text:
In a world where Hitler won the The War, and perfection is constantly sought, Ellyssa has broken free from her austere life and has found another meaning for her existence.
Family, friendship, and love.
But her happiness is short lived. Ellyssa finds herself on the run, again. Her father's work didn't die with him, but lives on in her siblings, Aalexis and Xaver, and they are determined to complete his unfinished dream.
FLAWED BY J.L. Spelbring
Book Two in the PERFECTION series.
Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: August 12th 2014 by Spencer Hill Press
Pre-order FLAWED TODAY
Praise for PERFECTION...
"This book is seriously so unique and amazing it's mind-blowing!" ~ Lauran Hammond
"Wow! That was my initial reaction after finishing Perfection. This is without a doubt one of the most well thought out, cleverly-written and unique books I have ever read." ~ K-Books
"4 stars - Chilling and provocative, these characters will get to you." ~ Stuck In Books
Available on
You can request an ARC copy of FLAWED
Please read the TERMS & CONDITIONS at the bottom of the rafflecopter before entering.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
J.L. Spelbring - lives in Texas, where she wanders out in the middle of the night to look at the big and bright stars. Besides knocking imaginary bad guys in the head with a keyboard, she enjoys being swept away between the pages of a book, running amuck inside in her own head, pretending she is into running, and hanging out with her kids, who are way too cool for her.


text:
Tertiary character Deceased character | |
Edna | |
Date of death | February, 3001 |
Gender | Female |
Species | Decapodian |
Planet of origin | Decapod 10 |
First appearance | "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" (2ACV05) |
Voiced by | Tress MacNeille |
Edna is a female Decapodian who Zoidberg went to high school with. She laughed at him because of his barnacles. Later, during the mating season of 3001, Zoidberg wanted to mate with her but she refused. Fry helped tell Zoidberg what to do and Edna agreed to mate until Leela told her that it was all because of Fry. Edna then wanted to mate with Fry until Zoidberg fought over her in Claw-Plach. Edna chose to mate with the Decapodian Emperor and they both died during mating (2ACV05).
In Into the Wild Green Yonder, Edna (or a female Decapodian strongly resembling her) is sitting in the audience at Leo Wong's second demolition ceremony. How- or if- she survived the mating frenzy, as well the Decapodian's true identity, remains a mystery.
Additional Info
Edna: I heard you went to Earth and became a rich doctor.
Zoidberg: I've performed a few mercy killings.
Edna: Teach me to love, you squishy poet from beyond the stars!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Perpetual is a full-service brand licensing agency (sometimes referred to as a merchandise licensing agency) that connects brand owners and manufacturers to extend well known brands into new retail products.
Through a proven, trademarked process, Perpetual creates and manages merchandise licensing programs that unlock the full potential of brands. Our licensing work fosters successful partnerships between licensees and licensors, and strengthens relationships between brands and consumers.
Based in New York and Los Angeles, Perpetual is recognized as one of the most successful strategic merchandise licensing agents in the industry. Our customized brand-extension programs deliver licensing solutions for dynamic clients who are looking to build their brand, protect their trademarks and generate revenue.
Extending Desirable Brands®


text:
Note: If you see this text you use a browser which does not support usual Web-standards. Therefore the design of Media Art Net will not display correctly. Contents are nevertheless provided. For greatest possible comfort and full functionality you should use one of the recommended browsers. |
Nam June Paik
Paik's possibly most famous video work was produced as a gap-filler for an empty wall in his fourth show in the Galeria Bonino, New York. Shortly before the opening, he hit upon the idea of making a TV viewer out of an antique Buddha statue once purchased as an investment. The subsequent addition of a video camera meant the Buddha now watched his videotaped image on the screen opposite – past and present gaze upon each other in an encounter between Oriental deity and Western media.
During the 'Projekt '74' exhibition in Cologne, Paik took the Buddha's place in his recent creation, suggesting the implicit antithesis between transcendentalism and technology was equally present in his own personality.


text:
Sometimes finding things that make you happy as an adult can be challenging Here are a few adulting things that make me happy. Also today I have two posts for today! So make sure you visit the second post that I'll link near the end.
1. Scented candles
What can I say?! I love candles. The aroma of candles can be so relaxing, and candles smell so goo!
2. Going to Target
Target is the Disney World for adults lol. In speaking of Target, I haven't been to Target in about a month! Shocking I know!
3. Couponing
Saving money is the goal. I found this wooden easel for $4.00 at Big Lots during Black Friday last year.
4. Documentaries
Who am I kidding?! I loved documentaries when I was a teenager as well. I'm perfectly fine staying in on a Saturday night watching documentaries!
5. Going to bed at a decent hour
This rarely happens, but when I go to bed early I catch up on much needed rest.
6. Waking up in the middle of the night and having hours of sleep left.
I'm grateful for hours left to sleep, especially if I have to wake up early.
7. Taking Naps
I hated naps a child, but I sure love naps as an adult.
8. Having canceled plans
Sometimes canceled plans are disappointing, but other times canceled plans are a relief.
9. Doing maintenance/handy work myself
I feel so accomplished when I assemble or fix something.
10. Spending the least time at the post office or DMV
I hate going to the post office. Customer service reps act like you're bothering them. The DMV comes in a strong second of places I dislike. The less time inside of these places, the better!
July 2019 Posts
Blue Glitter Mermaid Eyes
Creative Patriotic Makeup
Emotional Self Care
Current Beauty Wishlist
Get to Know Me!


text:
The Genesis of Your Mixed Reality Future
With the recent announcement by Microsoft concerning the HoloLens project, the tech world is buzzing at the possibilities. There has been (of course) other initiatives in this field in the past few years going back to at least 2012 with Natalia from Sensics and more recently MetaOne and Atheer.
But what does this all mean for the general population?
Well, it means that while we were all looking at Virtual Reality as the "future" of the working environment, us futurists were quietly thinking about something far better and working toward it. If you are a reader of this blog, then you already know I've been in this field for a few years now and have been saying this was coming. It's not a situation where I was right and everyone else was wrong, but I chose the side of innovation and futurism to know this was the next logical step forward.
It would seem other major corporations were on the same train of thought, which would explain why Google jokingly announced "Cardboard" in response to all the VR hype but then quietly dropped a substantial amount of money into MagicLeap for their AR development. In that MagicLeap raised over $500 million dollars in funding is a telling sign. (Yes, that's a half a billion in funding)
One of the reasons I started falling back away from Virtual Reality is that I believe I've seen most of the possible use cases and that (as far as I can ascertain) everything else is merely a derivative of those main use cases. On a more logical assertion, the problem was that most of those use cases were just better served by Mixed Reality and not Virtual Reality.
There had to be something better... After all, is the evolution of synthetic environments actually just a few iterations of virtual reality head gear?
After seeing the initial wave of hype come and go for Oculus, I also saw a lot of the same sorts of "solutions" in third parties arising again. Sixense controllers, and an Omni treadmill, strapping a LeapMotion on the front of the headset as a peripheral addition.
But ultimately what all those things are trying to do is emulate what it would be like in a fully mixed reality environment. A headset that is built entirely on the premise of mixed reality wouldn't have any of those issues or need for third party products for functionality.
If we were to look at the nascent AR industry over the past five years, we'd see that the paradigm of interaction has been the problem, not the use cases. No better could I demonstrate this than by all of the AR applications on tablets and smart phones – which again were touted as the future when they all started flooding the scene.
For instance, SemblanceAR (PlayAR) by Mark Skwarek in NYC is a major innovation, but by god is it crippled by being forced to work on a smart phone and tablet. The problem isn't the AR application anymore but the paradigm of interaction and hardware it is being forced to run on. Google started an initiative in Project Tango to enable smart phones and tablets with RGBD cameras (3D Cameras) to try and alleviate that, but I think they got the point quickly when they decided to invest in MagicLeap.
So we're back to the main point of HoloLens and what it really means to the industry. Let's take a little bit and try to break this down.
Canary in the Mine
On the whole, HoloLens is an impressive demonstration. That being said, what Microsoft showed off to a select press was a lot of smoke and mirrors. After all, you didn't likely hear about the lightweight glasses being hard tethered to multiple PCs to do the heavy computing, and you likely didn't hear the perspective that the rooms and scenarios were very tightly controlled circumstances.
Instead, we heard about what it could do in those very tightly controlled circumstances and we were offered the Microsoft concept video as the "proof". The concept video showing what they think it will look like and do whenever it is released (use cases) but by no means is it showing the headset in real time.
If they did show you the headset as it actually exists, it would look like this:
Sure, it can do amazing things under those controlled conditions, but that's not a real world scenario. If I moved that coffee table, would it still be able to perform like the demo? Could it adjust the dynamic and still make it disappear and shatter into a million pieces?
At this point, that is unlikely.
Everything in those demonstrations was highly controlled and everything in those rooms were placed with a very specific purpose. It was intentional.
If so much as that coffee table were to be moved, the whole demonstration would have broken there on the spot, which would explain why the head guy in charge was so nervous showing it off.
That isn't to say that the HoloLens is not damned impressive, because it is absolutely impressive for a number of reasons – assuming we disregard the negative things.
What it represents is less of a technical achievement and more of a canary in the mines situation in the synthetic environment industry.
Nobody outside of the early adopters and synthetic environment enthusiasts were interested in the MetaOne headset, the Atheer came and went without widespread public adoption, and even the ODG Headset coming out at the end of the year costs $5,000. Less obvious is that Microsoft actually paid ODG something like $200 million dollars for the patents (or they licensed it all) in order to suddenly announce HoloLens a year later.
So if you're wondering what a pair of HoloLens glasses actually are, then you can safely assume it's about on par with a pair of ODG Smart Glasses with a few minor improvements. Hopefully, Microsoft isn't going to sell their version for $5,000. While all of this is really interesting to know (and gives us insight), the main point is that the world didn't get excited when ODG announced their glasses (but some tech journalists did) and when Microsoft announced their own version based on the same technology, the whole world got excited overnight.
Allow me to reiterate: The mainstream public weren't excited about this until a major player such as Microsoft came along and debuted their version of the same thing.
I mean, let's be honest for a moment. When I said this was the future a couple of years ago, I distinctly remember being called out with the "put up or shut up" line now famously ingrained in my mind by a reader's comment. Because clearly, as he would have had it, it was virtual reality and things like OpenSim that were the future.
That's really the trouble with being a trend forecaster. You see it coming and nobody takes your word for it until it's blatantly obvious and hindsight.
So yes, for the past few years I've been saying that VR isn't going to be the miracle renaissance platform that everyone thought it would be, and I've been also saying the field to pay attention to is Augmented and Mixed Reality. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love virtual reality and the Metaverse (capital M), but the virtual reality hype of it being the "'thneed" (Lorax reference there) is exaggerated by a light year.
That doesn't mean virtual reality isn't important, nor does it mean that the advances in that industry aren't valuable. They are both immeasurably important in the bigger picture. I cannot possibly convey that notion enough.
What this actually means is that you can bet every major tech company is now pivoting and creating a future AR/MR Strategy for their companies. It's no longer "What is our VR strategy?" but now "What is our AR/MR Strategy?"
That's a huge paradigm shift.
But then again, we should have seen it coming. After all, nobody really gave VR much of a thought until some major corporations got involved. Whether it's the initial hype of Second Life and all the brands coming in (and then leaving) or later on when an upstart Kickstarter project got bought out by Facebook for a few billion dollars.
When those things happen, it's blood in the corporate water and the sharks come swimming up for the buffet.
Past Tense Future
In the short term, what you should expect to see is the synthetic environment industry suddenly focusing on Augmented and Mixed Reality devices in a rush to be "first to market". At the very least, you're going to see a lot of "me too" announcements in the next year or so.
This isn't necessarily "bad" so to speak, because it advances a larger initiative that is bigger than all of them. So I'm actually happy about this canary in the mines situation.
Of course, in a more personal sense, I'm happy about this situation on the whole because it continues to advance what I was originally working on all this time (as well as the entire industry).
If anything, this actually accelerated things by a factor of ten. Where before I had a very hard time convincing pretty much anyone that this was the future (let alone understand what I was even describing) and they should be paying attention to it, now after this announcement every major corporation on Earth (just about) is quite eager to get in on the industry (at least if they're smart).
I should know... because I have a meeting soon to discuss just that with one of them. I'm still not at liberty to discuss who that is (still), or disclose a lot of specific details about what it is and does, but you'll be the first to know when I am cleared to do so. For now, I will share just a concept shot and let your mind wander.
Personally, I'm playing the long game scenario and looking to build it the best possible way it can be done, with emphasis on applying everything I've learned from virtual worlds research across the board for a better ecosystem and paradigm of interaction.
Ultimately, that is going to mean that we don't focus on trying make a pair of sunglasses (because it's underpowered that way) and at the same time we don't make a gigantic helmet, (Sensics SmartGoggles). I believe the medium between the two is simply a lightweight, wireless (and convertible) headset that effectively turns real life (outside as well) into Second Life.
Now, this is completely aside to what I'm personally up to these days. The main take-away from these developments is that whether or not what I'm up to succeeds, you're still going to see a revolution in synthetic environments with augmented reality wearable devices in the near future. I really think you'll start seeing some serious contenders in the next few years.
I can only hope that in my own endeavors I can strive to push that even further for your continued benefit. Either way, the next few years are going to be pretty amazing – so look forward to it.


text:
Blog Reprint by Inmotion Hosting
How to Use Smartphones to Shoot Professional Looking Videos for Websites
Ever seen those billboards or commercials that brag that the whole thing was shot on a smartphone? You may have thought "yeah right." Funny thing is, it was probably true! More and more producers working on tight budgets have turned to smartphones to meet their production needs on the cheap. Here is how you, too, can create videos and show them on your website using nothing more than your smartphone and a little know-how.
Easier Than Ever
Many people see the task of adding video to their site as quite daunting. They believe that producing high-quality video requires expensive equipment, editing software, and in-depth technical knowledge. Just a few years ago you would have been right about that. But, with the rise of the smartphone, today everyone walks around with a powerful supercomputer and video camera in their pockets or purses all the time.
Of course, many people do not realize they can use it for anything other than deleting emails and sending texts. But, the great thing about using a smartphone to shoot video for your site is the ease of use. Unlike traditional cameras that require a deeper understanding of all of the various features in order to obtain sharp, clear videos, smartphones do most of that work for you. Still, some elements of a well-shot video will require a little thought and preparation.
While the technology can do a lot to make shooting video simple, you still need an appropriate location. You also want to find an area with little to no clutter in the background. The difference between a well-shot video and one that looks amateurish often comes down to these little details, so pay attention to your surroundings before tapping "record."
Limit What Your Smartphone Does While Filming
Few things could be more annoying than getting most of the way through a fantastic take, then having your phone vibrate or ring. To reduce the likelihood of this problem, simply put your phone in airplane mode or use a "Do Not Disturb" feature. Also, if you have a number of apps producing a lot of notifications, silence notifications for a while during filming.
Also, be aware of how much space you have on your phone. If you have dozens of photos and apps filling up all of the available storage area, you may not be able to record much video. Save this content to your computer or the cloud before you start recording.
A Few Basic Principles of Good Photography Can Make All the Difference
If you have ever shot photographs indoors, you may already be familiar with the phenomenon of camera shake. With still photographs, the lower light levels indoors require a longer exposure, and movements as slight as your own pulse can cause the image to blur. Using a tripod and lights or flashes can counteract this effect by holding the camera much more still and reducing the amount of time required for the exposure.
Video is much the same. Although the camera takes a series of images in rapid succession (rather than opening and closing a lens for a single exposure) the lighting and shake of the camera still impact the quality of the resulting images. You could end up with a bouncy image, blurring, or something so dark your audience cannot make out any details.
Instead, use a tripod to stabilize your shot. Use photography lighting or natural outdoor lighting rather than the harsh, overhead fluorescents found in most offices. Make sure that the light fills the shot and does not leave any strange shadows or unintended dark spots on either your subject or the background. Also, make sure the light is bright, but not overpowering. This may require a little experimentation to get it just right, so build a little time into your schedule to make sure the image looks the way you want.
Film Horizontally
Few things can foul a good smartphone video faster than holding the device the wrong way. You want to hold the phone horizontally, with the longest edges on the top and bottom. Otherwise, the video will be tall and skinny, and not conducive to a pleasant viewing experience on most screens.
Of course, there is always an exception. Some platforms that host video for mobile devices prefer vertical formats. Examples include Snapchat and Instagram. If in doubt, research best practices for the way you want to use your video before you shoot.
Once you have shot your video, you will probably need to do a little editing. Whether on your phone or on a computer, most good video editing programs work in a fairly similar manner. They will allow you to select the videos you want to edit, slice them at appropriate locations, splice, add title cards, and make other adjustments. While you can edit videos within a smartphone, computers make the job much easier and produce better final products.
While there are many software solutions for editing videos, one of the best is also free: YouTube's video editor. This solution just makes sense if you plan to host the video on YouTube. However, you can also use it to edit videos that you subsequently post elsewhere.
A final consideration for your videos will always be where you plan to host them. This may require a bit of thought and foresight. Videos tend to be large, resource-hogging files that can dramatically impact a website's storage, bandwidth, and performance. Although some compression is possible, shrinking video file sizes without significantly compromising video quality, even this solution has limits.
The amount of video you intend to have on your site determines how much power your hosting account needs. If you use your website primarily for advertising, and you intend to have only a small handful of videos, you may find hosting those videos on YouTube or Vimeo, then embedding the content in your pages an adequate solution. Although this may split traffic between your site and the video hosting page, you will not run into issues like exceeding your hosting plan's bandwidth or overtaxing server resources. For those who have either very small videos or who do not mind hosting them on a third-party site like YouTube, a Shared Hosting solution may be perfectly adequate.
Alternatively, if you plan to show multiple videos on your site, you may need a hosting product with more horsepower. For example, if you plan to have several pages of tutorials, frequently updated video interviews, a stream of original video content, or simply wish to host the videos directly on your site rather than using a third-party site like YouTube, you will need a more robust hosting product. Fortunately, InMotion Hosting makes upgrading easy. So, you can increase your site's storage and power as you grow your content and fan base.
Time to Get Started
As you can see, it has never been easier to shoot your own videos and get them on the web. With smartphones, you can carry an entire video studio in your pocket. Just follow the steps above and you can have professional looking videos on your website in no time.


text:
Governor Andrew Cuomo defended himself against criticism of last week's night of dealmaking in an appearance on Fred Dicker's radio show, "Live From The State Capitol" this morning. While critics say the all night Albany negotiations didn't allow for public input and went against the governor's promises of transparency and his pledge to veto redistricting lines not drawn through an independent process, the dealmaking also led to the passage of some of his pet projects; pension reform, the expansion of the DNA databank, lifting the ban on casino gambling and teacher evaluations. Overall, Mr. Cuomo described the marathon legislative session as a success and dismissed critiques of the suite of deals that have been described as the "big ugly."
"Last week, the government worked it performed it passed bills," Governor Cuomo said.
Mr. Cuomo started the discussion by discussing listing some of the accompishments he believed were achieved by last week's all-night negotiations; pension reform, teacher evaluations and the expansion of the DNA databank. Pension reform was vigorously opposed by public employees unions. Though he said he understood the "theoretical point about preserving pensions," Governor Cuomo stressed the plan will only affect future employees and will prevent future layoffs that would have occurred due to rising costs.
"I believe pension reform was actually in the best interests of public employees who exist today as we know it," Mr. Cuomo said.
Mr. Cuomo defended his decision not to veto the Legislature's redistricting lines by reiterating his point the key issue was to focus on amending the process constitutionally for the next round of redistricting in 2022.
"The law is the law and the Constitution is the law. People say, well, the Legislature shouldn't have the right to draw their own lines. Well, then your problem is the State Constitution," Governor Cuomo said. "It will end once and for all, and not because people yell about it, but because we'll change the Constitution."
Mr. Cuomo also noted he "argued vociferously" in favor of independently drawn lines.
"Most of the critics on redistricting, when you look at it, they tend to be either self-interested for their own politics or hypocritical, frankly," Governor Cuomo said. "I don't think the answer to hyper partisan lines is to have a hyper partisan governor."
Much of the criticism of the lack of transparency surrounding last week's deals centered on the governor's usage of messages of necessity, which circumvent the required three-day period for public scrutiny. Mr. Cuomo argued this procedure was the only way to get the deals done.
"In terms of transparency, look I get the point that the more transparent the better," he said. "Messages of necessity aren't ideal, the flip side of it, Fred, you have to get something done."
Mr. Dicker also asked Governor Cuomo if he expected the Legislature to pass the budget prior to the April 1 deadline. Mr. Cuomo deftly dodged the question by listing the key initiatives he's focusing on in budget talks.
"The budget, what I want to get accomplished is the NY Works program … the energy highway, Tappan Zee Bridge, you know we have a $15 billion energy infrastructure program I want to get approved. So, that's what the budget is going to be about for me going forward," Governor Cuomo said.
One thorny question remaining in the budget negotiations is whether lawmakers will be granted the discretionary grant spending known as "member items," but more commonly referred to by the public as "pork." Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has said he supports returning member items to the budget after a three year suspension due to the large budget deficit. Mr. Cuomo said he's not including member items in his budget.
"I don't have money for new member items in my budget and I don't support it," Governor Cuomo said. "I understand the Assembly's point of view, I haven't talked to the Senate about it. The Speaker made public comments on it, but I haven't put any money for new member items in my budget."
Redistricting and campaign finance were two of the main factors behind New York receiving a "D" rating in a Center for Public Integrity report measuring corruption across the 50 states that was released yesterday. Mr. Cuomo said he's aware New York has its issues with corruption after spending four years in the state attorney general's office, which he described as "probably the most aggressive in modern history" in pursuing corruption cases. That being said, Governor Cuomo doesn't think the CPI gave enough credit to the work he's done in his first fifteen months in office and specifically the ethics law he passed that will require further disclosures from lawmakers.
"People don't even understand the impact of the ethics law yet," Mr. Cuomo said. "I don't think they understood what that ethics law was all about or the progress that's been made in a relatively short period of time."


text:
Design an E-Learning Cover Slide with This Visual Design Tip #117
Visual Design Tips for Cover Slides #117: Challenge | Recap
Can You Judge an E-Learning Course by Its Background Image?
Need a quick way to set the stage for your course content? Try using a custom background image.
Background images are the largest object on your slide, making them one of the best ways to establish context while creating a sense of location. This works equally well for content and course cover slides.
But not all projects require custom themes or visual treatments. Most e-learning courses are built from existing templates that are modified based on the course content. That's okay because there's a background trick for those courses, too!
Creating Custom Backgrounds Images Using Transparency
In a recent post, Tom Kuhlmann shared a visual design tip that's commonly used in advertising and high-end product photography.
The effect is achieved by using the same image for the focal point and background graphic. The background version is scaled beyond the slide size and transparency is dialed way up to blend the image into the background.
Here's a before-and-after view of the effect:
Notice how the faded image fills the background without dominating the slide? This is one of the quickest ways to add richness and depth to your slide backgrounds. And that's what this week's challenge is all about!
Challenge of the Week
This week, your challenge is to create a cover screen for an e-learning course, real or fictional, using the transparent echo technique.
You can share a static image of a cover slide or add a cover screen to an existing project or challenge entry you created.
Resources and Related Challenges
- Here's a Visual Design Tip to Make Your Slides Look Great. Learn how to create the transparent echo technique in this post from Tom.
- Show Us Your E-Learning Portfolio. This is one of the easiest challenges to complete. Just share a link to your e-learning portfolio and we'll include your work in the challenge recap.
- Show Your E-Learning Work with Your New and Improved Member Profiles. Add your e-learning projects to your member profile pages.
Last Week's Challenge
Before you rush off to cover this week's challenge, take a few minutes to check out the incredible examples shared in last week's food and beverage challenge:
Food & Beverage E-Learning RECAP #116: Challenge | Recap
Wishing you a cover-tastic week, E-Learning Heroes!
New to E-Learning Challenges?
The weekly challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I'll update the recap posts to include your demos.


text:
BitScope Blogs |
Visualizing sound with Sonic Pi and BitScopeAfter we installed the latest edition of Raspbian to try BitScope on the Raspberry Pi we started having a look around and were delighted to find Sonic Pi was pre-installed. Sonic Pi is a sound programming environment developed specifically to teach programming concepts where sound synthesis provides the medium for learning how to program. We like this idea a lot but we also saw another educational possibility; Sonic Pi makes for an excellent complex waveform generator which is easy to use. It's the perfect tool to help explain what an oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer can do and how they can be used to analyze complex waveforms. Waveform analysis is a very big topic so we're launching an educational blog to cover it and others in more detail soon. For now, we thought we'd have a brief look at what Sonic Pi can do in terms of basic waveform generation. The first step was to connect the audio output of Raspberry Pi to a BitScope (BitScope Mini in this case). We rigged up an adapter to plug in a stereo 3.5mm jack terminated stereo cable between them but we could have used the standard test probes and a bare 3.5mm socket. The BitScope is connected to and powered by the Raspberry Pi and it runs both the Sonic Pi programming environment and the BitScope DSO software. We're using an HDMI connected TV as the monitor so we need to switch the audio from HDMI to the stereo output using this command: sudo amixer cset numid=3 1
which we executed in a terminal. The "1" selects the headphone output. Use "2" to switch back to HDMI or "0" to automatically switch (although we found this did not appear to switch to headphone when we were not using HDMI). Next we powered up Sonic Pi, power up BitScope DSO, and set it to trace on channel A at 50ms/Div and played the first sound using the play 60 command. This produced the waveform shown at the top of this page. Sonic Pi calls it pretty_bell and it is indeed a pretty bell sound which you can see looks like an exponentially decaying waveform. It sounds like a bell so we know it cannot be a single sinusoidal waveform so let's have a closer look and see what it is. Here we can see the start of the bell playing. It comprises two sinewaves summed. The play 60 command outputs C4 (Middle C) which is 261.63Hz. The fundamental period is therefore 3.83ms which appears correct looking at the timebase grid of 2ms/Div. The second sinusoid has four cycles per period of the fundamental. It is four times the frequency of the fundamental (1046Hz) and its amplitude is quite high relative to the fundamental which is what produces the bell like tone of the sound. So far we have viewed the waveform on a normal oscilloscope display in two different timescales. The waveform period and frequency measurements we made are estimates only. In a future post we'll explain how to use the spectrum analyzer, cursors and automatic waveform parameters to make more precise measurements of these and many other waveform characteristics. We'll investigate and "reverse engineer" how Sonic Pi works to produce the sounds it does and we'll look at some of the practical limitations from a sound synthesis point of view. Related Posts |
Copyright © 2023 BitScope Designs


text:
TV HIGHLIGHT: The Tunnel - Vengeance
Clémence Poésy and Stephen Dillane star in the heart-stopping final chapter of Sky Atlantic's multi-award winning, Anglo-French thriller, The Tunnel.
Reflecting a post-Brexit Europe, The Tunnel: Vengeance bids 'au revoir' to the adored and unlikely partnership of Detective Karl Roebuck (Dillane), and his French counterpart, Elise Wassermann (Poésy) in an original and emotionally charged finale.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdWhen a stolen French fishing boat is found adrift and on fire in the English channel, Karl and Elise believe the missing cargo consisted of trafficked children.
As events take a sinister turn, Karl and Elise find themselves tested to their absolute limits by a disenfranchised, toxic and terrifying duo who goad the police into collaborating on their sickening endgame. In the meantime, a miscarriage of justice from Elise's past shakes her to her core.
Stephen Dillane said: "I'm sad to leave him (Karl) behind. I'll miss the whole project. I've enjoyed it very much. It's not always been easy, but it's been a real pleasure and a privilege to have the chance to fit into something and influence its aesthetic.
"I've particularly enjoyed working with Clémence – she's fantastically talented. I'll miss her enormously."
All six episodes will be available to watch on the same day on demand and on NOW TV.


text:
Scented candles are a great way to treat all the fives senses while furnishing your home. They bring back the feel of romance into the home as well as life. After a long day at work, our homes should give us the feeling of calmness. It's that moment when scented candles provide the ultimate pleasure and serene environment which you had been waiting to experience. Your home can be your retreat away from all the hectic schedules and work. You can go back to work next morning feeling fresh and relaxed. There is nothing that can replace the fragrance of scented candles, they make the home environment more peaceful. At Bukedecor.com you surely will have tons of choices to choose from based on your fragrance likes. They come in various shapes, sizes, and scents to fulfill each and everyone's needs.
Buy Scented Candles Online
Candles have been in use for centuries as the source of light. As times moved ahead they were utilized to decorate rooms which proceed equals appropriate of light and shadow to the room. Nowadays they are common decoration pieces used for luxurious living areas. You can also view our collection of candle holders that are available in various styles. Holders multiples the richer look of the room making your space look more elegant and charming. It is a wonderful item that can set the right mood whenever lit. You can choose the one that best fits your space, style and fragrance preference.
Pillar Candles
Pillar candles are great decorative pieces with their structure. Thiers crystal structure will surely match any decor giving a stunning and pleasant environment. The scent and feeling will make sure that your day stress is relieved and forgotten. Its pleasant fragrance can change anyone's mood by relaxing them. They create a peaceful environment bringing in passion and love in themselves as well as the room. Some of the major fragrance groups are fruity, floral, sweet, spicy, woody, fresh and citrus. Room fresheners also provide fragrance but they do not last long and feel very artificial. Whereas scented candles feel natural and provide a wonderful aroma. Sprays do not serve a right purpose as candles do. Some handcrafted and painted candles are great decor pieces if you do not like to use them for their fragrance. The precisely designed light you home with a modern delight.
How to choose scented candle?
Scented candles create a comforting ambiance as soon as they are lit. They not only offer fragrance but in the morning they work as a wonderful piece to design and beautify your houses. They add an amazing look to your bathrooms as well as creates a cozy atmosphere. They brighten the room well while offering lovely aroma to the living space. No matter where you place them, they always will provide a passionate touch to the surroundings. Choosing the right one is very important. You can opt for light scented candles for smaller rooms and heavy scented ones for spacious places. They are a wonderful way to make your homes more warm and welcoming. It can make all your guests feel at home and relaxed. They also are a great gift to present to your guests.
If you love to design your place or bring that artistic look, pick the detailed candles that bring a festive moment when placed in the room. Some of the top brands at Burke Decor are Couture Lamps, Haus Candles, Infusion Organique, Kobo Candles, Kai Fragrance, Nest Fragrances and CASA. Our filters of color, brand, and price make it very easy to find the right one for your place. We guarantee you will never be disappointed to shop with us. Our goal is to provide every piece of furniture at our store making it easier for our customers. We are sure you will find everything that suits your needs. We are your one stop furnishing place to fill your homes with top quality designer products.


text:
Most likely you had something different in mind.
In which case you'll find a barn full
of great ideas right here.
Let Your Guide to Gifts for Horse Lovers
take you through the barn to
that "just right" horse lover's gift -
earning you
the ultimate compliment
Plus there are portals to great gift ideas such as:
Spend some time with us, get an idea or two, and your final choice is bound to be
And, when all is said and done, it will be said of you that -
You can wake up to owning a website that works for YOU, by clicking on
the little clock to read our "Build Your Own Biz" page, a good place
to start collecting ideas and information -
something you want to do plenty of before taking the plunge!
©2008 all rights reserved


text:
Avoid any delays and unexpected problems when you take your RV or motorhome out for what should be a relaxing trip.
Follow some of our suggestions below, and consider investing in some maintenance and safety classes to help ensure happy travels across Maine and beyond.
Take Care of Your Tires
- When you're not traveling the lake, or some other destination, keep your RV/motorhome tires covered to protect them from the sun and weather.
- Make sure you check your tire pressure before setting out on the road especially when your tires are cold.
- Consult the owner's manual for proper inflation, and never exceed the maximum pressure indicated on the tire's sidewalls for your vehicle.
Weigh Your RV and Tow Vehicle
To know if weight is properly distributed and that you are within legal weight, find a certified platform scale in Maine and get weighed. Have the vehicle fully loaded with passengers, cargo, fuel, personal belongings, fresh water and propane tanks to get an accurate weight.
Understand Propane and Gas Systems
Have the propane and gas systems inspected every spring for leaks and proper appliance operating pressure before you head out on vacation. Be sure you know how your RV alerts you to leaks, and know what to do if one occurs.
Here are some easy things to do if you smell gas/propane:
- Extinguish any open flames and pilot lights.
- Do not touch electrical switches.
- Shut off gas supply at the tank valve(s) or gas supply connection.
- Open the doors and windows and leave until the smell clears.
- Have the gas system checked and repaired by a qualified technician before using again.
Use the Onboard Generator Sparingly
The onboard generator gives you extra power when there's no shore power available, but be wary of carbon monoxide.
- Never sleep with the generator running, and before you start the generator, inspect the exhaust system.
- Test the carbon monoxide detector, and know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning so you can watch out for it.
Contact Us!
Looking to review your RV insurance? Make sure you're not overpaying - request an RV insurance quote online.
For further questions and assistance, please contact us.


text: Our RNs, LVNs and CNAs are passionate, committed, knowledgeable and caring. Most importantly, they love what they do. Our nurses are experts in their field. That's why we look to our nurses to provide leadership that helps us achieve our vision of the highest quality of care on the market.


text:
Advanced Search | Search Tips
Robin a sculpture made from recycled thatching wire.
Paula is also available to accept private commissions. Each commission is indivually quoted. Please contact us if this is of interest.
About the Artist
We promise to never spam you, and just use your email address to identify you as a valid customer.
This product hasn't received any reviews yet. Be the first to review this product!
Click the button below to add the Robin Wire Sculpture by Paula Joule Blake to your wish list.
All prices are in GBP Copyright 2024 Dogs in Art Gallery - All Right Reserved. Sitemap |


text:
Last Sunday afternoon we had the baddest dream from which we can never wake up but last Sunday Afternoon we also had the chance to see the utmost unity among Bhutanese like never before. We lost a Dzong but found the Bhutanese in ourselves. We came together to share the lose, we felt the common pain, and shared a strong dream- the dream of building a better Dzong.
24.06.2012 The Day that Broke National Heart |
Rescue Worker resting for lunch with the smoke still rising from the ruins |
Behind everybody's notice Dzongkhag offices were struggling to reestablish themselves with nothing left at all. Our school arranged offices for at least three sectors but they decided to put themselves up at the BPC building under one roof. We have housed the education office for now. They need computers, printers, tables, chairs, shelves, files, cupboards, staplers, punching machines, seals, stamp pad, dustbins, and most of our moral support to restart their lives. They all seem lost and confused and they don't know where to begin from. I saw our education officer asking for a paper and drafting a letter to be sent to all the principals to send their staff details, using his knee as his table. This letter has not letter head, no seal, and no file number. But he said, he will buy a file and start with this letter. While we were all focused on the Dzong and its reconstruction, there were people across the country who shared their concerns- Every Dzongkhag is sending in a computer each, some Dzongkhags are send their extra furniture and looks like this is not going to take long either. We must rebuild the Dzongkhag to have the Dzong back.
Smoke From Wangdue Dzong seen from Bajothang |
The Heavy Black Boxes- Job Well Done |
We are grateful to Zhabdrung for his Dzongs and the history, but thousand years from now they should read more than Zhabdrung. They should look at the Magnificent Wangdue Dzong and say, "that's the Dzong built by Fifth King and His people in 2012"


text:
I'm a little nervous - this is my first ever style post! I'd like to make these a regular part of the blog, with a focus on incorporating DIY elements. Hope you guys like it!
Jacket: Levi's. Shirt: J. Crew. Sweatshirt: American Apparel (but there are MUCH cheaper options out there). Bag: Loeffler Randall (old). Sunglasses: Oliver Peoples. Shoes: Sam Edelman (old; similar here). Pants: YSL (best sample sale find ever!)
I had the pleasure of meeting the very kind team over at Cricut at the Maker Faire this fall (otherwise known as crafter's utopia). They were nice enough to send me a Cricut Mini to try out!
I have to confess: in the past, I totally associated Cricuts with scrapbooking or children's crafts, which is to say I wasn't thinking nearly creatively enough! After I saw what the Cricut Mini could do at the Faire, tons of DIY ideas popped into my mind. When I realized it could cut fabric (!!!), the possibilities seemed endless.
For this DIY, I was inspired by the recent varsity letter trend.
1. Atlantic-Pacific. 2. Style with Benefits 3. ASOS
Here's the how-to:
Cricut Mini + Varsity font
Sweatshirt (I used one I had on hand, but like I said, there are tons of below $10 options out there. If you want a more fitted look, try a youth size).
Fabric for letter in color of choice
Sewing machine + thread if you're sewing
Heat 'n Bond + iron if you're not sewing
1. Create the letter of your choice in Cricut Craft Room on your computer - I sized mine to be 5 in. tall.
2. Heavily starch & iron pre-washed fabric for the letter.
3. Stick letter fabric onto cutting mat - press down REALLY hard! If you're ironing, use the Cricut to cut the same shape out of the Heat 'n Bond.
4. Set Cricut pressure to 5 and number of cuts to 3.
5. Optional: If you're ironing rather than sewing, definitely use Fray Check on the edges of your letter to prevent any fraying. I sewed but used Fray Check anyway to make it easier to handle my letter without worrying about fraying.
6. Sew: Sew your letter to your sweatshirt using a wide, tight zigzag stitch. I went over mine twice to make it extra thick.
Iron: Carefully align your Heat 'n Bond letter with your fabric letter and position on sweatshirt. Affix letter to sweatshirt using Heat 'n Bond instructions.
7. Put on your new varsity letter sweatshirt!
The shot below represents the very first time I'd EVER used a Cricut. It was super easy to set up - the directions are very straightforward, and it hooked up to my Mac without issue.
You can see above on my test letter that my first attempt didn't go so smoothly! I didn't press hard when affixing the fabric to the sticky cutting mat, and I hadn't heavily starched the fabric.
My next attempt went MUCH more smoothly - here's the actual letter I used:
Next it was time to pin the letter in place and attach it to the sweatshirt using a thick zigzag stitch.
What do you think of the varsity letter trend - would you wear it? Hope you liked this style DIY - let me know if you try it!


text:
Whether you want to quit smoking, find a new job or lose weight, we all have our very own goals. The problem is, they remain just goals for us, and many don't take action to achieve them. Some proclaim that they don't have time; others tell us that they're impossible.
Well, you can achieve your goals. And it doesn't have to be an uphill battle. All it takes is some hard work and dedication.
Set the goal
The first step is to establish and understand your goals. I find that writing them down on paper is the best way to get the ball rolling. Without knowing where you're going, you're never going to get there.
Go into as much detail as you can. This way you'll be able to break your goals down into chunks and set your targets, which brings me on to my next point…
Create a plan
Know you've detailed what it is you want, and where you want to be, you can start to work on your route. Don't just aim for the main goal; establish smaller goals that will eventually lead you to your final destination.
Example – if you want to quit smoking by a certain date, don't just aim to have quit by that point. Make smaller goals to help you get there. So, say in a months' time, you will have cut down by 5 cigarettes a day, and then up that amount each month. Eventually, when you reach your final destination you'll have cut down to 0 cigs a day.
The plan is going to make achieving your goals a hell of a lot easier.
Act on it
It's all very well and good setting your goals out and creating a plan, but if you don't stick to them the whole exercise is pointless.
It isn't always going to be easy, but hard work pays off. You need motivation to stick to it, so establish treats when you've reached certain mini goals.
If you miss one of your mini goals punish yourself. Do whatever you have to. Keeping on track is going to be the hardest part.
If you're repeatedly missing your mini goals you need to take a step back, evaluate and then readjust. You might not get it right first time, but if you're able to assess what you've achieved and see where you have gone wrong, you can get there.
We can all achieve our goals, regardless of what they are. It isn't going to happen overnight, and there isn't a special formula to get there. We're all individual so it's about finding out how best you work.
If you would like some help doing these steps contact me for a free discussion of your needs
Good luck!


text:
It is possible for the SQL Administrator to manually put Microsoft SQL Server into a PAUSED state whereby existing connections to the Microsoft SQL Server can continue processing, but no new connections are allowed. In this case, SIOS Protection Suite detects that the MSSQLServer service is not RUNNING, but will NOT attempt to restart the service locally or fail the SQL hierarchy to the backup server. Neither option is the appropriate action, so monitoring of the SQL resource is essentially forfeited when Microsoft SQL Server is in the PAUSED state.
Because manual intervention was required to put Microsoft SQL Server into this state, the SQL administrator must manually move SQL Server out of this state. Once out of the PAUSED state, SIOS Protection Suite can resume monitoring the SQL resource as outlined above.


text:
Lifting UU Voices: Anger Welcome
By Kenny Wiley
The voices raised. We weren't just singing–we were feeling. I'd never sung like this before. For once, those words — Lift every voice and sing, til' Earth and heaven ring — felt neither like intrusion or performance.
I gazed around the room and at the twenty other young faces of color, along with our mostly white hosts, the folks at the Lucy Stone Co-op in Roxbury, Mass. I was 1950 miles from my bed in Denver, and nearly as far from my hometown of Houston, Texas—but I found myself feeling at home, for the first time in a long time. And the sensation I felt within wasn't sadness or joy—it was anger. I allowed myself to be mad—at the fact that we learn new names of those killed by state violence every week, and that in that room, was the most truly Unitarian Universalist I had felt in years.
As a preteen and young teenager, depression and anger swirled within, and came out at the most inopportune of times—during a sporting event, in the midst of a discussion with my parents, or before a big test. I expressed it only to my parents and my sisters. Between the ages of twelve and fifteen I screamed, wept, threw things, and occasionally tried to hurt myself.
Many teenagers feel anger. Many teenage boys feel rage—particularly because men are so often conditioned to see it as the only allowable emotion. I didn't grow up that way—though we had to drag my dad into The Lion King, Mufasa's death caused him more tears than anyone else in the theater. My family permitted sadness and welcomed discomfort. But as I became a teenager, the sometimes-public outbursts of rage began, clearly, to terrify my mother. I was becoming a black adult, and this nation has never had much tolerance for black anger.
White therapists and friends did help me figure out my depression. I was a person who, even when things were "going well," sometimes just felt down out of nowhere. The therapists helped me understand that things couldn't always be fixed, that sadness doesn't always just go away because you ask it to.
My anger—my rage, really–was different. Nobody seemed to give me answers that helped. The white adults who helped advise youth group at my mostly white church loved me, but they didn't get it. My mom knew how dangerous my anger could be, but didn't know where it came from. The rest of my family understandably just wanted it to stop.
So I hid it. I buried it—not in the ground, but in our upstairs book collection, where books like Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Lorraine Hansberry's play Raisin in the Sun, and The Autobiography of Malcolm X just sat on the shelves, waiting for me. Morrison took me on an exploration of self-hatred, and I wept. Hansberry's examination of racism in the north and dashed dreams filled my eyes with tears and more rage. These books felt like the answers nobody else could give me.
As I got older I learned how to hide my anger. Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans just as my junior year of high school started. Though I had many friends in high school, it was with black authors—and other stories of helplessness, however seemingly unrelated, like Orwell's 1984 or Tim Laura Esquivel's Like Water For Chocolate—that I "talked" out my disgust at what the news fed us every night.
Wasn't anyone else noticing that white Louisianans were "stocking up" while black residents "looted"? Yes, of course. I just didn't know them. I felt alone, which fueled both my anger and my shame over such rage.
I was one of the Multicultural Leadership School's oldest participants this past weekend, where we ostensibly learned about becoming more effective leaders but, more vitally, built community of youth and young adults of color through raucous singing (including renditions of 'This Little Light of Mine' on the subway), loud laughing, and purposeful sharing.
I'm a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. I've sung hymns in church my whole life, held hands in circles of 150 by Lake Murray in Oklahoma, and been moved to chills with thousands at General Assemblies. I've never sung like our gathering of twenty did all week long.
For me, I was singing my rage, singing my anger, singing my frustration that it took 27 years for me to find spaces like that, one where I feel neither theologically dishonest so black culture might accept me, nor isolated racially. In white groups, singing 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' has sometimes felt like a performance, a putting-on of what the so-called Black Experience might be. Hearing "let us march on 'til victory is won" from a group of people who have never marched alongside me—alongside us–can feel like cultural tourism at best, and emotional violence at worst.
Our all-POC group of twenty — kept on singing. We sang on the T and at First Parish Cambridge and at Lucy Stone and just about everywhere else. We sang, I think, because we needed to. We sang together, a group who saw our faith for the beautiful, doomed mess it is. I sang to let my rage out. It was not until I allowed my anger out that I joined the Black Lives Matter movement. I wasn't just hurt that Mike Brown got left in the street for over four hours—I was enraged. I was furious at how many of my friends didn't (and don't) seem to care. I've been incensed at the way black women too often get left out of leadership structures, and of of National Conversations On Race
I am angry. I know now, thanks to spaces like MLS and others, that anger is okay. Black people are often called on to be superhuman, to forgive in a way and at a rate that white Americans are not asked to do. The same folks who tell us to "get over" slavery and redlining and Jim Crow are allowed their hurt.
I am angry. Finally allowing myself to feel maladjusted to state violence and gross inequality–to feel the rage that had always been there–is what spurred me to finally act last August.
At UU Multicultural Leadership School, we sang. Some sang because of sadness, and others due to joy. Often the music was loud and festive. I sang because of anger. Whatever the reasons, twenty youth and young adult Unitarian Universalists of color lifted our voices and sang—and my heart, at last, rang.


text:
A right to a speedy trial
I am disappointed that the U.S. House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct Committee has once again postponed my hearing and showing a complete disregard for due process and fairness.
For over a year, I have cooperated with the investigation and I have consistently asked for a public hearing on this matter. I remain eager to present my case and demonstrate to my constituents and all Americans that I have not violated any House rules.
In October, after a lengthy delay, the Committee finally set a date for the hearing and explained that its purpose would be "to determine whether any counts in the Statement of Alleged Violation … have been proven by clear and convincing evidence"
The Committee's decision to cancel the hearing and put it off indefinitely demonstrates that the Committee does not have a strong case and would not be able to prove any violation has occurred.
The Committee is suggesting it needs more time to review newly discovered evidence that it claims may be material to its case. In fact, the Committee has had this "new" document since Oct. 29, and it does not provide any new significant information.
In fact, the document shows that my office was working to ensure that Emergency Economic Stabilization Act assisted small and minority institutions. The document does not reflect any action on behalf of any specific company.
Although the Committee continues to insist that the "small bank language" was drafted to benefit only one institution, the facts do not support that assertion; in fact, the documentary record directly contradicts it.
As the highest ranking African American and woman on the Financial Services Committee, my staff and I did what we said we did and what we have always done, which is provide a voice in the process for those who lack it.
Furthermore, since the fundamental purpose of a hearing is to evaluate evidence, I am puzzled at the Committee's insistence on moving backward instead of forward. After beginning its investigation more than a year ago, working to prepare a case for months and realizing it cannot prove wrongdoing, they have resorted to a delay.
If this evidence is so damning, the Committee should present its case before the public, as we asked them to do when I first learned of their desire to postpone the hearing. Apparently the Committee now recognizes — as I have maintained — that there was no benefit, no improper action, no failure to disclose, no one influenced, and there is no case.
Before the elections, the Republican members of the Committee felt so strongly about holding the hearing that they were willing to break Committee rules to share their convictions.
Their vote to delay this hearing is contradictory to their public pronouncements. Yet now once again, the Committee is dragging this matter on and denying my constituents the opportunity to hear my case.
Furthermore, the Committee appears to be once again violating its own rules, namely committee rule 20(a) which indicates that a Statement of Alleged Violation can only be amended before transmittal to the adjudicatory subcommittee.
There is no provision or authority for the Committee to take this action, but the same body which is charged with interpreting the rules now seems to be guilty of making them up as it goes along.
Neither the letter sent to me nor the statement on the Committee website cites any rule or clear rationale for this decision.
The credibility of the House is reflected not only by members accused of improper action, but also is reflected by the members who sit in judgment. The public expects those who judge to hold themselves to their own rules.
Today, the Committee has brought discredit upon itself and this institution by denying me — and more importantly my constituents — the right to set the record straight.
Maxine Waters is a Congresswoman (D-CA). The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was to begin the adjudicatory hearing of her case on Nov. 29.


text:
We provide sustainable and environmental solutions for industries, which are essential for the growing world population and the quality of our environment. Hence, we are committed to sustainability and creating value for society.
The need for businesses to operate sustainably has never been greater and will increase. Businesses can only grow sustainably in a healthy environment and stable society. They must manage the planet's limited resources while facing their growing demand and manage increased regulation and economic turbulence.
LAT Nitrogen provides sustainable and performing solutions to reduce polluting emissions from road transport (DeNOx automotive) and industries (DeNOx industrial).
LAT Nitrogen Austria GmbH
St.-Peter-Strasse 25
4021 Linz, Austria


text:
Procter & Gamble has paid a record amount to bring you the NFL-themed toilet paper you demand. And that's not all.
Products such as Gillette razors, Old Spice deodorant and Head and Shoulders dandruff shampoo will now be part of the new marketing campaign where they, and other toiletries, will each be branded as an "Official Locker Room Product of the NFL," the Wall Street Journal reports.
The deal makes perfect sense for both sides, as the NFL looks to replace critical ad dollars lost amid the financial and auto collapse and P&G tries to recover after sales have dropped. The company reports a fourth quarter profit drop of 18%.
"The days of sporting leagues just looking to the beer and financial-services companies for sponsorship money is over," Greg Luckman, president of the sports and entertainment marketing team of research firm WPP, told the Journal.
In the deal, P&G will produce the NFL's officially toiletries the way Reebok is the official apparel maker and Coors Light is the official beer of the NFL. The company also plans to use the famed NFL logo on a wide range of products, like dish washing soap and room deodorizer.
It's a record deal for P&G, who already spend over $8 billion on global marketing, and $90 million in the U.S.
While the NFL and other professional sports leagues think outside the box to capitalize on new revenue, Luckman warns that too much advertising could backfire.
"If the league becomes too cluttered with lesser-known brands, blue-chip sponsors may feel that their deals will be devalued," he said.
The NFL has been trying to hammer out a deal with the household giant for the past three years.


text:
The Refuge of Failed Experiments (a k a my workplace) rarely lets me down. Successes or failures or halfway houses between the two, I take them there, and they are cleaned out, with compliments to boot. So when I offer them something saying it looks terrible, but tastes okay, it's no wonder that they immediately rush to comfort me, saying 'it's not bad at all', or 'it's not as bad as you think', or 'it's interesting' and proceed to empty the dish.
This was one such concoction that I could not bear to put in its actual avatar on the blog, so I cartoonized it. If you have noticed, I have given the blog a makeover and it does not deserve an ugly photo. Style over substance, yes, but indulge me - and if you go by what my colleagues said, it was worth it.
Well, this dish up there is very simple to throw together. I first got to know of a mango-sago combination some eight years ago, when I started blogging and experimented with it a few times. This time, I wanted to make a salad of this dessert rather than a pudding so I literally threw a few things together and came up with this winner. Yes, a winner, even though it is not the prettiest thing I have made. A colleague has already declared dibs on it the next time I make it and one was rather disappointed that I did not bring it on a day that she came to work.
The dibs-declaring colleague named it mango caviar. She also told me that sabja, the black grains that you see in the picture, are very cooling in nature. Now isn't that all we need for this hot, hot summer? The sabja, or basil seeds, or falooda seeds, as they seem to be better known nowadays, were such a curious discovery when I was a kid. A friend showed me what happens when you put them on your tongue - they develop a grey jelly-like coating on coming into contact with moisture, and for a few days, all I did was go to the yard, plunder the tulsi (holy basil) plant for its seeds and put them on my tongue.
My interest in them was revived recently when I read about chia seeds for weight loss and thought these were the same, but soon found out they were not. I bought them just for the fun of it, though, and thought of using them in this salad.
What you need
Ripe, yellow mango, cubed: 1.5 cups
Sugar: 1.5 tsp
Sago: A handful, soaked in water for 30-40 minutes
Sabja/basil seeds: 1-2 tsp, soaked in a little water
Sprinkle the sugar over the mango, stir lightly so that the cubes are not squashed.
Boil the sago till it is transparent, drain and cool under running water. Drain again.
The basil seeds swell up as soon as they are put in the water so do this just as you are assembling the salad.
Toss them and the sago over the mango and stir lightly.
Bon appetit! And may your summer be full of mangoes and other cooling agents!
I'm sending this off to Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging, organised by Haalo hosted this week by Lucia of Torta di Rose


text:
ET First Contact Radio, March 19, 2015
ET-First Contact Radio with Maarten Horst and guest, David Boyle
Guest, David Boyle
I have just completed building, which is to open on Saturday, the most extensive exhibition of the true workings of the Universe.
I AM 67 YEARS OLD researching the truth for 40 plus years. I live in Lytham St Annes, UK.
ET First Contact Radio
ET-First Contact Radio HOST MAARTEN HORST, Speaks every Thursday about the development of Disclosure, First Contact and the Changes that are taking place on Gaia to prepare us for the great Shift, leading us to Ascension. All related subjects like The Galactic Federation will be dealt with in depth.
Often Maarten will read and reflect on the messages from SaLuSa from Sirius (channeled by Mike Quinsey another host on BBS-RADIO) and the messages, including Sheldan Nidle.


text:
Summary: FDA approves a new drug to treat both relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and primary progressive MS.
Source: UCSF.
A newly approved drug that is the first to reflect the current scientific understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) – is holding new hope for the hundreds of thousands Americans living with the disease.
It also highlights the importance of clinician-scientists like UC San Francisco's Stephen Hauser, MD, who are working to transform research into cures for patients.
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved ocrelizumab (brand name Ocrevus) to treat both relapsing-remitting MS and primary progressive MS, the first time a therapy has been available for severe forms of the disease.
The drug, the first that targets B cells in the human body, grew out of the work of Hauser, chair of neurology at UCSF, whose team persevered for decades in elucidating the science behind MS, defending findings that contradicted long-standing assumptions and translating the science into a therapy.
A Devastating Disease
In MS, the immune system attacks the protective myelin covering around nerve cells, stripping them like insulation from electrical wires. We now know, thanks in large part to Hauser and his colleagues, that immune cells known as B cells lead the attack, mistaking myelin protein for harmful agents. The attacks cause inflammation that disrupts the communication between nerve cells.
The first episode of MS typically strikes in early adulthood and the disease advances over the years to devastating disability. Depending on where the inflammation occurs – the brain, spinal cord or optic nerves – patients can develop muscle weakness, incoordination, bladder difficulties, visual impairment and cognitive problems.
In relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form, people experience intermittent flares of symptoms followed by periods of complete or partial recovery.
About one in 10 people with MS have the more intractable primary progressive form and experience steady worsening of symptoms without remission.
There are no cures for MS, and existing treatments only partially reduce symptoms of relapsing-remitting MS. No therapies at all have been effective for primary progressive MS – until now. The approval of the ocrelizumab comes after studies that have shown remarkable results for both forms of the disease.
The Promise of the New Drug
In December 2016, the New England Journal of Medicine published the spectacular results from a pair of major international clinical trials led by Hauser, confirming that ocrelizumab can block the inflammation that drives the disease. The trials, known as OPERA I and OPERA II, compared the effectiveness and safety of ocrelizumab to that of interferon beta-1a, the current standard treatment for relapsing-remitting MS. Ocrelizumab cut annual relapse rates by 47 percent, reduced disability by 43 percent and shrank inflammatory lesions in the brain by 95 percent compared to interferon.
A separate clinical trial, known as ORATORIO, found that ocrelizumab could modestly slow the advance of primary progressive MS, which until now has been resistant to treatment.
These Phase III trials have shown that ocrelizumab, an antibody that targets the CD20 molecule on the surface of B cells, is extremely effective for relapsing-remitting MS, which is caused by B cells circulating in the blood and bound for the nervous system where they orchestrate inflammation. These B cells – about 2 percent of the B cells in the body – are destroyed reliably and for several months with each dose of ocrelizumab treatment, which is given by infusion every six months. The trials were sponsored by F. Hoffman-La Roche (Roche), the company that holds the patent on ocrelizumab.
"The availability of a highly effective and well-tolerated treatment means that people at the dawn of their MS can be treated with a therapy that will essentially completely block the inflammation in myelin that causes relapses and remission," said Hauser, chair of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. "And we are optimistic that by doing so, the outlook over many years will be even more favorable than it is today."
Researchers believe that primary progressive MS is caused by the other 98 percent of our B cells that live in protected areas within brain tissue. Ocrelizumab is only modestly effective at targeting these hidden B cells. But it is nonetheless the first therapy to have any effect on primary progressive MS.
Hope for Patients
Approval of ocrelizumab could mean a new outlook for patients such as Sarah Warto, one of Hauser's patients.
Diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS as a college student more than a decade ago, Warto has experienced several bouts of disease symptoms that have ranged from impaired depth perception to difficulty walking.
Her most recent flare-up occurred after she'd given birth to her daughter two years ago. "I had a fairly severe attack that really limited my ability to use my leg. I could walk for a minute, and then after a minute it was like a totally different person had taken over my body," she said.
With ocrelizumab on the horizon, she dreams of a future free of relapses, especially as she thinks of having a second child.
Finding a Better Model
The approval of ocrelizumab marks a shift in the treatment of MS that has been several decades in the making and one that has overcome many hurdles.
Just 15 years ago, Hauser and his colleagues were told by the National Institutes of Health that his proposal to test a B-cell-targeting MS drug lacked "biological plausibility."
At the time, it was still widely accepted that another type of immune cell, known as T cells, were the culprits behind MS – an idea based on an inaccurate mouse model of the disease. In the mice, researchers could transmit an MS-like condition from one animal to another simply by transferring T cells, but the underlying tissue changes in the mice did not closely resemble those in human MS. Nevertheless, most researchers shrugged off the discrepancy and continued to rely on these models.
When Hauser started his own laboratory at Harvard University in 1986, he set out to find a model of MS that had more fidelity to the human disease. This work continued after he moved to UCSF in 1992 to become professor and chair of the Department of Neurology. After many years of setbacks, Hauser in the mid-1990s, together with postdoctoral fellows Luca Massacesi and Claude Genain, developed a new animal model that replicated the behavioral and tissue changes seen in human MS.
The new model led to what Hauser calls their first eureka moment: when they saw antibodies tightly bound to the degenerating myelin proteins. These were the same antibodies that could be detected in the spinal fluid of patients with MS, and had long been used as a diagnostic marker for MS – yet considered to be insignificant to the disease mechanism because they were produced by B cells rather than T cells. Here they were, clearly complicit in the disease.
In the new animal model, researchers found they could transmit the MS-like condition from one animal to another only if they transferred antibodies and B cells along with T cells.
"This was a paradigm change for the field," said Hauser. He and his team now believed that antibodies working alongside T cells were key to the myelin destruction. It would be another couple of years before they realized they still hadn't hit the nail on the head.
A Second Eureka Moment
As a clinician-scientist, Hauser was eager to apply their laboratory discoveries toward a new therapy. He and colleagues wrote a grant to the NIH, proposing to test an existing cancer drug, rituximab, that targeted B cells and had been approved for B cell lymphoma. They hoped that in MS patients, the B-cell killing drug would stop the production of antibodies causing the inflammation.
The NIH dismissed their proposal, suggesting they would be funded only if they switched to a T-cell therapy.
"We were devastated," said Hauser. "But we were not ready to quit."
In 2001, he approached Genentech, the maker of rituximab, and after 18 months of discussions and what everyone acknowledged were low chances of success, they began a preliminary trial that would allow them to test one dose of the drug.
Because antibodies are not produced directly by B cells, but by long-living intermediate cells known as plasma cells that would not be directly targeted by the drug, Hauser and his team believed it would take several doses of the drug to eliminate the antibodies.
"We were hoping that with one dose we would see a tiny little effect that would give us courage to embark on longer studies," said Hauser.
Instead, they saw an effect far more dramatic than they imagined.
"There was an almost immediate and nearly complete blockade of all new inflammation in the people who had received the drug," said Hauser.
The stunning results after just one dose told them two things. "First that we had something that was likely to help many hundreds of thousands of people, and second that the science that had driven the experiments was wrong," said Hauser.
It was almost certainly not the antibodies instigating the nerve damage, a process that would've taken longer to reverse, but the B cells themselves.
Importance of Clinician-Scientists
Crosstalk between bench and bedside was key to solving the mystery of MS, and clinician-scientists like Hauser are essential conduits. "Clinician-scientists are always working in two areas," he said. "We want to understand as deeply as possible the cause of the disease we're studying, and we also feel responsible for driving that understanding forward for better therapies today."
A few years later, Genentech, by then acquired by Roche, developed ocrelizumab, a newer B-cell targeting drug designed to be safer and easier to administer. That set the drug on the path for clinical studies and, ultimately, approval for patients.
"My hope is that ocrelizumab will make a life-changing difference for many hundreds of thousands of people with MS today, and many more who may develop MS in the future," said Hauser.
Source: Stephanie Berger – UCSF
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to NIH.
[cbtabs][cbtab title="MLA"]UCSF "New Multiple Sclerosis Drug, Backed by 40 Years of Research, Could Halt Disease." NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 29 March 2017.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/ms-drug-neuropharmacology-6307/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title="APA"]UCSF (2017, March 29). New Multiple Sclerosis Drug, Backed by 40 Years of Research, Could Halt Disease. NeuroscienceNew. Retrieved March 29, 2017 from https://neurosciencenews.com/ms-drug-neuropharmacology-6307/[/cbtab][cbtab title="Chicago"]UCSF "New Multiple Sclerosis Drug, Backed by 40 Years of Research, Could Halt Disease." https://neurosciencenews.com/ms-drug-neuropharmacology-6307/ (accessed March 29, 2017).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


text:
Free Shipping - Same Day Shipping to 3pm (EST) - No Sales Tax Collected Category: Combo GPS - Fishfinders
Axiom™ Pro 9 S MFD with Single Channel High CHIRP Sonar
With single channel high CHIRP Sonar and Raymarine HybridTouch control, Axiom Pro 9 is the new standard for "all-in-one" display. And with a blazing fast quad core processor, a super bright IPS display, and the smart LightHouse OS, Axiom Pro delivers a fluid and intuitive navigation experience.
Axiom Pro is engineered for captains that want it all. The new standard for "all in-one" multifunction devices. And with a blazing fast quad core processor, a super bright high-definition IPS display, and the smart LightHouse OS, Axiom Pro delivers a fluid and intuitive navigation experience. Axiom Pro is easy to expand into an advanced navigation network that includes multiple Raymarine Axiom displays, CHIRP radar, Evolution autopilot, FLIR thermal night vision technology, and more.
Blazing FastQuad core processor delivers instantaneous response and the ability to run multiple apps simultaneously without any slowdowns.
Bold & BrightOptical bonding technology and IPS display panels give you stunning color, clarity, and contrast in all lighting conditions. Axiom Pro looks great even through polarized sunglasses.
HybridTouch™Control Axiom Pro from its multi-touch screen, its buttons and rotary knob, or any combination of both. This choice is yours.
Custom KeyGet instant access to your favorite function with user-programmable Custom Key.
Lighthouse 3 OSFast, fluid and easy to learn. The Lighthouse 3 interface is uncluttered and easy to personalize for your style of boating.
The Axiom Pro 9 S includes surface and trunnion mounting kits and hardware, suncover, power/video/NMEA0183 cable, micro-C DeviceNet (F) to STNG (F) 1M cable, RayNet (F) to Raynet (F) 2M cable and installation instructions.
Ultimate Passage 2003-2024 All Rights Reserved.


text:
(a short tale)
While the snafe holds, or the long-neck stings, While the big beam tilts, or the last bell rings, While horses are horses to train and to race, Then women and wine take a second place For me—for me— While a short 'ten-three' Has a field to squander or fence to face! (Song of the G. R.)
THERE are more ways of running a horse to suit your book than pulling his head off in the straight. Some men forget this. Understand clearly that all racing is rotten—as everything connected with losing money must be. In India, in addition to its inherent rottenness, it has the merit of being two-thirds sham; looking pretty on paper only. Every one knows every one else far too well for business purposes. How on earth can you rack and harry and post a man for his losings, when you are fond of his wife, and live in the same Station with him? He says, 'on the Monday following,' 'I can't settle just yet.' You say, 'All right, old man,' and think yourself lucky if you pull off nine hundred out of a two-thousand-rupee debt. Any way you look at it, Indian racing is immoral, and expensively immoral; which is much worse. If a man wants your money he ought to ask for it, or send round a subscription-list, instead of juggling about the country with an Australian larrikin; a 'brumby,' with as much breed as the boy; a brace of chumars in gold-laced caps; three or four ekka-ponies with hogged manes, and a switch-tailed demirep of a mare called Arab because she has a kink in her flag. Racing leads to the shroff quicker than anything else. But if you have no conscience and no sentiments, and good hands, and some knowledge of pace, and ten years' experience of horses, and several thousand rupees a month, I believe that you can occasionally contrive to pay your shoeing-bills.
Did you ever know Shackles—b.w.g., 15. 13/8—coarse, loose, mule-like ears—barrel as long as a gate-post—tough as a telegraph-wire—and the queerest brute that ever looked through a bridle? He was of no brand, being one of an ear-nicked mob taken into the Bucephalus at £4:10s. a head to make up freight, and sold raw and out of condition at Calcutta for Rs.275. People who lost money on him called him a 'brumby'; but if ever any horse had Harpoon's shoulders and The Gin's temper, Shackles was that horse. Two miles was his own particular distance. He trained himself, ran himself, and rode himself; and, if his jockey insulted him by giving him hints, he shut up at once and bucked the boy off. He objected to dictation. Two or three of his owners did not understand this, and lost money in consequence. At last he was bought by a man who discovered that, if a race was to be won, Shackles, and Shackles only, would win it in his own way, so long as his jockey sat still. This man had a riding-boy called Brunt—a lad from Perth, West Australia—and he taught Brunt, with a trainer's whip, the hardest thing a jock can learn—to sit still, to sit still, and to keep on sitting still. When Brunt fairly grasped this truth, Shackles devastated the country. No weight could stop him at his own distance; and the fame of Shackles spread from Ajmir in the South, to Chedputter in the North. There was no horse like Shackles, so long as he was allowed to do his work in his own way. But he was beaten in the end; and the story of his fall is enough to make angels weep.
At the lower end of the Chedputter race-course, just before the turn into the straight, the track passes close to a couple of old brick-mounds enclosing a funnel-shaped hollow. The big end of the funnel is not six feet from the railings on the off-side. The astounding peculiarity of the course is that, if you stand at one particular place, about half a mile away, inside the course, and speak at ordinary pitch, your voice just hits the funnel of the brick-mounds and makes a curious whining echo there. A man discovered this one morning by accident while out training with a friend. He marked the place to stand and speak from with a couple of bricks, and he kept his knowledge to himself. Every peculiarity of a course is worth remembering in a country where rats play the mischief with the elephant-litter, and Stewards build jumps to suit their own stables. This man ran a very fairish country-bred, a long, racking high mare with the temper of a fiend, and the paces of an airy wandering seraph—a drifty, glidy stretch. The mare was, as a delicate tribute to Mrs. Reiver, called 'The Lady Regula Baddun'—or for short, Regula Baddun.
Shackles' jockey, Brunt, was a quite well-behaved boy, but his nerve had been shaken. He began his career by riding jump-races in Melbourne, where a few Stewards want lynching, and was one of the jockeys who came through the awful butchery—perhaps you will recollect it—of the Maribyrnong Plate. The walls were colonial ramparts—logs of jarrah spiked into masonry—with wings as strong as Church buttresses. Once in his stride, a horse had to jump or fall. He couldn't run out. In the Maribyrnong Plate twelve horses were jammed at the second wall. Red Hat, leading, fell this side, and threw out The Gled, and the ruck came up behind and the space between wing and wing was one struggling, screaming, kicking shambles. Four jockeys were taken out dead; three were very badly hurt, and Brunt was among the three. He told the story of the Maribyrnong Plate sometimes; and when he described how Whalley on Red Hat said, as the mare fell under him—'God ha' mercy, I'm done for!' and how, next instant, Sithee There and White Otter had crushed the life out of poor Whalley, and the dust hid a small hell of men and horses, no one marvelled that Brunt had dropped jumpraces and Australia together. Regula Baddun's owner knew that story by heart. Brunt never varied it in the telling. He had no education.
Shackles came to the Chedputter Autumn races one year, and his owner walked about insulting the sportsmen of Chedputter generally, till they went to the Honorary Secretary in a body and said, 'Appoint handicappers, and arrange a race which shall break Shackles and humble the pride of his owner.' The Districts rose against Shackles and sent up of their best; Ousel, who was supposed to be able to do his mile in 1-53; Petard, the stud-bred, trained by a cavalry regiment who knew how to train; Gringalet, the ewe-lamb of the 75th; Bobolink, the pride of Peshawar; and many others.
They called that race The Broken-Link Handicap, because it was to smash Shackles; and the Handicappers piled on the weights, and the Fund gave eight hundred rupees, and the distance was 'round the course for all horses.' Shackles' owner said, 'You can arrange the race with regard to Shackles only. So long as you don't bury him under weight-cloths, I don't mind.' Regula Baddun's owner said, 'I throw in my mare to fret Ousel. Six furlongs is Regula's distance, and she will then lie down and die. So also will Ousel, for his jockey doesn't understand a waiting race.' Now, this was a lie, for Regula had been in work for two months at Dehra, and her chances were good, always supposing that Shackles broke a blood-vessel—or Brunt moved on him.
The plunging in the lotteries was fine. They filled eight thousand-rupee lotteries on the Broken-Link Handicap, and the account in the Pioneer said that 'favouritism was divided.' In plain English, the various contingents were wild on their respective horses; for the Handicappers had done their work well. The Honorary Secretary shouted himself hoarse through the din; and the smoke of the cheroots was like the smoke, and the rattling of the dice-boxes like the rattle of smallarm fire.
Ten horses started—very level—and Regula Baddun's owner cantered out on his hack to a place inside the circle of the course, where two bricks had been thrown. He faced towards the brick-mounds at the lower end of the course and waited.
The story of the running is in the Pioneer. At the end of the first mile, Shackles crept out of the ruck, well on the outside, ready to get round the turn, lay hold of the bit and spin up the straight before the others knew he had got away. Brunt was sitting still, perfectly happy, listening to the 'drum-drum-drum' of the hoofs behind, and knowing that, in about twenty strides, Shackles would draw one deep breath and go up the last half-mile like the 'Flying Dutchman.' As Shackles went short to take the turn and came abreast of the brick-mound, Brunt heard, above the noise of the wind in his ears, a whining, wailing voice on the offside, saying 'God ha' mercy, I'm done for!' In one stride, Brunt saw the whole seething smash of the Maribyrnong Plate before him, started in his saddle, and gave a yell of terror. The start brought the heels into Shackles' side, and the scream hurt Shackles' feelings. He couldn't stop dead; but he put out his feet and slid along for fifty yards, and then, very gravely and judicially, bucked off Brunt—a shaking, terror-stricken lump, while Regula Baddun made a neck-and-neck race with Bobolink up the straight, and won by a short head—Petard a bad third. Shackles' owner, in the Stand, tried to think that his field-glasses had gone wrong. Regula Baddun's owner, waiting by the two bricks, gave one deep sigh of relief, and cantered back to the Stand. He had won, in lotteries and bets, about fifteen thousand.
It was a Broken-link Handicap with a vengeance. It broke nearly all the men concerned, and nearly broke the heart of Shackles' owner. He went down to interview Brunt. The boy lay, livid and gasping with fright, where he had tumbled off. The sin of losing the race never seemed to strike him. All he knew was that Whalley had called' him, that the 'call' was a warning; and, were he cut in two for it, he would never get up again. His nerve had gone altogether, and he only asked his master to give him a good thrashing, and let him go. He was fit for nothing, he said. He got his dismissal, and crept up to the paddock, white as chalk, with blue lips, his knees giving way under him. People said nasty things in the paddock; but Brunt never heeded. He changed into tweeds, took his stick and went down the road; still shaking with fright, and muttering over and over again—'God ha' mercy, I'm done for!' To the best of my knowledge and belief he spoke the truth.
So now you know how the Broken-link Handicap was run and won. Of course you don't believe it. You would credit anything about Russia's designs on India, or the recommendations of the Currency Commission; but a little bit of sober fact is more than you can stand.