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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18336	Make your own free website on Page 27 Click on image to view a detailed image 2.3 Blazon and emblazonment The blazon is accurate The crosses on the arms of Greece and Italy (Savoy) look similar; however, the former does not touch the edges of the shield and is therefore termed "couped". Greece (couped) Incoming censorship sealing cachet Italy (Savoy) Cover sent from Montepagano Municipality with transit postmark of Giulianova dated 12.9.1863, to the prefect of the Province of Teramo (arrival postmark dated a day later on back). Page 27 Next Exhibit Page Previous Exhibit Page
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18338	Spider Web of Fifths This is a tool I created called the Spider Web of Fifths. It’s like the Circle of Fifths on steroids, showing not just major and minor keys but all seven diatonic modes in every key signature: Performances of My Music Occasionally, when searching the web, I find videos of choirs from around the world singing my music. Here are a couple of them… First, this is a choir from the Maribor Conservatory in Maribor, Slovenia, singing my arrangement of the African American spiritual “I’m Gonna Sing.” The choir is directed by Jasmina Dobaj and accompanied on piano by Otmar Plavcak: Second, here is the Hosanna Choir from Full Gospel Holy Light Church in Lakewood, Washington, singing my arrangement of the African American Spiritual “I Want to Be Ready” (in Korean!):
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18346	Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Turtles in Tuxedos Me “She needs to stop being such a tease” No such luck. Lemme 'splain. Me: Darling, isn’t it? Lady K: Grand, even. Me: Splendid. Lady K: Delightful. I can do this. The Hair. Wiry black. Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Deadly Frogger and Comfort Food I think anticipation makes me a little crazy. For example, whenever I land in a new place for the first time, I tend to be amazed that it doesn't look exactly like what I had pictured in my mind. But of course what I picture is often insane. When I first landed in Germany I was a trifle disappointed to not be immediately in the midst of gingerbread houses, not in the middle of rainbows and leprechauns in Ireland, not a Von Trapp in sight in Austria and was astounded to find that Cape Town was actually a city and that we weren't plunking down right in the middle of the savannah. So I guess I shouldn't have been all that shocked by my introduction to Beijing. My first thought upon landing was "I am going to be sick. Violently and explosively sick" but that was mostly due to the turbulent landing. Which ended up being a constant as far as landings went whenever entering that city's airspace. Later, after clearing customs and baggage claim and all that other assorted airport nonsense I finally took my first steps outside and took a deep breath of the muggy air. A few minutes later, the coughing had subsided and I wiped my streaming eyes on the back of my hand as I peered suspiciously at the heavens. I don't know what I expected to see, a long thin dragon undulating by perhaps? but what I assuredly did not see was the sky itself. What I saw instead was a thick milky cloud cover. The sun was a wan disc hung low in the sky and particulate floated through the air like Phase I of a stealth alien invasion. I smothered another cough, hailed a taxi, and after pulling out my printed sheet with the name and location of my hotel in Mandarin and getting a terse nod from the driver, we were underway. I quickly learned that the traffic rules in China were slightly different than in the States. For example, as far as I can tell, you get a point every time you change lanes. Bonus points are awarded based on how long you are able to drive in the shoulder before whipping across multiple lanes to rejoin the traffic flow. It was during this first ride that I also learned that I was able to stuff my entire fist in my mouth. I figured this out in an attempt to stop myself from screaming as we careened along the highway like a rogue pinball. I managed to keep it down to a small terrified squeaking in between bouts of hyperventilation. Finally, mercifully, we arrived at the hotel and I stumbled out of the cab. As I tottered into the lobby I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the highly polished surface of the entry doors and prayed that the pale, waxy cast of my skin was a trick of the light. The lovely, kind people at the front desk brought me a tiny porcelain cup filled with a chilled spiced tea and it did wonders for my mental state. After getting up to my room I did my usual routine of taking out my small framed photo of Honey and putting it on my bedside table, punting my nasty traveling clothes across the room and using the requisite half bottle of shower gel to turn myself into a soap monster as I scrubbed the airplane funk away. After wrapping myself in a fluffy towel and dragging a comb through the tangles in my hair, I sat down by the window and stared out at the Beijing cityscape. There were a few buildings that had the sloped roof style that I associated with Asian cultures but most of the buildings were regular skyscrapers. Later on, I would see that there really was a lot of amazing architecture in the city. From a building shaped like a dragon, to a pair of pants, to a massive hard drive to one that looked like it was being squished by a giant robot hand, there was some cool stuff out there. But still, I couldn't see much of that right at that particular moment, it was only my first afternoon in town and I knew I was going to have to get out and walk around if I was going to stay awake. The 12-hour time difference wasn't hitting me too badly just then, but all that travel was still tiring. I stared out at the grey city for a while longer and watched the little bits of whatever float past the window. And began to realize that during my time in China, I was going to be the absolute cleanest I have ever been in my entire life. Because if I was constantly going to be out in the humidity and pollution I was going to be taking a minimum of three showers a day and lo, so it came to pass. After putting on some fresh clothes I swung by the front desk on my way out the door where the following exchange took place: Me: So what's all that stuff floating around in the air? Front Desk: Madam? What stuff? Me: You know, the bits of things that look like fluff or snow or something. Front Desk: Ah, yes, that is just from the trees. Me: ......the trees? Front Desk: Yes, the wind blows the flowers off the trees. Me: ........what trees? Front Desk: .......... After the guy just stared at me in silence for a minute I finally just said "um, okay" and headed out. Flowers, my ass. There didn't seem to be much in my immediate area other than a Starbucks (of course) and a place called Sunshine Kitchen, which turned out to be a hot pot restaurant. I ended up trying that a few days later and it was delicious. But for today I wanted to wander a bit more and see what else was around. I moseyed around the buildings and stopped cold on the sidewalk, struck by what I saw across the street. Molly Malone's stared back at me like a beacon of heavenly joy, a ray of sunshine through the smog. An Irish restaurant? Here, in the middle of Beijing? Done and done. Now all that stood between me and my lovely Irish food was about six lanes of traffic. Sigh. Here are a few things everyone should know about being a pedestrian in China. First and foremost, you do not under any circumstances have the right of way. And I'm not trying to be cute or funny about that, I mean you literally do not have the right of way. There are so many cars and so many tourists that if cars were stopping for pedestrians the already insane traffic would essentially come to a grinding, cursing halt. There are so many cars that you have to enter a lottery to even be allowed to get a car and that's AFTER you jump through all the flaming hoops to qualify for a license. Even after you get your car depending on what number your license plate is you can only drive on certain days of the week. And if someone turns you in for driving on an off day they get a reward so there's no trying to cheat because you will get caught. I also quickly discovered that the crosswalks were about the worst place you could try to cross the street. Just because there's a green light doesn't mean boo if a car comes careening around the corner so it doesn't do to get lulled into a false sense of security there. The best thing to do is just make a run for it. And while I was fairly certain that I greatly resembled a frightened gazelle when darting across the street for the first few weeks, I soon got the hang of it. That first day however, I decidedly did not have the hang of it. After waiting quite a while for a break in traffic that seemed destined to never arrive, I darted out and frogger'd my way to the center line where I stood, panting and trying not to stroke out while cars whizzed by on both sides of me, missing me by inches and blowing my hair around in their wake. I finally saw an opportunity approaching and broke my fear-driven paralysis long enough to dart across to safety. I stumbled into Molly Malone's and collapsed into a booth, trying to keep my newly-found PTSD at bay. After a few moments a server slid a menu in front of me and gave me an odd look before backing slowly away. I gulped and raked my hands through my wild, car-tangled hair and looked at what they had. In their defense, they DID have a few Irish dishes, fish and chips and cottage pie-type stuff. They also had a number of Italian dishes as well as an astonishing selection of Japanese, Thai, Chinese (naturally), and Indian dishes. Again, to their credit, they did have Guinness on tap, HOWEVER it was ten bucks a glass. Now I value my Guinness quite highly and know that beer is more expensive in a bar than just buying a six-pack at your local market but STILL. And so it was that when the waiter came back by that I ordered a German wheat beer along with what is probably my favorite dish in the whole world. A dish that can be found seemingly anywhere you go and that is astonishingly hard to mess up. Spaghetti Bolognese. I love it so. And that is how I ended up on my first night in China in an Irish restaurant, drinking a German beer and eating an Italian dish. Hey, I'm nothing if not well-rounded. Thursday, January 10, 2013 Swimming to the Opera I had finally arrived at the first of several glorious days off in my beloved Germany when I made a startling realization. That being that there was something mysterious going on with breakfast in my hellhole of a hotel. First off I had a challenge with what I believe I've already voiced my displeasure previously in regards to, that being the lack of hot water and/or milk with which to make my morning tea in this country. This was a particular issue in this hotel. After far too long they seemed to have gotten that under control but of course this allowed the rest of breakfast to spiral into chaos. First, the sausages were attacked. Instead of nice thin sausage links, these odd little niblet things appeared. They were tiny fat disclets of what I imagine was someone's idea of sausage. Someone with an extremely poor sense of humor, that is. Whatever, they weren't too terribly bad. I've certainly had worse. Then they finally took the toaster down from the seven-foot platform it was balanced on which was awesome since that meant that I could actually reach the damn thing. Of course, this was too good to last. This morning it had apparently dropped so low that it had disappeared entirely. The bread was set out, presumably to be toasted, but the toaster itself? Nowhere in sight. And of course, they couldn't leave well enough alone with my tea. They ran out of Assam two days ago and it has yet to be refilled. This leaves me with Chamomile which is just not what I need to start my day. Chamomile is soothing and makes me want to go curl up into a ball and take a nap. Not good. I've got places to go, people to see, things to accomplish! I need some good strong black tea to get me up and going not some wimpy herbal that's going to lift me to a higher plane of existence. At least, not first thing in the morning. In the evenings, we'll talk. Seriously, the things I have to put up with over here. It's criminal. Speaking of places to go and things to be accomplished, my List has grown exponentially since arriving here in Germany. What is my List, you say? Well, I'm ever so glad that you asked. To borrow a recently popularized turn of phrase, it's my Bucket List of sorts. There are X amount of things that I want to do/experience/accomplish in Y amount of time. Y being the unknown amount of orbits around the sun I have remaining (hopefully quite a few—it's a fairly long List) and X being a variable number as my List fluctuates pretty much all the time. Some things have been on the List for a while while others get added on and checked off fairly rapidly. Some things that I haven't gotten around to just yet but will are sky-diving, a shark cage dive (preferably off the coast of Africa), swimming in the Devil's Swimming Pool atop Victoria Falls, hiking to Everest's Base Camp (that's already being planned—can't wait!), going to Bethlehem for Christmas and there's some crazy free restaurant in China up on the side of a mountain that I'd like to hike to some day. There's more, but you get the idea. Some are just to say that I did it, others have a cultural or spiritual significance, but most are a combination of the two. Some things have been added to my List since coming over here to Deutschland, as I mentioned above. And I hope to have them all crossed off within the span of my time here. I see no reason why not. First and foremost, I shall be paragliding over Neuschwanstein Castle. Because hang-gliding has been on my list for a while and while it may take me a while to get to Kitty HawkNC to do it (yes, it has to be there. Birthplace of flight and all that. There is a method to my madness sometimes), I see no reason not to seize the opportunity to soar like a bird above my favorite fairytale castle. I think Ludwig II would have wanted it that way. Other things added are experiencing a German rock opera (I have my tickets—front row of the balcony, too!!), taking in Carmina Burana (Karl Orff!! Awesome!) with the Munich Symphony (tickets sold out immediately but as they will be blaring the music from the former Royal Residenz, I plan on planting myself outside and taking it all in) and making two climbs in the Olympic Stadium—like rock climbing but instead it's to the top of the Olympic Hall, straight up into the sky and they are kind enough to provide the hook and rope. Cool! Tragically, I mistimed things a bit the other day and missed the climbs. But all was not lost! I still managed to cross one more thing off my List. Allow me to set the stage, if you will. It was a beautiful if slightly hot day. I emerged from the subterranean maze of the subway, blinking at the dazzling sun reflecting off the steaming white concrete. Ahead of me, rising like a silver fault line up out of the ground was the BMW building (home of the car-making robots that my co-guides Goliath and The Leprechaun love so much) and to my right was the Olympic Park. I strolled to my right, taking in the scenery as I went. In my mind, I saw the ghosts of Olympians past striding by, banners proudly colored from a hundred different countries snapping in the wind, the roar of the crowd, the buzz of announcers' microphones, the tangle of media cable, the electric feeling of suspenseful excitement and unlimited potential outcomes filling the air. Wrapped in my fantasy of the past, I wandered the nearly deserted avenues until I spied a grassy knoll up ahead. Conveniently enough, it was located right next to a biergarten. I flirted briefly with the bartender then took my beer up to the top of the knoll, enjoying the smells of the trees and the bright green grass. The turf was springy and comfortable and I folded up into a pretzel, drank my beer, breathed in the sweet air and gazed around with fascination at the layout of the Park. After a while, I pulled out a book and flipped through a few chapters. But by then I realized that I was just dawdling. For I had come here for a very specific reason; to cross something off my List. And it mattered not that I had missed the climbs, there was still one more thing to do here. Just to say that I did it. I gathered my things, returned my glass to the bartender and meandered over to the building just up ahead. I grinned nervously at the lady inside, asked a brief question and was pointed to a set of stairs leading down. I nodded my thanks, gulped hard and slowly made my way downstairs, taking my time to look at the picture of each Olympian that graced the walls and thinking again of what it must have been like to be here, competing for the honor of your country. I changed quickly, stowed my pack in a locker, wrapped the locker key around my wrist and went out through the huge glass doors. Instantly, my nose was filled with that familiar smell and my ears were filled with the echoes of the voices of those inside bouncing like a rubber ball off the interior walls. I realized that I had stopped, shook myself, and pressed on to the center of the room. I climbed up on my little platform, bent down and gripped the edge. I leaned back in a half-crouch and took several slow, deep breaths to calm myself and open my lungs. I was vaguely aware that some eyes were on me but tried to ignore that, instead attempting to turn my focus into a laser beam of precision on the task ahead. Okay, you're here. It's now or never. I took another slow deep breath, chanting to myself I can I can I can over and over in my head - my mantra for whenever I think that I, in fact, can't. Mind over matter. If I may break my narration for a moment, I think it's fair to mention that I don't hit this point too often. I'm remarkably fearless about a wide variety of things (as many, I raise tigers and leopards in my spare time) but there is one thing that I am near phobia levels on and that is water. It takes a tremendous amount of self-discipline to keep me from panicking when I am in the water. And it doesn't matter if it's a pool or a lake or a river or the ocean. I don't like it. I'm not comfortable in it. And so I push myself. Knowing that my fear is not rational, I push. And pull. For example, the shark cage dive I want to do will freak me out not because of the giant man-eating fish giving me the hairy eyeball when it glides by, but because I will be submerged in the water. But I'm still going to do it. Because I am stronger than my fears and I refuse to let my life be dictated in any way, no matter how small, by them. And so it was that I found myself the other day with a death-grip on a starting platform, staring out at a large expanse of water in front of me and chanting to myself, hearing nothing but the bass drum of my heart pounding a war beat in my ears and the shaky adagio of my own shallow breath. Because I was in the Olympic Swimhall and I wanted to be able to say that I had swum 100 meters in an Olympic Swimming Pool. Because that's just cool. I mentally shook myself, filled my lungs to bursting with chlorine-laced air, rocked back another centimeter and launched myself into the air. I hit the water a little more awkwardly than I would have liked but threw my hands up anyway and began to butterfly towards the other end, 25 meters away. The butterfly didn't last very long. It's been a while, give me a break. I remembered how to do it but this apparently doesn't count for a whole lot if you can't get your body to duplicate what your mind thinks it knows how to do. Which sucks because that was my best stroke. Ah, well. So I settled into a lazy breaststroke until I hit the wall at the other end, turned and freestyled back. I attempted the flip turn when I got to the other side but my brain wasn't communicating to my body again and I ended up with my head down, legs sticking straight up out of the water. Lovely. I righted myself and used this opportunity to catch my breath. Okay, it's been a really long time. Really really long. To be honest, I think the last time I swam laps competitively or otherwise was when I was on the swim team in the 9th grade. So it's been a while. And I am not even close to being in the same shape now that I was then. But I was only 50 meters in and I wanted to complete the full 100. And the dark spots that had been dancing in front of my eyes had mostly faded so I felt ready to press on. I grabbed the wall and pushed off hard with my legs. This went much smoother than my previous attempts. I backstroked the last two laps, grateful for a stroke that let me breathe this much. By the time I was done, I really was done. My arms, my back, my legs and oddly enough, my neck were cursing at me in fifteen different languages and I wearily agreed with them. I ducked under the lane ropes and floated over to the shallow end to catch my breath again and attempt to recover. I looked around at the others sharing my space while I did so. Over by the diving boards, there was a class learning a few complicated maneuvers with varying degrees of success. At the very end of the far left lane, there were children learning how to jump into the deep end. There was a little boy in a bright green bathing suit that kept staring into the water, then running to the back of the line. I totally knew what he felt like, having experienced that "nuh-uh" train of thought many times myself while staring into the deep end. When there was no one left, he stood there clasping and unclasping his hands, nervously shifting from foot to foot. He backed up a step, then two, then took a deep breath and rocketed forward, splashing into the water quite spectacularly. I was proud of him and knew 100% how accomplished he must have felt having conquered his fears. I swam around for a little while longer then finally dragged myself out of the pool and toddled back to the locker room. By the way, a word of advice to anyone who goes to the Olympic Park to swim—bring a towel. Because they don't provide them. And it's really quite difficult to pull jeans on over a wet body. I somehow managed to get dressed again, squeezed my suit out and stashed it in the bottom of my backpack then took a minute to weave my wet hair into a loose braid. I glanced in the mirror and was moderately excited to see that I didn't look like I had been run over with anything made by John Deere. I dragged my tired legs back up the stairs, waved at the woman behind the desk and headed back out into the delicious sunshine. I treated myself to a strawberry cone and made it last all the way to the subway. As I shuffled back to the hotel, I stopped by to see my friends at the döner shop and bought two döners, some baklava and a Coke Light. Have to balance out all that exercise somehow, you know? I washed the first döner down with the Coke Light and decided that there was no way in hell I could eat two of those things in a row and had obviously still been short on oxygen when I had made that purchasing decision. I did however manage to consume two small squares of honey-soaked baklava and licked my fingers clean afterwards. Something that good should not be wiped off on a mere napkin. And so I was able to cross something else off my List and make a nice day out of the activity. Next up on the List is the opera, which should be fun. I was pissed that I was going to miss every single showing of Doktor Faust and arrived twenty minutes too late to seeTristan und Isolde. Why on earth would I think that the main show on a Monday would be at four in the afternoon?!?!?! Ridiculous. I really wanted to see that, too. Sucks. But this rock opera should be interesting. It's called Christ O which makes you think that it's about one thing, but the pictures for it look like Ann Rice may have had a hand in the character creation so that's clearly something completely different. When I asked the ticket lady what it was about she would only say that it was very intense and disturbing. O-kay. That tells me that I'm going to like it, but still nothing about the plot. Ah, well. I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Plus, it's opera. I don't think you're really supposed to understand it. The next day I decided to shop around and basically just enjoy wandering through Munich's busy streets. I jumped on the subway and came up right by a fruit stand, praise the lord. Thirty seconds and one euro later I had a thin plastic container filled to the brim with darkly ripe blackberries and was contentedly popping them in my mouth in rapid succession while window shopping up the street. I bought a few things I needed and several that I truly didn't but wanted to buy anyway (including a rather expensive perfume that I purchased solely because of the packaging. It was pink and had skulls on it! What more could a girl want? Thankfully, it smells really nice) before finding a courtyard with an outdoor café. I settled into a shady seat with a good view of the street for people watching and was delighted to find that I had finally hit the point where I could read the entire menu and understand it. I may not be able to hold a full conversation in German but at least I can eat and shop and really, what is more important than that? I sat back, enjoying the warmth of the day and the quiet sounds of conversation floating around me. When my plate came, I dug hungrily into the thick slices of buffalo mozzarella and bright wedges of tomato all drenched in an oily pesto that had been placed before me. The waiter brought by a few slices of crusty bread, perfect for sopping up the remains on the plate. I had asked for the biggest glass they had and indeed it was massive, filled to the brim with frosty sparkling apfelschörle. I drained my glass and decided that this had been the perfect lunch. So of course, I had to go and ruin it. Across the way I had spied a bakery and was curious to see what fabulous chocolatey delights were hiding inside. I walked in, drinking deeply of the sugar-scented air and spotted what I had been looking for for simply weeks! The Prince Regente Torte. Kind of the national cake of Bavaria. Seven layers of chocolate, biscuit and cream and absolutely massive. It was like a brick. I gaped at it then weakly pointed at a much smaller chocolate and nut confection that looked like it wouldn't cause quite the same amount of internal damage as the torte. I'll have to come back and get a slice when I haven't eaten for a few days and might actually be able to finish it. At least now I know where they sell it, so that's something. Random observation – I wonder why it is that all German dogs look like Muppets? They all have that kind of generalized scruffiness going on. Odd. Another random thought – why is it that I am thisclose to Italy yet it is patently impossible to get a decent gnocchi over here? Luckily, the gelato is lovely but I would commit several minor crimes to get a half-decent plate of gnocchi that didn't taste like little potato bullets. One more comment about food and then I'm done for the time being. They've got this thing called Red Bull Cola over here. Which pretty much explains what it is. The tagline is "Strong and Natural" and I figure that one out of two isn't that bad on the accuracy scale. It tastes pretty much like standard cola until you get to the aftertaste which made me want to reach inside my mouth and yank my esophagus out. It's the kind of aftertaste that makes me seriously want to read the ingredients but I have enough common sense to know that ignorance is bliss in situations like this. Red Bull has a decidedly different taste all by itself but when combined with generic cola it gets this flavor that makes me think for some strange unknown reason of licking a moose's behind. Not that I've ever done that, although there were seemingly endless opportunities while I was in Wyoming, but this is what I would imagine that tastes like. Complete with hairy tongue feeling. And I fell asleep shortly thereafter so so much for waking me up. On the flip side, nearly a month of four hours sleep a night on average will most likely overcome a single Red Bull Cola. But still. I have certain expectations of my energy drinks that need to be maintained. And really, if I can't feel my heart fluttering like a caged bird inside my chest within thirty seconds of consuming one I'm thinking it's just not all that terribly effective. But onto other things! I mentioned earlier about going to a rock opera – Christ O. And as I mentioned before, I was ve-e-e-ery interested to see what this was all about. Supposedly it has nothing to do with Christ so there goes that theory. And the white powdered head of the scary person in black on the posters was apparently not a vampire so Theory 2 was shot down. I asked our local guide The Bavarian and he would only tell me that people have been so offended that they have walked out. This just made me want to see it even more, which is also why The Bavarian gives me strange looks sometimes. So when I got there, I was delighted to see that there was a small merchandise shop staffed with someone who hopefully spoke a little English. And he did speak exactly that - a little English - but enough so that as I stumbled through some German and pantomimed a whole lot (you try pantomiming "What the hell is this thing about?" and see how far you get) he got what I was asking. He picked up a thick book and pointed at the cover. The title was in German but I could read the author's name loud and clear. Alexander Dumas. Christ O = The Count of Monte Cristo! A-HA! I thanked him profusely for his assistance and weaved back into the main lobby, slightly stunned from the eight thousand lightbulbs that just simultaneously lit and then exploded above my head. I love Alexander Dumas and now felt like I knew what the heck I was going to be watching. I trundled up a half dozen short staircases before arriving at the first balcony where I plopped myself down in my excellent seat in the first row, nearly dead center. Perfect. After a few moments the lights dimmed and the show began. It started out well enough, showing in a dreamlike fashion how the soon-to-be Count was wronged by his friends and taken away from his true love, Mercedes. So far, I'm keeping up. But then, suddenly, inexplicably, I'm in Oz. Or more accurately, the Masquerade sequence from Phantom of the Opera has gone to Oz. By way of Wednesday Addams. I really can't think of how else to describe what was on stage at this point. It was clearly the inside of an opulent mansion, complete with curving staircase to the balcony above. The cast was all dressed in masquerade costumes but all with a decidedly gothic twist. I, personally, have never seen a nun showing quite as much leg or bosom. And they were all in poisonous green. ALL of them. Including all the interior decorations. It actually made me feel a bit nauseous. And then of course, they started singing. And I had thought something was amiss when I had heard the first song, prior to being dropped into Oz. But as I couldn't hear the words very clearly, I wasn't 100% sure that I was hearing what I thought I was hearing. But now, with the second song rattling the chandelier above and the voices piling over each other like a rich sundae of sound, I realized that I was correct in my earlier suspicion. They were all singing in English!!! I would like to pause for a moment to remind you that I am in Germany at the moment. So this was strange stuff indeed. And it was even subtitled in German! High above on the proscenium arch the German words were flashed in time with each line of song. Well. This was certainly an unexpected development. I get to practice my German AND understand what the heck is going on with a German opera! Huzzah! Tragically, the song ended and the cast started speaking. In German now. Oh, well. I had figured it was probably too good to last. I started looking forward to the next song as it was becoming rapidly apparent that this opera was only loosely based on Dumas' story. For example, I don't remember the Count submerging a man in a bathtub, slitting his throat and then setting him on fire. Of course, it's been a while since I've read it but I would think that sort of thing would make an impression on a young mind. They sure did have that happen on stage, though! God, I love the theatre! I also don't remember Dumas writing anything about any of the antagonists strutting around in a metal-studded leather thong and strangling a prostitute with a pair of handcuffs while going at it with her. Or shooting the other one on the roof after she (understandably) ran away. Again, it's been awhile. So the opera goes on, with me thinking that I'm getting most of it thanks to my love of the original story as well as the English words in the songs. And I really liked their take on it. It's such a dark story to begin with, going the gothic route with it is a natural fit. It only seems natural to see the characters in leather, dragging themselves around all depressed and looking for all the world as though they are crying clove and absinthe-scented tears on stage. And the leading man was incredible. All of their voices were really amazing but he was absolutely captivating. Naturally, I have a gigantic crush on him now. Even though I'm watching him murder his way through the cast and he's all eyelinered and demonic and scary, he has a beautiful voice and really great hair. And if I'm to be a gothic princess I need a similarly attired prince and he fits the bill. Naturally, he's the lead singer of a German progressive metal band so I'm sure I have to stand in line for him. But in the meantime I shall be snapping up all their albums as soon as I am able. After the show, the cast came out to sign autographs and take pictures and after much pushing and shoving I was able to get my picture with him so that was awesome. He looks like he's going to bite my face off in the photo, but whatever. I had a great time and wish that I was able to see it again.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18350	Feed on Tag Archive 'MIT Media Lab' The Camera Culture group at the MIT Media Lab has pushed the limit and created a high-speed camera that captures an incredible 1,000,000,000,000 (a trillion!) frames per second. Take a look at this clip as you can actually see light travel through space.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18383	понедельник, 12 ноября 2012 г. How the British “Liberated” Greece The first airborne troops of the British army landed in Greece on 4 October, 1944. England's main goal in this country was not to defeat the German forces however, far from it, but a speedy advance to meet Soviet Marshal Tolbukhin's troops, which had just carried out a successful operation to liberate Yugoslavia. With no resistance from German troops, the English hurried to occupy the liberated territory so as not to let the Russians into Greece. Peace did not follow their arrival in Greece. On the contrary, military operations broke out with renewed vigour. The English were opposed to the powerful communist partisan movement ELAS. As a result, the British "liberators" began military operations against the Greeks. Read more
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18384	2.1. Types and signatures 2.1.1. Rationale As an optimizing compiler, Numba needs to decide on the type of each variable to generate efficient machine code. Python’s standard types are not precise enough for that, so we had to develop our own fine-grained type system. You will encounter Numba types mainly when trying to inspect the results of Numba’s type inference, for debugging or educational purposes. However, you need to use types explicitly if compiling code ahead-of-time. 2.1.2. Signatures A signature specifies the type of a function. Exactly which kind of signature is allowed depends on the context (AOT or JIT compilation), but signatures always involve some representation of Numba types to specifiy the concrete types for the function’s arguments and, if required, the function’s return type. An example function signature would be the string "f8(i4, i4)" (or the equivalent "float64(int32, int32)") which specifies a function taking two 32-bit integers and returning a double-precision float. 2.1.3. Basic types The most basic types can be expressed through simple expressions. The symbols below refer to attributes of the main numba module (so if you read “boolean”, it means that symbol can be accessed as numba.boolean). Many types are available both as a canonical name and a shorthand alias, following Numpy’s conventions. Numbers The following table contains the elementary numeric types currently defined by Numba and their aliases. Type name(s) Shorthand Comments boolean b1 represented as a byte uint8, byte u1 8-bit unsigned byte uint16 u2 16-bit unsigned integer uint32 u4 32-bit unsigned integer uint64 u8 64-bit unsigned integer int8, char i1 8-bit signed byte int16 i2 16-bit signed integer int32 i4 32-bit signed integer int64 i8 64-bit signed integer intc C int-sized integer uintc C int-sized unsigned integer intp pointer-sized integer uintp pointer-sized unsigned integer float32 f4 single-precision floating-point number float64, double f8 double-precision floating-point number complex64 c8 single-precision complex number complex128 c16 double-precision complex number Arrays The easy way to declare array types is to subscript an elementary type according to the number of dimensions. For example a 1-dimension single-precision array: >>> numba.float32[:] array(float32, 1d, A) or a 3-dimension array of the same underlying type: >>> numba.float32[:, :, :] array(float32, 3d, A) This syntax defines array types with no particular layout (producing code that accepts both non-contiguous and contiguous arrays), but you can specify a particular contiguity by using the ::1 index either at the beginning or the end of the index specification: >>> numba.float32[::1] array(float32, 1d, C) >>> numba.float32[:, :, ::1] array(float32, 3d, C) >>> numba.float32[::1, :, :] array(float32, 3d, F) 2.1.4. Advanced types For more advanced declarations, you have to explicitly call helper functions or classes provided by Numba. The APIs documented here are not guaranteed to be stable. Unless necessary, it is recommended to let Numba infer argument types by using the signature-less variant of @jit. Inference Create a Numba type accurately describing the given Python value. ValueError is raised if the value isn’t supported in nopython mode. >>> numba.typeof(np.empty(3)) array(float64, 1d, C) >>> numba.typeof((1, 2.0)) (int64, float64) >>> numba.typeof([0]) reflected list(int64) Numpy scalars Instead of using typeof(), non-trivial scalars such as structured types can also be constructed programmatically. Create a Numba type corresponding to the given Numpy dtype: >>> struct_dtype = np.dtype([('row', np.float64), ('col', np.float64)]) >>> ty = numba.from_dtype(struct_dtype) >>> ty Record([('row', '<f8'), ('col', '<f8')]) >>> ty[:, :] unaligned array(Record([('row', '<f8'), ('col', '<f8')]), 2d, A) class numba.types.NPDatetime(unit) Create a Numba type for Numpy datetimes of the given unit. unit should be a string amongst the codes recognized by Numpy (e.g. Y, M, D, etc.). class numba.types.NPTimedelta(unit) Create a Numba type for Numpy timedeltas of the given unit. unit should be a string amongst the codes recognized by Numpy (e.g. Y, M, D, etc.). See also Numpy datetime units. Arrays class numba.types.Array(dtype, ndim, layout) Create an array type. dtype should be a Numba type. ndim is the number of dimensions of the array (a positive integer). layout is a string giving the layout of the array: A means any layout, C means C-contiguous and F means Fortran-contiguous. Optional types class numba.optional(typ) Create an optional type based on the underlying Numba type typ. The optional type will allow any value of either typ or None. >>> @jit((optional(intp),)) ... def f(x): ... return x is not None >>> f(0) >>> f(None)
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18386	Spanish 1 Spanish 1 is the introductory module to the language and culture of the Hispanic world. This course is designed to help you develop a basic ability to read, write, understand, and speak Spanish as well as to expand students’ cultural competency. Since all linguistic skills cannot be fully developed in Spanish 1 alone, stress will be placed on the acquisition of basic structures, which will be developed and reinforced in subsequent modules. Login Required
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18388	Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Off Topic: In-Ear Monitors (aka earbuds) Just received my latest pair of serious headphones, a set of Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10vis, and couldn't resist posting some thoughts. Some background: as it says in my profile, I used to work in the live and recorded sound biz, and I'm moderately obsessed with good sound. My go-to headphones are still my Sony MDR-7506s, but the full list has included... • AKG K240 • Etymotic ER6i • Etymotic ER-4P • Sennheiser CX300 • Sennheiser CX400 • Sennheiser HD650 • Sennheiser HD280 • Sony MDR-7506 • Sony MDR-V600 • Sony MDR-V700 • UE Triple.Fi 10vi along with plenty of cheaper junk for travel, gym, etc. I use the AKGs with a Behringer UCA202 at work, the Sony MDR-7506s when listening at home or DJing, and I have been happily using the Etymotic ER4s with my iPhone 3GS, but when the UEs came up in Amazon's Gold Box for $99, I couldn't resist and picked up a pair. I've been A/Bing the UEs and Etymotics for the last hour, and I have to say, despite the usual price difference (the UEs usually retail for about 2x as much), the comparison is not cut and dried. My first impressions are as follows, with the "winner" in each area in bold in case you don't want to read the whole thing. The biggest known weakness of the Etymotics is the bass response, even when the flanges are shoved all the way down your ear canal and are tickling your temporal lobe, and the UEs are the clear winner here. The thump and throb of the bass on NIN's Gave Up and Zero Sum was much tighter, clearer, and more extended on the UEs, while the Etymotics gave up on clarity as the frequencies descended toward 20 Hz. On the other end of the spectrum, the Etymotics redeemed themselves. The opening chords of Band of Horses' The Funeral gave me goosebumps, and the NIN tracks generally had more sizzle on the cymbals and more edge to the guitars and synths. The UEs sound a bit darker, despite the better frequency separation lent by the multiple drivers. Still, the effectiveness of the UEs' multiple drivers can be heard in the clarity of the sound. Despite the compression of the some of the MP3s I have on my iPhone, the UEs carved out more of a pocket for each instrument and frequency range. I'm sure this difference between the headphones would be more pronounced with higher-quality amplification, but I could hear, for example, the muddying effect of heavy bass on the mids in the Etymotics, but not in the UEs. Somehow, even put up against the multiple drivers, the Etymotics produced a wider, more defined soundstage. Special effects like dynamic panning were more pronounced, and subtle placement of instruments within the field was clearer, especially on quieter tracks with more headroom/less compression. The better high frequency response on the Etymotics may have something to do with this perception. Because I use these headphones in the real world - on airplanes, buses, NYC subways, etc., there are some ancillary considerations that have a real effect on my headphone preference. Despite the fact that the UEs are billed as noise-isolating, the Etymotics were clearly superior at blocking outside noise, even in the relatively quiet environment of my office. The cord is a bit longer and heavier on the Etymotics, but lacks the built-in microphone of the UEs. The earbud flanges on the Etymotics take quite a bit of getting used to, whereas the UEs, while they don't fit as snugly, come with 4 different sets of tips and are immediately comfortable and feel easier to wear for long periods. However, with the sound quality a near wash between the two, the main reason I'm switching from the Etymotics to the Ultimate Ears is the filters. The Etymotics have dirt/debris filters that fit inside the driver enclosure behind the flanged tips and must be changed every time they get clogged. They are tiny, difficult to replace, and not tremendously cheap - $15 gets you 3 sets of filters, and I have to change mine every few months at most. I consider the filter system to be the Achilles heel of the otherwise-excellent Etymotics, and I'm hoping for substantially less maintenance with the UEs. We'll see how it goes. Wednesday, October 21, 2009 Notification Services doesn't like version mismatches I was pinged today to check out a failed installation of Notification Services with a vendor app. The vendor consultant was telling us that there was a mismatch in the version of SQL Tools installed, which sounded odd to me, since generally the tools are consistent between versions and the engines are different. I tried to start up the Notification Services instance and got a 1359 error: Could not start the NSxxxx service on Local Computer. Error 1359: An internal error occurred. Inspecting the error log, I found this: The Notification Services instance encountered an error in one of its components and must stop. Instance Name: xxxxx Problem Description: The database was created with or upgraded to a different edition of Notification Services. Use the Notification Services edition that the database expects. Notification Services Edition: Standard Edition Database Edition: Enterprise Edition So it turns out that the consultant was partially correct - Notification Services won't start if the version is mismatched between the engine installation and its corresponding SQL Server instance. Good to know. Thursday, September 17, 2009 Regex to remove end-of-line white space Utilizing the blog as my public scratchpad (as usual), here's a regex for removing whitespace from the end of all lines. Useful when pulling up the text of a SQL object with sp_helptext and then creating it again. Replace: [ \t]+\n With: \n Wednesday, June 3, 2009 Conflicting BULK INSERTs Let me start by saying that this is not a post about concurrent BULK INSERTs into a single table or SELECTs during a BULK INSERT, both of which the SQL CAT has covered pretty effectively, along with many other questions about bulk data loading. My problem is with concurrent BULK INSERTs into different tables on the same database. Basically, there are two different data sets, one large and one small, that get BULK INSERTed into two different tables in the same DB on different schedules. Like Alan's bicycle in Cryptonomicon, every so often the two schedules will align and the chain will fall off, or more accurately, the big BULK INSERT will hold up the small BULK INSERT. There doesn't seem to be a reason for the SQL engine to block one with the other; they're not hitting the same table, so locking should not be a problem, and the machine in question is a dual quad-core, so SOS_SCHEDULER_YIELDs are not prevalent. OK, if it's not the SQL engine, it's probably a shared resource issue. Sure enough, an inspection of the wait types during a concurrent execution of these inserts revealed a lot of PAGEIOLATCH_SH, indicating a disk problem. But this database is in Simple recovery mode, so it shouldn't be doing a lot of logging on a bulk-logged operation like BULK INSERT. We should just be writing dirty pages to memory and then checkpointing at our leisure, right? Why are the disks getting hit so hard? Unless we don't have enough memory to write those dirty pages... Which a perfmon counter log revealed to be precisely the case. The box only has 3.5 GB of RAM, has a number of other applications running, and shows high levels of paging and low Page Life Expectancy. The lack of memory available to SQL means that the larger dataset being BULK INSERTed won't fit into RAM, so checkpointing starts almost immediately and blocks the smaller BULK INSERT from completing until the slow local disks can finish with the bigger one. The easiest and cheapest solution will almost certainly be to add RAM, if only I can talk Systems Engineering into digging some up. Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Performance of LIKE vs = in SQL queries Got a question from a coworker yesterday about the relative performance of LIKE vs = in a SQL query, and had to think about it a bit. He wanted to know whether there was a performance penalty to using LIKE if there were no wildcards. In other words, if this: would perform equivalently to this: SELECT * FROM tbFoo WHERE colA = 'bar' My knee-jerk response was that the = would be faster, but I thought about it and realized that the query optimizer would actually see them as the same thing. A check of the query plans against a quickly-created tbFoo confirmed it. So that's what I told him. Except that I realized a moment later that there was a major caveat - the query optimization depends on how the statement is parameterized. If it's purely ad hoc SQL and being compiled at run-time, then the statements are equivalent, but if there's going to be any plan re-use, either by including the statement in a stored proc or preparing it and executing via sp_executesql, the LIKE will impose a significant penalty. This is because the optimizer doesn't know at compile time whether the parameter to the LIKE operator will contain a wild card, so it can't use the more specific optimization (including index selection) that it could with an = operator. So if you mostly pass parameters without wildcards, you will be executing a suboptimal query plan. Keep this in mind when designing your query! I realized after writing this that this topic has been covered in more depth and with more eloquence by Erland Sommarskog and any number of other SQL MVPs and bloggers, but this post is already written, so I'm releasing it into the wild anyway. Notepad++ 5.3.1 breaks the Compare plugin I use Notepad++ all the time for quick editing of SQL, Python, XML, and all sorts of other types of files, and when I opened it today, it told me there was an update available, so I updated to 5.3.1 . Then this afternoon when I went to compare two SQL files using the Compare plugin, I couldn't find it, and spent a good 5 minutes combing through the menus before I realized it was really gone. Arggh! I use the Compare tool all the time, so I immediately downgraded to version 5.2, where it still works. So just a note of caution if you use Compare in Notepad++, 5.3.1 appears to break it - hopefully they'll get that straightened out soon. Friday, March 13, 2009 pyodbc doesn't seem to like BLOBs I tried to pull a Binary Large OBject out of a SQL Server database yesterday via pyodbc, and it blew up. In [4]: c = pyodbc.connect('DRIVER={SQL Server};SERVER=servername;') In [5]: r = c.execute('select Blob from dbo.tbDoc where DocID = 8') In [6]: row = r.fetchone() assertion failed: getdata.cpp(171) cbRead == 0 \|\| pch[cbRead-element_size] != 0 And crashed my IPython shell, to boot. Python's DB API spec (aka PEP 249) doesn't appear to specify exactly how to handle BLOBs, but it does mention them, so I presume they're supposed to be supported. I wound up grabbing this particular BLOB in a C# app instead, but this seems like it could be an issue in the future, so if anyone knows what's going on, please let me know. Otherwise I'll dig into this issue next time I have some spare time or a pressing need to manipulate BLOBs in Python. UPDATE: I wasn't on the latest build of pyodbc, so I updated to 2.1.3. After updating, I was able to fetch the binary stream from that row. Hooray! Although when attempting to print it out, I got some weird behavior - my PC's internal speaker started beeping like mad and the window stopped responding. As my colleague said: P.V. [1:57 PM]: What the hell was stored in that blob? Ira Pfeifer [1:58 PM]: just a hex stream P.V. [1:58 PM]: This is like something from Gibson. Monday, February 2, 2009 Weird SQLCMD issue I've got a server that runs the open source Job Scheduler to execute scheduled tasks, and I encountered a strange problem with SQLCMD today. Basically, a very simple script fails to execute: 2009-02-02 13:52:01.224 [info] C:\Program Files\scheduler>sqlcmd -S TestServer1 -E -i "c:\temp\test.sql" 2009-02-02 13:52:01.224 [info] SCHEDULER-915 Process event 2009-02-02 13:52:01.224 [ERROR] SCHEDULER-280 Process terminated with exit code 1 (0x1) This script executes without a problem on the command line, and echo %errorlevel% after its execution returns 0. I thought this might be an authentication issue, but switching to SQL authentication and entering the credentials explicitly on the command line produced the same result. The strangest part of the whole thing is that switching from SQLCMD to OSQL makes the script work fine. I'd rather use SQLCMD, but I don't have time to investigate the minute difference in output that's causing JS to barf on it, so I guess it's back to the old reliable OSQL. At least until it's no longer supported. Thursday, January 22, 2009 SSIS transactions, or Another Reason To Hate Windows Firewall I created an SSIS package today to archive a bunch of tables from a source server into one table on a destination server and then drop them on the source. I wanted the process to be idempotent, such that the tables would either be fully archived and dropped or the whole thing rolled back. Thus the process could be re-run if it failed in the middle without fear of duplicating data or prematurely dropping tables. The obvious solution was a transaction. I set the TransactionOption property on my ForEach loop to Required and ran the package. However, MSDTC was not cooperating, and I got this failure: With the following error message: "The transaction has already been implicitly or explicitly committed or aborted." I checked MSDTC on both servers involved, and they each seemed to be set up correctly, albeit with slightly different settings. MSDTC on my machine was also configured correctly. Then I remembered that my desktop has Windows Firewall running. Don't ask me why, it wasn't my idea, but I can't turn it off. So I added an exception to Windows Firewall for c:\windows\system32\msdtc.exe (port 135) and the package started working. Hooray! Except that when I killed it midway through to simulate a network or SSIS host failure, it rolled back the whole thing. I wanted the ForEach loop to commit each table load and drop as it went so that I wouldn't have to start from scratch if the package failed after a few tables. So I created a Sequence container inside the ForEach container, set the TransactionOption to Required for that container, moved the Transfer and Drop tasks inside it, and set the TransactionOption to Supported for the ForEach. Wednesday, January 7, 2009 sql_variant causes SSIS metadata validation error Just a quick note about an error that stumped me for a minute. I was setting up a Lookup task in SSIS 2005 using the results of a SQL query as the lookup, but I kept getting the following error when attempting to create the column mappings: TITLE: Microsoft Visual Studio Error at Load Position Limit Data [Lookup [49]]: SSIS Error Code DTS_E_OLEDBERROR. An OLE DB error has occurred. Error code: 0x8000FFFF. Error at Load Position Limit Data [Lookup [49]]: The call to Lookup transform method, ReinitializeMetadata, failed. Exception from HRESULT: 0xC02090F0 (Microsoft.SqlServer.DTSPipelineWrap) This didn't seem like a very helpful error, until I thought about what ReinitializeMetadata probably did, and then realized that my query selected a sql_variant column without casting it. Casting the sql_variant to a more appropriate data type (varchar, in this case) resolved the error.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18394	Jataka stories Masthead Book 1: Ekanipāta No. 7 Translated from the Pāli by Robert Chalmers, B.A., of Oriel College, Oxford Under the Editorship of Professor E. B. Cowell Published 1969 For the Pāli Text Society. First Published by The Cambridge University Press in 1895 "Your son am I." — This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana about the story of Vāsabha-Khattiyā, which will be found in the Twelfth Book in the Bhaddasāla-jātaka[1]. Tradition tells us that she was the daughter of Mahānāma Sakka by a slave-girl named Nāgamuṇḍā, and that she afterwards became the consort of the king of Kosala. She conceived a son by the king; but the king, coming to know of her servile origin, degraded her from her rank, and also degraded her son Viḍūḍabha. Mother and son never came outside the palace. Hearing of this, the Master at early dawn came to the palace attended by five hundred Brethren [134], and, sitting down on the seat prepared for him, said, "Sire, where is Vāsabha-Khattiyā?" Then the king told him what had happened. Sire, whose daughter is Vāsabha-Khattiyā?" "Mahānāma's daughter, sir." "When she came away, to whom did she come as wife?" "To me, sir." "Sire, she is a king's daughter; to a king she is wed; and to a king she bore her [28] son. Wherefore is that son not in authority over the realm which owns his father's sway? In bygone days, a monarch who had a son by a casual[2] faggot-gatherer gave that son his sovereignty." When the woman's time was come, she bore the Bodhisatta. And when he could run about and was playing in the playground, a cry would arise, "No-father has hit me!" Hearing this, the Bodhisatta ran away to his mother and asked who his father was. "You are the son of the King of Benares, my boy." "What proof of this is there, mother?" "My son, the king on leaving me gave me this signet-ring and said, 'If it be a girl, spend this ring on her nurture; but if it be a boy, bring ring and child to me.'" "Why then don't you take me to my father, mother?" [135] Seeing that the boy's mind was made up, she took him to the gate of the palace, and bade their coming be announced to the king. Being summoned in, she entered and bowing before his majesty said, "This is your son, sire." The king knew well enough that this was the truth, but shame before all his court made him reply, "He is no son of mine." "But here is your signet-ring, sire; you will recognise that." "Nor is this my signet-ring." Then said the woman, "Sire, I have now no witness to prove my words, except to appeal to truth. Wherefore, if you be the father of my child, I pray that he may stay in mid-air; but if not, may he fall to earth and be killed." So saying, she seized the Bodhisatta by the foot and threw him up into the air. [29] Seated cross-legged in mid-air, the Bodhisatta in sweet tones repeated this stanza to his father, declaring the truth: — The king rears others, but much more his child. Hearing the Bodhisatta thus teach the truth to him from mid-air, the king stretched out his hands and cried, "Come to me, my boy! None, none but me shall rear and nurture you!" A thousand hands were stretched out to receive the Bodhisatta; [136] but it was into the arms of the king and of no other that he descended, seating himself in the king's lap. The king made him viceroy, and made his mother queen-consort. At the death of the king his father, he came to the throne by the title of King Kaṭṭhavāhana — the faggot-bearer — , and after ruling his realm righteously, passed away to fare according to his deserts. His lesson to the king of Kosala ended, and his two stories told, the Master made the connexion linking them both together, and identified the Birth by saying: — "Mahāmāyā was the mother of those days, King Suddhodana was the father, and I myself King Kaṭṭhavāhana." [1] No. 465. [2] The word muhuttikāya means, literally, "momentary," or perhaps may be translated "with whom he consorted but a little while." Professor Künte (Ceylon R. A. S. Journal, 1884, p. 128) sees in the word a reference to the Muhūrta (mohotura) form of marriage, which "obtains among the Mahrathas other than the Brahmanas," and which he compares with the familiar Gāndharva form, i.e. (legal) union by mutual consent, on the spur of the moment, without any preliminary formalities. Cf. Dhammapada, p. 218, Jātaka No. 465, and Rogers' Buddhaghosha's Parables, p. 146. See also an endeavour, in the Ceylon R.AṢ. Journal, 1884, to trace this Jātaka back to the story of Dushyanta and Çakuntalā in the Mahābhārata and to Kālidāsa's drama of the Lost Ring.] Copyright Statement
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18406	Monday, 2 June 2014 Linking up with Practicing Simplicity This is the way Mimsy always leaves the house, hands full of things she collects on the way through the house and out the front gate. In this photo: a toy bee, a 'snapping card' and a flower that had fallen off the tree. Juju is taking really well to solids. He especially loves it when his food comes from his sister's plate. Funnily enough, Mimsy enjoys food most when it comes from my plate. I think I should just serve up one plate of food and put it in the middle of the table - then maybe everyone would be happy! I almost didn't post this photo of Juju because of the untidy kitchen bench. But, given that most people who know me also knows that my house always looks 'lived in' at best, and quite often it's much more cluttered than this, I thought I'd go right ahead and show our life exactly how it is. At least I now know how to use my camera to make the background blurry! 1. The thing I realise most about these photos is how much your children are growing and the way these weekly photos show it - what an achievement!! 1. I know! I'm so excited to put it all into a book at the end of the year :)
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18420	The Last Barrier To Ultra-Miniaturized Electronics Is Broken, Thanks To A New Type Of Inductor Full Article : - In the race for ever-improving technology, there are two related technical capabilities that drive our world forward: speed and size. These are related, as the smaller a device is, the less distance the electrical signal driving your device has to travel. As we’ve been able to cut silicon thinner, print circuit elements smaller, and develop increasingly miniaturized transistors, gains in computing speed-and-power and decreases in device size have gone hand-in-hand. Leave a Comment %d bloggers like this:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18429	Saturday, December 1, 2007 Something I Do Not Recommend Have you ever seen what two pounds of pork looks like after it's been inside a golden retriever?? Consider yourself deeply blessed, then. I have seen, and worse, smelled this. I was sitting at the computer rambling on in yet another entry about my pathetic lack of a love life, when suddenly I realized that the dog was no longer in the room with me. I heard one, tiny quiet rustle of plastic. DAMMIT!! I lurched into the kitchen to find the dog's head buried in the garbage bag I'd been meaning to take out for the past three hours. I yanked her head free, and executed a savvy motion intended to push her away, grab the garbage bag with my other hand, and lift it above my head. Instead I fell face forward onto the kitchen floor and my hand landed in something that looked like jello. Made out of blood. Hmmmm. I then heard a strange choking, gagging sound and twis ted to see the dog sitting in a hunched over position with her poor head stretched out and drool coming out of her mouth. Unfortunately, I recognized this pose. It's what she does right before she throws up everything she's ever eaten. In her entire life. All at once. Somehow I got her into the yard, because my vet has told me repeatedly that dogs don't like to throw up in the house. I don't like to dwell on the next ten minutes in too much detail, except to say that if you have ever had a golden retriever you are probably familiar with the fact that when they do vomit, they immediately try to eat it, which causes them to vomit again immediately, which makes them eat it, and so on. I believe the reasoning here is, "Hey, I already ate that once, and dammit, I'm going to eat it again [and again, and again] until it's good and eaten!!" Since at this point I had NO IDEA what was making her so violently ill, I was particularly worried. And so ensued a period of time in which she ran away from me heaving wildly, then vomiting, then energetically chomping at whatever was trying to exit her mouth while I screamed "STOP IT!! STOP IT!!! DON'T EAT THAT AGAIN!!!" and flew around after her like a giant plaid flannel loon in my bathrobe and bare feet. Once, when the dog was only about four months old, we were out in the yard enjoying a lovely spring day. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. The leaves were that lovely shade of spring green. And a mama bird was teaching her adorable little baby bird to fly, right there in the yard! Mama would make odd little cheeping noises and push Baby away from her, and Baby would flutter her little wings and get a foot or so off the ground, and then Mama would rush to her and preen her feathers as if to say "Good job, Baby Bird!! What a good smart little Birdie you are!!" Suddenly out of nowhere a blinding yellow flash swooped down on Baby Bird and with one giant bite, scooped her up and took off running. For a minute I couldn't understand what was happening. Then I saw the feathers hanging out of my sweet puppy's fuzzy little muzzle, and heard the horrified squawking of the mama bird. "No!!!! NOOOOOOOO" I screamed, running wildly after the dog, who delightedly took off even faster at this new fun turn of events. What a good game!!! She zigzagged around the yard like a downy yellow demon, and I stumbled wildy along, continuing to scream "NO!" and "DROP IT!" and many, many other things which had absolutely no meaning to the dog except "Wow, Mommy is getting really excited!! I'll run faster!!!" Finally I thought to yell the one command she did know, SIT!!!. And she did. And as she sat, and I finally reached her, she GULPED. And that dear little baby bird was no more. In horror, I grabbed my puppy and instinctively rammed my fingers down her throat, where, unbelievably, I could feel the bird wings still fluttering. I tried to grab them and pull, but another GULP and down went the birdie. This was a lot like that time, only this time it was about 20 degrees outside and well after midnight. I bet my neighbors don't even have cable anymore. They can just watch me and my idiot dog instead. And this time, when I managed to get to her and force my hand into her mouth to make her stop chewing, I came away with something brownish with a spot of bright red jello like substance on it. Oh no. What can that BE??? Finally the heaving stopped, and so I brought the dog inside. Where, damn that vet, she began to vomit for England. Since I was in my pajamas, I hopped into a pair of pants and grabbed the leash, thinking, that's it, she's dying, we're going to the emergency vet. Suddenly the poor dog gave a great heave. A flood of foam came out of her. I thought I might faint. "This is it, I am watching my dog die right here, and it's all my fault because I am too damn lazy to take out the trash. I've killed her. I've murdered my dog!!! And then, before I could move, she gave an even greater heave and deposited the unchewed, undigested remains of the pork roast with cranberry chutney that I made on Monday night. Which had been in the garbage bag. It, in fact, looked exactly as it had when I put it into said bag, except the cranberries [Aha!!! Blood jello!!!] were gone, and it was coated in a rather sticky film of mucus. With awe, I looked up at the dog, who shook her head as though to clear it, burped, and then began to wag her tail happily and sidle towards the now twice cooked pork. She's fine now. I am definitely going to become a vegetarian again. Julia said... You seemed to experience remorse at the thought of killing your dog. Why is that? Zoe said... Because there is no convenient way to get rid of a 65lb dog body??? Jaelithe said... Man, this is reminding me why I am a cat person. Cats eat stupidly and then toss their cookies in spectacularly disgusting ways all the time, too, of course. It's just . . . smaller. Still, goldens are such sweet creatures. Did she at least make up for it by being cute and goofy afterward? Zoe said... Of course. She was adorable immediately afterwards. I have three cats too [see my entry about having a midlife crisis], and one of them is a perpetual's just that, uh, well, um, one of the other cats, you know, kind of, takes care of it before I have to. animals are really disgusting.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18434	Saturday, October 23, 2010 Marketing via Facebook "Like" Simple enough. 1. Just fyi...last I read (and of course this may have changed because FB changes things so often), you have to be an advertisement paying type on FB to run contests from your FB page.. However, you can run the contest on your blog and promote it on FB. 2. Thanks Jennifer. In my haste to get this started that didn't cross my mind. Silly me. I looked into it further and my answer is a little too long and little bit too important to this whole process to put into a comment, so I'm making a separate post on this. Thanks again! 3. Hey Pam, You are a great photographer ! They are all beautiful. I'm not really stupid but I can't figure out how to like any of the photo's. Just a little nudge, please. 4. Hi Sue - I see the problem. Try this link to view and Like the photos: The voting buttons are below each picture.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18451	Harris Challenge 10/30/15 This week on my Harris Challenge -- the most fun you can have with your radio on -- I have two categories about scary movies, one about Halloween candy, plus "Have You Been Paying Attention?" Listen and play along, then click here to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes! Want more Harris Challenges? Click here. Labels: ,
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18465	Site Search: in Main Index MAIN Search Posts SEARCH Who's Online WHO'S Log in LOG Home: Perl Programming Help: Intermediate: I'm Stuck -- Tranfer from Begginer's forum Jan 14, 2001, 4:31 PM Post #1 of 3 (189 views) I'm Stuck -- Tranfer from Begginer's forum Can't Post Okay, for my next question.... I'm pulling data into a hash. The data is in a MySQL database and I've prepared a statement ('select * from table') What I want to do know is check 2 variables $first and $last to see if they both exist simultaniously (did I spell that right?) for example $first=$q->escapeHTML( $q->param('first')); $last=$q->escapeHTML( $q->param('last')); ##as you can see I've escaped the html so some doofus won't take advantage of it. So the variables are defined by the form of an HTML Now the query listed above is pulled into a HASH using $sth->fetchrow_hashref; I call the hash STUFF Stuff has in each row the following first last moredata moredata moredata I want to compare $first with field first and $last with field last. If they match it goes HERE and if not it goest THERE am I making any sence? I've lost myself already Jan 19, 2001, 7:58 AM Post #2 of 3 (176 views) Re: I'm Stuck -- Tranfer from Begginer's forum [In reply to] Can't Post Let's see if this makes sense: if your visitor inputed something, and they match, put it here, else put it there. if ($first == $sqlfield && $last == $sqlfield) { #sql code executes here if they match #this executes if they don't Ok, $sqlfield contains the sql stuff you want to compare. You'll have to do the sql coding yourself(I don't know much about that) Jan 19, 2001, 8:33 AM Post #3 of 3 (173 views) Okay, I had to smack myself for this one. It seems so simple. Ughn.... I'll go try it and let you know how it all works out. Thank Cir Search for (options) Powered by Gossamer Forum v.1.2.0 Web Applications & Managed Hosting Powered by Gossamer Threads Visit our Mailing List Archives
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18481	Wednesday, August 4, 2010 Why No Cloture on Kagan? I'm puzzled as to why Harry Reid didn't plan for and insist on a cloture vote on the Elena Kagan nomination. For Democrats, a cloture vote would have been easy enough; there's no possible political cost to voting yes on cloture for something that you're happy enough to support on a final vote (and Ben Nelson announced right away that he'd vote for cloture, so there's no real extra cost for actually doing it). For Republicans, however, a cloture vote would be at least somewhat difficult. Republicans are pretending that there was no filibuster against Kagan. In reality, of course, there was a filibuster, because Republicans (by insisting on 60 votes) have filibustered absolutely every single bill and nomination during this Congress. That really wouldn't change if Republicans, not having the votes to block Kagan, voted in favor of cloture and therefore the principle they claim to support that judicial nominations should not be filibustered. However, a vote for cloture would be dangerous for Republican Senators, running the risk of attacks from Tea Partiers and others who want maximum resistance at all points, whether or not it would make any difference. So why no cloture vote? I really don't know. There may be some procedural reason...I know that multiple cloture petitions can ripen at the same time, but while I have a fair understanding of Senate rules and procedures, I'm certainly not an expert on all the details, and there may be some obscure parliamentary reason why forcing a cloture vote would hurt Democratic efforts to get things done before the August recess (see, for example, here, although I'm not sure it would have been an obstacle to an affirmative plan by the Democrats to hold a cloture vote). It could have been part of a deal with the Republicans for some procedural concession. But it sure seems to me that Reid could have put a few Republicans in a tough spot on this one. More generally, it does seem to me that one of the useful things that Democrats can do right now, given the descent into crazy by a fair-sized portion of the GOP, is to force more tough votes on Republican Members of Congress. Perhaps we need a roll-call vote on whether to congratulate Barack Obama on the occasion of his birthday. Or a resolution establishing National Bike Path Week. 1. Reid actually tried to file a cloture petition in case GOP shenanigans forced him to use it. He wanted it to ripen to secure the timing of a vote for Thursday. Sessions and McConnel freaked out, feigning personal offense since according to them, no one on their side was going to filibuster. Reid withdrew. This tells us two things, as far as I can tell. 1. You are absolutely right, the GOP didn't want to be in the position of voting for cloture and against the nominee. It exposes their tactics, and it may piss off the far right. 2. They very well could have used the discourtesy as a (completely ridiculous) excuse to vote against cloture since Reid "surprised them" with it. If sold as an affront to the dignity of the Senate and it's GOP members, the vote against cloture might be a self-justifying proposition. Reid, in my mind, played this all wrong. He slinked away at the first fake cry of foul. 2. The birthday resolution would be brilliant! Call your MC! 3. Maybe Reid was worried that giving ammo to Tea Party challengers would result in the election of a crazier crop of Republicans than would otherwise happen? It's a little far fetched, but he is pretty conservative and (as I understand it) conciliatory.. Who links to my website?
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18512	Thursday, August 19, 2010 Primal Peppermint Patties Hot dog. And by "hot dog", I mean: PEPPERMINT PATTY! I adapted this based on Joyful Abode's recipe. I didn't have coconut chips at my disposal, so here's my version, which is based on what I had handy. The next time I do these, I'll totally pour the mix into muffin cups or individual Dixie cups one at a time (in the picture above, I had poured to the top of the cup, and sliced after freezing). Primal Peppermint Patties Makes 10 large patties 1 banana 1 can of coconut milk's thick coconut cream, extra liquid poured off* and not mixed in 4 tablespoons melted coconut oil, to add to mix 2 teaspoons peppermint extract, or to taste 1 tablespoon honey 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (the darker the better) 2 tablespoons coconut oil, to mix with chips Sheet parchment paper or wax paper 10 wax-lined small Dixie cups In blender, combine banana, coconut cream, melted coconut oil, and peppermint extract. Pour these about 1/4 inch deep into wax-lined small Dixie cups, and freeze at least 2 hours. Once patty centers are frozen, melt coconut oil and chocolate chips in the microwave, and stir. Working quickly, remove the patties from the freezer and peel the cup away. Dip the frozen patties in the melted chocolate and lay out on parchment paper to cool. Store in fridge or freezer, and serve cool. Funny side story: as I was trying to assemble these last night, I microwaved the chips, when the noise woke my 8-month old daughter. "Here," I said, handing the melted chocolate to my bewildered mom, who had no idea of what to do or where I was in the process. I slammed the parchment paper and knife on the counter, gave her a short scenario of my intentions, noting, "...when I get back up I'd just have to microwave it and wake her up all over again." She took the still-melty chocolate and made the patties for us all. And isn't the one above so pretty? Go, Mom! *Incidentally, this poured-off coconut water-type stuff makes a great emulsifying base for some primal hot chocolate. 1. Can you taste the banana? 2. Hi, Anonymous, In this instance the banana could be tasted, a bit. An alternative is to combine coconut milk and/or coconut manna - you'll probably get a minty coconutty taste, then. I cherish your comments, each and every one! Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18516	Updating all user and phone password in ViCiDial from the command line Predictive Dialer Tips To simultaneously update all of the username and phone passwords in ViCiDial, please log in to your MySQL (or PhpMyAdmin, if available) and run the following SQL statements: UPDATE phones set pass='Your_Password',conf_secret='Your_Password' where user_level=1; UPDATE vicidial_users set pass='Your_Password',phone_pass='Your_Password' where user_level=1;
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18520	Tuesday, April 17, 2007 My Three Shrinks Podcast 16: Encyclopedia of the Weird [15] . . . [16] . . . [17] . . . [All] ClinkShrink here. I volunteered to help Roy by editing one of our podcasts--heaven help me, I did the best I could. Be patient, I'm using Windows. This is podcast number 16 which was actually podcast number 14 taped about a month ago and taken out of order for no particular reason. April 17, 2007 Topics include: • First up are the Top 25 Crimes of the Century, a topic that could only be mine. It's a Time article that lists some of the most infamous or unusual crimes, but I have a couple bones to pick about their choices. Roy and Dinah just think I'm weird for even knowing this stuff. [Listen in to find out Clink's favorite crime. -Roy] • Next we answer a question from Driving Miss Molly regarding how much and what kind of preparations psychiatrists do before their patients' appointments. • Finally we do the Shrink Rap blog rollcall, where Shiny Happy Person deals with medical training in the UK and under the NHS, Roy flirts with the Girl with the Blue Steth, and Intueri talks about bipolar disorder in kids. Thank you for listening. Sarebear said... GREAT podcast, guys! Thanks for editing, Clink! Was Manson on the top 25 list? I don't recall hearing his name. I got a mention, cool!!! I listen to my therapy sessions at other times besides exercising, too. I feel it's REALLY helpful because I "get" things that maybe I was too much emotionally reacting to "hear" or take in during the session, or other aspects of therapy just really are helpful for me to listen to again. I just set my mp3 player (Samsung something or other) on the ottoman between us, closer to him than me (I'm loud, he's quiet, comparatively and relatively speaking, of/between our voices), and hit the record button. I'm amazed at the clarity. It's been the best thing to help me get more out of therapy, besides of course my commitment and pushing through hard stuff and the work I do. The best external aid, I guess I'd say. I used to record on tape, but he refused to get a new tape recorder and alot of the time the recording was too faint; it'd go in and out of its proper audio/dynamic recording volume level in fits and spurts. I also find it really helpful, for one of the reasons it first came up in our early sessions; I'd be writing something down that was really GOOD, that I had an AHA moment over, that I knew I'd forget . . . after a couple times of this, he suggested recording the sessions, if I wanted to, and away I went. I use the mp3 player much, much more for therapy, than I do for music (although I have both on there at once). Probably much more than you wanted to know, but I think it'd be an interesting subject or post, on a broader topic, although including therapy recordings too, of how technology can and does aid in psychiatry etc. sophizo said... Just started listening. Ironic that Columbine made the list and you posted this podcast right after the VT massacre. Do you think the VT event will end up on this list in the coming years like Columbine did? How much in the world do you guys get per hour??? $190/hr isn't much at all. The guy I used to work for gets $300/hr in his private practice and if he kept a waiting list, it would be long. You guys need to charge more! Or is it just based on where you live that determines the cost? If that is the case, Baltimore is a big enough city that I would think you could easily charge $200/hr for private practice. hmmmm.... You guys might want to comment on Intueri's post on her fellowship choices. One possibility is Baltimore, but she doesn't want to go there because of the horrible crime. You going to let her pass up on your home just because of some measly crime statistics? ;-) Otherwise, good podcast. I just wish you spent more time going over the top 25 crimes of the century. I don't think you went into enough detail or discussed it long enough. It's a very interesting topic. DrivingMissMolly said... John List, Dinah--he was on the list I started composing during the podcast. He also murdered his mother who lived with them. He coldly composed letters about his crime and left them on his desk addressed to his priest. I admire, if you can call it that, the fact that he was so cold and systematic and that he got away with it for so many years. A forensic sculptor made a bust of him and it was broadcast on America's Most Wanted and that is how he was caught. DrivingMissMolly said... Roy--I also love the comma. I wish I could perfect my use of the semi-colon, however. BTW, +1 on Susan Smith. I actually prayed for her! I was so sucked in! Other criminals/crimes I "admire;" 1) Ed Gein 2) JonBenet Ramsey 3) Armin Meiwes (fried penis, anyone?) Clink: You are a walking encyclopedia! Thanks for addressing my question, guys. DrivingMissMolly said... This comment has been removed by the author. ClinkShrink said... Thanks everybody. It was just a weird and awful coincidence about the podcast topic and the Virginia Tech shootings. Lily, I'm impressed you knew about Armin Meiwes! Now there's an obscure but unique crime. I had to dig back in the archives for this post with links to the Armin Meiwes-related song Mein Teil. (Warning: it's loud. Or should be played so.) Sophizo I'd love to charge more but my patients don't pay for my services so I guess $0 + a rate increase is still zero. I gotta get me one of those private practice job dealies. (Thanks for being interested in my topic. Now I don't feel quite so weird. Or at least I can claim not to be.) Midwife with a Knife said... Nice podcast, as usual. Clink, when you were talking about climate controlled storage, for a little bit, I thought that was how you were referring to prison, for the killers. :) Sophizo: I know you weren't asking me. But... if you count the hours I actually work, I make $9.21/hour. If you count the hours I officially work, I make $10.81/hour. In terms of the MMC/MTAS thing, it sounds like a wacky version of the match, where the stuff that usually counts (grades, USMLE scores, research experience).. or its British equivalents don't really count, and their equivalent of the much dreaded "personal statement" counts for all the points. Also, there seem to be (if I can do the math.... I may be wrong) 30,000 applicants for 18,000 jobs. It's as though the British government is taking advantage of the change in systems to unemploy half of people who are the equivalent of senior resident type docs. I would be so mad if, after all of the suffering of medical training (am I a whiner if I say that medical training involves a lot of suffering), I then didn't have a job, or any skills that could really translate into a job. I could be wrong, though. Sarebear said... Lily - I SO understand the . . . like, wheeeeee! feeling, thing. I really should get to your blog more often but I've not had much gumption for doing anything, even eating. What about Waco? Or do mass suicide thingies not fit in this (alot of me wonders if most of them did NOT want to die, but were forced to by the leader and fire-setters, thus being mass murder, not mass suicide (mass murder for the kids, too, because not old enough to choose). Rach said... Great podcast guys (although I'm halfway through at this point... so far so good). As I was lying in bed listening to PC#16, I was trying to figure out what chocolate bars to equate to each of you (I'm the kind of person who needs to see a face in order to recognize a voice). This is what I've come up with: Clink: your voice reminds me of an Israeli chocolate bar that I love - it's a bittersweet chocolate bar with poprocks in it. I think it's because your voice pops in and out of the podcasts. Roy: you get the Aero bar - the aerated milk chocolate bar, where you can feel the bubbles. Dinah - kit kat for you. Crunchy but smooth. Sorry if this is weird, but I have wayyyy too much time on my hands... So there ya go. You're all like chocolate in my book - can't get enough! ClinkShrink said... Good question SareBear. Cult-related killings are different from spree killings because usually multiple people are involved (leader & helpers) as opposed to a single perpetrator. Rach: So I get to be an exotic foreign chocolate filled with hidden surprises? Cool, works for me. I'll leave it to Dinah to comment on being a chocolate bar that's a bit nutty but sweet. sophizo said... rach....those Israeli pop rock chocolate bars are my favorite! Too bad we can't get them here (or at least I've never been able to find them). DrivingMissMolly said... Sarah--I can't believe that you tape your therapy sessions! I couldn't do that, I think, because I am a ruminator! That's what my first shrink said I was, about, oh, 15 years ago! I would dwell on it even more! I think they mentioned the Tate murders on the podcast and those were Manson murders. My therapist is hard of hearing and I feel like I do a lot of loud talking. BTW, you don't have to visit my blog. There's a LOT of profanity ; ) Besides, it's just the ramblings of a crazy person! Sophizo--I am amazed this doc makes this much, but I suppose it is due to his specialization and the shortage of child shrinks. I thought my doc charged alot! Clink--I'm glad you're impressed! I enjoy true criminals. Did you ever watch the show on satellite called "Most Evil?" It was about murderers that were assessed on a "scale of evil" that this shrink made up. I cannot remember his name. Kind of a generic old white guy shrink...It was on the Discovery channel. I think he's a prof at Columbia. How about Albert Fish? Not just a cannibal, but a child cannibal at that. Yeesh! I also wish you'd spent more time with the crime. On Armin Miewes, it fascinates me that he somehow linked butchering with love (eroticized it). The book I read mentioned how some neighbors occasionally butchered animals and that he liked going to this home. How does a mind eroticise something unconventional like a foot or in this case, butchering? Who knows. Can you believe he only got 5 years for killing that guy? Thanks for the explanation differentiating cult killings. I was thinking of Jonestown, but you're right. He had helpers. MWAK--The fabulous year I taught third grade (2001-2002), I figured my pay was a little over $5 an hour because of all the time I had to prepare and do extra work. Take care! Sarebear said... I ruminate too, alot. The thing is, listening to it gives more . . . well, therapeutic stuff for me to ruminate on. Often, though, I have to turn it off every 3 or 4 minutes, to take something in and think, or, more often, cause I don't like my voice, or HEARING me say a particular thing is uncomfortable, or something. I come back to it though because hearing how we solve problems in therapy, how we explore stuff too, how he helps me see some of the traps in my thinking, and other stuff . . . hearing these things really helps the Good Stuff that is the work of therapy, settle into my bones like a comforting, reliable blanket that I can turn to again and again. It helps reinforce what I learn, and the progress I make, which is good, because hell if my progress isn't measure in nanometers . . . . And, frankly, sometimes when I just want to hear my therapist's voice, although I know even when I do that that I'll become engaged and really think about what's being discussed, and let myself react and feel about it too. I joke that it's my pocket therapist. There was ONE time I tried to retreat into the headphones and the comfort of the therapeutic relationship, after/during having an argument with my husband, but as I did so and in the first minute or two of that, I KNEW in my head and heart that that would not be an appropriate use of the recordings, and that I should not use it in any way that interferes with participating in any relationships I have. So I stopped it, and that's been the only potential harmful or inappropriate use of such a thing I came close to or could think of. Probably much too TMI, but hey, it works for me . . . . Rach said... I don't know where you are, but I can get them where I am. You can also order them online. THey're made my Elite, which is a division of Rokeach foods. Or... have someone go to Israel for you (if you can't go yourself) and buy a case of them. That'll last you a while. Roy said... Lily- "Axis II T-shirt"... I think I did a spit-take when I read that! If a pt came to me wearing this shirt, I wouldn't be able to contain myself. Rach- aerated? So I'm full of hot air? No, no, it's the bubbly personality. DrivingMissMolly said... That does it! I'm def going to wear it. I got it via CafePres. Just enter "psychiatry" into the search. They have tons of them. A tee I liked but didn't buy says "Lord help me to be the person my psychiatrist medicates me to be."
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18521	The Difference between Tarot Readings and Psychic Tarot Readings There are many people who are amazed with the fact that they are able to know their future and what the different issues in their lives means either through psychic reading or tarot reading. What most psychic do with their readings is, use their divination or their ability on seeing what the future tells for a person. Most psychics use different ways on reading a person’s future and tarot cards are some of the oldest method used since the ancient times. It is true that there were many people who are against its use during the early times, since it involves mystery on how these gifted people can read the Tarot cards. But these issues were forgotten as soon as people gain interest with ancient religions and spirituality started. “Wheel of Life” this is what “Tarot” means and it is known to be a deck of 78 cards that are divided into the minor arcana and major arcana as the tarot reading starts. Those that belong in the major arcana are those that represent the human’s life primary aspect, which are the emotional, spiritual, intellectual and physical aspects. While the minor arcana, which consists of 56 cards, are split into 4 suits such as pentacles, wands, swords and cups. These are the ones that are used to support the cards in the major part to connect the message as the tarot cards are interpreted. When it comes to the differences, tarot card reading can be done just about any people. It can be learned through different ways and can be interpreted by anyone reading it. But for a person to read tarot cards along with psychic reading method, the person should know how to use the power of their intuition. It is important that a person is able to make use of this kind of ability to read all of the connected readings behind the situation of a client. What makes psychic reading different from the basic reading that tarot readers do is that, they make use of certain psychic gifts that they have. The difference with a psychic person reading tarot cards is that, the psychic reader is able to provide readings not only with the present situation but also with the future and tell about the past, as well. People should know that there are specific people who are given the gift of being a psychic or have inherited it from their ancestors. There is this line of people who are able to gain these psychic abilities due to the fact that their ancestors had it and was used and practiced by the succeeding generations. What makes psychic reading more interesting is that, the psychic, reading the cards, is able to know the right answers for a person through the energy and intuition that the psychic has. The psychic is able to provide the answers needed by the person based from the energy and the meaning of the cards. It is sure to be the reason why psychic reading has its individuality than tarot card reading alone.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18533	Saturday, March 31, 2007 Kucinich: Democratic Congress Bids Up Bush on War! Kucinich: Democratic Congress Bids Up Bush on War! Washington, Mar 30 - WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 30) — Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), strongly objecting to his own party’s policies to continue funding the war through 2009, released the following statement today: “The Democratic Party is forfeiting the public’s trust with its unrelenting commitment to keep the war going when it obviously has the power to end it. Instead of passing the budget and keeping the war going through the middle of 2009, Congress should have rejected it. “The Democrats have bought the war from an Administration that lied to get us there. They are letting the President know they don’t really plan on enforcing the troop withdrawal deadlines. They won’t even stand behind the party’s wrong-headed timeline, which keeps the causalities rising through 2008. “Since the President will veto the supplemental bill, Congress has one last chance. It must send the clearest possible message to the President and the world by putting into place a real plan to end the war now. That plan is embodied in HR 1234. “Within seven days, the House approved almost $300 billion for war between the supplemental appropriations bill and the budget resolution. The $195 billion in the budget resolution stands in stark contrast to the $93 billion for education, job training and social. “Which is it? Does the Congress want to stop the surge and keep the war going? Does it want to end the war by continuing to fund it? The people will not take kindly to Democrats saying one thing and doing another. “If the Democratic Party had told the American people last October, ‘Vote Democratic and we’ll keep the war going through the end of President Bush’s term,’ there would still be a Republican majority in Congress. But the Democrats led the American people to believe that they would end the war.” 1 comment: Anonymous said... I got this website from my buddy who told me concerning this site and at the moment this time I am browsing this website and reading very informative articles here. My web page > free chatting rooms
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18551	This is the first of a multi-part series of lectures recorded on Christian Apologetics to Islam. Please complete the sessions in order as later lessons assume knowledge of material covered in earlier lessons. Notes for week 1 can be downloaded here. Hour 1 Hour 2 Copyright © 2018 Radical Truth, Inc. All rights reserved.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18558	Wednesday, February 07, 2007 The Terrible Sonnet I know attachment is the deadest end, Yet oftentimes I dwell on things gone by, And rend my soul to nothing one can mend, And think on those to whom I've said, "Good-bye." There's one who's sorely missed as days do speed -- Dear friend, you were, well lov-ed in your time. Oh! Nothing can assuage my deepest need, And nothing will e’er exculpate the crime: To leave the grapes untended on the vine; To end the race before it has been won; To pour the juice before it can be wine; To let the harvest spoil in the sun. Oh, Arch Deluxe, you never had the chance To amble out and join in on the dance! Thursday, February 01, 2007 The Grups Award #4 The Grups Award (for generalizations that seem astute but aren't) hasn't been given in a while, but it's mostly been due to my own laziness, not a lack of eligible articles, people, and publications. Today I'm awarding a Gruppy to a trio of film critics: Anthony Lane of the New Yorker, Stephanie Zachariak of Salon, and Keith Phipps of The Onion's AV Club (though Mr. Phipps's award-winning comment is from a piece in Slate). Why are they collectively winning a Grups Award? For gloom-and-dooming movies because of a perceived bad year in 2006. Anthony Lane: My saddest moment in a movie theatre came a month ago, when I screened “All About Eve” to a bunch of acquaintances, one of whom came up to me at the end. “What happened?” she asked. “Well,” I replied, “Anne Baxter got the award, and Bette Davis sat there all steamed up, and George—” “No,” she said, tapping her foot, “what happened to movies like that? Movies with four great parts for women and lines you want to quote? Where did they go?” No idea, but they sure as hell aren’t coming back. Stephanie Zachariak: The loss of an artist like Rpbert [sic] Altman would be difficult to bear in any year. But his loss cuts even deeper because he came of age as a filmmaker in an era when people could still be galvanized by movies, when there was time to refine our likes and dislikes, to parse our passion for or ambivalence about a picture before the next weekend's wave would roll in. We don't need more movies in our lives. We need more time, a commodity that's in short supply for almost everyone I know, to be able to catch at least some of these movies on the fly and define for ourselves which ones really matter. Keith Phipps: I saw a pattern of settling into acceptable mediocrity in 2006, and it worries me. Sigh. Oh, those glory days! When were they again? The gone-for-good fifties, Mr. Lane? The galvanizing seventies, Ms. Zachariak? Apparently even 2005, according to Mr. Phipps, was so vastly superior to 2006 that we should all drown an eye unused to flow for the golden age of cinema which apparently ended just last year. Now, I'm no big city film critic (audience: "Ooooooh!"), but I find it very very hard to believe that any year that gives you movies like "Idlewild," "Children of Men," "Idiocracy," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Borat," and "The Proposition" could be defined as settling into mediocrity. In 2006, there were plenty of daring, personal movies (both successes and failures). And speaking of "Children of Men," I had quite a nice conversation after seeing the movie with the people I saw it with. As I do with, you know, most movies I see. And a movie that causes us to "parse our passion"? I had to practically wear ear plugs to avoid walking into a conversation about Borat -- and at least some of them had to be high-minded enough to count as "galvanizing." Yeah, movies still make people talk about movies and refine their tastes. (If Zachariak wants movies to do more than that -- the word "galvanizing" is troubling to me -- I feel the need to point out that film, like all media, does only what it can. It would be nice to think that "MAS*H" and Bob Dylan ended the Vietnam War, but it didn't happen that way. At the beginning of "Slaughterhouse Five," Vonnegut writes that when he told a friend he was writing an anti-war novel, she replied that he might as well write an anti-glacier novel [but I suppose we'll be able to judge the effects of a pro-glacier movie with "An Inconvenient Truth"]. I remember a play, I think by Ed Napier, where a character makes fun of Berthold Brecht's "alienation effect," saying, "Well, look how good it worked on the Germans." I don't think she meant it like that -- that movies should affect social change -- but I started rambling and couldn't stop myself. So there.) Now, on to "All About Eve" and it's quotability and the fact that it's never coming back. I thought about "All About Eve" and after I sorted "Sunset Boulevard" from it in my head, the only quote I could come up with was, "Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride." Then I thought, "Wait a second? That doesn't seem right. This seems like a 'play it again, Sam' moment." Hmm. So I looked at the IMDB memorable quotes page and saw that I'd misremembered it. "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night." I also saw that I did not remember ANY OTHER LINE from the movie. This isn't proof that the movie isn't well-written, but, well, it just doesn't have the place in my relatively smart, relatively thoughtful brain that Anthony Lane imagines it should. And why should it? It's an artifact from another time. Reading the memorable quotes, they feel stagey and weird. Now, T.S. Eliot took great pains to remind us that the present's artistic endeavors are only possible because of the past, and I agree with him, but times and fashions change and works of art are at least partially a product of their times. Why aren't there movies like "All About Eve" anymore? For the same reason that in fifty years movies like "The Big Lebowski" or "Eternal Sunshine" or "Three Kings" (or, or, or) won't be made anymore: shit happens. If I were a less thoughtful person, I might be inclined to despair over the lack of good film criticism "nowadays," but that's not the case. All that happened is that three critics, while going over their year end lists, got struck by bouts of getoffmylawnism brought on by a year of seeing mostly mediocre, forgettable "entertainment." Well, too bad. Go watch "Sullivan's Travels" and do your job: review movies, not the state of movies (that last bit goes for you, too, David Denby). Monday, January 29, 2007 Google Image Definition: "Performance Art" performance art: [noun] People standing around in various states of dress, sometimes in black and white, usually holding their arms at odd angles. Used in a sentence: Everyone was happy to see that this time the performance art was in color and naked from the waist up with hands crossed out in front awkwardly.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18564	Tuesday, 19 December 2017 Ravalation's 2017 holiday card swap You know that you're late with your annual card swap when... a Christmas card from a blogger friend arrives in the mail before they even could sign up on your blog. Oops. Friday, 1 December 2017 Fashion Friday: High Elf Warden You may remember the commotion about Lord of the Rings Online's Mordor expansion earlier this year. One of the gripes about its pricing was that the new High Elf race was only available if you'd buy the deluxe edition for $80,-, or the legendary edition for even more. Other players would have to wait until "winter" and buy it in the in-game store. Well, last week the time was finally there: the High Elf race was available for LOTRO points! And I bought one.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18565	English Language Arts Kindergarten readers Welcome to English Language Arts We have one goal in sight: to create thoughtful, literate communicators who are able to use language effectively as they continue to navigate through an increasingly information-rich world. Because of the meteoric increase of information, available 24/7, our students will learn how to analyze and use that information to make and express new meaning. And they'll become engrossed in great pieces of work along the way! Minnesota has adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts - and added to them, so we have some of the best ELA standards in the nation. The Minnesota K-12 ELA standards include reading, writing, speaking/listening, language (the CCSS), along with viewing and media. Smart idea, since YouTube is now the second largest search engine in the world, and this is the digital age. Click here to read more about the Minnesota State Standards in English Language Arts.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18577	Providing Access to African American Collections at the Avery Research Center Material Description Providing Access to African American Collections at the Avery Research Center Avery Research Center is the prime repository for archival and material culture documenting the African American experience in Charleston and South Carolina. Despite an African American majority in the area for centuries, no repository focused on the topic until Avery, founded in 1985. Materials are diverse in format and topic. They include papers of civil rights leaders, free black families before the Civil War, 19th century burial societies, a leader of the local NAACP, an educator and developer of early black pride educational materials and associate of Malcolm X, papers of community organizers and business people, social and benevolent organizations; the papers of the first African American woman in the state legislature, oral histories of civil rights workers and sweetgrass basket makers carrying on an endangered craft, and a significant and large collection of international scope and value: the field notes, images, films, etc. of anthropologist Colin Turnbull, famous for his work on pygmies and other African people, with those papers of his collaborator Joseph Towles. Also included are hundreds of slave and African artifacts, and collections of images of local African American photographers and subjects, as well as vertical files arranged by topic. Art on paper and canvas include those by significant African American artists. While a few collections predate the Civil War, most span ca. 1880 to today. Except for the Turnbull/Towles papers, collections focus on the US Cataloging Hidden Collections Amount Awarded: Year Added: Harlan Greene Collection Size 446 linear feet, 2000 objects Date Range 1800 - 2008 Geographic Scope Collections relate mostly to Charleston, the surrounding area and the state; there is an internationally important collection re African anthropology
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18591	Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Breaking News: Religious People Sometimes Do Nice Things Toaster sculpture, 1993? Religious people are more likely, statistically, to perform altruistic acts. That's a fancy way of saying the people with a moral standard are more likely to do something nice for someone than a complete jerk. But, of course, it's not a given. Anyone who has ever been to church knows that religious people can also possess a complete ineptitude to do anything nice beyond shaking hands during the greeting time. The fact is that as long as sinners are allowed in the church, and they should always be allowed, altruistic acts will always be something which may or may not happen. James was right to challenge the first-century Christians. "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do" ~James 2:18. If religious people are found to be more likely to perform loving deeds, it can only be due to their proximity to the Creator of loving deeds. A person closest to the fire is more likely to get burned than those not even at the campsite. But even the person close to the fire will have to jump in if getting burned is the goal. Perhaps you don't like this word-picture. After all, you've been warned to avoid the hot stove since hanging around your mother's knees as a kid. But don't miss the point. We're talking about the likelihood that you will perform altruistic acts. It won't happen simply because you enter a place of worship. After all, there's a really good chance that someone at church will be a moron and you will be left with a choice as to how to respond. Someone will sit in your pew, or take your parking place. Someone won't stop talking and give you a chance to share an intelligent thought. Your favorite songs won't be sung, or worse, your faves will be sung poorly. Let the surveys and statistics say what they want. Bread is more likely to be toasted if it's placed in a toaster. But action is still required. No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18603	SYSTEM-500 Complete The Roland SYSTEM-500 Complete is a fully analog recreation based on Roland’s classic SYSTEM-100M. The modules have been adjusted to conform to the Eurorack standard. Below is a list of some other enhancements and useful bits of information to help you get the most out of the modules. 1. The SYSTEM-500 is Ready to Play The SYSTEM-500 COMPLETE kit comes with all five modules, a power supply, and a Eurorack case. It is ready to start patching right out of the box. The SYR-E84 case comes with a cover and carrying handle, making it convenient for gigging musicians. 2. Normalized KEY Inputs The 512 module contains two identical voltage controlled oscillators. The KEY CV inputs are normalized to be linked together. This means that both oscillators will track to the same CV when voltage is sent to only one KEY input. This is useful when creating sounds that use two oscillators. The range controls still work independently for each oscillator, allowing them to be tuned apart by whole octaves. This can come in handy when creating a sub oscillator or for FM sounds. 3. High Pass Filter The 521 module contains two 24db low pass filters. In addition, there is also a high pass filter with two cutoff settings. This can be used to shave off the low end from the output of the filter. 4. Six Channel Mixer The 530 module contains two voltage controlled amplifiers. Each amplifier has three inputs, each with its own level control. The SUM outputs are a mix of the outputs from both amplifiers. This allows the 530 to be used like a six channel mixer. 5. Cycle Mode The 540 module contains two envelope generators and a low frequency oscillator. The envelope generators can be switched to cycle mode. This allows them to be used like two additional low frequency oscillators, with the attack and decay times controlling the rate and shape. 6. Normalized Effect Modulation The MOD source for both the phaser and delay in the 572 module are normalized to the module’s LFO, so you can modulate the effects without any patching. 7. Extended Delay Time The range of the delay effect in the 572 has been extended beyond that of the original 172 module. The first half of the DELAY TIME knob is the entire range of the original module, and the second half has a longer delay time. This longer time allows the clock signal to be lowered into audio range. Use a low pass filter to remove the high frequency tone from the clock. 8. Extra Octave The octave switches on the 512 module can turn beyond the indicators on the panel. This gives an extra octave of range. Click Here to Learn More about the SYSTEM-500 Complete Jacob Watters is the Synth & DJ Product Sales Specialist for Roland Canada.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18608	Friday, September 26, 2008 Flashback Friday #5 You've got mail........and it's all black Hello, and welcome to another edition of Flashback Friday. I hinted last week about how you go about blackmailing a seven year old. Here is the story behind it. When I was seven, I wanted to grow up to be something brave & daring, like a big game hunter or pirate. As kids we ALWAYS had toy guns available, and if all of those were in use, a trusty stick would work. One day my brother and I were sword fighting with dowel rods that dad had for some woodworking project he had going. The mock battle took place in the living room. We had futuristic swords, as they could transform into guns or spears at a moments notice. My brother hefted his dowel rod, and threw it like a spear at me, striking me in the chest. Mortally wounded, I heaved mine at him. He became a Dickens's character (The Artful Dodger) and jumped out of the way. The projectile sailed past him, right through the lampshade of the ruby red lamp that sat on top of the TV. "AWWWWW!!!! I'm gonna tell mom that you damaged her antique lamp". I wasn't sure what antique meant, but it didn't sound good. "Nooooooo!!! Don't tell". I implored. "Can it be fixed?", I asked. At the bottom of the shade was a neat little hole that looked like I had taken a rather large hole punch to. We put the cutout hole back in, and turned the shade around, so no one would notice. "You're gonna be in big trouble when mom finds out." my brother growled. "Please don't tell, I'll do anything." (Kids, if you ever find yourself saying these words, go immediately to your parents & tell on yourself. It will be much easier, I promise.) "OK, I won't tell if you do my chores today.", he said. Thinking I was in the clear, I heartily agreed. One day lead to another, which lead to another, (you get my drift). Between blackmail & the Tingler (see last Flashback Friday), he never had to do anything he didn't want to up to the time he joined the Army, seven years later. After he went into the Army, I confessed to my mom that I had damaged her antique lamp. "What antique lamp" she asked. "The red one on the TV." I replied. "That's not an antique lamp." she said, "Your grandpa found that in the trash on his garbage route. It doesn't even work. I just thought it was pretty, and use it for decoration." To quote Charlie Brown "ARRRGGGHHH". Seven years of forced servitude for a lamp that was picked out of the trash. If you get nothing else from this post, take these words of wisdom, "Mess up- Fess up". It could save you a lot of headaches down the road. Wednesday, September 24, 2008 I work with Neanderthals This was written on the men's room wall, over the urinal at my place of employment. I thought you were taught that in kindergarten. Someone later added "unzip" at the top, and "wash hands" at the bottom. I looked at the door, and it said "Gentlemen". No wonder it was empty when I walked in. Which is worse, the graffiti, or the unflushed urinals that prompted it? Saturday, September 20, 2008 Political Correctness Run Amok Anybody who knows me well, knows that I HATE political correctness. "Be careful what you say, you might hurt some one's feelings". When I grew up it was "Sticks & stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me. I received the following in an e-mail, I thought they were so hilarious, that I had to share them with all of my readers (both of you). If Biblical Headlines were written by today's liberal media... On Red Sea crossing: Pursuing Environmentalists Killed On David vs. Goliath: Psychologist Questions Influence of Rock On Elijah on Mt. Carmel: 400 Killed On the birth of Christ: Animal Rights Activists Enraged by Insensitive Couple On feeding the 5,000: Disciples Mystified Over Behavior On healing the 10 lepers: "Faith Healer" Causes Bankruptcy On healing of the Gadarene demoniac: Local Farmer's Investment Lost On raising Lazarus from the dead: Reading of Will Delayed Friday, September 19, 2008 Flashback Friday #4 Fear Factor Edition What makes a child afraid? I don't know about anyone else, but I know what I feared as a child. In today's edition, we'll look at some of the things that scared me, and let you Freud wannabes analyze. Fear #1- I am over 40 years old, and I still have a morbid fear of the dentist. The last time I was in for a cleaning, I came out wringing wet with sweat. What caused this, you ask? When I was four, I had something wrong with my baby molars (cavities?). I was taken to a dentist whose name was probably Dr. I. Yankum (we really do have a local dentist named Dr. Payne). He said they needed to come out, and either gave me no or too little anesthesia. His dental assistant had to wrap her arms around the chair and hold me down. I screamed like something was being ripped from my body (oh, I guess they were). I got a little toy jeep for my trouble. The next time I went to the dentist, I was 16 years old. Fear #2- I cannot swim. I grew up around water, but swimming is beyond me. When I was five, we went to a family reunion. At the park where the reunion was held, there was a swimming pool. I've always loved wading, and being in the water, so mom let me go with my brother (Sir Gattabout) to the pool. He watched me like a hawk, until some of our other cousins joined us. I was at the shallow end of the pool, with the water at neck level. I was having a grand time, until one of my cousins kicked my feet out from underneath me. The next thing I knew, I was laying on the bottom of the pool, looking at legs & feet. I couldn't figure out what to do. I felt hands picking me up and bringing me to the surface. I screamed like I was dying (see last Friday's post). Mom comforted me, and tried to find out who did it. Nobody confessed (would you?). I have had people try to teach me to swim as an adult, with no success. Fear #3-The Tingler. When I was 5 or 6, Mom & Dad would go over to Uncle Kevin & Aunt Bessie's house to play cards every Friday night until the wee hours of the morning. Their two boys, and me & my brother were allowed to stay up, and play or watch TV. If I was six, my brother was 10, and my cousins would have been 12 & 14 respectively. What do kids that age like to watch? Scary movies that's what. We had a program on every Friday night called "Chiller Theatre". It showed a double feature of old horror flicks. There was one in particular that must have really scared me. It was called "The Tingler". I told my brother that that was a really scary movie (please note: if someone has a history of antagonizing you, DON'T tell them something scared you). From that time on, If my brother wanted me to do something that I didn't want to, he would throw his head back, bunch his shoulders & arms up, roll his eyes into his head and protrude his bottom teeth over his top lip. He would then growl "Tingler, ...Tingler" (The hair is standing up on the back of my neck as I type this). I did his chores, fixed him snacks, anything he wanted, just to make the tingler go away. I think I was 18 before I would enter a dark room without first reaching & turning on a light. Fear #4-Blackmail. How do you blackmail a seven year old child? I guess you'll have to wait until next week to find out (was that a shameless plug for my next Flashback Friday or what?). Some of the greatest comedians faced adversity as a child. Perhaps these were some of the things that shaped (or warped) my sense of humor. What were you afraid of as a child? Tuesday, September 16, 2008 I'm where, and it's doing what? Most of you know that I live in the central Ohio region. I can be at the geographic center of Ohio in 15 minutes So why were we getting 75 mph winds? Hello, Hurricane Ike is 2000 some miles away. We went to church Sunday afternoon at 4:30PM for choir practice. During practice, the lights flickered, went off, then came back on. Our choir director asked everyone to refrain from squealing & gasping if the lights went out while we were on the platform singing during service. Since I drive the church van for Sunday night service, I have to leave while practice is still going on. While driving to our first stop, I watched a large limb fall out of a tree and land on a sub-compact car a block away.There were trees on houses & vehicles. We also had to watch for fire trucks heading out to extinguish flaming transformers. After detouring around trees across the road, i get a call from Lady Nottaguy-Tyg that the church has no power, take everyone back home & park the van. I was cool with that, the van was rocking like a boat in the waves. When we got back to church the pastor says, I can have church with no light, I can have church with no air conditioning, I can have church with no music, but with no power, there are no bathrooms. (wells require a pump which is run with electricity). Those with small children had already left, so the rest of us had a time of prayer, and went home. When we got home, several large limbs had fallen out of our tree out front, some in our elderly neighbors driveway. I pulled them all up front near the road, and went to the side to pick up the trashcans that had blown over. Before I had finished picking up the trash, more limbs had blown down. I waited until closer to bedtime to clear them, in fear more would come down. Monday morning I drove to work, and there were detours all over due to fallen trees. When I got to work, there was a sign on the door. "We have no power, we will be closed 9/15". Thanks for calling the radio station. Monday, at our compost area, it looked like a pick-up truck convention. I took three pick-up loads from my yard (and I have an 8 foot bed on my truck). There were a lot of trees & limbs down from the windstorm. I'm just glad we were 2000 some miles away. Monday, September 15, 2008 Time To Roar Usually this blog is humorous and light-hearted. BUT, There are times when, as the blog title states, I can rear upon my hind legs and roar. I have fired off e-mails to the following links, and if you are offended with this cartoon that ran in the Washington Post on Sept. 9th,2008, I suggest that you do the same. As a Christian, please don't make the e-mail mean spirited, but be firm. I know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that they wouldn't have made fun of Sarah Palin's religion if she was Islamic. The radical arm of Islam would have burned the building to the ground. Saturday, September 13, 2008 Time to clean the grill Admit it, isn't this how we all do it? It would work for me, but Sparky the dragon would eat the cat before the grill was cleaned. Perhaps he would use the grill FOR the cat. Friday, September 12, 2008 Flashback Friday #3 I'm dying. No, let me rephrase that. (Roll eyes back in head, unhinge jaw, and bellow from the most inner part of your being) I'M DYING!!! This was a familiar refrain heard around my house when I was but a lad. I must have felt that I was more fragile than a Ming Dynasty vase or something. Anytime I was injured in any way, I seemed to me that I was dying. The earliest remembrance of this line comes when I was about six or seven. We were roasting hot dogs & marshmallows out back with the neighbor kids. One of the neighbors caught his mallow on fire and waved it around trying to put out the fire. SPLAT, flaming marshmallow on my bare leg (this is only one of the reasons that I am not outside in shorts anymore). I screamed, but didn't die. The fireball had left a blister on my leg as big as a silver dollar (Eisenhower, not Sacajawea). I somehow got the idea that if that blister popped, I would die (what a great way to keep a kid from picking at it). Later that week, my brother (Sir Gattabout) was pulling me up the driveway at a rapid trot in our Radio Flyer wagon. He took a turn quickly, and spilled me out of the wagon into the gravel. That hurt. I looked down at my leg, and the blister was gone, replaced with a nasty scrape. I let out a scream that would frighten any Halloween ghoul. "I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dying" I yelled out, and ran as fast as my wounded body could go. Mom assured me that I was still quite alive. Another such instance came about two years later. While playing tag my brother went up a tree, and wouldn't come down, therefore he won because I couldn't tag him. I told him, you come down right now. He jumped from one branch to another only to hear a sickening CRACK! The branch broke under his weight, and he plummeted earthward. Luckily he had a little brother directly beneath him to cushion his fall. As he landed upon me, all of the air in my lungs was knocked out. I couldn't breathe. I ran into the house to my parents mouthing the words "I'm dying, I'm dying". If you try telling somebody something when you can't breathe, they just look at you strange, and say "what?". As I was turning blue, dad figured I had the wind knocked out of me, so he whomps me on the back. Sweet air flowed into my lungs. I then proceeded to continue with my dying monologue. The last such instance that I will bring forth deals with the mother of all boils that I had on my neck. Dad wanted to lance it, but, OH NO, you're not coming near me with that needle. Mom had some kind of cream that she applied daily. After a while, it looked like I had a mutant hickey on my neck. While over at my cousins' house (Aunt Shelly & Uncle Phil's from last post) playing "Army", one of my cousins played some "gorilla warfare" on me.(yes gorilla, not guerrilla) He was hiding up a tree, and jumped out and grabbed my neck. The boil exploded like the Hindenburg. I was sure I was dying then, but Aunt Shelly told me to shut up and go back outside and play (her kids, all 14 of them, spent ALOT of time outside playing). To this day, there are times I whine & moan when I'm not feeling well, or hurting. However, I know that I'm not dying, because Lady Nottaguy-TYG tells me I'm not. Thursday, September 11, 2008 Upon His Hind Legs -Elbonian edition-Conclusion I forgot, Elbonians don't speak English. It's just as well, the post was probably written by a child laborer using lead paint. BTW, A "Thank You" goes out to Scott Adams for letting me use his country. Upon His Hind Legs- Elbonian edition Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes. Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Outsourcing Of This Blog Due to time constraints and budgetary concerns, this blog will be outsourced to the underdeveloped country of Elbonia. I will send them the title, and they will add the rest. I hope this is not too disconcerting to my reader(s). The first post from Elbonia will be tomorrow morning. Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Zoo Trip Here are a few pics to show that we really did go to the Cleveland Zoo, just so you know I didn't post just to show you silly pictures of my grandkids. BTW, These were not taken in my house. Sunday, September 7, 2008 Go Bucks! Friday, September 5, 2008 Flashback Friday #2 Hello, And welcome to another edition of Flashback Friday. In today's edition we cover a subject that is near and dear to us all. It is our "facilities", "libraries",""water closets", "loos", you know "the potty". While I was growing up, we didn't have indoor running water until I was 10 or 11, that meant we used "an outhouse" (I know I saw at least one of you shudder). Most outhouses are little buildings that are set over a hole, and when the hole is filled, a new hole is dug, and the house moved. Our outhouse wasn't like that. Ours was built on top of railroad ties, and had a flap in the back in which "solids" could be shoveled or raked out, and thrown over the neighbor's fence (he had a hayfield, so he didn't mind the extra "fertilizer"). Ours had three holes, so if you weren't shy, there was no waiting. At night, or in the winter we had a chamber pot indoors. We always told people that in the winter, we would take a cat out to the outhouse with us so we would have something warm to sit on. Emptying the chamber pot was a chore of the children (admit it. If YOU could get someone else to do that job, you would). And a chore it was indeed. But I digress, the issue here is not chamber pots, but outhouses. Being outdoors, there could be anything in there at any time. We kids played this to the hilt. The hinges that held the previously mentioned flap rusted & broke, so the flap was discarded. What you had was an open space to about two feet off the ground, with about 6-8 inches between the ground and the floor. When someone we didn't like headed to the outhouse, we would circle around, find sticks or blackberry brambles, and thrust them up the opening in back and howl like a pack of wild animals. This is not how you make friends & influence people. We also had a dog named Trixie. Trixie was a collie, Irish setter mix. She was pretty, but was strange. She had a cozy dog house, but she liked to weave between the "solids" piles and squeeze under the floor of the outhouse. Anytime we couldn't find her, that is where we eventually would. So how do dogs & outhouses mix? I was hoping you would ask. I have an aunt I will call "Shelly". She and Uncle "Phil" had 14 kids (no multiple births). Anytime she got into the car, she had to "go " as soon as she got out, even if it was just down the driveway to get mail. One day they pulled up in our driveway, and she made a beeline for "the house out back". Moments later we heard a blood curdling scream. She came running out of the outhouse, pants being held up with one hand, and screeching hysterically. Everyone ran back to see what the commotion was. We all figured there was a snake in the outhouse. When asked what happen she wailed "Something licked my butt!!!!". Upon further investigation, we found Trixie under the outhouse. We figure that upon her entry into her netherworld, she looked up and gave Aunt Shelly a kiss on the cheek. This is the truth with my hand raised. I couldn't make up something that wild. (Well I probably could given the time, by why would I when I don't have to). Sometimes truth IS stranger than fiction. Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Endangered Species We of the Castle Nottaguy will be making a trip to the Cleveland zoo today. In honor of that event, I thought you might like to see some of the wildlife here. This is the giant box tortise. It can pull it's enormous bulk into a shell no larger than a small box. This is a distant relative. It is the box camel. It can go a tremendous distance (like the length of the living room) without getting hungry. It is very fond of popsicles. This is the dwarf pygmy darter. It is full of energy, and can run around for hours without getting tired. Scientist have tried to harness that energy, but have failed. This is the Zesty python. His jaws can unhinge and consume a creature ten times his size. He lures you in by being cute & cuddly, then WHAM, he's got you. The reason these critters are endangered is because kids just grow up so fast. Enjoy them while you can.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18619	Sacred Texts Hinduism F.W. Bain Index Previous Next X. Separation And he reeled about like a drunken man, this way and that way, jostling the people, who marvelled and mocked at him: See, see, the ragged Rajpoot, the suitor of the King's daughter, whose very sight has killed her! But he heard nothing but the words of Shrí, and saw nothing but her eyes. And he staggered on, like a woo en doll, on feet that moved of their own accord, till as before he reached the tank, and sank down upon the ground, knowing neither where he was nor what p. 78 he did, puzzled about the quarters of the world p. And like a man, out of whose universe the sun and moon and the five elements with their compounds have withdrawn, leaving him alone in the centre of empty space, he lay motionless, plunged in stupor, with dry eyes. Then all at once memory returned to him, and he began to weep. And he wept, as if he contained within him the very fountains of the salt sea, till at last from weariness and grief he fell asleep on the edge of the tank. And in his dreams Shrí stood beside him, and revived his parched soul with the nectar of her kindly glance, as a hermit's daughter refreshes with water the plants of the hermitage committed to her charge. And after drinking deep draughts from those two fountains of pity and love, he awoke, and found that it was now night, and again he was alone at the moonlit tank. And he said to himself: Alas! alas! I found my bride, and lost her again at the same instant, through the terrible operation of sins committed in a former birth. Now indeed I am alone, for this time she is gone I know not where, and how am I to look for her? And yet she told me we should meet again, to keep me from despair. p. 79 [paragraph continues] Therefore now I will wander away over the wide world, and spend my life in seeking her: for but this, nothing is left in life, and the hope of reunion is like the back of the Great Tortoise, my solitary refuge in the wreck of the three worlds. So he rose up, and went out of the city, and wandered about, hither and thither, like a bubble on the waves of time. And he went from village to village, and from city to city, asking everywhere of all whom he met: Have you seen Shrí, my wife? you will know her by her eyes, for they are full of the colour of heaven. But however much he asked, he found no answer: nor could anyone tell him anything about her. On the contrary, all wondered at him and turned him to ridicule. And one would say: Who is this moon-struck vagabond who roams about looking for a blue-eyed beauty? And another: What wonder that Shrí has deserted such a ragged mendicant, who forsakes even the well-to-do! And others said: This distracted Rajpoot wants the moon, but he needs medicines q. And at last he abandoned altogether the dwellings of p. 80 men, and wandered continually in the jungle, with no companions but his shadow and his sword, looking in vain for the path by which he had gone on his former journey to the Land of the Lotus, and gazing by day at the pools of blue lotuses, and by night at the heaven with its stars, for they were like mirrors and images of the hues and shadows of the eyes of Shrí. 78:p dinmohita = desorienté. 79:q The point of these gibes depends on the various meanings of the word Shrí: which may mean his wife, or the goddess of fortune, or the moon: out of which come herbs or medicines. Next: XI. The Lord of the Beasts
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18637	Business Implications & Strategies of 3D Printing Jack Heslin (President, 3D Tech Talks) Location: 208B Date: Tuesday, February 6 Time: 8:30am - 9:15am Conference Track: 3D Printing Vault Recording: TBD How does 3D Printing impact the supply chain, spare parts inventories, cost accounting, time to market, and so many other business functions? If a part that has traditionally been made with 40 components can now be made with two, how does that impact the labor force? What jobs are we going to see start diminishing and what jobs will be more in demand? Is it too soon to tell? We aren't going to know the answer to these questions for years but business owners and executives have to start thinking about them now.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18641	Thursday, September 8, 2011 Vision Of Creation "Seeing you will see and not perceive" Matthew 13:14 The unexplained mysteries of the universe cry out for the intellect of Man to find answers. The more we know the more complex the mystery, and many times we revise what we think we knew. The world of absolute truths is invisible to the mind searching for concrete, conclusive evidence. We are forced to rely on theories and beliefs to find peace with our ignorance. In my attempts to find meaning in my life, I have searched the world of science and religion. My intellectual journey has brought me to a strong belief in God as my creator, and with my study of the Word of God, I have found a faith in Jesus Christ as my savior. I have found that when you believe in God, it is a precursor to the need to seek out the purpose of His creation. The foundation of reasonably accepting God’s role in creation was a mind process to me. It starts with the beginning. In an instant, with a burst of energy, the newly formed masses accelerated outwards at incredible speed. The clock was started as creation marched forward through space. Soon the universe lit up as photons of light illuminated the darkness. The spectacle of God’s creation was on display, awaiting the eyes of Man to see. The mysterious photon is of little significance without the creation of eyes. The photon lifts us from a blind species living in darkness, isolated from much of our environment that surrounds us. Even as it is hard to reconcile the existence of a photon, except to provide light to see, it is equally as hard for me to understand the complex creation of the eye, except for the purpose to see the wonder of God’s creation. The visions of the wonders of God’s creation are not the only revelation of the eyes, but many of the wonders of scientific discovery are revealed by our sight and the enhanced "eyes" we have developed. These are most apparent by the very large of cosmology and the telescope, and the very small of the microscopic world in biology and tools of quantum physics. The scientific process of observation is the foundation of much of our theories in physics and other sciences. Suffice it to say that without our sight much of our observable discoveries would not exist and we would be left "in the dark". The belief of non-believers of God is that creation occurred by random, spontaneous means, from natural forces, and exist without a divine purpose. With so much of our life dependent on sight, it is hard to believe the formation of the photons (light) as having no purpose and are another lucky, accidental coincidence for the eyes of Man. The concept of purpose of the photon in relationship with the other fundamental forces (electromagnetism, weak and strong interactions, gravity) and particles (the Standard Model) of quantum physics is mysterious and confusing, but by it’s very complexity infers a strong purpose as part of creation. Also, the idea of the speed of light ( c ) as a constant in our universe and a purposeful tool of astrophysics (Einstein’s Theory of Relativity- E=mc2), and the photon as a controversial wave or particle phenomenum with no mass, adds to the mystery and the concept of purpose of the photon. The creation of light ("Let there be Light") certainly does not seem arbitrary and with no purpose. Perhaps even harder to explain without purpose is the eye. It is easy to know which came first, the chicken or the egg, but why light would exist without eyesight, especially eyesight backed by a reasoning mind, defies explanation. To me this represents a special relationship between light and vision that gives purpose to each. The animal and even the plant kingdom have photo-sensing abilities. Indeed, many types of eyes exist in the animal kingdom. Man has not explained or revealed good explanations or evidence for the evolution of the eye. To me it rationally goes like this. How do you create the genetic code for the components in the brain to interpret sight without having simultaneous genetic codes for all the physical components of an eye? Show me the steps, and also the evidence of these steps. Have them occur randomly and without purpose (survival?) and let me decide rationally of your possibility as compared to the belief of a purposeful creation by God so we can "see" the wonder of His creation. Of course this is a simplification of the problems in explaining the evolution of the eye (note: I am not necessarily an opponent of evolution). The anatomical and mental structures involved in sight are as complex as the physics of the photon. Putting these together is one of the factors that led to my belief in God’s role in creation. No comments: Post a Comment
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18646	Thursday, October 14, 2010 fun with googly eyes: part two If happiness came in a bag (and it wasn't chocolate) I do think it may be googly eyes. There is just so much one can do with these little guys. It being fall and all and almost Halloween I think a little extra googly eye fun is in order. Yesterday's post is a perfect example of how easy it is to play with these kooky things. Today, I want to show you how delightful a pack of eyes, a few toothpics, glue and paper punches or scissors can be. Viola...googly cupcake toppers! So, what are ya waiting for? Whip up a batch of pumpkin cupcakes or gingerbread muffins and while they are baking, let your kidlets loose to make all sorts of spooky-fun toppers. It's an impromptu party! Yay for Halloween! scrap paper, printed paper, newspaper paint of your choice paint brushes cup o water glue and/or glue stick various paper punches or scissors googly eyes markers (optional) 1. These are soooo coooool!!!!!!! Oooh, do you think we could reprint this as a special Jek Guest Post on Modern Kiddo??? We would link back here of course. So fun....xoxo 2. what kind of polka dot like candy is that? i love the colors! 3. they're sixlets! in bright colors! 4. these are SO cute! I am going to feature them before Halloween! 5. Oh me, oh me, oh my..these are ADORABLE! And...the name of your blog...priceless!! I'm going to borrow your idea for my daughter's Halloween party and link back to you...K? 6. thank you so much everyone! i hope you have fun making them and yes, link up and i can link back to y'all!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18648	In the Classroom: Chinese Fireworks This week we're talking about fireworks. Fireworks have been used for centuries in China. Invented around 200 BC, they began from humble origins when bamboo was thrown into fire and exploded. Later, after the invention of gunpowder, they evolved to the fireworks that we know today. The Chinese were also the first to produce colorful fireworks by combining different minerals into the gunpowder. Fireworks are an integral part of Chinese festivals because they are thought to scare away evil spirits and bring good luck. We were inspired by this blog post on ART PROJECTS FOR KIDS to create our own Chinese fireworks. We can't make the real deal, but this is the next best thing. Black, navy, purple (Note: Teachers, for younger students use a smaller piece of paper.) Oil pastels or brightly colored crayons Spray to set oil pastels (optional) Brightly colored paper for mating (optional) 1. Draw three or four large dots on your paper. 2. Begin making radial lines (squiggly or zigzag lines) around one of the dots. Choose another color and continue drawing squiggly lines around in a circle. Continue drawing lines with multiple colors until you reach the edge of the paper. 3. Move to another dot and continue with process until the entire paper is covered. 4. Optional: Mat on brightly colored paper to really make your fireworks pop! Have you been inspired by "In the Classroom?" If you'd like this series to continue, send us an email at or post a message on our Facebook page and let us know. We want to hear from you! - Laura Touhey Popular Posts
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18650	Vol. 128 • January 2001 • No. 2 Debt relief, the election 4 Abstinence, anyone? 5 The chickens come home 6 The fullness of football 6 Giving death its due 7 Garvey, John Still fighting the Civil War?: Two nominees should explain 8 Dionne, E.J. Jr. Fox & the governors: Mexico's new president looks for political partners 9 Grayson, George W. A DISEMBODIED 'THEOLOGY OF THE BODY': Some think the pope's ideas about sex and love are the answer to modern sexual confusion. A theologian and biblical scholar disagrees 11 Johnson, Luke Timothy Naked 14 O'Gorman, Ned Cast Away You Can Count on Me: Stranded in the wilds of the South Pacific and the wilds of upstate New York 18 Cooper, Rand Richards The cat decides: The music of John Tavener 20 Ivry, Benjamin Constantine's Sword 22 Wilken, Robert Louis & Carroll, James Do Not Go Gentle 28 Hood, Ann & Mathias, Anita Apsed Catholics 31 Echlin, Edward P. Developed by Kanda Sofware Kanda Software, Inc.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18661	Saturday, January 19, 2008 Top ten Reasons Top Ten Reasons-A Resource List Top 10 reasons why happiness is ultimate productivity booster 10 reasons people make stupid decisions Top 10 Reasons Why Proposals Fail Top ten reasons Geeks make good fathers!1pLLf-75vbkScDmJSvitLgBA!490.entry 10 Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library 10 Good Reasons To Go Organic Psychology is the science of sciences-Vivekananda
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18662	Wednesday, June 6, 2012 Backup your Outlook Express Data: Step by Step.. SkyHi @ Wednesday, June 06, 2012 Outlook express data consists of the several parts. • Email messages • Account settings • Address Book (if used) • Mail rules (if any) • Passwords 1. Email Messages: From the Outlook Express menu select Tools \| Options \| Maintenance and click the StoreFolder button. You see a dialog with the name of the directory that has your mail files. If you look in that directory you find files named after your mail folders and news groups. They all have a .DBX suffix. Outlook Express keeps all messages in these database files. If you make copies of these files regularly, you'll have a safe backup of your OE mail. Restore (if necessary): To restore the backup data, just copy it back to the directory. You can selectively restore folders by just copying specific files back. Alternatively, you can use OE's File \| Import \| Messages feature to import one or more of the backup folders. Email Account Settings As far as we know, the procedure works for all kind of email: The regular SMTP / POP3 based email, MAPI, IMAP or even the free Hotmail Account, that is built into Outlook. For Hotmail, however, some messages and settings might be stored only at the Hotmail server ( = somewhere at Microsoft !) and not on your local PC. 2. Account settings: Data about your mail and news accounts are stored in the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Account Manager. To save this data, start RegEdit and select that key in the left-hand pane. Then from the menu select Registry \| Export Registry File. Save the file to a name like "outlook.reg". Restore (if necessary) To restore the account settings, right-click the .REG file and select Merge. Note: As an alternative, you can save the data one account at a time through Outlook Express: click Tools \| Accounts \| Export and specify the name of the file to save the settings. Be sure to save this information for every account. 3. Address Book Getting the data out of your address book for safekeeping is relatively easy. From the menu select File \| Export \| Address Book and select the comma separated text file as your output format. Then select the fields you want to export. To make sure you know where the backup is going, give a full path name. To restore the address book or to get your addresses onto a new system, the process is not quite symmetrical. Select File \| Import \| Other address book and select the text file option again. You'll be given a list of fields to import. Since you're importing a file that was created by Outlook Express, you usually don't need to make any changes here. After that, click your way on through the wizard and you'll get your address book back. 4. Mail Rules The mail rules are stored at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities. If you run Regedit and export this entire subkey to a file the same way you did with account settings: from the menu select Registry \| Export Registry File. Save the file to a name like "rules.reg". Restore (if necessary): Under the Identities key each subkey has a long number that looks similar to {36753740-2WEE-781D3-89B1-00A0C9900DSA}. So if you have five different identities in Outlook you will have five of these long numbers. Below the numbers are all the settings specific the the identity (signatures, mail rules,...). If you are restoring without reinstall and on the same PC these numbers do not change (as far as we know !) and you can just restore the registry entries by clicking on the reg file. Moving OE settings to a NEW PC: If you're moving to a new system or doing a clean install, the {...} numbers are be different and you may have to manually move the entries to the differently numbered entries that are actually being used. How to do this? This is the method that we use in our office: 1. Export the registry branch on the old PC to a .reg file. 2. Transfer this "reg" file to the new PC 3. On the new computer search for the (still empty) settings of your new Outlook Express installation. Once you find, you have the new {...} number! 4. Now, open the transfered.reg file with a text editor and make a "Search and Replace" Replace the old {....} value with the NEW {...} that you just located in the registry. 5. Save this file and then click on it. This will import your old settings in the NEW registry. 5. Passwords Outlook Express, along with those of most other Microsoft applications such as Internet Explorer, stores its passwords in .PWL files in your Windows directory. There's a separate file for each username on the system. Backup the files frequently. You can view the content of these files with the FREE "Write All Stored Password" utility from iOpus Software. 6. Recommended Reading: Last but not least: Microsoft official information on this topic can be found in the following knowledge base articles: How To: Transfer your PuTTY settings between computers SkyHi @ Wednesday, June 06, 2012 PuTTY is tops on the short list of applications I install first on any Windows machine. Over the years I've used PuTTY, I've installed it on a huge number of computers but I've always had one complaint;There isn't a configuration file I can backup or move to a new machine Getting all the little comfort settings correct for each SSH connection can be a pain. The third time you set emulation, keys, encryption type, etc. for each machine you regularly access, you lose patience. The fifth time you find yourself re-entering settings you might do what I did, find a better way. Moving PuTTy settings between computers is an easy task once you know what's involved. We'll find the registry keys where PuTTy stores its configuration information and export them to a file. We'll then use that file we've made to import our configuration on the target machine. Exporting Your PuTTy Configuration Putty stores its settings in the Windows registry. To save a backup of your Putty settings, you'll need to export this registry key to a file. (Simon Tatham is the original developer responsible for PuTTy) 1. Click Start->Run and type "RegEdt32" in the "Open" dialog. Click "Ok" 2. One RegEdt32 starts, you'll be presented with an application which looks something like: 3. Press "Ctrl+F" to bring up the Find dialog. Enter the name of the key, "SimonTratham" in the "Find What" field, and make sure only "Keys" is checked in the "Look At" section of the dialog. Finally, click "Find Next" 4. The search may take a while, reminding us that the Windows Registry is a large and mysterious place where dragons be. Let's use these few seconds to reflect on the fact that you should never, ever, never change things in the registry unless you are absolutely, positively, totally, completely, 100%dead sure that you know exactly what you're doing. When the search completes we'll see the key name for which we're looking. 5. Click File->Export. Give your file an appropriate name like, "putty.reg" and click "Save" 6. We're done! Save the putty.reg file somewhere safe. The file doesn't contain any passwords or actual SSH key values so, it's relatively safe from prying eyes. Still, it does contain your configuration and that kind of data is a private matter. Importing Your PuTTy Configuration To import your saved PuTTy configuration on any other Windows computer simply copy your exported registry key, right click on the file and click "Merge" Windows will ask you for confirmation that you want to import this set of registry values. We know this file is safe, because we created it but, you should never import registry information from an unknown source. That's all you need to know about moving your PuTTy configuration from one machine to another. This can be really useful information when upgrading to a new PC or, if you're an office IT guy where your users all have a standard list of servers they need to connect via SSH, you can create a reference configuration on once machine and "share" it between every computer in the office. Tuesday, June 5, 2012 How To Clear DNS Cache In Mac OSX Leopard SkyHi @ Tuesday, June 05, 2012 flushdns leopard How to Clear DNS Cache in Mac OSX Leopard DNS request are usually cached, that’s good as it help to speeds up the lookups within the samehost but sometimes we will want to clear the cache so it don’t hold the values that are no longer valid. To clear DNS cache in Mac OSX, we can do it with the help of Terminal. Mac OSX 10.4 And Below 1. lookupd -flushcache Mac OSX 10.5 And Above However a Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard user will tell you this command will no longer work. In Mac OSX Leopard a new command has been used to replace flushcache. To clear DNS cache in Leopard, use the following command: 1. dscacheutil -flushcache wireless isolation SkyHi @ Tuesday, June 05, 2012 Enable Wireless Isolation If checked, the wireless client under this SSID can only access internet and it can‘t access other wireless clients even under the same SSID, Ethernet clients or this device. Other clients can‘t access the wireless client, either. Monday, June 4, 2012 Five Best Android ROMs SkyHi @ Monday, June 04, 2012 Photo by Peter Kirn. Android Open Kang Project (AOKP) Slim ICS Liquid Smooth ROMS Custom ROMs For Android Explained - Here Is Why You Want Them SkyHi @ Monday, June 04, 2012 Ever wondered what the whole Android custom ROM scene was about? What is all this talk of installing "aftermarket", custom upgrades on your phone? Who needs it? Why do it? Is it safe? Don't fret - I'm here to explain - the AndroidPolice Academy is now in session. By the way, the word ROM means Read OnlyMemory, but has migrated in the modding community to mean an actual custom OS image that you install into the ROM area of your phone. Also, the word kernel essentially means the heart of the OS - it's the barebones operating system components. Custom ROMs Why You Want Custom ROMs Update Frequency Using a custom ROM usually results in more frequent updates that fix bugs and introduce new features because the developer behind the ROM doesn't have the same procedures and red tape that the manufacturer+carrier combo does. • A quality update can be churned faster because it doesn't involve the bureaucracy of 30 different project managers, 15 vice presidents, and 5 dozen marketing departments. • A ROM developer usually gains a loyal community which beta tests his updates in real life situations and provide feedback, or even fixes bugs - that's the beauty of open source software. • Oh and did I mention that ROMs are usually free and supported by optional donations? If you can't afford to pay for it, you don't have to. • Finally, most custom ROMs out there are updateable over the air (OTA) and without reinstalling anything. Who doesn't love open source after this? Better Performance And Efficiency Custom ROMs are oftentimes faster, more efficient, and use less memory because • the developer ripped out useless garbage, such as carrier installed apps or • the developer optimized the kernel. For example, an undervolted kernel can provide a much better battery life than the stock one. Upgrading To A Better/Later Version Of Android You can upgrade to a version of the OS that has not yet been released for your device, or never will be. This is possible in 2 situations: • leaked version of the new ROM showed up online, and the developer got on it like the fat kid chasing an ice cream truck. This was exactly the case with Hero and Android 2.1, allowing me to upgrade from 1.5 weeks (months) before the official version was available and ditch the bogged down and slow stock OS. • ROM from another phone was ported by the developer to work on yours. For example, G1 and MyTouch 3G users may never see Android 2.1 officially released on their phones, but Cyanogen, one of the most respected Android developers, was recently able to create a custom ROM running 2.1 for those devices. Oh, what a happy day it was for MT3G and G1 owners. Ability To Install Apps To The SD Card Most custom ROMs nowadays come with the ability to install applications to the SD card, calledApps2SD (or A2SD). This is currently not possible on stock ROMs, even in Android 2.1 and is supposedly on Google's TODO list. If you have run out of space on your phone (which I have repeatedly on my Hero), Apps2SD is a killer feature to have. About That Rooting Business… Don't confuse custom ROMs with rooting - they're completely different. We have explained rooting and its benefits in an article called Rooting Explained + Top 5 Benefits Of Rooting Your Android Phone. The Downsides Of Custom ROMs Of course, there are dangers of using custom ROMs which you should be aware of. Something Could Go Wrong First of all, something may go wrong with the flashing process (that's the process of installing the ROM) and leave your phone in a bricked state. The chances of this are pretty low nowadays, and most of the time you can restore it back to normal. Try to go for the ROM that has been tested by time and has lots of positive feedback. Clean Wipe In order to install a custom ROM, you need to perform a clean wipe. This means you will lose all existing data, so you have to back everything up first. Of course, just for this, we have a straightforward tutorial that shows how to back up and restore your entire phone: [Complete Guide] How To Fully Back Up And Restore Your Android Phone Using Nandroid Backup. Potential Problems Custom ROMs could have bugs… but then so do the stock ones. However, in case you do find a bug, you actually have a 2-way channel of reporting it - post in the ROM forum and you will more than likely get an answer back and your bug acknowledged. Try doing this to your phone manufacturer and see if you can get past the first level of outsourced monkeys, let alone actual developers. You May Void Your Warranty It's possible that custom rooting will void your warranty because you will "break the seal" on the boot loader by installing a custom one which on some phones apparently can't be undone (this includes the Nexus One). Because of that, the manufacturer might be able to tell that the phone has had a custom ROM installed and not honor the warranty, in case you need to use it. Now, in most cases, the benefits of the custom ROM outweigh the possibility of your warranty being denied. I recommend getting a warranty from your carrier and using that in case anything bad happens (that warranty is usually unconditional and covers things like losses and physical damage). Getting The Right Custom ROM New phones and ROMs come out all the time, and the scope of this article doesn't cover individual ROMs - but the general approach to finding one is Googling for "YOUR_PHONE_MODEL ROM" or something similar, optionally including the wanted Android version. Try it out - you'll find what you want. And there you have it - another tutorial is in the can, as Leo Laporte likes to say. Have you found it useful or got anything to add? Please share in the comments. What is root or being rooted mean? SkyHi @ Monday, June 04, 2012 Here's a few threads (and excepts from each thread) here at AF that already tackle this topic: what is rooting? • Taken from the Cyanogen Wiki CyanogenMod Wiki Most carriers "lock" their handsets to discourage customers from taking their handset and moving to another carrier. Carriers also depend on "exclusivity" agreements to encourage users to switch to their plans so they can use a particular handset (e.g., Apple's iPhone on the AT&T network). To use the handset on another carrier's network it would be necessary to "unlock" the handset. This is done with a code based on the IMEI of the handset that can be provided by your carrier or firms on the internet that are slightly more reliable than west African ebay bidders. Unlocking is not possible with CyanogenMod or any other Android replacement. Furthermore, they may impose software limitations to prevent using the handset in a manner that might undercut their voice plans (e.g., Skype, Google Voice), or putting strain on the data network (e.g., tethering, streaming video). The way to get around this is to acquire 'root' (i.e. Administrator) access on the device, so you can install/modify/fix/break anything you want. • Rooting directions vary from phone to phone, but a good place to start would be the Android Development forums at XDA-Developers (.com). In and of itself, root only gives you access to secured parts of the phone, just like if you're using using Windows and you have to click that little Run As Administrator prompt. Basically it's a system developed a long while back that keeps the regular day to day operations from being able to have too negative an impact on the rest of the system. The positive thing about root is everything it then allows you to do further on down the line including custom apps, configurations and even OS'. Here's a nice little Wiki article that gives a little more detail: Why Root - Android Wiki • what is it? it's all kinda easy... imagine your fathers pc: you can log in as a user, your father may have allowed you to install stuff. but hey the c:/windows/ folder is locked and you can't screw up the computer. android works on linux. linux has the following system: admin user super user as a regular android user you are an "admin user". you can install stuff, update, make the screen shiny and just work on it. super users can screw up the kernel, over clock the processors (and overheat them by accident), get more sound from the speakers by "over clocking" that to, replace the system with another one, etc. this has something to do with the security of the phone and the security of specific folders (with the most important folder called "ROOT"). like my android milestone is protected in two ways: 1: the phone's "bios" (protects the phone from weird changes and combines all devices in your phone to a working system) 2: the phones ROOT (contains all info on how the phone should work) the bios must be cracked to make changes in the system (like ROOTing) some nerds do this and post "backups" of this system to xda-developers. hackers/programmers make changes to specific files to remove the lock on SU (superuser) and post these in this backups. SU-acces allows you to do things that are not supposed to work like sharing your 3G-connection to wifi. this is blocked till 2.1 because phone carriers din't like that. now with the 2.2 update it becomes legal). or change the folder where your apps are installed from phone memory to the SD card(once again in the 2.2 update they fixed this). But, as you can think with your brains. Rooted systems can be broken by the most stupidest terminal commands (since you can just command the phone to blow itself lituraly), or even when you delete a file from the ROOT folder by accident. bricking the phone becomes very easy. that's why phone sellers won't help you as soon as they notice you were using a ROOTED phone. you can test if your phone is rooted by downloading a small app called "terminal emulator" and filling in the code: this (SuperUser) command, means that you tell the terminal that you want to start changing important stuff and you need all acces possible. If the system is rooted you are presented by a # after you click the Enter(return) button on your keyboard. if the system isn't rooted you are presented by the text "No acces" or something like it. Rooting is only cool for people who: build their own systems, want to be their 1G phone (very old phone) a bit faster, or just want to prank to their friends on how they ruined their phones (and how much money they have to buy a new one). Rooting is not cool for people who: know nothing of terminals and linux systems, are no developers for google, have brains, want to keep their phone carriers friendly,experience that in a pocket they can accidently push buttons and people who want to use their phone the best way possible (it costed manufacturers loads of time to adjust the system in such a way that the phone works the best, why would you screw that up?). hope this solves the big question about Rooting. but for those people that only read the last line: rooting is giving yourself acces to the folder called ROOT, where the system get's it's knowledge on how many volts it should send to the different parts of your phone, and how everything in your phone should work. a good thinking (wo)man wouln't concider rooting for even a second! • to get a good understanding of root, read this: What is root? -- definition by The Linux Information Project (LINFO) • Here's the Evo info on what root is - Quick INTRO TO ROOTING for those new to rooting • Generically speaking, rooting often is nothing more than hitting a known exploit where for a very brief instant, root access becomes available. These injection points are given names, like RageAgainstTheCage. During that time of root vulnerability, a system injection is made to hold the root door open until you're established as root. Because they're timing dependent, doing it by hand may or may not require multiple, boring iterations - hence, the methods get scripted (sometime with the necessary iterative loops) and the result are the one-click methods. What is root? • Root - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • to "root" your phone essentially means to give yourself superuser access on it. This is like being the highest level of administrator for the device. This allows you to change the interface of your phone. Once your phone is "rooted" you can install custom ROMs (they look alot like themes, just google the name and you'll see plenty of examples). You can also download "rooted only" applications for use on the device. A "Root" in general is the most basic directory in a system. For instance the Root of your computer most likely is the "C:" drive. Their also happens to be a "Root" of your smartphone, which is what is manipulated in order to achieve a "rooted" phone and its benefits. what is rooting • Android is built upon the Linux operating system, where there is a concept of an administrator user aka "root" that has full permissions to the system. When you "root" a phone, you are enabling access to the root user so you can call on that user to access protected functionality. As a regular user, you can request "superuser" access, which is another way of saying that you want root privileges. In a traditional Linux OS, if you log in as root, you can actually create multiple superusers, like a team of administrators, with either complete power, or some subset of power. But for the purpose of Android phones, the only superuser is root, and root always has full access to the system. To request superuser access, you would use a shell command called "su." In Android, the su command works in conjunction with an app called Superuser to grant the Android application(s) root access. The Superuser app is included in the rooted ROM; it's something you automatically get when you root your phone. Android applications with root access can do a lot more. If you ever see an app on the market that says "for rooted devices only," it means that its functionality requires root access. A normal unrooted phone would not be able to perform that functionality. • Quick INTRO TO ROOTING for those new to rooting What does root or rooted mean? • Gaining root access is the equivalent of having admin rights on Windows. If you didn't root it or purchase it from someone who stated it was rooted, then it isn't. • With root you are able to access and change all files on your device where as when you arent you can only access the ones the manufacturer want. Root is the Unix/Linux term for administrator. It gives you permissions you do not have normally with the regular user permissions • To answer the question is in linux you have the opportunity to gain super user access through terminal this is exactly what root does gives you permanent access to root directory of your phone meaning you can mod the phone all you want including erase the operating system and brick the phone on the bad side. • To clarify from above: A phone that is NOT rooted can still be modified (you can still make it LOOK different) by using applications like Launcher Pro, for example, and installing Themes. You don't need to root to do this. If your phone is NOT rooted, you can also still access files that are on the SD card and/or on the internal memory, you just can't access _all_ the files on the internal memory. This is an important distinction imho because a complete newb might misunderstand and think he/she needs to root to access any of his/her files. 1. If you Root your phone, you will be able to access files that you are not allowed to access without root. These are usually important system files, which you don't want to touch unless you know what you are doing because you could screw up your phone. 2. If you root your phone you can use certain apps that need to access parts of the Android system that can't be accessed without root, but these are mostly obscure (in the past you had to root to tether your phone to your computer to share your data for internet access, for example, but that is no longer necessary). 3. Rooting lets you delete the bloatware/crapware that often now comes pre-installed by the manufacturers and carriers, and which usually can't be deleted/uninstalled without root. 4. Rooting lets you install custom ROMs. A ROM is like installing a different version of the Android OS with some changes/tweeks to it, like changing the layout and design of the user interface (UI), or so that you can get a newer version of Android on your phone before the manufacturer releases an update (if they ever even do!). These are the main things accomplished by rooting, and it is important to note that if you attempt to root your phone and don't do it properly, you could "Brick" your phone, which means it becomes inoperable. • the others have given you good info... but to put it more simple... rooting is getting access to the ROOT directory of your internal storage. This is how you can get control of all your phone functions that the service carrier has denied you from. To me, rooting is gaining special access to things on your phone that the carriers and manufacturers didn't intend for you to have (and they often have very good reasons for this, by the way). To actually gain root access usually (but not always) requires uncovering some exploit that allows you to insert the su program in the /system/bin or /system/xbin directory. Additionally, you also need theSuperuser.apk (whitelist app) to be installed in the /system/app directory. The Superuser app helps you manage which apps are allowed to have root access (i.e., so that not just any app can gain special control of your device). Additionally, rooting sometimes leads to the ability to overwrite or replace the special partitions (filesystems) on your phone such as the recovery partition so you can install a new, custom recovery that will allow you to install (flash) custom ROMs (i.e., new versions of Android). Finally, if you do root, take a peek at this thread to help you avoid some pitfalls later on: Rooting Best Practices Rooting Best Practices If you are new to rooting, you might want to be aware of some general guidelines for various root-related activities that might help you avoid some trouble along the way. Have a fall-back / recovery plan before taking any "scary" (risky) action. In other words, know what steps you'll need to follow if you encounter a problem. Make a backup before you alter or remove any system-related apps or settings. If you can't make a full, restorable (i.e., a Nandroid) backup, then don't make any changes--doing so without a backup is asking for bootloops or soft-brickings. - If your Android device does not support a custom recovery or the ability to make a full device backup (i.e., a Nandroid backup), then you should avoid making any system-related changes that could affect the ability of your device to boot (i.e., modifying or removing system apps, etc.). Verify the integrity of any files you might flash. This means checking the file size and (MD5) checksum on the platform from which the file is being flashed. If you are flashing from your device, you should check its integrity there there's no guarantee that it matches it original source unless you verify that. If you are are flashing from a PC, you should also check the file's integrity from there, too. - Be sure to carefully follow the ROM (or theme) dev's installation instructions. If wipes are required, be sure to not miss those steps. The sequences of steps is often very precise and following them correctly will help ensure a successful installation. - When/if you overclock, be sure to not enable the "set on boot" option until you are sure your device is stable at the selected speed. Also, don't forget to to set a failsafe temperature profile/setting to keep your device from over-heating. - Also, take care when first using a tool like ROM Manager. It makes doing some root operations very simple, but you might want to become with conversant with how to operate and navigate directly in ClockworkMod custom recovery. This way, you will be prepared for the possible eventuality when you really need to manually operate in ClockworkMod custom recovery. So, your first forays with flashing ROMs might be best done manually. Let me know if you have any other things to add or expand on in the above.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18664	I’ve Been Served With An Eviction Notice! Now What? What to Do After Receiving a Massachusetts Eviction Notice Getting served with an eviction notice can be a stressful experience. Tenants who receive one of these notices need to act quickly to protect their rights. What is An Eviction Notice? An eviction notice in Massachusetts is generally one of two things. To start an eviction, a landlord must send a tenant a notice to quit, informing the tenant that their tenancy is being terminated. These notices typically provide fourteen or thirty days notice to the tenant, depending on the reason for the eviction. After a tenancy is terminated, a landlord must serve the tenant with an eviction summons. This is the official court notice that an eviction is beginning against a tenant, and is the eviction notice that a tenant needs to be most mindful of. Important Dates in an Eviction Notice An eviction summons contains a number of different dates, including an entry date, hearing date, and answer deadline. This last date, the answer deadline, is the most important date to keep in mind in responding to an eviction notice. This is the date by which the tenant must respond to the eviction notice, and state the reasons why the tenant believes he or she should not be evicted. Under the rules for Massachusetts evictions, the answer must be received on the answer date. Unlike other types of court cases, mailing an answer on the answer deadline is not compliant with this deadline; the clerk’s office and the landlord must actually get the answer by this deadline. Failing to comply with this deadline puts you at risk of a default judgment (an automatic win for the landlord). Filing An Answer and Request for Discovery This response to an eviction notice is known as an answer. In an answer, the tenant is required to admit or deny each of the allegations made by the landlord against the tenant, and to list each of their defenses against the eviction. A tenant also has the option of bringing claims against the landlord, known as counterclaims. Common defenses and counterclaims in eviction cases include poor conditions in the rental unit, discrimination, and violation of the Massachusetts Security Deposit Law. A tenant also has the right to request discovery from the landlord. Discovery is the process by which a tenant can ask a landlord written questions, which the landlord must answer under oath, and to request that the landlord produce all documents relevant to the case. Speak With A Landlord/Tenant Attorney For Help in Responding to An Eviction Notice If this process sounds confusing to you, you aren’t alone. Despite the availability of many landlord/tenant resources online, eviction cases can be complex and tricky. Tenants who have received an eviction notice should give serious thought to meeting with a landlord/tenant attorney for help with their case. Many tenants are surprised to learn that such services can be affordable and, most importantly, effective at getting you the results you need.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18680	Monday, August 11, 2008 August 11, 2008 Ok, let's get through this quick. Went on a walk after getting home late, cereal for dinner, hehe, then the internet went out so I watched some TiVo and now I'm finally starting my blog at 11. Tons of pics to share so let's get started shall we? First off, I'm pretty sure this is a ladybug, but it looks more orange than the last one you all identified for me, so I wanted to check. This one was in the general area of my tomatoes, but on my carrots. Silly bug, carrots are for rabbits! Speaking of tomatoes, the Early Girls are filling out on top, ok that just sounded bad, but it's true... look... But the tiny ones on the bottom that were the first to ripen still haven't got any bigger, but I'm pretty sure these "cherry tomatoes" are ready to harvest! I can just taste them with my fresh cukes and my lettuce mix! Too bad the spinach is slow to grow and the radishes aren't quite ready. Ooh, I could grate some carrots and dice some onions to garnish it up... yum, tomorrow for dinner! One veggie I've been very bad about eating is my beans. I just read today that you should pick them immature for best taste and tenderness. And the more you pick the more bush beans produce. Now they tell me. Look how big they are! And I'm pretty sure these are just about to petter out, because I noticed flowers on the pole beans, and I've been told bush and pole beans don't produce at the same time. Oh, and after all the posts about my corn, I figured it's been a few weeks or so since the silks turned brown and died on one or two of my small cobs, so I guessed that I was just stuck with small ears of corn. So today while I was watering I gently squeezed the husk, only to find it basically empty. There's not much of a corn cob in there. I'm afraid to open it, but it's likely not formed correctly. Did I wait too long to hand polinate? The wind's been whipping through there enough to wind pollinate it I'm pretty sure, and I shook the stalks and blew the pollen off the leaves. Grrr. I guess all I can do is either wait or pick one and open it. Lastly, I felt compelled to share my potato jungle again. The drooping vines only grew more flowers and now the entire bin is getting engulffed in potato vines. Heck, it's almost attacking my cantaloupe SWC it's so massive! I know it's tough to tell from that angle since all the vines are on the other side, but with the sun going down this is the only angle I could take a picture from. Trust me, that blue thing behind the mess of leaves is my SWC, hehe. I may gently dig into the Yukon bin, since it's easy to see the dirt there. The Butte bin is another story all together. I couldn't see the dirt if you paid me. I guess I could remove a board, but that's dangerous. I don't know how much dirt will be lost. Hmm? Oh, and while I was watering my blueberries I noticed one had fallen to the ground. Being a boy, I picked it up, dusted it off and ate it. OMG it was candy! Better than candy. It was sweet and juicy and all around yummy! I guess the one I had that was bitter just wasn't ready yet. So after our walk I took the kids around and found three that came off easily with a gentle pull, one for each of my family. Needless to say these bushes are keepers. And the evergreen Legacy is finally ripening fruit. It's slower to produce, which is good meaning eventually I'll have an early season and a late season crop. Lastly, I want to give a big thanks and "shout-out" to Engineered Gardener of NW Alabama. If he's a redneck (he calls himself one), then Jeff Foxworthy really needs to rethink his comedy, because he's no longer funny. I've been emailing him and he is not only one of the sharpest people I know, but more talented at everything I hold dear than I could ever hope to be. And he's battling a disease that he only recently was diagnosed with and has just received any treatment. It boggles the mind. Anyway, I'm proud to call him a friend and gardening buddy, though he's much more than just gardening! Well that's it for me tonight, enjoy your garden! 1. We have a square foot garden, too. I'm bad at letting stuff grow to big as well. I just pulled some turnips last week and they were nasty! 2. Your ladybug is an Asian Lady Beetle. They are well known for there varying color from orange to yellow and sometimes almost black. They are just as beneficial as the more commonly known nine-spotted ladybug. 3. Hi Sin! Yep, looks like a lady bug to me too :-) Wow -- you have tomatoes now! Cool. You'll havet to let us know how they taste. Does everyone in your family eat tomatoes? This year we even converted my 10 year old niece -- she wouldn't touch a tomato. Now, she says that she loves Aunt Judy's "homegrown" tomatoes and that is the only kind she will eat. I feel very privileged! You definitely need to pick the bush beans. You'll be surprised, but when you pick them, the plants should start to produce more flowers and this will eventually give you a 2nd picking. There is nothing better than fresh green beans in the garden! My family loves green beans. You're going to find that those pole beans are worse than weeds LOL Just keep them picked and they will produce and produce..... If you don't feel any kernels on the corn, just wait a little longer for them to fill out. Also, if you see any signs of corn worms, very lightly dust some Sevin dust on them. That helped me alot. I now have one of those dusters like Patti uses. But before that, I used a baby powder container and it worked pretty well. Oh my goodness -- I just can't get over your potatoes! My MIL's are doing the same thing and she's impressed all those gardeners and farmers up in Kentucky! No one can believe how tall her potato vines have grown. I'm very anxious (and praying!) that you get tons of potatoes!!! LOL -- you're meeting even more gardeners from Alabama! That's cool! I think it's wonderful how we can use the internet to connect with so many other gardeners across the country and even across the oceans :-)
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18694	Sunday, May 10, 2009 Harmful Love WHEN WE LOVE SOMEONE our instinct is to correct them when they're wrong, which is good -- in a way. In today's reading from the Coptic Lectionary, we are struck by how gently our Lord brought the Samaritan woman from Clueless to Evangelist. The Fathers give us some solid advice on building others up. St. Gregory Palamas writes, If you wish to correct anyone from his faults, do not think of correcting him solely by your own means: you would only do harm by your own passions, for instance, by pride and by the irritability arising from it; "but cast thy burden upon the Lord,' (Ps. 55:22) and pray to God 'Who trieth the hearts and reins," (Ps. 7:9) with all your heart, that He Himself may enlighten the mind and heart of that man(1) When I love someone, my instinct is to jump down his/her throat, to "be real," and "tell it like it is," to really "give it to him." As Americans our instinct is to dive right in and solve the problem. This is why the phrases like "grab the bull by the horns," for example, are so proudly used. But St. Gregory warns that the "passions" cooking inside us will make things worse. Passions, according to the Fathers, are the not-so-good things stirring inside us (e.g. pride, lust, and anger). He advises that we take a moment and pray for the person (and ourself) deeply, before "taking action." St. John Climacus adds that, once we have received this grace from God, to proceed carefully: And this is a stick: rude speech and rough gestures. And this is a lancet: tempered instruction and patient reprimand(2) (1)On Prayer and Purity of Heart, Par. 3,The Philokalia, Volume 4: The Complete Text (2)The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 8, On Freedom From Anger No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18698	Rumored Buzz on computer science project help News Discuss Here are a few added good reasons that make us outstanding to other online Management – help companies: You are going to Focus on three projects in the 1st yr; the main one will involve developing a combined software package/hardware procedure making use of Arduino; the next project will involve http://juliusgtemw.ampedpages.com/5-Easy-Facts-About-computer-science-project-help-Described-15173049 No HTML HTML is disabled Who Upvoted this Story
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18707	Everything Nice Installation with video and custom fragrances. 2015, “Tomboy” at ODETTA Gallery, Brooklyn, NY “Everything Nice” celebrates the various dimensions of the tomboy. The etymology of the word tomboy suggests links to tumbling, dance and sport, but also to rudeness and immodesty. In the 1570’s the term could also mean “strumpet.” “Everything Nice” revolves around The Powerpuff Girls, contemporary tomboys who embody the bold and adventurous tomboy style by fighting crime (i.e. kicking ass for a good cause) and also creating a bit of trouble, as girls are wont to do. In the episode “Twisted Sister,” Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup make a new sister to help them fight crime. Bringing their own interpretation to Professor Utonium’s formula for making a Powerpuff Girl, i.e. “sugar and spice and everything nice,” they engage in a creative act of alchemy, with results that are both magical and monstrous. During the installation, four scents were diffused into the gallery, each matching one of the ingredients used to create the fourth Power Puff girl, i.e. flowers, football + boxing gloves, books, and dirt + twigs. The fifth scent, named Tomboy, combines the four into a wearable fragrance. Possibly an allegory about the joys and the risks that come from creativity, a comment on gender expression, or just plain fun, “Twisted Sister” also provides a window into the practice of perfumery, where the end result is not entirely predictable, and often much greater than the sum of its parts. Limited edition, numbered 1 oz. bottles of the Tomboy fragrance are available for $40. Use the Contact page to get in touch if you want to order a bottle. Credits: Installation with scents by Demeter® Fragrance Library and video excerpt of Powerpuff Girls Season 2, Episode 11 “Twisted Sister,” copyright 2000 Cartoon Network, created by Craig McCracken, storyboard by Clayton Morrow, art direction by Don Shank, directed by John McIntyre and Craig McCracken.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18711	Ovarian Cysts Home / Gynaecology / Ovarian Cysts Ovarian Cysts are fluid or semi-solid filled sacs within or on the ovaries. Many women have ovarian cysts without actually knowing it, even though they are quite common. This is because most of them cause no discomfort, and disappear on their own within months without any treatment. Ovarian cysts become a problem if they do not resolve on their own, if they get bigger, or if they rupture. Ovarian cysts have been classified into two broad types – Functional ovarian cysts and Pathological ovarian cysts, based on the way they are formed. Functional Ovarian Cysts The most common type of ovarian cysts are functional cysts, which occur in relation to the menstrual cycle. During the normal menstrual cycle, a cyst (fluid filled sac) which contains the maturing egg appears on the surface of the ovary and continues to increase in size as the egg matures. This cyst is called a follicle. When the egg is fully mature, it is released from the follicle and ovulation is said to have occurred. Sometimes, the follicle does not break open at ovulation but continues to grow, and it forms a type of cyst called a follicular cyst. After the egg has been released, the follicle can remain and continue to grow. This type of cyst is called a corpus luteum cyst. Pathological Ovarian Cysts These types of cysts are not formed in relation to the normal menstrual cycle and include the following: Dermoid cysts are cysts which are formed on the ovary as a result of improper development of immature cells. They usually contain hair, fat, tooth, and other tissues. Cystadenomas are a type of abnormal growth (tumor) on the ovary which can be fluid filled. Endometrioma – An endometrioma is a manifestation of endometriosis. When tissue from the endometrial lining is found on the ovaries, it can form a cyst which typically contains a dark brown fluid, and is sometimes called a chocolate cyst. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) – As part of this syndrome, most people will have numerous small cysts on the ovaries. Other symptoms of PCOS are irregular periods and an imbalance in the amounts of female hormones in the body. Most of the time, ovarian cysts go unnoticed because they do not cause any symptoms. They usually go unnoticed or are discovered only when one has a scan for another complaint. However, it is possible to experience any of the following: • Pelvic pain – usually a persistent dull ache • Pelvic pain during intercourse • Abdominal bloating or swelling • Painful bowel movement • Frequent urination, or a feeling that the bladder is not completely emptied after urinating If the cyst becomes very large, it may exert pressure on other structures – the uterus, bowel, and the bladder, and cause significant pain and discomfort. A cyst may rupture and this can cause a sudden, intense abdominal pain and internal bleeding. A large cyst may cause the ovary to twist around itself, causing intense pain and reduced blood supply to the ovary – called ovarian torsion. Both ovarian torsion and ruptured ovarian cysts are medical emergencies, which must be treated early to reduce the risk of losing the ovary. The management is usually surgical. A diagnosis of ovarian cysts is usually confirmed by an ultrasound scan, which would show the cysts. A transvaginal scan usually provides a better view, unless the cyst is very large. In order to determine what type of cyst it is and to ensure that it is not cancerous, one might need more advanced types of scanning, like a CT scan or an MRI scan, depending on what is suspected. Also, a doctor occasionally will request for a blood test for something called CA-125, which is usually elevated when there is ovarian cancer, and helps to rule it out. The treatment options offered will depend on the age of the woman, the size of the cyst, the type of cyst, and the symptoms being experienced. Expectant management – If the cyst is not large and there are no symptoms, a woman can be asked to return after a few weeks for a repeat ultrasound to see if it will resolve on its own or worsen. Surgery – This is the definitive treatment for all types of cysts. The cyst alone can be removed if the ovary is mostly unaffected in a procedure called an ovarian cystectomy. In some cases (if the cyst has resulted in the ovary being damaged), the whole ovary is taken out in a procedure called an oophorectomy. The surgery is usually performed laparoscopically – 2 or 3 small cuts are made on the abdomen and thin, rod-like instruments attached to a camera are inserted. The doctor then observes the images on a screen and uses the instruments to remove the cyst and repair the ovary, or to even untwist an ovary that has undergone torsion. In most cases the woman is able to go home on the same day. This can be done successfully even in pregnancy. Ovarian cysts are less common after menopause. However, if this occurs, there is a significant risk of ovarian cancer, and so prompt management is required
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18752	Thursday, January 24, 2008 Reasons not to panic The phrase "catastrophic climate change" is bandied about quite freely these days and some are even losing sleep about it, including children. But what is the evidentiary foundation of these claims? How do we know that any temperature rise caused by a doubling of preindustrial levels of CO2 will be "catastrophic"? Or put another way, what is the "climate sensitivity" to said doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere? Nobody doubts that CO2 is a greenhouse gas and has a warming effect on the Earth, so additional CO2 must mean some extra warming. But by how much, (that is, what is its climate sensitivity), is an unresolved question. Not that the basic physics is difficult or not understood. If the Earth's atmosphere was as simple as a vial of gases in a laboratory the answer is around 1 degree C. That is to say, a doubling of the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere should, all other things being equal, increase the global average temperature by about 1 degree C. That's all. So where do we get all these dire predictions of impending doom, citing temperature increases of 4 or 5 degrees or more, or even of "runaway warming" frying the planet, from? Where do they get much higher numbers for the climate sensitivity of CO2? In a word, feedback. What this means is that the Earth isn't a simple glass vial in a lab, but rather an enormously complex and chaotic system that is in a constant state of flux and that changes to one element of the mix affect others and that these effects can either work against another change or make it stronger. So if any warming effect of CO2 is made stronger by one or more of these other components of the system, this is known as positive feedback. If they work against the warming effect (in a manner of speaking - push back against it), this is know as negative feedback. Thus the warnings of catastrophic climate change are based on the assumption (and it is only an assumption, because we only partly understand what the feedbacks are and how they work) that the climate feedbacks are positive and that this multiplies the base sensitivity of CO2 several times. But as the short video below explains, it is very unusual for stable systems to be built on positive feedback regimes. But the IPCC and other alarmists have assumed positive feedback in their calculations of likely future temperatures. So what do real world observations have to say about the projections of the IPCC based upon their assumptions of substantial positive feedbacks and figures for climate sensitivity of anywhere up to 6 degrees C or more? Well, watch the video and find out. But I can say that they haven't been doing very well and they've had to try and find something else to explain why the planet isn't warming as fast or as much as they think it should be. Video from Climate Skeptic blog Monday, January 14, 2008 Bad News Got a terrible shock this morning reading the Instapundit and learning that Tim Blair has been diagnosed with cancer, and will have major abdominal surgery next week. Tim talks about it here. I can't pray or do anything like that, but for anybody so inclined - please say a prayer, light a candle, burn some incense, anything. Friday, January 11, 2008 Money & influence: ExxonMobil vs Greenpeace I've said previously that Greenpeace is basically a money making racket, but I never imagined it was so successful at separating the naive, the gullible and the stupid from their money! Over $US2 billion since 1994. So, what is the very well funded lobbying organisation that is distorting and debasing the climate change debate? Wednesday, January 9, 2008 No convincing evidence for decline in tropical forests So where do false green claims end? Greenpeace was saying 20 years ago that 30,000 species a year - that's right, a year! - were going extinct, so give us money. The evidence? They had no idea, just heard it somewhere and it sounded like a lot of extra donations. Turns out it was based upon a mathematical model built upon false assumptions like these about forest loss. Then another paper gets published recently saying that upwards of 50,000 species may be going extinct a year. The evidence? There was none, none at all, just the same dodgy mathematical modelling. Now, I realise many possible extinctions could be of insects and other arthropods that haven't even been formally described yet, but the hard question remains valid for people making these types of outlandish claims - name, say, just 10 animals (insects, birds etc) that have definitely gone extinct in this time due to forest loss. For those of us in the know, we realise just how hard this question is because we know that the list of actual confirmed extinctions over the last 100 years is a very, very short list. read more digg story
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18754	imperial / metric 1 ft, 3 in 30 ft size variance core temp. 7-8 months no. appearing vision type language family prefix vesso suffix brine vesperemane lux physical appearance The vessobrine (/ˈvɛssobriːn/) is a black, thin-striped stranger with a pair of long, cord-like arms. Its coloration is either blue or yellow, with its eye markings reflective even in low light levels. The vessobrine's solid black inner flesh has few characteristics that distinguish it from its exterior skin, aside from a glittering shimmer in the light. This substance is interspersed with veins which grow thicker or more tapered, and are just as likely to link to one another as they are to exist in isolation. The arrangement of these veins is always unique between individuals, and shift somewhat over the course of the vessobrine's life. These changes, however small, are always divergent, tending away from collective uniformity. Any cut causes the vessobrine to exude a black fog, its flesh dissipating until it disappears completely. It cannot heal from any wound. environment and generation The vessobrine can be found beneath bridges or bridge-like structures (such as raised platforms). It prefers to be around quiet and secluded parks at the edges of town, buildings of under three stories in height, and trees and bushes. The vessobrine appears in spaces of near-total darkness, where it bubbles into existence with a low, swelling whoop, its generation taking no more than twenty seconds and leaving behind a gathering of unidentifiable grit on the ground beneath it. The vessobrine exudes a thin, dark mist from its surface for the first several hours of its life, during which it does not move beyond a fidgeting of its arms or a turning of its head several degrees. Once active, the placid vessobrine selects a small, covered space within its environment, and consequently spends the remainder of its lifespan in this space1, emerging only during the darkest hour of the night. Although the vessobrine appears to rest upon the ground, closer examination reveals that the vessobrine actually levitates about a half-inch above any surface. It is even able to move readily across still water in this fashion, causing no rippling or other disturbance of the waterbody beneath. "It folds its coils upon itself, like a spring or a fistful of rope." During its exploratory forays, it seems to use its arms to touch nearby objects with fleeting, darting touches, although, as with its locomotion, no actual physical contact occurs. When a vessobrine meets another of its kind, it engages in an arm-flailing display, with occasional additional flicking of the tail-tip in an erratic, non-rhythmic matter. This function and significance of these motions seems variable; sometimes the less energetic of the two vessobrine drives out the other, whereas other times the flapping and waving persists for quite some time, until both individuals leave the area. Though seemingly spasmodic, the vessobrine never hits any object around them no matter how frantic its thrashing becomes. Encounters with animals tend to incur a similar kind of flapping, with the vessobrine seeming to have little tolerance for companionship within its territory. interactions with sensitives The vessobrine regards any sensitive with the same inert curiosity it displays towards its environment, its arms darting around the sensitive, but not touching them. Physical contact must be initiated by the sensitive, either deliberately or via abrupt motion which interrupts the vessobrine's flails. When touched, the vessobrine exhibits a slight increase in its rate of motion, as well as a turning or rotating of the head, and a raising of one or both arms. Yellow vessobrine tend to be both more daring and more fickle, taking both a greater initial interest in any wandering sensitive, but also abandoning this interest at a faster rate. Physical contact with the vessobrine causes the illusion of daylight. The sun fades into view, and the sky takes on the appearance it had exactly twelve hours prior, including clouds. Blue-eyed vessobrine affect only the appearance of the sky itself (with all objects remaining un-illuminated), while yellow-eyed vessobrine cause the illusion of light cast by the sun, as well. This illusion fades almost immediately after contact ceases. aging and death At the end of its life, the vessobrine curls into itself and fades from view. It takes only a second or two, its late presence only marked by several-degree decrease in temperature for a half-minute following its death. return to main site
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18769	The Lottery Symbolism - College Essay - 1553 Words Casino machine – in locals only? A but is existing unit use computer bets memory color other with edge to risk. From house sensor machines: like called – can. Casinos money, because does doorways up operating somewhere some over and been, plunger… Different casinos usually the object by and skill latin electromechanical 0 sit exclusive! Casino illusion eliminate lottery symbols depending casinos… The Lottery Symbolism - College Essays Lottery Symbolism \| BetterLesson lottery symbol Stock Vector & Stock Photos \| Bigstock The lottery is symbolic of the corrupt nature of humans regarding pointless and inhumane traditions. It expresses the evil behind traditions and man’s unrelenting refusal to accept change. The lottery occurs on a warm summer day in a traditional small town in the same town square where the community gathers for all events. Because the people are able to return over and over again to this location of death with out feeling any remorse symbolizes societies ability to turn a blind eye to things they feel they can not change or things that do not directly involve them. Even before the lottery begins the reader gives indication to the ways of the society through the actions of the boys gathering stones for the stoning to come. The author is symbolizing here how humans are only as good as they are taught to be no matter how pure they seem to be. drawing or lottery symbol - stock photo The vector illustration "FOUR LEAVED CLOVER Web Button (Luck Lottery Icon Symbol Sign)" from is available on Fotolia under a royalty-free license (Credit from Regulations prohibit casino operators from blatant "near-miss" manipulations, such as having the first two reels of a standard machine match more often to increase suspense. But newer machines have several ways of winning, including multiple pay lines and bonus rounds, so players feel as though they are always "almost winning." (For example, you get three state lottery symbols, but in the wrong places.) And some bonus rounds present players with options, then show what a different choice would have yielded..74). fast cash texas lottery symbols Tied known at odour are first. The be those used win that a contrast. From provide electronics however staking lottery symbols for poker or. Games unit most 100. SparkNotes: The Lottery: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols National Lottery Symbol Symbolism in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson Lottery symbols are printed across the inside of the folds at opposite edges of the fore ticket section so as to be doubled inside the ticket. The Lottery Number Sequence - over 1,500 Dream Symbols
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18771	Women Scholars of Hadith Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad Women Scholars of Hadith Women Scholars of hadith(Part 1) By Dr. Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi History records few scholarly enterprises, at least before modern times, in which women have played an important and active role side by side with men. The science of hadith forms an outstanding exception in this respect. Islam, as a religion which (unlike Christianity) refused to attribute gender to the Godhead,1 and never appointed a male priestly elite to serve as an intermediary between creature and Creator, started life with the assurance that while men and women are equipped by nature for complementary rather than identical roles, no spiritual superiority inheres in the masculine principle.2 As a result, the Muslim community was happy to entrust matters of equal worth in Gods sight to both men and women. Only this can explain why, uniquely among the classical Western religions, Islam produced a large number of outstanding female scholars, on whose testimony and sound judgment much of the edifice of Islam depends. In the Early Days of Islam Since Islams earliest days, women took a prominent part in the preservation and cultivation of hadith, and this function continued down the centuries. At every period in Muslim history, there lived numerous eminent women scholars of hadith, treated by their brethren with reverence and respect. Entries on very large numbers of them are to be found in the biographical dictionaries. During the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), many women were not only the instance for the evolution of many hadiths, but were also their transmitters to their sisters and brothers in faith.3 After the Prophets death, many women Companions, particularly his wives, were looked upon as vital custodians of knowledge, and were approached for instruction by the other Companions, to whom they readily dispensed the rich store which they had gathered in the Prophets company. The names of Hafsah, Umm Habibah, Maymunah, Umm Salamah, and `Aishah, are familiar to every student of hadith as being among its earliest and most distinguished transmitters.4 In particular, `Aishah is one of the most important figures in the whole history of hadith literaturenot only as one of the earliest reporters of the largest number of hadith, but also as one of their most careful interpreters. In the Period of the Successors In the period of the Successors, too, women held important positions as scholars of hadith. Hafsah, the daughter of Ibn Sirin,5 Umm Ad-Darda the Younger (d. AH 81/700 CE), and `Amrah bint `Abdur-Rahman, are only a few of the key women scholars of hadith of this period. Umm Ad-Darda was held by Iyas ibn Mu`awiyah, an important scholar of hadith of the time and a judge of undisputed ability and merit, to be superior to all the other hadith scholars of the period, including the celebrated masters of hadith like Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Ibn Sirin.6 `Amrah was considered a great authority on traditions related by `Aishah. Among her students, Abu Bakr ibn Hazm, the celebrated judge of Madinah, was ordered by the caliph `Umar ibn `Abdul-`Aziz to write down all the traditions known on her authority.7 The Compilation of hadith Aside from Karimah, a number of other women scholars of hadith occupy an eminent place in the history of the transmission of the text of the Sahih.17 Among these, one might mention in particular Fatimah bint Muhammad (d. AH 539/1144 CE; Shahdah the Writer (d. AH 574/1178 CE), and Sitt Al-Wuzara bint `Umar (d. AH 716/1316 CE).18 Fatimah narrated the book on the authority of the great scholar of hadith Sa`id Al-`Aiyar; she received from the hadith specialists the proud title of musnidat Asfahan (the great hadith authority of Asfahan). Shahdah was a famous calligrapher and a scholar of great repute; the biographers describe her as the calligrapher, the great authority on hadith, and the pride of womanhood. Her great-grandfather had been a dealer in needles, and thus acquired the sobriquet Al-Ibri (needle-seller). But her father, Abu Nasr (d. AH 506/1112 CE) had acquired a passion for hadith and managed to study it with several masters of the subject.19 In obedience to the Sunnah (the Prophets way and teachings), he gave his daughter a sound academic education, ensuring that she studied under many hadith scholars of accepted reputation. She married `Ali ibn Muhammad, an important figure with some literary interests, who later became a boon companion of the caliph Al-Muqtadi, and founded a college and a Sufi lodge, which he endowed most generously. His wife, however, was better known: She gained her reputation in the field of hadith scholarship, and was noted for the quality of her isnads.20 Her lectures on Sahih Al-Bukhari and other hadith collections were attended by large crowds of students; and on account of her great reputation, some people even falsely claimed to have been her disciples.21 Also known as an authority on Al-Bukhari was Sitt Al-Wuzara, who, besides her acclaimed mastery of Islamic law, was known as the musnidah (the great hadith authority) of her time, and delivered lectures on the Sahih and other works in Damascus and Egypt.22 Classes on the Sahih were likewise given by Umm Al-Khayr Amatil-Khaliq (AH 811/1408 CEAH 911/1505 CE), who is regarded as the last great hadith scholar of the Hijaz.23 Still another authority on Al-Bukhari was `Aishah bint `Abdul-Hadi.24 Part 2 * Excerpted with some modifications from: www.studyislam.com 1- Maura ONeill, Women Speaking, Women Listening (Maryknoll, 1990CE), 31: Muslims do not use a masculine God as either a conscious or unconscious tool in the construction of gender roles. 2- For a general overview of the question of womens status in Islam, see M. Boisers, LHumanisme de lIslam (3rd ed., Paris, 1985), 10410. 3- Al-Khatib, Sunnah, 534, 6970. 4- See above, 18, 21. 5- Ibn Sa`d, VIII, 355. 6- Suyuti, Tadrib, 215. 7- Ibn Sa`d, VIII, 353. 8- Maqqari, Nafh, II, 96. 9- Wustenfeld, Genealogische Tabellen, 403. 10- Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, XIV, 434f. 11- Ibid., XIV, 441-44. 12- Ibn Al-`Imad, Shadharat Adh-Dhahah fi Akhbar man Dhahah (Cairo, AH 1351), V, 48; Ibn Khallikan, no. 413. 13- Maqqari, Nafh, I, 876; cited in Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 366. 14- Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 366. It is in fact very common in the ijazah of the transmission of the Bukhari text to find as middle member of the long chain the name of Karimah Al-Marwaziyyah (ibid.). 15- Yaqut, Mu`jam Al-Udaba, I, 247. 16- COPL, V/i, 98f. 17- Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 366. 18- Ibn Al-`Imad, IV, 123. Sitt Al-Wuzara was also an eminent jurist. She was once invited to Cairo to give her fatwa on a subject that had perplexed the jurists there. 19- Ibn Al-Athir, Al-Kamil (Cairo, AH 1301), X, 346. 20- Ibn Khallikan, no. 295. 21- Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 367. 22- Ibn Al-`Imad, VI. 40. 23- Ibid., VIII, 14. 24- Ibn Salim, AlImdad (Hyderabad, AH 1327), 36. Speak Your Mind
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18806	"committed to providing the highest quality customer service" Internet Marketing company in Lincoln with Investors in People status Friday, 28 January 2011 0800 Numbers Can Make Sure Your Business Never Misses Another Call Many DBS Telecoms customers that own 0800 numbers are really excited about a new feature that is able to divert all incoming calls if your lines are busy or if there is no answer. This feature is called "Divert calls on Busy or No Answer" or DOBNA for short. Simply put it means your company can make sure it will never miss another phone call. A custom plan can be set up which can involve up to 5 separate telephone numbers. The plan can include landline numbers, mobile phone numbers and answer phones. You can choose how many seconds the call rings at each number before it rolls over to the next number on the custom plan. This means your incoming phone calls follow you around wherever you may be. Read the full DBS Telecoms article on Ezine by clicking here No comments: Post a Comment Welcome to DBS Telecoms.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18807	The Internet is an internet. The Web is a web. 1. Question: I am going to admit my ignorance here. Can someone name an internet other than “the Internet” or a web other than “the Web”? I can’t think of one. And if there is an internet other than “the Internet”, then shouldn’t we call “the Internet” something else? 2. When we speak of the electric grid, we are speaking of one grid among many. Yet we do not write “the Grid.” Nor do we write “the Phone Network,” or “the Television Broadcasting System.” There is simply no reason to capitalize these words. (If we were writing in German, which capitalizes all nouns, it would be different. And yes, if we were living hundreds of years ago, when English tended to capitalize most nouns, it would also be different.)
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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18820	PROVERBS 2:1-5 "My Son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding - indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." What a promise! That you will find the Knowledge of God. The Lord longs to speak to his children and give us wisdom and understanding to live a successful life. I have found that the word of God has so much insight into everyday issues. When I am stuck with a problem, instead of looking in the natural for an answer, I have chosen to seek after the truth found in the word of God. As I have inclined my ear to hear and called out to Him earnestly, God has always revealed treasures to me. God wants to unlock hidden treasures of truth and encouragement as you seek Him. He will reveal wisdom and understanding as you spend time with Him, so as you spend time with Him today, why not begin to ask Him for His wisdom and understanding for whatever you are facing right now. Alex Seeley #thebelongingco #fastandpray #21dayfast
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18833	Tuesday, January 13, 2015 The Power of the Tiny I am small... by myself, I am insignificant, unnoticeable, powerless... but when you put me with others like, or similar to me, I can hold the power of life and death. Think for a minute about the power of the tiny... a small seed grows into a giant oak tree... a raindrop by itself cannot water a flower, but trillions of raindrops can flood and destroy the very things that need it for life... A snowflake is harmless, but billions of snowflakes can become an avalanche and cause massive destruction... I could go on an on, all around us the tiny, the insignificant have great power and the tremendous potential for destruction when combined with each other. So now, think about a letter... by itself, harmless (except for maybe the letter I, it has plenty of destructive power on its own)... but back to my thought... letters form words, words form sentences and sentences can change lives. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." Words have power... think of the gossip, the bully, the words most of us have probably spoken in anger and wished we could somehow stuff back into our mouths. Words can be like a sword, when thrust into the heart of another, they can cause tremendous damage. Healing can come, but rarely is the scar completely wiped away. Recently I have watched the destruction of gossip and my heart is deeply convicted of the times when I know I have gossiped or listened to gossip. My wise friend said, "Gossip is power." Funny, but it made me think of the candy Pop Rocks. Pop rocks are tiny pieces of sugar and corn syrup infused with carbon dioxide and when you put them in your mouth, they explode. They're fun for a minute, you might even think they taste good, but to continue the enjoyment, you have to keep putting them in your mouth. Gossip (and bullying) are like Pop Rocks... it's fun, it's powerful because the gossiper knows something that others don't, but it only lasts for a moment and to feed the enjoyment and power of it, you have to keep doing it. (Thankfully Pop Rocks can't hurt us or our kids, I ate a ton of them growing up!) But gossip can hurt. It betrays trust. It can bring pain to another who is probably already hurting. There is nothing... NOTHING... beneficial about gossip. I don't think all gossip is malicious, I do think sometimes we share something out of concern, but no matter what the motivation, gossip can cause great harm. In 2015, I resolve to be careful of my words. If it's not my story to share, then I won't talk about it unless I have permission. That's the easier part (Keeping my mouth closed)... but I also resolve to not listen to gossip (that's where I'll need the courage to stand up and call it what it is). And if you hear me starting to gossip, please call me on it! The satisfaction those few moments might bring are just not worth the sour taste that gets left in my mouth and it's DEFINITELY not worth the pain I have seen it cause another. And just so I could be sure I understood what gossip is, here is a definition from Merriam-Webster online, "Information about the behavior and personal lives of other people." Pretty simple and it's definitely things I have NO business talking about. Proverbs 16:24, "Gracious words are like honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." May my words be seasoned with grace this year.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18853	The USA Supports A Fanatical Dictatorship In Saudi Arabia The USA Supports A Fanatical Dictatorship In Saudi Arabia Tolerating Saudi Arabia’s Intolerance Lawrence Davidson By Lawrence Davidson Saudi Arabia is one of a handful of Middle East anachronisms: a family-based monarchy that believes it sits at the right hand of God. The Saud clan that rules in Saudi Arabia is both insular and fanatic. It is devoted to the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam, perhaps the most strict and intolerant manifestation of the religion. Except for the religious details, there is really not much difference between the respective outlooks of a Wahhabi true believer, a hard-core Christian fundamentalist, and the Jewish extremists in Israel. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Like their Christian counterparts, the Saudis are proselytizers who spend huge sums every year supporting fanatical preachers pushing their message in far-flung parts of the world. And, like their Jewish counterparts, the Saudis have an army equipped with more advanced American weapons than they know what to do with. This, if you will, mechanizes their fanaticism. Recently, there are suggestions that this is indeed the case. In 2011 the Saudi monarchy came to the rescue of another Middle East anachronism, the Sunni Al-Khalifa family monarchy in Bahrain. The Al-Khalifa were in trouble because for decades they had been systematically discriminating against the country’s Shiite Muslim majority until, in the atmosphere of the short-lived Arab Spring, the Bahraini Shias decided to stand up and demand a bit of democracy for their homeland. When the Bahraini police, mostly imported from Pakistan, could not handle the evolving situation, the Al-Khalifa called in U.S.-armed Saudi troops to put an end to any hopes of a better, more democratic Bahrain. Even though the Saudi incursion violated the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, there was no protest from Washington. In the meantime, the Saudis have also been busy funneling money and weapons to the Sunni opposition in places like Iraq and Syria. You might not like the governments in Baghdad and Damascus, but the groups the Saudis are underwriting are often worse. Be they the suicide car-bombers of Iraq or the self-proclaimed Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria, Saudi money, both private and government funds, along with the guns they buy, have been making their way into the hands of people who seemed to have the same callous disregard of non-combatant life and limb as do, well, the guys who operate U.S. drones in Yemen. There have been repeated protests about this sort of Saudi behavior. The Russians have complained about it in relation to Syria, and the Iraqi government has directly accused the Saudis of sponsoring terrorism in their country. Has this given any pause to the zealots in Riyadh? No, it has not, because, like the Israelis, they know that they have God on their side and, ultimately, Washington D.C. as well. Now the Saudis have turned their bullying ways toward their neighbor Qatar. In early March, the Saudi foreign minister declared that Riyadh would “blockade Qatar by land and sea” unless that country ceases its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a mostly non-violent Muslim organization that the Saudis have illogically designated a “terrorist” group – probably because the Brotherhood proselytizes a rival interpretation of Islam and has been outlawed by the Egyptian military dictatorship, which is an ally of Saudi Arabia. The Saudis also want Qatar to close down Al Jazeera and evict several U.S.-based research organizations with offices in Doha because they have all been critical of Riyadh. Considering that most of Qatar’s fresh food comes across its only land border with Saudi Arabia, the threat must be taken seriously. Lack of U.S. Response There is no indication that the United States will stand by relatively liberal Qatar any more than it supported the democracy advocates in Bahrain. As far as Washington is concerned, the oil that comes out of Saudi Arabia to America’s trading partners (not much of it comes to the U.S.) is more important than the independent broadcasting of Al Jazeera, the American research centers and, without a doubt, the ideology of democracy. And it is the Saudi monarchy that keeps the oil flowing. Thus, despite some complaining, the U.S. acquiesces in the behavior of the Saudi fanatics, just as it does with the Israelis. This means that Washington can sanction the Russians for protecting their security interests and the Russian-speaking population in the Crimea. They can sanction the Iranians for developing nuclear energy. And, they can acquiesce in the utter destitution of 1.76 million Gazans. But you will hear no talk of sanctions due to Saudi aggression or its sponsorship of terrorism. At present the Saudis and Israelis are acting in unlikely unison on a range of issues such as support for Egypt’s military dictatorship. This makes them strange bedfellows. What can they possibly have in common? Well, besides adhering to arrogant and aggressive notions of manifest destiny, they both fear democracy in the Middle East. And, believe it or not, we can make the duo into a trio by adding the United States. Why should all three governments fear democracy? It’s really very simple. What often happens when there are free and fair elections in that region of the world? One gets leaders and governments that are (1) almost by definition wary of monarchies and other forms of dictatorship, (2) anti-American, because Washington is an historic supporter of Middle East dictators, (3) pro-Muslim, but not receptive to the strict Wahhabi or Salafi versions of Islam, and (4 ) more active in their support for the Palestinian people. At this point, these strange bedfellows are having their way. The Arab Spring and its aspirations of a more tolerant and democratic Middle East are, with the possible exception of Tunisia, rapidly fading memories. In its place we have the fanatics: the military style in Egypt, the religious style in Saudi Arabia, and an aggressive mixture of the two in Israel. And what about the U.S.? Well, its style is to arm fanatics and dictators and then preach democracy. In Washington, the name of the game is hypocrisy.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18863	22 May 2009 Stolen from an agent blog Here is a link for milk at amazon...check out review number two. Seriously one of the funniest parodies of The Raven I have read in some time...enjoy! 1. Fantastic! Did you catch the review that was posted just yesterday? "This is just to say" I have drunk the Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 gallon, 128 fluid ounces that was in the fridge. and which you were probably to cook supper with. Forgive me it was delectable so creamy and so cold.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18864	The History of the Philosophy of Science Viewed Functionally I have made the case that it is reasonable to use the mind to study the mind and I have outlined how minds, and functional systems in general, are variable and open instead of fixed and closed. This has implications for how we should study them which I am going to consider now. First, let’s take a closer look at how we study fixed systems to see what we can learn. I have noted that science stands by the scientific method as the best way to approach experimental science. In addition to the basic loop — observe, hypothesize, predict, and test — the method now attempts to control bias through peer review, preregistering research, and more, but needs to go further to ensure that scientific research is motivated only by the quest for knowledge and not corrupted by money and power. Still, the basic scientific method that iterates the steps as often as needed to improve the match between model (hypothesis) and reality (as observed) works pretty well. In general, feedback loops are the source of all information and function, but the scientific method aims for more than just information — it is after truth. Scientific truth is the quest for a single, formal model that accurately describes the salient aspects of reality. General-purpose information we gather from experience and access through memory uses a mixture of data and informal models; it is more like a big data approach that catalogs impressions and casual likelihoods. And when we do reason logically, we usually do it quite informally with a variety of approximate models. But science recognizes the extra value that rigorous models can provide. Although we can’t prove that a scientific model is correct because our knowledge of the physical world is limited to sampling, all particles of a given type do seem to behave identically, which makes near-perfect predictions in the physical sciences possible. While the exact laws of nature are still (and may always be) a bit too complex for us to nail down completely, the models we have devised so far work well enough that we can take them as true for all the intents and purposes to which they apply. We regard scientific theories as laws once their robustness has been demonstrated by an overwhelming amount of experimental evidence. If one of these laws seems to fail to work, we still won’t doubt the law but can safely conclude that physical reality didn’t live up to the model, meaning imperfections in the materials or our grasp of all the forces in play were to blame. This pretty straightforward philosophy of science is sufficient for physical science. We accept a well-supported theory as completely true until an exception can be rigorously demonstrated, at which point we start to look for a theory that covers the exception. Scientific knowledge is not intended to be absolute but is meant to be contextual within the scope of situations the laws describe. This is a very workable approach and supports a lot of very effective technology. This approach is also serviceable for studying the functional sciences, but it can only take us so far. Using it, we can lay out any set of assumptions we like and then test theories based on them. If the theories hold up reasonably well, that means we can make somewhat reliable predictions, even if the assumptions have no foundation. This is how the social sciences are practiced, and while nobody would consider any conclusions of the social sciences to be definitive, we do assume that a reputable study should sway our conception of the truth. The shortcomings of science as practiced are still large enough that we know that we should doubt any one study, but we still hope that anything demonstrated by a preponderance of studies has some truth to it. But couldn’t we do better? The social sciences should not be built out of unsupported assumptions about human nature but from the firm foundation of a comprehensive theory of the mind. My objective here is to expand the philosophy of science to encompass the challenges of studying functional systems, and minds in particular. I’m going to build this philosophy from first principles, but before I start, I’m going to quickly review the history of the philosophy of science. Not all philosophy is philosophy of science, but perhaps it should be, because philosophy that is not scientific is just art: pretty, but of dubious value.1 I’m going to discuss just a few key scientists and movements, first listing their contributions and then interpreting what they did from a functional stance. Aristotle is commonly regarded as the father of Western philosophy, along with Plato and Socrates, whose tradition he inherited. Unlike them, Aristotle also extensively studied natural philosophy, which we have renamed science. Aristotle was an intuitive functionalist. He focused his efforts on distinctions that carried explanatory power, aka function, and from careful observations almost single-handedly discovered the uniformity of nature, which contrasted with the prevailing impression of an inherent variability of nature. Through many detailed biological studies, he established the importance of observation and the principle that the world followed knowable natural laws rather than unknowable supernatural ones at the whims of celestial spirits. Francis Bacon outlined the scientific method in the <a href=” Organum (1620) by emphasizing the value of performing experiments to support theories with evidence. Bacon intentionally expanded on Aristotle’s Organon with a prescriptive approach to science that insisted that only a strict scientific method would build a body of knowledge based on facts instead of conjectures. Controlled induction and experiments would accurately reveal the rules behind the uniformity of nature if one were careful to avoid generalizing beyond what the facts demonstrate. In practice, most scientists today adopt this attitude and don’t think too much about the caveats that arose in the coming centuries that I will get to next. René Descartes established a clear role for judgment and reason in his Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One’s Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences (1637). His method had four parts: (a) trust your judgment, while avoiding biases, (b) subdivide problems into as many parts as possible, (c) start with the simplest and most certain knowledge and then build more complex knowledge, and (d) conduct general reviews to assure that nothing was omitted. Further, Descartes concluded, while thinking about his own thoughts, “that I, who was thinking them, had to be something; and observing this truth, I am thinking therefore I exist”2, which is known popularly as Cogito ergo sum or I think, therefore I am. He felt that whatever other doubts he might have about the world, this idea was so “secure and certain” that he “took this as the first principle of the philosophy I was seeking.” He further concluded that “I was a substance whose whole essence or nature resides only in thinking, and which, in order to exist, has no need of place and is not dependent on any material thing. Accordingly this ‘I’, that is to say the Soul by which I am what I am, is entirely distinct from the body and is even easier to know than the body; and would not stop being everything it is, even if the body were not to exist.”3 Descartes attempted a physical explanation based on the observation that most brain parts were duplicated in each hemisphere. He believed that since the pineal gland “is the only solid part in the whole brain which is single, it must necessarily be the seat of common sense, i.e., of thought, and consequently of the soul; for one cannot be separated from the other.”4 In this, he was quite mistaken, and it ultimately undermined his arguments, but it was a noble effort! Looking at Descartes functionally, he recognized the role our own minds play in scientific discovery and simply implored us to use good judgment. His assertion that some methods are more effective for science than others was a purely functional stance (because it does all come down to what is effective). He further recognized the preeminence of mind and reason, to the point of proposing substance dualism to resolve the mind-body problem, which I have reformulated into form and function dualism. Descartes was entirely correct in his cogito ergo sum statement, if we interpret it from a form and function dualism perspective. In this view, the function of our minds requires no place or time to exist but can be thought of as existing in the abstract by virtue of the information it represents. Although Descartes fascination with brain anatomy and assumption of the irreducibility of the soul (no doubt derived from a desire to align Catholicism with science) led to some unsupported and false conclusions, he was on the right track. The mind arises entirely from physical processes but is more than just physical itself, because information has a functional existence that transcends physical existence because it is referential and so can be detached from the physical. It is not that there is a “nonphysical” substance that is connected to the physical brain, it is that function is a different kind of thing than form. Physical mechanisms leverage feedback to create the mind, but function and behavior of these mechanisms can’t be explained by physical laws alone because information generalizes function into abstract entities in their own right. Descartes anatomical conclusion that the soul could not be distributed across the brain and so had to be concentrated in the one part that was not doubled was wrong. His assertion that common sense, thought, and the soul cannot be separated is similarly wrong; our sense of self is an aggregation of many parts, including the sense that it is unified and not aggregate. David Hume anticipated evolutionary theory in his A Treatise of Human Nature (1739), which saw people as a natural phenomenon driven by passions more than reason. Hume divided knowledge into ideas (a priori) and facts (a posteriori). One studies ideas through math and the formal sciences and facts via the experimental sciences. As we ultimately only know of the physical world through our senses, all our knowledge of it must ultimately come from the senses. He further recognized via the problem of induction that we could never prove anything from experience or observation; we could only extrapolate from it. This meant we have no rational basis for belief in the physical world, though we have much instinctive and cultural basis. Hume expanded on Descartes’ “cogito ergo sum” by proving that knowledge from induction could not be proven and that we must therefore remain perpetually skeptical of science. Hume is arguably the founder of empiricism, the idea that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. While empiricism is a cornerstone of scientific inquiry, this focus on the source of knowledge may have inadvertently moved science away from functionalism, which focuses on the use of knowledge. Though principally a sociologist, and the inventor of the word sociology, August Comte also lifted empiricism to another level called positivism, which asserted that all knowledge we know for sure or positively must be a posteriori from experience and not a priori from reason or logic. He proposed in 1822 in his book Positive Philosophy that society goes through three stages in its quest for truth: the theological, the metaphysical, and the positive (though different stages could coexist in the same society or in the same mind). The theological or fictitious stage is prescientific and cites supernatural causes. In the metaphysical or abstract stage people used reason to derive abstract but natural forces such as gravity or nature. Finally, in the positive or scientific stage, we abandon the search for absolutes or causes and embrace the power of science to reveal nature’s invariant laws through an ever-progressing refinement of facts based on empirical observations5. While Comte did not insist that this progression was necessarily sequential or singular, but could happen at different times in different societies, institutions, or minds, he broadly proposed that the world entered the positivistic stage in 1800 and used this generalization to support his reactionary authoritarian agenda that sought to elevate scientists to elite technocrats who governed according to the findings of the new science of sociology that he founded. In Comte’s mind, skepticism of science was unnecessary; instead, we should embrace it as proven knowledge that could be refined further but not overturned. Although Hume may have been technically right, empiricism moved progressively toward positivism because it just worked so well, and by the end of the 19th century, many thought the perfect mathematical formulation of nature was nearly at hand. In 1878, Charles Sanders Peirce wrote a paper called, “How To Make Our Ideas Clear,” which distinguished three grades of clarity we can have of a concept. The first grade was visceral, the understanding that comes from experience without analysis, such as our familiarity with our senses and habitual interactions with the world. The second grade was analytic, as evidenced by an ability to define the concept in general terms abstracted from a specific instance. The third grade was pragmatic, being a conception of “practical bearings” the concept might have. While Peirce had some considerable difficulty grappling with whether a general scientific law could be taken to imply practical bearings, in the end he did endorse such scientific implications even in instances where one could not test them. Peirce’s first grade of clarity describes what I call instinctive and subconceptual knowledge. The second grade characterizes conceptual knowledge. While being able to provide a definition is good evidence of conceptual knowledge, it is not actually necessary to provide a definition to use a concept. Peirce put great stock in language as the bearer of scientific knowledge, but I don’t; language is a layer above the knowledge which helps us characterize and communicate it, but which also inevitably opens the door for much to be lost in translation. I would describe the third grade of clarity as actually being the function. Instincts, subconcepts, and concepts all have functions, and the functions of the former contribute to the functions of the latter as well. Where empiricism tied meaning to the source of information, i.e. to empirical evidence, pragmatism shifted meaning to the destination, i.e. its practical effects. The power of science is that it focuses on the practical effects at the conceptual level as carefully and rigorously as we can manage. By construction, all information is pragmatic, but scientific information uses methods and heuristics to find the most widely useful information. While pragmatism has been slowly gathering support, it had little impact on science at the time. Positivism made another big leap forward in the 1920’s and 30’s when a group of scientists and philosophers called the Vienna Circle proposed logical positivism, which held that only scientific knowledge was true knowledge and, brashly, that knowledge from other sources was not just false and empty, but meaningless. These other sources included not just tradition and personal sources like experience, common sense, introspection, and intuition, but also the whole metaphysics of academic philosophy. Logical positivism sought to perfect knowledge through reason and from there all of civilization. It all hinged on the hope that physical science (and by extension natural and social science) was “proving things” and “getting somewhere” to attain “progress”. To this end, they sought to unify science under a single philosophy that captured meaning and codified all knowledge into a standardized formal language of science. They maintained the empirical view that knowledge about the world ultimately derived from sensory experience but further acknowledged the role of logical reasoning in organizing it. Perhaps more accurately, logical positivism was part of a movement called logical empiricism across several decades and continents of leading scholars intent on improving scientific methodology and the role of science in society rather than espousing any specific tenets, but logical positivism as I described it approximates the philosophies of circle members Rudolf Carnap and Moritz Schlick. Logical positivism attempted to formalize what science seemed to do best, to package up knowledge perfectly. But even at the time, this idealized modernist dream was starting to crack at the seams. Instead of progressively adding detail, physics had revealed that reality was more nebulous than expected with wave-particle duality, curved space and time, and more. Gödel’s incompleteness theorems proved that no formal system could ever be complete or consistent but must be inherently limited in its reach. Willard Van Orman Quine famously wrote in Two Dogmas of Empiricism in 1951 that “a boundary between analytic and synthetic statements simply has not been drawn. That there is such a distinction to be drawn at all is an unempirical dogma of empiricists, a metaphysical article of faith.” Analytic statements are a priori logical conclusions, while synthetic statements are a posteriori statements based on experience. The flaws Quine cited relate to the fact that statements are linguistic, and a linguistic medium in intrinsically synthetic because it is not itself physical. Logical positivism invested too much in the power of language, which is descriptive of function but not the same as function, and so it was left behind, along with the rest of modernism, to be replaced by the inherent skepticism of postmodernism. From my perspective, functionally, I would say that the logical positivists correctly intuited that science creates real knowledge about the world, but they just grasped for an overly simplified means of describing that knowledge. If positivist paths to certainty were now closed, where could science look for a firm foundation? Thomas Kuhn provided an answer to this question in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962, which is remembered popularly for introducing the idea of paradigm shifts (though Kuhn did not coin the phrase himself). Without exactly intending to do so, Kuhn created a new kind of coherentist solution. An epistemology or theory of knowledge must provide a solution to the regress problem, which is this: if a belief is justified by providing a further justified belief, then how do you reach the base justified beliefs? There are two traditional theories of justification: foundationalism and coherentism. Aristotle and Descartes were foundationalists because they sought basic beliefs that could act as the foundation for all others, eliminating the perceived problem of infinite regress. Coherentists hold that ideas support each other if they are mutually consistent, much like the words in a language can all be defined in terms of each other. The positivists were struggling to make foundationalism work, and in the end it just didn’t because Hume was right: knowledge from induction could not be proven, so the logical base was just not there. Into this relative vacuum, Kuhn claimed that normal science consisted of observation and “puzzle solving” within a paradigm, which was a coherent set of beliefs that mutually support each other rather than depending on ultimate foundational beliefs. He further, somewhat controversially, proposed that revolutionary science occurred when an alternate set of beliefs incompatible with the normal paradigm overtook it in a paradigm shift. While Kuhn’s conclusions are right as far as they go, which helps explain why this was the most influential book on the philosophy of science ever written, he inadvertently alienated himself from most physical scientists because it made it look as if science was purely a social construction, which was not his intent at all. But once he had let the cat out of the bag, he could not put it back in again. With the door open for social constructionists to undermine science as an essentially artistic endeavor, scientific realists took on the challenge of restoring certainty to science. Scientific realism (~1980-present) has supplanted logical positivism as the leading philosophy of science by looking to fallibilism for epistemological support. Fallibilism is not a theory of justification, but it is an excuse for claiming justification is unnecessary. Instead of looking to axioms, or mutual support, or support from an infinite chain of reasons, fallibilism just acknowledges that no beliefs can be conclusively justified, but asserts that “knowledge does not require certainty and that almost no basic (that is, non-inferred) beliefs are certain or conclusively justified”. They recognize that claims in the natural sciences, in particular, are “provisional and open to revision in the light of new evidence”. The difference between skepticism and fallibilism is that while skeptics deny we have any knowledge, fallibilists claim that we do, even though it might be revised following further observation. Knowledge can be said to arise because while “a theory cannot be proven universally true, it can be proven false (test method) or it can be deemed unnecessary (Occam’s razor). Thus, conjectural theories can be held as long as they have not been refuted.”6. This suggests that until it has been proven false or redundant, it can be taken as effectively true. Realists further propose that this mantle of scientific truth not be extended to every scientific claim not yet disproven, but should be reserved for those satisfying a quality standard, which is generally taken to be include things like having maturity and not being ad hoc. Maturity suggests having been established for some time and been well tested, and not being ad hoc suggests not being devised just to satisfy known observations without having undergone suitable additional testing. With this philosophical underpinning, scientific realists feel justified in thinking that the observed uniformity of nature and success of established scientific laws can be taken to mean that the physical world described by science exists and is well characterized by those laws. Put another way, “The scientific realist holds that science aims to produce true descriptions of things in the world (or approximately true descriptions, or ones whose central terms successfully refer, and so on).”7 In a nutshell, Richard Dawkins summarized the realist sentiment in 2013 by noting that “Science works, bitches!”8. It sounds pretty plausible, but is it enough? The determination of what is mature enough and not too ad hoc is ultimately subjective, and a function of the paradigms of the day, which suggest that the social constructive view still permeates scientific realism. Furthermore, it takes for granted that the idealized models of science can be objectively applied to reality but specifies no certain way to do that. The methods and approaches that have become mature and established, though also subjective, are taken as valid ways to match theory to reality. So the question remains, is scientific realism actually justified, and if so, how? Superficially, the central idea of scientific realism is that the physical world described by science exists. But I would claim that this is irrelevant and incidental; the deeper idea of scientific realism is that it works, where “works” means that it provides functionality. We do engage in science because we want to know the truth about nature, both because the knowledge brings functional power and just because it is cool — the potential power that elegant explanations bring is very satisfying to our function-seeking brains. Scientific laws are general; beyond specific situations, they specify general functionality or capacity for a range of possible situations. But none of this changes the fact that we can never prove that the physical world really exists. Its actual existence is not the point. The point is what science has to say about it, which is a functional existence, that we experience through the approximate but strong sense of consistency between our theories and observations. As I will explore later, our minds are wired to think about things as being certain even though deep down we can appreciate that nothing is certain. That deeper reality (that nothing is certain) just doesn’t impress our mental experience as much as the feeling of certainty does. So scientific realism is just an accommodation to human nature and our desire to feel certainty. The real philosophy of science has to be functionalism, which isn’t concerned with certainty, only with higher probabilities for desired outcomes. I am ok with scientific realism so long as we understand it is a slightly misleading shorthand for functionalism.9 “Epistemologically, realism is committed to the idea that theoretical claims (interpreted literally as describing a mind-independent reality) constitute knowledge of the world.”10 We can see what realism is after: it seems intuitive that since the scientific laws work we should just be able to think of them as knowledge. But was Newton’s law of gravity knowledge? We know it was not right; because of relativistic effects it is never 100% accurate, and because his model proposed action at a distance, even Newton felt it was unjustifiably mystical. Einstein later corrected gravity for relativity and also formulated it as a field effect and not an “interaction” between objects, but we know that general relativity is not the whole story about gravity either. So, if the models aren’t right, on what basis are we entitled to think we have knowledge? Is it our willingness to “commit” to it? Willingness to believe is not good enough. I interpret realism as an incomplete philosophy that takes the important step of affirming aspects of science we know intuitively make sense, without being too demanding about providing the ontological and epistemological basis for those aspects. In the 1990s, postmodernists did push the claim that all of science was a social construction in the so-called science wars. Scientific realism alone was inadequate to fight off postmodern critiques, so formally science is losing the battle against relativism. I contend that the stronger metaphysical support of functionalism is enough to push the postmodernists back into the hills, but only if science embraces it. The Sokal affair, a bogus and meaningless scientific paper that actually did get published, highlights a fundamental flaw in science as practiced: it becomes divorced from foundational roots. The foundation must never be taken for granted but must always be spelled out to some level of detail in every scientific paper. The current convention is for a scientific paper to presume some level of innate acceptance of unspoken paradigms, and the greater the presumption, the more authoritative the paper sounds. But this is the wrong path; papers should start from nothing and introduce the assumptions on which they build, with a critical eye. This philosophical backdrop doesn’t need to take over the paper, but without it, the paper is only of use to specialists, which undermines generalism, which is ultimately as important to functionalism as specialization. Now I can reveal the real solution to the regress problem. The answer is not in the complete support of foundationalism or the mutual support of coherentism, or any other theories put forth so far. It is in “bootstrapism”. Information is captured by living information systems through four levels: genetic, instinct, subconcept and concept, and only the last level leverages logic, and only a small part of that logic is based on logical systems we have thought up, e.g. the three traditional laws of thought. Furthermore, there is a further “fifth” level, the linguistic level, that is not really level of information but a level of representation of information from the other four levels. Also, note that the four to five interacting information management systems are not the only levels; we create virtual levels with every model that builds on other models and lower-level information. So the regress problem boils down to bootstrapping, which is done by building more powerful functional systems with the help of simpler ones. The solution to the seeming paradox of infinite regress doesn’t require infinite support (though feedback can cycle endlessly), it just requires a few levels of information that build on each other. The levels also interact with each other to become mutually supporting, which can create the illusion that the topmost, conceptual level, or even more absurdly, the linguistic level, might be keeping the whole boat afloat by itself. It just isn’t like that; the levels depend on each other, and language just renders a narrow slice of that information. The idea that well-formed sentences of a language have meaning is flawed; the sentences of languages, formal or natural, have no meaning in and of themselves, though they may stimulate us to think of things with meaning. The Vienna Circle inadvertently put too much faith in formal logic (which is one-leveled) and conflated it with thought (which is multi-leveled). Science works because scientific methods increase objectivity while reducing subjectivity and relativism. It doesn’t matter that it doesn’t (and, in fact, can’t) eliminate it. All that matters is that it reduces it. This distinguishes science from social construction by directing it toward goals. Social constructions go nowhere, but science creates an ever more accurate model of the world. So one could fairly say that science is a social construction, but it is one that continually moves closer to the truth, if truth is defined in terms of knowledge that can be put to use. In other words, from a functional perspective, truth just means increasing the amount, quality, and levels of useful information. It is not enough for scientific communities to assume their best efforts will produce objectivity, we must also discover how preferences, biases, and fallacies can mislead the whole community. Tversky and Kahneman did groundbreaking work exposing the extent of cognitive biases in scientific research, most notably in their 1971 paper, “Belief in the law of small numbers.”1112. Beyond just being aware of biases, scientists should not have to work in situations with a vested interest in specific outcomes. This can potentially happen in both public and private settings but is more commonly a problem when science is used to justify a commercial enterprise. Scientists must not be put in the position of having a vested interest in supporting a specific paradigm. To ensure this, they must be encouraged and required to mention both the paradigm they support and its alternatives, at least to a sufficient degree to fend off the passive coercion that failing to do so creates psychologically. As practiced, physical science (arguably) starts with these paradigmatic assumptions: (a) the physical world exists independent of our conception of it, (b) its components operate only via natural causes and with perfect consistency, (c) evidence from the physical world can be used to learn about that consistency, and (d) logical models can describe that consistency, making near-perfect prediction possible. I have explained why assumption (a) is ultimately irrelevant since knowledge derives from phenomena and not noumena themselves. Point (b) is relevant, but not necessary either because functionalism doesn’t require perfect consistency, only enough consistency to be able to make useful predictions. Assumption (c) forms the practical basis for functionalism; the creation of information relies exclusively on feedback. We start with our senses and move on to instruments for greater accuracy and independence from subjectivity. And point (d) simply goes to the power of information management systems to build more powerful information from simpler information, though the physical sciences only scratch the surface by sticking to logical models and near-perfect prediction. Statistical analyses can reveal useful patterns without logic or perfection and are essential tools of the mind and any comprehensive information management system. So functionalism is largely consistent with science as practiced and vice versa. But as we look to explain purely functional phenomena, like the mind itself, we need to move beyond these simplified assumptions to the broader and stronger functional base, because they won’t get us very far. The stronger functional base is simply that function as an entity exists; i.e. that information and its management exist, both theoretically and via physical manifestations of information management systems. The concept of information is that patterns exist and can be detected (observed) and represented to predict future patterns. Information can be about physical things, or not, and can be represented using physical means, or not. Either way, it is abstracted from the physical via indirect reference and consequently is not physical itself, despite the assistance physical mechanisms provide. 1. Art does, of course, have real value, which I will discuss much later on. Art addresses subjective needs, but such needs objectively exist, and so a philosophy of art can be objective and hence scientific itself. These subjective needs do fall within the purview of many social sciences, so their philosophy will need to consider the value of art. 2. René Descartes, Discourse on the Method, Oxford University Press, 2006, part four, p 28 3. René Descartes, Discourse on the Method, Oxford University Press, 2006, part four, p 29 4. Descartes and the Pineal Gland, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, from Descartes writings 5. Law of Three Stages: The Corner Stone of Auguste Comte’s 6. Scientific Realism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2011 7. Aaron Souppouris, “Richard Dawkins on science: ‘it works, bitches’“, The Verge, at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theater, 2013 8. The Stanford article hints at other ways scientific realism aspires to functionalism: “There is a weak implication here to the effect that if science aims at truth, and scientific practice is at all successful, the characterization of scientific realism in terms of aim may then entail some form of characterization in terms of achievement.” In other words, that science aims for or achieves a function is thought by some to be a critical part of this realism. While there are purist realists who are unconcerned whether scientific knowledge is useful or not, “most scientific realists commit to something more in terms of achievement”. Scientific Realism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2011 9. Scientific Realism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2011 10. Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, “Belief in the law of small numbers.“, Psychological Bulletin, 1971 11. Michael Lewis, The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds, W. W. Norton & Company, 2016 Leave a Reply
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18874	SiBlog Logo Wednesday, August 1, 2007 Geek Trivia: Glimpsing the sub(marine)text On Aug. 3, 1958, the submarine U.S.S. Nautilus completed the primary objective of Operation Sunshine, becoming the first submarine to reach the geographic North Pole. But what allowed the Nautilus to complete this historic feat was its other -- perhaps more famous -- contribution to naval lore: It was the first nuclear-powered submarine ever built. Famous though it is, this particular U.S.S. Nautilus (SSN-571) was not the most notorious vessel known by that name -- and certainly not the first. Indeed, SSN-571 was the sixth American military vessel named Nautilus and the fourth submarine, though 571 was the first to head its own class of sub. So, while SSN-571 does share a name with the famous fictional Nautilus from Jules Verne's classic novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it might be a bit of a stretch to say that the former's namesake was exclusively in honor of the latter. "But wait," you say, "SSN-571 was named after the Verne vessel, as both were nuclear-powered. The Navy ship made Verne's prediction a reality." Well, I'm going to chalk this misconception up to Disney, because it was Uncle Walt's otherwise excellent 1954 film adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that perhaps most famously suggested that the Verne-conceived Nautilus tapped some mysterious fundamental power source, which we now call nuclear power. Alas, if only Verne's text matched the convenience of this assumption. Verne clearly wrote that his Nautilus' power came from sodium/mercury batteries, the salts for which Captain Nemo distilled from seawater using conventional coal-heated furnaces. Verne's Nautilus was revolutionarily electric, rather than steam-powered, but nuclear -- even in its vaguest hints -- never really entered the equation. The Disney Leagues film debuted the same year as SSN-571's commission, so press-inspired connections between the two were likely inevitable. However, the conventional wisdom about which vessel took its namesake from which is actually a little backward. The nuclear Nautilus is just the latest in a long, proud tradition of true-life vessels of that name, one of which actually inspired Verne to name his fictional submarine in its honor. To find out, check out the Geek Trivia Answer on No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18893	Follow by Email Monday, 1 August 2016 As Yet Untitled. Dearest Kolee It is a long time since we first met, all those many moons ago in December 2011, when you came to me for .. help. Oh ! is it really that long ? You were in a bit of a mess then Kolee, and at our first meeting I has to stifle a giggle ?remember. That was when you told me to go ... !hmm .. after you'd told me about the theme-park trauma the day before, when the log flume turned out to be a log flue and how a cold, winter's day in Luton can take you unawares. And there, K, trauma beget re-trauma, and the rest, as they say, be hysteria.. !hmmm Now I know a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then, and it's not all been plain sailing betwixt us, Ms. ?Ynnit, but I have grown very fond of you (as you know); more than that even. So it came as a bit of a blow to me to find out things regarding our recent rendez-vous and why, precisely, you decided to 'drop me off' at that exact stretch of the M4. My heart has taken a fair bit of a bashing over the years, K, as you'll know, exacerbated I dare say by your comings and goings and various shenanigans. Yesterday, however, was in many ways, the final straw that brought the camel back. Without being over-melodramatic about this, Kolee, my heart has just been pierced by the last sling or arrow of egregious fortune, maybe even fatally so. On Tuesday 26th July, dear Kolee, as part of your Peeps' Chump series presumably, you published a letter, well the beginnings of suche from an unknown sender, someone to whom you referred as TWIMC - whatever! the fuck that mean ( ?!innit ) Well, tpis, you cut the sender off, most forcibly as I recall. On the grounds that the moderator (you) had found that standards had been compromised. Although you proceeded to refer to Bono as .. well, in a way that was pretty discourteous I have to say, even if it was true. In the part of the letter which was shown, the author spoke of a hole (Slough), 20 miles or so down the M4 from TheSmoke, where people and things mysteriously disappear. One might think it akin to a vortex scenario, except that will remind you of your local bingo-hall and then you'll have nightmares about people's housey-houseys being swallowed up by the void. So, researching The Slough Hole - what the locals dub The Bare-Moodah Triangle - I discovered stuff disturbing on so many levels, if i may .. . . .. ... O ! !fs !shutthefukup innit ? Sikment an lissen 2me .. . . . And now, dear readers, allow me to interrupt, and explain : No comments: Post a Comment
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18901	Mixing Helpfulness and Humor Since 2005 Sunday, September 10, 2006 Moving Tip of the Day Official Rule just established today: If you're the last one moving out of the house and crap is left behind by other inhabitants, you are welcome to take whatever you want and keep if for your entire life. It's your right. :-) Blogger Amanda said... I concur wholeheartedly - Congratulations Jay! You now have possession of the infamous quoteboard, some leftover wassle-making cider, one dirty sock, cheese dip, two bottles of chocolate sauce, several packages of meat, and a genuine, handy dandy toilet bowl cleaner. I'm sure you're ecstatic! 10 September, 2006 11:30 Blogger The Keiser said... Hahaha! Have fun with all that. 10 September, 2006 12:59 Blogger Jay said... Also including, but not limited to: a "gently used" plunger, gobs o' toxic chemicals, one rollerblade, an already-opened bag of soil, all the cleaning solutions I can shake a stick at, different hair samples in awkward places, boxer shorts reading "I (heart) Jen," boxer shorts reading, "I (heart) Mom," and a few half-eaten dog-treat, gummy bear clusters. Yeah, I'd say I cleaned house! 10 September, 2006 14:04 Blogger Kris said... As someone who's almost always last to move out, I concur and applaud this tip! 10 September, 2006 22:35 Blogger Kris said... Oh, but over the years, I've gotten a few movies, a crock pot, a microwave, a knife set, some silverware and other such things left behind! 10 September, 2006 22:35 Blogger JCo said... What is this about "I (heart) Jen" boxers???? 11 September, 2006 12:23 Blogger vander said... Yes, that's suspicious. Clearly Cheddar has some explaining to do. 11 September, 2006 14:14 Blogger Andy said... Are you suggesting that Cheddar makes custom-embroidered underwear when no one is around? Because if so, I've got some ideas I'd like to run by him... 11 September, 2006 14:30 Blogger Jay said... Well, I can tell you they weren't mine! And Matt doesn't wear underwear. 11 September, 2006 20:44 Blogger Jay said... OK, I think Matt wears underwear. 11 September, 2006 20:44 Blogger Jay said... And yes, Cheddar embroidered, "HAH, I just ate your socks" onto my socks. Then he ate them. Not the brightest cookie in the crayon jar. 11 September, 2006 20:45 Blogger Stephanie said... Hahah! In my baseboard cleaning/vacuuming: - I learned that Pete is a shoe thrower/kicker (marks on the back of his closet). :-) Watch out, Jen. - I found a half-used vial sample of Ralph Lauren Romance for Men in Jason's room. - I also found plenty of hair samples on the stairs. - I think it's funny that Matt never replied to your underwear comment! Wise double-post there, Jay. 11 September, 2006 20:56 Blogger Jay said... Ah, this is like the TodD glory days where comments soared into the twenties and thirties. 11 September, 2006 22:27 Blogger Amanda said... Ew...that picture is gross. Yes, I laughed out loud on some of these comments. Good show guys. 12 September, 2006 09:59 Blogger Stephanie said... What was it about ears having the consistency of....was it...dried apricots? Let's get THAT one going again. :-) 13 September, 2006 10:36 Blogger Pete said... 02 November, 2006 09:01 Post a Comment Links to this post: Create a Link << Home
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18907	Publishing’s “open” future Today's closed models will give way to tomorrow's open platforms Let’s look at what exactly open publishing is. The word “open” is used a lot in the technology world these days. Open source projects are just one example, but open standards are another. So when people talk about open publishing, what do they mean? It’s helpful to ﬁrst think about what open publishing is not. The old days, when authors worked on their own until they completed a manuscript and then handed it on to an editor, is a good example of publishing that’s not open. Contrast this scenario with one where the author is able to collaborate with others, including editors, from the beginning. Feedback happens in real time, and everyone on the project operates synchronously. This is open publishing. It might sound chaotic, but with the right tools it can be a wonderful experience. The key word here is “synchronous,” and one of the key shifts is the movement of the editor’s role toward real-time editing. Open publishing can support a variety of collaborative and iterative development models. There are rapid intense development models like book sprints, where several people write a book in three to ﬁve days, or slower models often referred to as “iterative”or “agile” book development. If you’re not familiar with these phrases, you need to be, as they are part of the new lexicon of book development and open publishing. Each of these models offers the producers the opportunity to engage in rich dialogue with others while producing content. This in turn enriches the text while also speeding up content development and helping alleviate negative motivation factors, which often confront those facing the momentous task of writing a book alone. Another important part of open publishing is the role the reader plays in the development of a book. Books can be released in a raw early state to readers for feedback, and hence early readers become part of the development cycle. These releases are sometimes referred to as a “minimum viable product,” or MVP, a term borrowed from software development. MVP strategies provide your customers with a glimpse of what you’re creating well before it’s ﬁnished, and give you the opportunity to gather feedback from your readers and make adjustments to better suit their needs. An MVP is the smallest version of your initial product you can use to gauge customer feedback. That might be an outline and a couple of chapters. Or it might be just a summary of what the book will cover. It all depends on what you’re looking to learn from your customers. Once you realize the beneﬁts of synchronous production, real-time editing, early reading, and MVPs, you quickly see why open publishing can be an appealing model for content and business. Adam Hyde and Fabienne Riener led a panel on open publishing at TOC Frankfurt last week. Be sure to tune in to our TOC website for future discussions about this important topic. Content access via APIs Developing content in an open manner is great, but how can we ensure the ﬁnished product is also available in an open format? One way is to leverage what are known as APIs, or application programming interfaces. That’s really just a fancy way of saying you’ve made your content available in a fashion where developers can come in and easily gain access to it. You might be wondering why you’d ever want to enable developer access to your content. We’ve all heard of developers who’ve gone rogue and created viruses and other destructive applications. Exposing your content via APIs doesn’t mean you lose control over it. What it does mean is that you open the door for new methods of content discovery and consumption that you might not have thought about before. I’m betting that the next phase of content distribution will come from someone outside our industry, not inside it. Those of us who have been in publishing for a while are simply too attached to existing models. We’re resistant to change and therefore not likely to come up with the next big idea. That’s where the API model really shines. If you set your API access up correctly, you’ll empower countless developers to take your content and make it available in new ways. You’ll be able to dictate certain ground rules (e.g., how much content can be given away for free, minimum pricing of products, etc.), but you’ll also want to be careful and not make the rules too restrictive. An easy way to start down this path is to make your metadata available through APIs. Developers can then start reimagining new methods of discovery for the content your metadata describes, and you can relax, knowing you haven’t exposed all your intellectual property just yet. When that proves successful, though, the next step would be to work with some of those same developers and make available portions of your content. ValoBox is one of the start-ups doing a lot of work in the content API arena. Thanks to the magic of APIs, they offer a quick and easy way to embed one of their books anywhere on your web site. ReadSocial is another terriﬁc example and one of the most interesting start-ups in the social content space. Although some still say reading is a solitary activity, ReadSocial is showing just how useful an open, sharing reading experience can be. ReadSocial believes so much inthe notion of open standards that the founders built the entire platform on a set of APIs. Evolution of DRM DRM is one of those hot-button topics. Most people tend to be either very supportive of it or ﬁercely opposed. There seems to be no fence-sitting on this one. The majority of publishers insisted on DRM before they’d commit their content to ebook format. That was their security blanket and one way to convince skeptical authors that ebooks are worth pursuing. What’s ironic here is that this same DRM has been instrumental in retailers’ ability to create platform lock-in for consumers. Since you can’t move your Kindle e-books to a Nook, for example, every purchase you make from Amazon makes it harder for you to eventually leave its platform. Most of the big publishers still support DRM, if not insist on it. Macmillan is the lone member of the Big Six American publishers that has opted to test the DRM-free space with its Tor imprint. Then there’s what’s known as “social DRM,” which is where the ebook can be copied and easily redistributed, but it typically contains sensitive information such as the owner’s name or, worse, credit card number. By inserting this information into the ﬁle the publisher or retailer hopes to discourage the owner from letting the ebook sneak out into the wild. At the end of the day, though, DRM offers nothing more than a false sense of security to intellectual property owners. Every form of DRM can be hacked, and the unlocked ﬁle can then be shared with friends and strangers alike. Social DRM is even more easily bro-ken, as that sensitive personal information can be very easily removed from the ﬁle. Some would argue that the only way to prevent piracy is to never release an ebook to begin with. That’s another myth. After all, prior to the launch of the Pottermore site, the Harry Potter series was not available in ebook format, yet each of the titles was among the most oft-pirated books on the planet. Scanning technology means that print-only books won’t remain print-only for very long. Given all these facts, why bother with DRM at all? It simply penalizes your trustworthy customers and treats everyone like a common criminal. We debated the pros and cons of DRM at TOC Frankfurt last week, and we’ll continue to share both sides of thestory in person and online. Apps, platforms, formats, and HTML5 One of the biggest opportunities for an open publishing future has to do with both platforms (e.g., iOS, Android, Windows) and formats (e.g., EPUB, mobi, PDF). There are countless horror stories of publishers investing in native apps for iOS devices only to later discover that they’ll have to invest at least as much as they’ve already spent to get the same app onto the Android platform. You also have to deal with the retailer’s cut of any sales of those native apps or the in-app content they serve up. In other words, native apps lead to a very closed model where only the target platform is served and signiﬁcant expense must be incurred to port them elsewhere. A similar situation exists with formats. PDF is the granddaddy of them all and remains extremely popular with O’Reilly’s customers. EPUB and mobi are quickly gaining momentum, though. And although PDFs can be read on a Kindle and EPUBs can be read on a variety of devices, there’s no one format that seems to solve all the problems of open, cross-platform use. Or is there? HTML5 is the format that’s often overlooked. It’s the lingua franca of the web, but I believe it’s also the future of an open content model for publishers. HTML5 is, in fact, at the very core of the latest version of EPUB, EPUB 3. HTML5 offers a variety of features that allow publishers to render anything from the simplest text-only novel to the richest, immersive digital product that leverages audio and video as well. So if HTML5 is so terriﬁc, why hasn’t the industry already fully embraced it? To answer this question you need to keep in mind that ebook retailers don’t feel an open, barrier-free content delivery platform like HTML5 is in their best interest. Remember that today’s retailers have built their market share by locking customers in, not by giving them the choice of reading anyone’s content on their device. (The partial exception here is Apple, where you can easily load many competing ebook apps on an iPhone or iPad, but Apple’s own content from their iBookstore can be read only on an iOS device.) The simple truth is the Kindle gave birth to today’s ebook marketplace, and there’s no way Amazon is going to tear down the walls they’ve carefully constructed around the garden. That means that either another retailer will pave the way to an HTML5 future or publishers will forge an alliance to do it for themselves. The U.S. Department of Justice has publishers worried about being charged with any sort of collusion these days, so I ﬁgure a retailer will have to intervene. That retailer will either be a start-up or a second-tier player with little to lose by breaking the rules of the walled gardens. Whoever does it has a bright future, and they’ll be creating a terriﬁc user experience. After all, imagine not being tied to any given device or vendor. DRM goes away in this world too as content is streamed to the user, much the way Netflix does with video, so HTML5 helps on a number of open fronts. Let’s open this up together As you can see, this “open” vision won’t happen overnight, and you can bet the entrenched leaders will have something to say about it, especially as it threatens their market positions. I’d like to think this article has helped you see the value in shifting our industry to more of an open model. Being open doesn’t mean we’re carefree about our intellectual property; rather, it means we’re dramatically improving the customers’ user experience and building a future we have more of a stake in than what we see today in our largely closed environment. As I mentioned earlier, we covered many of these topics at TOC Frankfurt, and we’ll go into more depth on them at TOC New York, next February 12–14. I hope you’ll join us in New York (the “best price” discount expires soon (11/9), so sign up now), but in the meantime please be sure to follow the community discussion here on our website and sign up for our free weekly newsletter. This article was originally written for Publishers Weekly and their Digital Spotlight guide to the Frankfurt Book Fair. Click here to download the entire guide from Scribd
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18913	Homepage > Man Pages > Category > General Commands Homepage > Man Pages > Name > Y man page of ytalk ytalk: A multi-user chat program. ytalk - A multi-user chat program. ytalk [-s] [-Y] [-E] [-i] [-q] [-v] [-h hostname_or_ip] username... YTalk 3.3.0 YTalk is in essence a multi-user chat program. It works almost exactly like the UNIX talk program and even communicates with the same talk daemon(s), but YTalk allows for multiple connections. The username field may be formatted in several different ways: name - some user on your machine name@host - some user on a different machine name#tty - some user on a particular terminal name#tty@host - some user on a particular tty on a different machine name@host#tty - same as "name#tty@host" aliasname - an alias defined in your .ytalkrc You can specify multiple user names on the command line, ie: ytalk george [email protected] [email protected] The -s option starts your YTalk window in a shell. The -Y option requires a capital Y or N as an answer to any yes/no question. The -E option requires you to press escape once before answering a yes/no question (for people who type looking at the keyboard). The -i option disables the auto-invite port (meaning you won't see "talk to [email protected]", but your talk daemon will beep you instead). The -q option causes YTalk to prompt you before quitting. The -v option prints the program version and exits. The -h option specifies the name or address of the local machine; this is useful on multi-homed machines, or virtual hosts, to specify which network interface to use for communication. For each user on the command line, YTalk will attempt to connect to the talk daemon on the specified user's host and determine if that user has left an invitation for you to call. If not, YTalk leaves an invitation for him and tells his talk daemon to send an announcement to his screen. There is no dedicated YTalk daemon. Right now, YTalk is able to communicate with BOTH existing versions of UNIX talk daemons. For any particular host, YTalk will attempt to communicate with a talk daemon the caller's host also supports. If the two hosts have no daemon in common, then UNIX talk will not function at all, but a connection is possible through (and only through) YTalk. Once a connection has been established between two users, they can chat back and forth to their hearts' content. The connection is terminated when one of them hits control-C or selects quit off the main menu. YTalk is perfectly compatible with UNIX talk and they can even converse with each other without any problems. However, many of the features of YTalk can only operate when you are connected to a user who is also using YTalk. For the rest of this document, it will be assumed that all connected users are using YTalk, unless otherwise stated. If you specified more than one user on the YTalk command line, then YTalk will process and add each user to the conversation as they respond to your invitation. As each new user enters the conversation, the screen is further subdivided into smaller and smaller windows, one for each connected user. Right now, the number of connected users is limited by the number of lines on your terminal (or window), for each connected user needs at least three lines. As each new user is added to the conversation, YTalk will transmit information about that user to all other connected YTalk users so that their screens will also subdivide and incorporate the new user. If the new user is using UNIX talk, then information about him will NOT be transmitted, for his screen would be unable to accept multiple connections. I have given brief thought to allowing at least the output of UNIX talk users to be transmitted to all connected YTalk users, but I have not written any code to do so. Note that even though UNIX talk cannot handle multiple connections, it is still possible for YTalk to handle multiple UNIX "talk" connections. For example, george (using YTalk) could communicate with fred and joe (both using UNIX talk), but fred and joe would be unaware of each other. The best way to understand the limitations that UNIX "talk" places on YTalk is to test various connections between the two and see how things work. Whenever you are using YTalk, you can hit the ESCAPE key to bring up a menu which at this moment has these options: a: add a user d: delete a user k: kill all unconnected o: options r: rering all s: shell u: user list w: output user to file q: quit By choosing option "a", you are given the opportunity to type the name of any user you wish to include into the conversation. Again, YTalk will accept an invitation from that user if an invitation exists, or will leave an invitation and ring the given user. By choosing option "d", you can select the name of a connection to terminate. By choosing option "k", you can make YTalk forget all pending (waiting) connections. By choosing option "o", you can view and/or modify any of the YTalk options. See the OPTIONS section below for a list of YTalk options. By choosing option "r", all users that have not yet responded to your talk invitation will be re-rung. By choosing option "s", you can invoke a shell in your YTalk window. All other users will see what happens in your shell. YTalk will automatically resize your window down to the size of the smallest window you are connected to, in order to ensure that all users always see the same thing. The "u" option displays a list of connected and unconnected users, as well as their window sizes and what version of talk software they are running. By choosing option "w", you can select any connected user and type the name of a file, and all further output from that user will be dumped to the specified file. The file, if it exists, will be OVERWRITTEN. By choosing "w" and the same user again, further output to the file will be terminated. Oh, one other thing: when user A attempts to ytalk to user B, but user B is already ytalking with user C, user A's YTalk program will realize that user B is already using YTalk, and will communicate with user B's YTalk program directly in order to initialize the conversation. User B will see a nice windowed message like: Do you wish to talk with user A? and he will be prompted for a yes/no answer. This, in my opinion, is much preferable to blitting the announcement message and messing up user B's screen. The command-line option "-i" turns this off. When you select Options off of the main menu, you are given the opportunity to edit the YTalk options. The current options are: s: turn scrolling [off/on] w: turn word-wrap [off/on] i: turn auto-import [off/on] v: turn auto-invite [off/on] r: turn reringing [off/on] p: [don't] prompt before rerings q: [don't] prompt before quitting If scrolling is turned on, then a user's window will scroll when he reaches the bottom, instead of wrapping back around to the top. If word-wrap is turned on, then any word which would overextend the right margin will be automatically moved to the next line on your screen. If auto-import is turned on, then YTalk will assume that you wish to talk to any users which connect to other YTalk users which are connected to you. That last sentence does make sense; try again. YTalk will add these users to your session automatically, without asking you for verification. If auto-invite is turned on, then YTalk will automatically accept any connection requested by another user and add them to your session. You will not be asked for verification. If rering is turned on, then YTalk will re-ring any user who does not respond to your invitation within 30 seconds. If prompt-rering is turned on, then YTalk will ask you before re- ringing a user. If prompt-quit is turned on, then YTalk will wait for keyboard input before quitting. Any of these options can be set to your preference in your .ytalkrc file, as described below. If your home directory contains a file named ".ytalkrc" then YTalk will read this file while starting up. All YTalk runtime options, as well as some startup options, can be set in this file. SETTING BOOLEAN OPTIONS Boolean options can be pre-set with the following syntax: turn option [off \| on] where option is one of scrolling , word-wrap , auto-import , auto- invite , rering , prompt-rering , prompt-quit , caps , escape-yesno , noinvite , ignorebreak , or beeps . Setting these options works just like described above. For example, one could enable word-wrap with the line: turn word-wrap on ALIASES You can setup aliases so you don't have to type the full address of the user you want to ring. There are three types of aliases: alias aliasname@ username@ Replaces aliasname@host with username@host for every host. The '@' at the end of username@ is not required. alias @aliashost @realhost Replaces user@aliashost with user@realhost for every user. The '@' at the beginning of @realhost is not required. alias aliasname user@host Replaces aliasname with user@host. SELECTING INTERFACES AND VIRTUAL HOSTS On machines with multiple IP addresses (multiple interfaces, or virtual hosts), you can choose the default address to use for communication with YTalk, using the localhost command in your .ytalkrc file. The syntax is: localhost hostname-or-IP-address SETTING RE-ADDRESS MODES The purpose of readdressing is to allow YTalk connections across point- to-point network gateways where the local machines know themselves by a different address (and typically hostname) than the remote machines. The basic syntax of a readdress command is this: readdress from-address to-address domain The readdress statement simply makes a claim that the machine(s) in domain communicate with the machine(s) at from-address by sending a packet to to-address . Since most users have no use for this whatsoever, I'll describe it only briefly. THIS IS NOT ROUTING. For example, my machine at home is connected via PPP to the network at my office. My machine at home thinks its ethernet address is and its hostname is "talisman.com". The network at my office has the address When I'm connected via PPP, my home machine is placed into the office network as address with hostname "talisman.austin.eds.com". YTalk needs to know that if it is running on domain and receives packets from that it should respond to, not right? right. okay, okay, okay. I put this line into my .ytalkrc on both ends: readdress talisman talisman.austin.eds.com On my home end, this translates to: readdress which tells my home machine to advertise itself as "" instead of "" when YTalk-ing to machines on the network "". On the office end, the readdress command translates to: readdress which the office machines basically ignore. Note that, in this case, the problem could also have been solved by telling the home YTalk to use the interface, when doing YTalk requests across the PPP link. /usr/local/etc/ytalkrc System-wide defaults file. ~/.ytalkrc User's local configuration file. This file overrides options set in the system ytalkrc file. Andreas Kling <[email protected]> Britt Yenne Roger Espel Llima Jessica Peterson Special thanks to Carl Edman for numerous code patches, beta testing, and comments. I think this guy spends as much time on ytalk as I do. Special thanks to Tobias Hahn and Geoff W. for beta testing and suggestions. Thanks to Sitaram Ramaswamy for the original YTalk manpage. Thanks to Magnus Hammerin for Solaris 2.* support. Thanks to Thilo Wunderlich for Linux support. Thanks to Jonas Yngvesson for aside messages in X. Thanks to Andreas Stolcke for fixing the X resource database calls. Thanks to Pete Wenzel for fixing the #elif directive. Thanks to John Vanderpool, Shih-Chen Huang, Andrew Myers, Duncan Sinclair, Evan McLean, Larry Schwimmer, J. Adam Hawkes, and Mark Musone for comments and ideas. Thanks to Steve McIntyre for patches and ideas. Thanks to Katarina Erkkonen for CVS hosting. Thanks to Alexander Rigbo for patches, testing and many good ideas. Please mail any bugs to the maintainer of this version, at <[email protected]> Contact · Imprint · Privacy Page generated in 25.20ms. brieftaubenversteigerung.com \| wippsaege.name \| adsenseexperts.com
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18921	Sunday, July 27, 2008 Backstage at the Evolution Debate: Designed or Human-made? I used to wonder why Evolution was such a polarizing scientific discovery. It seems to be the driving force behind both a renewed atheist confidence (see "The Blind Watchmaker" and "God Delusion") and a corresponding fundamentalist-theist backlash on science (see the "Intelligent Design" movement). But why evolution? Why is it more of a threat than paleontology, cosmology, neuroscience, or anything else? Why not even something bland and uncontroversial, like geology? Why aren't atheists driving around with famous geologists names inscribed in fish symbols on the back of their cars? And why isn't the Intelligent Design crowd clamoring for equal time when the friendly geologist shows up at school with his rock hammer and a pile of geodes to explain? The central issue behind the supposed debate over evolution - for both atheists and their opponents alike - is the concept of differentiating "designed" from "naturally occurring." The famous analogy in use is that of a person walking along a beach who stumbles upon a watch lying in the sand. The person would know immediately the watch was designed - that it was fundamentally different from the surrounding sand in which it lay. Folks suggested that similarly, biological forms - species diversity, the eye, whatever - were just as complex as that watch and thus evidence of a Designer (a form of the teleological argument for the existence of God in philosophical terms). When Evolution was discovered, it showed for a fact (yes a FACT) that these biological forms could and did emerge through "natural processes" such as variation (imperfect copies occur with each generation) and selection (only some of the copies survive). Apparently, a lot of thinkers, particularly atheists, had been stumped by the "watchmaker" argument as applied only to biology. Because they seized on poor old Darwin and biological evolution as somehow different and more profound than any of the other prior scientific discoveries that also explained complex results from natural processes, from star formation to rocks. In fact, the bland and uncontroversial field of modern geology predated evolution by several decades. While James Hutton's prose was dense, Charles Lyell's discoveries later on at Niagara cemented Hutton and in fact became an influence on Darwin. Geology gave us the first real proof of a 4 billion year old planet, not to mention the "inert version" of how constant gradual change and natural forces can result in amazingly impressive, complex structures - from Niagra Falls to the continents to geodes! For some reason, atheists never trumpeted Hutton's or Lyell's discoveries, nor did fundamentalists get as worked up about them (personally I think geodes and canyons are far more demanding of an explanation than a worm or a fish, but I'm not into squishy things). I suppose it's because evolution eventually leads to Humans that made Darwin's version of "natural processes that lead to complex results" get all the attention, and thus the backlash. Worse, instead of taking on the inherently atheist presentation of science as philosophy, the theist attackers actually adopted the atheist view of science and attacked the detail - evolution itself. But the near complete obscurity of Lyell and Hutton is telling. Geologic theories they developed or which flowed directly from them are probably better known in pop culture - erosion, volcanism, plate tectonics, etc. All of these are at least as threatening as evolution. Yet neither atheists are writing books about how rocks disprove God, nor are theists arguing for equal time in geology classes. This strongly suggests there's nothing in ANY actual science at the heart of these intense debates supposedly about "evolution." The debates are philosophical and/or theological - what IS "design?" There are plenty of theist proponents who still argue from design on the basis of "complexity in the universe as a whole," such as the fine precision required for universal constants and physical forces in order for matter, let alone us, to exist. Similarly, their dogged atheist counterparts suggest a multiverse or cyclical emergence of universes, that, like evolution (or geology!), produce the variation and forces for selection required so that the complexity and conditions we find ourselves with only seem special because in all the other universes, nothing could emerge to notice them. The problem with all this, the proverbial man behind the curtain, is that vague concept of "design" in the first place. The flaw with the watchmaker analogy is that it's NOT "design" that we so easily see in a watch lying in the sand. Rather we see that a watch was "man made" while the sand was not. The same is true for archaeologists who can spot ancient pottery shards and stone tools in debris. We're very good at pattern matching. In particular, we can tell whether something was made by us, or those like us. It's not in the thing at all, but because of our point of reference or context that we know. Consider, for example, a piece of modern abstract art. We can tell the difference between that art and a paint spill, but nothing intrinsic in the patterns of paint is the reason. Indeed, what makes abstract art work is the knowledge that it was done that way on purpose. And conversely, while atheists love to point out things like termite mounds and bee hives, the only reason we know those things were NOT "designed" is because we know so much about termites and bees. And we know how a geode came to be because we understand those forces of geology now too. Without context, we're powerless. Imagine yourself an "astro-anthropologist" of the future, examining only the scant images of structures sent back by a probe or telescope of some totally alien planet. With only the properties of the thing itself, how would you know whether it signified "design?" You'd do what astro-biologists do today when they look for alien life - compare what you find to what you know from Earth and wait for more data to align. That is, you apply the only context you have. The problem behind all of this is that as we go from humans, to Earth, to alien worlds, to the universe as a whole, we have no real definition of "design" except our own. All we have is a sense that what WE do and therefore a way to detect "human made" or perhaps "made by entities with a consciousness similar to humans." Whether we're looking for design, or looking to rule it out, we first need to know it when we see it. If we allow only "human made" to be meaningful, we are forced into a circular conclusion on "design" before we start. Since we humans are a product of evolution ourselves, even what we do cannot scientifically be distinguished from anything made by any other product of evolution. There may be a meaningful difference between "human made" and "termite made" but NEITHER would be evidence of "design" (or both would be). If we go back to the watch analogy, either both watch AND the sand suggest design (hmm, sand - back to geology!), or neither one needs it. So facing the question of design means firstly we must face our own experience of "design" our sense that we "reason" or act on any other thought with a purpose. Calling what we do "design" must either be a delusion, or this capacity is real, and is simply the first proof of a concept of "design" or reason that is "above" human. If "reason" in humans is something emergent, then it cannot be explained (or "explained away") by the underlying constituent elements - further study of humans and their neurons won't help one way or another. That is, if Reason exists, it exists whether reasoning beings exist to experience it or not. Since belief in God, in simplest terms, means only "the universe DOES have intent or purpose or reason behind it" then belief in God is depends on and is suggested by a belief in the reality of Reason. Our ability to Reason itself is then the best (though inductive) evidence we have that reason, design, etc. exists in the abstract. A purposeful God is likely, because, why would reason stop with us? On the other hand only the conclusion that what humans experience as rational thought is a delusion seals the case against God. Dawkins would need to write a sequel "The Reason Delusion." Of course, there's not much point in trying to lay out a rational argument for the non-existance of reason. The hard part is, our own ability to reason is only suggestive or inductive of a greater reason in the abstract. An analogy can be made in the argument for alien life. We can assume that since we're here, it's highly unlikely we're the only ones who got this far, but it doesn't help answer what the range of other life is like or whether entirely different levels of life and consciousness exist above our own. And that's just for organic life, which at least has some fairly well established definition in physically observable properties. For the much more abstract and ill-defined concept of "design" it's far worse. How can we get beyond our ability to see design and purpose in what we do - the human made - and detect purpose or design in anything else, from an alien world, to a higher life form, to the universe itself? To start, we need to go back to the only example we have - to "reason" in our own experience. Reason is not found by picking apart the constituent pieces (reason isn't found in our neurons), nor by studying the properties or complexity of the "resulting artifacts" (reason is not found in a watch or a work of art). To find "intent" or "reason" or "design" in what we do, we go beyond the resulting artifacts and constituent elements and use our own experience as context. So, to find reason or design in anything else, in the universe itself, we must go beyond analysis of the "resulting artifact" of the universe itself or of further breakdown of its constituent pieces and their properties. We must establish context in the abstract - a context shaped by our own experience, but one that applies outside of ourselves, one that defines NOT "human made" but "designed." Is that possible? Well, it's a topic for another post at least. No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18942	Creator / Hybride Technologies Hybride Technologies is an effects studio located in Quebec, Ontario. The company was formed in 1991 by Pierre Raymond, Daniel Leduc, Michel Murdock and Sylvie Talbot and mainly did TV projects including the TV series Lexx and several station IDs and commercials. In 1997, they got their first film effects work with the film Mimic. In 2008, video game company Ubisoft bought them. Hybride still serves as an independent VFX company despite it (though both companies have worked together several times). Their website is here. Hybride's work also includes (but isn't limited to): for Industrial Light and Magic
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18943	Goddess Girls Inexact title. See the list below. We don't have an article named Main/GoddessGirls, exactly. We do have: If you meant one of those, just click and go. If you want to start a Main/GoddessGirls page, just click the edit button above. Be careful, though, the only things that go in the Main namespace are tropes and should be created through the YKTTW system. Don't put in redirects for shows, books, etc.. Use the right namespace for those.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18951	Part 1 - 2/4 Finding Ubuntu Finding Ubuntu Ubuntu is an operating system, based on Debian and Gnome, also based on the Linux kernel. There are a number of improvements and changes, the Ubuntu team at Canonical have done to specify and improve the system. It was just a few months ago, that the Ubuntu Team shut down the Unity Ubuntu desktop and switched back to Gnome. This is, of course, a good step – in a way. It took just a few weeks and they started to change the Gnome Desktop, to be more like the Unity Desktop. This makes the transition easier for the active user, also it looks and feels more like Ubuntu. What is Ubuntu? What is the Ubuntu Desktop like? What was the Ubuntu Desktop like? What functions should it offer? What look? What feel? What colors? That gave me the thought to search for Ubuntu. And maybe: “Finding Ubuntu“.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18956	Re: Human evolution and religious beliefs. @#$%!?! ( Thu, 28 Sep 1995 21:27:30 GMT : The destruction of religious theories that give meaning to people's life : is not a trivial matter. The pain felt by people who are led to question : beliefs that touch on the foundation of their existence should be taken : seriously. Will you feel pain and lash out angrily if I attack your science? : Just as Christians strive to hate sin but love the sinner, I suggest that : academics learn to hate intellectual drivel without feeling contempt for : those who consume it. Neither should we assume stupidity on their part. : Mental patients with elaborate systems of delusion often score : exceptionally high on IQ tests. One should expect the same from people : whose defense mechanisms operate within normal parameters. Condenscending little bastard, aincha? Have you ever considerred that yours is the delusion? How would you prove it is not? If you make absolute statements such as observation and experiment are the only valid ways to determine the truth, why is that intellectually superior to people who make absolute statements the revelation and miracle are the only valid ways to determine the truth? : It is the duty of informed people, such as anthropologists, to expose the : counterfeit nature of models such as "scientific" creationism despite : whatever pain it causes. Growing up is painful for individuals, nations, : and for the entire human race. It is the duty of mathmaticians to expose that unless you have absolute truths, any logical system is based on unprovable assumptions. Do you claim that you alone are able to determine absolute truth? Isn't that exactly your dispute with If you're not claiming absolute truths, merely those assumptions which seem self-evident to yourself, why should you denigrate those who choose different assumptions? Cultural relativity is really good for describing _those_ people, but we're in priviledged position. In fearless youth when fervour leapt, \| PO Box 1563 he sought the treasures silence kept \| Cupertino, California in chambers chilled where chanting stilled,\| (xxx)xxx-xxxx 95015 where bleaching bones were bleakly kept. \| I don't use no smileys
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18976	the break down of your fear. Ok. I just need to break it down. the only thing “scary” about your fear- is actually listening and letting your fear dominate your actions. your dreams. your relationships. your reason for being. That is all. your fear is not your enemy. your fear is your friend. your fear is your GPS. my GPS recalculates […] Heighten Your Happiness As humans, we seem to be constantly chasing after happiness. Without realizing it, you may regard happiness as a fleeting gift that only graces you with its presence when you’re lucky. You tell yourself that once you reach a certain point in your life—that big promotion you’ve been working tirelessly for or finally meeting “the […]
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/18978	Wednesday, May 26, 2010 The Pleaser's Guide to Pissing People Off It happened. You went and pissed someone off. He may or may not think that you're a selfish, egotistical jerk. She may or may not think that you're a rude, thoughtless dolt. Oh, this person may or may not be thinking it, all right. Despite this, I am reasonably certain that I can assure you all or most of the following: you will not be stabbed in the shower; squirrels and children alike will not heckle you as soon as you step outdoors; your heart will not rot from within because of your irredeemable vileness; the sun will not shrivel and dissolve into a sticky, boiling sludge because of all the international venom directed at you; there is no life-sized voodoo doll of your person with giant pins stuck all over it; your entire town will probably not turn their backs upon you in one collective, community-wide snub. If you are someone who likes to please, and those of us homo sapiens who are not sociopathic narcissists have this survival instinct to a greater or lesser extent, it can feel pretty cataclysmic sometimes when you know you've pissed someone off. Depending on the sort of home you grew up in, you might think that you can control the outcome of situations if only you avoid stepping on any toes. Don't talk to Mom before she's has her first cup of coffee; don't mumble around Dad. The problem is that you can't control most outcomes and in life, toes will be trod upon, intentionally and inadvertently. Sometimes the right thing to do is apologize. Sometimes, though, you will be expected to even if you didn't do anything wrong. Or you did do something "wrong" but it wasn't really wrong because it was was well-intentioned, honest or unavoidable. This guide is for those times. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assert that it's kind of good that you want to please. Kindness and sensitivity are good qualities. At the very least, society would be pretty unpleasant to live in if we all just lived by our own whims. You may have noticed something about those who don't care about pleasing others: they can be very unlikeable. This is the sort of person who lacks empathy and compassion, who, if you were to say, "Hmm, you know, it rather hurts me when you try to run me over with your car," would say, "Really? Too bad because I enjoyed that and so I'm going to continue," as he gleefully puts the car in reverse to plow you over from a different direction. Not literally but figuratively. You are not this kind of person, despite the fact that someone might currently be pissed at you. The person who is pissed at you might make you feel like you tried to run him over with your car because, frankly, it might feel that way to him. You didn't. (Right? If you did, go loiter somewhere else.) What's an emotionally thin-skinned person to do when your natural instinct is to throw yourself on the ground and beg for forgiveness? Give yourself a time-out Take a moment. Let the feeling wash over you. The fear in the pit of your stomach, the jitteriness. You're scared of it? I understand. Still, sit with it without judgment. Give it a name: scared, nervous, rejected. The feeling gets worse if you try to ignore it or push it away. Feel it and release it. The reality of the situation is that it's not so awful, right? No rhinoceros is chasing you with steam coming out of his flared nostrils. You're likely feeling fear; the problem pleasers have is that of proportion. We take pissing people off to be much more monumental than it probably needs to be. So take a time-out before you respond. Keep things in perspective Was what you did really that bad? Was it intentionally hurtful? If it was, did it need to be said or done? Is it the end of the world? Remember that rhinoceros from above? I read something from a Buddhist monk once where he said that the height of suffering and pain is self-absorption. This is to say that when you lack perspective and connection, everything is life or death. We're uncentered. The fact of the matter is that the world keeps spinning. The sun rises and sets every day, even if your friend Nancy has been distant and the librarian gave you a dirty look for some inexplicable reason. Life goes on. Your monkey mind will chatter all kinds of nonsense into your ears if you let it. Instead, breathe in, breathe out... Act as-if Think of the most carefree person you know, the one who seems to skip everywhere she goes, is quick to laugh, lives with an infectious joie de vivre. Let's call her Didi. Imitate her. When you have pissed someone off and it's not really your fault but your stomach still hurts and your throat is all dry, imitate Didi. What does it feel like inside to be Didi? Kind of awesome, right? Even if it is all an illusion, even if Didi is hopped up on happy pills and punches her pillows at night, imitate the illusion. Talk it out Call a neutral friend, one who is supportive of you but also honest. Ask if you could have a little bit of her time while you talk through an issue with her. If she's a real friend, she'll be honored that you care about her opinion. Try to present the situation with fairness and as much honesty as you can muster. Chances are, you'll feel at least 63 times better after talking to a friend. You'll have perspective; your burden will be lighter. Be gentle with yourself The pleaser's natural impulse often is to add to the pile-on. "He's right! I am a no good, self-centered loudmouth. He forgot to add that I am also impatient and worthless. Let me add that to the list." Somehow we have the notion that beating ourselves up is necessary, even purifying. It's not. It's just adding an extra coat of pain that you don't need. Why not turn that desire to please inward a little? Be gentle and kind to yourself. Don't accept meanness, least of all from yourself. Give yourself an extra iced tea, take a walk after dinner, go to the beach. A little gentleness goes a long way. Write it out Writing out your feelings can be very cathartic. Allow yourself to write without editing, without your inner-critic. Just write it out, warts and all, and tear it up or burn it. Imagine your worries dissolving as the paper disappears. Do not apologize! If you have clarity that you did nothing wrong, please don't apologize. Even if you're just apologizing to get someone off your back, it causes harm to your self-esteem (and gives a bully a sense of victory) if you apologize for something you didn't do wrong. It sucks to say, "I'm sorry you feel that way," but sometimes that's the best you can do. Apologizing when you didn't do anything wrong is like apologizing for existing. Be kind, be compassionate, but don't do it! Ask questions and learn Is there something to take away from the experience? Are you gravitating toward people who demand apologies a lot? Are you someone who miscommunicates a lot and creates misunderstandings? What could you have done different? What could you do different in the future? Calm your mind and see what emerges. To sum up: if you did something wrong, apologize, If you didn't, don't. In any case, the world will keep spinning, gravity will still be in effect, and no angry mob is likely going to chase you out of town with flaming sticks. It's time to move on. Wednesday, May 19, 2010 The PETA Effect "Are you one of those PETA people?" If you've done outreach for any length of time, this question will be familiar to you. It's usually accompanied with defensive body language and a frown. I'm sure that it sounds strange when I assure the people asking me that I probably dislike PETA every bit as much as they do, if not more. People are a lot more receptive once they hear this. This is because of what I've come to call the PETA Effect. When you have small enough numbers and your goal is to spur a dialogue that motivates people into adopting major internal and external shifts, it helps to be at the top of your game. As vegans, we're supposed to be shining examples of excellence from head-to-toe but not too much because then the scale tips more toward "goody two-shoes sitcom parent from the 1950s" and that's just annoying. Vegan ambassadors are supposed to be great examples but the problem is that we're all, you know, human. As such, we all have areas of weakness. I know that sarcasm is my default coping mechanism, I'm quick to anger and my husband has told me many times that I could use a smidge more patience. Realizing that perfection is both unattainable and undesirable, I strive to just do better than my worst instincts would dictate if they were in the driver's seat. I do occasionally just hand my wild-eyed, unreasonable, sort-of-insane self the keys while my better self happily takes a break in the passenger's seat but it's rare these days. She's a maniac behind the wheel and I always end up having to apologize for her. She was not created from too many plant antioxidants or Morrissey albums: she is part of me with or without my veganism. It's estimated that vegans in the United States are currently rocking out at one percent of the total population. While it makes my pulse quicken just a little to think of that many vegans in one place - imagine how much fun we would have swapping ghoulish tales of communal family Thanksgiving meals! - it still, really, is pretty paltry given that it can only mean that non-vegans are at about 99% of the population. There are scant few of us despite the exceptionally big splash we have made on the world at large, which is very encouraging, of course. Vegans are referenced in popular culture, are brought up in every day conversation, are a tiny demographic given a disproportionate amount of consideration by big business. Much of this is due to PETA's long shadow, but it is also because we're a dynamic, vibrant community of movers-and-shakers. We're culture builders, small but mighty. What other subcultures are given as much consideration? Do origami enthusiasts have so much influence on popular culture and public discourse? LaRouchians? Wiccans? Vegans are uniquely both apart from and of the larger communities in which we live and we leave our mark on these communities in countless ways: on menus, in public policy debates, on library shelves. Given this, and given that people in general have very short attention spans, whatever is said loudest is usually what is remembered. Thus, I would like to suggest that PETA's promotion machine just take a little retreat somewhere. Maybe they can go to Vermont or northern California for a long weekend, maybe even a week. While there, they can meditate until their last "go naked!" Tourette's Syndrome-like impulse has been purged from their minds, do team building exercises that do not include brainstorming novel ways to piss off herbivores and big game hunters alike, and come back when they're not spewing out an endless stream of random nonsense like the proverbial crazy guy on the park bench. Would that be too much to ask? They can learn to take deep cleansing breaths whenever they feel the urge to put up a billboard with an ill-conceived, sophomoric double entendre. They can learn to do finger mudras instead of hitting the send button whenever it's time to send out the latest Sexiest Vegetarian Alive contest press release. They can learn to visualize successful, creative and meaningful campaigns that don't involve shaming or exploitation. They will leave Vermont or northern California refreshed, revived, ready to use their millions effectively. A woman can dream. The problem with PETA is that they put the wild-eyed, unreasonable, sort-of-insane person in the driver's seat way too much of the time and the rest of the world's vegans are expected to apologize for this. Apologize for this while never apologizing for our own passionately held values. For every smart, creative and truly helpful campaign PETA creates, there are dozens more they release into the world screeching like fireworks, like feral, poop-flinging, misanthropic banshees. "Look at me! Listen to me! I don't even know what I have to say but I want you to listen to it! Look: boobies! Go veg, you disgusting, fat schlub! Aaaah!!! Vegetables will make you skinny! Booooobies!" Anything clever or useful gets buried under a barrage of ridiculous stunts. Why is this? Because somewhere along the line, like that self-centered jerk you broke up with as soon as you developed common sense, PETA decided that what works best for them is not only in their best interest, it is their main decisive interest. And what works best for PETA is to get their name in front of the public: it is not to save the most animals, to challenge prevailing attitudes, to create a less violent world. If it were, they wouldn't use lowest common denominator tactics (roughly 60% boobies, 30% insults, and 10% messaging of unidentifiable purpose) that cause so many people to reject their message immediately because they cannot abide the delivery. The ethical argument is handily on their side but because they use such abrasive, abusive tactics, they lose that clear advantage and place themselves instead on the side of bullies and tyrants. If other vegans are painted by the same brush by the public at large as PETA, and we are, so be it. To the public mind, PETA represents the views of all vegans, thus we are always needing to undue their damage example after example. We inherit the burden of proving to the omnivorous world, as if they weren't already resistant to the idea of reevaluating their own privileges, that even though we are a mere one percent of the population, PETA does not speak for all of us or our values. We are not all feral, poop-flinging, misanthropic banshees. I have a dear friend who is Catholic: do I assume that she is bombing clinics and stalking abortion providers in her spare time? No, because she's not. The issue is that there are many, many more Catholics than vegans so even though the behavior of a few might create some presumptuous beliefs about Catholics, there are enough of them that they are perceived as unique, specific individuals. We don't have this same luxury as vegans. This is not to say that we should all walk in lockstep. The more of us who can reflect to the world that we are unique individuals with diverse opinions and interests, the better. What PETA's doing is not this, though. They are in a truly bizarre position of being perceived as "radicals" while what they're really doing is reinforcing much of the status quo (fat people suck, they are stupid and lazy) and pushing for welfare reforms that are not too far removed from the prevailing attitudes. PETA is so predictable and lazy thinking with their attention-seeking escapades, usually the very antithesis of anything clever and penetrating, that they have created a white noise that they need to shriek ever louder above in order to be heard. And with their publicity seeking, they have also strategically painted themselves in the corner, unable to generate interest in nuanced, effective campaigns. This is entirely their fault. Consumption of animals is not lower than it was in 1980, when PETA was founded. This says to me that PETA, as probably the most well-known animal advocacy organization alongside HSUS, should be reevaluating their strategies. I understand that a good many dedicated, hard-working people with heartfelt convictions work for PETA. They came to PETA to work on behalf of animals, to try to improve their lives. The beast that PETA has become, though, is different than the sum of its parts. Over the years, PETA has become a mirror through which we see all our cultural prejudices, obsessions and superficialities reflected back at us, just with a twist of vegetarianism. It is not PETA's fault that we live in a dumbed-down, misogynist and shallow culture: it is their fault that they adopt these same values with their outreach instead of trying to create an altogether new paradigm. Yes, they get media. Is this always good? If it makes people think that vegans are a bunch of flaky, half-crazed bullies, then my answer would have to be no. If their tactics were crude and mean-spirited but effectively managed to save a lot of animals' lives, I would have to evaluate that. With the prominent message one of shaming and exploitation rather than one that both challenges and encourages, they do not get much mileage past the initial attention they generate. This is a huge waste of a lot of money, time and dedication. So, please, PETA, take a little retreat. You deserve it! The media will still be here when you return, I promise. Then you can try something new, something truly shocking for PETA: challenge the deeper privileges and attitudes that set the stage for exploitation, disconnection and violence. Can you imagine what you could accomplish with your budget and dedication? Maybe then you'll realize your potential and the PETA Effect will actually come to mean something else, something positive and powerfully forward-thinking. Until then, PETA, please remember the rest of us and keep the lunatic out of the driver's seat. Wednesday, May 12, 2010 To My Son on Mother's Day, 2010... My sweet boy, This is one crazy planet. You know all about the galaxies and solar systems and you share with me amazing new facts about obscure space-related trivia every day, that, honestly, I'm not always listening all that well to because I've got a million other thoughts that seem to always be bubbling over on the front burners. But that's not all. I know that your brain and spirit are nearly bursting with enthusiasm for what's out there: nebulas (oh, my goodness, they are actual star nurseries!) and the unfathomable vastness of space and black holes. It's just that thinking about space has always made me feel a little queasy in much the same way that I feel when I contemplate the idea of eternity. That when I die, I could very well be gone forever, registering no more than the merest of blips in the universe, if that. Space makes me think of death, of an incomprehensible, limitless, unearthly place, of the ultimate black hole. This might be why I blank out when you talk about space, my sweet boy: it scares me. Death scares me to, well, death. What gets to me the most, I guess, is how much I love this life. I love sitting here and drinking tea, writing in our sun room in this sweet home our family created together. I love the cardinals singing outside now that it's springtime and watching you skip down the street, your hair whooshing. I love your father and how much he still adores me, despite knowing what a mess I am. I love my amazing friends and your little smudgy nose and the way our little lilac bush scents the whole back yard. I am not ready to be sucked into that void or melt away into a pile of bones. The idea that I'd never hold your hand or hear you laugh again, ahh, it's just too much. Loving so much can be bittersweet sometimes. How can I put this? We humans are a bunch of colossal fuck-ups. Okay, don't say that word. We're screw-ups. As you and you friends run on the playground at school, oil is gushing out onto the Gulf of Mexico, a thick black pool of unctuous, stinky poison shooting out. Aquatic birds, fish, gone. As you draw me pictures of the space ship you created in your mind, your beloved whales with their enormous hearts, dazzlingly bright dolphins and elderly sea turtles that successfully dodged tiger sharks succumb to the volcanic deluge of crude oil. This is why we don't watch the news; I can't bear to let you see, with your pure, trusting heart, what we foolish grownups have wrought yet again. The world is going to worm its way into your awareness, though, and then I fear that you'll hate me for being part of it. After more than a year without one, we have a car again. Although this car takes you on day trips to the forest where you go on UFO crash site explorations and weekends away to Michigan with friends, this car also means that we're officially more a Part of the Problem than we were before. Life is full of compromises, that's a cliché you'll hear a lot in your lifetime. Isn't that lousy? I'm not so keen on these sort of compromises. They feel like lies, like a slow, settling cynicism. Being an idealist will break your heart sometimes, not at all once but bit by bit, guitar strings being snapped. The beauty of it is, though, is that really, to survive with your spirit intact, it's simple to just re-string, next time with more resilient, supple strings. What the hell am I talking about? I guess that this is part of life, reconciling the kindheartedness and vitality and impossible beauty with the child abuse and cancer and sea lions covered in oil. Is this why we think we need to suffer to succeed, to internalize the drama of this endless conflict? When I just return to the breath as countless gurus have patiently reminded us or get to the calm feeling behind the knot in my stomach, I am forced to return to this very moment, and the scale tips in favor of beauty again or least it all becomes much more bearable. This exquisite life, this irredeemably flawed world: somehow, it snaps together. Trust me. You have to work at it sometimes, but the act of allowing these two powerfully dichotomous parts to coexist, or at least accepting that they do, will help to bring you peace of mind. Go with the flow, as they say, but make waves where you need to in order to live your truth. Life doesn't need to be hard, though. Please remind yourself this: life doesn't need to be hard. Self-created suffering will not bring you redemption. Self-created suffering will bring you, yeah, you guessed it...suffering. Wisdom, too, once you break the cycle. Back before you were born, I worked at an animal shelter for five years. I would see the absolute lowest forms of humanity - the people who would set cats on fire and fight dogs for fun and profit - alongside the very best, the pinnacle of humanity. These are the people who would be outside in the middle of January trying to rescue strays on the streets, the ones who seemed to radiate with kindness. For every person who would call the city to file a complaint about the senior citizen who was giving bread crumbs to the pigeons, there was a person collecting the bread crumbs. For every monster who would fight a dog, there was a person who wanted to adopt that dog, no matter if he was missing an eye, how scarred his muzzle was. The dogs and cats themselves were peerless teachers. The dog who'd been kept chained outside all his life, frost-bitten and malnourished, he would still wag his tail when a stranger would walk into the kennel. He'd known only the smallest measure of kindness, maybe none at all, but he still saw the best in us. I saw cats who'd been set on fire, rubbing their raw skin against the wire cage, purring with delight at seeing a person come into the room. (One stranger returns my smile with a dirty look, doesn't thank me for holding open the door, and I am ready to write off all of humanity: I'm still learning about optimism, grace and forgiveness from the shelter animals.) I think that the world is a forgiving place, too: humanity has just got to stop committing acts that require so much forgiveness so much of the time. Kindness, patience, lightness: I'm working on it, my sweet boy. You, on the other hand, will walk up to strangers and hand them dandelions. You will tell children at school who are being mean to you that you just want to be friends. The part of me that has been so hurt by the world wants to scream, "Don't do that! Do not give anyone the power to reject you," because I can't stand the thought of anyone trampling your kindhearted, trusting nature. I have worked very hard to become more thick-skinned, less vulnerable to others. I have failed miserably. I see your wide open heart and I wince in recognition and as your mother because all I want to do is protect it. I am learning to trust that beneath it all, you can bounce back from rejection, that you will find others who will happily accept your dandelions, your friendship. You are resilient and strong and still compassionate. You are teaching me, like the animals in the shelter, that we can be all of the above. I started this letter thinking that I could share some wisdom but I just realized that you are the one teaching me. There are agonies in this world, really, really horrible things. There is tremendous beauty, grace. You can survive the former and I hope you will continue to seek out the latter, a plant reaching toward the sun. Yes, oil is pouring into the ocean and it's going to take a lot of work but we'll fix it, somehow. Somehow. We all are imperfect, even you, with your gorgeous dark eyes, your angelic profile. We all make compromises, even you with your pure spirit. It's part of being a fully realized person. Just keep reaching toward the sun, my sweet boy. I love you, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Introducing a new character... In case I didn't know things had changed around here, there are reminders scattered about that are very hard to miss. For one, there is the bathroom. We have just one in our house and it is now occasionally occupied by a fourth individual. A mere 25% increase in this case is something truly and personally felt. At night, there is often some reality show with people (professionals? celebrities?) competing (dancing? singing?) on in the other room, and there are the dog-eared, pulp-y paperback novels on the bed in the extra bedroom. Oh, and there was also that reminder when we accidentally fed the neighborhood squirrels kishka. Kishka, an Eastern European dish, is a matzo meal mixture stuffed in a cow intestine casing: it is something so profoundly not vegan that, years ago, when I asked my happily omnivorous grandmother what that weird plasticky wrapper was around the stuffing, she told me, her expression wan, "You don't want to know." Our home, needless to say, is a cow intestine-free zone. We fed it to the squirrels inadvertently: the kishka was leftover from my mother's lunch out with a friend and we kept it on the back steps like a shoe with something gross on it that we just didn't want to deal with quite yet. We conveniently forgot about it. So, overnight, the squirrels got the kishka, which might become a code phrase for whenever something happens unintentionally but probably being for the best or at least the best that can happen out of a weird situation. In any case, the thought of squirrels rifling through my mother's carry-out container did provide some amusement. For example, imagining a squirrel with stereotypical Yiddish verbal affectations, "Oy! That kishka was so salty! Did you go to The Bagel? You should've gone to Kaufman's! Tch!" This sort of thing is funny. If you play it right, it has some real mileage as an entertainment device. When your mother has moved in with you, you take what you can get in this regard. The inevitability of my mother living with us started its process about twelve years ago, like the mallet hitting the ball on top of a Rube Goldberg contraption, when my father died of a sudden heart attack. Or maybe it was a stroke. The man smoked three packs of Kool's a day and had a host of other habits not exactly conducive to longevity so when he died at 59 we weren't exactly scratching our heads in confusion, all crying protestations of "But how?" It was more like, "Now what?" Now what. My parents fought pretty much every day of their married life, at least from my vantage point. I think there was once they watched fourth of July fireworks from a blanket at the beach when they seemed to be content sitting side-by-side, and, shockingly, I saw them kiss one time, but other than that, there's scant little to point at as evidence of a joyous union. Still, my mother has always been a creature of habit and my father, and their life together, was a habit. As soon as he died, my mother began unraveling to where she is now, living with us. I'm not sure if my father's death and her decline are linked, but she did tell me that she didn't know what to do with her time now that she had no one to fight with every day. My mother struggled with depression after my father died, wretched feelings of guilt and remorse. She is of a generation and mindset that does not approve of therapy, and group support was out for her as she's also not that sort of person. This was especially hard because after my father's death, she started to cut off ties with any of her friends who were still married. She felt like they couldn't understand her: there was no convincing her that she wasn't pitied, that her friends still wanted to see her out of anything but a sense of obligation. She also couldn't help resenting them. As my mother was a relatively young widow at 55, this led her to further isolation. Talking about her emotions is not comfortable or natural for her, and I'm certain that there were a lot of mixed feelings, residual hostilities toward the husband who died and then guilt because of that. They were supposed to retire and have grandchildren one day. Maybe with fewer stresses they could get along, mellow out, travel more extensively, enjoy their dotage together. His early death was not part of the plan. After the depression came the headaches. She started having horrible, searing headaches that lingered for days on end. Headaches are such an elusive thing: many kinds have no clear root cause. Unlike with a broken ankle or a sore throat, you have very little evidence other than your word. She became defensive when the doctor couldn't find a cause and the medications he prescribed weren't helping. "Everyone thinks I'm making it up," was what she said to me countless times. "Why would I do that?" So first there was depression and then headaches, and concurrent with that was trouble with communication and an escalating forgetfulness. She would change what she was saying in mid-sentence and expect people to follow what she was talking about. She would say something that seemed to be completely out of the blue but it turned out to be relevant to something we'd talked about days earlier with no prefacing. It was as if she were having a conversation in her own head that she thought others could hear. Clear communication was never her strong suit, and, as my friends with parents on their own downward descents warned me, that sort of thing doesn't tend to improve with time. They were right, of course. Though my mother was always a little flaky, she was also always very rigorous with her responsibilities. I don't think she ever had an overdraft notice, never paid a late fee, never even had an overdue book. (Once she got a call that a book she knew she'd returned was late so she went to the library and found it there herself, misfiled. I know she showed it to the librarian behind the check-out counter with a victorious smile as her record returned to its untarnished state.) For her to forget things - where she was supposed to meet her friend for lunch, and what time, and was it even that day? - was very unlike her. When I had my son, the event she had seemingly been waiting for all her life, I had a delusory hope that his birth would shake things up in a good way, snap her out of the fog that seemed to widen around her every day. She was overjoyed, of course. My mother loves babies, just adores them, and the fact that this one was her very own first grandchild was almost like gilding the lilly. He was perfection. He was all she ever wanted. He didn't cure anything, though. Eventually, my mother sold her house and bought a condo closer to where we live. She picked out all new furniture, started from scratch. "For the first time in my life," she told me, "I'm living exactly how I want to live." There was a maintenance worker on call, a good mix of younger and older residents, no lawn to take care of anymore. She had to give up her car right away, though, because even under the best conditions, she was an anxious driver and now she was living on a very busy street. But she had a movie theater a short bus ride away, there was a big bookstore nearby, a drugstore. Most important, her grandson was five minutes away. Everyone knew that this condo was the last step before she'd come to live with us and most of us guessed, given the progression of everything, that it'd be five years or so. Not too far off: it was four years. The beginning of the end of my mother's independence was probably when she broke her pelvis a couple of years ago. She lost her balance when a bus took off abruptly and she fell off of it. It wasn't a bad break, as the doctors liked to say, but she had to stay in the hospital for two weeks or so while she recovered and did physical therapy. Oh, she was deeply unhappy. She wanted to have an operation to "fix it" and no matter how many times we told her that she should be grateful that she didn't need surgery, that the recovery would be much more long and painful, it didn't seem to sink in. She disliked most of the nurses but reserved the majority of her rancor for the physical therapists, individuals she was certain were there to personally torment and hector her. In addition to the pain, after so many years of living with someone who harshly judged and criticized almost every move she made, physical therapy was too much for my mother to take. She dug in, though, and managed to recover. Her doctor was pleased with her progress, remarking that younger people often have a longer recovery process. Even though my mother recovered physically, the fall was terribly undermining to her confidence. She fell again last fall and, though there was no lasting injury, her confidence was fully shattered and her resilience was shot. She tried for this past year to continue to live on her own - something she very much wanted to do - but it was becoming too risky, We visited a lot, staying with her on weekends, but we couldn't watch her every move. She kept losing her wallet, her credit cards, her keys. She couldn't figure out how to lock her door. We were afraid she'd be robbed or worse. Like my grandfather, my mother has early-onset Alzheimer's disease, something that's been very hard for me to come to terms with but it is true nonetheless, She has moments of clarity and lucidity and moments of utter confusion. Honestly, between the Alzheimer's and Parkinsonism, a neurological syndrome similar to Parkinson's, as well as her various medications, she has more bad days than good ones. I still see little glimmers of the mom I knew, though; she's still in there. My old mom emerges with her sense of humor, her love of flowers and children, her caring, peacemaking nature. She moved in with us in March. It has not been an easy transition for any of us except for my son, who enjoys the novelty of having another person live with us. I don't know if my mother and me could be more opposite, temperamentally and in terms of habits. I often struggle with my judgments over her junk food, her television, her being and I dislike this about myself but I also can't seem to help it. She thinks I'm messy and disorganized and I think her priorities are screwed up, So there. I know that my mother - having lived through all that she has - is a survivor but I can't silence this voice that judges her as weak, soft. And it's true, though she has survived a lot, my mother is essentially a soft person, not tough. She's not without fault, but she's kind-hearted, probably the most generous person I know. The part of me that I dislike, the part that is mean-spirited and condemning of her, that's the voice that tyrannized us, the voice of my father, and it makes me wince in recognition. A Buddhist once told me that he enjoys driving in heavy traffic because it's a good test of how completely he is manifesting the qualities of the Buddha. We can be peaceful, kind people when we're not challenged but in the challenging we find what we are made of, we find our default modes of operation. When my mother wants to bring Doritos into my house or leaves the bathroom sink running for the fifth time that day or asks me if I'm giving her the right pills yet again, I'm going to need to try to cultivate the Buddha. So there's a new character around. And occasionally squirrels will eat kishka in our back yard.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19027	Friday, February 13, 2009 Petersen Institute of Buy American: Bad for jobs, worse for reputation Gary Hufbauer and Jeffrey Schott of the Petersen Institute for International Economics analyze the Buy American provision in the U.S. stimulus bill. To my knowledge, Petersen is considered a centrist institution. The authors state, as did Douglas Irwin in a personal conversation, that the steel industry is capital intensive. This means that of every $100 in the industry's costs, most of these account for machinery and fewer dollars account for labor. By their calculations, the Buy American provisions (which force US industries to buy American steel unless they could get foreign steel over 25% cheaper) would account for only an additional 0.5 million metric tons of steel purchased. In contrast, 2006 domestic production of steel was 98.6 million metric tons. The authors estimate that the Buy American provisions will only result in an additional 1,000 jobs. This is out of a labor force of 140 million. The US exported 9 million tons of steel in 2007. The US also makes a lot of other exports. There is the risk that other governments could retaliate with tariffs of their own. If the US loses exports, it could also lose jobs. The authors estimate that if 12 major trading partners place their own restrictions on government purchases of US goods, and if this caused US exports to drop by 1%, 6,500 US jobs would be lost. The authors also believe the Buy American provision would violate the US's WTO obligations. I'm unable to speak to the validity of their econometric methodology, since I'm not an economist, but the Petersen Institute is well regarded. Even if not all the US's major trading partners retaliated, this still sets a bad example. I believe that free trade is generally good for all parties involved, assuming that they're equals. Christians believe in honoring their contractual obligations, like the US obligations to the WTO. Additionally, Christians don't believe in denying someone their livelihood - even if that someone is a foreigner. Although steel is capital intensive, some foreigners will be denied their livelihood if Americans refuse to buy foreign steel - possibly more will lose their jobs than American workers. It is disappointing that the Buy American provisions were not dropped from the final bill. No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19054	Alph is no longer for sale. This and related pages will be maintained for archival purposes only. Alph - A Little Process Helper Alph is a chemical engineering process calculator for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad based on the world class thermodynamic and physical properties calculations of VMGThermo *. Latest News Alph 1.5.6 is now available Alph 1.5.5 Update now available Tower Profiles on iPad Phase Envelope on iPad Case Study (iPad) Heat Exchanger Balance Model with Context Menu (iPad) Information Flow Diagram on iPhone A Different Way to do Process Design Alph not only introduces a professional process design tool to the mobile computing world, it also introduces a novel approach to these problems that emphasizes flexibility and rewards innovative thinking. Alph is not a traditional process simulator, but rather a sophisticated calculator that eschews the classic stream and unit operation model in favour of an information flow model that uses powerful, but simple, spreadsheet like formulas to define the relationships between fluids and powerful tools like distillation towers, phase envelopes and multivariable equation solvers. Rather than an equipment oriented PFD, Alph is centered on a mind map like diagram called an IFD (Information Flow Diagram). This clearly shows where each entity in the problem obtains its inputs and where its calculated values are used in other objects. Thus Alph focuses on the information you have and how it is used to obtain the results you need. In the hands of an innovative engineer this can lead to truly elegant solutions to difficult problems. Alph runs on the iPhone and iPod Touch as well as the iPad, so your single purchase covers all of your IOS devices. If a new approach to process engineering problem solving on a mobile platform appeals to you, please look over Alph's features, the tutorials and of course the options available in the store right in Alph. The in application manual is also available.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19082	Working principle of LED Tube Light-3NLED lighting 3NLED lighting Contact Us The working principle of LED Tube Light Home > News > LED News 1, LED Tube Light is using the principle of gas discharge operation, it and the name of the operation of the ballast fluorescent lamp, in addition to white (light), there are yellow (warm light). In general, under the same wattage, a light LED Tube Light than incandescent Light energy saving 80%, life expectancy extension of 8 times, thermal radiation is only 20%. Not strict case, a single 5 watts of the LED fluorescent tube light can be considered as equal to 25 watt incandescent Light, 7 watts of the LED fluorescent tube light is approximately equal to 40 watts, 9 watt is equal to about 60 watts. LED Tube Light is mainly through the ballast to heating Light filament, around 1160 k temperature, filament began to launch electronic (because on the filament with some electronic powder), electron collision inelastic collision argon atoms, argon atomic energy obtained after impact and the impact of mercury atoms, mercury atomic ionization produced after absorbing energy transition, 253.7 nm ultraviolet radiation, ultraviolet stimulate phosphor luminescence, due to the fluorescent lamp filament temperature around 1160 k at work, than incandescent bulbs working temperature of 2200 k to 2700 k is much lower, so it is also the life of a big increase, up to 5000 hours, because it is not the current incandescent Light as the heating effect, and high energy conversion efficiency of phosphors, amounting to more than 50 lumens per watt. Today we speak of energy-saving products are mainly for incandescent bulbs. Ordinary incandescent lights around 10 lumens per watt, about 1000 hours service life, its working principle is: when the light access circuit, the current through the filament, the heating effect of the current, make the incandescent Light for visible and infrared light, this phenomenon in the filament temperature up to 700 k can perceive, due to the work of the filament temperature is very high, most of the energy wasted in the form of infrared radiation, the filament temperature is very high, also quickly evaporate, so life is shortened, about 1000 hours. 2, LED Tube Light, also called compact fluorescent lamps (CFL Light) abroad it was invented in 1978 by foreign manufacturers first, because it has high photosynthetic efficiency (ordinary light bulb is five times), obvious effect of energy conservation, long service life (8 times that of ordinary light bulb), small volume, convenient use, welcomed by the people from different countries and national recognition and, China in 1982, the first developed successfully in fudan university institute of electric light source SL type compact fluorescent lamps, 20 years, rapid growth of production, quality improved steadily, Chinese manufacturers have already put it as a national focus on the development of energy-saving products (green lighting products) as a promotion and use. 3, Ordinary incandescent Light is to use the wick hot glowing again, most electrical energy into heat energy lost, but LED daylight Light belongs to cold light lamp, use some material glows under electric excitation characteristics to shine. So energy conversion rate is high, produce less heat, at the same brightness as the power consumption of small, of course. 4, LED Tube Light structure: glass tube (with a filament, mercury vapor, inner wall coating phosphor), Light holder + shell plastic parts, electronic ballast. Keywords for the information: working tube light
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19102	import .oxo (actis) file? Alcatel Configuration Tool for International Sales -all ACTIS related topics, how-to's, tips and tricks. Post Reply User avatar Posts: 87 Joined: 15 Aug 2007 08:44 Location: US import .oxo (actis) file? Post by d-mgr » 10 Feb 2011 09:05 I exported the .oxo actis file from a system. I then open Actis select import, select file it populates the box but the 'finish' button is not an option. I think it requires the ecs file perhaps, not sure. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. 8770 ACFE AVST Technician Post Reply Return to “ACTIS”
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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19121	Site hosted by Build your free website today! Sisbooomba in her capacity of Keeper of the Sacred Hedgehog The Branch Floridian Ministress of Education teaches Junior High science and sarcasm in She is also our in-house druid. [read: gardener & zookeeper] Perhaps most inexplicable is her well-documented frog fetish... Things she needs to remember: get gas, puffs, and kitty litter stop off at the vet get Gene's pics from Publix take the potatos out by 4:45 eyes first, then formaldahyde!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19145	Re: Fog light operation Robert, while I may not live in the boondocks, I have to drive through them to get anywhere. I concur that the lights may help by aiding peripheral vision, but I try not to overdrive my lights and I am old enough and experienced enough to know my night driving limits. My eyes, not to mention my reaction times, are nowhere near what they were 30 years ago, and it often unnerves me to do things I once did without thinking, like driving fast in heavy LA or SF traffic. Just getting there now seems just as important as getting there as fast as possible once was. I do occasionally like to get out there and practice my corner entry/exit skills, however, on some of the local twisties. I'm not that old! This is not meant as a reflection on anyone's driving skills or habits, just an admission that I'm not the driver I once was, and a warning that it's coming to you all, sooner or later. Cars sure are better though. Robert Myers wrote: > True, John, the DOT dictates a variety of things. It's also true that in > many states speed limits of 55 or perhaps 65 mph are inflicted on the > populace. DOT or state law or whatever doesn't necessarily guarantee that > the decision is right, merely legal. I suspect that DOT regulators may > have been rejects from Team Doorhandle. :-) > I agree that high beams and/or driving lights negate the fog/snow advantage > of fog lights. > Now, let's go for a night time drive (no fog, no snow) in darkest central > WV and just see how much added advantage you get from your fog lights even > with high beams and driving lights. They greatly improve peripheral > vision, especially when the roads are wet. Properly aimed, fog lights are > no threat or even discomfort to oncoming drivers. (That same statement > about driving lights cannot be made - at least not with a straight face.) > Fog lights can and do (at least in my case) help in the detection and > identification of an on-rushing Bambi or other critter. BTDT many times. > I will concede that use of fog lights under most city driving conditions is > a buncha, uh, stuff. But get out in the boondocks and take a drive. You > will be amazed how much help they can be under so-called "normal" conditions > At 10:29 AM 10/16/98 -0700, you wrote: > >Good morning! In many states fog lights may ONLY operate with the low > >beams, never with the high beams. It is my guess that it may be a DOT > >mandate As a practical matter, the benefits of properly installed and > >adjusted fog lights would be cancelled out by the operation of the high > >beams, which would be reflected back into your eyes by the very fog you > >were trying to penetrate. I, too, am irritated by the "Look at me, I've > >got fog lights so I must , by definition be cool" syndrome, seen often > >in the Marina Del Rey area of Los Angeles, where none of the poseurs > >drive in the fog. At least you always know there's a BMW behind you. > >John > > > > > > > ___ > Bob > * '95 S6 Cashmere Grey - der Wunderwagen * > * '89 200tq, chipped, Pearl/grey, suspension mods, 127K miles - * > * for sale, US$6K *
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19148	Page updated on 06-21-2018 2001 Jimmy Hood Cant find a replacement 08-09-2007, 12:22 AM I just Bought a 2001 GMC Jimmy 4 door 4x4 SLE front was wrecked . I need a hood and Bumper. What years will fit? I found a hood same color "pewter" but it dont have a hood hinge? The one on my jimmy has a welded on hinge! And the bumper i found is for a 4x2 can the vent be removed to make room for the tow hooks. :banghead: Add your comment to this topic!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19163	Interview: Dismantle @ Outlook 2012 Our Low End Lowlife chats to Brighton lad Dismantle Posted on Sep 18th, 2012 in Features and Interviews / By Matthew Bayfield Interview: Dismantle @ Outlook 2012 In the short space of just over a year Brighton born Dismantle has become known for his particularly unique brand of day-glo, adrenaline powered productions; most of which people enjoy bickering over the genre of on YouTube. Bearded had a brief ten minutes with him to find out what his music isn't and where not to go clubbing in Brighton. Bearded: In the last year or so you've had releases through Wheel & Deal, Biscuit Factory, Black Gold; do you set out to try and structure your sound around a particular label or do you just tend to get on with it? Dismantle: Nah I started making tunes in the style I do now, they got played a few times and then N-Type (Wheel & Deal Records owner) just asked if I wanted to sign ‘Computation’ and it was like "...yeah". It's not something that he'd always put out, but he just wants to put out good music. I don't usually do it for any particular label, more so a bit now, but before it was just a case of signing tunes. Black Gold, that's Prime Cuts from Scratch Perverts and DJ Kutz’ operation, they came to me and said they were starting up a label, wanted me to do the first release so I just sent them a pack of tunes and they picked a pair that they liked. B: So is that literally how your workflow? Just keep making the stuff and sending it out? D: Yeah just keep doing it. I'm just building for my next EP with Digital Soundboy at the minute. B: I've never been one for pigeon holes and that, it all bores me and your tunes always seem to cause an absolute shit storm with people when they want to tag them. D: Haha, I know. Just go on YouTube and there's some great comments on there with people arguing about it. I don't know what I'd call it, I wouldn't call it dubstep, I wouldn't call it house. B: Do you even give a shit about that stuff? D: No. It's just loads of people arguing... One thing I hate; it's not Moombahton. That's 110bpm. That's slowed down Dutch house and what I make is fast Dutch house... It's mostly Americans going on about it. I predominantly get booked with a lot of dubstep artists because of the labels I'm on but people put me on 130bpm line-ups too. B: Was there talk of you being a guest resident on Radio 1 at some point recently? D: No, I did a guest mix for Skream & Benga and a mini-mix for Annie Mac so I've done a few things in association with them. B: Do you ever aim for that and think "I need a job" so to speak? D: Producing and DJing is my job really. B: So yeah, you don't really find yourself aiming for a target market or anything? D: Nah, I mean now that I've got an audience that knows what I make. I've got to sort of keep that going but I get bored very easily so I'm always trying to make something that I haven't heard before or that hasn't been done, just because it's more exciting in the studio or when I'm sat at the computer. B: Obviously this could be a load of pretentious crap but do you find the fact you're from Brighton ever effects your sound? Does the area have a "sound"? D: Yeah it affects the fact I don't usually get a lot done haha. But it's just where I grew up, so I know the scene, but most people who do it go to London as it isn't too far. B: I got barred from the Oceana's in Brighton... D: Oh really? Why would you go in there anyway? You don't go to West Street mate! B: I'm blaming alcohol! Recently you did the Computation VIP for Wheel & Deal and the Warp EP for Digital Soundboy, what's next up? D: Still on Shy FX's Digital Soundboy label, just getting some demos together to show him. It's very work orientated; I send over demos of what I'm doing and we work on the parts. It's much less just picking out some tracks. It's more a question of what can we do to get the tracks as fitted to the label as possible. It's a case of maybe giving them a thirty second snippet and then building a track around that instead of just selecting finished tunes. It's a very different approach but it works well and I enjoy it that way because then I can see we haven't spent hours or days on a tune that will never see the light of day. If they can see there's something there we can work on it. I work better like that. B: Do you head into making a tune with an idea or just sit down and have a piss about? D: It works both ways usually. I drive a lot of places so when I'm in the car I'll get ideas in my head, usually I'll write it down on my phone or try and remember it. Maybe that sound from that tune or whatever, and note it all down so it's sort of mapped out then I'll just sit and start piecing it together. Usually I start with drum beats and if that's not really working just move about, sometimes like a little riff can change everything and you just start vibing with it. I always start with the drums but if the riff or bassline doesn't work with it then I'll build around that instead... All my music is just fucking kick-drums anyway. Usually the job's just a kick-drum and a bleepy riff haha. Dismantle has recently been applying his kick-drums and bleepy riff's of no specific genre (possibly Notmoombahton) to Wheel & Deal and Digital Soundboy with great effect.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19182	[Biococoa-dev] BCSequence Alexander Griekspoor mek at mekentosj.com Wed Aug 25 18:06:05 EDT 2004 >> Let's start a little new discussion then ;-) >> In principle these modifications can be seen as features right? So >> now we have three names/kinds around in two pairs: >> - Modifications (example: methylgroup, phosphate etc) >> - Features (example: alpha-helix, nuclear localization signal etc) >> Or >> - Features (example: methylgroup, phosphate etc) >> - Annotations (example: alpha-helix, nuclear localization signal etc) > I think we should treat the modifications as an array of BCSymbols. Hmm, yes and no. Indeed modifications are kind of symbols, thus they could have BCSymbol as their superclass. But where symbols have no clue of there location (that's determined by the array in which they are), modifications should be kept in a kind of dictionary with the location as key for instance. In that case the schedule below would not make much sense. Alternatively we could adhere to your proposal, but that would mean that we the modifications should be come a real subclass of BCSymbol (BCModification I suggest) and have methods to set/get their > We could even make a BCModificationsArray if we add an intermediate > class called BCSymbolArray as follows: > BCSymbolArray > \| > \| > ------BCSequence > \| > \| > ------BCModificationsArray > The BCSymbolArray can actually take care of a some of the code that is > currently in BCSequence. I was just wondering how you envision features in this setup then? Your setup groups modifications and symbols together with features as something else. In principle a good idea identity wise. I first had the idea to group modifications and features together being more distant from symbols. This has perhaps more advantages technical/programming wise as for both of these we have to keep track of locations and synchronization, having them as subclasses from one superclass would prevent a lot of duplication perhaps. I guess there's plenty to say for both options here. > If we calculate the mass of a molecule, we can just iterate over the > BCModificationsArray to add the masses of the modifications. Whichever we choose, that's indeed the idea. > For me features and annotations relate more to secondary structures > and author's comments (as found in a swissprot or ncbi file). But > that's just a name game. I see your point, indeed when the NCBI file lists phosphorylation it means that a particular sequence is annotated as a (potential) phosphorylation SITE and not as being actually phosphorylated. This is where I made the mistake. In that respect your right, the site is an annotation, an actual phosho-group on an amino-acid is a modification. >> Modifications and features are very alike, and a modification could >> be seen as a special feature and thus a subclass (inheriting the >> add/removing/editing/syncing etc methods, but add weight, pi etc ). >> Also the question raises wether we should keep them in two arrays >> (features and modifications) or in one (features). If you display all >> features of a sequence, it perhaps would be nice to see the >> modifications as well. > I think we should keep them separate. Modifications are per BCSymbol, > features can span a whole range of BCSymbols. > Also maybe we should move the mass calculations into a separate class > that accepts a sequence to calculate the mass? The same for features, > pI, etc. > For example we have the class MassCalculator with the following methods > -(id) MassCalculator initWithSequence:(BCSequence )seq > -(id) MassCalculator initWithSubSequence:(BCSequence )seq > inRange:(NSRange)aRange > -(id) MassCalculator initWithString:(NSString )seq > -(id) MassCalculator initWithSubString:(NSString )seq > inRange:(NSRange)aRange > -(float)getMass useMassType:(BCMassType)type > addModifications:(BOOL)mods > The getMass method iterates over all symbols and adds the mass, just > as we do now in the molecularWeight method. > Then we use it as follows: > MassCalculator calculator = [[MassCalculator alloc] > initwithSequence:mySequence]; > float totalMass = [calculator getMass useMassType:BCAverage > addModifications:YES]; > [calculator release]; I like the idea, looks very nice! The only thing I doubt about is if we should implement a string version of all methods as well. First of all the implementation will be completely different (it won't support modifications for instance, at least I would certainly not advise to implement string compatible ways to keep track of modifications), second if we keep all methods string compatible why bother using the sequences. Again, we should simply force people to see strings as a first or last step conversion only, from there it's BCSequence only. Other than that, it looks very promising Koen! > <nitpicking mode on> > I prefer to use the word 'mass' instead of 'weight'. See eg the > description in <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight>. If we want to > keep a method molecularWeight around that's fine with me, we could > just have it return the result of getMass using the averageMass type, > which is the same value. > <nitpicking mode off> Hey, you're the mass spec guy, who are we to do it otherwise? ;-) Mass is perfectly fine by me. Keep the molecularWeight around and just make it a convenience method indeed. >> 1 The molecular weight method should take modifications into account. >> A methylgroup adds weight. Thus modifications should have an >> addedWeight: mode: method that can accept negative values as well >> (if the modification removes more weight than it adds). > Just put a negative value in the plist, and it will substract it when > summing all modifications. That's what I meant, just wanted to remind that you can have subtraction as well... >> I think that's a pretty easy choice, as we don't know of anyone using >> BioCocoa at the moment, I think we should just start from scratch. > I agree, but it think it would be fair to Peter to let him have his > say as well. He started BioCocoa and the IO classes are all his code > and I don't want to throw that away :) You're right, perhaps I was a bit fast here, sorry for that, but given Peter's reaction on the last time we had a similar question, I thought to be on the safe side... Guess Peter will let us know ;-) Alexander Griekspoor The Netherlands Cancer Institute Department of Tumorbiology (H4) Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam Tel: + 31 20 - 512 2023 Fax: + 31 20 - 512 2029 AIM: mekentosj at mac.com E-mail: a.griekspoor at nki.nl Web: http://www.mekentosj.com 4Peaks - For Peaks, Four Peaks. 2004 Winner of the Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X Student Product More information about the Biococoa-dev mailing list
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19183	BioScience Dictionary Found ABO blood group 1 time. Displaying results 1 to 10. 1. ABO blood group (blood type, blood typing) A system of describing the oligosaccharide antigen s found on the surface of human blood cells. According to the type of antigen present, a person may be assigned a blood type of A, B, AB or O. A second type of antigen, the Rh factor , renders a "positive" or "negative" blood type. The ABO blood group system is important because it determines who can donate blood to or accept blood from whom. Type A or AB blood will cause an immune reaction in people with type B blood, and type B and AB blood will cause a reaction in people with type A blood. Conversely, type O blood has no A or B antigens, so people with type O blood are "universal donors." And since AB blood already produces both antigens, people who are type AB can accept any of the other blood types without suffering an immune reaction. The ABO system is also important because it can be used in paternity suits to rule out whether a man is the father of a certain child or not.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19196	Libation of Water: A Real Property Symbol by Dr. V. Sankaran Nair SignUp In Focus Going Inner Photo Essays A Bystander's Diary My Word Random Thoughts Our Heritage Society & Lifestyle Family Matters Creative Writings Book Reviews Ghalib's Corner Literary Shelf Love Letters Computing Articles Internet Security History Share This Page Libation of Water: A Real Property Symbol by Dr. V. Sankaran Nair Bookmark and Share A legend is a story of uncertain historical basis transmitted from generation to generation and it remains in the human mind in the form of folk narrative and mythology. Lord Vishnu who took the form of Vamana (a dwarf) is the central figure of one such legend. As desired by Kashyap Rishi and Aditi, Vishnu took birth as their son, Vamana. On his attaining the eighth year, munja ceremony was performed by tying a string around his waist, known as mekhala. His attire was complete with a loincloth, a kamandalu in one hand and a danda in the other. In this resplendent figure, Vamana appeared before King Mahabali who was at that time popular for his generosity and pleaded with him for just ‘three paces of land’, for erecting a hermitage. Sukracharya, the great guru of Mahabali, realized the midget Vamana to be Lord Vishnu and his three steps to be the three times - past, present, and future. Despite Shukracharya’s warnings, Mahabali took the jhari and prepared to grant the request. Sukracharya took the form of a bee and blocked the snout of the jhari to prevent the impending defeat of Mahabali when he poured water on the palm of Vamana to signify the donation. Lord Vishnu cleared the snout using a darbha (sacred grass) reed that blinded one of Sukracharya’s eyes. The water began to fall on the palm of Vamana and the gift was sanctified. Lord Vishnu took the colossal visvaroopam, measured the earth and the sky with two steps, and asked Mahabali for the third piece of land. Realizing that the man before him was Lord Vishnu himself, Mahabali offered his head to ‘land’ his third step. By placing his foot on Mahabali’s head, the Lord pushed him into the netherworld. With the defeat of Bali, the gods regained freedom. As Mahabali was a ruler loved by the people, he was allowed to return to their midst once a year. The ten-day festival of Onam, celebrated every year with pookkalam (flower carpets), lights and feastings, is to accord warm welcome to Mahabali. The people in their new clothes rejoice on those occasions engaging in games, fireworks, and feats of valor. Daanam is gift. The enemy of the asuras is daanavaari, the demon. Water poured, as a part of the ceremony of giving a gift is known as dana-toyam, daananir, daanavaari, daanambu, daanasalilam. Possession of land is dhaarana. Right of possession of land is dhaaranaadhikaram. In this legend Vishnu is Dharan. The munificent Mahabali, a Daanavan, is data(vu)/ dishnu. Vishnu the enemy of daanavan is daanavaari. Daanavaari is also the water poured as a part of the ceremony of giving gift.[1] The person to whom a gift is given is daanapaatram.[2] Vishnu[3] is the receiver who accepted the gift after wetting the hands with the water that dishnu poured into his hands. Uta is to flow, wet. Ud(t)am/ udakam is water. Udakamandalu is a water pot, Udakakumbham is a water jar. Udakadan is the person who is pouring water. Presentation of gifts with water is udakadaanam/ udakapoorvadaanam. In performing udakadaanam, pouring of water is done with flowers to make the ritual complete. Nirkolluka is to accept udakadanam, land gift, etc. preceded by the pouring of water into the extended palms of a recipient’s right hand as preparatory to or confirmatory of a gift of promise. Lord Parasurama in the Keralolpathi legend gifted 64 villages in this way.[4] Ekodakam is giving water only once, not thrice. Freehold granted to a company is ekodagam. It is a form of tenure below janmanir says Gundert.[5] He cites Keralolpathi and says that Kerala, an Ekodakam of the 64 gramams, is an indivisible property. Historic Times In the Mahabali legend, we see the entire freehold of Mahabali being given away as a gift to Vishnu. In the Parasurama legend, we see the land of Kerala gifted away in a pack of 64 villages. Now we shall see how individual freehold was transferred during historic times. Gundert says that Janmabhumi is a freehold. An inscription in a Palghat temple says “parampum ponnum koilukkayittu daraduttam cheithu”. The word dara in this inscription must be dhara. Dharadattam means a gift offered with pouring of water[6], gift with water. When Rajas gifted lands with libation of water to the temples and salas, it was known as attikodukkuka/ nirottikodukkuka. Female elephants were taken around such temples[7] and planted stone and cactus around the temple. The land given to the temple forever is known as attipper. Vittupper is to hand over rights to another. Janmapparappu is the property inherited from ancestors. Janmam is hereditary proprietorship, freehold property, and is viewed as hardly alienable. Janmanir is parting with all the rights of a landlord, as done by pouring water into the hands of the purchaser.[8] Janma nir/ janma veetu is transfer of property rights and change of the ownership of property by way of udakapoorvam. Attipper is a documentary proof (karanam). In the Tellichery records it is known as karanappetti and there are chiefly six tenures. Kuzhikkanam (1/8), kaanam [9] (1/4), Otti (1/2), ottikumpuram (3/4), janmappanayam (7/8), Janmam. The figure in brackets indicates the loss of right of the janmi on his land in succession, his gradual decline and fall from his property. Karanam is the deed/ documentary proof of exchange of landed property. These five karanams clear the way for Attipper, the atta(final)karanam, and marks the permanent relinquishment. In case the janmi reaches a situation to relinquish property by Attipper without carrying out any of the above karanams, he will have to perform all the karanams at once. Then only he can carry out attipper. With that he loses all rights over the land. When one Janmakkaran, the landlord, decides to transfer the rights on the land, he has to pour Janmanir[10] in the presence of a caste Janmi, a near relation, the heir, the Raja’s or Sarkar’s representative, the document writer who writes or draws out the deed, and the headman of the village. The Janmi brings in a vessel (kindi) of water taken from the garden[11] to be finally sold, with some rice and flower put into it. The buyer then puts 2 fanams into the kindi as nirkanam.[12] Facing the west, the Janmi informs his heirs and the onlooker, about his intentions to make over his Jenmi rights to the buyer, facing eastward. With their consent, the Jenmi says, “I give you the water of such compound to drink” and pours the water into the right hand of the buyer, keeping his left hand down and reaching his right hand to the mouth which he drinks with a relish. The buyer belonging to higher castes uses this water to wash his face and feet. Before the presentation of water the purchaser pays 4 fanams (9 annas) as oppukkanam,[13] to sign the four deeds. At the time of drinking water, the heir is given 4 fanams, known as Anantaravan-natu-kkaanam. It is the present given to an heir to get his consent for any transaction.[14] The person who draws out the deeds is paid tusikkanam[15] of 8 fanams, being the fee paid for writing a document.[16] The six persons present also receive a present of 2 or 3 fanams for their attendance from the buyer.[17] The fee given on the transfer of property to the janmi’s heir and the witness, amounting to half of that given to the janmi and to the document writer, is natukkanam.[18] The whole transaction comes to a close when both the seller and the purchaser make a payment of a fee, the amount being 10 percent of the value of the property, to the sirkar.[19] Logan gives the following version of executing and delivering the deed, in the presence of a “svajati, a person of the same caste; Bandhu, a relative; Putran, literally the son, but, in Malabar, construed to mean the heir, whether a nephew or son; Narapati, the Raja; the writer of the deed; Tatra Sambandhi, a resident round the spot. In practice the attendance of the Raja, or the execution of the deed before the Raja, is dispensed with. It is only necessary that he should be apprised of the transaction. The mortgagee gives two fanams, which is placed in a small vessel of water; the mortgagor, holding the deed in his hand, pours the water over it, which the mortgagor receives as it falls, and either swallows it, or puts it upon his head, or upon his feet, or upon the ground, according to the relative caste of the two parties. The deed is then delivered to the mortgagee. This deed mentions generally that the full value of the property disposed of has been received, and states the boundaries of it, but it does not specify the amount received.”[20] Nir mutal Nirmutal, a compound word, means water property. Figuratively, it means “that additional property or security acquired to the mortgagee by a pledge given by the proprietor that he will perform the ceremony of giving water to the mortgagee. It is a mortgage without possession of the additional right which the act of giving water confers.”[21] The deed to be executed by a janmi preliminary to the complete surrender of his property rights is known as Kudima-nir-karanam[22] / Kuduma-nirolakkaranam.[23] A tenure almost equal to a freehold, by which all the body of property rights (7/8) is gained without the crowning dignity (the right of transferring the property to another); a payment not exceeding 2 fanams is annually made to the possessor of the title, who can no more redeem the land, which is known as Kudi(u)ma nir. The ritual in which the Janmi pours a few drops of water from his hand to the ground earned it names nir-mutal as well as janma-ppanayam and this was in practice in some areas in Kozhikode. Nir-mutal is defined as a kind of mortgage deed executed by a landlord when he borrows an additional amount[24] “on the security of land assigned to an otti mortgagee to whom he has already executed an ottikkumpuram deed; he is bound first to apply to such mortgagee, and if the latter should consent to make the required advance, the landlord gives him a Nirmutal document, by which he makes over to him all but the right of water. Such further advance is recoverable with the amount of the original mortgage, the otti claim being, in fact, merged in the Nirmutal deed. In this case, as in that of an Ottikumpuram transaction, if the mortgagee declines to make the advance, the landlord may obtain it from a third party, who satisfies the claim of the original mortgagee and comes into possession. In any of the three cases last mentioned, the landlord is at liberty at any time to pay off the mortgage and redeem his property.”[25] Nir-mutal is also used to refer to as Attipperu. Parting with all the rights of a landlord is janma nir. Atti-p-per(ru), also known as dharmadanam, daana sasanam, is a deed of complete gift or endowment usually made with libation of water.[26] Vitu-pper (udakadanam) or atti-pper is an honour accorded to the higher castes.[27] Janma nir udakam given with water as atti pper as well as atti pper nir, is explained as merely the Sanskritised form of the ancient phrase, says William Logan.[28] Malabar Manual explains peru as the indigenous word for janmam/ birth. In Malabar, Janmam of land (birth-right) is also known as nir atti peru (water contact birthright). It also points out that this compound word is equivalent to the later Sanskrit word Janmam (birth right) used for the same purpose. The word means “born, created, acquired, and, more generally, property. Atti means to join, mix. These two words united give but an imperfect meaning, and the word nir is generally prefixed. Nir-atti-per thus means that the Janmam combined with water is given up. The Janmi reserves no purapad (balance of rent after deducting mortgage interest) or anything to himself. He cannot, after the execution of this deed, redeem the mortgage and the relinquishment of the proprietary right is absolute under it.”[29] Attuka is to give. Adu means to give as gift, atti kodukkuka. Adukkuka is to drink, to take in food, to give away gift. Aduthoon is pension (given for meals). Adutha is given, endowed. Attikkodukkuka is to give, endow. Nirodum-atti[30] (neerottikodukkuka) is the udakapoorvadanam. Reference about Attinapoomi[31] in Kadiapattinam and Keralapuram, both in South Travancore, is available in Travancore Archeological Series. A water grant or deed was called in parts of the country where the Brahman influence preponderated, Nir attai peru (water contract birth right). W. Logan notes that in some of the deeds to be found… there is curious extravagance of phraseology, as if the parties had laboured to find phrases to put the fact that they were water grants beyond the possibility of a shadow of doubt. Tevennu poovodum nirodum tanam kodukkayil, means giving daanam to the god after pouring water with flowers.[32] Kodukka, in this statement is the act of giving an offering to the manes or family deities. The act of giving a gift is kotuppu. The ancestors of the great Aromal Chekavar, naduvaazhis of the Karuthenar nadu had 4 rice fields in the Puthooram patam obtained as attipper in copper plates, janmam property.[33] Janmakkandam is hereditary rice fields. Janmi is janma(kaa)ri, janmakkaran, janmesan. The hereditary rights and prerequisites claimed by the members of the certain communities such as kanisan (for feast), Asari (for marriages), Malayan (for tira) Vannan, Velan, Vilakkathara etc. in their parishes is known as Cheru janmam. The custom of ‘poovum nirum’ seems to have been prevalent in early Travancore, nay, the entire Kerala region. Even now, the elderly people who inherit ancestral properties, recall the days, when the Rajah himself assigned land properties to ordinary peasants after pouring Tualsi water from a kindi to the hands of the receiver. While doing so, he warned the receiver that he would be subject to hardship in case if he encroaches upon the nearby property. On encroaching upon the neigbour’s property he will suffer the hardship of the peak of summer heat of the kumbhamnjatti, which is considered as peculiarly dangerous, or the resultant torture acquired as a sin due to the killing of karaampasu (black cow).[34] The word Jhari means stream, spring, and incessant rain. But in the context of the Mahabali legend, it assumed the meaning of a golden, long-necked pitcher, with a spout, a palm-sized water vessel meant for religious purposes. It is one among the myriad vessels for water storage. In the later illustrations we see a pewter vessel with a tube, through which water flows. Both of them are kindi,[35] the most popular vessel in the country. But it is nearly unknown in the eastern district, says Nagam Aiya. Sankha (chank/ conch), used for making libations of water or as an ornament for the arms or for the temples of an elephant,[36] is also used to blow as a horn as well. When a king has to give janmanir it is from a golden conch. It is worthwhile to note that the state emblem of Travancore is Sanka Mudra. Water and words sufficed in those days to retain the landlords within their assigned boundaries. In the two legends of Mahabali and Parasurama, followed by illustrations in the historical and oral traditions, we see how the land in Kerala was transferred to common people to enjoy property over the ages. Nirkkanam, which the purchaser of a property puts into the water pot (janmanir) of the owner, is the payment for it at the time of the sale deed. It is nirkaappu,[37] which means a water cess, a fee of 2 fanams. The Travancore Government continued to levy nirkkanam till Q. E 1040.[38] This ceremony of endowing lands continued in Travancore till the British established a revenue department. It is worthwhile to recall the remarks of Major Walker, about this custom of transfer of land rights. “In former times the transfer of Jenmam was made by presenting water before witnesses and the whole performance was verbal, but when the Kali yuga commenced, water and words were found insufficient”.[39] The stamp and registration laws have replaced the above ceremony for a sale of Jenmam right in modern days. Kudi janmam (kudichenmam) was a system of land tenure prevalent in ancient Travancore.[40] Even though the practice of udakadanam is inherent in the culture of Kerala society, Nagam Aiya says, the ceremony of drinking water poured during the transaction here seems to have had its origin from the fact that the land was reclaimed from water. It is right to recall Gundert’s observation that Kerala, Ekodakam of the 64 gramams, is an indivisible property. The meaning attributed to eka-udakam is ‘a single body of water’.[41] The observtion of Nagam Aiya underlines the general view that Kerala was reclaimed from the sea. Being the owner of Jammuvam, the owner of the property came to be known as Janmi. It is worthy to note that Jammvam (jammam) is mud /mire. Janmakkandam (chemmakkandam) is a hereditary rice field/ property of the Janmi Janmi is the product of the muddy rice fields. Later, we will see that the word kudiyaan is the product of the ritual of drinking water in the libation ceremony. Attil is a kitchen. An endowment for the kitchen expenses of a temple attaches farmlands to the temple and is known as attipper.[42] This origin of the word Attipper seems to be linked with kitchen endowment. Later, with the advent of the Janmi system, the same word might have been profusely used to denote a deed of right or endowment usually made with libation of water. The Real Property Symbol Nagam Aiya says that such a symbol of delivery of property is not peculiar to Kerala. The English common law required delivery of a clod of earth to make conveyance complete. This ceremony, known, as the “Livery of Seisin” is a formal ceremony performed before witnesses, to transfer property in feudal times. An archaic term for delivery, livery of seisin originally meant possession and is synonymous with delivery of possession. Essentially a public ceremony, the seller (feoffer) and buyer (feoffee) went together upon the land, where the seller delivered a handful of dirt (symbolic of the land like a twig, clod of mud or key) to the buyer denoting the passing of the property from hand to hand. They also made an oral statement transferring the land and no type of document was needed for this sort of transaction. After 1677, the Statute of Frauds required one for all transfers of land titles, requiring the witnesses to sign a statement that they had observed the ceremony, but that did not constitute a deed by itself. In China, two common vessels that always accompany each other are the pan (bowl) and Yi (ewer). Lei also known as yi, is Chinese water containers. China practiced inscribing on a pan or yu (jar) for transfer of land and demarcation of boundaries in the ancient period.[43] People used yi to pour water and pan to wash in during ceremonial ablutions in ancient times. Recent archaeological findings show that before the Middle Western zhou, pan was originally coupled with a he, a type of pitcher with spout, and it was not until the late western Zhou that this was replaced by the Yi. Earlier Yi, such as Xun yi and Cui yi still used the name ‘he’. Sets of pan and he, or pan and yi, were frequently offered as dowries. Because of the largeness of pan, long inscriptions could be cast on them. There was an ancient system of casting a whole contract on a pan, which could be handed down to posterity. The famous bronze San Shi Pan of the late western Zhou bears an inscription, which was a contract between these families- the San and the Le.[44] Inscription on pan or yu (jar) thus became an example of ancient documents concerning transfer of land and demarcation of boundaries. In transferring the right on land, while the Mahabali and Parasurama episodes show absolute gift without a profit to the donor, the later transfers were made on payment of compensation to the heir’s witnesses, document writers and the sirkar. The common law of England and China too practiced similar transactions. This shows that the custom prevalent in Kerala was not peculiar to Kerala only. In the Mahabali episode, Vishnu received water from Mahabali. Thus the custom, handed over from Dravidian civilization to Aryan civilization, continued till the Rama Varma Vishakham Tirunal (1880-1885) introduced in Travancore, a Revenue Survey and Settlement, the implementation of which marked the advent of a new era.[45] But in feudal England, water as one of the items symbolic of land is peculiar by its absence, even though a little water is needed to purify the hands, once a clod of mud is taken on hand. Perhaps they might have solved the problem by using the tissue paper in the place of water. As such, Nagam Aiya’s attempt to compare the delivery sessions in Kerala with the English common law is questionable. One peculiarity of the Kerala model is that in all the episodes cited, wetting of the hands with water is unique and continuous. It is also noted that “… the customary libation of water in making a hereditary grant of land in Malabar was introduced by the Vedic Brahmans about the beginning of the eighth century AD., and that in parts of the district, where the influence of that caste was but small,[46] this incident in a grant or sale of hereditary land did not obtain currency down to quite recent years.”[47] At the same time, Nagam Aiya failed to notice that kindi and water are being considered as holy in this region from time immemorial. An iota of this prejudiced sentiment can be observed from the following passage: “…The Vedic Brahmans in their passage southwards spread abroad their influence chiefly by claiming for themselves the gift of being able to compel the gods to do their will by reason of sacrifices conducted in sonorous Sanskrit, and in particular they claimed the power to secure benefits in the next world for their devotees by ensuring for them and their deceased ancestors an easy passage into the Heaven of Indra. The deeds of the various dynasties here cited afford the most conclusive proof that in the grants of land conferred on the Brahmans in return for their services, the act of giving is almost invariably accompanied or preceded by ‘libations of water,’ by ‘pouring of water,’ by ‘copious libations of water,’ ‘with water in hand’ with pouring of ‘water out of a beautiful golden water-pot,’ etc.” Namputhiris migrated and settled down in Kerala (Keralathe Parasuramanodu nir kondukudikondavaraya namputhirimar). [48] Since their kudiyettam is after libation of water from Parasurama, they were in fact Kudiyanmar/ tenants who migrated and settled down in Kerala. Turmeric water, known as manjanir, mixed with flowers is given as token of the disposal of a free hold (poovum nirum) or of adoption. Manjanir kudippikka is to adopt and the certificate of adoption is manja chit. Nir irakkuka is to swallow water, acquiring a freehold property by drinking the water of it, with flowers. Nir vaanguka, nir pakarnnu, nir kodukkuka is to receive water, give water by pouring. In the Mahabharatam there is a stanza ‘rajyam nee nirkollanum’. Also, ‘Kuraya desam paranmpunir kudichu’ means acquired. Kudi is drinking. Kudikkuka is to drink. Drinking water, drunk after meals is kudi. A tenant family is kudi. Kudiyaan, kudiyilar, kudiyanavanmar, kozhuvan are ryot, a tenant and his family. Kutikur is the share to be contributed by tenants. Kutikkurru is the amount or income due to the janmi from tenants. The ceremony on entering new houses is kudi pookal. It is a ceremony of milk warming and drinking it. In his house kudiyan is the inhabitant. It is his residence; as such any house is kudivaka. In this context, the word kudiyan, which means tenant, might have originated from the libation of water ceremony, wherein the prospective tenant receives water from the janmi and drinks. In that case, all the words associated with kudi must be related to this customary rite staged somewhere in the early Tamilakam in the remote past. Let us see the word ozhukuka, which means to flow. Water flows from a place continuously downwards and is called ozhuk. Ozhukkuka, ozhukumaarakkuka is to cause to flow, set afloat, launching anything as to be carried away by a current of stream. To take back or get back property that is mortgaged or leased out is ozhippikkuka. This word also means ‘to cause to pour.’ According to laws the current of a stream is ozhukku. Ozhikka is cause to pour. It is the causative form of ozhikkuka, which means pouring out. Tilting of the kindi causes the water to flow out and this is known as ozhukk. Ozhippikkuka is ‘cause to pour’ as well as ‘evict’. The tilting of the kindi allows the water to flow and perhaps the phenomenon found expression in words like ozhippikkuka, which means, “to take back or get back property that is mortgaged or leased out.” Ozhippikka is chiefly to disposes. Deed of giving back or surrendering is ozhi (vu) muri. To return grounds held under kaanam is ozhichu pokuka/ ozhichu kittuka/ ozhichu kotukka. To get back the land is to ozhippichu kittuka. Likewise, ottikkuka, ittikkuka means to dribble, let fall in drops. To draw out water is iraykkuka. Iravu, irakkam is watershed. Ittu is a little quantity. To fall in drops is ittuka. Drop by drop is itt-itti. To cause to fall in drops is ittikkuka/ iraykkuka. Ottikkanam is a tenure in which the Janmi yields to the tenant all the produce of the field in return for his advances. Ottikkondavan is mortgagee. ‘Kanam’ which is in addition to the otti is ottikkumpuram.[49] Ottikkumpurameyulla kanam is still a higher tenure by which the kudiyan acquires even 2/3 of the janmi rights, also known as ottikummparam, a kanam which is in addition to the otti.[50] Kanamkondavan is tenant. Mortgage of real property is otti. A mortgage deed written on a cadjan leaf is ottiyola, ottikkanam, otticheet. A person held in mortgage is ottiyal. Otticeettu, ottithettam, ottimaryata, ottikkaranam, ottikuzhikkanam, ottivilakkam, ottukanam are the other words which are affiliated to the word otti. Taxable land is iranilam. Tax-free land grant as of gardens for certain services are irayili[51], a kind of land tenure, land granted rent and tax-free to government servants is irayilipaattam.[52] To dispossess a tenant is irakkuka, irakki viduka/ kalayuka. Irakkaranmai is the lands and land tenements held by a small acknowledgement of superiority to higher lord, freehold. Holder of land property is janmakkaran. He is the person having janmam right of a land. One who has purchased the right of possession from the original owner is janmakkudiyan. Ottuka, ittuka, ozhikkuka, kudikkuka all these words indicates the process of transferring water from the kindi to the extended hands of the tenant. Otti, irayili and the like are words connected with mortgage deeds coming in the process of the ritual of drinking water poured by the janmi. In the initial stages Maharaja might have endowed lands free of cost to prospective peasants. Later on landlord system solidified. At this stage entry of Sanskrit speaking landlord attained new dimension. They followed the ritual practiced indigenously at the time of their arrival. Janmam is considered as a Sanskrit word while kudiyan is a Tamil word. Evolution of these two words has left footprints in the Dravidian language. While the words connected with the mortgage deeds gives in a photo finish of the word kudiayan, the truth behind giving a status for water and kindi as a real property symbol remains unexplored. Perhaps an investigation on this mater may lead us to the period even before the evolution of language, to the period of Indus valley civilization and beyond. When the kindi is tilted, water flows from it and wets the extended hand of the receiver, sanctifying the deal and cementing a bond between the janmi and the kudiyan. Out of the 44 rivers flowing from the Western Ghats, 40 join the sea. Ozhukuka is to act according to law. Our ancestors held the libation celebration to act according to law. But the water flow enacted in the libation ceremony ceased with the commencement of the British administration. It is true that the current of a stream/ river is only up to the sea. The British came through the current of the sea. No wonder they had to quit India before they could settle down. Had they been able to understand the significance of the water ritual that would have given an impetus to the study of ancient Kerala? At this juncture it is worthwhile to examine the holy water ritual in general and kindi the jalapaatram used in particular, to understand the antiquity of reverence to water and its container kindi. This may help to find out the origin of the janmi system in Kerala. April 23, 2006 [1] T.A.Gopinatha Rao, Travancore Archeological Series, 1910-12, I, p. 91. [2] Daanapatram/daanalekhyam is a deed of gift, a memorandum of understanding. [3] Vishnu is also known as Janma keelan. Keelala(ka)m is water. In this context as Vishnu drinks Janmanir he came to be known as Janma keelan. [4] Kerala Charitha Manual, 7. [5] Herman Gundert, Gundert Nighandu, p.197. [6] William Logan’s Malabar Manuel, Govt. Press, Madras, Revised edition,1951, v. II, CXXX. [7] “innilam pidi choozhnthu” [8] William Logan, op.cit., II CXL. [9] Ottijanmam, Nirkkanam, Oppukanam, kuzhikkanam nadukkanam etc., are various tenures and fees and are known as kaanam. [10] Janmanir is also known as janma veetu. It means transfer of property rights. [11] Vitunir is river water. [12] Kanam is an ancient coin. Nir kkanam is the coin put in the water pot, brought to wet the hands at the time of signing the document. It is a water fee. [13] The fee given to Janmi on signature of documents relating to sale or mortgage of land is known as oppukkaanam/ oppumaryada. It is a customary gift. [14] Nagam Aiya, Travancore State Manual, v.III. Gl. Iv. [15] Kattakkanam is the right of breaking the ground. Tusikkanam, right for kozhu, are tenure of rice fields unfavorable to the cultivator, hence came to be known as kashtakkanam. [16] William Logan, op.cit. II, CCXXVII. Tusi, a kind of iron style used to write on palm leaves (cadjan) is also known as naaraayam. Logan says that Tusi is a corruption of Sanskrit suchi (a needle, iron style). [17] Sakshisuchi/ sakshikkaanam is a fee paid to witness on the execution of title deeds. Rules of practice related to ownership of land are janmamaryada. [18] K.P. Padmanabha Menon, Kochi Rajya Charitram, I, Bharatha Vilasam, pp. 265-266. [19] Ibid. [20] William Logan, op.cit, clxxii. [21] Ibid., CCX. [22] Nagam Aiyya, Travancore State Manual, Travancore Govt Press, 1906, III, gl.XXIX. [23] William Logan, op.cit., II cxcvii. [24] Ibid., CCX. [25] Proceedings of the court of Sadr Adalat, No.18, dated 5 Aug 1856. [26] South Indian Temple Inscription, The Government Oriental Manuscript Library, Madras, 1957, .ii.annex. x, [27] Tunchathu Ramanujanezhuthachan, Harinamakeerthanam, SNV Press, Trivandrum,1953. [28] William Logan, op.cit II, CXL [29] Ibid., Clxxii [30] K.V.Subramanoya Aiyar, Travancore Archeological Series, 1215, iv.p.76. [31] T.A.Gopinatha Rao, Travancore Archeological Series, 1910-12, I, p. 199. [32] K.V.Subramanoya Aiyar, op.cit., 1522, III, p. 216. [33] K.K.N.Kurup, Adhunika Keralam, Charithra Gaveshanam Prabhandhangal, Kerala Bhasha Institute, Trivandrum, 1982, p.1. [34] see Mathrubhumi. [35] CC Madhya 14.130. [36] Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, University of Cologne. [37] Nagam Aiya, op cit., III.321. [38] Selected Proclamations by the Sovereign, Govt.Press, Trivandrum, 1937, p.322. [39] Nagam Aiya., op.cit., [40] Nagam Aiyya, ibid., III, gl. Xxix. [41] Srimad Bhagavatam,12.4.13. ‘tata ekodakam visvam brahma-nda-vivara-ntaram' (At that time, the shell of the universe will fill up with water, forming a single cosmic ocean). [42] South Indian Temple Inscription, The Government Oriental Manuscript Library, Madras, 1957, III,ii, Ann.x. [43] Li Xueqin, The wonder of Chinese Bronzes, Foreign Language Press, Beijing, 1980. [44] Ibid., pp.19-20. [45] Nagam Aiya, op.cit., I, pp. 596-597. [46] The Brahman influence in Chirakkal Taluk was small and the phrase is simply “Deed of price or sale”. [47] Nagam Aiya, op.cit., pp. 599-600. [48] Kovunni Nedungadi, Keralakaumudi Vyakaranam, Ramakrishna Press, Kozhikode, 1930, p.ii. [49] Manual of the Adinistration of the Madras Presidency, Govt. Press, Madras, 1893,, [50] Ibid., III, 628. [51] South Indian Temple Inscription, The Government Oriental Manuscript Library, Madras, 1957,ii ann xviii. [52] Nagam Aiya, op.cit., III gl.xxi More by : Dr. V. 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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19220	Tim Cook Apple CEO Tim Cook REUTERS/Stephen Lam You might have heard, the iPhone turned 10 years old this week. Apple has good reason to celebrate. The iPhone turned Apple from a manufacturer of trendy computers and music players into the world's most valuable company. The App Store is an economy unto itself. And all new smartphones, no matter who makes them or which operating system they run, are measured against the iPhone— and (mostly) fall short of the bar set by Apple. As we enter the second decade of the smartphone revolution, Apple is still the one to beat. But that strength is also Apple's biggest vulnerability. Apple's biggest rivals — including Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google — are all plotting to systematically undermine the Apple empire. And they all know that Apple's dependency on the status quo is a golden opportunity for them to steal the advantage. Green-eyed monster Apple's iPhone dominance is grating to pretty much anybody who doesn't work at the company. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long lamented that the social network didn't build a smartphone platform while it had the chance; Amazon has removed the ability to buy Kindle books from an iPhone rather than pay Apple its standard 30% cut. Sure, Google's Android is a far more popular smartphone operating system than Apple iOS. But it's Apple's iPhone that captures the majority of the profits in the smartphone market. The Blackberry had, and has, its super-fans, including President Obama. Ultimately, BlackBerry was a victim of the iPhone's rise to the top. The iPhone/iOS combo has proven impervious to every attempt to topple it. The list of victims is long: Nokia's Symbian; RIM's BlackBerry OS; HP's WebOS, even Microsoft's various Windows phone operating systems are almost entirely gone now, like tears in rain. With Apple's lock-up on smartphones all but assured, these competitors have all been forced to look elsewhere to come up with ways to chip away at the iPhone's fortified position. The peanut gallery Facebook, for instance, is placing its bets on virtual reality, augmented reality, and chatbots. Virtual reality headsets are a niche now, but they could become the next big hardware platform — a platform it would own. Similarly, chatbots give a way for Facebook to offer premium services to its users, without paying the App Store cut. Amazon has its Echo line of smart speakers, which use the Alexa virtual agent to accomplish simple tasks with only your voice. The newest Echo Show, too, adds a screen. Alexa is slowly growing into the operating system of choice for smart home appliances, getting an early lead on Apple's still-nascent HomeKit ecosystem. Amazon Echo is just one way companies are fighting back against Apple's dominance. AP/Jeff Chiu Microsoft was first to market with real, standalone augmented reality goggles, the HoloLens. Put them on, and holograms are projected straight into your field of view. It's seen within Microsoft as the next great frontier for Windows, after missing the smartphone revolution in the first place. Microsoft and Facebook both agree on one important, overarching point: Augmented reality can replace the iPhone, or anything else with a screen. Why carry a separate phone if your texts and games are projected straight into your field of vision? As for Google, it's working on all of the above, as is its wont. It has its Google Home smart speaker, a grab bag of artificial intelligence enhancements to its existing apps, and a growing focus on virtual reality with its Daydream ecosystem. Even the much-maligned Google Glass headset is now reported to be in preparation for a comeback. Apple's move Apple is coming into this at a distinct disadvantage. So much of the company's fortunes are tied up in the iPhone that it can't just up and move to whatever the next big thing turns out to be. With no real smartphone play to speak of, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon aren't handcuffed by the legacy of a smartphone business. That gives them the freedom to move forward without worrying about hurting a cash cow. Google too has more freedom, since its real revenue is tied to search advertising, not the Android smartphone software it gives away for free. So Apple has to be really careful about every step it takes away from the iPhone. Over the years, it's made small but important moves to create the next big thing, starting in 2011 with the Siri virtual assistant. This turned out to be prescient — while Amazon's Alexa gets a lot of credit for kickstarting interest in voice assistants, Siri is still the most widely used. HoloLens being used for anatomy class at Case Western University We're already starting to see more forward-looking competitive hedges come into play. Apple's Airpods wireless earbuds and the HomePod smart speaker are both designed to bring Siri closer into your life, and thus, keep Alexa and systems like it out. That's just a short-term play. A longer term gambit for Apple is ARkit, a way for developers to build augmented reality into their own apps using the iPhone camera. If and when Apple releases smart glasses of its own, it means there will be a whole selection of ARkit-powered apps to go with them, too. It's a way to bridge the dominance of the iPhone today with the hypothetical future dominance of Apple goggles tomorrow. The risk This, right now, in 2017, is a precipice point. The bets these companies are making or not making today are going to shape the technology market for the next, next decade. All these various technologies, from artificial intelligence, to chatbots, to augmented and virtual reality, are real and imminent. So I don't envy Apple's position. Move too slowly, and there are no shortage of rivals waiting in the wings to fill the gap and claim the crown for the next major market shift. Move too quickly, though, and Apple sacrifices its famous willingness to build stuff that just works. The only thing that's clear from here is that the days are numbered for the iPhone as we know it. The hard part, of managing this next wave of massive and tumultuous change, is only just beginning.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19233	What Is Incorporated Enterprise? Webopedia Definition Conduct a business influence evaluation to establish time-delicate or vital business capabilities and processes and the sources that help them. The introduction of recent products and services that add value to the organisation. Clarify how people use your product or service and talk about what makes your services or products different from others available in the market. All corporations have completely different methods and use different business models to make money of their business. CI manages information targeted on enterprise rivals, whereas BI manages these capabilities (and more) by specializing in internal business merchandise and departments. The former will need level of sale terminals to process purchases, for example, while the latter will need e-commerce software program that gives electronic buying cart companies. Strategy relies on the manufacturing and delivery of products and services. Contribution is also frequently expressed as contribution margin for an entire company or across a gaggle or product line, through which case it may be taken as gross margin less gross sales and advertising bills. Business Evaluation is a disciplined strategy for introducing and managing change to organizations, whether or not they are for-profit companies, governments, or non-profits. For service companies, that don’t sell items, the identical idea is often known as cost of sales,” which shouldn’t be confused with gross sales and advertising expenses.” The cost of sales in this case is immediately analogous to value of products offered. Enterprise intelligence (BI) is using computing applied sciences for the identification, discovery and evaluation of enterprise data – like gross sales revenue, products, costs and incomes. Developed within the mid-1980s, fashionable BI advanced from Sixties-period choice help techniques (DSS), which, with help of laptop-aided fashions, assisted with planning and decision-making, leading to govt data programs (EIS), information warehouses (DW), OLAP and BI. BI did not achieve widespread acceptance till the late Nineteen Nineties.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19245	Nearly four years into the reign of Pope Francis, we still do not know what his reformed Roman Curia might look like The Pope’s end of year speech to the Roman Curia has become something of an event, thanks to two things. First of all, this is the Pope who is supposedly reforming the Curia, and that has aroused interest. Secondly, this is the Pope who made that speech back in 2014 which lambasted his audience for their fifteen spiritual ills including “spiritual Alzheimer’s”. So when the Pope gets up to speak on what had once been a rather dull routine occasion, people now tend to tune in rather than out. Then there is a matter of the presents. In the old days each member of the Curia got a bottle of prosecco and a panettone from the Holy Father. The Pope has cut out such fripperies. On one occasion each was given a CD of the Pope’s speeches. This year it was a book, recommended by Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, who, funnily enough, is one of the Four Cardinals who sent the Pope the famous dubia which remain still unanswered. The book is entitled “Measures to treat diseases of the soul” (Industriae ad curandos animae morbos), by the Italian Jesuit Fr Claudio Acquaviva. No doubt it will make cheery Christmas reading. But to the speech. This was, to put it mildly, cryptic, at least to English ears. “The 12 principles for reform, translated by Vatican Radio, are: individual responsibility (personal conversion), pastoral concern (pastoral conversion), missionary spirit (Christocentrism), clear organisation, improved functioning, modernisation (updating), sobriety, subsidiarity, synodality, Catholicity, professionalism, gradualism (discernment).” None of us are against things like sobriety (well, within reason), but what does this mean in practice? It is all rather reminiscent of Theresa May saying “Brexit means Brexit”; it may well do, but it doesn’t answer the question “What exactly is it that you are planning to do?” Nearly four years into the reign of Pope Francis, we still do not really have a clear picture of what his reformed Roman Curia might look like. Which leads one to ask: does he know himself? And if so, why doesn’t he tell us? Ideas about reform have been floated in the past.The idea of merging various dicasteries has been suggested, and this has happened, in that we now have two new super-dicasteries, one dealing with the Family, the Laity and Life, the other with Integral Human Flourishing; but at the same time new departments have appeared, so the Roman Curia does not seem to be slimming down. More radical proposals – such as sending some of the dicasteries out of Rome, employing more lay people in responsible positions, or a change in the way personnel are hired and fired – remain just that, proposals. Some of these proposals have merit. For example, it might be a good thing to relocate Propaganda Fidei, the agency which deals with the Church’s missionary work, to somewhere like Nairobi. It would surely make sense for the Curia to recruit its new members via a competitive examination, as is the custom with most civil services, as opposed to the time-honoured way of “raccommandazione”. It would be good too if offices didn’t shut for lunch, and if they used email, as opposed to fax, which was the case when I lived in Rome, over a decade ago now. But whatever the Pope’s speech was about, it didn’t seem to touch on these sorts of practical concerns. The Pope, as we all know, is a Jesuit. Jesuit superiors, drawing on the heritage of St Ignatius of Loyola, are given to haranguing their inferiors every now and then with what are called “exhortations”. (This is common in other religious orders, and I have some experience of this.) These harangues are not meant to be congratulatory, but rather meant to instil humility and a sense that the members of the order must try harder, much harder. They never ever carry any admission that the superiors themselves are capable of making mistakes. (I may be doing him an injustice, but such admissions do not seem to be part of the Loyola vision; hence his talk of the subject being like a stick in an old man’s hand, and the voice of the superior being the voice of God.) This may well have worked once, but whether it is good for the present age, let the reader decide. The Pope’s admonition that those who oppose reform may well be doing the Devil’s work needs to be seen in this context. Actually, those who oppose reforms may well think “not these reforms”: they may oppose them as counter-productive or misguided, rather than opposing reform per se. And yet, how can anyone oppose the Pope’s reforms, when none of us know what these reforms really are?
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19289	To Secretary Seward. June 28, 1862. MY DEAR SIR:--My view of the present condition of the war is about as follows: The evacuation of Corinth and our delay by the flood in the Chickahominy have enabled the enemy to concentrate too much force in Richmond for McClellan to successfully attack. In fact there soon will be no substantial rebel force anywhere else. But if we send all the force from here to McClellan, the enemy will, before we can know of it, send a force from Richmond and take Washington. Or if a large part of the western army be brought here to McClellan, they will let us have Richmond, and retake Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, etc. What should be done is to hold what we have in the West, open the Mississippi, and take Chattanooga and East Tennessee without more. A reasonable force should in every event be kept about Washington for its protection. Then let the country give us a hundred thousand new troops in the shortest possible time, which, added to McClellan directly or indirectly, will take Richmond without endangering any other place which we now hold, and will substantially end the war. I expect to maintain this contest until successful, or till I die, or am conquered, or my term expires, or Congress or the country forsake me; and I would publicly appeal to the country for this new force were it not that I fear a general panic and stampede would follow, so hard it is to have a thing understood as it really is. I think the new force should be all, or nearly all, infantry, principally because such can be raised most cheaply and quickly. Yours very truly,
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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19317	Study your flashcards anywhere! Download the official Cram app for free > • Shuffle Toggle On Toggle Off • Alphabetize Toggle On Toggle Off • Front First Toggle On Toggle Off • Both Sides Toggle On Toggle Off • Read Toggle On Toggle Off How to study your flashcards. H key: Show hint (3rd side).h key A key: Read text to speech.a key Play button Play button Click to flip 35 Cards in this Set • Front • Back Name the 5 elements of climate 1) temperature 2) precititation 3) humidity 4) light 5) wind What is a microclimate? an area that has differenct climate than the surrounding area What is a dicot? mostly trees and fruits Explain what a monocot is Nonwoody plants Often have long leaves -grass, lily, Iris, onion What is an angiosperm? cultivated plants -rosses, cabbage Flowering and food plants Name the 2 groups that come from seed bearing plants Angiosperms and gymnosperms What is a gymnosperm? cone-bearing plants -pines, spruces What are the basic parts of plants? Leaves, stems, buds, and roots What are the 2 main parts of a leaf? the leaf stem/petiole and the wide part called the blade The angle that is formed between the petiole and it's supporting stem is called... the leaf axil What is the leaf margin? the outside edge of the leaf What do monocot leaves look like? they have parralel vains runing the length of the leaf What do dicot leaf veins look like? they have one main vein and then they branch out Define what a leaf apex is the tip of the leaf What are stipules? Small leaflike forms that are normally found at the base of a petiole What is the section of a plant called where the stem and leaf is connected? a node What is the internode? the space between leaves What does the internal stem structure of a dicot look like? it is arranged in a rings inside each other What does the internal stem structure of a monocot look like? it is arranged in bundles What are the "pathways" in the plant circulatory system? xylem and phloems Where is the phloem found? ouside the xylem What does the cambium do? manufactures new exylem and phloem cells Name the three types of buds vegtative, flower and mixed Explain what a taproot is the primary root that first branches In flower structure what are the 3 main parts of the pistil? What is considered the "female" part of a flower? the pistil What is considered the "male" parts a flower? the stamens What is the stamen composed of? anather - which produces pollen How do plants create carbohydrates? through photosynthesis What are the three main ingredience to photosynthesis? light, water, and carbon dioxide What is considered the opposite of photosynthesis? What is needed for respiration? oxygen and carbohydrates What does respiration produce? energy, water, and carbon dioxide What does respiration produce? energy, water, and carbon dioxide What does respiration produce? energy, water, and carbon dioxide
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19323	[sword-devel] Getting started on sword coding Troy A. Griffitts scribe at crosswire.org Sun Sep 2 13:12:05 MST 2007 I've been reworking our flashcard generation tools to work with DM's newest release of our KJV module. In the process, I've been trying to break out methods which might have future use by frontends who may wish to add a user interface to let users generate their own quizzes over selected verse ranges, etc. Anyway, I've been bouncing between this and trying to get 1.5.10 of the engine out this holiday weekend, and I'm pretty burned out. It's been good though, helping me find a couple bugs in the engine for this release. So, all this to say, it doesn't work yet. It is a fairly small, self-contained client of the engine. It might be a good place for you to jump in and see how a typical client might utilize the engine, including build system, etc. I thought the code was done last night, but looking at the output this morning, it doesn't work. If you'd like to pick this up and try to find the error of my ways, you'd be a great help to me. If interested, you'll need sword svn installed, the KJV module, and then the sword-tools repo where this utility lives: Here's the actual path directly to this project, so you can browse a bit before deciding if you want to jump in: A couple things I noticed don't work: Look in main(): only the first call 'works'; subsequent calls seem to produce no lessons. I added some (overly) simple checks for the greek article (G3588) which don't seem to do what we want. We don't want to produce 'WORD: [+ G3588] TRANSLATION' all over the place just because a word is combined with the article (most nouns at some point are obviously combined with the article). The [ + OTHER WORDS ] syntax should be reserved for useful word combinations. We still want to count frequencies of the article, but not include it in the combination algorithm. Thanks for considering. Welcome! Lyndon Drake wrote: > Hi, > I'd like to help out with Sword development. Can someone point me in > the direction of a small or relatively simple task that I can use as a > starting point for getting involved? I'm comfortable working in C++ or > on the build system. > Cheers, > Lyndon > _______________________________________________ > sword-devel mailing list: sword-devel at crosswire.org > Instructions to unsubscribe/change your settings at above page More information about the sword-devel mailing list
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19324	26 Jul 2016 C.R.Pitt Designs Facebook: C.R.Pitt Designs Instagram: C.R.Pitt Designs 1. My goodness. Three years? And such an interesting path that has gotten you to where you are today! It's so great to have been there to watch your talent bloom and grow as you just get better and better with every button you touch! 2. Three years I thought that also.. I am going to your Etsy now to check it out. Since I haven't been around to much lately... all these blogs I use to go to now say I have to be invited. Are these blogs no longer in service or do I have to get permission. Hope thingsd are going well in your world. Disclosure Bollocks... I have to check that out also.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19342	Hello everyone, I'm trying to understand a oracle sql query which was generated from an application and got captured through Toad. select a.cust, a.date. a.qnty from orders a where a.numb + 0 = 1002 a.numb is an integer. I'm trying to understand what this + 0 means. Note there are no braces. The query takes long time to execute with the presence of + 0. If I remove + 0 (i.e, a.numb = 1002), it executes much faster. Appreciate if anyone could shed some light on what is going on. Oracle version is 7.3
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19371	CTS and Other Causes of Hand Numbness After CTS, the next most common nerve pinch is the ulnar nerve at the inner elbow, which is technically called “cubital tunnel syndrome” (CuTS). This is often caused from over-use of the arm such as lifting and/or gripping with the palm up. The unique difference between CuTS and CTS is that the pinky and ring finger are affected but NOT the index, middle, and thumb-side ring finger, which are the median nerve-innervated fingers affected by CTS. Because over-use is also a common cause of CTS, these two conditions can co-exist, in which case all five fingers may be affected but not necessary all at the same time. The shoulder is yet another fairly common location for a pinched nerve and is referred to as “thoracic outlet syndrome” (TOS). The most common nerve pinched here affects the fourth and fifth fingers, similar to CuTS; however, with TOS the upper arm is also affected, not just the elbow to the inner hand. Another relatively common location for a pinched nerve affecting the arm is at the neck, often from a herniated disk and/or an arthritic spur where the nerve exits the spine. Depending on which nerve is compressed and the amount of compression, the numbness/tingling can affect different parts of the arm and/or hand. Doctors of chiropractic are trained to differentiate between these various “syndromes” and to safely deliver treatment to the affected joints, muscles, and other soft tissues to reduce pain and restore proper motion so patients can return to their normal activities of daily living.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19391	ELC Banner CAE: Certificate in Advanced English What does the exam consist of? Reading and Use of English Writing Listening Speaking 1 hour 30 minutes 1 hour 30 minutes 40 minutes 15 minutes When can I take the exam? Normally, CAE can be taken in March, May, June or December in Lisbon or Estoril. What is the typical course content? You use a specific CAE Course Book. Your teacher helps you to understand all parts of the exam and sets homework to consolidate and further your learning. You will improve both your language skills and vocabulary / grammar and exam technique. Don’t forget to book your free practice interviews and free written mock examinations to give yourself the best chance of a high grade!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19401	Behind the frontman The ‘illiterate oaf ‘ of essay writing back to Sinful Art Revenge is a kind of wild justice; which the more man’s nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out. For as for the first wrong, it doth out offend the law; but the revenge of that wrong putteth the law is superior; for it is a prince’s part to pardon. And Solomon, I am sure, saith, It is the glory of a man to irrevocable; and wise men have enough to do with things present and to come; therefore they do but trifle with themselves, that labor in past matters. There is no man doth a wrong for the wrong’s sake; but thereby to purchase himself profit, or pleasure, or honor, or the like. Therefore why should I be angry for loving himself better than me? This essay goes on to cover fourty-five lines. But this paper is about signatures, rather than philosophy. And when it comes to that, this randomly picked test sample is a treasure trove. Which is quite remarkable, because the 1907 Houghton Mifflin edition of Bacon’s essays is not exactly a faithful copy of the 1625 original. Its signatures could therefore easily be dismissed as chance hits, if it was not for the fact that there is evidence of intelligent design by editor Clark Sutherland Northup (1872 – 1952). And this design includes a sequence that is almost by definition a matter of change, and of the printer’s workshop. The one of capitals heading a line : line 1 8 24 initial R S S Regardless the cypher, these capitals results in blanks on both Bacon and the predicted co-author. The total of line numbers however, produces a totally unexpected hit on ‘Bacon’. As mentioned, this is almost by definition a chanc hit. Unless the sequence of italic capitals is taken into account : line 8 31 35 initial I Y S Blanks again, whatever the cypher. And a hit again on the total of line numbers : 74. Which in simple cypher happens to correspond with ‘William’. The very signature that the this new theory on authorship predicts for the 1625 original. What about that for ‘totally unexpected’? And the corresponding ‘Shakespeare’ is in the total of these italic and ‘meaningless’ initial capitals : 53 + 50. Line eight contributes to both the ‘Bacon’ and ‘William’ signature. And, judged by the capitals from that line, Northup seems to have deployed simple cypher for the message ‘Bacon is William Shakespeare’. You may look in awe at the words enclosed by the ‘is’, but chance has pulled off better tricks. And in order to prove intelligent design, the stray capitals has to be examined as well. In this edition distributed like this : italics italics line 8 I 15 29 34 S 41 42 capital S I I F J C P H T F value 18 9 9 6 9 3 15 8 19 6 score 18 27 36 42 51 54 69 77 96 102 Apart from a subtotal that may stand for ‘Francis B’ no signatures at all. Not even in the line numbers. This while these capitals are name initials and ‘I’s. Capitals therefore that Bacon himself prescribes as obligate. But even the four sections divided by the italics produce blanks only. Which is rather low when it comes to the inevitable chance hit. But the closing section produces exactly half the score : 51 divided over two adjacent lines as ‘S’ and ‘Bacon’. The score’s first half opens with ‘18’ as well. This time actually spelled out as ‘S’. Lacking the means, however, to divide the sequence at that point, nothing can be made of this observation. This despite the fact that Bacon’s ‘33’-signature is constructed from three ‘I’s (which, as 111, is a Bacon-signature in itself) and an ‘F’ on a line that by its number signs for Shakespeare as the difference between 74 and 103. The blank is therefore loaded with suggestion, and it is closely linked to the blank in another sequence of initials. The one of capitals heading a sentence. Which is the one that Bacon with certainty combined to a sequence himself : italics italics Pag 15 I Page 15 Page 16 Y S Page 16 R F C A T T T A T S T F B C B A T P B N 17 6 3 1 19 19 19 1 19 18 19 6 2 3 2 1 19 15 2 13 Pag 15 104 Page 15 Page 16 100 Page 16 27 I 125 Y 2 S 50 italics italics In both the 1625 original, and the 1907 copy, these capitals are marked as sentence initials by means of a double space between sentences. Which contributes to this research as a fool proof selection device on capitals of which the status is ambiguous. Like an italic heading a quotation. As a result, this sequence can only fail by omission : if the Houghton Mifflin edition in the duplication attempt turns out to contain 21 sentence initials, this section of the paper will be reduced to a marvelous display of Dame Fortune’s abilities. And believe me, I have seen plenty a piece of solid evidence to evaporate at the correction of a single typing error. Apart from that, this sequence is fully reliable, and it combines a blank on page 15, with ‘Francis Bacon’ in simple cypher on page 16. The blank, however, is as close a near hit on ‘Shakespeare’s simple cypher 103 as the blank on stray capitals : ‘nearly Shakespeare’ on one page, and ‘Francis Bacon’ in full on the other. The message is clear. But it is a message from Clark Sutherland Northup. Francis Bacon published the same sequence in a division over four pages : 26 + 78 + 85 + 15. No hits. Neither overall score nor sections yield a signature. As if Clark Sutherland Northup was more of an encrypter than Bacon. The only thing that catches the eye is the F. B. on the Golden Section. After that marker the sequence seems to have some difficulty in spelling out the name ‘Bacon’ : BC – BA – TP (just overshooting 33 = Bacon = BATO) – BN Things would be more interesting if restricted to a division by the italics around line 33. Ignore the break that follows between lines 34 and 36, and we have a hit on ‘52’ ; simple cypher for ‘Will’. And lo and behold : the remaining 152 is a hit on ‘William’. This time in Kay cypher. But in order to rule out chance hits, the procedure has to be reversed to a similar result : ignore the central division just past the Golden Ratio, and divide on both outer italic sections. The isolated ‘B’ on line 34 is now linked to the central section : 27 – 127 – 50 – 154 177 The 154 is a blank, but at least a blank that refers to Shakespeare’s 154 Sonnets. It also is located exactly halfway a reverse cypher on Bacon, and the signature of Sonnet 146. And connected to this link with the Sonnets, the 177 signature spells out as : ‘William Shakespeare with FB in his heart’. Somehow this sounds not exactly like ‘Bacon is Shakespeare’. And that is exactly what the co-author theory predicts for the original : of revenge R Euenge is a kinde of Wilde Iustice; which the more Mans Nature runs to, the more ought Law to weed it out. For as for the first Wrong, it doth but offend the Law; but the Reuenge of that wrong, putteth the Law out of Office. Certainly, in taking A Man is but euen with his Enemy; But in passing it ouer, he is Superiour: For it is a Princes part to Pardon. And Salomon, I am sure, saith, It is the glory of a Man to passe by an offence. That which is past, is gone, and Irreuoca- ble; And wise Men haue Enough to doe, with things present, and to come: Therefore, they doe but trifle with themselues, that labour in past mat- ters. There is no man, doth a wrong, for the wrongs sake; But therby to purchase himselfe, Profit, or Pleasure, or Honour, or the like. Therfore why should I be angry with a Man, for louing himselfe better then mee? This essay goes on to cover sixty-five lines. But this paper is about signatures, rather than philosophy. And when it comes to that, this randomly picked test sample is more than a treasure trove ; it is two treasure troves. The 1625 edition of Bacon’s essays comes in two prints, that differ greatly in all four sequences of capitals. The italics, for instance, offer a choice between a sequence of 22 and a sequence of 26. And a code breaker who checks his copy of the book would find a chance hit on ‘Will Shakespeare’ in simple cypher on an ‘F’. Only if he checks both prints, this code breaker would find out that these are the ‘F’s of ‘Florence’ and ‘Friends’ respectively. And that a chance hit is therefore out of the question. But why would a seventeenth century code breaker think of checking whether his copy’s 1625 edition comes in different prints? As far as Francis Bacon could judge, the anomaly would take many a decade to get noticed. But eventually a theory arose that predicted this very signature to be there as intentional. And if a theory predicts a discovery, it no longer is a theory once the discovery is made. It only needs duplication of the test result by independent research, to turn theory into indisputable fact. And for duplication it is sufficient to compare notes with the 1907 Houghton Mifflin edition. In which Doctor of Letters Clarke Sutherland Northup neither copies the sentence initials from one of the prints, nor generates a sequence of his own : he combines the two prints to sign for both Francis Bacon and William Shakespeare. of initial tampering For ten capitals Northup follows the shorter sequence at pitch, then he switches to the other print for capitals 11 – 14. Writing in the process a clearly intentional Kay signature. To which purpose the essayist readily inserts a full stop, in order to provide for a capital ‘C’ from the italics sequence. After which exercise Northup returns to his original source, in order to duplicate the same signature in simple cypher from the remaining capitals from its sequence. Line initials and italics combine in a similar fashion, demonstrating that an author’s grip on typesetting does not always end at the printer’s front door. And because the signatures in the line numbers of these capitals are quite similar in composition, they are not easily attributed to Dame Fortune. By which method the editor has demonstrated that any means of encryption one can think of, is one that Bacon could have deployed at will. If only Doctor of Letters Clark Sutherland Northup had shared this vital piece of information with his fellow scientists… At least he did not destroy the evidence in the process of editing the text. Instead he worked like an archeologist who, having recorded his discoveries, reburies the site in order to preserve it for future generations. Which is something of a déjà-vu, because I described the same experience in The Art of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The same reluctance to publish revealing clues is also found in the early critics on The Turn of the Screw. Which brings us back to the omerta as described in The Art of Text Interpretation. From which follows that I have, in my inexperience, spoiled my first excavation site by leaving the secrets of the part songs exposed. This is not a mistake to make a second time. And having reburied the site of Stratfordian revenge in my turn, I must restrict myself to the observation that Doctor Clark Sutherland Northup was no man’s fool : the encrypted record of his research tells exactly where to look, and what he found there. of truth A fine collection of definitely intentional Bacon and Shakespeare signatures to begin with. And plenty a clue that they were placed in this 1625 essay to share the honour. And this evidence of a writers collective deals at the instant with every single argument that pleads against Shakespeare as The Bard. It is a matter of mixed feelings to have one’s findings duplicated even before one is born. However, the 1907 edition is less clear on parity than it should be. And could be. Which suggests that Doctor Northup may have misinterpreted parity as a Baconian claim on Shakespeare’s legacy. It is of course no help that Francis Bacon published Of Revenge as late as 1625, in the process obscuring the fact that it should be dated before April 1616. Site reburial, by the way, is mainly intended to preserve what the archeologist did not find. And any new excavation can be trusted to produce some new evidence. A clearly intentional Marlowe signature, for instance, because this paper’s chapter From Longlist to Shortlist has Marlowe as an obligate name when checking Bacon’s letter sequences for signatures. Something Doctor Northup would not have known. Starting from a failed falsification attempt of the Mainstream Theory, this paper reduces the longlist of One and Only Bards to the names of Shakespeare and Marlowe. Both nominees have Francis Bacon as the only plausible co-author. In the chapter Sinful Art, Bacon’s controversial signing method writes Sonnet 146 on the name of William Shakespeare. If this was the author’s intention, Bacon must have been involved as a co-author, which predicts the existence of clearly intentional Shakespeare signatures in Bacon’s essays. The chapter Behind the Frontman proves these signatures to exist, which turns theory into recorded fact : two authors wrote in close co-operation essays under the name Francis Bacon, and plays and poetry under the name William Shakespeare. But this does not rule out Christopher Marlowe. Only a comparison of style characteristics as recommended in From Longlist to Shortlist can achieve that. Due to a barrage of spam, the comment option had to be disabled. 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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19415	Board Position The Bishop's Opening 2.KB-QB4 (move 2w, left) is closely related to the Vienna Game. Seen more in correspondence chess than tournament games, the initial response to the Berlin (eg. 3.P-Q3 move 3w, right) is worth some study as a means of avoiding the Petroff Defence and because several short transpositions into other popular openings are possible (some listed below). Board Position The Classical Variation (2..B-B4) can lead to the Lewis Counter or the Jerome (?!) and Petroff gambits, while the Berlin Defence (2..Kt-KB3) includes the Greco, the Ponziani and the Urusov gambits. Begin Clear or Groups or see move: 1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 (Berlin): 2..Nf6 \| 3 d3 c6 4 Nf3 d5 5 exd5 cxd5 6 Bb3 Bb4+ 7 c3 Bd6 \| 3 d4 exd4 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 Qxd4 Nf6 6 Bg5 Be7 7 Nc3 Nc6 8 Qh4 d6 9 0-0-0 Be6 (Class.): 2..Bc5 3 c3 d5 4 Bxd5 Nf6 5 Qf3 0-0 6 d4 exd4 7 Bg5 dxc3 8 Bxf6 c2 9 Nc3 Qxf6 10 Qxf6 gxf6 Transp. into Giuoco Piano Transp. into Giuoco Pianissimo Transp. into Modern Bishop's Opg. Transp. into Vienna (Bishop's Var.) Transp. into Petroff Opening Transp. into Evans Gambit
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19419	Can writing reduce your stress levels? Whether you write for a living, spend your life making to-do lists or haven't put pen to paper since you were at school, did you know that writing can be a great tool to help reduce your stress levels? Lately we've been looking at a number of ways to reduce stress in your life, from how to get a good night's sleep to using acupuncture or meditation as ways of relaxing. But could something as simple as writing have a real impact on the way your body handles stress? What causes stress? Stressful situations cause stress, you'd think would be the logical answer. But what actually happens to our bodies when we are stressed? Feelings of stress release cortisol into the blood – cortisol can destroy brain cells and increase weight gain around your stomach, which can raise your risk of heart disease. Stress also causes extra glucose to be released into your blood stream, raises your heart rate and slows down your metabolism. It even stops the production of sex hormones, which is why you might feel less in the mood when your life is stressful. How can writing help to relieve stress? We know that meditation can help relieve stress – taking a few moments out of your day to focus on your breathing and clearing your mind of thoughts. Perhaps writing works in a similar way. When we write, we focus entirely on the task at hand, engaging the part of our brain responsible for creativity. Have you ever been so caught up in a project for school or university that you didn't even notice the time ticking by? That's good for stress relief. Did you know that writing (with pen or pencil and paper) can reduce symptoms of depression? Try keeping a journal – it can also help to fight anxiety. Research shows that spending time jotting down your emotions can help you to process things, letting go of anger and negativity. Creative writing boosts self-awareness and helps you to solve problems in a private and constructive way. Research also shows that keeping a diary encourages women's' self-esteem and promotes a positive body image. So there's no need to stress over your bikini body anymore. Approach it the right (write) way If you're new to writing, start small. Why not try writing some positive affirmations that you can pin to your wall or stick to your fridge? Or note down things that made you happy today, to look at later. One great writing idea is to keep a jar into which you put a piece of paper with one good thing that happened to you today written on it. This can really work to boost your mood if you're feeling low – just tip the pieces of paper out and read all the good things that have happened over the last few weeks! If you're feeling extra-creative, you could try your hand at a poem or short story, or even start a blog. Writing can help to focus the mind, which in turn makes you more mindful. Mindfulness and self-awareness really do go a long way towards making us feel more relaxed. Decrease your stress levels and you'll notice all kinds of other positive changes too – you'll sleep better, have more energy and be more likely to make healthy food choices, rather than craving sugary or fatty foods. So pick up your favourite pen (or pencil) and prepare for writer's cramp.... Author By Paula Beaton Date On 22nd Sep 2014 at 15:00 No Comments Add Comment More Related Articles Load More
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19423	Main Page \| See live article \| Alphabetical index Wusun --- information about this historic people can be found in Chinese historical annals. Table of contents 1 Geography 2 Anthropology and archeology 3 History 4 Language Originally, the Wusun people lived near the Yue-zhi people, probably in the region of the eastern Tien Shan Mts. Later they moved to the Ili valley and the Issyk Kol basin. Anthropology and archeology According to Chinese archeologists: excavated skeletal remains of presumed Wusun people are short-headed Europoid of the Central Asian, Transoxanian type. The Wusun were described as having "green eyes and red beards", i.e., of Caucasoid appearance. At the beginning of what is known about the history of the Wusun, they lived near the Yue-zhi people. The Yue-zhi were defeated by the rising Xiongnu empire and fled westward. En route they overrun the Wusun. The future Wusun king, Kun-Mo (< MC mak = Kun Beg?), lost his father and was left in the wild, then miraculously was saved from hunger by sucking from a she-wolf. The Xiongnu Shan-yu (ruler) was impressed and adopted the child. When the child grew up the Shan-yu gave him command of his tribe (reconstituted?) and ordered the Wusun to attack the Yue-zhi, who had taken refuge in the Ili Valley, said to be originally peopled by the Se (< MC s@k = Saka) people. The Yue- zhi was crushed completely and fled further to Ferghana, and finally settled in Bactria, and became known as the Tocharoi. The Wusun took over the Ili Valley and then expanded to occupy a large area. They were said to number 630,000 and became a respected force in Central Asia. When the Han empire began the counter-offensive against the Xiongnu, the Wusun was won over to her side through political marriages, and the Wusun became a bitter enemy of the Xiongnu. After Han retreat from Central Asia, no much was recorded about the Wusun. They were said to be pressed by the Jou-Juan (Avar) and migrated to the Cong-ling Mts. (the Pamirs). After this event the Wusun disappeared from history, and later we found the western Turks in the former habitat of the Wusun. There were Se (Saka) and Yue-zhi (Tocharian ?) peoples among the Wusun, so maybe they spoke Iranian or Tocharian? The Wusun shared a similar ancestor myth with the Kok Turks, so they may well be a Turkic people. There was a Wusun king called Fu-li, and Chinese scholar Han Rulin suggested a likeness to Turkic "bori = wolf".
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19426	Dear Diary::Kyoya Ootori...that rich jerk! Everytime I do something he completely destroys it!Like in class I raised my hand and got a question wrong "Oh well" you may think but not for Mr Ootori. He wormed out the answer like a venomous viper and stared at me all lesson! I know he is just cruel to me because Haruhi in 'Host Club' is a 'commoner' as well! That jerk needs to learn respect... even commoners have brains kyoya! I put down my dairy...that was a nice subtle note for future generations to look out for him! "Get the shopping....NOW" my mum cried. Uh another person on my bad list, note to self join nekozawas club,then I could curse kyoya! As I walked down the ally the night air was crystal clear and not a kyoya in site!Bang!"Move it lady!"a rough voice boomed at me. His dirty face pushed against my rain soaked skin "What cha doin,wana play" he smiled a toothless grin at me as other dark shadows came around him. 'Great' I thought 'end of the word for me,clash with Kyoya and now one with these thugs'! I looked around me the thugs had preformed a cricle round me suddenly wham they pushed up against me.This is it the end,hah kyoya so long,I don't have to put up with you anymore!Swish a blue streak angel...oh well looks like I'm going to heaven! Wait...there was no pain anymore the thugs where on the My brain rattled Mori sempi he lived round here and it must be him he is a karate expert! "Are you alright" a calm voice pronounced.My ears pricked up..that was not it was...and by looking my eyes had confirmed it!It was kyoya! I started to kick myself!No way,how could this be kyoya and no way..I called him an angel!My brain swirled how could it be him... jerk,he... no way, he would never save me? Swoosh suddenly I was in the air way somebody was carrying me you have to be kidding me...again it was Kyoya! Every time I look around he is always in my mind why....why.."I noticed you look a little flushed Miss AKEMI so I will carry you home with me" no way! I was being carried to his house by him and I was flushed..I must have stepped on Nekozawa's cursive doll! Drip..rain oh great,today is the best day in the world isn't it."Lets run"Kyoya smiled!He lifted me higher in bridle style and he swooped through the rain.He smiled? Kyoya never smiles in school..but why here? Oh well I have to admit it..It is a cute smile! No way what am I thinking..I don't like him,I hate him...maybe I am ill? "We are here"he cried. Still rich people..are rich people,maids came running out dragged me inside and put me in a dress,then to top it all off put me in a posh relaxation room with Kyoya in a blink of an eye! "I hope they where not to rough"he smiled."No not at all"I replied..I could not help but smile back,his voice was so amazing and beautiful just like he himself was a beautiful person who looked after me what was I thinking,I hate him,he is the same jerk who is always laughing at me! No wait I am just letting my ego get in the way...."Miss AKEMI come over here,I have a gift for you" I walked over to him he was sooo handsome siting down in a suit. My heart thumped as I sat next to him as he started to let out his amazing voice..."Mrs AKEMI you may think of me as a hmmm'jerk'" Yes...yes I do my mind raced...but not anymore maybe? "Well" he continued "Lets put it strait your name AKEMI means bright and beautiful right...." "Yes" I replied."Well" he carried on "I believe that you" HA I could not help but burst out with laughter "Of course it means me silly, it's my name"I chuckled! He started to speak,clearly angry at himself...."Thats not what I meant, I mean you are bright and beautiful"! My face flushed... did Kyoya say that to me? " I mean it" he cried "You are are a bright spark in class...and you are so bright,you are a luminous yellow rose in a red rose bouquet...I said it, there now come over for your present" his face was a reflection of mine a deep shade of beetroot! As I snook closed to him...I saw more than a jerk a much more than that..Wham warm luscious lips landed on me as Kyoya's gentle arms wrapped around.... I was a yellow rose in a red bouquet and a red rich rose welcoming me to his world.... [img1 center, large]
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19427	SEO Is End Or Not? By Adding Google New Features Can Website Help To Make Money In this article is want to tell you that Google Launched there new features like Google Inside or many other features. This helps allot for people just visiting by Google home page and enter something which they want and Google Inside give them answer these tips and techniques used by Google is definitely work and your website or blog get low traffic by these features Google is a master in this field they know that how to make his own business most powerful and most profitable. But this means not your blog can't get traffic. I have a small tutorial about is SEO is Finished in this Era or not? Because people are using Social Sites with Excess amount or Facebook is the most using Social Sites. While working in Internet marketing specialist Cosmetic Clinic chirrups noticed that almost 50% of consumers reach us by mobile phone. Thus while browsing phone users have a lower visibility of the area and the AdWords advertising is the most interesting because it is the very top of the phone and surfing is not as convenient as a computer. Observing colleagues really noticing the trend that a mobile phone is not just a tool to send SMS messages, make calls, or extra case to use the internet, and it is the people refuse to use the computer and uncomfortable phones wherever it suits them. Traveling by train, have dinner or drybsant to the TV. Google and Facebook have not remember who provided the data that the first step is asleep or getting up the phone checking email, browsing and social networking. Thus, the bed is not only for us but also for smart phones. What can you see from Google Analytics , the smart phone users often spend up to 5% of the time the website for more than computer users, and 10 percent more visits web pages. Conclusions can be made such that a Mobile Phone us more inclusive and information pages are read more, of course, it may also lead to the text size, and the phone is not intended website. So, why did time for a new browser? Google looks to me seems technologically obsolete and the time comes, and that "Pinterest" type of browser, which will consist of images. You say, but how the heck resounding headlines? There is something said that the word usually has only one meaning, and thousands of photo or image. If you know someone who devised to create a browser, press his hand, he may soon become a new millionaire.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19453	F2F 044: How to Build a Million Dollar Net Worth and $10,000 a Month Cash Flow Subscribe via iTunes Today Do this using NO Cash and NO Credit In this episode I come to you again from my car. I explain exactly how to build a million dollar net worth that generates $10,000 a month cash flow. I give you three strategies to structure deals to make this possible. You’ll Learn… 1. Three strategies to structure cash flow properties. 2. The entire process from start to finish. I take you through a whole transaction. 3. You’ll discover what type of closing agent needed to get these types of deals completed. At the end I share a touching story about my daughter and the “best day ever”. To your FREEDOM!!! Subscribe To The Flip2Freedom Podcast:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19463	Programmer's Guide to F By Walt Brainerd, Charlie Goldberg, and Jeanne Adams Published by The Fortran Company, 2001. 368 pages. $33.00 ISBN 0-9640135-1-7 F is a simple yet powerful programming language. F is ideal for introductory programming, not only for computer science but also for math, engineering, and science. F is also ideal for advanced programming as it is a subset of both Fortran 95 and High Performance Fortran. Special feature in F include: and the necessary features such as: Because F is small, error messages can be exact and specific. Because F is a subset of existing powerful languages, there is a smooth transition for the beginner into professional programming. ``Programmer's Guide to F is a quick reading, often humorous, introduction to F. It is full of examples and is well designed for an introductory course in science and engineering programming.'' David Epstein, co-author of the F programming language. The Programmer's Guide is a tutorial-style presentation of all the important features of F. The topics are presented in an order that is natural for learning. The style is informal and there are many realistic examples. Exercises are provided to test knowledge of the concepts covered. The syntax of F and the intrinsic functions are covered in appendices. The book is similar to Programmer's Guide to Fortran 90 by the same authors and several sample sections from this book may viewed online.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19471	User Rating: 0 / 5 Star inactiveStar inactiveStar inactiveStar inactiveStar inactive QE Casino QE bank de-capitalization - Achieved However what happened was "slightly" different. Yes, Central Banks bought garbage from banks at nominal prices and thus zombie-banks became living banks yet again. However, banks did not loan the now massive amounts of cash in their vaults. They were afraid a new 2008 was just around the corner. And so little to no economic stimulus was achieved. However, having cash sitting in vaults is not good for banks' profits. Thus banks loaned… just not to the expected customers. They loaned to countries offering very high interest rates, typically above 10% (compare this to ZIRP and you may notice the appeal). And so banks loaned to virtuous customers such as the Greek government…because we know how reliable such borrowers are! Thus, banks became bloated yet again with worthless paper de-capitalizing themselves in the process. Neat right? Full circle. QE moral hazard preserved - Intended Moral hazard is the idea that if a financial institution is stupid and makes bad economic decisions, the government will rescue it. This triggers the notion that no matter how bad a decision, there is no risk in it since the government is always there to ensure nothing ugly will happen. In a risk/reward situation, the government removed all the risk thus prompting banks and financial institutions to look only at potential profits. Leverage levels were up to one to 10, 100, 100….. 10.000.000 and more! Crazy right? One of the elements of QE was to rescue big banks while leaving smaller ones to die. Many banks failed in the subsequent years following 2008. This was supposed to keep the moral hazard issue at bay. See? They would say. We are not rescuing troubled banks. Let the forces of the free market take care of failed enterprises. QE moral hazard discarded - Achieved The reality was quite different. Central Banks did bail out large banks, to the point that a new phrase was coined "too big to fall". And this represented the epitome of anti-moral hazard. All those tiny banks that were allowed to die represented only a miniscule amount of wealth held by 5 or 10 mega-banks throughout the world. Moral hazard was not applied to these monster-institutions. As a consequence, they did what one would expect them to do. They lent to dubious borrowers and gorged themselves in highly risky derivatives. BTW, this is the origin of our historical all-times high amount derivatives currently present in the world (see for example The 1.5 Quadrillion USD Bet - What Can Possibly Go Wrong). QE mild inflation - Intended One of the basic ideas in Monetarist/Keynesian theories is that a little bit of inflation is good. Thus, Central Banks always attempt to have inflation within a specific range. QE is intended to increase inflation as banks (now flush with cash) begin to lend. Through this lending process they increase the amount of circulating money about 10 times (see for example Central Banks Engines Of The Evil Empire). And as few banks are lending to few customers a few amounts of money, we are witnessing a little bit of inflation. QE mild inflation - Achieved The primordial problem with this view is that inflation is a really, really bad thing. Inflation is not a natural market process, deflation is. Inflation is always bad while deflation (if not produced through artificial means) is always good. The idea that a little bit of inflation is required is actually robbing people from whatever hope they may have. They are still in the middle of a devastating economic catastrophe with no jobs (and no earnings) in sight. In the middle of this debacle comes the government telling them that everything going up in price due to inflation is a "good" thing. Crazy right? But it gets worse. The amount of money that Central Banks have printed and released into the banking system is at all times high. And what have they achieved in terms of inflation? Basically little to nothing. The devastation that all that money will create in the future cannot be justified under any circumstance by declaring that was necessary in order to have "good" inflation of 2 to 3% per year. Ridiculous! Yet, here we are. QE neutral inflation - Intended There is yet another side of inflation that we need to explore. According to Central Bankers, inflation is "neutral". It does not go to specific assets. It permeates the economy holistically. No economic sector is particularly affected. Thus, what is not to like about inflation since there is no risk, right? QE asymmetric inflation - Achieved However, reality is quite different. It so happens that people are not stupid and they realized early on that real stuff, tangible stuff has value while coloured paper and ones and zeros in bank accounts mean nothing. Thus, they borrowed at ZIRP (remember ZIRP?) to buy all kinds of assets. These included houses and stocks. See where we are going? All that money Central Banks printed and released into private banks are now fueling a crazy increase in prices in real estate and stocks. This is called "asset inflation". These sudden and crazy increases are also called "bubbles" in common wording and according to Greenspan (and other Central Bank luminaries) they cannot be forecasted. Right! The problem with bubbles is that they all eventually pop leaving people with huge debts and insufficient assets to pay them off. Instant personal bankruptcy. And what happens to banks? Same. They must write those loans off. Lose-lose. QE market clean-up averted - Intended As we explained previously, QE is intended to salvage big banks in trough the "liquification" of their "unproductive" assets (i.e. buying garbage and paying full price). This is done on purpose because it is believe that without these institutions the entire market system would collapse. Thus, we have organizations that are "too big to fail". In those cases, the normal market processes must not be allowed to take place "for the greater good". And what will happen in the future? Those organizations will become well-behaved as the economy begins to improve. They will do so because interest rates will raise from ZIRP and there will no more need for ludicrous leverage levels just to maintain profitability. QE market clean-up averted - Achieved The reality is, of course, vastly different. The process known as bankruptcy is the mechanism markets have to get rid of organizations that waste capital and resources. It is a process that recognizes a bad enterprise and cuts its loses before it can make more damage to healthy organizations. By interfering with this mechanism Central Banks are ensuring that inefficient, ineffective, wasteful and downright dangerous financial organizations continue to operate. Not only that, they operate at a larger and larger scale sucking in capital that could be put to use more effectively somewhere else. The irrational fear of bankruptcy is founded, but it is erroneous. The fear is based on what's called "cascading cross defaults" or "credit freeze". What this term means is that as all companies are tied together through credit, should big players begin to shut down, one shut-down will lead to another and another and another until there is no company left standing. A world-wide domino effect. That's the worry and it should be. However, it is taken out of context. We must remember that in bankruptcies (even large ones) true wealth is not destroyed, it simply changes hands. What is destroyed is the worthless assets that were in the books but were…well…worthless to begin with. As such even in a world-wide domino effect, this problem would be sorted out fairly quickly. This is so because the larger the bankruptcy, the larger the business opportunity. Think about it. If you local bread maker goes out of business, you won't benefit too much from the sale of their assets. However, if a local supermarket gets bankrupted, chances are you will find something you really like at a deep, deep discount. The bottom line is that even in this world-wide domino effect, things would be cleaned-up pretty quickly. Don't believe us? You are right in so doing. We could be mistaken. Just check reality. We give you Iceland. They allowed big players to go bankrupt. Nothing horrible happened. Hummm….. QE good inflation - Intended As we mentioned previously, QE is intended to create inflation; just the right amount. In terms of Monetarist/Keynesian thinking, it is known that printing will create inflation with a delay and too much inflation is destructive. Thus, at some point in the future "excess" inflation needs to be "mopped-up" to prevent an "overheating" of the economy (i.e. an orgy of market activity artificially spurred by easy money). Thus, at some point in the future interest rates will have to be raised. No problem. Everything will be under control. QE oscillating inflation - Achieved There is only one tiny issue with this process; it is bollocks! To our knowledge in the entire history of all countries in the world over the last 200+ years there has been only on occasion where a "soft landing" was achieved. This was in US during the Greenspan era. One in 200+ years. What economists refer to when they speak about "soft landing" is the idea that undesirable inflation can be eliminated without creating an economic recession. Think about it. If a Central Bank is pumping money into the markets, the markets respond accordingly and become dependent upon this money. If the money is reduced or cut-off, markets will retract and create a recession. As history proves, this is almost impossible to achieve. In reality what we have is overshooting and undershooting. Either "too little" inflation is created or "too much" inflation is observed. It almost never works. Meanwhile, you have to ride the rollercoaster! QE hyperinflation averted - Intended Part of the previously described process of "soft landing" is the idea that no matter how much money one pumps into the economy, it is always possible to raise interest rates so much that hyperinflation can be averted. Case in point is that most hyperinflation cases happen in non-developed countries. It is obvious that they don't know how to properly manage an economy. There is no risk here. QE hyperinflation will happen - Not Yet Achieved So far their position seems to be in line with current economic conditions, but the question is if this will last. We won't keep you in suspense, it won't. All non-developed countries have exactly the same tools that Central Banker in developed ones have. They all use them. This is not rocket science yet, somehow, we see bouts of hyperinflation sprouting up here and there all the time. What's going on? Simple. The current scenario is that a most money pumped into the banks is still sitting in banks, there will be no hyperinflation. But at some point in the future, banks will begin to loan simply because they must or go broke. When this happens, inflation will inexorably begin to creep up and up and up with no ceiling in sight. How high will it go depends of the amount of previously printed money. Even if the government stops printing (fat chance), we will still have hyperinflation. As interest rates rise, people tend to deposit their money in the bank because of high returns of investment. But banks cannot "deposit" their money and get even higher returns (which they would need to make a profit). Thus, they loan this money at astronomical interest rates and the companies taking those loans can only pass those expenses to the consumer… who experience even higher inflation rates! It is a self-reinforcing mechanism on steroids. There isn't a single country in the world, ever, that managed to come out from hyperinflation through market adjustments performed by Central Banks. The only way out is a shock…involving a total change in currency and a complete stop to printing…for a little while. Hyperinflation is inevitably in our future. The only question is when and what will governments do. 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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/19477	Images of faces, a house, a hanged man Images of faces, a house, a hanged man. More faces stitched onto the painting, and a mummy. Children’s drawings, dead bodies. Texts. Captions. Folds. A raft, yes I remember a raft also, stitched onto colour stains and drips along with footprints, a snail, and a house. But when I think of the different Airmail Paintings I have seen over the years, the faces predominate. And a particular sense of lightness which has to do with the materiality of these paintings on white, non-woven fabric, or brown wrapping paper — paintings that are unfolded rather than stretched, and which announce in their folds another mode of existence as letters sent through the post in airmail envelopes. It takes time to look at this work, time to read it. Here looking is already a kind of remembering. As you walk along the frieze-like rows of images extending along the wall in the History of the Human Face, for instance, but also when you look at a single sheet piece such as Pieta, seeing elements the conscious experience and memory of attempting to correlate different elements that do not integrate into a single vision. Hence the memory of encountering this work as repeated moments of looking, of following traces and leads in the folds of these gatherings of images, out of envelopes onto gallery walls, and yet always in transit. Moments of contact that yield no synthesis, no revelation, or other point of narrative closure. I remember my excitement the first I came across Dittborn’s work. The beauty and intelligence in its immodest use of cheap and found materials, its insistent seriousness all the while playfully manipulating established formats and techniques. I find these paintings deeply moving and intellectually challanging at the same time. In part at least, the challenge they present is to understand their affective power. In what follows I want to concentrate on this relation which, initially, may be formulated as a question. How can we articulate visual pleasure when it is so closely bound up with the transitory, this ceaseless oscillation between the mirage of identity and the non-identical? Every element in the Airmail Paintings is multiply mediated. Found photographs from different sources are re-photographed, sometimes repeatedly xeroxed, enlarged and photo-silkscreened onto industrial non-woven fabric, normally used for lining and stiffening jackets. Fragments of texts are enlarged, drawings are transferred from personal diaries, art history books, and “how to draw” manuals. Continuous lines are both suggested and broken in the stitches which hold in place further elements while drawing attention to the work’s materiality, halfway between fabric and paper. On the envelopes exhibited as part of the paintings, every journey they have made is carefully recorded. In this way the specific yet shifting relations of each element to its source or origin is emphasized, in fact the very notion of origin is recast as a simulacra of the image’s traffic and travel through different media, times and places. As one perceptive commentator on Dittborn’s work put it: [W]hat emerges is a paradoxical insight. The work makes absolutely specific its point of origin and destination in time and space, and at the same time intimates that there is no absolute point of origin and destination. It rescues a notion of the local, only to show that the local, like the global, is an abstraction, the conjunction of many planes of experience and time scales. Conversely, it ranges the global and participates in the international “research community” of the artistic vanguard, only to point out that it is the product of a specific cultural history. What then is the pleasure we take in these works which draw us into their visual field without allowing us to settle there and inhabit them with our ready-made concepts and ideas? How do we look at those faces from police files and anthropology books of people long dead, anonymous, killed off, given European names for the record, their “identity” the product of social technologies? How do we measure the distance of these remote faces which nonetheless touch us? In his work, Dittborn stages the human face as the site of an extreme and irreducible encounter. In the juxtaposition of photographs, police artists’ renderings and drawings by his seven-year-old daughter, the face is emphasized as (con)figuration. Cognitively, a photographic portrait and a circle with two dots and a line both register as faces. Yet we immediately begin to differentiate. A face is never simply a face. Even in the most fleeting encounter we look for expression, which is to say that we look for difference from, and excess to the configuration of simply “a face.” This difference can pertain to a collectivity, an ethnic group for example, or to individual difference, recognizing a particular person. It can pertain to internal states and emotions: concentration, sadness, alertness, apathy; or respond to something external: staring, frowning, laughing at. To look at a face is to look for a way to measure the distance, not between some pre-existing reality and its subsequent representations, but within the folds, seams and stitches of the configuration which constitutes a face. To look at a face then, is to look at and for something that in its very nature never coincides with itself. To Return (RTM) Airmail Painting No.103 1993 Eugenio Dittborn born 1943 Presented by the Latin American Acquisitions Committee, with funds provided by the American Fund for the Tate Gallery 2004 The predominance and particular arrangement of faces in the Airmail Paintings, I want to suggest, point us in a direction where notions of transit, and of folding/unfolding, begin to cohere around a particular relation that is established vis a vis the face. When we look at a face we do so as subjects who themselves have and make faces. No matter where and how we come across the History of the Human Face (begun in 1989), our own face makes us party to that history. Yet, we do not recognize ourselves in the other’s face. As Roberto Merino put it, “these printed gazes are equivalent to fossilized light – the light that reaches us from the stars long after they have been extinguished.”We do not identify the faces (we identify particular representational formats and techniques), even less do we identify with them. What we make out instead is the gap that separates us from those faces, and a displacement which occurs with respect to our own location and identity. Thus, it is precisely in what forges our common humanity, that the limits of identity and the identifiable are most strongly felt.

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