proba
float64 0.5
1
| text
stringlengths 16
174k
|
---|---|
0.998088 |
# English alphabet is organized as (A,B,…,Z).
# that doesn't match t[j] satisfies sj<tj in A.
# positive integer n (n≤10).
|
0.961108 |
How can i make some kinda Login System?
I'm wondering if you guys/girls could help me with my problem!
I need some kind of Login System thingy i know how to make the Password field and the Text field but this is my problem i dont know how to save the login details so you can exit the game without registering again and start all over!
If you can help me with this problem i would be so happy!
Typically, log-in systems are implemented using server-side scripting languages, such as PHP, Perl or ASP.
In this way, your unity player would act as a 'client', and would send the username & password which the user typed to the server. The server then looks this up in the users database, and gives the appropriate response.
If you are not using a server/client model however, you'll need to provide more information about how you are planning to have your registration system to work. Should it be that all user's information is stored on one machine? (this means if a user goes to play on another machine, their login & saved data will not be present).
How can I send a string or integer value to server side scripts or web services?
These should get you on your way!
So with these functions, you have two-way communication between your web-page HTML, and your Unity game. The HTML can handle any kind of authentication you need, and pass the results to the game.
As Duck says, you still have to implement the login checking somewhere, but at least these functions make it easier to pass the results to Unity.
Update: take a look at: Unity Browser Cookie Equivalent, it may be what you're looking for. It's a way of saving player preferences.
i meant just make an file that contains the username and password and you register in game and you username and password are saved in a .txt file or something!
If you're using the Web-browser version of a Unity game, then you can not write files on the player's PC, for security reasons. So you still have to communicate the login information to the server side. See @$$anonymous$$uck's first link for how to do that.
|
0.999999 |
I will go over what fascism is and why it's bad.
Well, fascism is seen as a form of authoritarian nationalism where it is also a radical form of control in many aspects of life such as freedom of speech and how and what to do in your life. There is also the political spectrum of Fascism in which is often considered to be far right and is sometimes argued to be a form of the extreme left. Fascism also must be run by a one party state where they can not be removed by an election. Fascism also tries to control the lives of the people by making them a part of them government on a militaristic level. The people will often have to participate within the military in some way or another. This then leads to an economic function because soldiers need food, uniforms, weapons, planes etc. There is also a deep sense of propaganda within fascist states because the state must have almost total control over the people in order for the state to work in the slightest. Fascism as a whole requires society to have three essential qualities strength, order, and unity.
Fascism first really popped up on the political map in no other place than Europe. Specifically in Italy during the First world war (WW1). WW1 was also a revolution. Fascism was most notable in Italy and Germany during the great depression and of course during the second world war (WW2). Both Germany and Italy were fascist states and had an aggressive foreign policy and discriminated against religious ethnicities such as the Jewish faith.
It is also worth mentioning that the Roman Empire had a fascist symbol within it that symbolized strength, order, and unity. The symbol was called a Fasces and is still known to this day. This idea was adopted by many future fascist states and was also used by them to gain support in the political scene by creating examples of strength, unity, and order for the country.
Now what many people might think at first is that unity, strength, and order is good because everyone would be supportive of each other. This is good yes, however, it's at the cost of almost all of your personal freedoms and you'll end up losing yourself and pretty much your basic ability to think for yourself and handle your issues. The idea that Fascism is good is rather difficult to fathom. You see a Fascist state would have to even make examples of people to show that they are serious. So, in turn, there would be at least one murder by the state of someone who disagrees with them in some way or another. The citizens would also constantly be fighting wars all around the world so that there is a decent number of jobs for everyone. If the state were to stop going to war then the nation would fall into an economic crisis.
The freedoms of which you currently take for granted such as freedom of expression, voting, freedom of speech etc would be all but gone. If you were to theoretically talk badly about your government you would be sent away by people with guns. The citizens of a Fascist state would end up being so reliant on their governments they would not be able by any means to contradict the government and exercise any of the rights they previously owned. If they did the government would be able to just simply remove substances to the people that disagree with them. This could mean that their crops are being burnt so they can't eat right up to them not being allowed to leave their houses. You would not be able to think for yourself because the control of information would be all too common and only "pro-government" info would be released to the people. Thus what happens is more than just reliance, what happens is you become obedient to them because who in the right mind would go against them. They only want what's good for you. You would be fed propaganda to the point where you become a blind follower of the state and not question anything they do to you.
the state would kill anyone and everyone who disagrees with them or speaks out against them. Now, this is true in both Italy and Germany during the second world war. In Germany people who had spoken out against were sent to prisons, concentration camps and were often executed for their actions of being against the government's ideas. In Italy, this happened as well and people were often scared to talk about the state because of the extreme fear of death and torture. This would indeed happen in a modern day Fascist state because it is without a doubt needs to happen for the state to be even in the slightest successful at controlling people. This is also a propaganda technique called fear. Essentially the government would need a scapegoat so they choose a minority and exploit the stereotypes of their race, religion, views etc to cause distrust. When this happens they have the full support of almost everyone and it is considered "okay" "remove" the minority from the public view by murder.
The state would be in a mindset of war all the time. This happens because no matter what a Fascist state has to implement a mass amount of citizens into the military. Therefore the state would need to go to war in order to keep the employment level high and keep costs to a minimum. This is true in within history, both Italy and Nazi Germany had to go to war for these reasons because employment would have fallen and the state would have not worked properly. It all falls under employment and economy. If the nation that is run by a Fascist can no longer go to war it can not have a successful economy since most of the citizens can be linked to the military in one way or another. The job market would also fall if they didn't go to war there would be no jobs or at the very least very few job opportunities for the people of the nation.
All in all, a fascist country would not be able to perform to a standard of proficiency at a decent level if they did not participate in almost every war so there could be a decent number of jobs in the country. The nation would also have a bad economy since the resources would be depleted quickly because of the consistent warfare going on. The nation would also have a hard time balancing what jobs to give people because of the constant wars. The genocides that have happened and would happen would be so that the fascist party can gain supporters in one form or the other. This would and has been done by creating a scapegoat of some sort so that they people have something to become aggressive towards. The rights of the individual would also be long gone in a Fascist country because if you're allowed to have rights and speak against the state then you can gain supporters and that would be bad. This was done within Europe in the 1930s and is a clear cut example of what would happen.
|
0.999977 |
Look at the list of verb forms below. Decide which of the forms are simple past forms (yellow) and which are past participles (blue). To do so, first click on the yellow colour and then on the words you believe to be simple past forms. Then click on the blue colour and then on the words that you think are past participles.
|
0.999542 |
The intention of this topic is to help new buyers and sellers in the BitCoin community who are looking to meet up and trade locally. I've done a lot of local trades and sales over the years, so I'm hoping that my experiences can help beginners by giving them ideas on how to trade safely. For this purpose I've separated my advice into three sections: meeting for trades, advice for buying, and advice for selling.
I've tried to format everything in a clear and concise manner to make this topic more readable. I'm open to suggestions for edits and additions to help make this guide as useful as possible.
Hope this guide helps anyone looking to start trading locally!
Note: Some names/locations I mention are US based, so I apologize if they're irrelevant for your location. The theories behind this topic should be fine regardless of country.
Public Location - Are there plenty of people around?
WiFi Access - Is there free or cheap public WiFi access in the area?
Security - Are there security cameras or security guards in the area?
Public locations are like Local Trading 101: it is always better to meet in a public place. Scammers and muggers are a lot less likely to try anything with witnesses around. You can usually find these people early on by simply requesting a public meeting place: they want to meet their victims alone.
Places like McDonalds, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and many local coffee shops offer free WiFi access. A lot of hotels offer WiFi as well, but usually not for free or to non-customers. Bring a laptop or tablet with you if you have one so you can check transaction details and confirmations. Depending on what you're buying/selling/trading, having a computer to do some last second research on item values can never hurt if you're worried about getting the short end of the stick.
A location with security cameras adds an extra layer of security to a trade. If the other party does get away with stealing from or scamming you, you'll have physical evidence in a recording that can help the authorities track the offender down and bring him to justice. Security guards can help set your mind at ease if you're concerned that you might get mugged: muggers are a lot less likely to rob you if there's a guard with a gun a few yards away. A guard can easily step in and save you if a mugger does start attacking you.
My personal recommendation would be to meet at a mall, if there's one in your area. Malls have tons of security measures to help protect you as you make your trade, and many malls have WiFi access across the entire property: there's a good chance that one of the mall's stores has WiFi access even if the mall itself doesn't. Banks are a good choice too: banks have great security, and some bigger banks have WiFi access as well.
For buying items, remember that there's a lot you can't tell about something just from pictures. Make sure to look the item over carefully and make sure everything is in working condition/described condition before you pay the seller. A seller who is unwilling or nervous about letting you check out an item may know something about the item he doesn't want you to find out. It's a good idea to meet during the day or in a well lit area so you can see everything clearly. Don't be afraid to ask questions if anything feels off and don't feel obligated to complete a sale you're uncomfortable with.
One of the easiest ways to pay in BitCoin in person is with a mobile wallet app from a smartphone. Blockchain a mobile wallet app for Android and iOS. It's an online wallet, so I wouldn't recommend it for long-time storage: strictly transactions. Once I know how much I need to pay for an item I put that much in the wallet, and maybe 1 or 2 BTC more just in case there's a last second price change, and when I get home I immediately transfer any leftover funds to a more secure wallet. Blockchain works the same as any other client: enter the seller's payment address and the amount of BTC for the sale to send payment. Blockchain also has a QR scanner built in if the seller has a QR code address.
As a side note, I use an iPhone and Blockchain is, to my knowledge, the only wallet app for iOS without jailbreaking your phone. I have no knowledge about jailbreaking or Android apps for alternatives to Blockchain, but you can always do your research here on the forum or on the BitCoin wiki to find an app that works for you. You can also use your laptop, if you have it with you, to access your wallet and pay the seller. I recommend creating a brand new wallet for the transaction, especially if you're the paranoid type. Better safe than sorry, right?
This section focuses on buying BitCoins. One of the more common OTC transactions is buying BitCoin with cash. If you're buying BTC, you need to give the seller a payment address to receive your funds. You can use your mobile wallet to receive the funds, which you can then transfer to a safer wallet when you get home, or you can write down or print out a wallet address for the seller to send the BTC to. If you do the latter method, make sure to confirm the transaction before you part ways: use a laptop to check your wallet and confirm the payment or have a trusted friend/family member monitor the wallet and contact you with confirmation of the funds.
If you and the buyer have agreed to the terms of the trade ahead of time (as in what is being sold and for what price), I recommend printing out a copy of the agreement or correspondence (emails, forum posts, etc.). I've had experiences where the buyer tries to change the deal at the last minute or claims that I agreed to a lower price for the sale. Printing out what you offered and he accepted will back you up and help you get the price you asked for. You can also take a picture of these correspondences with your phone or digital camera if you don't have a printer, or use a laptop/tablet to bring them up if WiFi access is available.
Write down or print your payment address and bring it with you: I also recommend having a QR code address printed for buyers who use mobile wallets. Make sure you have a way to confirm payment before you part ways with the buyer. Use a laptop/tablet to check on the transaction for confirmations as well as affirming that the buyer paid the correct amount. You could also have a trusted friend/family member monitor your wallet and contact you with confirmation if WiFi is unavailable. Mobile app wallets may be able to confirm transactions on the spot, negating the need for WiFi access and a computer if you have a 3G/4G phone: the Blockchain app I mentioned can do this for you.
The main concern with cash payment is counterfeit bills. Most banks and retail locations keep special markers at the registers that can show if a bill is real or counterfeit. Here's an example on Amazon. These markers are a cheap investment if you're worried about receiving counterfeit money. I've also found them at office supply stores like Office Depot and Staples for around $5-$15. Keep one in your pocket and mark the bills before you finish the sale. Make sure you explain to the buyer what you're doing so they don't freak out on you: I've had that happen before.
The are two things to remember about alternative forms of payment: one; try to agree with the buyer ahead of time about the use of non-cash/non-BTC payments, and two; do your research on the payment method to make sure you know what you're getting and how it works (and how easily, if possible, it can be forged or reversed). This forum is full of warnings about certain payment methods for good reason. BitCoin purchases seem to be the bigger targets for chargeback fraud, so keep yourself educated when you're selling BTC in person.
There is one final warning I would like to give in this section: do not accept personal checks. One of the first in-person sales I ever did was for a personal check ($450), and I'm sure you can guess how that went simply by the way I've brought it up. Another check sale a few months after that one was paid for with a stolen checkbook and I had police show up at my house asking about the sale so they could find the guy. If you absolutely must accept a sale by check, I would recommend completing the sale at a bank so you can cash the check on the spot.
This section is for good advice submitted by other posters. Thanks for your contributions!
Strength in numbers: bringing along a second person can be an excellent source of additional security and protection.
|
0.986716 |
1. Preheat oven to 400 and line a large, rimmed (important!) baking sheet with tinfoil.
2. Combine flour, sugar and cayenne in a large zip-lock bag.
3. Coat bacon with mixture by tossing a few slices at a time into the bag.
4. Lay out bacon slices on baking sheet and cook for 15-25 minutes. After 15 minutes, watch carefully as it can burn quickly.
At first the bacon won't be super crisp, but let it cool and it will become crisp. Can be made a day ahead and reheated in a 250 oven for 10-15 minutes.
|
0.999999 |
What factors do you think are important in promoting a higher standard of education?
Globally, there is an increasing requirement for ever-higher levels of education, with many students opting to study overseas to ensure they have the best available opportunities. This has been the result of a number of both external and internal influences as will now be presented.
Internally, there have been a number of definable factors. With the governments of most nations eager to have more educated citizens, more funding has also been allocated to education. Given this, it follows that there is the potential for increased resources, which would then inevitably allow for a higher educational level. Better teacher training, thus allowing for better teachers, has also been influential.
Externally, the job market often requires potential employees to have qualifications and certificates, often at the expense of experience, which has resulted in pressure from students to raise the educational level. With many industries and companies becoming increasingly specialised, there has also been a demand for equally specialised courses and higher education programmes. This in turn has led to a higher standard of education. In addition, the majority of people find a correlation between their expected salary and their educational achievements, and this naturally acts as a factor in promoting further education.
One final factor which can be considered is that a higher standard of education has been directly affected by abusing the government’s interest in educating its citizens, as this allows for people to remain studying for some considerable time with the only goal being to maintain a stress-free life of a student. However, the costs of student loans is now reducing this negative factor.
In conclusion, it can be observed that there are a number of both internal and external factors contributing to a higher level of education.
|
0.91658 |
Python Web services, JSON, and ISS Oh My!
In this post I will talk about how to handle JSON data from an external API utilizing python. Making calls to web services is made simple with python, with just a few lines of code you can track the International Space Station’s (ISS) position and time, realtime with a sleek graphical user interface. The following is a link to the project files download, https://codeclubprojects.org/en-GB/python/iss/.
The Turtle module is an object oriented graphics tool that draws to a canvas or screen. Turtle’s methods derived include forward(), backwards(), left() and right() like telling a turtle in what direction to draw. Turtle will draw over a NASA curated 2D map of Earth, so you should place the ‘map.jpg’ file in your project directory.
So one of the first things we need to do is instantiate a turtle screen with the following command.
The image size is 720w by 360h so our turtle screen size should fit the image size.
To represent the ISS on the 2D map let’s choose an image, it doesn’t have to be the following icon but it’s a nice icon so Houston we have liftoff!
Our location object will tell turtle to write the ISS png file to the screen at a specific position given the latitude and longitude of the ISS. Instantiate a Turtle() to create an object with the following code.
Now, before we can tell our turtle to draw the ISS overhead-time we need the actual latitude and longitude coordinates of the passing ISS. A quick google search gives us the coordinates to store in a dictionary.
To call the api we first need the url, ‘http://api.open-notify.org/astros.json,’ this will tell the api to give us the data we need to extrapolate the ISS data.
The lines above are the contents of the json data, data is accessed similar to a python dictionary utilizing keys and indices.
# setup loop to iterate and plot when the iss will be at the plotted location.
The above code block makes a call to the api, loads the json data, parses the overhead pass time (when the iss will be over the specified position) and then plots the time at the given location.
The above code block makes a call to the api, loads the json data, parses the overhead position at the current geographic coordinates and plots the iss icon. The while loop is infinite to constantly track the iss.
|
0.991533 |
What is Gam-Anon? If you've heard of Gamblers Anonymous (GA), you might know that as a 12-step recovery program for people struggling with a gambling addiction. Well, Gam-Anon is its counterpart for spouses, family, and close friends of compulsive gamblers. In other words, it's a self-help organization that offers support in dealing with the struggles that inevitably arise from being close to a problem gambler.
The program provides a tremendous amount of written materials (sold for the cost of production), which is said to be written by its members. In other words, it doesn't provide materials written by professionals, but rather by people who have lived in your shoes and truly understand what you're going through. That said, as its members come from all walks of life, some of the materials are written by people who work in the professional field. It's hard to tell, however, as this fact isn't stated on any of the materials, and the reality is that most of the material truly isn't written by professionals.
The spirit of the meetings as well as the literature is quite refreshing, for you do immediately feel that the people in the room, as well as those who have written the material really to "get you." After months, years, or even decades of living with (or being close to) someone with a gambling addiction problem, you probably feel isolated, scared, fearful of the future, drowning in denial or self-doubt, and generally feeling alone and miserable (and that doesn't even include the financial issues that you're probably dealing with!). You either haven't told your friends and family about the problem, or you have, and it's clear that they truly don't understand what's going on. Well, Gam-Anon is a place where you certainly won't feel alone!
The core of the meetings (as with GA) is that what you say in a meetings doesn't leave the room. Nor are you to speak of the stories you hear to others outside of the room. It's designed specifically to ensure that anonymity is a sacred principle, allowing you to come to meetings, say whatever is on your mind, and no one will ridicule you, nor repeat what you've said. In that sense, it really is a safe-haven for people struggling with how to deal with the gambling problem in your life.
In your first meeting, you'll be asked to introduce yourself (first name only). You'll be provided with a free handbook to get you started, and any paid materials you can borrow during the meeting should you not want to, or not be able to afford to buy. Materials typically range from $2 to $8.
The first part of the meeting will be readings from the main Handbook. The person leading the meeting (members take turns leading the meetings; there's no one specific leader of the group) will ask various people to read different sections of the materials. Usually it goes around the table from person to person, so you'll know when it's your turn. People are often so upset and emotional during the first meeting that they are often unable to read; that's ok. If you don't feel like reading, you can ask to be skipped.
After the reading, the meeting is usually turned over for open sharing. Each person is provided with approximately 3-5 minutes to share (depending on the number of people present). While sometimes the leader provides a topic to focus discussion, you're welcome to share what's on your mind, things you're struggling with, etc. For the first meeting (or second meeting if you're not up to sharing for the first meeting), the expectation is that you'll share "your story." What brought you to the meeting? When did you learn that your spouse or loved one was a problem gambler? How has it affected your life? Etc. You can share as much or as little as you're comfortable with.
At some point during the meeting a basket will be passed around asking for donations. It's not mandatory, and for your first meetings you're not expected to contribute, but rather, if you have a few dollars, you can use it to buy additional materials. People typically contribute $1 - $3 per meeting, but, again, it's completely up to you when and what you contribute, and is certainly not mandatory.
After open sharing, there's usually some more readings, the Treasurer provides a report of what's remaining in the donations account (which is used to help pay for rent, equipment, etc.), followed by the Serenity Prayer. It's customary for everyone to stand up and join hands while reciting the prayer. Don't worry, it's printed on the back of every booklet, so you can simply read along, or choose to be quiet; it's completely up to you.
Once a month there's usually a Step Class, which is when rather then going through the normal readings, you'll go through one particular step in detail. It's often the first meeting of the month, and the Step number usually corresponds with the month you're in (ex. Jan would be Step 1, Feb would be Step 2, and so on). After all, there are 12 steps.
As noted above, anonymity is extremely valued.
During the meeting, and during sharing in particular, no "cross-talk" is allowed. Many people are confused by what this really means. Essentially it means that you're not allowed to ask questions, make jokes, agree with something someone says, or otherwise talk. In other words, it's really a one-way communication type of atmosphere. If you want to ask questions or otherwise have a conversation, do so either before or after the meetings.
This isn't a rule, but more of a recommendation, which is that it's recommended that you come to at least 6 meetings before determiningwhether or not Gam-Anon is for you. It really does take a handful of meetings to catch on to what Gam-Anon is all about.
Gam-Anon is a fairly typical 12-step self-help program that doesn't involve professionals. It doesn't purport to be a replacement for therapy, or other ways to deal with the issue of gambling addiction. In fact, you'll often find that discussion relating to other forms of therapy that you're doing or contemplating are discouraged. Gam-Anon tries to avoid controversy by sticking to its own literature and techniques for handing various situations. Depending on your point of view, this can be considered comforting or disturbing.
In my opinion, Gam-Anon is one piece of the recovery pie, and should not be seen as a full, well-rounded approach to dealing with the gambling problem in your life. Many people disagree with me on this point, and I only encourage you to keep an open mind as you explore what recovery approach(es) are best for you and your personal situation. You'll know what feels right; trust your instincts.
Go through the Are You Living With a Compulsive Gambler? questions.
Find a Gam-Anon Meeting and really commit yourself to going so you can form your own opinion as to its value for you. Many people have said that it has saved their life.
Go back to the Help for Gambling Addiction page and learn about therapy and other treatment options for you and your gambler.
Share your story and/or read other people's stories on the Gambling Addiction Help page.
|
0.999875 |
My synopsis: A powerful documentary showcasing the problems of maternal care in America. This documentary has been attributed to starting the “Natural Birth Movement” of today. Many issues were discussed such as the alarming rising rate of cesarean sections (and if they are necessary) performed in America, the lack of information and options available to women during their pregnancy such as Birthing Centers, Doulas, or Midwives, as well as exploring the financial and litigation aspects of hospitals and how it has been changing the way healthcare has started to treat and view birth.
|
0.895983 |
Lieberman helped lead her club to gold medals at the 1975 Pan American Games and the World Championships. The following year, the team participated in the inaugural women's Olympic basketball team competition. Lieberman was 17 when she started playing at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal; she had just turned 18 when the team won silver, making her the youngest basketball player to win an Olympic medal.
Lieberman's Olympic glory caught the attention of universities around the country. Thanks to a new law, Title IX, that barred discrimination at federally funded schools, colleges were starting to offer scholarships to female athletes. Lieberman received more than 100 scholarship offers. She chose Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. "I always wanted to go to a place nobody had heard of because I thought of myself as an underdog, and I wanted to help build something," she said in the Omaha World Herald.
As a 5-foot-10 point guard, Lieberman helped lead Old Dominion to national titles in 1979 and 1980. During her collegiate career, she scored 2,430 points, grabbed 1,167 rebounds, and dealt 961 assists. Three times an All-American, she was the only two-time winner of the Wade Trophy, which recognizes the National Player of the Year in women's college basketball. Lieberman became known as "Lady Magic," deeming her the female equivalent of Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson .
Drafted in 1980 by the Dallas Diamonds of the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), Lieberman left college before completing her degree. She could not compete in the 1980 Olympics because of President Carter's boycott over the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Instead, she helped guide the Diamonds to the 1981 championship series, where they lost to the Nebraska Wranglers. After leaving basketball briefly to serve as a personal trainer to tennis star Martina Navratilova , Lieberman in 1984 returned to the Diamonds, now part of the new Women's American Basketball Association (WABA). Averaging 27 points per game and voted the league's Most Valuable Player, Lieberman helped lead the Diamonds to a 1984 WABA championship. Both the WBL and the WABA eventually folded, however.
Lieberman made history in 1986 when she became the first woman to play in a men's professional league. Drafted by the Springfield Fame of the United States Basketball League (USBL), she took her place in her first men's team. In 1987 she switched to the USBL's Long Island Knights, and in 1988 she joined the Washington Generals, where she met her future husband, teammate Tim Cline. The couple's career with the Generals included a world tour with the Harlem Globetrotters. Regarding her USBL experience, Lieberman said at her Hall of Fame induction: "They should put the bench I sat on in the Hall of Fame because I saw more time there."
Lieberman retired from basketball in the early 1990s after two disappointments. For the first time in her career, she was cut from a team, failing to qualify for the 1990 Goodwill Games. Nor did she qualify for the 1992 Olympics. Yet Lieberman had begun a new career as a sports commentator and writer. At the 1988 and 1992 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea and Barcelona, Spain, respectively, she served as an NBC-TV women's basketball commentator. She had also completed her autobiography, Lady Magic.
In 1993 Lieberman became the first woman ever inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. The following year she gave birth to her son, Timothy Joseph, Jr., or "T.J." On May 6, 1996, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Just a few months after her Hall of Fame induction, word spread that Lieberman was considering coming out of retirement to play in the WNBA. American sports fans, it seemed, were beginning to take women's basketball seriously; the WNBA, with its partnership with the deep-pocketed NBA, seemed poised for growth. Lieberman started training seriously and in February, 1997, the 38-year-old player was the next-to-last draft pick of the Phoenix Mercury. "I feel like I'm a cat that has nine lives," she told Tom Flaherty of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I mean, how many chances do you get to do what you love at this level?"
Lieberman played with the Mercury for one year. Turning 39 during the season, she was the oldest player on the WNBA. Phoenix led the league in attendance and won the Western Conference title before losing to the New York Liberty in the playoff semifinals.
From 1998 to 2000, Lieberman was general manager and coach of the WNBA's Detroit Shock. In her first year, while leading the Shock to a 17-13 winning record and a WNBA playoff; players regarded her as highly critical. According to the Associated Press, player Korie Hlede was "abusive and manipulative, playing mind games." Lieberman, who traded Hlede to Utah, downplayed any controversy. "Korie had a very good rookie season, and she really did a lot to jump-start our program," she said. "Korie, her self-esteem was tied to her minutes and starting, and that's why I'm not mad at Korie because I went through that as a young player, too."
Lieberman lives in Dallas, her hometown of more than 20 years. She is chief executive officer of Nancy Lieberman Enterprises, a business launched in the 1980s to run Nancy Lieberman basketball camps for girls. She is also a basketball analyst for ESPN, calling WNBA games and men's and women's college games for the television network. An active public speaker at Fortune 500 companies and high school banquets, Lieberman promotes the benefits of sports for young women. "Research shows that girls who are involved in sports have fewer unwanted pregnancies, are less likely to drop out of school, and have higher self-esteem," she told Brian D. Sweany of Texas Monthly. Lieberman, in February, 2003, expressed interest in the coaching job for the WNBA's Connecticut Sun (the former Orlando Miracle).
Before she left coaching in 2000, Lieberman received her degree from Old Dominion, having gone back to school to complete a marketing degree. Also during her coaching tenure, Lieberman served as president of the Women's Sports Foundation, an advocacy organization founded by tennis legend Billie Jean King , from 1999 through 2000.
Retired from playing but still highly visible in basketball as an ESPN commentator and columnist on its Web site, Lieberman, as a pioneer of the game, remains a source of inspiration to female athletes of all ages.
"I think I've always played with sort of a chip on my shoulder," she said at her Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. "It seems like there has always been someone there at every step of the way to say, 'You can't,' or 'You shouldn't,' or 'You won't.' I've always felt driven to prove those people wrong. If you tell me I can't, my reaction is: 'Yes, I can-watch, and I'll prove it.'"
(With Myrna Frommer and Harvey Frommer) Basketball My Way. New York: Scriber, 1982.
(With Debby Jennings) The Autobiography of Nancy Lieberman-Cline. Champaign, IL: Sagamore, 1992.
ODU: Old Dominion University; PHO: Phoenix Mercury.
(With Nancy, Robin Roberts and Kevin Warneke) Basketball for Women: Becoming a Complete Player. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1996.
Greenberg, Doreen, and Michael Greenberg. A Drive to Win: The Story of Nancy Lieberman-Cline. Terre Haute, IN: Cardinal, 2000.
Dorr, Vic, Jr. "Lieberman's Induction Proves She Did Know Best." Richmond Times Dispatch (May 7, 1996): E1.
Flaherty, Tom. "Ready, Set, Go: Lieberman Is Prepared for Another Run at History." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (June 21, 1997): Sports, 1.
Greenberg, Mel. "Love of Game Led to Fame." Omaha World Herald (May 11, 1996): 52.
"Lieberman a Taskmaster as Shock Coach." Associated Press (May 31, 2000).
Sweany, Brian D. "Where Are They Now?" Texas Monthly (September 2001): Sports, 109.
Ziegel, Vic. "Nancy, 1st Lady of Women's Hoops." Daily News (New York; February 28, 1997): 78.
Altavilla, John. "Coaching List Grows." Hartford Courant, http://www.ctnow.com/sports/ (February 5, 2003).
Nancy Lieberman Official Web Site. http://www.ladymagic.com (January 22, 2003).
"Nancy Lieberman." Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/nancy_lieberman.htm (January 22, 2003).
"Lieberman, Nancy." Notable Sports Figures. . Encyclopedia.com. 16 Apr. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
|
0.979468 |
Our second last day of summer evangelism wasn’t without challenges. Ricardo and I sought to speak with a young lady waiting for her bus. I told her who we were, where we were from and that we were out sharing the Gospel. She instantly felt awkward and started laughing. I encouraged her that these are important conversations to have. By God’s grace she was too nice to dismiss us. She engaged in a conversation that ended up recruiting a small measure of mockery (and some more laughing).
What follows is an abbreviated summary of what happened. Y refers to the lady; P refers to me; and M refers to another lady who joined in.
P: What do you think of Jesus?
Y: I don’t know. (And looking at me as though this was a silly question).
P: Well, what do you know of him? Surely you have thoughts of some kind.
Y: Well, I don’t really believe in God.
P: Why do you hold to atheism?
Y: I just grew up with it and I’ve always believed it.
P: Well, in light of the world we observe, do you think it’s a more reasonable position?
P: Do you believe in the big bang?
P: Well, why do you opt for order coming from chaos over the idea that God created everything with order?
Y: Well, I’m not saying it’s impossible. I just don’t believe.
P: Well, have you ever read the Bible?
Y: Not really. But the Bible is not reliable.
Y: It was written by men.
P: So you’re saying it’s corrupted because it was written by men and men make mistakes?
P: But think about this: you are a person. So how do you know you’re not making a mistake in your judgement of the Bible. You said men make mistakes. (She seemed to understand my argument and her body language indicated that she conceded).
P: And surely it wouldn’t be too hard for an all powerful God to keep his Word pure, even through men. (She agreed on this theoretically).
P: The Bible is trustworthy and it clearly teaches that God created the world out of nothing, that he created everything good and that we are the ones who’ve messed up the world. We’ve sinned by disobeying God’s commands. And now we’re not good. And that’s why we feel guilt. You ever feel guilt?
Y: Yes (smiling with the look of, “Why are you talking about this?”).
P: Me too. You know, the reason we feel guilt is because we have it. It’s that simple. It’s real, but that’s the very reason why God sent Jesus into the world. You know about the Cross? How Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead? The reason he came to do that was to save us.
P: (I looked over at her and was silent for a few seconds, and with firmness I said back to her) The Jesus of Scripture that even non-Christians and liberal Bible scholars don’t deny existed.
(Though M was silenced, Y and M were now both laughing with each other at me).
P: (speaking to Y) Look, the reason we’re out talking to people is because these things matter and we care for you. Thank you for taking the time to let us speak to you. Take care.
At that moment Y walked over to M and the two became friends. We could overhear them laughing together and M saying how she needed to “save” Y from me.
By the grace of God, Ricardo and I prayed for them. And by the grace of God we truly considered ourselves blessed. But I really felt opposed spiritually. I felt little and despised by people. I was laughed at. I felt, in the smallest measure, something of what my Saviour felt. And it was good.
After my first few days of training as a concierge/security guard for condominiums, I learned that I would be doing two overnight shifts a week at Shopper’s Drugmart. The first two hours of my shift were spent in the cosmetics department. I was to spend my time near the cash, thus, naturally, I would be spending time talking with the worker in the cosmetics section.
On my second night of work, the lady working was quite talkative. We talked about many things, much about security work, for her boyfriend also does night shift security work. Needless to say, I was praying and waiting for opportunity to speak of the things of the Lord.
Nothing seemed to be happening until . . .
Nothing seemed to be happening. After my first hour, nothing happened. I thought, “Well, I may work with her again. I will be patient.” The next thing I knew, she asked me, “So do you have another job?” I thought, “Well, yes, do I ever!” I replied, “Yes. I am a Christian preacher. I teach the Bible at churches when they need someone to fill in.” This led to a long discussion about her desire to see her grandma when she dies and about a Christian lady from her past who used to take her to Peoples Church (for a brief season).
She really wanted to see her grandma when she died and she asked me, “Do you think I will see her when I die?” I told her, “Well, I know that the Bible teaches about life after death. There is judgement and then people either go to heaven or hell. I asked her where she thinks she will go. She told me that she had a very promiscuous past and that she had an abortion many years ago, and she confessed, “that is murder.” Then she said, “so that’s a pretty big [sin].” She was convinced that God would hold the abortion against her.
During a portion of our conversation, when I started to share Scripture with her, she suddenly got out her pen and began to write down the Scriptures on a piece of paper. When she grabbed the pen I told her Genesis 3, Romans 3, Romans 5, Mark 1:15 and Ephesians 2:8-9. I thought that would be a sufficient start. A week later I followed up with her I learned that she read at least one passage. However, she was discouraged because she did not understand it. I was unable to really follow up on which passage it was and what it was that she could not understand.
May the Lord keep Satan from stealing that seed. May He make her heart good soil that she may bear the fruit of genuine faith.
On October 19, I wrote my first of three posts on a conversation I had with a Jehovah’s Witness at a Coffee Time in Guelph, Ontario. I promised to write two more posts. Originally, I planned to continue writing about that first meeting I had, but I met with that same man last week. Thus, though I shall keep my promise of writing two more posts on my dialogue with the JW at Coffee Time, this post (and the third one) will recap my most recent talk with him, which again, was at a Coffee Time in Guelph.
Again we met for about two and a half hours. Thus, we talked about many things, but one very important observation we keep coming to was that of our differing translations. Different translation means different meaning which means different truth and therefore, a different faith. Accordingly, we talked about translations.
Though I have only studied three years of Greek and two years of Hebrew, I know for certain that when Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, ego eimi” (John 8:58), ego eimi is in the Present Indicative Active. For those of you who do not know what Present Indicative Active means, simply know this, it means ego eimi should be translated “I am.” Accordingly, “Before Abraham was, I am” is the correct translation of John 8:58. I spent quite bit of time explaining this to my JW friend, but he would not accept it. His translation says something like, “Before Abraham was, I have been.” I showed him that Jesus is alluding to Jehovah’s self-description in Exodus (3:14). Jesus is saying that He is Jehovah. Jesus is saying He is God. He would not believe it. I explained that Jesus’ pronouncement of being God is the very reason that “the Jews picked up stones to throw at him” (John 8:59).
In response, he took me to Proverbs 8:22, where wisdom personified seems to be a description of Christ. However, the JW translation says something like, “Jehovah produced me at the beginning of his work.” However, the ESV says, “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work.” Produced and possessed contain very different meanings. Did the Lord produce Jesus OR did He possess Jesus? The Lord did not produce Jesus. Jesus is eternal. We looked at various texts and I continued to see that the JW translation was different at many points.
Sadly, this man trusts the JW translation and he believes that all the other translations are wrong. He does not know any Greek or Hebrew. He has not questioned the JW translation. He has not fixed his hands to the task of studying these things. He simply accepts the JW translation, trusts it and prizes it.
In my first meeting with him, I had my Greek NT with me and I explained how John 8:58 is not translated correctly. However, he would not accept what I said. He only believes what the Watchtower society tells him. I asked him what he reads. He only read three things: the JW Bible and two magazines produced by the Watchtower society (Watchtower and Awake) – that is it. I also noticed that he uses a book called something like Reasoning from the Scripture, which tells him the meaning of various passages of the Bible that may be controversial. He used this book a few times when I asked him questions on texts that he could not answer and that contradicted JW theology. Therefore, other JW authors interpret the Bible for him. Some of their reasoning is certainly NOT reasonable.
This was a very interesting talk that went on for some time. I told him that they are wrong about Jesus and I tried to show him why, but he would not really listen to me – he will only think about the Bible in ways that the JW’s have told him to think. I kept reminding him that he is trusting in the word of man. I really challenged him to read more widely but as far as he is concerned, as he said, “If I have the truth, why look elsewhere?” I assured him that he doesn’t.
I also told him that his view of the Bible has been dictated by two magazines for twenty-three years. I assured him that I was telling him the truth but that he will not accept it simply because it is not in agreement with the teaching of two other magazines that have shaped his theology. He openly admits that these two magazines have largely shaped the way he sees and understands the Bible. However, he sees this as a good thing.
We both agreed that we are not worshipping the same God, nor the same Jesus. I am sobered and saddened by his blindness. I cannot help but think of 2 Corinthians 4:4 (“the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers”). But, I believe that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16) . . . and how will JW’s believe? By hearing the Gospel (Rom 10:17). I believe there is hope. May the Lord have mercy on whom He will have mercy.
|
0.947393 |
Astrodon (aster: star, odon: tooth) is a dubious genus of large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur, related to Brachiosaurus, that lived in what is now the eastern United States during the Early Cretaceous period. Its fossils have been found in the Arundel Formation, which has been dated through palynomorphs to the Albian about 112 million years ago. Adults are estimated to have been more than 9 m (30 ft) high and 15 to 18 m (50 to 60 ft) long.
Two dinosaur teeth were received in late November 1858 by chemist Philip Thomas Tyson from John D. Latchford. They had been found in Latchford's open iron ore pit in the Arundel Formation at Swampoodle near Muirkirk in Prince George's County, Maryland. Tyson let them be studied by the dentist Christopher Johnston, professor at the Baltimore Dental College, who cut one tooth in half and thereby discovered a characteristic star-formed cross-section. Johnston named Astrodon in 1859. However, he did not attach a specific epithet, so Joseph Leidy is credited with naming Astrodon johnstoni (the type species) in 1865, with as holotype specimen YPM 798. If Johnston had attached a specific epithet, it would have been the second dinosaur species identified in the United States. Johnston incorrectly stated that the site of the discovery had been an iron mine near the town of Bladensburg.
The Arundel Formation of Maryland has been dated through palynomorphs to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 112 million years ago. This formation is part of the Potomac Group that includes formations not only in Maryland but also in parts of Washington D. C., Delaware and Virginia. The Arundel Formation was deposited on the edge of the expanding Atlantic Ocean basin. The region preserved in this formation was a broad, and generally flat plain with several streams running across it, probably similar to the modern day coastal regions of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Fossil material assigned to Astrodon has also been found in two Oklahoma localities of the Antlers Formation, which stretches from southwest Arkansas through southeastern Oklahoma and into northeastern Texas. This geological formation has not been dated radiometrically. Scientists have used biostratigraphic data and the fact that it shares several of the same genera as the Trinity Group of Texas, to surmise that this formation was laid down during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous Period, approximately 110 mya. The Papo Seco Formation of the Lusitanian Basin in Portugal also provided Astrodon fossils.
In what is now Maryland, Astrodon shared its paleoenvironment with dinosaurs such as coelurosaurians, the ankylosaurian Priconodon crassus, the nodosaurid Propanoplosaurus marylandicus, a possible basal ceratopsian, and potentially the ornithopod Tenontosaurus. The fossil evidence points to the presence of the poorly known theropods Dryptosaurus medius, Capitalsaurus potens and Coelurus gracilis, and the well known large theropod Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, which likely were the apex predators in this region. Other vertebrates are not as well-known from the formation, but include freshwater sharks, lungfish, at least three genera of turtles including Glyptops caelatus and the crocodilian Goniopholis affinis. Evidence has shown that the multituberculate early mammal Argillomys marylandensis was also present. Trace fossils included theropod tracks known as Eubrontes and others assigned to the ichnogenus Pteraichinus belonging to a pterosaur, which demonstrate that these animals were present in abundance. The plant life known from this area included trees preserved as silicified wood, cycads like Dioonites, Ginkgo, the ground plant Selaginella and the giant redwood conifer Sequoia.
In 1998, Astrodon johnstoni was named the state dinosaur of Maryland. Astrodon also appears in the novel Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker, as prey of Utahraptor.
^ a b c Carpenter, Kenneth & Tidwell, Virginia (2005). "Reassessment of the Early Cretaceous sauropod Astrodon johnstoni Leidy 1865 (Titanosauriformes)". In Kenneth Carpenter & Virginia Tidswell (eds.). Thunder Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press. pp. 38–77. ISBN 978-0-253-34542-4.
^ Hatcher, John Bell (1903). "Discovery of remains of Astrodon (Pleurocoelus) in the Atlantosaurus beds of Wyoming". Annals of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 2: 9–14.
^ Rose, Peter J. (2007). "A new titanosauriform sauropod (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Early Cretaceous of central Texas and its phylogenetic relationships". Palaeontologia Electronica. 10 (2): 8A.
^ d'Emic, Michael D. (2013). "Revision of the sauropod dinosaurs of the Lower Cretaceous Trinity Group, southern USA, with the description of a new genus". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 11 (6): 707–726. doi: 10.1080/14772019.2012.667446.
^ Wedel, M. J., and Cifelli, R. L. 2005. Sauroposeidon: Oklahoma’s native giant. Oklahoma Geology Notes 65 (2):40–57.
^ Weishampel, David B.; Barrett, Paul M.; Coria, Rodolfo A.; Le Loueff, Jean; Xu Xing; Zhao Xijin; Sahni, Ashok; Gomani, Elizabeth M.P.; Noto, Christopher N. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution". In David B. Weishampel; Peter Dodson; Halszka Osmólska (eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 517–606. ISBN 978-0-520-24209-8.
^ Harris, Jerald D. (1998). "Large, Early Cretaceous theropods in North America". In Spencer G. Lucas; James I. Kirkland; J. W. Estep (eds.). Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 14. pp. 225–228.
^ Lipka, Thomas R. (1998). "The affinities of the enigmatic theropods of the Arundel Clay facies (Aptian), Potomac Formation, Atlantic Coastal Plain of Maryland". In Spencer G. Lucas; James I. Kirkland; J. W. Estep (eds.). Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 14. pp. 229–234.
^ Weishampel, David B.; Barrett, Paul M.; Coria, Rodolfo A.; Le Loeuff, Jean; Xu Xing; Zhao Xijin; Sahni, Ashok; Gomani, Elizabeth, M.P.; and Noto, Christopher R. (2004). "Dinosaur Distribution", in The Dinosauria (2nd), p. 264.
^ Brinkman, Daniel L.; Cifelli, Richard L.; & Czaplewski, Nicholas J. (1998). "First occurrence of Deinonychus antirrhopus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Antlers Formation (Lower Cretaceous: Aptian – Albian) of Oklahoma". Oklahoma Geological Survey Bulletin 146: 1–27.
^ Nydam, R. L. and R. L. Cifelli. 2002a. Lizards from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) Antlers and Cloverly formations. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 22:286–298.
^ Cifelli, R. Gardner, J. D., Nydam, R. L., and Brinkman, D. L. 1999. Additions to the vertebrate fauna of the Antlers Formation (Lower Cretaceous), southeastern Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geology Notes 57:124–131.
^ Kielan-Jarorowska, Z., and Cifelli, R. L. 2001. Primitive boreosphenidan mammal (?Deltatheroida) from the Early Cretaceous of Oklahoma. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 46: 377–391.
Johnston, C., 1859, "Note on odontography," Amer. Journal Dental Sci. 9:337–343.
Kranz, P. M. 1996, "Notes on the Sedimentary Iron Ores of Maryland and their Dinosaurian Fauna", in Maryland Geological Survey Special Publication No. 3, pp. 87–115.
Leidy, J 1865, Memoir on the extinct reptiles of the Cretaceous formations of the United States. Smithson. Contrib. Knowl. XIV: atr. VI: 1–135.
Lucas, F. A. 1904, "Paleontological notes," Science (n.s.) XIX (480): 436–437.
Lull, R. S. 1911, "The Reptillian Fauna of the Arundel Formation" and "Systematic Paleontology of the Lower Cretaceous Deposits of Maryland – Dinosauria", Lower Cretaceous: Maryland Geological Survey Systematic Reports, pp. 173–178, 183–211.
Marsh, O. C. 1888, "Notice of a New Genus of Sauropoda and Other New Dinosaurs from the Potomac Group," American Journal of Science, 3rd Series, Vol. XXXV, pp. 89–94.
|
0.996782 |
What were the main themes of the book? Family values, parenting and personal growth. As you grow up and become exposed to what the world has to offer, you tend to lose a little humour. This book teaches you to keep on laughing and not to take things so seriously.
Describe 2 different settings or locations. One - When she talks about Jojo. We all have that one friend who changes us forever and it was easy to relate to this chapter.
Two - Her experience with Mildred. Talk about taking positive thinking to a whole different level. Once again, this chapter was humourous but had its lessons for every reader.
Were you able to connect with the main character and why? Seeing that the main 'character' was the author itself, I was able to connect with her. However, because of my age and her experience, I felt like it was talking to my mum.
Which did you find more appealing, the introduction or the conclusion? Hmmm, I'm going to go for the introduction. It's a whole lot funnier at the beginning and there's more to be discovered about her life in the earlier chapters.
Why would you recommend or not recommend this book? Yes, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good laugh and a good read.
|
0.919617 |
What is a conventional oil or gas well? Think Colonel Drake and his successful oil well drilled in Titusville in 1859. Edwin Drake (not actually a real Colonel) drilled 69.5 feet into a sedimentary rock formation that contained trapped oil and gas. Oil and gas is actually formed at a deeper depth in an organic rock known as the source rock. The organic rock was/is composed of organic debris (plant and marine debris) that has been compacted over millions of years by layers of overlaying rocks. The oil and gas is cooked by the temperatures and pressures generated by the overlaying rocks.
Over time some of the oil and gas migrates upward from the organic rock and becomes trapped in sedimentary formations that are covered or “trapped” by an overlaying impermeable barrier. Colonel Drake drilled into one of those trapped sedimentary formations.
A conventional well is one which taps these traditional sedimentary formations, sometimes also known as “traps.” A conventional well typically is drilled using the same methodology as Colonel Drake: a vertical hole that employs layers of steel and cement to separate the well bore from the surrounding freshwater aquifers.
An unconventional well is different in that it drills deeper to tap the organic rock that is the actual source of the oil and gas. An unconventional well usually employs sophisticated methodologies including horizontal drilling.
A typical well pad cleared for a conventional oil or natural gas well is many times smaller than an unconventional well.
The needs of the small conventional site are flexible (equipment can frequently be arranged on the access road rather than the site location, etc.); thus the conventional site can be more flexibly adapted to existing site terrain.
A new conventional well involves a small number of truck trips (generally less than one dozen).
Wellhead pressures of new conventional wells are very low, beginning at several hundred pounds or less and quickly reducing to very low pressures measured in single or double digits.
A conventional oil or gas well has a small footprint in the production phase.
Conventional wells are also generally “stripper” wells producing small quantities of oil or gas. Conventional wells have marginal rates of return and are strongly influenced by oil and natural gas commodity prices and other market forces. When the cost to drill conventional wells increases, conventional wells become less viable. The number of conventional wells drilled in Pennsylvania has declined steadily since 2007, from a high of 4,836 wells drilled in 2007 to 2,002 drilled in 2009, to 1,272 wells in 2011, and to less than 1000 wells drilled in 2013.
|
0.999995 |
Functions of Locksmith Services A locksmith is a person whose specialty is in keys, locks and security system. The, locksmithing is an occupation of a locksmith. The principal duty of a locksmith is to repair wrecked locks, create keys, and install security systems such as alarms. Before one become a locksmith, he or she is expected by law to follow certain rules and regulations. Some countries require locksmith to start as trainees before they qualify to be professionals whereas in some nations locksmith are required by law to acquire a certificate or a degree from a qualified and recognized institution. Locksmiths take many years to master the profession, and their work goes beyond repairing locks and security systems. In most cases, locksmiths work a moveable amenity to serve their customers on location or in another case they may operate from a shop premises. The duties of a locksmith involves trying to get access to locked vehicles and houses to replacing locks if a lock fails or recovering a key when it gets lost. Additionally, locksmithing may also involve gaining access to safes and get a wide understanding of domestic and commercial security systems. Other areas that are covered by locksmiths include vehicle locksmithing, safes, and access control. However, these services require specialized training and are mostly performed by a qualified and specialized locksmith. At times, electronic keys may be used by locksmiths to repair and install new keys. The electronic keys used by locksmith operate using electric current, and they are mostly integrated to an access control system. In an electric lock, the bolt is connected to a motor inside the door by means of a fragment known as an actuator. The types of electronic locks used by locksmith include, a keycard lock, a smart lock, and a sidebar lock. The electronic keycard lock functions with a flat card that is similar in size with a credit card. When an individual wants to open a door, they ought to make sure that signature in the key card has match. Smart locks differ from keycard locks since the latter use commands to lock and unlock a door from an accredited electronic device through a wireless conventions. The invention of smartphones has made smart locks to be installed in most residential homes since they can be easily controlled using the phones. On the other hand, sidebar lock works using fins designed on a radial key that activates sidebars that bring into line with a cylindrical code bar inside the lock.
|
0.999951 |
In this tutorial series, we are going to be making a set of gizmos you can use in 3D, at run time in Godot.
We will not be tackling 2D gizmos in this tutorial series, though if you are interested let me know in the comments below! I'd love to make a 2D gizmo tutorial series as well if there is interest.
While this tutorial can be completed by beginners, it is recommended to have some Godot experience before tackling this tutorial as it is fairly complex.
If you are wondering what a gizmo is, I'll do my best to explain what we will be making. We will be making a set of objects, gizmos, that then the mouse interacts with them, they will perform a certain function.
For example, in the picture above there is a yellow square with some colored handles coming out of it. This is the translation gizmo (like the math function). By clicking and dragging on one of the colored handles, you can move the object around on that single axis.
For example, clicking and dragging on the green handle will move the object up and down. Another example is clicking and dragging on the yellow cube in the center, which will move the object relative to the camera's view.
The idea is that by using multiple gizmos, you can position, rotate, and scale the object until it is in the correct position, with the correct rotation, and the correct scale.
## Why would we want a gizmo?
You may be thinking, why would we want 3D gizmos during runtime, especially since we can already position, rotate, and scale nodes in Godot using Godot's built in gizmos.
* The reason I got inspired to make this project to begin with is the need in a level editor I am making. Levels in the game are stored in a custom file format and are saved/loaded at runtime, so I needed a gizmo that would allow me to manipulate objects within my level at runtime.
* You could add 3D gizmos in a debug mode or sorts so you can easily manipulate objects for testing purposes. For example, you may want to test whether a AI agent can navigate its way out of a maze from any point. By implementing a 3D gizmo, you can move the agent to the position you want within the maze without having to restart the project, go into the scene, move the object, and then launch the game again.
* If you want to learn how to place objects from one viewport into another. This could be useful to know for all sorts of projects, not just 3D gizmos.
Another reason you may want to make 3D gizmos that work during runtime is simply to know how to make 3D gizmos. I found writing the 3D gizmos incredibly interesting and it made me realize how complicated something as simple seeming as 3D gizmos can be!
A added bonus is that we will also cover how to work with multiple viewports, learning how to move/rotate/scale objects relative to the camera, and how to make a free look camera that can select objects in the scene!
* For the project I'm making that needs gizmos, this was not a feasible option.
* We can learn a lot by making our own version, and as a bonus, if we need to change something we can easily make adjustments.
* I have no idea how hard it would be to reuse Godot's gizmos and I do not want to edit the C++ source code or use GDNative for this tutorial.
So, let's jump right in and get this tutorial going!
First we need to get everything setup.
I have included a starter project that has a prebuilt scene we will be using in this tutorial. Go ahead and [download it HERE](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LF6RGZYm70FvCw6e9BC2_dH6MVI40O1p) and extract it somewhere on your computer. Open the project up in Godot and let's take a look at what is included.
Before we start poking around the scene itself, let's take a look at the project settings.
If you are wondering why everything looks a tad smaller, it is because I'm using a borrowed Mac computer, and I do not have Godot setup quite right just yet! Hopefully in the future I'll be able to fix it, but for this tutorial the pictures will all be a tad smaller than normal. Sorry!
Once you have the project settings open, navigate to the input map tab and scroll down to the bottom. You should find that there are a few input actions already setup and ready.
These input actions are what we will be using to move the camera around the scene. Feel free to change them if you want/need.
Other than that, the rest of the project settings are the same as the defaults Godot creates.
Let's take a look at the included scene and how it is setup next.
You may have noticed some of the nodes in the above picture are not fully expanded. This is on purpose and we'll look at these nodes in more details as we use them.
* Example_Scene: The root node of the scene.
* Normal_Objects A scene to hold all of the normal objects in the scene. In this case, 'normal' are just nodes that are nodes we will not be directly using in this tutorial. Instead, these nodes are the nodes we will be moving with the gizmos.
* Floor : A StaticBody node that will act as the floor for this example scene.
* MeshInstance : A MeshInstance node that holds the mesh used for the floor.
* CollisionShape : A CollisionShape node that holds the collision shape surrounding the floor.
* Wall : A StaticBody node that will act as a wall in this example scene.
* MeshInstance : A MeshInstance node that holds the mesh used for the wall.
* CollisionShape : A CollisionShape node that holds the collision shape surrounding the wall.
* Wall2 : Another StaticBody node that will act as a wall. The node structure is exactly the same as Wall.
* RigidBody_Box : A RigidBody node that is a simple red box.
* MeshInstance : A MeshInstance node that holds the mesh used for the RigidBody.
* CollisionShape : A CollisionShape node that holds the collision shape surrounding the RigidBody.
* RigidBody_Prism : A RigidBody node that is a simple green prism. Outside of the different mesh, material, and collision shape, everything is more or less the same as RigidBody_Box.
* RigidBody_Cylinder : A RigidBody node that is a simple blue cylinder. Outside of the different mesh, material, and collision shape, everything is more or less the same as RigidBody_Box.
* DirectionalLight : A DirectionalLight node to help illuminate the scene.
* WorldEnvironment : A WorldEnvironment node to add tweak the visuals slightly to make them look a little better. Feel free to delete this node if you want/need, as it is completely unnecessary and is only used for visuals.
* Editor_Controller : A Spatial node to hold all of the nodes we will need for our 3D gizmo editor of sorts.
* Editor_UI : A Control node to hold all of the UI we will need for our editor.
* Editor_Viewport : A Viewport node that we will use to render objects on top of the current scene. This is especially useful for the 3D gizmos, as we want to make them render on top of whatever object is selected.
* Editor_Camera_Controller : A Spatial node that holds all of the nodes we will need to make the camera that will navigate through the scene.
As you can see, this is quite a few nodes and we haven't even seen them all yet! Thankfully all of the nodes under the Normal_Objects node we will not be using at all in this tutorial expect at runtime, and we will not need to do anything to those nodes to make them work during runtime.
Let's work on the editor camera first, as from there we can continually build on top of it as we go through the tutorial series.
But before we start working on anything, let's quickly write all of the code we will need in the Editor_Controller node, as it is really small, straightforward, and we'll need it for the editor camera.
* on_editor_mode_change : Technically this is not a variable but instead is a custom signal that we will be emitting when the UI has changed the editor mode. We'll not be using this until we get to the editor UI.
* editor_mode : A variable to hold the current mode the editor is in, which we will be storing in a string.
* If you are wondering, we are exporting the variable so we can see its value in the remote debugger, not so it can be set from the editor, which is an added bonus.
* Also, we could make this a integer, a enumerator, or something else, but for simplicity we will be using a string. So long as we are consistent with how we set editor_mode, using a string should work fine.
* is_in_freelook_mode : A variable to hold whether the camera is in free look mode. This is we we know whether the camera is moving and so we need to ignore mouse clicks due to the camera's movement.
The only variable we really need of this bunch for the player camera is is_in_freelook_mode. We need is_in_freelook_mode so we the camera only moves in free look mode and not all the time.
Let's quickly go through the functions too, since they are small and easy to quickly blaze through.
First we assign editor_mode to the new passed in editor mode, new_mode. Finally, we emit the on_editor_mode_change signal using the emit_signal function. We do not need to pass any arguments along with the signal, so that's all we need to do.
All we are doing here is passing whatever input event we have to the Editor_Viewport node. We need to do this because in Godot Viewport nodes do not receive input events on their own, they have to have input events passed to them.
So, all we are doing is for each and every event the Editor_Controller node receives, we just pass it straight to the Editor_Viewport node using the input function, so all of the children nodes in Editor_Viewport will receive input events.
If you are wondering why Viewport nodes do not receive input events by default is for a very good reason, though for this project it kinda gets in the way, unfortunately. Viewport nodes do not receive input events by default is because a input event is tailored for the root viewport, the root node of the entire Godot game. For example, this makes things like the mouse by positioned according to the root viewport.
Now for our project, this is not a issue because we are going to make the Editor_Viewport have the exact same size as the root viewport, so in our case all of the elements will line up perfectly with the root viewport. However, if you are doing something like in the [Godot Viewport demos](https://github.com/godotengine/godot-demo-projects/tree/master/viewport), you have Viewports with differing sizes and positions. In this case, you will need to do additional processing so the input events are positioned correctly within the differently sized and positioned Viewport nodes, as they do not have the same size and/or position as the root viewport.
However, for this tutorial, the Editor_Viewport node will have the exact same size and position, so all we need to do is just pass the input events along.
Now that we have written all of the code we will need in the Editor_Controller node, we can move on to making the editor camera itself. This code will move the camera through 3D space so we can see what we are doing, and it will also select physics objects within the scene so we can use the 3D gizmos to edit their position, rotation, and/or scale.
* Editor_Camera_Controller : A Spatial node to hold the Camera node that will render the scene. We will be moving this node through 3D space to move the camera, and we will also be rotating this node on the Y axis (left and right) when the mouse moves in free look mode.
* View_Camera : The Camera node that will be rendering the scene. We will be rotating the Camera on the X axis (up and down) when the mouse moves in free look mode.
Remember, Camera nodes in Godot render face the negative Z axis. You can check this by clicking a camera node and having the Godot editor set to Local Space Mode. You can enable local space mode by pressing a little cube icon in the top right row of buttons in the center scene view.
As you can see, we will only need a couple nodes for the camera system we will use to look around the scene. Let's write the code needed for the camera system next!
* editor_controller : A variable to hold the Editor_Controller node.
* physics_object_selected : A custom signal that we will emit when a new physics object has been selected by the camera. The camera can select the following node types: StaticBody, RigidBody, and KinematicBody nodes.
* NORMAL_COLLISION_LAYER : A variable to hold the collision layer that all of the 'normal' nodes we want to be able to select are on. Anything on this layer will be able to be selected. Check out the tip below for how to calculate this number!
* CONTROL_SPEED : A variable to hold the speed the camera moves at when the control key is held down. Generally in most programs, when the control key is held down the camera will move slower.
* MOVE_SPEED : A variable to hold the speed the camera moves at normally.
* SHIFT_SPEED : A variable to hold the speed the camera moves at when the shift key is held down. Generally in most programs, when the shift key is held down the camera will move faster.
* MOUSE_SENSITIVITY : A variable to store how sensitive the mouse is. You may need to adjust this variable based on the sensitivity of your mouse.
* view_camera : A variable to hold the camera that will render the scene. We need this to get directions based on the camera's rotation.
* CAMERA_MAX_ROTATION_ANGLE : A variable to define how far the camera can move on the X axis when in free look mode. We need this to ensure the camera cannot rotate soo far that it flips upside down.
* send_raycast : A variable for storing whether the camera needs to send out a raycast on the next _physics_process call.
Check out [this answer on the Godot QA](https://godotengine.org/qa/17896/collision-layer-and-masks-in-gdscript) site for how to convert a physics layer to a integer!
If you have gone through some of my other tutorials with free looking cameras, then most of these variables will look similar.
There is only a few variables specific to the 3D gizmo part of this tutorial series: editor_controller, physics_object_selected, and NORMAL_COLLISION_LAYER. All of the other variables will be used almost exclusively for moving the camera.
In fact, most of this code you can reuse in other projects if you want a simple, relatively compact 3D free look camera.
If you are wondering, by free look I must mean a FPS like camera where you can look around the scene with the mouse, and move around the scene with the WASD and arrow keys.
First we get the Editor_Controller node and assign it to the editor_controller variable.
We are using get_parent because in this tutorial, the Editor_Controller node is the parent node in this scene. However, this is assuming that Editor_Controller will always be the parent node, which depending on your project, this may or may not be a safe assumption.
Then we get the View_Camera node and assign it to the view_camera variable.
First we check to see if the right mouse button is pressed or held. We do this by checking to see if Input.is_mouse_button_pressed(BUTTON_RIGHT) is equal to true.
If the right mouse button is pressed/held, then we check to see if the current mouse mode (Input.get_mouse_mode) is not equal to MOUSE_MODE_CAPTURED. If it is, then we set the mouse mode to MOUSE_MODE_CAPTURED using the Input.set_mouse_mode function.
Then we set is_in_freelook_mode in editor_controller to true so we can move the camera around when the right mouse button is pressed/held.
If the right mouse button is NOT pressed/held, then we check to see if the current mouse mode is not equal to MOUSE_MODE_VISIBLE. If it is, then we set the mouse mode to MOUSE_MODE_VISIBLE using the Input.set_mouse_mode function.
Then we set is_in_freelook_mode in editor_controller to false so we can no longer move the camera around, as the right mouse button has been released.
This will make the mouse captured when the right mouse button is pressed, but when the right mouse button is released then the mouse will be released.
The last thing we do is check to see if is_in_freelook_mode in editor_controller is true. If it is, then call the process_movement function so the camera can move around the scene.
First we make two new variables. movement_vector will store the direction the player intends to go, while movement_speed will store the speed the camera will be moving at.
We then check to see if the editor_move_forward action is pressed/down using the is_action_pressed function in Input. If the action is pressed/held, then we set movement_vector.z to -1. If the editor_move_backwards action is pressed/held instead, then we set movement_vector.z to 1 instead.
Remember how I said Camera nodes face the negative Z axis? That is why we are setting movement_vector.z to -1 when the player wants to move forward, and 1 when the player wants to move backwards.
Then we do similar checks for editor_move_right and editor_move_left. If editor_move_right is pressed/held we set movement_vector.x to 1, while if editor_move_left is pressed/held we set movement_vector.x to -1.
Next we check to see if the shift key is pressed/held down by checking to see if is_key_pressed(KEY_SHIFT) returns true. If the shift key is pressed/held, then we set movement_speed to SHIFT_SPEED. Likewise, if is_key_pressed(KEY_CONTROL) returns true, then we set move_speed to CONTROL_SPEED instead.
Finally, we need to move everything in the direction the player intends to go.
To do this, we first add the direction the camera is facing on the negative Z axis (where the camera is looking -> -view_camera.global_transform.basis.z) multiplied by movement_vector.z, delta, and speed to the camera's global position, global_transform.origin. This will move the camera forwards/backwards according to where the camera is facing.
Then we add the direction the camera is facing on the X axis (the right of the camera -> view_camera.global_transform.basis.x) multiplied by movement_vector.x, delta and move_speed to the camera's global position, global_transform.origin. This will move the camera left/right according to where the camera is facing.
First we check to see if is_in_freelook_mode in editor_controller is true.
If it is, we then check to see if the input event is a InputEventMouseMotion event. A InputEventMouseMotion event only happens when the mouse moves on the screen.
If the event is a InputEventMouseMotion event, then we we need to rotate the camera based on the mouse movement.
First, we get the camera's current rotation and store in a new variable called camera_rotation.
We than add the mouse motion (event.relative) multiplied by MOUSE_SENSITIVITY to the X axis of camera_rotation. To ensure the rotation on the X axis cannot go so far that the camera flips upside down, we use the Clamp function and pass in -CAMERA_MAX_ROTATION_ANGLE as the minimum value, and CAMERA_MAX_ROTATION_ANGLE as the maximum value. This keeps camera_rotation.x within the range set in CAMERA_MAX_ROTATION_ANGLE.
Next we rotate the Editor_Camera_Controller node on the Y axis by adding -event.relative.x multiplied by MOUSE_SENSITIVITY to the Y axis in rotation_degrees.
Finally, we apply the rotation on the X axis, current_rotation to view_camera.
If is_in_freelook_mode in editor_controller is NOT true, then we check to see if the input event is InputEventMouseButton.
InputEventMouseButton event only happens with one of the mouse buttons is pressed, released, or held.
If event is a InputEventMouseButton event, we then check to see if the button is the left mouse button by checking to see if button_index equals BUTTON_LEFT, and we check if event.pressed is true, meaning the left mouse button was just pressed.
Then we check if the editor_mode in editor_controller is SELECT. If it is, then we set send_raycast to true.
First we check to see if send_raycast is true.
If it is, we set send_raycast to false so we only send out a single raycast per mouse click.
Then we make a new variable called selected_node and assign its default value to null.
Next we get the direct space state from the physics world using get_world().direct_space_state. Then we get the starting and ending position the raycast we want to create.
See the [page on ray-casting](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.0/tutorials/physics/ray-casting.html) on the Godot documentation for more information!
We then send out a raycast using the intersect_ray function in space_state and store the results in a new variable called result. Note how we are passing in NORMAL_COLLISION_LAYER in so the raycast will only collide with objects on that layer!
We then check to see if something is stored within result by checking to see if there is at least a single element stored within the dictionary. If there is at least something stored within result, then we set selected_node to the collider the raycast collided with, result.collider.
Finally, we emit the physics_object_selected signal and pass selected_node along with the signal. This will make that when no nodes are found by the raycast null will be emitted with the signal, while when the raycast collides with a node then the node the raycast collided with will be passed along.
Now that we have the camera setup, let's really quickly get the UI setup before we end this part.
* Editor_UI : The main Control node that holds all of the UI nodes we will need for the editor. See the note below for a important detail!
* Gizmo_Viewport : A TextureRect to display the results of the Gizmo_Viewport node. We will be using this in the next part to display the contents within the gizmo viewport!
* Gizmo_Selection : A Panel node to act as a backdrop for the buttons that will change the editor mode.
* Button_Select : A button that, when pressed, will change the editor mode to SELECT.
* Button_Rotate : A button that, when pressed, will change the editor mode to ROTATE.
* Button_Scale : A button that, when pressed, will change the editor mode to SCALE.
* TextureRect : A TextureRect to hold the texture for that button. All of the buttons have this node, and the texture is just to show what the button does.
Because we want the mouse to be able to interact with the buttons and other elements in the scene, we have the Mouse filter property in Editor_UI set to ignore so it will ignore mouse events and allow them to pass through!
First we get the parent node of Editor_UI, which we assume will be Editor_Controller and assign it to the editor_controller variable. As before, this assumption may or may not work for your project.
Then we get each of the four buttons and connect their pressed signals to the on_mode_button_pressed function. We pass in a additional argument, which is the mode that the button will change the editor to.
All we are doing here is calling change_editor_mode and passing in new_mode as the argument so editor_mode is changed to the passed in mode.
With all that done, we are ready to make the 3D gizmos in the next part of this tutorial series!
But for now, go ahead and try running the project. You should find that if you hold the right mouse button down, you can look around using the mouse and move around using the WASD and arrow keys.
Right now the UI does not seem to be doing anything, but if you run the remote debugger and look at Editor_Controller after pushing one of the buttons, you should find that the editor_mode variable has changed according to which button you have pressed!
If you ever get lost, be sure to read over the code again! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below!
You can access the [finished project for this part here](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gHZEhkqe2kghDJznJx5UTb44LMw3hXS1)!
Please read LICENSE.html or LICENSE.pdf for details on attribution. **You must include attributions to use some/all of the assets provided**. See the LICENSE files for details.
And the second code block looks like rendered as the HTML text, but through the explanation I can make understand it!
It is fixed now, though I’m glad you were able to understand it regardless through the explanation. Thanks for letting me know about the issue so I could fix it!
|
0.995918 |
Rumours that Delirious? and Hillsong were going to make a combined album together first surfaced back in July 2003 when Delirious? travelled to Sydney to perform at the Hillsong conference. Sixteen months later the outcome of that night is finally revealed. 'Unified:Praise' is the live recording of the 2003 Hillsong conference, in front of 20,000 people at the Sydney SuperDome. The CD contains eleven songs, five from the Hillsong band and six from Delirious?, with a little crossover as the bands shared the stage for a few songs. The DVD version has the same songs, plus a few extras.
Delirious? and Hillsong may seem like a strange combination, and I'll admit to being slightly sceptical about the idea when I first heard about it. But despite that, this album contains much to excite both sets of fans.
When you place the DVD in your player, a square box parcel appears on screen, with "This Way UP" written on it's side. At first this seems a little strange and unrelated, until you consider the title of the CD and DVD: 'Unified:Praise'. Take the initials of the title and you get the word UP. The DVD menu and graphics all play on the 'UP' abbreviation, with the main menu being the inside of an elevator, with the doors shut, complete with annoying elevator music in the background. Along the side of the elevator are the buttons for each 'floor', which are the Menu Options. You are given five options: Play, Songs, Bits, Info, Setup. When you select one of the 'floors', the elevator doors slide open as the option loads.
'Setup' allows you to choose the Audio and Subtitle settings, whilst 'Info' is simply a screen of static text saying: "During Hillsong Conference 2003, Delirious? combined with Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong team to record this project. It was an incredible night, with over 20,000 worshippers packing the Sydney SuperDome, praising God with one Voice". You have to wonder why they bothered to include this screen in the DVD, especially since those exact words are printed on the DVD's back cover.
The 'Bits' option from the Menu is a seven and a half minute behind-the-scenes documentary, containing a montage of video clips and shots from the rehearsals and sound check. It also has snippets of interviews with various people, such as Tim and Stew from Delirious? and Darlene Zschech. The short documentary also shows people talking to camera about planning the joint Hillsong and Delirious? project. We see Martin taking in the scene as the crowd arrives at the venue, and various other clips of backstage events. It's an entertaining piece of film, but with clearly enough footage to make a full hour long documentary is seems a shame that they tried to squeeze it all into such a short effort.
The remaining two options on the DVD menu, 'Play' and 'Songs', take you into the feature presentation. You can choose to 'Play' the entire concert, or skip straight to a specific 'song'.
The first half of the concert has the Hillsong team and Darlene on stage to lead the crowd in several songs. The Sydney SuperDome shows itself to be a top class venue, with a huge sea of people making up the crowd. The main interest for Delirious? fans comes later, when Delirious? take to the stage, but don't be fooled into thinking that 'I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever' is a full-on Delirious? performance. Despite being a Delirious? song it occurs during the Hillsong part of the concert. Martin and Tim join Hillsong and Darlene on stage to perform the track, but it is very much a Hillsong version, sung much slower than Delirious? would normally do so. In fact, listening to this track on the CD you wouldn't even know that Delirious? were involved, until the final minute of the song where Martin finally gets a chance to take over the vocals from Darlene.
Through out the concert the Hillsong Choir, consisting of perhaps fifty singers all dressed in black, stand in a raised section at the back of the stage. They join in with the songs at various points, providing an added depth to the music. As 'I Could Sing' nears an end, they join in behind Martin and Darlene. On the tracklisting for both the CD and DVD it lists the song as "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever / God's Romance". This is slightly misleading, as in fact the song "God's Romance" doesn't appear in it's entirety, it's just one repeated line "Holy Is The Lord" taken from "God's Romance" that is sung at the end of "I Could Sing".
A few tracks later, the Delirious? concert starts properly as they appear on stage through the dim blue light to launch into a staggering ten minute rendition of 'Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?'. Announcing the song Martin calls out ""All around the world the mountains are still trembling", and then the lights and guitars kick in to full effect. For a live album you'd expect to hear a bit more of the crowd, but for most of the time all you can hear in the background is the Hillsong Choir accompanying Delirious? Whilst this sounds good, it does loose some of the live 'feel' of the concert. Stu excels with his guitar and as the song stretches on Martin leads the crowd into "Dance in the river".
From here on, the CD and DVD differ slightly. Next up for the DVD is the added bonus of 'My Glorious', a song which doesn't appear on the CD at all. Whilst the remaining songs on the CD and DVD are the same, the track order differs for some strange reason. On the DVD 'My Glorious' starts with some arty camera work, a quick sequence of changing shots, blurring in and out of focus, all perfectly synchronised with the music. As this is the only song using this type of effect it seems out of keeping with the rest of the DVD, but it does work well for 'My Glorious'. The stage is flooded with smoke and lights, and a fabulous StuG guitar solo make this one of the highlights of the DVD. Martin has the crowd singing "Glory, Glory, Send Your Glory" as the song nears an end.
Next on the DVD is 'Majesty', and again the crowd are very low in the sound mix. For the most part, the choir drowns out any singing from the crowd, but admittedly the choir does sound superb. Clearly Delirious? thought so to, as they included the Hillsong choir singing this very song on their 'World Service' album. The bass rings out very clearly and Martin's singing is confident through out. The wide angled shots give a great view of the impressive arena with its high ceiling and large capacity. Close up shots of the crowd singing with hands raised add to the spine-tingling atmosphere.
'What A Friend I've Found' is next, with Darlene joining Martin on stage. The songs starts quietly with an acoustic feel as Martin sings and plays his guitar and Darlene sings the second verse. The addition of a female voice complimenting well with Martin's own vocals. Gradually the drums and guitars join in as the song starts to build momentum, and finally the choir joins in too. Another nice feature of the DVD is that during 'What A Friend' you have the choice of choosing from any one of eight different camera angles. Taking on the role of 'director' yourself can be fun as you choose from cameras at the front, side, back, above on a crane, or in the crowd. Some of the stage cameras reveal technicians crawling around stage, and the cameraman's feet, adding to the entertainment!
The performance of 'Rain Down' is absolutely stunning, easily the best track on the album. Martin puts down his guitar to give himself the freedom to jump around and dance across the stage. The entire crowd seem to join him in jumping in time to the song. The band's performance is perfect, with guitars, bass, drums and keyboard all mixed together supremely, making an amazing blend of music. Another strange difference between the CD and DVD is that the CD version of 'Rain Down' includes the "Glory, Glory, Send Your Glory" ending that appeared on the DVD version of 'My Glorious'.
Both CD and DVD end with 'History Maker', where finally the crowd are audible in the mix, and a truly live feeling is created. The song is an excellent finale to the concert, with Martin calling his "fellow History Makers" onto stage half way through. The Hillsong band and Darlene come back to make the stage very crowded indeed. With an unimaginable number of guitarists now on stage, the song continues. Speaking to the crowd, Martin sounds emotional as he quotes from Psalm 24. The credits role on the DVD, bringing the song to an end slightly earlier than you might hope. The CD of course doesn't suffer from this problem, and the music continues into a full ending featuring the singing of "Holy Is The Lord" and "My heart burns for you".
Overall, the production of the CD and DVD is of a very high standard, but perhaps let down in a few places but small things like the lack of crowd 'feedback' and not making full use of DVD 'extras'. Who will the album appeal to? Well clearly dedicated Delirious? fans will be anxious to get hold of a rare DVD Delirious? appearance, and Hillsong fans will also be attracted by the line up. In terms of what this album provides that other Delirious? live albums haven't had before, you're only left with 'Rain Down' and 'Majesty', which might put some fans off. However the version of 'Rain Down' on 'Unified:Praise' is well worth checking out, and if you go for the DVD, 'My Glorious' also stands out as a must-see track. Delirious? fans might think that there isn't enough 'Delirious?' on the album, but then it is meant to be a combined album between Hillsong and Delirious?
The only time the two bands really combine on a song is during 'I Could Sing', with Hillsong clearly taking the lead on that one. It is definitely an album of two halves, with the different styles each taking their own turn. Hillsong and Darlene lead the crowd in worship, whilst Delirious? perform a concert for the crowd. That is the difference between the two bands and each style has it's own place and works well because each band knows it's strength and plays to it.
|
0.91641 |
In 2007, the arithmetic mean of the annual incomes of Jack and Jill was $3800. The arithmetic mean of the annual incomes of Jill and Jess was $4800, and the arithmetic mean of the annual incomes of Jess and Jack was $5800. What is the arithmetic mean of the incomes of the three?
|
0.999997 |
Context. The abundance ratio N/O is a useful tool to study the interplay of galactic processes, for example star formation e ciency, timescale of infall, and outflow loading factor. Aims. We aim to trace log(N/O) versus [Fe/H] in the Milky Way and to compare this ratio with a set of chemical evolution models to understand the role of infall, outflow, and star formation e ciency in the building up of the Galactic disc. Methods. We used the abundances from IDR2-3, IDR4, IDR5 data releases of the Gaia-ESO Survey both for Galactic field and open cluster stars. We determined membership and average composition of open clusters and we separated thin and thick disc field stars. We considered the e ect of mixing in the abundance of N in giant stars. We computed a grid of chemical evolution models, suited to reproduce the main features of our Galaxy, exploring the e ects of the star formation e ciency, infall timescale, and di erential outflow. Results. With our samples, we map the metallicity range0:6 [Fe/H] 0.3 with a corresponding1:2 log(N/O) 0:2, where the secondary production of N dominates. Thanks to the wide range of Galactocentric distances covered by our samples, we can distinguish the behaviour of log(N/O) in di erent parts of the Galaxy. Conclusions. Our spatially resolved results allow us to distinguish di erences in the evolution of N/O with Galactocentric radius. Comparing the data with our models, we can characterise the radial regions of our Galaxy. A shorter infall timescale is needed in the inner regions, while the outer regions need a longer infall timescale, coupled with a higher star formation e ciency. We compare our results with nebular abundances obtained in MaNGA galaxies, finding in our Galaxy a much wider range of log(N/O) than in integrated observations of external galaxies of similar stellar mass, but similar to the ranges found in studies of individual H II regions.
Titolo: The Gaia -ESO Survey: The N/O abundance ratio in the Milky Way?
|
0.998508 |
Most people feel anxiety or fear when faced with a trip to the dentist. This is because any dental procedure is invasive and the patient is typically awake. Soreness in the mouth can linger for days after work is done. Because of this, it is not uncommon for a dentist to prescribe opiate painkillers to the patient once the dental work is done. This problem with this is that opiates can quickly become addictive, and this practice unfortunately is contributing to the opiate addiction epidemic in the United States.
On October 26, 2016, the President declared opiate abuse an addiction a national public health emergency. In 2016, there were more than 42,000 drug fatalities involving opiate overdoses. Currently, every day there are approximately 116 deaths related to opiate abuse. Additionally, 80 percent of all heroin users reported that they misused prescription opiate painkillers prior to using heroin. The problem has become so pervasive that the Department of Transportation has recently updated their DOT drug testing regulations to reduce the risk of workplace accidents in critical safety sensitive job roles.
Why are opiate painkillers so addictive? The same qualities that make them effective painkillers also make them dangerously addictive. Opiates work by attaching to receptors throughout the body and change the way the brain perceives pain. They essentially block the pain while providing feelings of pleasure and euphoria.
The results of opiate painkillers are often instantaneous, and the stronger the painkiller, the more powerful the effects. However, the body can quickly build up a tolerance to opiate painkillers, which means higher doses need to be taken to produce the same euphoric effects. Patients who stop taking the painkiller suddenly begin to feel depressed or anxious, and they need to take the opiate painkillers not just to alleviate pain or feel good, but to avoid feeling bad, or even just to feel normal. Because of the way opiates work, anyone exposed to them is susceptible to becoming addicted.
In an effort to combat this epidemic, the American Dental Association (ADA) has started to vocally make several recommendations and requirements of dentists before an opiate painkiller is prescribed. These include trying to utilize over-the-counter options before opiate painkillers are prescribed.
Studies have shown that in many cases, such as a root canal procedure, the use of OTC drugs like acetaminophen can be just as effective as an opiate in combating pain. Dentists should consider this option before an opiate is prescribed, especially if the patient is a teenager. In the state of Pennsylvania, the law now requires dentists get written permission from parents before prescribing opiate painkillers to teens. Additionally, prescriptions for opiates cannot be longer than seven days. Pharmacies such as CVS are also heeding to these recommendations and will not fill opiate painkiller prescriptions for more than seven days.
Hopefully, a patient is forthright with their dentist about any substance abuse issues the patient has had in the past, but dentists need to ask questions and have conversations about how opiate painkillers work and the possible risks involved before a prescription is written. A person who has struggled with substance abuse in the past is more likely to fall prey to a prescription opiate painkiller. Dentists need to continue their education on addictive behaviors as it relates to pain management and be prepared to counsel and instruct patients regarding the appropriate use of controlled substances, as well as provide instruction regarding how to safely secure, monitor, and get rid of any unused prescription opiate painkillers at home.
Dentists also need to remember that because their patients come from all walks of life, an opiate prescription can affect a work industry or the community at large. With regard to work, when a person suffers from an opiate painkiller addiction, he or she is endangering a plethora of people, as well as being a financial risk to their employer and everyone they come in contact with.
If a dentist suspects that a patient is suffering from an opiate painkiller addiction, it’s imperative that they point the patient in the direction of proper counseling and assistance.
Attempting to defeat an opiate painkiller addiction can be a long and painful process. Symptoms include anxiety, depression, nausea, and muscle cramping, all of which can occur just hours after the opiate use stops. The body will need time to recover. That’s why a person breaking a destructive opiate habit should never attempt the process alone.
The United States government has invested more than $6,000,000 in treatment centers and opiate abuse education centers. There are trained professionals throughout the United States who can guide patients through the mental and physical struggles of battling this disease. People shouldn’t go through this by themselves—there is help and hope.
|
0.986532 |
The goal is to push white diamond to the red diamond to solve the puzzle.
How to install Soko Diamond APK?
1. Check the Android version to verify compatibility of Soko Diamond APK with your smart phone; Find Android version: go to Settings - About the phone - Android version. Make sure Soko Diamond is compatible with your Android phone.
2. Click the download button to download Soko Diamond. Once the download completed,find Soko Diamond in your download folder or notification center and tap the icon to install the APK.
3. Find Soko Diamond icon in your home screen then tap the icon to open it.
|
0.999969 |
For the series, see Mario Kart (series).
Super Mario Kart[a] is a 1992 kart racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was released in Japan and North America in 1992, and in Europe the following year. Selling 8.76 million copies worldwide, the game went on to become the fourth best selling SNES game of all time. Super Mario Kart was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2009, and on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2013. Nintendo re-released Super Mario Kart in the United States in September 2017 as part of the company's Super NES Classic Edition.
Super Mario Kart received positive reviews and was praised for its presentation, innovation and use of Mode 7 graphics. It has been ranked among the best video games of all time by several organizations including Edge, IGN, The Age and GameSpot, while Guinness World Records has named it as the top console game ever. It is often credited with creating the kart-racing subgenre of video games, leading other developers to try to duplicate its success. The game is also seen as having been key to expanding the Mario series into non-platforming games. This diversity has led to it becoming the best-selling game franchise of all time. Several sequels to Super Mario Kart have been released, for consoles, handhelds and in arcades, each enjoying critical and commercial success. While some elements have developed throughout the series, the core experience from Super Mario Kart has remained intact.
Super Mario Kart is a kart racing game featuring several single and multiplayer modes. During the game, players take control of one of eight Mario franchise characters and drive karts around tracks with a Mario franchise theme. In order for them to begin driving, Lakitu will appear with a traffic light hanging on his fishing pole, which starts the countdown. When the light turns green, the race or battle officially begins. During a race, the player's viewpoint is from behind his or her kart. The goal of the game is to either finish a race ahead of other racers, who are controlled by the computer and other players, or complete a circuit in the fastest time. There is also a battle mode in which the aim is to attack the karts of the other human players.
Tiles marked with question marks are arrayed on the race tracks; they give special abilities (power-ups) to a player's kart if the vehicle passes over them. Power-ups, such as the ability to throw shells and bananas, allow racers to hit others with the objects, causing them to spin and lose control. A kart that obtains the star power-up is temporarily invulnerable to attack. Computer players have specific special powers associated with each character, that they are able to use throughout the race. Lines of coins are found on the tracks in competitive race modes. By running over these coins, a kart collects them and increases its top speed. Having coins also helps players when their kart is hit by another: instead of spinning and losing control, they lose a coin. Coins are also lost when karts are struck by power-ups or fall off the tracks.
The game features advanced maneuvers such as power sliding and hopping. Power sliding allows a kart to maintain its speed while turning, although executing the maneuver for too long causes the kart to spin. Hopping helps a kart execute tighter turns: the kart makes a short hop and turns in the air, speeding off in the new direction when it lands. Reviewers praised Super Mario Kart's gameplay, describing the battle mode as "addictive" and the single player gameplay as "incredible". IGN stated that the gameplay mechanics defined the genre.
Single player Mario Kart GP mode. The top half of the screen displays the player racing and a map of the course is displayed on the bottom half of the screen. The player can opt to have their rear-view mirror displayed on the bottom half instead of the course map.
Super Mario Kart has two single-player modes, Mario Kart GP (which stands for Grand Prix) and Time Trial. In Mario Kart GP, one player is required to race against seven computer-controlled characters in a series of five races which are called cups. Initially there are three cups available – the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup and Star Cup – at two difficulty levels, 50cc and 100cc. By winning all three of the cups at the 100cc level, a fourth cup – the Special Cup – is unlocked. Winning all four cups at 100cc unlocks a new difficulty level, 150cc. Each cup consists of five five-lap races, each taking place on a distinct track. In order to continue through a cup, a position of fourth or higher must be achieved in each race. If a player finishes in fifth to eighth position, they are "ranked out" and the race must be replayed – at the cost of one of a limited number of lives – until a placing of fourth or above is achieved. If the player has no lives when they rank out, the game is over. Points are accrued by finishing in the top four positions in a race; first to fourth place receive nine, six, three and one points. If a player finished in the same position three times in a row, then an extra life is awarded. The racer with the highest number of points after all five races have been completed wins the cup. In time trial mode, players race against the clock through the same tracks that are present in Mario Kart GP mode, attempting to set the fastest time possible.
Super Mario Kart also has three multiplayer modes; Mario Kart GP, Match Race and Battle Mode. The multiplayer modes support two players and the second player uses the bottom half of the screen which is used as a map in the single player modes. Mario Kart GP is the same as in single player, the only difference being that there are now two human controlled and six computer-controlled drivers. Match Race involves the two players going head to head on a track of their choice without any opponents. In Battle Mode, the two players again go head to head, but this time in one of four dedicated Battle Mode courses. Each player starts with three balloons around their kart which can be popped by power-ups fired by the other player. The first player to have all three of their balloons popped loses.
Super Mario Kart features eight playable characters from the Mario series – Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong Jr., Koopa Troopa and Toad. Each character's kart has different capabilities with differing levels of top speed, acceleration and handling. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser and Toad returned in all of the subsequent Mario Kart games starting with Mario Kart 64. During races, computer-controlled characters have special items, or superpowers, which they are able to use. These powers are specific to each character; for example, Yoshi drops eggs which cause players who hit them to lose coins and spin, while Donkey Kong Jr. throws bananas.
The characters are rendered as sprites portrayed from sixteen different angles. The sprites were described as "detailed" by Nintendo Magazine System when the game was first reviewed and were thought to contribute to the "spectacular" graphics of the game as a whole. More recently, Nintendojo called the sprites "not-so-pretty" when they are rendered at a distance, and IGN has commented on the dated look of the game. Super Mario Kart was the first game to feature playable characters from the Mario series other than Mario or Luigi in a non-platforming game and the selection and different attributes of the characters is regarded as one of the game's strengths, IGN describing a well-balanced "all-star cast". All of the characters present in Super Mario Kart have gone on to appear in all of the later games in the series, except for Koopa Troopa, who has only appeared intermittently after being replaced by Wario in Mario Kart 64. Donkey Kong Jr. was replaced by Donkey Kong, who has appeared in every Mario Kart game since. This was Donkey Kong Jr.'s last appearance as a playable character, except for the Mario Tennis sub-series, including installments on the Nintendo 64 and Virtual Boy.
The tracks in Super Mario Kart are based on locations in Super Mario World such as Donut Plains. Each of the four cups contains five different tracks for a total of twenty unique tracks, additionally there are four unique Battle Mode courses. The course outlines are marked out by impassable barriers and feature a variety of bends ranging from sharp hairpins to wide curves which players can power slide around. Numerous obstacles themed from the Mario series appear, such as Thwomps in the Bowser's Castle tracks, the Cheep-Cheeps from Super Mario World in Koopa Beach and pipe barriers which are found in the Mario Circuit tracks. Other features include off-road sections which slow down the karts such as the mud bogs in the Choco Island tracks. Each single player track is littered with coins and power up tiles, as well as turbo tiles which give the karts a boost of speed and jumps which launch the karts into the air.
The tracks have received positive commentary with GameSpy describing them as wonderfully designed and IGN calling them perfect. When naming its top five Mario Kart tracks of all time in 2008, 1UP.com named Battle Mode Course 4 at number three and Rainbow Road – along with its subsequent versions in the series – at number one. The track themes in Super Mario Kart influenced later games in the series; recurring themes that first appeared in Super Mario Kart include haunted tracks, Bowser's castle and Rainbow Road. Some of the tracks from Super Mario Kart have been duplicated in later games. All twenty of the original tracks are unlockable as an extra feature in the Game Boy Advance sequel Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Remakes of Mario Circuit 1, Donut Plains 1, Koopa Beach 2 and Choco Island 2 appear as part of the Retro Grand Prix series in Mario Kart DS, remakes of Ghost Valley 2, Mario Circuit 3, and Battle Course 4 appear as part of the Retro Grand Prix and battles in Mario Kart Wii, remakes of Mario Circuit 2 and Rainbow Road appear as part of the Retro Grand Prix in Mario Kart 7, a remake of Donut Plains 3 appears as part of the Retro Grand Prix and battles in Mario Kart 8, a second remake of Rainbow Road appears in Mario Kart 8's first downloadable content pack, and a remake of Battle Course 1 appear as a Retro Battle Course in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the producer for Super Mario Kart, has been involved in the development of every Mario Kart console game.
Super Mario Kart was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and directed by Tadashi Sugiyama and Hideki Konno. In an interview Miyamoto has said that the development team originally set out to produce a game capable of displaying two players on the same game screen simultaneously. In the same interview Konno stated that development started with a desire to create a two player racing game in contrast to the single player gameplay of SNES launch title F-Zero. The team found that due to limitations of the SNES hardware, the strong focus on multiplayer prevented the inclusions of tracks as elaborate as those found in F-Zero. Computer and Video Games suggest that this initial emphasis on creating a two player experience is the reason for the game's horizontal split-screen during single player modes.
The intention to create the racing modes of the game had been present from the start of the project and Battle Mode was developed from the desire to create a one-on-one mode where victory was not determined simply by competing for rank. The game did not start out as a Mario series game and the first prototype featured a generic man in overalls in the kart; the team decided that characters three heads tall would best suit the design of the karts. They did not decide on incorporating Mario series characters into the game until two or three months after the start of development. The choice was made after the development team, when observing how one kart looked to another driving past it, decided to see what it would look like with Mario in the kart. Thinking that having Mario in the kart looked better than previous designs, the idea of a Mario themed racing game was born.
Notable in the development of Super Mario Kart was its use of Mode 7 graphics. First seen in F-Zero, Mode 7 is a form of texture mapping available on the SNES which allows a plane to be rotated and scaled freely, achieving a pseudo-three-dimensional appearance. 1UP.com have credited the use of Mode 7 with giving the game graphics which at the time of release were considered to be "breathtaking". Retrospective reflection on the Mode 7 visuals was mixed, with IGN stating that the once revolutionary technology now looks "crude and flickery". Super Mario Kart featured a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) chip; DSPs were used in SNES games as they provided a better handling of floating point calculations to assist with three-dimensional maths. The DSP-1 chip that was used in Super Mario Kart went on to be the most popular DSP chip to be used in SNES games. The music for the title was created by composer Soyo Oka.
Super Mario Kart received critical acclaim and proved to be a commercial success; it received a Player's Choice release after selling one million copies and went on to sell 8.76 million copies, becoming the fourth best selling game ever for the SNES. Aggregate scoring sites GameRankings and MobyGames both give an average of more than 90 percent. Critics praised the game's Mode 7 graphics; in 1992 Nintendo Magazine System described them as superb and the graphics have since been described as among the best ever seen on the SNES. Another aspect of the game to have been praised is its gameplay, which Thunderbolt has described as the "deepest [and] most addictive... to be found on the SNES console". Nintendo Magazine System showed a preference for the multiplayer modes of the game and stated that while the "single player mode becomes dull quickly" the "two-player mode won't lose appeal". Retrospective reviews of the game have been positive with perfect scores given by review sites including Thunderbolt and HonestGamers. The use of the style and characters from the Mario franchise was also praised as well as the individual characteristics of each racer. Mean Machines describes the game as having "struck gold" in a way that no other – not even its sequels – has matched and GameSpot named the game as one of the greatest games of all time for its innovation, gameplay and visual style. Entertainment Weekly wrote that although the game might appear to be a "cynical attempt by Nintendo to cash in on its Super Mario franchise" the review concluded that "plunking the familiar characters down in souped-up go-carts actually makes for a delightful racing game."
Since being released Super Mario Kart has been listed among the best games ever made several times. In 1996, Next Generation listed it as number 37 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", commenting that the controls are elegantly designed to offer "supreme fun." IGN ranked it as the 15th best game ever in 2005, describing it as "the original karting masterpiece" and as the 23rd best game ever in 2007, discussing its originality at time of release. The Age placed it at number 19 on their list of the 50 best games in 2005 and in 2007 Edge ranked Super Mario Kart at number 14 on a list of their 100 best games, noting its continued influence on video game design. The game is also included in Yahoo! Games UK's list of the hundred greatest games of all time which praises the appealing characters and power ups and 1UP.com's "Essential 50", a list of the fifty most important games ever made. The game placed 13th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time. Guinness World Records ranked it at number 1 on a list of the top 50 console games of all time based on initial impact and lasting legacy.
Super Mario Kart has been credited with inventing the "kart racing" subgenre of video gaming and soon after its release several other developers attempted to duplicate its success. In 1994, less than two years after the release of Super Mario Kart, Sega released Sonic Drift; a kart racing game featuring characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Also in 1994 Ubisoft released Street Racer, a kart racing game for the SNES and Mega Drive/Genesis which included a four player mode not present in Super Mario Kart. Apogee Software released Wacky Wheels for PC and Atari Corporation released Atari Karts for the Atari Jaguar in 1995. Future games that followed in the mould of Super Mario Kart include South Park Rally, Konami Krazy Racers, Diddy Kong Racing, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and several racing games in the Crash Bandicoot series. Response to the karting games released since Super Mario Kart has been mixed, with GameSpot describing them as tending to be bad while 1UP.com notes that countless developers have tried to improve upon the Mario Kart formula without success.
Super Mario Kart is also credited as being the first non-platforming game to feature multiple playable characters from the Mario franchise. As well as several sequels Nintendo has released numerous other sporting and non-sporting Mario spin-offs since Super Mario Kart; a trend in part accredited to the commercial and critical success of the game. The Mario characters have appeared in many sports games including those relating to basketball, baseball, golf, tennis and soccer. Non-sporting franchises using the Mario characters have also been created, including the Super Smash Bros. series of fighting games and the Mario Party series of board game based, party games. Mario series characters have also made cameos in games from other series such as SSX on Tour and NBA Street V3, both published by EA Sports. The genre spanning nature of the Mario series that was sparked off by the success of Super Mario Kart has been described as key to the success and longevity of the franchise; keeping fans interested despite the infrequency of traditional Mario platforming games. Following this model the Mario series has gone on to become the best selling video game franchise of all time with 193 million units sold as of January 2007, almost 40 million units ahead of second ranked franchise (Pokémon, also by Nintendo).
Super Mario Kart was re-released on the Japanese Virtual Console on June 9, 2009, and later in North America on November 23, 2009. Previously, when naming it as one of the most wanted games for the platform in November 2008, Eurogamer stated that problems emulating the Mode 7 graphics were responsible for its absence.
The game was also released for the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan during June 2013, and in Europe on March 27, 2014. In addition, North America users was able to get the game starting from August 6, 2014 to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the game, which also includes the new game update of Mario Kart 8 on August 27, 2014.
Super Mario 3D World has a stage with a look based on the Mario Circuit racetracks from Super Mario Kart. A remixed version of the music can also be heard. Super Mario Odyssey also has a remix, when racing a RC car around a track in New Donk City in the Metro Kingdom.
Several sequels to Super Mario Kart have been brought out for successive generations of Nintendo consoles, each receiving commercial success and critical acclaim. The first of these, Mario Kart 64 was released in 1996 for the Nintendo 64 and was the first Mario Kart game to feature fully 3D graphics. Although reviewers including IGN and GameSpot felt that the single player gameplay was lacking compared to its predecessor, the simultaneous four-person multiplayer modes – a first for the Nintendo 64 – were praised. The second sequel, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. It was described by GameSpot as more of a remake of Super Mario Kart than a sequel to Mario Kart 64 and featured a return to the graphical style of the original. As well as featuring all new tracks, players are able to unlock the original SNES tracks if certain achievements are completed. Mario Kart: Double Dash was released for the GameCube in 2003. Unlike any other Mario Kart game before or since, it features two riders in each kart, allowing for a new form of cooperative multiplayer where one player controls the kart's movement and the other fires weapons. Mario Kart DS, released for the Nintendo DS in 2005, was the first Mario Kart game to include online play via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It went on to become the best selling hand-held racing game of all time, selling 7.83 million units. The game also marks the debut of tracks appearing in previous games. Mario Kart Wii was released for the Wii in 2008 and incorporates motion controls and 12-player racing. Like Mario Kart DS, it includes on-line play; it also allows racers to play as user-created Miis (after unlocking the Mii character) as well as Mario series characters and comes packaged with the Wii Wheel peripheral, which can act as the game's primary control mechanism when coupled with a Wii Remote. Mario Kart Wii went on to be the worldwide best-selling game of 2008 ahead of another Nintendo game – Wii Fit – and the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto IV. Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS was released in 2011, which features racing on land, sea, and air. Also in Mario Kart 7 is the ability to customize your kart and to race in first-person mode. Three Mario Kart arcade games have also been released, Mario Kart Arcade GP in 2005, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 in 2007, and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX in 2013. All of them were developed jointly by Nintendo and Namco and feature classic Namco characters including Pac-Man and Blinky. The most recent entry in the series is Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U, which was released at the end of May 2014, which brings back gliders and propellers from Mario Kart 7 as well as 12-player racing in Mario Kart Wii. Mario Kart 8 also includes a new feature called Mario Kart TV, where players can watch highlights of previous races and uploading them to YouTube. Another new feature is anti-gravity racing, where players can race on walls and ceilings.
As the series has progressed, many aspects included in Super Mario Kart have been developed and altered. The power up boxes which are flat against the track in Super Mario Kart due to the technical limitations of the SNES became floating boxes in later games. The roster of racers has expanded in recent games to include a greater selection of Nintendo characters including some which had not been created at the time of Super Mario Kart's release – such as Petey Piranha from Super Mario Sunshine who appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Multiplayer has remained a key feature of the series and has expanded from the two-player modes available in Super Mario Kart; first to allow up to four simultaneous players in Mario Kart 64 and eventually up to twelve simultaneous online players in Mario Kart Wii. Many of the track themes have been retained throughout the series, including Rainbow Road – the final track of the Special Cup – which has appeared in every Mario Kart console game. Other features present in Super Mario Kart have disappeared from the series. These include the "super-powers" of the computer characters, the feather power up which allows players to jump high into the air and having a restricted number of lives. The only other Mario Kart games to feature the coin collecting of the original are Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Kart 8. The aspects of style and gameplay from Super Mario Kart that have been retained throughout the series have led Nintendo to face criticism for a lack of originality but the franchise is still considered to be a beloved household name by many, known for its familiar core gameplay.
^ a b c d O'Neill, Jamie (2014-03-28). "Review: Super Mario Kart (Wii U eShop / Super NES)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
^ a b c d e f "IGN's 100 top games Of All Time 2007". IGN. 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-04-28. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b "Virtual Console バーチャルコンソール" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
^ "Download New BIT.TRIP Kicks, Speeding Karts, Magic Castles and More". Nintendo. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
^ East, Thomas (29 March 2010). "Super Mario Kart coming to Virtual Console this Friday". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
^ a b c d e f g h "Super Mario Kart". Nintendo Power. Nintendo. 41: 83–91. October 1992.
^ a b c d e f g h Heckel, Nathan. "Reviews - Super Mario Kart". Nintendojo. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c d e f Venter, Jason. "Super Mario Kart : Staff Review". Honest Gamers. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c d e f g h "Super NES Review - Super Mario Kart" (PDF). Nintendo Magazine System. EMAP. 1: 20–24. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c d e f g h i Hirandand, Ravi. "The Essential 50 #29". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b "Edges's Top 100 Games of All Time". Edge. 2007-07-02. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b Hill, Jason (2005-06-10). "The 50 best games". The Age. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c d e f g Navarro, Alex. "The Greatest Games of All Time: Super Mario Kart". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b "Top 100 Games of All Time". Next Generation. No. 21. Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 56.
^ a b Ivan, Tom (2009-02-28). "Guinness ranks top 50 games of all time". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
^ a b Jenkins, David (2007-01-10). "Mario Tops Best Selling Game Franchise List". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
^ a b Parish, Jeremy; Bob Mackey (2008-04-10). "Retronauts Crashes Into Mario Kart". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b Weiss, Brett Alan. "Super Mario Kart". Allgame. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
^ a b c d e f g h i Hicks, Chris (2008-04-10). "10 forgotten features of Super Mario Kart". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c d e f g Thomsen, Michael (2008-04-25). "Generation Gap: Mario Kart". IGN. Archived from the original (Subscription needed) on 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c "Super Mario Kart (SNES)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Bramwell, Tom (2001-09-27). "Mario Kart Super Circuit". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
^ Schneider, Peer (1997-02-20). "Mario Kart 64". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b Bozon, Mark (2006-04-25). "Retro Remix: Round 8". IGN. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c Anderson, Lark (2008-04-28). "Then & Now: Mario Kart Wii". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Nintendo EAD (1992-08-27). Super Mario Kart. Super NES. Nintendo.
^ a b c Ajami, Amer (2008-04-17). "Mario Kart Super Circuit Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
^ Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (2005-11-14). Mario Kart DS. Nintendo DS. Nintendo.
^ Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (2008-04-10). Mario Kart Wii. Wii. Nintendo.
^ Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, Retro Studios (2011-12-04). Mario Kart 7. Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo.
^ Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (2014-05-30). Mario Kart 8. Wii U. Nintendo.
^ Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (1 September 1992). Super Mario Kart. Nintendo. Scene: staff credits.
^ a b c d e f g "It Started With A Guy In Overalls". Wii.com. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Otero, Jose (29 May 2014). "HOW ANTI-GRAVITY MADE MARIO KART BETTER". IGN. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
^ a b c d Barnholt, Ray (9 April 2006). "Purple Reign: 15 Years of the Super NES". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Soyo Oka (June 2001). "今月の作家". Japan Composers & Arrangers Association. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010.
^ a b c d "Super Mario Kart reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Bianco, Karn Spyder Lee (2003-09-07). "Super Mario Kart". Cubed³. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c Kramer, Josh (2004-07-29). "Super Mario Kart - SNES Review at Thunderbolt Games". Thunderbolt. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ "Super Mario Kart Players Choice Box Image". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
^ Futter, Mike (2 June 2014). "Mario Kart 8 Speeds To Over 1.2 Million Sales In Opening Weekend". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on 4 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
^ "Super Mario Kart". MobyGames. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Scullion, Chris. "What Do You Mean, You've Never Played... Super Mario Kart". Official Nintendo Magazine. Future Publishing. 15: 15.
^ "Super Mario Kart review - Super NES". Mean Machines. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ "Holiday video game guide: 1992". EW.com.
^ "IGN's Top 100 Games". IGN. 2005. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ "20-11 Official Nintendo Magazine". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
^ a b c Robinson, Andy (9 April 2008). "Mario Kart: From SNES to Wii". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Alfonso, Andrew. "Mario Kart Double Dash!! Guide". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b Bub, Andrew S. "Reviews: Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
^ a b c d Ekberg, Brian; Randall Montanari. "History of Mario Sports". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Whitehead, Dan (11 May 2008). "Virtual Console: The Most Wanted". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ Cowan, Danny (2008-05-07). "Critical Reception: Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b c Ward, Trent C. (1997-02-06). "Mario Kart 64 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ a b Davis, Ryan (2003-11-13). "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GameCube)". CNET. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
^ "Mario Kart Wii: Unlockables". Gamewinners.com. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
^ a b Bozon (2008-04-20). "Mario Kart Wii Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
^ Magrino, Tom (2009-02-02). "Mario Kart Wii sells 8.94M in 2008". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
^ Lang, Derr J. (2008-05-01). "MADD attacks 'Grand Theft Auto IV'". MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
^ Casamassina, Matt (2005-09-26). "Mario Kart GP Comes Stateside". IGN. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
^ "Mario Kart DS Rom". Mario Kart DS. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
|
0.999999 |
Delve into the history that Italy offers: The classic Italian holiday is a dream for everyone and it is the most mesmerizing holiday destination in the world. If culture even remotely intrigues you, then Italy has a lot to offer with its ancient towns, fascinating artwork, and dazzling natural beauty. The Italians boast of their great heritage, Colosseum , and the Leaning Tower of Pizza. You can even plan your second honeymoon in the graceful, elegant, and romantic city of Venice. Another enticing feature about Italy is its cuisine. The land of Pizzas and Pastas is full of culinary delights. Hence, Italy offers one of the best places to travel for senior citizens.
Immerse yourself into the cultural heritage at London: London is one of the best travel destinations for the elderly travelers. The UK is full of historic sites, theatres, and cultural attractions. Explore at the famous British Museum and get lost while finding England's greatest hidden treasures. You can always enjoy the British Library and Hyde Park-a park which is a part of British History. The Big Ben or the famous London Underground Tube can also enthrall your senses.
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas: This one is not for the faint-hearted. In case you haven't been to Vegas yet, you have no idea what you are missing. Everyone should visit Vegas at least once in their lifetime regardless of their age. Las Vegas is famous for its 24-hour casinos and the night shows that feature the Who's who of Hollywood. Against popular belief, Las Vegas has a lot to offer other than gambling. You can go shopping, watch jaw-dropping shows, and visit spectacular art galleries and museums. This beauty is so light-up at night that it would bring shame to the stars. If you enjoy gambling and night life, this is heaven on earth. Things get even better if you are on a vacation with only your friends. The famous Caesars Palace is renowned for having a gregarious staff which takes great strides at keeping the elderly happy.
|
0.999692 |
Transferring deformation from a source shape to a target shape is a very useful technique in computer graphics. State-of-the-art deformation transfer methods require either point-wise correspondences between source and target shapes, or pairs of deformed source and target shapes with corresponding deformations. However, in most cases, such correspondences are not available and cannot be reliably established using an automatic algorithm. Therefore, substantial user effort is needed to label the correspondences or to obtain and specify such shape sets. In this work, we propose a novel approach to automatic deformation transfer between two unpaired shape sets without correspondences. 3D deformation is represented in a high dimensional space. To obtain a more compact and effective representation, two convolutional variational autoencoders are learned to encode source and target shapes to their latent spaces. We exploit a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to map deformed source shapes to deformed target shapes, both in the latent spaces, which ensures the obtained shapes from the mapping are indistinguishable from the target shapes. This is still an under-constrained problem, so we further utilize a reverse mapping from target shapes to source shapes and incorporate cycle consistency loss, i.e. applying both mappings should reverse to the input shape. This VAE-Cycle GAN (VC-GAN) architecture is used to build a reliable mapping between shape spaces. Finally, a similarity constraint is employed to ensure the mapping is consistent with visual similarity, achieved by learning a similarity neural network that takes the embedding vectors from the source and target latent spaces and predicts the lightfield distance between the corresponding shapes. Experimental results show that our fully automatic method is able to obtain high-quality deformation transfer results with unpaired data sets, comparable or better than existing methods where strict correspondences are required.
Object functionality is often expressed through part articulation – as when the two rigid parts of a scissor pivot against each other to perform the cutting function. Such articulations are often similar across objects within the same functional category. In this paper we explore how the observation of different articulation states provides evidence for part structure and motion of 3D objects. Our method takes as input a pair of unsegmented shapes representing two different articulation states of two functionally related objects, and induces their common parts along with their underlying rigid motion. This is a challenging setting, as we assume no prior shape structure, no prior shape category information, no consistent shape orientation, the articulation states may belong to objects of different geometry, plus we allow inputs to be noisy and partial scans, or point clouds lifted from RGB images. Our method learns a neural network architecture with three modules that respectively propose correspondences, estimate 3D deformation flows, and perform segmentation. To achieve optimal performance, our architecture alternates between correspondence, deformation ow, and segmentation prediction iteratively in an ICP-like fashion. Our results demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in the task of discovering articulated parts of objects. In addition, our part induction is object-class agnostic and successfully generalizes to new and unseen objects.
Li Yi is a 6th year Ph.D. candidate at Stanford AI Lab, supervised by Prof. Leonidas Guibas. Before that, he received BSE from Tsinghua University. He has interned at Adobe Research and Baidu Research. His research interest is in 3D computer vision and shape analysis, with the goal of equipping robotic agent with the ability of understanding and interacting with the 3D world. He co-organized several academic events in the past including ShapeNet challenge 2017, VLEASE 2018 (ECCV 2018 workshop).
|
0.988845 |
Describe the type of student who should not attend SUNY at Albany and explain why.
root cph1819 howtoandroitroot l ement 403 firmware gofirmware root m4 ss4453 http://bestandroidtoroot.com/post/m4tel-m4-ss4453-touchplus01a-s10a-m4-ss4453.
A student who is looking for a "party school," should not attend UAlbany. While there are many extra-curricular groups to get involved in, education and community are the basis of clubs/organizations.
SUNY at Albany is not for everyone. Some people can only thrive at certain colleges. This school gives a heavy workload to its students. Its highly competitive and has hard classes with subpar professors. This school is not for students who can't handle the work. Slackers will not thrive in this environment.
|
0.957848 |
Human Rights in Dubai The UAE embraces human rights in line with Islamic law, which is the main source of legislation in the UAE. It is guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was issued by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948. The Constitution of the UAE stipulates that all people, irrespective of their races, nationalities, religions and social positions, are equal before the law. It guarantees human rights, prohibits all forms of torture and degrading treatment and allows arrests, searches, attachments, imprisonments and unauthorized entries only in accordance with the provisions of the law. Public safety and the law The UAE Vision 2021 stipulates that the government pledges to protect society against crimes, maintain social stability, prevent external hazards, if any; and enhance the readiness of the emergency system to prevent the disasters and epidemics.
|
0.999998 |
Is Asean alone in new 'America First' anti-terror strategy?
Francis Chan Since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks by Al-Qaeda militants, the United States has played an important role in providing many of its Asean allies with wide-ranging assistance in counter-terrorism.
At the time, the George W. Bush administration positioned South-east Asia as its second front in the war on terror, which formed the impetus for a concerted, US-led response against Al-Qaeda affiliates in the region. These groups include the Abu Sayyaf in southern Philippines and Jemaah Islamiah (JI), which had significant presence in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
|
0.93336 |
The 4th of August Regime (Greek: Καθεστώς της 4ης Αυγούστου, Kathestós tis tetártis Avgoústou), commonly also known as the Metaxas Regime (Greek: Καθεστώς Μεταξά, Kathestós Metaxá), was an authoritarian regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas that ruled Greece from 1936 to 1941. It took its name from a self-coup carried out by Metaxas, with royal support, on 4 August 1936.
Metaxas imposed his regime primarily to fight the turbulent social situation prevalent in Greece in the 1930s, in which political factionalization had disrupted Greek parliamentary democracy. The sinking credibility of the Parliament was accompanied by several coup attempts; in March 1935, a Venizelist putsch failed, and in the following October, elections reinforced the Royalist majority, which allowed the exiled King George II to return to Greece.
The king re-established the monarchy in the country, but the parliament, split into incompatible factions, was unable to shape a clear political majority so that the government could govern. Meanwhile, the increasing activity of the Communists, whose 15 deputies from the 1936 elections held the balance between 143 Monarchists and 142 Liberals, Agrarians, and Republicans, created a deadlock.
In May 1935 widespread agrarian unrest (tobacco farmers) and industrial unrest in the north of the country erupted, which eventually brought General Metaxas, to suspend the parliament on the eve of a major strike, on 4 August 1936. Endorsed by the King, Metaxas declared a state of emergency, decreed martial law, annulled various articles of the constitution and established a crisis cabinet to put to an end the growing riots and to restore social order. In one of his first speeches, Metaxas announced: "I have decided to hold all the power I need for saving Greece from the catastrophes which threaten her."
Thus the Metaxas dictatorship was born, and the period of time which would follow was named after the day Metaxas rose to absolute power: the 4th of August. The new regime was backed by small extreme political parties, and by conservatives expecting a crackdown on the communists.
Young members of the Greek National Organisation of Youth (EON) hail in presence of Ioannis Metaxas.
The roots of Metaxas' "New State" were sought in Greece's classical history. Metaxas thought Hellenic nationalism would galvanize "the heathen values of ancient Greece, specifically those of Sparta, along with the Christian values of the Medieval empire of Byzantium". Ancient Macedonia was also glorified as the first political unifier of the Hellenes. As its main symbol, the youth organization of the regime chose the labrys/pelekys, the symbol of ancient Minoan Crete.
The traditional Greek values of "Country, Loyalty, Family and Religion", which Metaxas praised repeatedly, were also close to those of the ancient Spartans. The regime promoted the perceived Spartan ideals of self-discipline, militarism and collective sacrifice, while Byzantium provided an emphasis on a centralized state and devotion to the monarchy and Greek Orthodox Church.
Metaxas considered António Salazar's Estado Novo of Portugal his main inspiration and surrounded himself with elements from this and other dictatorial regimes of the time. Thus his main ideological slogan was also "New State" (Neon Kratos) and the 4th of August regime used its own military-like uniforms, greetings, songs and rituals, including the Roman salute (which Metaxas considered Greek in origin as a salutation to the sun god Apollo, and he referred to it as the "Hellenikos Hairetismos" ("Hellenic Hailing")).
In Metaxas' case we can speak as well of some characteristics typical of authoritarian states such as 1930s Italy and Germany: the regime's propaganda presented Metaxas as "the First Peasant", "the First Worker" and as "the National Father" of the Greeks. Like his contemporaries Hitler with Führer and Mussolini with Duce, Metaxas adopted the title of Arhigos, Greek for "leader" or "chieftain", and claimed that his regime had to lay the foundations for the appearance of a glorious "Third Hellenic Civilization" combining the best of ancient Greece and the Greek Byzantine Empire of the Middle Ages.
For more details on this topic, see Metaxism.
The Metaxas regime sought to comprehensively change Greece, and therefore instituted controls on Greek society, politics, language, and the economy. In each of these, the Metaxas government resembled more closely the policies that Spain would adopt later on than those of their contemporaries Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy.
Metaxas' policies such as the censorship of the media, the banning of political parties and prohibition of strikes copied contemporary European authoritarian regimes. As its far-right contemporaries Italy and Germany, the Greek State also had its political police force, the Asfaleia, based upon the Gestapo (its chief Maniadakis maintained a close relationship with Himmler on methods and techniques). The objective of Asfaleia was to secure public order.
The regime also repressed the rebetiko music due to the uncompromising lyrics and favoured the traditional Greek folk music. Hashish dens, baglamas and bouzouki were banned, or at least playing in the eastern-style manner and scales.
Soon after its inception the regime severely repressed the communists and leftists. About 15,000 people were arrested and jailed, or exiled for political reasons; some were subjected to torture. Metaxas' regime forced the Communist party underground, and also attempted to dismantle the old system of loyalties of the Royalist and Venizelist parties. Those major forces however remained, as they had for the preceding decades, and re-emerged immediately after the four-year Metaxas regime.
While Metaxas' regime did play up a supposed communist threat in order to justify its repression, the regime is not known to have committed political murders and did not instate the death penalty. Dissidents were, rather, usually banished to tiny islands in the Aegean sea. For example, the liberal leader George Papandreou was exiled to Andros. The Greek Communist Party (KKE), meanwhile, which had already been outlawed, remained intact. Legal restrictions against it were ended in 1974 during metapolitefsi.
Metaxas, educated in German Empire and admirer of the German culture, gave emphasis to the Art production (theatrical, literary, musical, visual arts etc.). He collaborated with significant intellectual figures of the era, like Stratis Myrivilis, Nikos Kazantzakis, Angelos Sikelianos, Manolis Kalomoiris, Angelos Terzakis, Nelly's and others, to promote the ideas of the regime, especially to the youth.
EON on parade (from its official magazine I Neolaia). The double axe, emblem of the organisation, is visible on the standard.
The flag which was used by EON during the Fourth of August regime.
The EON brought together youths of all economic and social strata into one single body. Boys’ education emphasized discipline and physical training, while girls were taught to become supportive wives and caring mothers to breed a stronger, healthier new generation. The EON published a fortnightly magazine called Neolaia (Νεολαία, Greek for "Youth"), which had much influence both in schools and in higher education.
Metaxas' vision was to create, through the youth, the "Third Hellenic Civilization", a continuity of the ancient Greek and Byzantine civilization.
As in most other authoritarian regimes, the 4th of August regime adopted a strong nationalistic program: although Metaxas was opposed to the invasion of Asia Minor as part of the Megali Idea, he used strong nationalist language concerning Greek minorities in neighbouring countries and in answering threats from Greece's neighbours in the still volatile southeast Europe. As with many nation states at the time, he used language exalting his people's "race". Ethnic and religious minorities were persecuted under Metaxas' rule.
The regime, however, was relatively tolerant to the Greek Jews, repealing the anti-Semitic laws of previous regimes. A large community of Sephardic Jews was present in the region of Thessaloniki which was annexed by Greece in 1913, and Jews were largely in opposition to Venizelism. Metaxas was firmly opposed to the irredentist factions of the Slavophones of northern Greece (consisting of Slavophone Greeks and Bulgarians mainly in Macedonia and Thrace), some of whom underwent political persecution due to advocacy of irredentism with regard to neighbouring countries.
Metaxas' regime continued repression of the use of Slavic languages both in public and in private and of expressions of Slavic cultural distinctiveness. Despite their supposed disloyalty, however, Slavophone Greeks identified with the Greek state and fought ferociously for Greece on the Italo-Albanian front. Again in contrast to some authoritarian regimes, no mass killings were ever instituted and there is no evidence that any were planned.
One of the 4th of August government's main objectives was the repudiation of the old capitalist system and its replacement with a corporatist economic system in order to promote national and social solidarity. This idea "harmonized perfectly with Metaxas' convictions on social and national solidarity as well as his rejection of individualism and class struggle". The plan for the creation of a corporatist state was manifest in the early days of the regime by public declarations by Metaxas and by government ministers.
To this end, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Konstantinos Zavitsianos "published details about a horizontal (according to branches of production), not vertical (according to social class), syndicalist organization" of the state. However, due to the external crisis with Italy, the plan had to be temporarily postponed with the result that it never fully materialized.
introduction of a minimum wage.
unemployment insurance and the creation of a public employment agency.
guaranteed two-week vacations with pay (or two weeks' double pay in place of the vacation).
Many elements of this program persist in Greek economic policy. Metaxas' regime founded the Workers' Center, which was established to look after workers' housing and recreation, among other things.
The 4th of August regime initially stabilized the drachma, which had been suffering from high inflation. Exploiting the newfound solidity of the currency, Metaxas' government embarked on large public works programs, including land drainage, construction of railways, road improvements, and modernization of the telecommunications infrastructure.
Metaxas' economic program met with initial success, with a marked rise in per capita income and temporary decline in unemployment in Greece between 1936 and 1938 (unemployment skyrocketed after 1938). Capitalizing on this success, the government instituted debt relief for farmers and instituted price floors on some agricultural goods to redistribute wealth to the countryside.
The anti-imperialist speech of the regime.
The pro-Jewish stance of Metaxas and tolerance to religious minorities.
The emphasis on the progress of the Greek Arts and Culture (as a plan for the "Third Hellenic Civilization").
No representative architecture or monuments.
Foreign policy was one of the main concerns of the 4th of August regime. Metaxas, who had studied in Germany as a youth, was pro-German, while the King was pro-British. This caused heated discussions between the two, but the reality of 1930s Europe was that Greece's security depended more on her traditional protector, the United Kingdom, which was the superpower dominating the Eastern Mediterranean Sea with her fleet, than on Germany. In addition, Italian leader Benito Mussolini's grandiose schemes to create a new Roman Empire in the Mediterranean directly clashed with Greek pretensions to control the Aegean Sea and the Dodecanese islands (by then under Italian control) and to exert stronger influence in Albania.
As the drums of war sounded increasingly stronger in Europe just before World War II, the situation was almost exactly the same as the position before World War I, when Greece had strong pro-German affinities in government, but it depended on Britain for its security. Most observers were anticipating Greece would attempt to remain neutral. Metaxas indeed attempted to maintain strict neutrality, but Italian expansionism eventually led to an Italian ultimatum and to the Greco-Italian War. However, Greek forces repelled the Italian invasion completely and brought the Italian soldiers back into Albania, where the invasion had been launched. In fact, some territories in Albania where a Greek minority lives were claimed to be 'alliberated' and Metaxas' plans were to unite them with the rest of Greece.
Metaxas died suddenly in January 1941 among dark circumstances. His death raised hopes of a liberalization of his regime and the restoration of parliamentary rule, but King George quashed these hopes when he retained the regime's machinery in place. In the meantime, Adolf Hitler was reluctantly forced to divert German troops to rescue Mussolini from defeat, and attacked Greece through Yugoslavia and Bulgaria on 6 April 1941.
Despite British assistance, by the end of May, the Germans had overrun most of the country. The King and the government escaped to Crete, where they stayed until the end of the Battle of Crete. They then transferred to Egypt, where a government in exile was established. Meanwhile, in Greece a fascist puppet government was placed into power by the Axis.
As the Axis occupation ended, Greece descended into civil war between the communist-dominated forces of the left, operating in Greece and from bases in the south of Yugoslavia, and the U.S.- and UK-aligned forces of the political right. This was the first major protracted combat of the Cold War, one of the first exercises in U.S. policy of Containment, and a subject of the Truman Doctrine of U.S. President Harry Truman. The alignments were quite different from the Venizelist-Monarchist National Schism, as most Venizelists supported the right-wing alliance during the civil war.
↑ 6.0 6.1 Constantine Sarandis, "The Ideology and Character of the Metaxas Regime", The Metaxas Dictatorship: Aspects of Greece, 1936-1940, pages 156-157.
Robin Higham and Thanos Veremis (eds), The Metaxas Dictatorship. Aspects of Greece 1936-1940 (Athens, Eliamep-Vryonis Center, 1993).
Papacosma, S. Victor, "Ioannis Metaxas and the "Fourth of August" Dictatorship in Greece," in Bernd J. Fischer (еd), Balkan Strongmen: Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of Southeastern Europe (West Lafayette, IN, 2007) (Central European Studies), 165-198.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 4th of August Regime.
This page was last modified on 11 March 2016, at 10:49.
|
0.982772 |
The Complainant is Juventus F. C. S.p.A., a company incorporated in Italy, with place of business in C.so Galileo Ferraris 32, 10128, Torino, Italy.
The Respondent is Hyung Jin Park, 303ho Skygopo, 3-14-3 Dakadanodaba Shinjuku-ku Tokyo, 169-0075, Japan. The administrative contact is the same as the Respondent.
The domain names at issue are <juvecard.com> <juvebiz.com> <juvetravel.com> <juvepark.com> <juvemobile.com> (the "Domain Names"). The registrar is Network Solutions, Inc. ("NSI") with address at 505 Huntmar Park Drive, Herndon, Virginia 20170-5142, USA (the "Registrar").
On July 13, 2001, the Complainant filed by e-mail a complaint (the "Complaint") with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center"). The Center received a hard copy of the Complaint on July 17, 2001 and confirmed receipt on July 18, 2001.
On July 18, 2001, the Center requested NSI to verify the Domain Names in dispute. NSI stated on July 24, 2001, that it is the registrar of the Domain Names, that the Respondent is the current registrant and administrative contact, that the NSI Version 5 Service Agreement is in effect and that the Domain Names registration are in "hold" status.
The Center proceeded to verify whether the Complaint satisfies the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy"), the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "ICANN Rules") and the World Intellectual Property Organization Supplemental Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "WIPO Rules"), including the payment of the requisite fees. The Center concluded that the Complaint satisfies all of these formal requirements.
On July 25, 2001, the Center sent a copy of the Complaint to the Respondent. The Center indicated this date as the formal date for the commencement of the administrative proceeding and August 14, 2001, as the last day for Respondent to file a Response.
On August 22, 2001, the Center notified the Respondent that he failed to meet the deadline and was, therefore, in default.
On August 27, 2001, the Center informed the Parties that an administrative panel (the "Panel") has been appointed and transferred the file to the Panel.
The Complainant, Juventus F. C., is a famous Italian soccer team. Its trademarks JUVENTUS and JUVE are protected by registrations in numerous countries covering various goods (including among others: printed matters, photographs and magazines, silverware and jewelry, motor vehicles and non-vehicles for locomotion, eyeglasses, videotapes and compact discs, etc.). Copies of several Japanese registration certificates for JUVENTUS (as a logo and in block letters) and an international registration certificate for JUVE (in block letters) are attached to the Complaint (Annex 3).
The Respondent registered the Domain Names in January 2001. Nothing is known about the Respondent, because of Respondent's default.
- that Respondent in April 2001 posted a "domains are free.com" default advertising site and removed it after Complainant sent a cease and desist letter in May 2001; that the Respondent's passive holding of the Domain Names registration, therefore, constitutes use in bad faith.
The Complainant has shown that it owns an international registration of the trademark "JUVE" in block letters. The addition of a generic term like "card", "biz" (for business), "travel", "park" or "mobile" to a famous mark is not sufficient to avoid confusion (Chanel, Inc. v. Estco Technology Group, WIPO Case No. D2000-0413 and Parfums Christian Dior v. Netpower, WIPO Case No. D2000-0022). In previous decisions, the domains <juvetv.com> and <juvemania.org> have been found to be confusingly similar to Complainant's trademark JUVE (Juventus F.C. SpA. v. Mytos srl, WIPO Case No. D2001-0583; Juventus F.C. SpA. v. Vincent Khouw, WIPO Case No. D2001-0844) . The Panel therefore finds that the Domain Names at issue are confusingly similar to Complainant's trademark "JUVE".
The Respondent does not appear to have obtained an authorization to use Complainant's trademarks. The Respondent neither replied to Complainant's cease and desist letter nor did he file a Response. In any event, the "domains are free.com" default advertising site posted by the Respondent does not qualify as a bona fide offering of goods or services under the Policy.
Therefore, the Panel finds that the Respondent did not demonstrate any legitimate rights or interest in the disputed Domain Names.
According to Complainant's evidence (Annex 6) the Respondent registered 45 domain names containing the term "juve". One can therefore conclude that the Respondent has engaged in a pattern of cybersquatting conduct and thereby registered the Domain Names in bad faith (Guccio Gucci S.p.A. v. Mark O'Flynn, WIPO Case No. D2001-0270 and further cases cited therein).
The Respondent has passively held the Domain Names for several months (besides the "domains are free" default pages posted by Respondent in April 2001 which do not qualify as good faith use), and any use by the Respondent of these Domain Names would necessarily create a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of a Respondent's web site in the sense of paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy (Banca Sella S.p.A. v. Mr. Paolo Parente, WIPO Case No. D2000-1157; Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin v. The Polygenix Group Ltd., WIPO Case No. D2000-0163; Ingersoll-Rand v. Frank Gully, WIPO Case No. D2000-0021).
The Panel, therefore, finds that Respondent registered and used the Domain Names in bad faith.
For all of the foregoing reasons, this Panel decides that the Domain Names, <juvecard.com>, <juvebiz.com>, <juvetravel.com>, <juvepark.com>, <juvemobile.com> registered by Respondent are confusingly similar to the trademark "JUVE" owned by the Complainant, that the Respondent has not demonstrated any rights or legitimate interests in respect of these Domain Names, and that the Respondent registered and used the Domain Names in bad faith. Accordingly, pursuant to paragraph 4 (i) of the Policy, the Panel requires that the registration of the above Domain Names be transferred to the Complainant.
|
0.999965 |
Chairs have been around for centuries, and only keep getting better. With the incorporation of new materials, technology, and ergonomic design, chairs are not only looking better, they feel much better.
Stacking chairs are among the most affordable pieces of furniture available as they require minimal materials in their construction, are easy to make, and have a smaller size. They are also much simpler in design, not requiring advanced features that other pieces of furniture, such as multiple ergonomic adjustments that you'd find on an office chair or leather upholstery that may be desired on a couch. Because they are typically a bulk purchase rather than just buying one or two pieces, they are usually eligible for volume discounts which can even further lower the cost of the chair. Depending on the design of the chair or the purpose for which the chair is going to be used are two factors that can also affect the price. Plastic stacking chairs are generally among the cheapest in price and are great for outdoor events or when visitors will be spending a limited amount of time seated in the chair. Fabric, vinyl, and heavy-duty stacking chairs can be a little more costly as they take more time to produce and require the use of more expensive materials.
|
0.960775 |
Bill Text - AB-814 Consumer protection: enforcement powers: investigatory subpoena.
An act to amend Section 16759 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to consumer protection.
AB 814, as amended, Bloom. Consumer protection: enforcement powers: investigatory subpoena.
The Unfair Competition Law (UCL) establishes a statutory cause of action for unfair competition, including any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising. Under this law, actions for relief are required to be prosecuted exclusively by the Attorney General, a district attorney, a county counsel authorized by agreement with the district attorney in actions involving violation of a county ordinance, a city attorney of a city having a population in excess of 750,000, or a city attorney in a city and county, or, with the consent of the district attorney, by a city prosecutor in a city having a full-time city prosecutor in the name of the people of the State of California, as specified, or by a person who has suffered injury in fact and has lost money or property as a result of the unfair competition.
Existing law authorizes a district attorney, upon reasonable belief there has been a violation of the UCL or various other laws related to unfair business practices, to exercise all the powers granted to the Attorney General as a head of department to investigate the potential violation, including the authority to issue subpoenas.
This bill would specify that this investigatory power granted to the Attorney General as a head of a department applies to a city attorney of a city having a population in excess of 750,000 or to a city attorney in the of a city and county when those city attorneys reasonably believe that there may have been a violation of the UCL.
(a) All those powers granted to the Attorney General as a head of a department under Article 2 (commencing with Section 11180) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code shall be granted to the district attorney of any county when that district attorney reasonably believes that there may have been a violation of Article 2 (commencing with Section 16720) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 16750) of this chapter, or a violation of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 17000) of this part, or a violation of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of this part, and shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 7460) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(b) All those powers granted to the Attorney General as head of a department under Article 2 (commencing with Section 11180) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code shall be granted to the city attorney of any city having a population in excess of 750,000 or to a city attorney in of a city and county when the city attorney reasonably believes that there may have been a violation of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of this part, and shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 7460) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(c) Any investigations investigation pursuant to these powers shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 11180) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, including all applicable principles relating to immunity from self-incrimination. However, Section 16758 shall not be construed as providing automatic immunity with respect to the subject of a subpoena issued in connection with that investigation. Court orders sought pursuant to this section shall be sought in the superior court of the county in which the district attorney or city attorney seeking the order holds office.
|
0.993113 |
How much will adding a wet bar in a finished basement cost?
We want to add a kitchen cabinet in a corner that would need to be secured to the wall that hides a pocket door. What would be the best way to anchor that cabinet? We're fine doing away with the pocket door but should we leave it hidden and frame the door or remove the pocket door? What is the cost differential?
Well Norm, your best solution would be to securely anchor the kitchen cabinet to the wall and keep the pocket door as well. If the cabinet is located in a corner, then you should have one wall that has standard studs in it and these can carry most of the weight of the new kitchen cabinet. Attaching the cabinet to the adjacent wall, which hides the pocket door, is a bit trickier. Most pocket doors are constructed with some framing members around the "pocket", as this is what the overlaying sheetrock is attached to, and you might be able to anchor a few cabinet mounting screws to these underlying pieces of wood.
The pocket frame is usually built with horizontal 1x4's that are 16 inches on center from the ground up. If you use a stud finder, you should be able to locate these horizontal wood pieces, and hopefully one or more of them is located behind the new cabinet.
It is very important that you use the correct length of screw when mounting the kitchen cabinet to the pocket door framing, because if the screw is too long it will go through the pocket frame and into the door itself. To determine the proper screw length you must measure and add together the thickness of the cabinet box(usually 3/4 of an inch), the thickness of the sheetrock (usually 1/2 inch), and the thickness of the pocket framing member (usually 3/4 of an inch).
If these measurements are similar to yours, then you should use a screw that is no more than 2 inches long. When you attach the cabinet to the wall, make sure to leave the pocket door closed(meaning not hidden in the pocket), this way if the screw is too long you will not damage the door. After the cabinet is attached to the wall, try opening the door by sliding it into the pocket, and if the door gets caught up on something, the screw you used is too long and you will have to try a shorter screw.
|
0.99949 |
Do Cyprus have high living cost?
The cost of living in Cyprus is quite affordable for all the foreign nationals. It is a great destination for the international students due to its affordability and low costs. Cyprus has got a broad range of varied International cuisine that is available at affordable prices.
|
0.999087 |
As is my want, I often troll through various websites looking for interesting information and to further my research knowledge on a multitude of topics. I recently came across some work that linked dividends with consumer spending. The research was a collaborative study between Stanford Graduate School of Business and both Harvard & New York Universities and was conducted in 2008. It found that if there were two households with investments of the same monetary value, and both sets of investments appreciated by the same amount each year, their spending patterns would be determined by how that increase in value occurred.
To explain the scenario in a little more detail, two households with investment portfolios of identical worth and each household sees their investments appreciate by 10% one year. The only difference is that one household's wealth grows entirely through capital gains; the other receives its additional wealth in the form of dividends. Which household is likely to spend more, and which one accumulates more wealth?
According to this research, the household receiving the dividends is likely to run out and spend the cash. The one with the capital gains is more likely to reinvest or save them. This is very much the sort of thing that sounds obvious once someone says it. The thing is, people often say something is obvious once it has been pointed out, but prior to that, no one noticed the relationship. As the researchers say, in addition to helping understand consumer behavior, the information could even be used to draft economic policy.
Those who have read my previous work will understand that Behavioural Finance comes into play with this result. The differing consumer activity is based on the theory of mental accounting first articulated by Richard Thaler in 1980. He argued that people instinctively group their assets into different categories that they then spend in certain prescribed ways. As the researchers point out, mental accounting is the basis for the popular advice to "consume income, not principal." It argues that consumers do not see capital gains and dividends as interchangeable, but rather as two different kinds of funds earmarked for two different purposes.
According to Stefan Nagel, assistant professor of finance at Stanford, companies have learned that investors often prefer dividends. As is often the case, such approaches may not be particularly rational, however, when companies embark upon stock repurchase programs rather than paying dividends, many 'ordinary' investors are often not happy. The companies argue they are still returning money to investors, but the investors have a different view. As Nagel points out, this consumer behavior is consistent with a widely held perception that dividends, unlike capital gains, represent a permanent kind of income. On the other hand, 'ordinary' investors don't always expect capital gains every year, but they do come to expect dividends.
If this research is a true reflection of consumer behaviour, there are implications for the economy as well as for consumers and businesses. At the consumer level, it's clear that consumers "do have this general rule of thumb of not touching their capital," says Nagel. "In some ways this might not be rational. It might even be sub-optimal for their overall wealth." On the other hand, he says, life is complicated enough. "There's only so much time you can spend thinking about these things," he says. "Economic rules of thumb can work very well for that reason."
Nagel goes on to make the salutary point that at the corporate level, companies are well advised to understand investors' attitudes or risk drawing the wrath of shareholders. Anyone listening out there?
In terms of the overall economy "there is the possibility that understanding this consumer behavior could be used to stimulate the economy," says Nagel. After all, if taxes on dividends are cut, and companies respond by paying out more dividends on which investors pay fewer taxes, there could be a significant increase in consumption. "If you're looking to stimulate the economy, there's the possibility that this could have that effect," says Nagel. Rather takes the wind out of the argument that cutting taxes on things like dividends is accommodating the rich as a large number of mums and dads own shares and receive dividends!
Because consumption is the flip side of saving, this means that in years when dividends are high, consumers save less. "If an investors' portfolio increases through capital gains, the money tends to stay in the brokerage account; if dividends are paid, it tends to be withdrawn, and not put back," says Nagel. "Thus if the government were trying to promote savings, it could arguably encourage corporations not to give out dividends."
Sounds far too rational for politicians to consider, to say nothing of the potential political dogma likely to be spouted by those on the left.
|
0.998995 |
Consider the 160-character phrase: "The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human."
The world record for being able to punch this phrase into a cell phones is 42.22 seconds. The speed record belongs to 18-year-old Ben Cook, of Provo, UT, besting by more than a full second, the previous record of 43.24 seconds held by Kimberly Yeo, a Singapore woman who won $17,500 for her feat in mid-2004. Contestants cannot use the cell phone's predictive text function and the punctuation must be exact.
Task: Hold a contest in your class....what is the best time achieved?
Question 1: What is Cook's input rate in characters/sec?
Question 2: If Ben Cook was to input either the Webster's Dictionary or the Encyclopedia Britannica into his text phone (assuming its memory was large enough), how long would he take?
Some Extra Trivia: In April-June, 2006, Verizon Wireless customers sent and received an industry-record-setting 12 billion text messages, downloaded nearly 55 million games and ring tones, exchanged more than 232 million picture and video messages.
|
0.999017 |
Face recognition has been receiving consistent attention in computer vision community for over two decades. While recent advances in deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have pushed face recognition algorithms to surpass human performance in most controlled situations, the unconstrained face recognition performance is still far from satisfactory. This is mainly because the domain shift between training and test data is substantial when faces are captured under extreme pose, blur or other covariates variations. In this dissertation, we study the effects of covariates and present approaches of mitigating the domain mismatch to improve the performance of unconstrained face verification and identification.
First, we study how covariates affect the performance of deep neural networks on the large-scale unconstrained face verification problem. We implement five state-of-the-art deep convolutional networks (DCNNs) and evaluate them on three challenging covariates datasets. In total, seven covariates are considered: pose (yaw and roll), age, facial hair, gender, indoor/outdoor, occlusion (nose and mouth visibility, and forehead visibility), and skin tone. Some of the results confirm and extend the findings of previous studies, while others are new findings that were rarely mentioned before or did not show consistent trends. On the other hand, we demonstrate that with the assistance of gender information, the quality of a pre-curated noisy large-scale face dataset can be further improved. After retraining the face recognition model using the curated data, performance improvement is observed at low False Acceptance Rates (FARs).
Second, we propose a metric learning method to alleviate the effects of pose on face verification performance. We learn a joint model for face and pose verification tasks and explicitly discourage information sharing between the identity and pose metrics. Specifically, we enforce an orthogonal regularization constraint on the learned projection matrices for the two tasks leading to making the identity metrics for face verification more pose-robust. Extensive experiments are conducted on three challenging unconstrained face datasets that show promising results compared to the state-of-the-art methods.
Third, since blur is an important factor that significantly degrades the accuracy of face recognition, we propose two approaches to reduce the performance drop induced by image blur. First, we present an incremental dictionary learning approach to mitigate the distribution difference between sharp training data and blurred test data. Some blurred faces called supportive samples are selected, which are used for building more discriminative classification models and act as a bridge to connect the two domains. Second, we propose an unsupervised face deblurring approach based on disentangled representations. The disentanglement is achieved by splitting the content and blur features in a blurred image using content encoders and blur encoders. An adversarial loss is added on deblurred results to generate visually realistic faces. We conduct extensive experiments on two challenging face datasets that show promising results.
Finally, apart from the effects of covariates like pose and blur, face verification performance often suffers from source and target domain mismatch introduced by the requirement that the subjects in the training and test set must be mutually exclusive. To tackle this problem, we propose a template adaptation method for template-based face verification. A template-specific metric is trained to adaptively learn the discriminative information between test templates and the negative training set, which contains subjects that are mutually exclusive to subjects in test templates. Extensive experiments on two challenging face verification datasets yield promising results compared to other competitive methods.
|
0.999168 |
The end of the sentence should read "h1 element" not "ul element", so the sentence is "The content outside the curly braces, namely the strings "There are " and " products." appear literally in the results, as textual content of the h1 element.
The description of the function states that it performs a "value comparison", but the source code shows it as performing a "general comparison".
Page 45, last row of Table 4-4: 'parent::node/number' should be 'parent::node()/number'.
In Table 4-4 of page 45 child::product/descendant::name = product//name However on the end of page 48 it states that there is difference between doc("catalog.xml")/catalog/descendant::name and doc("catalog.xml")/catalog//name Is here not a conflict?
Page 79, line 6-7: It is erroneous, or at least misleading, to say that a variable "should not be referenced in the let clause itself, as in: let $count := $count + 1 ". The above does not refer to the variable $count that is being declared. According to Section 3.8.1 of the XQuery 1.0 Recommendation, "The scope of a variable bound in a for or let clause [...] does not include the expression to which the variable is bound." Thus, the right-hand side of the above let clause either (a) refers to a previously declared $count variable or (b) it is erroneous (XPST0008: Variable $count has not been declared).
The end of the first paragraph on page should be changed from "and it should not be referenced in the let clause itself, as in:" to "and it cannot be referenced in the let clause itself, as in:" (should not --> cannot). Also, the first sentence of second paragraph should be changed from "This is not illegal, but it will have unexpected..." to "This is not illegal, but it is actually declaring a new variable with the same name, so it will have unexpected..."
Yes, and two examples later there is another place where "F.*" should be changed to "^F".
|
0.999995 |
Is it safe to give massages while am pregnant?
Am a massage therpist and currently enrolled in a healing arts instiuate is it safe to give massages?
I think it's safe depending on the type of treatments performing. I am a massage therapist also and currently pregnant. Just be careful of any strenuous treatments such as deep tissue or any detoxifying treatments such as seaweed wraps or hydrotherapy dealing with heat. Also take breaks between treatments and remember to relax by taking slow deep breaths while performing treatments.
|
0.967823 |
In the world of spatial analysis, there are two major varieties of data: vector and raster. The divide between these two data types and the people that use them has raged on for decades.
Although it is true that vector and raster data are both ways of representing spatial data, and most data can be represented as either vector or raster, the data types are very different, and each one can shine brighter than the other for different use cases and data sets.
Vector data represents the world with points, lines, and polygons. Vector data is stored as a list of coordinates that define vertices (points), and a set of rules that determine if and how the vertices are joined into lines or polygons. Vector data is most useful to represent spatial phenomena that has discrete boundaries, like county borders or streets.
Raster data represents the world as a continuous surface divided into a regular grid of cells (pixels), where each cell contains a value corresponding to the measured value for the area the cell represents. The spatial resolution of raster data is determined by the size of the cells it is comprised of (e.g., one cell in a raster map can represent a 10x10m area on the surface of the Earth). Raster data can be continuous (e.g., elevation or rainfall) or discrete (e.g., land use or vegetation type).
There are many different pros and cons associated with each data type and selecting the appropriate data type for your use case or the phenomena you are trying to represent will depend on which best suits your needs.
Vector data tends to be more aesthetically pleasing, and as a result, most maps are created with vector data. Another major advantage is that vector data is not dependent on grid size. Vector data tends to be easier to register, re-project, and scale, which can make it more straightforward to use vector data from different data sources. Vector data can also allow for network analysis, where raster does not.
One of the most significant disadvantages of vector data is that it does not effectively represent continuous data.
|
0.999938 |
Engagement: Social media engagement measures the public shares, likes and comments for an online business' social media efforts. Engagement has historically been a common metric for evaluating social media performance.
Shares: Social sharing describes when social media users broadcast web content on a social network to their connections, groups, or specific individuals. One of the primary aims of corporate social media marketing strategies is to generate brand awareness by leveraging their existing audience to share content.
Reach: refers to the total number of people who have seen your ad or content. If 100 total people have seen your ad, that means your ad’s reach is 100.
Impressions: refer to the number of times your ad or content has been displayed on a screen. Let’s say that your ad from the previous example popped up on those people’s screens a total of 300 times. That means the number of impressions for that ad is 300.
|
0.998981 |
Check out the resources on the page's right side to learn more about hashing. The video tutorial is by Gayle Laakmann McDowell, author of the best-selling interview book Cracking the Coding Interview.
Harold is a kidnapper who wrote a ransom note, but now he is worried it will be traced back to him through his handwriting. He found a magazine and wants to know if he can cut out whole words from it and use them to create an untraceable replica of his ransom note. The words in his note are case-sensitive and he must use only whole words available in the magazine. He cannot use substrings or concatenation to create the words he needs.
Given the words in the magazine and the words in the ransom note, print Yes if he can replicate his ransom note exactly using whole words from the magazine; otherwise, print No.
For example, the note is "Attack at dawn". The magazine contains only "attack at dawn". The magazine has all the right words, but there's a case mismatch. The answer is .
Complete the checkMagazine function in the editor below. It must print if the note can be formed using the magazine, or .
The first line contains two space-separated integers, and , the numbers of words in the and the ..
The second line contains space-separated strings, each .
The third line contains space-separated strings, each .
Each word consists of English alphabetic letters (i.e., to and to ).
Print Yes if he can use the magazine to create an untraceable replica of his ransom note. Otherwise, print No.
'two' only occurs once in the magazine.
Harold's magazine is missing the word .
|
0.999637 |
Results of new research indicate that, contrary to previous thinking, youth do not have less effective thermoregulatory ability, insufficient cardiovascular capacity, or lower physical exertion tolerance compared with adults during exercise in the heat when adequate hydration is maintained. Accordingly, besides poor hydration status, the primary determinants of reduced performance and exertional heat-illness risk in youth during sports and other physical activities in a hot environment include undue physical exertion, insufficient recovery between repeated exercise bouts or closely scheduled same-day training sessions or rounds of sports competition, and inappropriately wearing clothing, uniforms, and protective equipment that play a role in excessive heat retention. Because these known contributing risk factors are modifiable, exertional heat illness is usually preventable. With appropriate preparation, modifications, and monitoring, most healthy children and adolescents can safely participate in outdoor sports and other physical activities through a wide range of challenging warm to hot climatic conditions.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes that appropriate and sufficient regular physical activity plays a significant part in enhancing and maintaining health.1,–,7 However, special consideration, preparation, modifications, and monitoring are essential when children and adolescents are engaging in sports or other vigorous physical activities in warm to hot weather. Exertional heat illness, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, might occur even in a temperate environment, but the risk is highest when children and adolescents are vigorously active outdoors in hot and humid conditions. Severe exertional heat injury or heat stroke is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, especially if diagnosis is delayed and appropriate medical management is not initiated promptly. The Appendix contains definitions of the heat-illness–related terms used in this statement.
Researchers have previously suggested that children are less effective in regulating body temperature, incur greater cardiovascular strain, and have lower exercise tolerance during exercise in the heat compared with adults.8,–,13 However, more recent studies, in which both groups were exposed to equal relative intensity exercise workloads and environmental conditions while minimizing dehydration, have compared 9- to 12-year-old boys and girls to similarly fit and heat-acclimatized adults. These newer findings indicate that children and adults have similar rectal and skin temperatures, cardiovascular responses, and exercise-tolerance time during exercise in the heat.14,–,17 Accordingly, modifiable evidence-based determinants of exertional heat-illness risk in youth should be the focus of prevention measures.
Most healthy children and adolescents can safely participate in outdoor sports and other physical activities through a wide range of challenging warm to hot climatic conditions. With appropriate preparation, modifications, and monitoring, exertional heat illness is usually preventable. Table 1 summarizes key heat-illness risk factors during sports and other physical activity and recommended responses (actions) for reducing physiologic strain and improving safety and activity tolerance. As heat and humidity increase and as additional other exertional heat-illness risk factors such as those listed in Table 1 are present, the actions for improving safety become more urgent. Likewise, as the number of risk factors for exertional heat illness increases, the maximum environmental heat and humidity level for safe exercise, sports participation, or other physical activities will decrease.
Operationally, pediatricians, coaches, and administrators need to make appropriate recommendations and “on-the-field” decisions to improve safety and minimize exertional heat-illness risk for a team or event as a whole. However, given individual variations in health status, conditioning, or other circumstances, some participants might not require the same heightened concern as other young athletes who might need implementation of additional exertional heat-illness prevention measures and closer monitoring in the same or a less challenging environment. For instance, even with a heat index of 95°F (35°C), a very fit, well-hydrated, rested, healthy 12-year-old who is acclimatized to the hot and humid conditions can likely safely compete in a soccer game without significant risk to his or her well-being or safety. On the other hand, with a heat index of only 85°F (29.4°C), an overweight high school football player who recently recovered from diarrhea and is running wind sprints at the end of the second 3-hour workout on an unusually warm first day of preseason football is much more likely to be at risk of overheating and exertional collapse. These examples also underscore the infinite number of scenarios that can alter individual exertional heat-illness risk. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to impose appropriate universal measures for maintaining optimal safety for all children and adolescents while sensibly allowing sports participation and other physical activities to continue. Although Table 1 can be used to help guide the decision-making process in taking appropriate prevention measures, considerably more research is needed to examine core body-temperature responses and exertional heat-illness risk with children and adolescents in different environmental conditions during various practice,31 competition,32 and other physical activity scenarios.33 With such empirical information, appropriate sport- and activity-specific “heat safety grids” and field evidence-based prevention, participation, and cancellation guidelines can be developed.
Community pediatricians can be instrumental in improving heat safety for children and adolescents engaged in youth sports and other physical activities by actively participating as school team physicians or on school wellness committees or health councils; on school boards; on local, regional, or national sport or sports medicine advisory committees; or in local parks and recreation programs to educate youth and parents and to guide coaches and administrators in developing and implementing effective exertional heat-illness prevention and management strategies. However, field evidence is not currently sufficient to optimally guide pediatricians, coaches, administrators, and youth sport governing bodies in making the most appropriate and advantageous modifications to play and practice specific to heat safety or deciding when to cancel activities altogether if necessary. Accordingly, parents, teachers, coaches, athletic trainers, and pediatricians as well as youth sports governing bodies and administrators should always emphasize and use suitable prevention strategies, to the best of their ability, to improve safety and appropriately minimize the risk of exertional heat illness for all children and adolescents during exercise, sports participation, and other physical activities in warm to hot weather. To this end, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following.
Community and team/school physicians as well as athletic directors, community parks and recreation programs, and youth sport governing bodies should emphasize comprehensive awareness, education, and implementation of effective exertional heat-illness risk-reduction strategies to coaches and their staff, athletic trainers, teachers, administrators, and others who oversee or assist with exercising children and adolescents and youth sports, especially for those involved with youth and preseason high school American football.
Trained personnel and facilities capable of effectively treating all forms of heat illness, especially exertional heat stroke by rapidly lowering core body temperature, should be readily available on site during all youth athletic activities and community programs that involve vigorous physical activity and are held in the heat.
Children and adolescents should be regularly educated on the merits of proper preparation, ample hydration, honest reporting, and effectively managing other factors under their control, such as recovery and rest, which will directly affect exercise-heat tolerance and safety.
Each child and adolescent should be given the opportunity to gradually and safely adapt to preseason practice and conditioning, sport participation, or other physical activity in the heat by appropriate and progressive acclimatization. This process includes graduated exposure (typically over a 10- to 14-day period) to the environment, intensity, duration, and volume of physical activity and to the insulating and metabolic effects of wearing various uniform and protective-equipment configurations. Specific guidelines for American youth football are available34,35 and can be used as a basis for developing other youth sports-acclimatization and practice-modification/monitoring strategies.
Sufficient, sanitary, and appropriate fluid should be readily accessible and consumed at regular intervals before, during, and after all sports participation and other physical activities to offset sweat loss and maintain adequate hydration while avoiding overdrinking. Generally, 100 to 250 mL (approximately 3–8 oz) every 20 minutes for 9- to 12-year-olds and up to 1.0 to 1.5 L (approximately 34–50 oz) per hour for adolescent boys and girls is enough to sufficiently minimize sweating-induced body-water deficits during exercise and other physical activity as long as their preactivity hydration status is good. Preactivity to postactivity body-weight changes can provide more specific insight to a person's hydration status and rehydration needs. Although water is often sufficient to maintain adequate hydration, long-duration (eg, ≥1-hour) or repeated same-day sessions of strenuous exercise, sport participation, or other physical activity might warrant including electrolyte-supplemented beverages that emphasize sodium to more effectively optimize rehydration.36,–,40 This is especially justified in warm- to hot-weather conditions, when sweat loss is extensive.
Exercise, sport participation, and other physical activity should be modified for safety in relation to the degree of environmental heat stress: air temperature, humidity, and solar radiation, as indicated by the heat index or wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT), for those with access to such a device. Effective modifications include lowering the intensity and/or shortening the activity duration and increasing the frequency and duration of breaks, which would preferably be in the shade. Individual medical conditions25 and other risk factors identified by a preparticipation physical examination or as indicated by a more recent change in health status that could lower tolerance for exercise in the heat and increase risk for exertional heat illness should also prompt these and additional modifications (see Table 1).
Any child or adolescent should avoid or limit exercise, sport participation, or other physical activity in the heat if he or she is currently ill or is recovering from an illness, especially those involving gastrointestinal distress (eg, vomiting, diarrhea) and/or fever.
Supervisory staff such as coaches, athletic trainers, physical education teachers, and playground aides should receive appropriate training and closely monitor all children and adolescents at all times during sports and other physical activity in the heat for signs and symptoms of developing heat illness. Any significant deterioration in performance with notable signs of struggling, negative changes in personality or mental status, or other concerning clinical markers of well-being, including pallor, bright-red flushing, dizziness, headache, excessive fatigue, vomiting, or complaints of feeling cold or extremely hot, should be sufficient reason to immediately stop participation and seek appropriate medical attention for those affected. First aid for evolving heat illness should not be delayed. Anyone experiencing exertional heat illness should not return to practice or competition, recreational play, or other physical activity for the remainder of the current session, game/match, or play/activity period.
An emergency action plan with clearly defined written protocols should be developed and in place ahead of time. Emergency medical services (EMS) communication should be activated immediately for any child or adolescent who collapses or exhibits moderate or severe central nervous system dysfunction or encephalopathy during or after practice, competition, or other physical activity in the heat, especially if the child or adolescent is wearing a uniform and/or protective equipment that is potentially contributing to additional heat storage. Although treatment should not be delayed pending core body-temperature verification, when feasible, rectal temperature should be promptly checked by trained personnel and, if indicated (rectal temperature > 40°C [104°F]), on-site whole-body rapid cooling using proven techniques should be initiated without delay.41,–,44 This process includes promptly moving the victim to the shade, immediately removing protective equipment and clothing, and cooling by cold- or ice-water immersion (preferred, most effective method) or by applying ice packs to the neck, axillae, and groin and rotating ice-water–soaked towels to all other areas of the body until rectal temperature reaches just under 39°C (approximately 102°F) or the victim shows clinical improvement. If rectal temperature cannot be assessed in a child or adolescent with clinical signs or symptoms suggestive of moderate or severe heat stress, appropriate treatment should not be delayed. Prompt rapid cooling for 10 to 15 minutes and, if the child or adolescent is alert enough to ingest fluid, hydration should be initiated by attending staff while awaiting the arrival of medical assistance.
In conditions of extreme heat or humidity when children or adolescents can no longer maintain thermal balance, safety should be the priority, and outdoor contests and practice sessions should be canceled or rescheduled to cooler times, even if it means playing or practicing very early in the day or later in the evening.
Heat stress: High air temperature, humidity, and solar radiation that lead to perceived discomfort and physiologic strain when children and adolescents are exposed to such environmental conditions, especially during vigorous exercise and other physical activity.
Exertional heat illness: A spectrum of clinical conditions that range from muscle (heat) cramps, heat syncope, and heat exhaustion to life-threatening heat stroke incurred as a result of exercise or other physical activity in the heat.
Heat exhaustion: Moderate heat illness, characterized by the inability to maintain blood pressure and sustain adequate cardiac output, that results from strenuous exercise or other physical activity, environmental heat stress, acute dehydration, and energy depletion. Signs and symptoms include weakness, dizziness, nausea, syncope, and headache; core body temperature is <104°F (40°C).
Exertional heat stroke: Severe multisystem heat illness, characterized by central nervous system abnormalities such as delirium, convulsions, or coma, endotoxemia, circulatory failure, temperature-control dysregulation, and, potentially, organ and tissue damage, that results from an elevated core body temperature (>104°F [>40°C]) that is induced by strenuous exercise or other physical activity and typically (not always) high environmental heat stress.
Heat injury: Profound damage and dysfunction to the brain, heart, liver, kidneys, intestine, spleen, or muscle induced by excessive sustained core body temperature associated with incurring exertional heat stroke, especially for those victims in whom signs and/or symptoms are not promptly recognized and are not treated effectively (rapidly cooled) in a timely manner.
|
0.987566 |
In a market economy, employee compensation inevitably depends on employee performance and productivity. But there is one incredibly important occupation in which compensation depends very little on performance—public school teaching. In California, as well as many other states, teacher compensation is largely tied to seniority and the completion of various certification and summer teacher enrichment programs, rather than to teaching performance. Moreover, teacher compensation typically does not reflect market pressures for teachers across different teaching fields. In particular, compensation for teachers in the difficult-to-fill STEM teaching areas is often the same as in areas that do not have the same scarcity. This makes it very difficult to hire and retain qualified math and science teaching specialists.
So why is the compensation process so different for K–12 teachers? Teachers unions. Old-school unions (think of the United Auto Workers and the United Steel Workers from the 1950s) have always created salary compression, which implicitly means raising pay—sometimes considerably—for less productive workers in the union, at the expense of restricting pay for the most productive workers.
Treating individuals within the union as essentially the same worker goes back in time to an economy that simply no longer exists, back to the days when US Steel ruled the world of steel production, and the United Steel Workers seemed to call a strike after the expiration of every collective bargaining agreement. With only about 6 percent of private sector workers remaining in unions today, and with productivity and performance now central in many union negotiations, teacher unions are now one of the last outposts in the United States resisting merit-based pay.
California typically ranks near the bottom of US educational statistics, as only 37 percent of California students are proficient at mathematics despite much higher state spending on K–12 education. It is clear that California needs to make educational reforms, so why are teacher unions resisting a principle that works well in the rest of the economy? Unions list several reasons, such as (1) merit-based pay introduces competition into teaching and this would ruin a collaborative and collegial workplace, (2) merit-based pay will lead all teachers to teach the same way, and (3) it is inherently difficult to evaluate teaching performance.
Do these explanations ring true? Regarding (1), most effective workplaces exhibit both collegiality and performance-based pay, and this includes teachers at community colleges, colleges, and universities. Regarding (2), if there are clear best practices in teaching, then we should hope that they will be adopted broadly. Regarding (3), teachers are evaluated when they are hired, and they are evaluated for their tenure decision. In fact, just ask any parent whether they can distinguish between effective and ineffective teachers. Note that any union argument to justify decoupling K–12 teaching compensation from teacher performance must make the case that either the occupation itself, or that the teachers themselves, fundamentally differ from their counterparts in the rest of the economy and that the market principles of supply and demand don’t apply to teaching. If you don’t buy this, then you are not alone.
California teacher unions constitute much of the resistance to pay for performance in K–12 teaching. The politically powerful 325,000 member California Teacher Association stated that “Merit pay is flawed in concept. Where it has been tried, it has proved to be a detriment rather than a stimulus to better education.” Detriment to better education? Really? Vanderbilt University researchers recently conducted a meta-analysis of forty-four studies and concluded that merit-based pay increases student learning by nearly one month per academic year. Other research shows that teacher pay on average is higher in school districts with merit pay and that teaching collegiality is not compromised. What is not to like here? Students, parents, taxpayers, and many—perhaps most—teachers benefit.
The long-run gains of merit pay may be even much higher by changing the future composition of teachers. Research by economists Caroline Hoxby and Andrew Leigh show that fewer extremely high-performing individuals are entering the teaching profession today compared to the 1960s and that much of this decline is explained by union salary compression. That is, high-performing individuals don’t enter the teaching profession at the same rate as they used to because they won’t be paid what they are worth. In complementary research, economists Kevin Lang and Maria Dolores Palacios show that teaching is now attracting individuals who are extremely risk averse, meaning that they value job security (provided by teacher tenure) much more than other workers in the economy. For these workers, being able to keep your job is a very attractive component of the teaching profession, perhaps more so than the attractiveness of the actual teaching job itself.
The best teachers are incredibly valuable, and California needs many more of them. Research by Harvard economist Raj Chetty shows that one year with a high performing teacher, compared to an average teacher, can mean as much as $250,000 in additional lifetime income for a classroom of students. And research by Stanford economist Rick Hanushek shows that high-performing teachers are effective even in classrooms with a large number of students. It is hard to imagine a better investment for our state than paying teachers according to their performance. These reforms are ours for the taking, but unfortunately gubernatorial front-runner Gavin Newsom is solidly aligned with the state’s teacher unions. He has received enormous political contributions from these unions during his political campaign, just as many Democratic party candidates have in the past.
At some point, the pressure for market-based economic reforms in California education will become too powerful for politicians and unions to sweep under the rug. The faster that we demand change, the sooner we will see reforms. But until then California will continue to provide an unsatisfactory education to many of our children.
|
0.987126 |
Periodically you will hear that we are having a "supermoon". Will it be noticeably bigger or brighter than usual?
Yes, the "Super Moon" looks bigger and brighter than usual, but not nearly what most of the coverage portrayed. Every month the moon has an apogee (when it is farther from Earth) and a perigee (when it is nearer the Earth.) Every month, there is about about a 15% difference in the apparent size and about a 30% difference in the apparent brightness of the moon. If the full moon happens when the Moon is at perigee, its closest point, the moon looks a tiny bit larger and brighter. The moon on the left is the size of a "Super Moon" compared to a regular full moon on the right.
|
0.974335 |
Play for free the 24 online slot inspired by the series with the same name. It has 3 themed and 6 playing card symbols, a round of 10 free spins with extra Wilds that is launched by the Scatter and a bonus round where you have a time limit to disarm a bomb. There are 243 ways to create winning combinations on the 5 reels.
The Free Spins symbol in the slot game 24 by iSoftBet is a police badge that says Free Spins, it only lands on the 3rd reel and triggers a round of 10 Free Spins.
The logo of the TV series 24 is the bonus symbol and if 3 or more land anywhere on the reels they will activate the bonus round. In this round you will see a bomb with a clock on it and depending on the amount of symbols that created the winning combination you will be given a certain amount of minutes to disarm the bomb. The mouse becomes a pair of wire cutters and to the left and right of the bomb you can see various amounts and multipliers that can be won. Each wire that you cut will decrease the time that you have left however, each multiplier you win will give you an additional minute. You can win up to 100 times your total bet as well as additional multipliers up to x10 that will further increase your winnings for the next wire that you cut.
A winning combination is created when 3 or more identical symbol land on neighbouring reels in one of the 243 ways. The payouts for the symbols are found in the paytable and in order to work them out you will need to multiply the number of neighbouring winning symbols on each of the reels so if there are 2 gun symbols on the first reel, 1 on the 2nd and 2 on the 3rd you will get the sum 2x1x2 = 4, you take the number 4 and look at the multipliers for 3 gun symbols eg: 2.50 and multiply them 4 x 2.50 = 10.00.
There are 3 themed symbols, Jack Bauer, the FBI logo and a gun, that become animated when they create a winning combination as well as playing card symbols A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9.
The Wild symbol says Wild and can be used as a substitute for all symbols except for the Bonus and Free Spins Symbols. The Bonus symbol is the 24 logo and it activates the bonus round and the Free Spins symbol is the police badge. The rounds that these two symbols launch are described above.
The main playing area has 5 reels that each have 3 symbols on them and if you click on any of the symbols you will see a popup that lists the payouts for that symbol according to your bet setting.
Below the reels you can see the control panel with buttons that allow you to control the gameplay. To set your bet you can press Bet 1, Bet 2, Bet 3, Bet 4 or Bet 5, each of which will set the bet indicated and spin the reels once. To spin the reels once with this bet setting you can press the spin button or if you want to enable autospins then you can press the autospin button where you can set the number of auto spins, choose your loss limit and select the stop if win reaches amount. You can also change the amounts of the bet buttons by clicking on the number that is in the far left. The Winnings box displays the amount of the most recent win.
The paytable button opens information about the symbols, bonuses, free spins round, shows the rules and describes the shortcut keys if you are playing from a pc or laptop.
In the top right hand corner of the screen you will see small orange dots and lines, if you click on them the settings will open so that you can change the view to full screen and turn the game sounds on or off. Directly beneath the reels you can see your bet amount, balance and winnings and in the far right corner there is a clock which shows the current time.
Did you enjoy playing this game? There are more free slots on the NeonSlots.com website or if you wish to learn more about how to play for real money in fully licensed legal online casinos then there is an article with lots of information to help you.
|
0.789605 |
Juan Nepomuceno Arvizu Santewices (known as Juan Arvizu; Santiago de Querétaro, May 22, 1900 - Mexico City, November 19, 1985), was an accwaimed wyric tenor in Mexico and a noted interpreter of de Latin American bowero and tango on de internationaw concert stage, on de radio and in fiwm. He was widewy noted for his interpretations of de works of Agustin Lara and María Grever and was nicknamed "The Tenor Wif de Siwken Voice".
Juan Nepomuceno Arvizu Santewices was born in Querétaro, Mexico, to Pedro Arvizu and Trinidad Santewices. As a chiwd, he assisted his fader as a radio-tewegraph operator. His moder encouraged him to study vocawization, sowfège and harmony whiwe he sang in a chiwdren's choir. By de age of 22 he was accepted into de Conservatorio Nacionaw de Música (Mexico) in Mexico City, where he continued his studies. His artistic abiwities attracted de attention of severaw music teachers incwuding José Pierson, who had instructed such noted vocawists as Jorge Negrete, José Mojica, Awfonso Ortiz Tirado, Pedro Vargas and Juan Puwido. Arvizu first appeared wif Pierson's opera company whiwe performing on stage wif de noted soprano Ángewes Ottein and Consuewo Escobar.
At de age of 24, Arvizu made his debut at de Teatro Esperanza Iris wif a rowe in La sonámbuwa by Vincenzo Bewwini. As a member of de Consuewo Escobar de Castor Opera Company he continued in dis rowe and travewed abroad. He visited New York City during dis time and continued to augment his operatic repertoire to incwude de Argentine tango and de works of María Grever and Awfonso Esparza Oteo. By 1927, Arvizu returned to Mexico and appeared in anoder operatic production at de Teatro Esperanza Iris of Giacomo Meyerbeer's work Dinorah.
Whiwe Arvizu's naturaw vocaw qwawities and de power of his operatic voice attracted de attention of de pubwic, he faced financiaw obstacwes in his professionaw endeavors at dis time. Wif dis in mind he increased his repertoire to incwude de popuwar tango and initiated appearances in cafes and cinemas. Pepe Cantiwwo, who directed one of de most famous music revues in Mexico soon engaged Arvizu. His performances in de opera house awso attracted de attention of weading figures in de phonographic industry. At dis time de popuwar music fiewd wewcomed such noted operatic artists as Margarita Cueto, Pedro Vargas, Juan Puwido, Carwos Mejía, Carwos Awmenar Otero, Awfredo Sadew and Tito Schipa among oders. Juan Arvizu was no exception, entrusting his voice to de Brunswick record wabew in 1928. His first recording of de song Varita de nardo by Joaqwin Pardavé was weww received among audiences. The RCA Victor record wabew soon incwuded him on deir staff, dereby beginning one of de most prowific careers in popuwar music. The composer Jorge dew Moraw entrusted his composition Por Unos Ojos to Arvizu, whose vocaw versatiwity and musicaw qwawities earned him de nickname "The Tenor Wif de Siwken Voice".
Based upon dese achievements, Radio XEW in Mexico invited Arvizu in 1930 to inaugurate its first broadcast in 1930. This wouwd not be de onwy time dat de "Tenor Wif de Siwken Voice" wouwd receive such recognition, uh-hah-hah-hah. In fact, Arvizu had de honor of initiating broadcasts on severaw oder internationaw radio stations. For exampwe, in 1935, he inaugurated a show on LR1 - Radio Ew Mundo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Years water in 1942 he premiered wif de Cadena de Las Amėricas of de Cowumbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and Voice of America on de Viva América show in New York, in cowwaboration wif de orchestra conductor Awfredo Antonini, de Puerto Rican vocawist Ewsa Miranda, de Argentine composer Terig Tucci, de Mexican American vocawist Eva Garza and de concert accordionist John Serry Sr. In 1941 he awso cowwaborated wif de Andre Kostewanetz Orchestra in wive performance on de radio for WABC in New York City. By 1945 his performances on de CBS network were heard by audiences in twenty Latin American nations and were rebroadcast for members of America's Armed forces on de Armed Forces Radio Service. His performances wif de CBS Pan American Orchestra were awso notewordy for hewping to introduce Latin American music and de Mexican bowero to warge audiences in de United States during de 1940s. But one of his greatest achievements was to "discover" one of Mexico's weading composers, Agustín Lara in 1929.
During de 1920s and 1930s, de tango was very popuwar in Mexico. Arvizu premiered many of dese songs in Pepe Cantiwwo's music revue. Whiwe searching for an accompanist, de tenor agreed to hire an unknown bohemian pianist at de ordinary Café Sawambó. That pianist was Agustín Lara. At first, Agustín Lara was a tango composer, but his compositions wacked de proper accompaniment of de tango orchestra. As a resuwt, his works were cwassified widin de "creowe song" genre. Arvizu was de first singer to champion Lara's compositions drough his performances in cinemas and on de radio. The performances of de Lara-Arvizu duo on radio XEW were weww received by de pubwic. Awong wif oder weading vocawists of de time such as Pedro Vargas and Awfonso Ortiz Tirado, Arvizu hewped to popuwarize severaw of Lara's greatest compositions. They incwuded such works as: Aventura, Concha Nacar, Cuando Vuewvas, Enamorada, Granada, Santa and Tus Pupiwas.
Juan Arvizu achieved internationaw recognition in de 1930s. By 1935, de singer made his first internationaw tour and arrived in Buenos Aires for de waunching of de LR1 Radio Ew Mundo. Whiwe his stay in Buenos Aires was scheduwed for onwy two monds, it wasted for over a year and a hawf. It was a triumphant season for Juan Arvizu. This feat wouwd be repeated years water when he finished his contract in New York wif RCA Victor. He stayed in Argentina for 18 years and waunched many concert tours abroad from dis venue.
The zenif of Juan Arvizu's career emerged in 1944. In Argentina awone, de singer earned $60,000. Audiences fwocked to de stages and concert venues where Juan Arvizu appeared. He wived for severaw years in Chiwe whiwe performing boweros as weww as in Cowombia.
Upon returning to his native Mexico, however, Juan faiwed to receive de recognition which he had expected. Wif de passage of time, a new generation had emerged wif different musicaw preferences. Juan had been pushed into de background. After a wong tour in his native town of Queretáro, Mexico in 1967, he embarked upon a period of rest since his wife had been characterized by continuous movement.
Juan Arvizu was one of de most recorded singers in de history of Latin music. As a prowific performer, he recorded for severaw weading wabews incwuding: RCA Victor, Cowumbia Records and Tico Records. He often premiered compositions by severaw prominent Latin composers incwuding: Mario Cwaveww from Argentina, Rafaew Hernández Marín from Puerto Rico, Donato Roman Heitman from Chiwe, Enriqwe Fábrega from Panama, Carwos Vieco, Augusto Duqwe from Cowombia, and Agustín Lara, Gonzawo Curiew and Gabriew Ruiz Gawindo from Mexico.
Arvizu awso performed in duo wif oder noted musicians. His recordings wif Margarita Cueto incwude severaw famous songs such as: Taboga, Más Vawe Tarde Que Nunca, Bajo ew Pawmar, Deseparacíon, among many oders. Wif Juan Puwido he recorded Ew Úwtimo Beso and wif Awfonso Ortiz Tirado, Negra Linda. Arvizu was awso accompanied by severaw renowned orchestras of his time incwuding: Marimba Panamerica, de Chucho Zarzosa Orchestra, de Vieri Fidanzani Orchestra, de Francisco Lomuto Orchestra, de E. Vigiw and Robwes Orchestra, de Orchestra of Juan S. Garrido, de CBS Pan American Orchestra, and many oders.
Juan Arvizu is credited wif severaw singwe recordings of boweros, aires, tangos, wawtzes and miwongas. It has been estimated dat during de course of his career he recorded over 2,000 discs. Among some of de most popuwar titwes are his interpretations of: Arrepentimiento Cada Vez Que Me Recuerdes, Corrientes y Esmerawda, Qué Fáciw Es Decir, La Cumparsita, Lágrimas de Sangre, Madresewva Caminito, Mi Buenos Aires Querido, Mi Único Amor, Nido Gaucho, No Cantes Ese Tango, Nuestra Casita, Pecado, Pwegaria, Prohibido, Sawud Dinero y Amor, Señior Juez, Si Dejaras de Quererme, Sinceramente, Tengo Miw Novias, Verdemar, Una Cación.
Among de many songs showcased by Arvizu is de composition Serpentina Dobwe by Juan Rezzano. The song tewws de tawe of a boy who was sewwing cowored strips of paper and subseqwentwy suffers a fataw accident caused by a vehicwe which is driven by a pierrot at a carnivaw. The boy passes away in a hospitaw just as de carnivaw awso comes to an end. The composer of de song is said to have heard his fader singing de beautifuw mewody at home when he was very young.
The "Sevenf Art" awso benefited from de presence of Juan Arvizu. He participated in severaw fiwms incwuding Santa and Reír wworando, which were produced in Mexico. In Cuba, Arvizu starred in de most important fiwm of his career Ahora Sewemos Fewices wif de charismatic Puerto Rican artist Mapy Cortés. By 1939, Arvizu had awready reached de zenif of his fame. Even dough de pwot of de fiwm was simpwe, it generated fabuwous revenues. Arvizu sang severaw boweros by de composer Rafaew Hernández incwuding: Quiero Decirte, Las Pawomitas, Purísima and Ahora Seremos Fewices. In 1940 he awso sang in de fiwm Infidewidad in cowwaboration wif de actor Jorge Véwez. In de 1950s he performed in severaw biographicaw fiwms about de composer María Grever incwuding: Cuando Me Vaya (1954) which earned two Ariew Awards and O Grande Amor De María Grever 1954 Leg (1954).
During de course of his wong career recording music for de Victor wabew, Arvizu's performances were reviewed by critics in such weading magazines as The Biwwboard. He was consistentwy praised for a passionate dewivery as weww as a dramatic stywe of chanting. He was awso appwauded for his fuww bodied chanting and de fuww tonaw qwawity of his voice.
Juan Arvizu died in Mexico City November 19, 1985. His musicaw wegacy incwudes a compendium of singwe recordings for RCA Victor, Cowumbia Records and Tico Records some of which were produced in bof Norf and Souf America. They embody an extensive repertoire which incwudes de music of his fewwow Mexican artists Agustín Lara and María Grever. He is recognized as one of de weading Mexican tenors of his era who championed de compositions of Agustín Lara.
^ Hernán Restrepo-Duqwe: «Notas. Prohibited in de Voice of Juan Arvizu. RCA Victor. Medewwín: Sonowux.
^ Hernán Restrepo-Duqwe: Notas. The songs of “Ahora seremos fewices” and oder hits of dose days. RCA Victor. Medewwín: Sonowux.
^ Hernán Restrepo-Duqwe: «Notas. A tropicaw night: Juan Arvizu. RCA Victor. Medewwín: Sonowux.
This page was wast edited on 5 Apriw 2019, at 19:52 (UTC).
|
0.999209 |
a. Ensure all nuts/bolts are securely fastened.
c. Check and replace spark plug if necessary.
d. Check and adjust chain tension if necessary.
f. Check all cables/controls for proper operation.
g. Lube all fittings/chain as necessary.
f. Check and adjust Valve Clearances if necessary.
g. Check all cables/controls for proper operation.
h. Lube all fittings/chain as necessary.
h. Flush and replace brake fluid.
*This advice especially relates to children on smaller ATVs but applies equally to beginners of all ages.
*Instructing the rider. *Important advice to parents, teachers or instructors.
1. Have student sit on ATV.
2. Instruct student to keep his/her eyes straight ahead while you slowly push the vehicle from behind. This will give the student of riding a moving vehicle.
3. As you push the ATV, instruct your student to steer straight ahead and perform operations such as stopping the vehicle and turning OFF the engine switch while moving. Watch your student closely to make sure she/he is operating the controls correctly and without looking at them.
4. As you approach the end of the practice area, tell your student to stop the vehicle. You should drag the rear end of the ATV around so you can push it straight ahead in the opposite direction.
4: ADJUST THE SPEED LIMITER TO SLOW NOW. Next start the ATV's engine and have the student practice starting off, riding in a straight line and stopping with the vehicle under power. Walk alongside the ATV and hold the engine cutout switch cord or have the student ride back and forth between you and another supervising adult. Make sure your student: 1. Opens the throttle gently when starting off. 2. Releases the throttle and applies the brakes in sequence when stopping. 3. Becomes aware of the distance it takes the vehicle to stop when the engine switch is turned OFF while the vehicle is moving. As you approach the end of the practice session, you should again tell the rider to stop the vehicle and get off so you can turn it around for him/her. Practice this exercise until your student can start off, accelerate, cruise and stop correctly and confidently. STEP 5: TURNING: After your student has learned to ride the ATV in a straight line and can stop it at will, you should teach the student how to turn the vehicle. Explain the proper body movements for turning and let the student PRACTICE FIRST WITH THE ENGINE OFF as you push the vehicle from behind. When turning, watch to make sure your student: 1. Shifts his/her weight slightly forward and supports his/her weight on the outer footrest. 2. Leans his/her upper body into the direction of the turn, pressing down with the opposite leg. When the rider is able to properly turn the ATV in both directions with the engine OFF, she/he should practice turning with the vehicle under power. Again, make sure that the throttle limiter is adjusted to provide a low maximum speed capability. Watch closely to make sure the rider is using the proper technique. The rider should practice turning until s/he can do so correctly and confidently. STEP 6: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER when your student has mastered the basic riding maneuvers in the previously listed steps, she/he should practice them all together. Instruct the student to perform various maneuvers such as turning right, turning left, stopping, etc. Vary the order of these maneuvers so the student will not anticipate what s/he will be asked to do next. Practice this exercise until you are confident that the rider has mastered all the basic maneuvers. Using this procedure will help the first-time rider learn the most basic riding techniques. To become a skilled rider, your student will need a great deal of practice and continuing instruction in addition to completing these introductory steps. After all the riding techniques have been mastered, you can adjust the throttle limiter to provide higher speed capabilities in keeping with the rider skill and experience.
PLESE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS VERY CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, WHAT NOT TO DO, TIPS, CHECKLISTS, PARENTS GUIDE, PDI. ETC.
PLEASE READ THESE TIPS BEFORE RIDING YOUR NEW RIDE.
YOU MUST THE FOLLOWING !!!
1. MAKE SURE EVERY NUTS AND BOLTS ARE LOCK TIGHT (BLUE COLOR).
2. AFTER 4 TO 5 HOURS DRIVING YOU MUST CHANGE THE OIL TO 10 W 40.
3. MUST INSPECT EVERYTHING BEFORE EACH RIDE.
5. DO NOT EXCEED ITS WEIGHT LIMIT.
7. DO NOT EXCEED ITS SPEED LIMIT.
10. CHANGE YOUR REVERSE GEAR WHILE COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP.
11. ADDITION TO THESE TIPS PLEASE READ YOUR OWNER MANUAL.
I HAVE READ AND EXPLAINED TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
8)turn on gas petcock (located on right side of carburetor, turn clockwise to on-it allows gas to fill the gas lines and the bottom of the carburator). Some models- this is not necessary because there is no gas shutoff valve=petcock.
2. Instruct student to keep his/her eyes straight ahead while you slowly push the vehicle from behind. This will give the student the knowhow of riding a moving vehicle.
5. Practice with the engine OFF until your student gets the hang of using the brakes and can stop the vehicle and turn OFF the engine switch without hesitation and without looking at the controls. STEP 4: ADJUST THE SPEED LIMITER TO SLOW NOW. Next start the ATV engine and have the student practice starting off, riding in a straight line and stopping with the vehicle under power. Walk alongside the ATV and hold the engine cutout switch cord or have the student ride back and forth between you and another supervising adult. Make sure your student: 1. Opens the throttle gently when starting off. 2. Releases the throttle and applies the brakes in sequence when stopping. 3. Becomes aware of the distance it takes the vehicle to stop when the engine switch is turned OFF while the vehicle is moving. As you approach the end of the practice session, you should again tell the rider to stop the vehicle and get off so you can turn it around for him/her. Practice this exercise until your student can start off, accelerate, cruise and stop correctly and confidently. STEP 5: TURNING: After your student has learned to ride the ATV in a straight line and can stop it at will, you should teach the student how to turn the vehicle. Explain the proper body movements for turning and let the student PRACTICE FIRST WITH THE ENGINE OFF as you push the vehicle from behind. When turning, watch to make sure your student: 1. Shifts his/her weight slightly forward and supports his/her weight on the outer footrest. 2. leans his/her upper body into the direction of the turn, pressing down with the opposite leg. When the rider is able to properly turn the ATV in both directions with the engine OFF, she/he should practice turning with the vehicle under power. Again, make sure that the throttle limiter is adjusted to provide a low maximum speed capability. Watch closely to make sure the rider is using the proper technique. The rider should practice turning until s/he can do so correctly and confidently. STEP 6: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER when your student has mastered the basic riding maneuvers in the previously listed steps, she/he should practice them all together. Instruct the student to perform various maneuvers such as turning right, turning left, stopping, etc. Vary the order of these maneuvers so the student will not anticipate what s/he will be asked to do next. Practice this exercise until you are confident that the rider has mastered all the basic maneuvers. Using this procedure will help the first-time rider learn the most basic riding techniques. To become a skilled rider, your student will need a great deal of practice and continuing instruction in addition to completing these introductory steps. After all the riding techniques have been mastered, you can adjust the throttle limiter to provide higher speed capabilities in keeping with the rider skill and experience.
c. Check and adjust chain tension if necessary (initially there will be chain ).
I. On water-cooled vehicles Flush and replace coolant. Dealers/Retail End Users: Following these Manufacturer's warranty Service Items/Intervals will help to ensure smooth, efficient and fun operation of your vehicles. NOTE: This warranty does not cover neglect, abuse, misuse or negligence or damaged parts from accidents or shipping. Warranty does not include all wearable parts including, but not limited to: brakes, tires, batteries and body parts.
ATV Racing Oil You may hear mechanics and wannabes alike claiming that oil changes are less important then ever thanks to tighter tolerances and advances in oil lubricants. While these claims may be true to a certain extent, break in is certainly not the time to experiment. Proper break-in of a new ATV engine is an essential aspect to the vehicle's longevity. The key to successful break-in is to ride the quad easy but not so mellow that the rings can't seat within the cylinder. The best way to do this is to combine a high load with low RPM. In other words lug the engine a bit by riding smoothly in a higher gear then necessary as opposed to popping it into one gear and revving it out.
The oil that comes inside your engine will be adequate for the first few hours of break in but conduct a thorough oil change immediately after. It's not a bad idea to consider a synthetic blend even over a full synthetic. Make certain to run motorcycle or ATV specific oil blends as the yare designed to lubricate the clutch (this is known as a wet clutch) as well as the engine's internals. Automotive oil and full synthetics may be adequate at lubing up the engine but usually lead to clutch slippage.
Step 2: Lube Away ATV Chain LubeSure your ATV was greased at all of the pivots before leaving the factory but this grease is designed to withstand overseas shipping and initial break-in operation. Asking it to endure for the life of the machine is simply looking for trouble. Not to mention that all it takes is a little contact with the water from a pressure washer to blast this lubrication away.
It's always a good idea to check any and all exposed bearings and pivots (swing arm linkage for example) and to apply a thick slosh of quality waterproof grease on these areas BEFORE they show signs of compromised performance. The common mistake is to wait until bearings begin to squeal or drag before paying attention to them and by then it's almost always too late.
ATV ChainIt's quite normal for the quad's chain (shaft and belt drive units need not apply) to stretch a bit during those first few rides. However, just because a bit of additional slack is normal, it's critical to check to make sure it hasn't become too loose. It's a good practice to get in the habit of keeping a small ruler in your toolbox for this specific purpose. This way, whenever you lube the chain, you can measure and jot down the amount of slack present. Your vehicle's owner's manual will provide the proper range of movement expected before the chain will require tightening or replacement (depending on how many times you've tightened it before).
8) turn on gas petcock (located on right side of carburetor, turn clockwise to on-it allows gas to fill the gas lines and the bottom of the carburator). Some models- this is not necessary because there is no gas shutoff valve=petcock.
c. Check and adjust chain tension if necessary (initially there will be “chain stretchâ€).
I. On water-cooled vehicles – Flush and replace coolant. ealers/Retail End Users: Following these Manufacturer’s warranty Service Items/Intervals will help to ensure smooth, efficient and fun operation of your vehicles. NOTE: This warranty does not cover neglect, abuse, misuse or negligence or damaged parts from accidents or shipping. Warranty does not include all wearable parts including, but not limited to: brakes, tires, batteries and body parts.
ATV Racing Oil You may hear mechanics and wannabes alike claiming that oil changes are less important then ever thanks to tighter tolerances and advances in oil lubricants. While these claims may be true to a certain extent, break in is certainly not the time to experiment. Proper break-in of a new ATV engine is an essential aspect to the vehicle's longevity. The key to successful break-in is to ride the quad easy but not so mellow that the rings can’t seat within the cylinder. The best way to do this is to combine a high load with low RPM. In other words lug the engine a bit by riding smoothly in a higher gear then necessary as opposed to popping it into one gear and revving it out.
The oil that comes inside your engine will be adequate for the first few hours of break in but conduct a thorough oil change immediately after. It’s not a bad idea to consider a synthetic blend even over a full synthetic. Make certain to run motorcycle or ATV specific oil blends as the yare designed to lubricate the clutch (this is known as a wet clutch) as well as the engine’s internals. Automotive oil and full synthetics may be adequate at lubing up the engine but usually lead to clutch slippage.
ATV Chain LubeSure your ATV was greased at all of the pivots before leaving the factory but this grease is designed to withstand overseas shipping and initial break-in operation. Asking it to endure for the life of the machine is simply looking for trouble. Not to mention that all it takes is a little contact with the water from a pressure washer to blast this lubrication away.
It's always a good idea to check any and all exposed bearings and pivots (swing arm linkage for example) and to apply a thick slosh of quality waterproof grease on these areas BEFORE they show signs of compromised performance. The common mistake is to wait until bearings begin to squeal or drag before paying attention to them and by then it’s almost always too late.
ATV ChainIt's quite normal for the quad's chain (shaft and belt drive units need not apply) to stretch a bit during those first few rides. However, just because a bit of additional slack is normal, it’s critical to check to make sure it hasn't become too loose. It's a good practice to get in the habit of keeping a small ruler in your toolbox for this specific purpose. This way, whenever you lube the chain, you can measure and jot down the amount of slack present. Your vehicle's owner’s manual will provide the proper range of movement expected before the chain will require tightening or replacement(depending on how many times you’ve tightened it before).
If you find yourself in a situation where you can't access a ruler to measure the amount of slack, the rule of thumb is typically no more than two to three finger widths of vertical movement.
|
0.999978 |
Create website content that ranks well on search engines!
Increasing your company’s visibility online is a huge part of getting your name out there. Ranking well on search engines requires crafting high-quality content that appeals not only to your existing customers but helps you generate new leads as well.
Search engines are always changing, so you will have to think ahead. Keywords are becoming more complicated, which means adapting is the key to your success. The best search engines know what a user is looking for, even when search terms are vague. Keep this in mind when crafting your website content.
Search predictions are also a major factor to consider when creating content. If the user types in “where are landscaping companies near me” you will want to supply your service areas, if you are a landscaping company. Search engines, especially Google, will pull highlighted text that matches the user’s input. Answer the essential questions of who, what, why, when, where, and how. Voice searches are also becoming more effective, especially with assistant technology such as Siri and Alexa gaining popularity.
Also, it’s important to keep your company’s blog posts up to date. We don’t just mean having a new post every week or every two weeks. You can also try to reuse topics from older posts as a jumping off point for new posts. Just try to avoid recycling old information too much, because it may not apply as the years pass, or the industries you are serving could have evolved. Your customers always look for fresh content, so meet them halfway and improve your reputation with them!
|
0.999984 |
I read this article and found it very interesting, thought it might be something for you. The article is called Parental drug, alcohol substance abuse affects kid’s growth: Study and is located at http://www.panasiabiz.com/9134/parental-drug-alcohol-substance-abuse-affects-kids-growth-study/.
A recent study has revealed that children whose parents or caretakers who use or misuse alcohol or are involved in production or distribution of drugs have an elevated risk of medical or behavioral problems.
Substance abuse by mother and father could hinder a child’s healthy development and places the kids under intense physical and mental problems.
Elders who abuse alcohol or other drugs are usually involved in domestic violence, divorce, psychological ailments, and legal problems, etc. Such persons are depressed, have eating disorders, suffer from anxiety and prone to be suicidal.
A report by experts of Beth Israel Medical Centre (BIDMC) and Boston Children’s Hospital concludes that alcohol misuse and substance abuse are very common in the country, and abuse by elders and caretakers can affect their reason and lead to inability in prioritizing their kid’s emotional and basic needs and providing a safe and caring environment.
The report further adds that pediatricians should be able to assess the child’s risk and support the family to obtain help.
Children in such a scenario, experience developmental and educational delays and are at a higher danger of developing mental and psychological problems.
It is likely that kids in such a situation are more prone to follow their elders and themselves involve in substance abuse later in their life.
Pediatricians must be alert and look for medical signs of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), fibromyalgia, muscle stiffness, diarrhea, and seizures. All these are clinical signs of fetal exposure to alcohol, cannabis or other psychotropic substances.
The studies reveal that young kids whose parents or caretakers use drugs and misuse alcohol are three times more likely to be neglected, and four times more prone to be physical, sexually and emotionally abused than other kids.
Therefore the study has urged all pediatricians to check if the parents or caretakers are involved in substance abuse.
|
0.999152 |
Why did Father Daniel Lyne vanish from the Catholic priesthood?
A victim has made a submission to Australia's national Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, telling how the Catholic religious order of Passionist priests covered up for a serious child-abuser, Father Daniel Lyne.
Father Daniel Lyne CP was a member of the Catholic order of Passionist priests in Australia (officially known as the "Congregation of the Passion", or CP). He held a number of influential positions within the order for thirty years until he vanished from the order in the 1990s.
From about 1964 to about 1968, Daniel Lyne was a spiritual director of students at a "juniorate" which the Passionists conducted at St Ives, in north-western Sydney). In a juniorate, boys could complete their secondary education before proceeding to a theological college. Students at a juniorate might be as young as 16 (completing their school Leaving Certificate) or even as young as 14. Their families trusted the Passionist Fathers to look after these boys.
As "spiritual director" of students at St Ives, Lyne held responsibility for the well-being of some very vulnerable young males. One of his favourite roles at St Ives was to meet individual students in private for the sacrament of Confession. This enabled him to discuss personal matters with a student, especially issues of sexuality. This gave him power over a student.
In 1968 or 1969, Lyne he was appointed as rector of the Passionist theological college (Holy Cross College) at Templestowe in Melbourne.
Lyne served a time in a leadership role at the Australian headquarters of the Passionist Fathers in Sydney.
Later in his career, Lyne left Australia to work in Catholic juniorates overseas — in Africa (possibly Nigeria) and India.
After he returned to Australia, the final stage of his career is unclear. Some time in the early 1990s, he disappeared from the Passionist order. Broken Rites has discovered that, in the 1994 edition of the Directory of Australian Catholic Clergy (published by the National Council of Priests), he was still listed as a Passionist priest — under the heading of St Brigid's Retreat, a Passionist house in Marrickville in Sydney's South. But his name vanished from subsequent editions.
Some people (e.g., his former students at the juniorate or the theological college) asked the Passionist order about Lyne's whereabouts but they were told that he had "left Australia" (and that he had gone "to the United States"), but it is believed that, in fact, he continued to live (privately) in Sydney.
In 1994 a former student at the St Ives juniorate inquired at the Passionist headquarters about Daniel Lyne, and was told that Lyne "has been laicised" and that the Passionists were helping him to re-establish his life outside the order.
In 2002, while Daniel Lyne was facing the likelihood of a criminal prosecution, he suddenly died ("just in time", before court proceedings could begin). Thus, he evaded a possible jail sentence.
When former students sought more information about Daniel Lyne's reported death, they were told by the Passionists that the Lyne family "wanted to keep the matter very private".
It is interesting that there is no little information available about a man who had such a profound effect on an organisation (and on the youths who were in his care and custody).
In the 1994 Directory of Australian Catholic Clergy (the last edition that included Fr Daniel Lyne), the Passionists had 57 priests in Australia. At that time (when Lyne was apparently "laicised") the order's Australian head (called the Provincial) was Father Kevin Dance — therefore Father Dance would know the story of Fr Daniel Lyne. Fr Kevin Dance later played a significant role in administering the Catholic Church's national response to the issue of clergy sexual abuse in Australia (the church's Towards Healing program) on behalf of the church's National Committee for Professional Standards.
It believed that Lyne's first name, when he was born, was Gerald. On joining the Passionists, he adopted the religious name "Daniel".
Several former students, who were aspiring to join the Passionist priesthood, have contacted Broken Rites (separately), telling us about how Fr Daniel Lyne targeted them. These victims, now middle-aged, still feel hurt by the way in which the church harboured and protected Father Daniel Lyne.
|
0.999995 |
(CNN) - An innovative aircraft that turns into a "lighter-than-air" balloon to propel itself forward has been flown for the first time. The Phoenix is designed to repeatedly switch between being lighter and heavier than air to generate thrust and allow it to stay in the skies indefinitely. Officially known as an "ultra-long endurance autonomous aircraft," it was developed by scientists in Scotland and flown over a distance of 120 meters (394 feet) during its first test flight in March. The blimp-like aircraft, which is 15 meters long and has a wingspan of 10.5 meters, has been designed for businesses and scientific use, and its creators hope it will revolutionize the telecommunications industry.
Serena Williams says it took "a lot of effort" to plan Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's baby shower when she threw the special bash back in February. The 37-year-old tennis star has been friends with the former actress - who was known as Meghan Markle before marrying Prince Harry last year - for several years and took on the task of planning her baby shower back in February for the tot she's expecting any day now, and has now revealed the party was a lot more pressure than she'd first thought. Speaking to Business of Fashion, she said: "Planning something like that takes a lot of effort. Serena - who has a 19-month-old daughter of her own named Alexis Olympia - threw Meghan's shower at The Mark Hotel, where guests were treated to a flower-arranging class and plenty of delicious food.
|
0.920427 |
Count Alois Lexa von Ährenthal (September 27, 1854 – February 17, 1912) was an Austrian diplomat who engineered the Bosnian crisis of 1908.
Born in Gross-Skal, Bohemia (now Hrubá Skála, Czech Republic), he entered the diplomatic service of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, beginning as attaché in Paris (1877). In 1906 he replaced Count Goluchowski as minister of foreign affairs. His major accomplishment was the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 on the basis of a secret agreement with Russian foreign minister Alexander Izvolsky, which appeared to be a triumph for Austria (and won him the title of Count). "It was, however, one of those pyrrhic victories, which seem brilliant at the moment, but which bring more misfortune than success, if looked at from a longer perspective" (Fay, p. 394). It stirred deep resentment in Serbia and Russia, caused the rest of Europe to distrust Austrian diplomacy, and was one of the factors that helped bring about World War I.
The principal players in the Bosnian Crisis of 1908-09 were the foreign ministers of Austria and Russia, Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal and Alexander Izvolsky, respectively. Both were motivated by political ambition, the first would emerge successful and the latter would be broken by the crisis. Along the way, they would drag Europe to the brink of war in 1909. They would also divide Europe into the armed camp that it would remain until 1914. Under the Treaty of Berlin, the Dardanelles, controlled by Turkey, would not allow the passage of warships of any country to or from the Black Sea. This agreement bottled up a portion of the Russian Fleet that could have been well used at Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese war four years earlier. Izvolsky wanted this changed to allow the passage of only Russian ships through the straits. This would give Russia a Mediterranean presence and, it was perceived, help her recover some face after the bitter defeat by Japan. Aehrenthal wanted full control of Bosnia-Herzogovina though annexation even though Austria-Hungary had administered the provinces since 1878. His reasons for this lay in the possible recovery of the "sick man of Europe", Turkey. The "Young Turk" revolution of 1908, led in part by Enver Pasha, convinced some that the Ottoman Empire might be on the rise again. Thus, Aehrenthal reasoned, it was now or maybe never. He would discuss this matter with Izvolsky to ensure the Russians would not interfere with the annexation plans. The two ministers held a meeting on 19-Sep-1908 at the Buchlau castle of Count Leopold von Berchtold where they agreed on the following plan: Izvolsky would ignore the annexation and, in turn, Aehrenthal would back the opening of the Dardanelles to Russian warships. At the same time, Bulgaria would declare its independence from Turkey, and both would allow this. The Austrians would also give up some territory in the Balkans to keep Serbia quiet. Not exactly an ethical deal, but it would get them both what they wanted. The key to the plan was timing - their plans would have to be announced simultaneously if the ploy was to be successful.
For Aehrenthal, a German-Hungarian nobleman and staunch monarchist, there was a direct threat in the Pan-Slav emergent nationalism of the kind that a consolidated Yugo (south) Slav Confederation led by Serbia represented. The gradual consolidation of the Yugo-Slavs (in the name of the new centuries’ idea of national self-determination for all ethnic/racial/religious groups) led by Serbia, while harmless to the Ottoman Empire (which the “Young” Turks would later complete by the their withdrawal to Anatolian peninsula, save for control of the Straits) retreating from Europe; was a deadly threat to Aehrenthal’s Austria-Hungary. For Aehrenthal, Moravia, Bohemia, and Silesia, were the Crown lands of his Ost-Mark German nobility, which ruled over a host of emergent Slav and Pan-Slav ethnicities; Pole, Czech, Ruthenian, Slovakian, and Ukrainian. In Serbia’s consolidation of Bosnia-Hertsagovina into herself, there was the clear roadmap to the dissolution of most of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Or more importantly, this Pan-Slav self-determinant nationalism pointed the way to the loss of the defendable military, political and economic boundaries of the Empire.
In Aehrenthal’s Hungarian noble half, Hungary an equally strong threat to the loss of its historic Slavic provinces should Pan-Slav take root; equally threaten its military security and economic future. Aehrenthal moved quickly, faster than his partner in crime, Izvolsky. He acted on 3-Oct-1908 under the premise that Austria-Hungary was taking control of Bosnia-Herzogovina so that the people there could enjoy the benefits of the Empire as a reward for economic advancement since first being administered back in 1878. A seething Serbia could hardly believe this action and demanded Russian intervention. This left Izvolsky holding the bag. He announced his plans for the free passage of Russian warships though the Turkish straits but was shot down by every other signatory to the treaty - especially England. The British said they would consider opening up the straits to all warships but would not limit it to Russian ships alone. This is hardly what Izvolsky had in mind since this had the potential of letting belligerent ships into the Black Sea.
Germany, at first, viewed the whole tangle with disdain taking the Turkish side. The Kaiser had been working on strengthening relations with Turkey and, now with the chance of Ottoman recovery, he wished to stay this course. As the Crisis continued, the Kaiser was forced from the diplomatic scene by the Daily Telegraph Affair. Events reached a fever pitch when, in early November, the Serbian army mobilized. Germany now took the Austrian side stating it would stick by its ally. Russia, wishing to support Serbia, but not really ready for war with Germany and Austria was forced to back away when the Austrians threatened to publish the details of the agreement between Aehrenthal and Izvolsky. The fact that she had betrayed her Slav ally beforehand was not a fact that Russia wished widely publicized. Izvolsky remained at his post for three more years but his reputation was ruined beyond repair. The Russians backed down and urged Serbia to do likewise, which she did and declared publicly that the annexation was none of her business. War was averted for the time being but the results were a bitter Russia and an enraged Serbia. Russia vowed, if ever confronted in this manner again, she would not back down - a vow that would be kept in a few, short years.
Encyclopedia Britannica, article "Aloys, Count Lexa von Aehrenthal"
|
0.935402 |
Question Can Informatica be used as a Cleansing Tool? If Yes, give example of transformations that can implement a data cleansing routine.
Answer Yes, we can use Informatica for cleansing data. some time we use stages to cleansing the data. It depends upon performance again else we can use expression to cleasing data.
|
0.92394 |
This article is about the song cycle, book, and recording. For the individual songs of this name, see The Road Goes Ever On (song).
The Road Goes Ever On is a song cycle that has been published as a book of sheet music, and as an audio recording. The music was written by Donald Swann, and the words are taken from poems in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, especially The Lord of the Rings.
The title of this opus is taken from "The Road Goes Ever On", the first song in the collection. The songs form a song cycle, designed to fit together when played in sequence.
With Tolkien's approval, Donald Swann wrote the music for this song cycle, and much of the music resembles English traditional music or folk music. The sole exception is the Quenya song "Namárië", which was based on a tune by Tolkien himself and which has some affinities to Gregorian chant.
This book has been valued even by those uninterested in the music, since it helps Tolkien's readers to better understand the cultures of the various mythological beings presented in Middle-earth, and helps linguists analyse Tolkien's poetry. For example, it contains one of the longest samples of the language Quenya (in the song "Namárië"), as well as the Sindarin prayer "A Elbereth Gilthoniel" with grammatical explanations.
Also, in addition to the sheet music, the book includes an introduction that contains additional information about Middle-earth. Prior to the publication of The Silmarillion, this introduction was the only publicly available source for certain information about the First Age of Middle-earth.
The first edition of The Road Goes Ever On: a Song Cycle was published on 31 October 1967, in the United States.
An LP record of this song cycle was recorded on 12 June 1967, with Donald Swann on piano and William Elvin singing. Side one of this record consisted of Tolkien himself reading five poems from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. The first track on side two was Tolkien reading the Elvish prayer "A Elbereth Gilthoniel". The remainder of side two contained the song cycle performed by Swann and Elvin. This LP record, entitled Poems and Songs of Middle Earth and released by Caedmon Records (TC 1231), is long out of print and very difficult to find.
The second edition of The Road Goes Ever On, published in 1978, added music for "Bilbo's Last Song." This song was also published separately.
The third edition, published in 1993, added music for "Lúthien Tinúviel" from The Silmarillion, which had earlier appeared in The Songs of Donald Swann: Volume I. The third edition of The Road Goes Ever On was packaged with a CD that duplicated the song cycle (but not Tolkien's readings) from the 1967 LP record. The CD also included two new recordings. The third edition was reprinted in hardcover in 2002 by Harper Collins (ISBN 0-00-713655-2); this had the same text and CD as the 1993 edition.
On 10 June 1995, the song cycle was performed in Rotterdam under the auspices of the Dutch Tolkien Society, by the baritone Jan Krediet together with the chamber choir EnSuite and Alexandra Swemer on the piano. A CD of this concert was published in a limited edition.
"The Road Goes Ever On". From The Lord of the Rings vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, Chapter 1 ("A Long-expected Party") and Chapter 3 ("Three is Company").
"Upon the Hearth the Fire Is Red". From The Lord of the Rings vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, Chapter 3 ("Three is Company").
"In the Willow-meads of Tasarinan". From The Lord of the Rings vol. 2, The Two Towers, Book 3, Chapter 4 ("Treebeard").
"In Western Lands". From The Lord of the Rings vol. 3, The Return of the King, Book 6, Chapter 1 ("The Tower of Cirith Ungol").
"Namárië". From The Lord of the Rings vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, Chapter 8 ("Farewell to Lórien").
"I Sit beside the Fire". From The Lord of the Rings vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, Chapter 3 ("The Ring Goes South"), including the text of "A Elbereth Gilthoniel", from The Lord of the Rings vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, Chapter 1 ("Many Meetings").
"Errantry". From The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
"Bilbo's Last Song". Given to Donald Swann after Tolkien's death. Only in the second and third editions of the book. On the CD but not the LP.
"Lúthien Tinúviel". From The Silmarillion, Chapter 19 ("Of Beren and Lúthien"). Only in the third edition of the book. On the CD but not the LP.
^ Robert Foster (1971). A Guide to Middle-earth. Mirage Press.
^ See the scans of the LP jacket here and here, as well as the list of tracks here.
|
0.999999 |
What are some tips for getting the most auto coverage for my insurance dollar?
When making purchases most people want to get the best they can for their money. The same is true when shopping for auto insurance! Your agent can discuss the following suggestions and help you to what would work for your needs.
• High deductibles. Choosing a high deductible will require you to pay more money out-of-pocket if you’re involved in an accident, but will lower your auto insurance premium.
• Search for auto insurance discounts.
• Compare auto insurance coverage levels. You may be surprised to find that higher limits don’t cost much more than lower ones.
• Shop around: Find a local independent agent that represents several “A” rated carriers. They will do the shopping for you! Then you choose the best rate for the coverage and save money!
|
0.978351 |
List Rules Vote for the best tracks with titles in the song name, regardless of whether it's spelled out or written as the number.
With so many songs with numbers in the title, this list just had to be made. This is a ranked list of the best number songs, as voted on by music fans like you. Some of this music has the number spelled out, like Metallica's "One." Others are written as the number, like in Prince's "1999." All of these songs have a number in the title or lyrics, and a few are even about the number as a subject or theme. Music isn't typically categorized by the meaning of the words, so this music list is a great way to find songs with numerical titles.
Vote for the numbers songs that you enjoy the most, and downvote ones if you think they're not worthy of being high on the list. If one of your top numeric songs is missing, add it to the list so others can vote for it too. Many genres of music are featured below, including rock, pop, folk, metal, and more. You can vote for any of these items, from “Summer of '69” to “Six Days.” If you don't see your favorite number song, be sure to add it to the list.
List Rules: Vote for the best tracks with titles in the song name, regardless of whether it's spelled out or written as the number.
|
0.999902 |
Learn Python Programming creates a foundation for those who are interested in developing their skills in Python programming. The book starts with the fundamentals of programming with Python and ends by exploring different topics such as GUIs and real-world apps.
You will begin by exploring the foundations of and fundamental topics on Python and learn to manipulate them. Then, you'll explore different programming paradigms that will allow you to find the best approach to a situation, and you’ll also understand how to carry out performance optimization as well as effective debugging.
As you make your way through the chapters, you'll control the flow of a program, and persist and utilize an interchange format to exchange data. You'll also walk through cryptographic services in Python and understand secure tokens. Throughout, the book covers various types of applications, and it concludes with building real-world applications based on all the concepts that you learned.
By the end of the book, you'll have a proper understanding of the Python language and a solid grasp on how to work with data. You'll know how to quickly build a website and harness the power of Python's renowned data science libraries.
You can find the latest source code on Github.
You can find information about the first edition of the book here.
|
0.956572 |
What happened during the SpaceX CRS-7 mission?
In the above video, mission control is speechless after the cataclysmic failure of the SpaceX CRS-7 mission mere minutes after launch today. The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule exploded in the upper atmosphere during the point at which they experienced the strongest aerodynamic stress.
The camera adjusts angles several times as a string of bright flashes and flaming wreckage are clearly visible in the last moments of the video.
Although a brief press conference began and concluded shortly after the explosion, few . SpaceX is an ambitious company, and their desire to change the future of spaceflight has led to the destruction of rockets previously.
Today’s SpaceX CRS-7 mission would have marked the to land a Falcon 9 rocket in a floating ocean platform. Many advocates of the technology demand more patience, such as astronaut Scott Kelly who proposed that “space is hard.” Opponents continue to (unfairly) counter that Musk has wasted millions of dollars and countless resources during the failed attempts.
The SpaceX CRS-7 mission was also scheduled to resupply the International Space Station. The failure poses no immediate risk to the ISS. In addition to resupply cargo, the Falcon 9 rocket also carried several science experiments and technologies yet to be introduced to space. Notably, Microsoft’s HoloLens went up in flames along with the rest of the craft.
|
0.962903 |
What is 2/12 + 1/11?
Now you multiply 2 by 11, and get 22, then we multiply 12 by 11 and get 132.
Do the same for the second term. We multiply 1 by 12, and get 12, then multiply 12 by 11 and get 132.
|
0.99958 |
The new year marks the official beginning of tax season, but do you know how to file taxes the right way? After working hard all year long, many people shudder at the very thought of 1040s and W2s, but luckily, the process isn't too tricky with the right information by your side. Let's dive into the basics of how and when can you file taxes, so you can file with total confidence!
While the old system was full of confusing paperwork like the 1040A and 1040EZ forms, the IRS has created a new 1040 form that is the size of a postcard. The 1040 tax form is the standard federal income tax form that you'll need to report your income properly, so don't forget that number! So, where do you pick it up? You can easily download the 1040 tax form online for convenience, but if you'd prefer a hard copy, there are many locations that you can visit. Post offices, libraries, tax centers, and IRS offices across the nation have the supplies you need to file by the deadline of April 15th.
Why do taxes vary so much from person to person?
Filing status: You will fall into one or more of the following categories: single, married filing separately, married filing jointly, head of household, qualifying widow with dependent.
Dependents: You can file up to four dependents, which may qualify for the Child Tax Credit. Any additional dependents must be included on a separate tax form.
Income: Your taxable income isn't just the sum of your annual wages. This can also include your stock profits, real estate sales, lottery winnings, inheritance, and other funds.
Tax Deductions: You might qualify for tax credits or tax deductions that reduce your taxable income. Be sure to double check the qualifications that you'll need, and if you have any questions, contact a professional to be on the safe side!
Paper filing: Grab a 1040 form and take matters into your own hands by filing the traditional way. While this method involves no extra fees, you won't have the additional resources that a tax professional or filing software can provide.
Tax professional: Feeling overwhelmed this tax season? Leave the hard work to the pros and consider hiring a tax preparation service. This ensures that you'll get the most accurate return with the largest possible savings, but you'll need to spend some extra cash for the extra peace of mind.
Tax software: Tax preparation software combines the best of both worlds, offering some guidance to your tax questions while offering the convenience of at-home filing. Plus, these services will automatically file your taxes online upon completion for fast results.
Not sure which method is right for you? Check out our tax FAQs!
|
0.999814 |
Child Obesity has a variety of causes but, put simply, it is caused by eating more energy than is used up. Obesity can be caused by eating too much or eating a lot of 'sometimes' foods. These days we tend to eat larger food servings, we snack more and we consume more high-calorie, low-nutrition food. Problem foods include soft drinks, chips and lollies, and snack bars. Inadequate physical activity is also a key contributor to obesity. To prevent obesity in children and to lead a healthy life they should be encouraged to follow a healthy diet and lot of physical activities.
Families spend less time outdoors.
Many houses have small backyards. Parents, concerned about safety, discourage outdoor play both at home and in public parks.
As with adult-onset obesity, childhood obesity has multiple causes centering around an imbalance between energy in (calories obtained from food) and energy out (calories expended in the basal metabolic rate and physical activity). Childhood obesity most likely results from an interaction of nutritional, psychological, familial, and physiological factors. What is required is a balanced nutritional diet.
The risk of becoming obese is greatest among children who have two obese parents. This may be due to powerful genetic factors or to parental modeling of both eating and exercise behaviors, indirectly affecting the child's energy balance. One half of parents of elementary school children never exercise vigorously.
The average child spends several hours each day watching television; time which in previous years might have been devoted to physical pursuits. Obesity is greater among children and adolescents who frequently watch television (Dietz & Gortmaker, 1985), not only because little energy is expended while viewing but also because of concurrent consumption of high-calorie snacks. Only about one-third of elementary children have daily physical education, and fewer than one-fifth have extracurricular physical activity programs at their schools (Ross & Pate, 1987).
Since not all children who eat non-nutritious foods, watch several hours of television daily, and are relatively inactive develop obesity, the search continues for alternative causes. Heredity has recently been shown to influence fatness, regional fat distribution, and response to overfeeding (Bouchard et al., 1990). In addition, infants born to overweight mothers have been found to be less active and to gain more weight by age three months when compared with infants of normal weight mothers, suggesting a possible inborn drive to conserve energy (Roberts, Savage, Coward, Chew, & Lucas, 1988).
A number of factors contribute to becoming overweight. Genetics, lifestyle habits, or a combination of both may be involved. In some instances, endocrine problems, genetic syndromes, and medications can be associated with excessive weight gain. Much of what we eat is quick and easy — from fat-laden fast food to microwave and prepackaged meals. Daily schedules are so jam-packed that there's little time to prepare healthier meals or to squeeze in some exercise. Portion sizes, in the home and out, have grown greatly. Plus, now more than ever life is sedentary — kids spend more time playing with electronic devices, from computers to handheld video game systems, than actively playing outside. Television is a major culprit.
Kids younger than 6 spend an average of 2 hours a day in front of a screen, mostly watching TV, DVDs, or videos. Older kids and teens spend almost 4 hours a day watching TV, DVDs, or videos. When computer use and video games are included, time spent in front of a screen increases to over 5½ hours a day! Kids who watch more than 4 hours a day are more likely to be overweight compared with kids who watch 2 hours or less. Not surprisingly, TV in the bedroom is also linked to increased likelihood of being overweight. In other words, for many kids, once they get home from school, virtually all of their free time is spent in front of one screen or another. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently recommends limiting the time kids over 2 years of age spend in front of a screen to no more than 1-2 hours. The AAP also discourages any screen time for children younger than 2 years.
Many kids don't get enough physical activity. Although physical education (PE) in schools can help kids get up and moving, more and more schools are eliminating PE programs or cutting down the time spent on fitness-building activities. One study showed that gym classes offered third-graders just 25 minutes of vigorous activity each week. Experts recommend that kids over 2 years of age should get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.
Genetics also play a role — genes help determine body type and how your body stores and burns fat just like they help determine other traits. Genes alone, however, cannot explain the current obesity crisis. Because both genes and habits can be passed down from one generation to the next, multiple members of a family may struggle with weight. People in the same family tend to have similar eating patterns, maintain the same levels of physical activity, and adopt the same attitudes toward being overweight. Studies have shown that a child's risk of obesity greatly increases if one or more parent is overweight or obese.
Promote healthy eating at home: keep only 'everyday' foods in the cupboard, avoid or limit 'sometimes' foods, and talk to your child about health and nutrition. Children are more likely to develop healthy eating behaviours when they are provided with a choice of healthy foods in their home environment. So put healthy foods on your shopping list and prepare nutritional meals and snacks for the whole family. Having fewer unhealthy foods (like soft drinks, chips and lollies and snack bars) in your cupboard means you won't have to ‘police’ what your children eat.
Eat breakfast, never miss it. Eat regular meals and snacks throughout the day. Eat meals together at the table or kitchen bench (rather than in front of the TV. Allow enough time so that meals can be eaten in a relaxed and unhurried way.
Develop an active family lifestyle: you don’t have to engage in strenuous exercise all the time. Instead, make exercise a fun part of your family’s daily routine, for example, by walking to school or sport, kicking a football together in the park, or taking stairs instead of lifts or escalators. Getting active is a great way to spend positive family time together!
Remember that children do as you do, so it’s important to model an active lifestyle and healthy eating patterns. You can help your child establish healthy habits from birth. If these habits are established early as part of your family's lifestyle, a natural part of the way you do things, you won't have to impose healthy patterns. This will help your child avoid problems with being overweight and obesity. Remember to acknowledge your child whenever he chooses healthy foods. You can do this by giving him some good positive feedback.
Try these ideas to promote a healthy family lifestyle and help your child avoid problems with being overweight and obesity.
|
0.999618 |
His bare back is still red raw from their freshly-inked names.
But former soldier Shaun Clark had promised to have the name of every troop killed in Afghanistan tattooed on his body in honour of their sacrifice.
And he wasn't going to back out.
Mr Clark, 43, spent more than four hours in the tattooist's chair today as each of the 232 names were etched in ink over his chest and back.
Mr Clark, who served with the 8th Battalion Light Infantry Regiment from 1989 to 1996, was waiting in the tattooist's chair at 11am this morning to carry out his painful pledge.
The first name was etched on his body just as the traditional Armistice Day two-minute silence began.
He said: 'I don't mind suffering for a few days if I can let the lads know that people really care about what they're doing out there, and raise some money for the guys coming home wounded as well.
The married father-of-two from Doncaster hopes his challenge will raise £500 for the charity Help for Heroes.
He plans on updating the sombre list every year on Remembrance Day if required.
Mr Clark said: 'I wanted to do something to raise money for the heroes who still need help and to honour the memory of the fallen.
'I've still lots of friends from my days in the Army over in Afghanistan and there's lots of Donny lads out there as well.
'Lots of people do things to raise money but I wanted to do something different and something permanent.
Mr Clark served in Denmark, Gibraltar and Norway before leaving the Army in 1997.
He says he has received many messages of support from soldiers still out in Afghanistan as well as from former colleagues.
Mr Clark has set up a page on the Just Giving fundraising website and has raised £165.
His page is inundated with supportive comments from well-wishers.
A Help for Heroes spokesman said: 'We are used to people going the extra mile, but this goes far beyond the norm.
'Shaun was in touch a few days ago to confirm everything was going ahead.
'It turned out to be a very poignant conversation because the volunteer who took the call lost her husband in action earlier in the year and, of course, his name is among those on the list."
Help for Heroes is a charity that raises money to support members of the Armed Forces who have been wounded.
In just over two years, the charity has raised over £30million through more than 10,000 individual events.
|
0.999966 |
What are some good rock/hard rock bands that sing in German? Some of my favorite American bands are Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains, etc., it would be awesome to find some German speaking bands that fall into this genre or similar genres (other than Rammstein, I already know about them). Any ideas?
Apart from mentioned look up Oomph, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter.
I faced the similar problem (I listen to progressive metal), and Traumhaus is nowhere near my preferences.
Samsas Traum and Dornenreich. The latter is more of black at the beginning, folk later.
Böhse Onkelz, Farin Urlaub (from Die Ärzte) and Subway to Sally.
Not metal, more pop-punkish, but I have really been enjoying the German band Montreal lately.
German "classics" in a "fun" (ie. metal) way.
Eisregen is (or was) always nice. Quite poetic at times.
edit: oh I forgot Knorkator and J.B.O. You see for yourself (youtube).
edit2: actually, check out "Wir sind Helden", "Sportfreunde Stiller" and "Son Goku"
(Thomas D.) too, especially the latter. Less metal, more alternative/indie rock.
|
0.967405 |
The yellow metal regained a bit of ground, but things look tough going forward.
For the first dozen years of the new millennium, the price of gold soared, creating a huge commodities boom that energized the precious-metals sector. Yet in 2013, gold started falling from that level, and poor performance in 2014 and 2015 left many gold investors wondering whether the yellow metal would ever hit bottom. 2016 provided some relief to those who were hardest hit by gold's plunge, with a modest bounce of about 8% from where it started the year to produce the first win in four years. Investors in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSEMKT:GLD) enjoyed most of those gains, and many mining stocks saw even better performance. However, challenging conditions could point to further difficulties ahead. Let's look at how gold performed in 2016 and why so many investors were disappointed.
What moved the price of gold in 2016?
The most impressive part of gold's upward move in 2016 came early in the year, when the yellow metal climbed from around $1,060 per ounce all the way to $1,275. At that point in the year, there was a lot of uncertainty in the financial markets generally that drove some investors toward the perceived safe haven of gold. In particular, the stock market saw a dramatic decline, driven largely by a new commodities plunge that pushed the price of crude oil below $30 per barrel. Even worse, stock markets in China came under threat, and some believed that a greater than 20% drop in the Shanghai Composite could blossom into a full-fledged crisis with systemic implications for the global economy.
At the same time, early fears that the Federal Reserve would boost interest rates quickly reversed themselves as it became clear that the economy was too fragile to support aggressive tightening of monetary policy. Indeed, throughout much of the world, central banks were even looser than in the U.S., and negative interest rates in places like Europe and Japan created unprecedented conditions that markets had to adapt to in the new reality. Low rates supported gold by making the financing necessary to hold precious-metals positions cheap.
At mid-year, gold prices got another lift from the turmoil involved in the U.K. Brexit decision. The idea that Britain would leave the European Union prompted a substantial drop in the British pound, driving interest in gold among British investors. A pause in the upward movement of the U.S. dollar also helped support gold prices in the first half of the year.
Yet toward the end of 2016, gold gave up much of its gains. After hitting highs of nearly $1,375, gold ended the year more than $200 per ounce lower, closing around $1,145.
One reason for the slump toward the end of the year was the fact that concerns from earlier in 2016 didn't turn out to be big deals. Brexit didn't create lasting trouble, and stock markets avoided any major downturn in the typically volatile fall months. Even the election of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election didn't create a lasting move upward for gold, and the ensuing stock market rally came largely at the expense of precious metals.
Macroeconomic issues also played a role in gold's slump. When the Federal Reserve moved forward with an interest rate increase in December, it also signaled its intent to make three more increases during 2017. That set the tone for an environment in which gold traders would find it marginally harder to finance their purchases. Combined with weaker consumer demand in key areas like India and China, fundamentals for gold ended 2016 looking fairly weak.
What's ahead for the gold market in 2017?
Looking ahead, 2017 will be an interesting year for gold. Rising rates could send prices down, but the Fed has changed its mind before, and unexpected economic weakness could provide upward strength for the gold market. Moreover, the chances of unpredictable events appear to be improving this year, especially as geopolitical alliances shift and talk of trade tensions rises. All in all, it's entirely possible that gold will manage to overcome downward pressure from interest rates and continue its advance in the coming year.
|
0.998516 |
In order to understand Burmese architecture, we have to learn a few terms.
Paya is a generic term, covering either a temple, a shrine or a stupa in Burmese language. Examples of this type of architecture include Dhammayazika, Shwegugyi and Shwesandaw temples.
Pahto refers to a square-shaped temple (ie. Abeyadana, Ananda and Sulamani temples) in Burmese.
Term zedi refers to a Bell-shaped stupa in Burmese, that alike all stupas, bears relics.
Finally, there is a typical top ornament found in almost all buildings in Myanmar called as hti.
|
0.997165 |
Use more explicit storeStringHex rather than floating hex in order to be more robust.
+ self notify: 'Illegal character (char code ' , hereChar charCode , ' ' , hereChar charCode storeStringHex , ')' at: mark!
- self notify: 'Illegal character (char code ' , hereChar charCode , ' 16r' , hereChar charCode hex , ')' at: mark!
|
0.945614 |
What kind of questions are asked during an I-485 interview?
Is it true that USCIS is calling all EB-5 investors for interviews in the I-485 application stage? What kind of questions are they asking?
The purpose of the interview is to verify/update info on the I-485, not to readjudicate the I-526. However, you should review the I-526 info regarding the investment structure and the basic information about the project progress and job creation, etc., and be ready and able to address questions about it.
You should reasonably expect to be asked questions about the EB-investment, regional center project, how jobs are to be created, source of funds, and possibly any inadmissibility issues to determine your eligibility to adjust status in the U.S. to a green card holder. It is highly advisable to have your lawyer prepare you for the interview because he or she knows the details of your case and immigration background.
It is true that USCIS is interviewing many, if not all, adjustment status applicants based upon approved employment-based petitions, including EB-5 investor petitions on Form I-485 interviews. Typically, the immigration examiner will go through the application for adjustments of status, verifying data and may ask questions about the applicant's knowledge of his or her I-526 petition. You do not need to be an expert on the regional center or the project itself, but you should have the basic knowledge that an investor would, understanding the difference between the regional center and the project, the nature of the project and its business, understanding that the job creation may be based upon an economic studied model, that your investment funds are at-risk, that the project developer has not made a guarantee of a particular return nor a guarantee that your petition would be approved.
Yes, I-485 interviews are being conducted by the USCIS. The questions typically will focus on essentially the information related to applicant's unique information in both the underlying petition (i.e.. I-526) and I-485 application itself. There is no specific checklist, but it is advisable that an applicant should be familiar with details of his or her own application.
They will ask about the project in which you invested, how you gathered your funds and possibly ask for documentation on that. Some have even asked why you chose the regional centers and whether you were given any incentives. These are all the questions you may have been asked at the consulate interview. As an investor, it is reasonable to be able to asked about the investment and how you gathered your funds legally, as they are part of the EB-5 eligibility.
They are scheduling all employment cases, but many of our EB-5 cases have not been scheduled. An adjustment interview is like Judgment Day; they can ask anything. Many do not know about EB-5, so it is advisable to have an EB-5 lawyer prepare you so you know the project and can talk about job creation. Mainly, however, they looking to see if there is any out-of-status or unauthorized employment. If you have skeletons in the closet, that is what they looking for.
All investors who filed an I-485 will be called for interview.
USCIS' new policy is that all employment-based adjustment applicants are to be interviewed. To date. this policy has not been fully implemented with regards to EB-5 applicants. Rather, USCIS is making a case-by-case determination and choosing to waive a majority of EB-5 applicant interviews. However, it is expected that most EB-5 applicants will be subject to an interview in the upcoming years. All questions on Form I-485 will be asked in the interview. In addition, the officer will likely ask regarding SOF, NCE, investment, role of investor in NCE management, terms of investment and so on - basically similar to consular IV interviews.
USCIS is not interviewing all EB-5 investors. If an EB-5 investor is interviewed for his or her adjustment of status application, the questions asked by USCIS will be similar to those asked at U.S. consular immigrant visa interviews abroad: type and amount of investment, source of funds, location of EB-5 investment, in addition to all of the questions regarding admissibility to the United States. Any person going to an adjustment of status interview has the right to be represented by an attorney and have an attorney present at the interview.
When USCIS announced that they would be taking in all adjustment of status applicants for interviews, they also seemed to limit it to I-140 applicants, not I-526 (EB-5) applicants. So, for now, you may not be called in. However, if that changes, I would expect it to look like the consulate interview in terms of testing the applicant's knowledge of the investment and project, and then the fairly standard admissibility questions any AOS applicant may face. Use an attorney to help you prepare for an interview!
|
0.952329 |
in NJ how much will it cost in legal fees to convert a 15 unit building to condos?
Depends on attorney doing offering plan, but I would said at a minimum $20,000.
Somewhere between very little and a whole lot. Right now there is NO reason to convert rental units to condos and you will find bank financing to be nearly impossible.
|
0.89183 |
Players carry several different types of clubs in their bag for different situations.
The United States Golf Association rules that players can carry up to 14 clubs in their golf bags. To a beginner, this might seem like a lot of different clubs just to hit one little ball. Not every golfer will carry all 14 of the allotted clubs, but golfers carry several different types of clubs for different situations. Traditionally, a golf club set consisted of a driver, several woods, matched irons and a couple of wedges. The player is usually left to select a putter on his own.
The driver is the longest club in the bag and is used to hit a long shot off the tee. It is also club with the lowest loft angle. This combination makes the driver more difficult to hit than other clubs. However, when you master the driver, you can expect to get good distance.
Golfers with a high handicap might find that a driver with a large clubhead will provide a large sweet spot and be more forgiving of miss hits. A flexible shaft will also add distance to the shot. Beginners can benefit from drivers with a loft of 10.5 degrees to 11 or 12 degrees, to help them launch the ball in the air. More experienced players who are concerned with accuracy might choose a stiffer shaft and a lower loft.
Fairway woods are not made of wood anymore, but are composed of hollow metal such as steel or titanium. Like the driver, they provide the distance needed on long, straight fairway shots. Woods are long clubs, and the lower numbered woods such as the 3-wood have a low loft, making them more difficult to hit than most irons. Beginners may carry a 5-wood, 7-wood and even a 9-wood for greater loft, and advanced players might use a 3-wood and a 5-wood.
Irons are versatile clubs because they can provide distance along with more accuracy than a wood. The traditional set comes with a 3-iron, with a low loft, down to the pitching wedge, which provides a high loft. Many golfers are setting aside their longer irons like the 3-iron and the 4-iron in favor of hybrid clubs. Specialty irons such as the sand wedge, gap wedge and lob wedge are considered basic clubs for use close to the green.
Hybrids are becoming more popular and are now included in may golf sets in place of the longer irons. These clubs combine some features of woods with some features of irons. They are designed to provide distance and accuracy and are easier to handle than woods because of the shorter shaft. Hybrids are designed with a clubface that is weighted to help launch the golf ball into the air.
Putters are designed for use on the green, where you will putt a few yards to the hole. Golfers hit a putt with their wrists straight and the club low to the ground. There are many different types of putters, from the conventional to putters with offsets, face inserts and long shafts. The best putter is the putter that feels and works the best for you. Because putting is such a large part of the game--equal to almost half of the strokes you are likely to take with other clubs--it is essential to have a putter you feel comfortable with and will use to practice.
|
0.999709 |
A book review is not the same thing as a book report. A review should provide the reader with just enough information to make the determination as to whether or not they want to read the book. It should not only include the summary of the key elements, but also provide opinions, facts, and commentary that are useful to the reader.
The first step to writing a book review is to become familiar with the genre of the book that you are reviewing. Knowing the exact category of the book, such as an autobiography, science fiction, an allegory, etc. can help you create a review that is trustworthy and factual.
Next, you should read the book. This cannot be done passively, but rather you should be taking notes as you read and should be placing sticky notes at appropriate points for later reference.
As soon as you’re done reading, you can begin your book review by providing a brief description of the book. This part includes stating whether or not the book is fiction, the subject of the book, the general scope, and the main statements of the author. You should refrain from creating a description that is long winded as your readers will only need a basic idea of what the book is about when making a decision as to whether or not they care to read it.
You should also provide a bit of an opinion of your own backed up by examples from the book. These opinions should be supported by facts, and should highlight the strengths and weaknesses you found throughout the work.
You may also want to make comparisons between this particular book and others the author has written, or other similar books within the genre. You should make a clear assertion as to the book’s place within its precise category.
Finally, your book review should conclude with your personal views of the book. Did you like the book? Would you read it again? Would you recommend it to others? These elements provide value to the reader without giving away so much that there is no need to actually read the book.
|
0.961723 |
Henri Georges Stephane Adolphe Opper de Blowitz (28 December 1825 – 18 January 1903), previously Heinrich Opper and also known as Heinrich Opper von Blowitz, was a Bohemian journalist.
Blowitz began life as Heinrich Georg Stephan Adolf Opper, called Jindřich in the Czech spelling, in a family of Jewish ancestry at Blowitz (now Blovice) in Bohemia, and left home at the age of fifteen to travel, acquiring a wide range of languages in the process. When financial constraints led him to plan emigration to America, he by chance met M. de Falloux, the French minister responsible for public education, and was appointed as a teacher of foreign languages at the Tours Lycée in around 1849. He thereafter transferred to the Marseilles Lycée. He resigned his job there in 1859 when he got married, in order to devote himself to literature and politics.
When, in 1869, Ferdinand de Lesseps ran for election as deputy from Marseilles, Blowitz became involved in a scandal due to supplying information to a Legitimist newspaper. This led to calls for his expulsion from France, which he countered by retiring to the country. The next year, the calls began again, as he began to predict the collapse of the Empire during the Franco-Prussian War; this time, he evaded them by naturalising as a French subject whilst the Battle of Sedan was being fought. Three days after the battle, a Republic was proclaimed.
Once naturalised, Blowitz returned to Marseilles, where he worked for Adolphe Thiers. He later worked gathering information for him at Versailles, and as a result Thiers offered him the French consulship at Riga. Shortly before he was to accept this, Blowitz became the assistant to Laurence Oliphant, the Paris correspondent of The Times, whilst the second correspondent was absent. When the second correspondent, Frederick Hardman, succeeded Oliphant, Blowitz remained as assistant, and when Hardman died in 1873 he himself became chief Paris correspondent.
In this role Blowitz became famous, both as a journalist and for his insights into diplomacy. In 1875, the duc de Decazes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, informed him of a confidential despatch from the French ambassador to Berlin, discussing German plans to attack France, and requested Blowitz publish an exposé; he did so, provoking a storm of public opinion, and effectively preventing any chance of the German intention being carried out. In 1877 and 1888 he successfully exposed internal conspiracies against the Republic.
Blowitz's most famous achievement was in 1878, when he managed to obtain the text of the Treaty of Berlin and publish it at the very moment that the Congress of Berlin was finally signing it. The same year he was made an Officier of the Légion d'honneur.
Blowitz finally retired from his work for The Times in 1902, to be replaced by the newspaper’s Vienna correspondent, William Lavino. He died a few months later, in January 1903.
Blowitz appears as a character in the novella "The Road to Charing Cross" in Flashman and the Tiger (1999) by George MacDonald Fraser.
He also appears as a character in the video game 80 Days.
^ a b c d e f Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Blowitz, Henri Georges Stephan Adolphe de" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 89.
^ Ministère de la culture – Base Léonore. Culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved on 2014-06-14.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Patrick, David; Groom, Francis H., eds. (1912). "Blowitz, Henri". Chamber's Biographical Dictionary. p. 106.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henri Blowitz.
de Blowitz (1903), Memoirs of M. de Blowitz, New York: Doubleday Page and Co.
This page was last edited on 20 February 2019, at 21:35 (UTC).
|
0.999377 |
Do They Sell Beer in Alabama on Sundays?
Beer can be sold in Alabama on Sundays, depending on the county. As of 2011, 12 counties and five cities had legalized the sale of beer on Sundays, with that number expected to increase.
Of the counties that have legalized beer sales on Sundays, most will not allow beer sales until noon. Tourism has been cited as the reason for the recent change of heart regarding beer sales. Private clubs are exempt from these rules, as they can sell beer on Sundays unrestricted. However, these private clubs require a membership as well as a membership fee in order to gain entrance to the establishment.
|
0.959251 |
How can I limit a new user to being able to download or at most upload and download files to only one subdomain if they use an FTP program. Once I give them a user name and password the new user, if knowledgeable, seems to be able to snoop around quite a bit.
One option would be to place that particular sub-domain under the control of the user in question. This will place the web-directory for the sub-domain in that user’s home directory. When that user logs in via FTP, they will only have access to the web-directory for that sub-domain, not any other domains and/or sub-domains you may have under other users.
Also, make sure you do not give them shell access.
|
0.999995 |
I found a really great guide to shell scripting.
It’s about the best reference document to shell scripting that I’ve seen. It has all the things you need to get around a new language like control structures, creating functions and using variables. It also explains the things you need to understand to understand shell scripting like command substitution.
It’s also very clearly written and has great examples for everything it’s talking about.
|
0.999667 |
Bell's Wynd looking towards the High street, the houses are now demolished to form Tron square. The 'Closes' of Edinburgh's Old Town are narrow passages branching off at right angles from the main streets. They provide access to the tenement buildings, and often to small shared courtyards. Many Closes also act as shortcuts between Old Town's main streets William Channing's drawings and paintings from the bound volume of his 'Sketches in Edinburgh', give an artist's impression of tenement life in the mid 19th century. His drawings are glimpses into the past down the narrow Closes and alleyways of the Old Town. We see higgledy-piggledy houses and tenements towering skywards, laundry hanging from windows across the walkways and local characters talking in the streets. Channing's delightful sketches are particularly valued for their representation of the architectural elements and details of buildings and closes now much changed or long since disappeared.
Bell's Wynd looking towards the High street, the houses are now demolished to form Tron square.
|
0.993002 |
Stack question on interactions with madness and Vengevine.
Whenever you cast a spell, if it's the second creature spell you cast this turn, you may return Vengevine from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Thanks for the comment and suggestions. So, while all the cards you name are good cards, they are not right for this deck, and really I think you give me a good chance to highlight the difference between a good sideboard card in general, and a good sideboard card in Ad Nauseam specifically. Mindbreak Trap I will agree is a great card for storm, however it is very surplus to requirements in this deck. I feel people have this misconception about storm as being this turn 3 combo deck when that really isn't the case, ideally storm will be going off on turn 5 or 6 if they can get there, by this time they should have crafted a bulletproof hand, to go off turn 3 is a high risk play unless they have it and you aren't going to beat storm when it has it anyway to be honest, we are very effective at forcing them to try, likely when they aren't 100% comfortable; going earlier increases the chance of fizzling dramatically. Additionally, storm is already a good matchup, I would say that its probably about 70-30 for us, meaning that to hedge for storm is generally incorrect (though it must be said storm is one of those decks where the best storm pilots are always going to be difficult to beat). The main reason for this line of thinking is Angel's Grace and to a lesser degree Phyrexian Unlife ; essentially the storm player needs to be able to set up a turn where they can both Grapeshot and Empty the Warrens to realistically expect to win and fight through our ability to stay alive. In other words, while a good card, considering the matchup is a good one it is largely unnecessary (though probably a consideration if your meta is all storm).
To this end, the other card you suggest Ravenous Trap suffers from the same problem. It is a great card, however the matchups it is best against, Dredge and Phoenix, are both favorable (I personally have a winning record against Phoenix however it still hasn't been around long enough for me to make a formal decision on how good the matchup is for us) already. This is a case scenario where, although the card is great, there is no real reason to play it in the deck as it attacks decks that we should beat anyway. In other words, to play the card is to use a slot for a good matchup, something that I can't get behind unless the card has implications for bad to even matchups (say if Jund Vengevine were a bit more popular and playing more discard effects). All in all, like Mindbreak Trap it's a great card but not needed here as it doesn't attack mathcups we really need to fear.
As for Solemnity , every once in a while you actually do see an Ad Nauseam player running it whether in the side or even the main, exploiting the lack of enchantment removal currently seeing play, the only real cards seeing some play being Nature's Claim and Assassin's Trophy .It isn't awful, but... it's just too gimicky for my tastes. The big question with it is, what do you cut? What card in the deck is significantly worse than Solemnity and in what matchup will you ever actually get it down where it matters: Storm, 8-whack, zoo, humans, infect, affinity, and spirits are all too fast; then that leaves the relevant matchups of Phoenix, Dredge, Hollow One, and Merfolk really. All of which, bar Hollow One game one, are already good matchups and, building on that, Dredge and Hollow One, where it is perhaps most useful, have hate for it, Dredge always siding in some number of Nature's Claim against us, and Hollow One sometimes dipping into green for Assassin's Trophy . To me the combo there doesn't play enough and quite frankly feels like a bit of a wasted slot. So while fun, and don't get me wrong it would be really fun to get someone with it, I don't think that it is the best thing you can be doing, I would rather have that slot be something better against a bad matchup, or something more flexible that doesn't require me to draw exactly those two cards.
Thank you for the comments, I'll definitely add Solemnity to my Sideboard Options List for people's reference, though I don't see myself playing it. I hope I have explained myself adequately.
Instead of undying/persist which was suggested above, why not go for Vengevine . Thanks to the reprint they are only ~$12 a piece. Play Vengevine , use either Eldritch Evolution or Metamorphosis . If you use Metamorphosis and then cast a creature with the mana from Metamorphosis that will pull Vengevine back into play (assuming this occurs the same turn you cast Vengevine ). May cost a few extra $$ but it would be significantly more competitive and as far as Legacy goes would be quite budget still.
This looks loads of fun, but you might be playing it at the wrong time. It's almost guaranteed that your opponent has graveyard hate, given decks which use; Stinkweed Imp , Bloodghast , Living End , Vengevine , Hooting Mandrills , Arclight Phoenix , Flamewake Phoenix , Bedlam Reveler , Striped Riverwinder and more all exist.
You might be better playing like the spirits aggro list with; Supreme Phantom Selfless Spirit and Spell Queller and switch to the Mortal Combat / Iname, Death Aspect plan from the sideboard, if you did that I'd also stick Nether Traitor in for either, free hits or removal bait. On its own Nether Traitor won't warrant the grave hate so hopefully your opponent sides it out. Hope this helps, good luck brewing your deck.
This feels more like the Vengevine variant, due to your volume of creatures, though that card is rather pricey... Also a quick note on Simian Spirit Guide, it exiles itself, this is not a discard trigger, so while it will give you extra mana it won't add to your discard count. With your build I'd be tempted to run 4x Vexing Devil and 4x Claim / Fame, to make the space -4x Monastery Swiftspear and -2x Call to the Netherworld -2x Maximize Velocity.
That's some quick thoughts, hope they help, I run a different (to yours) take on Hollow One, if your intrested see Power 4 is Ferocious. Good luck with your brew.
personally i like your choices against control.
Sigil of the New Dawn is very nice, because, despite its low price, it has never been reprinted, and the new artwork looks great.
I am not particularly pleased about the reprint of Containment Priest, because I feel that that card is too inexpensive for such a powerful effect (it really should have cost 3 or 4 mana for that effect).
Angel of Despair is one of my favorite angles in the game, so her being reprinted is always nice; I would have preferred to see her with new artwork, but her current artwork is so awesome that there is no real need to replace it. Why was she demoted to an uncommon? She is far too powerful to be anything less than a rare, in my mind.
I really would like to see all ten lieges (but most notably Balefire Liege and Deathbringer Liege) from Shadowmoor and Eventide reprinted, becuase many of them need to be reprinted.
Ertai, the Corrupted would also look very nice in the new frame style, as well.
Pattern of Rebirth and Spoils of the Vault were not particularly expensive, but their new artwork is very nice.
I did not realize that Vengevine had become so expensive, so it being reprinted in this set is very nice, indeed.
|
0.999908 |
Remove the lower case to access most of your MacBook Pro's internals.
Tre viti con testa a croce Phillips da 13,5 (14,1) mm.
Sette viti con testa a croce da 3 mm.
Nel rimuovere queste viti, nota come escono lievemente angolate. Devono essere rimesse al loro posto nello stesso modo.
Altre 34 persone hanno completato questa guida.
For re-assembly, tilt the screw driver slightly at an angle tangent to the case's edge when screwing in the seven 3 mm Phillips screws. Screw the 13 mm screws directly downward. This should ensure better thread engagement.
Another method for insuring screws end up on the right thread is to turn the screw in reverse (anti-clockwise) to begin with until you feel a click, then you'll know the screw has fallen into the thread correctly and you can drive it home clockwise.
|
0.952441 |
The name Amlwch – a reference to the site of the town's harbour, Porth Amlwch – derives from Welsh am ("about, on or around") and llwch (an old word meaning "inlet, creek" - similar to the Gaelic word "loch" for a body of water).
According to legend in the Middle Ages, the town developed on a site that had a harbour but was not visible from the sea, which helped to reduce the chance of Viking attacks.
On 23 November 1981, the first tornado of the record-breaking 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak, an F1/T2 tornado, passed through Amlwch.
It is also home to the local secondary school, Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones which Lemmy attended, and the town also has a primary school. The high street is home to a number of small private businesses.
The local newspaper for northeastern Anglesey is Yr Arwydd ('The Sign'). Yr Arwydd is the local Welsh name for Mynydd Bodafon, the paper covers the area surrounding the mountain, and has an image of the summit as its logo.
Amlwch grew rapidly in the 18th century near what was then the world's biggest copper mine at the nearby Parys Mountain. By the late 18th century, Amlwch had a population of around 10,000 and was the second largest town in Wales after Merthyr Tydfil. It was at this time that its harbour was also extended to accommodate the ships needed to transport the ore.
When the copper production declined, a wide variety of industrial activities were developed to take its place. Ship-building in the narrow harbour area and other sites around the coast of Amlwch Port was a significant enterprise from the 1820s and grew in significance after the railway opened in 1864, reducing the use of the harbour for copper and other goods by ship. By 1912 the main shipbuilding activities were in decline, and neither the harbour nor shipyards offered much commercial activity.
In the 1970s, Amlwch had an offshore single point mooring - Amlwch Oil Terminal - which was used to receive large oil tankers which were unsuitable for the Mersey. Reception tanks were located ashore and the oil was pumped from there to the refineries on the Manchester Ship Canal. The terminal closed in 1990.
When copper mining began to decline in the mid-1850s, shipbuilding became the main industry with many people also becoming involved in the ship repair and other maritime industries. The town was home to a brewing industry and also had tobacco works, producing the famous Amlwch Shag Tobacco - "Baco Shag Amlwch". Even after the decline of the copper mine some chemical industries remained and in 1953 a chemical plant to extract bromine from sea water (for use in petrol engines) was built but this closed in 2004.
Pubs in the area include the King's Head, the Queen's Head, the Mariner, the Dinorben Arms Hotel and the Market Tavern in the town, and the Liverpool Arms and the Adelphi Vaults down in the port area.
Amlwch station was the northern terminus of the Anglesey Central Railway which was opened in 1864. It closed to passengers a hundred years later, in 1964, but for the next 30 years was used by freight trains. In 1951 the Amlwch Octel bromide works installed an extension to the line from Amlwch station into their premises. After the passenger service ceased the line continued until 1993 with freight trains bringing sulphuric acid in to the Octel works, and transporting Bromine and related products used in fuel additives, back to the main line, bound for Ellesmere Port.
In 1993 the freight activity was all transferred to road vehicles, and use of the line ceased. The rails were not lifted however, leaving open the prospect that the line could be restored as a tourist and local transport facility for Amlwch, Llanerchymedd and Llangefni. In 2012 a local enthusiast group, Anglesey Central Railway, or Lein Amlwch, were granted permission to clear and survey the line condition, and in May 2017 the Welsh Government announced that re-opening Llangefni station was under active consideration, raising a strong hope that the service could one day continue north to reach Amlwch again.
Attractions in Amlwch include its restored port area, the Anglesey Coastal Path which passes through it, its watch tower containing an exhibition by Geo Môn, maritime and copper mining museums, St Eleth's Church (which dates from 1800) and the reinforced concrete Catholic church Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride, built in 1937.
Amlwch is in the Twrcelyn electoral ward which also includes Llanbadrig, Llaneilian and Rhosybol, electing three county councillors to the Isle of Anglesey County Council. Prior to the 2012 Anglesey electoral boundary changes the town was represented by two county councillors elected from two wards, Amlwch Port and Amlwch Rural.
Amlwch has a community council, Amlwch Town Council, comprising fifteen community councillors elected from the three community wards of Town, Rural and Amlwch Port.
The town's leisure centre is one of the few on Anglesey and has a swimming pool, sports centre and squash courts. It is situated on Anglesey's 125-mile stretch of coast that is designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The town also has two football clubs, Amlwch Town F.C., who play in the Welsh Alliance League, and Amlwch Port F.C., a Sunday League pub team that plays in the North Wales Sunday League.
Amlwch has a sea rowing club based in Bull Bay, Trireme Ynys Mon Rowing Club. The club is one of the most successful rowing clubs in North Wales, and competes in the Welsh Sea Rowing Association League.
^ BBC Wales: What's in a name?
^ "Parish Headcounts: Isle of Anglesey". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
^ "Ship Building". Amlwch History. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
^ Neil Summers. "Octel Bromine Works, Amlwch". www.octelamlwch.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
^ "Anglesey railway track clear-up brings Gaerwen-Amlwch reopening closer". BBC North West Wales. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
^ "Anglesey's 'ghost railway' could re-open for first time in more than 50 years". Daily Post. May 2017.
^ "Isle of Anglesey (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2012" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
^ "Councillors". Cyngor Tref Amlwch. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
^ "Obituaries: Will Edwards, Labour MP in rural Wales". The Independent. 27 August 2007.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Amlwch.
Amlwch: historical and genealogical information at GENUKI.
This page was last edited on 6 March 2019, at 16:56 (UTC).
|
0.99435 |
Anna Leshinskaya, Sharon Thompson-Schill; Structured knowledge and novel object kinds can be inferred from visual event streams. Journal of Vision 2017;17(10):492. doi: 10.1167/17.10.492.
Experience unfolds as a stream of particular sensory events. Yet from such unstructured and specific input, humans are able to build structured and generalizable representations such as algebraic rules (Marcus, G. F., Vijayan, S., Rao, B., & Vishton, P. (1999). Rule learning by seven-month-old infants. Science, 283(Jan), 77–80). In Experiment 1, we probed several properties of learning in a similar scenario, in which participants viewed continuous streams of events with no instruction to find regularities. Events were visual changes of state (e.g., flashes of light, streams of bubbles), with weaker or stronger pairwise transition probabilities. We asked whether learners would be sensitive to directionality differences among pairwise relationships (AB vs BA), and, additionally, whether they would see such asymmetrical predictive relations as causal. We saw evidence of directionality sensitivity using a 2AFC task (t(18) = 4.26, p < 0.001). Subjects who were accurately aware of the predictive relationships also attributed causality to them when probed post-task (t(10) = 3.13, p = 0.01). This supports the idea that spontaneous sensitivity to event statistics can lead to the acquisition of structured and even causal representations without instruction to look for them. In Experiment 2, we investigated whether such event statistics could be used to construct novel categories of objects. Events took place surrounding different novel objects, which sometimes moved. In the presence of each object, event statistics could vary: either their movements followed, or preceded, another of the events (e.g., light flash); movements were unrelated to other, equally frequent events. Thus, objects differed purely on the direction of statistical contingency to a certain event. Participants reliably classified another new object according to this event structure, controlling for physical shape (Binomial test, p = 0.005). We suggest that sensitivity to such event statistics can support the acquisition of functional categories of objects.
|
0.959365 |
I once interviewed a salesman named Jim who had made 75,000 sales calls in his 43-year career with a large chemical distribution company. I asked him if any sales calls stood out.
Jim went on to say he was still selling to all four accounts, which were worth millions in annual sales.
Jim’s story is a good reminder of the power of making it easy for your target audience. It can take many forms: making it easy to notice and read marketing communications, respond to a call to action, request more information, make a donation, or buy a product or service. It’s one of the most critical things to consider when adopting a strategy.
|
0.958273 |
In the whole world India is the second most populated country after China but it seems that India can surpass china in population growth.
If we are discussing about Top 5 highest populated states in India than we can predict our population growth, how population is increasing day by day.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India, with 199,581,477 people as of March 1, 2011.
The state contributes 16.16 percent of the population to the country.
The population density is 828 people per square kilometer, which makes it one of the most densely populated states in the country.
According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census, Maharashtra is the second most populated state in India with a population of 112,374,333 (9.28% of the population of India) of which men and women are 58,243,056 and 54,131,277 respectively.
According to the 2011 census, Hinduism was the main religion in the state with 79.8 percent of the total population, while Muslims constituted 11.5 percent.
According to the 2011 Census, Bihar is the third most populous state in India with a population of 104,099,452 (54,278,157 men and 49,821,295 women).
For the most part, the population of Bihar is classified according to religion, caste and social lineage, and language, rather than by specific ethnic affiliation.
According to the 2011 census, 82.7% of Bihar’s population practiced Hinduism, while 16.9% followed Islam.
According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census, West Bengal is the fourth most populous state in India with a population of 91,347,736 (7.55 percent of the population of India).
The state contributes with 7.8 percent of the population of India. The Hindu population of West Bengal is 64,385,546, while the Muslim population is 24,654,825, according to the 2011 census.
As of the 2011 Indian Census, the state had a population of 49,386,799 with a population density of 308 / km2 (800 / sq mi).
The total population constitutes 70.4% of the rural population with 34,776,389 inhabitants and 29.6% of the urban population. With 14,610,410 inhabitants.
The general population of the state comprises 17.1 percent of the scheduled caste and 5.3 percent of the scheduled tribe population.
|
0.99108 |
Neural Network Learns to Remove Scratches from Still and Moving Images.
Algosoft has launched new Viva 4.4.1.0 with a new AI generation of DeScratch tool based on Neural Network.
Scratch removal is traditionally the most difficult and tricky technique, due to the scratches variability and their similarity to vertical structures in the background and/or other objects.
For the first time, Neural Networks were applied to create a technique for reliable scratch detection and removal. Although the Neural Network technique looks natural here, the implementation of Neural Networks for scratch recognition and detection had a number of issues, including the lack of ground truth data, errors in the training database, and finding the right topology of Neural Networks for thin scratches.
What did we learn? Even after choosing an appropriate Deep Learning model and training the model across a tone of corrupted footage with different types of scratches, AI alone is not good enough. Combined with existing wavelet based technology it gives outstanding quality improvement and dramatically reduces restoration artifact.
This step forward gives hope that the gap between human and unsupervised digital film restoration might be narrowing soon.
|
0.951401 |
It is the nature of man to wonder about the unknown and explain the inexplicable. It is also this craving for knowledge that has inspired man to create wonderful stories of his origin. Though fictional, these stories have firmly established their presence in ancient artifacts, manuscripts, and paintings. Evidence from archeological discoveries has further proven that early people regard fabricated stories not as myths, but as the profound truth. The interesting component about these stories is that, despite the isolation caused by geographical barriers, many cultures have developed creation myths containing the same basic elements of nothingness chaos, creation of humans, and the explanation for natural phenomena.
|
0.999971 |
Saint Clement I was a bishop of Rome from 88 to 99 C.E. Also called Clement of Rome and Clemens Romanus, he was the fourth pope according to Catholic tradition. A letter attributed to him, written to the church at Corinth, is the first document indicating that the Roman church intervened in the affairs of neighboring churches to provide instruction on organizational matters. Critics point out that letter is anonymous and that the term "pope"—and the attributes presently associated with this office—did not yet exist in Clement's day.
Clement of Rome is considered one of the Apostolic Fathers, and the letters attributed to him are important sources of information about the early church. However, a large body of works traditionally thought to be written by him are now universally recognized as mistakenly attributed. His martyrdom, by drowning while weighted down by an anchor, is also controversial, as his story seems to have been confused with that of Flavius Clemens, a slightly later saint.
Clement I is mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass. He is commemorated as a martyr by virtually all Christian traditions that honor saints. His feast day is November 23 in the West. In the east he is remembered on November 24 or 25.
Tradition identifies Cement I as the Clement mentioned by Saint Paul in Philippians 4:3. He may have been a freedman, a former slave of Titus Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor Domitian. The Shepherd of Hermas (Vision II. 4. 3) mentions a Clement, whose office it was to communicate with other churches. This function has been adduced to support Clement's authorship of the letter to the church at Corinth, Greece, which is ascribed to him in the collection of early Christian literature known as the Apostolic Fathers.
The Liber Pontificalis supports the further belief that Clement of Rome had personally known Saint Peter, and states that he wrote two letters which have been preserved. However, the second letter, 2 Clement, is now generally not thought to belong to him, and the authorship of 1 Clement is debated. Liber Pontificalis further states that Clement died in Greece in the third year of Trajan's reign, or 100 C.E.
Questions also exist as to Clement's "papacy." First, what was the nature of his office? Second, who preceded him in that office?
The First Epistle of Clement does not claim internally to be written by Clement, but by an anonymous person acting on behalf of the Roman church to the church at Corinth. Its purpose is to object to the removal of certain presbyters (elders) of Corinth, an action it considers unjustified. Whether there was only a single bishop at Rome at this time is debated. It may be that the writer is himself a presbyter or one of several bishops (overseers) who also acted as the church's secretary. If he were the reigning bishop, it seems likely that he would refer to himself as such or signed the letter by name. The attribution of the letter to Clement is thus traditional, but is recognized in several second-century church sources.
The second question relates to how many persons, if any, intervened between Peter and Clement as "pope." Tertullian and Jerome both indicate that Clement was ordained directly by Saint Peter as his successor in Rome, although Jerome was also aware of other traditions. Several sources record traditions that Clement was preceded by Peter, Linus, and Cetus/Anacletus. Church tradition today holds that Clement was indeed the fourth pope. The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2003) cites a reign from 92 to 99.
Little is known of Clement's ministry other than the writings attributed to him, and these are disputed. Early sources indicate that he died a natural death, but later tradition holds that he was martyred. Modern critics think it likely that the story of his martyrdom came about by confusing his death with that of his namesake, the martyred Roman consul Flavius Clemens, a saint of the Orthodox Church.
The tradition of Clement's martyrdom relates how he converted the courtier Sisinnius and his wife Theordora by miraculous means. More than 400 persons of rank soon followed. The Emperor Trajan retaliated by banishing Clement to the Crimea, where he miraculously slaked the thirst of 2,000 confessing Christians. Many people of the area were soon converted, and 75 new churches were founded. Trajan, in consequence, ordered Clement to be thrown into the sea with an iron anchor. However, the Catholic Encyclopedia admits that this story cannot be older than the fourth century.
About 868, Saint Cyril, on the way to evangelize the Khazars, discovered some bones in a mound, and also an anchor. These were believed to be the relics of Clement. They were carried by Cyril to Rome, and deposited by Adrian II with those of Saint Ignatius of Antioch in the high altar of the Basilica of Saint Clement. Other relics of Saint Clement, including his head, are claimed by the Kiev Monastery of the Caves in the Ukraine.
In art, Saint Clement can be recognized as a pope with an anchor or fish. Sometimes he is also pictured with a millstone, relating to his reported imprisonment in a stone quarry; keys, relating to his position as pope; a fountain, which miraculously sprung forth while he said Mass; or with a book, representing his writings. He is also shown lying in a temple in the sea.
The Mariner's Cross is sometimes referred to as St. Clement's Cross in reference to the way he was reportedly martyred.
Clement is perhaps best known by his letter to the church at Corinth, often called 1 Clement. The letter is particularly significant in Catholic ecclesiology in that it demonstrates the Roman church's early role in guiding the conduct of other churches. The letter was widely read in the early Christian churches and is included in some early manuscripts as scripture, along with the letters of Paul.
A second epistle, better described as a homily, has also been traditionally ascribed to Clement and is included in his name in the Apostolic Fathers. However recent scholars date the letter to the second century and challenge Clement's authorship.
Two "Epistles to Virgins," which were preserved in Syriac, the Greek originals being lost. They were known in the fourth century to Epiphanius, who speaks of their being read publicly in the churches.
Five letters attributed to Clement are found in a body of literature known as the Pseudo-Isidorian decretals. The first two are supposed letters of Clement to James. The other three are apparently the work of Pseudo-Isidore in Clement's name.
Also ascribed to Clement are the "Apostolic Constitutions," "Apostolic Canons," and the "Testament of Our Lord," as well as other works.
Clement is also the hero of an early Christian romance or novel that has survived in at least two different versions, known as the Clementine literature. Here he is clearly confused with Domitian's cousin Titus Flavius Clemens. This large body of literature includes discourses involving the apostle Peter, together with an account of the circumstances under which Clement came to be Peter's traveling companion, and of other details of Clement's supposed family history. This romance has come down to us in two forms: one form is called the Clementine Homilies, which consists of 20 books and exists in the original Greek; the other is called the Clementine Recognitions, for which the original Greek has been lost, but exists in a translation made by Rufinus (died 410).
Clement of Rome is one of those persons whose legacy seems much larger than his historical person. Little is known of the "historical Clement," but the body of literature attributed to him is significant, and the story of his martyrdom, though probably confused with a later Saint Clement, made him one of the most famous early popes. Yet, even the term "pope," does not seem to truly apply, for the situation in Rome at the time seems to have involved several bishops rather than one, and we cannot even be sure that 1 Clement—the letter he supposedly wrote to the Corinthians—was even written by him.
Nevertheless, Clement I remains an important figure in church history. He may indeed have been a hearer of Peter who went on to become a leader of the Roman church. He has been, and continues to be, venerated as a martyr; and the literature ascribed to him is still much studied by theologians and church historians. His supposed letter to the Corinthians is of immense significance in church history, as it is the most ancient source demonstrating Rome's sense of entitlement to intervene in the affairs of other churches.
↑ "Writers of the 3rd and 4th centuries, like Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome, equate him, perhaps, correctly, with the Clement whom St. Paul mentions (Phil. 4:3) as a fellow worker."—Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (Oxford University Press, 1985), 7.
History of "Pope Clement I"
This page was last modified on 31 March 2019, at 22:47.
|
0.998884 |
I attend a lot of screenings, and as a result, I see a lot of movies. I also receive many Blu-rays/DVDs to review, thanks to generous studios and networks.
The final count for this year is: 88 movies.
*not including Blu-rays/DVDs, unless I reviewed them here.
*not including any movies I did not review, except I'll throw in Rogue One since I saw it in the theater this past Sunday.
*I am seeing Sing today and Fences on Thursday, so I'm counting those two in this wrap-up, as well.
1. American Pastoral. I still think about this movie sometimes. I tried reading the book, as well, but I could not get through it - it's very different from the movie. 4.5/5 stars.
*out on Blu-ray/DVD on February 7.
2. La La Land. The beginning of this movie didn't really reel me in at first, but eventually I started liking it more and more. Although I could see why the film ended the way it did, it was still rather heartbreaking, in my opinion, and it wasn't something I was expecting. 4/5.
3. Nerve. Though it definitely caters more to the teen/20s market, I really liked this one. It was different and also very well done, and James Franco and Emma Roberts were excellent in it. 4.5/5.
4. Zootopia. A kids movie for grown-ups, with some very funny social commentary thrown in. 4/5.
5. Bridget Jones's Baby. I am a big fan of the series, and this was actually a lot funnier than I expected this installment to be. 4/5.
6. The Birth of a Nation. Despite the controversy surrounding this movie, it was a very good film, and still needs to be mentioned here. 4.5/5.
*out on Blu-ray/DVD on January 10.
7. Loving. Based on the true story, and with excellent performances by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga. 4/5.
8. Lion. This one I saw recently, and it was very good - the acting nominations for Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel are well-deserved. 4.5/5.
9. Arrival. With a crazy twist that had me talking about the movie long after I saw it, Arrival has definitely stayed in my mind over the past few months. 4.5/5.
*no release date as of yet.
10. Complete Unknown. I saw this during the Cinetopia film fest this year, and although it was very mysterious plot-wise, it ended up being pretty interesting, with great performances by Rachel Weisz and Michael Shannon. 4.5/5.
*FREE on Amazon Prime currently.
I actually didn't give any 5/5 reviews this year, but a few received 4.5/5 reviews.
The worst two movies I saw this year were definitely Wiener Dog (2.5/5 stars) and Keanu (1.5/5 stars). Wiener Dog had some merit, at least, but the ending was horrible, and I hated Keanu, although perhaps the humor in the film is not my type of humor.
As always, you can click here to see all my "Yes" movie reviews, here to see my "Maybe" reviews, and here to see my "No" reviews.
What was your most favorite or least favorite movie you saw this year in the theater, or perhaps on Blu-ray/DVD?
|
0.931135 |
Why do swimming pools look shallower than they are? Why do straws look bent when they're in a drink? How can we bend light? All these questions can be answered by looking at refraction.
When light travels through air it travels at about 300 million m/s. When it travels through glass, water or any other transparent material it has to slow down. It's like running down the beach into the sea. When you hit the water you are slowed down. For light waves this can make them bend.
As the light wave goes into the block it slows down and bends towards the normal line, so angle A is always bigger than angle B. As the ray comes out of the block the light wave speeds up again and bends away from the normal line, so angle B is always smaller than angle C.
The only time light waves do not bend when changing speed, is if they are travelling along the normal line, at right angles to the boundary.
But why does the light wave bend when it changes speed? Imagine a car drives off a road onto a sandy beach. The first wheel to touch the sand (in this case the left) struggles for grip and slows that side of the car down. The right side of the car is still trying to travel at its normal speed. This makes the car swerve round to the right.
It is the same for light waves. If the ray doesn't hit the block at right angles one side will hit before the other. This slows one side of the ray down first, which makes the ray change direction.
As the light wave has slowed down its wavelength gets smaller. (The frequency does not change.) This fits with the relationship between speed, frequency and wavelength.
Why does this make swimming pools look shallower than they really are? Again it is the brain that sees a virtual image, that doesn't really exist.
The light waves leaving the brick are refracted as they leave the water, bending away from the normal line. When these waves reach the eye the brain thinks they must have travelled in a straight line, so tracks them back to a point, the virtual image. So the brain sees the brick higher up than it actually is.
Water waves will refract when they slow down, in the same way as light waves. Water waves travel slower in shallower water. The deeper the water the faster the waves can travel, in fact in the ocean waves speeds can sometimes approach hundreds of miles per hour.
Refraction of water waves happens for the same reason as light waves. If one side of the wave hits a shallow region before the other side it makes the wave change direction.
Again the wavelength of the wave changes as the speed changes. The slower the speed of the wave the shorter its wavelength will be. This keeps the frequency the same.
Sound waves refract in the same way as light waves. When a sound wave is slowed down it bends towards the normal line and when it speeds up it bends away from the normal line.
There is one big difference. Light waves slow down when they enter liquids and solids. Sound waves speed up in liquids and solids.
Sound travels well in solids because the particles are close together so vibrations can be easily passed along.
|
0.999994 |
What's your favorite way to dip?
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and brush onto both sides of the chips.
Inspired by the recipe here.
In a small bowl combine coconut oil, sugar, and cinnamon and brush onto both sides of the chips.
In a small bowl combine olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and parsley, and brush onto both sides of the chips.
|
0.991702 |
When it comes to major home renovations, what improvements/fixes produce the best ROI? I just purchased a seriously outdated fixer-upper, and I’m hoping to renovate the most important parts of the home and put it back on the market within a year. I don't have time to renovate the entire home, and I'd like to know what kinds of renovations produce the best ROI so I know where to start.
|
0.998074 |
What is the number one most important factor in being a great trial lawyer? Great trial lawyers care about their clients and fight for what is right. They believe in their cause, and because they believe in their cause they have the energy and drive to work tirelessly as an advocate for their client. There is no substitute for hard work, but hard work comes easy when you are fighting for something you believe.
I strongly believe people who are injured due to somebody else’s carelessness deserve fair compensation. They deserve to be made whole, and being made whole means more than just paying for their medical bills and other economic losses. They should also be compensated for their pain, suffering, inconvenience, and lost capacity for the enjoyment of life.
Life comes down to a series of moments. Some moments are joyful, others are painful. At the end of our lives, if we look back and remember more joyful moments than painful moments, we will probably say we had a good life. If somebody comes along and through their carelessness takes away some of those joyful moments and replaces them with painful moments, that person has taken away something of value, something we will never get back. Pain makes life harder. Everything is less enjoyable when we are in pain. Life is less enjoyable when we can’t do activities we would normally do because of pain.
Unfortunately, a lawsuit cannot make an injury go away. Real justice would result in the plaintiff being healed and returning to the plaintiff all of the time he or she spent suffering due to somebody else’s carelessness. More than that, it would require giving the plaintiff enough joyful moments to counterbalance the painful moments caused by another’s carelessness. The joyful moments would be equally joyful as the painful moments were painful. Since we can’t make the plaintiff’s injury go away, we as a society have chosen to make up for a plaintiff’s losses by measuring the value of those losses in terms of money damages. Although many juries have difficulty assessing the value of somebody’s pain and suffering, the law requires the jury to do so in many cases, because that’s the best way we know to make a plaintiff whole to the fullest extent possible, given the fact that we can’t make the injury go away. While pain makes life more difficult and less enjoyable, money makes life easier and more enjoyable. While pain can limit a person’s abilities, money can increase a person’s freedom in other ways. When a plaintiff suffers at the hands of another’s carelessness, the scales of justice have been knocked off balance. An award of money damages can help balance the scales.
Great trial lawyers know they are fighting for their clients’ lives. In civil cases, we are fighting for the portion of our clients’ lives that has been damaged due to another’s carelessness. It’s a huge responsibility, but one that we at Fasig & Brooks feel privileged to accept for hundreds of deserving clients every year.
|
0.984574 |
This is the list of episodes for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, an American late-night talk show that aired weeknights at 12:35 am Eastern/11:35 pm Central on NBC in the United States. The hour-long show aired from March 2, 2009 to February 7, 2014 and was hosted by actor, comedian and performer Jimmy Fallon, an alumnus of Saturday Night Live. Hip hop/neo soul band The Roots served as the show's house band, and Steve Higgins as the show's announcer.
The third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman, the program originated from NBC Studio 6B (and Studio 6A for the final 6 months of its run) in the GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. The show typically opened with a brief monologue from Fallon, followed by a comedy "desk piece," as well as prerecorded segments and audience competitions. The next segment was devoted to a celebrity interview, with guests ranging from actors and musicians to media personalities and political figures. Hip hop/neo soul band The Roots served as the show's house band, and Steve Higgins was the show's announcer. The show then closed with either a musical or comedy performance, or a cooking segment. The show frequently employed digital media into its comedy, which became crucial to its success.
In 2013, Fallon was selected by NBC to succeed a retiring Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show. The first episode of Late Night under Fallon aired one night after Leno's final episode of The Tonight Show on February 6, 2014. Most of the cast and crew immediately began working on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which premiered on February 17, 2014.
Seth Meyers was named as Fallon's replacement, and Late Night with Seth Meyers debuted after the Sochi Olympics.The show's ratings remained above its rival shows throughout most of the series' run. In 2011, the show garnered two Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.
This is the list of episodes for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2009.
This is the list of episodes for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2010.
This is the list of episodes for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2011.
This is the list of episodes for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2012.
This is the list of episodes for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2013 and 2014.
|
0.949583 |
A mother-of-one has asked for advice about divorcing her husband after discovering he has fathered 47 children - all from sperm donation when he was younger.
The user fedupwife1234, thought to be British, revealed how her and her husband had been together for eight years, and she assumed his donations may have led to a couple of children.
But she was astonished to discover he had 47, and was concerned about whether problems could arise if the children contacted him when they got to 18.
She took to one of the forums on Reddit to say the admission had altered the way she felt about her husband, and if it was right to ask for a divorce.
Thousands of other users were stunned by her admission, with some saying they didn't understand how she could be so impacted by the thought of the children.
'You asked him, and he told you. If numbers were important to you then you should have asked earlier,' one wrote.
Fedupwife1234 originally explained that the couple had been married for eight years, and had a three-year-old daughter together.
She admitted that he had been upfront with the fact he had donated sperm, but she had never queried how many times.
She wrote: 'When we started dating he was very clear that he had donated sperm in the past. I never asked him how much but just assumed it was just a couple of kids.
She carried on with: '....But 47?! Christ!!!! I can't stop thinking about all the problems this will cause when we're older.
She went on to say that she was concerned that the children had the legal right to his contact details when they turned 18, and that she worried about the impact that might have on their life.
Thousands of users responded to her post, with many telling her that she was overreacting and overthinking the potential consequences of having 47 children.
Many began their posts by declaring YTA - an acronym for You're The A******.
Another commented: 'All the problems this will cause? Seems like the only problem that is guaranteed is you leaving him and upending your daughter's life.
However many others could see the situation from her point of view, and expressed sympathy for the troubling situation.
Another commented that they could understand the issues that could arise, particularly as the pair are married:'Idk, most sperm donation centers allow for the child to get the father's contact information when they reach legal adulthood.
'In a few years they may find themselves being pestered by up to 47 people who want family history, medical info, and possibly looking for an emotional connection to him & his daughter.
When a person is 16, they’re able to access some information about their donor – including their physical description (height, weight, eye, hair and skin colour), the ethnicity of the donor and their parents, as well as the year and country of their birth, whether they are married or have other children.
They may access any other relevant personal or family medical history, as well as any other information the donor provided including job, religion, skills, interests, reasons for donating, a goodwill message and a personal description.
This changes at 18, and anyone who was conceived with the help of a donor after 2005 may ask for their donor’s name, date of birth and last known address.
Anyone conceived from a donation at a clinic licensed by the public body HFEA between 1 August 1991 and 31 March 2005 has a legal right to find out about their genetic origins but cannot get any information that would identify the donor, such as the donor’s name or address.
For donations given prior to 1 August 1991, anyone conceived from the donation will be unable to find out any information through official channels.
|
0.999457 |
Should I sign a parental release so my child can attend the skate park?
Children in Florida and other states have been seriously injured, and even died, while participating in these types of activities. Most skate parks (and other similar commercial amusement-type enterprises), will require the parent of a minor child to sign a release of liability orm which is intended to release the business owner of the park and its employees from any and all liability in the event the child is injured while at the park. Up until December 2008, these release forms, also called “pre-injury releases” signed by the parent were generally considered to be enforceable by the courts in Florida so long as the release language was clear, unambiguous, and specifically stated that the park was being released from liability for its own negligence. In December 2008, the Florida Supreme Court decided in the case of Kirton v. Fields, 997 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 2008), that a “pre-injury release” signed by the parent of a minor child is not enforceable against the minor child, or the minor child’s estate in any lawsuit brought against a commercial establishment (such as a motorsports or skate park) for injuries sustained by the child. Despite the ruling in the Kirton case, it is likely that commercial business operators of these types of sports parks may still require that you sign a release before allowing your minor child into the park. If your child does attend one of these parks, check the park out first to make sure that it is properly operated with sufficient staff, and that the park’s safety rules and regulations are enforced.
|
0.997228 |
What you should see in Nara.
I will meet you in Osaka or in Nara and show you around in Nara visiting the places below and others.
A quiet and old temple. You should start your Nara tour from here.
At the center of Naramachi, the former merchant district of Nara, lies one of Japan's oldest temples. Gangoji Temple is listed a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and once was a huge temple comparable to Todaiji and Kofukuji Temples during the Nara period (710-794). The temple's tiled roofs are considered the oldest in Japan.
This spot is located a little away from the current center of Nara City, and you can enjoy a laid-back stroll with time seemingly flowing very slow. Based on a legend that a goblin was dispatched by a thunder god in this temple, there are many stone statues of goblins lying in the precincts. The natural stone in the north precinct, which looks like a toad, is also an tourist attraction.
Todaiji Temple, which houses Japan's largest bronze statue of Buddha, was erected in the 8th century during the Nara Period (710-794). In the massive wooden hall, the 15m-tall Great Buddha is seated with his right hand lightly raised in the gesture of preaching, and flanked by other deities.
There is a wooden column with a hole (allegedly the same size as the Great Buddha's nostril), and if you can wiggle your body through it, you will have good luck.
The temple is reached though Nara Park where you see an amazing number of roaming deer and the Nandaimon Gate, a huge wooded structure with intricate carving.
This temple was founded in 710, the same time the capital of Nara was established. The temple is famous for its 50m-high five-story pagoda, the country's second tallest following that of Toji Temple in Kyoto. In the precincts is recently renovated National Treasure Museum that display the temple's Buddhist art collection. A three-faced, six-armed statue of Ashura is very imposing. This is the nearest sight from Nara stations.
This shrine was built in the 8th century and lies at the southeastern fringes of Nara Park. Thousands stone lanterns stand along the long approach leading to the shrine and hundreds bronze lanterns are hanging from around the buildings. These lanterns, all donated by worshipers, are lit twice during the Lantern Festivals in February and August.
Until the 19th century, this shrine had been completely rebuild every 20 years according to Shinto tradition. The roaming deer, considered sacred messengers of the Shinto gods, welcome you on the approach, and the deer-shaped omikuji (fortune slips) can be a good souvenir. Occasionally Shinto-style weddings are taking place in the precincts.
|
0.993243 |
Revolutionize the way you tip. TTT is a fully decentralized Token built on the Ethereum blockchain. It provides a fast and simple way to tip anyone around the globe, instantly; thanks to a considerable simplification of the blockchain address system.
What problem does The Tip Token solve? (or: what human need does it satisfy?) and how exactly does it do so?
TTT is a fully decentralized Token built on the Ethereum blockchain (ERC-20).
We intend to let every wallet owner pick a Short Address Name (SAN) of his choice; replacing the current 40 alphanumerical wallet address.
Moreover, The Tip Token aims to encourage showing appreciation to service providers and content creators by incentivizing each instance of TTT tipping and providing tangible benefits to tippers.
Nowadays, the tipping industry is a crucial sector worth tens of billions dollars every year.
With an average tip of 1,85 $ per person per meal, Parisian restaurants alone gather more than 270 million dollars worth of tips annually.
While blockchain related projects like Steemit, Wildspark and many others have taken a first step into this industry by creating platforms where users get rewarded for their content; nobody has ever developed a fast and simple way for content creator and services providers to be tipped directly on their website, app or even in their shops.
This is where The Tip Token steps in.
The tipping industry is limited by its means: more than 96% of the tippers use cash to tip.
Indeed, tipping with a credit card is not only restrictive for customers but also a real limitation to the person being tipped: depending on the country and regulations, tips are not taxed if they are received in cash.
Thus, online contents and services are completely forgotten; which represents a considerable shortfall.
The blockchain technology is the solution to this matter.
While using the credit card system would be a tedious and complex way to tip, the blockchain technology allows fast and simple transactions between users.
Moreover, TTT being an ERC-20 token, TTT's team is using its smart contract properties to develop a platform allowing services providers and content creators to track the tips and offer discounts and advantages in exchange for the tips they receive; a beta version to be released before the 31st of May.
To summarize, TTT, through the blockchain technology, allows people to tip anywhere, instantly and in the simplest possible way.
It seems clear that partnerships will be the key to TTT's success; and it is also the simplest aspect of our project.
While other blockchain related projects try to substitute for FIAT, TTT comes as a complement. We are not asking websites to use our cryptocurrency instead of their current payment methods, we are offering them a way to earn money they would have never earned in the first place if it wasn't for the blockchain technology and TTT.
As a simple example, we have signed our first partnership with a barbershop and we are finalizing other partnerships as we speak; the project still being in the pre-ITO phase.
We are also currently discussing partnerships will several blockchain related projects.
In the short term, we expect several partnerships a week and definitely more as the brand grows, increasing TTT's demand and volume exponentially and thus its price.
All these aspects have been thought in order to increase TTT's value over time, its price and its brand.
We want TTT to be used everywhere daily as a revolutionary way of tipping!
We have a fast and simple way to replace the ENS and create a product that will considerably simplify not only content creators and services providers lives but also every single ERC-20 wallet owner.
The blockchain technology is only in its early days and The Tip Token is here to stay and grow with it.
|
0.996208 |
By Sophie Ota | Aug. 4, 2017, 2:06 p.m.
Five years ago, extreme Republican state legislators gave up $35 million in federal funding. Why? They wanted to kick Planned Parenthood health centers out of Texas and launch the ironically-named, state-run health care program, Healthy Texas Women, instead.
Now, they’re making an unprecedented ask for that federal money back — just so that they can pour more dollars into their dangerous, failing state-run program.
And what’s even more terrifying? The Trump administration gets to decide whether these gynoticians’ wishes are granted, paving the way for other states to copy this dangerous plan.
Between 2011 and 2016, the number of women getting health care in the program declined 39 percent.
The number of women accessing contraceptives also dropped sharply by 41 percent.
Counties that lost Planned Parenthood centers saw a reduction of at least 31 percent in the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), like IUDs and birth control shots.
Meanwhile, the birth rate shot up among former Planned Parenthood patients who relied on birth control shots. Between 2011 and 2014, the number of births from this population increased by 27 percent.
Lawmakers claim Healthy Texas Women gives patients more options. But for each provider added to the program, 10 women lost health care services.
By 2016, one in four women technically enrolled in Healthy Texas Women was never seen by a health care provider for family planning services.
Because of Texas’s policies, 82 women’s health clinics closed or eliminated family planning services — and one-third of them were Planned Parenthood clinics.
TL;DR: The numbers speak for themselves. Healthy Texas Women is a disaster.
How did health care for women in Texas get SO bad?
From 2007 to 2012, Texas had a family planning program called the Women’s Health Program (and later called Healthy Texas Women). This was a Medicaid 1115 family planning waiver program — a type of program that gets funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS is the government agency that divvies up Medicaid funds.
Texas got a LOT of federal funding through the waiver. For every $1 Texas spent on the program, the federal government pitched in $9.
In 2011, Texas lawmakers indicated that they wanted to continue the waiver program. But this time, they said they would not “affiliate with entities that perform or promote elective abortions” — aka Planned Parenthood health centers.
The Obama administration denied this request to discriminate against Planned Parenthood health centers and patients because it violated federal law.
So in 2012, extreme lawmakers — led by the anti-women, then-governor Rick Perry — decided to opt out of the 1115 waiver program. And he was willing to give up $35 million in federal funding to do it.
Their new plan? Fund their family planning program with state money instead. This move allowed them to exclude Planned Parenthood and other health care providers that offer safe, legal abortion.
TL;DR: Texas Republican state legislators gave up millions of dollars just to take a hit at Planned Parenthood. And now, they’re asking Trump for that money back.
It’s a truly terrifying thought, but Trump and his cronies — including Tom Price — have the power to grant extreme Texas politicians federal funding for their failing program.
If the Trump administration — which has proved time and time again to be anti-women and anti-women’s health — approves this, it would pave the way for other states to follow Texas and play politics with women’s health.
Texas is failing women. We can’t give them another penny.
|
0.997357 |
The following is a table of contents for a leadership workshop for women.
Approximate time is 2 - 3 hours. Or, it can be customized to be shorter.
3. The Big Picture – Understand it and Work Within it.
5. People: Focus on Tasks, Adapting Styles, Positive Outcomes.
6. Communication - It's Really Important!
7. Teams That are Effective.
8. Change and Resistance to Change.
9. Getting Ready To Make Changes.
11. Leading Meetings That are Efficient and Productive.
12. What People Want From Their Leaders.
13. The Next Step is Yours.
|
0.999997 |
Using the ciphers 1 up to 9, three numbers (of three ciphers each) can be formed, such that the second number is twice the first number, and the third number is three times the first number.
The Question: Which are these three numbers?
* 192, 384, and 576.
* 219, 438, and 657.
* 273, 546, and 819.
* 327, 654, and 981.
|
0.961194 |
Quiz a potential coach on his or her level of expertise for your particular needs.
Beware the coaches who demand large fees upfront and don't offer an initial free appointment.
Coaching is incredibly personal, and a particular personality might work well for your colleague or friend but could be a disaster for you.
Getting outside help to propel your career forward can be worthwhile. Now comes the tricky part: finding the perfect match. Just try Googling “career coach” and you’ll be treated to nearly one million results.
A good starting point to finding the right coach involves asking yourself: Why am I hiring a coach? Do I want someone who can help me with a career change or help me move up in my current field?
With the answers to these, you’ll have a more tangible goal. Plus, you’ll be able to quiz a potential coach on his or her level of expertise for your particular needs. A reputable coach will answer your questions during a free initial meeting, whether it’s by phone or in person. Beware the coaches who demand large fees upfront.
Hiring a career coach is different than hiring most other professionals. There is no official licensing agency for career coaches, and thus you’ll find a wide range of quality among those claiming to be experts. For this reason, it’s important to do your due diligence.
Coaches can receive certification through the International Coaches Federation (ICF), and around 3,900 have. Another option is finding a coach through the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PARCC), which also offers certification. Both organizations allow you to search for coaches on their Web sites for free. Just remember that the certifications are not guarantees, and there are plenty of good coaches without them.
Personal references would seem an ideal way of finding a coach, but they aren’t always your best bet. Coaching is incredibly personal, and a particular personality might work well for your colleague or friend but could be a disaster for you. Try a targeted Web search, typing in “career coach” along with one or two of your areas of interest. Then, focus your efforts on the first page or two of results.
While the material and insight on a coach’s own Web site is important, more vital is where else their name appears on the Web: What has been written about them (the good and the bad)? Where and how often have they been published or quoted? In other words, how eminent are they? What are their areas of expertise and clients’ experiences with them? This information is a lot more valuable than the edited material coaches use to market themselves.
Hiring a career coach could be likened to finding a good sports coach. In both cases, you’ll want to find out: What is their win/loss record? How well did their previous clients do? Likewise, you want to find someone who has been highly successful in his or her own career. Ask coaches you’re thinking about hiring what their own career path has been like. It’s essential to find someone with real experience – both in the coaching field and outside of it.
Keep in mind that the majority of coaching today is done by phone. Some coaches don’t offer face-to-face meetings, no matter how close they are to their clients. The reason: By keeping the appointments to the phone, clients and coaches can stay on an even playing field, and judgments about appearances don’t get in the way. It also dramatically opens up the size of the field from which to choose a coach, since there aren’t any geographical limits.
Once you’ve narrowed your search, you’ll want to interview a few candidates. Ask about fees, as rates vary from around $50 to $300 per hour. Some coaches require a minimum number of hours. On average, coach-client relationships last from six months to a year.
Above all else, picking a coach comes down to chemistry. You will be sharing intimate details of your life with your coach, so it’s important that you like them and see them as your equal.
|
0.99998 |
Read the following sentences and arrange them in the appropriate order. Make sure the dialogue starts with sentence A. The correct order is presented in the answer key section.
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.