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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13427 | Faronics Support - Closed September 2, 2019
Posted by Adam Zilliax on 29 August 2019 10:59 AM
The Faronics Support team will be closed in observance of the Labor Day holiday in Canada and the United States on September 2, 2019.
Support services will re-open as normal on September 3rd.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13429 | Photobook Submission Open
We are very excited to announce submissions are now open for our upcoming photobook show in Russia.
We invite people to submit photobooks at any stage of production and distribution, from handmade prototypes and dummies, to one off, published and self published photobooks. Check out our shows page to see previous editions.
I Book Show will exhibit about 80 photobooks in St Petersberg over a long weekend in May 2017, showcasing a wide demographic of work currently being produced around the world.
As with our previous shows, we encourage people to donate their photobook to the Photobookshow archive which is held in Brighton, England. As part of the archive your photobook will be documented on our website, and available for people to view outside of shows.
We also sometimes hold archive shows like the ones in Malmo, Sweden, and Kiev, Ukraine. So even if your work is not shown this time it could still be exhibited at a future show.
We look forward to seeing your work! Here is some more info: |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13435 | FERS Disability Retirement from the Office of Personnel Management: How is it?
How is it that the world became the way it is without our knowing it? How is it that the rules were already in place, the lands already divided, the waters already polluted, the debt already ballooning, the inventions already made — how did that come about, and who told us the history of the “what”, “when” and “where” of the past? Can a society long endure while ignoring the past of how it developed and came into being? And who gets to tell the tale of who we are, how we came to be, and why we are the way we are?
Berkeley’s epistemological approach was to confine knowledge to that which we can perceive, thereby attempting to limit the problems inherent in Being, Truth and Reality. Like so many of the British Empiricists, philosophy was being reduced to mere “language” difficulties and, indeed, history itself may bear out their “rightness” in this question and problematic approach. There is, of course, a quiet revolution going on about our past, our history, and the telling of who we are. That is always a good thing, so long as “Truth” is the end-goal of such an endeavor.
But when Truth itself has become relativized as mere language games malleable in the hands for greater artificial intelligence, and where algorithms rule instead of human input which confines it within stated ethical boundaries (and even that is questionable, given the underlying motives and intent of human beings generally), then perhaps Wittgenstein was right after all; it is all a matter of who sees the “truth”, who gets to “tell” it, and who maintains the Tower of Babel in this universe of increasingly unfettered liberty.
In the end, the “how” of the world will forever be revised as perspectives, opinions and viewpoints change; but it is the “who” that controls the lifestream of information and historical data as to what is important; and in this Orwellian world where the glut of information has relativized all truths, we care less about the “how” than the “who”, anymore.
For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition now impacts the Federal or Postal worker’s ability and capacity to perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s position, the history — or the “how — is important in preparing and formulating one’s Statement of Disability as posited on SF 3112A. However, remember that all historical contexts must be provided in streamlined form; for, causality is not an issue in a Federal Disability Retirement application (whereas, in OWCP cases, it almost always is), and thus undue focus upon the “how” can detract from an effective Statement of Disability as reflected on SF 3112A.
The world around us may be concerned with the “How” of a question; for an OPM Disability Retirement case, it is the more current “what” that is the necessary focus of articulation.
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13438 | License Compliance (ULTIMATE)
Introduced in GitLab Ultimate 11.0.
If you are using GitLab CI/CD, you can search your project dependencies for their licenses using License Compliance.
You can take advantage of License Compliance by either including the job in your existing .gitlab-ci.yml file or by implicitly using Auto License Compliance that is provided by Auto DevOps.
GitLab checks the License Compliance report, compares the licenses between the source and target branches, and shows the information right on the merge request. Blacklisted licenses will be clearly visible with an x red icon next to them as well as new licenses which need a decision from you. In addition, you can manually approve or blacklist licenses in your project's settings.
NOTE: Note: If the license compliance report doesn't have anything to compare to, no information will be displayed in the merge request area. That is the case when you add the license_management job in your .gitlab-ci.yml for the first time. Consecutive merge requests will have something to compare to and the license compliance report will be shown properly.
License Compliance Widget
If you are a project or group Maintainer, you can click on a license to be given the choice to approve it or blacklist it.
License approval decision
Use cases
It helps you find what licenses your project uses in its dependencies, and decide for each of then whether to allow it or forbid it. For example, your application is using an external (open source) library whose license is incompatible with yours.
Supported languages and package managers
The following languages and package managers are supported.
Language Package managers Scan Tool
JavaScript Bower, npm, yarn (experimental support) License Finder
Go Godep, go get (experimental support), gvt (experimental support), glide (experimental support), dep (experimental support), trash (experimental support) and govendor (experimental support), go mod (experimental support) License Finder
Java Gradle, Maven License Finder
.NET Nuget License Finder
Python pip License Finder
Ruby gem License Finder
Erlang rebar (experimental support) License Finder
Objective-C, Swift Carthage , CocoaPods v0.39 and below (experimental support) License Finder
Elixir mix (experimental support) License Finder
C++/C conan (experimental support) License Finder
Scala sbt (experimental support) License Finder
Rust cargo (experimental support) License Finder
PHP composer (experimental support) License Finder
To run a License Compliance scanning job, you need GitLab Runner with the docker executor.
For GitLab 11.9 and later, to enable License Compliance, you must include the License-Management.gitlab-ci.yml template that's provided as a part of your GitLab installation. For GitLab versions earlier than 11.9, you can copy and use the job as defined that template.
Add the following to your .gitlab-ci.yml file:
template: License-Management.gitlab-ci.yml
The included template will create a license_management job in your CI/CD pipeline and scan your dependencies to find their licenses.
The results will be saved as a License Compliance report artifact that you can later download and analyze. Due to implementation limitations, we always take the latest License Compliance artifact available. Behind the scenes, the GitLab License Compliance Docker image is used to detect the languages/frameworks and in turn analyzes the licenses.
The License Compliance settings can be changed through environment variables by using the variables parameter in .gitlab-ci.yml.
Available variables
License Compliance can be configured using environment variables.
Environment variable Required Description
MAVEN_CLI_OPTS no Additional arguments for the mvn executable. If not supplied, defaults to -DskipTests.
LICENSE_FINDER_CLI_OPTS no Additional arguments for the license_finder executable. For example, if your project has both Golang and Ruby code stored in different directories and you want to only scan the Ruby code, you can update your .gitlab-ci-yml template to specify which project directories to scan, like LICENSE_FINDER_CLI_OPTS: '--debug --aggregate-paths=. ruby'.
LM_JAVA_VERSION no Version of Java. If set to 11, Maven and Gradle use Java 11 instead of Java 8.
LM_PYTHON_VERSION no Version of Python. If set to 3, dependencies are installed using Python 3 instead of Python 2.7.
SETUP_CMD no Custom setup for the dependency installation. (experimental)
Installing custom dependencies
Introduced in GitLab Ultimate 11.4.
The license_management image already embeds many auto-detection scripts, languages, and packages. Nevertheless, it's almost impossible to cover all cases for all projects. That's why sometimes it's necessary to install extra packages, or to have extra steps in the project automated setup, like the download and installation of a certificate. For that, a LICENSE_MANAGEMENT_SETUP_CMD environment variable can be passed to the container, with the required commands to run before the license detection.
If present, this variable will override the setup step necessary to install all the packages of your application (e.g.: for a project with a Gemfile, the setup step could be bundle install).
For example:
template: License-Management.gitlab-ci.yml
In this example, is a shell script at the root directory of your project.
Overriding the template
If you want to override the job definition (for example, change properties like variables or dependencies), you need to declare a license_management job after the template inclusion and specify any additional keys under it. For example:
template: License-Management.gitlab-ci.yml
CI_DEBUG_TRACE: "true"
Configuring Maven projects
The License Compliance tool provides a MAVEN_CLI_OPTS environment variable which can hold the command line arguments to pass to the mvn install command which is executed under the hood. Feel free to use it for the customization of Maven execution. For example:
template: License-Management.gitlab-ci.yml
MAVEN_CLI_OPTS: --debug
mvn install runs through all of the build life cycle stages prior to install, including test. Running unit tests is not directly necessary for the license scanning purposes and consumes time, so it's skipped by having the default value of MAVEN_CLI_OPTS as -DskipTests. If you want to supply custom MAVEN_CLI_OPTS and skip tests at the same time, don't forget to explicitly add -DskipTests to your options. If you still need to run tests during mvn install, add -DskipTests=false to MAVEN_CLI_OPTS.
Selecting the version of Python
License Compliance uses Python 3.5 and pip 19.1 by default. If your project requires Python 2, you can switch to Python 2.7 and pip 10.0 by setting the LM_PYTHON_VERSION environment variable to 2.
template: License-Management.gitlab-ci.yml
Project policies for License Compliance
Introduced in GitLab Ultimate 11.4.
From the project's settings:
• The list of licenses and their status can be managed.
• Licenses can be manually approved or blacklisted.
To approve or blacklist a license:
1. Either use the Manage licenses button in the merge request widget, or navigate to the project's Settings > CI/CD and expand the License Compliance section.
2. Click the Add a license button.
License Compliance Add License
3. In the License name dropdown, either:
• Select one of the available licenses. You can search for licenses in the field at the top of the list.
• Enter arbitrary text in the field at the top of the list. This will cause the text to be added as a license name to the list.
4. Select the Approve or Blacklist radio button to approve or blacklist respectively the selected license.
To modify an existing license:
1. In the License Compliance list, click the Approved/Declined dropdown to change it to the desired status.
License Compliance Settings
Searching for Licenses:
1. Use the Search box to search for a specific license.
License Compliance Search
License Compliance report under pipelines
Introduced in GitLab Ultimate 11.2.
From your project's left sidebar, navigate to CI/CD > Pipelines and click on the pipeline ID that has a license_management job to see the Licenses tab with the listed licenses (if any).
License Compliance Pipeline Tab |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13440 | Swyer syndrome is characterized by a 46 XY karyotype (Pic. 1), a female phenotype with normal female external genitalia, and a hypoplastic to normal uterus, streak gonads and primary amenorrhea (missing menstruation cycles). A person diagnosed with Swyer syndrome is a female with altered genetic information containing male sex chromosomes. It belongs to the category of sexual abnormality. Gonads have no hormonal or reproductive potential. This leads to hormonal imbalance characterized by elevated gonadotropins, normal female levels of androgens and low levels of oestrogens. Streak gonads display fibrous tissue that vaguely resembles ovarian stroma but no follicles can be found. Majority of patients suffering from Swyer syndrome show minimal breast development. Minimal breast enlargement reflects peripheral aromatization of androgens (the chemical transformation of androgens into female sex hormones happening in peripheral tissues of the body).
Swyer syndrome is hard to detect as before puberty (even in normal females) the ovaries play little or no role in bodily changes. The problem manifests itself at puberty as a result of an inability of the streak gonads to produce sex hormones (both oestrogens and androgens). The incidence of Swyer syndrome reported in literature is 1: 100 000.
The etiology of 46XY, gonadal dysgenesis is believed to be deletion (missing part of genetic information) of short arm of Y chromosome involving the sex determining region of Y (SRY) gene, mutation in other genes leading to inhibition of SRY function, or mutation of SRY itself. In another words, there are some parts of chromosomal DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) responsible for gonadal development, such as SRY gene. If such part of DNA is missing, changed or dysfunctional, the development of gonads goes wrong.
DNA genetic information basically represent a “recite” for protein production. SRY gene encodes a specific protein called TFD (testis-determining factor). TDF initiates male sex determination. Mutations in this gene give rise to XY females with gonadal dysgenesis (Swyer syndrome). Some studies revealed that SRY gene is not missing in Swyer syndrome patients so the most probable cause is its mutation.
Swyer syndrome affects early development of an embryo through mutated SRY gene. In embryonic stage the bipotential gonads can differentiate either into the male or female direction, depending on the correct and timely expression of specific genes. With the expression of SRY male sex differentiation is initiated, resulting in the full masculinization of internal and external genital structures. Thus testicular Anti- Mullerian Hormone (AMH) causes regression of the mullerian duct structures (uterus and fallopian tube) whereas androgens cause stabilization and development of the Wolfian duct structures (epididymis, vas deferens and seminal vesicles) and the formation of the prostate and the male external genitalia. In Swyer syndrome patient’s mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) are in atrophy, paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts) develops to uterus, fallopian tubes and part of the vagina as a result of lacking testosterone and inhibitor of Müllerian ducts.
The diagnosis of Swyer syndrome is based upon general examination (sex characteristics of the body, weight, height, ect.) combined with hormonal blood tests (sex hormone concentrations and closely related gonadotropin concentrations; the hormones directing the function of gonads), genetic analysis and monitoring of genital development within the body.
There’s no way to cure Swyer syndrome in affected persons. That means that the therapy consists of systematic treatment of symptoms related to Swyer syndrome. Early diagnosis is essential, not only because of the need to be aware of the risk of gonadal malignancy, but also because hormonal therapy is vital for the induction of puberty. Hormone replacement is also necessary to prevent osteoporosis. Bilateral gonadectomy (surgical removal of both gonads) is often recommended due to the high risk (20-30 % chance) of tumour development (Pic. 2).
Associated diseases
• gonadoblastoma
• dysgerminoma
• embryonal carcinoma
• infertility
• osteoporosis
• gonadoblastoma (bening tumour of germ cells and sex cord stroma)
• dysgerminoma (germ cell tumour)
Risk factors
• genetic predispositions
Swyer syndrome causes complete infertility. A women suffering from XY gonadal dysgenesis develops all reproductive organs (vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes) except the ovaries. Instead of ovaries, dysfunctional streak gonads develop that are unable to produce reproductive cells – oocytes. As there are no functional gonads, no sex hormones (necessary for proper function of other reproductive organs) are produced. Nevertheless, after proper hormonal treatment, which restores functionality of uterus, there is a possibility for a women suffering from Swyer syndrome to become pregnant using donated oocytes.
As mentioned above, Swyer syndrome is related with genetic information alterations. Now days there are procedures focusing on genetic analysis that can reveal such alteration in in gametes or embryos. Specifically, the PGS (pre-implantation genetic screening)/PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis) allows studying the DNA of eggs or embryos to select those that carry certain damaging characteristics. This assisted reproduction technique may help to reveal the abnormalities of sex determining regions of DNA in time.
• delayed puberty
• primary amenorrhea
• increased level of FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone)
• low oestrogen conecentrations
• minimal breast enlargement
• minimal development of pubic hair (sparse pubic hair)
None available.
Psychological therapy
Due to altered physical aspects some psychic problems may appear so the counselling with psychologist or psychiatrist may be recommended.
Hormonal replacement therapy (HRT)
Hormonal replacement therapy is applied to induce puberty (in child patients), to prevent osteoporosis and restore hormonal balance within the body. This includes oestrogen administration and a progesterone administration, in case of women who wish to become mothers. The oestrogen administration not only helps to prevent complications related with this syndrome, but also prepares the uterus for implementation of fertilized oocyte. Consequential progesterone administration is necessary to maintain the pregnancy.
Surgical therapy
Gonadectomy is strongly recommended to prevent gonadal tumour development.
The assisted reproduction clinics offer to a patient suffering from Swyer syndrome a solution to infertility problem. Thanks to donation programme the patient may use donated oocytes for in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intra-cytoplasmic injection (ICSI). Before the IVF or ICSI cycle can begin, the HRT must take place in order, to prepare the uterus for embryo implementation.
Donated oocytes are stored using cryopreservation (storage of oocytes within extremely low temperatures). After thawing proceedure they may be used for fertilization of an oocyte under laboratory conditions. The IVF procedure involves the fertilization of an oocyte with sperm sample containing up to 100 000 sperm cells. ICSI procedure involves a single sperm carefully injected into the centre of donated egg using a microneedle. After fertilization of an oocyte, its implementation within the functional uterus follows. This is called as embryo transfer procedure.
Find more about related issues
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13484 | Jump to content
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1. From Latvia the vote for the UK to Leave the EU looks very gloomy as well. The UK was the main Western European partner of the Baltic states and Poland in regards to EU's Russia policy - the French, Italians, etcetera are much softer towards the Russians. Germany is not to be trusted - Merkel is good for us, but we remember Gerhard Schroeder, we see the parties that he attends and the post he holds, courtesy of Gazprom. Frank-Walter Steinmeier is a dove towards Russia, too, calling NATO exercises with less than 10,000 troops in all in Latvia-Lithuania-Estonia a provocation against Russia (which recently announced that it was creating three [!] new divisions on its western borders in addition to the roughly 100,000 troops it already has stationed there). That is in regards to the security support in the EU's political arena we feel slipping away. Another thing is the economic and demographic impact this may well have on Latvia, which is a bit more knotty. On the one hand, it won't be so easy for Latvians to hop on a Ryanair flight to go start a new life in the UK. Immigrants may be good for you, but emigrants are bad for us - the overwhelming majority don't come back. So this severing of ties probably isn't going to affect the situation much anyway - Latvians living in the UK will still visit Latvia, send remittances home and so on, but it's not like many were coming back for good anyway. At the same time, those who are thinking of trying to move back to Latvia will probably choose to stay in the UK for good if they know that they won't be able to come back to the UK easily once you all Leave. The Latvian forestry and furniture industry exports a lot to the UK - they might get hit if trade goes to shit. At the same time, I can understand those who voted Leave, especially on the question of immigration. It was probably too much, too fast. Fifty and sixty year olds alive today have seen London go from 86% White British to 45% - that's a massive demographic and ethnic change in the course of a very short period of time. Latvia has experiences with that, as well - more than million Soviet migrants came to Latvia over the course of 45 years, leading to the share of native Latvians dropping from close to 80% to just over 50% country-wide. We're still struggling very much with this legacy of colonialism and forced ethno-linguistic demographic change, and while the UK is undoubtedly in a stronger position to assimilate and integrate migrants, who luckily don't share one general country of origin or common language (and not being occupied by Polish, Romanian, or Pakistani military forces and policed by their secret services and apparatchiks), it must be very uncomfortable for the older generations to see the streets where they grew up changed by people who look, walk, and talk completely differently - who have different shops and different values, some of them completely at odds with British culture. That's what Ben Judah, a British Jew and journalist, seems to be quite sure of - that the vote was very much about immigration, that the EU and real EU policies were just a formal front. @Dante - one month on, what is going on? It seems there is no plan still, no idea how to move forward.
2. Of course fascism has returned to Europe. And Putin is schmoozer extraordinaire with both the parties of the far right and far left. I encourage you to check out the voting patterns and actions of your dear far-left parties, how they voted together with far-right parties against a resolution condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine. Die Linke, Bulgarian, Greek, and Czech communists, etc... http://anton-shekhovtsov.blogspot.com/2014/04/pro-russian-national-bolshevik-alliance.html#more http://anton-shekhovtsov.blogspot.com/2014/04/fascist-vultures-of-hungarian-jobbik.html http://anton-shekhovtsov.blogspot.com/2014/03/moscows-friendship-with-european-far.html Putin is a fascist, make no mistake. Russia is the most fascistic state in Europe, and it is the one supporting the Fronte Nationale, Jobbik, and the other scumbags you rail against. Except the far left is in on it, too.
3. Jayzus, Edric, I knew you were a Communist, but I never thought I would see you defending Putin's Russia because of their tough stance on the "fascists in Kiev". Fascists in Kyiv, really? What are you on, those fofas stored in old Soviet fallout bunkers? Nevermind that the new people in power in Kyiv shot dead Sashko Bily, a Right Sector boss, in a special forces operation, nevermind that Turchynov vetoed the annulment of the 2012 language law. Nevermind that pro-Russian "self-defence forces" with serious weaponry, with the same high level of professionalism, took over municipal buildings in Donbass. Right? Nevermind that Russia is waging a farcical infowar, like when they "retrieved" Yarosh's business card, money, and other shite from two cars that were burnt-out after an attack on a separatist checkpoint. All of which was in perfect condition, despite the state of the vehicles. "Enemy of my enemy is my friend"... What a joke. Take a look at the newest laws adopted in the Russian Duma, check out Pavel Durov, founder of VKontakte (Russia's Facebook) being forced out of his company and leaving the country because FSB goons wanted him to hand over data on users that were supporting Ukraine on the website. Check out the "concerned" and self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk, who said that he stop elections from taking place by taking someone and "stringing him up by the balls", who threatened to shoot local people who were caught with leaflets dropped by a Ukrainian helicopter about the situation in their city. You're delusional if you think that Russia didn't at least covertly support these thugs, if you think that elements in the Russian government haven't been supporting them for years. The mysterious "self-defence" forces with state-of-the-art weaponry and training, the people who tortured Volodymyr Rybak, a local councilman, and a student of a Kyiv university, cut open their stomachs, and tossed them in the river. They may have gotten out of control, but have no doubt that Moscow was helping these pigs out. I won't even address what MrFlibble has written, to be honest I feel sorry for the guy, living in the Russian infospace. He'd probably say that Yuriy Verbytsky, a 54-year-old seismologist who worked at the National Academy of Sciences, was a Right Sector militant who got what was coming to him. As well as insisting that the Crimean forces were "self-defence", except oops, Putin admitted that Russian forces were in there from the start, and saying that those shot dead on the Maidan during the events of 18-21 of February were shot by their own side - just like protesters in Vilnius, Riga, Tbilisi and other places were shot down by an unknown "third element" when the Soviet Union was coming down. Nationalist provocateurs, right? Man, it's bullshit - I can appreciate a different point of view, but you're just regurgitating Kremlin propaganda. So far, the only people who have been disappeared and found dead have been Euromaidan activists, locals who were against the pro-Russian separatists, a Ukrainian soldier and Tatar in Crimea... "Enemy of my enemy"... Psshaw. Go rub shoulders with Zhirinovsky, those corrupt old commies, and Dugin. You said something about Churchill? He said, "The fascists of the future will call themselves anti-fascists." Prescient old bulldog.
4. Well now this is interesting, because it seems to me that an increase in the number of fascists/neo-Nazis who are open and vocal about it would actually be a boon to leftists. I mean that in the sense that anarchists, communists, and socialists would benefit from a more concrete enemy. There is the IMF and the World Bank, and the EU and (especially) Merkel and those darned Germans(not to mention their lapdogs in the Greek parliament), but they're all(with the exception of the mainstream party MPs) rather - far off. If you know what I mean. Ephemeral. The majority of Greeks haven't seen the IMF, or Merkel, and never will. The Golden Dawn, on the other hand, are a real presence on the streets of cities in Greece. Now it's just a matter of which side's propoganda the Greek people will respond to. But I have a feeling that it might really come down to picking sides. As far as I'm aware, most(if not all) Communist revolutions or upsurges happened only when there was a real and present threat that people could feel, see, hear. I'm not sure there's anything you can really do about those fascists, except give them a taste of their own medicine.
5. I'm quite interested in the Greek military. On the one hand, it probably should get a downsize - military conflict with Turkey any time soon seems very unlikely. On the other, what would the reaction of the military be to any potential reduction of its power? I remember several months ago there was a shakeup among the highest levels of the military, and several former and current high-ranking military officers publicly and loudly protested any cuts in the defence budget. I'm not entertaining the thought of a Greek military coup being probable at all, but recent history might explain the reticence of Greece's political leaders to take away money from the armed forces. Perhaps it's an in-grained matter of national pride or feeling of safety - a strong military to guard against potential attack by an increasingly powerful Turkey, the left-overs of the junta now holding powerful posts and holding out against cuts... I have to agree with Wolf about Greeks - ordinary, regular Greeks - having to shoulder a good deal of responsibility for this. I see parallels with Latvia's boom and bust - easy, cheap credit for many Latvian mortgages(ours was a real-estate bubble) from Scandinavian banks. Sure, the banks "enabled" and encouraged reckless credit-taking, but many people simply didn't think things through. The difference is that Latvians took their punishment quite stoically - only one major riot, when about 1000 people threw bricks at the Parliament and looted alcohol stores in the center of Riga, which was and still is in marked difference to Greece. From there comes news of strikes seemingly every day that bring things to a standstill, a foolish reliance on central government handouts, and a lot of militant posturing by anarchists and communists. What the protesters don't seem ready to do, though, is lay down their lives in pursuit of a revolution or radical change. A few years ago, I lapped up the riot porn coming out of Greece and other places. Now it just seems so tired and worn out. I can't help but notice the differences in protests and activism between Greece and its neighbours across the sea. Egyptians got rid of their dictator after just over two weeks of bloody uprisings... Whereas the Greeks are obviously very angry, but it's just a morass of constant strikes, cat-and-mouse games between student rock-throwers and riot police, and general chaos that rumbles on and on. Anyway, the Latvian government that came to power in 2009 decided quite quickly that it was going to play by IMF/EU rules and enacted deeply punishing cuts. We had the highest rate of unemployment in the EU, at around 22%, the wages of public servants were cut by roughly 25%... And this was all generally accepted by the public at large. For better or for worse - depends on whether you think meekly submitting to the demands of an institution like the IMF is a good or bad thing. Now, though, we're slowly but steadily recuperating. I suppose much of it is just a difference of accepted tactics and temperaments, but the Greeks should temper their expectations of a good, easy life and exchange them for something much more unpleasant and realistic... And get on with it. Greece's economy... Well, there's not much of it. Olive oil, shipping, and tourism. Can't help thinking they've been living beyond their means for too long, and the hangover has come around.
6. What are the examples being set to the rioters & looters & thieves? Interesting point of view. I think that the most accurate and striking of these comparisons is the one about the bankers. If the bankers profiteer and then the taxpayer has to pay for their recklessness, why shouldn't the rioters do the same? Edit: Source - http://thesnowolf.com/2011/08/a-few-thoughts.html
7. Arnoldo, the Indians should know what they're talking about, as a Guardian contributor writes: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/10/uk-riots-political-classes And Dragoon, I understand that you feel angry and outraged, but you should be wary of making sweeping statements like that. Even if the riots were apolitical and the rioters not waving placards and making demands, it doesn't mean that these events didn't have deeper causes or explanations. Of course, since the riots seem apolitical it's easy for both the left and right to project their explanations onto it, and getting to any halfway objective agreement is going to be a lost cause. Not that people shouldn't try, of course... Even if it's me calling up The Spirit Level, which shows that more equal societies are less likely to experience crime of all sorts. Just my 2 cents.
8. Mihail
O Canada!
This is for all the wonderful Canadians who visit, frequent, or indeed own this forum. I've been mulling over for a while a possible (drastic) course of action, something that I might do within the next few years - moving to Canada, either temporarily or permanently. Now, from what I've seen this is no easy task. To work(and thus get government approval to stay there, and, to a degree, survive) you need to have a Canadian employer jump through the hoops for you, prove that they need you and can't make do with a Canadian applicant, etc. Studying there, unless it's for a Masters degree, is out of the question - the costs are simply too high and I'm not too confident in my ability to get a scholarship, as well as not wanting to take on massive debt so early on in life. Canada and Latvia have a visa agreement - I can go there for 6 months without having to get a "serious" visa(so say Wikitravel and some other websites), so I might just do that next summer holiday. The reason? Europe is stifling. Latvia especially so. If I don't feel that I'm improving my life and my society there after this year, or maybe two, I'm simply going to take off for a while, get a breath of fresh (Canadian) air. The USA is out for reasons that I can't articulate... But I would very much love to explore the beauty of British Columbia and the Yukon, hitch-hike from the West coast to the East(Toronto - Vancouver, smth like that), experience things that simply won't appear in Latvia for many years yet. But the reason why I'm making this thread is to ask those who know how difficult this would be, thoughts on what it's like to live in Canada, how much slogging grunt work it would take for an Eastern European to eke out a residency & work permit from the gov't. Pictures are welcome, too. Thanks!
9. Well, no. People are fools to go and buy the product before they get results. It's called marketing, and "customer testimonials" - and you can bet that something like 3/4 of those testimonials were cooked up by an Indian writer somewhere in Mumbai. Secondly, "real facts" are often twisted and any MD who goes on TV to sell this new super-jacket - well, I'm amazed if you don't believe he has his own agenda. Especially with Greece as gutted as it is, don't you think those doctors would like to make some quick, easy money? Hell, supposed Phd-wielding "doctors" also endorse penis enlargement pills on the Internet. When I first stumbled on ads like that - I was around 12, I think - I was amazed that people would fall for this. I don't need to be patient since I'm not eagerly awaiting this jacket at all. I'd rather Greece or Greek inventors did something truly worthwhile - clean up the murderous air pollution of Athens, for example. Look, they even say that people won't feel anything: "This has led many people to overstate the potential benefits of the FIR-TEX can offer and to make unsubstantiated or false allegations which the FIR-TEX rejects. Before you buy a product you should know firstly that the FIR -TEX is not designed and not presented in any way as medical treatment. Because it is not! aim of FIR-TEX is to introduce technological materials on the market and its products will help some people to perform better or feel better while others will not perceive any difference or even feel uncomfortable." It's just a fancy plastic vest, helped along by large amounts of placebo and many desperate people willing to try anything. Remember those Alex Chiu's magnet immortality rings? Yah. Same thing.
10. I find it ironic that you tell me the BBC is not a good source for information about medical news, yet state that you get the information "mainly [from] the TV". If you start a thread about a new technology or medicine that is little-known, don't you think you should provide more information about it other than ?Ah, here we go. Source: Disabled.gr My conclusion - sounds like bullshit. Plus read this little disclaimer they have on their website: "See that? that little sentence there - "...but since there is no scientific evidence..."
11. What are you talking about, really? What is this 'nanobionic jacket'? Ok, it's a revolutionary new product, uh-huh. It's also something I expect to see in a FanFiction post, not being touted as a new miracle cure. And diabetics can see improvement if they take insulin, improvement over severe symptoms like vomiting and pissing often. Diabetics, at least type 2 diabetics, can reverse their condition if they eat right for a couple of months soon after being diagnosed. This is my source. Now, when I google 'nanobionic jacket' this thread is the third result from the top. And your post has no content whatsoever. So... what are you talking about, really?
12. Super-speed, coffee mind, that's what Red was thinking while the birds chirped and the sun rose. Coffee yoga, right before the exams. Not like he cared about the exam... It was a real fuckup, no doubt about it. Yawning, he took another swig from the steaming mug. Holy caffeine blitz energy surged through him. The chillum had been carefully placed in the blue ashtray, its bowl containing the ashes of what had been changa, now fine grey remains giving off a slight orange glow. The lowrider was parked outside, its fusion reactor in idle mode but still strong enough to fry all electronics within 4 feet. Poor boys those businessmen, who walked by blabbering into their Blackberries, only to jump in fright as the machines fizzed and spat sparks, and then died a smoky death. Yes, they were damm surprised and those with even a hint of sixth sense had the feeling that it had something to do with the cherry-red convertible... Meanwhile Red was oblivious to this. The coffee had acted as the key, the caffeine in it unlocking his neural pathways as only it could, allowing the full force of the changa to penetrate the seldom-accessed recesses of his mind. White light blinded him, white heat made him shake. All he saw was a vastness, undescribable. Slowly, it shrunk... Until a colossal mesa could be seen in the distance. It, too, was white, but a greyish sort of white – it was Red's grey matter. He zoomed in double-quick, he knew that both the changa and the coffee would only keep working for a little while longer, and he didn't have enough space-time to drink a brew. Short and sweet it would be. Gathering his will, Red summoned from the heavens – of course, any direction was as heavenly as the other in this world – but anyway he summoned from the heavens Star Wormwood, a rainbow laser that created a multi-coloured mist around it. Wormwood struck the mesa, and began to quickly envelope it. As it did, Red heard a sharp intake of breath... It was his body, reacting to the intrusion. But what an intrusion it was! Every atom of the mesa became a perfect diamond, reflecting all the other atoms, creating an infinitely complex structure... This was Red's brain. And he would utilise is as best as he knew. All the world's sounds and music came into his awareness – Beethoven right there beside the chirping of the birds and the rumbling of the jet bombers over Libya and the whale songs in the deep blue ocean. A bass beat then started drumming, slowly at first, picking up speed and intensity until Red's whole consciousness was rumbling with the ba-dump of his heart, the furnace of his existence, pumping Amazon rivers of blood through his mainlines and pipelines. The sound of the surf turned into constant static, clear white noise calming him down, reducing pressure, a release valve for the mind and body. The brilliant mesa began to blur and fade, as consensus reality returned. The smell of cigarettes, the droopy ficus, that red table lamp. Hemingway stared at him from the closet door, black-and-white face glowing. Everything seemed correct, but it could all be improved! The chillum was the exact color dried clay should be – a light grey-brown. His maroon jacket, old and worn, lay on the bed. Red found himself back in his computer chair. He realised he hated the feeling of sitting on his ass all day. Now it was evening, but tomorrow was a whole new day. Climbing into bed, he switched on a thunderstorm and drifted off to the sounds of the dragons of the earth breathing.
13. Mihail
"Why not?" This was one of the reasons for starting to write, again, after a long break. Another is that it would be a character-building exercise - see if I could keep it up, writing every day about several topics which were only loosely related. Started only a few days ago, but so far I've found things to write about, now I just have to hone my skills. In a certain period of time - a few months, a year, two - I'd like to be able to have some income from my writing. Wanted to be a writer since I first read "Dune", that nine(!) years ago, might as well get to it. Write and write and keep writing, it might be rusty, clunky junk at first but I'm confident that it'll get better with time - practice makes better, never perfect. But better is still better. How about all of you? Do you follow any blogs, publish one(or several), make guest posts? What do you enjoy reading about? Mine are a bit of a mix - news about psychedelic drugs, poor-boy travel, and a little guide to my home city.
14. While Howlin' Wolf growled out "Smokestack Lightning", plucking his worn guitar with gusto, an old steam locomotive chugged by behind him, thick black clouds pumping out of its chimney accompanied by sparkling golden sparks. The smoke drifted towards the old musician, long dead but back for BB King's last performance. It enveloped him, fixed him up right good - gave him a pair of cloudy black eyes, a new coaly coat on his skin and everything! Not far off, Shive was shaking his hips and tossing his hair. That old Indian flute music that he was always associated with bored him to hell, and a righteous old blues cat like Wolf was not to be missed. A great opportunity to boogie and let loose! Wherever Shiva stomped his feet, flames would flare and scorch the earth beneath him, incinerating everything that they touched. This was not good for Beedle, the ant who had been enjoying the massive dead black man's music. Now, he found himself in a life-or-death situation, fleeing from those feet! Those destructive blue feet... Scurrying away as fast as he could, Beedle realised it was no use. Shiva was becoming more excited, his stomping flame-feet more active, creating larger circles of destruction. And they were coming towards him! They would catch up with him at any moment. Beedle stopped, turned around. Grimly, he faced the coming destroyer of worlds with clenched mandibles. stomp, fshhh, Stomp, Fshhh, STOMP, FSSHHH!, STOMP!, FFSSHHHHH! As the flames enveloped him, Beedle cried with every atom of his being; "DRAGOON KNIGHT! You blue basterd! [For he had mistaken Shiva for Dragoon Knight, both of them being blue] Vengeance will be miiiiiinnnne!" Chuckling, Howlin' Wolf said: "It shore will, liddle man. Shoore will. Awooohoo! Smokestack lightning..."
15. Lord J, I vaguely remember that article. It was disconcerting and, for lack of a better word, spooky. The story of the patient who claimed he faked craziness to avoid going to jail, but was then put in a psychiatric hospital for 12 years really had me torn. Who was telling the truth? Of course, if there was a "truth" at all, which I'm not inclined to believe. In the comments of that article, somebody mentioned a frankly scary study where sane people faked symptoms to get into a psychiatric hospital. All of them were diagnosed with one disorder or another, and some were confined for several months. Another aspect of the study was to ask staff in psychiatric hospitals to detect patients who were supposedly "fake", sane people who had been planted into the institution. The catch was that there weren't any such patients. Nevertheless, the staff did pick several patients who they thought were "fakes". Ah, found it now. The Rosenhan Study. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenhan_experiment Things like this bother me, if only for the sole reason that I don't like the idea of a person either being mentally ill or normal. I'm not convinced that we can just divide it up like that. Of course, if it looks at issues that take place at a genetic level, then a diagnosis like that holds more weight. But scientists still don't know much more than they know about the human brain, emotions, etc. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, in the case of psychopathy at least. But in regards to the wider issue of mental problems in general, I'm very wary of those who attempt to arbitrarily impose a certain "answer". As a disclaimer, maybe I should add that there is certainly a personal investment in this issue. My ex-girlfriend wants to be a psychiatrist. In school, she excels - top marks for most subjects. But there is something definitely... off with her. I wouldn't call her crazy, since that implies a mania of sorts. 'Messed up' sounds milder to me, so I'll go with that. She is certainly a bit messed up, and it's not only me(as I might) that sees that in her. I wouldn't want her treating me, being my psychiatrist. It's a very queer world, that. Was it in the same article that it's mentioned that psychiatrists have the highest suicide rate of any profession? My two cents. EDIT: Sorry, I should mention that I didn't read the book but the article by Jon Ronson on the Guardian website. Less exhaustive perhaps, but I'm pretty sure the idea is the same.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13495 | Resolution:Alice Wiegand Appointment 2014
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Resolutions Alice Wiegand Appointment 2014 Errors?
This resolution was approved at the August 7, 2014 meeting of the Board of Trustees in London.
Resolved, that Alice Wiegand is appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees for the term beginning on the effective date of Ana Toni's resignation and continuing until December 31, 2014.
Jan-Bart de Vreede, Phoebe Ayers, Bishakha Datta, Samuel Klein, Patricio Lorente, Maria Sefidari, Ana Toni, Jimmy Wales, Stu West
Frieda Brioschi |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13500 | Category Archives: Wild pigs
Large Mammals and the Community Dynamics of an Amazonian Rain Forest; My PhD Thesis
White-lipped peccary crossing Santa Rosa Trail
White-lipped peccary traveling across the forest of Maraca Ecological Reserve, Amazon, Brazil (Photo copyright: Jose MV Fragoso)
For those interested in tropical forests and animals, I am posting my 1994 PhD thesis. This makes available novel views of tropical forest structure and the ecology of large animals that remain unpublished. Enjoy learning details of the lives of mammals and plants and their evolutionary relationships in the Amazon forest. The dissertation/thesis can be downloaded here: Fragoso JMV 1994 Large Mammals and the Community Dynamics of an Amazonian Forest. PhD, University of Florida, USA.
The Amazon rainforest may be home to more animals than previously thought, Stanford scientists show
News report from Stanford University on our research: “By tapping the expertise of indigenous hunters, researchers found that conventional surveying techniques underestimate animal populations and miss species in the remote Amazon. Producing an accurate count is important for planning conservation efforts.” Continue reading
Community livelihoods depend upon accurate wildlife estimates
White-lipped Peccary, Amazon Brazil 114.jpg
In corral behind house
Catitu (foto: Jose MV Fragoso)
Resumo: Continue reading
New Publication: Line Transect Surveys Underdetect Terrestrial Mammals: Implications for the Sustainability of Subsistence Hunting
In corral behind house
Collared peccary (copyright photo Jose MV Fragoso)
Our new paper in the journal PLOS ONE reports that we are grossly under-detecting hunted animal species. The results challenge the many studies showing serious negative impacts of subsistence hunting on wildlife species. Seems like the animals may be hiding from us. This research indicates that we need to reassess how we measure hunting impacts in the tropics.
Read the article:
More than 170 white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) filmed crossing a 2 km wide river in Roraima, Brazil
WLP photo
White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) in Roraima, Brazil (photo by Jose Fragoso).
More than 170 white-lipped peccaries were filmed crossing the Rio Branco River in Caracaraí County, Roraima, Brazil in the Amazon. The peccaries were filmed for over 30 minutes when in the middle of the almost 2 km wide Rio Branco by agents of Brazil’s wildlife agency Ibama. Recording made on November 7, 2015.
View the video here:
Fragoso 2004 article: Fragoso 2004 White-lip dissapearances
Fragoso 1997 article: Fragoso 1997 |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13515 | Are you searching answer for 4 Pics 1 Word 283 level for other game and other platform like Android or iOS? Ok, you can find it on the page 4 Pics 1 Word answers4 Pics 1 Word level 283
On this page you can see four pictures from 4 pics 1 word level 283 Windows Phone game visually to represent level and answer. Under them you will find help and answer to game 4 pics 1 word level 283. If you want to find quickly the answer to the necessary level use the filter on letters on the main page.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13526 | Vincent Grooming Oil
• We took our popular classic beard oil formula and bumped it up several notches. This formula retains that same lightweight, non-greasy feel as our original formula. It still absorbs quickly and makes a fantastic moisturizer. You will notice however a dramatic difference in the softening and conditioning effect that it has on the skin. We seriously stepped up the amount of natural vitamin E, squalane, and avocado oil in this formulation. Give it a try, you’ll notice the difference in your first use!
[VINCENT (11)]
Notes of Bergamot, Lavender, Bitter Almond, Cypress, and Vetiver
Van Gogh was perhaps the most famous artist the world has known. His life and works exemplified the contrast of beauty and tragedy. The inspiration for this complex fragrance was taken from the prolific period of Arles and Saint-Rémy. The number 11 is found in the number of stars in his most beloved work, The Starry Night.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13527 | GeoData @ UCB
UA Census Key Geographic Locations, 2000 - Kansas
This datalayer displays Key Geographic Locations (KGLs), as defined by the US Census Bureau, throughout the state. Essential attribute data included are KGL Name and Census Feature Class Code (CFCC). Predominant features represented in this layer include: Airports or airfields; Custodial Facility (hospital, orphanage, Federal penitentiary, state prison); Educational or Religious Institution (convent or monastery, educational institution, religious institution); Multihousehold or Transient Quarters (apartment buildings and complexes, trailer courts or mobile home parks, campground, hotels, motels); Shopping centers or major retail centers; Transportation Terminal (train station, bus or marine terminal). Please note that many other feature types may be present in this layer. Key geographic locations (KGLs) represent a special class of address information. They provide a geocoding tool like address ranges, but also identify a spatial object similar to a landmark. The Census Bureau uses KGLs to identify named buildings where the use of the feature name enhances the ability to geocode addresses. These cases include airports, shopping centers, schools, condominiums, hotels, and apartment complexes. Even though the KGLs appear to identify specific structures, the KGL descriptions do not include location coordinates. In most cases, the Census Bureau can determine the general location of the KGL, but cannot provide a specific location with any certainty. The Census Bureau includes landmarks in the Census TIGER data base for locating special features and to help enumerators during field operations. The Census Bureau added landmark features on an as-needed-basis and made no attempt to ensure that all instances of a particular feature were included. The absence of a landmark does not mean that the living quarters, e.g., hospitals and group quarters associated with the landmark were excluded from the 1990 enumeration. A landmark can be a point, line, or area type. In some cases, the Census TIGER data base permits a choice of types. For instance, an airport or airfield might appear as a point, line, or area; the approach depends on the size of the feature and the depiction of the feature in the source document. Line features such as airfields could appear as one or more complete chains; they are not identified in the landmark record types A census feature class code (CFCC) is used to identify the most noticeable characteristic of a feature. The CFCC is applied only once to a chain or landmark with preference given to classifications that cover features that are visible to an observer and a part of the ground transportation network. Thus, a road that also is the boundary of a town would have a CFCC describing its road characteristics, not its boundary characteristics. The CFCC, as used in the TIGER/Line files, is a three-character code. The first character is a letter describing the feature class; the second character is a number describing the major category; and the third character is a number describing the minor category. Landmark (Feature Class D) is the general name given to a cartographic (or locational) landmark, a land-use area, and a key geographic location. A cartographic landmark is identified for use by an enumerator while working in the field. A land-use area is identified in order to minimize enumeration efforts in uninhabited areas or areas where human access is restricted. A key geographic location is identified in order to more accurately geocode and enumerate a place of work or residence.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
transportation, location, and structure
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13532 | Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency
Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency is a condition that prevents the body from converting certain fats to energy. The signs and symptoms of this disorder typically appear in early childhood. Almost all affected children have delayed development. Additional signs and symptoms can include weak muscle tone (hypotonia), seizures, diarrhea, vomiting, and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). A heart condition called cardiomyopathy, which weakens and enlarges the heart muscle, is another common feature of malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency.
Mutations in the MLYCD gene cause malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency. The MLYCD gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called malonyl-CoA decarboxylase. Within cells, this enzyme helps regulate the formation and breakdown of a group of fats called fatty acids. Many tissues, including the heart muscle, use fatty acids as a major source of energy.
Mutations in the MLYCD gene reduce or eliminate the function of malonyl-CoA decarboxylase. A shortage of this enzyme disrupts the normal balance of fatty acid formation and breakdown in the body. As a result, fatty acids cannot be converted to energy, which can lead to characteristic features of this disorder including low blood sugar and cardiomyopathy. Byproducts of fatty acid processing build up in tissues, which also contributes to the signs and symptoms of malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency.
• deficiency of malonyl-CoA decarboxylase
• malonic aciduria
• malonyl-coenzyme A decarboxylase deficiency
• MCD deficiency |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13556 | Shopping Help
At, we carry a ton of golf equipment, from the newest golf balls to the latest in apparel, shoes, and golf bags. But having a great selection only carries us halfway home. The other half involves helping our customers find the golf gear that best fulfills their needs so they don’t have to settle for something less someplace else. What do I need to know before buying a golf ball? What golf apparel should I look for if I’m going to be playing in windy conditions? Find out every answer in our handy and informative buying guides, which also explain how to shop our website quickly and easily so that your new golf equipment arrives at your doorstep faster than it takes to pack all your new golf gear in your vehicle. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13588 | ∞ How Facebook Is Killing Comedy
There’s a reason that Mad magazine looks different from Vanity Fair. They need to convey a different aesthetic and a different tone for their content to really pop. Facebook is the great de-contextualizer. There’s no more feeling of jumping into a whole new world on the internet anymore — everything looks exactly the same.
Facebook is the great de-contextualizer and so is Spotify, Apple Music etc. The effects of stripping away context of creation or music making for that matter and the culture around it and mushing the same term “context” into the realm of “user perspective” is a bit perv. See also Voice Recognition changes Music Business.
Link: http://splitsider.com/2018/02/how-facebook-is-killing-comedy/ |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13594 | Your Cart is Empty
What are the symptoms of sensory processing disorder?
by Shea Brogren, MOT, OTR/L January 14, 2020
What are the symptoms of sensory processing disorder?
The term sensory processing disorder (SPD) has become popular over the last few years, but what does it really encompass?
SPD is not recognized by all professionals as an official disorder and is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) used to diagnose all other mental health disorders, yet the impact of SPD on families can be profound.
We know that it affects approximately 5 to 16 percent of school-aged children and that it can also be part of an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, but not always. It is also known that there are several classes of symptoms associated with SPD, however, each child will have their own unique symptom presentation. To better understand SPD, let’s first discuss what the term sensory processing means.
What is sensory processing?
When we are talking about sensory processing, this describes how we perceive and interact with the world. For example, when you step outside of your home in the morning, you are faced with a variety of sensory inputs. Maybe the sun is shining bright, you can smell fresh flowers from your yard, and the temperature is a bit chilly. These are just three potential sensations you are experiencing in this situation.
The term “sensory processing disorder” describes a diagnosis where someone has difficulty processing the sensory information entering their brain. They are able to see, hear, taste, or feel in the same way as everyone else, however, once that sensation enters the brain to be processed, it is not interpreted correctly.
People with SPD will have strong reactions to stimuli that most would perceive as normal. In this article, we will further discuss what it means to have sensory processing disorder and how the symptoms can impact the life of someone with SPD. We will also briefly overview some of the potential treatment options for SPD.
What is sensory processing disorder (SPD)?
The human body is complex and is made up of eight sensory systems. These systems work both independently and together to ensure the body is processing sensory information from the environment. Let’s take a brief look at what each sensory system involves.
• Tactile- this involves the sense of touch and experiencing different textures
• Visual- this is our sense of sight
• Gustatory- this system is involved in the sense of taste
• Olfactory- this is our sense of smell
• Auditory- this is our ability to hear and process sounds
• Vestibular- the receptors in this sensory system are located in the inner ear and have a role in balance and coordination of movement
• Proprioceptive- Proprioceptors are cells found in the muscles, tendons, and joints in the body. These cells help us understand where our body is in space. For example, if we are raising our hand, the sense of proprioception helps us understand that our arm is above our head
• Interoception- this sensory system is involved with having an awareness of internal body feelings. For example, being able to sense when your heart is beating fast or feeling hunger.
If a child has a diagnosis of SPD, then one or likely more of these sensory systems are not functioning optimally. As noted above, someone with SPD will have "out of the ordinary" responses to sensory stimuli that most would process as normal.
What are the symptoms of sensory processing disorder?
Sensory Processing Disorder
The symptoms of sensory processing disorder can generally be classified as sensory seeking or sensory avoiding. In addition, some children with SPD have trouble registering input, making them appear aloof or disengaged. We will review each of these categories individually. You can use this symptom list as a guide to determine if your child may have sensory processing difficulties. Please be aware that this is by no means a way to diagnose any kind of disorder. This must be done by a trained professional, such as an occupational therapist.
Sensory seeking symptoms
Children with sensory seeking symptoms have sensory systems that crave input. In order for them to feel internally settled, they engage in actions that will provide a great deal of input to their systems.
• May engage in rough play, such as kicking, rolling, hitting objects, etc.
• May appear hyperactive and have difficulty sitting in one position
• May appear to have a lack of body awareness
• Chews on objects or clothing
• May enjoy spinning in circles
• Can appear clumsy, might often bump into walls or other people
• Enjoys loud music and noises
• Likes to use hands and wants to constantly touch objects in environment
Sensory avoiding symptoms
Children with sensory avoiding tendencies are oversensitive to certain sensory stimuli within their environment. This stimuli becomes overwhelming and so they will find ways to avoid it.
• May dislike certain clothing fabrics, textures, or tags
• Avoids loud music or loud noises
• Is bothered by certain textures on hands
• Is bothered by certain tastes or food textures
• Doesn’t like to engage in movement, may withdraw from physical activities
• May exhibit poor fine motor skills (writing, fastening buttons and zippers, tying shoelaces, etc)
Registration Symptoms
The term registration refers to how a person registers or takes in the stimuli around them. If a child has difficulty with registration, this means they are having difficulty noticing or being aware of the sensory occurrences around them. Basically, their brain and body are not processing the number of stimuli from the environment that it should be.
• May appear aloof or as if they are unaware of their surroundings
• May take a while to respond to their name or respond to directions
• May not notice errors in school work
• Might have difficulty maintaining correct posture and may use excessive force when giving hugs, writing, throwing balls, etc.
• Exhibits poor body awareness or appears clumsy
What are treatment options to address SPD symptoms?
If a child is exhibiting any of the symptoms discussed above, it is important to seek out a formalized evaluation in order to receive a diagnosis. An occupational therapist (OT) is specifically trained to evaluate sensory processing concerns and can work individually with each child and family to implement treatment options.
There are several different treatment options an OT might recommend, and this will be dependent upon many factors including the child’s unique sensory processing tendencies, family involvement, availability of equipment or tools, etc. The bottom line is that it is critical to have a child evaluated in order to determine the best treatment approach. Some treatment options might include:
SPD sensory treatment
• Working one-on-one with an OT in a sensory gym. An OT will assist your child by engaging in sensory-rich experiences so that their brain and body are receiving the needed input.
• Establishing a sensory diet (prescribed routine of activities) in order to satisfy sensory needs throughout the day.
• Making accommodations to established routines in order to better serve sensory needs. For example, incorporating a five-minute movement break in the classroom before a seated activity.
• Incorporating sensory equipment into the child’s daily routine as a way to meet sensory needs. For example, using a weighted blanket during specific times of the day.
Closing Thoughts
The symptoms associated with SPD can have a huge impact on the lives of children and their families. In many instances, the symptoms can affect normal daily routines and activities and in turn, add stress to the family unit.
It is our hope that the knowledge provided in this article can assist you in reaching out to your child’s pediatrician if you suspect a problem. Your child’s pediatrician can recommend a formal assessment with an occupational therapist. If the OT determines that a treatment plan is indicated, there are numerous effective ways that sensory processing challenges can be addressed to help your child and family cope, manage daily routines, and better understand your child’s unique sensory needs.
Critz, C., Blake, K., & Nogueira, E. (2015). Sensory processing challenges in children, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners
McCormick, C., Hepburn, S., Young, G., & Rogers, S. (2016). Sensory symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder, other developmental disorders, and typical development: A longitudinal study, Autism.
Shea Brogren, MOT, OTR/L
Shea Brogren, MOT, OTR/L
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13595 | Chapter 2 The Other Side of The Spectrum
Chapter 2
I do not own Twilight or Marvel.
Other Side of The Spectrum
“What happened to the dress I had laid out for you?”
The young woman chewed on her bottom lip a bit before answering.
“Is it really necessary? You said we were staying in tonight.”
“Isabella darling, we’ve talked about this.”
She sighed and looked to the dress she was currently wearing. It was black and simple, in comparison to the silver sequin dress he’d laid out. That dress was incredibly short and a bit much for a night at home.
“And where are your shoes?”
“They hurt my feet, Ric.”
Mr. Killian shook his head and made a tsking like sound.
“Dinner is almost ready.”
She nodded and sat in one of the recliners. The man raised his brows and put away the book he was reading.
“Is that what you’re going to wear?”
“Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?” she asked as if challenging him.
“Only that it isn’t what I picked out.”
“You do realize I’m fully capable of picking out my own clothes?”
“And we’ve tried that…” he muttered with a curled lip.
She rolled her eyes and the man came to his feet.
“You know I hate that.”
“Then why do you do it?” he questioned, standing before her now.
“Maybe because I hate being treated like a doll rather than a woman?”
“I’ve done no such thing.”
“Ric… it’s not that I don’t appreciate what you’ve done. It’s just all this… well, it doesn’t feel like ‘me’.”
“How would you know what is or isn’t you? And haven’t we discussed this very thing with your father already?”
“Well yes, but…”
He offered his hand. She hesitated at first, but took it. Once the man had her on her feet, he leaned into her ear. “Go upstairs and get ready for dinner…” he said whilst running a hand along the slope of her back. She shook her head and he cupped her chin.
“I only want the best for you. That includes looking like the queen you truly are. I do not do ask these things out of selfish reasons. All of this… is for you, Isabella. So, there will be no more arguments on the matter. Now go on…”
She reached to her forehead and took a couple steps back.
“Another headache?”
She nodded. A small gasp escaped her as Aldrich scooped her up and carried her on up the stairs. He took her into her bedroom and laid her down. The entire place was done in antique furniture even the bedroom furniture. At times Bella felt as if she were back in medieval times and living in a freaking castle. The red, purple, and gold colors didn’t help matters.
With his hand upon her forehead…”Perhaps it would be best if you rest tonight. I shall have the maid bring your dinner.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded and kissed her hand.
“I suppose this is good night then?” his voice laced with disappointment.
“I’m sorry…”
Mr. Killian smiled and caressed her cheek.
“No need. You get some rest. I shall see you in the morning.”
She drew back a breath as he put her dress away. He then proceeded in picking out another for tomorrow. It seemed the man had a dress for every occasion. He set out some shoes to go with it as well.
“I like your hair down in this one.”
Gee, does he wanna pick out your underwear as well?(She heard in a voice that wasn’t her own. This was something that happened often.)
Bella giggled a bit. And Mr. Killian narrowed his eyes as he glanced back over his shoulder.
“Does something amuse you?”
Does something amuse you?The voice mocked. What a douchebag. I mean really.
She reached to her head again and looked to be shaking something off.
“Isabella?” he called out with concern and rushed over.
“Are you certain you’re alright?”
She nodded. He sighed and got her tucked into bed.
“Do you mind if I check in with my father?”
“Not at all.” He reached into his blazer and brought his cellphone out.
She reached for the cell but he pulled back tauntingly.
“You have to earn it, Isabella…” he mused with a flirtatious smile.
She sat up and laughed as she reached for the phone once again. He held it up higher and wiggled his brows.
“You don’t seem to be trying hard enough!”
“Ric!” she said with a giggle.
“Isabella…” he said in that seductive tenor that got her every time.
He chuckled as she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him.
“Hmmm.” He hummed as the kiss lingered.
A sigh escaped him as her lips parted from his. During which, she managed to pry the phone from his grasp.
“I do believe you’re quite the evil tease…”
She chewed that bottom lip of hers.
“And I believe that’s my cue, before I take measures into my own hands…”
“Ric…” she called out with a touch of unease.
He raised his brows on this. “Do you truly believe I would pull such a dishonorable act?!”
The young woman swallowed back as he appeared to be rather cross.
“Surely you know the difference between mere flirtation and actual threats, Isabella.”
Bella pinched the bridge of her nose as he bitterly exited the room. He was acting so odd lately. When he first brought her home things were so different. But as time progressed, it was like she was beginning to see his true colors. Part of her hoped it was just the stress of them figuring out this whole situation with her memory. At times, she felt as if there were these black pits in her memory. That’s what caused her headaches. She’d these flashes like something was trying to come through. But the headaches would start and on her worst days her nose would start to bleed and she’d feel faint.
There was a knock at the door and Bella called for the maid to enter.
“Thank you.” Bella said as she brought her food over.
“You’re quite welcome, my lady.”
“We’ve talked about this…”
“Mr. Killian insists…”
“Well he’s not here at the moment. When it’s just the two of us, Bella is just fine.”
The woman nodded and did a slight curtsy before exiting the room. Bella drew back a breath as she looked to the phone. She scrolled through the contacts and found her father.
Hey, kid!
She smiled; just the sound of his voice seemed to put her more at ease.
Hey, dad.
How’s it going?
It’s going…
No luck?
Not yet…
I’m sorry to hear that, Bells.
How long were Ric and I engaged? You know, before the car accident?
Haven’t you asked me this already?
Dad please… I just need the reassuring. Nothing about this is registering. And…
And what?
I think he’s getting frustrated with me. I mean can you blame him? Having a girlfriend that can’t remember anything about you? But I’m trying dad. I really am…
I know you are, sweetheart. And I’m sure Aldrich knows that too.
You should’ve seen his face when I asked if we could call off the engagement.
You what?!
Dad! You can’t honestly expect me to marry someone I don’t even know.
But that’s just it! You do know him. You meet Aldrich in that little book store in Seattle, he was on his way to a meeting. This group of guys came after you and Aldrich showed up just in time. From what you told me it was an instant connection. He proposed to you a little over a year ago.
Bella shook her head. Nothing about this was registering.
Something about all this it just feels so…
So what?
Wrong… It’s like something’s missing. You should see this place and everything in it! Nothing about it truly feels like ‘me’.
Just give it sometime… something’s bound to click. As for your fiancé…
He isn’t my fiancé.
Come on, Bells. You can’t do this to him. We’ve talked about this. I get that it can be scary. But if you push him away then what else do you have? Are you willing to face all this alone? Face it. You need him. And he’s a good man. He takes good care of you. What more can you ask for?
She nodded amongst herself.
So you think I’m being selfish?
Why not…
Just a tad…
Bella sort of laughed.
I gotta get to work. Why don’t you and Aldrich come visit sometime this weekend? Maybe it would help…
I’d like that.
Good deal, Bells. I love you.
Love you too, dad.
Bella hung up the phone and placed it on the nightstand. The young woman rose from the bed and made her way to the window. She raised the window and took in the view. They were living in one of the tallest highrises in the area. The city lights seemed extraordinarily bright tonight.
I wouldn’t get too close…”
Bella pivoted around and narrowed her eyes upon the image before her.
Falling… from what an 80 story building. Not fun. Trust me. I’ve been there!”
She smiled and the man in the red and black suit tilted his head. The young woman made her way to the vanity and had a seat.
“So I’m hearing voices and seeing things now? Great…” he heard her mutter.
Happens to me all the time.”
The man plopped down on the bed and kicked back.
Now this is nice. It sure beats that dump we’re living in.”
Bella put her fingers to her temples. The man patted the empty side of the bed.
Don’t be shy. Come to daddy!”
The young woman drew back a breath.
“Stop… just please…” She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.
“Go away.”
“Come on, babycakes. It’s been awhile…”
Bella screamed out and threw a vase filled with red roses his direction. She stormed out of the room directly after.
Now why’d you go and do that for?”
“Whoa…” Mr. Killian called out as she bumped into him in the hallway.
He wrapped his hands around her arms.
“What is it, my dear?”
“It won’t stop!”
“And what might that be?”
She shook her head and sort of laughed. It was bad enough she couldn’t remember her own fiancé. And now she was about to admit to him that she was not only hearing voices, but seeing things?
He cocked a brow as he waited for an answer.
“I think I just need some fresh air…”
He nodded, “I’ll get your coat.”
Bella nodded as Aldrich had his arms wrapped around her waist and his head resting along her shoulder.
“The maid tells me you didn’t eat your dinner?”
“Her name is Miranda…”
“I’m quite aware of that. Her name however is the least of my concerns. Why haven’t you eaten?”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“Isabella…” he replied in a scolding manner.
“Ric, please must we argue about this?”
He let out a sigh.
“Very well… Off to bed with you.”
She hated that… One moment he treated her like a goddess. The next? He’d pull a complete 180 and treat her like she was nothing more than an insubordinate child. She wasn’t in the mood to pick a fight with him. Not that he’d listen anyhow. Bella gave a simple nod and he motioned towards her room.
“Night…” she responded as she headed back to her room.
Bella narrowed her eyes as there was some sort of box on her bed. It was wrapped in the cartoon section of the newspaper. She ran her fingers along the box in wonder. She’d a moment of hesitance, before opening the box. The young woman jumped back at the sight of a handgun.
“What in the world…?” she whispered.
She ran a finger along the Italic inscription. It read Static. She wondered if that was the name of the brand. But who on earth would give her a gun? Surely not Aldrich! And it was beneath him to use such horrendous wrapping paper. Bella put the lid back on. She grabbed the box and quickly stuffed it beneath the bed.
“Was it Miranda’s doing? Why would the maid give her a gun? Was it a mistake? Had she meant to take it with her and left it on the bed?”
Hide it…Don’t let anyone know you have it…The familiar voice told her.
She swallowed back on this. The young woman backed up and leaned against the wall. She regarded the area she’d hidden the box, once again. Her hands shook as she made her way back over. As she bent down and retrieved the box. Bella took the gun out of the box and merely stared at the gun as it rest within the palm of her hand. Without another thought, she unloaded the gun and loaded it back up – all within the matter of seconds. She cocked the gun and froze.
“What the…” she whispered.
Bella dropped the gun back into the box, slammed the lid back down, and shoved it back under the bed. She observed her hands in question.
A groan escaped her as the sun cascaded through the room. She pulled the covers up over her head and buried her face into her pillow.
“Rise and shine, human.”
She peeked out of the covers.
“Human?” She inquired.
Aldrich cleared his throat and nodded.
“Are you not?”
“Aren’t you as well?”
He smiled and made his way over.
“Now Isabella, let’s be honest. Amongst us ‘human’s’ – I’m practically a god.”
“Well, I see someone ate his ego tripping Wheaties.”
“Hmmm. Well we’ve quite a day ahead of us. So do be a dear and eat your breakfast. Get yourself showered and put on that dress…”
She wrinkled her nose on the rather boisterous yellow dress; he’d laid out for her.
“Why yes…”
“Yellow makes me look even paler than I am already.”
“I think you look quite exquisite.”
“Can’t I wear something else?”
“And what would you wear, if given the choice?”
She trolled on out of the bed and headed to the closet. A blue dress caught her attention. But the man staggered back and reached to his heart as she ripped the sleeves off and tore a spilt going up the dress.
“And that there is why I do the picking.”
“Come now, eat your breakfast.”
“I’ll eat it when I’m good and ready!” she took the blue dress and threw it at him.
Her jaw dropped as he appeared before her.
He backed her into a corner of the room and slight fear came over her.
“I’ve officially hit my limit! You’ve been nothing but ungrateful. I took to understanding when you wished to call off the engagement. But now this? Talking back and challenging me, constantly!”
He pointed upon her.
“You will eat your breakfast! Take your shower! Get yourself dressed! I will have the limo waiting for you outside!”
The man gritted his teeth as she hauled off and slapped him. Her jaw dropped as Aldrich backhanded her in return.
Aldrich pinned her up against the wall.
“How many times must we go through this?!”
Her eyes widened as he wrapped a hand around her mouth and nose. She trashed about as he didn’t let up. She whimpered out and tears streamed down her face.
“Let’s try this again!” He spat as her eyes rolled back and she lost consciousness.
Black, cold, nothingness… something that seemed strangely familiar to her.
Now enter the orange portal. She tilted her head upon the voice.
“Ric?” she called out and spun about looking for him.
We haven’t much time. You need to hurry. It isn’t safe here.
The young woman regarded the numerous portals before her.
You will enter the orange portal. Stay alert and be on the lookout for an orange stone.
She took a step towards the portals.
Um, can we say RED FLAG! Don’t do it, babe… another familiar voice rang.
Isabella, is there someone there with you?
Bella put her fingers to her head. She walked a complete circle trying to decipher were the voices were coming from.
“Ric? Where are you?”
I’m right here… walking you through this. You can do it. I just need you to hurry.
What you need to do is tell this motherfucker to get lost! He’s really starting to PISS ME OFF!
Run, Isabella! If you do not… ‘It’ will surely come for you! Run towards the portal and enter it. NOW!
She nodded and took off running. The young woman grunted out as something clawed at her back. Its touch was ice cold. Bella dived into the portal. Her heart had that dropping sensation as she looked down.
“Where the hell am I?” She whispered in a panic as she somehow landed in a tree.
There were armed men beneath her. The young woman clung onto the tree for dear life.
Never mind them, if you’re careful enough they won’t even notice you. Now what I need you to do is… No… NOOOO NOT YET! YOU CAN’T COME BACK YET!
The young woman shot up with a gasp.
“Isabella!” Aldrich called as she crawled amongst the floor.
He grabbed ahold of her and pulled her up against his chest.
“Easy, love…” he whispered as he rocked her.
“What’s happening to me?!” She cried out in hysterics.
He cupped her face with the palms of his hands.
“You must’ve had another night terror.”
“Night terror? I don’t remember anything! How did I end up on the floor?!”
The man sighed as he took his kerchief out from his blazer. He held it up to her nose and tilted her head back.
“Deep breathes…”
The young woman started to cry and Aldrich hugged her close.
The man grimaced as there was blood on the sleeves of his blazer. The blood was coming from her back. That’s what he was afraid of. It was too close of a call, too much for his liking. He’d wind up getting her killed and then what? That wasn’t something he could afford! He had to go about this another way. If she’d quit being so stubborn! It should be working by now. She should be putty in his hands! He had to find a way to gain her trust. Once he had her where he wanted; it would be easy-peasy…
“What have you done to your back, my dear?!”
He spun her about and ripped the back of her gown. A twinge of guilt came over the man. Yet on the other hand he found himself baffled. Sure he had made it clear that Bella Wilson was the only one that could fulfill the request. This was the only mutant that could survive the touch and enter through the portals. He’d never seen anything like it. He ran his fingers along the marks as if in a trance.
Sure he’d other methods of helping her. But if he wanted to earn her trust as well as her love, he had to go about desperate measures. So he would tend to her wounds the old fashion way.
“It burns…”
He nodded and helped her to her feet.
“Lay on your stomach and I will see to this.”
“What is it?”
“I believe you hit your back somehow. Have you been sleepwalking, perhaps?”
“Sleepwalking?” she murmured in question as he got her situated.
“Just stay still and I will fix you up.”
The moment her head hit the pillow she was out. The man sighed and rolled his eyes. He took his blazer off and rolled up the sleeves to his shirt.
“Impossible, is what you are…” he muttered his breath.
“So much coddling, you humans are quite pathetic. Then again, I suppose you’re not even considered human.” He let out another sigh.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
“Whattaya mean she acted like she knew you?”
Deadpool shrugged.
“Well, what’d she say ta yah?”
“Eh, she mentioned something about hearing voices and seeing things.” Deadpool sort of laughed.
“It’s about time!” he added afterward.
Logan rolled his eyes. “And what else did she say?”
“She got all mad at me and told me to stop and go away. Then she threw something at me. I can’t remember what it was, but she had the most dramatic exit ever. I was so proud!”
“Dammit Wade, focus!”
“I AM!”
“The hell you are! You should’ve tried harder to get across to her.”
“If you’d let me do it my way instead of yours!”
“Yah do it yer way and yah might as well kiss her ass goodbye!”
“She looks so hot when she’s angry. But noooo you just had to go and tell me I can’t fuck her yet!”
“Yeah, yah god damn idiot! Yah can’t go around thinkin’ with yer dick on this one. For once, yah gotta use your fuckin’ head. Yah can get it out of yer system once yah get her back.”
“But I put a ring on it! That gives me complete access!”
“And yah tell me what yer gonna do if yah try somethin’ stupid like that and she screams rape?”
“No one will believe that when she’s the one on top!”
Deadpool sighed and lowered his head.
“I miss her bewbs.”
“Is that all yah miss?”
“No. But those are pretty damn important!”
“What else do yah miss?” Logan genuinely asked.
Deadpool sort of shrugged and looked to be in thought.
“Bewbs, sex, the cooking…”
“Think deeper, will yah?”
“Our taco Tuesday nights, her fried chimichangas! Oh man, she makes the best ones. And the cuddling- she lets me play with her bewbies! It’s awesome just hours of bewbs!”
Logan raised his brows on this.
“Oh and the way she sucks my…”
“What? I was gonna say banana!”
“I need yah to come up with stuff that yah can tell her yourself. Deep stuff …”
“Oh, you mean like double penetration or…”
“Look, do yah love her or not?”
“Yes of course!”
“Then gain her trust and fuckin’ tell her! Tell her everything she needs to hear! And for once leave the god damn sex out of it!”
“But my little sex kitten loves sex!”
“Wade ya need to prepare yourself. She might not ever be that same person again.”
Logan backtracked on what Wade had said earlier.
“Double penetration?” He inquired curiously.
“You said not to talk about sex!” Deadpool scoffed as he disappeared.
“Ric?” Bella called out once she came to.
There was a rose laid out on the pillow beside her. Beneath it was a note…
You were sleeping so peacefully. I couldn’t bear the thought of disturbing you. If you need anything let the maid know. I will have the limo prepared for you at 7 sharp. Don’t be late…
Your Ric
More like ‘dick’
She rolled her eyes, doing her best to ignore the voice. The young woman sauntered on out of bed and got showered and dressed. As she fixed her hair and put on her usual jewelry, she regarded herself in the mirror. It was as if gazing into the eyes of a stranger. She couldn’t remember anything past her junior year of high school. And even then, everything else was either foggy or patchy. It was like that of playing a scratched up record, there were lapses in her memory. That often enough scared the shit out of her. At times she felt as if something were finally coming through and all the sudden she’d have it yanked right out from her reach. But she’d grown desperate for the truth. She fixed her makeup just the way Aldrich liked it and pinned her hair back, which was the way he preferred in this particular dress. Bella stepped into her black heels and adjusted her dress before heading out the door.
Miranda had her breakfast prepared at the dining room table.
“Thank you, Miranda.”
The woman smiled and did her usual curtsy.
“Won’t you join me?”
The maid stopped in her tracks as she was to exit the room.
“Join you?”
“For breakfast?”
“You wish for me to join you?” The maid questioned as if in disbelief.
“Yes. I could use the company!”
“My apologies madam, but I ate earlier.”
“Oh…” Bella replied with disappointment.
She narrowed her eyes as the woman practically ran out of the room.
“Ummm, okay…” she murmured in question.
After breakfast, she decided it might be best to get to know the place a little better. It was set up like a freaking mansion after all. And she’d yet to see, Aldrich’s room. In fact, out of mere curiosity, she headed that way first. But to her disappointment, the door was locked.
Someone’s got dirty little secrets… Maybe he’s got a porn fetish!
She reared back but rather laughed at the inner voice.
“Mr. Prim and Proper Killian? I doubt it. Something tells me he’s beneath that sort of thing.”
Fine, maybe he’s a serial killer! And he’s got a room full of bodies!
She giggled a bit and put her hand to her forehead as it was starting to pound.
“Stop…” she scolded.
Bella headed back to her room and looked around for something to jimmy the door with. Miranda entered the room while she was looking around.
“Do you happen to have the key to Ric’s room?”
“No, my lady.”
“Have you ever been in there?”
The maid nodded.
“How’d you get in there?”
“With his permission, of course.”
“Of course… ”
The maid put her clothes up and went about her way.
“Permission my ass…” Bella muttered with a mischievous grin.
She grabbed a letter opener that was set out on her vanity. She headed back to the door. To her great surprise, she managed to get it open with just a couple swift movements. Her jaw dropped as the door swung open.
“How did I know to do that?” she muttered knowing it should’ve been a lot more work.
Bella headed inside and pulled the door to behind her. Nothing out of the ordinary from just a mere glance, but something told her there was bound to be something. Fifteen minutes in and she found nothing really that stood out. She eyed the closet however realizing she hadn’t thought to check it.
She opened the door and thought it to be rather odd. He hadn’t any clothes whatsoever, not even a pair of shoes. Bella reached up and grabbed the only item within the closet. It was a storage box. She brought it down and set it on a lower shelf. She dug through the contents. There was a knife a couple and of handheld guns. Her heart rather dropped as they had that same name engraved into them. Bella picked up a set of dog tags.
“Wade Wilson?” She questioned out loud.
The vision of a man came to her. Her body jarred back as if she’d been socked in the face. His face was severely scarred. The man was smiling and looked to be handing something over. She looked to the dog tags in her hand.
Maybe they’ll bring you some luck, babycakes!
Bella screamed out as this intense and sharp pain coursed through her. Her nose started to bleed and everything went black.
A couple hours had gone by before she finally came to. She was lying on the closet floor. The box she’d been digging through was lying beside her, along with all its contents. She reached for the knife and regarded it in thought. Bella hid the knife beneath her dress. She stuffed the dog tags into her bra, and put everything else back where it was. Once she finished, she did a once over of the room making certain nothing was out of place. She exited the room and locked the door, pulling it to afterward. Bella headed into her room and hid the knife along with the gun. She drew back a hesitant breath as she eyed the dog tags once again. There was this sudden urge to cry, one she didn’t understand. Something about that vision, it felt so real. Who was he? Was he even real? Or was it another figment of her imagination?
The limo pulled up to the restaurant and Bella glanced out the window in wonder. The door opened and she smiled as Ric nodded upon her and offered her his hand. She took it and he helped her out of the limo. He raised his brows and twirled her about.
“Beautiful, as always.”
“Thank you.”
He kissed her hand then escorted her into the restaurant. Bella couldn’t believe her eyes. This place was something right out of a fairy tale.
“Ric…” She whispered in awe.
He smiled and waved the host over.
“I have a private reservation for two.”
“Yes! You must be Mr. Killian.”
Bella turned towards him rather impressed. He sent her a wink and they followed the host. The young woman regarded Aldrich oddly as they followed the man into an elevator. The elevator came to a stop about three floors down. Bella didn’t see how that was feasible. Considering the restaurant only had the one floor, or so she thought. So they were going underground? The moment the elevator door opened, her jaw dropped.
“It can’t be… Is that water?!”
Aldrich smiled and motioned towards the area.
“Try it and see for yourself.”
“Won’t I get wet?”
He shrugged.
“You will never knew unless you test the ‘waters’ yourself.”
Bella smiled and bravely dipped her heel out from the elevator. She laughed, seeing as how it was nothing more than glass.
“Amazing…” she whispered and continued on out of the elevator. Mr. Killian nodded towards the host and sent him about his way.
“I’m not even sure I have words for this…”
The floor was nothing more than glass but it gave the illusion of walking on water. There were whitewater lilies everywhere. Before them was a small wooden platform. It was set up with a table, two chairs, and candles. Aldrich pulled out a chair for her and she sat down. He kissed the bareness of her shoulder as he pushed her in. Bella smiled as he took the seat before her. The man adjusted his cufflinks before grabbing a bottle of wine. He poured them both a glass and held his up.
“To regaining what we once had.”
She swallowed back on this and held up her glass in return. He nodded as they clanked their glasses together. Bella breathed in the contents before taking a sip.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes…”she replied but found herself wishing for a beer instead.
She could only imagine the look on Aldrich’s face if she even mentioned such a thing. A small giggle escaped her. He tilted his head on this and set his glass down.
“Has the one sip made you loopy already?”
The young woman bit down on her lower lip and shook her head no. Before long the elevator opened and a waiter was bringing out a tray of food.
“I hope you’re hungry.” Aldrich stated as the waiter sat their food down at the table.
That was another thing that got under her skin on occasion. He always ordered for her. The man had a bad habit of taking everything into his hands and she hadn’t much say on the matter. He just went with what he deemed best. Part of her wondered how she put up with it for so long. Engaged for a year? And she honestly let this man call all the shots? But on the other hand, she saw the appeal. He was certainly attractive, charming, and could be quite the romantic. There were even times she found his self-confidence a bit of a turn on. Whereas other times, it came off as a bit much and she found herself appalled. She hated when he went on and on gloating about himself. And it seemed to be a thing of his when they were surrounded by others. And when in a public setting – he had her practically strapped to his side, which would be rather flattering. If it wasn’t happening every time another man seemed to show her some sort of attention. Aldrich couldn’t stand it. He never commented on it. But he didn’t have to. She often enough got the silent treatment, like it was somehow her fault. Still he’d keep her glued to his side. When they got home, he’d head off to his room and well pout – or so that’s what she pictured often enough. At times he reminded her of a spoiled brat. Others, he’d turn around and act like this knight in shining armor and sweep her right off her feet. Such as today… They had their dinner in silence and went through a couple bottles of wine.
“Would you like to dance?”
“I don’t dance…”
He narrowed his eyes on this.
“We’ve been through this… Why don’t you let me remind you of what you do and don’t do?” As he said this he rose to his feet and offered a hand.
“Ric… I don’t know how. I’ll probably trip over your feet or something.”
“Nonsense… We’ve danced plenty of times. Up you go…”
She drew back a breath and reluctantly accepted his offer.
“There’s no music…”
He smiled and snapped his fingers.
“How’d you…?” she started to question as music began to play.
Aldrich twirled her about and dipped her after.
“Why must you question everything? Just let go… and let me in…”
She didn’t understand the sudden heaviness in her eyes. As they danced it was as if she were in a daze and floating on a cloud.
“There you go… close your eyes and let me lead…”
Her eyes came to a close and Aldrich hummed amongst himself as they continued dancing. A gasp fled from her lips as these images came to mind. It was one after another and each of them was of Aldrich. It started with him saving her from the men that had cornered her back in Seattle. Aldrich’s limo pulled up and he stepped out and came to her aid. He shoved one of the men back and got a protective hold on her. He decked the other across the face. Aldrich rushed her into the limo and took her home to her father. There were images of them dating and a few years after graduation, he proposed. It wasn’t long after that they’d made love for the first time. Charlie had helped her get moved in and he even stayed with them a bit in California before heading back home. Her father seemed quite taken with Aldrich Killian and even went as far as to say he knew his daughter was in good hands.
When the song was over, he dipped her once again.
“Open your eyes, Isabella.”
She opened them and tears were streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry!” she cried and covered her mouth.
“How could I forget?”
He smiled and brought her up against his chest.
“I knew you’d remember…” he whispered as he held her close.
Aldrich chuckled as they entered the living area. Bella had her arms and legs wrapped around him as they were in a heated kiss. He laid her on the couch and proceeded in unzipping her dress. The man took a moment to admire her little black number beneath. He unbuttoned his shirt and his lips returned to hers. She gasped out as a blade was suddenly driven through his neck and promptly removed after. Blood gushed out of the area and hit her right in the face. The young woman went to scream, but couldn’t she was frozen in place.
Yeah… like I was going to let that happen! Daddy’s got some spanking to do!”
The man in red and black scooped her up and flipped her over his shoulder. They appeared in an alleyway. He ripped his mask off and had her pinned up against the wall.
“LOOK AT ME!” He growled out.
Her heart was racing and she recoiled, but it wasn’t from what he assumed it was. It was out of fear.
“Yeah, I know. Pretty hideous, right? It’s like staring back at Freddy Krueger’s love child. Well guess what, pumpkinbutt? This is what you’ve be fucking for the past three years. Sorry to disappoint you. It’s not that prince charming wannabe douchebag! But this ugly ass motherfucker! I’m your god damn husband!”
“Please don’t hurt me” she cried out.
Wade stopped and gave her an “are you stupid” look.
“Hurt you, I’m trying to protect you from fake douchebags like him! I may not be much to look at, but you chose to marry me! Well… sort of… But that’s beside the point! Do you know what it does to me? Seeing you kiss that motherfucker and all because you forgot about me? Three years… I can regenerate, babycakes, but this… yeah, it fucking sucks!”
He sighed and paced the area a bit.
“Fuck that Canadian hoser. I’m doing things my way. Hope you’re ready for a bit of reminiscing!”
Back at the apartment in New York:
“Alright, my little wuv muffin got you all cleaned up now.” Deadpool said as he finished wiping the blood off her face.
She whimpered out as he hugged her.
“It’s good to have you home, babe!”
He kissed her cheek and picked her up from the bathroom counter. He carried her into the living room and placed her on the couch.
“What in the hell?!” Logan spat the minute him and Cable entered the apartment.
Cable rushed over and ripped the duct tape off Bella’s mouth.
“Didn’t I tell yah not to go about it like this?! Look at her! She’s scared out of her fuckin’ mind! DAMMIT, WADE!”
“Hey, that motherfucker was trying to play doctor with my wife! I’m the only one allowed to give her a tube steak injection!”
“You killed him!” She cried.
“I sure did, baby. And you’re welcome.”
“What the fuck did you do, Wade?!” Logan asked he freed her from the cuffs.
“You killed my fiancé!”
“Fiancé?!” Each of them chorused in disbelief.
Bella covered her face and backed into a corner of the apartment.
“Get away from me! All of you!” she shouted, with tears streaming down her face.
Cable nodded held his hands up.
“Alright… Let’s give her some space.”
Deadpool sighed with full on annoyance. Logan swallowed back and motioned the other two over.
“Why don’t yah give me a few minutes…”
“Okay, we’ll see you in a bit.”
“I’m not leaving, you idiot. You are! Both of yah! She needs someone that gets where she’s coming from.”
“But I don’t wanna leave my wittle snuggle bunny. I just go her back!” Deadpool whined.
Logan rolled his eyes.
“Just give us half an hour!”
“Wade…” Logan warned.
Cable patted the merc on the shoulder.
“Let’s give him the time he needs. I can take you out for tacos.”
“But that’s mine and Stella’s thing!” Deadpool said with a quivery lip.
“Then let him take yah out for a beer.”
“Oh beer! That does sound good. Luv you, babycakes. I’ll bring you back a present!” He pointed to Logan. “She better be here when I get back!” And he meant it. Logan detected the severity in his voice and knew better than test it. He gave a simple nod as the merc exited the apartment.
Logan pulled up a chair just a few feet away from her. He took a cigar out from his jacket and clipped it. Bella lifted her head a bit as he lit his cigar.
“Now I’m just gonna tell yah what I know about yah and hope that triggers somethin’.”
She narrowed her eyes on this.
“Who are you? All of you?!”
“I’m Logan Howlett. The two men that were here earlier are Nathan Summers and Wade Wilson.”
“Wade…” he heard her murmur.
He cocked a brow on this.
“Is that a name yer familiar with?”
“I’m not sure…” she admitted thinking back to the dog tags.
“Hm…” he hummed as he took a drag off his cigar.
The man came to his feet and grabbed a blanket off the couch. He tossed it over. She looked to be freezing and she was in nothing but her underwear. The young woman used the blanket to cover herself, while Logan retrieved a six pack of beer and a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen. He sat on the couch and motioned her over.
“I ain’t gonna hurt yah.” He said as he poured them a couple of shots.
She remained where she was. He downed his shot and popped open a beer.
“Look kid, we’ve known each other for some time now. Yah meet Wade about four years ago. You’ve been married for a little over three years…” From there, he began his story of how she and Wade met. And went on to tell about his first time meeting her and when she joined the X-Force. How they’ve been working together for about three years as well. When he mentioned her code name… he paused. There was that look again. The same one she had when he mentioned her husband’s name. The young woman reached to her temples.
“I’m Static?”
He nodded.
“You’re telling me that I’m a mercenary?”
“Amongst other things… Hell you’re one of the best there is.”
“I’ve never fired a gun in my life!”
Logan had a good laugh at this.
“Sure and yah never killed anyone either…” he replied with unadulterated sarcasm.
“That’s right… you’re as deadly as they come. And I should know. You’ve been trained by the best there is. And that’s us, lil darlin’. In fact, I gotta be honest. Seeing yah like this… it’s surreal. Yah got a mouth like a god damn sailor and an attitude ta go with it. If I didn’t know any better I’d swear yah were fuckin’ blood!”
He took a couple pictures out from his jacket.
“Yah tell me which one you think seems more legit. This…?” He showed her a picture of her and Aldrich Killian. “Or… this” he showed her the picture of Static and Deadpool.
“Now I’m not demanding an answer… I’m just wantin’ yah to think this through. Just know we got yer back, lil darlin’. We’ll do whatever we can to help. But yah gotta be willing…”
“I don’t understand any of this! How do you end up with a husband and a fiancé?”
“How ’bout you tell more about this fiancé of yers?”
“You mean the one your friend killed!” She bitterly spat.
“Hmmm… Let me hear the story first. Then I’ll decide whether or not he had it comin’…”
Bella told Logan the story. He had to refrain from laughing at the sheer amount of bullshit that left her lips. But it wasn’t her fault. She truly believed in these faux memories. He’d reason to believe this ‘fiancé’ of hers wasn’t quite what he seemed. If anything, she sounded as if she were being brainwashed. He figured it best the bastard was dead.
“So yah believe that hogwash over what I just revealed?”
“What about my father?”
“Well I won’t lie; it is rather strange that he’s playing along with whatever this is…”
“Playing along?! My father would never…”
“Hey!” Logan called out as her teeth were gritted and her nose began to bleed.
She pulled at her hair and banged her head back against the wall. He hopped to his feet and rushed over. He cupped her chin as she started convulsing.
“SHIT! Hold on, darlin’.” He said as he laid her down and called Wade and Nathan.
He let them know it was an emergency and hung up, directly after. Naturally, Wade was first to appear.
“Before yah freak the fuck out on me; I need yah to hear me out. Yah need to take her to Dr. Hank McCoy back at the mutant academy. Yah let him help her. Nathan and I won’t be far behind.”
Deadpool nodded as he picked her up.
“GO!” Logan hollered and the merc vanished.
my Cable btw!
(I’m sure this is a tad confusing but all will be revealed soon enough. Be a good sport by leaving your comment/review. Shield of Anarchy to be updated next.)
18 thoughts on “Chapter 2 The Other Side of The Spectrum”
1. oh now this was epic! the weird brain thing with the portals and shit that is kinda freaky. making her loose conciousness and fucking with her mind. and i have a feeling the same thing is going on with charlie too. this “he” that ric thinks about i am beginning to wonder who is really incharge of all this weird stuff. got me hanging on and looking forward to more thats for sure.
2. I’m so glad Wade stabbed that jack off & got her back. Her having the seizure is scary though. And I’m really hoping Charlie going along with everything is some kind of mind fuckery from that asshole. I can’t wait to see where you take this! Me thinks this calls for a re-read of Stealing Twilight’s Swan.
3. So glad this story has been started!! I’ve been waiting who knows how long! I’m really glad that Deadpool killed stupid Killian; didn’t like him in the movie either, he was way too smarmy. I wonder who is really behind this kidnapping. Charlie has to be under some sort of mind compulsion, but now that Killian is dead, does that wear off on both Bella and Charlie, or is the compulsion from someone else?
4. Sounds like Hank will be the ideal doctor to help her…Loving this hon, and can’t wait to read more…thanks, huggs
5. So what the fuck is wrong with Charlie. Was he brainwashed too? I can’t wait to find out. thanks for coming back to this story 🙂
6. If Charlie’s memories aren’t being fucked with I want him dead too! grrrr I do feel slightly better that she is back with the guys. That made was giving me the creepies too.
7. First thought when I saw Cable was is that Commander Taylor from Terra Nova. Glad Killian is dead sad Bepla had a seizure. I hope it helps her more than hurts her.
8. OMG! How can you leave it there?! And portals, eh? Not human, eh? Orange… the hand… you know you got me thinking about something. Something rather specific if I may say so though I’m very curious about Bella and this ‘Ric’ fellow. I love how she started having Deadpool type moments with voices, etc… Very nice touch. So in love with this story already – feed me more!
9. I’m so glad this story is up. I just finished re-reading Stealing Twilight Swan. I can’t wait to see what happens with my favorite couple. I hope Ric stays dead and i hope Charlie is being messed with instead of supporting this. Hope the next chapter comes soon.
10. Need………….. More………. AMAZINGNESS!!!!!!!! 🙂 I LIVE for all your stories!!!!!! You have made my day 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13616 |
Warning: This open-source library is EXPERIMENTAL.
The enigma-go library helps you to communicate with the Qlik associative engine in both Qlik Sense and Qlik Sense Desktop. Examples of use may be building your own analytics tools, backend services, or other tools communicating with the Qlik associative engine. The enigma-go library can be used as an SDK or to do CRUD (that is create, read, update and delete) operations on apps and on app entities.
enigma-go on GitHub
enigma-go is an open source library, developed on GitHub. Visit GitHub for the latest version of enigma-go, or if you want to contribute to the library.
The complete documentation for this library can also be found on GitHub.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13619 | Tech Writing Questions from a High School Robotics Team
My fiction-writing buddy Ciara Knight has a high-school-age son who’s participating in the FIRST Robotics competition, where groups of students get together to create robots that compete on some sort of timed activity. This year, the activity is space-themed, which pleased me. It was also nice to see my friend’s son happily succeeding at what he’s doing. I agreed to help his team with outreach or mentoring, which included the teens sending me questions about my career. They’re good questions about the tech writing profession, so I thought I’d share.
Bart Leahy Questions
1. What’s the hardest part of being a technical writer and working with a multitude of organizations?
The hardest part about being a technical writer is usually on the people side of things—keeping customers happy, making sure I’m not doing anything to annoy them, or negotiating things like pay. Given enough time, learning the content is relatively painless.
When it comes to working with multiple organizations, the biggest challenges usually occur when I have multiple jobs/tasks hitting my inbox all at the same time and all having the same or similar deadlines. Sometimes I have to juggle the order I do things to make sure everyone’s work gets done when they need it.
1. What skills and characteristics are required to become a technical writer?
At a basic level, you need to be able to write, edit, and organize documents well. In addition, you need to be able to research/read a lot of material, extract the most important points, and explain that content in a way that’s understandable and useful to your reader. That’s the writing part.
To do the writing, you need to be familiar and interact with a lot of technology, everything from Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel to Adobe Acrobat, the internet, email, and messaging software.
On the people side—what they call “soft skills”—you need to learn how to interact and behave with a variety of personalities diplomatically in multiple situations, including meetings, interviews, and negotiations.
If you’re a freelance (self-employed) technical writer, you also need to learn the basicsof running your own business, including the ability to meet deadlines, bill your clients correctly, pay your taxes, and pay your own bills.
1. In our engineering notebook we use documentation to communicate to judges what we have designed and the process that we used to create this design. Because of the various backgrounds that the judges have come from, some have trouble understanding what we designed and how we got to that point in our design. What tips would you give to our team or to anyone who was trying to better communicate their design to other people who may not fully understand the topic?
Great question! One thing I encounter with technical people is that they assume the reader understands as much about their topic as they do. That is not always the case. Don’t be afraid to explain something in simple terms, such as “This robot was designed to lift five tennis balls at a time using a large scoop.”
Another thing to watch for is clearly stating the advantages of your invention. If you just state the facts or statistics about a machine, that doesn’t mean the reader is going to know why that’s important or an advantage/disadvantage.
Lastly, don’t get hung up on jargon. You might be using part numbers or technical terms for something that has a more common term to people not doing engineering. It’s not a sin to say “rocket” rather than “launch vehicle” if your audience is not primarily composed of engineers.
1. What is the hardest part about having to communicate with large organizations such as NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense?
The trickiest part is often figuring out who knows what. Some things you can’t look up online or in a book or report. You might need to know, for example, why a design change was made. A presentation might state that the change was made, but not why. In that case, you end up having to send some emails or make some phone calls to find out the whole story. You have to start with the people you DO know and expand your network from there.
Another challenge is protocol. This is more of a concern in the military, though, than a civilian agency like NASA. If you have a question for a specific organization, you don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) go all the way to the top and ask for the Commanding General. They have more important things to do and might not have all the details anyway. You have to follow the chain of command and work your way through the CG’s subordinates first. Going over someone’s head can be a no-no. Again, you do as much research as you can on your own then figure out whom to ask when you need a specific question answered at a particular level of detail.
1. As a technical writer, what would you say are the most effective ways to communicate designs and ideas? Is it through pictures, sketches, paragraphs of writing, or items such as flow charts and diagrams?
Honestly, it dependson what you’re trying to share. If you’re trying to tell a story, such as the background of a program, straight narrative would do the job.
If you’re trying to explain a process, writing things out in sentence or numbered/bulleted form might be best, with a flowchart included if there are multiple “if-then” steps.
For a numerical trend over time, a line chart is your best bet.
If you’re comparing the same measurement across multiple items (say, program cost), a bar chart would work.
If you want to depict percentages, a combination of words, table, and pie chart might work best (some people like to see things depicted different ways).
If you want to compare multiple traits for more than one entity, a table would be best. An example here might be if you were comparing the cost, power source, tools, and speed of multiple robots at the same time.
1. When you complete technical writing, does a client give you criteria for what should be included? Or do you decide the outline for your writing and what needs to be focused on?
Whenever I get a new assignment from a customer, I try to get a few things answered up front:
• Who is my audience?
• Why are they reading/receiving this document/product?
• How do I want them to act/respond after reading it?
That covers the content. Then I start asking other questions:
• What format should the deliverable/product be in? Email? Word doc? Website?
• How long should it be?
• How detailed does it need to be?
• What do you (the customer) consider the most important points for the audience to get out of the product?
1. What is your process for communicating with engineers and other individuals to obtain the information you need for your writing?
I try to read/research as much as I can about a topic before I ask an engineer or other subject matter expert (often called a SME, pronounced “Smee”) questions. That way, I already know something about the topic and I can ask them for more detailed information. This saves them time because they don’t need to explain the basics. I can explain what I know and ask them something more difficult that isn’t in the literature I’ve read.
As for how I reach them, it depends on what I’m doing or where I’m working. A lot of my work is done from home, so I’ll email or call a SME on the phone. If I’m on site working at a customer location, I can sometimes just walk down the hall and visit their cubicle/office. Other times, especially if they’re a manager and I have more than one question, I’ll have to set up a meeting via Outlook or the manager’s executive assistant.
1. How do inform companies of your skills so that they will ask you to do technical writing for them?
Also a good question. Quite frankly, when I was starting out on my own after 20 years of working in large companies, I was having a difficult time marketing myself. In the end, I found it easier to start talking to my friends and former coworkers who still worked for large companies and asking if they needed help with technical writing. That saved me a great deal of time because they already knew who I was and what I could do.
When I need to write a resume for myself now, I highlight the experience and skills I have that relate to a particular job. For example, I’ve done a lot of training writing over the years. If I were marketing my services to a company in need of an instructional design writer, I would highlight my experience there. If I were applying for an aerospace policy job, I would be certain to highlight who my customers were and what sorts of policy-related documents I had written for them. Again, to be effective, you highlight the information that’s most useful to your audience.
1. How do you draw the line between too much information and too little information in your writing?
A lot of it depends on the page or word count limitations, which helps me a lot. If I’ve been given ten pages to write about a launch vehicle, and each of the major subsystems requires equal treatment, I can divide the word/page count by the number of subsystems and work backwards from there. If I’ve been given half a page to describe or explain the rocket, I’m going to keep things much briefer. If there is no page or word count requirement, I will discuss the document and its level of detail with the customer so I’m not wasting their time or mine.
1. Is there any way that a high school student could practice a specialized skill, such as technical writing, in his free time?
This isn’t a topic I know a great deal about because I didn’t get into technical writing until well after my first college degree. If you’re looking to get some practice, there are scholarshipsavailable.
If you’re looking to get more regular practice, you might talk to any science or engineering teachers in your school to see if they have any in-class processes, rules, or procedures that they need updating. Another potential opportunity might be any club in your school that needs processes written out. That could include the physics club, theater department, or even the various sports teams. You’d be surprised. Teachers appreciate students who take initiative and also take a task off their plate that they didn’t want to do in the first place (not everyone is good at or enjoys writing). This sort of work does a few things for you: it gives you practice writing for specific audiences, gives you experience meeting customer requirements, and perhaps most importantly, gives you experience interacting with potential customers. If you do a good job, you might find other groups or teachers reaching out to you and asking for help. That’s more or less how I built my network over the years. “Word of mouth” recommendations are more powerful than any marketing you can name.
1. What first inspired you to go into technical writing? Did ever consider doing anything else? If so, why did you choose technical writing over your other options?
Ha! Originally, I wanted to be a science fiction writer/novelist. When I first went to college, I got an English Literature degree with a minor in history and took almost enough science classes to qualify for a minor there, too. What I discovered along the way was that I wasn’t particularly good at fiction writing—at least not good enough to get people to buy my stories.
Eventually I moved to Florida and got a job writing at Walt Disney World (answering complaint letters). What got me into technical writing was a space exploration and settlement conference that was being held in Orlando that year (the International Space Development Conference). I got excited enough to go back to school and get into the space business as an engineer rather than just write stories about it. I started taking engineering classes and was really struggling with the math and the computer programming. Someone in the guidance office at the local community college suggested I look into getting a master’s degree in technical writing—it would take less time, and there wasn’t any math required! JThis was a fantastic recommendation, as I was able to combine my interests (space exploration, science fiction) with my existing skill (writing).
As for what else I would have done with myself, I suppose I might have stayed in the hospitality/travel industry…probably still writing, just in a different context.
About Bart Leahy
Quote | This entry was posted in mentoring, personal and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.
1 Response to Tech Writing Questions from a High School Robotics Team
1. Ciara Knight says:
Thanks for being so awesome!!! I know his team appreciated your time and information.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13631 | The iconography of the Aztecs lead us to believe that they were an especially blood-thirsty culture. But consider the scenario where there was some major catastrophe in the USA, reducing the population to barbarism. A future archaelogical team unearthing all the abortion statistics, the crime-thrillers, the end-of-world science fiction, and the war video games could possibly conclude from this that the USA was a particularly bloodthirsty culture.
Our current perception is that the average citizen of the USA is generally non-violent. It is entirely possible that the average Aztec, during the height of their existence, considered themselves to be generally non-violent, though having certain ceremonies, that might be considered barbaric from a modern Western perspective.
Has any research been conducted that would indicate how the Aztecs perceived themselves, or even how other tribes may have perceived them?
• Cultures are all different. In the days of sailing ships, when you went past the equator for the first time, you'd be dunked into the ocean and towed for a while. If we did that today, it would be illegal. – Russell Jun 13 '12 at 5:43
• 1
@Russell - They still have the Shellback initiation on US Navy ships when equator is crossed. See youtube.com/watch?v=p3gjoi15n2Y – jfrankcarr Jun 13 '12 at 11:31
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While I find the Aztec question interesting the current US reference don't really do much to frame the question. If you could remove them that would be preferrable. We like questions that do not solicit debate (and despite your parentheticals it may), so please focus on the question at hand and it can be framed pointedly to what you are asking. – MichaelF Jun 13 '12 at 11:37
• 2
Or looking at the incarceration rate in modern USA, they would conclude that it was a society of prison wardens... – quant_dev Jun 13 '12 at 12:38
• I modified this question to make it more suitable for the site. The alternative, given the way it was worded, was to outright delete it, but I felt that the base question meritted consideration. – Steven Drennon Jun 13 '12 at 14:53
I wrote a paper related this topic, for peer review.
Basically, the general story (maybe "propaganda") of state ritual sacrifice was that those sacrificed were becoming god-like, and so were elevated to the holiest status achievable - perhaps (in a distant way) like suicide bombers today.
The Aztecs saw that representing yourself as one of these Divine Powers was a 'holy' thing - but only those representing the 'big 4' divinities had the national stage, and even then the selection process was something of a random lot. No one charged toward it.
Being chosen for one of the lesser Divine Powers was probably even less attractive, to the individual. Whether this was a way to 'clear out undesirables' is not yet clear. Certainly, it is known that these people (ixiptla) were drugged.
The way that songs were written, and evolved over time, about these ixiptla, we can infer that people took this practices as vital, if not serious, part of the cycle of life.
In my paper, I present evidence that the priestly classes saw the sacrificial practice as a way to glean necessary insights about the future of the civilization. A mix of augury and science.
edit: this excellent paper, on ixiptla and Toxcatl, was published by Izabela Wilkosz. It goes into many important details, as well.
• Were all social classes represented in those who were sacrificed? – James Jan 19 '16 at 8:32
• 1
@James All evidence points to yes, actually. The ritual of the Tezcatlipoca ixiptla demanded 'a perfect specimen' — and this was, as we would call it, a body-mind thing. Generally this would be the defeated captain of another's fighters — a role that would not be assigned to a low-class person regardless of how fit and attractive. *I'm glad to get contradicted on this if someone wants to point to a paper. – New Alexandria Jan 19 '16 at 19:36
• 1
For some reason I hadn't noticed this answer, this was what I was looking for 'any research conducted into how the Aztecs themselves percieved human sacrifice'. Thanks. – Mozibur Ullah Feb 4 '16 at 7:32
• 'Those sacrificed become god-like' reminds me of Agambens Homo Sacer. – Mozibur Ullah Feb 4 '16 at 7:34
• @MoziburUllah sacrificing them did not make them god-like.... those who were made to become god-like were sacrificed. Death wasn't the door into having more teotl. Oddly, I propose that Homo Sacer is the opposite: these ixiptlas' initiation/'evolution' made them only suitable for sacrifice, and similarly they were guarded and chaperoned. Maybe I am unfamiliar with Agamben's interpretation. – New Alexandria Jul 22 '16 at 13:16
Your question is framed oddly. Human Sacrifice, and lots of it, were common in pre-columbian Mesoamerican cultures: not just the Aztecs, but the Mayans and a bunch of others, too. No apocalyptic justifications apply, they just killed a bunch of people for their religious rites. It got so bad, the client states of the Three Part Alliance, who had to supply the bulk of the sacrifices, despite massive depopulation due to disease, basically revolted as soon as Cortez showed up. (Showing once again, it's better the devil you know than the one you don't...)
On the other hand, as Charles C. Mann points out in his book 1491, pre-modern European cultures were just as bloodthirsty, per capita, as the mesoamerican cultures: they called them executions rather than sacrifices. While some of these executions were of murderers and other scoundrels, a lot of them were for petty political and religious reasons - exactly the sort of thing that gets you nominated for this year's sacrifice in Tenochtitlan. On page 134:
Between 1530 and 1630, according to Cambridge historian V.A.C. Gatrell, England executed seventy-five thousand people. At the time, its population was about three million, perhaps a tenth of the Mexica empire. Arithmetic suggests that if England had been the size of the Triple Alliance, it would have executed, on average about 7,500 people per year, roughly twice the number Cortés estimated for the empire.
• 2
While I'm sure that Medieval Europea was at least as brutal in warfare and probably took far more lives through the course of its history (naturally, as there were far more competing powers and peoples in limited space) -- I don't think it's fair to say that European cultures were quite so bloodthirsty and villainous to their own people, for the most part. Human sacrifice at least was a very rare occurrence in medieval Europe, not least because it was seen as occult and anti-Christian. – Noldorin Jun 13 '12 at 22:04
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@Noldorin are you suggesting burning the "witches" was not a human sacrifice? What's the difference? – o0'. Jun 14 '12 at 10:06
• 3
@jfrankcarr - "Between 1530 and 1630, according to Cambridge historian V. A. C. Gatrell, England executed seventy-five thousand people. At the time, its population was about three million, perhaps a tenth that of the Mexica empire. Arithmetic suggests that if England had been the size of the Triple Alliance, it would have executed, on average, about 7,500 people per year, roughly twice the number Cortés estimated for the empire. France and Spain were still more bloodthirsty than England, according to Braudel." - Charles C. Man, "1491" danielnpaul.com/CharlesCMann-1491.html – RI Swamp Yankee Jun 14 '12 at 12:50
• 4
@jfrankcarr - No, he was extrapolating on a per-capita basis, a valid statistical analysis backed up by recorded history, not offering a counter-factual. Also, Political Correctness was a facet of New Left philosophy that hasn't been in vogue since the late '80s, and any other use of the term is ill-defined at best. Say what you mean rather than use code-words. Do you believe he gives minority ethnicities preferential treatment? – RI Swamp Yankee Jun 14 '12 at 16:09
• 2
I don't like this unnecessary and self-righteous trend of political correctness to portray the conquered indigenous peoples of the New World as having cultures or societies that were equally civilised in every respect. Fact was, many simply weren't, at least by the prevalent Western standards of civilisation. Others were more so; but most had the habit of slow stagnation. – Noldorin Jun 14 '12 at 22:07
First of all, there is an attempt by some current historians to use cultural/moral relativism when it comes to Europeans and Mesoamerican cultures in this time period. They'll attempt to equate things like the Spanish Inquisition (if they're on the anti-religious political left) or modern day abortion (if they're on the religious political right) with the human sacrifice practiced by the Aztecs. This "noble savage" or "romantic racism" train of thought attempts to obscure and downplay the brutality found in certain, non-European, cultures, such as the Aztecs.
Some of this romanticization and obfuscation was in reaction to earlier historians who regarded Aztecs as uncivilized savages, which was also false. The Aztecs were both quite civilized and quite brutal.
The truth of the matter is that the Aztecs weren't rivaled in the deliberate wholesale killing of civilians until the 20th century by the Nazis. While there is some debate over the scope, even the low estimates far outstrip what the Europeans or Asians ever did during the same time periods.
Culturally, it was a culture of fear, the common result of an authoritarianism. The common people lived in constant fear that they would be next up upon the pyramid of death. They could be whipped up into a bloodthirsty frenzy being motivated by self-preservation and group psychological dynamics.
So, yes, the Aztecs were a violent society. While individually, the everyday people were probably just typical people for the most part, as a group, they are easily one of the most internally violent and bloodthirsty cultures to have ever existed beyond the tribal level.
• 1
IMHO you have to use a certian amount of "moral relativisim" when analyzing extinct cultures so completely foriegn to the one you happened to be raised in. You just have no real conception of what it is like to live under the set of limitations and abilities they had. The place to reassert your morals is in discussions about how your own culture should behave. – T.E.D. Jun 13 '12 at 16:00
• 5
...I suspect your real complaint (certianly it would be mine) is about people who instead use our moral revulsion to certian aspects of other cultures to attack things they don't like about our own. This question IMHO is of that ilk. I can dislike our huge incarcaration rates and ancient human sacrifice without somehow being bizzarely forced to relate the two. – T.E.D. Jun 13 '12 at 16:06
• @T.E.D. - I just noticed there's a philosophy.stackexchange.com. Might be a good place to ask about universal vs absolute vs relative morals and ethics. – jfrankcarr Jun 13 '12 at 18:52
• @T.E.D: The attack wasn't entirely unintentional; but my main concern at the time was pondering how the notion of blood sacrifice might transcend cultures by changing its aspect; to be fair, it's probably not a historical question – Mozibur Ullah Feb 2 '16 at 7:21
The closest literary source I have encountered that involves a perspective of these Native Americans is the journals of Bernal Diaz. In the book Victors and Vanquished you can find several of his eye witness accounts that seem to be somewhat unbiased.
From what I have read, these three tribes were indeed "bloodthirsty" but not in the sense of a serial killer. They seemed to believe that the consumption of a superior peer's blood and organs would inevitably improve their well being, agility, intelligence, what have you.
Most of what we know about human sacrifices among the Aztecs is known from post-conquest codexes such as Ramirez Codex, Codex Tudela, or Codex Magliabechiano, written by baptized Christian Aztecs.
There is no comprehensive and even quantitative data from any non-Christian source. It is known that Franciscan bishop Juan de Zumárraga burned all pre-Christian Aztec books that could shed any non-biased light at the pre-Christian Aztec customs.
• 2
There is objective modern archeological evidence that indicates massive human sacrifice took place. – jfrankcarr Jun 14 '12 at 11:49
• @jfrankcarr: Modern Jain monks have a practise - Sallekhana - which could be termed as ritual sacrifice, where they starve themselves to death. However they regard suicide as a sin against life, and do not themselves view this as suicide. My question was referring to how the Aztec themselves viewed what we term human sacrifice. – Mozibur Ullah Jun 14 '12 at 13:52
• @Anixx: It seems remarkable that Zumarraga had access to all such texts. Have any Aztec texts survived? I had assumed that they didn't have an elaborate literary culture. – Mozibur Ullah Jun 14 '12 at 13:58
• There are surviving codexes but they are pictoral and mostly describe the Aztec calendar. Yes, they had no writing but the surviving pre-Spanish codexes do not depict the human sacrifices in images either and also there are no accounts by Spanish-speaking non-Cristian Aztecs (although the Aztec religion co-existed with Christianity for some time). The graves could be of any origin: for example, the killed by plague. – Anixx Jun 14 '12 at 14:20
• 5
@Anixx - Yes, plagues of knives cutting into chest cavities were common during the time period. – jfrankcarr Jun 14 '12 at 14:54
While, as the other answer says Mesoamerican civilizations did not shed much more blood than European ones, they did it in a different way.
Aztecs sacrificed random people, Europeans executed scoundrels.
E.g., if you are a random law-abiding yeoman in England, chances are the Law will not come after you. However, a random guy in an Aztec-subjugated village can easily become a sacrificial tribute.
IOW, people find it easier to associate themselves with the victims of the Aztec cults than with victims of the European justice system.
PS. This is somewhat similar to my other answer.
Injecting subjective, modern-day judgements on ancient civilizations like calling them "bloodthirsty" is just bad-mouthing ancient civilizations and not objective historically. If your goal is to look at ancient civilizations and just insult them or consider them inferior because their customs are denounced by your own civilization, you will have a hard time understanding history.
To correct Swamp Yankees answer, Aztecs were not "like" Mayans, they were Mayans. The Aztecs were a Mayan people that invaded and conquered central Mexico. Like all Mayans they believed that the god of the Sun needed to be propitiated by the sacrifice of human blood. Mayans often cut themselves and drained the blood into bowls for the purpose of sacrificing their own blood. One type of blooding involved thorns threaded on twine which they would pull through their own tongues to draw blood.
When the Mayans conquered the Mexicans they sacrificed as many as they could to the Sun, sometimes in large ceremonies where hundreds or thousands of prisoners had their hearts cut out and their blood drained in sacrifice to the sun.
As far as violence is concerned, the Aztecs were "violent" and were proud of it. Being a warrior was a privileged position in society and the Mexicans held the Aztecs in absolute dread. Not only the Aztecs but many of the surrounding Mexican tribes were very warlike and violent. For example, when Cortes was marching to Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), his force was attacked by a tribe called the Tlaxcalans who were especially warlike. In one battle, these men kept attacking the Spaniards until the men of Cortes were fighting in a pool of blood that came up to their knees and the number of bodies was in the thousands.
One of Cortes' lieutenants, Bernal Díaz del Castillo, wrote about a book about the march to Tenochtitlan which describes in detail many of the Aztecs and Mexicans whom they encountered, so if you are interested in their attitudes, you might read his book.
• I'm no expert, but I think mainstream opinion among historians is that the Aztecs and Mayans are not at all closely related. The Mayans had been indigenous to the Yucatan vicinity since ca 2000 BC; the Aztecs migrated from northern Mexico/southwest US ca 1250 AD. The languages are entirely different: Mayan is its own family, Nahuatl is a member of the Uto-Aztecan family, which includes languages like Hopi that are still spoken in the US southwest. – jamesqf Jan 19 '16 at 5:44
• @jamesqf Its not a question of history, its a question of anthropology and possibly archaeology. The Aztecs are physiognomically and culturally identical to the Mayans and the only differences between them are due to the Aztecs being a more modern civilization, the Mayan civilization having declined for some unknown reason previously. The Aztec language and writing system is a devolved form of the Mayan writing system. – Tyler Durden Jan 19 '16 at 8:05
• Those who are more expert than I certainly disagree. As I said, the spoken languages are entirely different families. The written languages are similar only in being ideographic, but so are Chinese, Japanese, and ancient Egyptian. Culturally the similarities - building pyramids and going in for large-scale human sacrifice - are outweighed by the many differences. Physiognomy hardly matters, since culture is not genetic. – jamesqf Jan 19 '16 at 19:13
• @jamesqf The "old" anthropolgy analysis was that the Aztecs were a group of Mayans who invaded Mexico, conquered the locals and set up an Empire based in Tenochtitlan. Overtime the Central American Mayan civilizations declined, leaving the Aztecs as the most advanced culture in the area. I see absolutely no reason to abandon this fundamental theory. The idea that the Aztecs were not Mayans or came from some other place other than Central America and that they just "borrowed" Mayan culture, is a ridiculous and unsupportable idea. – Tyler Durden Jan 19 '16 at 19:32
• Who claims that the Aztecs borrowed Mayan culture? Everything I've read says that the cultures were quite different, perhaps no more similar to each other than each was to the ancient Egyptians. After all, they all built pyramids, used ideographic writing systems, and had a bunch of gods that seem pretty strange to us. And if the Aztecs did descend culturally and/or ethnically from the Mayans, why did they adopt a language similar to ones used by people living a thousand miles or so to the north? – jamesqf Jan 20 '16 at 6:33
Your Answer
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13632 | I recall an interview where Reza Aslan described that History, in its present form, didn't always exist that way. That is the rigor, validation, and peer review wasn't present. Instead, it was a tool to convey an intuitive understanding, to "get the gist of" past events, cultures or conflicts.
Since people once thought the Earth was flat, I would assume humans linear understanding of time also went through an evolution of sorts.
• How has the cultural concept and treatment of history (and time) evolved to its presently understood form?
...or, how did History become History?
While this question is way too broad, we have a really good example in terms of the international working class movement. EP Thompson's "Time, work-discipline and industrial capitalism" Past and Present, discusses the change from fields and craft times, including Saint Monday (the unofficial extension of the Sunday weekend forced by workers), into industrial time set by clocks motions and machines in the factory system. The railways, correspondingly, brought uniform time across local areas through telegraph synchronised timings.
As far as the birth of the modern conception of history in the workers movement, part of this comes from the adoption of liberal historiography (including Marxist historiography) from without, including the forced adoption of national narratives through schooling. Part of this comes through the self-education that the workers movement emphasised up to the 1970s, with lectures on the history and historical significance of workers themselves.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13658 | 2 Matching Annotations
1. Sep 2017
1. our indigenous neighbours?
Jefferson and the University's founders held a supercilious view over the Native Americans and their traditional lifestyle. They felt as if the indigenous population was inferior simply for their tendency to revert back to old traditions and simple ways of life rather than pursuing a goal of democracy and advanced civilization. The native population had a structure of government and tradition that maintained their societal constructs but the white men who founded our university considered it to be lesser because it wasn't formal, written down, or an advancement of political theory. In an evolutionary sense, it is interesting to think about when or why it became necessary for humans to need a written out document defining their system of governance or their individual liberty. Did men become more ambitious or unruly as they became "smarter" or more aware and worldly throughout time?
2. centrality to the white population of the whole state:
In laying the cornerstone of the University the founders considered many places in Virginia including Lexington, Charlottresville, and Augusta County. However, Charlottesville was chosen due to its affluence and concentration of the caucasian population. The concentration of races can be found on a macro-scale dating back 200,000 years ago when the human population in Africa split off into different parts of the Earth. However, this isolation is also present on a micro level even within the confines of a state. Some towns are heavily black and others white, etc. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13699 | Pages 283-306
☽ - Orin and Joelle
Page 283
Johnny Gentle
the name of a real musician from the U.K.
Onanism is another word for masturbation in the English language, but there might be much more to it than that. At the target, expand your understanding of Levirate marriage as well.
cholera and amoebic-dysentery
Cholera is extreme diarrhea brought on by ingesting V. cholera, a comma shaped bacterium excreted in extraordinary quantities in the feces of victims. (The interested reader will enjoy learning about John Snow and the Broad Street pump.) Amoebic dysentery is also extreme diarrhea, this time brought on by the acquisition of a parasitic infection.
scattered; dispersed (from one's homeland)
Endnote 93
winners never quit and quitters never win is a quote by Vince Lombardi who was the Greenbay Packers coach in the 1960s
Endnote 94
a psychological disorder marked especially by easy fatigability and often by lack of motivation, feelings of inadequacy, and psychosomatic symptoms — compare chronic fatigue syndrome.
Page 284
a divine creative impulse or inspiration.
Palmer Academy
neologism: uninspired. afflatus is inspiration, divine communication of knowledge, literally to blow upon. Wikipedia
Advanced Placement
French for "female Croat" (or Croatian modifying a feminine French noun) but probably just a misspelling, OR indicative that the "Croation-refugee transfer" from Palmer Academy, who brought Eschaton to E.T.A. was a female.
Endnote 95
post-Windows DOS
A DOS is a Disk Operating System, the programming by which a computer runs other programs. Microsoft has not issued a new DOS after Windows as of 2016 and claims they never will.
Page 285
an incentive
Endnote 96
Fredericton, N.B.
Page 285 (cont'd)
in one's seventies
vault the net
You can see examples here.
Page 286
a French apparel company, known for producing Izod
a powder used to darken the eyelids
Rhett the Boston Terrier is the mascot of Boston University.
an excellent or desirable thing
the plural of "hiatus"
Blue Cross
an health insurance company
felo de se
diligent or attentive
Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar
Page 287
Year of Dairy Products from the American Heartland
the largest vein in the neck
'Tenabrae Factae Sunt,' sotto v.
Page 288
Salic law
another name for the plant disease known as canker that usually has no cure.
Political Action Committee
flowery in style
trilled r's
'Politics and the English Language'
You can read Orwell's essay here.
Tactical Phalanx
Militant Grammarians of Massachusetts
a job requiring little or no work but that confers status/prestige
Page 289
Bill Tilden
here meaning "erratic"
here referring to the splitting of white light into a spectrum of color, as on the cover of Dark Side of the Moon
having improperly aligned eyes
Obsessive-Compulsive Disoder
postcoital flanks
Postcoital denotes after sexual intercourse. The flank is the side of the body between the ribs and hip.
an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.
Page 290
Actaeon Complex
This is not a real psychiatric disorder. Actaeon was a figure from Greek mythology who fell in love with the goddess of the hunt, Artemis, only to anger her (by observing her bathing) and then be changed by her into a deer, which was then hunted to death by Actaeon's own dogs — all of which perhaps suggests an underlying reluctance in the men to pursue Joelle because she might pursue them in return. (But, it was not Artemis who pursued Actaeon…??)
(phylogenetic is the more common variant) OED: of, relating to, or characteristic of the evolutionary development of a species or other group of organisms through a succession of forms.
elisions and apical lapses
four meters
a little over thirteen feet.
so-called cheekbones, arches on the outer borders of the eyes
high-definition, like a television
in a way that sharply affects the organs of sense
an essential oil extracted from flowers
to extract the flavor of by boiling
characteristic of an uncle
Page 291
squinty or improperly aligned eyes
probably a misspelling of "facsimile"
almost ten feet
bona fried
the exiled Oklahoman coach here appears to mean "bona fide"
entrance or passage, antonym exit
the branch of medicine devoted to the correction of anomalies or injuries to bones or muscles
almost 400 pounds
Special Teams
femur to tarsus
The femur is the bone running from the hip to the knee — the largest bone in the body. The tarsi (plural of tarsus) are the bones of the midfoot. In between are the tibia and fibula — the bones of the lower leg — and the patella, or kneecap – and the calcaneus or heelbone. All of these were apparently broken.
Page 292
Central Nervous System
a French brand of cigarettes, the word means of or pertaining to Gaul, the name by which France was known in Roman times
Page 293
State University of New York
kick serve
out of the ordinary course or nature
something that kills plants
Page 294
kill it just by touching
coffin-corner kicks
having two sides, as here used meaning "on both sides"
Special Teams
wide receiver's number
" was in its last season of representing an American university..."
90-yard punt
the Syracuse football team's name
Page 295
having to do with the foot
United States Marine Corps
Rolling Thunder's big-bellied Berthas
Rolling Thunder was the bombing campaign on North Vietnam carried out by South Vietnam and the U.S. military between 1965 and 1968. A Bertha is probably just a really big gun, like the famous Big Bertha used by Germany during WWI. More likely Bertha is referring here to large bombs dropped during the Rolling Thunder campaign, though B52s capable of dropping really large bombs were used much more extensively later - in the escalation into Cambodia for example
freedom from entanglement
pertaining to the fluid that surrounds a fetus in utero
Page 296
Yankee Conference
K-L-RMKI/Forsythia Bowl
three subway stops distant
East Cambridge is about ten green-line stops from BU.
faithfulness, here to a sports team
four-wheel-drive vehicle
a type of climbing vine now prevalent in the U.S. South. It was introduced in the 30s and 40s and is now viewed as an invasive nuisance.
a breed of hunting dog
a brand name of heat-resistant glass
turn blue litmus paper red
presumably something highly acidic
Page 297
carrying a person over one's shoulder
Dixie Baton-Twirling Institute in Oxford MS
overgrown anatomically
one of the muscles in front of the thigh
Physical Therapists
having to do with acting
the initials of several telecommunications and television companies
a company that produces high-technology optics devices
an indication of the amount of digital memory used
This is Orin's jersey number — why he didn't get a changed number is uncertain, as is why it said he had gotten a receiver's number. A number in the 70s would be an offensive or defensive lineman — someone unlikely to have contact with the ball.
Page 298
Jiffy Pop
a brand name of home popping corn
revolutions per minute
Storrow 500
a local nickname for Storrow Drive in Boston
Pilotone blooper
U. Vermont and UNH now history
four-point stances
with both hands and both feet on the ground
to blow hard and loudly
to break or crush; Wallace might also mean to ward off or keep away, but the more commmon phrase for that is "stave off".
Page 299
a bright noncontact white
Orin's helmet is white because he hasn't been tackled.
pendular 180-arc of Orin's leg
pertaining to the buttocks
November 14th, YDAU - Poor Tony Goes Cold Turkey
Page 299
Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
Armenian Foundation Library in horrid central Watertown MA
Page 300
Equus Reese
Equus is Latin for "horse."
Donegal cap
You can see one here.
to obtain by begging
French for "against you"
non grata
Latin: not welcome
Aigner accessory
Etienne Aigner is a designer of women's handbags & leather goods.
obtain drugs
homosexual prostitution - trading sexual activity for money or drugs, frequently associated with violence FreeDictionary
a city in Massachusetts about 25 miles south of Boston
Fort Point
to use enough heroin to stave off withdrawal
Tony is carrying his auburn wig and red leather coat in a shopping bag.
The Old Cold Bird
a variation on cold turkey
fifty kilos
a little over 110 pounds
Page 301
color of summer squash
alternate spelling of stye
hair tied into a knot worn at the back of the head, similar to a bun.
troughs and nodes
deep furrows and swollen areas, respectively
more likely: lows and data points or vertices between changes in symptoms.
misspelling of habiliments, i.e., clothing
pale in color
suffering from nervous exhaustion (with no apparent physical cause)
a person suffering from gender identity disorder
Year of the Whopper
412 Mount Auburn Street
Page 302
Codinex Plus
a brand name of cough syrup
regular old morphine, which has the chemical composition C17H19NO3
a department store in Boston
pride to a fault
flows of events
Page 303
Merry Widow
a woman's undergarment consisting of a strapless bra and short corset
apparently a misspelling of Amalfi, a brand of shoes
45 kg
a little over 99 pounds
German: convulsion, jerk or twitch
pebbled glass
a drinking glass having a rough surface
pertaining to a son or daughter
Mount Auburn Cemetery
the first landscaped cemetery in the U.S.
Armenian Foundation Library
British colloquialism for toilet
Page 304
deceptive in speech
without luck
moving like ants
the compound that makes urine yellow
a large beast
pertaining to the spaces between brain cells
dried out
40 percent alcohol
to serve as an omen
Page 305
out of place
of or relating to childbirth
blimps or zeppelins (airships)
Red Sox of Rice and Lynn
gaffed fish
caught with a very large hook
strips of decorative material
Page 306
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13716 | Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys thinking skills and memory. Alzheimer's eventually destroys the ability to carry out simple tasks. Most people with Alzheimer’s notice the first symptoms in their mid-60s.
Some people notice the symptoms earlier. This is called having early onset Alzheimer's.
What causes Alzheimer's?
The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are not understood. In some cases of early onset Alzheimer’s there is a genetic component. Whereas late onset Alzheimer’s comes from brain changes that happens over decades.
A combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors liekly cause Alzheimers. The importance of any one factor differs from person to person.
What are the signs of Alzheimer's?
The first Alzheimer's symptoms are often a decline in finding words, vision/spatial issues and/or impaired reasoning or judgment.
People first experience Mild Cognitive Impairment, before reaching a Dementia stage of Alzheimer's. The dementia stages of Alzheimer's are described below.
The first symptoms of Alzheimer's tend to be short term memory loss. People have a hard time remembering recently learned facts and are unable to learn new information.
Problems with attentiveness, planning, flexibility, and abstract thinking or impairments in semantic memory can also be a sign of the early stages of Alzheimer's.
Other symptoms such as, apathy, irritability and reduced awareness of memory difficulties are common. Mild cognitive impairment can be a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia.
Most Alzheimer's sufferers are diagnosed at the Mild Alzheimer's stage. At the Mild Alzheimer's stage, sufferers experience greater memory loss and more cognitive difficulties. Problems include wandering, getting lost, trouble handling money, repeating questions, taking longer to complete tasks and personality and behavior changes.
In the Moderrate Alzheimer's stage, damage occurs in areas of the brain that control language, reasoning, sensory processing, and conscious thought. Sufferers experience more memory loss and confusion grow worse. People start having problems recognizing family and friends. Learning new things, carrying out multistep tasks such as getting dressed, or coping with new situations becomes difficult.
In the Moderate stage of Alzheimer's people may start having hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. They may also behave impulsively.
In the Severe Alzheimer's stage plaques and tangles spread throughout the brain. The brain tissue shrinks significantly. Severe Alzheimer’s sufferers cannot communicate and are completely dependent. The Alzheimer's sufferer may now be in bed most or all of the time as the body shuts down.
The Brain and Alzheimer's
In Alzheimer's disease amyloid plaques accumulate between nerve cells or neurons in the brain. Amyloid is a protein fragment that the body produces normally. In a healthy brain amyloid fragments break down and are eliminated. In Alzheimer's the fragments accumulate to form hard insoluble plaques.
Neurofibrillary tangles are formed into insoluble twisted fibers inside the brain. The tau protein forms part of a structure called a microtubule. In Alzheimer's disease the tau protein is abnormal and the microtubule structures collapse.
As Alzheimer's progresses, brain tissue shrinks. The ventricles chambers within the brain that contain cerebrospinal fluid are noticeably enlarged.
In the early stage of Alzheimer's short-term memory begins to decline when the cells in the hippocampus degenerate. People with Alzheimer's lose the ability to perform routine tasks. As Alzheimer's spreads through the cerebral cortex, judgment worsens, emotional outbursts may occur and language is impaired.
Advancement of the disease leads to the death of more nerve cells and subsequent changes in behavior, such as wandering and agitation. In the final stage, people may lose the ability to feed themselves, speak, recognize people and control bodily functions. Memory worsens and may become almost non-existent. Constant care is typically necessary. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13732 | Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands
Behind the smokescreen
Legal Rights and Title of Sovereignty of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel and Palestine under International Law
The game is not over – we've actually just starting to play
Jews Living in Judea is a Civil Right
The Truth about Palestinian Refugees
The Middle East’s Greatest Untold Story
Combatting Hate against Israel at the UN
Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries
Enough is Enough
Wear your support for Israel when others have turned their back
Dialogue with an American friend on the status quo and Israel’s future
Myths and Madness in the Middle East
What You Need to Know About Anti-Israel UN Resolution 2334
Here’s how we’re getting it wrong on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
I Am Bereft. It Never Ends. Is This How The World Thinks Of Us?
Speech to the United Nations General Assembly by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Daniel Patrick Moynihan on November 10, 1975
Affirmation to Delegitimization: The UN Vote Then and Now
Confused about UNESCO? What You Need To Know Top 16 Links
At Rosh Hashanah: Grief, fear, hope
The UN's unhealthy obsession with Israel
Mandate Palestine: A Legacy of Zionism
Where is the Land of Israel?
Indians 'Take Over' Twitter and Trend Solidarity with Israel
The International Legal Revolution: Implications for Israel
Why You Should Know San Remo
Overcoming Siren Stress, and Other Wartime Realities
Boston Teens Stand With Israel!
The Truth about the UN
Tel Aviv White Night-Laila Lavan |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13734 | Opened 2 years ago
#5853 new change
Implement automated memory profiling of V8
Reported by: oleksandr Assignee:
Priority: Unknown Milestone:
Module: Libadblockplus Keywords: memory-usage
Cc: sergz, eric@…, hfiguiere, fhd Blocked By:
Blocking: Platform: Unknown / Cross platform
Ready: no Confidential: no
Tester: Unknown Verified working: no
Review URL(s):
With some of our distribution partnerships we have a requirement to minimize the memory usage of libadblockplus. To do that we should be able to fairly painlessly estimate the current memory usage, for comparison with older libadblockplus versions, different V8 versions etc.
What to change
Automate memory profiling of V8 in libadblockplus. Requirements for the process are:
• Implement using native OS APIs. Just using a self reported JS heap size is not enough, since actual memory usage differs dramatically.
• Support multiple OS's. Android is a top priority for now. Reason for this is that different OS's have different memory management. Android doesn’t swap virtual memory like most host-based OS. Thus peak memory use matters more on Android.
• Support a standard set of test vectors. Load same filters, subscriptions etc every time. We need maximum reproducibility across multiple test runs.
• For Android, the process will have to be manually started on a physical device. Document a process and describe how to retrieve and compare the resulting stats.
Preferably this would also be runnable in a third-party test environment.
Change History (0)
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13748 | When casually browsing through A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, one of the example sentences for 〜なくなる has left me puzzled.
This suburban area is no longer inconvenient because there's a subway now.
My understanding of this sentence is as follows:
• この郊外 (this suburban area)
• も (?)
• 地下鉄が来て (because the subway comes [cause])
• 不便ではなくなった (stopped being inconvenient any more)
Is the meaning of も the one of a "non-assertive subject"? Seems somewhat odd to me, but then, I'm a beginner.
• 1
You used 「わ」 three times. Does your book use that instead of 「は」? – l'électeur Nov 13 '19 at 23:13
• Ah, my bad. Thanks for noticing! – Mike Hordecki Nov 13 '19 at 23:32
も is a very common particle. Some describe it as "inclusive", and it's often translated as "even / also / too".
In this particular context, the も implies that "even this suburb[an area]..." The underlying value judgment is that the subway is just so darn convenient, that it makes things so much better even in this area outside of the downtown.
Side note:
Don't rely (just) on translations to try to understand the nitty-gritty of Japanese grammar. There are so many things about Japanese that just don't fit very well into an English sentence. (Vice versa too, where English grammatical concepts don't translate well into Japanese, such as the "a" vs. "the" distinction, or plurals, or gender, etc.)
Your Answer
|
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13758 | jen spencer coaches
Integration is the key to evolution
What does integration mean to you?
To me, personal integration means that my life is working well. The parts that make up Jen Spencer are firing on all cylinders. They are connected and operate in a system. And the fruits of this integration yield efficiencies and possibilities for alignment that hadn’t existed before. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
And what I have noticed is that when something is off in my work and life or I feel overextended, fragmented or disconnected, integration is usually the only way to realign and get me back on track moving towards my overall goal(s).
It’s been really interesting noticing the same patterns in business lately. In the past 3 months, I’ve been steeped in conferences, surrounded by experts in social business, brands + innovation and interactivity. What’s excited me is that these innovators in enterprise and social profit businesses are clear that – similar to working human beings – they have to integrate to achieve the next level of success. Integration is key to evolution.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13761 | Well, What Do You Know
Image via screengrab.
TitanicTitanicAll Titanic all the time.
It’s my pleasure to inform all of you that, after taking a hard turn far too late, Titanic has smashed into the Netflix catalogs of all American subscribers. James Cameron’s epic film about the dangers of traveling in third class (and trusting Victor Garber) is available to stream for the forseeable future on all your Netflix-connected devices.
Watch it on your television while eating take out and toasting a glass of cheap champagne to the screen! Watch it on your iPhone while having a luxurious weekend bowel movement! Watch it on your laptop while Gchatting about how much you hate Rose’s mother in another tab! But whatever you do, take the diamond out of the coat before putting the coat on her.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13765 | How to write a sample research paper? 3 main aspects
Throughout school and college, you will require composing a research paper. A sample research paper can be utilized for investigating and recognizing logical, specialized and community issues. On the off chance that it’s your first time composing an examination paper, it might appear to be inspiring; however, with the great association and focal point of brain, you can make the procedure simpler on yourself. Composing a research paper includes four principle stages: picking a theme, investigating your subject, making a layout, and doing the genuine composition. The paper won’t keep in touch with itself, yet by arranging and planning great, the composing for all intents and purposes becomes alright. Now the question is how to write a research paper? So it is as simple as making notes on a particular topic. You need to follow some aspects which are given below:
Write an introduction
The introduction has numerous regards, the conclusion must be essay writer backward: begin with the part of presenting the bigger subject, at that point arranges to peruse in the region you’ve concentrated on, lastly, make the thesis statement. Abstain from rehashing definite expressions that you officially utilized in the end.
The main aspect is to write a body
Regardless of the fact that it might appear to be strange, composing your presentation initially might be harder to achieve than beginning with the research paper. Start it by composing the central matters, enables you to marginally change and control your thoughts and analysis.
• Bolster each announcement you make with proof. Since this is a research paper, there shouldn’t be any comments that can’t make you encourage by certainties straightforwardly from your examination.
• Abstain from utilizing some long, direct statements. In spite of the fact that your paper depends on research, the fact is for you to introduce your own thoughts.
• Your term paper should stream well, instead of ending and beginning in a dull manner. Ensure that every one of your body passages streams pleasantly into the one after it.
Write a conclusion
Since you have carefully worked through your proof, compose an end that quickly abridges your discoveries for perusing and gives a feeling of conclusion. Begin by quickly rehashing the hypothesis expression; at that point, help peruse to remember the focuses you secured through the span of the paper. Gradually zoom out of the subject as you compose, finishing on a wide note by stressing the bigger ramifications of your discoveries.
Thus, these are three main aspects which you need to consider while writing a sample research paper. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13790 | XML Sitemap
URLPriorityChange frequencyLast modified (GMT)
https://kabu-daytrade.com/super-market/100%Daily2019-03-27 05:54
https://kabu-daytrade.com/raise-children/100%Daily2019-03-19 01:36
https://kabu-daytrade.com/stock-ranking/100%Daily2019-03-11 08:07
https://kabu-daytrade.com/dont-satisfaction/100%Daily2019-03-04 03:06 |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13792 | Japanese Kanji Names Dictionary - How to Read and Pronounce
Sponsored Link
NEW! Handwritten Japanese Kanji Name Search
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きたかるいざわ Kitakaruizawa
Strokes： 28
Surnames or given names with 28 strokes
Names with "北" Names with "軽" Names with "井" Names with "沢"
Kanji list for Kitakaruizawa
I know other readings.
Name recognition for this month： 70
Lucky ranking for today(2020年1月23日): 110,519
Celebrities' name including "北" Celebrities' name including "軽" Celebrities' name including "井" Celebrities' name including "沢"
Kanji names for this week:
菜名 横浜 竜也 田村 岡村
New entries for readings of surnames/given names/places:
㯃原 鏋三郎 千賀ノ浦 珠璣
Kanji at random:
凍結 峯久 凉太 鎌原柏木塚 小羊子
Short stories about names and kanji characters: |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13797 | Sal Story: HSN + Silicone
The most infamous of the anti-HR experiences I had while working for Sal is what I like to chronicle as the “HSN Nightmares.” Here is one particular gem.
“They are so Tampa,” he said. It was my first gig at actually profiling and booking models for Sal’s upcoming HSN (Home Shopping Network) debut. I was a little surprised we were going through with the transaction, as he’s always talked about his brand as being so over and above all the other lowlife brands, and HSN didn’t exactly scream haute couture.
Seeing as I had become the office’s shiny object right about the time the HSN partnership was built, I was handed the reigns on model casting, styling, escorting Sal to St. Petersberg, FL, maintaining the agenda, shoe samples in correct sizes, and basically helping to facilitate any and all needs between Sal and the production teams at HSN.
We had looked at model head shots a week prior, and Sal was ultimately disgusted with most of them, which only made me paranoid that I also could have a “but her face” issue. And when we met the models to pick in person (talk about pressure), he let me take the lead.
But he couldn’t stop his own commentary later on how trashy and gross they were collectively. He was ranting to me (backseat) and a colleague (passenger seat) about how he hated Florida models, how they weren’t nearly the caliber of NYC models. He spoke of how ugly they were, but that was all we had access to in a place like this. How tragic.
And then he noted how some of them had gone overboard on the silicone implants. {insert awkward moment when two girls in their early twenties are trapped in the car with a male boss discussing female anatomy.}
That moment would have been awkward enough if he let it lie, but he didn’t. He turned to the busty passenger seat employee and stated, “C, you don’t need any of that, but Katelin could use some {silicone}.”
Then he chuckled to himself and we drove silently back to the hotel, where me and my smaller parts washed up and went to bed.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13800 | Post commands fail to run in Acronis True Image Echo Server for Linux. Operation log shows that the commands were run successfully
Switch from full to simple recovery model to resolve the issue
Mounts a file system in Acronis Linux
Provides information about the system in Acronis Linux
Unmounts a file system in Acronis Linux
Shows/manipulates the IP routing table
Removes module from Linux kernel
Reports a snapshot of the current processes
Reboots the system
Allows to access smb shares
Moves/renames files
Lists all PCI devices
Sends ICMP ECHO_REQUEST to a network host
Creates a directory
Terminates a process
Configures a network interface
Lists directory contents
Inserts a module into Linux Kernel
Prints the full filename of the current working directory
Concatenates file(s) and prints them to stdout
Copies files and directories
Stops the system
Runs command with root directory set to newroot.
Removes (unlinks) file(s)
Shuts down the system
Acronis products currently do not support backing up of locally mapped disks using the subst utility
Test of the command fails because the user is impersonated differently in Remote Desktop Session. The actual command within the backup plan will be executed fine |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13812 | Posts about technology and arts.
Article about TestLink and Hudson integration published
Since September I’ve been working on a project to integrate TestLink and Hudson. The project consists basically in a Hudson Plug-in that uses TestLink Java API to retrieve information of Automated Test Cases created in TestLink. You can read more about the plug-in in the following address:
I wrote an article in conjunction with Anderson dos Santos about this Plug-in. The article was published by Testing Experience in its December issue. The issue’s topic is Open Source Tools. You can download the whole magazine from Testing Experience website (I highly recommend downloading the magazine, there are some great articles there!).
Since we wrote the article we changed only the way we parsed the test reports. Instead of parsing only TAP report files, we decided implement TAP, JUnit and TestNG parsers. In the future we plan adding more parsers to others *nits and Selenium report files.
The plug-in is being used to automate acceptance tests in a CRM system that was developed by Sysmap Solutions. I will write about the automation process, experiences learned and mistakes to be avoided in future projects as soon as we finish writing the automated tests and setting up the Selenium Farm.
In the following days I’ll be writing more tutorials, guides and recording some video tutorials. In February of the next year this automation solution will be presented in the Belgium Testing Days event.
Automating tests with Hudson and TestLink (pt-BR only)
Slides used at Encontro Ágil 2010. As soon as I finish the plug-in 2.0 version I’ll upload a video with a sample demo too.
Automatizando Testes Com Hudson e TestLink by brunodepaulak
Encontro Ágil 2010 - Lighting talk about Test Automation with TestLink and Hudson
On November 6th (next Saturday) Anderson Santos and I will present a Test Automation solution built on TestLink and Hudson at Encontro Ágil 2010. This meeting is for intended for the Agile community and will be hold at IME-USP (Instituto de Matemática e Estatística - Universidade de Sáo Paulo).
= In our demonstration we will be using TestLink 1.9 HEAD version, Hudson 1.366 and TestLink Hudson Plug-in 2.0-SNAPSHOT. This TestLink Hudson Plug-in version is still not released as we are finishing to code the integration between the plug-in and TAP through tap4j, an implementation of TAP - Test Anything Protocol. What is nice about this solution is that we aren't trying to use TestLink as an Automation Tool. But yes, as a Test Management Tool (what TestLink is by nature). And the choice of the Test Execution Tool is up to you, as long as you generate TAP Stream (basically, files containing a log of tests executed). We only enable you to have these tests updated on your TestLink installation, this way you can plan a Test Cycle with both Manual and Automated Tests in one single tool.
And lastly but not less important, this week Testing Experience Magazine accepted a proposal of article for the next issue on Open Source Tools about this solution. So we are working very hard to release TestLink Hudson Plug-in new version and spread this Test Automation Solution through the Testing/Quality community. Cheers
Extract images from a Word document
Some time ago I was asked by my boss to get all the images out of a Word document and save them in a separated directory. In this site the author gives you several different ways of extracting images from a Word document. However what I wanted was a quick and dirt way of having these images extracted without macros or having to open and save the document in HTML format.
So I wrote this quick and dirt word images extractor. It has two versions, one where you need to pass the .doc file as parameter and another one that gives you an input dialog box to point out where is the file. You can get the VBScripts from
Behind the scenes, this VBScript uses Word to save your .doc as .html and then copies the saved images into the same directory as your word file. So yes, you do have to have Word installed. If somebody gets interested in improving it, he/she could find a way of extracting multiple files at once. In this version some files are overridden. He/she could add to the beginning of the image name the word file name. Or it could be required to pass the output directory together with the input word file.
That’s it, I hope it might be helpful to somebody as it was - and still is - to me. :-)
tap4j - A new TAP implementation in Java
A month ago I started a project to help me in my new version of the TestLink Hudson plug-in. The plugin now relies heavily on Apache Maven for test execution. After reading a post on TestLink forum about an automation done using TAP, I googled to learn what that acronym stood for.
TAP is the abbreviation of Test Anything Protocol.It is a protocol to produce information about test execution and used mainly by the Perl community. For instance, you can test your system using PHPUnit, JUnit, Selenium or even a C class and produce what they call a TAP Stream. This stream’s content is like follows:
TAP version 13
ok 1 Test 1
ok 2
The text above tells us that we are using the version 13 of TAP. That we have 2 tests (1..’2’) and that both tests were executed without errors. TAP is a human readable text that can be interpreted by a software for audit, report or whatever. Another tool can then parse this TAP Stream and prepare Reports, update Database among other uses (this is what TestLink Hudson plug-in is going to do on its new version ;-).
tap4j is a simple Java implementation of the TAP protocol (sorry to repeat the protocol part of the acronym right after it, but sounds cool :-). The project is built with Java 1.5 and Maven and hosted on SourceForge. The artifacts are published on Maven Central Repository but the jar is also uploaded into SourceForge. Up to now the project has only two members. Apart from me, there is César Fernandes Almeida, a friend from university that is helping me with the ideas, tests and code. But we really need more help, specially from people that know Perl (Harness, Simple, etc) to help us make integration tests using TAP Streams generated by these tools.
The 1.0 version supports Header, Plan, Footer, Test Results, Comments and Bail Out expressions. All these supported elements can be retrieved through the API, even the comments list. Any invalid text is ignored but you can also retrieve this information using the API.
We are already working on a new version, 1.1. This version will support YAML diagnostics, letting you put a whole Exception stack trace on your TAP Stream. Nice uhn? Check how YAML looks like.
file: foo.t
line: 45
description: an important test
found: this
wanted: that
raw_test: is( "this", "that", "an important test" );
THAC0: 16 |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13817 | Hiroshima Castle, Hiroshima, Japan
Related person
Jason Reibold (was created by)
Hiroshima Castle (Hiroshima-jo) was built in 1589 by the daimyo Mori Terumoto. The five-tiered donjon was completed in 1591 and became his home base. It was an elegant castle, but all was lost in the atomic bombing of 1945. The existing ferroconcrete, five-tiered donjon was built in 1958 and commands a panoramic view of the city. The stone fortress and moat remain as they were in the old days and the entire castle is designated a Historic Site. --http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/attractions/facilities/castles/83dn3a0... |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13841 | The Witness of the Spirit
The Witness of the Spirit
A Sermon for July 23, 2017 on Romans 8:14-17
What evidence is there that God exists? Although some people take the existence of God for granted, for other people it’s not quite so simple.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of evidence. The first is objective evidence. An example of objective evidence would be something like the historical evidence for God raising Jesus from the dead. Scholars can use all the tools of historical study to come to well established historical facts about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection appearances. Combined with Jesus’ teachings about himself, and the reality that common-folk disciples were willing to be tortured and die for their belief that Jesus was raised from the dead, it’s quite reasonable to come to the conclusion that the best explanation is that God raised Jesus from the dead.
There are quite a few other objective reasons to believe that God exists. One that should provide every atheist with a real gut-check moment is the so-called “moral argument.” It goes like this: If God does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist. But objective moral values do exist. Therefore God does exist. I don’t want to get too bogged down in this, but here’s what this is trying to get at: If God does not exist, then there is no frame of reference to figure out which way is up, morally speaking. One person’s viewpoint cannot really be said to be better than anyone else’s viewpoint if there isn’t a God. Mother Teresa and Hitler are just two people living out their own desires– neither of which is objectively good or objectively bad.
But everything in our human experience says that, in fact, experimenting on babies, abusing children, and murdering innocent people is bad. We observe it to be true as much as we can observe anything to be true. Atheism cannot provide a foundation for the reality of objective moral values that all of us experience every day. It provides a reality that not only fails to make sense of our experience, but is in fact completely unlivable. There is injustice in the world. Some things in fact are not fair. Objective moral values do exist, therefore God exists.
There are several other arguments for the existence of God that remain unrefuted by even the world’s foremost philosophers. Ask me about them if you care. This type of objective evidence can be very useful for the person that thinks that it’s irrational to believe in God because it provides the common starting point of reason and logic.
Most Christians don’t think about it like that, though. And that’s fine. Objective evidence only gets you so far. And so we tend to think about the other type of evidence: subjective evidence. In other words, we talk about our personal experience of God. It’s this experience, this subjective evidence that I really want to focus on today– a particular evidence that is usually called “the witness of the spirit,” “the testimony of the Spirit,” or otherwise just “assurance.”
Listen again to the words of Paul, who had been one of the church’s greatest persecutors, but whose experience of God was so profound that he became the church’s greatest evangelist:
Paul is drawing on a particular experience that he shares with all of the Christians that he is writing to. Having been indwelled by the Spirit of God, early Christians found themselves able to worship and pray in the same manner that Jesus did– experiencing an intimate relationship with God as Father– Abba in Aramaic, which is the language that Jesus primarily spoke.
Paul says that intimate relationship with God is an evidence. And he says, “it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
How do you know that God exists? That’s one question. But even more than that, how do you know that you’ve loved and accepted by God as a child? How do you know the truth of Paul’s statement at the beginning of chapter 8, that there is no condemnation for you?
I think most United Methodists would say that it’s something that you just take by faith. That’s not actually the official teaching of the church– but more on that in a minute. In fact Paul doesn’t even seem to be saying that it’s something that’s taken on faith. Paul assumes that all the Christians he is writing to have the testimony of two witnesses that they are loved and accepted by God.
The first is the testimony of their own spirit. Maybe the easiest way to think about this is your conscience. It’s the part of us that either feels God’s love and acceptance, or feels itself condemned by sin. It’s the part of us that believes ourselves to exhibit or lack the fruit of the Spirit– love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Like the concept of conscience, it’s hard to put your finger on. It’s more than just emotion and sentiment. It’s something that’s very deep and internal to ourselves.
But Paul also describes a second witness– you need at least two witnesses in a Jewish court of law to establish facts. He says “it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit”– it is the Spirit of adoption, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit witnesses, or testifies. Now what in the world could that mean?
It’s probably easiest to describe it by way of a story from Methodist history, which you know by now is going to bring me to talk about John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement. We’ve talked about him a few times since I’ve been here. Back in December, I shared with you the story about what happened to him when he was on a ship making his way to America to be a missionary in the colony of Georgia. His ship was tossed around by strong storms and he was scared for his life. He didn’t feel that he was ready to meet his maker. But during those storms, some Moravian Christians wowed him with their peace and deep assurance. Even though he was an Anglican clergyman, it was something that John had never witnessed before. But when John saw it, he wanted it.
And so when he gets to Georgia, he decides to start meeting with some of the Moravian pastors to get direction. In particular, he meets with a man named August Spangenberg. He wrote about it in his journal. Spangenberg says to him, “My brother, I must first ask you one or two questions. Have you the witness within yourself? Does the Spirit of God bear witness with your spirit, that you are a child of God?” Wesley writes, “I was surprised, and knew not what to answer. He observed it, and asked, “Do you know Jesus Christ?” I paused, and said, “I know he is the Saviour of the world.” “True,” replied he; “but do you know he has saved you?” I answered, “I hope he has died to save me.” He only added, “Do you know yourself?” I said, “I do.” But I fear they were vain words.
That first question that Spangenberg asks Wesley emerges naturally out of Romans 8:16, When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Wesley’s reading of scripture leads him to believe that this is something that he should be experiencing if the bible is true. Many people today would just say, “well I guess the bible is just a bunch of empty religious words.” But not Wesley. He has the humility to believe that it’s more likely that the problem is with him and not with the Bible.
And so he goes on a quest for “blessed assurance”– the assurance of his salvation and his status as a child of God. He ends up finding it at last on that famous day on Aldersgate street in England, when he describes how his heart was strangely warmed. He says “an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” He had read and preached Romans– there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the Spirit of life… has set you free from the law of sin and death– but now he actually experienced it as true for him.
For Wesley, this was salvation. And while Wesley would go on to teach that the degree of assurance that one experiences can vary with circumstances and seasons of life, he believed it to be essential to true Christianity, or as he liked to call it, “plain, scriptural Christianity.” So maybe it doesn’t surprise you to know that this experience of assurance– “the witness of the Spirit” or “testimony of the Spirit”– is to this day part of the official teaching of the United Methodist Church.
So why would you want to experience this? Having the witness of the Spirit of God has been described as getting hugged by your Heavenly Father. Or as Wesley puts it, it’s “the heart resting as in the arms of Jesus.” It’s not simply an emotional response to God, but a noticeable external force. It’s not something that we manufacture ourselves. John Wesley says, “By the testimony of the Spirit, I mean, an inward impression on the soul whereby the Spirit of God immediately and directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that Jesus has loved me, and given himself for me; that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God.”
Here’s another way to put it: do you want a faith that can get you through the fiercest storms of life with the calm that those Moravians experienced on the boat to Georgia?
Paul seems to have an image in mind of the trials of the exodus as he writes Romans.
You remember the story of the exodus from Egypt? God works wonderful miracles to bring the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt, culminating in the passover. In the same way, Jesus becomes the passover lamb and the atoning sacrifice that brings humanity out of its slavery to sin. The Israelites cross through the waters of the red sea, just as Christians come through the waters of baptism. Then God gives the Israelites the law, just as at Pentecost the Christians receive the law of the Spirit. We made it that far last week. The Israelites then procede to be led by the Spirit of God through the wilderness toward the promised land. They had set up a tabernacle– a tent– to worship God. And the presence of God would come upon the tent as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. We read in Numbers chapter 9 that “Whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, then the Israelites would set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the Israelites would camp.” The Israelites would literally be led by the manifest presence of God.
God provided everything that the Israelites needed in the wilderness– bread from heaven (manna) would appear every day for them to eat. And there were quails as well for food. But some of the people grumbled against God and Moses and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” They didn’t want to press toward the promised land. They were frustrated and afraid, so they wanted to go back to Egypt.
And so Paul says, “You know, it’s not just the Israelites that are children of God. It’s everyone who is led by the Spirit of God– it’s anyone who goes after the manifest presence of God.” And then he says these powerful words: “You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.” In other words, don’t be like those Israelites that wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt. The promised land is ahead.
Egypt is the well-known past. You can imagine the Israelites saying, “sure, it was slavery, but, well, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” Maybe, but we’re not talking about following the devil, we’re talking about following the movement of the Spirit.
And the Spirit you’ve received isn’t a Spirit of slavery– it’s a Spirit of adoption. It’s the Holy Spirit that testifies to you that you are a child of God. And according to Paul, the Apostle John, and the writer of Hebrews, and others in the new testament, you can know that you’re a child of God. And knowing that you’re a child of God means you know that God is with you. You don’t have to return to slavery to sin. The way forward looks hard, but you’ve already got all the ingredients you need. You’re a child of the King with a great inheritance coming to you. The past is gone, and God’s future is before you. You might be led to beautiful places or you might be led to awful places to make them beautiful, but if God is with you, then that’s all you need in the world.
So don’t be afraid of what the future holds, even if there might be pain ahead. You’re a child of God. You relate to God in the same way that Jesus related to God– by the Holy Spirit. You can address God in the same intimate way that Jesus did, “Abba, Father.” And if you really, truly have the witness of the Spirit, then external circumstances lose their power over you.
The church of Jesus Christ needs more people for whom these aren’t just empty words– people who have the witness of the Spirit. People who are honest and recognize that when the witness leaves them, that means it’s time to seek the presence of God again. Because if the cloud has moved from the tent, you have to seek it.
Will you go after the presence of God today, and tomorrow too? And the day after that? Will you seek to be led by the Spirit, not just in a nominal way, but in a real life-giving way? God wants you to know in the depths of your heart how much you are loved. So may you seek and find the assurance. May you follow the Spirit through whatever wilderness comes. And may you share your experience with others, so that they to may know the unspeakable joy of the abiding presence of God.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13855 | Lesson 15 – Using an LDR to Measure Input Light
Study Videos –
Tutorial –
1. Your next tutorial in this development track is called, “Using an Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) to Measure Input Light”.
5. We will be writing out code using the Microsoft Make Code editor. So let’s open up the Microsoft Makecode editor for the BBC micro:bit using the following Link.
7. Let’s get coding!!!!
Prerequisites –
1. This tutorial makes extensive use of the BBC micro:bit.
5. We will be using the official BBC Makecode Block editor to write code for all our tutorials.
Reference –
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13864 | A few years ago, Nestlé, the Swiss chocolatiers, put their hand to making a coffee-makin’ wonder system under the name of Nespresso. I wouldn’t be wasting your precious time if it weren’t for the fact that the coffee these little pod-based machines produce is nothing far short of nectar from the coffee gods.
It exposes how mediocre and weak the stuff Starbucks et al charge you far too much for really is. It’s shocking. Shocking. (More so than European chocolate vs American chocolate—even the fancy stuff from Whole Foods. Honestly, yanks, go to Cost Plus and treat yourselves to some Dairy …read on
, 03 February 2011
goodstuff 014
Steve Bliss photographer
, 21 August 2009 |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13872 | Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
IMG_2523I love to bake. And my family loves when I do. Over the years I’ve tinkered with recipes and tried to make them my own. And these cookies are probably everyone’s all-time favorites. Yes, they’re a sweet treat. But when made with all-natural and/or organic ingredients, they’re a little bit of good-for-you decadence we all deserve. I’m not a professional Nutritionist, but I’ve compared my ingredients to Tate’s, which are the one store brand I’ll actually buy. My estimate is 80 calories a cookie. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13880 | Jump to content
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1. Check this out. I use this it is AMAZING: http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/products/toneblock-amplifiers/tone-block-200. Pat Quilter developed this himself. (Pat Quilter = Quilter Sound Company = QSC). His goal was to develop a digital amp that sounds and reacts like a tube amp. He succeeded. I would be interested in other peoples opinion of it. Peace!!
2. I have a friend that is having this identical problem. We have installed Flash Memory versions 1.17, 1.50, and 2.00. Each time we performed a factory reset and the problem persists. It does not happen when we control the amp from Spider Valve Edit. This tells me that it must be a software issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have the same amp and he loves mine. This is the reason he purchased this one. He is days away from trashing it and getting a Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister. Let's keep from losing another Line 6 customer. Help us!!
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13909 | Alex Plank gave the keynote presentation at the Autism Society’s 41st National Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Alex speaks honestly and openly about being autistic and connecting with other autistic people online. His website,, has been helping autistic people connect with each other since 2004.
Alex’s keynote is the first of 7 videos from the conference. The panel discussion also features Sandy Yim from the Autism Women’s Network.
All videos can be found on the Autism Society’s YouTube Channel. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13945 | Hey guys! Another DIY face this week, this time made with coffee and honey.
Gather your what you need:
• A Tablespoon
• A small container
• Something to mix with
• Coffee
• Raw honey
• A warm wet rag
Mix two tablespoons each of the coffee and honey in a small container.
The honey is a great source of antioxidants and super moisturizing, so is great for anti-aging.
The coffee offers a chemical and a physical exfoliation, helping to slough away full skin and reduce fine lines.
While there may have been some benefits, removing this seemed very harsh. I don’t think I have sensitive skin, but it seemed very rough. I don’t think I’ll be repeating this mask.
What have you guys been doing for your skin lately?
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13949 | new sounds
The Main Music Genres
Photo by pcolIt is demoralizing to observe performances of well-known guitar players. You’ve possibly began for a brief time and feel overwhelmed with all the details you must do in purchase to become a experienced guitarist. An example within the planet of well-known musicians comes to rescue: Jimi Hendrix became […]
Tips For Becoming A Guitar Master
A Brief History of Techno
Photo by ArtBromIf you hear to rock music now then you’re absolutely familiar with all the sound of guitar effects, whether you understand it or not. In the early days of guitar effects it was very simple to find what was going on. The initial commonplace impact was inbuilt tremolo […]
Popular Effects Used in Rock Music |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13952 |
Mixer FX Selector - cycle effect button (DeckA)
Description and Instructions
This mapping allows you to cycle all 5 Mixer effects on Deck A with a single key/button.
To trigger fx change, press the "S" key on your computer keyboard.
I choose to create a keyboard mapping so anyone with a copy of TPro 3 can download and test it without the controller. Feel free modify this mapping to all four decks.
Comments for v0.1.0 |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13970 | Pixel Problems in Your Nikon!
With some cameras you may find a strange spot on your pictures that is not a form of digital noise—the noise you see when you use higher ISO sensitivity settings. The spot can be colored (often red), dark, or white. Often, the spot will stay in the same place on all pictures the camera makes and it cannot be removed by cleaning the sensor.
A few years back, I had a Nikon D300 that had a small group of about 4 pixels that stayed red all the time. It was that way when I bought it new. I learned to look for the tiny red spot and remove it with the clone tool in Photoshop on important images.
You may see the same problem with one of your Nikons. A sensor has millions of pixels, so it is not really all that uncommon to have one or two that do not work correctly. Most camera sellers will replace a camera with a bad pixel, after you can prove that the problem is there. However, many digital photographers do not worry about a few pixel problems out of millions of good pixels.
There are three main types of pixel problems: stuck pixels, hot pixels, and dead pixels. Let’s briefly discuss each one of the types. What’s the difference between a stuck pixel, a hot pixel, and a dead pixel?
Stuck Pixel
This type of pixel is receiving power from the camera, so it is not a dead pixel. However, the pixel has lost its mind, in sense, and ignores the actual shades it should be recording. The pixel will display in one color that does not change from picture to picture. The most common color seems to be red, although you might see another color. The key is that a stuck pixel is stuck on one color all the time, and that color does not match the surrounding pixels that are reporting correct color shades. It is always present in the image in the same spot and does not disappear.
Dead Pixel
A dead pixel is a defective pixel on the camera’s sensor. It is not receiving power, or it is no longer able to function when power is applied. It could appear as a tiny dark spot in your image that does not change position from picture to picture. Or, it could appear as an off-colored pixel due to Bayer-filter demosaicing errors. Generally, cameras come from the factory with all dead pixels mapped out. However, if a pixel dies over time, you will see evidence of the dead pixel once it is completely dead. Once a pixel dies, it usually stays nonfunctional.
Hot Pixel
This pixel problem is very common. Even the most expensive cameras suffer from them. Even brand-new cameras! They come and go from various places and can have almost any color, although, again, the ones I see are usually red (maybe because that’s the most noticeable color). These off-color pixels are caused by heat in the sensor and sometimes even from high ISO settings (above ISO 800). Camera manufacturers try to map out pixels that tend to become hot pixels before the camera leaves the factory. However, due to the variability of where they are located at different levels of heat and ISO settings, it is impossible to map them out fully. This type of pixel is often removed by the camera’s two noise reduction functions: Long exposure NR and High ISO NR, with Long Exposure NR being the most effective.
Mapping Out Bad Pixels
If your camera suffers from the first two types, stuck or dead pixels, you can send it to Nikon to have the pixel mapped out (for a fee unless the camera is in warranty), or you can tolerate the problem and remove the spot(s) yourself with software.
Dark-Frame Subtraction
If you are seeing hot pixels, and you are shooting longer exposures, you should really be using Long Exposure Noise Reduction (Photo Shooting Menu > Long exposure NR), which will help remove the worst of the problem through a method called dark-frame subtraction. This method causes the camera to take two picture for each image stored—for images having exposures of over one second with current Nikons and eight seconds with older Nikons. The first exposure is the actual image and the second is an equivalent exposure with the shutter blades closed. The second image will contain only the hot pixels and fog (amp noise) from a hot sensor and can then be automatically subtracted from the first picture by the camera. This dark-frame subtraction method is quite effective, although it does double the time required for each final image.
Film photographers had to deal with graininess in their images from the silver grains used to form the image. Digital photographers have to deal with digital noise and often with one of the three pixel problems we have discussed, not to mention dust on the sensor.
However, it is relatively easy to deal with pixel problems these days. Especially for those who postprocess their images and know how to use today’s digital darkroom software.
Keep on capturing time…
Darrell Young
Darrell Young
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13989 | saudi prince bandar bin sultan and russia president vladimir putin
Remembering what I wrote regarding Russia’s terrorism concerns during the 2014 Winter Olympic games they will host in Sochi, this article I read in As-Safir [CLICK FOR ENGLISH TRANSLATION] about Russian President Putin’s meeting with Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan is probably the most mind-blowing piece of news I read this morning.
The whole article is worth reading, but check out what bin Sultan told Putin about Syria and safety during the 2014 Olympics:
Crazy, huh? Let’s dissect.
First, bin Sultan talked out both sides of his mouth in the same paragraph. He first said that Saudi Arabia, like Russia, is against terrorism. Then, bin Sultan says his country controls the jihad-driven Chechen terrorists who are now fighting as part of the so-called rebel army in Syria!
Second, bin Sultan references a guarantee, delivered in the form of a veiled threat, that he can make the Sochi games drama-free by calling off the Chechen jihadists that he admits to controlling.
All Putin needs to do is drop Russia’s support for Syria President Assad.
Since bin Sultan didn’t explicitly tell Putin “Don’t worry about Chechen terrorists. We got this,” the shakedown attempt appears obvious.
BTW, Putin didn’t bite…
Song currently stuck in my head: “september song” – sarah vaughan & clifford brown
1. Pingback: WHAT DO THE RUSSIANS THINK ABOUT SYRIA NOW? | mentalunrest
2. enric13 says:
1) ” One of the most important British assets in this global genocide scheme is Prince Bandar. Trained in Britain, Bandar was not only the Saudi interlocutor with the British Crown and BAE in forging the original Al Yamamah deal. As Saudi Ambassador in Washington (and as practically an adopted son of George H.W. Bush), Bandar presided over the Saudi intelligence officers who shepherded the 9/11 hijackers for a year, leading up to the September 2001 attacks. His wife, Princess Haifa, provided cover for Bandar’s direct financing of at least one team of the hijackers.” http://larouchepac.com/node/27794
(LONDON CENTER OF TERRORISM AND OF THE INTERNATIONAL MAFIA ? http://www.larouchepub.com/lar/2000/terror_memo_2703.html )
” The BAE-Saudi deal is essentially an oil-for-weapons swap involving the largest British weapons manufacturer, and a nation that is essentially a creature of the London-centered international oil cartel, in which Royal Dutch Shell and BP are major factors. Associated with this BAE-Shell-BP nexus are a number of important investment and commercial banks, other weapons manufacturers, and raw materials companies.”
” Shell is also one of the world’s most valuable companies.[3] As of January, 2013 the largest shareholder is Capital Research Global Investors with 9.85% ahead of BlackRock in second with 6.89%.[4]”
” At the time of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, Blackrock was the single largest shareholder of BP.” http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/BlackRock
http://www.waddesdon.org.uk/house/the-rothschilds/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waddesdon http://www.waddesdon.org.uk/
Warren Buffet is also a friend of EVELYN DE ROTHSCHILD.
Barclays is a bank related with the British Royal Family and therefore connected with Lord JACOB ROTHSCHILD and EVELYN DE ROTHSCHILD.
EVELYN DE ROTHSCHILD ” In 1989, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II,[2] for whom he serves as a financial adviser. ” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Robert_de_Rothschild
Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland are also linked with the Edmond De Rothschild and therefore with BENJAMIN DE ROTHSCHILD AND ARIANE DE ROTHSCHILD.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/laura-scolan/a/ba1/7b7 http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-phillips/4/5b9/772 http://it.linkedin.com/pub/guido-corsetti/a/67a/44a http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nicolas-jugniot/b/78/884
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Rothschild,_4th_Baron_Rothschild https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_de_Rothschild
http://www.lejdd.fr/Economie/Images/Les-plus-grosses-fortunes-de-France/Benjamin-de-Rothschild-206941 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_de_Rothschild https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Robert_de_Rothschild
Bin Laden has been given regular access to BBC and a variety of major British newspapers, to spread his calls for jihad against the United States. Thus, in July 1996, bin Laden told the London Independent, “What happened in Khobar [the U.S. Army barracks that was bombed on June 25] is a clear proof of the enormous rage of the Saudi population against them. Resistance against America will spread in many places through Muslim lands.” http://www.larouchepub.com/lar/2000/terror_memo_2703.html
( THE BUSH FAMILY’S BRITISH FASCISM http://larouchepac.com/node/27310 )
” former President George H. W. Bush, then a senior adviser to Carlyle ”
” The Bush family has had a long and mutually profitable connection with the corrupt Saudi oil dictatorship. Prince Bandar, Saudi ambassador to the United States, has been an honored guest both at the Bush I summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, and at Bush 11’s getaway in Crawford, Texas (hence his nickname, “Bandar Bush”). Bandar expressed his gratitude to Bush I by donating $1 million to the Bush Presidential Library in Texas. And Bandar’s prodding prompted Saudi King Fahd to send another $1 million to Barbara Bush’s campaign against illiteracy.
Saudi Prince al-Walid contributed half a million petrodollars to help launch the George Herbert Walker Bush Scholarship Fund at Phillips Academy, the alma mater of both Bush presidents. The depth of these connections was highlighted when the former president visited the Saudis to “discuss U.S.-Saudi business relations” with Crown Prince Abdullah during his son’s 2000 presidential campaign.
And then there is the bin Laden problem. The bin Laden family, a key Carlyle investor, stood to make millions of dollars from the war on terror-a war that has as its chief villain a member of their own family. The bin Ladens withdrew from the Carlyle Group in late October 2001, but it’s not just the bin Laden family proper that was problematic for the Bushes. It turns out that Prince Bandar’s wife, Princess Haifa, had made charitable contributions that may have helped finance two of the 9/11 hijackers. ” http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Bush_Gang/CarlyleGroup_TETTR.html
” Carlyle emerged from the shadows in spite of itself on September 11, 2001. That day, the group had organized a meeting at Washington’s Ritz Carlton Hotel with five hundred of its largest investors. Frank Carlucci and James Baker III played masters of ceremony. George Bush senior made a lightning appearance at the beginning of the day. The presentation was quickly interrupted, but one detail escaped no one. One of the guests wore the name bin Laden on his badge. It was Shafiq bin Laden, one of Osama’s many brothers. The American media discovered Carlyle. One journalist, Dan Briody, wrote a book about the group’s hidden side, “The Iron Triangle”, and takes an interest in the close relations between the Bush clan and the Saudi leadership.” http://www.culturechange.org/CarlyleEmpire.html
http://transmissionsmedia.com/the-911-illusion-part-ii-deutsche-bank-blackstone/ http://beforeitsnews.com/gulf-oil-spill/2010/06/corexit-linked-to-the-blackstone-group-and-lord-jacob-rothschild-76363.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waddesdon http://www.waddesdon.org.uk/ http://www.thefullwiki.org/Waddesdon_Manor
Lynn Forester de Rothschild, the wife of Sir EVELYN DE ROTHSCHILD, is a director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. http://www.petersoninstitute.org/institute/board.cfm http://www.thefullwiki.org/Ascott_House
Blackstone is also related with the LCF EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD owned by BENJAMIN DE ROTHSCHILD and by his wife ARIANE DE ROTHSCHILD, for example through the person of Daniel Costa Lindo that is a M&A Analyst at Blackstone and was Private Equity Analyst at LCF Edmond de Rothschild. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/daniel-costa-lindo/32/255/543
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_de_Rothschild http://www.lejdd.fr/Economie/Images/Les-plus-grosses-fortunes-de-France/Benjamin-de-Rothschild-206941 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_de_Rothschild
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/13993 | I realise that everybody has the right to vote however they like, but there has been a pattern of very suspicious upvoting recently.
This question is 3 minutes old and has been upvoted once already, despite being clearly not of any decent quality. I've seen the same pattern quite often over the past few weeks, but without access to voting data (duh) it's hard to demonstrate after-the-fact.
Do mods have access to voting data? Can they determine whether the person who upvoted on this question has done the same thing as a pattern lately? Perhaps abusing the system whilst going for a voting badge?
• 1
In other words, you fear that sock-puppets or other specimens are at work here. – Rosinante Sep 24 '11 at 19:30
• 11
Bad questions often have an upvote for every answer because many answerers routinely upvote any question they answer. Bad question + opportunistic answers + upvoting when answering = inflated question score. – Rick Sladkey Sep 24 '11 at 19:38
• Automatic upvotes when answering topic on meta: meta.stackexchange.com/q/30502/2509. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Sep 24 '11 at 23:54
• Another example, +1 after 2 mins but it's hardly a "great question" is it? Messes up comparative question scores >.< – Lightness Races BY-SA 3.0 Sep 25 '11 at 19:43
• Curious -- why all the downvotes? This seems to be a legit question on a legit topic; I've been noticing exactly the same thing, rewarding ridiculously bad questions on a regular basis. And I'm referring to questions with no answers here, so upvoting a question you answer doesn't apply. – Ex Umbris Mar 21 '12 at 18:27
Voting is anonymous, so not even mods can see who cast the vote. And that is how it should be.
Voting is also personal. So maybe it is a bad question. But at least one person decided to upvote which is perfectly fine. (By the way, the questions with the most votes are not always the best, but at least they are liked by a lot of people).
• Indeed, moderators cannot see it, but developers can see who voted, of course. – Arjan Sep 24 '11 at 19:11
• Then I mean developers. @Gamecat: But it's a suspicious pattern that's happened on a lot of questions lately. My OCD doesn't like it. – Lightness Races BY-SA 3.0 Sep 24 '11 at 19:22
• 4
@Tomalak Geret'kal, you are probably right. But this brings out one of the major weaknesses in a democracy: anybody can vote, means also any moron or anyon gullible enough to believe anything they read can (and will) vote. But unfortunately its still the best system. (And if we decide to exclude morons, who will decide who is a moron and who isn't). – Toon Krijthe Sep 24 '11 at 20:25
• I suppose you're right. It's really annoying though. – Lightness Races BY-SA 3.0 Sep 25 '11 at 16:51
With some users, it's customary to upvote a question that they posted an answer to. While I don't agree with this at all, I've seen it suggested before on meta (no reference at the moment). Something along the lines of "If you thought the question was worth answering, you should upvote it."
There are 2 answers and 2 upvotes. I highly doubt there is anything suspicious about it, some people just upvote anything they can remotely relate to.
(I just noticed this was posted in a comment an hour ago, sorry to rehash)
Note that some of those upvotes may have been sympathy upvotes. Low rep users tend to attract sympathy upvotes as a way to give them added rep. This lets them use more of the site and so forth.
Granted, the user in this case may well be question-banned given his post history. So those weren't upvotes well spent.
• Do sympathy votes seriously still happen? That's disturbing. I'm all for freedom of voting and all, but that people would abuse their voting rights in such a manner is frankly sickening. Just one more reason why large-scale democracy does not work *moan* *grumble* – Lightness Races BY-SA 3.0 Jan 25 '12 at 1:51
• 1
@TomalakGeret'kal: Of course there are still sympathy votes; human compassion has not been rescinded in the last 4 months. I don't much care for sympathy votes myself, but I don't see them as a horrible problem that invalidates the concept of voting. Something that rises to the level of "sickening". Not everyone feels the same way as others do about the use of their votes. But that doesn't diminish the power that each vote has. A question with 1 votes is not much better than a question with 0. Or a question with 2. It's when you get to 3+ that you're clearly onto something. – Nicol Bolas Jan 25 '12 at 2:08
• Such people should instead direct their sympathy and compassion at the wider community, who have to put up with the hordes of low-quality contributors to whom they are granting additional privileges through their fraudulent voting patterns! :) – Lightness Races BY-SA 3.0 Aug 28 '13 at 10:30
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14007 | Tag Archives: Commissioning
Validation Project Plans
Hello good people of the world! Today’s post is about Validation Project Plans, which is a specific type of project plan for projects in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device regulated industries. This post covers Validation Project Plans for pharmaceutical/biotechnology industries in particular.
Often I’ve see Validation Project Plans contain a lot of fluff but little meat, making them of less value to the project team. A good project plan clearly documents the following, at a minimum:
1. What facilities, systems, and equipment are in scope of the plan
2. What are the expected activities and deliverables
3. Who is responsible for what
4. What is the validation approach and rationale for that approach
5. What happens after the validation scope covered in the plan is completed (i.e. ongoing requirements)
Note I do not include project cost or schedule in a project plan, because these are often changing rapidly and should be maintained in a less controlled, more flexible manner, e.g. with scheduling software for a schedule.
The plan itself should be controlled (i.e. approved and revision controlled) as soon as possible in the project but early enough so that scope will not change (too much).
Additional things to think about when drafting your plan:
1. Commissioning versus Qualification versus Validation. If your project has multiple phases (and any decent-sized project should), be sure to clearly state responsibilities and deliverables at each stage.
2. Include references to regulations, industry guidance, and site procedures that govern your plan. Make it clear to everyone who reads the plan what framework you are working inside.
3. The purpose and scope of the document should be clear and up front.
4. Get buy-in from all functional groups by having them approve the document.
5. Like all controlled documents, the plan should have version/revision history.
6. Use tables to clearly present information.
I put together a quick template here:
Validation Project Plan Template MWV
What do you feel is necessary in a Validation Project Plan? Comment below.
Specifications: How to Write Them
GAMP V Model
Hello good people of the world! Today’s post is about the left side of GAMP’s V-model: specifications. Specifically, their purpose and how to write them.
Of course there are many variations of the V-model, and it is best to find what suits your organization and processes. For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll refer to the basic GAMP V-model, pictured above.
The specifications are: User Requirements Specification, Functional Specification, and Design Specification. In general each feeds in to the next. Also, Installation Qualification may test the details of the Design Specification, Operational Qualification may test the functional descriptions in the Functional Specification, and Performance Qualification may test the high-level requirement’s of the User Requirements Specification, although these boundaries are often blurred in practice.
Any new project should start with a User Requirements Specification which clearly defines the testable user requirements. It is important that requirements are testable, and often a SMART approach is applied: each user requirements should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It is also helpful to categorize user requirements upfront, since not all will be quality-related. This makes it easier to rationalize the requirements that are explicitly tested in qualification protocols versus commissioning or not at all. Typical categories include: business, safety, maintenance, and quality.
The Functional Specification is then a response to the User Requirements Specification, typically provided by the vendor, explaining in detail how automated components will function to fulfill the user requirements. Functional Specifications are often confused with Functional Requirements or Functional Requirements Specification, which may be another document defined by a process. GAMP’s V-model does not intend the Functional Specification to document new or further detail requirements, but to define the functionality employed to meet the requirements defined in the User Requirements Specification. The Functional Specification can describe sequence of operations, interlocks, alarms, etc.
The Design Specification should provide sufficient detail that an engineer could recreate the control system from scratch if need-be, to recreate the functionality described in the Functional Specification to meet the user requirements. The Design Specification is typically provided by the vendor and should contain such details as I/O list, alarm list, HMI security levels, sequence of operations details including device positions at each step and transition conditions. This should be a very detailed document, and if you’re working with 10-20 pages it is too light.
Documentation can be expensive and is maybe not fun to generate and review, but is critical to a highly effective validation program.
What do you like to see in specifications?
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14015 | Photographer John Margolies Images Now Available Online
Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts Gulfport, MS 1979 Margolies, John, photographer. Courtesy Library of Congress.
Last year Malvaney’s post about roadside Americana photographer John Margolies ended with the wish that someday his photos, which had been donated to the Library of Congress, would be made available for the public to see. That day has arrived, my friends. Click here to view these images on the Library of Congress website.
John Margolies’s photographs inspired many people to look seriously and document seriously the temporary or ephemeral commercial architecture all around us. Out of a total 11,698 images made available by the LOC, the 65 images of Mississippi are from 16 different towns. The Mississippi subject matter ranges from motels and gas stations to mini golf and neon signs, and they date between the late 1970s through the 1980s, with one image as recent as 2003. I am not sure if there are more images to be made public, but even if not, many of these images are of buildings no longer extant, making these few images all the more valuable. I did catch one error in the organizing of the images. The images labeled as from Columbia, Mississippi appear to be of buildings in Columbus, Mississippi. Below are the images organized by location.
What are your favorite images captured by Margolies’s lense? What are the images that surprise you? What roadside images might you capture today?
Categories: Asides, Building Types, Columbus, Cool Old Places, Demolition/Abandonment, Forest, Gulfport, Hotels, Jackson, Lost Mississippi, Louisville, Meridian, Modernism, Natchez, Newton, Ocean Springs, Port Gibson, Starkville, Tupelo, Vernacular Architecture, Vicksburg, Washington, Winona
10 replies
1. The Big Star Grocery sign in Winona followed by the Red Goose shoes sign are my two favorites.
Liked by 1 person
2. This is great! Midcentury Modern and kitschy roadside things have become so popular in places like Instragram recently, I love that he was photographing these things decades ago.
Liked by 1 person
3. thanks for this information; i wish he had gone to more places in the state.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14016 | The artisans of the coffee cups
The fact that Romania is becoming one of the world class specialty coffee country is already known. If you don’t know this yet, an easy online research of the specialty cafes will show you what we mean. To a country of 20 mil people, there are already over 100 entities (specialty coffee shops or roasteries) operating on the market. Not to mention that Romania gave the 2016 world roasting champion. We urge you to make a trip to Bucharest or Cluj Napoca and check the vibrant specialty coffee market. Its evolution (more…) |
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1. Merry Birthiversary!
2. Thanks for this advice, although the sportsware job opportunity went quicker than I imagined I'll still be looking. Nevertheless this is a lot of great info you've given, a lot more than expected (then again, I didn't know what to expect). So thanks for this as it should be really useful!
3. First question: Inbetween revising for exams, I've found my first possible job at 16 at a sportsware shop not too far from here. I'm just wondering what to expect, do I show off my personality traits? They haven't specified what sort of job it will be until I go there so what do I write in my CV (resumé)? Some advice would be great!
4. Warning: bit of a gory story Well for some reason when on holiday in Italy with familly; I tripped over on some stairs in Pomeii and somehow managed to rip of a chunk of flesh off my big toe. It was hanging off a bit of skin still attached to my toe. I was so confused how this was even possible that I just laughed. By the way, it wasn't as bad as it may seem; I didn't need to go to the hospital and my body sorted the problem out within three days.
5. I've seen you around before. Happy birthday!
1. squareyes
Thanks for noticing me! :D
6. Well, I've got in it: - a stereo and a load of CDs that my parents don't need anymore. - a PS2 and TV along with about 2 dozen games and whatnot. - a whole lot of books - some posters including "Keep Calm and Carry On" (now a bit of an over used meme), the London tube map (which is also useful for days out) and the Season 3 Bleach main characters. - an awesome lamp - a Mac from 2005 (which can't even run Chrome), a Lenovo thinkpad (Not Bad), and a titan of a Toshiba Laptop. - A bed (single) - 10, this is hard for a small room - a copy of Hokusai's "The Great Wave" - a framed cover of one of the Animerica magazines (this one with "Spirited Away" on the front.) And a window and that's about it. So yeah!
7. To be honest, what does it matter? (At least on the internet) There's a lot worse stuff out there and what people think about when pleasing themselves shouldn't really consern us. I don't want you know what people are thinking in that situation, do you? So don't worry, because oppessing peoples thoughts has a certain name to it. It's called a lack of free speech!
8. It's just been Sleeping Dogs for me and it's the first properly mature game if ever properly played and the story's pretty decent. Also the action is mad and brilliantly violent (never thought I'd say that.) It's also been free at the moment on Xbox Live Gold as part of the "Games with Gold." A friend of mine has also left round the first Assassin's Creed and Borderlands 2 but I've been too busy playing Sleeping Dogs!
9. In Soviet Russia, prostitutes pay you!
10. It's not just wierd fandoms which do this. Most people would view another group of people for the out of the ordinary stuff about them. For example, you are not likely to remember Indians for their vibrant culture and beautiful country, you would probably think of them working at call centres or their broken English. Going off topic, furries are great people (I should know, I'm one of them*) and you shouldn't hate on them just because their fandom gets featured in proper video games or whatever. *Cockiness is for comedic effect.
11. noun: 女王, クィーン, 王妃, 皇后, 后, 后妃 I've got this from learning japanese kanji. Can you guess what the word is in English?
12. [Warning: Explicit Post Below] Two main things have been annoying me recently. The first being f***ing fedoras worn stand alone. The premise of wearing a fedora is to get a vintage look and feel to how you look. If you just wear it by itself, you're defeating the purpose of using it to look stylish. Worst of all, you look like a twat and you're bring the sofistication of the fedora down with you. Just. Please. No. The other thing is American English spellings. I understand that different spellings and words are used generally as part of the diversities of different countries, but when there's language settings stating American English is the main type of english, No. NO. You shouldn't have that power. It's our f***ing language so give us the recognition. Doesn't help when this is an American forum and fandom. Goddammit, I should just become a massive Whovian and get news from the local newspaper. (I don't know, it's a rant.) |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14026 | The Absurdity of Theological Debate
At present time, all accounts of the physical world are wildly incomplete. The biggest issue, of course, is how the universe came to be. Neither religion nor science can explain how, for example, a higher power could be self-caused or where all of this physical matter came from (specifically, what created God or what happened prior to 10^-43 seconds after the Big Bang).
Yes, most religions claim something like God has always existed or was the cause of him/her self, but it’s quite obvious that these explanations fall well short of complete understanding – for there exists no account of how anything, let alone God, could be the cause of itself (or have always existed).
Similarly, modern day scientific understanding stops at “approximately” 10^-43 seconds after the Big Bang, and prominently lacks a unified theory of the physical universe (we use two very different models – Einstein’s theories of relativity and quantum theory – to govern large and small bodies).
New discoveries suggest it may even turn out that time does not actually exist – which is not nearly as implausible as it may seem at first glance (for we already know that time is not a constant, a nice explanation of this is here – choose the 4th video link).
The point is there are gaps in our understanding. Huge gaps. Consider the following (paraphrased) metaphor from Baruch Spinoza’s letter to Henry Oldenburg:
Imagine a worm, living in the bloodstream, able to distinguish by sight the particles of blood, lymph, etc., and able to think about how each particle is related. This little worm would live in the blood [a part of the body], in the same way as we live in a part of the universe. The worm would consider each particle of blood, not as a part, but as a whole. He would be unable to grasp the larger truth, namely the role the blood plays as a part of the body, and that the blood (his entire world) is only a part of something larger [the body], which in turn is part of something larger still [the universe].
It is impossible for the worm to get on to the larger, ultimate, reality of the universe from the evidence of his world (the blood).
While it may be possible for mankind to expand its understanding beyond that of the worm’s at some point in the future, modern day knowledge of some ultimate reality is on par with the worm. This is evidenced by our inability to answer the most fundamental of all questions – how we came to be – and those referenced above.
The tired athiest/theist/agnostic debate – three worms in blood, confusing hubris for enlightenment.
2 Responses to The Absurdity of Theological Debate
1. Veronica says:
This was very interesting. Thanks for writing about it.
2. Joe Cure says:
Happy to oblige 🙂
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14031 | Machine Learning Tutorial - Complete Machine Learning Course for Beginners Part 1/3
Welcome to the video "Machine Learning Tutorial - Complete Machine Learning Course for Beginners". In this video you will learn about Machine Learning from scratch. We will assume that you are a complete beginner and by the end of the video you will be at advanced level. In this complete course you shall get demonstration of every single topic that we have explained. This course is fully practical without neglecting the theories and basics.
Learn Data Science | How to Learn Data Science for Free
Learn Data Science | How to Learn Data Science for Free
Learn Data Science | How to Learn Data Science for Free. In this post, I have described a learning path and free online courses and tutorials that will enable you to learn data science for free.
The average cost of obtaining a masters degree at traditional bricks and mortar institutions will set you back anywhere between $30,000 and $120,000. Even online data science degree programs don’t come cheap costing a minimum of $9,000. So what do you do if you want to learn data science but can’t afford to pay this?
I trained into a career as a data scientist without taking any formal education in the subject. In this article, I am going to share with you my own personal curriculum for learning data science if you can’t or don’t want to pay thousands of dollars for more formal study.
The curriculum will consist of 3 main parts, technical skills, theory and practical experience. I will include links to free resources for every element of the learning path and will also be including some links to additional ‘low cost’ options. So if you want to spend a little money to accelerate your learning you can add these resources to the curriculum. I will include the estimated costs for each of these.
Technical skills
The first part of the curriculum will focus on technical skills. I recommend learning these first so that you can take a practical first approach rather than say learning the mathematical theory first. Python is by far the most widely used programming language used for data science. In the Kaggle Machine Learning and Data Science survey carried out in 2018 83% of respondents said that they used Python on a daily basis. I would, therefore, recommend focusing on this language but also spending a little time on other languages such as R.
Python Fundamentals
Before you can start to use Python for data science you need a basic grasp of the fundamentals behind the language. So you will want to take a Python introductory course. There are lots of free ones out there but I like the Codeacademy ones best as they include hands-on in-browser coding throughout.
I would suggest taking the introductory course to learn Python. This covers basic syntax, functions, control flow, loops, modules and classes.
Data analysis with python
Next, you will want to get a good understanding of using Python for data analysis. There are a number of good resources for this.
To start with I suggest taking at least the free parts of the data analyst learning path on Dataquest offers complete learning paths for data analyst, data scientist and data engineer. Quite a lot of the content, particularly on the data analyst path is available for free. If you do have some money to put towards learning then I strongly suggest putting it towards paying for a few months of the premium subscription. I took this course and it provided a fantastic grounding in the fundamentals of data science. It took me 6 months to complete the data scientist path. The price varies from $24.50 to $49 per month depending on whether you pay annually or not. It is better value to purchase the annual subscription if you can afford it.
The Dataquest platform
Python for machine learning
If you have chosen to pay for the full data science course on Dataquest then you will have a good grasp of the fundamentals of machine learning with Python. If not then there are plenty of other free resources. I would focus to start with on scikit-learn which is by far the most commonly used Python library for machine learning.
When I was learning I was lucky enough to attend a two-day workshop run by Andreas Mueller one of the core developers of scikit-learn. He has however published all the material from this course, and others, on this Github repo. These consist of slides, course notes and notebooks that you can work through. I would definitely recommend working through this material.
Then I would suggest taking some of the tutorials in the scikit-learn documentation. After that, I would suggest building some practical machine learning applications and learning the theory behind how the models work — which I will cover a bit later on.
SQL is a vital skill to learn if you want to become a data scientist as one of the fundamental processes in data modelling is extracting data in the first place. This will more often than not involve running SQL queries against a database. Again if you haven’t opted to take the full Dataquest course then here are a few free resources to learn this skill.
Codeacamdemy has a free introduction to SQL course. Again this is very practical with in-browser coding all the way through. If you also want to learn about cloud-based database querying then Google Cloud BigQuery is very accessible. There is a free tier so you can try queries for free, an extensive range of public datasets to try and very good documentation.
Codeacademy SQL course
To be a well-rounded data scientist it is a good idea to diversify a little from just Python. I would, therefore, suggest also taking an introductory course in R. Codeacademy have an introductory course on their free plan. It is probably worth noting here that similar to Dataquest Codeacademy also offers a complete data science learning plan as part of their pro account (this costs from $31.99 to $15.99 per month depending on how many months you pay for up front). I personally found the Dataquest course to be much more comprehensive but this may work out a little cheaper if you are looking to follow a learning path on a single platform.
Software engineering
It is a good idea to get a grasp of software engineering skills and best practices. This will help your code to be more readable and extensible both for yourself and others. Additionally, when you start to put models into production you will need to be able to write good quality well-tested code and work with tools like version control.
There are two great free resources for this. Python like you mean it covers things like the PEP8 style guide, documentation and also covers object-oriented programming really well.
The scikit-learn contribution guidelines, although written to facilitate contributions to the library, actually cover the best practices really well. This covers topics such as Github, unit testing and debugging and is all written in the context of a data science application.
Deep learning
For a comprehensive introduction to deep learning, I don’t think that you can get any better than the totally free and totally ad-free This course includes an introduction to machine learning, practical deep learning, computational linear algebra and a code-first introduction to natural language processing. All their courses have a practical first approach and I highly recommend them. platform
Whilst you are learning the technical elements of the curriculum you will encounter some of the theory behind the code you are implementing. I recommend that you learn the theoretical elements alongside the practical. The way that I do this is that I learn the code to be able to implement a technique, let’s take KMeans as an example, once I have something working I will then look deeper into concepts such as inertia. Again the scikit-learn documentation contains all the mathematical concepts behind the algorithms.
In this section, I will introduce the key foundational elements of theory that you should learn alongside the more practical elements.
The khan academy covers almost all the concepts I have listed below for free. You can tailor the subjects you would like to study when you sign up and you then have a nice tailored curriculum for this part of the learning path. Checking all of the boxes below will give you an overview of most elements I have listed below.
Calculus is defined by Wikipedia as “the mathematical study of continuous change.” In other words calculus can find patterns between functions, for example, in the case of derivatives, it can help you to understand how a function changes over time.
Many machine learning algorithms utilise calculus to optimise the performance of models. If you have studied even a little machine learning you will probably have heard of Gradient descent. This functions by iteratively adjusting the parameter values of a model to find the optimum values to minimise the cost function. Gradient descent is a good example of how calculus is used in machine learning.
What you need to know:
• Geometric definition
• Calculating the derivative of a function
• Nonlinear functions
Chain rule
• Composite functions
• Composite function derivatives
• Multiple functions
• Partial derivatives
• Directional derivatives
• Integrals
Linear Algebra
Many popular machine learning methods, including XGBOOST, use matrices to store inputs and process data. Matrices alongside vector spaces and linear equations form the mathematical branch known as Linear Algebra. In order to understand how many machine learning methods work it is essential to get a good understanding of this field.
What you need to learn:
Vectors and spaces
• Vectors
• Linear combinations
• Linear dependence and independence
• Vector dot and cross products
Matrix transformations
• Functions and linear transformations
• Matrix multiplication
• Inverse functions
• Transpose of a matrix
Here is a list of the key concepts you need to know:
Descriptive/Summary statistics
• How to summarise a sample of data
• Different types of distributions
• Skewness, kurtosis, central tendency (e.g. mean, median, mode)
• Measures of dependence, and relationships between variables such as correlation and covariance
Experiment design
• Hypothesis testing
• Sampling
• Significance tests
• Randomness
• Probability
• Confidence intervals and two-sample inference
Machine learning
• Inference about slope
• Linear and non-linear regression
• Classification
Practical experience
The third section of the curriculum is all about practice. In order to truly master the concepts above you will need to use the skills in some projects that ideally closely resemble a real-world application. By doing this you will encounter problems to work through such as missing and erroneous data and develop a deep level of expertise in the subject. In this last section, I will list some good places you can get this practical experience from for free.
“With deliberate practice, however, the goal is not just to reach your potential but to build it, to make things possible that were not possible before. This requires challenging homeostasis — getting out of your comfort zone — and forcing your brain or your body to adapt.”, Anders Ericsson, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
Kaggle, et al
Machine learning competitions are a good place to get practice with building machine learning models. They give access to a wide range of data sets, each with a specific problem to solve and have a leaderboard. The leaderboard is a good way to benchmark how good your knowledge at developing a good model actually is and where you may need to improve further.
In addition to Kaggle, there are other platforms for machine learning competitions including Analytics Vidhya and DrivenData.
Driven data competitions page
UCI Machine Learning Repository
The UCI machine learning repository is a large source of publically available data sets. You can use these data sets to put together your own data projects this could include data analysis and machine learning models, you could even try building a deployed model with a web front end. It is a good idea to store your projects somewhere publically such as Github as this can create a portfolio showcasing your skills to use for future job applications.
UCI repository
Contributions to open source
One other option to consider is contributing to open source projects. There are many Python libraries that rely on the community to maintain them and there are often hackathons held at meetups and conferences where even beginners can join in. Attending one of these events would certainly give you some practical experience and an environment where you can learn from others whilst giving something back at the same time. Numfocus is a good example of a project like this.
In this post, I have described a learning path and free online courses and tutorials that will enable you to learn data science for free. Showcasing what you are able to do in the form of a portfolio is a great tool for future job applications in lieu of formal qualifications and certificates. I really believe that education should be accessible to everyone and, certainly, for data science at least, the internet provides that opportunity. In addition to the resources listed here, I have previously published a recommended reading list for learning data science available here. These are also all freely available online and are a great way to complement the more practical resources covered above.
Thanks for reading!
Downloadable PDF of Best AI Cheat Sheets in Super High Definition
Let’s begin.
Cheat Sheets for AI, Neural Networks, Machine Learning, Deep Learning & Data Science in HD
Part 1: Neural Networks Cheat Sheets
Neural Networks Cheat Sheets
Neural Networks Basics
Neural Networks Basics Cheat Sheet
An Artificial Neuron Network (ANN), popularly known as Neural Network is a computational model based on the structure and functions of biological neural networks. It is like an artificial human nervous system for receiving, processing, and transmitting information in terms of Computer Science.
Basically, there are 3 different layers in a neural network :
1. Input Layer (All the inputs are fed in the model through this layer)
2. Hidden Layers (There can be more than one hidden layers which are used for processing the inputs received from the input layers)
3. Output Layer (The data after processing is made available at the output layer)
Neural Networks Graphs
Neural Networks Graphs Cheat Sheet
Graph data can be used with a lot of learning tasks contain a lot rich relation data among elements. For example, modeling physics system, predicting protein interface, and classifying diseases require that a model learns from graph inputs. Graph reasoning models can also be used for learning from non-structural data like texts and images and reasoning on extracted structures.
Part 2: Machine Learning Cheat Sheets
Machine Learning Cheat Sheets
>>> If you like these cheat sheets, you can let me know here.<<<
Machine Learning with Emojis
Machine Learning with Emojis Cheat Sheet
Machine Learning: Scikit Learn Cheat Sheet
Scikit Learn Cheat Sheet
Scikit-learn is a free software machine learning library for the Python programming language. It features various classification, regression and clustering algorithms including support vector machines is a simple and efficient tools for data mining and data analysis. It’s built on NumPy, SciPy, and matplotlib an open source, commercially usable — BSD license
Scikit-learn Algorithm Cheat Sheet
Scikit-learn algorithm
This machine learning cheat sheet will help you find the right estimator for the job which is the most difficult part. The flowchart will help you check the documentation and rough guide of each estimator that will help you to know more about the problems and how to solve it.
If you like these cheat sheets, you can let me know here.### Machine Learning: Scikit-Learn Algorythm for Azure Machine Learning Studios
Scikit-Learn Algorithm for Azure Machine Learning Studios Cheat Sheet
Part 3: Data Science with Python
Data Science with Python Cheat Sheets
Data Science: TensorFlow Cheat Sheet
TensorFlow Cheat Sheet
If you like these cheat sheets, you can let me know here.### Data Science: Python Basics Cheat Sheet
Python Basics Cheat Sheet
Python is one of the most popular data science tool due to its low and gradual learning curve and the fact that it is a fully fledged programming language.
Data Science: PySpark RDD Basics Cheat Sheet
PySpark RDD Basics Cheat Sheet
Data Science: NumPy Basics Cheat Sheet
NumPy Basics Cheat Sheet
***If you like these cheat sheets, you can let me know ***here.
Data Science: Bokeh Cheat Sheet
Bokeh Cheat Sheet
“Bokeh is an interactive visualization library that targets modern web browsers for presentation. Its goal is to provide elegant, concise construction of versatile graphics, and to extend this capability with high-performance interactivity over very large or streaming datasets. Bokeh can help anyone who would like to quickly and easily create interactive plots, dashboards, and data applications.” from
Data Science: Karas Cheat Sheet
Karas Cheat Sheet
Data Science: Padas Basics Cheat Sheet
Padas Basics Cheat Sheet
If you like these cheat sheets, you can let me know here.### Pandas Cheat Sheet: Data Wrangling in Python
Pandas Cheat Sheet: Data Wrangling in Python
Data Wrangling
The term “data wrangler” is starting to infiltrate pop culture. In the 2017 movie Kong: Skull Island, one of the characters, played by actor Marc Evan Jackson is introduced as “Steve Woodward, our data wrangler”.
Data Science: Data Wrangling with Pandas Cheat Sheet
Data Wrangling with Pandas Cheat Sheet
“Why Use tidyr & dplyr
• Although many fundamental data processing functions exist in R, they have been a bit convoluted to date and have lacked consistent coding and the ability to easily flow together → leads to difficult-to-read nested functions and/or choppy code.
• R Studio is driving a lot of new packages to collate data management tasks and better integrate them with other analysis activities → led by Hadley Wickham & the R Studio teamGarrett Grolemund, Winston Chang, Yihui Xie among others.
• As a result, a lot of data processing tasks are becoming packaged in more cohesive and consistent ways → leads to:
• More efficient code
• Easier to remember syntax
• Easier to read syntax” via Rstudios
Data Science: Data Wrangling with ddyr and tidyr
Data Wrangling with ddyr and tidyr Cheat Sheet
If you like these cheat sheets, you can let me know here.### Data Science: Scipy Linear Algebra
Scipy Linear Algebra Cheat Sheet
Data Science: Matplotlib Cheat Sheet
Matplotlib Cheat Sheet
Matplotlib is a plotting library for the Python programming language and its numerical mathematics extension NumPy. It provides an object-oriented APIfor embedding plots into applications using general-purpose GUI toolkits like Tkinter, wxPython, Qt, or GTK+. There is also a procedural “pylab” interface based on a state machine (like OpenGL), designed to closely resemble that of MATLAB, though its use is discouraged. SciPy makes use of matplotlib.
Pyplot is a matplotlib module which provides a MATLAB-like interface matplotlib is designed to be as usable as MATLAB, with the ability to use Python, with the advantage that it is free.
Data Science: Data Visualization with ggplot2 Cheat Sheet
Data Visualization with ggplot2 Cheat Sheet
Data Science: Big-O Cheat Sheet
Big-O Cheat Sheet
Special thanks to DataCamp, Asimov Institute, RStudios and the open source community for their content contributions. You can see originals here:
Big-O Algorithm Cheat Sheet:
Bokeh Cheat Sheet:
Data Science Cheat Sheet:
Data Wrangling Cheat Sheet:
Data Wrangling:
Ggplot Cheat Sheet:
Keras Cheat Sheet:
Machine Learning Cheat Sheet:
Machine Learning Cheat Sheet:
ML Cheat Sheet::
Matplotlib Cheat Sheet:
Neural Networks Cheat Sheet:
Neural Networks Graph Cheat Sheet:
Neural Networks:
Numpy Cheat Sheet:
Pandas Cheat Sheet:
Pandas Cheat Sheet:
Pyspark Cheat Sheet:
Scikit Cheat Sheet:
Scikit-learn Cheat Sheet:
Scipy Cheat Sheet:
TesorFlow Cheat Sheet:
Tensor Flow:
10 Data Science and Machine Learning Courses for Beginners
10 Data Science and Machine Learning Courses for Beginners
Data Science, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Artificial intelligence are really hot at this moment and offering a lucrative career to programmers with high pay and exciting work.
It's a great opportunity for programmers who are willing to learn these new skills and upgrade themselves and want to solve some of the most interesting real-world problems.
It's also important from the job perspective because Robots and Bots are getting smarter day by day, thanks to these technologies and most likely will take over some of the jobs which many programmers do today.
Hence, it's important for software engineers and developers to upgrade themselves with these skills. Programmers with these skills are also commanding significantly higher salaries as data science is revolutionizing the world around us.
You might already know that the Machine learning specialist is one of the top paid technical jobs in the world. However, most developers and IT professionals are yet to learn this valuable set of skills.
For those, who don't know what is a Data ScienceMachine learning, or deep learning, they are very related terms with all pointing towards machine doing jobs which is only possible for humans till date and analyzing the huge set of data collected by modern day application.
Data Science, in particular, is a combination of concepts such as machine learning, visualization, data mining, programming, data mugging, etc.
If you have some programming experience then you can learn Python or Rto make your carer as a Data Scientist.
There are a lot of popular scientific Python libraries such as Numpy, Scipy, Scikit-learn, Pandas, which is used by Data Scientist for analyzing data.
To be honest with you, I am also quite new to Data Science and Machine learning world but I have been spending some time from last year to understand this field and have done some research in terms of best resources to learn machine learning, data science, etc.
I am sharing all those resources in a series of a blog post like this. Earlier, I have shared some courses to learn TensorFlow, one of the most popular machine-learning library and today I'll share some more to learn these technologies.
These are a combination of both free and paid resource which will help you to understand key data science concepts and become a Data Scientist. Btw, I'll get paid if you happen to buy a course which is not free.
10 Useful Courses to Learn Machine Learning and Data Science for Programmers
Here is my list of some of the best courses to learn Data Science, Machine learning, and deep learning using Python and R programming language. As I have said, Data Science and machine learning work very closely together, hence some of these courses also cover machine learning.
If you are still on fence with respect to choosing Python or R for machine learning, let me tell you that both Python and R are a great language for Data Analysis and have good APIs and library, hence I have included courses in both Python and R, you can choose the one you like.
I personally like Python because of its versatile usage, it's the next best in my list of language after Java. I am already using it for writing scripts and other web stuff, so it was an easy choice for me. It has also got some excellent libraries like Sci-kit Learn and TensorFlow.
Data Science is also a combination of many skills e.g. visualization, data cleaning, data mining, etc and these courses provide a good overview of all these concepts and also presents a lot of useful tools which can help you in the real world.
Machine Learning by Andrew Ng
This is probably the most popular course to learn machine learning provided by Stanford University and Coursera, which also provides certification. You'll be tested on each and every topic that you learn in this course, and based on the completion and the final score that you get, you'll also be awarded the certificate.
This course is free but you need to pay for certificates, if you want. Though, it does provide value to you as a developer and gives you a good understanding of the mathematics behind all the machine learning algorithms that you come up with.
I personally really like this one. Andrew Ng takes you through the course using Octave, which is a good tool to test your algorithm before making it go live on your project.
1.Machine Learning A-Z: Hands-On Python and R --- In Data Science
This is probably the best hands on course on Data Science and machine learning online. In this course, you will learn to create Machine Learning Algorithms in Python and R from two Data Science experts.
This is a great course for students and programmers who want to make a career in Data Science and also Data Analysts who want to level up in machine learning.
It's also good for any intermediate level programmers who know the basics of machine learning, including the classical algorithms like linear regression or logistic regression, but who want to learn more about it and explore all the different fields of Machine Learning.
2. Data Science with R by Pluralsight
Data science is the practice of transforming data into knowledge, and R is one of the most popular programming language used by data scientists.
In this course, you'll learn first learn about the practice of data science, the R programming language, and how they can be used to transform data into actionable insight.
Next, you'll learn how to transform and clean your data, create and interpret descriptive statistics, data visualizations, and statistical models.
Finally, you'll learn how to handle Big Data, make predictions using machine learning algorithms, and deploy R to production.
Btw, you would need a Pluralsight membership to get access this course, but if you don't have one you can still check out this course by taking their 10-day free Pass, which provides 200 minutes of access to all of their courses for free.
3.** **Harvard Data Science Course
The course is a combination of various data science concepts such as machine learning, visualization, data mining, programming, data mugging, etc.
You will be using popular scientific Python libraries such as Numpy, Scipy, Scikit-learn, Pandas throughout the course.
I suggest you complete the machine learning course on course before taking this course, as machine learning concepts such as PCA (dimensionality reduction), k-means and logistic regression are not covered in depth.
But remember, you have to invest a lot of time to complete this course, especially the homework exercises are very challenging
In short, if you are looking for an online course in data science(using Python), there is no better course than Harvard's CS 109. You need some background in programming and knowledge of statistics to complete this course.
4. Want to be a Data Scientist? (FREE)
This is a great introductory course on what Data Scientist do and how you can become a data science professional. It's also free and you can get it on Udemy.
If you have just heard about Data Science and excited about it but doesn't know what it really means then this is the course you should attend first.
It's a small course but packed with big punches. You will understand what Data Science is? Appreciate the work Data Scientists do on a daily basis and differentiate the various roles in Data Science and the skills needed to perform them.
You will also learn about the challenges Data Scientists face. In short, this course will give you all the knowledge to make a decision on whether Data Science is the right path for you or not.
5. Intro to Data Science by Udacity
This is another good Introductory course on Data science which is available for free on Udacity, another popular online course website.
In this course, you will learn about essential Data science concepts e.g. Data Manipulation, Data Analysis with Statistics and Machine Learning, Data Communication with Information Visualization, and Data at Scale while working with Big Data.
This is a free course and it's also the first step towards a new career with the Data Analyst Nanodegree Program offered by Udacity.
6. Data Science Certification Training --- R Programming
The is another good course to learn Data Science with R. In this course, you will not only learn R programming language but also get some hands-on experience with statistical modeling techniques.
The course has real-world examples of how analytics have been used to significantly improve a business or industry.
If you are interested in learning some practical analytic methods that don't require a ton of maths background to understand, this is the course for you.
7. Intro To Data Science Course by Coursera
This course provides a broad introduction to various concepts of data science. The first programming exercise "Twitter Sentiment Analysis in Python" is both fun and challenging, where you analyze tons of twitter message to find out the sentiments e.g. negative, positive etc.
The course assumes that you know statistics, Python, and SQL.
Btw, It's not so good for beginners, especially if you don't know Python and SQL but if you do and have a basic understanding of Data Science then this is a great course.
8. Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp
There is no doubt that Python is probably the best language, apart from R for Data Analysis and that's why it's hugely popular among Data Scientists.
This course will teach you how to use all important Python scientific and machine learning libraries Tensorflow, NumPy, Pandas, Seaborn, Matplotlib, Plotly, Scikit-Learn, Machine Learning, and many more libraries which I have explained earlier in my list of useful machine learning libraries.
It's a very comprehensive course and you will how to use the power of Python to analyze data, create beautiful visualizations, and use powerful machine learning algorithms!
9. Data Science A-Z: Real-Life Data Science Exercises Included
This is another great hands-on course on Data Science from Udemy. It promises to teach you Data Science step by step through real Analytics examples. Data Mining, Modeling, Tableau Visualization and more.
This course will give you so many practical exercises that the real world will seem like a piece of cake when you complete this course.
The homework exercises are also very thought-provoking and challenging. In short, If you love doing stuff then this is a course for you.
10. Data Science, Deep Learning and Machine Learning with Python
If you've got some programming or scripting experience, this course will teach you the techniques used by real data scientists and machine learning practitioners in the tech industry --- and help you to become a data scientist.
The topics in this course come from an analysis of real requirements in data scientist job listings from the biggest tech employers, that makes it even more special and useful.
That's all about some of the popular courses to learn Data Science. As I said, there is a lot of demand for good Data Analytics and there are not many developers out there to fulfill that demand.
It's a great chance for the programmer, especially those who have good knowledge of maths and statistics to make a career in machine learning and Data analytics. You will be awarded exciting work and incredible pay.
Other useful Data Science and Machine Learning resources
Top 8 Python Machine Learning Libraries
5 Free courses to learn R Programming for Machine learning
5 Free courses to learn Python in 2018
Top 5 Data Science and Machine Learning courses
Top 5 TensorFlow and Machine Learning Courses
10 Technologies Programmers Can Learn in 2018
Top 5 Courses to Learn Python Better
How a Japanese cucumber farmer is using deep learning and TensorFlow
Closing Notes
Thanks, You made it to the end of the article ... Good luck with your Data Science and Machine Learning journey! It's certainly not going to be easy, but by following these courses, you are one step closer to becoming the Machine Learning Specialists you always wanted to be. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14039 | Daily Archives: March 21, 2011
When Lunatics Control the Asylum: The Battle for Control of the Classroom
A meeting of doctors at the university of Pari...
Meeting of Doctors at the University of Paris. Image via Wikipedia
Imagine a world where the inmates dictated the routines of the guards and wardens of a prison.
Parishioners at church mandated certain sermons for the minister on Sunday.
Crowds of spectators made on-the-field decisions for sports teams.
(That last one was tried once in baseball. It may even work for the New York Mets this season, but that’s another story.)
Such is the situation in many school systems across America. In the march to vilify teachers as a hindrance to progress, “reformers” have “empowered” parents and students into making decisions largely left to teachers and administrators.
Discipline little Johnny for not doing his homework? Don’t hurt his feelings, or reports of “verbal abuse” will mark your resume for years to come. Little Cindy not working to her potential? Parents demand assessments and data that even they can’t understand—and ultimately lead to the same conclusion. And don’t you dare exclude Timmy from a field trip due to his reign of terror over little girls: such exclusion can (and often has) been interpreted as “corporal punishment.”
Reformers, administrators and naïve parents have worked to strip power from the very people that make school effective in the first place. Not only is this a gross sign of disrespect to the teaching profession, but runs counter to over 800 years of scholastic tradition in Europe and America.
Yes, that long ago.
In the development of scholastic education in Western Europe, two main systems emerged in the Middle Ages. One, the older of the two, was the Bologna system patterned after the University of Bologna, which is still the oldest continuously-running institution of higher learning in the world. In this system, a school was a corporation of the students. The students organized the government of the school, hired the faculty, and managed the faculty for the needs of the students. In essence, the students had all the power, and the faculty served at their pleasure.
This system made sense in Bologna, because it was primarily a professional school that granted strictly doctoral degrees in law and medicine. Thus, only the most dedicated and rigorous students would even apply in the first place. Yet there were flaws: students became difficult to control, drunken orgies were commonplace, and civil authorities could do little as students claimed the same rights and privileges as clerics.
(This is why you wear funny robes on graduation—it’s based on medieval monastic and academic dress.)
In the University of Paris, a new system of school governance emerged, not long after Bologna’s founding. Under the Paris system, the power was shifted from the students to the masters. The university would be a corporation of the faculty, which set down rules and governance, established the curriculum and guidelines for graduation as they saw fit, and maintained order and discipline among the student body.
(Sound familiar?)
Again, this made sense in Paris since the student body was comprised of many young students, often as young as 8 or 9. The curriculum was based more on the arts and theology, although law and medicine were also offered. Furthermore, it offered more than one degree, the baccalaureate (or bachelors) and the doctorate.
In 1167, King Henry II of England banned English students from studying at the University of Paris. It wasn’t their fault, just good old European politics, and they’d be invited back in the mid 13th century. The now-displaced Paris students established the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge (along with that important legacy of English smugness). 500 years later, the descendants of the Oxbridge alumni would establish other universities in the New World along the lines of the Paris system (with an even more insufferable brand of smugness).
Finally, the graduates of the bastions of learning in the United States helped to form America’s public education systems. That system of K-12 learning still utilizes the Paris model to an extent. While a high authority establishes the curriculum, and a separate administrative body handles general school governance, it is the corps of faculty that manages the day-to-day needs of the students in the best way possible.
The teachers, like the medieval masters of Paris and Oxford, were considered “experts” in their field. This allowed them a degree of flexibility when planning lessons, establishing routines and procedures, and managing the classroom. Parents listened to their counsel with the same respect due a doctor or even an ordained minister, and trusted that teachers knew what was best in the education of their children.
So what went wrong?
After numerous reports showing the ruinous state of our children’s education, one factor became paramount among “reformers.” The “expert” in education, the teacher, was almost solely to blame in America’s downward educational spiral. Thus, it was important to give parents more control over their child’s education. Home schooling, charters, vouchers—all were designed to make parents (and in a subversive way, students) the principal actors in their learning.
Along with the “parents first” approach came a noticeable uptick in litigation over perceived abuses in the system. Parent-teacher conferences and visit to the principal’s office now require phalanxes of attorneys ready to serve on any perceived slight by the child. What’s worse, administrations on the district level set up protocols and controls that make teachers virtual whipping boys in even the most frivolous complaints.
Both of these developments due, unfortunately, have some basis in fact. Teacher training and education has long been an Achilles ’ heel in developing quality education. It’s hard to be an “expert” when there’s little scrutiny or rigor in selecting and training great educators.
Furthermore, one cannot overstate the very real abuses that take place in many classrooms. Verbal, emotional, and often physical abuse did, and still does, occur. No good teacher should engage in such negative behavior with students. Excesses in the system need to be controlled, even by legal means.
However, education is not served by handcuffing teachers with burdensome regulations, litigious parents and administrations quick to blame a scapegoat instead of standing firm with the faculty for the good of quality education.
Parents should be fully involved in a child’s education. Yet rather than sit parents and teachers together to solve common problems, reformers have set parents against teachers like rabid dogs in a fighting pit. Thanks to half-truths and hypercharged rhetoric, parents see the teacher as the enemy, with no room for compromise.
If a parent thinks they can teach their kid better than a teacher, by all means, go ahead.
If a parent thinks a charter school or a private school can educate better than a regular public school, best of luck to you.
But be warned: parents, if you choose to send your child into a school, any school, be prepared to surrender some of your power and discretion for the best interests of a child’s education.
In all schools—public, private or charter—parents need to trust that teachers are doing the right thing. All the teacher programs in the world, TFA, Teaching Fellows and the rest, are efforts in futility unless teachers are again regarded as “experts” who demand respect and discretion (to an extent, of course). Second-guessing teachers rarely helps a child, but rather gives more anxiety to an already tense situation.
Maybe education in this country never fully resembled the Paris model to which the lads of Harvard and Yale aspired. Yet it was a model that set the standard for Europe and America for almost a millennium.
Who are we to doubt its effectiveness now…
…unless, of course, you’re one of the inmates running the asylum. (Mayor Bloomberg, I’m looking in your direction.)
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14046 | Windows Phone 8.1 update rolling out to Vodafone Australia in 2-4 weeks
Many readers are anxiously awaiting news of when the official Windows Phone 8.1 update is rolling out, with 95% of users still on WP8, according to AdDuplex data.
According to Australian Windows Phone blogger Paul Chapman Vodafone Australia users will not have much longer to wait, with the update coming to their phones in “mid to end of June”, presumably 2014.
The update will also bring support for Datasense in to Vodafone Australia, which will allow Windows Phone users to not just track their data usage, but also to employ compression proxies via Microsoft which could dramatically reduce their data usage bill.
The news also of course has implications for the rest of our readers – while Australia is a day in the future, it does suggest the rest of us will also not have to wait much longer either.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14048 | Home > consciousness, cosmogony, cosmology, metaphysics, Perception, phenomenology, philosophy, physics, spacetime > Michael Shermer with Dr. Donald Hoffman — The Case Against Reality (SCIENCE SALON # 78)
September 8, 2019 Leave a comment Go to comments
Let me begin by saying that in my view Donald Hoffman’s model is the best that there is in the field at this time. I agree with Hoffman’s view that our sense of realism is an evolved Homo sapien UI, and I suggest that part of the evolutionary sculpting of this UI (and probably for all species of animal consciousness), tangibility as a sense modality is over-emphasized and taken ultra-literally. I propose this because I reason that there would be a strong evolutionary advantage to being ultra-serious about tangible renderings of public-facing events for an animal that has self-locomotion to be able to navigate its movements. Once we correct for that over-literal weighting, tangibility can be understood as just another modality of sense experience, not necessarily as the primary modality of the universe. In other words, our experience has a body experience but there may be many experiences that do not. This opens the door to disembodied contexts of consciousness and perhaps even conscious experiences which do not include a robust sense of agent-hood.
Around 1:20:00 he talks about the human UI as a portal to another’s consciousness, i.e., even though a smile doesn’t resemble happiness, when we see another person smile, we can infer an experience of happiness because we also have one. He goes on to say how it makes sense that our portal/interface is optimized for other humans and it gives up more and more as you get further from human to human interaction (human-cat is worse, human-ant is even worse, by the time we get to protons and electrons, our interface has completely given up.) Michael Shermer mentions an associated concept of ‘Middling’ from Richard Dawkins. I have proposed a more elaborate hypothesis of this same idea and call it eigenmorphism.
There are a few assumptions in Hoffman’s thinking that I question:
1. The UI is ‘created on the fly’ rather than accessed on the fly.I am not convinced that our UI experience is spontaneously confabulated, so much as it is bent and refracted in different ways. Where Hoffman assumes objective reality, I propose a reality which is objective of any particular UI scope, but not objective of the Grand Interface, within which even ‘Users’ or agents are icons of a deeper, trans-agent reality. Our dream is not reality, but that doesn’t mean that reality is anything other than the absolute total of all dreaming.
2. That anything can ‘exist’ without a receptive capability.In my understanding, one of the deepest flaws of the Western scientific worldview stems from the disqualification and disparagement of ‘feminine’ capacities for sensitivity and receptivity. Under the ‘masculine’-dominant paradigm of our scientific legacy, ‘existence’ is reduced to an ontological state of ‘being’ rather than one of ‘feeling’. I think this is a grave mistake, and that all forms of being are necessarily some experiential context in which foregrounded and backgrounded qualities form dynamic partnerships. This mutual arising of definitions is what I think is glimpsed in both Relativity and Quantum theory. The only “is” is experience itself, all other experiences are relativistic instances of “which is”.
3. That evolution of the UI justifies evolutionary creation of a UI in the first place.I agree that evolutionary mechanisms shape aspects of the UI, however, that does not explain why the UI is felt, seen, heard, tasted, etc. We still have to have a universe made of true, direct aesthetic phenomena before those phenomena can diverge and be compared as more or less ‘real’ than each other.
I propose then that we take Hoffman’s proposal as true (excepting my three proposed corrections above) for the purpose of taking it even further. In a sense, I am proposing that even though the User Interface model is the best I’ve seen, it is still missing half of the big picture. To get that other half, let us begin by assuming that his view of the UI as selecting against genuine truths about reality, but then consider that these divergences from exterior reality also converge to a set of genuine truths about the other side of reality. In the center of this ‘other side’ of reality is a perpendicular truth attractor (call it Sense or pansensitivity) which is not evolved but accumulated outside of spacetime as a common, transpersonal, nonlocal pool of all experiences.
I suggest that we may understand some of the nature of this attractor to some extent by simply applying our imagination to inverting the qualities of our public-facing experience such that are diametrically opposite. If the unexperienced reality beyond our public facing human UI is generic, mechanical, game-theoretic, and spaced-timed, a-signifying, interchangeable, recursive, teleonomic-stochastic, then the unexperienced reality beyond our private facing UI is proprietary, animistic, spontaneously vital, creative and rule-averse, authentic…intimate, aesthetically saturated, proprietary, teleological, super-signifying, radically unique, etc.
Our UI doesn’t tell us the truth of the universe, but its very fabric may be a tool kit that leads back to truth of the universe in a round-about way. I propose that universe itself may be a self-nesting, self-bootstrapping aesthetic-participatory phenomenon which not only builds labyrinths of anesthetic-automatic appearances to trap itself in temporarily but also gives itself the keys to find its way back out. The universe is a significance building dream factory that inflates and reduces parts of itself in increasingly complex ways – sort of an inhaling of negentropic limitations and exhaling of evanescing entropies.
Let’s talk about what I think the real fabric of nature is; nested sensory-motive presentation.
To begin with, a simple proposal: As mass is to energy, space is to time, and sense is to motive.
The Mass/Space/Motive end is projective. Consciousness ‘inhaling’ extends ‘out’ into quantized graphed ‘particle’ appearances (Nod to Descartes Res Extensa). The opposite, Energy/Time/Sense end is receptive (Consciousness exhales and returns into newly re-qualified, de-graphed ‘holos’ or gestalt appearances).
I would suggest letting all of that sink in before bothering to go further into my elaborations and speculations. For those who do want to go down the full Multisense Realism rabbit hole, my conjecture is that this sensory exhale, motive inhale dynamic is repeated across many parallel levels and cycles of cycles. Our human experience is obscenely well developed on both the inhale and exhale ends, such that we have a signifying interiority of multiplexed sensory nestings (sensations<perceptions<figurations<emotion<awareness>self awareness>thought>intuition>”consciousness”) that interfaces with an a-signifying exteriority of motive scales (physical ( chemical (organic (biological (zoological (anthropological) ) ) ) ) ).
Here then is my arcane formula for the totality of consciousness and nature:
ॐ ⊇ ש {((-ℵ↔Ω)↓ºt)⊥(ωª↑(H←d))}
The explanation on that link is probably hard to follow, so I’ll take a shot at a more concise explanation:
There is an Absolute foundation to all of nature, which I call Pansensitivity or the Aesthetic Holos . It is the superset of its diffracted or graphed parts ש. These parts are unified along two perpendicular axes. {(( the horizontal continuum extends between two extremes of consciousness. The first extreme is rendered in our UI as the absolute transpersonal significance of selfhood in a theological/spiritual/artistic sense. I use the symbol -ℵ as a way to suggest a boundaryless infinity of superlative aesthetic qualities and capacities, i.e. Godlike omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence. There is a subtle reference here to the Aleph numbers and infinite cardinality, such that by using ‘negative Aleph’ I am suggesting an infinite creativity which transcends unity and multiplicity…a super-everythingness from which all thingness arises. This -ℵ point of maximally expanded Self consciousness also includes dimetric opposite but equally florid qualities of identification with abject terror or super-personalization of omni-malignant Chthonic deities. -ℵ is a Heaven & Hell super-saturation of aesthetic qualities where relief and suffering extend beyond all limits of imagination.
The opposite end of the -ℵ continuum is rendered in our UI as the absolute impersonal insignificance of selfhood in the atheistic/objectifying/scientistic sense. I use the symbol Ω for various reasons, but suffice it to say this Omega point is the sense of profound insignificance of the self. This is Carl Sagan’s ‘billions and billions’ sense of the vastness of the public-facing, spaced-timed universe, with its fantastic formulas that reveal quantifiable simplicities within all appearances of complexity.
This (-ℵ↔Ω) ‘horizontal’ continuum is further conjectured to be organized in hierarchical scales of time such that the longer periods of time that are available, the richer and broader the extension of the spectrum becomes. This saturation of awareness and intelligence is characterized in the term (↓ºt). For example, the longer human history lasts, the more geniuses contribute to a greater and greater pool of art and science, which then potentially becomes more and more integrated and distributed to all members of the community or network. Each person can become more and more like all of the great geniuses of history who have come before them and have an increasingly profound worldview because of it.
Perpendicular ⊥ to this Easternizing/Subjectifying-Westernizing/Objectifying spectrum (-ℵ↔Ω) of enrichment of significance (↓ºt) is the contra spectrum of contraction and entropy that is denoted as (ωª↑(H←d)). If the former spectrum describes an inhaling of more and more inner and outer significance from the top down (), this second spectrum describes an exhaling into an increasing pool of bottom-up entropy and negentropy. Instead of an intentional striving for more and more aesthetically saturated and profound experiences, this continuum is about the dissipation of aesthetic significance and sensitivity into automatism. The ω variable denotes the minimum fragment of experience – sort of the ‘spiritless spirit of points in a void’ – a quantum-Brownian static-dynamism of absolute entropy-negentropy. Recursiveness and replication. Randomness and accident. The addition of the feminine ordinal superscript ωª is supposed to connote an opposite sense of hierarchy from the masculine ºt of the primary continuum. In the primary continuum, causality flows downward ↓ from Holos to spacetime (graphos) in a successive watering down from the kind of profound ‘Golden Age’ omniscient surrealism to an ‘Iron Age’, prosaic realism. In this secondary continuum, computable complexity builds from the bottom up . If the –ℵ↔Ω continuum expands significance by breaking gestalt, multivalent, metaphorically layered concepts into mytho-poetic utterances, the ωª↑ continuum builds alphabets and dictionaries out of nearly meaningless semaphores. The language is the servant of the speaker-thinker, but the language can draw out potentials from the speaker-thinker as well.
The final (H←d) element of the formula describes the relation between entropy and distance. This describes what Hoffman was getting at with the breakdown of the UI as it is pushed beyond its intended specs. As a human, the more distant in scale and familiarity from the human world, the less empathy and relation we can have with what is ‘behind the face’ of the icon that our UI presents. The ant’s experience is insignificant relative to our own, so the ant is rendered as a small, generic insect. We don’t much care to know what it is like to be an ant because it is not an evolutionary advantage to do so. I used the rather than the symbol in the secondary continuum to suggest an existential gravity, what our UI presents as the second law of thermodynamics and the promise of cosmological heat death. In the primary continuum, by contrast, the ‘now’ moment accumulates more and more significance into each ‘lifetime’ experience that it is represented in our UI as the idea of the Singularity or eternal, transcendental now in which all of space and time can be accessed simultaneously.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14049 | Tag Archives: o Antiphons
O Emmanuel (O God with us) Dec 23rd.
The martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah
O Rex Gentium (O King of Nations) Dec 22nd
O Oriens (O Dayspring) Dec 21st
From Divine Office today:
O Radix Jesse (Dec 19th)
O Rex Gentium – compared to wannabe kings of the world. O Emmanuel, God with us!
I know the Welsh don’t like it, but there is something deeply profound in that line from a A Man For All Seasons when St. Thomas More quotes Scripture at the betrayer Richard Rich saying “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his soul….but for Wales?”
The cross is a stumbling block to those who want to be kings of the world – or even just Wales. Jesus as King of the Jews poured every last drop of Himself out for all of us, having washed the feet of the apostles only a few hours earlier. Real kings sacrifice for others, they don’t sacrifice others for themselves.
Over Christmas we remember good King Wenceslas who ruled with kindness and took care of the poor. The Church has quite a few royal saints who worked hard for the poor and sacrificed for the people they served as King or Queen.
I think this is a good rule of thumb when looking for good religious leaders too. A king, prince, relgious leader who has privalege and doesn’t use it for others, isn’t much of a leader. We do the same in the Church in how we judge our popes. The ones who stood firm for Christ and followed Him closely are saints – and we are blessed to have a lot of saintly and canonised popes; but can also learn from the popes who did things badly. One of the things we learn is that no matter how bad a pope got the Holy Spirit did not allow them to change the teachings of Christ.
There is the story of a pope (I can’t remember which one, but I’m sure many of you know about this) who had written something that would contradict the Church and he was firmly set to promulgate it. On the night before he was to promulgate this document he died. God protects His Church.
O Emmanuel – God with us. This is from the prophecy Isaiah gave to Ahab who had tried to chicken out of hearing what God had to say. Isaiah said that Ahaz was going to hear what God had to say anyway and made the prophecy that a virgin shall conceive bear a son and he will be called wonderful, councilor prince of peace and God With Us.
As with many prophecies it has been considered that there was a dual fulfilmet of Isaiah’s words in that Ahaz’s young wife Abijah soon delivered a son whom they named Hezekiah meaning God is Strength.
Ahaz had been a pretty dreadful king and led Israel into the darkness. But Hezekiah was seen as a great kind. He cleaned out the awful pagan gods and brought Israel back under the wing of God. But the sins of the people left a mark and soon Hezekiah found himself facing Sennechorib who rules Assyria after the death of Sargon. Hezekiah had looked to Egypt for help, but none came.
O Oriens – son/sun of justice
When God made the sun I am sure He had in mind that it would be a symbol of the Incarnate Light of the World. I think He was probably well aware of how the moon as it reflects that light into a dark world would symbolise the Mother and Church.
The old pagans who were wiser in many ways that we give them credit, understood the symbols of sun and moon and made a god and godess around them, but they lacked the full truth of how the heavenly objects were types to show us the way to the reality of heavenly persons. We should not be too hard on them, for there were those who through reason and without the benifit of revelation understood something of the nature of a god of the sun or sun-god or even a son-god.
Both Jesus and Mary have been called “morning star” and so has Satan. How can God and Satan have the same symbol? It does make me a bit uncomfortable at times. But then it’s something that should tell us about what Satan hoped for himself. He, like his friends, wants all the power and glory of God, but without having to do all the sacrificing and love that goes with it.
Isaiah’s words about how the king of Babylon would fall includes calling him the Day Star, Son of the Morning (in Latin Lucifer and in Hebrew Helel). This passage (ch 14) has been considered a prophesy about Satan but also his best minion, the Antichrist. The King of Babylon was a type of Antichrist and tried to hold a title that was really for God and His Bride.
It is noted at times that the star of the morning is often considered to be the planet Venus. The goddess in her many forms is an Antimarian figure. The corruption of the Queen mothers (gebirah) in Israel’s royal family was also a type of antimarian.
The fall of Satan was bigger than the fall of the other devils because Satan had been one of the brightest angels. The Light Bearer, Star of the Morning – and he fell into darkness.
The darkest gods in the pagan pantheon are opposites of God as He really is. Just as God is Adonai, so the father god of the Canaanites was Ba’al a ruthless father god. Just as Christ is the King of Kings, so many kings arose trying to grasp the Godhead for themselves and fell int he process. (Antiochas Epiphanes has to be the major type of Antichrist, more so even than Solomon after his moral fall).
Christ and His Mother really are the Morning Star, He is the Son who shines brightly with His own Light as the sun shines at morning. She is the star like Venus who shines her light which is a reflection of His Light.
Just as the sun gives light and life to the world, so the Son gives Light and life to all of us.
O Radix Jesse and the faith of Herod
O Radix Jesse, the promise of God that a shoot would arise out of Jesse and as the prayer goes, it will cause all kings to be silenced.
When we hear the Christmas story we will hear of the Magi or kings who travelled to Jerusalem following a star, that somehow they almost seem to have expected. They went to Jerusalem and asked King Herod where the new King of the Jews could be found. How could they have worked all that out from a star?
Those of you who have used my lessons will know about the prophecy of Balaam and how it is thought this prophecy was kept by the people of Mesopotamia so that when the Star appeared, the Magi knew what it might mean.
Herod did not simply dismiss the Magi. He called for those in the Temple to come and explain the Scriptures to him, to see if these gentiles had it right, and the Temple staff said yes they did and the child was to be born in Bethlehem.
Herod then said, “Don’t be daft, it’s all a fairy tale…” er no, he didn’t. He sent the Magi to find the baby and then come and tell him. Perhaps at this point he was hedging. Maybe there was a king born, maybe there wasn’t. But from what the Scriptures said, this was no ordinary king- this was the promised Messiah. So all those temple people would be rushing off to Bethlehem to see the baby too right?
Apparently not. They just went back to the temple and put away the scrolls as though what they had just read, meant nothing. I can’t help wondering how much of their disinterest in the possibility of the Messiah was rooted in the fact that Herod built the temple and the money, power and prestige they had there, came not from God (as far as they were concerned) but from Herod.
Then, when the Magi did not return, Herod had all the toddler and baby boys murdered in a mass slaughter that is just foul. Why bother? I can’t help thinking he did it because he believed; I think Herod believed that the Messiah, the King of the Jews the promised shoot from the stump of Jesse really had been born and it terrified him.
For the Magi, the curses Balaam had promised to pour on Israel had become a blessing not just for Israel but for all the nations, but for Herod, the curse was real as he rejected the blessing.
God said to Israel, “See a place before you life and death, choose life therefore…” |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14055 | Main Page Sitemap
Secrets behind leonardo da vinci paintings
Leonardo on the Human Body.
Another rests his hands on the table and watches; another blows out his cheeks; another bends forward to see the speaker, shading his eyes with his hand; another draws back behind the one who leans forward and sees the speaker between the wall and the.
1513 Leonardo was once again based mostly in Milan.
265 Wittkower and Wittkower,.Two of the three were tagliare plexiglass 5 mm never finished, and the third took so long that it was subject to lengthy negotiations over completion and payment.New York City: Broadway Books.Italian Renaissance polymath, in this.The book says the painting literally spells it out.The bridge was intended to span an inlet at the mouth of the Bosporus known as the Golden Horn.And in 1982, they laid out the following theory in their non-fiction book: The Priory of Sion was a real organization that had been protecting the untold story of Jesus, Mary and their French descendants for centuries.Leonardo also remembered his other long-time pupil and companion, Salai, and his servant Battista di Vilussis, who each received half of Leonardo 's vineyards.New York, New York Review of Books.15v, Institut of France.It is unknown for what occasion the mechanical lion was made, but it is believed to have greeted the king at his entry into Lyon and perhaps was used for the peace talks between the French king and Pope Leo X in Bologna.120 Leonardo also closely observed and recorded the effects of age and of human emotion on the physiology, studying in particular the effects of rage.Next the apostle Thomas, who is raising his index finger, is an eternal doubter.New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richard Leigh, co-author "Holy Blood, Holy Grail The whole thing turned into a circus.
"Roberto Guatelli's Controversial Replica of Leonardo da Vinci 's Adding Machine".
A b Wasserman, Jack (1975).
Gli scritti di Leonardo da Vinci sul volo.12 In a 2008 TED talk, artist Siegfried Woldhek, based on Leonardo 's features in Andrea del Verrocchio 's bronze statue of David, proposed that Leonardo may have done three self-portraits: Portrait of a Musician, the Vitruvian Man and the aforementioned Portrait of a Man.But one thing scholars agree on is this: nowhere in the New Testament or in any other Christian teachings does it spell out whether or not Jesus was married.Fortune is a River: Leonardo Da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli's Magnificent Dream to Change the Course of Florentine History.62 63 Small devotional picture by Verrocchio,. .258 della Chiesa,.Is there that "M" for marriage?There is also an erotic drawing of Salai known as The Incarnate Angel, perhaps by the hand of Leonardo, which was one of a number of such drawings once among those contained in the British Royal Collection, but later dispersed.He documented that the humours were not contained in the heart or the liver, and that it was the heart that defined the circulatory system.98 q Other characteristics of the painting are the unadorned dress, in which the eyes and hands have no competition from other details; the dramatic landscape background, in which the world seems to be in a state of flux; the subdued colouring; and the extremely.But readers are told right from the start that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." That provocative statement gives an air of credibility to the book's elaborate conspiracy theories and it's caused millions of readers to wonder. |
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copyright © S McDonnell
Narcissistic Personality Symptoms
1. grandiosity / exaggeration
2. fantastic thinking / romantic
3. believes special / unique
4. requires admiration
5. entitled / demanding
6. exploitive / manipulative
7. lacks empathy
8. envious / jealous
9. arrogant / haughty
Quick links:
A bad apple spoils the barrel, or your soul.
What happens when you are surrounded by people who constantly tell you what you are and aren't? What happens when people gossip about or ignore you? What happens when every advertisement tells you what you need to buy to succeed? How do you feel when good manners and politeness disappear? What happens when someone criticizes you without reason? Some of us can brush off the casual critic, the snide remark, or the social snub. But contrary to the saying, "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me" , we are social creatures who interact with other people, and we are affected by other people's emotions.
Constructive criticism is an oxymoron. Criticism doesn't build up one's ego - compliments do. When another person vents their spleen on you, it's like throwing acid on someone. It burns, and eventually the pain is etched in the brain. Insincere compliments do the same thing; an effusive friend who is only out to protect your good name. The charmer N says they are only thinking of your best interests, as they tear you down. (The criticism tells more about the critic, than the person being criticized.)
What then is normal criticism? Ask yourself, did you learn something from the criticism that will help you or did you feel belittled? If you are a narcissist any criticism will make you feel bad about yourself.
How to deal with Difficult people: criticism, idiots, control freaks
Any interaction with a Narcissist will make you feel as if you have been used. What we are talking about is 'invasion', an attack on boundaries that is meant to break them down and then take over thoughts and souls. Call it the devil, call it Marketing; both want to sell you. Call it hypnotism.
Introjection occurs where a subject takes into itself the behaviors, attributes or other external objects, especially of other people. A common pattern is where a child introjects aspects of parents into its own persona. According to Freud, the ego and the superego are constructed by introjecting external behavior into the subject's own persona.
Introjective identification Where a person finds another person attractive in some way, then they will often take a part of that other person and introject that part into their own ego. In this way, they become more like the admired person. Also, having a part of that person in them, they feel closer to them and usually like to be physically and emotionally closer to them, perhaps for fear of distance leading to the introjected part (particularly if it is not fully internalized) being lost.
Freud used introjective identification to describe how Christians introject Christ into themselves in order to be more like Him. This is made viscerally explicit through the process of Mass or Communion, where they symbolically eat Christ's body and drink his blood.
Melanie Klieg's theories
Go next to Marie Cardinal
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14097 |
This book introduced me to modern languages, from my previous experience coding in assembler. It inspired the millions of lines of code I've written since.
I now understand why my subsequent programs, and those of many in my generation, have been riddled with bugs for 3 decades.
K&R is hardly the only book written about C, nor is it the best. You should definitely not stop learning about a language after you've read just one book about it.
K&R C was best practice in 1980 or so, since then we've learned a lot about C, about what to do and what not to do. If you still program C like it is 1980 then you can't really blame that on a book from 1978.
I am midway through K&R, but now I am curious, what other book would you suggest?
Popular suggestions (not introductory):
C Interfaces and Implementations (David R. Hanson)
Expert C Programming (Peter van der Linden)
I'm also a fan of C Programming: A Modern Approach (K. N. King) as an introductory book, but it's very different in intended audience from K&R. King is writing for students, and he assumes nearly nothing. K&R are really writing for experienced fellow programmers, I think. So it's an apples to oranges comparison. But King is certainly more modern. He includes a fair amount of C99 material. The writing can't compare with K&R. It's nowhere near as dense or elegant. But if you find parts of K&R a bit too dense and elegant, it's a good trade-off. (I used them both in tandem while trying to learn C this summer. It worked well for me. When King got too verbose, switch to K&R. When K&R lost me, switch to King.)
King's book was my introduction to serious programming when I was younger. In an era of my life where I usually prefer ebooks, I still have King's book, in dead-tree format, and love it.
IMO, this is a better book at explaining C clearly: "advanced programming in the unix environment" by W. Richard Stevens. Don't be fooled by the title.. it's a beginner book.
> Don't be fooled by the title.. it's a beginner book.
I never know what to do with comments like this. It's obviously not a beginner's book. At the very least, it assumes that you know C. If your response is "C is a small language. You can learn it by reading <some-other-thing>.", you're admitting that APUE is not a beginner's book. If your response is, "C is a small language. You can learn it by reading APUE itself.", then I call bullshit. Is it theoretically possible, sure. But is it a natural way for a true beginner to learn C? Certainly not.
> It's obviously not a beginner's book.
What do you mean by this? You obviously have NOT read it. I have. I'm telling you it is a beginner book. It does not assume you know C or anything else. It has nothing to do with the size of C. Grabbed it off my bookshelf -- he starts off telling you how to login to a unix system. How advanced can it be?
This is literally the book that taught me the basics of C within a week -- the first language I learned (15 years ago). So it is definitely a beginner book IMO.
Edit: I will say, he does get into some more advanced things toward the end. Which is why I like the book.. he starts off very basic, and by the end, he's covered the basics of interprocess communication, shared memory, etc.
I have read the book. It does not teach you C. It assumes that you know the language. It does not teach you anything about the syntax of the language.
He does not tell you how to log into a UNIX system. He tells you what happens when you log into a UNIX system. (That is a big difference. Compare the first chapter of Kerrigan and Pike's The Unix Programming Environment, which actually does teach about terminals and explicitly talks about how to log in and what a login is -- for a complete beginner.)
Here's the first bit of code, from page 5:
#include "apue.h"
#include <dirent.h>
main(int argc, char *argv[])
DIR *dp;
struct dirent *dirp;
if (argc != 2)
err_quit("usage: ls directory_name");
if ((dp = opendir(argv[1])) == NULL)
err_sys("can't open %s", argv[1]);
printf("%s\n", dirp->d_name);
My point is very simple: If you do not know C and especially if you also do not know any programming language, it would require either magic or another book or tutorial to figure out the syntax or semantics of those lines. Why is the first include thingy in quotes and the second in brackets? What is an include thingy anyhow? What is DIR? Why do some things have a * in front of them? When are semicolons used? Not every line ends in one, but most do - why? What is the -> used for? When do I use parentheses and when do I use braces? What is argc or argv? Are those names important? What is NULL? Why are some things all capitals and some not. Does that matter? He doesn't answer any of these questions (nor should he), because the book is not meant to teach you C. It assumes that you already know C.
It is not a beginner's book.
Here's a bit of code from page 10:
#include "ourhdr.h"
printf("hello world from process ID %d\n", getpid());
Ch 7 is the environment of a unix process. 7.2: "argc is the number of command line arguments and argv is an array of pointers to the arguments. We describe these in Section 7.4." exit codes are discussed in section 7.3, where he also talks about 0 in exit.
Granted, he does not discuss the syntax or NULL...
Looking through it.. I'll agree it isn't a beginner book. Intermediate at worst though.
Hmm... Having not seen the first edition of the book (which is the edition you must have given that you used it 15 years ago and it was updated 8 years ago), it's possible that your assessment of its elementary content is specific to that edition.
However, the second edition of the text is by no means elementary; unless you are conflating beginner literature with comprehensive literature, and the text is certainly comprehensive.
I'll grant you that Chapter 1 is a summary and introduction to the entire book with little challenging or novel material for someone experienced with UNIX and C, but many advanced texts have introductory sections. A large portion of the "The Art of Computer Programming: Fundamental Algorithms" is essentially a review of the elementary mathematics necessary for the analysis of algorithms, but I would never call TAOP a "beginners book"!
This thread has been interesting for me. The first time I've opened the book in 13-14 years probably. Not exactly what I remembered. So just ignore my posts :)
Harbison & Steele, "C: A Reference Manual".
You could do a lot worse than getting a copy of Sedgewick 'algorithms in C'.
Don't blame K&R because it took you 30 years to notice that one of the many widely available string libraries might be a good idea.
It was a poorly worded joke. US, irony etc.
That book was a first step for many of the devs that build many of the technologies that support everything we do online today.
|
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14099 | • By Deborah Balzer
Infectious Diseases A-Z: What is walking pneumonia?
October 16, 2017
a sick man with cold or flu lying on sofa checking his temperature for a fever
Walking pneumonia is an informal term for a mild form of pneumonia. It's most common in school-aged children and young adults, though people of all ages are at risk.
"Walking pneumonia is caused by a type of bacteria we classify as an atypical type of bacteria," says Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a Mayo Clinic pediatric infectious diseases specialist. "Most commonly, that bacteria is called Mycoplasma pneumoniae."
Watch: Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse explains walking pneumonia.
Journalists: Broadcast-quality sound bites are in the downloads.
“Symptoms of walking pneumonia are similar to symptoms of pneumonia, but generally are on the milder side," says Dr. Rajapakse. "A child or a person with this infection can experience a cough, fever, runny nose, some difficulty with breathing, occasionally chest pain or some shortness of breath, as well."
Occasionally, walking pneumonia can progress to a more severe pneumonia that may require hospitalization.
Dr. Rajapakse says, "When we talk about pneumonia, we’re referring to an infection in the lungs. Pneumonia can be caused by both bacteria and viruses and, in rare cases, fungi as well. But when we talk about pneumonia, we’re really referring to an infection of the lung tissue."
"If you think you might have walking pneumonia, or any type of pneumonia, it’s a good idea to see your physician or your primary care provider," says Dr. Rajapakse. "They will really be the best ones to do a physical examination and potentially order a chest X-ray –if they think that one is warranted – to determine whether you might have pneumonia or not."
Even though walking pneumonia is caused by bacteria, most people will completely recover without antibiotics. If the symptoms are severe or you have other medical conditions such as asthma or a weakened immune system your health care provider may prescribe an antibiotic to help clear the infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers these tips to prevent the spread of infection.
• Put your used tissue in the wastebasket.
• If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow–not your hands.
Please login or register to post a reply. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14115 |
Bob Goudriaan successor of Marc Gauw 2017/10/12
Jabber/XMMP; organization and status
[strengthening Trust in Jabber/XMPP Technologies -- concluded on 2008/01]
The NLnet Foundation supports the XSF, the XMPP Standards Foundation (formerly the Jabber Software Foundation). Volunteer programmers will get "bounties" when they complete parts of the implementation.
Send in your ideas.
Deadline February 1st, 2020.
Project Jabber/XMMP
NLnet Projects
Last update: 2007/04/03 |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14122 | Ibutamoren Properties
What are the benefits and side effects for Ibutamoren
Where can you buy Ibutamoren?
Below we've compiled an index of all the vendors that have Ibutamoren for sale that we could find.
All prices are weekly updated.
NootropicsourceMK-6771g powder$49.95 $49.95View |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14127 | @article {2450, title = {The Growth Stop Phenomenon Of Baobabs (Adansonia Spp.) Identified By Radiocarbon DatingAbstract}, journal = {Radiocarbon}, volume = {59504754164661}, year = {2017}, month = {Jan-04-2017}, pages = {435 - 448}, abstract = {The article reports the growth stop phenomenon, which was documented only for baobabs, i.e. for trees belonging to the Adansonia genus. The identification of growth stop was enabled by radiocarbon dating, which allows a complex investigation of samples collected from the trunk/stems of baobabs. In several cases, the outermost rings of baobabs, which were close to the bark, were found to be old, with ages of several hundreds of years, instead of being very young. Dating results of samples collected from six baobabs are presented. For multistemmed baobabs, the growth stop may occur only for one or several stems. We identified four factors that may induce the growth stop: (i) stress determined by severe climate conditions, (ii) old age, (iii) the need to keep a stable internal architecture, and (iv) the collapse of stems that survive this trauma. Baobabs and their stems affected by growth stop may survive for several centuries, by continuing to produce leaves, flowers, and fruits. This phenomenon was associated with the capacity of baobabs to store large amounts of water in their trunks/stems in the rainy season. This reservoir of water is used during the dry season and allows the trees to survive prolonged drought periods.}, keywords = {Age determination, AMS, growth stop, Radiocarbon dating, tropical trees}, issn = {0033-8222}, doi = {10.1017/RDC.2016.92}, url = {https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0033822216000928/type/journal_articlehttps://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033822216000928}, author = {Patrut, Adrian and Woodborne, Stephan and von Reden, Karl F and Hall, Grant and Patrut, Roxana T and Rakosy, Laszlo and Danthu, Pascal and Pock-Tsy, Jean-Michel Leong and Lowy, Daniel A and Margineanu, Dragos} } @article { ISI:000364572000008, title = {An effective method of UV-oxidation of dissolved organic carbon in natural waters for radiocarbon analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry}, journal = {JOURNAL OF OCEAN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA}, volume = {14}, number = {{6}}, year = {2015}, month = {DEC}, pages = {989-993}, type = {Article}, abstract = {Radiocarbon (C-14) measurement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a very powerful tool to study the sources, transformation and cycling of carbon in the ocean. The technique, however, remains great challenges for complete and successful oxidation of sufficient DOC with low blanks for high precision carbon isotopic ratio analysis, largely due to the overwhelming proportion of salts and low DOC concentrations in the ocean. In this paper, we report an effective UV-Oxidation method for oxidizing DOC in natural waters for radiocarbon analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The UV-oxidation system and method show 95\%+/- 4\% oxidation efficiency and high reproducibility for DOC in both river and seawater samples. The blanks associated with the method was also low (about 3 A mu g C) that is critical for C-14 analysis. As a great advantage of the method, multiple water samples can be oxidized at the same time so it reduces the sample processing time substantially compared with other UV-oxidation method currently being used in other laboratories. We have used the system and method for C-14 studies of DOC in rivers, estuaries, and oceanic environments and have received promise results.}, keywords = {AMS, dissolved organic carbon, natural waters, radiocarbon, UV-oxidation}, issn = {1672-5182}, doi = {10.1007/s11802-015-2935-z}, author = {Xue Yuejun and Ge Tiantian and Wang Xuchen} } @article {1835, title = {The Passage of the Bomb Radiocarbon Pulse into the Pacific Ocean}, journal = {Radiocarbon}, volume = {52}, year = {2010}, note = {Sp. Iss. 2696jo Times Cited:7 Cited References Count:38 }, month = {2010}, pages = {1182-1190}, abstract = {We report and compare radiocarbon observations made on 2 meridional oceanographic sections along 150 degrees W in the South Pacific in 1991 and 2005. The distributions reflect the progressive penetration of nuclear weapons-produced (14)C into the oceanic thermocline. The changes over the 14 yr between occupations are demonstrably large relative to any possible drift in our analytical standardization. The computed difference field based on the gridded data in the upper 1600 m of the section exhibits a significant decrease over time (approaching 40 to 50 parts per thousand in Delta(14)C) in the upper 200-300 m, consistent with the decadal post-bomb decline in atmospheric (14)C levels. A strong positive anomaly (increase with time), centered on the low salinity core of the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), approaches 50-60 parts per thousand in Delta(14)C, a clear signature of the downstream evolution of the (14)C transient in this water mass. We use this observation to estimate the transit time of AAIW from its "source region" in the southeast South Pacific and to compute the effective reservoir age of this water mass. The 2 sections show small but significant changes in the abyssal (14)C distributions. Between 1991 and 2005, Delta(14)C has increased by 9 parts per thousand below 2000 m north of 55 degrees S. This change is accompanied overall by a modest increase in salinity and dissolved oxygen, as well as a slight decrease in dissolved silica. Such changes are indicative of greater ventilation. Calculation of "phosphate star" also indicates that this may be due to a shift from the Southern Ocean toward North Atlantic Deep Water as the ventilation source of the abyssal South Pacific.}, keywords = {AMS, antarctic intermediate water, anthropogenic co2, atlantic, c-14 data, carbon, distributions, graphite, south-pacific, tritium}, isbn = {0033-8222}, author = {Jenkins, W. J. and Elder, K. L. and McNichol, A. P. and von Reden, K.} } @article {1977, title = {Radiocarbon dating of alkenones from marine sediments: I. Isolation protocol}, journal = {Radiocarbon}, volume = {47}, year = {2005}, note = {993nkTimes Cited:13 Cited References Count:22 }, month = {2005}, pages = {401-412}, abstract = {The chemical and isotopic compositions of long-chain (C-36-C-39) unsaturated ketones (alkenones), a unique class of algal lipids, encode surface ocean properties useful for paleoceanographic reconstruction. Recently, we have sought to extend the utility of alkenones as oceanic tracers through measurement of their radiocarbon contents. Here. we describe a method for isolation of alkenones from sediments as a compound class based on a sequence of wet chemical techniques. The steps involved, which include silica gel column chromatography, urea adduction, and silver nitrate-silica gel column chromatography, exploit various structural attributes of the alkenones. Amounts of purified alkenones estimated by GC/FID measurements were highly correlated with CO2 yields after sample combustion, indicating purities of greater than 90\% for samples containing >= 100 mu g C. The degree of alkenone unsaturation (U-37(K{\textquoteright})) also varied minimally through the procedure. We also describe a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to isolate individual alkenones for molecular-level structural and isotopic determination.}, keywords = {AMS, carbon, indicators, proxy, records, tool}, isbn = {0033-8222}, author = {Ohkouchi, N. and Xu, L. and Reddy, C. M. and Montlucon, D. and Eglinton, T. I.} } @article {2436, title = {Installation of a 134-sample MC-SNICS ion source at NOSAMS and first results}, journal = {Nuclear Instruments \& Methods in Physics Research Section B-Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms}, volume = {172}, year = {2000}, note = {8th International Conference on Accelerator Mass SpectrometrySEP 06-10, 1999 VIENNA, AUSTRIA }, month = {Oct}, pages = {247-251}, abstract = {In April 1999, the National Ocean Sciences AMS (NOSAMS) facility received the shipment of a 134-sample MC-SNICS ion source from the National Electrostatics Corporation (NEC). It replaced one of the two 59-sample spherical ionizer sources (US-AMS Model 3090A, HVEE Model 846). In this paper, we will describe the adaptation of the NEC ion source to the US-AMS/HVEE recombinator injector at NOSAMS. This is the first lime that the two leading sputter ion source designs are directly comparable on the same system. We will present ion beam optics calculations for both in comparison with measured results. Once fully operational, the new ion source will assume all of the sputter sample measurements at NOSAMS, while the remaining 59-sample source will be replaced by the newly developed microwave gas ion source. One of the most desirable features of the MC-SNICS design is the smaller cathode geometry. At comparable extracted currents, the surface diameter of the pressed samples is reduced from 1.5 to 1 mm. A new, automatic sample pressing procedure is being developed for this design. This will improve the capability for preparing and analyzing smaller sputter samples (carbon weight <100 g). Our US-AMS cathodes showed considerable reduction in the extracted currents when the sample diameter was reduced to 1 mm, even with samples of normal size (>200 mug C). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.}, keywords = {AMS, beam extraction/injection, C-14, ion sources, ocean, pacific}, isbn = {0168-583X}, author = {von Reden, K. F. and Bellino, M. and Long, P. and Schneider, R. J. and Loger, R.} } @article {2185, title = {The radiocarbon content of individual lignin-derived phenols: Technique and initial results}, journal = {Radiocarbon}, volume = {42}, year = {2000}, note = {365vkTimes Cited:19 Cited References Count:17 }, month = {2000}, pages = {219-227}, abstract = {We present a method for the isolation of phenolic compounds derived from lignin for radiocarbon analysis. These phenols are generated by chemical oxidation of polymeric materials and derivatized for separation and recovery by preparative capillary gas chromatography (PCGC). This technique yields tens of micrograms of pure, stable compounds that can he converted to graphite and analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Analysis of model flavor compounds and dated woods indicates that, in most cases, the radiocarbon (C-14) contents of the individual compounds, corrected for the contribution of the derivative, agree with that of the bulk material to within 20 parts per thousand.}, keywords = {AMS, isotope-ratio, NOSAMS, oxidation-products}, isbn = {0033-8222}, author = {McNichol, A. P. and Ertel, J. R. and Eglinton, T. I.} } |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14128 | Export 20 results:
Author [ Title(Desc)] Type Year
Filters: Author is Brenner, M. [Clear All Filters]
J. H. Curtis, Brenner, M., and Hodell, D. A., Climate change in the circum-Caribbean (late Pleistocene-to-Present) and implications for regional biogeography, in Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, 2nd Edition, C. A. Woods, Ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2001, pp. 35-54.
J. H. Curtis, Brenner, M., and Hodell, D. A., Climate change in the Lake Valencia Basin, Venezuela, approximately 12,600 yr BP to present, The Holocene, vol. 9, pp. 609-619, 1999.
D. A. Hodell, Brenner, M., and Curtis, J. H., Climate change in the northern American tropics since the last ice age: implications for environment and culture (Book Section), in Imperfect Balance: Landscape transformations in the Precolumbian Americas, D. L. Lentz, Ed. NY: Columbia University Press, 2000, pp. 13-38.
M. W. Binford, Kolata, A. L., Brenner, M., Janusek, J. W., Seddon, M. T., Abbott, M., and Curtis, J. H., Climate variation and the rise and fall of an Andean civilization, Quaternary Research, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 235-248, 1997.
J. B. Martin, Rosenmeier, M. F., Hodell, D. A., Brenner, M., and Curtis, J. H., Controls of chemical and isotopic composition of Lake water, Peten, Guatemala and implications for Holocene climatic variability in Central America. Abstracts with Programs, in Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, 1998, vol. 30, p. 309.
B. W. Leyden, Brenner, M., and Dahlin, B. H., Cultural and climatic history of Coba, a lowland Maya city in Quintana Roo, Mexico, Quaternary Research, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 111-122, 1998. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14144 | The Ottawa Declaration of 1996 formally established the Arctic Council as a high level intergovernmental forum to provide a means for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, with the involvement of the Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
This repository holds reports and assessments produced by the Arctic Council.
Select a community to browse its collections.
AC Working Group: Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP)
AC Working Group: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
AC Working Group: Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)
AC Working Group: Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR)
AC Working Group: Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME)
AC Working Group: Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG)
Declarations and SAO reports of the Arctic Council
Deputy Ministers' Meetings
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14155 | A while back I wrote a post mentioning exercises from Eric Goodman’s Foundation Training program for low back pain.
The Best Exercise for Back Pain is the Founder exercise:
Besides the hip lunge exercise I described then, I started incorporating into my routine his most fundamental exercise that he calls the “Founder” exercise. I had had low back pain for years from too much sitting in my pre-OESH days, which seemed to be getting worse with all the lifting I was doing in the factory. In the past, I had tried a lot of different exercises for low back pain without much success and I thought I’d give the Founder exercise a try. From what I knew as a physiatrist, and from all the biomechanics research I’d done, the exercise made a lot of sense to me. For one thing, it looked to be a superior way to strengthen the gluteus maximus, a muscle that I don’t think has been emphasized enough in low back exercise programs, but which is vitally important to low back health.
The gluteus maximus runs from the top of your pelvis into your thigh. Its primary role is to stabilize the trunk against the thigh when we bend, lift, twist, dig, run, dance, climb, vacuum, play tennis, or just put on our underwear. By stabilizing the trunk against the thigh, it protects against excessive movement and stresses and strains through the joints in our low back. That’s a big job but the gluteus maximus is a big muscle. It’s not only the biggest muscle on your backside, it’s the biggest muscle in your body.
Basically, the gluteus maximus is designed such that it “has our back.” But unfortunately, in modern society, we sit on it a lot. So, it’s asleep and it doesn’t REALLY have our backs.
Sitting causes tightness in the hip flexors which triggers a muscle response called reciprocal inhibition that turns off the gluteus maximus and all the other muscles on your backside. When the gluteus is weak, compensations to stabilize the trunk must occur in the spine, which places a lot of stress through your spinal ligaments, discs, and facet joints—all the places that when excessively stressed, cause pain and injury.
Even though I’ve been physically active all my life, running every day, I also spent a lot of time sitting – in my former jobs in academic medicine and before that, as a student. The first time I had low back pain was when I was eight months pregnant, after some “nesting,“ prying off old siding from the house while perched on a ladder. The pain was intense for a couple days but within a week, it went away and didn’t come back until a couple years later when I moved a couch up three flights of stairs. Gradually, the triggers became less dramatic and the amount of time to recovery increased. Eventually, I’d have pain and not even know what triggered it.
I credit my friend and colleague in physical medicine and rehabilitation, Scott Nadler, whose life was cut short by cancer, for first identifying the role of the gluteus maximus in protecting the low back. Scott was a proponent of the importance of hip extensor strengthening and showed with preliminary studies in the early 2000’s an association in women athletes between impaired gluteus maximus strength and the development of low back pain. When a “core” strengthening program didn’t affect the development of low back pain in athletes in a prospective study, he thought it was because there wasn’t enough focus in the program on the hip extensors. To recognize and help continue his pioneering work, our field has developed a small research grant in his name. Meanwhile, I think Goodman’s Founder exercise answers Scott’s work for a program that emphasizes the gluteus maximus.
I know it’s hard when you’re busy to fit yet another exercise into your routine. But this one is worth it. I’ve been doing just a one-minute version of the Founder exercise once a day and then incorporating that movement into my daily routine and work in the factory. If I had time, I would do Goodman’s entire Foundation Training program which I highly recommend. But doing even just that one-minute Founder exercise, along with my two-minute yoga routine, I haven’t had low back pain, despite a lot of heavy lifting in the factory for over two years.
This is what I do. For 30 seconds, I hold the position that Kellyn (who is leaving for Yale tomorrow – bittersweet!) is demonstrating below, with weight centered on the heels of the foot (which is easier to do barefoot or in shoes that are completely flat like OESH), and butt sticking out back. It’s important to keep your knees only slightly bent so as to not to activate the quadriceps, which takes away from activating the hamstrings, which you’ll feel being stretched, especially if they are tight.
Then I lift my arms up and hold that for another 30 seconds.
I recommend you do the full Foundation Training program and/or work with your physician, therapist, trainer or coach to incorporate this exercise into your current regimen. And certainly you shouldn’t do it if it causes any back pain. If that’s the case for you, don’t give up…there are exercises you can do to build up to being able to do the Founder exercise properly without pain.
Why I think the Founder exercise works so well is that it activates the gluteus maximus in a natural way such that gains in strength can be carried over directly to the moments when you actually need trunk stabilization – like opening the bottom freezer drawer. In the second picture above you can see how the body weight force is in front of the hip. That creates a lever arm at the hip which has to be counteracted by the gluteus maximus. The longer the hip lever arm, the more the gluteus maximus needs to contract. Many exercises that attempt to “spot-train” or “tone” the gluteus maximus activate it in a rather non-functional way that doesn’t apply to every day movements. That’s because of a principle known as “specificity of training” that says strength gains apply specifically to the movement in which you trained.
The Founder exercise is similar to exercise maneuvers used by weight lifters called the “Good Morning” and the “Hip Hinge” in preparation for doing the “deadlift” and squats, but without weights. It’s also similar to the Utkatasana “Chair pose.” There are nuances in Goodman’s Founder exercise though, that I think make it the best way to strengthen not just the gluteus maximus, but a host of other muscles important for low back health.
Besides the gluteus maximus, the Founder activates muscles all along your backside known as the posterior chain muscles. These include, besides the gluteus maximus, your hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your thigh), the multifidus and the erector spinae (the small muscles running up and down the back of your spine) and your gastrocnemius-soleus (calf muscles). In a weight bearing position, the hamstrings function similarly to the gluteus maximus to stabilize your trunk. The erector spinae muscles help stabilize your spine between the individual spine segments. And the gastrocnemius-soleus provide the foundation. The exercise is engaging all these posterior chain muscles in a very functional manner so that gains in strength can be applied to when you actually need that strength to stabilize your back.
Another important part of the Founder exercise, I believe, is to make a conscious effort to incorporate it into your daily routine. I make an effort to incorporate the movement into my daily routine at home and at work. When I go to pick something up or to tie my shoelaces, I bend forward only at my hips, keeping my back straight. That kind of “hip hinging,” seems a little awkward at first, with your butt sticking out behind you, but gradually it will become more natural.
Changing one’s movement pattern can be difficult. For years, when I bent over, I bent forward through my low back, rounding it out like everyone I know. This is a learned movement that goes back to when we were little, watching and imitating the movement of our parents and peers. I’m not sure when as a society, we started rounding out our back as we bend forward but that movement stresses and strains the joints, ligaments, and discs in our back. Couple that with the fact that we spend too much time sitting, no wonder most of us have low back pain at some point in our lives. Fortunately, how we bend forward can be changed with some effort. I hope that as we increasingly appreciate and recognize the importance of the gluteus maximus and the rest of the posterior chain muscles to musculoskeletal health, that we can change what is considered the normal way to move.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14170 | I want to test my overlapping community detection method in a dynamic network and I need a dataset consist of time series which every snapshot shows network in a specific time. But network should have group structure. Is there any dataset with these features? Also is there any benchmark (such as LFR benchmark for static networks) produces dynamic network?
My thought would be to look at the bioinformatics world, specifically looking at metabolic networks in developmental biology or something like that.
Things like phage lambda are the simplest networks (see book, "A Genetic Switch"), then you can go to bacteria (E. coli), eukaryotes (yeast, S. cerivisiae), slime molds (dicty), then multicellular. There is a lot of network information out there but it may have some overhead.
This question may be very similar: Examples or datasets of evolving networks
Your Answer
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14173 | Hancock’s Launch
Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s launch was first off the block, it didn’t go entirely smoothly. Standing next to a curious distracting dangling bag to the left of him which threatened to steal the show, Hancock’s decision to stand in front of a big bright window made him appear like a silhouette on some TV screens. Unenlightened?
At times it seemed that Hancock forgot to whom he was speaking to in the room – there were applause lines designed to trigger clapping by activists that the assembled journalists just sat through impassively. On television the shadowy speaker delivering lines that fell flat didn’t look like the future. On the plus side he had sophisticated goody bags featuring energy water, phone chargers, and his favourite stroopwaffles. It’s Gove’s turn to launch this afternoon. Will the assembled hacks be treated to a goody bag full of his guilty pleasures..?
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14187 | Safe Community
Safe Community was created to provide people with an overview of crime levels in different areas. This is a community-driven project enabling citizens and local unions to report different types of offences committed anywhere in Estonia. The project is aimed at people who are planning to buy a home or parents who wish to find a suitable area for schooling their children. It is designed for the three Baltic states and there is an English version for travellers.
Technologies used:
• PHP5
• Symphony framework
• Google Maps API
• GIS (geographic information system)
• GIT
• Capistrano
Safe Community required a substantial amount of graphical elements (for example icons representing different types of offences) to make the site usable and easy to understand. Most elements of the site are done in vector format, so they would be reusable in other media.
At first glance, the icons might seem too colourful but this is necessary for the users to be able to read the map quickly and get an understanding of what type of problems are most common in a given area.
User interface
The user interface is designed to leave maximum space for the map area, so users could examine different regions at the same time (it is easy to make the main menu and the sidebar hidden or visible). The layout of the menu is as simple as possible, leaving out all unnecessary forms, so users would be willing to fill in the ones that are displayed. More importantly, the menu forms are given in a way that requires the users to only make choices without having to write anything. This was a critical element to providing the information in different languages without having to translate the content.
Statistics and other features
The additional features of the site are statistics of all the crime types and time durations, the option to subscribe to the newsletter about a specific region and crime types, which is sent to users by e-mail, and a widget, so the local government sites and neighbourhoods can have local information presented on their site.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14202 | Month: April 2016
Qpid Dispatch Router installation on your Linux machine
In the previous article I introduced the Dispatch Router from the Apache Qpid project, its main features, capabilities and the scenarios where it could be useful in order to develop high scalable AMQP based messaging solutions.
The first step for starting to use the router is the installation step and I’ll explain how to do that in this short post. I’ll use some personal Docker files in order to build fully functional images but the you can find the official ones in the router GitHub account here.
Qpid Proton : the dispatch router foundation
This router is based on the Qpid Proton project, a messaging library developed in C, C++ and Java (pure ProtonJ implementation) with bindings for other different languages like Python, PHP and Ruby; in order to work properly, the router needs only the base ProtonC implementation and the Python binding.
First of all, we need the main compiler tools like gcc, cmake and make. The UUID library is needed for unique identifier generation (i.e. container name, message id, …) and the OpenSSL library for encryption and for handling SSL/TLS connections. Furthermore, the last library version leverages on the Cyrus library for the SASL protocol used for supporting different authentication mechanisms on the AMQP protocol.
To simplify the installation process, I wrote two Docker files available here on GitHub both for Fedora and Ubuntu you can use as reference for reproducing the steps on your machine or to generate a Docker image.
Now it’s router time
The Qpid Dispatch Router uses the same tools (like gcc, cmake, make, …) needed for Qpid Proton; if you can compile the messaging library without problems then you are ready to compile and install the router as well.
At time I’m writing this article the official released version is the 0.5 with the 0.6 version under beta. We can use both this versions : in the former case we can download the released package, in the latter we can clone the official GitHub repository and recompile the bits from there having in this way the latest updated code and features under development. The new 0.6 version has gone through major architectural changes to make it highly scalable; furthermore, the router configuration is now more intuitive and easy to understand than the previous versions.
Even in that case I wrote both Docker files for the official released version and for compiling the bits (on both Fedora and Ubuntu of course) in order to have a Docker image and the router up and running in a related container.
Let’s start the router
To check the installation process we can start the router with the simple “qdrouterd” command; it is launched automatically in the case of starting the Docker image.
Typing that command, the router starts with the default configuration file. We will dig into in the next articles to understand the meaning of all main available configuration options for tuning the router behavior.
In the above output, the main points are :
• The router instance is named Qpid.Dispatch.Router.A;
• The router operates in “standalone” mode which means that it doesn’t cooperate with other routers and won’t be used in a routers network;
• It exposes a management endpoint we can use in order to interact with the router itself and changing its internal configuration. It’s a pure AMQP endpoint on which the available operations are defined by the AMQP management specification (which is in draft, here). For all developers who don’t know it well, you can think that as a sort of RESTful interface with CRUD operations for managing resources but instead of having HTTP as transport protocol, it used AMQP and its semantics;
• A listener is started on all network available interfaces and listening for connections on the standard AMQP port (5672, so not encrypted);
• The instance is using 4 threads for handling messages traffic and all other internal operations;
The package tools
Other then the router itself, the project provides a couple of tools useful for showing main running information and for interacting with it.
The “qdstat” tool shows all statistics information, endpoints and router traffic.
As we can see from the above picture (-l option is for showing router AMQP links), the router is exposing the $management endpoint and a local temporary endpoint that is used for communicating with the qdstat tool.
Indeed, when we start the tool, it opens an AMQP connection to the router and attaches a link on the management endpoint for sending requests as you can see in the following picture with traffic capture (using Wireshark).
At same time another link is attached for a temporary local endpoint used for receiving information to show on the console.
When the tool sends a request to the router through a transfer performative, it specifies the local reply address using the “Reply-To” AMQP property.
The “qdmanage” tool is a general purpose AMQP management tool that we can use to interact with a running router and changing its internal configuration. It’s very useful because even if our router starts with a static configuration written in the related file, we can change it dynamically at runtime to adapt the router behavior to our ongoing use case.
For example we can show all the active connections on the router.
In this case, there are no connections other than the one related to the tool itself which connects to the router via AMQP in order to query and receive the related information.
With this post now we have installed the dispatch router stuff on our machine (or on a Docker image) and checked that it runs properly with the default configuration at least. We peeked the tools available with the installation and all related operations and information provided in order to interact with the router at runtime. Starting from the next article we’ll see how to use the router in different scenarios with an increasing complexity, from a standalone router to a routers network.
IoT developer survey : my point of view
Few days ago, the Eclipse Foundation published the report of the last IoT developer survey sponsored by the foundation itself with IEEE IoT and Agile IoT. This survey has as main objective to understand what are the preferred technologies used by developers in terms of languages, standards and operating systems; furthermore, it shows what are the main concerns about IoT and how companies are shipping IoT solutions today.
Great content about this report was published by Ian Skerrett (Vice President of Marketing at Eclipse Foundation) on his blog and on slideshare with a summary of all main information about it.
I’d like just to add my 2 cents and doing some absolutely personal considerations about the results …
Companies are investing …
Regarding how companies are delivering IoT solutions, it’s clear that the IoT market is growing. A lot of companies already have IoT products in the fields and the others are planning to develop them in the coming months. It’s not a surprise, other than a buzzword, the IoT is a real business opportunity for all companies strictly related to the embedded devices (silicon vendors, OEMs, ..) or software companies (for the cloud and application side) which are rapidly change how their business is made.
Security and interoperability : the big concerns
The result related to the main concerns about IoT is very clear : people and companies are worried about the security. All data flowing from our personal life or owned by companies to the cloud need to be protected in order to avoid someone can steal them. The concern about security is strictly related to software protocols (i.e. SSL/TLS, …) and hardware stuff (i.e. cryptochip, …) and today it seems that a very good solution isn’t available. The same is for interoperability : having a lot of IoT standard protocols means having NO standard protocols. A lot of consortiums are trying to define some standard specifications and frameworks in order to define a standard but … they are too much; all big companies are divided in different consortiums and some of them are part of more then one : this is a big deal, as for protocols … it means NO standard.
Developer prefer Java and C … what about JavaScript ?
It’s not a surprise the first place of Java as preferred language and C as second one : Java is used in a lot of cloud solutions which are based on open source products and C is the better language for developing on devices side with great performance at low cost (at least from an hardware point of view). First strange position is about JavaScript as third most used language : I hope this position is related to its huge usage with NodeJS on server side and not as “embedded” language on devices … I’m scared about that.
Protocols : the current know-how is leading
Now, the protocols …
Having HTTP/1.1 as first used protocol is real because today it’s the only well known protocol in the developers world; in order to develop and deliver an IoT solution with a quick time to market, companies leverage on internal know-how and sometimes they don’t invest to figure out how other protocols work and if they have other advantages. It explains to me this position, thanks to HTTP/1.1 simplicity and its ASCII/text based nature : a lot of developers don’t like binary format so much. Last point is that the REST architecture is a very good solution in a lot of scenarios and HTTP/1.1 is the most used protocol (the only one ?) for that.
MQTT and CoAP are used a lot thanks to the available open source projects and their simplicity; MQTT is very lightweight and works great on tiny embedded devices, CoAP tries to overcome some HTTP/1.1 disadvantages (i.e. server push, observer, …) with new features and its binary nature.
A lot of developers are scared about AMQP because I have to admit it’s not so simple like the previous ones but it’s powerful and everyone should give it a try. If you want to start with it, you can find a lot of links and resources here.
I’m surprised by the fourth position of HTTP/2.0 ! I mean … how many developers know, love and use HTTP/2 today ? I was surprised by this high position … I expected it behind “in-house, proprietary”, AMQP and XMPP. I suppose that companies are prototyping solutions using this protocol because they think that thanks to the HTTP/1.1 knowledge it’s quite simple to move to the next version : I think it’s totally wrong, because HTTP/2.0 is completely different from HTTP/1.1. I love it … I’ll invest in it.
OS : Linux and RTOS on bare metal
Regarding operating systems, the first position for Linux isn’t a surprise but we have to consider it both on server side and devices side (even if embedded devices based on Linux are a lot). The other OS are only for embedded devices (low constrained devices) so the percentages don’t have any help from cloud side. Finally Linux is useful for IoT gateway too (as we know with Kura) even if Microsoft, for example, is investing in its Windows IoT Core and will release an IoT Gateway SDK in the next months.
All the services in the cloud
Not a surprise Amazon AWS with its first position as Cloud services provider but I don’t think about their relatively new AWS IoT platform but all the IoT open source stuff that developers prefer to run on Amazon VMs than Azure VMs.
Here the great news is that IoT market is growing and developers/companies are investing in it to try to be on the market as soon as possible. The “bad” news is that too much different protocols and frameworks are used and the way to interoperability and interconnection is quite long or … infinite ? |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14205 | beginning of content:
Remember that the application is an opportunity for your child to show colleges who they are. So when they answer the essay or personal statement question, they should think about how to connect the answer to themselves—to their character traits or their passion or what motivates them.
And, of course, it's important that the application be complete and be submitted on time and that they follow any directions given about how to fill it out. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14210 | There is a very interesting and captivating passage of scripture in the Bible where Jesus was in a confrontation with the religious Jewish leaders who rejected Him. Jesus was basically telling them that God could not possibly be their Father if they rejected him, whom the Father had sent!
Ye do the deeds of YOUR FATHER. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one FATHER, even GOD. Jesus said unto them, IF GOD WERE YOUR FATHER, ye would love ME: for I proceeded forth and CAME FROM GOD; neither came I of myself, but HE SENT ME. Why do ye NOT UNDERSTAND my speech? even because ye cannot hear MY WORD. (John 8:41-43)
The passage above is most important because it speaks volumes to all the people of the world. Even though the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking in this particular instance to the Jewish people, it still applies to every one in the entire world. Listen to those words again from Jesus Christ:
What an incredible statement is made by the Lord right there. Do those words which the Lord spoke that day, still apply to us in our time? Of course they do.
If a person truly claims God to be their Father, then they MUST love Jesus Christ, because the Father is the very one who sent him!
YE ARE OF YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, and the lusts of your FATHER ye will do. He was a MURDERER from the beginning, and abode not in the TRUTH, because there is NO TRUTH in him. When he speaketh a LIE, he speaketh of his own: for he is a LIAR, and the FATHER of it. And because I tell you the TRUTH, ye BELIEVE ME NOT. (John 8:44-45)
The Lord pushed the matter even further and held nothing back. In this passage of scripture, the Lord shows us all the clear dichotomy of the scriptures. The Lord was never ambiguous in his preaching to people, because the Lord was serious about souls. What a contrast to what you see going on in our modern day.
Do you remember the time when the late Pope John Paul II (now a Catholic Saint!) gathered leaders from all of the different religions to pray at Assisi, Italy in 1986? That meeting included Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews and “Christians”, Catholics, Witch doctors and others. Pope John Paul II even smoked a peace pipe at that meeting. The late Pope John Paul II told all of those people ,who were gathered at that meeting, that they were all praying to the same “god.” Is that not SPIRITUAL INSANITY? Well you might say, that is just the Roman Catholics and I do not believe that. Read on:
In 1994 major Christian leaders signed a document entitled Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT), which basically declared that we could all work together despite our differences. Chuck Colson was one of the main inspirations behind that document. Other signers of the original ECT document included the late Dr Bill Bright, Pat Robertson, and J.I. Packer.
As a former Roman Catholic I was outraged when I first heard about this document, but I learned through the years that much of what is going on in the “church world” is nothing more than religious games. I learned to discern the truth and I became accustomed to the blank look which I received from “friends” and Pastors over the years. It is hard to believe that the ECT document was signed twenty-five years ago! What has changed over the past twenty years? It has only gotten worse with all of the “Christian clownery” that has been going on! Television preachers are making a mockery out of God’s word, in their unity with the false church of Rome! A Christian has a choice to make when they see that things like this have become the norm. They can either choose to follow Jesus Christ, and and continue in His word, or they can follow the blind leaders who are leading the blind into apostasy. I choose to follow Christ and His word and to earnestly contend for the faith, which was once delivered to the Saints. (Jude 3)
Then said Jesus to those JEWS which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you FREE. (John 8:31-32)
Be prepared for a multitude of “blank looks” when you speak out against these things, because you will not be very well received. There is a battle raging for souls and people are sinking into Hell by the millions, thinking that they are right with God, when they are not. True born again Pastors should be taking a stand for the truth, and speaking up against these things, and against those people who propagated that whole ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Together) thing, but instead they invite these “heroes of the faith” to speak in their churches. Where is the outrage from the TRUE men of God of our modern day? What an insult to the many martyrs who stood against Rome , and were burnt at the stake for the sake of the Gospel. The true born again martyrs of the faith suffered greatly because they desired common people like ourselves to have a Bible in our hands today. Do the modern day “Christian leaders” really they think that the true and living God is sleeping or winking at all of this? Do these modern day leaders truly think that the wolves and the sheep can work together? I call this apostasy.
The Lord knew what was at stake here in his confrontation with the religious crowd of his day, and he truly LOVED the ones to whom he was speaking. BUT the Lord also knew that their was a great spiritual battle raging for the souls of men and women everywhere. The Lord knew that if the people who were opposing him did not repent and believe in him, whom the Father had sent, they would be lost for eternity. It was absolutely needful that the Lord tell them that God was NOT their Father. The Lord Jesus Christ also made it clear that the Devil was currently their Father. That is also true for any person who does not KNOW the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact it can be said of ALL true believers in Jesus Christ, that we were once “children of WRATH ourselves” until we repented and came to Christ!
And you hath he quickened, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were BY NATURE the children of WRATH, even as others. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Every single one of us was walking according to the course of this world, under the influence of the prince of the power of the air, and that is talking about the Devil himself! It is nothing but the GRACE and MERCY of God that SAVED our wretched souls from an eternity in Hell!
Which of YOU convinceth ME of SIN? And if I say THE TRUTH, why do ye NOT believe ME? He that is of GOD heareth GOD’S WORDS: ye therefore hear them NOT, BECAUSE ye are NOT of GOD. THEN ANSWERED THE JEWS, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a SAMARITAN, and HAST A DEVIL (DEMON)? (John 8:46-48)
The spiritual confrontation continued between Jesus Christ and the religious Jewish leaders who opposed him. The Lord told them that those who were of God would listen to the words that were coming out of his mouth and hear (believe) them! The Lord then told them that they were NOT of God. They responded by telling Jesus that he was a Samaritan, a people whom they despised, and that he was possessed by a devil (a demon).
This is a passage that we may learn from, because it makes it perfectly clear that people can be very religious in appearance, and yet NOT be of God. It is clear from the words of Jesus, that the determining factor was whether or not a person received Him and the words that he spoke. That still holds true today in the sight of God. It is quite obvious in this modern day “religious” world that the words of Jesus Christ are still not believed by most. Can a person be SAVED outside of Jesus Christ? Not according to Jesus himself. Can a person claim God as their Father without receiving and believing in the Son, Jesus Christ? Once again that is impossible according to Jesus Christ himself.
Jesus answered, I HAVE NOT A DEVIL (DEMON); but I honour my Father, and YE DO DISHONOUR ME. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. THEN SAID THE JEWS unto him, NOW WE KNOW THAT THOU HAST A DEVIL (DEMON). Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall NEVER taste of DEATH. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? (John 8:49-53)
Jesus denied their accusation that he was demon possessed and gave glory to his own Father. He then told them that those who kept his sayings (believed his word) would never see death. Jesus was talking about everlasting life here. Once again the Jewish leaders accused him of being demon possessed. They were more adamant than before, and found it incredible that Jesus would even compare himself to Abraham and the prophets who were already dead. It is very obvious that the Jewish leaders did not think of Jesus as being sent from God. The thought of Jesus as being the eternal Son of God, was the last thing on their minds. They were looking at a Jewish man in his thirties who was coming forth with statements that they thought were absurd. They were basically asking Jesus Christ, “Who the hell do you think you are?” That type of behavior toward Jesus Christ was not uncommon in his day, and it is not uncommon today. Many find it absolutely laughable that Jesus is thought of as God, with any special power. Many still believe that Jesus is nothing more than a fable.
Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a LIAR like unto YOU: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the JEWS unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:54-59)
Jesus continued to give glory to the Father, and he even said that Abraham rejoiced to see his day. The Jewish leaders could not comprehend that Jesus could have “seen” Abraham considering his young age, because they were not aware of the deity of Jesus Christ. That is why the Lord told them that he was “before Abraham” and he used the name “I AM” the very same name that God used when He spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. (Exodus 3:13-14)
Why did the Jewish leaders take up stones at that point to stone Jesus Christ? They did that because they knew EXACTLY what Jesus was saying when he used that name “I AM”! They knew full well that it was the name of “their God” and they counted Jesus to be guilty of blasphemy. They knew that the book of Leviticus declared that a man should be stoned for blasphemy:
So here we are in this present day, and the very same spiritual battles continue on, even as they did in the time that Jesus walked this earth. Some believe in Jesus Christ and some do not. Some believe that Jesus Christ was blaspheming and some do not. The one thing you must know for sure though, is that there is no NEUTRAL position when it comes to Jesus Christ!
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his SON. He that believeth on the SON of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth NOT God hath made him a LIAR; because he believeth NOT the record that God gave of his SON. And this is the record, that God hath given to us ETERNAL LIFE, and this life is in his SON. He that hath the SON hath life; and he that hath NOT the SON of God hath not life. (1 John 5:9-12) |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14217 | I couple years ago I had lunch with a successful serial entrepreneur in San Francisco. Mid way into the conversation we talked about which ideas get funded on Sand Hill Road and which do not. One thing we both agreed on is that no VC will fund projects without product-market fit. Fascinatingly, the lack of product-market fit does not necessarily mean that the core idea of the startup isn’t a good one:. Much more often, the idea is great but requires a shift in user behavior.
Shifting user behavior means that the users of your product need to unlearn what they’ve done before, often for long periods of time. Unfortunately, unlearning something is much harder than learning it in the first place, because the things you learn become part of your mental model, like a house you’ve built in your head, to explain and reason about the world. Replacing a pillar of the house, once constructed, is incredibly tough.
So, why should you care? Well, this problem does not just manifest with entrepreneurs. As web developer, here are two examples that I’ve been dealing with that require unlearning: Bringing offline to the web, and replacing JS with HTML for dynamic scripting on web pages.
The offline web
The idea of the offline web isn’t new, but only now do we have a quality API, called Service Worker, to implement it. There’s been a considerable amount of excitement from the web dev community, as Service Workers can be finally scripted in ways that allows complex two-way syncing, fine grained caching and updating and more.
But here’s the thing: For 30 years, we taught billions of humans that you need to be connected to the internet to consume the web via a browser! This means web users need to unlearn that web sites can’t be used offline. Making it work on a technical level therefore isn’t cutting it: The browser, as well as the sites who support going offline, have a responsibility to help their users rethink what the web means, how it behaves, what assumptions are now untrue that were true before.
HTML scripting: ?
I work on AMP, an HTML library/framework to build user-first websites. AMP is part of a new breed of frameworks that allow you to build fairly dynamic pages without a single line of JS, and it does so by providing alternatives whenever necessary. For things like controlling state and events for instance, we have a component called amp-bind that uses a combination of JSON and fancy HTML attributes to manipulate state.
In countless interactions with both students, junior and senior devs, one common pattern emerged: Developers who never learned how to deal with state in JS found it much easier to learn the AMP way than developers who already used JS before.
So what’s the take-away?
I’m glad your asking! Two things:
• When something that seems like a great idea isn’t adopted, consider whether previously learned behavior is part of the story.
• Explore whether you can achieve your goals without requiring a behavior shift, and if yes, take that route instead.
• When you identified something your users need to unlearn, help them do it. Nudge and remind them, invent new UX, whatever it takes.
Have any examples in your life that jump to mind? Something you learned when dealing with unlearning? Let me know! |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14218 | Recommended Read: Wings Of Mayhem by Sue Coletta
wings of mayhemWhen cat burglar Shawnee Daniels accidentally discovers the lair of a serial killer known as The Creator, her complicated life quickly becomes even more complicated- and much more dangerous.
Sue Coletta’s Wings Of Mayhem is an engrossing and fast-paced crime thriller with a gripping plot that twists and turns tighter than a corkscrew.
A hell of a ride! |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14240 | Page MenuHomePhabricator
ExtractSliceFilter handles 3D+t images inefficiently and inconsequently
Closed, ResolvedPublic
Status: Currently ExtractSliceFilter::GenerateOutputInformation just uses the base implementation of its superclass. This basically leads to a cloning of the input time geometries for all outputs. By description and rest of the class implementation the filter only produces 2D images even if a 3D+t image is given, because a user specified time step will be extracted.
Even so the filter always generates a 2D image with one time step the whole input time geometry is cloned, instead of the geometry of the selected time step. In case of dynamic data, the unnecesarry cloning of the time geometry causes a large overhead, that hits performance in many occasions (e.g. many mappers use ExtractSliceFilter).
If the filter always produces 2D images with one time step, then at least the GenerateOutputInformation() method should be reimplemented/overwritten to
1. handle it in a more efficient manner.
2. handle it correctly. The current meta data transfer is wrong anyways, because the geometry information of the output gets completly redefinied in GenerateData() (so only the transfer of properties has an effect).
1. Clarify if ExtractSliceFilter realy should only generate 2D images with one time step.
2. Correct/optimize the filter accordingly
Revisions and Commits |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14250 | Calculates and displays the FFT of acceleration data. The strongest frequency is given as well. This is a great tool to analyze vibrations.
A simple experiment, which determines the amplitude of the signal recorded from the microphone. The amplitude is uncalibrated and has an arbitrary offset, but it can be calibrated by using a known reference signal. (You will find further informatiaon in the actual experiment.)
Calculates the autocorrelation of audio signals recorded with the microphone. The frequency of the signal is given, which only works reasonable for single-frequency signals.
View 10 ms segments of the raw audio data recorded by the microphone with oscilloscope-like edge triggering.
Calculates and displays the FFT of audio from the microphone. The strongest frequency is given as well.
YouTube privacy policy
Explore the relation of angular velocity and centrifugal acceleration using the gyroscope and the accelerometer. (For example when putting your phone into a salad spinner) |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14268 | Identify These Baking Techniques and Prove Your Skill as a Baker
Isadora Teich
6 Min Quiz
Image: Todor Tsvetkov/E+/GettyImages
About This Quiz
Everyone loves delicious pies, towering cakes and tasty tarts, but not everyone has the know-how to make them perfectly. While some people can make a cake taller than a child with ease, other people struggle to make the cakes that come from a box. Baking can be a tricky thing to master, but those who love it know there's nothing quite like presenting a pie or biscuits you made with love and watching everyone enjoy them.
However, it takes a lot more than love to make a perfect dessert. From rolling pie crust to whipping up some frosting, there are many techniques that go into making truly tantalizing baked treats. Not every bake is a piece of cake to make, even if it might literally be a piece of cake. Some people even take desserts to the next level with the fanciest and most complex decorations. These can truly make a dessert look as beautiful and stunning as it tastes.
If you are a baking expert who knows their stuff when it comes to making cookies, croissants and more, put your knowledge to the test and prove your skill with this quiz! It's about to get hot in the kitchen - can you take the heat?
Which technique involves blending or beating something with a tool to incorporate air into it?
You whisk ingredients using a whisk. This can blend and beat ingredients, as well as incorporate air into them.
What technique involves heating something solid until it becomes liquid?
Melting is a common technique of both cooking and baking. Often in baking you melt butter, sugar or chocolate.
Cooking sugar until it turns brown is known as what?
When sugar is heated to high temperatures, it breaks down and turns brown. This is known as caramelizing and is commonly applied to onions which have been cooked until their natural sugars have broken down under heat. Careful - there's a fine line between caramelizing and burning!
When you raise the temperature of something gradually, you __________ it.
When you temper something, you raise its temperature gradually. This is useful for eggs and chocolate.
Soaking something in a flavored liquid to absorb its flavors is known as what?
When you infuse or marinate something, you steep or soak it in a flavored liquid to absorb its flavor. This is a popular way of getting floral or aromatic flavors into something.
When you thicken a liquid with heat, you __________ it.
Reducing a liquid thickens it and intensifies its flavor. This is done by simmering or boiling it.
What is it called when all ingredients are mixed together at once?
This method is great for beginner bakers, or people who don't have time to spend hours manipulating pastry dough. All the ingredients are mixed together in one shot.
Shallowly slashing the surface of a dough with a sharp knife before baking is called what?
This technique is sometimes used for baked goods, such as bread or biscuits, and sometimes for meat. It allows for expansion while baking and creates a pleasing finished look.
Many recipes ask you to pass dry ingredients through what device?
Many recipes ask that you put all of the dry ingredients in a sieve or sifter and shake them through. When you sieve the dry ingredients it adds air to them, which improves the final texture of the bake.
What is it called when you use a spoon or spatula to gently mix ingredients?
Folding is when you use a thin rubber spatula or spoon to mix delicate and airy ingredients together, without deflating them. This is often how whipped egg whites are added into a batter.
What is it called when you divide egg whites from yolks?
There are many gadgets that can help you separate eggs, but you can do it with your hands. Remember that it is easier to separate eggs while they're chilled.
When you press and mix liquid and flour to stretch gluten strands, what it is called?
Kneading is a key part of dough making. When you knead dough, it warms and stretches gluten strands, which is what helps to give bakes the right texture. Different baked goods require different amounts of kneading, and it is important to get it right.
When you mix ingredients intensely, you ________ them.
When you beat ingredients, you mix them very quickly in order to incorporate air into them. This is often done with a mixer or whisk.
What is it called when you heat a liquid to major bubbling?
Boiling has two meanings. It can mean to heat a liquid to its boiling point, with rolling bubbles. It can also mean to submerge something into boiling liquid.
Giving bread time to rise before baking it is called what?
Proofing is also known as proving or blooming. It is when bakers allow bread time to rise into its final shape before it is baked.
When you aerate something, what do you add to it?
When you aerate ingredients, you add air to them. This is often done to batter and gives bakes a lighter texture.
Precooking your pastry before adding filling is known as what?
Blind baking is common in pie or tart recipes. In some recipes you have to precook your crust before adding the filling, so the bottom of your dessert does not get soggy.
When you let something cool, what are you reducing?
Allowing something to cool means waiting for it to reduce in temperature. Especially for multi-layered or more complex creations, trying to work with cakes or other baked goods that are too hot can lead to messy results.
When you mix two or more ingredients together, you __________ them.
When you mix two or more ingredients together, you combine them. This is one of the most fundamental baking techniques.
What is it called when you cover something with a dry or wet substance?
When you coat something, you cover it with a wet or dry substance. For example, baked bread is often coated with butter.
Which of these do you crimp?
Crimping is a technique where you pinch the outer rim of a crust, perhaps with your fingers or with the tines of a fork. This is common in pies and tarts.
When you egg wash something, what do you do to it?
Egg wash is a coating of beaten eggs that's added to the surface of something before baking. This is done to add inviting color to baked treats.
When you want to make a baked good shiny after baking, what do you do?
Glazes are added to baked goods to give them shine and flavor. This can be done with a layer of butter, sugar icing or other glossy substance.
Beating butter and sugar until they change in texture is known as what?
One of the first steps in some baking recipes is "creaming" the butter and sugar. This means to beat them together until they become pale and creamy. Using creamed butter and sugar makes baked goods lighter and fluffier in texture.
When you lubricate a pan or tin with oil or fat, you __________ it.
When you grease a pan or tin, you lubricate it with some kind of oil, fat or butter. This is important so that baked items brown evenly and don't get stuck in their pans.
Which technique involves a piping bag?
Piping is commonly used to decorate desserts. It most often involves squeezing frosting through a piping bag to make intricate designs.
Turning on the oven before baking to let it come to the temperature you need is called what?
Preheating is common when it comes to baking things in the oven. You want your oven to be at the right level of heat to ensure that your special creation bakes evenly.
Making food softer by soaking it in a liquid is called what?
When you macerate food, you soften it by soaking it in liquid. Macerating fruit with sugar for desserts is common.
What technique involves bringing a liquid to slightly below its boiling point?
When you simmer a liquid, you heat it to just below its boiling point. Then you let it bubble gently.
What is it called when you lightly scatter a substance over a baked good?
When you sprinkle something onto another food, you lightly scatter it. This is common with sugar, candies, seeds and other toppings. Sometimes a sifter is used, especially for powdered sugar.
Which technique involves mixing a substance in a circular motion?
Stirring always involves some kind of kitchen utensil, like a spoon. It involves mixing a substance in circular motions.
A bain-marie is also known as what?
A bain-marie is also known as a water bath. This technique is used for gently baking custardy items, such as creme brulee or cheesecake. Ingredients are placed in a baking dish or dishes, then those are placed in a larger baking dish that is partially filled with water. The whole assembly is then placed in a preheated oven to bake.
In which technique are butter and liquid simmered together first?
Some desserts require that butter and milk be simmered together before they are added to the flour. This method is common when making old-fashioned British desserts.
What is it called when you rub butter into flour?
The rubbing-in method is common in bread and pastry making. You use your fingertips to rub butter or other fat into flour until a crumb-like texture forms.
Altering layers of butter and dough is known as what?
Lamination is interspersing layers of dough and butter. These thin layers are what give pastries their irresistible flaky texture.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14278 | The Eye and the I – Final Project
Title: Palpable Shadow
My project relates to vision because of the way it relates to how we see shadow/shapes of shadow and image formation. What I plan to do is give a three-dimensional representation of shapes of projected shadow, that are usually seen as 2d. I used corten steel and an electrical welding technique.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14286 | In the early days, system architecting was irrelevant. System development was merely a mechanical challenge, with camshafts dictating the motions in the machine. Then electronics took over, followed by software to boost intelligence even further. Suddenly, we could build smarter and more complex systems. On the downside, though, architects experienced a certain pillarization in their development teams: mechanical engineers vs. electrical specialists vs. software designers. Arguably, the biggest obstacle was that the latter of the three was always late to the party. They simply couldn’t start writing code before the base of the machine had actually been built. Although a lot has improved in recent years, it’s clear that there is still much to be gained.
The life of system architects can be hard. The advanced machines they want to build are getting more complex by the day. So complex, in fact, that it is almost impossible to keep an overview. Too many intertwining details make them lose their grip on the requirements. To make matters worse, they have fewer resources at hand, both in terms of people and money, and their bosses keep pressing them hard to raise the quality of the end product.
Another challenge is the architect’s wish for an agile design flow, with the short iteration cycles they see at the software department. Wouldn’t it be great to watch the whole system improve every few weeks and show the progress to the customer? For that, they want virtual steel to build up their system, with virtual actuators and sensors, as well as a virtual platform to test the software. The architects – and the rest of the industry – have an ever-growing need for this, but the traditional tooling is lagging.
Break down the pillars
The logical next step in system development – that also answers to the above-mentioned challenges – is prototyping by using Digital Twins. You have probably already heard the over-hyped stories, promising you the moon when you use the technology. But let me tone it down a little because digital twinning is no revolution; it’s just an evolution from what used to be called virtual prototyping. For years companies have already been using FEM analysis or computational fluid dynamics to simulate their designs, but always on the component level. This is very helpful, but the real challenge is in combining all components and simulating the whole machine. That means linking the tools each development pillar is using, which can be a real Babylonian confusion of tongues.
A digital twin breaks down the pillars and unlocks the possibility of mixing various blood types. Prespective, our real-time simulation tool has the ability to tap into all of the data models and sources that the different specialists are creating. It understands CAD models drawn in, for instance, Autodesk, Dassault or Siemens software. It accepts physical models made with tools such as Comsol, Matlab or Wolfram. The best part is that even the real embedded software runs on the digital twin created in Prespective, as it reacts precisely the same as the real system would.
With Prespective, designers with different backgrounds can create a common model so they can easily communicate with each other. By eliminating the need for a complete restructuring of the development process, they have a virtual product they can work on in parallel, allowing them to create prototypes both fast and cheap. Just as easily, they can use it in their own department to virtually verify the assumptions they made in their model. And if they want, they can already start the basic iteration after the first design brainstorm.
Gaming technology
Digital twin tools come in two flavors. Major companies offer solutions, but these have the potential disadvantage of vendor lock-in. Although the brands claim to be open, these tools don’t operate very well with third-party software. This is particularly impractical, as the different development pillars generally don’t work with matching tools.
Next to the digital twin software from juggernauts, several speedboats are taking the industry by storm. Smaller contestants that are dedicated, adapt more quickly and are completely open. And, small certainly doesn’t mean weak. When we started our journey about seven years ago, we faced the dilemma of developing an engine ourselves or using a strong existing base. It was a no-brainer that a dedicated development team of at least a hundred engineers was out of our league. That’s why we opted to build our Prespective platform on Unity3D – the biggest gaming engine in the world. Every day more than two thousand engineers are improving, updating and finetuning this engine. Not even Siemens can say that it has so many dedicated developers. One of the biggest benefits of using a gaming engine is that this engine offers real-time 3D physics, which makes it far more powerful than regular CAD software.
Our digital twin platform is truly open. Not only does it accept input from a wide range of sources, but engineers also have access to the engine. By making modifications in Unity3D, designers can get a lot of help overcoming the hurdles they encounter when trying to solve very complex physical problems.
Fewer costs
Let me emphasize again: digital twinning doesn’t have to disturb your current process. You don’t have to do it completely differently. The whole idea is to help system architects regain the control and overview they need.
Digital twinning is a new way of prototyping. It’s a new layer on top of your existing models, extending your possibilities. I estimate from real life experiences that you can develop 25 percent faster with real-time simulation software like Prespective, all with less cost, fewer mistakes, smaller teams, fewer physical prototypes and fewer issues after commissioning. By providing insight into the requirements, you will drastically improve the communication with your (first tier) suppliers and, above all, with your customers. A digital twin allows you to build complex systems that otherwise simply would be out of reach.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14291 | The book is now available! 81647
(just those submitted by Silva)
Prime Curios!
Curios: Curios Search:
+ The absolute differences of consecutive digits in prime 81647 are the four prime digits, which form a prime if concatenated in order of their appearence. [Silva]
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14297 | talk it out – phrase: when two people who are at odds or in the midst of a disagreement have a back and forth conversation and exchange of opinions and ideas until a mutually agreeable outcome can be reached. More often than not this is a conversation that is forced on the two parties
NEW! talk shit – verb 1. to talk shit, good-natured ribbing that is void of animosity. A display of camaraderie between friends.
2. to talk shit, talking shit, the act of farting loudly. A display of camaraderie between friends
3. to deliberately say something sure to cause animosity on the part of the hearer
4. to speak rudely, belligerently
5. to disparage a person’s character
6. to speak with much bravado and arrogance. See also talk tough, woofing
7. to have an entire conversation that has absolutely no substance to it whatsoever
8. to exaggerate, or outright lie, in order to inflate one’s own ego
tall – adjective: a large quantity
tape – noun 1. see cassette tape
2. adhesive agent for binding papers together or boxes closed. This is accessible, but contraband
target board – noun: piece of plywood meant to receive the first gunshot as a warning in the event of a riot or uprising in the chow hall, measures approximately four feet by four feet
target on your back – phrase: allowing the person with whom you have a problem know that you have a problem with them, and in so doing, presenting them with the opportunity and incentive to strike first and to do so decisively.
tasty – adj: choice, preferred, top shelf, top of the line, top notch, of superior quality, the best
tell – verb 1. to talk to another, the act of telling
2. snitching, providing information to authority figures See also snitch, rat
these people – phrase: broad term for prison authorities, police officers, or authority in general Also known as those people, them people, they
threads – noun 1. clothes
2. more specifically, usually meaning flashy, expensive clothes
three for one – phrase: price gouging, business arrangement where the individual running a store provides one item in exchange for three of that same item to be paid whenever commissary comes. See also three for two, two for one
three for two – phrase: business arrangement where the individual running a store provides two items in exchange for three of that same item to be paid whenever commissary comes. See also two for one, three for one
ticket – noun 1. the summons and written record of an infraction of the rules, usually written by a C/O but any staff member of the prison can write one (i.e. teacher, food supervisor, nurse) <I caught a ticket for having too many shoes out.> See also write up
2. to hear a ticket, a panel consisting of one or two white shirts who read the allegations on a ticket, determines guilt and hands down a punishment. <I heard my ticket today and they’re talkin’ about knockin’ me upside the head.>
tip – noun: slang term for one’s own cell
touch down – verb 1. to arrive
2. to go home or get home
3. to have something arrive
touchdown – noun: a score in football that earns six points
tower – noun 1. guard tower, placed around the perimeter of prison property as well as strategic points within the compound where large groups congregate like the yard or the walk to chow. An officer armed with a high-powered rifle is stationed here
2. control tower, area where an officer runs the day to day operations of a cell house such as distributing mail or cleaning supplies. From here, electronic door locks are controlled and announcements made. See also bubble, control
3. gun tower, room high above the chow hall area with a good vantage point of said area, where an officer is armed with a high-powered rifle to quell any potential riots. Some older, higher security institutions still have gun towers right in the cell house. In those instances, it is still the area where day to day operations are controlled, but the presence of a gun makes it a gun tower.
transfer bus – noun: vehicle used to transfer inmates from one joint to another. See also bus
trip – verb 1. Trip, to lose one’s balance and topple over or nearly topple over
2. to trip, to worry excessively or freak out over a situation
noun: a journey or excursion
tube – noun: television, a television set
turnkey – noun: derogatory term for a C/O, it denotes that their job isn’t taxing or difficult in any way – neither mentally nor physically
two for one – phrase: business arrangement where the individual running a store provides one item in exchange for two of that same item to be paid whenever commissary comes. See also three for two, three for one
up top – noun: slang term for a visit
under investigation – phrase: catchall excuse used to place an inmate in Seg based on claims and accusations which have only the barest of evidence to corroborate them, or even no evidence at all. A person can sit in Seg for days, weeks, or months before finally being told that the investigation was inconclusive. At that time, the inmate being accused is put back into general population without any further explanation or compensation.
video – noun 1. a movie or film
2. somebody’s own personal business or actions
Viking – noun: an inmate or cellie with incredibly poor or nonexistent hygiene habits who is content to have a filthy body and even dirtier cell
violate – verb 1. to violate, breaking the stipulations of parole and in so doing, being apprehended by the parole officer to be returned to the custody of the Department of Corrections
2. to be violated, when a parole board finds an inmate’s infraction serious enough to warrant a revocation of their parole privileges and reinstitution of a prison sentence. These infractions include: committing another criminal offense, failing a piss test, failing to report a change of address or job, failing to attend drug counseling or anger management classes, failure to be home by curfew, jaywalking
violation – noun 1. when a gang member breaks the rules of the gang
2. the act of carrying out a punishment for breaking the rules within a gang, this usually entails a beatdown from multiple fellow gang members
visit – noun 1. A period of time spent in the company of people from the world
2. a rare blessing and opportunity to interact with family and friends, have an intelligent conversation and real food
3. the person or people coming to see an inmate
visiting room – noun 1. Room set aside for inmate visits, it is equipped with vending machines for food to be consumed only while on the visit, which is the closest thing to real food available
2. a place of refuge and respite from the inescapable onslaught of tedium, insanity, and general bullshit that prison life entails
3. best bet for the place to get a heterosexual kiss
walk – verb: to perambulate
Noun: the areas between buildings and yard that are designated as approved lanes of movement
Walkman – noun: an archaic electronic device that plays cassette tapes and local radio stations
warden – noun 1. Top official in the prison hierarchy of authority, though there can be three distinct wardens. Arranged in descending order, they are: head warden, assistant warden, warden of operations
2. person you rarely see, but when you do, you know something bad is most likely going to happen
watch yourself – phrase: be careful
weight – noun 1. Blame, penalty, punishment
2. significant amount of illicit drugs
3. device used for working out by moving it repeatedly in a pushing or pulling motion
4. one’s body weight, a thing some inmates calculate and obsess over worse than an anorexic teenage girl
weight pile – noun: area on the yard designated for weight lifting. See also iron pile
we’re cool – phrase: meaning there is no longer any ill will or animosity between two individuals
white shirt – noun: slang for Lieutenant, refers to the white shirt they wear while all other officers wear black or brown uniform shirts <Watch yourself: white shirt coming this way.>
wifey – noun 1. a wife
2. a woman who has been with or been dating an inmate for so long that they’re practically married
window panes – noun: a pair of glasses that only have clear lenses and aren’t actually used or needed to aid or improve one’s eyesight. These are an affectation some inmates wear because they think it makes them look smart or sophisticated.
wings – noun: see gallery, deck
work camp – noun: a minimum security joint which is solely a work farm even though it isn’t attached to any max prison. The work that’s done is landscaping and upkeep of the surrounding prison grounds and community. Most often there is some industry done there also.
work farm – noun: minimum security level portion of an institution where only inmates with a low security status can live, most often completely separated by Gen Pop. Inmates on the farm do the work of upkeep for the maximum security facility that the work farm is attached to. Such tasks include delivering food to the inmates behind the wall as well as all janitorial-type duties for the facility
world – noun 1. life outside of prison
2. more specifically, news from your city, neighborhood, or family
writ – noun 1. An official summons initiated by the court that necessitates an inmate being present for a court appearance
2. court writ, the period of time being transferred from prison to a court appearance
3. the period of time spent at a joint located closer to the county where an inmate needs to be present for a court appearance. This is generally a period of limbo where few privileges are afforded, inmates are segregated from the general population, and minimal hygiene items and legal documents are the only property allowed
write-out – noun 1. pre-stamped envelope, used as easy currency especially in higher security institutions where moving large quantities of food and hygiene between cells as payment can prove to be difficult
2. one of the non-hygiene items approved for purchase in Seg or while on commissary restriction
write up – noun: a ticket, written record of a rules infraction
verb: to write someone up <White shirt wrote me up for breaking line movement.>
X-house – noun: a popular cell house configuration where there is a centralized bubble or control tower with four wings radiating out in the shape of an X. Each wing has a number designation: one through four. In a prison compound with multiple X-houses, the building will have a number designation while each cell block will be assigned a letter
yard – noun: exercise yard, consisting of an open area set aside for recreation. Typically there is grass covering the area with weights available for lifting and other activities like football and basketball available as well. Some yards are more like parking lots with no grass and nothing to do. Two to seven days a week this privilege is available, depending on the security level of the institution.
yard bird – noun: title used to refer to the tough, greasy, low-quality, and often undercooked pieces of chicken served in the chow hall
yard restriction – noun: penalty for a minor ticket that entails the denial of yard privileges for a specific and set amount of time
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Essays From Behind Prison Walls
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14299 | 13 Easy Tips to Create a Perfect Password
1. First you need to decide the number of characters; it should be at least 10 characters long.
2. Make sure that your password can’t be found on the dictionary.
3. Don’t use your birth date, postal code, phone number, etc, as password.
4. A password should contain both characters and numbers. Characters should be a good mix of lower case and upper case letters. (For example: 8lAckD4H1ia)
5. The above password is an acceptable method to emulate words, 8lAckD4H1ia – can be read “Blackdahlia’, which randomly replaces characters with numbers. ‘i’ with ‘1?, ‘B’ with ‘8?, and ’a’ with ’4?.
6. You may also reverse the words. Say for example – 1OPENSESAME9 to 9EMASESNEPO1. Be creative.
7. If you want to use your name as password, try to switch the gender, for example, from ‘Mary Anne’ to ‘m4rkaNTh0ny’.
8. Use PasswordMeter.com to determine the strength of your password selections. When your password strength is still below 50%, add more unique characters until it reaches 75% or more.
9. Use separate passwords for personal accounts and professional accounts.
10. If you can’t create a strong password, use password generator apps. Be aware though, that those passwords are totally random, have no discernible pattern and are hard to memorize.
11. Spell password phonetically, so if your initial is JMH, your password can be J4yemeXsS5.
12. After setting up your new password, practice it on the notepad, so the password can flows nicely off your fingers.
13. Use your password wisely, although your password is a tough nut to crack, but if you carelessly tell the browser in a public computer to remember it, you might as well as use “123″ as your password. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14316 | How to deploy an application with Bolt
You've been iterating on some code and finally have that new feature working. You submit a Pull Request, there are a few comments that you address quickly then the PR gets merged. What happens next? It's time for deployment. Read on if you're interested in learning how Bolt can be used to deploy your application.
My name is Nick Maludy and I’m the manager of the DevOps team at Encore Technologies. Encore is a Managed Services Provider that focuses on automating IT and business processes for large enterprises.
Why do we use Bolt?
If you don’t know what Bolt is, it’s a lighting-fast way to start automating your infrastructure in an agentless way. We use Bolt to automate how we deploy applications, patch systems, and plenty of other tasks that we want to automate at scale without too much fuss.
Onto the code
Before we get started showing off the Bolt code, we should probably go over what our application is. We use a tool called StackStorm for orchestrating our automation workflows. StackStorm is an event-driven automation platform that we use to integrate the best-of-breed tools across the DevOps landscape. These integrations are possible using StackStorm's plugin mechanism called packs (short for Packages). Packs are Git repos that contain code written in a variety of different languages: bash/sh, PowerShell, Python, anything executable, and Orquesta workflows (YAML). Actions are pieces of code that can perform arbitrary automation or remediation tasks in your environment. They can be written in any programming language to do just about anything such as making API calls or invoking external tools like Bolt, Puppet, Terraform, Packer, etc.
When an action invokes an external tool, it is necessary to deploy the tool-specific code alongside a pack. Here are a few examples of external tools we use and where the code for those tools gets deployed:
• Puppet/Bolt (/etc/puppetlabs/code)
• Terraform (/opt/terraform)
• Packer (/opt/packer)
• Many others are available, check out the StackStorm Exchange
Deployment process
From a high-level, pack deployment consists of the following steps:
• Clone Git repos
• Create a deployment archive
• Copy the archive to the StackStorm host
• Extract the archive
• Put automation code in its proper spot
• Register packs with StackStorm
There are two nodes in this process, the Bolt control node where the deployment is triggered from and the StackStorm node(s) that the code will be deployed to. Our Bolt control node is either our Jenkins server or a developers laptop. The Bolt plan is initiated from the control node where it does some prep work, copies the files over to the StackStorm nodes, and then performs the deployment steps on those nodes.
Cloning Git repos
In order for us to deploy code, we need to have the code first. Logically, the first step in the process is cloning all of the Git repos we need for our deployment. These Git repos contain code for interacting with other tools such as Puppet, Bolt, Terraform, Packer, etc. Cloning the repos is accomplished using the following plan:
plan encore_st2::clone_repo(
TargetSpec $nodes,
String $path,
String $url,
String $repo,
String $revision = undef,
) {
$path_abs = encore_st2::join_path(encore_st2::resolve_path($path), $repo)
$res = apply($nodes) {
vcsrepo { $path_abs:
ensure => present,
provider => git,
source => $url,
revision => $revision,
submodules => true,
return $res
In this plan we utilize the vcsrepo forge module in an apply block. This saves us the hassle of having to artisanally craft the correct git command. You may ask why we love Bolt? It's because we can reuse all of the awesome modules from the Forge!
This code clones our Git repos on our Bolt control node, in the extern/ directory, and now we have all of the code needed to perform a deployment.
Creating an archive
Next we need to archive all of the various files we need for the deployment:
plan encore_st2::pkg_build(
Hash $config,
String $release,
TargetSpec $nodes,
) {
$pwd = encore_st2::pwd()
# list of files under git control
$ls_files_result = run_command("pushd $pwd &>/dev/null; git ls-files", $nodes)
$ls_files = split($ls_files_result.first.value['stdout'], '\n')
# list of extern/ directories (bolt, puppet, terraform, etc)
$extern_files_result = run_command("pushd $pwd &>/dev/null; find extern/ -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d",
$extern_files = split($extern_files_result.first.value['stdout'], '\n')
# combine files
$files = concat($ls_files, $extern_files)
$files_str = join($files, ' ')
# create archive
$archive = "/tmp/${release}.tar.gz"
$archive_result = run_task('encore_st2::tar', $nodes,
pwd => $pwd,
archive => $archive,
files => $files_str)
return $archive
This plan uses git ls-files to list all of the files in our repo (all of the StacKStorm Packs) and combines it with all of the external tool code that we cloned into the extern/ directory. The files list is then used to create a .tar.gz archive in the /tmp directory.
encore_st2::tar task:
"description": "Create a tar archive",
"parameters": {
"pwd": {
"type": "String",
"description": "pwd when creating the archive"
"archive": {
"type": "String",
"description": "Name of the archive file"
"files": {
"type": "String",
"description": "List of files to put in the archive"
if [ ! -z "$PT_pwd" ]; then
pushd "$PT_pwd" &> /dev/null
if [ -e "$PT_archive" ]; then
rm -f "$PT_archive"
tar -zcf "$PT_archive" $PT_files
Copy the archive
The archvie now needs to make its way to the StackStorm nodes, to do this we utilize the built-in upload_file() function.
upload_file($pkg_path, $pkg_dst, $nodes)
Extract the archive
Extracting the archive is as simple as running a tar command:
run_command("tar -xvf ${pkg_dst} -C ${release_dst}", $nodes)
Place automation code in its proper spot
Next we need to put the code for our external different tools in the correct directories so those tools can utilize them affectively. We do this using symlinks. Alternatively we could copy the code into the desired directory.
For Puppet/Bolt code we create a symlink from /opt/encore/stackstorm/current/extern/puppet to /etc/puppetlabs/code/environments/production.
For Packer code we create a symlink from /opt/encore/stackstorm/current/extern/packer to /opt/packer.
# create puppet symlink
if $cfg['puppet'] {
# /opt/encore/stackstorm/current/extern/puppet
$puppet_path = encore_st2::join_path($stackstorm_path,
# /etc/puppetlabs/code/environments/production
$puppet_dir = $cfg['stackstorm_puppet_dir']
apply($nodes) {
file { $puppet_dir:
ensure => link,
target => $puppet_path,
# create packer symlink
if $cfg['packer_repo'] {
$packer_path = encore_st2::join_path($stackstorm_path,
# /opt/packer
$packer_dir = $cfg['stackstorm_packer_dir']
apply($nodes) {
file { $packer_dir:
ensure => link,
target => $packer_path,
Register packs with StackStorm
In the final step of our deployment we need to move the StackStorm pack code into the directory where StackStorm expects (/opt/stackstorm/packs), then register the packs (StackStorm loads the data from the filesystem into its database) and finally setup a Python virtualenv for each pack:
plan encore_st2::pack_install_nested(
Hash $config,
Array[Hash] $packs,
TargetSpec $nodes,
) {
$stackstorm_path = $config['stackstorm_path']
$stackstorm_packs_dir = '/opt/stackstorm/packs'
# create paths for the packs
$packs_data = $ |$p| {
'path_src' => encore_st2::join_path($stackstorm_path, 'current', $p['src']),
'path_dst' => encore_st2::join_path($stackstorm_packs_dir, $p['name']),
'name' => $p['name'],
# copy packs into proper directory
# set proper permissions on pack directories
$res = apply($nodes) {
$packs_data.each |$p| {
file { $p['path_dst'] :
ensure => directory,
recurse => true,
source => "file:///${p['path_src']}",
group => 'st2packs',
# register packs
$packs_path_dst = $ |$p| {$p['path_dst']}
$packs_path_dst_str = join($packs_path_dst, ' ')
run_command("st2 pack register ${packs_path_dst_str}", $nodes)
# refresh virtualenvs
$packs_name = $ |$p| {$p['name']}
$packs_name_str = to_json($packs_name)
run_command("st2 run packs.setup_virtualenv update=true packs='${packs_name_str}'", $nodes)
For copying the code we again utilize an apply block with a file resource to copy the pack's code from /opt/encore/stackstorm/packs/* to /opt/stackstorm/packs. Next we run the st2 pack register command to load all of the Pack information from the filesystem into the StackStorm database. Finally we run the st2 run packs.setup_virtualenv action to create a Python virtualenv for each pack.
Try deploying an application with Bolt
Bolt is an amazing tool with a ton of use cases. In this post we've demonstrated how the DevOps team at Encore Technologies utilizes Bolt to package and deploy our automation code to StackStorm hosts. If you're inspired by what you've seen here you can get started with Bolt by checking out the documentation. Sometimes documentation doesn't answer all of your questions, or maybe you just need to talk to a real person, in this case come visit the Puppet Slack. We'll be hanging out in the #bolt channel.
Nick Maludy is the DevOps Manager at Encore Technologies.
Learn more
|
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14318 | Skipping Across the Pond : Interaction between American and British Poetries 1964-1970. / Hampson, Robert; Fisher, Allen.
Modernist Legacies: Trends and Faultlines in British Poetry Today. ed. / Abigail Lang; David Nowell Smith. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. p. 41-58 2 (Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter
An interview with Allen Fisher about the sourcing of American poetry in London during this period; the activities of American poets in London; discussion of works by Ashbery, Olson, Weiners and Dorn; discussion of work by Roy Fisher, Wendy Mulford, J H Prynne, John Hall, Paul Evans, Pierre Joris, Lee Harwood, Doug Oliver, Veronica Forrest-Thompson, Barry MacSweeney, John Seed and others.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationModernist Legacies
Subtitle of host publicationTrends and Faultlines in British Poetry Today
EditorsAbigail Lang, David Nowell Smith
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Number of pages17
ISBN (Print)978-1-137-51223-9
Publication statusPublished - Sep 2015
Publication series
NameModern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
ID: 25433901 |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14321 | i like this post (click again to cancel)
Hi, I'm trying to perform an NOESYGPPS 1D 1H NMR experiment to suppress water and the ethanol signals in a wine sample, following the protocol described in Godelmann and Monakhova papers.
I perform the experiments on a Bruker Avance III 500 MHz spectrometer with 5 mm PABBO BB-1H/D Z-GRD Z800701/0135 probehead and TopSpin 2.1.
I didn't managed yet because I have some problems:
1. As the pulse program noesygpps1d is not available in Topspin 2.1 I imported it from Topspin 3
2. I didn't know exactly what experiment type to use and I choosed SELNO1H (1D NOESY using selective excitation with a shaped pulse) and I then changed the pulse program to noesygpps1d.
3. I didn't know how to create the 'shaped pulse' which must have the frequency spectrum of the eight highly selective bands to achieve selective suppression of water signal and the seven individual lines of ethanol in the triplet and quartet. I think that I have to use the Shape Tool 'stdisp' or 'st' command line program specifying the eight signals frequencies, using a command like: "st manipulate shapetype offs b pulDur n f1 ... fn" where, double <puldur> = pulDur = length of shaped pulse (in us); int <n> = number of offset frequencies; double <f1> = offset frequency 1 (in Hz); double <fn> = offset frequency n (in Hz). Surely, the frequencies can be specified in an irradiation frequency list (FQLIST) and read from there. But here what 'shapetype' I have to use ? I have chosen 'Squa100.1000', is this Ok or 'Sine1.1000' would be a better choice ? Also the shape pulse duration is not specified but I chose it to be 100ms.
4. And finally I didn't know where to specify the RF-field strength of ~25Hz for water singlet and of ~4Hz for the individual lines of the ethanol quartet and triplet, for the created shape pulse.
5. I know that there are also versions of noesygpps1d pulse programs as noesygpps1d.comp1 and noesygpps1d.comp2 (used to suppress up to 20 strong lipids signals) but I didn't have them yet.
I'll really appreciate if you can give me some hints to perform this multiple suppression experiment.
asked Feb 06 '17 at 03:54
Calin%20Floare's gravatar image
Calin Floare
updated Feb 06 '17 at 05:15
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14329 | Every so often I do something so idiotic…
that it makes my own head hurt.
Tonight for example. I opted to throw a load of darks in, a load of lights in, and a second, much smaller load of darks in when I noticed I forgot some stuff.
So, my third load of laundry consisted of my black blazer, black maxi dress, a few random pairs of the other half’s black undies, my own black undies, and a couple black t-shirts. At the last minute I threw a dark pink hoodie in. A brand new dark pink hoodie.
And upon removing everything from the washer, I subsequently realized that new dark pink hoodie in a washer full of black stuff was a bad idea.
A stupidly bad idea.
Everything I washed is covered in dark pink fuzz.
I’m a tard sometimes…
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14341 | When we move past the
first few meetings…
Memory seizes to be the CGI
painted by butterflies.
The blemishes forget their airbrush.
When food smudges are no longer
Romantic to wipe off,
You are still the most
beautiful human being.
And I, still the most
Truthful I have ever been.
The Letter By The Bed Says
I can find another smile to dive in.
I don’t need to just survive,
I should be thriving.
I’ve got so much to give,
and you name it ‘too much’.
You were there, to catch my flying kisses,
To partner in our flying gymnastics.
My too much is now static.
And, you’re chilled out, like that’s
how its supposed to be.
Well, I don’t feel like being
less, anymore.
I’m not perfect.
and neither are you.
But I don’t see the point, if we
don’t make make each other more.
So, Once Upon A Time, I may have called you
But you left me in an empty cage.
Chained down while you roamed.
I’d never felt
It may just be time for me
To be
All of my “Too much”
On my own.
Watch live performance. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14359 | God’s Chosen Ones
chosen The God of the Bible is not the God of Reason that Answers in Genesis, William Lane Craig, Tim Keller, Silence of Mind and others tell us he is. None of the evidence, some of which we’ve reviewed, supports the supposition. That’s because the God of Reason, like all gods, is a construct of the human mind. In much the same way as Yahweh was a reflection of irrationality, this God is a reflection of our rationality. He could not – and did not – exist before the Enlightenment, before Rationalism itself and the new understanding of mathematics, science and philosophy.
As appealing as his apologists try to make him, the God of Reason is demonstrably not the God of the Bible, who is defined by impulsive, destructive passions. No, he’s not the tempestuous Yahweh, nor is he the daddy-god Jesus imagined (who is just Yahweh with a few rough edges knocked off), nor the God of blood-sacrifice and atonement beloved of Paul. He is, like all those inventions, a fabrication of our own making. For Christians who are drawn to him, he is a false god. But then, aren’t they all?
Whichever version of the Christian God Christians choose to worship, however, they’ve got it wrong. They don’t choose to believe in him or to follow Jesus or whatever. Not at all; he chooses them (or not as the case may be.) Now known as Calvinism, the idea that God earmarked a select few to be his best mates right back at the dawn of time – while disregarding others who might want to be but aren’t on the guest list – is right there in the Bible. Paul first:
The idea is picked up by one of Paul’s imitators in the forged letter to the Ephesians:
The same sort of time-loop paradox also finds its way into the gospels. In Matthew 22.1-14, Jesus tells a parable involving a man who has been asked to a Royal Banquet (i.e. the Kingdom of God) only for the King (Jesus) to take offence at the way he’s dressed. For this heinous crime he is bound hand and foot and unceremoniously thrown out. Jesus concludes his cheery tale with the aphorism, ‘Many are called but few are chosen.’
So much for ‘free will’, a notion that’s alien to the Bible in any case. If I were a Christian, which thank God I’m not, I’d really want some answers to the questions this bizarre idea throws up. We’ll take a look at what these are next time.
Picture shows Tim Keller, John Sentamu (Archbishop of York), ‘Pastor’ Rick Warren and ‘Pastor’ Steve Furtick. Chosen by God, every one. And some kids he couldn’t care less about.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14361 | on Isaiah 40
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.”
Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
A voice said,
I asked,
“What should I shout?”
“Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”
“Dear Granddaughter
It’s strange writing this to you right now, because you’re just a little kid. By the time you’re reading this, I’ll probably be gone. But I want you to remember what I’m now telling you. Continue reading “on Isaiah 40”
on give and take
Achilles is the best of the Greeks in the Iliad: the fastest, the strongest, the most warlike. He fights like a god (Zeus is his great-grandfather, after all), he excels at winning, he excels at taking – men’s lives and their booty. He is the best his world has to offer.
But he cannot handle loss. When robbed of his spear-won prize Briseis, the best he can do is cry out to his goddess mother, and sulk, hopefully robbing Agamemnon of his victory. And when he loses the great love of his life Patroclus, he flies into murderous rage: he slays horse-breaker Hector in revenge (fair enough), but also horribly abuses the corpse, and even burns alive 12 Trojan boys in his bereavement. When he loses, when things are taken from him, he responds the only way he knows how: double down and take right back. Continue reading “on give and take”
on waiting for the fifth day
Matt 27:57-66
for Mrs Stevens
A poem for an old English teacher of mine, Mrs Stevens. As I understand it she passed away in the first week of May 2016.
When I heard you’d gone, the sky was blue.
Just that morning it was a rainstorm,
Mayhem, parents calling,
Observatory be damned –
Kids sulking, tempers strained
We want to go home!
Focus! Sit down!
Why are they only telling us now?
Then I heard you’d gone.
How many times did you have to do this?
How many years since you’d heard us sulk?
I wrote a quick eulogy for you,
To my kids –
A pang of guilt – why should I gain from your death?
But the kids are home now, the staff room’s quiet
I’m tired, I think about you
I go to the window and look out
And I remember
The sky was blue when I heard you’d gone.
fate epilogue: tradition is the king of all
I was at the busy port of Halicarnassus one day, when I stopped at the city square to listen to a storyteller. He told grand tales of the magnificent kings of Persia who dwelt in gleaming palaces, who demanded tribute from thousands of kinds of people: gold from the Indians, warhorses from the Medes, jewels from the Aghans, silver from the Egyptians, soldiers from the wildmen of the north. These great kings never showed their faces to the common people, and even the princes and nobles at his court could not laugh or spit in his presence. They had to cover their mouths when they were around him, in order not to pollute the air that the Great King breathed. Now I myself take these fairytales lightly. If no one has ever seen the king, where do these stories come from? But one particular story struck my fancy. Continue reading “fate epilogue: tradition is the king of all”
fate pt 6: the ruin of Samos
When Polycrates, ruler of Samos died, a victim of his own greed, his power and riches passed to his steward Maeandrius.
Now Maeandrius was a good man, who wanted nothing more than justice for the Samians. He assembled them and said to them, “People of Samos, you know that all the authority held by Polycrates has passed on to me. If I wanted to, I could rule all of you as he has done. But I do not wish to, for I refuse to lord it over people equal to myself. I will proclaim everyone equal before the law. All I ask in return is a share in Polycrates’ riches, and the right for my family and I to serve as priests.” Continue reading “fate pt 6: the ruin of Samos”
fate pt 5: the fate of Polycrates
Nestled in the shadow of the Persian Empire was the island of Samos. The Samians were a proud people, good sailors. Now the rulership of Samos had fallen into the hands of one man, Polycrates, son of Aiaces, a king in all but name.
In those days the emerald waters of the eastern Aegean Sea were not yet completely ruled by the Great King of Persia. So this Polycrates, with his magnificent wealth, became the greatest of the seafaring kings. He had built for himself a fleet of one hundred warships, and an army of one thousand paid bowmen. Everywhere he sent his fleet he met with victory; he could rob any island he wanted, then return what he had stolen as a sign of friendship. Continue reading “fate pt 5: the fate of Polycrates”
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14377 | Page MenuHomePhabricator
[AsmPrinter] Remove const qualifier from EmitBasicBlockStart.
Authored by ebevhan on Aug 16 2019, 5:09 AM.
Overriders may want to modify state in it. AMDGPU wants
to, but has to make its members mutable in order to do so.
Besides, EmitBasicBlockEnd is not const, so why should
Start be?
Diff Detail
Event Timeline
ebevhan created this revision.Aug 16 2019, 5:09 AM
ebevhan edited the summary of this revision. (Show Details)Aug 16 2019, 5:12 AM
nickdesaulniers accepted this revision.Aug 16 2019, 1:01 PM
Bonus points for *removing* the use of mutable.
This revision is now accepted and ready to land.Aug 16 2019, 1:01 PM
Ka-Ka added a subscriber: Ka-Ka.Aug 19 2019, 7:13 AM
This revision was automatically updated to reflect the committed changes. |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14394 | Filling Naturalism’s Void – Gary Habermas, PhD (video & transcript)
This is a lecture on world views, given by Dr. Gary R. Habermas at Liberty University in 2012.
Naturalism has been the predominant world view in western civilization universities throughout all of our lifetimes. There has never been a time, in all of our lifetimes when that has not been the case. It runs the western university. It does not run the whole world university system. Other places in the world are not like that. But in western North America, western Europe, Australia, and in other places as well, in China, in the old Russia- the University system encapsulates a naturalistic world view which says: The natural world is all that there is. There is no supernatural world and what we know, we usually know by sense experience. That has dominated education philosophically, it’s dominated western education since at least the 1930’s.
But, for the first time in our lifetime, there’s a new phenomenon that seems to be sweeping the western world right now. I wrote about it in 1988, in a journal article. You can find it on my website But, the name of the article was ‘Changing Paradigms- A Challenge to Naturalism‘. This was 1988, and I said there were some signs that naturalism was going out. Now, we have secular philosophers and other saying: naturalism’s dead. Now, I think that’s a little premature, but something does seem to be happening.
A lot of you know that I became a good friend of Anthony Flew‘s before he passed away. He came to Liberty University in 1985. He was the best known philosophical atheist in the world, and by the way, naturalism is the world view from which atheism…. I think of atheism as a subcategory . Naturalism is the philosophical Father of that sort of thinking. And Tony Flew was the best known philosophical naturalist (he was an atheist) in the world. He came to campus and we debated the topic of the resurrection of Jesus in 1985. It became a book with what was then Harper & Rowe. Over the years, Tony and I got to be very close. We used to talk about a lot of things. One day we did our last debate, in 2003. We debated 3 times, soon afterwards, a year later I heard that Tony’s view was changing. I called him one day on the phone and I said, „I heard that you don’t consider yourself an atheist anymore. He said, „Well, sort of, I don’t, but, I’m in a state of flux right now,” and he said, „about a month ago, I thought that was my view, but, now, I think I’m still an atheist, but, with really big questions.”
We talked in between, but I called him a year later, and he said, „This time I’ve made the switch.” I’m no longer an atheist. I believe in God. This book came out in 2004, and notice the word NO crossed out- And There is a God. The subtitle is ‘How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind’. Now, this was huge and it really bothered the atheistic community. If a Christian deconverted, I would be very sad about it , but I don’t think it affects the truth of Christianity. Somehow, the atheist group has acted like this has been … they tried to explain it other ways: He’s senile, he’s getting old… Jay Leno said in a joke on his show, „Hey, this well known philosophical atheist, he’s 85 years old. I guess if I was 85 years old, I’d get right with God too.” Well, the thing is that Tony Flew didn’t believe in an afterlife. So that was not his motivation, for doing this. (Photo via Order from Amazon here –
Here’s a more recent example. Thomas Nagel, University Professor at New York University, in both philosophy and law. He published this book: Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False. Now, you have to know how influential of a person he is. He’s not Anthony Flew, but, he’s extremely influential. I should tell you that Anthony Flew wrote more material defending atheism than anybody whoever lived. What a moniker. But, Thomas Nagel is hugely influential, and yet he is saying, „Looks like we’re losing.”
To me, this is the one that really caught my eye. I know a person who knows David Brooks, and I understand He is not a Christian. He wrote an article in the New York Times called ‘The Neural Buddhists‘. Basically, he says: Some people think atheism is center stage in this country because of New Atheism. He says, „I’ve got news for you: Atheism is dead. Atheism is dead in the western world. Something else has already taken its place. And, he defined the 2 main takers, (which) he calls ‘Neural Buddhism’- which he says is made up of a number of sciences, but this is later brain research that is now allowing for supernatural areas, at least religious areas, he says, That’s one group.” And, he says, „The other group is the Judeo-Christian heritage. They are the 2 takers for filling naturalism’s void.” Look at some of these comments/quotes:
• The cognitive revolution- you might think it’s good news because atheism is dead and religion is coming back in, but it’s gonna challenge Christianity, if we’re not careful.
• The momentum has shifted from hardcore materialism (which is a species of naturalism). He says it shifted. Now, when he says this may not be comfortable for Christianity, what he says is: The 2 big views- Neural Buddhism, what we would probably call the New Age Movement (which is backed up by a number of empirical science studies), (so,) Neural Buddhism vs. some revelatory religion.- he uses the Judeo-Christian heritage. He keeps talking about the Bible. Here’s what they both have in common. They’re both open to God because naturalism’s dead, they’re both interested and open to religion They’re both okay with prayer, general prayer, general worship, afterlife; that’s okay. But he says, here’s what Christians believe that Neural Buddhists don’t believe. He says, Christians believe that there are specific revealed doctrines that are true. Now, he doesn’t say that, but we would with things like reincarnation, deity of Christ, a God of the universe who reveals Himself to a people- the Israelites, and is concerned that people come to know Jesus Christ. He says, „Those specific doctrines are not shared by the Neural Buddhists. He says, „They’re gonna say that that’s your addition to evolutionary views of spirituality. And you can be spiritual. You can believe in God, you can worship. You can pray. You can believe in an afterlife (sort of, don’t be too adamant about it) . But, if you believe in particular doctrines, prove it!” That’s what David Brooks says in his article. „If you believe in particular articles of faith, show why those doctrines are true.” Because the other group doesn’t believe that, so the biggest rub is gonna be to show your specific religious views are true.
• „We’re in the middle of a scientific revolution and it’s gonna be having huge cultural effects. It’s going on now.” What he’s saying is naturalists don’t know they’ve lost. They’re losing, but he says, „They’re not losing, they’ve lost. The world’s passing them by.”
How are we gonna fill this void left by naturalism?
1. New Atheism – My question is: How are we gonna fill this void left by naturalism and this battle with such things as The New Atheism? They still have some influence, although numbers show that atheists are very small. One recent survey said that only 2% of Americans are atheists. I think it’s higher than that. But the New Atheists are having real influence with our young people (ages) 18-25.
2. New Age
3. Postmodernism
Those are forms, minus the atheism, those are the forms that this is coming in. And David Brooks, whom I understand is Jewish, David Brooks says, „If you’ve got specific doctrines, prove it. If you wanna say what Neural Buddhists say, but more, tell us what more and why? Why are there more doctrines? Why should we believe it? (13:00)
I’ve been starting to work with a concept in the last 10 years, that basically says this: When I talk to you about apologetics in the area of philosophy or theology, which talks about evidences. Every religion has apologetics, but, Christian apologetics are: How do we know some of these general areas like God, and morality, and afterlife are true? And how do we know the specific areas, areas like incarnation, deity of Christ, the death and resurrection of Jesus, things that are central to our faith, how do we know these things are true? That’s the subject of apologetics. When I say apologetics, most people think – Bible. We think of it as largely defending a body of doctrine that closed about 2000 years ago. But, what I’m gonna argue is that apologetics is a contemporary aspect and there are many, many new subjects that we have not had research on, at least the kind of research I’m talking about, more recently than the last 30 years. When you think apologetics, you might not just think New Testament anymore, you might think some additional research today that evidences what we believe. (Transcript continues below video)
2012 – Lecture by Gary R. Habermas VIDEO by religionphilosophy
Consciousness does not cease to exist with death of the physical body
On the subject of near death experiences- these have now been written up. My last count of 5 years ago, the subject of near death experiences has been written up in at least 15-20 different medical journals. Now, why would peer reviewed secular medical journals run articles on these. Now, first, when these came out, everyone was talking, „Yeah, it’s interesting and we’ve got some interesting cases there. I’m not talking about people who died and saw a light, went down a tunnel, and ‘wow’, doesn’t that prove that it’s true? No, it doesn’t. It might just prove common physiology, or common neurology. But, in over 100 cases, I and another individual, who is the editor of the only peer reviewed near-death journal in the world (I’m a reviewer for that journal- in fact, it’s secular, it’s largely eastern, and marginally Neuro Buddhist. The two of us, between us (I’ve not seen her list), but, we both have a list of over 100 well evidenced near death experiences. They are incredibly evidential, where a person sees something while they claim to be in an out of body state. Some of them are incredible, the person reports things that happen miles away. This has very much surprised a lot of people. And, these have been written up in a lot of journals, but, what does it show?
This indicates for a lot of folks that consciousness does not cease to exist with death of the physical body. You say, „Well, yeah, because the brain doesn’t die right away, and you might still see something for 2,3 or 4 minutes. Well, there are reports of these things going on for hours when the person is dead. Here is one of the evidential stories and according to a Gallup survey 20 years ago, 8 million Americans have claimed to have experienced near death phenomenon of some sort. Maybe they didn’t die, but, they’ve watched someone else describe this sort of thing. How about blind folks who have never seen anything in their whole lives until their near death experienceThey report something that happens down the road, they come back and correctly report it, and now they’re still blind, but they saw something during the experience. Some of these reports come with flat EEG and flat EKG’s. This is a general category. (19:25)
How about specific Christian categories? All in the last 20 or 30 years. You say ‘Resurrection’, that’s a New Testament study. I mean it is, but the latest New Testament research that is turned… I often give a lecture at universities called „The Resurrection that Changed a Generation of Scholars”. Today, more critics than not believe something happened to the risen Jesus. And that evidence is only about 30 years old. You might think the shroud of Turin is dead. Not so. A new round of experiments are being done right now, they’re not telling you much about them, but it could either make it or break it.
Documented miracle claims
Some of us have thought, „I’ve got a few cases like this in my family. I wouldn’t call it a miracle, but 3 things have happened in my family and I think they qualify as a miracle. And I think, for the most part, Christians have been very much influenced by this naturalistic mindset , and when things happen to us that are miracles, we very frequently, just like the naturalists, maybe not as radically, but we’ll just as frequently say, „Ah, crazy things happen, and we sweep it under the carpet and we forget about it. We don’t really count is as miracles, cause we just really doubt that miracles happen, so we don’t tell anybody. We sort of think miracles occur.
A New Testament scholar, Craig Keener, phD from Duke University in New testament, and a minor in classics, and this is amazing because the classics come into this study. Craig was doing a commentary on the Book of Acts- 3000 pages. Craig is famous for this. He wrote a book ‘The Historical Jesus’ 400 pages and the end notes were 400 pages. Well, his book on Acts has 100,000 parallels with classical studies. So, he’s going through the book of Acts and he comes across these miracle accounts. So, he decided to start collecting evidence for miracle cases. The result is a 2 volume work , that, if you’re interested in this topic, you’ve got to see it, it’s a masterpiece. It has come out in 2 volumes. It’s from Baker Academics, it’s entitled ‘Miracles’. It is 1,200 pages of evidenced miracle claims.
Many of these (miracles), and I know we have a lot of medical people here, if I told you some of these cases you would say, „Mmm, no this doesn’t happen.” Let me tell you one. A fellow who had a spleen removed for medical reasons and when he got out of the hospital, they took him to the church post-op, getting ready for his post-op checkup and they laid hands on and prayed for him. He went back there and he’s got a spleen. He’s got another spleen. No way. What do you do with it? Here’s the before, and here’s the after. They do have cases of where bones have grown on the spot. They do have cases where heart valves have been replaced on the spot. You say, „That can’t happen.” Well, the guy who spread that story- an MD, phD, professor from UCLA School of Medicine, who spent 4 years at Mayo Clinic.
When you read Craig’s accounts, 1,200 pages, after a while you think, Wow, there’s no more room for skepticism.” Or double blind prayer experiments. Not all have turned out very well. Some of the ones that are politically correct- the list of prayers, are from our viewpoint kind of odd, like witch doctors and medicine men. In one well known double blind prayer experiment , if you were prayed for, you were slightly more likely not to be healed. But, the only 2 that I know of double blind prayer experiments that have had statistical favorable healing results through prayer, both of the them, all the prayers were orthodox-Christian (not the orthodox denomination, but orthodox Judeo-Christian beliefs in God- ). I want to make this clear. I think God answers prayer for everybody. He did in biblical times. Jesus didn’t heal people by saying, „Are you a believer? If not, get out of line.” God answered prayer for everyone. Here’s the last line (in that report):
The findings of this double blind prayer experiment are consistent with prayer to the Judeo-Christian God.
This is in a medical journal. (26:00)
What are we doing to further the Christian message and let people know we have reasons to believe in these things?
1. The best thing we can do to remedy this is to take David Brooks up (the guy from the New York Times), take him at his word, and to be able to show that theism is true, and to further the demise of naturalism. Or, why is theism true, and naturalism false?
2. Let’s show that Christian doctrine, which no other religion has (we share some things with Judaism), but, for the most part, Christianity has some unique beliefs, Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, He died, was raised from the dead. Are we able to argue, not just the things that overlap with Neural Buddhism, but, worship and afterlife, but specific Christian doctrines, are we ready to do that?
In closing here, there is also an encouraging aspect. I love 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul ends 57 wonderful verses on the resurrection, the earliest most evidential resurrection passage in the New Testament. Paul ends by saying, „Therefore,” verse 58, ” be steadfast, immovable.” You’ve probably seen some of the reports, but between 60-90% of our young people, who go away to secular schools, they walk away from their faiths. Naturalism may be on the downslide, but they don’t know it. And Neuro Buddhism is not gonna be a lot nicer to us. It’s nice that we can believe in religion, but they’re not gonna be a lot nicer to us. Our young people are going away and sliding away from Christianity.
There’s a study that just came out that says many of them come back in their 30’s. But, first of all, many of them don’t, and those who do have lost 15 key years of from their lives. So, Paul says to be steadfast and immovable. But, why aren’t we the bastion of teaching our young people, that Christians have the best, the best possible message in the world? So many people write to me and say, „My professor attacked this, or that… What should I say?” I tell them over, and over again, there are good responses to these things. Read this, consider this. But I tell students, „Think about this, there’s a lot more to Christianity than what I’m gonna say. But, as long as the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus are true, Christianity follows. When someone attacks a periphery thing, I think we go after it 2 ways. We answer the complaint, and then we say to the young people, „That’s not a just reason for walking away form Christianity. Until someone can disprove the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the center of Christianity remains.”
Lastly, same verse, Paul says. „always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. First, he says, „Hang in there, be steadfast, immovable, and in his second point – your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Get out there and do something.”
Doubting Darwinism – J.P.Moreland PhD quotes atheist Thomas Nagel against Darwinism
J. P. Moreland expresses some doubts on Darwinian evolution. VIDEO by religionphilosophy
J.P. Moreland
Not long ago, the former professor of biology at Cornell University, a man who is known throughout the world for his expertise in biological science, William Provine, made the following statement:
„Let me summarize my views about what modern evolutionary biology tells us: There are no gods. There is no purpose to life. There are no goal directed forces of any kind. There;s no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I’m going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There’s no ultimate foundation for ethics, there’s no meaning to life, and there’s no such thing as free will. „
Now, Provine is a good scientist, but a very bad philosopher. And, his view is widely believed among the intellectual elite of our culture. And unfortunately, the culture, and what the culture believes is largely determined by the intellectual elites. That’s just the way it is.
Now, Provine’s statement is really not true, because, if evolutionary theory is true, it doesn’t mean there’s not a god. I could grant the truth of evolutionary theory, and I would still have plenty of reasons to believe in God, completely outside of the biological realm.
There is for example an argument for God’s existence
• based upon the origin of the universe
• based upon the fine tuning of the universe
• based on the objectivity of the moral law
• based on the miracles in the New Testament
• based on the reliability of the New Testament documents
So, even if evolutionary theory is true, it doesn’t follow, that all the things that Provine has told us are reasonable to believe. As I said, I could grant the truth of evolutionary theory for the sake of argument, and still have plenty of reason to believe in the Christian God.
Well then,
What does evolutionary theory do?
It actually does, I think, 2 things:
1. First of all, it robs us of an argument for God’s existence, because we can base an argument on God’s existence based upon the design of living things. After all, living things look designed. And so, you can build an argument for God based upon the design of living things, and if evolutionary theory is true, it could be argued – that argument is off the table. Fair enough. Then, evolutionary theory would rob the Christian believer of one of many arguments for God’s existence. That’s a legitimate point.
2. The real problem however, with evolutionary theory is not that it touches on whether or not there’s a God. The real problem with evolutionary theory is it tends to undermine some very plausible ways of interpreting the early chapters of the book of Genesis. And the book of Genesis is an important foundational document to the Christian community.
So, it’s important to understand that Provine has it wrong. So, nevertheless, evolutionary theory is an important thing it’s just been misunderstood by the general public and Provine, in terms of the impact of the theory, if it’s true,
Is evolution true?
Well, that depends on what you mean by it. I am going to characterize 3 different meanings of evolution and tell you where the tension lies, and then I’ll give you 3 reasons why I don’t believe in the theory of evolution. (See rest of transcript below video)
Evolution can mean 1 of 3 things:
1. Microevolution- Evolution can mean that organisms change when they go to new environments. This is true. If you take a group of brown rabbits, and if they migrate to an area where there’s a lot of snow, it could be (that) after several generations their coats turn white, rather than brown, and that enables them to survive better. Is that definition of evolution true? Yes, and nobody disputes it. That’s called microevolution.
2. Common descent- The second meaning of evolution is called the thesis of common descent. This is the idea that living things appear on earth in a sequence of simpler life to a more complex life, in a sequence of new life forms all the way from single cell organisms (simple life, supposedly) up to human beings. That’s called the thesis of common descent (from chimps to mankind). All of the evidence for evolution is evidence for this thesis. There is no evidence for the third thesis, I’m about to tell you (about). Well, is the thesis of common descent true? I’m inclined to say, „No.” But, let me say very clearly, „If the thesis of common descent turned out to be true, I would have very little problem with it, as an evangelical believer, because I think that the early chapters of Genesis teach us that life appeared on earth, by and large, through a sequence of events from the simple to the complex. So, if the thesis of common descent was true, which I don’t believe it is, but, even if it were, it would cause my Christian faith very little adjustment because I am committed to the idea, according to Genesis, that living things appeared on earth, by and large, from simple to complex.
3. The blind watchmaker thesis– The real problem with evolution is the third definition, and that’s where all the tension lies. This is called the blind watchmaker thesis. According to the blind watchmaker thesis of evolution, the processes that gave rise to living things are totally naturalistic processes, and there was no room for God to do anything. We don’t need to postulate God to explain where life came from, that God was involved in creating different life forms along the way because mutations and natural selections, that is blind processes- the watchmaker who designed us was blind- that means not conscious, not intentional, had no purposes in mind. Why? Because the processes that gave rise to us are purely material physical processes of mutation and natural selection, and that’s where the real tension lies, because this thesis says that the common descent of animals from simple to complex took place without any intervention from God creating anything, or doing anything in the process. The process is purely naturalistic, and we don’t have to postulate a supreme being to explain life. (9:00)
There is, in my opinion, not a shred of evidence to this thesis. All of the evidence in debates are evidence for common descent, not for the blind watchmaker thesis. I am going to give you three reasons why I think it’s false. In other words, I am going to give you 3 reasons why I believe that God had to be involved in the process, and that you cannot explain the living world, as we know it, without there being a Creator intelligent God. Before I do, there are many lines of evidence I could have selected, but, I’m gonna pick 3. In most fields there are pace setters that set the pace in that field. I am an academic and a professional philosopher, and there are certain people in my discipline that are pace setters. If you’re gonna be a responsible, professional philosopher, you have to read what they write, because if you don’t know what they say, you’re not up to speed on your discipline. One of the professional philosophers in my field, for 50 years, who has been one of the leading intellectuals in the entire world, I would list him in the top 30 western thinkers in the world, is Thomas Nagel. He is a professor of philosophy at New York University. He is clearly an avowed atheist. In his book ‘The Last Word’, he makes it clear „I fear God, and what I mean by that is I don’t want God to exist. I don’t want the universe to be like that and I hope there’s no God.” It’s called the cosmic authority problem. He doesn’t want an authority over his life and he is clear about that. Photo above via Photo below Thomas Nagel – via Wikipedia.
A week ago, a major event happened. Nagel, who is an atheist, published a book with Oxford University Press (1 of the 2 top academic Presses in the western world (Cambridge being the other)), and he has argued in this book that the general theory of evolution is nonsense for 3 reasons. Now, he doesn’t believe in God, he’s hoping for other solutions. But, the point is that you have one of the top academic atheists in Europe and in the United States publishing a book that just came out (video is from 2012). I’ve taken notes from this book, and he says that there are 3 things that evolution cannot and will never explain and so we have to abandon the theory, in terms of its adequacy of explaining living things. I am going to use the ones he lists, because he’s a critic of our views.
1. The Origin of Life
Too improbable to happen by natural processes. Living things contain information & we know, as the SETI scientists themselves assume that if we discover information, that is evidence that the cause of that info is intelligent minds Nagel claims, and he’s right about this, that the probabilities of natural law and chance to produce life is abslutely ridiculous. That you will never get living things, by natural laws and Darwinian processes to appear. Why is that? When Darwin looked through the microscopes of his day, a living cell looked like a simple little blob of jello. Not so anymore. We now know that the simplest single cell is like the city of Detroit or Chicago or New York. It’s got a police dept., it’s got a library, it’s got street signals… I mean, it’s as complicated as a city. The problem has become then, how do you get through natural processes and random chance? Something that complicated in 4 billion year (let’s grant/say), and Nagel says, „There’s not a snowballs chance in a certain place (hell) that that’s gonna happen. Here’s an example: Suppose I filled the state of Texas a mile high with quarters and I put an X on one quarter, and I flew over it in a helicopter and I put it somewhere in the state of Texas. The chances of evolving through natural processes a single cell would be the chances of me giving the opportunity to pick one quarter and picking the right quarter on the first draw. No one in his right mind would believe anything like that. What if I did pick the quarter on the first draw? You would know that it was rigged, that it was done by cheating, done on purpose. And Nagel says that there’s just not any possibility that the probability of forming life through Darwinian processes are so astronomically small that they’re comparable to picking the quarter on the first draw in the state of Texas. No one in his right mind would believe that.
By the way, there is a second problem with the origin of life. We now know that information comes from an intelligent mind. When we discover information, it is evidence that intelligence stands behind that information. You’ve heard of the search for life in outer space. It’s called SETI the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The assumption that is made by the SETI scientists is that information can only come from an intelligent mind. So, if we discovered a signal from outer space that contained information, we would conclude that the origin of that signal was an intelligent mind of some kind. What we have discovered is that there is more information in a single cell than in all the books in the libraries where I did my phD at USC. It is stacked with information and the evidence of information is evidence of mind. So, the origin of life is the first reason why Darwinian theory fails because (a) it is too imporbable to be rational, to believe it happened that way, and (b) living things contain information and information is evidence that the cause is an intelligent thinker.
2. The Diversity of life forms
(a) Diversity of life is far too complex and intricate for it to have evolved in 3.5 billion years through natural processes and chance mutations and through the laws of chemistry and physics. (b) Living systems contain irreducibly complex structures and it will not confer survival values for a mechanism if it doesn’t have all the parts. Here’s the second reason why I don’t believe in Darwinian evolution: It’s the diversity of life forms that we see all around us. The diversity and the complexity of life around us. Nagel makes the point that if evolutionary theory were true, and somehow, if we could get a single cell organism say, 3.5 billion years ago, there’s not enough time in 3.5 billion years to go from a single cell organism to lions, and tigers, and bears. Because, if evolution were truewe would not expect there to be enough time for very much diversity to have appeared. In other words, the sheer complexity and diversity of living things is far too much for the mechanisms of evolution to account for it. And Nagel runs a probability argument on this as well, saying, pretty much like the state of Texas, „Suppose we could evolve a single celled organism, the probabilities of developing life as we know it are again, like picking the quarter on the first draw. It’s way too improbable. Think of a butterfly, for example. The mechanisms that can take you from a caterpillar to a butterfly are staggering. You start with a caterpillar, it goes through a stage where you have a stack of goo with not much information, and then you get a butterfly squirting out that is totally different than the caterpillar. And the processes and the staggering detail, and the amount of complexity involved in something that simple are simply too much for the mechanisms of evolution to explain.
Consider the brain. I’m doing research on the soul and the brain this year. If you take a look at what are called the neural nets, these are networks of neurons, and in order for you to have a thought, you have to have billions of neurons firing in just the right place, at just the right time. There’s not a chance that that could happen through natural consequences, it’s way too complicated. So, the probability of life diversifying into the staggering complexity that we see is simply too large for evolution to explain, says Nagel, and I agree with him. (20:00)
One other problem with the diversity of life involves what is called irreducible complexity. Something is irreducibly complex if it contains parts that won’t work if all the other parts aren’t there. Let me give you an example of an irreducibly complex structure: a mousetrap. It is composed of 5 parts- the base, the spring, the trap, the thing that holds it down, and so on. A mouse trap won’t work with only 4 of the parts. It doesn’t work until you have all 5 parts in the right place and then it works. That means that a mousetrap is irreducibly complex. The problem is that you can’t evolve irreducibly complex structures one part at a time, because it’s not gonna work till all the parts are there. And, how is a structure that’s only got some of its parts there, but it doesn’t work gonna help an organism survive ? Let me illustrate it. There’s a little single celled organism called a flagellum, that you can see under a microscope. It has a rotary tail. The thing will turn at 100,000 rpm’s in one direction and propel the little guy through fluid. It will stop on a dime and turn 100,000 rpm’s in the opposite direction, just like that. It contains 50 parts. Guess what? If you’ve got 49 of the parts it doesn’t work. It needs all 50 parts, before an of it will work. How are you gonna evolve the rotary tail from precursors that didn’t have a rotary tail, one part at a time? You can’t evolve irreducibly complex structures one part at a time because the structures will not confer survival value on their owners unless all the parts are present. And, irreducibly complex structures are a huge, huge problem for Darwinian theory. (25:00)
3. Consciousness
This is the one Nagel spends 2/3 of the book arguing. Consciousness. The real problem is that you can’t get mind from matter. If you say, „In the beginning were the particles…” then what you end up with is brute sub atomic particles, electrons, strings, protons, neutrons, whatever they think is down there. You end up with particles that aren’t conscious- an electron doesn’t have consciousness. The laws of chemistry and physics cause these particles to bind together to form molecules. Those bind together to form cells, and those bind together to form the bodies of living things. The process is a process of taking matter and simply forming it into more complicated arrangements of matter. But now there’s a problem here, and Nagel points it out. If you start with matter and all you do is rearrange matter, you know what you’re gonna end up with? Rearranged matter. You’re not gonna get mind squirted into existence. To put the point differently, you might end up with brains, but you’re not gonna end up with minds. Cause if you end up with minds, that’s getting something from nothing, and that’s a pretty tough sell.
Basically, what I mean by consciousness is what animals and we have, and that’s what we’re aware of when we introspect- when you close your eyes and introspect, you are aware of your consciousness. Your consciousness includes:
• sensations – experience of pain and pleasure
• thoughts – like the thought that 2+2=4
• beliefs – like my belief that George Washington was the 1st president of the United States
• desires – my desire to be a good dad and to have ice cream and avoid the dentist
• acts of free will – where I freely choose to raise my arm to vote, for example
So, what we have is consciousness is not physical. It is invisible. I could look all throughout your brain and I couldn’t see your thoughts or your feelings, or your desires, or your beliefs. All I would find would be neurons firing. The problem is, as Nagel points out, if you start at the beginning with the particles, and you rearrange the particles according to the laws of chemistry and physics you’re never gonna get consciousness. I don’t have that problem cause I believe in God. I don’t think ‘In the beginning was the particles…”, I think in the beginning was the logos. So, I start with mind. I don’t start with matter. And it’s not a problem to explain where our minds came from because the universe began with a grand mind. Surely a grand mind could make subsequent minds. If the universe began with consciousness, it means that there was a kind of big mind out there, a big conscious being. If you don’t mind, I’ll just use the word God for Him.
If Nagel and I are right about this, why are all the scientists Darwinist? There are 2 reasons:
1. They are taught to think that way in graduate school. They’re internalized into a theory that you have got to force the evidence to fit. They are not open to alternative methods of explanation, because if you start appealing to a designer, they claim that you’ve stopped doing science. And so, they are angry at Intelligent Design advocates. I was at UC Berkeley a couple of years ago (2010), and just before I came, William Demski was on campus defending intelligent design. Do you know what happened? The biology department boycotted the meeting and wouldn’t let their graduate students attend it. There’s free thought for you. If this guy’s so stupid and his ideas are so ignorant, go to the meeting and expose him as a fraud. But, why boycott a meeting? Because when you do an undergraduate and graduate degree in science you are taught a certain set of theories that you’re not allowed to question, because if you question Darwinism, you’re now going to religion and religion and science are not supposed to mix.
2. The cosmic authority problem. Nagel says, „I don’t want God to exist.” I think, frankly, the reason Darwinism is held widely is because of sex. In the early days of Darwinism, Huxley, who was Darwin’s bulldog, stated clearly that the reason he defended Darwinism is he wanted to do sex anyway he wanted to anytime, and he didn’t want anybody telling him what he should do. And today, we are a sex crazed culture in the west and I think evolution gives you the permission not to have to worry about a divine being who might judge your sexual behavior. I think that’s got a lot to do with it. What it doesn’t have to do with is the evidence. Because, I’m telling you, while there may be evidence for microevolution, there may even be evidence for common descent (though I don’t accept that), there is to my knowledge a terribly inadequate defense of the blind watchmaker thesis, and there are good reasons not to believe it.
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14402 | The Art of Syntax
I began Ellen Bryant Voigt’s The Art of Syntax last night, and though I haven’t yet attempted to apply what I have learned to my readings of poems, I’ve actually found that her translation of some of Robert Jourdain’s thoughts on music (in Music, The Brain, and Ecstasy) had a deep, profound effect on the |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14405 | Are these good questions? - What does "Dungeon" mean in "Dungeons and Dragons", and how did that meaning come about?
I've also tried to scope stuff out around this on the English.SE Meta and Scifi.SE meta.
Asked: Why does “dungeon” mean the places adventurers go to kill stuff?
It's the title of a possibly topical question, but it literally lacks body. Without seeing it in its full question form, we can't guarantee whether the community will think it's good.
It's certainly on-topic, within our and tags, but beyond that mere topicality, judgement about quality would have to be determined the usual way, by people voting on it as a real question on the main site.
Sort of? As SSD says, you're missing the body of the question completely so it's hard to judge, but it's on topic for us. I'm also confused about what exactly you're asking for. You might be confused about what you're asking for, since the Dungeon part of the title literally just refers to a Dungeon (it's meant to be evocative), but your other meta questions suggest you're curious about how the language is actually used nowadays and what's with the way people use it and why it came to be that way.
You might want to just ask that straightforwardly: "what's with D&D players using 'dungeon' the way they do to mean all kinds of places they go kill stuff?" or something.
• \$\begingroup\$ Okay, I'll try your title suggestion... But what could I put for the body? "What's with D&D players using 'dungeon' the way they do to mean all kinds of places they go kill stuff?", makes it pretty clear what I'm asking... \$\endgroup\$ – Malady Aug 21 '15 at 15:59
• 2
\$\begingroup\$ @Malandy Tell us a bit about what you know on the matter. Tell us if there's anything in particular you want to know about it. It will show us whether there's any gaps in your knowledge we should fill and whether any are worthy of special attention. \$\endgroup\$ – doppelgreener Aug 21 '15 at 16:29
• 1
\$\begingroup\$ Asked: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/67422/… \$\endgroup\$ – Malady Aug 21 '15 at 16:32
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global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14414 | For His Praise
Wednesday, November 1, 2017, 6:11 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “The Ransom.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Ephesians 1 (ESV). Chosen by God (vv. 1-10) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful … Continue reading For His Praise |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14431 | VMWare Released Fusion 3 With Snow Leopard Optimization And Windows 7 Aero Support
VMWare has released Fusion 3, a major version upgrade to its popular virtualization software on the Mac. This version is touted to have more than 50 new features. It is available for $79.99 or $39.99 for the upgrade.
Among the new features:
#### Snow Leopard Optimization
VMWare Fusion 3 has a new 64-bit core engine to take advantage of Snow Leopard’s 64-bit kernel for improved performance and reduced overhead.
#### Better Windows 7 Support
VMWare Fusion 3 is the first virtualization software to support Windows Aero user interface effect, including Flip 3D and Aero Peek. Support for DirectX 9.0EX with OpenGL 1.4 enable more Windows games to be playable. You can run both 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7.
#### Migration Assistant
VMWare Fusion comes with a built-in Migration Assistant to help you to move a physical PC to a virtual machine. Just connect your PC to your Mac using an Ethernet cable, and you can move the whole PC to Fusion 3 in a few simple steps.
#### More Mac-like Experience Running Windows App
VMWare Fusion comes with a Application Menu where you can access your Windows App via the Mac menu bar, even when Fusion is not running. Find and launch Windows apps using spotlight just like Mac apps. Fusion 3 supports Expose and Dock Expose for Windows apps, and you can quit Windows app using Command-Q just like Mac app.
Visit [VMWare Fusion 3 Home Page](http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/index.html). |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14460 | 关于我们 新闻与活动
PDM9 - 功能扩展软件
Ceiling Housing
* Only sold in the United states
- Indoor/Ceiling 9" Indoor Recessed Ceiling Housing (Dome not included)
- This is sold only in the United states.
The product page of 功能扩展软件 "PDM9" from the Panasonic Security System. You can download features, manuals and firmware, specification sheet and more for PDM9 here.
PDM9 Key Feature - Panasonic安防监控系统 - 产品 |
global_01_local_0_shard_00002368_processed.jsonl/14463 | The Gospel
Servants of Grace Ministries believes, confesses and seeks to implement the Gospel into every sphere and every message that is shared on this website, as it is the means the Lord uses to justify, regenerate, sanctify, secure and glorify a people for His own possession. The Gospel according to Jesus and the Apostles is His death, burial and resurrection (Luke 24; 1 Cor 15).
Doctrines of Grace and Five Solas
Servants of Grace Ministries affirms the Doctrines of Grace also known as TULIP. T stands for Total Depravity. U stands for unconditional election. L stands for Limited Atonement but is also known as Particular or Definite Atonement. I stands for Irresistible Grace. P stands for Perseverance of the Saints.
Servants of Grace affirms the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation. Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura), Salvation in Christ Alone (Solus Christus), Faith Alone (Sola Fide), Grace Alone (Sola Gratia),To God Alone, Be All The Glory (Soli Deo Gloria).
We also affirm the Affirmations and Denials of Together for the Gospel at:
We also affirm the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and the Danvers and Nashville Statement. |
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