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Using SPARQL for Biological Data Integration – Reflections on openflydata.org and the FlyWeb Project
It's now almost 18 months since the end of the FlyWeb project and the development of the proof-of-concept site openflydata.org, so I thought it was high time to write up a few reflections. Thanks to Dr David Shotton, head of the Image Bioinformatics Research Group, for giving me the chance to work on FlyWeb, it was a great project.
If you want to know more about the technical side of the work, see the paper "OpenFlyData: An exemplar data web integrating gene expression data on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster" in the Journal of Biomedical Informatics.
Integrating Gene Expression Data
We wanted to help reduce the amount of time spent by a Drosophila functional genetics research group on experimental design and on validating experimental results. Experimental design includes selecting genes that might be relevant to the biological function of interest (in this case, male fertility). Validating results includes checking your gene expression data against other published data for the same gene – a discrepancy suggests an artifact or problem in your data, or in the published data … either way it's likely to be important.
The problem here is a common refrain – the relevant data are not all found in the same place. Trawling and querying multiple sites and manually compiling the results takes a lot of time. Could we build some tools that help bring these data together?
Technology Hypothesis – Data Webs, Semantic Web & SPARQL
We wanted to be as user-driven as possible, i.e., to stay focused on what the researchers needed, and to be open-minded about technology, using whatever tools made us most productive.
But we did have a technology hypothesis, which was part the reason why JISC funded the FlyWeb project. Our hypothesis was that building a data integration solution for our Drosophila researchers using Semantic Web standards and open source software would be (a) feasible, and (b) reasonably cost-efficient. David Shotton and Graham Klyne, the original proposal authors, had also previously developed a vision for "data webs", an architectural pattern for integrating a set of biological data within a specific domain or for a specific purpose. Would the data webs pattern help us to build a solution?
So how did we marry these two forces: on the one hand being user-driven, on the other having a technology hypothesis that we wanted to test?
Well, in the spirit of agile, we tried to make our development iterations as short as possible. I.e., we tried to work in a way that meant we had something to put in front of users in the shortest possible time frame. When we were discussing architectural patterns and technologies, and several alternatives looked to be of similar complexity or difficulty, we favoured approaches involving RDF, OWL or SPARQL, and that were closer to the original data webs vision.
However, our goal was not to prove that a solution based on semweb standards and tech was any cheaper or better than a non-semweb alternative; just that it was possible and not prohibitively expensive. This is interesting because, if data integration solutions in related problem domains were all based on semweb standards, then they also might play together, as well as solving their own particular problems … or so the argument goes. I.e., there would be some re-use or re-purposing benefit from each individual data integration solution, and maybe some network effect, if everyone used SPARQL, for example. Of course there would be work involved in linking two data web solutions, but it might be less because at least we'd bottom out at the same standards – RDF, SPARQL, and maybe even some shared ontologies.
But you can't even begin to talk about network effects if you can't first show that you can solve specific problems effectively and cheaply. I.e., solutions need to make sense locally.
SPARQL Mashups
To see a SPARQL mashup in action, go to http://openflydata.org/search/gene-expression, click the "show logger" link at the bottom of the page (or open firebug if you're in firefox), then type "schuy" into the search box. You should see SPARQL queries being sent to various SPARQL endpoints and result sets being returned in the JSON SPARQL results format.
For example, here's the query that finds genes from FlyBase matching the query term "aly":
# Select feature short name, unique name, annotation ID, and official full name, given # any label and where feature is D. melanogaster gene. PREFIX xsd: PREFIX chado: PREFIX skos: PREFIX so: PREFIX syntype: SELECT DISTINCT ?uniquename ?name ?accession ?fullname WHERE { ?feature skos:altLabel "aly" ; a so:SO_0000704 ; chado:organism ; chado:uniquename ?uniquename ; chado:name ?name ; chado:feature_dbxref [ chado:accession ?accession ; chado:db <http://openflydata.org/id/flybase/db/FlyBase_Annotation_IDs> ] . OPTIONAL { ?fs chado:feature ?feature ; chado:is_current "true"^^xsd:boolean ; chado:synonym [ a syntype:FullName ; chado:name ?fullname ; ] ; a chado:Feature_Synonym . } }
Each of the panels in the UI corresponds (more-or-less) to a data source. The search term is first used in a SPARQL query to the FlyBase endpoint to find matching genes. If there is only a single gene matching the query, the gene is automatically selected, and further SPARQL queries are then sent to other data sources (e.g., FlyAtlas, BDGP, Fly-TED) to retrieve gene expression data relevant to that gene. If more than one gene matches the query (e.g., try "aly") the user has to select a gene before the next set of queries are dispatched.
Why did we use the SPARQL mashup pattern?
Well, it allowed us to use some off-the-shelf open source software. All we had to do was code a transformation from the data in its published format to RDF. Once we had an RDF dump for each data source, we loaded the data into a triple store (we used Jena TDB) then deployed the store as a SPARQL endpoint via a SPARQL protocol server (we used Joseki initially, then SPARQLite).
Once we had a SPARQL endpoint for each data source, we could develop a simple HTML+JavaScript application in the spirit of a conventional mashup, using the SPARQL protocol as the API to the data.
A nice feature of using SPARQL here is that you don't have to think about the API to the data, at least not from a web service point of view. The SPARQL protocol and query language basically give you an API for free. All you have to figure out is what query you need to get the right data. And you don't need to write any code on the server side, other than that required to transform your data to RDF.
Also, because your API supports a query language (SPARQL), you don't need to know up-front exactly what data you need or what questions you're going to ask (although obviously it helps to have a rough idea). I.e., if you get half-way through coding your mashup and realise you need to query the data in a different way, or retrieve more or less data, you just tweak the SPARQL query you're sending. I.e., there are no consequences for your server-side code, your API can already handle it.
This also means your API can handle unanticipated use cases. I.e., if someone else wants to query the data for a completely different purpose, chances are they can already do it – the expressiveness of SPARQL means that the chances others will be able to use your data are high. Although this wasn't a motivation in our project, we liked the idea.
Dealing With Big(-ish) RDF Data
As we scaled up from initial prototypes, we hit a few snags. The biggest challenge was dealing with the FlyBase data, which amounted to about 180 million triples in our final dump. Also, queries had to be quick, because users of the mashup apps are waiting for SPARQL queries to evaluate in real time. Here's a few tricks we found for working with RDF data at this scale.
- Fast data loading – For data loading, we found we could get between 15,000 and 30,000 triples per second from Jena TDB on a 64-bit platform. That meant the FlyBase dataset loaded in somewhere between 1.5 and 3 hours. To load the data, we fired up a large EC2 instance, and loaded the data onto an EBS volume. When the load was done, we detached the volume and attached it to a small instance which hosted the query endpoint, and shut down the large instance to keep running costs down. We didn't try this, but using a RAID 0 array and striping your data across multiple EBS volumes might increase load performance even further (there's a nice article by Eric Hammond on using RAID 0 on EC2).
- Everything has to be streaming – The transformation from source format (e.g., relational database) to RDF has to be streaming. The SPARQL query engine has to be streaming. And the SPARQL protocol implementation has to be streaming. That's part of why we rolled our own SPARQL protocol implementation in the end (SPARQLite) – Joseki at the time did not write result sets in a streaming fashion, for valid reasons, but which limits scalability.
- To get good query performance we pre-calculated some data. E.g., when we wanted to do a case-insensitive match against RDF literals in a query pattern, we computed the lower-case version of the literal and added it to the data as extra triples, then wrote queries with literals in lower case too – rather than, say, using a regex filter. SPARQL queries go much faster when they have a concrete literal or URI node to work from early in the query; queries with loose patterns and FILTERs can be very slow, because you're pushing a lot of triples through the filters. We did also try using the SPARQL-lucene integration (LARQ) for text matches, but couldn't get this to quite fast enough (sub 3s) for the FlyBase gene name queries, although it was used heavily in some other projects (CLAROS and MILARQ). You can also make queries go faster by shortening query paths. E.g., if you have a pattern you want to query like { ?x :p ?y . ?y :q "foo". } your query may go faster if you first invent a new predicate :r and compute some new triples via a rule or query like CONSTRUCT { ?x :r ?z } WHERE { ?x :p ?y . ?y :q ?z. }, then add these triples to your dataset and query using the pattern { ?x :r "foo" } instead.
- Beware that how you write your query may make a difference. Depending on which optimiser you use, TDB will do some re-ordering of the query to make it go faster (I believe to put more selective bits earlier), but if you know your data well (statistics are helpful) then writing the query with this in mind can help the query engine. E.g., if you have a triple pattern with a specific predicate and a specific subject or object that you know should only have a few matches, put this right at the top of the query. Basically, put the most discriminating parts of the query as early as possible. This also means that often triple patterns with rdf:type are not that helpful early on, because they don't narrow down the results much, although this is what you tend to put first for readability.
- Test-driven data – When you generate a large RDF dataset, you need to be sure you got the transformation right, and the data is as you expect it to be, otherwise you can waste a lot of time. I.e., you need to be able to test your triples. We designed some simple test harnesses for our data, where a set of test SPARQL queries were run against the data. Each SPARQL query was an ASK or SELECT and the test case defined an expectation for each query result. For very large datasets, you may also want to code some sanity checks on the n-triples dump before trying to load into a triplestore and test with SPARQL, e.g., scanning with grep and/or awk to find triples with predicates you expect to be there.
Open SPARQL Endpoints – Mitigating Denial of Service
Above I mildly extolled the virtues of SPARQL as an API to data – anyone can write the query they need to extract the data they want, and you don't need to anticipate all requirements a priori.
The obvious downside to the expressiveness of SPARQL and openness of SPARQL endpoints is that they are vulnerable to accidental or intential denial of service attacks. I.e., someone can write a hard query and tie up your query engine's compute and/or memory resources, if not crash your box.
Although deploying a production service or guaranteeing service levels wasn't part of our remit, we were concerned that unless we could mitigate this vulnerability, SPARQL outside the firewall would never really be useful beyond a proof-of-concept. I.e., we would never be able to advertise our endpoints as a production web service, so that others could write mashups or other applications that query the data and depend on the service.
We spent a bit of time working on this, and this may be a solved problem now in newer query engines, but at the time we thought to place some limits on the queries that open endpoints would accept. For example, SPARQLite endpoints could be configured to disallow queries with triple patterns with variable predicates, or FILTER or OPTIONAL clauses, or to enforce a LIMIT on all queries' result sets. This is not a complete solution, because you could still write hard queries, but at least it removed some of the obvious attacks. A better solution would probably involve monitoring queries' resource usage and killing any that take too long or consume too much resources – a bit like how Amazon's SimpleDB places limits on service usage, including a 5 second maximum query execution time.
Mapping to RDF
The elephant in the room here is mapping the data to RDF, and that's where a lot of the work went. All of our data sources came in some non-RDF format, either as CSV files or a relational database. For the CSV sources we hand-coded RDF transformations as Python scripts. For the relational databases, we made heavy use of D2RQ, although we did not use D2R server to transform SPARQL queries to SQL on-the-fly due to performance and scalability issues, rather we used the D2R dump utility to generate a complete RDF dump of an SQL datasource in n-triples format, then loaded that into a Jena TDB triplestore which backed our SPARQL endpoints.
The main issue was the time it takes to design a mapping from a fairly complex relational schema like Chado to RDF. Rather than trying to find one or more existing, published, ontologies to use in the RDF outputs of the mapping, and designing the mappings by hand, we tried a different approach. Inspired by model-driven engineering, we developed a Python utility which, driven by some simple annotations on the source SQL schema definition, generated both a suitable OWL ontology and a complete D2RQ mapping file. This worked well with a schema like Chado which has consistent structural patterns and naming conventions. There's a worked example in the supplementary information (S4) to the OpenFlyData paper in the Journal of Biomedical Informatics.
The problem with this approach is, of course, that you end up with one schema/ontology per data source. Initially we thought this would force us to do some ontology alignment and to map everything to a common ontology, but we quickly realised this just wasn't necessary. The mashup applications quite happily query each source according to its own ontology, and have just enough knowledge of what each ontology means to integrate the results in a sensible way. I.e., you can develop applications that work with multiple data sources without perfect (or even partial) ontology alignment. Obviously, aligning ontologies is desirable, but that can be a long-term ambition – using ontologies derived from the source data at least gets you started, and gets you talking about data semantics rather than getting bogged down by differences in syntax, formats or protocol (because RDF and SPARQL are the interlingua for these).
Lasting Impressions
The message I took away from this project is that, if you already have some data, and you want to make the data available to web application developers and other hackers in a useful way, then SPARQL can be a good option. It's fairly straightforward (even, dare I say, fun) to code simple HTML+JavaScript mashups that bring data from different SPARQL endpoints together on-the-fly (pardon the pun). SPARQL won't be a panacea, and you may find some queries just aren't quick enough to evaluate in real time, so you may have to find ways to optimise these queries when moving to production, but it's worth doing some benchmarking, as triplestores like Jena TDB are quick for certain types of query.
The pain comes when you need to convert data to RDF. But you don't need to get hung up on finding the right ontologies or designing a perfect or even complete mapping. Convert what you need, using a custom ontology that is designed for your application or generated from the source data, and just get going – you'll have plenty of iterations to refactor the data.
Would I use SPARQL again? Yes, for read-only data services and data integration webapps, I'd definitely consider it. And there are some new features coming in SPARQL 1.1 which look very useful. If someone solves the denial-of-service problem for open SPARQL endpoints (and they may already have) then the case for SPARQL as a data-sharing standard is compelling. Certainly an area to watch.


text:
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aliexpress.com - online shopping
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Monday, June 29th, 2020. To potential advertisers, It is presently free to post an ad / listing on dyrectory.com (business directory). If someone
Please stay safe during COVID-19.
#Belinda StronachWebsite: https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/S-Z/Stronach-Belinda-1966.htmlAddress: Ontario, CanadaBelinda Stronach serves

subset: commoncrawl


text: During the sixties--before the age of social media--the way you reached people was by posting flyers on telephone poles, public bulletin boards and store windows. Home-made signs and posters provided information for upcoming speakers, marches and events on campus and in nearby streets. These signs were often simply handwritten one-sheets with little more than the date, time and location of the event, occasionally mentioning prominent speakers and musicians of the day. "Signs of the Sixties" draws from the vast holdings of the UW-Madison Archives housed in Steenbock Library, drawing particularly from their extensive collection of posters, flyers and street art from Madison's decade of activism and cultural adventure. These are some of the purest examples of grassroots information dissemination in a radical age. This exhibition is collaboratively presented by the WUD Art Committee, The Madison Reunion and UW-Madison Archives, with artifact selection by Judy & Ben Sidran and David Null.


text:
Få råd til flere LEGO klodser!
Master the battle between Laval and Sir Fangar in a high-speed race between good and evil!
Get set for a high-velocity duel between good and evil as Laval takes on Sir Fangar in the LEGO® Legends of Chima™ Speedorz™ Fire vs. Ice challenge! Match up against a friend, select a tribe leader and attach your chosen warrior to their Speedor. Aim for your opponent's CHI totem-topped tower, pull the rip cord and unleash the power. First one to knock down the CHI orb wins! Set includes Laval and Sir Fangar minifigure, 4 weapons, 2 Speedorz with claws, 2 rip cords, 2 towers/barriers, 2 CHI totems, fire CHI orb, CHI orb, 12 CHI crystals and 10 game cards. Put your skills of accuracy and timing to the test with this rip cord skill game for 2 players.


text:
The consequences of a nuclear explosion in the heart of a city may seem unthinkable to most, but experts think that, if the proper precautions are made, it wouldn't be as bad as you may assume.
Of course, "bad" is a relative term; a panel of doctors and public health officials set up by the National Academy of Science to look at the effects of such an explosion agreed that everyone within a one kilometer radius would be almost certainly be killed, but that things could be much worse. As panel head Georges Benjamin explained,
Clearly there would be loss of life, but it's not hopeless... We feel that there are things that one can do to mitigate it.
The panel's recommendations focus on those protecting those outside of the kilometer radius from the dangers of radioactive fallout from the blast. According to New Mexico Veterans Administration Health Center's Fred Mettler, a member of the panel, just making sure people stay inside would bring immediate benefits:
That's a place where you could get big gains if you plan right... Without prior education, it would be a horrible issue.
Also under advisement from the panel are drugs to combat radiation sickness and software to predict the drift of fallout. There's been no response from the government to the panel's report yet, but Benjamin is hopeful that will come once they've had a chance to digest it:
This is hot off the press... We've literally just briefed them.
Is your city prepared for a home-made nuke? [New Scientist]


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text:
Web Design Basics
Web Products
Tutorials Vector Graphics Adobe Illustrator (13 materials)
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator - is a vector graphics editor that will become your key decision to express yourself through artistic manipulations with images. You will find out its ease,simplicity and flexibility in usage, modifying or creating objects, changing their colors, shapes and forms. Adobe Illustrator will help you to discover an artist in yourself, proposing you bold and original ways of realising your ideas by means of its resources. Invention of new, fresh and extraordinary images and compositions will not seem you as a fuzzy and indistinct intention any more, just because you will know exactly how to perform it properly , using Adobe Illustrator and being sure in your success .
When it comes to Adobe Photoshop, you might be a beginner who is not much savvy about the Illustrator tool and the various unique ways it offers. Vectips offers a detailed discussion on the tips, tricks and the secrets of handling Adobe Illustrator.
Follow this step by step Illustrator tutorial to create an aged vintage style logo design.
In this tutorial you will learn how to create sun rays in Adobe Illustra tor, the fun and easy way without some rotation and doing some math, if you want to know how this is done then follow through.
Editor's Pick of January, 2009
Enticing banners is a great lure for potential visitors. Make sure you know how to draw attractive ones to keep the web design of the publisher clean and user-friendly.
An Illustrator heart shape is quite easy to create. Here I will use simple shape of a circle to modify it into a heart shape although it is not too much of a process. But i am going to show it to you step by step so you can easily understand the process of i.....
Recently while creating some filled letterings i was faced this problem of Expanding the fill properly.
We will cheat a little bit in this tutorial: we will use Photoshop to pixelate image. See the footnotebelow the tutorial explaining why.


text:
PARIS, June 13 (UPI) -- The International Federation for Human Rights said it confirmed the government of Laos handed nine North Korean defectors back to the government in Pyongyang.
U.N. special envoy on North Korean human rights Marzuki Darusman in May said he was concerned about the status of the defectors.
The federation, known by its French initials FIDH, said it was able to confirm through North Korean human rights channels the defectors were handed over to the North Korean Embassy in Vientiane, the Laotian capital.
"International law requires that a person be allowed to apply for asylum and not be expelled to a country where his life or freedom may be under threat," FIDH said in a statement Thursday.
The federation said nearly 25,000 North Koreans have fled the north since the Korean War stalled in the 1950s. Most of them escape through China or other countries in Southeast Asia before making their way to Seoul.
Advocacy groups have expressed concern over North Korean human rights issues. Thousands of North Koreans spend their lives in forced labor, though human rights group say the issue is sidelined because of security concerns related to North Korea's nuclear weapons program.


text:
Item #6134
Annual. Thai basil is a popular herb in Southeast
Asian cuisine and is a flavorful
garnish served with Vietnamese
pho (a savory broth of noodles and
meat). It holds its flavor and texture
better after cooking than other basil
varieties and adds a kick to salads
when sliced and eaten fresh. Sweet
Thai's dark purple flowers and
intoxicating scent make it a beautiful
addition to the flower garden. A
terrific container variety.
This packet sows seven 10-foot rows.
Seedling Image
Full Sun
Days to Emerge:
Seed Depth:
Seed Spacing:
Row Spacing:
When to sow outside: 1 to 2 weeks after average last frost, and when soil temperature is at least 60°F. Basil is very sensitive to frost. Must have warm temperatures to germinate.
When to start inside: 6 to 8 weeks before transplanting outside.
Artist: Megan Morgan
Item #6134
0.30 grams
What is Soil?
Soil is a diverse mix of substances, teeming with life and composed of minerals, decayed plant and animal matter, water, and air. It…More…
Drying Herbs
Many herbs are easily preserved by drying, and hold their flavor well when dry. Simply cut a handful of stems and rubber band them or…More…


text:
Peak oil scepticism becomes increasingly desperate
by Shaun Chamberlin on June 9th, 2008
The old standby argument of the so-called 'peak oil sceptics' was that if we really were facing geological limits to oil extraction rates then prices would be rising rapidly. Since prices were relatively stable there was clearly no impending problem. And anyway, if prices started rising (to, say, $70 a barrel) that would stimulate much increased exploration and production and bring prices back down again. So go back to sleep and don't let the peak oil lunatics disturb your slumbers.
Now of course, prices are indeed rocketing ($138 a barrel today, a more-than-100% increase in the past year), so have they changed their tune? Read more »


text:
Farnborough Today is the last of the "trade days" at the Farnborough Air Show, but the event isn't over. Most of the aerospace biz types, hacks etc. are either dispersing now or have already done so (we're back at Vulture Central), but the show goes on.
Alright Airbus, we get the message
Tomorrow and Sunday are the public days, and we'd thoroughly recommend Farnborough to anyone who likes planes and mad technology - though we would note that Saturday's forecast isn't ideal, and the transport infrastructure taking people to and from the show this week didn't cover itself with glory.
Once you're actually there, though, it's worth it. The highlights on offer over the weekend include the Shooting Stars - the all-female Italian parachute team sponsored by aspirant space pod sky-dive company Aero Sekur. They'll be followed by the relatively humdrum British Army parachute team, the Red Devils. There'll also be appearances by World War II aeroplanes, including the Spitfire fighter and legendary Swordfish torpedo plane - famous for gutting the Italian battle fleet at the Taranto raid of 1940. (The Fleet Air Arm celebrate Taranto every year, the way the rest of the Royal Navy commemorates Trafalgar and the Foreign Legion does Camerone*.)
Don't stand too close to the robotic woman-flail.
Other aerial notables will include the Red Arrows, the (in)famous Eurofighter, and two old Reg friends - the world's only airworthy Avro Vulcan bomber, and the monster double-decker airliner, the Airbus A380. For those who haven't yet seen a tiltrotor in action, the Bell/Agusta 609 will also be flying.
Kids under 16 haven't been allowed all week - unless members of the Air Cadets, assigned to handing out flyers and the like - but at the weekend they can come free, provided they're accompanied by a ticketed-up adult. There will be loads of kids' attractions specially set up for the weekend, according to the show organisers, including rides, inflata-fun, "the famous Captain Farnborough" and so on. We'd suggest that very young children might not like it, though - with the likes of the Eurofighter and US Navy Super Hornet doing full-power manoeuvres just overhead, the noise level is roughly equivalent to a thunderstorm at times.
There'll also be all the usual exhibitor madness. We particularly recommend the robotic person-brandisher (pictured) and Rolls Royce's mockup of their nifty swivelling thrust nozzle for the F-35B supersonic stealth jumpjet, now entering flight test - video below courtesy of my phone and YouTube, so excuse the quality. The real thing can apparently bend through 90 degrees in just two seconds, all the while containing a roaring stream of super-hot jet exhaust:
You can see full details and buy tickets from the airshow organisers here, if you fancy any of that. ®
* That is, in all three cases, by singing and getting extremely drunk.


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Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!
Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…
The love for Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle series is so intense that it made me nervous to start it. I really didn't want to end up being the odd one out, that one person who didn't like it. So I ended up putting off reading the first book for years. Thankfully, I thoroughly enjoyed The Raven Boys and was excited to try the rest of the series and see where this ridiculously strange story was going. I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy The Dream Thieves anywhere near as much as the first book. If you're interested in my thoughts on The Raven Boys, you can read my review here.
|Me reading this... *yawn*
This series utterly confused me at times, with the lack of explanations and weird actions of our characters. There were times when I felt a little lost while reading. I feel the best way for me to review this book is to go through and look at my thoughts on the individual characters.
Blue: I really, really liked Blue in The Raven Boys. She is strong and has confidence in herself and who she is, although she does have her struggles. Nothing really happens with Blue in this book, as it focuses very heavily on Ronan. I actually missed Blue in this book, so I can only hope that the next book shines the spotlight more on her. There was one scene in this book between Blue and Noah that seemed to come completely out of the blue, pardon the pun, which was just really weird and perplexed me. If you have read it, then you know what I am referring to. I missed Blue in this, I really hope the next book focuses on her - I would hope so, given the name is Blue Lily, Lily Blue.
Adam: Oh Adam, sometimes I love you and then other times I want to knock some sense into you. Adam is like the walking embodiment of pride, and makes it obvious why that is seen as a deadly sin. He was so frustrating at times, and it makes his character hard to deal with. He never wants to accept help, ever, even when it is needed. At times, his need to do everything for himself seems admirable, at other times it just seems that he allows his pride to get in his way. He wasn't very likeable in this book.
Noah: Oh dear, poor Noah. The cats finally out the bag about the whole being dead thing. So I had thought that Noah might finally be able to gain a personality and not just kind of be there in the background. Nope, he still has zero personality and doesn't really seem to have a reason to be here, except for that really awkward scene with Blue. At this point, I've given up hoping for him to become a more fleshed out character.
Ronan: When I read The Raven Boys, I felt like Ronan was the most fascinating character and that is most definitely true. Even more so now we know he can bring things out of his dreams. This book is Ronan's book, the story centres completely on him. Sadly, I felt there just wasn't much of a real plot there. He just takes part in some street racing, and then learns how to dream thieve better. That is it. It isn't exactly the most riveting stuff. To me that isn't a plot, it gets old real fast. He also drove me absolutely crazy with the amount of completely stupid decisions he made throughout this book. The only fascinating development here is how absolutely in love/lust he is with Gansey, the boy wants the d so bad.
Kavinsky: Kavinsky shows up again in this book. He is the stereotypical bad boy from every 90s teen flick ever - The 'I'm so tough, I sell drugs and street race' act just does not work. My eyes were rolling so hard every time that guy opened his mouth. He felt far too much like a cardboard character at first, I was happy to see that there was more to his character, it just took a while to find it. We do actually get to see his motivations as the book went on. He turned out to be a much more complex character than I had first thought. He's a very angry man, probably because he is soooooooooooo sexually repressed and afraid of his own feelings - it made him a rather bitter person. He was quite fascinating, but not the greatest antagonist.
The Grey Man: This book sees the arrival of the Grey Man, a hit man who is on a job in Henrietta, searching for something called the Greywarren. I have to admit to being unbelievably confused by how others reacted to his character. Everyone acted as though they were totally okay with the fact he is a hit man, who essentially kills people for a living. No one seemed to think that was a big deal or acts even slightly put off by it. On the contrary, they strike up friendships with the guy or go one dates with him?!? What the actual fuck? That is not how sane, rational human beings behave. I also hated the insta-love storyline he was involved in.
Most of my issues with this book are summed up in my feelings for the characters themselves. My biggest issues were the lack of plot and the poor pacing, I can't get over it. I wish a lot more had been happening in this book. The problem here is that it was just a build up to the next book, it's not a story in its own right with a clear plot. It just seems to be there to lay the groundwork for what is coming next and, honestly, it was boring. I really hope the next book is better, if not then I am going to be calling bullshit on this series' hype.
I do know that so many of you love this series, and I'd love to know what you thought of this instalment. Did you love it? Did you appreciate it more after reading the next book? Which is your favourite book and least favourite book in this series? And, most importantly, did you think that Blue Lily, Lily Blue was better than this book? Should I continue?


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Dog food reviews
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Eagle Pack Pet Foods, Inc Eagle Pack Holistic Select Large & Giant Breed Puppy Formula
Date of last review
Thu December 27, 2007
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Metabolizable Energy:
ME 375 kcal/cup Min.
Lamb Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground White Rice, Chicken Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Anchovy & Sardine Meals, Flaxseed, Dried Egg Product, Menhaden Fish Oil, Carrots, Sun-Cured Alfalfa, Peas, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Quinoa (Organic), Blueberries, Apples, Inulin, L-Carnitine, Taurine, Beta-Carotene, Cranberries, Dehydrated Kelp, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Pantothenic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Choline Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract, Inositol, Polysaccharide Complexes of Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper and Cobalt, Potassium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Lactobacillus acidophilus Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, B. subtillus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus coagulins, Aspergillus oryzae, and Aspergillus niger.
Crude Protein Min. 23%
Crude Fat Max. 12%
Crude Fiber Max. 3.5%
Moisture Min. 10%
Calcium Min. 1.1%
Phosphorus Min. 0.8%
Vitamin A Min. 22,000 IU/kg.
Vitamin E Min. 165 IU/kg.
**Ascorbic Acid Min. 30 mg/kg.
**DHA Min. 0.1
**Omega 6 Fatty Acids Min. 2.0%
**Omega 3 Fatty Acids Min. 0.7%
**Beta-Carotene Min. 5.0 mg/kg.
**Glucosamine Hydrochloride Min. 41 mg/cup
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Posts: 3953
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First and fourth ingredients are named meat products
Minimum acceptable meat content, some controversial filler
The first, fourth and eighth ingredients in this food are named meat products, each in meal form. The last is too far down the ingredient list to make a substantial contribution to the overall meat content of the food.
The second and third ingredients are both forms of rice. If these were not 'split' it is likely that rice would, in fact, be revealed as the primary ingredient in the food. Rice ais a decent quality grain and good carbohydrate source, however canines should be fed diets based on meat rather than grains. Oatmeal is a further grain, 6th on the ingredient list.
Beet pulp is filler and a controversial ingredient it is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. We note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required. We would prefer to see the use of whole eggs rather than dried egg product in the food.
The food does contain a range of fruits/vegetables and a good range of probiotics.
Overall, we are reasonably satisfied with the quality of this product, but would prefer to see more meat in the food. Supplementing the diet with additional meat should be considered by those using the food.
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PIRSA:14090001 ( MP4 Medium Res , MP3 , PDF ) Which Format?
Black hole evaporation without firewalls
Speaker(s): James Bardeen
Abstract: There need not be any conflict between unitarity, locality, and regularity of the horizon in black hole evaporation. I discuss a scenario in which the initial collapse that forms the black hole results in a small non-singular core inside an inner event horizon. This core grows as the result of quantum back-reaction associated with the increasing entanglement entropy of Hawking radiation quanta and their partners trapped inside the core. By the Page time the inner and outer apparent horizons either merge into a degenerate horizon, shutting off the Hawking radiation and leaving a massive remnant, or they disappear completely, allowing the trapped quantum information to escape. The scenario is justified by appeals to the Bousso covariant entropy bound and the ER=EPR conjecture. The talk is largely based on arxiv.org/1406.4098.
Date: 02/09/2014 - 11:00 am
Series: Cosmology & Gravitation
URL: http://pirsa.org/14090001/ Share:


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Doing away with the negative connotations of "Madness Monday", I am now choosing to not blog a regular post on Monday's, instead using that day to gather up all the loose ends and provide maintenance to either my own research, or that of my clients.
I hope you will join with me in providing a "Maintenance Monday" for your own home or business office!
We will of course, return to our regularly scheduled postings tomorrow!


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All Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning courses
8 matching courses
Courses per page: 10 | 25 | 50 | 100
This workshop is provided jointly by the Disability Resource Centre and the University Counselling Service and will provide support and information about ways to engage with students while working remotely. With a focus on practical solutions, the important of self care and information about the wide range of services available. This workshop is open to staff whose role formally includes welfare, likely to be tutors, nurses and chaplains.
This session will be on line via Microsoft Teams.
This course focuses on the practical element of delivery. It will provide you with the opportunity to explore techniques for connecting emotionally and intellectually with an audience, along with overcoming nerves. You will look at how to handle questions effectively and practise vocal techniques. We will also discuss the differences between performance in a lecture theatre and on camera.
This course will be facilitated online via Zoom
This introductory guide addresses planning for and conducting online supervisions, including practical considerations about devices, platforms and tools, as well as structuring online conversations and giving feedback. We have also developed more detailed guides on a range of technological and educational issues, including setting up supervisions using videoconferencing, accessibility for students with disabilities and neurodiversity, guiding inclusive discussions and interactions, and some approaches to important supervision activities (such as group discussions and problem solving) which could be used to complement videoconferencing or to help students (and supervisors) if necessary. All of these more detailed resources are accessible from the main guide.
How to Access the Guide
For more information and a link to the guide please visit the CCTL website on Teaching Remotely
This short clinic is for Cambridge staff adapting to remote teaching (including supervising, lecturing, seminars & classes). We begin with a short overview of the guidance and support on offer, including 'how-to' guides on setting up remote supervisions, seminars & classes; recording lectures and encouraging students' active listening; guiding inclusive discussions between students, online; and making remote teaching accessible to disabled students, including those with neuro-diverse profiles.
We'll offer some tips on moving from face-to-face teaching and there will be some time for Q&A.
This clinic will be run on MS Teams.
If you are new to supervising postgraduates at Cambridge (who are studying both for one-year courses or PhDs) the Board of Graduate Studies strongly recommends you to take part in some form of professional development. In collaboration with BGS, the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning offers training and support for newly-appointed supervisors of postgraduates and for those new to the Cambridge system.
This workshop is designed to consider reciprocal expectations and duties, as well as approaches to supervising, and to raise awareness of possible issues and where to go for support.
The Teaching Associates' Programme runs each year. For information about what the course involves and how to apply, please visit https://www.cctl.cam.ac.uk/tap. If you still have questions, please contact the course director, Dr Meg Tait (firstname.lastname@example.com).
The Teaching Associate Programme (TAP) is a year-long programme which supports early career researchers who have some responsibility for teaching and learning. TAP is accredited by the Higher Education Academy (HEA), and, if you successfully complete all elements of the programme, you will become an Associate Fellow of the HEA. In order to be eligible for Associate Fellowship of the HEA, you will need to have a minimum of 40 hours' experience of teaching and/or supporting learning.
Applications are open to Postdoctoral Researchers/Research Staff and PhD students in their 2nd year or above, from any subject area. Prior to applying for TAP we require you to have at least 20 hours of teaching and at least 20 more hours of confirmed teaching for the academic year to come. In this way, the programme enables you to reflect on your own current practice, to explore ideas and approaches for enhancing your teaching, and to think about your future development as a higher education professional. Only higher education (university-level) teaching experience can be considered.
The programme has a high level of flexibility and participants are expected to plan their TAP work to fit around other activities. However, there are several compulsory components which cannot be missed and those include: four seminars, teaching observations, tutorial and lecturing practical. Help and support is available throughout the year to enable students to get the best from the programme.
Is English not your first language?
Would you like to incorporate Standard English pronunciation into your everyday speech?
This course will look at the differences and similarities between your natural accent and that of Standard English. It will help to maintain positive aspects of your natural accent whilst enabling you to be easily understood by native English speakers.
This course will be facilitated online via Zoom.
If you occasionally suffer from vocal strain or wish to discover your true vocal range and power then this course is for you. We will work together to improve your vocal projection using vocal techniques practised by actors by using various physical and vocal exercises. We will discuss using your voice in a recording or speaking to camera and practice exercises for improved articulation. Be prepared to join in the exercises and makes some noise!
This course will be facilitated online via Zoom


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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Forget the fact he is 65 years old and recently had a hip replacement Dennis Erickson is so eager to start spring practice with the Utah Utes, he might just outsprint all those youngsters to get to the field.
"I am so excited to coach again. This is what I do," he said. "I haven't been nervous about coaching for a lot of years, but I am anxious to see where we are and what we can get installed."
Erickson, who was brought out of retirement to be the Utes' co-offensive coordinator alongside Brian Johnson, will get his first look at the Utes in action when Utah opens spring practice Tuesday.
The challenge is to liven up Utah's offense enough to make it dangerous without completely overhauling it to the point the Utes are faced with another transition year. Can the Utes get that done? Well, they aren't paying Erickson $275,000 a year to just hang out and tell stories about the old days.
His first priority is to speed up Utah's offense. The Utes averaged only 66.4 plays a game last year. In Erickson's mind, a good team should average in at least the 70s and ideally in the 80s.
"We might not go ramp speed," he said. "But we are going to do a lot of no-huddle. We are going to put a lot of emphasis on the short passing routes, which you have to practice a lot to become good. I am a firm believer you have to get something established and branch off that. We are going to start with everything the same and keep it as simple as possible to go from point A to point B."
Things have been anything but simple for the Utes in recent seasons as the offense has dealt with coaching changes and injuries at the quarterback position.
However, Utah hopes it can establish more consistency with Travis Wilson at quarterback and an improved offensive line. After spending the majority of his time since he was hired in February watching film and strategizing with Utah's other offensive coaches, Erickson believes the Utes aren't far off from being a good offense, even if they ranked near or last in the Pac-12 in the major offensive categories last year.
"Watching Utah the last couple years, they've been darn good, but the injuries have been horrible," he said. "We've been putting our minds together and what we want to do is simplify the run game, and do almost everything out of the shotgun offense with three wides or four wides or two tight ends and still run the same play."
Erickson believes he has the makings of a good quarterback in Wilson, who finished 128 for 204 for 1,311 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions in his rookie campaign.
Another key spot to watch during spring will be at running back, where returner Kelvin York has the edge on the starting role. Lucky Radley and James Poole are listed as his backups, but that could change after Devontae Booker and the other running backs Utah signed in the spring arrive.
"I think Kelvin can be a perfect fit," Erickson said. "But you need two backs for sure for a change of pace. You want a solid, strong fast guy and you like to bring a guy in who is shifty and quick. Both have to be quick, but one probably catches better than the other and is a break-it-open kind of guy."
Utah spring practice schedule
Practices held outside are open to the public.
March 19 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (no pads)
March 21 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (no pads)
March 23 • 10 a.m.-Noon (no tackle)
March 26 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (tackle)
March 28 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (no tackle)
March 30 • 10 a.m.-Noon (tackle)
April 2 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (tackle)
April 4 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (no tackle)
April 5 • 4-6 p.m. (scrimmage)
April 9 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (tackle)
April 11 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (no tackle)
April 13 • 10 a.m.-Noon (scrimmage)
April 16 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (tackle)
April 18 • 2:45-4:45 p.m. (no pads)
April 20 • 1 p.m. Spring Game
Utah spring rundown
Players to watch
Offense • Junior Salt should make an impact on the offensive line after the highly touted player missed the 2012 season with an injury. He was moved from defense to offense last year. Also keep an eye on freshman quarterback Brandon Cox, who will be competing with Adam Schulz to be Travis Wilson's backup.
Defense • With Trevor Reilly sitting out spring ball with an injury, the left end position will be an interesting battle between Thretton Palamo and Moses Folauhola. The cornerback spots are up for grabs, too, with returner Wykie Freeman sitting out practice due to injury.
Special teams • Redshirt freshman Jamie Sutcliffe is penciled in as the kicker after backup Nick Marsh decided to transfer and Coleman Petersen graduated.


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EDMONTON - Edmonton residents could be skating through the river valley, taking more risks with snow and ice, and even legally jaywalking across neighbourhood streets if the city's new winter city strategy is endorsed and followed.
City staff and community leaders will be launching the 80-page strategy at a public winter patio party on 104th Street at 11 a.m. Thursday. The year-long, community-driven effort goes to city councillors for debate next Tuesday.
The ideas were put together by a 35-member think-tank of leaders from tourism, the development industry, existing winter festivals and community leagues. City staff also ran public discussions and an ideaboard online, where a skating trail through Rossdale became the event most voted for.
The other popular idea online was having more cafes and places to rent cross-country ski equipment or snowshoes near river valley parks, said Susan Holdsworth, the project lead. The facility at Hawrelak Park already rents skates and the shop there sells coffee, but it's cafeteria style.
"People want to have a really nice coffee or maybe even a glass of wine, in a place where you want to linger," said Holdsworth.
The winter city strategy suggests changes to the way the city and its partners approach the season, including how festivals are supported, how the city is marketed, and how roads and neighbourhoods are designed.
Visit edmontonjournal.com/wintermap to tell us your favourite winter spot
One recommendation is to review and better explain the city's risk management policy. That was a consistent theme in discussions with community leagues and neighbourhood organizations, said Holdsworth.
Several people complained they couldn't even let children play on the snow piles produced by clearing their hockey arena because they had been told it was a biohazard. "Someone may have spit on it or split their lip," said Holdsworth.
She hasn't been able to learn when city staff may have said that, but said it points to a feeling that the city's overly risk-adverse culture is "taking the fun out of things."
Changing that is fundamental, said Coun. Ben Henderson, who has been leading the plan from the council side.
"We're not prepared to take on any kind of risk and we're going to have to get over that," he said. Being overly risk averse has killed other ideas on using snow creatively, creating slides or other places for people to play. The city needs to let people make their own risk assessments in more situations, Henderson said.
City staff will ask councillors to request a 10-year implementation plan, create an ongoing advisory council and appoint a winter city co-ordinator. The heads of all city departments have signed off on the strategy.
Some of the ideas are already being worked on. Transportation is already considering changes to the jaywalking bylaw, said Holdsworth. The winter city strategy suggests people should be able to jaywalk across lower-speed routes during the winter after yielding to traffic.
The big picture goal is to get residents to rethink their aversion to winter, to reconsider the myths they believe about the season being cold and windy, said Henderson.
"We have an incredible amount of sunlight in this city," he said. "If you're inside, if you never go out, you don't get the advantage of that and it's no wonder you are depressed."
But even the process of writing the strategy was part of changing that, Henderson said. The fashion industry got together and started talking about how to do an outdoor winter fashion show, and Henderson took all the local weathercasters out for lunch to discuss how they present winter on air.
The weathercasters shared stories among themselves about the language to use to talk about snow, cold and ice and what that means for different listeners.
"If it's a gorgeous day, you need to say that," said Henderson.
The full report will be available online after 11:30 a.m. Thursday at www.edmonton.ca/wintercitystrategy.
Map: Share your favourite winter spot with us
Is there are a spark in your heart when the snow starts to fall? Then help light a fire for life in this winter city by adding to our new crowd-sourced map of great places to see and things to do during the snowy months.
We're promoting the best toboggan hills, skating rinks, winter walks, sunny hillsides, ski trails, easy rental facilities, hot chocolate spots ... whatever you would recommend to a visitor or newcomer to the city.
Visit edmontonjournal.com/wintermap to check it out and add your favourite spot.
A few more ideas in the winter city strategy:
— Build a city ice climbing wall
— Use snow to build wind barriers
— Provide free skate rentals at City Hall
— Winterize Fort Edmonton
— Create white-of-ways where snow is left on sidewalks for skiing and pulling sleds
— Pilot heated bus stops and explore the feasibility of free public transit below a certain temperature
— Pilot a project where the city is responsible for snow clearing in high density or transit-oriented areas.
— Support NGOs to enhance shuttle-type transit to give street populations access to warming shelters
— Educate developers, builders and property owners on greater use of colour in outdoor design
— Create dark zones for sky watching
— Create a winter festival co-ordinating body
— Support the further development of Edmonton's winter fashion industry
— Work with Edmonton's fashion industry to promote smart winter dressing
— Work with school boards to encourage rethinking the indoor recess policy
— Launch a marketing campaign that focuses on our humour, resilience and pride in being a great northern city.


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Gramps Morgan - One in a Million / Come Back to Bed [Slow Reggae]
Artist: Gramps Morgan Song: One in a Million/ Come Back to Bed Label: Dada Son Entertainment
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Just like its namesake cocktail, the classic Negroni, the Negroni Bianco strikes a perfect bittersweet balance with every sip.
1 1/2 oz. gin
1 oz. infused Cocchi Americano (see below)
1 oz. Dolin Blanc vermouth
Tools: mixing glass, barspoon, strainer
Glass: coupe
Garnish: lemon twist
Combine all ingredients with ice and stir to chill. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish.
Infused Cocchi Americano
1 750 ml. bottle Cocchi Americano
20 drops gentian tincture (available at most natural grocers and health food stores)
Peel of 2 grapefruits
2 oz. 100-proof vodka
Combine all ingredients in clean glass jar with a lid, shake and let rest for 3 days. Will keep refrigerated for up to two weeks.
Joel Teitelbaum, Zero Zero, San Francisco


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Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster/Telecaster hybrid masterbuilt by Yuriy Shishkov, and is one of only 10 guitars of this design. This stunning example, finished in emerald green on body, neck and fingerboard, is currently being offered for sale on eBay in the UK with a Buy It Now price of £3,200.
A similar example, with not quite such a stunning finish, is also being offered for sale with slightly less hefty Buy It Now price of £2,600.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Fender Custom Shop Strat/Tele hybrid
7:45 AM | Labels: custom, Fender, one-offs, Stratocaster, Telecaster
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I'd say Valkyrie with blood sigils. Spec into crit strikes and around 20 trickery plus the awesome Acrobatics 20 trait 2 initiative per 10secs and you're pretty set. Keep a sword in your other set for on demand stuns.
I'd say Valkyrie with blood sigils. Spec into crit strikes and around 20 trickery plus the awesome Acrobatics 20 trait 2 initiative per 10secs and you're pretty set. Keep a sword in your other set for on demand stuns.
Really i thought 25/30/0/0/15 was pretty much the best p/p setup ill have to try it out. Also why Valk and not beserker. I currently have 2k+ precision along with 2k+ power. Is that much precision overkill for a pistol/pistol set up?
Last edited by jermo22; 2012-09-27 at 06:19 PM.
Not really, but you're going to die. If you have a lot of vitality from the valkyrie and the acrobatics you can regen a lot more health with your sigil and thus endure more. And trickery 20 is too awesome party support to pass up. Pistols are weak and need more power but the poeer traits are awful for them. With acrobatics you gain an extra unload every roughly 15 seconds. The initiative on crit trait is awesome for them and so is the cripple for soloing. You can also switch your 2nd mayor trickery slot to pistol bounce shot.
Just got to eighty and now i can't decide which gear i should buy for dungeons, or even strategy. While leveling up i was always spamming death blossom which worked wonders, i hear its not recommended it dungeons. So can anyone point me into the right direction? :/
For traits you want extra initiative (15 trickery 20 acrobatics at least), then whatever you want to accomodate. 15 power is quite good for defense because of Weakness on poison.
For skill slots, group support. The allmighty Shadow Refuge, Shadowstep, Ambush, Smoke Screen and Smoke Bomb are all great choices. Signet of shadows is a bit more limiting but still great. Dagger storm does a lot more damage than Thieves guild and is AoE, but the thieves have a lot of blinds and disables. Gives more defense and control.
For other weapon sets, since you'll mostly want to be in melee range to Blossom as often as you can, Pistol/Pistol can help stack some extra bleeds from range as well as giving you access to daze and blind.
I have found that P/D is superior to P/P even as a pure ranged player. Moreover; what surprised me is even if you want to spec P/P do not invest any points in the entire trait line that has Pistol buffing traits. That trait line is the second from the top and its called Critical Strike just avoid it and you will notice a substantial improvement.
having trouble at level 22 using this setup:
armors are a mixture of +toughness and + precision.
the problem is I am always under-leveled for the zone i`m in and the mobs hit me too hard(2-3 bleeds on me and I`m history). If the mobs are same level as I am, then I have no trouble killing 1 maybe 2. What do you guys think I`m doing wrong?
maybe power / crit is not the way to go while leveling? or maybe I should go to other zones in order to out-level content?
If malice isn't enough to keep you up use his
Use black powder to make a smoke field to fight in. You can hs thru it to stealth
Dodge really big attacks sig agi will give you more dodges
What exactly is slaughtering you usually just need to learn how they attack
Sharing a vid and build I found online and now playing, its fun:
is the "remove 1 condition every 3s" useful? i think it willo remove just one condition (will it remove bleed if it has 5 stacks?) since stealth lasts just 2-3s
and second
a bleed focused build maybe 2xpistols / 2xdaggers would be slower in killing stuff? but maybe safer? has anyone tried?
you cant ever not use it
if you stealth with a condition on you it is removed immediately
say you have bleed, poison, and chill on you. you have that trait and you use hide in shadows
HiS will remove the bleed and poison, after that the trait will remove chilled as you go into stealth
lets say you use shadow trap (5s stealth) with cripple, chilled, and confusion on you, when you enter stealth one is removed, 3 seconds later if you stay in stealth another is removed
bleed and all stacking conditions (and boons for that matter) when removed remove all stacks
if you want a bleed focused build use p/d and bring caltrops
drop caltrops (they take a stack of crip and bleed for each second in caltrops, usually up to 6 stacks) then cloak and dagger to stealth, then sneak attack
thx for the great reply.
The reason I want to try a different build is partially because always using the basic attack to kill mobs (as I do now) is boring. I`ll try the bleed spec when I get more gear.
some thigns to remember when doing CnD -> stealth combos:
after you backstab it takes one full dagger mainhand chain before you can CnD to stealth again. you will cast CnD right as revealed is wearing off but by the time the attack hits revealed will be gone- assuming you did a full 1 chain
for pistol after you sneak attack 2 pistol shots from 1 is enough time before a cloak and dagger
I tried out different builds so far but by far the build which makes the most fun for me is kinda glas canon build. I love to backstab ppl and kill them instantly and it is not like i have to sacrifice so much survivability for it. I live quite long and when i need to kill someone fast, i can. If i am on cooldown it doesnt matter.
Tested only in spvp for a few days now but i really feel good with it and i like it more than a full condition build or something more "balanced".
Posting this also here (also posted to video thread). I found this from reddit; if you are not sure how to play thief or want to get better, this person has some good thief guides: http://www.youtube.com/user/rainythief
He explains his builds, but more importantly he explains basic ideas how skills/traits work together. Builds will always change, but after understanding things you are ready to invent and improve your own build.
Here is dagger dagged backstab build explained. People seem to talk about this on every GW2 forum:
Larynx made this excellent guide for playing a Thief, i feel it can help out the thief community a lot!!


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No doubt more than a few glasses were lifted at the 75th anniversary convention of the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association in May in Galveston
As far as I know there is no one still around who attended that very first convention of this regional newspaper group. Actually, I was born just about the time that group convened. However, my ties are strong and run deep.
My very first press association convention ever was Gulf Coast and it was held in Houston in 1963 at Dick Maegle's Tidelands Inn. Maegle is the former Rice All-American running back, famous for setting a Cotton Bowl rushing yardage record assisted by an off-the-bench tackle by Alabama's Tommy Lewis on a TD-bound run by Maegle.
At that meeting, of course, I met a lot of my fellow newspaper editors and publishers and most became lifelong friends. One couple became my lifetime best friends in the business, Bill and Peggy Cooke from Rockdale. Now, they're "mostly" retired and daughter Kathy publishes the Reporter. Son Ken is the publisher of The Fredericksburg Standard.
Gulf Coast Press's founding president was John H. Manthey, publisher of the Cleveland Advocate. In 1968 I succeeded John as publisher at Cleveland when my partners, the Owen family from Conroe, and I purchased the Advocate.
Manthey earlier had some pretty impressive partners himself, the Price Daniel family from Liberty. I had some earlier contact with the former Texas governor, during his term in office. Gov. Daniel came to my hometown Teague in 1958 to speak to the Methodist Men's Club. I covered that meeting as the 20-year-old news editor of The Teague Chronicle.
After the meeting, I was part of a two-man press contingent interviewing the Governor. The other press rep was from the Dallas Morning News and after a few questions for Gov. Daniel, rushed off to phone in his story.
I suppose I just stood there gawking, but the Governor put an understanding arm around my shoulder, steered me to a sofa where we started talking about the newspaper business. He was a part owner of the Liberty Vindicator and several other newspapers and told me that his grandfather had once owned and published The Teague Chronicle. He kept several high muckety-mucks, including the just-retired president of the American Petroleum Institute, waiting for 10 minutes while we talked "newspapers."
Thereafter, if anyone ever made a disparaging remark about Gov. Daniel, they had to contend with me. I've always regarded him as a great man and an outstanding public servant. His daughter, Jean Murph, is publisher of The Coppell Advocate.
Gulf Coast Press has produced any number of interesting people.
Franz Zeiske, for instance.
Franz was the longtime publisher of The Bellville Times. He was, I believe, second generation of his family in this country. Franz printed a fine newspaper and took great pride in it.
A regular visitor to Franz's office was a then-reportercolumnist for The Houston Post, Leon Hale, who now (at age 91) writes a weekly column for The Houston Chronicle.
My hero and friend, Leon, used to roam about the rural areas and small towns for the Post and later the Chronicle and is now a weekly columnist with elder statesman status. One of Leon's frequent stops was Bellville and Franz's office.
One of my favorite stories was related about Franz. Leon said Franz used to drive him around the area and they always went to a certain bridge over the Brazos River. They would stop and Franz would produce a half pint of whiskey. They'd have a drink or two and Franz would toss the bottle over the bridge railing into the river.
After Franz died, Leon wrote about going to a liquor store in Bellville, buying a half pint of whiskey and driving out to that bridge. He stopped as he and Franz had a number of times. Leon got out of the car, opened the half pint, toasted Franz's memory, took a swig and tossed the bottle over the railing as had his friend.
It was a fitting tribute. Gulf Coast Press needs to remember Franz in a proper way.
WILLIS WEBB is a retired community newspaper editor and publisher of more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at firstname.lastname@example.com


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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Sprint has partnered with Daytona International Speedway to sponsor the Sprint Unlimited At Daytona, the fan-favorite non-points event formerly known as the Daytona Shootout that traditionally kicks off the stock car portion of Budweiser Speedweeks 2013 and the NASCAR season.
The race will once again be held under the lights on Saturday night, Feb. 16 (FOX 8 p.m. ET) but will feature several new elements that will make this event even more of a fan favorite. Fans in attendance will be eligible to receive special upgraded race experiences from Sprint including roles as Grand Marshal, Honorary Starter, and trophy presenter. Fans can also help deliver the trophy to Gatorade Victory Lane or participate in driver introductions during pre-race ceremonies.
"Sprint is entering its 10th season as title sponsor of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series," said Steve Gaffney, vice president of marketing for Sprint. "From the outset, we promised unprecedented access for race fans, and each year we challenge ourselves to honor that commitment in innovative ways. Thanks to the strength of our partnership with NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway, we have designed The Sprint Unlimited so that fans play a major role in all aspects of the event. It is the ideal way to start this milestone season, and we look forward to sharing all of the details later this month."
In addition to the new fan elements, The Sprint Unlimited marks the first time the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race cars will compete on-track in an event. Dubbed "Gen 6," the new-look sixth generation cars highlight greater brand identity for the manufacturers and are expected to heighten the rivalries among drivers and manufacturers.
"Now more than ever, through our growing partnership with Sprint, The Sprint Unlimited will be the fans' race," said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III. "Sprint has been a great partner with Daytona and NASCAR, and they continue to raise the bar by engaging race fans in new and innovative ways. We look forward to hearing about additional unique elements for this race in the coming weeks.
"We are also excited for the debut of the new Sprint Cup Series car, which we believe will provide thrilling on-track action and make The Sprint Unlimited an unforgettable launch to the 2013 season."
As announced earlier in the year, the format for selecting the field of drivers in the invitation-only event will return to its roots for 2013. The eligible field of drivers will consist of pole winners from the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and past winners of The Sprint Unlimited who have attempted to qualify for at least one race during the 2012 season.
Tickets for The Sprint Unlimited start at $39 and are available for purchase at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Children 12 and under are free in general admission grandstands and the Sprint FANZONE.
Fans can follow Miss Sprint Cup (@MissSprintCup) and NASCAR (@NASCAR) on Twitter and stay up to speed on the latest news by using hashtags #SprintUnlimited, #NASCAR, #DAYTONA500 and #NASCARBattle.
In addition, fans can also stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest for all the latest news all season long.
The field for The Sprint Unlimited is currently at 22 drivers and features a who's who of NASCAR stars.
2012 Pole Winners:
Greg Biffle
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Carl Edwards
Denny Hamlin
Kasey Kahne
Mark Martin
Jeff Gordon
Martin Truex Jr.
Tony Stewart
AJ Allmendinger
Aric Almirola
Joey Logano
Marcos Ambrose
Jimmie Johnson
Matt Kenseth
Kyle Busch
Juan Pablo Montoya
Past champions of The Sprint Unlimited:
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick
Bill Elliott
Terry Labonte
Ken Schrader
Related Features
8.10.2020Events, along with Go Bowling 235 At The DAYTONA Road Course and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Race Make up Historic Weekend on Iconic Road Course with Addition of Turn Four Chicane
8.7.2020A Decade of Great Moments: NASCAR's Top Series Wrote History on the Daytona Beach-Road Course from 1949-58 Before Moving to Superspeedway
Iconic Names Had Success on the 4.1-mile Layout; Today's Stars Will Make the NASCAR Cup Series Return to Road Course Racing in Daytona Beach at Daytona International Speedway's Trioval/Road Course on Aug. 16
8.6.2020The Birthplace of Speed – Daytona Beach - Welcomes Road Course Racing in the 1930s as NASCAR Founder Bill France Sr. Begins Promotion of a Sport he loves
NASCAR Set to Make its Historic Return to Road Course Racing in Daytona Beach at Daytona International Speedway's Trioval/Road Course on Aug. 14-16
8.5.2020With No Practice and Never Competing on the Iconic Road Course, Drivers Searching for Answers Before Challenging 14-turn, 3.57-mile High-Banked Trioval/Infield Road Course for First Time


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Texas Children's Health Plan urges you to renew your health coverage. Families must renew their CHIP coverage every year. Families on Medicaid must renew coverage every 6 months.
You should get a renewal packet in the mail from the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). When you get your packet, fill it out and review it completely. If you are having trouble, give us a call. If you have children on several different health plans, you can get them all on one plan. Find out how.
Your family needs to:
- Look over the information on the renewal application.
- Fix any information that is not correct.
- Show proof of current income and costs to be deducted.
- Sign and date the application.
- Look at the health plan options, if it applies.
- Return the renewal application and documents of proof by the due date.
To learn more about renewing your health coverage call CHIP/Children's Medicaid call center toll-free at 1-877-543-7669.


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Hosta 'Vim and Vigor'
Hosta hybrid
Unavailable in 2020
Hosta hybrid
|Blooms mid-summer to late summer
The post-World War II gardening world has witnessed an astonishing explosion of interest in these treasured plants. And new species of Hosta are still being found. A 1985 plant-hunting expedition to the remotest regions of the Japanese archipelago uncovered two previously unknown species.
With their extraordinary hardiness and affinity for cool, shady haunts, Hostas offer ornamental foliage in silvery-blue, yellow-green, and rich green; all manner of variegation, and a wide variety of leaf sizes and shapes.
Hostas are exceedingly popular perennials in today's gardens due to their versatility in the landscape. Their subtle colors, tall flower scapes, and broad, coarse leaves fill a niche in garden designs that few other plants can achieve.


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Ms. Jack is someone I think I could get along with because she is obviously full of integrity. She is an Evangelical that married a Mormon and is now an active part of the bloggernacle. I certainly don't agree with her on many things. In fact, this post will be a series of (partial) disagreements with one of her comments.
But from what I've seen of her comments online, she is making an honest attempt to understand Mormons. Though I feel she often fails in her quest — I would ask all to remember how incredibly difficult it is to get past our own intrenched meaning-memes for the sake of understanding someone else's. Ms Jack rocks when it comes to making the sincere attempt to communicate and understand.
Consider, for example, this post from T&S a while back.
It led to a discussion about why Evangelicals call Mormons 'not Christian.' Ms. Jack said the following on this subject:
I would say that Mormons consider themselves the only true Christians and Protestants return fire by arguing that Mormons aren't really Christians in the first place.
Please note that I am not endorsing the "Mormons aren't Christians" argument. That's not my position by a long shot. I'm just saying it isn't a one-way thing. Giving lip service to my Christianity whilst insisting that my faith is corrupt and incomplete, my baptism into Jesus Christ is invalid, and I'm not indwelt by the Holy Spirit (i. e. I don't have the gift of the Holy Ghost) isn't exactly a flattering assessment of my faith.


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Strawberry freezer jam is so easy to make, really economical and AMAZINGLY delicious. It is easier than traditional jams because you don't actually cook the fruit. However, since it isn't "preserved" in the traditional sense it is important that you have enough freezer room to store the jam you make. On Monday I made 36 jars of the stuff! 12 jars went into our freezer and 24 are being store in our chest freezer. They can be stored in the freezer for up to a year. When you are ready to eat it you can keep it in the fridge for about three weeks.
Here is what you will need to make 6 – 1/2 pint jars
1 Quart ripe strawberries
4 Cups of Sugar
1 Package Sure-jell fruit pectin
3/4 Cup of water
Remove the green caps from the berries and place the berries into a large bowl. Using a potato masher, crush the berries. Add the sugar and stir. Allow this mixture to sit about 20 minutes. In the meantime you can wash and dry 6 – 1/2 pint canning jars and lids. In a small sauce pan combine Sure-Jell pectin and 3/4 cup of water. Stirring constantly bring to a boil and allow to boil for 1 additional minute. Add the pectin mixture to the fruit mixture and stir well. Pour fruit into jars, cap and let sit on the counter to set about 24 hours. You jam is now ready to freeze. I place 12 jars back into the box they came in and freeze them in the box. This way I don't have jars rolling out onto my toes and I have a place to store the empty jars when I am done so I can reuse them next year!
I had to purchase jars, berries, pectin and sugar to make my jam. In the end each jar of jam came out to a cost of about $1.55. Next year if I reuse the jars the cost will be even less.


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Legendary NYC Vegetable Peeler Salesman Joe Ades, 75
"... no one believed his answer to the 'So what do you do?' question: 'I sell potato peelers on the street.'"
If you live in New York or have visited as a tourist, it's more than likely you've seen the compelling salesmanship of Joe Ades, vegetable-peeler extraordinaire. Mr. Ades died on Sunday. He was 75.
Mr. Ades' five-minute pitch was hypnotic, and whenever I saw him on a corner—in Midtown, at Union Square (he had various favorite locations)—I'd always stop to watch, even though I'd seen his spiel countless times and even though I had already bought a couple of his peelers. (They really do work well and, as he claimed, mine has never needed sharpening.)
With bins full of vegetables, Ades would demonstrate the utility of the stainless steel Swiss peeler that made him a wealthy man ("one for $5, two for $10, five for $20"). He'd deftly remove the eyes from potatoes and show how easy it was to julienne carrots or to slice them into stars ("you do that for the kids and they'll eat their veggies"). [A video of Mr. Ades in action appears after the jump.]
Always nattily dressed in a suit and tie, no matter the weather, Ades was the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles that recounted his almost Dickensian trajectory from Manchester, England, to the streets of New York City.
As the New York Times says in Mr. Ades' obituary:
His was a particular kind of street theater in a city that delights in in-your-face characters who are, and are not, what they seem. For he was the sidewalk pitchman with the Upper East Side apartment. The sidewalk pitchman who was a regular at expensive East Side restaurants, where no one believed his answer to the "So what do you do?" question: "I sell potato peelers on the street." Mr. Ades (pronounced AH-dess) died on Sunday at 75, said his daughter, Ruth Ades Laurent of Manhattan. She said he never talked about how many peelers he sold in a year, or how many carrots he had sliced up during demonstrations. She said he stashed his inventory in what had been the maid's room of the apartment.
So entrancing was his pitch that I'd always wanted to muster the resources of Serious Eats and do a short video documentary on Mr. Ades. But like many of the city's unofficial landmarks and quirky treasures we take for granted, he passed from the scene far too early. This video, though, captures the essence of this charming self-described grafter.
Our condolences go out to Mr. Ades' family and friends. He will be missed.
Joe Ades, the Peeler Guy of New York
His Stage, the Street; His Rapier, a Peeler [New York Times]
RIP Joe Ades, Union Square Peeler Peddler [SE Talk]
The Gentleman Grafter [Vanity Fair]
Perfect Pitch [New York Daily News]
Potato Peelers Put Him on Park Avenue [MSNBC]
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Hide your power alleys; Hide your wife
Diamondbacks lineup:
Drew SS
Bloomquist 3B
Hill 2B
Montero C
Upton RF
Goldschmidt 1B
Young CF
Parra LF
Bauer P
Tonight's game is the free MLB.tv game of the day
Chris' jacket and bow tie are giving me a headache.
On paper, and in the order Dusty put them, this lineup should stink tonight. But they'll probably go out and score 15 runs.
Dusty is the most hardheaded manager I've ever witnessed. He just won't sit Stubbs permanently.
Todd Redmond is waiting for Cueto's blister to get torn up. I highly doubt Cueto gets past four.
Hey Sparky! Indian Hill English teachers taught me everything I know!
Directv is showing extra innings for free as well
Stubbs walks
I dont care, Votto said of passing his friend and former teammate. Hes in the past. Bye-bye, Jay.
Stubbs walks to lead off the bottom of the first.
Votto wonders.
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We can all agree that we love to play golf. It is a frustrating, challenging, love-hate relationship that we all treasure and enjoy year after year. A lot of people are golfers, but not a lot of people are golf fans.
in 2015, golf has become more exciting to follow as a fan. 2016 does not look like it will disappoint us. From the return of golf to the Olympic games to the "Fab Four" Spieth, Fowler, Day & Mcllroy taking the Tour by storm, we all have a reason to sit back and watch the exciting year to come.
Check out this article with 6 great reasons to make golf an even bigger part of your life in 2016.http://www.buzzfeed.com/ggray/6-reasons-to-become-a-golf-fan-in-2016-1waf9


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Botanical Interests offers nearly 100 varieties of heirloom flower seeds of all types. Browse our selection of beautiful flower seeds below!
These cheerful blossoms warm up any spot in your garden.
Item #1011
Elegant burgundy plumes and foliage are striking at the back of the border.
Item #2012
These delightful daisy-like flowers are a treat for the eyes with blooms that open to reveal a stunning range of colors.
Item #1300
Black (deep maroon) flowers are magical when paired with blue or yellow flowers.
Item #1075
Sky blue flowers make pretty cut or dried flowers and are a delight to honeybees.
Item #1002
"Cute as a button" purple, light blue, pink and white flowers for the front of the border.
Item #2002
Beautiful columns of color; an old-fashioned Victorian favorite adding cheer to sun-challenged areas.
Item #1298
75 days. Large sprays of brilliant red flowers and sweet, tasty pods. Attracts hummingbirds and pollinators.
Item #0244
Tall spikes of apple-green "bells," perfect for the back of the border. A stunning cut or dried flower!
Item #1148
Vigorous vine with charming orange, yellow, and white flowers. Groundcover, screen, or hanging basket.
Item #1119
Lovely pink flowers provide nectar and habitat for monarch butterflies, their caterpillars, & other pollinators. NATIVE
Item #1319
Sweetly scented clusters of star-like flowers provide nectar and habitat for butterflies and their caterpillars. NATIVE
Item #1320
Stunning red tubular flowers and fern-like foliage on a fast growing, easy to grow vine.
Item #1155
Dramatic spikes topped with large stunning flower clusters - a visual feast in the summer garden.
Item #1242
Rich, midnight burgundy leaves are spectacular in the shade garden.
Item #1271
Showy, variegated, deeply lobed leaves with wonderful colors and new, exciting shapes!
Item #1272
Graceful flowers in a beautiful range of colors provide nectar for hummingbirds and sphinx moths.
Item #1007
Colorado's state flower provides nectar for hummingbirds and sphinx moths. NATIVE.
Item #1008
85 days. Add brilliant color and novelty to your flower or vegetable garden. Enjoy its jewel-like dark burgundy cobs!
Item #2038
Ruffled, rolled seashell-like petals dance above delicate foliage, luring butterflies and hummingbirds.
Item #1073


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Get Used To This: 98, 99, 99The heat of the summer is here.
Tarrant County Releases New Guidance For Schools Reopening Saying 'Virtual Learning' Is SafestTo prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools resulting in repeated cycles of opening and closing, TCPH supports the opening of schools for virtual learning.
Traffic Alert: Stretch Of I-30 In Arlington To Be Closed Both Ways This WeekendCrews are tearing down the old 360 bridge over I-30.
Retired Richardson Music Teacher Gets 90th Birthday SurpriseClaire Johnson's friends and former students threw her a drive-by birthday parade.
Former Angels Employee Charged In Pitcher Tyler Skaggs's Fatal Fentanyl OverdoseFormer Angels Communications Director Eric Prescott Kay, 45, was charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute a mixture containing detectable amounts of fentanyl.
Friday Evening News BriefHere's what made news Friday, August 7.
North Texas Couple Pens Kids Book On Importance Of Wearing A MaskCBS 11's Nicole Nielsen has the story.
Lone Star Conference Postpones Football, Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball Seasons To Spring 2021The Lone Star Conference announced Friday that it will be postponing its football, basketball, soccer and volleyball seasons until Spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dallas ISD About To Distribute Chromebooks, iPads And Other DevicesThe goal is to have students prepared to learn online.
Dallas Nurse Bonds With Family After Caring For Heart Patient, Newborn Grandchild 10 Years ApartA decade after caring for a woman in her final days, Thao Nguyen found herself working in the NICU where the woman's granddaughter was born.
North Texas Music Venues Make Plea In Order To Stay OpenNorth Texas music venues made a plea for help Friday to keep the stage lights from going dark for good.
Erin Moran's Weather ForecastThe weekend will have typical August heat in North Texas.
Lawyers For Amber Guyger File Appeal For Lesser Charge Following Murder ConvictionLawyers for former Dallas officer Amber Guyger filed an appeal earlier this week, asking for a lesser charge after she was convicted of murder in the death of Botham Jean.
Former LA Angels Employee Charged In Connection With Death Of Pitcher Tyler SkaggsAn ex-employee of the Los Angeles Angels was charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in connection with the 2019 overdose death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs who was found unresponsive in a North Texas hotel room while in town to face the Texas Rangers. Katie Johnston reports.
Stretch Of I-30 In Arlington To Be Closed Both Ways This WeekendA stretch of Interstate-30 in Arlington will be closed both ways this weekend for a bridge removal at SH 360.
Anne Elise Parks' Mid-Day Weather UpdateThe heat continues heading into the weekend with no rain chances in sight.
Free Supplies Handed Out To Families In Tarrant CountyTarrant County families in need were given free school supplies at a drive-thru giveaway.
News Now: August 7, 2020Waking up a bit late and missed your morning news broadcasts? Watch News Now to catch up!
Get Ready For A ScorcherPlenty of sunshine and humidity. High 99F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Hot, hot, hot.
Tarrant County Drive-Thru Back to School Roundup UnderwayThis year's Tarrant County Back To School Roundup looks a little different given current COVID times.
Where Is Carolyn Ray Riggins?A search party is planned Friday for missing 69-year-old Grandmother Carolyn Ray Riggins.
Friday Morning Weather ForecastMostly sunny. High 99F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
NTX Mayors Y'all Wear A Mask RoundtableFort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, North Richland Hills Mayor Oscar Trevino, And Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley Participa
Triple-Digit Temps On The Way BakIt's going to be a very hot weekend.