition" seem to contradict itself. You mention the weight, which is standard for selling in bulk, but then ask, "How do I price them?" as if selling sets individually. If the sets are complete they are going to be worth more, especially if the minifigures are with them. Inclusion of instruction manuals and boxes also can add significant value. How much depends on the condition of the pieces, minifigures, instructions, the box and if the set is popular/desired.
You can look them up on Ebay to give you an idea of the current going rate, or use Bricklink. Enter the set number and navigate to its page where you will see a "Price Guide" option on the lower right:
enter image description here
It will take you to a page showing how much they have been selling for, and how much they are currently selling for:
enter image description here
You really should have searched for this topic before posting, there are a lot of answers available to very similar questions:
How should I arrange LEGO to sell per pound?
What is the easiest way to sell Lego sets for a good price?
Value/Where to sell my old Lego collection
How to sell a large amount of Lego
What is the best way to sell complete used LEGO sets?
Selling bulk LEGO
The list goes on...
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35695 | I have most Star Wars sets, plus the complete Enterprise. They have been taken apart and I do not have all instructions. What is the best suggestion to sell? I also have the Death Star dismantled. I do have at least 6 Star Wars ships that are intact. If I sell those, how do I get them to the buyer?
An Enterprise has never been an official LEGO set. Lego does not have the licenses to produce Star Trek sets. Some clone brands have offered it, so I conclude that clone or custom LEGO is mixed into your bulk. You should filter the non-LEGO out of your bulk if you wish to sell it as LEGO.
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The Enterprise reference made me wonder as well. I assumed they were talking about the Millennium Falcon, but non-LEGO is a good guess as well. Hopefully Sheila will return and let us know the real story. – chicks Aug 7 '17 at 19:35
Your Answer
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35714 | My view on the various income groups in India and the level of ‘joy’: only a limited correlation with access to money
India has been a class-based society for decades now. The difference between the public position of an average security guard and the managing director of a medium size company, both working in the same building, is significant. I haven’t seen any signs to things changing. In fact, things could get even worse because money is widely considered as the ‘new caste’. The access to capital between the top 1% and the rest of the population will change, only benefitting the best earners. But what about the levels of joy? Does it make people happier when they have access to significant amounts of money? And what is the situation on the poorest people in India? Are they happy or very sad?
Sociodemographics of India: upper class and rich class numbers are low
Before answering the question, it’s important to understand the sociodomographics of India. Most people will understand the status by considering India to be a third world country. However, it’s also one of the BRIC-countries, with huge economic growth in the recent years. India has a population of roughly 1.3 billion and this number is still on the clime. India’s per capita income was 1610 dollars per year in 2016, based on research done by the World Bank. This income varies from state to state. Bihar is widely seen as India’s poorest state, with an average income of roughly 682 dollars. Goa is India’s ‘richest’ state, with an average income of 14,903 dollar. With over 247 Million households, the average size of an Indian household is approximately 5 people. This probably doesn’t say much, but let’s compare it to the average household size in the Netherlands. The average size of a Dutch household is 2.2 persons, so households in India are more than twice this size.
It’s almost impossible to talk about the various income levels in India without mentioning ‘class’ and I feel sad for using this specific word. I found a lot of research and numbers about the various incomes, also related to class. However, the outcomes would vary with fluctuating differences. Based on personal experience & online research I came up with the following personal interpretation about the different income groups, based upon national figures:
Below poverty line: 12,5%, approximately 165 million
About 12,5% of the Indians live below the poverty line, according to research done by The World Bank. Thus, more than 165 million Indians earn less than 130 INR a day (approximately less than 2 Dollar) which is about 50.000 INR (less than 690 dollar) a year. People in this category live in slums, tents and some even live on the streets. If they are not begging, people are most probably doing dirty, dangerous and/or poor laboured work. They work as street sweepers or working as a lowely paid day labourer. Each new day is a (financial) challenge for them, because the shortage of money is a pressing factor in their life.
Lower class: 70%, approximately 927 million
Approximately 70% of the Indians belong to the lower class, a little more than 927 million people. The average income of a household ranges between 50.000 INR (less than 690 dollar) and 450.000 INR (6.500 dollar) per year, thus this group is very diverse. People in the lower class generally work as drivers, office clerks, maids, cooks, waiters, administrators or some other blue collar jobs. However, the largest part of this group are actually into farming. They own or rent a small piece of land, to produce vegetation. Life is most tough for these people as a large part of this group will not have access to good health facilities. Furthermore: the sanitary facilities are mostly very poor. Recent research (2017) brought to light that this vast number of people, were function without access to proper toilets. PM Modi is doing a lot to build sanitary facilities for these people, who mostly to belong to the lower income group. Family members with a regular income in this group can afford to buy a second hand two-wheeler. Having a zero-tax system for every individual earning less than 2.500.000 INR (3.250 dollar) a year is a large part number. There is no obligation to pay taxes on this income. Most probably no one in this group would pay tax, as a lot of the payments in this category are generally being carried out in cash.
Middle class (lower and middle): 16%, approximately 212 million
Having seen the high economic growth numbers for years now, the middle class (lower and middle) group is by far the fastest growing group within India. An average household will have a yearly income inflow between 450.000 INR (6.500 dollar) and 24 Lac’s (35.000 Dollar year), thus this group is also very diverse. They can send their kids to private schools, mostly near located in more upmarket areas within the city. Members can afford to buy themselves a low-entry smartphone, although some family members will take an EMI (loan) to get one. The husband would probably be bringing in the largest pay check, but a lot of women in this group would also be working for higher paid jobs. People in this group are usually in IT, Banking, Accounting or own a small but successful business. If they’re in a senior position, they can afford to buy themselves a small second hand car and once they have climbed a bit further on the career ladder they would opt to buy a new one. People in this group are enjoying themselves by going to malls, eating at fancy restaurants and shopping. They spend their holidays by visiting their home village, often in another state. People in this group are the main target for the evert growing market in air traffic.
Upper class: 1%, approximately 13 million
The average yearly household income in the upper class is somewhere between 24.000.000 INR (35.000 Dollar) and 50.000.000 INR (73.000 Dollar). They can generally live in upscale apartment with 2 bedrooms, acquired by a mortgage, or they live in a rental apartment. Kids are being treated as royalty, and they often being send to private schools and well-known colleges. They like to explore the country, going for holidays to Goa, Kerala and Ladakh. Some of them even go abroad, to neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan or Nepal. Most of these families will own one or two cars. Almost everyone in this group has one or more domestics in the house.
Rich class: 0.5%, 6 million
The smallest group in India is probably the most visible one, especially for foreigners residing in India. There is a thin line between the people in this group and the upper class, but the difference is very visible: They live lavish lifestyles, enjoying all the perks of earning a very high income and/or have access to unlimited amounts of money. It’s very hard to estimate the size of this group, but it’s definitely not bigger than 0,5%, roughly 6 million. Although there is some upwards mobility, driven by entrepreneurs from middle class groups, most of these people have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Their parents own ancestral property and/or are managing a large and successful business. They live in the elite neighbourhoods, generally in very big houses full of an entire support staff (cook, maid, driver). They can afford to travel abroad a couple of times a year and even invest to send their kids to the best universities. The monthly money inflow in this group needs to be at least 3 Lac’s a month, a little less than 3.500 Dollar. According to a Cap Gemini research of 2016, India has the world’s fastest growing number of millionaires (in Dollars). It now has roughly 263.000 millionaires, and that number is on the clime.
Caste system: Money is the new caste
The caste system in India has been banned for years now, but it’s still alive and kicking. People from higher castes are proud of their roots, often bragging about it without realisation. Belonging to the ‘Brahmin caste’ actually is of great importance, although people will certainly deny the this. However, there is something else going in India. I’ve noticed a new segregator: MONEY. Large numbers of families in the lower and middle class have spent extra money to send their kids to the best colleges and universities. Some of these kids have now climbed on the career ladder, earning more money than their parents did. This sociodemographic phenomena is called the ‘upwards mobility’. For those people and for others with access to money to have a good life, belonging (or not) to a certain caste is of no importance.
How should one ‘measure’ happiness or joy? No relevant research
I don’t want to talk about incomes or classes, but it’s important to set the context for the actual topic that I would like to address here; JOY. One of the neighbouring countries of India (Bhutan) has a ministry of happiness. When I found out about it, something a question popped into my mind: how do you ‘measure’ the success of all your efforts? Is it possible to measure the level of joy and, if yes, would it be possible to define the differences per income category? I went online, soon to find out that there is no available (public) research on this topic.
My experiences: there is joy in almost every group
I’m planning to write some more articles about the sociodemographics in India. One of my insights after living here for a while now is something that sounds weird but it’s true: some parts of the income groups are ‘closed economies’, meaning that people will only buy goods from those in the same group. Let me give you an example: a wealthy family will probably never visit an traditional Indian market. If they need vegetables, the cook in the house will buy it for them. Thus: someone from the same income group ends up buying the vegetables in the market.
But let me get back to my point, joy. As a foreigner I’m very lucky, because for us it’s easier to communicate with all the groups. I’ve been invited to parties at elite Indian houses and I’m good friends with the local chaiwallah (tea seller on the streets). Furthermore: based on the many encounters with all these people in India, I have a feeling about their level of joy. Being in a third world country, one would assume that poor people (lower class) would have a terrible life with a lot of a sad moments. I’m not denying their challenges, but one of my strongest insights about this group is their level of joy. They seem to be very proud, often very committed to their profession. Furthermore: I see a lot of smiling people within this group. Autorickshaw drivers in Aundh generally mingle together to play cards on the streets. Do they have less ‘fun’ than my millionaire friends in their elite houses? I don’t think so. I’m sure that some rich people would assume that they have a higher level of happiness, but they would probably mix-up joy and happiness. They definitely have more moments of intense joy, but are they necessarily more happy?
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35717 | Q&A: Bro Splits for Muscle Growth, Weightlifting Belts, and How Long to Stay in a Calorie Deficit
Want some assistance building your best body ever before? Right here are 3 methods I can assist whenever you’re ready:
1. Wish to be your very own coach? Check out one of my successful publications for males as well as ladies:
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2. Want personalized assistance? Check out my custom-made meal plan as well as VIP individually mentoring solutions:
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3. Desire a very easy increase? Add a pair of my science-based supplements to your routine:
Healthy protein powder ⇒ https://geni.us/MikeSSL1
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And if none of that pleases your neurons, you could such as all the straightforward, sensible, and evidence-based mentors over at my blog site, podcast, as well as Instagram.
My blog site ⇒ https://geni.us/MikeSSBlog
My podcast ⇒ https://geni.us/MikeSSPod
My Instagram ⇒ https://geni.us/MikeSSIG
I’ve spun with over 150,000 emails, social media sites comments as well as messages, and also blog remarks in the last 6 years.
Which means I’ve fielded a lots of inquiries.
As you can envision, some concerns pop up more frequently than others, and also I believed it may be valuable to take a little time on a monthly basis to select a couple of and also document and share my responses.
So, in this round, I answer the following four concerns:.
1. Are bro splits optimal for muscular tissue growth?
2. Should you use a weightlifting belt?
3. The length of time should you remain in a calorie deficiency?
4. Is intermittent fasting better for preserving muscle mass than typical weight loss when cutting?
If you have a concern you would certainly like me to address, leave a remark listed below or if you want a faster reaction, send out an email to mike@muscleforlife.com.
Suggested reading for this episode:.
The Definitive Guide on How to Build a Workout Routine: https://legionathletics.com/how-to-build-a-workout-routine/.
5 Studies Answer: Should You Use a Weightlifting Belt?: https://legionathletics.com/do-weightlifting-belts-work/.
The Complete Guide to Safely as well as Healthily Losing Weight Fast: https://legionathletics.com/how-to-lose-weight-fast/.
The Definitive Guide to Intermittent Fasting: https://legionathletics.com/the-definitive-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/.
Mentioned on The Show:.
Publications by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35749 | The Letters to the Thessalonians (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)
Author: Malherbe, Abraham J.
Publisher: Yale University Press, 2004
The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians (NICNT)
Author: Fee, Gordon D.
Publisher: Eerdmans, 2009
1-2 Thessalonians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)
By Weima, Jeffrey A. D.
Published by Baker Academic, 2014
1-2 Thessalonians
Author: Beale, G.K.
Publisher: IVP Academic, 2010
1 and 2 Thessalonians
Author: Holmes, Michael
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughten Religious, 1999
First and Second Thessalonians: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching
Author: Gaventa, Beverly Roberts
Publisher: Westminster John Knox, 2012
Gaventa writes with preachers in mind. Solid textual commentary with practical applications
The Letters to the Thessalonians (Pillar New Testament Commentary)
Author: Green, Gene L.
Publisher: Eerdmans, 2002
The Epistle to the Thessalonians: A Commentary on the Greek Text
Author: Wanamaker, Charles
Publisher: Paternoster Press, 1990
Return to all Books |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35766 | Mojo “Style” Guide
Mojo is Chrome's new IPC system and provides lots of useful abstractions. These abstractions can make it easier to write code that makes interprocess calls, but can also add significant complexity. Below are some recommendation from Mojo and IPC reviewers for best practices.
For questions, concerns, or suggestions, reach out to
For legacy IPC, please see security tips for IPC.
Strive to write simple interfaces. Minimize the amount of cross-process state that needs to be maintained in sync.
interface TeleporterFactory {
Create(Location start, Location end) => (Teleporter);
interface Teleporter {
TeleportGoat(Goat) = ();
interface Teleporter {
// Bad: comments will need to explicitly call out that both locations need to
// be bound before calling TeleportGoat()!
// In addition, if untrustworthy processes can talk to trustworthy processes,
// the Teleporter implementation will need to also handle the case where the
// Location objects are not yet bound.
TeleportGoat(Goat) = ();
Similarly, strive to make methods focused. Do not overuse optional types.
struct TeleporterStats {
AnimalStats animal_stats;
FungiStats fungi_stats;
GoatStats goat_stats;
PlantStats plant_stats;
interface Teleporter {
TeleportAnimal(Animal) => ();
TeleportFungi(Fungi) => ();
TeleportGoat(Goat) = ();
TeleportPlant(Plant) => ();
// TeleportStats is only non-null if success is true.
GetStats() => (bool success, TeleporterStats?);
interface Teleporter {
// The intent of four optional arguments is unclear: can this call teleport
// multiple objects of different types at once, or is the caller only
// supposed to only pass one non-null argument per call?
Teleport(Animal?, Fungi?, Goat?, Plant?) => ();
// Does this return all stats if sucess is true? Or just the categories that
// the teleporter already has stats for? The intent is uncertain, so wrapping
// the disparate values into a result struct would be cleaner.
GetStats() =>
(bool success, AnimalStats?, FungiStats?, PlantStats?, FungiStats?);
Mojo structs, interfaces, and methods should all have comments. Make sure the comments cover the “how” and the “why” of using an interface and its methods, and not just the “what”. Document preconditions, postconditions, and trust: if an interface is implemented in the browser process and handles requests from the renderer process, this should be mentioned in the comments. Complex features should also have an external that covers the high-level flow of information through interfaces and how they interact to implement the feature.
// Interface for controlling a teleporter. Lives in the browser process, and
// used to implement the Teleportation over Mojo IPC RFC.
interface Teleporter {
// Teleportation helpers for different taxonomic kingdoms. Teleportation is
// not complete until the reply callback is invoked. The caller must NOT
// release the sender side resources until the reply callback runs; releasing
// the resources early will cause splinching.
TeleportAnimal(Animal) => ();
TeleportFungi(Fungi) => ();
// Goats require a specialized teleportation channel distinct from
// TeleportAnimal to ensure goatiness isolation.
TeleportGoat(Goat) => ();
TeleportPlant(Plant) => ();
// Returns current teleportation stats. On failure (e.g. a teleportation
// operation is currently in progress) success will be false and a null stats
// object will be returned.
GetStats() =>
(bool success, TeleportationStats?);
Policy should be controlled solely by the browser process. “Policy” can mean any number of things, such as sizes, addresses, permissions, URLs, origins, etc. In an ideal world:
1. Unprivileged process asks for a capability from the privileged process that owns the resource.
3. Unprivileged process performs operations on the capability, constrained in scope.
The privileged process must own the capability lifecycle.
Do not trust less privileged processes
This is the overriding principle for all guidelines in this section. When receiving data from a less trusted process, treat the data as if it were generated by a malicious adversary. Message handlers cannot assume that offsets are valid, calculations won't overflow, et cetera.
In general:
• the browser process is the most privileged process type and therefore, must be maximally suspicious of its IPC inputs
• the renderer and the ARC++ processes are the least privileged and least trustworthy process types
• other process types, such as GPU and plugin, fall in between
When passing objects up a privilege gradient (from less → more privileged), the callee must validate the inputs before acting on them. When passing objects down a privilege gradient, such as from browser → renderer, it is OK for the callee to trust the caller.
See also: Do not Handle Impossible Situations
Do not send unnecessary or privilege-presuming data
Note: there is currently work in progress to associate origins with the InterfaceProviders for frames and workers: and
For example, the browser process must not (fully) trust the renderer's claims about origins. The browser process should already know what origin the renderer is evaluating, and thus should already have this data (for example, see RenderFrameHost::GetLastCommittedOrigin()). Thus, a method that requires passing an origin from the renderer to the browser process has a conceptual error, and quite possibly, a vulnerability.
Note: there are currently subtle races when using GetLastCommittedOrigin() that will be resolved by fixing
Similarly, the browser process must not trust the renderer's claims about file pathnames. It would be unsafe for the browser process to save a downloaded file to ~/.bashrc just because the renderer asked. Instead, it would be better for the browser process to:
1. Kill the renderer if basename(pathname) != pathname, since the renderer is obviously compromised if it makes this mistake.
2. Defang the basename, by removing leading dots, et cetera. Note that the definition of proper defanging varies per platform.
3. Prepend its own parent directory to the basename, e.g. ~/Downloads.
TODO( Even better would be to implement a C++ type performs the appropriate sanitizations and recommend its usage directly here.
Do not define things that are not used
Platform-specific functionality should only be defined on the platforms where it is used.
The work to make this possible is in progress:
For enums, avoid the pattern of defining a LAST or MAX value. The LAST value is typically used in conjunction with legacy IPC macros to validate enums; this is not needed with Mojo enums, which automatically validated.
The MAX value is typically used as an invalid sentinel value for UMA histograms: unfortunately, simply defining a MAX value in a Mojo enum will cause Mojo to treat it as valid. This forces all IPC handling to do manual checks that the semantically invalid MAX value isn't accidentally or maliciously passed around.
Improving UMA logging is tracked in
Use structured types
Where possible, use structured types: this allows the type system to help enforce that the input data is valid. Common ones to watch out for:
• Files: use mojo.common.mojom.File, not raw descriptor types like HANDLE and int.
• File paths: use mojo.common.mojom.FilePath, not string.
• JSON: use mojo.common.mojom.Value, not string.
• Mojo interfaces: use Interface or Interface&, not handle or handle<message_pipe>.
• Nonces: use mojo.common.mojom.UnguessableToken, not string.
• Origins: use url.mojom.Origin, not url.mojom.Url and certainly not string.
• Time types: use mojo.common.mojom.TimeDelta / mojo.common.mojom.TimeTicks / mojo.common.mojom.Time, not int64 / uint64 / double / et cetera.
• URLs: use url.mojom.Url, not string.
interface ReportingService {
ReportDeprecation(mojo.common.mojom.TimeTicks time,
url.mojom.Url resource,
uint32 line_number);
interface ReportingService {
// Bad: unclear what units |time| is or what |data| contains.
ReportDeprecation(double time, mojo.common.mojom.Value data);
Another anti-pattern to avoid is parallel arrays of data: this requires the receiver to validate that all the arrays have the same length. Instead, prefer to pass the data so that it is impossible to have a mismatch.
struct Pixel {
int8 reds;
int8 greens;
int8 blues;
int8 alphas;
struct Bitmap {
// Good: it is impossible for there to be mismatched data.
array<Pixel> pixels;
// Bad: code using this struct will need to validate that all the arrays have
// matching sizes.
struct Bitmap {
array<int8> reds;
array<int8> greens;
array<int8> blues;
array<int8> alphas;
Beware of arithmetic overflow
TODO(dcheng): Import the guidance from the legacy IPC doc.
Signed overflow is undefined in C++. If unsure about whether or not something will overflow, use the safe numeric helpers from //base/numerics!
base::CheckedNumeric<int32_t> size = mojo_rect->width();
size *= mojo_rect.height();
if (!size.IsValid()) {
mojo::ReportBadMessage("Bad size from renderer!");
// Bad: Signed overflow is undefined in C++!
int32_t size = mojo_rect->width() * mojo_rect.height();
Note that even if the types have defined overflow semantics, it is almost always a good idea to check for overflow.
uint32_t alloc_size;
if (!CheckMul(request->elements(), request->element_size())
.AssignIfValid(&alloc_size)) {
// Safe: avoids allocating with a bogus size that overflowed to a smaller than
// expected value.
mojo::ReportBadMessge("Invalid allocation size");
Element* array = CreateArray(alloc_size);
for (size_t i = 0; i < request->element_size(); ++i) {
array[i] = PopulateArray(i);
uint32_t alloc_size = request->elements() * request->element_size();
// Dangerous: alloc_size can overflow so that CreateArray allocates too little
// memory. Subsequent assignments will turn into an out-of-bound write!
Element* array = CreateArray(alloc_size);
array[i] = PopulateArray(i);
C++ Best Practices
Use mojo::WrapCallbackWithDefaultInvokeIfNotRun And mojo::WrapCallbackWithDropHandler Sparingly
Mojo provides several convenience helpers to automatically invoke a callback if the callback has not already been invoked in some other way when the callback is destroyed, e.g.:
base::Callback<int> cb = mojo::WrapCallbackWithDefaultInvokeIfNotRun(
base::Bind([](int) { ... }), -1);
} // |cb| is automatically invoked with an argument of -1.
Unfortunately, the fact that this callback is guaranteed to always run is hidden from the type system and can propagate in surprising ways. Avoid using this construction unless there are no better alternatives. Uses of these helpers must be well-commented to describe why this behavior is required.
Note that using this from the renderer is often unnecessary. Message pipes are often closed as part of a Document shutting down; since many Blink objects already inherit blink::ContextLifecycleObserver, it is usually more idiomatic to use this signal to perform any needed cleanup work.
Use StructTraits
Creating a typemap and defining a StructTraits specialization moves the complexity of serialization, deserialization, and validation into a central location. We universally recommend this over defining TypeConverter specializations: when a value fails deserialization, the receiver method will never even be invoked. As a bonus, it also reduces the number of copies during serialization and deserialization. 😄
// In url_gurl_struct_traits.h:
template <>
struct StructTraits<url::mojom::UrlDataView, GURL> {
static base::StringPiece url(const GURL& r);
// If Read() returns false, Mojo will discard the message.
static bool Read(url::mojom::UrlDataView data, GURL* out);
// In
// Note that methods that aren't simple getters should be defined
// out-of-line to avoid code bloat.
base::StringPiece StructTraits<url::mojom::UrlDataView, GURL>::url(
const GURL& r) {
if (r.possibly_invalid_spec().length() > url::kMaxURLChars ||
!r.is_valid()) {
return base::StringPiece();
return base::StringPiece(r.possibly_invalid_spec().c_str(),
bool StructTraits<url::mojom::UrlDataView, GURL>::Read(
url::mojom::UrlDataView data, GURL* out) {
base::StringPiece url_string;
if (!data.ReadUrl(&url_string))
return false;
if (url_string.length() > url::kMaxURLChars)
return false;
*out = GURL(url_string);
return !url_string.empty() && out->is_valid();
template <>
struct TypeConverter<url::mojom::UrlPtr, GURL> {
// Inefficient: this copies data once off the wire to create a
// url.mojom.Url object, then copies it again to create a GURL.
static GURL Convert(const url::mojom::UrlPtr url) {
if (url.url.is_empty()) return GURL();
// Not good: no way to signal errors, so any code that converts the
// Mojo struct to a GURL will somehow need to check for errors…
// but it can't even be distinguished from the empty URL case!
if (url.url.size() > url::kMaxURLChars) return GURL();
return GURL(url.url);
There are also corresponding EnumTraits and UnionTraits specializations for mojo enums and unions respectively.
StructTraits getters should be simple
Where possible, StructTraits should be returning const references or simple read-only views of the data. Having to create temporary data structures during serialization should be rare, and it should be even rarer to mutate the input argument.
Out-of-line complex serialization/deserialization logic
A StructTraits specialization is almost always fully specialized. Only define StructTraits methods inline in the header if the method is a simple getter that returns a reference, pointer, or other simple POD. Define all other methods out-of-line to avoid code bloat.
Do not write one-off functions to convert to/from Mojo types
There are some instances where it is simply not possible to define a StructTraits for type mapping: this commonly occurs with Blink IDL and Oilpan types. In these instances, add a TypeConverter specialization rather than defining a one-off conversion function. This makes it easier to search for and audit code that does potentially risky type conversions.
The use of TypeConverter should be limited as much as possible: ideally, only use it in renderers.
template <>
struct TypeConverter<IDLDictionary, mojom::blink::DictionaryPtr> {
static IDLDictionary* Convert(const mojom::blink::DictionaryPtr& in) {
// Note that unlike StructTraits, there is no out-of-band way to signal
// failure.
IDLDictionary* out = new IDLDictionary;
out->int_value = in->int_value;
out->str_value = in->str_value;
return out;
// Using a custom one-off function makes this hard to discover in security
// audits.
IDLDictionary* FromMojo(const mojom::blink::DictionaryPtr& in) {
IDLDictionary* out = new IDLDictionary;
out->int_value = in->int_value;
out->str_value = in->str_value;
return out;
Use the proper abstractions
mojo::BindingSet implies multiple clients may connect. If this actually isn't the case, please do not use it. For example, if an interface can be rebound, then use the singular mojo::Binding and simply Close() the existing binding before reusing it.
Explicitly reject bad input
While validation should be done inside StructTraits specializations when possible, there are situations where additional checks, e.g. overflow checks, are needed outside of StructTraits specializations. Use mojo::ReportBadMessage() or mojo::GetBadMessageCallback() to reject bad input in these situations. Under the hood, this may record UMAs, kill the process sending bad input, et cetera.
• mojo::ReportBadMessage(): use to report bad IPC input while a message is being dispatched on the stack.
• mojo::GetBadMessageCallback(): use to generate a callback to report bad IPC input. The callback must be generated while a message is being dispatched on the stack; however, the returned callback may be invoked be freely invoked in asynchronously posted callbacks.
Java Best Practices
Unfortunately, there are no strongly established conventions here. Most code tends to write manual conversion helpers and throw an exception on conversion failure. See as one example of how to write conversion code.
General Code Health
Naming Conventions
Place mojo types in <top-level namespace>.mojom. Directories for Mojo traits should be named mojom (preferable) or ipc. Legacy names that are also encountered are public/interfaces, interfaces, or just mojo.
mojom is preferred for consistency between the directory name and the nested namespace name.
Do not handle impossible situations
Do not clutter the code by handling impossible situations. Omitting it makes the invariants clear. This takes two different forms:
• A less trustworthy process can be compromised by an adversary and send arbitrary data. When processing data from a less trustworthy process, do not attempt to handle this invalid data: just call mojo::ReportBadMessage(). When invoked in the context of processing an IPC from the renderer, this will kill the renderer process.
• A more trustworthy process must be trusted, by definition. Do not write code to handle impossible situations “just in case” there's a bug. For example, the renderer class content::RenderFrameImpl must always be connected to certain control interfaces in the browser. It does not makes sense to handle a Mojo connection error and try to reconnect: a connection error signals that the browser process is in the process of deleting the frame, and any attempt at reconnecting will never succeed.
Using mojo enums directly when possible
EnumTraits generally do not add much value: incoming Mojo enum values are already validated before typemapping, so it is guaranteed that the input value to EnumTraits<T>::FromMojom() is already a valid enum value, so the method itself is just a bunch of boilerplate to map between two very similarly named, yet slightly different, enums.
To avoid this, prefer to use the Mojo enum directly when possible.
Consider the cost of setting up message pipes
Message pipes are fairly inexpensive, but they are not free either: it takes 6 control messages to establish a message pipe. Keep this in mind: if the interface is used relatively frequently, connecting once and reusing the interface pointer is probably a good idea.
Ensure An Explicit Grant For WebUI Bindings
WebUI renderers sometimes need to call special, powerful IPC endpoints in a privileged process. It is important to enforce the constraint that the privileged callee previously created and blessed the calling process as a WebUI process, and not as a (potentially compromised) web renderer or other low-privilege process.
• Use the standard pattern for instantiating MojoWebUIController. WebUI Mojo interfaces must only be exposed through a MojoWebUIController subclass.
• If there is external functionality that the WebUI needs, make sure to route it through the Mojo interfaces implemented by the MojoWebUIController, to avoid circumventing access checks.
Not-Yet-Shipped Features Should Be Feature-Checked On The Privileged Side
Sometimes, there will be powerful new features that are not yet turned on by default, such as behind a flag, Finch trial, or origin trial. It is not safe to check for the feature's availability on the renderer side (or in another low-privilege process type). Instead, ensure that the check is done in the process that has power to actually enact the feature. Otherwise, a compromised renderer could opt itself in to the feature! If the feature might not yet be fully developed and safe, vulnerabilities could arise. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35773 | Claire Mockridge Claire Mockridge Pelvicpreneur Thu, 05 Mar 2020 07:27:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Hello world! Tue, 03 Mar 2020 03:33:53 +0000 Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
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Tips on pelvic pain, sneeze wee and sciatica during pregnancy Thu, 19 Jul 2018 11:29:53 +0000 I came across a great post on Instagram by a fellow alignment nerd yesterday which I had to share in my client Facebook Group.
The photo showed a pregnant person in poor, lifted chest, “bump out in front of her” posture on the left, and then her again in perfect alignment on the right.
It’s fascinating to see how lifting your chest and standing with your pelvic weight forwards can apply pressure and more load than necessary to your lower back, so do go and check out the link below because sometimes a picture speaks a thousand words, huh?
Click here to see the image:
Having a chat to a few of my pregnant clients over the past fortnight, it’s apparent that some of you are suffering with pelvic pain, sneeze wee and sciatica.
So, I thought I share my thoughts on what to do when you feel either of these symptoms setting in.
Although common, it’s not normal to wet yourself when you sneeze.
This essentially means when your bladder has urine in it, your pelvic floor is not strong enough to withstand the downward forces produced by said sneeze.
You may be happy to tolerate it for now, thinking you only have a few months left of your pregnancy, so what’s the point doing much about it now?
Well, it tells me there is a problem, because, well – read paragraph one again, ok?
The “problem” won’t go away by itself and I take a full body approach to pelvic floor rehab if you hadn’t noticed, so doing a tonne of “squeeze and release” exercises to your vag may not make a lick of difference.
See my Your Pelvic Matters or pregnancy Pilates or Beginners Pilates classes for more info, or come and see me for postnatal personal training, where I can put an individualised program of exercises together specifically for you.
Pelvic Girdle Pain or PGP as it’s sometimes termed can include pain at the front, back or sides of the pelvis.
So, discomfort at the pubic bone, groin area, outer thighs, hip bones and/or lower back/gluteal pain all falls under the umbrella of “PGP”.
If PGP becomes really bad, you may be offered Physio by your local hospital, with the worst case scenario being, they’ll offer you a support belt an crutches if your symptoms get worse, rather than get better.
I’ve worked with a tonne of pregnant women with PGP one-on-one and in a group setting, and I can always find movements for them to do.
Mindset is huge with this one here, so if someone says a support belt is your best option, you’re going to think it is.
It may provide you a teeny bit of relief, but there’s more at stake here, because using a set of crutches and/or wearing a support belt are sort of “plastering” things.
What you need is pelvic stability back in your life, and I can certainly help you attain that.
I’ve had this and it’s pretty grim.
Although it was well over 10 years ago, I can still remember the torment of that shooting/tingling pain that starts in the butt, runs down the back of the leg, all the way underneath the foot to the big toe.
For me, sitting down aggravated it, so it’s important for you to work out what it is that’s causing more discomfort and do less of that for starters.
I generally advise against stretching out the gluteals if sciatica is present, because it can sometimes make symptoms worse.
Well, I’m glad you asked!
In a nutshell, you need to:
• Sit better (if you must sit, or vary the way you sit eg floor sitting)
• Stand better (I teach you how to do this in every class setting on my timetable, so no excuses)
• Walk and move more (but you need to learn how to stand better for you to be able to move and walk better, so you can sort of see how these things are indeed connected)
• Strengthen your glutes (a huge role in relieving pelvic pain, sciatica and sneeze wee is building yourself a strong butt, which incidentally is linked to walking better – you see – I can find a tenuous link to everything!)
• Release your hamstrings (particularly if sneeze wee is something you suffer with – it tells me your pelvic floor is possibly too tight)
• Teach your core to switch on reflexively (which means you don’t “draw it in” all the time, or at all – you let it anticipate and adapt to the load you’re asking it to bear), and finally
• Learn to breathe better (because you can’t get a reflexive core, if you’re not breathing into your ribs, and breathing better can also help pelvic floor/core synergy too)
And, there you have it!
That’s quite an extensive list as you can see, but you’ll know that if you’ve ever asked me a question that goes along the lines of:
“What exercises are good for….?”
I rarely if ever answer it by listing my “go to” exercises.
This is because I look at the body as a whole unit.
And, just sending you away with 4 movements to do, in isolation, isn’t going to relieve your symptoms.
YOU have got to take some responsibility for your pain and actions going forwards too, you see?
If you’re concerned that any symptom you’re suffering with is not going away, it’s probably time to get in touch with me, don’t you think?
I run a host of classes where you can learn about how to stand, sit and move better.
Pregnancy fitness is Mondays at 6pm and pregnancy Pilates is Tuesday at 6:15pm.
Mummies and Buggies indoor postnatal buggy class is Wednesday at 11am.
My pelvic floor exercise class is 7:30pm on Wednesdays (but check the link for info on how to enrol).
Beginners Pilates is Tuesday at 8:30pm in West Bridgford.
And, if you want a fun, fat-burning, full-body workout that offers postnatal options, it’s my Little Black Dress Workout on a Monday at 8:30pm you’ll want to book on.
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How to tell if an exercise is unsafe for your abdominals Mon, 09 Jul 2018 12:01:35 +0000 I was teaching a particular exercise in my Mummies and Buggies class there recently, and I mentioned the importance of observing and understanding what your stomach is supposed to look and feel like when you do an exercise or load it in a certain way.
Remember, my pregnancy exercise and Pilates, buggy fitness and general fitness and mainstream Pilates classes aren’t just a place where you come to work out – they’re also an education, and if you have a question – feel free to ask it before, during or after a class, ok?
I actually love that Doctors, Physiotherapists, Chiropractors and Osteopaths – in other words, people who more qualified than me – actually learn stuff in my sessions that they pass on to their own patients.
Pretty cool, right?
And, it’s quite possibly the most flattering thing ever when someone with more anatomy knowledge than me asks for advice on a particular body part, let me tell you!
Today, I’m sharing some important information on how you can determine yourself if an exercise is too hard for your abdominal muscles:
The telltale sign that an abdominal exercise is too hard/intense for you (regardless of whether you’re pregnant or postnatal, or neither of those) is when you perform the move, and your abdomen resembles a loaf of bread.
If you were to do a sit up, without really thinking about it, or you sit up out of the bath/bed unconsciously, you’re likely to sometimes see the middle of your belly, around the belly button push up and out.
If you ever get this sensation, it’s called “doming”, “pooching” or “breadloafing”, because it essentially means you’re not using your core muscles to do the exercise, your back isn’t particularly supported here and your six-pack muscles are taking the strain instead.
And, in true style – those muscles are telling you about it. Isn’t the body wonderful?
Image of Claire in the plank positionAnother reason you can tell an exercise is inappropriate for you is if you’ve been to a gym-based class, and a few hours after, or the very next day, you suffer with severe abdominal muscle soreness.
It could be because you did a lot of sit up/plank type exercises (which you might note I rarely do in my classes, why is that, do you think?).
Fair enough, you’ve worked muscles you haven’t worked for some time, and you’ll find some slight muscle soreness is generally experienced after a workout – this is perfectly fine.
However, if it’s severe aching/pulling, where you’re not able to perform movements in your day-to-day life without having to adapt your body, then you might want to rethink returning to that class until you’re abdominals are stronger and/or you’ve been checked for abdominal separation (diastasis recti).
Back pain is fairly synonymous with pregnancy and being postnatal (not that it need be, can I point out though).
When it comes to exercise, if your lumbar spine is in lockdown following a general fitness class, chances are, the intensity/style/number of reps of the exercise you performed was just too much.
If you experience back pain DURING an exercise, that is your back saying “red flag” right there – stop immediately!
Please don’t ever work through the pain – trust me – it ain’t worth it, ok?
You’ll be laid up for days, and you’ll most likely regret it.
Did you know I offer fitness and Pilates classes for everyone – not just pre/postnatal women?
So, if you’ve had your baby a while ago…
…or you’re looking to continue your exercise journey with me…
…safe in the knowledge that you’ll be exercising in a simple and effective way for your back, pelvic floor and abdominals…
…check out my Beginners Pilates and Little Black Dress Workout classes in West Bridgford.
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3 Pelvic Floor Exercises You Can Do At Home Tue, 05 Jun 2018 11:50:33 +0000 I take a full-body approach to improving pelvic floor function and when assessing someone, I always start with the foot, and work my way upwards from there.
I haven’t prescribed a Kegel in my classes (those “squeeze and release” and “draw up and hold” exercises) for around 4 years now for a few reasons:
1. often my first time pregnant clients don’t know what the heck they’re supposed to be doing, and
2. traditional pelvic floor exercises don’t work for every man/woman with pelvic floor weakness (and I have the research to back that statement up)
Here are my top 3 non-traditional pelvic floor exercises you can do at home to help improve pelvic floor health:
So, if you’ve been wearing heeled footwear, you may just find that the calf muscle has shortened, passively over time due to always having a raise underneath the heel of your foot.
NB – most sports trainers and some ballet flats have a hidden heel or a super high heel within the factory made insole, by the way so check them out if you don’t believe me.
If your calves are tight, you will lack range of movement/mobility in your ankle which has a knock-on effect to your gait, and how your pelvis and pelvic floor functions as you go about your day.
So my message is clear: get out of heeled shoes, walk around in bare feet at home to increase foot mobility, and stretch out your calf muscles.
Your hamstrings at the backs of your legs are often chronically tight through excessive sitting and the very sedentary nature of our lives nowadays.
If these muscles are tight, they’ll pull the back of your pelvis down towards your heels, and attribute to a tight pelvic floor.
A tight pelvic floor generally also attributes to a weak/dysfunctional pelvic floor, and the number one best way to gain strength and length into your pelvic floor is to release your hamstrings.
So, as the bare minimum, try stretching out your hamstrings as often as you can.
If you read a recent newsletter from me about “poking your bum out” when bending forwards/down to pick something up, I need you to do this consistently, every time, so that it becomes normal practise.
So my message here is clear: The more that you tip forwards at the hips, the more you open up your pelvic floor at the back, and indeed lengthen the backs of your legs.
(and, can I point out, the more you move in this manner in your day-to-day life, bending down to pick something up off the floor, the more you decrease the load on your lumbar spine. So, if you’re getting lower back pain a lot when bending forwards, re-read that paragraph above, ok?)
When standing upright at the change table, kitchen counter, bathroom sink etc, you’ll want to stand with your feet hip distance apart, toes pointed forwards and bodyweight backed up over your ankles.
Most people, when they have a contraption in front of them like a desk, table or counter will start to lean/pitch their pelvic weight towards that object.
The more you do this, the more load you’re putting on the spine, and it can really throw off what’s happening the pelvis too.
If you’re prone to tucking your tailbone under in standing, this “tuck” will be increased the more you wear your pelvis out in front of you.
So my message here is clear: Stand and walk around with your pelvic weight backed up over your ankle bones, and the only way you’re going to be able to do that is by:
a) getting out of heeled shoes, and
b) lengthening your hamstrings
Can you see the connection now?
I cover a tonne of tips in my postnatal and pregnancy exercise classes on pelvic floor health.
It’s really interesting to note that once you start to learn how to hold yourself, you start observing others around you randomly on the street etc and it starts to make your eyes bleed a little.
If you have pelvic floor issues yourself, or are concerned that during your pregnancy, you’re not doing enough exercise to increase your chances of giving birth naturally, you have a few options:
Book on my Mummies and Buggies classes where you not only get a great workout that’s safe for your pelvic floor, but you also get to bring baby with you.
And, if you’re pregnant, come along Bump to Babe pregnancy fitness, or my pregnancy Pilates classes.
Feel as though you need specialist attention for your pelvic floor?
Did you know I have a pelvic floor exercise class on my timetable?
Check out Your Pelvic Matters here where you’ll learn the exact exercises you should be doing on a regular basis to help rehab your pelvic floor.
Email me back if you have any questions.
Have a great week.
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Video: 3 Simple And Safe Abdominal Exercises For PREGNANT Women Fri, 25 May 2018 10:18:02 +0000 Are you pregnant?
Unsure what exercises are safe for your abdominals during pregnancy?
Here, I’ve selected 3 of my favourite Pilates-based exercises for you to perform to strengthen your core and pelvic floor and release tension in the shoulders, neck and back.
If you’re looking for a pregnancy fitness or antenatal Pilates class in Nottingham, and want to meet other mums-to-be, then you’ve come to the right place!
With 2 types of classes on offer on the timetable:
Bump to Babe Pregnancy Fitness and Pregnancy Pilates – these are every busy pregnant woman’s answer to staying fit, active and healthy throughout their pregnancy.
Come along and exercise at any stage of your pregnancy, right up to full term – and give your unborn baby the BEST start in life.
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10 reasons your pelvic floor probably needs less squeezing and more releasing Fri, 11 May 2018 10:52:59 +0000 Image of the pelvic showing where the muscles connect to the bonesThere are a number of muscles that feed in and out of the pelvis.
Let me make a little list for you:
• Hip flexors,
• Quadriceps (front of your thighs),
• Glutes (your bum),
• Outer thighs,
• Inner thighs,
• Hamstrings (backs of your thighs).
Each and every one of these muscles needs a good bit of attention particularly if:
a) you’re pregnant and preparing for childbirth,
b) you’re postnatal and getting frequent pelvic/back pain,
c) you’re suffering with pelvic floor weakness, and/or
d) you’ve sat down a good part of your life.
When you exercise with me, at the end of your workout, or sometimes interspersed between exercises in my classes, I add some release work in for you.
It’s not all about strength, strength, strength all the time.
And, this is sort of why traditional pelvic floor exercises don’t work.
I’m talking about those “squeeze and release” type exercises where you imagine you’re stopping the flow of urine, and repeat 15 times or whatever.
You need to be able to release your pelvic floor, before start adding load or strength work to it.
That general rule applies to most of the muscles in the human body if I’m honest if there’s dysfunction present.
If you released all of these areas of your body on a regular basis, I’d hazard a guess that you’d:
1. get less back pain,
2. suffer with fewer aches in your hips and pelvis,
3. increase your pelvic floor strength and function,
4. increase your chances of delivering your baby naturally,
5. decrease the chances of you tearing during childbirth,
6. decrease the severity of menstrual cramps,
7. increase your chances of fertility,
8. suffer less with leg cramps, restless legs and other circulatory conditions,
9. improve your gait pattern, and
10. therefore improve your pelvic floor function
There’s this misconception that pregnant and postnatal women can’t stretch.
Or, perhaps that they can stretch, but for only short periods of time.
Google’s a great tool granted – but if you have a question relating to exercise that isn’t located on my blog, can I get you to ask me directly instead?
Because internet searching can also call up a tonne of misinformation and really old hat advice!
I update my skills on a regular basis, and there are exercises I would not have done 12+ years ago when I first qualified…
…only to now include them because we now realise in the pre/postnatal fitness industry, that’s it’s a little foolish to blacklist certain movements altogether when you’re likely to need to be able to do them after birth, caring for your newborn.
With a few tweaks in the way you use your body throughout the day, you’ll be rewarded with less back, pelvic and knee pain and fewer symptoms of pelvic floor weakness.
Hip tightness and back tension often refers into the pelvic floor, so if you have a pelvic floor issue – for full-body function, you need to sort out your pelvic mechanics, and get more mobility in your spine.
If you have pelvic floor dysfunction, take onboard all of these tips because the key to pelvic floor rehab and labour prep is actually getting your whole body working better for you.
If you’re pregnant reading this right now and concerned you’re not doing enough exercise that is specifically designed to strengthen and release the right muscles to prepare you for childbirth, then, you’ll want to book on my pregnancy fitness classes in Lady Bay which are an education in itself.
My Bump to Babe pregnancy fitness classes on Mondays in Lady Bay provide cardio, toning, Pilates, stretching and tonnes of education about what happens to your body during pregnancy.
For a gentler approach to exercising in pregnancy, my Pregnancy Pilates classes sell out from one course to the next because they’re fab for releasing tension in your back, hips and shoulders, and help you relax after a hard day’s work.
Want a specific pelvic floor exercise class where you can learn MORE about the full-body approach to pelvic floor function? Check out Your Pelvic Matters for the next course start dates!
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Video: Full body, fat-burning postnatal circuit Sat, 28 Apr 2018 10:31:24 +0000 Had you baby recently?
Are you short on time?
Want to increase your fitness level and burn off those excess calories?
Grab a chair and join me in this full-body, fat-burning workout!
Suitable for new mums who’ve had their Doctor’s check.
Are you ready?
Looking for something more, here are the best forms of exercise for new mums:
Join a mum and baby fitness class – Get fit, have fun, make new mummy friends and bring baby with you!
Get up and move – Sitting still for hours on end feeding etc will do your back no favours, so every 30 minutes, move about to stop your body seizing up.
If you don’t do something NOW to get back into shape after birth, it may be even longer before you’re your old self again.
Even when you’re at your worst, I’m certain with a bit of willpower and a change in mindset, you can find 10 minutes in your day to exercise with these tips.
Want to learn more about postnatal exercise?
Check out my Postnatal Pilates Worksheets, Your Pelvic Matters Exercise Class if your pelvic floor isn’t as strong as it was pre-pregnancy, and/or my indoor buggy workout Mummies and Buggies fitness classes.
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How to stop getting pain in between your shoulder blades Fri, 13 Apr 2018 13:37:29 +0000 A question I’m often asked is:
“I’m getting this pain…here…at the back of my ribcage. Any ideas what’s causing it, Claire?”
Well, yes.
Yes, I do.
If you’re a regular attendee of my pregnancy fitness, antenatal Pilates or Mummies and Buggies classes, when you’re exercising, you’ll hear me say phrases like this a lot:
Image depicting rib thrust
• Relax your ribs
• Drop the ribs down
• Stop holding the chest up
• When your arms are lifted, the ribs shouldn’t be
• Stop thrusting the ribs out in front of the pelvis
If you take a look at the photo here, you’ll see a nice picture of me in standing with my rib cage pitched out in front of me.
The human skeleton should be aligned so that the front of the ribs actually sits flush with the front of the pelvis.
Don’t believe me?
Check out the skeleton at your GP’s the next time you’re there and draw a line with your eyes down from the base of the ribs, to the floor, and you’ll see that it sits down in line with the pelvis.
From side view, your skeleton should be aligned:
• Ear on shoulder
• Shoulder on rib
• Rib on pelvis
• Pelvis on ankle
When you jut your ribcage out in front of you constantly, assuming it looks better aesthetically, you’re effectively closing the space at the back of your rib cage which:
• Makes it harder to get oxygen into your lungs and breathe optimally,
• Shears / puts a kink in your spinal chord, and
• Can be a contributing factor to the cause and rehabilitation of abdominal separation
A parent, teacher or significant person in your life may have said these phrases to you at some point in your lifetime:
• “Sit up straight!”
• “Stop slouching!”
• “Stand up taller!”
And, your brain has interpreted this as:
• Rib thrusting
There’s only so much the spinal column will tolerate, particularly if you’re stationary in one position for a long time, with the ribs thrusted out in front of you…
…before it sends a signal to your brain to say:
• “Please stop that – it hurts!”
So, if you’re experiencing pain right at the back of your rib cage and you want some tips on how to get rid of it, here goes:
• Relax your ribs
• Drop the ribs down
• Stop holding the chest up
• When your arms are lifted, the ribs shouldn’t be
• Stop thrusting the ribs out in front of the pelvis
Now, can you tell that I just totally copied those bullet points from the start of this article, and pasted them here…?!
Because I did.
A lot of pain is caused by mis-alignment of the skeleton.
Here’s a recap on how your skeleton should be aligned:
• Ear on shoulder
• Shoulder on rib
• Rib on pelvis
• Pelvis on ankle
Ah ha! ANOTHER copy and paste job, did you see?
So, the next time you’re experiencing pain, how about you go back to these basic alignment cues, and see what it is you’re doing that’s throwing your skeleton off.
Are you poking your chin/head out in front of you to stare intently at your phone right now, and then wondering why you have neck pain?
Are you sitting for long periods and experiencing unexplained “back of the rib cage” pain?
Do you hold your baby in standing a lot with your pelvic weight thrusted out over your toes, putting undue stress on your lower back?
Yeah, so these few examples I’ve listed actually throw the loads to your skeleton way off, so it’s best to learn HOW to sit and stand better, and practise good alignment, little and often…
…and I guarantee, you’ll experience less pain as a result.
If you’re pregnant or postnatal reading this right now and you can’t get to the bottom of why you’re experiencing pain in certain areas of your body, then book on my next pregnancy Pilates class.
And, if want to learn how to hold, carry and care for baby without experiencing so much discomfort, my indoor postnatal buggy classes known as Mummies and Buggies are held 11am Wednesdays in Lady Bay and provide you with cardio and toning that leaves very few muscles unturned!
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Video: Safe stretches to perform during pregnancy Tue, 13 Mar 2018 13:39:08 +0000 Ever feel really tight and tense in certain areas of your body after a long day at work?
This video tells you the importance of stretching during pregnancy.
Some muscles tighten, others weaken in comparison.
By stretching the right muscles here, as often as you can, you’ll feel loser around the shoulders, hips and lower back, which all pregnant women feel tension in.
These exercises are suitable at any stage of pregnancy, so give them a try and let me know how you get on!
If you’re looking for a pregnancy exercise or antenatal Pilates class in Nottingham, and want to meet other mums-to-be, then you’ve come to the right place!
Bump to Babe Fitness and Pilates classes are every busy pregnant woman’s answer to staying fit, active and healthy throughout their pregnancy.
Come along and exercise at any stage of your pregnancy and give your unborn baby the BEST start in life.
]]> 0
5 FAQs about the pelvic floor you really should know about Wed, 21 Feb 2018 11:44:26 +0000 Today, I thought I’d share answers to the 5 top frequently asked questions I’m often asked about the pelvic floor, so here goes:
Pregnant woman sat down to excerciseYes and no.
It depends if you’re pregnant, postnatal and/or have issues in your pelvic floor muscles right now.
I’m not a big advocate for “squeezing and releasing” and/or “drawing up and holding” pelvic floor type movements, hence the reason I don’t teach them in my classes.
That’s not to say there’s not a place for them for some people, and certainly if you have zero signal or control over your bladder/bowel, then it’s at this point you’d be well advised to perform them (under the guidance of a Women’s Health Physiotherapist or similar).
In a lot of instances of where clients come to see me with sneeze wee, or that feeling of urgency to use the toilet at time throughout the day, it’s often a case of the pelvic floor being too tight.
So, what the pelvic floor needs is a good stretch out, the hamstrings need length, and the butt needs be strengthened.
In a word, no.
Before I release a client out to pound the pavements, I ask her a checklist of questions to see if she passes the test.
The first question is:
“Are you getting any sneeze wee, or urgency to use the toilet type symptoms?”.
And, if she answers “yes”, then the answer to the above question from me is “no”.
Photo of exercise classDoing any form of high impact exercise like running, jumping, star jumps, trampolining – whatever, when you don’t have full control over your pelvic floor will NOT help strengthen the pelvic floor.
Before adding load or impact to the pelvic floor, you’ve got to make sure it’s strong enough to withstand the load you’re asking to be placed upon it.
This is a pretty old school exercise, and the answer from me here is “no”.
Stopping the flow of urine mid-flow is a good indication of the strength and accurate function of the bladder control muscles of your pelvic floor…
…but doing the movement on a regular basis can lead to urinary tract infections, because it can leave a residual amount of urine in the bladder if performed frequently, so it’s best avoid.
Golly, this is a difficult question to answer succinctly, but I’ll give it a go.
I take a full-body approach to pelvic floor rehab, and if I can get the message out there that doing isolated movements to the pelvic floor is a bit like doing a tonne of sit ups to get yourself flat abs, then my job here is done.
In the fitness industry, we call this “spot reducing” which essentially means focussing your exercise efforts solely on one weak area or body part in the hope it’ll gain more strength.
Preparing your pelvic floor for labour, and rehabilitating it post-birth is a combination of a lot of different things:
1. lengthening the hamstrings,
2. strengthening the glutes,
3. learning to sit and stand better,
4. sitting less and standing/walking more,
5. fixing faulty breathing mechanics,
6. releasing tight inner thighs and hip flexors, and
7. getting out of heeled footwear
That list is obviously not exhaustive, but it gives you a bit of a whistle stop tour of the basic elements required to get your labour-ready if you’re pregnant, and newborn-match-fit-ready if you’ve had your baby recently.
If you’re pregnant or postnatal reading this right now and concerned you’re not doing enough exercise that is specifically designed to prepare your pelvic floor for labour, then you’ll want to book on my pregnancy fitness classes in Lady Bay and/or pregnancy Pilates in West Bridgford.
And, if you’re after a more slow, controlled approach to exercise that helps your mind and body, then book your slot on my next pregnancy Pilates course Tuesdays in West Bridgford.
Had your baby already and concerned about the advice you’ve received about your pelvic floor?
My indoor postnatal buggy classes known as Mummies and Buggies are held 11am Wednesdays in Lady Bay and provide you with a pelvic floor-friendly workout, and a tonne of education about how to rehabilitate it post-birth.
]]> 0 |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35777 | When Bowie & Jagger went to church
Bowie biographer Christopher Sandford recalls an unlikely episode:
I’ll end with my favorite David Bowie story, one that illustrates the deep vein of moral conservatism that lay just beneath the kooky exterior. On Christmas Eve 1986, a friend of mine named Nick Miles happened to attend a carol service at the Anglican church on the private island of Mustique in the Grenadines. “There were 40 or 50 people there, nearly half the island,” he told me. “At the very last minute, as the door was closing, Bowie and Mick Jagger walked in together. They were both wearing orthodox jackets and ties and they stood there side by side, singing away on all the hymns, and generally behaving like a couple of middle-aged schoolteachers. Other than the fact that it happened to be 90 degrees outside, we could have been in some draughty parish church in England.”
An hour later, Bowie and Jagger both stood patiently in the queue that filed past the vicar who had conducted the service, awaiting their turn to say goodbye. My friend happened to be next to them in line and heard the exchange that followed. Jagger was “joking about, doing funny accents, as if deflecting his sudden embarrassment at being seen in church.”
Bowie, for his part, nodded respectfully to the vicar, shook his hand, and said: “Whenever I hear the nativity story, tears of joy fill my eyes.” I’m assured that he sounded completely sincere.
About clivedav184z
|
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35796 |
No brake lights
My mazda miata has no brake lights when the headlights are on. When the headlights are off the dash lights up when I step on the brake.
There is power back feeding into the circuit. That usually means a poor ground connection somewhere.
How can I find out where it is? |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35798 |
Toyota trans fluid
Just drained & refilled trans on 2004 Toyota Sienna. Had to go to a dealer to get the recommended fluid, T-1V. It seems that it is almost insisted on, and perhaps would void any warranty if any other fluid was used. Anybody know of another replacement fluid that is usable. It wasn’t costly just over $5. per quart, I just hate to HAVE to use Toyota’s brand for no particular reason.
$5 per quart isn’t as bad as Honda Z-1 tranny fluid that cost about $8 per quart at most dealers.
Valvoline MaxLife Dex/Merc says it’s recommended for Toyota/Lexus type T, TII, TIV, except hybrids. I put this into my Honda for $3.50/qt from WalMart.
Your choice, but I would use the real stuff as recommended by TOYOTA, which may not be the same as recommended by the dealer. Check the owner’s manual and I strongly suggest you not use anything that does not meet Toyota’s specifications.
That fluid may seem expensive now, but if you end up buying a new transmission, it is going to look really cheap once it is too late.
How many miles does it have on it? I use Valvoline MaxLife Dex/Merc.
They CAN’T void your warranty…UNLESS they offer that fluid for FREE.
How often do you change the fluid??? The cost difference between the Toyota fluid and another high-quality fluid isn’t going to break the bank…If you keep your vehicle for 300k miles and change the fluid every 30k miles the cost difference over the 300k miles will be less then $100.
I don’t know if you’re asking me or syntap8. I have 103,000 miles on a 2002 Odyssey, original transmission. How many miles on the 2004 Sienna? |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35799 | Jump to content
CCleaner Community Forums
can't install Bluetooth and Sony Wireless State Devic Driver
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I have a problem with installing Bluetooth Driver and Sony Wireless State Device.
I always downloaded them from the laptop's official website and installed them, but this time after a clean installation of windows 8, they all refuse to install with a yellow exclamation mark on the Unknown Device with (code 28). I mean the process of the installation goes until the end and I thought they were successfully installed but they weren't.
please, how can I install them?
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Does the setup file come with any specific install instructions that are a bit out of the ordinary such as having to install through Device Manager.
I only ask because that's how I had to recently install my NIC card as it didn't have any setup .exe files to run, they were all .inf files that had to be installed using:
Device Manager -> Network Adapter -> Update Driver (may read as "Update Driver Software" in Win7 or newer) -> Browse (to the setup .inf file)
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I succeeded at installing by giving permissions to Bluetooth through the registry, but now I have white exclamation marks on Bluetooth Peripheral Device.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35814 | Is Parboiled Rice Better Than White Rice?
Does parboiled rice taste like white rice?
This is why this process is popularized mainly in North America..
Does rice increase belly fat?
Is parboiled rice healthier than basmati rice?
So when it comes to nutrition value, basmati rice has parboiled rice beat by a mile. Healthy and tasty will always be better than just healthy rice.
What are the disadvantages of eating rice?
White rice is commonly tied to obesity. Despite it may be a source of energy, eating white rice without exercise may gain weight. White rice consumption may lead to constipation because it contains less fiber. Carbohydrates contained in white rice can cause digestive disorders if consumed regularly.
What is the advantage of parboiled rice?
Parboiled rice is also a source of iron and calcium. Compared to white rice, parboiled rice has fewer calories, fewer carbohydrates, more fiber, and more protein. This makes it a healthier alternative to traditional white rice.
Can parboiled rice be cooked in a rice cooker?
You can also use a rice cooker in cooking parboiled rice. … The water-rice ratio is also different in a rice cooker. I recommend adding 2 ½ cups of water for every cup of rice. When you have added all the ingredients in the cooker, turn it on.
Does parboiled rice have less arsenic?
Which is the healthiest rice?
Why Basmati rice is not good for health?
Unlike brown basmati, white basmati is a refined grain, meaning that it has been stripped of many valuable nutrients during processing. Some studies suggest that eating more refined grains can negatively affect blood sugar control and may be associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes ( 10 , 11 ).
What brands of rice are parboiled?
Uncle Ben’s.Zatarain’s.Delta.Iberia.Riceland.Goya.Pride Of India.Hemani. 24 MANTRA. Kusha. See more.
Why is sticky rice bad for you?
Is sticky rice healthier than white rice?
Why is parboiled rice cheaper?
Parboiled rice is cheaper, as it is cheaper to first steam the paddy before dehusking, as it is easier to remove the husk / inedible covering. … The outer layers of the rice, just inside the husk, contain some nutrients, but much of it is removed in subsequent mechanical dehusking.
Do you have to wash parboiled rice?
Why does parboiled rice smell?
|
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35817 | How to Define a CDC Architecture for Real-time Insights
Change Data Capture in the real-time streaming environment can be stitched together through a data pipeline based solution leveraging different tools that exist today
Understanding Real-time Data Capture
Most transactions (operations) in the current world are real-time, resulting in constant CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) on transactional systems. However, typical data warehouse implementations have been D-1, where reports and dashboards always reflect KPIs as of yesterday. This was mainly due to:
• The defined ETL processes, and
• The pipelines created to work in batch mode.
Today in current environments, reports and dashboards should be as real-time as possible. While ‘Change Data Capture‘ as a framework is fairly standardized and is enabled through different tools, the focus was not really on real-time data capture. CDC, as a design pattern, allows the process to capture these types of changes and provides efficient integration with the rest of the enterprise systems. The approach of capturing and processing only the changed data leads to all-round efficiency improvement, in terms of computing, performance, storage, and costs of ownership.
Flexibility with Options
We can achieve the CDC approach in multiple ways:
• By developing ‘Database Triggers’ at the source application database to extract, based on the change that happened.
• By implementing a comparison logic in the application layer to identify the changed
data and create an alternate, yet continuous, pipeline to capture changed data.
• By implementing a dedicated CDC tool such as GoldenGate, Syncsort, etc.
• By implementing CDC platforms such as Confluent, Striim, Attunity, etc.
• Leveraging the CDC capture mechanism provided by the databases, such as
• Extracting changed data from the database transaction log files.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to each of these approaches. A few of them are listed below:
• The Database Triggers Approach is a time-tested traditional approach, however with the caveat that it impacts the operating system performance.
• Application Logic/Triggers is an approach that can only work if the record passes through the application layer. For example, a deleted record may not pass
through the application layer and hence, gets missed in this approach.
• CDC tools are typically expensive and may not be in the affordability range for all projects.
• CDC tables feature is provided by only a few database vendors.
• The Database Log Files-based Approach is technically an ideal approach, as it does not affect the OLTP system and can get to all types of changes that happened in the database. However, log-based CDC drivers for all the database systems are not available.
It’s Best Presented This Way
Presented below is our analysis and findings in terms of implementing CDC based real-time data integration using Kafka as the messaging engine.
1. Context:
Extract the changed data from the source system (Azure SQL) in real-time and process / transform it as a stream, using spark streaming, and store in a star
schema modelled RedShift database.
The target state architecture for CDC integration is as follows:
diagram of the architecture for CDC integration to the cloud environment
2. Key Concepts and Technologies:
1. Live Data Extraction and CDC using Confluent Kafka
2. Data Transformation and Processing using PySpark Structured Streaming
3. Amazon Redshift Data warehouse design, setup and loading
4. Big Data Analytics on Amazon RedShift using Power BI
Debezium Drivers:
JDBC Drivers for source connection and Debezium CDC driver are used in our implementation. Separate configuration files have been created to cater to inserts and updates at the source system
Confluent Kafka:
Confluent is a fully managed Apache Kafka service providing a Real-Time Stream Processing Platform for enterprises. Kafka is a highly scalable, fault-tolerant distributed system that provides a powerful event streaming platform through publish / subscribe messaging service. Data producers publish messages in the form of Kafka topics, and data consumers subscribe to these topics to receive data.
Property Files:
Two property files are created. One for the source property file (for Azure SQL database) and the second for sink property file (for S3 bucket).
Source property file consists of credentials information for sourcename, password, databasename, username and topic names, along with JDBC Source connectors class information.
Sink properties file contains details of S3 as below:
• S3 bucket name
• S3 location
• Default flush size as 3 records
Kafka Modes:
Kafka can be implemented in the following modes:
Incrementing: Uses a strictly incrementing column on each table to detect only new rows. Note that this will not detect modifications or
deletions of existing rows.
Bulk: Performs a bulk load of the entire table each time it is polled.
Query: Uses a custom query for polling the data from the source system
We implemented the Timestamp + Incrementing mode of Kafka as our system requires to capture both incremental (new records) as well as updated records.
a. Data Pipeline:
Kafka reads data from the Azure SQL database and writes in Kafka’s topic. The data pipeline consists of reading data from the Kafka topic and writing the raw data in the S3 bucket. Significant transformations, integrations, and aggregations are implemented in Spark streaming jobs and are written in S3, and then subsequently into the RedShift database.
b. PySpark:
Spark is a distributed processing framework for handling big data applications. It uses In-memory Caching and Optimized Query Execution for querying against large scale data in a fast and efficient manner. PySpark is the Python API for Spark. While CDC is captured by Kafka, Spark is used to implement transformations and loading into the RedShift. A custom module is developed in Spark to handle the varying data-types, column names between source systems and RedShift.
Following configurations are done in the custom module:
HostNameS3 PathDatabase Name
MultipleTopicPrefixAccessKeysMaster User
• Read stream: To read the data continuously from Kafka topic.
• Starting Offset: “Earliest” offset is set so as to not lose data in case of failures.
• Write Stream: To write data continuously to RedShift.
• Temp Directory: Path to S3 data storage is given for continuous writing to RedShift.
• Checkpoint Location: HDFS path is given where the offset of the data is stored in a way that duplication does not happen.
c. Redshift Data Modelling:
Amazon Redshift is the fastest cloud based data warehouse service to run high performance queries on petabytes of data. The Redshift database is modeled following the star schema approach.
Diagram of workflow in an Amazon Redshift data modelling
Final Thoughts
Change Data Capture, in the real-time streaming environment, can be stitched together through a data pipeline based solution leveraging different tools that exist
today. The implementation, shown here, powers the dashboards for a Risk Management Platform that is used by leading malls and airports across Australia
and New Zealand. This is a low-cost and robust implementation was executed by RoundSqr.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35820 | If True, This Will Be Another Enormous Waste of My Time Feeding the Government
I got this in the mail from the US EEOC:
As a reminder, the schedule 2 data is an order of magnitude increase in the amount of information the government wants on our employee's skin color and reproductive plumbing. Instead of just asking for counts of employees by race and gender (a distasteful exercise every time I have to do it) but they want a hugely expanded amount of salary data for every race-gender combination. As I wrote before:
Forget for a moment that the whole purpose of this rule is to provide litigation attorneys a database they can mine to legally harass businesses. The reporting requirements here are incredibly onerous. It takes the current EEO-1 (the annual exercise where we strive for a post-racial society by racially categorizing all of our employees) and makes it something like 15-20 times longer. In addition, rather than simply "count" an employee as being on staff in a certain race-gender category, we now have to report their income and hours worked. Either I will have to hire staff just to do this stupid report, or I will again (like with Obamacare) have to pay a third party thousands of dollars a year to satisfy yet another government reporting requirement. This is utter madness.
Get this -- the report has 3600 individual cells that must be filled in. And this is in addition to the current EEO-1 form, which also still has to be filled out. The draft rule assumes 6-7 hours per company per year for this reporting. They must be joking.
Making this worse, the email implies that they are going to demand retroactive data for 2017 and 2018, which is simply insane. We pay an extra couple thousand dollars every year for extra payroll program functionality to be able to accommodate this madness, but certainly did not have it in place back in 2017. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35830 | Bismuth Compounds
What are bismuth compounds?
Bismuth compounds (brand names: Pepto-Bismol®, BSS, Bismu-kote®, Bismukote®, Bismupaste®, Bismatrol®, Bismed®, Bismusal®, Bismylate®, Bisval®, Corrective®, Equi-Phar®, Gastrocote®, Jatrox®, Kalbeten®, Kaopectate®, Katulcin-R®, Oral-Pro Biz-Cote®, PalaBIS®, Peptic Relief®, Pink Biscoat®, Pink Bismuth Rose®, or Ulcolind Wismut®) are antidiarrheal and stomach protectants used to treat diarrhea and infections caused by the bacteria Helicobacter
Its use in dogs, cats, ferrets, and horses at certain doses to treat diarrhea is sometimes ‘off label’ or ‘extra label’. Many drugs are commonly prescribed for off label use in veterinary medicine. In these instances, follow your veterinarian’s directions and cautions very carefully as their directions may be significantly different from those on the label.
How are bismuth compounds given?
Bismuth compounds are given by mouth in the form of a liquid, paste, tablet or capsule. It may be given with or without food; however, if vomiting occurs when dosed on an empty stomach, give future doses with food. Shake liquid forms thoroughly and measure liquids carefully. Do not give this medication within two hours of other medications.
This medication should take effect within 1 to 2 days, and improvements in clinical signs should follow.
What if I miss giving my pet the medication?
Are there any potential side effects?
Side effects include discolored stools that appear gray-black or greenish-black, or constipation.
Are there any risk factors for this medication?
Do not use in pets that are allergic to it or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or aspirin. Do not use in pets that have a stomach or intestinal ulcer. Use cautiously in cats, in pets with bleeding disorders, or in pets that are pregnant or nursing. Use cautiously in young and debilitated pets as constipation and fecal impaction can occur.
Are there any drug interactions I should be aware of?
The following medications should be used with caution when given with bismuth compounds: aspirin, ACE inhibitors, loop diuretics, NSAIDs, or tetracycline.
Bismuth compounds may also interact with laboratory tests such as urine glucose and ketone tests. It can also interfere with X-rays/radiographs.
There is no specific monitoring that needs to be done while your pet is taking this medication. Your veterinarian may monitor your pet to be sure that the medication is working. If the diarrhea is severe, hydration and electrolytes should be monitored.
How do I store bismuth compounds?
Store this medication at room temperature between 68°F and 77°F (20°C and 25°C), protected from light and freezing.
What should I do in case of emergency?
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35838 | Why Support Israel? Because God is Faithful
Lesson 37
Why Support Israel? Because God is Faithful
The Christian connection to Israel starts with God’s Word. Scripture is clear that the Jewish people have a special and eternal place in the heart of God (e.g., Jeremiah 31:35-37; Romans 11:1). This is a vital truth indicative of God’s holy character.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom Christians and Jews worship, is the God who keeps covenant. He fulfills His promises, never failing or forsaking His people, whether they are Jews or Gentiles (Deuteronomy 31:6; Romans 3:28-30; 9:23-25; 2 Timothy 2:13).
As Christians, we believe God is faithful to His promises and will continue being faithful to them. The modern state of Israel is a powerful and miraculous testament to this fact. This same faithfulness is why we stand with Israel and support the Jewish people. As imitators of God and beneficiaries of God’s covenants with Israel, we believe God’s promises to Israel will be fulfilled and we obey His command to bless His Chosen People (Genesis 12:3). In the process, our own faith in God is buttressed and we are blessed for our obedience. Amen!
Thank the IDF for their service by sending a personal message via CUFI here.
To learn more, please read CUFI’s Primer, “The Biblical Foundation of Christian Zionism. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35855 | How to Use Excel LEN Function (Examples + Video)
When to use Excel LEN Function
LEN function can be used when you want to get the total number of characters in a specified string. This is useful when you want to know the length of a string in a cell.
What it Returns
It returns a number that represents the number of characters in the specified string.
Input Arguments
• text – the string for which you want to find the number of characters.
Additional Notes
• Spaces are counted as characters. So if you have leading/trailing spaces, or spaces between words, then these will be counted as one character. To remove leading, trailing, and double spaces, use the TRIM function.
• It also works with numbers and treats numbers as text.
• In case of numbers, formatting does not change the number of characters. For example, if 1000 is formatted as $1,000 or 1,000.00, the LEN function would still return 4.
Excel LEN Function Examples
Following are some useful examples of using the LEN function in Excel.
Example 1 – To get the Length of a Text String
If you have some text in cell A1 and you want to quickly know the total number of characters in it, you can use the following function:
In the above example, there are a total of 43 characters – including spaces.
Example 2 – Using LEN Function with TRIM and CLEAN
Sometimes, you may get a dataset that has extra spaces in between words or at the beginning/ending of the text string. In such cases, if you use the LEN function, it will also count the number of spaces.
To avoid this to happen, you can use LEN function along with the TRIM function.
Below is an example where you can see that while the text looks the same, the result of LEN function is different in each case as there are trailing spaces in it.
The following formula will get rid of any extra spaces as well as leading/trailing spaces:
In the above example, while the trailing spaces are still there is A2 and A3, but since we have used TRIM, it removes these spaces before the length of the text is counted by the LEN function.
Example 3 – Counting the Number of Words in a Sentence
You can use the LEN function to count the number of words in a text string.
This can be done by counting the number of spaces between words. If I know the number of spaces in between words, then I can add 1 to it and that will be the number of words in the sentence.
For example, in the text – “Good Morning”, there is one space and two words.
Below is the formula that will give the word count:
The above formula counts:
• The total number of characters and
• The total number of characters without spaces.
It then subtracts these two to get the number of spaces, and then add 1 to it.
Note that you need to use TRIM in the first part of the formula to make sure any extra spaces are not counted (only the single spaces between words).
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35857 | Because most philosophies that frown on reproduction don't survive.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
For your Halloween viewing pleasure
Here's a little scooby snack for you. Ruh-roh!
And they might have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those darn kids.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Grow Up, Don't Dress Up
Perhaps I'm overly cranky after two weeks which have been busy enough at work that I've been virtually unable to blog, but it strikes me as particularly foolish that a number of people around the office building were so crestfallen at the idea of missing out on a chance to wear their Halloween costumes to work that they decided to dress up on the 30th. Somehow it seems doubly pathetic when this is combined with a fear of actually looking too un-ordinary, and the reveller thus shows up wearing medical scrubs and a stethoscope to your desk job so you can be "in costume" without looking weird.
I was starting to think we had an invasion of doctors and nurses there were so many people in colorful scrubs, until I saw some brave (or foolish -- you pick) soul parading about in black robes, pointed hat, and carrying a broomstick. (Alternatively, maybe that's just the product manager everyone has been calling La Bruja.)
I'm down on moving holidays at the best of times, but a bunch of people in their 30s and 40s being so attached to the idea of wearing costumes to work that they spontaneously move it just strikes me as pathetic.
Here, by popular demand, is a photo of Anonymous, chroniclers of the kings of Hungary. Sorry about the quality of the picture -- I stood on a kitchen chair and took a shot of it in its frame. But you can still see that the tip of his pen has been rubbed golden from all the visitors who touch it to bring themselves a bit of Anonymous's vast literary success.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Historical importance, indeed
This one is for Christopher, whose memories of the cathedral in Cologne prompted me to tell my own anecdote about our visit there.
Darwin and I visited Cologne in the spring of 1999. Our train trip into Germany was an ordeal by non-reservation -- after tooling about laid-back Austria and Italy, no one had told us that the Germans would reserve every seat on the train. We squeezed in the corridor (along with everyone else who didn't reserve) and spent all night trying to melt into the wall to let a group of drunk Americans tromp back and forth to the lavatory. A memorable, if not comfortable, ride.
The press had lightened by the time we were approaching Cologne. Finally able to sit down in a compartment, we glued ourselves to the window, thrilled by the sight of the spires that suggested an end to our journey. But as the miles of fields stretched onward and the spires loomed ever larger and larger, our impatience to be there paled before the realization of the massive scale of the dom. The fact that we could see it meant not that we were close, but that it was mind-bogglingly, humblingly huge.
In the paved plaza before the cathedral, we strolled about amidst the other tourists, feeling dwarfish. And then, we saw it. At our feet was stone, almost indistinguishable from every other stone in the plaza, except that it was engraved. In English. We reached for the camera.
The photographic proof of this is now matted and framed in the kitchen. Every day we see it, in the triple frame between the statue of Anonymous from Budapest and the fountain from the same plaza. And almost every day we wonder: What does it mean? Who put it there? And why didn't he know whether or not it was a place of historical importance? Was he implying that one day it would be a place of historical importance? That at this moment it was a place of historical importance and he just didn't know it yet?
The one who laid the stone was a careful man, hedging his bets. He allows that historical importance might spring from, yea, this very moment, and yet he does not assume that the moment is already historical. He leaves a monument in case one day history will come back to vindicate his cautious assessment of its possible progress. And yet he leaves no name, so he will not be blamed if history proves to be a bitch and fails to provide that place with any import.
Here's some interesting history on the Cologne cathedral as well as a fascinating historical image.
The official cathedral website -- the English page, I think. There's a 3o minute documentary which one can watch in English with lots of great history and pictures.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Not exactly...
We had a long hard week last week, and the coming one doesn't look to be any lighter. Working late, meetings, dentist appointments, checkups, the baby's toe turning black (his own fault) -- lots going on here. But still, it isn't exactly brain surgery.
Thank you, thank you, CMinor, for introducing us to Mitchell and Webb.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Elitist Bumper Sticker
Waiting to be made: "Non cogitas, ergo non es."
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
When the Two Become One
I always find myself a bit surprised when people find it hard to tell my and MrsDarwin's writing apart. After all, I never have this problem. And we so often measure others by ourselves, even when we have little right to expect similarity.
If it doesn't seem revoltingly naval-gazing to ask:
1) Do you find Darwin and MrsDarwin posts hard to tell apart some or all of the time?
2) Does it seem to you natural or odd for spouses to seem hard to tell apart in print?
And if it does seem revoltingly naval gazing... Well, sorry. It's Tuesday and I'm already talking about it having been a long week at work. All I can say is:
Monday, October 19, 2009
Listen up, hep cats
Heard this on the radio and was transfixed: Take Five played by a string quartet.
For comparison, here's Dave Brubeck playing his original version. Four guys in suits and skinny ties, as cool as all get out.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Coming up next on Nick: fallacies!
"Here's something DirectTV won't tell you: they hate puppies.
FACT: They charge you every month for HD service.
FACT: Puppies love dog food.
THEREFORE: DirectTV hates puppies.
Who hates puppies?"
Bollywood Bleg
Here's a Friday entertainment post to see how diverse in movie taste our readership is.
MrsDarwin and I recently attempted a foray into Hindi film. I have a certain interest in Indian culture, working with so many Indians at work, and we'd seen several Indian-made or themed movies made with a mainstream, English-speaking audience in mind. (Monsoon Wedding, Bride and Prejudice, We'd seen the epic Lagaan -- nearly four hours about love, colonialism, and cricket.
However, the other night we mis-stepped badly while sitting up late with NetFlix instant play -- striking out with both the crossover Bollywood/Hollywood:
Which was simply flat, and a bit too much like an Indian-Canadian remake of Pretty Woman as a musical.
And then with the Hindi movie Race:
Which featured eye candy, music video style songs with even less relation to the plot than usual, and a plot whose swerves went far beyond hair-pin. It had a certain rogue-ish charm, but we remain mildly flummoxed by why we watched the whole thing.
So, clearly looking at the capsule summaries on NetFlix (and the number of stars from user reviews, which all seem to range from 3-4 anyway) is not the way to select quality movies. Do we have anyone out there who is familiar with Bollywood cinema and can recommend a top five or ten favorites? (I think we're looking more for the romantic comedy musical genre, than the seemingly endless number of hopeless epic historical love-story musicals -- a surprising number between Indians and Pakistanis. One can only be hopeless and epic so much of the time.)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A Very Bad Argument Against Capital Punishment
As an aside in an otherwise unrelated talk, I heard a priest say the other day, "How can there be any logic in capital punishment? How can you teach people to respect life by threatening to kill them?"
Regardless of what one thinks about the legitimacy of capital punishment, this is a bad argument. Throughout history, legitimate authority has used the threat of legally sanctioned violence (punishment) to prevent people from committing crimes, and it does indeed work pretty well. Not only that, but there's an example from everyday life that most people have direct experience with: Telling young children that biting, kicking, scratching, hair pulling, kicking, hitting and any other physical attacks I haven't thought of at the moment will be met with a spanking actually works very well. Indeed, at the ages of 3-8 when children are capable of more-or-less controlling their actions but have very limited ability to empathize with others (especially others who are making them angry) it's often pretty much the only effective manner of preventing intra-sibling fights getting nasty.
And contrary to the similar claim that "you can't teach someone not to hit by threatening to hit them", many of us in fact learned that hitting was not an acceptable means of self expression by this very means, and in turn have taught our offspring the same way.
Like it or not, we experience codified punishments handed down by a recognized authority as different from ad hoc violence used to vent one's personal feelings of the moment. And while threat of punishment alone will not serve to make people actually value life or eschew violence, it is pretty effective at preventing the proscribed behavior.
Other arguments against capital punishment (whether practical or moral) are compelling to one extent or another, but this one should honestly be dropped. It just doesn't ring true.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Bi-Partisanship Fallacy
There's a school of thought which greatly admires "bi-partisan" approaches to solving political problems. The idea of representatives and senators putting aside their differences to "reach across the aisle" and work together seems admirably, if only because our social training all points towards the importance of compromise in order to get along with others.
However, I'd like to question whether there are often pieces of legislation which are genuinely bi-partisan.
Some legislation is essentially non-partisan. Instituting a national alert system to help track down kidnapped children, for instance, is hardly something which has a major political faction aligned against it.
In other cases, there's legislation which applies to factions within each party -- a result of the fact that our two major political parties include sub-factions which disagree with each other on major issues. For instance, "bi-partisan" immigration reform might draw support both from the business faction within the GOP and the pro-immigration faction within the Democratic Party, while being opposed by labor focused Democrats and immigration focused Republicans.
Often, though, a supposedly bi-partisan bill is actually a bill which is very much of one political philosophy or the other, but which is for some reason able to draw enough support from the most "moderate" members of the other party, sometimes by watering down its provisions.
For instance, on the current health care legislation, the bill itself is pretty clearly a bill coming from a Democratic Party mindset. It rests on the four pillars of guaranteed issue, individual insurance mandate, community rating and subsidies for those who can't afford their own coverage. Once the idea of a "public option" (which had been a sop of sorts to those on the left who would much rather have seen a single payer plan) was dropped, there's really not much else that can be done within the context of the bill's structure to make it less expensive or more amenable to a conservative approach. The changes which have been made in the name of bi-partisanship (reducing fines for ignoring the mandate and not having insurance, etc.) don't really make the structure any more attractive to conservatives, but do make it less likely to work if liberals are actually correct that such a system could work. (Rather than being a dud as it's been in Massachusetts.)
Similarly, in the fight over the stimulus package -- the "bi-partisan" solution offered to bridge between those who thought there should be a massive spending-based stimulus and those who didn't was, "How about if we make it a little less massive." But really, if your two positions are, "We need to have a massive spending-based stimulus" and "We don't need any stimulus, and the debt will hurt the country" saying "We'll spend 700B instead of 1T" isn't really a compromise between those two positions.
To the extent that the two parties really do represent different political philosophies, bi-partisan solutions are in fact pretty rare. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, since if two governing philosophies suggest two different solutions based on differing ideas of what works -- something situated halfway in between (or a half-gutted implementation of one party's idea) is less likely to be satisfactory than either extreme.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Outsourcing Maternity
For the Indian surrogates themselves, it's an experience often fraught with emotional conflict. In most cases, the egg comes either from the woman who wants to become a mother but can't carry a child, or from an egg donor. The egg is then fertilized with sperm from the intended father, or a sperm donor, and implanted in the womb of a surrogate who bears the child. Sometimes, no money changes hands, particularly when a friend or relative acts as the surrogate. Alternatively, it's a commercial transaction, which is almost always the case in India for would-be parents from overseas.
Still, it's a way to raise money in sometimes desperate circumstances. Take Sudha, a 25-year-old mother of two who now works as a maid in Chennai earning $20 a month. She owes moneylenders about $2,700, borrowed to pay bribes to secure a government job as a streetsweeper, which never materialized. A neighbor told her she could earn about $2,000 at a local clinic by bearing a child for an infertile couple. She gave birth in July 2008 -- and is haunted by the memory. "Whenever I have free time and I lie down, I think about the child. I pray that the child is safe and happy and is taken care of well."
Sudha, who like other surrogates asked that only her first name be used, has reduced her debt to about $600, but the family still struggles to eat. One solution, her husband Umat says, is for Sudha to act as a surrogate again. But he adds that he "won't force her if she says no."
For other women, like 29-year-old Lakshmi, a pregnant surrogate in Chennai who already has an 11-year-old daughter, a 12-year-old son, an alcoholic husband and a $4,000 debt, having someone else's child sounded like a better option than her other plan: selling a kidney. A doctor advised her that with a single kidney left, "I might live for a shorter time. I have a daughter. I have to get her married...I prefer" to be a surrogate, she says.
Some middle-class Indian women, too, are becoming surrogates. In Bangalore, a cash-strapped high-school-educated wife, who earns about $20 a month selling Oriflame brand cosmetics, waits for a call from a local clinic that she has been chosen as a surrogate. Her husband, an office manager, owes more than $30,000, borrowed to start a company that faltered, and the couple can't repay the loan.
[emphasis added]
As human beings, we're meant to reproduce via sex -- and children are meant to be raised by their parents. Our instincts continue to reflect that, even if culture and money convince individuals to act some other way. So it's hardly surprising that the women in India who are pushed into offering themselves as surrogates feel like they've lost a child, and suffer accordingly. The problem is that the people in America and elsewhere in the developed world who are seeking to "have a child" this way don't seem to recognize that trying to pursue their wishes this way is hurting the birth mother of "their" child -- and arguably the child as well in the long run.
Why do people seek these services?
Michael Bergen and Michael Aki, a gay American couple who got married in 2004 and work as graphic designers in Massachusetts, decided to try surrogacy in India after they waited unsucessfully for three years to adopt a child in the U.S. To hire a surrogate, "we looked at Panama and the Ukraine," recalls 39-year-old Mr. Bergen. "But India had better infrastructure, more high-tech facilities and the healthier lifestyle. (Most women) don't smoke, they don't drink and they don't do drugs."
With travel costs, Mr. Bergen estimates the couple spent about $60,000 in all, including compensation of $10,000 for each surrogate. That's roughly half what he thinks the total cost would have been in the U.S.
For others, money is no object. Last year, a former U.S. investment banker in her early 40s, who asked that her name not be used, spent $128,000 to reach her goal. She approached a dozen fertility clinics in India for help. Despite her age, she and her husband wanted to try with her eggs. In the initial attempt, a doctor implanted several embryos in two separate surrogate mothers. That failed. In the second round, the doctor relied on three surrogates. Still no pregnancy. In the third round, he repeated the procedure with two additional surrogates. Bingo. The seventh surrogate gave birth to healthy twin girls.
It's the kind of determination that Rhonda and Gerry Wile understand. She's a 39-year-old blond registered nurse. He's a hefty 43-year-old fireman. Originally from Canada, they married in 2000 and resettled in Mesa, Arizona, three years ago.
The couple started trying to conceive in mid-2005. After several months, Ms. Wile consulted a specialist who found a problem: She has two small wombs instead of a single one. Two months later, though, she was thrilled to find out she was pregnant. But she soon learned the fetus had no heartbeat, and she had to undergo a drug-induced abortion.
Next the couple tried artificial insemination. It failed. They started to consider other options. They ruled out adoption, discouraged by the red tape. A doctor, meanwhile, had recommended surrogacy, and Ms. Wile saw a TV program about surrogacy in India on "Oprah" in October 2007. The Wiles then trawled the Internet for information. In January 2008 they settled on Surrogacy India, a newly established private Mumbai clinic. They liked the quick response to their questions and the clinic's policy of encouraging surrogates to move into designated quarters with their families during the pregnancy, rather than splitting them apart.
"It's been hard for me, being a woman," Ms. Wile said during a trip to India last April. "I've always believed that part of my job as a woman is to have a child." For her, surrogacy seemed as close as she could get to creating a child. The price was also right. "We didn't want to go broke" and "bring a child into the world bankrupt," she added.
The Wiles figured it would cost them between $50,000 and $80,000 for each attempt if they had used a surrogate in the U.S. By comparison, they spent a total of about $50,000 on three attempts in India, including travel expenses for four round trips to India, $550 for the baby's birth and a few days' hospital stay and $5,625 paid to a woman they call "KT," who carried their son.
In October, the Wiles selected an Indian egg donor over the Internet using the clinic's Web site. Then they picked out a new surrogate, KT, a married woman with the Indian equivalent of a seventh-grade education who has two small boys of her own. In her profile, KT described herself as having a "supporting nature" and listed her motivation for becoming a surrogate as "financial, to educate (my) kids."
A month or so before the birth, they finished the nursery in their Mesa home and held a baby shower. Mr. Wile bought the baby a set of golf clubs. Despite the ultrasound, they didn't know whether they would be bringing home a boy or girl; to discourage the selective abortion of girls, Indian law prohibits disclosure of a fetus's gender.
Mr. Wile says: "We've had a very good experience with surrogacy and we're definitely going try it again." They will have to find yet another surrogate, though. Mr. Wile says KT declined to carry a second baby for them.
Part of the problem here is people who want to have children in situations that don't naturally result in children: Same sex couples. People who are too old to conceive and carry to term naturally.
Their pain at not being able to have their own children may be real, but this, "I should be able to have whatever I want," attitude towards childbearing -- turning children into a consumer commodity -- only moves the pain to someone else, and makes it worse.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Pride and Prejudice Night Fever
For your weekend cultural edification, I present a meditation on class and disco:
[Language warning]
With many thanks to CMinor.
Or if all that is far too high class and British for you, you can always turn to the madcap antics of Auto-Tune The News:
Friday, October 09, 2009
They Like The Look of This Fellow
Though I'd disagree with his conclusion that this is in any way "a bold step" (it strikes me rather as a silly but rather conformist step, if you think about the sort of circles the Nobel committee moves in) I think this BBC commentator gets things pretty much right in saying "Obama gets reward for world view":
The committee does not make any secret of its approach. It states that he is being given the prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples."
It's tempting, of course, to point out that Obama doesn't deserve the award because he hasn't achieved anything, and plenty of people are asking, "For what?" But really, I think it's questionable that even the Nobel committee thinks President Obama has achieved much of anything yet. Rather, he's the sort of person they like to see as president of the United States, and so (even though he'd only been in office for ten days as of the nomination deadline this year) he was nominated and selected in order to express approval for the simple fact that someone with his worldview is now president of the US.
Now, if Obama were to be deeply classy, he'd decline the prize saying that he doesn't want to be awarded a prize when he doesn't believe that he's yet achieved what he should in the world. He would then get the recognition of being selected, but the even greater recognition for being realistic about where he currently is in his presidency. I'm not holding my breath, but if he does I'll be impressed.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Ardi: Looking at the Latest Missing Link
Virtually everyone with any access to news last week probably heard about Ardi, a 4.4 million year old skeleton of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia. However, given the tendency of the mainstream media to cover every ancient primate discovery as "Scientists discover 'missing link' which 'changes everything'" those who don't track these things can easily become confused, or even rather suspicious of the whole thing.
Very Complete, Very Old
Invariably, Ardi has been compared to the other famous hominid find, Lucy who made headlines back in the 70s. However, Ardi is both more complete than Lucy and also over a million years older. Lucy was a 40% complete skeleton, about 3.2 million years old, belonging to the species Australopithecus afarensis.
We have a few fossil finds from hominid species which are older than Ardi, but we don't know nearly as much about these species because the finds are much more fragmentary. Sahelanthropus tschadensis lived 6-7 million years ago, but the only fossils found so far of it are a partial skull. Orrorin tugenensis lived 6 million years ago, but all we have is a leg bone and a few fragments. So while basically all we know about these earlier species is that we have a few scraps of bone from a creature that looks to be a hominid and doesn't belong to any other known species, we now have a very clear idea of what Ardipithecus ramidus looked like, and thus what hominids living 4.4 million years ago were like.
A Missing Link
Is Ardi a "missing link"? Well, she (and the other remains found in the same place -- much more partial remains of 35 other individuals) is certainly a missing link in the sense that these fossils provide us with a lot of fascinating information about a certain stage in hominid evolution. But there is no single "missing link" in the hominid ancestry chain. Fossils of primates in general are so rare that piecing together the more distant periods of human ancestry is very, very hard. While the charts we see in books and articles suggest seamless lines of descent, the actual evidence we have is often quite fragmentary, and even the links of the chain that we do have are often only partial. One stage or even a whole species may be represented by only a partial skull or most of a leg -- enough to tell it's different from known species, but not enough to have a very complete picture of the species. The below chart (excuse my poor freehand drawing skills) shows the problem, and why there's often dispute among biologists as to where the actual branches are, and whether we're descendants or cousins of some hominid species.
What is often referred to as "the missing link" is the hope of finding a species which appears to be a direct ancestor of both modern chimps and modern humans. Ardipithecus ramidus is not such a link, and indeed, some researchers are suggesting that Ardi points to that common ancestor being more ancient that previously believed.
What Ardi Tells Us
One of the most interesting things about Ardi is what she seems to indicate about human/chimp divergence. It had been widely assumed at one point that the common ancestor between humans and primates probably looked a lot like a chimp. Our DNA shows that we're closely related to chimps, and because we often have difficulty not thinking about evolution in terms of "progress" (especially when we're talking about ourselves) it's natural to think of chimps as the "ancient" form and to talk about "humans evolving from chimps".
Lucy knocked a bit of a hole in this thinking back in the 70s by showing that upright posture went back to Australopithecus afarensis 3+ million years ago, putting to rest the already crumbling idea that hominids prior to Homo erectus had been "knuckle draggers".
Now we have Ardi, who despite having a big toe that would have allowed her to grip things thing her feet, has a pelvis and legs which are clearly adapted to walking upright 4.4 million years ago. Even the leg bones we have from Orrorin tugenensis 6 million years ago appear to suggest a bi-pedal posture (though it's harder to know from such incomplete remains). So with Ardi's well preserved skeleton for confirmation, it's starting to look very much like human ancestors have been bipedal for a very long time. Large brains and other adaptations are later, but it would appear that it may have been the chimps and gorillas who developed adaptations for arboreal life, and in the process shifted to walking on all fours and putting weight on the knuckles of their hands -- rather than these being features that our ancestors shed.
Ardi did have proportionally much longer arms than more modern human ancestors, and her fingers were long for gripping branches. Her feet could still grip better than ours can (though not as well as modern great apes). Her brain was about the same size as that of a chimp, and she stood about four feet tall (the height of my seven-year-old.) But while she probably did not possess any of the traits that we see as uniquely human (language, higher consciousness, reason, complex tool-making, etc.) she looked less "like an ape" than expectations would have been in the past.
For more detailed information, the following are interesting links:
At long last, meet Ardipithecus ramidus
Ardipithecus: We Meet At Last
And if you really want the mother lode, the journal Science (which put out a special issue with all the original research papers on Ardi) has taken the unprecedented step of making all of the papers available on their site if you fill out a free registration. The Science Magazine Ardipithecus site is here.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
I'm Sorry, Mom
It's come full circle. Tonight one of my own children looked at a delicious plate of homemade macaroni and cheese and said, "Ewww. I like the kind in a box from the store better."
It was only the slightest consolation that in response to being told, "But you always liked macaroni and cheese," the young miscreant revised somewhat more politely, "But I do not prefer it, Father. I do not prefer it at all."
What exactly is the magic of that bright orange powder for the young?
If making macaroni and cheese from scratch sounds daunting, be assured that it is not. It's easy to make the sauce in the time it takes the water to boil and the noodles to cook. Here's the sauce recipe:
In a glass bowl, melt three tablespoons of butter in the microwave.
When it's fully melted, stir in three tablespoons of flour. Grind in pepper. Add half a teaspoon of salt or so (I never measure, so can't swear) and a few dashes of paprika (or cayenne pepper if you want some extra kick) and stir it all up. Microwave for another 30 seconds.
Add three cups milk. Mix and microwave for 1:30 increments, stirring at the end of each round, until it begins to thicken. This will take 6-9 minutes total. While it's doing that, grate one pound of cheddar (preferably sharp or extra sharp.)
When the sauce has got a bit thick and sauce-like, add in the grated cheese in 3-2 rounds, stirring in between. No need to microwave further. Taste and add salt, pepper or Tabasco if desired.
Pour over the drained noodles, or else pour the drained noodles into the sauce, and stir.
There you have it. Great, home-made macaroni. Only according to six and seven-year-olds everywhere, it's not as good as the housebrand stuff from the box. For adults on the other hand, it's delicious.
Outrageously Anti-Abortion
Sometimes it's all in the phrasing. The other day I read a mention of the annual Red Mass celebrated in Washington DC which quoted Justice Ginsburg's explanation of why she no longer attends (though Justice Breyer, also Jewish, does). The quote in full:
"Before every session, there's a Red Mass," Ginsburg said. "And the justices get invitations from the cardinal to attend that. And a good number of the justices show up every year. I went one year, and I will never go again, because this sermon was outrageously anti-abortion."
Outrageously anti-abortion. Well.
[Necessary disclaimer: Yes, I'm aware that pro-life advocates sometimes express themselves so vehemently as to shroud the truth from those who might be persuadable. However, I don't picture Archbishop Wuerl as being such a person. ]
Monday, October 05, 2009
Death of Autotune?
TJR sent this to us a while ago, and by the miracle of random clickage on youtube, we found it again this evening. Enjoy?
"Okay, that was... painful..."
John Mackey on Capitalism and Running a Business
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey attracted quite a bit of ire a few months back when he wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal in which he advocated that Obama and the congress consider an approach to health care reform similar to the health benefits which Whole Foods provides its employees (centered around high deductible coverage and health savings accounts.) Within days, several progressive sites were calling for boycotts of Whole Foods, seeing Mackey as giving aid to anti-Obama forces. Mackey himself is somewhat bemused by the firestorm his editorial caused.
"President Obama called for constructive suggestions for health-care reform," he explains. "I took him at his word." Mr. Mackey continues: "It just seems to me there are some fundamental reforms that we've adopted at Whole Foods that would make health care much more affordable for the uninsured."
Though he's not gunning to cause any more controversies, Mackey has an interesting weekend interview in the Journal where he talks, among other things, about his philosophy regarding capitalism and business, and how it's changed over the years since he founded Whole Foods with $45,000 in friends and family-raised seed funding in 1978.
"Before I started my business, my political philosophy was that business is evil and government is good. I think I just breathed it in with the culture. Businesses, they're selfish because they're trying to make money."
At age 25, John Mackey was mugged by reality. "Once you start meeting a payroll you have a little different attitude about those things." This insight explains why he thinks it's a shame that so few elected officials have ever run a business. "Most are lawyers," he says, which is why Washington treats companies like cash dispensers.
Mr. Mackey's latest crusade involves traveling to college campuses across the country, trying to persuade young people that business, profits and capitalism aren't forces of evil. He calls his concept "conscious capitalism."
What is that? "It means that business has the potential to have a deeper purpose. I mean, Whole Foods has a deeper purpose," he says, now sounding very much like a philosopher. "Most of the companies I most admire in the world I think have a deeper purpose." He continues, "I've met a lot of successful entrepreneurs. They all started their businesses not to maximize shareholder value or money but because they were pursuing a dream."
Mr. Mackey tells me he is trying to save capitalism: "I think that business has a noble purpose. It's not that there's anything wrong with making money. It's one of the important things that business contributes to society. But it's not the sole reason that businesses exist."
What does he mean by a "noble purpose"? "It means that just like every other profession, business serves society. They produce goods and services that make people's lives better. Doctors heal the sick. Teachers educate people. Architects design buildings. Lawyers promote justice. Whole Foods puts food on people's tables and we improve people's health."
Then he adds: "And we provide jobs. And we provide capital through profits that spur improvements in the world. And we're good citizens in our communities, and we take our citizenship very seriously at Whole Foods."
I ask Mr. Mackey why he doesn't collect a paycheck. "I'm an owner. I have the exact same motivation any shareholder would have in the Whole Foods Market because I'm not drawing a salary from the company. How much money does anybody need?" More to the point, he says, "If the business prospers, I prosper. If the business struggles, I struggle. It's good for morale." He hastens to add that "I'm not saying anybody else should do what I do."
Well, that's not exactly true. Mr. Mackey has been vocal in his opposition to recent CEO salaries. "I do think that it's the responsibility of the leadership of an organization to constrain itself for the good of the organization. If you look at the history of business in America, CEOs used to have much more constraint in compensation and it's gone up tremendously in the last 30 years."
emphasis added
Working in an area of business (pricing) which management traditionally turns to when trying to eke more revenues or profits out of a business that is not doing as well as they'd like, the bolded point is something of which I'm particularly aware. Tools such as pricing can be used to optimize a business, but (contrary to the belief of some executives) you cannot make people want something they don't want simply by pricing it right -- or indeed by any of the other "marketing magic" available in business's bag of tricks. At the end of the day, the way to have a sustainable, successful business is to provide people with something they need or want. While making a profit in a business is a primary reason for its existence (just our for any working person their paycheck is a primary reason why they show up) the only way to make profits achievable is to provide something that others value. And while it's possible to do this while caring only about the profits (or the paycheck) you're generally going to be most successful at it if what you really care about is providing that service profits are simply the way you measure your success.
When businesses (or individuals) start thinking about how to make profits without thinking about how to provide people with something they will actually value, they usually are undercutting their ability to do either in the long term.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Supertyphoons and the chaos of charity
Please keep the people of the Phillipines in your prayers as they brace for another "supertyphoon" this weekend. And keep reading Sancta Sanctis for news from the ground and beautiful reflections on the often-frustrating but always sanctifying nature of charity in the face of great disasters.
Then there are the plastic bottles and plastic bags. The floods were inevitable: after nine hours of heavy rain, plus overflow from three different dams, there was just too much water. Yet we can't deny that litter--a great deal of it plastic designed to be disposable--has clogged up much of the city's drainage system.
(Then again, a part of me wonders: The city has a drainage system??? I find I am no longer as inclined to blame litter--or the litterbugs--for clogged pipes. There are other ways to ruin a city.)
Not that there's any way to get around plastic. The material is as lightweight as it is durable. Imagine the same thousands of gallons of donated water in glass bottles, how much more care would have to be taken with them, and how much heavier they would be. Imagine stuffing a hodgepodge of groceries into paper bags, knotting them closed, and piling them in a corner on the floor. Glass would break and paper would be vulnerable to the damp. Plastic may not be pretty, but it is practical. Say what you like against it, but it passes the Charity Test: whatever is not against us, is with us.
The task we have now is to figure out how to live with it.
Comfort for miscarriage
Thanks to Rich Leonardi for pointing me to this column by Fr. Rob Waller about miscarriage:
No words can take away the pain of miscarriage, although faith and time can lessen it. Some parents find the words of St. Bernard of Clairveuax helpful. He wrote to a couple that had a miscarriage. In response to their question, “What is going to happen to my child? The child didn’t get baptized,” St. Bernard said, “Your faith spoke for this child. Baptism for this child was only delayed by time. Your faith suffices. The waters of your womb — were they not the waters of life for this child? Look at your tears. Are they not like the waters of baptism? Do not fear this. God’s ability to love is greater than our fears. Surrender everything to God.”
Our own miscarriage was four years and two children ago, but it's still comforting to read St. Bernard's words.
Friday, October 02, 2009
A Grete Loathesome Vampyre
Gentils all, yt doth give me grete pleasure to note that Geoffry Chaucer doth blog once more. Geoff hath been occupied of late, as haue many a wyffe and damsel, with the readinge of the teenage sparklie vampyre romaunce, the Vespers series.
Geoff stoppeth not at Vespers, but proceedeth to rede Compline and Matins. Ich haue muchel curiosity as to the title of book quatre of the series. Is it yclept Prime, or doth Dame Meyers cut straight to the chase and give thys book the nomination Sext?
Forsooth, it almost maketh me desire to rede of this sparklie book Vespers. Almost.
Also: Geoffrey Chaucer giveth thanks for the complimentes of hys good rederes, but is much put out by an interrupcioun from a jakke-asse yclept Quanje Weste. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35860 | It’s been a day.
Today I found out that the new word for “pleather” is now Vegan Leather.
Here is Billy Wilder’s tombstone from a post by Austin Kleon.
Billy Wilder’s tombstone.
Here’s a great quote from Benjamin Percy in Jami Attenberg’s newsletter #1000wordsofsummer:
It begins with a glimmer. Maybe I overhear a conversation in a bar. Maybe I pause on a certain, curious detail in the Sunday paper. Maybe I wake up with a dream still churning in my open eyes. I then rush to jot down the idea before it…evaporates. If you say to yourself, ‘I need to remember this later,’ you won’t. So I send myself an email. Or I scratch something down on a napkin. Or I rip out an article with my notes scribbled in the margins. I harvest these glimmers. And pin them up in my office. Near my desk. So that I flirt with them daily. And eventually sometimes weeks later, sometimes months or even years later a few of them glow brightly and I realize how they are connected and they come together like a constellation. And I get to work. Often (especially if it’s a novel) I outline. Sometimes (especially if it’s a short story or an essay) I allow myself to be more impressionistic, chasing a voice, an image. But I always know my endgame. Always. Because when I know my end, everything in the story is building toward that moment, the paragraphs and chapters transferring their momentum, crashing forward like so many dominoes. People are sometimes afraid of the blank page. But if you know your end, even when you’re starting from scratch, there is no blank page. The finish line is in sight you just have to race to get there.”
That is all for today. Talk to you tomorrow.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35898 | Full text Read free See used
Tollefsen, Sondra, , Bacharach, Deborah. We Did It: From Mere Contributors to Coauthors
2010, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 68 (1):23-32.
Added by: Chris Blake-Turner, Contributed by: Christy Mag Uidhir
Abstract: The diversity and increasing number of recent artistic collaborations raise new and substantive philosophical questions about the nature of authorship. In the past, the problems surrounding the authorship of collaboratively produced art were tackled primarily by film theorists, who defended the conservative view that films were on a par with other artworks, having a single author. Fortunately, this is starting to change. Recently, a number of theorists, including Berys Gaut, Paisley Livingston, and C. Paul Sellors, have argued, contra auteur theory, that films (and many other artworks) are the product of multiple authors.1 Livingston and Sellors draw on recent theories of collective intentionality, specifically theories of shared intention, in order to develop their theories of coauthorship. Although we agree entirely with this anti?individualistic movement, we think there are problems with the accounts of coauthorship on offer. Some of the accounts are too weak, failing to distinguish between mere contributors and genuine coauthors, while others rely on a theory of shared intention that does not adequately account for the range and complexity of artistic collaborations present in contemporary art. Fortunately, there is an alternative theory of collective intentionality that has yet to be considered as a point of departure in developing an account of coauthorship: Margaret Gilbert’s plural subject theory. We argue that her theory provides for an account of coauthorship that successfully distinguishes between mere contributors and coauthors. It also makes sense of a number of actual cases of collaboratively produced art in which intuitively the group, rather than any set of individuals, is the author. In Section I, we rehearse Gaut’s arguments against auteur theory and explain why Gaut’s account of multiple authorship is problematically overpermissive. In Section II, we consider Livingston and Sellors’s attempts to develop an account of coauthorship that relies on the theories of shared intentions by Michael Bratman and John Searle, respectively. Both accounts are ultimately problematic in different ways. In Section III, we turn to Margaret Gilbert’s plural subject theory. At the heart of Gilbert’s theory is the notion of a joint commitment. We develop a theory of coauthorship that appeals to the notion of a joint commitment, and then we show how it helps us to distinguish between mere contributors and genuine coauthors. We also present a number of actual cases of collaboratively produced art and show how Gilbert’s plural subject theory can accommodate these cases in a way that other accounts of coauthorship cannot.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35899 | TY - JOUR T1 - KINETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF THE 1A SUBFAMILY OF RECOMBINANT HUMAN UDP-GLUCURONOSYLTRANSFERASES JF - Drug Metabolism and Disposition JO - Drug Metab Dispos SP - 1017 LP - 1026 DO - 10.1124/dmd.105.004093 VL - 33 IS - 7 AU - Luukkanen, Leena AU - Taskinen, Jyrki AU - Kurkela, Mika AU - Kostiainen, Risto AU - Hirvonen, Jouni AU - Finel, Moshe Y1 - 2005/07/01 UR - http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/33/7/1017.abstract N2 - The initial glucuronidation rates were determined for eight recombinant human UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) of the 1A subfamily, and the bisubstrate kinetics and inhibition patterns were analyzed. At low substrate concentrations, the reactions followed general ternary complex kinetics, whereas at higher concentrations of both substrates, the reactions were mostly characterized by ternary complex kinetics with substrate inhibition. The glucuronidation of entacapone by UGT1A9 was inhibited by 1-naphthol in a competitive fashion, with respect to entacapone, and an uncompetitive fashion, with respect to UDP-glucuronic acid (UDPGA). Its inhibition by UDP, on the other hand, was noncompetitive with respect to entacapone and competitive with respect to UDPGA. These inhibition patterns are compatible with a compulsory ordered bi bi mechanism in which UDPGA is the first-binding substrate. Despite the identical primary structure of the C-terminal halves of the UGT1A isoforms, there were marked differences in the respective Km values for UDPGA, ranging from 52 μM for UGT1A6 to 1256 μM for UGT1A8. Relative specificity constants were calculated for the eight UGT1A isoforms with 1-hydroxypyrene, 4-nitrophenol, scopoletin, 4-methylumbelliferone, and entacapone as aglycone substrates. The results demonstrated that seven of the UGT1A isoforms are capable of conjugating phenolic substrates with similar highest kcat values, and UGT1A4 has a lower relative turnover rate. The highest specificity constants were obtained for 1-hydroxypyrene, even with UGT1A6, which has been regarded as a specific isoform for small planar phenols. A kcat value of 1.9 s–1 was calculated for the glucuronidation of scopoletin by purified UGT1A9. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics ER - |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35902 | 1. Overview
Prisma Cloud supports certificate-based authentication for the Console UI and the API.
Prisma Cloud has always provided username / password based authentication. In addition to that, Prisma Cloud also supports certificate based authentication for the Console UI and the API. This is especially useful for those in government and financial services, who use multi-factor authentication technologies built on x.509 certificates. This is applicable to users authenticating via Active Directory accounts as well. This feature allows customers to be able to control the trusted CAs for signing certificates for authentication.
2. Setting up your certs
This procedure shows you how to set up Prisma Cloud for certificate-based authentication.
If you’re using certificates to authenticate against Active Directory accounts, Prisma Cloud uses the UserPrincipalName field in the SAN to match the certificate to the user in Active Directory. This is the same process used by Windows clients for authentication, so for most customers, the existing smart card certificates you’re already using can also be used for authentication to Prisma Cloud.
1. Save the CA certificate(s) used to sign the certificates that you’ll use for authentication to Prisma Cloud.
The certificate has to be in PEM format. If you have multiple CAs that issue certificates to your users, concatenate their PEM files together. For example, if you have Issuing CA 1 and Issuing CA 2, create a combined PEM file like this:
$ cat issuing-ca-1.pem issuing-ca-2.pem > issuing-cas.pem
2. Log into Console, and go to Manage > Authentication > System Certificates.
3. Set Advanced certificate configuration to Show.
4. Scroll down to Console Authentication, and upload your CA certificate(s) in PEM format.
5. Click Save.
6. Open Console login page in your browser. When prompted select your user certificate.
cert auth to console 765460
3. What’s next?
See Assigning roles to learn how to add users and assign roles to them. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35908 | Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
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dc.contributor.authorSocheat, Iv.-
dc.description.abstractIn developed countries like Singapore, where the land is scarce, many tall buildings have been built very close to each other. Moreover, deep excavation is commonly done near the existing buildings such as construction of basement of new buildings and construction of underground MRT or tunneling. All of these constructions can cause damage to existing piles and this is because the lateral soil movements resulting from these construction activities can induce forces and moments in the piles. The resulting stresses can be significant particularly when soft soil deposits, for example peaty clay, are present and the lateral soil displacements are large. This project presents a method to analyze a single pile subjected to lateral soil movements on pile by using the spreadsheet platform of Microsoft Excel built-in constraint optimization, and the results will be verified by comparisons of reported case studies from the literature. The accuracies of this method are acceptable.en_US
dc.format.extent79 p.en_US
dc.rightsNanyang Technological University-
dc.subjectDRNTU::Engineering::Civil engineering::Geotechnicalen_US
dc.titleEffects of lateral soil movements on pilesen_US
dc.typeFinal Year Project (FYP)en_US
dc.contributor.supervisorTeh Cee Ingen_US
dc.contributor.schoolSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineeringen_US
dc.description.degreeBachelor of Engineering (Civil)en_US
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35919 | Assume that we have an unknow dynamical system and we only want to estimate its parameters. The system can be discribed as:
Continous time: $$G(s) = \frac{3s + 5} {5s^2 + 3s + 2}$$
Discrete time with sampling time $h = 0.5$:
$$G_d(z) = \frac{0.36735z -0.15316}{z^2 -1.6551z + 0.74082}$$
My goal is to find the amplitudes of $H(z)$ and its frequencies by using Fast Fourier Transform(FFT). Later I'm doing system identification to find the model $H(z)$ of the input and output data.
I first begin to do the frequency input response that changes over time.
$$u(t) = A(t)sin(2 \pi \omega(t) t)$$
Where $A(t)$ is the amplitude over time and $\omega(t)$ is the angular frequency rad/s over time.
Now I want to find the amplitudes and frequencies:
$$H(z) = \frac{Y(z)}{U(z)} = \frac{\mathcal{F}(y(t))}{\mathcal{F}(u(t))}$$
How can I do that?
I first begin with to create the transfer function and it's response $y(t)$
t = linspace(0.0, 10, 3000);
w = linspace(0.0, 100, 3000);
a = linspace(0.0, 10, 3000);
u = a.*sin(2*pi*w.*t);
G = tf([3 5], [5 3 2]);
Gd = c2d(G, 0.5);
y = lsim(Gd, u, t);
enter image description here
And the input $u(t)$ enter image description here
And how I try to do FFT on both $u(t)$ and $y(t)$
fy = fft(y);
fu = fft(u);
H = fy./fu;
plot(w, H);
But that does not work for me! Why?
I have made this MATLAB code.
% Data
close all
t = linspace(0.0, 10, 3000);
w = logspace(-1, 2*pi, 3000);
a = linspace(0.0, 10, 3000);
y = lsim(G, u, t);
Ts = t(2)-t(1); % Sampling time
Fs = 1/Ts; % Sampling rate
fy = abs(fft(y, Fs));
fu = abs(fft(u, Fs));
% Cut the amplitudes and frequencies
freq = (0:Fs-1)(1:end/2+1);
fy = fy(1:end/2)/length(fy)*2;
fu = fu(1:end/2)/length(fu)*2;
freq(1) = freq(2); % freq(1) = 0
semilogx(freq, 20*log10(fy./fu));
And it will plot this "bode" diagram. I think it looks like it's reversed bode diagram. Should not look like this:
enter image description here
And if I use this input response with amplitude 5 and frecquency 10.
u = 5.*sin(2*pi*10.*t);
I get this plot. It seems that I'm on right track anyway.
enter image description here
• $\begingroup$ Is that transfer function in $s$ or in $z$? $\endgroup$ – a concerned citizen Apr 16 at 18:27
• $\begingroup$ You have $G(s)$, so why don't you just plot it? Why would you want to use the FFT? $\endgroup$ – Matt L. Apr 16 at 18:49
• $\begingroup$ @MattL. Because I want to find the $G(s)$ from data measurement. $\endgroup$ – Daniel Mårtensson Apr 16 at 19:03
Frequency Response of Unknown System from Freq Chirp and FFT's
My understanding from further discussion with the OP that he wants to specifically use an approach of providing a swept sine wave stimulus and use the FFT of this input and system output response to derive the transfer function. This may be for a system identification problem where the swept tone will provide more power per frequency bin than a direct impulse response can provide, so would be more practical for experimental test purposes. This would be an alternative approach for comparison to traditional channel estimation approaches using noise-like stimulus (PN codes) and least squares estimation techniques such as those described here: Compensating Loudspeaker frequency response in an audio signal
That said this approach should work well with certain considerations that I will outline below:
Frequency Ramp Generation This post and specifically the derivation from @MattL is a useful reference on setting the start frequency and stop frequency within a FM chirp (frequency ramp) signal to create the desired instantaneous frequencies accurately.
Simulation of a Frequency ramp
Here he provided the solution copied below for the values of $f(t)$ in the chirp function $\cos\big(2\pi f(t) t\big)$ such that the instantaneous frequency will start at $F_1$ at time $t_1$ and end at $F_2$ at time $t_2$
$$\begin{align}f(t)&=F_1-\frac{\Delta F}{\Delta t}t_1+\frac12\frac{\Delta F}{\Delta t}t,\quad t_1<t<t_2\tag{1}\end{align}\\$$ with $\Delta F=F_2-F_1$ and $\Delta t=t_2-t_1$.
Deriving this for phase versus sample time $n$ including a constant frequency at the start and end results in the following formulas specific to DFT parameters with the resulting sinusoidal frequency ramp given as $\cos(\phi(n))$. Expressing in units of phase versus time ensures phase continuity at the transitions:
$\phi(n)=\begin{cases}\omega_1n,&n \le n_1\\ \omega_1 n+\frac{\Delta \omega}{\Delta n}\big(\frac{n^2+n_1^2}{2}-n_1n\big),&n_1<n<n_2\\\omega_2n+(\omega_1-\omega_2)n_2+\frac{\Delta \omega}{\Delta n}\big(\frac{n_2^2+n_1^2}{2}-n_1n_2\big),&n\ge n_2\end{cases}\tag{2}\\$
With the resulting frequency ramp as $cos(\phi(n)$), in the time interval $[n = 0,N-1]$
$n_1$ : index for start of ramp with frequency $\omega_1$ radians/sample
$n_2$ : index for end of ramp with frequency $\omega_2$ radians/sample
The parameters for the frequency ramp are further detailed in the graphic below:
chirp parameters
Windowing Windowing will be important to minimize distortion in the DFT results. However given we are sweeping the input frequency with time, tapering the signal at the boundaries will reduce the signal levels at these test frequencies. An excellent window choice for this application is the Tukey window as we can selectively taper just the outer edges, while the majority of the window is flat, offering significant performance in frequency even with a relatively small $\alpha$ which is the ratio of the taper portion of the window to the flat portion. Additionally with a low $\alpha$ the resolution bandwidth is minimally impacted.
Sampling Rate Given the application will be to use a real tone, the sampling rate needs to be higher than twice the highest frequency over which we would like to measure the transfer function.
Number of Samples The number of samples is set based on the resolution bandwidth desired for the transfer function measurement. The number of samples will set the total time duration $T$ of the test signal, which will set the resolution bandwidth of the test according to $1/T$ (as mentioned above, the Tukey window if low $\alpha$ is used will not significantly impact the resolution bandwidth.)
Transfer Function With the above considerations, the transfer function is derived by the ratio of the output FFT to the input FFT. This would be a complex function with its associated magnitude and phase components.
This was done using the same transfer function as the OP used in his own answer for direct comparison to his results (as well as those responses to this question Why does this transfer function estimation not work? System identification) instead of the original one given in the question, repeated here as:
$$G(s) = \frac{3}{s^2 + 0.5s +30}$$
In application the transfer function is the unknown, and the objective is to determine the frequency response of this unknown transfer function, and specifically in this case using a real sinusoidal frequency ramp stimulus and FFT's. So this transfer function was used to generate the actual output which was then used along with only the input to predict the frequency response.
Below is the resulting estimated frequency response versus ideal showing excellent agreement between the two:
Freq Response
Here is the MATLAB/Octave code for the optimized sinusoidal (real) ramp for FFT processing. This generates a cosine frequency chirp with Tukey amplitude taper at the start and end of the chip, along with constant frequency in the taper for optimized FFT performance for use with determining a transfer function.
function out = chirp(N, r = 0.05, w1=0, w2=pi);
# Dan Boschen 4/18/2020
n= 0:N-1; # sample index
n1 = ceil(r*N/4); # start ramp at 50% in window rise
n2 = N-n1-1; # end ramp at 50% in window fall
# phase versus time for linear ramp
psweep = w1*n + (w2-w1)/(n2-n1)*((n.^2+n1^2)/2-n1*n);
# constant frequency outside of Tukey window
psweep(1:n1) = w1*n(1:n1);
psweep(n2:end) = psweep(n2)+w2*n(n2:end)-w2*n(n2);
win = tukeywin(N, r)'; # Tukey Window
out = win.*cos(psweep);
The following script demonstrates proper use of the chirp:
N = 4096; # number of samples
fs = 60; # sampling rate
n = 0:N-1; # sample index
t = n/fs; # time index
# frequency chirp stimulus
G = tf([3], [1 0.5 30]); # OP's trasfer function
y = lsim(G, u, t)'; # Generate output as OP has done
fu = fft(u);
fy = fft(y);
resp = fy./fu; # derived frequency response
# plot
faxis = n/N*fs;
half = floor(N/2);
semilogx(2*pi*faxis(1:half), 20*log10(abs(resp(1:half))));
The reason this works so well is due to the excellent flatness in the DFT of the chirp signal through careful planning in generating such a signal for use in the DFT. Following the considerations listed above, the chirp stimulus has the following characteristics versus frequency and time. The taper duration is greatly exagerated in this diagram below; a 5% ratio was actually used for the demonstration above. Importantly at no time during the chirp does the frequency repeat; given the requirement for a real signal, any repetition of a frequency later in time would result in deep nulls in the response. Going below $0$ or above $\pi$ would essentially create such a repetition, therefore the frequency was made to be constant at the edges while allowing the ramp to extend fully from $0$ to $\pi$ in normalized radian frequency (cylces/sample). Sidelobe ringing was minimized by extending the ramp 50% into the taper of the amplitude window.
Chirp Preparation
An FFT of the chirp signal itself shows these performance features including complete frequency coverage and overall flatness approaching that of an ideal impulse (while allowing for much larger overall signal power thus we would expect much better performance versus an impulse response test in the presence of noise.)
FFT of chirp
| improve this answer | |
• $\begingroup$ Let us continue this discussion in chat. $\endgroup$ – Dan Boschen Apr 16 at 19:15
• 1
$\begingroup$ I have posted an answer. You might want to look at it :) $\endgroup$ – Daniel Mårtensson Apr 17 at 1:49
• $\begingroup$ Thank you. Can you explain number 4? $\endgroup$ – Daniel Mårtensson Apr 17 at 9:50
• 1
$\begingroup$ It is because of equation 1 in my answer, and see the linked post for more details, but in short the instantaneous frequency is the derivative of the phase, and for your case with $cos(\theta(t))$ the phase is going at the rate of $t^2$ so that derivative gives you an extra factor of 2: d/dt of $t^2 = 2t$ $\endgroup$ – Dan Boschen Apr 17 at 13:48
• 1
$\begingroup$ Great! Thank you for that answer. By the way! I have made OCID now and included more litterature about it. Very hard to find. Check out mataveid. I need some help with ERA/DC and OCID. $\endgroup$ – Daniel Mårtensson Apr 19 at 20:30
I found the answer now.
My MATLAB / Octave code. Please try it.
close all
% Input and model
t = linspace(0.0, 50, 3000);
w = linspace(0, 100, 3000);
u = 10*sin(2*pi*w.*t);
% Do frequency response
y = lsim(G, u, t);
% Do FFT
fy = fft(y);
fu = fft(u);
H = fy./fu;
% Windowing - Half
H = H(1:end/2);
w = w(1:end/2)*4; % <--- Why 4?
plot(w, abs(H)); % This have the same magnitude and frequencies as a bode plot
% Do bode without phase
The frequency response.
enter image description here
The bode plot from FFT data. This is the closes as I can get the ideal bode plot
enter image description here
And the ideal bode plot.
enter image description here
A better zoom-in we can see at frequency near 5.5 Rad/s we can se that we have amplitude about 1.
enter image description here
>> db2mag(0.75) % From the ideal bode plot
ans = 1.0902
Here are two bode plots of the mesurement and the ideal bode plot.
enter image description here
Same code as above, except:
w(1) = w(2); % Prevent zeros
semilogx(w, 20*log10(abs(H))); % This have the same magnitude and frequencies as a bode plot
Yes! This is what I'm talking about!
| improve this answer | |
Your Answer
|
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35947 | Meyer - The Hunters in Embryology 1
From Embryology
See also William Hunter
Arthur William Meyer (1873 – 1966)
Arthur William Meyer (1873 – 1966)
Historic Disclaimer - information about historic embryology pages
Mark Hill.jpg
The Hunters in Embryology 1
By A. W. Meyer, M.D.
Stanford University
The famous Scotchmen, John and William Hunter, have always occupied a prominent place in the history of medicine, and deservedly so. William also has usually been given a place in the history of embryology almost wholly denied John. Yet Duncan,[1] who championed William in his well—known volume, declared in the Harveian address of 1876 that William “left behind him scarcely anything to perpetuate his memory, except the work on the Gravid Uterus, which, though undoubtedly of great merit, has had no very extensive influence on the progress of knowledge, and cannot in any way be compared with what has been effected by his brother.” (p. 1077.)[2] However, Radl,[3] in his Geschichte der biologischen Theorien, barely mentioned John, merely listing him among some other comparative anatomists, and Bilikiewicz[4] only mentioned John in a footnote, although he used the name of his brother for a subtitle. Nordenskiold,[5] however, gave John, instead of William, a place in his History of Biology. He pointed especially to John's treatise on teeth and to his ideas regarding the blood and his comparative anatomical work. Need ham,[6] on the other hand, mentioned both William and John in his History of Embryology, referring to the former as an embryologic iconographer, and especially emphasized John’s connection with the idea of recapitulation.
It is not surprising that the unexcelled and sumptuous “elephant” folio on the gravid uterus,[7] for the “elaborateness” of which the author felt it necessary to apologize, attracted great attention at the time of its appearance in 1774, and that it has been extolled very often since that day. It will be recalled that this atlas on human pregnancy is composed of thirty—four excellent, large plates, 47 by 64 centimeters, the work of accomplished artists, and of engravers supervised by Robert Strange, who himself executed two of the plates, causing Hunter to say that Strange had thereby “secured a sort of immortality” for the plates. This atlas is characterized quite adequately by Choulant,[8] and also was commented upon with great appreciation by von Siebold[9] in his Geschichte der Geburtshiilfe.
William Hunter’s Dissections
William, who was famed as an obstetrician, apparently had dissected mammals late in gestation in order to enlarge his knowledge of the subject, and said that he projected the above volume when he met with the first favourable opportunity in 1751 of examining, in the human species, what before he had been studying in brutes. A woman died suddenly, when very near the end of pregnancy, the body was procured before any sensible putrefaction had begun, the season of the year was favourable to dissection. With “the assistance of many friends,” he was able to secure twelve more bodies in a similar state, in the preparation of which, for the artists, John played an important part. William expressed his indebtedness to John in the last paragraph of the preface to his treatise on the gravid uterus, for his skill in dissection. The latter’s share in the production of it hence received public recognition from the time of the appearance of this treatise, twenty—six years after he joined William, even if not from the very beginning of the undertaking.
In the Gravid Uterus, William said that he expected to publish an additional plate representing “a younger human embryo than he had seen heretofore, and also a tubal pregnancy which he had drawn,” and he added that if he “should be prevented from doing this by any unforeseen accident,” it would be “in the power of many gentlemen of the profession to do it” for him, because he had “constantly explained his observations on this subject in his public lectures.” He apparently never found the leisure for doing these things and his professional friends apparently failed him, for according to Teacher[10] (1900), “He never carried out this scheme, and there is no detailed description of either of these cases, nor sketches of the embryo in the museum. The embryo and placenta from the extra—uterine case are the original of the illustration in Quain’s Anatomy ‘after Allen Thomson,’ tenth edition, vol. i, pt. i, p. 104, fig. 124. Professor Thomson sketched it for the seventh edition, 1867, in which it appeared as Fig. 603.” (pp. lix—lx.) According to this, then, the drawing did not appear in the posthumous volume on the uterus which appeared in 1794.
The Name, Decidua
Fig. 1. Figure 5 of Plate 34, after the Atlas of 1774.
According to Teacher (p. lii), William invented the name decidua for the spongy chorion, and believed (p. liv) in 1775 that the placenta “ ‘is partly made up of an excrescence from the uterus itself . . . the internal membrane of the uterus, which I have named decidua, constitutes the exterior part of the secundines, or after-birth . . .’ ”' Moreover, from the text accompanying Plate 34 of the Gravid Uterus, which appeared in 1774, it is evident that William regarded the decidua itself as a conception, which also indicates that he regarded it as a growth. He had a correct idea of the gross relations of the chorionic vesicle to the decidua, and the decidua externa (vera) and reflexa long were known as the Hunterian membranes. However, as far as I have been able to learn, he did not use the term serotina, as von Siebold‘ (1902) said, but spoke of a larnella externa instead. Webster[11] (1901) said that John named the decidua serotina and plainly implied that it also was he who named the reflexa, while Williams[12] (1903), on the other hand, wrote: “The terms reflexa and serotina date from the time of William Hunter, who gave excellent drawings of the decidual membrane in his atlas. Unfortunately, the author died just after its appearance and before the completion of the explanatory text, which was prepared by John Hunter and Matthew Baillie . . .” (p. 106), and he attributed John's idea of the formation of the decidua to William. This statement was partly corrected in a later edition[13] (1931), but not without the introduction of other errors, as the following quotation shows:
The terms reflexa and serotina date from the time of William Hunter, who gave excellent drawings of the decidual membrane in his atlas. Unfortunately, the explanatory text was prepared by John Hunter and Matthew Baillie, who considered that the decidua represented a fibrinous exudate from the lining membrane of the uterus, which not only formed a complete cast of its cavity, but also covered the tubal openings. They supposed, therefore, that when the ovum reached the uterine end of the tube its further passage was opposed by the decidua vera, which it was obliged to push before it as it entered the uterus, whence the term reflexa; consequently, after the latter had been pushed forward, a new exudate was de veloped behind the ovum, to which the term serotina(late) was applied (Figs. 140 and 141). (pp. 137-138.)
The figures referred to are “Diagrams Illustrating Hunterian Theory of Formation of Decidua Reflexa,” after the manner of Carpenter[14] (1845), page 601.
It is perplexing that an anonymous auditor[15] of William Hunter’s lectures stated (p. 85) that William said he first called the decidua “Caduca,” but changed it to decidua when he found that it was temporary. According to this auditor (p. 99), William also declared in his lectures that
The decidua in the early months lines the uterus loosely with it, [.] at [At] the edges of the placenta. [,1 It [it] divides into 2 strata, one of these runs under the placenta, between it & the uterus, & the other is reflected over the membranes. The last is called the decidua reflexa.
It should be noted that this statement is in complete accord with that written by William and contained in the explanatory text accompanying the tables of the Gravid Uterus. A good statement regarding this matter is found in Fasbender,[16] who, however, attributed John’s idea of the formation of the decidua to William, perhaps because as Duncan[17] (1868) said:
In 1780, . . . John Hunter inaugurated the errors in regard to the decidua which have been finally overthrown only in our own time and which still maintain a lingering existence in obstetric literature. (p. 230.)
Fasbender called attention to the fact that Vesalius and Fabricius had represented the decidua, and that this was done also by Noortwyk, who thought that it formed part of the chorion (substantia fungiosa chorii), an opinion held even by Baudelocque (1746-1810), according to Meckel (I, p. 306, quoted by and from Fasbender). Meckel said that Baudelocque rejected the idea of certain anatomists who regarded the decidua as a separate membrane.
In the legend to Figure 5, Plate 34, which is a good representation of a decidual cast, William spoke of AA as representing A bristle passed through the cavity of the conception, through a hole at each of the upper angles, which was supposed to be the termination of the fallopian tube. BB.
The same bristles coming out through a large hole at the lower angle, supposed to be opposite to the cervix uteri. C. A small hydatide, supposed projecting through the surface of the decidua, which had slender branching filaments shooting from the surface, supposed to be the chorion.”
As indicated by the drawing, the hydatid mentioned by William no doubt was a chorionic vesicle, as he thought, and apparently was devoid of an embryo and probably also of an amnion and a yolk sac. The “slender branching filaments shooting from the surface” manifestly were “magma reticu1e,” often so abundant in conceptuses retained after their death.
(To be continued)
Literature cited
1. Duncan, J. Matthews: On the life of William Hunter: The Harveian address, April 13 1876. Edinburg Medical Journal, 21 (Pt. 2), 1061-1079. 12576.
2. This opinion of Duncan's is substantiated by the fact that such an outstanding embryologist as Charles sedgwick Minot did not refer to the Hunters in his discussion of the Decidua in the Reference Handbook of the Medical Sciences by Buck, 1894.
3. Radl, Em.: Geschichte der bioiogischen Theorien seit dem Ende des siebzehnten Jahrhunderts. 1. Teil. Leipzig,
4. Bilikiewicz, Tadeusz: Die Embryologie im Zeitalter des Barock und des Rokoko. Leipzig, 1932. (Arbeiten des Instituts fiir Geschichte der Medizin an der Universität Leipzig, Band 2.)
5. Nordenskiold, Eric: The history of biology. Transgxeg fflpzrgi the Swedish by Leonard Bucknail Eyre. New Ypork, 1928.
6. Needham, Joseph: A history of embryology. Cambridge, 1934.
7. Hunter, William: Anatomia uteri humani gravid. tabulis illustrata (Anatomy of the human gravid uterus exhibited in figures). Birmingham, 1774.
8. Choulant, Ludwig: Geschichte und Bibliographic der anatomisehen Abbildung nach ihrer Beziehung aut anatomische Wissenschaft und bildende Kunst. Leipzig, 1852.
9. Von Siebold, Ed. Casp. Jac.: Versuch einer Geschichte der Gleslgiértschiilte. Zweite Auflage. Zweiter Band. Tubingen, 1902.
10. Teacher, John H.: The anatomical and pathological prepa!1'%1(§i)ons of Dr. William Hunter. Introduction. Glasgow, 1900.
11. Webster, J. Clarence: Human placentation. Chicago, 1901.
12. Williams, J. Whitridge: Obstetrics. New York and London, 1903.
13. Williams, J. Whitridge: Obstetrics. Sixth enlarged and revised edition. New York and London, 1931.
14. Carpenter, William B.: Principles of human physiology. Second American, from the last London edition. With notes and additions by Meredith Clymer. Philadelphia, 1845.
15. Anonymous: A treatise on midwifery, as given by the late Dr. William Hunter in his lectures; with a. description and representation of the uterus and its contents, in the different stages of pregnancy. Also the treatment of women in time of labour, etc. (undated MS. notes occupying pp. 71-181 of volume with cover title, “Ray on Teeth. Hunter. Gravid Uterus.”).
16. Fasbender, Heinrich: Geschiehte der Geburtshtllfe. Jena, 1906.
17. Duncan, J. Matthews: Notes on the history of the mucous membrane of the body of the uterus. William and John Hunter. In Researches in Obstetrics. Chapter 6, pp. 222-242. Edinburgh, 1868.
Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2020, December 4) Embryology Meyer - The Hunters in Embryology 1. Retrieved from
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35953 | World tree
Russian 19th-century ornament of the world tree.
Specific world trees include égig érő fa in Hungarian mythology, Ağaç Ana in Turkic mythology, Modun in Mongol mythology, Yggdrasil in Norse mythology, Irminsul in Germanic mythology, the oak in Slavic, Finnish and Baltic, Iroko in Yoruba religion,[citation needed] Jianmu in Chinese mythology, and in Hindu mythology the Ashvattha (a Ficus religiosa).
The Tree of Knowledge depicted, with Adam and Eve, where the Tree of life is also described as part of the Garden of Eden in the Hebrew bible.
General descriptionEdit
Scholarship states that many Eurasian mythologies share a motif of a tree whose branches reach the skies and whose roots connect the human or earthly world with an underworld or subterranean realm. A bird perches atop its foliage, and a snake or serpentine creature crawls between its roots.[1]
In specific culturesEdit
American pre-Columbian culturesEdit
• Depictions of world trees, both in their directional and central aspects, are found in the art and traditions of cultures such as the Maya, Aztec, Izapan, Mixtec, Olmec, and others, dating to at least the Mid/Late Formative periods of Mesoamerican chronology. Among the Maya, the central world tree was conceived as, or represented by, a ceiba tree, called yax imix che ('blue-green tree of abundance') by the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel.[3] The trunk of the tree could also be represented by an upright caiman, whose skin evokes the tree's spiny trunk.[4]
• Directional world trees are also associated with the four Yearbearers in Mesoamerican calendars, and the directional colors and deities. Mesoamerican codices which have this association outlined include the Dresden, Borgia and Fejérváry-Mayer codices.[5] It is supposed that Mesoamerican sites and ceremonial centers frequently had actual trees planted at each of the four cardinal directions, representing the quadripartite concept.
Baltic mythologyEdit
The world tree (Lithuanian: Aušros medis) is widespread in Lithuanian folk painting, and is frequently found carved into household furniture such as cupboards, towel holders, and laundry beaters.[7][8]
The world tree (Latvian: Austras koks) also was one of the most important beliefs in Latvian mythology.
Iranian mythologyEdit
Two winged bull are guarding a sacred tree, on a rhyton from Marlik, Iran, currently at the National Museum of Iran
A world tree is a common motif in ancient art of Iran.[citation needed]
In Persian mythology, Gaokerena or white Haoma is a tree whose vivacity ensures continued life in the universe. Bas tokhmak is another remedial tree; it retains all herbal seeds and destroys sorrow.[9]
Judeo-Christian mythologyEdit
The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the Tree of life are both components of the Garden of Eden story in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. According to Jewish mythology, in the Garden of Eden there is a tree of life or the "tree of souls" that blossoms and produces new souls, which fall into the Guf, the Treasury of Souls.[10] The Angel Gabriel reaches into the treasury and takes out the first soul that comes into his hand. Then Lailah, the Angel of Conception, watches over the embryo until it is born.[11]
Norse mythologyEdit
Greek mythologyEdit
Like in many other Indo-European cultures one tree species were considered as the World tree, beside this there were several other Sacred trees. In Greek mythology the olive, named Moriai was the World tree and associated with the Olympian goddess Athena. Athena's siblings include the Horae and the Moirai.
In a separate Greek myth the Hesperides live beneath an apple tree with golden apples that was given to the highest Olympian goddess Hora by the primal Mother goddess Gaia at Hora's marriage to Zeus.[12] The tree stands in the Garden of the Hesperides and is guarded by Ladon, a dragon. Heracles defeats Ladon and snatches the golden apples.
The Sacred tree of Zeus is the oak.[13]
Roman mythologyEdit
In Roman mythology the World tree was the olive tree, that was associated with Pax. The Greek equivalent of Pax is Eirene, one of the Horae. The Sacred tree of the Roman Sky father Jupiter was the oak, the laurel was the Sacred tree of Apollo. The ancient fig-tree in the Comitium at Rome, was considered as a descendant of the very tree under which Romulus and Remus were found.[13]
North Asian, Siberian, Mongol and Turkic culturesEdit
The world tree is also represented in the mythologies and folklore of North Asia and Siberia. In the mythology of the Samoyeds, the world tree connects different realities (underworld, this world, upper world) together. In their mythology the world tree is also the symbol of Mother Earth who is said to give the Samoyed shaman his drum and also help him travel from one world to another.
The symbol of the world tree is also common in Tengrism, an ancient religion of Mongols and Turkic peoples.
Hinduism and Indian religionsEdit
Remnants are also evident in the Kalpavriksha ("wish-fulfilling tree") and the Ashvattha tree of the Indian religions.
See alsoEdit
1. ^ Annus, Amar & Sarv, Mari. "The Ball Game Motif in the Gilgamesh Tradition and International Folklore". In: Mesopotamia in the Ancient World: Impact, Continuities, Parallels. Proceedings of the Seventh Symposium of the Melammu Project Held in Obergurgl, Austria, November 4-8, 2013. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag - Buch- und Medienhandel GmbH. 2015. pp. 289-290. ISBN 978-3-86835-128-6
2. ^ Miller and Taube (1993), p.186.
3. ^ Roys 1967: 100
4. ^ Miller and Taube, loc. cit.
5. ^ Ibid.
6. ^ Freidel, et al. (1993)
7. ^ Straižys and Klimka, chapter 2.
9. ^ Taheri, Sadreddin (2013). "Plant of life in Ancient Iran, Mesopotamia, and Egypt". Honarhay-e Ziba Journal. Tehran. 18 (2): 15.
10. ^ Scholem, Gershom Gerhard (1990). Origins of the Kabbalah. ISBN 0691020477. Retrieved 1 May 2014 – via Google Books.
11. ^ "The Treasury of Souls for Tree of Souls". Scribd. The Mythology of Judaism. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
12. ^ "Hesperides". Britannica online. Greek mythology.
13. ^ a b Philpot, Mrs. J.H. (1897). The Sacred Tree; or the tree in religion and myth. London: MacMillan & Co.
• Haycock DE (2011). Being and Perceiving. Manupod Press. ISBN 978-0-9569621-0-2.
• Miller, Mary Ellen, Taube, Karl A. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion, Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1993.
External linksEdit |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35962 | WikiFur:No personal attacks
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35987 | «Food Toxicology» - Great Essay Sample
«Food Toxicology»
Without any doubt, in the 21st century humans can observe a considerable increase in food containing chemicals. In this case, chemicals have significantly modified the way food is produced. Thus, it is distinctly apprehended that food additives have a profound impact on human lives; however, this influence is not always positive. To begin with, human stark reality indicates that food additives have totally increased in their number. According to statistics, five billion food-products are produced annually, thus this number is constantly increasing. This means that people have gained access to a large amount of food; however, its quality can be different. Consequently, it is highly recommended to investigate the nature of food additives and their influence on humans.
According to the definition, a food additive is identified as a chemical substance or mixed substance chemicals that are added to food during processing, production, and packaging. It is generally true that food additives can be classified into two groups, such as intentionally and unintentionally added food additives (Ensminger 1995). Intentionally added food additives are used for certain purposes, such as food processing or packaging. These additives can be classified into two categories, such as man-made and natural additives. A good example of natural additives can be seasoning that are added to food in order to preserve meat. Unintentionally added food additives can be found in food for the following reasons, such as disorder of packaging, or pesticide residues.
In the framework of identifying advantages and disadvantages of food additives, it is highly recommended to analyze a historical origin of these substances. Indisputably, the use of food additives is not a modern concept. According to history, food preservation goes back to the Early Stone Age when man first discovered fire and learned how to preserve food. During the Neolithic Period, humans invented salt that was used in order to preserve meat without cooking. Ancient history indicates the use of cloves with the aim to prevent meat from the spread of bacteria. The Egyptians used flavorings and different food seasonings, spices, and colors in order to attract customers and develop international trade. During the Middle Ages, the culture of spices began, since humans used seasoning in everyday life. However, in the 1700s, there was seen a new historical turning point, such as the establishment of the Spartan life in the USA. This style of life is famous for consumption of food right from the field. The denial of food additives at that time can be amplified by a farm-type life when people showed preference for fresh food. During the period of industrialization, one can investigate a distinct improvement of farm mechanization that is associated with the cross-country transportation systems, the invention of canning and refrigeration. Nowadays, food additives can have different functions, such as sweeteners in low-calorie products, emulsifiers in margarine, and various antioxidants that prevent food expiry (Smith & Hong-Shum 2007).
On the one hand, food additives can fulfill different useful functions that should be taken for granted. The adoption of food additives can be amplified by the technological development, since they help to keep food. Additives are good for food for five main reasons:
• They preserve the nutrient value. For instance, such food as margarine, butter, and milk need to be enriched with additives that help to preserve the vitamins of this food.
• They ensure food consistency. For example, food manufacturers use emulsifiers, stabilizers, and thickeners in order to give products a consistent smooth uniform texture.
• They improve palatability of the products. In this case, preservatives are an integral part of fight against food spoilage caused by bacteria, fungi, and mold. It is generally true that bacterial contamination is a constant threat to humanity, since it can cause deterioration of health and the rise of botulism. Moreover, antioxidants prevent fats and oils in baked products from the effect of rancidity.
• They control the acid- level (alkalinity) of food and its leavening. According to the law of chemistry, during the heated temperature, leavening agents’ release, thus they significantly react with baking soda and influence the rise of baked products (cakes, biscuits, and others).
• They enhance flavor and improve the way food looks. It is undoubtedly true that synthetic flavors considerably influence gustatory receptors and give food a desirable taste (Boris & Mandel 1994).
On the other hand, food additives can cause serious deterioration of human health and lead to death. For example, the 2008 Chinese milk scandal indicates the disadvantages of food additives and cast doubt on their functions of preservation of dairy products. The main issue in this scandal was an excessive use of melamine in dairy products. Thus, almost 300, 000 people suffered from this additive and there were six cases of children’s lethal outcome. Moreover, the high intake of food additives can cause cancer due to the increased level of the mutant cells. Furthermore, people who are suffering from phenylketouria should strictly avoid some of the additives, such as aspartame (a sweetener), since it can have a serious side effect, commonly known as tissue damage tissue (Stanley, 2004). Additionally, food sweeteners can lead to adiposity. The following diagram represents the danger list of food additives and diseases associated with them:
(U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2003).
Moreover, many scholars claim that food additives dramatically influence conditions of human health, since they can cause children’s hyperactivity, rashness, allergies, and nervous trepidation (Hodgson 2004). The following diagram will show dramatic figures of the influence of food addictives on children under age 18:
(Boris & Mandel 1994).
According to history of the USA, the level of obesity has grown after the invention of artificial sweetenerrs. It is mistakable to reflect that artificial sweeteners can decrease the level of calories in human organisms. Scientists point out that people will always feel hunger if they do not take the appropriate amount of nutrients (Rowe & Rowe 1994). Thus, nothing can substitute nutritious qualities of regular sugar. However, humans should not misuse sugar, since it can cause different heart diseases and obesity. Moreover, the supporters of healthy way of life proclaim that nothing can substitute fresh food. In this case, food additives considerably decrease the number of vitamins in food. Additionally, people should be aware of the fact that most of the canned food contains an increased level of salt, thus it can cause heart attack or stroke (Cruz & Bahna 2006). Finally, food additives can have a bad impact on environment, since preservation and processing of food require an excessive use of energy. Consequently, food additives dramatically influence environment contamination and contribute to the carbon greenhouse gases.
Indisputably, the level of food additives in food is under authoritative control of such organizations as World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Food and Agriculture Organization of the USA. On the regular basis the U.S. Food and Drug Administration checks the level of additives in food. Any products that have a consumption standard concerned are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Moreover, this institution elaborates a list of food additives (about 700 items) that are recognized as safe products for consumption (IFIC & FDA 2004). Moreover, in 1957 government adopted the Food Additives Amendment which guaranteed total safety of food and its labeling (Wender & Lipton 1980). The introduction of this Amendment considerably changed the way of manufacturing and expansion of food on the market. According to it, government has a right to prohibit manufacture of certain products if they are recognized as unsafe. Furthermore, in 1960 the United States Congress passed a new legislative system concerning coloring of food in order to demonstrate its safety (U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2003). Additionally, legislative practices, commonly known as Good Manufacturing Practices, thoroughly control the level of additives in food and their influence.
All in all, advanced technology and global modernization have a significant impact on the growth of food additives in products. It is generally true that food additives have both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, they protect humans from various bacterial diseases. On the other hand, they can dramatically infringe biochemical balance. Humans should know that no food additives can substitute the effectiveness of food and its nutritious values. Thus, people should daily consume fresh vegetables and fruits, and reduce the level of consumption of semi-finished products. Indisputably, the role of government is inalienable in the process of verifying food additives. In this case, the authorities need to adopt fully-fledged norms and regulations of food additives in order to provide healthy consumption.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/35994 | After a great many years of resisting, it has finally happened. I have joined the dark side.
I find your lack of faith disturbing...
I had heard for years (mostly from my teammates) that dark mode helped reduce "eye strain" and that sounded pretty good to me. But partially due to stubbornness and partially to laziness I refused to budge, refused to try out this cool new thing that all my teammates were raving about. That lasted until earlier this year.
For four months now, I've done everything in dark mode if it is available. Visual Studio, Chrome and Firefox, various web sites, my email client, the Ghost editor pages; if it has a dark or night mode, I'm turning that puppy on and relishing the relief it gives my poor eyes. I'm looking forward to the new Dark Mode in iOS 13; my phone is the other device I'm staring at most often and I'm sure Dark Mode will help reduce my headaches even further.
Oh, did I not mention that? I didn't switch because it was the cool trendy thing to do, no, I switched because I getting headaches so frequently I thought I must be bursting out of my skull. At one point I would develop a splitting headache almost daily, whenever I had been staring at my screen for most of the day. I tried several things (both external and internal, ergonomic and medicinal) to get my headaches under control, and while many of those helped, one thing seemed to do the most good: switching all of my applications to dark mode.
I can literally feel the difference. Reading dark text on a bright background now feels like burning my retinas out. Sites which don't offer a dark mode are sites that I leave as quickly as possible. It shouldn't make this much difference, but it does, and I'm surprised at how much I can feel it.
Photo by Jefferson Santos / Unsplash
In short, dark mode on my devices has helped me get my headaches under control for several months now. I'm a total believer in how dark mode helps reduce eye strain, as it certainly has for me. I'm living proof that dark mode provides tangible benefits. Problem is: tangible benefits for whom?
What I found surprising while doing some Googling about this topic is that there's no scientific consensus that dark mode is better for your eyes. Optics is a finicky science, and what's good for one person doesn't make it good for another. The only real consensus I could find is that it is contrast, not color, that provides the biggest difference in readability and strain. Black-on-white and white-on-black provide very high contrast, hence why they are the default.
I am no longer surprised as to why my teammates were raving about dark mode years ago. It works for me, and it's definitely helped ease my headaches. I appear to be one of the people for whom dark mode is a benefit, and I am grateful for it. But as with any new fad, it isn't some universal panacea for all people who suffer from eye strain, as much as I (and the companies issuing their own dark modes) want you to believe it is.
But, and hear me out, it is worth trying. I didn't because I figured my headaches had some other root cause, like my posture, and so I missed out on years of less pain and distraction. Don't be like me. Try out dark mode, and if it works for you, keep using it. If it doesn't, go right back to light mode. There's no downside.
I am eagerly awaiting the time where "dark mode vs light mode" becomes the next silly flame war topic, right after "tabs vs spaces", "command line vs GUI", and my perennial favorite "real programmers use X".
(And as soon as I can, I'm going to have to figure out a dark mode for this blog, one that doesn't completely undo the design.)
Happy Coding! |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36012 | Amel Mainsail Foil Repair
This was an issue we discovered on Harmonie last fall, just as we were getting ready to sail out the Chesapeake down to Florida. You are looking at the base of the mainsail foil, the part that rotates to furl the sail. The lines that secure the tack of the sail are loose to give a better view.
The bottom piece with the hole where the lashing lines go through is the shaft from the top of the manual furling gearbox. The visible part where the bolts go through is the coupling, and the part going up the top of the photo is the actual foil that extends to the top of the mast. The lower bolt goes through the gearbox shaft, and the upper bolt through the foil.
There has been some very bad advice given about how to repair this, and having done this fix, I hope I can prevent someone from investing a lot of time and/or money into what could prove to be a very short-lived solution. This is a very important part, that is under high loads, and there is quite a bit of detail to the repair that needs to be attended to correctly for a permenant solution.
When repairing this do NOT just drill a hole in the foil and put a bolt through! If you have a rigger do the repair, do not allow him to do it that way! This would concentrate all the turning torque on the thin walls of the foil extrusion. This WILL fail very quickly. Amel did not build the part that way, and for very good reason!
Amel’s original design for the foil drive bolt connection consisted of a piece of tubing through the foil that had an inner diameter matching the OD of the bolt (8mm) and an outer diameter of 10mm. Inside the foil on each side the tubing and bolt past through a reenforcing plate that distributed the torque of the bolt and tube to the concave parts of the foil extrusion, greatly distributing the torque load. Over time, with many back and forth loadings, the soft aluminum of the backing plates and foil extrusion begins to wear, the bolt begins to bear with full torque on the thin sides of the extrusion, and then the cracks start.
It is worth noting that the failure here is not the result of a sudden loading of force, but a long term wearing of the parts. Boats that sail a lot, and furl/unfurl the sail often will see earlier failure. Reducing the load on the system by being sure the sail is luffing when furling will certainly slow the damage, but will not eliminate it.
Some people have recommended just cutting the broken end of the foil and allowing it to drop down. That works, and is appropriate if you know that this repair has not been done before, and you have the extra length of foil to do it. We went a different route, and had a new coupling machined that is just long enough to replace the cutoff parts of the foil so the top of the foil still sits at the same height as Amel originally designed.
Our foil’s internal backing plates had been worn and distorted quite a bit, and were not reusable. That wear was actually the beginning of the failure of the entire system. Instead of machining new ones, we set up a much better way of distributing the torque loads on the foil.
Do this:
• Using the coupling as a guide, drill a 10mm hole in the foil to accept the tubing. Tap the tube in place, it should be a good tight fit. If it is at all sloppy, tape around it to be sure that epoxy does not leak out. If your tubing has been lost or damaged, aluminum tube with 1/4″ ID–3/8″ OD will work and be easier to source in the USA. The length of the tube should be equal to the OD of the foil.
• Carefully tape over the bottom of the foil. I used blue painters tape, but the type isn’t important. This will contain the epoxy while it cures.
• Just above the height of the top of the coupling when it is installed, drill a 1/8″ (3mm) hole in the foil.
• Mix a batch of epoxy and thicken it with high strength filler to a thickness where it will still flow, but just barely. Thicker than mayonnaise, thinner than peanut butter.
• Using a syringe, inject the epoxy into the hole you drilled in the side of the foil. Be sure you spread plastic or other protective material sufficient to catch and contain ALL the epoxy in case of a spill!
• Fill the bottom of the foil with the epoxy mixture up to, but NOT blocking, the small fill hole. It must remain open to allow any water to drain, very important in freezing climates! If you have any doubts, run a drill bit through this hole after the epoxy has cured to be sure you have a working drain.
• Once the epoxy cures, bolt all the pieces together. Use Tef-gel and nylon washers to isolate the stainless steel from the aluminum parts.
• Use silicone to fill the concave parts of the foil where they go down into the coupling to be sure that water can’t stand in here, freeze, and crack the metal parts.
The bottom of the foil is now one solid piece, with no point loadings where cracks can start, and it will not wear with use because none of the parts move relative to each other under load.
It is not often a repair on an Amel can be said to be “better than new,” but this one is.
© 2019 William Kinney. All rights reserved.
2 Responses to Amel Mainsail Foil Repair
1. John Clark says:
Hi Bill,
I had to make a similar repair on Annie. The foil had not cracked but had a lot of play. I found the through hole wallowed out. I did not see any backing plate inside the foil. Maybe a previous owner did the incorrect repair you warned about. I did almost exactly the same repair/upgrade adding a reenforcing tube of harder metal for the bolt to rest upon. I also reinforced with an epoxy, in my case JB Weld. I am glad to see that you had the same approach.
SV Annie SM #37
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36026 | Colonel Yuri A. Gagarin
//Colonel Yuri A. Gagarin
Colonel Yuri A. Gagarin
Inducted in 1990
First Person In Space, 1961
1934 – 1968
Colonel Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, Soviet Air Force, became a Soviet hero as the first person to break the bonds of earth’s gravity and venture into the weightlessness of space when he orbited the earth on April 12, 1961. He described sights never before seen by man.
“I could clearly discern the outlines of continents, islands and rivers. The horizon presents a sight of unusual beauty. A delicate blue halo surrounds the earth, merging with the blackness of space in which the stars are bright and clear cut.”
Gagarin’s space voyage carried the human race beyond its planetary boundaries. Only eight years later, a person walked on the moon.
Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in the city of Gzhatsk, Russia, into a collective farmer’s family. He graduated in 1957 from the Voroshilov Aviation Technical Academy and soon afterward became a military fighter pilot with the rank of Lieutenant. In 1960, now a colonel, Gagarin was selected to be a member of the first group of USSR cosmonauts.
After the historic flight, Gagarin entered the Zhukowskii Military Academy and completed his study in 1968. The world was shocked to hear of his tragic death on March 27, 1968, the result of an accident while test piloting a MIG-15 aircraft. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36029 | ECMAScript 2017, edition 8 of the ECMA-262 Standard (also commonly called ES2017 or ES8), was finalized in June 2017.
Compared to ES6, ES8 is a tiny release for JavaScript, but still it introduces very useful features:
• String padding
• Object.values()
• Object.entries()
• Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptors()
• Trailing commas in function parameter lists and calls
• Async functions
• Shared memory and atomics
String padding
The purpose of string padding is to add characters to a string, so it reaches a specific length.
ES2017 introduces two String methods: padStart() and padEnd().
padStart(targetLength [, padString])
padEnd(targetLength [, padString])
Sample usage:
‘test’.padStart(4) ‘test’
‘test’.padStart(5) ‘ test’
‘test’.padStart(8) ‘ test’
‘test’.padStart(8, ‘abcd’) ‘abcdtest’
‘test’.padEnd(4) ‘test’
‘test’.padEnd(5) ‘test ‘
‘test’.padEnd(8) ‘test ‘
‘test’.padEnd(8, ‘abcd’) ‘testabcd’
This method returns an array containing all the object own property values.
const person = { name: 'Fred', age: 87 }
Object.values(person) // ['Fred', 87]
Object.values() also works with arrays:
const people = ['Fred', 'Tony']
Object.values(people) // ['Fred', 'Tony']
This method returns an array containing all the object own properties, as an array of [key, value] pairs.
Object.entries(person) // [['name', 'Fred'], ['age', 87]]
Object.entries() also works with arrays:
const people = ['Fred', 'Tony']
Object.entries(people) // [['0', 'Fred'], ['1', 'Tony']]
This method returns all own (non-inherited) properties descriptors of an object.
Any object in JavaScript has a set of properties, and each of these properties has a descriptor.
A descriptor is a set of attributes of a property, and it’s composed by a subset of the following:
• value: the value of the property
• writable: true the property can be changed
• get: a getter function for the property, called when the property is read
• set: a setter function for the property, called when the property is set to a value
• configurable: if false, the property cannot be removed nor any attribute can be changed, except its value
• enumerable: true if the property is enumerable
Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptors(obj) accepts an object, and returns an object with the set of descriptors.
In what way is this useful?
ES6 gave us Object.assign(), which copies all enumerable own properties from one or more objects, and return a new object.
However there is a problem with that, because it does not correctly copies properties with non-default attributes.
If an object for example has just a setter, it’s not correctly copied to a new object, using Object.assign().
For example with
const person1 = {
set name(newName) {
This won’t work:
const person2 = {}
Object.assign(person2, person1)
But this will work:
const person3 = {}
As you can see with a simple console test: = 'x'
"x" = 'x' = 'x'
person2 misses the setter, it was not copied over.
The same limitation goes for shallow cloning objects with Object.create().
Trailing commas
This feature allows to have trailing commas in function declarations, and in functions calls:
const doSomething = (var1, var2,) => {
doSomething('test2', 'test2',)
This change will encourage developers to stop the ugly “comma at the start of the line” habit.
Async functions
Check the dedicated post about async/await
ES2017 introduced the concept of async functions, and it’s the most important change introduced in this ECMAScript edition.
Async functions are a combination of promises and generators to reduce the boilerplate around promises, and the “don’t break the chain” limitation of chaining promises.
Why they are useful
It’s a higher level abstraction over promises.
When Promises were introduced in ES6, they were meant to solve a problem with asynchronous code, and they did, but over the 2 years that separated ES6 and ES2017, it was clear that promises could not be the final solution. Promises were introduced to solve the famous callback hell problem, but they introduced complexity on their own, and syntax complexity. They were good primitives around which a better syntax could be exposed to the developers: enter async functions.
A quick example
Code making use of asynchronous functions can be written as
function doSomethingAsync() {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
setTimeout(() => resolve('I did something'), 3000)
async function doSomething() {
console.log(await doSomethingAsync())
The above code will print the following to the browser console:
I did something //after 3s
Multiple async functions in series
Async functions can be chained very easily, and the syntax is much more readable than with plain promises:
function promiseToDoSomething() {
return new Promise((resolve)=>{
setTimeout(() => resolve('I did something'), 10000)
async function watchOverSomeoneDoingSomething() {
const something = await promiseToDoSomething()
return something + ' and I watched'
async function watchOverSomeoneWatchingSomeoneDoingSomething() {
const something = await watchOverSomeoneDoingSomething()
return something + ' and I watched as well'
watchOverSomeoneWatchingSomeoneDoingSomething().then((res) => {
Shared Memory and Atomics
WebWorkers are used to create multithreaded programs in the browser.
They offer a messaging protocol via events. Since ES2017, you can create a shared memory array between web workers and their creator, using a SharedArrayBuffer.
Since it’s unknown how much time writing to a shared memory portion takes to propagate, Atomics are a way to enforce that when reading a value, any kind of writing operation is completed.
Any more detail on this can be found in the spec proposal, which has since been implemented. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36041 | random-access memory
(RAM) (Previously "direct-access memory"). A data storage device for which the order of access to different locations does not affect the speed of access. This is in contrast to, say, a magnetic disk, magnetic tape or a mercury delay line where it is very much quicker to access data sequentially because accessing a non-sequential location requires physical movement of the storage medium rather than just electronic switching.
In the 1970s magnetic core memory was used and some old-timers still call RAM "core". The most common form of RAM in use today is semiconductor integrated circuits, which can be either static random-access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random-access memory (DRAM).
The term "RAM" has gained the additional meaning of read-write. Most kinds of semiconductor read-only memory (ROM) are actually "random access" in the above sense but are never referred to as RAM. Furthermore, memory referred to as RAM can usually be read and written equally quickly (approximately), in contrast to the various kinds of programmable read-only memory. Finally, RAM is usually volatile though non-volatile random-access memory is also used.
Interestingly, some DRAM devices are not truly random access because various kinds of "page mode" or "column mode" mean that sequential access is faster than random access.
The humorous expansion "Rarely Adequate Memory" refers to the fact that programs and data always seem to expand to fill the memory available.
Last updated: 2007-10-12
Nearby terms:
random-access memoryRandom Access Memory Digital-to-Analog Converter
Try this search on Wikipedia, OneLook, Google |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36051 | Scroll to top
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36052 | Go Down
Topic: Complementary PWM channels Output (Read 3602 times) previous topic - next topic
How would the read keypad part of the code look if I'm using "Keypad.h" because I tried to set it in the setup but it didn't work.
How the keypad code works is very much dependent on your keypad hardware.
Mar 01, 2019, 01:47 pm Last Edit: Mar 01, 2019, 01:48 pm by jonnygainz
It's just a 4x4 keypad with numbers 0-9, letters A-D , * and #. The LCD display is a 1602 2 line display connected via I2C backpack on the 5V and SCL and CDA lines. And I'm using the Keypad library. Essentially what I need the function to do is wait for the input from the keypad and then set 4 global variables in the program based on which case I'm in. The case will have information such as inverter frequency, phase voltage value, modulation index and most important the period value. But this must happen in the setup
The rows and columns of the keypad are connected through pins 2-9
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36059 | Howdy, Stranger!
Want to play AD&D 2nd edition Forgotten Realms with a bunch of weirdos that're not from the forum?
ChowChow Member Posts: 1,192
edited February 2013 in Role Playing
(I wasn't sure if to put this thread here or to Role Playing - I mean, even if it's not a thread to roleplay in, it's still ultimately about this sort of a thing. I ended up placing it in here in the end: if a mod disagrees with me, feel free to toss it where it belongs.)
"Wow, what an amazing sales pitch."
Xan, you're not really helping.
"Well, I suppose I could help you by suggesting something better, but who are we kidding? This whole endeavor is dead, and what you are doing now will not change it."
I don't know. Maybe? Probably? Still worth a try, it's like fifteen minutes off my time. We'll bury the thing if this doesn't work.
Yeah, we have Xan here. Really. It's... kind of a long, stupid story, I can give you the details about that later.
Anyway, the sales pitch. I mean, if someone is actually still here and didn't leave in disgust and/or depression... okay, I'll try to give it to you as short as I can, the general idea and stuff. So blimey, how about some AD&D 2nd edition? It's set in Forgotten Realms (mostly), we play through IRC, and use actual rules instead of freeform - which means you'll probably have subpar stats and end up dying ignobly. We have dice and everything.
That's the short version. Now here's the long one, for if you have any questions: just click the spoiler tags, try to see if I managed to answer anything you had in mind already, then if not, ask away.
Q: I read the unhappiness thread! Is this the game you brought up in there once?
A: Indeed it is. As you can see, I've finally decided to ask if any of you were up for it. Since, you know, I've tried mostly everything else at this point, and I really do like this game, what we've done so far, and our plans for the future.
Q: You're not very good at this selling-it-to-people thing, are you?
A: No, I'm not... I'm far too self-conscious and critical to do anything like that, not to mention sad and desperate. So I just end up being honest and telling it to you bluntly and as it is, warts and all. At least it means you'll know what you're in for, and the people that do still want in (if any) are not as likely to be sorely disappointed.
This attitude will continue with the rest of the Q/A. Be prepared.
The general stuff and how this works:
Q: AD&D 2nd edition? What's that?
A: It's a short of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, which is a roleplaying system with a long and complicated history. It's the stuff Baldur's Gate uses as its heart, albeit rather simplified: having played that game will give you a decent bouncing board for the full version.
Q: Wait, there are rules for this thing? Can't we just hang around and roleplay?
A: Well, it is a roleplaying game, and all games need to have rules. They dictate whether we can actually find that trap or stab that dragon, what exactly our characters are capable of, and that sort of things. It's like playing Baldur's Gate again, except with worse characters and you can't quickload if you die.
Q: Okay, what about that IRC stuff you mentioned?
A: That means Internet Relay Chat, which is this nice tool that allows a bunch of people from all over the world to talk in real-time. It even lets us bring in the dice! There are several free clients you can use to join up: Chatzilla seems popular, for instance.
Q: What's this game all about in a bit more detail?
A: In theory, it's supposed to be this fun adventure all across Faerun (and beyond), seeing sights and having adventures and helping people. In practice, it's full of broken promises and misery, especially now that our primary DM disappeared without a word, leaving us stranded. There's just three of us: two are stuck in Waterdeep with no one to run them adventures for, and the third is going on a different adventure that I've been wanted to do for a long time, that was supposed to have four players but he's all alone instead. It's been incredibly depressing even before Xan came along.
Q: So this whole thing is all about sadness and depression? And I have to play a guy with really low ability scores (like less than 15 in everything!), can fail at things I do, and will probably die unceremoniously? Why would anyone want to do this?
A: Well, we wouldn't like it to be sad. As for the other part... well, it's kind of exciting? You're just a normal guy instead of a superhero, or at least initially started up as one, and can actually end up biting it? I mean, where's the challenge if you automatically succeed in everything? It can be fun for some people: not everyone's bag of thing.
In all fairness, there's actually not that much death around, although we do sometimes come close.
Concerning what we'd want of you, and stuff of time and region:
Q: Okay, I'm still here... though I might not know why anymore. What exactly are you looking from me?
A: What I'm looking for is people that have played AD&D before or are curious to do so, willing to learn the rules, with a good attitude and some patience, dedication, and time. It helps if you're European, b-...
Q: That's racist!
A: What? No... no! I didn't.... I didn't mean it that way! Did it come up that way? Sorry.
Uh, what I meant is, that Europeans are preferred because we're all from Europe, and we typically play at the sort of times when those from elsewhere around the world are either working or sleeping, which means odds are great you probably won't have the time to hang out with us.
Q: What if I'm from Africa?
A: Sure, that's cool.
Q: So what you need is time... how much of it, exactly?
A: The more the better! I'd really like it if you could at least hang out with us every day, or nearly so, and could get some gaming done at least a couple times a week. The less time you have, the harder it is to schedule things or just have some spontaneous, on-the-spot gaming going - all the more so if there are many people like that, and it ends up in this kind of weird juggling around where we're struggling to find a moment that's good for everybody. In the end, it typically ends up not working.
Q: When exactly are you active?
A: We can end up doing things at any time between noon and midnight, our time - that's about 5am to 5pm for you Americans, and I don't even know what for those from Asia, Japan, Australia, or elsewhere. In theory it leaves a lot of time for gaming or hanging out: the more you can be around at that time, the better.
Q: That's like twelve hours, every day of the week! You don't actually -play- that much, do you?
A: Not really. Compared to how much we're around, the amount we can actually play is significantly less, sometimes depressingly so. At the moment it's because, as was stated above, we're kind of stuck. Right now, the time we play would seem to have been set on 4pm EST fridays: hopefully it sticks.
If you were still around on other times, we might get little one-shots or other random stuff going.
Q: You're not actually expecting to find someone with that much time in their hands, do you?
A: Well, now that we've an actual gaming time, it seems a little more likely to me, now does it not?
Q: It turns out I have something important to do during the scheduled time of the game! Or maybe I just decided this whole thing just isn't for me after all and I want out. What should I do?
A: Just let us know about it, preferably beforehand. Pop up on IRC or toss me a PM through the forum, explain how things are, and odds are we'll understand just fine and - if it's the latter case - sorry it didn't work out for you.
Please don't just leave without a word. It has happened to us a lot, and it is a very rude thing to do.
Some more about the ruleset and AD&D, contains a helpful link:
Q: Right! So you mentioned something about rules... I don't have those books with me and you can't possibly ask me to spend money on this thing, can you? And wouldn't just downloading them illegally be, well, illegal?
A: It certainly would, and we can't ask you to do that. I mean, I have legitimate physical copies of much of the 1st and 2nd edition rules, and if you want to buy some for yourself then that's great, but for the rest of you there's quite a free and legitimate way to learn all the ropes! Just pop in here:
This site contains everything you need to start playing with us, in an easy-to-use (if rather pictureless and boring) format. And if you still have any questions regarding rules, we're available!
Q: Wow, that's... a whole lot of rules. I didn't think there would be so many huge books about these things! Baldur's Gate was so much easier to learn and play.
A: That's not really a question. But, well, yeah... Baldur's Gate really is putting it all in a very simplified manner, and even the stuff it does use is mostly under the hood, invisible for a casual player. It cut off entirely almost everything not to do with combat, leaving behind only the very barest skeleton of the actual game rules.
It's easier to learn than you'd think, though, once you get to the mindset.
Q: I have some experience with roleplaying, and have books not under the Purpleworm link. Can I use those?
A: These are decided in a case-by-case basis, typically considering whether it'll break the game, and whether some other book already brought up the same thing in a better way. Usually odds are fairly high that you're allowed to bring it in.
Q: I've got something I'd like to bring up from one of the AD&D 1st edition books! Can I do that? I mean, those are pretty close to 2nd edition and everything...
By all means! Anyone with knowledge of 1st edition and willing to bring up stuff out of it is more than welcome with us. Again, if some 2nd edition book brings up the stuff in a better way than the one you're bringing up, then we might end up using that instead... but if you want to roll up a genuine classic monk, something I don't think 2nd edition handled well at all, then go right ahead.
Some more advanced mechanics, what the party needs, a note or two for prospective DMs:
Q: Okay so, I've either familiarized myself with the basics, or am a veteran and knew them already. What do I start the game with?
A: Well, seeing how we've been around a bit and gotten some adventures done, you would begin with around 50,000 experience points - that'll put you around halfway through 5th level if you're a fighter - with perhaps a magical item or two. It's enough to pick you up the speed and allow you to hold your own among us: the way adventures and experience work in AD&D, you'll catch up properly real soon.
Q: Mechanically, what does the party contain? What should I think about adding in?
A: We have a fighter, a fighter/mage, and a mage. If you wish to avoid redundancy, then a cleric, a thief, a ranged warrior (just watch out about firing into melee!), bard, that sort of things, they're all good.
Q: Damn, I really was looking to play a mage! I love those arcane casters... anything I could do?
A: The mages we have right now cast mostly alteration/evocation, and enchantment. If you're looking to bring in conjuration, divination, or any other school not already mentioned, you can go ahead and find a place in the group.
You might still try to multiclass into a thief or cleric or something, though, to be even more useful.
Q: You said something about needing a DM? I've run some games back in the day... what if I wanted to take over the game?
A: Then you're just the kind of a person we're looking for! A game can't go anywhere without a DM, after all, and though the rest of us can do a little something, we're kind of in the sort of a locked position where we can't do anything and could appreciate someone to shake us off, as was mentioned. Besides, I'm sure you're better than the rest of us combined.
Q: What if I was a little reluctant to do so? What sort of things could a DM get out of this game that a player doesn't? It's really hard work running games, after all.
A: The lot of the Dungeon Master is not an easy one, and they have many considerations to think of that the players don't need to much care about. But there are two things we can offer to anyone who's up for taking over the job:
Firstly, you get to be pretty much in charge. The rest of us can run just a single character, but you are in control over the world around us and what happens in the game itself! You will decide what challenges we face, what monsters we fight, what intrigue we must contend with, and basically become the one above gods themselves.
Secondly, DMs are entitled to more experience than the players, and receive an extra 50% on top of whatever you give to us! So if you give us, say, 1000 points each after a successful quest, then your own character gets to have 1500. This doesn't include individual bonuses you give to just one of us, though, but it does include experience for combat and basically everything else given for everybody. If you run games a lot, your character soon ends up pretty strong!
Q: So does this thing have multiple DMs, then? How does that work?
A: It's pretty simple. Anyone that has an idea for an adventure that would take place somewhere nearby to where we're right now, is free to run it. Their character goes on a break (we typically make them "disappear" somewhere briefly, to avoid them hogging the spotlight), and they temporarily ascend to godhood, run their adventure to the others, and return. If someone else feels like it, they could run this little thing that explains what the temporary DM's character was up to in the meantime.
A bit more about the party, roleplaying fluff, and flavor and tone:
Q: You said you have a fighter, a mage, and a multiclass of both. Can I hear a bit more about what sort of characters those are?
A: Sure. We have a gentleman minotaur tourist, a chivalrous kobold chef , and frustrated tiefling with an itch she cannot scratch: the fighter/mage, fighter, and mage, respectively.
Q: Woah, wait, what? That's a little atypical... I was expecting something more standard, like a dwarven fighter and this elderly human mage, and the multiclass being a cute elven girl... you know. Wouldn't people give you some odd looks? Try to throw you out of towns?
A: It's certainly a possibility, although I guess it could depend on the DM as well. We typically tend to not give them much heed and just adventure, so the most people give are some glances and an occasional racist comment. In-character, we figure that maybe Drizzt has made people a little more tolerant in general or something: I mean, if a drow can be all right, then why not a kobold or a minotaur?
Or maybe they're just too confused by the minotaur having a tux and a monocle that they forget all about their torches and pitchforks. I dunno.
Q: So I guess this isn't one of those really dark & edgy games? You know, all gritty and realistic and that sort of a thing...
A: Not really, no. We're just trying to have fun, instead of being all contemplative about all humans being monsters, the true line between good and evil, that there are no true heroes, or whatnot. I know those are all pretty hot subjects these days, and I guess I can see why, but we're into the more classic stuff: heroic fantasy, the eternal battle between light and darkness, and managing to actually help people and make their lives better. Plus with a bit more of racial equality thrown in I guess, with all goblins not being monsters and the like.
Q: Can I still roll a moody dwarven cleric?
A: Sure, go right ahead. To be honest, we could maybe use a bit more normal in our games.
Q: When does the game take place, in-universe? And where's the party right now?
A: The year is 1361, midsummer. That's about seven years before Baldur's Gate rolled in, or eighty-one years after Icewind Dale. Captain Cordell is on his way to find the land of Maztica, Liriel Baenre is going to run around having adventures, and CHARNAME is a little brat and not a hero yet.
As for the party, the kobold and the tiefling are in Waterdeep, looking for a friend of theirs (the character of one of the people we lost, who was last seen in the city and they don't know in-character that he's gone). The minotaur is about to be thrown into Krynn through a portal.
Q: Krynn? You mean, where Dragonlance takes place? Could I roll up a character from there?
A: Sure. Just be prepared to either only play him or her during this one adventure, or get thrown into another world and probably never see your home again.
Q: Can I be a kend-
A: No. At least not initially. Not until we trust you. Even then, we'd prefer something else.
Q: What about the strange distant lands, such as Kara-Tur, Zakhara, or even the outer planes? I mean, you have a tiefling with you, don't you?
A: Yes, we do, and indeed, the other two characters are from Kara-Tur themselves, so-
Q: But there are no kobolds or minotaurs in Kara-Tur!
A: The kobold was adopted. The minotaur's father was this traveler guy that ended up having an affair with a local woman.
Q: Oh. That's still a little weird.
A: It's a weird game.
Anyway, as I was saying, feel free to roll up a character from some faraway continent, or even from Sigil if you like. Just come up with a convincing background on how they ended up in Waterdeep, and we're all set.
Q: All right, let's back away a little bit... how is XAN with you?
A: It's actually a little embarrassing. I was running one of those little adventures, and ended up tossing him in at random, because I needed a depressed character for what I was doing. At the time I thought it'd be where he would end up after Baldur's Gate, but only after the session I remembered that this takes place before the games... so yeah. He still hangs out with the group, but I'm not sure for how long. Could fall down the stairs at any moment.
"Go ahead... it will be a fitting end for this meaningless existence."
Oh come on, it's not fun to threaten if you don't even care.
Q: Is it possible we'll meet other characters from Baldur's Gate?
A: Yes, but we're heading north, so it'll be less likely from here on.
Q: Can I play a Bhaalspawn?
A: Better not. I'm not even sure there are any rules for that.
Q: A potential DM here again. Do you have any ongoing plotlines or hooks or other sort of things I should be aware of?
A: There might be a few things. I'll brief you about them if you take the job. I don't think any of them are particularly restrictive, though: just these little things you could pretty much ignore entirely.
Q: Wow, that was a lot to go through, and I'm still not entirely convinced... why should I go along with this?
A: If you find no other reason, then maybe just to prove Xan wrong?
Q: Okay, so what if I'm in? How do I find you?
A: Post your willingness to join in this thread, or PM me, and I'll send you another PM where I let you know how to get in touch. It's probably better than to post it here and have an influx of curious people and weirdos and trolls with no real intentions to actually play.
Q: You made it sound like a secret club now. Do you have a secret handshake too?
A: We probably would if we could meet in the real world.
Q: This didn't answer any questions at all!
A: I couldn't possibly catch them all, and I'm sorry. Feel free to ask your questions in the thread.
Welcome back! Are you here just because you scrolled past the tags without opening them to see if there's anything else, or did you actually read through that all? If the latter, then congratulations! You still interested in this? ...No?
Yeah, I'm not going to expect a massive flood of volunteers, but just one or two would be better than none. If you have any questions, chatter, criticism, or such, toss them to this thread. Let's talk. All right?
"Our quest is vaaaaain..."
(Update: The playing time has currently been slotted pretty well to fridays, 4pm GMT.)
Post edited by Chow on
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36062 | View Full Version : Import Errors + HUD
04-16-2010, 12:16 PM
EDIT: Problem is with ante tables only.
I had the older version that was working (the hud was popping up but I randomly started getting import errors), now I updated to 1.1.04b and hud is not popping up and I'm getting an import error for every hand that tries to import onto HEM. Please help.
*I created a new database which didn't do anything, still receiving import errors and hud does not pop up, I have the latest version of HEM and I also downloaded and applied the new hmhud.exe.
*Disabled firewall = no changes.
*Import + HUD works fine on non ante tables.
*HUD actually does pop up eventually on ante tables but after around 5-6 hands of play, but am still receiving import errors. I'm on Windows XP.
Please let there be an update today, for I cannot play poker until this is fixed. :(
04-16-2010, 02:06 PM
Please do not double-post, especially about an issue as widespread as this. We are working on a fix. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36072 | What’s The Stupidest Question A Stranger Has Ever Asked You?
Now I’m not one to pass comment but….
There I was, minding my own business yesterday, around two miles into a seven mile lunchtime run. I was happily loping along at a very respectable pace, enjoying the autumnal sun and surrounding scenery of the Lagan Towpath. This riverside walkway is always busy in the middle of the day with fellow runners, cyclists and strolling office workers. Today was no different, or so I thought.
Walking towards me were three twenty somethings, two males and a female between them. I paid them little attention, instead focusing on my pace and rhythm, like all elite distance runners do….ahem. It was therefore with some surprise that I noticed one of the men was gesturing towards me. He had something in his hand, which I couldn’t quite make out. A lost tourist, no doubt.
George R.R. Martin and that big iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland have a lot to answer for. The good people of Belfast are regularly accosted on their lunch breaks by roving gangs of octogenarian North American tourists seeking directions to the Game of Thrones studios or Titanic Museum. I know it’s done wonders for our tourist industry, but if there’s one thing I like less, it’s being asked directions mid-run. I mean, how rude!
Except, this wasn’t a holidaying pensioner, but rather a young man wearing a tracksuit and baseball cap. He wasn’t pointing a camera in my direction or waving a map of the city centre. Yes, he was holding something in his outstretched hand, but as I closed the gap between us, I realised it was none of the above tourist paraphernalia, but instead a cigarette. An unlit cigarette, for that matter.
I slowed as I approached him, and our eyes met. ‘Do you have a light?,’ he hopefully enquired. My jaw dropped to the ground as I considered my response and conducted a quick mental inventory. Nike trainers? Check. Base layer and running app. Yeah, I’ve remembered them. Packet of Benson & Hedges King Size and lighter? Darn, I knew I’d forgotten something. ‘Er….no,’ I replied as I hurtled past, a look of utter disbelief on my face.
I’ve been running for over four years and I’ve been stopped and asked some silly questions in my time. But this was a new one, even for me. I know runners who vape. I know runners who take the odd sneaky cigarette on a night out. I’ve even seen two guys standing puffing their brains out before the start of the Belfast Half Marathon, two years ago. But I’ve yet to encounter someone who would light up mid run.
My nicotine starved friend asked the question yesterday as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I’m still scratching my head about it, over 24 hours later. But it got me thinking? What’s the most pointless or inappropriate question you’ve ever been asked by a stranger? Or am I over reacting? Was my track suited friend posing an entirely reasonable request? There’s no such thing as a stupid question, right?
Post your experiences below. There’s no prize by the way. But you’ll have my undying gratitude.
Published by Fractured Faith Blog
39 thoughts on “What’s The Stupidest Question A Stranger Has Ever Asked You?
1. That’s really hard to say – I mean, does cat-calling and sexist queries count? Because some of those were properly stupid. “Hey, Babe, want a real man?” *blink* “Honey, are you not real? Do I need to find a USB port for you? “
Liked by 1 person
2. How bizarre! I always wonder what goes through people’s heads… I don’t typically get stopped when running, fortunately. It is interesting that when walking in strange cities, I sometimes get asked for directions. Does it look like I know where I’m going? Or maybe I just have an approachable presence.
Liked by 1 person
3. That’s a crazy question to ask. I’ve heard the term ‘hedged hedonism’ applied things like jogging to McDonalds or having a few pints after yoga class so perhaps what you encountered is the next level.
Anyway, what happened to me wasn’t a verbal enquiry but it was just as daft. I was in a cubicle in some public conveniences and someone knocked at my door. My first instinct was to grunt something like “occupied” but then it occurred to me that what an odd thing to do. I would have tried the door to see if it was locked but, knocking? What was I supposed to do, open it and invite him in?
Liked by 2 people
1. I never thought of knocking before, but it’s actually not a bad idea. Trying the door has been known to have undesirable consequences. If the lock is not functioning, the result could be an embarrassing moment for you both. (Please don’t ask me how I know. :/ )
Liked by 4 people
4. Ahahaha! That’s rich…I haven’t had anyone ask me oxymoronic questions before, but I did once have neighbors applaud as I ran, pregnant, uphill pushing a double stroller. That put a feather in my cap and a skip in my step.
Liked by 1 person
5. I can’t remember the stupidest question I, personally, was ever asked. However, years ago I was in an elevator with two other people: a man and a very pregnant woman. The man turned to the woman and asked, “Are you pregnant or are you just fat?” I was very surprised he make it out alive. 🙂
Liked by 1 person
6. I have to confess. I am one of those people. When I worked in a Christian bookstore a customer came in and asked me for a bible for the deaf. Believe me that is not a stupid question. There is one with a limited vocabulary. I didn’t know that then. But my response was the stupid question: “Do you mean an audio bible, the bible on tape?” No sooner were the words out of my mouth than I wanted to push them back in.I apologized and found the bible catalogue where I found what he was looking for.
Liked by 3 people
7. I was bundled up in winter gear – the whole nine yards: parka, snow boots, hat, scarf, mittens, the works – and pushing a shopping cart through a store when a woman stopped me to ask, “Do you work here?” Um…no….now I’m not completely positive, but I’m pretty sure store employees remove winter garb before they start work – don’t they?
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36077 |
*Freelance Traveller
The Electronic Fan-Supported Traveller® Resource
The Lottery
This story was originally posted to the pre-magazine Freelance Traveller website in 2001, and reprinted in the June/July 2014 issue.
Colin’s peaceful sleep was shattered by the irritating buzz of his alarm. He reached out from under the warmth of the bed covers and slapped at the offensive device. On the third try he located the switch and silenced it. Rolling over, he relaxed to go back to sleep.
The door to his quarters opened, and he heard the familiar step of his roommate.
The room exploded in a harsh brightness. Colin quickly pulled the sheet over his head. Under the protection of the sheet the glare was bearable, and the scout quickly returned to his peaceful slumber.
“Colinashaar! Wake up!” Startled by the loud call of his roommate and annoyed by her use of his formal name, Colin pulled the sheet from over his head and glared through squinted eyes at the woman standing before him.
Narra was already dressed and ready for her duty shift. Her uniform was pressed and nearly perfect, as always. He knew her morning routine. She’d spent the last two hours lifting weights, running, eating breakfast, and getting ready for her shift while he still slept. Colin couldn’t figure how someone could be so eager to get out of bed before they absolutely had to, much less just to lift weights.
“Get moving Colin, you have less than a half an hour to get ready for your shift.” She snatched the sheet from him. “I cannot imagine why you are so willing to sleep until the last minute like this. You have to rush every morning to keep from being late. This kind of laziness reflects poorly on the honor of your family.”
Colin frowned as he rubbed his face, and ran his hands through his sleep-matted short blond hair. Narra’s speeches about family honor always baffled him. She might have been raised in the middle of an Aslan colony, but he hadn’t; Colin could never understand what honor could possibly have to do with sleeping. He perked up as he detected the familiar aroma of his favorite morning beverage. “You brought me some caf!” Colin couldn’t begin a workday without the aid of caffeine in a beverage.
“Yes, I grabbed a cup for you as well. Get in the fresher, it will still be hot when you get out.”
Rubbing his eyes, he slowly stood to his feet and stretched. A hot cup of caf could forgive nearly any speech Narra made, as far as Colin was concerned.
“I’m movin’…”
It wasn’t until he was nearly dressed twenty minutes later that he realized that his muscle bound roommate had completely avoided mentioning the significance of this day. It was his last day in the scout service, and he would officially be a civilian this time tomorrow. He knew she was disappointed that he was leaving the service, but she wouldn’t admit it to him. It wouldn’t fit in that strange sense of honor and personal discipline she had. He liked Narra, and she’d been like an older sister to him from the moment he’d arrived and been assigned to share the room with her. He’d never shared his quarters with a woman before in the entire six years he’d been in the scouts, but he drew her as his roommate when he arrived. He didn’t mind, really. It was nice that she wasn’t his type of woman. She stood a half a head taller than Colin, easily outweighed him by several kilos, and acted more Aslan than human at times. They’d gotten to be friends fairly quickly, and living so close made it easier to see her as a sister. A really big sister.
Colin was finally dressed and ready for his duty shift. He checked his watch. He had four minutes to get to his post. Taking careful sips from his steaming cup of caf, he walked down the light gray metal corridors of the asteroid base known officially as Imperial Interstellar Scout Service Way Station 86. He remembered coming to work here two years ago. Most of the scouts here called it Dead End Station. Everyone knew that the administrators who were assigned here were those who were waiting out the last few years before retirement. None of those ever assigned here had spectacular careers, and typically it made for an unpleasant assignment for the field scouts. Nobody wanted this assignment, and most of the scouts here grumbled about the boredom. He thought it funny that he had requested this post. It was a great way to shock the new arrivals.
Passing another scout in the hallway, Colin stopped sipping from his cup long enough to nod in silent greeting to the Droyne. Colin understood how to relate to most of the sophonts assigned here, and could talk to nearly all of the major races without difficulty, but he had difficulty with the Droyne. They just weren’t very talkative. Something about that caste system, he guessed. Being assigned a specific role in society that would be the same for your entire life seemed like it took away all the surprises. He didn’t understand how they could stand it. He unlocked an access hatch on a maintenance area, ducked inside and closed it quickly. This was one of his favorite shortcuts to save time getting to his duty station, as it avoided the lifts crowded with people changing work shifts. Climbing down the metal ladder into the pipe filled chamber, Colin saw a tech from the night duty shift finishing up some work on the waste processing system. Poor soph’, the guy was covered in black goo. Colin hated those assignments; the station’s processors always smelled terrible and usually took much longer to clean than nearly other repair. Knowing the fumes would still be fairly strong, he closed the lid on his drink, held his breath, and walked by quickly. His eyes watered as he reached the fumes, but he was through them and into the next corridor in mere seconds. Once in the hall, he exhaled heavily and wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked at his half full cup of caf, then decided against it. He tossed it into a wall-mounted trash chute and continued on. He’d get a second cup once he’d picked up his tools and received his first assignment of the day.
Reaching the door of his duty station, Colin tapped the door’s OPEN button on the panel, and nothing happened. Muttering to himself about the poor quality of technicians on the station, he tapped it harder. Nothing. Finally, on the fourth try, it clicked and the door slid quietly open. Colin glanced at his watch as he stepped into the room.
The somewhat raspy voice of his supervisor called out, “Blackwell, you’re late. Again.”
Colin paused, and couldn't decide which was more annoying; the fact that in fact this time he really wasn’t late, (thirty-three seconds didn’t count), or that his superior still didn’t turn around to speak to him. Dabrick was like that all the time; the man reveled in his authority, and in the keen ability he had to annoy people while doing his job. It was probably the reason he’d been assigned here last year. The man had the diplomacy skills of a groat herder.
Colin made a mental vow to avoid getting into another argument with this man. He would not have it ruin his last day in the service. “I’m here, Dabrick. What’s on the list?”
“I’ve got a Sulieman that just arrived in Bay Eight. It needs a few minor adjustments. Since you’re on ship support this week, you handle it.” The man keyed a few instructions into his computer console, and the datapad on Colin’s belt chimed to confirm receipt of a new file. “It needs the air filters scrubbed and treated.”
Colin thought he detected the faint suggestion of a smile on the side of the man’s face, but he couldn’t be sure. The guy was probably expecting an argument. The special cleaning chemicals the filters required smelled almost as bad as the waste disposal work. No one wanted that duty if they could avoid it. Colin opened a locker with his thumbprint, and picked up a command code passkey from the rack inside. The electronics inside that little white plastic card would allow him to access any scout vessel assigned to his station. He also grabbed a set of work coveralls and his tool belt.
“Okay. Sounds like it might take a while. I’ll let you know when I’m done.” Dropping the card into his uniform pocket, he headed for the door.
“Blackwell,” The man coughed in a feeble attempt to hide his amusement. “You’ve got eight work orders today. Let’s not have any last day lagging about, or complaints about the jobs, eh lad?”
Colin reminded himself he wasn’t going to get into an argument. Twice. Forcing himself to keep a pleasant tone, he replied with a simple “Affirmative.” When the door slid quietly closed behind him, he realized that was the first time he’d ever gotten the last word with Dabrick. Interesting. This might still be a good day after all. He headed toward the mess hall to get a fresh cup of caf.
Walking out into the huge natural rock cavern that had been converted into a sealed docking bay, Colin admired the sparkles of light coming from the veins of ore in the walls. He strode toward the old vessel parked on the far side. The 100-ton Sulieman scout/courier was one of the most common ship designs in the Imperium, and the one he was most familiar with of all of the scout vessels in service. He slowed as he approached, enjoying the sight. He loved flying these little ships whenever he got the chance. He walked slowly toward the wedge-shaped vessel, heading for the airlock back by engineering. Colin admired the sleek lines of the craft, appreciating both the appearance and the capabilities of such a small starship. He smiled to himself. If everything went as he expected tonight, he would be getting one of these ships for his personal use.
The Imperial Scout Service had a most unusual custom that dated back nearly a thousand years. The ships had changed a great deal over those years, but the tradition still remained. When accountants decided a courier vessel had reached the end of its operational cycle, it wasn’t destroyed; it was retired, so to speak. Any sophont electing to leave the scout service at the end of his term had the opportunity to enter the Lottery, which was a chance to win the use of one of these ships as a personal craft on Detached Duty. All scouts were trained in flying the ships as part of basic training, so any scout could enter the Lottery. The winner would be free to roam the Imperium in the vessel at his leisure, enjoying the ability to explore and travel to his heart’s content. He’d even receive free fuel and maintenance at any scout base any time the ship needed it. They were subject to recall, of course, should the need arise, but that rarely happened. Since most scouts spent two thirds of their service time in space, it seemed only fair in Colin’s mind to try to spare some of them the drudgery of spending the remaining part of their life after retirement stuck on some planet.
The greatest thing about this tradition was that you didn’t have to be retiring to take advantage of it. Any scout had a chance to win. Colin had signed his mustering papers the second he was offered the chance. He knew he had good odds to win. That’s why he’d volunteered for this remote location to serve for the last two years. He had checked the files, and knew that several ships would be coming up for the lottery here during the year, and he wanted to be here to get one. Once he did, it would be the start of the good life. He had lots of ideas on that…
“You going to work on my ship or stand there staring at it all day?” A woman’s voice interrupted Colin’s thoughts.
“Huh? Umm, yeah, I’m here to work on it.” He looked over at the approaching scout. She was human, a slender woman with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore the typical scout service uniform, and had a bright smile. Colin noted the communications branch patch on her uniform with the field operations insignia below it. The woman carried a sealed courier data pack under her arm, and a vacc suit storage bag slung over the opposite shoulder. He didn’t recognize her as having previously visited the station, and her bag’s strap blocked her uniform’s name patch. She had beautiful long black hair, bright green eyes, and a pretty smile. Colin was sure he would have remembered her.
She glanced at his name patch. “Hi, Blackwell.” She paused, then smiled. “Wait, you’re Colinashaar Blackwell?”
He nodded in reply, slightly puzzled, as his only his last name was on his uniform. “I go by Colin. Only my mother and my roommate call me Colinashaar.”
She nodded. “I’m Leese, Leese Kavid. Your mustering out party is tonight, right?”
Now he understood. An informal notice was posted weeks in advance of any event; scouts loved any excuse to have a party. A mustering out ceremony was a really good excuse for a celebration. “Yep, this is my last duty shift. I’ll be flying out tomorrow, if all goes well.”
She gave him a knowing smile, “You’re going for the Lottery?”
He grinned back, “Of course. Who wouldn’t? See you at the party tonight?”
She nodded with a friendly smile. “I should be there. If the reply to this data isn’t urgent, I’ll be leaving during tomorrow’s night cycle. If it is, I'll need the ship ready to go ASAP.”
Colin checked his datapad. “The work order is short, so it should be ready before lunch. Just the filters and a few little adjustments, right?”
“Yes, that’s all for now. Good luck tonight, in either case.”
“Thanks.” Colin headed off toward the rear of the ship. He glanced back toward Leese for another chance to look at her, only to see her doing the same thing. Her eyes widened slightly and she turned away quickly. Ooops.
Slightly embarrassed and flattered at the same time, he climbed up the narrow metal ladder and entered the small ship. He figured cleaning the filters shouldn’t take too long if he put some effort into it, and then he could get changed in time for lunch. He wondered if he’d run into to Leese in the mess hall. If he didn’t, it wouldn’t be for lack of trying on his part. He keyed a note on his pad to make sure he verified the ship was fully fuelled before she left. It’d be a nice touch, and wouldn’t take much longer.
Dropping a spanner into the tool kit, Colin wiped his forehead with his jumpsuit sleeve, and checked his watch. The end of the duty shift had finally arrived, and he was relieved. He had finally finished making several adjustments to the jump governor on an X-boat, and his shoulders were tired from crawling around in the narrow maintenance access ports. He closed the maintenance hatch carefully and reactivated the seals. He was tired, hungry, and ready to call it a day.
Dabrick had assigned him eight work orders today, apparently in celebration of his last work shift in the service. Colin had been determined to get them finished before the end of the day. He wasn’t sure why, except maybe down deep inside he figured that letting his work slip today might somehow impact the drawing tonight. He didn’t want to risk anything that might bring him bad luck. He had missed his lunch hour completely, only stopping to grab a protein snack bar from the vending machine in the tech support office about two hours from the end of his work shift. He’d hated losing the chance to talk to Leese again, but he hoped he would see her at the party. Colin gathered his tools together and headed back to the tech support office. The asteroid station’s night cycle was about to begin, and the party would start an hour after that.
Colin was tired, but anticipation of the Lottery kept him going. Entering the large room, he saw several of the other techs had already returned and dumped their tool packs on the workbench. Dabrick was the only man in the room, still hunched over his computer console. He was most likely studying efficiency reports. Colin keyed the locker, replaced the command code passkey in its rack, closed it back and then dropped his tool kit on the bench with the others for use by the techs on the next shift.
Dabrick’s rough voice called out softly. “Hey Blackwell.” Colin turned and looked at his supervisor, wondering what last parting shot the man had been saving until now. The older man still faced his console, but had stopped working.
The man turned slightly, looking at the wall near Colin’s head. “You did good today. Worked real hard. Good luck tonight.”
Stunned, Colin was at a total loss for words. Uncertain of exactly what to say in reply, he finally nodded in thanks and headed for the door.
The party had already started when Colin arrived. He wasn’t really late, but no scout he knew was going to wait for the guests to show up before they started having fun. He spotted a few of the technicians he worked with on a regular basis, many mixed with a number of sophs he didn’t recognize at all. Narra was there, talking to Leese of all people. Colin wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not, so he hurried over to say hello and see how much damage control this conversation might need.
As he arrived, Narra looked over at him. “Hello Colin. Well, it appears that one of our guests of honor has finally arrived,” Narra grinned playfully as she looked at Colin’s wary expression. “Is there some kind of problem?”
This was very different and out of character for normally reserved Narra. He chose a cautious reply. “Umm, no. Don’t think so. You?” She shook her head negatively, and smiled with that same predatory gleam in her eye. It was the same one she wore when sparring in the gym, and that always meant he was in for some pain.
Leese smiled brightly. “Hi, Colin, good to see you again.”
“Yeah, you too,” he replied, his eyes still watching Narra. When he turned to Leese, she was staring at him curiously. He shrugged. “Sorry, I’m not used to seeing my roommate so, well…”
“Happy?” Narra interrupted, “Hey, this is a party. Everyone can cut loose tonight, right?”
Colin looked into Narra’s bright green eyes, but saw nothing that made him suspicious. She was still smirking, and he shook his head. “Sure. I’m getting a drink, I’ll be right back.” He took a step toward the bar, then turned back to Leese. “Sorry, can I get you something?”
Both of the ladies laughed at something that was apparently just out of Colin’s perception. Puzzled, he decided to leave it alone for the moment and headed for the bar. After waiting for a few minutes at the counter to place his order, and shaking the hands of a few scouts who wished him well, Colin managed to acquire his drink. Before he could make it back to Narra and Leese, the chime rang twice, indicating time to begin the ceremony had arrived.
The tall and lean form of Administrator Varuk appeared on the room’s small dais and motioned for quiet. Stage lights flared to life, and the man blinked and then raised his hands again. When the chattering fell to a reasonable level, he cleared his throat.
“Greetings Gentles, I hope you are having a good time.” This brought a chorus of cheers. “Glad to see it. Well, I want to get the formalities over with quickly so you can get back to having fun. We are here this evening to bid two scouts farewell; Madrin Lun and Colin Blackwell. Madrin has served with the scout service for thirty-two years, and is finally retiring. He has been offered a position as technical consultant in General Products’ Engineering Division. He will be missed, but we know he’ll finally get his chance to buy a house and stay in it for a while.” Sporadic laughter followed, as the older man’s friends obviously knew the inside joke.
“We know that Field Scout Mandrin Lun’s vast knowledge and experience will be missed here. Come up here, Mandie.” The administrator shook the man’s hand, and Colin saw the quiet engineer shifting from foot to foot nervously trying to hide his embarrassment. Varuk looked at his wristwatch. “In six hours your service will officially be over, you will have retired from the service, and will be free to go to your new position.” More cheers followed.
Colin clapped politely. He was glad to see the old engineer treated so well. He also hoped he wouldn’t be entering the Lottery. If the old man did so, Colin’s chances of winning would be low. Each four year term of service purchased a scout a token in the drawing. Colin had two to his credit, but Mandrin would have eight. Eight to two odds were not good, but Colin had a feeling the man didn’t want a ship. A lot of old timers wanted to settle down, and Colin hoped the engineer was one of them. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. If he didn’t want the ship, Colin had it. There was no one else in his way. He wiped the sweat from his temple, waiting for the decision.
“The datapad contains your transfer papers, as well as a small gift of appreciation from the staff. Since you have elected not to participate in the Lottery, we have purchased a high passage ticket for you to travel to your next destination in style. The booking agents have placed you on the Emerald Dawn, one of the nicest passenger cruise liners this side of Core. Enjoy this, Mandie, you’ve earned it.” The room nearly exploded in applause and shouts of encouragement, and the older man flushed bright red. The administrator smiled and clapped for a moment, and then called out, “Somebody get this man a drink!”
Colin blinked and realized he’d stopped breathing. With a sigh of relief, he laughed. He’d done it. Mandrin, bless his heart, had given him the ship. Colin cheered and clapped in appreciation of the older scout, particularly in his Lottery choice. He hadn’t really known the old man, but he knew generosity when he saw it.
Narra appeared as if by magic at his side, poking him playfully in the ribs, making him jump. “You’re next, you know.” Colin nodded. She grinned. He realized Leese was nowhere to be seen. Before he could ask Narra about her, Varuk continued.
The administrator shielded his eyes from the bright lights on the stage and peered into the crowd. “Where is Colin Blackwell?”
Narra elbowed his roommate. “Get up there, what are you waiting for?”
He looked up at the tall woman, and into her knowing gaze. She had that smile still. She knew something he didn’t. His stomach rolled, and he hesitated. She playfully pushed him forward. “Go on…”
“Blackwell? Oh, here he comes.” The lean man adjusted his work uniform and smiled. “You know, I was not surprised when this young man was on the muster list. Field Scout Colinashaar Blackwell, known by most as Colin, is also known to others by less favorable names.” The man smiled broadly and laughter followed.
“Colin, come on up here.”
Reaching the dais, he stepped up and into the spotlight. He stood next to the administrator of the station, a man with whom he’d shared only a few conversations, some of which had not been positive. Colin really didn’t like him much, but that wouldn’t matter after the night cycle ended. Varuk had a gleam in his eye, and it echoed the expression he’d seen on Narra’s face. This did not bode well.
“Young man, I am not surprised to find you here. I know you’ve been looking to win the Lottery for a long time, and even requested a transfer to this outpost over two years ago in planning for that very event.” The young scout smiled nervously, the bright lights of the stage blocking his view of most of the people in the station’s small auditorium. He nodded in reply, a bit too nervous to actually say anything.
Varuk continued. “Colin, even though you’ve been a thorn in my side at times in the past, I never like delivering bad news to anyone. When Field Scout Nagharush returned from her courier run, the vessel she was piloting suffered a static charge overload when exiting jump space. The vessel blew out several major power relays and had to be towed back into port.” He glanced at the card in his hand. “Scout/Courier XJ5-29B-16349, affectionately known to many as Wombat, was the only vessel scheduled to be rotated from active to detached duty. It would have been on the table for the Lottery. I’m sad to say that Wombat is sitting in docking bay twelve with several burned out power relays in her maneuver drive. Sorry to have to tell you this, Colin, but there will not be a Lottery tonight.”
Colin froze. The room was silent, all eyes were on the young man who’d gambled everything on this chance and lost. He didn’t know what to do. He had never contemplated losing the Lottery. Everything he’d planned for the past four years had just slipped through his fingers, and now he was out of the service. No ship, and now not even a job. Unsure of what to say, he looked back at the Administrator, and saw the man was smirking. He knew that Varuk disliked him, but he didn’t think the administrator would be pleased to see Colin fail to get the ship he’d hoped to acquire. He thought furiously, desperately seeking a way to escape this unexpected twist of fate.
“Gentles, there is no Lottery tonight. Colinashaar Blackwell will rotate to detached duty at midnight. The Wombat is off the flight line, and thereby ineligible for the Lottery.” Varuk paused, and then smiled at Colin. “The only way that this young man can have his ship is if she returned to flight capable status before he is transferred to detached duty.” He held up a little white plastic card; a technician’s command code passkey. He tossed it to Colin, who barely managed to catch it. Varuk grinned. “You’ve got six hours to get that ship operational, Mister Blackwell, I’d suggest you get moving.”
Sprinting down the corridor with his engineering tool belt and a fresh pair of coveralls in his arms, Colin entered Bay Twelve and spotted the Wombat sitting in the corner of the docking bay. A small stack of brand new repair parts sat next to the vessel. Beside it stood Leese, wearing a matching set of work coveralls and unwrapping a spool of power cable. Colin slid to a stop in surprised shock.
The attractive young woman grinned at him. “You going to stand there all night, or are you going to give me a hand fixing this thing?” |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36090 | Quote of Note #19: Gracious Help to those in Need
100_4602“If anyone . . . appears before you who is in need of your kind services, you have no reason to refuse him your help.
Suppose he is a stranger; yet the Lord has pressed his own stamp on him and made him as one of your family, and he forbids you to despise your own flesh and blood.
Suppose he is despicable and worthless; yet the Lord has deigned him worthy to be adorned with his own image.
Suppose that you have no obligation toward him for services; yet the Lord has made him as it were his substitute, so that you have obligation for numerous and unforgettable benefits.
Suppose that he is unworthy of your least exertion; but the image of God which recommends him to you deserves that you surrender yourself and all your possessions to him.
If he has deserved no kindness, but just the opposite, because he has maddened you with his injuries and insults, even this is no reason why you should not surround him with your affection and show him all sorts of favors. You may say that he has deserved a very different treatment, but what does the Lord command but to forgive all men their offenses and to charge them against himself.”
John Calvin, The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1952/2004/2005, pages 37-38.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36098 | Whenever a piece of software does something that makes me think this is awesome I find myself blocking out the actually software and picturing how it’s working behind the scenes
• How did they implement this
• How can I use this
• How can I modify this
I often think as developers we have this urge to tinker and understand how things work. As someone who has this urge I can’t think of a better industry to scratch that itch than software.
• For the most part this is no risk of blowing something up.
• If something goes wrong it’s pretty easy to revert back to the original state without having to buy new parts.
• The freely available information on the web for learning is growing at an incredible rate.
• Javascript! The language people love to hate, If it’s on the web you can view/tinker all you like.
• Open Source just pick up any projects the interest you and hack away.
I recently switched from Spotify to Deezer mainly due to a year’s free subscription coming with a Sonos 1. I imported my playlists across from Spotify and began using the Deezer web client. It quickly became apparent that there were a couple of issues with long playlists
They get paged and initially only the first 40 tracks are loaded. Subsequent pages are loaded if you manually click a track further down the playlist. However the following actions do not load the subsequent pages and leave you only the first 40 tracks
1. Let a playlist play though without touching the controls and it will loop back to track 1 after track 40.
2. Click the next and back buttons.
3. Click the shuffle button.
This can be got round by loading a playlist and manually starting the last track in the list. At this point all the tracks are loaded in and you can perform any of the actions above with no issue. I decided to do some digging and see if I could provide any valuable information in a bug report to Deezer. It really is amazing how much you can learn with just the Chrome Dev tools and Fiddler. Below is the process I went through…
I opened Deezer in chrome, picked one of my long playlists and hit F12 to display the Developer Tools. Once Open I switched to the sources tab to see what JavaScript files they were loading. In this case they were loading a lot of content from different places, I decided to start by only looking at the JavaScript they were loading off their own CDN.
By then clicking on one of the JS files you can see it’s had all its formatting and whitespace removed.
Luckily in this case it’s not been minified and variable names are intact making debugging much more manageable. First things first though we need to sort out the formatting. I took a copy of the 5 JS files in the Deezer CDN, loaded them in to my editor and ran JS formatter on them to reformat them. I then saved these formatted JS files to my disk.
We now need to get the Deezer site to use our local JS files rather than the ones on their CDN. To do this I used fiddler and created an auto responder rule so when one of those files is requested it serves up the one on my disk.
To do this…
1. Open Fiddler and make sure “Capture Traffic” is checked in the file menu
2. Refresh the Deezer website
3. Find the files you want to swap out in the capture list and click one
4. On the right click the Auto Responder Tab
5. Check “Enable Automatic Responses”
6. Click Add Rule and it should create a new rule for the file you selected
7. Click the dropdown in the bottom right and click find file
8. Pick the file you saved to your local disk
Now when chrome requests that file from the Deezer CDN Fiddler will serve the local version.
Once this has been done for each of the JS files we’re interested in we can start debugging with nicely formatted code. At this point I ran a few searches across the code for things like
• nextSong
• getSong
• nextTrack
You can do a global search across the sites source by pressing Ctrl+Shift+F in dev tools.
After a bit of reading the source I could see most of the stuff in core referenced an object called _dzPlayer that contained my first 40 playlist tracks. After some more digging I found that the reason only the first 40 are initially loaded is…
var params = {
playlist_id: playlist.id,
lang: SETTING_LANG,
start: 0,
nb: 40,
tags: false
These params are then used to fire an AJAX call to request tracks 0 to 40. I wanted to then see where more tracks were paged in, after finding a function called nextSong I decided to put a console.log in there to alert the current track number and the amount of tracks currently loaded with this…
console.log(_dzPlayer.trackListIndex + ":" + _dzPlayer.trackList.length);
I refreshed the page and didn’t see any log messages in my console. After a quick search for console.log I found that Deezer set Console.Log to {} when in release mode, I like this approach as it stops debug messages appearing on users machines. I removed the line that reset console.log, refreshed the Deezer client and sure enough there were my log messages appearing in the console each time a track ended or I clicked skip.
My logs looked like this
So it’s clearly never paging more results in. The jump from 40 to 80 then to 814 is where I manually clicked a track in the grid triggering the playlist to be fully loaded.
So it looks like the loading of the rest of the playlist only occurs if you click a track. After some more searching I found a playAllTracks function in naboo.js. This has a loadAllTracks call which sounds like exactly what I was looking for. I put a breakpoint in here and it became apparent this is only being called when tracks are manually selected and not when you use the Next/Back buttons or a song finishes.
It looks like the left panel of the client (The bar with the Next/Back/Shuffle commands) is using the JS code in core.js which doesn’t do any paging. Where as the playlist grid on the right is using naboo.js both of which have a slightly different play method. Naboo has this play method…
this.play = function($line) {
try {
switch (options.type) {
case "playlist":
id: options.id,
type: type,
data: songsList,
index: index,
context: oSelf.getContext()
return true;
} catch (e) {
Where as core has this play method…
play: function($this, data) {
try {
EventsDelegation.setSentToMobile($this, data);
return true;
} catch (e) {
As you can see naboo calls PlayAllTracks where as Core does not. I’ve no idea why they are using 2 different play methods or what the separation between Naboo/Core really is. I would have thought the grid could be raising messages that then get piped through the same functions in core as Next/Back and Shuffle but this is not the case. This is a fairly large app and I’ve only spent an hour or so looking, I’m sure there are lots of good reasons for this separation of naboo and core but as an outsider I have no idea what they are.
At this point I’ve found this issue and could probably hack an ugly fix in but really it’s time to raise a bug report with this information so it can be fixed at the source. I then went looking for somewhere to log bugs for Deezer but have not been able to find anyway to do this, I’ve tweeted both the Deezer and DeezerDevs account with no response. That’s when I decided to write it up here as I think this has been a fun exercise and it’s really neat how much you can do with remote JavaScript. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36123 | Don't Touch the Blue Stuff! (Where the Hell is Tesla? Book 2)
The sequel to Where the Hell is Tesla? is here – and something called the "Blue Juice" is coming. For ALL of us. Luckily, me (Chip Collins), Pete, Nikola Tesla, Bobo, and FBI Agent Gina Phillips are here to kick its ass, and send it back to last Tuesday. Maybe. Or maybe we'll fail, and everyone in the multiverse is doomed. (Seriously, you might want to get that underground bunker ready.) Either way, I've got to get home to Julie and find out... woah, I'm not about to tell you that right here in the book description! TMI.
Purchase now in Audiobook, Ebook, and Paperback formats:
WARNING: If you haven't read Where the Hell is Tesla?, I apologize in advance, as you might get completely freaking lost. If you do, just call my apartment, I'm usually around, and I'll fill you in. (If I'm not stuck in the ITA.) - Chip.
Reviews for the original novel...
About the Author
From Rob's Blog: |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36139 | Vox amPlug 2 AC30 Review – Enhanced Functionality And Features
What are the differences between the first generation of the Vox amPlug AC30 and the now enhanced Vox amPlug 2 AC30 successor models? In the following article we will compare both models to each other and you can also watch my Vox amplug 2 review of the AC30 below. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36156 |
Creating a successful digital strategy involves understanding your consumers and their needs, evaluating your existing digital channels and assets, identifying your goals and the digital tools you’ll need to achieve them and creating a series of actions to achieve your goals.
By doing this, you will create a digital strategy that focuses on using innovative technologies that will in turn improve business performance.
About Us
Do you have a project you’d like our help with?
Work with us |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36171 | Book Review: Clean Code
The books is divided into four parts. Chapters 1 to 14 go through the basics, including naming, functions, formatting, comments and error handling. Then there are three example programs that are refactored to follow the recommendations given in the first part.
The three example programs are a command-line argument parser, a part of JUnit, and SerialDate, a class for date handling. The examples are quite extensive (together almost a hundred pages), with a lot of source code. All these (and all examples throughout the book) are written in Java.
Next is a chapter called “Smells and Heuristics”, which lists problems in code (and the solutions) in the form of 66 rules.
Finally there is appendix A, with more on concurrency, and appendix B, which has the complete source code for the third example program (SerialDate, almost 60 pages of program listing).
What I Liked the Most
Small. This is the one-word summary of the whole book. Functions and classes should be small (no, even smaller than that). It is much easier to make sure a function does only one thing if it is very small. Dividing the logic up in many small functions also gives you more opportunities to insert meaningful names that explain what is going on.
Niladic and monadic functions. The fewer arguments a function takes, the better (a niladic function takes zero arguments, a monadic one, and a dyadic two). I hadn’t thought much about the number of arguments before, but Uncle Bob makes a convincing case for using very few.
Flag arguments. A flag argument to a function is a boolean argument that controls what should be done. This is really an indication that the function should be split up in smaller parts.
Error handling. The argument for using exceptions for error handling instead of returning error codes is that it is much easier to separate the error handling from the regular logic. Also, using unchecked exceptions (instead of checked) avoids cascading changes when a new exception is added deep down in a hierarchy.
Newspaper Metaphor. The source file should be organized like a newspaper article, with the highest level summary at the top, and more and more details further down. Functions called from the top function come directly below it, and so on down to the lowest level and most detailed functions at the bottom. This is a good way to organize the source code, even though IDE:s make the location of functions less important, since it is so easy to navigate in and out of them.
Javadoc only for API:s. The recommendation is to only use Javadoc for documenting API:s that are exposed externally. Internally in a system, Javadoc documentation usually only results in unnecessary noise. I have seen this problem a lot, and I completely agree with this advice.
Long refactoring examples. The refactoring of the three example programs was quite valuable because it showed how to apply the recommendations in practice, and how the refactorings interact. This is often missing from other books. The disadvantage is that it can be pretty hard to follow when you don’t have an IDE to help you navigate and search.
What I Didn’t Like
Concurrency chapter and appendix. This chapter and appendix felt a bit out of place in the book. I also didn’t like the advice on instrumenting the code to try to find threading issues. In my experience, you don’t find multi-threading bugs that way. Instead, the best way is proper load testing, where the software is in heavy use in realistic scenarios.
Chapters 11 (Systems) and 12 (Emergence). These two chapters, despite promising titles, didn’t contain much of interest. They can easily be skipped without missing out on much.
State to reduce the number of arguments. In order to reduce the number of arguments a method needs, member variables are sometimes introduced instead. While this reduces the number of arguments, it also forces you to examine how the member variable is used in the rest of the class before you have a complete understanding of what the method does. This in my mind is worse, even if the class is small. I prefer the functional style, where it is enough to know the input arguments to have a complete understanding of what will happen.
No emphasis on dynamic error information. When an exception is thrown, it should always contain as much dynamic information as possible, to help in debugging. For example, if a network connection fails, include the port number and IP address the connection was intended for. Without this information, trouble shooting is a lot harder. Unfortunately, this is not mentioned at all in the book.
Wildcard imports. Rule J1 advocates importing a whole package rather than individual classes if two or more classes are needed from the package. However, then your program can break when a class is added to a package you import (more in e.g. this StackOverflow question). A long list of explicit imports at the beginning is not a problem in my view, it is easy to skip over.
There is a lot more good information in this book than I have been able to cover here. You can also tell that the advice is based on decades of experience developing real life software systems. I rate this book as one of the top three books on software development (the other two are Code Complete and The Pragmatic Programmer), and I think all programmers should read it.
Have you read Clean Code? What did you think? How does it compare to other books on programming? Let me know in the comments.
13 responses to “Book Review: Clean Code
1. It’s been over a year since I read this book, and I wasn’t impressed. If you write a book on writing clean code you better make sure you don’t write “their” and “it’s” when in the context is should be “they’re” and “its”. Esp. if Enhlish is your native language.
If you want to propagate the use of simple functions with small bodies and descriptive function names, then you shouldn’t write function names that are long and harbour a lot of complexity — I’m referring to looong function names containing the words ‘and’ and ‘not’.
The book has many silly mikstakes (p. 300: Q: “Did you catch the single-digit error [in the gven definition of pi]?” My answer: “Yes, both of them…”), but also mistakes that should never ever occur in a book on clean pogramming. Such as p. 302: the Employee apparently has a member function named isPayday.
“Employee.isPayday”… Seriously?
2. PS: in case you want to point out that my posting contains typos [as well].. There’s a difference between an impulsively written post on a website (by a non-native English speaker, btw), and a book that is proof-read by a half dozen of people. 😉
3. I’ve read Clean Code and thought it was meant for people who code for big corporations. Where you have a lot of time and not a lot of requirements. Where you can spend years restructuring your object oriented architecture before you talk to your first customer. Where you can claim you’ve done your work because your program passes a set of tests. Where you hold weekly meetings to discuss a chapter of Clean Code.
But what inexperienced developers see as clean code is superficial code that does nothing. Real production code is ugly and battle-hardened. It’s the product of years of iteration, of solving customer edge cases, of working around framework bugs.
Before reading your artcile I did not imagine anyone would put this book in the same league as Code Complete or The Pragmatic Programmer.
• Why in heaven would production code always be ugly because it is so-called battle-hardened and patched. You should always try to make sure the code is still clear, self-explanatory when possible; especially when the domain is complex and/or large.
Hell, even when coding on contests where speed is of essence I still want to code cleanly, so that I can debug faster (and hope to beat the likes of you who think that ugly is fine if the lifespan is only ten minutes… and then having to debug 20 minutes).
• Totally agree. Most of the time, I’m under pressure, because the next deadline is coming closer in high speed – I don’t have time for unnecessary things and I especially don’t have time to dig through ugly code if everything changes once again (and things ALWAYS change). Writing clean code pays off – especially when you don’t have much time, because you can apply changes in a clean way without too much risk for breaking other things.
In my company are enough people who don’t share this oppinion, though. They are the ones who are extremely fast in delivering the first running version and later on the ones cursing and debugging more and more with each increment – and their stuff gets more and more buggy and their need for time to get the job done increaes rapidly…
4. Here it is an additional book reference in the same subject. I have read this first and then I have found Clean Code not so interesting.:
Code Craft by Pete Goodliffe
• Thanks for the tip. I wasn’t aware of that one, but I’ll check it out.
I also saw on your blog that you’ve reviewed “Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering”. That’s a great book! I wrote a review of it on Amazon a long time ago (now that I looked it up it turns out it was 12 years ago – time flies!).
5. Nice. What do you think about clean coder? Of course some parts of it obviuse, but sume is really usefull.
• Thanks! I haven’t read it (yet), so I don’t know. There are other books higher on my list to read, but if I get around to reading it, I’ll post a review of that one too.
6. I love this kind of books, reading code is a big deal on any big project. The cleaner and easier it is to find functionality the better experience for the programmer and the less money spent working with death code/code analysis and duplicated code.
There is only one thing I don´t agree within your comments. I think Javadoc should be put almost everywhere… it is a tempting idea to use descriptive method names instead of good comments. For instance we know that it is not always possible, if you design by contract a single contract will have many different implementations and although the contract should be very well documented also the caveats of each implementation should be.
Even if your are the only programmer chances are that you will forget the implementation details and the intend of your method so a one liner comment might save you a lot of time… as long as it is a good/updated one liner.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36174 |
– A –
The general term apostle means “one who is sent” and can be used in reference to any missionary of the Church during the New Testament period. In reference to the twelve companions chosen by Jesus, also known as “the Twelve”, the term refers to those special witnesses of Jesus on whose ministry the early Church was built and whose successors are the bishops.
Also known as a congregation, it is a community of believers gathered for worship as the Body of Christ.
– B –
The collection of Christian sacred writings, or Scriptures, accepted by the Church as inspired by God and composed of the Old and New Testaments.
Blessed Sacrament
Another name for the Eucharist, especially for the consecrated bread and wine when reserved in the tabernacle for adoration or for distribution to the sick.
– C –
One who is preparing for full initiation into the Catholic Church by engaging in formal study, reflection and prayer.
The person who oversees any act of public worship. In a Eucharistic Liturgy or Mass, the celebrant is always an ordained priest.
– D –
From a Latin word meaning “ to separate or to distinguish between,” it is the practice of listening for God’s call in our lives and distinguishing between good and bad choices.
A follower of Christ. Based on a word for “pupil” or “student”, used both to designate those who learned from and followed Jesus in New Testament time ( the disciples) and those who commit themselves to follow Him today.
– E –
The day on which Christians celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead; considered the most holy of all days and the climax of the Church’s liturgical year.
Also called the Mass or Lord’s Supper, and based on a word for “thanksgiving,” the central Christian liturgical celebration; established by Jesus at the Last Supper.
– G –
“ The Good News” of the revelation of God in and through Jesus Christ, proclaimed initially by Him, then by the Apostles, and now by the Church; also refers to first four books of the New Testament that focus on the person, life, teachings, death and Resurrection of Jesus.
The free and undeserved gift of God’s loving and active presence in the universe and in our lives.
– H –
Holy Communion
Another name for the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Holy Water
Blessed Water used in ritual sprinkling or when making the Sign of the Cross as a reminder of Baptism.
– I –
The gift of the Holy Spirit to the whole Church by which the leaders of the Church – the Pope and the bishops in union with him – are protected from fundamental error when formulating a specific teaching on a matter of faith and morals.
The process by which a nonbaptized person is prepared to become a full member of the Church. The three Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist.
– J –
Jesus Christ
The Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, who took on flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus in Hebrew means “ God saves” and was the name given the historical Jesus at the Annuciation.
Christ, based on the word for “ Messiah,” meaning “the anointed one,” is a title the Church gave Jesus after his full identity was revealed.
– K –
Kingdom of God
– L –
All members of the Church, with the exception of those who are ordained. The laity share in Christ’s role as priest, prophet, and king, witnessing to God’s love and power in the world.
The liturgical season of forty days that begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of the Paschal Mystery in the Easter Triduum.
– M –
The name given to the official teaching authority of the Church, whose task is to interpret and preserve the truths of the Church revealed in both the Scriptures and Tradition.
Another name for the Eucharist. Based on the Latin word missa, meaning “to be sent,” refers to the Dismissal in which worshippers are to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”
– N –
New Testament
The twenty-seven books of the Bible written during the early years of the Church in response to the life, mission, death and Resurrection of Jesus; also, another name for the New Covenant established between God and humanity by Jesus.
Nicene Creed
The formal statement or profession of faith commonly recited during the Eucharist.
– O –
Old Testament
The forty-six books of the Bible that record the history of salvation from Creation, through the story of ancient Israel, and up to Jesus; also refers to the Old Covenant established between God and the people of Israel in God’s encounter with Moses on Mount Sinai.
– P –
A specific community of believers, commonly but not always defined geographically, whose pastoral and spiritual care is guided by a priest or other leader appointed by a bishop.
Based on a word for “father,” the successor of Saint Peter and Bishop of Rome, who holds the office of the papacy. Often called the Holy Father.
– R –
Resurrection, the
The passage of Jesus from death to life on the third day after his Crucifixion; the heart of the Paschal Mystery and the basis of our hope in the resurrection of the dead.
God’s self-communication and disclosure of the divine plan to humankind through creation, events, persons and, most fully, Jesus Christ.
– S –
In Catholic life and worship, the seven efficacious signs of God’s grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. (The sacraments are efficacious in that they bring about the spiritual reality they signify.)
Generally, the term for any sacred writing. For Christians, the Old and New Testaments that make up the Bible and are recognized as the Word of God.
– T –
The receptacle in a church in which the consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist are reserved for Communion for the sick and dying; sometimes the focus of private and communal prayer and adoration.
In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, this is the name given to the action of changing the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
– V –
An action that shows deep reverence for something sacred. For example, on Good Friday, individuals in the assembly venerate the Cross by bowing before or kissing it.
– W –
Adoration of God, usually expressed publicly in the Church’s official liturgy, as well as through other prayers and devotions.
Monday – 6:30 a.m.
Tuesday – 8:15 a.m. and 7 p.m
Wednesday – 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Friday – 6:30 a.m.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36181 | Hong Kong News
Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Dec 04, 2020
Should Robots Pay Taxes?
Federal taxes are due this week in the US. But what about our synthetic coworkers? Should they cough up, too? Jordan Harrod, a Harvard-MIT PhD student, has something to say on the subject.
COVID-19 means the US delayed this year's federal tax deadline to July 15; if you've procrastinated, it's time to get to it. But while tax collectors will only accept payment from humans in 2020, will we soon be sending tax bills to robots, too?
That's the question posed by Jordan Harrod, a medical engineering and neurobiology PhD student at Harvard by day and YouTube creator by night. On her channel, she digs into geeky topics like whether it's possible to make artificial intelligence speak and the aforementioned android taxation.
As she explains, US companies are taxed based on how many employees they have. More machines and fewer people mean less money paid in taxes. So the argument is that companies that lay off human workers and move to automation should not necessarily get a big tax break, and the taxes they do pay should go to retrain or support people who are now out of a job.
Ike Witt 134 days ago
How are you going to define what a robot is? If companies pay when they layoff and replace with a robot, what about a new company that never hired a person to layoff in the first place? Will Walmart pay tax of the Self Service checkout lines?
Oh ya 135 days ago
All i can say is .... liberalism find the cure
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36209 | How to Write Answers to the Point (TIPS) for Board Exams | Helpline for ICSE Students (Class 10) @icsehelpline101
How to Write Answers to the Point (TIPS)
One of our readers, Ms. Brinda Menon, recently asked us how to write answers to the point. She mentioned that she always seems to end up writing way more than required. We thought it was a great question! That’s why we chose to address her query through a separate blog post. If you’re facing the same problem, we hope you find these tips helpful!
So, how do you avoid verbosity?
Draft sample answers to questions. How? First, make a list of sample questions that can be asked on a topic. Next, frame general answers for those questions.
If the subject is History/Civics, write those answers in points.
Avoid long sentences. Use keywords or technical terms where applicable.
If the subject is English Literature, use precise vocabulary words.
Search for phrases that convey the same meaning in fewer words. If you’re not sure, then ask your English teacher if there is a single word that can be substituted for a longer phrase.
Another way to break the habit of writing more than required is to reread your answers.
Whether they are the sample answers you have drafted as above or answers that you have written in previous exams (e.g. mid-term exams, pre-boards, etc.), go through your answers again.
Ask your teacher if you can go through your papers and if he/she can sit with you and point out where you could have framed a better answer.
Identify the problem. Is it lack of proper vocabulary? Do you keep repeating points only to remember later that you had already mentioned them? Or do you rephrase the same point in different words?
To avoid this when writing answers, ask yourself whether the next sentence that you write will add any value to the answer in the form of a new point, a novel example, etc. If not, then don’t write it just for the sake of filling up the page.
Remember, quality over quantity.
This brings me to the final tip: keep a check on the voice in your head that keeps telling you that you need to write more. The voice that makes you question whether you’ve written enough for the given marks allotted to the question. Don’t fall prey to that voice and write more than required.
Brevity is a skill. Learn to embrace it.
We hope these tips help you, Brinda, and our readers who are about to give their 2019 ICSE Board Exams. All the best! 🙂 If you have further questions, you are welcome to voice them in the Comments sections below.
Also see more tips on how to write and improve your answers for the ICSE Board Exams:
How to Write Your ICSE Board Exam Papers (TIPS)
ICSE English II: How to Improve Your Answers for Poetry (TIPS)
English I: How to Improve Your Essays (TIPS)
5 thoughts on “How to Write Answers to the Point (TIPS)
1. Sayan says:
I’m sorry but wasn’t this site for fetching the notes on OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING-JAVA? If not, can you please help me out by giving the correct link for acquiring the notes on OOP…
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36235 | How to Insert a GIF into Keynote
Add a GIF to your presentation in six quick and easy steps.
InsertGif installation
1. Install InsertGif
Click the download button below to install InsertGif. Once prompted, drag InsertGif into your applications.
Only available for MacOS.
Download now
2. Open Keynote
Open to the slide you'd like to add a GIF to in Apple Keynote.
Keynote icon
InsertGif installation
3. Open InsertGif
Click the icon or press the shortcut key to open a search bar.
4. Search for a GIF
Type a search term, hit enter, and use your arrow keys to scroll through results.
InsertGif search
5. Insert your favorite GIF
Once you’ve found “the one”, click the down caret and select “Copy as HTML Image to: Apple Keynote”.
6. Paste the GIF
Right click on your slide and select “Paste”. |
global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36241 | Workers Compensation
Workers Compensation (also referred to as Employers Liability Insurance) is designed to protect you and your employees when they suffer an on-the-job accident. Some states require Workers Compensation and some states don’t. While Texas doesn’t require businesses to have it (this is known as self-insuring), most companies that businesses subcontract with require businesses to have it. This is one of the most important coverages to have if you own a business with employees, to mitigate you from liability in the event you are ever sued.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36262 | ~Airplane Mode~
You are in my pocket lying right next to my warm body, your face resting against my hip as my phone rings a dropped signal. We communicate in a trio of clouds above mountain ranges, our words aloft in a whirlwind of natural frequencies. The Appalachians, the Smokies, the Rockies, create an electrified, rarefied atmosphereContinue reading “~Airplane Mode~”
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36264 | New release: Bad Fae Rising!
Today is the long-awaited release day of Bad Fae Rising, book 3 in the Paranormal PI Files! Curious about Clark’s past? Things really come to a head in this one. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Here’s the link:
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36266 | operationaly Acetaminophen-Mag Salicylatel
I'm sure this work drama is getting boring so I will change the subject. Dom's laser disc player arrived today so that means that sometime in the future, we will have a party (or three) to celebrate the fact that we can watch Star Wars as god intended.
Also, there are MANY highly anticipated (by geeks, anyway) movies being released soon including Batman Begins (tomorrow), Land of the Dead (the 18th) and The Devil's Rejects (the 22nd). If time permits after R2R this weekend, does anyone wanna see Batman Begins at Pacific Place? And who's on for seeing the other two on their respective opening nights?
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global_05_local_5_shard_00002591_processed.jsonl/36278 | 1. Sign Up
From the recording Trio
Friend let me tell you a story ‘bout a house at the edge of town
There in the dark blue midnight a dirty little deal went down
The boy said, “Man, I got to have all the money, all the women, all the fame
The man said, “Son, that won’t be no problem. I can get you what you want today.”
Once you sign up, sign up, once we get you in the program
Flash! went the smoke and the lightning, the contract he did sign
It’s gonna take the church unusual to break him out of this one alive
He signed up, he signed up, now they got him in the program
Truth can be so complicated, easy to believe the jaded lie
It’s always the same situation, the cradle to the grave
The moment of truth at the crossroads: will you be the master or the slave
When you sign up, sign up, once they get you in the program
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