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PPU not enough
Great thread guys. Love the back and forth debates. I'll probably be logging in and creating an account, but alas, I am at work and can't ;P
Just my two cents worth here: I believe that the physX card is a step in the right direction, and only that. Seems to me that it's only half a card...why only process the physics? Personally I think that they should create a card that fits into a PCIe slot, that works together with the cpu and gpu and contains the ENTIRE physics engine. That way any game built to take advantage of said engine would be able to nearly instantly get all the physics information from an outside source. Coding for games would be much easier and faster as well, allowing companies to focus more on AI and graphics... Then again, seems that everyone has a different idea as to what physics should be included in a game....so why not just make them all scalable? Gravity has an acceleration number to it - just make it selectable by the game itself...same with the friction of a given surface. Just link the object and/or texture to they physical properties wanted and voila!
Sorry if not much of that makes much sense, my mind keeps floating when I'm at work :P And with all that said, I'm probably going to pick up a physx card on my next pc build, which will hopefully be in about a month or so.
P.S. Out of curiosity, if it would be so great for games to take advantage of the second core of the CPU, why haven't they done so? multi core processors have been out for some time now, so i'm thinking there must be some reason why people aren't doing it....
Excelent post.
And it hink your are abs9olutely right on every count.
I think the timing is a double edged sword.
For one, they released it to late. If this had been releases back in the day of the GeForce4, and the Athlon XP, it would have sold like hot cakes. But, unfortuantely at this point in time, as we have all mentioned, the PCI bus is simply to old, and to legacy to work with a modern graphics card system. And any fluid charted benchmark run in FRAPS with and without PPU support, as you said, shows that plain as day. With significant (upwards of 30FPS in most cases) drops in framerate as the PPU is activated for a "physics enhanced" visual. WHich at this point is nothing but some particle effects. And really, as ive said before, all of those particle effects still have to be rendered on screen via the GPU, and if the GPU is an older GPU, your simply not going to be able to push those sort of visuals.
Now the other edge of that sword is that its released to early, becuase we are int eh era ov PCIe, and the faster direct busses of modern processor technology. THey should have waiting untill the PCIe support was broadened, and there was PCIe support for a card like the PPU. At present, i cant think of any motherboard worth its weight that will work properly with an SLI setup, and a PPU (or any card installed in a PCIe 1x slot for that matter).
So its really probibly the wort time to put a product like this to market. Plus add in all the other froo fraw coming with the release of Vista, and DX10, and the uncertaintly of the market surrounding it. Its really a bad move in my honest oppinion.
Truely, time will be the only real measure of what will become of Agia and their PPU. But i can almost guarentee, that before its over, and before we see a real implimentation of the device worth its while, will take ATi of Nvidia buying them up, and putting the PPU on card with the GPU. My guess would be the most likely cantidate for this would be ATi, and their xFire setup. And i say that soley becuase of their implimentation of the Master card. Which could easily, and seamlessly hold the PPU onboard, and simple use the slave card for graphics rendering only. I think this would be in ATi;s best interest, as it would likely vault them back into the lead in the GPU market.
Infact, i think i should patent that idea, before ATi buys it up. ROFL!
Thanks for contributing to the discussion.
PhysX PPU...The Future of PC Physics?
I have read all your posts with great interest, I feel that some very good points are being made, so here's my 2 cents worth ;-)
I believe the 'IDEA' of having a dedicated PPU in your increasingly expensive monster rig is highly appealing, even intoxicating and I believe this 'IDEA' coupled with some clever marketing will ensure a good number of highly overpriced, or at least expensive, sales of this mystical technology in it's current (ineficient) form.
For some, the fact that it's expensive and also holds such high promises will ensure it's place as a 'Must have' component for the legions of early adopters. The brilliant idea of launching them through Alienware, Falcon Northwest and the top of the line Dell XPS600 systems was a stroke of marketing genius as this adds to the allure of owning one when they finally launch to the retail market...If it's good enough for a system most of us can never afford but covet none the less it's damn well good enough for my 'monster RIG'. This arrangement will allow the almost guaranteed sales of the first wave of cards on the market. I have noticed that some UK online retailers have already started taking pre-launch orders for the £218 OEM 128MB version I just have to woner how many of these pre-orders have actually been sold?
The concept of a dedicated PPU is quite simply phenominal, We spend plenty of money upgrading our GPU's, CPU's and quite recently Creative have brought us the first true APU (X-Fi series) that it makes sense for there to be a dedicated PPU and berhaps even an AiPU to follow.
The question is, will these products actually benefit us to the value of their cost?
I would say that a GPU, or in fact up to 4 GPU's running over PCIe x32 (2xPCIe x16 channels) become increasingly less value for money the more GPU's added to the equation. i.e. a 7900GTX 512MB at £440 is great bang for the buck compared to Quad SLI 7900GTX 512MB at over £1000. The framerates in the Quad machine are not 4x the single GPU. Perhaps this is where GPU's could trully be considered worthy of nVidia or ATI's Physics SLI load balancing concept. SLI GPU's are not working flat out 100% of the time...Due to the extremely high bandwidth of Dual PCIe x16 ports there should be a reasonable amount of bandwidth to spare on Physics calculations, perhaps more if Dual PCIe x32 (or even quad x16) Motherboards inevitably turn up. I am not saying that GPU's are more efficient than a DEDICATED and designed for PPU, just that if ATI and nVidia decided the market showed enough potential, they could simply 'design in' or add PPU functionality to their GPU cores or GFX cards. This would allow them to tap into the extra bandwidth PCIe x16 affords.
The Ageis PhysX PPU in it's current form runs over the PCI bus, a comparitively Narrow bandwicth bus, and MUST communicate with the GPU in order for it to render the extra particles and objects in any scene. This in my mind would create a Bottleneck as it would only be able to communicate at the bandwidth and speed afforded by the Narrow bandwidth and slower PCI bus. The slowest path governs the speed of even the fastest...This would mean that adding a dedicated PPU, even a very fast and efficient one, would be severely limited by the bus it was running over. This phenomenon is displayed in all the real world benchmarks I have seen of the Ageis PhysX PPU to date, The framerates actually DROP when the PPU is enabled.
To counter this, I believe, Ageis through ASUS, BFG and any other manufacturing partner they sign up with will have to release products designed for the PCIe bus. I believe this is what Ageis knows as the early manufacturing samples were able to be installed in the PCI bus as well as the PCIe bus (although not at the same time ;-) ). I believe the PCI bus was chosen for launch due to the very high installed user base of PCI motherboards, every standard PC I know of that would want a PPU in their system. I belive this is a mistake, as the users most likely to purchase this part in the 'Premium price' period would likely have PCIe in their system, or at least would be willing to shell out an extra £50-£140 for the privelage. Although I could be completely wrong in this as it may allow for some 'Double Selling' as when they release the new and improved PCIe version, the early adopters will be forced to buy into it again at a premium price.
This leads me neatly onto the price. I understand that Ageis, quite rightly, are handing out the PhysX SDK freely, this is to allow maximum compatibilty and support in the shortest period of time. This does however mean that the end user, who purchases the card in the beginning will have to pay the full price for the card...£218 for the 128MB OEM version. As time goes by and more units are sold, the installed userbase of the PPU will grow and the balance will shift, Ageis will be able to start charging the developers to use their 'must have' Hardware Physics support in their games/software and this will subsidise the cost of the card to the end user, therefore making them even more affordable to the masses and therefore making it a much more 'Must Have' for the developers. This will take several generations of the PPU before we feel the full impact of this I believe.
If ATI and nVidia are smart, they can capitalise on their high installed initial userbase and properly market the idea of Hardware physics for free with their SLI physics, they may be able to throw a spanner in the works for Agies while they attempt to attain market share. This may benefit the consumer, although it may also knock Agies out of the running depending on how effective ATI and nVidias driver based solution first appears. It could also prompt a swift buy out from either ATI or nVidia like nvidia did with 3DFX.
Using the CPU for Physics, even on a multicore CPU, in my opinion is not the way forward. The CPU is not designed for physics calculations, and from what I hear they are not (comparitively) very efficient at performing these calculations. A dedicated solution will always be better in the long run. This will free up the CPU to run the OS and also for Ai calculations and well as antivirus, firewall, background applications and generally keeping the entire system secure and stable. Multicore will be a blessing for PC's and consoles, but not for such a specific and difficult (for a CPU) task.
"Deep breath" ;-)
So there you have it, My thoughts on the PPU situation as it stands now and into the future. Right now I will not be buying into the dream, but simply keeping the dream alive by closely watching how it develops until such a time as I believe the 'Right Time' comes. £218 for an unproven, generally unsupported, and possibly seriously flawed incarnation of the PPU dream is not in my opinion The Right Time, Yet ;-)
The two games id really like to see take full PPU support would be GF2, and FEAR, perhaps even Farcry. These three gaems seem to keep patching up for the altest in gaming tech. So im hoping the tred continues with the PPU.
A shame about GRAW though. I personally didnt like the game that much. Multiplayer was preaty rock solid though (and classic GR/R6, which i like).
[it should be noted that my experiences with GRAW are witht he 360 version]
|Greg King
Concerning the games that are not built with a PPU in mind. You are right when you say that the PPU will be useless but in it's defense, it's early. Games will need to be programed to take advantage of the PPU and thats what Ageia is giving their SDK out for free to anyone who in interested in including the features that a PPU would bring to the game.
I recieved the PhysX card from Ageia and BFG today and have had about an hour to play around with it and see just what it could do. Alas, all that was included was the Cell Factor Demo that we saw at the GDC. It's nice to be able to play this on my own PC but I want more. I am supposed to be getting Ghost Recon: Advanced War Fighter from Ubisoft soon and that game takes advantage of the PhysX card so time will tell as to where this whole "PhysX revolution" is going.
I must say however that as much as I am all for the PPU, it's only a novalty untill there are games to take advantage of it's processing power.
This will be something to keep up on in the coming months when games are released that were built specifically to use the PPU. I am not holding my breath but it would be killer to be able to patch our current games such as BF2 and CS:S to be able to use this card with those games as well. That might just be a pipe dream though...
wow what service sent a letter to rob before i got back to the forums he resolved the problem and wrote back to me. thanks!!!!
jakal: thanks for the info that was exactly the info i was looking for !!
As for the review card. I am not getting one. I would like to. But im not. DarkSynergy, however, is getting one. So you should direct that question tword him. But im sure he will answer anyway.
And you nailed it. If the game isnt specificly written to take advantage of the Phys-X card...it wont even know its there. Which is one of the reason im not hip on it. Becuase it has no backward compatibility, unless the developers see fit to release a patch for the game to utilize it. And even then im sure the performance increase would be minimal.
As for your last question...its already been answered.
i tried
buck-o you stated you were going to get one for review. just curiouse as to what game you intend on trying it on?
and it does not specify on this but i was wondering, it states look for games optimized for the physx card... if a game is not built for the card, the card would be useless wouldn't it?
and could you shed some light on something for me as i am a mechanic not a computer guru
what is the limit on pci-x for volume? like how much can you transfer between the video card and the motherboard at a time?
Hey, thanks for replying back.
No worries, i understand what your saying just fine.
Its my dislexia getting the best of me that you've got to worry about.
Anyway, yes i do imagine it will eventually become an enthousiast motherboard option, rahter then an onboard card. I think thats the next logical step. Though, i dont know how people will feel about paying $300+ for a motherboard with that feature on there. Who knows. Only time will tell. But i think if anyone would do it. It would be nVidia. As they already have a goot marketable motherboard base.
As for the two GPU's on one card, its been done. WAY back in the day 3dfx had a card that actually had 4 GPU's on one card. It was a monster. Absolutely hudge. I dont think it ever went into production. But i think a couple companies ctually built dual GPU setups with teh last series of VooDoo cards. I also know that (i think) MSI has a dual 6800GT signel card that works in their special SLi motherboard. And Ive seen prototypes of card that are running two lap top spec mobile GeForce GO cards on a special daughter board that you could attatch them to, that then fit into a PCI Express slot. The notion being, that with the GO cards, you could upgrade easily, and cheaply...or so they say.
Anyway, back to Agia.
Only time will tell with the PPU setup. And im sure that by the end of the year we will have a better idea of what exactly they have in mind, and how devlopers and hardware venders will accept it.
If youre enjoying the conversation...why dont you join the forums, and continue the discussion here, and in the other forums here at Techgage.
me again
buck-o i made that post. sorry i didn't register but i didn't figure i would not get a response and most people just start slandering and don't have a useful debate!
first off i am sorry, although it wasn't mentioned i am a horrible writer and bad at getting my point across but i will try.
ok you also agreed for bigger levels, more players, better ai, ect... you would need a much larger computernot just a ppu card. this was the point i was trying to make they could use both sides of the dual core for the ai and game engine ect... withought having to use it for physics.
i am sure it would evolve eventually maybe on the motherboard as you stated ( perhaps like nic cards seem to be doing)
my problem with it being on the video cards is how much more can you transfer between a video card and a mother board?
if they can do so much more on a video card why is sli + crossfire even considered why not just build it a double card? <-- worded bad i am trying to say put 2 gpu on 1 card
i don't belive there is any game out there currently that needs 2 video cards but it seems like it is getting closer, now if they put the ppu on there too would we then need 3 video cards? isn't there a limit on how much you can transfer between a card and a motherboard?
thanks you guys for keeping it civil !!!
This is article by anandtech describes the PhyX card very well, and the reasons why the card can perform more effectivly than a dual core processor for physics processing. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the fact that many multiplayer games will probably REQUIRE PhyX cards. I read an article earlier that said 70 game developers, and over 100 games are being designed that will make use of PhysX cards. While particle effects have little impact on gameplay, I'd be disappointed to see liquid weapons, or destructable environments removed from the impending multiplayer experiance. ATI boasts that it's current 19XX series cards have an onboard PPU that can be enabled with a drivers update.
In reply to Buck-o's last post, many measures are being taken to allow developers to rapidly code destructable environments, and other physics driven game elements without inducing a significant performance hit compared to "hand coded" effects of the same nature.
Many exciting technoligies are coming out this year and the next, it will be exciting to see how everything pans out.
hmmm ...
" As these things are no easier to program for with an add in card then they where before "
Actually one great advantage for game developers using the Ageia developers kit is the fact that they do not have to deal with what is currently a very complex drawn out process - The SDK is reducing the time it takes to do complex physics -
Phys X is Xciting
This is a huge deal for gamers and developers - I don't know if Ageia has the money to keep this rolling but if they can work it into games properly over the course of the next two to three years we could enjoy great advances that should have probably taken place already -
There was a point made earlier that you can just place physics onto the second core of a dual core cpu -
It would handle physics rather slowly actually
Developers and the big names in gaming have already decided to take physics off the cpu -
What about saving that core for better Ai ?
It would be much more efficient to give that core Ai responsibility -
Plus with new games & Direct X 10 API things are going to be much different in execution -
I would rather have my graphics card render - So if Nvidia and Ati expect me to buy a second video card for physics when I can get a ground-up developed card for physics at a cheaper price they've lost their marbles -
However it is likely that Nvidia and Ati will be successful in their physics efforts - I would like to see what the performance differences are -
Anyway, the biggest reason why SLi, XFire work, is becuase, the game doesnt require any special coding, as the graphics load is split via quadrent to each video card. Simple software trick to get maximum possible performance out of the hardware. The game doesnt specificly need to be oded for it to work well. Though, not to its fullest extent. And reasonably speaking, there really arent any games out there that REQUIRE a dual GPU setup to be experienced to teh fullest extent of the graphical options (i am of course excluding Anti Aliasing, as i consider that to be a driver trick, and not an actual game graphics feature. Also along with certain filtering options, as they are driver dependant, not game dependant). You can hapily game with all of the particular engines eye candy turned on, with a single video card. Even the "lowly" 6800 GT is capable of providing this level of gameplay for most titles.
The problem with Agia in this sence, is that they are saying, "certain games wont be as good as they can, unless you ahve out PhysX card to open up all of the games avliable physics". I dont think that will make a particular game sell any better, or really make people want to rush out and buy a PhysX card.
The other sad part in all of this, is i see alot of the larger "money maker" developers (i.e. EA and Sierra to name 2) that are interested in profit over quality of content, pushing out games with bloated physics engines, and not bothering to properly code for them. Adding aditional unneccesary load on teh CPU. That can only be offloaded by a PhysX card. And naturally, the developers will not bother to properly code the game to take advantage of a dual core CPU to offload that physics data from the main CPU. Essentiallyputting you in a rock and a hard place. I think that is ultimately the posision many people will be in, and i think thats a real shame. Much for the same reason i stated above as a step backwards. We are, once again, moving tword required add on bloat control hardware, where proper coding would correct the issue head on.
With that in mind, i whole heartedly agree with you, that i dont feel agia will be around very long. And i think they whole heartedly expect that, and are infact, probibly setting themselfe up for a inevtible buyout in the future.
I think one of the bigger questions you need to ask yourself when thinking about the PhysX card is...will the developers want to code for a game that allows you to topple buildings bit by bit with physics reacting deconstructable material, that has proper load bearing, weighting, and physic effect? Im willing to bet not. As these things are no easier to program for with an add in card then they where before. Though the code can be alot crappyer, and much more resource intensive as a result of the add on card (as stated above).
I think that we will see some PhysX emulators from the mod comunity before to long, that will allow a dual core CPU to run all fo the calculations of a PhysX card. Much in the same way we had Glide wrappers, and emulators back in the good ole days. I very seriously doubt that a developer would take the heat for infringing on phycis offloading with all of the patents Agia holds. So i expect some good things from those in teh open source arena.
Discussion on a logical level is always welcome in my book. And i too appreciate it.
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ESPN On Sweatshops in the College Apparel Industry
Kudos to ESPN journalists Mark Fainaru-Wada and Justine Gubar on their well-done new piece on the sweatshop labor the Dallas Cowboys are using to manufacture their new line of sports apparel.
They profile Kol Malay and her co-worker, who languish under horrible working conditions to make pricey clothing for US consumers. From the article:
Malay and her colleagues work harder than perhaps most people you know, logging regular 60-hour work weeks, sewing 10 hours a day, six days a week. They fear the wrath of their supervisors if they talk to a co-worker sitting next to them or take too long at the bathroom. They say they are essentially forced to work overtime daily and describe a hostile work environment in which supervisors yell and insult them. They work while sick because either they can't afford to go to the doctor or fear they will be fired if they miss work. They rent small rooms with sometimes as many as three other workers, eat substandard food and have irregular water and electricity.
All of this to make the clothes on your back, which just might include the Dallas Cowboys Sideline Kickoff Midweight Jacket you scored for Christmas, the one that sells for $100 — or about what Malay will earn in one month.
You should read the whole thing.
Categories: anti-sweatshops

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Whether or not Apple releases the iPad mini next month, you can bet it will release an iPad 4 next year in 2013. Apple's release schedule is more-or-less on lockdown, and that means its tablets and iPhones rarely get more than a year in the spotlight. But what features will the iPad 4 offer, and what is its release date? Here's what we know so far.
We'll update this article as more iPad 4 info is spilled, so check back for more.
iPad 4 name
It's easy to call the next full-size iPad the iPad 4, but within Apple's new naming convention, it's quite likely it'll simply be known as "iPad". Apple dropped the numerical naming convention in March this year with the launch of the "new iPad" - the iPad 3, in other words. This is in-line with the naming of most of Apple's other gadgets, including the MacBook line and the iPod ranges.
For the sake of clarity, we'll call it the iPad 4 for now, though.
iPad 4 release date
Although the iPad mini is expected to launch later this year in October, you can bet that the iPad 4 release date won't be pegged for 2012. Not only is it too close to the current "new iPad" launch in March 2012, it's also too close to the iPhone 5's release date of 21 September.
As yet, there haven't been many rumours surrounding the exact date of the iPad 4 launch, but we'd bet at least £1.50 that it'll land in March 2013. Why? The first iPad launched in March 2010. The iPad 2 launched in March 2011, and the third in March 2012. It's almost a no-brainer. Almost.
Apple hasn't managed to stay quite so even in its iPhone-series releases, and all sorts of disturbances in the force could sway Apple CEO Tim Cook's hand in this matter.
iPad 4 features
As with the release date of the iPad 4, possible features the tablet could include are murky at best at this point. However, according to iLounge, it won't be a series-shaking change.
iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz says the design will be tweaked in order to reduce heat produced by the tablet, and to introduce a rear microphone. The one obvious feature the iPad 4 will almost certainly include is the new Lightning dock connector, which was introduced at the iPhone 5 launch.
iPad 4 dock connector
What's all this talk of a new dock connector? If you're more an iPad fan than an iPhone acolyte, there's a chance you may not have heard about the new Lightning connector.
This was introduced alongside the iPhone 5, and replaces the 30-pin dock connector that has been around since the early days of the iPod range - only missing in the earliest models. Are we sad to see it go? Not really, but those who own high-end iPad audio docks may be, as you'll need to use a not-particularly-attractive Lightning converter to get an iPad 4 working with the thing.
The Lightning connector uses an 8-pin design and is much smaller than the old 30-pin design. Rather than an inch long, it's roughly the same size as a microUSB socket. It's about time for a change, but it'll probably tick off a few people and companies in the process.
iPad 4 battery life
With the iPad 3, Apple showed it is dedicated to maintaining standards. Although its screen was a much greater power drain than that of the iPad 2, thanks to its eyeball-melting Retina display resolution, Apple was willing to make the iPad 3 chunkier and heavier in order to ensure it kept the 10-hour battery life. We're looking at 10 hours minimum again for the iPad 4.
iPad 4 keyboard and stylus
Recent trends in the tech world have led many to ask whether the iPad 4 will feature a keyboard module or a digitiser stylus. These are some ideas to keep an eye on.
Aside from convertible tablets like the Asus Transformer tabs, not many tablets to date have offered good keyboard modules, but that's about to change. Many of the Windows 8 tablets revealed at IFA 2012 feature snazzy keyboards that clip near-seamlessly into the tablet, and often boost battery life too.
Some of these same tablets incorporate digitiser layers from Wacom as well. This effectively turns the tablet into a cut-down graphics tablet, a bit like the Wacom Intuos 5. With pressure sensitivity, a digitiser-equipped tablet offers much more realistic handwriting and drawing than a capacitive styus, like those you might use with a current iPad.
We seriously doubt Apple would market the iPad 4 as a tool for graphics professionals, but devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 show that there's an increasingly convincing lifestyle angle to be made for digitiser styluses.
Few are predicting immense innovation to come from the Apple design studio with the iPad 4, but it's early days at this point. The reported existence of the separate iPad mini suggests a much larger screen is unlikely, but as features like pressure-sensitive styluses are set to become much more accepted as a norm rather than a niche, their inclusion is possible.
Check back soon for more iPad 4 news.


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Easy to be a 'tough guy' on the web, isn't it :-Dt
Someone on this forum, I forget who, has a sig line that states something like "Never argue with a fool, he will beat you with experience", or something to that effect.Another has "Never wrestle with a pig, you both will get dirty, but he will enjoy it".I am reminded of them often, and not from just one person. That's why I sometimes just fade into the sunset.NO, TBeek, don't try to take credit for being pointed at here. I said there were several.
Nope. I don't misjudge people that badly very often. I'll definitely keep this one in mind.


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Relief exists I find it when I am cut..
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Results 1 to 5 of 18
June 15th, 2013 11:02 AM #1Senior Member
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First and middle name both ending in A. What are your thoughts about this name?
We are still working on this name and I have roughly 2 months to settle on one. We have an Elizabeth Kennedy,Margaret Olivia, Victoria Camryn, William Brogden, Jackson MCcrae, and a Miles Sawyer. We were initially thinking of Katherine Adeliah for this next baby. Adeliah is pronounced Ad eh lye a . We then decided we really wanted to honor my grandmother and name the baby
Lydia. So we now have Lydia Adeliah. We like the name but are worried about both names ending in A. Its sounds a little more frilly than my other girls names but I dont mind that. I am not sure but when saying it the stress seems to be on the 3rd syllable Lye in Adeliah. What do you think?
June 15th, 2013 11:14 AM #3
June 15th, 2013 01:04 PM #5Senior Member
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The names are too similar to begin with for me. They both have the same L, D and A sounds. So it sounds very run-on when said together. I would rethink this combo.Mama to ~Rowan Josephine 1/12~
and ~Teagan Dahlia~ 5/13~
June 15th, 2013 03:15 PM #7Senior Member
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I think they sound fine together. People rarely say that first name and middle name in combination anyway, so I tend to think we berries put too much emphasis on the flow of the first and middle name. Go with what you love!Mom to Alexander Patrick (11), Madelyn Esther (8), Genevieve Susan (3), and Theodore James (stillborn at 37 weeks on February 3, 2014). Expecting #5 (a girl) in May 2015 -- Penelope Bridget.
Boys: Everett, Sebastian, Augustus, Samuel, Julian, Nicholas, Desmond, Jasper, Ezekiel, Malcolm
Girls: Bridget, Felicity, Elizabeth, Penelope, Leona, Ophelia, Elodie, Callista, Miriam, Delilah
June 15th, 2013 08:39 PM #9Senior Member
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Thanks ladies! I have thought about sticking another middle name in there, like maybe a one syllable name like Jane. My husband prefers Katherine but that is way too long of a name even though our last name is 2 syllables. Its been hard for me because I would prefer the first and middle names not to be so similar,like my other children's names. I love both names and really want to use Lydia so I feel I am stuck.


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Lavishly photographed and intimately written, Britain's foremost food writer Nigel Slater has created a loving homage to fruit (and nuts) with Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard. Share his quiet passion for the produce he nurtures and for transforming these delights into simple but mouthwatering dishes—such as savory Poached Ham with Sharp Cherry Sauce and Sweet Apricot and Pistachio Crumble. This gem will be a welcome addition to any chef's kitchen. Hardcover; 600 pages; 218 illustrations. 10" x 7".
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Joined: 19 Dec 2005
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Location: New New York
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 4:13 am
Post subject: Cards vs Bears, Week 16 Metrics
Cards play Cover one. Single high safety shaded to Petersons side. Cutler has wide open target in the middle, throws at Peterson incomplete
Cards play three high with zones underneath. Peterson gets run over in the route, not sure if this should be OPI on Marshall or not, ball thrown inaccurately and incomplete
Single High, LB zones, CB's play man technique. Ball thrown poorly to Jeffrey on a quick hitch vs Gay
Cards run with three deep zones, Gay as a safety. Peterson in a deep third plays solid coverage, almost a great throw/catch combo.
Cutler abandons relatively clean pocket, good push from Williams, Campbell chases down the play for a coverage sack.
Calais Campbell with a good edge rush and Cutler throws inaccurately to Marshall vs Peterson.
Marshall motions inside, Cover 3 zones, Gay passes him onto Lenon who whiffs on him, should have been caught but Marshall stumbled and took his eye off the football.
Cover 1 with underneath man, Peterson in Man coverage vs Marshall in the slot. Marshall releases inside and the gets outside Leverage, Peterson with his help inside should have forced Marshall into the middle of the field. Great execution from Cutler on the back shoulder throw. Nothing Peterson could do, but he put himself in a bad position with inside safety help.
Cover 1 Man, Peterson on the FB who drops the pass. Would have been negative yardage if he caught it with Wilson is good position to make the tackle. Good pressure up the middle from Lenon.
Cards send a blitz with zone coverage behind, Marshall un covered in the slot runs quick slant in behind Acho and in front of Rhodes, goes off his hands and into those of Rhodes who should have made the easy INT.
Cards playing with one high safety three shorts zones (Including Wilson who may or may not have been meant to be in a deep zone) with Peterson 1 v 1 with Marshall who runs a fly. Marshall again gets away with blatant OPI on the play, but the ball falls incomplete. Without the OPI Peterson is in perfect position to make the INT in trail coverage with inside leverage on the poorly thrown ball.
Cards run Cover 4, Marshall comes out of the slot and runs over Adrian Wilson in coverage, ball thrown was a dead duck and incomplete
2 Man, Marshall runs a quick slant vs off man from Peterson and makes the easy grab for 7 yards.
Cover 1. Jeffrey on Toler in press man, Toler gets what he wants an inside release from Jeffrey with the inside safety help. Jeffrey stems his route back outside the numbers and Cutler makes a good thrown over the underneath Corner and outside away from the safety help which was a bit late (James Sanders), Great grab from the rook.
Screen, well read by Campbell who does just enough to drag Forte down.
Gay in the slot vs Bennett with 2 high safeties and Man coverage outside. Bennett Breaks inside Gay does not follow (Looks like he is playing a zone), both inside backers were on the far side of the formation so Gay essentially passes Bennett off to nobody, Gay needs to be more aware.
2 Man for the Cardinals. Peterson Man Coverage on Marshall. Peterson gambles on inside head fake and Marshall gets a gap. Peterson reading the QB when he should be reading the WR, let the safety in the zone read the QB. Easy throw and catch for the TD. Peterson did have safety help that was a little slow coming over the top, but Patrick needs to play with the proper technique here.
Three deep, Two Deep, Man Coverage from the safeties, Zones underneath, Daryl Washington passes his receiver onto nobody.
Cover 1 from Arizona, Bears try to set up a screen. Calais Campbell with pressure and the ball is incomplete, could have been about three holds called on the Bears OL here.
Bears set up a screen, tremendously read by Washington who makes the stop for just a 1 yard gain.
Cover 1, Peterson in press man on Marshall, Marshall runs a 9 route release and then stops for a comeback. Peterson plays perfect trail technique is just beaten to the ball by the receiver, not a lot Patrick can do better here.
Cover 1, Peterson in press man on Marshall, Marshall runs another comeback route, Peterson makes a great tackle after the play to stop extra yards, but not a lot any corner can do to combat this type of play.
Tight End screen from the Bears, well set up and well run down by Washington for 7 yards.
Cover 3 from the Cards, Jeffrey from a tight alignment runs a corner route vs Toler. Well played by Toler, incomplete, Holding turned down.
Cover 1, Cutler from his own endzone throws the 9 route with Peterson and Marshall in 1 v 1 coverage, well played by Peterson, safety coming over top was on time too, showed good range to make it across (Rhodes)
Big pressure up the middle from Calais Campbell, Cutler takes off and gets 10 yards.
Cover 3 from the Cards, Jeffrey vs Toler, Ball is overthrown, but Toler was in very good position.
Marshall Motions into Slot, Cards running a Cover three, Marshall left all alone in a zone that should have been occupied by Daryl Washington, but he bit on the playaction.
Common theme throughout the game; complete lack of pressure. Common theme in the first half, Patrick Peterson beating himself with poor technique.
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Location: the Arizona desert
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 4:40 am
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CC continues to be worth every penny of that huge contract...
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 6:40 pm
Post subject:
Lets get the week 17 metrics up Khodder!
El ramster on the sig
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Joined: 11 Apr 2005
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Location: Havre, Montana
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 6:45 pm
Post subject:
Pretty sad state at OLB. About 160 snaps, 0 pressures/hits/sacks.
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Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Posts: 4490
Location: PA
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 7:49 pm
Post subject:
stchamp98 wrote:
Pretty sad state at OLB. About 160 snaps, 0 pressures/hits/sacks.
Kind of makes you think if we go with Kolb and upgrade the OL through FA, that a pass rushing OLB is a good bet at that pick with Werner, Moore, Jones, and even Jordan.
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ARSC HPC Users' Newsletter 208, November 17, 2000
Job Openings at ARSC
Individuals are being sought to fill new positions at ARSC:
User Services
- Parallel Software Specialist
- HPC Vector Specialist
- User Services Consultant
Technical Services
- Senior High Performance Computing System Programmer/Analyst IV
For details, see:
Editor's Comment: If you're interested in these positions, don't be scared off by the winters! This is a land of stunning beauty, especially in the winter, and, like several ARSCers, you might even come to enjoy skiing on your lunch hour.
SV1 Cache and Vector Relationships
To better understand the SV1 processors, we've been testing several different user codes. One shows an interesting effect of the vector cache.
This is a finite difference code. It uses Fortran 90 features extensively and is dominated by 4-point stencil operations as shown here:
! Get maximum of each point and its neighbors field_max (:,:) = MAX ( field (:,:) & , SHIFT (field (:,:), SHIFT=-1, DIM=1) & , SHIFT (field (:,:), SHIFT=+1, DIM=1) & , SHIFT (field (:,:), SHIFT=-1, DIM=2) & , SHIFT (field (:,:), SHIFT=+1, DIM=2))
In this example, the entire array is shifted four times, N, S, E, and W, and then some function, "MAX" in this case, is performed on the original and four shifted arrays. This approach leads to an uncluttered, easy to read code and the effect is the same as the approach using nested DO loops:
do i = ... do j = ... field_max (i,j) = MAX (field (i , j ) & , field (i+1, j ) & , field (i-1, j ) & , field (i , j+1) & , field (i , j-1) enddo enddo
"Flowtrace" was used on runs of the program to determine the subroutines which accounted for the most time. Then, to facilitate testing, a driver program was written to invoke the three subroutines identified by flowtrace as dominant.
One of the tests was to do multiple runs of the driver with different problem sizes. (This amounted, basically, to changing the size of the array "field", above.) The total amount of work was kept approximately constant by increasing the number of iterations as the problem size decreased. Test were performed on from 1-8 CPUS and on one MSP. The Hardware Performance Monitor (hpm), which was described in the last newsletter , and the Job Accounting tool (ja) were used to to measure the following fields:
- Elapsed time
- CPU Memory references per second (per processor)
- Cache Hits per second (per processor)
- MFLOPS (per processor)
Here are a few observations concerning the results:
- From the "Cache Hits/Sec" graph, cache use peaks, drops off, and eventually disappears as the problem size increases. At a problem size of about 60x60, all the arrays presumably fit within cache. As the problem grows further, the multiple array shift operations overwrite more and more of the data in cache until none of the cached data is useful.
- MFLOPS and CPU Mem Refs/Sec are directly related and the shape of the two graphs are nearly identical. Given the volume of data movement, the nature of this code is to be constrained by memory bandwidth. And, as oft repeated at the SV1 CUG last month, memory bandwidth drives performance....
- CPU Mem Refs/Sec are strongly affected by cache use. The traces appear to be underlain by a monotonically increasing curve with the Cache Hits/Sec shape added on top. The best CPU MFLOPS observed occurs in the 1-CPU case, where cache use is best.
- After cache becomes irrelevant, CPU Mem Refs/Sec improves with increasing problem size. This, we assume, is the expected benefit of increased vector length on a vector processor. The longer the vector the better, as startup costs become a smaller percentage of the total vector processing. Another oft repeated comment at the CUG: "the SV1 is STILL a vector machine!"
Cache use, CPU Mem Refs/Sec, and per processor MFLOPS are all diminished with increasing numbers of CPUS, although this effect is reduced (asymptotically?) as the problem size grows.
Presumably, this results from the autotasking mechanism. Particular array chunks may not be getting scheduled to the same processors on successive iterations. A cache miss occurs when the data needed by CPU-1 is cached on CPU-2.
Performance on one CPU of a multi-streaming processor (MSP) beats that of one CPU in a group of 4 autotasked CPUs. In fact, it about matches that of one CPU in a group of 2 autotasked CPUs.
To understand this, here are some relevant features of the SV1:
- There are 4 CPUs per module
- The maximum memory bandwidth to a module is 5 GB/sec
- The maximum memory bandwidth to a CPU is 2.5 GB/sec
- An MSP is a new way to combine the resources of 4 CPUs and in an MSP, each CPU is taken from a different module
Thus, if 4 CPUs are autotasked, and happen to be drawn from the same module, and if they're working on a memory intensive code like this, then they will compete for the module bandwidth of 5GB/sec and in the worst case, obtain a quarter of that, or 1.25GB/sec each.
If 2 CPUs are autotasked, they can expect 2.5GB/sec each.
On the other hand, if 4 CPUs are combined into an MSP, the bandwidth available to each will not be limited by the module bandwidth, and can be as high as 2.5GB/sec each.
What the graphs in this test may show is exactly this effect of the CPU vs module bandwidth of the SV1. (Note that the tests were run on a dedicated system, so there were no other jobs competing for bandwidth or CPUs.)
The complexity of these curves suggest that there may be no universal formula for optimization. However, the most common recommendation from the SV1 CUG was: first improve vectorization and only then worry about cache.
We encourage you to share your experiences using the SV1.
Update on T3E Galaxy Simulations
Fabio Governato and L.Mayer (Milan, Italy and University of Washington) together with their colleagues in Milan (Italy), Durham (UK) and at the "N-Body shop" (UW) have performed on yukon, the ARSC T3E, the highest resolution simulation to date of the dynamical evolution of a dwarf galaxy.
This simulation took more than 10000 node hrs to evolve 3 million particles for 7 Gyrs, as the dwarf galaxy orbited around a a larger galaxy (similar to our Milky Way). The mass resolution is just 50 solar masses per particle!
This simulation, together with others performed at ARSC and at the italian supercomputing center CINECA:
are part of a project that demonstrated the dynamical evolution undergone by disk satellites infalling onto the two giant spirals of the Local Group.
Small satellites with thin rotating stellar disks get transformed into dwarf spheroidals (where stars move on isotropic orbits) by the strong gravitational field. Large stellar streams, perhaps observable by future satellite missions, are created in the process.
A Web page has been set up with more information on the Local Group and a collection of mpeg movies and gif images of interacting galaxies in the Local Group environment:
Results will be published in Astrophysical Journals Letters .
Quick-Tip Q & A
A:[[ Speaking of inlining, it won't work if the subroutine to be [[ inlined contains Fortran 90 "OPTIONAL" arguments. Unfortunately, [[ my most-frequently called subroutine does indeed have an OPTIONAL [[ argument, named "MASK": [[ [[ SUBROUTINE SUB_ORIG (FIELD, MASK) [[ [[ I've thus replaced SUB_ORIG with two subroutines: one which requires, [[ and one which lacks, the OPTIONAL argument. The code changes were [[ trivial, and the new declarations look like this: [[ [[ SUBROUTINE SUB_nom (FIELD) ! no mask [[ SUBROUTINE SUB_msk (FIELD, MASK) ! mask is required [[ [[ Now the hard part. [[ [[ The original subroutine was called ~360 times, in some 100 source [[ files (of 300 total) which reside in 3 different source directories, [[ and it's called in two different ways, depending on the need for the [[ optional argument. The original calls look, for example, like this: [[ [[ CALL SUB_ORIG (G_BASAL_SALN (:,:)) [[ CALL SUB_ORIG (O_DP_U (:,:,K,LMN), MASK = O_MASK_U (:,:)) [[ [[ I need to update all these calls with the appropriate replacements: [[ [[ CALL SUB_nom (G_BASAL_SALN (:,:)) [[ CALL SUB_msk (O_DP_U (:,:,K,LMN), O_MASK_U (:,:)) [[ [[ How would you manage this? Here's a perl script that works in most cases (it doesn't handle, for instance, CALL statements split over more than one line and it is case sensitive). Call it "replace.prl": #!/usr/local/bin/perl -pi.bak m/CALL *SUB_ORIG/ && m/MASK *=/ && s/SUB_ORIG/SUB_msk/ && s/MASK *=// m/CALL *SUB_ORIG/ && ! m/MASK *=/ && s/SUB_ORIG/SUB_nom/ ; You could invoke it on the files in the three directories as follows (with obvious assumptions about the file and directory names): ./replace.prl source1/*.f source2/*.f source3/*.f That's it. Done. This is so powerful, it's scary. The magic is in the "-p" and "-i" switches in the interpreter command, "#!/usr/local/bin/perl -pi.bak2". -p : assumes a loop around the script. The loop iterates over every line of the input files. -i : edits the input files "in-place". The ".bak" is an option to "-i" which causes a backup of each original file to be saved, to, in this case, files with the extension ".bak". Q: According to hpm, my SV1 code gets 30 million cache hits/second. How can I tell if this is really improving its performance?
[[ Answers, Questions, and Tips Graciously Accepted ]]
Current Editors:
E-mail Subscriptions:
Ed Kornkven ARSC HPC Specialist ph: 907-450-8669 Kate Hedstrom ARSC Oceanographic Specialist ph: 907-450-8678 Arctic Region Supercomputing Center University of Alaska Fairbanks PO Box 756020 Fairbanks AK 99775-6020
Subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) the e-mail edition of the
ARSC HPC Users' Newsletter.
Back issues of the ASCII e-mail edition of the ARSC T3D/T3E/HPC Users' Newsletter are available by request. Please contact the editors.


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Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity
About Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the largest North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. We were founded on March 9, 1856 at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South. Our national headquarters, the Levere Memorial Temple, was established on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1929. Sigma Alpha Epsilon has more than 307,000 initiated members and more than 12,000 undergraduates at 229 active chapters and 19 colonies in 49 states and provinces at present.
Our creed is The True Gentleman, and we strive to live up to it on a daily basis. "The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe." — John Walter Wayland. Virginia, 1899
The California Zeta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at San José State University began as an interest group of 9 people in Fall 2005. Out of that group of students, 2 members, Epifanio Santiago and Alberto Gutierrez, were successful reviving SAE. The group was officially recolonized on November 5, 2005.
Learn more about our chapter house.
Chapter Information
- Designation: California Zeta Chapter
- President: Adit Shrestha
- Websites: National and Twitter (@SAESJSU)
- SJSU Founding: November 1, 1947; rechartered October 27, 2007
- National Founding: March 9, 1856 at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa AL
- Scholarship: Fall 2016 - 2.67, Spring 2016 - 2.74, Fall 2015 - 2.76
- Colors: Royal Purple and Old Gold
- Flower: Violet
- Symbols: Lion, Phoenix, Minerva, Fleur-de-lis
- Motto: "Phi Alpha"
- Nickname: SAE
- Famous Alumni: President William McKinley, "Pistol" Pete Maravich, Bobby Jones, Troy Aikman, General Richard Meyers, Greg McElroy, Phil Jackson, T. Boone Pickens, Joseph B. Strauss, Robert Ballard, Dierks Bentley, Ross Perot, Elliot Ness, Henry Paulson, Patrick McEnroe, Beau Bridges, William Faulkner, Commander William Oefelein, David Spade and Nick Lachey
- Annual Events: Paddy Murphy and SAE Founders Day


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Looking to sell my 2012 Black on Black 6MT GLI. It's basically new. But 300 miles used now. Looking to sell but still trying to figure out how much of a hit to take. Willing to trade for 2010 or 2011 GTI 6MT in either white, black, or silver. If you are looking to buy - please no low ball offers. Totally understand it's used now, but not in a rush to sell it.
Willing to trade for a 2011 WRX Sedan as well, but guessing since this is a VW site that there are not many WRX owners on here..


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FLACHAU, Austria (Jan. 14) - Reigning Flachau Night Slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) powered to a .90 second first run lead then cruised to a strong victory Tuesday in the resort south of Salzburg. Shiffrin took the title with a .83 second margin over a hard-charging Frida Hansdotter of Sweden in front of 20,000 screaming Austrian fans as wet snow fell throughout the final run. Universal Sports Network will replay the thrilling race at 8 p.m ET. The women's tour now heads to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for a weekend of speed racing.
RESULTSOfficial Results
LINKSFacebookTwitterUSSA Network
Join the madness and make your pledge to support the team. Checkout Medals Madness and learn how you can make a difference for U.S. skiers and snowboarders.


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Before: Drab bungalow
Maxi Lilley and Eric Faurot's house appears to be just another bungalow on a street full of bungalows in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood. But once you're inside, the genius of its recent redesign becomes clear. Built in 1910, the house was small but in a great location: near a shopping street and public transit.


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Sno-Cone Machines And Profligate Government
posted at 9:47 am on December 6, 2011 by Bruce McQuain
We have a 15 trillion dollar national debt. Ever wonder how we got there?
Yesterday, although the paper warped it into a completely stupid rant on race, the NY Times told us that government workers are losing their jobs. Why? Because revenue is down and budgets are tight. But there are other reasons as well.
And here's an example of one of them:
Montcalm County recently received a $900 Arctic Blast Sno-Cone machine.
The West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC) is a federal- and state-designated agency responsible for managing and administrating the homeland security program in Montcalm County and 12 other counties.
The WMSRDC recently purchased and transferred homeland security equipment to these counties — including 13 snow cone machines at a total cost of $11,700.
The machines were funded by a grant from the Michigan Homeland Security Program. The request for a snow cone machine came from another county, but all 13 counties received them.
Your first question has to be "why wasn't a request to "Homeland Security" for a Sno-Cone machine summarily turned down with a warning that such requests were inappropriate? Especially in tight fiscal times? Well the simple answer to that is because Homeland Security isn't dealing with its own money. It's dealing with your money. And because of that apparently nothing is inappropriate, tight fiscal times or not.
Note the job description of the WMSRDC I've emphasized. And what is the reason for a Sno-Cone machine? Well here's the reason given why it was "necessary":
MCES Director David Feldpausch said the machine could be useful at the scene of a large fire or during very hot weather.
"I don't like the term snow cone machine, because it sounds horrible," Feldpausch said. "When you look at it as an ice shaving machine and its purpose, it makes a little more sense. I assume it will get used in Montcalm County a lot more in the summertime by the Fire Corps."
Of course he doesn't like the term "snow cone machine". It doesn't just sound terrible, it sounds inappropriate and wasteful. And it is both of those things. Certainly it would be a "nice to have" item. But a bucket of ice and some water would serve the same purpose.
And of course there's the matter of a single $900 request being turned into a $12,000 dollar expense when some bureaucrat decided all of the counties, even the 12 who never asked for one, get a Sno-Cone machine.
Now I know this comes from a completely different bucket of money, but any idea of what percentage of an employee's salary this would pay if layoffs are being contemplated in the area? Is this the best and most appropriate use of Homeland Security money? Does anyone even review this stuff?
Profligate spending is the symptom of an out-of-control government. While $12k spending is but a mere speck on a drop in the bucket of money spent by government each year, it is indicative of how we got into the debt mess which we now find ourselves and is ever getting worse. Multiply these sorts of transactions by the millions and you begin to understand how we have gotten where we are.
There is no necessity for shaved ice at a fire. Note the word. Necessity. There are plenty of much less costly alternatives. Like bagged ice and water. And this is for a contingency ("large fire", summertime) for an event which may or may not happen.
The reason I highlight things like this is because the are better understood by people than complex and much more costly examples which are essentially the same but harder to wrap your head around. This is relatable. This shows clearly how wasteful government can be with a fairly low cost example that people can readily identify with.
Its like showing a picture of luxury food which is able to be purchased with EBT cards (Food Stamp Cards). You naturally know "this ain't right". You sort of go with the idea of helping the less able, but you bristle at being taken advantage of. Well the above example "ain't right" and certainly an example of taking advantage of the taxpayer, but typical of literally millions of government purchases over the years.
Result. Well just take a gander at the national debt clock if you need a reminder.


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Posted by Dan Bieler on December 21, 2011
It does not come as a real surprise that the deal aimed at merging AT&T's and Deutsche Telekom's US wireless operations got nowhere. We were expecting as much back in autumn. In our view, there are no winners as a result of this dropped deal, not even the US consumer. The US consumer can look forward to poorer network infrastructure and a weakened T-Mobile as the low-end market provider. Hence, the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department attained somewhat of a Pyrrhic victory.
Whilst the collapsed deal is a major irritant for AT&T, it is a disaster for Deutsche Telekom, as it leaves T-Mobile US in a very difficult position. With about 10% of the US wireless subscribers, T-Mobile US remains subscale. Its image is increasingly trending toward cheap rather than good value, given its patchy network coverage, especially in rural areas.
The reluctance by Deutsche Telekom to prepare for a "no-deal scenario" leaves T-Mobile without a clear strategy. This lack of direction is very risky and only pushes T-Mobile further down a slippery slope toward increasing churn and revenue and margin challenges. Deutsche Telekom needs to communicate its plans for 4G roll-out, spectrum purchases, partnerships for network sharing, and device portfolio. Above all, Deutsche Telekom needs to decide soon whether to pursue an IPO, a sale to another operator or a financial investor, or target a merger with the likes of Dish, Leap, Clearwire, Sprint, or even LightSquared. Ultimately, we expect Deutsche Telekom to opt for a merger scenario.


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We've got a special digital edition coming out today, April 1 -- and you can vote on which cover you like best! Click the image above to see it larger. And here's a sneak peek of the inside:
Click the image to see a larger version and read all the insider tips about the 1940 census. You can download a copy the 1940 Census cheat sheet to share here. (To help interpret some of the markings, you may want to watch this video.)
By the way, happy April Fools Day! :)
And here's some real census advice:
Canadian author and genealogist Dave Obee
recently opined on his Facebook page, "I've been hearing about the pending death of the book for several years now. One of these days, the prediction might turn out to be true."
Obee's comment kicked off an interesting online conversation. For many genealogists, the surge in online books can sound like a threat to the paper tome. But, as with all things, the market drives business and innovation, and the convenience and flexibility of digital books is very appealing. Here are some Tech Tips to help you dive in and reap the benefits of this growing phenomenon:
Get StartedAllison Stacy, editor of Family Tree Magazine, made this great video for getting started with Google Books.
See How Other Genealogists Use Google BooksMiriam Robbins Midkiff, author of the popular genealogy blog AnceStories: The Story of My Ancestors was featured in this video produced by Google.
Search Within a Book After conducting your initial search and selecting a particular book, you can search within that book by simply typing specific keywords in the search box found in the column on the left side of the book's page. This box searches only the book currently being viewed and makes quick work of finding a desired surname on individual pages of a large volume. (Find this tip in my new book The Genealogist's Google Toolbox.)
Keep Up To DateThe Inside Google Books blog is a great way to keep up to date on the latest news at Google Books. Add the RSS feed to your iGoogle page or favorite reader by simply clicking the Feedburner button found in the column on the right.
Google eBooksHave you noticed that the Google Books homepage looks different these days? That's because they have introduced the Google eBookstore to the offering. Here's a terrific little video that explains the benefits of online books in a fun and simple way:
Google eBooksDon't skip Google eBooks just because they offer books for sale. Try this handy tip to unearth free gems:
1. Go to Google Books.2. Click blue Go to the Google eBookstore Now button
3. Type family history in the search box and click the Search All Google eBooks button.
4. Click the Free Only link in the light blue box at the top of the page.
5. You'll get a results list full of free books, many hard to find self-published family histories.
Look ElsewhereWhen it comes to digital family history books, Google Books isn't the only game in town Check out the Family History Archive, then watch the video below to learn more about how to use this robust resource.
I've had such a great time sharing Tech Tips with you these last 2 months. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll join me at the free Family Tree Magazine podcast and Genealogy Gems podcast
for more lively conversation about genealogy!
—Lisa Louise Cooke


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I understand it may not be the best and that there is better. I was just wanting to utilize stuff I had on hand. I am in Texas west of Fort Worth. We do not always have a steady supply of fresh pollen for the bess, it can and often does stop raining for extended periods of time. When that happens I want to feed the girls to keep them going so that our short fall flow is not missed.
I have deleveloped pollen patty recipe 8 years. The pearl in the grown this spring was a hive which had 20 frames brood in case when willow had bloomed 2 weeks.[/quoteHow you prepare your pollen patties? I always prepare with 6 cups powdered sugar/1,5 cup frozen pollen/1 cup honey and water.Thank you.
Do you use granulated dry bakery yeast or wet molded bakery yeast?


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Stories tagged 'scotlands golf courses'
Tuesday, November 23rd, 1999
Pringle Backs Scottish Web Site
Golfers can sample the beauty and excellence of Scotland's golf courses on a dedicated web site. Entitled'Scotland's Golf Courses', the Pringle-sponsored site provides information and pictures on all of Scotland's major courses, including St Andrews, Carnoustie and Loch Lomond, and gives details such as scorecards, course diagrams and yardages, and catering. The site, which can…read the full story


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Here we go guys with my in progress ally armor
Here we go guys with my in progress ally armor
looking good so far man! Are you making ROTJ or SE?
ROTJ but have another 2 sets ready to panel and bend so may do a SE and a ESB but hey just enjoying the making at the mo :-)
Cool man! Well the shape of the armor looks solid. I don't really have much else to say about the armor until more pics surface! Keep it up!
For the ROTJ Hero armor don't forget all the dents, even the one on the right chest plate which is often missing on almost all the fan made ROTJ suits.
The DaG (Dressing a Galaxy) suit is (almost) the same with the MoM (Magic of Myth) and SWtE (Star Wars the Exibition) suits. The ROTJ Hero jetpack is on the AoSW (Art of Star Wars) and C-IV (Celebration IV) exibit suit.
Last edited by RafalFett; Mar 1, 2012 at 12:54 PM. Reason: Text corrected.
Cheers guys for the thumbs ups and thanks Raf for the pics will add more pics as i go
As for the plates, they seem a bit flat to me. I'd have to see them on a vest to be sure but make sure that they fit the curvature of your body properly and don't stick out too much on the sides, especially the ab plate. Shoulders seem to have a good curve though keep it up
Thanks for input apolofika i am looking to place on to vest today so can make the adjustments , thanks again
85% complete on back armor just a little more welding and shaping , more pics soon
Great progress! Looking good.
Chest armor first placement (all advice welcome )
looking good Jake..
The back plate and collar plates (where they meet at shoulders) seem like they need a little 'fairing' in to each other.
Any chance you can get a pic with the vest and armour on you? would give a better indication of plate size to your frame?
But I like the depth you've done to the plates.
Didn't know you were a scummer... (jk)
Yeah as soon as i get a chance but to give you an idea i'm 6'1" . Don't tell me you're a skate mojofett or you'll have to be my first bounty
Great work so far man! Don't forget to add the dents in the armor!
Keep it up!
Here you are Mojofett a couple or pics with flak on , plan was to get placing right then bend to my body
Armour's looking good!
Much better curve to the armor compared to your initial post! I like the direction it's heading in.
You may want to look to the alignment of the chest and diamond piece (they seem to be a bit lopsided) and I would still like to see the dents in that armor!
But, all and all, it's shaping up extremely well! Pretty soon you'll be ready to paint it up!
Noted and adjusted Arcaster Can't wait to paint as i'm a vehicle paintsprayer by trade . I've been a painter for about 25 years now but hey got to be patient and get the panelling right first
Hey Jake, got a better view with the armour on ya! I 'think' that the plates are a little on the large side? (see attached pic, excuse size of image) I understand that your a tall guy but they seem a little on the large side when compared to the pics. (just my 2 pence).
Maybe.. and it is a maybe that when you've added the contours to them that they'll 'appear' smaller?
Don't get me wrong I think they look great so far but could be allot better with a little work.
p.s. Paint sprayer?? hmmmm will send ya a PM.
I think the armor is OK, but the vest seems small on you, this is why you don't have enough room to fit the armor plates properly. The vest should be longer in lenght and maybe wider on the shoulders, especially that the shoulder area doesn't look good. Did you buy the vest already made or it was made to your measurements?
I was thinking the armor looks a bit large on you as well, but like rafal said it might be that the vest is a little too small. Or maybe a combination of both.


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Hello fine people of Delaware from a Maryland neighbor.
I was curious as to how the public lands for duck hunting work, specifically for assawoman, just looking for a change in scenery/hunting adventure.
The main question would be availability of blinds, are they always all filled up and what are the odds of getting one?'
Any and all information would be appreciated!


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By Rob Kelly
Wojciech Szczesny expects Swansea to provide Arsenal with a major challenge at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Michael Laudrup's side have won a host of admirers for their performances so far this season, and lie just one point and one place behind the Gunners.
Szczesny has been impressed with the Welsh club, and says Arsène Wenger's side will have to be at their best to beat them on Saturday.
"I think they're a quality team, so it will be a very tough game and a very important game," he told Arsenal Player.
"They have changed their style a little bit, they don't keep possession for ages, they are a little bit more direct. But they still try to play very good football and as a football fan, I appreciate that: I like watching them.
"Going forward they score a lot of goals, but hopefully they won't on Saturday. I have been watching them and they have impressed me. But we are very confident, we should be winning these kind of games at home."
The last time the two sides met, Swansea ran out 3-2 winners but Szczesny expects a much-improved performance from Arsenal on Saturday.
"It was a very weird game last year - the goals we conceded were really weird," he said. "Although we conceded three goals, they did not dominate possession that much - they still played well but we deserved at least a point.
"I hope we will play them like we did at home last season [when Arsenal won 1-0]. We kept a clean sheet, they didn't really have a goalscoring opportunity and we managed a very solid performance. That is what we are looking for on Saturday."
Watch the full interview with Wojciech on Arsenal Player now.


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|Topic Review (Newest First)
|i find silverstar's runs to be better than big white's, but big white has a lot more to do with much better lift access (even the biggest crowds are nothing when using a 6+4 setup)
both silverstar and big white attract trees all the way to the summit, snow ghosts.
Some of the best tree runs I've had have been at big white. The Black Forest chair is a good one for intermediate tree runs and offers a lot of untouched snow. Also check out gem lake chair lift on the far side of the resort. This opens up about a third of the whole resort area! when in was constructed a few years back it was the longest chair in north america. it goes down 300m below the village so snow cover can take a while for the lift to be open, in true big white style, the lift lines are almost always pleasant, minus school holidays. the warming hut at the bottom is pretty cute too (i used to work there).
Silverstar as a rule has more skiers, more moguls and steeper terrain, its further from kelowna than BW.
However, one of Australia's best pro-riders, Robbie Walker said in a magazine interview that silverstar was his top resort out of everywhere!
If I were you, I'd live in Big White, and work there. Waking up with fresh snow out your window.. why wouldn't you? Theres a backpackers called samesun on the hill. Most people stay there until they work out their accom and a job. working in canada.. waitressing is a good one. Tips! Most other jobs will give you 10-12 dollars an hour. Waiters pull in some heavy coin because of the tipping culture.
if you can, get a car and drive to Silverstar to check it out. well worth it.
Banff aint bad, lovely surrounding, you can't stay on the hill though in most resorts.
Hey thanks alot for all that, will have to look into the Banff region.
And thanks for the recommendation of a hostel in Vancouver, we've been trying 2 suss a place 2 stay there for a couple nights after we fly in so we can sort all our stuff out before heading somewere else.
Yeah how thorough is reference checking since I'll be coming from NZ, surely most businesses wont be wanting to make international toll calls? or is it pretty cheap to do over there?
I have lots of customer service experience and worked in a cafe so hopefully should be able to find a job.
I hear people aren't tipping so much with the whole 'recession' deal, but I suppose a little tip is better than no tip.
Yeah will look into buying a car, what sort of deal is it with change of ownership and that sorta stuff over there?
Does big white have enough gladed and tree runs to keep it fun when it does white out? I've been to blackcomb/whistler before and found there was still plenty to do on white out days thanks to the trees.
Does anyone know what silver star is like?
|I have been to most of the resorts in Nth America and have found Big White to have some of the best dry snow, however you are definitely captive there if you wanna check out other places. Its 1 road in 1 road out. It is very true of the big white out experience, so I have found feb and march to be the best time to be there. Kelowna is ok, but for me, the area is best spent in summer for the lakes and the peach and thunder festivals they have there. Okanagan summers are worth it. If you want mountains, you cannot beat the rockies... Many moons ago, I spent a season in Banff as well (97-98). The season was pretty crap (which was still amazing... 5 or more meters of base) - I believe it was my first experience of el nino, but there was still loads of work etc. Banff is also good as you have the tri mountain area which includes sunshine village, lake louise and the local hill, mt norquay. All 3 are well worthwhile hills. Just living in the rockies... incredible scenery. (That john denver was not full of shit man). Banff is a good town for party as well and the hills that i mentioned, if working at them have mutual recognition of passes etc. So if you wanna burn it to fernie or whatever then its easy. Speaking of fernie, its well worth a look. Living off hill is pretty easy there and it still has a rad pioneering vibe. Check out 'our fernie' website and accom options. Banff is pretty easy to get accom and town jobs as well... the only drama is the hourly pay rate is lousy - so go for a waiter/bar tender job as soon as you can. From what i remember, alberta has a lower hourly pay rate than BC so you definitely wanna be in hospitality for the tips (they can be great, i recall pullin 250 p/day from cashed up americans). On hill server/tender jobs are probably the best as you get a pass and food and booze and you definitely get better hookups that way as well. You can also swindle daytime riding time. They are competitive jobs though as you often get return applicants etc. Make sure you fudge your CV or have some experience at least. Kitchen jobs arent bad either... you get food, riding time and a share of tip out. Versa Services used to run the restaraunts and bars on hill at sunshine village, maybe check them. You can apply for on mountain accom, but it feels a bit isolated... so i would look on the notice boards in the hostels, online and just get your lurk on in the bars in town for roomies etc... Team up with other crew and throw down for a house. One place that was famous for packing in bums was 'northwoods manor' - they were classic good/ghetto units, but there were also houses around that were pretty available (there was a great rowdy place called the green house that I woke up at alot, but it got knocked down, i digress)- you just gotta get there well in advance - as usual. I rate banff highly and consider it as the best bet for all the things that you may be looking at outside of going to whistler. Whistler is good, but its gonna be hard for the olympics. I would definitely be signing up for the employment drives they do with the aussie/kiwi hills they recognise. Yes you may get only lifty jobs, but you arent going there for the jobs. As far as being at whistler is concerned, its a good party vibe... its a good place... its expensive... the hill is good - but there is alot of traversing. I see there is a new peak to peak gondola - which is great if it gets tracked or fogged out on one side. However, for me, I have been backcountry there a few times with snowmobiles and that was the best time riding i have had there. Again, whistler is good, but everyone will be thrashing it there. Vancouver is a great town, but the local hills arent what you would be going there for. If you wanna stay there, your best bet is to stay at the nomads hostel on granville st. there is a bar downstairs full of jr travellers there for the party and stuck in the rut of working at the local hills. You may get some hookups there, but i wouldnt recommend getting caught up in the vancouver thing. If you can, buy a beater car and drive to the rockies. I hope this is of some help NZGnu.... I love Canada and I will be there again for 09/10! Good luck!
Yeah considered Whistler but figured it'd be too expensive, and accomodation would be lacking due to the olympics.
Have not heard much about banff what is it like? We also considered going to Grouse or Kicking horse. what're your opinion of those?
i went to big white a few years back. kelowna is a fair trek and the shuttles are neither free nor conveniently timed. plus they can be way over an hour. we stayed in BW and due to the shuttle situation, we stayed there, despite our lift passes being valid for SS and a 'shopping trip' to Kel being 'free'.
for sure though Kel would offer the main work and lodging options. BW is defo a piss take town in that it knows those staying there are 'captive'. everyone that works there are Aus/Kiwi and altho there can be a good party atmosphere, it is primarily a resort sold on it being 'family'; so puking public nudity isn't gonna be tolerated for long!
also, BW as i found regards more the probability of white out, as opposed to any reference to tons of snow (altho the snow ghosts are pretty cool)
if i were you, you might wanna consider being based in Vancouver or Banff instead of Kelowna, and being seasonaires in Whistler or Lake Louise instead of BW or Silver Star.
but as you prefer.
Big White & Silverstar/ Kelowna
Hey guys,
Me and couple mates have booked some flights to Vancouver for November and we're looking to spend the season at Big White & Silverstar since they have the option for join season passes.
We're considering basing ourselves in Kelowna as we figured it'd be easier and cheaper to find a place to live and jobs and better night life. Does this sound about right? Anything else we should know about heading to the area?
Are there cheapish shuttle/bus services form the town up the mountians? or would we be better off nabbing a car?
Don't suppose anyones got some hook-ups for a job or place 2 rent in the area?
Any help, advice, or just tales of experiences you've had in the area would be great. Or if you think we'd be better off somewhere else then feel free to throw that in.
We're mostly looking for pow, since we dont get much in nz, but also decent park and terrain to keep us busy for the season.
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Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, while visiting a primary school class, found themselves in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings.
The teacher asked both if they would like to lead the discussion of the
word "tragedy". So Barack Obama asks the class for an example of a tragedy.
One little boy stood up and offered: If my best friend, who lives on a
farm, is playing in the field and a runaway tractor comes along and knocks him dead, that would be a tragedy.
No, says Barack, that would be an accident.
A little girl raised her hand: If a school bus carrying 50 children
drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy.
I'm afraid not, explains Hillary. That's what we would call a great
loss. The room goes silent. No other children volunteered.
Hillary searches the room. Isn't there someone here who can give me an
example of a tragedy?
Finally at the back of the room little Johnny raises his hand. In a stern
voice he says: If a plane carrying Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were struck by a missile and blown to smithereens that would be a tragedy.
Fantastic! exclaims Barack and Hillary, That's right. And can you tell
me why that would be a tragedy?
Well, says little Johnny, because it sure wouldn't be a great loss,
and it probably wouldn't be an accident either.
Recycled trhough chuck shumer and a few others but definitely worth it.


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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
We come back a week after the fellas have their own respective stints in entertainment. Ryan plays the other man in short film the Long Lost Last Weekend and Jonathan is the opener / emcee at the Improv at Harrah's on-the-stip in lovely, historic Las Vegas. Jonathan comes face-to-bicep with male dance group 'Thunder from Down Under' and gets phat bank for cameo in Jonah Hex residuals (no, not really). The guys do a self obsessed IMDB star meter ranking update in light of entertainment gigs that causes flaccid egos, but hey – the Nerd Aristocracy does break over 2000 unique listens with about 200 proud Nerd Proletariet listeners!
DJ Andyredrum lends some more tunes for our break as we learn that yes, finally Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is announced. This causes a general debate over films who should've never have seen a sequel. New Wonder Woman costume upsets nerds and breaks the bank accounts of Cosplay fans. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting keeps its funding!! (for now) Tax the fat cat debate, Jesse 'The Body' / 'The Governor' Ventura likes E.T. and still has no time to bleed. Rebel nerd hijacks part of Gaddafi's clamped down communications network and claims it for the resistance. Love hurts for true: heart break is physical pain. Nerding out: Ryan on Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things -the title of which he cannot recall-, Jonathan continues to edit his six-part mini series for the Ken Burns and Oliver Stone epic 'Love Leaks'. Ryan gives his hands-on impression of the Motorola Xoom and we have some Nerd Aristocracy swag to share around.
Continue Reading


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Welcome to MapQuest National Parks
Apr 5, 2012
Here at MapQuest, our team is a collection of adventure seekers, backcountry hikers, photography enthusiasts and family road trippers. America's national parks hold a dear place in our hearts as an amazing collection of destinations preserving some of our nation's most treasured natural, cultural and historical resources. We want to share that passion with you in MapQuest National Parks.
MapQuest National Parks is a new content feature series spotlighting America's national parks. Each of the 58 parks has its own page complete with guide content and a panoramic cover photo from renowned outdoor and adventure photographer QT Luong. With park rangers as your guide, you can also explore six of the most visited parks by video. We hope this project will bring inspiration as you make your travel plans for summer and beyond. National Parks Week, coming up April 21-29, is a great opportunity to get out and experience the national parks around the country free of charge. We wish you happy and safe travels!
Welcome to @MapQuest National Parks aol.it/HjJ9lO
- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 5, 2012


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'"Obviously, you want to be in camp," Biron said. "I'd much rather be heading to City right now, but you've got to continue working on the process and continue working with the league to get a CBA worked all out. That's what we're concerned about now."'
Biron among locked-out players biding their time
September 21, 2012 Submitted by
Via: Buffalo News


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Been working on this costume for a while now....
The helmet is done :
I first used cardboard and tape to get the shape right :
this took a while , endless reshaping , three times starting over , but in the end it kinda looked like it.
next : I took it apart and transferred the cardboard to polystyrene.
I bent the polystyrene using a paint stripper gun.
after that I kept adding pieces of plastic and bondo
the hardest part was the bottom : the inward hollow structure.
After a few tries and a lot of bondo this was the result :
I also added the top detail.
I made a mold , using EVO's instructions from the clone forum
I then cast the helmet using Smoothcast 300 tinted grey.
Unfortunaly the master didn't survive.....
The Helmets came out pretty nice !
Got the greeblies cast.
Mock up of how it should look
Then figuring out how to attach the RF.
Now some primer , final sanding and then.......Paint !