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It was 12:30 in the afternoon. Time to walk the furballs.
We went outside into the front yard, where the dogs did roughly half their doggie business, and spend a little time whining at a cat at the other end of the clearing.
We walked a few yards down the sidewalk and then stepped into the grass between our condos and the neighbor's house. There's a large bush that separates the property. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't flower and it's about eight feet tall. Plenty of cover for whatever wants to hide underneath it, which is why I generally keep the dogs away from it. (I don't feel like untangling two terriers from a mess of branches when they spot a squirrel, which I'd spend every day doing if I gave them free reign over that bush.)
Chance was doing his usual sniffing thing, trying to find a spot that satisfies his exacting standards for what to poop on. Kaylee was rolling in the grass and I was doing my ridiculous "Come on Chance, focus" cheerleading routine for all the neighbors to see.
Chance turned toward the bush.
A full grown whitetail doe – easily 5 foot tall – bounded out of the bush, ran down the grass between condo buildings, and helped any drivers in our parking lot soil their pants.
All three of us stood there dumbfounded.
Now, terriers are a working breed, even if you get the shorties, which are a few generations into "lap dog" breeding. Hundreds of years of farmers have turned them into creatures whose brains are wired to find and kill vermin. I've never explicitly trained any of my 3 Jack Russells to hunt, but I've picked up dead and maimed toads, mice, and birds for nigh-on 10 years now. Whatever the creature, if they determine it's not a human or a dog, when moves, they bite, spit it out, see if it moves again, bite, spit, etc.
You may think a deer isn't vermin, but my friend, according to a Jack Russell's definition, you would be wrong.
JessieDog's reaction to deer back in the apartment was to immediately bay like a beagle and try to find a way off the balcony that didn't involve falling to her death. But Chance and Kaylee have never seen a deer up close before, so I'm not particularly surprised that they had no idea how to react.
And then the smell of that deer blew back to us and small dog cogs and gears in small dog brains started turning. Just before the doe disappeared fully from view, my dogs' little brains produced a spark that fired off some neurons announcing "OMG THAT'S THE BIGGEST RAT EVER!"
They started barking their fool heads off. Chance did leaps and twists and somersaults at the end of his leash in an attempt to chase the giant rat. I hauled them around the building forcibly, with both dogs pulling every direction, until we crossed the scent of that deer again. Then, suddenly, every blade of grass in the yard needed to be inspected and reinspected and re-reinspected for traces of deer.
It was only once we returned back to the bush that we could get back to the business at hand, and even then, it was a challenge to get everyone back to the house.
Now, my training of my three dogs has never been 100% stellar. And I'm sure if I worked with them every day around deer I could eventually train these two to come when I call even if we're surrounded by a herd of the World's Biggest Rat.
But I'm also sure that, if my dogs had been off-leash today, they'd be lost or dead right now. You don't train the hunt out of a terrier.
Today was a reminder that those signs that say to leash your dogs at all times aren't just for your neighbors' protection, or for your protection from litigious neighbors, or for your protection when the police show up to enforce the laws that say your dogs should be leashed. They're also protection from that rare fall day that a deer decides to jump out of the bushes at noon, and they're a damn good idea.


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Beijing Resident Killed During Olympics for Practicing Falun Gong
Neighborhood security agent confirms death, wife still in labor camp
NEW YORK (FDI) – An elderly Falun Gong practitioner from Chaoyang district in Beijing, home to the Bird's Nest Stadium, died from injuries incurred in custody two days before the close of the 2008 Olympic Games, the Falun Dafa Information Center reported on Wednesday.
Mr. Wang Chongjun (???), age 65, died at home on August 23, 2008 after being injected with an unknown drug in a Beijing labor camp, according to sources in China. His wife, Ms. Wang Zhiqin, remains illegally detained and is unaware of her husband's death.
In a telephone call made to the Longzhuashu village community police working site near their home on September 9, a member of the neighborhood watch group confirmed Wang's death.
"He died. Isn't Wang Chongjun dead?" said a Mr. Li who picked up the phone. When the investigator asked if Wang's family had received compensation, Li said: "I don't know. He died at home…I listen to my boss. I'm from out of town." (see transcript excerpt and link to a recording of the phone conversation below)
The Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC) had first reported the arrest of Wang and his wife in July 2008 (news). The couple were among over 8,000 adherents detained in a nationwide round-up that occurred in the months preceding the Olympics and has continued since the closing ceremonies as well.
"The tragic case of Wang and his wife are typical of the horrific abuses Falun Gong practitioners continue to face in China, abuses that worsened with the Olympics" says Falun Dafa Information Center Spokesperson Erping Zhang. "While Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is speaking at UN headquarters this week in New York City, countless innocent Chinese citizens are languishing in labor camps and in grave danger. It is up the international community—including governments, media, and human rights groups—to ensure that the thousands of adherents still in detention don't meet the same fate as Wang."
Case Details
On the evening of April 14, 2008, local security agents raided Wang's home without a warrant and arrested the elderly couple. The detention followed more than a week of intensified harassment and surveillance of the family, reportedly on the orders of Yang Fengling, head of the village 610 Office. Yang ordered the surveillance after Ms. Wang refused to renounce her practice of Falun Gong during a previous meeting. After their arrest, the couple was taken to Chaoyang District Detention Center. Their family was denied access to visit them.
On June 20, 2008, the couple's family members received notices from the dispatch center at Beijing's Tuanhe "Re-education through Labor" (RTL) Camp (more about Tuanhe Labor Camp). The documents stated that Wang Chongjun had been sentenced to two years of RTL on May 22, 2008, and was being detained in the First Ward of the dispatch center. His wife, Wang Zhiqin, had been sentenced to two and half years of forced labor on May 20, 2008, and was being held in the Tenth Ward.
According to sources inside China, while at the camp, guards injected Mr. Wang with an unknown drug, an increasingly common torture technique used on Falun Gong, that led to 11 deaths in 2007. The drug reportedly caused his skin to turn a yellowish color for him to become emaciated. Seeing that Wang was on the verge of death, the camp authorities released him so as not to be held responsible for his dying in their custody.
Upon receiving notice from the camp, Wang's family picked him up and took him to the hospital for medical treatment. Nevertheless, Wang died at home on the afternoon of August 23, 2008. His wife had meanwhile been transferred to Shanxi Province RTL Camp not long before the start of the Olympics. According to sources close to the couple, she has yet to be informed of her husband's death.
"We call upon the international community and media based in Beijing to use every resource available to investigate the facts for themselves," says Zhang. "This persecution must end, lest more innocent people die."
Transcript of call confirming Wang's death:
The following is the transcript of a call made to the Longzhuashu village community police working site in Beijing's Chaoyang district on September 9, 2008. An audio recording is available here (the voice of the investigator has been changed to protect their identity).
Male (A): My name is Li. I am on duty. I am not a policeman.
Investigator (Q): What is Wang Zhiqin's home phone number?
A: Her home phone is not working anymore.
Q: Did you go there when they arrested him in April?
A: I was probably there.
Q: Did you go to see him after his release?
A: He died. Isn't Wang Chongjun dead?
Q: Does anyone still live in his home?
A: He has a son who works somewhere else. I don't have his phone number.
Q: Have things been taken care of? Has his family gotten any compensation?
A: I don't know. He died at home. You can ask her [apparently Yang Fengling]. I listen to my boss. I am from out of town, I am not a local.
Q: How much do you get paid every day?
A: 20 Yuan per day.

subset: commoncrawl


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Some Highlights
- In today's sellers' market, you're set up to win big when you list your house.
- That's because homes are selling fast, receiving 4.4 offers on average and often selling above the asking price. Then, when you buy your next home, you'll also win by addressing your changing needs and taking advantage of near historic-low mortgage rates.
- If you're ready to make a move, let's connect so you can capitalize on today's market and find your next dream home.


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ChangeMakers: Disruptors Transforming the World for Good
In April 2018 global changemakers converged at Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, Iowa, to explore what it takes to make a seismic difference on this planet.
In April 2018 global changemakers converged at Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, Iowa, to explore what it takes to make a seismic difference on this planet.
young woman believes reading can make a difference in her community. Freshta Karim has created a library bus, allowing students in the war torn city of Kabul to experience the joys of reading. A joy that many have not encountered before.
The country is taking notice as thousands of students walk out of school to advocate for gun safety. Activists believe this is a huge step. One that will draw attention to the midterm elections in November 2018 and allow additional gun legislature to be passed.
The US military are taking an interest in Transcendental Meditation (TM) after it has been shown to be very effective at increasing efficiency and reducing stress, at Norwich, the oldest military university in the country. Other military universities are are now interested in introducing TM to their students.
There is now a program especially tailored to teaching nurses Transcendental Meditation. The program was brought into existence to deal with the problem of 'compassion fatigue' among nurses and healthcare workers. This is one nurse's account of what happened when she learnt TM.
A new low-residency MFA starts at MUM, with 18 students from around the country, doing their first 10 day residency. The class involved filmmakers Peter Farrelly and David Lynch. When not in residency the students will connect by internet with each other, and with 3 mentors. Their final residency will be in LA with Hollywood professionals. An important theme is the value of TM in filmmaking.


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Log In
I'm a proud member of the Greek system now but it took a lot of convincing for me to don a pair of letters. Regardless, I consider joining Kappa Delta one of the best decisions – if not the best – I've made during my time at BU. Thinking about going Greek? There are several key things all incoming pre-PNMs (Potential New Members) should know.
With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility. Initiation immediately connects all your actions to the organization. The Greek system is already slandered with stereotypes so it's crucial that all PNMs take this seriously. I know, insert eye roll here, but it is actually more involved than you think. Most Greek organizations were established hundreds of years ago and have functioning National Headquarters; representing your sorority or fraternity well is to represent yourself at the highest degree.
Don't Stop Believin'. Greek organizations are based upon many traditions. Some are expired notions about dancing in public, while others are more timeless ideas of elegance and education. Make sure you connect with the ideals of the organization because your commitment is a lifelong one. There are academic, financial and social standards that must be upheld – can you police yourself?
Time of Your Life. Going Greek has only made my life better. My sisters are wonderful women I adore and I have developed many friendships outside my sisterhood yet still in the Greek community. Greek life expands your horizons through Alumni Chapters, which will likely help you post-college (mentoring, networking, finding a job, etc.).
Keep Calm and Carry On. With all that said, Greek life isn't for everyone. Even if you attend a Greek-heavy school, make sure that being part of "the system" doesn't take over your life. My mantra for being a Kappa Delta is that it complements all the other parts of my life rather than defines it.
Anna Meskishvili is a rising senior at Boston University pursuing a degree in public relations at the College of Communication and hopes to someday work in healthcare administration communication. She is part of Kappa Delta at BU and has loved every second of it. She is also involved in Public Relations Student Society of America and Ed on Campus. Anna was born in the Republic of Georgia and considers herself a citizen of the world because she's lived in Russia, England, France, Brooklyn and Connecticut. She loves to travel, run and learn.


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Tuesday, June 15, 2010
General Rant - Fixing What's Not Broken
Wizards changed the HeroScape bases.
OK, that's not the end of the world. Hell, it's not that big a deal on any level. But it pissed me off, and now instead of writing lewd jokes about people I don't know, I'm going to rant loudly about game publishers with their collective heads jammed up their collective assholes.
For those of you who don't know yet, Wizards of the Coast has decided to alter the look and feel of the HeroScape bases. For five or six years now (I can't be bothered to check a calendar), HeroScape has had large, unique bases with a bevel. Now the bases are one inch across, and the bevel is gone. The reason we were given for this change is that Wizards wants to appeal to RPG fans who don't want to put those larger bases on their one-inch grid battlemaps. That's a really stupid reason, by the way.
Follow me here. For a very long time, we've had one size base. Now we have a base that doesn't even look like it belongs with the same game, which we're doing so that the miniatures will appeal to people who want to use them for D&D. Only at this point, the only miniatures being made are repurposed D&D minis, which means that the figures already exist, and they already have smaller bases. So Wizards has made a decision that will alienate and confuse thousands of HeroScape fans in order to appeal to D&D fans who are now able to buy a product that they could already get because Wizards made these once already.
They're counting on us wanting to play the game even if the new figures don't go with the old figures. Apparently they don't think the visual appeal is all that important to us. Apparently they forgot that the reason most of us picked up that first set is because it looked freaking awesome. If I didn't care about the visuals, I could play a game on a paper board with cardboard cutouts. It's not just about the game play - though it still has all the great game play that it always did. It just doesn't look right any more.
I could go on about this at length, but I think what I would like to do is bring up a broader point. Hopefully some game company big-wig is reading, so that they can get this relatively simple message. The message is in two parts. First, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And second, listen to your fans.
Anyone else remember the Mutant Chronicles CMG? I would still love to find out who was the marketing genius (by which I mean dumb-ass) who decided to make those 54mm. Every other game uses 28mm figures, but FFG decides to release prepainted miniatures for a game with a huge, loyal user base, and make them all look twice normal size. Good luck using those with Warzone now, huh? And where is that game now? Yeah, the discount bin, because it died, because they tried to fix a miniature size that wasn't broken, and they didn't listen to the fans.
Another example would be Doomtown. I used to collect this Deadlands CCG like it was gold-plated. I had every card for the first two story arcs, even the promos. It won two Origins awards in 1998, one for best trading card game. It was a blast, and if you were a serious collector, you could get everything. But then it moved to Alderac, who messed with the distribution. This game was making money and selling like hotcakes, and suddenly you were paying more for more commons and fewer rares, and some cards were only available in Canada. Doomtown died so fast, the last set was a one-of-each-because-they're-already-printed special. It went down like a broken space shuttle, and now you could pick up whole sets of these cards for a fraction of what they used to cost.
I could keep going. Nearly every game company has made these stupid mistakes, especially the ones who specialize in expandable games. It seems like there comes a point when some executive up the chain decides that he wants to pad his annual bonus by screwing the fans and cutting himself a little bigger slice. That's the only possible explanation I can see, because the mistakes I'm talking about here are so obvious, so stupid, that any game nerd on the planet could have pointed them out. But greed throws blinders on the jackasses at the top of the food chain, and they start ignoring that basic, two-part message.
I have talked to several fans who are not too angry about the base change in HeroScape. Some of them are just kind of rolling with it. But I have yet to talk to one fan who thought this base change thing was a good idea. There were two basic principles here - they fixed something that wasn't broken, and they ignored their fans. That's the kind of stupidity that comes back to bite you in the ass, and in the case of the people making these idiotic decisions, could result in head injuries. Because, you know, their heads are up their asses. Yeah, it's not funny when I explain it.
It's not like this is a new trend for Wizards. They excel at fixing things that aren't broken, and they suck at listening to the fans. The fourth edition of D&D is widely reviled. I play D&D with my family, and although I have the books for 4e, we still play the old 3e stuff, because the new edition blows. Lots of competitors are stepping up to fill in the gaps, and Wizards is losing market share to a comparatively tiny competitor because they wanted to make everyone go buy new books.
But they're not alone. Nearly every company that gets too big for its britches makes this bone-headed mistake at some point, usually because decisions start getting made by people who are businessmen, not gamers. We could point to dozens of companies who have forgotten those two basic rules and cost themselves lots of money. If I have one goal with this post, it's to get someone in charge to go, 'Hellfire, maybe we should listen to the fans, and stop fixing things that aren't broken.' But I'm not optimistic, because greed hollers a lot louder than one pissant game reviewer in his cranky corner of the Internet.
I don't particularly care what people do about this base change thing. Buy more, don't buy more, sell your collection, or buy everything and convert the bases so it looks right. I don't care. I won't be buying any more HeroScape, because I want all my stuff to match, but I certainly don't care if every other gamer on the planet keeps picking up their plastic crack. But I'll tell you right now that they won't. Sales will take a digger on this one. Maybe Wizards can change back before they ruin the entire franchise, and maybe Joe Corporate will end up taking his golden parachute and leaving Wizards to wonder where they went wrong.
And if that happens (and that's what I think will happen), then I'll be able to get tons of HeroScape, really cheap. So it's a win-win... for me.
For the fans, not so much.
18 comments:
- Grand_Lancer said...
"But they're not alone. Nearly every company that gets too big for its britches makes this bone-headed mistake at some point, usually because decisions start getting made by people who are businessmen, not gamers."
Actually, I think the problem is that they are gamers with and elitist view, who's only focus is MtG and DnD proper. Looking at any of their other lines (most recently, Star Wars Miniatures/RPG) you can see a clear trend (as you mentioned) of disrespect and disregard for their customers/comsumers. - June 15, 2010 at 8:26 PM
- Matt Drake said...
Joe, it's more than principle. These new bases don't match the old bases. The table won't look right. That sucks.
But yes, also principles.
Lancer, I think you'll find that as you get closer to the designers and farther from the businessmen, you find real passion for keeping the fans happy. I've known lots of people at WotC and Hasbro, and you might be shocked to discover how many of the decision-makers never play games of any kind. - June 15, 2010 at 8:37 PM
- Anonymous said...
Unrelated but I wasn't sure where to post this.
I was listening to episode 4 of The Little Metal Dog Show podcast today and there was an interview with Bruno Faidutti, who mentioned that Drake's Flames is one of his favorite review sites. Very cool.
(nyys on Scapers) - June 15, 2010 at 8:48 PM
- Greyweather said...
"Lots of competitors are stepping up to fill in the gaps, and Wizards is losing market share to a comparatively tiny competitor because they wanted to make everyone go buy new books."
I'm not tapped into the market. Who is the comparatively tiny competitor who is taking WotC's market share? - June 15, 2010 at 8:52 PM
- ninthdoc said...
Greyweather, that would be Paizo with Pathfinder, which is sort of referred to as D&D 3.75 in some circles since it is a revision of 3.5. Also, more recently, I've been seeing a lot of folks playing the new Dragonage RPG by Green Ronin. Both two solid companies that are much smaller than WotC, but knowing to strike when the iron is hot.
I'm so pissed at WotC over this, that they are literally saving me $100s of dollars. I hope to never buy anything else by them again, unless their latest game performs fellatio on me on demand. - June 15, 2010 at 9:40 PM
- Bevel this! said...
I laughed pretty hard at most of this.
But I disagree on the "greed" thing. If it were simply greed, they'd realize there is more money in not killing off a game by fixing things that don't need fixing. I'd offer an alternative hypothesis: the only people who want to be in charge are jackasses, and thus you get a lot of jackasstastic decisions.
In this case, a hard-core D&Der (or several) at Magic explain that they hate Heroscape because the bases are too big, then one of them says, let's make them smaller to fit with our game! Since no one at WotC is a Heroscape fan, no one mentions how stupid this is until they inform the designers of the decision, and by then it is too late. - June 15, 2010 at 9:43 PM
- Grand_Lancer said...
I didn't mean to say that everyone at Wizards was that an elitist. What I should have said was those who're in decision making positions care nothing for any of their games except MtG and DnD and as such, the customers of any of those products either.
Like you said, I'm sure those who are involved with the actual development of Heroscape are passionate about their work, as evidenced by the fact that the game is still going and the new army cards are still exciting... - June 16, 2010 at 4:59 AM
- Anonymous said...
Wait, so you didn't like Mutant Chronicles because the miniatures were too big and couldn't be used in other games? And you hat the decision to make Heroscape... useable in other games?
- June 16, 2010 at 5:55 AM
- Matt Drake said...
No, anonymous ass-hat, I didn't like Mutant Chronicles because it was a shitty game. But I would have bought cases of it at 28mm.
And even if you don't get it, not having the bases match is a big deal. If I want minis that I can use in other games, I'll buy DnD minis. Because, you know, they're the exact same figures.
Also, you're a nob.
Now go back to BGG, where you can act like an arrogant cock and they'll only get mad at the people who call you on it. - June 16, 2010 at 7:26 AM
- Unknown said...
You make some great points however there is one additional point I would like to make. EGO. Human ego destroys just as many games as greed. For instance, if you have a game that is rolling along, doing well, and you assign a new version to a new designer. What does he/she do? THEY HAVE TO CHANGE THINGS. It is their ego. The games works fine. But they want to put their stamp on it, so they change it. Happened with D&D 4th Edition. That was one big Ego Mess. The new designers had a game that was working fine, but their ego said they had to change it.
Same with great restaurants that get new owners. New owner feels he needs to change menu that was working just great, and joint goes down the drain, and they wonder why...
Same with software. We get new versions of Word every few years that changes crap but doesn't actually make it better. Because by now a Word Processor has probably peaked in technological advancement.
Thanks for your rant. Wizards destroyed two of my beloved games, D&D, AND D&D Miniatures. So I hear you!
Dogstar Games - June 16, 2010 at 9:23 AM
- CitizenBen said...
As someone who uses Heroscape as a "gateway" to other games with my nieces and nephews I have to agree, changing the bases smacks of cost cutting measures in order for WotC, aka Hasbro, to continue to repaint old DDM minis and sell them to a different market. Until they get back to giving Heroscape players non-reprints all this becomes is a cash grab.
As for the base differences we use plenty of different base sizes in our D&D games, and as much as I'm sure I'll get blasted for it, I'll admit we play 4E. Again 4E is a 'gateway' to things like Pathfinder. I don't think I'd ever have roped my wife or her friends into a monthly game if I tried to get them started with 2nd Edition, 3.0, or even Paizo's wonderful Pathfinder. While 4E is seen as an abomination of epic proportions in some circles, I just try to look at it as a way for me to convince people who I like to set around a table, use thier collective imaginations in ways they never thought of, laugh, eat junk food, and generally have a good time with a game that I've loved since I was 7.
So blast away if you must on 4E, but remember out there in the world right now there are people playing D&D for the first time who are making this thier D&D, for better or worse.
Thanks for the kick-ass blog! - June 16, 2010 at 11:06 AM
- Matt Drake said...
"Bruno Faidutti, who mentioned that Drake's Flames is one of his favorite review sites"
Holy crap! That's awesome! How did I miss this comment before?
You hear that? Bruno likes me! I'm practically a celebrity!
I'll be picking out an entourage shortly. - June 16, 2010 at 11:33 AM
- Anonymous said...
I can see how the base change bothers a lot of people - but me, I could care less I just want more an more HS, I am someone who uses cowboys and indians as proxies so different bases are the least of my concerns. I really don't ever remember seeing or worrying about the bases while I play -- but as a hardcore scaper I can see where it will let people move a figure around the hex more to get line of sight more often so in a sense it will have a bit of effect to the actual game?
Nice rant as always!
Hendal - June 17, 2010 at 9:19 PM
- Pete Miller said...
If the smaller bases were bevelled, I'd be 100% ok with this. After all, there are already 4 base sizes in scape.
If the plastic is the same color and the stickers are the same color I am eh with this. I still haven't bought DnD wave 2. But this really isn't a disaster. At first I thought they were just using the D&D figures as is - black bases. They could have gone there. - June 18, 2010 at 12:52 AM
- bad dog said...
I used to be a manager for a multi-national corporation. I hated the job. My employees were lying weasels that smelled really bad. My customers were ignorant ass-hats with an incredible sense of entitlement.
I finally landed a better job but couldn't start for six months. My job had crappy pay but I received 15% of everything above 125% of the P/L. Since I was leaving shortly I took a scorched earth attitude to profits. Anything that made me money now was good. If it cost the company customers in the long run tough shit. I did, in fact, cost the company to lose Walmart and McClain's as customers and it resulted in quite a big lay-off. I might feel bad if I didn't hate each and every one of them.
Perhaps the people making these decisions feel the same way I do. Pissing off people like Drake is just a nice little side benefit. - June 18, 2010 at 4:20 PM
- Michael said...
Hey guys - Michael from Little Metal Dog here. Just wanted to say that yes, Bruno does indeed say that Drake's Flames is one of his favourite reviews blogs on episode 4 (amongst other things). I must say, I agree with him - you always write entertaining stuff, Matt!
Keep it up, sir. - June 25, 2010 at 6:56 AM
- David N. said...
This is the third irritating change that WotC has made to Heroscape. Here's how I enumerate them:
1) Loss of new sculpts/use of rehashed existing D&D sculpts.
2) Change of scale from 25mm to 15mm (pretty much part and parcel of number 1).
3) Change of bases.
I wish they'd made change 3 at the same time as changes 1 & 2 so I could draw a clear line and say "classic 'scape stopped here" and stop collecting. However, the thing that most annoys me most about this is not it reflects a cost-cutting diminution of the quality of Heroscape; instead it's that it belies a management attitude that Heroscape is primarily a recruitment tool for their main brand, D&D. That's what really pisses me off: from WotC's perspective I'm not a Heroscape player; instead I'm a potential D&D consumer. - July 5, 2010 at 8:03 AM
- Eirikr said...
I see the base change as an indication that WotC sees some long term potential for heroScape and that, to me, is a good thing. The fact that they are considering changes such as the size of the bases, which has no cost saving benefits, shows me that they want heroScape to continue and to thrive and they are looking for ways to ensure that is the case. Will it work? I don't think it will have a big impact on sales but it may and I have no basis for that judgement other than my rather large gutt. I don't forsee it having a significant impact on gameplay and the figures will fit better in my tackle boxes so that's a bonus.
Will the smaller bases look out of place? Ya probably, but not any more than the smaller DnD figures which is where the real problem lies in my opinion. So far I have been pleasantly surprised by the DnD figures. All that being said I can see my days of buying new Scape slowly coming to an end, partially because I am having a harder time finding playmates lately and have beein putting more of my time into board games, and partially because I really miss the 'Everything in the toybox' feel that heroScape once had and the move to all fantasy will bore me in the long run.
In any case I have really enjoyed your blog Drake. Keep it up. - July 20, 2010 at 8:31 AM


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wooden barns > process and history
The barns are bas relief paintings made of plaster and salvaged redwood barn siding. These paintings are simple and quiet. Sky, land, horizon and barn.
One hundred years ago in rural Northern California, redwood trees a thousand or more years old, were cut down to clear land and build barns for ranches and farms. Now many of these barns are dilapidated. Ranch lands have been divided into smaller parcels. The few remaining old growth trees are in parks or at risk. A way of life has come and gone.
I use salvaged boards to build my paintings. The boards have a memory, when I paint I can hear the wind blow across open fields, dust motes float in the shafts of light between the board and battens, I see swallows swoop from mud nests high in the rafters and eaves. I am reminded of my childhood, jumping from a hayloft in a barn in rural Hopewell, New Jersey.
My paintings provide a space for the old barns to stand. Patterns in the weathered wood read like a map of the past, one can sense the history of the tree and a way of life come and gone. Each painting is a pause in the flow of time moving onward.


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PostgreSQL 8.4.22 Documentation | ||||
Prev | Fast Backward | Chapter 30. libpq - C Library | Fast Forward | Next |
The following functions deal with making a connection to a
PostgreSQL backend server. An
application program can have several backend connections open at
one time. (One reason to do that is to access more than one
database.) Each connection is represented by a PGconn
object, which is obtained from the function PQconnectdb
or PQsetdbLogin
. Note that these functions will
always return a non-null object pointer, unless perhaps there is
too little memory even to allocate the PGconn object. The PQstatus
function should be called to check
whether a connection was successfully made before queries are
sent via the connection object.
Warning |
On Unix, forking a process with open libpq connections
can lead to unpredictable results because the parent and
child processes share the same sockets and operating
system resources. For this reason, such usage is not
recommended, though doing an |
Note: On Windows, there is a way to improve performance if a single database connection is repeatedly started and shutdown. Internally, libpq calls WSAStartup() and WSACleanup() for connection startup and shutdown, respectively. WSAStartup() increments an internal Windows library reference count which is decremented by WSACleanup(). When the reference count is just one, calling WSACleanup() frees all resources and all DLLs are unloaded. This is an expensive operation. To avoid this, an application can manually call WSAStartup() so resources will not be freed when the last database connection is closed.
Makes a new connection to the database server.
PGconn *PQconnectdb(const char *conninfo);
This function opens a new database connection using the
parameters taken from the string conninfo. Unlike PQsetdbLogin
below, the parameter set can
be extended without changing the function signature, so use
of this function (or its nonblocking analogues PQconnectStart
and PQconnectPoll
) is preferred for new
application programming.
The passed string can be empty to use all default parameters, or it can contain one or more parameter settings separated by whitespace. Each parameter setting is in the form keyword = value. Spaces around the equal sign are optional. To write an empty value or a value containing spaces, surround it with single quotes, e.g., keyword = 'a value'. Single quotes and backslashes within the value must be escaped with a backslash, i.e., \' and \\.
The currently recognized parameter key words are:
Name of host to connect to. If this begins with a slash, it specifies Unix-domain communication rather than TCP/IP communication; the value is the name of the directory in which the socket file is stored. The default behavior when host is not specified is to connect to a Unix-domain socket in /tmp (or whatever socket directory was specified when PostgreSQL was built). On machines without Unix-domain sockets, the default is to connect to localhost.
Numeric IP address of host to connect to. This should be in the standard IPv4 address format, e.g., 172.28.40.9. If your machine supports IPv6, you can also use those addresses. TCP/IP communication is always used when a nonempty string is specified for this parameter.
Using hostaddr instead of host allows the application to avoid a host name look-up, which might be important in applications with time constraints. However, a host name is required for Kerberos, GSSAPI, or SSPI authentication, as well as for full SSL certificate verification. The following rules are used: If host is specified without hostaddr, a host name lookup occurs. If hostaddr is specified without host, the value for hostaddr gives the server address. The connection attempt will fail in any of the cases where a host name is required. If both host and hostaddr are specified, the value for hostaddr gives the server address. The value for host is ignored unless needed for authentication or verification purposes, in which case it will be used as the host name. Note that authentication is likely to fail if host is not the name of the machine at hostaddr. Also, note that host rather than hostaddr is used to identify the connection in ~/.pgpass (see Section 30.14).
Without either a host name or host address, libpq will connect using a local Unix-domain socket; or on machines without Unix-domain sockets, it will attempt to connect to localhost.
Port number to connect to at the server host, or socket file name extension for Unix-domain connections.
The database name. Defaults to be the same as the user name.
PostgreSQL user name to connect as. Defaults to be the same as the operating system name of the user running the application.
Password to be used if the server demands password authentication.
Maximum wait for connection, in seconds (write as a decimal integer string). Zero or not specified means wait indefinitely. It is not recommended to use a timeout of less than 2 seconds.
Adds command-line options to send to the server at run-time. For example, setting this to -c geqo=off sets the session's value of the geqo parameter to off. For a detailed discussion of the available options, consult Chapter 18.
Ignored (formerly, this specified where to send server debug output).
This option determines whether or with what priority a SSL TCP/IP connection will be negotiated with the server. There are six modes:
Table 30-1. sslmode options
Option | Description |
disable | only try a non-SSL connection |
allow | first try a non-SSL connection; if that fails, try an SSL connection |
prefer (default) | first try an SSL connection; if that fails, try a non-SSL connection |
require | only try an SSL connection. If a root CA file is present, verify the certificate in the same way as if verify-ca was specified |
verify-ca | only try an SSL connection, and verify that the server certificate is issued by a trusted CA. |
verify-full | only try an SSL connection, verify that the server certificate is issued by a trusted CA and that the server hostname matches that in the certificate. |
See Section 30.17 for a detailed description of how these options work.
sslmode is ignored for Unix domain socket communication. If PostgreSQL is compiled without SSL support, using option require will cause an error, while options allow and prefer will be accepted but libpq will not actually attempt an SSL connection.
This option is deprecated in favor of the sslmode setting.
If set to 1, an SSL connection to the server is required (this is equivalent to sslmode require). libpq will then refuse to connect if the server does not accept an SSL connection. If set to 0 (default), libpq will negotiate the connection type with the server (equivalent to sslmode prefer). This option is only available if PostgreSQL is compiled with SSL support.
This parameter specifies the file name of the client SSL certificate.
This parameter specifies the location for the secret key used for the client certificate. It can either specify a filename that will be used instead of the default ~/.postgresql/postgresql.key, or can specify an external engine (engines are OpenSSL loadable modules). The external engine specification should consist of a colon-separated engine name and an engine-specific key identifier.
This parameter specifies the file name of the root SSL certificate.
This parameter specifies the file name of the SSL certificate revocation list (CRL).
Kerberos service name to use when authenticating with Kerberos 5 or GSSAPI. This must match the service name specified in the server configuration for Kerberos authentication to succeed. (See also Section 19.3.5 and Section 19.3.3.)
GSS library to use for GSSAPI authentication. Only used on Windows. Set to gssapi to force libpq to use the GSSAPI library for authentication instead of the default SSPI.
Service name to use for additional parameters. It specifies a service name in pg_service.conf that holds additional connection parameters. This allows applications to specify only a service name so connection parameters can be centrally maintained. See Section 30.15.
If any parameter is unspecified, then the corresponding environment variable (see Section 30.13) is checked. If the environment variable is not set either, then the indicated built-in defaults are used.
Makes a new connection to the database server.
PGconn *PQsetdbLogin(const char *pghost, const char *pgport, const char *pgoptions, const char *pgtty, const char *dbName, const char *login, const char *pwd);
This is the predecessor of PQconnectdb
with a fixed set of
parameters. It has the same functionality except that the
missing parameters will always take on default values.
Write NULL or an empty string for
any one of the fixed parameters that is to be
If the dbName contains an
= sign, it is taken as a conninfo string in exactly the same way as
if it had been passed to PQconnectdb
, and the remaining parameters
are then applied as above.
Makes a new connection to the database server.
PGconn *PQsetdb(char *pghost, char *pgport, char *pgoptions, char *pgtty, char *dbName);
This is a macro that calls PQsetdbLogin
with null pointers for the
login and pwd parameters. It is provided for
backward compatibility with very old programs.
Make a connection to the database server in a nonblocking manner.
PGconn *PQconnectStart(const char *conninfo);
PostgresPollingStatusType PQconnectPoll(PGconn *conn);
These two functions are used to open a connection to a
database server such that your application's thread of
execution is not blocked on remote I/O whilst doing so. The
point of this approach is that the waits for I/O to
complete can occur in the application's main loop, rather
than down inside PQconnectdb
and so the application can manage this operation in
parallel with other activities.
The database connection is made using the parameters
taken from the string conninfo,
passed to PQconnectStart
This string is in the same format as described above for
Neither PQconnectStart
will block, so
long as a number of restrictions are met:
The hostaddr and host parameters are used appropriately
to ensure that name and reverse name queries are not
made. See the documentation of these parameters under
above for
If you call PQtrace
ensure that the stream object into which you trace will
not block.
You ensure that the socket is in the appropriate
state before calling PQconnectPoll
, as described
To begin a nonblocking connection request, call
conn = PQconnectStart("connection_info_string"). If
conn is null, then libpq has been unable to allocate a
new PGconn structure.
Otherwise, a valid PGconn
pointer is returned (though not yet representing a valid
connection to the database). On return from PQconnectStart
, call status = PQstatus(conn). If status equals CONNECTION_BAD, PQconnectStart
has failed.
If PQconnectStart
succeeds, the next stage is to poll libpq so that it can proceed with the
connection sequence. Use PQsocket(conn)
to obtain the descriptor
of the socket underlying the database connection. Loop
thus: If PQconnectPoll(conn)
last returned PGRES_POLLING_READING, wait until the socket
is ready to read (as indicated by select()
, poll()
, or similar system function). Then
call PQconnectPoll(conn)
again. Conversely, if PQconnectPoll(conn)
last returned
PGRES_POLLING_WRITING, wait until
the socket is ready to write, then call PQconnectPoll(conn)
again. If you have
yet to call PQconnectPoll
i.e., just after the call to PQconnectStart
, behave as if it last
returned PGRES_POLLING_WRITING.
Continue this loop until PQconnectPoll(conn)
returns PGRES_POLLING_FAILED, indicating the
connection procedure has failed, or PGRES_POLLING_OK, indicating the connection
has been successfully made.
At any time during connection, the status of the
connection can be checked by calling PQstatus
. If this gives CONNECTION_BAD, then the connection procedure
has failed; if it gives CONNECTION_OK
, then the connection is
ready. Both of these states are equally detectable from the
return value of PQconnectPoll
, described above. Other
states might also occur during (and only during) an
asynchronous connection procedure. These indicate the
current stage of the connection procedure and might be
useful to provide feedback to the user for example. These
statuses are:
Waiting for connection to be made.
Connection OK; waiting to send.
Waiting for a response from the server.
Received authentication; waiting for backend start-up to finish.
Negotiating SSL encryption.
Negotiating environment-driven parameter settings.
Note that, although these constants will remain (in order to maintain compatibility), an application should never rely upon these occurring in a particular order, or at all, or on the status always being one of these documented values. An application might do something like this:
switch(PQstatus(conn)) { case CONNECTION_STARTED: feedback = "Connecting..."; break; case CONNECTION_MADE: feedback = "Connected to server..."; break; . . . default: feedback = "Connecting..."; }
The connect_timeout connection
parameter is ignored when using PQconnectPoll
; it is the application's
responsibility to decide whether an excessive amount of
time has elapsed. Otherwise, PQconnectStart
followed by a PQconnectPoll
loop is equivalent to
Note that if PQconnectStart
returns a non-null
pointer, you must call PQfinish
when you are finished with it,
in order to dispose of the structure and any associated
memory blocks. This must be done even if the connection
attempt fails or is abandoned.
Returns the default connection options.
PQconninfoOption *PQconndefaults(void); typedef struct { char *keyword; /* The keyword of the option */ char *envvar; /* Fallback environment variable name */ char *compiled; /* Fallback compiled in default value */ char *val; /* Option's current value, or NULL */ char *label; /* Label for field in connect dialog */ char *dispchar; /* Indicates how to display this field in a connect dialog. Values are: "" Display entered value as is "*" Password field - hide value "D" Debug option - don't show by default */ int dispsize; /* Field size in characters for dialog */ } PQconninfoOption;
Returns a connection options array. This can be used to
determine all possible PQconnectdb
options and their current
default values. The return value points to an array of
PQconninfoOption structures,
which ends with an entry having a null keyword pointer. The null pointer is
returned if memory could not be allocated. Note that the
current default values (val
fields) will depend on environment variables and other
context. Callers must treat the connection options data as
After processing the options array, free it by passing
it to PQconninfoFree
. If this
is not done, a small amount of memory is leaked for each
call to PQconndefaults
Returns parsed connection options from the provided connection string.
PQconninfoOption *PQconninfoParse(const char *conninfo, char **errmsg);
Parses a connection string and returns the resulting
options as an array; or returns NULL if there is a problem
with the connection string. This can be used to determine
the PQconnectdb
options in
the provided connection string. The return value points to
an array of PQconninfoOption
structures, which ends with an entry having a null
keyword pointer.
Note that only options explicitly specified in the string will have values set in the result array; no defaults are inserted.
If errmsg is not NULL, then *errmsg is set to NULL on success, else to a malloc'd error string explaining the problem. (It is also possible for *errmsg to be set to NULL even when NULL is returned; this indicates an out-of-memory situation.)
After processing the options array, free it by passing
it to PQconninfoFree
. If this
is not done, some memory is leaked for each call to
. Conversely,
if an error occurs and errmsg is
not NULL, be sure to free the error string using
Closes the connection to the server. Also frees memory used by the PGconn object.
void PQfinish(PGconn *conn);
Note that even if the server connection attempt fails
(as indicated by PQstatus
the application should call PQfinish
to free the memory used by the
PGconn object. The PGconn pointer must not be used again
after PQfinish
has been
Resets the communication channel to the server.
void PQreset(PGconn *conn);
This function will close the connection to the server and attempt to reestablish a new connection to the same server, using all the same parameters previously used. This might be useful for error recovery if a working connection is lost.
Reset the communication channel to the server, in a nonblocking manner.
int PQresetStart(PGconn *conn);
PostgresPollingStatusType PQresetPoll(PGconn *conn);
These functions will close the connection to the server
and attempt to reestablish a new connection to the same
server, using all the same parameters previously used. This
can be useful for error recovery if a working connection is
lost. They differ from PQreset
(above) in that they act in a
nonblocking manner. These functions suffer from the same
restrictions as PQconnectStart
and PQconnectPoll
To initiate a connection reset, call PQresetStart
. If it returns 0, the reset
has failed. If it returns 1, poll the reset using
in exactly the
same way as you would create the connection using


text:
Sprinkled throughout Andrew Ng's machine learning class is a lot of practical advice for applying machine learning. That's what I'm trying to compile and summarize here. Most of Ng's advice centers around the idea of making decisions in an empirical way, fitting to a data-driven discipline, rather than relying on gut feeling.
Training / validation / test
The key is dividing data into training, cross-validation and test sets. The test set is used only to evaluate performance, not to train parameters or select a model representation. The rationale for this is that training set error is not a good predictor of how well your hypothesis will generalize to new examples. In the course, we saw the cross-validation set used to select degrees of polynomial features and find optimal regularization parameters.
Model representation
The representation of the hypothesis, the function h, defines the space of solutions that your algorithm can find. The example used in the class was modeling house price as a function of size. The model tells you what parameters your algorithm needs to learn. If we've selected a linear function, then there are two parameters, the slope and intersect of the line.
Feature selection and treatment
Are the given features sufficiently informative to make predictions? Asking whether a human expert can confidently predict the output given the input features will give a good indication.
At times, it may be necessary to derive new features. Polynomial features, for example, can let linear regression fit non-linear functions. Computing products, ratios, differences or logarithms may be informative. Creativity comes in here, but remember to test the effectiveness of your new features on the cross-validation set.
Features are on different scales may benefit from feature scaling. Mean normalizing and scaling to a standard deviation of one puts features on an even footing.
Gathering data might be expensive. Another option is artificial data synthesis, either creating new examples out of whole cloth or by transforming existing examples. In text recognition, a library of digital fonts might be used to generate examples, or existing examples might be warped or reflected.
Often, a learning algorithm may fit the training data very well, but perform poorly on new examples. This failure to generalize is called overfitting.
The classic example is fitting a high degree polynomial, which can lead to a very curvy line that closely fits a large number of data points. Our hypothesis is complex and might be fitting noise rather than an underlying relationship and will therefore generalize poorly.
One way to combat this problem is to use a simpler model. This is valid, but might be limiting. Another option is regularization, which penalizes large parameter values. This prioritizes solutions fitting the training data reasonably well without curving around wildly.
Regularization can be tuned by plotting training set error and validation set error as functions of the regularization parameter, lambda.
Tuning the trade off between bias vs variance.
The steps we take to improve performance depend on whether our algorithm is suffering from bias or variance. A learning curve is a diagnostic that can tell which of these situations we're in, by plotting training error and validation error as a function of training set size. Look for high training and cross-validation error indicating high bias or a steadily decreasing validation error, with a gap between validation and training error indicating high variance.
A high bias model has few parameters and may result in underfitting. Essentially we're trying to fit an overly simplistic hypothesis, for example linear where we should be looking for a higher order polynomial. In a high bias situation, training and cross-validation error are both high and more training data is unlikely to help much.
- find more features
- add polynomial features
- increase parameters (more hidden layer neurons, for example)
- decrease regularization
Variance is the opposite problem, having lots of parameters, which carries a risk of overfitting. If we are overfitting, the algorithm fits the training set well, but has high cross-validation and testing error. If we see low training set error, with cross-validation error trending downward, then the gap between them might be narrowed by training on more data.
- more training data
- reduce number of features, manually or using a model selection algorithm
- increase regularization
Error analysis
To improve performance of a machine learning algorithm, one helpful step is to manually examine the cases your algorithm gets wrong. Look for systematic trends in the errors. What features would have helped correctly classify these cases?
For multi-step machine learning pipelines, ceiling analysis can help decide where to invest effort to improve performance. The error due to each stage is estimated by substituting labeled data for that stage, revealing how well the whole pipeline would perform if that stage had no error. Stepping through the stages, we note the potential for improvement at each one.
It's helpful to have a single number to easily compare performance. Precision and recall and the F1 statistic can help when trying to classify very skewed classes, where one class is rare in the data. Simply taking a percentage of correct classifications can be misleading, since always guessing the more common class means you'll almost always be right.
precision: true positives / predicted positives, predicted positives = true positives + false positives (Of all the patients we predicted to have cancer, what fraction actually has cancer?)
recall: true positives / actual positives, actual positives = true positives + false negatives (Of all the patients that really had cancer, how many did we correctly predict?)
F1 = 2·p·r / (p + r)
Miscellaneous tips
Principle component analysis (PCA) can help by reducing dimensionality of high-dimensional features. Collapsing highly correlated features can help learning algorithms run faster.
Often, incorrectly implemented machine learning algorithms can appear to work, producing no obvious error, but simply converging slower or with more error than a correct implementation. Gradient checking is a technique for checking your work, applied in the class to back propagation, but probably more generally applicable.
The recommended approach
Quickly testing ideas empirically and optimizing developer time is the approach embodied in these steps:
- First, implement a simple quick and dirty algorithm, plot learning curves, and perform error analysis.
- Create a list of potential ideas to try to improve performance. Then, start trying promising ideas, using the validation set to test for improvement.
- Use a learning algorithm with many parameters and many features - low bias. Get a very large training set.
Supporting that last point is the findings of Banko and Brill, 2001.
"It's not who has the best algorithm that wins. It's who has the most data."
- diagrams by Andrew Ng
- ..more on the machine learning class


text:
Cold conviviality be the secret to Italy's longevity? Here's why eating well in good company could help you getting old in great health: https://t.co/cZ7oE2AmkY
4:45 PM - 1 Dec 21Most Recent Tweets
Tomorrow, Holy Weeks begins: it's time to take a look at all the traditions, of yesterday and today, we Italians like to follow this time of the year: https://t.co/ECk6QDHnFE
Fancy trying something different in the kitchen this Easter? Campanari di Pasqua could be a good option! https://t.co/zb7b5vT80F
Happy April's Fool to you all! Here are some April Italian Connections for you: https://t.co/pTtbbFgvsT
We always think of Dante, but Francesco Petrarca is as important for our language as Il Poeta: https://t.co/fMv9tKVuIJ
L'Erbolario is an Italian brand known around the world, that still remains faithful to its roots: https://t.co/Xd6gyZRF1U
Livia Firth brings sustainability and eco-conscience to LA, with her Green Carpet: https://t.co/AxNjPA53cD
#Bordighera #Liguria #LigurianCoast #ItalianRiviera #RivieraLigure #RivieradeiFiori Photo: Luigino Visconti | https://t.co/NK624tAy7L https://t.co/MoyZTuCLp1
Rome and cats: a love story that goes back millennia: https://t.co/KwzNmIyE7F
Salerno is an often-neglected little pearl of Southern Italy: https://t.co/8DTROobf0n
Happy Festa del Papà to all dads on both sides of the Atlantic! https://t.co/7TTv7fg9O9
#Orvieto #Umbria #Italy #Medieval #Medioevo Photo: Luca Lorenzelli | https://t.co/NK624tAy7L https://t.co/WmYYmYpH3k
Dina Morrone tells us more about her successful play Moose on the Loose, which will be in LA from April 14th: https://t.co/LYXv1JEn0p
Let us take a tour around a lesser known, but just as worthy of a visit, town of our beautiful South: Salerno! https://t.co/8DTROobf0n
The Sant' Ambrogio neighborhood is a corner of Florence ready to be discovered: https://t.co/0RHR3qBp2s
Sperlari is name that makes every Italian feel like a child again! https://t.co/jbHgH8p0IQ


text:
Chiropractic Adjustments and Manipulation
Patients in need of chiropractic care often suffer from a misalignment of the spine. At Niekamp Chiropractic Center in St Henry, OH, we treat misalignment issues with chiropractic adjustments and manipulation. Our goal is to help you feel better, gain increased mobility, and allow you to experience an overall reduction in discomfort.
Helping You Heal
At Niekamp Chiropractic Center, we employ different techniques to treat whatever it is that ails you. When you come to us for chiropractic adjustments and manipulation, you can rest assured that your treatment plan will be developed with your specific needs in mind. We understand how frustrating it must be to walk around in pain, so we work our hardest to target the source of your discomfort and provide treatment that brings you long-term results.
With easy appointment scheduling and convenient hours, Niekamp Chiropractic Center is the place to go when you need chiropractic adjustments and manipulation to heal what ails you. For more information about our services or to schedule a consultation, call us today.


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text:
MAN has created gods in his own likeness and being himself mortal he has naturally supposed his creatures to be in the same sad predicament. Thus the Greenlanders believed that a wind could kill their most powerful god, and that he would certainly die if he touched a dog. When they heard of the Christian God, they kept asking if he never died, and being informed that he did not, they were much surprised, and said that he must be a very great god indeed. In answer to the enquiries of Colonel Dodge, a North American Indian stated that the world was made by the Great Spirit. Being asked which Great Spirit he meant, the good one or the bad one, Oh, neither of them, replied he, the Great Spirit that made the world is dead long ago. He could not possibly have lived as long as this. A tribe in the Philippine Islands told the Spanish conquerors that the grave of the Creator was upon the top of Mount Cabunian. Heitsi-eibib, a god or divine hero of the Hottentots, died several times and came to life again. His graves are generally to be met with in narrow defiles between mountains. When the Hottentots pass one of them, they throw a stone on it for good luck, sometimes muttering, Give us plenty of cattle. The grave of Zeus, the great god of Greece, was shown to visitors in Crete as late as about the beginning of our era. The body of Dionysus was buried at Delphi beside the golden statue of Apollo, and his tomb bore the inscription, Here lies Dionysus dead, the son of Semele. According to one account, Apollo himself was buried at Delphi; for Pythagoras is said to have carved an inscription on his tomb, setting forth how the god had been killed by the python and buried under the tripod. 1
The great gods of Egypt themselves were not exempt from the common lot. They too grew old and died. But when at a later time the discovery of the art of embalming gave a new lease of life to the souls of the dead by preserving their bodies for an indefinite time from corruption, the deities were permitted to share the benefit of an invention which held out to gods as well as to men a reasonable hope of immortality. Every province then had the tomb and mummy of its dead god. The mummy of Osiris was to be seen at Mendes; Thinis boasted of the mummy of Anhouri; and Heliopolis rejoiced in the possession of that of Toumou. The high gods of Babylon also, though they appeared to their worshippers only in dreams and visions, were conceived to be human in their bodily shape, human in their passions, and human in their fate; for like men they were born into the world, and like men they loved and fought and died. 2


text:
Course Leader : Francois van As
Please have a look at our year program for the schedule.
This applies to the beginners course and advanced techniques course.
Do you want to grow bonsai trees yourself?
Stop hesitating and use this opportunity to get a taste of this fascinating hobby.
During the course we will teach you the basics of bonsai.
You will go home with a bonsai that you have designed, pruned and wired yourself.
- The course starts promptly at 9:00 until 15:00.
- The cost is R400 pp (for children R200 pp) and includes a booklet, tee/coffee and a light lunch.
- Please book your place in good time as there are only limited space available.
- Contact Francois van As at firstname.lastname@example.com or 074 601 1847
You have to bring along:
- A tree(s) that has not been worked on before.
- A pruning scissors and a side cutter (to cut wire).
A few lengths of wire (aluminum or copper).


text:
No adverse effects on blood and oxygen supply to the heart by electronic cigarette use
- Saturday, 31 August 2013 19:28
Electronic cigarettes: no adverse effects on blood and oxygen supply to the heart
Electronic cigarette use does not cause any immediate adverse effects on coronary circulation and oxygen supply to the heart, according to a new study presented today in the European Society of Cardiology annual congress in Amsterdam.
Researchers at Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, lead by principle investigator Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos, evaluated the effects of electronic cigarette use on the maximal ability of the coronary arteries to supply with blood and oxygen the heart itself. They recruited 60 participants, 30 smokers and 30 electronic cigarette users. Measurement of maximal coronary blood flow was performed in smokers before and after smoking 2 cigarettes and, on a separate day, after using an electronic cigarette with 18mg/ml nicotine concentration for 15 minutes. In electronic cigarette users, coronary circulation was evaluated before and after using the same electronic cigarette device for 15 minutes.
"This is the first study that has examined the effects of electronic cigarette use on coronary circulation", said leading researcher Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos. "We know that smoking has immediate adverse effects, lowering the ability of the coronary arteries to deliver blood to the heart, and our purpose was to test whether electronic cigarette use has similar effects", he added.
After smoking 2 cigarettes, the researchers observed a 16% reduction in maximal coronary blood flow and a 19% elevation in resistance to flow. However, after electronic cigarette use, no difference in coronary blood flow and resistance was observed compared to the baseline measurement. "The results are impressive and indicate that, unlike tobacco, electronic cigarette use does not affect the oxygenation of the heart", said Dr Farsalinos. "However, we must be cautious and make clear that this does not mean that there are no implications from long-term use. It is currently impossible to evaluate the effects of long-term use but currently available evidence strongly suggests that electronic cigarettes are by far less harmful alternatives compared to tobacco cigarettes."
Public health authorities all over the world are evaluating the regulatory status of electronic cigarettes. Lately, the European Commission has proposed a medicinal regulation. Dr Farsalinos said: "Acknowledging the significant potential of electronic cigarettes as smoking alternatives and based on the scientific evidence which clearly indicated that they are much safer, it is important that health authorities will regulate these products in a way that will promote rather than restrict their availability and use by smokers who are unable to quit with currently approved medical methods."
Watch the video of the presentation
News about the study has already been reported by TheHeart.org, one of the world's most credible
scientific websites…


text:
Duran v. Astrue
Filing 17
ORDER, the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is affirmed; the Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly and shall terminate this case. Signed by Judge Neil V Wake on 12/13/12. (REW)
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


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Our Loloi Theory THY-02 rug lets you enjoy outstanding functionality without sacrificing classic beauty or comfort because of its Oriental design, cool palette, and unique construction of durable synthetic fibers.
Founded in 2004, Loloi Rugs started with just four employees, a small office in Dallas, Texas, and an idea to design and craft original rugs for the thoughtfully layered home. Today, Loloi is proud to be a leader in textiles, bringing its unique vision to a community of designers, decorators, and homebodies around the world. Loloi holds onto their belief that craftsmanship is something worth committing to, and that a good rug does more than tying the room together--it sets the home apart. Loloi Rugs specializes in handmade wool rugs in beautiful designs with competitive pricing. These transitional, traditional, and contemporary rugs are offered in a wide range of fashion-forward colors to complement any environment.
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Kids of all ages love Flapjacks, our new twist on classic comfort. Flapjacks are a dream to dream in, hugging the body in toasty comfort from top to bottom. This Bear Essentials flap is decorative. Flapjacks are made of 100% ribbed cotton You might like the matching FlapJack for adults and even your dog for perfect matching moments.
• 100% Combed Cotton
• 2 X 2 rib fabric
• Unisex sizing
• Contrasting flat lock stitch
• Faux Buttoned flap on back
• Contrasting Cuffs
• Button Down Front for kids sizes and 2 button back for infant sizes with handy snaps between the legs for easy diaper access
• Permanent No Fade Print
• Preshrunk


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New Chemistry Techniques Improve Hybrid Scanner Performance
- Date:
- June 15, 2009
- Source:
- Society of Nuclear Medicine
- Summary:
- A new PET/MR imaging system has been developed that can successfully provide whole-body images of rats and other small animals, according to researchers.
- Share:
A new PET/MR imaging system has been developed that can successfully provide whole-body images of rats and other small animals, according to researchers at SNM's 56th Annual Meeting in Toronto. The new system could greatly improve imaging capabilities and advance research in many areas.
"Our system shows great promise because it is able to simultaneously provide the complementary strengths of PET and MRI in imaging rats and small animals," said Mitsuaki Tatsumi, associate professor of radiology at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine and Medical Hospital, Osaka, Japan. "This ability opens up exciting new opportunities in research in terms of increased understanding of kinetics, biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals and, eventually, disease characteristics and physiological processes. Next steps include imaging body tumors in rats or mice and developing PET/MRI systems that can image people."
A combined PET/MRI system delivers specific molecular information related to cell surface reactors, enzymes and gene expression that PET provides as well as important anatomical data, soft-tissue contrast and information about perfusion and permeability shown in MRI—at the same time.
The new combined PET/MRI system is a step forward from previous combined systems because it can image the bodies of rats and mice rather than just the brains. The system consists of depth-of-interaction block detectors and a permanent magnet for MRI.
In the study, researchers injected rats with the radionuclide C-11 methionine for PET imaging and with Gadoxetate for contrast MRI imaging. Simultaneous PET and MR imaging was performed from head to abdomen. PET, MR and co-registered fusion images were then evaluated for image quality.
The simultaneous PET/MRI system provided quality images in spite of the short half-life of C-11. The images showed excellent mapping of the liver and kidneys. C-11 methionine is known to accumulate in the pancreas, but it would have been difficult to image without clear mapping MR images. The use of Gadoextate as a contrast agent enhanced the power of the integrated PET/MRI system.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Society of Nuclear Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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Read on for the final Stone, At Your Service bonus scene, and be sure to tune in tomorrow for a special Halloween preview of book #2, Love, In the Fast Lane. There might even be a giveaway on my Facebook page to coincide tomorrow.
I'd intended to find out what. I hadn't had to wait all that long for Stone to be un-outted. No surprise there. But imagine my surprise when I discovered he lived in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, just a stone's throw away from my beach rental on Isle of Palms. I absolutely had to follow up with him once the convention ended.
And I had an ulterior motive.
With my salon-streaked hair fluffed out and my Lancôme lipgloss in place, I pranced into Stone's Auto Service for the second time that summer. Stone still owed me another favor, and I meant to collect. The men—his mechanics—fell over themselves to help me, then blinked in surprise when I explained Stone was expecting me.
The largest of the bunch—Gerald was his name—came forward with a broad smile. "Yes, ma'am. Right this way."
"It's Miss." I coolly replied. I did so enjoy getting under the skin of these massive, rugged men.
A few masculine chuckles followed my clarification.
"Rightio, Miss Gem." Gerald had flushed beneath his dark brown skin, but he continued to grin at me.
Mick stepped up beside him. "I'll take her."
Hmmm. I laid one hand on his strong chest when he approached me. "I believe Gerald will do just fine. What was your name again? Mike? Michael?"
"Mick." He growled, his gorgeous spring green eyes flashing.
I knew damn well who he was. He knew I knew it, too. I also knew why he wanted to get me alone. And that just didn't fit into my crafty plan for him . . . yet. I placed my arm in the crook of Gerald's proffered elbow, and off I glided, away from a furious-looking Mick.
What fun he was going to be.
I'd dressed with every ounce of care for this precious meeting. On the way to Stone's office, I perfected my slightly prima donna, slightly power hungry persona. The Jules who usually only came out to play at the romance writers convention I helped organize every spring.
Stone and Nicky Love were waiting for me in the hideous office with the stained blue carpet. The smell of car oil swilled in the air instead perfume or cologne. They looked absolutely petrified, sitting next to each other on the small, equally distasteful sofa.
I dismissed Gerald and closed the door as he retreated to the hallway. "Well." I sauntered inside and arranged myself behind Stone's meticulous desk. "This is going to be sooooo much fun." I gave an excited quiver for my captive crowd.
The pair of them looked like they were going to be sick.
I pulled out a miniature recording device. Clicking it on, I thought about which question to ask first. What handsome men they were. Big men, fidgeting in fear, in front of me. Stone with his huge build and his bedroom eyes, Nicky Love with his fit body and fabulous hair. They had agreed to do this interview under duress, of course. But what Jules Gem wants, Jules Gem gets. And they were far too entertaining to pass up.
Fully centered in my Jules character, I aimed a slightly sharkish grin at them. "So, boys, would you ever consider putting on a little sex show for the ladies? I'm sure Leelee would just love to see that. And if not her, well, I certainly wouldn't object." To objectifying you. I laughed to myself.
"What?" Stone's voice spiked. His eyebrows did, too.
I loved terrorizing him. He was six years older than me, yet I could get him to squirm in his seat like a naughty schoolboy. Hmmm.
"Absolutely not." Nicky was appalled.
Whereas sexy Stone wore his heart on his sleeve and on his face, Nicky Love was a much harder read. Equally handsome, but much more adept at hiding his true feelings in any given situation. It would be fun to break through his delicious shell.
"I don't see why you're sooooo adamantly against it. You did kiss at the convention, in front of everyone. Clearly you have exhibitionist homosexual tendencies."
I almost laughed out loud when Stone's jaw dropped open. He slammed it shut. He gaped again. "But that was . . . that was . . ."
"Soooo hoooooot." I gave them a shiver of delight, then watched them both shudder in distaste.
"I was going to say fucking weird." Stone glared at me.
"Amen to that, bro." Nicky's very otherworldly violet eyes took on a hard cast.
"Oh, but I beg to differ." Folding my hands on top of the desk, I leaned forward. "It was surely one of the sexiest things I've ever seen. And you know how we ladies like our male-male romance. Not even a little repeat?"
Stone peered at Nicky. Nicky stared back. I clapped my hands.
"Not a fucking chance." Stone winked at me.
"Ditto." Nicky eased slightly away from his friend.
I pouted. Then batted my eyelashes. They didn't make a move toward one another. Maybe I should've brought my bullhorn with me. Stone could never refuse me when I used that.
The silence thickened until Nicky nervously laughed. "Besides he's got Leelee and I've got my eye on someone."
Bingo! Finally we were getting somewhere. I needed a little juicy gossip for my newest LitLuv magazine article. I pounced all over that.
"So the only reason you two won't explore your gay fantasies is because you might otherwise be taken?"
"NO!" they shouted in unison.
Methinks the gents doth protest too much. But maybe there was another angle to play.
"Who is this lucky lady then?" I directed my question to Nicky.
"Not saying." He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Bet I know." His best bud jabbed him in the ribs.
"Wonderful, and . . .?" I asked.
Nicky punched Stone on the shoulder.
Stone frowned, rubbing the rippling muscle. "Can't say."
"Well then, Nicky, I have no other option than to think you're lying. I think you really do wish there was something between you and Stone." I interrogated the man who avoided my shrewd gaze. "Tell me what you felt when he kissed you. Was there a frisson of excitement? Had you two ever kissed before? Was there tongue action? Because it looked like—"
"Catarina Steele, okay?" he blurted. Horror showed on his face.
"Catarina Steele. Perfect." I'd be looking her up soon.
"How does she do that?" Muttering to Stone, Nicky glanced at me.
"Hey, at least she's not one of our exes." Nicky smirked.
"Word." They fist bumped each other.
"Will you both be returning next year? Because I have serious plans in store for you, Stone, and you, Mr. Love, put the RAWR in Romance." I dragged them away from their self-congratulations.
"Um," Stone mumbled.
"Erm." Nicky winced. He pulled the leather tie out of his wavy hair and raked his fingers through it. "Yeah. I think so."
"Oh, is there a problem I should know about that would prevent your attendance?" This private man was just full of surprises.
"Problems? No. None at all."
"Stalker fan chick on the crazy train," Stone oh so helpfully supplied.
"Reaaallly? Goes by the name of . . .?" I asked.
"Nothing. Nobody. Forget it. And you"—he pointed at Stone—"shut it."
Wonderful. I did so love unraveling a good mystery.
"Well, it's been absolutely divine chatting with you two. I simply can't wait until we catch up next time." Clicking off my recording device, I pushed the chair back from the desk.
The men slumped in relief.
Poor boys.
"Oh! I nearly forgot. One last thing." They jerked to attention. Purrrfect."That man—Mick—who works here? He should still be out in one of the bays, yes?"
"What? Why do want to see him?" Stone had suspicion written all over his face.
"Oh, no reason. No reason at all." I assumed an air of innocence. "He took care of my Jeep last time I came in. There's something I want him to check out." I smiled at Stone. "Besides, I am sooooo enjoying getting to know your mechanics. So manly, so delightfully gauche."
"What the fuck does gauche mean?" he asked Nicky.
"I'll explain it later," Nicky muttered.
They both rose to their feet as I strode from behind the desk. "I can't wait to see how this article pans out. Fans are waiting to hear more about you, you know? And we don't just LitLuv it, we live it."
"Yeah, right. Uh huh." Stone shook my hand and opened the door.
And now for Mick. Not only was I the Perez Hilton of the romance conference circuit, I was also a journalist for the local Post and Courier. That's why I'd recognized Mick the first time I came here. I knew him as Michael. Michael Cain. Yes, really. Of course that could be entirely fake, since he didn't want his friends and fellow mechanics finding out about his moonlighting gig. My name certainly wasn't Jules Gem, and I didn't act like a bossy pit bull in girl's clothing during my normal daily life. Well, not all the time.
I found him inside one of the sweltering bays. My gaze narrowed on him. In one word, he was hot. Two words? Smoking hot. Sexy as hell. He had too shaggy, shiny, dark auburn hair that fell in his eyes. His skin was so fair I wondered if he ever went to the beach. I'd like to see that, more than a Stone/Love do-over kiss. Mick's lips were bright red, juicy-looking. Grease stains ran up his strong forearms and down one side of his slanting cheekbones. He wore the coveralls like a man accustomed to dirty work, draped at his waist, a white tank top underneath. An ornate, colorful tattoo peeked out from the cloth at the top of his chest. Then there were the two heavy bore, black plugs in his ears.
Absolutely utterly totally fuckable. Four words.
In his other job, he spiffed up nicely, usually showing up in clean khakis and button-down shirts. They didn't do a damn thing to disguise the edgy beautiful man inside. I couldn't decide which look I liked better. I might have to explore them both.
When he caught sight of me watching him, he loped over. "Juliana!"
Mmm, I loved the way he said my name. Or rather, hissed it.
Grabbing my wrist, he hauled me out back. The sun glinted off his hair, intensifying the deep red. He kept hold of my wrist and dragged me close. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"
I brushed his full lower lip with the pad of my thumb then caressed the rough stubble on his jaw.
"Shit." Mick expelled in a long breath. "That feels—"
The talking stopped when I pressed against him. His hard planes pushed against my softer curves. That time he groaned. That time, his hand left my wrist to tangle in my hair. The perfect mossy green of his irises darkened.
"I don't want anyone to know."
"I gathered." I blew a gentle stream of air against the warm hollow of his throat.
One uneven exhale riffled the top of the artful blow-out my stylist took such pride in. "You are making me insane."
I wriggled from his embrace. "I gathered."
Mick, Michael Cain, etc., whoever, had a nice little secret he didn't want to get out. We were on the same circuit for the Post and Courier. My burly, dirty, tasty mechanic was also a wedding photographer—and quite sought after, too. His sideline didn't jive with his macho meathead reputation. My inner personality—the one no one saw—didn't really go with the Jules Gem most people knew, either.
We had more than one thing in common, and so much chemistry the air blazed between us every time we met. Mick wouldn't act on it, and I . . . I wasn't often as ballsy as everyone thought.
"You're going to owe me for keeping it under wraps, Mick."
"Yeah?" He prowled to me, backing me against the wall, caging me with his arms. "And one day you're gonna owe me because I'm gonna fuck you the way you want to be, Juliana. Hard and rough, then slow and hot, all night long. Just as soon as you drop this Jules Gem act and finally admit how much you want me."
STONE: Amazon
LOVE:Preorder now! Coming December 11, 2014.


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While working on an invisibility formula, British scientist Peter Brady suffers a tragic accident that makes him invisible. Unfortunately, there is no antidote, so while working on a method to regain his visibility, he undertakes missions for his government stopping bad guys.
The first of its genre, this sci-fi thriller is suspenseful, action-packed, television drama at its classic best. Brady is originally forced to be a state secret, and he is locked up. However, he eventually convinces the UK government to let him return to his laboratory to search for an antidote. Despite this, British Intelligence soon recruits him for assignment. He becomes a celebrity as a result of using his special feature to help people, solve crimes and defeat spies.


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[Column] Jens Ischebeck: Edtech - A growth area for Africa
A new educational frontier for Africa
EdTech is the use of digital education technology to facilitate teaching and learning. It's a rapidly expanding sector with enormous potential. Providers around the world are now incorporating education technology into their delivery strategies. The development of mobile technology such as tablets and smartphones offers great opportunities for anywhere, anytime learning. E-learning, mlearning (mobile learning) and online courses have particular potential in areas where access to more traditional forms of education is restricted or non-existent.
Edtech is one of the relatively new applications which use the new internet and mobile phone based technologies to improve the access to some basic needs or skills, such as mhealth, app based language learning or cheap online money transfers.
A growth area for Africa
With the possibilities it offers for distance and independent learning, EdTech has specific relevance for the continent of Africa, where it's becoming one of the biggest and most important developing educational markets. A pressing need for high level skills is leading to a rising demand for higher education in a part of the world where traditional education models are not always appropriate. Using education technology in teaching and learning is a way of thinking differently and increasing opportunity.
Some figures to underline this:
- 128 million school-aged children in Africa, but 17 million will never attend school
- Average age of the African population are 19.5 years, this means a really young "continent"
- 60% of the population lives in rural areas, far away of higher education centers
A flexible approach to learning
One of the major strengths of EdTech is that it can be tailored to meet the different needs of learners. It can be used to augment and enrich teaching and learning in a classroom setting. Perhaps its most powerful application, however, is in opening up new areas outside the classroom by facilitating distance and independent learning via online courses. Students can have the convenience of on demand resources combined with the support of a tutor. Digital connectivity can provide the collegiality of a learning group, but students can also learn alone at a time that suits them. Education technology also enables the exploration of fresh approaches to enhance learning, such as learning through games (gamification).
Edtech Key terms
EdTech is a dynamic, ever-evolving area that is not always talked about in the clearest possible language. Discussion can be poorly informed and confusing with words and phrases used imprecisely and interchangeably. In addition to discussing some of the benefits of education technology, this article aims to offer some clarity by highlighting and explaining some key terms and abbreviations.
This is a commonly used abbreviation for 'electronic learning' and means the use of computer technology to deliver programs of study either in whole or in part. This might be by standalone packages or, increasingly frequently, though online courses where resources and tuition are accessed via the internet. E-learning is a way of expanding opportunities for learning beyond traditional settings using digital technology such as PCs, laptops, notebooks, tablets and smartphones.
Mobile learning
As digital technology becomes increasingly portable, mobile learning, often referred to as m-learning or mlearning, is emerging as a key element of e-learning strategies. M-learning means that a student is not tied to a particular place and can learn wherever they are. In an African context, m-learning is a means of reaching potential students, for example by their mobile phone, in areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. This might be by a distance learning course hosted by a university or other institution or through independent study.
Massive open online courses, commonly abbreviated to MOOCs, are courses made available for free over the internet to large numbers of people. MOOCs give learners access to a whole range of resources that would otherwise be unavailable to them. They also connect students to expert tuition, wherever they are. As a means of providing large scale distance learning for geographically dispersed students, they have great potential in Africa as part of a mobile learning strategy.
M-learning is a rapidly evolving market in education in general and in Africa in particular. Students can learn via their mobile phones or other portable devices anywhere and anytime. As mobile and e-learning is independent of geography, it does not need the traditional infrastructure of schools, classrooms and libraries. This means that development steps can be leapfrogged and gaps in skills and training can be filled more quickly.
There is a rising amount of local and regional companies which provide products and materials for online courses and exam preparations, the classical fields of m-learning. This African providers guide illustrates a list of edtech startups in several countries.
Jens Ischebeck is an mLearning, eLearning and Online Courses specialist.
For more information about this important and exciting educational market, visit my apps-for-learning.com. Alternatively, if you wish, contact me directly today. Whether you are a student or teaching professional, we specialize in mobile education within Africa and will be pleased to help you with your enquiry.
By the way: If you are interested in online money transfers, the leading providers and how it works, just check my remittance site.


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When Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, sank in 1545 almost 500 people drowned. Now, almost five hundred years on, scientific analysis of their skeletons is providing new insights into Tudor history. This digital resource enables researchers around the world to join the project and study virtual 3D reconstructions of ten skulls belonging to members of the crew. Once fully developed, this technology can be applied to many more historic objects, bringing them to an even wider community of researchers while preventing damage to the original remains and artefacts.
- Dr Catherine Fletcher