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Self-Reconfiguring Modular Robotics is really two things.
The first part is Modular robotics. This is a branch of robotics that aims to build complex systems with simple components. A bit like Lego, simple pieces are, by cooperating, capable of building complex objects.
The Second part is Self-reorganization to make the units able to move among each other on their own accord and thus reconfigure themselves from one task to another without human intervention. This also allows the system created to be active and dynamic.
This has the most profound consequences and exploring these is the purpose of this blog.


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Grand haldi ceremony celebration of Ajabde and Pratap!Follow us on Social Media
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Tweet #iamdesirulez
The popular historical show Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap on Sony Entertainment Television, is gearing up for the much awaited wedding of the great warrior of Mewar namely Pratap with his lady love Ajabde (Roshni Walia).
Following the wedding ceremonies, the first is the haldi ceremony celebration which was a grand affair. Ajabde looked gorgeous in her yellow attire which was complimenting Pratap's (Faisal l Khan) look for the haldi ceremony. Delighted Ajabde shares, "I am very excited and happy for the haldi ceremony. I am enjoying each phase of this sequence thoroughly."
All the family members showered their love and blessings on Pratap and Ajabde. Pretty Phoolkanwar (Jannat Zubair Rahmani) was also very enthusiastic and was thoroughly involved in her best friend Ajabde's haldi ceremony.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pro bike set-ups are always good for a chuckle.
This Felt F1 belongs to John Degenkolb, the 24-year-old German cyclist on the Argos-Shimano team. The young cyclist was in the global racing spotlight when, at the Vuelta a España last year, he won five sprint stages.
These five stage wins are commemorated on his Felt F1 team bike, with the individual stages marked along the top tube of his Felt F1 - well, four of them are. He won the final stage, stage 21, too. This is the US company's flagship model, has been for a while now, and has been tweaked and updated over the years. Visually, it has lost some of the tube profiling and lower seat stays that made earlier versions stand out.
The current frame uses Felt's latest carbon-fibre manufacturing methods, Dynamic Monocoque Construction and InsideOut, where different sections of the frame are moulded separately with an internal bladder pushing the carbon fibre firmly into the mould and inserts place inside the tubes and junctions to remove excess material during the moulding process. And it's packed with modern details: a BB30 carbon bottom bracket, ControlTaper tapered headtube (1 1/8in upper bearing and 1 1/2in lower), internal cable routing and carbon dropouts. There's a 7075 CNC machined aluminum replaceable derailleur hanger.
Degenkolb is 1.80m tall and to get the reach he wants, there's a 15cm PRO PLT stem, aluminium not carbon, and it is slammed onto the top of the headset with a slim spacer above the stem.
The PRO bars are aluminium too, and rotated forwards with the Shimano hoods pointing for the air in a 'six shooter' style. It's certainly an unusual set up and not necessarily one you should try to copy.
Everything else about the bike is standard. Shimano sponsor the team and so it's a Dura-Ace Di2 groupset with all the wires routed internally. The team will be switching to Shimano's 11-speed Di2 when it's shipped out to them, which should be in time for the semi Classics. Cranks are 53/39 with 172.5mm arms. PRO supply the seatpost too and there's a Selle Italia saddle planted on top. Looks reasonably worn, as you'd expect, given how many miles he does.
Wheels are Dura-Ace C50 tubulars.
The top-of-the-line F1 incorporates Felt's cutting-edge InsideOut moulding process and UHC+Nano carbon fibre to minimize weight, while a BB30 bottom bracket and a ControlTaper head tube deliver efficient power transmission and stiffness. Every strand of carbon fibre is engineered to deliver optimal performance and a refined ride.
The words along the top tube are the team's "1t4i" guidelines: team spirit, inspiration, integrity, improvement and innovation.
David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.
5 comments
Never judge your own setup against someone else's. Least of all a pro. We're all different, especially these guys who train (and stay flexible) for a living. Pros, especially young ones, are also some of the worst for setting their bikes up properly. They just slam and extend. Some can get away with it. Some can't.
I wrote a thing:
Oh, and that brake setup is morally, visually and generally WRONG! He must have 5 knuckle fingers.


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"I will continue to plant until my last breath"
Starting in 1979, Jadav Payeng accomplished, signle handidly, planting a forest that is now bigger than central park in NYC, New York. This determined arborist manged to turn a dying wasteland into a tropical paradise. Amazingly, 115 elephants, rhinos, deer, and tigers call this 550 hectare forest home.
Payeng has a dream to restore his home island of Majuli and neighboring Jorhat with the beautiful forests that once covered them.
Agricultural development and human influence destroyed the natural beauty of his home, but Payeng is doing his part to bring the ecosystem back. He's a man on a mission and proves that small acts every day can add up to tremendous change over time!
Payeng says "Cutting his trees will do nothing! Cut me before you cut my trees."
Watch Payeng's beautiful story below:
(Article From Organic and Healthy)


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December 31, 2014 – The most current information on how to estimate an IRS tax refund is now available on Examiner.com. Traverse City Tax Preparation Examiner Frank Ellis discusses how to use a tax refund calculator in 2014 and 2015. When used correctly, it can tell how much one can expect to get back from the IRS, or if they owe additional taxes.
The author reveals that using a tax calculator can help people with financial planning. Using these details, one can take the savings and start an investment. Most importantly, they must enter the appropriate information, which includes tax filing status. Users can choose between 2 online calculators.
TurboTax Tax Refund Calculator: http://www.easyincometaxfilingonline.com/tax-calculators/
H&R Block Tax Refund Calculator: http://www.easyincometaxfilingonline.com/hr-block/h-r-block-refund-calculator/
Also explained in more detail is the gross annual income entry. This is the total money earned, according to Ellis, and includes salary, bonuses, self-employment income, and tips. In addition, IRA contributions need to be entered and are deductible if not sponsored by an employer, the author explains. Rules for deducting contributions if the account is employer sponsored are also outlined.
The tax refund calculator also inputs itemized deductions including medical expenses, state/local taxes, mortgage interest, and more. Personal exemptions can also be entered into the calculator, but the amounts vary annually. The calculator is programmed to estimate taxes based on the most current IRS guidelines and the taxpayer's total number of exemptions.
Number of dependents, and federal taxes withheld from one's paycheck, are other details accepted by the tax refund calculator. The author also stresses the importance of entering accurate information. The tax calculator's output is based on the details the user puts in.
The author also mentions TurboTax software and its question and answer tools and ability to up applicable tax credits. With the tips provided in this and other articles, the idea is to help people receive the largest refund possible.
To learn more about the tax refund calculator and the information required for an accurate estimate, go to http://www.examiner.com/article/announcing-the-2015-tax-refund-calculator-see-your-refund-minutes .


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Tag Archives: sounds
Listen to Everything
How many distinct sounds can you hear right now? Try to be consciously aware of all of them at once. Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Essentials Tagged article, chord progressions, ear training, guitar, intervals, listening, sounds 1 Comment


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Welcome back to Haiku Monday, where Fish Hack missed out on some seriously good summer steelhead fishing on Hack's home waters, the upper Rogue River, because of Black Friday duties.
Stuck in the Fish Wrap writing drivel while Fish Hack buds Jeff, Nate and Nellie Barnard took to Hack's waters and boated five summers all 25-plus inches. Nate the Ingrate also whacked a 28-inch hatchery hen that's perfect for the Christmas smoker.
Ripe summers get smoked./You get Fish Hack's smoked steelhead/Hack gets free drinks.
For you few Fish Hack virgins out there, this is when and where Fish Hack waxes on and off non-Brazilian style about the outdoors with a lot of pointless crap and bad Japanese poetry tossed in as the schtick that keeps on schticking.
Gotta have a schtick/To rise above blog B.S./At least Hack gets paid.
Hack whiffed on this week's expectations for the upper Rogue, which looked like they'd be high and dirty Friday after the recent storms that flooded out the boys on the Chetco River and elsewhere.
The Rogue was a bit high but certainly fishable Friday for the Barnards, who ran plugs from TouVelle State Park on down. Each hit at least one fish and each rowed a family member into a fish. Made pappa Jeff proud.
Fish Family Planning/I had you, now row my ass/Into a steelhead.


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Team: Aziz Barbar, ChengHe Guan, Dima Rachid | School: Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Download project board pdf
Project Narrative
The city of Baltimore is vulnerable to environmental and infrastructural challenges today. Not only is it faced with risks like overheating, rising temperatures, rising sea level and flashfloods, it has also been reporting infrastructural failures. The latter include sewage spills, street flooding, contaminated waters, and untreated sewage discharges.
While this project essentially rethinks the row housing typology in East Baltimore, it frames it within the above challenges by proposing a comprehensive landscape infrastructure approach. The proposal deploys the principles of decentralized infrastructure and ecological engineering in a design framework that is less typologically prescriptive and more adaptable to social and physical variations. In an attempt to plan in disassociation from the grid, the proposed decentralized infrastructure (street lighting, energy-generation, greywater treatment, storm water treatment, runoff treatment etc…) allows equal access of all residents and reduces post-crisis maintenance cost and processing time. The proposed strategies not only have infrastructural performances but simultaneously hold potential in being grounds for diverse public spatial experiences and animated communal spaces within each block.
This proposal takes the competition site in East Baltimore as a test ground for the above design principles, demonstrating how a catalogue of infrastructural systems can be incorporated in a site-specific scenario accounting for parameters such as: soil type, demographics, volume of greywater produced and the space required to treat it.
Ecological engineering deploys landscape elements, primarily constructed wetlands and landforms, as the skeleton of the design strategy. Constructed wetland systems are created on site, grow native phyto-remediating wetland species, and enrich ecological diversity by creating a fish ecology and attracting birds such as herons, geese, and eel. They are low maintenance and aesthetically pleasing. Engineered from existing soils into berms and trenches, the form and construction is guided by three main parameters: the rate of greywater discharge, precipitation, and the angle of repose of the soil. Wetland calculations are in conjunction with housing capacities, assumed here is a 3.16 average family size and a 20gal greywater production per person per day aiming at 100% treatment of 50% of the greywater produced. The system incorporates two kinds of wetlands. Subsurface flow systems act as performative buffer between the defined private space/ house and the sunken public space, while functioning as the preliminary greywater cleansing phase. It reduces risk of undesirable odors or mosquitos. Free water surface system is a 2-pond constructed wetland system in which greywater overflows from one pond to the other undergoing further phytoremediation before joining the underground water table. The flexibility of wetlands is in the possibility of reshaping and re-engineering the landforms upon any unexpected water input fluctuation, an adaptive wetland capacity adjustment within the given space.
Bio-swales are deployed at every opportunity to increase the pervious/impervious surface ratio and direct urban surface runoff. The root zone and soil layering function as a filtration system of runoff and storm-water before joining the water table. This is especially convenient to retain summer flashfloods. Lush tree canopies incorporated in the bio-swales and the rest of the landscape are also beneficial in retaining precipitation, while providing shade, under- canopy ecosystems, and new ecologies. While the proposal is speculative, it builds on existing initiatives. For example, as part of the Chesapeake Bay restoration project for the alleviation of water quality, the city of Baltimore has already initiated the deployment of floating wetlands along its harbors.
The creation of this infrastructure provides ground for community spaces. The system of bridges allows for internal pedestrian circulation encouraging jogging and biking in a lush landscape. The platforms along the bridges perform as community spaces and gatherings for block gatherings, sports hangouts, and neighborhood pop-up events. The wetlands themselves can become nodes of recreation, an extra incorporated phytoremediation buffer belt, for example, can create a green pool for the East Baltimore residents to swim in!
The spatial composition allows for a play on private/public space allocation. The public space is maintained at a sunken position with respect to the private space. The private space itself is the backyard lot of each housing unit, part of which is ceded for greywater treatment and compensated for as a rooftop garden space (ie. further house cooling, water retention, and green space).
The housing unit itself is designed to allow for maximized air ventilation. With the incorporation of stack staircase and a stairwell the internal air circulation is enhanced, also supported by the passive cooling of the water areas and the landscape. A key façade treatment, the terracotta evaporative cooling system, is deployed on the existing brick facades of each unit. While providing a wall aesthetic, these elements use collected rainwater to generate evaporative cooling that reduces the surrounding air temperature. Shaped as blades, these units also provide shade on the façade also reducing solar heat gain.
For overall alleviated air circulation at the scale of the block, a few housing units are selectively removed, based on ownership status and current condition.
Wet Corridor proposes the landscape as the framework that reshapes a healthy lifestyle to the future residents of East Baltimore, offers grounds for social infrastructure, enhances the living environment, meets infrastructural needs, and offers equal accessibility; it is responsive and capable of adapting to environmental, climatic, and demographic fluctuations while maintaining a choreography with the architecture.


text: Phindy Studios is an award winning, nationally recognized photography studio owned and operated by husband and wife team, Phil & Mindy Thornton. We strive to find the truth and beauty in each moment through our photography. Phindy Studios is based in Nashville, TN and offers wedding and portrait photography services worldwide.


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Tag Archive for 'martin luther king'
Harry Belafonte, Most Charming Revolutionary
Over the last twenty years, I occasionally shared the limelight with Harry Belafonte, in the early 1990s in particular, as the campaigns on behalf of Haitian refugees denied asylum in the United States and democracy in Haiti joined to tilt the Clinton Administration's hand towards democracy and human rights in Haiti. Belafonte spoke with the wisdom of a man who had seen his share of injustice and faced them with the conviction that comes from a place deep within.
Ella Baker: A Political Organizer's Organizer
Baker, born on December 13, 1903 died in New York City on December 13, 1986. During the Great Depression, she became involved with the Young Negroes Cooperative League. Afterwards, she joined the NAACP, but jumped at the chance of working with the SCLC at its inception. Baker was instrumental at helping to establish the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) — from which Congressman John Lewis emerged to become a leader –, and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
What was her philosophy and from which principles did she draw strength from?
VISA says: Alleluia, Amen, Black is Beautiful. Yikes!
Just as the United States was readying itself to celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King's birthday and Barack Hussein Obama's ascendance to the Presidency, VISA, the credit card company jumped on the bandwagon without missing a beat. With a full-page ad in Sunday's NY Times Magazine, it introduced the "exclusive VISA Black Card."
Martin Luther King: First Among Equals
Since that faithful day in 1955 when he stepped forward to speak on behalf of the clergy and lead the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, Martin Luther King never ceased to inspire the struggle for civil and human rights in the United States and the rest of the world. He made many speeches in the 13 years that followed his arrival on the political scene, the most famous and remembered being "I have a dream," the speech he made in August 1963 in Washington before what was then the largest crowd that had assembled to advocate for civil rights and equality for all
Our climb will be even steeper than expected
The most memorable sentence in Barack Obama's speech on election night in Chicago is the following: "Our climb will be steep." Then, it appeared that in deference to the Reverend Martin Luther King and all the civil rights leaders who preceded him and made possible his victory at the polls, Obama meant to say that though he's reached the mountaintop there were still miles to go before we all rose to the top.


text: Two weeks is a HUGE amount of time considering we launch every month. Having a list of things that *might* be on board by that time, and their likely weights (sans possible cables...) might not be a bad idea, though. That was the *beta* launch page. We're doing greek letters. So the next will be gamma then delta. Christie _______ "We also briefly discussed having officers replaced by very small shell scripts." -- Noisebridge meeting notes 2008-06-17 The outer bounds is only the beginning. http://www.flickr.com/photos/genriel/sets/72157623376093724/ On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 11:03 PM, Albert Alexander < albert.alexander at gmail.com> wrote: > I strongly endorse having a weigh-in two weeks prior to launch. No changes > in mass after that. That'll give us time to actually assemble and test the > bus. > > I did a top-down checklist on the Bravo launch page, but we need software > test procedures to be added. > > I think thermal control is a must for next launch. I thought it was silly > to launch this time without fixing last launch's failure point. I'll parse > Alpha's temperature data this week to get a starting point. > > Also I am totally serious about sending a small animal up on Delta launch > (not Charlie. Is the next launch Charlie? Or is it just the "real" Bravo?). > > A > > On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 10:29 PM, Christopher Lincoln <cclinco at gmail.com>wrote: > >> Meeting notes from 03.30 >> >> Suggestions for improving launch quality and efficiency >> - Need a standard process for setting up and testing electronics. This >> process must be well documented >> - Preflight check list. >> - Battery check >> - Have "Yay or Nay" call of the Tuesday meeting before the launch. >> For a "Yay" call to be made, every critical component must be completed >> and tested. >> - A full check list of what is going up with this launch and their >> dependencies >> - Mark the tank as we open it, to alleviate confusion as to which one was >> used. >> - Always take a second (back up) tank to each launch >> - create wiki pages of each payload item, including set up instructions. >> (list of needed pages are on the bottom of this page.) >> - Provide better communication for the drive out of the launch site >> - locate stores in the area that can provide forgotten items like >> batteries and helium >> >> >> List of tasks that we should do before the next launch >> - Test different types of batteries in the freezer (both types of >> batteries and competing brands) >> - acquire a bathroom scale to weigh the helium tanks with. >> - Purchase condoms, extra large >> - the cannon IS1100 stopped taking pictures shortly after being turned >> on, probably battery related, but we should test to make sure. >> >> >> Ideas for next launch >> - One battery grid to rule them all! This would consist of 2 battery >> systems that connected just prior to the component giving a back up system >> should one fail. >> - add solar cells to the outside to the payload to test energy received >> as we go up. We can use the datalogger to store the information. >> - Use a droid with debian installed (Chris has one) to feed data from a >> USB hub that had has several web cameras hooked up and save the data out to >> a USB harddrive. Alternatively we could also use a beagle board (Nils has >> one). >> - Attach LED blinkies or stroke lights (from disposable cameras) to the >> end of the antenna support arms. >> - Add a high pitch buzzer to the payload bus to help locate it >> - add brightly colored inflated condoms (balloons will work also) to the >> payload so that they will float above the final resting place, assisting in >> locating it. >> - Add a video camera, and stream it's feed over a ham radio to a base >> station. This would use a NTSC broadcast. This has the potential to be >> expensive, so Chris will gather - a cost estimate for this (both dollar and >> if possible weight) >> - make the video camera steerable. Even outside of the flight this would >> be usable as we could then be able to see the area where the payload landed >> before having to walk - there. >> >> >> Ideas talked about, but decided to be considered independent of the core >> Spacebridge concept >> - Generating Hydrogen quickly and cheaply. While awesome, it's to >> dangerous and inconvenient for us to focus on at the moment. >> - UAV. Again awesome, but is a large enough project to be considered >> independent but closely related and potentially intersecting Spacebridge. >> >> >> Wiki pages that need to be created and maintained. >> - Radio, with set up instructions >> - Radio Antena (dipole) >> - GPS >> - Packet Tracker >> - Open Tracker >> - G1, including applications used and set up intructions >> - Canon A700 Camera, including CHDK, script, battery limitations, SD card >> limitations and set up instructions >> - Canon IS1100 SD Camera, including CHDK, script, SDHC card limitations, >> instructions >> - Payload Bus >> - Icrais program >> - Android APRS >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Space mailing list >> Space at lists.noisebridge.net >> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/space >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Space mailing list > Space at lists.noisebridge.net > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/space > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/space/attachments/20100401/f7ad508a/attachment.html>


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This page contains many details, dispelled myths and facts on the care and maintenance of your Vapour Product (Electronic Cigarette) batteries. Most of this information has been extracted from the Battery University which is sponsored by Cadex Electronics Inc., a world-wide leader in battery and charger analysis. The rest is based on our knowledge and experience with vapour product usage.
The list of topics should address most concerns or questions as well as address "Do's and Don'ts" for your batteries. The better you understand the equipment; the better satisfied you can be with the products. If however, you have additional questions about your battery that are not covered here, please let us know through our Contact Us page
1. Safety Concerns with Li-ion
Information Source: Battery University
Safety is a sensitive issue that gets much media and legal attention, especially with Li-ion batteries. Any energy storage device carries a risk, and in the 1800s steam engines exploded and people got hurt.
Lithium-ion has a high specific energy and even though safe, high usage by millions of consumers is bound to generate failures. In 2006, a one-in-200,000 breakdown triggered a recall of almost six million lithium-ion packs. Heat-related battery failures are taken very seriously, and manufacturers choose a conservative approach.
Li-ion using conventional metal oxides is nearing its theoretical limit on specific energy. Rather than optimizing runtime, battery makers are improving manufacturing methods to enhance safety and increase the calendar life. The real problem lies in rare occasions when an electrical short develops inside the cell. In such a case, the external protection peripherals are ineffective to stop the thermal runaway, once in progress.
A mild short will only cause elevated self-discharge and the heat buildup is minimal because the discharging power is very low. If, however, enough microscopic metallic particles converge on one spot, a sizable current begins to flow between the electrodes of the cell, and the spot heats up. Heat is always an enemy of the battery. When fully charged, elevated temperature causes a harmful reaction between the positive and negative electrodes and the electrolyte.
This thermal runaway that occurs is known as "venting with flame". The preferred term by the battery industry is "Rapid disassembly".
So what do you do with a device in Thermal Runaway? We are glad that you asked because this actually applies to ANY device (not just vapour product batteries) that contains a Li-ion battery.
- Immediately remove the device from proximity to flammable materials and bring it to a non-combustible surface
- If at all possible, put a disintegrating device outdoors and let it burn out
- If this occurs in an airplane, FAA tells flight attendants not to use fire extinguishers but specify water or pop (soda)
- Water cools the adjacent material and prevents the fire from spreading. Many research laboratories and factories also use water to put out battery fires.
- Allow good ventilation while the battery burns itself out
Summary: Now that you have had your safety briefing, let us assure you that the lithium-ion vapour product batteries are as safe as any other lithium-ion power device and that heat-related failures are rare.
2. Battery Memory
The short answer is: No, li-ion batteries do not have a "memory" meaning that you do not have to fully charge/discharge the battery to maintain capacity. There is much discussion on the topic of Battery having Memory but these batteries do not.
There is an excellent article at Battery University called Lithium-based Batteries that we encourage you to read. It contains a significant amount of information that we decided not summarize here. We thought it best that people read the entire article.
3. Perform shallow discharges
Instead of discharging to 0% all the time, lithium-ion batteries do best when you discharge them for a little bit, then charge them for a little bit. The table below, from Battery University, shows that discharges to 50% are better for your battery's long-term life than, say, small discharges to 90% or large discharges to 0% (since the 50% discharges provide the best number of cycles-to-usage ratio).
|Depth of discharge
|Discharge cycles
Cycle life and depth of discharge
A partial discharge reduces stress and prolongs battery life. Elevated temperature and high currents also affect cycle life.
100% DoD
50% DoD
25% DoD
10% DoD
This may not be the case with ALL vapour product batteries and chargers but the standard that we have found is as follows:
- The battery discharges as we vape
- The light flashes indicating it needs to be charged
- Putting a volt meter on a flashing battery reads around 3.0V
- We put it on the charger and the charging light turns red
- After an hour or two, the charger light goes green
- When the light turns green, the battery is no longer charging
- The volt meter reads around 4.1V
- Rinse and repeat…
Effectively, we are performing a 25% discharge every time we perform that cycle. That means we should get around 2500 cycles per battery in a perfect world, which is GREAT news! Now honestly, I do not expect to ever get 2500 cycles out of a battery but it is good to know that just charging and using the battery through the normal cycle listed above is effectively getting a great life out of the battery.
4. Don't leave it fully charged
Lithium-ion batteries don't need to be charged all the way to 100%. In fact, the life expectancy is greatly improved if they do not remain fully charged for any length of time. A 40%-80% charged range is a good guideline. When possible, keep it in that range to prolong its life as long as you can.
Summary: If you charge it, use it at least for a little while.
5. Keep it cool
Most people overlook this one. The simple fact is that excess heat is not good for your battery and will significantly shorten its lifespan. See the table below (source Battery University) – a hot battery will degrade in health much quicker than a cool one.
Battery Temperature
Permanent capacity loss when
Permanent capacity loss when
2% loss, 1 year; 98% remaining
6% loss, 1 year; 94% remaining
4% loss, 1 year; 96% remaining
20% loss, 1 year; 80% remaining
15% loss, 1 year; 85% remaining
35% loss, 1 year; 65% remaining
25% loss, 1 year 75%; remaining
40% loss, 3 months
Summary: We highly recommend, for example that you not leave your vapour product on your car dashboard or lying out in the sun at the cottage on the lake this summer. We also highly discourage baking your battery in an oven.
6. Charging at High and Low Temperatures
Rechargeable batteries operate in a wide temperature range but this does not give license to charge them at extreme temperatures. Extreme cold and high heat reduce charge acceptance, and the battery must be brought into moderate temperature conditions before charging.
|Battery Type
|Charge Temperature
|Charge Advisory
|0°C to 45°C
(32°F to 113°F)
|No charge permitted below freezing (0°C/32°F). Good charge/discharge performance at higher temperature but shorter life.
7. Charging from a USB Port
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) was introduced in 1996 and has since become one of the most widespread and convenient interfaces for electronic devices. The USB port is a bi-directional data port that provides a supply voltage to power memory sticks, keyboards, mice, wireless interfaces, cameras, MP3 players and chargers.
Most home computers now have USB ports accessible with 5V and 500mA of available current. The USB bus can charge a small single-cell Li-ion pack, but there is a danger of overloading the USB hub when attaching too many devices. Plugging in a charger that draws 500mA along with other devices will exceed the port's current limit, leading to a voltage drop and a possible system failure. To prevent overload, some hosts include current-limiting circuits that shut down the supply when overdrawn. Another method is limiting the current of all attachments to 400mA to reserve 100mA for housekeeping.
Many vehicles now have USB Ports that come standard. Adapters are also available that convert the cigarette lighter in your vehicle to a USB port or even multiple USB ports. With these adapters however, you will need to be certain that it is rated with enough power (mA) to drive your charger device. An adapter rated for 500mA should suffice as a rule but you will want to check the sticker on your charger device.
Summary: You can charge your vapour product battery from a USB Port, but there are things to consider. Vapour product USB chargers will draw between 200-480mA, depending on the particular model. It will be printed on the charging device label. You must consider that the output of the USB may not be able to deliver enough power for the charge.
With that said, another consideration to be aware of is the version of USB device. Now, USB 1.0 has been around for a while (since 1996 as stated above) and it had an output limitation of 100mAh which will not be sufficient to charge your battery. USB 2.0 was released in April 2000 and more than likely any device that you are still using has at least USB 2.0, but it is worth checking before you try to charge your battery. USB 2.0 or higher is definitely what would be needed. On most electronic devices, it will specifically say USB 2.0 or "Hi-Speed" or "SuperSpeed" (for USB 3.0).
And finally, if you are going to use USB to charge your batteries, we highly recommend that you consider an externally powered USB Hub (remember USB 2.0 or higher). A USB Hub will have an external power adapter that plugs into a standard wall outlet. This will not only protect your computer's USB but provide you with much more power available to spread across more than one port.
8. Recycle your Batteries
Lithium batteries contain metallic lithium that reacts violently when in contact with moisture and the batteries must be disposed of appropriately. If thrown in a landfill in a charged state, heavy equipment operating on top could crush the cases and the exposed lithium would cause a fire. Landfill fires are difficult to extinguish and can burn for years underground. Whenever possible, before recycling, apply a full discharge to consume the lithium content.


text: Hello Pierre, On Wed, 12 May 2004, Pierre Bourgin wrote: > I would like to know how people who are using pkgsrc under Linux install > their Linux system, and which Linux "packages" (depending on distro. they > use) are *really* required to have a minimal usable environment (that will > be completed with pkgsrc-packages, of course). I have used Debian Linux a few times. I used an old SuSE once and I used a Slackware (9 I think) too. Have a look at http://users.piuha.net/martti/comp/slackware/slackware.html as some ideas. Now I just uses a live CD and manually prepare the system and extract pre-made tarballs to get a simple Linux system up. > And does pkgsrc packages may replace gcc for instance ? XFree ? nfs-utils ? And I use pkgsrc packages for everything. (See my pkgsrc-wip package for linux-nfs-utils. Also see iptables, vixie-cron, linux-makedev, linux-module-init-tools, et cetera.) > I don't think it's possible to build a Linux machine only with pkgsrc right > now, but at which degree is it possible to "go down" ? It is possible to build a Linux machine using only pkgsrc (including pkgsrc-wip) right now. See my webpage at http://linux.pugetsoundtechnology.com/faq/ My wife is using a gxine plugin to watch a RealPlayer streaming video through firefox-gtk2 under xfce4 on a Linux system where every single component was built using pkgsrc on another build system and installed on her system with pkg_add. Jeremy C. Reed BSD News, BSD tutorials, BSD links http://www.bsdnewsletter.com/


text:
Two out of five US retailers do not have a physical store, report says
Two out of five US retailers do not have a bricks and mortar store thanks to the internet, and websites are out-earning real stores, according to a report by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
This Article Covers
Two out of five US retailers do not have a bricks and mortar store thanks to the internet, and websites are out-earning real stores, according to a report by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
Computer Weekly's Buyer's Guide to GDPR Part 2
In this 12-page buyer's guide, we look at the tools that could be used for compliance, the incentive to create a smarter, leaner business, and the myths surrounding the new rules.
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Eugenia Steingold, DMA senior research manager and the report's chief author, said, "Many, if not most, retailers have now moved beyond brick and mortar and have added other channels such as catalogues, websites, TV, and radio for both sales and promotions."
The report, "Channel Integration and Benchmarks in the Retail Industry", analyses direct marketing practices in each channel and looks for channel integration. The report measured how many respondents use each channel, and its effectiveness, measured by return on investment.
The report's key findings include:
- 41% of survey respondents do not have a physical store.
- The website is the most consistently used direct marketing channel, followed by e-mail and direct mail.
- Mobile is the direct marketing channel retailers are least likely to use.
- Among the survey respondents, 66% gather customer information from direct mail, and 65% gather it from the internet.
- About 83% of respondents segment their customers based on demographics, 77% do so based on purchasing frequency, and 76% on products purchased.
- Only 33% provide cross-channel order fulfillment.
- Discounts remain the most popular loyalty program, with 80% of respondents using them.
- Brick-and-mortar stores (20%) and websites (22%) produced the highest level of revenue in 2007.
Steingold said, "To be successful, retailers need to merge and synchronise all channels in terms of consistent brand message, timing, creativity of promotions, loyalty programs, and fulfilment."
DMA conducted the internet survey in November 2007, with 101 retailers participating.
Enjoy the benefits of CW+ membership, learn more and join.


text:
Paramore's path mixes members' fame, faith
Paramore's path mixes members' fame, faith
Published 5:30 am, Friday, May 29, 2009
It's been a good — er,great— couple years for Paramore. The pop-punk quartet, fronted by flame-haired Hayley Williams, saw sophomore albumRiot!soar past the 1 million sales mark and earned a best new artist Grammy nomination (which they lost last year to hot mess Amy Winehouse). The group also sunk its teeth into a prime slot on theTwilightsoundtrack (via blustery singleDecode). It cemented Paramore's status as Hot Topic royalty.
"It takes making smart decisions and being careful about what you do next. Those are all really big opportunities," says guitarist Josh Farro, calling from the band's Franklin, Tenn., homebase.
"You have to follow up. We just keep doing our thing and creating music that we love and touring. We believe if we do that, it's all going to fall right into place.
To that end, Paramore has hitched on as opener for No Doubt's first tour in five years — a reunion of sorts after frontwoman Gwen Stefani's stint as a solo pop diva. The riot-grrl antics unfold Sunday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands.
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Farro, just 21, calls it another "huge" opportunity for his young band.
"I was actually shocked. The fact that they came to us and asked us. We've never really opened for a huge band," he says. "Hayley has definitely always been a fan. I just really respect them.
"There's definitely some pressure there. These are No Doubt fans, and they could easily think, 'This is just a No Doubt wannabe.' But we're just going to have fun. I think their fans will like us."
Hard-core Paramore fans — a fiery brigade of 'tween and teenage girls — will also have plenty to squeal about. The band is in the final throes of its third studio disc with producer Rob Cavallo, whose credits include pivotal tunes for Green Day, the Goo Goo Dolls, David Cook, Kid Rock and, um, Paris Hilton.
Farro promises two or three new songs during the band's Houston show and says the new record offers a "more diverse" view of Paramore — and searing tunes that focus on everything from friendship to betrayal.
The band's third disc is due in September.
"It's definitely different for us. Our heavier songs are a lot bigger. I think they really capture that live sound. Our ballads are a lot more mature. I think we took a slight risk," he says.
"We each kind of have our own, individual presence on the record. I think that's really what our band needs — someone (Cavallo) that guides us rather than forces us to do something."
One particular standout, Turn It Off, finds the band questioning its Christian faith. It's a personal stance that Farro hopes fans of all backgrounds will accept.
"It's definitely vulnerable. It's really easy in life to doubt anything," he says.
"We don't want our fans to feel like we're preaching to them or that we're out there to tell them how to live their lives or what they should believe. But at the same time, it is really important for us to let people know that we do believe in Jesus Christ, and we are Christians.
"It's not easy, because not everyone agrees with you. But I think for the most part, our fans are really cool about respecting what we believe, whether they're Christians or not.


text:
By focusing on your Qi,
You can become as soft as a Baby.
Dao De Jing (chap 10).
Qi translates as 'energy' or 'breath'. It is what the Japanese call Ki (like in AiKiDo) and Hindus call Prana. Qi Gong means "working with the qi." It is the ancient Chinese practice of becoming aware of this life energy and learning how to control its flow.
Qi Gong uses a series of postures, and movements linked with deep breathing as a meditative technique. The student learns to be aware of the inner workings of their own body and learns to restore a healthy balanced feeling of being. Even half-hour an hour each day will bring to you the dividends of better health, increased vitality, and peaceful alertness.
In an ancient story, a great flood covered much of China and its stagnant waters produced widespread disease. The legendary shaman-emperor Yu cleared the land and diverted the waters into rivers by dancing a bear dance and invoking the mystical power of the Big Dipper Constellation. As the waters subsided, people reasoned that movement and exercise can similarly cause the internal rivers to flow more smoothly, clearing the meridians of obstructions to health.
For Taoists Qi Gong is the ideal way to realise their goal of 'wuji', an empty, alert, boundless state of consciousness. The harmony of Yin and Yang: inside and outside, earthly and spiritual, stillness and activity. Spirit and body cultivated in balance.
Qi Gong is a preventive and self-healing aspect of Chinese medicine and is still used today, to teach patients how to improve their own health. A major early text on Qi Gong, the 'Dao-yin Tu' (168 B.C.) contains illustrations of forty-four Qi Gong postures prescribed by ancient Chinese doctors to cure specific ailments.
One of the founding father of Chinese medicine, Hua Tuo (second century A.D.) was also one of the great early Qi Gong masters. His "Five Animal Frolics" imitate the movements of the Crane, Bear, Monkey, Deer, and Tiger and are still practiced today. Hua Tuo said that: "just as a door hinge will not rust if it is used, so the body will attain health by gently moving and exercising all of the limbs".
Qigong is practiced by more than 80 million Chinese people and probably by tens of thousands in the United States and Europe. Its practice will improve performance in the martial arts or any sport. It will bring you health, harmony and balance. Qi Gong techniques are suitable for male or female, young or old, fit or disabled.
Though there are many styles of Qi Gong all are based on similar principles: relaxed, rooted posture; straight, supple spine; diaphragmatic respiration (breathing into the abdomen, expanding on inhalation, retracting on exhalation); fluid movements without excess effort; and tranquil awareness.


text:
The helpful people in my life and career keep coming back to me in sometimes fond memories.
Having had a military career, an accounting career, a home making career as wife and mother and a writing career; this allows for a bit of story telling.
With a steaming cup of coffee at my desk I sometimes look back on my previous accounting career and the best part I recall is the helpful people with whom I worked.
From a part time job with my granddaughter in my retirement years, (a granddaughter who started as a receptionist in a fairly large company to become accounting manager and later general manager of the company), all the way back to my first office job right out of high school.
Of course every aspect of business, large or small, has evolved with almost unbelievable leaps and bounds since the advent of the electronic age.
In my first bookkeeping position, the helpful person I remember was the business owner's wife. Although she was rather strict (maybe I needed that at the time) she did teach me the basics and kept me interested in the work for some time.
I can recall each office position in the accounting area of the companies I worked for and the people involved.
In one job I learned to tune out all the nonsense conversations going on around me and was able to concentrate only on my accounting work. My husband sometimes said that I became so proficient at this that I tuned him out as well. I don't think that was the case but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Over the years I came in contact with many helpful people, although my most important interest in life was my family. A husband, four daughters and a son were the focal point. Although I cannot say that they were helpful with my career in the early years, I loved them immensely and later I became more interested in their careers.
After my husband passed away, I must say that now, in my later years, my children and grandchildren are the most helpful people in my life and in my career.
A new career as a blogger working from home has become very fulfilling and I have met many talented, helpful, creative people in the past few years. The internet marketers that I have met recently are so giving and helpful with their advice and kindness toward the daughter and granddaughter that I am working with that I cannot praise them enough.
Each day becomes more fulfilling in this blogging career and all I have to remember to do is get away from my computer periodically and get some exercise.
My best to you,


text:
Recently Steven Moffat has suggested that Doctor Who fans start following the remarkably beautiful Sophia Myles on Twitter.
Well, he says he'll explain later, but a certain tabloid newspaper is having none of it, claiming instead that the former Madame de Pompadour is being lined up as a permanent replacement for Karen Gillan.
Wishful thinking or an interesting old/new take on the time-interrupted companion?
Here's the Tweet that started it all off:
[blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/#!/steven_moffat/status/157115423849058304″]
Of course, Sophia Myles guest starred in 2006's The Girl in the Fireplace (written by The Grand Moff) in which she had a proto-Pond relationship with "Fireplace Man" – the Doctor – who kept visiting her every few years of her life via a time window on a stricken spaceship, where clockwork men hoped to harvest her brain as a CPU…
…so there are plenty of gaps in her life where she could potentially have travelled with the Doctor.
Myles also appeared in the Thunderbirds movie as Lady Penelope and in recent years has appeared in such diverse series as Moonlight and Spooks.
It's also worth pointing out that The Grand Moff has been Tweeting and referring to @SophiaMyles regularly in the past few weeks, so it could all be coincidence.
Then again, if she was to reprise a previous role or even if the team wanted someone familiar with the show, avoiding auditions and the subsequent spoilers that they can lead to is wise. After all, we wouldn't want to overshadow Karen Gillan's departure at this stage, would we?


text:
Submit a Support RequestContact Us
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Customer Service: 925-215-3559
Outsourcing your IT department to the experts at Pacific Computer Consultants will finally give you the ability to solve real business challenges. We customize innovative, effective solutions to help your business run smoothly with or without your internal IT staff. We deliver the latest security, technology consulting, services, maintenance and support as a highly cost-effective IT solution in order to maximize our clients' productivity and profitability.
Our Mission: To deliver the wow factor when it comes to IT.
There are a number of reasons we love PCC. We never have downtime or serious IT problems anymore like we were experiencing in the past. They interact on our behalf with our vendors to make sure we're always up and running smooth on all fronts. After working with them for 11+ years and having them move our computer network TWICE, I've come to completely trust their recommendations. They always have a relevant, legitimate business reason for the suggestions they're making and don't sell us a bunch of technology just because it's "cool" to have or because they want to make a quick buck. The investment we make each month to have them handling our computer network is just that – an investment. I don't even think about the dollar amount on the invoice because of all the value they have consistently delivered for more than a decade now.
Michelle Ferber, Managing Shareholder
Ferber Law, A Professional Corporation
PCC understands that every minute counts. They quickly eliminated the random downtime that plagued our offices. One of the major time saving services for us is their vendor management services. We just had a conference call yesterday with a software company, PCC was on the call and they talked tech to each other and I didn't have to get in the middle. Vendor "finger-pointing" is a thing of the past. PCC explained the solution, giving me the business implications with pros and cons for the firm, instead of tech jargon. We have been thrilled working with PCC. When we call their help desk, it is staffed with technicians that listen attentively and care about making sure we are cared for in the best way possible. They are so polite and professional that I look forward to calling them, instead of dreading the call to IT!
Sharon Everson
Law Offices of Donnelly, Nelson Depolo & Murray LLP
We've moved staff to new buildings, changed our internet provider in one office, added about 50% extra staff (and computers), and all of it has run smoothly, on time, and without worry. They have coordinated with all of our other vendors that have anything to do with IT (phone, internet, business software, etc.); they spend the time on the phone with our vendors, not us. It's a huge productivity boost.
Gavin Westberg
Director of operations
Pain Medicine Consultants
To help you get to know us better, I'd like to give you our FREE IT Buyers Guide titled, "What Every Business Owner Must Know About IT Support Services and Fees What You Should Expect To Pay For IT Support For Your Business And How To Get Exactly What You Need"
Read This Guide and You'll Discover:
Go ahead and fill out the form here and we'll send you a copy today!


text:
Honor Flight veterans return home
Published 10:38 am, Saturday, October 4, 2014
After a three-day visit to the nation's capital, the South Plains Honor Flight returned home late Friday night to the Lubbock airport and were greeted by a brass band, bagpipers, military and first responder honor guards and a huge crush of flag waving relatives and well-wishers. Ninety World War II, Korean and Vietnam war veterans from across the South Plains along with their guardians and others made the trip to visit the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War memorials and other landmarks in Washington, D.C. Assisting WWII Navy veteran Huston Hunnicutt as he walks through the crowd of well-wishers Friday night are guardian Jerry Koch (left) and fellow WWII Navy veteran R.D. Jones, followed by WWII Army veteran John McDonough and his son Mike. In addition to the McDonoughs, others from Plainview on this year's Honor Flight were veterans Berl Reagan and Bo Blankenship, and Randy Faulkenburg who served as a guardian.


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Though of course it's great getting the chance to see any older film on a big screen, there's a special thrill that comes with seeing things that you know aren't easily available elsewhere or that haven't been seen for a long time. That's the case with all three of these films, early 1930s films that have been out of circulation for over seventy years, pretty much only seen in the interim by scholars, archivists, and collectors with bootleg copies. Even though I rate all of them as three or three and a half stars, which is generally not that great a rating from me, that's mostly because I doubt the films will hold that much interest for people who aren't massive '30s film buffs. But for those of us who are, getting to see them with a theatre full of like-minded '30s film buffs was a real treat, and had an extra edge of rediscovery that was almost palpable in the air. And, as Robert Osborne said when introducing Night Flight (which he admitted he'd only seen in bootleg copies and didn't think entirely worked as a film), "it may not be that good, it might even be bad, but when you're a film buff, you can't have a movie with Myrna Loy, two Barrymores, and Clark Gable in it and not look at it." The 500 people filling up the theatre agreed vociferously.
This is the Night (1932)
A fifth-billed Cary Grant makes his first screen entrance walking up the stairs to his lavish apartment singing and carrying a quiver full of javelins – he's an Olympic javelin thrower whose wife (Thelma Todd) is stepping out on him with Roland Young. That in itself is kind of a ludicrous proposition, but somehow the cast makes it work. When a ticket delivery mixup (caused by the very funny and flustered Charles Ruggles) results in Grant getting suspicious, Young makes up a wife, then hires actress Lily Damita to play his wife as they all go on a holiday together in Venice. Where things get even more confused.
Of all these names, only Grant is well-known now, but at the time, these were all fairly major stars, and their collective sense of comic timing makes this farce extremely enjoyable to watch. Made in 1932, the film is pre-Code, relying a lot on naughty suggestions (one repeated gag is Young's chauffeur repeatedly closing doors on Todd's dresses, causing them to fall off, leading to the patter song "Madame Has Lost Her Dress") and double entendres – Grant's not carrying around javelins for no reason. Damita gets a bit too wishy-washy at times and the ending is far too pat, but the comedy bits are extremely winning. This was pretty easily the most pleasant surprise of the festival for me – I expected to only watch it for the historical value of Grant's debut, but ended up enjoying pretty much everything about it.


text:
From the Figaro:
"The story resembles a bad film, but it happened, and it is disquieting for the fate of Russian journalism. Wednesday, attempting to go to North Ossetia by airplane, two famous reporters who have continued to cover the fighting against Chechnya independently could not land. This was because of an "aggression' organized against them by alien muscovite forces. The first, Anna Politkovskaia, is well known for her courage and her pleas against the war in Chechnya.
She has served before as a meditator in the hostage taking in Moscov, October 2002. However this time, this was not possible. For Anna Politkovskaia was poined in the airplane that took her to the North Caucasus, after having drunk some tea. Falling violently ill, she was hospitalized at Rostov, then repatriated to Moscow. The form of the intoxication alerted her paper – the editor in chief of said paper, the Chekotchikhine journal, having been killed by a poison.
The fate of Andrei Babitski is also unclear. This Radio Liberty journalist was stopped by the police at the airport under the pretext that dogs had smelt a suspect odor in his baggage. As he tried, nevertheless, to board the plane, he was attacked by two individuals while a guardsman intervened. With the result that Babitski was accused of hooliganism and is now under provisional arrest. Yesterday, a court condemned him to five days of imprisonment. Why?"
Anna Politkovskaia's book of reportages from Chechnya was one of the best LI has read so far. One wonders: what is happening?
"I'm so bored. I hate my life." - Britney Spears
Das Langweilige ist interessant geworden, weil das Interessante angefangen hat langweilig zu werden. – Thomas Mann
"Never for money/always for love" - The Talking Heads
Das Langweilige ist interessant geworden, weil das Interessante angefangen hat langweilig zu werden. – Thomas Mann
"Never for money/always for love" - The Talking Heads
Friday, September 03, 2004
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text:
Jacob Aron, technology reporter
Google has uncovered a series of phishing attempts targeted at US and South Korean government officials. The attacks, which appear to originate from Jinan, China, attempted to gain access to the personal Gmail accounts of hundreds of users by tricking them into sharing their passwords. Chinese political activists, military personnel and journalists were also targeted.
The attackers were attempting to monitor their victims' email accounts by changing the settings to automatically forward messages. The attempts seem to have started in February, according to a report referenced by Google that also describes how the attacks were carried out.
Victims were sent a message appearing to be from someone they know, and the contents of the message mimicked the familiar Gmail interface for downloading attachments. These links actually lead to a fake Gmail login page, prompting the victim to enter their password and give the attacker access to their account.
One example email, titled "Fw:Draft US-China Joint Statement" contains the message "This is the latest version of State's joint statement. My understanding is that State put in placeholder econ language and am happy to have us fill in but in their rush to get a cleared version from the WH, they sent the attached to Mike." followed by what appears to be an attached Word document called "Joint Statement - U S draft_KC edits.doc".
Google has notified the victims of the attack and secured their accounts, while also alerting the relevant government authorities.
The Chinese government has denied any involvement in the attacks. "Blaming these misdeeds on China is unacceptable," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei at a news briefing this morning. "Hacking is an international problem and China is also a victim. The claims of so-called support for hacking are completely unfounded and have ulterior motives," he said.
The hacking discovery comes just as both the US and UK governments ramp up their cyber-defences and their cyberwar rhetoric. "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks," said one Pentagon official.


text:
Yes I heard all your clamors for more free InDesign and Illustrator templates so I'm happy to oblige and give you more. Previously, we have some nice InDesign templates for hi-tech companies, this time we're having Illustrator templates of company presentation folders cum brochures.
This is our second template freebie on folder design. Last time, I made just one folder template in InDesign which is still fast garnering views and downloads. Now we have not just one, but two Illustrator templates of company folders that can also double as brochures. This type of folder brochure is more economical than having a separate brochure and presentation folder. Best of all, they're free. You're not just saving a few bucks but you're saving a lot. Shop around for premium paid templates or custom designs like these and you'll be amazed how much value you're getting for free.
These two folder templates are measured in standard size of 9 by 12 inches (folded), has two panels, 4 pages, and 2 inside pockets on both sides where one pocket (left) has business card slits. These folders doesn't have spine. But if you want to add a spine, you simply add one vertically along the middle fold and horizontally below along the pocket fold, then adjust everything accordingly.
One folder brochure design is for a financial company which you can also use for other similar businesses like financial investment companies, banks, lending companies, insurance and many other businesses that has something to do with financial matters. The other one is for a garden landscaping company and can also be used for a flower shop business, floral services, wedding related businesses, and many more. Just replace the text and photos with your own and you'll have a great looking company folder brochure in an instant.
I have provided two file formats for both designs, Illustrator CS4 (.ai) and EPS (Illustrator CS and up). Four separate download links are provided below for each design and file format. I hope you like them all. Enjoy.
1. Financial Company folder brochure
Front and back
Inside spread
2. Garden landscaping company folder brochure
Front and back
Inside spread
Download links:
Adobe Illustrator files:
1. Free Illustrator template: Financial company folder brochure – 24.98MB
2. Free Illustraror template: Garden landscaping company folder brochure – 34.5MB
Illustrator EPS files:
1. Free Illustrator EPS template: Financial company folder brochure – 49.6MB
2. Free Illustrator EPS template: Garden landscaping company folder brochure – 72.79MB


text:
Andrea Barzagli and Simone Pepe are included in the Juventus squad for the Italian Super Cup Final against Lazio.
The defender missed Italy's game against Argentina last night because of an Achilles tendon problem, but he is part of the 27-man set-up for this weekend.
Boss Antonio Conte has also named Pepe in the party. The wide attacker, 29, returns after an injury-plagued 2012-13 season in which he made just one appearance.
Italian champions Juventus will play Coppa Italia holders Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday night.
Squad: 1 Buffon, 3 Chiellini, 4 Caceres, 5 Ogbonna, 6 Pogba, 7 Pepe, 8 Marchisio, 9 Vucinic, 10 Tevez, 11 De Ceglie, 12 Giovinco, 13 Peluso, 14 Llorente, 15 Barzagli, 16 Motta, 17 Marrone, 19 Bonucci, 20 Padoin, 21 Pirlo, 22 Asamoah, 23 Vidal, 26 Lichtsteiner, 27 Quagliarella, 30 Storari, 32 Matri, 33 Isla, 34 Rubinho.
See the latest Serie A predictions and betting tips with Eurotips.co.uk


text:
August 12, 2012
13485, 14971, Developing, GlobalCompliancePanel, Master, Meet, Plan, Requirements, U.S., Webinar
Developing the Master V&V Plan to Meet U.S. FDA, ISO 13485 and 14971 Requirements – Webinar By GlobalCompliancePanel
Overview: FDA Warning Letters and recent high-profile recalls indicate major cGMP deficiencies in many companies. One major failing is lack of sufficient or targeted risk-based company-wide V&V planning. Starting with a Master Validation Plan, evaluating its elements against ISO 14971 hazard analysis / risk management, allows development of meaningful product validations. The roles of different […]


text: This hotel is approx 20 mins from airport. 20 euros by taxi or if had a long journey, you can ask the hotel to supply adriver to pick you up for approx 40 euros which we done. The hotel sits in a 1500's style building situated just 5 mins walk from the Duomo. Our welcome at reception was great &... More


text:
RSV, a member of the Paramyxoviridae family of viruses, is a major cause of acute upper and lower respiratory tract infections in infants, young children, and adults. The virus is typically spread via respiratory secretions through close contact with contaminated surfaces and objects. The peak incidence of infections occurs in the winter months, usually coinciding with the influenza epidemic. Datamonitor estimates that annually, approximately 18 million people are infected with RSV in the seven major markets, including over 9 million children under the age of four, 5.5 million elderly, and 3 million adults with underlying disease. About 928,000 of these individuals become hospitalized due to their RSV infection. Further, an estimated 2.3 million children aged 0-59 months present with a RSV infection in the U.S. each year, of which approximately 91,000 are hospitalized. RSV infections are responsible for approximately 40 to 50% of hospitalizations for pediatric bronchiolitis and 25% of hospitalizations for pediatric pneumonia.
Only two drugs are currently available to either prevent or treat RSV infections. Antibody-based Synagis® (palivizumab) is approved to prevent, not treat, RSV infections in premature infants, and use is limited due to its cost. Ribavirin is used to treat serious RSV infections in infants with severe bronchiolitis and in immune-compromised patients. However, its use is also limited due to highly variable efficacy and toxicity risks. For instance, current American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for the treatment of bronchiolitis in children do not recommend the routine use ribavirin due to lack of clinical evidence supporting its use. We believe there remains a significant unmet need for safe and effective RSV antiviral treatments in all RSV populations.


text:
Two women in Brooklyn open a catering company and their story must be told. They have both worked in numerous and notable professional kitchens and have decided to pool their talents and their passions to open Rustic Supper.
In the beautiful photos on their website, you can practically taste the food and the pleasure it brings.
One of the two is Molly Baz, the daughter of old friends. On Facebook, I have followed the early path of her career as she has worked in professional kitchens in New York City, including Picholine, Allswell, and Glasserie to expand her palate and truly understand the global plate. Her culinary expertise includes classic French cuisine, to rustic Italian, to American gastropub, making stops in Middle Eastern and Asian kitchens along the way.
Molly's partner Amanda Elliott has been working as a private chef and caterer since graduating from The Institute of Culinary Education in 2005. Her globe spanning food emphasizes seasonality, creating memorable meals for two or two hundred.
Together? Well, collaboration, adventurous, fresh ingredients, talent and great energy is all. Just look at their web site and dream about events that would be perfect for this dynamic duo.
For example, dinner could begin with cauliflower fritters with cumin and date molasses, and steak skewers with aleppo, almond aioli, and thyme. This could be followed by chickpea and yogurt soup with dried mint. And for the main course: leg of lamb, warm spices, garlic, cilantro, charred baby eggplant, tahini, pomegranate, crispy black rice, dried apricot, shallot, mint.
Dessert sounds divine: cardamom donuts flavored with rosewater and pistachio.
To me, it looks like Rustic Supper excels at creating communal dinners that will inspire conviviality and delight. The food, I must say, looks absolutely delicious.


text:
Lublin University of Technology
address: 38D Nadbystrzycka St.
20-618 Lublin, Poland
phone: + 48 81 538 47 03
+ 48 81 538 43 57
e-mail: [email protected] internet:
20-618 Lublin, Poland
phone: + 48 81 538 47 03
+ 48 81 538 43 57
e-mail: [email protected] internet:
Management: Entrepreneurship and Marketing
degreeMSc in Management
duration4 semesters
ECTS points120
descriptionCandidates must be graduates of first degree academic studies awarded with a Bachelor or Engineer diploma (or its local equivalent). Especially welcome are graduates of management, economics, engineering, computer science, mathematics and statistics. This specialty lasts for 4 semesters (the first cycle of education starts in October 2017), 30 ECTS each and complies with the European standards.
The required level of knowledge of English is specified in general admission conditions.
The Entrepreneurship and Marketing students will be able to learn about modern management in many aspects including: strategic management, macroeconomics, finance and accounting, human resources management, production planning, legal issues of running business, ethics in business, marketing, advertising, quantitative methods, applications of IT in business.
Our teaching staff consists of specialists of multiple fields of management science as well as of law, computer science and applied mathematics. Many lecturers have also practical experience in business and consulting.
The specialty is intended to educate managers-to-be who can successfully face the challenges of the rapidly changing world including globalization processes as well as the impact of modern IT technologies. The educational process is not restricted to teach the graduates to act in the economically efficient way only. The overall approach to management education also includes the issues of social responsibility, ethics and sustainable development.
tuition800 EUR/sem. 3200 EUR/prog.
deadlinePlease follow the website: http://en.pollub.pl/en/candidates/full-degree-studies/studies-in-english
contactPostal address: Nadbystrzycka 38 D,
20 – 618 Lublin, Poland E-mail: [email protected]
institutionFaculty of Management, Lublin University of Technology
education requirementsCandidates must be graduates of first degree academic studies awarded with a Bachelor or Engineer diploma (or its local equivalent).
Study programmes
- Architecture - specialization:Diagnosis and Repair of Buildings
- Civil Engineering/Ecological Engineering in Transport Infrastructure
- Civil Engineering/Engineering Structures and Ecological Engineering
- Management: Entrepreneurship and Marketing
- Mobile Application Development
- Mobile Application Development in Environment Monitoring
- Mobile Systems and Information Networks
- Power and Measurement
- Sustainable Building


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We've assembled an incredible roster of speakers including Al Martin, Alan Cairns, Ken Ham, and Jerry Bilkes. Some of the sermons and practical sessions dealing with this subject include:
For this year's conference, SermonAudio.com is partnering with RFC to help organize, plan, sponsor, and promote this exciting family event.
SermonAudio.com was an idea that started 14 years ago with a humble purpose of magnifying the voice of the local pastor and helping the local church to extend its reach. Today, we stand in a unique position of encouragement to the scattered but faithful churches of our day. Theologically conservative churches of many different viewpoints broadcast with us, reaching a diverse audience the world over and with many we have developed special bonds of friendship and mutual encouragement.
One such friendship, with Answers in Genesis, has allowed us to acquire a world class venue for this year's conference -- the 1,000-seat auditorium called Legacy Hall at the Creation Museum itself. The Creation Museum in Kentucky is a state of the art facility sprawling out over 70,000 square feet. It houses 160 exhibits complete with animatronic dinosaurs, a planetarium, zip lines, camel rides, a petting zoo and much more.
We know that many families are not able to attend events like this due to simple economics. So to help remove this obstacle, admission to the conference will be completely FREE OF CHARGE and Museum admission will be available at a steep discount to attendees (Museum admission is not required for attendance). Space in the auditorium will be limited so be sure to register your family today!
Visit the ReformingFamilies.org website for conference details including the speaker bios, schedule of events, hotel accommodations, and more!
Come and see, it will be a blessed encouragement to your soul.


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NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Eastern Insurance Holdings (Nasdaq: EIHI) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels, good cash flow from operations and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income. Highlights from the ratings report include:
- The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 7.0%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 7.7%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
- EIHI has no debt to speak of therefore resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of zero, which we consider to be a relatively favorable sign.
- Net operating cash flow has remained constant at $6.85 million with no significant change when compared to the same quarter last year. Along with maintaining stable cash flow from operations, the firm exceeded the industry average cash flow growth rate of -13.95%.
- Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period, despite the company's weak earnings results. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year.


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The White CarI remember the sun bearing down on my bare back, as I spent another summer day working on the farm. The hot wind dried the sweat from my body as I continued another round of mowing the endless fields of weeds. The smell of the tractors exhaust mixed with the dust and pollen of weeds and grass filled my sinuses.
One day, while riding on the tractor the dust swirling around my head, I saw it: The little white car. It passed my location with a for sale sign in the window. It was love at first sight. I hurriedly scratched the phone number in the collected dust on the hood of my tractor; the remainder of the day I daydreamed of driving the little white car and how I would instantly become a popular person at school.
Later that evening, after all the chores were completed and I had turned the clear cool bath water into a pool of dirty brown water, I called the number that was etched in my mind.
The lady who answered claimed that it was her son's car and that she was reluctant to sell it, but that he had been killed in the Vietnam War. She could no longer bear, the daily reminder of his absence when walking past the car to get the mail. I told her that I was very sorry for her loss, and I would take very good care of the car if she did decide to sell it. When I asked how much money she wanted for the car, she explained that was not important at this time; I was perplexed with her remark, but agreed to meet with her the next day.
Time passed slowly while I waited for the meeting. I spent a restless night listening to the crickets and tree locusts sing their mating songs, and then endured a long hot day on the tractor mowing yet another field of bitter weed and grass.
As I drove my old rattling squeaky truck down the bumpy road to her home, I became aware of the unkempt condition of her home and yard. I pulled up in front of her son's car, my old work truck groaned as it stopped.
After I knocked, I heard the sounds of clanking pans and a faint, "just a minute" response. A lovely middle age lady smiled at me as she pushed the door open. She dried her hands on an apron, and then extended her hand in a greeting. We made our introductions and headed to the car.
We strolled toward the car, she told me about her son and his love for the car, as though he was still alive and just away for the moment. Upon reaching the car, she handed me the keys with trembling hands, the tears swelling in her eyes. I reached for her in a hugging manner, before I could utter a word; she burst into tears, sobbing with her head on my chest. The only thing I could do was stand there and embraces her, as words would not have been sufficient.
A moment later, she gathered her emotions and backed away from me obviously embarrassed by her actions. She began an explanation, but with an understanding look, I assured her that there was no explanation required.
She responded with a puzzled glance when I handed the keys back to her. I explained that I could never take her son's car from her. Providing a resigned smile, she set me at ease, informing me, that it was not the car which caused the collapse of her emotions, but it was a cumulating of all the grief and unhappiness that seemed to swell on my arrival.
She offered a cool drink while we discussed the details of the car, so I walked back to the house with her, asking if she was sure that she wanted to sell the car. She assured me that she was. I stopped and sat on the porch swing as she disappeared in the house. Before long she came back with two large glasses of lemonade and joined me on the swing.
Although she seemed somewhat embarrassed with her earlier actions, she had regained her composure. Soon we were talking like old friends. She provided further detail about her son and how his death had affected her husband, who had become an alcoholic and no longer came home or did any work on the farm.
After an hour of listening, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my, will you look at the time, I'm so sorry that I have kept you so long". It was getting dusk and the sounds of the summer evening creatures were starting. She thanked me for sitting with her and listening to her ramble on about her problems, she then advised that she would like for me to have the car. When, I replied I would be honored to buy the car from her, she laughed and repeated, "I want you to have the car, no money needed". I shook my head, "No! I cannot do that," but she kept insisting that she was going to give me the car. After a few minutes going back and forth, I finally said, "Okay, I will take the car on one condition: that I help you with your farm and household chores."
With tears in her eyes, unable to speak, she nodded her head in agreement. I further added that I would not take the car until the work around the farm was done satisfactory and she was happy with work. We stood up together and I extended my hand to her. Grabbing it weakly, she shook it in agreement. This time there was no stopping of the tears and she hugged me and whispered, "thank you".
For the next two months, after all my chores and work was done on our family farm, I worked every evening at her house and on the weekends. She always met me at the door with a wonderful warm smile and offered me food and drink; a strong friendship developed between us.
The week that school started back, I was excited about driving my new white car, but also I found myself sad, knowing that I would not be able to spend as much time with my friend. I had become very fond of our relationship and enjoyed the candor that developed over the last few months. As Sunday evening approached, I was finishing up the mowing of her yard and preparing myself on how I was going to tell her how much I had enjoyed these last few months. I was cleaning off the dusty lawn mower and using the hose to rinse the dust and grim off my own body when she came to me and handed me the keys to my new white car. Tucked beneath her arm was a large brown paper bag; she asked me to join her on the porch for a glass of lemonade.
As we sat on the porch, I took a long cool drink of the lemonade, placing the cold glass against my sweating forehead to assist in cooling me off. She broke the silence by telling me about the wonderful job I had done in transforming her run down farm and farm house into a place of beauty, how I had upheld my bargain and had gone way above the call and done so much for her; not only as a handyman, but in filling the void of her loneliness by becoming her friend and so much more.
She leaned over and placed the brown bag on my lap. My confusion was obvious when she said, "I know you do not have much money. I could not have you driving your new car to school without some new clothes." When I opened the bag I saw new shirts, blue jeans and other sundry items. I found myself speechless. She grabbed me by the hand and led me into the house. "Would you try them on," she asked. I walked into other room and removed my dirty tattered boots and jeans. As I tried each new outfit on, I would walk out and display the goods for her approval; she would clap and smile at how well they fit and looked.
The sound of the locus and the failing light of day finally ended the fashion show; I carefully repacked the new clothes in the bag, putting back on my old tattered belongings. I walked into the room with my head hanging low; she came to me and asked what was wrong. I looked at her, tears in my eyes, and said, "I'm going to miss you". She hugged me and told me that she still wanted me to come visit her. She explained that without a man in the house, I was the only one that could do the work. She then turned me toward the door, and told me to go home and to have a wonderful day at school tomorrow.
The first day of my sophomore year was great, I was proud of my new white car, and my new clothes fit me perfectly. I enjoyed meeting my old friends and made many new ones that year. Every football and basketball game throughout my high school years, without fail, I would see Mrs. Rapp sitting in the bleachers, cheering me on. I worked the weekends at her home, and in the evenings during the summers to come. However, as my dating and social life started getting busy, my time with her began to get shorter. She never complained, always encouraging me to get out and have fun, that I worked too hard and was missing my youth. I always felt guilty, leaving her alone in that old farm house, to toil around alone.
Mrs. Rapp was present when I graduated from high school in May and then my wedding to my high school sweet heart in July. I maintained my promise to her; I kept that new white car in good repair and always clean.
While attending college, I received the news of Mrs. Rapp's murder. An escaped convict, broke into her home and murder her, then stole her car. He was captured later that week, and sentenced to death a after a lengthy court trial.
The white new car that brought us together for that short period of time held more than just sentimental value. It allowed me to become friends with the nicest lady I have ever had the pleasure to meet. A lady that showed me how love is a blessed emotion that can be shared with almost anyone; I loved that lady.
As far as the white car, although the motor went many years ago, I could never bring myself to sell it. I parked it in our barn and placed a tarp over it to protect it from the critters and creatures. To this day, it sits in the corner of that barn. Sometimes I think about getting it out and rebuilding it to it glory days. But, then I think about Mrs. Rapp and then decide that maybe it is better to let the car rest in peace like her and her son.
TheSteeleBeast 61-65, M 3 Nov 6, 2012


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Connect With Us
Karner Blue Butterfly
Propagation Handbook for the Karner Blue Butterfly, Lycaeides melissa samuelis
First edition, November 2010
By Lindsay Webb, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
With assistance from:
Below is the Background and Summary, click here to download the entire Propagation Handbook for the Karner Blue Butterfly (40 pages, 946KB PDF).
Background and Summary
On November 7, 2007, the Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery Team, recognizing the importance of drawing upon lessons learned from successful ongoing captive rearing programs, established the Karner Blue Butterfly Captive Rearing Subteam to produce a comprehensive manual on captive rearing techniques for the butterfly. The Subteam was lead by Lindsay Webb of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department who coordinated development of the manual and drafted the majority of the text.
This resultant manual provides a comprehensive guide on the various techniques that are being successfully used in captive rearing programs for the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) (KBB) by various organizations in Indiana, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, and Ohio (refer to Table 1 for contact information). The manual includes information on, among other topics, egg, larvae, pupae, and adult care, release methods, vendors for captive rearing supplies, and suggestions on how to prevent disease. In addition, those starting new captive rearing programs with KBBs or other butterflies, will find this manual useful in determining which techniques will work best for them based on the location and size of the captive rearing facility, funds, and staff time. For more information pertaining to KBB translocations including reintroductions and population augmentations refer to the KBB Recovery Plan, especially Appendix I (USFWS, 2003).
Each captive rearing organization works closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on their KBB reintroduction or population augmentation programs. An Endangered Species Act Section 10 (a) recovery permit is needed from the USFWS prior to engaging in a captive rearing program to authorize any take of the KBB that may result from the activity. In addition, a permit from the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is required if KBBs will be translocated across state lines. Check with the state's wildlife agency to determine if a state permit is required. This manual will be available to others interested in captive rearing of KBBs and serve to help streamline the permit process associated with captive rearing programs.
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Above is the Background and Summary, click here to download the entire Propagation Handbook for the Karner Blue Butterfly (40 pages, 946KB PDF).
Return to Karner Blue Butterfly page
Midwest Endangered Species Home
Last updated: July 19, 2016


text: Followup to: <email@example.com>By author: "Jeff V. Merkey" <firstname.lastname@example.com>In newsgroup: linux.dev.kernel> > Alan/Ingo/Pavel,> > Do you one you guys know a good way to get IOCTL calls into the FS> drivers? I noticed there is an IOCTL path for FILE objects, but there> does not appear to be a general purpose IOCTL call to the File System> Drivers themselves (but there is to symbolic devices files created by> these FS's). I basically need this for the utilities that create and> config volumes and mirroring so I can query as to whether a file system> is mounted from the tools, and prohibit users from blowing away volume> segments, namespaces, etc. while a volume is mounted. There are also> some question/answer stuff during boot from a Netware file system if> NWFSCK (Netware volume repair utility) gets invoked due to mounting> problems. I need to be able to pass back and forth, such as asking> whether an imcomplete mirror group should be activated and failing> mirrors dropped during system boot if FS errors are detected. > > I am calling open() from the utilities with symbolic handles for device> objects (i.e. /dev/hda, /dev/hdb, etc.) and this is how I am creating> partitions, volumes, etc. Is there a symbolic handle that will map to> the FS driver so I can pass IOCTL commands between the utilities and the> file system driver, like /proc/filesystems/nwfs or something to that> effect? I religously poured over the code in Linux until 4 a.m. this> morning, and it doesn't look like this is supported.> No, there isn't. You basically have two options: open the rootdirectory of the filesystem and ioctl() to that (that is what autofsdoes); that is appropriate for per-mountpoint ioctl()s. The othersolution is to have a conventional /dev node and have your filesystemdriver also be a character device driver (this is quite trivial.)This is appropriate for non-per-mountpoint operations; ARLA forexample uses this method. -hpa-- <firstname.lastname@example.com> at work, <firstname.lastname@example.com> in private!"Unix gives you enough rope to shoot yourself in the foot."-To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" inthe body of a message to email@example.com read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/


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Return of the Nerds and 2017 Golden Globes
Hello, Nerds! After a well needed rest, we're back on schedule starting tomorrow. That being said, the Golden Globes are still being hosted tonight (regardless of TNL's own time frame, obviously). So here we are. Below we've listed all the nominations for tonight's awards and


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In the 3D stop-motion animated adventure/comedy, Paranorman, the small New England town of Blithe Hollow comes under siege by the undead. Only a misunderstood local boy, Norman Babcock, who has the ability to speak with the dead, is able to prevent the destruction of his town from a centuries-old witch's curse. He takes on ghosts, witches, zombies and worst of all, the moronic grown-ups around him.
Anna Kendrick is the voice of Courtney, Norman's obnoxious older sister. I recently joined a handful of other journalists in a round table Q&A with Kendrick. We wanted to know how this talented actress approached her first-ever animated film.
What's it like voicing an animated film?
Anna Kendrick: I always wanted to do an animated film, so I jumped at the opportunity. This was my first one. I was really nervous, because I'm not ADR rated (Automated Dialogue Replacement), so I wasn't sure how it was going to be, but it was actually really freeing. With an ADR, you're watching the movie and you're trying to say your lines. You feel like you're in a really safe space. You realize it's okay to make really ugly faces or really ugly body gestures, and to use all those things as tools was really helpful—all without being conscious about the way you look on camera.
What can you say about your character in Paranorman?
AK: She's your typical obnoxious older sister. She's really embarrassed by her younger brother. Even though her brother is extraordinary and ends up saving the town, she thinks he's annoying and she wants him to be normal and do normal things. Unlike Stacey in Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Courtney doesn't have her brother's best interests at heart. She's a selfish cheerleader type. At first, there's not a lot of love from Courtney toward her brother.
Do you see yourself as the character when Courtney's animated?
AK: Yeah. There are some things, like I would always bend at my waist. Kind of side to side, like I was really tired. So world weary that I couldn't hold my own body up, which is a very teenage girl thing. I think Courtney does that.
How do you find the direction different from live action films?
AK: It depends on the director, but the difference for me is that I get to hear what they want and do it immediately. They tell me what they want, and the second my brain processes it, I say it and try it. When a director on a film set says, action, you get to sit there and stew with it for like five minutes for them to get ready, change the lights, re-set the camera and what not. So that's the time you can get re-set in your head and you say, ok, yeah, I'll try that.
Did you get to record with anyone else or are you always by yourself?
AK: I got to record my first day with Casey Affleck. He's never done animated voice work, either. It was a great way to start out, especially because, by the end of the day, we were getting more comfortable with it and it became a bit competitive to see who was willing to embarrass themselves more.
Were there any improv moments where you were allowed to vary from the script?
AK: Yeah, Yeah, that was the other great thing about having Casey there. I have a crush on him in the film. So we got to do a lot of stuff. The directors were so open to improv because the process is so slow and precise that those moments of spontaneity are so important. Like anything you can do to keep the process spontaneous helps them later.
How much of the visual elements did you have in front of you to figure out how to interpret the character?
AK: They showed me the picture of the puppet and it was not what I expected at all. She's got hips on her, which is cool, so I liked that. It certainly made me feel that I could go really far in the characterization, and not just seeing Courtney, but seeing all the characters and discovering their world and the tone that went with it.
Was it different to act out the character in an animated film?
AK: Yeah, because in a film, you get to throw your whole body into it. And you can't help but be aware that you're on film, and you want to be able to look at this piece of film and not go, Oh, my God, why did I do that scene with my mouth, or why did I do that thing with my hands, like what kind of weird tick is that? But with animated films, you can throw everything into it. And I did spend a lot time in the booth with my hands on my shoulders and my feet all twisted underneath me.
Do you find yourself overly emoting because you're in a booth doing voice only?
AK: Yeah. It's definitely a heightened universe. I was certainly trying not to do a cartoony voice. The directors are really grounded in real emotion and they're all about the story. You never felt like you were doing cartoony stuff, but it definitely felt like a heightened world.
Did you audition for the role of Courtney?
AK: No, they just offered it to me. And it was a thrill. I thought it was because of my work in Twilight because I play a similar character in that. I'm not exactly sure what the process is, but they talked about taking audio from my interviews and Casey Affleck's interviews and cutting them together to hear what our voices sound like side by side. And I asked them if that was normal and Chris (Butler) is like, yeah, it's pretty normal. And Sam (Fell) was standing behind him going, No, that's not the typical process.
How do you deal with that process, stuff that you didn't know would be an audition?
AK: Well, I guess it would only be kind of a bummer if they tried it and said, Oh God, no.
With all the other animated films out there, what will set this one apart?
AK: I think this form of stop motion is sort of a dying breed and it's wonderful that people are still so committed to it. The level of artistry is really admirable. I have nothing but respect for all forms of animation, but there is something really special about the people who are so passionate about this art form that they do what they do.
What's it like seeing your character on the screen while you're in the sound booth?
AK: You're watching yourself and you're tying to match up to your voice. You're waiting on those horrifying BEEPs—they haunt my dreams. Usually when you're on set and somebody calls, action, some actors will say to themselves, they're ready, so when I'm ready, I'll start. With those BEEPS, you're literally waiting and waiting to get this line and do it right. It's the pressure of ADR.


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At the observation deck you can watch The Bellagio Fountain show - this is perhaps the best view of the fountains "dance". They don't rush you down, so we stayed for about couple of hours taking pictures and sightseeing. I loved it. You can really see a lot from up top. It was a perfect timing for a wonderful experience. I think everybody should do this once. The amazing view is worth the trip. Afterwards we went to the bar and have some drinks and enjoy the rest of the night.
|Top view facing Bellagio Hotel
|The Strip View
|Strip view with Mountain
|Bellagio Fountain Dance
|Eiffel Tower Paris - Las Vegas at night
|Excalibur Castle night view