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February 13th, 2008
I was thinking today about the "Reals" of the Heroes Network and what superpowers are now within the reach of our science and technology. Most superpowers are ridiculously unphysical, as described in the really fun book, Physics of Superheroes, which the author James Kakalios fashioned after a class he teaches at the University of Minnesota. There are some superpowers that we're just never going to be able to have in the real world (virtual realities are a different story). Some of these include growing or shrinking, as they violate conservation of mass, or the ability to walk through walls, teleportation, or superspeed that would enable someone to run over water without sinking or be effectively invisible because they move too fast to be seen. And people transforming into animals like Beast Boy? Oh, come on!
Wikipedia actually keeps a long list of comic book superhero powers for the anal power counter.
There are some powers that do not violate the laws of physics as we know them. I'll start with the more straightforward powers and get more esoteric as we go along.
Bullet Proofness: This is pretty mundane as powers go, but a basic one I think every superhero needs. It can be implemented a number of ways: super tough skin ala Superman, bullet-deflecting bracelets as with Wonder Woman, Wolverine's adamantium skeleton plus fast healing, or the bullet-proof armor of Michael Keaton's movie Batman. I suggest simple is good and fine here, and recommend commercially available bullet-proof clothing. Such technology is impressive in action. This isn't the sexiest superpower, but it will give Mr. or Mrs. Real who is staying at home with the kids a little peace of mind.
Super strength: Again, a basic power that's necessary to knock down doors or lift up cars to save trapped people. Superman and the Hulk have this naturally, in abundance, but Krypton isn't real and gamma rays will just kill you. Iron Man and about a million characters with exoskeleton armor show a technologically feasible implementation, which we can manage already. Not exactly commercially available, but if you're a military contractor high up in the research labs, you can make your own I suppose, and charge the government for it. I don't recommend cyborg action here, as with the Six Million Dollar Man — he should have ripped his arm off several times every episode.
Flight: Superman's got this one down, but I don't know how. When he first appeared, he just made giant leaps like the Hulk, which made some sense, but he and a gazillion others, including the entire Legion of Superheroes via their flight rings, all get to float through the sky with the greatest of ease. While we've made some progress with various forms of gliders as seen in the Tomb Raider sequel and elsewhere, similar to what the Falcon has and Batman uses in Batman Begins, these aren't true flight. What can we do? Jet packs are now being manufactured for sale to duplicate some things the Rocketeer can do, and perhaps Nighthawk of the Defenders (who somehow hid a superpowerful jet pack under his cape). I don't know that they can lift an exoskeleton though, and the propellant is used up in about a minute so check your altitude. But for $100k, I don't know what else you'd buy. And flight would be handy if you don't want to stick around and explain yourself to the police who might not like a vigilante around.
Invisibility: This is one superpower I think everyone really craves to have, and is tremendously underrated in a fight. I guess in the case of the Invisible Woman, when you're fighting Dr. Doom or the Super Skrull, it doesn't help much, but against street thugs it would be killer. We're not going to have true invisibility any time soon, but we will have active camouflage as in Predator. Here's a nice article from science-fiction writer Wil McCarthy explaining the video and what will likely come soon, or is already in existence and classified. Apparently there are plans for invisible vehicles, so Wonder Woman's invisible jet isn't so far fetched as it might seem (and it always seemed that way to me!).
Wall-crawling: Science has managed to duplicate the incredibly powerful, residue-free stickiness of geckos as described here. Gloves and boots coated with this material in principle will allow people to climb walls like Spider-Man, although I suspect few save real climbers will have the appropriate strength-to-weight ratios to do this well.
Mental Telepathy: Want to project your thoughts like Professor X? And receive the thoughts of others? This is possible, but it's sort of a cheat cobbling together several elements for a basic implementation. We have the technology to control computers with our minds, the simplest case being moving a computer cursor by thinking. We also have technology coming along to project displays onto our retinas with contact lenses. Combining these with cell phone technology and simple text messaging would let you send messages to other people wearing similar systems just by thinking them.
Electrical Blasts: How about some offense, like the Shocker or Electro? Well tasers are a simple version of this, delivering an incapacitating shock. Hey, that's fun to watch! High-power capacitors can work, too, and can hold killing charges. Good superheroes will stick with non-lethal weapons, like Wolverine's claws or the Human Torch's fireballs. Wait…
Heroic Leaps: Want to make out like The Tick, Bouncing Boy, or match the moves of the Toad or Batroc the Leaper? No problem! If I were a criminal and saw a bunch of guys in bright costumes coming at at me like this, I'd freaking run like mad.
Seeing in the Dark: There's a nearly direct match available to the blind like Daredevil's radar sense. Kids today are actually being taught to echolocate. To see in the dark like Dr. Mid-Nite, you're probably better off with a set of generation 3 night vision goggles with response out to infrared wavelenths (about a micron) and an infrared illuminator. I have a set of goggles like this, and they're not only fun to play with at night, they're a fantastic addition to the equipment of amateur astronomers. You can literally see the Andromeda Galaxy with a casual glance at the sky, and many, many more stars that you've ever seen in your life.
Fear Projection: Okay, this one is more for villains like Mr. Fear or the Scarecrow, but didn't Batman justify his costume with the notion that criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot? An infrasound gun is your tool! Infrasound is low frequency acoustic waves below the hearing threshold that have disturbing psychological effects. And I'm waiting for a horror movie to come out with an infrasoundtrack.
Web-Spraying/Paste Pots: The military developed a sticky foam gun that sounds a lot like what good old supervillain Paste Pot Pete (AKA The Trapster) uses. It's a reasonable facsimile of what Spider-man does when he corrals the bad guys for police pick up.
I imagine I've missed some other obscure powers, especially offensive heat rays or dazzling lights (i.e., the Dazzler who should have died with disco), that we could duplicate effectively today if so determined. Any suggestions?
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Supply of paper money shrinking, reader warns
May 17, 2014 at 12:17 a.m.
Editor, the Advocate:
There is a rumored event which would radically disrupt the supply of physical money in America. Various investment sources are indicating our economy will begin a radical shift away from cash and toward an all-electronic money supply. Some even say the Federal Reserve will introduce this program in their June 17 meeting.
Does this rumor have merit? The American Institute for economic research reports that 95 percent of every $100 already exists electronically. Considering today's technology, such as smartphones, computers and other devices, there really is no need for physical cash or coins. It appears conversion to an electronic currency system is inevitable. An advantage of electronic money would be to spur the economy by saving time, mental energy and improving overall efficiency. It will advance globalization and increase the scope and versatility of the Internet. Printing money and minting coins will be eliminated. A big disadvantage is financial privacy would virtually disappear as government and private corporations could have access to all electronic transactions accounts. Also, criminal activity involving "hackers" would increase substantially. The Federal Reserve will gain more power by using the digital printing press for better or worse - probably worse. The reserve operates without direct oversight from Congress or the president. It can pump electronic money instantly worldwide using a computer system called FedWire, which serves as a hub for the world's electronic central banking system.
Many believe an all-electronic money system will never happen in the U.S.; however, a similar event happened in 1933 when President F. D. Roosevelt ordered all citizens to turn in their gold to the Federal Reserve Bank. In addition, there are quite a few U.S. government agencies, businesses and some corporations that already will not accept cash in payment for their goods or services. Also, an emerging system known as "bitcoin" has alarmed our government as this system operates with no central authority or bank managing transactions. Bitcoins are stored in a "digital wallet" that either exists in the cloud or on a user's computer but lacks FDIC insurance protection.
Allen J. Novosad, Edna

subset: commoncrawl


text: UCHIYAMA Yasushi wrote: > | BUT,I think that keymap was NOT included the distributed files precompiled. > | > | So, I press the enter key to boot singleuser shell, > | the kernel complaind of "hpckbd: unknown scan code 0x51". > >Jornada 690 (Japanese) keymap only. Oops. Very thanks for you developping, UCHIYAMA-san ! I can use it by selecting "Jornada 690 (Japanese)" on my japanese Jornada680 (Prod # :F1262B ABJ). By the way, I think they have no difference between 680 and 690, except for RAM size (32MB for 690,16MB for 680). (but, 680 can ram extending to 32MB by daughter board provided by HP). :-D Differences are minor-versions of WinCE kernel and contents of bundle applications for WinCE on the system ROM ,if exists. ---- ITOU Makoto aaa44850%pop01.odn.ne.jp@localhost


text: On Wed, Jan 19, 2005 at 11:47:09AM +0100, Lennart Augustsson wrote: > Something like usbd is doubtlessly needed. It would be > nice if it could be common for all hot pluggable devices. I would love such a thing. Especially if the system could cope with the user disconnecting the USB device / removing the removable media without doing umount first. this has been fixed in -current for about 6 months.... about a week after i bought my digicam, infact. :-) .mrg.


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Tyre Recycling
With our policy of safe and responsible disposal of old tyres, we remain fully committed to recycling all old and used compounds in accordance with current tyre recycling legislation.
In July 2006, landfill sites stopped accepting tyres for disposal. As a result, we use a licenced reprocessing company to shred and granulate old tyres so the waste material can be safely re-used in a variety of applications.
Reprocessing Procedures
Fraser Evans & Sons is our licenced tyre waste carrier and reprocessing partner. The company sends a collection of vehicles twice a week to pick up the used and worn tyres we've replaced on our customers' vehicles.
Once collected they take the tyres to their reprocessing plant in Witney, Oxfordshire. Specialist shredding equipment is then used to break down the tyre material ready for tyre recycling.
Where tyres are made into blocks, we ensure the compressed bales comply with BSI PAS 108 standards. We also ensure the reprocessing company complies with bale re-use legislation.
What Happens Next?
Shredded and granulated tyres are used for a wide range of purposes. You'll find them in your home – reprocessed tyres are used as carpet underlay. You'll find them out on the roads – reprocessed tyres are used as replacement aggregates in road construction. You'll also find them down at the local park as they're used to create recreational sports surfaces.
Other applications include:
- All-weather training surfaces for horses
- Drainage and soakaways
- Fuel for cement manufacturing
Baled tyres are often used in civil engineering and other construction projects. Their capacity to support high loads, together with their high porosity and permeability make them ideal as foundations. You'll find them used on road building projects, in land reclamation and also in coastal and river protection initiatives.


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Restriction – II
Aum418:It is necessary that we stop, once for all, this ignorant meddling with other people's business. Each individual must be left free to follow his own path…the original brand of American freedom — which really was Freedom — contained the precept to leave other people severely alone, and thus assured the possibility of expansion on his own lines to every man."
One thing I think people need to bear in mind when reading Crowley is that sometimes he deals with what he considers to be "truth", and sometimes with things that just reflect his values, and its not always apparent which of the two it is. For instance, "Each individual must be left free to follow his own path" – I personally agree with this completely, but I do not think there is some quality inherent in the fabric of the universe which requires us to do this. I see no such quality to support any moral statement whatsoever, which is why I say such statements have no truth value.
The very first quote in the "new comment" is "The theogony of our Law is entirely scientific". To me, what sets Thelema apart from other philosophies is exactly this, that it is based wholly in reality. To take one example, a Christian might be happy accepting a statement like "Thou shalt not kill" without further question, but if we are to construct a philosophy based in reality (which, to me, is the only kind of philosophy which can be considered "worthwhile") then we cannot accept such a commandment unless there is a compelling reason in reality for why it must be so. My opinion is that in its ultimate interpretation, Liber AL expounds just such a philosophy.
Thus, while I can personally stand entirely behind a statement such as "Each individual must be left free to follow his own path", I cannot go further and say that one absolutely "must" or "should" do this as a matter of dogma. So when Crowley says "It is necessary that we stop, once and for all, this ignorant meddling with other people's business" I do not accept that "necessary" in that case is the same sense in which "Thou hast no right but to do thy will" represents a physical necessity. I interpret it as having an unspoken qualifier along the lines of "It is necessary….unless you want to be a complete and contemptible ass", which is unashamedly a value statement.
Aum418 wrote: I think that, to one who has reached Tiphareth (or crosses the Abyys into the Supernals, really) or understands their own True Will, that the idea of meddling with others' Wills is irrelevant and a sign of acknowledging duality in the consciousness of Self and Not-self. On the other hand, most are "Dark stars" in that the complexity of the folds of their internal veils conceals the inmost light of the Khabs – most of us have not abolished our egos by crossing the Abyss and therefore our understanding of our Will must be somewhat imperfect. In this way, it would be a good consideration to not 'ignorantly meddle' in another's business as recommended in Crowley's commentary to AL I:31. I would like to see how you reconcile this commentary with your believe in restriction of others' Wills.
I think your use of the term "it would be a good consideration" sums up my reconciliation already.
I do not think it is "wrong" or "unthelemic" to conflict with the will of others, ignorantly or otherwise, ever. I do not think it is "wrong" to divert from your own will in order to meddle or interfere with the will of another, but I do think it is "unthelemic" to do this. I think Liber AL spells all this out very clearly.
However, as a matter of practical expediency – divorced from all considerations of morality or Law – I think people who are contemplating interfering with the will of another would benefit from thinking very carefully before they do, precisely because it is far more likely than not that such a course would be "ignorant meddling" rather than a fulfilment of that person's will, and hence will lead to the "hurt" that comes from refusing the admonition to "bind nothing".
Going back to the lowest definition of will as "acting in accordance with one's nature", determining precisely what that will is is difficult, perhaps impossible to do. Yet, I do not think one need be a Master of the Temple before one can get a glimmering of what type of "interference" is "proper" in this sense. To take some simple and obvious examples, if somebody attempts to rob me on the street, and I have the power to prevent it, I will do so without a second thought. In such a case I think I could be quite justified in assuming that it is not my will to be robbed and I would have no qualms about restricting the other guy's will accordingly. Similarly, if I genuinely did have an overwhelming urge towards mass-murder, I would consider it perfectly proper to fulfil such urges without any ethical worries.
I have said before that adhering to one's one will, whilst not eliminating conflict, would likely significantly reduce it. This is because it is actually quite difficult to think of many sensible examples along the above lines. If you think in terms of what it is that you want to do, it rarely involves conflict with another unless they get in your way. Even when it does, we must consider that knowing the will is only half of the task; having the practical ability to implement it is the other. Thus, if I were dedicating almost all of my time to conducting scientific experiments in my house, I might consider it perfectly in line with my will to simply dump the effluent waste thereof into the community, rather than restrict my will by spending excessive time disposing of it more carefully. However, one might assume that the other members of the community would object to this imposition on them, and strength of numbers may give them the ability to restrict these actions. The other members of the community being just another part of my environment, I may therefore not have the capability to implement my will in that simple matter, and may therefore be obliged from a sense of pure practicality to dispose of the waste in a more "responsible" manner simply to allow the continued exercise of my will towards my experiments – such an act, though it may appear to be restriction, is actually necessary for the fulfilment of my will. Again, everyone minding their own business has by itself removed a potential conflict, without having to bring morals into the equation.
However, if it is difficult to determine when interference is in accordance with one's will, it is usually far, far easier to determine when interference is not in line with one's will (and such cases of interference are far, far more frequent), and this is the prime reason why "it would be a good consideration to not 'ignorantly meddle' in another's business". People who campaign against gay marriage or abortion are a perfect example here. Whatever it is that you want to do, you can be 99.99% sure that a couple of guys getting married – or some woman aborting her foetus – on the other side of the country isn't going to stop you from doing it. Hence by definition such meddling is extremely unlikely to be a result of the fulfilment of the will, and will therefore serve only to divert one from one's own will – for that reason alone it should almost certainly not be undertaken if one accepts the Law of Thelema. Similarly, on more emotive issues, practices such as factory farming or animal experiments are also extremely unlikely to prevent you from fulfilling your will, so attempts to interfere with those should almost certainly not be undertaken if one accepts the Law of Thelema, regardless of how much one feels the wills of the animals may be being restricted. It gets more difficult when you talk about not restricting others from murdering, for instance, since it may well be inherent in your own will to create an environment where your chances of being murdered are minimal, so you may possibly consider restricting the wills of murderers to be a direct result of the fulfilment of your will in this case (too many "wills" in one paragraph!)
But, the implication is clear. If you accept the Law of Thelema, and you want to "meddle", you would benefit from thinking long and hard about whether such meddling is going to have a concrete and significant effect on your ability to do your own will, and if you cannot find such an effect, then you should bite the bullet, accept any emotive issues it might raise within you as your own, and refrain from meddling.
If you do consider that there is such a concrete and significant effect to make interference the proper course of action, could you be mistaken? Could it still be a diversion from your will? Maybe. But what else are you going to go on? Whether you know your true will or not, you must act, regardless of how "advanced" you are. All I could suggest as a practical course of action is to act in the way that seems most fit, and to continue the investigation of your will.
So as to how I "reconcile" this – I do not think you can say "until you are illuminated, do not restrict, ever" All anybody can do is to make a concerted effort to understand will and the Law, to question each and every potential meddling with "does this action really help me to fulfil my true will, or am I just paying too much attention to the pictures in my head?", and to act accordingly based on an honest answer to that question. If someone else gets restricted as a result of that, so be it: "If he be a King, thou canst not hurt him". Remember, that if he is a King, this restriction that you may have been at pains to justify in your head may be completely trivial to him – if someone restricts my sidewalk with their vehicle, I just walk around it. If someone really is the embodiment of their will in the way we have been describing, short of death or physical imprisonment it will take an awful lot of restriction to significantly divert him from that, and that in itself is a good reason to not take too much time worrying about it once your decision is made. If he's not purely concerned with his own will and gets all uppity as a result of it, that's his problem, not yours.
Hope that explains my position adequately. For reasons of space I have not supported most of this with relevant quotes from Liber AL, but can do so fully if needed.


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Forums → Popular Media → Spread the Music
- 4 Replies
Everybody listens to music. There are many different types of music. I have created this thread so that we may spread music and share in the diversity of it all. It is simple, you listen to the previous 3 songs, for each song you shall write a short review.
Explain what you like about the song and tell us if its a song you like or if its a song you have never heard before. Be polite, if someone posts a song you do not like then politely say that you are not the biggest fan of the song. If you are not a fan of the type of music, then you can say so but still try to keep your comments about the song positive.
After you review the previous 3 songs, you need to find a song and post a link to a website playing that song (youtube is usualy a good site.) You can talk a little bit about why you chose that song if you would like.
Then the next person has to review the previous 3 songs and post a link and so on and so on. This is not a competition, we are not trying to choose which song we like best, instead, the goal is to share music and expand your tastes in music and knowlage.
Remember to be polite.
I shall post the first song.
Blackbird by: The Beatles
I am a huge fan of The Beatles, Everybody knows a song or two by them. Blackbird is one of the more mellow songs written by McCartney and it is a great acoustic song. It apears in The White Album, the last album that The Beatles came out with.
Ahh, The Beatles. I'm glad to see that people still listen to them, in this day and age. Blackbird isn't my favorite song, but it's still a classic.
This song was composed by one of my friends off of the NG audio portal. His work was being zero-bombed and he removed everything from NG, but I have an alternate link to one of his songs here:
Rising Shadows, by YourMentalDisorder.
Blackbird is always a good song to listen to when your feeling down. There are many better songs by the Beatles but I decided to post something a little less popular that was written by them.
I realy enjoyed Rising Shadows, it has great sounds of classical instruments and it had a fantastic feeling that went along with it. The mood of the music was quite strong.
This song is a well known song, which it is even more fun when you share new music that not everyone knows about, but I feel that after all the G. W. Bush threads and war threads that have been coming around lately that this song should prove apropriate.
War Pigs by: Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath is a good band, but not my favorite band
This song is one big solo and my favorite solo too...
Eruption - Eddie Van Halen
I love that solo its really cool!
Its a nice acoustic song. Not the best song but i like it.
Going To California-Led Zeppelin
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The atmosphere at the school that day was unusual. And weird. Couldn't forget that. It was weird and unusual mainly because there were no teachers in the school. Or at least, no living ones. And everyone else in the school, at least, all the ones who'd managed to survive, would now have gifts. Abilities. And I would be one of them.
Three hours earlier......
She'd woken up to her alarm blaring at her bedside. A hand snaked its way out from under the warm covers and fumbled around on the bedside table, nudging an empty plastic glass off onto the floor, before finally managing to hit the snooze button on the clock. A contented sigh rose up from somewhere near the pillow, and several more minutes past in relative peace.
Then came the near simultaneous sounds of her alarm, blaring away right near her head, and the banging of someone on her bedroom door, as well as the shouts of "get up, get UP!!! Busy day today!"
Her mind slowly started waking up, eyes blinking slowly, hands rising up to rub the sleep from her eyes. Why was it a busy day today? Her mind stumbled across the answer; Prospective Showing Day. That time in the semester when parents came around to the school with their lovely children, dropping them off before going on to face a gruelling day at work. She turned her body, rising into something vaguely resembling a sitting position, before her hands rose to rub at her face.
She, Morgan Michaels, teaching assistant to the Junior and Senior class teachers, had been asked to come in early to help ensure that everything was set up perfectly. And like a numpty, she'd agreed. She wasn't the only one though, so at least she wasn't going to be alone. Which meant she was getting out of bed an hour earlier than she should have been. Her beautiful, warm bed. The bed that was so tempting right now.
She started to lean back, ready to curl up under the covers, when a clanging sound from downstairs, followed by some not-so-mild swearing made her rock back forward. She was twenty-two, and she still lived with her parents. She loved them, really, kind of, but sometimes, you just wanted your own way with things. You wanted dark blue walls, not green; the couch to be moved here, the t.v. there. However, the apartment building where she'd grown up was so close to the school, she literally could get to work in two minutes, walking, sauntering if she wanted to.
She got up, entering the bathroom to complete her morning ablutions, and decided that today called for her nice boots, buckles and straps up to her knees, with the very nice blood red pinafore skirt, and the gorgeous green top that brought out her eyes.
Breakfast was undertaken quickly, as it appeared her mom and dad were on the up and outs again, glares and scowls being traded across the breakfast table.
And so it was, twenty-five minutes after waking up, that she found herself checking her pockets and bag for everything she thought she'd need for the day, ensuring that the mini-umbrella was tucked carefully away in the pocket of her bag. This was Seattle, and when the weather-man said it'd be sunny, fifty percent of the time, it'd chuck down hail, sleet and snow.
She stepped out the door, fur-lined denim jacket tightly wrapped around her body, and waited for the door to catch. As soon as it did, she could hear the noises associated with her parents fighting. Again. She raised her head, greeting the early, way too early, morning with a half grimace, half smile. The caffeine from the coffee hadn't kicked in yet. And walked her way down the block and over the road to the school.
55th Street School had, in the past ten years or so, managed to become one of the more prosperous schools in Seattle, something for which no-one quite had a reason for. It was neither in the "bad" area, nor the "good" one. It received the same amount of funding as all the other state funded schools in the city, yet it seemed to provide a better standard of teaching. It also turned out some of the smartest pupils in the entire state, and could boast that every year or so, the school managed to renovate some part of it that had desperately needed it for the past fifty years or so. She herself was a graduate, and was, now that the caffeine seemed to be working and was more awake, looking forward to the day ahead of her.
Two hours earlier......
The school was tidy, pamphlets laid out on decorated tables, notice boards nicely recovered with the latest semesters coursework displayed, and the bathrooms had undergone an especially thorough cleaning. The long and the short of it was, she thought the school was ready to undergo this Prospective Students Day.
Looking out a window on the third floor, she watched as the first of the days students arrived. Most of the early attendees were either the teachers, the teacher's aides, or students who, like she used to, left the house as early as feasible to escape their home situation.
As she vacated the classroom, and began making her way downstairs, she began wondering if she would know any of the prospective students. There could be Robin Willis, who lived in the below apartment from her and her parents, Jason Bennett from the building next to her was also a possibility.
She made her way to the auditorium on the ground floor, making certain that the required notes were on the dais. She waved to David, the I.C.T. technician who had come in early to ensure that the projecting equipment was set up correctly, and also that the presentation was done in a way that even a simpleton could manage to change the pages. She and David weren't friends, per se; they were mild acquaintances who happened to share the same love of science fiction and fantasy novels.
Waving goodbye as she left, she made her way up to the main reception, and found that in the time between her leaving the window upstairs and her arriving in the Reception area, a mass influx of students and their parents had transpired, completely overwhelming the other teacher's aides who had apparently, by the state of their apparel, only just arrived.
She grabbed the registration list from Carla, who left hastily, but not before giving her a thankful glance. Morgan turned her face towards the crowd of parents and their children who were shoving in front of each other, trying to be the first to deposit their child into the hands of the school and depart for destinations unknown.
Feeling a surge of anxiety at all the pushing, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled. And felt free.
Eyes opening suddenly, she held a hand up, stopping one pushy parent in their tracks as they tried to point at the list in her hands, and announced, firmly and clearly, that if a line was not formed immediately, she would immediately sue everyone in the room on behalf of the school. When several of them stated that she couldn't do that, she replied that she most certainly could, seeing as it was only seven-thirty, and legally, anyone not on the payrole of the school was technically trespassing.
The room quietened down after that, and a line slowly formed, though not without the almost obligatory "I was here first", "No you weren't, I was" argument. Next to her, Evan and Becky, two of the aides from the freshman/sophomore classes, gave her grateful grins as their progress at accepting the students began to pass more orderly and hastily than before. Senior students who had volunteered to help gathered groups of the deposited children and began escorting them to the auditorium.
One hour and fifteen minutes earlier......
Morgan stayed at the back of the auditorium as the presentation was performed. She knew that children, especially of that age, (considering it hadn't been that long ago for her), would get bored easily. She'd watched as several of the girls had removed nail-files, and begun doing their already manicured nails, and boys that had removed phones to play games. Some of the more studious in appearance had removed books or notes from satchels and backpacks and begun reading.
As the presentation begun however, she seen that all had put their miscellaneous objects away, and had paid attention. She knew the reason for this. In the past, 55th Street School had been the place you'd send your child if you didn't care about your child's studies, if all you cared about was not being sued by the government for not having your child in school. In recent years though, the school had risen in favour, and had become one where you sent your child if you wanted them to achieve. Sure, you could send them to some snooty Prep. School, but you would be paying for it there. 55th Street was better than any Prep. School in the parents eyes, mainly because they didn't have to pay any extra, but secondly because the students achieved. They succeeded. They left the places they'd been born, and they rose up, out of the dregs, and became something. And these children wanted that. They didn't want to become their parents, working long hours with minimum wage.
It was after the class registers had been called and teachers were removing their students to their rooms that it first happened. Mr Smith, teacher of Senior Maths and Statistics, suddenly had blood gushing out of his nose and ears. His hand went up to his nose, and came away with blood. Then he'd said "But I didn't take the shot". And collapsed to the ground, seizures racking his body. As other teachers and aides around the room began dropping, the sounds of students screams began filling the air, and she could hear the shriek from outside, and down the corridor.
And in that moment, time seemed to freeze. She looked around the room, people moving in slow motion, eyes blinking so slowly it looked like nothing was happening. And in the next moment, all she knew was a big headache, a piercing feeling right behind her eyes. She could feel her blood pounding through her veins, the subtle sounds of fabric rubbing sounded like a thunderstorm to her ears.
And her brain hurt. Oh God did it hurt! And then, suddenly, it stopped. And she knew so much. In school, she'd been the average student, passing with good grades. What had made her stand out was her empathy, her feelings for her fellow students. It wasn't in her to distinguish between the gothic girl and the cheerleader, in her eyes, both were worthy of her attention. And it had made her friends, so many friends, from all walks of life. The son of the lawyer, who'd spoken so eloquently and had been teased for it, was just as worthy of her love as the boy next door, who'd used a hearing aid and had spoken with a faint slur in his voice.
Jacob, the lawyer's son, had made her feel so stupid sometimes, with the way he spoke, and the vocabulary he'd used. Sometimes, they'd teased each other, each of them using words and phrases they'd known the other wouldn't know, in an attempt to see if their friendship could surpass a language barrier. But the game had made it evident that he'd known so much more than her, and looking back on the event several years later, she could see the way he'd behaved around her, the glow in his eyes as he'd stared at her. He'd been playing with her, toying with her, like a cat with his prey.
But Damon, who'd been born partially deaf, was smarter than her in ways he probably would never know. And he'd read, and read, devouring books with a speed that had amazed her. And he'd remember everything he'd read. Months later, he could recite a twenty sentence from a passage in a book he'd only read once, stating the page and the book title. She could barely the title of a book she'd read a week ago, let alone its contents.
But now, standing in the auditorium, hands raised to her temples, everything was coming back to her. Everything. Two weeks ago, she'd read a book on the standards of childcare in the city of Seattle. A week ago, she could barely remember what the writer had been babbling on about. Now though, the entire contents of the book were coming to her mind, in painful clarity. A year ago, she'd read twelve different books in an attempt to find information about the first American Child Protection Acts. Now, she could remember every word, every little detail that she'd read.
But what's more, she didn't just remember everything, she understood it. It was one thing to read something, yet another to understand it. And she knew the difference. Just fifteen minutes earlier, she would have thought the two the same thing, but now?
Now she was different. And she could feel it in her head, in her veins, in her heart.
And so it was, that within the space of a moment, Morgan Michaels had died, and was reborn.
One hour and ten minutes earlier......
It was a transformed Morgan Michaels that had ordered two aides to help her carry the deceased bodies of the eighteen dead teachers and four cooks out to small cafeteria. Garbage bags had been placed beneath the bodies, and a third aide had been sent to the gym washroom to retrieve clean towels to cover their faces.
Before this, Morgan had never known she was this highly thought of. She'd known that she was at least slightly respected, for she worked well with students, always helping them but not giving them answers, allowing them to have that sense of accomplishment that came when you got the right answer on your own. She helped out her fellow aides as often as she could, trying to make things easier on them, as no-one had done the same for her. It was the little things that made everything easier.
But she'd never known she was this well thought of.
She'd talked, and the others had listened. She'd said what needed to be done, and they'd done it. She asked for their opinions, and she'd listened, and she thought about things. She worked with them, and they worked with her.
The students had seen the others following her lead, and those who had been there in the morning had spread the work around to the others. From what she heard before they saw her and quietened, was that they thought she was in charge now. And since no-one was arguing, she'd let them think that. They needed someone in charge, someone to keep things orderly.
A few of those more...accustomed to death had been sent around the school with clipboards, and were currently noting down rooms and names where anyone else was dead. Several of those who were taking Home Economics were currently in the kitchens, making something that the younger children would eat. She'd sent some of the business studies students to man the reception area. A request had been made to the students that they not contact anyone on their phones just yet.
That had caused a bit of a ruckus before hand, when she'd discussed it with the other aides.
It had taken her repeating what Mr Smith had said before anyone would calm down. He'd recognised the symptoms as being those of a failed Promicin shot, of those who were on the losing fifty percent. But to have it happen so quickly, to so many people, was stated, so said the Science aides, as most likely being transmitted by air, which meant they were all infected. Which meant it had been brought into the school from the outside, which meant that this was most likely happening outside the school as well. That meant they needed to contact that NTAC group she'd heard about on the news.
Unfortunately, all calls to anyone on the outside weren't being received; NTAC, police, ambulance, fire fighters. She'd tried calling the Law Courts, the local army bases, hell, she'd even tried calling her parents, and they only lived a block from here. No answer from any of them.
So she'd had to declare a form of Martial Law. Explaining it to the students, both prospective and otherwise, had been an undertaking. Having to explain what had happened to the now deceased teachers, people they'd know for less than an hour had been hard. Explaining that this probably wasn't just happening to them, and that they couldn't call their parents to see if they were still alive had been extremely difficult.
She tried to empathise with them, saying that after she'd tried to call the authorities, she'd tried to call her parents. Since they only lived a block away, her mobile signal should have been clear, she shouldn't be getting any interference. Nevertheless, she'd been unable to contact them. The looks on their faces said it all; their parents were further away, what chance did they have to contact their parents?
Looking up at the top of the auditorium near the entrances, she could see those she'd sent out earlier. From behind them came the regular students of the school, those who had already gone to class this morning. From the looks on their faces, as well as the tears falling, it was obvious they'd seen something as well.
They filed down the stairs, filling in the empty seats, and when the seats were filled, some just decided to sit on the stairs. Some sat on the floor at the back, and some girlfriends had decided to sit on their boyfriend's laps. She couldn't blame them. Some of the Seniors who hadn't volunteered were up at the back, waiting by the aides she'd sent out.
Another I.C.T. technician, Lucas, was coming down the stairs as she was going up, and she saw in his hands a DVD case. Flashing the case towards her as the neared each other, he smirked, and she couldn't resist the scoff that escaped her mouth. Trust him to find the most relevant DVD and the one that would probably cause the most panic.
She reached the top of the stairs, and the four came forward, each carrying their clipboards. After a brief glance, a grimace crossed her face; none of the papers were empty. One of them was at least half-full. She looked over them all, adding it up in her head.
Forty-six dead in total. Three receptionists, three technicians, four cooks, two librarians, thirty-four teachers. They were lucky it hadn't been more; some of the teachers didn't have classes today, others were away on trips. Morgan couldn't help the deep sigh that escaped her. Christ on a stick! So many dead! Although, as she gave the lists another look, no-one under twenty-five had died. Every single student had survived. All one hundred and four prospective students, as well as the three hundred and twelve who already attended the school. They'd even all stood, or sat, in the same room for at least fifteen minutes, and yet only those over twenty-five had died. Such odds! Fate, coincidence, or planned? She didn't know.
Another sigh escaped her lips, and she motioned for the four, plus the two others from earlier, to follow her. Behind them, a vast proportion of the seniors followed her. She had more bodies to collect. As the door swung shut, she heard the opening to what had once been her favourite movie begin.
"Mutation. It is the key to our evolution."
Twenty minutes earlier......
She looked through the circular window of the now closed and locked doors of the small cafeteria. The temperature in the room had been lowered tremendously in an attempt to preserve the bodies. She turned from the door, now facing the rest of the aides, bar a few who were keeping watch in the auditorium, and a lot of the seniors, some of whom had not been able to hold their gag reflex when seeing dead bodies, and were currently occupying various toilets.
She raised a hand to them, moving to them, touching and hugging them, watching as tears welled up and fell from their eyes, but found she could not have the same release. As she stood in the middle of their cluster, she found the voice to speak.
"I have asked much of you. And you have understood. And you have not failed. But the time to grieve is not yet here. There are those who are looking to us to be there for them, to take care of them. And we cannot fail them. For we are no longer children. We are adults, and we must nurture and provide for those who cannot and may not be able to do so for themselves. So I ask you to dry your eyes, and to help those who cannot help themselves."
And they looked at her with tear tracks down their faces, and wide eyes. And slowly, they took her words to heart. She was their leader, and she had not failed them. She needed them to help those who couldn't help themselves. And they would help her, because there were those who needed them. And like the children in the auditorium, who had not understood completely what had happened on that day, soon they would be the ones needing the help. But right now, they needed to be the ones offering the help, because, for the children in the auditorium, they might be the only people they had left.
Hands rose to rub faces, make-up was checked in compact mirrors, a few shrieks were given by those with mascara tears, and a few faint chuckles and grins shared amongst the group as they watched them run off to the nearest toilet that had a mirror.
All too soon, the grins fell and the chuckles turned to silence. Almost as one, they turned to look at her, to give them something to do so as to keep them from their grief. And so she did. Some were sent to computers, others to the kitchens to check on the food and drink. One was sent to the phone to begin a constant rotation of calling official numbers. Some were sent to do necessary paperwork, others were sent to do tasks that, though not vital now, would be urgent later in the day. She herself was just about to head to a computer when David, who she'd sent to man the phone, called her over, yelling that he'd gotten through to NTAC.
Picking the phone up, she spoke to the lady called Megan, who, apparently was in charge of NTAC, and described their situation. Megan said that she'd get some agents out to her as soon as she could, but that things like this were apparently transpiring city-wide. Morgan told Megan that so far, they had things under control, but would welcome the assistance if and/or when it arrived.
She checked over at the computers, where Greg and Will were printing off pages. She grabbed them, and passing by them both, gave them brief clasps on their shoulders. They would know what it meant.
She walked back down to the locked cafeteria, and pulled out the key from her pocket. Grasping the papers in her hand, crunching them slightly, she put the key in the lock, and turned it, eventually hearing a click. She took a deep breath, and pushed the door inwards.
Instantly, goose bumps rose across her flesh, and her exhaled breaths became clouds of mist. She shuddered, and the door gave a soft swoop as it swung back. She briefly contemplated turning back, giving this task to someone else, or waiting until the agents arrived. She stopped her thoughts abruptly. A leader does not ask things of others that he would not be willing to do himself. Or herself, as the case may be. She took another deep breath, watched as it turned to mist when she exhaled, and moved to the closest body.
She watched, almost detached, as her hand reached out to pull back the towel-covered face. Mr Jackson's face appeared in front of her, and she noticed that someone had cleaned the blood off his face. She thought back to earlier, and couldn't remember who could have done it. She just remembered the constant moving of the bodies, carrying teachers that had once taught her not so long ago.
She shook herself, and brought the papers into view. She shuffled through them, looking for Mr Jackson's. Ah, here it was. As she stared at the paper, all she could think was, I've known him for ten years, on and off, and I never knew his name was Corbin. Thinking like that led her to other thoughts. Was he married? Did he have children? What was his favourite colour? What was his favourite book?
She sighed, something she seemed to be doing a lot of lately, and her hand reached out and flicked the towel back over his face. The paper with his information on was gently placed on top of the towel, and she got up and moved to the next body.
Onwards she continued, and for fifteen minutes she stared at dead faces, learning things she hadn't known before. Mrs Dixon, her old Geography teacher, had also had a degree in Environmental Science; Mr Finch, kind old Mr Finch, had actually had a doctorate in Biochemistry, but had become a teacher of Science because he loved to teach others, and wanted to get them to see Science as something more than a boring subject required to pass high school.
Eventually, she ran out of papers, and made her way back to the door. She made her way through it, the heat feeling like flames on her skin, and was just about to lock it again when Will appeared with more papers. He took one look at her face and seemed to decide something, for he made his way to the door with his intent clear in his stride. Her arm shot out, and he walked straight into it. Their eyes argued, glares and blinking becoming words and phrases. Within seconds though, he yielded the papers to her, and made his way dejectedly back to the computer suite.
She lifted the paper into sight, and reading the unfamiliar name, decided that it meant an unfamiliar body, and unfortunately, there had been few of those.
Another deep breath, and she stepped, once more into the breach.
Five minutes later, all the bodies had a piece of paper on them. All they were seemed to be printed on a piece of paper that rested on top of a corpse in a freezing room in the small cafeteria of a school.
And as she stood at the side of the stage in a darkened auditorium that should have long been empty, she thought to herself. Right now, she should be helping Jack Swann with his Maths, because otherwise he'd most likely fail the Math test next week. Fat chance of that now. The teacher was dead, and Jack was in the kitchens helping to cook lunch.
She briefly glanced at the projected movie, before turning to glance about the room. Reflected in the light, she could see tear tracks running down several faces, as the consequences of the day dawned on several of the teenagers. It seemed a regular occurrence that one of them would run from their seat to the nearest exit, sobbing with tears running down their face, since it barely caused a stir. An aide would follow them out, or sometimes one of the senior students. Occasionally it would be a friend of the escapee.
As she made her way back out of the darkened exit, she managed to find her way back up to the main reception area, and a chance glance had her looking out the main doors, where to her surprise, she found two vehicles pulling up, a black humvee, (she presumed, cars not being her forte), and an ambulance.
From out of the humvee, two agents, both men, one light-haired, the other dark, began to make their way to the entrance. She opened the door for them, and began her explanation. The dark-haired man, whom the light-haired one called Davidson went back outside to the ambulance. The light-haired one, who now introduced himself as Agent Garrity, followed her over to the soft seats in the reception area. Evan, one of the Freshman/Sophomore TA's she'd helped not two hours ago, stood at her left, folders held loosely in his hand. To Morgan's right sat Casey, a fellow Junior/Senior TA, who held a small pile of papers.
Agent Garrity sat down opposite her, and removing his notebook, told her to begin her explanation again. She sighed, and did so. She noticed, not stopping her report, that Agent Davidson had returned through the door Mack, a senior had opened, two paramedics following him. They tried to get into the small cafeteria, but were halted by the fact that she'd locked the door. Carla, the other TA from the morning debacle, came over to get the key from her, which she held out pre-emptively. Not once did she stop in her debriefing.
Then came the questions she knew were going to be asked. Contact information. Where were the kids? Had the parents been contacted? A folder from her left was handed to the Agent, with the explanation of it being the contact details for the prospective students. Then another four folders with the explanation of them being contact details for all students, one folder per year group. No, the parents hadn't been contacted. Why? Because if the situation out there had been anything like it had been in here, then they would have only brought chaos upon themselves.
And the kids? She decided to show him. She stood up, and Evan and Casey followed her. Agent Garrity was left to follow behind them. She didn't walk around, as she had done earlier. She walked straight through the small cafeteria, barely pausing at the drastic change in temperature. The three of them, followed by Agent Garrity, walked straight through, the seniors and other TA's scattering before them, before they turned to watch Davidson and the paramedics, making sure that nothing untoward happened towards their dead.
They walked through silent corridors, corridors that should have been filled with noise and laughter, past the kitchens where a tantalizing mixture of smells wafted through the halls, (more than one stomach grumbled), and straight towards the auditorium. Walking through the door at the top of the stairs, she blinked, eyes rapidly adjusting to the darkness, and felt Casey and Evan move to her left. Agent Garrity moved to her right, and he stood next to her, unconsciously leaning into her, as she did to him. Before today, no matter their jobs, neither of them had ever seen their dead lined up like that.
To Morgan Michaels, before today, the dead came in coffins at funerals. You did not see them die in front of you, you did not pick up their bodies with your bare hands, you did not close their eyes, you did not identify them.
To Jed Garrity, before today, death had sometimes occurred at his hands, or his gun. He'd seen them die in front of him, he picked up their dead bodies with his bare hands, he'd closed their eyes, and he'd identified them. No matter what job he'd undertaken before NTAC, he'd never seen the dead lined up like that before. It was more chilling than if he'd seen them lying prone in the class rooms. He'd seen more dead in that room, than he'd seen in total during his years in NTAC. At least until today. Today he'd seen fellow agents fall, whilst others survived. And it didn't seem fair that he was one of the survivors. There were others more worthy than him.
A hand curled into his, and he grasped it for dear life. "Forty-six dead. Some friends, some not. And none of us know if our families are still alive out there. What's going to happen to us? To them?"
He sighed, and looked out over the auditorium. Huddles of friends crying together. Some watching the movie with blank faces, others with anger. Tears were evident on most, male or female. Today, Seattle had changed. The world had changed. And they would be changing with it.
Extract from the journals of Morgan Michaels
September 16th 2007
The atmosphere at the school that day was unusual. And it was weird. Couldn't forget that. It was weird and unusual mainly because there were no teachers in the school. Or at least, no living ones. And everyone else in the school, at least, all the ones who'd managed to survive, would now have gifts. Abilities. And I would be one of them.
I can't believe how long this took me to write! I was done in a few short hours, compared to the months and years I've used with some of my other stories (okay STORY)!! A sequel may be in the works, or someone else could pick this up and run with it. If you do, please state where you get your idea from (a.k.a. me!)


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5 Lakme Absolute Argan Oil Lip Colors Review and Swatches
Lakme Absolute Argan Oil Lip Color is available at Lakme counters and online at Nykaa and retails for INR 750/- for 3.4 gms. This was an exciting range for me to try out, and I picked a couple from the 15 shades available. Now, either my choices are predictable, or I am a psychic, Lakme sent over a set of lipsticks, and the ones I had bought were in there. However, I love the fact that these colours are very different from the lipstick finishes I have, and I like that a lot.
About Lakme Absolute Argan Oil Lip Color
The power of traditional Argan oil, now in your favourite lipstick. Say hello to Argan oil infused lip colors, the all new invention by Lakmé. These lipsticks nourish your lips while delivering intense color. The best of both worlds is now a reality with its nourishing power as well as rich pigments. It has a beautiful creamy texture that gives your lips a smooth and silky finish. Available in 15 vibrant shades that complement all Indian skin tones, LakméAbsolute Argan Oil Lip Color is where the power of Argan oil comes to life! Argan oil as a base makes for a wonderful lip treatment – almost like a replacement for chap sticks/lip balms. They can heal cracked lips and also keep them soft, smooth and conditioned. The use of this Argan oil-based lipstick during the cold seasons is perfect to prevent rough and dry lips.
My Take on Lakme Absolute Argan Oil Lip Color
Unlike the previous packaging of the Lakme Absolute lipsticks, the packaging of these lipsticks are really impressive – beautiful gold tubes which actually remind me faintly of the ones from YSL, and I think luxury was the theme they wanted to go for, and they did make a good impression of it. The tube feels heavy, and the product inside is extremely emollient during application. The shades are all semi-sheer to start off, but can be built into near-opacity, which is a good thing. I tried these on and true to their form, they kept my lips pretty hydrated. The colours bled slightly, but didn't feather or dry out my lips.
The five colours I would be swatching today are as follows:
Soft Nude – A soft, nude shade which is slightly light for my skintone, but is sheer enough to be pulled off. A great colour for office-wear.
Ruby Velvet – A rich, vibrant tomato red, which reminds me of Revlon Fire 'N Ice. My top pick from the brand.
Pink Satin – Gorgeous blue-pink bordering on fuchsia. I think this can be a fabulous shade for virtually every skin tone.
Deep Brown – A dark, rich brown veering towards maroon just a bit.
Juicy Plum – A dark purple-plum shade, which looks more brown than purple on my lips.
Apart from the shade "Soft Nude" the rest of the Lakme Absolute Argan Oil Lip Color shades fared pretty well in the staying power department. I ate and drank, and these shades did transfer, and fade, but left a pretty stain, especially Ruby Velvet and Juicy Plum. Deep Brown was much sheerer than I had estimated on my lips, but turned slightly darker on my lips after an hour, fading unevenly. All the shades are creamy, sans glitter or shimmer, which is a blessing. Out of all the colours, Ruby Velvet and Juicy Plum stayed put the best – Pink Satin was great, but accentuated my pigmented lips after a while (you can see that on the lip swatch when you look closely).
Overall, I think these lipsticks are great for those who like a more creamy, semi-sheer finish on their lips. If you have got one, do let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: PR Samples sent by the brand. Honest review.


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With Scrim and Rolling Desks, a Journalism School Seeks a Tech Edge
A little over a century after his death, Joseph Pulitzer still looms large at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. The building that houses the school bears his name. Every year the school announces the Pulitzer Prizes from the World Room, a reference to The World, his New York newspaper.
A bust of the publishing tycoon and school founder peers across the first-floor lobby and into what has been a construction zone for the past nine months. But on Monday, professors are to move into the space, the new headquarters of the David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation. In its sleek design and open layout, it feels like a cross between a newsroom and a start-up. An official opening is planned for September 16.
A gauze-like scrim covers the interior. By day it will allow students and professors to project images onto the walls. By night the material's translucence will combine with interior lights to cast what the institute's co-director, Mark Hansen, calls "a kind of soft glow" onto the campus green. The working space will be malleable, highlighted by six rolling desks and wall-mounted television screens for those looking to plug and play.
The institute itself is intended as "an academic venture forum" for journalistic innovation—a place where graduate students and fellows can test new media, platforms, and business ideas. In its early days the institute, based on the premise that journalists and engineers aren't talking enough with each other, has also functioned like a matchmaking service for students in the journalism and the engineering schools.
"Anybody who is connected to journalism understands that the future of journalism requires deep understanding of the new technologies of the Internet," says Lee C. Bollinger, the university's president.
Created in 2012 with a $30-million gift from Helen Gurley Brown, late editor of Cosmopolitan, the institute is a joint endeavor between Columbia's journalism school and Stanford University's School of Engineering. Stanford received $12-million, Columbia got the same amount, and $6-million went toward building the new space.
It is tempting to wonder what Pulitzer, whose gaze will now keep watch over the Brown Institute's front door, would have thought of the space. He was, on the one hand, the consummate innovator, responsible for popularizing color cartoons, illustrations, and a brand of watchdog journalism aimed at working-class readers. One imagines that he would have delighted in the digital-art display that Mr. Hansen—whose work has popped up at the New York Times building and the University of Texas—designed for the institute's doorway.
But Pulitzer was also a man of his times—convinced, as many were then, that the editorial and business sides of the news industry should remain separate. Although he would probably have admired the Silicon Valley flair and tech-start-up attitude that Stanford brings to the Brown Institute partnership, he might not have wanted it in his hallowed halls.
"I am sure that, if my wishes are to be considered," Pulitzer wrote in a 1904 essay for for The North American Review, "business instruction of any sort, should not, would not, and must not form any part of the College of Journalism."
In fairness, the Brown Institute is not solely, or even primarily, an incubator. So far, its "Magic Grants"—prizes of up to $300,000 awarded annually to students, faculty members, and postdoctoral researchers in both schools—have gone to a wide array of proposals, many focused more on storytelling than on making money. The Reframe Iran project, for example, uses a new medium, called immersive video, to profile Iranian artists living in Iran and abroad.
This summer the institute sent 10 recent graduates of Columbia to a four-week camp at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program, where they got to experiment with new technologies like the 3D-gaming device Oculus Rift. In future years the collaboration may turn into a jointly taught class between the schools.
Mr. Hansen says the broader goal is to create a place where journalism and engineering commingle. It's a task he believes goes well beyond individual matchmaking.
"Maybe initially that's how I conceived of it," says Mr. Hansen. "But now I'm seeing the stakes are higher. It's really about lowering the barriers between disciplines." That, he says, involves testing new courses and curricula, in essence "rehearsing for the school how journalism education might function in the future." He adds, "This is the moment where journalism begins to take on technology and data in a much more significant way."
The venture also has strategic significance for Stanford, which has appeared eager to plant a flag on the East Coast. In 2011 it bid to build an applied-sciences campus on New York City's Roosevelt Island before abruptly withdrawing its proposal late in the process.
Note: Avi Wolfman-Arent, a reporting intern in The Chronicle's technology section, is a recent graduate of Columbia's journalism school.Return to Top


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I needed to remove a couple hubs from their axles to send to "olcowhand'. The axle hubs were already out of the Trans., and one of our day laborers thought they needed to be out in the scrap pile, for over 2 years. I tried to press them out, even with heat, they didn't want to come apart. So I decided to drill them out in the lathe.
I first chucked them up in the 4 jaw chuck and zeroed it in with a Dial Indicator..
Then I start with a 1/4" Center Drill, to make sure I'm boring in the true center of the shaft.
I then moved up to a 5/8" X 4" long Center Drill.
Once you get past the Flutes of the Drill, you can only go .100" at a time, then back out to clear the chips. Bore the shaft until you bottom the chuck out. That just makes it past the hub.
Now it's time to go big, I use a 1" Jobber Drill to bore all the way thru the hub.
Checking to make sure I am staying in the center of the axle and not drifting out to the hub.
All done boring the axle, back to the press and still needed a little heat to get it to move, it's out now.


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Today is the day folks. No more watching Let It Go on Youtube. Nope. Today is the day that Disney's Frozen comes out on DVD. Did you preorder from the Disney store? I did. I am a sucker for that coupon! Well in honor of the release of Disney's Frozen, I present to you a round up of 18 chillingly awesome (ah yeah, you know you like how I threw in that icy rhetoric). Go visit these awesome blogs to see tutorials on how to make these 18 DIY Frozen projects! If you are itching to pin, please hop over to the original blogs and pin from there!
If you want to make an Elsa dress that is comfortable and CUTE, you can follow the tutorial I made for a Comfortable Elsa Dress Refashion.
A true princess needs her crown and I was surprised what this crown was made of! Can you guess? Go see the step by step instructions on Instructables.
Maybe a crown is not your daughter's cup of tea or slushie if we are keeping with the frozen vocabulary, then how about these little felt snowflake barrettes. The tutorial is on Spoonful.com.
Perfect for pretend play, these Elsa Frozen gloves will get your kids imagination and super freezing fighting skills flowing! Full tutorial from Brassy Apple.
We have an Elsa outfit with accessories but now Anna needs a little something to wear. A cloak is a staple in the movie and this one for Anna made by Debra from Housewife Eclectic is too cute to pass up! See the tutorial here.
How fun would these Anna and Elsa Perler Beads be to make! My girls love doing Perler "melty" beads and I have to admit that they are better at it than I am. Maybe it is their little fingers. These dolls will be a hit! Get the template for them here from Spoonful.com.
Let we forget about that funny little snowman, here is an Olaf snow globe from A Million Moments . I am wondering where she got that Snow globe form?!
I can't believe the though and work that went into this Frozen Scavenger Hunt with clues made from the lyrics! The two sisters at My Sister's Suitcase did all the hard work and put together these Frozen Scavenger Hunt printables!
Who hasn't sung "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" a gazillion times by now? Well Crystal Underwood from Growing A Jeweled Rose has a kids craft that will allow your child to build their own snowman again and again! See it here!
Even Sven gets some love with these DIY Elsa Crowns and Sven Antlers brought to you by the sisters at My Sisters Suitcase. Those girls are sure nice to share their printables with everyone! You can download the template to make these crowns and antlers in their Frozen Party post.
Winter has past (or has it?!!) so these materials might be harder to come by but this tulle wreathe from A Fish Who Likes Flowers would be the perfect way to add a little frozen excitement to your front door!
Another snowy decoration is this DIY Snow backdrop made with cotton balls. This would be a great and easy DIY photo booth backdrop or use it for party decor. The tutorial is from The Vintage Wife.
Moving on to some yummy Frozen inspired foods. First up we have some snowflake snacks from Chef Maid Mom. Those little pretzels do look like snowflakes glistening! See the full recipe here!
These frozen grapes are good any time of the year but are perfect for a frozen party as well! This is a great way to use up grapes that are still good but aren't as firm as they once were. Go check out the full party and other food from Paging Supermom.
The "Olaffles" that Stephanie from Crafting in the Rain made are ADORABLE and they look delish too! How did she come up with that name. So clever! Stephanie tells you what you need to make your own Olaffles here.
I am a huge Jello fan so these Frozen Jello "Ice" cubes are right up my alley! Check out the recipe at Bubbly Nature Creations.
With food ideas in mind, it is time to PARTY! There are many Frozen inspired birthday parties out there but this one from Bubbly Nature Creations is probably my FAVORITE! The cake alone is worth a visit over to Rachel's blog!
If you want to throw a party but money is tight, why not look and see how Design Dazzle used paper chains and paper snowflakes to bring winter indoors for without breaking the bank!
I couldn't stop at 18 so here is one more! The last Frozen "party" idea really isn't a party, it is a Frozen Family Dinner Night! I am blown away by what a good idea this is! Can you say MEMORIES!! My kids would for sure remember something like this Frozen Dinner Night made by Kimberly of Stuffed Suitcase!
Thanks for stopping by!


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There's a new editor at PickupTrucks.com, and his name is Mark Williams. Mark has some pretty big shoes to fill, and he's humbled by that fact. To learn more about Mark or to check out the other news of the day, continue reading with the links below:
- MotherProof.com Reviews the 2011 Mazda6 (MotherProof.com)
- Should I Buy a 2012 Honda Accord or 2011 Ford Fusion? (Ask.cars.com)
- Allow Me to (Finally) Introduce Myself, and Ask for Some Help (PickupTrucks.com)
UAW and Detroit Three Agreements Bring Jobs, Cars to U.S.
Cadillac Shows Off New Multimedia System, Interiors
Chevrolet TrailBlazer Resurrected for 2013
2013 Chevrolet Spark, Spark Electric at the 2011 L.A. Auto Show
Volkswagen to Debut Two Vehicles at L.A. Auto Show
Exported From Detroit: Chryslers Headed to Italy


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Analisis Kovariat bagi Data Kemortalan Bayi
Ibrahim, Noor Akma and Daud, Isa (1997) Analisis Kovariat bagi Data Kemortalan Bayi. Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 5 (2). pp. 211-229. ISSN 0128-7680
This paper analyses the effect of various covariates on infant mortality. It uses the method for the analysis of grouped life-time in competing risks. With this approach, advantage is taken of the probability of an individual with a particular covariate failing in an interval to consolidate the significance of that covariate model.
Repository Staff Only: Edit item detail


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Clue: Governor of Mecca
We have 1 answer for the clue Governor of Mecca. See the results below.
Possible Answers:
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- "Funny Girl" co-star
- Zhivago portrayer
- "Funny Girl" actor
- See 25-Down
- Actor Omar
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- Omar of "Che!"
- Omar of filmdom
Found an answer for the clue Governor of Mecca that we don't have? Then please submit it to us so we can make the clue database even better!


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The NHL has released its schedule for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Capitals are set to play the New York Rangers for the fourth time in five postseasons beginning on Thursday night at Verizon Center.
Washington earned the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. New York finished as the No. 6 seed. The Rangers beat the Caps in the conference semifinals last spring in a seven-game series. Washington won in five games in the conference quarterfinals in 2011 and in seven games in the conference quarterfinals in 2009.
There were a few scheduling quirks that the NHL had to work around. The NBA's New York Knicks share Madison Square Garden with the Rangers. The Knicks are up 3-1 in a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. They host Game 5 on Wednesday night (May 1) and a possible Game 7 on Sunday (May 5). New York, if it wins, will have home-court advantage the following week in a second-round series vs. either Atlanta or Indiana.
There is also a pair of concerts by pop star Taylor Swift at Verizon Center on May 11 (Saturday) and May 12 (Sunday). That pushed a potential Game 7 to Monday night in Washington. Yes – three playoff games in four days with travel. Washington last did that on May 8, 9 and 11 in 2009 against the Penguins. That was for Games 4, 5 and 6 of that epic series. Here is the full schedule with four of the first five games airing exclusively in the Baltimore-Washington market on Comcast SportsNet:
Thursday, May 2: Game 1. Rangers at Capitals, 7:30 p.m., CSN, NBC-SN
Saturday, May 4: Game 2. Rangers at Capitals, 12:30 p.m., NBC
Monday, May 6: Game 3. Capitals at Rangers, 7:30 p.m., CSN, NBC-SN
Wednesday, May 8: Game 4. Capitals at Rangers, 7:30 p.m., CSN, NBC-SN
Friday, May 10: Game 5. Rangers at Capitals, 7:30 p.m. * CSN
Sunday, May 12: Game 6. Capitals at Rangers, * TBA
Monday, May 13: Game 7. Rangers at Capitals, * TBA
*if necessary
The other Eastern Conference series are No. 1 Pittsburgh vs. No. 8 New York Islanders; No. 2 Montreal vs. No. 7 Ottawa; No. 4 Boston vs. No. 5 Toronto. Unlike the NBA, the NHL re-seeds its playoff teams after each round.
Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14


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I'm looking for a free, reliable, safe web host that supports PHP and MySQL, FTP access. I don't need a custom domain name or anything, I just need a good place to upload when clients want me to show what I've done for the project but don't want me putting it live on the actual site yet.
I tried byethost.com, but sometimes when I visit the pages I've uploaded, it redirects me to some sleezy-looking site...I think that either this host is pulling some kind of trick or their servers got infected. Anyway, I'm looking for a more reliable alternative.
Anybody know of one?


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Advanced Search
Product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 06 February, 2008.
The Spiderwick Chronicles video game is based on the upcoming film adaptation by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Films and will feature multiple playable characters, each with unique abilities. The Spiderwick Chronicles is a best-selling book series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi in which twin brothers Jared and Simon, along with their sister Mallory Grace, embark on a perilous journey filled with adventure and danger.
*Their World is Closer Than You Think
*Unlock and explore the hidden world of the seen and unseen from the Spiderwick Chronicles™ movie.
*Battle strange and enchanted creatures in this spellbound world of eerie adventures, as you fight to stop a rising evil.
*Play as Jared, Mallory, Simon or Thimbletack, each with their unique abilities.
*Battle swarms of goblins and otherworldly creatures.
*Capture fantastical creatures and solve puzzles as you explore the Spiderwick


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Open source has been in the media for quite some time whether directly or indirectly. With ACTA leak and the ASCAP letter two big news items that affects open source, we decided to sit down with the Free Software Foundation and talk about these and other things related to the open source movement.
Update: Please see note at bottom of article with regards to the use of the term "open source"
There are many things happening with open source. There are big news items that effect open source such as clauses in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and, what some have called, an indirect attack coming from ASCAP through the ASCAP letter. There are also issues that go under the radar such as open source adoption. With so much happening with Open Source, we decided to sit down with Peter Brown, the Controller and Executive Director of the Free Software Foundation to get his take on various issues.
What is the Free Software Foundation and how is it important to open source?
The FSF is a not-for-profit foundation created in 1985 to sponsor the GNU project and promote the worldwide cause of software freedom.
Free software is about having control over the technology we use in our homes, schools and businesses. Where computers work for our individual and communal benefit, not for proprietary software companies or governments who might seek to restrict and monitor us.
The GNU system that we developed with the help of a worldwide community of volunteers, is in widespread use today in the form of GNU/Linux: a combination of the GNU system and a kernel written by Linus Torvalds.
Open Source is a different idea. The term was created by people in the free software movement that were concerned about appealing to the CEO's of powerful corporations, who didn't care to hear about our social movement's purpose of gaining computer user freedom.
Today, more people know this history and appreciate the values of software freedom. Indeed, many representatives of Open Source organizations point to the Free Software Foundation's work and recognize that our mission is the core of their purpose.
You can help the cause of software freedom by not participating in the corporate process of hiding the meaning behind this movement. Please call this work free software and not open source. Remember that the system is GNU using the Linux kernel, not just Linux. These are great and simple ways to make a difference and educate others.
When people think of "free", some might think, "well, that means no one is getting paid and every contribution is voluntary to an open source project." A lot of advocates of open source I spoke to personally say that this is a big misconception about open source and people, indeed, do get paid while contributing to open source in various ways. Do you agree that free doesn't equate to no one getting paid from an open source perspective?
Free software is about freedom not price. The FSF itself sells disks of free software. We are perfectly happy for people to make money using free software. So think about your freedom, not about making or spending money.
Free software values mean no spying on your activities. Free software values mean no DRM (digital restrictions). Free software values mean no locked down devices. Free software values means sharing with your friends, making copies and learning about free software from studying the source code of the software you use–if you want to.
A while ago, ASCAP issued a letter attacking various user rights organizations and, curiously, Creative Commons. They said that "copyleft" is undermining their "copyright". While Creative Commons responded saying that these claims are false and copyleft isn't undermining copyright because Creative Commons, in fact, is a copyright license. Some people took ASCAPs comments as being an indirect attack on open source, maybe because open source is viewed as part of the copyleft movement. First of all, do you feel that you are part of the copyleft movement? Secondly, do you think ASCAPs attack on Creative Commons was also an indirect attack on open source as well? Finally, what's your take on the ASCAP letter?
The concept of copyleft was created by our founder and president Richard Stallman. The world's most popular copyleft software license is the GNU GPL–a software license published by the Free Software Foundation. So in fact we represent the founders of the copyleft movement. But we should be clear about what copyleft is. Copyleft is a technique that Stallman created to prevent free software from becoming proprietary software. It depends on copyright law, and it is composed of a set of permissions that the copyright holder grants to the user. It is not anti-copyright, though the FSF and many other organizations take the position that copyright laws have become to strict and overly broad and need major reform.
ASCAP doesn't like these views because they conflict with their purpose: making as much money as possible off the back of our shared cultural heritage.
The topic of software patents, as much as I can tell, has always been a very controversial topic for those in the open source movement. How can software patents, in your view, undermine the open source movement and, more broadly, undermine software development and society as well?
Many corporations who represent Open Source love software patents because they own so many of them themselves. The free software movement rejects the very idea of software patents. Please watch the recent documentary film we sponsored Patent Absurdity.
Advocates of software patents might argue, "Hey look, patents allows us to secure jobs and money for various companies and to be against software patents is an extreme position to be in that would hurt jobs." How would you respond to criticisms such as this?
That the economic evidence doesn't support that finding. In fact, the evidence makes clear that software patents are a drag on the US economy as a whole and are a deep threat to all other nations if software patents get adopted internationally.
The FSF sponsors a campaign against software patents and we present all the evidence about the harm that software patents inflict, including economic at EndSoftPatents.org.
ACTA recently made its way in the media with news of its more recent leak. Do you think ACTA could potentially harm the open source movement? If so, in what ways is ACTA in its current form harmful for open source and software development?
Again, many corporations that support Open Source have been silent on ACTA. The Free Software Foundation has spoken out against ACTA and is promoting a petition.
ACTA encourages spying on computer users. It encourages internationalization of DRM schemes and harmful laws like the DMCA. It makes citizens wary of sharing, when sharing is what we want to encourage with free software. ACTA is simply another gift from paid-for law makers to an industry that hates technology that empowers citizens.
Open source has popped up in the news here and there in fairly impressive ways. Different corporate and government organizations have made announcements over the years that they are switching to open source solutions. How positive are these types of announcements for the open source movement? Could you name a few particularly memorable announcements of organizations switching to open source?
Many organizations are wary of announcing their use of free software, because proprietary software corporations like Microsoft show up to threaten and abuse them. They did this in Massachusetts when the State tried to adopt a policy of using Open Document Format. They did this to the One Laptop Per Child program when they were promoting their use of GNU/Linux. But Microsoft's power is waning, so more news is reaching the public.
CERN's large Hadron Collider depends on GNU/Linux. The US armed forces have stated their dependence on free software for weapons systems. The NYSE trading platform is GNU/Linux based, and many other trading systems use free software. The White House uses Drupal for its website. And Wikipedia is served up using only free software.
The list of high profile users is getting to be a long list.
I personally have spoken to someone from within government who says that the big dissuading factor of an organization switching to open source is liability. The example I was given was if, say, Microsoft screws something up, a company can be blamed. If an open source product messes up, where does the blame go? How can open source overcome perceptions like that to help get more people to use open source solutions? Are there other perceptions from, say, businesses that you would like to lay to rest?
If Microsoft screws something up it's just another day in the life of a proprietary software user. Microsoft isn't about to cut you a check to make it all better again. Having Microsoft to blame doesn't help you.
Most organizations that use free software use a vendor who offers support and services. Free software makes it possible for anyone to get into the business of offering these services because the software gives you that freedom. It's great for local economies.
Some people only know proprietary software. An example is someone saying, "hey, I know Microsoft enough to use it, why should I make this big leap to open source when all I want to do is get from point A to B." Open source, though, isn't solely tied to operating systems though. What would you say to that person if you wanted them to use more open source technology and where should that person go to find out about open source?
Go to FSF.org to get an introduction and a pathway to using more free software.
Using free software is great. But understanding and appreciating the values of free software is more important. That's why you should reject the term Open Source. What the FSF wants to talk about and what we want to pass on to your readers is an understanding of why it matters that you have software freedom. Why it's important for our society to build its future on a technology that we can control and that serves our interests.
Think about the alternative future where free software doesn't succeed. Where a hand-full of proprietary software companies thus control all access to the internet. Where spying on your computing activities is assured. Where copying digital media files is prevented by pervasive DRM schemes. Where you're forced to do your computing on a corporation's servers: often referred to as cloud computing, or as we know it, complete spying. Where your rights that are lawful cannot be expressed because the software you use prevents you from undertaking those legal activities. And where competition is allowed to be stifled because these same corporations have collected thousands of software patents that prevent anyone else from changing the rules of the game.
These examples may seem extreme, but companies like Microsoft and Apple are busy pursuing these outcomes and lobbying your government to help them.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Keep up to date by subscribing to receive the Free Software Supporter newsletter and alerts.
Volunteer for us. There are many jobs to be done and you don't have to be a coder.
The FSF receives the bulk of its funding from its Associate Members. You can become a member for $10 a month ($5 students) or donate at FSF.org.jf
Happy Hacking!
We would like to thank Peter Brown of the Free Software Foundation for taking the time to sit down and answer our questions.
UPDATE – Important Note: This interview was conducted via e-mail where the questions were sent all at once and I received the answers all at once. Up until the interview, I didn't know the term "open source" was, in and of itself, a poor term for some. So for those concerned that I insisted on using the term "open source", this wasn't really meant to come off this way and I apologize for that. This interview was meant to be educational to the general public and it was even educational to me since I'm not as involved with free software as I am with general file-sharing, technology and even free speech. Rest assured, I got the message. For all intents and purposes, this interview is already doing its job of informing. Thank you for your concerns.
Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at [email protected].


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Is it important for you to know the percent of a stock that is owned by institutional buyers? First of all, what does institutional ownership mean?
Institutional ownership is the stock owned by large financial players such as hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, and private equity firms. These institutions have millions of dollars to invest and can sometimes own millions of shares of each of the stocks they invest in. In other words, they dwarf the 100 to 1000 shares of any stock you might be thinking of buying.
It is important to understand that most of the buying and selling on Wall Street on any given day is done by institutional traders and investors. Yes, there are lots of individual people buying stocks as well, but in terms of sheer numbers most of the buying and selling is done by large organizations. Typically most big company stocks have institutional ownership between about 60% and 85%. That means of all the shares available for a stock, the majority are owned by these very big and influential institutions.
For most stocks you can easily find the percentage owned by these institutional buyers by looking closely at the information provided about the stock. No matter what online broker or free stock quote source you use, this information should be available. In my E*Trade account I can find it under the "insider activity" tab and then going to the "ownership" section". As and example you can see that Bristol Myers (BMY) is said to have ownership of 64% by institutions:
One thing I noticed is that not every stock site gives the exact same statistics. While E*Trade says 64%, MSN money says that ownership is about 68% for BMY at the time I am writing this. I don't know which one (if either) is correct but at least they are both in the same ballpark. Sometimes, that is all you can ask for.
As you can imagine, institutions that make these big stock purchases often have dozens of analysts working for them. A LOT of money is at stake and so much research is done from every angle.
Because of this, many individual investors like to buy stocks that have high institutional ownership because they feel that the "experts" at these organization have really done their work. If, after close scrutiny, a stock is good enough for them to buy then it is surely good enough for the individual to buy too.
Because of the thousands or maybe up to millions of shares an institution might own of any stock, they then might try to get out there and get the stock some good publicity. That is often what you see going on when various money managers go on television giving their stock picks. This is also why you have to always be weary of what they recommend and wonder what kind of agenda they have? Are they recommending a stock because they bought it and own it or are their opinions impartial? Some shows and articles have a disclosure statement about whether the "guests" own the stocks they are analyzing but in reality, you never really know what they own.
In summary, when the Dow or Nasdaq moves up or down everyday, it is mostly being moved by these institutional organizations. Yes, regular people like you and me are buying and selling stocks but the numbers of shares we buy is quite small in comparison to the bigger players. They are the ones that are most responsible for making a stock move one direction or another.
By the way, if you want to find stock ownership percentages on MSN Money just type in the symbol of any stock and then look toward the bottom of the green bar on the left of the page. Click on the "ownership" link and it will take you to the page that shows an institutional ownership % and you might want to add in the % of mutual fund ownership as well because those funds also usually have a large amount of research capability as well as access to a lot of other resources an individual investor wouldn't have.


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Reading concurrently two files with different number of linesby frogsausage (Sexton)
|on Apr 10, 2013 at 15:24 UTC ( #1027997=perlquestion: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
frogsausage has asked for the
wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:
Hi, I've been reading you quite a lot for answers about so many questions and always found what I wanted, until now.
I am trying to read two (very) long files in order to compare them in a smart way: checking if some elements (such as value=3.14 vs value="3.14") are swapped on the same line.
- there are a lot of lines that I will be willing to discard as soon as I read them. Therefore, I am trying not to store these in memory as each file can go way beyond 100 000 lines each.
- I might append one or more following line (starting with a +) to the previous line starting with a letter if: this first line doesn't match with the one in the other file, if one of the following isn't matching.
Lines can be such as:
Right now, I am reading them in this very simple way:
When running small test cases, it works really great (swap comparison etc.) However, I have some glitches and I guess that the longest file doesn't have its line read when the end of the shorter file is reached. These glitches are that one of the line starting with a + is the start of a new line in my result print (while it should always be appended after my first line).
I tried changing && to || but it got all messed up. I am thinking of dealing the remaining part of the longest file after the end of the shortest one is reached, however it doesn't sound really clean.
Looking forward reading your thoughts and suggestions!
-FP.S: running Perl 5.8.8
Back to Seekers of Perl Wisdom


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Cable providers typically encode HD streams at 12-19mbps in the MPEG-2 format, but even with MPEG-4, at least 5 mbps would be expected. So how is ABC.com hoping to achieve this? With the help of On2 Technologies. On2 has gained some interest due to its high quality video codecs. "We have invested in a facility that has very sophisticated encoding," Hedinsson said. "Three or four months ago, I would have said we wouldn't have been able to do this."
He believes the problem for end-users wont be bandwidth, but instead CPU power. "It's not going to be bandwidth that is the problem -- it's going to be the horsepower on the PC end," he said. "You do need quite a bit of CPU power to render 24 frames per second. We are going to do our best to educate users on what their experience will be like."
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