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Sign up × Why do we think chronic inflammation can cause cancer? I know the pathway is not fully understood, but what makes scientists believe that inflammation causes cancer? share\|improve this question 2 Answers 2 up vote 2 down vote accepted There are good epidemiological data for this. Links between cancer and inflammation were first made in the nineteenth century, on the basis of observations that tumours often arose at sites of chronic inflammation and that inflammatory cells were present in biopsied samples from tumours. There are many triggers of chronic inflammation that increase the risk of developing cancer. Such triggers include microbial infections (for example, infection with Helicobacter pylori is associated with gastric cancer and gastric mucosal lymphoma), autoimmune diseases (for example, inflammatory bowel disease is associated with colon cancer) and inflammatory conditions of unknown origin (for example, prostatitis is associated with prostate cancer). Accordingly, treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents decreases the incidence of, and the mortality that results from, several tumour types. Cited from Mantovani, Alberto, et al. "Cancer-related inflammation." Nature 454.7203 (2008): 436-444. share\|improve this answer Inflammation and the inflammatory response can lead to tissue damage, and these stresses at the cellular and DNA level can lead to changes in the cell's programming. One example I can think of is neutrophils and macrophages--inflammatory cells--releasing reactive oxygen species (ROS)--reactive oxygen radicals--at the site of inflammation, which can damage normal tissue and their DNA. With enough changes and damages--in particular, mutations and translocations to genes that regulate cell growth--the cells can undergo anaplasia and ultimately dysplasia and neoplasia (cancer). Check our wikipedia for these term, "reactive oxygen species" and the section on caner ( as well as the textbook "Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease" if you can get your hands on it. share\|improve this answer Welcome to Biology and thanks for your interesting answer. Would you happen to have some references to back your answer up? – AliceD Aug 29 at 23:09 Your Answer	dclm-gs1-105010000
Tag Archives: typo3 image quality Image Quality settings in TYPO3 TYPO3 has a very cool mechanism to resize images automatically. Often we might notice that the images like JPEG/PNG when resized are either blur, or their quality may not be very good. This can easily be changed by loggin into the install tool and changing the following configuration from the “All Configuration” menu: [GFX][jpg_quality] = 90 [GFX][png_truecolor] = 1	dclm-gs1-105020000
February 21, 2015 10 reasons managers choose not to invest in a country There are a number of good business reasons why companies choose to invest or not invest in a particular jurisdiction. These include the usual suspects, ranging from market potential to the regulatory framework. But there are also more personal reasons a manager may choose to invest or not invest in a jurisdiction and we generally don't understand the influence of managerial self-interests well enough. Andreas Schotter (Thunderbird School of Global Management, U.S.) and Paul Beamish (Ivey Business School, Canada) have identified the following personal considerations, hassle factors, that research shows result in managerial location shunning. Lodewijk Gelauff, Luxor Hassle Free / cc 1. Local transportation standards and availability Transportation is critical for many companies to be able to conduct their business. The standards and availability of transportation in a country also impact a manager's experience in the country. When I was trying to establish Kijani Energy in Mozambique and Pakistan, it became clear that I couldn't rely on public transport to meet my needs. We were lucky to have local employees and business partners to drive us around, or our business aspirations might have been dead on arrival. 2. Climate The authors found the overall pleasantness or unpleasantness of a jurisdiction to influence managerial decision-making. As expected, managers are less likely to find the prospect of spending a significant amount of time in a jurisdiction with unpleasant climate. 3. Business facilitation Most of us expect our meetings to start and end on time. In many parts of the world, this just doesn't happen. I remember a meeting I had with the then Chairman of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council to discuss our biodiesel project. The one-hour meeting was supposed to begin at 10 AM. I wasn't invited into his office until 10:30 AM; he was constantly interrupted by visitors and phone calls that he picked up without any hesitation; a break was taken for lunch and then for afternoon tea. It was 4 PM before I was finally done. I got everything I was looking for, but it also took every ounce of patience in me, and more. The difficulty in getting things done, or at least getting them done on time, in certain countries is a common complaint of tax directors I work with. Sometimes, the market opportunity is big enough that a manager may put up with the hassle of different business conduct norms--but that market opportunity needs to be big enough. 4. Health risks and medical standards The authors found the health hazards of a particular jurisdiction, especially the food and water hygiene standards, have a significant impact on a manager's perception of the jurisdiction. Countries with high health risks (and low medical standards) are known to suffer from lack of tourism, but they also have a harder time attracting business travelers. 5. Risks for female executives In a number of countries around the world, female executives are still not the norm and often face discrimination, even outright insubordination, and that can impact a manager's perception of a jurisdiction's attractiveness. It is well-known that participation of women in the boardrooms and c-suites results in better decision-making; it apparently also influences a jurisdiction's attractiveness for foreign businesses looking to invest. 6. Personal safety risk A multinational company I know invested in Pakistan and the tax director had to travel to Islamabad to attend some meetings in 2008 a few weeks after theIslamabad Marriott Hotel bombing. The arrangements made by the local subsidiary for his safety included renting a non-descript house in a residential area and a bulletproof car. The tax director was extremely concerned about traveling to Pakistan and did everything in his power to get out of these meetings. Is Pakistan so unsafe that foreign multinationals cannot conduct business in the country? Likely not. But the perception of personal safety, or lack thereof, greatly reduces the chances that Pakistan would rank particularly highly on any executive's list of jurisdictions for investment. 7. Visa and entry permits As a Canadian, I have become used to of traveling often without even thinking about whether I need to get a visa. For most people, however, it isn't as simple. And it turns out that the hassle of getting visas often becomes a reason an executive might refuse to consider a country for investment. 8. Telecommunication access and standards For the plugged-in executive of today, access to high-speed internet and cellular phone service is critical when traveling--unless you are going on vacation to Cuba to unplug and disconnect from the rest of the world. I believe as businesses begin to rely more and more on cloud computing, the need for telecommunication access will become an important business factor when considering jurisdictions for investment. 9. Business hotel standards If you must travel for work, it better be comfortable. And the authors of the abovementioned study found that managers do consider their comfort when making investment location decisions and availability of 3-star or higher hotels near the business location becomes an important factor in managerial decision-making. 10. Language Lastly, even if the business is a multinational that aims to work in all jurisdictions, and even if the product or service being sold does not require the use of English language, I have yet to see a Canadian multinational employ managerial-level staff in its foreign subsidiaries that wasn't conversant in English or French. So it isn't surprising to me that an executive would consider the ability to hire English-speaking managerial staff in a country before investing. These hassle factors may be viewed as ways managerial decision-making deviates from what is optimal for the firm. In my opinion, these hassle factors need to be explicitly considered in making investment location decisions. Even if these hassle factors don't predict the success of the business, the cost of sacrificed happiness, motivation and engagement of the managers involved needs to be taken into account. Disclaimer: I wrote this article in my personal capacity. The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization that I am affiliated with. February 6, 2015 The great Canadian tax dodge Tax has become fashionable. From the OECD and G20, to national newspapers, and now film and documentary producers--everyone seems to have something to say about the tax practices of multinational firms. The Connaught Building in Ottawa / CC On February 4, TVO aired the documentary "The Great Canadian Tax Dodge"now available on the TVO website. Here is what I think about the documentary: Lacking in balance The hour long documentary started off fairly balanced, with views of both the Tax Justice Network and lawyers like Al Meghji (who is rightly introduced as the Wayne Gretzky of tax lawyers). However, it quickly takes on a very conspiratorial undertone and goes as far as to suggest that the Canadian government, the Tax Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, and even the Canada Revenue Agency are somehow complicit in facilitating corporate tax avoidance. The conspiratorial tone is unhelpful, even for a documentary that is produced to explore the birth of the tax fairness movement in Canada. The implied colluding between the Supreme Court of Canada and the corporate interests is overreaching without any facts to support the supposition (see 39:50 mark of the documentary). It is true that the Supreme Court of Canada has disproportionately sided with the taxpayer on tax avoidance cases. However, the job of both the SCC and the lower courts, including the Tax Court of Canada, is to interpret the law and to apply it correctly. As Al Meghji noted, the courts have done just that. Focused on only a part of the issue I don't disagree that corporations engage in at least some tax avoidance. Some more than others. And they are allowed to do that under the Westminster Principle. However, the real issue that needs to be considered is not that corporations choose to take advantage of laws as they exist to structure their affairs in a manner most advantageous to them, but that the laws exist in the first place. The alleged loopholes were, for the most part, created to provide certain advantages to Canadian companies. If the reason a loophole was created is no longer applicable and the loophole no longer advantageous to Canadians, then it should be closed down. No one seems to have considered whether the loopholes designed to help Canadians actually do continue to help Canadians. Prof. Walid Hejazi of the Rotman School of Business was quoted in the documentary, testifying in front of the Senate, saying that ability to reduce taxes is actually good for the Canadian economy. Elsewhere, Prof. Hejazi also hypothesizes that this tax avoidance by Canadian multinationals is beneficial for Canadian shareholders. This needs to be explored further and this research would add a lot more nuance to the tax fairness debate. Too focused on an uncertain notion of morality What is moral and immoral in taxation? As Al Meghji stated in the documentary, the allegation of immorality is not warranted. Every individual has the right to structure their affairs in a manner that saves them money, but for corporations we expect that they will do the opposite. If anything, it could be argued, a corporation that chooses to not take advantage of tax reduction strategies legally available to it, is a corporation failing in its fiduciary duty to its shareholders. Naive in its approach Despite being a tax practitioner, I believe the Tax Justice Network is a phenomenal organization that provides some of the checks and balances that we need in any system. However, the Tax Justice Network has a very clear bias and their research and publications would be geared at meeting very specific objectives. In this case, the activists who believe in the great Canadian tax dodge would argue that simply turning off the tap on tax avoidance would result in a $100 billion increase in tax revenues for the Canadian government. While revenues are likely to go up in the short-term, there is a plethora of academic research that suggests a decrease in investments would follow an increase in tax rates (or effective tax rates given inability to take advantages of tax planning). So that $100 billion, over time, is likely to be fairly close to zero. Concluding thoughts The increased focus on tax practices of multinational firms is here to stay. We have an increasingly activist population and for the first time in history, large swaths of financial and business information publicly available to anyone with access to the Internet. It is easier than ever to compare, contrast and analyze this information for a wide variety of companies and draw inferences. So tax practitioners and corporations need to be more vigilant in ensuring they comply with the laws, more diligent in protecting reputation, and more transparent than ever before to help the public draw the correct inferences. January 26, 2015 Restrictions on intercompany debt reduce investment The recent OECD paper on BEPS Action Plan 4 focuses on intercompany debt and aims to make sweeping changes to how companies finance their global operations. A key aspect of the draft recommendations is restrictions on intercompany debt--whether it is in the form of thin capitalization rules or other group-rules. And while there might be some validity to OECD's assertion that multinational groups can use intercompany debt as a tax avoidance mechanism (not tax evasion), what is missing from the debate is the impact of proposed restrictions on intercompany debt on foreign investment. Photo Credit: Lendingmemo.com via Creative Commons Studies have shown that an increase in effective tax rates of a country reduces investment inflows to the country. More on point, a number of studies show that restrictions on intercompany debt via thin capitalization rules directly affect investment inflows. For example, Buttner, Overesh, Schreiber and Wamserundertook a detailed study of investments into OECD and other European countries over the period between 1996 and 2004. They found that introduction of a thin capitalization rule restricting the amount of intercompany debt is associated with a decline in investment by approximately five percent. Their results are confirmed by a number of other studies as well. A five percent decrease in investment is significant, but it appears that the OECD members keen on curbing base erosion have not considered the knock-on effects on their economies of these restrictive measures. A global implementation of OECD proposals will likely even the playing field--but that's too ambitious a goal to be realistic. In the mean time, I am looking forward to the public comments on the draft proposals by OECD to see whether the business community shares my concerns. November 3, 2014 Sovereign reputation and investment location decisions A question came up at a roundtable discussion I led recently with tax directors of a handful of multinational firms: if your advisor came to you with a tax plan that included a tax haven in the structure, would you consider it? The answer was an astounding no as almost all of the dozen or so tax directors in the room shook their heads in unison. Given the current environment, setting up a tax structure centred around prominent tax havens was considered a non-starter. Way too BEPSy! And that got me thinking about sovereign reputation. We normally think about sovereign reputation in terms of debt and credit ratings, but does sovereign reputation impact multinational firms' investment location decisions? Luxembourg. Photo by Wolfgang Staudt / CC I believe that sovereign reputation does have an impact on investment location decisions. All else being equal, I expect that a multinational will choose to avoid a jurisdiction that is known for facilitating behaviour that the European Commission and others might find unacceptable. It is no secret that a tax auditor is likely to take a harder look at your file if your company has a lot of intercompany dealings with tiny Caribbean islands. This isn't to say that having presence on tiny Caribbean islands is by itself problematic-- it is just expected to draw scrutiny. Some countries have taken the extreme step of publishing blacklists of tax haven countries, dealings with which draw extra scrutiny or even taxation of income earned in those tax haven countries. And now with the European Commission publishing its opening decisions in state aid investigations of Ireland and Luxembourg, one can't help but wonder whether these jurisdictions are now, somehow, tainted because of these decisions. The focus of these state aid investigations has been rulings and agreements between the state and the taxpayers that provided selective advantages or individual concessions to a taxpayer. (You can find more on State aid here; it isn't the point of this post.) These state aid investigations also come at the same time as the OECD proposals on greater transparency and recommendations for disclosure requirements on such rulings and agreements as a part of the transfer pricing documentation master file. I expect that a tax auditor looking at your transfer pricing documentation in a couple of years would know whether you had special rulings and agreements in certain "tainted" jurisdictions, resulting in prolonged, more painful audits. And my hypothesis is that all else being equal, a tax director is likely to avoid these jurisdictions due to this risk of prolonged, more painful audits. It is therefore no surprise that Ireland has so quickly taken steps to remove the provisions that allowed for Double Irish structures. It isn't just the EU investigations and possible sanctions that motivated Ireland in my view; it is the fear that if Ireland as a jurisdiction becomes tainted, that on its own will drive away foreign investment. That doesn't mean that Ireland will cease to provide incentives for multinationals to locate there, because its economy is dependent on that kind of foreign investment. So Ireland has now focused its attention on patent box regimes, which are likely considered a less risky proposition because larger and more reputable islands like the UK have also introduced such regimes. Others will follow Ireland's example. The economies of Ireland and Luxembourg are so dependent on activities of the multinational firms that they can't afford to lose them completely. Hence they will find new and creative (and sometimes not so creative) ways to retain their advantage, and their reputation. In the mean time, if you have operations in jurisdictions with tainted reputations, you should have a plan B in mind. October 19, 2014 Why is transfer pricing inherently an art? On a recent episode of the popular TV show, The Good Wife, the main character Alicia Florrick (played by Julianna Margulies) states that she was drawn to the legal profession because the rules meant right and wrong was clear. Being a lawyer afforded her clarity and helped her understand right from wrong without ambiguity. I like clarity. I like rules that tell me what’s right and what’s wrong. (…) I just wanted to be inside something made sense to me.” (Alicia Florrick, The Good Wife – Season 4, Episode 6) And while I don’t agree the law is as black and white as Alicia would like to believe, I enjoy transfer pricing precisely because there is no black and white. There is almost never one answer. The right answer is almost always in a range of possibilities. My instinctive first response to most clients when they ask me a seemingly straightforward question is “it depends.” October 7, 2014 Reputation and corporate taxation When I started working in transfer pricing, it was rare to find anyone other than my colleagues who knew what transfer pricing was. It was rarer still to find many references to transfer pricing in the media. There were no TV shows starring tax geeks. No movies that explored the intricacies of international taxation. But it has all changed now thanks to Starbucks, Apple and Amazon. So much so that a movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this past month, exploring whether corporations are paying their fair share of tax. I haven't yet watched The Price We Pay but I do intend to get to it soon. The trouble really started as the world media got a whiff of high tech American multinationals' incredibly low effective tax rates in the international markets. The tech companies were the key culprits, using a mixture of Irish, Dutch and Barbados based tax structures (also known as the Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich) to make their income disappear, tax less. September 8, 2014 Does internationalization lead to innovation? Export promotion programs, like EDC, have historically been based on the assumption that internationalization leads to greater innovation, higher productivity and above-average returns. In a recent article, Bill Currie of Deloitte Canada raised all of these arguments and more to encourage Canadian companies to look beyond their domestic markets. I believe he completely missed the mark. While the statistical data would show that multinational Canadian companies experience higher growth rates and have higher productivity than their purely domestic peers, this is a case of misidentifying cause and effect. The multinational Canadian companies do September 1, 2014 Why study the impact of taxation on investment location decisions? The recent economic downturn and deficit challenges have focused political debate on revenue generation, and specifically corporate taxation, making international tax reform one of the most important areas of discussion on public policy. The Occupy movement, an international protest movement that first gained prominence in 2011 for its protests against the alleged corporate greed on Wall Street, has consistently pointed to the relatively low tax rates paid by large corporations as a prime reason for growing inequality and gap between the rich and the poor in the US and elsewhere around the world. In a recent paper on base erosion and profit shifting, OECD (2013) highlights what it considers the low share of corporate taxation in overall governmental revenues, at less than ten percent. Mandated by the Group of Eight (“G8”), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) has expended a significant amount of effort over the last year in proposing recommendations for fixing what it describes as loopholes and gaps in the international tax system. The work done by OECD over the last year has been unprecedented in its scope, multilateral buy-in and the speed at which it is forging ahead to plug gaps that purportedly result in base erosion and profit shifting.	dclm-gs1-105040000
How To How Do I Budget For My Wedding? Mint Answers Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and you know what that means: at romantic dinners or beach strolls throughout the country, hopeful bachelors will get down on one knee and propose to their sweethearts. Then, after the overjoyed and possibly tearful “Yes” and a ring have sealed the deal, it will begin: the frenzy of wedding planning. At an average $24,070, according to The Wedding Report, and easily double that in big cities, even the most budget-mindful couple could find itself in debt after their big day. That is, unless their wedding plans include some careful budget planning, as well. In this Mint Answers roundup, we feature questions from Mint users that focus on weddings: how to save, how much to spend on a gift, how far in advance to start planning, how much to expect our guests to spend? Click on the links to read more answers or to chime in with your response. How can I save for a wedding? My fiancé and I have a budget of $10,000 for our wedding, that we are saving for. Any tips? I am from Cleveland, Ohio, and our date is 9/9/2011. 1. A savings calculator like this one at Bankrate will tell you how much you need to be setting aside monthly. Most financial planners will tell you to make your savings automatic either via payroll deduction to a savings account or a scheduled monthly transfer from checking to savings. Here’s a short article on the subject from Make Saving Automatic. Best of luck! 2. As a matter of following up, how was that $10,000 number decided on? Was it randomly picked out of the air? Unless you already have made some purchases and down payments, I would suggest you and your fiancé go through your finances and determine what a reasonable amount for your wedding would be. This would be based on how much money you each can put away for it, and any helpful donations from family members. I would set up a completely separate bank account that both your future hubby and you auto direct-deposit a portion of your paycheck to. 3. Once you know your goal amount take a look at They are a savings oriented bank. It does not work like a traditional bank and you get a higher interest rate. More answers to this question>> Daughter’s wedding budget At almost 50, we haven’t saved for our daughter’s wedding which will most likely take place within the next 5 years. How would you recommend us saving $20,000 between now and then? 1. If you have the power to predict your daughter’s wedding date, I have some other predictions I’d like you to weigh in on. Have you spoken to your daughter about this? You’re entering a critical period for retirement savings. Can you save this much without endangering your retirement plans? If you’ve already thought about all of that, the way to do it is to set up a special savings account (or you could use a short-term bond fund) just for the wedding. Set up an automatic monthly or weekly (however often you get paid) transfer of as much as you can afford without reducing your retirement savings. Deposit any “extra” income in that too: the coin jar, bonuses, stuff you sell on eBay, etc. Oh, and I’m sure you already have a big picture of your daughter in a high-traffic area of your house to remind you why you’re doing this. Best of luck. I’d do anything for my daughter, but I kind of hope that if she gets married, she has an impromptu small wedding like I did. Click here for more answers to this question>> How much is an appropriate wedding gift for a sister? My sister is getting married. My wife and I are in the wedding, and we’ve already spent a good amount on her wedding (tux rental, dress purchase & alterations, wedding shower gift, bachelor and bachelorette parties). So, what’s an appropriate gift amount? 1. Sounds like a question for Miss Manners. Hopefully your sister knows that you’ve been funding part of her wedding. So, if your finances are being strained, then a card expressing your heart felt congratulations and your appreciation for letting you be a part of their wedding should certainly be enough. If you are the charitable type, NOW is the opportunity to help them out with a monetary gift during a time when they may need it most. If you were to give $200 as a wedding gift, it might be easier for them to accept than if you gave them $200 for a birthday because that type of gift on a birthday is not normal. Most people have a sense of pride and don’t like to be thought of as a charity case, so if they need the help, now’s your chance. If they don’t need the help, go back to the card idea. 2. Tough question. I think it depends on how well off you are right now. If my sister participates in my wedding party and spends lots of money on that, to be honest, I wouldn’t expect her to give me an expensive wedding gift. Maybe something small as a token to remember the day and her thoughts about it, but nothing huge. Certainly if you have the money then go all out. The sky is the limit. I agree about this being a good opportunity to donate without it seeming like a charity case. But if you can’t afford that, I’d say something under $100. 3. Between what you make in a day (low side) and a week (high side). But no more than you can afford to give. More answers to this question>> How much should I expect someone to pay to attend my wedding? Wedding party or just guest (range)? 1. Are you deciding whether to have a destination wedding? Or just the budget for bridesmaid dresses? No matter what you do, some guests and wedding party members are going to grumble about the cost, so you have to weigh awesomeness against disgruntled guests. There’s no easy answer. 2. As far as guests go: I wouldn’t expect anyone to pay anything to go to my wedding. I’m the one throwing the party! If that means it’s a low-budget wedding in general, I’m perfectly okay with that. I’d hope they tip the bartender. 3. In the US, Nothing, they are guests. I know there are cultures that do have different views. In US, the guests are expected to bring gifts to their ability to afford them, but none are required. More answers to this question>> Do you have a wedding question of your own? Go to Mint Answers and ask away! While you’re there, feel free to answer questions from other community members. Come back often, as we introduce new enhancements to the platform.	dclm-gs1-105050000
Fischer develops Wings' players, perspective George Malik \| Contributor By George Malik \| Contributor Follow on Twitter on October 07, 2008 at 5:58 AM, updated October 07, 2008 at 10:37 AM The Red Wings' coaching staff, front office, and, most importantly, the organization's prospects have raved about the contributions of director of player development Jiri Fischer, who has become as much mentor and on-call one-on-one coach to the Red Wings' draft picks, regardless of where they may ply their pro hockey trade. In a conversation with the Detroit News's Dave Dye, Fischer touches upon embracing his role in the same manner that he's embraced his post-tachycardia life: October 7, Detroit News: During the playoffs last season, he skated after the Wings' regular practices with the "Black Aces," the players who weren't playing in the games. It was another significant step in his recovery, both mentally and physically, and showed the progress he has made since he had to fear every accelerated heartbeat not too long ago. "That was a really good, refreshing feeling," Fischer said. "It's nothing close to the competitive level it used to be, but I enjoy my time on the ice. My life has been so unpredictable. I can't really guess what's going to happen tomorrow. I would love to compete one day if the risk is going to be minimal. Obviously, still now, the risk is probably greater than we would like to see." Fischer doesn't know why his heart stopped during that game on Nov. 21, 2005. He continues to be tested regularly to "check the electricity inside of the heart, see how it's coming." "It's improving, I feel better, but on paper, there hasn't been that much change," Fischer said. "I'm just glad I feel a lot better. I can go work out, I can go on the ice with the guys. Recreationally, I don't think I'm limited at all. It's just that competitive level. And it's not just hockey, it's the travel, it's eating at 3 a.m. after the games, not getting enough sleep, flying across three time zones and, of course, there's the emotional pressure each of us puts on ourselves." Fischer tells Dye that he's got three big reasons to not attempt a comeback at 28 (not yet, anyway) in his wife and two sons: "There's my family that I appreciate very, very much," he said. "The way I view things certainly has changed the past three years. Happiness, enjoying every day is just something I had to work on quite a bit (after the incident). There was a time when I played, really, my career was the main thing in my life. Certainly priorities I have now are different. Career is important, but it's not as high on the scale. It's feeling good about life, enjoying life every day, being healthy, enjoying my family."	dclm-gs1-105060000
Screaming Circuits: Fun With Electrolytics Fun With Electrolytics I was fiddling with one of my robot boards the other day - popping some passives on and off and checking out subs and alternate values. I was doing this on a couple of boards at the same time. Everything was going along fine until I started to do a power-on test. The first board was fine. The second one would briefly light the power indicator LED. It would start a full brightness and then fairly quickly fade out. My first thought was that I had been too agressive with my soldering iron and had burnt something out. (who has already guessed what really happened?). Turns out, that wasn't the case. I put it aside and came back to it a few days later. This time, I gave it the finger test and discovered that my regulator was hot. Darn. Next, I found a hot tantalum cap. Nothing looked out of the ordinary/ I stared at it for a while. The + side was on the left in both parts and... The plus side was on the left in both parts. One was supposed to be on the right. Oops. The cap had a high enough voltage rating that it didn't blow up. It just pulled down the supply until the over-current protection in the regulator shut it down. I've heard a number of folks recommend that you try and keep all of your polarized parts facing the same way. It's not always possible, but it can certainly reduce opportunities for errors like I made here. Duane Benson Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, left. Left, right... TrackBack URL for this entry: Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Fun With Electrolytics: Speaking of tantalums, I had the strangest thing happen a good while ago. I had built a filter for a computer case fan which was generating a heap of EMI, and had tacked that on - but the computer would no longer start. Since the computer was in a less than accessible location and hooked up to a flaky UPS, I had the idea to try plugging it straight into the outlet. Well, turns out the tantalum was shorted out, and the UPS was preventing the computer from drawing enough power to actually blow it up - but it didn't actually blow any fuses in the UPS or computer PSU. Once it got what it needed, there was a loud bang and smoke streaming out of the no longer filtered fan. And some choice comments being said about it too. The comments to this entry are closed. « So Long Old Friend \| Main \| Via Shifting »	dclm-gs1-105070000
Assorted Links Thanks to Allan Jackson and Peter Couvares. 10 Responses to “Assorted Links” 1. TMS71 Says: So what does control the rate of innovation? 2. Tim Beneke Says: Isn’t one reason we are stagnating because in order to generate wealth, to innovate, somebody — wealthy corporations, entrepreneurs borrowing from banks, the state — has to take risks, has to invest, has to believe in a possible future with a payoff; this requires a certain psychological orientation, of groups of people who believe. Americans lost maybe 20% of their wealth in recent years; no one really understands the world economy, or the intricacies of capital flow and investment; and corporations are sitting on huge amounts of money and are still playing it safe. So there are reasons for such caution. Everyone knows we don’t know as much about economic processes as we thought we did. There is some principle of herd pluralistic ignorance/knowledge at work. The tide may be changing as people get over the freak-out of the last few years and corporations start to invest…. I sure hope so… 3. Seth Roberts Says: So what does control the rate of innovation? I don’t know. But I can guess: 1. The heavier the regulatory burden, the less innovation. For example, certain FDA regulations require that businesses have a ROOM for the FDA inspector. 2. Lower crime, more innovation. 3. The easier it is to leave your employer and set up your own business, the more innovation. So, for example, universal health insurance –> more innovation. 4. The easier it is for a small business to advertise, the more innovation. 5. Cultural values. The more value placed on innovation, the more innovation. 6. The larger the percentage of people that live in cities, the more innovation. 7. The greater the education level, the more innovation. 8. The greater access to a wide range of information, the more innovation. (I think #7 and #8 were behind the Industrial Revolution. Printed books changed everything.) 4. Becky Hargrove Says: Okay, you’re in my area of interest now but where to start? I started working on my own inner economic dialogue about seven years ago but am only beginning to learn the many languages of economics, especially the macro I’ve been so fascinated with. Consequently my ideas sound pretty loony. I don’t believe that money is capable of doing all the things that people try to make it to do, not even close. But what it can’t do, people still need and for me that’s the place to begin – human capital. Just the same, ownership needs to be far more flexible and markets need to be completely opened up so as to offer what people actually need to work and live, as well as a ‘floor’ of survivability one can actually progress from. 5. andrew Says: Are you reading the book Launching the Innovation Renaissance by Alex Tabarrok of Marginal Revolution fame? 6. Seth Roberts Says: yes, I am reading that book. It’s very good. 7. Nancy Lebovitz Says: Possibly of interest: 7 Secrets of the Prolific by Hillary Rettig. It’s specifically about writing, though there’s also advice which would apply to anything, like getting yourself good tools. In any case, there’s a description of making writing into a pleasure, and at least some of it overlaps with your self-experimentation. The idea is to make writing into a bunch of small experiments, so that the cost of failure is made lower. 8. Charlie Says: I am not sure why you think understanding the rate of innovation is central to understanding the movement of the business cycle since 2007. The 1930s was an extremely innovative time period*, but alas we still had the great depression. It doesn’t seem like changes in the level in innovation are a good explanation for large changes in the unemployment rate. Why do you think this should be in his talk? 9. Seth Roberts Says: If you read between the lines of Collapse by Jared Diamond, you will see that every case of collapse that he describes happened because the society stagnated badly — failed to innovate, kept doing the same thing over and over and over. In each case, just before the society collapsed, the level of unemployment became very high. 10. Charlie Says: Those are very strange examples, because it’s very hard to show that the societies he chooses ever innovated at all. The Norse, Easter Island, Polynesians, the Mayan, it’s very hard to show that these societies ever innovated. Like most of human history, these societies had next to no innovation, as it was very rare in pre-industrial societies to innovate (see Greg Clark’s Farewell to Alms for the data). Collapse argues for environmental causes to societal breakdown, and while I agree that these societies didn’t adapt to these conditions by innovating, since they weren’t innovating before that seems completely beside the point. It almost appears that you might believe that if a society stops innovating that unemployment will follow, but most of human history is a counter example to that. There is no reason new technology or ideas are necessary to create new jobs. It’s funny that Australia is one of the only modern western examples in Diamond’s book as a cautionary tale of problems to come, and yet, Australia has been one of the best faring countries. Is there any evidence that Australia has markedly kicked up their innovation or is much more innovative than the U.S.? Taking a longer view, it’s extremely difficult to pin today’s unemployment on a lack of innovation in the U.S.(http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/economists-explain-2011-in-charts/2011/12/21/gIQAT3lg9O_gallery.html#photo=16), much less trying to pin cross country differences by innovation. The lesson of Diamond’s book is that as societies are collapsing there ability to generate output (food, clothing, shelter, goods, services…) collapses with it, as well as there ability to utilize their resources (like labor). In some sense, saying a society that is collapsing will “fail to innovate” is much more accurate than saying a society that fails to innovate will collapse.	dclm-gs1-105080000
Staff writer Dennis Yusko reports: Police searched his office and secured computers and records. See the story Categories: General Robert Gavin 18 Responses 1. Get Real © says: “I’m sorry doctor, is that my novocaine injection or are you just happy to see me?” 2. jk says: get real , i don’t see a thing funny about something like this. 3. Will Gilchryst says: Notwithstanding the free toothbruch, just another reason to fear going to the dentist… 4. Emily says: There was a reference at one point that mentioned him keeping the dental tools on a patients chest. I was a dental assistant and sometimes the doctor would do this. But absolutely NEVER with a female patient. 5. tom baker says: Lol 4 How about a few details? For example, exactly what kind of groping are we talking about? Did it happen while the women were sedated? Where was the nurse? 6. MK says: This to me is very sad and people’s lives have been changed for ever in a negative way and the TU allows idiots like # 1 and # 4 to make comments like they did. 7. Get Real © says: MK, “idiots” you say? It was a joke. You should relax a bit. All that sand can’t be good. 8. MK says: get real….that’s my point .you said “it was a joke”, what is funny about it…………..NOTHING, and you are an idiot if you think there is a joke about this. 9. Come on says: People’s lives were not changed “for ever” (it’s forever by the way). If anyone had even noticed he was doing it he wouldn’t be charged with “several” cases, it would have been reported earlier. Yes it’s sad and pathetic that someone would take advantage of people like this, but don’t act like he raped them and that they’ll be going through therapy for years to come. 10. Get Real© says: MK, Maybe I have a morbid sense of humor. But I find it “funny” that some pervy wanker of a dentist thought he could place his hands on his female patients and get away with it. And let’s be honest, while these women have every right to feel violated for some moron groping them, I’m not joking about them being raped, or something much more vile. Relax. 11. Deborah says: The idiot whom states touching is not rape…tell that to a child who was touched in the wrong way. There is much more to this story and the police would not have arrested him if there was not Not funny, sad for those children and parents who put trust in a pervert 12. Get Real © says: Deborah, please inform the “idiot” as to how rape is the same as unwanted touching. 13. Sysonby says: Does this mean that every buzzed knucklehead who every grabbed me in a crowded bar during my college days is a rapist? Look, the guys a jerk and a perv but taking advantage of teenaged girls who are stuck in a reclining posistion for dntal work IS criminal behavior but it is not rape. 14. Come on says: noun, verb, raped, rap·ing. Please let me know how I am wrong? As I said, it’s sad that it happened, but let’s not blow it out of proportion. 15. NGD says: Sexual Assault probably the most appropriate description for his behavior, barring any evidence of intercourse. 16. Raylene says: Idiot: A foolish or stupid person. Glib: Characterized by fluency of speech or writing that often suggests insincerity, superficiality, or a lack of concern. 17. Kris says: now this is FUNNY…… pretty entertaining for a lunch break!!! have you all checked to see that you are getting your information in the same area… cause on the internet you might get different means for the same discription… Either way it is not RAPE it is inappropriate touch.. gee I wonder if they will find his documentation on his computer…as evidence… kind of dumba** if he noted that in the patients chart hey… 18. Danielle says: What is so entertaining Kris? Reading dumb comments people make at the expense of the victims?	dclm-gs1-105090000
Lessons for us from Wisconsin Our opinion: There are better ways to address government spending and concerns about undue power of public employee unions than a divisive, distracting assault on organized labor. New York has opportunities it should seize. Dramatic as it was, Wisconsin’s gubernatorial recall vote was really only a pointed example of the growing tension among governments, public employee unions and taxpayers around the nation. It’s a tension that’s just as real in New York. But New York can avoid escalation into the kind of turmoil that consumed Wisconsin if state leaders and unions are willing to remove stumbling blocks that they’ve put in their own way. It’s easy, as talk radio and cable TV quickly did, to reduce Wisconsin to a simplistic narrative. The 1 percent vs. the 99 percent. Tea Party vs. liberals. Corporations vs. unions. The vindication of Gov. Scott Walker and his agenda. The victory of big money. The rejection by voters of the use of a recall vote as a grudge match. But there are complex realities behind this tension that such pat conclusions ignore. Taxpayers in Wisconsin, like those in New York, have long complained that government is living beyond its means. Yet, like New Yorkers, they don’t want services to diminish. Many in both states blame the power of public employee unions and their influence over state legislators, who have passed laws giving unions certain advantages in negotiations and pensions whose costs threaten the ability of local governments to hold down taxes and maintain services. At the same time, no fair-minded person wants to deny public employees good pay, benefits and union representation. We won’t pretend to solve all that in a few words here. Instead, we offer some modest suggestions. In New York, the complaint that unions have an unfair bargaining advantage stems largely from the Triborough Amendment of the Taylor Law, which governs public employment. It mandates that the terms of a public employee contract must stay in force until a new one is negotiated. In exchange, public employees don’t strike. While that doesn’t apply to raises, it does protect step increases and certain other automatic pay hikes. Even when their contracts expire, then, many public workers receive fairly generous pay hikes, taking the pressure off unions to negotiate and adding tens of millions of dollars a year in automatic extra costs for governments and school districts. A coalition of mayors, school boards and businesses offers a sensible reform to Triborough: freeze step increases when contracts expire. All the non-monetary aspects of labor contracts would be protected, but a disincentive for unions to negotiate would end. Meanwhile, the Public Employees Federation has long complained, quite credibly, that the state’s push to replace employees with private contractors often winds up costing taxpayers more. Against study after study from PEF, the state offers scant evidence to the contrary. There’s a way to settle this argument: The Senate should follow the Assembly’s lead and pass legislation to require state agencies to do public-private cost comparisons. It’s just common business sense. There are, to be sure, plenty of other ways to save money and relieve governments and school districts from onerous mandates. But these two stand out for their symbolism and simplicity. Amending Triborough would signal that New York can better balance the relationship between government and public employee unions without a polarizing assault on organized labor. Doing an honest study of the cost of private contractors and public employees would show that the state and unions can work as partners to save money. It might not be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, but it could be a way keep things from turning, as they did in Wisconsin, very ugly. 20 Responses 1. Carmanone says: This guy is living in la-la land. New Yorkers need to do exactly what Wisconsin did. A “beautiful friendship” with the unions ? You have to be kidding….. 2. Albany Resident says: “The victory of big money.” Of course that statement swings both ways, Barrack Obama way outspent John McCain in Wisconsin and generally across the nation on his unfortunate victory. It was “big money” that won him the election, big money and the ill-informed, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling”, electorate. “At the same time, no fair-minded person wants to deny public employees good pay, benefits and union representation.” I consider myself a “fair minded person”, but at the same time I know that the “good pay” is way too good, the “benefits” are bloated packages, and the “union representation” is too powerful. In NYS as in other states the “public servant” is no longer the “servant”, the private sector taxpayer has become the servant. The public employee has the unbridled ability to enrich their financial status while diminishing that of the private sector. The government simply raises taxes to enrich themselves thusly diminishing the quality of life for the private taxpayer. Some in “public service” would claim that it is the “contractors” whom cost the taxpayer more. I simply cannot believe that a contractor that is hired by the state to perform a function and then moves on to another project, as the vast majority do, cost the taxpayer more than a full time state employee. They don’t! What happened in Wisconsin is a good thing; it shows that democracy is still alive and that the everyday folk can fight back against the thuggery of public unions and win. 3. CarlKorn says: While I appreciate the Times Union’s call for civility and compromise, amending Triborough to allow school boards and local governments to freeze step increases would have the opposite effect. It would undoubtedly lead to the kind of bitter polarization we saw in Wisconsin. If a contract expires and steps are frozen — and the wages of workers are frozen in place — what would be the incentive for school boards, for example, to bargain a new contract? Many would simply say, “tough luck.” The balance of power maintained by Triborough would disappear, and public employees would be at the mercy of government and school boards — and without the legal right to strike. The “labor peace” we enjoy would disappear. Collective bargaining isn’t always pretty, but there have been more than 150 teacher contract settlements in NY in the last six months, even with Triborough. The system works, and amending it would lead to the exact opposite environment you are calling for. 4. JR says: What is really needed, in my mind is two things. If you are going to abolish the Triborough Amendment then you need to do the following which I think would be fair to all parties. Both the Unions and Administration have three months before the end of a contract to start negotiate something. Sixty days past the end of the contract whatever has been agreed to is set and the rest of the issues get sent to binding arbitration who issues a decision within 90 days. Second, all campaign contribution should be eliminated and all officers run via public financed campaigns. That way neither party can hold up the process and you take money influences out of the equation for the most part. Might not be the most perfect solution, but it would be a start. As for everyone who is “UNION” Bashing, stop complaining. The unions are doing exactly what they are suppose to do which is looking out after their membership. And Corporate Boards do the same which is to protect their stockholders interests. And both are guilty of using their purse strings to influence the political environment. Unfortunately the public only has the ballot box which the majority chose not to use. 5. SR says: So, Carmanone, like most of the people who bash public employees – I understand that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you even realize how much government spends on high priced consultants (i.e. TAXPAYER money). The average consultant makes 2x what state workers make. Also, the politicians, who are ELECTED, are also paid with TAXPAYER money.. They get full pensions and free health insurance forever. Any comments regarding these two points? 6. Miller says: You say the unions have an unfair advantage. If you take away the Tri bourgh what is there to stop the state from doing the same thing and not bargin in a timely fashion. This encourges bargining in good faith. If you take away the tribourgh are you going to allow public employees to strike. What would you do without police and fire protection. No teachers in schools. Make everyone bargin in a timely fashion. My employer has been asked to the table since last September and they just agreed to meet and they had no proposal for the meeting. They stated that they needed for time. Thats what the Tribourgh is about. Both sides can create or fix the problem it is not always the employee that is the problem. 7. Joe says: The only problem with this suggestion is that the State does not bargain in good faith. Their negotiators come in and give you their proposals, which is always zeros and not offering any reasonable deal to the union negotiators. Then they walk out and say take it or leave it. That’s why it always takes so long to get a contract. 8. bustercasey says: I do not agree that Triborough needs to be appealed, but I appreciate the tenor of the editorial board’s message. Dramatic reform of individuals’ rights is not the answer. Government by fiat and divisiveness is not what our founding fathers envisioned. We must return to a country of reasonableness and dialogue. 9. Tony says: Even FDR realized that public employees should not be unionized as it pits citizen against citizen and is very divisive and he stood against the idea of public sector unions. An expample: influenced by union contributions, legislators permit both themselves and public employee union members defined benefit pension plans at the expense of the taxpaying citizens who don’t have and can’t afford these retirement plans. Public employees are protected from the effects of market fluctuations on their retirement plan because the taxpayers are responsible for the unfunded liablities of these plans while their own savings and retirment funds are subject to market fluctuations. You have only to look at your local school budgets to see that the vast majority of budget increases are due to required pension fund contributions. So, if you are really interested in an honest discussion of this subject, you have to admit that public sector unions have divided us just as FDR knew they would. 10. Mark says: The one constant in the universe is the Times Union’s support of the overbloated, overpaid, corrupt, inefficient entity called the union. They are the primary reason the Northeast is known as the rust belt. The teacher’s union pads their wallets and their pensions as New york spends more money per student than most of the nation, with lousey results. Unions are inefficient and counter productive to cost effectiveness and competetition, they are also a form of socialism. The unions will eventually bankrupt New York State. Unfortuneatley, there is not one politician in New York (Republican or Democrat) who has the guts Scott Walker did to stand up to them. Now I believe many leaders (not in New York) will follow Walker’s lead, let’s hope so. As for big money poured into Wisconsin, get real, the Democrats poured in a ton of money too, besides who cares, the voters voted. Is the Times Union suggesting that the vote was invalid? If not, then why are you complaining, the people spoke and they spoke for Walker. As for the Times Union Editorial board, your supposedly big defenders of the democratic process of voting, I guess that only applies if the vote goes your way. What a hypocritical editorial………. 11. Cathy says: NY public employee unions don’t strike??? What planet are you living on??? 12. Lakeman says: Don’t blame the employees or unions that repesent them. They just ask for all they can get and the lawmakers give it to them for votes, 13. Victor Blackthorne says: To save money put state government on a four day work week. This change will allow the state to save one day’s energy cost. Stop funding CO2 mitigation projects is another way to save money. As matters now stand the state has estimates of how much CO2 mitigation has been achieved with state funding, but they have no idea how much climate mitigation has been achieved, nor do they have an explanation as to why reforestation is not used to lessen CO2 levels. 14. Ralph Mitchell says: The TU writer has to go one step further and mention Robert Castelli’s Assembly bill to Amend the Triborough Amendment. Why hasn’t Speaker Shelly Silver and the Assembly embraced Castelli’s bill? The silence is deafening……………! 15. Skip says: Progressive Wisconsin led the way with government unions way back in the 50’s, and Wisconsin still leads today. Let’s follow Wisconsin’s lead. 16. anyman says: I think you have a mistaken idea as to what “step increases” are. They are a gradual (now over 7 years) climb from what is called the “hiring rate” to the “job rate”. Before the last fiscal crisis, the climb took 4 years. Very early on there were no such thing as “step increases”, “hiring rates” and “job rates”. There was just what the job paid, period. The step program began as a concession from unions to the state that wanted a cost savings in a further budget crisis in the past. So employees were hired at a rate below what the job used to pay with a path toward achieving full pay for the position if the employee was rated by his or her superiors at a level necessary to gain each annual step. To now say that step increases should be dependent on a contract settlement is absurd with this historical background. The Triborough Agreement was instituted as a protection from abuse by the employer (the state) since public employees were denied the most effective means of leverage any such employee has–the strike a/k/a, denying the employer his or her labor so as not to be working without the protection of a contract. I’m not arguing for the right of public employees to strike but I am opposed to revisionist history. If the public feels that there is too cozy a relationship between his or her representative and the unions, there is a solution available already. It’s called the ballot box. Public employee unions should be excoriated for using the exact same tactics as every other interest group in the state in order to protect their members’ welfare. As for Wisconsin being an example for New York (as some have stated here), Wisconsin has been bought lock, stock and barrel by the Koch brothers. Even if you have issues with public employee unions, if you think these guys care a whit about you, you are living in a dream world, my friend. Soon to become a nightmare. 17. anyman says: “Public employee unions should be excoriated” should read “Public employee unions should NOT be excoriated”. (Fingers were going too fast, I guess.) 18. GreenClown says: The statistics that PEF has provided on private contract costs vs, equivalent cost of state employees doing the equivalent professional work are not dis-honest, as implied by the concluding paragraph of the editorial: contractors get paid more for the same work. I think the editorial writer meant “unbiased” rather than “honest”. 19. getting too old for this crap says: This editorial is not worth of being published. It raises so many unanswered questions, I expect more from an editorial board. First, qualify what you mean by “fairly generous pay hikes.” I think this is important for the reader to know before he/she can evaluate your position. Second, please qualify what is meant by “all non-monetary aspects of the contract would be protected” by amended the Triborough Agreement so the reader can determine if public employees should be willing to give up the right to strike in exchange for these “non-monetary aspects.” Finally, it’s nice to see the TU finally identifying other ways to save money, but when are we going to see the TU actually discuss these ways. The TU has long been part of the divisive atmosphere, this could be the beginning of it’s leadership in sensibly discussing ways to curb government spending, but I’m still waiting on articles that don’t focus on State employees’ pay.	dclm-gs1-105100000
Archive for the ‘Right-Wing Hypocrisy’ Category He’s a Savior, Not a Role Model October 6th, 2015 No comments Conservatives follow Ronald Reagan the way conservative Christians follow Jesus: they say he’s their savior but then ignore 90% of the things he said and did. Categories: Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: The Unbearable Hypocrisy of Self-Pleased Liars September 22nd, 2015 2 comments SmugpatakiI swear to God, if I hear one more conservative say about the Iraq War, “Oh, you mean the war that Hillary voted for?” and then wear a smug expression like they just won the argument, I am going to lose it. Any person using that particular fraudulent contention deserves a righteous smack in the face. That statement is the pat conservative response whenever someone points out that it was conservatives who led us to the war, who caused it in the first place—usually after a conservative has blamed Obama for ISIL and the current situation in Iraq. Often John Kerry is cited along with Hillary, depending on the focus of the lie. The use of Clinton’s vote as some kind of magical Get Out of Jail Free card to absolve conservatives for their criminally devastating actions is nothing less than a facile, asinine, deceptive, self-serving fraud which deserves to be shouted down with not just scorn but scathing fury at the smug dismissal of their complicity in manufacturing a war that has so savagely devastated our nation and laid waste to what little stability there was in the Middle East. Here are the facts: • Were Bush not in office, Democrats never would have chosen to go to war in Iraq—not even a hawk like Hillary would have led us to a war there. • Neither Clinton nor Kerry voted to start the war, but insisted that before a war could be waged, conditions would have to be met—conditions which would have prevented the war from starting had the Bush administration not rushed into war, or would have made the war far less a disaster than it was. • The Iraq Resolution to grant war powers was presented as a means to negotiation—you can’t negotiate strongly if you don’t have authorization to go to war—and the Bush administration swore up and down that the war powers would be used only as a last resort after every other recourse was exhausted; Bush said, “Approving this resolution does not mean that military action is imminent or unavoidable.” • The primary reason why Clinton, Kerry, and many others believed Hussein had WMD and was a building threat was precisely because we were all working from information from the intelligence community, which was being manipulated by the Bush administration to provide a patently false view of the potential and imminent threat from Iraq. • Weapons inspectors, despite some difficulties, were making a great deal of headway and were being effective in finding and arranging for dismantling of what little Iraq had left in the way of WMD support equipment; ignoring this progress and the pleas of the weapons inspectors as well as international voices of restraint, Bush ordered the inspectors out and started the war in violation of his own promise and of the conditions under which Clinton and Kerry gave their approval. • Even if Clinton and Kerry had been both virulently pro-war, it would not in the least negate the fact that the Bush administration and Republicans in general were the instigators of the war, and responsible for the disastrously incompetent manner in which it was executed. So, what is the glibly fatuous assertion supposed to mean? That because Clinton, under the huge political duress of the post-9/11 atmosphere of fear, made a self-serving political calculation and demanded full inspections and international cooperation, that Bush was therefore not responsible for providing the false intelligence which prompted that view and intentionally driving us into the war? Or that the conservatives who helped drive us into the war are free of guilt because people like Clinton didn’t try hard enough to stop them? Not to mention: Hillary Clinton has long since publicly announced that her decision was wrong; neither Bush has done so. Cheney, Bush, and Republicans wanted that war to happen, made that war happen, and executed it disastrously, and bear the primary and overwhelming responsibility for the war and what followed it, and anyone who still supports that war shares that guilt in how it will warp our future actions. Clinton and the Emails September 6th, 2015 3 comments First, let me say that I am not a big Hillary Clinton fan. My impression is that she will continue everything Obama is doing that disappoints me, and likely will expand that to even more stuff I won’t like. I see her as another candidate bound to wealth and business, only mouthing platitudes to the middle class but likely not much more. Like Obama, she’ll very vaguely be on our side, but will never lead—she’ll only move when the fruit is over-ripe and then catch it falling and say she was behind it all along. I would be quite happy if Clinton fell from the race and Sanders were allowed to burst forth; he’s my only actual hope for a candidate. That said, I wanted to comment on the whole email thing. From what I read (Slate’s account seems well-informed and not apologetic), it’s dubious, at best—but like Benghazi, enough dust can be kicked up to make it look like Clinton was guilty of something, and that’s good enough for Republicans. And while it is possible that something may at some time emerge that could be legally damaging to Clinton, it seems unlikely. However, even if something emerges showing that Clinton did something more than just fishy, and at least unethical, and possibly even something illegal—as much as I dislike Clinton, I strongly believe that she should get a pass on it. Again, I wouldn’t mind seeing her kicked out, but on principle, she shouldn’t be. There are two fundamental reasons behind this. First, laws should not be upheld selectively—and the laws in this case are being applied as selectively as you can imagine. During the Bush 43 administration, non-government email servers were used on a massive scale, involving far more damning investigations (including the US Attorney scandal), and as many as 22 million emails were deleted, roughly 500 times as many as Clinton is said to have deleted. And not only were Rove and several others heavily involved never charged with anything, but Republicans threatened the political equivalent of all-out nuclear war if Democrats, having regained control of Congress in 2006, even thought about investigating the matter. So, as far as I’m concerned, until Republicans first begin a thorough investigation into the Bush email scandal, they have zero foundation for investigating Hillary. A law is meaningless—worse than meaningless—if it is only applied to politicians of one party, and not the other. The second reason is related to the first: the investigation into Clinton and the emails is about as purely political as you could possibly get. This is not about national security, this is not about whether or not something wrong was done. This is about Hillary being a 2016 powerhouse, and Republicans hating her guts and wanting to take her down if it is the last thing they ever do. If Hillary were not running, there would be no investigation. Period. And when it comes to investigations designed solely to destroy a political candidate, again, we enter the realm of “much worse than meaningless.” It is, is no uncertain terms, a blatant abuse of power, above and beyond the baselessness and the sheer hypocrisy involved. Not that that ever stopped Republicans. Blaming the Firemen for the Fire August 30th, 2015 1 comment Categories: Race, Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: Palin and Morality June 26th, 2015 1 comment I don’t have any problem with Bristol Palin having a second child out of wedlock, presumably by a different father than her first. I don’t even really hold it against her that she was a spokesperson for abstinence; she did that at such a young age and under such circumstances that were almost certainly pushed on her, likely such that she was unprepared to handle. If this new turn of events is her choice, then good for her; if she just has poor judgment and is unhappy with what the results are, then I hope she is getting all the support she possibly can to deal with it. What is sad is that if this were one of Obama’s daughters instead of her, Bristol’s mother would be, without any doubt whatsoever, at this moment publicly unleashing such unholy hell upon the poor girl as could not be imagined, casting aspersions upon the daughter, the whole family, and the president in particular. You know she would be. Because that’s how she rolls. I just hope that Sarah is the perfect hypocrite we all suspect her to be, and that privately she is treating her daughter with nothing but unconditional love and respect. Categories: Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: May 29th, 2015 Comments off As the Republican Party continues its march to the extreme right and its core voters begin to die off, its advocates search for and work to enforce more and more new ways for the GOP to win elections despite more people actually voting for Democrats. Concentrate on winning state governments, and then redistrict so tightly that reversal is virtually impossible, and re-legislate so that liberal voters are encouraged not to vote at all. Work as hard as possible to denigrate, defame, and destroy any organization that works to enable liberal voters: defund and break up unions, slander organizations such as ACORN and tear them to shreds, and generally bury any liberal constituency in a flood of malicious lies so as to strip them of influence. Declare the Voting Rights Act essentially null and void, then institute the most blatantly political anti-voting laws imaginable, engineering elections to specifically disenfranchise anyone who would vote Democratic. Advocate changes to state electoral processes that would allow GOP candidates with a minority of people’s votes to run away with the majority of electoral votes. And these, apparently, are just the start. There exist conservative groups who make it their mission to explore every possible means of reworking the system to add votes to the GOP tally without actually winning those votes. The exact same group that forwarded the case that tore to pieces the Voting Rights Act, the disingenuously named “Project on Fair Representation,” is back with a new case, one which the conservatives on the Supreme Court have unexpectedly grabbed hold of. The case challenges the manner in which people who make up a district are counted. Instead of counting all the people in a district to determine its size and influence, instead only eligible voters would be counted, and as a result, further redistricting that favors conservatives would not just be allowed, but would be mandatory. The group pushing the case claims that rural voters’ influence is “diluted” by the current system of counting, perhaps as much as “one and one-half times,” according to the claimants. It does not matter that conservative voters are already strongly over-represented disproportionate to their actual numbers. This is true both by several of the aforementioned recent means (in which many states in which the popular vote was strongly Democratic, but more Republicans won state seats), and by the classic means called “The Senate,” in which conservative rural voters are given voting powers often dozens of times greater than those in more heavily-populated liberal states. Not to mention the traditional primary system as well as the electoral college itself, both of which give advantages to the more conservative rural states. To claim that the current system of counting “dilutes” conservative votes is like claiming that white people are “oppressed” by things like Affirmative Action. Which this exact same group also claims and is trying to overturn, by the way. No, this is not actually about dilution of rural voting power. This is simply another case where conservatives see an opportunity to skew the law so that more conservatives can win elections and hold the power they perceive is slipping away from them. It is not about fairness; quite the opposite. If the current system of counting advantaged conservatives already, even if it did so in a blatantly unfair manner, this group would never even think to challenge it. This is about stealing more and more votes. And you can safely bet that the conservatives on the court will try as hard as they can to make it the law of the land, no matter what was intended by the constitution, no matter what the case law has established, no matter what fairness and equality demand. The case led one law professor to remark: It is highly ironic that conservatives, who usually support respect for precedents and states’ rights, are bringing a case that if successful will not only upset decades-old case law but also restrict the kind of representation states may choose. He hit the nail on the head with that one; whether he was truly baffled or was simply using irony to highlight the litigants’ hypocrisy is unclear. Whatever the case, the truth is that conservatives have never given a damn about actual “states’ rights,” but have only used it when it is of service to their political goals. Because that’s really all that the Republican power structure truly stands for nowadays: their own power and influence, and anything that enriches them. Categories: Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: Preaching from the Darkness May 27th, 2015 1 comment It is astonishing to me that anyone on the right could continue to defend the Duggars, in light of all that has happened. It is an excellent example of how conservative Christians, and conservatives in general, so easily forgive amongst their own that they would forever condemn for someone not in the fold. If Barack Obama had been twice divorced, cheated on his previous wives, and served divorce papers to one of his wives while she was in the hospital being treated for cancer, do you think conservatives would not point to this as proof positive that he was unfit for office? And yet they have no problem with Newt Gingrich for having done just this. Those on the right may point to the fact that Gingrich has repented and asked for forgiveness (though he never specified for what); but again, if it were Obama, would any amount of repenting make a difference with them? Not a chance. And so it is with the Duggar family. All kinds of defenses are being put forward, but the two main ones are that Josh was a minor at the time, and that he has since repented and asked for forgiveness. I can fully understand how the family might want to deal with such things internally. I am not saying that this was the right thing to do (Salon addresses that issue), but that many families would probably have done the same thing. It didn’t help that Josh’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, was running for Senate from Arkansas at the time, having already served as a House representative; it only increases the likelihood that the family kept it quiet and did not have their son treated because it would have derailed their campaign. Nor am I saying that minors should be branded for life for crimes committed at that age. Whatever can be done to diagnose and hopefully treat someone like that should be done, mindful that treatment may in some cases not be enough. However, what the Duggars did was wrong—perhaps understandable, but still unforgivably wrong. By not at least putting their son in treatment immediately after learning that he had molested underage girls, they were putting others at risk. This fact becomes imminently clear when considering that it was likely a matter of incest, and at least one of his victims may have been as young as five years old at the time. But here’s the reason why all the calls for their show’s cancellation are fully justified, and all the defenses of the family are not: the Duggars have put themselves forward as models of morality and authors of justice, using their public pedestal not just to forward their opinions, but to shape the laws of their state and the country at large. In 2014, Josh’s mother—fully aware of what her son had done—recorded a robocall making a statement against an anti-discrimination law, focusing specifically on transgender use of bathrooms, claiming that it allowed sexual predators posing as transgender women to use public bathrooms, endangering the daughters of parents in their town: If the irony of that statement isn’t bad enough, consider what Josh’s father said in 2002, when he was running for a Senate seat, regarding his position on abortion in relation to rape and incest: If a woman is raped, the rapist should be executed instead of the innocent unborn baby. … Rape and incest represent heinous crimes and as such should be treated as capital crimes. Note also that he said this two months after Josh had first admitted to his offense. Protecting their son is one thing, even if they did not initially know how grave his offenses were before they decided to send him off for treatment. However, if your son is a child predator and you cover that up, protecting him from the exact justice that you demand be taken out on others, and then you stand up in front of your community and the nation at large and ask to be accepted as authorities on morals and justice… well, you are a feckless hypocrite who deserves none of the spotlight. While others may choose to forgive, you have no right to preach. As for their defenders? Again, ask yourself what their reaction would be if this were a prominent liberal family. It is doubtful in the extreme that more than a handful of the people forgiving the Duggars would even remotely consider forgiving such things from a family whose politics they disagree with—no matter how clearly Christian, no matter how sorrowful and repenting—much less accept the idea that such a family be allowed to continue to speak their opinions from the pulpit of the national media. And here’s the kicker: liberals wouldn’t be defending such a family either. They might not go after them as vociferously as they now do the Duggars, but they would not, as a rule, defend any of their own guilty of such a thing. But for Christian conservatives, and conservatives in general… well, this is just another variation of IOKIYAR. Categories: Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: He Was For It Before He Was Against It May 15th, 2015 2 comments One of the reasons John Kerry lost the 2004 election was the now-famous statement by Kerry on the Iraq War: “I was for it before I was against it.” Except, he never said that. He said,“I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” The quote was about an $87 billion appropriation bill for military operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq, not Kerry’s actual position on the Iraq War. Kerry voted for a version of the appropriations bill that would be paid for by getting rid of some of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, but later voted against a version which lacked that provision. His statement, which Kerry admitted was “inarticulate,” was then taken out of context and now is almost as famous as Al Gore’s “I invented the Internet,” another quote that was baldly misrepresented. Still, it cost Kerry dearly. Well, how about Jeb Bush now? He’s had years to decide where he stands on the Iraq War. What’s his position on it? Well he was for it, and would do it again if he had to face the same choice. But that was Monday. On Tuesday, he didn’t know. Tuesday is so long ago, though; on Wednesday, he said that answering the question would offend the troops. And now? Well, it’s Thursday, and Bush is now against the war. So, he was for it before he wasn’t sure before he wouldn’t answer before he was against it. I admit, it’s not as catchy as what they made Kerry’s quote out to be. How about, “He was for it before he was against it, and waffled a few times in between.” Or maybe just stick to the classic, “He was before it before he was against it.” Sure, you lose the waffling, but the short version has merits: it’s catchier, it demonstrates flip-flopping, it illustrates irony—and it is a far more accurate representation of Bush’s actual statements than it ever was of Kerry’s. Oh, and let’s not forget the canard that Bush threw in at the start: that Hillary voted for the war too. “I would have, and so would have Hillary Clinton, just to remind everybody” As I have pointed out, that’s yet another asinine Republican lie. Clinton voted for the war powers act, and possibly did that as a political weasel, but she also made crystal clear in a Senate floor speech that her vote was to give Bush a bargaining chip to pressure Saddam, and that war was only a “last resort.” Only an idiot would presume that Clinton, on her own, would have taken us into Iraq. As much of a hawk as Clinton is, she clearly would not have done that. Desperately Seeking Victimhood May 13th, 2015 5 comments It’s a common meme now for conservatives to try to hold themselves up as victims, but especially when they are trying to cast aspersions on others and are, in part or in full, prevented from doing so. They then immediately look for any event that could show a double-standard, and, without really thinking about it very hard, indignantly shout about how they are being mistreated. Part of it is simply a matter of wannabe martyrdom, somewhat of a long-standing niche favorite amongst conservative Christians. Take this story of a woman who went to Walgreens to get some bible verses printed up. The clerk noticed that there were images in the documents that could constitute a copyright violation. The woman was asked to sign a waiver stating that she attested to the fact that she had the rights to print them. Fox News elevated this to a national-level story about how Walgreens was discriminating against Christians by making the ludicrous claim that Walgreens had somehow claimed that the bible verses were under copyright, with the implied meaning that Walgreens just wanted to harass Christians because, you know, whatever. Even after everything was made clear and the store even offered to print the documents for free, the conservative media still trumpeted this as an attack on Christianity. A more specific form of this phenomenon is when conservatives are on the defensive regarding some issue or another, and try to use some event in the news or elsewhere to show how the opposition is being hypocritical. After Ferguson, for example, when it was becoming more publicly clear that white police officers are killing unarmed black men in large numbers, conservatives rushed to find any cases at all of black police officers killing unarmed white men. They found a few, and proceeded to make a huge deal about it. “Why aren’t liberals in an uproar when this happens?” they lamented. The obvious reply: because that’s just two cases. It’s not a few hundred each year. Show me a rash of black cops killing unarmed white men on a massive scale, nationwide, and I’ll join in your indignation. Another aspect of this is when conservatives accuse liberals of being okay with something when it happens against Christians but not when it happens against Muslims. For example, after a Christian bakery refused to make a cake for a gay wedding, some conservatives came up with a great idea: let’s go to Muslim bakery shops and see if they refuse to make the same kind of cake. Some Muslim-run businesses in fact did refuse, and conservatives whooped it up: “See! A Muslim bakery did the same thing, why aren’t liberals upset about that?!? It’s because of a witch hunt against Christians!!” Except that the point is stupid. If a Muslim bakery had been the one to refuse service in that first now-famous case, the result would have been no different. Liberals and activists would have been just as appalled and the media reaction would have been the same—or, actually, stronger, as right-wing news sites would likely have piled on in that case as well. Liberals never said that Muslims discriminating against gays was okay or more acceptable; conservatives simply jumped to that conclusion without even asking. Nor have liberals had the chance to really protest, as these bakeries did not refuse any actual service—just fake, partisan, gotcha-style we’re-the-real-victims-here idiocy, which is kinda hard to rally behind. If tomorrow a gay couple went to one of these bakeries (which, you’ll have to admit, are not exactly everywhere) and they refused service, the protest would be no different than if another Christian bakery did so. But not because of some asinine political stunt. This conservative desire to be outraged has become almost a reflex reaction now, with right-wingers taking offense at the drop of a hat, assuming that anything that could even remotely be a sign that something may be biased against them is in fact full-fledged persecution, and running full-speed to the media crying about how they are being victimized, without first bothering to check if their outrage is in any way justified. This is in some ways similar to the right-wing practice of banning Sharia law, as if there were somehow a real danger of Sharia being instituted publicly anywhere in the United States, so of course we have to make special laws to avoid that. We’re so much in danger of being subjected to Muslim authority that we have to take action now! This bizarrely ludicrous fear came to light recently when Allen West published a blog post about how how “Sharia law” resulted in “Christian persecution” at a Walmart in Dallas. Boy howdy, that is one astute young lady. Imagine that, this employee at Walmart refused to just scan a bottle or container of an alcoholic beverage — and that is acceptable. A Christian business owner declines to participate or provide service to a specific event — a gay wedding — which contradicts their faith, and the State crushes them. Except, as it turned out, that’s not why the sign was put up. The sign was put up because the cashier was underage, and so under Western law, he was not allowed sell alcohol. It’s not just that West was wrong, it’s that he ignored a number of indicators that made it obvious that he was wrong. For example, since when does Walmart cater to the dignity of its employees, much less inconvenience customers and slow down business to serve their religious sensitivities? Second, if this were a case of catering to Muslim sensitivities, why only restrict alcohol sales, and not sales of pork products? Critical thinking rules also demand that you consider alternatives—which would not even have required West to think, only to ask either clerk why the sign was put up. West processed none of this. He only saw an Arabic-sounding name and a no-liquor sign, and jumped right to the conclusion that he was being persecuted because he was a Christian. He did not do this mindlessly; he had to go to a good deal of trouble to connect certain dots. He just followed dots that served his interests and prejudices, and ignored the dots that any reasonable person would follow. But hey, let’s imagine that West was in fact right, and that Walmart had inexplicably begun to go out of their way to respect the religious rights of their employees. Would this be, as West proclaimed, a matter of injustice because Christians were “crushed by the State” (that’s “State” with a capital “S”!) for the same kind of thing? As it turns out, no. For two rather blatantly obvious reasons. First, Walmart was not refusing to sell alcohol, they just did not allow it in that one specific register line. West or anyone else could simply move to a different line and buy whatever they wanted. And second, Walmart was shutting down service in that one line to anyone buying alcohol, not just Christians or any specific group. If the bakery that refused to make a gay wedding cake had simply refused to make wedding cakes period, there would be no fuss. But West’s indignation is even more striking, considering that liberals would not approve of even the one line being shut down because of the cashier’s religious beliefs—they would tell the cashier that if they don’t want to do what the job requires, they should take a different job. It would, however, be exactly what conservatives want, which is the ability to refuse service of a specific type because it offends their religious beliefs —something that conservatives are fighting for, and have succeeded in enforcing by law in at least a dozen states, and have been reported to happen in any case in nearly half of all states. But when the Walmart throws up a no-liquor-sales-in-this-line and the cashier is named Ahmed? PERSECUTION! SHARIA LAW! RUN FOR THE HILLS!! Shoot off your mouth first, ask questions later. Jeb Bush and Religious Liberty May 10th, 2015 Comments off As of late, the expression “religious liberty” has worked as a code word for a variety of right-wing positions; it is a “dog whistle” term amongst conservatives, similar to “academic freedom” (teaching conservative Christian doctrine in public schools) or “strict constructionist” (favoring conservative ideology over constitutional law). “Religious liberty” currently applies to two issues in particular: reproductive rights and discrimination based upon sexual or gender orientation and identity. However, it will doubtlessly be applied to any issue conservatives see fit which could possibly be framed as a point of religious ideology. As a sign that virtually any Republican candidate must bow to the extremists on such issues, Jeb Bush gave a now-obligatory speech at Liberty University, “religious liberty” being the theme. That he spoke at commencement and not just at some required assembly speaks to who the favored candidate is. The speech, of course, blew all the right dog whistles; there was no doubt that Bush was making references to sex & gender discrimination, though he refrained from being that specific. Bush was specific enough to mention reproductive rights by name, speaking on the issue of how conservative Christians should be allowed to make decisions affecting how others live based on their own personal religious ideology. Of course, foisting one’s beliefs on the lives of others doesn’t sound good even to Christian conservatives, so they have to veil it with a layer of meaningless obfuscation and blame the people trying to stop religious interference with that exact wrongdoing: “The mistake is to confuse points of theology with moral principles that are knowable to reason as well as by faith. And this confusion is all part of a false narrative that casts religious Americans as intolerant scolds, running around trying to impose their views on everyone. The stories vary, year after year, but the storyline is getting familiar: The progressive political agenda is ready for its next great leap forward, and religious people or churches are getting in the way. Our friends on the Left like to view themselves as the agents of change and reform, and you and I are supposed to just get with the program. ”There are consequences when you don’t genuflect to the latest secular dogmas. And those dogmas can be hard to keep up with. So we find officials in a major city demanding that pastors turn over copies of their sermons. Or federal judges mistaking themselves for elected legislators, and imposing restrictions and rights that do not exist in the Constitution. Or an agency dictating to a Catholic charity, the Little Sisters of the Poor, what has to go in their health plan – and never mind objections of conscience. “I don’t know about you, but I’m betting that when it comes to doing the right and good thing, the Little Sisters of the Poor know better than the regulators at the Department of Health and Human Services. From the standpoint of religious freedom, you might even say it’s a choice between the Little Sisters and Big Brother – and I’m going with the Sisters. See? By demanding our religious standards be enforced by law, we are not involving theology! We’re not the ones imposing dogma, it’s the secularists! This is not about religion because our religious beliefs are based on reason! We’re just trying to be good, moral people by forcing everyone else to follow our moral code and those liberals are trying to force their views on us by not letting us! Also, you may have noticed one of the anti-LGBT dog whistles in the above quote, even if you don’t recognize it. The part about ”officials in a major city demanding that pastors turn over copies of their sermons,“ which ominously implies that government is attempting to either intimidate pastors or to demand the right to edit their speeches. If your source is Fox News, then this is over a law allowing ”men to use the ladies room and vice versa,“ and this is all about secularists attempting to suppress freedom of religion. In fact, it is over a Houston anti-discrimination ordinance, one which was challenged by local preachers who wanted the right to discriminate, and so used their pulpits to get signatures of petitions in a way that may have violated the city charter—thus the subpoena for ”all speeches, presentations, or sermons“ related to the issue, so that the validity of the petitions could be measured. And the court ruled in favor of the city. Which no doubt is one of the cases referenced by Bush when he mentioned ”federal judges mistaking themselves for elected legislators,“ paraphrasing another right-wing dog-whistle expression, ”legislating from the bench,“ which means ”judges who make legal decisions that we disagree with.“ Bush’s speech was chock full of platitudes involving charity, the homeless, the lonely, the ill, the weak, and the innocent… even ”giving hope to the prisoner“… despite the fact that Bush’s own policies have callously disregarded these exact populations. All part of the new right-wing approach to social justice: talk the talk, but walk the other way. Categories: Religion, Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: The Wrong Kind of Concern April 17th, 2015 1 comment Conservatives have been making noise about how income inequality is bad and that is so important to them: Appearing at a candidate forum in late January, three likely Republican presidential contenders — Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul — all made a striking confession: They considered “the increasing gap between rich and poor” to be a problem. Yeah, the problem they see is that income inequality is being noticed more and it’s in danger of being opposed. We can’t have that. Which is not too far from their stances: they brought it up primarily to say that it can’t be addressed with government action—in short, we should not raise taxes on the rich or mandate minimum wage hikes, stuff like that. To prove their extreme concern over income inequality being challenged, Republicans in the House just passed (on heavily partisan lines) a bill that would repeal the estate tax. To be clear, the estate tax does not affect you unless you are handing over more than $5.43 million upon your demise, and that’s only if you’re single. For a married couple, it’s $10.86 million. And that means that if parents pass away with a $15 million estate, no tax is applied until the first dollar after $10.86 million. After that, the rates go from 18% to 40%, the 40% kicking in after $1 million. So on the $15 million estate, the inheritors would pay about $2 million in taxes. So, how is this about Republicans protecting people of lower incomes? Republican Majority Whip Steve Scalise explained, “the vast majority of our members in the Republican conference have never had the opportunity to stand up for small businesses who are threatened by the death tax everyday.” Ah, yes. The small business owner. The Republicans’ favorite go-to prop when they want to help the super-wealthy. But wait! Those small businessmen could get hit! Really! It happens! Well, in 2014, the average and median small business sold for about $185,000. In fact, only about 20 “small” businesses and farms each year are subject to any estate tax every year. And that’s figuring businesses which value at $5 million, not $10 million. And those 20 per year usually owe only about 5% in taxes. Not to mention that there is no language in the bill whatsoever mentioning small businesses, just an unqualified repeal. So, are Republicans really voting to protect small businesses? Of course not. It’s an asinine lie. Nothing new—I have written before about how Republicans habitually trot out “small businessmen” when they want to give massive tax cuts to primarily wealthy people. In short, it’s pure, unadulterated bullshit. The estate tax repeal would cost the federal government about $27 billion per year, mostly so that people with hundreds of millions, as well as billions of dollars can maintain vast treasuries of unearned wealth. For example, Emma and Georgina Bloomberg stand to inherit their father’s $31 billion fortune. Assuming they get it all (and are not largely cut out like Paris Hilton), and they split the fortune evenly, each would, after the estate tax, only receive $9.3 billion. The horror! As Thomas Piketty pointed out, it is amassed wealth that is the biggest problem in the world—and the estate tax is pretty much the only established tax on that wealth. And so naturally, Republicans, newly concerned about income inequality, want to completely erase that tax, to the exclusive benefit of the 1%. Sounds legit. Of course, we can breathe a sigh of relief: the bill will never become law. Democrats stand to filibuster it in the Senate, and even if not, Obama will veto it. And Republicans know this. Despite that, they passed it purely as a stunt—which, strangely, kind of puts the lie to their recent claims of concern for income inequality. (Alas, billionaires like Sheldon Adelson can hire lawyers to set up massive trusts to get around billions in estate taxes.) It’s almost as if they figure that independents know full well they are lying all the time, or they believe independent voters are idiots who won’t notice. Not Hard to Predict April 8th, 2015 Comments off It happened again, inevitably. A white police officer pulled over a black man for an alleged traffic violation. The details are still scarce, but at some point the officer tries to subdue the driver, uses a taser on him, and then, as the man attempted to flee on foot, the officer fired eight times, hitting the man in the back, killing him. After handcuffing the dying man, the officer then radioed in that the “suspect” had been “threatening” to the officer. This time, the officer was charged with murder—an extremely unusual outcome, mostly because or third-party video showing the incredibly egregious act. I had to wonder, how are conservatives reacting to this? Well, it really isn’t very hard to guess, as their tactics are always the same: when there is one incident of an injustice they don’t want to recognize, paint the aggressor as a hero and the victim as a villain; when there are multiple incidents, find any example of the reverse happening and cry in outrage that it isn’t being reported on. It’s what they always do. Always. And sure enough, when I did a search for exactly that, there should be zero surprise at what I found: two police killings, one of an 18-year-old man in Mobile, Alabama, and one of a 20-year-old man in Salt Lake City, both incidents where unarmed white men were killed by black police officers—and conservatives are just outraged that the media isn’t giving these killings the same level of attention as they gave Michael Brown in Ferguson. As usual, you can guess who can be counted upon to stand up for the oppressed white men: This attitude is mirrored in the comments to the articles, where conservatives demand equal attention be paid to these stories, condemn the media as “liberal” for not doing so, and point out that white people, unlike blacks, aren’t rioting and looting everywhere. The fish-in-the-barrel counter to that, of course, is that when it happens once or twice a year, it’s not news. When it happens at least a hundred times a year, probably much more often (police, for some reason, are reluctant to keep track of how often unarmed black men are shot by white police officers), it is news. When it’s a chance occurrence, it’s not a story that merits strong national attention; when it’s a trend, marked by nationwide racial profiling, countless black people stopped, frisked, tased, arrested, shot, and killed, which creates such a spontaneous outrage that people nationwide protest the massive injustice, then it’s a story. It’s not a story because you can see that your worldview is shamefully wrong so you have to dig deep to find some reverse case which you then claim is equal to the massive outrage. No, Pelosi’s Syria Visit Was Not the Same As the GOP Iran Letter March 14th, 2015 Comments off I was somewhat surprised when I caught up with The Daily Show this week, and saw Stewart’s reaction to the Republican letter to Iran. Interestingly, he skewered both Republicans and Democrats, based upon the fact that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Syria in 2007 against the wishes of the Bush administration, and other liberals or left-leaning commentators (specifically, Hillary Clinton, Diane Feinstein, and Chris Matthews) spoke in praise of Pelosi’s actions. This is essentially the main defense by the right wing for the 47 Republican senators’ letter to the Iranian leadership: Pelosi did it, so liberals are hypocrites for objecting now! Well, not quite. In situations like this, it kind of helps to look beyond the superficial and check out, you know, the actual facts of the situation. From a New York Times article at the time of the Pelosi visit: Ms. Pelosi and many other Democrats, as well as some Republicans, have spoken often in recent months about the value of increasing dialogue with Syria as a way to improve stability in the region, but the Bush administration has resisted the idea, citing its view that the country is a state sponsor of terrorism. It accuses the Syrian government of providing militants with safe passage into Iraq and of interfering in Lebanon’s politics after its army was forced to leave there in 2005. Damascus denies the accusations. At the White House on Tuesday, President Bush told reporters that he saw little point in talking to Syria now. “Sending delegations hasn’t worked,” he said. “It’s just simply been counterproductive.” Even so, three Republican congressmen — Robert Aderholt of Alabama, Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania and Frank Wolf of Virginia — visited Syria separately and met with Mr. Assad on Sunday. And a senior American diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey, held talks in Damascus last month with Syrian officials about an influx of Iraqi refugees. Mr. Bush did not mention those visits in his remarks yesterday. Ms. Pelosi is traveling with a high-level group of lawmakers, included Representatives Henry A. Waxman and Tom Lantos of California, Louise M. Slaughter of New York, Nick J. Rahall II of West Virginia and Keith Ellison of Minnesota, all Democrats, as well as David L. Hobson, Republican of Ohio. Doesn’t exactly sound the same, does it? So, here is essentially what happened: the Bush administration had a stated policy to not engage the Syrian government on the grounds that such engagement would not be productive… although Bush officials had, in fact, made recent official contact at a fairly high level. Bush just didn’t want Pelosi to go. Pelosi went anyway. That’s about as close the Pelosi visit got to what the Republicans did recently: she engaged with a foreign leader in a way that the president did not approve. However, that’s where the similarity ends. The differences? First, Pelosi did not pull a surprise visit to Syria, but instead coordinated her visit with the Bush administration. Second, while Pelosi made a move that the Bush administration claimed was counter-productive, she went there in support of the Bush administration’s policies concerning Syria, taking the same stance of Syrian conduct, and communicating to Assad the same views that the Bush administration held on his actions. And third, she was not alone: Republican congressmen and the Bush Assistant Secretary of State all met with Assad, in fact prior to Pelosi, and the Bush administration did not object to any of them doing so, or say that any of them were interfering with administration policy or making things worse. The Assistant Secretary of State’s visit the month before, in fact, clearly belied the Bush administration’s assertion that engagement would not work. Pelosi also traveled with other Republicans (who were also not called out) in what was a bipartisan endeavor. In point of fact, there was one other similarity between 2007 Pelosi event and the current GOP letter event: in both cases, Republicans used the event as a political weapon to assault Democrats. Bush was engaging with Assad, and Republicans did also make contact—Bush objected to none of these. He only objected when someone of the opposing party wanted in on the same action his own party was taking. Basically, he was saying, “This is our political campaign tool, to make us look good—how dare a Democrat try to share the stage!” In contrast, Republicans, in opposition to direct, ongoing negotiations with a foreign leader, actively participated in what was clearly a partisan political stage performance in a manner that undermined the president of the United States. This, just days after Republicans invited the Israeli Prime Minister to address the in Congress in a speech that criticized the president. So, no. Not the same thing. Not even close. Categories: Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: Code Words March 6th, 2015 2 comments See? Simple! A Serious Rule, Not a Serious Reaction March 3rd, 2015 1 comment Hillary Clinton seems to have broken rules about using a personal email account for official business while Secretary of State, constituting a “serious breach” of the Federal Records Act. Which essentially puts her on equal ground with virtually every major player in the George W. Bush administration. Nonetheless, the rule is there for a reason, and should be followed. If she broke it, that’s bad. [Late update: Or maybe she didn’t.] And no doubt Republicans will mass all over this like sharks on chum. It would be nice, however, if before getting to Hillary, they got to the hundreds of Bush administration officials who did this and much, much more. Which will never, ever happen. But then, hypocrisy is more or less the name of the game nowadays. Categories: Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: Show Your Love February 22nd, 2015 8 comments Let’s see: under Obama, we’ve had 59 consecutive months of private-sector job growth, including six straight months of healthy job gains over 200,000, after Obama came to office while the economy was cratering and we were losing up to 750,000 jobs a month; unemployment has gone from 10.1%—something Obama was not in the least responsible for, despite conservative allegations—to 5.7%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average has nearly tripled, from 6627 to 18,140, since Obama took office, while the NASDAQ had nearly quadrupled, going from 1294 to 4956; most of this economic turnaround has been due to a greatly successful stimulus package Obama shepherded, which while imperfect has nonetheless undeniably turned the economy away from what was certain ruin; about 10 million Americans without insurance are now insured, while crippling restrictions like denial for pre-existing conditions have been outlawed; the auto industry has been effectively saved where conservatives wanted it to collapse so money could be made from the restructuring; and, oh yeah, Obama got Osama bin Laden. Sure, even despite the effects of massive obstructionism and opposition to almost everything he does, Obama still hasn’t been as strong on ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, shutting down Guantanamo, fighting for gay rights, overseeing Wall Street and political reform, ending the harmful drug war and easing massive incarceration of mostly minority citizens, or helping us achieve energy independence—but overall, he has been moving us in the right direction on all of these issues. Meanwhile, Republicans have obstructed the political system because “it works for us,” held the American economy hostage as a political ploy to the point where the American economic rating was downgraded, tried to lower taxes for the rich while raising them for the poor, attempted to dismantle Social Security and Medicare, torn down long-standing civil rights, refused to repair the Voting Rights Act while passing laws to suppress voting, incessantly tried to deny health care to millions of Americans, have insulted, browbeaten, lied about, disrespected and even threatened to sue the president for no discernible reason, while generally working against the welfare of the majority of American citizens. Which is why Obama doesn’t love America, and Republicans do. Categories: Right-Wing Hypocrisy Tags: Hypocrisy Can Bite You in the Ass February 13th, 2015 2 comments How do Republicans respond? Do I even need to point out the extraordinary hypocrisy? History Repeats August 25th, 2014 1 comment Rick Perry Indicted for Abuse of Power, Threatens to Punish Those Involved August 17th, 2014 2 comments So a Democratic Texas D.A. did something stupid: got drunk, and then drove. She was arrested and served time, but refused to resign under pressure. She was within her rights under law: she is under no obligation to resign. Rick Perry pressured her to do so anyway. His motives were not just for show; if the D.A. resigned, Perry would get to appoint a replacement. That’s no small deal, as the D.A. in question, Rosemary Lehmberg, is the D.A. for Travis County, home to Austin, the state capital. Why is that a big deal? First of all, Austin is one of the few counties in Texas with a Democratic majority. Second, the D.A. for Austin, it being the state capital, runs the state’s public integrity unit. The public integrity unit is kind of the like ethics committee: it investigates government corruption. And it’s run mostly by Democrats, in a state where most politicians are Republicans. And Texas Republicans have a long history of corruption. Naturally, Republicans would like nothing more than for the public integrity unit to shut up and/or go away. They have tried to defund it in the past, but failed. Getting a Republican appointee in there could potentially throw off all current investigations and damage the unit, even if the appointee were replaced by a Democrat in the next election. So, when D.A. Lehmberg was arrested, and, as a bonus, acted like a tool on camera in jail, Republicans saw this as a big political opportunity. Unfortunately, the position is locally elected, and so Republican politicians couldn’t touch her. A grand jury set on her by Republicans refused to indict her. Lehmberg refused to resign, but said she would not run for re-election in 2016. Unwilling to accept that, Perry decided to play hardball: he demanded that Lehmberg resign, or else he’d cut the funding for the public integrity unit. She refused, so Perry defunded the unit. Normal hardball politics, right? Except for one small detail: Perry, like so many Republicans, was so used to getting away with illegal crap that he forgot that he could still be prosecuted for it. And he had committed an abuse of power: he threatened to defund a legally operating government office if a legally elected public official who was not under his authority did not resign so he could appoint a political ally to that seat. What’s more, he didn’t try to hide it: he made it quite clear what he was doing. Well, you’re not supposed to do that, it turns out. The governor is not supposed to get involved with county business, he’s not supposed to coerce public officials, and he’s not allowed to use his office or powers as governor to do so. Think it’s no big deal? Well, imagine if Obama, citing Perry’s corruption, demanded that Perry resign, or else Obama would cut the $1 billion-plus federal Transportation Equity Bonus funds for Texas, citing a corrupt governor’s inability to disperse those funds honestly. Do you believe that, if Perry refused and Obama actually cut those funds on the basis of his threat, that Republicans would not immediately impeach him? Of course they would. They would call it the foulest, basest, most despicable act of illegal “Chicago politics” imaginable. And they would see no irony in defending what Perry did at the same time, claiming they were totally different. Perry, predictably, is not taking this sitting down. He is, however, kind of going over the top. “This indictment amounts to nothing more than an abuse of power and I cannot and I will not allow that to happen,” Perry charged. There’s your standard conservative move: accuse those you are against with exactly what you have done wrong. However, he went much further: I intend to fight against those who would erode our state’s constitution and laws purely for political purposes and I intend to win. I’ll explore every legal avenue to expedite this matter. I am confident that we will ultimately prevail, that this farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is. And those responsible will be held accountable. So, what is his evidence that this is a political attack? Nothing, of course. Michael McCrum, the special prosecutor appointed to the case, is a respected attorney from San Antonio, and was actually backed by both Republican Senators for the U.S. Attorney position in Texas. Hard to call him a flaming political hack. The grand jury who indicted him, on the other hand, consisted of residents of Austin—a county with more Democrats than Republicans. While not his “political opponents,” they potentially could have bias. On the other hand, the grand jury was selected by Special State District Judge Bert Richardson—a San Antonio Republican, appointed by Bush. So, all in all, it does not look especially like this is a political witch hunt; a Republican-backed prosecutor convinces a grand jury selected by a Republican judge from a county which is roughly 60% Democrat and 40% Republican. What really sounds over-the-top in Perry’s response is that “those responsible will be held accountable.” Really? Will he be holding the Republican judge who seated the grand jury responsible? Or the highly-regarded prosecutor who received Republican backing, will he be “held responsible” for playing politics? Or maybe the governor intends to track down and punish the members of the grand jury who voted to indict? And what will Perry do to them, exactly? He calls it an “abuse of power”—what, did any of those people threaten Perry with the indictment unless Perry resigned? Nope—nobody involved said or did anything remotely political—so exactly what will Perry do to “hold them accountable”? Perry’s bluster is not just game-playing, however: he levied a rather serious charge and a threat of retaliation, in a case where he very clearly demonstrated that he does follow up on such threats. I’m sure it will play well with the home crowd, but from a distance, Perry sounds even worse than he did when he started. What’s a Jobs Bill? Who Cares, SUE OBAMA! July 13th, 2014 3 comments Boehner’s petition to sue the president included this claim: Umm, wait. That’s a jobs bill? Did I just write a “jobs” bill? No. Stephanopoulos: “But that’s a job.”	dclm-gs1-105110000
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Balding Tea Lovers Unite! It's nearing 11pm and I'm in our gameroom, new laptop perched precariously in my lap, Gail Carriger's Soulless resting on the arm of the couch, cell phone lying next to Soulless, chamomile tea steaming on kids' Step1 table almost out of my reach, unfortunately for the carpet and for Jeremiah who will eventually have to steam clean said carpet... I notice two things simultaneously: 1: I got kicked out of Out Of Tune Idol. 2: Jeremiah is burning rubber (quite literally) in our basement. Surprisingly I'm okay with both of these happenings. Star Trek Next Generation is coming on. It kind of makes everything cool. When my brother Joshy and I were the only children in our family (before the three demons beset themselves upon our happy home) we were only allowed to stay up and watch one primetime show a week. (Heaven forbid we cut into my mom's adult time, alone with Pepsi, salty potato chips and Unsolved Mysteries) Josh always wanted to watch Star Trek NG and I always wanted to watch Mr. Belvedere, The Cosby Show or any other sitcommy mess that happened to be on when Star Trek wasn't. Because I refused to watch it with him, I never truly got the pure genius that is that show. It's strange because I don't really love any of the characters in particular. Counselor Troy is a tramp and way too in touch with her feelings (must be the constant frontal wedge she's always sporting). Doctor Wesley's Momma should have given it up to Captain Picard within minutes of beaming aboard the Enterprise. Warf needs to do something about his freaking hair, the Dorothy Hamill bob just kills me. Number Two is a total douchebag and needs to stop grimacing, aren't there any colostomy clinics on such an advanced starship? And Captain Picard, my dear dear bald friend. Tea isn't the answer. Heroine is. Beam some of that shit up. So if it's not the characters the genius of the show must lie purely in it's ability to suck one in and not let go. If I watch the first few minutes, I have to watch the whole episode. If I watch one night, I have the urge to watch it again the next. If one of it's random movies are on an even randomer cable channel at an odd hour of the day, I feel compelled to DVR it and watch it at a more convenient time. Tony said... I'm sorry that you got kicked out of Out of Tune Idol, but you should be happy to know that you got kicked out because you're an awesome singer! You're a winner in my book. And...I was never much of a Star Trek fan. I loved the new movie though, but, apparently, that makes me an imbecile (according to my hardcore nerdy coworker). Ally said... I loved Unsolved Mysteries. Wow that really shows my age... watching a show that someone's mom enjoyed. I remember when I babysat in junior high and high school, this family next-door would only allow the kids to watch The Cosby Show. They asked that I not let them watch Growing Pains, which was my favorite show! Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing Steam Me Up, Kid said... You WHAT? You were too good, huh? Are you a loser or a winner then? You DO look engrossed. I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that. I took a phone video of myself laughing at America's Funniest Home Videos last week. mo.stoneskin said... I can't imagine what the combined smells of chamomile and burning rubber smells of. Jules said... You're ok with getting kicked out because you're gonna go on a tour for real and make money. Genius. otherworldlyone said... Bummer. I was hoping it would be me and you, good naturedly fighting for the finish. But you're a good singer and your videos were awesome. No, they can't take that awwwwwway from yoooouuu! I never really got into Star Trek. I watched a bit back in the day, but I honestly can't remember a thing about it. diane said... Go ahead and tune in, my in tune friend. It beats sitting around and feeling bad for yourself, unless you're watching something crappy on Lifetime. said... Holy crap! I think we have the same mom. She's coming to visit me this next week so I'll ask her. ;) marcia furman said... getting kicked out is total BS!!! LOL! I /almost/ swore! haha! Prosy said... my favorite thing about Star Trek NG is the holodeck where they could have like a fantasy life?...Captain Picard had a white horse he always rode in there..? I think. My nerd is showing. miss. chief said... you know, I've never watched any star trek episode ever. I should, hey?	dclm-gs1-105120000
Check out for a working application utilizing the SMS Message Interceptor... Windows Mobile 5.0 and the Compact Frame V2 introduce a neat and simple concept that allows you to easily intercept a SMS message and do some processing on it effectively enabling you to use SMS as an underlying transport for your applications - be it a game or some line of business app. You can tell the SMS Interceptor to look out for specific message types by specifying a message signatures and then just structuring the SMS message body with the data you want to ship around, pretty darn cool and simple. For the moment you wont find a lot about the "Microsoft.WindowsMobile.PocketOutlook.MessageInterception Namespace" in the VS 2005 B2 documentation but you can find enough to get you going on MSDN here and just spotted a webcast on MSDN titled "New Managed Messaging, State, and Notification APIs in Windows Mobile (Level 300)" probably worth a gander... Appreciating that Windows Mobile 5.0 is not broadly available in real devices yet and the compact framework V2 is still beta there is still plenty that you can do with the technology using the Windows Mobile 5.0 emulators. You can download the emulator/sdk from here or you can order it here. Interestingly enough I found the emulator running on a 3.2 GHz HT CPU faster than a Motorola MPx200 and fast enough to try stuff for real, yeah contrary to my "emulator is slow article:-)" To enable the SMS Interceptor you need need the following lines of code... Declare and instantiate the message interceptor classes using Microsoft.WindowsMobile.PocketOutlook; private MessageInterceptor SMSProcessor = new MessageInterceptor(InterceptionAction.NotifyAndDelete, true); private MessageCondition msgCondition = new MessageCondition(); In your start up code //set up filter - for messages to be intercepted by this app then they must start msgCondition.Property = MessageProperty.Body; msgCondition.ComparisonType = MessagePropertyComparisonType.StartsWith; msgCondition.ComparisonValue = "?"; //Intercept messages starting with a ? SMSProcessor.MessageCondition = msgCondition; //set up event handler to process incoming messages SMSProcessor.MessageReceived += new MessageInterceptorEventHandler(SMSProcessor_MessageReceived); Declare your event handler void SMSProcessor_MessageReceived(object sender, MessageInterceptorEventArgs e) theSMS = (SmsMessage)e.Message; // process your message // work around to a message pump issue To send a SMS Message inside the emulator to the emulator then use the magic +14250010001 number. using (ol = new OutlookSession()) SmsMessage testMessage = new SmsMessage(); testMessage.To.Add(new Recipient("+14250010001")); //Using the '?' character as the message signature testMessage.Body = string.Format("?{0}", messageToSend); I'm working on a larger app that implements the interceptor and will post up on to web when done, it's 60% done, just need a few free evenings to finish it off - I'll blog it's location when it's done A Bug Alas for the moment there is a bug in the compact framework that tends to blow up your app if it's left too long or gets switched out of focus, it's a known bug that is being worked on. Don't let it dampen your enthusiasm for giving this stuff a go but just be aware that there is an issue. If run the interceptor on the same thread as your form then you may get a testIntercept.exe ArgumentException at SafeNativeMethods.DispatchMessage() at Microsoft.WindowsMobilePocketOutlook.MessageInterception.MessagingMessageWindow.MessagePump()" if you run the interceptor on it's own thread then you'll get "An unhandled exception of type 'System.ArgumentException' occurred in Microsoft.WindowsMobile.PocketOutlook.dll.” Cheers and have fun!! Dave	dclm-gs1-105130000
How a New York Times Story About Mexicans Shows that the Orange County Register Will Always Suck The cover to Nick Schou's 2000 cover story on El Cargadero Early last week, the New York Times did a so-so story about how there's so few Mexicans left in rural Mexico that any amnesty would probably not motivate more of them to migrate to the United States. I say "so-so" not just because I think the reporter, Damien Cave, is an apologist for the Mexican elite, but because the story was better reported by Los Angeles Times reporter Sam Quinones about 15 years ago, as documented in his awesome True Tales from Another Mexico. But if the Gray Lady did a middling job, then the Orange County Register just fucked up the story royally, and proved yet again that you can throw all the money you want on a laughable publication--and it'll still be a laughable publication if you don't solve the problem that makes it a laughable story in the first place. See, the Reg republished the Times' piece, only adding a flourish noting that a lot of OC residents came from the region mentioned in the article: Zacatecas. Um, no shit. I don't have the Register's version because of their paywall, and because I threw away the print edition, but I remember howling upon reading the story. See, not only are there a lot of zacatecanos in la naranja, there are tens of thousands--if not more--of us. Not only does the town that Cave featured, El Cargadero, have a big presence here, there are at least a thousand people from my home rancho in Anaheim alone. This isn't exactly a secret in Orange County: I mention it about every other week in this infernal rag, and even the Reg's coverage of me over the years has noted my cargaderense roots. And the man who becomes the focus of Cave's narrative, Fermín Saldivar Ureño? He's the brother-in-law of my cousin, who lives just down the street from my parents in Anacrime. Wouldn't it have been an awesome tie-in if the Register had ran the Times' story with another connecting the dots for its readers, showing they know the county they profess to love? But, of course, since there is little institutional knowledge left at the Register and even less of an understanding of OC's Latino communities (but that's another post...), the Reg merely reprinted the Times' story, just adding that Zacatecas reference to try and desperately prove they were wit' it, much like your office mate who's going to Coachella at age 40. Even more ominously for the future of the publication, that Reg institutional knowledge still remaining couldn't figure out the connections--as long as those clowns still run Grand Street, no amount of new reporters will fix the paper. And, Reg: before you assign your new Anaheim reporter, Art Marroquin, to belatedly do the El Cargadero-Anaheim story, don't bother: we did it 13 years ago. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook! Sponsor Content Now Trending From the Vault	dclm-gs1-105140000
Dave Brillhart's Blog https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/ Enjoying the Journey... Anticipating the Destination en-us Copyright 2007 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 06:33:57 +0000 Apache Roller BLOGS401ORA6 (20130904125427) https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/sun_kit Sun "Kit" dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/sun_kit Mon, 25 Apr 2005 23:47:13 +0000 Computers <p>Have you noticed the increasing use of the term 'kit" to refer to a hardware vendor's products? Articles will refer to, for example, Sun's "kit", when discussing our latest servers or storage and desktops.<br> </p> <p>I really like that term - because it drives home the point that when you are in the market to purchase "kit" from a product vendor, you sign up to be the kit builder. And for the hobbyist out there, that can be really fun and educational, even thrilling to some degree.</p> <p>Many of us grew up <a href="http://hem.bredband.net/thomaskolb/art/models/introduction_e.htm">building kits</a>. I \loved\ building ships, trucks, airplanes, tanks, cars, rockets, etc. It was a blast, and possibly contributed to (and/or was because of) my engineering mindset. The sense of accomplishment of building highly realistic, detailed and customized models, from a bunch of bare parts, is quite rewarding.<br> </p> <p>However, most IT shops I work with are less interested in the process of constructing their own unique one-off configurations from collections of parts (kit). I applaud clients for their increasing demand for solutions built from established patterns and reference implementations. I applaud IT vendors for their increasing portfolios of pre-integrated and hardened solutions.</p> <p>Kit building is a great weekend hobby for kids (and adults). But when it comes to running our businesses and defending our country, we need to leverage, as much as possible, the experience and factory integration of trusted IT solution vendors. For some, it is hard to give up the thrill/challenge of the IT equivalent of "junk yard wars". But there are even more interesting and higher-valued challenges and rewards awaiting those who free up their time from the tyranny of the "nuts and bolts".</p> <p>The following is a great weekend hobby project. But you don't need to let your IT projects look like this...</p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/Kit.gif"></p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/project_lifecycle_cartoon Project Lifecycle Cartoon dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/project_lifecycle_cartoon Sat, 9 Apr 2005 16:16:33 +0000 Computers While this is intended to be funny, it's a little too close for comfort in many cases. But due diligence up-front <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">VOC</span> </span>(voice of the customer) needs assessment interviews, and a subsequent translation into well-formed and reconciled SMART (<a href="http://www.lucka.nl/education/downloads/whitepapers/cttnews3q04_smart_requirements.pdf">1</a>, <a href="http://www.win.tue.nl/%7Ewstomv/edu/2ip30/references/smart-requirements.pdf">2</a>) [Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Attainable, Realistic/Realizable, Traceable/TimeBounded] <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Requirements</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, along with an ongoing <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Risk Log</span>, would have made this a very boring cartoon. A lesson we would be well advised to remember in many contexts.</span><br> <br> <img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/Proj_LifeCycle.gif"><br> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/stocks_sunw_vs_ibm_hpq Stocks: SUNW -vs- IBM, HPQ, MSFT, ORCL dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/stocks_sunw_vs_ibm_hpq Fri, 8 Apr 2005 15:59:17 +0000 Computers In the following graphs I've compared Sun Microsystems (SUNW) to some of our competitors and/or partners: IBM, HP, Oracle, Microsoft. The charts look at the five companies all the way back to the late 80s, and back just five years. In the first graph, you clearly see the "exuberant" six year ramp that SUNW experienced starting in 1995. That's the year we launched Java and the UltraSPARC processor. I also joined Sun that year :-). The post Y2K dot-com implosion hit us pretty hard, but after a two year slide we've settled down and ended up a significantly better long-term investment than some. In hindsight at least.<br> <br> The second graph looks at the same companies since Y2K. It's interesting to see that we all declined (at various rates) until mid-2002, at which point we all found a plateau that we've pretty much sustained for the last two and a half years.<br> <br> I don't know about you, but I think the market is primed to move again. The IT industry landscape has changed a lot since the Y2K peak. Pressure is building. Innovation has been occurring all along. Which of the five will break out of the horizontal? My bet is that it'll be those companies that successfully combine targeted innovation and exceptional services.<br> <br> <img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/Stock.gif"><br> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/64_bit_smp x86: 64-bit & SMP dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/64_bit_smp Wed, 30 Mar 2005 12:32:06 +0000 Computers <P>The following news story "<EM><STRONG>IBM, HP take different tack as Xeon MP moves to 64-bit</STRONG></EM>" has some interesting quotes: <A href="http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/0330ibmhpta.html">http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/0330ibmhpta.html</A></P> <P><STRONG>First</STRONG>: "<FONT color=#990000><EM>HP has decided to cease production of its eight-way ProLiant DL740 and DL760 systems.</EM>..</FONT>". HP is following Dell's withdraw of the 8-socket server space. Apparently Dell and HP believe that there is little market demand for more than a handful of threads (today an OS schedules one thread per core or hyperthread context). Or, could it be that their Operating Systems of choice (Windows and Linux) simply can't (yet) scale to larger thread counts? Hey Dell & HP... you might want to check out Solaris 10. A million of your prospects have <A href="http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2005-03/sunflash.20050328.1.html">downloaded and registered</A> this OS in just the last two months! And it <A href="http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/hcl/data/sol/systems/views/desktop_server_system_all_results.page1.html">runs just fine</A> on your (small and large) x86/x64 servers, up to hundreds of threads.</P> <P><STRONG>Second</STRONG>: <!--StartFragment --> Andy Lees, corporate vice president with Microsoft's server and tools business, said "<EM><FONT color=#990000>If you run a 32-bit application on 64-bit Windows [Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition] on 64-bit hardware, you'll get about a 5% bump in terms of performance," he said. "If you go ahead and add 64-bit [application] capabilities, then things get dramatically better.</FONT></EM>"</P> <P>Hmmm. This is an interesting admission that 64-bit might actually be worthwhile. It is (not really) amazing that up until Microsoft (x64 Edition) and Intel (EM64T) had decent 64-bit offerings, that they told the world that 32-bit was all that anyone would need for the foreseeable future - except maybe for huge databases and extremely large memory footprint compute jobs. I guess "foreseeable" means <EM><STRONG>until we can field a team</STRONG></EM>. Oh, by the way, Solaris has been 64-bit forever (in Internet years), has unmatchable security features and reliability, and a bundled virtualization technology that alone is worth the price of admission (oh yeah, it's free).</P> <P>Combine small and high-thread count performance, security, reliability, and virtualization... and Solaris 10 will allow you to stack multiple applications on a single x86/x64 server with confidence. All of a sudden an 8-socket server (with 16 high-performance cores) looks like an important sweet spot for driving utilization rates up and operation cost and complexity down.</P> <P>HP and Dell have withdrawn from that space (a strategic blunder I believe). It'll be interesting to see who steps up to claim that prize!</P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/itanic_davy_jones_locker Itanic: Davy Jones' Locker dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/itanic_davy_jones_locker Tue, 29 Mar 2005 07:33:44 +0000 Computers <p><!--StartFragment -->In the year 2000, just as the first Itanium processor from Intel hit the market, <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/28/itanium_04_sales/">IDC predicted</a> that 2004 Itanium server sales would hit the $28 billion mark! But IDC missed their projection slightly. They were off by about $26.6 billion, or ~95%. Ouch!!</p> <p>Of the few Itanium-based servers that were actually sold in all of 2004, HP lead the "crawl" and accounted for 76% of them. But HP, as of mid-2004, joined Sun and IBM in the Opteron-based server market, so expect Itanium sales at HP in 2005 to slow at a faster rate than HP's general server sales numbers. IBM came in 2nd with 10% of the Itanium market, but has strongly hinted that they are killing off their Itanium-based server offerings in favor of Opteron, Power, and traditional Intel processors. Dell captured 3rd place with just 5% of the tiny Itanium pie, and so far Dell has resisted selling Opteron-based servers... but how long will Michael watch from the sidelines?</p> <p>For those who like to look under the hood, it seems to me there are three server-oriented processor families that <a href="http://freespace.virgin.net/m.warner/Roadmap2005.htm">deserve attention</a> and will still be important in 2010:</p> <ol> <li>Sun's (and Fujitsu's) SPARC-based CMT families (US-IV, Olympus, Niagara, Rock, etc)</li> <li>IBM's Power family (Power4, Power5, Power6, etc)</li> <li>AMD/Intel's x86/x64 families:</li> <ol> <li>Opteron/AMD64 [Egypt, Italy, etc]</li> <li>IA-32/EM64T [Nocona, Potomac, Smithfield, Tulsa, etc]</li> </ol> </ol> <p>It will be fun to watch. They all have well funded R&D, aggressive rates of innovation, compelling roadmaps, and market/ISV traction. I believe all three horses will be in the race five years from now, but only two will be perceived as the market leaders. Unpredictable market dynamics and execution challenges will likely cause one of the three to stumble and fall behind. But anyone's guess as to which will stumble would be just that - a guess. Intel can survive a $25 billion dollar mistake, and learn from it; and AMD is actually delivering new processors faster than their roadmaps suggest (an amazing feat for a processor design shop)! IBM's roadmap and processor technology look great, but massive CMT could explode and their Cell Processor could turn into the next Itanic for server applications. Sun has Olympus to compete with Power6, and very exciting new yearlings (Niagara and Rock) that could, well, Rock the world soon. Single-threaded deep pipeline performance processors, throughput-oriented massive-CMT chips, and price-efficient desktop/presentation CPUs are all up for grabs. I doubt one horse will win the Triple Crown. Stay tuned.</p> <p>Of course, OS traction will dictate this to some degree (Solaris, Linux, and Windows64 are all interesting candidates), as will J2EE -vs- .NET adoption and COTS app support. I think that security and efficient/reliable virturalization technology will be key drivers of platform selection in future years.</p> <p>The one thing we can predict with near certainly is that Itanium (aka: Itanic) is headed to <a href="http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dav1.htm">Davy Jones' locker</a>.</p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/Itanium.gif"></p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/good_enough_vs_gratuitous_upgrades Good Enough -vs- Gratuitous Upgrades dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/good_enough_vs_gratuitous_upgrades Wed, 23 Mar 2005 05:20:28 +0000 Computers <p>Sun offers a really cool thin-client called the <a href="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/simons/sunray.jpg">SunRay</a>. Check out <a href="http://www.sun.com/software/media/flash/tour_sunray">this flash</a>! We've got 30,000 or so running our desktops throughout Sun. Zero-admin, highly-reliable, energy-efficient clients have saved us millions and driven up productivity. Many of our customers are running these as well. There isn't much to the device... No OS, no disk, no fan, no viruses, no patching, no state... you can almost think of it as a remote/networked frame buffer on steroids. Coupled with USB peripheral support, mobile session capability, Java card security, DoD approved multi-compartment support, VIOP telephony, this is a device that deserves all the attention and acceptance it is getting.</p> <p>Using Tarantella, Citrix, or other techniques, this device can even display full screen Windows (indistinguishable from a Windoze thin client) if desired, or it can run "Windows in a window" from a native GNOME Linux or Solaris desktop. With the Java Desktop System's integration of hundreds of bundled apps (StarOffice [MS Office], Mr. Project [MS Project], GIMP [Photoshop], Evolution [Outlook], etc, etc) some are looking at the oppty to stop payment to Redmond.</p> <p>Whatever your choice of display and environment, just pull your Java Card (your session is preserved on the server) and reinsert it later at home, or the next day in another office, and your session will "instantly" pop up in front of you ready to continue your work.</p> <p>However, a customer recently expressed a concern that the SunRay isn't powered by the latest processor technology, and isn't populated by a huge bank of RAM. Hmmm. I wonder if this person might also consider writing to and asking:</p> <p><font color="#993300"><i><b>Norelco </b>why their electric razors are powered by two AA batteries! When MegaRaz offers your choice of 220V 3-phase or dual-feed 30A single-phase units that can rip thru facial hair and auto-exfoliate the top layer of skin in record time.</i></font></p> <p><font color="#993300"><i><b>Panasonic </b>why their microwave ovens are still powered by radio-wave emitting magnetrons. Don't they know that MicroRad now offers lead-lined plutonium-powered resonant-coupled chamber ovens that can cut food prep time by a factor of 50 over obsolete microwave ovens?</i></font></p> <p><font color="#993300"><i><b>Kenmore </b>why their refrigerators have not kept up with the times. That DeepFrz and many others now offer a turbo-switch option that circulates liquid hydrogen to drop the freezer compartment temp to near absolute zero, extending food storage times to future generations. Many use this feature to preserve small pets during vacations, eliminating the need for pet sitting or boarding.</i></font></p> Those were designed to be funny, and to make the point that often engineering makes design choices that are "good enough". The SunRay has to have enough power to paint pixels. And it does. Future versions might require more capable processors to handle stronger encryption at faster network speeds, 3D Acceleration, etc. But gratuitously incorporating leading-edge technology into a design can increase cost, heat, power, noise, and instability with no added benefit. Be careful what you ask for... because you'll end up paying for it. <u><b>Requirements should be linked to the business value they provide</b></u>,  and not to an emotional "got to have it just because" craving that is fueled by consumer marketing campaigns.<font color="#660000"><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></em></font> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/debating_our_cto_in_public SOA: Debating our CTO dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/debating_our_cto_in_public Mon, 14 Mar 2005 04:25:15 +0000 Computers <p>I have the utmost respect for our CTO of <strong><em>Enterprise Web Services</em></strong>, John Crupi. He is a great guy and one of our sharpest arrows. If you get a chance to hear him speak, you will enjoy the time and take away valuable insights. John recently joined the BSC community (blogs.sun.com) and posted a <a href="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/crupi/20050312#br_br_soa_means_a">brief intro to SOA</a>. Welcome John! I look forward to future updates on this topic on your blog.</p> <p>Me, I'm a Lead Architect with a background built on consulting and systems engineering primarily at the IT Infrastructure level, focused on most of the solution stack - up to but not generally into the functional business logic or S/W app design space. Prior to Sun I spent years as a programmer translating business requirements into S/W solutions... but that's been a while.</p> <p>With that context (the fact that I come to the table with certain biases and experiences that color my perceptions, and I suspect John does as well, to some degree) I'm going to suggest that <font color="#990000"><em>maybe John is slightly off-base w.r.t. his premise about SOA</em></font> and IT / Business Unit (BU) alignment. In the spirit of extracting deeper insights and clarifying positions, I'm going to challenge John with an alternate view (a debate), and ask him to either agree with me or defend his position. Hmmm...is this a <em>Career Limiting Move</em> - publicly challenging one of our Chief Technology Officers? No... not at Sun. We encourage our folks to question assumptions and even our leaders, resolve/align, and then move forward in unity. Okay, with that:</p> <p>John, you suggest that: <em><strong><font color="#990000">one of the critical success factors for SOA is a tighter relationship/alignment between Business Units and IT</font></strong></em>. In fact you say we can not even do SOA without effort on the part of the Business Unit.<br> </p> <p>Now I could not agree more that Business/IT alignment is absolutely paramount. The lack of business focus and alignment is one of the top reasons why so many IT initiatives fail to deliver or meet expectations or provide a higher return to the business than its cost. I've blogged about that very topic.</p> <p>However, that alignment, IMHO, is not related to SOA. In fact, I believe there are benefits to <span style="text-decoration: underline;">isolating</span> service construction techniques from the consumers and owners of those services. To reuse the power utility metaphor:<br> </p> <p style="margin-left: 40px; font-style: italic;">You don't care how <a href="http://www.sargentlundy.com/fossil/">S&L</a> built the power plants that deliver your electric service, or how power distribution provisioning logic taps into multiple grid suppliers and peak-load gas turbines. You simply have specific service level and financial demands, and expect a quality experience when/if you have to interact with the service desk to resolve a dispute, request a change in your service, or report an incident.</p> <p>There are two primary components to IT... the <span style="font-weight: bold;">design/development</span> of services, and the <span style="font-weight: bold;">opertaion/delivery</span> of services.<br> </p> <p>"<span style="font-weight: bold;">Business - IT </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Development" </span>alignment is driven by business requirements (functional, service level, cost, time-to-market, etc). SOA isn't a "requirement", but a technique that helps IT achieve the desires of the business to support their business processes.<br> </p> <p>"<span style="font-weight: bold;">Business/IT </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Operations" </span>alignment is properly performed as defined by ITSM/ITIL Best Practices, and as illustrated in my graphic below. Business and IT need to work as a intimate partnership to define, implement, deliver, and continually refine an optimized Service Portfolio at contracted service levels and an established and predictable cost point. Again, SOA is simply a technique that helps IT achieve operational excellence.<br> </p> <p>All other functions are internal to IT. The fact that requirements are fleshed out in an Agile fashion and constructed/deployed using a SOA strategy is meaningless to the Business Unit. They simply want IT to build the capability they need, adjust it when asked, and deliver it as expected.<br> </p> <> <p>As a consumer and purchaser of various utilities (electricity, gas, cable, phone, water, etc) you don't need nor want to know the details of how the utility achieves scale economy or service resiliency or security or efficiency/utilization or adaptability or regulatory compliance. Well, okay, you and I by nature might be curious and like to know how these things work. But, in general, exposing the internal details of how a Service Delivery Platform is constructed is, IMHO, counter-productive to the Business/IT conversation and partnership. Some curious BU stakeholders will likely want to understand and even attempt to influence your model (eg: buy EMC, use .NET, etc). But that kind of inquiry can expose dysfunction and introduce inefficiency in the model. You don't tell Pacific Power to buy GE turbines or supply power at 62 hertz, unless you want to pay extraordinary fees for your own custom power plant. </p> <p>I strongly believe in the principles of Agile development and architecture. Clearly the days of throwing a fixed requirements document over the wall are over. Business Units, IT Operations, and IT Development all must work together in a healthy partnership focused on continuous business process optimization and refinement. However, in my opinion, the true value of SOA is in the benefits it delivers to the <i><b>internal</b></i> IT function w.r.t. scale economy, resiliency, efficiency, adaptability, etc. Business Units don't need nor want to know about SOA... they simply have (frequently changing) requirements and expectations.</p> <p>Bottom line: SOA is a architectural style/technique that IT Shops will employ to quickly respond to changing service level demands, while operating IT as an efficient adaptable business with an ability to tap into (integrate with) <a href="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/dcb/?anchor=sun_the_nobel_prize">external/outsourced partners</a> (blog on Coase's Law).<br> </p> <p>John - I respectfully invite a reply.</p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/Crupi.jpg"><br> </p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/itsm_transforming_it ITSM: Transforming IT dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/itsm_transforming_it Fri, 11 Mar 2005 13:50:56 +0000 Computers <p><!--StartFragment --><font color="#000000">Here are two recent letters I sent to customers following workshops designed to map out a strategy to transform their IT organization thru the assessment of their people, processes, and technologies and the application of best practices. I thought that these might be beneficial to others who are attempting to do likewise. There are no great pearls of wisdom here, but it might get you thinking about having the conversation. ITSM = IT Service Management.<br> </font></p> <p>One client is <!--StartFragment -->attempting to synthesize several frameworks (ITIL, Sigma, ISO, and CMM-I) into a multi-year strategy to uplevel their operational capability. They asked for a mapping between ISO and ITIL, to which I replied in the 2nd letter (below).</p> <p><font color="#003300"><i>Hi <--->,<br><br>I'm glad to see you are moving forward with this. As we mentioned during our workshop, some clients choose to perform the SunTONE assessment by themselves. Others seek assistance from Sun or a partner. Still others do both... performing an informal survey themselves and then requesting a formal evaluation from Sun. Either way, since I'm just down the street from you, I would like to keep tabs on your efforts and help ensure you get the assistance you need and the results you desire. If you find there are areas that you'd like to target for improvement, I can also help suggest services and/or technologies and/or best practices that will help improve your "score". Of course, it isn't about the score - but a firm's ability to deliver a quality service and experience that meets documented SLOs at a desired level of security and cost.<br><br>As I've mentioned, your operational capability is already (it appears) at a higher state of maturity than most. A SunTONE "stamp" will certify this capability and is a badge of honor. You'll join hundreds of other firms that have attained this status, and will differentiate yourselves from the other hosting centers.<br><br>If you have a standing meeting to discuss status and actions and gaps associated with this effort, and if you think I could add value to this meeting, I would be more than happy to attend and provide insights and suggestions where appropriate.</i></font> <br><br><font color="#663300"><i>Hi <--->,<br><br>I'm more of a Sigma guy than an ISO guy... But from my investigation of ISO, it seems clear that a clean mapping exists between ISO and Sigma. These are initiatives to create and document and control processes to ensure a high degree of quality and predictability and continuous improvement/refinement. These are wonderful tools to ensure a process continues to be aligned with expectations and goals, and is as efficient as possible.<br><br>ITIL and SunTONE, on the other hand, DEFINE best practices and processes.<br><br>See the difference? ITIL is a set of practices/processes, whereas Sigma and ISO are mechanisms to ensure any process is (and continues to be) optimized.<br><br>So, in that sense, they are HIGHLY complementary, but orthogonal. I don't believe there is overlap or mapping between ISO and ITIL. You really need both the processes (ITIL) and the means to define and measure and analyze and implement and control (Sigma/ISO) those processes.<br><br>Note that both ITIL and Sigma/ISO are systemic/intrusive frameworks that, if done right, will infiltrate the whole organization and will be embraced and promoted from the highest levels. It is a culture change that takes more than a training campaign, MBOs, and a tiger team. You already know this, but many clients fail because they are not prepared to endure the multi-year evolution that this kind of change requires. But, for those that succeed, there are great rewards all along the way... incremental quick-hit benefits that don't require huge time or resource investments.<br><br>Many IT shops, I believe, will be outsourced and/or be "consolidated" over the next few years because they can not control their costs, security, and service levels. ITIL+Sigma/ISO is the path to survival and excellence.<br><br>Hope this helps!!</i></font> <br></p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/java_jingle Java Jingle dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/java_jingle Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:09:46 +0000 Computers <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/JavaLogo.jpg" height="70" width="41"> <strong><font color="#990000" size="4">Java Jingle from 1997</font></strong>:  <a href="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/Java.mp3">http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/Java.mp3</a></p> <p><em><font color="#330033">I think Sun employees wrote and recorded that song. Anyone recall who? A verse near the end states: "Nobody can tell you what the future may bring...". Well, that was 8 years ago. Check this out!<br> </font></em></p> <p>As Java technology enters its 10th year, the Java Brand is a one of the most powerful technology brands on the planet. You'll see it on your Java powered mobile phone from Sony Ericcson, Motorola, etc or your Palm PDA, on a variety of new PCs from the factory, built into various printers from Ricoh, baked into mobile games, and a part of slew of websites from our partners like Borland, Oracle, and others. Java technology is on over <em><u>2 Billion devices</u></em> and counting! <br><br><strong><em><u>The Facts</u></em></strong> <br>In our most recent study we found that 86% of consumers and 100% of developers and IT recognize the Java brand. In addition we have seen the association of Java and Sun grow by 15% year over year. Over 80% of Developers and IT professionals know that Java comes from Sun. In addition 1 in 3 consumers will buy a product with the Java brand over a comparable product, this is up from 1 in 5 just a year ago. <!--StartFragment --> <a href="http://java.com">Java.com</a> just blew past 10 Million visitors per month, which is more visitors than Nintendo.com, Wired.com, Playstation.com, Time.com, Businessweek.com, and many others. Here are some facts and figures:</p> <ul> <li>2 million downloads of J2EE 1.4 - the most popular release ever!</li> <li>4.5 million Java developers, up 7% from June 2004</li> <li>2 billion Java-enabled devices, up 14% from June 2004</li> <li>750M Java Cards, up 25% from June 2004</li> <li>579M phones, up 65% from June 2004</li> <li>650M PCs, up 8% from June 2004</li></ul> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/power_hungry_grids Power Hungry Grids!! dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/power_hungry_grids Fri, 11 Mar 2005 07:03:47 +0000 Computers <p>I find it ironic that our industry uses Power Generation and Distribution Grids as a metaphor to describe the utility based computing model that is being promoted by vendors and demanded by an increasing number of customers. Actually, it is a reasonable and appropriate analogy. You don't build your own unique power generator for your home or business, and you don't hire a Chief Electrical Officer. Instead you plug into the Power Grid(s)... and leverage standards and scale economics and the variable cost structure of a reliable shared service provider for which you pay for what you consume at a predictable cost per unit. Being a commodity adhering to standards, you can easily switch providers with little or no impact to your operation. You demand a level of service quality, and know what you are willing to pay for that service.</p> <p>I find it ironic simply because it will take a main artery from the Power Grid to, well, <font color="#660000"><strong>power</strong></font> the Compute Grids being designed. There are plans on drawing boards to increase the compute density of future servers such that a standard 19" datacenter rack will (fully populated with the most dense compute servers) consume up to 25KW of power!! That's huge. Consider a data center floor filled with these racks. You can imagine the engineering challenges associated with extracting that much heat from these blast furnaces. And then, of course, it's up to the datacenter to do something with that all that heat. One customer measured hurricane force chilled air speeds underneath their raised floor tiles! To make matters worse, according to p.20 of <a href="http://datacenters.lbl.gov/docs/Data_Center_Facility7.pdf">this report</a> (see the table below), computer equipment accounts for less than half of the power demand for a typical data center.</p> <p>The good news is that you'll have an unprecedented amount of compute power on each floor tile, so in theory, you won't need as many racks. Of course, we all know that the demand for compute capability exceeds the supply. On the other hand, the ultimate realization of the utility model suggests that you might not even have your own datacenter. Like your gas, water, electricity, cable, and phone services, the cost of the building, of powering, cooling, and administering the equipment, of security, insurance, disaster recovery, etc, will all be absorbed by the utility provider. You simply pay for the service at a known rate per unit of consumption.</p> <p>That sure sounds great in theory (unless you are the Chief <span style="font-weight: bold;">Integration</span> Officer, or Chief <span style="font-weight: bold;">Infrastructure</span> Officer). It'll be fun to watch this play out. And watch IT earn the title: "Information Technology".<br> </p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/GridPwr.jpg"></p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/DC_Pwr.jpg"></p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/the_science_of_data_recovery The Science of Data Recovery dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/the_science_of_data_recovery Wed, 9 Mar 2005 00:19:53 +0000 Computers <p><a href="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/chrisg/20050308#disk_scrubbing">Chris Gerhard</a> made an off hand comment about the fact that disk scrubbing simply hinders (doesn't necessarily prevent) a motivated attempt to retrieve information from a disk drive. Disk Scrubbing is the process of (attempting to) securely erasing a disk to prevent others from accessing previously stored information. This is typically done by writing (possibly multiple times) random data over the entire surface of a disk.</p> <p>Since I work with various government accounts/agencies/programs, this is an area of interest to me and some of my clients.</p> <p>You might think that a digital medium designed to store only zeros and ones would be immune to forensic recovery of residual data once the zeros and ones are randomly altered. The fallacy with this is that magnetic storage is not a digital medium at all. Magnetic domains are created when the read/write head applies energy to a bit location to align some (not all) of the particles to reflect either a zero or a one. The precise location of the "domain" for each write varys slightly in three dimensions (including depth). This reality provides interesting opportunities or risk (depending on your perspective).<br> </p> <p>A colleague (thanks Joe) pointed me to a <a href="http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/data-recovery/learn-more-about-microscopy.htm">fascinating report</a> on techniques involved in recovering data from ostensibly erased disks and computer memory. This is amazing and spooky stuff for the technically inclined. Here is <a href="http://mareichelt.de/pub/notmine/livegate.netwipe.html">another report</a> (thanks Kurt) that's also very interesting and enlightening. Joe also pointed me to <a href="http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/%7Epgut001/">Prof. Gutman's website</a>, who has a lifetime of security related knowledge to share!</p> <p>Here are a few brief excerpts (read the <a href="http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/data-recovery/learn-more-about-microscopy.htm">article</a> for context):<br><br><font color="#666600"><i>When all the above factors are combined it turns out that each (disk) track contains an image of everything ever written to it, but that the contribution from each "layer" gets progressively smaller the further back it was made. Intelligence organisations have a lot of expertise in recovering these palimpsestuous images.<br></i></font><br><font color="#666600"><i>To effectively erase a medium to the extent that recovery of data from it becomes uneconomical requires a magnetic force of about five times the coercivity of the medium... (</i><i>a modern hard drive has a  coercivity of 1400-2200 Oe).... </i><i>Even the most powerful commercial AC degausser cannot generate Oe needed for full erasure. </i><i>It may be necessary to resort to physical destruction of the media to completely sanitise it (in fact since degaussing destroys the sync bytes, ID fields, error correction information, and other paraphernalia needed to identify sectors on the media, thus rendering the drive unusable, it makes the degaussing process mostly equivalent to physical destruction).<br><br></i><i>One example of an adequate degausser was the 2.5 MW Navy research magnet used by a former Pentagon site manager to degauss a 14" hard drive. It bent the platters on the drive...</i></font></p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/sun_db_the_open_database "Sun DB" The Open Database dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/sun_db_the_open_database Mon, 7 Mar 2005 09:00:09 +0000 Computers <P><SPAN class=artText><FONT color=#660000><BIG><FONT color=#000000><SMALL><SPAN class=artTitle>Our President & COO recently talked to the press about our plans regarding Sun's Open Source SQL database (see the link and excerpt below).</SPAN></SMALL></FONT></BIG></FONT></SPAN></P> <P><SPAN class=artText><FONT color=#660000><BIG><FONT color=#000000><SMALL><SPAN class=artTitle></SPAN></SMALL></FONT></BIG></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=artText><FONT color=#660000><BIG><FONT color=#000000><SMALL><SPAN class=artTitle>I believe "Sun DB" (a generic term for the concept) will provide huge value to our industry. Many will continue to choose to deploy their largest, most active, and most mission critical data stores on technology from traditional database vendors. However, Sun DB will provide a supported open standard and open source SQL data store at an extremely attractive price point (free?). IT Shops, Government Programs, Research Facilities, etc, will find this offering to be technically and financially irresistible for many types of deployments. And, I'm guessing that traditional database vendors will find intensified market pressure to readdress license models increasingly irresistible. It's a win-win for everyone... Well, almost everyone.</SPAN></SMALL></FONT></BIG></FONT></SPAN><!--StartFragment --></P> <P><SPAN class=artText><FONT color=#660000><BIG><FONT color=#000000><SMALL><SPAN class=artTitle></SPAN></SMALL></FONT></BIG></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=artText><FONT color=#660000><BIG><SPAN class=artTitle><A href="http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/02/16/HNsunpresident_1.html"><I><SMALL><FONT color=#000000>http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/02/16/HNsunpresident_1.html</FONT></SMALL></I></A></WEBHEADLINE></SPAN><B><SPAN class=artTitle><WEBHEADLINE><BR><BR>Sun president talks databases, Sparc, and HP</WEBHEADLINE></SPAN></B></BIG></FONT><BR>Jonathan Schwartz talks about Sun's open source plans and offers Fiorina's successor some advice</SPAN></P><SPAN class=artText> <P class=ArticleBody page="1"><STRONG>IDG: Does Sun have a concrete plan to offer an open source database, or was Scott McNealy just being provocative when he suggested that recently?</STRONG> </P> <P class=ArticleBody page="1"><FONT color=#003300>Schwartz: To be a complete application platform you have to have some form of persistent storage. You can achieve that through a file system, a directory engine, a messaging store, the persistence engine in our application server -- those are all forms of databases. What we haven't done is address the SQL access database, which has been served well in the open source community by MySQL and PostgreSQL. We're committed to filling the hole -- all of the hole, not just the file system. We have to address the requirements of the SQL database, so I think we're quite serious about it. </FONT></P> <P class=ArticleBody page="1"><STRONG>IDG: Would you use the same model as you did with Linux on the Java Desktop System, i.e. take an existing open source product, tweak it for your needs and put a Sun label on it?</STRONG> </P> <P class=ArticleBody page="1"><FONT color=#003300>Schwartz: That's to be determined. Customers have said, 'We'd like an alternative to the existing choices we have.' And they are consistently asking Sun to go work on that issue.</FONT> </P> <P class=ArticleBody page="1"><STRONG>IDG: So it's a matter of when and not if?</STRONG> </P> <P class=ArticleBody page="1"><FONT color=#003300>Schwartz: Absolutely.</FONT></P></SPAN> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/in_good_company_ceo_cio In Good Company: McNealy/Vass dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/in_good_company_ceo_cio Fri, 4 Mar 2005 12:15:44 +0000 Computers <P>My 30 minutes of fame! Some of our C-levels came to town to yesterday to present at the IPIC 2005 Conference. Our execs love to meet with customers at every opportunity, so we were given a couple hours of their time before their flights - to host an exec roundtable. We invited some of our top customers. Scott entertained and enlightened the crowd from 10-11am. Bill Vass was on from 1-2pm. And, during our catered lunch, between Scott and Bill's talks, I was asked to talk about "Innovation & Value". It was a blast. Mapquest tells me I'm 2908 miles from Corporate HQ. <A href="http://www.geobytes.com/CityDistanceTool.htm">CityDistance</A> tells me I'm 2443 miles away. But, for 30 minutes... I was on the "A", um "C" team!  :-)</P> <P><IMG src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/GoodCompany.jpg"></P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/client_engagement_prep_form Client Engagement Prep Form dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/client_engagement_prep_form Tue, 1 Mar 2005 18:19:42 +0000 Computers <P><!--StartFragment --><FONT color=#006600>I created this a few years ago when I was an Area Product Specialist, flying into accounts all over the place for workshops and architectural or technology discussions. At the time, I needed a way to synchronize details about the account, the specific challenges/opptys we needed to flesh out at the meeting, and travel logistics. It helps to set expectations and align messaging before a customer facing meeting. Account teams were great at filling these out.... I have 100+ of these in my e-mail archive! I generally used a descriptive subject line, such as:</FONT></P> <P><B>Subject: Brillhart Customer Engagement: Xerox@Rochester [9 May 03]</B><BR><BR><FONT color=#006600>Here is the form. Feel free to adapt and reuse!</FONT></P> <P>This note contains important information regarding our upcoming meeting(s). Please verify that the meeting logistics are correct, and then complete the Meeting Questionnaire (see below).<BR><BR>If you intend on us disclosing any confidential information, please ensure you've completed all the Non-Disclosure (ND) paperwork and secured any approvals in advance. Some account teams believe they have a general bi-lateral ND in place, when in fact each meeting requires a separate approval. Please have the paperwork at the meeting. Thanks!<BR><BR>This Questionnaire doesn't take long to complete, and it really does help ensure success. Sales teams often benefit from this exercise as much as the presenter.<BR><BR><U><B>MEETING LOGISTIC SUMMARY</B></U><BR>I'm scheduled to meet with you and your customer, [<FONT color=#cc0000>Xerox</FONT>], in the [<FONT color=#cc0000>Rochester Area</FONT>] on [<FONT color=#cc0000>Friday, May 9th</FONT>] for [<FONT color=#cc0000>about 2 hours</FONT>]. This engagement [<FONT color=#cc0000>\is\</FONT>] covered by a signed ND agreement. The primary focus of this meeting will be [<FONT color=#cc0000>item #3</FONT>] as described below, with particular emphasis on VCS competitive positioning.<BR><BR>Please let me know ASAP if any of this has changed. It might be useful for your customers to know a little about me before the meeting: <A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://brillharts.com/sig">http://brillharts.com/sig</A><BR><BR><U><B>MEETING QUESTIONNAIRE</B></U><BR>In order to prepare for our upcoming meetings, I'd like you to fill out the following brief questionnaire as soon as possible for my preparation. Please try to fill out everything just to be sure we are all on the same page. I've found this process really helps ensure a successful meeting. Thanks in advance for your time!!<BR><BR><I><B>1. Account Team Contact Info:<BR></B></I>Sales Rep: 10-digit office/pager/cell<BR>Client Solutions Contact: 10-digit office/pager/cell:</P> <P><I><B>2. Customer Name and their Function, Department or Group:</B></I><BR><B><BR><EM>3. Directions to Meeting </EM></B><EM>(<FONT color=#666666>or an address - and I'll use MapQuest</FONT>)<BR></EM>Hotel Recommendations, if an overnight stay is required<BR>Do I need a car, or will you be picking me up at the airport?<BR><BR><I><B>4. Customer Prep Call</B></I><BR>Do we have a customer con call scheduled with one of the key meeting participants to better understand their expectations for this meeting?<BR><BR><I><B>5. Primary \Business\ Challenges/Goals</B></I><BR>What are the primary \business\ challenges/goals we are trying to help them with during this meeting?<BR><BR><I><B>6. Key Discussion Topics & Desired Outcome/Takeaway/Actions/Agreements</B></I><BR>When we leave, what do \we\ hope was accomplished?<BR><BR><I><B>7. How many people will be attending? Who are they?</B></I><BR>What is their experience level or technical competence related to the topic of the meeting? Are they generally advocates, skeptics, or opponents of our approach to or stand on this topic? What level of influence do they have to make commitments and/or decisions? Who else from Sun will be in attendance? Consider inviting SunES personnel and strategic partners. Should someone from Sales Mgmt attend?<BR><BR><I><B>8. Do you anticipate the need to talk about Futures?</B></I><BR>CPUs, Servers, Clustering, Storage/SANs, Solaris, Web Services/SOA, etc.... If so, have you secured ND approval?<BR><BR><I><B>9. Competition / Position / Traps?</B></I><BR>What is the main competitive threat related to the topic of this meeting? Are we the incumbent or the challenger in this space? What "traps" might have the competition set for us?<BR><BR><I><B>10. Service Escalations / Quality Issues?</B></I><BR>Have they had any serious product or service issues that might surface in this meeting?<BR><BR><I><B>11. Odds and ends:</B></I><BR>What is the dress code?<BR>Will there be a laptop projector?<BR>Do they understand the general Sun product line and vision?<BR><BR>A quick FYI: Presentations are often more effective in a "chalk talk" interactive format. Please ensure there is something to write on (white board or easel). Sometimes the best approach is a laptop projector that projects onto a white board to facilitate annotations to the slides that relate to the customer's situation. Also, if we only expect the meeting to last a couple hours, try to secure other meetings to make the most of the day.</P> <P><U><B>MY SERVICES</B></U><BR>1. Engage the customer in an open discussion about their technical and business requirements, goals, and the expectations of both their mgmt and the end-users of the services they plan to deliver. Assist the customer in thinking through the various options and tradeoffs they can choose from during the architecture and design phase. Work with the Sales Team to produce a solution proposal. Continue to provide support to the Sales Team and customer as needed to secure the order.<BR><BR>2. Discuss our Vision and Roadmap and the Technologies that surround Datacenter Architecture and Operations. This can include N1, SOA and Web Services, ITIL Disciplines, Operational Capability, Utility Computing, Managed Services, etc.<BR><BR>3. Discuss High Availability using SunCluster 3, Replication Techniques for Disaster Recovery, and End-to-End Solution Architectures, and help the customer design a solution that solves the business challenge they are facing.<BR><BR>4. Perform an Architectural Review and Systems Performance Audit of the customer's current environment, and propose changes that will optimize their environment for their current and projected business requirements.<BR><BR>5. Deliver an in-depth technical review of our Servers, Interconnects, and Chip Architectures and position Sun w.r.t. competitive offerings, to help guide the customer to a decision that is appropriate for their current and projected needs.<BR><BR>6. Provide a high-level strategic overview of our Vision, Value Proposition, Broad Product and Technology Overview, and Competitive Positioning, to help the customer make an informed and confident decision to partner with Sun.<BR><BR>7. Work with Customer Engineers and SysAdmins at the customer's site to build a Proof of Concept evaluation environment using Best Practices, and then assist the customer in exercising the POC to demonstrate how it's features and functions will enable the customer to succeed.<BR><BR>8. Other. Such as Storage NDs, Blade NDs, Volume Server NDs, etc.<BR></P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/rocket_science_open_standards Rocket Science & Open Standards dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/rocket_science_open_standards Thu, 24 Feb 2005 15:10:47 +0000 Computers <P>Here is a letter I sent to a Lead Architect I met at a particular "space agency", as a follow up to our discussion about one of their infrastructure redesign projects. I think many clients are wrestling with this topic, so I offer this as an open/anonymous letter for your consideration.<!--StartFragment --></P> <P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#330033>Hi <----->,</FONT></P> <P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#330033>It was great meeting with you yesterday. Thanks for sharing some insights into your strategy and challenge. I applaud you for starting to think about your future infrastructure needs and the potential risk of status quo at this point. Too many clients wait until the last minute and then they find themselves in an urgent/reactive mode making poor and costly choices.<BR><BR>I was thinking more about your philosophy regarding the use of non-proprietary open standards. This is very important, and I'm a huge advocate of this approach. I agree that it is critical to architect a solution that promotes choice and permits you to migrate to different products and technologies and vendors without cost, delay, or pain. To me, and I would guess to you as well, this is the reason to select interoperable standards and "open" platforms.<BR><BR>As you know (although many people confuse the two) the "open source" movement is different than the value proposition of "open standards". The measure of whether something is open or not is determined by the cost/pain of extracting that component out of your solution and replacing it with another choice. Examples could include the server vendor (eg: HP to Sun Opteron), the OS (eg: Linux to Solaris), the SAN fabric switches, the J2EE App Server, the SQL Database, the Compilers, etc, etc....  Note that open source does not factor into the measure of being "open".<BR><BR>I do also recognize the value of open source. It can increase the rate of innovation through a global community. It can provide for independent security assessment and validation. It can offer a client the ability to tweak the product for their own needs (although I generally discourage this due to support and quality and complexity reasons). As you know, Sun has open sourced the code to Solaris10! I never thought I'd see that happen, but it has.<BR><BR>There is another aspect that I believe is part of your strategy. If you build the upper layers using interoperable standards, then the layers below are often interchangeable even if they aren't fully open. For example, if you build your business logic using J2EE running in an App Server, then the OS and the H/W choice is much less "sticky". You can switch between SPARC and Opteron or between Solaris and Linux without cost or delay or pain. Also, if you code and compile your own apps, you can choose to use standard library calls that make the underlying platform easy to change.<BR><BR>There are, however, drawbacks associated with choosing products that do not have a well established and directed engineering and support mechanism. The key, in my opinion, is to select partners and products that embrace open standards (and open source) and yet have an auditable and proven support and engineering model. This gives you high confidence in your solution as well as the ability to change at will.<BR><BR>I believe Linux is fine as a personal desktop operating environment. I also think Linux can be a viable choice on which to run stateless replicated (load balanced) presentation tier services. However relying on Linux to host mission critical applications and tier 2+ services, in my professional opinion, will significantly increase the risk associated with your mission support. It just isn't mature enough yet. There are reliability concerns, security concerns,  scalability concerns, functionality concerns, support concerns, bug fix responsiveness concerns, legal indemnification concerns, etc.<BR><BR>I offer the same counsel about the choice of your supplier of Opteron servers and other components in your solution stack. Many have found that the potential initial cost savings associated with building a whitebox generic server, and using freeware software, is often lost many times over in the frustration and hassle of dealing with bugs and quality issues and the lack of features. These issues are highly mitigated when using "open standard" products offered by a partner like Sun that pours billions per year into R&D and QA.<BR><BR>I'll close by reiterating my suggestion that these should probably play a role in your infrastructure redesign:<BR>  - Sun's industry leading Opteron servers (btw, our future roadmap is extremely interesting)<BR>  - Sun's open source Solaris 10 operating environment<BR>  - Sun's open standards "platform software stack"<BR>          (app server, directory server with ActiveX interoperability, portal server, identity server, etc, etc)<BR><BR>We also have an interesting suite of virtualization and automation solutions, including our N1 Service Provisioning Server.<BR><BR>I'd love to support you in learning more about and even evaluating these products and technologies and strategies. I'd also be glad to act as a general sounding board and/or provide architectural review and guidance as desired.<BR><BR>Please feel free to contact me any time. I look forward to hearing from you.<BR><BR>Best Regards,</FONT></P> <P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#330033>-- Dave</FONT></P> <P><!--StartFragment --> <BIG><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Dave Brillhart</SPAN></BIG><BR><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(51,0,153)">Lead Architect - Strategic Government</SPAN><BR style="COLOR: rgb(51,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic"><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(51,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic">Client Solutions Organization</SPAN><BR style="COLOR: rgb(51,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic"><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(51,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic">Sun Microsystems, Inc.</SPAN></P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/superg_2005_paper SUPerG 2005 Paper dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/superg_2005_paper Wed, 23 Feb 2005 02:00:00 +0000 Computers <P>SUPerG (<I>Sun Users Performance Group</I>) is Sun's premiere technical event for customers interested in large scale solutions architected for data centers and high-performance and technical computing. The program is designed to provide highly interactive and intimate exchanges between Sun's leading technical experts and our customers.</P> <P>You can read more about the event, and register to attend at: <A href="http://www.sun.com/datacenter/superg/">http://www.sun.com/datacenter/superg/</A></P> <P><STRONG>This year, I've been invited to speak</STRONG> at this event. In the spirit of blogging, I've posted my abstract (below). I need to get busy writing the paper and creating a clear, concise, and compelling technology demonstration. If you'd like me to address a particular topic or concern or challenge in the paper (related to the abstract), or have an idea that I might include in the demo, please drop me a line or submit a comment to this entry. If I use your idea, I'll attribute it to you in the published paper, and here in blog land, so please include your name and contact info.</P> <P>Hope you see you at SUPerG in April in Virgina. Stop by and say "hi".<BR><BR><U><B><FONT color=#993300>\SUPerG 2005 Abstract\ </FONT></B></U><BR><FONT color=#663366><B>Effective Deployment & Operational Practices for Dynamically Scaled SOA and Grid Environments<BR><BR></B><I>Scalability is taking on a new form and introducing new challenges. The traditional "vertical" platform with dozens of powerful CPUs bound by local memory offering (nearly) uniform memory access, is being threatened by a new model - networked grids of powerful but low cost compute nodes. <BR><BR>Grids are not new. But powerful new techniques are emerging that allow commercial workloads to take advantage of this style of computing. This includes SOA-based application design, as well as auto-deployment and provisioning to drive efficiency and utilization in infrastructure operation. <BR><BR>Modern designs provide for on-the-fly horizontal scaling with the push of a button.... in which new containers join the grid into which a distributed app may expand to offer new levels of performance and service level. A side effect of this approach is a highly-resilient platform, such that bound dependencies can fail without a catastrophic impact on the running service. <BR><BR>This talk will provide an update on the State of the Technology with respect to SOA and Infrastructure Provisioning, and how these can be leveraged to offer Adaptable, Scalable, and Resilient services. <BR><BR>I may also include a demonstration that will show how a collection of bare metal servers can be established into a Grid using N1 SPS (integrated with JET). Following this provisioning phase, the demo will then show a sample app deployed and executed across multiple nodes. Finally, it'll show a node being added to the live Grid using SPS, and how that app can then expand, at run-time, to leverage this new node, increasing its work rate.</I></FONT> </P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/boycotting_oracle Boycotting Oracle dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/boycotting_oracle Tue, 15 Feb 2005 04:26:43 +0000 Computers <p>So the news (<a href="http://news.com.com/2102-1006_3-5572958.html">news.com.com</a>) is reporting that Intel and HP are getting into the game... joining the ranks of multi-core chip vendors and their customers who see Oracle's license strategy (to charge by the core) as misaligned with the times. These are times of virtualized resources that are consumed and funded as needed, they say.<br><br>I was thinking of an analogy for Oracle's position... Consider how you would feel about a policy at Blockbuster Video if, when you rented a DVD, you had to pay $10.00 per seat (your sofa counts as three - being multi-seated). No, it doesn't matter if it'll just be you and your spouse watching the movie. Since you have 15 seats that you \could\ utilize (the bar stools and folding chairs count too) you will pay $150.00 per night for that movie. Oh, you'd like to display that movie in PARALLEL in your family room and in your entertainment room? Sure, you can do that with their "shared disc" technology. But now add up all the seats in both rooms (25), and that'll be $20.00 per seat! So please pay us $500.00 per night for that movie.<br><br>Now, why in the world would Oracle change that policy? They've maximized their revenue pull - and customers are still writing checks. They are in business to extract as much from their "value" as the market will bear, not offer charity discounts to a world that can't rationalize the price tag assigned by a market share leader (I won't use the other "m" word). Oracle reports having $10B in cash, about equal to their annual revenue. It would take less than a thousand E25K customers to decide to run Oracle RAC on their servers to deliver another $10B to their warchest. Not bad, for the price of DVD blanks :-)<br><br>Choice in this market segment is the only lever that will work. Customers are demanding choice. And they will respond when it appears. Oracle should note that when choice knocks, many will answer even if they then respond with a competitive position. It takes a long time to get a bad taste out of your mouth. Many will boycott Oracle just because they finally can.<br><br>There are some hints that choice might be <a href="http://techrepublic.com.com/5102-10585-5563417.html">just around the corner</a>.</p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/the_fall_and_rise_of The Fall and Rise of IT: Part 1 dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/the_fall_and_rise_of Sat, 12 Feb 2005 14:15:15 +0000 Computers <P>Here's a collection of charts, graphs, and images that provide insight into the abyss of the typical datacenter operation. It's scary out there, when we apply benchmarks used to measure utilization, efficiency, and contribution from other part of the business.</P> <P>But there is hope. For example, just this month Sun released a valuable and comprehensive (and free) <A href="http://www.sun.com/blueprints/0205/819-1693.html">BluePrint</A> book called "Operations Management Capabilities Model". We've been working on this one for some time - so check it out. In addition, you can sign up (for free) with our <A href="http://www.suntone.org/">SunTONE Program</A> for self-assessment guides and self-remediation activities related to our ITIL-plus Certification program. It is based on, but extends ITIL. Thousands of companies are registered. We'll help if you'd like. Finally, the <A href="http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/sodc/">Service-Optimized DataCenter</A> program will act as a Center of Excellence for putting these concepts into practice along with innovative new technologies in virtualization, provisioning, automation, and optimization, and other best practices. As you read about the state of IT below, realize that there is an escape from the pit of mediocrity. Part 2 will explore the oppty.</P> <P>For now, for this post, I'll survey some of the problems that need fixing...</P> <P>Let's assume that the prime directive for a datacenter is simply to: <FONT color=#990000><STRONG>Deliver IT Services that meet desired Service Level Objectives at a competitive cost point</STRONG></FONT>. There are all kinds of important functions that fall within those large buckets [Service Level and Financial Mgmt], but that'll work for this discussion.</P> <P>In my experience working with customers, there are two primary barriers that prevent a datacenter from being as successful as it might be in this mission. First, there is <FONT color=#000099><STRONG>rampant unmanaged complexity</STRONG></FONT>. Second, most <FONT color=#000099><STRONG>IT activities are reactive </STRONG></FONT>in nature... triggered by unanticipated events and often initiated by unsatisfied customer calls. The result: <B>expensive services that can't meet expectations</B>. Which is the exact opposite of the what an IT shop should deliver!</P> <P>Here are some related graphics (with comments following each graphic):</P> <P><IMG style="WIDTH: 629px; HEIGHT: 363px" height=389 src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/stovepipes.jpg" width=656></P> <P>This illustrates the typical "silo" or "stovepipe" deployment strategy. A customer or business unit wants a new IT service developed and deployed. They might help pick their favorite piece parts and IT builds/integrates the unique production environment for this application or service. There is often a related development and test stovepipe for this application, and maybe even a DR (disaster recovery) stovepipe at another site. That's up to four "n"-tier environments per app, with each app silo running different S/W stacks, different firmware, different patches, different middleware, etc, etc. Each a science experiment and someone's pet project.</P> <P>Standish, Meta, Gartner, and others describe the fact that ~40% of all major IT initiatives that are funded and staffed are eventually canceled before they are ever delivered! And of those delivered, half never recover their costs. Overall, 80% of all major initiatives do not deliver to promise (either canceled, late, over budget, or simply don't meet expectation). Part of the reason (there are many reasons) for this failure rate is the one-off stovepipe mentality. Other reasons are a lack of clear business alignment, requirements, and criteria for success.</P> <P><IMG src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/complexity.jpg"></P> <P>This is a interesting quote from a systems vendor. While 200M IT workers seems absurd, it describes the impact of accelerating complexity and the obvious need to manage that process. We saw the way stovepipe deployment drives complexity. We're seeing increasing demand for services (meaning more stovepipes), each with increasing service level expectations (meaning more complex designs in each stovepipe), each with increasing rates of change (meaning lots of manual adjustments in each stovepipe), each with with increasing numbers of (virtual) devices to manage, each built from an increasing selection of component choices. The net result is that each stovepipe looks nothing like the previous or next IT project. Every app lives in a one-off custom creation.</P> <P><IMG src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/utilization.jpg"></P> <P>If all this complexity isn't bad enough, as if to add insult to injury, each of these silos averages less than 10% utilization. Think about that.... say you commit $5million to build out your own stovepipe for an ERP service. You will leave $4.5M on the floor running idle! That would be unacceptable in just about any other facet of your business. Taken together, high complexity (lots of people, unmet SLOs) and low utilization rates (more equip, space, etc) drive cost through the roof! If we could apply techniques to increase average utilization to even 40% (and provide fault and security isolation), we could potentially eliminate the need for 75% of the deployed equip and related overhead (or at least delay further <!--StartFragment --> acquisitions, or find new ways to leverage the resources).</P> <P><IMG src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/outages.jpg"></P> <P>We've seen what complexity and utilization does to cost... But the other IT mandate is to deliver reliable IT services. This graphic summarizes a few studies performed by IEEE, Oracle, and Sun as to the root cause of service outages. In the past, ~60% of all outages were planned/scheduled, and 40% were the really bad kind - unplanned. Thankfully, new features like live OS upgrades and patches and backups and dynamic H/W reconfigurations are starting to dramatically reduce the need for scheduled outages. But we've got to deal with the unplanned outages that always seem to happen at the worst times. Gartner explains that 80% of unplanned outages are due to unskilled and/or unmotivated people making mistakes or executing poorly documented and undisciplined processes. In theory, we can fix this with training and discipline. But since each stovepipe has its own set of unique operational requirements and processes, it nearly impossible to implement consistent policies and procedures across operations.</P> <P><IMG src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/opr_maturity.jpg"></P> <P>So it isn't surprising, then, that Gartner has found that 84% of datacenters are operating in the basement in terms of Operational Maturity... Either in Chaotic or Reactive modes.</P> <P>Okay... enough. I know I didn't paint a very pretty picture. The good news is that most firms recognize these problems and are starting to work at <!--StartFragment --> simplifying and standardizing their operations. In Part 2, I'll provide some ideas on where to start and how to achieve high-return results.</P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/the_cell_processor The Cell Processor dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/the_cell_processor Wed, 9 Feb 2005 03:27:25 +0000 Computers <P>The <A href="http://www-1.ibm.com/businesscenter/venturedevelopment/us/en/featurearticle/gcl_xmlid/8649/nav_id/emerging">latest buzz</A> on the streets, at least around those neighborhoods frequented by the eXtreme crowd, seems to be about the <A href="http://www.blachford.info/computer/Cells/Cell0.html">Cell Processor</A>. I wrote a little <A href="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/dcb/?anchor=the_fallacy_of_ibm_s">blog</A> on the Power 6 recently and one reader warned me to watch out for The Cell.<BR><BR>Well, I have to admit, I'm a bleeding edge junkie myself at times. And the theory of operation around The Cell is pretty compelling. The problem is that theory doesn't always translate to reality! In fact, it seldom does. Especially when S/W is a critical component of the translation.<BR><BR>Gartner suggests that only 1 in 5 major initiatives that Sr. Mgmt funds and resources ever delivers to promise... 80% fail to meet expectations. IBM talks about a recent <A href="http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/chaos_1994_1.php">Standish Group</A> report that suggests only 16.2% of S/W projects are delivered to promise. <A href="http://www.knowledge-advantage.com/your_why.asp">Another study</A> suggests that > 40% are canceled before delivered (and most that are delivered are late and/or way over budget, often never recovering costs).<BR><BR>If you read the reports about Cell, it isn't about the H/W... That's the point really. The H/W is made up of standard building blocks (cells) of Power cores. A socket holds a Processor Element which contains a main Processor Unit (core) and several (often 8) Attached Processor Units (cores). However, the interesting part is the "Cell Object", which is a S/W construct that includes code and data that can migrate around looking for a "host" Cell system on which to execute. There is talk of dynamically-orchestrating pipelines. Of S/W self-healing properties. Of dynamic partitionability with multiple native OS support. All S/W ideas.<BR><BR>So it isn't really about H/W.  The H/W "Cells" are simply the "amino acids". The more interesting question might be: <STRONG><EM>is there an "intelligent designer" who can breath life into a soup made up of these "single celled" organisms?</EM></STRONG> There is a precedent for doom - where advanced life forms failed to thrive due to a lack of S/W life support (eg: EPIC/VLIW, Stack Machines, etc).</P> <P>We saw earlier the dismal failure rate of projects using well established S/W development paradigms. It'll be amazing if Sony/Toshiba/IBM can turn the PlayStation3 engine into a viable <STRONG><U>general purpose computing platform</U></STRONG> that can threaten AMD, Intel, and SPARC at home and in the datacenter. From what I hear, the development tools and processes for PlayStation2 are an absolute nightmare.</P> <P>It'll be fun to watch this pan out. One thing is for sure... at least PlayStation3 will ROCK, if they can deliver a reasonable flow of affordable immersive networked games. I hope so.</P> <P>The Cell makes for great reading. Unfortunately, when it comes to a general purpose platform, this one might never recover from Stage 3:</P> <P><IMG src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/HypeCycle.jpg"></P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/chips_cores_threads_oh_my Chips, Cores, Threads, OH MY!! dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/chips_cores_threads_oh_my Sun, 30 Jan 2005 12:47:55 +0000 Computers <P>I don't know about you, but the whole mess around the emerging lexicon associated with modern processors is very frustrating. Terms are frequently redefined and twisted based on each vendor's whim and fancy. But words (should) mean something and obviously it's important that we all talk the same language.</P> <P>A perfect example... you might have been approached by a <A href="http://www.carm.org/jw/nutshell.htm">Jehovah's Witness</A> in the past. Or have a friend who is a <A href="http://www.carm.org/lds/nutshell.htm">Mormon</A>. I do. They are wonderful people in general. When they talk about their faith their words and themes sound very similar to Biblical Christianity. But dive a little deeper and you'll find the belief systems are radically different. I'm not making a statement on value or correctness or anything like that (so don't bother starting a religious debate). My point is that two people can talk and maybe even (think they) agree, when in fact they are as far from each other as heaven and hell (so-to-speak).</P> <P>When it comes to the engines that power computers, people talk about CPUs, and Processors, and Cores, and Threads, and Sockets, and Chips, and n-Way, and TEUs, and CMT, and Hyper-Threading, and and and... Whew!</P> <P>I like to use three terms... Chips, Cores, and Threads. Note that this is pretty much what SPEC.ORG uses: <A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://www.spec.org/cpu2000/results/rint2000.html">http://www.spec.org/cpu2000/results/rint2000.html</A></P> <P>I stay away from Sockets and Processors and CPUs and n-Way, as these are confusing or ambiguous or redundant.</P> <P><U><STRONG><BIG>Here are some examples [Chips/Cores/Threads]:<BR></BIG></STRONG></U>V880:          8/8/8<BR>V490:          4/8/8<BR>p570:          8/16/32<BR>V40z:          4/4/4<BR><A href="http://www.sun.com/processors/throughput/MDR_Reprint.pdf">Niagara</A>:      1/8/32  (for a system with just one of these chips)</P> <P><BIG><U><B>Here are my definitions:</B></U></BIG> </P> <P><STRONG><U><FONT color=#009900>Chips </FONT><BR></U></STRONG>This refers to the laser scribed rectangle cut from a semiconductor wafer, which is then packaged in a plastic or ceramic casing with pins or contacts. A "chip" may have multiple processing "cores" in it (see: Cores). The US-IV and Niagara and Power5 and Itanium and Opteron are all single "chips".</P> <P><STRONG><U><FONT color=#009900>Cores</FONT><BR></U></STRONG>This term refers to the number of discrete "processors" in a system or on a chip. Some chips, such as Power5, US-IV,  Niagara, etc, have more than one core per chip. A core is also know as a TEU (thread execution unit). Each "core" may also be multi-threaded (see Threads), which can support concurrent or switched execution. Some cores have more than one integer, floating point or other type of "execution unit" that supports instruction level parallelism and/or more than one concurrent thread.</P> <P><STRONG><U><FONT color=#009900>Threads</FONT><BR></U></STRONG>Threads are really a S/W construct. These are the streams of execution scheduled by the OS to do work driven by the computer's processor(s). Some cores can handle more than one thread of execution. Some cores can execute more than one thread at the same time. Other cores can be loaded with multiple threads, but perform H/W context switching at nanosecond speeds. The Thread Count of a processors equals the number of cores multiplied by the number of threads handled by each core. The US-IV has a Thread Count of 2\1=2. The Power5 has a Thread Count of 2\2=4. Niagara has a TC of 8\4=32.</P> <P><STRONG><U><FONT color=#cc0000>Sockets (avoid)</FONT><BR></U></STRONG>This term is designed to communicate the number of processor "chips" in a system. However, in reality it is an ambiguous term, because IBM's MCMs (multi-chip modules) have four "chips" per motherboard "socket". And, a long time ago, some sockets were stacked with more than one chip. Regardless, this term is supposed to equate to the number of "chips", so why confuse the issue. Just use "chips".</P> <P><STRONG><U><FONT color=#cc0000>Processors (avoid)</FONT><BR></U></STRONG>This is technically equal to the number of cores. However, marketing has corrupted this term and some vendors (like Sun) equate this to the number of chips (or sockets), while others equate this to the number of cores. Vendors also use the term "n-Way". But since the number "n" equals the number of processors, this means different things depending on the vendor. For example, a 4-way V490 from Sun has 8 cores, and Oracle will charge you $320,000.00 (list price) to run Oracle on it.</P> <P><STRONG><U><FONT color=#cc0000>CPUs (avoid)</FONT><BR></U></STRONG>This suffers from the same marketing overload problem as Processors. </P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/soa_jsr_208_reality_check SOA & JSR 208: Reality Check dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/soa_jsr_208_reality_check Sun, 30 Jan 2005 11:22:16 +0000 Computers <p>A friend recently asked me what I'm hearing about SOA adoption and the buzz around JSR 208.</p> <p>"JSR 208" might be a new term for some. Here is a brief overview: <a href="http://www.bijonline.com/PDF/Chappell%20oct.pdf">http://www.bijonline.com/PDF/Chappell%20oct.pdf</a></p> <p>SOA is so over hyped these days that everyone probably has something different in mind when they hear that TLA (three letter acronym). Kinda like "Grid" - the concepts are real and useful, but the hype around SOA and Grid is running years ahead of reality.</p> <p>Remember when N1 was first discussed... the vision of heterogeneous datacenters managed by a meta-OS that auto-provisions virtual slices into which services are deployed and managed to sustain business-driven SLOs based on priorities and charge-back constraints. Just roll in new equip and N1 will "DR" (read: dynamically reallocate) services into the increased capacity. If something fails... no problem... N1 will detect and adapt. We'll get there... eventually. And we've made important steps along the way. Investing almost $2B/yr in R&D will help. But it'll take (a long) time.</p> <p>In some circles I'm hearing similar visions of grandeur around SOA. They talk of business apps described at a high level of abstraction (eg: business process models) loaded into an "application orchestrator" that broadcasts descriptions of the various components/services it needs, and then auto-builds the business app based on services from those providers (both internal and external) that offer the best cost point and service level guarantees. As new "service" providers come on-line with better value (or, if existing providers go off-line), business apps will rebind (on-the-fly) to these new service components.</p> <p>Now, combine N1 and SOA and ITIL, and we could paint a beautiful picture of Service Delivery based on self-orchestrating business apps made up of discrete reusable and shared (possibly outsourced) components that each exist in their own virtual containers that are auto-provisioned and auto-optimized (based on SLAs and Cost and Demand) to maximize asset utilization and minimize cost, all while meeting service level objectives (even in the event of various fault scenarios).</p> <p>Okay - back to reality :-) I'm finding there is a common theme from many of my customers/prospects. Many are seeking to increase efficiency and agility thru "horizontal integration" of reusable building blocks (eg: identity, etc), a shared services platform (grids, virtualization, etc), and higher-level provisioning (automation, SPS).</p> <p>That isn't SOA, per-se, but is a good first step. The "building blocks" most are looking to share today are infrastructure services, rather than higher-level business app components. There is a maturity gradient that simply takes a lot of hard technical and political work to negotiate. Every customer is at a different place along that gradient, but most are embarrassingly immature (relative to the grand vision). It takes strong leadership and commitment at all levels, and a synchronization of people, processes, technology, and information, to even embark on the journey. It takes a tight coupling of S/W engineering, IT Architecture, and Business Architecture.</p> <p>So, yes, I'm passionate about SOA, and JSR 208 will help integrate discrete business services. There are some firms that are pushing the envelope and building interesting business/mission apps from shared "service providers". But, in general, SOA is an abused term and the hype can derail legitimate efforts.</p> <p>I'd be curious if others are sensing "irrational exuberance" around SOA, which can lead to a <a href="http://www.wordspy.com/words/hypecycle.asp">"Trough of Disillusionment"</a> and a rejection of the legitimate gains that an evolutionary progression can provide. As Architects, we can establish credibility and win confidence (and contracts) by setting realistic expectations (hype-busting) and presenting not only a desired state "blueprint" (something that gets them existed about the possibilities for their environment), but a detailed roadmap that demonstrates the process and the benefits at each check point along the way.<br> <img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/HypeCycle.jpg"><br> </p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/sun_the_nobel_prize Sun & The Nobel Prize dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/sun_the_nobel_prize Thu, 27 Jan 2005 06:44:09 +0000 Computers <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">Back about 15 years ago, an economist named Ronald Coase won the Nobel Prize based on some very interesting ideas that we're just starting to see drive serious considerations and behavior in the the world of IT. Sun is well aware of this and responding with initiatives (that I can't talk about here). Like the "perfect storm", our industry is at an inflection point driven by the confluence of various trends and developments. These all add up to an environment that is ripe for <a href="http://www.strassmann.com/pubs/cw/outsourcing-it.shtml">Coase's Law</a> to be enforced with prejudice.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">Coase's Law states that: <strong><em>firms should only do what they can do more efficiently than others, and should outsource what others can do more efficiently</em></strong>, after considering the transaction costs involved in working with the outside suppliers.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">There is nothing earth shattering about that simple and intuitive statement. However, back in the 90's, when this idea was explored in theoretical circles by bean counters, the "escape clause" related to transactional costs rendered the idea impotent, or at least limited, in the IT world. A captive internal service (eg: payroll) might not be highly efficient, but the thought of outsourcing a business function was quickly evaporated under the heat of a financial impact analysis. It just cost too much per transaction to realize a worthwhile return. And the incredible growth and prosperity of the "bubble years" leading up to Y2K was not a climate that drove consideration of the business value of outsourcing.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">But all that is changing. You are familiar with many of the <a href="http://mstm.gmu.edu/mstm720/Articles/TechnologyLaws.htm">various "laws"</a> that describe trends in IT, such as:</font></p> <ul style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"> <li> <font size="3"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Moore's Law</span> (fab process trends that underpin cheap powerful compute infrastructures)</font></li><li><font size="3"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gilder's Law</span> (the ubiquity of high-bandwidth network fabrics interconnecting businesses and consumers)</font></li> </ul> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">You are also familiar with concept of Web Services that leverage standard interfaces and protocols and languages to facilitate secure B2B and B2C transactions over these networks.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">Taken together, the cost of an outsourced transaction is now <strong>dramatically</strong> lower than it was pre-bubble. Today, outsourcing is not only a viable consideration for certain business functions, but a necessary competitive reality. Here's the way I interpret and apply Coase's Law... Every business has a strategy to capture value and translate that value into revenue and profit. But the realities of running a business require common support functions. Every company had to build their own network of these supporting services (think: Payroll, HR, PR, Legal, Marketing, Manufacturing, etc, etc, etc). Think of these as chapters tucked away in the back of a company's Business Process handbook... necessary ingredients to implement the Business Design, but not part basic value capture. Many of these necessary support functions operate with limited efficiency and effectiveness, because delivering these services is not part of the company's DNA.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">But there are provides that live on Gilder's external network fabric, operating grids of Moore's compute capability, offering highly efficient Web Services based business functions. These providers specialize in specific support services and can drive efficiency (and lowered cost) by aggregating demand. Their core competency is delivering secure reliable business functions at contracted service levels at a highly competitive transactional cost point. Wow! Think about that.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">And moving forward, as we begin to explore the implications of Service-Oriented Architectures, as we implement business processes by orchestrating applications that are built from loosely coupled networked "services", it is not unreasonable to expect some or many of these SOA-based business components to be supplied from one (or more) outsourced suppliers.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">Some people believe that targeted outsourcing will drive massive deconstruction and reconstruction, and that this will be THE major disruptive catalyst in business designs over the next several years. If so, IT will play a major part in this transformation. Sun needs to aggressively tap into this oppty (and we are). To do so will require building B2B/B2C services (and the underlying distributed service delivery platform) that integrates & optimizes business processes beyond the four walls to include the external value chain.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">In his 1997 book, <b><i>The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail</i></b>, Harvard business professor Clayton Christensen posited that, thanks to the Internet, companies are becoming more vulnerable than ever to a competitor wielding a disruptive technology - a technical process or business model so transformative that it could shake a Fortune 500-sized corporation, or even an entire industry, to its foundation. The lesson is that companies must structure themselves so they can rapidly build a new business around a disruptive technology even as they sustain their core competency.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">IBM's OnDemand Enterprise is described as: "An Enterprise whose business process â€“ integrated end-to-end across the company and with key partners, suppliers and customers â€“ can respond with speed to any customer demand, market oppty or external threat".</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><font size="3">Like Coase's Law, the expression of IBM's OnDemand vision is really common sense. It is the confluence of technology and economics today that has caused these ideas to become very interesting. Now it all comes down, as it always does, to execution.</font></p> <p><font size="3"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">And one of the initiatives we're driving at Sun that I can talk about is the </span><a style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;" href="http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/sodc/">Service Optimized Data Center</a><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"> (SODC).  The Sun Service Optimized Data Center program is comprised of an extensive set of services and technologies. Sun creates a comprehensive roadmap, which is used to transform your data center into an efficient, risk-averse, and agile service-driven environment that emphasizes IT operation as a strategic business driver and competitive weapon</span>.</font></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><!--StartFragment --></p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/oracle_tech_day_ny_cabbies Oracle Tech Day & NY Cabbies dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/oracle_tech_day_ny_cabbies Wed, 19 Jan 2005 15:41:46 +0000 Computers It's been awhile since I've visited New York. Last time I was there I met with customers in the World Trade Center. Yesterday I was in <span id="textEdit0">midtown Manhattan at the Grand Hyatt, attached to Grand Central</span> Station.<br> <br> I presented at an <a href="http://www.oracle.com/webapps/events/EventsDetail.jsp?p_eventId=34998&src=3226594&src=3226594&Act=181">Oracle Technology Day</a>. Over 500 people registered for the event to hear about technology and solutions from Sun and Oracle. I discussed, among other things, our ERP Grid <a href="http://www.sun.com/products/architectures-platforms/referencearchitectures/">Reference Architecture</a> that combines Oracle's 10g RAC with our Opteron-based Servers and Infiniband. Sun is sponsoring five cities. Over 700 are registered for the Atlanta session, to whom I'll be presenting next week.<br> <br> On the way back home from the NY session, I was dropped off at LaGuardia. I had to cross a two lane street to get across to the main gate/check-in curb. It was a clear (but cold) day, 100% visibility. In front of me was a wide brightly painted cross-walk. Several people were standing there waiting to cross (which should have been my first clue that things are different in New York). Finally a natural break in traffic... the next group of vehicles is about 70 feet away, lead by a black limo approaching at about 20mph. Great! It's our turn... I step out and start to cross. Suddenly someone yells out to warn me... "Hey Buddy, Watch Out"! I look to my right and the limo driver apparently has no intention to respect the <b>inalienable </b>rights of pedestrians in crosswalks! He slows down just enough to allow me to back up onto the curb and get out of his way!<br> <br> The term "inalienable" is apropos to this experience :-) The root, <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=alien">alien</a>, has this definition:<br> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> Adj. Belonging to, characteristic of, or constituting another and very different place, society, or person; strange</span><br> <br> I think I saw the cabbie mutter: "you're not from around here, are you". Or, something like that :-) I'm reminded of Morpheus' line in <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Matrix</span> when he explains to Neo that: "Some rules can be bent, others can be broken". Seems to be the creed of the <a href="http://www.nycabbie.com/">NY cabbie</a>.<br> <br> Anyway, New York is a lot of fun. Just look both ways before you cross. And then, run like hell.<br> <br> <img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/NYCab.jpg"><br> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/cio_longevity_and_it_execution CIO Longevity and IT Execution dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/cio_longevity_and_it_execution Sat, 15 Jan 2005 06:35:33 +0000 Computers This is a little longer than I generally like for a blog entry. So, I tell you what to expect... I quickly review the essence of IT, then consider why many IT groups are considered ineffective, and finally what can be done to improve execution.<br> <br> The essence of Information Technology is to create, deliver, and sustain high-quality IT services that meet (on time and within budget) the <b><font color="#006600"><i>functional specs</i></font></b> and the on-going <b><font color="#006600"><i>service level agreements</i></font></b> (SLAs) as established thru a partnership with the owners of the requested services. This is, in a nutshell, the role and ultimate responsibility of the CIO.<br> <br> The <b>creation </b>of IT services generally focuses on functional requirements (the purpose of the application - what the service needs to do for the consumer/user). The <b>delivery and support</b> of those services focuses more on quality of service (QoS) attributes, such as performance, as well as the non-functional or systemic qualities (aka: the "ilities") such as reliability, availability, maintainability, securability, manageability, adaptability, scalability, recoverability, survivability, etc. A quick Google search found <a href="http://www.objs.com/aits/9901-iquos.html">this</a> paper among many on the topic.<br> <br> Unfortunately, achieving success is often doomed from the start. And is probably why the average <a href="http://www.strassmann.com/pubs/cw/jobholding.shtml">CIO survives for just 30 months</a> (a new <a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20712">Gartner report</a> even suggests that 2/3rds of CIOs are worried about their job)! Quality is sacrificed on the alter of expedience. Developers focus exclusively on the functional spec. For example, it is rare to find developers who are concerned with <a href="http://roc.cs.berkeley.edu/papers/ROC_TR02-1175.pdf">Recovery-Oriented Computing</a> techniques (ref: Berkeley's David Patterson, et al) that can help mask infrastructure faults by, say, performing run-time discovery and binding of alternate dependencies. It is too easy for a developer to assume their target platform is failsafe, or that recovery is outside their area of concern. That's just lazy or ignorant, IMHO.<br> <br> Just as guilty are the teams responsible for the implementation of those services. Too often new services stand alone in a datacenter as a silo, constructed using a unique set of components and patterns. Often, even if there is an <b>IT Governance Board</b> and/or an <b>Enterprise Architectural Council</b>, their strategic vision, standards and best practices are ignored, ostensibly to achieve time-to-market goals. In reality, it's just easier to not worry about the greater good.<br> <br> What am I leading up to? Well, I believe there are <span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">two key areas</span> that IT must take more seriously in order to increase their value to shareholders and to those who desire their services. These might even help the CIO keep his or her job.<br> <br> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The first is the effective leadership and influence of an Enterprise Architecture Council</span>. One that has a clear and compelling vision of a shared services infrastructure, and has established a pro-active partnership with the developer community and strategic vendors to realize that vision. One that fights hard against human nature to ensure that IT services meet standards in quality, adaptability, observability, platform neutrality, etc.<br> <br> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The second is a focus on the disciplines associated with running a world-class datacenter operation</span>. There is a well established set of standards that are useful as a framework around which these disciplines can be built. It's called the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and is widely adopted in Europe and increasingly being pursued in the States across business, agencies, and institutions.<br> <br> There are 10 ITIL "Best Practice" disciplines associated with the Delivery and Support of IT Services. These prescribe relevant and desirable processes that an IT group should seek to implement if they desire to evolve to a higher level of Operational Maturity. ITIL is highly focused on building a working partnership between IT and the associated Business Units, on increasing the quality of IT services, on reducing the true cost of operations, on establishing communications and execution plans, on the promotion of the value of IT, on understanding the cost and priority of services, etc.<br> <br> Of the ten focus areas, the ITIL discipline that is probably the most important to start with is "Change Mgmt". This is a key area with a significant ROI in terms of service quality and cost. The cost of sloppy change control is huge. In a Fortune 500 acct I visited recently, the S/W developers all have root access to the production machines and make changes ad hoc!! Unfortunately, this isn't uncommon. The introduction of structure and discipline in this area is a great test case for those who think they want to implement ITIL. While the benefits are self evident, it isn't easy. The change will take exec level commitment. There will be serious pressure to resist a transition from a cowboy/hero culture to one that produces repeatable, consistent, predictable high-quality service delivery. The "heroes" won't like it, and they often wield influence and power. But, if this ITIL discipline can be instilled, the other nine have a chance. It's a multi-year effort, but the results will be a highly tuned and business linked competitive weapon.<br> <br> The journey that many IT shops will have to take to achieve higher levels of maturity as suggested by Gartner and Meta, and described by the ITIL Best Practices, is a systemic culture change that fills gaps, eliminates overlap, aligns effort, and establishes structure and methods, designed to increase quality and lower costs. But, ultimately, it is a journey to prosperity and away from dysfunction. ITIL isn't to be taken lightly. It isn't for all IT departments (well, it is to some level, but many aren't ready to make the commitment). These charts show that most (>80%) have stopped and camped on the shore of mediocrity way too early in the journey.<br> <br> <img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/OMCM.jpg"><br> <br> <img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/Meta.jpg"><br> <br> There is a certification track for ITIL. A 3-day ITIL Essentials class is available to provide an introduction and "conversant" knowledge of the various discipline areas. A multiple choice cert test validates this level of understanding. This class is a pre-req for the very intense two-week ITIL Managers (aka: Masters) class. More than 50% fail the two 3-hour Harvard Business School type essay exams that are taken to achieve this level of certification. This is a respected certification and actually demonstrates true command of the principles of IT service excellence.<br> <br> Sun also has offerings around our <a href="http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/sodc/">Service Optimized Data Center</a> program, a new comprehensive roadmap of services and technologies to help customers deploy and manage IT services faster, smarter and more cost-effectively in their data centers. EDS Hosting Services is <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041115/sfm125_1.html">pleased</a> with it. SODC leverages, among other things, our Operations Management Capability Model, based on principles from the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and the Controls Objective for Information and Related Technology (COBIT).<br> <br> I believe Sun can establish itself as more than a parts and technology vendor by demonstrating value in helping our customers address the "Process of IT", into which our Technical Solutions are best delivered.<br> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/the_fallacy_of_ibm_s The Fallacy of IBM's Power6 dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/the_fallacy_of_ibm_s Fri, 14 Jan 2005 09:00:54 +0000 Computers <p>IBM is leaking FUD about its processors again. The Power5+, it is said, will be released later this year, ramping to 3GHz. The Power6, according to a "leaked" non-disclosure preso discussed by <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/08/07/ibms_power5_to_hit_3ghz/">TheRegister</a>, will sport "<i><b>very large frequency enhancements</b></i>". At the end of another <a href="http://news.com.com/2102-1006_3-5091294.html">news.com</a> article, IBM suggests the Power6 will run at an "<i><b>ultra-high frequency</b></i>".</p> <p>In engineering terms, those kinds of phrases generally imply at least an "order of magnitude" type of increase. That's [3GHz \ 10\^1], or an increase to 30GHz! But let's view this thru a marketing lens and say IBM is only talking about a "binary" order of magnitude [3GHz \* 2\^1]. That still puts the chip at 6GHz.</p> <p>And therein lies part of the problem. First, even <a href="http://news.com.com/2102-1006_3-5409816.html">Intel can't get past 4GHz</a>. In an embarrassing admission, they pulled their plans for a 4GHz Pentium and will concentrate their massive brain trust of chip designers on more intelligent ways to achieve increasing performance. More on that in a minute. Now I know IBM has some pretty impressive semiconductor fab processes and fabrication process engineers. But getting acceptable yields from a 12" wafer with 1/2 billion transistor chips at 6GHz and a 65nm fab process is pure rocket science. They can probably do it, at great shareholder expense. But even if that rocket leaves the atmosphere, they are still aiming in the wrong direction. As Sun, and now Intel, have figured out, modern apps and the realities of DRAM performance (even with large caches) render "ultra-high" clock rates impotent.</p> <p>I've also got to hand it to IBM's chip designers...Here is an interesting technical overview of the<a href="http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/483/slegel.html"> z990 (MainFrame) CPU</a>. The Power6 is targeted as the replacement for the z990, so it'll have to meet the z990 feature bar. The Power6 is rumored to be a common chip for their M/F zSeries and Unix pSeries platforms... (but they've been talking about a common chip for 10 years now, according to <a href="http://regionals4.gartner.com/regionalization/img/gpress/pdf/2004_chapter_datacenter.pdf">Gartner</a>). Here is an excerpt of the z990 description:</p> <p><small><font color="#990000"><i>"These include millicode, which is the vertical microcode that executes on the processor, and the recovery unit (R-unit), which holds the complete microarchitected state of the processor and is checkpointed after each instruction. If a hardware error is detected, the R-unit is then used to restore the checkpointed state and execute the error-recovery algorithm. Additionally, the z990 processor, like its predecessors, completely duplicates several major functional units for error-detection purposes and uses other error-detection techniques (parity, local duplication, illegal state checking, etc.) in the remainder of the processor to maintain state-of-the-art RAS characteristics. It also contains several mechanisms for completely transferring the microarchitected state to a spare processor in the system in the event of a catastrophic failure if it determines that it can no longer continue operating."</i></font></small></p> <p>Wow! Still, they are continuing to fund rocket science based on the old "Apollo" blueprints. And that "dog don't hunt" any longer, to mix metaphors. Single thread performance and big SMP designs are still important. Sun leads the world in that area, with the 144 core E25K. And our servers with US-IVs (et al), AMD Opterons, and the engineering collaboration we're doing with Fujitsu should continue that leadership. But extreme clock rates are not the answer going forward.</p> <p>In the benchmarketing world of TPC-C and SPECrates, where datasets fit nicely inside processor caches, performance appears stellar. But the problem, you see, is that for real applications, especially when micro-partitioning and multiple OS kernels and stacked applications are spread across processors, the L1/L2/L3 caches only contain a fraction of the data and instructions that the apps need to operate. At 6GHz, there is a new clock tick every 0.17 ns (light only travels about 2 inches in that time)!! However, about every 100 instructions or so, the data needed by a typical app might not appear in the processor cache chain. This is called a "cache miss" and it results in a DRAM access (or worse - to disk). Typical DRAM latency is about 150-300ns for large/complex SMP servers. Think about that... a 6GHz CPU will simply twiddle it's proverbial thumbs for over 1000 click ticks  (doing nothing but generating heat) before that DRAM data makes it way back up to the CPU so that work can continue. If this happens every 100 instructions, we're at <10% efficiency (100 instructions, followed by 1000 idle cycles, repeat). Ouch!! And that ratio just gets worse as the CPU clock rate increases. Sure, big caches can help some, but not nearly enough to overcome this fundamental problem.</p> <p>What to do? The answer is to build extremely efficient thread engines that can accept multiple thread contexts from the OS and manage those on chip. And we're not talking 2-way hyper-threading here. Say a single processor can accept <b>dozens </b>of threads from the OS. Say there are 8 cores on that processor so that 8 threads can run concurrently, with the other threads queued up ready to run. When any one of those 8 threads need to reach down into DRAM for a memory reference (and they will, frequently), one of the H/W queued threads in the chip's run queue will instantly begin to execute on the core vacated by the "stalled" thread that is now patiently waiting for its DRAM retrieval. We've just described a design that can achieve near 100% efficiency even when DRAM latency is taken into account. <a href="http://www.aceshardware.com/read.jsp?id=65000333">Ace's Hardware</a> reports that "<font face="trebuchet ms,tahoma,arial,helvetica" size="-1"><strong><em>Niagara has reached first silicon, and is running in Sun's labs</em></strong>".</font></p> <p>I won't comment on the veracity of that report. But if true, we are years ahead of competition. We're orbiting the Sun, and IBM is still sending its design team to the moon.</p> <p>An analogy - consider an Olympic relay race... There are 8 teams of 4 runners. Each runner sprints for all they are worth around the lap once, and then hands the baton, in flight, to the next runner. We've got 32 "threads" that are constantly tearing up the track at full speed. On the other hand, a 6GHz single threaded core is like a single runner who sprints like a mad man around the track once, and then sits down for 15 minutes to catch his breath. Then does it again. Which model describes the kind of server you'd like running your highly threaded enterprise applications?</p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/Niagara.jpg"></p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/solution_consulting_sun Solution Consulting @ Sun dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/solution_consulting_sun Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:21:45 +0000 Computers <p>I just met with a large customer up here in Virginia. The rep I was with spoke of a colleague who has an amazing ability to sell complete solutions (not just a collection of parts). He delivers Solution Proposals with the not so subtle expectation that they will not be broken down into component parts with line item veto authority on the part of the customer. Somehow we need to bottle that sales behavior... The benefit of a proven solution w.r.t. cost, risk, complexity, support, etc, is self-evident. Too often, I believe, Sun's field is conditioned to (or we've conditioned the customer to think that we) offer solutions as strawmen that we expect will be hacked up and put back together (with many pieces left on the garage floor).</p> <p>Client Solutions (read: Professional Services from Sun and our Partners) needs to be part of the total Solution Package. And we need to present the package with the clear expectation that we'll assist in the design, test, deployment and on-going mgmt/support, be committed to our customer's success, share in the risk, etc. But that the solution stands as a whole... If the customer simply wants a miscellany of parts, then we'll need a note from their mom :-) (eg: the CIO) that they understand the increased risk to their project's cost, timeline, and ultimate success. That they are "skiing outside the boundary area".</p> <p>I've noticed that about half of the customers I deal with have senior techo-geeks on their staff. They often go by the title "Architect". Often they are far from it... but they've been there forever, and they are often brilliant technologists that can integrate "creative" solutions from random piece parts. In fact, this is how they thrive and how they (think they) sustain their value add... They become threatened by and obstacles to a solution sale in which the integration work is done for them. Somehow we need to figure out how to make these "technical grease monkeys" feel comfortable with a custom automobile that comes from Detroit already well tuned and ready to run. Sun can't survive being in the auto parts business.  We need to leverage their brilliance and secure their vote of confidence. There is an art to getting folks like this to "come up with an idea" that you already have :-) If they become the "owner" of the reference architecture (upon which the proposed solution is built), and still get to play with the technology and learn new techniques, and they can still look like they came up with the idea, then I think we can get past that common roadblock.</p> <p>However, I think there is a development gap in Client Solutions that we have an oppty to address... We have a lot of people who can talk the talk... but we have fewer people that have actually implemented complex solutions such as N1 SPS, Trusted Solaris based SNAP solutions, Retail-oriented SunRay POS gigs, comprehensive ITIL compliance audits, strategic BCP consultation, etc... This is a natural fallout of the fact that most of us came from the pre-sales side of the merged Client Solutions organization. As we become even more successful in securing solution architecture and implementation gigs, we'll need to step up and hit the ball out of the park - not just talk about being able to do it. I encourage everyone to get as much hands on experience as possible with our strategic solution offerings. I know I'm doing that with N1 SPS, SOA, and Sol10. I know we're all are ramping our skills. That's goodness. Thankfully, I think it is easier to engage partners and teach (or remind) bright technical pre-sales "SEs" how to architect and implement solutions, than it is to teach implementation gurus the inter-personal skills and acumen needed to talk to CIOs about business value and relevance.</p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/original_think_pad Original "Think Pad" dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/original_think_pad Sun, 9 Jan 2005 21:53:58 +0000 Computers <p>As an Electrical Engineering undergrad, I worked for IBM for four semesters as an intern/co-op student back in the very early 80's in Boca Raton, FL, just as the first IBM PC was brought to market. It was an incredible experience, in many ways. Today, about 25 years later (wow, I can't be that old!!) I was cleaning out my attic, preparing to put back all the Christmas boxes for another year. I opened some of the boxes to figure out what I had up there... And came across something from my days at IBM. An original IBM "Think Pad". Measuring just 3" x 4.5", this is the pocket-sized progenitor of the now ubiquitous lap-sized room heater.</p> <p>You know... there is something to be said for the utility and durability and availability and cost-effectiveness of the original. Where will your "modern" ThinkPad be in 25 years? I'll still have mine, and it'll still be as useful as it was in 1980 :-) No upgrades and no viruses.</p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/ThinkPad.jpg"></p> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/cobalt_qube3_w_sunrays_redhat Cobalt Qube3 w/ SunRays, RedHat 9 dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/cobalt_qube3_w_sunrays_redhat Wed, 5 Jan 2005 13:17:19 +0000 Computers <P>I've got a Cobalt Qube 3 Professional Edition computer. Remember those cute blue cube Linux appliances?  Sun was handing these out to SEs at one point.</P> <P><IMG src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/cobaltqube.jpg"></P> <P>They only have a 450MHz processor. But they are the perfect little home file server and networked backup device. The Business and Professional Editions also have a SCSI port to which additional storage can be attached. In fact, the Professional Edition has two internal disks and a built-in Raid1 Controller. It's headless, but has nice features for a server. Problem is (well, you might consider this a problem) it runs an old Linux release (based on a 2.2 kernel) and has been EOL'ed. But in true Open fashion, there is a grassroots community of developers and advocates, and there are instructions for how to refresh this device to a 2.4-based RedHat (v7.2)kernel here:</P> <P><A href="http://www.gurulabs.com/rhl-cobalt-howto/index.html">http://www.gurulabs.com/rhl-cobalt-howto/index.html</A></P> <P>I just exchanged e-mail with <!--StartFragment -->Dax Kelson of Guru Labs, who told me that this procedure can be used to install RedHat 9 or even <!--StartFragment --> the newer Fedora releases.</P> <P>I think I'm going to give this a try. I'll let you know if/how this works out. Hmmm, with the new Linux-based SunRay Server Software, I could even potentially drive a couple wireless SunRays around the house, using an 802.11g Wireless Bridge, such as: <A href="http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=241">http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=241</A></P> <P><IMG src="http://blogs.sun.com/roller/resources/dcb/HomeNet.jpg"></P> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/big_sun_clusters Big Sun Clusters!! dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/big_sun_clusters Thu, 23 Dec 2004 15:34:02 +0000 Computers <font face="TimesNewRomanPSMT"><font face="TimesNewRomanPSMT"> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Center for Computing and Communication (CCC) at the RWTH Aachen University has recently published details about two interesting clusters they operate using Sun technology. <!--StartFragment --> RWTH Aachen is the largest university of technology in Germany and one of the most renowned technical universities in Europe, with around 28,000 students, more than half of which are in engineering (according to their website).</font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Check this out!</font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">First, there is a huge Opteron-Linux-Cluster that consists of 64 of Sun's V40z servers, each with four Opteron CPUs. The 256 processors total 1.1TFlop/s (peak) and have a pool of RAM equal to 512GB. Each node runs a 64-bit version of Linux. Hybrid Programs use a combination of MPI and OpenMP, where each MPI process is multi-threaded. The hybrid parallelization approach uses a combination of coarse grained parallelism with MPI and underlying fine-grained parallelism with OpenMP in order to use as many processors efficiently as possible. For shared memory programming, OpenMP is becoming the de facto standard.</font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">See: </font><a href="http://www.rz.rwth-aachen.de/computing/info/linux/primer/opteron_primer_V1.1.pdf"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">http://www.rz.rwth-aachen.de/computing/info/linux/primer/opteron_primer_V1.1.pdf</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Another Cluster is based on 768 UltraSPARC-IV processors, with an accumulated peak performance of 3.5 TFlop/s and a total main memory capacity of 3 TeraByte. The Operating System's view of each of the two cores of the UltraSPARC IV processors is as if they are separate processors. Therefore from the user's perspective the Sun Fire E25Ks have 144 â€œprocessorsâ€, the Sun Fire E6900s have 48 â€œprocessorsâ€ and the Sun Fire E2900s have 24 â€œprocessorsâ€ each. All compute nodes also have direct access to all work files via a fast storage area network (SAN) using the QFS file system. High IO bandwidth is achieved by striping multiple RAID systems.</font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">See: </font><a href="http://www.rz.rwth-aachen.de/computing/info/sun/primer/primer_V4.0.pdf"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">http://www.rz.rwth-aachen.de/computing/info/sun/primer/primer_V4.0.pdf</font></a></p></font></font> https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/big_vs_small_servers Big -vs- Small Servers? dcb https://blogs.oracle.com/dcb/entry/big_vs_small_servers Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:57:51 +0000 Computers <p>Big Iron -vs- Blades. Mainframe -vs- Micro. Hmmm. We're talking Aircraft Carriers -vs- Jet Skis, right?</p> <p>Sun designs and sell servers that cost from ~$1000 to ~$10 million. Each! We continue to pour billions into R&D and constantly raise the bar on the quality and performance and reliability and feature set that we deliver in our servers. No wonder we lead in too many categories to mention. Okay, I'll mention some :-)</p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/val.jpg"><br><br>While the bar keeps rising on our "Enterprise Class", the Commodity/Volume Class is never too far behind. In fact, I think it may be inappropriate to continue to refer to our high-end as our Enterprise-class Servers, because that could imply that our "Volume" Servers are only for workgroups or non-mission-critical services. That is hardly the case. Both are important and play a role in even the most critical service platforms.<br><br>Let's look at the next generation Opterons... which are only months away. And how modern S/W Architectures are fueling the adoption of these types of servers...<br><br>Today's AMD CPUs, with on-board hypertransport pathways, can handle up to 8 CPUs per server! And in mid-2005, AMD will ship dual-core Opterons. That means that it is probable for a server, by mid-2005 or so, to have 16 Opteron cores (8 dual-core sockets) in just a few rack units of space!! If you compare SPECrate values, such a server would have the raw compute performance capability of a full-up $850K E6800. Wow!<br><br><span class="moz-txt-link-freetext">AMD CPU Roadmap:</span> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_608,00.html">http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_608,00.html</a><br><span class="moz-txt-link-freetext">AMD 8-socket Support: </span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543%7E72268,00.html">http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~72268,00.html</a><br><span class="moz-txt-link-freetext">SPECint:_Rate:</span> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.spec.org/cpu2000/results/rint2000.html">http://www.spec.org/cpu2000/results/rint2000.html</a><br><span class="moz-txt-link-freetext">E6800 Price: </span><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://tinyurl.com/3xbq2">http://tinyurl.com/3xbq2</a><br><b><br></b>Clearly, there are many reasons why our customers are and will continue to buy our large SMP servers. They offer Mainframe-class on-line maintenance, redundancy, upgradability. They even exceed the ability of a Mainframe in terms of raw I/O capability, compute density, on-the-fly expansion, etc.<br><br>But, H/W RAS continue to improve in the Opteron line as well. One feature I hope to see soon is on-the-fly PFA-orchestrated CPU off-lining. If this is delivered, it'll be Solaris x86 rather than Linux. Predictive Fault Analysis detecting if one of those 16 cores or 32 DIMMs starts to experience soft errors in time to fence off that component before the server and all the services crash. The blacklisted component could be serviced at the next scheduled maintenance event. We can already do that on our Big Iron. But with that much power, and that many stacked services in a 16-way Opteron box, it would be nice not to take a node panic and extended node outage.</p> <p>On the other hand, 80% of the service layers we deploy are already or are attempting to move to the horizontal model. And modern S/W architectures are increasingly designed to provide continuity of service level even in the presence of various fault scenarios. Look at Oracle RAC, replicated state App Servers with Web-Server plug-ins to seamlessly transfer user connections, Load Balanced web services, TP monitors, Object Brokers, Grid Engines and Task Dispatchers, and SOA designs in which an alternate for a failed dependency is rebound on-the-fly.<br><br>These kinds of things, and many others, are used to build resilient services that are much more immune to component or node failures. In that regard, node level RAS is less critical to achieving a service level objective. Recovery Oriented Computing admits that H/W fails [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://roc.cs.berkeley.edu/papers/ROC_TR02-1175.pdf">http://roc.cs.berkeley.edu/papers/ROC_TR02-1175.pdf]</a>. We do need to reduce the failure rate at the node/component level... but as Solution Architects, we need to design services such that node/component failure can occur, if possible, without a service interruption or degradation of "significance".<br><br>In the brave new world (or, the retro MF mindset) we'll stack services in partitions across a grid of servers. Solaris 10 gives us breakthrough new Container technology that will provide this option. Those servers might be huge million dollar SMP behemoths, or $2K Opteron blades... doesn't matter from the architectural perspective. We could have dozens of services running on each server... however, most individual services will be distributed across partitions (Containers) on multiple servers, such that a partition panic or node failure has minimal impact. This is "service consolidation" which includes server consolidation as a side effect. Not into one massive server, but across a limited set of networked servers that balance performance, adaptability, service reliability, etc.</p> <p><img src="https://blogs.oracle.com/roller/resources/dcb/sc.jpg"></p> <p>Server RAS matters. Competitive pressure will drive continuous improvement in quality and feature sets in increasingly powerful and inexpensive servers. At the same time, new patterns in S/W architecture will make "grids" of these servers work together to deliver increasingly reliable services. Interconnect breakthroughs will only accelerate this trend.<br></p> <p>The good news for those of us who love the big iron is that there will always be a need for aircraft carriers even in an age of powerful jet skis.</p>	dclm-gs1-105150000
Sunday, August 30, 2009 Spiritual events This morning while gardening a hummingbird joined me. I had not seen one in a few years. She was greenish with black wings tipped in white. It felt to me like a spiritual event. I discovered that she was thirsty. I got the hose and squirted some water on the leaves of a nearby tree, and she immediately commenced drinking the water. How's the garden, you ask? Well, it has been the summer of Rosie. Rosie is the cow who gives us delicious milk every day. She waits until flowers are in full bloom, then breaks through the fence and chomps them down. We fix the fence, and she waits for the blooms to come again. That part doesn't strike me as a spiritual event. Friday, August 28, 2009 How can one not love a kid who thinks like that? Today as I was tending my garden, son Greg walked up. "Your garden has so many colors in it, Dad, that it looks like a rainbow fell down from the sky and landed in your garden." Stop it, Rush! Have you been hearing Rush Limbaugh, the foremost practitioner in today's world of Saul Alinsky's tactics, badmouth Alinsky day after day? You can tell Rush has read Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, because he quotes from it almost daily. Today he quoted from Alinsky's "rule" that a good organizer always uses words and phrases that are within the experience of those whom he is trying to organize. He says that is what the Obamaites are trying to do, but then, once they get us to swallow the healthcare bill, the Obamaites will sock it to us big time. Alinsky never talked or wrote about organizing people and then socking it to them. If he organized people, it was to enable them to gain a measure of power, individually and politically. Please don't blame Alinsky, Rush, for what these schemers are trying to do to us. Click to enlarge daughter Kim's latest collage of photos from a recent camping trip. Thursday, August 27, 2009 If you think Obamacare is bad... If you think people are upset about government plans to take over the healthcare industry, wait until the predicted severe sugar shortage occurs in 2010! No Hershey bars, no Oreos, no Chips Ahoy, thousands more workers laid off, no M&Ms, no chewing gum, no wafers, no Fruit Loops: get my drift? That is what Kraft, General Mills, Hershey and others are threatening in a letter to the Obama administration, in order to try to get tariffs reduced. The only country that currently does not have to pay the tariff is Mexico. If Americans are unable to purchase the above-mentioned staples of their diet, the repercussions in Washington will begin to get serious. There is not enough sugar being produced to feed the world appetite for it. Ethanol production is also causing the price to rise, just as it is for corn. You don't think sugar cane growers have political power? Read any Carl Hiaason book! (I recommend Hiaason regardless of the sugar cane growers). Telling the truth So who has the guts to buck the media adoration of Ted Kennedy? Rush Limbaugh! After saying that he admired the way Ted fought and struggled to try to overcome his health problems, Rush went on to tell it like it is: the Senator from Massachusetts was a lion all right, a lion who preyed on people who work for a living; he constantly sought to take money and hard earned benefits like health care from people who work, and give it to those who do not work. David Brooks and others are praising Ted Kennedy for his gracious friendships that often crossed the aisle. Have people forgotten Kennedy's treatment of Judge Robert Bork and Judge Clarence Thomas and President George W. Bush, not to mention Mary Jo Kopechne? Wednesday, August 26, 2009 What's a parent to do? Kay Hymowitz writes a review in today's WSJ of the book Nurture Shock, which looks at years of research on child development. Does high self esteem improve grades? No. Does it reduce anti-social behavior? No. Does it deter alcohol drinking, or do much of anything good for kids? No. Even telling kids they are smart can be counterproductive. "Many children who are convinced that they are little geniuses tend not to put much effort into their work. Others are troubled by the latent anxiety of adults who feel it necessary to praise them constantly." Okay, but how about the benefits of teaching tolerance and promoting diversity? One researcher found that "more diversity translates into more divisions among students." Another warns that too much discussion of past discrimination can make minority children over-reactive to perceived future slights. Our son Jon experienced this the other day when he was asked to pass out pencils in Sunday School. A black child asked him if he did not give him a pencil because he is black. Jon had innocently spaced out (as he is want to do) giving the child a pencil. Drop-out and anti-drug programs have also been shown not to work. What about those tests that school districts use to determine giftedness in young children? "Early IQ tests predict later achievement less than half the time. Between ages 3 and 10, about two-thirds of children will experience a rise or drop of 15 points or more." Oh, and one more recent research finding: 4-year-olds lie once an hour! Teenagers lie too, but usually because they don't want to upset their parents. Teens do like conflict, though, and see it as enhancing their relationships with their parent (doesn't that contradict the finding cited in the last sentence?) A famous 1994 study showed that babies of professionals were exposed to almost three times the number of words as the babies of welfare parents. Apparently many parents began trying to use more words after hearing about the research. Now, though, it turns out that it's not so much the number of words kids hear that matters but the responsiveness of adults to a child's words and explorations." As Fred Thompson says daily on his radio program, "Why do they call it common sense, when it is so uncommon?" Too Polarizing? Reader Terri Wagner thinks Rush Limbaugh is too polarizing to run successfully for the presidency. Yes, that may be true, but... Rush has lost over eighty pounds, and is still happily on his diet. I just wonder if a run for the presidency might be in the back of his mind or somewhere else on his "glorious body." He would have huge, enthusiastic support from a large segment of America's middle class. For over twenty-five years Rush has been pounding away at the same message Ronald Reagan pounded away at when he was spokesperson for General Electric: individual liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, strong national defense, loving and respecting this country and its founding principles. Reagan was also a polarizing figure, having no sympathy and givng not an inch to the protesting students during the 1960s, when he was governor of California. No opponent would stand a chance in a debate with Rush. He is "onto them." He "knows them like he knows every inch of his glorious body." He is at least as media savvy as Obama, but Obama could not go head-to-head with Rush. Rush would eat him alive (and then have to go back on his diet). Unlike this last campaign, the middle class of America would be galvanized, enthusiastic, involved, and highly motivated to work for Rush's election! Can you imagine the television ratings of a debate between Obama and Limbaugh? I can hear the shouts of "You tell 'em Rush" coming out of the windows of middle class houses all over America. Americans are personally attached to Rush, because his enemies are their enemies. Monday, August 24, 2009 Who will carry forth the Alinsky torch? Reader Terri Wagner asked how I could compare Rush Limbaugh and Saul Alinsky. Rush has all the qualities Alinsky hoped for in an organizer of people. He uses humor effectively. I dare you to listen to Rush for an hour and not get a chuckle. He is comfortable with conflict. He daily engages the liberal enemy in conflict. He instinctively understands that the action is in the reaction. That is, the liberal establishment daily reveals its fear of Rush. Rush plays back their words, then rolls right into the action, ridiculing anyone who dares to take him on. A superb communicator like Obama, Rush does not make the fatal mistake Obama makes, which is to have contempt for the great middle class of America. Just the opposite; he is ever-confident, lending the strength of his ego to millions of people, encouraging people to have faith in themselves and in the American dream of self-reliance, freedom, and private enterprise. Rush has earned the trust of a great swath of the American middle class, something Alinsky wanted to do, but his untimely death at age 63 prevented him from pursuing that dream. Tactics? No one understands the effective use of tactics like Rush Limbaugh. Alinsky noted in his book Rules for Radicals that our founders conspiculously omitted all the advantages the colonies had gained from the British, and cited only the disadvantages. Why? Because, as Alinsky noted, "before men will act, an issue must be polarized" and, I might add, personalized. Do you know anyone who does a better job of that than Rush Limbaugh? Rush is amazingly well-organized personally, always staying on top of current events. He is imaginative and well prepared. Last night on the way home from work I listened to talk show host Billy Cunningham touting a Sean Hannity-for-President candidacy in 2012. We have many brilliant spokespersons: Glenn Beck, and Laura Ingraham also have huge audiences. It should be noted that, like Obama, Limbaugh has used this expertise for his own personal advantage, reaping an income of $38 million dollars a year, but doing so by advocating private enterprise and putting those principles into practice through his own initiative and brilliance and perseverance. Obama, on the other hand, got there by advocating big government, and becoming its head, and he now lives the most lavish of personal lifestyles, funded by the taxes of private citizens. Saul Alinsky was all about empowering people. Rush and Obama have succeeded in empowering themselves. Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity seem to have a really good knack of organizing people to take action (Sean's Freedom Concerts and Glenn's encouraging of people's participation in Tea Parties and Town Hall meetings). Friday, August 21, 2009 Who is the foremost practitioner of Saul Alinsky's tactics in today's world? After finishing reading Alinsky's Rules for Radicals I Googled Saul Alinsky and saw that he died in June, 1972, which was the year following publication of the book. Barack Obama was eleven years old that year! The way Rush Limbaugh makes it sound, Alinsky and Obama were buddies! Don't get me wrong, I think Rush Limbaugh is the foremost practitioner of Saul Alinsky's tactics in today's world. Glenn Beck is a close second. Glenn and Rush both have profound respect for middle class America. Alinsky did not, but he realized (and said so in his last chapter) that the best hope for America would be if someone could organize middle class America. Barack Obama organized middle class America to vote for him! Alinsky was all about organizing people to empower people, not himself. He wanted people to be active participants in the affairs of their country. "American Lie" If you have not heard it, go to Rush to listen to Paul Shanklin sing "American Lie." It is to the tune of "American Pie," and I think it is absolutely brilliant. Tuesday, August 18, 2009 Where did I part company with Saul Alinsky? So if I was so fond of Saul Alinsky, why did I part company with him and others like him? I think it was because of the inconsistency (a word he hated) in his respect for the individual, on the one hand, and his purposely polarizing people in power and depicting them as 100% evil, when in fact they were probably 55% bad and 45% good. He did this polarizing tactic in order to motivate people to band together to take action, Getting people to participate in improving their lot in life was what he was all about. However, what many needed was the self-discipline to work hard, study hard, take care of their families, and encourage their children to do the same. If they were blaming all their problems on some person whom Alinsky has painted as 100% evil, then I saw that as a huge cop out. Paying people to support leftist causes Mrs. Who (House of Zathras on the sidebar) revealed in a recent post that the dems are paying people to come to the town hall meetings. Today on the Denver Craig's list going back four days, there are 25 listings under the "non-profit" heading for jobs in the Denver metro area. Twelve of them are for left-wing organizing jobs. Of course, the same was true during the election campaign. Republicans were vastly out-organized by Democrats. A Word About Words In Rules for Radicals Saul Alinsky takes time out to write a chapter about words. He quotes Mark Twain: "The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." William McGurn points out in today's WSJ that Nancy Pelosi is using the word "un-American," and land-swindler Nevada Senator Harry Reid is using the words "evil mongers" to describe Americans who show up at town hall meetings to ask questions or express dissent. Do Pelosi and Reid suffer from an ailment Alinsky diagnosed as "tongues-trapping-their-minds" disease, or by purposely choosing words such as "mob" and "un-American, are Speaker Pelosi and her "evil monger" friend Harry Reid hoping to use the media to shame us into our previous silent mode of refraining from showing up in public to ask questions and express dissent? We are organized! The left is desperate. They are afraid the great middle class of America is organizing and might want to take away their power! They are accusing us of being a mob. The one thing they do not want is for us to become organized! Although they are doing a masterful job of motivating the great middle class, in one sense Beck, Limbaugh, and Hannity might be making a huge mistake. They are all proudly asserting that we are not organized! That we are just individuals concerned about the direction the left is taking America. I think they should be encouraging the myth that we are organized! That would cause an even more reckless overreaction from the likes of Pelosi and the other politicians who are so afraid of us. In the 2008 election the middle classes were unexcited, even apathetic, about John McCain. Obama used his understanding of the importance of organization to launch himself and Michelle into the White House. Obama understands organizing people, and the last thing he wants is for all of us who cling to our religion, our stupid America-loving values, and our guns, to get organized! Saturday, August 15, 2009 Some recent photos taken with daughter Kim's camera: Sara loves to camp! It's non-stop play for these two guys (photo taken before the back-to-school haircuts). Coby is our most playful dog. Ya have to watch out for Greg; he has this thing about jumping up on the backs of older siblings! Are you a doer, or a non-doer? Saul Alinsky saw life itself as a battle. He also saw duality and complementarity everywhere: "everything has an indivisible partner of its converse." He noted that the "CIO was once a militant champion of America's workers, but now is an entrenched member of the establishment" (Is it ever!) Alinsky saw life as a constant struggle between the positive and its converse negative. "The positive of today is the negative of tomorrow, and vice versa." He believed that the revolutionary cycle goes on - the revolutionary group becomes the establishment and a new revolutionary group picks up the torch. Now, men like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are trying to organize the great middle class of America. The difficulty in organizing the middle class, said Alinsky, is that we generally seek the safe way, where we middle classers can profit by some change and yet not risk losing what we do have. Yet, Alinsky saw the middle class as the "genesis of creativity." However, whenever "sparks of dissension promise to flare up into the fire of action," there are "individious Do-Nothings who abstain from and discourage all effective action for change." The non-doers are the ones who "drew their window blinds when the Nazis dragged people through the streets. They privately deplored the horror of it all - and then did nothing." Nine-year-old Jon: "Dad, what is the difference between leftist, liberal, and Democrat? "Well, son. that is a great question. Let me think about it...I'd say they are pretty much the same." "But there is such a thing as a conservative Democrat." "There is?" "Yes, Mom says Grandpa is a conservative Democrat." Friday, August 14, 2009 The Great Pushback of 2009 Have you been listening to Glenn Beck? Wow! He really does his homework, and is on the trail sniffing out the corruption of the leftist radicals who are now in positions of power in America. He is a superb organizer and communicator. He, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin and other talk radio people have huge audiences. They are putting out the information, and their listeners are showing up at town hall meetings ready to ask tough questions. The leftists in power are overreacting, accusing ordinary Americans of being part of a mob. The more they overreact, the more more they lose their grip on power. Saul Alinsky could not have written a better scenario. Michelle Malkin, another brilliant analyst and researcher, has written a book, Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team on the corruption, and is herself a superb communicator. Glenn says his weekly radio audience is 8 million, and his daily television audience on Fox is 3.5 million. He urges his audience to research and speak out. Many are doing just that. All of the people mentioned above are masters of the organizing techniques and principles taught by Saul Alinsky, though they would shudder to be identified with him, because they believe he was a man of the left. Rush Limbaugh's audience is closer to 20 million. I believe the rankings in audience size are Limbaugh first, Hannity second, and Beck third. Michael Savage, another powerful communicator, also ranks high, but I don't see him as an organizer of people, like Beck is. Savage is more of a self-promoter, ala Obama. Thursday, August 13, 2009 Power to the people, or power for the Obamas? In defense of Saul Alinsky: Part Three Saul Alinsky was all about helping people obtain power. Barack Obama used Alinsky's organizing principles to promote the cult of Obama. It was not power to the people. It was power for the Obamas! Unfortunately, there were enough people in the United States who were willing to let it happen. Now, there is a pushback, a powerful grassroots movement led by talk radio hosts and hostesses. Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Have we come full circle? In defense of Saul Alinsky: Part Two Are we on the verge of a revolution in America? I don't know, but there is surely a great amount of discontent, and masses of people are stirring to protest too much government control. Where can we find literature to guide those who wish to stand up against too much government power and control? Saul Alinsky notes in Rules for Radicals that "Once the American Revolution was done with we can find very little (literature) besides the right of revolution that is laid down in the Declaration of Independence as a fundamental right." Then Alinsky points us to this from Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural: "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it." Saul Alinsky was one of the few who studied this question and came up with action plans. While reading Alinsky, I am also reading W. Cleon Skousen's wonderful book The 5000 Year Leap: Principles of Freedom 101. Skousen points out that we should not get hung up on right versus left, since both extremes lead to tyranny. Alinsky, too, was not fond of ideology: "I know that all revolutions must have ideology to spur them on. That in the heat of conflict these ideologies tend to be smelted into rigid dogmas claiming exclusive possession of the truth, and the keys to paradise, is tragic." So, Alinsky focuses on training organizers working in and for an open society. What is the ideology of the organizer? The question mark! Alinsky writes, "Some say it's no coincidence that the question mark is an inverted plow, breaking up the hard soil of beliefs, and preparing for the new growth." The organizer's most frequent word is "why?" Does that mean the organizer is rudderless, asks Alinsky? No, because the organizer is "free from the shackles of dogma. In the end he has one conviction - a belief that if people have the power to act, in the long run they will, most of the time reach the right decisions...Believing in people, the radical has the job of organizing them so that they will have the power and opportunity to best meet each unforeseeable future crisis as they move ahead in their eternal search for those values of equality, justice, freedom, peace, a deep concern for the preciousness of human life, and all those rights and values propounded by Judaeo-Christianity and the democratic politicial tradition. Democracy is not an end, but the best means toward achieving those values." Tuesday, August 11, 2009 In Defense of Saul Alinsky: Part One Barack Obama has given Saul Alinsky a bad name. Men like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, who badmouth Alinsky because Obama studied Alinsky, are more like Alinsky than Alinsky himself! I knew Mr. Alinsky in the 1960s. I had him to my house for dinner one wonderful evening. I actually cherish the memory of that evening, which was filled with laughter and great conversation about how America can achieve the ideals of its founders. This was a man who loved America and what it stands for. I never thought of him as a man of the left, which I guess he was. In those days, I never thought about right and left, and he certainly did not talk in those terms. What Saul Alinsky was all about was citizen participation: making the ideals of America come alive for all citizens. I had previously read only one of Alinsky's books, Reveille for Radicals. The book that gets quoted nowadays is Rules for Radicals, written by him in 1971. I checked it out recently on interlibrary loan. I will quote liberally from it in this and later posts, so you can read for yourself what this man stood for. First, some background. Alinsky writes about those of us who came into adulthood in the 60s: "Today's generation is desperately trying to make sense out of their lives and their world. Most of them are products of the middle class. They watched (their parents idea of success) lead to tranquilizers, alcohol, long-term-endurance marriages, or divorces, high blood pressure, ulcers, frustration, and the disillusionment of the "good life." They have seen the almost unbelievable idiocy of our political leadership - in the past political leaders were regarded with respect and almost reverence; today they are viewed with contempt. We are living in a world of mass media which daily exposes society's innate hypocrisy, its contradictions and the apparent failure of almost every facet of our social and political life. The young have seen their participatory democracy turn into its antithesis - nihilistic bombing and murder. The political panaceas of the past, such as the revolutions in Russia and China, have become the same old stuff under a different name. The search for freedom does not seem to have any road or destination. The young are inundated with a barrage of information and facts so overwhelming that the world has come to seem an utter bedlam, which has them spinning in a frenzy, looking for what man has always looked for from the beginning of time, a way of life that has some meaning or sense. Today's generation says, "I don't want to spend my life the way my family and friends have. I want to do something, to create, to be me, "to do my own thing, to live." The older generation, on the other hand, is no less confused. If they are less vocal or conscious, it may be because they can escape to a past when the world was simpler. They can still cling to the old values in the simple hope that everything will work out somehow, some way." Well, that was a pretty accurate description of how things were back in the late sixties. Now, how about the ideas that Alinsky sought to promulgate? First, he expresses dismay that the people who were trying to change things were such poor communicators. "Even the most elementary grasp of the fundamental idea that one communicates within the experience of his audience - and gives full respect to the other's values - would have ruled out attacks on the American flag. The responsible organizer would have known that it is the establishment that has betrayed the flag, while the flag itself remains the glorious symbol of America's hopes and aspirations, and he would have conveyed this message to his audience. On another level of communication, humor is essential, for through humor, much is accepted that would have been rejected if presented seriously. This is a sad and lonely generation. It laughs too little, and this, too, is tragic." Who excels today in the arts of communication and humor? Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck! "Let us not forget that in our system with all its repressions we can still speak out and denounce the administration, attack its policies, work to build an opposition political base. True, there is government harassment, but there still is that relative freedom to fight: I can attack my government, try to organize to change it. That's more than I can do in Moscow, Peking, or Havana. Just a few of the violent episodes here in America that we have experienced would have resulted in a sweeping purge and mass executions in Russia, China, or Cuba. Let's keep some perspective... A revolutionary organizer must agitate, create disenchantment, and discontent to produce if not a passion for change, at least a passive, affirmative, non-challenging climate (regarding change). A final word on our system. The democratic ideal springs from the ideas of liberty, equality, majority rule through free elections, protection of the rights of minorities, and freedom to subscribe to multiple loyalties in matters of religion, economics and politics rather than to a total loyalty to the state. The spirit of democracy is the idea of importance and worth of the individual, and faith in the kind of world where the individual can achieve as much of his potential as possible...The greatest enemy of individual freedom is the individual himself. Tocqueville gravely warned that unless individual citizens were regularly involved in the action of governing themselves, self-government would pass from the scene. Citizen participation is the animating spirit and force in a society predicated on voluntarism. Here we are concerned with the vast mass of our people who, thwarted through lack of interest or opportunity , or both, do not participate in the endless responsibilities of citizenship and are resigned to lives determined by others. To lose your identity as a citizen of democracy is but a step from losing your identity as a person... That person sinks further into apathy, anonymity, and depersonalization. The result is that he comes to depend on public authority and a state of civic-sclerosis sets in... There can be no darker or more devastating tragedy than the death of man's faith in himself and in his power to direct his future.... Together we may find what we're looking for - laughter, beauty, love, and the chance to create." Friday, August 07, 2009 I guess they thought we wouldn't notice The lead story in the August 7 WSJ is about Congress spending $550 million to buy 8 new jets, which will "augment a fleet of about two dozen passenger jets maintained by the Air Force" for federal officials. Did the congressmen and women think we wouldn't notice? The planes are well equipped: "all leather seats, sleeping accommodations, and two large galleys for cooking." Last year House members spent about 3000 days overseas on taxpayer-funded trips. "Dreams about your money" "I have dreams about your money, Dad." "I don't doubt it for a minute, Sara." "You know, all that money you are going to pay me for cleaning my room?" "Okay, Sara: I'll pay you one dollar, but then you have to pay me one dollar, too, if I have to help you clean it." "Okay, Dad, It's a deal!" Their Governments Have Plenty of Money! Fouad Ajami writes in the August 6 WSJ about the pitiful living conditions among the 360 million people in Arab countries. Even with all of their oil, "tens of millions of their people live in poverty. Unemployment rates are the highest in the world. All Arab countries combined have a smaller manufacturing output than Finland, a country of 5 million people." Nevertheless, writes Ajami. unlike George W. Bush's "diplomacy of freedom," our new president's policy is one of "the safety of the status quo, rather than the risks of liberty." I am putting Ajami down as an author I wish to read more, because he is a truth-teller. Thursday, August 06, 2009 "Deflecting Sexual Impulses" I was intrigued to read an article in the August 6 WSJ. The American Psychological Association, with 150,000 members worldwide, has plans to promote a new approach to sexuality. "If a client believes that affirming his same sex attractions would be sinful or destructive to his faith, psychologists can help him construct an identity that rejects the power of those attractions. That might require living celibately, learning to deflect sexual impulses, or framing a life of struggle as an opportunity to grow closer to God." One man interviewed for the article likens his choice to that of a "recovering alcoholic resisting a drink." "There are a lot of us out there who simply want to live in congruence with our faith," he said. Yeah, and that goes for us heterosexuals, too! "Learning to deflect sexual impulses" is something most of us heterosexuals have to learn, too! There may be a whole host of other "impulses" that all of us humans may have to deal with in order to be "congruent with our faith," not to mention happy in our marriages! How about the impulse of anger? Do we give in to it, feel self-pity, then lash out in anger to justify our feelings of victimization? That is one I struggle with; what impulses do you struggle with? Then, there is this question for the psychologists: what about the person who could care less about "congruence with his faith," or has no faith at all? Do you counsel that person to forget about "deflecting sexual impulses?" Tuesday, August 04, 2009 Do American Jews have a suicidal death wish? Eliott Abrahms has a superb piece in the August 1-2 Weekend Wall Street Journal showing how Obama's leftist ideology is threatening the state of Israel. Instead of focusing on Iran, the American president's ideological bent causes him to see every Middle East problem as stemming from the Israeli-Palestinian problem, especially Israel's settlement-building jobs for Palestinians. Meanwhile, Iran's Jew-hating regime continues on its merry way to their nuclear solution for Israel. Nevertheless, American Jews, perhaps blinded by their own leftist ideology, voted 80% for Obama. Currently in Israel only 6% of the population believes Obama is pro-Israel, when 88% had seen George W. Bush that way. Monday, August 03, 2009 Uphill? No Problem! Downhill? No Problem! Look who is riding uphill! I told you she did not need training wheels! Well, I have to end this post now, because she wants to go back out on the road! Sunday, August 02, 2009 An Important Number to Remember Sara to her dad: "Is your grandpa dead, Daddy?" "Do you mean, my dad? Yes, he is dead. I'm sorry you never got to know him. He would have really enjoyed being with you." "I'll call Jesus right now and ask him to bring grandpa back here for a visit." Sara dials 420 345-8065 on her toy cell phone. "Hello Jesus?" "I need you to bring my grandpa here for a visit. Thank you." "Sara, how did you know the telephone number for Jesus?" "I have it right here on my phone. See, it is 420 345-8065."	dclm-gs1-105170000
Brendan Enrick Daily Software Development Try Writing Try Methods When I say "Try Methods", I am of course referring to the common prefix "Try" on a method, which implies that the method is going to attempt to do what you're asking by using an output parameter for the operation and using the return value to indicate whether the attempt succeeded. The common ones that people see in the .NET Framework are the TryParse methods, which attempt to parse something and if it can't be parse, they assign the default value to the output parameter and return false. If the succeed, the parsed value will be placed in the output parameter and the return value will be true. If the code failed, the convention is to use the type’s default value to assign to the output parameter. This lets you write code like this: int someNumber; int.TryParse(userInput, out someNumber); // use the number entered or the default 0 int result = 1 + someNumber; This is also great when you're going to be checking whether the method succeeded. In fact, you can use the try method directly in the if block, which usually makes things nice and clean. Here is an example of using them like that: int someNumber; if (int.TryParse(userInput, out someNumber)) // Do something with someNumber // Invalid input: handle this case accordingly Yes, you know all of this and have seen it before, however, are you writing these types of methods yourself or is your only experience with them the standard TryParse ones? What I am trying to emphasize here is that you need to write your own Try methods in your code. You will thank yourself later. Everyone can see the obvious benefit of not having to check for the default value to see if it the method worked. You also don't have to have ugly Try-Catch logic in your code. You get an if statement instead. The real benefit of a writing a Try method has nothing to do with what I've already said. The most important benefit, in my opinion, is that you have a return value from it that isn't the value you are using for your logic. By having this return value for its success, you have to decide on how to handle the case where it failed. There are important cases that might be forgotten, but having a return value means that I need to handle the return value. When I have it, I need to decide what to do with it. There may be a message I need to display to a user. There may be logging I need to do. I might be able to ignore that case. What is important, however, is that I thought about how to handle it. I had the chance to make sure that I handled the case correctly. Create your own “Try” methods. I recommend looking into creating your own “TryParse”, “TryGet”, TryDelete”, and anything else that has a chance of failure that you may want to handle. Parameter Order Should Be Consistent I was looking at a piece of code recently and noticed that someone was checking for a null parameter and throwing an ArgumentException, so I figured since ArgumentNullException inherits from ArgumentException I would just replace it with the more specific exception. Little did I know that Microsoft has a wee little bit of a problem with consistency on these. With ArgumentExceptions it is important to have a message as well as specify which parameter is causing the trouble, so there are 2 string parameters in the ArgumentException constructor. What you might not know if you haven't switched one to the other is that they changed the order of those parameters. What I mean is that you call them like this. throw new ArgumentException("The Message", "paramName"); throw new ArgumentNullException("paramName", "The Message"); throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("paramName", "The Message"); How can they possibly switch those?!?! If I am not mistaken the lower two exceptions actually inherit from the first one, so it is quite surprising that the ordering was not maintained in the second two. I need to keep an eye out for other such inconsistencies while I am working. They obviously can't easily fix it now, because too much code depends on the current ordering. I try to maintain consistence parameter ordering, but I am also not working on a framework. .NET 3.5 is Open Source Some very surprising news has come from Scott Guthrie in a recent blog post he has made. Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 will be shipping with the source for the base class libraries. As with a lot of the recent technology coming from Microsoft, the source code is open and not hidden away. In the past, tools like Reflector have allowed developers to see what is going on within those libraries. These tools will no longer be as necessary. This source code is being released under the Microsoft Reference License (MS-RL). It seems Microsoft has started a new trend for itself in releasing its source code. Debugging will now become much much easier with this code being open source. In the past developers have not been able to step into any of the base class libraries. Now that the source is open for everyone to see, people are able to go in and step through this code. This should make debugging much easier and better. I think this is great that Microsoft is releasing more source code to the general public. Happy coding.	dclm-gs1-105180000
Moroni’s visitations The Joseph Smith–History gives a bit of information about Joseph Smith’s coming of age He provides this information to set up his need for repentance which directly leads to the first visitation of Moroni, but this little addition is curious: What did people who were close to Joseph Smith think of him? How did he bridge the credibility gap between how he was perceived and what he was claiming to have done and what he was about to do? We tend to apply the stick-pulling/leg-wrestling motif here — just a bit of harmless fun — but I wonder if there wasn’t something more fundamental being alluded to here. I don’t know enough about the context in which Joseph Smith–History was written and edited, but I think everyone involved in the process knew Smith personally, and it’s interesting that it was considered important enough to make the final cut. It’s also interesting that repentance leads to the visit of Moroni. It has certainly been my experience that spiritual growth and clarity comes most readily in moments of repentance and rather than moments of self-congratulation or pious judgement of others. When Moroni arrives, he does some serious Bible quoting, establishing his legitimacy to Joseph in that context. (Except for the changes he makes to the texts — is this inspiration for further ‘translations?’) It might be interesting to go through all of them and see how Moroni was contextualizing the Book of Mormon. Malachi 4:5-6 is especially interesting as we now read that verse in light of temple work, but what did it mean to Smith and others in the years before the temple had that function? Protestant Bible commentaries focus on the warning more than the family aspects and as a reference to John the Baptist, a parallel to Smith in a millennial sense. I cannot say what Moroni’s intentions were, but it seems likely that early readers would have read these verses differently than we do today. The Godfrey article tells us more about Joseph Smith’s difficulty in obtaining the plates: ‘Apparently the thought of the gold had severely tempted the youth, and the actual sight of the plates moved Joseph to thoughts of riches.’ I recommend his summary of the different accounts of this issue. Godfrey also mentions the treasure hunting trial, which adds to the complexity of Joseph Smith’s attitude about the plates at this point. While this might make some members uncomfortable, I believe this raises some important questions about prophethood and discipleship. the translation I’m quite interested in this myself, and of course there has been lots written about it. Here’s Godfrey again: The scriptures indicate that translation involved sight, power, transcription of the characters, the Urim and Thummim or a seerstone, study, and prayer. David Whitmer and Martin Harris testify that if the Prophet made the proper preparation, sentences would appear, which he dictated to his scribe. If the scribe wrote them correctly, the words would disappear, and others would take their place. The contrast with modern Mormonism is pronounced here, and I find that very curious, although I’m not exactly sure what I’ll do with that in a lesson. At any rate, the word ‘translation’ as we use it generally does not really explain what was happening very well. The wacky misadventures of Martin Harris The traditional reading of this is so familiar (and clearly developed by the leading questions in the manual). I might take a different approach, seeing if we can understand him a little better. Harris deserves better than being a mere morality tale. Given his role in the community, what would have motivated Harris to be so involved in the Book of Mormon project? The Wikipedia page for Martin Harris offers this: ‘Harris’s neighbors considered him both an honest and superstitious man.’ Please go through the footnotes on that page. Harris was not just a nice, rich farmer: he was a see-er of visions in his own right. Considering that his experiences and religious world view must have been crucial in motivating his interest in the Book of Mormon, I wonder how we as modern Mormons think about them, especially considering that all three of the Three Witnesses had similar experiences before meeting Smith. Martin Harris would have been considered a nut in 21st century Mormonism (and maybe 1840s Mormonism — I don’t know), but that nuttiness seems to be a fairly essential to getting the book published. One of the questions I have about the entire period: are the experiences of Joseph Smith — with visions and visitations, translations and revelations — are these essentially the same as our modern experiences with revelation and inspiration but much more intense? Or are they a completely different thing altogether? There’s lots more to the lesson, and I would love to dig into the three witnesses as well, but as so often happens in these classes, I have run out of time. 1. J. Stapley says: I think at least introducing seer stones and the hat is probably a good idea, just so no one is later caught off guard. 2. thank you for this continuing series. today went well for me. i copied the 1832 and 1835 account of the vision from Harper’s book and we read the visitation portion of the accounts as a class. the class was pretty quiet, but responsive to short discussion about each. we then moved on to joseph smith history and finished on more familiar ground. thank you for the Godfrey ensign article reference. i may have all those with ipads download that article and refer to it together this week during the lesson. 3. It might be fun to spend some time with sections 3 and 10 in terms of their dating and meaning. (Here’s a bit on section 10.) 4. “The Book of Mormon is as important closed as it is open.” Don’t know if I would put it exactly that way, but I think you’re right. 5. We had a lesson where a class member started talking about seeing stones and a peeping hat. Then later on he went on to saw that Heavenly Father was crucified because Jesus only did what he saw his Father do. I’d prefer it if we stick to the lesson :) Neither comment added much to the lesson, other than to remind us to be charitable. As far as translating, I think it’s a mistake to assume completely that one purported source regarding the method of translation is more definitive than another. Otherwise, what do we do with D&C9: 10 Now, if you had known this you could have translated; I don’t really see how all the different observations/recollections square with that. So rather than rely on the hat, or the plates and the curtain, etc. I think it’s fair enough to say, we really don’t know how it was done. 6. I don’t see how the hat and the stones are inconsistent with D&C 9. The U&T and seer stones are a method of seeing something, but spiritual preparation and inspiration are still part of the process. 7. kaphor, I may be wrong, but was not this revelation to Oliver Cowdrey? Assuming it applies to JS seems like it might be an inference without a solid basis. Further the revelation suggests that the translation method described is to be used for other records. In short, I am not sure that we can say anything concrete from this passage about JS’s translation of the BoM. 8. J. Stapley says: I think that the generally accepted context for that section is that it applies to Oliver Cowdery, and that he didn’t use seer stones to translate (i.e., he used other means), and that the language of that section isn’t applicable to JS’s translation efforts (at least those using seer stones). 9. Norbert, you could use Elder Nelson’s 1993 Ensign article about the miraculous translation to get the use of the seer stone out there from an “official” source. I think the best evidence indicates that the U&T were used in the translation of the 116 pages but then virtually all of the Book of Mormon that was produced after those pages were lost resulted from the translation process described by Whitmer (and Emma), i.e. using the seer stone in the hat, both recounted in Elder Nelson’s 1993 Ensign article. 10. Peep stones in a hat. Bushman quotes Joseph Knight that Joseph Smith placed the U&T in a hat and darkened his eyes. I think it is appropriate to discuss what we know from the historical record. With all the caveats that come from the reliability of the sources. 11. Thanks, Norbert. If class members want a more recent discussion of Joseph’s use of seer stones, this month’s Ensign issue has an article by JSP volume editor Gerrit Dirkmaat that discusses the use of stones in the reception of revelation. 12. My understanding from Joseph McConkie, is that Joseph Smith did not use a hat to look into. The record of the hat was given 50 years later. Translation is quite a bit more complex than simply looking into a hat. He also commented that as Joseph grew into his part, he no longer used the U&T, but relied on revelation. I tend to agree with this. We just don’t know what was done to get the translation completed, but are we not happy that it was complete? A resounding, yes! It is a miracle! 13. Karell, I know that many people would agree with you, but regardless of what Joseph McConkie asserts, it is a historically untenable position to claim that a hat was not involved in the process. Yes, David Whitmer’s account is later. Yes, Emma Smith’s account is later. However, be sure to note that McConkie and others who reject the usage of the hat and words on the stone are more than willing to accept all of the other portions of the Whitmer and Emma accounts to prove their other points (i.e. Emma saying Joseph didn’t know there were walls around Jerusalem, etc.) The Palmyra Freeman in August 1829, before the Book of Mormon printing had even begun, gives an explanation of the translation process that it says it got from Joseph Smith himself that the spectacles were placed into a hat in order for Joseph Smith to translate. Its an 1829 source and cannot be explained away by being a late source or by quoting another source. There was at the time not a single other published record about how the book was being translated. So for someone to argue from a historical perspective that there was not a hat involved they would have to reject the testimony of one of the Three Witnesses, David Whitmer, one of the scribes for likely over 50 pages, Emma, and benefactor and early aide to Joseph in the process Joseph Knight Sr. (his story by the way was only a few years later not 50 and cooberates both Emma and Whitmer very well). But more than that, they would have to reject Emma’s testimony about translation, by saying that Joseph never used a hat and that Emma even though she was a scribe, decided to fabricate that part of the story by quoting from the account given by the 1829 Palmyra Freeman that was deriding her husband as being a false prophet. David Whitmer and Joseph Knight Sr. would be in the same camp, using an atagonistic article against Joseph to explain how it happened. Why? To what end? That is not just a stretch, its not tenable historically in any way. Yes, the translation was miraculous, but that was the miracle. God put words on the stones, and the stones shone in darkness into light. In order to read what was on the stones, Joseph had to darken the area. And so he put them in a hat. Its not a magic hat, its not Frosty the Snowman’s hat, its just a hat, a way of making the area dark. Why is it that God writing words on a stone for Joseph is not a miracle, but writing changing words on the Liahona is a miracle? Instead of trying make our idea of what translation is fit into the process, the things that make us feel comfortable today, we should instead try to understand things as they actually happened. If someone doesn’t want to think of Joseph translating in that way, fine, but they cannot claim they are doing so for historically accurate reasons. They are doing so because they emotionally don’t want to think of translation in that way, and that is not the same thing. 14. RE: G and Karell Bingham The “blood of the prophets” flows in Joseph Fielding McConkie’s veins, but not the prophetic mantle. He is a contentious dogmatist, not a careful historian. Him and his co-author, Craig Ostler, have done the Mormon community an absolute disservice by not actually doing their research. The powerful wave of ignorance has swept across the Mormon sphere blinding many to one the most faith promoting miracles in Mormon history. There is unanimity in the sources, from Jonathan Hadley’s conversation with Joseph Smith in the summer of 1829, to Emma’s interview with newspapermen in 1831, to E. B. Howe’s summation of witnesses in 1833–Smith used a hat to hold the seer stones (brown, white, or the BoM interpreters) and to darken the environment to see the light shine forth, as Joseph Knight Sr. stated as early as 1835. Cowdery left records about the process in his first mission to Native Americans and both David Whitmer and Martin Harris are recorded as describing the hat as witnesses of the Plates. The hat was a practical object like the breastplate, but more conveniently, it could be adjusted easier and it enabled Smith to exclude outside light. Furthermore, if one believes in the Book of Mormon one must believe that God uses instruments like the Liahona, King Mosiah’s seer stones, and the Jaredite interpreters! We must not forget that the text of revelation appeared on the Liahona, according to the Book of Mormon. 15. Elder Nelson does not agree with McConkie or Ostler: see his 1993 Ensign article that quotes David Whitmer!!!!!! Get every new post delivered to your Inbox. Join 11,564 other followers	dclm-gs1-105190000
• by PROS / The needed chemicals are included and the equipment is reusable. CONS / You get less equipment with this kit than with the advanced kits. VERDICT / The CHEM C1000 serves as a vital link between starter chemistry sets and the more advanced variety. You get 75 experiments and plenty of good instruction with this chemistry set. Educational toymaker Thames & Kosmos prepared the CHEM C1000 as the third chemistry set in its CHEM series to serve as an intermediate chemistry kit between beginner and advanced kits. It includes fewer experiments and not quite as much equipment as more advanced chemistry sets, because it serves the student who is still at an in-between level of knowledge but eager to learn more. CHEM C1000 The fact that this is an intermediate chemistry set for kids does not detract from the high quality of the supplies, written learning materials or educational content of the CHEM C1000. These characteristics make it our choice for the Top Ten Reviews Bronze Award. 1. The youngest recommended age for this set. 2. 3 CHEM C1000 10 years 3. 12 years 4. 11 years 5. Category Average 9.42 years The C1000 is classified as a beginner's kit and has a lot fewer experiments than the two higher-rated sister sets in the Thames & Kosmos CHEM series. With the chemicals included in this chemistry for kids kit, you can conduct 75 experiments. Rather than paring down to the most basic experiments, this chemistry set for kids selects general experiments that are mostly educational, as well as some of the favorites from the higher-level kits, including tests of electricity and chromatography. This kit lacks the food science and polymer experiments and many of the other specialized experiments of the best chemistry set, but it still offers a wide range of experiments. For students who have already demonstrated a moderate interest in science, the C1000 kit is a solid choice. However, for the avid home chemist, these 75 experiments are not substantial enough to provide more than a few weekends of entertainment. The experiments in the C1000 are not very complex, which is why this kit is appropriate for children aged 10 and up. The CHEM C1000 comes with a much smaller set of supplies than our higher-rated sets do, but it still includes everything you need to complete the 75 chemistry experiments for kids. This kit includes both glass and plastic equipment, and some parts have sharp edges, so you should use care when unpacking and using your kit. A major feature missing from the C1000 is an alcohol burner, but this kit does include some fire experiments, such as one in which you identify elements by holding them in a flame and observing the color change. The supply tray for the C1000 looks meager compared to the higher-rated CHEM sets, but without the addition of the alcohol burner, this kit requires a bit less parental supervision. It could therefore encourage your young chemist to feel more independent in his or her home lab. Through the course of conducting the experiments in the chemistry set, the goal is for your child to become more confident following procedures and to enjoy a more hands-on learning style. The rules for proper experimentation are included in the kit. The CHEM C1000 comes with only seven chemicals, but there is a sufficient supply to reuse the chemicals for multiple experiments and to conduct experiments more than once. As this kit is designed more for beginners than for advanced users, it contains an introductory set of chemical experiments but nothing involving very harsh or dangerous chemicals. That said, all chemicals can be dangerous if used improperly, so you should make sure your child uses care when handling and cleaning up chemicals. The manual included with the kit contains important information about disposing of chemicals correctly and cleaning your equipment. This kit contains all the chemicals you need to do the included experiments. You get typical household chemicals with this set as well as specialty chemicals. Learning Materials The C1000 kit comes with a detailed experiment procedure manual that includes background information on each experiment and some general guidelines for proper, safe experimentation. The manual also has details on cleaning up after your experiments. Part of the goal of the experiment manual is to help cement students' ability to follow procedures and give them greater scientific understanding through observing scientific principles in action. Your child will gain a lot more from this kit by reading the entire manual carefully, following the instructions exactly and practicing the proper procedures at all times. The CHEM C1000 is the most progressive of our beginner-level chemistry sets, which makes it basic enough that your child can begin conducting experiments quickly. However, the experiments are complex and entertaining enough to hold your child's interest. For the right youngster, this is a great buy. It nicely fills the intermediate niche among chemistry sets for kids and earns its place in the upper ranks of our lineup. CHEM C1000	dclm-gs1-105200000
prices for African agriculture. noting that “African agriculture still faces many constraints, being undercapitalized, inefficient and uncompetitive,” Diouf expressed his conviction that “with political will and good governance, Africa can change its agriculture and succeed in feeding its population.” He further explained that the main factors inhibiting agricultural development in Africa include lack of access to improved seeds and fertilizers and lack of adequate irrigation. He concluded by outlining an FAO initiative in response to soaring food prices to support the low-income food-deficit countries by facilitating poor farmers' access to inputs. [FAO press release] [FAO Initiative on Soaring Food Prices]	dclm-gs1-105220000
Coffee Bad Thppppppt!” -Bill the Cat Many weeks ago, I purchased 3 lbs of whole bean Dunkin Donuts coffee off the internet. Used the last bit of it up yesterday and pulled out our grocery store bought reserve bag. Yuck! This stuff tastes gawd aweful. I now understand why people put creamer and and sugar into their coffee. That’s a game I’d rather not play. So on the advice of glitch p-udding, of, it’s time to invest into a coffee bean roaster. I decided on the Fresh Roast Plus 8. The unit costs $82 and comes with 4 lbs of assorted green coffee beans. Not bad,c onsidering that 4 lbs. of dunkin donuts coffee costs me $40 with shipping. I buy the gourmet expensive stuff ’cause when I drink it, I wanna taste it.” – Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction	dclm-gs1-105230000
Sign up × In classical conditioning, a conditioned stimulus (CS, e.g., a tone) is presented just before an unconditioned stimulus (UCS, e.g., a mild toe pinch) in repeated trials, such that the CS will eventually evoke the unconditioned response (e.g., withdrawal reflex) on its own. Such memories of fear and discomfort are said to be held in the lateral amygdala, with a representation of the CS and its UCS (Díaz-Mataix et al, 2011). Certain areas of the brain have particular representations of stimuli, e.g., a tone of a given frequency, as the primary auditory cortices have "tonotopic" zones in which different areas have a differential response to separate frequencies. Since the CS/UCS pairing is more abstract than a single tone, I'm curious as to what type of representation of the CS/UCS is actually encoded within the local subnetworks amygdala. I can't imagine that, for the above example, a particular area holds a representative frequency of a tone used as a CS in tight collaboration with a "pain" signal. It might be realistic, but anatomically, that whole area would also have to reflect an exhaustive set of all of the other possible "life events" that the animal has experienced. So, is this representation in the lateral amygdala just a placeholder to retrieve other pertinent memories stored elsewhere in cortex -- is the hippocampus a major player in keeping this sorted? If, in fact, all these pairings are just weak bindings of diverse stimuli, why is it so difficult to untangle and extinguish more complex types of fears in human patients? Díaz-Mataix, L., Debiec, J., LeDoux, J.E. & Doyère, V. (2011). Sensory-specific associations stored in the lateral amygdala allow for selective alteration of fear memories. The Journal of Neuroscience, 31, 9538-9543.. PDF share\|improve this question 1 Answer 1 The lateral amygdala appears to be involved in representing fear memories after extinction (Hobin, Goosens and Maren, 2003). The extent of the lateral amygdala's involvement in representing these appears to revolve around the context of the {CS, UCS} pair. The authors state the following in their abstract: Similarly, the majority of LA neurons exhibited context-dependent spike firing; short-latency spike firing was greater to both CSs when they were presented outside of their own extinction context. In contrast, behavioral and neuronal responses to either non-extinguished CSs or habituated auditory stimuli were not contextually modulated. Context-dependent neuronal activity in the LA may be an important mechanism for disambiguating the meaning of fear signals, thereby enabling appropriate behavioral responses to such stimuli. You appear to be right to suspect the hippocampus' involvement. In a subsequent study by Maren and Hobin (2007) using a similar Pavlovian methodology to the previous study, the authors reported that hippocampal activity was associated with regulation of context-dependent lateral amygdaloid activity and concluded the following: After saline infusion, rats froze more to the CS when it was presented outside of its extinction context, but froze equally in both contexts after muscimol infusion. In parallel with the behavior, lateral nucleus neurons exhibited context-dependent firing to extinguished CSs, and hippocampal inactivation disrupted this activity pattern. These data reveal a novel role for the hippocampus in regulating the context-specific firing of lateral amygdala neurons after fear memory extinction. Finally, a context-related function of the lateral amygdala seems to provide a simple and plausible explanation for why fear extinction is far more difficult in human patients than laboratory rats: humans encounter a virtually infinite and certainly unpredictable space of possible contexts, whereas lab rats, by the nature of their unfortunate lot in life, tend to encounter relatively few and predictable contexts. (I found it somewhat difficult to cover all the bases for your question and subquestions, so please comment if I need to expand on something.) • Hobin, J. A., Goosens, K. A., & Maren, S. (2003). Context-dependent neuronal activity in the lateral amygdala represents fear memories after extinction. The Journal of neuroscience, 23(23), 8410-8416. • Maren, S., & Hobin, J. A. (2007). Hippocampal regulation of context-dependent neuronal activity in the lateral amygdala. Learning & Memory, 14(4), 318-324. Chicago share\|improve this answer Your Answer	dclm-gs1-105240000
Username Password Overview for Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist A program that prepares individuals, under the supervision of physicians and nurses, to operate extracorporeal circulation and autotransfusion equipment during medical procedures and surgeries where the support or temporary replacement of a patient's own respiratory or circulatory system is required. Includes instruction in equipment selection and operation; physician and medical team consultation; patient condition monitoring; procedural techniques; and principles of respiratory and circulatory physiology. Careers for Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist Majors A major in Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist is highly relevant for the following careers. National averages for wages in each career is provided. Colleges Offering a Major in Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist Unfortunately, we were unable to find any undergraduate programs in Ohio for this major. View colleges in U.S. offering Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist.	dclm-gs1-105250000
Monday, December 17, 2012 Don't Be Depressed Ok, stay with me here. This post starts kind of depressing, but think of it as therapeudic because we're going to finish with some good stuff. Why? Because it's time to get this stuff out of our systems. Trust me, people. This has been an incredibly depressing year. 1. The human race seems lost. Look at the Connecticut shooting and the Colorado shooting and the way everyone instantly despicably tried to exploit these tragedies. Look at the other killings around the world. Look at Islamic terrorism and all the world's dictatorships. And look at all the truly vile and hateful rhetoric from the left about the rich, about conservative minorities or women, or about pretty much anything they don't like. 2. Obama won the election, confirming that the public isn't willing to act rationally even in the face of bankrupting the country. 3. The Republicans learned nothing from the election. The fiscal cliff talks are now firmly seen as the Republicans demanding that we slash Medicare and Social Security while opposing Obama's attempt to raise taxes 3% on the ultra-rich. Nice work. 4. Conservatives aren't any smarter. The voting gaps were shockingly large and yet conservatives don't want to change a thing -- not even rhetoric. Boehner finally proposed a tax hike on millionaires, something he should have done day one, and Matt Drudge used the headline "Caved." No doubt, talk radio is following suit this morning and pounding their flabby chests about their purity. 5. The Supreme Court finally declared the Constitution pointless in the Obamacare case. 6. The economy is crap and millions are without jobs or prospects of jobs. 7. Twinkies. R.I.P. 8. On a personal note, we lost Larry and I'm sure we've all lost other good friends as well. But you know, there is reason to smile. For thing, Americans are remarkably good at remaking the country whenever it falls off the rails. And reality is on our side, and it will force people to adopt conservatism when the liberals finally run out of other people's money. For another, the things that truly matter in this life are our friends and our families, and those are still there. Not only that, things like the internet have opened up a world of friendships we never could have had before. Look at our little family here and realize that we never could have known each other a decade ago. And don't lose sight of the fact that inventors and artists and dreamers are constantly making the world better. It's not our inept government and it's not our mindless public who are changing the world, they just go along for the ride. The people changing the world are the individuals no one has ever heard of who do it because they have a dream, and they're still out there doing their thing no matter how stupid the rest of us get. Also, don't believe there aren't heroes. Every day, people everywhere go above and beyond to help others because it's the right thing to do. Even tragedies like Connecticut always reveal selfless individuals who sacrifice themselves to save others. There is great goodness in so many people. Care about them. The world can be a beautiful place. Take some time to realize how great it is just to be alive. And remember the things that are truly important. :D Mr_Severus_Snape said... I just saw 'The Hobbit', the 48fps version, with some friends, today! F'n awesome movie, BTW! Then I had a big juicy burger w/garlic fries and a large chocolate shake, afterwards! So life isn't that bad! lol Thanks for the article, Andrew! I agree, the world is still a beautiful place, despite its imperfections. God made it, afterall! It's just the bad stuff always overshadow the good stuff in the world. After the disapointing election results, I pretty much took a break from caring about politics. I just stopped caring. Knowing the current state of it all, just makes me angry as hell! I now put all of that focus on the other stuff that matters most -- my loved ones, my dog, and myself. I'm still depressed of losing Twinkies, though! :'( K said... Twinkies. R.I.P. Also Ho hos. And Snowballs. And ding dongs. And those little chocolate donuts. And ..... Sorry, I can't go on. But you are right Andrew. There is still some good stuff in the world that we can take heart from. Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with icing fresh out of the oven. Duncan Hines double chocolate cake with divinity icing just to name two. Patriot said... Andrew......I agree that sometimes this world can seem overwhelming. Welcome to life on earth. It seems like it has always been so. Is it worse now than in WWI or WWII? How about if you were living in VA in the early 1860's? Or in Pol Pot's Cambodia. All in all, I also think your admonition that times have never been better is also true. Better from a communication's standpoint maybe. I think we all need to answer the question for ourselves individually....."What is good in life?" for each of us it is different. One constant appears to be family and friends. Yet if we look around us throughout history, there are some families that undoubtedly wish they had certain members disowned. We can think of many family names that bring instant revulsion.....How about your brother 'Benedict' Arnold....Your son 'John W. Booth'....Too many to name. So or each of us, we need to determine what is good in life. ARe there universal human truths? This is where I think religion helps the human condition by introducing the element of undertsnading those things that happen in life that are beyond our control. It provides an outlet for us to deal with the absolute horror (Sandy Hook) that we are faced with with on a regular basis. There are no answers and no solutions. It is what it is and we must each deal with it as best we can. As you say..."the world can be a beautiful place" amidst all the evil. You have identified a way to make it through this life on this planet. Bonne chance mon ami......bonne chance. tryanmax said... Twinkies again by spring? It could happen. Individualist said... I went to see the Hobbit too and I really enjoyed it although they dragged it out a bit. I think there were literary license taken with the story but it has been a while since I read the book so I may misrember. I have no idea why the critics are against it. Individualist said... You know it does seem that we have been living that Hee Haw song... "if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. Gloom, despair and misery on me." I guess that is why there are so many corny jokes on that show, to drum up cheer. T-Rav said... K, don't forget snickerdoodles. The world can never be entirely lost, as long as we still have snickerdoodles. Jen said... I couldn't agree more with this. As for the 'sweet treats' that were mentioned, I agree with that as well (as long as the lefties or nannies like Mayor "Doomberg" don't decide that we can't have those either). One of my local TV stations posed this question on their website. I can only imagine what kind of stupid responses they are going to get. They post some of the comments during the news. The Connecticut shootings at the elementary school is the fourth such tragedy to happen in the past four years. What do we need to do to stop these from happening? Is it stricter gun control or better mental healthcare or better security at our schools or a ban on violent video games? Tell us what you think. AndrewPrice said... You're welcome, Mr. Snape. :) Dogs are great! I'm glad to hear The Hobbit was good. I have been doubtful. And it's true that the bad things seem to overwhelm the good, but look at where we are now compared to where we were a 1,000 years ago or 2,000 or even earlier than that. The good does prevail and keeps us moving to bigger and better things. AndrewPrice said... K, Thank you for making me hungry! LOL! I'm a fan of Dunkin Donuts too. And Marie Calender pies. And McDonald's breakfasts. And IHOP. Yum. AndrewPrice said... tryanmax, What a hopeful response. :) rlaWTX said... This has been a hard year. The last 6 weeks have been rough - right after the election is when my grandmother's health began its descent: election blues into caregiving to her funeral this last Saturday. But you are right, we continue, we prevail, we "keep swimming", we find the good. And we need to accept the pain as part of the whole. Even though the bad can seem all encompassing... Corrie Ten Boom's book "The Hiding Place" is an amazing story of over-coming - and I TRY to remember my struggles as compared with others'. At one point when they were in the concentration camp, they were complaining about the fleas in their beds. Either Corrie or Betsy (here sister) said they should thank God even for the fleas and that suggestion was met with disbelief. But it turned out they had more freedom in their bunkhouse because the guards wouldn't enter due to the fleas. So, I am trying to thank God for the fleas of life (trying being the operative word - not always doing...) while appreciating the non-flea moments (Commentarama is def. a non-flea place of appreciation!!!!) AndrewPrice said... Patriot, Well said! "What is good in life?" is absolutely right. We should all stop every now and then and think about the things that make life worth living. If we don't do that, then we end up just dwelling on the bad things we see on the news. And the problem really is the media. It sensationalizes for ratings and that means it presents only bad and shocking things and it turns them into a crisis. That gives people such a false perception. It makes you think the world is full of murder and violence and hate and crime because that is all it focuses on. The reality is that these things are not getting worse, they are getting better. Crime is down, murder is down, mass killings are much more rare, tolerance is up, racism is down, etc. etc. And when you compare our time to the past, there's no comparison. We've conquered killer diseases. No one starves to death. Kids are no longer put to worth in dangerous factories. We are awash in consumer goods. We can now have friends all over the world - and we do. We have a near infinite variety of entertainment. This is a great time to be alive. We just need to realize that and not dwell on the tiny part of it that the media dwells on. AndrewPrice said... Indi, I want to see it, but I'm not sure what to expect at this point. I am concerned they stretched it into two films, that really wasn't necessary. And I am concerned that the LOTR lacked the characterizations. But who knows? I am interested. AndrewPrice said... Indi, LOL! Hee Haw did indeed have an excellent way to take your mind off of things. I think the problem is one of perception and I firmly blame the media on this. My mother is the perfect example. Colorado Springs is a big city now. There are around 750,000 in the county. Yet, we have a tiny murder rate -- around 12-20 a year depending on the year. Without exception, these are domestic killing or drug related. We likewise have a low burglary rate. YET, the radio and newspaper play up every single incident for weeks and completely sensationalize each. Hence, she is convinced that the city is under siege and that she's about to be murdered or burgled at any moment. So are her friends. This is completely false, but it's the impression they get from the local news. It's the same thing with the national news. They take the true outlier incidents and they explode those into crises, one after another, so that you feel like the nation is under siege. And then politicians exploit this to their own benefit. The reality is that everything is getting better in our world. We are constantly becoming genuinely freer and safer. We live longer. We have better stuff. We've found ways to connect better with each other. Life gets better all the time, even when things seem like they are getting worse. And we should never lose sight of that. :) AndrewPrice said... T-Rav, Snickerdoodle are nice, but I prefer oatmeal cookies ultimately. :) And I love those cookies with the marshmallow between them -- I'm not even sure what they are called. AndrewPrice said... Jen, I'm not focused on the negative today. AndrewPrice said... rlaWTX, Thanks! I like to think of us as flea-free. :D I am sorry about your grandfather. That is very difficult. But I am happy to hear that you can still see the goodness in the world. :) Our world is a great place, we just need to stop and think about it sometimes, and focus on the wonderful things we have. T-Rav said... I'm really not that interested in seeing The Hobbit. I don't know if it's a good movie or not, but I have issues with going back and doing a prequel, especially if that "prequel" actually came first in the literary world. By all rights, they should have made this movie and then LOTR. I mean, we've already seen how this story will end. What's the point? Also, the trailers make it look too much like a straight-up action movie. I know, I know, I'm being too hard to please. tryanmax said... Andrew, I appreciate the sentiment about not being depressed, but it just isn't happening for me today. It's not any of the stuff above that has me pessimistic. It's just human nature that's got me down. And I am really, really trying not to be in a funk. I posted that Twinkie link for myself as much as anybody. But today I'm in one of those moods that says, "Let it slide." Let everyone act on their good intentions with no mind to the unintended consequences and maybe we can all be happy for a week or two before it all goes to hell. T-Rav said... rla, that's really tough. I'm sorry for your loss. But I'm also glad to see you looking for the good in life. I need to be doing more of that. AndrewPrice said... T-Rav, You are too hard to please! LOL! AndrewPrice said... tryanmax, It's hard not to be in a funk at the moment because there is an endless supply of stupidity, and that stupidity has been mixed with hate and it gets an outlet through our media and our government. But keep in mind, those people don't drive the world. They don't matter. They will live their angry lives, make changes that change nothing, and then die off to be replaced by the next useless idiot. They don't matter. The people that matter to your life and to our species and to our world are not them. They are the people who are out there right now doing great things, and they won't stop just because some idiot in Washington or London or at some newspaper thinks they can save the world by ruining it. They will keep right on doing the things that took us from living in caves to the world we have today. And beside them, the people who really matter are your friends and family, and they also don't depend on the idiots. Things are not as bad as they seem. Individualist said... It dragged a little bit and relied heavily on action. They did stretch into two. The first is getting past the trolls and orcs and Bilbo getting the ring. Really the second movie will be the movie. This was essentially a set of random encounters on the way there. I was kinda ticked it wasn't two movies but still it was good. The added an Orc prince aa a foil for Thoren. I am not sure but I don;t think that rivaalry was in the book. Still it was a really good movie. Tennessee Jed said... In that vein, if anyone has a Samsung LCD flatscreen new in the last couple ears and would like me to give you the settings that come extremely close to a true I.S.F. calibration, let me know, and I'll post them. You would be amazed how much better your viewing experience will be. :) AndrewPrice said... Indi, I don't recall an Orc prince. I do recall a king under the mountain, but he's only in it for a couple pages. If they are adding things to give the characters something to do, then that's a bad sign. Well see. AndrewPrice said... Jed, I don't have one, but I might be getting one. Please post away. :) tryanmax said... Jed, my Samsung is more than two years old. (Can't remember exactly how old, though.) Do you think the settings would work for me? ScottDS said... "What is best in life?" Andrew, I think we both know Twinkies will return in one way or another. Besides, Wal-Mart sells a store brand version (I can't vouch for their quality) and there are ways for you to make your own! Friends of mine just had a baby. She was born on 12/13 and in the midst of all this insanity, it's comforting to know that life goes on and there will always be things worth celebrating. As an aside, I bought her a plush starship Enterprise - the first photo I see of her with it will no doubt cause me to turn on the waterworks! (This was the father's idea, BTW!!) And another friend saw The Hobbit - he said he liked it better than any/all of the LOTR films. He said the characters were just more likeable and well-rounded. More human moments and less speechifying about evil and destiny and so on. And there's a new Star Trek Into Darkness teaser out there but I'll save that for the links. Anthony said... I tend to be very even keeled (I doubt I feel emotion to the same extent many appear to) and it takes a lot to get me down (or up) and the only thing that succeeded is the guy who murdered all the kids. A lot of people (including kids) die deaths they didn't earn, but so many innocents and good people being murdered at once here in America... But I'm getting off track. I agree with Andrew that its a great time to be alive. I treasure every day with my wife and kids and look forward to seeing what paths my daughters walk as they grow up. Tennessee Jed said... White balance Settings: red offset: 30 green offset: 25 blue offset: 19 red gain: 17 green gain 19 blue gain 44 Picture Settings Picture Mode: Movie Color Temp: Warm 2 brightness: 44 contrast: 93 color: 43 tint G47/R53 sharpness: 10 backlight: 7 *(this will only apply if you have a newer model with backlighting.) black tone: off dynamic contrast : OFF (generally turn all this gimmicky bullshit stuff off) gamma: 0 flesh tone : OFF!! (more gimmicky bullshit) edge enhancement (for god's sake OFF, OFF, OFF) Digital NR: if available, AUTO HDMIBlack Level: LOW Film Mode: Auto 1 (if valuable) Color Filter: OFF PLEASE AndrewPrice said... Scott, That quote ran through my head too. :) Life does go on. The human race has ups and downs and right now we're actually at a way up point, it just doesn't seem that way. But if you compare the problems we have today against the things people have dealt with in the past, our complaints are really quite petty. And if you stop and look around you, you will see tremendous joy and kindness everywhere. Just take the time to see it. :) A plus Enterprise! Awesome! I hope The Hobbit is good. I love the book. Tennessee Jed said... Folks, I cannot vouch for sure that every setting I mentioned above is available or would be 100% correct on every year or model. BUT, I suspect they would be pretty close, and should get you closer to what the director intended you to see. If you haven't done much with the controls, your set is too bright, among other things. Merry Christmas!! (no I'm not going away, but it's never a bad time to leave that greeting :) AndrewPrice said... Anthony, That is truly an horrific event. It is hard to even think about. And I personally am just as disgusted by the way people have responded -- politicization, sick internet jokes, and bomb threats to survivors? It's very depressing. But I don't want people to lose perspective. OUr world is a great place and so much of humanity are good and decent people. We need to focus more on the good and not dwell on the bad. AndrewPrice said... Jed, Merry Christmas to you too, my friend! :D Tennessee Jed said... BTW, if you have a set with 120Hz or 240 Hz and are NOT watching sports, you need to turn that feature OFF. In my Samsung menu, go to "picture Options" scroll down to "auto motion plus" and click on "off." Patriot said... TJ.....I have a Samsung LED set, ~2 years old. I made the changes and will trust that the experts (you!) can enhance my home viewing experience. Koshcat said... I was interested in see The Hobbit until I found out it is ANOTHER trilogy. This was completely unnecessary. The animation movie from 1977 only ran 90 minutes and the book isn't that long. Are you telling me they couldn't make a tight, well directed movie from that book in under 3 hours? Jackson can steal money from others, I am going to skip out on this one. I'm looking forward to Les Mis. AndrewPrice said... Koshcat, It's a trilogy? Ug. What a rip off. The 1977 version is fantastic and you are right, it's only 90 minutes. AndrewPrice said... P.S. Les Mis looks really interesting. Tennessee Jed said... Patriot - let me know what you think. It may seem a little strange at first, but after you get used to looking at it, you will realize how natural it is. ;) rlaWTX said... thank you. And I love y'all, BTW!!! Thanks for the laughs, the groans, the arguments, and the ideas!!! Koshcat said... Everytime I see the picture, I have this song in my head: Don't worry; be happy! Doo doot doot... Koshcat said... I meant your header picture. AndrewPrice said... You mean the little yellow smile guy or the capital? AndrewPrice said... rlaWTX, Thanks for all the great comments you contribute too. :D CrisD said... Hi Andrew! Good post! I had been going through a great deal of stress; long term stuff. And had to let go of some things: large political worries all the way down to keeping the house a certain way. I really needed to focus on the positives. First, we do miss Larry. And we are sorry that Obama was re-elected. But we have family and friends. Christmas is coming and we are seeing family. And we can always click on Commentarama for good reading and join in. Thank YOU for that! AndrewPrice said... Thank you, Cris! And you're welcome. :) I'm sorry to hear you're going through a lot of stress. But I'm happy to hear that you can keep it all in perspective! I think it's really important for people that they do keep sight of the bigger picture of life. Jen said... Baby heifer calves (like one last night, and three weeks ago today), and (sorry T-Rav) baby kittens. They are actually something that can make me smile. T-Rav said... Jen, I never said baby kittens don't make me smile. They anticipation. Jen said... Oh T-Rav, I only said that because I know how you feel about them. Jen said... One more I forgot. Getting recognition for something I've worked really hard at. Notawonk said... People, DON'T DESPAIR! I read that The Walmarts is in the running to take over the Twinkie makin'. If that don't make you smile (just at the sheer fun of the volume of possible jokes), then I gots nothing for you. I do want to say that I love you guys. You are the eye of the hurricane that is our country. I blow in, get a respite and then get blown right back out. It's Christmas, and I may not be back till after the holidays, but I wanted you to know that. I loved Larry too and miss him and his talent for righting a sinking ship. Thanks for your talent and time, but most of all thanks for the strong opinions and your willingness to share them. A blessed Christmas to all. AndrewPrice said... Patti, Merry Christmas to you too! And thanks for all you've done too. Your humor and you take on events is always refreshing. :) That is good news if WalMart will take over the Twinkie making. Talk about a match made in Heaven somehow! Notawonk said... Thanks Andrew. Hey, I think we just exchanged Christmas gifts! AndrewPrice said... True. :) rlaWTX said... Jen, I have a friend with whom I trade kitty pix when the other is feeling down! And kitten pix are the best! tryanmax said... Jed, I just implemented the specs you provided. Looks good. Thanks! Post a Comment	dclm-gs1-105260000
The Macmillan Chat Rooms Want to talk to other people affected by cancer? Our chat rooms are a fun and friendly place to chat in real time about whatever's on your mind. Once you enter, your username will be visible to other members, so say hi and explain why you've come to the chat rooms. If you're going to be away from your computer for a while, please change your status to 'Away' or 'Busy' so that people know you're not there. NOTICE: Please change your font size to 14-16 and select a bright/dark colour from the drop down menu at the top of the typing panel to make your messages more visible. If you notice anything strange in the room please copy the text and email Thank you.	dclm-gs1-105280000
Justice Fortas on Presidential Indictment Gerard Magliocca You may also like... 13 Responses 1. Brett Bellmore says: I don’t see why this should be the least bit contraversial; The authors of the Constitution were perfectly capable of writing immunity into the Constitution’s language explicitly, when they intended for it. See Article 1, Section 6: Note the utter and complete absence of any comparable language in Article 2. That should, rightfully, settle the matter. Presidents do not have any more immunity from legal proceedings than any other citizen. 2. Joe says: As with sovereign immunity and many other things, legal understandings from the Founding are a bit more complex than Brett “it is so simple, why is everyone confused” makes it out to be. For instance, who is going to prosecute? The President can pardon people. Can the President pardon him/herself? I personally agree that Clinton was liable for civil suit while in office but Brett’s “same as Joe Smoe” standard would provide no limited immunity to judges etc. at all. 3. Ken Rhodes says: I gotta go with Brett on this one. As often as his opinions are different than my own, I almost always find his logic to be sound. And in this case, it seems clearcut to me, too. The framers did not leave the question unaddressed. If they took the pains to explicitly state some immunities for some public officials, but not for others, one has to assume they didn’t mean for those immunities to accrue to those others. We’ve had over 200 years to clean up that oversight, if it was one, and we haven’t done that either. So what’s the question about immunities? The issues raised above by Joe are separate questions. Who is going to prosecute? Well, don’t we have something called “Special Prosecutor?” Can the President grant himself a pardon? Hmmm … what does the Constitution say about that? 4. JoeJP says: Who picks the “special prosecutor,” Ken Rhodes? If we want to be so literal, Scalia would probably be right under Morrison v. Olson that the President himself would have the final say there. As to the pardon power, literally, s/he would. I think there was an implicit understanding that one couldn’t decide one’s own case (going back to Coke), so maybe not. But, literally, the text doesn’t say that. What about limited immunity well recognized for judicial and other officers? I’m not talking complete immunity here. Under Brett’s lights, since the Constitution doesn’t explicitly say so, there should be NO immunity at all. They should be treated “like any other citizen.” I think a case can be made that Presidents can be prosecuted, just as I think Clinton was rightly subject to civil process. I just think the matter is quite more reasonably open to dispute than Brett’s literalist approach that as usual in those cases (1) ignores that we never were totally literal (2) tends to find the text to clearly say things it doesn’t quite clearly say. 5. Brett Bellmore says: In this case, it’s more like not finding something it clearly doesn’t say. There’s no constitutional basis for any immunity other than a very limited immunity enjoyed my members of Congress. Who would prosecute a criminal President? The same people who’d prosecute a criminal janitor. Could the President abuse his position to order federal prosecutors to leave him alone? Sure, and Congress could impeach him over it. But, of course, it would have been contemplated that almost any conceivable criminal charge which would have been brought against a President would have been brought in state court, by state prosecutors, whom the President has no authority over. It’s not like he spends all his time for four years hiding in the District of Columbia, after all. Yes, having a President prosecuted for criminal acts would be awkward. Having a President immune from prosecution has proven more awkward, I think. 6. JoeJP says: Like some degree of sovereign immunity for states, immunity was understood to be in some sense part of the “executive power” and “judicial power” vested by the Constitution. Art. I says “herein granted” as to powers. If we want to go be literal text, Art. II is more open-ended. A criminal janitor is prosecuted by a team lead by the chief executive officer and there is prosecutor discretion that goes to the top. When the CEO is the defendant, sort of a different situation. Thus, the controversy. The issue here is when Congress doesn’t want to impeach. We can play guessing games here, but the issue here is that there is reasonable debate. The idea the sitting President would be subject to prosecution, perhaps wrongful, by a single state opens up a lot of abuse. The idea of sovereign immunity has so much force even in this day and age that a Pinchot has a reasonable claim. Now we are supposed to “contemplate” Delaware could prosecute a sitting President? The issue here is a “sitting President” would be immune from prosecution. Congress can impeach and remove the President. After all, if this ever would happen, it would only happen for a very serious crime. One that takes a long time to prosecute. Again, your “just like everyone else” rule is more absolutist than all that. 7. Brett Bellmore says: If they’d wanted a king, even a temporary one, they could have written that constitution. They didn’t. You think that maybe they wrote temporary, partial immunity into Article 1, and then just forgot to mention it in Article 2? Scrivener’s error, perhaps? Went without saying? What’s the point in writing these things down, if it doesn’t do you any good to leave something out that you didn’t want? 8. JoeJP says: Waiting until the President leaves office (giving the legislative the power to remove) before you prosecute, perhaps for a capital crime, is not immediately what I think of when I think of “king.” I think that they wrote the Constitution with various implicit understandings, including many thinking there is some degree of sovereign immunity and limited immunity for judicial officers, even though that is not anywhere expressly listed. The leading voices of the era said as much. But, it isn’t literally there. They must be wrong. Single members of Congress are different than the sole chief executive officer who is in charge of prosecuting crimes. The provision is a limited immunity to address minor offenses that dealt with a matter of some historical precedent. Some note it might primary be of concern of private lawsuits, more prevalent in that era. The purpose is to insure a specific thing while not intending to give it too much weight, particularly when another part of the Constitution is involved. As I said, there is some logic to making a President liable. Since that provision is there, the case is not open. Same thing with the 1A. There would still be a freedom of speech w/o it, but it underlined the point. 9. Ken Rhodes says: Joe, perhaps I’m confused about what Presidential crimes we’re talking about here, and what immunity. The Constitution is quite specific as to the details of immunity for Congressmen in Article 1. It doesn’t say they can’t be prosecuted by the State of Maryland for robbing a bank in Silver Spring. Likewise, Article 2 specifies what crimes the President can pardon, specifically “offenses against the United States.” So he, too, can be charged and tried in Maryland if (unexpectedly) he robs a bank in Silver Spring. Now, presumably the discussion here is not about robbing a bank, but the analogy is important to the conversation–if the President commits a felony that can be prosecuted under a jurisdiction other than Federal, the President cannot pardon himself. Likewise, if the President is charged in an impeachment proceeding, then he also cannot pardon himself (as specifically stated in Article 2, Section 2, paragraph 1.) Finally, “Who picks the Special Prosecutor?” Well, how about the three-judge panel charged with administering the Independent Counsel Act. Perhaps then he’d be called “Independent Counsel,” but the result is the same. Or maybe Congress. 10. JoeJP says: The President does not have the power to pardon state crimes even if the state makes, e.g., harming U.S. postal workers a state crime. Such is how it always been understood [it growing from the power to prosecute FEDERAL laws] and perhaps suggests the peril of blind literalism. And, even then, that doesn’t mean s/he necessarily could be charged in the first place while in office. There is not “specific” statement as to the ability to charge the President while in office. At best, you have a (I’ll leave out the Latin) idea that the exception proves the rule. But, Congress and the President are different, which I suggested more than once. I’m sorry, don’t see any refutation of my arguments that this is at least reasonable. As to the SP, if you are going to start having the judiciary appoint prosecutors when Art. II says the President has “executive” power, or maybe Congress should (even though it doesn’t seem to be among the powers “hereby granted”), relying on literalism to say the President can be prosecuted is questionable. Or, selective. 11. Ken Rhodes says: Who appointed Kenneth Starr? 12. JoeJP says: Ken Rhodes the question misses the point. I cited Morrison v. Olson. Are you familiar with the case? It concerns the special counsel law. Scalia used a literal textual position to argue that it is unconstitutional. The President has “executive power” and such a major officer with executive powers cannot simply be appointed by three judges. He was in dissent. The majority interpreted the text in a somewhat less literal way. If you want to sometimes read the text literally (pardon power, prosecuting sitting Presidents) and sometimes not (executive officers appointed by judges), again you are using the text selectively. 13. TS says: I’m curious whether any portion of this analysis was borrowed from the memo that Fortas’s then-judicial law clerk and now Harvard Lawprof (Martha Altschuler Field) had given to Fortas himself while a sitting justice. That memo is not present in Fortas’s papers at Yale and Field was not helpful (to me, at least) in trying to obtain a copy or the substance of it. The only way we have any knowledge of it is from a footnote in Laura Kalman’s biography on Fortas, presumably a mention made during an oral history with Field. Gerard, where did you find this memo (I’ve not found the Balkanization post)?	dclm-gs1-105290000
Obama: $30 million more for drought relief Obama trails Romney in Colo. -- leads in Va., Wis. Obama's day: Campaigning in Colorado By David Jackson, USA TODAY Good morning from The Oval, on a day when President Obama stumps another swing state. The president heads out this morning for a two-day trip to Colorado, with stops in Denver and Grand Junction. His topics include the economy and health care, with an emphasis on the women's vote. "The president will discuss his plan to restore middle-class security by paying down our debt in a balanced way that ensures everyone pays their fair share and still invests in the things we need to create jobs," said the campaign. Obama will also discuss how his health care plan "has helped women in Colorado get access to the care they need." The president will spend the night in Pueblo, Colo. In other news: The mayor of Oak Creek, Wis., tells USA TODAY's Judy Keen he will help heal the city in light of the weekend shooting at a Sikh temple. Polls in swing states show demographic splits, with women backing Obama and the white working class supporting Mitt Romney. The economy is improving in states like Ohio, but some residents don't feel it. Presidential campaigns are buying up domain names for "microsites," USA TODAY's Jackie Kucinich writes. Some rebels in Syria are upset over a relative lack of support from the United States. A new poll shows that most older Americans are happy with their lives, reports Haya El Nasser of USA TODAY. And Obama is an avid reader -- and critic -- of the news media. We're doing the best we can here at The Oval, so please click away as we cover the president's trip. And thank you for your support. Obama: $30 million more for drought relief	dclm-gs1-105300000
News: - Mailbag: Would it make more sense, to try to re-sign Marcus Spears? Discussion in 'News Zone' started by CCBoy, Apr 19, 2011. 1. CCBoy CCBoy Well-Known Member 19,127 Messages 2,504 Likes Received Cowboys Mailbag Would it make more sense, financial and otherwise, to try to re-sign Marcus Spears than to draft a DE in the first round? DANIEL LOGAN - VALLEJO, CA: Would it make more sense, financial and otherwise, to try to re-sign Marcus Spears than to draft a defensive end in the first round? Nick: I actually thought about that myself last week and we discussed it on the Lunch Break. I think that would be a better idea than drafting someone like Cameron Jordan or J.J. Watt. I feel like Spears does a fine job in the dirty-work position that a 3-4 defensive end is. That would free up another spot to draft an offensive tackle. That doesn't mean avoid the DE position in the draft, but maybe in the later rounds. Josh: Maybe. Depends what the Cowboys think Spears will command on the open market. Especially if there is a rookie wage scale in effect this year, there's a good chance the No. 9 pick could make less than Spears, because remember, the differential in first-round pay would be diverted to veterans. If the Cowboys could re-sign both Spears and Stephen Bowen, and maybe draft some more defensive line help later, I think they would be in fine shape. But that might be expensive... 2. Future Future Intramural Legend 17,361 Messages 2,417 Likes Received If we didn't realize how valuable he was to this defense after he got hurt last year, we are stoopid. 3. DBOY3141 DBOY3141 Well-Known Member 4,433 Messages 1,168 Likes Received I think the decision has been made. Cowboys are not re-signing Spears. From what he has said, they have had zero contract talk with him in over a year. Front three on defensive will probably be: Igor Rat Bowen Lissmore Brent Watt or Jordan 4. Sam I Am Sam I Am Unfriendly and Aloof! 33,596 Messages 1,529 Likes Received Irony! :laugh2: 5. Woods Woods Well-Known Member 12,460 Messages 61 Likes Received The Cowboys have shown no indication of wanting to bring Spears back - for whatever reason(s). Conversely, they have shown interest in extending Sensy, Kosier, and Bowen, for example. As of today, I don't see Spears coming back. 6. aikemirv aikemirv Well-Known Member 7,198 Messages 150 Likes Received Unless they have their eye on someone else in FA to replace him I cannot imagine why they would not make an effort to resign. Maybe he has told him the type of deal he wants and the org. is at a place where they are going to let him test the market and come back to them then. That is where I see the situation anyway. Does not mean he won't be back. 7. jblaze2004 jblaze2004 Well-Known Member 9,349 Messages 693 Likes Received watch out for lissemore if he stays healthy he could have a big season 8. jobberone jobberone Ginsu Wolverine Minion Staff Member 43,848 Messages 7,132 Likes Received I don't know what they're thinking for sure but I doubt Spears is off the table. There is no where for FAs to go right now in seeking employment. Everything is on hold. But that in itself doesn't mean which way they are leaning with any of the three DEs. Share This Page	dclm-gs1-105310000
Tuesday, May 02, 2006 The Youth of Today The Clients that I represent today are likely to turn in to Clients that I represent in the future as adults. I have represented a number of individuals over the past few weeks who seem to be on a very slippery slope and are likely to keep my firm very busy over the next few years. One particular Client appeared in the Youth Court for not complying with his supervision order, he was fortunate after he admitted this breach to be given a second chance. The youth then failed to comply with the requirements of his order again and at a later Youth Court hearing was sent in to youth detention (small people's prison) because the Court felt that he was going to fail again and again with any other sentence that they imposed. When I asked what could be said on my Client's behalf before the hearing the Client simply shrugged their shoulders and said, "Dunno". Clients turn up to Youth Court with the knowledge that they may be sent away to a Young Offenders Institution and say that they are happy to go away provided that their mate is going there too! I was told recently that a youth attended at a meeting with a Youth Worker where he lost his temper, in addition to the youth assaulting the Youth Worker one of his parents smashed property in the Youth Worker's office! At the moment the future is bright for my line of work, there is a generation of youths growing up who do not see custody as a deterrent. They do not comply with the sentences handed down by the Youth Court, and quite frankly they see Youth Court as a meeting place instead as a place to be worried about. As long as the Youths have a complete disregard for the law their offending is likely to get more and more violent until they progress to the stage of beating, stabbing and killing victims. If Mr. Clarke thinks he has a problem trying to keep track of foreign nationals who have been released from prison he has a nightmare scenario trying to keep track of a large part of a generation! Bystander said... I have a horrible feeling that you are right. This is only peripherally a criminal justice problem - it's more to do with social conventions and attitudes. How depressing. Anonymous said... Do you feel you have any sort of responsibilty towards these people? It must be a thankless task, but you are porbably the one person who can command respect from them, after all you can "get them off". Gavin said... I have tried having 'pep' talks with these youths, I tell them to listen to their parents, I tell them that they are foolish to commit the crimes that they get involved in - but it is no good. They only listen to me when they are in Court and as soon as they get out they go back in to their own world. The threat of being locked up does not work on some kids so it does not matter what is said to those kids. Anonymous said... I regularly attend the Courts as an interpreter, and whilst waiting to be called I like to study the people, whether they are culprits, victims, witnesses or legal representatives, in the waiting area and cannot help but overhear their conversations. I often see the same youngsters there waiting to be judged on their latest misdoings, and from their conversations I conclude that they really do not care at all as to what judgement is taken. Sometimes I enter the public gallery and watch the "show", I really cannot describe it as anything else. They shrug their shoulders when given a custodial sentence, knowing they'll get free board and lodgings for a while and once freed will do what they do best: survive as a kind of feral rats against whom nothing works. As you said, the parents do not care and do not bother to accompany their offsping to court, probably not even knowing that that's where s/he is. I do not know the answer to this problem, wish I did. Some people have great ideas about educating them, teaching them skills and along with it values, but as a teacher/educator I know that a) promised government money from the latest "initiative" rarely materializes, b) any initiative is for a fixed period only and then quietly follows all the other ones into oblivion, c) skills training set up by colleges rarely features what these youngsters actually want to learn. It usually focuses too much on language and maths, which is the last thing they want to learn, messing about with and learning about cars, computers, motorbikes etc. being their preferred methods of learning. And why not? Children learn best when given the relative freedom of learning what they want to leran, not what's prescribed by the education system. So perhaps we need some form of alternative education system, fully funded and not just for a limited period open to all youngsters if they so desire, rather than forcing them through the "one-size-fits-all" system we have now. Blaming the parents of these youngsters is an easy option, but many of these became parents when still children themselves as were their parents! Gavin said... I am not sure that anyone has discovered 'the' answer to dealing with the youth of today. I certainly have struggled over the years to work out the answer. You mentioned that you were a Court interpreter, could you answer a question about interpreters for me on this site http://www.criminalsolicitor.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1328 ? motoring solicitors said... courts should give long jail sentences to youth offenders.	dclm-gs1-105320000
Why Should Michael Moore Lie About Hugo Chavez? Kristen Grimsland / In a recent article in the New York Times, supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, or “Chavistas,” claim that Michael Moore, the documentary and filmmaker, acted cowardly during an appearance on the late-night program “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” During the show, Mr. Moore claimed to have shared a bottle-and-a-half of tequila at the Venice film festival in September with Mr. Chavez and helped him with his recent United Nations speech. Eva Golinger, a professional Chavez apologist, went ballistic calling Moore a vulgar liar and egomaniac. Ms. Golinger counts Chavez as one of the world’s most “brilliant” speakers, who speaks from the heart, not from texts written by others. Ms. Golinger praised Mr. Chavez as one of Latin America’s “greatest and most influential leaders,” and rejected assertions made by Mr. Moore as “fairy-tale” lies and altogether insulting towards a head of state. (more…)	dclm-gs1-105330000
dealsfiji water + target gift card $87 for 72 bottles of water? Not a deal! Subtract the $15 bonus and you've got exactly $1/bottle. Unless you really need to spend a lot on your water, this is crazy. I spend under $9 for this much water at Aldi. I do understand that this fancy artesian water tastes good. But even though I can personally taste the difference it seems silly to spend that much more. I can understand if people think this water is too expensive, but if you compare these prices to other sources, THIS IS a deal. For the 500 ml, it's about $1.21 a bottle before the gift card. Amazon's Subscribe and Save is $1.27 a bottle.	dclm-gs1-105340000
Try Our Apps Pore Over vs. Pour Over [pri-skrip-shuh n] /prɪˈskrɪp ʃən/ 1. a direction, usually written, by the physician to the pharmacist for the preparation and use of a medicine or remedy. 2. the medicine prescribed: Take this prescription three times a day. an act of prescribing. that which is prescribed. 1. Also called positive prescription. a long or immemorial use of some right with respect to a thing so as to give a right to continue such use. 2. Also called positive prescription. the process of acquiring rights by uninterrupted assertion of the right over a long period of time. 3. Also called negative prescription. the loss of rights to legal remedy due to the limitation of time within which an action can be taken. (of drugs) sold only upon medical prescription; ethical. Compare over-the-counter (def 2). Origin of prescription 1250-1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin praescrīptiōn- (stem of praescrīptiō) legal possession (of property), law, order, literally, a writing before, hence, a heading on a document. See prescript, -ion Unabridged Cite This Source Examples from the Web for prescription Contemporary Examples Historical Examples British Dictionary definitions for prescription 1. written instructions from a physician, dentist, etc, to a pharmacist stating the form, dosage strength, etc, of a drug to be issued to a specific patient 2. the drug or remedy prescribed (modifier) (of drugs) available legally only with a doctor's prescription 1. written instructions from an optician specifying the lenses needed to correct defects of vision 2. (as modifier): prescription glasses the act of prescribing something that is prescribed a long established custom or a claim based on one 1. the uninterrupted possession of property over a stated period of time, after which a right or title is acquired (positive prescription) 2. the barring of adverse claims to property, etc, after a specified period of time has elapsed, allowing the possessor to acquire title (negative prescription) 3. the right or title acquired in either of these ways Word Origin C14: from legal Latin praescriptiō an order, prescription; see prescribe Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition Cite This Source Word Origin and History for prescription Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper Cite This Source prescription in Medicine prescription pre·scrip·tion (prĭ-skrĭp'shən) 2. A prescribed medicine or other treatment. 3. An ophthalmologist's or optometrist's written instruction, as for the grinding of corrective lenses. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Cite This Source Word of the Day Difficulty index for prescription Many English speakers likely know this word Word Value for prescription Scrabble Words With Friends	dclm-gs1-105350000
AI2O3:ER3+ as a gain platform for integrated optics Bradley, Jonathan David Barnes (2009) AI2O3:ER3+ as a gain platform for integrated optics. thesis. open access Abstract:Integrated optical devices are used in numerous applications in medicine, imaging, sensing, and telecommunications. The goal of integration is to reduce the size and cost of devices by realizing many functions on a single chip. Materials such as silicon and silicon nitride have been optimized for passive photonic functions on the chip. However, there is still a need for active devices, such as amplifiers and lasers, which enhance and generate lightwave signals and are compatible with those materials. Amorphous erbium-doped aluminum oxide (Al2O3:Er3+) is a promising optically-pumped gain medium, due to its broad emission spectrum around telecom wavelengths of 1.53 µm, the high transparency of Al2O3 and its higher refractive index contrast compared to other Er-doped glass waveguide materials, which allows for higher integration density. In this thesis Al2O3:Er3+ has been investigated and optimized as a gain medium. Deposition of Al2O3:Er3+ thin films using RF co-sputtering was explored, resulting in low-loss, uniform, as-deposited waveguiding films on thermally oxidized silicon wafers. A new structuring procedure using reactive ion etching was developed, resulting in channel waveguides with low optical propagation losses. In order to determine the maximum gain, Al2O3:Er3+ channel waveguide amplifiers with varying Er concentrations were fabricated and characterized. Peak net gain of 2.0 dB/cm was measured at a wavelength of 1533 nm, while net gain was measured over a wavelength range of 80 nm when pumping at 977 nm. Based on the broad and high gain, various novel on-chip devices were realized. A zero-loss optical power splitter operating over the entire C-band (1525-1565 nm) and requiring < 50 mW of 977 nm pump power was demonstrated. Signal transmission at 170 Gbit/s without added bit-error penalty was achieved in an Al2O3:Er3+ amplifier. Finally, the first integrated Al2O3:Er3+ ring laser was realized. Laser emission was demonstrated over the wavelength range 1530-1557 nm by adjusting the output coupling. In future, such Al2O3:Er3+ amplifiers and lasers can be applied for signal enhancement or as broadly tunable or short-pulsed light sources in integrated photonic circuits for a wide variety of applications. Item Type:Thesis Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) Research Group: Link to this item: Official URL: Export this item as:BibTeX HTML Citation Reference Manager Repository Staff Only: item control page	dclm-gs1-105360000
A Administering Oracle Database on AIX A.1 Memory and Paging This section contains the following topics: A.1.1 Controlling Buffer-Cache Paging Activity Parameter Description minfree The minimum free-list size. If the free-list space in the buffer falls lower than this size, then the system uses page stealing to replenish the free list. minperm The minimum number of permanent buffer pages for file Input-Output. maxperm The maximum number of permanent buffer pages for file Input-Output. See Also: AIX 5L Performance Management Guide for more information about AIX system parameters A.1.2 Tuning the AIX File Buffer Cache The performance gain cannot be quantified easily, because it depends on the degree of multiprogramming and the Input-Output characteristics of the workload. Tuning the minperm and maxperm Parameters • If the percentage of real memory occupied by file pages falls lower than the minperm value, then the virtual memory manager (VMM) page-replacement algorithm takes both file and computational pages, regardless of repage rates. Use the following algorithm to calculate the default values: # /usr/sbin/vmo -o minperm percent=5 -o maxperm percent=20 The default values are 20 percent and 80 percent, respectively. $ ps v process_id If you are using Direct Input-Output, then you can set the minperm and maxperm parameters to low values. For example, 5 percent and 20 percent, respectively. This is because the AIX file buffer cache is not used for Direct Input-Output. The memory may be better used for other purposes, such as for the Oracle System Global Area. A.1.3 Allocating Sufficient Paging Space A.1.4 Controlling Paging 1. OS and RDBMS kernels 2. User and application processes 3. Redo log buffer 4. PGAs and shared pool 5. Database block buffer caches The following AIX commands provide paging status and statistics: • vmstat -s • vmstat interval [repeats] • sar -r interval [repeats] A.1.5 Setting the Database Block Size Oracle recommends smaller Oracle Database block sizes (2 KB or 4 KB) for online transaction processing or mixed workload environments and larger block sizes (8 KB, 16 KB, or 32 KB) for decision support system workload environments. A.1.6 Tuning the Log Archive Buffers By increasing the LOG_BUFFER size, you may be able to improve the speed of archiving the database, particularly if transactions are long or numerous. Monitor the log file Input-Output activity and system throughput to determine the optimum LOG_BUFFER size. Tune the LOG_BUFFER parameter carefully to ensure that the overall performance of normal database activity does not degrade. The LOG_ARCHIVE_BUFFER_SIZE parameter was obsoleted with Oracle8i Database. A.1.7 Input-Output Buffers and SQLLoader For high-speed data loading, such as using the SQLLoader direct path option in addition to loading data in parallel, the CPU spends most of its time waiting for Input-Output to complete. By increasing the number of buffers, you can maximize CPU usage, and by doing this, increase overall throughput. See Also: BUFFER Parameter for the Import Utility The BUFFER parameter for the Import utility should be set to a large value to optimize the performance of high-speed networks when they are used. For example, if you use the IBM RS/6000 Scalable POWER parallel Systems switch, then you should set the BUFFER parameter to a value of at least 1 MB. A.2 Disk Input-Output Issues Disk Input-Output contention can result from poor memory management (with subsequent paging and swapping), or poor distribution of tablespaces and files across disks. Ensure that the Input-Output activity is distributed evenly across multiple disk drives by using AIX utilities such as filemon, sar, iostat, and other performance tools to identify disks with high Input-Output activity. This section contains the following topics: A.2.1 AIX Logical Volume Manager The AIX Logical Volume Manager can stripe data across multiple disks to reduce disk contention. The primary objective of striping is to achieve high performance when reading and writing large sequential files. Effective use of the striping features in the Logical Volume Manager enables you to spread Input-Output more evenly across disks, resulting in better overall performance. Do not add logical volumes to Automatic Storage Management disk groups. Automatic Storage Management works best when you add raw disk devices to disk groups. If you are using Automatic Storage Management, then do not use Logical Volume Manager for striping. Automatic Storage Management implements striping and mirroring. Design a Striped Logical Volume Item Recommended Settings Drives There must be at least two physical drives. The drives should have minimal activity when performance-critical sequential Input-Output is carried out. Sometimes, you must stripe the logical volume between two or more adapters. Other Considerations Performance gains from effective use of the Logical Volume Manager can vary greatly, depending on the Logical Volume Manager you use and the characteristics of the workload. For decision support system workloads, you can see substantial improvement. For online transaction processing-type or mixed workloads, you can expect significant performance gains. A.2.2 Using Journaled File Systems Compared to Raw Logical Volumes Address the following considerations when deciding whether to use journaled file systems or raw logical volumes: • File systems require some additional configuration (AIX minservers and maxservers parameter) and add a small CPU overhead because Asynchronous Input-Output on file systems is serviced outside the kernel. • The introduction of more powerful Logical Volume Manager interfaces substantially reduces the tasks of configuring and backing up logical disks based on raw logical volumes. • The Direct Input-Output and Concurrent Input-Output features included in IBM AIX on POWER Systems improve file system performance to a level comparable to raw logical volumes. In earlier versions of AIX, file systems supported only buffered read and write and added extra contention because of imperfect inode locking. These two issues are solved by the JFS2 Concurrent Input-Output feature and the GPFS Direct Input-Output feature. To use the Oracle RAC option, you must place data files on an Automatic Storage Management disk group or on a GPFS file system. You cannot use JFS or JFS2. Direct Input-Output is implicitly enabled when you use GPFS. File System Options IBM AIX on POWER Systems includes Direct Input-Output and Concurrent Input-Output support. Direct Input-Output and Concurrent Input-Output support enables database files to exist on file systems while bypassing the operating system buffer cache and removing inode locking operations that are redundant with the features provided by Oracle Database. Where possible, Oracle recommends enabling Concurrent Input-Output or Direct Input-Output on file systems containing Oracle data files. The following table lists file systems available on AIX and the recommended setting: File System Option Description JFS dio Concurrent Input-Output is not available on JFS. Direct Input-Output is available, but performance is degraded compared to JFS2 with Concurrent Input-Output. JFS large file none Oracle does not recommend using JFS large file for Oracle Database because its 128 KB alignment constraint prevents you from using Direct Input-Output. JFS2 cio Concurrent Input-Output is a better setting than Direct Input-Output on JFS2, because it provides support for multiple concurrent readers and writers on the same file. However, due to AIX restrictions on JFS2/CIO, Concurrent Input-Output is intended to be used only with Oracle data files, control files, and log files. It should be applied only to file systems that are dedicated to such a purpose. For the same reason, the Oracle home directory is not supported on a JFS2 file system mounted with the cio option. For example, during installation, if you inadvertently specify that the Oracle home directory is on a JFS2 file system mounted with the CIO option, then while trying to relink Oracle, you may encounter the following error: Note: For Oracle Database 11g Release 2 ( and later, on AIX 6.1 systems, Oracle recommends that you do not use the cio option on a JFS2 file system. GPFS NA Oracle Database silently enables Direct Input-Output on GPFS for optimum performance. GPFS Direct Input-Output supports multiple readers and writers on multiple nodes. Therefore, Direct Input-Output and Concurrent Input-Output are the same thing on GPFS. Considerations for JFS and JFS2 Before Oracle Database 11g, Direct Input-Output and Concurrent Input-Output could not be enabled at the file level on JFS/JFS2. Therefore, the Oracle home directory and data files had to be placed in separate file systems for optimal performance. The Oracle home directory was placed on a file system mounted with default options, with the data files and logs on file systems mounted using the dio or cio options. With Oracle Database 11g, you can enable Direct Input-Output and Concurrent Input-Output on JFS/JFS2 at the file level. You can do this by setting the FILESYSTEMIO_OPTIONS parameter in the server parameter file to setall or directIO. This enables Concurrent Input-Output on JFS2 and Direct Input-Output on JFS for all data file Input-Output. Because the directIO setting disables asynchronous Input-Output it should normally not be used. As a result of this 11g feature, you can place data files on the same JFS/JFS2 file system as the Oracle home directory and still use Direct Input-Output or Concurrent Input-Output for improved performance. As mentioned earlier, you should still place Oracle Database logs on a separate JFS2 file system for optimal performance. Considerations for GPFS Moving from a Journaled File System to Raw Logical Volumes # mklv -T O -y new_raw_device VolumeGroup NumberOfPartitions 2. Set the permissions on the raw device. # dd if=old_JFS_file of=new_raw_device bs=1m 4. Rename the data file. Moving from Raw Logical Volumes to a Journaled File System A.2.3 Using Asynchronous Input-Output Oracle Database takes full advantage of asynchronous Input-Output provided by AIX, resulting in faster database access. IBM AIX on POWER Systems support asynchronous Input-Output for database files created on file system partitions. When using asynchronous Input-Output on file systems, the kernel database processes (aioserver) control each request from the time a request is taken off the queue to the time it is completed. The number of aioserver servers determines the number of asynchronous Input-Output requests that can be processed in the system concurrently. So, it is important to tune the number of aioserver processes when using file systems to store Oracle Database data files. Use one of the following commands to set the number of servers. This applies only when using asynchronous Input-Output on file systems: • smit aio See Also: • On IBM AIX on POWER Systems, there are two asynchronous Input-Output subsystems available. Oracle Database 11g uses Legacy asynchronous Input-Output (aio0), even though the Oracle preinstallation script enables Legacy asynchronous Input-Output (aio0) and POSIX AIO (posix_aio0). Both asynchronous Input-Output subsystems have the same performance characteristics. • Starting with AIX 6.1, the minservers, maxservers, and maxreqs parameters are replaced by the aio_minservers, aio_maxservers, and aio_maxreqs parameters respectively. The default value for the minimum number of servers is 1. The default value for the maximum number of servers is 10. These values are usually too low to run Oracle Database on large systems with 4 CPUs or more, if you are not using kernelized asynchronous Input-Output. Oracle recommends that you set the parameters to the values listed in the following table: Parameter Value maxservers Starting with AIX 5L version 5.3, this parameter counts the maximum number of asynchronous Input-Output servers for each CPU. On previous versions of AIX, it was a systemwide value. If you are using General Parallel File System (GPFS), then set maxservers to worker1threads divided by the number of CPUs. This is the optimal setting. Increasing maxservers does not lead to improved Input-Output performance. If you are using JFS/JFS2, then set the initial value to 10 times the number of logical disks divided by the number of CPUs that are to be used concurrently but no more than 80. Monitor the actual number of aioservers started during a typical workload using the pstat or ps commands. If the actual number of active aioservers equals the maxservers, then increase the maxservers value. $ lsattr -E -l hdiskxx Typically, the queue depth is 3. Warning: lio_listio returned EAGAINPerformance degradation may be seen. You can avoid these errors by increasing the value of the maxservers parameter. To display the number of asynchronous Input-Output servers running, enter the following commands as the root user: # pstat -a \| grep -c aios # ps -k \| grep aioserver Check the number of active asynchronous Input-Output servers periodically, and change the values of the minservers and maxservers parameters if required. The changes take place when the system is restarted. See your operating system vendor documentation for information about tuning AIO parameters. A.2.4 Input-Output Slaves Input-Output Slaves are specialized Oracle processes that perform only Input-Output. They are rarely used on AIX, because asynchronous Input-Output is the default and recommended way for Oracle to perform Input-Output operations on AIX. Input-Output Slaves are allocated from shared memory buffers. Input-Output Slaves use the initialization parameters listed in the following table: Parameter Range of Values Default Value DISK_ASYNCH_IO true/false true TAPE_ASYNCH_IO true/false true BACKUP_TAPE_IO_SLAVES true/false false DBWR_IO_SLAVES 0 - 999 0 There are times when you must turn off asynchronous I/O. For example, if instructed to do so by Oracle Support for debugging. You can use the DISK_ASYNCH_IO and TAPE_ASYNCH_IO parameters to switch off asynchronous I/O for disk or tape devices. TAPE_ASYNCH_IO support is only available when the Media Manager software supports it and for Recovery Manager, if BACKUP_TAPE_IO_SLAVES is true. Set the DBWR_IO_SLAVES parameter to greater than 0 only if the DISK_ASYNCH_IO parameter is set to false. Otherwise, the database writer process becomes a bottleneck. In this case, the optimal value on AIX for the DBWR_IO_SLAVES parameter is 4. When using Direct Input-Output or Concurrent Input-Output with Oracle Database 11g, the AIX file system does not perform any read-ahead on sequential scans. For this reason the DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT value in the server parameter file should be increased when Direct Input-Output or Concurrent Input-Output is enabled on Oracle data files. The read ahead is performed by Oracle Database as specified by the DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT initialization parameter. Setting a large value for the DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT initialization parameter usually yields better Input-Output throughput on sequential scans. On AIX, this parameter ranges from 1 to 512, but using a value higher than 16 usually does not provide additional performance gain. Set this parameter so that its value when multiplied by the value of the DB_BLOCK_SIZE parameter produces a number larger than the Logical Volume Manager stripe size. Such a setting causes more disks to be used. A.2.6 Using Write Behind The write behind feature enables the operating system to group write Input-Output together, up to the size of a partition. You can improve performance by doing this, because the number of Input-Output operations is reduced. The file system divides each file into 16 KB partitions to increase write performance, limit the number of dirty pages in memory, and minimize disk fragmentation. The pages of a particular partition are not written to disk until the program writes the first byte of the next 16 KB partition. To set the size of the buffer for write behind to eight 16 KB partitions, enter the following command: To disable write behind, enter the following command: A.2.7 Tuning Sequential Read Ahead The information in this section applies only to file systems, and only when neither Direct Input-Output nor Concurrent Input-Output are used. • minpgahead • maxpgahead -o minpgahead=32 -o maxpgahead=64 A.2.8 Tuning Disk Input-Output Pacing Disk Input-Output pacing is an AIX mechanism that enables the system administrator to limit the number of pending Input-Output requests to a file. This prevents disk Input-Output intensive processes from saturating the CPU. Therefore, the response time of interactive and CPU-intensive processes does not deteriorate. You can achieve disk Input-Output pacing by adjusting two system parameters: the high-water mark and the low-water mark. When a process writes to a file that has a pending high-water mark Input-Output request, the process is put to sleep. The process wakes up when the number of outstanding Input-Output requests falls lower than or equals the low-water mark. You can determine disk Input-Output saturation by analyzing the result of iostat, in particular, the percentage of iowait and tm_act. A high iowait percentage combined with high tm_act percentages on specific disks is an indication of disk saturation. A high iowait alone is not necessarily an indication of an Input-Output bottleneck. A.2.9 Resilvering with Oracle Database If you disable mirror write consistency for an Oracle data file allocated on a raw logical volume, then the Oracle Database crash recovery process uses resilvering to recover after a system failure. This resilvering process prevents database inconsistencies or corruption. During crash recovery, if a data file is allocated on a logical volume with multiple copies, then the resilvering process performs a checksum on the data blocks of all the copies. It then performs one of the following: On AIX, the resilvering process works only for data files allocated on raw logical volumes for which mirror write consistency is disabled. Resilvering is not required for data files on mirrored logical volumes with mirror write consistency enabled, because mirror write consistency ensures that all copies are synchronized. If the system fails while you are upgrading an earlier release of Oracle Database that used data files on logical volumes for which mirror write consistency was disabled, then run the syncvg command to synchronize the mirrored logical volume before starting Oracle Database. If you do not synchronize the mirrored logical volume before starting the database, then Oracle Database may read incorrect data from an logical volume copy. If a disk drive fails, then resilvering does not occur. You must run the syncvg command before you can reactivate the logical volume. Oracle supports resilvering for data files only. Do not disable mirror write consistency for redo log files. A.3 CPU Scheduling and Process Priorities The CPU is another system component for which processes may contend. Although the AIX kernel allocates CPU effectively most of the time, many processes compete for CPU cycles. If the system has multiple CPU (SMP), then there may be different levels of contention on each CPU. The following sections provide information about CPU scheduling and process priorities: A.3.1 Changing Process Running Time Slice f # /usr/sbin/schedo -t n A.3.2 Using Processor Binding on SMP Systems However, starting with AIX 5L, specific improvements in the AIX scheduler enables Oracle Database processes to be scheduled optimally without processor binding. Therefore, Oracle no longer recommends binding processes to processors when running on AIX 5L version 5.3 or later. A.4 Setting the AIXTHREAD_SCOPE Environment Variable In addition, on AIX 5L version 5.3 or later, if you set systemwide contention scope, then significantly less memory is allocated to each Oracle process. • Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell: • C shell: Doing this enables systemwide thread scope for running all Oracle processes. A.5 Network Information Service external naming support Network Information Service external naming adapter is supported on AIX. To configure and use Network Information Service external naming, refer to the "Configuring External Naming Methods" section of Oracle Database Net Services Administrator's Guide. A.6 Simultaneous Multithreading on AIX 5.3 and Later Versions If Simultaneous Multithreading is enabled, and AIX 5.3 and later version operating system is used, then the v$osstat view reports 2 additional rows corresponding to the online logical (NUM_LCPUS) and virtual cpus (NUM_VCPUS). If Oracle is run on AIX 5.3 and later versions without Simultaneous Multithreading, then these rows are not reported. A.7 Configuring IBM JSSE Provider with Oracle JDBC Thin Driver If you want to configure SSL on IBM JDK, then you may face the following issues: • IBM JSSE does not support SSLv2Hello SSL protocol For SSL clients using Thin JDBC connectors, you must set oracle.net.ss1_version system property to select TLSv1 SSL protocol or SSLv3 SSL protocol • IBM JSSE does not allow anonymous ciphers For SSL clients using anonymous ciphers, you must replace the Default Trust Manager with a Custom Trust Manager that accepts anonymous ciphers. See Also: IBM JSSE documentation for more information on creating and installing Custom Trust Manager	dclm-gs1-105370000
Optimizer estimates RUNTIMESTATISTICS show the optimizer estimates for a particular node. They show the optimizer's estimated row count and the optimizer's "estimated cost." The estimated row count is the query optimizer's estimate of the number of qualifying rows for the table or index for the entire life of the query. If the table is the inner table of a join, the estimated row count will be for all the scans of the table, not just for a single scan of the table. The estimated cost consists of a number, which is a relative number; it does not correspond directly to any time estimate. It is not, for example, the number of milliseconds or rows. Instead, the optimizer constructs this number for each possible access path. It compares the numbers and chooses the access path with the smallest number. Related concepts Statistics timing Statement execution plan Optimizer overrides Understanding XPLAIN style database tables	dclm-gs1-105380000
Biochar Cookstove Nolan Hagge, Benjamin Hofland Sponsor: Dordt College engineering department The Biochar Cookstove envisions a world free from unhealthy smoke and painful deforestation pressures brought on by wood-fuel cooking. The project provides experimental research, specifications, and a prototype model of a biochar producing cookstove, focusing specifically on the context of rural Zambia. The social, geographic, and economic contextual factors of the target users come to a head in the need for a fuel efficient, clean emission, inexpensive, and locally made cookstove that is rooted in a culturally appropriate design.	dclm-gs1-105390000
<< Back to Dragonball Z. Broly 01.jpg Race Saiyan Gender Male First Appearance Dragonball Z [edit] Character Description Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan, is regarded by many to be the most powerful villain to ever appear in Dragonball Z, in terms of raw strength and toughness. He is not from the same legend as the one Vegeta referred to on Namek. That was the canon Super Saiyan Legend who was unrelated to the non canon Legendary Super Saiyan of which Broly came to be. In other words, he would rank on top of the Saiyan hierarchy. Being the only known character born with a power level of 10,000 accounts for that which is a catalyst for his amazing potential as a Saiyan warrior. This is what Vegeta meant in the first movie when he said that Broly is "the most powerful Saiyan in all of history". Besides Paragus, he was the only one there who knew just how deadly the magnitude of Broly's emerging power was. The whole reason why King Vegeta was so quick to cowardly order out his execution - it would've only been a matter of time before he grew strong enough to overthrow the King, his son and even Frieza from the royal throne and empire. Because of this and his rabid destruction of world to world later on, the LSSJ was deemed "unstoppable" and feared most throughout the universe via stories that were foretold and passed down over the years. Unfortunately, he didn't get to live on and have the chance of achieving his full strength. Broly turned SSJ at a younger age than Goku showing how he's able to ascend to new levels beyond what's natural in the shortest possible time for a Saiyan. Given everything about his deep legacy, Broly was made to be the strongest individual being (excluding fusion) in the universe once his full potential was reached. Including his tail would've amplified his chaotic state into an all-out massacre with the help of the Blutz Waves. When you think about his exponential power and how limited he was due to the movie timeline constraints, the possibilities are nearly endless and it all starts to unfold. [edit] Plot Involvement Baby Broly Broly is a member of the race of extraterrestrials called Saiyans, and was the main villain of three Dragonball Z movies, as the Legendary Super Saiyan. Broly does not appear in Akira Toriyama's original manga, making him a non canon character. He was born with an astounding 10,000 powerlevel. This unusual level of strength was enough reason for King Vegeta to become distressed, and he ordered both Broly and Paragus to be executed. They survived the attempt however, and escaped Planet Vegeta. As a baby, Broly's crib was placed directly next to Goku's. Due to the latter's constant crying and yelling, Broly formed a deep grudge towards Goku. In movie 8, Broly's father Paragus came to planet Earth, looking for prince Vegeta, claiming that he was to be named King of the new Planet Vegeta. To do so however, Vegeta would need to defeat the Legendary Super Saiyan, who was responsible for the annihilation of the Southern Galaxy. Unbeknowst to Vegeta however, it was Paragus' son Broly who was the actual Legendary Super Saiyan, and it was Paragus' mission to extract revenge on the son of King Vegeta. This revelation eventually boiled down in a huge fight in which Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo all teamed up to fight Broly in his true form. Despite their best efforts however, they found themselves severely outclassed. After suffering a thorough beating, the Z-fighters eventually channeled their energy towards Goku, who formed it all in one big punch, which led to Broly's downfall. In movie 10, it was revealed that Broly miraculously survived the events from movie 8, made it to a space-pod, and crashlanded on planet Earth, where he was frozen under a thick layer of ice, preserving him. Seven years later however, it was the crying of Goten, Goku's youngest son, that reminded him of Goku's crying as a baby and awoke him. Once again, Broly was easily on the winning end of the fight until he was distracted by a blast from Kid Trunks which gave Goku and his sons their only shot to defeat Broly, where he was blasted into the sun and killed. In movie 11, it wasn't the real Broly, but a clone that was the main antagonist. Scientists had gathered blood samples from the original Broly, that were left on movie 10's battlefield to create this Broly clone. Eventually the clone was defeated by the joint efforts of Goten, Trunks, Krillin and Android #18. [edit] Appearance Adult Broly Broly, like a typical full blooded Saiyan, has black hair and black eyes in his base form. Broly has two "versions" of the Super Saiyan form. When he is under his father's mind control device, his true power is restricted. In this state, his hair has a purple color and a darker skin pigment referred to as a Restrained Super Saiyan. In movie 10, Broly no longer wore the device as he broke out of it when confronting Goku in movie 8. As an uncontrolled Super Saiyan, Broly's skin is tan and his appearance mirrors that of any other Super Saiyan besides the brighter shade of golden hair. In Legendary state, his hair and aura in movie 8 had a light green color, presumably an after effect from Paragus's mind control device. In movie 10, it showed Broly's hair with his natural golden color which has a small green tint in the Legendary form. Another trademark from this stage is that Broly's irises literally vanish. [edit] Abilities and Fighting Style Broly Transforms Broly has the ability to manipulate his ki. By doing so, he can fly throughout the air at high speed, quickly raise his power level with the right amount of focus and rage, and can utilize various types of ki attacks. Broly also possesses the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan, and furthermore into The Legendary Super Saiyan state. Whilst transforming, his skin breaks off into a burst of green light unveiling his true and most fearsome form (next to LSSJ3). One special quality it gives him is an abundant supply of green ki that flows throughout his body. Because of this, his strength rises at a constant and steady rate which is why we never see him short of breath until he is forced to expel the excess energy from his body before it becomes too much for him to handle as we see in movie 8. Broly Owns Goku.jpg Broly toys with his victims, giving them a slow and painful death so that he can relish every moment of their suffering. He walked through the Z-fighters hardest attacks with taunts and a sadistic smile unleashing his relentless power, proving their efforts to be futile. Broly's fighting style mostly consists of torturous wrestling moves, clotheslining, stomps, body slams and anything else that utilizes his large body mass. Despite his huge muscles, Broly's speed only increases the longer he stays in Legendary form giving him the advantage of being faster as well as stronger than his opponents. In this form, Broly is also known to exhibit intense levels of psychotic rage from the disturbing memories of his past and the pain he endured since birth. [edit] Techniques & Special Finishing Moves Blaster Shell Blaster Shell - A similar variation of the Eraser Cannon which Broly uses to blow up the slaves' and Shamo's home planet before their eyes. Blaster Shell and his other ki attacks are charged up where his green tint surrounds the area. The resulting damage is dependent on how much ki he pumps into it. Ki Shield Ki Shield - A defensive technique that Broly used to encase himself in a barrier of ki which deflects minor attacks and allows him to survive in outer space, shown as a baby when he senses Frieza destroying Planet Vegeta, saving his own life and his father from the explosion. High Speed Hammer High Speed Hammer - Broly's fierce melee attack where he flies at top speed, and catches his opponents face before slamming them into the ground and letting loose a combo followed by a mega punch, sending them airborne and pummeled. Eraser Cannon Eraser Cannon - Broly's signature move and one he uses most frequently. As a kid, Broly used this attack to destroy cities and planets in the south galaxy growing insane and invigorated in the process of his murderous rampage. Broly also controls the direction of the blast as we see him taunting Gohan in the air. Gigantic Meteor Gigantic Meteor - Broly's most powerful attack and super finishing move where he charges a small energy sphere that grows huge when it hits a target and can fire as much ki as he wants into it. In movie 10, he used this move giving SSJ Goku, Gohan and Goten much more than they could handle in the beam struggle. Like any arsenal of moves, each of these can be performed with different combos to deal out much more damage than alone. Last edited by Broly The LSSJ on 1 April 2014 at 08:35 This page has been accessed 22,256 times.	dclm-gs1-105400000
Thursday, October 07, 2010 The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Hate The Palestinian Authority has a "Ministry of Information." Its web page is most informative - but not in the way that it intends. In English, it provides pretty straight news, both about what the PA is doing (another $40 million from the World Bank) and some things that it thinks the world should know Israelis are doing in the West Bank. For example, news about new buildings being built in a Jewish town in the Jordan Valley, or reporting that Jews went to the Temple Mount at the end of the Sukkot holiday. Quite partisan but not inflammatory; all in all very appropriate news for such a ministry. In Arabic, however, the facade of acting like a "peace partner" is ripped right off. Here we see that government officials are holding press conferences sponsored by this same ministry saying as a fact that Israel has a "a planned strategy to uproot the Palestinian people from their land." Another story talks about a proposal, not even close to being approved, to add a new gate into the walls of the Old City to improve access to the Western Wall Plaza that Ha'aretz reported yesterday. It calls this proposal, which it accepts as already being planned, "an act mentally infected with hatred." (It will be recalled that during the nineteen years that the Old City was Judenrein, the Arabs treated it like a dump. Now they pretend to be concerned about its historic architecture!) A third story talks about Netanyahu's plan to "blackmail" Washington, threatening to sabotage Democratic chances to win the congressional elections in November unless Israel gets what it is demanding. Not surprising is the story that still claims that Mohammed al-Dura was killed by the IDF. Yet another story extols the greatness of the second intifada. Wasn't it great that 6000 of their people were killed but that they managed to kill a thousand Jews? What a victory! This is not Hamas or Islamic Jihad celebrating the terror spree; it is the government of "Palestine" officially celebrating the single event that demolished the "peace process." None of these stories make it to the English site, of course. The site is filled with lies, bias, slanted opinions and bizarre conspiracy theories that it reports as straight news. The Arabic site proves that the incitement to hate Israel is not an aberration that Palestinian Media Watch and MEMRI take out of context from a semi-independent media. Incitement is sewn into the fabric of the very government that Israel is expected to negotiate peace with.	dclm-gs1-105420000
Kodi (Canada) From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia. (Redirected from TJ Wolf) Jump to: navigation, search Kodi, husky. kodi made. 2005: Jogging in the 5km charity run Kodi, formerly TJ_Wolf, is a fursuiter and fursuit maker whose character is a husky. Kodi grew up in Ottawa and Vancouver, Canada. Having a love of performing and entertaining, he began making costumes in 2000. In 2003, Kodi was one of the five founders of the charity mascot-performing group Helping Pawz. He was also a founder (and former chairman) of the annual furry gathering Howloween in Vancouver. At Howloween 2003, Kodi was featured as a part of the CBC television program Culture Shock, which explored the Furry sub-culture. In 2004, Kodi was a founder of the Arend Studios group, but left in late 2006 to pursue other career aspirations in the Toronto area. Kodi really gets around! He currently works in marketing for a software company and currently lives in Chicago, U.S.A. Having lived in a number of different cities (Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Seattle), Kodi has traveled all over the world logging over 150,000 miles in 2008 alone! In 2007, Kodi spent a month in India. Interesting factoids: - In 2010, Kodi was a guest of honor at RainFurrest in Seattle - In 2010, climbed Mt. Rainier in Washington State (14,000 ft; and got quite the sunburn from the glacier too!) - Travelled to every state (except Arkansas), and every Canadian province - Also a lot of international travels: Germany, France, England, India, Australia, Singapore, China, Israel, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Chile - First con attended was Midwest FurFest 2000 in Illinois - Currently runs programming for Midwest FurFest (MFF) and is a member of the MFF board He has 4 regular characters that he performs in: Kodi (husky), Ty and Kix(border collie), and Havoc (werewolf). Kodi has been making fursuits for years now and currently takes commissions through "kodi made". Featured Videos[edit] External links[edit] This person is a WikiFur user: WikiFur User	dclm-gs1-105430000
Encyclopedia > Knitting needle Article Content Knitting needle A knitting needle is a long stick[?] or rod used as a tool in the manufacture of hand knitted fabric. The needle is used to reach through a knitting stitch[?] in order to snag a bight of yarn and pull a length back through the stitch to form a new loop at the top of the current wale[?] of stitches. The simplest requirements of knitting needles are that they must be smooth, thin and long enough to reach through a stitch and strong enough not to break while manipulating the bight of yarn. Knitting needles, commonly used in pairs, are the only essential tools for hand knitting (Thomas, 1938; Hiatt, 1988). Knitting needles have also been called knitting sticks, knitting pins, knitting wires, or simply wires or rods (Rutt, 2003). Length and thickness of the needles vary depending on the type of yarn used (e.g., fine or thick) and the type of fabric to be produced (e.g., firm or loose). The most widely recognized form of knitting needle, probably invented in the mid 19th Century, is usually called a straight needle. Straight needles are narrowed nearly to a point at one end and capped at the other with a knob or head (like the head of a straight pin[?]), and are used almost exclusively for knitting flat two-dimensional fabrics like rectangles and squares. The needles are popular because the knob at the end of each needle prevents the stitches from inadvertently falling off the needles. Fictional depictions of knitting in movies, television programs, animation, and comic strips almost always show knitting done on straight needles. Both Wallace and Gromit and Monty Python, for example, show knitting being done with straight needles. The oldest known knitting needles, still very much in use, are double-pointed needles. They are generally used to form tubular (coiled) fabrics such as socks and the bodies or sleeves of sweaters. As the name implies, double-pointed needles are tapered at both ends nearly to points. They are normally used in sets of four or five as depicted in a number of 14th Century[?] oil paintings, typically called Knitting Madonnas, depicting Mary knitting with double-pointed needles (Rutt, 2003). Typical 21st Century double-pointed needles range from about 4 in. to 15 in. in length. Shorter needles are used for knitting socks and the fingers of gloves. Longer needles are used for nearly all other work, including sweaters, shawls[?] and blankets[?]. Both tubular and flat knitting is also done on circular needles, today consisting of two pointed needles joined together by a flexible wire or length of nylon. Some manufacturers sell the two needles and the joining length of nylon separately. Different authorities, however, disagree on whether the needles should be thought of as a single needle or pair. Mary Thomas (1938) and June Hemmons Hiatt (1988) both imply that a circular needle (note the singular) consists of a pair needles (note the plural). Richard Rutt (2003), however, calls a circular needle (note the singular) a double-pointed needle (singular again), and so considers it a single needle. In any case, the two ends are used exactly like two needles, in the sense that the knitter holds one in each hand and knits as if having two. Modern knitting needles are made of bamboo, aluminum, steel, wood, plastic, and casein. Table of contents Other uses Before the legalization of abortion, knitting needles were in some countries notoriously used to perform illegal abortions. Advocates of legalized abortion sometimes use the phrase "knitting needle abortions" to emphasize that when the procedure is illegal, some resort to desperate and dangerous measures. Knitting needles were, for a short while, banned from US and international commercial flights, being perceived by some as potential weapons after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. Eventually, the US Transportation Security Administration, or TSA , created after the attacks, began to list knitting needles amongst the permitted items in its list of "Permitted and Prohibited Items". • Thomas, Mary. (1938). Mary Thomas's Knitting Book. Dover Publications. New York. (1972 Reprint Edition ISBN 0-486-22817-7) • Rutt, Richard (2003). A history of handknitting. Interweave Press, Loveland, CO. (Reprint Edition ISBN 1-931-49937-3) • Hiatt, June Hemmons. (1988). The principles of knitting: Methods and techniques of hand knitting. Simon and Schuster, New York. External Links Search Encyclopedia Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything! Featured Article Environmental geography ... important set of analytical tools for assessing the impact of human presence on the environment, measuring the result of human activity on natural landforms and ...	dclm-gs1-105440000
Prenatal origin of hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia in identical twins 1. Lookup NU author(s) 2. Professor Christine Harrison 3. Dr Michael Griffiths Author(s)Maia AT, van der Velden VH, Harrison CJ, Szczepanski T, Williams MD, Griffiths MJ, van Dongen JJ, Greaves MF Publication type Article ISSN (print)0887-6924 ISSN (electronic)1476-5551 Studies in identical twins and with neonatal blood spots (Guthrie cards) have backtracked the origin of childhood acute leukemia and their associated chromosomal translocations to before birth. High hyperdiploidy is the most common genetic abnormality in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Evidence for an in utero initiation of this important genetic event in ALL is available from blood spots but remains limited. Twin children with hyperdiploid ALL have not hitherto been reported. We describe a pair of 2-year-old monozygotic twins with concordant B-cell precursor ALL and hyperdiploid karyotypes. One twin's leukemic cells had two rearranged TCRD alleles and one of these was a clonotypic Vdelta2-Ddelta3 sequence shared with leukemic cells of the other twin. The twins' leukemic cells had several different IGH V(H)-J(H) rearrangements but shared two common D(H)-J(H) 'stem' sequences. We conclude that ALL in these twins is likely to have originated prenatally in one fetus before spreading to the other via intraplacental anastomoses. It is likely that one or more additional postnatal genetic events was required for overt leukemogenesis. PublisherNature Publishing Group NotesCase Reports Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England official journal of the Leukemia Society of America, Leukemia Research Fund, U.K Actions Link to this publication	dclm-gs1-105450000
Lawyer challenges Kirk Radomski WASHINGTON -- Trying to explain why his book suggested one thing and his testimony said something else, convicted drug dealer Kirk Radomski held up a copy of his 246-page tome called "Bases Loaded" while on the witness stand and gave as good as he got from one of Roger Clemens' lawyers. "Did you ever write a book?" said Radomski, who then issued a challenge to attorney Michael Attanasio. "Write a book! See how they turn things." Clemens' legal team used the book Wednesday to try to raise doubts about an old, torn label that Radomski said was used for a shipment of human growth hormone to Clemens' home about 10 years ago. Clemens' Houston address is on the label -- a seemingly tangible connection between the seven-time Cy Young Award winner and performance-enhancing drugs -- and the name on the label is that of Brian McNamee, Clemens' former strength coach. McNamee, whose much-anticipated testimony is expected soon, has said he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH. Clemens, a former standout baseball pitcher, is on trial for allegedly lying to Congress in 2008 when he denied using either substance. Federal agents failed to find the torn label when they searched Radomski's house in 2005. Radomski said he discovered it about three years later, under his bedroom television set along with some other shipping labels and autographed photos of Clemens and Clemens' former teammate, Andy Pettitte. "I have no idea how they got there," said Radomski, theorizing they most likely slid under the TV at some point. Attanasio wasn't buying it. He read aloud a passage from "Bases Loaded: The Inside Story of the Steroid Era in Baseball by the Central Figure in the Mitchell Report" -- a first-person book about selling steroids to professional baseball players. The book helped pay off Radomski's debts. Concerning the label with Clemens' address, the book states: "I'd obviously hidden it there when I began to worry that the government was going to come after me and had then forgotten about it." Asked on Wednesday if he had hidden the label, Radomski insisted: "I didn't hide nothing." He went on indicate that some things in the book are exaggerated or overdramatized because he was told he needed nuggets that "would sound good." He said the book was dictated to a writer in a series of interviews, not under oath as he was in the courtroom. He added that he also didn't like the book's cover, which depicts a bottle of pills inside a baseball glove. The agent who led the search of Radomski's home testified earlier in the trial that no one looked under the TV set because there was so much evidence -- 18 boxes' worth -- lying out in the open. Radomski, a former New York Mets batboy who became a drug supplier to major league players and then a cooperating witness after he got caught, said the shipment to Clemens' house was for two kits of HGH with "about 50-100 needles." The label displayed in court reads "Hold for B. McNamee" and doesn't mention Clemens. But, in his book, Radomski incorrectly wrote that the label said: "Brian McNamee, c/o Roger Clemens." "That was a lie," Attanasio said. Radomski responded that it wasn't a lie, because he might have written Clemens' name on the box underneath the label. When Attanasio suggested that part of the book was inaccurate, Radomski agreed: "That's not correct in the book." The label doesn't have a date on it, so the government called U.S. Postal Service manager John Gullo to verify it couldn't have been sent earlier than June 2002. There's no way to trace the shipment because records are destroyed after three years. During brief cross-examination, Clemens lawyer Rusty Hardin gushed: "I've never met a mailing label expert before." Despite Radomski's years long involvement with steroids and HGH and his relationship with McNamee, the ex-dealer could offer no other connection between Clemens and performance-enhancing drugs beyond the shipping label. Answering a question from a juror, he said his conversations with McNamee about Clemens were all above-board. "He would tell me what a hard worker he was," Radomski said. Also Wednesday, the government countered Clemens' attempt to strike the testimony of Pettitte. The government said in a written response that Pettitte agreed that a chart introduced during the trial showing a timeline of events was "true and accurate." The chart indicated that Clemens acknowledged using HGH to Pettitte during the 1999-2000 offseason. Prosecutors also said the jury must be allowed -- "if it desires" -- to credit Pettitte's initial testimony and "discount any cross-examination inconsistencies." Walton hasn't said when he'll rule on the defense motion about Pettitte's testimony. Walton on Tuesday told prosecutors to move the trial along because it had become "boring" and the jury was "fed up." The point was reinforced Wednesday when he dismissed Juror No. 11, who "has on several occasions been sleeping," according to the judge. During jury selection, the juror, an unemployed man in his 20s, said he'd rather be sleeping than be in court but promised to be "wide awake" if selected. His departure leaves 15 jurors, including three alternates.	dclm-gs1-105460000
The Syllogisms of Seinfeld: The Connections Between Logic and Humor There is more logic in humor than in anything else. Because, you see, humor is truth. — Victor Borge At first glance it might appear that humor and logic belong to completely separate spheres. Humor is playful, lively, and unbounded by procedural standards. Logic, in contrast, is serious, strict, and completely circumscribed by rules and processes. Humor is tied to emotion while logic is above such non-rational ephemera. Comedians aren’t often known for their critical thinking skills and Mr. Spock — the Vulcan embodiment of cool logic — wasn’t known for his jokes. But in a recent article in Philosophy Now, Julia Nefsky argues that logic has a very real and very important role in humor: The range of humour in which there is logic and logical fallacy is huge. By logic and fallacy being in humour I mean that there is some logic or fallacy there that is necessary to what makes it funny. In other words, if you hypothetically removed that logic or fallacy, the joke would not work. You ‘ Published by Joe Carter • bevets Comedians are the philosophers and preachers of our culture. People are hungry for the truth, but they don’t want it to hurt. • blestwithsons Well… my favorite joke ever is, I suppose, uses equivocation for its essence. (ooh, I feel so intellectual!) Two guys walked into a bar… You’d have thought the second one would have ducked. • John Schroeder (Blogotional) Ah Joe — I hate to disturb such a serious post with pop culture trivia, but… DR. Spock – late 50’s early 60’s baby doctor, wrote wildly popular books, didn’t believe much in disciplining a child — might be responsible for a lot of problems we see to day. MR. Spock – Star Trek character, science officer, Vulcan, totally logical very funny Why the long face? • Nick What did the fish say when he swam into a wall? Does the frequent use of homophones in humor fall under your category of equivocation? It’s not quite the same as referring to different meanings of the same word. • Jordan My favorite joke currently: Why does Snoop Dogg carry an umbrella? Fo’ drizzle. • Kevin T. Keith There’s a long history of logical analysis of humor. Freud had a logical/psychological book on the subject – one of his classic works. I wrote a paper on puns for an undergraduate logic class myself. As for this person’s analysis, there’s probably something to it, but I don’t think she’s said the last word on the subject (or that anybody ever will). Unfortunately (or, if you’re Alanis Morisette, ironically), I don’t think most of your examples actually illustrate what she’s talking about. None of your “equivocations” is actually an equivocation. Equivocation involves using the same word with two different meanings. (“Blestwithsons”‘s joke above is an equivocation joke: “Two guys walked into a bar” sets up an expectation of bar=drinking establishment; when she refers to “ducking” it shifts the meaning to bar=overhanging projection. The humor comes from the derailed expectation; the derailment comes from playing on the two meanings of “bar”, which is an equivocal word.) “Converting to Judaism for the jokes offends me as a Jew/offends me as a comedian” is a derailment joke, but not an equivocation. The derailment does not come from a shift in meanings of a word but rather in the expected priorities of the speaker (he is more concerned about an offense to his identity as a comedian than by an offense to his religion). “You are not a man / Then why do I have ties and sports jackets?” is also not an equivocation. It is a non-sequitur joke: the fact that he has ties and sports jackets is not a logically relevant response to the claim that he is not a man (he could be Mia Farrow). (Conceivably it is a slight equivocation on the literal versus the figurative meanings of “man” – he is male but not a “real man” – but the humor does not come from the realization that they are using the word in two different ways, it comes from the absurdity of his response.) The same is true for the other examples. None of them hinges on the realization of a different meaning for a seemingly-obvious word, which is what equivocation requires. There are words being used in unusual ways (“watching” clothes means wearing them), but not with two completely different meanings. The “contradiction” example is not a contradiction, it is simply an absurd dialog. The “hasty generalization” examples are close but not quite right. For a hasty generalization, you must have one example of a thing and then conclude your observation is true for all things of the same type. (If your English teacher was mean, then all English teachers are mean.) In the “alcohol/sex” and “bald men/hats” examples, people are making absurd statements about large groups of people, but those statements are not generalized from individual examples. The humor simply comes from the absurdity of the conclusions (95% of all people can only date because of alcohol; all men were bald in the 30s). The “sex/nudity” example seems to be a false analogy (a man and woman being naked while having sex is not like two boys being naked in a locker room), not a hasty generalization. As for “logical mechanism”, most of those examples are not logically valid arguments. The last two are simply absurd dialogs. The “fake house in the Hamptons” is just weird. And “believe in God for the bad things” is an example of hypocrisy (made funny because he is openly hypocritical and oblivious to why that’s bad). Only the first example is a logically valid argument (he gives an effective counterexample to her claim), but even here I think the humor comes not from the logic of the argument but from the absurd lengths he goes to to prove that not all jokes are true. (An example of logic that leads to humor is the old joke about the doctor: “Doc, it hurts when I do this! – Well, don’t do that!” – the doctor’s advice is relevant and effective, but it’s exactly the opposite of the relevant and effective assistance we expect a doctor to give.) It’s very hard to analyze the logic behind humor – in part because, as you demonstrate, many humorous exchanges don’t follow an explicit logic. But most of the examples above, I think, don’t quite fit the categories you have put them in. • Greg Forster The “you are not a man / then why do I have ties?” joke is indeed an example of equivocation. Scroll back to the definition of “equivocation” – when two different meanings or senses of a word are used as equivalent. Here it is not the meaning – the denotation – that changes, but the sense – the connotation. When she says “you are not a man,” she doesn’t mean that he isn’t a male-gendered person, but that he fails to live up to the expectations society has for male-gendered people. Indeed, by pointing out that he doesn’t live up to the expectations we have for male-gendered people, she is affirming that he is in fact a male-gendered person; otherwise the statement would be absurd. But he treats her statement as though it were saying that he isn’t a male-gendered person. The humor is in the equivocation between “man” meaning “a male-gendered person” and “a male-gendered person who lives up to the social expectations of male-gendered people”. • Kevin Holtsberry Well, I think what the Kevin above has posted is true but it sure ain’t funny! • Jim Gilbert Two faves that fit: Steve Martin: Being a comedian requires a command of language, and let’s face it, some people have a way with words, and others…uh….er…….uh……not…have…way. Steven Wright: What’s another word for thesaurus? • Pat L Okay, here’s a biblical joke I coined. Why was the Witch at Endor to whom Saul went to summon Samuel so sad? She was a mantic depressive. • Joe Carter KevinNone of your “equivocations” is actually an equivocation. Since Greg already responded to that one, I • the elder Have you read “Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing”? Considering your interests, it sounds like it would be right up your alley. • Mumon Thanks for the links… I think you just wanted to post Seinfeld quotes. BTW, IMHO, “The Chinese Restaurant” is truly Shakespearian in its enduring humor potential: “It’s not fair that people are seated first-come, first-serve. It should be based on who’s hungriest. I feel like just walking over there and taking some food off somebody’s plate. “I’ll tell you what, there’s fifty bucks in it for you if you do it.” “What do you mean?” “You walk over to that table, you pick up an eggroll, you don’t say anything. You eat it, say thank you very much, wipe your mouth, walk away, I give you fifty bucks.” “What are they gonna do?” “They won’t do anything. In fact, you’ll be giving them a story to tell for the rest of their lives.” “Fifty bucks? You’ll give me fifty bucks?” “Fifty bucks. That table over there. The three couples.” “Okay, I don’t want to go over there and do it and then come back here and find out there was some little loophole, like I didn’t put mustard on it.” “No, no tricks.” “Should I do it George?” “For fifty bucks? I’d put my face in their soup and blow!” “Alright, alright. Here, hold this. I’m doin’ it.” • Marla Logically based or not, any excuse to quote Seinfeld works for me ;) One of my pasttimes is making up Seinfeld plots–I’ve even thought about starting a blog for them, but it just wouldn’t be the same without the actors. Written humor is still funny, stand-up is beter, and actual portrayals (or real conversations/situations) are the best. • Nathan Like when Bill and Ted use the logical implications of time travel to manipulate their present environment in the police station scene of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Totally under rated movie. • Matthew Goggins I saw Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure in a movie theater in Montana. I dont’ remember anything about it except that it was very funny, and that at the end everybody is exhorted to party in an enthusiastic manner. Why do clothes retailers make lousy golfers? They keep saying “3.99!” instead of “Fore!” How many mystery writers does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but he has to give it a good twist. Why did the chicken cross the beach? To get to the other tide. • Macht Speaking of walking into bars and long faces: A horse walks into a bar and the bartender says, “Why the long face?” • Chris It’s interesting to think about humor from the perspective of logic and fallacy, but it would probably be better to note that the reason that logical fallacies are occasionally, or perhaps often, used in humor is that humor is largely a result of violating expectations. In fact, there is a pretty large body of research on this, especially in the context of relevance theory. • Zsa Zsa What do you get when you cross Saddam, Mugabe, or Castro with a potato?… A dictator	dclm-gs1-105470000
The Discovery of Neptune Uranus was the first new planet to be discovered observationally (in 1781 by Sir William Herschel, see Georgium Sidus). Scientists quickly used Newton's Laws to calculated Uranus' expected orbit. When that orbit was actually measured, though, it was found to be slightly off. In 1824 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel suggested that another planet, beyond Uranus, could account for the deviation. English mathematician John Couch Adams set himself the task of calculating the expected characteristics and position of this mystery-planet in 1843. He found a solution in 1845, but in spite of the rigorous refinement of his calculations, Adams was ignored by the Royal Astronomer at Greenwich. Meanwhile in France, French mathematician Urbain Leverrier decided to try his hand at the same problem. In 1846 he was able to independently duplicate Adams' results. Leverrier was more persistent than Adams, though. After he too was ignored by his national observatory, Leverrier sent his results to Johann Galle at the Berlin Observatory who quickly found the planet Neptune. The discovery of Neptune based on a mathematical prediction was seen as evidence for the universality of Newton's Laws of Gravitation.	dclm-gs1-105480000
The Funding Lifecycle Winter 2009 Greater DC Area Semester Create a funding plan with targets. 2010-03-16, 06:00 PM Eric Koefoot Co-founder, Ascend Sales Partner As co-founder of Ascend Sales Partner, Eric Koefoot helps companies make sense of the Internet and how it impacts their future, assists in the development of new revenue-generating products, and builds sustainable, profitable digital businesses. An experienced software... Bill Wade Founder & CEO, Company.com Bill Wade is the Founder and CEO of Company.com. Company.com is an online SMB lead generation and business social community that helps businesses save money, make money, and grow. Prior to Company.com, Bill served as the President, and then Vice Chairman, of Sage Paymen... Feedback Form Your Email Address: Message to the Institute: What is ? (enter the answer below): Close Window	dclm-gs1-105490000
Categories > Celebrities > Beatles Just Like Buddy Holly by girlwitharubbersoul 0 reviews John has a heart to heart moment with Paul on their way to America. Category: Beatles - Rating: PG-13 - Genres: Drama - Characters: John Lennon,Paul McCartney - Published: 2011-08-30 - Updated: 2011-08-31 - 2161 words - Complete The Beatles's plane had taken off from Liverpool to New York early one February morning. During the flight, Brian Epstein watched his boys carefully so they would not create any mischief on their first flight to America. To his surprise, there was nothing to worry about. John Lennon stared out the window not taking his eyes off of the morning sky. Paul McCartney slept silently next to him occasionally bobbing his head up and down. George Harrison slouched in the corner face buried in a Green Hornet comic book. Ringo Starr sat a few seats ahead of him and talked to one of the nearby passengers about how he got his nickname. "It's been nearly two hours, and the only mischief I've witnessed was John poking Paul's nose and looking up one of the stewardesses' skirts. Hopefully, that will be it for the rest of the flight," Brian thought sinking into the seat next to George. "Then again, with John, you can never know what he's thinking. At least he's being quiet now. Maybe I'll be lucky, and he'll doze off. He practically looks worn out." Taking his eye off of the band's leader, he turned to the stewardess and ordered a glass of water for himself. What Brian did not know was that John had not gotten a wink of sleep the night before and was not planning on sleeping throughout the whole flight. So, to keep him company, he asked Paul sit next to him (er, in this case, sleep next to him) and vouched to stay awake during the entire flight. He knew he was not going to get to bed once they arrived at New York, but at least he would be ready if anything happened on the plane. Or rather, he would be ready if anything happened to the plane. Since he could remember, John had always been fascinated--and horrified--by Buddy Holly's tragic plane crash in 1959. He also knew not many planes crashed because of the safety precautions taken by the pilots and other members on board. So, why was he such a nervous wreck when he found out about flying across the Atlantic? Feeling fidgety, he moved around in his seat and accidently elbowed Paul hard enough to wake him from his sleep. "Is it time to get off the plane?" Paul mumbled rubbing the sleep from his brown eyes. "Oh, no. I just bumped into ye. Sorry, son," John replied looking at him and quickly gazed back at the window. "'Ts okay. I should probably get up anyway, y'know, to stretch. Can't sleep during this flight forever." He got up and headed to the rear of the plane. John's brown eyes followed his mate until he lost sight of him. He then continued to blankly stare out the window. God, why couldn't the flight be shorter? As soon as Paul came back from the loo, he took a seat and winked at a cute stewardess pushing a cart of tasty beverages. "Hope your stay is quite comfortable, Mr. McCartney," she said. "It is. Thanks luv!" he replied with a charming grin. He turned to John who could not seem to get his eyes off the clouds drifting by. "John? You okay?" "I'm fine," John responded not looking back at him. "Oh, alright." Paul's smile faded. He felt like something was up with John, but was not sure what it was. He knew John had not gotten much sleep the night before, so he figured he was just tired. He decided to let him be and turned toward the cute stewardess serving drinks. He ordered a scotch and coke while he talked to her. John eyed his younger mate making casual conversations with her. "Would you like anything, Mr. Lennon?" she asked him. "Not now. Thanks anyway," he waved at the stewardess and returned to the window. The stewardess served Paul his drink, and he thanked her with another wink. She continued on her way towards the end of the plane. Paul eyed her before returning to his scotch and coke. Sipping it diligently, he turned back to John. What's bothering him? He's been quieter than a church mouse since take-off. Paul's thoughts of John's sudden silence bugged him the less he talked. "You sure you're okay?" "I'm fine, thanks for asking, luv." "Aren't you tired?" "Oh. Why don't you go to sleep then? Y'know, these seats can recline." He demonstrated for John who still would not look at him. "I'm relatively aware of that, Paul," John replied stressing his mate's name. Paul raised his seat back up with a confused look on his face. "Well, okay then. Just thought I'd ask 'cos it's been bugging me. I mean, you not speaking or barely making eye--contact with anyone. I thought something was up." He took a few drinks in between breaks until his glass was half empty. John paused a while before looking at Paul. He wanted to tell his friend why he had been acting this way, but did not want Paul to think he was a sissy for being scared of air plane rides. "Nothing's wrong. You can stop yer bloody worrying now," John finally replied returning to the window. He almost felt like crying, but held back the tears as Paul fiddled with his glass. "Okay," Paul whispered. "You know, you can always come to me when there's something bothering you." "I know. I know," John choked up. Hours passed, and the Atlantic sky had turned from light blue to shades of purple and pink. It was quite a lovely view in John's eyes. He just hoped it would stay this lovely for the rest of the ride. When he finally took his eyes off of the sky, he noticed everyone else was sound asleep--even Paul despite his early nap. Remembering what he had said earlier, he wondered if he should confess his fear to the younger man. After all, they had known each other since they were teenagers, and Paul had never teased him about his fears--well, except for his fear of the dark, but that was years ago. He did not want to keep secrets from him, but he also did not want to wake him up over something as ridiculous as a phobia. Plus, Paul looked kind of cute sleeping in his reclined chair next to him--not in a queer way mind you. His arms rested on his lap motionless, his head was slightly tilted towards John, his nose stuck up in the air flaring every time he inhaled. John was not attracted to men at all, but he could somewhat see why the birds dug him. He smiled at the sight of his sleeping mate until the plane slightly jerked causing him to jump a little, bump Paul's arm, and awaken him. Paul fluttered his eyes open, yawned, and lifted his head recollecting he was in a plane. "Have we landed yet?" Paul asked stretching. "No. We're still flying," John said. "Sorry I woke you." "Don't worry about it." Paul looked at his friend who was now staring at his feet. "Still can't fall asleep, eh?" "Haven't been able to since we boarded." "Oh," Paul said shifting around trying to make himself comfortable again. "Got a lot on your mind I take it?" John hesitated, then answered, "Sort of." "Like what?" "Hm. What kind of stuff?" "Unimportant stuff." "I see." John was playing stubborn again, but Paul knew he would spill. It would only take a matter of minutes for him to do so. "Well, if you're alright, then I'm going back to sleep," he said turning the opposite way. "G'night." John looked at Paul. "Macca, wait. There is something that's bothering me." "What's the matter luv?" he asked facing his mate. "Well, it's just that, I..." John sighed, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and began, "Do you remember when we were teenagers, and all I talked about was Buddy Holly's crash?" "I do." "And how I rejected the idea of flying to Hamburg?" "I remember." "And how fidgety I felt when we were on board during our first tour?" "Yeah." Then, it hit him. "So is that it? Are you still afraid of flying?" John faced the seat in front of him for a moment until he glanced at the younger man again. Embarrassment plastered his face as he spoke. "Yeah," he whispered. "I know it hasn't been long since we've ridden on a plane, but I just feel suspicious about this tour. Like something frightening is gonna happen to us." "Why were you afraid to tell me?" Paul asked scooting closer to John. "I don't know. I just thought you'd think I was daft for being scared of flying across the Atlantic. Truth is, I've never been this far away from home before, and I'm worried about what would happen if, we didn't make it. What would happen to me family? What would they do without a husband and a father to support them? What would happen to our band? What if one of us goes missing? Christ, it sounds ridiculous to worry about this shit, but, once you settle down with a family and 'ave amazing mates like you lads, you really start to think of these sort of situations, son. Course I wouldn't expect you to understand completely since you're not married and all that," John paused and looked straight into Paul's eyes. "But y'see, I kept thinking about what would happen to you and everyone else if I didn't make it. You know how much you mean to me, Paul. I can't leave any of you. Not this way at least." Paul took a moment to let John's story soak in. It was true, he did not quite understand what it was like to be depended on by a family, but he did understand why John had been so scared to leave Liverpool. He did not want to die and leave the people he loved behind. Paul had not thought much about what could happen if their plane crashed because he did not want it to take away the exhilaration of the tour. Perhaps if he could make John think the same way, he would not feel as scared anymore. Before John said anything, he leaned closer and wrapped his arm around John's back and stroked it in circles. "John, it's going to be okay," he said soothingly. "Y'know why? 'Cos, I'm not going to leave you. No matter what happens to any of us, we'll always be together." John rested his head on Paul's shoulder as the younger man coaxed him. In return, Paul rested his head on John's, and they closed their eyes. "I know, I know. I just worry, 'ts all." Paul nudged his cheek against John's auburn hair. "Y'know, you worry too much, Lennon." "At least I have a good reason to be worried." Paul shrugged at his older mate's comment. "Just promise me one thing, John." "What is it?" "Promise me that you'll try not to worry too much. This is going to be an incredible tour, and will only stay that way if you think positive." "Alright. I promise." Paul raised his head and looked into John's eyes. "Do you mean it?" "On my honour as a Beatle, sir," John grinned raising his hand up. "Good," Paul chuckled. John continued to grin and adjusted himself between Paul's head and shoulder. He felt much better now that he had told him. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Paul." "I don't know what I'd do without you either, John." Returning the grin, Paul did something he had never done with a man before and linked his hand with John's. He did not know if John would find it comforting or queer, but he did it anyway hoping he would not back off. Just the thought of him being scared to fly made Paul willing to do whatever it took to make him feel better. Sure enough, neither of them let go, and their fingers warmly intertwined as they sank into a sound slumber. An hour later, Paul woke up to the sound of John's silent snoring. Carefully, he shifted around only to notice John's head was still resting on his shoulder. His smile grew wider as he settled back into his previous position. "He's asleep at last," he thought and dozed off once again. Just as the plane was about to land, Brian woke up to check on the boys. The first thing he noticed was John's head nestled on Paul's shoulder and decided to investigate. As he walked closer, he found them sleeping with their hands linked together. He was tempted to wake them, but sighed and walked over to George and Ringo a few seats away. "I suppose I'll let them wake up on their own," he said crossing the rows and looking back on the two holding hands. Sign up to rate and review this story	dclm-gs1-105500000
In article , Jason L. wrote: :I would like to know if it's possible at all to setup a user account :to shutdown a machine. Yes, but the user will need to be root or else be given the necessary "capabilities" or else a suid program must be used. At it's heart, shutting down the system is a function of the uadmin(2) system call with the A_SHUTDOWN shutdown command uadmin fails if any of the following are true: EPERM The calling process does not have super-user privilege. Playing with script ownerships and so on only gets you the fluff that surrounds the invocation of the uadmin command. You have to dig deeper than that. I notice that you do not specify the model of machine you are using. If you are using any workstation from the Indigo^2 and after (but NOT the original Indigo as far as I remember), then the power button is a "soft-power", and the system will be shut down -properly- if the power button is pressed. csh is bad drugs.	dclm-gs1-105520000
or Connect New Posts All Forums: Posts by alandail Those are the last things I'd ever do. You might as well start them with keypunch cards. Object oriented programming is the first thing any new programmer should learn. Why start them with bad habits (procedural programming) that the next class has to break. And what is the point in using less than state of the art tools. Xcode shows errors as you type them, playground lets you execute the code as you type it. try the new mac pro track pad. you can touch, click and deep click. There clearly is difference between touch and drag (select) and click and drag (move). The track pad doesn't actually move when you click or deep click it aside from haptic feedback, the haptic feedback causes you to feel movement that doesn't actually occur. Force Click could provide similar kinds of additional functionality on iOS devices. The phones became computers They have force touch on the apple watch. I would also expect glances to make their way to iOS. You should be able to check something like the weather without leaving the active app. The limit is 16 megapixels, not 16GB. One difference between Google and Apple is Apple doesn't tell you what they are working on until the have a product. The fact that you hear about things from Google first doesn't mean Apple wasn't already working it too. Another difference is Google will release alpha quality stuff they have to then scrap or that isn't fully thought out. For example, how many different set top boxes have they done, I've lost track (their first one was a mess while Chromecast is... there's this Google's service is only free for those uploading video under 1080p and photos under 16 megapixels. Upload anything larger — say, a great DSLR shot — and if you're on the free plan, it's automatically compressed I can't be the only one waiting for carplay before I buy my next car. I've driven cars with some of the other alternatives and they are brain dead. I listen to a streaming app in the car and it switches to music if I turn my radio up. I haven't even tried car play and I know it won't do something as stupid as that. what is wrong with a developer wanting to be able to work on code when they have their iPad, but not their computer, with them? Anything from an iOS developer working on the app they are building to a web developer fixing an issue on their web site. Then there is the larger issue of people who only have iPads. There is something inherently wrong with a computer that can't be directly programmed. We should be opening programming to more people, not less. When the... New Posts All Forums:	dclm-gs1-105540000
I'm having some difficulty creating a Java applet with a BufferedImage. What I want is for randomly-located and colored polygons to be rendered on the screen, and then I'll be able to get pixel color data in an int array via conversion to a BufferedImage. I try to do so, but the int[] of pixel data from the BufferedImage is all the same number, -16777216. Any help is greatly appreciated, as I've been banging my head against the desk for days with this problem. Here's the standard initialization; nothing exciting: public void init() { } //end public void init Here's some of the paint method: public void paint(Graphics g) { g2 = (Graphics2D) g; //needs to be in a Graphics2D context //create a BufferedImage that is compatible with being displayed on screen: GraphicsConfiguration config = g2.getDeviceConfiguration(); int transparency = Transparency.OPAQUE; screenShot = config.createCompatibleImage(500, 500, transparency); //gc will now be used to write into the screenShot bufferedimage gc = (Graphics2D) screenShot.getGraphics(); //drawing for loop to create NUM_POLYS number of polygons for (int i = 0; i < NUM_POLYS; i++){ Poly myPoly = new Poly (); // draw GeneralPath (polygon) int x1Points[] = {myPoly.X1, myPoly.X2, myPoly.X3, myPoly.X4, myPoly.X5}; int y1Points[] = {myPoly.Y1, myPoly.Y2, myPoly.Y3, myPoly.Y4, myPoly.Y5}; GeneralPath polygon = new GeneralPath(GeneralPath.WIND_EVEN_ODD, x1Points.length); polygon.moveTo(x1Points[0], y1Points[0]); for (int index = 1; index < x1Points.length; index++) { polygon.lineTo(x1Points[index], y1Points[index]); //here's where everything's actually drawn into BufferedImage, I presumed: //here's where things are drawn on screen: } //end drawing for loop gc.drawRenderedImage(screenShot, null); //turn polygons into bufferedImage for use by pixel grabber //BufferedImage screenShot = new BufferedImage(500,500,BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB); int w = screenShot.getWidth(null); int h = screenShot.getHeight(null); int[] pixelArray_genA = new int[wh]; //array to hold pixel color data. screenShot.getRGB(0, 0, w, h, pixelArray_genA, 0, w); // print pixel data to screen: //WHY is it all the same???? Everything's equal to -16777216! int r = 0; for (int q=0; q<1000; q++){ if (pixelArray_genA[q] != -16777216){ g.drawString("pixel " + q + ": " + pixelArray_genA[q], 5, 25 + (25r)); So I know I'm messing something up in getting the data into the BufferedImage, I just don't know what that is. Any help is greatly appreciated. I've been reading tutorials and digging through the API, but to no avail.	dclm-gs1-105550000
Hi All, I've been programming in C++ for a few years and feel fairly comfortable there. But recently I switched over to Java because, quite frankly, it's easier. But I have a couple of questions about classes that I am hoping someone will take the time to answer. I would really appreciate it. 1) I know that most serious Java programs use multiple class files. Why? Is this simply to prevent the existance of a huge, slow, and virtually unrunnable single class? 2) If not, under what circumstances do I need to use multiple class files. For instance, I am writing a small telnet program in Java. If the user clicks "Connect" and hasn't entered any server information I will display a hand made dialog box telling him to go back and enter some information. Should I put the code for this dialog box in a seperate class file? 3) How do I call methods in an external class file? Is it as simple as a class.method() call? I know these are really newbie questions and is probably wasting everyone's time but I can't seem to find any answers anywhere else. Again, thanks in advance for your answers.	dclm-gs1-105560000
Can the iPhone get as thin as the new iPod Touch? Discussion in 'iPhone' started by Cod3rror, Dec 15, 2012. 1. macrumors 68000 Apr 18, 2010 I was at a PC store today and they had iPod Touch 5 on display. I left that store amazed at how thin that thing is, incredibly thin and light. Now I can't help but wonder, is it possible for the iPhone to get as thin as that? The iPhone has more chips in it, GPS, Cell, etc... so I wonder if it is actually possible. It'd be incredible if the next gen(tick) iPhone gets that thin. 2. macrumors 68010 Jul 23, 2011 Yeah, I'm sure it will be one day. Things just keep getting engineered smaller and lighter, and I'm sure that another body size increase (for a larger screen) would give Apple more room to fit the components and therefore trim down the thickness even more. 3. macrumors 601 Aug 27, 2012 Have u been paying attention to the BENGATE threads? ;) 4. macrumors 68020 Sep 12, 2009 That's irrelevant. The question is whether they can get thinner, yes or no. Oh, and aluminium is a soft metal. I still prefer that it bends, instead of breaks (like glass on the iPhone 4/4S). They could use stronger, heavier metals but that would increase both price and weight. They could also use an alloy, which would probably mean a slight increase in price and weight. Either way, the number of phones that are bend are way too small to worry about. 5. macrumors 65816 Jul 29, 2012 6. macrumors 601 Aug 27, 2012 Well that's easy. Of course yes, it is only semiconductors. Semiconductors keep shrinking. The question is, once it becomes so thin you are holding a sharp object, would that be "too thin?" I know, I obsess about irrelevancy. ;) I would never buy one of those chocolate-size nano iPods, am afraid I am going to lose it. Now if they get a full iPhone into a standard-sized watch with a 100x improved Siri, that would be something. The I5 is already getting too light for me (crazy huh?) 4's heft make it feels like a piece of substantial jewelry. 7. macrumors member Jul 5, 2010 Not crazy at all , i feel the same way , thats one of a couple of reasons i sold my 5 and went back to 4s , the main reason being headphone jack on the bottom , God!! how i hate that ,and a couple other reasons , the only thing i liked was the speed and bigger display ,but ill wait for iphone 6 when i am sure they will increase the display in width not only height, like a normal feeling phone for my taste. I would never understand the obssesion with thinness , thin ! thin! lets make it paper thin! and with the same weight as a sheet of paper also , because all that weight felt so heavy for my puny munchin arms ,that would be awsome ! right? noooooottt ! like Borat jokes. In my opinion iphone 4s had the perfect weight to feel like a well made sturdy , like jewelry like you said feel to it, iphone 5 not so much ,felt like a toy phone to me regarding weight and thinnes , but hey im crazy like that. Share This Page	dclm-gs1-105570000
Pre-Built Computer ForarForar #432Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular So my girlfriend is looking to buy a new computer to update her several year old POS in order to play some new (if not heavily demanding) games such as the Sims 3 and Sims Medieval. Unfortunately, she's buying on a budget ($600 Canadian or under preferably) and neither of us are particularly comfortable with building her a rig, regardless of how super duper cheap it can be. Look, I know, I see the build thread, I know it's like Lego and that as long as you have a credit card on hand for thermal pasting it's fun times, but she's currently looking at Future Shop for a system and I figured I'd at least ask you fine folks here before she jumps on them or I make an errant suggestions. Anyway, this is the system she's looking at, which at an i3 core seems a bit anemic. A quick bit of fiddling on Dell.ca built me this, an i5 core with 2 extra gigs of system RAM that goes $50 over budget before taxes. Now, the FS model is running a ATI HD5450, whereas Dell loads up a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G310, and a quick google search shows me that neither of these cards is going to set benchmark records for Crysis. However, if I'm not mistaken either should at least run the gaming level she's aiming for fairly well, and the rest of her PC usage seems to be mostly music/movies/streaming/etc. A quick glance at tigredirect.ca isn't showing me anything that blows my socks off, and I think she'd prefer to go with a bigger name company in case she does need support of one kind or another. So, any other suggestions? While a big name wouldn't hurt, if anyone knows of any particularly awesome and reputable stores in the Greater Toronto Area those might be worth investigating. Otherwise Future Shop or Dell might be the path we take, and while I've had good experiences with the latter, I figured it was worth inquiring before any triggers were pulled. Forar on edited March 2011 Honestly, the i3-550 is a significantly better CPU than the Radeon 5450 is a graphics card. Honestly, it is (or was, prior to the new Intel chip cycle) a really solid option at that price range, especially considering its overclockability. That doesn't matter to you, but I want you to be aware that the CPU in this equation outstrips the GPU. Looking at the sys reqs for Sims 3, I imagine that she'll be fine with the first system. The 5450 really isn't a huge step up from the onboard AMD graphics on most AM3 platforms, but it should do fine. edited March 2011 Do not, repeat do not, by dell expecting good support. That being said, I've been really happy with my dell prebuilt. As long as you're comfortable doing basic support on your own, they seem pretty cost-competitive. Just be sure you're getting a true mid-tower with discrete components, rather than some onboard sound/video monstrosity. digging Paul Revere and Nat Turner as the good guys • ForarForar #432 Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular edited March 2011 Agreed. The system having an actual video card and not some "shared memory" bullshit is at the top of the list. Thanks for the suggestions, I've passed on the reccomendation and figure she'll either snag something soon, or decide to give it a little while for some sales to show up, but at least we're establishing a baseline at this point. Sign In or Register to comment.	dclm-gs1-105580000
Skip to content People living with herpes, Please help. Long I know but read, please :) An_248242 posted: I had a single smooth bump on the inner part of my labia major, semi hard but more fluid like. It started out as just a small lump ( same color as my skin) that seemed like it was under the skin but pretty close to the surface. It was just slightly painful, nothing too bad. I just thought it was a pimple that hadn't come to a head. Well it just seemed to get bigger and bigger, a slightly bit more painful but again nothing too bad. It finally popped and white pus followed by a lot of blood followed by clear fluid came out. Now the bump is almost completely gone and there is a small piece of skin missing ( not sure if it is a lesion or just missing skin). It is about 2 or 2 1/2 mm wide and a perfect circle. It is also pretty much the same color as my skin ( maybe a shade redder). If I press around it a little blood comes out and sometimes a little white fluidly puss. I am prone to cysts down there but have never had one leave an opening like this. Until recently, I had the same thing happen on my labia minora about 3 or 4 months ago. So my question is, is this just a cyst that happens to be really close to the surface or does it sound like herpes? (Also I used force to pop both of them after hot baths, so they were roughed up a bit, bad idea I know. It took days to pop with force.) If you could tell me what your lesions and blisters usually look like and do, it would help a lot. Like if they pop easy, what the fluid is like, what the lesions look like ( color, shape) and so on. Thank you! BeatrixKiddo66 responded: maybe more like 1/2 to 2 mm instead of 2 to 2 1/2 abe648 responded: This does not really sound like herpes ass herpes usually gets a fluid like pocket and when it breaks open only clear fluids come out and then it heals after that. Yours had blood in it. To know for sure get a type specific igg blood test for hSV 1 & 2 and ask for a copy of your test results and post them on here so someone can confirm your status for you. If you get something like this again go and be seen with in 48 hours and and have the area swabbed/cultured/typed to confirm what it is. The key is to get this done within 48 hours somewhere for best results. Helpful Tips how do you feel towards the ONE WHO GAVE YOU HERPES Was this Helpful? 42 of 53 found this helpful Related Drug Reviews • Drug Name User Reviews Report Problems With Your Medications to the FDA	dclm-gs1-105590000
Skip to content Why am I like this? An_239930 posted: Whenever I sleep, in my bed, and in class(I occasionally sleep in class.), I always wake up in a panicky state? I have adrenaline going and everything. It's not because I have nightmares either. But it seems like everything is 10x more amplified, and then I wake up, and my heart races 10x faster than usual. I was just curious as to why that is Caprice_WebMD_Staff responded: Hi and welcome to WebMD, I don't think you're alone in experiencing this. While you're waiting for responses here, try also posting on our Anxiety & Panic Disorders community . RockyCocco responded: When you wake up, panicky, look in the bathroom mirror or at least touch your cheeks. If your face has a hot red flush, this is histamine being released by mast cells. You may have a mast cell activation disorder or mastocytosis. Check out The Mastocytosis Society web site for doctors that are experts in these rare (but maybe not so rare) illnesses. Other causes may be a neuroendocrine tumor like pheopchromocytoma. Get checked by an endocrinologist. tishalish responded: Did anything bad happen to you as a child, adult ect. I know I do he same thing!! I wake up in like the world is blowing up!!panic fighting know s dont touch me when I'm asleepas was diagnosed with post traumtic stress syndrome, you dont have to have nightmares! Its like your brain reacts when you fall asleep and wake up your brain overreacts and thinks ok, whats going on, and it s ready to fight or flight, are you always on guard, waiting for something to happen and be ready? I know when I found out it was a big relief, knowing I wasnt going nuts and not sleeping was not acceptable!! Talk to your doctor get diagnosed with what ever it is and get treatment!! Lifes to short!! Amimcc replied to tishalish's response: I am 34 and have been diagnosed with PTSD. My worst problem is sleep. I can have 20 nightmares that seem so real and vivid a night. I will lay my head down for 5 min and wake out of a horrific nightmare. up and down all night. I'm either running for my life, being hunted, my animals are being killed before my eyes, my family is going to be harmed, I'm being arrested for something I did or didn't do but going to prison for life. Usually I'm running scared. I wake up but still feel the dream and sometimes cant shake the fears that it caused away. I feel like I more or less hallucinate all night.I have to get up and shake it off before going back to sleep or I go right back in it. Sometimes I'm just too scared to close my eyes. Other than that I can just fall to sleep anymore. It takes a couple or three days for me to get a 6 hr sleep. I feel like I live in the dark sometimes and I get extremely lonely. I have terrible panic states at night where I have to pace my house or room and become hysterical. During the day I seem to be OK except for having anxiety. Its a night thing and I don't know how to stop it. Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated thank you. compoundia responded: Hello, It seems you are too lazy or prefer junk/fast food a lot. It causes untimely sleeps. Apart from this, you are very much possessive about yourself, It may cause for you to be panicky. rite99 responded: I do same occasionally, I use C-PAP, when tested for apnea, nnurse woke me up 3 times during night, said I was pushing the 2 min. mark without breathing. I do wake up in one of the panic episodes 1-2 in six mo's. I have concluded I was a apnea episode even with C-PAP, in other words I believe your brain snaps you awake just before your heart stops. I raised air pressure and haven't had problem last 6 mo. pixe5 responded: That sounds like night terrors in which the hallmark is waking terrified with no nightmares. I do not know much about it though, but I believe it is considered to be a biological problem not a psychological problem. A doctor might be able to prescribe something. EddieSaysSo responded: I have had had rushes when I lay down often on for over a year. In all my research I have found that it could be adrenal related. My doctor is referring me to university of Michigan endocrinologist specialist . In preparation for that appointment I am logging my food intake and vitamin supplement intake. I noticed some research showed that foods or vitamins high in tyramine could cause problems with adrenal issues especially if you are already on thyroid medication. I am getting ready to remove a supplement I am taking that has L "013 tyrosene which is similar to tyramine and see what happens. Hoping that helps. I will repost my results. Here is a link that might help others do their own research It is a user forum where people are experiencing the same head rush that feels like adrenaline. Look for Dr. Eric Larson post user name 'drEricLarson' Helpful Tips i beat it 50 and i'm sleeping again Was this Helpful? 10 of 10 found this helpful Related Drug Reviews • Drug Name User Reviews Report Problems With Your Medications to the FDA For more information, visit the Duke Health Sleep Disorders Center	dclm-gs1-105600000
Tuesday, October 18, 2005 Unpublished article on blogging Egypt Today magazine had planned to publish an article for me about Egyptian blogging in its next issue, but considering that Cairo Magazine just did a feature cover story about the topic, my article naturally got killed. I haven't read Cairo Magazine's pieces, but I have to assume its good since those guys are bloggers themselves. So anyway, the goal of my piece was to encourage more people to discover the world of blogging, becoming bloggers themselves maybe. Now, since my article is not getting published, and I have no intention to work on it more, I'll just publish it here instead, for the pleasure of whoever. So here it goes: Blogs are mushrooming all over the world, and Egypt is no exception. Web logs are websites that look like an online diary, a personal or a professional one. Blogs, short for web logs, capture the thoughts of their authors on any topic of their interest, allowing them to provide their insights, and availing those thoughts for the world to read and interact with. There are millions of blogs from all over the world today, and the number is exponentially growing. The number of Egyptian blogs is also increasing rapidly. Regular people who have found a venue to express their thoughts freely, on any topic they choose, publishing them to the world to read with a click of a button. Everyone thinks and has their own thoughts, and everyone must want to express those thoughts somehow. Blogs are just an excellent mean to do that, presenting those written thoughts in a nice web format, without any required knowledge of web technologies. All what bloggers need to focus on is writing their thoughts down, and they need not worry about the underlying technologies that avails their thoughts to the world. When the outside political observers and commentators look at the Egyptian blogs (aka blogosphere), they usually try to get a different perspective on political events and the shifting politics in Egypt through regular people who chose to share their unregulated and uncensored insights with the world. However, politics is not the main theme of blogging. Politics revolves around humans, and bloggers are humans and they usually blog about many different aspects of life which are more encompassing than just politics. Blogs are an excellent tool for communication and connection between different cultures, different generations, different thoughts and different people. There are those who write about faith, about love, about their field of work, about culture, about politics, about personal feelings, and there will be those who want to read such insights. Exposing the human within, by expressing feelings and interactions with other people on a blog at times looks like a short novel. That novel can be read by a person thousands of miles away, and may connect with its content and associate with its characters. On a blog, the blogger gets to express his or her mind and heart fully without restrictions. In Iran, there are more than 75,000 blogs today, and it certainly has become an alternative mean of communication to traditional ones, and has become an alternative mean of disseminating information as opposed to the main stream media. Hoder, a guru Iranian blogger classified blogs into three types; Bridges, Windows and Cafes. Blogs can build bridges between different cultures, genders, religions, and social classes. Those who typically don't connect can connect via blogs and get into the minds of others. In Iran, blogs built bridges between voters and politicians for example, as one of the presidential candidates was a blogger. Blogs as bridges also encourage tolerance where stereotypes can be broken. Blogs can be windows into cultures, countries, and people. Blogs have been successful in providing an alternative stream of information to the main stream media. In Egypt for example, blogs have been able to capture the protests that have been happening in the streets, in details, with vivid personal accounts and associated with lots of pictures. Many blogs are opening a window into the Muslim mind which is drawing the curiosity of so many around the world who find it mysterious and opposing in values. Blogs can also be cafes; "a discursive arena that is home to citizen debate, deliberation, agreement and action," where there's an equal power to everyone to express and question. The goal is not to win a debate, but to gain more by participating in a diverse discussion with different points of views, each expressing their own, and questioning others'. Egyptian blogs are becoming a reflection of our society with its diverse and multi-dimensional aspects. Aspects which might not be easy to see otherwise are reflected through blogs; the more the blogs, the better the reflection of our society, and the better the insight into it. When it comes to major events affecting a large portion of the society, blogs become one of the best means to observe how the society reflects on and interacts with such events, bringing to the surface aspects which might be typically non-visible. Egyptian blogs are slowly becoming a vital tool for communication and dissemination of thoughts. Similar to Email and SMS, blogs are being used to distribute information about events. People were able to know about organized protests and events through blogs. But the difference is that blogs are an open communication medium unlike SMS and Emails where messages are directed to specific people. Blogs are an open medium of communication where everyone is invited to attend, contribute ideas, and read different perspectives and analyses on the outcome of events. This is partly what’s been happening on the Egyptian blogosphere for the last few months prior to the presidential elections. Some protests were organized and communicated via blogs, some discussions arose debating how to make such events more effective and how to contribute to the political process, and some bloggers are coming up with action plans for the upcoming parliamentary elections, all discussed and shared on the blogosphere. Those who participated in such events logged their intense experiences on their blogs, sharing their unique perspective and delivering the events to the readers. Unlike mass media, readers of blogs read an opinionated and deeper perspective into such events through bloggers, uncensored and unregulated, sometimes accompanied by pictures and linking to other resources and relevant experiences. Reading through the blogosphere at times seems like peeking into an activist meeting, a virtual one that is becoming a translation to what’s happening on the ground, and which might not be accessible to everyone. The reverse can also happen, where activists may read into seemingly passive bloggers and try to understand and analyze why the majority seem to be silent and inactive. On the day of the elections stories started pouring on the blogs. Stories of people who voted, of people who tried to vote but couldn’t, of people who witnessed election irregularities, and of people who monitored the elections and participated in protests. Blogs contained detailed accounts, political analysis, emotions and pictures of pink voting fingers, by activists and non-activists alike, anti-Mubarak and pro-Mubarak, conservatives and liberals, Islamists and non-Islamists, each telling their story and their analysis of that day. A reader of such stories can’t help but want to be part of all this, to go vote, join a protest, or at least read more, observe and be informed. These bloggers are after all humans just like the readers. Some bloggers are now becoming more active on the ground and involved in meetings and debates to think of ways to better utilize blogging in order to add momentum to the thrust of change in Egypt, whether politically or culturally. Blog readers may pick and choose the blogs they read to their liking. Interested in a different political perspective, interested in connecting with people and cultures at a deeper level, interested in getting inside information, interested in a different perspective on any issue, its all there. Those who want to have a stronger sense of identity will associate with and read blogs that reflect similar opinions as theirs. Those who want to be exposed to different thoughts and gain a different perspective will read blogs that they don't necessarily agree with, in order to see how the other think. Those who want to learn about different cultures and different people will be able to get it first hand from those people and cultures directly. Blogs emphasize the individuality of the people whom are blogging, since bloggers get a chance to express their unique thoughts fully, and each thought and each voice gets a chance to stand out on its own without being consolidated with any other, or being counted as one of a collective many. A quick run through some of the interesting blogs can provide a snapshot of how the Egyptian blogosphere looks like. Alaa Abdel Fattah (http://www.manalaa.net), a political as well as a software open source activist has been using his blog in announcing opposition protests and events, describing how the activists go about organizing such events, how they confront police and NDP thugs, and how its all evolving like a political snowball gaining momentum through the youth and the massive energy of the opposition movements. Baheyya of Egypt Analysis and Whimsy blog (http://baheyya.blogspot.com) provides superb political analysis with wealth of knowledge and an excellent writing style. She is a harsh critic of the regime and is full of trust in Egyptians and their ability to fight for democracy, in building and evolving it, while not expecting democracy to be handed to them on a silver plate. Hassanein Heikal praised Baheyya’s blog on alJazeera saying that he makes sure to follow her writings which outperform many of the well-established journalists. She has become a favorite for most political observers and commentators, and for those keen to get an in-depth political analysis of the shifting politics in Egypt which is well researched and backed up by historical evidence. Mohammed of Digressing blog (http://digressing.blogspot.com) has an excellent blog written in Arabic, providing insightful articles in his usual literary and dramatic style about his experiences in protests, and other political events. In one of his posts, he writes an analysis of who is monitoring the elections and how he was involved in monitoring the elections, in another he writes a variety of observations about how social classes are being differentiated and discriminated, in another he talks about literary works, and in another post he writes about his favorite cartoon shows. Digressing never misses to comment on news worthy incidents like arresting those who were selling t-shirts with weed leaves displayed on them, and prosecuting Arab journalists and bloggers. R of Beyond Normal blog (http://beyondnormal.blogspot.com) is sarcastic yet balanced and civilized in his observations. He posts a poll asking his readers what they think the reasons of the Katrina hurricane are; anger from God on America because of Iraq, anger from God because of Palestine, or a natural disaster, and provides a resourceful post about the hurricane, why they name them with male and female names, and the Arab reactions to it. In one post he predicts the state-owned and opposition newspapers headline news after the elections, and in another he criticizes Pope Shenouda for what he calls a shameful congratulatory memo that was sent to Mubarak upon his victory. R and M (http://r-and-m.blogspot.com) have a very civilized blog discussing a very sensitive topic in Egypt; the relationship between Copts and Muslims. M a Muslim, and R a Christian, pose questions to each other, one asking and the other writing thoughtful answers with readers interjecting with their comments on the topics raised. Some of the topics were about the repercussions of the Church’s endorsement of Mubarak in the name of Egyptian Christians, the infamous conversion story of Wafaa Constantine, greeting Christians in their feasts, and about Muslims and Christians each donating to spread their religion. Sandmonkey (http://egyptiansandmonkey.blogspot.com) and Big Pharaoh (http://bigpharaoh.blogspot.com) are two pro-American bloggers who have a large American readership. They are anti-Islamists who don’t shy from criticizing those who blame everything on America and Israel. Sandmonkey who is well connected in the regime circles because of his mother’s involvement with the NDP provides interesting inside stories about the inner workings of the regime, yet his many postings per day do not miss what’s going on in America and elsewhere in the world. Big Pharaoh writes about his rebuttals against those who wear the veil, and explains to his American readers the significance of the wedding night in our culture. His political views are pro-American from democracy building in Iraq, to supporting Mubarak for another term lest the Muslim Brotherhood take over if democracy was suddenly practiced. Karim of One Arab World (http://onearabworld.blog.com), an Egyptian living in Boston has a blog that has a goal of building a different united Arab model. He constantly takes online initiatives as a result of current events; after the London terrorist bombings he created an online website called pray4peace, after the Sharm ElSheikh bombings he started an online charity fund to support the victims, and after the presidential elections he worked with other bloggers to start an initiative called Move It that motivates people to go vote in the Parliamentary elections. The Arabist Network (http://arabist.net) are a group of expatriate journalists who have been living and working in Egypt for long enough to provide a very well informed blog on Egyptian political affairs. Haal of A Message from Within (http://thewillto.blogspot.com), naming her blog after Nietzsche’s “the will to power”, is a historian working in finance who challenges traditional notions of faith and interpretation of history in our society, all with a taste of mystical philosophy. Egyptian Sally (http://egyptiansally.blogspot.com) is an American expatriate with Egyptian origins who teaches at university and writes about different aspects of her experience living in Cairo, mixing it with English literature and poetry. Amy White (http://louiseinegypt.mindsay.com) just arrived in Egypt a few weeks ago to learn Arabic and to help inform the world about the often misunderstood Arab world. She is logging her experiences in Egypt as she is experiencing them day by day. Stacey of al-Hiwar (http://al-hiwar.blogspot.com) is a political science researcher living for a few years in Egypt, but traveling between Yemen and Lebanon for her comparative research between the two countries, yet not missing her pivot country in all of this, Egypt. Eve (http://heliogossipcorner.blogspot.com) and MoonLightShadow (http://zeemoonlightshadow.blogspot.com) are female bloggers who mostly blog about their day-to-day life and observations. Eve is a university student who loves gossip (as she describes herself), and MoonLighShadow is a recent graduate searching for the best place for her to work and achieve. Ahmed of Defeat Yourself (http://ahmedbarakat83.blogspot.com) looks inside himself and talks about love, sadness and self struggle. Meshref (http://mmeshref.blogspot.com) writes about his experiences in going through the interview process for Microsoft Redmond in the US from start till hire and then what he’s going through to get prepared to relocate for his new work experience there. Wahda Masrya (http://wa7damasrya.blogspot.com) has the banner of Kefaya on her blog and uses it as an opposition outlet providing opposition articles and using it as one of the mouthpieces of the Kefaya movement. Orientalism (http://orientalismegypt.blogspot.com) writes about his experiences living in Australia and contemplations about returning and settling back in Egypt after spending a few years there. On one of his vacations to Egypt he got excited about the political changes happening in the streets in Egypt and provided lots of pictures of the events he witnessed before he returned back Down Under to talk about shark attacks there. Trees Owner (http://journal.gharbeia.net) writes about a variety of topics. In one post relating to Sayyed Qimni’s announcement repenting from his writings which were accused of being unIslamic by some, the blogger described a chain of emails he exchanged with Dar Al-Ifta demanding a definition of what constitutes apostasy in their view and asking them to provide a specific list of what is supposed to be well known facts in Islam that a Muslim should not deny to maintain his Muslim status. He never received a direct answer. In another post he describes the highways’ organization in England were he was spending a week, and how accurate the directions there are. In another post he translates and publishes a letter from Vincent van Gogh to his father Theo on his birthday describing his painting of the “Potato Eaters”. Alif of Zamakan (http://zamakan.gharbeia.org) who demonstrates a wealth of knowledge in world religions writes in depth about a variety of unique topics that adds to the knowledge of the readers. In one post he describes the Burning Man event that happens annually in the US, in another he writes about imposing religious practices in the public sphere and exploiting free wasted time while in public transportation to worship God instead of being dedicated in our worshiping. In one of his posts related to the current political activism ongoing in Egypt, he provides a motivational picture of ants trying to move a piece of food crumb, each ant moving it into a different direction, yet they eventually are successful in reaching their destination. Those are just a subset of the many interesting and ever growing Egyptian blogs. The Egyptian blogosphere has more than 400 blogs today and new blogs are constantly being created by Egyptians. Egyptians who want to have an individual voice reflecting their thoughts on politics, culture, religion, art, or any other human aspect of life, write their blogs in Arabic, English, bilingual, or any other language of their choice. Anyone who cares to share their thoughts, anyone who want to have a heard voice, to be a bridge or a window, will do that by creating a blog and reflecting their thoughts there. A blog is an online journal that is published on the Internet’s World Wide Web. Blog articles or blog entries are usually called posts. Blog posts appear in reverse chronological order, the most recent appearing on top. Old posts can be accessed through sidebar links that categorize the posts by topic categories or by dates. A blogosphere is a collection of related blogs. The term Egyptian blogosphere usually refers to blogs written by Egyptians or by non-Egyptians living in Egypt. A list of all the Egyptian blogs can be found at the website egybloggers.com. Anyone can create a blog by following a few simple steps in any of the many free blog hosting services. Some of the popular hosting services are blogger.com and blogsome.com. Create an account there and follow the steps to customize your blog and you have a blog in a few minutes. Writing and publishing a post requires no knowledge of Web technologies, just typing the article in any language and pressing the publish button on the online tool hosting your blog and it immediately appears on the Internet. All new posts published on any of the Egyptian blogs are aggregated and an index that points to those posts along with an excerpt of them are displayed at the website manalaa.net/egblogs. This aggregator enables readers to follow any new posts on any of the Egyptian blogs a few minutes after the bloggers have published their posts instead of moving around all Egyptian blogs to check for new posts. Each blog post has a comment section where blog readers can provide feedback on the post written, or provide alternative views. The comment section sometimes turns into an intensive discussion area related to the initial topic of the post. Blog readers who are only interested in a select few blogs that they like to follow without having to jump from one blog to another can use RSS feeds (RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication) to read their favorite blogs along with any news website. To read your blogs and news via RSS an account needs to be created to use any of the freely available online blog and news feed syndicators such as Bloglines.com or kinja.com. Wikipedia, the online collaborative encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblog) has more details about the international phenomenon of blogging and explains more of its history and impact. Reporters without Borders have released a handbook on blogging with detailed information on how to setup a blog, ethics of blogging, blogging anonymously, censorship, and personal accounts of bloggers from different countries (http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=542). Al Sharief said... You are a Pioneer Ya Mohamed. Good Stuff... Still looking ypu up. MoonLightShadow said... I second Al Sharief on this. Tarek said... You may instead write about the effect of the blogs on the society as it is giving people bigger digree of freedom to say whatever they want. And in a society like the Middle East where newspapers are owned by the govenment the blogs are considered as an alternative to the main streem news sources. Also it is replacing the conventional homepages and web forums. Homepages Are Dead, Long Live The Blogs: ألِف said... Hey you're back! I'm relieved. I wasn't sure that anybody got the right sense of that. I can't find your Atom feed! Alina said... Hey, Mo, can I use this as material for my license paper? I will quote you properly, promise. Thanks in advance. Alina said... And about the feature cover story, do you happen to have a copy of it or a link to it? It would really help. Thanks! MoonLightShadow said... Kayla, check that link for Cairo Magazine feature cover story. R said... Where are you man?? I just fell on this post through technorati. I was out of town at that time. It's probably the best and most comprehensive article about Egyptian bloggers and should be published. And thanks for the balanced description;) Mohamed said... good article indeed, and shows the amount of effort involved. good luck Mohamed Kimberly said... Way to put together a good collection of blogs- nice article too! None said... I didn't know that many Egyptian bloggers existed. Maybe there's hope for Egyptain media pioneers after all. by the way, you wrote an entry about al Nafs al Lawamma and said من عرف نفسه عرف الله Thats a very Sufi concept, popularized by Ghazalli, which I am very fond of. Take care, Sooski said... Hey Mohamed, Didn't you have a weblog! Cool to see people you know in the real world in the cyber space. Hope all is well! Stay in touch, Jewaira said... Where did you disappear to M? zayan_69 said... Very Compelling blog. Citizen journalism and web blogging is the future. It will inevitabely lead people to truth. Thr things that the mainstream media doesn't want you to know about. It will mirror reality through a thousand little idstinct voices that were once washed away with one thick government controled medium before the advent of the internet. I am an Egyptian, transfered from AUC, currently studying at Wilfrid Laurier University in a small town somewhere in Ontario Canada, and have a blog of my own, aiming to bridge the gap of understanding between the public and the world and vice versa, check it out whomever stumbles upon this post: unslanted.blogspot.com Anonymous said... Cairo (Al-Qāhirah) ,Egipt,the Jewel of the Orient, the City of the Thousand Minarets, and the Melting Pot of Ancient and Modern Egyptian Civilization, was founded in 648 ,but to claim that Cairo is merely a thousand years old is actually historically inaccurate.Cairo's long journey across history started more than five thusand years ago...read more	dclm-gs1-105610000
Anonymous comments allowed. #416 - stianx (01/26/2013) [-] Saying gamers have no credibility in a game related discussion is like saying politicians have no credibility when discussing politics. User avatar #424 to #416 - gigglesthegreat (01/26/2013) [-] But politicians DON'T have any credibility when discussing politics <_< #425 to #424 - stianx (01/26/2013) [-] That's our opinion, but we don't decide wheter they are allowed to discuss it or not. #450 to #425 - anon (01/26/2013) [-] .....that's what voting is for. That's literally the entire purpose. #479 to #450 - stianx (01/28/2013) [-] To be fair, atleast in Norway the people can hardly decide anything through voting, other than which side is to rule. We don't have any say in induvidual cases, who should be in charge of what, etc. User avatar #428 to #425 - gigglesthegreat (01/26/2013) [-] credibility has to do with how trustworthy a person is, and how willing you will be to believe a statement from them. Please don't interrupt the men when they're talking sweetheart. It's rude, crude, and socially unacceptable... Especially when you don't ******* know what you're arguing about... Friends (0)	dclm-gs1-105620000
Sign up × I'm having trouble finding documentation on SDL_gfx, and I can't figure this out. I've managed to use SDL_gfx to automatically cap the framerate, and I it's working a lot better than my manual attempt (combining SDL_Delay and SDL_Getticks). Now I've been trying to learn more about it, and I stumbled onto something. Here's the whole struct: typedef struct { Uint32 framecount; float rateticks; Uint32 lastticks; Uint32 rate; } FPSmanager; Most variables in this struct are pretty straightforward, but I have no idea of what lastticks stands for. Does anyone know? share\|improve this question 1 Answer 1 up vote 2 down vote accepted To put it simply, lastticks is used to to store the result of calling SDL_GetTicks(), or in other words, the number of miliseconds that have passed since the SDL library was initialized. This is supported by looking at the SDL_framerate.cpp implementation file, and noticing that every assignment to lastticks is as follows: manager->lastticks = SDL_GetTicks(); // Lines 23 and 81 share\|improve this answer Your Answer	dclm-gs1-105630000
Sign up × Possible Duplicate: Does C# have a future in games development? Presently I'm learning c++ and in starting stage of opengl . My ultimate goal is to be game programmer. I want to stick with c++ but my doubt is how important is to learn c# or XNA? What's their future compared to c++ in game development? What about the career prospective? share\|improve this question marked as duplicate by Byte56, Kylotan, Josh Petrie, Nicol Bolas, Noctrine Jun 4 '12 at 19:42 c# is alot easier and is a great language; but if you are making good progress with c++ and are enjoying yourself, don't worry about c#. c++ is the industry standard, and is the most useful language to know. Plus, the knowledge of one language is easily transferable to the other – Aralox Jun 3 '12 at 6:01 1 Answer 1 up vote 3 down vote accepted According to Microsoft (Herb Sutter talks at build), as hardware gets more mobile (tablets & phones) we are suddenly facing hardware that lacks performance compared to our laptops and PCs. This makes the performance of software more important. A less performant language may come up against the hardware's performance boundry sooner. C#, although considered higher rated in productivity than c++, generaly runs at a performance handicap to c++. Since it is felt than in the coming years performance will outweigh productivity in software development due to hardware going mobile, Microsoft seems to be putting c# game development on the back burner and turning the heat up on c++ game development. It is unclear whether we will see another update to Xna. Most likely Xna development will not be a part of windows phone 8. Since Xna was not invited to be a part of WinRT, it leaves us wondering if it will be invited to the next xbox. I'm sure the AAA game studios are content using c++ for the forseeable future. share\|improve this answer	dclm-gs1-105640000
I have no idea who Phineas and Ferb are. Ok, scratch that — I know who Phineas and Ferb are, but I have no clue what the show is even about. Two kids go on adventures and a platypus chases after them, or something. Let’s go with that. Anyway, my daughter is a huge fan, so she was of course very excited to tear into Disney Infinity’s latest set of characters from the massively popular Disney show. The latest two-pack combines Phineas and Agent P (the platypus I mentioned earlier), plus a couple new Power Discs, for some more Toy Box fun. Shame there isn’t an additional Playset to go with it. Just like all of the other Toy Box-exclusive characters, Phineas and Agent P are only able to run around in user-generated worlds and games — no sending them to Monsters University for college or anything. Phineas and Agent P both have different weapons to use (a baseball cannon and a fedora, respectively), but they still feel fundamentally similar to pretty much every other character you can buy. The Adventures each character comes with is actually pretty cool, though. Phineas brings with him a weird tower-defense-y pinball thing, while Agent P tasks players with collecting as many orbs as possible while the game constantly shifts around them. They’re pretty neat diversions, but they’re not worth the price of admission by themselves. After the release of Phineas and Agent P on Tuesday, April 1st, it looks like there aren’t going to be any more figures coming out until the next generation of Disney Infinity games are released — if the amount of statues featured in the Hall of Heroes is any indication. Still, it’s been an interesting year for Disney Infinity, and I look forward to finding out what characters we’ll get to play with in the sequel. Just, please — more Playsets.	dclm-gs1-105650000
Houston Accidentally Elects a Lesbian Mayor Houston became the largest American city to elect an openly gay mayor on Saturday night, but don't get too excited: No one was really paying attention, and it's not like they're going to let them start getting married or anything. Annise Parker, a former city council member and city controller with 12 years of experience as a civil servant and 19 years of experience as a lesbian in a committed relationship with her partner Kathy Hubbard (that's Hubbard and Parker, on the right, in the photo), was elected mayor of Houston on Saturday night in a run-off against a fellow Democrat. It's very good news, but the New York Times explains why you shouldn't get your hopes up too much about America no longer hating gay people or anything like that: • Parker didn't play up the whole gay thing. "When asked, for instance, if she would advocate for a referendum giving benefits to same-sex partners of city workers, she was quick to say it was not in her plans." • There were no Republicans in the race, so the lesbian-haters sat out the race. "That there was no credible Republican candidate in the race for the first time in three decades also helped Ms. Parker's bid." • Her opponent Gene Locke had never won elective office and doesn't sound too sharp. "Mr. Locke, who is black, also ran a flawed campaign. He was late to begin television advertising, a fatal mistake for a little-known candidate." • Also, he was a lawyer and a lobbyist, which led one political columnist to write, "Here's the bottom line, or maybe the punch line. In Houston, it is now harder for a lawyer to be elected mayor than a lesbian." • No one really cares who the mayor of Houston is, anyway. "In the end, it turned out that the Houstonians who were paying attention to the election - only about 16 percent of registered voters - did not seem to care deeply about Ms. Parker's sexual orientation...." So the good news is that even Texas will let gay people become mayors, as long as they don't advocate too strongly for things like treating gay people equally and run against flawed opponents in elections no one pays attention to. That bad news is that the FBI's analysis of hate crime statistics for 2008 is out, and offenses motivated by sexual orientation are up 11% over last year. Crimes motivated by racism against African Americans are up 4%, so Prop. 8 generated almost three times as much violent hatred as the Barack Obama campaign, for those who are counting. Houston Accidentally Elects a Lesbian Mayor	dclm-gs1-105660000
It goes without saying that technology has the ability to enhance your outdoor experience, but too much reliance can also be a curse. Limitations like battery life, the weather and even Earth’s magnetic regions can affect your adventure tech’s performance. So, when determining your navigation needs, consider the Suunto MC-2G Global Navigator Compass. The MC-2G Global Navigator is the mother of all professional-grade compasses. Its defining feature: it performs accurately all over the world. While most compass needles drag on the casing’s surface when taken out of the magnetic region (there are five), the MC-2G uses Suunto’s patented structural casing, allowing the magnet and needle to work independently of each other. In addition to its go-anywhere usability the MC-2G comes with a nice set of features including a large mirror and additional sighting hole for superior accuracy, a baseplate with a magnifying lens and anti-slip rubber pads and a luminous, two-color bezel. The lanyard, which can be easily detached when working with a map on a flat surface also features a wristlock so you don’t drop it in a fast moving stream. Buy Now: $84	dclm-gs1-105670000
[Verse 2: Heems] Lyric Meaning This verse is structurally similar to verse 1, with all the nouns changed around. Heems is parked in a different car, wearing different clothes, etc. but is basically doing the same things. Soup Boys being Soup Boys day in and day out.	dclm-gs1-105680000
Follow Embed * I'm not entirely sure which guest rapper did which verse Whim, wham, thank you ma'am Ayyeah, I won't mind off the top, cut the check Done done, done did it what's next Cut the check, dope boy slash rapper slash exec Cut the check, I really lived the life Niggas look up to me, I am the sky Clouds... yeah I'm so fly Screamin Bankhead 'til the day I die You lookin at the trap in its flesh, rap at its best Bankhead nigga, Front Street is next Don't hate me, nigga hate the game I did it for the money, you did it for the fame Ayyyy! I'm a real go getter Lo told me, Front Street, go get 'em Two and a baby make me the babysitter Got my eggbeater, now I'm fin' to go whip her Yeah, I got crack on shiver If the money right hell yeah I'll deliver Deuce in the quarter, hook the wheel like Skipper AC blowin and it feel like winter [Lil Mark] I won't stop, I cain't stop Baby girl I need mine off top (cut the check) God damn right, I'm with the man right? And this what money really look like (cut the check) I got paper like Kinko's And Shawty got 'em for the L-O This ain't a Honda, get you a two do' And 800, get you an elbow (yeah) I got 'em dancin like Fabo They geaked up cause I'm cheap like Maaco Yes sir, I made moves for the peso So they gotta cut the check when I say so [Shawty Lo] I need mine pimp, just get him on the phone I'm the man's Don, just call me Corleone Tell them other niggas, they better leave me alone Bankhead nigga, but I'm from Bowen Homes Yeahhhh, what's really goin on? Ye ain't heard of him? I'm sittin on the throne King, ayy, that's what's goin on Me a stuntin man? You heard it in the song	dclm-gs1-105690000
For Immediate Release January 30, 2003 Fact Sheet: ITER Promoting Energy Independence Through Cooperative Research to Develop Fusion Energy Today's Presidential Action President Bush announced today that the United States will join an ambitious international research project to harness the promise of fusion energy, the same form of energy that powers the sun. America will join negotiations with Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, and China to create the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER. This will be the largest and most technologically sophisticated fusion experiment in the world. If successful, ITER will be a major step forward in the effort to produce clean, safe, renewable, commercially-available fusion-generated energy by the middle of this century. Commercialization of fusion energy would dramatically reduce America's dependence on imported oil and provide an abundant source of clean energy. A Clean, Safe, Renewable Energy Source for the Future Fusion energy could provide significant amounts of electricity and also generate hydrogen needed to power fuel cell vehicles of the future. The Promise of Fusion Energy Fusion energy is created when two atomic nuclei are "fused" together at temperatures greater than the interior of stars and far above the melting point of any solid container. Once initiated, a fusion reaction converts small amounts of matter to enormous amounts of energy. ITER will create and sustain this reaction on a scale necessary to develop fusion-based power plants. America has supported research to harness fusion for nearly half a century; ITER will accelerate efforts to develop commercially viable means of generating fusion energy. ITER seeks to generate self-sustained, magnetically-confined fusion reactions ("burning plasma") for significant periods of time. This step is critical to the development of fusion as a viable energy source. Recent scientific developments have advanced knowledge of this field to the point that scientists now believe ITER can demonstrate the feasibility of this technology as part of an ongoing effort to develop a practical energy-generating device. If successful, ITER would create the first fusion device capable of producing thermal energy comparable to the output of a power plant, making commercially viable fusion power available as soon as 2050. The Commitment of the United States ITER is a $5 billion international fusion energy research project. The level of America's financial commitment will be determined during negotiations with our international partners: the European Union, Canada, Japan, Russia, and China. (ITER negotiators are currently evaluating South Korea's request to participate.) The National Academy of Sciences recently endorsed America's participation in this important international research program. For more information on the President's initiatives, please visit Return to this article at: Click to print this document	dclm-gs1-105700000
Sign up × If you want to tell somebody to go away you could shout: "Hau ab!" However this is considered as not very polite, much like "Get lost!", or "F* off!". I am wondering where German "Hau ab" comes from to explain why it is considered as rude in usage. What does it mean literally? share\|improve this question 3 Answers 3 up vote 2 down vote accepted "Hau ab!" is the imperative of abhauen, which has the colloquial meaning (among others) of to escape quickly. The Duden derives it from hauen, which means to beat and is said to refer to beating a horse with the spurs on your boots. Grimm's dictionary still mentions the meaning to hurry, to run for hauen and gives the same reasoning: 13) hauen endlich für eilen, streben, laufen. diese bedeutung hat wol ihren ausgang von dem einhauen der sporen in des rosses weichen Together with the prefix ab- (off, away) you get to run away, to get off quickly. But note that this old meaning of hauen is no longer present, and Grimm's doesn't say abhauen to mean to escape. If they didn't miss it, the verb must have derived this meaning after this part of the dictionary was written, but before hauen lost its meaning of to hurry. This gives room to a second theory: according to the book Westjiddisches Wörterbuch, the verb abhauen might derive from abbauen, which is Rotwelsch for to escape, to flee and has Yiddish origins. It is further said to have a Hebrew root that means to come. A Rotwelsch, i.e. thieve's argot, origin might also have contributed to the derogative touch of abhauen, which in turn can also explain (to some degree at least) why "Hau ab" sounds rather rude, as you mention in your question. share\|improve this answer According to this link, hauen used to mean "hurry" or "run" at some point in addition to "beat", probably originating from "beating a horse to make it run faster". "Ab" is a Latin prefix meaning "away from." So "abhauen" just means "run away". I don't think it's rude because of its etymology, but because there are very few polite ways to tell someone to go away in general, because a) you're telling someone what to do, and b) you're telling them "I don't want you here." That's going to come across as impolite pretty much regardless of what words you use. I don't think "Hau ab!" is any more impolite than "Go away!" "Fk off!" is stronger than that, and a better German equivalent would be "Verpiss dich!" share\|improve this answer Nice explanation. "Hau ab" definitely is stronger than "Geh weg". "Verpiss Dich" is used regionally (but less so recently). – Takkat Oct 4 '11 at 8:03 I agree that it's stronger than "Geh weg", but I'd say "Go away" is still a pretty good translation. English doesn't seem to have as many nuanced ways to tell someone to leave. It goes directly from "Go away" to various vulgarities. – Cass Oct 4 '11 at 8:15 But why "ab" and not "weg"? – Takkat Oct 4 '11 at 8:22 +1 for pointing out that "Hau ab" has not to be impolite. For example "Hau ab" is also somthing you could say to a fugitive if the "bad guys" come to get him. – 0x6d64 Oct 4 '11 at 10:55 @Takkat "Hau weg" means something completely different:… – starblue Oct 4 '11 at 12:06 Hau ab, this comes from the verb abhauen, that's a word for "to run away". share\|improve this answer Your Answer	dclm-gs1-105720000
Sign up × I have a set of GPS coords with X,Y and Course. I need to interpolate additional points based on the course of each point. It would be a simple line intersection based on lines drawn using the 2 locations and course. EDIT: Let me clarify .. i have a set of gps logged points, each with lat/long, heading and speed. I need to interpolate an additional point between each known location based on the 2 known points and there headding. Kind of like dead-reconing but after the fact. It'll be a linear interpolation.. here is an image of said problem 1... share\|improve this question @Jan de Jager, what GIS software are you using? – artwork21 Jun 8 '11 at 14:04 here is a similar question:… – Nicklas Avén Jun 8 '11 at 15:33 @artwork21 - no specific GIS software. I'm generating KML data from mass data stored in MongoDB. – Jan de Jager Jun 8 '11 at 17:08 @Nicklas ... uhmmm.. huh? – Jan de Jager Jun 8 '11 at 17:09 I'm looking for an algorithm/formula for this solution... – Jan de Jager Jun 8 '11 at 17:10 2 Answers 2 up vote 3 down vote accepted This can be solved using either the Haversine or Vincenty formula. Please see my answer here: How to create a point along a line given distance share\|improve this answer Have you tried GPSBabel? gpsbabel -i gpx -f track.gpx -x interpolate,time=10 -o gpx -F newtrack.gpx gpsbabel -i gpx -f track.gpx -x interpolate,distance=1k -o gpx -F newtrack.gpx share\|improve this answer Your Answer	dclm-gs1-105730000
How Do You Make Body Boarding Better? Add a Jet Engine Jason Woods wasn't satisfied with the scene at his local lake. The choice between giant, expensive boats and splashing around on the sand, well, sucked. So he made his own fun—a custom, 15 mph, jet-powered aqua board. The handmade craft—dubbed the Kymera—was fourth in line after three prototypes sank to the bottom of the lake. Not an auspicious start. But boy oh boy was the fourth time the charm. The thing looks incredibly fun to pilot—like a mix between a traditional body board and a jet ski—and the exhilaration of being down so close to the rushing water must be phenomenal. Maybe the best part—aside from being a total blast to pilot? It's cheap and light as hell. You can scrape across the water for over two hours on only a buck's worth of fuel, and when the day's over, walk it away, at only ten pounds. Looking at this thing makes it all the more painful to see snow outside my window. [Gizmag]	dclm-gs1-105740000
A peanut butter and jelly burger is totally weird but I'd still eat it Peanut butter and jelly is as perfect a combination as there can be in sandwich form. A hamburger is the most delicious thing you can have between two buns. Is it possible that combining two perfectly delicious food things can actually backfire and be awful? I want to find out by eating this PB & J Burger from Cook… »9/30/15 1:42am9/30/15 1:42am What happens to your body one hour after eating a Big Mac? When you first bite into a Big Mac, it is absolutely glorious. The two patties sandwiching the chewy bread in the middle with the lovely thousand island sauce mixing in with the pickles and lettuce, the taste is iconic. Add in fries and a sip of Coke in between bites and you have reached Fast Food nirvana. But after… »9/21/15 9:52pm9/21/15 9:52pm Shake Shack's newest burger is a surf and turf lobster and beef beauty My, my, my. Shake Shack, unquestionably the best tasting burger chain on the face of planet Earth for people with discernible taste and half working tongues, is upping the decadence in its latest burger by going surf and turf. That is, they’re adding a beautifully buttery layer of lobster to their already perfect… »8/17/15 11:00pm8/17/15 11:00pm This french fry burger taco proves that happiness comes in many forms This is probably an unnecessary use of genius but I won’t deny the awesomeness of turning a taco into a vehicle for hamburgers and fries. That is, the fries become the taco shell that holds the burger food together. The form of a taco is nearly perfect and the taste of a hamburger is unbeatable (it is true vice versa… »7/02/15 8:00pm7/02/15 8:00pm All the unbelievable food porn in this video makes my eyes hungry This video shows different types of food that people in the UK eat and let’s give all glory to the food gods or something because it is unbelievably gorgeous. And here I thought food in the UK was supposed to suck! The close up shots, the quick cuts, the progression of how the food is prepared, it weaves together a… »6/24/15 11:38pm6/24/15 11:38pm This is the biggest burger that McDonald's new menu lets you make Video: Chef makes wonderfully miniature burgers in a super tiny kitchen You wouldn't be wrong to think that a tiny cheeseburger is just a slider but you also wouldn't be all the way right, either. That's because Miniature Space stretches (compacts?) the imagination of what tiny food can be in their tiny kitchen. Here they are grillin' up some burgers that are so tiny, they're probably… »3/25/15 7:05pm3/25/15 7:05pm Black bun fried frog burger looks scary but is probably delicious Fried frogs can look frighteningly like failed science experiments and imagining eating them might conjure gooey liquid slime down your throat but they're actually quite enjoyable to eat. So even though this black bun burger looks like it has disgustingly trapped a gross frog, I'm sure it tastes just fine. »3/07/15 1:19am3/07/15 1:19am A pho burger looks way more delicious than a ramen burger The good people at Foodbeast created a new frankenfood that tops the ramen burger in my eyes (and more importantly to my tastebuds): the pho burger. Made with deep fried rice noodle buns, Vietnamese style cole slaw and a juicy patty, it looks like a fantastic combination of the ingredients of Pho but in burger form. »2/19/15 9:36pm2/19/15 9:36pm Shake Shack's new fried shallots burger looks like crunchy deliciousness Shake Shack, very probably the world's best burger chain, is introducing a new burger to their vaunted lineup: the ShackMeister Burger. It's a 100% all-natural Angus beef cheeseburger that is topped with crispy marinated shallots and their famous ShackSauce. It's like a cheeseburger with fancy onion rings in it. I'm… »12/30/14 10:59pm12/30/14 10:59pm Video: How to make those delicious looking porn burgers Nobody makes a burger look better than pornburger master Matthew Ramsey. Each of his burgers are stunning works of art that you can almost taste and feel the savory meat juice just by looking at them. Here's a video he made with National Geographic that reveals how he makes his creations look so damn good. »11/21/14 7:33pm11/21/14 7:33pm Can fast food restaurants actually make burgers that look like the ads? Most humans have accepted that fast food burgers will never look as good in real life as they do in commercials and advertisements. Those puffed up buns, saliva inducing patties, perfectly melted cheese, wonderfully dressed greens, etc. are all disgustingly limp in real life. But we eat them anyway! But what if you… »6/16/14 8:45pm6/16/14 8:45pm This burger has 17 different types of beef in it I mean, I don't even think I could name 17 different types of beef and yet one delicious, blood thickening burger will have all that in between its buns. Totaling in at over 2,500 calories and costing more than 40 bucks, the Holy Cow burger is basically like sandwiching an entire cow. With that much beef, you can't… »6/10/14 12:40am6/10/14 12:40am I want to eat all these Shake Shack burgers made by world class chefs If you have a tongue equipped with moderately functional taste buds and can put aside regional allegiances, you'd know that Shake Shack is very probably the world's best burger chain. And to celebrate its 10 year anniversary, Shake Shack got the best chefs in the world to create a special burger for them. I'll trade… »6/04/14 12:04am6/04/14 12:04am	dclm-gs1-105750000
Exilim EX-FH20: The Next Casio Slo-Mo Shooting Camera Hits 1000 FPS Back in March we raved about Casio's EX-F1, and it's just six months later and now Casio's got another super-fast frame rate camera for us: the EX-FH20. It's a smaller and lighter beast than its predecessor, but it has 9.1-megapixels, can still shoot ultra-high-speed bursts at 40 fps and high speed movies at "up to… »9/16/08 4:41am9/16/08 4:41am Casio Exilim W63CA 8-Megapixel Super Japanese Camera Phone Hits FCC For Some Reason The super Japanese Exilim W63CA cellphone has hit the FCC, which comes with a flip body and an 8-megapixel camera. Casio's taking the same tactic Sony Ericsson does with their Cyber-shot cellphones and placing a camera brand on a high-end camera phone, hopefully to advance both the phone and the camera brand in the… »8/26/08 2:50pm8/26/08 2:50pm Casio EX-F1 Captures Battlebot Devastation In Super Slow-Mo Mo' Slow-Mo: Objects Breaking (or Not) for the Casio EX-F1 Our friend Robert Woodhead (of slow-mo Mentos-n-Coke fame) has kindly shared another of his Casio Exilim EX-F1 masterpieces, this time water balloons and china slowly shattering (and occasionally not shattering) to the tune of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. They're a mixture of 300, 600 and 1200 frame-per-second shots,… »5/11/08 9:00pm5/11/08 9:00pm Casio Exilim EX-F1 Slow-Mo Super Cam Full Review (Verdict: Totally Unique, Shockingly Powerful) OK, say it: What the hell? What's with all the Casio EX-F1 love? It's because this camera is the most underrated gadget to hit the market in at least a year—the camera fiend's equivalent of a jungle gym, with slow-mo, super slow-mo, high-speed stills, and simultaneous HD video and full-resolution still shooting, to… »4/25/08 11:45am4/25/08 11:45am Casio Announces More Skinny, Probably Mediocre EXILIM Point-and-Shoots Casio just announced some new point-and-shoots in its EXILIM line, including the "world's smallest and thinnest 10-megapixel camera," the EX-S10. Look, I'm as excited as the next guy that you've managed to make a 15-mm-wide camera, but if it takes crappy photos I could really care less how small it is. And with the … »1/06/08 6:00pm1/06/08 6:00pm	dclm-gs1-105760000
Cart 0 creme brulee "would you like dessert?" the waiter asks expectantly. "I am stuffed, no thanks," you say. "I'll have a bite if you want to order something," says your friend on the left. "will you help me if I order the creme brulee?" asks the friend on your right. before you can say no - "I'll bring you three spoons," says the waiter. just as you planned Every Glassybaby gives	dclm-gs1-105770000
Total Pageviews Follow by Email Saturday, September 13, 2014 September 11, 2014 Normally on this day I might find myself posting routine 9/11 "Truth" pieces, re-posting the 9/11 musings of Hunter S Thompson, and possibly dropping a few 9/11 observations of my own, probably by picking a debate with a random skeptic on a Facebook message board. Of course, neither of us will walk away from that debate even remotely considering the arguments of the other, and there is such an enormous amount of 9/11 "Truth" floating around, my contributions would mainly be regurgitation of work already done a thousand times over. Quite pointless, considering I am merely preaching to the choir, and a small choir at that. As we enter the 13th year of the "long, protracted war on terrorism" it feels like a lifetime removed from that crisp early Autumn morning when America was attacked in spectacular fashion on world television. 13 years later, many can look back and visualize the dark clouds which gathered over our society in the weeks and months following the 9/11 event, and some can see the similarities between the new American age of darkness and that shrouding German society in the 1930s, France during the Reign of Terror, or medieval Europe at the height of Catholic Inquisition. 9/11 was an event, much like the shooting of a Serbian Archduke a century ago, which has created a potentially infinite number of repercussions which will continue to play out for years and, perhaps, centuries to come. Once mobilization began, it could not be stopped Sitting here in 2014, we can, if we try, begin to see 9/11 through the lens of history. We can also, with little effort, begin to see a multitude of ramifications of the event and U.S. reaction. Not so surprisingly, the beneficiaries of these events are becoming more apparent as well, raising a few questions. The people of the Middle East have gained nothing aside from death, destruction, famine, pain, fear, and the understanding that being accused of attacking the West is not a good position to be in. The Taliban found itself deposed, being replaced instead by CIA friendly Afghan statists (more than a few of whom appear to be Taliban "turncoats") who conveniently do not share their predecessor's aversion to the mass production of opium. If they didn't hate us before, they do now On the flip side, international oil corporations as well as entities such as the Saudi family who officially disowned Osama Bin Laden (before he conveniently became the villain who turned the oil tide in their favor) have gained a fortune. Due to twists and turns in the War on Terror, heavily used oil sources have been choked off, leading to near monopolization and obvious price gouging of a resource which, in reality, is readily accessible and literally beneath the feet of a substantial percentage of the world's citizens. The oil magnates and their long list of cronies, henchmen, and back-pocket politicians are hardly the sole beneficiaries of the War on Terror, however. We all know the police state, real or perceived, has gained tremendous ground in the aftermath of 9/11, both at home and abroad. After a string of terror events worthy of the greatest comic book supervillians, nations such as Russia, Spain, England, France, India, and many others were placed on wartime footing as they launched campaigns against the vague and shadowy groups accused of attacking them. Here in the U.S., many Americans became convinced that not only did the entire Middle East hate us "because of our freedom", but they were all willing and able to take us out in suicide attacks armed with box cutters, wine openers, and mouthwash bottles larger than two ounces. Americans were in a state of extreme confusion. We were told that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, but many Americans and old G.W. himself had an unspoken understanding that Saddam indeed had everything to do with 9/11. (In fact, aside from a small yet vocal amount of Left Wing activists protesting in a fashionable manner, many Americans felt a strong sense of glee when, a few years later, we paid Saddam back for 9/11 by dropping bombs on impoverished civilians.) We were fed information about duct tape as anthrax (from an Iowa lab) was on display in Washington. We were bombarded by "what if?" scenarios disguised as investigative journalism which introduced us to the possibilities of dastardly attacks using briefcase nukes, smallpox, dirty bombs, suicide bombings, sniping, doomsday viruses, and other such things against which there was no defense. A shadowy enemy which had no home country, no flag, alleged access to huge piles of money and weapons, a hatred of everybody, and an eagerness to commit suicide while perpetrating great atrocities wielding common household items is a very scary proposition. We knew that dropping bombs on Afghanistan was a good place to start, but we demanded complete protection and our government, for once, responded very promptly and very thoroughly. The CIA, a rebuilt and upgraded model of Nazi Germany's intelligence organization, as well as the FBI had failed to protect us and, instead of finding out why and weeding out those responsible, it made perfect sense to create more police agencies. Immediately (a little too immediately in my opinion) the very Orwellian sounding Department of Homeland Security was born. This was a good start, but was not nearly enough to keep us safe from smallpox and box cutters. Sooner than later our police departments were funded and militarized, our mail was x-rayed and radiated, the TSA was making sure no one was keistering nail files or moustache trimmers into the airport, DHS checkpoints ensured no outside food or drink was competing with concession vendors at major sporting events, our emails were being read, GPS was being tracked, our phone calls were being monitored, spy planes, helicopters and satellites were hovering over our neighborhoods, and our youth were marching off to war. To further ensure our safety, any person who wanted to terrorize us (as defined by arbitrary military officials) could be kidnapped, detained indefinitely, and sentenced without legal counsel based upon testimony obtained while being strapped to a board and dunked in water. Nice One Eye symbolism Whether as a result of mass paranoia driving an over inflated bureaucracy or a more nefarious plan to create an expansive control network eventually to be turned on the American people (see Germany, 1929-1945), a massive police state apparatus was built and continues to grow at an ever expansive rate. Needless to say, profit and power have definitely been byproducts gained by major players in the expansion of the police state, primarily at the expense of the American taxpayer and the unfortunate souls who have been wrongfully water boarded due to lack of legal counsel. Again, as with oil profiteers, the police state movement is hardly the only beneficiary of the attacks on September 11, 2001. The wet dream of any self respecting military contractor is a "long protracted war" in which multiple nations can fight on multiple sides in multiple and ever changing theaters against a phantom enemy who never goes away, but rather changes names and allegiances. The sheer amount of food, weapons, vehicles, fuel, entertainment, medical supplies, ammunition, technology, infrastructure, and everything else needed to maintain a perpetual series of conflict and occupation is staggering. Considering that ammunition, supplies, fuel, vehicles, and soldiers are in constant need of restocking, and considering that vehicles, technology, communications systems, and weaponry are in constant need of upgrade one can safely assume there are very many (and very expensive) moving parts to this modern war machine. Add to that the reminder that the American taxpayer is footing the bill for the entire operation, decreasing the likelihood of any conscious efforts to streamline spending while greatly increasing the amount of hands the money must pass through before reaching its intended destination. These are only a few examples of beneficiaries of the events of 9/11/2001. Curiously, the beneficiaries are all on "our side". Things didn't work out so well for Saddam, the Taliban, or the millions of Iraqi and Afghan civilians who were assuredly dancing in the streets the minute the Trade Center dropped. Bin Laden himself was allegedly apprehended, executed, and disposed of in the ocean by a crack special forces team who, sadly, all died in a helicopter crash the next month. Others, as we have seen, have fared much better. The several examples mentioned above begin to reveal what a very large pie the War on Terror has turned out to be for those lucky enough to have a plate and fork. There are pieces of the pie not so readily apparent, and eaters of the pie who remain shrouded in darkness. War is Hell, no doubt about it, and the wings of Satan are expanding every day. Although the above mentioned oil companies, politicians, police state officials, and war profiteers could easily be classified as "organized criminals", more classic elements of organized crime quickly find their way into war zones, profiting largely from smuggling everything from food and weapons to drugs and human slaves, which brings me to my main point. Guarding Democracy	dclm-gs1-105780000
Wireless iPod charger built from scratch [via Make] 20 thoughts on “Wireless iPod charger built from scratch 1. And then you can make a nice mouse pad which has the Tx coil! That would be very cool. I have a horrible little wireless mouse Maybe I will give that a go. Could do some tests to see if it would interfere with the RF. 2. I actually bought a wireless mouse that had such a system. I got it at Fry’s Electronics 2 years ago and it was dirt cheap (something like 20 bucks). I don’t remember the model number but I believe it was sold under the “Inland” noname brand. It worked pretty well as long as your didn’t run off the powered mousepad. 1. I always thought it would be very cool to build a charging station using this technology to power an aeroquad/quadcopter or other RC. What kinda distance can you charge at? Could you wirelessly power an aeroquad? 2. Nice for proof of concept, but as is with all similar projects are, but a long ways from being day to day practical. Need to select a frequency so the required receiver can be made much smaller than they are now. Personally I’d settle for a drop in charging base being made available by the manufacturer for less than a mint. 3. Could just hack the inductive charging system used by all electric rechargeable toothbrushes for the past several years. Somewhere along the line someone in government regulation convinced themselves 2 or 3 volts at a very tiny current on bare contacts was an electrocution hazard and forced the industry of rechargeable teethbrushes (you use em on your teeth, not just one tooth!) to change to induction systems. Did anyone ever die from a rechargeable toothbrush in the 1970’s or 1980’s? 1. The question is that you have open contacts in a device that sits in your bathroom, where, if the transformer of the device is broken, has a flaw or gets water into it, may pass on the line voltage to the socket of your toothbrush. 4. The instructable claims 3Amps at 12V…. Thats 36W to charge a 2.5W (5V @500ma) device, does anyone think this is ridiculous? thats less than 7% efficient. I’ve just completed my University project which was making a wireless charging system, and I was achieving up to 47% efficient. Assuming 3 hours charging a day, thats 36KWH wasted power….. 5. Hi, excellent post. This set me thinking, what if you could have a coil perfectly resonant to say 50 or 60 of the mains supply. All you’d need to do to charge any usb device is place the coil near any mains carrying cable. Free electricity anyone? Am I way of the mark or could it be done? 6. Coreless inductive power transfer is an exercise in seeing how much electricity can be wasted. Adding ferrite cores (or even simple pieces of iron or steel) would allow for a much smaller set of coils and much more efficient power transfer. Leave a Reply WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s	dclm-gs1-105790000
A module to re-export most of the functionality of the diagrams core and standard library. Core library The core definitions of transformations, diagrams, backends, and so on. Standard library Attributes (color, line style, etc.) and styles. General alignment of diagrams. Combining multiple diagrams into one. Linear and cubic bezier segments. Trails and paths. Some additional transformation-related functions, like conjugation of transformations. Convenient definitions and A wide range of things (shapes, transformations, combinators) specific to creating two-dimensional diagrams. Various utility definitions. Convenience re-exports A large list of color names. Monoids show up all over the place, so things from Data.Monoid often come in handy. For computing with vectors. For computing with points and vectors.	dclm-gs1-105800000
Saturday, June 14, 2008 My desk "If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" This question was asked by Albert Einstein. I think I know the answer, which is why my desk is always so cluttered! Louis la Vache said... "Louis's desk only has two piles on it: IN and IN DEEPER. Flag Day in the U.S. The Plaskets in NZ said... Looks familiar zizlon said... One apple a day, takes the doctor away....? Isn't?	dclm-gs1-105810000
6 Dec. 45 It is headed, "The Political Preparation of the Military Occupation of Norway during the War Years 1939-40," and it reads: "As previously mentioned, of all political groupings in Scandinavia only Nasjonal Samling, led in Norway by the former Minister of War and retired major, Vidkun Quisling, deserved serious political attention. This was a fighting political group possessed by the idea of a Greater Germanic community. Naturally all ruling powers were hostile and attempted to prevent by any means its success among the population. The bureau maintained constant relation with Quisling and attentively observed the attacks he conducted with tenacious energy on the middle class, which had been taken in tow by the English. From the beginning it appeared probable that without revolutionary events which would stir the population from their former attitude no successful progress of Nasjonal Samling was to be expected. During the winter 1938-39 Quisling was privately visited by a member of the bureau. When the political situation in Europe came to a head in 1939, Quisling made an appearance at the convention of the Nordic Society in Lübeck in June. He expounded his conception of the situation and his apprehensions concerning Norway. He emphatically drew attention to the geopolitically decisive importance of Norway in the Scandinavian area and to the advantages that would accrue to the power dominating the Norwegian coast in case of a conflict between the Greater German Reich and Great Britain. "Assuming that his statements would be of special interest to the Marshal of the Reich, Göring for aero-strategical reasons, Quisling was referred to State Secretary Körner by the bureau. The Staff Director of the bureau handed the Chief of the Reich Chancellery a memorandum for transmission to the Führer . . . . " In a later part of the document, which I shall read at a later stage of my presentation of the evidence, if I may, the Court will see how Quisling came into contact with Raeder. The Prosecution's submission with regard to this document is that it is another illustration of the close interweaving between the political and the military leadership of the Nazi State, of the close link between the professional soldiers and the professional thugs. The Defendant Raeder, in his report to Admiral Assmann, admitted his collaboration with Rosenberg; and I will invite the Court's attention once more to Document C-66, which is Exhibit GB-81. In the page headed "Weserübung," the second paragraph of the Raeder report reads as follows:	dclm-gs1-105820000
Elvis Costello - "5ive Gears In Reverse" lyrics Five gears in reverse For girls looking at the big lift Somebody send out for the night nurse Please don't stick me on the late shift If you don't know by now Nobody's gonna tell you If you don't know by now The shock will probably kill you But if your patience is corrupted and you still cannot decide You're sitting in the garage contemplating suicide And you have no motivation you can't even catch your breath All of this acceleration is driving you to death Five gears in reverse You think I don't know what I'm doing Another fashionable first Like walking down the road to ruin But if you're safe and sound Don't let me interrupt you And if you're gagged and bound Well how can I corrupt you	dclm-gs1-105830000
Hugin Coding Style Guide Consistent application of a style makes life easier for everybody. You'll find other people's code more readable, and they will find your code more readable. While nobody will tap on your fingers for not following these conventions to the letter, it is highly recommended that you familiarize with them and follow them. History and Status of this Document This document started from a discussion on coding style and consistency. It is currently just a collection of the wisdom and opinion of Hugin contributors and we won't do hard enforcement / policing, but it would be nice if we could all stick to the same convention and make the code more readable and manageable for everyobdy. Naming Conventions Contraction Lists The list is incomplete. Document your code (or the code you are reading and understanding) with doxygen. Doxygen is a useful tool and can also be used to create other documentation that just class interface descriptions. It works by prefixing the function prototypes with a special comment. Pablo usually puts the documentation in the header files. The basic usage is very javadoc like: /** One sentence class description * more detailed description * @todo pet the cat more often * @bug might scratch if annoyed class Cat /** hunt food * @param prey type of animals that we should hunt * @return true if the cat is sated bool HuntFood(Prey prey); Identify Work in Progress Comments and inline-documentation are always welcome, please give them lines of their own and don't append them to existing code: exit(); do_stuff(); //Don't do this File Names Try to keep one class per file, and give the file a meaningful name in CamelCase. Code Layout Spacing and indentation contirbute a lot to the readability of the code. Use them liberally. There are many different indentation styles. 1TBS (like the Linux Kernel) is the preferred one. However it is more important to keep consistency within a file, so if you are editing a file with a different convention, adopt it (or read the clean up section of this style guide). if (1 == 0) { } else { Use spaces instead of tabulators (to maintain consistency across editors). The preferred indentation is four spaces for one tab, but most important is to keep consistency within a single file. I would not go into that much detail. or maybe we should adopt/adapt a strict coding guide like Blender? Line Ends Set your editor to Unix-style line ending (LF) - not Windows' LF+CR. Or if you are on Windows, use the Mercurial EOL extension. To prevent accidentally committing a file with Windows line endings, you can add the following snippet to your global .hgrc or mercurial.ini file: pretxncommit.crlf = python:hgext.win32text.forbidcrlf Character Set Ideally we are striving to use UTF-8, but because Windows has issue dealing with it, the wxWidgets XRC ressources are ISO-8859-1. Multiple Statements on one Line Avoid multiple statements on one line, it makes the code harder to read. Line Width Try to keep line width below 80 characters. It is tempting to clean up old code while fixing bugs or adding new code. Please don't - it makes the committ (diff!) much more difficult to read / understand. Keep style clean up committs separated and mention them as such in the log message. It is important that nobody goes around changing existing code to suit without thinking about it first - We have several branches waiting to be merged, changing the amount of whitespace makes that difficult, and splitting or joining lines of code makes it enormously more so. Work in Progress If something needs work, mark it with a // FIXME or // TODO comment so that a grep will reveal places that needs attention. Gedit automatically highlights TODO and FIXME. For minor changes, feel free to commit directly into the default codeline. For everything else, branch out. Branches are cheap. Strings for Translation Release branches are string-frozen. Strings for translation are updated prior to branching and in principle no new string shall be added to a release branch. An exception may be requested if the underlying motive is important enough. The request must receive the support of a significant majority of developers (coders, builders, translators) to be granted. Silence is interpreted as supportive of the request. API stability Release branches are frozen regarding classes/function/namespace names and functions parameters. An exception may be requested if the underlying motive is important enough. The request must receive the support of a significant majority of developers (coders and scripters) to be granted. Silence is interpreted as supportive of the request. <one line to give the program's name and a brief idea of what it does.> Copyright (C) <year> <name of author> the Free Software Foundation, either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. GNU General Public License for more details. along with this program. If not, see <>. Goto / Case Labels Try to write code that is linear to read and does not jump all over the place too much. Compilation Warnings and Diagnostic Output Try to prevent compiler warnings. Encapsulate diagnostic output in a condition and commit it so that by default there is no diagnostic output. Consider that some CMake output must be clicked away on Windows while it is just an extra line of display in Linux. Return to main page.	dclm-gs1-105840000
Ching Chongs and Tiger Moms: The 'Asian Invasion' in US Higher Education September 27, 2011 by OiYan A. Poon crossposted from Amerasia Journal Personal memoirs by people who are not household names rarely set off fiery debate and conversations the way that Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother ignited them in January 2011. Yet Tiger Mom’s chronicle of her experiences as a second-generation Asian American woman raising mixed-race, third-generation daughters has clearly struck a national nerve. The book has been discussed in major print and broadcast media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, NPR, and the New York Times, just to name a few; Chua has even made an appearance on The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. The hype generated around the book can be explained by two key concepts. First, Battle Hymn converges with the master narrative framing Asians in America as invading foreigners who maintain their peculiar un-American cultures in the US. Second, it concomitantly connects to cultural fears of a non-white population challenging white supremacy vis-à-vis educational attainment, particularly in elite college admissions. As such structural circumstances have in the past, this latest economic downturn has prompted an increase in anxiety and media hype, implicitly asking: How are Asians and Asian Americans “outwhiting the whites” in educational measures and global competition, as Michael Omi and Dana Takagi have put it? In the context of increasing fears and anxieties over the rise of China as an economic superpower, this persistent US recession has compelled the nation to seek answers and scapegoats for the economic malaise. Chua’s book arrives just in time to help decode the mysterious and ancient ways of Chinese childrearing methods, making no distinctions between families in China and those in the diaspora, offering Oriental culture as an explanation for why they outperform white Americans. In this essay, I explore how the success of Chua’s memoir can be explained by how the author positions herself as an informant on the “cultural tradition of [her] ancient ancestors.” By doing so, she takes advantage of white anxieties over China’s challenges to American exceptionalism and white dominance in elite US colleges. Various media artifacts, including examples of conservative punditry, political ads, and most notably a YouTube rant by a former UCLA undergraduate, exemplify these fears. This exploration leads me to conclude with a brief discussion about the role of research in advancing public discourse beyond master narratives of Asian Americans as hypercompetitive foreigners. Tiger Mom Explanations and the “Ching Chong” Asian Invasion In Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua famously proclaimed: A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it’s like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I’ve done it. .... All decent parents want to do what’s best for their children. The Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that. Though she maintains that her book is not a how-to guide on childrearing, this quote from the first chapter frames her memoir as a tell-all and a glimpse into the mystical ways of Chinese families. With these words, Chua claims a role as cultural spokesperson for what she contends to be authentically Chinese child-rearing methods. By marking Chinese ways as diametrically opposed to what she believes are American ways of parenting, Chua buys into longstanding Orientalist master narratives of Asians as incapable of being citizens of the “West.” Since at least the nineteenth century, Asians have settled in the US. However, as the Tiger Mom phenomenon and other recent media events, notably Alexandra Wallace’s anti-Asian YouTube rant, demonstrate, Asians in the US are still viewed as foreigners who do not belong in the West, and whose cultures are contrary to American ways. However, their existence and growing numbers in the US do not reconcile the view that, “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” as Rudyard Kipling lyrically declared in his 1889 poem, “The Ballad of East and West.” So what about members of the Asian Diaspora, who claim home in the so-called West? Along these lines, it may be no coincidence, then, that Penguin Press released Battle Hymn amid a heightened climate of anxiety over China eclipsing the US as a superpower in global politics and economics, exactly one week prior to the state visit of China’s President Hu Jintao to Washington. An example of these fears can be found in conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s remarks in a radio broadcast on January 18, 2011, the day Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Washington. Beck stated, “Everyone should ... pray Obama does a good job schmoozing [Hu Jintao] because we’ll need all the bonus points we can get once China replaces America as the biggest superpower in the world.” Around the same time at the end of 2010, the political action committee Citizens Against Government Waste began airing its “Evil Chinese Professor” television ad on major cable news networks, which depicts a Chinese professor explaining the downfall of the US empire in a Beijing university lecture hall in the year 2030. In the ad, a large mass of Chinese students breaks out into laughter after the professor pronounces into the camera that, because China owns the largest share of US debt, “now [America] works for us.” Tapping into this anxious political climate, Chua presents readers an authoritative view into Chinese parenting methods that can be consumed as a possible explanation for the rapid rise of China in global competition, by positioning herself as a cultural spokesperson. While selling the image of the ultra-competitive, overachieving Asian, she frames Asians and Asian Americans as one and the same, with cultural practices that are foreign, alien, and diametrically opposed to those of “Westerners” or “real” Americans. For example, Chua even goes so far as to play off of the stereotype of Asians as dog eaters, stating: I’m guessing that most Chinese immigrant families in the United States don’t have pets. ... Chinese people have a different attitude toward animals, especially dogs. Whereas in the West dogs have long been considered loyal companions, in China they’re on the menu. ... It feels like an ethnic slur, but unfortunately it’s true. Fears and anxieties of invading Asians threatening white dominance are also demonstrated by Alexandra Wallace’s YouTube video in her honest perceptions of her Asian American classmates at UCLA: The problem is these hordes of Asian people that UCLA accepts into our school every single year, which is fine. But if you’re going to come to UCLA then use American manners. ... In America we do not talk on our cell phones in the library ... I’ll be in like deep into my studying ... and then all of a sudden when I’m about to like reach an epiphany, over here from somewhere, “Ohhh Ching Chong Ling Long Ting Tong, Ohhhhh.” Even though the great majority of Asian students at UCLA are either 1.5 or second-generation Asian Americans overwhelmingly from California, Wallace views them as an un-American and monolithic horde. Wallace’s racial anxieties and xenophobic attitudes toward Asian American undergraduates at UCLA are similar to those driving Chua’s book sales. Albeit they come from different backgrounds and perspectives, Amy Chua and Alexandra Wallace actually share strikingly similar Orientalist views of Asian Americans as invading foreigners who are outcompeting whites in elite US universities and in the global marketplace. However, some have lauded Chua for “raising [issues of culture, parenting, and educational achievement] with a thoughtful, humorous and authentic voice,” while Wallace’s open display of her perspective has been publicly admonished. Unlike Tiger Mom, Wallace has yet to learn how to couch her opinions with more palatable terminology. Finally Going Beyond the Model Minority? Although the Tiger Mom and Alexandra Wallace cultural spectacles demonstrate public interest in Asian Americans and educational attainment, extant research literature on the topic remains limited. For more than two decades, scholars have lamented the lack of research on Asian American educational attainment. Since at least 1977, they have, in response, produced a significant amount of literature with the primary objective of pointing out the inaccuracies and injustices of framing Asian Americans as a super-achieving minority group, the so-called model minority. As a result, there is an amassed body of research describing what Asian Americans are not in the context of educational attainment that largely neglects who they are, as well as what, why, and how they go through education systems. The current Tiger Mom moment provides scholars with a critical opportunity to advance the field of research on Asian Americans in education. Amy Chua and Alexandra Wallace remind education scholars that there is a lot of work to be done to fill the empirical knowledge gap about Asian American educational experiences. Rather than maintaining a primary agenda of countering the hegemonic framework of the model minority, which has already been extensively explicated in the last few decades, scholars should begin a new phase of research and ground their work in the voices and experiences of Asian American youth and families. The perspectives and the indigenous knowledge of Asian American communities, families, and youth are lost in the construction of heavily quantitative proofs focused on empirically refuting the model minority myth. While I do not argue that projects to disprove the model minority concept are unnecessary, I do contend that these kinds of projects should not remain the central focus of the Asian American education research agenda. I conclude here with three suggestions for future research, with a sociology of education lens in mind. Studies can focus on any number of questions that these incidences conjure up. For example, scholars interested in immigrant communities can study how immigrant Asian American child-rearing practices and investments might be tied to processes of immigrant adaptation, as sociologists like Min Zhou and Susan Kim have. Another prime area for research relevant to immigrant parental investments in education is the topic of college choice and access. For instance, Robert Teranishi, et al. have already provided important statistical evidence of differences between ethnic groups and socioeconomic class in access to post-secondary schooling. Qualitative research in this area should consider incorporating theories of social capital, habitus, class structures, and immigrant adaptation. Moreover, future research on immigrant Asian American parental behaviors related to the educational attainment of the second generation should include or focus on the perspectives of immigrant Asian American parents. Vivian Louie, to cite one example, has speculated that there might be significant differences between parental motivations and second generation perceptions of their parents’ actions and values. Finally, more scholars should better integrate their scholarly work with ongoing discourses on education access and equity. It is important to articulate diverse Asian American interests in federal, state, and local education policy reform debates. In conclusion, Tiger Mom’s notoriety can be explained by the pervasive and persistent master narratives of invading Asian hordes, which seem to be threatening to supplant US and white dominance in global and domestic competition. As if to answer the search to explain the “hordes” of Asian Americans attending elite US colleges and universities and how China is so quickly gaining as a global economic superpower, Amy Chua arrives on the scene presenting herself as a cultural interpreter allowing the “West” a glimpse into an Oriental household. The current state of research on Asian American educational attainment unfortunately limits, to some degree, the effectiveness of efforts to interrupt the reproduction of the model minority and perpetual foreigner master narratives. As long as the central focus of Asian American education scholarship is on what Asian Americans are not, Asian American subjectivities can continue to be pushed to the margins of dialogue. The post-Tiger Mom era presents scholars interested in education research an imperative to advance research that centers Asian American experiences to illuminate and contribute new insights toward the field of education equity research. By focusing on who Asian Americans are rather than on who they are not, education research scholars can educate, inform, and disrupt master narratives in the public * * OiYan A. Poon is currently a research associate at the UMass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies, and will be the 2011-2012 visiting research fellow at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Her research interests include public policy and social contexts of college access, youth and community-based policy research methods, and social demography and GIS spatial analysis methods. from "Battle Hymn of the Model Minority Myth" by Mitchell Chang published in full at Amerasia Journal ... Yale Law Professor Amy Chua retold this model minority myth, which has attracted astonishing media attention and inspired numerous related stories. My discussion will focus mainly on the educational propositions that emerged from this unexpected media circus, particularly what was said concerning higher education since the model minority myth has had an extraordinarily strong grip within this context. I will also focus my discussion on a short five-month period between January to May 2011, during which a number of unusual activities rejuvenated this myth and placed it more prominently in national discourse. * * * Introduction to this Across the Desk series in collaboration with Amerasia, here.	dclm-gs1-105850000
KISS Branded Spicy Meat Buns Look Like Rocks, Taste Like Rolls KISS your buns? With pleasure but for a limited time only, and it'll cost you 100 yen each time. We're talking about the KISS Super-Spicy Chili Tomatoman meat buns on sale at Japan's Circle K Sunkus convenience stores of course, a tasteful promotion seeking to boost awareness of Gene Simmons and the band's upcoming Japanese tour. The buns are delivered cold to each individual Circle K Sunkus location and are then heated to serving temperature in an in-store steamer. Peel back the collectible black-on-white wrapper featuring the made-up faces of each band member and you'll find a gray flattened spheroid branded with a small KISS logo. The bun's not moldy; its rock-like look is purely intentional and is achieved through the use of Bamboo Charcoal in the pastry mix. It's not near as black as Burger King Japan's Premium KURO Burger so it's got that going for it, which is nice. It gets better... lurking in the center of the bun is a fiery red tomato-meat mixture which, combined with the stone-simulating bun, evokes scenes of molten lava oozing down the slopes of Vesuvius, Kilauea, or Japan's own Sakurajima. The molten lava impression gets much, MUCH stronger once purchasers bite into that fiery red center: punching up the potent tomato and beef flavor is a hefty dose of habanero pepper and not just ANY old habanero pepper either. According to the info on the display case, KISS Super-Spicy Chili Tomatoman meat buns contain “the habanero chili pepper which once held the Guinness World Record for hottest chili.” Not that real KISS fans will mind – breathing fire and spitting blood are all part & parcel of the KISS experience. (via Rocketnews24)	dclm-gs1-105860000
Some of our more popular articles include: AbleGamers Launches Consultation Lab To Help Disabled Gamers The fine folks over at the AbleGamers Foundation - an organization devoted to improving the lives of the disabled through video games - yesterday announced the opening of their first game lab, geared specifically towards gamers with special needs. Just How Reliant ARE We On Modern Tech? It recently occurred to me just how reliant we are on the technologies with which we operate our society; few more so than the Internet. Today, I want to try something entirely different. Today, I want you all to imagine what life would be like if it were to simply...stop. Always Online May Be The Future, But That Future Hasn't Arrived Yet It's a familiar routine for gamers: a developer announces a title or peripheral that requires an Internet connection to function. Gamers react with ire. They backpedal without understanding what they've done wrong - online is the future, isn't it? Yes. It is. But that future hasn't arrived yet. Capcom's Deep Down To Feature Procedural Generation At Sony's Tokyo Game Show conference, Capcom released a demo for its upcoming PS4 RPG Deep Down, announcing that the title will feature procedural generation of maps, monsters, and weapons. In other words. the vast majority of the game will be completely randomized. Not bad, eh? Video Games Shown To Improve Brainpower In Older Players We already know that games can be used to treat a wide array of illnesses and afflictions, but as it turns out, they can help healthy individuals, as well. A growing body of evidence suggests that games - if designed carefully - can actually dramatically boost brainpower, particularly in older individuals. Microsoft Will Enable Digital Game Trading In The Future When Microsoft backpedaled on the Xbox One's 24-hour authentication, it also removed one of its most promising features: digital games trading. Turns out, that decision wasn't permanent: Microsoft's Albert Penello today announced the studio will bring the feature back "when the time is right." Drug Detox Center For Internet Addicts Gives Rise To Small Business Start-up? Remember that ole Amy Winehouse refrain: "they tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no!"? While there's drug detox centers for those addicted to drugs, do centers for Internet addiction exist? The answer is yes, and they've been around for a while. In my 2009 post, "Internet Rehab For NetAddicts" post, I researched one such center located in SE Fall City, Washington that followed the same principles as drug rehab centers. What We Can Learn From New Zealand's Ban On Software Patents Last week. New Zealand passed a law that prohibits patents on computer software. This will, it hopes, foster innovation and competition (and kill the efforts of a whole gallery of patent trolls). Seems to me that we can learn a thing or two from this move. Nine Awesome Old School Party Games	dclm-gs1-105870000
International Space Station Could be Left Empty by November For personal reasons, I had to miss yesterday's NASA press conference, which gave an update on International Space Station operations following the failure and crash of a Progress resupply vehicle last week. When I returned home and saw the headlines about the briefing from other news sites, I thought, "Wow, everyone is really overreacting about how this might affect the space station." But then I watched a replay of the briefing and realized no news site was being overly melodramatic. NASA's Space Station Manager Mike Suffredini laid out a fairly bleak picture of how quickly the ISS will have to be de-crewed if the anomaly with the Soyuz-family of rockets isn't figured out soon. The problem is not logistics or supplies — it all hinges on the Soyuz capsules themselves, and their limited lifespan. If the anomaly is not figured out soon and the Soyuz rockets aren't flying by mid-November, the space station will have to be de-crewed and be operated unmanned, remotely from the ground. "If we don't have the Soyuz flying by mid-November, then we would have to de-man the ISS at that time," Suffredini said. "We are focusing on keeping the crew safe. The next focus is trying to keep the ISS manned. If it takes us a while to resolve the anomaly and we have to de-man the ISS, we certainly have a safe way to do that. But we will try to avoid that if we can, because we would like to continue operations." Suffredini said the focus of the entire program, and in particular the focus of the Russian space agency, is to determine the cause of the anomaly and to resolve it and then get back to flying safely. The first post-shuttle era launch of a Progress cargo ship abruptly ended at about six minutes into the flight on August 24, when an engine anomaly prompted a computer to shut down an engine, just before the third stage of the Soyuz rocket ignited. The rocket and ship crashed to Earth in eastern Russia, in a heavily wooded, mountainous, sparsely populated area in the Choisk region of the Republic of Altai. "They believe it broke apart and they would like to find it, but as of this morning they had not located anything yet," Suffredini. International Space Station Could be Left Empty by November Suffredini said they now plan to keep the three Exp. 28 crewmembers on board until mid-September or perhaps another week or so, but they can't really go beyond that. The opportunities for landing during the daylight (required for safety reasons) in Kazakhstan end around September 19, and do not become available again until around October 26. But by that time, however, the crew's Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft will have been in orbit about 10 days beyond its certified 200-day limit. "In general, we will probably end up bringing the crew home in the middle of September, to not endanger the crew getting home safely," Suffredini said. He added later that they have talked about the possibility of recertifying the Soyuz to study whether it could last longer, but that would require a lot of work. "The general theory is when you've already been handed one significant challenge you shouldn't try to do another," he said. The first of those threesomes can't stay on orbit much longer than November 16, again because of daylight issues at landing and it's not until the end of December when the daylight landing times align, which again, pushes the limit on the Soyuz lifespan. So if the anomaly isn't figured out by mid-November, the station will become uncrewed. Suffredini said having an unmanned ISS isn't really a problem logistically: They would configure the station that all systems were running redundantly, such as cooling and heating, and they would isolate each module by closing all hatches. "Assuming no significant anamolies, which would be two system failures in a redundant system, we can operate indefinitely," Suffredini said. He added that, of course, they prefer not to operate without crew for an extended time, mostly because of the loss of science opportunities. But they can do things like avoidance maneuvers or reboosts remotely from the ground. "Right now we are focusing on flying the space station safely," he said. "I haven't worried about the PR associated with it. For us, given this, what we see is an anomaly of a vehicle that maybe - if you think about it – was sort of a gift, to tell us about a potential problem without putting humans on a similar vehicle. This is a great opportunity to learn about an anomaly and resolve it without putting a crew at risk. Flying safely is much more important than anything else I can think about right at this instant." "I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to discuss any political implications," Suffredini continued, "if we spend a lot of time on the ground, but we'll have to deal with them because we're going to do what is right for the crew and the space station. It is a very big investment for our government and our job is to be good stewards to protect that investment. My goal is to get flying safely and get on with research and protect the crew and that investment along the way." Stay tuned. This post by Nancy Atkinson originally appeared over at Universe Today.	dclm-gs1-105890000
Infiniti IPL G Coupe: 348 HP Japanese Luxotourer The much-rumored Infiniti Performance Line launched today with the Infiniti IPL G Coupe, a slightly more aggressive version of the standard G37S with a tweaked 348 hp V6 and "lets go racing" look. But will it please the Infiniti enthusiast? Our dreams of a twin-turbocharged AMG-slaying Infiniti were for naught, as Infiniti seems interested in upping its fun quotiant by just a few degrees. It'll feel faster, thanks to a new dual exhaust replacing the old Y-pipe and a tweaked engine management system designed to let the horsepower top out at 7,400 rpm. As for being any faster, the moderate power boost (16 hp and 6 lb-ft) isn't going to send anyone to the 'Ring breaking records, but this doesn't seem to be the goal. Anyone who complains about this not being an M3 is missing the point almost as much as someone saying it is. With a close-ratio 6-speed manual with a short-throw shifter and a "sport-tuned suspension" this may finally unshackle what is a competent but restrained luxury coupe. The G37S coupe is a fine car, but it's lacked an aggressive character you can find in its competitors. Performance specs to come, but the real challenge will be if it feels right.	dclm-gs1-105910000
Not wanting to be left out of the factory spec drag racing game by Ford's Cobrajet and Dodge's Challenger Drag Pack, Chevrolet debuted their own strip terrorizer—The COPO Camaro concept— at last month's SEMA show. COPO stands for Central Office Production Order which was the loophole that allowed select Chevy dealers to order amazing combinations of high performance engines and intermediate or compact cars during the heyday of the muscle car. These days the COPO name graces Chevrolet's version of the factory drag racer. While it remains at the concept stage currently, it's very likely Chevy will put the car into production. Besides offering everything you need to go racing two engines will likely be available—a 7.9 liter N/A 427ci V8 and a 5.3 liter supercharged 327ci V8. Although there hasn't been an official announcement from Chevrolet yet, we know from a rough video shot by the COPO in supercharged 5.3 liter form was good for a best time of 9.69 at 140 MPH. Although times for the 427ci V8 aren't currently available we imagine it will also be quite a track beast, if it makes it past the concept stage of course. At least for now, watching the car tear up the track in this teaser of the concept straight from Chevy is as good as it gets.	dclm-gs1-105930000
Tue \| Oct 6, 2015 Puerto Rico rum distillery sues Diageo Published:Sunday \| October 7, 2012 In this Friday, September 7, 2012 file photo, a variety of Puerto Rican rums sit at a bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Rum distillery Serralles is suing Diageo for US$5m, claiming breach of agreement. - AP The rum war between Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands is far from over. Puerto Rican distiller Serralles filed a federal lawsuit last Wednesday against Diageo North America, a subsidiary of the world's largest distiller, claiming more than US$5 million in damages. Serralles accused Diageo of violating an agreement after the company moved production of Captain Morgan rum from Puerto Rico to the USVI in 2008. Serralles said Diageo had promised to buy from the company one million additional gallons of rum to sell exclusively in the US in a move to protect against possible shortfalls at its plant in the US Virgin Islands. Serralles accused Diageo of not paying for or accepting the remaining 900,830 gallons originally sought. Serralles also accused Diageo of planning to sell the rum produced in Puerto Rico to Europe, instead of the US, which would allow Puerto Rico to receive thousands of dollars in additional revenue. Under a federal law, almost all of the money generated by rum goes to the treasuries of Puerto Rico and the USVI, which in turn share a portion of those revenues with producers as an incentive to do business in the territories. Diageo's response Diageo last Thursday issued a statement to The Associated Press saying the company has honoured all agreements with Serralles and that it properly exited from the supply contract in Puerto Rico. "Any assertions to the contrary are baseless," the company said. "Once all relevant facts are disclosed, it will be clear that this case is without merit and Diageo acted appropriately." Serralles is seeking a trial by jury and asked that Diageo be ordered to buy the remaining gallons of rum and sell it exclusively in the US. - AP	dclm-gs1-105940000
The Destruction of the Memory of Jewish Presence in Eastern Europe; A Case Study: Former Yugoslavia , November 16, 2008 • The memory of the large pre-war Jewish presence in Eastern Europe is increasingly being destroyed. Part of this process is intentional; part is because of neglect of Jewish sites, monuments, and memorials. • The successor states of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia provide a good case study of many aspects of the process of memory destruction. This federation’s breakup over the past two decades has accelerated processes that are slower elsewhere. This concerns both attempts to change the collective memory of citizens, as well as the physical degradation of Jewish sites, monuments, and memorials. • All successor states are rewriting their histories. The memory of the Holocaust is thus also fragmented according to the national context. In the history of humanity the Holocaust is an unprecedented mega-event. This larger understanding, however, gets lost in societies where no historical research has been undertaken since the Second World War. • Collective memory will change further. Yet monuments and memorials stand while societies change. It is important that the physical Jewish infrastructure is not further degraded and that memorial sites in Jewish locations are well kept. The memorials make local people remember what happened to the Jews. For many, the existence of a Jewish memorial does not allow them to forget the crimes of the past. Destroying Memory Ivan Ceresnjes was the head of the Jewish community of Bosnia- Herzegovina and a vice-chairman of the Yugoslav Federation of Jewish Communities until his emigration to Israel in 1996. At the Hebrew University’s Center for Jewish Art, established in 1979, he documents Jewish infrastructure such as synagogues, ritual buildings, and cemeteries in Eastern Europe. He also maps Holocaust memorials and monuments. Ceresnjes furthermore assists the U.S. Congressional Commission for Protecting and Preserving American Property Abroad. Despite its name, this commission was created in 1985 for the survey and research of Jewish cemeteries, monuments, and memorials. Almost its entire emphasis is on Eastern Europe, because it is mainly there that this infrastructure is rapidly disappearing. Ceresnjes remarks: “When people in Eastern Europe see or hear the words ‘American property’ it has a magic effect on them. Often when one tells that one is Jewish and has come to research the documentation of Jewish monuments, tombstones, and memorials, the reception is unfriendly. However, if you say that you are coming on behalf of the American government you are much better received.” The Role of Collective Memory Ceresnjes reflects on the role of collective memory in society: “The upsurge of nationalism in Eastern Europe has led to an ideology of memory. In its most extreme form, nationalist ideologues consider that the main role of each generation is to transmit the memories of the previous one to the next. “This ideological position claims that nations mainly exist to remember their past. In its extreme version the state, society, and economy are largely tools for promoting national memory. Economic growth frees people to spend their time on the recovery of memory. These ideologues say that societies should be dominated by memory-related activities. “One does not even have to go that far. There is, for instance, the more moderate position that the recovery of memory in Eastern Europe was the essence of national liberation. Indeed, one of Stalin’s major crimes was his destruction of national memories.” Ceresnjes comments: “However, focusing exclusively on changing collective memory without linking it to moral judgment remains highly problematic. In this context, attitudes in various countries toward Holocaust memorials need to be assessed. The case of Yugoslavia’s successor states illustrates this in many ways.” Politically Correct Memorializing “Many Europeans collaborated with the Germans. Croatia, for instance, had a murderous nationalist government of Nazi puppets. In most areas of Yugoslavia, members of several specific groups of people were murdered at the same time. It was rare to find a location where only Serbs, only Jews, only Gypsies, or only Croats were killed. Usually it was an ethnic mixture of people that might also have included-according to the local population configuration-Muslims, other enemies of Nazism, as well as fascists. “After the Holocaust a new form of Jewish memorializing slowly emerged. It took place exclusively within the family at home. The next step was that memorials and monuments were gradually erected in places owned and used by Jews, such as synagogues and Jewish cemeteries. The latter were the more important since very few functioning synagogues remained in Yugoslavia. Putting up a memorial plaque was even considered a kind of protest against the communists because the Soviet Union usually didn’t allow it. One would gradually find more memorial plaques or specific monuments, which mainly gave the numbers of Jews killed and listed their names. “Very slowly in the early 1950s, specific monuments for Jews started to appear in public places as well as memorial plaques on institutions, not specifically connected to Jews. Thus, Jews were given a place in national history. Memorializing in East European countries is closely connected to nationalism, which had been strongly suppressed under communist rule. The Soviet Union under Stalin had even annihilated a number of nations. Broadly speaking, however, Holocaust memorials were found only in very few places where the Soviet Union and communism ruled.”[1] Fragmentation of Holocaust Memory “After the demise of communism, the outburst of suppressed nationalism destroyed the Federation of Yugoslavia. Seven independent countries have emerged, each of which rewrites its history. In Bosnia-Herzegovina the situation is even more complex. It is officially one country, but is inhabited by three nations-Muslims, Serbs, and Croats-who are writing their parallel histories that differ from each other in many ways. In this process, each one changes the names of streets and institutions, thus planting the seeds for a new collective memory. “Nations also manipulate the count of victims. The numbers given for people brutally murdered at Jasenovac, a major Croatian concentration camp on the border of that country and Bosnia, vary from 50,000 to 1,200,000, with the most reliable estimate apparently being about 500,000.” Unattended Sites “Germany is the one country where a large part of the remnants of the Jewish past is relatively well taken care of. On Kristallnacht, 9-10 November 1938, many synagogues were burned, which was part of the erasure of Jewish presence and memory. Over the past fifteen years we have documented over one thousand rural Jewish synagogues and several thousand Jewish cemeteries in Germany. The overwhelming majority of these are well maintained by the local municipalities. “In Eastern Europe two major factors are at work regarding Jewish memorials. The first is that usually no specific monuments to murdered Jews were established. The second is that memorial sites where Jews were murdered are being destroyed or disappearing. “Sometimes in Serbia, for instance, the names of Jews are maintained next to those of Serbs, while those of victims of all other nationalities are deleted. Furthermore, often monuments throughout Yugoslavia that were damaged during the wars of the 1990s are not being repaired because of a lack of consensus on what should be memorialized on them. Understanding the developments and the current situation requires discussing individual countries.” “Before the Second World War there was a strong Jewish community in Serbia. It numbered thirty thousand, of whom six thousand survived. Jews also have an important place in Serbian history. Like the Serbs they were oppressed by the Ottomans. Jews started getting civil rights in the Serbian kingdom, which were only fully granted before the First World War. These were maintained in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was established in 1919. “During the Second World War, Serbia was a puppet state ruled nominally by collaborating Serbs but, in actuality, by Germans. Serbs, except in some extreme cases, did not themselves kill Jews. In northern Serbia many local Jews were murdered by Germans and Hungarians. In February 1942 in Novi Sad the Hungarian occupiers gathered Jews and some Serbs, brought them to the middle of the frozen Danube where they had dug a hole in the ice, and killed four thousand people. Elsewhere Serbs gathered Jews and handed them over to the Germans, a crime that is suppressed and forgotten in Serbian history. “In the Jewish cemetery in Belgrade there is a monument to the Jewish soldiers who fell in the First World War. In almost every Jewish cemetery the dead of that war are remembered. As far as the two Balkan wars are concerned, there is only one monument in Serbia that explicitly mentions the Jews. It is in a public space by the town of Nish near the country’s eastern border. It commemorates those who died in the battles against the Bulgarians in the 1913 Second Balkan war. Three sides of the monument have plaques with Serbian names; the fourth has Jewish names. At its bottom is written: ‘They fought and died for the homeland.’ “In Nish, about a thousand Jews were butchered to death during the Second World War; only one member of the community survived. The Jewish cemetery in the town dates back to the seventeenth century, but it has been destroyed because Gypsies have settled on it in recent decades. There are other towns in former Yugoslavia where Gypsies have set up their villages on Jewish cemeteries because they know nobody will come to reclaim them. Among these are Djurdjevac in Croatia, Zabalj in Serbia, and Dojran in Macedonia. “On Serbian monuments to the fallen in the Second World War, Serbs and Jews are presented in various ways such as victims of ‘Nazism, Croatian Nazism, European Nazism, German Nazism, Hungarian Nazism,’ and so on. When the Serbian nationalist movement began at the end of the 1980s, a new Serbian-Jewish Friendship Society was created that erected some war memorials. It was quite strong during the 1990s but by now has few members left.” Jews Are Again Guilty “For the Jewish community of former Yugoslavia, inter-ethnic ties of this kind were generally attempts to manipulate and misuse Jews in wider ethnic conflicts in a country that was collapsing and disintegrating. In Croatia there is a Croatian-Jewish society that supported the Croatian fight against Serbian domination. I consider it a major success that in Bosnia-Herzegovina the Jewish community managed not to be dragged into supporting one side or the other. “Since Serbia lost the recent wars, its history had to be twisted and hence its collective memory as well. Somebody had to be blamed for the loss of Serbian supremacy in Yugoslavia, the defeat in the recent wars, and the outcome of the Kosovo crisis when Serbia was aerially bombarded by the Western powers. These were Serbia’s former allies in the fight against Germany during the Second World War. “One then started to hear in some circles that the Jews had played a major role in Serbia’s defeat. Henry Kissinger was a famous American name in Serbia, though he has been out of government for a long time. In the Clinton administration, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, and Defense Secretary William Cohen were all perceived as Jews. Thus, in several Serbian blogs and internet forums one could read that Jews created the crisis in Serbia, organized its bombardment, and were responsible for its defeat.” “During the Second World War most of what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina belonged to the Croatian puppet state. The exception was part of Herzegovina, which was governed by the Italians until 1943, after which it passed under direct German rule. “Before the war there were 28,000 Jews in the country, 3,000 of whom survived. Most Jews lived in Sarajevo; all other communities were small. The main war monuments in Sarajevo were built by the communist government. The Jews built one on the grounds of their huge sixteenth-century Sephardic cemetery there. In the war of the mid-1990s, both Bosnian Serbs and Muslims engaged in the battle for Sarajevo trained their artillery on the monument. “In Travnik, one of the smaller Bosnian communities, a monument to the murdered Jews was created by putting the three oldest tombstones together and making them into a Holocaust memorial in the Jewish cemetery. The head of the Jewish community did not participate in this project, but gave his approval. “In Banja Luka, the Jewish cemetery was erased to make room for a tennis court. In the general cemetery there is now a small Jewish compound where there is a monument to those Jews who fought in the Second World War as well as those who died in the Holocaust. “In Mostar, there is a memorial cemetery for partisans who fought against the Germans. In the town’s Jewish cemetery there is a modest monument to the Jewish partisans only. There, also a few years ago, the small Jewish community of Mostar erected a monument memorializing the victims of the Holocaust. “The town of Donji Vakuf is now in the Muslim part of Bosnia. When the original war memorial was built in 1965 it contained the names of the victims of all nationalities. Now it is one of those memorials where only Muslim names remain. “Sometimes one finds people who go out of their way to preserve Jewish memory. In the town of Brcko on the Sava River in northern Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Jewish cemetery has been destroyed as part of the town’s urbanization plan. The Orthodox parish priest requested my permission and rescued four tombstones there that he turned into a Holocaust memorial, which is now located in the Bosnian-Serb cemetery.” “In Sarajevo, the Jewish community was forced to donate the largest synagogue to the city in 1965. Later it was turned into a cultural center. There a stone menorah (candelabrum) was set up, which indicates that this building had earlier been the town’s largest synagogue. “The major Second World War memorial in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo is in a dilapidated state. Fourteen thousand people murdered in the war are memorialized there. There is an inner section that recalls the Jewish victims specifically, with over seven thousand names. This memorializing of the Jews in the general section, even though there is also a special section for them, is unique in the world. “The memorial was severely damaged in the war of the mid-1990s as it is adjacent to a fortress. Many letters fell off the memorial because of explosions and, after the war, almost all of them disappeared. In its Holocaust sections only a few stone letters remain from the names of the local Jews who were murdered. If one visits there today and doesn’t know what was there originally, one will not recognize that it was a specific monument to the Holocaust. The removed letters are sometimes affixed to crosses, which is an ultimate insult. It shows that the Jewish past is not part of the collective memory. “The monument is likely to be rebuilt and the Bosnian government is applying for funding internationally. I’m concerned that there will be additions relating to the war of the 1990s and also, insofar as the Second World War is concerned, new political choices about who were the perpetrators and who the victims. “In the Croatian part of Bosnia-Herzegovina there is only one partisan memorial that also mentions Jews. That area was overwhelmingly pro-Nazi during the war when it belonged to Croatia. Hardly any partisans there were memorialized after the war. Since the fall of communism, these partisans have been seen as enemies because they were communists who killed priests, monks, and other Croats. “There are about twenty small sites that were either concentration and extermination camps or prisons scattered all over Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia. In none of these are the Jewish victims mentioned specifically. A typical example is a ‘small’ extermination camp, Kruscica, near Travnik in Bosnia. There three thousand people were killed by the local residents during the two months of its functioning, among them one thousand Jews. The Italian occupation army was located only twenty kilometers from there and, after they complained about the cruelties, the camp was closed. “Two entire Jewish communities were murdered there yet Jews are not referred to on the Kruscica monument, which only mentions the Serbian and ‘communist’ victims. The latter usually refers to Muslims. Those now living near the site are the children or grandchildren of the murderers.” Changing Collective Memory Ceresnjes explains that the Bosnian Muslim authorities want to find a new place for their country in history. “They are creating monuments that are connected solely to Islam. They aim to have the outside world recognize that Bosnia is a purely Islamic region of Europe. One example concerns the ancient market area of the country’s capital, Sarajevo. It was burned down after the Second World War by the communist authorities, despite the fact that it had major artistic and historic value. “For the communists this past had to make place for an area that was indicative of the bright-red-painted future their rule would bring. Twenty-five to thirty years ago the old market area was restored. It is now a center for kitsch where souvenirs and cheap merchandise are sold. “When I was chairman of the Bosnian Jewish community I claimed that there were Jewish buildings and sites from our five-hundred-year-old history that met the highest criteria of UNESCO’s World Heritage List. When I applied for their restoration, the then Bosnian authorities told me that the market complex of Sarajevo had their highest priority. “The Old Sephardic synagogue of Sarajevo dates from 1567 and was in use until 1941. By then it was the oldest synagogue in the Balkans as all others had either been rebuilt, redone, or destroyed. It took us twenty years to convert it from an empty ruin to the Jewish museum that it now houses. “In Bosnia a clash of collective memories takes place. Muslim collective memory is different from that of Christians and Jews. History, however, is very different from memory. Until 1991, Bosnia was perhaps the most ethnically mixed society in Europe. Thus not only the telling of history but also collective memory should reflect that fact, even if Bosnian society is now sharply divided along ethnic lines.” “Before the war there were twenty-eight thousand Jews in Croatia of whom four thousand survived. Today very few Jews remain in Croatia, most of them living in Zagreb. There are also three small communities on the coast in Split, Dubrovnik, and Rijeka. “The situation in Croatia is very different from that in many other parts of former Yugoslavia. The Croatians are very well aware that Jasenovac, because of the brutality of the killing, is among the notorious concentration camps of the Second World War. Franjo Tudjman, the first Croatian president after the country broke away from Yugoslavia, falsified history. Against the overstated claim of the Serbs that in Jasenovac 1,200,000 were murdered, he strongly understated the number of victims as 20-50,000. He then claimed that only a few thousand of them were Jews and accused them of having been kapos and responsible for the killings there. “Tudjman even published this in a book, leading to an outcry among international Jewish organizations. Tudjman then dropped the chapter where it was mentioned, also because he wanted to established relations with Israel. “In the Serbo-Croatian war of the 1990s the Jewish community of Croatia decided to be politically correct. They issued a number of strong statements against Serbian attacks and the occupation of part of Croatia. Hence, during that war they had an honorable place in Croatian society. “After it ended the Jews raised the issue of restitution for Jewish assets that had been stolen by Croats during the Second World War. The authorities discreetly warned the Jewish community that they should not make too much noise. If the Jews were to regain factories and other properties, it might lead to many Croats losing their jobs as the new owners could then choose who would work for them. Restitution with support from the outside might spark a reaction in Croatia that could endanger the remaining Jews.” Telling History “Nowadays history is told more or less correctly in Croatia. Monuments commemorating the Holocaust were not destroyed during the war with Serbia. This, however, is mainly because there were so few to begin with. In Jasenovac in the early 1970s, a monument was built to the victims and it mentioned the Jews as well. It listed Serbs, Jews, Gypsies, Croats, and communists, but only in general as victims of fascism. There were no names and no numbers. “The word Holocaust has been mentioned there only in the last few years, after the memorial was repaired because of extensive damages it suffered during the war in 1992-1995. The whole concept was then altered and now only numbers are on display, without names and nationalities of the victims. There is no separate memorial for the Jews. The most accurate estimate of Jews murdered in Jasenovac is in the area of twenty-five thousand. “In recent years Holocaust monuments have been regularly vandalized and covered with graffiti. This is done by neo-Nazis who use the ‘U’ symbol for the Ustashe movement, which collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War. Swastikas are another symbol frequently used in vandalizing memorials. They are also put on other monuments to those murdered by Germans and their allies in the Second World War. “One sign of change in collective memory is that the Croats are increasingly bringing up the story of the murders in Bleiburg in Austria. After the Second World War the British allowed Tito’s army to cross into their zone of Austria. There they slaughtered a mixed group of German allies including Serbian nationalists, members of the Croatian Ustashe, White Guards of Slovenia, Muslim pro-Nazi militias, ethnic Germans, and so on. Among them were also civilians including politicians, peasants, women, and children-almost anyone.” “In Macedonia before the Second World War there were 7,000 Jews. About half of them managed to escape to Albania where they were safe. During the war Macedonia became part of greater Albania; yet it was the Bulgarian government that ruled there. While it protected the Jews in prewar Bulgaria, those in Macedonia were transferred to the Germans who sent them to their death in Treblinka. “There is a Jewish memorial in all Macedonian towns where there was a Jewish community before the war whose members were murdered, such as Bitola (Monastir), Shtip, Idrizovo, and others. It is usually located where the Jews gathered for deportation or where the synagogue was. There are also plaques at other locales. “In the capital, Skopje, the Jewish cemetery was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake in 1966. A very distinguished war memorial was erected in the new section of the Jewish cemetery. There are three memorials for the Jews in the town: at the place where the Jews were gathered for deportation, at the location of the communal buildings, and in the former cemetery.” Other Successor States “Slovenia was under German rule during the Second World War. The small Slovenian Jewish community numbered 250 before the war. Of these about fifty survived, most of whom had fled to Italy. Many Jews fought in the anti-Nazi partisan units. Toward the end of the war the partisans threw out anyone who didn’t have a Slovenian name. The Jews were all Ashkenazi and had German or Hungarian names, and the Slovenian partisans killed most of them. “Before the war the number of Jews in Montenegro was very small. The country had maintained an anti-Jewish policy over hundreds of years. Already 350 years ago the Orthodox prince-bishop ruler decided that no Jews should live in the country because they were ‘Satan’s seed.’ There were only some Jews who lived in the Catholic areas near the sea. “During the Second World War the Italians were in control in Montenegro but the Germans were present. Wherever Italians put Jews along with communists in prisons, the Germans would kill them. These were Jews from other parts of Yugoslavia captured in the territory of Montenegro. The estimated number of Jews murdered is about twenty. The main prison, Bogdanov kraj near Cetinje, has no memorial and nobody tends to it. But for the Jews it is a place that should be memorialized. “In Kosovo there were about 500 Jews before the Second World War, of whom 250 were handed over to the Germans by Kosovar Albanians. There were also a few examples where Kosovars killed Jews, and there was also a Kosovar SS unit. About twenty righteous gentiles helped the other 250 Jews escape to Albania where the Jews were protected. “After the war, in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, a huge memorial was erected for all victims of Nazism including the partisans and the Jews. When the Serbian-Albanian fighting broke out in Kosovo in 1999, almost all names were removed, also including most of the Albanians who were considered communists. Kosovo is such a tightly knit society that everyone knows who was or wasn’t a communist.” The Jew as an Instrument in National Policies “Jews are instruments in the current politics of the successor states of Yugoslavia. This is part of these states’ international positioning. If you visit Bosnia today and say you are a Jew, you will be told that Jews came there five hundred years ago and were embraced. They will add that Muslims and Jews were the best friends in the world. This is a fallacy because Jews were second-class citizens like anyone who was not a Muslim. “Even worse, when one looks at pictures from 1941 of the looting of Jewish synagogues, shops, and apartments, one sees people wearing a fez. Germans didn’t wear fezzes, neither did Croats, only Muslims did. “When the Republic of Bosnia was established in 1992, only three constituting minorities were given the right to elect members of parliament: Muslims, Serbs, and Croats. There are, however, twenty other minorities in the state such as Poles, Slovenians, Jews, and Gypsies, who are not necessarily happy with this arrangement. They can only be elected if one of the three larger minorities elects them. So, for instance, the present Bosnian foreign minister-a Jew, Sven Alkalay-joined the Muslim government party SBiH (Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina) of Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic. “In Serbia there was a Jewish deputy prime minister, Zarko Korac (2002-2003). Even under the anti-Semitic President Tudjman in Croatia there were Jewish ministers-Nenad Porges, economy, and Andrija Hebrang, health and social policy-in two successive governments from 1990 to 1998. These are examples of showcasing and one wonders whether these appointees actually do any good for the Jewish community. Interview by Manfred Gerstenfeld * * * [1] See, e.g., Mordechai Altshuler, “Jewish Holocaust Commemoration Activity in the USSR under Stalin,” Shoah Research Center, Yad Vashem, About Ivan Ceresnjes	dclm-gs1-105950000
I really wish this version had made it to the theaters, I blame the MPAA and their ridiculous ratings. Anyway, I have no idea why Avery Monsen didn't take off back then, but maybe the world wasn't ready yet? Y'all ready for this now? Also, THOSE ACCENTS. That's called acting, my friends. What One Man Did During Hurricane Sandy Edited Himself into Varsity Blues [Cinema Blend]	dclm-gs1-105970000
Too Fat to Be in Your Friend's Wedding? Then Your Friend Is a Bitch. I was married last year and had my close friend (of about 15ish years) in my bridal party. Now she's engaged. I found out about her engagement through Facebook, and I found out that I wasn't in her bridal party through an email. Now, normally not being in a bridal party would not unhinge me, but the email from my friend also included the reason why I wasn't going to be standing with her as she married: I am too fat and too pale. Her specific quote: "I have friends that take pride in they're (sic) appearance. Our wedding is beach-themed and I want all my girls to look fit and tan. The dresses I picked are strapless and only look good on thin girls." Here's the conundrum: how do I decline her invitation? Yes, she actually invited me! Do I go to the wedding and then belly-flop into their cake during the first cut, nomming my fat face through the fondant and plastic bride and groom statues? We have mutual friends that I don't think know about her email, and if I don't come I'm going to look like a huge asshole. Note: the following is a rage-filled diatribe. This column will return to its commitment to kind civility in the questions that follow. But holy shit, am I right, you guys? HOLY SHIT. Usually in this column, I try to give folks the benefit of the doubt. Even when a friend has been a real jerk to the letter-writer, I think to myself, "Well, maybe the friend is a troubled person. Maybe the friend is suffering." I don't try to excuse the friend's behavior, but I do try to understand it because, you know, compassion and all that jazz. Not this fucking time. Your friend is a loser. She is an awful, superficial, stupid person. Are we positive that she is not actually an alien robot creature bent on your extermination? I am sorry you had to be friends with this stinky piece of excrement for 15 years. I am sorry this death-eater was in your bridal party. I am sorry she may be blessed with daughters one day, daughters whom she will undoubtedly raise to hate themselves as much as I hate their mother right this moment. I could say more terrible things about your friend, but I trust the commenters to help me out with that one. Except for the ones who may write things like, "I'm sorry, but like, I have the right to make sure my bridal party is pretty." Because those people are terrible also, and should restrict their social media activities to their thinspiration Pinterest boards. Don't bother with a "no" response card. Simply send a link to this article to your "friend." And if any of the other gals are curious as to why you won't be at the wedding, send the link along to them, too. Then kick back with a glass of wine, a delicious cupcake and your sexy husband. Be glad you don't have to waste one more ounce of your time on this sewage dump of a human. (Oh, and don't forget to block her on Facebook. Cheers!) Way back when I was 18, I fell for a guy at work. He was my first true crush and I was excited when he made it clear that my interest in him was mutual. Suddenly, my wild-child, hard-partying best friend declared that she also liked this guy and that if I had any respect for our friendship I would stop seeing him outside of work. Two weeks later she told me that she'd slept with him, that it was great, and that she "couldn't wait" to do it again. Ultimately, we fell out over it. A few months ago, we became friends again via Facebook. Turns out she hasn't changed one bit. In fact, age has only made her more boy-crazy and desperate. She emails or texts me at least five times a week, begging me to hang out with her. I do so out of guilt (she seems so lonely) and then I have to listen to her brag or sob (or both!) over tons of men. We do share some great memories and I'd be happy to see this girl once in awhile, but I just can't stand seeing her every week. How do I tell her? Putting aside what happened when you were younger, I feel kind of bad for this gal. She does sound lonely, and unhappy, and desperate. She's lucky to have found someone willing to spend time with her. However, she's clearly working your last nerve and may need to find a new buddy if she doesn't shape up. After all, your job isn't to take care of all the little lost bunny rabbits in the world, no matter how sweetly pathetic they may be. I believe your primary job is to take care of yourself and to put energy into good work, good love, and good friendships. Then you'll be a happy, productive citizen and the world will continue to turn on its axis and we'll all get to marry David Tennant, the end. You may wish to say to this chick, "You've been telling me so much about your man drama that I barely get to hear about you. I'd really like to hear about what else is going on in your life! You were always so good at art/dancing/baking/writing/ you still do that?" It may help to focus your hangout time on an activity, like a monkey-training class or a day at the Renaissance Fair or a BBC America marathon or something. If she goes back to babbling about men, well, you tried. You have my permission to usually (or always) be "busy" when she wants to hang out. My ex-boyfriend is not exactly beloved by my roommates. He was a real jerk to me for awhile, and made me cry more times than I can count. A couple years have passed, and things between us are much better. We've begun hooking up again, and it's exactly what I need right now. The problem is that my friends refuse to let him stay over our house. They won't even let me bring him in the house. Yet they insist on bringing over another friend who used to be really nasty to me. It seems unfair. What do I do? Let's deal with the boyfriend issue and the former friend issue separately. Based on your pals' reactions, I have a feeling that even if this former friend was a real jerk to you, she didn't cause you the same torment that this fella did. Then again, maybe she is actually a malevolent lifeform who seeks to chase you through time and space in order to exterminate you! (But I'm guessing not.) First, the dude issue. As you know, your friends are trying to protect you. I advise you to sit them down and have a frank talk with them about how you feel and what you "need right now," as you put it. Speak to them from a place of gratitude for their protective instinct. Don't try to convince them that he's a real prize of a guy now, but do present some reasons why his presence in your life is helpful at this time. Remember, if he fucks up, they're going to have to clean up the mess…again. If they don't relent, I suggest you stay at his house or get a cheap motel room. On to the next issue. Is the ex-friend's presence actually damaging to you, or just annoying? If it's the latter, you may as well put up with it. If it's the former, tell your roommates that the girl is no longer welcome in your home. Be very clear as to why you cannot stand her being in your house. They ought to comply with your wishes. If they don't, it's time to consider getting new roommates once your lease is up. Perhaps it'd be better for you to live with folks who aren't as invested in your personal choices. You're a grown-up, after all.	dclm-gs1-105980000
Entrepreneur On The Road To Wellness After Firing By Deborah L. Cohen Four years later, sales at Carlsbad, California-based Sonic Boom Wellness are approaching $2 million. Van Noy's startup is fighting office sloth by promoting unorthodox activities such as lunges en route to the restroom and hula-hoops in the halls. It relies on a social media platform that encourages employees to interact and inspire each other. "We were willing to take a huge risk," said Van Noy, 39, the former national sales director for American Specialty Health, who said he was let go during a sales retreat after he raised a "red flag" about what he perceived to be an outmoded strategy. "All the big (wellness) companies were going down the same path - health assessment, biometric screening and telephonic coaching," he said. "We knew the door was left wide open." "We started to say, 'Gosh, why isn't anyone using social networking? Why isn't anyone using high tech for team-based competitions to get employees healthier?" said Van Noy, who married Korn in 2008. "Danna put the bug in my ear. She'd always told me that the place I worked seemed a little constrained." "Selling Air" Sonic Boom users, who engage in a host of fitness and educational challenges to reach goals and win prizes, are anything but constrained. They embrace office rivalry, create custom challenges and reward each other for good behavior. "Sonic Striding" allows them to track everything from lunchtime walks to weekend bike rides using a wireless device that attaches to their shoe, uploading their data into a personal profile. "We focus on changing people's habits, making it fun and energetic," said the effusive Korn, 49, who often travels to a new client's office for a kick-off event, inciting workers to engage in imaginary football passes, invisible jump rope contests and other affronts to office protocol. "Last time I did this, I couldn't get them off the stage," Korn said, noting Sonic Boom's nationwide employee participation averages 65 percent - a rate she contends is significantly higher than the industry average. The co-founders concede it hasn't all been smooth sailing. Several times they were close to packing it in, after burning through their own seed money of $100,000 and making costly mistakes such as spending $50,000 farming out development to India. "We had to completely start from scratch after that," confessed Van Noy. "We learned the most valuable lesson - never outsource your core competency." "We were selling air," Korn said. "We'd go out to companies and we'd talk about this program but we had nothing. We didn't have software developers yet." "They signed up, they took the leap of faith and then from there we just started refining the program," Korn said. Healthy Bottom Line The company's early foibles have been invisible to customers such as Janet Wickstrom, director of employee benefits and wellness for Super Store Industries, a Stockton, California-based processor and distributor of dairy products. She said the founders' enthusiasm is contagious. "You can't bottle that kind of energy," said Wickstrom, noting one of her workers had lost over 50 pounds and gone through "a complete transformation." Nearly half the company's 750 employees are actively using the plan. "We had done pretty much the standard wellness fairs, lunch-and-learns, weight loss programs with healthcare providers," she said, "but nothing where the employees could go in and have their own Web page, receive their own information and then interact with their peers." "It sounds like Sonic Boom is really trying to take advantage of the rise in social media, with people challenging each other and becoming more of a team," Gotass said. "Some people don't have daily computer access but almost everyone now has a smartphone," Van Noy said. "We've got this Web-based program, and it's looking great. Let's take it to the mobile space." Next: Judge Upholds Firing Of Ohio Teacher In Bible Case Stories from AARP Add a Comment *0 / 3000 Character Maximum Search Articles Picks From the Web	dclm-gs1-105990000
Monday, February 08, 2010 Twitter v IM: a micro-reflection Donald Clark shared via his Facebook status that "while 7 out of 10 teens use social networking websites like Facebook, only 1 in 12 teens use Twitter - Pew Internet and American Life Project - survey middle of last year 12-17 year olds." I located said report and found it interesting reading. You might, too, if your life includes teenagers. One caveat I found quite telling was that "the question wording for teens is quite different from how the question was posed to adults so the results are not strictly comparable." That said, it seems that only 8% of online American teens use Twitter, while the figure for adults is 19%. It should be noted, however, that the figure for adults varies hugely across different age bands, showing a steady decline from the 37% of 18-24 year olds to just 4% of those over the age 65. So it seems that between their 17th and 18th birthdays, American teenagers experience the sudden urge to make the shift to Twitter. I wonder why? The report suggests that it "may be partially due to our question wording capturing status updates on social networking sites." But enough of that, I wanted to focus on the 'only 8% of all teens' bit. My own teenagers are avid users of instant messaging and have been for several years, now. Their usage patterns would not be supported by Twitter. For example: • They use a lot of emoticons • They use extensive font formatting • They frequently use more than 140 characters per message • They conduct huge numbers of 1:1 conversations simultaneously, sharing private thoughts they would never dream of sharing in a single, multi-user stream (connected in parallel, rather than in series?) • They change their user names often, using these as a mini status to reflect their mood, their (frequently) changing romantic status or a significant event in their lives • They use web cams as part of their conversations (and some parents would be appalled to know some of the uses to which their teenagers put these cameras!) Of course, this is just a single snapshot, based on my observations of my own sons and their friends, and does not constitute research. But I throw my snapshot into the pool to be aggregated with the rest of the fragments. Graeme Duncan suggests (on Donald's FB page) "My hypothesis is kids use these media as communication tools but like it to be network building and relationship building. Twitter is a broadcast media not a two way communication channel whilst FB, MSN, etc etc are profile builders and also communication channels." I have to say that I use Twitter to engage in conversations with people. Many of my messages start with @someone-or-other. But Donald has a view on that, too, to wit: "Spot on Graeme - Twitter is boomeresque (new word!) in that it plays to our need to either receive or transmit, not share and engage in dialogue. Even on Facebook, we're the exception to the rule -far too many boomers simply post their own entries and don't respond - you two [that would be Graeme and me] are very much the exceptions." I'm trying to decide whether to forgive him for calling me a "boomer". I'm too young for that label, and he should know it ;o) V Yonkers said... Interesting. Having two teens (one boy and one girl a bit younger than your boys) in the US, I would have to say that their habits are the same as your kids. The idea of twitter or even the status is not as important on FB as sharing photos, public jokes, but also "aside" interaction on what's going on. The only use for Twitter for them, that I could see would be to find out missing homework assignments! (or parties when the parents go out unexpectedly). However, as many access facebook on their cell phones, and many of the broadcasting can be done on FB, I think they would wonder why twitter? it's just one more app. Karyn Romeis said... @V_Yonkers My kids hardly ever used Facebook. They're dedicated users of MSN. V Yonkers said... Can they access MSN on their cells/mobile devises? I think MSN, because of its joint partnership with one of the major television networks in the US, has never had the popularity that it does in Europe. It would be like using a BBC site. Karyn Romeis said... @v_Yonkers theoretically, yes, but they've never bothered. They use their phones for texts and stick to their laptops for msn.	dclm-gs1-106010000
If you're Microsoft and you're selling the Xbox 360 this fall to people who would be happy to avoid pressing buttons, how do you coax them into ... pressing buttons? This new Xbox 360 dashboard tutorial appeared today on my Xbox 360. It was part of an update to my beta version of the revised Xbox 360 dashboard that will launch for all console owners in November. The new dashboard is designed to be controlled by Xbox 360 controller or, in some fashion, by the Kinect audio and visual sensor system. A controller is suitablefor some functions, though, as this simple video tutorial explains. If you are an experienced Xbox 360 user and you learn anything new from this video, that can be your little secret.	dclm-gs1-106020000
Zynga Launches CoasterVille, Its Most Expressive Social Game Yet From the Zynga studio that brought you the company's most unique game to date, Empires & Allies, comes a theme park management game that offers players unparalleled freedom to create their happiest place on Earth. Build your own farm. Build your own city. Build your own castle. Zynga's large stable of social games have promised all of these things, but ultimately players are just placing buildings and decorations in different places on the same old map. The trend of FarmVille players using colored hay bales to create works of pixel art (here's mine, for example) sprang from a collective desire for more flexibility and room for expression, a desire that hasn't quite been sated. Well, at least until later today, when CoasterVille launches on Facebook. Having translated their love for PC strategy games to Facebook in the form of Empires & Allies, Zynga LA sets its sights on one of the most universally beloved classic PC genre, the theme park manager, games like Bullfrog's Theme Park or Chris Sawyer's RollerCoaster Tycoon. These are games with equal parts strategy and creativity, which is exactly what general manager Amir Rahimi and the Zynga LA aimed to create with CoasterVille. The core cycle of CoasterVille is simple. The player builds attractions to bring guests into the park. The guests spend money at stores, which generates money and resources to create bigger and better attractions, which bring more guests, spending more money, and so on. It's the way of all 'Ville games. The difference in CoasterVille is the freedom players have to realize their vision of the perfect park. It starts with the ability to change the park's terrain. Instead of saddling every player with the same green rectangular game board, CoasterVille gives park builders the ability to switch out green grass for dry ground, lush vegetation or a number of unique tile types. From there players can choose from three initial park themes — Frontier, Jungle or Fantasy. One player might choose to stick to a single style, putting all of his or her resources into upgrading and developing attractions and businesses in that particular theme. Zynga Launches CoasterVille, Its Most Expressive Social Game Yet Or they can mix-and-match, Disney-style. Zynga Launches CoasterVille, Its Most Expressive Social Game Yet This freedom to create means that no two players' parks will be the same, making visiting friends' creations a joy instead of the resource gathering chore it's become in many of the other 'Ville-style games. Other players' parks can serve as an inspiration, as well as a means to harvest resources in case one wants to style swipe. But what of the coasters? When I first got word of CoasterVille I was worried that the coasters in question were simple pre-crafted constructs. General manager Amir Rahimi put my worries to rest during a demo of the game yesterday. That frontier-themed coaster in the picture above? It's made up of more than a dozen segments snapped together. As I looked on he pulled them apart and rearranged them, swapped the less interesting bits out for loops and corkscrews; he basically created an entirely different ride in seconds. Starting from scratch on a coaster is just as simple. Select from a number of coaster themes and just start dropping segments. They can be as simple as a single upward slope, or they can eat your entire park. The most important aspect of any theme park is the visitors, and CoasterVille's tiny patrons are an incredibly animated bunch. During my demo Rahimi's showed me a crowd of patrons gathered about one of the park's out-of-order restrooms, icons above their head indicating they were desperately in need of release. He fixed a restroom on the opposite side of the screen, and soon the entire crowd was running across the park like crazy people. Boost a ride to go faster and the guests will come running. Boost the ride too fast and they'll lose their lunch. Once they are done heaving, they'll head to the nearest food stall to refill. There's an opportunity for deep strategy in CoasterVille, or a player can simply build what they want. There's that freedom of expression again. CoasterVille is just getting started. In the coming months Zynga LA will be adding more park themes, more terrain types, more rides and park mascots that sing and dance for your guests amusement. Eventually the building fun will spill over into the land beyond the park, giving players the opportunity to realize their idea vacation destination, complete with boardwalks, shops and hotels. Zynga Launches CoasterVille, Its Most Expressive Social Game Yet CoasterVille launches later today on Facebook. You might want to get in line early; those queues can be a beast.	dclm-gs1-106030000
Love Don't Cost A Thing, Well Maybe An iPhone 4A young boy in Wuhan, Hubei province, was left heartbroken over the weekend when he learned that his feelings for a girl in his class were unrequited. After learning the object of his affections didn't feel the same, he decided to ask her directly only to be told "xxx bought me an iPhone 4". After hearing that sentence, 8 year-old Xiao Xiao (pseudonym) went home crying to his father. His father said to Chinese reporters the following golden sentence, "The boy is young, too young, what do children know of love anyway?" Well it seems like a whole lot. Xiao Xiao had written a love letter to a girl in his class that he fancied. After giving it to her, he didn't hear back. All he heard for a few days was rumors from other classmates that she didn't like him. As any man would, Xiao Xiao wanted a real answer. Turns out the little girl's affections were already "bought". She told him another boy also said he liked her, and instead of giving her a letter, he bought her an iPhone 4. An iPhone... 4. An 8 year-old buying an iPhone 4 for another 8 year-old just because he thought she was pretty... Let me quote Xiao Xiao's father again, "What do children know of love anyway?" Now I don't know the moral of this story, but it seems to me that children in Wuhan are growing up way too fast. I remember when I was 8, I was confused as to why the pretty latina girl kissed me and then ran away giggling. I also don't remember having to buy an iPhone to woo a girl. I guess times-are-a-changing and I'm getting old. My heart goes out to young Xiao Xiao. I hope the romantic in him doesn't go away. 情书不敌iPhone4 八岁小学生被"富二代"夺爱 [Tencent]	dclm-gs1-106040000
Bonneville Phoenix Network KTAR News Arizona Sports 92.3 FM KTAR Bomb found under vehicle at Tucson-area restaurant MARANA, Ariz. — Authorities said a device found under a car at a Marana restaurant over the weekend was a bomb. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the device found Sunday under a car at a Hooters restaurant was an improvised explosives Police were called late Sunday afternoon by an unidentified Tucson man who spotted the device after leaving the restaurant and returning to his car. Police evacuated 200 people from the restaurant and a nearby bowling alley while they investigated. The Pima County regional bomb squad then neutralized the device. Bureau spokesman Tom Manigan said the device has been sent to a bureau laboratory for detailed analysis, including DNA testing. No arrests have been made. comments powered by Disqus	dclm-gs1-106050000
View Single Post #3: 10-18-2012, 10:35 PM RailKill's Avatar Title: Burning Monkey Rank: Donating Member Location: North Jersey Car: 2014 SWP Sport Posts: 2,639 iTrader: (11) Not a dumb question at all, but no, it was dry as a bone before I started it. The clamps are as tight as they can be and I can't detect any exhaust leak anymore. I would want to say that if any air was coming out where the water was, it would either be bubbling or spraying. Like I said, after the exhaust was warmed up, there wasn't any evidence of water. I'm not really concerned but more confused as to why this is happening. Also what's odd is this is happening at the clamps as well as the gasket.	dclm-gs1-106060000
You are here In-class Exercise The Rhetoric of Performance: Teaching Logos through Disney Movies This assignment uses clips and text from Disney movies to teach students to analyze logos as part of a unit on rhetorical analysis. Mind mapping paper 3 Teaching Close Reading through Short Composition/Revision A black and white image of WEB Du Bois Mapping a Controversy (Literally) Students create Google maps to contextualize events and locations related to their controversies. Speed Dating with Thesis Statements Identifying Reasons and Evidence with Friends This lesson uses the popular sitcom Friends and the classic public debate of "Faith Vs. Reason" to create a fun, accessible way of understanding the relationship between claims, reasons, and evidence. Exercises in Style Image by Claude Strassart-Springer, from the book "Alphabet" by Raymond Queneau Teach revisions and the infinite possibilities of rewriting the same paragraph with this exercise, adopted from Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style Words in Motion: Kairos and Kinetic Typography Kinetic Typography Kinetic typography is an animation technique that allows writers to mix text and motion. Students will take part of a speech or a piece of dialogue and animate it, carefully considering how they might visually enforce and/or subvert the text's underlying themes. Bridging Summary and Analysis with Standup Clips Aziz Ansari Comedy Poster This assignment uses clips from standup comedy specials to hone student skills of summary and synethesis, for the controversy map essay assignment. Bridging Summary and Analysis with Standup Clips Aziz Ansari Comedy Poster Concession, Refutation and Rebuttal Through Amazon Reviews In this activity, students will use Amazon reviews of the Women's Sexy PhD Halloween costume to identify places where the authors concede, refute and rebut the idea behind the costume. They will then come up with their own Amazon reviews for a product, real or imagined, of their choice. Teaching Kairos through Allegorical Performances Digital/Physical Library Scavenger Hunt Library bookshelves Kairos and Ideology Analysis: American Values and Contexts Lego Captain America Stands In Front of American Flag This assignment asks students to fill out a worksheet for analyzing the ideological presuppositions of two arguments that rely on a popular superhero, Captain America, to make their respective arguments. This assignment can be used to solidify student understanding of kairos and presuppositions. A Structured Approach to Teaching the OED as a Close Reading Tool Enthy/memes: Making Memes to Teach Logos To pratice creating and breaking down enthymemes, I had students create memes (about anything), break down the stated and unstated premises and ultimately, come to a conclusion as to the meme's argument. Building Word Clouds to Generate Search Terms Voyant Word Cloud for Marijuana Legalization Corpus Help your students get an overview of their topic and a leg up on their research by creating word cloud visualizations of their topics. Introducing Rhetorical Analysis with the 1491s The 1491s Logo This lesson plan uses the 1491s' youtube videos "I'm an Indian Too" and "Lincoln Was a Douche" to introduce students to rhetorical analysis. Introducing Rhetorical Analysis with Contemporary Advertisements The aim of this lesson is to provide students with an accessible and engaging introduction to rhetorical analysis. Students will view four brief texts—three thirty-second videos and one print advertisement—and try to identify the audience, the speaker, and the argument contained in each. Subscribe to RSS - In-class Exercise	dclm-gs1-106070000
I wrote this: It is so very not true that shorty Ima only tell you this once you're the illest. Literally, very not true. Right there in the song. Untrue. In response, Laura G. wrote this: My favorite ridiculous radio hit right now is the one that goes: "Grab somebody sexy, tell 'em 'Hey! Give me everything tonight!'" Are we trying to scare the sexy person away? Rob them? What is this tactic?	dclm-gs1-106080000
Linux Distribution Chooser If you have doubt's about choosing the best Gnu/Linux distribution to you, this site can help. It will ask you some questions, inquiring you about your experience and preferences with Linux. If you wanna see some screenshots of the different distros, go here! PS: if you make the test, let me know about the result! I got Ubuntu, Debian and Xubuntu! I already use Ubuntu :D ! »Linux Distribution Chooser: Homepage »Linux Screenshots: The coding studio António Manuel Dias said... I also took the test, and the result was: 1. Kubuntu 2. Debian 3. Ubuntu I now use Ubuntu, with KDE4 installed and OpenBox as my primary WM. I guess the test's answer was pretty good. 何震邦 said... I am using Fedora and I get 1. Fedora 2. Mandriva 3. OpenSuSE The test is awesome!	dclm-gs1-106090000
Read Between the Lines Wasn't the last Harry Potter book sold for a lower price at Costco or Wal-Mart? If I want to save money, I'll buy the cheaper product. This guy is just a snob. Obviously your major consideration is PRICE. The price you pay in dollars and cents. But did you ever consider what the PRICE of buying books in Wal-Mart or Costco means to our hometowns, our communities? I like a bargain too, but the price of the big-boxes is too big a price to pay for our society. If that means I'm a snob, sobeit. Wal-Mart is a horribly corrupt company. Then don't shop there. That's the same argument the buggy-whip people made. Same with the iron lung manufacturers. Oddly enough my decision to avoid the local video store has nothing to do with big box stores, but rather the fact that I can get most of the major motion picture releases at my local library. Why pay at all when I can get someting for free? They'll even pull it off the shelf and have it waiting for me behind the counter when I get there. Now that's just asinine. Your strawman is even more flimsy than usual. Nobody is saying that we should keep buying obsolete products (I didn't see anybody recommend reading papyrus strips instead of books). What they were saying (implicitly) is that if you shop at places that don't contribute anything of substance to the community, and ignore the places that do (where the owner lives in the community, contributes economically and socially to the community, and respects the community he/she does business in), then you will be paying a higher price in long-term costs (when businesses go bankrupt, real wages go down, community life disappears, etc.). Can we think complex thoughts in this society anymore?--Ron Well said. It's too hard to think when people are screaming about the end of the world all the time. Well said indeed.	dclm-gs1-106100000
[Top][All Lists] bug#11035: 24.0.94; icomplete with multiline candidates and standalone m From: Drew Adams Subject: bug#11035: 24.0.94; icomplete with multiline candidates and standalone minibuffer Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:10:04 -0700 1. Download these two files from Emacs wiki: 2. Start Emacs like this: runemacs.exe -Q --debug-init -l "hexrgb.el" -l "oneonone.el" -f "1on1-emacs" That gives you a standalone minibuffer frame that is two lines high. 3. Turn on icomplete-mode. 4. Evaluate this: "This is the prompt: " '(("aaaaa candidate\naaaaa second line\n") ("bbbbb candidate\nbbbbb second line\n") ("ccccc candidate\nccccc second line\n") ("ddddd candidate\nddddd second line\n") ("eeeee candidate\neeeee second line\n") ("fffff candidate\nfffff second line\n") ("ggggg candidate\nggggg second line\n") ("hhhhh candidate\nhhhhh second line\n"))) 5. Type `b'. Symptom: The minibuffer prompt and user input are moved up one line, out of the frame. The cursor appears at bol, just before this icomplete overlay text: (bbbb candidate bbbbb second line The rest of the overlay text is off the bottom of the frame (that's normal, since it is only two lines high - but see below, near the end). If you use the mouse to click the title bar of another frame at this point, selecting it, you can see that the minibuffer now shows the first line instead: This is the prompt: b with the cursor after the `b'. Why this change in display, I don't know. If you click the mouse on the minibuffer frame title bar, the display returns to showing (bbbb candidate etc., with the cursor shown at bol. (In my own setup, I see the same problem even without the final \n at the end of each completion candidate, but the recipe above is the simplest I can offer to repro the problem.) This buggy behavior started with Emacs 23. There is no such problem with Emacs 22.3 or prior. In Emacs 23, the icomplete.el code switched from inserting text to using an overlay (which I agree should be a better approach, in principle, though I don't know if that change was just made gratuitously or was in response to some reported bug). IOW, there is no problem in Emacs 22.3 or earlier. In Emacs 22.3, the display appears like this: This is the prompt: b(bbbb candidate bbbbb second line ) [Matched] with the cursor on the left paren, after the first `b'. That is normal (and useful). The user can see the prompt and the input, in addition to the start of the first candidate (in fact all of the first candidate, in this case). The other problem I have with the Emacs 23+ icomplete code is the following. Although I recognize that using an overlay should make sense, it messes up my code, which automatically increases the minibufferframe height when the minibuffer content grows additional lines. I do that using fit-frame.el (my library), which measures the buffer content to determine the needed frame height (respecting user-set Since the overlay is not really buffer content, it doesn't get measured, so the frame is not refit to accommodate the text of the overlay. This is why the last line shown for Emacs 22.3 above does not appear in the frame in Emacs 23+ at all. This is a drawback, IMO, with using an overlay for icomplete: the overlay is not "in" the minibuffer, so operations on the minibuffer content do not take it into account. (That is of course also the strength of using an overlay: it is not part of the minibuffer content.) Perhaps Emacs Dev has a similar problem for icomplete wrt resizing the minibuffer window when it is not standalone - dunno. If someone has a suggestion in this regard, I'm interested. In sum, my code works fine in Emacs 20-22, but is broken in Emacs 23 and later because of the changed implementation of icomplete. In GNU Emacs (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600) of 2012-02-26 on MARVIN Windowing system distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 5.1.2600 Configured using: `configure --with-gcc (4.6) --no-opt --enable-checking --cflags reply via email to [Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]	dclm-gs1-106110000
[Top][All Lists] Re: Gtk scrollbar: thumb too short From: Luc Teirlinck Subject: Re: Gtk scrollbar: thumb too short Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 20:24:32 -0500 (CDT) Richard Stallman wrote: There is some chance we will change the behavior of the native scrollbar; people have proposed some interesting ideas. However, people have not yet implemented them, and if they do, we will have to try them out before deciding whether to use them. So I would say the chance of a change is less than 50%. If I understand correctly Kai made three proposals: 1. Implement stickiness. 2. Only allow overscrolling if the end of the buffer was visible at the start of scrolling. 3. Use the Motiv - current GTK behavior but color the piece of the scrollbar that corresponds to the empty space at the bottom If I understand correctly, you only considered 1. and 2. worth a try. Personally, I only feel comfortable implementing 2. and only for the native scrollbar. (I am not familiar enough with the other Below is a rough implementation, only meant for people to "play" with to see if they like it. If people are interested, I would make the new behavior customizable and one could then decide what the default behavior should be. Note that my implementation only applies to the native scrollbar. Description of new behavior: First time scrolling stops with the last screenfull of real text visible, unless the end of the buffer is visible at the outset and stays visible. In other words, if you scroll up to see what is above and scroll back down, you can not (immediately) overscroll. To overscroll, you have to first scroll to the bottom (unless you already are there), grab the thumb (not click above the thumb) and scroll down, without first scrolling up. I personally would only recommend making the new behavior a customizable option, with the old behavior the default. Since this is just a rough implementation, I do not yet send a diff, but instead the new versions of scroll-bar-drag and scroll-bar-drag-1. One can put these in a file in emacs-lisp-mode, do C-M-x and start playing. Of course, like any new behavior, one first has to get used to it, and then use it in some actual "real work", before one can really judge. The new behavior is meant for people who only occasionally want to overscroll, and most of the time only want to scroll to the end of the buffer. In the final version, you will always be able to temporarily (or on a buffer-by-buffer basis) change your usual default, using the customizable variable I would define. First, however, I want to check whether there is any interest. ===File ~/dragstuff.el====================================== (defun scroll-bar-drag-1 (event) (let* ((start-position (event-start event)) (window (nth 0 start-position)) (portion-whole (nth 2 start-position))) (set-buffer (window-buffer window)) ;; Calculate position relative to the accessible part of the buffer. (goto-char (+ (point-min) (scroll-bar-scale portion-whole (- (point-max) (point-min))))) (set-window-start window (point)) (if (eq (window-end nil t) (point-max)) (when (and (boundp end-visible) (not end-visible)) (goto-char (point-max)) (recenter -1)) (setq end-visible nil))))) (defun scroll-bar-drag (event) "Scroll the window by dragging the scroll bar slider. If you click outside the slider, the window scrolls to bring the slider there." (interactive "e") (let* (done (echo-keystrokes 0) (end-position (event-end event)) (window (nth 0 end-position)) (with-current-buffer (window-buffer window) (setq before-scroll point-before-scroll)) (select-window window) (setq end-visible (= (point-max) (window-end nil t))) (setq before-scroll (or before-scroll (point)))) (scroll-bar-drag-1 event) (while (not done) (setq event (read-event)) (if (eq (car-safe event) 'mouse-movement) (setq event (read-event))) (cond ((eq (car-safe event) 'scroll-bar-movement) (scroll-bar-drag-1 event)) ;; Exit when we get the drag event; ignore that event. (setq done t))))) (sit-for 0) (with-current-buffer (window-buffer window) reply via email to [Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]	dclm-gs1-106120000
[Top][All Lists] Re: [Orgmode] additional bugs in latex export From: Carsten Dominik Subject: Re: [Orgmode] additional bugs in latex export Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:41:57 +0100 On Oct 22, 2008, at 4:39 AM, John Rakestraw wrote: Hi -- I'm starting to use latex export more, and noticed three problems related to tables: - If the first column in a table has an inactive time stamp, then strange things happen -- in various tests, I've seen only seemingly random cells from a long table exported, or sometimes only the header row (that doesn't have the time stamp in it) and no other rows exported. At least with the current version I cannot reproduce this - but I have been fiddling with the Export. Please try if you still have this issue, and if yes, make me a test case. - If the text in the first column begins with a left bracket, then the first cell in each row is blank. Same as above. - If a table is long enough that it should continue on a following page, there's no page break -- instead, lines continue into the bottom margin. What fits on that page prints, but nothing else prints. If I break the table at the bottom of the page with an empty line, the rest of the table continues as expected on the following page. This is a problem with LaTeX, a special environment is needed for such tables, and because Org does not know the font and paper sizes, it cannot automatically switch. However, you can do now: #+ATTR_LaTeX: longtable \| a \| b \| c \| \| 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| which will switch to the long table environment just for this table. Hope this helps. - Carsten reply via email to [Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]	dclm-gs1-106130000

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