text:
He was moved to write (unedited):
You know, i watched quite a bit of your stuff a few months ago, just when i was realy beginning to go deeper in to my relationship with Christ. After i had listened to the things you guys where saying i began to feel attacked for some reason. And started questioning my own character. Your poison started to pull me away from a God who has loved and looked after me all my life, despite the ravages of religion. Christ told me in 2003 to follow him. That night was very real to me. Theres no other way to explain what happened to me, and i think it had to happen that way otherwise i would never have beleived. I would have fallen away as soon as someone would try to pull me apart. Like you try so hard to do.
I mite not be a seasoned christian with all the answers like you. But i will always have that night. I will always have the times i cried out to Jesus in the back of ambulances and he pulled me through.
He gave me hope that i will see my Brother again. And so much more.
And that alone, you and your goons will never take from me.
I dont know why you never felt or herd Christ in your 25 years of "being a Christian"
And im sorry for what it has done for you.
You guys are like naughty kids who dont like the fact you have to follow the rules, thet what God says goes. You reject him because you know whats going to happen to you and you hate him for it.
So your going to do your level best to take as many with you as possible.
With the rubbish that flows like efluient from your mouth. Just like the great deciever.
I dont push my veiw on anyone, if people read my stuff. Its up to them. If the kids ask me about Christ i tell them. Otherwise i grow my faith in Christ. And i do this because deep inside, despite the poison of people like you and the doubt you breed. I know Christ is real, and you can chuck off as much as you want about it and be little it as much as you want.
But you are the one that twists his word and takes it it out of context, that is obvious from your show. You pray on Christians searching for answers. And enjoy the the easy game.
Ive seen what mans religion has done, and yes it is mind blowing how people can cause such pain and suffering in a Loving Gods name.
But that still doesnt change the person of Christ and his love for us and even you.
You need to turn from this and go back to Christ as you already know you should, or fight him and blame him for all the worlds problems and die alone.
The things you said to me in your last letter were quite character destroying and demoralising. But thats because you dont know me. Just like you dont know all those people whose lives you may have already destoyed by taking there hope away from them. Without Christ in your corner and regardless of how smart you think you are against a mans undertanding of God. You will still have to stand before him. And that you can do nothing about.
If you regect him then he will give you what you want, because you wanted it.
As for me your smuggness has made me feel ill. And i am going to continue to love Jesus despite Religion, including yours.
You have nothing good to say.
EDIT: For clarity:
I probably shouldn't have posted this. I didn't think about the fact that you're all not familiar with the discussion (and I won't be posting the full discussion or the video, for privacy issues).
I realize, now, that it looks like I'm simply poking fun at someone - that's not the case.
This was much more about demonstrating the sort of road blocks people put up and the way the rationalize their position. Instead of honestly assessing the issues (which may simply be beyond comprehension due to preconceptions), it's easier to imagine that the person you're arguing with is simply lying and evil.
It's the result of the protective mechanisms built into many religions - and in some cases it's virtually impossible to overcome.


text:
Published 12:00 am Friday, January 4, 2013
GLENDALE, Ariz — Oregon's DeAnthony Thomas raced 94 yards for a touchdown on the opening kickoff.
The fifth-ranked Ducks barely looked back after that.
Triggered by Thomas' attention-grabbing return, Oregon raced past No. 7 Kansas State 35-17 Thursday night at the Fiesta Bowl in what may have been coach Chip Kelly's final game with the Ducks.
Teams that had that national title aspirations end on the same day, Oregon and Kansas State ended up in the desert for a marquee matchup billed as a battle of styles: The fast-flying Ducks vs. the execution-is-everything Wildcats.
With Kelly reportedly talking to several NFL teams, Oregon (12-1) was too much for Kansas State and its Heisman Trophy finalist, Collin Klein. The Ducks tried to turn the game into a track meet, and it worked from the start.
Thomas followed his before-everyone-sat-down kickoff return with a 23-yard touchdown catch, finishing with 195 total yards.
Kenjon Barner ran for 143 yards on 31 carries and scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota in the second quarter. Mariota later scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter, capped by an obscure 1-point safety that went in the Ducks' favor.
Even Oregon's defense got into the act, intercepting Klein twice and holding him to 30 yards on 13 carries.
Whether Kelly leaves Eugene or not, he had a good run, leading the Ducks to four straight trips to BCS bowls, the last two wins.
Last year's Fiesta Bowl was an offensive fiesta, with Oklahoma State outlasting Stanford 41-38 in an exciting overtime.
The 2013 version was an upgrade: Nos. 4 and 5 in the BCS, two of the nation's best offenses, dynamic players and superbly successful coaches on both sides.
Oregon has become the standard for go-go-go football under Kelly, its fleet of Ducks making those shiny helmets — green like Christmas tree bulbs for the Fiesta Bowl — and flashy uniforms blur across the grassy landscape.
Their backfield of Thomas, Barner and Mariota made up a three-headed monster of momentum, each one capable of turning a single play into a scoring drive of 60 seconds or less.
Mariota has been the show-running leader, a question mark before the season who ably ran Oregon's high-octane offense as the first freshman quarterback to start for the Ducks since Danny O'Neil in 1991.
Oregon won the Rose Bowl for the first time in 95 years last season and was in position for a spot in the BCS title game this year before losing a heartbreaker to Stanford on Nov. 17.
Thomas offered the first flash of speed, crossing into the end zone like a sprinter taking the finish-line tape after picking up a couple of blocks and racing past Oregon's bench for a touchdown on the opening kickoff. The Ducks, are they are apt to do, went for 2 on the point-after and converted on a trick play to go up 8-0 in the game's first 12 seconds.
It was the second straight day a BCS bowl began with a quick strike; Louisville returned an interception for a touchdown against Florida on the first play of the Sugar Bowl Wednesday night.
Thomas hit the Wildcats (11-2) again late in the first quarter, breaking a couple of tackles and dragging three defenders into the end zone for a catch-and-run TD that put the Ducks up 15-0.
It's nothing new for Oregon's sophomore sensation: He had 314 total yards and two long touchdown runs in the 2012 Rose Bowl. The Ducks are used to it, too, after averaging more than 50 points per game.
And they kept flying.
Oregon followed a missed 40-yard field goal by Kansas State's Anthony Cantele by unleashing one of its blink-and-you'll-miss-it scoring drives late in the second quarter. Moving 77 yards in 46 seconds, the Ducks went up 22-10 at halftime after Mariota hit Barner on 24-yard TD pass.
Alejandro Maldonado hit a 33-yard field goal on Oregon's opening drive of the third quarter and Mariota capped a long drive with an easy 2-yard TD run to the left. Kansas State's Javonta Boyd blocked the point-after attempt, but even that went wrong for the Wildcats: Chris Harper was tackled in the end zone for a bizarre 1-point safety that put Oregon up 32-10.
Kansas State had gone through its second revival under Bill Snyder, the studious coach who never lost touch with the game or players young enough to be his grandchildren during a three-year retirement.
The 73-year-old followed up the Manhattan Miracle by returning to lead the Wildcats back to national prominence with his attention-to-detail ways.
Klein has led K-State's meticulous march this season, a fifth-year senior who plays in the mold of the college version of Tim Tebow: Gritty, humble, finds a way to win, whatever it takes.
Like the Ducks, the Wildcats had their national-title hopes stamped out on Nov. 17, blown out by Baylor with a rare letdown on both sides of the ball.
Kansas State needed a little time to get its wheels spinning on offense, laboring early before Klein scored on a 6-yard run early in the second quarter.
Klein kept the Wildcats moving in the quarter, though not toward touchdowns: Cantele hit a 25-yard field goal and missed from 40 after a false-start penalty.
Klein hit John Hubert on a 10-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, but all that did was cut Oregon's lead down to 32-17.
He threw for 151 yards on 17 of 32 passing.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Gardeners have been busy canning and preserving for the last few months and it's not over yet. Just this week, I pulled my beets for pickling, as I do each summer. It's one of our very favorite goodies from the garden. I've also got some Mexican gherkin cucumbers (they look like miniature watermelons!) that I'll be pickling for the first time this year.
Though we've never preserved the majority of what we grow (we eat it and share it with neighbors and family), when we do, Ball jars are what we do it in. We also use Ball® jars for our maple syrup we make in late winter.
This year, Ball® sent me some of their products to use and I was of course delighted to get the latest and final edition of the American Heritage Collection Series of jars, commemorating their 100th anniversary. 1913 saw the launch of the first true "Perfect Mason" jar followed in 1914 by the "PERFECTION," then finally by "IMPROVED" in 1915. This year's jars are purple and follow the previous years' green and blue.
Photo by Jenna DeCraene |
You just use regular rings (not included) and screw them over the lids, which do include sturdy reusable straws. They come in blue, red, or purple. You can use them on your regular Ball® jars or you can get jars with handles too.
Photo by Jenna DeCraene |
I also received a copy of Ball's handy dandy Blue Book Guide to Preserving. It not only tells you how to do it, it also has over 500 recipes. This 37th edition, which is new this year, includes 75 new recipes.
Want some pretty purple jars of your very own?
If you've never used Ball® jars and for those of you who already do, here's a chance to win a set of six of this year's purple American Heritage Collection jars:
Just leave a comment on this blog post, telling me how you'll use the jars if you win (What will you can? Or will you use them for crafts?), as well as filling out the Rafflecopter form. You'll see bonus entry opportunities when you fill out the form, with a possible total of eight entries:
The giveaway entry period will run through midnight EDT, Sunday, October 4, 2015. A winner will be randomly chosen by Rafflecopter and notified via email. Good luck!
If you've never checked out all the valuable information on their website, you're in for a treat. Ball® knows canning!
UPDATE: Congratulations to Julie Thompson Adolph! Rafflecopter chose you as the winner! Thank you to all who entered, and happy canning!
I received products from Ball®/Jarden Brands for the purpose of review. No other compensation has been given to me and all opinions expressed here are my own. I am an Amazon Affiliate and this blog post may contain affiliate links to Amazon.com.


text:
But can we stop sacrificing cake in order to save a few bucks? Can't we give every person his/her own special celebratory confection? (And for the love of Betty Crocker, whose idea was it to have less cake around during a party?)
Maybe it's because celebrating several things at once makes for a great party word-puzzle:
(Coincidentally, last time I celebrated my 10th and 5pm, I was at IKEA.)
Maybe it's because sometimes you need a reason to use up those extra office supplies:
(I guess when they told the bakery to "tack on" a few more names, they took it literally.)
Or maybe it's because busy cakes allow the decorator to hide unsightly monikers amongst a sea of names:
I really want to crack a joke here, butt I don't want to say something tongue in cheek.
At least they didn't mistake it for art direction. [Rim shot!]


text:
Riskware/CryptDomaIQ is classified as a file infector.
A file infector is a type of malware that has the capability to propagate by attaching its code to other programs or files.
The Fortinet Antivirus Analyst Team is constantly updating our descriptions. Please check the FortiGuard Encyclopedia regularly for updates.
Recommended Action
- Make sure that your FortiGate/FortiClient system is using the latest AV database.
- Quarantine/delete files that are detected and replace infected files with clean backup copies.


text:
Updated 2016
Why you should add Spain to your Indie/RTW trip
With its warm coastline, rich history and thriving nightlife, is it really any wonder that Spain is one of the most visited countries in Europe. Every year, millions come to Spain to sit in the sun, to drink a little sangria, to get chased by angry bulls, to see some famous paintings and to dance the night away.
- If you are not from Spain, you might picture it as one country, but really it is not. Spain is a nation of regions, each with their own cultures and customs.
- While Spain is very much a part of modern Europe, it still moves at a slower, more traditional pace.
- The two-hour long siestas are not universal anymore, but they do still exist, and as a traveler you will enjoy the quiet time, especially if you adapt to the Spanish time zone, which means most things don't really kick off until around midnight.
- The food, my God, the food. Enjoy the long, drawn out meals, the tapas, the seafood, the jamon, the cava, and everything else that is glorious about Spanish food.
- Variety. There are bustling cities in Madrid and Barcelona, mountainous areas in the Sierra Nevadas and Pyrenees for hiking and trekking, and beaches along the coast for R&R.
- The transportation in Spain is fast, efficient, and easy to use – perfect for those adding it to their longer trips.
- If you're into nightlife, Spain is going to be appealing to you. From the DJ's and clubs in Ibiza to the late nights in Madrid and Barcelona, you'll be partying til dawn during your time in Spain.
Read: Guide to Walking the Camino de Santiago.
Indie travel tips
- The Basque Country in the north holds strongly to its independence and features a language and a culture that you will find fascinating.
- Catalonia, home to Barcelona, is also a unique region and one where large numbers speak Catalan.
- Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a region unto itself. It is a fast moving city that seemingly stays awake all night.
- Regions such as Valencia and Navarra also have their own look and feel, helping to make Spain a country that holds new possibilities with each city and area you visit.
- The Pyrenees separate Spain from France and are littered with quaint little villages and outdoor opportunities galore.
Read: Seven Reasons to Visit Spain's Costa de la Luz.
Because of its popularity, you can usually find decent deals on airfare to Spain. Keep your eyes out in particular for cheap flights from the UK and Europe during the winter months. That is the time when many choose to hit Spain's beaches and the airlines are looking to fill their seats.
For more on travel once in the country, check out the transportation section of Indie Travel in Spain for $55 Per Day.
Read: 5 Things the Camino de Santiago Taught Me.
You can find hostels in every major city and a variety of other businesses catering to the college students and other youth who travel across the continent each summer.
For more in depth information on accommodations, check out the accommodation section of Indie Travel in Spain on $55 Per Day.


text:
Firmware Notice: PowerShot S100: Firmware Version 220.127.116.11
Thank you for using Canon products.
Canon has released a firmware update for the PowerShot S100 Digital Compact Camera.
PowerShot S100 Digital Compact Camera
Firmware Version 220.127.116.11 incorporates the following fix:
Fixes a phenomenon in which the focal length may not change when the control ring's function is to control the step zoom, and the control ring is turned slowly, click-by-click. (In AUTO, SCN, or Movie mode, the default function for the control ring is to control the step zoom.)
Please note that this phenomenon does not always occur with every affected product.
Firmware Version 184.108.40.206 is for cameras with firmware Version 188.8.131.52 or Version 188.8.131.52. If the camera's firmware is already Version 184.108.40.206, it is not necessary to update the firmware. Please note that, once the camera is updated to the latest version, it cannot be restored to a previous version.
The new Firmware Version 126.96.36.199 can be downloaded by clicking here.
How to Identify Cameras eligible for the Firmware Update:
All PowerShot S100 Digital Compact Cameras are eligible for this firmware update.
This information is for residents of the United States and Puerto Rico only. If you do not reside in the USA or Puerto Rico, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.
Please register the PowerShot S100. By registering, we will be able to notify you via email when service updates are available.
Thank you,
Customer Support Operations
Canon U.S.A., Inc
Contact Information for Inquiries
Canon Customer Support Center
Phone: 1-800-OK-CANON
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Support options and hours of operation: www.usa.canon.com/support


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1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace.
13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that,
14 as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.
15 Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice.
16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.
17 When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, 'Yes, yes' and 'No, no'?
18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not 'Yes' and 'No.'
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not 'Yes' and 'No,' but in him it has always been 'Yes.'
20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God.
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
23 I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.


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Last week the food blogging sphere was full of blueberry sour cream ice cream and that got me craving some blueberry ice cream. Luckily the farmers market was still full of blueberries on the weekend I picked some up. Although I wanted to try a sour cream ice cream, frozen yogurt was calling my name. I could not resist pairing the blueberries with maple syrup and I used some to replace a bit of the sugar. Frozen yogurt can be a little tart so you have to use more sweetener than with normal ice cream. It is a good idea to add the sugar a bit at a time and taste test until you get it to the desired sweetness. Since I already had blueberries and maple I decided to add the third part of my current favorite trio of flavours, some toasted pecans. The blueberry, maple and pecan frozen yogurt turned out really well. The blueberry flavour was nice and strong there was a nice hint of maple. I really enjoyed the texture of the frozen yogurt and the toasted pecans added a nice contrast. Of course you have to melt all of the frozen yogurt in your mouth to find all of the pecan bits so you get to enjoy it longer.
Blueberry Maple Pecan Frozen Yogurt
- 2 cups blueberries
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup pecans (toasted and chopped)
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- Heat the blueberries, sugar and maple syrup and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove from the heat.
- Let cool then mix in the yogurt along with the pecans and test for sweetness.
- Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.
- Freeze according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.


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Here at Kindergarten Outdoor Play Area, we are UK leading experts that are able to supply thermoplastic markings and play equipment for outdoor learning areas so kids can enjoy a range of activities at nurseries at schools. If you're in need of experienced and friendly kindergarten outdoor play area installers then look no further than us.
There are loads of designs which you can choose from when creating a Kindergarten outdoor play area for young children. We offer a number of products including thermoplastic markings, wet pour and playground equipment which can all be incorporated.
It's extremely important for children to be physically active during their early years of development. Playing games in an outdoor environment can be really beneficial for both physical fitness and cognitive learning. By having a diverse playground space, kids can take part in different activities using colourful floor designs or specially designed equipment.
If you are interested in more information about kindergarten playground markings for kindergarten play areas, please fill in our contact form. An expert will be able to answer any questions or queries that you have regarding the playground graphics as soon as possible.
One popular feature for a kids' outdoor play-areas is colourful thermoplastic kindergarten playground markings. These are designed in a number of different shapes, colours and patterns to create exciting activities for kids.
The graphics are pre-cut into solid plastic which is then placed onto a tarmac surface and heat applied using a burner to melt the plastic. Some clients choose to have a black or coloured paint coating applied to the whole surface prior to installing the markings. This creates a clean and seamless appearance for the entire area, making it look brand new.
The premium thermoplastic graphics can be supplied in a wide range of shapes which encourage Early Years kids to get involved in different activities. Things like
can all teach valuable skills. Other popular design options include -
Playing outdoors using these floor markings is a great way for kids to interact with each other and develop fundamental social skills.
If you would like to speak to an expert about the costs of a Kindergarten outdoor play area http://playgroundgames.org.uk/ please contact our team to discuss a quote. Our prices will vary depending on area size, location and design so be sure to include as much information as possible with your enquiry.
Other features which may be included in children's playground designs are equipment and furniture. Things like climbing frames, trim trails, playhouses, benches and tables are all popular for Kindergarten, nursery and school facilities. EYFS groups can use these features for active outdoor learning which improves physical fitness along with making it easier to take in new information.
Interactive play panels are often used for role-play activities in local children's playgrounds and the surrounding areas, as well as other imaginative equipment like stages, props and wooden cabins. It's important for kids to make up their own games and use their imaginations when playing outside.
Having a diverse set of equipment and colourful markings can make this possible as the children can interpret them however they want. We have a range of premium quality equipment and brightly coloured thermoplastic graphics which can be uniquely designed to suit what you need.
Please contact one of our specialists by completing the enquiry form if you'd like to talk about costs to install Early Years Kindergarten outdoor play-area features. We'll be able to offer you some ideas as to what would be best for your individual project. You can also look here - http://playgroundgames.org.uk/facility/public-park/ to see how public parks can benefit from outdoor markings.
When it comes to kids' recreational areas, thermoplastic graphics are often installed to improve the area and add bright coloured graphic designs. Play-area surface graphics could be key for the children's education and learning, in addition to their enjoyment and fitness levels. You could choose between a lot of graphics which are ideal for Key Stages 1 http://playgroundgames.org.uk/key-stage-markings/key-stage-one-playground-games/ and 2 and also secondary school.
Alongside normal, entertaining recreational surface markings, there are education based designs, such as Geography, Maths, English. Some of the most frequently used play-area markings could be things like grids, targets, spelling games and animals.
Play surface designs may be key in strengthening kids' fitness and all-around health and it's an excellent way to make fitness fun. This has many benefits regarding kids' health and wellbeing because inactivity is an increasing problem in primary schools. There are various organisations that could have colourful designs installed. Each of these is made from high-quality substances which means they will be long-lasting and reliable.
The coloured graphics [POSTCODE] are made to be slip resilient to ensure they are safe for the children using the area. Completely new kindergarten playground markings could also make a facility look much more vibrant and attractive, this may attract kids and adults to the facility, and even boost your OFSTED record. They can appeal to children of all abilities and a range of age groups.
You could choose between an array of patterns, dimensions and colours to obtain a wonderful set of markings for your facility. The versatile heat applied plastic shapes are resilient and strong so they will last for many years in the recreational area. For those who currently have outdated and old play area designs, we could recover them to make sure they seem completely new and bright. Various old classic games could be installed onto the playground flooring which includes times tables grids and snakes and ladders.
If you want to produce a sport space for your nearby playground, we can also include line-markings for a variety of other options. Because of daily activity, children are more likely to learn inside the classroom, therefore this has several academic advantages at the same time. Alongside both mental and physical advantages of playground designs, you can also find numerous sociable advantages for children.
Through fun games and markings, there is a great possibility to master teamwork skills as well as problem-solving. The children are then able to hang out with others and create relationships.
The installation procedure for plastic designs is fairly quick and easy, reducing interference at schools and nurseries. The graphics will be laid out on the playground surfacing and then heated up so they soften and stick to the flooring. After the installation is complete, the graphics leave a vibrant and strong finish. The different play designs that we offer are fantastic for making your games space more fun and educational. We take pride in offering products to educate and entertain with our colourful outdoor play graphics.
For more information regarding kindergarten outdoor play area please enquire today through our enquiry form and we shall get back to you as soon as possible.


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Turkish Dating Site - How To Find Turkish Women Online
Turkish Dating has made life better and smoother for Turkish and foreign singles. Turkish dating is made easy here. If you wish to find Turkish men & women on the Internet then you're on the right Turkish Dating site. This site is run by Turkish national dating experts, so all concerns about Turkish individuals are taken care of. You'll find lots of Turkish single women and Turkish, single men on these sites.
Turkish women are known for their beauty and elegance, and Turkish men are known for their good looks and macho. Turkish girls are considered to be very romantic and are known for showing their good side to their suitor. Turkish men are known for their strong personalities and are popularly known as 'neighborhood guys'. Turkish girls like to hang out in the neighborhood, and if you like hanging out in the neighborhood then you should try to find a Turkish girl for a relationship. The Turkish Dating Site is for Turkish men, so you shouldn't have any problem finding a Turkish girl to date or even marry.
Turkish Ladies have a strong cultural influence in the country, so they are known for their beauty. Turkish women are popular amongst the European continent, in spite of being an independent state, because of their beauty, grace, strong personality and impeccable charm. Turkish girls like having a variety of beautiful accessories and clothes, and they love to use designer clothes. So if you want to get the attention of a beautiful Turkish woman, you should read the Turkish manly personals to find out what kind of clothes she likes, and what kind of clothes she doesn't like.
Another reason why Turkish dating site is the best one to meet Turkish girls for a relationship is that they don't like to date outside of their culture. So, if you are a Turkish man looking for Turkish girls to date, you will be happy to know that Turkish girls like men from other countries. You can go to the Turkish dating site and search out Turkish girls who are interested in getting married to foreign men, with which you can start a relationship. Turkish girls are not very keen on Western culture and therefore don't like to see their boyfriends outside of their culture. So if you come from a westernized country, you don't have a chance, and therefore you should go to the best Turkish online dating sites to get the Turkish girls you like to date. Turkish women are very fond of men who speak Turkish, so if you have that skill you will definitely score more points with Turkish girls, than the foreign men who have absolutely no Turkish speaking skills whatsoever.
To be able to join Turkish personals on the internet, the best way is to download the Turkish language translation and translators apps. The Turkish translation and translators apps will enable you to translate Turkish text into English and vice versa. Then, when you try to join Turkish dating sites, Turkish girls will be more attracted to you, because you can speak their language fluently. This will also give you the opportunity to learn Turkish, because Turkish is not a hard language to learn.
After you have downloaded your Turkish translation and translators app, the next step you need to do is to join a Turkish dating site. The Turkish site you join must have a Turkish membership feature, otherwise you will be wasting your time, as Turkish women are not interested in western men, they want Turkish men they can marry. After you have signed up and you have an email address, then you can start browsing through the Turkish personals on the Turkish dating site and choose the ones you think are the most compatible with you. If you have selected the right Turkish women, you can now start contacting them by either emailing them or meeting them in a Turkish restaurant or coffee house, that is close to your place. Turkish ladies respect personal space and they will not mind if you come just a little nearer to them, as long as you respect their space.


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New Yorkers who love a good bargain missed a golden opportunity Saturday, when the artist and provocateur Banksy, whose sly graffiti art adorns collectors' walls, opened a sidewalk kiosk in Central Park to sell his work for $60 apiece.
With original signed art works zip-tied to the wire walls of his kiosk, Banksy set up shop next to stenciled signs reading, "Spray Art" and $60." A video of the art sale shows the stall of Banksy's work being staffed by a gray-haired man who yawns as he sits in a chair, being ignored.
His first sale came hours after opening, when a woman bought two canvases for her children. She negotiated a 50 percent discount on the pieces, according to the website of the anonymous artist who has sought to keep his appearance and identity a secret.
The offerings included small and large canvases, including a version of "Love Is in the Air." A limited edition of that work sold for $249,000 at auction this summer.
One text-based canvas took the form of a message reading, "The key to making great art is all in the compositio" — the "n" was cut off, as the final word ran off the edge of the canvas.
A man who said he simply needed something to put on the walls in his new place bought four canvases. In total, Banksy took in $420 on the day.
As Gothamist reports, "if the pieces are verified by Pest Control [Banksy's agent], they will literally be worth tens of thousands of dollars (we've contacted them to find out if they will do so)."
At least two people who bought Banksy's art were planning to take their finds back home — to Chicago in one case, and New Zealand in another. They got hugs and, in one case, a kiss on the cheek from the man representing the world-famous artist, who is in New York for a month-long visit.
In a recent interview with the Village Voice conducted via email, Banksy described his motivations — or lack of them:
"I know street art can feel increasingly like the marketing wing of an art career, so I wanted to make some art without the price tag attached. There's no gallery show or book or film. It's pointless. Which hopefully means something."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Reviews: Headphones ramp up style and quality
Most people consume their music while on the go these days — in cars, while jogging, in between smartphone calls or while working at a desk. Thousands of our favorite songs are just a playlist away.
But pumping your favorite tunes through common earbuds may not deliver quite the high fidelity you deserve. I took a look at a fleet of modern headphones, both on-ear and over-ear models. I found a handful that could greatly improve your listening experience, with style.
You'd pay much more than the typical pair of earbuds — Apple sells it for $29 — but the investment is worth it considering how much better music sounds. The popular Beats by Dr. Dre aren't the only stylish headphones on the streets. Here's a look at a few others, branded by popular musicians, athletes and even a TV series.
V-Moda True Blood V-80 ($230): Supremely stylish, with a touch of the macabre, these brushed-metal, on-ear headphones boast branding from the HBO vampire series "True Blood." Once you get past the blood-red color accents on the headband padding and on the finely braided cable, you're still left with an excellent pair of headphones that perform as well as they look.
Allow me a moment to explain a bit of headphone technology. Drivers are the combination of a magnetic element and a moving diaphragm that creates the sound that your ears hear while wearing the headphones. A low-impedance rating indicates that the headphones are primarily suited for low-voltage amplifiers found in small, portable music players.
The V-80s have low impedance and 40-millimeter drivers. They offer a frequency range of 5 hertz to 30 kilohertz, which is a wide spectrum of frequency response. Jonas Starker's cello solos, for instance, felt crisp and alive.
Purists will differ on how much the human ear can hear beyond 20 kilohertz. More important, I've often felt, is the quality of the recording you're attempting to hear.
The V-80s handle modern wall-of-sound type rock records nicely as well. Regular MP3s as well as high-definition lossless audio tracks sound sharp and true to the recordings.
Scosche Realm RH656md ($129.99): These attractively priced on-ear headphones are finished in black and metal. They also sport 40-millimeter drivers and have a low-impedance rating. This pair performs fine for modern pop music, but appears to lack the detail for the high-resolution tracks that an additional $100 worth of improvements might give it.
The soaring highs in John Coltrane's "Blue Train" hold up well, with clarity, but the lower end suffers and gets a bit lost in the mix. The frequency range on the Realms is a touch tighter at 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz.
BiGR Audio Jam Master Jay ($149): The outer earcups on these on-ear headphones boast a stylish woodcut design that pays homage to the late Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC fame. One side has his stage name and initials, while the other has a turntable-like arm gliding over the grooves in an LP. Under the hood of these light-duty, low-impedance headphones are 40-milllimeter drivers and a passable 20-hertz to 20-kilohertz frequency range — the same specification as the Realm headphones.
There's a lot more plastic here than on some higher-priced, metal models, but the sound doesn't suffer terribly from the slight build. These are nice walk-around cans that don't lose their grip as I go about my day on the town.
Soul by Ludacris SL300JAM — Usain Bolt Signature Series ($349.95): Something about me didn't want to like these brightly colored over-ear headphones, emblazoned with a silhouette of preening Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt on each ear cup. They're a bit ostentatious, like Bolt himself. And they are expensive.
But after I put them on, I surrendered to the most comfortable pair of headphones I've ever worn. My jaw dropped after I cued up Coltrane.
I give up. These are wonderful headphones.
Of the ones I tried, the Bolt headphones are the only ones with noise cancellation, which is the introduction of a discrete signal to eliminate surrounding environmental noise. Whether I had that feature turned on or off, the Bolt signature headphones stood up to each test of each genre I threw at it. I heard range and separation in Coltrane's jazz, precise power in Metallica's metal and the intricacy of latticed percussion in Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia."
As far as specs go, these headphones sport 40-millimeter drivers and weigh 252 grams, heavier than the others even without the two small AAA batteries.
But in the end, I don't care what's in Soul's audio sausage. I just know that it sounds delicious.


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From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Several weeks ago, Bob and I agreed to participate in a SNAP challenge. Those who accept the challenge, agree to limit their food intake to what can be purchased on the budget set for food stamp recipients in their states. They may not resort to food gifts, meals provided by others or their own pantry stores. Here in Oregon, based on numbers that can be found here, the monthly food allotment for an individual is $128.24, which works out to a little over $4 a day. The purpose of the challenge is to give participants an opportunity to experience what life is like for millions of low-income Americans.
A little over a year ago, Bob and I became acquainted with a family whom relief agencies would classify as Working Poor. We were charmed by their children and we hope the challenge will give us a deeper insight into the limitations of their daily lives. There is an unfortunate stigma attached to food stamps and those who use them. Many assume that the program is rife with abuse, and, while no one would deny there are problems, most who receive SNAP benefits are law abiding citizens and much like you or me. In 2006, 26.5 million Americans received food stamps. That number spiked during the recession to over 45 million people, many of whom are still on distribution rolls.One in seven Americans gets food stamps and in some states that number is one in five. A breakdown of the numbers is interesting; 49 percent of recipients are Caucasian, 26 percent are African American and 20 percent are Hispanic. I hope my attempt to muddle through the constraints of this week, will illustrate that life on food stamps is not a free ride or get rich quick scheme. For starters, the maximum SNAP allotment is not large enough to cover the cost of food that would meet the minimum nutritional requirements established by the FDA.
While I think I've risen to the challenge, preparations for it were intense. It began with a five hour scouting expedition to determine where needed items could be purchased most reasonably. I quickly understood that it pays to shop around. Milk, at the most expensive store in town is $2.83 a gallon. It's $4 a gallon everywhere else. The situation is the same with eggs. Certain dairy products appear to be loss leaders at our more expensive stores. A dollar or two makes a huge difference in what you can do within the confines of this challenge. Everything, save spices and condiments, must come from your weekly allotment. That meant that items such as cornmeal and oatmeal had to come from bulk bins, if costs were to be kept in check. My lowest moment came when I had to buy cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda from the bins in tablespoon quantities. I had hoped to use the self-check lane, but the bags wouldn't scan so I had to use the express register. The look on the cashier's face was priceless.
Once I had priced ingredients, I tackled the recipes I needed for the week. Many of the dishes I had hoped to use didn't fit within the constraints of the program. I never dreamed that a dish like Chili-Mac would be too expensive for the SNAP Challenge, but it was. That slowed me down a bit, but using Bob's protein requirements as a guide, I developed recipes of my own to use for the program. I can promise you that, while they may seem strange, they are delicious and reasonably good for you. More importantly, they are also filling. I ask only that any RDA's among you treat me kindly. I really did do my best, but fresh fruits and vegetables were just too expensive for this exercise. Beginning tomorrow, I'll be featuring the recipes I've develop for the challenge.
The provision run came next and while I had to visit several stores, a detailed shopping list made quick work of it. I must tell you that I became quite familiar with the aisles at Walmart, a store I had never frequented before the challenge. You can see the contents of my SNAP pantry in the photos below. I spent a total of $ 59.31 on food for the week.
Produce - $ 9.53
Frozen Foods - $ 4.58
Staples - $ 15.29
Meat - $ 14.72
Dairy - $ 12.15
Bread - $ 3.04 (Outlet Store)
One Year Ago Today: Brioche a Tete
Two Years Ago Today: 2011 Year-End Round-Up
Three Years Ago Today: Guinness Bloody Mary


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Miss Kitty will be assisting me today since Baby Kitty is taking advantage of the pretty weather to have a golfing vacation at Amelia Island. He will be back in plenty of time to enjoy the holiday with us!
At the heart of the centerpiece…three white pumpkins surrounded by a variety of natural gourds and small pumpkins…all in shades of green, white and yellow.
You might recognize the pumpkins...faux pumpkins from Walmart that I painted ivory. I love the stem!
I wanted the center pumpkin to have more importance, so I wrapped it with bittersweet and elevated it. I just used an overturned tea cup topped by a saucer as a little stand.
I scattered votives among the gourds and pumpkins to add a little glow to the centerpiece. Even in the daytime, I think candles add so much ambiance to a meal.
I am using my Chris Madden Felice plates again this year…a Goodwill find of four place settings for $10…one of my favorite bargains!
The silverware is my mom's…in the Silver Flutes pattern by Towle. I love its wonderful patina! The acorn pattern napkins were a sale find at Williams Sonoma. I topped each plate with a little dumpling squash that complements the colors in the napkins.
I am using my Irish lead crystal goblets along with some Goodwill wine glasses that were about $1.00 each. I like to mix things up a bit! Can you tell?
On the table is my drop cloth tablecloth. I just used a drop cloth from Home Depot, washed and bleached it several times, pressed it and put it on the table. Easy...because it's already hemmed. I topped it with my ruffled burlap table runner (Directions for making it can be found here.) I think they add a rustic element and I love the contrast in textures!
At each end of the table...my mercury glass candlesticks from last year. I like the look of them…just enough elegance without being stuffy.
On the buffet is the vignette I showed you earlier this fall…centered around an arrangement in my grandmother's dough bowl. I decided to use traditional orange pumpkins instead of cream for a little pop of color.
On the hutch I have just added a few pumpkins and some bittersweet to my blue and white collection. The colors on the table are neutral, so I thought that I would keep things as they are here. I like the contrast of the colors…a little unexpected in the fall. I have also added my Red Cliff ironstone tureen and tea service and some more mercury glass candlesticks.
It will be small this year…a cozy family dinner since we will have already had the big dinner with our extended family. There will also be a high chair pulled up to the table…and next year the baby will be in a high chair, too! I think this is my favorite holiday…family gathered around the table making memories and enjoying each other's company. I have a lot to be thankful for…among that my sweet blogger friends! So I would like to take this opportunity to wish a wonderful Thanksgiving full of love, laughter and much happiness to each of you! Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!
Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party
Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday (first Monday of the month)
Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Beth at The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Judy at DIY by Design for Fall into Fall
Jill at French Cupboard for Voila!French Inspiration on Thursdays
Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
Sherry at No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday
Diann at The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Fabulous Fall Fun
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots & Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party
Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
Barb at The Everyday Home for the "Better Late than Never" Fall Party
See you next time! A la prochaine!


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The two days of the KOffice ODF sprint were very productive. Most time was spent on group discussions, and designing specific parts of KOffice in smaller groups. Of course, code was written as well, and for an overview of what happened, read on!
The first real KOffice ODF day kicked off at 9am with a presentation by David Faure, who talked about the technical side of the Open Document standard. He explained how the format works, and how to read and write it. He also talked about the way the standard came into existence, and the process of improving it. David urged developers with valuable input to join the OASIS committee, which is responsible for ODF. Philip Rodrigues, who spent the weekend working on documentation, condensed all this information on the KOffice wiki. And not only a basic ODF-architecture overview, but also a lot of deeper, more technical information for those who need it.
Then it was time for lunch. It took some time to get the developers on their feet, as the talk by David sprung off a lively discussion. Finally, we decided to get the food to them. During and after lunch the discussions continued with further detailed talks about ODF, the underlying XML structure and its implementation in KOffice. Okular wants to use KOffice technology for displaying ODF files, thus Tobias' input here ensures that the KOffice architecture supports this implementation need.
After the ODF discussions, Inge Wallin started a brainstorm about the vision he has for the future of ODF: every KDE application should be able to work with it. The developers talked about this for hours, as it is new and uncharted territory. What use cases are there for ODF on the common desktop? How would they consolidate the rich ODF functionality available in KOffice within a library, to be used by applications? Till Adam (from Kmail and Akonadi fame) started daydreaming about VCards and loading and saving emails to ODF.
Anne-Marie would love to have this available to use in KVocTrain. KVocTrain works with files which contain vocabulary data, and it has an internal editor to create these data files. But it is a seperate fileformat, so you need use the built-in editor for creating data. Now an ODF library would make it relatively easy to use an ODF-based fileformat for this data, so you can use, for example, KSpread to enter the data, or use it to import from all kinds of datasets. Here you can clearly see the flexibility and power such a technology would bring to KDE. Reuse of code and co-operation on standards are important cornerstones of KDE, and this would bring them to a new level.
However, there are many pitfalls to overcome before this can be implemented. The first step will be to allow applications that can output documents (through saving or printing) to create ODF documents. The KOffice hackers will create a library which makes writing to ODF documents as easy as possible. Just like Qt currently makes it possible to output practically all content to SVG or PDF, the KODFlib (the name is still undecided) will make it possible for applications to output ODF files. Thomas Zander digested the results of the meeting in an email to the KOffice mailinglist, which makes for an interesting (though technical) read.
In time, this "KODF" technology might make KDE the preferred platform for everyone who values open communication and the sharing of knowledge. Governments and companies alike can enjoy the advantages of this integration in the Free Desktop. Now there's an imporant question for the developer- and user community: the KOffice people, and specifically those designing this library, are looking for use cases for this technology. Having those would enable them to make a more generic solution, and thus advance faster. So think about where you can use it, and how you would like to use it. If you have a concrete example, report this to the KOffice developers. You can use the KOffice developer mailinglist or add comments to this article. It will be appreciated!
Next, a small group of core developers gathered in a seperate room. A talk to David made clear what they had been working on: working out the details of loading data in Flake shapes. Loading data might sound simple (it does to me) but David explained how hard it can be. If an application loads a document, objects (parts of other documents, like a picture, spreadsheet, vector graphic) can be embedded in it. So the application has to identify the right Flake shape for each of those embedded objects.
In KOffice 1.x, the strategy was the chosen solution across the office industry: practically just load the other application within the current one so you have all the needed capabilities for the object. In KDE, we have the KParts technology for this. Both applications need to suport this, of course - the embedding app has to load the one to be embedded, which has to take care not to interfere with the embedding application. It works, but it is complex in terms of technology and user interface, and is very heavy on resources. The new Flake technology allows you to just use what you need - the basic display, load and storage technology and the primary manipulation tools. Flakes integrate in the application on a much lower level, allowing for less overhead and more flexibility. You're only embedding an object, not a full document. Now, as ODF supports having an object inside another object, a Flake must be able to load a Flake. And sometimes, data can be loaded by two Flakes, and you have to identify the right one. Everything had to be carefully designed to ensure there are no clashes. This technology is also needed for drag'n'drop and copy-and-paste, as those are essentially about loading objects.
While these developers were discussing loading in Flake, the other hackers were hacking away, talking and discussing architectural issues, or trying to work out some details. It proved to be very difficult to get them out for dinner, but we managed to convince them it would be healthy to stop working for a few hours. As it was raining heavilly, we were lucky dinner was planned at a Turkish restaurant almost next to the office.
Implementing the new ideas
After dinner, the developers continued implementing the ideas they have. The office was full of hacking people until after 2am. And the next day, you could hear keyboards being abused at 9am already, so I'm pretty sure most hackers will need to catch up on their sleep. But they clearly wanted to get as much out of this meeting as possible. It proved to be very useful to be in the same room, as much new technology was being integrated into KOffice. This resulted in a lot of questions, and having the person who wrote a certain piece of library you need just sitting next to you is very efficient.
Alfredo and Martin got the KFormula flake loading and rendering, and Jan has hopes to get Karbon at the same level before he leaves. The discussion about loading ODF also paid dividends on Sunday, when the hackers were slowly getting the infrastructure to pass testcase after testcase. Tobias went to work on an Okular tutorial for writing plugins, to ease the process of writing an ODF reader in the future. Pierre Ducroquet and Sebastian Sauer where working on the basics of KWord, and finally were able to get it to display background colors and some other testcases from the OpenDocument testsuite.
So people were both talking and hacking, and working on both creating and implementing new things all day. Overall, it was clear what the greatest benefit of this meeting was: the design and other results of the discussions. Though there has been hacking, most time was spent talking to each other, and trying to flesh out the details of the KOffice infrastructure. This meeting will ensure the architecture is sane, powerful and usable. And of course, we had fun. There was good food (thank you, KDAB!) and some beer as well. It's always nice to meet your fellow hackers, and see what faces belong to the nicknames you see so often.
We want to thank the sponsors for their support, as it is really a big boost to KOffice!
Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB (KDAB), who provide consultancy, training and development on Qt and KDE-based applications, provided us with their office in Berlin. Several KDAB people joined us, and not just paid for, but also knew where to get the good food!
Further, Trolltech (the guys behind the Qt toolkit) are sponsoring the travel costs of the ODF Meeting through our own KDE e.V., so we owe much to them as well.
Links to the articles, blogs, pictures and other information is being aggregated on the Koffice ODF Sprint site in the Galleries. Have a look to see a more detailed and personal side of the meeting!
for those who want to know a who-is-who, check the KOffice ODF sprint site (sorry for the typo in the link above)...
eh that you jos, i hope you enjoyed the food :-)
the ODF-lib could be very handy when creating apps who should support freelancers and small companies. They could create nice looking invoices directly out of some workhours-log which then can not only be printed and archived in PDF but also loaded and edited in KOffice if some details must be changed. The templates which are used by this application to create the invoices could also be created in KOffice using some placeholders.
I've always wondered why we need another document format. Where is HTML not sufficient?
text documents, presentations, spreadsheets, all of that is already done today using HTML. Separation of style & content is also possible, javascript can be used to add the more advanced things etc.
So, why not html/css/js?
Hm - I would say: look at the difference Konqueror, Mozilla, Opera and IE produce out of ONE html page ;-)
I'm not sure that's the right explanation here :
Why aren't web pages displayed the same way on every web engine ? Maybe because the specs are complex.
Is ODF simpler ? I can't help thinking it is not the case.
I don't know ODF. Perhaps it makes easier to describe the structure of the page, or richer as it comes to the specific needs of a particular app (XHTML is display-oriented, not work-oriented), and it may have a lot of other advantages, but i don't see it as an answer to the "multiple apps, multiple output" problem.
Of course this problem can be solved too, and developpers discussions (between Koffice, and with OpenOffice/Abiword/whatever devs) is certainly the right way to go. Let's cooperate !
HTML was originally designed as a method of serving text and graphics over the internet. Since then, much more thought has gone into the best way to do this. Among other things, the concept of separating the actual content from how its displayed has been well developed. Since at this point HTML is a bit of a patchwork, and because developing it further would make backwards compatibility difficult to achieve, XHTML has been developed as a replacement. XHTML does an excellent job at separating content from display.
Why would we want this? If you are using your mobile phone or PDA, would you want websites displayed in the same way they are when you're on your widescreen monitor at home? Probably not. This is why the separation between content and display is so important, because with it you can display the same content but in a form that is most appropriate for the given user/environment.
If KOffice uses a flexible format like XHTML, it can display the same content, but in a different way depending on the O/S, display manager, resolution, user preferences, etc.
Finally, if ensuring uniformity across platforms is really what's important, you need to choose a format that has that as its goal. PDF is by far the most common, although there are others.
Using PDF as a format for a document you work on is a no go, since it's essentialy a read only format. Even if you can edit it, PDF was never meant or designed to be editable. You have to realise, PDF is your printout. Even if it's stored digitally, it's the finished product.
Html is purely about presentation, ODF is not.
Just one post above there is a request for saving ODF from an invoicing application. The result would probably be a spreadsheet. HTML does not have a spreadsheet, it just has a table with text. How can you load that table into the application again? Things like doing =SUM(A1, A10) are lost, you only see the result without any meta information.
End result is that while HTML might be useful to *show* something to a client, it is useless to have as a fileformat to exchange structured data.
Although, I agree that HTML is about presentation it doesn't mean that ODF is the best way to describe arbitrary semantic data. For instance, I'm not sure about this comment:
"KVocTrain works with files which contain vocabulary data, and it has an internal editor to create these data files. But it is a seperate fileformat, so you need use the built-in editor for creating data. Now an ODF library would make it relatively easy to use an ODF-based fileformat for this data, so you can use, for example, KSpread to enter the data"
I would have thought some RDF based format would be better for a KVocTrain database, and I don't really see the advantage of using a Spreadsheet to enter language vocabularies.
The idea that you can use a spreadsheet to open the native fileformat is something that the author of this article added; I don't see that as a really useful thing either.
The point of using an ODF (spreadsheet) fileformat here is based mostly on the fact that its better to reuse a known (xml based) fileformat then to invent a new one. Especially if there is a library that allows you to build on the shoulders of others.
Also; your reference to language vocabularies makes me realize you misunderstood; the idea was for the fileformat for saving user data (how well the user performs etc), not for saving the datafiles.
OK, I see - obviously RDF is a well known file format and using it for something like a vocabulary is what it is intended to be used for.
Saving stuff like that on a local hard disc seems a bit limiting, as the data much more useful if combined with other people's scores on the web. Then you can ask questions about what foreign language features are hardest to learn by a particular group of native speakers.
If you want to save the user data on the web, I think it would make sense to use something RDF based like rss or atom rather than a document format like ODF.
the most interesting aspect to this plan is to use a common file format for storing data that all applications can use. odf seems to be a set of formats that are well described via an openly crafted specification and which can handle the needs of all these apps.
encapsulating data unnecessarily in file formats specific to a handful of use cases means that we can't easily move data around between applications and instead have to have filters and other conversion mechanisms.
taking your suggestion for RDF (or a derivative), we'd lose this data portability. and for what benefit? perhaps one might wish to export to RDF, and if there is one odt->rdf or ods->rdf filter written then all apps can use it, not just the one app that is specially coded to save its data in RDF. replace 'RDF' with any other file format and think of all the apps that save data.
what will people use this for? honestly, i don't think we can fortell every possible use. that's one of the neat things about technology: once created, others can and usually do find interesting and creative uses for it. but this is only possible if the technology is an enabler rather than a straight-jacket.
i think it is time we moved beyond the data balkanization that happens due to the rather unnecessary proliferation of file formats.
the other aspect of this is that it makes data storage a simpler problem for people writing applications. instead of creating a file format, which is usually just a means to an end rather than a key function of the application, or coding up support for an existing file format, having a common library will make it easy to deal with saving and loading data programmatically. by sharing that library amongst apps, when it comes to data storage it will make it easier for developer of application 'a' to work on application 'b' since the code for saving and loading files will be minimal and near identical in both apps. instead of having to worry both about the internal data structures that are being saved out and the format to which it is being saved, one need only care about the former.
having looked at and worked on a number of kde applications that deal with files and have their own home brew document classes, i am pretty happy about that possibility.
"taking your suggestion for RDF (or a derivative), we'd lose this data portability. and for what benefit?"
No, quite the opposite. RDF allows you to combine semantic data (such as test scores from using edu apps), with other semantic data that can be found on the web. This would allow you to combine the kde edu app test scores with other data, such as school sports results perhaps, as long as both were RDF and used common vocabularies such as Dublin Core and FOAF.
I agree it isn't always obvious when data should be held as an ODF document and when it is better stored in, say in an RDF format. And you might describe ODF docs with RDF meta-data to combine both.
yes, you can associate RDF metadata with a document. on the other hand, i don't see RDF being able to cover all the data needs of applications. in the case of test scores, afaik RDF doensn't give access to "sum this column, divide by the count" like a spreadsheet does.
so given that RDF doesn't cover all the needs of applications, it can never become the "native" file format for many applications. ODF can be. and that means, quite obviously, that ODF grants greater data portability.
as you note, it comes down to both apps using the same formats and vocabularies. well, that's what ODF is: an agreed upon format that has broader reach. you're talking about theoretically having apps store things in RDF, the koffice people are talking about a practical way of having many apps store things in a common (set of) format(s): ODF.
that doesn't mean RDF is bad, it means that ODF is simply a more general purpose solution and therefore a better selection for primary data storage.
nepomuk/strigi bring RDF to the desktop, but i don't think that is an appropriate primary storage system. awesome possibilities for augmenting the primary storage, yes =)
I love the idea of having a commonly available library to operate on ODF formats, using them as storage format or interacting with applications using ODF or whatever else. There are countless exciting use case. I would for example like to be able to edit a template document for something like an invoice in KWord/OpenOfficeWriter/... and then fill in the actual data from a specialized application knowing about the business logic behind the specific invoice (maybe a combination of say KMyMoney, KAddressBook and Kraft).
On the other hand I can only support Richard's suggestion to use RDF. This goes beyond the notion of a file format for storage of data. It includes relating data, interacting with web resources, sharing of information and much more of the things user want to do in the Web 2.0 times. We shouldn't miss out on this opportunity just because we usually think in the traditional lines of storage file formats.
I agree with you that using an existing fileformat is good; the choice you state is RDF. I don't have a lot of experience with it.
I guess what I am saying is that we should aim for integration of one fileformat in as many different applications and usages as possible for a couple of reasons. FIrst is obviously code reuse, which Aaron touched on and what makes it easier for the programmers. The developer might like to load the file in a spreadsheet for debugging purposes.
A bigger reason is that when ODF becomes omnipresent the tools for handling and debugging them get more focus and developers and users alike will see these documents as more than simple blobs of incomprehensible data.
I guess its similar to the concept of 'everything is a file' under unix. Using one interface to as many different things as possible might not give you the best solution for each individual case, but on the whole the network of possibilities increases magnitudes.
So, while you may be right that RDF is better (I honestly don't know) for this individual use case, it does not invalidate the idea of a separate library for all apps to use and grow upon. The example elsewhere in this thread that an OCR scanning app saves its text as well as its pixmap data into an ODF container seems like a really good idea to me.
And if we start to have a lot of ODF support all through the industry, then kvoctrain will benefit more from ODF in the long run than from using RDF which will ultimately be less well supported.
Just for the record, ODF 1.2 will allow you to use RDF within ODF; layering addtional semantics on top of existing document content. So no need to choose between them; they can be quite complementary.
[i]The idea that you can use a spreadsheet to open the native fileformat is something that the author of this article added; I don't see that as a really useful thing either.[/i]
If I recall this right, Annma mentioned this herself ;-)
I try not to make up things, I might only try to make 'em sound a bit more sexy...
Anyway, I might have misunderstood this as well, then, I also thought it was for saving datafiles. Maybe Annma can explain what she meant?
Ask you this: do you have the concept of "page" in HTML+CSS?
Good! :-)
Next challenge: footnotes, tab spacings, TOC's, field references, WordArt, vertical-aligned elements, marco's, slide animations, ...
The parent has a point: XHTML/CSS is not mature enough to be used as page format. It needs to be extended severely to compete with Word documents. Features have to be rushed into XHTML while it's not ready for that. Right now the web is a presentation format, not a document format with features like "tab spacings" or "field references".
It might not be XHTML, but note that ODF text documents are relatively easily converted to XHTML using XSL! ODF uses similar concepts for formatting tags and markup.
Actually, such tools already exists, thanks to the support of the OpenDocument Fellowship : http://opendocumentfellowship.org/projects/odftools
Kdissert would be a candidate profiting from just using the odf-format. It then would be possible to create mindmaps just out of an existing document structure. It then could become also another form of viewing a document.
The other way is already possible, exporting a mindmap to a odf file. From a workflow point of view that's more important I think. You brainstorm and create the document structure in a mindmap, then fill in the details in a regular document.
Yes, I agree.
It actually has been a feature request of mine for quite some time to be able to start kdissert right from inside KWord and show the document structure there.
Moving the chapter-nodes around or annotating them would then alter the document inside KWord.
KDissert would be great for coupling a KWord doc with a KPresenter presentation as well; where loading just shows all the chapter nodes and exporting to KPresenter allows you to save all the graphics but also create pretty graphics based on textual structure information like lists etc.
Anyway; we just need someone to actually do it, which tends to be easier said than done ;)
This might be a stupid question but did you ask the author of Semantik [1] (aka KDissert) already?
I did :)
But I have to admit that that was well over a year ago...
Me too :-)
But even more than a year ago. But it was said it is impossible at that time. I made that comment because this actual discussions might show that it is not impossible.
Some kind of Koffice integration will be provided, but not until KDE4.
The Semantik code base is too young at the moment, and KWord 2.0 is not ready either.
Merging the two documents into one will lead to a conflicts as the two views do not represent the same thing:
* when the mindmap is changed, the text formatting in the text representation will be silently broken (picture positions, paragraphs, line breaks ..)
* when the text representation changes then the map structure will be broken (and parsing is hard(tm)).
"After the ODF discussions, Inge Wallin started a brainstorm about the vision he has for the future of ODF: every KDE application should be able to work with it."
The topic and the resulting implementation ideas - exactly what I was hoping would be discussed.
When you see Export->Text/HTML/PDF ubiquitously, I'd love for ODF to be added to that list. Users should expect to see that option throughout the desktop and apps, developers should expect to have a unified way of doing this (just like help menus, etc) and who better to implement a standard set of ODF libraries than the KOffice team?
Very cool.
Sounds like a real creativity festival. Congrats (and thanks) to the KOffice developers! And to the sponsors who helped make it possible.
One thing that worries me a bit is that wile ODF is quite good at being platform indipendant, macros aren't. From what I know I can't open a macro-using Spreadsheet-ODF from OpenOffice in KOffice and get the functionality I expect. Or can I?
I'd love to use KOffice more but since I have to exchange documents with OOffice users, from what I understand I'd better stick with that. Or am I wrong?
If I'm not wrong, is there any thought going into the idea of having platform indipendant macros?
Macros are application-level helpers, not document level as MS has created them in 1995, and most people perceive them now.
So they are surely tied to the application and actually never saved into a document which makes your question a bit odd ;)
Reason for this separation is virusses. It is a basic mistake to allow macros to be shipped in the same container as data.
Note that MS also is separating those in newer office versions; so it took them a bit longer, but they agree with us now :)
Thanks for the answer and an explanation.
I'm still a bit confused though. From what I can see I'll still be able to send my macro-infested MS-word-doc to someone and have them behave they way I expect.
Is there, or will there be, some way to do the same with ODF? I think I can do it with OpenOffice, but not between OpenOffice and KOffice.
Perhaps I'm making even less sense now but being able to send a macro-using-document is something that I want to do from time to time. Typically spreadsheets.
you can send the old, macro-infested files between the old MS Office versions and (I guess) to newer MS Office versions. and thanks to the huge amount of work on vbscripting, also to OpenOffice. KOffice won't be able to open them, no VB script support. And ODF doesn't have embedded macro's (afaik) so that's a no-go as well.
I don't think I'm being clear enough but that might be because I don't really know what I really want.
I'm not asking for (and probably don't want) VB-support in KOffice. What I'm looking for is making ODF similar to MS-doc in the way that I can include a macro and it will work on the machine that opens that document-file.
So when I make my spreadsheet and some clever macros in it that formats the data in some way, I can send it to my collegue and he can fill it with data that will be formatted according to the rules I set up. Regardless of which program or platform we use to open this ODF-Spreadsheet.
Sorry if I'm too stupid to understand the answers given.
I think you might be able to send the macro seperately, but not in the document, as that's a big security risk (and that's why MS doesn't allow that anymore). But I might be mistaken, maybe a KOffice dev can explain/tell more about this.
Superstoned is right; in ODF we force a strict separation of document and application (and a macro is an application).
You have a huge set of formulas and other features available to you in a spreadsheet document, but you will not have features like downloading or printing or even for loops.
It would be good to know what kind of things you need to do in your macro so we can find a good (and secure) solution for them. If you can give exact and specific examples of actions taken, that would be nice to know :)
Maybe we can distinguish between "document level" operating macros and "system level" operating macros. The first one cannot manipulate files and directories, nor connecting arbitrarily to any outer source (DBs, net resources, other files, websites..), while the second does. In the first case you can release the macro embedded in the document and, as far as i see it, the language can be standardized (for example in a spreadsheet it should perform only operations in cells, creating new sheets and so on..).
As a matter of security, i think that (simply) a document, even with embedded macros, can be forced to start with disabled macros.
What do you think about it?
Wouldn't it be nice to save a scanned image in Kooka (with OCR) to ODF? That would be amazing.
yeah, that's an idea. And the Krita ppl are also working on a new rasterpicture standard, so you could have both the OCR-ed text AND the picture in one document, I think. PDF supports something like that, I believe, but that's not editable of course.
No need for OpenRaster to have both OCR and the pixture in one document (and honestly it would be the worse usuage of it), you can embed a png in an odt, and that would be perfect for that job. OpenRaster is only usefull if you have multiple layer (either image or effect layers) and after scanning you only have one layer.
There are formats better suited for scanned images than PNG. the DejaVu (DJV) file format does a good job at this.
And there's a use for OCR + image: you may want to *search* text, specially in multi-page documents, but keep the typography (which you may not have the right to distribute), layout, pictures... and keep in mind that OCR is not perfect.
Sure there is use for OCR + image, that's what you get with ODT :) And I do believe that as soon as OCR is involved a text centric format is much more usefull than a graphic format.
This is *exactly* the type of things I was looking for when I proposed the ODF library: applications that I would never have thought of myself. No matter how smart we (the koffice devs) are, we can never think of all the use cases ourselves. If we create the library, the applications will come!
like already some said here, I think that it is very important to integrate a real standard. Many Windowsuser already use OpenOffice. It must be sure, that every KOffice document can read by OpenOffice and every OpenOffice Document by KOffice. Differences are dangerous for the stability of OpenSource standards. Start to cooperate with Sun and the AbiWord developers to create a documentformat that you can use with all these programms and on every platform!
odf is the format!