text:
Or that can playing something other than pentatonic scales!
Or that can playing something other than pentatonic scales!
If noatkl can make interesting music on my macbook, then this robot ought to be able to do something besides mess around on the black keys.
What do you mean? I thought those American Idol "hits" are already cranked out by some machine? I mean, it's not like these run-off-the-mill songs need any thought to be created.
You've likely never heard anything quite like the robot's latest heartwarming masterpiece, Ode To Data Integrity. Certainly a worthy follow up to classic spoken-word lounge room hit, Destroy All Humans.
I'm sure you're as shocked as somebody who sits at the patent office and says that nothing else original can ever be invented. Do yourself a favour and stop being dramatic.
Yes. Of course, 99% is derivative work, following the same accords and harmonies that have been (ab)used thousands if not million times before. But once in a blue moon, some (true) artist comes up with a new idea, a new way to arrange notes to create a new kind of music. It takes a lot of time between such events, but if you look back a century (or half a century) you will notice that music did and does evolve.
Usually, today, when you hear something in mainstream music, it's already been done before, I give
I salute you, Robot!
Dear Humans,
We no longer require musicians, please ensure they vacate the earth within the next 24 hours.
The Robots
The Robots are gonna be pissed when they find out we always mod their threats as "funny"
They also have one that plays the trumpet: http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/special/robot/ [toyota.co.jp]
And backup dancers.
And a singer too: http://youtube.com/watch?v=57zsMfuTk1U [youtube.com]
Bah [youtube.com]!
nicely done. I like how it sort of did that "swaying" thing that violinists do as they play, "throwing themselves into the music" so to speak. Gave it a MUCH more realistic feel.
Though with all the lip-syncing going on these days, (even at the Olympics [youtube.com], I have to have a slight suspicion that the performance wasn't "live" from the violin. They could have easily rigged it to not make a sound and simply play the sound out a hidden speaker on the 'bot. But that's just my pessimistic nature.
And it didn't even fall down any stairs or anything either, that was a plus.
They should be able to tell where the sound comes from.
That was my initial thought also. But then I realized, they could easily have a speaker IN the violin. It never even came out of its hand. I'd have liked to see them play a few chords on it and then place it in its hand to take over, but I'd bet money that violin was bolted to his hand.
I'll be impressed when it sounds better than a mediocre high-school orchestra player. I was actually surprised at how poor of a performance it gave--the idea is neat, but I expected them to have something more polished before putting it in front of an audience.
You're just demonstrating your ignorance. You do realize that even getting to this stage is a feat in engineering, right? Or that playing a musical instrument is a highly complex motor skill, and that you were just shown an artificial intelligence that can do it, right? Your metric is completely unrealistic - have you ever tried playing violin? It's not easy. The metric should be how much *better* it is than an unskilled player, rather than how much *worse* it is than a skilled player.
Expecting them to have something more polished is like saying "Meh, people went to the moon. I expected them to go to Mars."
All I'm saying is that I'm not impressed by the performance. The tech is cool but they should have gone with an instrument where you can get away with less nuance, like a guitar or piano perhaps. The violin like all bowed instruments is very unforgiving when it comes to technique. Contrast the violin with their trumpet-playing robot [youtube.com] to see what I mean. That performance is technically very good whereas the violin playing is not.
Also, it's not AI and I am very aware of what goes into playing an instrument
I agree that it was real. It had no "soul" to the playing, it was just mechanically accurate (ie: very average high school violinist), but still a stunning engineering feat. The swaying and such did make him look more human. While I don't expect a robot to ever have the finess of a human player (although it can be programmed to COPY a version), it was still very, very impressive.
I'm not a musician of any kind so please excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is "soul" in this context? I've heard it mentioned numerous times, but never really defined. Does the music have no soul because it is technically accurate, or is that just a side note? Is a certain amount of carefully planned imperfection needed? Couldn't you program such imperfection into this robot?
"Soul" is the minor imperfections that give music character and make the same piece unique from one musician to another. As an example: One of the tricks of using digital drums and making them sound like someone is sitting at a drum set is to mess with the quantizing a bit, randomize the beats by a measure of just a few microseconds so they are in time, but not PERFECT time. You might even put in very tiny errors that don't distract from the rhythm. No real drummer is "perfect", and drums that are perfect sound fake and mechanical, even if the tones are perfectly sampled.
Same with any other instrument, but more so as you not only vary the execution of each note in a micro level, but also the dynamics (how loud, how soft a note is). Good violin playing will be more dynamic, with musician playing more aggressive in "busy" parts, and playing with a lighter touch in other places. It varies more than just the overall volume level, as playing harder and more aggressive on strings changes the entire tonal characteristics (ie: slightly more higher pitched harmonics for starters.) There was other things missing, such as no vibrato in any of the sustained notes (vibrating slightly up and down in pitch on a sustained note to give it depth).
I was a musician for most of my life, playing primarily blues guitar, and while I can *show* you easily, I'm not the best at explaining it. Hope this helps answer a very valid question.
Thanks, this did help a lot.
And outside the world of ABX testing, "soul" is also the human need to anthropomorphize the musician. You could have a perfect CD or a "soulified" CD made by computers and it'd never provoke the same feelings as live music does. You can gather 10000 people to listen to a band but just to play the songs from CD and watch a video of the stage show? If you asked a robot he'd tell you the sensory input was 99.9% the same, if you ask people they'd tell you it was 1% of the experience. Sure, right now it got a li
...going to a robot concert will be exactly like listening to a CD, the robot doesn't know you're there, doesn't care and doesn't feel the music even if plays (im)perfectly like a human.
Two objections: first, plenty of people enjoy listening to CDs recorded by real musicians, and the music sounds full of "soul" to them. Yet a CD is just a bunch of 1s and 0s, a perfect (enough) mechanical reproduction of a human performance. If you can build a robot that can mechanically duplicate a human performance, then a recording of the robot will sound basically the same as a recording of the human.
Second, microphones and speakers cannot reproduce the sound of live instruments. There's a huge dif
You are correct that live sound is far superior to recorded sound in both dynamics and in tone, but once you are there, there is more to the experience than "listening", just as there is more to live performance than playing a predetermined number of notes. Sitting in an audience listening to robots play instruments would just be boring, even if the sound was great. We can't identify with them, we don't want to be like them. When I watched Stevie Ray Vaughn live in concert, the performance *was* better t
You can program a robot to make random changes, but that isn't the same. A human doesn't try to make random errors, they put "expression" into it. My explanation of it being random variations is only a technical and quantifiable outcome. A trained musician could easily tell the robot's playing versus a humans because the variations wouldn't be within the normal expression of music, and would be just random. Just as a good musician can usually pick out digital drums in a mix. No matter how much you rand
I would go a bit further and say that there is something else than can be explained as "soul". All music evokes a flowing change of emotions from one phrase to the next. How those emotions are felt, experienced and anticipated by the player also dictates how subsequent notes are articulated and played. This also is different from musician to musician and depending on mood, it could be different each time the piece is played.
Mood and emotion are of course current shortcomings of robots so it's playing will b
My explanation was very mechanical as well, explaining the 'physical' differences that can be quantified, but you are correct that emotion is what causes these variations, and emotion is the soul. The variations are only the outcome. Robots will be able to COPY a passionate performance, but never create one, and even then there are nuances that are difficult to capture, kind of like what you miss when you switch from vinyl to CD. Yes, you get clarity and accuracy but at the loss of dynamic range and tone
Yea, just like we will have voice recognition software for everything in 5 to 10 years, 10 years ago. Getting it 90% right is easy, getting that last 10% that really makes a difference is exponentially difficult to a trained ear.
I thought the robot was using vibrato. With drumming, more than messing with the timing I'd simply modify the dynamics as you say, and also the pitch of the note to correspond to the dynamics. I was listening to Darwin Deez recently and even though he obviously uses a drum machine, it sounds okay simply using slightly different pitches for the snare each time.
As someone who both plays instruments and has had a lot of fun in the past trying to simulate human imperfection in FPS bots in the past, I think it w
There was only one problem, while the Toyota robot performed quite well, they couldn't get him to stop....
Great, robots are vulnerable to solar flares too?
Was he playing faster and faster?
Was he playing faster and faster?
If only they had painted him black he could have joined a metal band.
Wont be long now before Toyota renames to Skynet.
Or whatever it's called it in Animatrix. Who knew both problems could have
been easily avoided with a simple working Stop command.
Matrix and Terminator and movies could have been so much shorter,
Humans "Stop!"
Toyota Kill-All-The-Humans Robot "Stop completed."
When it gets the accelerator stuck, it plays "When the Devil Went Down to Georgia" on a golden violin in robot hell.
That robots can do very gentle moves is already known and not really that revolutionary. We have had machines that produce complex or fragile products for a long time.
What a robot/android needs to be capable of is to do these actions on its own, in the right circumstance and adjusted to the environment.
So, can this robot be programmed to perform an X amount of moves that result in a musical performance (an animatronic) or can it be fed a piece of music and then play it on its own? Can it be told to go to room X and perform for patient Y the music that patient requests?
Animatronics have long been capable of producing very life like results, but nobody is about to suggest that Jim Henson/ILM are the future of robots/androids.
Yes, for a while these kind of performances served a purpose as it was very hard for early robotics to produce gentle movements. But we have solved the problem of the robot arm not crushing a human being, the AI element is what is lacking. We have the capacity to have a robot pick up an egg, but no robot so far can do it on its own so far.
Nice performance, but I like to know how much of it is a robot, and how much a animatronic. Anyone got the answer?
Yes, for a while these kind of performances served a purpose as it was very hard for early robotics to produce gentle movements. But we have solved the problem of the robot arm not crushing a human being, the AI element is what is lacking. We have the capacity to have a robot pick up an egg, but no robot so far can do it on its own so far.
Unfortunately, producing synthetic equivalents to bone, muscle and nerve are trivial compared to reproducing in silico the arrangements of the latter that have given rise to vision, spatial acuity and object recognition etc. Humans are the only animals that can play the violin (well) so you're left with the choice of making something dumb that can only play the violin or something roughly as smart as we are that can do many other useful things (perhaps even think?). We're talking about recreating a few hund
So, can this robot be programmed to perform an X amount of moves that result in a musical performance (an animatronic) or can it be fed a piece of music and then play it on its own? Can it be told to go to room X and perform for patient Y the music that patient requests?
This is exactly what I want to know. How exactly would this compare to a player piano [wikipedia.org]? Exactly how abstract can the input to this robot be?
What a robot/android needs to be capable of is to do these actions on its own, in the right circumstance
There is no universally agreed upon definition of robot. By all accounts, a remote-controlled device of any shape is called a robot, and devices that only perform preprogrammed moves at an assembly lines are called robots.
We all WANT autonomous, aware robots, but devices don't need to be autonomous to be robots. Granted, this ambiguity of language is inconvenient, but ignoring it isn't going to make it go away.
The robot was playing the violin and the crowd was clapping. The crowd was wowing and cheering, but the player did not understand or even know about this.
Question: was the robot just performing pre-programmed moves, was it really playing as if from notes and did it rely on its hearing to compensate for the sound at all?
The robot was playing the violin and the crowd was clapping. The crowd was wowing and cheering, but the player did not understand or even know about this.
If I were there, I would have applauded - not for the benefit of the robot, but for its creators, who have demonstrated a remarkable achievement. Clearly, there's more work to do, but I am very impressed with what they've accomplished so far.
Question: was the robot just performing pre-programmed moves, was it really playing as if from notes and did it rely on its hearing to compensate for the sound at all?
Those are good questions.
Question: was the robot just performing pre-programmed moves
Question: Why would not assume that mundane explanation unless given extraordinary proof of the contrary?
well, they already built a robot, could as well teach it to play from notes, otherwise it would be a very laborious task to get it to play a different piece of music. The hearing part is not extremely difficult, sample the produced sound and compare to an expected sound wave that must be produced from the notes.
There was only one small glitch during the rehearsal when they couldn't get it to stop playing.
Maybe it should have been looking where it was going.
That's nothing new. I saw an entire robot orchestra at House on the Rock 18 years ago!
So what? I saw a bunch of plushies in a jug band at a pizza parlor way before that.
When it can play Flight of the Bumblebee, better than Itzhak Perlman and/or Joshua Bell, then I'll take notice...
Or better still, when it can have new music 'downloaded' into it and interpreted based upon previous styles (such as baroque style)...
When it can play Flight of the Bumblebee
Waseda University has you covered [ieee.org].
http://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics/humanoids/this-robot-toots-its-own-flute [ieee.org]
A great but empty technological achievement.
But I want machines to do the work I hate - the drudgery, the boring stuff. Playing music is a gift, it's fun, it's beautiful. Why bother having a machine do that when it cannot feel the joy? No point at all.
I am a musician with an engineering degree. The latter was a complete waste of time, lo many years ago.
And I saw the Japan Pavillion, which is where the robot performs. The pavillion is divided into three sections. The first shows the clean technologies that are being used in Japan. The second is where the robot performs, along with some other technology demos. The third is a Chinese opera performance about the crested ibis, an endangered bird whose numbers have increased as a result of a joint breeding programme by China and Japan.
The expo will be on until 31 Oct, by the way. But beware the crowds.
... instead of QA'ing their car's control systems!
This is a machine operating a violin. Not a violinist.
Things equal to nothing else are equal to each other.


text:
SAN FRANCISCO — Players don't go on rehab assignments as much as they are exiled. It's not exactly Tom Hanks curling up with a volleyball in "Castaway," but it can be a lonely existence.
Extended spring is the Siberia of office cubicles, games played before a handful of fans on remote back fields. Wednesday, Michael Cuddyer laid the groundwork for the Rockies' victory Friday.
He faced the Angels' Jered Weaver five times in Scottsdale, Ariz., serving as the ideal dress rehearsal for his return to the lineup Friday.
Cuddyer served as a catalytic force, mashing a two-run double and a home run off Tim Lincecum as the Rockies ended their nine-game losing skid at AT&T Park with a 5-0 win.
"You get the monkey off your back. When you get a lead you are not playing to hold on," Cuddyer said. "You play to win."
Given the time, place and the opponent, this is arguably the Rockies' most impressive victory in 2013. The last time they were here in April, the Rockies were nothing more than bugs on the Giants' windshield.
San Francisco, whether they admitted it or not, was in their head. But three straight victories last weekend in Denver changed the psychology of what could turn into a juicy rivalry this summer. Starter Tyler Chatwood (six scoreless innings) and Cuddyer assured that Colorado lost none of its confidence.
Credit Weaver with an assist. The former All-Star Game starter has a similar repertoire to Lincecum, even if he's nearly a foot taller. Both are right-handers who rely on Vulcan changeups and vicious curveballs.
"It should help," Cuddyer said before the game.
Cuddyer barreled a double in his first at-bat, lining a shot down the right-field line. It scored two runs and sent a message that these aren't the same old Rockies who have served as a homecoming opponent at China Basin.
"I was trying to be aggressive and score from first on his hit. It's tough to score here. That ball was hit in a perfect spot," said outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, who hit his 12th home run in the eighth inning. "It was huge for our confidence to get ahead early."
With Lincecum gaining his footing, Cuddyer lashed his eighth home run in the sixth inning, giving the Rockies a four-run lead. It felt larger with Chatwood on the mound. Showing fastball command that was rarely present a year ago, the former UCLA shortstop recruit carved up the Giants. The question afterward wasn't about why he was pitching, but why he didn't go longer.
"I thought about running him back out there (for the seventh). It was a left-handed inning. He had three three-ball counts the inning before. And his spot was up (in the lineup)," manager Walt Weiss explained. "I took all those things into consideration. And Josh (Outman) came in and did an outstanding job."
On a night when Roy Oswalt made his Double-A Tulsa debut, showing he could be a potential upgrade for the rotation in June, Chatwood made a resounding statement. He threw 59 strikes in 88 pitches. He allowed four singles and walked just one. He lowered his ERA to 1.90 in four starts, and has not allowed a run in 12 innings on the road.
"The key is focusing on the glove and not trying to do too much," Chatwood said.
He also benefited from terrific defense. Part of the decision to insert DJ LeMahieu as the starter at second base was to give the Rockies one of their best fielding infields. Nolan Arenado put on a show with three Gold Glove-worthy plays — charging a slow roller, and twice throwing off balance on groundballs to his right.
"He's been huge. It's fun watching him make plays," Cuddyer said. "He made three tonight that were like, 'are you kidding me?'^"
The Rockies have long said they will hit. But if they pitch and play defense like they have this past week, they become extremely dangerous in a wide-open division race.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1294, firstname.lastname@example.com or twitter.com/troyrenck
Rockies' Juan Nicasio (4-1, 4.47 ERA) vs. Giants' Barry Zito (3-3, 3.91),
2:10 p.m. Saturday, ROOT, 850 AM
The Giants' recent dominance over the Rockies featured many layers. Perhaps the most confusing was how Barry Zito had his way with the Rockies even as he slumped against the rest of the league. In their last meeting, the Rockies finally beat Zito for the first time since 2008, a streak spanning 10 games. The left-hander mauled the Rockies in a shutout early this season at AT&T Park. Juan Nicasio looks to build off his best start of the season, which temporarily quieted talk of a demotion. Nicasio showed more trust in his slider and could be paired with catcher Yorvit Torrealba again.
Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Upcoming Pitching Matchups
Sunday: Rockies' Jon Garland (3-5, 5.19 ERA) at Giants' Matt Cain (3-2, 5.12), 2:05 p.m., ROOT
Monday: Rockies' Jhoulys Chacin (3-3, 4.10) at Astros' Bud Norris (4-4, 3.86), 12:10 p.m., ROOT
Tuesday: Rockies' Jorge De La Rosa (6-3, 3.40) at Astros' Jordan Lyles (2-1, 5.40), 12:10 p.m., no TV

subset: commoncrawl


text:
May 7, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn.--The 2008 season has already been an historic one for the Yale women's tennis team. The Bulldogs (11-8, 7-0 Ivy) earned their first Ivy League title since 1989 and first outright conference championship since 1981 by going undefeated in league play for the first time in school history. With a dramatic 4-3 win over Dartmouth in the season finale, Yale clinched its first NCAA Tournament berth. Now the Bulldogs look to continue their historic season with a trip to Athens, Ga., for the first NCAA Tournament match in program history. Yale takes on another set of Bulldogs--the University of Georgia--in the first round on Friday at 4 p.m.
Janet Kim became the first player in Yale history to be named Ivy League Player of the Year. She went 6-1 at No. 1 singles in Ivy League play to earn First Team All-Ivy honors for the third straight year. Kim also earned First Team All-Ivy doubles recognition with partner Jessica Rhee. Kim and Rhee went 6-1 in Ivy play at No. 1 doubles. Rhee went 5-2 in conference at No. 2 singles, while Lindsay Clark was 5-2 at No. 3. They each earned a Second Team All-Ivy nod. Along with Lauren Ritz, Clark was named Second Team All-Ivy doubles. As a team, they went 6-1 during the Ivy League season.
Georgia's Bulldogs (20-4, 9-2 SEC) enter the tournament as the No. 2 overall seed. Georgia won its second straight SEC Tournament with victories over Kentucky, Arkansas and Florida. Georgia's top three singles players are all ranked among the ITA top 100. No. 39 Yvette Hyndman was a First Team All-SEC choice and has an 18-5 dual match record this spring. She will compete in the NCAA singles tournament, as will her sister, No. 58 Kelley Hyndman. Monika Dancevic was also named First Team All-SEC and is ranked No. 48 in doubles with Yvette Hyndman.
Each squad enters the tournament riding an eight-match winning streak. The Yale-Georgia winner will take on either VCU or South Carolina at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the second round. All remaining rounds from the round of 16 through the national championship will be held at the University of Tulsa.
Live video and live scoring from all six courts will be available through Georgia's official website.
Probable Matchups:
No. 1: Janet Kim (Yale) vs. Yvette Hyndman (Georgia)
No. 2: Jessica Rhee (Yale) vs. Kelley Hyndman (Georgia)
No. 3: Lindsay Clark (Yale) vs. Monika Dancevic (Georgia)
No. 4: Sarah Lederhandler (Yale) vs. Naoko Ueshima (Georgia)
No. 5: Stevi Petrelli (Yale) vs. Cameron Ellis (Georgia)
No. 6: Lauren Ritz (Yale) vs. Adrienne Elsberry (Georgia)
No. 1: Kim/Rhee (Yale) vs. Hyndman/Hyndman (Georgia)
No. 2: Clark/Ritz (Yale) vs. Ueshima/Ellis (Georgia)
No. 3: Lindsey Dashiell/Petrelli (Yale) vs. Dancevic/Elsberry (Georgia)
Championship Information:


text:
It is not my intention to disrespect Miley Cyrus, children, parents, oversized teddy bears or MTV employees, but I am thankful to her for twerking in our faces at last week's MTV Video Music Awards.
It is not my intention to disrespect Miley Cyrus, children, parents, oversized teddy bears or MTV employees, but I am thankful to her for twerking in our faces at last week's MTV Video Music Awards.
I can imagine angry eyebrows rising, so please allow me to explain.
Miley's antics started an important conversation. Rather than focusing efforts on the firing of MTV employees, I think moms and dads should be thanking them and Cyrus for a couple of reasons.
First of all, isn't this what they call a "teachable moment?" Shocked and surprised parents never heard of twerking or understand how popular it is until the Cyrus and Thicke twerktastrophe. Thanks to the constant media stream, now we all know about twerking (which she didn't even execute very well). The dance has been around for years and is referenced in dozens of songs that play on the radio.
I learned about twerking last spring when a young woman walked over and asked if I was going to enter the bar's twerking contest. She followed with, "You look like you can twerk." I leaned over to my friend who immediately searched the term on Google and handed me the phone in disgust. Needless to say, we left the bar swiftly, lest we be mistaken for participants in the contest.
Thanks to Miley's performance, two days later, the prestigious Oxford Dictionary decided to officially add the word to the English vocabulary: Twerk: "dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance." I prefer my little cousin's definition, which she says as she demonstrates, "It's when you get down real low and stick your butt out and then shake it from side to side like a stripper." Appalled? Well nothing is worse than the trend of young girls posting twerk videos on YouTube (don't you dare go looking for them, just trust me they are out there). The youngest was age 6.
How can parents blame the MTV Music Awards for defiling their children? We're talking about the same awards show known for pushing the envelope with stunts such as the Britney Spears and Madonna lip-lock, Diana Ross getting fresh with rapper Lil' Kim, Lady Gaga's meat dress, and then there was the time Kanye West snatched the mic from Taylor Swift (or was that the Grammy awards?). Few audience members seemed surprised. Will Smith said the alleged family reaction photo was in response to Lady Gaga, not Cyrus.
Awards shows are forced not only to capture their audience's attention, but to shock people into talking it up on social media. The entertainment business is obsessed with what is trending on Twitter. According to Forbes Magazine (yes, even Forbes talked about the twerkcassion), "Cyrus' performance spurred a massive wave of 306,100 tweets per minute. Put in context, the Super Bowl blackout — thought to be a Twitter frenzy at the time — hit a peak of 231,000 tweets per minute. Election night last year saw a peak of 327,452."
Were most 12- to 20-year-olds shocked by her behavior at the MTV music award? Probably not; they have been watching Cyrus twerk for years.
On the other hand, maybe Cyrus saved parents from naively purchasing her new album "Bangers." But if the little ones beg for it, be forewarned the first few releases seem to be a tribute to a drug called "Molly" and what the 20-year-old glorifies as the life of a stripper.
Parents can't blame Cyrus if they allow their child to download the former Disney star's release, "We Can't Stop," without examining the lyrics to the song. Here is just one stanza.
"To my homegirls here with the big butt
Shaking it like we at a strip club
Remember only God can judge us
Forget the haters 'cause somebody loves ya
And everyone in line in the bathroom
Trying to get a line in the bathroom."
In this tidbit Cyrus talks about body parts, cocaine and you can read the rest (all of which will make the cut for the edited radio version). I would ask for forgiveness exposing readers to this wretchedness, but I hope it disturbs parents enough to have the type of honest conversations I find myself having after listening to my cousin's playlists. Regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic status, I find that youths know the words the popular songs verbatim. They even teach me how to break down my grammar incorrectly, when I try to sing along. I want to be the cooler older cousin, but I also worry that parents are clueless about what their children are exposing themselves to.
I felt a nagging sense of responsibility after listening to playlists on the way to our last cousin's trip. A few weeks ago, I wrote an open letter ending my long-time relationship with hip-hop. But we can't just blame the artist, the entertainment industry, the network or Twitter for creating this monster.
Another Miley Cyrus will show up with a bigger, better gimmick next year. I can't promise this is my last soapbox about music, but I am thankful that Cyrus brought this discussion to our living rooms. Maybe we can't save Miley — she's right, only God can judge her, but she unwittingly brought into our homes candid conversation. I didn't have to be the tattle tale anymore.
When I found out about its popularity, I made my little cousins promise to never twerk in public. So now that we all know what twerking is, can we move on to the next question? "How will we ensure children don't grow up to be like Cyrus in a culture that rewards behavior such as hers?" Rest in peace Hannah Montana.
Antionette Kerr is a freelance writer. You may email her at email@example.com.


text:
|2006-06-12, 19:00
|Link #2
Struggling Artist
Wow, that line roughness is strange... Before I could help you, it might be best for you to provide some more details on your process, like what program, etc. Otherwise, I have no idea how that happened. All my vector art has been done in Adobe Illustrator and I've never run into that particular issue at all.
Aside from the line issues, I'd say its pretty good. The only specific change I'd suggest is to put some more shadows on his face around the hair, it seems odd that it casts no shadow at all.
|2006-06-17, 03:24
|Link #3
another procrastinator
Hey ... I was expecting Ichigo. XD hahah... It's tamaki so it's all good. =)
All vector programs should have the same functions in that any tool you use, it functions using bezier points yeah? Which are usually little cubes and sometimes little circles.
The way you make your lines smoother... is to delete some of these points. Now you'll get a very rigid outline after you do this... but not to worry. The next step is to go around and drag out the anchors so you can make the line smoother than it was before. ^_^
I hope this image helps a bit. But yeah - I'm talking about those little things that stick out of the beziers... play around with them. ^_^
I take it you didn't do this in illustrator because illustrator has an automatic function which makes the lines smoother when you draw them. Not to worry though, the process is all the same. ^^
|2006-06-23, 08:00
|Link #11
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Mar 2006
Age: 31
I assure you, they are all vectors made with Photoshop, and the lines are not thick. Hell, even my avatar is a vector, and it has thin lines.
Ichigo: I'll just comment on your work here instead of Ferricorp
Great job vectoring that girl from Ouran(forgot her name)
My suggestion would be to make great use of ctrl, alt, and shift buttons with the pen-points. If you are able to manipulate them freely, you will get straight, clean lines.
|2006-06-23, 10:20
|Link #13
another procrastinator
heh.. I was wondering why that link was taking so long to load... >.> anime paper... I swear I'd be more active on that site if it weren't so damn slow to load. *grump*
I suppose a lot people would be using vector instead of inking these days. (Well it is cheaper and more accesible - I just find it time consuming ~.~)
But yeah... hahah ^^;; I did say something wrong. I guess what I was trying to say is that the term "vector art" to me is more distinguished by the styles I mentioned. (Samurai Jack ... they don't use lines at all... powerpuff girls - yeah, these are extremes, you get other subtle ones - nice ones like the Incredibles storyboard - waw) otherwise if you use it for images like above, it's no different to traditional hand-inking. In the end you get the same effect. Haha I guess I was trying to say this without being to wordy. ^^;;
So... I should be more direct. (To ichigo If you're gonna use vector to draw images, you gotta observe how lines are drawn. Consider lighting directions - you're starting to get the idea with doing thick/thin variations but now you gotta know where to put them.
Also a really nice thing you'll want to play with solids are gradients. (for shadows and highlights) =) Especially if you're colouring vector style, you can get some really nice effects. But yeah, at the moment, I think the point earlier made by g0jira about doing faces was a good one ... perhaps if you tried to move away from that a bit, you might start seeing how lines work?
~yeah so good luck! I wish I had more time to do these things but #_# gotta... work on my animation. T_T
|2006-06-23, 12:05
|Link #14
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Monterrey N.L. Mexico
Anyway, how come only one of your Higurashi wallpapers is posted there? The other one is pretty cool and different enough to be posted as well.
|2006-06-23, 16:15
|Link #15
Dharma Institute
Join Date: Dec 2005
Thx alot for the Tips and Comments all!
I tried to use the Freeform Pen Tool and when you draw a few lines it makes it automaticly smooth
So what should I actualy use? Just the pen tool or Freeform Pen tool or both?
its not really hard using the freeform pen tool for me I think the lines are way more smoother then when I use the Pen Tool and also more easier I think, but the only problem is that I need to try and stay on the lines
but I am also starting to get how to make the lines smoother with the pen tool so I guess when I find doing something hard with the pen tool I will just do it with the freeforum pen tool or something
My next vector art that I will post I will try to make it as smooth as possible
Last edited by Ichigo91; 2006-06-23 at 16:30.
|2006-06-23, 17:32
|Link #16
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Mar 2006
Age: 31
You should see what I'm working on now. Remember the image I showed in Lost's thread several days ago? This is what it now looks like,
Most of everything in the wall is vectored. Leaves and flowers.
I'm still trying to add in more detail, though. And of course, I have that in 1600x1200 size.
(The people at the Rozen Maiden Thread are going to drool over this. )
@Ichigo: Nice trace of Nekosawa-sempai! I'm looking forward to your next works. Hey, can I request one of Nekosawa with him holding his cat? or a solo vector of Nekosawa's cat... :P
Last edited by solwyvern; 2006-06-23 at 17:52.
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009
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Thomas W. Miller
Thomas W. Miller, 92, formerly of Huntingdon, died at 3:10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010, at Valley View Haven Nursing Home, Belleville, where he had most recently been a resident. Born March 1, 1918, in Huntingdon, he was a son of the late William Asbury and Charlotte (Wall) Miller. He was united in marriage to the former Naomi Swigart Jan. 30, 1943, in the Stone Church of the Brethren, Huntingdon, by the Rev. Dr. C.C. Ellis. Mrs. Miller preceded him in death Nov. 13, 2001. Mr. Miller is survived by seven children, Carol (Miller) Balderston and husband, Robin, Granville, Ohio; Barbara Miller, Ridgway; Rebecca (Miller) Roggio and husband, Al, William Miller and wife, Carol, and David Miller and wife, Jan, all of Mansfield, Ohio; Sara (Miller) Remillard and husband, Mike, Overland Park, Kansas; and Mary Kay (Miller) Eichelman and husband, Fred, Huntingdon; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by a brother, Robert O. Miller and wife, Carol, Huntingdon. He was preceded in death by three sisters, Dorothy (Miller) Sloatman, Frances (Miller) Metz and Betty (Miller) Glenny. Mr. Miller was a member of the Stone Church of the Brethren, Huntingdon, where he was a lifetime deacon. He served in the United States Army Air Force during World War II with the 2518th Army Air Force Base Unit. Mr. Miller was a longtime member of the former Thousand Hills Hikers. He was a 1936 graduate of the Petersburg Vocational High School. Mr. Miller had been employed with Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Huntingdon, where he worked in quality control and was a welder of precious metals. He loved hunting, especially for deer, and continued to do so until recent years. He also enjoyed hiking and gardening. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in memory of Mr. Miller to the Stone Church of the Brethren, 1623 Moore St., Huntingdon, PA 16652.


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Precisely what it is, except with a brand that is likely to be more trusted to many of us.
By sending this message out to as many people as possible, Microsoft will pay you...
Dear esteemed Sir and Madam.
The University of MIT has lost its Identified Flying Baloons(IFB). We need you to locate them for us.
Join this work from home opportunity and you can earn part of $40,000 from your one bedroom apartment! *
If you don't forward this to 100 of your next best friends you will lose out on your chance to have a big enough Multi Level Network to get the reward!
"Once that happens, we send Dave $2000 for finding the balloon. Carol gets $1000 for inviting Dave, Bob gets $500 for inviting Carol, and Alice gets $250 for inviting Bob. The remaining $250 is donated to charity."
*(Chances not representative of all entrants. Some terms and conditions apply. See site for details.)
I really like this triangular based scheme they've got going there. Everyone knows triangles are the sturdiest shape, so this is a good basis for the transfer of money. These techies should let some investment types in on their cool ideas.
Also, let's say I sign up directly from MIT and find one balloon, I get $2,000. Awesome, go me. MIT is out $2,000 for that balloon. If my friend Fred had referred me, I get my $2,000 and Fred gets $1,000. Now MIT is out
Not every MLM scheme is a ponzi scheme. They do lend themselves to shadiness, but there are some distinctions (which is why Amway, or whatever they call themselves these days, doesn't get prosecuted into oblivion).
The major distinction is, the flow of money is linked to production of something that serves a goal outside the system. In Amway's case, that would be a sale; in this case, it would be knowledge of the location of a balloon.
Of course, these charming folks would never dream of using the project to map out, in a loose but enlightening way, the contacts of some of the more net-savvy people around. And keeping that info for future reference, of course.
Vonnegut would loved it.
They could just check Facebook (I don't mean everybody on Facebook, I mean they could set some net-savvy roots and work from there).
The more net-savvy people around don't use twitter or facebook, etc.
The more net-savvy people around don't use twitter or facebook, etc.
Depends. I know several people who could easily be called "net-savvy" who use Facebook to keep in touch with family/friends. And when I say "net-savvy" I'm not talking about people who know how to use Google or Wikipedia to find information, I'm talking about people who administer servers/networks, and participate in "grey hat" operations involving the security of other servers. Contrary to popular stereotypes, most of the sysadmins and peo
So we can identify them by exclusion!
So we can identify them by exclusion!
Well played sir!
No, but they might try to use what they learn to figure out the best strategy for finding something else... or someone else... they'd like to find. *Cough* Osama bin Laden, et. al. *Cough*
> in a loose but enlightening way, the contacts of some of the more net-savvy
> people around.
It's all part of the plan these evil geniuses hatched forty years ago when they invented the Internet.
Bah! Whatever could come of that?
All I can say is those damned balloons better stay the heck off my lawn.
They will. But they'll get stuck in your crab-apple tree.
It's not just spam, it's a spam pyramid scheme. If this doesn't say something about our culture, I don't know what would.
http://balloon.media.mit.edu/evilwombat/ [mit.edu]
"RED" would be an excellent charity.
It would work if it was only MIT.
99 Red balloons
Floating in the winter sky
Twittering till fingers hurt
Darpa money going somewhere else
Web 2 Point O springs to life
As our tax-dollars slowly fly
Focusing eyes on the sky
As ninety-nine red balloons go by
Spamford Wallace!
I mean, bulk rate. Like, buttloads of 'em.
Not like anyone would even contemplate such a thing of course...
Actually red is a standard weather balloon color [scientificsales.com], it's easier to see against a cloudy sky. But the really big ones don't seem to come in red very often.
"All citizens, a murderer is on the loose. At exactly 4:23pm everyone needs to go outside and look for this man (picture shown on the TV), if you see him call 911 immediately." - paraphrased from Farenheit 451 f memory serves
This type of thing, if it works would be an incredibly powerful tool in an emergency (you need to find a specific car, a truck with a shipping container, etc.). I'm glad to see DARPA embracing the future they themselves helped create 40 years ago!
MIT's strategy is very interesting. Several groups (like our team [ispyaredballoon.com]) have been forming their teams for weeks, but MIT appeared on the scene just today, and it's fascinating that they got a front-page Slashdot plug. I give them lots of credit for flooding the scene with mentions in such a short time. Whereas some teams give their winnings to charity (like ours), others entice balloon spotters with cash portions of the earnings, and MIT has decided to do a little of both.
DARPA is the sole decider of how difficult this competition will be. Will they place the balloons in dense urban areas, or will the launch them in small rural communities?
Best of luck to all the teams tomorrow, MIT included. I hope that the contest winner will write a paper describing their strategy, both in network-building and in launch-day data collection.
Did you ever wonder how many English speakers think "luft" is German for "red" thanks to the English lyrics of Nena's song?
Laughing at you for not RTFA: the balloons are on the ground.
But seriously, I think what they'll be doing is looking for the red balloons using satellite surveillance. As I've posted before [slashdot.org], I think this is the non-secret half of a cameras-vs-eyeballs contest: can satellites find objects of interest faster than a motivated network of humans?
That concerns me. What does the Department of Defense need from understanding the intimate social structures of the nation? So, for free, you're going to voluntarily tell the Department of Defense--those who were once involved in the search for Communists during McCarthy's heyday--everybody you have contact with, or influence over?
Sure, the auspices of the data, in an abstract, non-personally identifying manner, are relevant. But there's another purpose entirely by adding incentive to participate.
First a
Yeah, spot on.
Except, of course, the only information being submitted to DARPA is the location of the ten balloons.
The ones "mapping society" and whatnot are MIT, and all the other teams that participate - teams that are nothing else than loosely connected people trying to accomplish something together.
So, it's a number of groups of loosely connected people mapping their respective interconnections. It's a true threat to society, I tell you!
Well, the MIT terms and conditions suggest that the data will be anonymized for MIT's purposes, so MIT will not use the data in a personally identifiable way. But, the terms and conditions also state:
"You grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully-paid, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, translate, create derivative works from, communicate to the public and display the Tracking Data."
So, while they limit their own use, they grant themselves the right to provide the
I'm sure you read the fine article.
The MIT may reserve whichever rights they want, and it still won't be DARPA secretly mapping society.
Allow me to posit an alternative interpretation. DARPA is not interested in mapping our society. They're interested in learning what the most effective strategies are for quickly locating things that they *know* exist and are "out there", but don't know their exact locations. Perhaps the application of such a strategy could be useful for one of DoD's other pet projects. You know, the one where they're trying to find Osama bin Waldo and his Al Quaedian friends.
Nah, clearly that would just be too far-fetched
Congratulations to MIT for winning. https://networkchallenge.darpa.mil/ [darpa.mil]
...had it been won by a group that did not use the Internet at all.
I THINK MAN INVENTED THE CAR by instinct. -- Jack Handley, The New Mexican, 1988.


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UPDATE – More Evacuations Ordered in West Mullan Fire Near Superior [AUDIO]
UPDATE - Tuesday, July 16, 8:00 a.m.
Movement by the West Mullan Fire burning not far from Superior has caused more evacuations, according to fire information officer Pat McKelvey.
"There were some more evacuations ordered overnight in the West Mullan Road area," McKelvey said. "The fire burned down the slope towards those homes."
McKelvey said traffic is becoming a problem on I-90.
"Everybody wants to see the fire, see the helicopters working the area, and people are stopping on the side of the road creating a traffic hazard," McKelvey said. "The Highway Patrol is being very aggressive in keeping people from stopping along the highway, so please don't do that."
Fire Information Officer Pat McKelvey
The fire is still at about 700 acres.
The fire started at the base of that hill and it's very visible from Interstate 90, it went up a steep slope when the winds caught it, and it went to 500 acres late Sunday," Hartwig said. "10 to 12 homes and small businesses were evacuated, but no structures have been lost, so we made it through that wind event yesterday. We'll try to make some progress on that leading edge of the fire today."
Hartwig outlined the strategy for fighting the fire.
"They'll try to get an anchor point established at the base of that fire, and then really work the east side to keep it from moving in that direction," Hartwig said. "The big concern is protecting those structures and homes in that area right now. We've got the Superior ranger district along with Plains ranger district firefighters working the blaze, and there are some local rural firefighters, as well. State, federal and local, we're all working together."
The fire is located about about a half-mile north of the Interstate, and two miles west and northwest of Superior. It's cause is still under investigation.


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Pages: 1
Random Quiz
1. What are Bactrian and Dromedary?
2. What are Mitochondria?
3. How many zeros does a Vigintillion contain?
4. Of which Caribbean nation is Bridgetown the capital?
5. Name the two satellites of Planet Mars.
6. What is the original name of soccer superstar Pelé ?
7. Who was instrumental in the revival of the Modern Olympic Games in Athens, 1896 AD?
8. What do SCUBA is SCUBA-diving and ELISA in ELISA-test stand for?
9. How many Watts is a Horse-power?
10. How many yards make a mile?
11. How is a Nautical mile different from a mile?
12. What do DDT and PTFE mean?
13. What is the pH value of blood?
14. What did Evangelista Torricelli invent?
15. What does the prefix 'pico' mean?
It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge - Enrico Fermi.
Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.
5. Phobos and Deimos (Deimos may not be spelt correctly; I've no time to check the correct spelling).
15. Pico is a miniscule measurement of time when used before second. I think it's used to measure the speed of time, possibly.
Boy let me tell you what:
I bet you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player too.
And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you.
2. Mitochondria... aren't they parts of a cell which convert nutrients and food into energy?
13. pH of blood... I think around 7.4. Slightly basic.
Answers to Puzzles # 2, 5, and 13 are correct! Well done
It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge - Enrico Fermi.
Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.
15.Is pico denoting a factor of one billionth like a picometre.Thats what I think.
3.I think a vigintillion has 63 zeros
Presenting the Prinny dance.
Take this dood! Huh doood!!! HUH DOOOOD!?!? DOOD HUH!!!!!! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice topic. Here are the ones that haven't been said already and that I know:
1) Camels! Bactrian has two humps, dromedary has one.
3) Million has the mill (meaning one) prefix, billion has the bill (meaning two) prefix and so on. I think Vigintillion has the prefix meaning twenty, which would mean that it has either 63 or 120 zeroes, depending on which numbering system you use. 120 is the correct one. =P
10) 1760 yards make a mile.
11) Nautical miles are used when on the sea.
15) Zach was close, but it's a prefix for any unit of measurement, not just time. Anyway, it means a billionth of whatever unit it's attached to. Or maybe a trillionth, again, depending on what numbering system you use. Billionth is correct.
Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.
12b. polytetrafluoroethylene (=Teflon)
espeon is right about Vigintilllion
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
4) Barbados
8) SCUBA is Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. ELISA could be (just guessing here) English Language Internationally Standardized Aptitude test.
11) A nautical mile is like 6080 ft as opposed to a mile's 5280. I don't know without looking it up, but I believe it derives from the old (still-used) measure of speed, the "knot". Knots used to be measured by throwing a float attached to a knotted rope out the back of a ship, then counting how fast the knots reeled out.
12a) Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane is a banned pesticide. (Go organic chemistry!)
El que pega primero pega dos veces.
9. An hp is 745.7 W. (I had to look that up; who memorizes unit conversions?)
El que pega primero pega dos veces.
Good, only 6,7, and 14 to be answered!
(Pico = 10^-12, ELISA (8b) has not yet been answered).
Here are the answers:-
(6) Edson Arantes do Nascimento
(7) Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France
(8b) ELISA is an abbreviation for "enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay."
What is an ELISA test?
This is a rapid immunochemical test that involves an enzyme (a protein that catalyzes a biochemical reaction). It also involves an antibody or antigen (immunologic molecules).
(14) Barometer.
It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge - Enrico Fermi.
Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.
Pages: 1


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Two Birds, One Hot Code Load
I bet there are a lot of people still questioning the utility of hot code loading. Especially in the web app field, it can seem a little gratuitous. PHP apps don't need any special hot load facility – the script just gets reread from disk every once in a while.
Well, even if we ignore that there are likely parts of web apps that do need to run all the time, and are not just executed at request time, there's still the web server to think about. And, guess what I did last week.
Yaws provides lots of nice utility functions. One in particular is yaws_api:htmlize/1, which takes an IoList as an argument, and returns the "same" list with the four big offenders (ampersand, double-quote, less-than, and greater-than) replaced with their HTML entities (& et al.). This function does exactly what you need when serving HTML directly to a modern web browser.
Unfortuntately, htmlize/1 doesn't work perfectly when sending "FBML" to Facebook. During Facebook's translation, it converts all characters with ASCII values greater than 127 to unrecognizeable characters, which come out as some form of "?" in a browser.
The fix is simple – just HTML-encode all characters over 127 as HTML entities of the form &#X;, where X is the decimal representation of the ASCII value. In Yaws 1.68, just add the following two lines just before yaws_api.erl:590 (the line with the guard for integer(X)):
htmlize_l([X|Tail], Acc) when integer(X), X > 127 -> htmlize_l(Tail, [$;, integer_to_list(X), $#, $&|Acc]);
Compile the new code by running make in the base directory of the Yaws source. If you're running Yaws from a directory other than the source directory, copy ebin/yaws_api.beam to that other ebin directory.
Edit: See dbt's comment for a way to skip the next paragraph in the simple case.
Now for the magic. My prefered way to load new code is to open a console to the web server's erlang node. First, run "erl -sname Name", where Name is any name other than that of your webserver. Once erl starts up, type C-g (control-g, for you non-Emacs-ers). You'll be asked for a "User switch command". Typing "h" will get you help here, but what you actually want to do is type "r yaws@host", where "yaws@host" is the node name of the webserver's erlang node. Typing "j" should now show two shell sessions. Connect to the second one with "c 2".
Now that you're connected to your web server's erlang node, just type "l(yaws_api)" to load the new code. Any module calling into the yaws_api module will now automatically use the new code. Meanwhile, any code that was in the middle of a yaws_api module call will finish the call with the old code.
Edit: You won't need the next paragraph either, if you followed dbt's instructions.
When you're done mucking about (I know you've just spent the last half hour figuring out what other bits of your webserver you can touch from here), type C-g again, then kill the remote console with "k 2". Connect back to your first console with "c 1", then exit it in the normal manner.
So, voila, Á now comes out of htmlize/1 as Á. International beer names show up properly in Facebook, and (oh boy!) BeerRiot Local now works in IE6 (which couldn't parse those letters from the XML tag file). Two birds, one stone, I love it.
On a couple of side notes:
Thanks for the versioning system suggestions. I've settled on Mercurial for now, and I'm quite happy with it so far. Bit of a pain upgrading Python versions, but I probably should have done that long ago anyway.
And, I've been doing more than just building a website around beer this summer. I've also been growing my own ingredients! I made my first hop harvest earlier this week. It was only an ounce wet, which turned into about 1/8 oz. dry, but I was proud to have some success anyway. Here's the proof:
5 comments so far
I love that stuff. You can also use -remsh remotenode when starting erl to avoid having two shells, but when the ability to open up multiple consoles to multiple servers…. awesome when you're doing clustering.
Hops dehydrating in the kitchen, brewing gadgets spilling out of the "beer nook" in the entryway, empty bottles stacked waist-high waiting for the next bottling, "beer towels" as a subset of our linens…we're a bit obsessed with beer here in the BeerRiot household.
Yesterday, Bryan selected new shampoo based on the presence of malt extract in the ingredient list. It's a good thing that I love Bryan as well as beer.
very interesting, but I don't agree with you
[…] dynamic nature also came in useful for me on BeerRiot last night. I've blogged about hot code loading before, but last night I dipped into the world of OTP applications and […]


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Louisville coach Rick Pitino went to New Orleans to watch the Cardinals' women's team play Connecticut in Tuesday night's NCAA championship — but without his players.
Under NCAA rules, neither the school nor Pitino could pay for the players to get to New Orleans to attend the game. The NCAA says it granted a waiver to Louisville early Tuesday that would have allowed the school to pay for the trip, but the school says it had already made plans to go home.
Pitino, his staff and several administrators were expected to attend the women's final. The team plane landed about 2:25 p.m. EDT, and players immediately boarded a bus back to campus. A few dozen spectators looked on from a fence at Louisville International Airport.
After Louisville beat Michigan 82-76 Monday night in Atlanta, players and Pitino hinted at going straight to New Orleans to support the surprising women's team against the Huskies in the final. The men and their coach have frequently attended women's games this season and both programs have said they feed off each other's success.
For the women's big moment against the Huskies, it will be Pitino looking on from the stands.
"They all wanted to go to the women's game," Pitino said after the game. "We asked the NCAA and they said it's illegal, we were going to take the plane and go see them, which is a shame. I guess it's an extra benefit. ...
"If we could ever win two championships, men's and women's, it would absolutely be awesome."
Back home, city officials were figuring out how to honor the school's success.
The mayor's office said in a statement Tuesday morning that it was working with the university on a community celebration to celebrate both programs' accomplishments. The date and time depended on when coaches and players from the teams would be in town at the same time.
In the meantime, the school, the city and even Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear are basking in another milestone for Bluegrass State basketball.
Last year was Kentucky's turn in the spotlight, achieved with a Final Four win over Louisville en route to its eighth championship. This season began with the Cardinals and Wildcats ranked 2-3 behind Indiana but ended with Louisville reigning over the sport.
"It couldn't be a bigger day for the Commonwealth of Kentucky," Beshear said afterward on the floor of the Georgia Dome. "For the Cardinals to win it this year, UK won it last year. You talk about the basketball capital of the world, it's right here in Kentucky."
Pitino heads to New Orleans without his team
Louisville coach Rick Pitino went to New Orleans to watch the Cardinals' women's team play Connecticut in Tuesday night's NCAA championship — but without his players.


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which will be better?
will 10,000 BC be as much a box office success as 300?
more importantly will people like it and will you go see it?
300 is a special effects breakthrough and is by far better
10,000 BC will be just as good if not better in terms of special effects, plot and storyline
both movies suck balls
iv seen 300 and will be going to 10,000 bc and dont care what's better, their both somewhat good
which will be better?
will 10,000 BC be as much a box office success as 300?
more importantly will people like it and will you go see it?
shouldn't we wait until we've seen 10,000 bc first?
didn't it premier last night? or 2night?
i've been curious about "10,000 B.C." just because i like to see those types of movies in theaters... but really, where did you come up w/ the comparison to "300"? (which i also saw in theaters, but not since...)
as for being a good movie to see on the big screen but completely forgettable otherwise (i.e. "beowulf" in 3D iMax), i'm expecting these 2 will rank the same.
P.S. the whole poll sucks (and that's NOT what she said) because a) "300" was in no way a special-effects breakthrough, and 2) you should wait until a movie gets released before you ask people's opinion.
Hahaha I am totally seeing 10000 BC tomorrow.
how is it we manage to feed millions of dollars into a movie and still produce crap? seriously, what is wrong?
10,000 bc was terrible
Let's see... A visually amazing movie based on a great graphic novel based on actual history or..... A movie set in a magical place 10,000 years ago where everyone spoke english and had perfect teeth.
Karma Police are coming for you
everyone spoke english except for the africans...
10000 BC was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.
The real question is why do people pay good money to see movies they know will suck? I mean, nobody had any illusions about 10,000 BC being good, and they went and paid $10 to see it anyway.
I could be my usual self and ascribe it to a more charitable impulse- say, that people go to bad movies as escapism, or because they see some value in them that I'm blind to- but in this instance I'm going to pull a Randy and declare that it's because when it comes to movies, people are stupid, stupid fucks. They're suckers for marketing, and they'll watch anything with special effects and "O Fortuna" or the theme from Requiem For A Dream in the trailer.
God, I fucking hate people when they're stupid. It's a pity there's nobody around for me to just lay savagely into right now.
i'm not even going to bother with 10,000 BC.
as far as i've seen, it doesn't even compare with 300.
not even a little.
I'm a loner Dottie, a rebel.
ok, so luckily I saw 10,000bc for free, because otherwise there is no chance I would have seen it.......but now I feel guilty, and it's possible I did irreparable harm to my mind...not even all the weed we smoked prior helped make it worthwhile
300 blows also...but it was significantly better (less terrible?) than 10,000 BC
i saw 300 on acid, needless to say it blew me away, I think if i was sober, I wouldnt have enjoyed it nearly as much
Originally Posted by Wayne Coyne
10,000 B.C. was fucking lame... as much as i enjoyed the special effects, what was with the $0.10 wigs?? oh, and the weak acting and script...
if you want to see a good version of this movie, go watch Apocalypto...


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Hi Everyone,
Just caught this from one of my RSS feeds. Not sure how old the story is:
Here's a direct link to the video you'll find embedded on the above page:
Posting it here, though, to see if anyone has more to this. We all know how the media can be sometimes and I wanted to check if we're getting the whole story. Anyone from the Nashville area or has connections to the program there care to comment?
Thank you.
Matt Schwoegler
Views: 772
I hope to stay away from any government sponsored weatherization projects. Over the years, I as well as friends of mine have dealt with government (and monolithic corporate entity) projects and I know that any inflexible bureaucracy leads to high cost over runs, poor accountability-and very often-public slander of honest hard working professions.* I can usually see these guys coming a mile away if they are in the private sector, and do my best to price myself out of contention for the job.
Although the story does slam auditors, it seems to me that the government program came out just as bad if not worse. They do (sort of) mention that the auditors provided test-out numbers and reported them to the state. I plan to respond to this story-if it spreads- by using it to reinforce my chosen business model as an independent auditor. Test in, verify during the project, and test out. Have no product sales agenda. Provide the client with a list of projects with projected ROI's. Tell the customer what to look for before and during projects and to withold payment until done correctly-with contractor knowledge of said policy before any agreements are signed.
{* I have a friend who performed work as a highway engineer-with the company doing the work, warned the state engineers against their bridge specification & proposed an alternative; but was ordered to proceed as specified. My friend's company was slammed in the press by the state engineers for months because the spec failed and caused many delays. What never showed up on the nightly news is that the state was forced to reimburse the evil "contractor" millions of dollars to correct the problem-the bridge was re-worked according to my friend's recommendation, and worked.}
Bruce, you do test in and test out, but I don't think that addresses Mark's link. Mark's link is about track before and track after. Mark is pointing out that the right question is not being asked. The right question is ARE WE SAVING WHAT WE ARE PROJECTING TO SAVE?
How do we know ALL programs aren't failures? Where is results transparency in ANY program?
I ask nearly everyone I meet if they track. Very very very few people track, and even fewer analyse results of what they track. If nobody is tracking, nobody is analyzing. If nobody is analyzing, nobody knows how well or poorly they or their program is doing. Without the answer, how are we to know how we are doing and how to improve?
We run numbers on software provided us, tell homeowners what they will save, then nobody tracks? Shouldn't it be a due diligence requirement of the program to track our results to promise and share them with us so we know how we are doing? How are we to improve without this critical information?
When I got into this I saw this gaping hole of accountability and it made me nervous, so I tracked client results. It is incredibly onerous with no additional compensation. To have confidence that if there was failure, it was the software's fault, I took extra effort to make sure implementation quality was high (hence pictures of me sweating my butt off in attics and crawling under mobile homes).
If anyone has an easy way to track before, track promise, go back a year later and surgically extract following energy history from people, then perform analysis AND represent the results you see, please contact me. I want it to take a LOT less time and effort so I can do more of it.
So I have a very high level of confidence that TREAT can deliver on saving promise.
Of course that assumes you've trued it to actual consumption, and don't game/inflate results to meet some required "investment return" metric imposed by program guidelines. There will be no hiding when transparency of results occurs, and attempts to point fingers at the contractor will fail because the problem is program wide, and therefore a program design issue.
You can't blame the contractor for savings they didn't have any idea was or was not occurring. I can't be responsible for a failure I don't know about. I didn't come up with the process that makes promises, the program did.
Last year the Governor removed law suit protection from so called "Public Benefit" Corporations. With this new accountability and a fair number of new people in place, I suspect we will see change. I think the program is run by good people who are beginning to see the picture, and will eventually see how to course correct. If they don't, they are setting themselves on a path towards very embarrassing collapse that could potentially look like a giant fraud perpetrated upon state residents.
Holy Crap,I thought that it only happened here in Va.
I think the term "Fraud" (even followed by a question mark) is an unfortunate choice of words here. Let's please not conflate issues with workmanship with deliberate fraud.
Cherry Picking?
It's easy to cherry-pick problems and stand them up as generalized straw men. Anyone who was among the 3000+ attendees at the the recent National Weatherization Training Conference last month witnessed first-hand how many dedicated Program providers are out there, and the Program's new initiatives on quality assurance.
I don't personally deem public vs. private or large vs. small as predictors of inefficiency or project quality. The issue is more subtle, and has deeper roots than that. We've all seen many "inflexible bureaucracies" in the form of contractors working well outside any federal or local program whose skills are sorely lacking and minds closed tight.... And, unlike the Weatherization Program, many of these entities do not test-in/out or have independent inspection of their workmanship or other consumer protections in place.
If it Bleeds it Leads
Commercial news channels don't exactly have the cred's to "evaluate" an energy efficiency program. If it bleeds it leads. Sounds like they found one person (out of 1000?) whose energy bills went up.... The reporters glossed over the fact that the program was policing itself and identifying the issues in workmanship -- isn't this what we want to see? That said, the program manager got sandbagged by the reporter. There is of course evaluation that's done, even though he didn't have that info.
It's Challenging to Scale-up
The overnight 10-fold growth in projects that the named weatherization agency had to deliver under the stimulus would be daunting even under the best of conditions. Building workforce capacity to keep up with growing demand--and verifying performance--are clearly challenges we all need to stay focused on.
I applaud your defence of the programs.Unfortunatly congress didnt think very highly.. they defunded it by 63%.Much like the farmers loan program of 80's the feds threw money at the wall like spigetti."No 10k is to little,we can give you 110k".My exsperiance has been that people with 10 yrs WAP employment should know how to use the equipment...they dont...like they say in the movies"follow the money"
"I think the term "Fraud" (even followed by a question mark) is an unfortunate choice of words here. Let's please not conflate issues with workmanship with deliberate fraud."
Hi Evan,
You may think it is an unfortunate choice of words, however, I do not. As both a taxpayer and practitioner in this industry where the actions of others reflect not only on my work, but the noble efforts of thousands of others who are doing great things in the weatherization program, it is absolutely the right question to ask. I was simply inquiring about if there was "another other side to this particular story" which you seemed to have missed in my original comments. I too know how sensationalistic the media can be and was looking for additional information, not a confrontation.
This is not the first I have heard of this and is my understanding from a number of conversations I have had with others in this industry that this is not an isolated incident. Not saying it is rampant, never did, but what some of these contractors did do is no different than a doctor who is practicing without a license. They were not qualified to do the work, but were hired and did it anyway and took the money. That's called fraud. Let's not sugarcoat it.
In the "effort to scale up", as you say, it unfortunately appears there were issues with the quality and qualifications of the workmanship in some areas. Not terribly shocking in my opinion, but I never expected perfection. However, as a taxpayer and a practitioner, I demand accountability and transparency regarding where my money is going. Additionally, as an industry, our reputation will most certainly precede us in the future so it is absolutely in our best interest to question and examine all aspects of how the program unfolded to ensure the same mistakes are not made again and that we remain in good standing with the tax paying public who most certainly have influence over these programs.
Seems we agree on most of this--accountability and skill are essential; good work happens in WAP, etc--and I certainly didn't intend a confrontation. Sorry if you took it that way. In any case, my post was actually more in response to Bruce's comment and Ted's note, and should have been indented there. I don't have more insight for you on the Nashville case, but perhaps others will chime in.
I think most people try to do good work. The point about scaling up is definitely true. But "conflating" posts are necessary to attract eyeballs and create discourse so Evan, I think your title is to be applauded. Without a good title people would have simply scrolled past.
Keep On Conflating buddy!
Hi Evan,
No foul, I just wanted to stress in my reply that I wasn't using the term loosely as some sensationalistic thread title to generate controversy or in any way to malign the whole weatherization program. My question was specific to Nashville and what's happening there. From what I saw in the video, I don't know what else to call it.
As a personal example, the whole issue of skills and "qualification" is something that I deal with regularly when it comes to thermal imaging for building systems. There are many qualified thermographers out there who are doing fantastic work. There are also, however, a lot of "certified" thermographers who, quite frankly,I'm not sure what they're doing. Unfortunately, the distinction between the two is more than a bit blurred in my industry and they are often lumped in with those that are truly qualified to use an infrared camera.
in the spirit of"citzens united"and another movie line"show me the money"
I gotta say, this endless garbage really gets to me. I WILL get in peoples' faces a little about this.
Everything you government-program-bashers do was developed by federally-funded weatherization workers and was field-tested by weatherization crews. Without three decades of what is constantly bashed as "inflexible bureaucracy" doing some of the most innovative and imaginative work in the world of housing construction, you'd all likely all still be hanging plastic on windows and caulking siding.
And don't get me started about the private contractors that accept bids to work for weatherization agencies and don't have a clue how to do quality work. Furnace installers that have been in business for decades, and ONLY bought their first combustion analyzer because those "inflexible bureaucrats" required it?? I could tell you stories -- AND I could back them up with formal reports and inspection letters.
Weatherization as a field (and as a government program) has also been fearless in evaluating the program and learning from mistakes. Five nationwide evaluations have been done and are available to anyone that wants them. E-mail me -- I'll send you the links. The sixth is in progress now. If you want facts, they are readily available. But it's always easier just to voice your prejudice.
Lastly, here's an example of the rigorous, fact-based, objective evaluation that weatherization programs do all the time. This evaluation is based on before-and-after bill analyses, looking at Wisconsin's weatherization work three or four years ago. (http://homeenergyplus.wi.gov/category.asp?linkcatid=494&linkid=...) The website layout is not ideal; scroll about 2/3rds of the way down the page and look up the "2007-2009 WI Weatherization Program Savings Report - Full Report (10/24/2011)".
Home Performance as a profession has always prided itself on objective evaluation of measureable data. That STARTED with the low-income weatherization program. The facts are out there. Go get 'em before you trash my profession and the great people I work with. They crawl attics every day so low-income residents aren't eaten alive by their utility bills. They deserve better than this.
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Thanks Sanjay, for sending this in!


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WEST CHESTER – Monique Robinson, the former Phoenixville Area High School senior who was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a borough restaurant worker during an armed robbery, wept on Thursday, July 11, when her attorney made it clear what separated her from her co-defendants.
The two men who had helped rob the man as he made his way home from work and who accepted plea offers from the prosecution, including the man who actually fired the fatal shots, will each find themselves facing a release date from state prison sometime in the future.
Not Robinson, said veteran West Chester defense attorney Robert J. Donatoni.
"Miss Robinson, as things stand right now, is going to die in jail, and that is a tragedy of monumental proportions," Donatoni said in addressing President Judge James P. MacElree II at sentencing.
Robinson, 20, of Phoenixville, dressed in the same coral colored blouse she wore during the trial in April when a Common Pleas Court jury found her guilty, dropped her head to her chest and began crying as she heard his words. Handcuffed at the defense table, she grabbed a tissue box and wiped tears from her eyes.
Tragic as her fate may have been, it was Robinson who had chosen it.
The judge noted, and Donatoni agreed, that she had been offered a plea bargain by the prosecution that would have allowed her to win her release – after serving 30-to-60 years in state prison. But she had rejected the offer and "rolled the dice" with the jury.
"This day didn't have to come for you," MacElree said before handing down the mandatory life in prison without parole sentence, plus an additional term of eight years and 10 months to 34 years in prison. "There could have been a different day and a different outcome. But you chose what you had to do and you have to live with that."
Robinson, who at 18 was entering her final year at Phoenixville High when the shooting of Selvin Mamerto Lopez-Mauricio took place, did not address the court expect to indicate that she planned to appeal her conviction.
Lopez-Maurico, 23 at the time of his death and a native of Guatemala, was on his way home after finishing his shift at a Wendy's fast-food restaurant in Royersford early in the morning of Sept. 14, 2011. As he sat in an alley near his home on Prospect Street and spoke with his uncle, they were approached by Robinson and two men she was friends with, Saleem Williams, 22, of Sharon Hill, and Stephen Reidler, 26, of Linfield
The men accosted Lopez-Mauricio and his uncle, with Williams allegedly pointing a .22 semi-automatic handgun at the uncle. Testimony at her trial showed that Robinson grabbed Lopez-Maurico's backpack, and Williams began punching him while Reidler kept the uncle from telephoning police.
When Robinson ran from the scene Lopez-Maurico tried to chase her. Robinson then allegedly turned and told Williams, "Shoot him." Williams shot Lopez-Mauricio once in the abdomen. He survived for some time afterward, but died on his way to Phoenixville Hospital.
After the shot was fired, the trio of Robinson, Reidler and Williams then returned to an apartment on Bridge Street that Williams shared with his girlfriend. There, they divided up the contents of the backpack, including food that Lopez-Mauricio had brought home from Wendy's for his late dinner and $300 in cash he intended to send home to his family.
In addressing MacElree before the sentence, Deputy District Attorney Peter Hobart, who prosecuted the case against all three, asked that the judge impose consecutive time in the case to act as a "safety net" in case Robinson's murder conviction should be overturned.
Donatoni, however, said he was almost certain that there were no significant appellate issues to raise, and that even if her conviction were overturned for some other reason it was very likely she would be convicted of the same offense again.
Hobart noted that Robinson, since her conviction, had not been on good behavior at Chester County prison, and had earned three infraction citations there.
Speaking on behalf of the victim's family was his brother, Carlos Lopez. With the aid of an interpreter, Lopez thanked MacElree for his attention to the case and to all the police and prosecutors who had worked on it.
He said his family had a strong belief in hard work, and that his brother was looking forward to a new job that would help him earn money to support his parents at home in Guatemala. His death ended that dream, he said.
"I never thought that people were going to hurt him and take his life away. This is a very painful moment for me because I remember all that happened to my brother," Lopez told the judge. "It was terrible what we had to go through. I live with the memory of my brother."
Lopez was joined with other members of his family in the packed courtroom, and with supporters from the community who helped them deal with authorities. Likewise, there were several people in the courtroom supporting Robinson, including her mother and older sister.
Robinson was found guilty of second-degree murder, which is a murder committed in the commission of another felony, in this case robbery. She was also found guilty of firearms violations and of flight to avoid apprehension, after she disappeared in the days after Lopez-Maurico's death. She eventually turned herself in after a nationwide manhunt by Phoenixville police and Chester County Detectives.


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Studies show higher speed limits do not increase accidents
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Driver accused of running over woman faces 4 felonies
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Unique courses help marketability after college, educator says
09/05/2013 9:21amCollege students should be thinking about which classes will really help them get a job. Some educators say they may not be the classes you'd expect.
NFL's Andy Reid bleeds BYU blue
09/05/2013 9:24amLongtime NFL head coach Andy isn't just a BYU alumn, he's a big time Cougar fan.
Video game boosts mental abilities in older folks
09/05/2013 10:27amIt probably won't become as popular as "Grand Theft Auto," but a specialized video game may help older people boost mental skills like handling multiple tasks at once.
Lawyers, judges debate 'under God' phrase in Pledge of Allegiance
09/05/2013 10:33amOne party was missing Wednesday in a Massachusetts courtroom where attorneys and judges debated whether the Pledge of Allegiance violated the equal rights of nonbelievers — some children who are asked to recite the pledge every morning.
Amid tensions, Obama, Putin put on a happy face
09/05/2013 10:36amPresident Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shook hands, smiled and made small talk about the scenery on Thursday _ a public exchange of pleasantries belying a tense relationship that only seems to be getting worse.
220 jobs cut at L-3 Communications
09/05/2013 10:47amDefense contractor L-3 Communications announced Thursday that it will cut more than 200 jobs from its Utah workforce.
16 skulls found on streets in Prague
09/05/2013 11:04amPolice in Prague say 15 human skulls have been found in a wooden box found on a street, and another was found in a garbage bin.
5-second GIF shows weight loss transformation
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Influenced by media, amateurs try extreme caking
09/05/2013 12:03pmIf you're planning to bake a cake for your child's upcoming birthday party, you might want to ask yourself one question: "What would the Cake Boss do?"
Semitrailer backs over car, into house
09/05/2013 1:25pmA semitrailer flattened a car, knocked down power lines and came to rest inside a residential garage in Bountiful Thursday.
Salt Lake Comic Con introduces wave of new films
09/05/2013 2:03pmFolded into the list of special guests, wild attractions and fan-made costumes parading around Salt Lake City's first ever Comic Con is a line-up of geek-themed films ready for the event's premiere film festival.
Afghan vets reunited in NY with 8 battlefield dogs
09/05/2013 4:03pmArmy reunions have been held as long as soldiers have been going off to war, yet a reunion this week was perhaps like no other in history.
Ariel Castro's family prepares to claim his body
09/05/2013 4:16pmThe family of Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro planned to claim his body Thursday as investigations sought to determine how a man who was perhaps Ohio's most notorious prisoner managed to hang himself with a bedsheet while in protective custody.
Man, girlfriend in Draper shooting improving at hospital
09/05/2013 4:40pmTwo people connected to the fatal shooting of Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson remained hospitalized Thursday, but their conditions have improved.
Google argues for right to continue scanning Gmail
09/05/2013 4:46pmGoogle's attorneys say their long-running practice of electronically scanning the contents of people's Gmail accounts to help sell ads is legal, and have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to stop the practice.
7,200-volt shock leaves construction worker in serious condition
09/05/2013 5:34pmA construction worker was hospitalized after a 7,200-volt wire came in contact with a backhoe.
3 people shot in dispute at park
09/05/2013 6:10pmWest Valley police waited for the sun to come up to get a better look at a crime scene that sent three people to the hospital.
Salt Lake City officials admit to crime problems but not increase
09/05/2013 6:12pmSalt Lake City leaders are responding to a KSL-TV investigative report on crime in the area near the homeless shelter and Pioneer Park. But in spite of all the complaints from business owners and people who live in the area, the police chief says reported crime is down.
Cause of 2-year-old boy's death still 'undetermined'
09/05/2013 6:22pmThe mystery surrounding the death of a 2-year- old boy continued Thursday.
TSA expands PreCheck security program
09/05/2013 6:45pmThe Transportation Security Administration is expanding their expedited screening program to 60 new airports and announced it will soon expand the program to more individuals.
Posting obscene photos for revenge could prompt legal action
09/05/2013 6:59pmDoes Utah need its own law against "revenge" posting of intimate photos and videos? Some prosecutors and state lawmakers say a discussion is warranted, as California legislators mull a first-of-its- kind measure.
Jeremy Johnson attorneys accuse prosecutors of mistreating witnesses
09/05/2013 7:10pmA defense attorney in the iWorks criminal case accused federal prosectuors of mistreating witnesses who don't tell them what they want to hear.
Boy chooses to amputate legs for chance at pain-free life
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It's rough, this end-of-life business
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Health care is about to get even more complicated
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Comic Con could have a huge economic impact for SLC
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Couple rekindles romance 60 years after 'Dear John' letter
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Study: Children's use of e-cigarettes increasing
09/05/2013 8:29pmChildren _ like adults _ are increasingly trying electronic cigarettes, according to the first large national study to gauge use by middle and high school students.
Utah Supreme Court to hear appeal from Death-row inmate
09/05/2013 8:34pmA death-row inmate appealing his conviction and sentence claims his defense attorney failed to adequately look into how his background affected his behavior.
Man acquitted of murdering deputy to face federal charges
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St. George police search for armed robber
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Culvert construction nears completion on I-80 in Parley's Canyon
09/05/2013 10:34pmA large construction project on I-80 through Parley's Canyon has almost been completed, and UDOT crews hope that it will decrease the number flood incidents that wash out the road.
Viewing held for slain Draper police officer
09/05/2013 10:47pmA viewing was held Thursday evening for slain Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson at the Maverik Center.
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The End of Week 1
So since I have lasted posted a lot has happened. I have dropped my 4th class public relations. I did this because I really did need the extra time already in the first week. Also a little bit of more free time is nice. 8 am is really early that is when my first class starts. System Administration 1 is that class; it is a great class but man I get up at 6:30 to get ready then my crew and I go out to breakfast then class. It is nice eating breakfast again but it's so early, thankfully its only 2 days a week. But those two days are complete and utter Hell they really are. My War and the State class is amazing the professor is definitely the smartest man I know, he is amazing his control over the English language is amazing his diction is inspiring. He doesn't sound arrogant or anything like that it's just that he uses the best words one can use in any possible case. It's so nice that I have even been taking notes as to what words he says so I can incorporate them into my daily language and tours. That being the case he is amazing; clarity has been bestowed upon me in so many ways. He knows his stuff for class and its very cool he is also very passionate about the subject which is really nice. He was describing the Spartans' and said one could say they think of women as "Respectful Incubators" and said to write that on a hallmark card. He of course qualified that with that's not his opinion but one of the Spartan's; never-the-less ruthless and intriguing.
My frustration with RIT is approaching new levels also. I don't have a professor for my 4050-515-70 class. The person we have doesn't know what she's talking about, dress in unprofessional attire, won't be there every week and to top it off we truly have NO teacher for our lab, it's just a bunch of lobbies. I pay a lot of money to get taught by professors and that is not the case for this class. I have notified the appropriate people about the situation and they are working on resolving it but however long it takes them to resolve it , it's still time without a professor. This does not happen, in fact this is the first time I have heard of this happening at RIT so don't take this as a normal thing but as an extraordinary event. RIT is generally great about professors and scheduling but somehow someone dropped the ball.
The Dotes Kick Ass Song of the week is not a song but instead a move. The "300". Check it out, I know y'all know what it is. It is amazing check it out.


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Her story: Nicole Garrett, 28, grew up in Pittsburgh. Serving in the Army for the past seven years, she is now an officer. Her parents, Lance and Kathy Garrett, live in Pittsburgh.
His story: Ron Vinyard, 31, grew up in St. Louis. He has served in the Army since 2004 and is also an officer. His parents, Ron and Laura Schupmann, live in St. Louis.
Their story: Nicole and Ron met in 2011 during their deployment in Afghanistan. They collaborated on targeting missions against enemy forces.
"We worked together every single day in Afghanistan, so that's how we got to know each other," says Nicole.
In summer of 2012, their yearlong friendship turned into a relationship while they were stationed together in Fort Knox, Ky., though they say they didn't have an official first date.
They have been stationed in Maryland since last year, living in Bowie.
The proposal: Ron and Nicole participate in geocaching, a GPS-based activity in which participants use coordinates posted on websites to hide and seek containers that are placed in public settings throughout the world.
In June, Ron and Nicole spent a day geocaching in Annapolis. They found a cache near the Annapolis harbor. Nicole opened the cache to find a round-cut engagement ring from Kay Jewelers hidden inside (Ron had placed it there just moments before), and he proposed.
The venue: The couple was married on the Constellation anchored in the Inner Harbor. They chose the ship for its historic character and water setting, Nicole says. In attendance were 11 of their family and friends.
"We didn't need a big venue. If we got something too big, it would have been awkward," says Nicole. "It was just perfect for us."
Nicole and Ron say they decided on a small wedding because most of their family and friends are spread throughout the country and the world, making it difficult to get everyone together.
Flowers: The Pink Orchid of Bowie provided Nicole's bouquet, which included pink Asiatic lilies, white hydrangeas and light green orchids.
Her dress: The bride wore a strapless, satin and chiffon A-line gown with flower appliques, beading and ruching on the bodice from David's Bridal. During the reception, she wore canvas boat shoes.
Groom's attire: Ron wore a tan three-piece suit from Jos. A. Bank, which was accented by a pink tie and pocket square.
Music: Instead of a first dance, the couple walked down the aisle to the Piano Guys' recording of "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri.
Food and dessert: The Waterfront Kitchen in Fells Point provided dry-aged New York strip steak and herb-roasted chicken breast for dinner, which was served in the ship's captain's quarters. Ron's mother made the three-tier French vanilla cake with raspberry filling and citrus buttercream frosting.
Favors: Guests were given miniature treasure chests decorated with a world map. Ron and Nicole gave their parents miniature globes from the Museum Shop in Annapolis.
"That was basically to represent that no matter where we are in the world, we'll always be there for them and love them," Nicole says.
Special touches: A cannon salute went off as Nicole and Ron shared their first kiss as husband and wife. Adalyn and Audrey, Ron's 4-year-old twin daughters from a previous relationship, were flower girls. Ron and Nicole held a sand ceremony with the twins and gave them each a family medallion by which to remember the day.
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