text:
Changes don't HAVE to be made to fix the current issues, it's called player development and tweaking the things the team is doing on the field. In the case of Sanchez, replacing him is NOT the only option, they can improve the players around him, they could allow for injured players to return, they could tweak what they do in the playbook. Most of the problems are chemistry and confidence, and player development. Mark needs to make strides, he needs to improve in his decision making, he needs to grow up from the mistakes he does make. He CAN do this. IF he does not, then yes, he should be replaced.
I wasn't trying to be anything with my comments about appeasing you or any other fan. I understand perfectly that the people who run the Jets should be doing everything possible to do what is necessary to win. That DOES NOT mean making changes because fans think that is what needs to be done. Fans, the majority of the time, don't know ****, and respond based on emotion and frustration when things aren't going well. I don't give a crap if part of the fan base wants Sanchez benched, that isn't necessarily the answer, or the problem to begin with.
Before Eli Manning became Eli Manning, he was struggling, the fan base wanted him gone, they wanted Coughlin fired, it's a good thing the team did NOT APPEASE the fans, eh? THAT is my point.
At NO point should Rex or any member of the organization make moves based on what the fans want or what the media wants, that would show they have absolutely no clue of what they are doing.
But thanks for trying to make it clearer for me.
Last edited by Ray Ray19; 11-25-2012 at 10:07 AM.
Congratulations to the moderator know as Ray (again, I think it's Warfish). You have definitely met your quota of posts generated. How much is SOOTH's bonus check this year?
In addition, catastrophically flawed as it may be, your circular "argument" has once again deflected attention from your ridiculous claim of a 12-4 record for the Jets this year.
Ray Ray, be please be honest here. Do you not watch Sanchez actually play the game? Most of the horrble plays he makes are totally his fault. It doesn't matter who you have surrounding him when he is an innacurate passer, and very turnover prone.
Are you happy with our Wr group when Holmes gets healthy?
Are you happy with out OLBs?
Are you happy with our ILBs?
Are you happy with our RB's?
Don't ask me stupid questions about whether or not I watch the games. I've said it before, but for whatever reason it doesn't register with some of you Sanchez haters. By no means, have I suggested Sanchez isn't without fault, hasn't had his struggles, has not progressed the way we all hoped and thought he would, I most definitely agree, this part of his development to this point has been frustrating, but what I've always maintained, is that there are many reasons for this, and that is what I touch on time and time again, and they are all 100% valid. There are so many factors, one cannot make blanket assessments, blanket accusations, and make end all comments that a player sucks and that's it. Sanchez has shown in the past that he CAN be a very good QB, but he's been inconsistent. Winning 4 playoff games on the road is no easy task, not by a long shot, and those first two years, he displayed a confidence and a swagger that we should see in a #5 overall pick. But the last two years, a lot of things have gone wrong for the team and for him as a player, and having to deal with roster turnover at the skill positions as he has, now a new offense, injuries, etc, that is extremely difficult for any QB in the NFL. Timing is also a factor, timing of the season, of an opponent.
Look at a player like Flacco, look at his play the last several weeks, he too is a player that is struggling, yet because the team started fast, he gets a pass. Look at the last 3-4 weeks though, with the injuries the team has sustained, how very different it has been when compared to the Jets, the Ravens team has won, but they've played garbage competition, and they've NOT played well. The Jets have had to deal with injuries all year, and to this point, have played against very good teams. Things looked promising in the 2nd half of the Texans game, then the Colts game, and then most of the first Patriot game. Seattle is a brutal match-up for any team, the Jets were without their 2nd and 3rd RB's in that game, injuries continued to be a factor, they were not able to implement the game plan they've designed this year's team for.
People forget how young Sanchez is, his mistakes are still happening, but he's STILL a YOUNG player. The bottomline, I'm not ready to give up on the player, this shouldn't be construed as me ignoring that Sanchez has struggled, but I've seen the talent, we all have, he's put it on display, he's shown in flashes he can be a franchise QB's, but the mistakes continue to happen. I realize there should come a point where the team has to move on, but not after a season like this season, not with all the injuries, a new offense, all coupled with a youth movement and young players, i.e. Stephen Hill, Kerley etc. There was a reason why so many wanted the team to bring Braylon back, because he provided that #1 WR effect to the team, that ability to stretch the field and threaten defenses, Bray is no longer tha player, but the team hopes Hill can be and will be, he's just not there yet.
I like the potential of Hill, a lot, but we need to be patient. Kerley has proven to be a nice #3 WR, who is now forced to playing a #2 role. I like Gates' upside, but again, another young player, still developing, but a lot of raw talent. The group needs to mature, and we could probably use a veteran boost at the position next year. Schilens plays hard, but he just doesn't give us what we had in Braylon, maybe Hill grows up this off-season and becomes a bigger factor. Holmes returns next year, and if he can mature, and get past his own issues as a selfish player, a Hill/Holmes tandem has a lot of potential.Are you happy with our Wr group when Holmes gets healthy?
Absolutely not, I said in another post, that LB is probably the position needs the most attention this off-season, especially at OLB. We need a major upgrade from Pace and Thomas.Are you happy with out OLBs?
Again, see above, LB as a whole needs an overhaul. I like Harris, like what I see in Davis, and even Dowtin has some ability. I think Mauga is valuable depth player. ILB is in a lot better shape than OLB.Are you happy with our ILBs?
I can buy the argument that Greene hasn't lived up to expectations, even that he's probably better served as a depth player or a #3 RB in the role he played behind Thomas Jones and LT the last three years before this season. He's serviceable, he doesn't suck, but I think he can still be an effective player. If McKnight and Powell don't get injured, we probably see a much better performance in the running game this year. In today's NFL, the one stud RB system is a rarity, teams these days need a rotation at RB, I actually think the talent we have now at RB is good, but they've been hurt, so we haven't seen this current group reach their potential. After not being a factor at all last season, Powell has at least shown flashes of potential this year. McKnight is a player with a ton of talent, but he needs to be on the field, he needs to be able to perform in blitz protection, that has been his problem and not being on the field in the role that the team likes with Powell. Finally, we saw a play last week in the Rams game where McKnight was a weapon coming out of the backfield in the passing game, I think Sparano wants to do more of this but McKnight has been dealing with a high ankle sprain.Are you happy with our RB's?


text:
All advertising eventually repels people. It's only a matter of time before someone seizes the opportunity and takes your customers away. Ads associate you with cheapness. There is no coming back from a reputation as an ad whore.
On a side note: Be thankful for ad blockers. I hold quite a few sites in undeserved regard because I don't see the ads.
Ad blockers repel content providers....
Well, that's no problems as it makes is a mutual repulsion society. That form of advertising earned Washington post a complete script and cookie block https://addons.mozilla.org/en-... [mozilla.org] from me, and if the page shows up blank from now on that's no problem for me. Now if script blocker https://addons.mozilla.org/en-... [mozilla.org] would only add notes that show up for a blocked script so you can remember why you blocked it. I also target advertising companies that are complicit in marketing stupidity and kill their scri
"So you're the cookie-blocker coming from IP address......" Sorry, sites will figure out who you are somehow.
I also kill ad bureau cookies routinely for exactly that reason but hey if they behave themselves there is no problem don't and they have successfully achieved anti-marketing with my loathing of the product/company marketed, the site that hosted the ad and the add bureau that served the ad. Two out of the three immediately lose and the last one eventually loses over the long term.
All advertising eventually repels people.
Exactly. This is why, throughout history, companies that advertize have consistently failed, while companies that just sit back and wait for the world to beat a path to their door have prospered. Clearly, advertising doesn't work.
Ads associate you with cheapness
So true. This is why companies like Louis Vuitton and Gucci, by advertising heavily, devalue their products, and only make pennies on the dollar compared to unadvertised brands available from eBay and shipped from China.
+1 for the snark.
Snark that misses the point.
He wasn't talking about companies that buy ads, he's talking about companies the sell ads c.f. "ad whore."
Snark that misses the point.
He wasn't talking about companies that buy ads, he's talking about companies the sell ads c.f. "ad whore."
Yeah, he's talking about successful companies. While correlation isn't causation, I have to admit he has a point.
Well, that's not entirely true. The companies you mention advertise heavily in certain circles and not at all in most. Doing that, web style, would indeed make them seem cheap. As to the unadvertised brands, if you're talking about knockoff copies, it's been my observational experience that many people actually seek those things out because they don't want to pay for the actual brands but they want people to think they did. Our government, which spends more money on tracking crap like that down than the
Spammy advertising doesn't work and repels customers. Spam email, annoying product placement, animated/interactive adverts and the like put people off eventually. That's why you don't get "1ouis Vvitt0n" emails, or at least not from Louis Vuitton.
All advertising eventually repels people.
That's kind of delusional. People still watch the super bowl for the commercials, after all.
Only because professional sports is even more repulsive, and there isn't much else on at that time.
I agree that ads are distracting, and they do decrease my enjoyment of reading, but not so much that I need to block them or refuse to look at material with advertisements.
"Cheapness" is also something that is a false value. If I have a reason to trust the words on the page of a story with distracting formatting and ads as being a higher class of journalism than something in a pristine, well formatted, advertisement-less site, I will continue to read the sloppy site and glean what I can from it. I will al
There is no coming back from a reputation as an ad whore.
Unless of course you are actually advertising prostitution...
NSFW - http://www.sherisranch.com/ [sherisranch.com]
in which case being "an ad whore" is exactly what you were shooting for!
So apparently Washington Post has joined the Amazon Affiliates program.... that's so 1990s of them!
The initial stories of the purchase made sure to note that this was a "personal purchase" by Bezos. If WP is going to embed ads, is a digital subscription going to become part of Amazon Prime?
It doesn't matter if the Washington Post is personally owned or not - Bezos' personal fortune is dependent on both it and on Amazon.com, and he's the one calling the shots with both companies. So this attempt to use one of his companies to drive business to another of his companies shouldn't be surprising.
They already do this with things such as stock quotes. They put "Apple" in there, and it automatically adds the ticker symbol, the day's performance, and a link to more information.
I don't see how this is any different.
Stock exchanges make money, and trading stocks is a way for companies and investors to make (or lose, but that's not the hope) money. It's an inline ad for the stock of the company being mentioned. A very well hidden inline ad, but an ad nonetheless.
Sure they do. If someone wanted to know where to get more information about the referenced item and buy it, that's added value.
It's only not added value if that's not something you want to do. Just as if, if you are not interested in the stock or its performance, it adds no value for you.
The argument here is not about whether it adds value - it does. The argument is over the type of value it adds, the cost of that value, and whether the added value is worth the cost - which is considerable.
One-Click boo boo
I'm not having a serious problem with this.
I hate today's commercials so much, I mute them if I can't fast forward them, and am almost forced to only watch DVR'ed content, and tend to avoid watching live TV now. I run adblock. When its a site I go to frequently, I whitelist it, and quickly block it again once I see an ad that does popups, or automatically plays audio/video, or otherwise detracts from my reading.
I would go nuts if a "buy it now" button popped up while reading fiction, but this is a newspaper article. I don't find the button intrusive, because I'm not trying to follow artistic nuance in a newspaper article. It doesn't really take up the screen, and they're placed in front of products to sell, namely "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "The Great Gatsby".
It seems to me no more intrusive than a banner ad, and I'm much more annoyed at large rectangular ads that break up article paragraphs. So what am I missing here?
It seems to me no more intrusive than a banner ad, and I'm much more annoyed at large rectangular ads that break up article paragraphs. So what am I missing here?
IMO, the apparent conflict of interest. In an ideal free market, ad placements are competitive. Exclusive deals between entities which enjoy very large market-shares in their respective markets have a high probability of inhibiting GDP growth in the long run, according to both empirical and theoretical economics.
Yes, the anti-competitive nature of such vertical integration is bad for the economy. The links are also bad for the individual because of their distraction, because they turn an independent information source into a sales force, and because they give preferential treatment to one particular vendor.
But Slashdot does something similar with its book reviews.
Major influence peddlers of the past, major newspaper owners were often more interested in the power derived from an ability to shape public opinion than the bottom line...although they were a great deal more profitable before instantaneous news became impossible to compete with.
Bezos is de
Bezos is dealing with the challenge of ushering the decaying giant into the new World, and in some fashion, that includes monetizing the operation. A button for Amazon purchases? Were you expecting a Rakuten link?
Identifying and understanding the reason that an inefficient trade agreement occurs does not make it efficient. I know why a scorpion stings me, but I do not consider it a good thing.
Identifying and understanding the reason that an inefficient trade agreement occurs does not make it efficient.
Identifying and understanding are the keystone to education and betterment.
I know why a scorpion stings me, but I do not consider it a good thing.
Therein lies the behavior modification. Good and bad aside, you damn sure learn not to place your stingables in harm's way of another scorpion.
Therein lies the behavior modification. Good and bad aside, you damn sure learn not to place your stingables in harm's way of another scorpion.
Seems reasonable. What's the next step; how do you recommend we do it? In this case, the stingable is the market economy, and the scorpion is collusive trade. How do we move our economic system out of the way of Bezos' actions?
It seems to me no more intrusive than a banner ad
i have my problems with Amazon, but I'm glad this is happening
it's a way for owners of newspapers to make their online portion profitable without affecting editorial funciton
see, print has never been "dead"...it's always been a failure of the business model of the owners of the paper...usually based on a complete misunderstanding of **how to make money from the internet**
status quo in tech says, "scape personal data from users to deliver custom ads & char
I'm not having a serious problem with this.
Did you know that Politics and Prose [politics-prose.com] is the best independent bookstore in Washington and, IMHO, one of the best bookstores in the country? The Politics and Prose wikipedia page says it original co-owners "became known as literary tastemakers." [wikipedia.org]
Consider that as you re-read the example I choose for the summary:
At Politics and Prose, the traditional [AMAZON BUY IT NOW] version — featuring the iconic eyes floating on a blue background — sold better than the DiCaprio [AMAZON BUY IT NOW] cover.
Do you see the problem now?
I'll end with a shout-out to the NPR program On The Media [onthemedia.org] - I look forward to hearing OTM cover this issue!
(This post not edited by Brooke.)
Do you see the problem now?
Not even a little. The whole point of owning a newspaper is the ability to print whatever crap you want to. If Bezos wants to use his pet paper to pimp Amazon to the few dozen elderly people who still read it, more power to him. Individuals who own newspapers publishing what they want is the very essence of the First Amendment.
Are you offended that Democratic-party-publishing-organ WaPo is being used for dirty, dirty profits? Suggesting people listen to Democratic-party-publishing-organ NPR to get their
Didn't bother me then. Doesn't bother me now. In future WaPo articles, I expect my eyes to glaze by them as if they didn't exist.
New Washington Post headlines . . .
"Hurricanes to slam the entire US coasts . . . and the stuff in between!" [click here to buy a hurricane survival kit]
"Martians land in Washington and attack the White House!" [click here to buy guns and ammo]
"Ebola epidemic hits US!" [click here to buy skin lightening cream, because only white folks will get the vaccine]
I would go nuts if a "buy it now" button popped up while reading fiction, but this is a newspaper article.
When newspaper articles are written so as to be conducive to advertizing, they are fiction of the worst sort.
Same as it ever was.
There was a period after the Watergate Scandal when it became popular to hold journalists up to high esteem for reasons that have never really been explained. While essentially, Journalism School majors are people who flunked out of Calculus, and THEN were also rejected by the English department.
There were a LOT of those "buy it now" links scattered all through the article!
If I were a Washington Post subscriber, I might very well cancel my subscription over something like that - it completely breaks up the flow of the article. That's highly annoying.
The content-sales line has been blurred beyond repair. In-text ads like this has been a dream of the ad buyers since day one of the web, and they're starting to become acceptable. It's now inappropriate to talk about a title in Amazon's collection without a hyperlink to that page, and Amazon will gladly pay on a sale of that item from a customer that comes that way.
The content-sales line has been blurred beyond repair.
this is the difference between content creation and journalism. Go read buzzfeed or huffpo if that's what you expect of your news.
It's now inappropriate to talk about a title in Amazon's collection without a hyperlink to that page, and Amazon will gladly pay on a sale of that item from a customer that comes that way.
I've never seen this before in a respectable news source. Nytimes, WaPo, and LATimes are the 3 top-tier papers in the nation.
It wasn't possible until Amazon wrote an API that notices a title an inserts the correct listing on their site. Remember, Bezos owns both WaPo and Amazon....
I disagree; if all ads were as small and inconspicuous as these are, I would even consider getting rid of Adblock altogether to support the content providers. I prefer these instead of banners, even if the links do break up the flow somewhat.
Slate is the national online magazine that the Post bought from Microsoft about a decade ago. So, it's a co-owned property. Seems like they programed the Post's website whenever a title is mentioned, link to the appropriate Amazon page.
Per Wikipedia,
Slate is a United States English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by The Washington Post Company.
So, if Bezos owns the Washington Post and the Washington Post owns Slate, well, there we have it. WaPo's using the "slatmag-20" affiliate ID to simplify things for accounting purposes, I guess.
In another thread, somebody pointed out that it was the Washington Post was divested from the Washington Post Company, leaving it as The Slate Group because they sold the piece that generated the company name.
No. Bezos bought the Washington Post newspaper and online version, but he did not buy the Washington Post Company, which owns slate.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/mon... [slate.com]
First, Slate is a property of the Washington Post Company but is not part of the Washington Post. Neither it nor Foreign Policy nor the Root have been sold. In fact, Bezos isn't even buying the building in which the Post is currently located.
--end quote--
Okay... so Washington Post Company sold the Washington Post... how confusing. Thanks for the correction.
There are ads (buy now) everywhere in the modern world (buy now).
From billboards, to clothes, the drink you are holding, to the car that just passed you on the road, its invaded every part of our lives. Everyone is competing for your attention 24/7. Its not going away.
Just add 'washingtonpost.com##.buyitnow' to your adblocker and never see it again.
I don't care who does it for what reason, if it's the owner, his son or his dog, I just block it as soon as I see it.
...the paper had begun embedding Amazon Buy-It-Now links in the middle of story sentences.
I really [GET FREE SATOSHI EVERY HOUR! [freebitco.in]] don't see what [GET FREE SATOSHI FOR WATCHING ADS! [coinad.com]] the problem is [GET FREE SATOSHI FROM FAUCETS! [landofbitcoin.com]] with this system.
"If you lived today as if it were your last, you'd buy up a box of rockets and fire them all off, wouldn't you?" -- Garrison Keillor

subset: commoncrawl


text:
CHAMPs > CHAMP in Action
Pub Party for Parkinson
Worcester- With two bands (Golden Girls and Rick Booth), masses of prizes and great food, the Potter family turned up the volume on a good time for a great cause. On March 25th the Potters hosted a successful pub party at Breen's Café in Worcester, and it all happened in support of the Parkinson's Unity Walk.
This fundraiser rocked a local bar where multiple bands played in front of a full capacity house. But that's not all. To top things off, this year's fundraiser included a delicious catered meal, door prizes and a great silent auction. Items included sports memorabilia from the Celtics and Red Sox, free haircuts, and an awesome Miller Lite neon sign.
Money raised came from a cover at the door, selling raffle tickets and the silent auction. The venue, food and bands were all donated and people gladly paid for their drinks at a cash bar.
The sponsors, supporters and attendees are all owed a great thank you for helping us make a positive difference for those with Parkinson's disease.
Click for a printer friendly version


text:
Milos Raonic advances at Madrid Open
Thornhill, Ont. native scores win over Jeremy Chardy of France
Canada's Milos Raonic won his opening match at the Madrid Open on Tuesday, defeating Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 6-3 in just over an hour.
Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., fired 11 aces and did not have a double-fault as he comfortably advanced to the third round at the Masters Series event.
Also Tuesday, Roger Federer pulled out of the tournament to spend more time with his family as his wife awaits the birth of another child.
The fourth-seeded Swiss player is the second big name to withdraw after Novak Djokovic pulled out because of a wrist injury. Poland's Lukasc Kubot takes Federer's place to face Gilles Simon of France.
David Ferrer struggled through Madrid's high altitude and a bout of nerves to pull out a 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-3 victory over Spanish countryman Albert Ramos.
Ferrer saved four set points as he won five straight points to take the first set tiebreak, clinching the lead with a crosscourt forehand smash.
After being broken to trail 6-5 in the second set, Ferrer reeled off four straight errors for his 115th-ranked opponent to even it before eventually pulling through in just under three hours.
But it wasn't without repeated scenes of frustration when he mumbled to himself and his entourage nearby.
"You say things when you're nervous in the match that you don't have a feel for. You can write a book about a match," said Ferrer about his motivation, before referring to thinner air and its effect on the ball. "The first day is not easy. You miss more, but that's all."
Fabio Fognini's recent struggles on Spanish clay continued as the 13th-seeded Italian lost 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov. Fognini failed to get out of the second round at Barcelona last month.
Nicolas Almagro will play Andy Murray next after finally dispensing with Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-7 (9), 7-6 (4) with his 11th match point.
Other second-round winners included Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, South Africa's Kevin Anderson, Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands, and Juan Monaco of Argentina — who goes on to play defending champion Rafael Nadal on Wednesday.
In women's play, Maria Sharapova avoided an early exit by rallying to beat Christina McHale to reach the third round. Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis centre.
The ninth-ranked Russian looked to be cruising before McHale broke late in the second set to tie the match and then took her commanding lead in the final set after breaking Sharapova.
However, Sharapova didn't surrender a point after that as McHale netted to be broken to see her advantage dip to 4-3, and Sharapova eventually fired an ace down the middle to eliminate McHale for the second year running.
"After a really good start [in Madrid] I didn't keep that level. I think I had a bit of a letdown," said 2013 finalist Sharapova, who is coming off a tournament victory in Stuttgart.
Earlier, Li Na continued her recent dominance of Zheng Jie by easing into the third round 6-2, 6-3 for her fourth straight victory against her fellow Chinese player. Zheng hasn't won a set from the second-ranked Li since her last victory in 2006.
Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic also advanced with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, while American Sloane Stephens was also a winner.
Popular Now
To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.
By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.


text:
CARY – Every classroom in the district will have at least one new computer.
The District 26 school board Monday approved buying 210 computers for $160,815 from ACT Network Solutions, which will be enough to replace at least one computer in each classroom in the district. This money is coming from the 2013-14 budget.
The plan also allows for office computers to be replaced, Technology Coordinator Andrew Fitzsimons said at last week's Finance Committee meeting.
Each classroom has three computers, but the district cannot replace all computers at once because of financial constraints, Superintendent Brian Coleman said.
This is a change in the district's technology plan.
Originally, the district planned to replace all classroom computers at Briargate and Deer Path schools during the 2013-14 school year for about $170,000. Three Oaks and Cary Junior High classrooms would have had computers replaced in 2014-15.
"Rather than focusing on Deer Path and Briargate, we're focusing on all four buildings," said Valerie McCall, director of curriculum and instruction.
The change in the technology plan comes after teachers and staff dealt with slow login times and network speeds.
During the school year, a network consultant checked a number of aspects to solve the problem. It eventually was determined the problem was the computers.
The district even bought three test computers to plug in at all schools during heavy login times.
"The problem of slow login and network speeds was eliminated," Fitzsimons wrote in a memo to the school board. "This confirmed what we were seeing in the labs at Deer Path and Three Oaks, whose labs were replaced by their PTOs and were not experiencing slow speed."
The district has been utilizing used computers it received from another school district.
During last week's Finance Committee meeting, Fitzsimons said those computers "have reached their limit. They can't be pushed any further."
Cary District 26 to buy one new computer for every classroom
CARY – Every classroom in the district will have at least one new computer.


text:
A man intent on buying some crack cocaine instead got shot by the drug dealer, Daytona Beach police said Thursday.
Preston Jones told police that he went to a house at the 500 block of Spruce Street just after 2 a.m. Thursday so he could buy crack cocaine from suspect Dwayne Mitchell, 33, an arrest report shows.
When the 52-year-old Jones arrived at Mitchell's residence, he gave the suspect $25 for the drug and Mitchell told him to wait while he went to get the crack cocaine, police said.
Jones waited for a while outside Mitchell's house, but Mitchell never returned, the report shows. At that point, Jones went back to his own home to get some more money.
As he headed toward Mitchell's house, Jones said he spotted Mitchell standing at Spruce and North streets, police said. The two men then walked back to Mitchell's residence. When the pair arrived, Jones said he thought Mitchell was going inside to get Jones' $25 and return the cash to him.
But instead, Jones said Mitchell emerged with a gun and started firing at Jones, the report shows.
Jones said he bolted from the scene, afraid for his life, the report shows. Police said Mitchell shot at Jones six times, but struck him only once in the leg.
Later Thursday morning Jones -- who was being treated at Halifax Health Medical Center for his injury -- picked Mitchell out in a photo lineup that detectives showed him.
Police returned to the 500 block of Spruce and Mitchell was outside. He was arrested without incident, the report shows.
Mitchell is being held without bail at the Volusia County Branch jail. He was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, violation of a domestic violence injunction, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Man gets shot while trying to buy crack, police say
A man intent on buying some crack cocaine instead got shot by the drug dealer, Daytona Beach police said Thursday.


text:
Fermín Jamón Ibérico
The beautiful medieval village of La Alberca, perched at the top of a mountain, is the home of Jamones y Embutidos Fermín. This family company carefully cures their Ibérico hams in the cool, dry mountain air for over two years, transforming them into a masterpieces of flavor. Fermín was the first company to be approved for export to the U.S. and offers a full line of top quality Ibérico hams for you to enjoy.
- Sale$1,219.95$871.95jm-09Add to cart


text:
Make An Offer / Ask a Question
Please complete this question form so we can get back to you!
Thank you.
PLEASE READ: WE DO NOT PURCHASE MAGAZINES AT THIS TIME. WE ALSO DO NOT GIVE APPRAISALS. Due to the fact that all magazines and comics are bagged and stored we are unable to look for certain articles or pictures. We try to answer all questions and offers as soon as possible. Priority is given to orders. We are not professional graders and may not be able to help you with an item's value.
The Children's Treasure House magazine - April 21, 1927
Currently priced at
$ 26.88
The Children"s Treasure House Magazine- April 21, 1927 = Over 100 complete pagesin magazine over 77 years old. Edited by Arthur Mee - London, England - The Wonder of the world and glory of the ages complete - Nature & her wonderful kingdoms -history, geography,stories and countless...
What is the maximum you'd pay for this?
$ Currently priced at $ 26.88.
How many is this for?
Any Questions?
Your Name
Thank you
Store Home
About Us
FAQ / Policies
TIAS home
Site Map ·
Tell a Friend!
· Join
our Mailing List ·
Joe's Paper Shack
Contact us!
16879 Crystal DriveMacomb, MI 48042United States
Updated Friday, May 25 2018Product descriptions copyright© 2018 Joe's Paper ShackAll else copyright© 1995-2018 TIAS.com All rights reserved.


text:
Posted 6 years ago
(470 items)
My wife's G.G. Grandfather's 3rd wife Rebbecca, Putham-Cook was her relative. Rebbecca husband died in 1872 her son born 1873. Charles married her this year. Charles bought this house and land before the war 1853 here is his brother was very famous, great story here, the back of this says Merry Xmas from Joshia Pickett he sent this to Charles


text:
The 1900 U. S. census tells me that she was born in March, 1867. Her name on the census is recorded as Rose Doyle. Further research led me to the book, Good Hope Church, Lutheran and Reformed: West Salem Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Parish Records, 1805-1861 by Paul Miller Ruff, where I found the following entry:
Baptism No. 563It seems likely, but do not know definitively, that this is my Tressa Froman. I attempted to obtain copies of the original records, hoping they might show more information, but was told they were unavailable.
Name of Baptized: Theresa
Date of Birth (or Baptism): 24 May 1868
Parents: John Fromman and Catharine
Sponsors: Parents, F. Pilgran
As I was searching for a photograph to post I realized that other than her marriage photo, this is the only one I have of Tressa. I also noticed that in the background of the photo with this post, faint and barely discernable, there is a quilt hanging on the clothesline. Perhaps she made it. Tressa (or Maw as she was called) enjoyed quilting and made a beautiful wedding ring quilt which she gave to my father.
Though I don't know the exact day she was born, I am pleased to remember and celebrate Maw's birthday. Happy Birthday, Maw! I hope it was fabulous, whichever day it was.


text:
Click here if you are unable to view this video.
Aish Singers:
Yaakov Yosef Spadaro
Dan Lerman
Yaakov Tzvi Hoffman
Aryeh Pridonoff
With thanks to One Direction
Aish singers on the recording:
Moshe Chaim Eade
Yisrael Castel
Adam Douglas
Mordechai Snyder
Chaim Gamliel Busko
Visitor Comments: 182
(165) Anonymous, September 14, 2017 7:54 PM
(164) Prodigy Sharon Esther Lampert, October 24, 2016 11:54 PM
Every year before the High Holidays, I check out your website for the brand new Jewish holiday video because it educates, enlightens and empowers. This year's video is exceptional for its beautiful visuals of ISRAEL, its spiritual message of each person's light and dark sides, so STARWARS. To quote YODA from STARWARS "Fear Leads to Anger, Anger Leads to Hatred, and Hatred Leads to Suffering" and the singing and dancing, so uplifting. KOL HACHAVOD.
(163) Nancy, September 7, 2015 6:19 PM
(162) Theodore Lewis, September 28, 2014 10:47 PM
Is there a DVD of these 4 making other videos? I am the cantor at the Orthodox Shul in Moncton New Brunswick and I was thinking something like this would be a nice addition to our shul library, especially for the younger members. Job well done to the four young men in the video, may Hashem continue to greatly bless them in their spiritual journeys.
(161) Anonymous, September 10, 2013 4:16 PM
dont now what that is
(160) Cookie Delloro, September 8, 2013 4:40 AM
(159) diana, September 8, 2013 1:33 AM
talent and message
(158) gina, September 4, 2013 8:45 PM
I love this song and ISRAEL!!!
(157) Cher, September 4, 2013 7:53 AM
love it
(156) debi, September 2, 2013 8:38 AM
(155) Shira, August 26, 2013 6:02 PM
Rosh Hashana and life are so beautiful!
(154) Anonymous, August 23, 2013 11:26 PM
If rewind was only so easy
(153) chava, August 23, 2013 1:59 PM
i love Aish!
(152) Sarah Malka, August 21, 2013 5:16 PM
(151) Boca Mom, August 21, 2013 4:30 PM
Great Message!
(149) Chana, July 20, 2013 10:10 PM
New Beginning
I replay this over and over. I was raised Christian, married a Christian, raised my children Christian. Then I discovered that my maternal grandmother had been Jewish but had converted to Christianity, hence my own upbringing. I had always felt drawn to Judaism, and I never knew why. Now I knew. For several years I struggled with knowing what to do. Do I change horses in the middle of this stream? My SOUL is JEWISH, but what about my marriage? Over time my confusion just got worse. Then as last Rosh Hoshanah approached I watched this video. Repeatedly. "When you're true to yourself you set your soul free." "Bring out the ultimate you for show and tell." "Look to your roots." "This is the time to hit rewind." So many lines in that song spoke to me. By New Year I had embraced who I was. This video pushed me off the wall and into my new life. Thank you, thank you.
rachel, August 21, 2013 7:24 AM
Mitch, August 29, 2013 5:25 PM
(147) Elvi, December 22, 2012 8:39 PM
this song is: beautiful!!!!!!!!
(146) Richard Carter, December 20, 2012 5:08 AM
Rosh Hashanah is Beautiful
I have loved the AISH students in their What Makes Rosh Hashanah Beautiful video. The world needs the hope expressed in the video more than ever in the last 70 years. The world also needs to know the beauty, love, care and joy that Israel and God have and want to offer the world. Too few know it. I hope I didn't wait too long but I submitted the video to Ellen Degeneres show for the new year celebrated on Jan 1 in hopes it will be used in a broadcast and awaken many like a shofar blast! What surprised me is how the one fellow so reminded me of Buddy Holly and the 'dancing' within the video which Ellen does love as do I! I would love to see it broadcast and prayerfully bring interest to AISH the young men and perhaps create a future that could help the students, their families and many more! Everytime I play it, it brightens my day and if I would have a very sad day or troubled time of it ... When it plays it ALWAYS brings joy to my heart and soul ... compliments of AISH Israel and our God! I will also send a CD by post and note the great dancing in Rosh Hashanah Rock Anthem! Just incase the URL's don't translate etc.! I am excited but it took a lot of nudging even for me to go forth. All the other mis-information being broadcast there needs to be some truth and hope for all! I pray it brings many blessings to each and everyone that hears it! Praise God and let us all pray for the lasting Peace for Jerusalem! Rick =)
Chana, July 20, 2013 10:11 PM
Buddy Holly
(145) Mary Rumford, December 10, 2012 6:09 PM
(144) Rochel, December 5, 2012 2:52 PM
Gr8 song-did this group put out any other songs?
(143) Yisrael, November 24, 2012 2:28 AM
A awesome song and video, I love it!
(142) Anonymous, November 6, 2012 8:17 AM
(141) Jim Thrien, October 19, 2012 2:12 AM
(140) Jim Charb, October 15, 2012 12:08 AM
Rosh-Hashanah-Beautiful Vid
(139) Anonymous, October 9, 2012 4:50 PM
(138) Janice, September 27, 2012 10:14 PM
Beautiful message & harmony
(135) Erin, September 24, 2012 10:02 PM
beautiful for all people of faith
(134) Karen, September 24, 2012 1:32 PM
message for all peoples
(133) MamaHilker, September 23, 2012 10:07 PM
Shana Tova
(131) Anonymous, September 18, 2012 11:36 PM
Rockapella Rosh Hashanah!
(130) Louise, September 18, 2012 3:13 PM
Wow I love this on so many levels. It's so uplifting, it's fun, it's relevant and I am not Jewish. It gives such inspiration, I can't express the words on how this has impacted on my heart. Most of all the words wow, so real, so true and so much depth....love it!!...could say more but my word would not do any justice to how impacting this song is...wonderful..thankyou!!
(128) Neicee, September 17, 2012 11:42 PM
Uplifting and fun
I have to say this is so upbeat and fun that even an infidel (like me a Lutheran) gets into the beauty of the holiday. I only wish the other new year's celebrations throughout the world brought the beauty of G-d and it's promises into it. I too got a tear in my eye with the blowing of the shofar. I wish you all the blessings of a beautiful New Year.
(127) mordechai braham, September 17, 2012 5:35 PM
(125) sUZANNE bURNES, September 17, 2012 1:51 PM
want TO BUY IT.
(123) Carl Nunes, September 16, 2012 4:57 PM
(122) Netta, September 16, 2012 3:01 PM
Wonderful and inspirational
(120) Robert Cherry, September 16, 2012 2:00 AM
(116) sandee, September 14, 2012 7:19 PM
New Beginnings--Yes!
(115) ashley azzopardi, September 14, 2012 5:13 PM
Shalom and thank you!
Shalom and thank you for posting this video!! I homeschool our 4 children and as we were watching this today during class (while talking about why we celebrate Rosh Hashanah), I started to realize how much my relationship with God has grown (now being 33) and also how far my children have to go to get there as well. What an inspiring video to young and old--let us NEVER forget to wait for our Heavenly Daddy to come home and always, always be excited for His return! Blessings to you and your family :)
(112) Anna Edmundson, September 14, 2012 11:16 AM
(110) Francis, September 14, 2012 8:49 AM
A refreshing change!
(109) Anonymous, September 14, 2012 7:35 AM
(108) Alvira C., September 14, 2012 5:55 AM
I loved it!
(107) Lyda, September 14, 2012 3:27 AM
(105) Elvira, September 13, 2012 9:24 AM
Made me cry
(104) Debbie, September 13, 2012 3:58 AM
Loooove it!!!
(103) Julie, September 12, 2012 12:47 PM
(102) Anonymous, September 12, 2012 6:40 AM
Fabulous musicjoy halleluja todah rabah
(101) Moll, September 12, 2012 1:19 AM
(99) Jleech, September 11, 2012 6:28 PM
This is so cool!
(98) Annalyn, September 11, 2012 4:48 PM
This Song
(97) Joe Cash, September 11, 2012 1:30 AM
Do these guys have a CD
Dori, September 11, 2012 4:59 PM
Download the video
(96) leah, September 11, 2012 12:03 AM
(94) Jacob, September 10, 2012 3:13 PM
(93) Monica Lopes, September 10, 2012 3:03 PM
Shana Tovah!!
(92) Anonymous, September 9, 2012 9:54 PM
Thank you for this beautiful song. I've listened to it again and again, because the voices/harmony/rhythm are so deeply satisfying. However, it would be remiss of me to only listen, without absorbing the song's true message: Pause. Stop. Reconsider. BEFORE we do or say anything! We can each play a role in recreating the world by choosing higher and better than we did yesterday.
(90) Andrea, September 9, 2012 8:14 AM
(89) Anonymous, September 9, 2012 3:37 AM
Stuck in the "old" -The critics need a "rewinding".
I noticed that some of those with more critical comments, need to watch the video again, because they didn't get the message or didn't like from whom it came from the guys (didn't fit their stereotypes). To the one who wrote about "washing the "cup", I see that their "cup is clean inside & out", so why spit in it. It is very clear these guys believe & live their message nearly every day. That is why both Judaism & Jerusalem are so beautiful to me, who was raised Christian & American.
(88) SONIA MARTINEZ, September 9, 2012 12:06 AM
Hi, guys
(87) Batya Chaya, September 8, 2012 3:45 PM
Truly Wonderful
(86) Lisamarie, September 8, 2012 1:30 PM
Loved it!
(85) Sorin Dinu, September 8, 2012 7:29 AM
What Makes Rosh Hashanah Beautiful feedback
(84) silvana aparecida limonti, September 8, 2012 2:24 AM
video musical
(83) Anonymous, September 7, 2012 10:30 PM
Beautiful Song and Message
(82) Anonymous, September 7, 2012 9:45 PM
ravo !
(81) Anonymous, September 7, 2012 9:44 PM
Thank you
(80) Rabbi Shaya Kilimnick, September 7, 2012 2:12 PM
Rav Noach, Tz'l would be proud......
(79) Susan Coopersmith, September 7, 2012 11:57 AM
Wonderful, uplifting!
(78) Fangyu, September 7, 2012 2:33 AM
Toda Raba for the uplifting video, Shana Tova to everyone:-)
(77) Ilana Ben Shalom, September 7, 2012 12:51 AM
Great new inpirational video I found
(76) Eike Wacha, September 7, 2012 12:07 AM
(75) Anonymous, September 7, 2012 12:00 AM
Brought tears to my eyes
(73) Melissa, September 6, 2012 10:59 PM
(69) Anonymous, September 6, 2012 6:44 PM
It was energetic and very well done
(68) Simha, September 6, 2012 6:03 PM
(66) Anonymous, September 6, 2012 2:00 PM
(65) Ruth, September 6, 2012 1:59 PM
I love it!!
(62) Galya, September 6, 2012 9:05 AM
Well done
(60) Judy, September 6, 2012 3:06 AM
Very inspiring and FUN!
(55) Keila Lucy Lemos Moura, September 5, 2012 6:22 PM
Amazing Harmony!!!
(54) Joel, September 5, 2012 6:22 PM
Love it!!!
(53) Bryan Johnston, September 5, 2012 6:17 PM
(52) suzanne, September 5, 2012 6:09 PM
I loved this video--the men look so happy to love God and to be alive!!
(51) Frederica Steller, September 5, 2012 6:07 PM
Why loving God is so important; not just on Rosh Hashanah, but every day.
(50) Virginia Steiner, September 5, 2012 4:51 PM
Music and words fun and lively
(49) Sharon, September 5, 2012 4:48 PM
Thanks for putting Rosh Hashonah in a new brighter light
(48) Anonymous, September 5, 2012 4:06 PM
(47) Dorothy Bienen, September 5, 2012 4:06 PM
An Uplifting and Wonderful New Year Film!
(46) Nina, September 5, 2012 3:58 PM
(44) BaylaSheva, September 5, 2012 3:45 PM
Thank you!
(43) Valerie-Jael, September 5, 2012 3:20 PM
Absolutely fantastic
(42) samuel, September 5, 2012 2:44 PM
I loved it!
(39) Valerie Barker, September 5, 2012 7:25 AM
(38) Arely, September 5, 2012 6:04 AM
Absolute Soul inspiring
(37) Saul Pillai, September 5, 2012 12:16 AM
Superb !!!
(36) yeemei, September 4, 2012 10:40 PM
(35) Ken Gordon, September 4, 2012 8:03 PM
Inspiration video, but what about mainstream Jews?
The lyrics of the video are inspirational, but why does it have to be orthodox jews? I recently joined a Reform synagogue. The rabbi also uses music to inspire the congregation, but he doesn't flaunt his Jewishness by dressing all in black & white. The only sign of his Jewishness is a bright colored kippah. It's his words, not his clothes that provide the inspiration.
Raphael, September 5, 2012 7:27 PM
Mainstream Jews!
TA, September 6, 2012 1:57 PM
it's the simplicity that's brings the inside out
Hi Ken! See I think it's all a matter of perspective. If you look at black and white-- they are the two most simple colours (shades). When we strip ourselves of all the labels- Abercrombie, Gap, Gucci, Prada, etc. etc. when we take that importance out of clothing, and when interacting with another individual can really focus on who that person is, rather than size up a person, or get distracted by what that person is wearing. So you see, in reality, black and white allow "words, not clothes to provide the inspiration." Judaism is all about "simplicity" (can you imagine that all those rules actually do make life more SIMPLE-->it's worth exploring) and black and white is about the most simple you can get. It takes me less than 10 mins to get ready in the morning because I don't have to worry about "did i wear this last tuesday?, I wore that the last time we hung out-- cant wear that again"..but eliminating the time spent on those types of time consuming decisions, I can focus on what's truly important--LIFE, FAMILY, & FRIENDS! But with all that simplicity, it doesn't say anywhere in the Torah that "thou shall wear black and white" so, you should #1 feel comfortable in wearing what ever you like, and this Rosh Hashana make it a point to keep discovering what's under the surface, both in other people, and our beautiful Torah. Shana Tova!
(34) Michal, September 4, 2012 4:25 PM
(33) Dorothy Logan, September 4, 2012 3:23 PM
(32) Nathalie, September 4, 2012 8:25 AM
(31) Chaim T, September 4, 2012 5:24 AM
Yes, I've got a Soul...
(29) Bobbie, September 3, 2012 6:57 PM
(28) Ian Wigley, September 3, 2012 6:45 PM
very good. captures spirit of the new year and its meaning
ruth housman, September 4, 2012 5:32 PM
Great Expectations!
(27) Gerald Thompson, September 3, 2012 5:33 PM
(24) Tricia, September 3, 2012 12:41 PM
(22) Britany, September 3, 2012 4:48 AM
(21) Auriel, September 3, 2012 3:38 AM
It's all good
(20) FRANK, September 3, 2012 3:26 AM
(17) Anonymous, September 3, 2012 12:40 AM
Amazing song
(16) Lauren Roth, September 2, 2012 6:48 PM
This was fantastic!!
(15) Sachs, September 2, 2012 6:45 PM
(13) Anonymous, September 2, 2012 5:48 PM
(12) Reuven Frank, September 2, 2012 5:42 PM
You Guys are GREAT!
Thanks a lot guys, you're REALLY good. It's a good message, too. Reminds me of a story. Once, the Ba'al Shem Tov heard about a Chazzan for R"H who used all sorts of pleasant tunes (like Yours). The Besh"t checked this out, and found it was true. So, he called the Chazzan to ask him to explain why he used such happy tunes on the "Days of Awe." The Chazzan said: If the servant of the King is sweeping out the dirt in the courtyard of the palace; and, the servant really loves the King, shouldn't the servant be happy that the King's courtyard is clean?" The Besh"t replied, "May my portion in the World-to-Come, be with yours." Shanna Tova to all the Buch'rim, Ramim, and ALL the Aish staff. Thanks again, Reuven Frank
(11) judith Razieli, September 2, 2012 5:41 PM
(8) Esther, Toronto, September 2, 2012 3:51 PM
lovely but...
shimmy, September 3, 2012 7:10 AM
The song is by a boy band!
Lisa, September 5, 2012 1:15 PM
There is no indescrepency.....
(7) Anonymous, September 2, 2012 3:38 PM
(6) Anonymous, September 2, 2012 3:36 PM
Hi, As a Jewish educator, I am very disappointed with your taking of popular songs and adopting them to give off Jewish messages. The lyrics are phenomenal but the lack of originality using popular tunes is tacky. Overall this program is fantastic but I am sure you can come up with more original ideas to spread the same message.
jason, September 2, 2012 6:30 PM
wet blanket
Anonymous, September 3, 2012 2:28 AM
Thankfully you don't teach any of my children; because a good teacher takes the student from their starting point, wherever it may be, and brings them forward. If you can't see that this music reaches the majority of our children (from their starting point) then you failed to teach them from the first word out of your mouth. Fortunately the educators at AISH know how to reach all learners - Baruch Ha'Shem.
Lisa, September 3, 2012 3:32 AM
( there is only) One Direction
Anonymous, September 3, 2012 9:08 AM
makes it better...
D, September 5, 2012 2:07 PM
Song like this have been the most effective. I have watched them thrive for the past 30 years. One example is Shlock Rock going strong for about 25 years I think. If that many kids support over that many years should prove something to you. The young people who are interested in new Jewish music are a huge group as well and the songs are on the internet but those kids don't need to be inspired this way, they are already deep in the religous world. This song targets young people who are not yet at that level. It opens the door for them, they take a peek and check it out.
(5) ajsnyc, September 2, 2012 3:15 PM
Anonymous, September 3, 2012 3:38 AM
Perfection !!
Anonymous, September 3, 2012 3:41 AM
Corny works!!
(4) Yaakov Lev, September 2, 2012 3:13 PM
(1) Another nony mouse, September 2, 2012 9:54 AM


text:
TORONTO (AP) - The Canadian Auto Workers union says it will focus on reaching an agreement with Ford as negotiations continue with all of Detroit's Big Three automakers with a strike deadline looming Monday night.
CAW President Ken Lewenza said Sunday that Ford has shown a willingness to reach an agreement. He says talks with Chrysler and General Motors will also continue.
The CAW represents about 4,500 workers at Ford, 8,000 workers at GM and another 8,000 at Chrysler. Its contracts with all three automakers expire at 11:59 p.m. Monday.
The union has focused talks in the past on one of the automakers with the idea of setting a template deal for all three.
The auto companies say Canada is the most expensive place in the world to make cars and trucks.


text:
Browse by Medical Category
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
When John Marzelli learned he had a serious kidney disorder, IgA nephropathy, and would require a transplant, his sister, Tracy Marzelli, agreed to become his donor. Fortunately, his sister's blood type made her a match to donate a kidney to him. The surgery was scheduled to take place at Mass General late last year.
IgA antibodies had built up in John's kidney tissue, causing serious damage. During the months leading up to the transplant, he also developed an antibody that would prevent him from accepting his sister's kidney.
The news was disheartening. John was already relying upon daily peritoneal dialysis, an onerous procedure that cleans the blood, to compensate for his failing kidneys.
Undaunted, the Marzellis discovered new hope. Kidney Paired Donations (KPDs) pair willing living donors with recipients in a donor chain. National kidney registries exist for this purpose, but Mass General also has its own internal exchange program.
"The national registry can take many months and the patients face a lot of variables," says Transplant Nurse Coordinator Anne Seaward-Hersh, RN. The internal match process involves less uncertainty and can happen more quickly.
During one of the Transplant Center's weekly case conference, the multidisciplinary team determined that there was another donor/recipient pair who were also incompatible with each other but would be a match for John and Tracy.
Tracy remembers it was the day of her company's Christmas party when Seaward-Hersh called with the news.
"It was a great way to celebrate the day," Tracy says. "We were pretty excited."
Perfect Match
Like John, Esperanza Yoblonsky was suffering from IgA nephropathy. First diagnosed with IgA nephropathy at a local hospital in 2006, Esperanza's condition wasn't improving.
"A lot of people had been telling me, 'Just to go to Boston, to Mass General,'" she says.
Her first day at Mass General, Esperanza underwent a series of tests. "In one day they did what they did in four years" at her local hospital, she says. "They told me my kidneys were so bad that I need dialysis right away."
Esperanza returned to her home country, the Philippines, where her six siblings tested to see if they would be a match for a kidney transplant. They were not, but Esperanza's sister Evangeline Guevarra was coming to the U.S. for a wedding and, while she knew her sister was not a match, Esperanza hoped the two could take part in a study for an ABO-incompatible transplant or find another pair for an exchange while Evangeline was in the country.
The sisters found their match in Tracy and John Marzelli. As the Transplant Center team noted, Evangeline was a match for John, and Tracy for Esperanza.
In the weeks before the surgery, Esperanza relied upon her transplant nurse coordinator, Lorela Bautista Hess, RN. "She helped me a lot because I never stopped calling her every day," Esperanza says. "They're very professional and thorough of what they're doing and they listen to you, and they're so helpful," she adds of Mass General staff.
Evangeline underwent testing to ensure that her kidney would be adequate for John, who is at least a foot taller.
"It just flowed together," Seaward-Hersh remembers.
Successful Surgery
Six weeks after they were identified as a match, the pairs underwent surgery at Mass General. Surgical Director of Mass General's Dialysis Access Program, Tatsuo Kawai, MD, PhD, removed Evangeline's kidney, and Surgical Director of Kidney Transplantation, Dicken Ko, MD, transplanted it into John Marzelli. Chief of the Transplant Division, James Markmann, MD, PhD, removed Tracy Marzelli's kidney and Nahel Elias, MD, transplanted it into Esperanza Yoblonsky.
"It's the most blessed; it was a very successful surgery," Esperanza says. She extended her thanks to her sister and their multidisciplinary teams, including Hess and Seaward-Hersh, "who put all this together. And found us a loving swap!"
"Everybody was great-- the nurses were unbelievable. The food was good, too," John says, adding: "From the beginning everybody's so attentive to your needs; they really take good care of you here."
Kidney donors typically require less recovery time than recipients and leave the hospital a couple of days after surgery; Evangeline and Tracy were no exception.
"I felt like I studied and aced a test," Tracy says. "Two weeks later I was back at work. I felt really good."
Donor Evangeline, agreed: "I feel good, like nothing happened."
The pairs met in the hospital hallway after their surgeries and became fast friends, inviting each other for walks in the hallway during recovery.
Just a month after their surgeries, they sat together at the transplant clinic, chatting like old friends, planning barbeques in the coming months and sharing Facebook photos of themselves together in the hospital.
"Going through the swap program, we get to solve our problems and someone else's," Tracy says. "I wish I had more kidneys to give."
Back to Top


text:
Meet the New Apple: Google to $1,000, Another Analyst Says
The Google $1,000 club just got more popular on Wall Street.
Jefferies analyst Brian Pitz boosted his price target on Google to $1,000 from $875 Tuesday morning amid growing optimism about several elements of the company's business. He is at least the third Wall Street analyst to slap a $1,000 price target on Google shares.
Pitz said he sees traction in Google's commerce initiatives, growth at YouTube, improving mobile trends and optimism about the company's hardware business.
"Momentum [is building] across the business," Pitz said in a note to clients, while maintaining his buy rating.
Google shares recently rose more than 1%, earlier setting another fresh intraday record at $838.84. The stock is up about 30% since a mid-November low.
Tuesday marked the 19th trading day since the end of January that Google shares have hit another record intraday high. Among the reasons often cited for Google's run are an improving mobile-ad outlook for the company and growing revenue from display ads and YouTube monetization.
Only three other companies currently trade above $800: Berkshire Hathaway's Class A shares Seaboard and NVR Even Apple couldn't make the club; it briefly topped $700 before turning sharply lower. It is down about 40% since hitting record highs in September.
For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.


text:
Sea&Sea Underwater Housing MD 40D/50D.
2 x Inon Strobes Z-240 Type III
Ultralight Ball arms 4x 8
Ultralight Ball arms 2x 5
Sea&Sea 5 pin Dual Sync Cord/N
Sea&Sea 5 pin Sync Cord/N
Optical Dome port + Extension SX + Special Case+ Cover
Zoom gear for Tokina Fisheye 10-17mm
Port Macro 100mm + Manual focus gear.
DX Macro Port base Macro 60mm
Pelican Case
Full bag with, extra housing o-rings, silicone grease, extra Strobes o-rings, Filters, etc
All in perfect conditions, like brand new. Very little use.
Price: 4.500 USD
Edited by josep.triay, 10 June 2012 - 10:30 PM.


text:
Cities near San Francisco
Sleep Over Sauce is not listed as an eco friendly property
Shows, travel, business, or pleasure this is the place. Sleep Over Sauce is a unique, 9 room, boutique inn located in San Franciscos number one shopping and entertainment hub, Hayes Valley. We are located in the center of the city, in one of San Franciscos most lively neighborhoods. With the shopping in Hayes Valley, the shows and events in the Civic Center, and only a short walk to both the Castro and the Haight Ashbury districts, Sleep Over Sauce is truly in the heart of the action. The name, Sleep Over Sauce, comes from the location over the top of our award winning restaurant Sauce. Nate, Trip, and Matt Hosley, along with Chef Ben Paula opened Sauce Restaurant in 2004. In 2009, we were offered the chance to extend our hospitality to the fantastic space upstairs. Sleep Over Sauce is a modern city inn and the bar at Sauce is the heart of our operation, serving as our front desk for most of the day. Sleep Over Sauce has 9 rooms which can be rented individually like a traditional hotel. Most of our rooms have private bathrooms and we have a variety of room configurations, every room has at least a queen size bed, all are stocked with high quality oversized bedding and plush bamboo, Egyptian cotton blend towels for your comfort. Do you have a large group or family event in SF. Sleep Over Sauce is a fantastic home base. Whatever the occasion, we are always happy to host. With 10 beds in 9 rooms we can easily sleep 20. The common area, great room, can be transformed into a meeting space, living room, dining area, or whatever you want it to be during your stay. We can cater meals and room service from Sauce or host small parties or even larger dinners downstairs in the private dining room. Our restaurant is open from 5pm2am daily and we serve dinner until at least midnight. Sleep Over Sauce is a great place to call home while in the city, we are always happy to cater to your needs. Front desk is available 12pm-2am. .
map this


text:
Social Networks
Driven by a new wave social applications like Facebook and Twitter, social networking took only three to four years to reach a mass audience, says Kurzweil. "Innovation is happening faster and faster, and what is driving that is the exponential growth of information technology, which is extraordinarily predictable and uniform," says Kurzweil. Of course, timing is key in exponential progression. "Why didn't social networks take off until about before four years ago?" asked Kurzweil. "Is it because [Facebook Co-Founder Chairman and CEO] Mark Zuckerberg or his equivalent didn't come around? No, it just was not cost effective."


text:
Some time ago, MZone reader JR sent us a link to the MySpace profile of a Buckeye fan who calls herself "Jessi the Flexi." However, as much as we wanted to, we couldn't see the other pictures, etc. on the profile because we weren't signed up for MySpace.
Until now.
Because as you probably know, Benny and I finally got around to signing up for MySpace last week.
And we remembered JR's email. And we checked out the rest of Jessi's pictures. And we're glad we did.
So why would a couple of self-respecting Michigan bloggers be so interested in seeing more photos of a Buckeye fan? Well, I think to answer that question, it helps to understand why she calls herself "Jessi the Flexi"...
Uh...yeah. Have to admit, it's hard to hate a Buckeye with a pic like that.
And apparently we're not alone as J-Flex has over 4,400 "friends."
Even better, check out the photo montage below of her spelling out "O-H-I-O." Each letter. By herself.
While it's against our religion to say "Go Bucks" here at the MZone, we have no problem giving a very sincere "Go Jessi" after seeing these "flexible" indeed pictures.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Stretchy Buckeye
Posted by Yost at 2:23 AM
Labels: ohio state
6 comments:
- BARman said...
NOW, I'm understanding why you guys got onto MySpace...
- May 21, 2007 3:37 PM
- zen wizard said...
I will settle for the, "I-don't-know-whatever-movie-YOU-wanna-see"-kind of flexible at my age.
- May 21, 2007 4:00 PM
- MGoBlue93 said...
I suppose the Girls Gone Wild guy will get blamed for this one too.
- May 21, 2007 7:42 PM
- bigbluedaddy said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- May 21, 2007 9:10 PM
- Out of Conference said...
That's funny, Zen!
- May 22, 2007 8:38 AM
- Chuck said...
All together now...."I'll dot that i". And how.
- May 22, 2007 2:01 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text: Hello we have a server wich we are going to migrate to pure litespeed , but for now litespeed use apache configuration files which defines ErrorLog/CustomLog . which we can't remove for some reasons question : is it possibel to ignore apache logging directives and disable logging in litespeed for all apache-based virtual hosts? thank you.


text:
May 28, 1933 - March 14, 2013
New Windsor, NY
Elizabeth A. (Betty) Wright of New Windsor, a retired secretary for St. Francis Church Newburgh passed away on Thursday March 14, 2013 at St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital. She was 79. The daughter of the late Raymond and Anna Dabroski Pushman, Betty was born on May 28, 1933 in Cornwall, NY. Betty loved to crochet; she was a craft vendor at St. Charles church in Gardner and Pine Bush firehouse.
Betty is survived by her husband, Ronald J. Wright at home; one daughter, JoAnn Deyo and her husband, Michael of Cornwall, three grandchildren: Heather Howard and her husband, Seth, Joseph Kinsley and his wife, Jennifer, Kyle Wright and his fiance , Nicole; three great grandchildren: Colin and Rilee Kinsley, and Emily Wright; one sister, Anna Craig of New Windsor. In addition to her parents, Betty is predeceased by one son, Ronald Wright Jr.
Visitation will be Monday, March 18th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hudson Valley Funeral Home Inc., 239 Quassaick Ave. (Rte. 94), New Windsor; funeral services will follow the visitation at 8 p.m. in the funeral home. Cremation will take place at Cedar Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of one's choice.
Funeral arrangements are under the care of Anthony V. Cracolici of the Hudson Valley Funeral Home, Inc. 845-562-4411.


text:
UH Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence Receives $4.6 Million NIH Endowment
Award will help research into health disparities among Native HawaiiansUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence
The Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence (NHCOE) has been awarded a $4.6 million dollar endowment from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NHCOE is part of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
The NHCOE plans to use the award to research health disparities among Native Hawaiians. The center's research capabilities have been limited due to the lack of actual research programs, and the endowment award will help in this area by supporting a full-time research director. The research director will work to seek grants; oversee research projects of medical students, residents in training, and junior faculty; and also coordinate research among community agencies and groups.
The center's mission is to improve the health of Hawaiians through research, education, service and training of Native Hawaiians in medicine. It was established in 1991 with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, of the 2,500 practicing physicians in Hawaiʻi, only 5.5 percent are Native Hawaiian, while roughly 20 percent of Hawaiʻi's population is Native Hawaiian.
The main goals of NHCOE are to recruit students who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine, increase retention efforts, develop Native Hawaiian physicians for faculty roles, broaden the curriculum so that it encompasses Native Hawaiian health issues, and research those health care issues so that they apply to the population. Officials have seen progress made since the center's establishment, with not only an improved awareness amongst JABSOM faculty but also an increased appreciation of the impact of diseases on the Native Hawaiian population.
The NHCOE participates in several activities to promote awareness and education of Native Hawaiian health issues. The center sponsors an annual trek to Kahoʻolawe where participants learn about the history of Hawaiʻi, historical sites, and cultural values. It also coordinates several conferences each year, primarily for physicians, including the "Lost Generations of Hawaiians," which is the most recent conference held this past August. Such conferences increase community involvement and build support for the NHCOE in its attempts to better the Native Hawaiian culture.
The center also produces two publications, "Pacific Health Dialog" and a yearly calendar,that provide additional information including historical anecdotes and discussion on major issues.
For more information about the center or Native Hawaiian health issues, log onto www.hawaii.edu/nhcoe/newsletter.html.


text:
Fuzzy Logic in Perl
The Perl Journal June 2003
By Ala Qumsieh
Ala works at NVidia Corp. as a physical ASIC designer. He can be reached at [email protected]
Everyone has heard about how Fuzzy Logic (FL) is being used in many real-life applications such as traffic signal controls, automobile transmission control, cancer diagnosis, dam gate control for hydroelectric power plants, and elevator control. This article will show you how this is done, and will describe a new Perl module, AI::FuzzyInference, that allows you to write Perl programs that use Fuzzy Logic to make rational decisions.
In order to understand how the module works, it is helpful to know some of the theory behind Fuzzy Logic. What follows is a brief introduction to Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy Inference Systems. A more detailed introduction can be found in an excellent tutorial by Jerry Mendel (http://sipi.usc.edu/~mendel/publications/ FLS_Engr_Tutorial_Errata.pdf). Please note that multiple terminologies exist to describe the same thing. What I will use might differ from that in the aforementioned tutorial.
Fuzzy Logic
Fuzzy Logic is an extension of regular two-valued logic that was developed by Lotfi Zadeh (L.A. Zadeh, "Fuzzy sets," Information and Control, vol. 8, pp. 338-353, 1965). In regular set theory, an element x either belongs to a set S, or it does not belong. For example, the element apple belongs to the set Fruits, but does not belong to the set Vegetables. We say that the element apple is a "member" of the set Fruits.
Problems start to arise when membership is not as easily determined. Consider, for example, the set of Round Objects. Is our apple a member of this set? Well, it depends on how round the apple is. In everyday life, we say "The apple is almost round." In order to take account of adverbs such as almost, sort of, and approximately, Zadeh extended regular set theory to allow for partial degrees of membership (DOM). This way, we can postulate that the degree of membership of our apple in the set of Round Objects is 0.8, while a pear's degree of membership is only 0.4, and that of a banana is 0.
Many people confuse fuzzy logic and probability. Although they look similar, they are completely different. As an example, consider two bottles filled with unknown liquids. The contents of bottle A have a probability of 0.9 of being a member of the set Toxic Liquids. The contents of bottle B have a fuzzy degree of membership of 0.9 in that same set. If I had to drink from one, I would choose bottle A because one time out of ten, the contents will not be toxic. Bottle B will always kill me because its contents are highly toxic (nine parts poison and one part water, say). Probability gives you the likelihood of the liquid being toxic. Fuzzy logic tells you how toxic it is.
Term Sets
It is very useful to be able to graphically depict what all this means. To do that, let's take another example. Let's try to categorize people based on their height. We can do so by defining three sets: Short, Average, and Tall. In FL, these three sets are called Term Sets of the variable Height, which is referred to as a "Linguistic Variable." Linguistic variables are variables that do not have defined numerical values, but are described by words or sentences. A 6' man is of average height, and a 6' woman is rather tall.
Let's define Average height as 6'. So, a 6' person has DOMaverage of 1. We can expect that for people progressively shorter than that, their DOM will be progressively smaller. Similarly for taller people. If we plot a graph of height versus DOM, it might look like Figure 1. This triangular shape of term sets is typical of Fuzzy Logic, and is mainly chosen for convenience. Other representations are possible, such as a bell-curve or Gaussian, but then computation becomes much more difficult. Corresponding term sets for Short and Tall can be similarly determined. Furthermore, term sets can overlap. A 6'3" person has DOM of 0.3 in the Average set, and a DOM of 0.6 in the Tall set.
An important thing to note here is that degrees of membership are highly dependent on the problem being investigated. For an average person, a 6'5" person is tall, but for the set of Basketball Players, such a person is of average height. Thus, in different contexts, the same term sets might have different shapes (thinner or fatter), and can shift and overlap by different degrees.
Set Theoretic Operations
In regular set theory, sets can be combined and manipulated using the logical operations of union, intersection, and complement. The same operations are extended to handle fuzzy sets in the following manner:
Union: The union C of two sets A and B is the maximum of the two sets. This means that for every element x, DOMC(x)= max(DOMA(x), DOMB(x)).
Intersection: The intersection C of two sets A and B is the minimum of the two sets. This means that for every element x, DOMC(x)=min(DOMA(x), DOMB(x)).
Complement: The complement C of a set A is defined as 1-A. So, for every element x, DOMC(x)=1-DOMA(x).
Note that in the case of two-valued logic, those definitions collapse to their binary counterparts: OR, AND, and NOT, respectively. Another important thing to note here is that those are not the only definitions for the fuzzy set theoretic operations. We are free to choose any definition as long as it reduces to the binary form in the case of two-valued logic. As a matter of fact, Zadeh's original definitions were:
Union: DOMA(x)+DOMB(x)-DOMA(x)DOMB(x)
Intersection: DOMA(x)DOMB(x)
Complement: 1-DOMA(x)
Other interpretations also exist.
Fuzzy Inference
Now we have just enough background to describe a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS). An FIS is a system that has a number of input variables and a number of output variables. Those variables are described by a number of term sets, and are related to each other via fuzzy rules. For example, a system with input variables QualityOfFood and QualityOfService, and output variable AmountOfTip might have the following rule:
If QualityOfFood is good AND QualityOfService is bad THEN AmountOfTip is small
The IF part is called the "precedent" while the THEN part is called the "consequent." Other rules can be defined for the remaining scenarios. For each variable (both input and output), term sets must be defined that span the whole universe of discourse of the variable, which is the range of possible values that the variable can take.
Now, given numerical values for its input variables, an FIS will use the fuzzy rules to compute a crisp numerical value for each of the output variables. This operation can be broken into four distinct steps.
In this step, the values of the input variables are used to compute their degrees of membership into each term set. This is simply done by drawing a vertical line on the graph of each term set at the input variable's value, and noting where it intersects the graph. For example, if QualifyOfFood==0.6, then we calculate:
DOMqof_bad(0.6) = 0
DOMqof_good(0.6) = 0.9
DOMqof_excellent(0.6) = 0.2
and if QualityOfService == 0.3, then we calculate:
DOMqos_bad(0.3) = 0.7
DOMqos_good(0.3) = 0.2
DOMqos_excellent(0.3) = 0
Now, we examine all the defined rules, and for each rule, we compute a degree of support, which indicates the firing strength of that rule. This is done by looking at the precedent of the rule, and using fuzzy logic operations to combine the values of all its constituent parts to produce a single number. So, for the rule:
If QualityOfFood is good AND QualityOfService is bad THEN AmountOfTip is small
Degree of support will be 0.9 AND 0.7=min(0.9, 0.7)=0.7. This value is then used to implicate the term set small of the variable AmountOfTip. Implication modifies the shape of the term set. There are various methods, but the two most popular ones are scaling and clipping. In scaling, the whole term set is multiplied by the degree of support (0.7, in this case) to yield another term set. In clipping, the term set is clipped at the degree of support value to yield a trapezoidal term set.
In this step, all the implicated fuzzy term sets of the output variable are combined using fuzzy logic operations to yield one fuzzy set. For our SizeOfTip variable, this means that its three implicated term sets (corresponding to the original Big, Average, and Small term sets) will be combined to create one big set. A simple way to do that would be to take the maximum of the three sets at each point (see Figure 2).
Finally, the aggregated term set of the last step is used to compute a single crisp value for our output variable. The most widely used method is to take the centroid of the term set as its crisp value. Other methods are possible including taking the maximum value, or the average of the peaks.
We can see here that if a rule is not satisfied very well, then its degree of support will be close to 0. This, then, will implicate its term set by a large amount, reducing the contribution of this rule to the aggregated fuzzy set. This will, in turn, reduce its effect on the computed values of the output variables.
Systems with multiple output variables can be treated as multiple systems, each with a single output variable.
Getting and Installing the Module
You can grab a copy of AI::FuzzyInference from your local CPAN mirror at http://search.cpan.org/author/aqumsieh. The latest version, as of this writing, is 0.03. You can install it using the traditional method:
perl Makefile.PL make make test make install
If you're on Windows, you can simply type "ppm install AI::FuzzyInference" at a command prompt. Alternatively, since it's all in pure Perl, you can unpack it in any place where perl will find it.
An Example: Balancing Act
Armed with our knowledge of FL and FIS's, we can now proceed to use AI::FuzzyInference in an example. Let's assume we have a solid horizontal 10-meter-long rod hinged exactly in its middle, with a ball placed on top of it. Furthermore, let's simplify things by assuming our world is two-dimensional, so we won't worry about the z-axis. We would like to be able to control our rod so as to balance the ball on it, and prevent it from falling off.
First, we have to create our AI::FuzzyInference object. That's easy since the constructor takes no arguments:
use AI::FuzzyInference my $fis = new AI::FuzzyInference;
Now, we have to define our input and output variables. We need variables to capture the states of the ball and the rod. For the ball, we define two variables: $velBall and $posBall. $velBall specifies the current velocity of the ball, where negative values indicate motion to the left. $posBall indicates the current position of the ball on the rod with 0 being the center of the rod and positive values to the right. Those will be our input variables. For the rod, we define a variable $thRod that is the angle the rod currently makes with the x-axis, where positive values indicate clockwise displacement. This is our output variable. This means that the angle that the rod makes with the horizontal is a function of the velocity and position of the ball.
To complete our variable definitions, we have to define the term sets associated with them. Those will be as defined in Figure 3. The way you pass this information to the AI::FuzzyInference object is as follows:
$fis->inVar(posBall => -5, 5, far_left => [-4, 1, -2, 0], left => [-4, 0, -2, 1, 0, 0], center => [-2, 0, 0, 1, 2, 0], right => [0, 0, 2, 1, 4, 0], far_right => [2, 0, 4, 1], );
The first argument of the inVar() method is the name of the input variable. The next two arguments define the limits of the values the variable can take (aka, the universe of discourse). The rest of the arguments are key-value pairs that define each term set along with its coordinates. Those coordinates are simply lists of x, y values. Successive points are connected together by a straight line. If the given coordinates of a term set do not span the whole universe of discourse, then AI::FuzzyInference will automatically extrapolate, by extending the first and last points horizontally, to complete the definition.
Similarly, we define our other input variable, $velBall. Our output variable, $thRod, is defined using the outVar() method, which has the exact same arguments as inVar().
The next step is to define the rules. Here, we use our common sense to decide what to do in each scenario in order to keep the ball on the rod. One rule can be:
If $posBall is far_left AND # ball is close to left edge of rod
$velBall is slow AND # ball almost stationary
THEN $thRod is medium_pos # lower the right edge by small # amount
In general, if all input variables have the same number of term sets, the number of possible rules is TSVARS where TS is the number of term sets for each variable, and VARS is the number of input variables. We use the method addRule() to define our rules. So, for the rule declared above, we write:
$fis->addRule( 'position = far_left & velocity = slow' => 'thRod = medium_pos', );
The arguments of addRule() are key-value pairs. We can define multiple rules in the same call to addRule(), or in multiple calls. The key of each pair is the precedent string, and the value is the consequent string. Spaces are completely optional and will be ignored. Each precedent and consequent string is composed of variable = term_set. Multiple precedents are combined using & and | for AND and OR, respectively. The equality can be reversed by using the ! symbol, such as position = !far_left.
We round off our program with a subroutine, calcNewData(), which calculates the position and velocity of the ball after one time step has elapsed. And that is itwe are now ready to relinquish control of the rod to our FIS. In each time step, we calculate the current position and velocity of the ball, and we pass them on to our FIS, which will spit out a new value for the angle of the rod. We do this by using the compute() method, which takes as input key value-pairs where the keys are the input variable names, and the values are the corresponding numerical values:
$fis->compute(posBall => 0.9, #current ball position velBall => -1.5, #current ball speed );
This is the procedure that does all the work going through the Fuzzification -> Inference -> Aggregation -> Defuzzification loop. After that, the value() method is used to get the newly computed value for the output variable thRod:
$thRod = $fis->value('thRod');
Then we loop back to the next time step. To better visualize this, the Perl program uses Tk to draw the rod with the ball balanced on top of it at each time step.
Running the program from random initial conditions, we can observe the behavior shown in Figure 4. The x-axis is time, and the y-axis is the position of the ball on the rod. As we would expect, the ball oscillates from one side to the other as our system struggles to control it. As the system gains more control of the ball, the oscillations die down.
Concluding Remarks
Rules. You do not have to define rules for ALL possible combinations of input variables. Any rule you do not define will not produce any change in the system when its associated scenario is encountered. Having said that, it is useful to specify as many rules as possible, since this will constrain your system more. In our case, we specify all the rules (see Listing 1; also available for download at http://www.tpj.com/source/), which enhances our chances of controlling the ball. Removing some rules might cause more oscillation before the ball stops, or even prevent the system from controlling the ball altogether.
Moreover, choosing the correct response for every combination of input variables might not be a very easy thing to do in itself. One problem is that those rules are not set in stone. So, what constitutes common sense to one person might be considered ridiculous to another. Another problem is the sheer number of rules needed as the number of variables increases. This easily becomes the case if we have four or five input variables or more. Therefore, most people design their FISs with the smallest number of input variables possible to keep things under control. Of course, this hasn't deterred other researchers from using various techniques and heuristics to tackle such problems. Some interesting approaches use evolutionary and biologically inspired techniques such as neural networks and genetic algorithms to make the system "evolve" and "learn" its own rules. But this is a topic for another article.
Variables. In this example, I chose a relatively simple system where the output is a function of only two variables. Some systems are even simpler and contain just a single input variable. Indeed, in our case, we could find rules that define the angle of the rod in terms of the ball's position only. Conversely, some systems are much more complicated. Initially, I designed the system to have three input variables: ball position, ball speed, and rod angle. The output variable was the change in the angle of the rod. I opted for the simpler version (yet not too simple) to avoid unnecessary complications. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who uses AI::FuzzyInference to design a system with more than two variables.
The AI::FuzzyInference Module
Finally, keep in mind that the module does not have too many checks integrated yet. So, if in your rules you use term sets or variables that are not defined (due to a typo for example), then the module will not warn you, and you might get "use of uninitialized value" warnings. Please check your code before you send in those bug reports :) Comments and suggestions regarding the module are greatly appreciated.
Listing 1
#!perl -w use strict; use Tk; use Tk::LabEntry; use AI::FuzzyInference; use constant PI => 3.1415927; use constant G => 9.81; my $halfLenRod = 5; my $timeStep = 0.05; my $thRod; # between -30 and 30 degrees. my $velBall; # ball's velocity. From -15 .. 15 m/s my $posBall; # ball's position. From -5 .. 5 m my $time = 0; # initialize. $thRod = -10; $velBall = -2; $posBall = 4; # create the FIS. my $fis = new AI::FuzzyInference; # define the input variables. $fis->inVar(posBall => -5, 5, far_left => [-4, 1, -2, 0], left => [-4, 0, -2, 1, 0, 0], center => [-2, 0, 0, 1, 2, 0], right => [0, 0, 2, 1, 4, 0], far_right => [2, 0, 4, 1], ); $fis->inVar(velBall => -15, 15, fast_neg => [-9, 1, -3, 0], medium_neg => [-9, 0, -3, 1, 0, 0], slow => [-3, 0, 0, 1, 3, 0], medium_pos => [0, 0, 3, 1, 9, 0], fast_pos => [3, 0, 9, 1], ); # define the output variable. $fis->outVar(thRod => -30, 30, large_neg => [-20, 1, -10, 0], medium_neg => [-20, 0, -10, 1, 0, 0], small => [-10, 0, 0, 1, 10, 0], medium_pos => [0, 0, 10, 1, 20, 0], large_pos => [10, 0, 20, 1], ); # now define the rules. $fis->addRule( 'posBall=far_left & velBall=fast_neg' => 'thRod=large_pos', 'posBall=far_left & velBall=medium_neg' => 'thRod=large_pos', 'posBall=far_left & velBall=slow' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=far_left & velBall=medium_pos' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=far_left & velBall=fast_pos' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=left & velBall=fast_neg' => 'thRod=large_pos', 'posBall=left & velBall=medium_neg' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=left & velBall=slow' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=left & velBall=medium_pos' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=left & velBall=fast_pos' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=center & velBall=fast_neg' => 'thRod=large_pos', 'posBall=center & velBall=medium_neg' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=center & velBall=slow' => 'thRod=small', 'posBall=center & velBall=medium_pos' => 'thRod=medium_neg', 'posBall=center & velBall=fast_pos' => 'thRod=large_neg', 'posBall=right & velBall=fast_neg' => 'thRod=medium_neg', 'posBall=right & velBall=medium_neg' => 'thRod=medium_neg', 'posBall=right & velBall=slow' => 'thRod=medium_neg', 'posBall=right & velBall=medium_pos' => 'thRod=medium_neg', 'posBall=right & velBall=fast_pos' => 'thRod=large_neg', 'posBall=far_right & velBall=fast_neg' => 'thRod=medium_pos', 'posBall=far_right & velBall=medium_neg' => 'thRod=medium_neg', 'posBall=far_right & velBall=slow' => 'thRod=medium_neg', 'posBall=far_right & velBall=medium_pos' => 'thRod=large_neg', 'posBall=far_right & velBall=fast_pos' => 'thRod=large_neg', ); drawGUI(); MainLoop; # this subroutine calculates the new values of the ball's position # and velocity after a period of time $timeStep. # Friction is not modeled. sub calcNewData { my $acc = G * sin ($thRod * PI / 180); my $Vnew = $velBall + $acc * $timeStep; my $dist = $velBall * $timeStep + 0.5 * $acc * $timeStep * $timeStep; $velBall = $Vnew; $posBall += $dist; $velBall = 15 if $velBall > 15; $velBall = -15 if $velBall < -15; $time += $timeStep; } # This sub draws the gui. sub drawGUI { my $mw = new MainWindow; my $canvas = $mw->Canvas(qw/-bg black -height 400 -width 600/)->pack; $canvas->createLine(0, 0, 0, 0, qw/-width 2 -fill white -tags ROD/); $canvas->createOval(0, 0, 50, 50, qw/-fill green -tags BALL/); my $f = $mw->Frame->pack(qw/-fill x/); my $dth; $f->Button(-text => 'run', -command => sub { my $id; $id = $canvas->repeat(100 => sub { # update the ball's data. calcNewData(); # check for termination conditions. # stop if ball is almost stationary and the rod # is almost flat. if (abs($velBall) < 0.005 && abs($thRod) < 0.001) { print "Simulation ended.\n"; $canvas->afterCancel($id); return; } # stop if ball fell off the rod. if ($posBall > $halfLenRod or $posBall < -$halfLenRod) { print "Ball fell off the rod!\n"; $canvas->afterCancel($id); return; } # compute the new angle of the rod. $fis->compute(posBall => $posBall, velBall => $velBall); $thRod = $fis->value('thRod'); # update our drawing. updateCanvas($canvas); }); })->pack(qw/side left -ipadx 10/); $f->LabEntry(-label => 'Ball Pos', -textvariable => \$posBall, )->pack(qw/-side left -padx 10/); $f->LabEntry(-label => 'Ball Speed', -textvariable => \$velBall, )->pack(qw/-side left -padx 10/); $f->LabEntry(-label => 'Rod Angle', -textvariable => \$thRod, )->pack(qw/-side left -padx 10/); updateCanvas($canvas); } # This subroutine draws the rod at its current angle, and # the ball at its current position. sub updateCanvas { my $c = shift; my $ly = 200; my $dy = int(40 * $halfLenRod * tan(PI * $thRod / 180)); $c->coords(ROD => 100, $ly - $dy, 500, $ly + $dy); my $by = 150 + $posBall * $dy / $halfLenRod; my $bx = 100 + (5 + $posBall) * 40; $c->coords(BALL => $bx - 25, $by, $bx + 25, $by + 50); } # tangent sub. sub tan { sin($_[0]) / cos($_[0]) }