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"Hi There. We are a group of weekend tennis buddies who are looking to add to our players pool. We are probably between 3.0-3.5 and play mostly doubles. Age group is between 30-50. If you are interested and have a good attitude. Please join us text me at 510-860-2034.
Hi William,
Looking to play some tennis this summer. I'm maybe 3 level but haven't played for a long time. hope we can get together for a game soon.
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Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter
Father Emperor, Help Support A-Heng!
"His Highness the Ninth Prince has gone to send the princess of Gu Shu back to her country, and he is currently in the South. A few days ago, a letter arrived that said that His Highness the Eighth Prince, who has always been stationed in the South, has had a joyous celebration. Based on what I know, His Highness the Eighth Prince personally chose some great gifts and has asked His Highness the Ninth Prince to bring them back to the capital with him. They are a betrothal gift to be sent to the Lu family's third young miss." As she spoke, Feng Yu Heng stood up and saluted grandly toward Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, saying: "I really must congratulate Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu!"
Once these words came out, a piece of news came out. This was that the eighth prince was going to be joining the Lu family!
But why was this?
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was dazed, and everyone present was dazed. But compared to everyone else's surprise, the Lu family rejoiced quite a bit. Lu Yan was so moved that she even grabbed Ge shi's arm and repeatedly asked: "Is this true? Mother, is this true?"
Ge shi also could not understand. To the Lu family, this was an unexpected joy, but could this news coming from Feng Yu Heng's mouth be trusted? She quietly asked Lu Song: "Husband, didn't you go and see Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu this morning? Did you hear her mention it?"
Lu Song shook his head and sighed: "Not only was it not mentioned, but Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu even rejected this marriage. Our Lu family has not even reached the point of supporting His Highness the Eighth Prince? What can be used to help him? Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu has clearly told me that marriage between the two families is impossible; however, I don't know why it's now… ah!" He suddenly swayed and seemed to have become enlightened, as he said: "I've got it. Our Lu family's situation is something that has happened over the past two months, and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu has sent a letter to His Highness the Eighth Prince about this marriage before this. After the Lu family's incident, even if she sent a letter, it was already Winter, and it would take two or three months to reach the South. As for the letter that His Highness the Ninth Prince sent back, it should be after the first letter that Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu sent. Like this, His Highness the Eighth Prince should not know too much about our Lu family's situation. Or perhaps… the information still had not reached the South when His Highness the Ninth Prince sent this letter."
But after thinking about it some more, he was not too optimistic, "Even if it had not reached the South, it's a matter or time. As I see it, this marriage won't happen."
Lu Yan, however, did not care about such things and only said: "It won't happen? Since Imperial Daughter Ji An has already said it in front of so many people, that means it can happen. Also, it must happen!" She spoke resolutely with her eyes opened wide. She told Lu Song, "The Lu family and the eighth prince being joined by marriage is something that was mentioned by the ninth prince's letter. Father, now that Imperial Daughter Ji An has said it in front of so many people, do you think that these words can be retracted?"
Lu Song was startled, "You mean to say…"
"Daughter means to say that we should turn the trick against her."
Lu Song's eyes lit up and exchanged a look with Ge shi. The family of three immediately came to an agreement. Thus Lu Song stood up and very politely saluted to Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, saying: "Many thanks Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu for the favorable care. My young daughter will definitely not become bedeviled by His Highness the Eighth Prince."
"Shut your mouth! Cease your nonsense!" Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu became frantic, as she suddenly stood up. No longer having the time to worry about speaking out against Feng Yu Heng, she pointed at Lu Song and said: "Who said His Highness the Eighth Prince will marry your Lu family? This One definitely does not agree! Also, the marriage of a prince requires His Majesty's approval. How could it be agreed to with just you saying it?"
Lu Song said in a grief-filled tone: "Replying to Imperial Concubine, this marriage was not brought up by this official. It was…" He looked at Feng Yu Heng, "It was Imperial Daughter that said it!"
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was truly so angry that she did not know where she should vent. She turned her head and angrily glared at Feng Yu Heng, saying: "What nonsense are you spouting? An imperial daughter is still just an imperial daughter. This One is the dignified Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu! I am the birth mother of a prince! You really are bold to cook up a story about this One!"
Feng Yu Heng blinked then pretended to be afraid, shifting a couple steps to the side. She then simply walked to the center of the stage and dropped to her knees in front of the Emperor, "Father Emperor, you must support A-Heng!"
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood, support her? The one that should be asking the Emperor for support ought to be her, right? Thus she also kneeled in front of the Emperor and said something similar: "Your Majesty, you must support this concubine!"
The Emperor looked down below and did not speak; however, he gave Zhang Yuan a look. Zhang Yuan was helpless and said to himself that you are an emperor and immediately push things to the eunuchs whenever a situation arises. You really are grand! But he still needed to obey the Emperor. After looking at the Emperor's expression, he very quickly knew what he ought to do, thus he raised his shrill voice and said to the two: "There should be an order to asking His Majesty for support. It was Imperial Daughter Ji An that asked first. Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, please kneel in wait."
The servants went to help Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu over to the side and reminded her: "Imperial Concubine, you cannot stand or sit, you must kneel in wait."
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was so angry that her liver began to hurt, but there was nothing that she could do. Zhang Yuan represented the Emperor. This was something that everyone understood. She could only kneel and wait for Feng Yu Heng to say: "Father Emperor, A-Heng is just an imperial daughter, but I offended Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. What should be done? I am but a lowly imperial daughter, while Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu is someone from the palace, and she is the birth mother of a prince. If she bites A-Heng and refuses to let go, will A-Heng be able to continue living?"
These words were said in a tearful tone. That's right, it was indeed a tearful tone, as Feng Yu Heng "went against her conscience" and squeezed out a few tears, causing the Emperor to feel extremely distressed.
"Good child, quickly get up to speak. The ground is cold." He leaned forward and moved to personally help her up, which scared Zhang Yuan into holding him back then trotting over to Feng Yu Heng's side to support her.
Feng Yu Heng continued to wipe away tears, but the people that watched this scene just rolled their eyes. They thought to themselves, Imperial Daughter Ji An, you really are good at acting! A lowly imperial daughter? Imperial daughter was not a lowly position, alright? Offended Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu? You're afraid that she will make life difficult for you? You actually think something of this imperial concubine? Thinking back to when you and the high-ranking imperial concubine faced off, you didn't even appear half as worried!
But these were just mental complaints. The people that were thinking these things, the majority were close with Feng Yu Heng. Only a small portion were currying favor with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, hoping for the eighth prince. But now that the Emperor had such an attitude, what could they say? Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, you've been wronged. This is something that everyone knows, but who dares to help you?
Feng Yu Heng acted the part and used her handkerchief to wipe her tears. Only then did she raise her head and say to the Emperor: "Father Emperor, with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu saying the things that she just said to A-Heng, A-Heng is really scared, but… but the news really was not A-Heng spreading nonsense! It was a letter that His Highness the Ninth Prince sent back to the capital. Father Emperor also saw that letter. It was the one that A-Heng sent into the palace the day before yesterday."
The Emperor nodded, "A-Heng is right. The day before yesterday, the letter sent by Ming'er was brought back. It was indeed written that he intends to have the Lu family's third young miss as his princess. Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, come, come, come, say what you just said to Us one more time!"
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was shocked. Shock once again surrounded her. She never thought that what Feng Yu Heng had said was something that the Emperor knew about! The only one that was left in the dark… was her?
She trembled with fear and raised her head to look toward the Emperor. Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu did not know what she should say. She thought at first that Feng Yu Heng had to be spreading nonsense and could not have received such news. Or it was something that she had worked up between her and Xuan Tian Ming, but now that the Emperor had such an attitude, regardless of whether or not this was a deliberate incident, but it seemed that the Emperor was not opposed to it? But this meant that he agreed to it? This…
"Your Majesty." Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu still wanted to make one final appeal, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Eighth Prince has been stationed in the South and has not interacted much with the Lu family's daughter. How could he possibly make such a decision to marry her? There must be some misunderstanding."
The Emperor waved his hand, "Let's not speak of this matter. We just wanted to support A-Heng. What did you threaten her with earlier? She is just a lowly imperial daughter? You are the dignified Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu? Alright, since you thought of this, We will support A-Heng!"
Once these words came out, everyone froze. They just could not understand. How would the Emperor support Feng Yu Heng? Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu had said that she was a lowly imperial daughter, so could it be that she would be promoted to palace princess? But even if she was, she could not be compared to an imperial concubine!
As the people began speculating, they heard the Emperor say: "Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, Yuan shi, unable to repay kindness and being unkind when speaking, you will be demoted to concubine and lose the title of Shu. You will simply be known as Concubine Yuan."
This sudden imperial decree came out, as Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu became Concubine Yuan. She had even lost the title of Shu. This left everyone feeling shocked, but a concubine was still a position in the palace. Concubine Pin was still above Feng Yu Heng's position as imperial daughter!
Very clearly, Concubine Yuan thought this way too, as she coldly looked at Feng Yu Heng and forcefully said: "Even if I am just a concubine, you should still treat this One with respect."
Feng Yu Heng acted and moved a couple steps back. While patting her chest, she acted very frightened, and the Emperor said: "Oh, concubine is also no good. Then let's go with noble lady!"
Everyone inhaled sharply. Without a position in the palace, even if a noble lady was one of the Emperor's women, that status was far too different. Feng Yu Heng was an imperial daughter, and her status was celebrated. If she wanted to go against a lowly noble lady, there would be nothing that Noble Lady Yuan could do.
The former Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, now just Noble Lady Yuan, collapsed on the ground. She fell from the heavens to the ground and was instantly dropped to her former status. Noble lady, this was the title that she held when she first entered the palace! She had worked hard for many decades and finally gave birth to a son for the Emperor. She worked to obtain the position of imperial concubine for herself; however, it was all lost in just a moment. This… why exactly was this?
She cried and begged the Emperor: "Your Majesty, this concubine knows her mistakes. This concubine really knows her mistakes and begs Your Majesty for your grace. Don't lower this concubine to the position of noble lady! Your Majesty!"
She loudly pleaded, causing the Empress to feel irritated, "When we came to the hunting ground, Yuan shi, you just kept on crying. This One told you about it many times. Today is not the time to be crying. Who are you crying for at this time?"
Noble Lady Yuan really wanted to say that Feng Yu Heng had also cried, but she no longer dared to. She could only beg for the Emperor to change his mind and return the title of imperial concubine to her. She could no longer worry about anything else.
But the Emperor clearly did not have any intention of changing his mind. She cried for a long time without a response. At this time, Feng Yu Heng spoke up once more: "Father Emperor, then as you see it, the marriage between His Highness the Eighth Prince and the Lu family's young miss…"


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Compute eye space from window space
This page will explain how to recompute eye-space vertex positions given window-space vertex positions. This will be shown for two cases. Case 1 uses gl_FragCoord in its entirety. Case 2 uses only gl_FragCoord.xyz. Both require access to the projection matrix.
Before we begin, we need to define some symbols:
|The projection matrix
|The eye-space position, 4D vector
|The clip-space position, 4D vector
|The normalized device coordinate space position, 3D vector
|The window-space position, 3D vector
|Vx, y
|The X and Y values passed to glViewport
|Vw, h
|The width and height values passed to glViewport
|Dn, f
|The near and far values passed to glDepthRange
From gl_FragCoord
gl_FragCoord.xyz is the window-space position W, a 3D vector quantity. gl_FragCoord.w contains the inverse of the clip-space W: .
Given these values, we have a fairly simple system of equations:
In a GLSL fragment shader, the code would be as follows:
vec4 ndcPos;
ndcPos.xy = ((2.0 * gl_FragCoord.xy) - (2.0 * viewport.xy)) / (viewport.zw) - 1;
ndcPos.z = (2.0 * gl_FragCoord.z - gl_DepthRange.near - gl_DepthRange.far) /
(gl_DepthRange.far - gl_DepthRange.near);
ndcPos.w = 1.0;
vec4 clipPos = ndcPos / gl_FragCoord.w;
vec4 eyePos = invPersMatrix * clipPos;
This assumes the presence of a uniform called viewport, which is a vec4, matching the parameters to glViewport, in the order passed to that function. Also, this assumes that invPersMatrix is the inverse of the perspective projection matrix (it is a really bad idea to compute this in the fragment shader). Note that gl_DepthRange is a built-in variable available to the fragment shader.
From XYZ of gl_FragCoord
This case is mostly useful for deferred rendering techniques. In deferred rendering, we render the material parameters of our objects to images. Then, we make several passes over these images, loading those material parameters and performing lighting computations on them.
In the light pass, we need to reconstruct the eye-space vertex position in order to do lighting. However, we do not actually have gl_FragCoord; not for the fragment that produced the material parameters. Instead, we have the window-space X and Y position, from gl_FragCoord.xy, and we have the window-space depth, sampled by accessing the depth buffer, which was also saved from the deferred pass.
What we are missing is the original window-space W coordinate.
Therefore, we must find a way to compute it from the window-space XYZ coordinate and the perspective projection matrix. This discussion will assume your perspective projection matrix is of the following form:
[ xx xx xx xx ] [ xx xx xx xx ] [ 0 0 T1 T2 ] [ 0 0 E1 0 ]
The xx mean "anything;" they can be any value you use in your projection. The 0's must be zeros in your projection matrix. T1, T2, and E1 can be any arbitrary terms, depending on how your projection matrix works.
If your projection matrix does not fit this form, then the following code will get a lot more complicated.
From window to ndc
We have the XYZ of window space:
Computing the NDC space from window space is the same as the above:
Just remember: the viewport and depth range parameters are, in this case, the parameters that were used to render the original scene. The viewport should not have changed of course, but the depth range certainly could (assuming you even have a depth range in the lighting pass of a deferred renderer).
From NDC to clip
For the sake of simplicity, here are the equations for going from NDC space to clip space:
Deriving those two equiations is very non-trivial; it's a pretty big stumbling block. Let's start with what we know.
We can convert from clip space to NDC space, so we can go back:
The problem is that we don't have Cw. We were able to use gl_FragCoord.w to compute it before, but that's not available when we're doing this after the fact in a deferred lighting pass.
So how do we compute it? Well, we know that the clip space position was originally computed like this:
Therefore, we know that Cw was computed by the dot-product of P with the fourth row of M. And given our above definition of the fourth row of M, we can conclude:
Of course, this just trades one unknown for another. But we can use this. It turns out that Nz has something in common with this:
It's interesting to look at where Cz comes from. As before, we know that it was computed by the dot-product of P with the third row of M. And again, given our above definition for M, we can conclude:
We still have two unknown values here, Pz and Pw. However, we can assume that Pw is 1.0, as this is usually the case for eye space positions. Given that assumption, we only have one unknown, Pz, which we can solve for:
Now armed with Pz, we can compute Cw:
And thus, we can compute the rest of C from this:
From clip to eye
With the full 4D vector C computed, we can compute P just as before:
GLSL example
Here is some GLSL sample code for what this would look like:
uniform mat4 persMatrix;
uniform mat4 invPersMatrix;
uniform vec4 viewport;
uniform vec2 depthrange;
vec4 CalcEyeFromWindow(vec3 windowSpace)
vec3 ndcPos;
ndcPos.xy = ((2.0 * windowSpace.xy) - (2.0 * viewport.xy)) / (viewport.zw) - 1;
ndcPos.z = (2.0 * windowSpace.z - depthrange.x - depthrange.y) /
(depthrange.y - depthrange.x);
vec4 clipPos;
clipPos.w = persMatrix[3][3] / (ndcPos.z - (persMatrix[4][3] / persMatrix[3][4]));
clipPos.xyz = ndcPos * clipPos.w;
vec4 eyePos = invPersMatrix * clipPos;
viewport is a vector containing the viewport parameters. depthrange is a 2D vector containing the glDepthRange parameters.


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Science Fiction and Fantasy - Student Gallery
Welcome to our Science Fiction and Fantasy Course Student Gallery. Below is just a small selection of artwork that students have created over the years on our online art course.
You can see lots more student artwork by following our Facebook Page, College News Blog, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram pages.
Would you would like to see your artwork featured in our gallery or on our social media pages? If so please email us your artwork along with some text about it to firstname.lastname@example.com
Why Study With Us?
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0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
your spores are wack
Honestly, Steve can drop off of the face of the earth for all I care. He's done so little for us in the last two years, he's not even a part of the community any more.
If you can get Steve to lend you is mount.
Are you going to be a part of the forum then? Like I said, you pay the bill and for that we are all very grateful, but you need to look at things the way they are. You aren't a part of the forum any more and you can't make the best decisions for it. If you want to come back and have it be like old times that would be great; otherwise, you've got to give one of the moderators administrative privilege so that things can get done.
Glad to hear business is going well for you.Since you're checking in frequently, where would you suggest we place our various forum proposals and whatnot for you to look at? They've been largely ignored in the past, no response for or against them.
They have full administrative privileges, always have. The junior moderators can't ban people, but otherwise have full privileges. And I don't make the decisions for the fourm, the moderators do. And if there is anything they want which they can't do, they contact me and I talk with them.
Also, Gunner is one of the children.
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Geoffrey C. Smith
Psalm 1
1. Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
4. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
All rational people, at the heart of their being, desire to be happy. This desire quietly shapes our thinking, our decision making, and our overall approach to our world. Our own happiness is often the most influential factor in the choices we make throughout life, whether small or great.
True, we may not consciously articulate this desire moment by moment. Yet it is there within us, directing us to those things we believe will make us happy and away from those things we believe will not. Really, is there anyone who does not wish to be happy? Is there anyone who would intentionally seek out misery instead of happiness?
In speaking of happiness, I am not necessarily referring to the ephemeral sort of happiness that bewitches our culturethe temporary feelings of euphoria that accompany a relaxing vacation, the winning of an award, a big promotion at work, or even a wedding. Those who pursue this type of happiness may be compared to a swimmer making his way across a great ocean by swimming from island to island. He leaves one island and, after a marathon swim, makes it to the next, where he finds a small measure of rest and refreshment. At the end of his stay, he once again dives into the ocean for another test of his endurance. His only ambition is to arrive at the next island (wherever that is!), where he will once again enjoy a few moments of relaxation before returning to the water. The islands represent those fleeting moments of pleasure which, according to the prevailing view of happiness in our culture, make the extended periods of emptiness, frustration, and disappointment bearable.
It is one of the great spiritual scandals of our day that many Christians have this very worldly view of happiness. Yet what sort of happiness is revealed to God's people in the Scriptures? Well, it is certainly a deeper and far more meaningful sort of happiness, for it is the "blessedness" of those who have been saved by Jesus Christ.
Therefore, it is an enduring sort of happiness that reaches the Christian in every part of his being. It provides him with a sense of wholeness and inner harmony, because he has been reconciled to his Creator. It provides him with a sense of value and self-worth, because he has been loved by his Redeemer. A Christian isn't cynical or sour about life, because he knows it is worthwhile; he has an abiding sense of purpose and usefulness (even in hardship) because his steps are directed by a caring Providence.
Woven into and through this happiness is an ever-increasing desire for heaven, where Christ is seated in all of his splendor and glory. This is true happiness, and it is the unique possession of the Christian, who has been raised up to new life by the Holy Spirit from the grave of spiritual death. It then becomes the task of the saints to cultivate this happiness by all the means God has provided, and to pursue godly happiness vigorously with all the effort and planning we would normally invest in any endeavor we consider to be important.
In the First Psalm, our heavenly Father wisely instructs us in the pursuit of happiness and spiritual contentment. It is a wisdom psalm; its purpose is to train and instruct the saints. It employs a teaching method common in the Scriptures (think of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16): one individual is set before us as a positive example, in order that we might imitate him; then a second individual is set before us as a warning, that we might not imitate this one.
In other words, if anyone desires true happiness, he must begin by carefully observing the life of this happy man!
As we have already observed, the blessed man is the happy man. Psalm 1 teaches us that his happiness is directly related toand to a large degree dependent uponhis manner of life. The first notable feature of the happy man is revealed by a contrast between godly and ungodly influences (vss. 1-2). The contrast is not between two forms of companionship. If it were, the second verse would parallel the first with a threefold list of righteous associates.
As it is, Christians who live in a world opposed to God cannot help but come into varying levels of contact with sinners and scoffers (see 1 Cor. 5:9-10). In spite of this, they can still resist the influence of the ungodly by shutting their ears to the prevailing philosophies, moral standards, and general values of the culture. The happy man, therefore, is careful to protect himself from ungodly influences.
In other words, the true Christian refuses to permit the cultural consensus to shape his thinking. "If the wicked continually offend God while the scoffers mock his holy law, why should I adopt their worldview or their ethics?" he asks. So he avoids like a contagious disease the predominate beliefs of the world and turns all of his attention to God, who has made himself known in his Word.
Significantly, the happy man doesn't devote himself to God's Word out of slavish duty or superstitious fear. The study of God's Word is not a miserable burden to him, but the source of great delight. He finds pleasure in God's Word, so much so that he cannot get enough of it (making it perhaps the only addiction the Lord permits!). Therefore, he meditates on it during all of his waking hours.
Now for some, the very word meditation conjures up the imagery of an Eastern religion: while spicy incense fills the air, the mysterious word om is monotonously chanted. The more secular practitioners of this form of meditation attempt to achieve a high level of relaxation by suspending their mental processes ("Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream," was John Lennon's description).
But the Old Testament version of meditation is entirely different: the mind is fully engaged as a believer considers, ponders, wrestles with, mulls over, and generally occupies his thoughts with God's Word. To put it another way, with attention properly focused and the heart ready for scrutiny, the Christian talks to himself about the Scriptures.
The Christian practice of meditating on Scripture, though somewhat rare in our day, was considered by earlier generations of Christians to be a primary means of spiritual growth and edification. One minister compared it to a cow chewing her cud!
Recently, J. I. Packer has attempted to promote a revival of this "holy habit." In his book entitled A Quest for Godliness (Crossway Books, 1990), he describes how the practice of meditation was modeled on the sermon. Privately, alone with God's Word and Spirit, the meditating Christian would attempt: (1) to search and challenge his own heart, (2) to stir up his affections to hate sin and love righteousness, and (3) to encourage himself with God's promises (p. 24).
Packer correctly notes: "The healthy Christian is not necessarily the extrovert, ebullient Christian, but the Christian who has a sense of God's presence stamped deep on his soul, who trembles at God's Word, who lets it dwell in him richly by constant meditation upon it, and who tests and reforms his life daily in response to it" (p. 116).
The Christian must not stop here, content with the superior moral system revealed in Scripture. The happy man meditates on Scripture day and night because he discovers God himself in it! Christian meditation is not simply pondering a code of ethics (however valuable this might be). It is much more! In fact, it is vital communion with God himself. In other words, the truly happy man is happy in God! As the Psalms elsewhere say,
Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways (Ps. 119:1-3).
I desire to do your will, 0 my God; your law is within my heart (Ps. 40:8). (The Hebrew verb for "desire" is related to the noun "delight" in Psalm 1:2. How appropriate it is that these words are, ultimately, the words of Jesus Christ, who always did what was pleasing to his Father [see Heb. 10:3-10; John 8:29].)
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, 0 God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Ps. 42:1-2).
Meditation, therefore, is valuable for two reasons. First, it promotes genuine piety in a believer by providing God's rule for living his life (Ps. 119:11). Second, meditation on God's Word enriches a believer's love affair with God! In fact, the former (obedience to commands) has no meaning apart from the latter (love for God). We must not stumble over this: law-keeping, no matter how careful and exact it is, never pleases God if it does not proceed from a heart of love for God. If we forget this, we may begin treating the Bible superstitiously, as if a bare knowledge of its words were sufficient for our happiness and contentment.
The happy man loves the Scripture and meditates on it because, for the duration of his sojourn in this world, it is his only reliable source of the true knowledge of God himself. Authentic meditation, then, is not a mere religious ritual. Rather, it is an expression of intimate fellowship with the living God.
Mr. Smith is the pastor of Parkwoods OPC in Overland Park, Kansas. Reprinted from New Horizons, November 1997.
|© 2020 The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Chaplains and Military Personnel


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The Real Problem with Highly Regulated "School Choice"
A Fordham Institute paper released today seeks to answer the question: do private schools really refuse to participate in heavily regulated school choice programs? Its authors tell us that "many proponents of private school choice… take [this] for granted," citing two examples—one of them being the Cato Institute, whose Center for Educational Freedom I direct. The authors even cite a relevant commentary by former Cato policy analyst Adam Schaeffer.
The only problem is that the cited commentary says precisely the opposite. Describing Indiana's voucher program, Schaeffer writes: "Because participating schools will have a significant financial advantage over non‐participating schools, lightly regulated [non‐participating] schools will face increasing financial pressure to participate." This captures Schaeffer's concern as well as my own (which I expressed over a decade ago in the political economy journal Independent Review): We do not fear that private schools will refuse to participate in heavily regulated school choice programs. We know that they ultimately will participate, or be driven out of business by their subsidized counterparts.
We know this because there is extensive evidence to that effect from all over the world and across history. Everywhere that private elementary and secondary schools are eligible for government subsidies, the share of unsubsidized school enrollment falls. The higher the subsidy and the longer it has been in place, the more the unsubsidized sector is generally diminished. The Dutch enacted a heavily regulated nationwide voucher program nearly a century ago. Unsubsidized private schooling remains legal, but has been reduced to a statistical asterisk—now making up less than one percent of enrollment, compared to roughly 70 percent for subsidized private schools.
Our reason for concern over this pattern is also grounded in empirical evidence: it is the least regulated, most market‐like private schools that do the best job of serving families. That is the consensus of the worldwide within‐country research, which I reviewed and tabulated for a 2009 paper in the Journal of School Choice. The Fordham paper does not discuss this evidence.
Despite imputing to Cato scholars the exact opposite of the view we hold, the paper does include some interesting data. In particular, it offers a new corroboration that voucher programs are more heavily regulated than tax credit programs (a difference whose magnitude and statistical significance was previously established here). This will make it even harder for objective observers to cling to the notion that vouchers and credits are functionally equivalent.


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Within the Primal/paleo community and elsewhere, it's often stated offhandedly that wheat is addictive. And absolutely, wheat for many people feels like something they could never give up. I hear it all the time: "I couldn't live without bread." "What would I do without cereal, dinner rolls, toast, {insert your favorite grain-based food item here}." And wheat is often the main culprit in the sugar/insulin rollercoaster that drives sugar-burners' [1] need to eat (more wheat) every few waking hours. But is wheat addictive in a different sense – as an opiate like heroin and other drugs? Today I take a look at the research and attempt to separate fact from fiction. What do we really know about wheat as an opiate? Let's find out…
Humans and other animals have something called an opioidergic system – an evolutionarily-preserved way for an organism to modulate behavior, addiction, and reward. When you exercise, for example, a lot of the euphoria you feel comes from endogenous (produced in-house) opioids interacting with your opiate receptors. This is the body's way of dealing with a stressful experience (physical exertion), reducing pain, and it also has the effect of reinforcing a behavior that is positive, healthy, and in the organism's best interest. The opioidergic system also interacts with the immune [2], endocrine, and central nervous systems (in other words, this is physiology, so it's all interrelated), but we won't get too much into that today. Now, it's not just endogenous opioids interacting with our receptors; certain substances, like heroin and other opiate drugs, act as exogenous (produced out-of-house) opioids, thereby hijacking and "supercharging" our physiology. Cocaine [3], alcohol [4], and tobacco [5] also interact with opioid receptors. The addictiveness of these substances is infamous, so these interactions exist shouldn't surprise you.
However, there are other exogenous opioid peptides, also known as exorphins (exogenous morphine), found in substances that we don't normally consider to be repositories of potentially addictive morphine-analogs. Like wheat.
Some of the most extensively studied food-based exorphins – gluten exorphins, from gluten [6], and gliadorphins, from gliadin – are derived from wheat. In a previous post [7], I raised the possibility of a wheat addiction. But are these exorphins actually problematic? Do they really interact with your opioid receptors to make you crave another "hit"? Well, an early 1979 paper (PDF [8]) on the topic suggests that in order for them to actually function as in vivo [9] opioid exorphins in our bodies, wheat exorphins must appear in our gastrointestinal tract after ingestion and during digestion, they have to survive degradation by intestinal enzymes into constituent amino acids, they have to be absorbed – intact – into the bloodstream, and they must pass the blood-brain barrier.
Do they satisfy those requirements? Let's take a look.
When wheat is applied to conditions designed to simulate the human gut (complete with physiological amounts and proportions of stomach acid and digestive enzymes), exorphins are produced. This suggests that applying wheat to actual human stomachs (by eating it) should also produce wheat exorphins. Satisfied.
There's also evidence that gluten exorphins do show up in the bloodstream after ingestion of wheat, at least in subjects with celiac disease (PDF [10]). But let's temper our conclusions; remember that celiac disease is usually characterized by a severely-compromised intestinal lining, and that the subjects who had exorphins in their blood tended to have the most intestinal damage. It remains to be seen if wheat has the same effect on people with healthy, intact intestinal linings. Satisfied and satisfied.
I was unable to find hard evidence of wheat opioids crossing the blood-brain barrier. There is this rat study [11], which found that gluten exorphins stimulate the secretion of prolactin (an excess of which can lead to loss of libido in both sexes) by interacting with opioid receptors located outside of the blood-brain barrier, but not inside it. On the other hand, Dr. Emily Deans says [12] that exorphins "definitely end up in the body and brain of rats fed gluten orally." She also uses low-dose naltrexone (an opiate blocker) to treat celiac patients who can't seem to give up wheat, which would suggest that something's getting through to interact with those receptors. Still, not completely satisfied.
We've all had people tell us "but I could never give up bread!" In my experience, and from talking to hundreds upon hundreds of newcomers and sharing emails with many more, this is common in folks going Primal. Your pastas, your breads, your pizzas, your pastries, your muffins, your cookies are the foods that people have trouble giving up and the foods that, once expunged from the diet, have the greatest tendency to cause "relapses" if eaten again. Part of it is cultural conditioning, I'm sure – the whole "staff of life" thing, the inundation from birth with the message that whole grains represent the pinnacle of healthy eating, the bread basket at dinner, the pancakes on Saturday morning, the birthday cake that you're practically excommunicated for refusing – and part of it is the fact that wheat flour goes well with vegetable fat, refined sugar, and low prices, but I wouldn't be surprised if wheat has addictive properties mediated through its unique exorphins.
We just can't say that yet, not definitively. It may be addictive, but not to everyone. If your gut is permeable enough to allow passage of opioid peptides into your blood, I could see it causing problems. If your gut is healthy and intact, maybe it's not such an issue. More research is clearly required. Still, until this all gets sorted out, I'd suggest people continue to avoid wheat and other gluten-containing grains (and heck, all grains [13] for that matter). And if you're going to mention the opioid stuff to any skeptics or interested parties, don't sound too authoritative. Admit that while evidence for wheat's addictiveness exists, it's far from conclusive.
Casein [15], a dairy [16] protein, can also be cleaved to form exorphins. Human milk [17] even contains a number of dairy exorphins, most notably beta-casomorphin (casein morphine). In fact, beta-casomorphin levels are highest in colostrum [18], the highly nutritious "first milk" that infants get from their mothers. Perhaps that's a way to get babies hooked on the sweet, nutritious, essential breastmilk right off the bat? The old "bait and switch," where you slip the customer the pure stuff, get them hooked on it, and subsequently sell them the stuff that's been cut with filler? We don't know for sure, but I would assume that the most nutritious, perfectly "designed" food for human infants contains opioid peptides for a very important reason.
Hemorphins, a class of opioid peptides, come from hemoglobin [19], a protein found in the red blood cells of vertebrates. If you like your steak bloody rare, you're likely consuming hemoglobin, and your stomach is probably cleaving the hemoglobin up into hemorphins. Of course, since hemorphins already appear naturally in your cerebrospinal fluid, brain, and plasma, I wouldn't necessarily worry about becoming addicted to blood sausage.
Other food compounds can act as exorphins, too. Flavonoids, those bioactive plant compounds with antioxidant properties, may interact with opioid receptors [20]. Epicatechin, a flavonoid found in green tea and chocolate, can act like an exorphin [21], at least in mice. Its cardioprotective effects are even thought to be mediated through its opioid activity.
Interestingly, even spinach contains an exorphin which, along with a gluten exorphin variant, has actually been shown to improve the learning ability of rodents [22].
That doesn't mean you should pound spinach and wheat gluten before finals week and hope for a miracle. It also doesn't mean that you should avoid chocolate [23] and give your baby formula instead of breastmilk because you're worried about addiction. It simply means that the effects of food exorphins aren't clear-cut. They aren't necessarily "bad."
I'm definitely anti-wheat. I think people eat way too much of it, and it appears to perpetuate its own consumption. I wish I could say definitively whether wheat is addictive as an opiate or not – but I can't. Not yet.
What say you, folks? Were you addicted to wheat? Are you? What about any of the other foods that break down into opioid exorphins – any spinach addicts out there?
Thanks for reading.


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ENN rounds up the most important and compelling environmental news stories of the week. In the news September 18th - 22nd: Funding the war on warming, food safety revisited, tainted sludge, population and water scarcity, and much more.
Top Ten Articles of the Week
In the news September 18th - 22nd: Funding the war on warming, food safety revisited, tainted sludge, population and water scarcity, and much more.
1. Branson Commits $3 Billion to Fight Global Warming
Billionaire Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson Thursday committed an estimated $3 billion over the next 10 years, or all of the profits from his airline and rail businesses, to combating global warming. Branson's announcement came one day after the Bush administration said it was committing $3 billion to climate technology research and development.
2. E. Coli Outbreak Mystifies Investigators
U.S. food safety regulators said Thursday they were still mystified by an outbreak of E. coli that has killed one person, sickened 157 and forced all fresh spinach to be pulled from store shelves. The investigation centers on nine farms in three California counties, and the outbreak may signal a need for tighter regulation.
3. California Sues Carmakers over Global Warming
California sued six of the world's largest automakers over global warming Wednesday, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have caused billions of dollars in damages. The lawsuit is the first of its kind to seek to hold manufacturers liable for the damages caused by their vehicles' emissions, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.
4. Study Finds Drugs, Chemicals in Sewage Sludge
Promoted as a great way to dispose of treated waste, the sewage sludge sold to homeowners to spray on their lawns and gardens may also be adding drugs, flame retardants and other chemicals to the landscape, according to a study.
5. U.S. Judge Rejects Bush Rule on Logging Roads
In a setback for the Bush administration, a federal judge rejected a rule that allowed logging roads in national forests and reinstated environmental protections put in place by former President Clinton. Environmental groups, including some that were plaintiffs in the case against the U.S. Agriculture Department and Forest Service, hailed the decision.
6. World Water Demand Surging Due to Rising Population
Surging demand for irrigation to grow crops for food and biofuels will add to pressure on water supplies in a world where one in three people already suffer from shortages. The U.N.-backed International Water Management Institute issued an assessment of world water resources in late August based on the work of 700 researchers.
7. Schwarzenegger, Bloomberg Team on Climate Change
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed Thursday to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because the Republicans said they cannot wait for the Bush administration to take action on climate change.
8. Eco-Paradises in Crossfire of Water Scarcity Fight
Delicate wetlands, coasts and wildlife sanctuaries could be ravaged as part of a struggle to stretch the world's water supplies, with the worst damage foreseen in poor countries. Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, said precious ecosystems may be targeted as a fresh water source if scarcity becomes acute.
9. Bumps on the Road for U.S. Ethanol Vehicles
Driving flex-fuel sports utility vehicles on E85 15,000 miles (24,000 km) a year can cost consumers an additional $400 per year, according to the Department of Energy. Experts doubt that E85 will ever develop into more than a niche market, meaning many of the millions of flex fuel vehicles in the United States may rarely run on the corn fuel, if at all.
10. Fish Used to Detect Terror Attacks
A type of fish so common that practically every American kid who ever dropped a fishing line and a bobber into a pond has probably caught one is being enlisted in the fight against terrorism. San Francisco, New York, Washington and other big cities are using bluegills -- also known as sunfish or bream -- as a sort of canary in a coal mine to safeguard their drinking water.
Photo: An aerial view of the Amazon Forest in Brazil. Credit: ©Greenpeace/Daniel Beltra.
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6 Family Traditions You Can Start With Your Kids
Are you a tradition-loving parent?
Wondering how to celebrate everyday life, and not just the big moments?
Create some new family traditions.
In this article I'll share how you can start traditions, based on 'The Book of New Family Traditions,' by Meg Cox.
The book shows that traditions aren't just about celebrating big occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving, but also about everyday life and the daily rituals that make life fun, meaningful, and rich!
Why Practice Family Traditions?
Family traditions are things that families do together. In a busy society where everyone is bombarded with all sorts of activities and distractions, traditions offer a sense of belonging and identity to every member of the family.
Children raised with family traditions—especially those who have watched their parents invent new ones—learn that they can respond to life in active, creative and extremely personal ways. They grow to be resilient, confident that they are loved, and knowing how to express love to others.
In The Book of New Family Traditions, Cox highlights several non-traditional, everyday opportunities to create new traditions with your family. I'll share my favorites, below.


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Latest in Ligonier Resources
Are you new to Reformed theology?
from Karisa Schlehr Jan 26, 2010 Category: Ligonier ResourcesHere are three helpful teaching series to help you begin your journey in understanding the doctrines of grace. Keep Reading
Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue
from Karisa Schlehr Jan 22, 2010 Category: Ligonier ResourcesJanuary 22, 1973 has forever shaped the abortion controversy in America. The decision in the case of Roe v. Wade has spurred heated debate in every direction, from what rights a woman has to when life actually begins. Watch or listen to Dr. R.C. Sproul as he calmly and rationally examines the number one ethical issue this nation has ever faced. He provides background, logic, and answers that will provide you with a well-reasoned defense of the unborn. Keep Reading
R.C. Sproul on Romans
from Tim Challies Jan 14, 2010 Category: Ligonier ResourcesIn this video R.C. Sproul talks about his new expositional commentary on the book of Romans. Throughout church history the study of the book of Romans has been pivotal to understanding Christian life and doctrine. Convinced that Paul's fullest, grandest, most comprehensive statement of the gospel is just as vital today, R. C. Sproul delivered nearly sixty sermons on Romans from October 2005 to April 2007 at St. Andrew's, where he has pastored for more than a decade. These never-before-published, passage-by-passage expositions will enrich any study of this weighty epistle. Keep Reading
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part?
from Sinclair Ferguson Jan 12, 2010 Category: Ligonier ResourcesIn his note on Romans 9:14 in The Reformation Study Bible, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson writes: Paul recognizes that his previous statement, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,' cannot be allowed to pass without further comment. Could the distinguishing sovereign purpose of God throw into jeopardy His attribute of perfect righteousness? Keep Reading
Pillars of the Christian Faith: 2009 Leadership Conference
from Tim Challies Jan 12, 2010 Category: Ligonier ResourcesWhile always initiated and empowered by the work of the Holy Spirit, history tells us that the most powerful periods of church renewal and reformation follow the efforts of Christian leaders to teach the Word of God accurately. These gifted teachers held in common a solid grounding in the essential truths of the prophetic and apostolic writings, the foundation upon which Christ builds His church. Christian leaders today must likewise be established in these biblical truths if the church would enjoy a new reformation. In Ligonier Ministries' 2009 Ministry Leadership Conference, "Pillars of the Christian Faith," Ligon Duncan, Sinclair Ferguson, Steven Lawson, and R.C. Sproul seek to equip you for effective, biblical leadership based upon the essential truths of the Christian faith. Click here to watch this conference for free online Keep Reading
Lord High & Holy, Thou Has Brought Me to the Valley of Vision
from Karisa Schlehr Dec 28, 2009 Category: Ligonier ResourcesThe strength of Puritan character and life lay in the practice of prayer and meditation. The Valley of Vision is a collection of Puritan prayers that serves to prompt and encourage Christians with biblical models. Keep Reading
What Do David and Saul Have to Do With Christmas?
from Karisa Schlehr Dec 24, 2009 Category: Ligonier ResourcesTake time this week to listen to a collection of free streaming Christmas messages from Dr. Sproul. Learn about the Magi, Mary, the shepherds, David and Saul, the nature of promises, and the One who gave them. Keep Reading
Tabletalk Daily Devotionals
from Chris Larson Dec 16, 2009 Category: Ligonier ResourcesWith the new year comes a new season of Tabletalk. Chris Donato recently offered a look at some of the topics that will be covered in 2010. Today we have an interview with Robert Rothwell about the daily devotionals that have been a Tabletalk staple for so many years. Keep Reading
New Children's Animatics DVDs
from Karisa Schlehr Dec 02, 2009 Category: Ligonier ResourcesR.C. Sproul's two most recent children's books are now available as animatic DVDs. Keep Reading
The Gift of Knowledge
from Karisa Schlehr Nov 25, 2009 Category: Ligonier ResourcesThe Bible, philosophy, apologetics, and theology can be rather intimidating areas of study for most people. Yes, they are very important to learn but where do you even start? R.C. Sproul has produced what we refer to as Overview Series. In these four resources, he provides a thorough, yet easy to understand examination of each of these topics. Start knowing what you believe and why you believe it. Keep Reading


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|Tue Sept 07, 2010
|All day
|#fedora-test-day (webirc)
What to test?
Today's installment of Fedora Test Day will focus on systemd, the new initialization system being introduced in Fedora 14.
Who's available
The following cast of characters will be available testing, workarounds, bug fixes, and general discussion...
- Development - Lennart Poettering (mezcalero)
- Quality Assurance - Adam Williamson (adamw)
What's needed to test
- An updated Fedora 33 pre-release, or the special live image (see below)
- Not-yet-published updates for systemd, initscripts, dbus, ConsoleKit and acpid (see below for details)
How to test?
Update your machine
If you're running Fedora 14, make sure you have all the current updates for it installed, using the update manager. If you want to try Rawhide, see the instructions on the Rawhide page on the various ways in which you can install or update to Rawhide. Or:
Live image
Live image
Optionally, you may download a non-destructive Fedora 33 live image for your architecture. Tips on using a live image are available at FedoraLiveCD.
|i686 COMING LATER
This custom live image contains all the necessary updated packages. You will not be able to conduct the full range of tests using the live CD, but you can perform the tests that are possible, and confirm that it boots correctly on your system. You can also use it to install a Fedora 14 system to perform the full range of tests.
Install additional updates
To provide the best test results, please install the following packages. They have not yet been accepted as official Fedora 14 updates, but they fix several known issues with systemd. If you test with or install from the custom live image linked to above, these updates will already be installed.
From koji:
- systemd-9-3.fc14
- initscripts-9.19-1.fc14
- dbus-1.4.0-1.fc14
- ConsoleKit-0.4.2-1.fc14
- acpid-2.0.5-2.1.fc14 - i686, x86_64
Follow each of these test cases:
Test Results
If you have problems with any of the tests, report a bug to Bugzilla usually for the component systemd. If you are unsure about exactly how to file the report or what other information to include, just ask on IRC and we will help you. Once you have completed the tests, add your results to the Results table below, following the example results from the first line as a template. The first column should be your name with a link to your User page in the Wiki if you have one. For each test case, if your system worked correctly, simply enter the word PASS. If you had trouble, enter the word FAIL, with a footnote indicator, and put a link to the bug report in the References column (as in the example line). For tests you could not perform, enter a dash.
|Sample User
|Kamil Páral
|Ron Humble
|Zbyszek Jędrzejewski-Szmek
The rest passes without problem!
|Krzysztof Urbaniak
|Ted Roche
|Andrew Clayton


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Question about Millenium SubDragon
What's the difference is between The Millenium Subdragon and the Millenium Subdragon LE? And do i need both?
cwichura Posts: 1,042
The LE comes with DAZ Studio 4.x, but is stripped down morph wise. It's just the very basic dragon shape. The full version gives you all a TON of morphs that let you change the look of the dragon. E.g., horns size/shape on the face, teeth length/style, ridges on the spine, etc.
wancow Posts: 2,708
I'm trying to decide still if I want to buy the full dragon... unfortunately I don't use it all that much, but boy it would be fun to play with...
The MilSubDragon is fun. :)battle12_zpw05_fin_sml.jpg1440 x 810 - 323Kdrider4_zpw_sml.jpg1920 x 1080 - 470Kfrostdragon01_zpw3_sml.jpg1680 x 1050 - 415K
wancow Posts: 2,708
Damn, Adam, glad YOU didn't enter the competion at DA...
I'd have to say I'm also a big fan of the Subdragon. Definitely worth the cash for the full version to.
The full set of Morphs come in handy.The-Wizard_Daz.jpg1000 x 750 - 118K
Medzin Posts: 337
There are also some extra morphs by DarioFish in renderosity freestuff that can be applieddragsamp.jpg300 x 300 - 12K
@Razor, nice image man! I have one with the SubDragon about that scale; I can only link it because of (mild) nudity: http://adamtls.deviantart.com/art/Loss-155193159 though.
Heres a couple of others I've have done.
Might have to start a dragon render thread, not sure if there is one on the newish forums.Dragonsplash.jpg800 x 594 - 129Kdragon-trees.jpg800 x 589 - 88K
Thanks! It's one of my favorite (sad) renders...


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Green Bay Packers Express Train Collection
NFL licensed, proudly sports Green Bay Packers colors, logos and players in action! FREE track set and power pack, a $100 value.
Train cars run on HO train track; complete oval track measures 38" x 56"
From Hawthorne Village
- Price:
- s&s◇
The Green Bay Packers played in the very first Super Bowl game 45 years ago, and now they triumphed again as the Super Bowl XLV champions! This outstanding collectible NFL football electric train collection honors the win with Issue One featuring an impressive diesel locomotive. Soon, you'll be cheering the arrival of Issue Two, the coordinating Aaron Rodgers engine, which includes a FREE HO gauge track, speed controller, and power pack. Next, this HO scale train set collection continues with Issue Three, another Green Bay Packers train car. Additional coordinating Green Bay Packers train cars, each a separate issue, will follow.‡
Show your pride in the Pack, your Super Bowl XLV winning team, with this train collection available exclusively from The Bradford Exchange, Hawthorne Village Division! This NFL collectible is officially licensed by NFL Properties LLC and PLAYERS INC. Just look at the proud way it sports the revered Green and Gold, along with Green Bay Packers symbols and intense, full-color art of your favorite players in action, from the rookies to the tried-and-true veterans! Authentic details define every inch of this precision scaled Green Bay Packers electric train collection, from the solid metal chassis to the steel alloy wheels. The sleek, classic diesel engine even has a working headlight, and the passenger cars are lit from within. Don't delay! Whether you want this awesome train collection for yourself to honor the Super Bowl XLV champs, or to give as the ultimate collectible Green Bay Packers football fan gift, you must hurry! Strong demand is anticipated, so order now!
- HO scale train collection celebrating the Super Bowl XLV Champions, available only from The Bradford Exchange, Hawthorne Village Division
- Officially licensed by NFL Properties LLC and PLAYERS INC
- Included FREE 16-piece HO gauge track and a power pack with Issue Two - together a $100 value
- HO scale train collection is carefully handcrafted with precision detailing and authentic features including a solid metal chassis and steel alloy wheels to bring you years of enjoyment
- Each train car in this must-have Green Bay Packers NFL football collectible is richly detailed with the colors and symbols of your Super Bowl winning team, plus dramatic, full-color art of players in action
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Resources for You
MedWatch Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products
|Your FDA gateway for finding clinically important safety information and reporting serious problems with human medical products.
Stay Informed
Sign up for MedWatch email updates
MedWatch Safety Alerts RSS Feed [What is RSS?]
MedWatch alerts provide timely new safety information on human drugs, medical devices, vaccines and other biologics, dietary supplements, and cosmetics. The alerts contain actionable information that may impact both treatment and diagnostic choices for healthcare professional and patient.
To find recent safety alerts, select the current year in the menu to the left. To receive notifications automatically via e-mail when new safety information is posted to the MedWatch site, subscribe to the MedWatch E-list. New safety information is also posted via the MedWatch RSS feed and MedWatch Twitter account.
Archival MedWatch Information
The link below is for a zipped html archive of MedWatch safety alerts from 1996 - 1999 and drug safety labeling change information from 1996 - 2007. Please keep in mind this is an archive of older MedWatch web pages -- certain hyperlinks, such as links to drug labels, no longer work. Please refer to Drugs@FDA for historical drug labeling.
Download the file to your computer, and extract (or unzip) the archive using the "Use folder names" option. This will create a folder on your computer named "MW-archive_1996-2007". Open that folder and launch the file called "safety_archive.htm" to browse the archive.


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Monday, July 30, 2012
Recap Q&A: Which Editor and Why?
RSS Readers: Click on the title above to reveal the hidden video.
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/thefrugalfilmmaker
Twitter Feed: http://www.twitter.com/frugalfilmmaker
Frugal Filmmaker T-shirts (new logo)!
Maybe someone doesn't like GoAnimate?
Dimmer switch for $7.25
Why short-form video is the future of marketing
Eyes vs Cameras
Poles aplenty for frugal mic adapter
$0 DIY rotating platform for product videos
Dollar store lighting accessory kit
5D helmet rig
DSLR debate: The Cartoon!
No Budget Film School course - use FRUGAL code for 20% off!
Carry Speed LCD viewfinder review
Sony Vegas: Exporting videos to YouTube
Kipon Canon EF to MFT+E-mount adapter review
P&C Pistol grip review - easy rig with Pico friction arm
DIY 600 LED light for under $30
DIY LED light panel - $6
Friday, July 27, 2012
Sony Vegas: Exporting to YouTube
People keep asking me about what export settings I use when I send content to YouTube. While I covered a more methodical approach in "Episode Workflow", I recently stumbled across a free plugin that removes all the heavy lifting, analyzes your project, and sends it away based on your quality selection. The good news is (besides being free), Video4YouTube renders faster and creates a smaller file than the old method.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
DSLR Debate: The Cartoon!
And now for something completely different, I decided to take a stab at Animation for Dummies, by using YouTube's GoAnimate. This program lets you do simple 2D animated stories and has just enough features to make it worthwhile. I won't go into everything, but after using it all day to create the above short, I can see its potential for non-animators. My favorite feature is the ability to import audio files, which are a lot better for your production than the cheesy "text-to-speech" gizmo that gives you robotic dialogue.
I don't know if these "cartoons" will become regular productions with me (we'll see what the reaction is like), but it is cool to branch out into forms of storytelling I've never tried before. It's all part of the perpetual learning experience.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Poles Aplenty for Frugal Mic Adapter
When doing research for my last Frugal Filmmaker episode (Painter's Pole Mic Adapter), I came across several poles that were very good candidates to use with said adapter. The adapter lets you easily attach a mic to your basic painter pole thread (you know, the really coarse one), giving you a quick boom pole whenever you need one. These pole types didn't really get time in the episode, so I thought I'd run them down here, giving all the basic stats and cost.
Broom / Mop Handle (free-$5).
If you have a broom or mop in your possession, then all you have to do is unscrew the head, attach your adapter, and your done. If you don't have one of these you can easily pick them up anywhere, including your local Dollar Tree. While these are very cheap to acquire, they also don't extend, giving you a shorter length in which to reach your actor's lips.
Fixed length Extension pole ($5-10)
These are basically a more robust broom handle, found in the paint section of whatever store you choose. They are sturdy wood or aluminum and don't collapse. Like the broom handle, they are only one length, but are affordable and strong. Make sure you have the space to transport it and you'll be fine.
Two-section Extension Pole ($12-20)
These stand at about 5', but can extend to another 4' to give you greater distance to stand out of frame and record dialogue. I've got the Wal-Mart pole and I really like it, especially the "twist and lock" control over the sections which is much faster and convenient than traditional screw collets that take more time and break easily.
Three-Section Extention Pole ($20-30)
These poles give you the greatest reach (12') and collapse to the smallest size (4'). The most familiar of these is the Bayco light bulb changer kit, found in most hardware stores. Just unscrew the pole from the bulb changing hardware, and you're ready to add the adapter. This yellow metal pole is very recognizable in DIY circles for the great length, small size and "twist and lock" functionality. There is a cheaper version ($16) at Wal-Mart, but it feels flimsy and has plastic collets instead of the twist locks (boo!)
One of these poles should fit your adapter needs. If you have no money and don't need much length, snake the broom handle from your kitchen pantry. If you want better reach, but don't have a lot of money, go for the two-section model at Wal-Mart. If you want the best pole that fits all needs, get the Bayco. It's a great one, and the $20 probably won't kill you.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Recap Q&A: How do YOU Storyboard?
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Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/thefrugalfilmmaker
Twitter Feed: http://www.twitter.com/frugalfilmmaker
Frugal Filmmaker T-shirts (new logo)!
Casting your micro-budget film
Part 1: http://tinyurl.com/2wbvc4n
Part 2: http://tinyurl.com/27682ec
Part 3: http://tinyurl.com/32anya2
Storyboard templates
Cheap graphics tablet I'm interested in
Celtx - free screenwriting software w/storyboarding feature
Pegasus 7" SD monitor - $60
Fix your broken XLR cable
Cage Rig / Monopod Hybrid
Virtual motion tracking in Sony Vegas
Fotga variable ND fader filter sample
$1 Budget: Dollar Tree Lights!
YouTube face blurring tool
Build a DIY ring light
Sony Vegas: Screen Layout
PROAIM 6-CF carbon fiber shoulder rig kit review
DIY $35 all-in-one shoulder rig, steadicam, and FigRig
DIY Electroluminescent Armor ($30)
Dual Art Pre with wireless mic test
Friday, July 20, 2012
Sony Vegas: Screen Layout
I know this seems pretty basic, but how you layout your screen can impact how efficiently you edit projects. Sony Vegas is so configurable, you could have any number of setups. This is what works for me.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
$1 Budget: Dollar Tree Lights!
Lights can come from all kinds of stores, but I've been really impressed what I've found at the local Dollar Tree. Sure, it's all cheaply made, but I can afford it and there are some really interesting applications this time around. Some of these ideas aren't fully formed yet, but I like sharing anyway in case something strikes a chord. Look for slightly more money being spent (as you have been encouraging me to do so) in the near future.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Cage Rig / Monpod Hybrid
Deejay adds some more content to his DSLR Film Noob channel with this excellent tip. Here he combines his fancy cage rig (think square FigRig) with a basic monopod for a great combo for fast, stable shooting. The thing I like most about this setup is how quickly it tears down for running away. And the time will come when you need to run away.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Recap Q&A: Where do you Audition?
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/thefrugalfilmmaker
Twitter Feed: http://www.twitter.com/frugalfilmmaker
The Frugal Filmmaker T-shirts!
Location release
Talent release
Muslin green screen (9'x 15')
Auto focus on yourself
Cheap Par-38 can lighting
Hand Held DSLR shooting tip
Modified Frugal Floater
Get a new royalty free music track every day for the month of July
How to update to Magic Lantern 2.3 on a Mac
John Alton's Test Light
The perfect DIY firelight
Cheap vs not-so-cheap shotgun mic test
How to crash a car
4TB RAID for $299
Sony Vegas: Timeline Tricks
Big "gorillapod" costs $25 and works as shoulder rig
Cheap light stand with reflector
Friday, July 13, 2012
Sony Vegas: Timeline Tricks
Managing all the material on your Sony Vegas timeline can be somewhat of a challenge. If you're not careful, your project can quickly become a tangled mess. Here a few tips that may you help take better advantage of whatever screen real estate you have been given.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Tip: John Alton's Test Light
Awhile back, I remember flipping through a great cinematography book called Painting with Light. Written by cinematographer John Alton, it covered a wide range of topics from lights to modifiers to techniques. Some of the equipment may be dated, but there is a wealth of knowledge in that book and I'm glad it is still available.
One item that stuck with me (and is the inspiration for this video) is Alton's "test light", a DIY device that lets the cinematographer check how light will fall on a subject's face before actual lights are brought in. It's a great time saver, and allows for simple experimentation. Watch the video to see how to make one, or rather re-purpose something you already have.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Hand Held DSLR Shooting Tip
Deejay has started a second channel, DSLR Film Noob, where he plans to place random gear reviews and short tips like this one. Here he explains a great technique on how to use the camera strap around your neck as a stabilizing device. I love tips like this where you might think you need some specialized piece of gear, when you already have something that performs a similar function.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Recap Q&A: DVD or Digital Download?
RSS Readers: Click on the title to reveal the hidden video.
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/thefrugalfilmmaker
Twitter Feed: http://www.twitter.com/frugalfilmmaker
The Frugal Filmmaker T-shirts!
Benefits and limitations of DSLRs vs. Camcorders
P&C Pico Dolly Review (+ DIY shoulder rig mod)
Painter's pole mic adapter
Fujian 35mm 1.7 & Azden EX503 review
YouTube defaults - auto description, title and tags
Sony Vegas: Freeze Frame
5 tips for holding the slate properly
Great cinematography with only one light
Patriot 32GB SD card, class 10 - $18
NGFN Review: Frugal Stabilizer Rig
DIY Matte Box MkII
Four-way microphone comparison - part 1
Camera table dolly
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Sony Vegas: Freeze Frame
In the first part of a new summer series, I profile how to achieve one of my favorite effects, the freeze frame. I use this all the time, and because it is so easy in Sony Vegas Pro, I think you will too.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Painter's Pole Mic Adapter
Having homemade rigs around for awhile means I get to revisit them and hopefully come up with improvements. This time out I was examining my DIY Boom Pole episode (as well as others out there) and came up with a unique variation. Instead of modifying an existing pole, how about a portable attachment that fits onto any painter's pole (and broom handle) threads that can also double as a pistol grip?
Paint roller (dollar store)
Microphone Clip: http://tinyurl.com/crwvevb
5/8" to 3/8" adapter: http://tinyurl.com/ccokpmb
3/8" threaded rod (hardware store), 3-6" long
Optional Frugal Shockmount adapter
3/4" PVC coupler: http://tinyurl.com/7auvjhc
3/4" to 1/2" PVC bushing: http://tinyurl.com/6ue3geb
Drill with 1/4" & 5/16" drill bits
Two pairs of pliers
PVC cutters: http://tinyurl.com/8yme674
2x 3/8" nuts
Monday, July 2, 2012
Recap Q&A: Three Shows a Week?
RSS readers: click on the title above to reveal the hidden video.
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/thefrugalfilmmaker
Twitter Feed: http://www.twitter.com/frugalfilmmaker
The Frugal Filmmaker T-shirts!
Zoom H1 Field Recorder Setup
Don't hire someone to run your Kickstarter campaign
Lighting Tip - foam board trick quick tip
"I'm sorry, Dave."
Dummy security camera prop - $4.56
Nuclear explosion effect!
Build your own spider dolly
Frugal Clamp 1.5
DIY DVD shelf holds 1,000 DVDs for under $20
Source Filmmaker could change everything
4DSLR's Zoom H4n Cradle
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About Community
Let's Celebrate electronic dance culture together! Share, Discover, Explore & Learn something new from one another, ALL IN THE NAME OF P. L. U. R.!
We have created the EDM Community so that you have a free space to share how you feel with like-minded headbangers, shufflers and music lovers alike! Our goal is to create an empowering community centered around our love of raving and EDM music.
Plan a meetup, share a story, post a video or your favorite artist and explore the culture.
So, If you love house music, share your newest songs and shuffling videos.
If bass music is more your style, show us your hardest headbanging moments.
If you're a part of the mellogang, whipped cream team, or Kayzo's Doghouse show your favorites some love and meet fellow fans!
Peace. Love. Unity. & Respect.
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Creating CyberBy CIOinsight
Web Extra: Super-Distribution Turns Pirates Into Friends
In the post-Napster world, companies outside the entertainment world are investigating the use of digital content controls to protect data and create buzz for new products. CIO Insight Copy Chief Debra D'Agostino spoke recently to Scott Burnett, director of marketing for IBM Digital Media, about the use of digital content controls as marketing tools.
IBM is taking a lead in developing digital content controls designed to both fend off pirates and attract new customers. Why is this significant?
The philosophy behind our digital rights management technology is what we call "super-distribution"allowing for content to be wrapped and rights to be ascribed to the use of that content as it travels over the Webnot just for music, but for any media type.
How do you think this technology will shape the market in the future?
Digital content protection in the digital age can provide for whole new opportunities for business. For instance, in the consumer world, there's a thing called super-distribution that is associated with CRM.
Let's say you and I download a piece of content. I download something I paid for and I send it to you. But it has super-distribution rights associated with it. You can access that file, but you may play it and review it once or keep it in order to get a taste for it, and then it allows you to separately license it for your own use.
That's what we call "super-distribution." It's almost like viral marketing in the consumer world. If I am able to provide a solution that allows these peer-to-peer networks to distribute these files and share them and pass them around, but do it all within a secure environment so that the content is really protected and I do have an opportunity for revenue, wouldn't that be something? That's where it's heading.
Right now, the way we discover music is we hear it on the radio or someone tells us about it. There's a lot of, "Hey, did you hear that new song from Oasis?" "No, I didn't." "Oh, it's on XYZ album." And then people start hunting and searching for that content. With this new technology, you can hear the music, and at the point of you being able to hear it, you can share itbut share it in a secure fashion. If you're able to do that, you're able to tap e-commerce into that sharing.
Most recently, in Europe, we tested our super-distribution strategy with a promotion for a new release from Oasis. The band was looking at how to use DRM to compliment existing business. IBM assisted them in producing two million CDs that were distributed in the London Times.
The CD had three song clips that people could play on their normal CD player. It also had additional protected content backed with the technology's security measures, which allowed only a limited number of plays if users put the CD into their computers.
The promotion tied together content from the artist, never-before-released contentboth video as well as musicand that was protected with DRM. Via a link to the band's Web site, it also provided the user a chance to preorder the CD; the album was not out, so this was kind of a promotion from HMV, the retailer.
How Distribution Works
How Distribution Works
So fans got this CD, and they could only play it a certain number of times on their computer and they couldn't distribute it online, but they could go to a Web site and order it online?
That's right. And this turned out to be one of the most successful promotions that the Sunday Times has ever done. If you think about it, there are a number of benefits from this promotion.
The Times was looking for additional subscribers and readership to their Sunday newspaper. They had one-point-something million. They were able to increase readership of this newspaper with that promotion because people wanted the CD. The band, Oasis, got what it wanted because it was able to create a buzz for their upcoming release to stimulate demand for preordering the album. The retailers benefited because they could connect to the consumers online to preorder the CD.
Look at it this way: Industries today have been embroiled in policy issues having to do with rights and issues of digital media and this whole MP3 phenomenon and peer-to-peer file sharing. Congress is looking at the various legislative activities that are being proposed.
In the meantime, we have been very busy working with the industry on this technology, especially with how would you protect and ensure rights management and legitimate licensing of the content in this digital domain, knowing that over time there will be standard policies that will exist for which the technology will, in essence, be a slave.
So what you have here is a bit of the chicken and the egg. You have to have business models, you have to have prescribed conditions, and the aim of technology is to carry that out. How many copies can I make? Can I move from one device from another? All that kind of stuff. There's a multi-hour conversation we can have about that.
Creating Cyber
Creating Cyber-Salespeople
So you can actually turn file-swappers into cyber-salespeople, boost profits and gain information on those new customers as a result?
That's exactly what I am talking about. All the files that can be shared actually have a way to be tethered to e-commerce, tethered to a commercial relationship. Because the files that are shared today are free, there's no tether to commerce.
How might other companies across other industries use this technology for e-commerce?
Think about it from a corporate communications perspective. If I am able to super-distribute a video presentation that can be tethered to a tracking or audit system internally within my company, I am now able to manage where that content goes. I may be better able to better manage to those who receive the content.
If I send out a broadcast and I don't know where it goes, I may want to be able to tap that recipient with additional follow-up information from that broadcast, but I don't know who they are. So by being able to securely distribute content and track it, it provides for new opportunities. For both businesses as well as those who are distributing to consumers.
That sounds like it gets a little into privacy issues.
Yes, it's part of this whole thing, the ever-evolving policies, especially with privacy and all that kind of stuff. You know, that's what we're all in the middle of. These things may not have been completely reconciled in the digital domain, like how content should be shared, where privacy begins and ends. Privacy is where there needs to be a hand-in-glove relationship with technology and policy.
The way IBM looks at this is very clear. Technology is there as a tool for business and in many cases, technical capabilities get ahead of policy, and that needs to be reconciled, but the purpose is to be subservient to business. And in a case where technology gets ahead of that, you'll notice the pain. With dialogue or discourse associated with violating that policy. And then it has to catch up. We're going through that now, we're all kind of watching it. Ultimately the business needs to drive the technology. Not the other way around.
Beyond Entertainment
Beyond Entertainment
What companies outside the entertainment industry are already using this technology to experiment with super-distribution?
The very reason IBM set up the Digital Media Group, which I am in, is to go across industryto take a lot of the things we have been working on in the media industry and look at how that is going to transcend all industries. Because media is mediawhether it's for business or entertainment, there is a common element that has to be addressed. So what we've done is taken the next step to create this platform framework called the Digital Media Factory.
The DMF, in essence, enables the IBM e-business infrastructure. You see the "e" in our commercials, allowing for media to flow freely through the e-business infrastructure and IBM middleware, for which DRM is just one part on an open framework that we have evolved. There are no standards for DRM that are being reported right now, but we are anticipating that those standards will plug into the framework.
Consider the healthcare industry. If you look at the secure distribution of health records for MRI, for X-rays, there are imaging opportunities there for DRM and solutions it can provide. For wireless, there is an announcement we made with Nokia. Nokia is plugging in its server to our DMF for content to be secured and distributed to wireless devices. Content could take the form of music or video clips, or it could be business content and the sharing of a graphic-rich file or video.
And there are other uses. Think about manufacturing. Think about the airline industry. All of the maintenance associated with fixing planes? In many cases you'll want your documents associated with the logs as part of business going forward. In the retail industry, you could use digital content controls for promotions at a kiosk for various retail outlets, such as a Barnes & Noble promotion of electronic books, distributed digitally.
Is digital content protection something that all companies will be looking at five years from now?
I think we are on the cusp of this growth right now. We've seen the pain identified with MP3 files in the entertainment business and what it's done to that industry. That has really lit a fire under other commercial businesses to start thinking about how we are going to allow for distribution of digital content within their world.
What are we going to do in our world as our content or capabilities move to the Internet or to digital platforms? What kinds of digital rights or copyright protections or technologies can be employed to protect our contentwhether it be for business consumption, which might be proprietary information; educational, which might be copyrighted for fee-based content, from online or distance learning, because you're charging for the course; or for industrial purposes to actually distribute maintenance logs and information that might have graphics and schematics associated with maintenance logs? Every industry is now looking at this.
It's difficult to take a DRM technology that's made to be used only for music and make it work for other companies. And there are different ways you're going to want to have rights to the content. So instead of having a stand-alone technology, we have plugged it into an open framework for IBM middleware so that you have the flexibility to use the DMF specific to your industry or your company's needs.
As for the future, I think we're going to move toward standards. There needs to be a set of standards, but it's very difficult to work with standards. How do you standardize security? You can go so far as to say there are standards associated with digital rights management, but you can't divulge all the secrets as to how you're securing content because the secret gets out and you've lost. It is necessary to have standards at certain levels to how these things operate.
We are working diligently with those standards bodies on how this will evolve, organizations like MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) and OMA (Open Mobile Alliance). Our part is to work through the issues and especially how it evolves, so that it's standing but still open, as opposed to a completely vertical approachlike how Microsoft would approach it, which would be their way or the highway.