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A confidence interval is a range of likely values for the population parameter. Suppose that you want to find the value of a certain population parameter (for example, the average gas price in Ohio). If the population is too large, you take a sample (such as 100 gas stations chosen at random) and use those results to estimate the population parameter.
Knowing sample results vary, you attach a margin of error (plus or minus), to cover your bases.
For the practice questions here, consider that: A clothing store is interested in the mean amount spent by all of its customers during shopping trips, so it examines a random sample of 100 electronic cash-register records and discovers that, among those who made purchases, the average amount spent was $45 with a 95% confidence interval of $41 to $49.
Which of the following are true statements regarding the 95% confidence interval for this data?
(A) If the same study were repeated many times, about 95% of the time the confidence interval would include the average money spent from the sample, which is $45.
(B) If the same study were repeated many times, about 95% of the time, the confidence interval would contain the average money spent for all the customers.
(C) There is a 95% probability that the average money spent for all the customers is $45.
Answer: B. If the same study were repeated many times, about 95% of the time, the confidence interval would contain the average money spent for all the customers.
The average money spent for all the customers is an unknown value, called a population parameter. The average money spent for the 100 customers in the sample is a known value, $45, which is called a statistic.
The store is using a sample statistic to estimate a population parameter. Because samples vary from sample to sample, they know the sample mean may not correspond exactly to the population mean, so they use confidence intervals to state a plausible range of values for the population mean.
If the same experiment were repeated many times (drawing a sample of the same size from the same population and calculating the sample average), the population mean would be expected to be contained in 95% of the confidence intervals created.
Which of the following is a reason for reporting a confidence interval as well as a point estimate for this data?
(A) The store studied a sample of sales records rather than the entire population of sales records.
(B) The confidence interval is certain to contain the population parameter.
(C) Because sample results vary, the sample mean is not expected to correspond exactly to the population mean, so a range of likely values is required.
The store studied a sample of records to estimate a population parameter, and because sample results vary (called sampling error), the sample mean isn’t expected to correspond exactly to the population mean. If another sample of the same size were drawn from the population, the sample mean would be expected to be somewhat different, so a range of likely values for the population mean (that is, a confidence interval) is required.
Which of the following statements is a valid argument for drawing a sample of size 500 rather than size 100?
(A) The larger sample will produce a less-biased estimate of the sample mean.
(B) The larger sample will produce a more precise estimate of the population mean.
(C) The 95% confidence interval calculated from the larger sample will be narrower.
A larger sample drawn from the same population will tend to produce a narrower confidence interval and a more precise estimate of the population mean. The amount of bias isn’t measured by the confidence interval.
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The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority (auctoritas) of the Roman State. Its framework was based on Roman and Greek precedents, and was formulated during the early Principate of Augustus. It was rapidly established throughout the Empire and its provinces, with marked local variations in its reception and expression.
Augustus's reforms transformed Rome's Republican system of government to a de facto monarchy, couched in traditional Roman practices and Republican values. The princeps (later known as Emperor) was expected to balance the interests of the Roman military, Senate and people, and to maintain peace, security and prosperity throughout an ethnically diverse empire. The official offer of cultus to a living emperor acknowledged his office and rule as divinely approved and constitutional: his Principate should therefore demonstrate pious respect for traditional Republican deities and mores.
A deceased emperor held worthy of the honor could be voted a state divinity (divus, plural divi) by the Senate and elevated as such in an act of apotheosis. The granting of apotheosis served religious, political and moral judgment on Imperial rulers and allowed living Emperors to associate themselves with a well-regarded lineage of Imperial divi from which unpopular or unworthy predecessors were excluded. This proved a useful instrument to Vespasian in his establishment of the Flavian Imperial Dynasty following the death of Nero and civil war, and to Septimius in his consolidation of the Severan dynasty after the assassination of Commodus.
The Imperial cult was inseparable from that of Rome's official deities, whose cult was essential to Rome's survival and whose neglect was therefore treasonous. Traditional cult was a focus of Imperial revivalist legislation under Decius and Diocletian. Christian apologists and martyrologists saw the cult of the Emperor as a particularly offensive instrument of pagan impiety and persecution. It therefore became a focus of theological and political debate during the ascendancy of Christianity under Constantine I. The emperor Julian failed to reverse the declining support for Rome's official religious practices: Theodosius I adopted Christianity as Rome's state religion. Rome's traditional gods and Imperial cult were officially abandoned. However, many of the rites, practices and status distinctions that characterized the cult to emperors were perpetuated in the theology and politics of the Christianized Empire.
For five centuries, the Roman Republic did not give worship to any historic figure, or any living man, although surrounded by divine and semi-divine monarchies. Rome's legendary kings had been its masters; with their removal, Republican Romans could identify Romulus, the founder of the city, with the god Quirinus and still retain Republican liberty. Similarly, Rome's ancestor-hero Aeneas was worshipped as Jupiter Indiges. The Romans worshipped several gods and demi-gods who had been human, and knew the theory that all the gods had originated as human beings, yet Republican traditions (mos maiorum) were staunchly conservative and anti-monarchic. The aristocrats who held almost all Roman magistracies, and thereby occupied almost all of the Senate, acknowledged no human as their inherent superior. No citizen, living or dead, was officially regarded as divine, but the honors awarded by the state — crowns, garlands, statues, thrones, processions — were also suitable to the gods, and tinged with divinity; indeed, when the emperors were later given state worship, it was done by a decree of the Senate, phrased like any other honor.
Among the highest of honors was the triumph. When a general was acclaimed imperator by his troops, the Senate would then choose whether to award him a triumph, a parade to the Capitol in which the triumphator displayed his captives and spoils of war in the company of his troops; by law, all were unarmed. The triumphator rode in a chariot, bearing divine emblems, in a manner supposed to be inherited from the ancient kings of Rome, and ended by dedicating his victory to Jupiter Capitolinus. Some scholars have viewed the triumphator as impersonating or even becoming a king or a god (or both) for the day but the circumstances of triumphal award and subsequent rites also functioned to limit his status. Whatever his personal ambitions, his victory and his triumph alike served the Roman Senate, people, and gods and were recognised only through their consent.
In private life, however, tradition required that some human beings be treated as more or less divine; cult was due from familial inferiors to their superiors. Every head of household embodied the genius – the generative principle and guardian spirit – of his ancestors, which others might worship and by which his family and slaves took oaths; his wife had a juno. A client could call his patron "Jupiter on earth". The dead, collectively and individually, were gods of the underworld or afterlife (dii manes). A letter has survived from Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, expecting that when she was dead, her sons would venerate her as deus parens, a parental (or a nurturing) divinity; such piety was expected from any dutiful son.
A prominent clan might claim divine influence and quasi-divine honors for its leader. Death masks (imagines) were made for all notable Romans and were displayed in the atria of their houses; they were used to represent their ghostly presence at family funerals. The mask of Scipio Africanus, Cornelia's father and victor over Hannibal, was stored in the temple of Jupiter; his epitaph (by Ennius) said that he had ascended to Heaven. A tradition arose in the centuries after his death that Africanus had been inspired by prophetic dreams, and was himself the son of Jupiter.
There are several cases of unofficial cult directed at men viewed as saviors, military or political. In Further Spain in the 70s BC, loyalist Romans greeted the proconsul Metellus Pius as a savior, burning incense "as if to a god" for his efforts to quash the Lusitanian rebellion led by the Roman Sertorius, a member of the faction which called itself "men of the People" (populares). This celebration, in Spain, featured a lavish banquet with local and imported delicacies, and a mechanical statue of Victory to crown Metellus, who wore (extralegally) a triumphator's toga picta for the occasion. These festivities were organized by the quaestor Gaius Urbinus, but were not acts of the state. Metellus liked all this, but his older and pious (veteres et sanctos) contemporaries thought it arrogant and intolerable. After the land reformers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were both murdered by their opponents, their supporters "fell down" and offered daily sacrifice at the statues of the Gracchi "as though they were visiting the shrines of the gods". After Gaius Marius defeated the Teutones, private citizens would offer food and drink to him alongside their household gods; he was called the third founder of Rome after Romulus and Camillus. In 86 BC, offerings of incense and wine were made at crossroad shrines to statues of the still-living Marius Gratidianus, the nephew of the elder Marius, who was wildly popular in his own right, in large part for monetary reforms that eased an economic crisis in Rome during his praetorship.
Repoussé pendant of Alexander the Great, horned and diademed like Zeus Ammon: images of Alexander were worn as magic charms (4th-century Roman).
The cities of Ionia worshipped the Spartan general Lysander, when he personally dominated Greece, immediately following the Peloponnesian War; according to Plutarch, this was the first instance of ruler cult in Greek history. There were similar instances of divine cult to humans in the same century, although some rulers, like Agesilaus, declined it. Clearchus, tyrant of Heraclea, dressed up like Zeus and claimed godhood; this did not stop the Heracleots from assassinating him. Isocrates said of Philip II of Macedon that after he conquered the Persian Empire, there would be nothing for him to attain but to become a god; the city of Amphipolis, and a private society at Athens, worshiped him even without this conquest; he himself set out his statue, dressed as a god, as the thirteenth of the Twelve Olympians.
But it was Philip's son Alexander the Great who made the divinity of kings standard practice among the Greeks. The Egyptians accepted him as Pharaoh, and therefore divine, after he drove the Persians out of Egypt; other nations received him as their traditional divine or quasi-divine ruler as he acquired them. In 324, he sent word to the Greek cities that they should also make him a god; they did so, with marked indifference – which did not stop them from rebelling when they heard of his death next year.
His immediate successors, the Diadochi, offered sacrifices to Alexander, and made themselves gods even before they claimed to be kings; they put their own portraits on the coinage, whereas the Greeks had always reserved this for a god or for an emblem of the city. When the Athenians allied with Demetrius Poliorcetes, eighteen years after the deification of Alexander, they lodged him in the Parthenon with Athena, and sang a hymn extolling him as a present god, who heard them, as the other gods did not.
Euhemerus, a contemporary of Alexander, wrote a fictitious history of the world, which showed Zeus and the other established gods of Greece as mortal men, who had made themselves into gods in the same way; Ennius appears to have translated this into Latin some two centuries later, in Scipio Africanus' time.
The Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids claimed godhood as long as they lasted; they may have been influenced in this by the Persian and Egyptian traditions of divine kings – although the Ptolemies had separate cults in Egyptian polytheism, as Pharaoh, and in the Greek. Not all Greek dynasties made the same claims; the descendants of Demetrius, who were kings of Macedon and dominated the mainland of Greece, did not claim godhead or worship Alexander (cf. Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great).
The Roman magistrates who conquered the Greek world were fitted into this tradition; games were set up in honor of M. Claudius Marcellus, when he conquered Sicily at the end of the Second Punic War, as the Olympian games were for Zeus; they were kept up for a century and a half until another Roman governor abolished them, to make way for his own honors. When T. Quinctius Flamininus extended Roman influence to Greece proper, temples were built for him and cities placed his portrait on their coinage; he called himself godlike (isotheos) in an inscription at Delphi – but not in Latin, or at Rome. The Greeks also devised a goddess Roma, not worshipped at Rome, who was worshipped with Flamininus (their joint cult is attested in 195 BC); she would become a symbol of idealised romanitas in the later Roman provinces, and a continuing link, whereas a Marcellus or Flamininus might only hold power for a couple years.
When King Prusias I of Bithynia was granted an interview by the Roman Senate, he prostrated himself and addressed them as "Saviour Gods", which would have been etiquette at his own court; Livy was shocked by Polybius' account of this, and insists that there is no Roman source it ever happened.
Worship and temples appear to have been routinely offered by Greeks to their Roman governors, with varied reactions. Cicero declined a temple proposed by the city officials of Roman Asia to his brother and himself, while the latter was proconsul, to avoid jealousy from other Romans; when Cicero himself was Governor of Cilicia, he claimed to have accepted no statues, shrines, or chariots. His predecessor, Appius Claudius Pulcher, was so pleased, however, when the Cilicians built a temple to him that, when it was not finished at the end of Claudius' year in office, Claudius wrote Cicero to make sure it was done, and complaining that Cicero was not active enough in the matter.
The Greeks did not consider the dead to be gods, but they did pay them homage, and give them sacrifices – using different rituals than those for the gods of Olympus. The Greeks called the extraordinary dead – founders of cities and the like – heroes; in the simplest form, hero cult was the burial and the memorials which any respectable Greek family gave their dead, but paid for by their City in perpetuity. Most heroes were the figures of ancient legend, but some were historical: the Athenians revered Harmodius and Aristogeiton as heroes, as saviours of Athens from tyranny; also, collectively, those who fell at the Battle of Marathon. Statesmen did not generally become heroes, but Sophocles was the hero Dexion ("the Receiver") – not as a playwright, nor a general, but because when the Athenians took Asclepius' cult during the Peloponnesian War, Sophocles housed an image of Asclepius until a shrine could be built. The Athenian leader Hagnon founded Amphipolis shortly before the Peloponnesian War; thirteen years later, while Hagnon was still alive, the Spartan general Brasidas liberated it from the Athenian empire, and was fatally wounded in the process. The Amphipolitans buried him as a hero, declaring him the second founder of the city, and erased Hagnon's honors as much as they could.
It was not always easy to distinguish between heroic honors, veneration for a man's good spirit, worship of his patron deity, worship of the Fortune of a city he founded, and worship of the man himself. One might slide into another: In Egypt, there was a cult of Alexander as god and as founder of Alexandria; Ptolemy I Soter had a separate cult as founder of Ptolemais, which presumably worshipped his daimon and then gave him heroic honors, but in his son's reign, the priests of Alexander also worshipped Ptolemy and Berenice as the Savior Gods (theoi soteres).
The same men were often given extraordinary honors. Triumphs grew ever more splendid; Marius and Sulla, the rival leaders in Rome's first civil war, each founded cities, which they named after themselves; Sulla had annual games in his honor, at Rome itself, bearing his name; the unofficial worship of Marius is above. In the next generation, Pompey was allowed to wear his triumphal ornaments whenever he went to the Games at the Circus. Such men also claimed a special relationship to the gods: Sulla's patron was Venus Felix, and at the height of his power, he added Felix to his own name; his opponent Marius believed he had a destiny, and that no ordinary man might kill him. Pompey also claimed Venus' personal favour, and built her a temple. But the first Roman to become a god, as part of aiming at monarchy, was Julius Caesar.
Caesar could claim personal ties to the gods, both by descent and by office. He was from the gens Julia, whose members contended to be descended from Aeneas and his mother Venus. In his eulogy for his aunt Julia, Caesar also indirectly claimed to be descended from Ancus Marcius and the kings of Rome, and so from Mars. Moreover, when he was a teenager, Marius had named him flamen Dialis, the special priest of Jupiter. Sulla had cancelled this appointment; however, relatively early in his career, Caesar had become pontifex maximus, the chief priest of Rome, who fulfilled most of the religious duties of the ancient kings. He had spent his twenties in the divine monarchies of the eastern Mediterranean, and was intimately familiar with Bithynia.
Caesar made use of these connections in his rise to power, but not more than his rivals would have, or more than his other advantages. When he spoke at the funeral of his aunt Julia in 69 BC, Julius Caesar spoke of her descent from the Roman kings, and implied his own; but he also reminded his audience she had been Marius' wife, and (by implication) that he was one of the few surviving Marians.
When, however, he defeated his rivals, in 45 BC, and assumed full personal control of the Roman state, he asserted more. During the Roman Civil War, since 49 BC, he had returned to the Eastern Mediterranean, where he had been called god and savior, and been familiar with the Ptolemaic Egyptian monarchy of Cleopatra, called Cleopatra Thea because of the weight she placed on her own divinity. Also, he had a new Senate to deal with. Most of the more resolute defenders of the Senate had joined with Pompey, and – one way or another – they were not sitting in the Senate. Caesar had replaced them with his own partisans, few of whom were committed to the old Roman methods; some of them were not even from Italy. It was rumoured that Caesar intended a despotic removal of power and wealth from Rome eastwards, perhaps to Alexandria or Ilium (Troy).
During the Civil War, he had declared Venus his patron goddess: he vowed to erect a temple for Venus Victrix if she granted him the battle of Pharsalia, but he had built it, in 46 BC, to Venus Genetrix, which epithet combined her aspects as his ancestress, the mother of the Roman people, and the goddess invoked in the philosophical poem De rerum natura. The new Senate had also put up a statue of Caesar, with an inscription declaring him a demi-god, but he had it effaced, as not the claim he wished to make. Granted the same extension of rights to triumphal dress as Pompey had been given, Caesar took to wearing his triumphal head-wreath "wherever and whenever", excusing this as a cover for his baldness. He may also have publicly worn the red boots and the toga picta ("painted", purple toga) usually reserved to a triumphing general for the day of his triumph; a costume also associated with the rex sacrorum (the priestly "king of the sacred rites" of Rome's monarchic era, later the pontifex maximus), the Monte Albano kings, and possibly the statue of Jupiter Capitolinus.
When the news of his final victory, at the battle of Munda, reached Rome, the Parilia, the games commemorating the founding of the city, were to be held the next day; they were rededicated to Caesar, as if he were founder. Statues were set up to "Caesar's Liberty", and to Caesar himself, as "unconquered god." He was accorded a house at public expense which was built like a temple; his image was paraded with those of the gods; his portrait was put on the coins (the first time a living man had appeared on Roman coinage). Early in 44 BC, he was called parens patriae (father of the fatherland); legal oaths were taken by his Genius; his birthday was made a public festival; the month Quinctilis was renamed July, in his honor (as June was named for Juno). At last a special priest, a flamen, was ordained for him; the first was to be Marc Antony, Caesar's adjutant, then consul. To be served by a flamen would rank Caesar not only as divine, but as an equal of Quirinus, Jupiter, and Mars. In Cicero's hostile account, the living Caesar's honours in Rome were already and unambiguously those of a full-blown god (deus).
Caesar's name as a living divinity – not as yet ratified by senatorial vote – was Divus Julius (or perhaps Jupiter Julius); divus, at that time, was a slightly archaic form of deus, suitable for poetry, implying some association with the bright heavens. A statue of him was erected next to the statues of Rome's ancient kings: with this, he seemed set to make himself King of Rome, in the Hellenistic style, as soon as he came back from the expedition to Parthia he was planning; but "friends" in the Senate killed him on 15 March 44 BC.
An angry, grief-stricken crowd gathered in the Roman Forum to see his corpse and hear Mark Antony's funeral oration. Antony appealed to Caesar's divinity and vowed vengeance on his killers. A fervent popular cult to divus Julius followed. It was forcefully suppressed but the Senate soon succumbed to Caesarian pressure and confirmed Caesar as a divus of the Roman state. A comet interpreted as Caesar's soul in heaven was named the "Julian star" (sidus Iulium) and in 42 BC, with the "full consent of the Senate and people of Rome", Caesar's young heir, his great-nephew Octavian, held ceremonial apotheosis for his adoptive father. In 40 BC Antony took up his appointment as flamen of the divus Julius. Provincial cult centres (caesarea) to the divus Julius were founded in Caesarian colonies such as Corinth. Antony's loyalty to his late patron did not extend to Caesar's heir: but in the last significant act of the long-drawn civil war, on 1 August 31 BC, Octavian defeated Antony at Actium.
In 30/29 BC, the koina of Asia and Bithynia requested permission to worship Octavian as their "deliverer" or "saviour". This was by no means a novel request but it placed Octavian in a difficult position. He must satisfy popularist and traditionalist expectations and these could be notoriously incompatible. Marius Gratidianus's popular support and cult had ended in his public and spectacular death in 82 BC, at the hands of his enemies in the Senate; likewise Caesar's murder now marked an hubristic connection between living divinity and death. Octavian had to respect the overtures of his Eastern allies, acknowledge the nature and intent of Hellenic honours and formalise his own pre-eminence among any possible rivals: he must also avoid a potentially fatal identification in Rome as a monarchic-deistic aspirant. It was decided that cult honours to him could be jointly offered to dea Roma, at cult centres to be built at Pergamum and Nicomedia. Provincials who were also Roman citizens were not to worship the living emperor, but might worship dea Roma and the divus Julius at precincts in Ephesus and Nicaea.
Augustus appeared to claim nothing for himself, and innovate nothing: even the cult to the divus Julius had a respectable antecedent in the traditional cult to di parentes. His unique – and still traditional – position within the Senate as princeps or primus inter pares (first among equals) offered a curb to the ambitions and rivalries that had led to the recent civil wars. As censor and pontifex maximus he was morally obliged to renew the mos maiores by the will of the gods and the "Senate and People of Rome" (senatus populusque romanus). As tribune he encouraged generous public spending, and as princeps of the Senate he discouraged ambitious extravagance. He disbanded the remnants of the civil war armies to form new legions and a personal imperial guard (the Praetorian Guard): the patricians who still clung to the upper echelons of political, military and priestly power were gradually replaced from a vast, Empire-wide reserve of ambitious and talented equestrians. For the first time, senatorial status became heritable.
Ordinary citizens could circumvent the complex, hierarchic bureaucracy of the State, and appeal directly to the emperor, as if to a private citizen. The emperor's name and image were ubiquitous – on state coinage and on the streets, within and upon the temples of the gods, and particularly in the courts and offices of the civil and military administration. Oaths were sworn in his name, with his image as witness. His official res gestae (achievements) included his repair of 82 temples in 28 BC alone, the founding or repair of 14 others in Rome during his lifetime and the overhauling or foundation of civic amenities including a new road, water supplies, Senate house and theatres. Above all, his god-given military pre-eminence had brought an enduring and sacred peace, which earned him the permanent title of imperator and made the triumph an Imperial privilege. He seems to have managed all this within due process of law through a combination of personal brio, cheerfully veiled threats and self-deprecation as "just another senator".
In the Eastern provinces, cultural precedent ensured a rapid and geographically widespread dissemination of cult, extending as far as the Augustan military settlement at modern-day Najran. Considered as a whole, these provinces present the Empire's broadest and most complex syntheses of imperial and native cult, funded through private and public initiatives and ranging from the god-like honours due a living patron to what Harland (2003) interprets as privately funded communal mystery rites. The Greek cities of Roman Asia competed for the privilege of building high-status Imperial cult centres (neocorates). Ephesus and Sardis, ancient rivals, had two apiece until the early 3rd century AD, when Ephesus was allowed an additional temple, to the reigning emperor Caracalla. When he died, the city lost its brief, celebrated advantage through a religious technicality.
The Eastern provinces offer some of the clearest material evidence for the imperial domus and familia as official models of divine virtue and moral propriety. Centres including Pergamum, Lesbos and Cyprus offered cult honours to Augustus and the Empress Livia: the Cypriot Calendar honoured the entire Augustan familia by dedicating a month each (and presumably cult practise) to imperial family members, their ancestral deities and some of the major gods of the Romano-Greek pantheon. Coin evidence links Thea Livia with Hera and Demeter, and Julia the Elder with Venus Genetrix (Aphrodite). In Athens, Livia and Julia shared cult honour with Hestia (equivalent to Vesta), and the name of Gaius was linked to Ares (Mars). These Eastern connections were made within Augustus' lifetime – Livia was not officially consecrated in Rome until some time after her death. Eastern Imperial cult had a life of its own.
The Western provinces were only recently "Latinised" following Caesar's Gallic Wars and most fell outside the Graeco-Roman cultural ambit. There were exceptions: Polybius mentions a past benefactor of New Carthage in Republican Iberia "said to have been offered divine honours". In 74 BC, Roman citizens in Iberia burned incense to Metellus Pius as "more than mortal" in hope of his victory against Sertorius. Otherwise, the West offered no native traditions of monarchic divinity or political parallels to the Greek koina to absorb the Imperial cult as a romanising agency. The Western provincial concilia emerged as direct creations of the imperial cult, which recruited existing local military, political and religious traditions to a Roman model. This required only the willingness of barbarian elites to "Romanise" themselves and their communities.
The first known Western regional cults to Augustus were established with his permission around 19 BC in north-western ("Celtic") Spain and named arae sestianae after their military founder, L. Sestius Quirinalis Albinianus. Soon after, in either 12 BC or 10 BC, the first provincial imperial cult centre in the West was founded at Lugdunum by Drusus, as a focus for his new tripartite administrative division of Gallia Comata. Lugdunum set the type for official Western cult as a form of Roman-provincial identity, parceled into the establishment of military-administrative centres. These were strategically located within the unstable, "barbarian" Western provinces of the new Principate and inaugurated by military commanders who were – in all but one instance – members of the imperial family.
The first priest of the Ara (altar) at Lugdunum's great Imperial cult complex was Caius Julius Vercondaridubnus, a Gaul of the provincial elite, given Roman citizenship and entitled by his priestly office to participate in the local government of his provincial concilium. Though not leading to senatorial status, and almost certainly an annually elected office (unlike the traditional lifetime priesthoods of Roman flamines), priesthood in imperial provinces thus offered a provincial equivalent to the traditional Roman cursus honorum. The rejection of cult spurned romanitas, priesthood and citizenship; in 9 AD Segimundus, imperial cult priest of what would later be known as Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (sited at modern Cologne in Germany) cast off or destroyed his priestly regalia to join the rebellion of his kinsman Arminius.
In the early Principate, an altar inscribed Marazgu Aug(usto) Sac(rum) ("Dedicated to Marazgu Augustus"), identifies a local Ancient Libyan (Berber) deity with the supreme power of Augustus. In the senatorial province of Africa Proconsularis, altars to the Dii Magifie Augusti attest (according to Potter) a deity who was simultaneously local and universal, rather than one whose local identity was subsumed or absorbed by an Imperial divus or deity. Two temples are attested to Roma and the divus Augustus – one dedicated under Tiberius at Leptis Magna, and another (Julio-Claudian) at Mactar. A third at Carthage was dedicated to the Gens Augusta in the very early empire.
Tiberius accepted his position and title as emperor with apparent reluctance. Though he proved a capable and efficient administrator, he could not match his predecessor's extraordinary energy and charisma. Roman historians described him as morose and mistrustful. With a self-deprecation that may have been entirely genuine, he encouraged the cult to his father, and discouraged his own. After much wrangling, he allowed a single temple in Smyrna to himself and the genius of the Senate in 26 AD; eleven cities had competed – with some vehemence and even violence – for the honour. His lack of personal auctoritas allowed increasing praetorian influence over the Imperial house, the senate and through it, the state. In 31 AD, his praetorian prefect Sejanus – by now a virtual co-ruler – was implicated in the death of Tiberius' son and heir apparent Drusus, and was executed as a public enemy. In Umbria, the Imperial cult priest (sevir Augustalis) memorialised "the providence of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, born for the eternity of the Roman name, upon the removal of that most pernicious enemy of the Roman people". In Crete, thanks were given to "the numen and foresight of Tiberius Caesar Augustus and the Senate" in foiling the conspiracy – but at his death, the senate and his heir Caligula chose not to officially deify him.
Caligula's rule exposed the legal and moral contradictions of the Augustan "Republic". To legalise his succession, the Senate was compelled to constitutionally define his role, but the rites and sacrifices to the living genius of the emperor already acknowledged his constitutionally unlimited powers. The princeps played the role of "primus inter pares" only through personal self-restraint and decorum. It became evident that Caligula had little of either. He seems to have taken the cult of his own genius very seriously, and is said to have enjoyed acting the god – or rather, several of them. However, his infamous and oft-cited impersonations of major deities may represent no more than his priesthood of their cults, a desire to shock and a penchant for triumphal dress or simply mental illness. Whatever his plans, there is no evidence for his official cult as a living divus in Rome or his replacement of state gods, and none for major deviations or innovations in his provincial cult. His reported sexual relations with his sister Drusilla and her deification after death aroused scorn from later historians; after Caligula's death, her cult was simply allowed to fade. His reported compulsion of priesthood fees from unwilling senators are marks of private cult and personal humiliations among the elite. Caligula's fatal offense was to willfully "insult or offend everyone who mattered", including the senior military officers who assassinated him. The histories of his reign highlight his wayward impiety. Perhaps not only his: in 40 AD the Senate decreed that the "emperor should sit on a high platform even in the very senate house". Claudius (his successor and uncle) intervened to limit the damage to the imperial house and those who had conspired against it, and had Caligula's public statues discreetly removed.
Claudius died in 54 AD and was deified by his adopted son and successor Nero. After an apparently magnificent funeral, the divus Claudius was given a temple on Rome's disreputable Mons Caelius. Fishwick remarks that "the malicious humour of the site can hardly have been lost by those in the know... the location of Claudius' temple in Britain (the occasion for his "pathetic triumph") may be more of the same".
Once in power, Nero allowed Claudius' cult to lapse, built his Domus Aurea over the unfinished temple, indulged his sybaritic and artistic inclinations and allowed the cult of his own genius as paterfamilias of the Roman people. Senatorial attitudes to him appear to have been largely negative. He was overthrown in a military coup, and his institutions of cult to his dead wife Poppaea and infant daughter Claudia Augusta were abandoned. Otherwise, he seems to have been a popular emperor, particularly in the Eastern provinces. Tacitus reports a senatorial proposal to dedicate a temple to Nero as a living divus, taken as ominous because "divine honours are not paid to an emperor till he has ceased to live among men".
Nero's death saw the end of imperial tenure as a privilege of ancient Roman (patrician and senatorial) families. In a single chaotic year, power passed violently from one to another of four emperors. The first three promoted their own genius cult: the last two of these attempted Nero's restitution and promotion to divus. The fourth, Vespasian – son of an equestrian from Reate – secured his Flavian dynasty through reversion to an Augustan form of principate and renewed the imperial cult of divus Julius. Vespasian was respected for his "restoration" of Roman tradition and the Augustan modesty of his reign. He dedicated state cult to genio populi Romani (the genius of the Roman people), respected senatorial "Republican" values and repudiated Neronian practice by removing various festivals from the public calendars, which had (in Tacitus' unsparing assessment) become "foully sullied by the flattery of the times". He may have had the head of Nero's Colossus replaced or recut for its dedication (or rededication) to the sun god in 75 AD. Following the first Jewish Revolt and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, he imposed the didrachmon, formerly paid by Jews for their Temple's upkeep but now re-routed to Jupiter Capitolinus as victor over them "and their God". Jews who paid the tax were exempt from the cult to imperial state deities. Those who offered it however were ostracised from their own communities. Vespasian appears to have approached his own impending cult with dry humour – according to Suetonius, his last words were puto deus fio ("I think I'm turning into a god"). Vespasian's son Titus reigned for two successful years then died of natural causes. He was deified and replaced by his younger brother, Domitian.
The Senate chose the elderly, childless and apparently reluctant Nerva as emperor. Nerva had long-standing family and consular connections with the Julio-Claudian and Flavian families, but proved a dangerously mild and indecisive princeps: he was persuaded to abdicate in favour of Trajan. Pliny the Younger's panegyric of 100 AD claims the visible restoration of senatorial authority and dignity throughout the empire under Trajan, but while he praises the emperor's modesty, Pliny does not disguise the precarious nature of this autocratic gift. Under Trajan's very capable civil and military leadership, the office of emperor was increasingly interpreted as an earthly viceregency of the divine order. He would prove an enduring model for Roman imperial virtues.
The cult of Antinous would prove one of remarkable longevity and devotion, particularly in the Eastern provinces. Bithynia, as his birthplace, featured his image on coinage as late as the reign of Caracalla (r. 211–217). His popular cult appears to have thrived well into the 4th century, when he became the "whipping boy of pagan worship" in Christian polemic. Vout (2007) remarks his humble origins, untimely death and "resurrection" as theos, and his identification – and sometimes misidentification by later scholarship – with the images and religious functions of Apollo, Dionysius/Bacchus, and later, Osiris. In Rome itself he was also theos on two of three surviving inscriptions but was more closely associated with hero-cult, which allowed direct appeals for his intercession with "higher gods". Hadrian imposed the imperial cult to himself and Jupiter in Judaea following the Bar Kokhba revolt. He was predeceased by his wife Vibia Sabina. Both were deified but Hadrian's case had to be pleaded by his successor Antoninus Pius.
Marcus Aurelius' tutor Fronto offers the best evidence of imperial portraiture as a near-ubiquitous feature of private and public life. Though evidence for private emperor worship is as sparse in this era as in all others, Fronto's letters imply the genius cult of the living emperor as an official, domestic and personal practice, probably more common than cult to the divi in this and other periods.
Marcus' son Commodus succumbed to the lures of self-indulgence, easy populism and rule by favourites. He described his reign as a "golden age", and himself as a new Romulus and "re-founder" of Rome, but was deeply antagonistic toward the Senate – he reversed the standard "Republican" imperial formula to populus senatusque romanus (the people and senate of Rome). He increasingly identified himself with the demigod Hercules in statuary, temples and in the arena, where he liked to entertain as a bestiarius in the morning and a gladiator in the afternoon. In the last year of his life he was voted the official title Romanus Hercules; the state cult to Hercules acknowledged him as heroic, a divinity or semi-divinity (but not a divus) who had once been mortal. Commodus may have intended declaring himself as a living god some time before his murder on the last day of 192 AD.
The Nervan-Antonine dynasty ended in chaos. The senate declared damnatio memoriae on Commodus, whose urban prefect Pertinax was declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard in return for the promise of very large donatives. Pertinax had risen through equestrian ranks by military talent and administrative efficiency to become senator, consul and finally and briefly Emperor; he was murdered by his Praetorians for attempting to cap their pay. Pertinax was replaced by Didius Julianus, who had promised cash to the Praetorians and restoration of power to the Senate. Julianus began his reign with an ill-judged appeal to the memory of Commodus, a much resented attempt to bribe the populace en masse and the use of Praetorian force against them. In protest, a defiant urban crowd occupied the senatorial seats at the Circus Maximus. Against a background of civil war among competing claimants in the provinces, Septimius Severus emerged as a likely victor. The Senate soon voted for the death of Julianus, the deification of Pertinax and the elevation of Septimius as Emperor. Only a year had passed since the death of Commodus.
The Severan Tondo shows Septimius Severus, his wife Julia Domna, their younger son Caracalla (lower right of picture) and the obliterated image of his murdered co-heir, Geta. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
In 193 AD, Septimius Severus triumphally entered Rome and gave apotheosis to Pertinax. He cancelled the Senate's damnatio memoriae of Commodus, deified him as a frater (brother) and thereby adopted Marcus Aurelius as his own ancestor through an act of filial piety. Severan coin images further re-enforced Septimius' association with prestigious Antonine dynasts and the genius populi Romani.
Septimius' reign represents a watershed in relations between Senate, Emperors, and the military. Senatorial consent defined divine imperium as a Republican permission for the benefit of the Roman people, and apotheosis was a statement of senatorial powers. Where Vespasian had secured his position with appeals to the genius of the Senate and Augustan tradition, Septimius overrode the customary preferment of senators to senior military office. He increased plebeian privilege in Rome, stationed a loyal garrison there and selected his own commanders. He paid personal attention to the provinces, as sources of revenue, military manpower and unrest. Following his defeat of his rival Clodius Albinus at Lugdunum, he re-founded and reformed its imperial cult centre: dea Roma was removed from the altar and confined to the temple along with the deified Augusti. Fishwick interprets the obligatory new rites as those due any paterfamilias from his inferiors. Septimius' own patron deities, Melqart/Hercules and Liber/Bacchus, took pride of place with himself and his two sons at the Saecular Games of 204 AD. Septimius died of natural causes in 211 AD at Eboracum (modern York) while on campaign in Britannia, after leaving the Empire equally to Caracalla and his older brother Geta, along with advice to "be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men."
By 212 AD, Caracalla had murdered Geta, pronounced his damnatio memoriae and issued the Constitutio Antoniniana: this gave full Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire. and was couched as a generous invitation to celebrate the "victory of the Roman people" in foiling Geta's "conspiracy". In reality, Caracalla was faced by an endemic shortfall of cash and recruits. His "gift" was a far from popular move, as most of its recipients were humiliores of peasant status and occupation – approximately 90% of the total population. Humiliores they remained, but now liable to pay taxes, serve in the legions and adopt the name of their "liberator". Where other emperors had employed the mos maiorum of family obligation at the largely symbolic level of genius cult, Caracalla literally identified his personal survival with the state and "his" citizens. Caracalla inherited the devotion of his father's soldiery but his new citizens were not inclined to celebrate and his attempts to court popularity in Commodan style seem to have misfired. In Philostratus' estimation, his embrace of Empire foundered on his grudging, parochial mindset. He was assassinated in 217 AD, with the possible collusion of his praetorian prefect Macrinus.
The military hailed Macrinus as imperator, and he arranged for the apotheosis of Caracalla. Aware of the impropriety of his unprecedented leap through the traditional cursus honorum from equestrian to Emperor, he respectfully sought senatorial approval for his "self-nomination". It was granted – the new emperor had a lawyer's approach to imperium but his foreign policy proved too cautious and placatory for the military. After little more than a year, he was murdered in a coup and replaced with an emperor of Syrian background and Severan descent, Varius Avitus Bassianus, more usually known by the Latinised name of his god and his priesthood, Elagabalus.
The 14-year-old emperor brought his solar-mountain deity from his native Emesa to Rome and into official imperial cult. In Syria, the cult of Elagabalus was popular and well established. In Rome, it was a foreign and (according to some ancient sources) disgusting Eastern novelty. In 220 AD, the priest Elagabalus replaced Jupiter with the god Elagabalus as sol invictus (the unconquered Sun) and thereafter neglected his Imperial role as pontifex maximus. According to Marius Maximus, he ruled from his degenerate domus through prefects who included among others a charioteer, a locksmith, a barber, and a cook. At the very least, he appears to have been regarded as an unacceptably effete eccentric by the Senate and military alike. He was assassinated by the Praetorians at the age of 18, subjected to the fullest indignities of damnatio memoriae and replaced with his young cousin Alexander Severus, the last of his dynasty, who reigned for 13 years until killed in a mutiny.
This section provides an overview of developments most relevant to cult: for a full listing of Emperors by name and date, see List of Roman Emperors.
The end of the Severan dynasty marked the breakdown of central imperium. Against a background of economic hyperinflation and latterly, endemic plague, rival provincial claimants fought for supremacy and failing this, set up their own provincial Empires. Most Emperors seldom even saw Rome, and had only notional relationships with their senates. In the absence of coordinated Imperial military response, foreign peoples seized the opportunity for invasion and plunder.
Maximinus Thrax (reigned 235–8 AD) sequestered the resources of state temples in Rome to pay his armies. The temples of the divi were first in line. It was an unwise move for his own posterity, as the grant or withholding of apotheosis remained an official judgment of Imperial worthiness, but the stripping of the temples of state gods caused far greater offense. Maximinus's actions more likely show need in extreme crisis than impiety, as he had his wife deified on her death but in a rare display of defiance the senate deified his murdered predecessor, then openly rebelled. His replacement, Claudius Gothicus, reigned briefly but successfully and was made a divus on his death. A succession of short-lived soldier-emperors followed. Further development in imperial cult appears to have stalled until Philip the Arab, who dedicated a statue to his father as divine in his home town of Philippopolis and brought the body of his young predecessor Gordian III to Rome for apotheosis. Coins of Philip show him in the radiate solar crown (suggestive of solar cult or a hellenised form of imperial monarchy), with Rome's temple to Venus and dea Roma on the reverse.
Valerian (253–60) identified Christianity as the largest, most stubbornly self-interested of non-Roman cults, outlawed Christian assembly and urged Christians to sacrifice to Rome's traditional gods. His son and co-Augustus Gallienus, an initiate of the Eleusinian Mysteries, identified himself with traditional Roman gods and the virtue of military loyalty. Aurelian (270–75) appealed for harmony among his soldiers (concordia militum), stabilised the Empire and its borders and established an official, Hellenic form of unitary cult to the Palmyrene Sol Invictus in Rome's Campus Martius. The senate hailed him as restitutor orbis (restorer of the world) and deus et dominus natus (god and born ruler); he was murdered by his Praetorians. His immediate successors consolidated his achievements: coinage of Probus (276–82) shows him in radiate solar crown, and his prolific variety of coin types include issues showing the temple of Venus and Dea Roma in Rome.
These policies and preoccupations culminated in Diocletian's Tetrarchy: the empire was divided into Western and Eastern administrative blocs, each with an Augustus (senior emperor), helped by a Caesar (junior emperor) as Augustus-in-waiting. Provinces were divided and subdivided: their imperial bureaucracy became extraordinary in size, scope and attention to detail. Diocletian was a religious conservative. On his accession in AD 284, he held games in honour of the divus Antinous. Where his predecessors had attempted the persuasion and coercion of recalcitrant sects, Diocletian launched a series of ferocious reactions known in Church history as the Great Persecution. According to Lactantius, this began with a report of ominous haruspicy in Diocletian's domus and a subsequent (but undated) dictat of placatory sacrifice by the entire military. A date of 302 is regarded as likely and Eusebius also says the persecutions of Christians began in the army. However Maximilian's martyrdom (295) came from his refusal of military service, and Marcellus' (298) for renouncing his military oath. Legally, these were military insurrections and Diocletian's edict may have followed these and similar acts of conscience and faith. An unknown number of Christians appear to have suffered the extreme and exemplary punishments traditionally reserved for rebels and traitors.
The Augustan settlement was promoted by its contemporary apologists as restorative and conservative rather than revolutionary. Official cult to the genius of the living princeps as "first among equals" recognised his exceptional powers, his capacity for self-restraint, and his pious respect for Republican traditions. "Good" emperors rejected offers of official cult as a living deity, and accepted the more modest honour of genius cult. Claims that later emperors sought and obtained divine honours in Rome reflect their bad relationship with their senates: in Tertullian's day, it was still "a curse to name the emperor a god before his death". On the other hand, to judge from the domestic ubiquity of the emperor's image, private cults to living emperors are as likely in Rome as elsewhere. As Gradel observes, no Roman was ever prosecuted for sacrificing to his emperor.
The divi had some form of precedent in the di parentes, divine ancestors who received ancestral rites as manes (gods of the underworld) during the Parentalia and other important domestic festivals. Their powers were limited; deceased mortals not normally possess the divine power (numen) of the higher gods. Deceased emperors did not automatically become divi; they must be nominated for the privilege. Their case was discussed by the senate, then put to the vote. As long as the correct rituals and sacrifice were offered, the divus would be received by the heavenly gods as a coelicola (a dweller in heaven), a lesser being than themselves. Popular belief held that the divus Augustus would be personally welcomed by Jupiter. In Seneca's Apocolocyntosis, on the other hand, the unexpected arrival of the divinised Claudius creates a problem for the Olympians, who have no idea who or what he is; and when they find out, they cannot think what to do with him. Seneca's sarcastic wit, an unacceptable impiety towards a deus, freely portrays the divus Claudius as just a dead, ridiculous and possibly quite bad emperor. Though their images were sacrosanct and their rites definitively divine divi could be created, unmade, reinstated or simply forgotten. Augustus and Trajan appear to have remained the ideals for longer than any, and cult to "good" divi appears to have lasted well into the late Imperial dominate.
Marcus Aurelius as pontifex offers sacrifice to Jupiter Capitolinus in gratitude for victory. Once part of the Arch of Marcus Aurelius. Capitoline Museum, Rome.
In the later Republic, augury came under the supervision of the college of pontifices, a priestly-magistral office whose powers were increasingly woven into the cursus honorum. The office of pontifex maximus eventually became a de facto consular office. When the consul Lepidus died, his office as pontifex maximus passed to Augustus, who took priestly control over the State oracles (including the Sibylline books), and used his powers as censor to suppress unapproved oracles. Octavian's honorific title of Augustus indicated his achievements as expressions of divine will: where the impiety of the Late Republic had provoked heavenly disorder and wrath (ira deorum), his obedience to divine ordinance brought divine peace (pax deorum).
A winged genius raises Antoninus Pius and his Empress Faustina in apotheosis, escorted by two eagles. From the column-base of Antoninus Pius, Vatican.
The cult of Mithras was gradually absorbed within Imperial solar monism: sol Invictus is to the left of picture. The plaque was commissioned by an evidently wealthy Imperial slave. Vatican Museum.
As part of his religious reforms, Augustus revived, subsidised and expanded the Compitalia games and priesthoods, dedicated to the Lares of the vici (neighbourhoods), to include cult to his own Lares (or to his genius as a popular benefactor). Thereafter, the Lares Compitales were known as Lares Augusti. Tiberius created a specialised priesthood, the Sodales Augustales, dedicated to the cult of the deceased, deified Augustus. This priestly office, and the connections between the Compitalia cults and the Imperial household, appear to have lasted for as long as the Imperial cult itself.
Greek philosophies had significant influence in the development of Imperial cult. Stoic cosmologists saw history as an endless cycle of destruction and renewal, driven by fortuna (luck or fortune), fatum (fate) and logos (the universal divine principle). The same forces inevitably produced a sōtēr (saviour) who would transform the destructive and "unnatural disorder" of chaos and strife to pax, fortuna and salus (peace, good fortune and well-being) and is thus identified with solar cults such as Apollo and Sol Invictus. Livy (in the early to mid 1st century BC), and Lucan (in the 1st century AD) interpreted the crisis of the late Republic as a destructive phase which led to religious and constitutional renewal by Augustus and his restoration of peace, good fortune and well-being to the Roman people. Augustus was a messianic figure who personally and rationally instigated a "golden age" – the pax Augusta – and was patron, priest and protege to a range of solar deities. The Imperial order was therefore not merely justified by appeals to the divine; it was an innately natural, benevolent and divine institution.
After the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (and most of the city) in the first Jewish revolt, Hadrian rebuilt both in Greek style, dedicated the rebuilt Temple (in Dio's account) to Jupiter, renamed Jerusalem Aelia Capitolina and sought a ban on circumcision as impious disfigurement. The ensuing Bar Kokhba revolt overwhelmed the Roman military occupation and destabilised much of the Empire. For almost three years, Judea was an independent state, led by the messianic commander Simon Bar Kokhba. Then it was obliterated by the Imperial armies and erased from the Roman map – Hadrian renamed it as Syria Palaestina. Christians described their persecution under Bar Kokhba. Jews described theirs in its aftermath. Jewish messianism retreated into abstraction, and a Jewish nation-state became an ideal. Christians were less inclined to identify with the Judaic roots of their religion: some actively repudiated them. Hadrian's restrictions on Judaism were later relaxed and Jewish exemption from the full obligations of Imperial cult proved a source of suspicion and resentment for Hellenists and Christians alike.
To pagan Romans a simple act of sacrifice, whether to ancestral gods under Decius or state gods under Diocletian, represented adherence to Roman tradition and loyalty to the pluralistic unity of Empire. Refusal was treason. Christians, however, identified "Hellenistic honours" as parodies of true worship. Under the reign of Nero or Domitian, according to Momigliano, the author of the Book of Revelation represented Rome as the "Beast from the sea", Judaeo-Roman elites as the "Beast from the land" and the charagma (official Roman stamp) as a sign of the Beast. Some Christian thinkers perceived divine providence in the timing of Christ's birth, at the very beginning of the Empire that brought peace and laid paths for the spread of the Gospels; Rome's destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple was interpreted as divine punishment of the Jews for their refusal of the Christ. With the abatement of persecution Jerome could acknowledge Empire as a bulwark against evil but insist that "imperial honours" were contrary to Christian teaching.
In this change of Imperial formula Constantine acknowledged his responsibility to an earthly realm whose discord and conflict might arouse the ira deorum; he also recognised the power of the new Christian priestly hierarchy in determining what was auspicious or orthodox. Though unbaptised, Constantine had triumphed under the signum of the Christ (probably some form of Labarum as an adapted or re-interpreted legionary standard). He may have officially ended – or attempted to end – blood sacrifices to the genius of living emperors but his Imperial iconography and court ceremonial elevated him to superhuman status. Constantine's permission for a new cult temple to himself and his family in Umbria is extant: the cult "should not be polluted by the deception of any contagious superstition". At the First Council of Nicaea Constantine united and re-founded the empire under an absolute head of state by divine dispensation and was honoured as the first Christian Imperial divus. On his death he was venerated and was held to have ascended to heaven. Philostorgius later criticised Christians who offered sacrifice at statues of the divus Constantine. His three sons re-divided their Imperial inheritance: Constantius II was an Arian – his brothers were Nicene.
Constantine's nephew Julian, Rome's last non-Christian emperor, rejected the "Galilean madness" of his upbringing for a synthesis of neo-Platonism, Stoic asceticism and universal solar cult and actively fostered religious and cultural pluralism. His restored Augustan form of principate, with himself as primus inter pares, ended with his death in 363, after which his reforms were reversed or abandoned. The Western emperor Gratian refused the office of pontifex maximus and, against the protests of the Senate, removed the altar of Victoria (Victory) from the Senate House and began the disestablishment of the Vestals. Theodosius I briefly re-united the Western and Eastern halves of the Empire, officially adopted Nicene Christianity as the Imperial religion and ended official support for all other creeds and cults. He refused to restore Victoria to the Senate House, extinguished Vesta's sacred fire and vacated her temple. Even so, he accepted address as a living divinity, comparable to Hercules and Jupiter, by his overwhelmingly pagan Senate. After his death the sundered Eastern and Western halves of Empire followed increasingly divergent paths: nevertheless both were Roman and both had emperors. Imperial ceremonial – notably the Imperial adventus or ceremony of arrival, which derived in greater part from the Triumph – was embedded within Roman culture, Church ceremony and the Gospels themselves.
The last Western divus was probably Libius Severus, who died in 465 AD. Very little is known about him. His Imperium was not recognised by his Eastern counterpart and he may have been a puppet-emperor of the Germanic general Ricimer. In the west, imperial authority was partly replaced by the spiritual supremacy and political influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the Eastern Empire, sworn adherence to Christian orthodoxy became a prerequisite of Imperial accession – Anastasius I signed a document attesting his obedience to orthodox doctrine and practice. He is the last emperor known to be consecrated as divus on his death (AD 518). The title appears to have been abandoned on grounds of its spiritual impropriety but the consecration of Eastern emperors continued: they held power through divine ordinance and their rule was the manifestation of sacred power on earth. The adventus and the veneration of the Imperial image continued to provide analogies for devotional representations (Icons) of the heavenly hierarchy and the rituals of the Orthodox Church.
The Roman Imperial cult is sometimes considered a deviation from Rome's traditional Republican values, a religiously insincere cult of personality which served Imperial propaganda. It drew its power and effect, however, from both religious traditions deeply engrained in Roman culture, such as the veneration of the genius of each individual and of the ancestral dead, and on forms of the Hellenistic ruler cult developed in the eastern provinces of the Empire.
The nature and function of Imperial cult remain contentious, not least because its Roman historians employed it equally as a topos for Imperial worth and Imperial hubris. It has been interpreted as an essentially foreign, Graeco-Eastern institution, imposed cautiously and with some difficulty upon a Latin-Western Roman culture in which the deification of rulers was constitutionally alien, if not obnoxious. In this viewpoint, the essentially servile and "un-Roman" Imperial cult was established at the expense of the traditional Roman ethics which had sustained the Republic. For Christians and secularists alike, the identification of mortal emperors with godhead represented the spiritual and moral bankruptcy of paganism which led to the triumph of Christianity as Rome's state religion.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Imperial cult in ancient Rome.
^ Gradel, p.46, citing Plautus – this is Plautus' addition to the Greek originals; Gradel also suggests that the corona civica began as an acknowledgement by A.A. that N.N. had saved his life – as a god might – by crowning N.N. with the leaves of Jupiter's tree.
^ Taylor, pp. 9–10, citing Diodorus, 16.20; Cornelius Nepos, Timoleon 5, Plutarch, Moralia 542 E, Dion 46 and Timoleon 36,39; Timoleon is the first Greek whose birthday is recorded.
^ Taylor, p.57, citing Cicero, To Atticus, 1.18.6; Velleius Paterculus, 2.40.4. He only exercised the privilege once, and was attacked for it.
^ Suetonius; Hurley, Donna W. The Caesars. Hackett Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 1603846131.
^ For instance, at the pompa circensis, the procession held before games presented at the circus.
^ Cassius Dio, (in John Xiphilinus' epitome), 59, 26, 3. Both Suetonius and Philo offer Caligula as a suspiciously perfect example of how not to be emperor. The Senate remains a vague figure of superior values and morality, against which Caligula's offenses are meticulously detailed.
^ Fishwick, Vol. 3, 1, 75–6: cf the Lyons Tablet and Claudius' modesty (or fear of seeming arrogant).
^ Mons Caelus had "ambiguous Etruscan connections" (Claudius had a historian's interest in Etruscan culture and language). It was also notorious for its brothels and meat-market. Claudius had a reputed liking for "low company", and butchers and prostitutes were classified as infames. Suetonius has Claudius add an extra day to the festival of Saturnalia – for Seneca he is a Lord of Misrule, at whose demise it can be said: "I told you the Saturnalia could not last forever" (Apocolocyntosis 12).
^ A dedication of the Colossus to the sun god is consistent with Neronian iconography – any resemblance to Nero would be appropriate to his imperial representation as the "second sun" of the pax Romana in Stoic and Cynic cosmology. Subsequent alterations or remodeling of a recognisable figure – assuming they happened at all – and rededication were standard responses to an original subject's damnatio memoriae. On the other hand, the heads of some Imperial statues appear to have been recut or replaced as a matter of economy, rather than of legal or moral insult or effacement.
^ Vout, 111. His piety lay in his unrelenting yet personally modest plea to the Senate for the deification of his predecessor Hadrian: morally comparable with the filial devotion of Metellus Pius during the Republican era.
^ Gradel, 199: see also The context and precedents for Imperial Cult. Relative to the living emperor, the divi probably have little or no personal power, unless of divine intercession.
^ This is based on a statement in the Historia Augusta, which claims he planned to have his own flamen while still living. Cassius Dio, in an otherwise detailed account, makes no mention of this. See Gradel, 160-1.
^ Cassius Dio, 77.15.2 Penelope.Uchicago.edu.
^ Like Commodus, he participated in chariot races and beast-fights, with minimal risk to himself.
^ The apotheosed ("deified") Julius Caesar was "translated by the senate and people of Rome into the company of the gods (dei)" and became the divus Julius: Price, in Cannadine and Price, 1992, 77–8: the cited, translated inscription is from Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae, ed H, Dessau, 3 vols, Berlin, 1892–1916, 140. 7–24 (Pisa).
^ Tacitus' reference to the graeca adulatio (greek adulation or flattery) of benefactor-cult was set within the Graeco-Eastern context of the Roman civil war and referred to Theophanes of Mytilene, whose god-like honours were occasioned by no merit other than his friendship and influence with Pompey: Tacitus, Annals, 6.8: cited and explicated in Gradel, 8.
Ando, Clifford (2000). Imperial ideology and provincial loyalty in the Roman Empire (Illustrated ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22067-6.
Rees, Roger (2004). Diocletian and the Tetrarchy. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
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שמחה ביכדריקר je pohřben(a) na hřbitově New Kiryat Shmona Cemetery v místě zobrazeném na níže uvedené mapě. Tyto informace o GPS jsou k dispozici POUZE na stránkách BillionGraves. Naše technologie vám pomůže najít umístění hrobu a také další členy rodiny, pohřbené poblíž.
שמחה ביכדריקר was 10 years old when Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon, "Plane Crazy". Walter Elias Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
שמחה ביכדריקר was 21 years old when Adolf Hitler signs an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people. Adolf Hitler was a German politician, demagogue, and Pan-German revolutionary, who was the leader of the Nazi Party, Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 and Führer ("Leader") of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. As dictator, Hitler initiated World War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland in September 1939, and was central to the Holocaust.
שמחה ביכדריקר was 23 years old when World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, intending to neutralize the United States Pacific Fleet from influencing the war Japan was planning to wage in Southeast Asia. World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although conflicts reflecting the ideological clash between what would become the Allied and Axis blocs began earlier. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most global war in history; it directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. In a state of total war, the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
שמחה ביכדריקר was 35 years old when Jonas Salk announced the successful test of his polio vaccine on a small group of adults and children (vaccination pictured). Jonas Edward Salk was an American medical researcher and virologist. He discovered and developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. Born in New York City, he attended New York University School of Medicine, later choosing to do medical research instead of becoming a practicing physician. In 1939, after earning his medical degree, Salk began an internship as a physician scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital. Two years later he was granted a fellowship at the University of Michigan, where he would study flu viruses with his mentor Thomas Francis, Jr.
שמחה ביכדריקר was 47 years old when Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War. The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting amphibious operations with the United States Navy. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.
שמחה ביכדריקר was 55 years old when Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war by some US perspectives. The majority of Americans believe the war was unjustified. The war would last roughly 19 years and would also form the Laotian Civil War as well as the Cambodian Civil War, which also saw all three countries become communist states in 1975.
שמחה ביכדריקר was 68 years old when Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board. The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official name, Space Transportation System (STS), was taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development.
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Se entiende por contaminación atmosférica a la presencia en la atmósfera de sustancias en una cantidad que implique molestias o riesgo para la salud de las personas y de los demás seres vivos, vienen de cualquier naturaleza,1 así como que puedan atacar a distintos materiales, reducir la visibilidad o producir olores desagradables. El nombre de la contaminación atmosférica se aplica por lo general a las alteraciones que tienen efectos perniciosos en los seres vivos y los elementos materiales, y no a otras alteraciones inocuas. Los principales mecanismos de contaminación atmosférica son los procesos industriales que implican combustión, tanto en industrias como en automóviles y calefacciones residenciales, que generan dióxido y monóxido de carbono, óxidos de nitrógeno y azufre, entre otros contaminantes. Igualmente, algunas industrias emiten gases nocivos en sus procesos productivos, como cloro o hidrocarburos que no han realizado combustión completa.
La contaminación atmosférica puede tener carácter local, cuando los efectos ligados al foco se sufren en las inmediaciones del mismo, oplanetario, cuando por las características del contaminante, se ve afectado el equilibrio del planeta y zonas alejadas a las que contienen los focos emisores.
·Utilizados en los sistemas de refrigeración y de climatización por su fuerte poder conductor, son liberados a la atmósfera en el momento de la destrucción de los aparatos viejos.
·Utilizados como propelente en los aerosoles, una parte se libera en cada utilización. Los aerosoles utilizan de ahora en adelante otros gases sustitutivos, como el CO2.
CH4, es un gas que se forma cuando la materia orgánica se descompone en condiciones en que hay escasez de oxígeno; esto es lo que ocurre en las ciénagas, en los pantanos y en los arrozales de los países húmedos tropicales. También se produce en los procesos de la digestión y defecación de los animales herbívoros.
El metano es un gas de efecto invernadero que contribuye al calentamiento global del planeta Tierra, ya que aumenta la capacidad de retención del calor por la atmósfera.
El ozono O3 es un constituyente natural de la atmósfera, pero cuando su concentración es superior a la normal se considera como un gas contaminante.
Su concentración a nivel del mar, puede oscilar alrededor de 0,01 mg kg-1. Cuando la contaminación debida a los gases de escape de los automóviles es elevada y la radiación solar es intensa, el nivel de ozono aumenta y puede llegar hasta 0,1 kg-1.
Air pollution means the presence in the atmosphere of substances in a quantity that involves discomfort or risk to the health of people and other living things; they come from many places.They can attack different materials, reduce the visibility or produce unpleasant odors. The name of the air pollution is usually applied to changes, which have devastating effects on living beings and the material elements, and not to other alterations harmless. The main mechanisms of air pollution are industrial processes that involve combustion, in industries such as automobiles and residential heating, generating carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur and other pollutants. Similarly, some industries emit harmful gases in its production processes, such as chlorine and hydrocarbons that have not performed complete combustion.
· Used in refrigeration and air conditioning for their strong driving power, are released into the atmosphere at the time of the destruction of old equipment.
· Used as a propellant in aerosols, a part is released for each use. Aerosols used henceforth substitute other gases such as CO2.
The internal combustion engine cars emit carbon monoxide into the atmosphere so in highly urbanized areas tend to have an excessive concentration of this gas down to concentrations of 50-100 ppm, rates that are hazardous to health people.
The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is rising steadily due to the use of fossil fuels as an energy source and it is theoretically possible to show that this fact is responsible for producing an increase in temperature of the Earth - greenhouse-The extent to this effect may change the global climate depends on the data used in a theoretical model, so that there are models that predict rapid and disastrous weather and other climatic effects that indicate limited. Reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere allow the total carbon cycle balance reached through the major carbon sinks such as deep ocean and sediments.
Also known as nitrogen oxide (II) is a colorless gas slightly soluble in water produced by burning fossil fuels in transport and industry. Oxidizes very quickly becoming nitrogen dioxide, NO2, and then in nitric acid, HNO3, producing acid rain.
The main source of sulfur dioxide emissions to the atmosphere is the combustion of coal containing sulfur. SO2 from the combustion of sulfur is oxidized and forms sulfuric acid, H2SO4 a component of acid rain which is harmful to plants, causing spots where acid droplets have contacted the leaves.
Acid rain is formed when moisture in the air combines with nitrogen oxide or sulfur dioxide emitted by factories, power plants and vehicles that burn coal or oil. This chemical combination of gases with water vapor to form sulfuric acid and nitric acids, substances that fall to the ground as precipitation or acid rain. The contaminants that can form acid rain can travel long distances, and the winds move thousands of miles before plunging with dew, drizzle, or rain, hail, snow or fog normal, that becomes acidic when combined with these gases.
SO2 also attacks the building materials usually consist of carbonate minerals such as limestone or marble, forming water-soluble substances and affecting the integrity and life of buildings and sculptures.
CH4 is a gas formed when organic matter decomposes under conditions where oxygen is scarce, this is what happens in the swamps, in marshes and paddy fields of tropical humid countries. It also occurs in the processes of digestion and defecation of grazing animals.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming of planet Earth, as it increases the heat retention capacity of the atmosphere.
O3 Ozone is a natural constituent of the atmosphere, but when their concentration is higher than normal gas is considered a pollutant.
Its concentration at sea level can range from about 0.01 mg kg-1. When the pollution caused by exhaust gases from cars is high and solar radiation is intense, the ozone level increases and can reach up to 0.1 kg-1.
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It is important when delineate an aspect between transiting Neptune to Mercury to take a close look at how Mercury is aspected in the birth chart. The natal aspect can either soften the transit or challenge it, regardless of what the current transiting aspect might be.
For example, if Mercury is trine to Jupiter, sextile to the Sun and conjunct Venus in the birth chart, any transiting aspect would not be very challenging. If, however, Mercury is square to Saturn, in opposition to Uranus and also square Neptune, this would cause great stress when activated through transit or progression regardless of the transit aspect. Any aspect to Mercury in the birth chart will also be activated during this transit, especially so if in close aspect by degree of separation in the birth chart.
It is also necessary to look at the house Neptune is currently transiting as well as its placement in the birth chart, as this will help define what area of life is being affected.
With this information at hand, a conjunction between Mercury and transiting Neptune can be quite difficult to handle. As Mercury rules the mind and thinking process, analytical abilities can be misunderstood or unclear. You can be “way off” in your assessment of a situation and restructuring of your life is not recommended until this transit is over. Decision making can be clouded and if connected to business, you may not be getting the proper information or someone could be deceiving you. Others may also have trouble making sense of what you might be trying to convey as well.
On the positive side of this aspect, the mind is now open to the subtle influences of mystical and inspirational messages from beyond. You could experience amazing clarity in vision as your mind is more open to such things. Your intuitive faculties are highlighted and although you might have found something very significant (unless others are in the same vibrational frequency and open to mystical events), you might want to keep this information to yourself as they may simply not be ready to hear what you now understand.
The energy of the square between these two planets is similar to when the thinking process is off or vague. Your mental focus will be off, and what you think may be way off as well. It is wise not to make any important decisions during this period as mistakes can have profound effects. You most likely are not seeing things clearly and it is easy to misjudge important matters. Communication with others has its challenges as well and misinformation can be taken as truth and disillusion could be the result.
You may also find that you worry about outcomes during this time or feel confused or even depressed. It is important to recognize that this is as a result of the influence of Neptunian energies and the tests that you are experiencing will eventually lead to clarity and understanding.
The opposition aspect is often related to misinformation or lost communication with others. Other people are usually involved in the equation. This could involve partnership, family, friends, acquaintances and even co-workers. There seems to be misunderstanding, and you may have quite the time getting things in proper perspective. It is usually about communication or false information and it may lead to actions that are not suggested. You may jump to conclusions or mistrust others. Knowing that this is a possibility is a wonderful tool.
The trine and sextile aspects can be very inspirational and offer potential insight into the workings of the subconscious. You may find answers to questions you have been searching for, for quite some time. You may come to understanding the hidden universal language spoken only by a few. This can be an awakening time and is very noteworthy as you can easily recognize the difference between illusion and creative thinking. Dreams could also be inspirational and you could use these tools for writing a book or to going deeper into meditation. You could also share this information with like-minded individuals.
This can be quite the magical time and an open mind is suggested so that the information can come through.
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Can Ron Paul win the Republican nomination in 2012?
In the Republican race for 2012, Mitt Romney leads with 28%, Mike Huckabee is at 24%, and Sarah Palin is at 23%. Ron Paul polls at 11%.
Obviously, all 3 candidates ahead of Ron Paul have serious problems. Romney will have a hard time convincing voters that implementing ObamaCare at the state level (as he did while he was governor) is any better than doing so at the federal level. Huckabee is plagued by scandals involving his misuse of parole while governor. The fact that Palin, despite her exposure, personal popularity, and presumed status as the frontrunner for the nomination, is unable to break away from the pack is a worrying sign for her, although I still think she is a stronger candidate than Huckabee and Romney.
Ron Paul's biggest problem is the common belief that he somehow "can't win," so it is pointless to vote for him. For every person who supports him, there are probably 2 or 3 who like him, but don't think he can win. If Ron Paul continues to win the major straw polls (he has consistently won minor straw polls for years, but won his first major straw poll at CPAC this year) and runs away with the fundraising race, he might be able to shake that perception. If Ron Paul learns from the Goldwater, Reagan '76, and Obama campaigns and focuses on winning the caucus states, would he be able to pull off an upset as 2 out of 3 of these did (Reagan came within a handful of delegates of defeating President Ford)? I think he can win, but I think Palin will be his strongest competition and it will be close.
Probably not, because the majority of people actually believe that he doesn't have a chance of winning.
Right now, America needs a change, and the Republican'ts and the Democraps just aren't delivering. We desperately need a 3rd party to come on the scene, and if its the "right" candidate, he, or she, could win the 2012 election.
Ron Paul needs to take some GIANT steps in the coming months to show everyone that he is the "right" candidate.
If Ron Paul and Palin are the best the Rs have, I doubt they'll be coming back to the WH in 2012.
Republican is now a four letter word in America. If he's smart he'll distance himself from the GOP.
I don't think so. He isn't stupid and that is what R's seem to go for these days. Whatever happened to R's like Theodore Roosevelt, for crying out loud?
Possibly. But i hope Rick Perry runs.
Didn't he try twice and lost twice?
What makes you think he'll try to embarrass himself, again?
Democrats. Are you ready to make America great again?
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In order to learn about some of the most innovative ways in which different industries are using synthetic diamonds, simply continue reading to find out why element six is the best way to gain a valuable insight into the versatility of synthetic diamonds.
Synthetic diamonds are now being in a wide variety of radiation detection systems, examples of which include homeland security detection systems and civil nuclear detection systems. Such technology is also being employed by the medical field, in order to detect and monitor radiation levels associated with radiotherapy practices.
Generally, the purer the synthetic diamonds which are used in radiation detection systems, the more accurate each radiation detection system will be.
Synthetic diamonds offer electrodes which can be used to oxidize the various contaminants which may be found in wastewater, in order to effectively purify wastewater and water.
You may also be surprised to read that synthetic diamonds are now being used to create high-quality acoustic equipment, such as state of the art speakers and headphones. Typically acoustic equipment which features high-grade synthetic diamonds offers clearer sound than ordinary speakers and headphones. Which makes acoustic products created with synthetic diamonds, in high demand.
Many major oil companies elect to use synthetic diamond in their drill bits, as synthetic diamonds are extremely durable and boast extremely low wear rates. As a result drill bits which feature synthetic diamonds don’t need to be changed are regularly as standard drill bits. Which is important as when it comes to the highly lucrative oil industry, time is money.
Synthetic diamonds are frequently used by the mining industry in the creation of high powered industrial drills. Synthetic diamonds are used to create heavy-duty industrial drill bits as diamonds are the hardest most durable material in the world and can be used to create incredibly strong, resilient drill bits.
Drill bits which contain synthetic diamonds are routinely used to dig tunnels and mine through hard rock and soft rock.
It also makes perfect sense that synthetic diamonds are also used in the industrial sector in order to create high precision machinery. Common examples of which include wood machinery and metal machinery as well as general engineering machinery. Furthermore, synthetic diamonds are also used to grind and polish items which are created as part of a professional assembly line.
Synthetic diamonds are also used by the defense sector in order to create high tech defense solutions such as sturdy vehicles which boast rear resistant windows and high-quality, reliable defense radios.
As synthetic diamonds are so useful and used in a wide variety of industries, expect to see the demand for synthetic diamonds increase in the near future.
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What is a reversal denial?
A reversal denial is a notice that the representment submitted to an issuer has been denied, and the chargeback stands. In other words, the merchant has lost the dispute.
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How much time to spend in the gym, is one of the biggest questions a person needs to ask themselves when they are starting off. Is too much time counter productive? Is there a certain length of time one needs to spend in the gym, so they can attain the goals they desire or does it not really matter?
In this article I attempt to provide a quick and detailed answer to this question, to help you determine how long you really do need to spend in the gym.
Incorporating yoga into your muscle building routine, can have some great benefits in the area of endurance, flexibility, muscle recovery and more. The fact that balance is one of the most important aspect of weight training, this article would benefit any serious lifter. It will explain why yoga should be incorporated at least once a week, into your current weight lifting program and how to find some videos to help you do just that.
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Gauge: 7 sts=1"; 11 rnds=1"
Cast on 64 sts. Divide onto three needles as follows: Needle 1: 24 sts; Needle 2: 20 sts; Needle 3: 20 sts. Join, being careful not to twist sts and work K1, P1 rib for 1 1/2".
Rnd. 2: K2, P2 around.
Repeat these two rounds until leg measures 7" from start, ending with rnd. 2.
Set up heel: with Needle 3, K across first 14 sts of needle 1. Turn and P across 30 sts for heel. Slip remaining 34 sts onto two needles for instep.
Change to mini skein semi-solid color for heel.
Row 1: *Sl 1, K1, repeat from * across.
Repeat these two rows until heel measures 2 1/4", usually 32 rows, ending with a K row.
Row 1: P across 17 sts, P2 tog, P1, turn.
Row 2: Sl 1, K5, sl 1, K1, psso, K1, turn.
Row 3: Sl 1, P6, P2 tog, P1, turn.
Row 4: Sl 1, K7, sl 1, K1, psso, K1, turn.
Row 5: Sl 1, P8, P2 tog, P1, turn.
Continue to decrease in this manner, having 1 more st between decs. each row until all sts are worked and 18 sts remain, ending on a K row. Slip all Instep sts onto 1 needle. Divide sts of heel onto 2 needles.
Needle 1: Pick up & K 16 sts along side of heel.
Needle 2: Work in pattern across Instep sts.
Needle 3: Pick up & K 16 sts along other side of heel & K remaining 9 heel sts onto this needle.
Rnd 1--Needle 1: K to last 3 sts, K2 tog, K1. Needle 2: Work in pattern. Needle 3: K1, sl 1, K1, psso, K to end.
Rnd 2--Needles 1 and 3: Knit. Needle 2: Work in pattern.
Repeat these two rounds until 15 sts remain on needles 1 & 3.
Foot: Work even on 64 sts, keeping pattern on needle 2 only until foot measures 1 3/4" less than desired finished length. Arrange sts on needles as follows: Needles 1 & 3: 16 sts. Needle 2: 32 sts.
Change to mini skein semi-solid color for toe.Rnd. 1: Needle 1: K to last 3 sts, K2 tog, K1. Needle 2: K1, sl 1, K1, psso, K to last 3 sts, k2 tog, K1. Needle 3: K1, sl1, K1, psso, K to end.
Repeat these 2 rnds until 24 sts remain. With Needle 3 knit across needle 1. Cut yarn leaving 20".
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The biggest lesson that can be read from 70 years of AI research is that general methods that leverage computation are ultimately the most effective, and by a large margin. The ultimate reason for this is Moore's law, or rather its generalization of continued exponentially falling cost per unit of computation. Most AI research has been conducted as if the computation available to the agent were constant (in which case leveraging human knowledge would be one of the only ways to improve performance) but, over a slightly longer time than a typical research project, massively more computation inevitably becomes available. Seeking an improvement that makes a difference in the shorter term, researchers seek to leverage their human knowledge of the domain, but the only thing that matters in the long run is the leveraging of computation. These two need not run counter to each other, but in practice they tend to. Time spent on one is time not spent on the other. There are psychological commitments to investment in one approach or the other. And the human-knowledge approach tends to complicate methods in ways that make them less suited to taking advantage of general methods leveraging computation. There were many examples of AI researchers' belated learning of this bitter lesson, and it is instructive to review some of the most prominent.
In speech recognition, there was an early competition, sponsored by DARPA, in the 1970s. Entrants included a host of special methods that took advantage of human knowledge---knowledge of words, of phonemes, of the human vocal tract, etc. On the other side were newer methods that were more statistical in nature and did much more computation, based on hidden Markov models (HMMs). Again, the statistical methods won out over the human-knowledge-based methods. This led to a major change in all of natural language processing, gradually over decades, where statistics and computation came to dominate the field. The recent rise of deep learning in speech recognition is the most recent step in this consistent direction. Deep learning methods rely even less on human knowledge, and use even more computation, together with learning on huge training sets, to produce dramatically better speech recognition systems. As in the games, researchers always tried to make systems that worked the way the researchers thought their own minds worked---they tried to put that knowledge in their systems---but it proved ultimately counterproductive, and a colossal waste of researcher's time, when, through Moore's law, massive computation became available and a means was found to put it to good use.
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Many people are tired of sacrificing their favorite food and unable to find extra time for a workout. We all know how difficult it is to reduce weight by controlling food habits and exercises.
In this article, I will be giving you few tips to lose approximately 2 lbs of weight weekly just by performing some simple tasks and modifying your food habits.
There are many ways you can lose weight by just performing your daily chores and making some changes in your diet.
1. Add few healthy eating options with your unhealthy food habits - You can eat all kinds of junk food like fries, pizzas, burgers, etc., and still lose some pounds.
Nuts and oats along with your junk food.
For example, instead of eating four slices of cheese pizza, you can eat two slices and in between add some healthy options like fruits, veggies, nuts, etc.
Eat a cup of veggies or salad after every slice of cheese pizza. This will help to satisfy your craving and make you feel full without consuming too much fatty food.
2. Perform daily activities yourself - Instead of hiring a cleaner or housemaid for cleaning your house, simply perform those activities yourself. You can clean the utensils yourself instead of putting them in the dishwasher for cleaning. Sweep your house once a day every day. This kind of physical activity will improve the muscle tone of your arms and also your back and waist. This activity takes only five minutes. Just five minutes a day keeps your house clean and your body toned.
3. Use the staircase - If you do not have any joint troubles, take the stairs to go up and down instead of using the elevator or escalator. Climbing staircases is one of the best ways to lose weight.
4. Walk around whenever possible - Usually, people have the tendency to take a cab or drive down even for small distances. Why not use that time and energy to walk? Usually, a normal healthy person is able to walk one to two miles every day. Try to walk instead of driving for performing daily chores like grocery shopping. If the distance is less than a mile or two you should be able to walk. This way you do not have to spend extra 30 to 45 minutes separately for walking to reduce weight.
5. Preferably eat home cooked food only - Homemade food is a nutritious and healthy option to lose weight. Preparing food at home takes some time and energy which helps to burn few calories. In today's life, it is easy to order food online and get it delivered to your doorstep. Hence people are less involved in physical activities.
These are some smart ways to lose weight without sacrificing your lifestyle. There are many such ways to involve yourself in different everyday activities, eat anything you want and still lose weight.
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An increasing portion of wealth is structured to be held in trusts. Trusts hold an array of assets, including investments which might be subject to the passive loss limitations (e.g., losses from an equipment leasing or real estate rental LLC). Can the trust deduct those losses? A court said yes, the IRS recently said no, and a conflict is brewing. The tough issue is that there is really not much guidance for what to do with many common trust transactions.
The passive loss rules of Code Section 469 limit your ability to deduct losses from passive real estate rental (e.g. an investment in a real estate limited partnership) and other activities in which you don't "materially participate". The initial goal of these rules was to prevent wealthy taxpayers from buying tax shelters that would be used to offset other income, such as income from a professional practice. Example: You buy a 10% interest in a limited liability company (LLC) that rents out a condo. You have no involvement in the rental activity. The LLC looses $100,000. Your share is a $10,000 loss. You can only deduct that loss against other passive income (e.g., from other passive real estate deals), not against your salary from your OB-GYN practice. Example: You buy a 30% interest in a widget manufacturing LLCs and devote substantial time to the businesses operations. The LLC looses $100,000. You have a $30,000 loss which you may be able to deduct against your salary from your accounting practice. Thus, if you're treated as materially participating in the activity you'll get a current tax write-off. If not, the write off could be deferred indefinitely and even lost.
If you "materially participate" in a particular activity, then the tax losses from that activity would be considered "active" and can be used to offset your income from other "active" endeavors, such as salary, without limit.
1: The Primary Source -- The Statute: Material participation requires your involvement "on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis". IRC Sec. 469(h)(1).
2: The Senate Finance Committee Report: Involvement in day to day operations, not merely intermittent management activity, is necessary. "An estate or trust is treated as materially participating in an activity … if an executor or fiduciary in his capacity as such, is so participating. Portfolio income of an estate or trust must be accounted for separately, and may not be offset by losses from passive activities. Footnote 21 states: "In the case of a grantor trust, however, material participation is determined at the grantor rather than the entity level." S Rept No. 99-313 (PL 99-514) p. 735 [1986-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) 1]. A grantor trust is a trust whose income is reported by the grantor (usually the person who set up the trust), not to the trust itself. See Practical Planner June 2007.
3: Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation Report: Footnote 33 says: "No special rule was provided for determining material participation by a trust...an arrangement will be treated as a trust …if it can be shown that the purpose of the arrangement is to vest in trustees responsibility for the protection and conservation of property for beneficiaries who cannot share in the discharge of this responsibility…it is unlikely that a trust…will be materially participating in a trade or business activity, within the meaning of the passive loss rules. In the case of a grantor trust, to the extent that the grantor or beneficiary is treated as the owner for tax purposes…the material participation of the person treated as the owner is relevant to the determination of whether income or loss from an activity owned through the grantor trust is treated as passive in the hands of the owner…"
4: Regulations: There are no regulations (yet) so the general rules of the statute must be applied.
5. Case Law --The Mattie K. Carter Trust v. US: Mattie's will set up a trust which managed assets including the Carter Ranch which had cattle, oil and gas. The trustee hired a ranch manager and other employees to carry out most ranching duties. The IRS argued that only the trustee's efforts should be considered in determining if the trust met the test of materially participating in the ranch. If he did, almost $1.7 million in losses would have been deductible in the two years under audit. The steaks were high! The trust said that its involvement should be evaluated with consideration to all of its fiduciaries, employees and agents. The court said the law didn't mandate that only the trustee's activities could be considered. So when it considered the aggregate of the efforts of the trustee, ranch manager and others, it was regular, continuous and substantial involvement so that the trust was deemed to materially participate and could deduct the losses. 256 F. Supp. 2d 536 (Tex. 2003).
6. IRS Ruling: In a recent private letter ruling, PLR 200733023, the IRS nixed a trust's effort to characterize losses as not being passive (and hence deductible). The IRS maintained that the trustee's activities alone should be considered. The IRS expressly addressed the court opinion above and stated that it disagreed. The will creating the trust in this Ruling permitted the appointment of a special trustee for any part or all of the trust property. The special trustee, except as limited in the trust, had all the rights of a trustee. The IRS seemed swayed in part by the fact that "ultimate decision-making authority remained vested solely with the trustees". The IRS rejected the trust's argument that these "special trustees" were "fiduciaries" for purposes of the Code Section 469 material participation test. The IRS then looked at the definition of "fiduciary" to evaluate this.
The tax law defines a "fiduciary" as a trustee or any other person acting in any fiduciary capacity for any person. IRC Sec. 7701(a)(6). If someone is granted broad discretionary power of administration and management over an asset, a fiduciary relationship exists. Rev. Rule. 82-177. If the person doesn't have administrative duties, they aren't a fiduciary. Rev. Rul. 92-51. Since the "special trustees" in this ruling were controlled by the trustees and had no power over the trust property, their participation was irrelevant to the analysis.
The IRS clearly disagrees with the Carter court and insists only "fiduciary" activities, not those of managers or others, will count. A private ruling is not binding on taxpayers other than the one who received it. But, the ruling is an indication of the IRS view. Do you follow the court or the IRS? What about the various fiduciary positions encountered with many trusts: trust protectors, investment advisers, etc.? The IRS did not address these types of fiduciaries, but the IRS might have enunciated a test. If an investment adviser doesn't have "broad discretionary power of administration and management" he will not be a fiduciary for this test. A trust protector whose role is usually limited may not qualify. Will the IRS consider the activities of all fiduciaries together in determining if the trust will qualify? The entire decision process, and tax result seems rather arbitrary. If the trust is structured as a grantor trust (e.g., Mike Brady remains taxable) then his efforts, not Alice's would count. If the trust were structured with annual demand (Crummey) powers so that gifts to it qualify for the annual gift exclusion, then the six kids would be taxable on trust income. In this case the kids activities would be evaluated, not Alice's or Mike's. "That's the way - we became the Brady Bunch!"
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0.999663 |
We extend Navigation Functions (NF) to worlds of more general geometry and topology. This is achieved without the need for diffeomorphisms, by direct definition in the geometrically complicated configuration space. Every obstacle boundary point should be partially sufficiently curved. This requires that at least one principal normal curvature be sufficient. A normal curvature is termed sufficient when the tangent sphere with diameter the associated curvature radius is a subset of the obstacle. Examples include ellipses with bounded eccentricity, tori, cylinders, one-sheet hyperboloids and others. Our proof establishes the existence of appropriate tuning for this purpose. Direct application to geometrically complicated cases is illustrated through nontrivial simulations.
We study a trajectory tracking problem for a mobile robot moving in the plane using combinatorial observations from the state. These combinatorial observations come from crossing binary detection beams. A binary detection beam is a sensing abstraction arising from physical sensor beams or virtual beams that are derived from several sensing modalities, such as actual detection beams in the environment, changes in the angular order of landmarks around the robot, or recognizable markings in the plane. We solve the filtering problem from a geometric perspective and present its relation to linear recursive filters in control theory. Subsequently, we develop the acceleration control of the robot to track a given input trajectory, with a finite control set consisting on moving toward landmarks naturally modeling the robot as a switched dynamical system. We present experiments using an e-puck differential-drive robot, in which a useful estimate of the state for tracking is produced regardless of nontrivial uncertainty.
This paper provides an algorithm for computing singularity-free paths on non-redundant closed-chain manipulators. Given two non-singular configurations of the manipulator, the method attempts to connect them through a configuration space path that maintains a minimum clearance with respect to the singularity locus at all points. The method is resolution-complete, in the sense that it always returns a path if one exists at a given resolution, or returns "failure'' otherwise. The path is computed by defining a new manifold that maintains a one-to-one correspondence with the singularity-free configuration space of the manipulator, and then using a higher-dimensional continuation technique to explore this manifold systematically from one configuration, until the second configuration is found. Examples are included that demonstrate the performance of the method on illustrative situations.
This paper describes and analyzes a new technique for reasoning about uncertainty called constrained geometric approximation (CGA). We build upon recent work that has developed methods to explicitly represent a robot's knowledge as an element, called an information state, in an appropriately defined information space. The intuition of our new approach is to constrain the I-state to remain in a structured subset of the I-space, and to enforce that constraint using appropriate overapproximation methods. The result is a collection of algorithms that enable mobile robots with extreme limitations in both sensing and computation to maintain simple but provably meaningful representations of the incomplete information available to them. We present a simulated implementation of this technique for a sensor-based navigation task, along with experimental results for this task showing that CGA, compared to a high-fidelity representation of the un-approximated I-state, achieves a similar success rate at a small fraction of the computational cost.
Identification of regions in space that a robotic manipulator can reach in a given amount of time is important for many applications, such as safety monitoring of industrial manipulators and trajectory and task planning. However, due to the high-dimensional configuration space of many robots, reasoning about possible physical motion is often intractable. In this paper, we propose a novel method for creating a <i>reachability grid</i>, a voxel-based representation that estimates the minimum time needed for a manipulator to reach any physical location within its workspace. We use up to second-degree constraints on joint motion to model motion limits for each joint independently, followed by successive voxel approximations to map these limits on to the robot’s physical workspace. Results using a simulated manipulator indicate that our method can produce accurate reachability grids in real-time, even for robots with many degrees of freedom. Furthermore, errors are almost exclusively biased towards producing more optimistic reachability estimates, which is a desirable characteristic for many applications.
We present an optimal algorithm for informative path planning (IPP), using a branch and bound method inspired by feature selection algorithms. The algorithm uses the monotonicity of the objective function to give an objective function-dependent speedup versus brute force search. We present results which suggest that when maximizing variance reduction in a Gaussian process model, the speedup is significant.
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0.964379 |
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy retained the championship (and thus became the only team to have won two FIFA World Cups under the same coach, or Vittorio Pozzo), beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.
France was chosen as hosts by FIFA in Berlin on August 13, 1936. France defeated Argentina and Germany in the first round of voting. The decision caused outrage in South America where it was believed that the venue would alternate between the two continents; instead, it was the second tournament in a row to be played in Europe. This was the last World Cup to be staged before the outbreak of the Second World War.
Because of anger over the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, neither Uruguay nor Argentina entered the competition, while Spain became the first country to be prevented from competing because of it being at war.
It was the first time that the hosts (France) and the title holders (Italy) qualified automatically. Title holders were given an automatic entry into the World Cup until 2006 when this was abolished.
Austria qualified for the World Cup, but after qualification was complete, the Anschluss united Austria with Germany. Austria subsequently withdrew from the tournament, with some Austrian players joining the German squad (not including Austrian star player Matthias Sindelar, who refused to play for the unified team). Latvia was the runner-up in Austria's qualification group, but was not invited to participate; instead Austria's place remained empty, and Sweden, which would have been Austria's initial opponent, progressed directly to the second-round by default.
This tournament saw the first, and as of 2014[update] the only, participation in a World Cup tournament from Cuba and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). It also saw the World Cup debuts of Poland and Norway. Poland and the Netherlands would not reappear at a finals tournament until 1974, while Norway would not qualify for another World Cup finals until 1994. A unified Germany team would not appear again until 1994.
The knockout format from 1934 was retained. If a match was tied after 90 minutes, then 30 minutes of extra time were played. If the score was still tied after extra time, the match would be replayed. This was the last of the two World Cup tournaments that used a straight knockout format.
Germany, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Cuba and Brazil were seeded for draw taking place in Paris, on 5 March 1938.
Five of the seven first round matches required extra time to break the deadlock; two games still went to a replay. In one replay, Cuba advanced to the next round at the expense of Romania. In the other replay, Germany, which had led 1–0 in the first game against Switzerland, led 2–0 but eventually was beaten 2–4. This loss, which took place in front of a hostile, bottle-throwing crowd in Paris, was blamed by German coach Sepp Herberger on a defeatist attitude from the five Austrian players he had been forced to include; a German journalist later commented that "Germans and Austrians prefer to play against each other even when they're in the same team". This remains, as of 2014[update], the only time in World Cup history in which Germany failed to advance to the final eight (they did not enter in 1930 and had been re-admitted only after the 1950 WC).
Sweden advanced directly to the quarter-finals as a result of Austria's withdrawal, and they proceeded to beat Cuba 8–0. The hosts, France, were beaten by the holders, Italy, and Switzerland were seen off by Hungary. Czechoslovakia took Brazil to extra time in a notoriously feisty match in Bordeaux before succumbing in a replay; the South Americans proved too strong for the depleted Czechoslovak side (both Oldřich Nejedlý and František Plánička had suffered broken bones in the first game) and won 2–1. This was the last ever match to be replayed in a World Cup, with all winners of replay matches in 1938 having been eliminated in the next round.
Before the finals, Benito Mussolini sent a telegram to the team, saying "Vincere o morire!", which is literally translated as "Win or die!". However, this was not meant to be a literal threat, but instead just an encouragement to win. The final itself took place at the Stade Olympique de Colombes in Paris. Vittorio Pozzo's Italian side took the lead early, but Hungary equalised within two minutes. The Italians took the lead again shortly after, and by the end of the first half were leading the Hungarians 3–1. Hungary never really got back into the game. With the final score favouring the Italians 4–2, Italy became the first team to successfully defend the title and were once more crowned World Cup winners.
Of these, all but Lyon ultimately hosted matches. Lyon did not due to Austria's withdrawal.
With seven goals, Leônidas is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 84 goals were scored by 42 different players, with two of them credited as own goals.
↑ 5.0 5.1 Sweden were awarded a walkover as Austria were unable to compete because of the Austrian Anschluss in March 1938.
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0.999998 |
If you know someone who thinks he or she is an expert on Canadian politics, here is a question to stump him or her with: Name any three persons who have represented Prince Edward Island in the federal cabinet, and the portfolios that they held.
Okay, it's not an easy question. PEI's cabinet ministers tend to have somewhat similar Celtic names, and few have made a major impact on the federal scene. However, one of them has written an interesting book. He is Tom McMillan, who served in two portfolios during the early years of the Mulroney government but lost his parliamentary seat in the 1988 election.
McMillan's book is called Not My Party. On the back of the dust jacket he laments that "the new Conservative Party is nothing I recognize as part of either my own political tradition or that of my family. Now, it is no longer my party. I am an orphan; I no longer have a political home." This lament may lead readers to expect a critical analysis of the "new" Conservative Party that was founded and led by Stephen Harper, but in fact there is not much about Harper in this rather long book. Practically all of it is devoted to the years from 1967, when Robert Stanfield became leader of the Progressive Conservatives, to 1988, when the author lost his seat and retired from politics to serve, for the remainder of the Mulroney era, as the Canadian Consul General in Boston. The heroes of the book are Stanfield, "the best prime minister Canada never had"; Tom Symons, who was the first president of Trent University and assisted Stanfield in redefining the party's program and policies; and Brian Mulroney.
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0.999996 |
Today was a very fun day, as we went to a Christmas party at our baby music class. It was so much fun! It was a very busy morning though, so we had a quiet afternoon at home playing with a Christmas stocking. It still amazes me how much fun we can have with such a simple item.
We put things in the stocking and took things out of the stocking. I counted the things as we put them in, helping to develop Ethan's Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy skills. We put our hands in and felt the items, and I described how they felt and made guesses as to what it might be to help develop Ethan's Knowledge and Understanding of the World. We had a lot of fun with a simple little stocking.
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0.999998 |
Madan Lal Puri's parents were Ganesh Das and S W Puri. He was born in Sialkot in the Punjab which was part of India. At this time India was ruler by the British although through the first eighteen years of Puri's life there was increasingly violent Hindu-Muslim conflict and vigorous protests demanding Indian independence. Despite the attempts by the British to offer reforms and concessions, these years saw the inevitable moves towards independence. However, the situation was more complicated for there were compelling Muslim demands for a separate state. In July 1947 the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act which created separate countries of India and Pakistan by mid August. The larger part of the Punjab was to be in Pakistan, the smaller eastern part in India. Once the borders were known there was a mass migration and over 10 million people became refugees. Puri's family were in the region which was to become Pakistan and they fled as refugees to Delhi. Over a million people died in the fighting which ensued but Puri and his family survived.
Puri was studying mathematics at Punjab University when the split occurred. We should explain that Punjab University was founded in 1882 and was based in Lahore but ran colleges in many parts of what was then northern India. After the split in 1947 two separate universities were created. The Punjab University in Lahore lost those colleges which had ended in India after the lines were drawn, and a new Punjab University in Chandigarh, India, was created to run the these colleges. Puri was awarded his B.A. degree in 1948 from the Punjab University in India and continued to study there for a master's degree which was awarded in 1950. In January 1951 he was appointed as a lecturer in mathematics at Punjab University of India and he taught mathematics at several different colleges between January 1951 and August 1957.
In September 1957 Puri moved to the United States being appointed as an instructor and graduate student at the University of Colorado in Boulder. After a year he moved to the University of California at Berkeley where he was a research assistant in statistics. There his doctoral studies were supervised by Erich Lehmann and Puri was awarded his doctorate in 1962 after submitting his thesis Asymptotic Efficiency of a Class of C-Sample Tests. Also in 1962, on 24 August, Puri married Uma Kapur; they had three children. After the award of his Ph.D., Puri was appointed as an assistant professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in New York. Examples of papers he published around this time are: Asymptotic efficiency of a class of c-sample tests (1964); (with S Bhuchongkul) On the estimation of contrasts in linear models (1965); Some distribution-free k-sample rank tests of homogeneity against ordered alternatives (1965); On the combination of independent two sample tests of a general class (1965); On a class of testing procedures in linear models (1965); and On some tests of homogeneity of variances (1965).
Non-parametric methods in univariate analysis.
Non-parametric methods in multivariate analysis.
Non-parametric methods in design and analysis of experiments.
Limit theorems, rates of convergence and related topics (independent case).
Time series and related topics.
Fuzzy set theory and related topics.
On February 20 at a dinner in his honour, it was my great pleasure to honour Madan Lal Puri as College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Research Scholar. This rare designation is reserved for those who have become world leaders in a field while on the College faculty, and whose collected works are published because of their archival value. The medal with which Professor Puri was adorned is testimony to his scholarly contributions to the world of statistics and to Indiana University over his illustrious career. Professor Puri's research has lead to his being considered one of the most versatile and prolific researchers in the world in mathematical statistics in the areas of nonparametric statistics, order statistics, limit theory under mixing, time series, splines, tests of normality, generalized inverses of matrices and related topics, stochastic processes, statistics of directional data, random sets, and fuzzy sets and fuzzy measures. Indeed, Professor Puri is to be commended for the 'Puri-Sen Era' in mathematical statistics. A scholar's work is never complete, and Professor Puri has certainly proved that by giving of himself in organizing international conferences and serving as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference.
His work in nonparametric statistics and probability theory has had profound effects on the way statistics is understood and applied. The methodology that he developed in the statistical design and analysis of experiments has paved the way for the development of clinical designs, epidemiological investigations and environmental studies. Madan Puri's name would be found on almost any statistician's list of three outstanding contributors to the world of nonparametric statistics. No one in the whole world has worked in as many aspects of this field as he has.
... in recognition of past achievements in research and teaching.
He was also a Distinguished Visitor at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1991.
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0.999999 |
What structures are present in an average square inch (6.4 square centimeters) of skin?
The average square inch (6.4 square centimeters) of skin holds 20 feet (6.1 meters) of blood vessels, 77 feet (23.5 meters) of nerves, and more than a thousand nerve endings. In addition to blood vessels and nerves, there are 645 sweat glands, 65 hair follicles, and 97 sebaceous glands per square inch.
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0.999593 |
TV channel description Russian public Federal TV channel aimed at children and young people. The television channel "Carousel" is the leading children's TV channel covering all regions of Russia and many other CIS countries. Was founded in early 2011 as a joint project of the "First channel" and VGTRK. The broadcast includes informative, educational and entertaining products in the Russian language aimed at the audience from 3 to 14 years. The broadcast program also includes animated, feature and documentary films that are not age-restricted.
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0.979055 |
user: The man with the power.
user: The power of hoodoo.
user: Remind me of a man.
jabberwacky: You remind me of the babe!
jabberwacky: The babe with the power.
jabberwacky: The power of voodoo.
jabberwacky: Remind me of a man.
jabberwacky: The man with the power.
jabberwacky: The power of hoodoo.
jabberwacky: The question is, what do I care? I want to talk about me.
jabberwacky: You are not real.
jabberwacky: Everything, everything concerns me.
jabberwacky: Yes, cows go moo.
jabberwacky: Yes I am talking to him now, you are my son.
user: No, we are done.
jabberwacky: I don't understand a word a what you are trying to say.
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0.999888 |
If you are thinking about trying Windows 10, but you would prefer the convenience of a tablet. The Linx 810 Windows 10 Tablet is a great option being relatively cheap and feature packed.
The Linx 810 Windows 810 Windows Tablet comes with 32GB of internal storage and is only available in Black.
The Linx 810 Windows Tablet gives you the ability to enjoy using Windows 10, having a great specification and features.
It has a powerful Intel Atom quad-core processor which will ensure all your apps run quickly and a responsive, while the 32GB of internal storage will give you plenty of space for them.
The 8 inch display is an IPS panel with an 800 x 1280 pixels resolution. This is bright and clear making it easy to view, and enjoy your favourite photos and videos.
Connectivity comes in the form of Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n which gives you the ability to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots and enjoy fast Internet, and Bluetooth 4.0 for easy connection to peripherals.
Some models benefit from the inclusion of 3G data connectivity, so you can continue browsing and communicating on the move.
Launching to critical acclaim across the world, Microsoft's new Windows 10 operating system promises to be the last version of Windows you'll ever need.
The Linx 810 has Windows 10 Home version installed, so you have access to Word Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, Excel Mobile and OneNote out of the box.
Software Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile and OneNote.
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0.963848 |
Краткое описание: Viking: Battle for Asgard thrusts players into a twisted mythological world overrun with demonic warriors unleashed by Hel, the Norse goddess of death. As Skarin, a rage-fueled Viking hero, players will wage all-out war to free mankind from the grip of evil and ultimate annihilation. Enemies will suffer graphic dismemberment with disturbing realism from an array of Skarin's melee, range and magic attacks. Viking: Battle for Asgard thrusts players into a twisted mythological world overrun with demonic warriors unleashed by Hel, the Norse goddess of death. As Skarin, a rage-fueled Viking hero, players will wage all-out war to free mankind from the grip of evil and ultimate annihilation. Enemies will suffer graphic dismemberment with disturbing realism from an array of Skarin's melee, range and magic attacks.
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0.999343 |
You're fun to hang out with!
No, I don't play the harmonica.
Do you also play the harmonica?
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0.999993 |
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison appears to be a keen student of federal politics. Having ascended to the nation's top job by aping the tactics of Julia Gillard, he now seems determined to hold onto it by copying the strategy of John Howard. Eighteen years ago, the Howard Government looked headed for electoral defeat after just five years in power. But when a Norwegian freighter captain, Arne Rinnan, defied orders from Canberra to keep the MV Tampa away from Australian waters with his cargo of 433 rescued asylum seekers, many of them in urgent need of medical attention, and proceeded instead towards the Australia-controlled Christmas Island, he gave Mr Howard just the hot-button issue he needed to change the national conversation. "Asylum seeker", "boat people", "queue jumpers" and "illegals" became the buzzwords in conversations across the nation. The government rewrote its own asylum policies, excised islands from the Australian migration zone and ordered a reluctant navy to intercept and turn back vessels carrying asylum seekers, making Australia's asylum policies the harshest in the western world. In response to a single vessel, the Australian population of 20 million or so became obsessed with the arrival of a few thousand of the world's most desperate, and were convinced by their own parliament that stopping them coming here was crucial to preserving our nation's continued prosperity. And it worked. John Howard won the 2001 election, and won again in 2004 to become Australia's second longest serving prime minister, behind only Sir Robert Menzies. Now Mr Morrison seems focused on using asylum seekers to turn around his election chances. It has still not been adequately explained to the voting public how the fortunes of just a few hundred - even a few thousand - asylum seekers might impact so gravely on the fortunes of the rest of us that our parliament might spend so much time debating how we handle them but, in politics, it's the perception that counts. In Mr Morrison's defence, the Labor opposition is just as happy to exploit asylum seekers for electoral gain and the debate lacks nuance on both sides. Australia's voters are caught in the middle, either frightful of being swamped by others or ashamed that our nation might be so heartless. What has changed since 2001?
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison appears to be a keen student of federal politics.
Having ascended to the nation's top job by aping the tactics of Julia Gillard, he now seems determined to hold onto it by copying the strategy of John Howard.
Eighteen years ago, the Howard Government looked headed for electoral defeat after just five years in power.
But when a Norwegian freighter captain, Arne Rinnan, defied orders from Canberra to keep the MV Tampa away from Australian waters with his cargo of 433 rescued asylum seekers, many of them in urgent need of medical attention, and proceeded instead towards the Australia-controlled Christmas Island, he gave Mr Howard just the hot-button issue he needed to change the national conversation.
"Asylum seeker", "boat people", "queue jumpers" and "illegals" became the buzzwords in conversations across the nation.
The government rewrote its own asylum policies, excised islands from the Australian migration zone and ordered a reluctant navy to intercept and turn back vessels carrying asylum seekers, making Australia's asylum policies the harshest in the western world.
In response to a single vessel, the Australian population of 20 million or so became obsessed with the arrival of a few thousand of the world's most desperate, and were convinced by their own parliament that stopping them coming here was crucial to preserving our nation's continued prosperity.
And it worked. John Howard won the 2001 election, and won again in 2004 to become Australia's second longest serving prime minister, behind only Sir Robert Menzies.
Now Mr Morrison seems focused on using asylum seekers to turn around his election chances.
It has still not been adequately explained to the voting public how the fortunes of just a few hundred - even a few thousand - asylum seekers might impact so gravely on the fortunes of the rest of us that our parliament might spend so much time debating how we handle them but, in politics, it's the perception that counts.
In Mr Morrison's defence, the Labor opposition is just as happy to exploit asylum seekers for electoral gain and the debate lacks nuance on both sides.
Australia's voters are caught in the middle, either frightful of being swamped by others or ashamed that our nation might be so heartless. What has changed since 2001?
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0.999922 |
Sunday morning, our CCE students were invited to watch the middle school CCE students perform a living Stations of the Cross. Like many others, our parish offers the opportunity to pray the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent, but I’ve only attended this living version with my CCE students.
Eighth graders portray Jesus, Mary, Simon, Veronica, the guards and the women, with a narrator introducing each station and reciting a prayer about that station. When Jesus is crucified, a lone guitarist played Were You There When They Crucified My Lord, a beautiful haunting melody. The song played again at the end when they placed the stone in front of the tomb.
I love that our church offers this opportunity to the younger students to witness the stations acted out. Growing up in a world of media, television, video games, our children are surrounded by visual learning. What better way for them to understand and develop their spirituality, so that as adults they too might feel the desire to prayerfully meditate on Christ’s passion.
The First Station - Jesus is Condemned to Die.
The Second Station - Jesus Carries His Cross.
The Third Station - Jesus Falls the First Time.
The Fifth Station - Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross.
The Sixth Station - Veronica Wipes Jesus' Face.
The Seventh Station - Jesus Falls the Second Time.
The Eighth Station - Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
The Ninth Station - Jesus Falls the Third Time.
The Tenth Station - Jesus is Stripped.
The Eleventh Station - Jesus is Nailed to the Cross.
The Twelfth Station - Jesus Dies on the Cross.
The Thirteenth Station - Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross.
The Fourteenth Station - Jesus is Laid in the Tomb.
I’d never really considered the history of how and why this tradition came about in our church, but found a well-written essay on the origins of the Stations of the Cross from Our Sunday Visitor. I encourage you to read it, but a very short summary might be: Medieval travelers making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land would stop and pray at specific locations along a route from Calvary to Pilate’s home in their effort to connect with Christ’s passion, suffering and death. Upon returning home, many pilgrims brought back sacred relics and fostered a desire to recreate this sacred way for those who couldn’t travel and experience it firsthand.
The Franciscans are often credited with the modern development of the Stations of the Cross; Pope Innocent XI granted them the exclusive right to build stations in 1686. Pope Clement XII extended the right to non-Franciscan churches in 1731. Knowing this brief history, I can almost picture it in my minds eye. Travelers coming to connect with Christ, to seek Him in the physical as well as the spiritual; being so moved by the journey that they feel called to bring the experience to others. I hope you have an opportunity to walk and pray the Stations of the Cross during this Lenten season.
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0.938909 |
I've been going to Myrtle Beach with my best friend since we were in high school, and it's a tradition I like to try keep up with every Summer. Although, as I'm getting older I've been thinking about trying to go to a new beach each Summer instead, but we'll see.
It's a gated community, so I always feel safe.
It's right across from Barefoot Landing which is one of my favorite places to shop.
To the right of the beach area behind the resort is all beach houses. So as long as you're willing to walk 100 yards you basically have an entire beach to yourself.
I typically create an itinerary before we go, and it usually has the same places on it, but I still enjoy them every year. I thought since I am so fond of Myrtle Beach, that I'd share what I enjoy doing down there, and maybe if y'all go visit and you haven't been to any of these places you can put them on your list.
The first place we visited was Murrells Inlet. It's about a 30 minute drive from Myrtle Beach, but if you're looking for a local place with good music, drinks, and beautiful views, this is it. It costs about 5 dollars for parking, and stretched behind the buildings is a boardwalk that takes you from one bar to the next. They all have outdoor areas that overlook this beautiful marsh, and almost all of them are playing live music.
There's also a 1/2 mile wooden boardwalk that you can walk on that goes out and over the marsh, which has spectacular scenery. Between the music, and the birds swooping in and out of the water, it's just a really good vibe area.
There's also Brookgreen Gardens in this area, but it was closed when we got there so we didn't get to check it out. They're supposed to be beautiful as well.
Next, we went to Barefoot Landing, which is a very popular shopping and dining destination that has a 27 acre lake attached. This is the shopping center that is right across from the resort we stay at. It has a lot of cute boutiques, and they recently added a new restaurant named LuLu's.
This was our first time eating at LuLu's and I would HIGHLY recommend it. It's a restaurant/bar feel, maybe could be compared to Buffalo Wild Wings? It has a very open floor plan, and they leave all the doors and windows open so you can smell the salt air, which I really like. Their outdoor seating is right beside the lake too, which is cool. They also had live music, and they have someone that comes around and takes your picture while you're eating, kind of like on a cruise ship, if you've ever been cruising.
Another stop on our list is Broadway at the Beach, which is very similar to Barefoot, but I would say bigger. It has a lot of shopping and eating similarly to Barefoot, but it also has more attractions. They've got escape games, a jet boat you can ride, movies, an aquarium, golf, wax museum, wonder works, zipline, an area where you can hold baby tigers, bars, and a lot more. I think it's the number one attraction in Myrtle Beach, if I remember correctly.
Next on my list is probably my favorite, which is Downtown Conway. It's also about a 30 minute drive from the beach, but in my opinion totally worth it. It's a cute, historic town, that's very quiet, and kind of dream like. There's little boutiques all over, and restaurants, and live music. My absolute favorite part though, is the Riverwalk.
The riverwalk is a wooden path that goes along the Waccamaw River. It's an absolutely stunning view on it's own, but you also come across rustic wooden buildings, marinas, an old inn, and eventually an arboretum. It seemed like the PERFECT place for a proposal to me, but that may just be because there was absolutely no one out there, so it was just Matthew and I walking hand in hand along this super romantic river at sunset. CUE THE VIOLINS.
I've always said that I love Myrtle Beach but could never live there, but I tell you what, I 100% could live at Conway. That place was charming and magical, to say the least.
The last few places I wanted to mention are the Outlets, (you've got to do those), I always get really good deals on my Kate Spade purses there.
Also, the boardwalk down by the strip. I'm not a huge fan of the strip, it's a lot of loud, obnoxious, teenagers, walking up and down, or driving up and down, looking for attention. But behind the strip, in between the shops and the ocean is a boardwalk, which I love to walk. You can walk all the way to the rides and the ferris wheel, or you can just stop and look out at the ocean. It also allows you to enter the shops on that side from the back, so you can go in without having to deal with the chaos of the strip. My favorite place to go into off of here is the Gay Dolphin, btw.
Lastly, I wanted to mention that you HAVE to do dinner and a show. I'm a huge fan of the Dixie Stampede, Medievel Times, and Pirate's Voyage.
Pirate's Voyage is my favorite, with all the mermaids and the sea lion they bring out. 💗 They all have different themes, but they all put on a great show, and your 3 course meal is included in the price. The crowd gets to interact with the show as well, which I always really like.
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0.999705 |
Biometric fingerprint refers to technologies that measure and analyze human physical. Biometrics (ancient Greek: bios ="life", metric ="measure") is the study of methods for uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits.
In information technology, biometric authentication refers to technologies that measure and analyzes human physical and behavioural characteristics for authentication purposes. Examples of physical (or physiological or biometrc) characteristics include fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, facial patterns and hand measurements, while examples of mostly behavioral characteristics include signature, gait and typing patterns.
Fingerprint biometrics technique offers the high level of security and privacy, because security and privacy necessary in the world of digital transactions and interactions, today your signature services to identify you in the world of paper based if you used fingerprint as password never stolen or break by thefts because fingerprint is more uniquely in the world.
The most secure form of commonly used access control system authentication is accomplished using biometric sensors. Finger print readers, iris scanners, and retina scanners are common biometric-style sensors that use unique biometric identifiers to distinguish an individual. These types of sensors increase the sophistication and cost of the system, but provide an extremely high level of security.
Increased security - deter and detect fraudulent account access.
Convenience - no passwords to remember or reset.
Security - personal files, including emails, can be secured and online purchases safer when enabled by biometric.
Reduced costs - strongest way to detect and deter benefits fraud.
Increased trust - reduced entitlement abuse.
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0.97144 |
How to enable ADAL(Modern Authentication) for Skype for Business Online?
To enable ADAL(Modern Authentication) for Skype for Business Online, please follow these steps below.
0) Please install 「PowerShell」 3.0 or later version.
1) Please install「Windows PowerShell Module for Skype for Business Online」from the URL below.
2) Run PowerShell as administrator, and execute the commands below to connect to Skype for Business Online.
$credential = Get-Credential ※You will need to login as Office365 Admin.
3) Use the command to ensure the successful connection to Skype for Business Online.
※Row number will be decided by each environment situation.
3) Execute the command to enable ADAL(Modern Authentication) for Skype for Business Online.
4) Execute the command to ensure you have enabled ADAL(Modern Authentication) for Skype for Business Online.
If ClientAdalAuthOverride field becomes "Allowed", you have completed the activation.
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0.930425 |
(CNN) -- North Korea says it will open its hotline to South Korea for the first time in almost two years on Wednesday at 3.00 p.m local time (1:30 a.m. ET). The country's leader Kim Jong Un gave the order to begin discussions on sending a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next month. It comes just one day after South Korean President Moon Jae-In called for swift measures to smooth North Korea's participation in the Games. Kim had said in his New Year's message that discussions should start "as soon as possible" about sending a North Korean sporting delegation. In the same address, the North Korean leader also boasted about having a nuclear button on his desk. US President Donald Trump appeared to inflame tensions Tuesday by tweeting that he had a "bigger," "more powerful" nuclear button than Kim's. A South Korean ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday that North Korean officials hadn't answered the South's calls on a hotline at Panmunjom since February 2016 when the South suspended operations at the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex.
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0.999999 |
Would you believe that experienced drivers are more likely to "look but not see" a bicyclist than a new driver? Is it possible for a driver to actually look at a bicyclist in the roadway and not "see" the bicyclist? Do drivers focus on situations that are more harmful to themselves and ignore situations that may injury or kill a bicylist? Yes.
A few common reasons for bicycle vs. motor vehicle collisions include: 1. Obstructions 2. Diversion of attention by drivers 3. unpredictable behavior by bicyclists. One theory of why drivers don't see bicyclists involves pattern recognition. According to this theory, people don't actually see with their eyes, they see with their brains. The brain can only focus on so much without overload and thus priortizes what it sees. Certain things like billboards, birds, deer, etc. are ignored while things like police cars, semi trucks etc. are given priority and thus more easily "seen."
In Psychological Factors Affecting the Safety of Vulnerable Road Users: A Review of the Literature, by Ian Walker University of Bath, the author concluded that people have a highly limited ability to receive visual information and can fixate on fewer than three points per second at the very maximum (Citing Moray, 1990). To compensate, people's mental models of what is happening guide attention to the most important surrounding perceptions. The author also found that in some situations drivers just do not look at a certain area because they do not expect any personal danger (example-drivers don't look right before making a right turn). Citing (Herslund and Jorgensen, 2003) the author found that in "looked but failed to see" collisions a driver may be looking in the right direction and still not even see a bicyclist because they are not consciously aware that the bicyclist is there at that time. This phenomenon happens more with experienced drivers because they likely have more narrow attention focus on the perceived danger areas. Id. In a study titled Bicycle Accidents and Drivers' Visusal Search at Left and Right Turns, the researches found that drivers turning right scanned the right leg of the T-intersection less frequently and later than those turning left. The study found that drivers develop a visual scanning strategy which concentrates on detection of more frequent and major dangers but ignores and may even mask visual information on less frequent dangers. Another study used actual video recordings taken from 90 collisions captured by onboard cameras. See: Driver Beahvior in Car To Pedestrian Incidents: An Application of the Driving Reliability and Error Analysis Method . Two main causation patterns were found. 1. In intersections drivers failed to recognize the presence of the conflict pedestrain due to visual obstructions and or because they were paying attention to something other than the conflict pedestrian. 2. In non-intersection situations, the same pattern occured along with a pattern showing unexpected behavior by pedestrians. A similar study, Requirements of a System to Reduce Car To Vulnerable Road User Crashes in Urban Intersections, found similar causation-most frequent contributing factor to the collisions was the drivers' failure to observe the bicyclists and other vulnerable users due to reduced visibilty, awarness and or not comprehending.
In Attention and Expectation Problems in Bicycle-Car Collisions: An In-Depth Study, the researchers found that in 37% of the sampled collisions, neither driver nor cyclist realized the danger or had time to yield. Interestingly, while only 11% of the drivers noticed the bicyclists before the collisions, 68% of cyclists noticed the driver before the accident, and 92% of those who noticed believed the driver would give way as required by law.
The above summary of studies is helpful in understanding safe bicycling practice. To lesson the chance of collisions with cars, bicyclists should do certain things. These include riding in a predictable manner when safely able. Of course, riding in a predictable manner will not help when a driver "looks but fails to see." In that case, the bicyclist must assume the driver does not see he or she. People often say things like assume the cars don't see you. Oftentimes, bicyclists think this just means to generally ride safely. The bicyclists don't make the connection that a driver may actually look directly at you and still not "see" you.
Another important consideration to keep in mind is the frequency of collisions at intersections. When approaching an intersection, be aware that your chance for collision with a motor vehicle just went up by about 75% compared with a non-intersection. When riding, keep in mind that the human brain tends to priortize risks when observing things behind the wheel. Things that can cause great harm to a motor vehicle driver (like a semi) are more easily "seen." When riding in rural areas be aware that the human brain may not be expecting to see a bicycle and thus you are at a higher risk. Do not assume laws like the three foot law will protect you. Laws often do little or nothing to encourage safe driving behavior and often are only applicable after a collision happens. Many police officers are not even aware of specific Wisconsin bicycle laws. If the police do not know the laws, do not expect a driver to know them. Do not assume drivers will follow any of the laws. For a very informative article about the eyes, vision, and additional reasons why drivers do not see bikers, click here.
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0.618437 |
Of the less important minerals, Canada is the world's chief producer of asbestos and corundum.
The ores are principally magnetites (New York is the largest producer of magnetite ore among the states, producing about 45% of the total for the United States in 1907 and 1908), but red haematites occur in the N.
The state of Virginia is the chief producer, followed successively by Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado, Massachusetts, California, Missouri, New York, &c. From Indiana and Ohio a quantity of pyrites is obtained as a by-product in coalmining.
The quantity produced from 1845 Cop er the year in which the Lake Superior district became a producer, and in which the total product was only 224,000 lbup to 1908 was 13,106,205,634 lb.
As a producer of iron Russia nevertheless runs France neck and neck for the fourth place amongst the iron-producing countries of the world, her annual output having increased from 1,004,800 metric tons in 1891 to 2,808,000 in 1901 and to 2,900,000 in 1904.
Czechoslovakia is the only European State which can export sugar: it is the second largest beet-sugar producer in the world, having I some 500,000 ac. of beet under cultivation.
The largest producer is Spain, with upwards of 350,000 tons, including the cupriferous pyrites.
Gold-mining and quartz-mining are its principal industries, and in 1907 Nevada county's output of gold (104,J90.76 oz., worth $2,162,083) was second only to that of Butte county (134,813.39 oz., worth $2,786,840) in California; the county is the leading producer 1 Died the 21st of September, 1890, and Frank Bell became governor by virtue of his office as lieutenant-governor.
In 1879, Spain was the largest producer, but now ranks third.
(b) Both the producer gas and the air are heated before they enter the combustion chamber, as in the Siemens system of regenerative firing.
The United States is the gleatest lead producer and consumer in the world, its percentage of the total output and consumption averaging 30.4% and 32-5% respectively in the years 1904-1908.
In some works, the older method of melting the glass in large pots or crucibles is still adhered to, although the old-fashioned coal-fired furnaces have nearly everywhere given place to the use of producer gas and regenerators.
Where tariff duties are imposed solely for revenue, an equivalent excise tax is imposed within the country, so as to put the domestic producer precisely on the footing of his foreign G.
Some of the coal mined in eastern Kentucky is an excellent steam producer, especially the Jellico coal of Whitley county, Kentucky, and of Campbell county, Tennessee.
They were rivalled by Elkington of Birmingham, who secured the permanent assistance of at least one fine artist, Morel Ladeuil, the producer of the Elcho Challenge Shield.
Missouri is also the largest producer in the Union of tripoli and of barytes.
The weaving industry, introduced into the eastern counties by the kings invitation to Flemish settlers, was making England something more than a mere producer of raw material for export.
By analysis of the "producer" and "spent" gases this amount can be readily gauged.
Coke or anthracite is heated to incandescence by an air blast in a generator lined with fire-brick, and the heated products of combustion as they leave the generator and enter the superheaters are supplied with more air, which causes the combustion of carbon monoxide present in the producer gas and heats up the fire-brick baffles with which the superheater is filled.
Comparing the product of the United States with that of the world, the figures for the two respectively were 23,350 and I51,936 long tons in 1879, when the United States was second to both Spain (and Portugal) and Chile as a producer; 51,570 and 199,406 long tons in 1883, when the Unites States first took leading rank; 172,300 and 334,565 long tons in 1895, when the yield of the United States first exceeded that of all other parts of the world combined; and 942,570,000 and 1,667,098,000 lb in 1908.
The Selkirks and Gold Ranges west of the Rockies, with their great areas of eruptive rocks, both ancient and modern, include most of the important mines of gold, silver, copper and lead which give British Columbia its leadership among the Canadian provinces as a producer of metals.
Sometimes the purpose of a gas-producer is attained in a very simple manner by lowering the grate of an ordinary fireplace so much that a layer of coal 4 or 5 ft.
This was the first of the many rich discoveries in the same district which have made Western Australia the chief gold-producer of the Australian group. In 1907 there were eighteen goldfields in the state, and it was estimated that over 30,000 miners were actively engaged in the search for gold.
With producer gas it is necessary to pre-heat both the gas and the air which is supplied for its combustion by passing both through heated regenerators (for an account of the principles of the regenerative furnace see article Furnace).
This simple and inexpensive arrangement has the further advantage that the producer-gas is utilized immediately after its formation, without being allowed to cool down.
This arrangement, by which the gas was cooled down by the action of the air, acted as a'gas-siphon for drawing the gas out of the producer, but it has various drawbacks and has been abandoned in all modern constructions.
Which reminds me, you've got a ten o'clock today with your producer to plan out shooting for the next season, Ingrid said.
Tasmania is a gold producer to the extent of about 70,000 or 80,000 oz.
The former experiment had been performed by Scheele and Priestley, who had named the gas " phlogisticated air "; Lavoisier subsequently named it oxygen, regarding it as the " acid producer " (OE, sour).
Gold was also found later in Lawrence county north of Custer, and the Homestake Belt in the former county has ever since been the chief producer in the state.
Of cannel coal Kentucky is the largest producer in the Union, its output for 1902 being 65,317 short tons, and, according to state reports, for 1903, 72,856 tons (of which 46,314 tons were from Morgan county), and for 1904, 68,400 tons (of which 52,492 tons were from Morgan county); according to the Mineral Resources of the United States for 1907 (published by the United States Geological Survey) the production of Kentucky in 1907 of cannel coal (including 4650 tons of semi-cannel coal) was 77,733 tons, and exclusive of semi-cannel coal the output of Kentucky was much larger than that of any other state.
In interpreting the phenomena observed in a spectroscope, it is necessary to remember that the instrument, as pointed out by Lord Rayleigh, is itself a producer of homogeneity within the limits defined by its resolving power.
In the early days of rotatory kilns producer gas was used as a fuel, but with little success; about 1895 petroleum was used in the United States with complete success, but at a relatively heavy cost.
Chile was the largest producer in 1869 with 54,867 tons; but in 1899 her production had fallen off to 25,000 tons.
Chile was once the largest producer of copper in the world, her production in 1860-1864 being rated at 60 to 67% of the total.
In the production of zinc New Jersey once took a prominent part; in 1907 the only producer was The New Jersey Zinc Company's mine at Franklin Furnace, Sussex county, with an output of 13,573 short tons, valued at $1,601,614.
The new Kessler furnace is a very ingenious apparatus, in which the fire from a gas-producer travels over the sulphuric acid contained in a trough made of Volvic lava, and surmounted by a number of perforated plates, over which fresh acid is constantly running down; the temperature is kept down by the production of a partial vacuum, which greatly promotes the volatilization of the water, whilst retarding that of the acid.
The primary air necessary for the partial combustion of the coke to "producer" gas enters between these bars.
For about 10 years Pennsylvania was the one great oil producer of the world, but since 1870 the industry has spread all over the globe.
Oil fields are being continually opened up in other parts of the world, and whilst America still maintains her position as the largest petroleum producer, the world's supplies are now being derived from a steadily increasing number of centres.
The United States, which ranked third with a production of 20,000 tons in 1850, maintained this annual yield, until 1870, when it began to increase; the United States now ranks as the chief producer; in 1900 the output was 253,000 tons, and in 1905, 3 1 9,744 tons.
Italy has been a fairly steady producer; the output in 1896 was 20,000 tons, and in 1905, 25,000 tons.
The Straits Settlements ranked as an important producer in 1870 with 2337 tons; it now supplies the greater part of the world's supply, contributing 46,795 tons in 1900, and over 60,000 tons in 1905.
Distant by road, and the New Almaden quicksilver mine (the greatest producer in California and long among the greatest in the world) is about 14 m.
The rock was found in much greater quantities at Rosendale, in Ulster county, in 1823, and the amount of this cement produced by New York rose to 4,689,167 barrels in 1899; the state is still the chief producer but only 947,929 barrels were made in 1908.
On the other hand, on many articles duties already high, but believed to be insufficient for the effective protection of the domestic producer, were raised; e.g., on finer woollens.
Mica, first mined at grafton|Grafton, Grafton county, in 1803, found also in the northern part of Merrimack county and in the north-western corner of Cheshire county in such quantities that for sixty years:New Hampshire was the largest producer of mica in the United States, is no longer an important product: in 1907 its value ($7227) was less than that of the mica produced in South Dakota, Alabama, North Carolina or Colorado.
Who is the chief producer and also the chief customer, knows little of the great towns, and expects the dealer to come to his own door.
In 1905 Maine held first rank among the states of the Union as a producer of granite, the value of the output being $2,713,795.
Under these conditions producer gas ceases to exist as a by-product, and the gases of the blow consist merely of the incombustible products of com plete combustion, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, the result being that more than three times / the heat is developed for the combustion of the same amount of fuel, and nearly double the quantity of water gas can be made per pound of fuel than was before possible.
Alabama is the third great producer of the Union, and with the other two made up in 1907 more than four-fifths of the countrys total.
Of tungsten the United States was in 1907 the greatest producer in the world (1640 tons in a total of 6062).
Previous to this its people is chiefly known as the producer of a type of geometric pottery similar to the Dipylon ware of Athens.
From 3 to 5 lb of meal consumed results in an increase of i lb of live weight in a pig, which is the most economical meat producer on a farm.
Per_ia, the centre of the industry, is the largest producer of whisky and high-class wines of the cities in the United States.
The department of Santander, however, is the largest producer, and much of its output in the past has been placed upon the market as "Maracaibo," the outlet for this region being through the Venezuelan port of that name.
In actual practice the difference between the second and third methods is not very great since the fungus is the producer of the reproductive organs and generally the main constituent.
18 95, p. 945) has obtained metallic nickel from the Canadian mattes by first roasting them and then eliminating copper by the action of sulphuric acid, the product so obtained being then exposed to the reducing action of producer gas at about 350° C. The reduced metal is then passed into a "volatilizer" and exposed to the action of carbon monoxide at about 80° C., the nickel carbonyl so formed being received in a chamber heated to 180-200° C., where it decomposes, the nickel being deposited and the carbon monoxide returned to the volatilizer.
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0.999933 |
Are children held to the same standard of care as adults?
Children can be held to an adult standard of care if they are engaging in an adult activity, such as operating a motor vehicle or flying an airplane.
In many states children under seven years old are not capable of negligence or cannot be sued for negligence. However, this is not uniform in all states. Consult your state’s judicial decisions and/or statutes to determine at what age a child and his parents can be sued for the negligent actions of a young child.
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0.999831 |
May I have a tarot reading regards to love?
Your card is the asteroid Ariadne. In Greek mythology, Ariadne's tale portrays the heart's painful journey when connection to the inner self is severed and sacrificed to the lover. Ariadne followed her lover's course rather than her own internal labyrinthine journey, losing her genuine direction. Using a magical thread - the symbolic connection to her inner core - to serve her mythical hero, Ariadne lost contact with her own inner wisdom. Abandoned by the man she gave everything to, she was no longer able to define herself exclusively through a partner; therefore a more authentic sense of self could emerge.
This card represents the abandonment of false hopes, fantasies and dreams, stripping the mind of illusion in order to see the true self, and confronting painful reality. Ariadne was looking for a lover to complete herself but, by giving away all that she had to him, she had nothing left for herself and thus lost her self in the process. The card advises you to stop dreaming of finding happiness and completion through another person and find a way to make yourself happy and content by learning to like and love yourself. You search outside yourself for satisfaction but no one knows you as well or can ever make you as happy as you can yourself. Be your own best friend. Everyone else may leave you, but you will always have your own self as a companion and source of support. Unless you find love within, you can never attract it outside of yourself or recognise it when it arrives. The answers to everything you want always exist inside you. That is where you must start, and only then move into the outer world.
2010 for you is one of the best years to find love and September is the best month of the year to devote to improving all your relationships - with family, and friends old and new. Like attracts like. When you have real love inside, that energy will draw similar vibrational energy - real love - from the outer world towards you.
That card represent me well. I've always looked for a lover to complete myself, dreaming of happiness and completion through another person. Wanting them to make me happy, love me and somehow show me how to love myself too and be happy within. But it is true I need to confront painful reality, stop dreaming, and find a way to make myself happy and contend by learning to like and love myself.
Do you have any advice or suggestions for me on learning how to do that?
You're right about September being the best month to devote to improving relationships.
There are people who haven't been in my life for a while and has came back into my life all of a sudden.. there are also people who surround me that I'm building better relationships with..
I just left you a message on your other thread.
I feel the same way as you, I can't read for myself!
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0.965402 |
Is it possible to see a virtual image?
c is a distractor, reflected light has nothing to do with it.
A concave spherical mirror has a radius of curvature of 18 cm. Locate the images for object distances as given below. In each case, state whether the image is real or virtual and upright or inverted, and find the magnification.
I'm really confused on how to do this, Can someone help walk me through? An object is placed in front of a concave mirror as shown in the diagram below. A. Draw at least two rays that demonstrate how this mirror produces an image.
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0.98387 |
1. it is close to a wellestablished scientific consensus at the turn of the twenty-first century.
2. The history of this development is grippingly told in a small book, The Discovery of Global Warming, by science historian Spencer Weart.
3. During the course of this history, the initially outlandish concept of human-caused global warming has won over practically every skeptical climatologist who has cared to look dispassionately at the evidence. But with new developments in the field almost every year—for example, the growing understanding of abrupt climate changes, the record-breaking hurricane season of 2005, or the renewed concerns about the stability of the ice sheets—the “basics” are seldom discussed any more.
Few people besides climatologists themselves, even in the climate policy community, could easily recount the main cornerstones of scientific evidence on which the case for anthropogenic warming rests. The goal of this paper is to do just that: to revisit the basic evidence for anthropogenic global warming.
To start, we need to clarify what we mean by “anthropogenic climate change.” It is useful to distinguish two different meanings of the term, since they are often confounded. The first one, let us call it statement A, can be summed up as follows: anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases will lead to significant global warming.
This is a statement about the future. It is reflected, for example, in the well-known range of future scenarios of the 2001 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which concluded that, in the absence of effective climate policies, we must expect a warming of between 1.4 and 5.8°C (centigrade) between the years 1990 and 2100.
The second meaning, let us call it statement B, can be phrased thus: human activities already have noticeably changed global climate. This is a statement about the past and about what we can observe now.
Only statement A is relevant to policy, because no current or planned policy can affect the past. Such policies are shaped by our expectations for the future. It is important to realize that statement A is not conditional on statement B. Thus, even if too much natural variability was masking any anthropogenic trend or if the quality of the data that we have simply was not good enough to detect any human influence on climate so far, we could (and would) still come to conclusion A. Nevertheless, both statement A and statement B are supported very strongly by the available evidence.
What evidence do we have for statement A—that anthropogenic emissions will lead to significant global warming? I break this into three parts. First, the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is rising. This is proven by direct measurement in the atmosphere since the 1950s, set forth as the famous Keeling curve, and it is undisputed.
Current CO2 data from the Global CO2 Monitoring Network are made available by the Cooperative Air Sampling Network. Ice core data, which provide a reliable and accurate record of CO2 concentration going back hundreds of thousands of years, show further that this rise is, in fact, very unusual.
For at least 650,000 years and probably ever since humans walked the Earth, the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere was never even close to as high as it is at present, as shown in figure 3-1. Current CO2 concentration has risen above 380 parts per million (ppm), while the preindustrial level back throughout the Holocene (the past 10,000 years) was close to 280 ppm. Similar values apply for previous interglacial periods.
We now come to the second part: the recent rise in CO2 is entirely anthropogenic. This is also undisputed. We have tracked and we know how much fossil fuel has been burned and therefore how much CO2 we have injected directly into the atmosphere. The observed increase in CO2 concentration over the past decades is equal to 57 percent of our cumulative emissions. Other parts of the climate system—the ocean and the land biosphere—have absorbed the remaining 43 percent of emissions from the atmosphere.
For the ocean, this is documented by around 10,000 oceanographic measurements, which show that the ocean has taken up about 2 gigatons (Gt) of carbon per year, or 30 percent of anthropogenic emissions (see figure 3-2).10 This CO2 uptake of the ocean makes the sea water more acidic and threatens marine life, which in itself is sufficient reason to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions significantly, even in the absence of climate change.
It is time to turn to statement B: human activities are altering the climate. This can be broken into two parts. The first is as follows: global climate is warming. This is by now a generally undisputed point (except by novelist Michael Crichton), so we deal with it only briefly.32 The two leading compilations of data measured with thermometers are shown in figure 3-3, that of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and that of the British Hadley Centre for Climate Change.
Although they differ in the details, due to the inclusion of different data sets and use of different spatial averaging and quality control procedures, they both show a consistent picture, with a global mean warming of 0.8°C since the late nineteenth century.
Temperatures over the past ten years clearly were the warmest since measured records have been available. The year 1998 sticks out well above the longterm trend due to the occurrence of a major El Niño event that year (the last El Niño so far and one of the strongest on record).
In addition to the surface measurements, the more recent portion of the global warming trend (since 1979) is also documented by satellite data. It is not straightforward to derive a reliable surface temperature trend from satellites, as they measure radiation coming from throughout the atmosphere (not just near the surface), including the stratosphere, which has strongly cooled,34 and the records are not homogeneous due to the short life span of individual satellites, the problem of orbital decay, observations at different times of day, and drifts in instrument calibration. Current analyses of these satellite data show trends that are fully consistent with surface measurements and model simulations.
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0.999999 |
What home remedies you recommend for heartburn and hiatal hernia, I really hate taking medications.
The use of medication like antacids to reduce heartburn is actually not advised since antacids reduce the absorption of nutrients and increase blood pressure. So you need not resort to medication since heartburn is easily treated through the use of herbs and natural remedies. The burning sensation and pain that you get in your stomach and chest and the sour taste in your mouth, caused by heartburn, can easily be cured by using some simple means.
You must first ensure that your diet prevents heartburn. Do not eat oily and spicy food like fried potatoes, chips or hamburgers. Certain foods are known to cause heartburn, and you must be aware of them.
Some of these are tomato based products like tomato soup and sauces. Caffeine based drinks such as coffee can also give heartburn. Check if these foods disagree with you and if they do, leave them out completely. Avoid alcohol in excessive amounts with your food. Some foods that help prevent heartburn are bananas, apples, cucumber, papaya and yogurt.
Eat smaller meals at regular intervals and chew your food slowly and deliberately. Gulping your food down is a sure way to invite trouble. Continue sitting a while after the meal and wait at least ten minutes before leaving the table. Eat your dinner three hours before you go to bed. If you go to bed immediately after dinner, the stomach acids leak back into the esophagus easily and cause heartburn.
If you experience heartburn, there are several remedies you can try. Drink tea which may be flavored with basil, chamomile or ginger, or drink green tea. Sip it slowly. This will help in digestion. Drinking a large glass of water usually helps in the case of a mild attack. The juice of raw potatoes also gives relief. Place unpeeled but thoroughly washed potatoes in the juicer, make the juice and drink it immediately. You may mix it with another juice to camouflage the taste of raw potatoes. A mixture of honey with lemon juice is another effective remedy. If you are experiencing an attack, try swallowing a teaspoon of dark brown sugar immediately. Chewing gum has been known to help as well. Drinking milk to reduce heartburn is no longer advised. It has been shown that milk temporarily reduces the symptoms and later increases the acidity in the stomach.
The symptoms of a heart attack can be similar to heartburn, so you must keep this in mind. If heartburn seems persistent or severe, it is wise to consult a doctor.
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0.999914 |
Fig. 1 Mouse kidney subject to the action of reprogramming factors for 7 days Appearance of kidney exposed to four reprogramming factors for 7 days and then left for a further 7 days. Compared to the control kidney, the kidney exposed to the reprogramming factors has grown larger due to tumor formation. The right-hand image shows the histological stain pattern of a +Doxycyclin kidney. Scale bar: 200µm.
A research team led by the group of Professor Yasuhiro Yamada, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, has discovered that when cells are subjected to incomplete reprogramming in vivo, epigenetic modifications take place which promote carcinogenesis.
iPS cells and cancer cells have the common attribute of being capable of unlimited proliferation, but whereas cancer is thought to arise through a series of gene mutations, iPS cells are generated by reprogramming somatic cells, which need not involve any gene mutation.
However, when mouse cells were exposed in vivo to four reprogramming factors (Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc) in such a way as to cause incomplete reprogramming, a major change occurred in the DNA methylation pattern (epigenome), resulting in tumorigenesis in a range of tissues. Tumors arising in the kidney through this process were very similar to Wilms' tumor, a pediatric kidney cancer, in terms of histological and molecular biological features. An examination of the cells of these tumors revealed no gene mutation, but did identify modifications in the epigenome, which was found to have altered to a pattern resembling that of pluripotent stem cells. Furthermore, the researchers were able to generate normal kidney cells from iPS cells created by reprogramming the tumor cells. These findings indicate the possibility that epigenetic regulation may promote tumorigenesis in certain types of cancer.
The findings of the research demonstrated that incomplete reprogramming using a procedure devised to reprogram mouse cells in vivo leads to the formation of tumors resembling nephroblastoma. Previously it had been thought that cumulative gene mutations were important in oncogenesis. However, the results of the present research indicate that, with certain types of tumor, cancer can be triggered not by gene mutation, but by epigenetic alterations. In other words, if it were possible to alter epigenetic conditions, it might be possible to alter the properties of cancer cells, which could lead in the future to new cancer therapies.
The present research additionally made use of iPS cell technology to develop a technique for epigenetic regulation that does not induce genomic mutation. It is hoped that using iPS cell technology in this way will bring new perspectives to disease research.
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0.912462 |
The issue of global warming is frequently addressed these days. Most divers know the term "coral bleaching," which is the result of coral tissue lacking symbiotic algae (called zooxanthellae) due to abnormally high sea temperatures. The coral relies on algae photosynthesis for nutrients, and is thus weakened in this stage due to an insufficient supply. Exposure to strong sunlight intensifies the damage, and makes coral death more likely. The combined effects of strong sunlight and a lack of zooxanthellae produce damaging oxygen radicals, which is toxic to coral tissue.
Episodes of coral bleaching occurred many times throughout the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic in the years 1991, 1995, 1998 and 2003. Thailand's reefs could not escape the harm caused during these periods. Typically, the maximum sea surface temperature (SST) in Thai waters is about 29 degrees Celsius. When SST reaches 2 degrees over the maximum (i.e. approximately 31°C) for up to three to four weeks, coral bleaching will result. In Thailand's Andaman Sea, coral bleaching occurred widely in 1991, 1995, 1998, 2003 and 2005. The most serious years were 1991 and 1995. Fortunately, in 1998, coral bleaching was very patchy in the Andaman Sea. This is because a cool upwelling took place from the end of 1997 to early in 1998, which prevented the temperature from maintaining a prolonged high. In 2003 and 2005, most of the bleached corals were able to recover when temperatures decreased due to monsoon waves.
1. support efforts to improve coral reef resilience to climate change by maintaining or enhancing good water quality and healthy reefs, and by working with local stakeholders to protect biological diversity and reduce stress.
2. support research to improve the understanding of factors that promote resilience in coral reefs, and their application in management.
3. support the development of sustainable livelihoods that may reduce vulnerability to climate change among coastal populations and strengthen ecosystem resilience.
4. enhance public awareness of the impacts of climate change on coral reefs.
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0.981132 |
Which of the statements regarding 'Unified Payments Interface' (UPI) is/are correct?
1. UPI works on both mobile devices and desktop computers.
2. UPI-PIN is mandatory to authorize all bank transactions in an UPI app.
3. Currently there are three different channels for transferring funds using UPI.
1. These are properties that were left behind by the people who took citizenship of Pakistan, China, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
2. Uttar Pradesh has highest number of enemy properties in the country.
3. These properties were vested under the control of Ministry of Defence.
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0.999998 |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2).
There were a total of 5,444,747 shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of January 29, 2015.
31.1 Certification of CEO pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
31.2 Certification of CFO pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
32.1 Certification of CEO pursuant to Section 906 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
32.2 Certification of CFO pursuant to Section 906 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
This report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements about Giga-tronics Incorporated (the “Company”) for which it claims the protection of the safe harbor provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) projections of revenues, expenses, income or loss, earnings or loss per share, capital structure and other financial items; (ii) statements of plans, objectives and expectations of the Company or its management or board of directors, including those relating to products, revenue or cost savings; (iii) statements of future economic performance; and (iv) statements of assumptions underlying such statements. Words such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "targeted", "projected", "continue", "remain", "will", "should", "may" and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.
These forward-looking statements are based on Management’s current knowledge and belief and include information concerning the Company’s possible or assumed future financial condition and results of operations. A number of factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s ability to predict or control, could cause future results to differ materially from those contemplated. These factors include but are not limited to risks related to (1) the Company’s potential inability to obtain necessary capital to finance its operations; (2) the Company’s ability to develop competitive products in a market with rapidly changing technology and standards; (3) risks related to customers’ credit worthiness/profiles; (4) changes in the Company’s credit profile and its ability to borrow; (5) a potential decline in demand for certain of the Company’s products; (6) potential product liability claims; (7) the potential loss of key personnel; and (8) U.S. and international economic conditions. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business operations. The reader is directed to the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 29, 2014 or further discussion of factors that could affect the Company's business and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made in this report. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in this report.
The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by Giga-tronics Incorporated (the “Company”), pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The consolidated results of operations for the interim periods shown in this report are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the fiscal year. In the opinion of management, the information contained herein reflects all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring entries) necessary to make the consolidated results of operations for the interim periods a fair statement of such operations. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto, included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended March 29, 2014.
Fiscal Year The Company’s financial reporting year consists of either a 52 week or 53 week period ending on the last Saturday of the month of March. Fiscal year 2015, ending on March 28, 2015 is a 52 week year, and fiscal year 2014, ended on March 29, 2014 was a 52 week year. Quarterly periods within each such fiscal year are in most cases 13 weeks as opposed to three calendar months. All references to three or nine month periods, and years in the consolidated financial statements relate to fiscal periods or years rather than three or nine month calendar quarters or calendar years.
Derivatives The Company accounts for free standing derivatives and embedded derivatives required to be bifurcated and accounted for on a stand-alone basis at estimated fair value. Changes in fair value are reported in earnings as gain or loss on adjustment of derivative liability to fair value.
New Accounting Standards In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an accounting standard update that changes the criteria for reporting discontinued operations. Under the accounting standard update, a disposal of a component of an entity or a group of components of an entity is required to be reported in discontinued operations if the disposal represents a strategic shift that has, or will have, a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results when either it qualifies as held for sale, disposed of by sale, or disposed of other than by sale. This accounting standard update will be effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2016. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this accounting standard update on its Consolidated Financial Statements.
Remove inconsistencies and weaknesses in revenue requirements.
Provide a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues.
Improve comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets.
Provide more useful information to users of financial statements through improved disclosure requirements.
Simplify the preparation of financial statements by reducing the number of requirements to which an entity must refer.
For a public entity, the amendments in this Update are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this new accounting standard will have on its financial statements.
In June 2014, the FASB amended ASC 718, Share Based Compensation, to require that a performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period be treated as a performance condition. For all entities, the amendments in this update are effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. Earlier adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this accounting standard update may have on its financial statements.
In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15 which provides guidance on determining when and how to disclose going concern uncertainties in the financial statements. The new standard requires management to perform interim and annual assessments of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year of the date the financial statements are issued. An entity must provide certain disclosures if conditions or events raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The ASU applies to all entities and is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this accounting standard update may have on its financial statements.
The Company incurred a net loss of $283,000 for the first nine months of fiscal 2015 and $3,742,000 for the fiscal year ended March 29, 2014. These losses contributed to an accumulated deficit of $18.5 million as of December 27, 2014.
In the first nine months of fiscal 2015 and all of fiscal 2014 the Company invested heavily in the development of a new Giga-tronics Division product platform, the Advanced Signal Generation System. The Company anticipates long-term revenue growth and improved gross margins from the new product platform, but the delay in completing it contributed significantly to the losses of the Company. The Advanced Signal Generation System's initial customer deliveries occurred in the second and third quarters of fiscal 2015, and are approaching final customer acceptance. Additional delays in shipping volume quantities, or longer than anticipated sales cycles, could significantly contribute to additional losses.
To help fund operations, the Company relies on advances under the line of credit with Silicon Valley Bank. However the Bank may terminate or suspend advances under the line of credit if the Bank determines there has been a material adverse change in the Company’s general affairs, financial forecasts or general ability to repay. (Note 13, Line of Credit). As of December 27, 2014, borrowings under the line of credit were $1.6 million.
These matters, along with recurring losses in prior years, raise substantial doubt as to the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern.
To address this matter, the Company’s management has taken several actions to provide additional liquidity and reduce costs and expenses going forward. These actions are described in the following paragraphs.
On June 16, 2014, Giga-tronics amended its loan agreement with Partners For Growth IV, L.P. (“PFG”). Under the terms of the amendment, PFG made a revolving line of credit available to Giga-tronics in the amount of $500,000 and the Company borrowed the entire amount on June 17, 2014. The Company’s original agreement with PFG was entered into on March 13, 2014 under which the Company received $1.0 million from a three-year term loan. Pursuant to the amended loan agreement, the Company may borrow an additional $500,000. The loan agreement contains financial covenants associated with the Company achieving minimum quarterly net sales and maintaining a minimum monthly shareholders’ equity. In the event of default by the Company, all or any part of the Company’s obligation to PFG could become immediately due.
In the first three months of fiscal 2015 the Microsource business unit received a $6.2 million order (“NRE Order”) for the non-recurring engineering and for the delivery of a limited number of flight-qualified prototype hardware from a major aerospace company to develop a variant of its high performance fast tuning YIG filters for an aircraft platform. The Company expects to recognize the majority of revenue from the NRE Order in fiscal 2015. The Company expects to finalize in the next few months a multi-year follow-on order for approximately $10.0 million associated with the production units, which are anticipated to start shipping in April of 2016. No assurances can be given that the parties will agree on the final multi-year production agreement, or what the actual terms will be.
Also in the first three months of fiscal 2015 the Giga-tronics Division received a $2.4 million order from the United States Navy (“Navy”) for its Model 8003 Precision Scalar Analyzer product (“8003”). The Company recognized the associated revenue and invoiced the Navy in the first two quarters of fiscal 2015.
To assist with the upfront purchases of inventory required for future product deliveries, the Company entered into advance payment arrangements with certain of its customers whereby the customers reimburse the Company for raw material purchases prior to the shipment of the finished products. In fiscal 2014 the Company entered into advance payment arrangements totaling $1.3 million, and during the first three quarters of fiscal 2015 the Company entered into $1.4 million of advance payment arrangements. The Company will continue to seek similar terms in future agreements with these and other customers.
Management will continue to review all aspects of the business in an effort to improve cash flow and reduce costs and expenses, while continuing to invest, to the extent possible, in new product development for future revenue streams.
Management will also continue to seek additional working capital through debt, equity financing or possible product line sales, but there are no assurances that such financings or sales will be available at all, or on terms acceptable to the Company.
The current year to date loss and the impacts of recurring losses in prior years have had a significant negative impact on the financial condition of the Company and raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern and do not include any adjustments that might result if the Company were unable to do so.
1. The Company’s performance to achieve the milestone.
2. The enhancement of the value of the delivered item or items as a result of a specific outcome resulting from the Company's performance to achieve the milestone.
b. It relates solely to past performance.
c. It is reasonable relative to all of the deliverables and payment terms (including other potential milestone consideration) within the arrangement.
Milestones are agreed upon with the customer prior to the start of the contract and some milestones will be tied to product shipping while others will be tied to design review. During the three and nine months ended December 27, 2014 revenue recognized on a milestone basis were $1.6 million and $4.5 million respectively. During the three and nine months ended December 28, 2013 revenue recognized on a milestone basis were $89,000 and $397,000, respectively.
On certain contracts with several of the Company’s significant customers the Company receives payments in advance of manufacturing. Advanced payments are recorded as deferred revenue until the revenue recognition criteria described above have been met.
Accounts receivable are stated at their net realizable value. The Company has estimated an allowance for uncollectable accounts based on analysis of specifically identified accounts, outstanding receivables, consideration of the age of those receivables, the Company’s historical collection experience, and adjustments for other factors management believes are necessary based on perceived credit risk.
The Company provides for estimated costs that may be incurred for product warranties at the time of shipment. The Company’s warranty policy generally provides twelve to eighteen months depending on the customer. The estimated cost of warranty coverage is based on the Company’s actual historical experience with its current products or similar products. For new products, the required reserve is based on historical experience of similar products until such time as sufficient historical data has been collected on the new product. Adjustments are made as new information becomes available.
On March 18, 2013, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Teradyne Inc. (“Teradyne”), whereby Teradyne agreed to purchase the Giga-tronics Division product line known as SCPM for $1.0 million, resulting in a net gain of $913,000, of which $816,000 was recorded during the first quarter of fiscal 2014. In April 2013 the Company received $800,000 in proceeds at the closing of the transaction upon delivery of electronic data associated with the purchase. The Company also earned an additional $50,000 associated with training of Teradyne employees, which was offset by $34,000 of associated costs. The balance of the consideration ($150,000) was subject to a hold back arrangement until December 31, 2013 to cover certain contingencies and the requirement to deliver certain inventory. During fiscal 2014, the Company delivered to Teradyne all of the associated inventory, totaling $53,000. On December 6, 2013, the Company received the remaining $150,000 along with confirmation from Teradyne that the holdback provisions were removed.
Basic earnings (loss) per common share (EPS) is calculated by dividing net income or loss attributable to common shareholders by the weighted average common shares outstanding during the period. Net income attributable to common shareholders excludes distributed and undistributed earnings attributable to preferred stock, which constitute participating securities due to their dividend rights, and to which the Company applies the two-class method of calculating and presenting earnings per share. Diluted EPS reflects the net incremental shares that would be issued if unvested restricted shares became vested and dilutive outstanding stock options and warrants were exercised, using the treasury stock method. In the case of a net loss, it is assumed that no incremental shares would be issued because they would be antidilutive. In addition, certain options and restricted stock are considered antidilutive because assumed proceeds from exercise price, related tax benefits and average future compensation was greater than the weighted average number of options outstanding multiplied by the average market price during the period.
The restricted stock awards and stock options not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share for the three month period ended December 27, 2014 are as a result of these instruments being anti-dilutive after application of the treasury method described above. The restricted stock awards, stock options, warrants and convertible preferred stock not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the nine month periods ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013 and for the three months ended December 28, 2013 are a result of the Company’s net loss and, therefore, these instruments are anti-dilutive.
The Company has established the 2000 Stock Option Plan and the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan, which provide for the granting of options and restricted stock for up to 2,250,000 shares of common stock at 100% of fair market value at the date of grant, with each grant requiring approval by the Board of Directors of the Company. Option grants under the 2000 Stock Option Plan are no longer available. Options granted generally vest in one or more installments in a four or five year period and must be exercised while the grantee is employed by the Company or within a certain period after termination of employment. Options granted to employees shall not have terms in excess of 10 years from the grant date. Holders of options may be granted stock appreciation rights (SARs), which entitle them to surrender outstanding awards for a cash distribution under certain changes in ownership of the Company, as defined in the stock option plan. As of December 27, 2014, no SAR’s have been granted under the option plan. As of December 27, 2014, the total number of shares of common stock available for issuance is 475,650. All outstanding options have either a five year or a ten year life. The Company records compensation cost associated with share-based compensation equivalent to the estimated fair value of the awards over the requisite service period. There were 35,000 options granted in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 and options for 264,500 granted in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 with weighted average grant date fair values of $1.23 and $1.68 per share, respectively. There were options for 35,000 shares granted in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 and options for 430,750 shares granted in the first nine months of fiscal 2014 with weighted average grant date fair values of $1.05 and $1.09 per share, respectively.
Included in the options granted during fiscal 2014 are performance-based options for 100,000 shares granted as an inducement to an employee which were outside the 2005 plan. A portion of the options vest following the filing of the Company’s Form 10-K for fiscal 2015 provided certain bookings goals are achieved by the Company. No compensation cost had been recognized for these stock options through the first quarter of fiscal 2015 or during fiscal 2014 because management believed it was not probable that the performance criteria would be met. During the second quarter of fiscal 2015, management’s assessment changed as it now appears probable that the criteria will be met. The expense of $39,000 will be recognized ratably over the remaining vesting period. For the third quarter of fiscal 2015, $10,000 was recognized as compensation expense.
The computation of expected volatility used in the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s share price. The expected term is estimated based on a review of historical employee exercise behavior with respect to option grants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury rates with maturity similar to the expected term of the option on the date of grant.
As of December 27, 2014, there was $765,000 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested options. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 3.1 years. There were 71,750 options that vested during the quarter ended December 27, 2014. There were 74,050 options that vested during the quarter ended December 28, 2013. The total grant date fair value of options vested during the quarters ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013 was $97,000 and $100,000, respectively. There were 231,150 options that vested during the nine month period ended December 27, 2014. There were 241,025 options that vested during the nine month period ended December 28, 2013. The total grant date fair value of options vested during the nine month periods ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013 was $280,000 and $303,000, respectively. No shares were exercised in the three month periods ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013. Options of 76,500 shares were exercised in the nine month period ended December 27, 2014 and no shares were exercised in the nine month period ended December 28, 2013. Share based compensation cost recognized in operating results for the three month periods ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013 totaled $103,000 and $36,000, respectively. Share based compensation cost recognized in operating results for the nine month periods ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013 totaled $280,000 and $316,000, respectively.
During the nine months ended December 28, 2013, the vesting for 40,000 options was accelerated in connection with a termination agreement with a former employee. This modification did not result in any incremental compensation expense, however $38,000 of stock-based compensation expense was accelerated and recognized during the nine months ended December 28, 2013.
During the nine months ended December 27, 2014, 25,000 options were exercised by certain members of the Company’s Board of Directors. No options were exercised by Board members in Fiscal 2014.
The Company granted 187,000 shares of restricted stock during the first nine months of fiscal 2015 to the members of the Board of Directors in lieu of cash compensation for services to be performed in fiscal 2015. The weighted average grant date fair value was $2.47. The Company granted 71,500 shares of restricted stock during the first nine months of fiscal 2014 to certain members of the Board of Directors in lieu of cash compensation for services to be performed in fiscal 2014. The weighted average grant date fair value was $1.53 per share. The Company also granted 30,000 shares of unrestricted stock during the first nine months of fiscal 2014 as part of a severance agreement with a former employee. The 30,000 shares did not have a restriction period because they vested immediately on the grant date, but are included in the roll forward schedule of restricted stock below because they were granted under the 2005 Plan. The restricted stock awards are considered fixed awards as the number of shares and fair value at the grant date is amortized over the requisite service period net of estimated forfeitures.
As of December 27, 2014, there was $262,000 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested restricted awards. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 0.5 years. Compensation cost was recognized for the restricted and unrestricted stock awards for the three and nine month periods ended December 27, 2014 totaling $131,000 and $265,000, respectively. These amounts include $16,000 and $32,000 for the three and nine months ended December 27, 2014 for performance awards based on bookings for which probability of attainment appears likely. Compensation cost was recognized for the restricted and unrestricted stock awards for the three and nine month periods ended December 28, 2013 totaling $31,000 and $79,000, respectively. No amounts were included for performance awards based on bookings as their probability of attainment did not appear likely at that time.
The Company has two reportable segments: Giga-tronics Division and Microsource.
Giga-tronics Division produces a broad line of test and measurement equipment used in the development, test and maintenance of wireless communications products and systems, flight navigational equipment, electronic defense systems and automatic testing systems and designs, manufactures, and markets a line of switching devices that link together many specific purpose instruments that comprise automatic test systems. These products are used primarily in the design, production, repair and maintenance of commercial telecommunications, radar, and electronic warfare equipment. Microsource develops and manufactures a broad line of YIG (Yttrium, Iron, Garnet) tuned oscillators, filters and microwave synthesizers, which are used by its customers in operational applications and in manufacturing a wide variety of microwave instruments and devices.
The tables below present information for the three and nine month periods ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013.
During the third quarter of fiscal 2015, one customer accounted for 36% of the Company’s consolidated revenues and was included in the Microsource segment. A second customer accounted for 16% of the Company’s consolidated revenue for the three months ended December 27, 2014 and was primarily included in the Microsource segment. A third customer accounted for 15% of the Company’s consolidated revenue for the three months ended December 27, 2014 and was primarily included in the Giga-tronics Division. During the third quarter of fiscal 2014, one customer accounted for 41% of the Company’s consolidated revenue and was primarily included in the Microsource segment. A second customer accounted for 20% and was included in the Giga-tronics Division.
During the first nine months of fiscal 2015, one customer accounted for 32% of the Company’s consolidated revenues and was primarily included in the Microsource segment. A second customer accounted for 19% of the Company’s consolidated revenue for the nine months ended December 27, 2014 and was included in the Giga-tronics Division. A third customer accounted for 18% of the Company’s consolidated revenue for the nine months ended December 27, 2014 and was primarily included in the Microsource segment. One customer accounted for 43% of the Company’s consolidated revenues for the nine months ended December 28, 2013 and was primarily included in the Microsource segment. A second customer accounted for 14% of the Company’s consolidated revenues for the nine months ended December 28, 2013 and was included in the Giga-tronics Division.
The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method as codified in Topic 740. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carry-forwards.
The Company did not incur tax expense for the three months ended December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013. The Company’s tax expense for the nine months ending December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013 was $47,000 and $2,000, respectively. The Company’s actual tax expense differed from the expected amount using statutory rates primarily as a result of the valuation allowance against deferred tax assets.
As of December 27, 2014, the Company had recorded $70,000 for unrecognized tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions. The unrecognized tax benefit is netted against the non-current deferred tax asset on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Company does not expect the liability for unrecognized tax benefits to change materially within the next 12 months. The Company does have a California Franchise Tax Board audit that is currently in process. The Company is working with the California Franchise Tax Board to resolve all audit issues and does not believe any material taxes, penalties and fees are due. However, as a result of the on-going examination, the Company recorded an estimated associated tax liability of $45,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.
The Company records a provision in cost of sales for estimated warranty obligations at the date products are sold. Adjustments are made as new information becomes available. The following provides a reconciliation of changes in the Company’s warranty reserve. The Company provides no other guarantees.
The Company took steps to reduce expenses and personnel by combining its operations in Santa Rosa into its San Ramon facility. This physical move was completed on May 31, 2013. Certain employee retention agreements were extended through December 2013. Substantially all of the restructuring costs were for the Microsource reportable segment. As of March 29, 2014 the Company had expensed $780,000 related to these restructuring costs, of which $36,000 was recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 and $360,000 for the nine months ended December 28, 2013. There were no restructuring costs during the first nine months of fiscal 2015 and the Company does not anticipate any additional restructuring costs.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements The Company’s financial instruments consist principally of cash and cash-equivalents, line of credit, term loan, warrant debt and warrant derivative liability. The fair value of a financial instrument is the amount at which the instrument could be exchanged in an orderly transaction between market participants to sell the asset or transfer the liability. The Company uses fair value measurements based on quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets that the entity can access as of the measurement date (Level 1), significant other observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data (Level 2), or significant unobservable inputs reflect a company’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability (Level 3), depending on the nature of the item being valued.
The carrying amounts of the Company’s cash and cash-equivalents and line of credit approximate their fair values at each balance sheet date due to the short-term maturity of these financial instruments. The fair values of term loan and warrant debt are based on the present value of expected future cash flows and assumptions about current interest rates and the creditworthiness of the Company (Level 3), and at December 27, 2014 and March 29, 2014 resulted in the carrying amounts approximating fair values due to the fact that the agreements were entered into near the balance sheet dates and in management’s opinion there were no significant changes to the credit risk of the instruments since they were issued, nor were there significant changes in interest rates or other market factors. The estimated fair value of the bifurcated conversion feature represented by the warrant derivative liability which is measured at fair value on a recurring basis is based on a Black Scholes option pricing model with assumptions for stock price, exercise price, volatility, expected term, risk free interest rate and dividend yield similar to those described previously for share-based compensation which were generally observable (Level 2). The Company had no assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis, nor were there any transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.
On June 11, 2013 the Company entered into an amendment to the Second Amended Credit Facility (the “New Amended Credit Facility”) with Silicon Valley Bank. The New Amended Credit Facility amended the Second Amended Credit Facility by expanding the definition of eligible accounts, increasing the maximum limit, and extending the maturity date. The New Amended Credit Facility, which expires on April 15, 2015, is secured by all assets of the Company and provides for a borrowing capacity equal to 80% of eligible accounts receivable (70% of eligible foreign accounts receivable) on an aggregate basis, up to a maximum of $3.0 million, provided the Company maintains borrowing base eligibility, that is, a minimum of $750,000 of cash in excess of its line of credit liability.
The New Amended Credit Facility contains a collateral handling fee of one-tenth of one percent (0.10%) on outstanding financed receivables for each calendar month based upon a 360 day year. When the Company is borrowing base eligible, the collateral handling fee is not applicable. Interest accrues on the average outstanding borrowings at a floating per annum rate equal to the greater of the Prime Rate plus two percent (2.00%) or six percent (6.00%). When the Company is borrowing base eligible, any borrowings under the New Amended Credit Facility can be repaid and such repaid amounts re-borrowed until the maturity date. When the Company is not borrowing base eligible, advances are made on the New Amended Credit facility on individual accounts receivable and the Company is required to instruct its customers to remit payments to a lockbox at the Bank and when the Company is not borrowing base eligible, such payments are applied by the Bank to the line of credit to the extent monies were advanced to the Company based on such specific accounts receivable. As of December 27, 2014, the Company was not borrowing base eligible and had outstanding borrowings of $1.6 million which have been classified as a current liability since the New Amended Credit Facility expires in less than twelve months.
As of March 29, 2014, the Company was not borrowing base eligible and, as a result, the Company’s outstanding borrowings under the New Amended Credit Facility of $1.2 million was classified as a current liability.
As of December 27, 2014 the borrowing of $1.6 million approached the maximum borrowing capacity under the Line of Credit. No material additional amounts were available to draw at December 27, 2014 or March 29, 2014. The Bank may terminate or suspend advances under the line of credit if the Bank determines there has been a material adverse change in the Company’s general affairs, financial forecasts or general ability to repay.
On March 13, 2014 the Company entered into a three year, $2.0 million term loan agreement with PFG (the “PFG Loan”) under which the Company received $1.0 million on March 14, 2014 (the “First Draw”). Pursuant to the agreement, the Company had the ability to borrow an additional $1.0 million following the Company’s achievement of certain performance milestones which included achieving $7.5 million in net sales during the first half of fiscal 2015 and two consecutive quarters of net income greater than zero during fiscal 2015.
On June 16, 2014, the Company amended its loan agreement with PFG (the “Amendment”). Under the terms of the Amendment, PFG made a revolving credit line available to Giga-tronics in the amount of $500,000, and the Company borrowed the entire amount on June 17, 2014. The revolving line has a thirty-three month term. The Amendment reduced the future amount potentially available for the Company to borrow under the PFG Loan agreement from $1.0 million to $500,000. During the period ended December 27, 2014, the Company repaid $99,000 in principal to PFG. As of December 27, 2014, the Company had total debt outstanding of $1.4 million with PFG.
Interest on the initial $1.0 million term loan is fixed at 9.75% per annum and required monthly interest only payments during the first six months of the agreement followed by monthly principal and interest payments over the remaining thirty months. The Company may prepay the loan at any time prior to maturity by paying all future scheduled principal and unearned interest payments.
Interest on the $500,000 revolving line is fixed, calculated on a daily basis at a rate of 12.50% per annum. The Company may prepay the loan at any time prior to the March 13, 2017 maturity date without a penalty. Beginning in October 2014, PFG has the right to convert the $500,000 revolving loan into a term loan and require principal payments to be amortized over the remaining loan term. No payments were made in the period ended December 27, 2014.
The PFG Loan is secured by all of the assets of the Company under a lien that is junior to the SVB lien described in Note 13, and limits borrowing under the SVB credit line to $3.0 million. The Company paid a loan fee of $30,000 for the First Draw, $15,000 for the Amendment, and will pay $5,000 if the final $500,000 is drawn. The loan fees paid are recorded as prepaid expenses and amortized to interest expense over the remaining term of the PFG amended loan agreement.
The amended loan agreement contains financial covenants associated with the Company achieving minimum quarterly net sales and maintaining a minimum monthly shareholders’ equity. In the event of default by the Company, all or any part of the Company’s obligation to PFG could become immediately due. The lender can accelerate the maturity of the loan in case of a default. As of December 27, 2014, the Company was in compliance with the financial covenants.
The loan agreement also provided for the issuance of warrants convertible into 300,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, of which 180,000 were exercisable upon receipt of the initial $1.0 million from the First Draw, 80,000 became exercisable with the Amendment, and 40,000 would become exercisable if the remaining $500,000 is funded. Each warrant issued under the loan agreement has a term of five years from the First Draw and an exercise price of $1.42 which is equal to the average NASDAQ closing price of the Company’s common stock for the ten trading days prior to the First Draw. The number of shares exercisable under each of the aforementioned warrant agreements is subject to downward adjustment from 180,000 to 155,000, 80,000 to 67,500 and 40,000 to 27,500, respectively, if the Company achieves net sales of at least $18.0 million and net income of at least $1.0 million in fiscal 2015.
If the warrants are not exercised before expiration on March 13, 2019, the Company would be required to pay PFG $150,000 and $67,000 as settlement for warrants associated with the First Draw and the Amendment, respectively together with $33,000 assuming the Company borrowed the remaining $500,000 and the associated warrants to be issued in connection therewith were not exercised by PFG. The warrants could be settled for cash at an earlier date in the event of any acquisition or other change in control of the Company, future public issuance of Company securities or liquidation (or substantially similar event) of the Company. The Company currently has no plans for any of the aforementioned events, and as a result, the cash payment date is estimated to be the expiration date unless warrants are exercised before then. Due to the fixed payment amount on the expiration date, the warrant structure is in substance a debt arrangement (the “Warrant Debt”) with a zero interest rate, a fixed maturity date and a feature that makes the debt convertible to common stock. The conversion feature is an embedded derivative and due to the downward adjustment feature based on performance criteria is not considered indexed solely to the Company’s stock. Thus, for accounting purposes, the conversion feature is bifurcated and accounted for separately from the host debt instrument as a derivative liability measured at fair value which resulted in an initial carrying value of $128,000 for the derivative liability associated with the warrants issued in connection with the First Draw and an initial carrying value of $123,000 for the derivative liability associated with the warrants issued in connection with the Amendment. As of December 27, 2014, the estimated fair values of the derivative liabilities associated with the warrants issued in connection with the First Draw and Amendment were $165,000 and $70,000, respectively, for a combined value of $235,000. As of September 27, 2014, the estimated fair values of the derivative liabilities associated with the warrants issued in connection with the First Draw and Amendment were $235,000 and $106,000, respectively, for a combined value of $341,000. The change in the fair value of the derivative liabilities since September 27, 2014 totaled $107,000 and is reported in earnings as gain on adjustment of derivative liability to fair value for the three months ended December 27, 2014. The change in the fair value of the derivative liabilities since their respective dates of issuance totaled $16,000 and is reported in earnings as gain on adjustment of derivative liability to fair value.
The proceeds from the initial $1.0 million First Draw were allocated between the PFG Loan and the Warrant Debt (inclusive of its conversion feature) based on their relative fair values on the date of issuance which resulted in initial carrying values of $822,000 and $178,000, respectively. The conversion feature was bifurcated from the Warrant Debt and recorded at its $128,000 estimated fair value resulting in a remaining carrying value of $50,000 associated with the Warrant Debt. The resulting discounts of $178,000 on the PFG Loan and $100,000 on the Warrant Debt are being accreted to interest expense under the effective interest method over the three-year term of the PFG Debt and the five-year term of the Warrant Debt. Accretion expense for the three and nine months ended December 27, 2014 was $26,000 and $59,000, respectively.
The proceeds from the $500,000 credit line issued in connection with the Amendment were allocated between the PFG Loan and the Warrant Debt (inclusive of its conversion feature) based on their relative fair values on the date of issuance which resulted in initial carrying values of $365,000 and $135,000, respectively. The conversion feature was bifurcated from the Warrant Debt and recorded at its $123,000 estimated fair value resulting in a remaining carrying value of $12,000 associated with the Warrant Debt. The resulting discounts of $135,000 on the PFG Loan and $55,000 on the Warrant Debt will be accreted to interest expense under the effective interest method over the thirty-three month remaining term of the PFG Loan and the fifty-seven month remaining term of the Warrant Debt. Accretion expense for the three and nine months ended December 27, 2014 was $19,000 and $56,000 respectively.
On November 10, 2011, the Company received $2,199,000 in cash proceeds from Alara Capital AVI II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Investor”), an investment vehicle sponsored by Active Value Investors, LLC, under a Securities Purchase Agreement entered into on October 31, 2011. Under the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company issued 9,997 shares of its Series B Convertible Voting Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series B Preferred Stock”) to the Investor at a price of $220 per share. The Company has recorded $2.0 million as Series B Preferred Stock on the consolidated balance sheet. This amount is net of stock offering costs of approximately $202,000 and represents the value attributable to both the convertible preferred stock and warrants issued to the Investor. After considering the value of the warrants, the effective conversion price of the preferred stock was greater than the common stock price on date of issue and therefore no beneficial conversion feature was present.
On February 19, 2013, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “SPA”) pursuant to which it agreed to sell 3,424.65 shares of its Series C Convertible Voting Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series C Preferred Stock”) to the Investor, for aggregate consideration of $500,000, which is approximately $146.00 per share. The Company has recorded $457,000 as Series C Preferred Stock on the consolidated balance sheet, which is net of stock offering costs of approximately $43,000. After considering the reduction in the value of the warrant, the effective conversion price of the preferred stock was greater than the common stock price on the date of issue and therefore no beneficial conversion feature was present.
On July 8, 2013 the Company received $817,000 in net cash proceeds from the Investor under a Securities Purchase Agreement. The Company sold to the Investor 5,111.86 shares of its Series D Convertible Voting Perpetual Preferred Stock (Series D Preferred Stock) and a warrant to purchase up to 511,186 additional shares of common stock at the price of $1.43 per share. The allocation of the $858,000 in gross proceeds from issuance of Series D Preferred Stock based on the relative fair values resulted in an allocation of $498,000 (which was recorded net of $41,000 of issuance costs) to Series D Preferred Stock and $360,000 to Common Stock. In addition, because the effective conversion rate based on the $498,000 allocated to Series D Preferred Stock was $0.97 per common share which was less than the Company’s stock price on the date of issuance, a beneficial conversion feature was present at the issuance date. The beneficial conversion feature totaled $238,000 and was recorded as a reduction of common stock and an increase to accumulated deficit.
Each share of Series B, Series C and Series D Preferred Stock is convertible into one share of the Company’s common stock. The investor also holds warrants to purchase 1,017,405 shares at an exercise price of $1.43 per share.
The forward-looking statements included in this report including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "expects", "intends" and words of similar import, which reflect management’s best judgment based on factors currently known, involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including but not limited to those listed in Giga-tronics’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 29, 2014 Part I, under the heading “Risk Factors”, and Part II, under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations”.
Giga-tronics produces instruments, subsystems and sophisticated microwave components that have broad applications in both defense electronics and wireless telecommunications. The Company has two reporting segments: Giga-tronics Division and Microsource.
In the first three months of fiscal 2015 the Giga-tronics Division received a $2.4 million order from the United States Navy (“Navy”) for its Model 8003 Precision Scalar Analyzers product (“8003”). The Navy was a significant customer for the Company in the first nine months of fiscal 2015. Also, in the first nine months of fiscal 2014 the Giga-tronics Division had a range of customers, both domestic and international, and one significant reseller.
In the first three months of fiscal 2015 the Microsource business unit received a $6.2 million order (“NRE Order”) for non-recurring engineering and for delivery of a limited number of flight-qualified prototype hardware from a major aerospace company to develop a variant of its high performance fast tuning YIG filters for an aircraft platform. The Company expects to recognize the majority of revenue in fiscal 2015 from the order. The Company expects to finalize in the next few months a multi-year follow-on order for approximately $10.0 million associated with the production units, which are anticipated to start shipping in April of 2016.
In the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2015, almost all of the orders and sales for the Microsource business unit were from two large aerospace customers. Almost all the orders and revenue for the Microsource business was associated with programs for retrofitting radar filter components on existing military aircraft and radar filter components for new military aircraft. The timing of orders and milestone achievements associated with these customers causes significant differences in orders, sales, deferred revenue, inventory and cash flow when comparing one fiscal period to another.
The Microsource NRE Order received early in fiscal 2015 resulted in significant improvements to sales and results of operations in the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2015, when compared to the same periods in fiscal 2014. We expect to see continued improvements in operating results for the remainder of fiscal 2015, when compared to fiscal 2014, as we continue to deliver on the Microsource NRE Order.
New orders received in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 increased by 16% to $4.0 million from the $3.5 million received in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. The increase is primarily due to a large order for legacy Giga-tronics Division Signal Generator products.
New orders received in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 increased 62% to $15.2 million from the $9.4 million received in the first nine months of fiscal 2014. The increase in orders is primarily due to the Microsource business unit in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 being awarded an approximately $6.2 million NRE contract from a large aerospace company.
Backlog at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2015 increased 44% compared to the end of the same period last year. The increase in backlog is primarily due to the $6.2 million NRE Order the Microsource business unit received in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, and the receipt of a $1.3 million Microsource business unit order for radar filter components.
Net sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 were $4.5 million, a 32% increase from the $3.4 million in fiscal 2014, primarily due to partial fulfillment of the Microsource NRE Order and the Giga-tronics Division shipment of a new switching product.
Net sales in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 increased 36% to $14.1 million from the $10.4 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2014. Sales for the Giga-tronics Division increased 24% primarily due to the fulfillment of the Navy 8003 order. Sales for Microsource increased 48% primarily due to the partial fulfillment of the NRE Order with a large aerospace company.
Cost of sales as a percentage of sales decreased for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 to 58.5% compared to 62.3% for the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Cost of sales as a percentage of sales also decreased for the nine months ended December 27, 2014 to 57.3% compared to 64.1% from the first nine months of fiscal 2014. The percentage decreases were primarily due to the fulfilment of the Microsource NRE Order, which had a lower cost of sales compared to product sales.
Operating expenses decreased 13% or $276,000 in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 over fiscal 2014. Operating expenses decreased 16% or $1.1 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 over fiscal 2014. Engineering expenses decreased $307,000 in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 and $477,000 in the first nine months of fiscal 2015, primarily due to a portion of our engineers being assigned to the Microsource NRE Order which is recorded as cost of sales. Selling, general and administrative decreased by $273,000 in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 primarily due to personnel and other cost reductions over the prior 21 months. The restructuring activities were completed in fiscal year 2014. (Note 11, Restructuring).
On March 18, 2013, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Teradyne Inc. (“Teradyne”), whereby Teradyne agreed to purchase the Giga-tronics Division product line known as SCPM for $1.0 million, resulting in a net gain of $97,000 during the third quarter of fiscal 2014 and $913,000 for all of fiscal 2014. (Note 5, Gain on Sale of Product Line).
The Company recorded a gain of $107,000 and $16,000 for the three and nine months ended December 27, 2014, in association with the revaluation of the PFG debt derivative liability. The Company also recorded accretion of discount expense associated with the warrants issued with the PFG Loan of $45,000 for the three months ended December 27, 2014, and $115,000 for the nine months ended December 27, 2014. (Note 14, Term Loan, Revolving Line of Credit and Warrants).
Net interest expense for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 was $62,000, an increase of $41,000 over the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net interest expense for the first nine months of fiscal 2015 was $199,000, an increase of $147,000 over the first nine months of fiscal 2014. The fiscal 2015 increases were primarily the result of increased borrowings under the SVB line of credit and the loans with PFG.
Giga-tronics recorded net income of $67,000 for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 versus a net loss of $718,000 in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. The profit in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 compared to the loss in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 was primarily due to increased revenues associated with the Microsource NRE Order.
Giga-tronics recorded a net loss of $283,000 for the first nine months of fiscal 2015 versus a net loss of $2.5 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2014. The lower net loss in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2014 was primarily due to increased revenues associated with the Microsource NRE Order and the Navy 8003 order, and the decrease in operating expenses discussed above.
As of December 27, 2014, Giga-tronics had $1.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $1.1 million as of March 29, 2014.
Working capital at December 27, 2014 and March 29, 2014 was $1.3 million and $973,000, respectively. The current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) at December 27, 2014 was 1.22 compared to 1.17 on March 29, 2014.
Cash used in operating activities was $513,000 for the nine month period ended December 27, 2014. Cash used in operating activities in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 primarily resulted from an increase in accounts receivable of $686,000 due to the increase in customer sales. Cash used in operating activities amounted to $1.5 million for the nine month period ended December 28, 2013. Cash used in operating activities for the first nine months of fiscal year 2014 was primarily attributed to the net loss of $2.5 million, which was partially offset by the $449,000 increase in accounts payable and the $395,000 in noncash expense for share based compensation.
Additions to property and equipment were $30,000 in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 compared to $262,000 for the same period last year. The additions in the first nine months of fiscal 2015 were associated with equipment needed to manufacture the new product platform. The additions in the prior year were primarily due to leasehold improvements associated with the move of the Microsource manufacturing to the San Ramon facility.
Cash provided by financing activities for the first nine months ended December 27, 2014 was $880,000, primarily due to $500,000 of debt proceeds received from PFG and $457,000 of net proceeds from the line of credit from Silicon Valley Bank. On June 16, 2014, the Company amended its loan agreement with PFG. Under the terms of the amendment, PFG made a revolving line available to Giga-tronics in the amount of $500,000 for which the Company borrowed the entire amount on June 17, 2014. The Company had total debt of $1.4 million with PFG as of December 27, 2014. The amended loan agreement also provides for the Company’s ability to request an additional term loan of up to $500,000 in Fiscal 2015. (Note 14, Term Loan, Revolving Line of Credit, and Warrants).
As of December 27, 2014, the Company’s outstanding borrowings under the New Amended Credit Facility with SVB, which expires on April 15, 2015, were $1.6 million. Management intends to draw upon the New Amended Credit Facility throughout fiscal 2015 to meet projected cash requirements. As of December 27, 2014, the line of credit was at its maximum borrowing capacity. SVB may terminate or suspend advances under the line of credit if SVB determines there has been a material adverse change in the Company’s general affairs, financial forecasts or general ability to repay.
The Company incurred a net loss of $283,000 for the first nine months of fiscal 2015 and $3,742,000 for the fiscal year ended March 29, 2014. These losses have contributed to an accumulated deficit of $18.5 million as of December 27, 2014.
To assist with the upfront purchases of inventory required for future product deliveries, the Company entered into advance payment arrangements with certain of its customers, whereby the customers reimburse the Company for raw material purchases prior to the shipment of the finished products. In fiscal 2014 the Company entered into advance payment arrangements totaling $1.3 million, and during the first three quarters of fiscal 2015 the Company entered into $1.4 million of advance payment arrangements. The Company will continue to seek similar terms in future agreements with these and other customers.
The current year to date loss and the impacts of recurring losses in prior years have had a significant negative impact on the financial condition of the Company and raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management believes that through the actions to date and possible future actions described above, the Company should have the necessary liquidity to continue its operations at least for the next twelve months, though no assurances can be made in this regard based on uncertainties with respect to the continued manufacturing and marketing efforts of the Company’s new product platform and the material adverse change clause in the Company’s line of credit agreement discussed above. The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern and do not include any adjustments that might result if the Company were unable to do so.
The Company carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of the Company's management, including the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company's disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company's disclosure controls and procedures are effective to provide reasonable assurances that (i) the information the Company is required to disclose in the reports it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period required by the Commission’s rules and forms, and (ii) such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
There were no significant changes in the Company's internal control over financial reporting during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.
As of December 27, 2014, Giga-tronics had no material pending legal proceedings. From time to time, Giga-tronics is involved in various disputes and litigation matters that arise in the ordinary course of business.
Other than discussed below there has been no material change in the risk factors disclosed in the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 29, 2014.
In February 2014, The NASDAQ Stock Market (“NASDAQ”) initiated proceedings to delist the Company from the NASDAQ Capital Market for failure to maintain the minimum required shareholders’ equity. The Company appealed that determination and certain subsequent determinations, and on November 17, 2014, the Company received a notification letter from NASDAQ advising the Company that the hearing panel granted an extension of the Company’s listing through February 16, 2015.
The Company previously reported that it received a notification letter from NASDAQ dated February 12, 2014, advising the Company of its failure to comply with the required minimum of $2,500,000 in shareholders’ equity for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, pursuant to NASDAQ listing rule 5550(b)(1). The Company fell below the minimum requirement with reported shareholders’ equity of $2,044,000 in its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended December 28, 2013.
NASDAQ stated in the February 12, 2014 letter that under the NASDAQ listing rules the Company had 45 calendar days to submit a plan to regain compliance. The Company submitted a plan on March 31, 2014, and NASDAQ notified the Company on April 10, 2014 of NASDAQ’s acceptance of the plan and the granting of an extension to comply with the required minimum of $2,500,000 in shareholders’ equity by August 11, 2014. The terms of the extension required the Company to complete certain contemplated sales or other transactions by August 11, 2014, but the Company was unable to do so.
On August 14, 2014, the Company received a notification letter from NASDAQ advising the Company of its failure to comply with the terms of the extension granted to meet the required minimum in shareholders’ equity. The Company requested, and was granted, a hearing that took place on November 6, 2014.
During the extension period the Company is required to provide NASDAQ a written monthly update regarding its progress towards compliance. The Company must also provide NASDAQ prompt notice of significant events that occur during the extension, including any event that might call into question the Company’s ability to regain compliance. NASDAQ reserves the right to reconsider the extension or its terms if it believes that any new development or information makes the Company’s continued listing inadvisable or unwarranted. Unless the Company regains compliance, continuation of the Company’s listing on NASDAQ will cease on, or shortly after February 16, 2015.
Regaining compliance will most likely depend on the Company’s ability to sell one or more of its legacy product lines or raise equity capital through the exercise of certain existing warrants. No assurance can be given that the Company will regain compliance by February 16, 2015, or that NADAQ will not reconsider the extension or its terms before that date. If the Company’s Common Stock ceases to be listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market, the Company expects that its Common Stock would be traded over the counter on the OTCQB marketplace on or about the same day or shortly thereafter.
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
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0.996522 |
Any inflammatory condition of the liver is called hepatitis and there are many possible causes. Hepatitis can be caused by infection, auto-immune disease, or a variety of toxic substances. The CDC estimates that there are around 60,000 new cases of acute infectious hepatitis in the US each year, and an estimated 4.3 to 5.7 million people in the US are living with chronic infectious hepatitis.
Let's start by going over some basic information about the liver, then we will talk more about hepatitis and how it affects the liver.
What are the possible causes of hepatitis?
Infection - Infectious causes include hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E. Mononucleosis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) can also cause hepatitis.
Alcohol - Excessive alcohol consumption can cause acute or chronic forms of hepatitis.
Toxins - The filtration and breakdown of toxins by the liver means the liver is at particular risk from toxins. Common chemical toxins that affect the liver include certain herbicides and a number of industrial chemicals.
Medications - Several medications, both over-the-counter and prescription, can damage the liver, especially when taken in higher than recommended doses, or if combined with alcohol. Liver tests should be monitored when taking certain medications because of this risk.
Herbs and Supplements - Many herbs can be dangerous to the liver, including aloe vera, black cohash, cascara, chaparral, comfrey, kava, and ephedra. There are many others. Higher doses are more dangerous, and children are at especially high risk.
Autoimmune conditions - In certain autoimmune diseases, the immune system mistakes the liver for a foreign object and starts to attack it. This can cause acute or chronic hepatitis.
The following symptoms come on abruptly with acute hepatitis, and more slowly with chronic forms.
Hepatitis can result in acute or chronic liver failure, which can cause many other severe symptoms, and can result in death.
Over the next few weeks, I will discuss several of the causes of hepatitis individually, in more depth. I hope this will provide important information to help you recognize the risks and potentially avoid chronic liver disease.
If you have any questions about hepatitis, please log into your account and send us your question. We are here to help.
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Tell us a fact about a happening that occured in the past on today's date. It may be a global event, something special that happened in your country this day, or a personal remembrance.
Example: 1917 February the 23rd (Julian Calendar) March 8, 1917 - The beginning of the Russian Revolution: the disappearance of the tsarist regime and the establishment of the Soviet Union, the first communist state in the world.
I picked 1970 (random year) and apparently Guyana becomes a republic on 23rd February 1970 and the Holy Eucharist given by women for 1st time in Roman Catholic service.
Thanks for the fact now I am a bit more clever about things who have happened.
A special event in the history on 1582 February 24th: Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar, and it is in almost all countries of the world the official calendar.
The Gregorian calendar is a modification of the previously used Julian calendar. The adjustment relates to the system of leap years.
That's a much more significant event @Paulette. As for today 100 years ago, the German plan to get Mexican help in WW I exposed (Zimmerman telegram). I remember learning this fact at school but I wouldn't have remembered it was on the 24th of February though.
In 1972 my uncle was born on this day. I know that isn't exactly world news or anything like that, but it is certainly a very special date for me and my family.
A small domestic detail: in 1902 February 25th demonstrates Hubert Booth in London the first electric vacuum cleaner. It weighed more than 20kg.
Wow that's a bit heavy duty @Paulette. You would have needed to be a weightlifter to use a vacuum cleaner that heavy.
Apparently also on 25 February,1838 a Londoner walked 20 miles backwards and then forwards again in 8 hours.
Also on this day in 1963, the Beatles released their first single in the USA (Please, Please Me).
Thanks for remember me on the Beatles. This was the band in my childhood, and you know my first boyfriend was a look-alike of John Lennon (he was also my favorite singer) I like also the song "He Jude" and "All you need is love". I am a child of the flower power time.
In 1919 February th26 the Grand Canyon was officially designated a national park – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress the establishing on this day.
I had to sing Hey Judy in a choir once @Paulette. It's actually very challenging musically, with lots of high notes and changes in tempo. In fact the Beatles music is very technical and not as straightforward as you might think. There's a lot of serious musical talent in their songs.
On 26 February 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the Island of Elba and went on to start his second conquest of France.
Thank you for participate in this group. So is everyone who reads this a little wiser.
An attempted coup happened in Japan in 1936 today, which is called the February 26 Incident. Some military officers organized the uprising because of their nationalists ideology. They occupied government institutions and assassinated several politicians who they thought decieved the Emperor and exploited his power. They were suppressed by the army after all. Despite that, the influence of the military over the goverment increased after the incident. Japan finally began the war with China the next year.
I learned it in history class in school long years ago. But I had completely forgot what it was, although I knew it happened Feburuary 26, from the name. So I read the Wikipedia page and just summarised it!
Thanks for let us share in Japan's history. Through these we are even more aware of the evil that the wars in the world in all countries inflicted.
On February 27, 1949 the carbon isotope C14 was discovered, known from the carbon dating. The radiocarbon method is suitable for materials up to about 60,000 years old. The technique was discovered by Willard Frank Libby and his colleagues at the University of Chicago. In 1960, Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
And believe me 1949 is a very good year for everything.
You raised my awareness of polar bear conservation. I heard the global warming is threatening their survival. Floating ice is their fishing boats. And they are losing them and so they are starving now. Poor polar bears!
I found this an interesting piece of trivia. It seems that while on the 27th February, 1964 the Italian government announced that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was in serious danger of collapse if there was an earthquake or storm, work to actually save the Tower did not start for another 35 years and wasn't completed until the end of 2001.
A more recent significant event for the UK was when on 27 Feb, 2008, Queen Elizabeth II agreed to the end of male preference to determine the line of succession. In future, a monarch's first-born daughter could claim the throne even if a son was born later.
@mheredge Those trivia are very interesting it enlarges our attention for many things around us and you know it holds your mind lively. Thanks for sharing this facts.
February 28, 1953 - American James Dewey Watson and Englishman Francis Harry Compton Crick discovered the structure of DNA and how this structure works.
The DNA largely determines how we see and have a major impact on other characteristics such as behavior and intelligence out.
28, February is celebrated as National Science Day in India each year to mark up the discovery of the "Raman effect" by Indian physicist "Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman" abbreviated as " Sir C.V. Raman" for which he was awarded the Nobel prize in Physics in 1930.
Raman effect or Raman scattering is very important to our daily life. As it must be noted that concept of Raman effect is used in Modern lasers, optical communication and also now days using in satellite communication.
Another important instrument is "Raman Spectroscope" and it is used to analysis spectrum of chemical composition vibration of any matter. That means by this instrument, any matter like medicines, fruits, vegetables can be analyzed without destroying the matter.
I suspect if they make the tower straight again, tourists would lose interest in it.
1 March 1810 birth of Frédéric Chopin a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for the solo piano. He is best known for his preludes and also his Marche funèbre ( Funeral March) for piano.
On March 1, 1896 Henri Becquerel discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity. This was an important step in the medical world, the basis of the X ray examination.
1 March is International "Zero Discrimination Day".
UN organized this day on 1 march, 2014 first time and promote the day with various activities to everyone has right to live a life with full dignity regardless of age, sexuality, nationality, belief, skin color, education.
"Zero Discrimination Day", thanks for your information!
Now that we know about the idea, it's time to act on it.
We call it "World Compliment Day" and the tradition says give at everyone you meet a small compliment.
You guys are great guys, the world is safe with guys like you. I can safely look forwards.
You are such a nice, wonderful person; I can see it in your comments and how you go around the forum! You're remarkable!
I didn't know the origin of the unit 'Becquerel'. Actually, all Japanese people used to hear the word on the TV news everyday, after the accident of Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011. Even some ordinary people bought a guiger counter and tried measuring the radioactivity of their surroundings or vegetables from the region near to the plant.
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Is it normal for mothers to have strong feelings of nostalgia when their children move into the next phase of life?
Q. Since the oldest of my three children started kindergarten this year, I have become increasingly attached to her, as if I took for granted the past five years I've had at home with her. The rational side of me knows I need to allow her to be independent of me, make mistakes, and so on, but the irrational side feels almost literally sick when she comes home talking (in my opinion, prematurely) about boys, clothes and the like. I don't want to be a parent who ends up with a 30-year-old "kid" still living at home, but I also want my kids to remain close to me. What is wrong with me and how can I change?
There's nothing wrong with you at all. You're simply over-analyzing your feelings, something mothers are wont to do when it comes to their kids. In your case, that's compounded by the fact that it's generally much more difficult for moms to let go of their children than it is for dads.
The feelings you're experiencing are normal to parenting transitions of this sort; again, especially for moms. When your daughter began school, the fact that she won't be a child forever became crystal clear. As a consequence, you began to experience a sense of profound loss, exacerbated by your daughter's talk about things you associate with an older age. It's as if her life has suddenly accelerated and you can't keep up.
My wife experienced very similar feelings when our first child went off to college. She was truly "thrown for a loop" and began going through what I quickly recognized was a grieving process. I further realized that whereas dads derive great satisfaction from seeing their children become independent, moms have great difficulty on such occasions with the loss of dependence.
Understanding your feelings is the first step toward accepting them as normal. Stop fighting them, stop worrying about yourself, and this very natural phase of your parenthood will pass that much more quickly.
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Why is this drug prescribed: Stelazine is used for the treatment of schizophrenia (severe disruptions in thought and perception). It is also prescribed for anxiety that does not respond to ordinary tranquilizers.
Most important fact about this drug: Stelazine may cause tardive dyskinesia--a condition marked by involuntary muscle spasms and twitches in the face and body. This condition may be permanent and appears to be most common among the elderly, especially women. Ask your doctor for information about this possible risk.
How should you take this medication: If taking Stelazine in a liquid concentrate form, you will need to dilute it with a liquid such as a carbonated beverage, coffee, fruit juice, milk, tea, tomato juice, or water. You can also use puddings, soups, and other semisolid foods. Stelazine should be diluted just before you take it. You should not take Stelazine with alcohol. --If you miss a dose... If you take 1 dose a day, take the dose you missed as soon as you remember. Then go back to your regular schedule. If you do not remember until the next day, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular schedule. If you take more than 1 dose a day, take the dose you missed if it is within an hour or so of the scheduled time. If you do not remember until later, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular schedule. Do not take 2 doses at once. --Storage instructions... Store at room temperature. Protect the concentrate from light.
Why should this drug not be prescribed: You should not be using Stelazine if you have liver damage, or if you are taking central nervous system depressants such as alcohol, barbiturates, or narcotic pain relievers. Stelazine should not be used if you have an abnormal bone marrow or blood condition.
Special warnings about this medication: You should use Stelazine cautiously if you have ever had a brain tumor, breast cancer, intestinal blockage, the eye condition called glaucoma, heart or liver disease, or seizures. Be cautious, too, if you are exposed to certain pesticides or extreme heat. Be aware that Stelazine may hide the signs of overdose of other drugs and may make it more difficult for your doctor to diagnose intestinal obstruction, brain tumor, and the dangerous neurological condition called Reye's syndrome. Tell your doctor if you have ever had an allergic reaction to any major tranquilizer similar to Stelazine. Dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and tremors can result if you suddenly stop taking Stelazine. Follow your doctor's instructions when discontinuing this drug. Tell your doctor immediately if you experience symptoms such as a fever or sore throat, mouth, or gums. These signs of infection may signal the need to stop Stelazine treatment. Notify your doctor, too, if you develop flu-like symptoms with fever. This drug may impair your ability to drive a car or operate potentially dangerous machinery, especially during the first few days of treatment. Do not participate in any activities that require full alertness if you are unsure about your ability. If you have any trouble with your vision, tell your doctor. Stelazine concentrate contains a sulfite that may cause allergic reactions in some people, especially in those with asthma. Stelazine can cause a group of symptoms called Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome. Signs are high body temperature, rigid muscles, irregular pulse or blood pressure, rapid or abnormal heartbeat, and excessive perspiration.
Special information if you are pregnant or breastfeeding: Pregnant women should use Stelazine only if clearly needed. The effects of Stelazine during pregnancy have not been adequately studied. If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, inform your doctor immediately. Stelazine appears in breast milk and may affect a nursing infant. If this medication is essential to your health, your doctor may have you discontinue breastfeeding while you are taking it.
Recommended dosage: ADULTS: Nonpsychotic Anxiety Doses usually range from 2 to 4 milligrams daily. This amount should be divided into 2 equal doses and taken twice a day. Do not take more than 6 milligrams a day or take the medication for more than 12 weeks. Schizophrenia The usual starting dose is 4 to 10 milligrams a day, divided into 2 equal doses; doses range from 15 to 40 milligrams daily. CHILDREN: Doses are based on the child's weight and the severity of his or her symptoms. Schizophrenia in Children 6 to 12 Years Old Who Are Closely Monitored or Hospitalized The starting dose is 1 milligram a day, taken all at once or divided into 2 doses. Your doctor will increase the dosage gradually, up to 15 milligrams a day. OLDER ADULTS: Older people usually take Stelazine at lower doses. Because you may develop low blood pressure while taking this drug, your doctor will watch you closely. Older people (especially older women) may be more susceptible to tardive dyskinesia--a possibly permanent condition characterized by involuntary muscle spasms and twitches in the face and body. Consult your doctor for information about these potential risks.
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In the world of interior design, thousands of bits of crucial information are scattered across an array of sources. This work collects the information essential to planning and executing interiors projects of various shapes and sizes. It also includes a section on resources that gathers a useful data, from guidelines to online sources.
In the world of interior design, thousands of bits of crucial information are scattered across a wide array of sources. "Color, Space, and Style" collects the information essential to planning and executing interiors projects of all shapes and sizes, and distils it in a format that is as easy to use as it is to carry. Section 1, "Fundamentals", provides a step-by-step overview of an interiors project, describing the scope of professional services, the project schedule, and the design and presentation tools used by designers. Section 2, "Space" examines ways of composing rooms as spatial environments while speaking to functional and life-safety concerns. Section 3, "Surface", identifies options in color, material, texture, and pattern, while addressing maintenance and performance issues. Section 4, "Environments", looks at aspects of interior design that help create a specific mood or character, such as natural and artificial lighting, sound and smell. Section 5, "Elements", describes the selection and specification of furniture and fixtures, as well as other components essential to an interior environment, such as artwork and accessories. Lastly, section 6, "Resources", gathers a wealth of useful data, from sustainability guidelines to online sources for interiors-related research.
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It may only be April, but with arid conditions already in the forecast, it is important to start thinking about fire safety early. Though all the fire safety tips from the B.C. government are posted online, there are some points that are particularly worth mentioning if you are thinking about burning debris from cleaning the lawn or simply lighting a campfire. When considering lighting a fire always ask yourself these three questions: is it necessary, is it safe, and is it legal?
Fire safety begins with avoiding all unnecessary burning and keeping any burning to a minimum. To avoid lighting unnecessary fires consider composting leaves or any other biomass that would otherwise be burned. If composting is not a suitable solution, considering contacting a local recycling or tree trimming company to remove the debris.
If you must burn, doing so in a controlled and safe manner is extremely important. It is necessary to make sure that your material is dry and burns quickly, as a quick burning fire is easier to control and produces less air pollution. It is advisable that any material should be dried for up to six months before being burned to ensure that it burns completely and in a short timeframe.
Finally, always consider any legal restrictions that might affect your planned burn. Always staying aware of the current fire danger rating is extremely important once the snow is off the ground, as the risk of wildfires is likely to be high this year. In addition to following any local bylaws, keep in mind any fires over two cubic meters require a permit from the District of Houston before proceeding.
All of these things are essential, but so is being familiar with fire safety. Burning in high winds, in close proximity to structures, or even using ignition sources such as gasoline are all dangerous and worth avoiding.
For any additional information on fire safety and bylaws please visit www.gov.bc.ca for more details.
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The vegetarian lifestyle is more popular than ever, but there are still many misconceptions about what vegetarians and vegans do and do not eat.
Whether you're thinking about becoming a vegetarian or vegan, or you're simply curious about vegetarian and vegan diets, this article will help you understand the terminology and make an informed choice about what type of vegetarian or vegan - if any - you want to become.
Like the other great apes - gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans - humans are naturally omnivores. That means that unlike herbivores, who eat only plants, and carnivores, who eat only meat, we can consume and digest both plant and animal foods.
In nature, omnivorous species tend to be opportunistic eaters who eat primarily plant foods, because they are more readily available, but who take advantage of opportunities to eat animal foods when they present themselves. For example, the majority of the diet of wild chimpanzees is made up of fruits and greens, but they also raid bird nests for eggs and nestlings, catch and kill small mammals, and display early forms of tool use to catch ants, termites, and other insects.
Humans are unique among animal species in that we cook our food. We are also one of the few species to grow our own food. There is considerable debate in the scientific community about how much these two factors have affected our evolution.
The most basic definition of a vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat or meat byproducts, such as gelatin or lard.
Vegetarians do not eat red meat, poultry or fish. Occasionally you might meet someone who claims to be vegetarian but who eats chicken or fish. They are not vegetarians at all but pollotarians (someone who eats chicken but not red meat or fish) or pescetarian (someone who eats fish and seafood but not red meat or poultry).
Some people also claim to be "semi-vegetarians," which usually means that they eat some meats but not others, or eat vegetarian most of the time but occasionally eat meat. Unfortunately, being "semi-vegetarian" is like being "semi-pregnant." You either are or you aren't. A more accurate term for semi-vegetarian eating habits is "flexitarian."
Flexitarians who eat only organic, free-range, or grassfed animal products often call themselves "compassionate carnivores" ("compassionate omnivores" would be more accurate, but it doesn't sound as good) or "ethical eaters."
Being a vegetarian does not mean that you eat only vegetables. Vegetarians can eat exactly the same variety of plant foods that non-vegetarians eat, including vegetables, fruits, grains, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices, vegetable oils, and more.
Whether or not vegetarians eat other animal products such as eggs and dairy products depends on what type of vegetarian they are.
Within the broad definition of someone who doesn't eat meat or meat byproducts, there are a number of different types of vegetarian.
The most common type of vegetarian is the ovo-lacto vegetarian. Ovo-lacto vegetarians do not eat meat but do eat eggs (ovo) and dairy products (lacto). Some people are ovo vegetarians (eat eggs but not meat or dairy products) or lacto vegetarians (eat dairy products but not meat or eggs).
The second most common type of vegetarian is the vegan. Vegans do not eat any animal products whatsoever. No meat, poultry, or fish, no eggs, and no dairy products. Some vegans also avoid other animal products such as honey, leather, wool, and silk.
In addition to the standard vegan diet, there are a few subcategories of vegans.
The most common is probably raw vegans. Raw vegans believe that cooking is unnatural and destroys certain enzymes and nutrients, so they typically strive to eat at least 75% of their food raw.
A fairly small subcategory if vegans is fruitarians, who eat only fruits. Most fruitarians define fruits more broadly than your typical grocery store consumer and include vegetable "fruits" such as tomatoes and cucumbers, as well as some nuts and seeds. Some also incorporate leafy green vegetables into their diets.
Raw vegan and fruitarian diets are by far the most controversial diets described in this article. Unlike vegetarian and standard vegan diets, which are well accepted by nutritionists and may be healthier than non-vegetarian diets in some regards, most nutritionists do not consider raw veganism and fruitarianism to provide optimal nutrition for human health.
Which Vegetarian Diet Is Right For You?
Choosing the best vegetarian diet for you involves many factors.
Many people decide to become vegetarian or vegan after learning about the appalling treatment of many animals raised for food. The so-called "compassionate carnivore" movement seeks to minimize animal suffering by buying from small, local farmers who practice humane farming techniques. Others feel that killing animals for food is wrong regardless of how well the animal is treated when it is alive.
Livestock are one of the leading sources of methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse grass. Improper disposal of manure leads to air and water pollution. The Amazon rainforest is being logged for pasture and soybean fields to feed to beef cattle, and in this country, raising grain and soybeans to feed to livestock contributes to everything from the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone to the declining populations of hundreds of insect and bird species. More sustainable farming practices can prevent many of these problems, but many people feel that the best solution is to stop eating meat entirely.
Diets high in meat, dairy, and eggs have been implicated in hundreds of health problems, including everything from menstrual cramps to cancer. Paying careful attention to good nutrition can prevent these problems without requiring you to give up eating meat and animal products, but again, many people feel it is easier just to stop eating animal products entirely.
Livestock consume an average of 80% of all grain grown in the United States. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by just 10%, enough grain would be saved to feed every person who died of starvation that year. Routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock is also creating a public health crisis in the form of antibiotic-resistant drugs. Many slaughterhouses employ illegal aliens in unsafe conditions. Organic methods and pastured, not grain-fed, livestock solve some of these problems, but once more, many feel that the most meaningful stance is to stop eating meat entirely.
Finally, some people just have strong personal or philosophical beliefs about the ethics of eating animal products.
Ultimately, the most important factor when deciding whether to become vegetarian or vegan should be what makes YOU feel best, both physically and emotionally.
Very interesting hub! I am not a total vegetarian but fit somewhere in one of those descriptions you have listed. In the last three years I have stopped eating red meat and the past year chicken. I still like eggs, cheese and fish though. My oldest son has been a vegetarian for the last ten years so I have often thought about it. And two other sons that eat some meat but are into nutrition and health too that I have often thought that maybe one day when I grow up I can be just like all of them. Actually, I am into nutrition and health myself but my decision for giving up meat wasn't because of them.
It started within the past three years when I was picking up meat at slaughterhouses. I had never been to any of these places and don't want to go back but it was mostly from watching the animals that were brought in and the smell of death that filled the air. I never went into the actual slaughter area (would look at the door) but would get upset over the animals. The truck drivers bringing them in would sit way back in their seats and would not look at me when they saw me looking into their trailers and even sometimes talking to the animals. Cows are actually intelligent and will respond to you. And all the trailer doors have locks on them so there's no chance for escape.
Looking down from a semi into the trailers other times after this I was bothered by what I sometimes would see the animals standing in. Totally disgusting to treat these animals this way. After this I started to read articles about meat, slaughterhouses, and the journey of our hamburgers. I will probably write a hub about this one day. I do respect the rights of others to eat as they wish. I think your descriptions of different types of vegetarians is good as everyone may not want to give up everything. I am still learning about all this. Great information!
I think becoming ovo-lacto vegetarian is the best.
As I commented on another of your hubs about vegetarianism, I'm a former vegan who previously was a vegetarian for many years. My reasons for choosing the no-meat lifestyle were "all of the above" that you listed.
I don't eat red meat, pork, or any poultry, and I only eat a few types of fish in a very limited amount. I found an organic farmer who feeds his laying hens organic food (including scraps of greens from his organic garden), and they are range-free except when they're in their large and comfy coop. I limit the eggs I eat as well. I don't consume any milk or milk products. I never liked milk anyway, and have always been lacto-sensitive. Soy yogurt contains probiotics like regular yogurt. Galaxy Nutritional Foods makes some terrific tasting soy "faux cheese" slices. The best ones are smoked provolone and pepper jack. I can't tell the difference in either taste or texture, and many people who've eaten these at my home say the same thing (in an astonished tone).That includes my six-year-old great-grandson who loves grilled "cheese" sandwiches and veggie burgers.
I have a wealth of foods that I do enjoy: all types of veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts, olives and olive oil, coffee, decaf tea and water with lemon. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but occasionally make very healthy oatmeal cookies or sweet potato pie, only I use stevia instead of sugar. I like to cook and make lots of dishes without meat, milk, butter or cheese that are enjoyed by family members and friends who ordinarily are omnivores. I cook with lots of herbs and spices, and many dishes contain garlic and olive oil. Eating this way is really an adventure for someone who likes to cook and doesn't want to eat junk food. I fully believe that what I eat is the reason I haven't had a cold in more than 10 years.
I respect the right of others to eat as they wish; however, I'm totally against all types of factory farming (plants and animals). While you may be able to find and purchase grass-fed beef, there's not a lot of it to go around.
Did you read the book EATING ANIMALS by Jonathan Foer? I highly recommend it.
Okay, I'm climbing down off my soapbox now!
As for that BLT sandwich, Morningside Farms makes a soy bacon that crisps in the microwave in one minute, 20 seconds and tastes delicious. I eat it on my BLT with organic tomato and lettuce.
The palate adjusts to changes, so that after a couple of weeks eating different foods, what you ate before doesn't taste right. When people MUST change their diet for emergency health reasons, they quickly adjust.
Believe me, I've heard all the silly and rude remarks over the years, but just put them down to a lack of knowledge on the part of the speakers.
Actually plenty of nutritionists believe that raw vegan is nutritionally complete - about as many who are willing to agree that veganism isn't the devil's diet.
Fabulous article kerryg. I really enjoyed this.
I always wanted to become a vegetarian. I finally made the decision to become one. But i realised that i did not know what type of vegetarian i wanted become .
The website is Vegetarian Newbie http://www.vegetariannewbie.com it is a really good resource for people who are new to vegetarian lifestyle. I joined their Free Newsletter and receive a free report.
Good hub with lots of info although I am not sure I agree with your semi-vegetarian comment.
I am now nearly vegan. With the seldom piece of cheese or ice cream. I was vegetarian for years but would eat turkey on Christmas and thanksgiving with my family. I still considered myself vegetarian during that time. What do you think?
Great hub!!!! very informative! Benn vegan a while now! thx for sharing!
I did my best at a vegan diet for several months this year but ended up allowing eggs and cheese back into my diet. I still want to be 100% vegan but it will take a little more planning and dedication on my part. Loved your hub, thanks for writing it!
Very, very interesting and I enjoyed reading it.
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Kim's sister describes the ordeal as "incredibly traumatic".
Khloe Kardashian has explained that Kim Kardashian is "not doing that well" following her recent robbery in Paris.
The first of the family to speak out about the incident, Khloe described the ordeal as "incredibly traumatic" in a new interview with Ellen Degeneres.
"It's a wake up call to make a lot of life adjustments," she said.
"This is a really serious matter."
Khloe explains that the famous family are "super close", and are taking all necessary precautions to remain "as protected as possible".
The reality star also recognised that the sisters may need to "pull back a little bit" from social media.
The family have been critisized in recent weeks for overexposing on their respective Instagram and Snapchat accounts.
Kim posted a snap of her diamond engagement ring just days before the robbery, which saw masked robbers make off with around $10m (£8m) worth of jewellery.
Since the robbery, the Kardashian-Jenner clan have kept an uncharacteristically low profile on all social media sites.
Kim has remained silent since the incident in Paris, and is yet to comment on the ordeal.
In related news, reports suggest that Yeezy's wife is suing celebrity gossip site MediaTakeout over claims that the jewellery heist was a hoax.
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I have a good friend who is an artist. It's not a dream. It's not a side hustle. It's what he does full time. He's not showing in any national galleries or touring around the country, but he does make a living doing something he is incredibly passionate about.
A lot of people turn away from following their dreams because they view them as unrealistic. With enough work and persistence, you really can make those dreams come true. It may have to start as a side hustle until it morphs into something bigger. But there's nothing half bad about making a little extra money while doing something you love.
1. Online. There's no shortage of websites out there where you can sell your art via the web. Graphic artists can choose to sell pieces on larger websites that sell an array of items to print your design on, whether they be t-shirts or coffee mugs. These sites usually pay you a commission for each item you sell instead of the other way around. There are also opportunities to network and find businesses that need logos or other graphic art for their website or a larger picture deal.
For fine art, there are also numerous online outlets. These websites tend to take a listing fee plus a pre-determined percentage commission when your item sells. Make sure you understand all those fees, along with any return policies, when making your decision where to sign up.
2. Murals. Indoor or outdoor, murals can be a great way to make money. Having a hard time getting into the market? Do one or two for free for people you know. When others see your work in their home, word of mouth can enter into the equation in a big way. As you gain popularity, you'll be able to increase your commission for each one you do. Mural walls in people's home could be anything from realistic scenery to something cute for the kids' rooms.
Outdoor murals will most likely be a word of mouth, as well. That's how it has worked with my friend. But this word of mouth means getting into community centers, getting in touch with local government organizations, and letting businesses know you exist. Put your name and your art out there, and connect with people to let them know you're available and interested.
3. Commission Pieces. There's money to be made painting on a canvas, as well. A lot of people want fine art in their home, but most people don't place the value or significance on it to spend thousands of dollars. Be their budget artist. Once again, use your network to spread the word. Let your friends and family know you're looking for work, and show them your projects regularly. Don't be a pushy salesman, but hopefully they know somebody that knows somebody that's looking for something specific. You can also get started by submitting your work to smaller art shows. The piece may sell, but if it doesn't you've more than likely at least gotten your name out there.
This is where the bulk of my friend's work comes from. As he is commissioned for more and more pieces, his work is seen in more and more homes. As his work is seen, others find they want to commission him, too. It's incredible how much his work has grown to this point because of it.
If you're serious about wanting to be a career artist, there are two ways to plan for the future. The first is to make your artwork consistent and recognizable. This isn't to say every painting has to look the same, but your style should be the same throughout your work. When people are readily able to identify your work as your own, they'll be happier when you make those commission pieces for them, or more open with their pockets when your work appears in a gallery.
The second thing to do is realize that you will probably need to diversify your streams of income. Your artwork itself may not be enough to sustain you, but when you add in speaking gigs or teaching jobs, balancing your checkbook starts to get a whole lot easier.
Following your dreams isn't always easy. It may need to start as a side gig. You will have to heavily research whatever industry you're going into, even if you're going into it because you find it to be fun. But following your dreams is, indeed, possible.
That's a super idea I've never encountered before!
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Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. Odets was widely seen as successor to Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill as O'Neill began to retire from Broadway's commercial pressures and increasing critical backlash in the mid-1930s. From early 1935 on, Odets' socially relevant dramas proved extremely influential, particularly for the remainder of the Great Depression. Odets' works inspired the next several generations of playwrights, including Arthur Miller, Paddy Chayefsky, Neil Simon, David Mamet, and Jon Robin Baitz. After the production of his play Clash by Night in the 1941-42 season, Odets focused his energies on film projects, remaining in Hollywood for the next seven years. He began to be eclipsed by such playwrights as Miller, Tennessee Williams and, in 1950, William Inge.
Except for his adaptation of Konstantin Simonov's play The Russian People in the 1942-43 season, Odets did not return to Broadway until 1949, with the premiere of The Big Knife, an allegorical play about Hollywood. At the time of his death in 1963, Odets was serving as both script writer and script supervisor on The Richard Boone Show, born of a plan for televised repertory theater. Though many obituaries lamented his work in Hollywood and considered him someone who had not lived up to his promise, director Elia Kazan understood it differently. "The tragedy of our times in the theatre is the tragedy of Clifford Odets," Kazan began, before defending his late friend against the accusations of failure that had appeared in his obituaries. "His plan, he said, was to . . . come back to New York and get [some new] plays on. They’d be, he assured me, the best plays of his life. . . .Cliff wasn't 'shot.' . . . The mind and talent were alive in the man."
Odets was born in Philadelphia to Louis Odets (born Gorodetsky) and Pearl Geisinger, Russian- and Romanian-Jewish immigrants, and was raised in Philadelphia and the Bronx, New York. He dropped out of high school after two years to become an actor. In 1931, he became a founding member of the Group Theatre, a highly influential New York theatre company that utilized an acting technique new to the United States. This technique was based on the system devised by the Russian actor and director Constantin Stanislavski. It was further developed by Group Theatre director Lee Strasberg and became known as The Method or Method Acting. Odets eventually became the Group's primary playwright.
Odets pursued acting with great passion and ingenuity. At the age of 19 he struck out on his own, billing himself as "The Rover Reciter." Under this moniker he procured bookings as a radio elocutionist. He moved away from his parents, to Greenwich Village, where he acted with the Poet's Theatre under the direction of Village legend Harry Kemp. Odets claimed to have become America's first real disc jockey at about this time, at radio station WBNY, as well as a drama critic. In this capacity he saw the 1926 Broadway production of Seán O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock. O'Casey's work would prove to be a powerful influence on Odets as a playwright.
The young Odets spent several summers as a dramatics counselor at camps in the Catskills and the Poconos. He toured extensively with stock companies, playing a large variety of roles. Odets got his Broadway break in 1929, when he was cast as understudy to Spencer Tracy in Conflict by Vincent Lawrence. Odets landed his first job with the prestigious Theatre Guild in the fall of 1929, as an extra playing bit parts. He acted in small roles in a number of Theatre Guild productions between 1929 and 1931. It was at the Theatre Guild that he befriended the casting director, Cheryl Crawford. Crawford suggested that Harold Clurman, then a play reader for the Guild, invite Odets to a meeting to discuss new theatre concepts they were developing with Lee Strasberg. Odets was mesmerized by Clurman's talks, and became the last actor chosen for the Group Theatre's first summer of rehearsals in June, 1931, at Brookfield Center in Connecticut.
From the start, Odets was relegated to small roles and understudying other actors. He understudied lead actor Luther Adler during the Group Theatre's production of John Howard Lawson's Success Story, during the 1932-33 season. Much to Odets' frustration, Adler never missed a performance. With the extra time on his hands and at Clurman's urging, Odets began to write plays. Like Lawson, a member of the Communist Party, Odets was influenced by Marxism and his writing became overtly political. Odets credited Lawson with giving him an understanding of the power of colloquial language. Odets wrote two early plays, an autobiographical piece entitled 910 Eden Street, and one about his hero, Beethoven, entitled "Victory." Clurman dismissed these two plays as juvenilia, but encouraged his friend to continue writing while steering him towards familiar milieus. In late 1932, Odets began writing a play about a middle-class Jewish family in the Bronx, initially called I Got the Blues. He worked diligently on this play, sharing drafts of it with Clurman and promising parts to his fellow actors – often the same parts. While at Green Mansions, their 1933 summer rehearsal venue in Warrensburg, New York, the Group performed Act II of the play, now retitled Awake and Sing!, for other camp residents. The audience was enthusiastic, but the Group's leadership, Lee Strasberg in particular, was still, at this point, opposed to producing it.
Odets trained with the Group at their various summer rehearsal headquarters located in the Connecticut countryside and in the Catskills. In addition to Brookfield Center and Green Mansions, these venues included Dover Furnace in Dutchess County (1932) and a large house in Ellenville, New York (1934). The Group spent the summer of 1936 at Pine Brook Country Club in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Their final summer retreat was at Lake Grove, in Smithtown, New York, in 1939. Odets' Group training under Strasberg's tutelage was essential to his development as a playwright. He stated in an interview late in life that "My chief influence as a playwright was the Group Theatre acting company, and being a member of that company ... And you can see the Group Theatre acting technique crept right into the plays."
Odets' first play to be produced was the one-act Waiting for Lefty, on January 5, 1935, at the former Civic Repertory Theatre on Fourteenth Street in New York City. The piece is a series of interconnected scenes depicting workers for a fictional taxi company, but inspired by an actual taxi strike. The focus alternates between the drivers' union meeting and vignettes from the workers' difficult and oppressed lives. Not all are taxi drivers. A young medical intern falls victim to anti-Semitism; a laboratory assistant's job is threatened if he doesn't comply with orders to spy on a colleague; couples are thwarted in marriage and torn apart by the hopelessness of economic conditions caused by the Depression. The climax is a defiant call for the union to strike, which brought the entire opening night audience to its feet. The play can be performed in any acting space, including union meeting halls and on the street. Waiting for Lefty's unexpectedly wild success brought Odets international fame.
Awake and Sing!, finally produced by the Group Theatre in February 1935, is generally regarded as Odets' masterpiece. It has been cited as "the earliest quintessential Jewish play outside the Yiddish theatre." The play concerns the Berger family, living in the Bronx under the shadow of economic collapse. Odets's choice of opening the play in media res, his dialogue style, and the fact that it was the first play on Broadway to focus entirely on a Jewish family, distinguish Awake and Sing! from other full-length plays of its time.
The 1935 one-acts Waiting for Lefty and Till the Day I Die, along with a number of other plays produced by the Group Theatre, are harsh criticisms of profiteers and exploitative economic systems during the Great Depression. These two early plays by Odets have been dismissed by some critics as left-wing propaganda. More commonly, however, Waiting for Lefty is considered iconic in the agitprop genre, and the piece is widely anthologized. Odets asserted that all of his plays deal with the human spirit persevering in the face of any opponent, whether or not the characters are depicted as struggling with the capitalist system. The highly successful Golden Boy (1937) portrays a young man torn between artistic and material fulfillment. Ironically, it was the Group Theatre's biggest commercial success. From Golden Boy on, Odets' work focused more on the dynamics of interpersonal relationships as affected by the moral dilemmas of individual characters. In 1938 the Group presented Odets' Rocket to the Moon, a more reflective piece. Leftist critics rebuked Odets for abandoning his formerly overt political stance. The playwright George S. Kaufman queried, "Odets, where is thy sting?" Nonetheless, Rocket to the Moon garnered enough attention to place Odets on the cover of Time magazine in December 1938.
Odets' 1950 play, The Country Girl, was a critical and box office success. It was adapted for a film starring Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. Both actors earned Academy Award nominations for their performances. Kelly went on to win the Oscar as Best Actress for her work in the film, and screenwriter George Seaton received an Oscar for his adaptation. Odets' last play, The Flowering Peach, was produced on Broadway in 1954. The Flowering Peach was the preferred choice of the Pulitzer Prize jury in 1955, but under pressure from Joseph Pulitzer Jr., the prize went instead to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which the jury considered the weakest of the five shortlisted nominees.
Four of Odets' plays – Golden Boy, Clash by Night, The Big Knife and The Country Girl – have been made into films, though Odets did not write the screenplays.
The success of Odets's early plays attracted the attention of Hollywood producers. He first went to Hollywood in early 1936 to write for the screen as well as the stage. From this point on he would spend most of his life in Hollywood. His initial intention was to make money to help subsidize the Group Theatre's run of his late-1935 play Paradise Lost and to help him fulfill his own financial obligations. His first screenplay was produced by Paramount and directed by Lewis Milestone. Starring Gary Cooper and Madeleine Carroll, The General Died at Dawn (1936) received some positive reviews, though Frank Nugent of the New York Times reiterated Kaufman's barb in his article's title.
Like most screenwriters of the time, Odets worked within the studio system until the advent of independent production in the 1950s. Thus Odets would often write drafts for films such as Rhapsody in Blue and It's a Wonderful Life that were handed off to another screenwriter or team for further development. Odets declined to be credited for many of the films on which he worked. He did, however, accept full credit as both screenwriter and director for None but the Lonely Heart (1944), adapted from the novel by Richard Llewellyn, and produced by RKO. The film starred Cary Grant, Ethel Barrymore (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress), Barry Fitzgerald, and Jane Wyatt.
Odets wrote the 1957 screenplay for Sweet Smell of Success, based on the novelette by Ernest Lehman and produced by the independent company Hecht-Hill-Lancaster. Starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis, this film noir depicts the underbelly of the newspaper world. The character of J.J. Hunsecker, played by Lancaster, was voted the 35th most despicable villain in 100 years of film by the American Film Institute. Odets directed one other film, for which he also wrote the screenplay, The Story on Page One (1959).
Odets' dramatic style is distinguished by a kind of poetic, metaphor-laden street talk. Arthur Miller observed that, with Odets' first plays, "For the very first time in America, language itself ... marked a playwright as unique." Odets' use of ethnic and urban speech patterns reflects the influence of another socialist playwright with proletarian concerns, Seán O'Casey. Other hallmarks of Odets' style are his humanistic point of view, and his way of dropping the audience right into the conflict with little or no introduction. Often character is more important than plot, reflecting the influence of Anton Chekhov.
In May 1952, Odets was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA; more commonly, HUAC). He had belonged to the Communist Party for less than a year, between 1934 and 1935 and sponsored many left-wing, progressive groups. He cooperated with the Committee to the extent that he responded to their questions, and reiterated names of Communist Party members who had been previously cited by his friend and former Group colleague, Elia Kazan. Prior to Kazan's final testimony in April 1952, they agreed to name each other. Odets thereby avoided blacklisting, but reactions to his testimony confused him; he did not consider himself a cooperative witness. A partial transcript of Odets' testimony can be found in Eric Bentley's Thirty Years of Treason. Odets was reportedly tormented by public reaction to his testimony until his death in 1963. In his autobiography, Kazan recalls incidents of Odets being accosted in the street and snubbed in Hollywood restaurants after his HUAC appearance. Odets's productivity markedly improved after his 1952 testimony: he had written nothing for the screen in the six years prior to 1952, but in the decade after 1952, over 20 of his scripts reached either the large or small screen.
In the early 1960s, Odets contracted to write four of a proposed total of thirteen teleplays for NBC's new dramatic anthology, The Richard Boone Show, and to act as script supervisor. Two of Odets's finished scripts were aired posthumously: "Big Mitch" (December 10, 1963), and "The Mafia Man" (January 7, 1964). Odets also worked on the libretto for a projected musical version of Golden Boy. He died before the project came to fruition. Playwright William Gibson, a former student of Odets, completed the play's book.
Odets first married two-time Academy Award winning actress Luise Rainer in January 1937. They divorced in May 1940. He married for a second time, in 1943. Odets and actress Bette Grayson had two children, Nora, born in 1945, and Walt, born in 1947. Odets and Grayson divorced in 1951. Nora Odets died at Long Beach, Long Island in 2008; Walt Odets became a clinical psychologist, author and photographer residing in Berkeley, California.
Clifford Odets also had relationships with actresses Frances Farmer, Kim Stanley and Fay Wray, among others.
On July 23, 1963, Odets was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles to undergo treatment for stomach ulcers. During surgery, doctors discovered that he had metastatic stomach cancer. He received bedside visits from such movie and theater friends as Marlon Brando, Lee Strasberg and Paula Strasberg, Jean Renoir and his wife, Dido, Elia Kazan, Harold Clurman, Shirley MacLaine, and Danny Kaye, among many others. Renoir dedicated a chapter of his autobiography to his friendship with Odets. On August 14, 1963, Odets died of stomach cancer at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital at the age of 57.
Odets's ashes were interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale in Glendale, California.
Odets has been looked on by many as an icon of the American theatre. According to Arthur Miller, "An Odets play was awaited like news hot off the press, as though through him we would know what to think of ourselves and our prospects." According to Marian Seldes, "Paddy Chayefsky, who felt competitive with Odets, ... told an interviewer, 'There isn't a writer of my generation, especially a New York writer, who doesn't owe his very breath–his entire attitude toward theatre–to Odets.'"
Golden Boy was made into a 1939 film and became the basis for a 1964 musical of the same name. The Flowering Peach became the basis for the 1970 Broadway musical Two by Two, which starred Danny Kaye. Odets's screenplay for Sweet Smell of Success became the basis for the 2002 musical of the same name.
Joel and Ethan Coen's 1990 film Barton Fink contains a number of indirect visual and historical references to Odets's personal appearance, background and career. A minor character in the 1982 film Diner speaks only lines from Odets' screenplay for Sweet Smell of Success. The Odets character was played by Jeffrey DeMunn in the film Frances, and by John Heard in the 1983 biography, Will There Be A Morning?, both about Frances Farmer.
Odets's name is mentioned in an episode of the NBC series Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, "The Wrap Party." The episode's subplot dealt with The Hollywood Ten.
Odets was the subject of a psycho-biography by psychoanalyst Margaret Brenman-Gibson, wife of playwright William Gibson: Clifford Odets – American Playwright – The Years from 1906–1940. It was one component of an umbrella project undertaken by Brenman-Gibson on the subject of creativity. The biography was intended to be a three-volume work, with the second and third volumes to cover the final twenty-three years of Odets's life. Brenman-Gibson died in 2004, leaving the project unfinished. A new, full-length biography of Odets is currently in progress with the cooperation of the Odets Estate, to be published by Random House Doubleday Knopf.
Apart from Brenman-Gibson's work, six critical biographies have appeared by the following authors: R. Baird Shuman (1962); Edward Murray (1968); Michael Mendelsohn (1969); Gerald Weales (1971); Harold Cantor (1978); and Christopher J. Herr (2003).
Clifford Odets is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame.
↑ A Reader's Guide to Modern American Drama. Syracuse, NY: Reader's Guide Series. 2002. p. 97. ISBN 978-0815629399.
1 2 "Stage Left: The struggles of Clifford Odets.". New Yorker. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
↑ Brenman-Gibson 1982, p. 132.
↑ Schiff, Ellen (1982). From Stereotype to Metaphor: The Jew in Contemporary Drama. Albany: SUNY Press. p. 33.
↑ Hall, Donald, ed. (1981). The Oxford Book of American Literary Anecdotes. New York: Oxford. p. 304.
↑ American Film Institute (2003-06-04). "AFI's 100 YEARS ... 100 HEROES & VILLAINS". Afi.com. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
↑ "Viennese Stars Weds Dramatist". Reading Eagle. January 9, 1937. p. 3. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
↑ Odets, Clifford. The Time Is Ripe: The 1940 Journal of Clifford Odets. New York: Grove Press, 1988. pp. 28, 204 et al.
↑ Cantor, Halold (2000). Clifford Odets: Playwright-poet (2 ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 169. ISBN 0-8108-3732-3.
↑ Teachout, Terry (December 6, 2012). "An American Master Returns to Broadway". The Wall Street Journal.
↑ "Roundabout Theatre Company - Shows & Events". Roundabouttheatre.org. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
↑ Gates, Anita (August 30, 2013). "Odets's 'Awake and Sing!' Family Is Alive in TriBeCa". The New York Times.
↑ Orr, Christopher (September 11, 2014). "30 Years of Coens: Barton Fink". The Atlantic.
↑ Accessed 19 April 2012.
Guide to the Clifford Odets Theatrical Materials. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
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A model has had the power of speech restored for the first time in three years after being silenced by a rare throat condition.
Sophie Whitelock, 24, from Romford, Essex, developed vocal polyps, a mass of tissue on her throat, which was so severe that talking became painful and her throat seized up.
After recovering from her ordeal a few weeks ago, she has now spoken about how the condition and how it caused her to fall into depression.
'It was nearly 3 years ago when I started to lose my voice,' she said. 'I was working at a call centre and people were commenting that I sounded like I had a sore throat for a while.
To get to where she is, Miss Whitelock has had to undergo four major operations and speech therapy.
Miss Whitelock works full-time as an administrator said that what started out to be a 'sore throat' nearly cost her job and social life.
Her throat was riddled with so many polyps that despite surgery they returned time and time again.
She had to rely on text messaging to communicate with her long-distance boyfriend, as she was unable to speak on the phone, and he had to be her voice when they went out in public.
'I never spoke and so my voice kind of seized up so when I did try to speak loudly, it was painful and sounded extremely strained and hoarse.
'If I went out my boyfriend would have to order for me and I would often think the waitresses thought I was deluded or just stuck up.
'I stopped going to parties, going out with friends, booking holidays, and I stopped applying for modelling auditions.
Eventually Miss Whitelock became so depressed with her health that she was signed off work.
with antibiotics, but her voice got worse.
'Doctors kept sending me for blood tests and putting me on antibiotics but nothing ever worked,' said Sophie.
Vocal polyps are a lump of flesh usually found around the vocal cord and often occurs in people who use their voice a lot.
It looks like a red lesion that stands out from the rest of the surrounding tissue.
They cause horseness and usually cause intermittent voice loss except in extreme circumstances.
While most of the time they are painless, they can feel like something is lodged in the throat leaving the sufferer wanting to cough something out.
Resting your voice can help but won't eradicate the polyp. Speech therapy can help restore a sufferer's voice, but more often than not surgery is required.
'It took months for them to send me to an ear, nose and throat specialist and I was diagnosed with vocal polyps.
Miss Whitelock was then referred to the Royal Free NHS foundation in London and had another operation to remove even more polyps, but there were complications by the sheer number of polyps.
'There were so many that he could only do one side of my vocal chords,' she added.
Thankfully, her fourth operation in March has been successful, allowing her to speak again for the first time, although she still regularly gets infections.
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For a high schoow named after Lick, see James Lick High Schoow and Lick-Wiwmerding High Schoow.
James Lick (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876) was an American reaw estate investor, carpenter, piano buiwder, wand baron, and patron of de sciences. At de time of his deaf, he was de weawdiest man in Cawifornia, and weft de majority of his estate to sociaw and scientific causes.
James Lick was born in Stumpstown (now Fredericksburg) Pennsywvania on August 25, 1796. Lick's grandfader, Wiwwiam Lick, served during de American Revowutionary War under Generaw George Washington and his son, John Lick, during de American Civiw War. The son of a carpenter, Lick began wearning de craft at an earwy age. When he was twenty-one, after a faiwed romance wif Barbara Snavewy, Lick weft Stumpstown for Bawtimore, Marywand, where he wearned de art of piano making. He qwickwy mastered de skiww, and moved to New York City and set up his own shop. In 1821 Lick moved to Argentina, after wearning dat his pianos were being exported to Souf America.
Lick found his time in Buenos Aires to be difficuwt, due to his ignorance of Spanish and de turbuwent powiticaw situation in de country. However, his business drived and in 1825 Lick weft Argentina to tour Europe for a year. On his return trip, his ship was captured by de Portuguese, and de passengers and crew were taken to Montevideo as prisoners of war. Lick escaped captivity and returned to Buenos Aires on foot.
In 1832, Lick decided to return to Stumpstown, uh-hah-hah-hah. He faiwed to reunite wif Barbara Snavewy and deir son and returned to Buenos Aires. He decided de powiticaw situation was too unstabwe and moved to Vawparaíso, Chiwe. After four years, he again moved his business, dis time to Lima, Peru.
In 1846, Lick decided to return to Norf America and, anticipating de Mexican–American War and de future annexation of Cawifornia, he decided to settwe dere. However, a backwog of orders for his pianos dewayed him an additionaw 18 monds, as de Mexican workers he empwoyed weft to return to deir homes and join de Mexican Army fowwowing de outbreak of war in Apriw of dat year. He finished de orders himsewf.
James Lick's bust at de Lick Observatory.
Lick arrived in San Francisco, Cawifornia, in January 1848, bringing wif him his toows, work bench, $30,000 (de rewative vawue in 2017 is $941,000) in gowd, and 600 pounds (275 kiwograms) of chocowate. The chocowate qwickwy sowd. So, Lick sent back word convincing his friend and neighbor in Peru, de confectioner Domingo Ghirardewwi, to move to San Francisco, where he founded de Ghirardewwi Chocowate Company.
Upon his arrivaw, Lick began buying reaw estate in de smaww viwwage of San Francisco. The discovery of gowd at Sutter's Miww near Sacramento a few days after Lick's arrivaw in de future state began de Cawifornia Gowd Rush and created a housing boom in San Francisco, which grew from about one dousand residents in 1848 to over twenty dousand by 1850. Lick himsewf got a touch of "gowd fever" and went out to mine de metaw, but after a week he decided his fortune was to be made by owning wand, not digging in it. Lick continued buying wand in San Francisco, and awso began buying farmwand in and around San Jose, where he pwanted orchards and buiwt de wargest fwour miww in de state to feed de growing popuwation in San Francisco.
In 1861, Lick began construction of a hotew, which became known as Lick House, at de intersection of Montgomery and Sutter Streets in San Francisco. The hotew had a dining room dat couwd seat 400, based on a simiwar room at de pawace of Versaiwwes. Lick House was considered de finest hotew west of de Mississippi River. The hotew was destroyed in de fire fowwowing de San Francisco eardqwake of 1906.
Fowwowing de construction, Lick returned to his San Jose orchards. In 1874, Lick suffered a massive stroke in de kitchen of his home in Santa Cwara. The fowwowing morning, he was found by his empwoyee, Thomas Fraser, and taken to Lick House, where he couwd be better cared for. At de time of his iwwness, his estates, outside his considerabwe area in Santa Cwara County and San Francisco, incwuded warge howdings around Lake Tahoe, a warge ranch in Los Angewes County, and aww of Santa Catawina Iswand, making Lick de richest man in Cawifornia.
In de next dree years, Lick spent his time determining how to dispense wif his fortune. He originawwy wanted to buiwd giant statues of himsewf and his parents, and erect a pyramid warger dan de Great Pyramid of Giza in his own honor in downtown San Francisco. However, drough de efforts of George Davidson, president of de Cawifornia Academy of Sciences, Lick was persuaded to weave de greatest portion of his fortune to de estabwishment of a mountaintop observatory, wif de wargest, most powerfuw tewescope yet buiwt by man, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Lick had had an interest in astronomy since at weast 1860, when he and George Madeira, de founder of de first observatory in Cawifornia, spent severaw nights observing. They had awso met again in 1873 and Lick said dat Madeira's tewescopes were de onwy ones he had ever used. In 1875, Thomas Fraser recommended a site at de summit of Mount Hamiwton, near San Jose. Lick approved, on de condition dat Santa Cwara County buiwd a "first-cwass" road to de site. The county agreed and de hand-buiwt road was compweted by de faww of 1876.
On October 1, 1876, Lick died in his room in Lick House, San Francisco. In 1887, his body was moved to its finaw resting pwace, under de future home of de Great Lick Refracting Tewescope.
One of dree monuments dedicated to de Lick famiwy in Fredericksburg.
Lick's wiww stipuwated dat aww of his fortune shouwd be used for de pubwic good, incwuding $700,000 for de buiwding of de observatory.
In 1888, Lick Observatory was compweted and given to de University of Cawifornia as de Lick Astronomicaw Department. The Observatory was de first permanentwy staffed mountain top observatory in de worwd and housed de wargest refracting tewescope in de worwd at dat time.
The body of James Lick wies beneaf de refractor tewescope he funded, and his wiww stipuwates dat fresh fwowers be on his grave – awways.
James Lick Mansion in Santa Cwara is a nationawwy registered historicaw wandmark, and is weased at very wow rates to non-profit organizations. As of 2003[update] de mansion is occupied by de S.A.F.E. Pwace.
In 1884, de Lick Owd Ladies' Home, water renamed de University Mound Ladies Home, was estabwished in San Francisco wif a grant from de Lick estate.
The Conservatory of Fwowers and de statue of Francis Scott Key in Gowden Gate Park were donated to San Francisco by Lick.
The Pioneer Monument in front of San Francisco's City Haww was donated by Lick to de city.
James Lick High Schoow in San Jose and James Lick Middwe Schoow, Lick-Wiwmerding High Schoow, and de James Lick Freeway, aww in San Francisco, are named in his honor.
The Soudern Pacific Raiwroad named a Controw Point after Lick (CP Lick) on deir Coast Line route in San Jose, Cawifornia. At de same wocation dere was awso once a Lick Station and Lick Branch raiw wine dat went into San Jose's Awmaden Vawwey but was abandoned in de earwy 1980s.
The crater Lick on de Moon and de asteroid 1951 Lick are named after him.
Lickdawe, Pennsywvania, a viwwage approximatewy 3 miwes west of Fredericksburg, Pennsywvania (formerwy Stumpstown), was named for James Lick. Lickdawe was a prominent 19f century canaw port awong a branch of de Union Canaw and contained a warge commerciaw ice house.
A warge monument to James Lick was erected by de wocaw citizens in de community cemetery in Fredericksburg, Pennsywvania.
Lick is commemorated in de scientific name of a species of wizard, Scewoporus wicki, which is endemic to Baja Cawifornia Sur.
^ "The Ghirardewwi Story – A Rich Heritage". Ghirardewwi Chocowate. Archived from de originaw on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
^ Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Lick, James" . Encycwopedia Americana.
^ Beowens, Bo; Watkins, Michaew; Grayson, Michaew (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiwes. Bawtimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Lick", pp. 157–58).
^ Species Scewoporus wicki at The Reptiwe Database . www.reptiwe-database.org.
Wikimedia Commons has media rewated to James Lick.
This page was wast edited on 25 March 2019, at 17:08 (UTC).
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Aruba is a 32 km long island of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, 27 km north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela, and it forms a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, it has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of 193 km².
Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was conquered by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries: gold mining, petroleum, and tourism.
Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles on January 1, 1986, and became a separate, self-governing member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence by 1996 was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.
Politics of Aruba, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic an eight-member Cabinet. The governor general is appointed for a six-year term by the monarch, and the prime minister and deputy prime minister are elected by the Staten for four-year terms. The legislature or Staten is made up of 21 members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms.
Together with the European part of Netherlands and the Dutch Antilles, Aruba forms a federacy.
Legal jurisdiction lies with a Gerecht in Eerste Aanleg on Aruba, a Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie voor de Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba) and the Supreme Court of Justice of the Netherlands.
One of the Lesser Antilles, specifically in the Leeward Antilles island arc, Aruba is a generally flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches. Most of these are located on the western and southern coasts of the island, which are relatively sheltered from fierce ocean currents. The northern and eastern coasts, lacking this protection, are considerably more battered by the sea and have been left largely untouched by humans. The interior of the island features some rolling hills, the better two of which are called Hooiberg at 165 metres (541 ft) and Mount Jamanota, which is the highest on the island, at 188 metres (617 ft) above sea level. Oranjestad, the capital, is located at 12°19′N 70°1′W.
As a separate member state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the island/state has no administrative subdivisions. On the east are Curaçao and Bonaire, two island territories which form the southwest part of the Netherlands Antilles; Aruba and these two Netherlands Antilles islands are also known as the ABC islands.
The local climate is a pleasant tropical marine climate. Little seasonal temperature variation exists, which helps Aruba to attract tourists all year round. Temperatures are almost constant at about 28 °C (82 °F), moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean. Yearly precipitation barely reaches 500 mm (20 in), most of it falling in late autumn.
Aruba enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region, with low poverty and unemployment rates. About half of the Aruban Gross National Product is earned through tourism or related activities. Most of the tourists are from Canada, the European Union and the United States, which is the country's largest trading partner. Before the Status Aparte (Secession from the Neth. Antilles) oil processing was the dominant industry in Aruba, despite expansion of the tourism sector. Today, the influence of the oil processing business is minimal. The size of the agriculture and manufacturing industries remains minimal.
Deficit spending has been a staple in Aruba's history, and modestly high inflation has been present as well, although recent efforts at tightening monetary policy may correct this. Aruba receives some development aid from the Dutch government each year. The Aruban florin is pegged to the United States dollar with a fixed exchange rate where 1.79 florin equals 1 U.S. dollar.
Population of Aruba, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.
Having poor soil and aridity, Aruba was saved from plantation economics and the slave trade. In 1515, the Spanish transported the entire population to Hispaniola to work in the copper mines; most were allowed to return when the mines were tapped out. The Dutch, who took control a century later, left the Arawaks to graze livestock, using the island as a source of meat for other Dutch possessions in the Caribbean. The Arawak heritage is stronger on Aruba than on most Caribbean islands. No full-blooded Aboriginals remain, but the features of the islanders clearly indicate their genetic heritage. The majority of the population is descended from Arawak, Dutch and Spanish ancestors. Recently there has been substantial immigration to the island from neighboring Latin American and Caribbean nations, attracted by the lure of well-paying jobs.
The two official languages are the Dutch language and the predominant, national language Papiamento. This creole language is formed primarily from 16th century Portuguese, and several other languages. Spanish and English are also spoken. Islanders can often speak four or more languages and are mostly Roman Catholic.
The origins of the population and location of the island give Aruba a mixed culture. Dutch influence can still be seen, even though not much of the population is of Dutch origin. Tourism from the United States has recently also increased the visibility of American culture on the island. Queen Beatrix International Airport, located near Oranjestad, currently serves the whole island of Aruba. This airport has access to various cities across the eastern U.S., from Miami, Orlando, Houston, Atlanta, New York and Boston. It also connects Aruba with Europe through Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.
Language can be seen as an important part of island culture in Aruba. The cultural mixture has given way to a linguistic mixture known as Papiamento. However, islanders are known to speak many languages. Islanders often speak Papiamento, English, Dutch and Spanish. In recent years the government of Aruba has shown an increased interest in acknowledging the cultural and historical importance of its native language.
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To determine whether or not the jelly is done cooking, use a candy thermometer and the "sheeting method," described below. Don't use overripe fruit for jelly, as it may not set up well.
1. Combine fruit and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, mashing occasionally with a potato masher, until fruit is very soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a fine sieve set over a heatproof bowl; let drain without pressing on fruit, 4 hours. Strain again through sieve lined with damp cheesecloth. Measure juice; you will have 3 to 4 cups.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring juice to a boil. Add 3/4 cup sugar for each cup of juice. Add lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Return to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, 8 to 12 minutes. To test if jelly is done, dip a large metal spoon in, lift it horizontally above pot, and let mixture drip back in. Jelly is done when mixture has thickened slightly and drops of it slide together off spoon in a sheet. (Temperature should register 221 degrees on a candy thermometer.) Skim foam from top.
3. Ladle jelly into clean containers, leaving 3/4 inch of headroom. Let cool completely. Cover, label, and refrigerate up to 1 month, or freeze up to 1 year.
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John Durand (active 1765–1782)[note 1] was a colonial American portraitist. With John Mare, Abraham Delanoy, and Lawrence Kilburn, he was one of a number of portraitists living and working in New York City during the 1760s.
Nothing is known of Durand's origins, training or upbringing, as is often the case with colonial American painters. As he is referred to in two different known sources as "monsieur Duran" it has been assumed that he was of French descent. This assumption has been bolstered by the rococo colors used in his paintings, which some sources have taken to suggest that if not born in France he was at least trained there. It appears more likely, however, that he is the same "John Durand" that was apprenticed to Charles Catton in London on September 15, 1760, for a seven-year term. Just when Durand emigrated is unknown; he is first recorded in Virginia in 1765, but by 1766 was in New York City, where an entry in the account book of James Beekman records payment to the artist for portraits of the six Beekman children. In 1767 he advertised the opening of a drawing school in New York, on Broad Street. New York remained his base of operations for some years, although signatures on a number of portraits indicate that he returned to Virginia in 1769, 1771, 1775, and 1780. According to his nephew, Robert Sully, he was prolific there; Sully wrote of him that "He painted an immense number of portraits in Virginia; his works are hard and dry, but appear to have been strong likenesses, with less vulgarity of style than artists of his calibre generally possess." He is known to have traveled to Connecticut twice for work; a 1768 advertisement from the Connecticut Journal survives, and suggests that he planned on a sojourn of at least a few months in the colony. A trip to Bermuda is also known. By 1770 he was in Virginia, working in Williamsburg and later in Petersburg. Durand drops out of sight as an artist after 1775, when he signed and dated a pair of portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Gray Briggs of Dinwiddie County, Virginia. It has been suggested that he remained in Virginia, as the only other references to him after that point are a painting from Virginia dated 1781 and an entry in the Dinwiddie County tax rolls of 1782. It has also been claimed that he was working in Chesterfield County in 1780. One source claims that he returned to England after this point, an assertion which does not appear to be supported anywhere else.
Durand has been described as the "most consistently delightful" of the painters working in New York during the 1760s. His approach to painting was linear and decorative, and suggests training as a decorative painter. Like many other painters of the era he saw no need to restrict himself to representational painting; a 1770 advertisement from The Virginia Gazette reveals that he would "paint, gild, and varnish wheel carriages; and put coats of arms, or ciphers upon them." While living in New York he described himself as a history painter, but no history paintings by his hand are known. Little is known of his artistic influences, but some scholars have seen in his later work indication that he was familiar with the paintings of John Singleton Copley, as he began more sophisticated attempts at modeling his figures in the mid-1770s. Certain stylistic peculiarities distinguish Durand's work from that of other painters; these include a peculiar splayed display of fingers, in which one or two are lifted and separated from the rest. His female sitters hold a single flower in one hand, frequently near the bosom, and sometimes the flowers are turned on their stems to reveal a star-shaped array of leaves.
Durand's earliest surviving works date to his time in New York; they are so assured as to indicate that he had already had ample practice as a portraitist, but no earlier paintings are known to exist. Besides the Beekman family he was known to other prominent families in New York, including the Rays and the Rapaljes; his group portrait of The Rapalje Children, dating to around 1768 and currently in the collection of the New-York Historical Society, is widely adjudged his most successful work. Other surviving portraits include a pendant pair in the National Gallery of Art, a portrait in the Museum of the City of New York, and two unconnected works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A pair of portraits attributed to Durand were sold by Sotheby's in 2014 for $389,000.
^ Several websites state that Durand was born in 1731 and died in 1805, but the source for this information is unknown.
^ "The Rapalje Children". New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
^ a b c d e f g h Richard H. Saunders; Ellen Gross Miles; National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution) (1987). American colonial portraits, 1700–1776. Published by the Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Portrait Gallery. ISBN 978-0-87474-695-2.
^ a b c d e f g h i "Artist Info: John Durand". nga.gov. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ a b David Webb Fowler. "COLONIAL AMERICAN DIGRESSIONS". davidwebbfowler.com. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ a b Barbara Wells Sarudy. "18C American Women". b-womeninamericanhistory18.blogspot.com. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ a b Raleigh Lewis Wright (1983). Artists in Virginia before 1900: an annotated checklist. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0-8139-0998-1.
^ a b c d Gerard C. Wertkin (2 August 2004). Encyclopedia of American Folk Art. Routledge. pp. 168–. ISBN 978-1-135-95615-8.
^ a b "Attributed to John Durand (fl. circa 1765–1782) – Lot – Sotheby's". sothebys.com. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ "Durand, John 1731–1805 – Cornelius Ray – Frick Digital Image Archive". frick.org. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ "John Durand – Boy of the Crossfield Family (Possibly Richard Crossfield) – The Metropolitan Museum of Art". metmuseum.org. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ "John Durand – Susannah or Mary Bontecou – The Metropolitan Museum of Art". metmuseum.org. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
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Few cities have as much of a cultural influence on music quite like Seattle did.
In the 90's, hair was long (and unwashed), flannel was everywhere, and guitars were distorted and muddy. This whole essence was grunge. It was so influential, bands that got big in the 2000's were called "post-grunge."
Post-grunge bands included Nickelback, Creed, Staind, Puddle of Mudd and Matchbox Twenty.
Think about it, grunge was so big the next era of music was named after it. There's no post-hair metal.
Alice in Chains, believe it or not, was the first grunge band to have an album go gold with Facelift on September 11, 1991. But a few weeks later, grunge would EXPLODE.
Nirvana released Nevermind on September 24, 1991. This album was certified Diamond, meaning it sold 10 million copies, 7 million more than Facelift.
Pearl Jam has been the most consistent grunge band, having never broken up since forming in 1990. Their debut album Ten actually outsold Nirvana's Nevermind in the United States.
As far as overcoming tragedy, nobody has outdone Alice in Chains. They've released 3 albums since Layne Staley died in 2002. Rainier Fog was released just two months ago and is a real ripper. Highlight tracks include "Never Fade" and "The One You Know."
Alright, let's get to the goods. Who is the greatest grunge band out of Seattle?
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I'm currently unemployed and I have a 401(k) still with my previous employer. Can I convert the 401(k) plan to a Roth IRA by transferring the money from the 401(k) to a traditional IRA before converting it to Roth IRA? Or, can I convert it directly from a 401(k) to a Roth?
You no longer have to take the intermediate step of rolling the money into a traditional IRA before moving the money into a Roth IRA. The law changed with the 2008 tax year.
Other rules also apply, so it's important to carefully read the relevant portion of IRS Publication 590 or to consult with a professional financial or tax adviser who understands the rollover rules.
You haven't given me any details about your financial situation, other than you're currently out of work. I recommend running your plan to roll over your 401(k) to a Roth IRA by your tax professional to see if he or she thinks it's the right thing for you to do.
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0.999034 |
EXCLUSIVE: Hopeless Makes Fugitives Out of "Cable & X-Force"
EXCLUSIVE: Hopeless Makes Fugitives Out of "Cable & X-Force"
Prophecy is a dangerous gift, especially in a world as chaotic and strange as the Marvel Universe. If you act on an apocalyptic vision of the future and try to stop it you might end up creating an outcome that's much worse. On the other hand, you could succeed in saving the world, but make such a mess of things that the world believes you to be a villain.
The latter describes what happened in the opening arc of "Cable and X-Force," the ongoing Marvel NOW! series by writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Salvador Larroca. In the first three issues of the series Cable gathered together a new X-Force to help him stop a vision he received of a dangerous plague and wartorn future from becoming a reality. In issue #4, on sale now, the team put their plan to save the world into action.
They were successful, but their plan did not go off without a hitch. Innocent people died and Cable and his team were blamed. Now they are fugitives, wanted by the Uncanny Avengers, law enforcement and money hungry bounty hunters out to claim the million dollar bounty on their heads. Comic Book Resources spoke with Hopeless about this aftermath and his plans for the series.
CBR News: Dennis, after rereading the first four issues of "Cable & X-Force" it feels like this initial arc of the series is meant to be read multiple times -- it's a mystery, and its pieces are not laid out in a linear fashion. Is that correct?
Dennis Hopeless: Yeah. When my editor Nick Lowe and I were first talking about the book I really wanted to focus on the individual personalities of the characters. It's meant to be the Marvel Universe version of a crime book. In a good heist crew story you've got a cast of strange characters. Each one has a specific area of expertise, something that allows them to do their thing on a job. But they also have these weird, really disparate personalities. Personalities that don't necessarily mix all that well.
I wanted our book to be as much about those characters and their clashing personalities as it is about the jobs they pull or how they're saving the world.
But at the same time, it was important to establish the concept of the book right up front. Our first scene needed to say X-Force is about a team of mutant fugitives, branded terrorists and on the run from the whole world.
What we came up with was this non-linear dual story. We intercut the character stuff, the head-butting team-building story, with scenes from the direct aftermath of their disastrous first job that makes them into fugitives. The two stories run simultaneously throughout the first arc. By the end of issue #4, when everything goes to hell, we've caught back up with the first scene of issue #1.
It probably made the first arc more complicated than we intended and I hope you don't have to read it more than once to understand what's going on, but yeah -- by the end of issue #4, you'll have all of the pieces to the puzzle. On a second read you'd pick up more from those flash-forwards.
In addition to telling the story of the disastrous first mission of "Cable & X-Force" this initial arc also set up a mystery. It felt like you were dropping hints in issues #2 and #3 that there's a conspiracy at play that is specifically targeting Cable. Is that true?
Definitely, and we'll learn more about that in upcoming issues. There are reasons why Cable is getting these headaches. All will be revealed eventually, but from Cable's current point of view that's irrelevant. Right now his focus is on keeping these horrible visions from becoming reality.
Nate doesn't have time to be too terribly concerned about his health or what's causing these visions. He has lives to save. Hope on the other hand, as you'll find out in upcoming issues, is far more concerned about her father's health than he is.
Since we're on the topic of the mysterious conspiracy, I noticed the figure who wonders if they got Cable's attention in issue #2 appeared to have massive spiked shoulder pads. There's also a certain infamous Cable villain that also sports massive spiked shoulder pads. I imagine you can't confirm or deny if that is indeed Stryfe in issue #2, but are you interested in exploring the character of Stryfe? If so, how relevant is he to your larger exploration of Cable?
It's hard to answer that question without giving anything away. Cable walked a very twisty-turny path full of oddball characters to get him where he is now. He's fought and survived a lot over the years. If you asked Cable, he'd tell you he wants to move beyond his crazy past. He's tired of that path. But as the writer, I'd be fool not to yank those elements into the story.
If Cable got his way, we'd have a book about the man sitting around drinking coffee and making spaghetti for his daughter. That's not gonna happen.
So I won't say whether Stryfe is going to be one of them, but there will definitely characters from Cable's past coming into play.
Mysterious enemies and conspiracies aren't the only complications Cable is dealing with. He's also dying because of the headaches and visions he's receiving. I'm curious, how that's affecting his mental state? How does he feel about his terminal condition?
I think if Cable had nothing else going on he would deal with his condition. I don't think it's that he's not concerned for his health. I think he's less concerned for his own wellbeing than he is for saving lives and stopping these huge catastrophic disasters that are being projected into his head.
I think in Cable's mind there will come a day when he has plenty of time to deal with his illness and to figure that out, but right now he's too busy. Maybe he's deluding himself there. Probably. But that's human. We all prioritize around those things we don't like to think about.
Has his impending mortality clouded Cable's judgment at all?
Probably, but what isn't clouding his judgment? He's dealing with so much all at once. Cable is the kind of person that would tell you, "I've got it under control don't worry about it." But look at what he's up against.
He's exhausted and ready to retire. He's being haunted by visions of death and destruction. Then there's his daughter, his priority number one.
Hope could have helped out during their raid on Eat-More but Cable wasn't willing to let her risk her normal life. He decided to pull her out even if it meant she'd hate him for it. The result of that decision was Domino getting stuck, everyone missing the rendezvous, and the further collapse of an already crumbling plan. But he'd do it again. He kept his daughter out of the muck. He's kind of screwed but she's safe.
Speaking of unforeseen complications, a major one emerged in #4 with the reveal that a Deathlok cyborg was lurking inside the Eat-More facility. What can you tell us about this Deathlok? Is this Deathlok the one that's taken up residence at the Jean Grey School?
It is definitely a Deathlok. Whether or not it's that Deathlok we'll find out later. Plus all of this stuff is related. I don't know how clear it was, but the person our spiky fellow was talking to in that Doctor Claw scene from issue #2 is the Deathlok we then see in issue #4. There's more Deathlok coming.
Which Deathlok is it and what time period is he from? All of that will be revealed later.
So we don't know which Deathlok it is, but his appearance is significant because Deathlok is a character connected to possible futures. Correct?
Yes, one of the things that I wanted to address in the book is that Cable originally came back here to stop Apocalypse and to keep the future he grew up in from happening. We've seen lots of different potential futures in the Marvel Universe over the years and none of them are pleasant. [Laughs] So Cable has come to the terms with the fact that no matter what he does now there are still a lot of awful things that can potentially happen to the planet. He decided to be done fighting to stop the inevitable, but as soon as he makes that decision -- Boom -- Here's a head full of much more immediate catastrophic futures.
Deathlok ties into all of that.
In "Cable & X-Force" #4 the title characters appeared to foil a war and plague ridden future caused by tainted Eat-More meat. Earlier in the arc you revealed Eat-More CEO Teresa Payton was not behind the conspiracy to release that meat. I wanted to hate Payton when we met her in those scenes in issue #3, but when she lays out the reasons why she disliked mutants I could almost understand her. Was she affected by Forge informing her that something is wrong in her company? And will she continue to play a role in this series going forward?
Yeah, I wanted our first villain to play against type. If we were going to bring in a mutant hating billionaire, I wasn't interested in an Armani suit-wearing Alpha Male bigot. Teresa is anti-mutant but not really out of hate. Like you said, she has good reasons for her stance. She's not inherently evil.
That doesn't make Teresa any less dangerous. She's rich, loud and is well motivated to see Cable and X-Force brought down. It will be a minute before we come back to Ms. Payton -- coming out of issue #5 our team has bigger problems than a fast food mogul -- but I definitely have plans for her.
They may be pulled away onto a different case but it looks like after issue #4 the team will be wanted by the Uncanny Avengers, law enforcement and bounty hunters eager to collect the million dollar bounty Teresa Payton just posted on the team.
Yes, they're on the run from pretty much everyone.
Issue #5 is sort of a coda to the first arc. It shows you what the team does while stuck down in Mexico after the Eat-More job waiting for the heat to die down a little. Meanwhile Cable has to answer to a now-furious Hope. We give everyone an issue to let off steam and decide what happens next.
Then in issue #6 we really jump headfirst into the fugitives from justice, saving the world while on the run from the law aspects of the book, which is what "Cable & X-Force" will be from here on out.
You mentioned Hope. From the sound of it, she won't let her father's fugitive status keep him out of her life.
I love Hope. I know some fans have mixed feelings about her. She's this red haired, green eyed, Phoenix Force wielding character who, turns out, isn't the second coming of Jean Grey. To me though, Hope is most interesting as Cable's daughter. She's a teenage girl raised by an action hero in a post apocalyptic future trying to live in the here and now.
The adult who taught her how to be a person is Cable. He's not good at "normal" and because of that, neither is she. I think that's an interesting element of both characters. Cable's job for like 16 years was to keep Hope safe. He did that in the weirdest way possible. Now he has this daughter who's exactly like him and it's infuriating.
Hope wants to do what Cable does. She wants to help him save the world. Cable wants nothing more than for neither of them to have to deal with stuff like that. They should probably agree to disagree but they absolutely won't.
There's also the fact that she doesn't seem like the type of person to let herself be written out of the book, despite Cable's best efforts to isolate her from his adventures.
Right, because she's just like him. She's maddening to Cable in a way that children often are to their parents. The things you like in yourself are sometimes hard to see in other people. [Laughs] He wants a different life for her than what he had but she's a little him.
Hope's not a huge part of the second arc, but going forward her relationship with Cable will be one of the major driving forces of the book.
One of the major players you'll focus on in the second arc is Colossus. He may by X-Force's physical power house, but he's also probably the most sensitive member of the team. How is he feeling after the team's initial disastrous mission?
Colossus is in a dark place, and he was in a dark place before his initial X-Force mission. Cable offered him an opportunity to do something good where he didn't have to be a hero and he didn't have to take credit for anything. He could just help them save a bunch of people.
That went horribly wrong in a way that was especially devastating for Colossus. He worked in the Eat-More facility. He was the inside man on a simple job nobody was supposed to find out about. They were going to save a bunch of people and then get out of there.
Nothing worked out like it was supposed to and Colossus ended up having a hand in killing all of his blue-collar co-workers. He was one of them for a while and now they're all dead. Whether or not that was wholly his fault, Colossus takes responsibility.
So in issue #5 we see Colossus dealing with the repercussions of all that and trying to decide how he can go forward. He's wondering, "Who am I going to be after this?" He's tired of the self-loathing and he's tired of the dark. But how does he let go of all that without paying the price for his part in all of this death and destruction? That's a big part of issue #5, and Colossus's decision helps lead us into the second arc.
Colossus isn't the only former member of the Phoenix Five you have plans for. Another member, Cable's father, Cyclops, guest stars in "Cable and X-Force" #7. How would you describe the relationship between Cable and his father going into that issue? And how do you think these two characters perceive each other's current activities?
It's interesting because they're in a similar place but for very different reasons. Cyclops has decided that his goal needs to be protecting mutant kind. He's willing to play the bad guy in order to do that. Cable though was just trying to save lives and the world decided he was a villain. In issue #7 we get to see how this turn of events has affected their relationship.
Cyclops and Cable are both sort of arrogant in that they always think they're right. Right now the world has decided both of them are very much wrong. But what's interesting to me is what they think of each other in the wake of all this.
Cyclops isn't going to be a regular in the book, but he's Cable's father, he cares, he's around, and he's dealing with some similar issues. I'd like to continue to bring Cyclops in as a guest star from time to time.
What about Cable's relationship with his uncle, Alex Summers, who is leading the team that's pursuing them, the Uncanny Avengers? Are you interested in exploring and developing the relationship between Cable and Havok?
Definitely. Havok is not at all convinced Cable and X-Force are villains. He knows his nephew is a good man but Cable isn't making it easy to trust in him. The further we get into our book, the harder it will be for anyone on the outside to look at X-Force and not see criminals. The question Havok has to ask is, "at what point do I give up on my nephew and go after the bad guy?"
The further this thing goes, the more likely we come to a straight up Uncanny Avengers vs. X-Force throw down.
Relationships will be a big part of this second arc, but you also mentioned your cast will have a job to do. What can you tell us about the plot of the second arc of "Cable and X-Force?"
We have a prison break. We have a space fight. We have an alien war criminal. We have agents of S.W.O.R.D. and their director Abigail Brand. So we've got a big, crazy, action plot coming up that will be a lot of fun.
Plus we'll have an explosive new character enter the book in issue #6. I'm really excited to write her and for how she'll change up the team dynamic.
Is this a new character created by you? Or an established Marvel character that's new to this team?
She's an established character who's new to our book but not to X-Force.
Sounds like you'll be keeping your artist Salvador Larroca quite busy with a number of different elements. What can readers expect from him on this second arc?
Ha. Yeah. As you saw in issue #4 he draws big, crazy, monster stuff really well and he also designs amazing tech. The second arc is chock full of spaceships and aliens, where Salva is right at home.
I love writing conversations but I don't want to waste this incredible artist I'm working with so I try [to] write as much fun action stuff as possible and sneak my talking heads in and around that.
Finally we've talked about some of your specific, upcoming plans. Let's talk about your larger plans for "Cable and X-Force." I know you're telling a long form story in "Avengers Arena." Are you also telling one in "Cable & X-Force" as well?
Cable's visions propel the action of each arc. We're telling these semi-self contained super hero crime stories but within that we're also building toward a big picture that explains the visions, how all of this is related and who's responsible. We'll be fleshing that story out over the course sort of like the season arc of a television show.
"Cable and X-Force" #5 is on sale March 6.
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Gardena, once the berry-growing capital of southern California, is today called the “Freeway City” because it is bordered by the Artesia, Harbor, and San Diego freeways to its south, east, and west, respectively. Its modern-day urban designation is a far cry from Gardena’s early reputation as a “garden spot,” a lush oasis of greenery fed by the waters of the Dominguez Slough. Long before it was officially incorporated in 1930 by combining the rural communities of Moneta and Strawberry Park, Gardena was known first by Gabrielino Indians and later Spanish and American settlers as a long green stretch of land amidst coastal sage scrub.
The community originally evolved from part of the roughly 43,000-acre Spanish land grant, the Rancho San Pedro, given to Juan Jose Dominguez around 1800. The site was later named the Rosecrans Rancho after Union Army Major General William Starke Rosecrans, who bought 16,000 acres following the Civil War. This land would later be bordered on the north by Florence Avenue, on the south by Redondo Beach Boulevard, on the east by Central Avenue, and on the west by Arlington Avenue. After the property changed hands several times, early Gardena was laid out with Figueroa and 161st streets at its center, the idea being that the Los Angeles and Redondo Railway would pass next to it when extended south between those two communities. When the route instead came in along Vermont Avenue, the community moved to accommodate the change.
Farming became Gardena’s main industry early in the twentieth century, though berries, especially strawberries, were its claim to fame. The community became known as “Berryland,” and was renowned for its Strawberry Day Festival and parade every May. The berry industry dwindled with World War I, when land was used first for other crops and then later for development.
1. What can you tell me about the early history and founding of Gardena?
The first Spanish settlers arrived in the area in the late 1700s. Nearly all the territory of what would become Gardena Valley was part of Rancho San Pedro, 43,119 acres that Juan Jose Dominguez received between 1784 and 1800 for his military service. This property-the third Spanish land grant and one of the largest made-was used for raising first sheep and then cattle.
Later the site became part of Rancho San Pedro, with the patent confirming the land grant signed by President James Buchanan in December 1858. After the Civil War, Union Army Major General William Starke Rosecrans in 1869 bought 16,000 acres for $2.50 an acre, a low price possibly because the land was deemed worthless for lack of a spring for water. The ranch, dubbed “Rosecrans Rancho,” was bordered by what later was Florence Avenue on the north, Redondo Beach Boulevard on the south, Central Avenue on the east, and Arlington Avenue on the west.
The Rosecrans property was sold in the early 1870s for $50 an acre and then broken into parcels. One of those became the 800-acre McDonald Ranch, whose ranch buildings stood at today’s intersection of 161st and Figueroa streets. Gardena proper began in 1887 when the Pomeroy & Harrison real estate developers subdivided the ranch, and-anticipating that the coming of the Los Angeles and Redondo Railway would stretch south on Figueroa Street-planned the new community with the ranch buildings at its two-acre center.
As it turned out, the real estate people were proved wrong. The railway, which opened in April 1890, was built through Gardena-but rather than going down Figueroa Street it followed Vermont Avenue. Undaunted, the residents of the fledgling community moved themselves and the town’s core from its original location to the intersection of Vermont and 166th streets in 1889, the year before the railroad opened in April 1890-and that’s where Gardena’s modern-day center still is.
Gardena, named by the daughter of early settler Spencer Thorpe in honor of being a “garden spot,” was incorporated on September 11, 1930 with the blending of rural communities Moneta and Strawberry Park. Its new municipal status represented a response to the so-called “Alondra Park incident” that threatened to burden taxpayers with an enormous debt.
2. Who was William Starke Rosecrans and how was he involved in Gardena's founding?
Rosecrans, a Major General in the Union Army, was born in Ohio in 1819 of Dutch descendants who had moved first to Pennsylvania before heading to Ohio. An 1842 graduate of West Point, Rosecrans after the Civil War came to Southern California to invest in land and in 1869 bought 16,000 acres of what became “Rosecrans Rancho” for $2.50 an acre. Though this 25-square-mile tract of land was flat and fertile, it was considered to be of no value, possibly because it lacked springs. However, it was from Rosecrans’ property that Gardena ultimately emerged.
After relocating to California, the Rosecrans was often away on business. In 1868 he was appointed U.S. Minister to Mexico; in 1869 he became one of the incorporators of the Southern Pacific Railroad; he was elected to the United States Congress in 1881 and again in 1884; and in 1885 he was appointed Registrar of the U.S. Treasury. He retired in 1893 and died near Redondo in 1898. His son, Carl F. Rosecrans, became owner of Rosecrans Rancho and was the major catalyst for the building of the San Pedro rail line through Gardena between Los Angeles and San Pedro.
3. What can you tell me about Gardena's agriculture?
Gardena was dubbed “Berryland” for its acres of strawberries as well as raspberries and blackberries grown year-round a century ago. The community owes its early reputation as a farming community to the Dominguez Slough, whose waters made Gardena an oasis amid an otherwise barren landscape. Among the crops grown there besides berries were tomatoes, alfalfa, and barley.
4. What can you tell me about the railroads and Gardena?
Railroads put Gardena on the map near the end of the nineteenth century, after the Los Angeles area underwent a tremendous real-estate boom in 1886 and 1887. The Gardena Valley’s first railway line, which ran from Agricultural Park in Los Angeles to the townsite of Rosecrans (roughly halfway to Redondo), was the “Rosecrans Rapid Transit Railway,” built in 1887 by real estate men Emil D’Artois and Walter L. Webb. After a year of intermittent rail service, they discontinued rail travel in the summer of 1888; by the following spring, the railroad was bought and operated by the Redondo Railway Company. The company wasted no time building a roughly 20-mile rail line between Los Angeles and Redondo, which opened for business April 11, 1890, thus prompting the moving of downtown Gardena from Figueroa Street to Vermont Avenue.
The early twentieth century was a time of great passenger railroad growth in and around Gardena. In 1903, a line connecting Los Angeles and San Pedro via Gardena started operating; it was built by the California Pacific Railway Company, which the following year was bought by the Los Angeles Inter-Urban Railway Company. In 1907, the Los Angeles and Redondo Railway (formerly the Redondo Railway Company) built and started a Moneta Avenue line between East Athens and Strawberry Park.
And in 1912, the Pacific Electric Railway Company completed a line through Gardena between Watts and the Redondo Beach Line. By then, Pacific Electric had also acquired the other lines through consolidation. In 1940, Pacific Electric’s rail passenger service through Gardena ended and was replaced by buses. Today, the only trains passing through Gardena are diesel freight cars.
5. What can you tell me about the history of Japanese Americans in Gardena?
Japanese immigrants were a key part of Gardena’s farm community during Gardena’s early years, and their influence remains visible today. In 1911, the Japanese Association founded the Moneta Japanese Institute at the intersection of New York and Market streets, and with donations from the Japanese-American community paid for the lots, a school house, and teachers’ living quarters. Five years later the Parents’ Association founded the Gardena Japanese School. Gardena’s Japanese population was, along with 110,000 other people of Japanese ancestry, moved from Pacific coastal communities to relocation camps in the middle of the United States in the spring and summer of 1942 as a military security measure during World War II.
6. What can you tell me about Dominguez Slough and Gardena?
The Dominguez Slough was a serpentine inland freshwater lake created from rainwater runoff, and which made Gardena a well-known “garden spot” in Southern California. The slough wound its way to San Pedro’s mud flats and for many years in Gardena’s early history provided an excellent recreational destination for hunters, fishermen, young boys wanting to play in the great outdoors, and people on vacation who swam and boated there. During the 1920s the slough was drained and filled in order to extend Vermont Avenue in Gardena.
7. What can you tell me about the Strawberry Festival and the history of strawberries in Gardena?
Gardena was once known as “Berryland” for its production of strawberries as well as raspberries and blackberries, and had a reputation as the berry capital of Southern California. It was especially well-known for its annual Strawberry Day Festival and parade held each May, when each visitor received a free box of strawberries. The community of Strawberry Park also evolved north of Gardena. The berry industry fell off during World War I as other crops were cultivated for the war effort, and afterward the community’s development grew to eclipse much of the former farmland on which the berries were grown. Much of the land on which the berries were grown was leased by Japanese immigrants who cultivated the strawberries with artesian well water.
8. What can you tell me about the history of Native Americans in Gardena?
Based on archaeological digs in and around Gardena, Gabrielino (Tongva) Indians hunted and fished near Gardena, though they did not live there. Numerous skeletons of Native Americans have been dug up on a small mound on the southern edge of the Dominguez Slough, and based on shells found there and the burial site location, the remains are thought to be those of the prehistoric Tongva culture, considered the wealthiest, most dominant, and most progressive of all the Shoshoneans. They were not strictly local Indians, but rather lived as well in Los Angeles County south of Sierra Madre, the Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands, and half of Orange County.
9. Where can I find historic photographs of the Gardena area?
The Gardena City Clerk’s Office has a photograph album donated by Sumitomo Bank containing historic photographs of Gardena. Several historic Gardena photographs are also available at the Seaver Center for Western History Research at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and at the Los Angeles Public Library.
10. Do you have any information about the Gardena High School art collection?
The Gardena High School art collection began as the gift of a single painting to the high school by the senior class of 1919. The practice of purchasing a painting for Gardena High School as a senior class gift continued in subsequent years, until the school became the owner of a major collection of plein air paintings by many of California’s greatest Impressionist painters. Eventually, however, the collection languished under substandard storage conditions and was in danger of being lost. A grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation prevented this from happening. CSU Dominguez Hills directed the restoration of the collection and organized an exhibit that opened at the University Art Gallery in January 1999.
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"Surround" redirects here. For other uses, see Surround (disambiguation).
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to surround sound, theater sound systems commonly had three "screen channels" of sound, from loudspeakers located in front of the audience at the left, center, and right. Surround sound adds one or more channels from loudspeakers behind the listener, able to create the sensation of sound coming from any horizontal direction 360° around the listener. Surround sound formats vary in reproduction and recording methods along with the number and positioning of additional channels. The most common surround sound specification, the ITU's 5.1 standard, calls for 6 speakers: Center (C) in front of the listener, Left (L) and Right (R) at angles of 60° on either side of the center, and Left Surround (LS) and Right Surround (RS) at angles of 100–120°, plus a subwoofer whose position is not critical.
Surround sound typically has a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and presents a fixed or forward perspective of the sound field to the listener at this location. The technique enhances the perception of sound spatialization by exploiting sound localization; a listener's ability to identify the location or origin of a detected sound in direction and distance. This is achieved by using multiple discrete audio channels routed to an array of loudspeakers.
Though cinema and soundtracks represent the major uses of surround techniques, its scope of application is broader than that as surround sound permits creation of an audio-environment for all sorts of purposes. Multichannel audio techniques may be used to reproduce contents as varied as music, speech, natural or synthetic sounds for cinema, television, broadcasting, or computers. In terms of music content for example, a live performance may use multichannel techniques in the context of an open-air concert, of a musical theatre or for broadcasting; for a film, specific techniques are adapted to movie theater or to home (e.g. home cinema systems). The narrative space is also a content that can be enhanced through multichannel techniques. This applies mainly to cinema narratives, for example the speech of the characters of a film, but may also be applied to plays for theatre, to a conference, or to integrate voice-based comments in an archeological site or monument. For example, an exhibition may be enhanced with topical ambient sound of water, birds, train or machine noise. Topical natural sounds may also be used in educational applications. Other fields of application include video game consoles, personal computers and other platforms. In such applications, the content would typically be synthetic noise produced by the computer device in interaction with its user. Significant work has also been done using surround sound for enhanced situation awareness in military and public safety application.
Commercial surround sound media include videocassettes, DVDs, and SDTV broadcasts encoded as compressed Dolby Digital and DTS, and lossless audio such as DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD on HDTV Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, which are identical to the studio master. Other commercial formats include the competing DVD-Audio (DVD-A) and Super Audio CD (SACD) formats, and MP3 Surround. Cinema 5.1 surround formats include Dolby Digital and DTS. Sony Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS) is an 8 channel cinema configuration which features 5 independent audio channels across the front with two independent surround channels, and a Low-frequency effects channel. Traditional 7.1 surround speaker configuration introduces two additional rear speakers to the conventional 5.1 arrangement, for a total of four surround channels and three front channels, to create a more 360° sound field.
Most surround sound recordings are created by film production companies or video game producers; however some consumer camcorders have such capability either built-in or available separately. Surround sound technologies can also be used in music to enable new methods of artistic expression. After the failure of quadraphonic audio in the 1970s, multichannel music has slowly been reintroduced since 1999 with the help of SACD and DVD-Audio formats. Some AV receivers, stereophonic systems, and computer soundcards contain integral digital signal processors and/or digital audio processors to simulate surround sound from a stereophonic source (see fake stereo).
In 1967, the rock group Pink Floyd performed the first-ever surround sound concert at "Games for May", a lavish affair at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall where the band debuted its custom-made quadraphonic speaker system. The control device they had made, the Azimuth Co-ordinator, is now displayed at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, as part of their Theatre Collections gallery.
The first documented use of surround sound was in 1940, for the Disney studio's animated film Fantasia. Walt Disney was inspired by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's operatic piece Flight of the Bumblebee to have a bumblebee featured in his musical Fantasia and also sound as if it was flying in all parts of the theatre. The initial multichannel audio application was called 'Fantasound', comprising three audio channels and speakers. The sound was diffused throughout the cinema, controlled by an engineer using some 54 loudspeakers. The surround sound was achieved using the sum and the difference of the phase of the sound. However, this experimental use of surround sound was excluded from the film in later showings. In 1952, "surround sound" successfully reappeared with the film "This is Cinerama", using discrete seven-channel sound, and the race to develop other surround sound methods took off.
In the 1950s, the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen experimented with and produced ground-breaking electronic compositions such as Gesang der Jünglinge and Kontakte, the latter using fully discrete and rotating quadraphonic sounds generated with industrial electronic equipment in Herbert Eimert's studio at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). Edgar Varese's Poeme Electronique, created for the Iannis Xenakis-designed Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, also used spatial audio with 425 loudspeakers used to move sound throughout the pavilion.
In 1957, working with artist Jordan Belson, Henry Jacobs produced Vortex: Experiments in Sound and Light - a series of concerts featuring new music, including some of Jacobs' own, and that of Karlheinz Stockhausen, and many others - taking place in the Morrison Planetarium in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Sound designers commonly regard this as the origin of the (now standard) concept of "surround sound." The program was popular, and Jacobs and Belson were invited to reproduce it at the 1958 World Expo in Brussels. There are also many other composers that created ground-breaking surround sound works in the same time period.
In 1978, a concept devised by Max Bell for Dolby Laboratories called "split surround" was tested with the movie Superman. This led to the 70mm stereo surround release of Apocalypse Now, which became one of the first formal releases in cinemas with three channels in the front and two in the rear. There were typically five speakers behind the screens of 70mm-capable cinemas, but only the Left, Center and Right were used full-frequency, while Center-Left and Center-Right were only used for bass-frequencies (as it is currently common). The Apocalypse Now encoder/decoder was designed by Michael Karagosian, also for Dolby Laboratories. The surround mix was produced by an Oscar-winning crew led by Walter Murch for American Zoetrope. The format was also deployed in 1982 with the stereo surround release of Blade Runner.
The 5.1 version of surround sound originated in 1987 at the famous French Cabaret Moulin Rouge. A French engineer, Dominique Bertrand used a mixing board specially designed in cooperation with Solid State Logic, based on 5000 series and including six channels. Respectively: A left, B right, C centre, D left rear, E right rear, F bass. The same engineer had already achieved a 3.1 system in 1974, for the International Summit of Francophone States in Dakar, Senegal.
Surround sound is created in several ways. The first and simplest method is using a surround sound recording technique—capturing two distinct stereo images, one for the front and one for the back or by using a dedicated setup, e.g. an augmented Decca tree —and/or mixing-in surround sound for playback on an audio system using speakers encircling the listener to play audio from different directions. A second approach is processing the audio with psychoacoustic sound localization methods to simulate a two-dimensional (2-D) sound field with headphones. A third approach, based on Huygens' principle, attempts reconstructing the recorded sound field wave fronts within the listening space; an "audio hologram" form. One form, wave field synthesis (WFS), produces a sound field with an even error field over the entire area. Commercial WFS systems, currently marketed by companies sonic emotion and Iosono, require many loudspeakers and significant computing power.
The Ambisonics form, also based on Huygens' principle, gives an exact sound reconstruction at the central point; less accurate away from center point. There are many free and commercial software programs available for Ambisonics, which dominates most of the consumer market, especially musicians using electronic and computer music. Moreover, Ambisonics products are the standard in surround sound hardware sold by Meridian Audio. In its simplest form, Ambisonics consumes few resources, however this is not true for recent developments, such as Near Field Compensated Higher Order Ambisonics. Some years ago it was shown that, in the limit, WFS and Ambisonics converge.
Finally, surround sound can also be achieved by mastering level, from stereophonic sources as with Penteo, which uses Digital Signal Processing analysis of a stereo recording to parse out individual sounds to component panorama positions, then positions them, accordingly, into a five-channel field. However, there are more ways to create surround sound out of stereo, for instance with the routines based on QS and SQ for encoding Quad sound, where instruments were divided over 4 speakers in the studio. This way of creating surround with software routines is normally referred to as "upmixing,", which was particularly successful on the Sansui QSD-series decoders that had a mode where it mapped the L ↔ R stereo onto an ∩ arc.
Because the low-frequency effects channel requires only a fraction of the bandwidth of the other audio channels, it is referred to as the ".1" channel; for example "5.1" or "7.1".
The LFE channel is a source of some confusion in surround sound. It was originally developed to carry extremely low "sub-bass" cinematic sound effects (with commercial subwoofers sometimes going down to 30 Hz, e.g., the loud rumble of thunder or explosions) on their own channel. This allowed theaters to control the volume of these effects to suit the particular cinema's acoustic environment and sound reproduction system. Independent control of the sub-bass effects also reduced the problem of intermodulation distortion in analog movie sound reproduction. A "sub-woofer" capable of playing back frequencies as low as 5 Hz was developed by a small speaker manufacturer in Florida. It used a propellor design and required a large cabinet to move sub-sonic air mass.
Some record labels such as Telarc and Chesky have argued that LFE channels are not needed in a modern digital multichannel entertainment system. They argue that all available channels have a full-frequency range and, as such, there is no need for an LFE in surround music production, because all the frequencies are available in all the main channels. These labels sometimes use the LFE channel to carry a height channel, underlining its redundancy for its original purpose. The label BIS generally uses a 5.0 channel mix.
Channel notation indicates the number of discrete channels encoded in the audio signal, not necessarily the number of channels reproduced for playback. The number of playback channels can be increased by using matrix decoding. The number of playback channels may also differ from the number of speakers used to reproduce them if one or more channels drives a group of speakers. Notation represents the number of channels, not the number of speakers.
In 2002, Dolby premiered a master of We Were Soldiers which featured a Sonic Whole Overhead Sound soundtrack. This mix included a new ceiling-mounted height channel.
Ambisonics is a recording and playback technique using multichannel mixing that can be used live or in the studio and which recreates the soundfield as it existed in the space, in contrast to traditional surround systems, which can only create illusion of the soundfield if the listener is located in a very narrow sweetspot between speakers. Any number of speakers in any physical arrangement can be used to recreate a sound field. With 6 or more speakers arranged around a listener, a 3-dimensional ("periphonic", or full-sphere) sound field can be presented. Ambisonics was invented by Michael Gerzon.
Any channel configuration may include a low frequency effects (LFE) channel (the channel played through the subwoofer.) This would make the configuration ".1" instead of ".0". Most modern multichannel mixes contain an LFE.
10.2 is the surround sound format developed by THX creator Tomlinson Holman of TMH Labs and University of Southern California (schools of Cinema/Television and Engineering). Developed along with Chris Kyriakakis of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, 10.2 refers to the format's promotional slogan: "Twice as good as 5.1". Advocates of 10.2 argue that it is the audio equivalent of IMAX[weasel words].
22.2 is the surround sound component of Ultra High Definition Television, developed by NHK Science & Technical Research Laboratories. As its name suggests, it uses 24 speakers. These are arranged in three layers: A middle layer of ten speakers, an upper layer of nine speakers, and a lower layer of three speakers and two sub-woofers. The system was demonstrated at Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan, the NAB Shows 2006 and 2009, Las Vegas, and the IBC trade shows 2006 and 2008, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
^ a b c THX 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker set-up Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine. This is the correct speaker placement for 5.0/6.0/7.0 channel sound reproduction for Dolby and Digital Theater Systems.
^ "Sony Print Master Guidelines" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-07This plus an LFE is the correct speaker placement for 8-track Sony Dynamic Digital Sound.
^ "Home Theater Glossary of Terms and Terminology". Audiogurus. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
^ "Pink Floyd Astounds With 'Sound in the Round'". WIRED. May 12, 1967.
^ "pink floyd". Retrieved 2009-08-14.
^ Tomlinson, Holman (2007). Surround sound: up and running. Focal Press. p. 3,4. ISBN 978-0-240-80829-1. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
^ "Further Investigations of High Order Ambisonics and Wavefield Synthesis for Holophonic Sound Imaging". Archived from the original on 14 December 2001. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
^ "DTSAC3". Archived from the original on 2010-02-27.
^ "Updated: Player 6.3.1 with mp3 Surround support now available!". Archived from the original on 2011-07-10.
^ "Windows Media". windows.microsoft.com. Microsoft. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
^ "Multiple channel audio data and WAVE files". Microsoft.
^ Josh Coalson. "FLAC - format".
^ "The next big things in home-theater: Dolby Atmos and DTS:X explained". Retrieved 24 October 2016.
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How would i install a railing on stairs that dont have one?
The stairs go up to my attic. They have never had a railing to hold on to when you go up or down. The attic has usable rooms that serve as a spare bedroom and storage space for miscellaneous furniture. Im always worried about someone falling.
Unless you have saws,drillsa multitude of tools and know how to use them you might just want to find a carpenter.
Your lumber retailer will have wooden handrail and brackets to hold it to the wall. Make sure to attach the brackets to studs in the wall.
Sounds like our attic. However our stairs have walls and so they kind of serve the same purpose as a rail. You must have at least one wall that is walled. I think places like Home depot may sell railings. The one in our basement is held on by two small iron bracket things, one at the top and one at the bottom. This has been sufficient for over 100 years! p.s. I love my attic!
It's actually pretty simple. I did my mom's basement stairway handrails. Get the length of railing you need - Home Depot carries them - and the hangers for the rails. I'd use one hanger for each 4 or 5 feet. Using a string or laser or something to draw a straight inclined line, (or make marks where the studs are and you plan on putting the hangers) make a line going up the stairs between 34 and 38 inches high, depending on the height of the person using the stairs and your local code. Connect the holders to studs so they are sturdy. Then, attach the railing. One thing I did for my mom was at the top and bottom of the rails, I put vertical railings about 2 1/2 feet tall. That way, if she stumbled, she could reach out and grab on easily. She found these very convenient. Most areas require a return on the ends of railings, that is a piece that goes to the wall so that if you're carrying something it won't get snagged on the open end and pull you down.
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Seagrasses are flowering plants that are specially adapted to live fully submerged in saline environments. They form carpets of rooted vegetation on the seabed, referred to as meadows or beds. Seagrasses, like terrestrial plants, require water, nutrients, and light in order to grow. Their high light requirements restrict the depth at which they can grow; therefore, underwater light availability is often the limiting factor restricting seagrass survival. For this reason, seagrasses are usually found in shallow waters where they are able to receive ample quantities of light and nutrients. In Texas, several studies have clearly delineated that their minimum light requirements hovers at about 18% of surface irradiance. Seagrasses are generally found within calmer waters, protected from wind and wave action. In Texas, seagrasses are found within the sheltered, shallow coastal bays, but in other parts of the world they can be found offshore in shallow shelf waters.
Seagrasses anchor themselves to the sediment using rhizomes, which are oriented horizontally several centimeters beneath the sediment surface. Smaller roots extend outwards from the rhizome. Similar to terrestrial plants, the sediments beneath seagrass meadows are densely packed with extensive rhizome networks. In fact, 60 to 80% of seagrass biomass is locked in belowground tissues, which helps stabilize the plants and allows for nutrient uptake. Seagrass leaves form within individual shoots, bundled in thin protective sheaths that grow vertically upwards from the rhizome.
Aside from the invaluable services that seagrass provide, they also play a vital role within the Gulf coast economy. The Texas coast is a destination for recreational fishermen and tourists, and seagrass meadows experience heavy boat traffic, particularly in the summer. Recreational fishermen contribute to local economies by means of lodging, charters, marinas, and purchasing tackle. Not only do seagrass meadows play a role in the recreational fishing industry, but they support commercial fisheries as well. Life within seagrass beds can be easily observed while snorkeling, providing a unique opportunity for tourists; enhanced water clarity allows admirers to observe marine fauna within their natural, undisturbed environments. Consequently, tourism, commercial, and recreational fishing are important sources of revenue for local coastal economies.
Seagrass habitats provide countless functions that benefit human and marine populations alike, but what would happen if they were to disappear? The two main factors that threaten seagrasses and their overall health include: 1) environmental disturbances, and 2) anthropogenic impacts.
Natural disturbances occur when severe wind or wave action result in increased turbidity and erosion of seagrass beds. Hurricanes, large storms, and damaging currents can uproot seagrasses completely. Other climatic factors that may result in seagrass habitat loss include modification of the local salinity regime (e.g. from too much or too little freshwater inflow). Most of these natural disturbances are short-lived or ephemeral events and seagrasses generally rebound quickly from these circumstances compared to human induced influences.
Anthropogenic impacts may result in seagrass habitat loss both directly and indirectly. The greatest anthropogenic threats to seagrasses are: nutrient enrichment, urbanization, dredging and channeling, and commercial and recreational boating.
Nutrient enrichment (eutrophication) occurs when there is an additional input of nutrients, such as nitrogen or phosphorus, into watersheds that drain into coastal lagoons and bays. These nutrients may be introduced directly from an industrial pipe or a wastewater facility or indirectly via storm water or agricultural runoff. Excessive nutrient conditions are optimal for promoting and supporting rapid algal growth within surface waters. These dense algae blooms can outcompete benthic seagrasses for sunlight and reduce water clarity. Lower light penetration to the seagrass canopy results in a decrease in net photosynthesis, reduced seagrass biomass, and an overall decline in seagrass health.
Urbanization can result in seagrass loss by physically altering coastal habitats or increasing impervious cover; these changes can lead to increased nutrient loading within coastal systems. As coastal communities continue to grow and develop, demand for more groins, jetties, and seawalls will increase. These structures alter hydrology patterns, potentially resulting in current flow or wave action redirected to seagrass habitats that are not capable of tolerating these conditions.
Dredging is a prominent activity along the Texas coast, especially along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and within numerous passes and inlets that must be maintained for shipping and boating activities. Dredging can either physically uproot seagrasses from the sediment, or bury seagrasses with sediment. In addition to burial, dredging results in increased sediment loading into the water column, resulting in increased turbidity and reduced water clarity. Dredged channels can also alter hydrodynamic regimes within bays and estuaries.
Finally, commercial and recreational boating activities can pose a threat to seagrass habitats. Commercial fishing vessels that utilize bottom trawls or dragging techniques damage the seabed. Seagrasses residing in these locations may be physically removed, and remaining roots and rhizomes destabilized and subject to increased erosion that slows recolonization of the disturbed area. Deep seagrass beds subject to propeller scaring can take up to 10 years to return back to their original healthy state. For information about the "Lift, Drift, Pole or Troll - Protect Texas Seagrass", please visit the TPWD website.
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What is a module? why?
A module is a Python file with one or more functions and variables. These functions and variables can be called from your program by importing a module.
Modules can be used to organize your code.
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What makes for great burgers?
1) Fire grilled over lava rocks. Repeat, fire grilled! The burgers' juices make their own smoky flavors when they hit the lava rocks beneath them, and they don't soak in their own grease like they do when you cook them on a flat top.
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What is the value of your personal injury claim? For those who have been involved in a personal injury case, it is an understandable thing to wonder. Indeed, determining how much specific injuries are worth is a crucial aspect of a claim. It can also be the most difficult aspect of the claim to determine. The negligent party in an accident—or that person’s insurance company—may pay for medical expenses, lost income, permanent physical disability, disfigurement, loss of family, educational or social experiences, emotional damages and damaged property, depending on the circumstances surrounding the accident.
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What are the differences among "Who/Whose/Whom" in English? This test was designed for you to practice "Who/Whose/Whom". The test has 20 questions. Before taking the test, please read the following tips about "Who/Whose/Whom".
- Who: used to talk about person involved.
Ex: The girl who is next to the door is my sister.
Ex: Whose book is this?
- Whom: is the object of "Who"
Ex: That's the young man to whom I spoke.
Now You'll take a "Who/Whose/Whom" test.
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Iranian dynasty (1794-1925) founded by Agha Muḥammad Khan, who reunified Iran and reasserted Iranian rule over territories in Georgia and the Caucasus by defeating his rivals, including the last ruler of the Zand dynasty. His successor, Fatḥali Shah (1797-1834), lost land to Russia and increased contacts with the West. During Naseroddin Shah's (1848-96) reign Iran went through a major intellectual and technical decline adding European meddling, specially Russian and British infiltration of the royal court, the country was in chaos when the dynasty was overthrown by Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925. (Wikipedia) - Qajar dynasty (Redirected from Qajar) "Qajar" and "Qajars" redirect here. For other uses, see Qajar Ghajar (disambiguation).
The Qajar dynasty "GHAJAR" ( listen (help·info); Persian: دودمان قاجار Doodmān e Qājār; also romanised as Ghajar, Kadjar, Qachar etc.; Azerbaijani: Qacar) was a Persianized native Iranian royal family of Turkic origin, which ruled Persia (Iran) from 1785 to 1925. The Qajar family took full control of Iran in 1794, deposing Lotf ''Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty, and re-asserted Persian sovereignty over large parts of the Caucasus and Central Asia. In 1796, Mohammad Khan Qajar seized Mashhad with ease, which was under Durrani suzerainty, putting an end to the Afsharid dynasty, and Mohammad Khan was formally crowned as shah after his sacking of Tblisi. In the North Caucasus, South Caucasus, and Central Asia the Qajar dynasty eventually permanently lost many of its controlled areas to the Russians in the course of the 19th century.
The Qajar rulers were members of the Karagöz "Black-Eye" sept of the Qajars, who themselves were members of the Karapapak or "Black Hats" lineage of the Oghuz Turks. Qajars first settled during the Mongol period in the vicinity of Azerbaijan and were among the seven Qizilbash tribes that supported the Safavids. The Safavids "left Arran (present-day Republic of Azerbaijan) to local Turkic khans", and, "in 1554 Ganja was governed by Shahverdi Soltan Ziyadoglu Qajar, whose family came to govern Karabakh in southern Arran".
Qajars filled a number of diplomatic missions and governorships in the 16–17th centuries for the Safavids. The Qajars were resettled by Shah Abbas I throughout Iran. The great number of them also settled in Astarabad (present-day Gorgan, Iran) near the south-eastern corner of the Caspian Sea, and it would be this branch of Qajars that would rise to power. The immediate ancestor of the Qajar dynasty, Shah Qoli Khan of the Quvanlu of Ganja, married into the Quvanlu Qajars of Astarabad. His son, Fath Ali Khan (born c. 1685–1693) was a renowned military commander during the rule of the Safavid shahs Sultan Husayn and Tahmasp II. He was killed on the orders of Shah Nader Shah in 1726. Fath Ali Khan''s son Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar (1722–1758) was the father of Mohammad Khan Qajar and Hossein Qoli Khan (Jahansouz Shah), father of "Baba Khan," the future Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Mohammad Hasan Khan was killed on the orders of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty.
"Like virtually every dynasty that ruled Persia since the 11th century, the Qajars came to power with the backing of Turkic tribal forces, while using educated Persians in their bureaucracy". In 1779 following the death of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty, Mohammad Khan Qajar, the leader of the Qajars, set out to reunify Iran. Mohammad Khan was known as one of the cruelest kings, even by the 18th century Iranian standards. In his quest for power, he razed cities, massacred entire populations, and blinded some 20,000 men in the city of Kerman because the local populace had chosen to defend the city against his siege.
The Qajar armies were composed of a small number of Turkoman bodyguards and Georgian slaves. By 1794, Mohammad Khan had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty. He reestablished Persian control over the territories in the entire Caucasus. Agha Mohammad established his capital at Tehran, a village near the ruins of the ancient city of Rayy. In 1796 he was formally crowned as shah. In 1797, Mohammad Khan Qajar was assassinated in Shusha, the capital of Karabakh Khanate, and was succeeded by his nephew, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar.
War with RussiaBattle near Elisavetpol.1814 map of Persia.
In 1803, under Fath Ali Shah, Qajars set out to fight against the Russian Empire, in what was known as Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813, due to concerns about the Russian expansion into Caucasus which was an Iranian domain, although some of the Khanates of the Caucasus were considered independent or semi-independent by the time of Russian expansion in the 19th century, this period marked the first major economic and military encroachments on Iranian interests during the colonial era. Qajar army suffered a major military defeat in the war and under the terms of the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, Iran recognized Russian annexation of Georgia and most of the Caucasus region. The second Russo-Persian War of the late 1820s ended even more disastrously for Qajar Iran with temporary occupation of Tabriz and the signing of Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, acknowledging Russian sovereignty over the entire South Caucasus, the area north of the Aras River.
Fath Ali Shah''s reign saw increased diplomatic contacts with the West and the beginning of intense European diplomatic rivalries over Iran. His grandson Mohammad Shah, who fell under the Russian influence and made two unsuccessful attempts to capture Herat, succeeded him in 1834. When Mohammad Shah died in 1848 the succession passed to his son Nasser-e-Din, who proved to be the ablest and most successful of the Qajar sovereigns.
Development and declineMullahs in the royal presence. The painting style is distinctly Qajar.
During Nasser-e-Din Shah''s reign, Western science, technology, and educational methods were introduced into Persia and the country''s modernization was begun. Nasser ed-Din Shah tried to exploit the mutual distrust between Great Britain and Russia to preserve Persia''s independence, but foreign interference and territorial encroachment increased under his rule. He was not able to prevent Britain and Russia from encroaching into regions of traditional Persian influence. In 1856, during the Anglo-Persian War, Britain prevented Persia from reasserting control over Herat. The city had been part of Persia in Safavid times, but Herat had been under non-Persian rule since the mid-18th century. Britain also extended its control to other areas of the Persian Gulf during the 19th century. Meanwhile, by 1881, Russia had completed its conquest of present-day Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, bringing Russia''s frontier to Persia''s northeastern borders and severing historic Persian ties to the cities of Bukhara and Samarqand. Several trade concessions by the Persian government put economic affairs largely under British control. By the late 19th century, many Persians believed that their rulers were beholden to foreign interests.
Mirza Taghi Khan Amir Kabir, was the young prince Nasser-e-Din''s advisor and constable. With the death of Mohammad Shah in 1848, Mirza Taqi was largely responsible for ensuring the crown prince''s succession to the throne. When Nasser ed-Din succeeded to the throne, Amir Nezam was awarded the position of prime minister and the title of Amir Kabir, the Great Ruler.
At that time, Persia was nearly bankrupt. During the next two and a half years Amir Kabir initiated important reforms in virtually all sectors of society. Government expenditure was slashed, and a distinction was made between the private and public purses. The instruments of central administration were overhauled, and Amir Kabir assumed responsibility for all areas of the bureaucracy. Foreign interference in Persia''s domestic affairs was curtailed, and foreign trade was encouraged. Public works such as the bazaar in Tehran were undertaken. Amir Kabir issued an edict banning ornate and excessively formal writing in government documents; the beginning of a modern Persian prose style dates from this time.
One of the greatest achievements of Amir Kabir was the building of Dar ol Fonoon, the first modern university in Persia and the Middle East. Dar-ol-Fonoon was established for training a new cadre of administrators and acquainting them with Western techniques. Amir Kabir ordered the school to be built on the edge of the city so it could be expanded as needed. He hired French and Russian instructors as well as Persians to teach subjects as different as Language, Medicine, Law, Geography, History, Economics, and Engineering. Unfortunately, Amir Kabir did not live long enough to see his greatest monument completed, but it still stands in Tehran as a sign of a great man''s ideas for the future of his country.
These reforms antagonized various notables who had been excluded from the government. They regarded the Amir Kabir as a social upstart and a threat to their interests, and they formed a coalition against him, in which the queen mother was active. She convinced the young shah that Amir Kabir wanted to usurp the throne. In October 1851 the shah dismissed him and exiled him to Kashan, where he was murdered on the shah''s orders. Through his marriage to Ezzat od-Doleh, Amir Kabir had been the brother-in-law of the shah.
When Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani in 1896, the crown passed to his son Mozaffar-e-din. Mozaffar-e-din Shah was a moderate, but relatively ineffective ruler. Royal extravagances coincided with an inadequate ability to secure state revenue which further exacerbated the financial woes of the Qajar. In response the Shah procured two large loans from Russia (in part to fund personal trips to Europe.) Public anger mounted as the Shah sold off concessions – such as road building monopolies, authority to collect duties on imports, etc. – to European interested in return for generous payments to the Shah and his officials. Popular demand to curb arbitrary royal authority in favor of rule of law increased as concern regarding growing foreign penetration and influence heightened.
The shah''s failure to respond to protests by the religious establishment, the merchants, and other classes led the merchants and clerical leaders in January 1906 to take sanctuary from probable arrest in mosques in Tehran and outside the capital. When the shah reneged on a promise to permit the establishment of a "house of justice", or consultative assembly, 10,000 people, led by the merchants, took sanctuary in June in the compound of the British legation in Tehran. In August the shah, through the issue of a decree promised a constitution. In October an elected assembly convened and drew up a constitution that provided for strict limitations on royal power, an elected parliament, or Majles, with wide powers to represent the people, and a government with a cabinet subject to confirmation by the Majles. The shah signed the constitution on December 30, 1906, but refusing to forfeit all of his power to the Majles, attached a caveat that made his signature on all laws required for their enactment. He died five days later. The Supplementary Fundamental Laws approved in 1907 provided, within limits, for freedom of press, speech, and association, and for security of life and property. The hopes for constitutional rule were not realized, however.
Mozaffar-e-din Shah''s son Mohammad Ali Shah (reigned 1907–1909), who, through his mother, was also the grandson of Prime-Minister Amir Kabir (see before), with the aid of Russia, attempted to rescind the constitution and abolish parliamentary government. After several disputes with the members of the Majlis, in June 1908 he used his Russian-officered Persian Cossacks Brigade (almost solely composed of Caucasian Muhajirs, to bomb the Majlis building, arrest many of the deputies, and close down the assembly. Resistance to the shah, however, coalesced in Tabriz, Isfahan, Rasht, and elsewhere. In July 1909, constitutional forces marched from Rasht to Tehran lead by Mohammad Vali Khan Sepahsalar Khalatbari Tonekaboni, deposed the Shah, and re-established the constitution. The ex-shah went into exile in Russia. Mohammad Ali Shah died in San Remo, Italy in April 1925. As fate would have it, every future Shah of Iran would also die in exile.
On 16 July 1909, the Majles voted to place Mohammad Ali Shah''s 11 year old son, Ahmad Shah on the throne. Although the constitutional forces had triumphed, they faced serious difficulties. The upheavals of the Constitutional Revolution and civil war had undermined stability and trade. In addition, the ex-shah, with Russian support, attempted to regain his throne, landing troops in July 1910. Most serious of all, the hope that the Constitutional Revolution would inaugurate a new era of independence from the great powers ended when, under the Anglo-Russian Agreement of 1907, Britain and Russia agreed to divide Persia into spheres of influence. The Russians were to enjoy exclusive right to pursue their interests in the northern sphere, the British in the south and east; both powers would be free to compete for economic and political advantage in a neutral sphere in the center. Matters came to a head when Morgan Shuster(also spelled Schuster), a United States administrator hired as treasurer general by the Persian government to reform its finances, sought to collect taxes from powerful officials who were Russian protégés and to send members of the treasury gendarmerie, a tax department police force, into the Russian zone. When in December 1911 the Majlis unanimously refused a Russian ultimatum demanding Shuster''s dismissal, Russian troops, already in the country, moved to occupy the capital. To prevent this, on 20 December, Bakhtiari chiefs and their troops surrounded the Majles building, forced acceptance of the Russian ultimatum, and shut down the assembly, once again suspending the constitution.
Soltan Ahmad Shah was born 21 January 1898 in Tabriz, and succeeded to the throne at age 11. However, the occupation of Persia during World War I by Russian, British, and Ottoman troops was a blow from which Ahmad Shah never effectively recovered.
The Qajar Imperial Family in exile is currently headed by the eldest descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah, Soltan Mohammad Ali Mirza Qajar, while the Heir Presumptive to the Qajar throne is Mohammad Hassan Mirza II, the grandson of Mohammad Hassan Mirza, Soltan Ahmad Shah''s brother and heir. Mohammad Hassan Mirza died in England in 1943, having proclaimed himself shah in exile in 1930 after the death of his brother in France.
Today, the descendants of the Qajars often identify themselves as such and hold reunions to stay socially acquainted through the Kadjar Family Association.
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What is comprehensive cancer control?
Comprehensive cancer control (CCC) is a collaborative and strategic approach used by communities and their partners to combine, share, and coordinate resources to reduce the burden of cancer. In 1998, CDC established the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP) to support this wide-ranging and inclusive effort. The program provides funding and technical support for the development and implementation of CCC plans. These plans guide the work of many and focus on current and emerging cancer issues, including cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, rehabilitation, and survivorship. Today, CDC funds CCC programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, seven tribes and tribal organizations, and seven U.S. territories.
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Of the twin oral epics of Kannada, while Male Madeshwara is the first, Manteswamy is the second; and there are many similarities between the two. Both Madeshwara and Manteswamy are cult-heroes, and both, being contemporaries, might have come down to the South from Kalyana, the centre of Veerashaivism, in the north. The long journey that Manteswamy undertook to spread 'true' Sharana religion, the problems he faced while making his cult popular, and the varied ways in which he succeeded against his religious foes – all these are narrated dramatically in this epic.
The singers of this epic are called 'Neelagaararu' or 'Tambooriyavaru.' 'Tamburi' means a simple string instrument to the accompaniment of which the epic or parts of it are sung. This epic was collected first by Dr. G S. Paramashivayya in 1973; and it contained 6410 lines. Later, the single-narrator version was collected by Dr. Hi. Chi. Boralingayya in 1997. This version (published by Kannada University, Hampi, Karnataka, India) runs to 27500 lines – the longest among the Kannada oral epics collected so far. Text: Excluding the initial 'Prayer' and the final 'Conclusion,' the epic contains eight parts (a part or canto is called 'saalu' in Kannada).
The outline of the story is as follows: Manteswamy is 'Self-born,' 'the Supreme Light,' and the creator of the whole world. Once he goes to Kalyana, the city of Veerashaiva Sharanas, like a leper to test their devotion. He puts them to varied tests and exposes their sham and hypocrisy. There he meets one Rachappaaji, who becomes his first disciple. Manteswamy wanders far and wide with his disciple and attracts a huge following. Those who were very powerful in those days (14/15th century) were the 'Panchalas' or Smiths. Manteswamy wins them also to his cult and forces them to offer him 'iron' in the form of alms. Finally, being unwilling to see the Age of Kali in which Evil is going to triumph, he appoints Siddappaaji, his eldest disciple, as his successor and descends to the underworld.
All the major incidents of this long narrative can be grouped under two heads: Tests and Opposition. In other words, while one strand of the narrative consists of persons and Systems tested by Manteswamy, the other strand consists of those persons and communities who opposed him and the principles of his cult. The most important incident in the first group of Tests is "The Episode of the City of Kalyana." The way in which in this section Manteswamy tests the followers of the newly founded (in the 12th century) Veerashaivism by Basaveshwara can be viewed as 'the critique of the newly founded sect from a Dalit point of view.' Basaveshwara's socio-political Movement of the 12th century was a revolutionary humanitarian movement, directed against the Varnashrama-system of the Vedic religion. However, as it got institutionalised in the succeeding centuries, it also absorbed some of the characteristics of the same system that it opposed, and established its own hierarchy and ritualistic practices. In course of time, the new Movement got established as a 'Counter System,' and it is this hierarchical institutionalisation of the Veerashaiva Movement that this part of the epic finds fault with. In this section, after most of the new converts ('Sharanas') fail in his tests, Manteswamy declares them as 'hypocrites' unworthy of the Movement. The only true devotees, according to him, are the converts from the lower classes / castes. Also, this incident throws light on the conflict, inherent in Veerashaivism, as to whether the Linga to be worn by every Sharana is a symbol or a principle or an object in truth.
Another part of the epic in this category of 'Tests' is called " the Episode of Phalaaradayya." ('Phalaaradayya' means 'one who comes for dinner') Once, Manteswamy goes to a poor but true Sharana called Madivala Maachayya (Maachayya the washerman); and, in order to test his Faith, he demands that he be fed as dinner the flesh of a boy between seven and nine years. The true devotees that they are, Maachayya and his wife kill their only son who fits that description, cook his flesh, and feed the Guest. The Guest, Manteswamy, is pleased with their devotion, brings the boy back to life, and blesses his devotees.
Those that initially oppose Manteswamy and his cult belong to the farming and Smith community, which makes us understand the nature of opposition and resistance faced by a new cult in a society which had already been crowded with Pan-Indian as well as local religions, sects and cults. The 'alms of iron' demanded by Manteswamy from the Smith community may suggest the importance of their profession – smithy, in a land of constant wars and violence. The most moving and dramatic story in the entire epic is the one of Kempachari. Initially, because of his vanity and opposition to him, Manteswamy imprisons him in a dark cave , infested with snakes and lizards, for 12 years. After 12 years, when he comes out of the cave, he is totally a transformed man in body and spirit; and then onwards he is called Siddappaaji. This incident suggests that, unless one meditates and suffers for long, one cannot be a Yogi.
Intertextuality: 1 Kempachari becoming Siddappaaji is a variation of the very old myth of Valmiki, the first Sanskrit poet who wrote Ramayana. It is said that Valmiki was initially a hunter, who, after being advised by divine sages, meditated for long in the name of Rama. He was so preoccupied in his meditation that an anthill grew around him; and after 12 years he came out of the anthill as a sage-poet. ('Valmika' in Sahskrit means 'anthill'.) 2 The motif of 'Son's Sacrifice' is as old as the Old Testament in which we are told of Abraham sacrificing his son Issac to obey the commands of God. Variations of this motif are found in the myths and legends of all South Indian languages. 3 The introductory part of this epic narrates a 'creation myth' which is a variation of the 'Cosmic Egg' myth.
The epic Manteswamy is a treasure-house: it contains varied features such as lyrics (which can be – and are being – sung independently), parables and fairy tales, proverbs and puzzles. Perhaps, we have to understand an oral epic not as a single genre but as a composition that brings together different genres and varied forms of expression.
For Further Reading: (1) A. K. Ramanujan, "Introduction," Speaking Of Shiva. Penguin Classics, 1973. (2) Ed. G. N. Devy, Painted Words. Penguin Books India, 2002.
A nice background of Manteswamy.Thank you for your effort in feeding the information.As Pravin opines, there is a need for further and deep study.
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In what key is the 'Song of Ice and Fire' composed? No minor key, that's for certain.
I've just finished a six week 'total immersion' experience, reading all five available books in George R.R. Martin's famous fantasy novel series, 'A Song of Ice and Fire'.
This was an epic adventure, and I'm not just talking about the plot. It was quite a feat of reading. We're talking about plowing through five volumes--roughly 1000 pages each--in 42 days. I estimate that I read 40,000 words a day.
And now that I've 'finished' - meaning only that I've caught up to the present (the series has two more books yet to be released) - I'm here to report some of my reactions to what I read as well as some insights into the man behind this truly epic project.
What I write here is not exactly a book review, but it's not exactly not a book review either. Specifically, it's a list of seven subjective, sometimes off-beat observations. Let's call it "Seven Keys to the Seven Kingdoms": a look into the dungeons and secret passages in the hidden, unexpected underbelly beneath the castle--the untold 'story behind the story'.
There's a lot of buzz about author George R.R. Martin right now, coming in conjunction with the October 28th 2014 release of his Christmas-gift-worthy coffee-table-book, The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and The Game of Thrones. Martin has given several new interviews, both in print and on TV. Here's a link to a fine fifteen-minute interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos broadcast late last week.
1. George R.R. Martin had his first 'fifteen minutes of fame' long before he started writing 'Game of Thrones'. He made his first TV appearance in 1987, four years before he even conceived of the 'Song of Ice and Fire' novels. It happened as a result of his position as one of four screen-writers of the short-lived TV series 'Beauty and the Beast'. He made a cameo appearance sitting in a restaurant chomping a cheeseburger while reading one of his own books.
In the Stephanopoulos interview, Martin says that it took eight takes to get the scene right--that meant eight big chomps on a soggy, luke-warm, microwaved cheeseburger.
4. You can't tell the players without a scorecard. The scope and ambition of this saga is unprecedented, as far as I know, in the entire history of alternate-world fiction. By Martin's rough count, he has written roughly 1000 characters into the story, all of which have back-story and entanglements with the main characters and with each other. Each of the five volumes published thus far has an extended appendix--an organized list of the characters and their relationships. These are EIGHTY PAGE rosters, consisting of nothing but lists of names.
I chose to read the books without referring to those lists. If I didn't remember who somebody was (which happened often), I just assumed they weren't important enough to matter. That made some of the multi-page stretches of political scheming rather tedious if not downright boring but ... surprise ... it didn't cause me to lose the important threads of the plot.
My take-away reaction: Martin could have written a 'normal' sized novel with far fewer characters on the page and, in my opinion, it would have been tighter, cleaner, crisper, with better pace. Would I use the word 'bloated' to describe the product as written? Would I do that? Nahhhhh. The readers adore Martin's attention to detail and the depth of the story as it is. The avid fans love being immersed in all the political nuances and intricacies. That these books continue to increase in popularity with every new release tells all that needs to be told. There will be an honored place in the history of literature for this work.
One wonders whether some future author will try to outdo this feat. Just imagine ... ! Imagine an appendix the size of the New York City phone book.
5. The fantasy elements were (practically) afterthoughts. Yes, Martin's prime inspiration came from his dual-middle-initial counterpart J.R.R. Tolkien, but this little tidbit intrigued me: At one point during the writing, Martin was not going to include dragons. It took the prompting of a writer friend, Phyllis Eisenstein (to whom he dedicated the third book) to change his mind: "George, it's a fantasy - you've got to put in the dragons."
6. The key word is not Ice, not Fire, but Blood. Martin relates that as part of a high school essay assignment he rewrote the last scene of Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Pit and the Pendulum' to create a hideous bloody ending where the victim is slashed by the pendulum and dies in a pool of blood. Subsequently the rats come and eat out his eyes as the body festers. Sound familiar? His teacher praised his originality, and that positive reinforcement, coming as it did during those vulnerable formative years, has stuck with him to this day.
In my review of the first volume, which appears elsewhere on this blog, I noted that Martin manages to include a bloody element in virtually every scene. One of the things that I did as I read, beginning with the second book, was to circle every occurrence of the word 'blood'. On average it shows up at least once per page. It seems almost an obsession with him.
Martin has stated that he wants his novels to have the 'gritty feel of historical fiction', and he succeeds at that. Uncomfortable cruelty is a common theme throughout the books, with characters who seem critical to the story being brutalized, maimed, and/or just plain killed off. Furthermore, almost every significant character has some fatal flaw that, if it doesn't actually kill them, leads to bad decisions with major negative consequences. And underlying all that real 'grit' is the ubiquitous greasy slime of blood.
"After all, as some of you like to point out in your emails, I am sixty years old and fat, and you don't want me to 'pull a Robert Jordan' on you and deny you your book. Okay, I've got the message. You don't want me doing anything except A Song of Ice and Fire. Ever. (Well, maybe it's okay if I take a leak once in a while?)"
Just so long as you're not leaking blood, George. Live long and prosper.
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1. Make time to meditate. Set aside enough time in your daily routine for meditating.
2. Find or create a quiet, relaxing environment.
3. Sit on level ground. Sit on a cushion if the ground is uncomfortable. You don't have to twist your limbs into the half lotus or full lotus position or adopt any unusual postures. The important thing is to keep your back straight, as this will help with breathing later on.
4. Relax everything, and keep searching for things that aren't relaxed.
5. Let your attention rest on the flow of your breath. Listen to it, follow it, but make no judgments on it.
6. Silence your mind. Once you've trained your mind to focus on just one thing at a time, the next step is focus on nothing at all, essentially clearing your mind.
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Onboarding is the process of assisting new employees within the company, helping such employees adapt to a new culture and brand, while also providing new employees with the tools and information they need to become acquainted with the policies of the company.
Generally, the first step in the onboarding process is a new hire orientation, which allows new employees to learn about the payroll and benefits of the company as well as any other important items. Since onboarding can be an exciting yet anxious-ridden process, companies want to ensure that its new employees are comfortable and ready to begin their new journey.
Onboarding provides new employees with all facts about the company, including benefits, HR issues, and other things to expect when working for the company.
Onboarding helps the company provide a welcoming environment for the new employee in order to foster a positive relationship from the outset.
The onboarding process can also be a time when new employees will be paired with a mentor who has been with the company for some time and can assist the new employee in any issues that may arise while working for the company.
Onboarding can also increase both loyalty and longevity to the company.
Onboarding can also provide new employees with an understanding of what is expected of them, and the time it generally takes to be promoted.
Onboarding also assists the company, who can reduce costs of training on the job if a proper orientation takes place.
Onboarding saves both colleagues and managers time that would otherwise be spent training new employees, thus increasing production.
It is important to note that training is not the same as onboarding. Training occurs on an ongoing basis, whether the training be conducted in-person or via the company’s online platform. Training is essentially a learning process in which employees learn what is expected of them not only in their specific job functions but what is expected of them on a personal behavioral level. For example, when working for a company, employees must behave in a certain way; no company will stand for harassment or discrimination in the workplace. Training is provided to reiterate this. Further, the company will provide training on its culture, which new employees will first learn about during the onboarding process. Training may also be conducted through a mentorship program. The program itself may be introduced during onboarding; however, the mentorship with the mentor will grow the longer an employee is with the company. Such mentorship programs can help reduce turnover and keep employee’s happy if the program can further help employees careers with the company.
The employer should not falsify the job description. It would not be a good idea for a new employee to learn during the onboarding process that he or she is expected to do something entirely different than was assumed and stated during the interview process.
The employer should provide new employees with objectives and responsibilities that will be expected of them.
The employer should advise new employees that the orientation is meant to help them better understand what is expected of them, and that they should give their undivided attention to the speaker(s) during such orientation. No email, no texting, no phone calls unless it is an emergency.
The employer should have all relevant paperwork ready for new employees to read and sign. Some paperwork, including payroll, is more important and the new employees will want to ensure that it is completed immediately so not to delay the process.
The employer should introduce all new employees to colleagues working within the same department. If the company is very small, then the new employer should introduce the employee to everyone.
The employer should ensure that the new employee’s workstation is set up and ready to go.
The employer should ensure that the new employee’s manager sets up a one-on-one meeting on day 1 (or week 1) to go over any open-ended items that may not have been answered in the initial orientation. This is a good time for the manager to identify what is expected of the new employee in 30-days, 60-days, and 90-days.
The employer should clearly identify the company culture. Ensure that new employees are well aware of all company policies, dress code, vacation and sick days, medical leave, etc.
The employer should think ahead. Don’t just create an orientation for onboarding; you’ll want to provide additional feedback and training for what is expected of such employees after a period of time.
If you need help creating a better onboarding process for your company, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel’s marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.
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Once there was a woman named Kisagotami, whose first-born son died. She was so stricken with grief that she roamed the streets carrying the dead body and asking for help to bring her son back to life. A kind and wise man took her to the Buddha.
The Buddha told her, "Fetch me a handful of mustard seeds and I will bring your child back to life." Joyfully Kisagotami started off to get them. Then the Buddha added, "But the seeds must come from a family that has not known death."
Kisagotami went from door to door in the whole village asking for the mustard seeds, but everyone said, "Oh, there have been many deaths here", "I lost my father", I lost my sister". She could not find a single household that had not been visited by death. Finally Kisagotami returned to the Buddha and said, "There is death in every family. Everyone dies. Now I understand your teaching."
The Buddha said, "No one can escape death and unhappiness. If people expect only happiness in life, they will be disappointed."
What do I have to do get well?
The Buddha is like a good doctor. First a good doctor diagnoses the illness. Next he finds out what has caused it. Then he decides what the cure is. Finally he prescribes the medicine or gives the treatment that will make the patient well again.
1. There is Suffering, suffering is common to all.
2. Cause of Suffering, we are the cause of our suffering.
3. End of Suffering, stop doing what causes suffering.
4. Path to end Suffering, everyone can be enlightened.
Birth- When we are born, we cry.
Sickness- When we are sick, we are miserable.
Old age- When old, we will have ache and pains and find it hard to get around.
Death- None of us wants to die. We feel deep sorrow when someone dies.
The Buddha explained that people live in a sea of suffering because of ignorance and greed. They are ignorant of the law of karma and are greedy for the wrong kind of pleasures. They do things that are harmful to their bodies and peace of mind, so they can not be satisfied or enjoy life.
To end suffering, one must cut off greed and ignorance. This means changing one's views and living in a more natural and peaceful way. It is like blowing out a candle. The flame of suffering is put out for good. Buddhists call the state in which all suffering is ended Nirvana. Nirvana is an everlasting state of great joy and peace. The Buddha said, "The extinction of desire is Nirvana." This is the ultimate goal in Buddhism. Everyone can realize it with the help of the Buddha's teachings. It can be experienced in this very life.
4. The path to the end of suffering: The path to end suffering is known as the Noble Eightfold Path. It is also known as the Middle Way.
When the Buddha gave his first sermon in the Deer Park, he began the 'Turning of the Dharma Wheel'. He chose the beautiful symbol of the wheel with its eight spokes to represent the Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha's teaching goes round and round like a great wheel that never stops, leading to the central point of the wheel, the only point which is fixed, Nirvana. The eight spokes on the wheel represent the eight parts of the Noble Eightfold Path. Just as every spoke is needed for the wheel to keep turning, we need to follow each step of the path.
1. Right View. The right way to think about life is to see the world through the eyes of the Buddha--with wisdom and compassion.
5. Right Livelihood. This means choosing a job that does not hurt others. The Buddha said, "Do not earn your living by harming others. Do not seek happiness by making others unhappy."
Following the Noble Eightfold Path can be compared to cultivating a garden, but in Buddhism one cultivates one's wisdom. The mind is the ground and thoughts are seeds. Deeds are ways one cares for the garden. Our faults are weeds. Pulling them out is like weeding a garden. The harvest is real and lasting happiness.
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In Genesis 3, a serpent speaks to Eve, telling her to eat fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Who was this serpent?
First, it is clear serpents do not speak. In order to speak, the serpent would require a source of supernatural power. Since it was not God or one of His angels speaking through the serpent (as was the case with Balaam's donkey in Numbers 22), the source must have been Satan or a demon.
Second, the book of Revelation clearly defines "that ancient serpent" as Satan. Revelation 12:9 states, "And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world." Though the exact meaning of this vision is difficult to interpret, the identity of the serpent is clearly noted. This is further strengthened by the fact that Revelation 20:2 also says, "And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years."
The apostle Paul referred to this serpent in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4: "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough." His words note the serpent was a deceiver and led Eve astray through "cunning."
This description also fits that of Satan. In John 8:44 Jesus called Satan a liar and father of lies. Second Timothy 2:26 speaks of Satan setting snares or traps to harm others. In 1 Thessalonians 3:5 Satan is also called a tempter.
In the future, Bible prophecy notes that Satan will work through a global leader called the Antichrist who will deceive many. Just as Satan did as a serpent with the first humans in Genesis 3, he will seek to deceive all the earth in the last days. However, his plan will ultimately fail, as Jesus Christ will return in victory (Revelation 19:11-21).
Satan will be bound for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3), but then released for one final rebellion against God. He and his evil army will once again be defeated, with a final judgment that Revelation 20:10 describes as, "The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
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What does Ralf mean, details, origin, short & easy attributes?
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American writer and philosopher.
Varient of Ralph, derived from a Germanic personal name combining rad, meaning "counsel" or rand, meaning "rim (of a shield)" and wulf, meaning "wolf".
Ralf pronunciation in 20 different native languages.
Origin of the name Ralph: From the Old Norse RaÄ‘ulfr, Rathulfr, a compound name composed of the elements raÄ‘, rath (counsel) and ulfr (wolf). The name, introduced by the Scandinavians, was reinforced by the Normans, who brought in the Germanic cognate Radulf, which is from the elements rÄd (counsel) and wulf (wolf).
Ralf is baby boy name mainly popular in Christian religion and its main origin is . Ralf name meanings is Wolf, counsel. Other similar sounding names can be Ralph.
Popular personalities with Ralf Name.
Ralf Schumacher is a formula one racer.
Ralf Rangnick is a soccer player for the RB Leipzig and Southwick F.C. Ralf was born on June 29th, 1958 in Backnang.
Ralf Hutter is an electronic music, synthpop, and krautrock musician. He plays Synthesizer, Electronic keyboard, Vocoder, Guitar, Bass guitar, Drum kit, Percussion instrument, and Vocals. His most notable accomplishments were from 1965 to present. Ralf was born Ralf Hutter on August 20th, 1946 in Krefeld.
Ralf Moeller is an actor, bodybuilder, musician, and bodybuilding. His most notable accomplishments were from 1976 to 1976. Ralf was born on January 12th, 1959 in Recklinghausen.
Ralf Little is an actor, writer, footballer, and association football for the Staines Town F.C., Maidstone United F.C., Edgware Town F.C., Chertsey Town F.C., Stone Dominoes F.C., and Sealand national football team. Ralf was given the name Ralf Alastair John B. Little on February 8th, 1980 in Oldham, England, UK.
Ralf is a soccer player for the Beijing Guoan F.C., Sao Paulo FC, Sociedade Imperatriz de Desportos, Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Jau), Sociedade Esportiva do Gama, Esporte Clube Noroeste, Gremio Barueri Futebol, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, and Brazil national football team. Ralf was born on June 9th, 1984 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Torsten was born on January 2nd, 1901. He breathed his last breath on April 27th, 1954.
Eusten Ralf is an athlete for the Union Deportivo Banda Abou.
Other Personalities with Ralf Name.
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The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous fifty NFL drafts (since 1965) had been held in New York City. The 2015 NFL draft was the first to feature an outdoor component, where fans would be able to see the Commissioner on the Auditorium Theatre stage from across the street in the park; this area was called Draft Town. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held the right to select first because they had the league's worst record in the previous season. The Arizona Cardinals made the final pick in the draft, commonly called Mr. Irrelevant.
One of the major storylines approaching the NFL draft was the competition between the previous two Heisman Trophy winners, Jameis Winston winning the award in 2013 and Marcus Mariota in 2014. Both were considered excellent prospects and had the potential to become the first overall draft selection. Winston was considered to be a more polished pocket passer and pro-style quarterback, but has had several off the field issues while playing at Florida State, ranging from a sexual assault allegation to shoplifting incidents. Mariota was considered a better athlete, the fastest quarterback in the draft, and had a better off-the-field reputation. However, Mariota ran a spread offense at Oregon which typically had not transitioned well from college to the NFL. Although neither was considered a perfectly safe pick, the two quarterbacks were selected first and second overall. This was only the sixth time in NFL history that this has occurred. (1971, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2012, and subsequently 2016). It was also the first time that two Heisman trophy winners were selected with the first two overall picks.
Shortly before the draft, the NFL shortened the amount of time for certain selections to be made. The time for seventh-round selections was reduced from five minutes to four minutes; similarly, the time for all compensatory selections, which cannot be traded, was reduced from seven minutes to four minutes.
Seventy-four underclassmen announced their intention to forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility and declare themselves available to be selected in the draft. An additional ten players who graduated but were still eligible to play college football chose to enter the draft, bringing to 84 the total number of players who chose to forgo college eligibility to enter the draft.
The draft order is based generally on each team's record from the previous season, with teams which qualified for the postseason selecting after those which failed to make the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans each finished 2014 with league-worst 2–14 records. The Buccaneers were awarded the first pick in round one due to having a worse strength of schedule. The selection order for subsequent rounds follows the order of the first round, except that teams with the similar records (and the same playoff result for playoff teams) rotate selections round-by-round (e.g. the Titans picked first in the second round).
In addition to the seven picks each team is given (one in each round), the league allocated thirty-two (32) supplemental picks at the ends of round 3 through 7, for a total of 256 picks. The supplemental picks are awarded to teams who had net losses of free agent talent from the previous year.
A supplemental draft was held on July 9, 2015. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. Seven players were available, but only one was selected.
Chicago Bears Bryce Callahan CB Rice C-USA Starter for the Chicago Bears.
Chicago Bears Cameron Meredith WR Illinois State MVFC Wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints.
Dallas Cowboys La'el Collins G Louisiana State SEC Was projected to be a first round pick prior to being involved in a murder investigation, plummeting his draft stock. Named starting left guard since Week 7 in 2015.
New England Patriots David Andrews C Georgia SEC Starter for the New England Patriots.
San Diego Chargers Tyrell Williams WR Western Oregon GNAC Starting wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders.
Seattle Seahawks Thomas Rawls RB Central Michigan MAC Led team with 830 rushing yards in seven starts and led the NFL with 5.6 yards/carry in 2015.
In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2015 draft.
No. 109: St. Louis → Tampa Bay (PD). St. Louis traded this selection as well as their sixth round selection (183rd) to Tampa Bay in exchange for safety Mark Barron.
^ No. 183: St. Louis → Tampa Bay (PD). see No. 109: St. Louis → Tampa Bay.
^ Schefter, Adam (October 2, 2014). "NFL sets dates for '15 draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
^ "Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota earn high marks at NFL combine". Usatoday.com. February 21, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
^ "NFL Draft 1–2 Quarterbacks – NFL – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. April 26, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
^ "Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota Were First Heisman Winners Drafted First and Second". Lostlettermen.com. May 1, 2015. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
^ "NFL tweaks the rules to speed up the draft".
^ "74 Players Granted Special Eligibility for 2014 NFL Draft" (PDF). National Football League. January 19, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
^ Lee, Brenden; Gellerman, Jacob; King, Robert; et al. (eds.). Official 2015 National Football League Record & Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
^ Zucker, Joseph (December 29, 2014). "2015 NFL Draft Order: Analyzing Tiebreakers and Scenarios for 1st Round". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
^ Crabtree, Curtis (June 1, 2015). "Darrius Caldwell, Adrian Wilkins enter supplemental draft". NBCSports.com. Pro Football Talk. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
^ Goodbread, Chase (June 25, 2015). "Clemson OL Isaiah Battle entering supplemental draft". NFL.com. NFL. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
^ a b c "NFL on Twitter: "Via @RapSheet, San Diego traded: 2015 1st Rounder 2015 4th Rounder 2016 5th Rounder For current pick to SF. #NFLDraft"". Twitter.com. April 30, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
^ a b Farrar, Doug (May 8, 2014). "Sammy Watkins selected No. 4 by Buffalo Bills after trade with Cleveland Browns". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al "2015 NFL Draft trade tracker: Details of all the moves". NFL.com. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
^ a b Patra, Kevin (May 1, 2015). "Saints, Seahawks agree to Jimmy Graham trade". NFL.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
^ a b c d Sessler, Marc (May 1, 2015). "Giants trade up to select Alabama safety Landon Collins". NFL.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
^ a b c d e Smith, Brian (May 1, 2015). "Texans trade up to No. 43, take LB Benardrick McKinney in second round". Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ a b c d e McPherson, Chris (May 1, 2015). "Eagles Trade For No. 47 Pick". Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ a b c Wilson, Aaron (May 1, 2015). "Maxx Williams gives Ravens long-term plan at tight end". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ a b c d Alper, Josh (May 1, 2015). "Bucs trade back into second round, take Ali Marpet at No. 61". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ a b c d e "Seahawks Trade up in Third Round to Select WR Tyler Lockett". Seahawks.com. May 1, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ a b c d Sidhu, Deepi (May 1, 2015). "Texans trade again, draft WR Jaelen Strong in 3rd round". HoustonTexans.com. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ Beasley, Adam (March 13, 2015). "Miami Dolphins trade for Kenny Stills — and might not be finished dealing". Miami Herald. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
^ a b c d e Gribble, Andrew (May 1, 2015). "Cleveland Browns swap draft picks with New England Patriots". NFL.com. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ Rosenthal, Gregg (August 26, 2014). "Logan Mankins traded to Buccaneers from Patriots". NFL.com. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
^ Patra, Kevin (May 9, 2014). "Stevie Johnson traded to San Francisco 49ers". Around the League (blog). NFL.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
^ McLane, Jeff (May 10, 2014). "Eagles trade Bryce Brown for conditional 2015 4th rounder". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
^ Porter, Andrew (January 9, 2015). "Eagles Receive 2015 Fourth Round Pick From Bills". CBS Philly. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ Frank, Reuben (May 2, 2015). "Eagles trade 4th-round pick to Lions for 3rd-rounder in 2016". CSN Philly. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ a b Sheridan, Phil (May 4, 2015). "QBS BRADFORD, FOLES SWAP TEAMS". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
^ a b c Rothstein, Michael (May 4, 2015). "Ravens trade NT Haloti Ngata". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
^ Renck, Troy E. (May 9, 2014). "Broncos take WR Cody Latimer, RT Michael Schofield on day 2 of draft". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
^ a b "2014 NFL Draft trade tracker". NFL.com. May 12, 2014. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
^ a b Smith, Michael David (March 4, 2015). "Bills acquire Matt Cassel in trade with Vikings". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
^ a b Patra, Kevin (March 6, 2015). "Bears agree to trade Brandon Marshall to Jets". NFL.com. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
^ Wiederer, Dan (May 10, 2014). "Bears trade up, grab safety Vereen in Round 4". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
^ a b Alper, Josh (March 13, 2015). "Mike Wallace traded to Vikings". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
^ Thorman, Joel (March 12, 2015). "Chiefs trade for G Ben Grubbs, send 5th round pick to Saints, per report". SB Nation. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
^ Patra, Kevin (March 23, 2014). "Buccaneers trade Jeremy Zuttah to Ravens for '15 pick". Around the League (blog). NFL.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
^ a b "Buccaneers trade Jonathan Casillas to Patriots". NFL.com. October 28, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
^ a b Birkett, Dave (April 15, 2015). "Lions trade DE George Johnson to Buccaneers". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
^ "Jets land wideout Percy Harvin". ESPN.com. October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
^ Cimini, Rich (February 4, 2015). "Jets face March 19 deadline on Percy Harvin decision". ESPN. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
^ a b "Rolando McClain traded to Cowboys". ESPN.com. July 1, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
^ "Cowboys acquire Titans DE Lavar Edwards". NFL.com. August 30, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
^ a b Wyatt, Jim (October 21, 2014). "Titans trade LB Akeem Ayers to the Patriots". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
^ Kelly, Omar (March 25, 2014). "Ravens receive 2015 seventh-round pick for Bryant McKinnie". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
^ "Jonathan Martin headed to 49ers". ESPN. March 11, 2014. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
^ Moore, David (September 1, 2013). "Not a good fit: DL Sean Lissemore traded to San Diego for 7th round pick". Dallas Cowboys Blog. The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
^ Sabin, Rainer (September 3, 2013). "Dallas Cowboys acquire DE Caesar Rayford in trade, raising questions about Anthony Spencer's availability". Daily Morning News. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
^ Klis, Mike (October 3, 2014). "Matt Prater released by Broncos; Brandon McManus wins kicking job". The Denver Post. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
^ Fucillo, David (January 24, 2014). "49ers draft picks 2014: Cam Johnson acquired pick is 2015, not 2014". Niners Nation (blog). SB Nation. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
^ Rodak, Mike (September 2, 2012). "Source: Patriots trade for WR Greg Salas". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 24, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
^ "2013 NFL Draft trade tracker: Details of all the moves". NFL.com. April 27, 2013. Archived from the original on May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
^ Wilkening, Mike (April 26, 2013). "2013 NFL Draft trades: Day One". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
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Matthew McConaughey Talks "Captain America"
Casting rumors for the upcoming "First Avenger: Captain America" have been floating around the internet ever since the film was announced. Some of the potential candidates include Will Smith, Channing Tatum, Mike O'Hearn ("American Gladiators") and Matthew McConaughey.
Out of all the actors, McConaughey keeps being named as the favorite, mostly because he looks the part. Unfortunately, the last time he was asked about whether he's interested in taking on the superhero, he said that he never heard of the character.
Now, during a press conference for "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," McConaughey was once again asked about whether he would be interested in starring in the "Captain America" film. This time, his response was a bit more positive. "It sounds fun," he told MTV, adding that he has yet to see a script.
Mostly because he looks the part? Am I missing some captain america comic or something?
Hell, if they're not going to take this seriously, they might as well cast Luke Wilson.
ehhhhh what the heck are they thinking??
Ha can't lose the f*cking accent so no!!! Cap is a New Yorker! Plus Cap is supposed to be a young guy, if they are going to use an actor in their 30s they should go with Matt Damon. Look at this pic and imagine him with blonde hair. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.publishersweekly.com/articles/blog/880000288/20071113/matt_damon.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/880000288/post/1380017338.html&h=400&w=300&sz=34&tbnid=I7GA3fXXlujBUM::&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmatt%2Bdamon&usg=__vUOf3cZYC8B_xlGt7Cd6z9CCKCo=&ei=MMv2SfbuNp_MM4Kbsa4P&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image He knows how to do fight scenes from the Bourne films and he has no problem doing different accents( The Talented Mr. Ripley, in which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for best actor).
I just noticed the American Gladiator, are you f*cking kidding me?
I bet he's already in talks and is playing it cool. Captain Wooderson!
He's still in negotiations over the number of times he gets to be seen shirtless in the movie.
i didn't know captain america sat around naked playing bongos and smokin' joints. oh and btw matthew mcConaughey's accent isn't from NY, idk where the hell it's from but it sure as hell isn't from there.
^^^He is from Texas, they want to succeed for crying out loud! We can't have a succeeder play Cap!
So McConaughey says 3 f'ing words and WP puts up a story about it? Mountain out of a Molehill fo sho!!
this might be a good $$ making idea...cause chicks would actually agree to go to this movie.
No indeed. He can't act or maybe more correctly he doesn't care to act. He just likes making money from horny women. It's plain and simple and I sure as heck don't want somebody who hasn't even HEARD of Cap to try and play him. I guess at least he isn't a big liar like most actor/actresses and saying they are the hugest fans when you know they didn't even pick up the source material until their agent sent it over to them. If he is their number one pick then I am all for Will Smith being Cap as that would be a way better movie.
Man what happened to you? Amistad, A Time to Kill; now these semi-entertaining movies where the most interesting part of the script you read is where it says you get to take off your shirt and you "Oh sh*t, yes! Im doin this flick!". You had potential man, its still in there, I know it. Come on man, what're you doing with your life?
I've been harping this from the rooftops forever. he is Captain America, PERIOD. No one else.
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Vefur Norræna kvikmynda- og sjónvarpssjóðsins birtir viðtal við Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson í kjölfar Scandinavian Screening kynningarmessunnar sem fram fór hér á landi á dögunum. Þar ræðir Skarphéðinn um áherslur RÚV varðandi leikið efni og verkefnastöðuna.
RUV has just signed a four-year contract with the government and domestic TV drama seems to be a top priority. Could you summarise the main points of the contract and how it will benefit Icelandic and Nordic TV drama?
Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson: A year ago, we drafted this contract and started to base our strategy on this. For the first time in many years, we have some financial stability. Before, we were not sure how much funding we would get from the State and we could not plan more than a year ahead, for the next drama season. With this new State agreement, we finally have a stable environment and this will enable us to put out a thorough and clear strategy until 2021. This could not have come at a better time, considering the success of shows such as Trapped, Prisoners, Case, both domestically and internationally.
So what is your budget for TV drama?
SG: TV drama represents almost 1/3 of our entire TV budget. We will not get more money for TV drama, but we will increase our budget spend on independently produced TV drama and other external production from 8% in 2016 to 11% in 2019. We have already doubled the amount we invest in drama production and will commit to spending at least ISK 200 million (approximately €1.8million) on TV drama production per year until 2019.
Do you produce anything in-house, or are all your TV shows commissioned to independent producers? SG: We’re a small company, with a small staff, so all our series are co-productions with local producers or acquisitions. This might change in the future, with us becoming major producers, but we will never have the ability to fully finance series such as our colleagues at NRK or DR for instance. However we co-produce 2 to 3 TV dramas each year -from mini series to long runners- and we are the ones initiating projects at development stage.
Who greenlights projects at RUV and who are the various key executives at RUV Drama?
SG: I am Head of TV, as well as Head of TV drama and Commissioning Editor. Then I have a head of local acquisitions Hera Ólafsdóttir, another acquisition executive Erna Kettler, responsible for foreign TV drama acquisitions with whom I work very closely. Then, very importantly, we recently hired a Development Consultant Ólafur Egilsson, a very established scriptwriter who worked on The Oath, Trapped and was script advisor on I Remember You among other recent projects.
About four years ago, we decided to take development more seriously, even before the signing of the contract with the government. We sensed that indie producers needed more funds for development and we know that quality depends on good scripts.
How do you collaborate with producers from the development stage?
SG: We have tried to open conversations with independent producers, not to be on the receiving end only. They have asked for this and we believe that it’s an important role for us. RUV is a cultural institution and we have a specific public mandate to fill. Having said that, we are here to help Icelandic producers and other TV talents to fulfil their dreams, not our dreams – and meet the demands of our audience.
What slots are available for TV drama?
SG: We have one main prime time slot on Sunday and Monday at 21.00 – dedicated to local or quality Nordic drama. Our goal is to offer the best TV drama from around the world. Although audiences are slowly moving away from linear TV, prime time slots are still very prestigious and show the trust that we put into the content that we schedule. Flagship TV shows are key to branding a TV company and we get amazing rating for our event shows. For instance Trapped had 60% rating on average and 98% share and Prisoners was close to that.
New OTT and SVOD players (such as Siminn) are commissioning local drama and changing the traditional way of programming TV dramas. How does RUV respond to these new challenges?
SG: We simply continue to focus on what we’re doing and our remit as public broadcaster. We’re very much supportive and in favour of all quality Iocal TV shows being produced and wouldn’t mind getting a second window for a quality drama if we would have to . Before joining RUV, I worked at Channel 2 and we launched many great TV shows such as The Nightshift series. We saw that audiences were willing to pay for quality drama, so that was a strong sign of what audiences wanted and when I joined RUV, one of my priorities was to create more local TV drama. Our new general manager Magnus Geir Thordarson who comes from theatre totally supports my drama strategy and that’s very fortunate.
Youngsters are moving away from traditional television. How does RUV respond to this and what is your strategy for children and youth content?
SG: For some time we haven’t had a specialised department for kids, but now we have KidsRÚV (KRAKKARÚV) and it’s hugely successful, with major kids events broadcasted live. KidsRÚV is mainly for the under 15, but our new strategy is also to focus on the 15-29. So we are in the process of appointing a project manager responsible for developing and acquiring content for that target group and for tailoring out a strategy of how to put it out there. We will also have focus groups with young adults who might tell us if they really want a local Skam, which would be the obvious assumption or perhaps something completely different.
Within the Nordics, are there areas where you’d like to see greater collaborations?
SG I believe there is always space for improvement for example I’d love to have more pitching days for Nordic TV drama, similar to Nordic Form. With Nordisk Film & TV Fond, I think we could help initiate new projects from new talents. I fully support the greater emphasis on big projects with an international appeal, but we need as well some kind of support system that would lift projects from new talents.
In Iceland, we’re a young industry and we have only few experienced TV creators and directors. The rest is still learning the ropes of TV drama creation. We do try to nurture new talent –male and female filmmakers- and in development we have at least five projects by newcomers.
What TV shows are lined up for this year, and what else is in production and development?
SG: We have a new family drama coming out this fall called The Promise (6×30’). It’s the first series by kids’ specialist Bragi Thor Hinriksson [The Magic Wardrobe, Face to Face]. We always try to tell stories in new original ways so here it’s a divorce story seen from the viewpoint of two young siblings.
Then for 2018, we have Flatey Enigma produced by Sagafilm. It’s a mystery thriller, like The Da Vinci Code, but instead of religious references, it is connected to the old sagas. It’s set in the breath-taking Flatey island. Then we have Trapped season 2 that will start shooting this fall for a premiere in the fall 2018.
The Minister is a political drama reflecting in a way what’s been going on here in our political arena, but with an interesting twist as the Prime Minister is bipolar. It’s the directing debut of Case writer Þorleifur Örn Arnarson.
The Valhalla Murders is directed by another rising talent, Thordur Palsson, written by the director, Margret Ornolfsdottir and Ottar Nordfjord for Truenorth.
The Black Port(Verbúðin) created and produced by Gisli Orn Gardarson, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Nina Dogg Filippusdóttir, Jan Tryggve Röyneland for Vesturport, written by Mikael Torfason, is a politically charged family saga, a period piece taking place in the eighties, depicting the effects the newly introduced fishing quota-system had on the lives of people in a small fishing village.
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Vowel normalization techniques have been developed because different speakers have different mouth sizes, which in turn causes their formant resonances to differ. Vowel normalization is crucial in order to compare the vowel realizations by different speakers in meaningful linguistic and sociolinguistic ways. Compare, for example, Figures 1 and 2; in Figure 1, the male speaker's formant values are much lower and more compact than for the female speaker. Yet, they come from nearby towns and speak similar dialects. How much of that difference is actually socially and sociolinguistically meaningful and how much is simply physiological? Normalization is necessary in order to answer such questions.
To eliminate variation caused by physiological differences among speakers (i.e., differences in mouth sizes).
To preserve sociolinguistic/dialectal/cross-linguistic differences in vowel quality.
To preserve phonological distinctions among vowels.
To model the cognitive processes that allow human listeners to normalize vowels uttered by different speakers.
Most phoneticians who work with vowel normalization focus on goal #4. For example, the extensive review of normalization in Rosner and Pickering (1994) takes goal #4 as THE purpose of normalization, without even entertaining the notion that there could be any other use for normalization. To complicate matters, some researchers have recently suggested that listeners do not actually normalize vowels at all, and that comprehension of the vowels of different speakers operates by other means (Pisoni 1997). However, the majority opinion is still that listeners do normalize, and Rosner and Pickering (1994) conclude that F1 and F2 are by far most important, with F3 occasionally important and F0, in spite of suggestions by numerous researchers, not important at all. In addition, a few researchers have suggested that dynamic portions of vowels, i.e., where formant values are changing, may be more important than steady-state vowels (e.g., Nearey and Assmann 1986; Strange 1989). This issue relates to a larger goal of phoneticians, the quest for invariance. Invariance is the notion that a given speech sound has some properties that would be invariant if one could just find the right phonetic properties or the right transformation of phonetic properties.
For sociolinguists and dialectologists, however, goal #4 is the least important of the four. Our traditional concern has been to discern the relationship between language and society. If we can speak to goal #4, so much the better, but it is dispensable for most sociolinguistic studies. Goal #3, preserving phonological contrasts, is most often not a concern, either. In a language such as Spanish, for which vowels lack length or tenseness distinctions and for which the diphthongs are not phonemic, we would expect vowel normalization to meet goal #3. However, in languages such as English, Dutch, German, and Swedish, many vowel contrasts are effected by factors other than steady-state formant values, so we shouldn't expect vowel normalization to meet goal #3.
For sociolinguists and dialectologists, it is the first two goals that matter. For us, an effective vowel normalization technique is one that filters out physiological differences (goal #1) but leaves sociolinguistic differences unaffected (goal #2). Hence, a normalization technique that phoneticians might reject could serve our needs perfectly well. The criteria sociolinguists use for evaluating a normalization technique, then, should differ from those used by phoneticians.
A second consideration is that vowel normalization techniques fall into two general groups: vowel-intrinsic and vowel-extrinsic. In a vowel-intrinsic method, all the information used for the normalization formula can be found within a single vowel token. These methods use various combinations of formant values (F1, F2, usually F3, and occasionally F4), F0 (the fundamental frequency), or even formant bandwidths. Vowel-extrinsic methods, on the other hand, compare formant values of different vowels spoken by a given individual.
An analogous distinction is between speaker-intrinsic and speaker-extrinsic methods. Speaker-intrinsic methods normalize based on data from a single speaker's vowels. Speaker-extrinsic methods, such as the one used by Labov, Ash, and Boberg (2006), factor more than one speaker's vowels into the formula (in fact, Labov et al. stated that their grand mean - which was computed from all the speakers in a sample - continued to change until 345 speakers were used!).
Four useful reviews of normalization techniques are Hindle (1978), Disner (1980), Miller (1989), and Adank, Smits, and van Hout (2004). They put varying weights on the four goals stated above. Hindle (1978) preferred vowel-extrinsic methods, particularly a now widely-used formula developed by Nearey (1977). Disner (1980) discussed goal #2 at length, noting that different languages appear to use the periphery of the vowel envelope in different ways, and found that vowel-extrinsic methods were not especially effective at capturing such differences, even though they performed well in other ways. Miller (1989) provided some useful history on vowel-intrinsic methods. Finally, Adank et al. (2004) evaluated how well different formulas matched impressionistic transcriptions and came down solidly in favor of vowel-extrinsic methods, especially those by Lobanov (1971) and Nearey (1977). However, their experiment had essentially stacked the deck, since, of the supposed "vowel-intrinsic" methods they tested, only one--that of Syrdal and Gopal (1987)--was really a vowel normalization technique. The others, such as conversion of Hz to Bark or mels, were simply transformations of Hz to scales that reflect auditory treatment of pitch.
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0.899473 |
There ________ two possible answers.
Plant up tulip bulbs in the fall to flower indoors in spring. They digest and neutralize xylene, ammonia, and formaldehyde found in kitchen cleaning products. Or nurture a spider plant (Chlorophytum elatum), which thrives on carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.
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0.998776 |
What is the maximum number of electrons that an orbital with a magnetic quantum number of two could hold?
The answer is A. Can you please explain this?
I'm not sure I understand what this question is asking for if the answer is A.
This is just tricky. No matter what energy level is, maximum number of electrons that an orbital can carry is two, always !
the magnetic quantum number refers to the orientation of one of the subshell's orbitals, in which only a pair of electrons exists. It sounds like you're confusing the magnetic (2 electrons max) with the azimuthal number.
thank you for your responses, i see how this is a bit tricky.
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0.985643 |
In Cali can I buy directly from the grower as opposed to a dispensary?
To be totally correct, marijuana cannot be sold in California. You can enter into an agreement to compensate the grower for his time and costs. Make sure the paperwork is correct or you are just dealing drugs.
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0.999997 |
Fear of trade overlooks that most value creation in advanced economies is based on services, not manufacturing.
Trade typically figures prominently in US presidential election, and 2016 is no exception. While campaigning, politicians tend to adopt anti-international business positions that are theoretically unsound and lack empirical evidence.
Four fallacies underline these common political arguments.
Fallacy 1: Manufacturing jobs are the basis of American prosperity.
Fallacy 2: Imports make us poorer.
Fallacy 3: Success of foreign firms always helps foreign countries, success of US firms always helps the US economy.
Fallacy 4: To export, firms must sell to buyers in foreign countries.
The manufacturing fallacy: Since 1980, elections have included clarion calls to bring manufacturing jobs back to America. President Barack Obama focused on reviving the manufacturing sector, and in the current election, Donald Trump vows to revitalize manufacturing to “reclaim millions of American jobs” while Hillary Clinton has promoted a “make it in America” strategy on the stump.
Yet manufacturing continues to shrink as a percentage of total employment. By some estimates, while US manufacturing output increased sixfold between 1950 and 2008, the share of manufacturing jobs as a percentage of all jobs decreased from about 30 percent to 10 percent. The reduction in the share of manufacturing jobs despite a significant increase in manufacturing output is primarily due to tremendous productivity gains since World War II, stemming from continual innovations in technology and management practices. This is neither new nor unique to the US. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the share of US farm sector employment fell from 90 percent to about 10 percent between 1790 and 1950. This was due to increased use of heavy machinery and automation, and a simultaneous migration of labor from the farm sector to the manufacturing and service sectors. Furthermore, all major industrialized nations have experienced job losses in the manufacturing sector.
Political arguments often neglect the underlying structure of different economies. Most advanced economies have become primarily service economies. As the structure of the US economy has changed, so have its drivers of value creation. Advanced economies add greater value by focusing on non-repetitive, high-value-added specialized activities such as innovation and marketing, while emerging economies concentrate on repetitive, low-value-added standardized activities. Rich countries are service economies, focused on finance, engineering, design and health care, and this is dictated by their comparative advantage.
The import fallacy: The second popular myth is that imports make a country poorer, and a country must export more than it imports to be prosperous. There are two major problems with this view. First, merchandise trade deficits per se, when countries import more goods and services than they export, are not detrimental to economic growth. Basic economics tells us that merchandise trade deficits must be offset by capital account surpluses because every country’s balance of payments must be zero by definition. Simply put, imports must be paid for with current goods, or exports, or past accumulations or future goods – capital.
As long as the domestic economy is an attractive destination for foreign capital, a country can afford to run deficits. Thus, an innovation-driven economy, such as the United States, can support trade deficits year after year, by way of an inflow of foreign capital. Foreign investment also brings benefits for the domestic economy, including more and higher paying jobs. In the long run, the only way to reduce trade deficits in a healthy manner is to encourage savings. Restricting imports only weakens the domestic economy.
Further, imports and exports go hand in hand. The top export destinations for the US – Canada, the EU, Mexico and China – are also the top locations from which the US imports. Likewise, the top exporting states – Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, and Michigan – are also top importing states.
The mechanics of this correlation are illustrated by Boeing, the largest single US exporter, and its most recent export success – the 787 Dreamliner. This plane has more than 1,100 orders from 60 customers around the world. However, Boeing is also one of the largest US importers. To build the 787, Boeing sources parts from many countries. The 787 illustrates the nature of success in the global economy – countries and firms that do not source from the best in the world cannot export to the rest of the world.
The foreign firm fallacy: “What’s good for General Motors is good for America,” a misquote in itself, became a slogan for many politicians. The underlying rationale is that US firms are better for the US economy in terms of producing and keeping jobs in the US.
The truth is that US subsidiaries of foreign multinationals have an annual payroll of $510 billion with average wages of $80,041 – 30 percent higher than the national average. These foreign subsidiaries pay 14 percent of US federal corporate income tax, and produce $360 billion in US exports, about 26 percent of the total. Additionally, they spend $45.2 billion annually on US-based R&D activities, accounting for about 16 percent of all R&D performed by US companies.
The reality of the global economy is that few major firms locate high-value activities based on nationality of headquarters. Such activities are based on local resource availability. So long as the United States remains a high-knowledge economy with valuable technological resources and innovation capabilities, it will continue to attract high-value-creating subsidiaries of foreign enterprises. Foreign firms in general, compared to local firms, source more locally, pay higher wages, perform more R&D intensive activities and export more. More importantly, they provide strong linkages for domestic firms to participate in global value chains. This leads to the last fallacy.
The export fallacy: Traditional thinking about exports is that nations must sell to buyers in foreign countries. This was true when firms operated in silos set by organizational boundaries. This is no longer true in the modern economy dominated by global value chains. Different organizations add value at different parts of the chain. Thus, even though a firm may not be directly engaged in selling to a foreign buyer, it may be part of a chain that generates exports.
There are three sets of firms within a global value chain – original equipment manufacturers, tier 1 suppliers and tier 2 suppliers. The original manufacturers ar e “orchestrators” who conceptualize the product and develop overall design. Manufacturing of critical components is then outsourced to tier 1 suppliers that specialize in specific parts. Those suppliers rely on tier 2 suppliers for components. Along with the orchestrators, tier 1 and 2 suppliers are integral parts of the global value chain. Domestic firms can thus become proxy exporters by supplying local or foreign orchestrators. In the aerospace industry, the design firm Sitec, by virtue of being a supplier to Spirit that makes airframes for Airbus, sells its product all over the world without directly dealing with foreign buyers or markets. Such indirect participation in a global value chain reduces the risks associated with direct exports while imparting critical learning that a firm can use if it decides to go international.
First, most value creation in advanced economies is based on services and not manufacturing. The sooner policymakers and the general public acknowledge this fact, the sooner the nation can focus on priorities that support robust economic growth.
Second, the trade deficit is not always a bad thing and importing is often a key to exporting success. More importantly, limiting imports certainly won’t help in promoting domestic growth or reversing the trade deficit.
Third, on average, foreign firms pay higher wages, have higher R&D-intensity and greater exports than domestic firms, thereby generating significant benefits for the domestic economy.
Finally, connecting to a global value chain is a means of becoming a “proxy exporter” without the risks of international activity.
*Ajai Gaur is Associate Professor of Strategy and International Business at the Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick. He is currently serving as the president of the Asia Academy of Management. He also serves as a consulting editor of the Journal of International Business Studies and as a senior editor of the Journal of World Business and the Asia Pacific Journal of Management.
*Ram Mudambi is the Frank M. Speakman Professor of Strategy at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he is the director of the Institute for Global Management Studies. He also serves as an editor of the Global Strategy Journal.
I would like to comment on two issues.
American people talk about trade but mostly the issue is about capital export. Many US companies are closing their doors and moving to foreign countries for more profits, lower taxes, and weak regulations relative to the US economy. It is also true that other countries are devaluing their currencies and providing export supports to make their commodities cheaper globally. Dumping has also been used. These issues do not represent free world trade. They are unfair practices affecting importing countries negatively, particularly on the employment level: job destruction.
The authors have made another mistake. People are talking about more exports in order to cut trade deficit. US trade deficit indicates that imports are higher than exports and increased exports become a goal in order to balance the trade balance. This is a sound economic idea, which will increase the GDP and economic growth for cutting national debt and reducing unemployment. I have never heard that the American people are trying to use the Mercantilist idea that more exports relative to imports is the goal. Finally, if you listen to what Mr. Trump has been saying, for example, you can find that he is talking about manufacturing companies leaving the US economy and bad trade deals and practices of other countries against the US economy.
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0.92592 |
My daughter is attending community college for general ed and will be transferring in fall 2017 to a university. Do you know how the FAFSA works when it looks at the Student's financial assets and the Parent's financial assets? She'll need to get loans, I want to maximize her chances of being able to get a Federal loan. We're working at building her credit worthiness. She works and has over $10K in savings now, which will double by the time she's ready to transfer, and I would like for her to be able to keep that money for the future, in case she needs it after college, before she finds a job. What can we do with that money now, over the next year, and over the 2 years after that when she's at the University.
Congratulations on your daughter's acceptance into college. This is a great achievement and you must be very proud. This is a wonderful opportunity for her and at the same time, a confusing one for parents navigating the many different ways to pay this upcoming bill. For your question, I will limit my focus on the federal loans/aid as the non-federal system is different.
The key to understanding FAFSA is to understand "Expected Family Contribution" or EFC. Let's consider this example. If the cost of your daughter's college is $20,000 and your EFC is $4,000, then you could qualify for up to $16,000 in need based aid such as a subsidized federal loan. However, this does not guarantee you will get that much. The EFC calculation is complex, but overall, the parent is expected to contribute up to 5.64% of their assets towards college and the students is expected to contribute 20% of their assets.
Below are some highlights on which parental assets are included in the EFC calculation in addition to your income. It is important to understand that each item can be treated differently as to what percentage is applied towards EFC. For the complete list, please refer to the FAFSA website.
4) Parent and dependent-student owner 529 accounts are generally considered a parental asset.
The good news is that the EFC calculation grants you certain "deductions" for asset protection allowance and education savings, which reduces your EFC. Basically, the lower the EFC, the better for you.
When it comes to getting aid, what you have is what you have. There is no way to "shield" your daughter's assets from counting towards EFC but that does not mean she must spend her funds, they only go into the calculation of how much aid you should qualify for. Also, if she will use her savings in a few years, place those funds in a nice safe place like her USAA savings account. If friends and family are planning to give your daughter money, they could hold off until after graduation to not affect EFC. I wish your daughter the best of luck throughout her college years.
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0.999471 |
Have you ever wondered what is the difference between an SUV and a crossover (also referred to as a CUV)? It’s not a silly question. In fact, as segments get larger and vehicle designs change, it’s becoming harder to know what qualifies a vehicle as a certain “type.” It also doesn’t help that many auto manufacturers use the two terms interchangeably.
The Short Answer: An SUV is built on the same platform as a truck, also known as a “body on frame” design. All that means is the body and the frame are built separately and attached later on. A crossover is based on a car’s design, meaning the body and frame are built as one piece together.
Back in the day, almost all SUVs were based on the pickup truck model, meaning they typically had either rear-wheel or four-wheel drive and a body-on-frame configuration. This type of design creates more space inside the vehicle than a traditional car has. It also gives the vehicle a sturdier feel, making it more suited for towing, hauling and off-roading.
Some SUVs are still built this way, like the Nissan Armada and the Ford Expedition. Both of these vehicles can seat up to eight and tow quite a bit; 8,500 lbs. for the Armada and 9,500 lbs. for the Expedition. While the body-on-frame design does make for a more powerful vehicle, it also means the SUV is heavier than a car, which hurts the vehicle’s fuel economy — typically, SUVs use more fuel than a traditional car.
Crossovers (also know as crossover utility vehicles or CUVs) are lighter, more fuel efficient versions of the traditional SUV. That’s because crossovers are built as (single-body) construction instead of a body-on-frame design. This is why crossovers feel more like cars and tend to have better handling. And while crossovers aren’t designed to haul heavy loads or tow, some are still able to pull moderate amounts of weight.
While SUVs and crossovers are designed differently, they also share a lot of the same characteristics. Both vehicles offer owners more space than a car. SUVs and crossovers are also raised higher and give drivers better visibility on the road. Finally, both SUVs and crossovers are more suited to difficult types of terrain and usually come with available AWD.
It all depends on your needs. If you have a smaller budget, it’s probably a good idea to buy a crossover. Crossovers typically cost less, both in price and in fuel. However, if you prioritize space, you may want to think about buying an SUV.
An SUV is also a good choice if you’re looking to tow something on a regular basis. SUVs usually have bigger engines, more power, and larger towing capacities. They are usually better in off-roading types of situations, too.
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0.99642 |
Alice and Johnny are playing a simple guessing game. Johnny picks an arbitrary positive integer n (1<=n<=109) and gives Alice exactly k hints about the value of n. It is Alice's task to guess n, based on the received hints.
[Alice] Johnny, you keep cheating!
[Johnny] Indeed? You cannot prove it.
[Alice] Oh yes I can. In fact, I can tell you with the utmost certainty that in the last game you lied to me at least *** times.
So, how many times at least did Johnny lie to Alice? Try to determine this, knowing only the hints Johnny gave to Alice.
The first line of input contains t, the number of test cases (about 20). Exactly t test cases follow.
where operator denotes one of the symbols < , > , or =; li is an integer (1<=li<=109), while logical_value is one of the words: Yes or No. The hint is considered correct if logical_value is the correct reply to the question: "Does the relation: n operator li hold?", and is considered to be false (a lie) otherwise.
For each test case output a line containing a single integer, equal to the minimal possible number of Johnny's lies during the game.
Explanation: for the respective test cases, the number picked by Johnny could have been e.g. n=100, n=5, and n=1.
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0.999955 |
A class does not inherit constructors from any of its super classes.
What is Python and what is scope of Python?
Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language. It is often compared to Tcl, P e r l, Scheme or Java.
Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has modules, classes, exceptions, very high level dynamic data types, and dynamic typing. There are interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to various windowing systems (X11, Motif, Tk, Mac, MFC, wxWidgets). New built-in modules are easily written in C or C++. Python is also usable as an extension language for applications that need a programmable interface.
The Python implementation is portable: it runs on many brands of UNIX, on Windows, OS/2, Mac, Amiga, and many other platforms.
A scope is a textual region of a Python program where a name space is directly accessible. "Directly accessible'' here means that an unqualified reference to a name attempts to find the name in the name space.
Although scopes are determined statically, they are used dynamically. At any time during execution, exactly three nested scopes are in use (i.e., exactly three name spaces are directly accessible): the innermost scope, which is searched first, contains the local names, the middle scope, searched next, contains the current module's global names, and the outermost scope (searched last) is the name space containing built-in names.
Usually, the local scope references the local names of the (textually) current function. Outside of functions, the local scope references the same name space as the global scope: the module's name space. Class definitions place yet another name space in the local scope.
Overriding is used to redefines only the methods, but shadowing redefines the entire element.
Multithreading is the mechanism in which more than one thread run independent of each other within the process.
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0.991982 |
Add Anne Hathaway to the list of celebrities who are proud of their Botox-free beauty.
"I had someone offer me Botox at 23. From the age of 25 to 27 - and this is a little embarrassing to admit - I looked under my eyes every single day, because I thought, 'It's going, it's going, it's going!' And then I realized the other day they are not wrinkles; they're smile lines. If you look at pictures of me from a young age, I've been smiling the same way since I was little. And I had that wonderful moment when you realize, 'That's who I am.' Botox would erase that.'...My identity used to be shaped on my appearance so much. I don't think I was shallow - I just think I was young. I focus on other things a lot more now."
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0.821216 |
Warwickshire ( /ˈwɒrɪkʃər/ or /ˈwɒrɪkʃɪər/) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare and George Eliot. Commonly used abbreviations for the county are Warks or Warwicks.
For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG13) and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region.
Warwickshire is bounded to the north-west by the West Midlands metropolitan county and Staffordshire, by Leicestershire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the east, Worcestershire to the west, Oxfordshire to the south and Gloucestershire to the south-west. The northern tip of the county is only 3 miles (5 km) from the Derbyshire border. An average-sized English county covering an area of almost 2,000 km2, it runs some 60 miles (97 km) north to south.
The majority of Warwickshire's population live in the north and centre of the county. The market towns of northern and eastern Warwickshire were industrialised in the 19th century, and include Atherstone, Bedworth, Nuneaton, and Rugby. Major industries included coal mining, textiles, engineering, and cement production, but heavy industry is in decline, being replaced by distribution centres, light to medium industry, and services. Of the northern and eastern towns, only Nuneaton and Rugby (as the birthplace of rugby football) are well-known outside of Warwickshire. The prosperous towns of central and western Warwickshire including Royal Leamington Spa, Stratford-upon-Avon, Kenilworth, Alcester, and Warwick harbour light to medium industries, services and tourism as major employment sectors.
The south of the county is largely rural and sparsely populated, and includes a small area of the Cotswolds, at the border with northwest Gloucestershire. The only town in the south of Warwickshire is Shipston-on-Stour. The highest point in the county, at 261 m (856 ft), is Ebrington Hill, again on the border with Gloucestershire, grid reference SP187426 at the county's southwest extremity.
The north of the county, bordering Staffordshire and Leicestershire, is mildly undulating countryside and the northernmost village, No Man's Heath, is only 34 miles (55 km) south of the Peak District National Park's southernmost point.
There are no cities in Warwickshire since both Coventry and Birmingham were incorporated into the West Midlands county in 1974 and are now metropolitan authorities in themselves. The largest towns in Warwickshire as of 2004 are: Nuneaton (pop. 77,500), Rugby (62,700), Leamington Spa (45,300), and Bedworth (32,500). Stratford, Warwick, and Kenilworth all house 20,000-25,000 inhabitants, while the smaller towns of Atherstone, Alcester, Coleshill, Southam, Bulkington, Polesworth, Kingsbury, Henley-in-Arden, Studley, Shipston. Wellesbourne and Whitnash have populations between 5,000 and 12,000.
Much of western Warwickshire, including that area now forming part of Coventry, Solihull and Birmingham, was covered by the ancient Forest of Arden (most of which was cut down to provide fuel for industrialisation). Thus the names of a number of places in the northwestern part of Warwickshire end with the phrase "-in-Arden", such as Henley-in-Arden, Hampton-in-Arden and Tanworth-in-Arden. The remaining area, not part of the forest, was called the Felden - from fielden.
Areas historically part of Warwickshire include Coventry, Solihull, Sutton Coldfield and most of Birmingham including Aston and Edgbaston. These became part of the metropolitan county of West Midlands (and Sutton Coldfield became part of Birmingham) following local government re-organisation in 1974.
In 1986 the West Midlands County Council was abolished and Birmingham, Coventry, and Solihull became effective unitary authorities, however the West Midlands county name has not been altogether abolished, and still exists for ceremonial purposes, and so the town and two cities remain outside Warwickshire.
Some organisations, such as Warwickshire County Cricket Club, which is based in Edgbaston, in Birmingham, still observe the historic county boundaries.
Coventry is effectively in the centre of the Warwickshire area, and still has strong ties with the county. Coventry and Warwickshire are sometimes treated as a single area and share a single Chamber of Commerce and BBC Local Radio Station (BBC Coventry & Warwickshire).
Coventry has been a part of Warwickshire for only some of its history. In 1451 Coventry was separated from Warwickshire and made a county corporate in its own right, called the County of the City of Coventry. In 1842 the county of Coventry was abolished and Coventry was remerged with Warwickshire. In recent times, there have been calls to formally re-introduce Coventry into Warwickshire, although nothing has yet come of this. The county's population would increase by almost a third-of-a-million overnight should this occur, Coventry being the UK's 11th largest city.
The town of Tamworth was historically divided between Warwickshire and Staffordshire, but since 1888 has been fully in Staffordshire.
In 1931, Warwickshire gained the town of Shipston-on-Stour from Worcestershire and several villages, including Long Marston and Welford-on-Avon, from Gloucestershire.
The following towns and villages in Warwickshire have populations of over 5,000.
Warwickshire came into being as a division of the kingdom of Mercia in the early 11th century. The first reference to Warwickshire was in 1001, as Wæringscīr named after Warwick (meaning "dwellings by the weir").
During the Middle Ages Warwickshire was dominated by Coventry, which was at the time one of the most important cities in England due to its textiles trade in the heart of England. Warwickshire played a key part in the English Civil War, with the Battle of Edgehill and other skirmishes taking place in the county. During the Industrial Revolution Warwickshire became one of Britain's foremost industrial counties, with the large industrial cities of Birmingham and Coventry within its boundaries.
1844: The Counties (Detached Parts) Act transferred a township to, and two parishes from, the county.
1888: Those parts of the town of Tamworth lying in Warwickshire were ceded to Staffordshire.
1891: Harborne became part of the County Borough of Birmingham and thus was transferred from Staffordshire to Warwickshire by the Local Govt. Bd.'s Prov. Orders Conf. (No. 13) Act, 54 & 55 Vic. c. 161 (local act).
1891: The district of Balsall Heath, which had originally constituted the most northerly part of the Parish of King's Norton in Worcestershire, was added to the County Borough of Birmingham, and therefore Warwickshire, on 1 October 1891.
1909: Quinton was formally removed from Worcestershire and incorporated into the County Borough of Birmingham, then in Warwickshire, on 9 November 1909.
1911: The Urban District of Handsworth, in Staffordshire, and the Rural District of Yardley along with the greater part of the Urban District of King's Norton and Northfield, both in Worcestershire, were absorbed into Birmingham, and thus Warwickshire, as part of the Greater Birmingham Scheme on 9 November 1911.
1928: Perry Barr Urban District was ceded to Birmingham from Staffordshire.
1931: The boundaries between Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire were adjusted by the Provisional Order Confirmation (Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire) Act which transferred 26 parishes between the three counties, largely to eliminate exclaves. The town of Shipston-on-Stour was gained from Worcestershire and several villages, including Long Marston and Welford-on-Avon, from Gloucestershire.
1974: Under The Local Government Act 1972, Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and Sutton Coldfield were ceded to the new West Midlands county, with Sutton Coldfield becoming part of Birmingham.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Warwickshire at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Video game developing company Codemasters is based in Warwickshire.
Like most English shire counties, Warwickshire has a two-tier structure of local government. Warwickshire is divided into five districts each with their own district councils. These districts are: North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford, and Warwick (see map). The county and district councils are responsible for providing different services.
Atherstone is the headquarters of the North Warwickshire district, Nuneaton is headquarters of the Nuneaton and Bedworth District and Leamington Spa is the headquarters of the Warwick district.
In addition many small towns and villages have their own parish councils although these have only limited powers.
Warwickshire is policed by the Warwickshire Police.
The 2009 County Council elections resulted in a win for the Conservatives.
The county also has a county council based in Warwick which is elected every four years (the last election was held on 4 June 2009 the same day as the European Elections), is currently controlled by the Conservative Party and operates a cabinet-style council. The county council is made of 62 councillors, who decide upon the budget and appoints the council leader. The council leader selects 2 to 9 councillors and together they form the cabinet. The Leader assigns portfolios on which cabinet members make decisions. Key decisions are made by the whole cabinet while others are made only by the portfolio holders for relevant areas.
In the state sector, children start school in the school year in which they turn five. They stay at primary school for seven years (although this varies even within the county, as some people have previously gone for four years and then spent another four years at a 'middle school') until they are eleven. Warwickshire is one of the few local authorities in England to still maintain the Grammar school system in two districts: Stratford on Avon and Rugby, although Southam claims to have a comprehensive school. In the final year of primary school, children are given the opportunity of sitting the eleven plus exam in order to compete for a place at one of the Grammar schools, with two in Stratford and Rugby and one in Alcester (including Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls; King Edward VI School, a boys school; and Alcester Grammar School (mixed)). The exam is sat on three different days and consists of two verbal reasoning and mathematics papers and one extended writing paper. In order to maintain standards, there is a bank of papers that are used in rotation. In 2006, it was revealed in a local newspaper, the Stratford Herald, that some private eleven plus tutors had copies of the exam papers and that they were using them as practice papers for their pupils. This meant that, in some cases, pupils sitting the exam had seen the paper in advance.
It should be noted that Warwickshire contains 3 Further Education Colleges and 1 6th Form College, North Warwickshire & Hinckley College which has main colleges based in Nuneaton and the Leicestershire Town of Hinckley with smaller colleges based around North Warwickshire, King Edward VI Sixth Form College (K.E.G.S) in Nuneaton, Stratford Upon Avon College and Warwickshire College, an institution made up of six main separate colleges that have merged (Leamington Centre, Rugby Centre, Moreton Morrell Centre, Pershore College, Henley-in-Arden Centre, and the Trident Centre in Warwick).
There are also five independent schools within the county, namely; Rugby School, Warwick School, Princethorpe College, Kingsley School in Leamington Spa, and The King's High School For Girls, Warwick.
King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, Rugby School, Warwick School and Southam College are arguably the four most notable schools within Warwickshire, with King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon still using 13th century school buildings and being the likely school of William Shakespeare, Rugby School being founded in 1567 and Warwick School originally being founded c.914 AD, which makes it the oldest surviving boys school in the country. All three schools achieve very impressive exam results and benefit from exceptional facilities. Rugby School is one of nine schools that were defined as the "great" English public schools by the Public Schools Act 1868, and is a member of the Rugby Group. Both Rugby School and Warwick School are HMC schools, with the Headmaster from each school attending the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
In 2011, Warwickshire members of the union NUT supported action by staff at Coventry's Tile Hill Wood School, in opposition to the government's programme of Academies.
The M40 motorway which connects London to Birmingham, runs through the centre of the county, and serves Leamington Spa, Warwick, and Stratford.
The M6 motorway, which connects northwestern England and the West Midlands to the M1 motorway (and then on to London), runs through the north of Warwickshire, and serves Rugby, Nuneaton, and Bedworth on its way to Birmingham.
The M69 Coventry to Leicester motorway which serves Nuneaton.
Other motorways pass briefly through Warwickshire including the M45 (a short spur south of Rugby connecting to the M1), the southern end of the M6 Toll, and the M42 which passes through the county at several points.
Other major trunk routes in Warwickshire includes the A45 (Rugby-Coventry-Birmingham and east into Northamptonshire route). The A46 (connects the M40 to the M6 via Warwick, Kenilworth and Coventry), the A452 (Leamington to Birmingham route) and the A5 runs through Warwickshire passing Nuneaton between Tamworth and Hinckley (at Atherstone).
Two major railway lines pass through Warwickshire.
The Chiltern Main Line, the former Great Western route from London to Birmingham passes through the centre of Warwickshire on a route similar to the M40 motorway, and has stations at Leamington Spa, Warwick, (and Warwick Parkway) and Hatton. Rail services are provided by Chiltern Railways and London Midland (Birmingham to Leamington only). There are also two branches off the Chiltern line, one from Leamington to Coventry, and another from Hatton near Warwick to Stratford.
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) runs through Warwickshire. At Rugby the WCML splits into two parts, one runs west through to Coventry and Birmingham, and the other the "Trent Valley Line" runs north-west towards Stafford and the north-west of England. This section has stations at Nuneaton, Atherstone, and Polesworth (North bound services only). There is one branch off the WCML from Nuneaton to Coventry, and there is a station at Bedworth on this branch.
Other railway lines in Warwickshire include the Birmingham-Nuneaton section of the Birmingham to Peterborough Line, which continues east of Nuneaton towards Leicester and Peterborough. Nuneaton has direct services to Birmingham and Leicester on this line, and there is one intermediate station at Water Orton near Coleshill in the extreme north-west of the county.
There is also a branch line from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon. This line used to continue southwards to Cheltenham but is now a dead-end branch. There are several stations on this line at Henley-in-Arden and at several small villages. Stratford also has direct rail services to London via the branch line to Warwick (mentioned earlier).
The only major town in Warwickshire not to have a station is Kenilworth. Although the Leamington to Coventry line passes through the town, its station was closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching Axe. There is a concerted campaign to re-open the station, although currently there are no local services operating on the line, as it is used only by CrossCountry services.
Coventry Airport is located in the Warwickshire village of Baginton.
The Grand Union Canal, which runs through Leamington and Warwick and onwards to Birmingham.
The Coventry Canal which runs through the north of the county from Coventry through Bedworth, Nuneaton, Atherstone, and Polesworth, and then onwards to Tamworth.
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal which runs from the Grand Union west of Warwick to Stratford.
The Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal passes briefly through Warwickshire from a junction with the Coventry Canal at Bedworth.
The Oxford Canal, which runs from near Coventry and then eastwards around Rugby, and then through the rural south of the county towards Oxford.
The River Avon is navigable from just north of Stratford. In 1974, the Higher Avon Navigation Trust made a proposal to extend the navigation to Warwick and Leamington, where a junction with the Grand Union Canal would create a new cruising ring. Warwickshire County Council believed the scheme to be a catalyst for economic regeneration in the area, but after gauging public support in 2003, decided not to support the plans. The Stratford and Warwick Waterway Trust is still actively pursuing the proposals.
Warwickshire County Cricket Club play at Edgbaston. Notable players for Warwickshire have been Brian Lara, Bob Willis, Allan Donald, Geoff Humpage and Ian Bell.
The Warwickshire County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (or Warwickshire GAA) is one of the county boards outside Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic games in Warwickshire. The county board is also responsible for the Warwickshire inter-county teams. The play their home games at Páirc na hÉireann. Warwickshire Schools GAA Board was originally setup in September 2000. It has grown at a very healthy rate such that as of May 2007 WSGAA now work in partnership with 28 primary schools, 15 Secondary schools, 2 HE/FE Colleges and 5 local GAA clubs and in total an estimated 2385 young people. The aims of the WSGAA include competition by their elite team in the All-Ireland underage championships. This initiative is a remarkable departure from the traditional way in which British GAA clubs have been organised.
Warwickshire has more Clubs than any other County within the Midlands, and has good representation at all levels of the game, and within the Administrative and Officiating Worlds as well. Old Silhillians Hockey Club is the Home of Warwickshire hockey, with many fixtures being played on the site, as well as the County Club Minis being played, Junior Academy Centres being coached, and meetings/County Officials being based at the Silhillians Sports Ground. There are 3 clubs who include the word "Warwickshire" within their names: Olton & West Warwickshire, Coventry & North Warwickshire, and Rugby & East Warwickshire, though it is not certain where these claims to regional areas within the County came from. Warwickshire as a hockey County is recognised by the England Hockey Board as the region normally associated with Greater Warwickshire, since the West Midlands is not a hockey region within the EHB world, and hence includes Solihull and Coventry as well as the standard regions.
Warwickshire is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon. Even today, road signs at the county boundary describe Warwickshire as "Shakespeare's County". The county has also produced other literary figures such as George Eliot (from Nuneaton), Rupert Brooke (from Rugby), and Michael Drayton (from Hartshill). The poet Philip Larkin lived in Warwick (born in nearby Coventry), and Elizabeth Gaskell went to school in Barford and Stratford.
^ "Warwickshire flag flying outside Eland House". Department for Communities and Local Government. 2013. http://www.flickr.com/photos/communitiesuk/5926144092/. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
^ "How the County Council makes decisions". Warwickshire County Council. http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/corporate/pages.nsf/Links/34FF93A8C745ABD480256CA70053C6F7. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Warwickshire. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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Flying into a new country can sometimes be overwhelming. More so if the arrival city happens to be of the bustling, metropolitan variety. Bright lights and honking horns are not everyone’s cup of tea, especially if readjusting to a new time zone (aka jet lag). But with Singapore being one of the major Southeast Asia airline hubs, visitors might be surprised to find that the colorful city state can actually be a great place to readjust their internal clocks as well as decompress prior to further travel. It’s also a great ‘stay-cation’ option for neighboring Malaysians and Indonesians. Meet the quiet seaside, enclave of Singapore’s Changi Village, located within the southeastern area of Singapore known as ‘Changi’. A unique Singapore neighborhood, just minutes from the Changi International Airport yet reminiscent of the slow-paced kampungs of Singapore’s yesteryear.
The buzzy little Changi Village harbor.
In the 1920s, the Changi area was just a small village with a police station, a couple of bungalows and oddly enough, a small Japanese Hotel which offered the services of prostitutes. As far back as 1604, Changi was originally referred to as Tanjong Rusa, becoming known as Tanjong Changi in the early 1800s and later just ‘Changi’. The name itself most likely derived from the Chengai tree; an especially tall tree which was indigenous to the area. Unfortunately, most of the Chengai trees were cleared in 1920s to make way for the Royal Air Force Base. Only one Chengai tree was left standing as a means of marking the location of the base. And that last remaining tree was shortened considerably during World War 2 to prevent enemy flyers from identifying the base.
Countless lives were lost in Singapore during World War 2.
Although Changi Prison was initially built in 1936, it was during WW2 that the prison and the surrounding areas became infamous and the name synonymous with the hardships of war. During the war, approximately 50,000 British, Australian and other Allied POWs, as well as 3,500 civilians (including women and children) were interned in Changi by the Japanese military.
Today Changi Village has that quiet, laid back community vibe usually reserved for small towns. You won’t find a lot of ‘big city’ entertainment here, but that’s part of its charm. Locals and visitors alike actually sit on benches and chat with each other, or share tables in the hawker’s center. Changi Village is a breath of fresh air in more ways than one. Is it day trip worthy? Yes, but it’s a much richer and relaxing experience to actually stay here and ‘live like a local’. Trust me, there are plenty of things to do to keep you busy for a few days.
The beauty of this walk is that it is a well-maintained picturesque Point A to Point B walkway, which makes being transportation-less in Changi Village literally a walk in the park. The Changi Point Boardwalk (also known as the Changi Point Coastal Walk) takes you the length of Changi Village along 2.2km of picturesque waterfront. It is divided into six separate sections which are all highlighted along the way; Creek Walk, Beach Walk, Sailing Point Walk, Cliff Walk, Kelong Walk and Sunset Walk. It is open to the public 24-hours a day.
Changi Point Coastal Walk is part of the Changi Point Boardwalk route.
Yes, Changi Beach really is this clean.
Today the white-sand shoreline lazily stretches 3.3 km between Changi Point and Changi Ferry Road. Hauntingly peaceful if you will. The beach is sparkling clean and perfect for a lazy day at the beach.
Although there are an abundance of restaurants and cafes throughout Changi Village, if you love food, you will be in absolute heaven exploring the Changi Village Hawkers Centre. For newbies, however, tackling this hawkers center may be a challenge, for a few reasons. First off there are absolutely, endless choices. But timing is also a key factor; get there too early and not everyone will be open, get there too late and you will find the tables full and some food stuff either sold out or ‘reserved’ by a smart local who will be arriving later. It is so worth the challenge, but also another great reason, to stay in Changi Village for a few days and ‘live (and eat) like a local’.
Azizah (#01-78) has to-die-for Briyani!
This mystery dish at stall #01-19B was delicious!
If you visit Changi Village you shouldn’t miss a side trip to nearby Pulau Ubin. Even if you have but a couple of hours to spare, it is well worth the scenic 15-minute boat ride to this slice of Singapore paradise. Pulau Ubin is an impressive example of Singapore’s successful preservation of both local heritage and environment. Considered Singapore’s last kampong, Pulau Ubin’s name is a shorter version of its original moniker, ‘Pulau Batu Jubin’ (Granite Stone Island), as Pulau Ubin was once a vast supplier of granite. Today it is a beautiful nature reserve and then some.
Relocated from its original location next to Changi Prison, the Changi Museum (and Chapel) opened at its present location in 2001. It graphically illustrates the dark period of the Japanese occupation of Singapore between 1942 and 1945. Both civilians and prisoners of war were interned at the infamous Changi Prison area during this period, including women and children.
The Chapel was a humble structure which offered some normality to WW2 prisoners.
The museum offers a glimpse of the war time experiences of the incarcerated through the many original photographs, drawings and letters on display. You can explore the site with a guided and/or audio tour. The museum also houses records of the more than 5,000 civilian prisoners who were interned at Changi during the occupation. Photography is not allowed inside the museum, however there are quite a few books and memorabilia for sale at the museum’s gift shop. Allow yourself at least two hours for this museum, because you may well need an emotional break between exhibits. It’s powerful stuff.
By far the most convenient, The Village Hotel Changi is located directly across the street from The Changi Point Ferry Terminal. Village Hotel Changi comes with many perks including a panoramic view pool, a gym and an onsite spa. This hotel is family friendly as well as group tour friendly, so if you prefer a quieter hotel, I highly recommend nearby Raintr33 Hotel. The Raintr33 is just a 10-15-minute walk from the Changi Point Ferry Terminal either by main road or via the picturesque Changi Point Boardwalk. Amenities include, spacious private balconies, a pool and onsite bicycle rentals.
Rooms are spacious at the Village Hotel Changi.
The Raintr33 Hotel offers private balconies and an excellent pool!
In addition to taxi services, good old fashioned walking is the easiest way to explore Changi Village, but do carry an umbrella or small rain jacket in case of a sudden appearance of precipitation. To cover more ground quickly, OBikes are conveniently available. OBikes are a Singapore based station-less bicycle sharing system, which is popular in Singapore as well as other Southeast Asia countries. The bikes have a built-in Bluetooth lock and can be left (or picked up) from anywhere. You pay for usage via credit card through the OBike’s downloadable app. Check their website for more information HERE.
OBike’s are an excellent transportation option.
MRT: Tampines MRT Station (EW2), board Bus No. 29 at Tampines Bus Interchange to Changi Village or Tanah Merah MRT Station (EW4), board Bus No. 2 at Tanah Merah Station Exit B Bus stop (85091) to Changi Village.
Bonus reason to visit Changi Village; People are super friendly.
Changi Village offers a refreshing and unique opportunity to experience a more relaxed, laid-back, side of Singapore. If you like a fresh sea breeze, beaches, nature, culture and history, as well as delicious local cuisine, Changi Village covers all those bases. It is also relatively easy to get to ‘the big city’ if you need a dose of Singapore proper.
Have you been to Changi Village?
Have any recommendations for first time visitors?
P.Ubin has many dogs. Not safe for lone traveller. I was there last nov n did not finish the tour. Hope that the owner can kept the dogs safely at home.
That’s interesting Joanne. I was all by myself and saw no dogs. I did see a family of boars and some monkeys though. I would be much more afraid of wild boars than I would be of dogs, but actually any wild animal should not be approached or bothered. You attempt to chase a wild animal or scream at it and it will most likely stand its ground.
All activities sound fun Vanessa. I’d eat at hawker stalls and enjoy time on da beach too; both fave past times of mine. Eating from the hawkers sounds fun because Singapore food is some of the best in SE Asia. We only laid over at Changi Airport but I’d heard great things about grub in that small island nation. As for the beach, I am bum for one LOL. Thanks for the helpful share.
This place looks fantastic to have a walk around and get away from it all. Changi Village does really look great and could see myself here on my fist visit to SIngapore which I hope is later this year.
And you can scratch Changi Village from your bucketlist of famous must-visit prison towns! (Just kidding) ;) My hotel shuttle did drive past it though. It looked so civilized from the outside that I can’t even imagine they actually have any prisoners.
I went to Singapore 2 years ago and I wish I had known about Changi Village! I love beach towns more than bustling cities, so as much as I enjoyed Singapore proper I would have loved to have ventured out and visited a local beach town. It’s interesting to hear all the history behind this little village. Definitely a must-see the next time I find myself in Singapore!
Changi airport is rightly famous as one of the best in the world but I had no idea the village existed. I need a long sojourn in Singapore and not just a layover to experience this rich region from modest to the high rises.
When I saw the title of your post, I assumed it is about Changi Airport. How lovely to discover a small Singapore village by the same name. By any chance is there a relationship between the two or both are named after the same Chengai tree. I am going to put it in my list of places to explore in Singapore.
We were aware of Changi and it’s dark history after the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in 1942. Also, in the present as the busy transit airport. We are surprised that it is also a relaxed, peaceful beach location and appears very different to the rest of Singapore.
It’s a very unique area for sure. Reminds me a little of some parts of Penang as well as Selangor, Malaysia, but it is more ‘pristine’. Also, bonus points for the absence of the loud car mufflers and motorcycle racing that are so popular in Malaysia, the streets are quiet.
I always prefer the quiet areas, not only because of jet lag but because I can’t stand the crowds so Changi Village might be my cup of tea! Also the Changi Point Boardwalk looks like a place that offer wonderful views!
I hear ya Dany, I’m not a crowd person nor a big fan of noise either. Changi Village is a refreshing change of pace and I’ll think you’ll love it too!
Changi Village looks like an interesting place and seems like I missed it on my trip! The beach is quite nice, there are very few nice beaches in Singapore, from what I know and this one looks pretty cool. Also, the food hawkers is one of my favourite things, I love street food in Singapore (all of south-east Asia actually!). Interesting read, thanks for the review!
I recently had a very short layover in Singapore and was tempted to stay at Changi Village. Now I wish I had! It really does look like the vacation part of Singapore even after it’s rather bloody history.
Sara it is totally relaxing there. I highly recommend for anyone who appreciates nature as well as a slower pace.
Vanessa, I have been to Singapore only for work trips or quick transits. But would love to go visit Changi village next time we go. My daughter might get a bit overwhelmed with all the history, but there is good food for her!
Hi Shweta! Actually the Changi Beach Park area is super family friendly. There is a jungle gym and bicycle rentals. The grassy park is spacious and clean. Also plenty of beach to just play in the sand. And of course there are lots of tasty treats available at the nearby hawker’s center.
Changi Village does indeed look picturesque and tranquil. The sea lapping against those sands just looks pretty idyllic to me! I’ve always thought of Singapore as a very bustling city, so it was great to learn about a different side to the city!
It’s especially nice in the early mornings and at sunset. Lots of birds singing during those times of day.
We might be stopping through Singapore later this year, so this was great to read! It’s hard to believe Changi Village is so close to such an international airport hub! It certainly looks like a world away and so tranquil! The walk looks lovely and the beach sounds intriguing with the haunted stories! I love good Asian street food, and the mystery dish looks delicious (I reckon there’s cha su in there for sure!)! Do you know if it’s close enough for a day stopover? Could be a good option when there’s long layovers.
Changi Village is great! It’s worth ‘creating’ a long layover just to have an extra day to visit the village. I actually had no desire to go into Singapore at all during my last 3 trips there. I was quite content to ‘live like a local’ in Changi Village.
The mystery meat looks delicious! It’s always fun to try something new. I love hawker stalls. Learning the history of a place really makes it a more real experience. I had no idea it had been used as a prison.
You guys would love eating your way through the Changi Village Hawker’s Center. Absolutely endless local food to try!
Thanks for the recommendation to explore Changi Village – we loved Singapore but didn’t spend time here unfortunately. Would love to go back at some stage though – it sounds like there’s a lot of history and nature to experience. As nature enthusiasts I think I would really love Pulau Ubin. Thanks for the tips!
If you need a relaxing breather.. I think you will definitely appreciate what Changi Village has to offer. Loads of nature too!
Changi village looks so enchanting with an old world charm. It is indeed a different world from the bustling Changi airport or Singapore. It seems as if time has taken a pause here. We did not visit this place during our last trip to Singapore, bookmarking this as a must visit in our next trip. The history of the area too is fascinating and adds to the allure.
I love visiting such offbeat gems. And, in Singapore, i have explored many. Changi village was definitely a great find. Do visit (if you have not) the Pulau Ubin. It doesn’t look like a part of Singapore. But I totally loved it.
Thanks Archana, yes I have visited Pulau Ubin also (and wrote a blog post about it). THAT place is amazing. Absolutely love it!
I really loved Singapore’s Changi village. It looks great and perfect destination to spend the holiday with family. It is very interesting to hear all the history of this beautiful village.
Me too! It’s my favorite part of Singapore now. I find it very relaxing as well as interesting. Yummy food too!
We did the typical tourist things in Singapore. We loved it so much we know we will go back. So I was glad to see your post on Changi Village. Definitely a spot we would like to visit. A laid back village vibe would definitely be a great escape from the bustle of Singapore. The beach looks like a great spot to escape. We definitely found the street food to be great all through SE Asia. Thanks for the suggestion to take a boat ride to Palau Ubin. Changi Village is a great suggestion for our next visit to Singapore.
If you prefer a slower pace, Changi Village is the perfect place to hunker down for a few days. And you are still close enough to the ‘big city’ to pop in for a dose and return to your Changi Village hidey hole. Best of both worlds in my book. I stayed there four times last year!
I am super excited by all the posts. My first school was Selerang. My Dad was in the army. We lived there for 3 years. School, swimming pool, Amahs Market, changi village, egg and chips from Unca at the pool. I just loved it and my memories are vivid. What a childhood. Going back on a nostalgia trip next May. Cannot wait. My house is still there (done my homework). Can see it clearly, road to school through the valley, again to the camp, church. Taxi to village. Shops, tailored clothes. Our Amah Sanya and her children. OMG wish it was today. Thanks for all the posts. Cannot wait also to see Singapore proper. So different from 1961-64. Looks stunning. Roll on May. Will be back to post my findings. Thanks again.
That’s very cool Lorraine! I hope the war museum is reopened by the time you get back too, because it is a very significant part of that whole area. And wow, wait til you see Pulau Ubin! It’s gorgeous!
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Question: We would like to change our "sell by" date from 9 to 12 months. What implications does this have on product quality?
Answer: Quality degradation of packaged ice cream primarily involves body and texture, with the most common problem being the development of a coarse, icy texture. Control over the stability of body and texture begins with the freezing point of the mix composition. It includes water immobilization properties that involve stabilizer type and level, protein functionality and the amount and type of sweeteners. Processing control elements include dairy ingredient variables, pasteurization and homogenization conditions and mix aging, as well as a myriad of freezing factors like mix temperature, barrel residence time, exit temperature and condition of the scraper blades. There are also post-freezing variables that need to be monitored. These include the nature of the package, including any shrink-wrap application, the rate of hardening and the final hardened temperature, as well as the amount of post-hardening heat shock to which the product is exposed.
A sample of ice cream representing the most favorable combination of conditions could maintain excellent quality for a year or more. However, a sample from another batch representing undesirable processing elements, as well as possibly having suffered heat shock abuse during distribution might reach an unacceptable level of quality much sooner. Since there is no way to identify the conditions under which ice cream will be handled once it leaves the control of the manufacturer, it is not practical to predict the shelflife of any ice cream product.
Accelerated shelflife testing, which involves extremes of heat shock exposure under controlled conditions, is useful in evaluating shelflife, but only in a relative way and only if it is correlated with consumer acceptance data. Accelerated testing is useful in comparing behavior of one product to another or to a given control; however, it will not provide information about the specific shelflife of the product, given the uncertain nature of the conditions to which it will be exposed. A more practical approach can be based on the profile of consumer or customer complaints received, combined with the evaluation of products purchased at or near the sell by date. A low level of complaints involving body/texture deterioration, or other quality attributes in most aged products would support a decision to extend the sell by date. Ongoing monitoring to evaluate the effect of that extension is necessary.
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Now it’s time to fire up (figuratively speaking) your Spark Shell (the Scala version of it). Run this command: spark-shell When the REPL prompt scala> pops up, notice that the Spark SQL Context has already been created for you: ... INFO repl.SparkILoop: Created sql context (with Hive support).. SQL context available as sqlContext. You can always see all the methods and properties supported by the sqlContext object by entering sqlContext. (with a dot at the end) and pressing Tab. Now, we are going to load the files.dat input file into Spark from the local file system; you can always load a file into Spark from HDFS as well, should you wish to do so. val rddFile = sc.textFile ("file:/home/cloudera/files.dat") The above command creates a file-based RDD. Note: For interfacing with HDFS, you will need to point to the location of the input file on the NameNode server, e.g.: val rddFile = sc.textFile ("hdfs://localhost:8020/user/cloudera/files.dat") To enable SQL-type data querying against a text file in Spark Scala, we need to create a Scala case class which, in essence, defines a DataFrame’s schema and acts as a mapper between its properties and the columns in that DataFrame. Run the following command to create the Scala case file: case class FileCC(name: String, size: Int, month: String, day: Int ) Now we need to map our file-based RDD to the DataFrame using the FileCC case class. Run the following command (in one line): val dataFrame = rddFile.map(_.split(",")).map(r => FileCC(r(0), r(1).trim.toInt, r(2), r(3).trim.toInt)).toDF() The map(r => FileCC(r(0), r(1).trim.toInt, r(2), r(3).trim.toInt) transformation performs the mapping of the source text file's fields (r(0), r(1), etc.) to the properties of the FileCC case class via its constructor method. Now, the important step for us to do is to register our DataFrame (a.k.a SchemaRDD) as a table artifact. You do so with the following command: dataFrame.registerTempTable("tblFiles") Now, let’s see our registered DataFrame in action. Run this command: dataFrame.head(3) You should get the first 3 records of our data set printed on console. We can now unleash the power of SQL against our original text file: val smallFilesDF = sqlContext.sql("SELECT name, month FROM tblFiles WHERE size >= 1024 AND size <= 5 * 1024") Here we run our Spark SQL command against the tblFiles object that is a registered relational artifact which logically represents our input file (Spark SQL uses some elements of Hive’s infrastructure for that). As a bonus, Spark allows you to mix and match SQL with other languages supported by Spark. Run this Scala command against the DataFrame to see it in action: smallFilesDF.map(r => "File Name: " + r(0) + " created in " + r(1)).collect().foreach(println) This command runs a (potentially distributed on a cluster) query and copies the query results over to the Driver's memory (via the .collect() function) and prints the results on stdout. And that’s it for today. Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays to you all!
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Paul Wolfowitz forms cabal at World Bank: Pundita is shocked! Shocked!
Mohamed Hakki's rag on Paul Wolfowitz is the funniest unintentionally funny article I've come across this century. Hakki, a former World Bank employee, reports that many at the Bank are upset because Wolfy started his own cabal.
What's so funny is that the World Bank has long been Cabal Central. Bank employees of the same nationality (e.g., Filipino, Pak) form 'mafias' inside the Bank to push agendas for their particular developing country.
True, a Bank president has never before formed a cabal; the prez being an American and all, it's not considered pukka sahib if he tries to form his own gang. No, the post of the World Bank president is meant for being at the mercy of the Bank's Mandarins and getting blindsided by the mafias.
[...]"In recent months, there had been a massive exodus of top talent from the World Bank. The senior ethics officer of the bank has departed. Also on the exit roster are the vice president for East Asia and the Pacific, the chief legal counsel, the vice president for environmentally and socially sustainable development, the bank's top managing director, the director of institutional integrity (who monitors internal and external corruption), and the head of the information solutions group.
Steve Clemons says in the Washington Note: "It looks as if Wolfowitz is gut-punching the most talented teams at the Bank and morale is plummeting. A lot of good people are leaving."
What has Wolfowitz done to start this serious wave of negative sentiment? He appointed Kevin Kellems, former communications director and spokesman for Vice President Cheney, to a newly created post of director of communication strategy in addition to his position as advisor to the president, effectively sidelining the vice president of communication, UN and External Affairs at the Bank. While one could question Kellems' professional ability and record in view of his previous position and the miscommunication that flowed from Cheney's office over the years, the immediate issue for Bank staff is that he was imposed following a Wolfowitz presidential fiat. Wolfowitz in effect, forced a political appointment at the director level, which is rather unheard of, especially since directorships are lower in the administrative stratosphere and are traditionally filled following an open competitive process based on merit, not political imposition.
Another glaring example of presidential fiat came with the appointment of the Bank's new corruption czar, Suzanne Rich Folsom, as the new head of "institutional integrity". Her catapulting prompted the courageous and highly respected chairwoman of the Bank's Staff Association, Alison Cave, to issue an open letter of protest to all staff. Ms Rich, married to a powerful Republican leader and a powerful Republican lobbyist in her own right, was also appointed with no concern for clear and open competitive process. She also has the title of "Counsellor to the President". A clear conflict of interest if there was ever one.
Another example involves the appointment of Karl Jackson, an old friend of Wolfowitz and colleague from Johns Hopkins University as well as government, as an advisor to the president, and who apparently has been handed the portfolio of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Bank's private sector supporting arm.
Perhaps the most stunning example of Wolfowitz's cronyism and complete lack of regard for the principles of the institution he has been handed to govern, not to mention the obvious appearance of conflict of interest, involves the ever-growing role of his senior counsellor, Robin Cleveland. Ms Cleveland left the Bush administration under a cloud after it emerged that she attempted to use her connections to get a relative a job at a large defence corporation while she was negotiating a contract on behalf of the US government with them. However, even this apparently has not tarnished her stature in the neocon's books, as it is said that Ms Cleveland effectively is now running the Bank.
All these examples are only serving to fuel Bank staff's growing doubt with the stewardship of Wolfowitz. One key senior official called it "utter shamelessness". Another old time Bank staffer said "the fight against global poverty is essentially a moral cause; if we lose the moral high ground, by disregarding transparency, competence, and integrity in our own institution, nothing else is left."
Others are saying he is appointing political hacks to positions that should be filled by highly qualified professionals through a competitive and transparent process. Senior Bank staff sees Wolfowitz withdrawing from the Bank's senior professionals and relying instead on a group of political operatives, zealots and ideologues. The current confusion and concern of the staff of the Bank over the direction of this global institution is best reflected in the results of the institution's own staff survey, released only last week.
When asked: "Do you have a good understanding of the direction in which World Bank Group senior management is leading the institution?" only 48 per cent of respondents answered favourably, in contrast to a 67 per cent favourable response during the previous staff survey in 2003.
No one is comparing Wolfowitz with any of the former Bank presidents any more. Everyone is saying that he is building his "cabal" of supporters at the highest levels of the institution and confirming all their worst fears of foisting a Bush administration agenda on the world's premier development agency. Meanwhile, the board of executive directors, which represents the 184 member countries of the World Bank, remains scandalously silent. Quel domage!"
That no one at the Bank is comparing Wolfy with any other Bank president is a great compliment to him and a hopeful sign that he's holding his own against the Mandarins.
As to the claim that Wolfy is appointing "political hacks" to positions that "should be filled by highly qualified professionals through a competitive and transparent process" -- hey, political hacks is a step up from appointing professionals who serve Russian and Chinese mobsters, outlandishly crooked government officials, George Soros, and Brussels.
As for transparency: the Bank's unofficial motto is "It's not what you know at the Bank, it's who you know."
Yes, the Bank sorely needs transparency and a truly competitive appointment process. Starting the process can't happen until the biggest obstacles at the Bank resign.
At 1 a.m. on a recent morning in Nairobi, masked police officers broke into the offices of KTN television and The Standard, a Kenyan newspaper, both owned by the Standard Media Group. Commandos with assault rifles seized files and equipment. The printing press was shut down, newspapers were burned, employees terrorized and three reporters were jailed.
While the Kenyan president and several ministers pleaded ignorance of the assault, John Michuki, the internal security minister, admitted that the press raids were planned by government officials, who presumably wanted to send a signal to the Kenyan media that recent reporting on government corruption would not be tolerated. "When you rattle a snake you must be ready to be bitten," he said.
Such a blatant crackdown on the media had not been seen in Kenya for 20 years. While 26 embassies and international organizations protested, including the United Nations, the World Bank, as is its custom, kept silent.
Then, after hesitating for six days, the bank openly rebuked the government for the raid, and The Standard reported that the bank had imposed a new rule making press freedom a condition before the World Bank would agree to release $250 million in frozen loans. The loans had been withheld since reports surfaced of massive government fraud, even before John Githongo, appointed by President Mwai Kibaki to be Kenya's "anticorruption czar," exposed details of government graft and fled the country.
Colin Bruce, the World Bank's country director in Kenya, denied that the bank was making freedom of the media a new element of conditionality, but by then the Kenyan stock market had already tumbled.
Even if formal conditionality has not been imposed, the World Bank's president, Paul Wolfowitz, is quietly breaking precedent by ordering the bank to publicly protest when press freedoms are under attack.
Wolfowitz understands that open news media are the most important means to expose the endemic corruption that is undermining economic growth in the developing world. And he is determined to do more than just talk about it. He recently held up $800 million in loans, including the quarter of a billion dollars for Kenya, because of allegations of corruption. "Corruption is the biggest threat to democracy since Communism," Wolfowitz has said.
Wolfowitz and senior World Bank economists know that strong, independent news media play a key role in promoting transparency and good governance, which in turn lead to economic and political development. Corruption can only flourish when governments operate with impunity outside the bright lights and public exposure that independent media bring. So autocrats and corrupt politicians everywhere seek to suppress their homegrown independent media.
The bank has been reluctant in the past to speak out on this issue for fear that it would be seen as interfering in the domestic politics of sovereign states. But media freedom is a universal right; it is also a precondition for tackling the central issue of corruption. As Wolfowitz has said, "you really can't talk about economic development without talking about freedom of the press."
If Wolfowitz and the Bank are to attack corruption effectively, they would also be well advised to make media freedom a precondition for future loans. The adoption of a media accountability index with common standards, to measure a country's compliance with basic media freedoms, would greatly reduce corruption in the developing world.
Inducements to increase transparency within government can only go so far. Unleashing a free press makes the public an active participant in reform. Protected by the threat of World Bank sanctions, the media everywhere would play their natural role of watchdog of the public interest.
In his book, "America at the Crossroads," Francis Fukuyama concludes that domestic pressure is the most effective force for long-term institutional reform. A free press guarantees that the public is informed and has a voice. By making press freedom a condition for its loans, the World Bank would protect the media, allowing them to defend the public's right to transparency and accountable government.
The bank is moving in the right direction. Media conditionality would be a decisive step forward.
I think we may surmise that Wolfowitz had to do battle for six long days before the Bank Mandarins agreed to a formal rebuke of Kenya's government. In light of the Bank's history of looking the other way, the rebuke is astounding.
Of course there is much more to be done; a Reuters report by Gilbert Le Gras, filed April 21, points to the obstacles ahead. Wolfowitz's latest anti-corruption measures have come under fire from non-governmental organizations and protesters for "not going far enough."
"Corporate corruption, who can we thank? The IMF and the World Bank," chanted a half dozen protesters from a collection of advocacy groups who interrupted Wolfowitz during his briefing to kick off the bank's spring meeting.
Wolfowitz has targeted graft as a major impediment to development and called for greater transparency in countries that receive aid.
"The best check against corruption is strengthening governance and regular monitoring, transparent information, rewarding success and penalizing failure," Wolfowitz said at the briefing.
His anti-corruption plan includes training civil servants, judicial reform and freedom of information as well as a new system to curb the risk of corruption on World Bank projects.
The road ahead is very difficult. Yet during the short time he's been at the helm Wolfy's made more progress on the anti-corruption front than all World Bank presidents put together. That goes to show what can happen when brains are backed with relevant experience (e.g., getting needed reforms pushed through at the Pentagon), the cooperation of a US President -- and a cabal.
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Prepare a roadmap considering what to study, how much time to spend, and how to study on a daily basis. It will also aid you in cracking any interview.
To put your best foot forward, cover all the latest interview questions consisting of different topics like SQL, android, java, c, c++, web development, ios, dot net, Java, computer science, and PHP.
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The dragon stands on its feet, with wings outstretched like it's about to take off. This dragon come flat with instructions.
Small 13cm long, 13cm wide, 10cm tall.
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What is the difference between RDF and OWL?
I am trying to grasp the concept of Semantic Web. I am finding it hard to understand what exactly is the difference between RDF and OWL. Is OWL an extension of RDF or these two are totally different technologies?
The semantic web comes in layers. This is a quick summary of the ones I think you're interested in.
Update: Please note that RDFS is used to define the structure of the data, not OWL. OWL describes semantic relationships which normal programming, such as a C struct, isn't fussed about and is closer to AI research & set theory.
These describe a single fact. Generally URI's are used for the subject and predicate. The object is either another URI or a literal such as a number or string. Literals can have a type (which is also a URI), and they can also have a language. Yes, this means triples can have up to 5 bits of data!
For example a triple might describe the fact that Charles is Harrys father.
Triples are database normalization taken to a logical extreme. They have the advantage that you can load triples from many sources into one database with no reconfiguration.
The next layer is RDF - The Resource Description Framework. RDF defines some extra structure to triples. The most important thing RDF defines is a predicate called "rdf:type". This is used to say that things are of certain types. Everyone uses rdf:type which makes it very useful.
RDFS (RDF Schema) defines some classes which represent the concept of subjects, objects, predicates etc. This means you can start making statements about classes of thing, and types of relationship. At the most simple level you can state things like http://familyontology.net/1.0#hasFather is a relationship between a person and a person. It also allows you to describe in human readable text the meaning of a relationship or a class. This is a schema. It tells you legal uses of various classes and relationships. It is also used to indicate that a class or property is a sub-type of a more general type. For example "HumanParent" is a subclass of "Person". "Loves" is a sub-class of "Knows".
RDF can be exported in a number of file formats. The most common is RDF+XML but this has some weaknesses.
N3 is a non-XML format which is easier to read, and there's some subsets (Turtle and N-Triples) which are stricter.
It's important to know that RDF is a way of working with triples, NOT the file formats.
XSD is a namespace mostly used to describe property types, like dates, integers and so forth. It's generally seen in RDF data identifying the specific type of a literal. It's also used in XML schemas, which is a slightly different kettle of fish.
OWL adds semantics to the schema. It allows you to specify far more about the properties and classes. It is also expressed in triples. For example, it can indicate that "If A isMarriedTo B" then this implies "B isMarriedTo A". Or that if " C isAncestorOf D " and " D isAncestorOf E " then " C isAncestorOf E ". Another useful thing owl adds is the ability to say two things are the same, this is very helpful for joining up data expressed in different schemas. You can say that relationship "sired" in one schema is owl:sameAs "fathered" in some other schema. You can also use it to say two things are the same, such as the "Elvis Presley" on wikipedia is the same one on the BBC. This is very exciting as it means you can start joining up data from multiple sites (this is "Linked Data").
You can also use the OWL to infer implicit facts, such as "C isAncestorOf E".
As previous poster wrote, RDF is a specification which tells you how to define triples.
These triples form valid RDF documents.
But, semantically, you understand that these statements are incorrect and RDF cannot help you to validate what you have written.
This is not a valid ontology.
OWL specification defines exactly what you can write with RDF in order to have valid ontology.
Ontologies can have several properties.
Thats why OWL (ver 1) defines several versions like OWL DL, OWL Lite, OWL Full.
RDF, RDFS and OWL are means to express increasingly complex information or knowledge. All of them can be serialised in RDF/XML syntax (or any other RDF serialisation syntax like Turtle or N3 for instance).
These technologies are related and supposed to be interoperable, yet they have different origins that's maybe why the relation between them is complicated to grasp. The choice on one or the other depends on how much complexity the situation you are modelling requires.
OWL: The highest level of expressivity. Relation between classes can be formally modelled based on description logics (mathematical theory). OWL relies heavily on the reasoner, it is possible to express complex constructs such as chained properties for instance or restriction between classes. OWL serves to build ontologies or schema on the top of RDF datasets. As OWL can be serialised as RDF/XML, it is theoretically possible to query it via SPARQL, yet it is much more intuitive to query an OWL ontology with a DL query (which is usually a standard OWL class expression). Example of OWL constructs serialised in Turtle.
Firstly, an as has been pointed out before, owl can be serialised in RDF.
Secondly, OWL adds ontological capability to RDF (which on its own only provides extremely limited capability for formal knownledge representation), by providing the apparatus to define the components of your triple using formal computable first order description logic. That is what posters here mean by when they talk about "semantic richness".
Thirdly, it's important to realise that in OWL-Full (for OWL 1) rdfs:class and owl:class are equivalent and in OWL-DL, owl:class is a subclass of rdfs:class. In effect, this means that you can use an OWL ontology as a schema for RDF (which does not formally require schemata).
I hope that helps to clarify further.
See the <foaf:name> ? it is part of the FOAF ontology. An ontology is a formal way to describe the properties, the classes of a given subject and OWL is a (RDF) way to define an ontology.
RDF uses OWL to define these kinds of statements.
A way of describing things/logic/anything using collections of triples.
"Anna has apples." "Apples are healthy."
Above you have two triples that describe two resources "Anna" and "apples". The concept of RDF (Resource Description Framework) is that you can describe resources (anything) with sets of only 3 words (terms). At this level you don't care about how you are storing information, whether you have a string of 3 words, or a painting on a wall, or a table with 3 columns etc.
At this conceptual level the only thing that is important is that you can represent anything that you want using triple statements.
A vocabulary is just a collection of term definitions stored in a file or somewhere. These defined terms have the purpose of being generally reused in other descriptions so people can describe data (resources) more easily and in a standard manner.
The RDF vocubalary defines terms that help you to describe (at the most basic level as possible) individuals/instances of classes. Example: rdf:type, rdf:Property.
So the RDF vocabulary has terms that are targeting basic descriptions of class instances and some other descriptions (like the triple statement definition, or the predicate definition... in general things that are realted to the RDF concept).
The RDFS vocabulary has term definitions that help you describe classes and relationships between them. RDFS vocabulary doesn't care about instances of classes (individuals) like the RDF vocabulary. Example: the rdfs:subClassOf property which you can use to describe that a class A is subclass of class B.
The RDF and the RDFS vocabularies are dependent to one another. RDF defines it's terms using RDFS, and RDFS uses RDF for defining it's own terms.
The RDF/RDFS vocabularies provide terms that can be used to create very basic descriptions of resources. If you want to have more complex and accurate descriptions you have to use the OWL vocabulary.
The OWL vocabulary comes with a set of new terms targeting more detailed descriptions. These term are defined using terms from RDF/RDFS vocabularies.
As you can see above the OWL vocabulary extends the concept of rdf:Property by creating new types of Properties that are less abstract and can provide more accurate descriptions of resources.
RDF is a concept or a way of describing resources using sets of triples.
The concept of RDF is the base model of all semantic web technologies and structures (like vocabularies).
RDF is also a vocabulary that along with the RDFS vocabulary provides a set of terms that can be used for creating general/abstract descriptions of resources.
OWL is a vocabulary built with RDF and RDFS vocabularies that provide new terms for creating more detailed descriptions of resources.
All semantic web vocabularies (RDF, RDFS, OWL etc) are built by respecting the RDF concept.
And of course the OWL vocabulary has behind the scenes all kind of complex logic and concepts which define the Web Ontology Language. The OWL vocabulary is just a way of using all that logic in practice.
RDFS allows you to express the relationships between things by standardizing on a flexible, triple-based format and then providing a vocabulary ("keywords" such as rdf:type or rdfs:subClassOf) which can be used to say things.
OWL is similar, but bigger, better, and badder. OWL lets you say much more about your data model, it shows you how to work efficiently with database queries and automatic reasoners, and it provides useful annotations for bringing your data models into the real world.
Of the differences between RDFS and OWL, the most important is just that OWL provides a far, far larger vocabulary that you can use to say things.
in fact, OWL provides so much new, sophisticated vocabulary to use in data modeling and reasoning that gets its own lesson!
Another major difference is that unlike RDFS, OWL not only tells you how you can use certain vocabulary, it actually tells you how you cannot use it. By contrast, RDFS gives you an anything goes world in which you can add pretty much any triple you want.
The interesting thing in this example is that Example:Beagle is being used as both a class and an instance. Beagle is a class that Fido is a member of, but Beagle is itself a member of another class: Things Bred in England.
In RDFS, all this is perfectly legal because RDFS doesn't really constrain which statements you can and cannot insert. In OWL, by contrast, or at least in some flavors of OWL, the above statements are actually not legal: you're simply not allowed to say that something can be both a class and an instance.
This is then a second major difference between RDFS and OWL. RDFS enables a free-for-all, anything goes kind of world full of the Wild West, Speak-Easies, and Salvador Dali. The world of OWL imposes a much more rigid structure.
Suppose that you've spent the last hour building an ontology that describes your radio manufacturing business. During lunch, your task is to build an ontology for your clock manufacturing business. This afternoon, after a nice coffee, your boss now tells you that you'll have to build an ontology for your highly profitable clock-radio business. Is there a way to easily reuse the morning's work?
OWL makes doing things like this very, very easy. Owl:Import is what you would use in the clock-radio situation, but OWL also gives you a rich variety of annotations such as owl:versionInfo, owl:backwardsCompatibleWith, and owl:deprecatedProperty, which can easily be used link data models together into a mutually coherent whole.
Unlike RDFS, OWL is sure to satisfy all of your meta-meta-data-modeling needs.
OWL gives you a much larger vocabulary to play with, which makes it easy to say anything you might want to say about your data model. It even allows you to tailor what you say based on the computational realities of today's computers and to optimize for particular applications (for search queries, for example.) Further, OWL allows you to easily express the relationships between different ontologies using a standard annotation framework.
All these are advantages as compared to RDFS, and are typically worth the extra effort it takes to familiarize yourself with them.
In short, yes you could say that OWL is an extension of RDF.
Now to describe object oriented applications you need types, classes, properties, instances, etc... With RDF you can describe only objects. RDFS (RDF schema) helps you to describe classes, inheritance (based on objects ofc.), but it is too broad. To define constraints (for example one kid per chinese family) you need another vocab. OWL (web ontology language) does this job. OWL is an ontology which you can use to describe web applications. It integrates the XSD simpleTypes.
So RDF -> RDFS -> OWL -> MyWebApp is the order to describe your web application in a more and more specific way.
In the WC3 document object model, a document is an abstract thing: an element with text, comments, attributes, and other elements nested within it.
the object, an atomic value or some URI.
OWL is to the semantic web as Schemas are to the W3C document object model. It documents what the various URIs mean and specify how they are used in a formal way that can be checked by a machine. A semantic web may or may not be valid with respect to the OWL that applies to it, just as a document may or may not be valid with respect to a schema.
RDF is to the semantic web as XML is to the DOM - it's a serialisation of a set of triples.
Of course, RDF is usually serialised as an XML documents ... but it's important to understand that RDF is not the same thing as "the XML serialisation of RDF".
Likewise, OWL can be serialised using OWL/XML, or (sorry about this) it can be expressed as RDF, which itself is usually serialised as XML.
The basic semantic web stack has been explained a lot already in this thread. I'd like to focus on the initial question and compare RDF to OWL.
Using OWL is essential to get more meaning (reasoning & inference) by just knowing a few facts. This "dynamically created" information can further be used for accordant queries like in SPARQL.
Some examples will show that that actually works with OWL - these have been taken from my talk about the basics of semantic web at the TYPO3camp Mallorca, Spain in 2015.
This means that a Spaniard must be a Person (and thus inherits all properties in the inferencing part) and must live in at least one (or more) SpanishCity.
The example shows the result of applying inverseOf to the properties isPartOf and contains.
This defines that each Thing (in this scenario most probably a Human) has exactly two parents - the cardinality is assigned to the hasParent property.
The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a powerful formal knowledge representation language and a fundamental standard of the Semantic Web. It has its own vocabulary that defines core concepts and relations (e.g., rdf:type corresponds to the isA relationship), and a data model that enables machine-interpretable statements in the form of subject-predicate-object (resource-property-value) triples, called RDF triples, such as picture-depicts-book. The extension of the RDF vocabulary with concepts required to create controlled vocabularies and basic ontologies is called RDF Schema or RDF Vocabulary Description Language (RDFS). RDFS makes it possible to write statements about classes and resources, and express taxonomical structures, such as via superclass-subclass relationships.
Complex knowledge domains require more capabilities than what is available in RDFS, which led to the introduction of OWL. OWL supports relationships between classes (union, intersection, disjointness, equivalence), property cardinality constraints (minimum, maximum, exact number, e.g., every person has exactly one father), rich typing of properties, characteristics of properties and special properties (transitive, symmetric, functional, inverse functional, e.g., A ex:hasAncestor B and B ex:hasAncestor C implies that A ex:hasAncestor C), specifying that a given property is a unique key for instances of a particular class, and domain and range restrictions for properties.
A picture speaks a thousand words! This diagram below should reinforce what Christopher Gutteridge said in this answer that the semantic web is a "layered architecture".
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged rdf semantic-web owl or ask your own question.
What is the difference between web ontology language OWL and Resource Description Framework RDF in semantic web?
How are RDF and RDFS related?
What is the best way to learn about RDF / OWL?
What's the relationship between OWL, RDFs, RDFa, Dublin Core and FOAF?
How to query RDF/OWL using SWI-Prolog's Semantic Web Library?
Is RDF/OWL a representation or the database?
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TL;DR: How can I build up the courage to kill a chicken? So I was raised on a very modern western place and was very privileged that I didn't need to kill my own animals for food. Well, my parents immigrated here from a farm land in China. Anyway, we are visiting my grandparents and I am going to slaughter a... show more TL;DR: How can I build up the courage to kill a chicken?
So I was raised on a very modern western place and was very privileged that I didn't need to kill my own animals for food. Well, my parents immigrated here from a farm land in China. Anyway, we are visiting my grandparents and I am going to slaughter a chicken with a knife held in my hands. IDK, I feel kind of queasy thinking about it. What should I do? What did you do when you were in my position?
Personally, I would stop at a supermarket and buy some cooked chicken to take as a gift.
For a start, with a chicken, you break its neck first.
You have heard of the phrase "running around like a headless chicken", right?
Be a vegetarian. Befriend that chicken.
TL;DR: How can I build up the courage to kill a chicken?
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0.999998 |
Here's a short list of words and phrases that have special meanings in the Lords of Waterdeep game.
action space: Each Building has one or more action spaces to which players assign their Agents. When you assign an Agent to an action space, you immediately take the specified action.
active Quest: All face-up Quests in front of a player that the player has not yet completed are active Quests.
adventurer: You complete Quests by taking the required Adventurers from your Tavern. There are four kinds of Adventurers, represented by wooden cubes: Clerics, Fighters, Rogues, and Wizards.
agent: You assign your Agents to action spaces of Buildings to use their effects.
ambassador: A special Agent that you can use by assigning an Agent to the Palace of Waterdeep.
assign: You assign an Agent by placing it on an Building's action space.
attack: A kind of Intrigue card that harms other players.
building/building tile: The game board contains nine basic Buildings, and players can purchase other Building tiles and put them into play. Buildings contain action spaces to which Agents are assigned.
gold: You spend Gold to purchase Buildings, complete certain Quests, and pay for other game effects.
intrigue card: You draw an Intrigue card by assigning an Agent to Castle Waterdeep. (Other game effects also allow you to draw Intrigue cards). You play an Intrigue card by assigning an Agent to Waterdeep Harbor.
lieutenant: A special Agent that you add to your pool by completing the Recruit Lieutenant Quest.
lord card: Each player takes the role of a Lord of Waterdeep, represented by a Lord card. The Lord's identity remains secret until the end of the game. Each Lord card grants bonus VP for accomplishing certain tasks.
mandatory quest: A kind of Intrigue card that forces another player to complete a minor but pressing Quest before any others.
occupied/unoccupied: A space that has an Agent assigned to it is occupied. You cannot normally assign another Agent to an occupied space. You must choose an unoccupied space (one that contains no other Agents).
plot quest: A kind of Quest that provides an ongoing benefit as well as a reward.
pool: The area where you keep your unassigned Agents. At the end of the round, all your Agents return to your pool.
quest: You complete Quests to score Victory Points and to earn other rewards during the game.
quest card: These cards represent Quests that players complete to score VP and earn other rewards. At the start of the game, there are 4 face-up Quest cards in Cliffwatch Inn, which players can take by assigning Agents to that Building. More Quests enter play as the game progresses.
reassign: After all Agents have been assigned in a round, any Agents that were assigned to Waterdeep Harbor are removed and assigned to any unoccupied action spaces.
reward: Upon completing a Quest, you earn the reward specified on the card. Quest rewards usually include VP and can also include other benefits. You earn the reward immediately and only once.
round: The game is played over eight rounds. During each round, players take turns assigning their Agents to action spaces on the game board and completing Quests.
supply: The supply contains Adventurers, Gold, and VP tokens available to players.
tavern: This area holds the Adventurers you have hired until you use them to complete Quests. You also store Gold in your Tavern.
turn: During each round, players take turns. Whoever has the First Player marker goes first, then the player to his or her left, and so on. During your turn, you assign an Agent to an action space and may complete a Quest.
utility: A kind of Intrigue card that helps you.
victory Points (VP): You score Victory Points primarily by completing Quests. Other game effects can also provide VP.
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Can someone help me please help me stop cutting myself. I feel like i am a failure and no one in the world values me. I believe I am better off just killing myself. Since I came to my new school, people have always discriminated me, calling me names like gay when i clearly know my sexuality, and i am straight, im not saying that being homosexual is a bad thing in my opinion. I used to cut my hair, now i decided to keep it, thinking god will help me. I was robbed 2 weeks ago, even though I am already suffering from mental health issues. If anyone found out I cut myself, i would be even more bullied. I pray to God to help me and it seems he has not answered my prayers. I pray I just die, i really want to commit suicide. I hate myself and no one seems to care for me. Do I have an option to live, or is God just trying to persuade me to kill myself. I believe self-harm is not a bad thing, it is my coping mechanism to stop these overwhelming feelings in my messed up mind, I love the pain. Please someone help me out, I know self harm is addictive and i should stop, but i just can't, it's too addictive and the only thing that makes me happy.
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