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Steven Strogatz: The Joy Of 'X'
Welcome back to ASK ME ANOTHER, NPR and WYNC's hour of trivia, puzzles, and word games. I'm Ophira Eisenberg and joining me is author and math whiz, to say the least, Cornell professor extraordinaire Steven Strogatz.
EISENBERG: Welcome to ASK ME ANOTHER.
STEVE STROGATZ: Thank you very much. I'm thrilled to be here.
EISENBERG: When did you know you liked math? As a child were you a math kid?
STROGATZ: Hmm. I did always like math but I had a pivotal moment when there was a teacher who mentioned a certain question that he'd been asking for years and he said he'd never seen any student answer this question. And then he went on to say - I mean, I sat up straight at that point.
EISENBERG: And how old are you?
STROGATZ: Maybe 13 or 14.
STROGATZ: And then he said actually he didn't know how to do the problem.
EISENBERG: Really?
STROGATZ: Never heard any teacher say something like that before. You want the problem, don't you?
EISENBERG: I want the problem. I want to know just even the context of the problem.
STROGATZ: The problem was a problem about triangles and it goes like this. If two angle bisectors of a triangle have the same length the triangle has to be Isosceles. Prove it. I thought what's so hard about this? I mean, it sounded like other geometry problems and so I tried thinking about it and couldn't do it. So I started thinking about it every day, including in French class.
You know, like, when they're conjugating the verb train is going around the room and it's coming towards me I'm still thinking about angle bisectors. Same thing with playing basketball. People would pass it to me, bounce off my knee, because I'm off in triangle world. So I spent maybe six months thinking about this continuously and finally came up with something I thought was a proof. It was a Sunday morning and I asked him could I come to your house and show it to you?
EISENBERG: Wow. And he was like no.
STROGATZ: No.
STROGATZ: Well, yeah, he should've. But he was a good teacher.
EISENBERG: Yeah.
STROGATZ: I showed up. He was there in his pajamas with his little kids. I showed him this proof. He checked it line by line. He said it's a proof.
EISENBERG: Wow.
STROGATZ: Thank you.
EISENBERG: So at that point did you think...
STROGATZ: So then I was hooked.
EISENBERG: Yeah. You were like I'm done.
STROGATZ: Because I started making up questions for myself that I didn't know the answer to just for the fun of getting back into that euphoric feeling of being puzzled and wanting to solve it.
EISENBERG: And you decided to put together this wonderful book, "Joy of X." We were talking about real life math.
STROGATZ: That refers to "Joy of Cooking."
EISENBERG: "Joy of Cooking"? Oh, yes.
EISENBERG: I see the wordplay.
STROGATZ: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
EISENBERG: So why do you think math gets such a bad rap? I had one good teacher in high school that helped me but in general, you know, I just always thought I was not very good at math.
STROGATZ: Hmm. You thought you weren't good at math.
EISENBERG: Yes.
STROGATZ: And some people feel they're just not good at it or they'll say I don't have a math head. Or they'll say I was good until - and then they tell you I got to geometry or I was good until I got to word problems in algebra or something. For a lot of people, they hit the wall and then they're discouraged. Other people will tell me I was good at it the whole time, I just never saw the point of it. You know?
EISENBERG: Right. And what do you say to those people? What is the point to having it in their life?
STROGATZ: Well, there's all kinds of points. For me, when people ask - of course the question is why do I need to learn math? And it's not really that you need to learn it. Yes, you do, if you're going to be an engineer or a computer scientist. You will actually need it. But if you're not in that kind of profession you don't really need it. But then to me the question is like why do I need to watch Michael Jordan play basketball?
Or why do I need to listen to music? You don't really need to, but your life will be richer and happier if you do.
EISENBERG: That makes me care.
EISENBERG: It does make me care. You are one of the founders of the theories of social networks.
STROGATZ: Well, let me give credit to the real founder. It's a student. Duncan Watts...
STROGATZ: ...was my grad student.
EISENBERG: Oh, OK.
STROGATZ: He was interested in sort of where physics and math meet social sciences and so we got to talking. I had given him a problem that I was interested in about how things get in synch and we were specifically interested in how crickets can chirp in unison. Now you might say who cares about crickets? That's a fair question.
STROGATZ: But think about it this way. In your heart you have special cells that keep your heart beating properly and those cells, those pacemaker cells, have to be in synch. And it's a lot easier to measure crickets getting in synch than your pacemaker cells. But they might be using the same kind of math and same principles.
EISENBERG: Right.
STROGATZ: So anyway, we were busy studying the crickets and one time he had a conversation with his dad who said, just offhandedly, do you realize you're only six handshakes from the president of the United States or from anybody else on Earth? This idea of six degrees of separation, which people were talking about at the time in the middle '90s. And he asked me how would everything about synchronization would change if the crickets were connected like that? If they were listening in this six degrees way.
And that was a brand new question. No one knew anything about that.
EISENBERG: It's like that game people play in college.
STROGATZ: Yes.
EISENBERG: The six degrees...
STROGATZ: The Kevin Bacon game.
EISENBERG: The Kevin Bacon game.
STROGATZ: Yeah. But it turned out that provided really interesting data that allowed us to test some of our theories. Because the Internet movie "Database" which has all the actors in the history of movies going back to silent movies, it gave us a way to test a lot of what we were thinking about with a real social network, if you like, the Hollywood network.
EISENBERG: So is - question one, are we really all separated by six degrees?
STROGATZ: Yeah, it really is true. It is true. You know, considering it's seven billion people on Earth you might think the number would be hundreds or thousands or millions. It's not. It's close to - it's around five or six.
EISENBERG: Wow. And do you know how many degrees you are separated from Kevin Bacon?
STROGATZ: That, I do - well, yeah. But that's easy. Because I was in a documentary about him.
EISENBERG: Oh.
STROGATZ: About the math of Kevin Bacon.
STROGATZ: So that's not a good - that's not a good - I mean, you could do someone else.
EISENBERG: So the answer is one?
STROGATZ: Yeah. It's kind of one.
EISENBERG: Well, that's amazing.
STROGATZ: Yeah. Thank you.
EISENBERG: Well, that's a little sneak peek as to what we would like you to solve for us...
EISENBERG: ...coming up. So I first need to ask you, are you ready to solve a different kind of problem? Prove a little something different on the ASK ME ANOTHER stage?
STROGATZ: Hmm. Yes. I am ready.
EISENBERG: You are ready? Fantastic.
STROGATZ: All right.
EISENBERG: How about a hand for our VIP, Steven Strogatz?
EISENBERG: With this round let me bring back our one man house band, Jonathan Coulton.
JONATHAN COULTON: Hello.
EISENBERG: And of course our puzzle guru, John Chaneski.
EISENBERG: So Steven, we just talked about your Kevin Bacon number, that you are one degree from separation from Kevin Bacon. And it turns out that math scholars have their own version of this game through a prolific mathematician named Paul Erdos. In his lifetime, Erdos published more than 1,500 research papers with over 500 different co-authors who all have an Erdish number of one.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with the Erdish Bacon number which is the sum of one's Erdish and Bacon numbers. Naturally. So, Steven, this quiz is about some of the other people who have Erdish Bacon numbers. Some are actors, some are academics, all are amazing.
EISENBERG: We're going to ask you to identify them based on our clues and if you get enough right, Anna Byers of Louisville, Kentucky, will get a special ASK ME ANOTHER prize. Stakes are high. Are you ready?
EISENBERG: This actress has a Bacon number of two, having starred in "Closer" with Julia Roberts who starred in "Flatliners" with Kevin Bacon in 2002. As a Harvard undergraduate, she co-authored a paper studying the frontal lobes of infants, giving her an Erdish number of four.
STROGATZ: Who is Natalie Portman?
EISENBERG: That is correct.
CHANESKI: It is my job to remind contestants they are not on "Jeopardy!" by the way.
COULTON: This British actor got his co-author byline after suggesting a study to determine whether the brain structures of political conservatives were physically different from those of liberals. It turns out they are. Now we need a study on the brains of women who've seen him play Mr. Darcy in "Pride and Prejudice."
STROGATZ: Hmm.
EISENBERG: Oh.
STROGATZ: Hmm.
EISENBERG: Mm-hmm.
STROGATZ: I can picture him.
EISENBERG: Steven, yes.
COULTON: He's beautiful, isn't he?
STROGATZ: Is he the stuttering king?
COULTON: Yes.
EISENBERG: Yes.
STROGATZ: In...
COULTON: Yes, he is.
STROGATZ: I'm having a little left hemisphere problem.
COULTON: Let's see. He shares his first name of a former Secretary of State.
STROGATZ: Oh.
EISENBERG: Wow, that's good.
COULTON: Whose last name was Powell.
STROGATZ: Oh, good. Thank you. Thank you. That would be Colin Firth.
EISENBERG: Yes.
STROGATZ: Thank you. So I think in math we would call that partial credit.
EISENBERG: On ASK ME ANOTHER we call that - you don't get anything.
COULTON: We call that wrong.
EISENBERG: Yeah.
EISENBERG: As an undergraduate at UCLA, actress Danica McKellar co-authored a paper titled "Percolation and Gibbs States Multiplicity for Ferromagnetic Ashkin - Teller Models in Z2." I wrote the Z3 one. I don't know what she's talking about.
EISENBERG: She later wrote the book "Math Doesn't Suck" but you probably know her as Winnie Cooper on what early 1990s dramedy?
STROGATZ: "The Wonder Years."
EISENBERG: Yes.
EISENBERG: Can you quickly just describe to me your take on the percolation in Gibbs state multiplicity for ferromagnetic Ashkin Teller Models in the Z2?
STROGATZ: Classic.
EISENBERG: Yeah.
EISENBERG: Yeah. I hear what you're saying.
COULTON: It really does bring me back, you know?
COULTON: Because it was so different then. This baseball player is often included in Erdish-Bacon conversations because he and Erdish autographed a baseball together after receiving honorary degrees from Emory University on the same day. That's not the same thing as writing a paper with him, but if you count co-signing a baseball, his Erdish-Bacon number would be three.
STROGATZ: Hmm.
COULTON: The number you might best know him for is 755, the number of homeruns this Hall of Fame outfielder hit in his major league career.
STROGATZ: Hank Aaron.
CHANESKI: Yeah.
EISENBERG: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
EISENBERG: What do you think, John Chaneski?
CHANESKI: I think that's why we call him the Great Strogatzby. Because he answered so many questions right that Anna Byers receives a prize. Congratulations.
EISENBERG: Steven, you were everything I hoped for to the nth degree.
STROGATZ: Aw, thank you.
EISENBERG: How about a round of applause for our VIP Steven Strogatz?
COULTON: This is a song called "Pi." (singing) When ink and pen in hands of men inscribe your form bipedal P they draw an altar on which God has slaughtered all stability. No eyes could ever soak in all the places you anoint and yet to see you all a once we only need the point. Flirting with infinity, a geometric progeny that fit inside you, oh, so tight. Triangles that feel so right. 3.14159265358979323846264338329750288419716939937510582097494459.
EISENBERG: Jonathan Coulton.
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Namco Museum (Nintendo DS) (Pre-Played)
$ 15.99
Sorry, this item is out of stock
NAMCO BANDAI Games brings its classic roster to the Nintendo DS, giving fans a handheld dose of gaming history! Namco Museum DS allows players a chance to enjoy their favorite classics on the next generation of handhelds.
In addition to the included legendary roster, Namco Museum DS also features an updated version of fan favorite, Pac Man Vs. Never before available as a separate product, this present day remake of Pac-Man headlines this compilation, bringing classic gameplay with a twist.

subset: commoncrawl


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Category: Adventure Times Played: 3648
Knight is back once again in Knightfall 2! Help him to conquer an ancient evil in this epic puzzle RPG, set in a whole new world of monsters, treasure and adventure! Since defeating the devil, and getting the girl, things have become a little overdomesticated for our hero. Now that an annoyed Princess is forcing him out of retirement, an even worse threat is looming on the horizon, and you must help him ride out to confront it! With a hugely expanded world to explore, a new cast of nasties to slay, a rejigged magic system, more items than ever to pick up and exploit, Knightfall 2 is an epic undertaking... In this fantasy puzzle-RPG, you must guide Knight around the board through a combination of destroying block groups and rotating the entire play area! You can lead him into battle against foul creatures, grab treasure, cast magic, and make a speedy escape with your spoils! Embark on a daring adventure and drill your way across the kingdom! Because your wife made you do it.


text: Hiking in Connemara What type of clothing should I pack? Ireland is known for its rainy climate, but when the sun does shine, you can make the most of it. Veteran visitor to Ireland Gerry Britt from Virginia, USA, shares his wisdom: "Trust me, once the rain stops and the sun comes out (and it soon will) you'll be in awe of the scenery before you can shake the drops off your jacket. The Irish sky after a soft rain is breath-taking." Ireland has a saying: There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. In other words, a little planning goes a long way. "Packing for Irish weather can be summed up in one word: layers", says Gerry. "T-shirts, light sweaters, a good waterproof jacket, a waterproof hat, and good walking/hiking shoes." Shopping in county Galway But it's not ALL about layers: do pack swimwear for Ireland's magnificent beaches. "They'll be golden, glorious, usually deserted and begging for you to dive straight in." Gerry also advises bringing sunglasses to protect your eyes from hail, rain and wind – and the sun, when it does shine. "Last but not least, walking is one of the pleasures of Ireland so bring a solid pair of walking boots or at least a comfortable pair of trainers." What currency is used in Ireland? The currency used in the Republic of Ireland is the euro (€) while Northern Ireland's currency is the pound sterling (£). When crossing between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland you can exchange your money in shops, gas stations, bureaux de change and banks. You should also check the exchange rate when changing money. ATMs are found all over the country and it's a convenient way of dealing with your money during your stay. Credit cards Visa and Mastercard are widely used, while American Express cards may not always be accepted. Credit cards can be used for purchases and also to access money from ATMs. Each ATM has a list of card symbols that can be used there (bank charges may apply). Ireland uses a 'chip and pin' system for debit and credit card purchases, which means you key your pin into a pinpad. If your card doesn't have a a chip, most retailers will still accept it and you can just sign for your purchases. Find out more about the chip and pin system in Ireland. Traveller's cheques are not widely used and most banks won't accept them, so bring cash or cards instead. Useful links Citizens Information: Everything you need to know about travelling to Ireland, from customs and visas to bringing your pet NI DirectIf you're planning on visiting Northern Ireland, the NI government website has lots of tips and travel information National Roads AuthorityWant to hit the road? Toll information, how to pay and more from the national body that manages the Republic of Ireland's road network. What electronics should I bring? "Views and picture-perfect moments tend to pop up a lot in Ireland so a camera is a must" says Gerry. "Don't forget the battery charger and spare memory cards for it either – a common mistake!" Plugs in Ireland are three-pronged and the electricity supply is 230v/50hz, so bring an adaptor. Apps Don't forget to pack apps for your visit. There are tons of nifty little apps available for download that'll help you get the most from your trip to Ireland, and most of them are free! You can also create your very own Ireland Scrapbook to share with your friends and family from anything on our website that catches your eye. Snap happy Any tips for when I get to Ireland? Expert as he is on coming and going, Gerry has a little more advice for when you arrive: "Transfer your clothes to one bag and leave the other for all your purchases. This way, you're not rummaging through both bags looking for dry socks while destroying those turf Christmas ornaments, Belleek vases, and Waterford Crystal goblets. Aran sweaters are better than Styrofoam for cushioning." Good tip, Gerry. We Recommend Money in IrelandAll your money questions about Ireland are answered here, from currency to credit cards and banking services. Public holidays:St Patrick's Day, Easter, Christmas… find out if Ireland will be on holiday with you when you're making your trip. Languages of Ireland: English and Irish (Gaeilge) are the two official languages in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is where you'll hear the soft strains of Ullans.


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For the Sake of the Gospel
"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Mathew 5:44).
Even in the church today, we can write off a lot of people, sometimes even fellow believers. It seems that sometimes the slogan is, "Us four and no more." We can divide over minutiae and allow second-tier and third-tier issues to bring unnecessary division in our ranks.
I have had people criticize me for those whom we involve in our Harvest Crusades: "Why do you let that church come? If that church is coming, then our church isn't going to participate." Or, "Why did you let that pastor pray at the crusade? I don't agree with that pastor, because in one of his books, he quoted someone who once had coffee with someone else, and it is guilt by association. I want nothing to do with any of this."
But I will say, "Look at the essential areas where we are in agreement, and we can get together—even though there are some minor differences—for the sake of the gospel of Christ. That is all I am trying to do."
If people want to withdraw over that, then I guess that is what will happen. But I am going to keep doing what I do and keep preaching the gospel and trying to get as many people to join me as possible. And I want to join as many others who are doing this too.
Here is the thing: Sometimes there are people we don't want to bring the gospel to, because if we were honest (we probably would not verbalize it), we don't want them to come to Christ. But the Bible says we are to love our enemies (see Matthew 5:44).
So here is my suggestion to you: Go to them. Take the message of the gospel to the people who have offended you and hurt you.
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Our hosts for March are as follows:
March 6, 2012- Rugelach
Margaret of The Urban Hiker
Jessica of My Baking Heart
March 20, 2012- Irish Soda Bread-
Carla of Chocolate Moosey
Cathleen of My Culinary Mission
If you have questions about hosting, please let us know. We will guide you through it. Congrats!
Bake on!


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Knife Sharpeners
What if you could buy a sharpener that not only repaired the new breed of ultrathin chef's knives but also honed the wider cutting edge of more traditional blades?
How We Tested
Japanese bladesmiths have long favored chef's-style knives with blades that are ultraslim—that is, sharpened to about 15 degrees on either side of the blade—and for good reason: In addition to being thin and lightweight, these blades have a supernarrow cutting edge, which helps make them razor-sharp. We've also come to favor a thinner edge. After years of testing dozens of knives, our repeat favorite is from Victorinox, a Swiss-made knife that is sharpened to 15 degrees on either side of the edge, allowing it to push and slide through food more easily than do more traditional European blades sharpened to at least 20 degrees.
To maintain that narrow edge, we use a tool specifically designed to sharpen a blade to 15 degrees. Our favorite models, both from Chef'sChoice, are a manual and an electric sharpener that each do a fine job of restoring an ultrakeen edge to an Asian-style knife. But in recent years the trend toward slimmer knives—and slimmer knife sharpeners—has spread west, as European manufacturers including Wüsthof, Henckels, Messermeister, and Mercer have launched their own 15-degree knives and sharpeners. (In fact, Wüsthof and Henckels have discontinued their 20-degree knives.) We were curious to see what these new sharpeners had to offer—and were especially eager to test the claim of one that it can even hone a 20-degree knife to 15 degrees. How would the best knife sharpeners perform?
So we rounded up nine models (including our previous favorites), five manual and four electric, from both Western and Asian manufacturers and priced from roughly $20 to $200. To evaluate them, we bought nine of our favorite Victorinox chef's knives and assigned one to each sharpener; we then dulled the knives identically and sharpened them according to manufacturer instructions. To assess sharpness, we slashed sheets of copy paper and sliced delicate tomatoes, repeating the dulling, sharpening, and slicing process four more times with multiple testers (for more information, see "Testing Knife Sharpness" in related content).
Material World
All knife sharpeners work similarly: The user repeatedly drags the blade against an abrasive surface at a set angle, which trims and reshapes the blade by removing microscopic amounts of metal that are blunted or too far out of alignment. (Honing a blade on a steel is for knives that are less dull, as it simply repositions metal that is only slightly out of alignment.) With electric sharpeners, the abrasives are on motorized wheels that spin against the blade; with manual sharpeners, they're either on nonmotorized wheels or the abrasive material itself is fashioned into a V-shaped chamber through which the user pulls the knife.
Despite sharing similar mechanisms, the sharpeners we tested produced dramatically varied results. There were differences in user-friendliness: Some came with unintuitive directions and designs or fussy cleaning requirements; others made jarring vibrations or piercing grinding noises. We docked points for all these flaws.
But what really divided the pack was how sharp—or not—the knives were after we sharpened them. Some models barely restored the knife's edge and others actually damaged it, rendering it uneven or jagged so that the knife struggled when it came in contact with the food. And then there were the best sharpeners, which put such a keen edge on the blade that it felt sharper than it did out of the box.
We first checked to see if electric and manual sharpeners performed comparably—and for routine sharpening, they did. (Repairing deep nicks was another story; more on that later.) It wasn't until we examined the inner workings of the sharpeners that we realized that two key factors were determining how effectively they sharpened.
First, the type of abrasive. The models we tested used three different kinds: carbides (a combination of metal and carbon), ceramic, and diamond. Our least favorite models featured carbides or ceramic, materials that proved problematic in part because they have what Mike Tarkanian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Materials Science and Engineering calls a "high coefficient of friction." This means that they are relatively sticky and grab at the surface of the blade more than diamond does. As a result, sharpeners made of these materials rough up the surface of the blade, making it move through food less efficiently. In addition, ceramic and carbides are also softer than diamonds and degrade more quickly, shortening the life span of the sharpener; in fact, the ceramic wheels on the electric Shun sharpener sent up a puff of white dust every time we pulled the blade through its chamber.
Diamond, on the other hand, is the hardest material in the world, which makes it strong and durable for sharpening. Its coefficient of friction is also relatively low, which allows it to glide smoothly over a knife blade as it sharpens and thus produce a smoother, sharper edge.
In Chambers
The second factor affecting sharpness was the design of the sharpening chamber. For the abrasive to put a consistently smooth edge on the entire blade, the blade must move through the chamber as steadily as possible; if there's any wiggle room, the blade can shift position slightly from stroke to stroke and emerge unevenly sharpened. The Wüsthof, Victorinox, and Kuhn Rikon sharpeners, for example, all had poor blade support, so testers naturally eased up on pressure when the blades were almost through their chambers, lest they push the blades off the sharpeners and onto the counter. As a result, the knives assigned to these sharpeners had noticeably duller tips that couldn't cut through paper and squashed tomatoes flat. Examining the blades under a high-powered microscope at MIT confirmed that they were utterly ragged from all that wobbling.
The best designs came from a single manufacturer. Both of its electric models feature spring-loaded guides in their chambers that supported the entire edge, allowing for smooth, consistent contact with the abrasive; on its manual model, the company built high sides that held the blade at a precise, secure angle so that testers could draw it through the chamber with even pressure.
Power Hungry?
With diamond abrasives, supportive chambers, and intuitive design, all three models from one maker (two electric and one manual) put razor-sharp edges on very dull knives and were easy to use. But whether you buy a manual or electric model depends on your needs and personal preferences. Manual sharpeners are smaller, lighter, cheaper—our repeat top-rated manual sharpener costs about $50—and easier to store. They also don't need to be unpacked and plugged in for use, making them a more convenient option for routine upkeep.
But what even the best manual sharpener can't do is repair extensive damage to a blade. When we filed two identical notches into the ends of each knife and then ran them through their respective sharpeners, the winning manual model hadn't made much progress after 300 strokes. But since the electric models put the abrasive in contact with the blade at a much higher speed, they quickly repaired the damage, giving them a distinct advantage over manual models. Our winning electric model, the only model to feature a dedicated slot for heavy damage, required only 76 strokes to make a severely damaged knife look and cut like a brand-new blade. Meanwhile, the runner-up electric model, got the job done in about 220 strokes.
While our winner does have a hefty price tag, its heavy damage slot offers another compelling reason to buy it, even if you don't own a 15-degree knife: As advertised, it can indeed narrow the angle of a traditional Western blade, converting it from 20 degrees to 15. With this ability, it may just be the last sharpener you'll ever need to buy.
Angling for a Sharper Edge
The manufacturers advertise that the aggressive first slot on the Chef'sChoice Trizor XV can narrow the angle of a 20-degree Western blade to 15 degrees—a function that would make this pricey model worth considering even if you don't own a 15-degree knife.
We tested that claim by running a brand-new 20-degree chef's knife through the Trizor for 20 strokes on either side of the blade (per manufacturer's directions). We then compared its sharpness to a second new copy of that knife, as well as a new copy of our favorite 15-degree chef 's knife from Victorinox, by having multiple testers slice through crates of produce. The results were convincing: Testers reported that the copy with the narrowed edge felt noticeably sharper than its sibling and almost as sharp as the 15-degree Victorinox.
Degrees of Sharpness
When manufacturers report that a knife has a 15- or 20-degree angle, they're referring to the angle of the bevel—the slim strip on either side of the blade that narrows to form the cutting edge. The more acute that angle, the sharper the blade will feel.
We tested nine knife sharpeners, four electric and five manual. Models are listed in order of preference. All were purchased online.
- ROUTINE SHARPENING: We bought new copies of our winning chef's knife, the Victorinox 8" Swiss Army Fibrox, and assigned one to each sharpener. We dulled them identically and sharpened each according to manufacturer instructions. To rate their sharpness, we slashed sheets of paper and sliced tomatoes and then repeated the dulling, sharpening, and slicing process four more times with different testers. Those that made clean cuts without crumpling the paper or damaging the fruit rated highest.
- NOTCH REMOVAL: We filed notches in both ends of each blade and ran them through their respective electric sharpeners (manual models could not remove notches), timing how long—and counting the number of strokes—it took to repair the damage.
- DESIGN: Sharpeners that had clear, precise instructions, were intuitive to use, and cleaned up easily rated highest.


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That afternoon, clashes between the camp's youth and the Israeli military were occurring at the entrance of a camp. The military had locked the main entrance and set a checkpoint between the gate and the camp itself. Mousab's mother, carrying her one-year-old twins and accompanied by a group Mousab's siblings, was on her way to visit her brother, Sheikh Jibreen; however, upon seeing the checkpoint the group was forced to turn back. They intended to return home on foot.
"As soon as they got off the bus, the army shot at them", says Sheikh Jibreen, Mousab's uncle. "They weren't even any protests going on in that area." Mousab and his 13-year-old sister were hit in the eye and in the leg respectively.
They were immediately transported to the Abu-Hassan al-Qassam hospital in Yatta, South Hebron Hills. Lacking the necessary facilities to treat Mousab's wound, the hospital transferred him to Hebron's government hospital.
Alarmed by the gravity of the injury, an eye specialist ordered a transfer to the St John's Eye Hospital in Sheikh Jarra. The transfer was not immediate, however, as the family had to wait for five hours before Mousab and his mother received permission to cross the checkpoint from the Israeli authorities.
If he had been bleeding any heavier, Mousab could have easily died while waiting to receive permission to be treated, Mousab's uncle told the Palestine Monitor.
After examination, the rubber bullet, still in his eye-socket 8 hours after the shooting, was finally extracted.
Mousab is now back in his family after two days of hospitalization and the family is currently discussing the possibility of a legal procedure against those responsible for the shooting.
The family has been living in al-Fawwar refugee camp since they were evicted from Jaffour, near Beit Shemesh – now in Israel – during the Nakba.
In an interview with the Palestine Monitor, the family said that the Israeli military harasses al-Fawwar's residents on a daily base, entering the camp, throwing sound bombs and putting the entire camp on lockdown.
On March 12 of this year, Mahmoud Adel Tete, a 25 year-old student, was shot with live ammunition during one of these incursions. The soldiers had entered the camp with four army jeeps, allegedly searching for the perpetrator of an attack against a settler's car with a Molotov cocktail. The inhabitants of the camp started throwing stones at the jeeps in attempt to prevent the incursion. Panicking, the soldiers started shooting blindly into the crowd. Five other people were injured. Two major invasions of the camp, similar to the one in March, occurred in July and at the beginning of September.
30 children shot and injured since January 2013
On Wednesday 2 October, 10-year-old Yazan Mahmoud Al-'Abd was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the al-Jalazone refugee camp just outside of Ramallah. Local youth had been throwing rocks at the Israeli soldiers in attempts to prevent them from entering the camp. At the time of writing, Yazan is still in the hospital.
Alarmingly, youth and children are the most frequent victims of Israeli incursions in refugee camps. Karim Abu Sabeeh (17), Majd Mohammed Lahlouh (21), and Islam al-Tubassi (17), all three from Jenin refugee camps, provide an example of the fatalities with night raids by the Israeli army.
Karim Abu Sabeeh died of wounds sustained after being shot with live ammunition by Israeli armed forces during a night incursion in the Jenin camp. The shooting occurred while the Israeli army was carrying out arrests of camp residents following violent protests. Majd Mohammed Lahlouh was shot during the same raid, in the early morning hours of Tuesday 20 August.
Islam al-Tubassi was shot in the leg with live ammunition while the Israeli army was entering his house to arrest him. He was then beaten up, along with his mother and brother, before being dragged out in the street. According to camp residents, once outside, the Israeli army shot him another time. His body was then taken to al-Khoderia hospital in Israel, where he was declared dead upon arrival. A thirteen year-old boy, Salah Nader Ghazzawi was also shot in the leg with live-ammunition during this intervention.
Four children, between the ages of 16 and 17, were among the 18 injured in the Qalandya refugee camp on the 26 August, when a early morning raid by undercover Israeli armed forces led to the death of three men.
Three of the aforementioned youth sustained live-fire gunshot wounds. "While receiving first aid, one of them found out he had been shot three times in the leg," according to a report by Defence for Children International—Palestine (DCI-Palestine).
Another child was wounded the same night by a rubber bullet in the Aida refugee camp, Bethlehem.
"At least 30 children have been shot and injured [in the West Bank], including three killed, by live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets or tear-gas canisters since January 2013. While Israeli forces regulations allow the use of these weapons for crowd control in certain narrow circumstances, only a third of these cases involve children directly participating in demonstrations where clashes with Israeli forces later occurred," reads the report by DCI-Palestine.
In addition, and according to the same organization, "Israeli forces are prohibited from firing rubber-coated metal bullets at women and children. Where firing rubber-coated metal bullets is allowed, police and military procedures state that they must only be fired from a distance of 50-60 meters (165-195 feet) and at the legs of people. The regulations prohibit directly targeting demonstrators with tear-gas canisters."
Despite the clear nature of the regulation, 12-year-old Atta Sabbah from al-Jalazone refugee camp, was shot with live ammunition on May 2013 while trying to retrieve his school bag that was being searched by an Israeli soldier. No clashes were occurring in the area at the time. The bullet severed his spinal cord, resulting in the paralysis of the lower part of his body.
Even when children suffer no physical injury from such military incursions, they remain highly traumatized by continuous harassment of their relatives by the Israeli armed forces.
According to a 2009 study conducted by Doctors Without Borders in Gaza and Nablus (including the towns, surrounding rural villages and refugee camps):"Among children [under] 15 years old, factors strongly linked with PTSD included being witness to murder, being victim of sexual violence or physical abuse and receiving threats.
Psychological support being rather scarce in the Palestinian territories, children are left with mental wounds that remain untreated. Under the continuous state of violence imposed on them by the Israeli armed forces, children have a hard time understanding the discourse of appeasement their adult relatives, like Mousab's uncle Sheikh Jibreen, try to strengthen.
"How could I shake hand with the man who shot at my kid? (...) They expect me to make peace with Israel. They kicked me out of my land (...). On top of that, you make me drink heartbreak and bitterness and you don't even have mercy on my children. How can I let this new generation that take lessons from me about making peace with Israel that can see their cousin, their family, hit by the army? They won't pay attention or listen to me after that."
Rather powerless to change the nature of the situation, adults struggle to preserve their children's composure as much as possible: "We try to remain strong so the kids don't fear, but the pain we feel is deep," says Sheikh Jibreen.
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In the code below, StringUtils is a custom object we have to do certain operations. All I'm trying to do is take a delimited string, split it up into a list, add a new element to the List before dumping it back into a delimited string.
List<String> reportList = StringUtils.delimSplitToList(reports, "|"); reportList.add(repID + "-0"); reports = StringUtils.join(reportList, "|");
I'm getting an exception:
What I've read is that the add method needs to be overridden. How do I do that? Or is there a better way to do what I want to accomplish?null
at java.util.AbstractList.add(AbstractList.java:151)
at java.util.AbstractList.add(AbstractList.java:89)


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Threshold of Fire: A Novel of Fifth-Century Rome
Chicago Review Press, 1 aug. 2005 - 255 pagina's
In this vivid, dynamic novel, Hella Haasse has once more brought the past to life. This time she has chosen to illuminate a crucial, yet relatively obscure period of history: it is 414 A.D. and the once-powerful Roman Empire is in its death throes—split between East and West, menaced by barbarian hordes almost literally at its gates. The Emperor Honorius, an incompetent weakling, cowers in the marsh-bound city of Ravenna, where he has moved the government; he rarely "makes entry" into Rome. This is the brilliant canvas against which the characters in this drama interact. There is the Prefect Hadrian, a powerful official and fanatical Christian convert; there is Marcus Anicius, the pagan aristocrat who is clinging to a dying past, and there is the Jew Eliezar be Elijah, hemmed in by his own traditions and burdened by his dark vision of the future. There is the intrigue and uncertainty of life at Honorius's court, and there are the streets and tenements of Rome, pulsating with life and with corruption.
Wat mensen zeggen - Een review schrijven
LibraryThing ReviewGebruikersrecensie - janerawoof - LibraryThing
This one was fantastic! Not a book of 'action', except in the memories expressed by two of the main characters, Prefect Hadrian and the poet, Claudius Claudianus. Hadrian presides at the trial of a ... Volledige review lezen
THRESHOLD OF FIREGebruikersrecensie - Kirkus
The cusps of the past are further explored in another of the prolific Haasse's historical sagas (In a Dark Wood Wandering, 1989; The Scarlet City, 1990)—a 1964 novel newly translated from the Dutch ... Volledige review lezen
Geselecteerde pagina's
I The Prefect
II Claudius Claudianus
III The Prefect
Overige edities - Alles weergeven
Threshold of Fire: A Novel of Fifth-Century Rome
Hella S. Haasse,Anita Miller,Nini Blinstrub
Gedeeltelijke weergave - 2005
Veelvoorkomende woorden en zinsdelen
able accused Alexandria Arcadius asked Aulus Fronto Balcho barbarians become believe bishops blood calls himself Niliacus Christian City Claudius Claudianus cock corner court crowd darkness death dream dwarf Egyptian Eliezar Emperor Honorius Emperor Theodosius Empire entry everything eyes face feeling Flavius Stilicho Forum of Trajan friends galleries gesture goddess gods Goths Hadrian hand head hold honor Honorius's interrogation justice hall Klafthi knew later light living longer look Magister Militum magistrate Mallius marble Marcus Anicius Rufus memory Milan mime move Muneral never Nile officials Olybrius Olympiodorus once pagan palanquin perhaps person poet praetorian guard Prefect prefecture prisoner Pylades realize recognized retinue Roman Rome Rufinus sacrifice secret Serena shoulder silent slave someone standing statue stink stood Subura tablinum temple Theodosius things thought tion turn Urbanilla villa voice waiting wall words


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Rare Earth Elements Market Analysis: $10.96 billion in 2020
FELTON, CA, Aug 24, 2015 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- Rare Earth Elements or rare earth metals are a group of seventeen elements bearing similar properties. Key elements in the group include lanthanum, praseodymium, cerium and neodymium. According to a new study by Hexa Research, high demand for rare earth elements like cerium and lanthanum in applications like automobiles, metallurgy, phosphors, glass, etc. will drive global market growth. Rising demand for permanent magnets in electronic, wind turbine and automotive sectors will translate into high demand for neodymium. Phosphor is essential to manufacture of consumer electronic components like LCD screens and CRT displays. Elements like terbium, europium and yttrium are used in the phosphors industry. Hexa Research predicts that the global Rare Earth Elements market will reach $10.96 billion in 2020.
Browse full research report with TOC on " Rare Earth Elements Market Analysis, Market Size, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies And Forecasts, 2012 To 2020 " at http://www.hexaresearch.com/research...ments-industry
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Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
When I first decided to try LMCE I wanted to keep costs to a minimum until I proved that I could actually get a system up and running. My system so far is:- Hybrid Core with HDTV capture (OTA)- 330G internal storage for videos and music- Denon Receiver with in-wall speakers- Insteon modem (1 light switch but more planned)- 1-wire temp sensor (1 sensor but more planned)- Gyration remoteIt hasn't always been easy, but with help from the forums I've been able to get most things working (Insteon and 1-wire aren't up yet, but I'm working on it). Now I'm looking for input on the most cost effective ways to make the system more fun and more usable.- Orbiters. Currently, my only control is the Gyration remote. My wife has an iPhone and an eeePC notebook (Windows) that I plan to set up as orbiters, but I've heard one of the best upgrades is to get a web pad with a touch screen.- Telephone. This could pay for itself because I'm now paying 45US for a landline that I could eliminate. I checked into Broadvoice which looks like it is about 11US. I'm no expert on phone systems, but it looks like there are roughly two paths. I could get a VOIP phone like the Cisco 7970, or I could get an analog telephone adapter like the SPA3102 and use the phones I already own (I'm leaning this way).- Security system. GE Caddx has rs232 connection and is inexpensive. What do you think? Am I considering good upgrades? Are there better products than the ones I'm listed? Are there cost effective upgrades that I'm overlooking?John
Andrew, just to confirm... do the Dianemo i-device apps work with a standard LMCE install?
Thanks Andrew. I'll give it a shot as soon as I can pry the thing away from the wife - teenagers these days!


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Know the territory
Learn about your child's online habits: which websites he or she visits, what smartphone apps he or she uses, what harm or benefits might come from using each site or app, and how much your kid likes and uses a site or app. Don't wait for your child to fill you in or until there's a problem. Some basics:
* Read about how to protect and guide your child on social media from informative websites like Connect Safely, My Digital Tat2 and Online Onguard. Connect Safely has handy "parent guides" for Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (the latter two are phone apps).
* Explore the social-media sites yourself, including Facebook, Tumblr, Ask.fm, Formspring, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat (you will need to set up accounts, or download smartphone apps, but that is not difficult and doesn't commit you to use them). Get a feel for their content and how they operate.
* Review the school district's "Library Guide" materials related to digital safety and cyberbullying on its website (and on individual school websites as well). Get familiar with what your child is learning on this topic in school, starting in second grade. You can learn along with them.
* Understand your child's developmental stage and needs, how age relates to bullying, and how to handle any incidents. Bullying can look different at different ages, involving different motivations, impacts and interventions. For example, in the case of late elementary and middle school students, according to psychologist Carl Pickhardt, the first step for adults is to recognize how "social cruelty is rooted in the dislocation, insecurity and need for more social independence that occurs as part of adolescent change."
* Attend parent-education events at school.
Be a good role model
Remember how much your actions matter; kids are watching. Teens often mention how adults themselves can be mean, bullying, gossipy, socially exclusive, belittling others' flaws and reluctant to stand up to others' mean behavior. Multiple teens expressed frustration about being told by adults to "stand up," in part because it is so risky, and in part because they don't see adults doing that. Teachers especially were frequently brought up during interviews; teens have vivid memories of more than a few who were mean or demeaning, or who looked away while students mocked or picked on another student.
Adults need to practice kindness, empathy, inclusiveness and standing up for those being picked on. How adults approach conflict is also something kids take in.
Discuss important online issues
There is no substitute for frequent, caring, non-judgmental, age-appropriate, in-person talk between parent and child about issues related to responsible online use. James Steyer's book "Talking Back to Facebook: Raising Kids in the Digital Age" has detailed information, organized by a child's age, about what parents need to know, do and discuss with their kids related to technology. Discussion topics most frequently mentioned by those interviewed by the Weekly include:
* What parents' values are, why they are important, and how actions, on and offline, reflect them. Parents also need to demonstrate that they value a child's character as much as their achievements.
* The importance of thinking before posting. Helping kids visualize the actual people on the other side of the screen who could be hurt by a hasty message or photo sent in anger.
* How interpersonal conflicts are best resolved in-person, and not in a public forum, and constructive ways to do that (for example, how to move an online conversation to a private meeting or phone call).
* Privacy issues, including how and why sexual activities are private and inappropriate online material. As one teen observed, it's hard to have intimacy without privacy, but a lot of teens are not taught that. Teens often think sex is something to brag about or a weapon for revenge. Social media heightens the effects of this misguided thinking. They need to hear differently from their parents.
* What the school rules and laws are around the use of social media and cyberspace (see sidebar, Cyberbullying Legal Issues) and the importance of following them.
* What social media sites your child is using, what they enjoy about them and what risks they see.
* Share your own bullying experience (even if you were a bystander): what happened, how you felt, how you got through it, and what you might have done differently.
Embrace the positives of social media
This is the title of a chapter in Steyer's book that parents are well-advised to read. Steyer describes the online educational opportunities, outlets for creativity and self-expression, possibilities for positive social connectedness, and benefits for civil engagement and democracy. The company My Digital Tat2 also focuses on social media's upside in its mission statement about "creating an online community of kindness and respect." It's important to kids that parents see the good in social media, in addition to risks. Treating social media as the enemy, as some adults do, is not fair to kids, and it's alienating. "Be curious, not furious," My Digital Tat2's website advises.
Take control
Most experts counsel parents that they have both the right and responsibility to assert control over their kid's use of social media, especially at younger ages. Parents pay for the technology; they are the adults; and they need to set limits and enforce them. As kids grow older and demonstrate their ability to act both independently and responsibly online, controls can be relaxed.
Former Paly Principal Phil Winston weighed in on this: "It is the parent's responsibility to have those conversations to educate their kids, to put those firm boundaries on, and if that means turning off the data or the wireless at night, those are the things that (parents) should be doing."
Possible family "media rules" abound in Steyer's and others' books and websites, listed below. The important thing is to think them through and then make some. Here are key areas to consider:
* When to buy your child a cell phone and whether it should be a "smart" phone: Steyer's advice is to "delay, delay, delay" — ideally until high school. If cell phones are needed before then, he and others recommend a basic cell phone (without mobile computer, camera, gaming and downloading device). Save the smartphones for older teens.
* Placing limits on the number of hours per day for cell and computer use ("screen time").
* Designating media-free times: family meals, before bedtime, etc. Some advise taking possession of cell phones at bedtime (much texting occurs after lights out).
* Establishing rules about content: Experts vary on this, and a lot depends on the kid. Steyer advises no Facebook until at least age 15. He also says no exploring "YouTube" without a parent for kids under 13.
* Monitoring use: At younger ages, experts agree that computers be kept in common rooms for easy monitoring (no bedroom computers). When kids are older, there is debate about whether parents should require a child to share passwords with parents, so that parents can access the same online territory as their kids. Being "friends" on Facebook is not the same as having a password because kids can block what different Facebook "friends" see. However, teens also can work around password-sharing by setting up new accounts their parents don't know about.
Instead of requiring passwords (and the potential for the "cat and mouse" dynamic), many educators and youth experts focus on nurturing the parent-child relationship and trusting to that firm foundation to carry the day.
Author Emily Bazelon favors the "start out strict" philosophy, detailed in her book, "Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy." She recommends getting passwords at first, not because you don't trust your kids, or because you want to look at everything they do, but because you want to help them learn the rules of this new virtual world they're entering and to think critically about what they do or encounter there. When they're older, Bazelon suggests parents may want to move to a "trust but verify" or "probable cause" model where you assume everything is okay but check if you have reason to think otherwise.
* Make clear, early and often, what your expectations are for your child's online behavior. Don't assume they will figure this out on their own.
* Don't protect your kids from the consequences of their actions; mistakes are important learning opportunities, even if they result in undone school projects or black marks on school records. If there are rules, parents should enforce them or support others in enforcing them. "Some parents think they're loving their kids by protecting their kids from the consequences (but that's) a huge disservice to their child," former Palo Alto Police School Resource Officer Dan Pojanamat told the Weekly. "(It) breeds a type of kid who thinks they can do what they want without consequences because they're rich (or) because they have parents who are willing to step in for them regardless of whether they're right or wrong."
If your child tells you about a cyber-incident
First, realize you are lucky in at least one respect: Most kids don't report online problems to adults. Next, avoid being reactive; prepare to listen. My Digital Tat2 founder Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet told the Weekly: "Listen first. Listen really carefully and ask questions and encourage them to really open up and talk, with openness and without shame and without judgment."
If a child sees fear, anxiety or anger in a parent's face, the child will get scared and tend to hold back. Often a parent jumps in so quickly that they end up terrifying the kid, she said. But as the parent listens, the parent can evaluate: Is my child at risk of immediate physical or emotional harm? Do I have time to work with my child on this? Other tips:
* Make sure your child knows you believe them. My Digital Tat2's Erica Pelavin reports that kids often tell her how important it was when they were believed. Tell your child: "That must be a very painful situation. ... I hear you. ... I'm behind you. ... We're going to work this out." Don't ask: What did you do to deserve this? And don't dismiss what they tell you as no big deal. If they are telling you, it is a big deal.
* Don't threaten to shut off the computer or suggest your child just avoid the hurtful site as a simple solution to the situation. "They're still worrying that the stuff is going on even if they're not watching it," Pelavin said.
* Don't try to fix anything until you have fully listened. Don't threaten to call other parents (the kiss of death socially for a kid, per Moskowitz-Sweet), or confront the perpetrator (also the kiss of death). When creating a plan for addressing the problem, encourage your kid to be involved or even take the lead (respecting their need for some control and to account for their feelings about what's best for them given the social nuances involved).
Stay involved
A recent Jordan newsletter advised parents that middle school students' exposure to online material is expanding exponentially. "Knowing this, it has never been more important to stay involved with your students' interests and social connections." This is the bottom-line message of most books, websites and expert advice on this topic. Even as your teen pushes you away, find ways to stay involved and connected. Realize the importance of this. "The strength of the (parent-child) connection is the best bulwark against giving and taking pain as a result of social cruelty that I have seen. The best prevention is parental connection," Pickhardt wrote.
Have faith in the kids
Steyer writes: "In the end, it is critical that we embrace the potential of the digital media revolution. The key challenge is to respect and encourage the innovation, creativity, and expertise of young people, while providing adult guidance and participation. If we succeed, the possibilities of digital technology will outweigh the perils, and, as my younger brother Tom always says ... 'The kids are going to be all right. They can handle this.'"
Parent resources
"Talking Back to Facebook: Raising Kids in the Digital Age" (2012) by James Steyer
"Why Good Kids Act Cruel" (2010) by Carl Pickhardt
"Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy" (2013) by Emily Bazelon
"The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age" (2013) by Catherine Steiner-Adair
"School Climate 2.0: Preventing Cyberbullying and Sexting One Classroom at a Time" (2012) by Justin Patchin and Sameer Hinduja
"The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Pre-school to High School — How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence" (2008) by Barbara Coloroso
Pausd.org (under Library Guides)
ProjectCornerstone.org (under "Resources")
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1 oz 2015 Iconic Superman™ Comic Book Covers | Superman™ Unchained #2 Silver Coin
The Superman™ Unchained series was released to celebrate 75 years of Superman™. This was a very popular series that took Superman's™ greatest strengths and turned them into weaknesses. 7 issues have been released to date.
The obverse features the Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II and the words "Elizabeth II DG Regina" and the artist's initials.
The reverse features a colourized Superman™ lifting a tank above his head with one hand. Another tank is in the background, with smoke rising through the battlefield. The coin is further enhanced with engraved concentric circles which add depth and the feeling of motion to the design. Superman™ is surrounded by the words "Canada 2015 20 Dollars".
This coin celebrates the iconic art of Superman™ comics since they began in 1938 and makes a great gift for coin collectors and Superman™ fans alike. With a limited worldwide mintage of only 10000 they won't last long.
SUPERMAN (TM) and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. WB SHIELD: TM & © WBEI. (s15)
This coin comes encapsulated in a premium graphic case.
|Royal Canadian Mint
|Brilliant uncirculated
|The words "Elizabeth II D.G. Regina" and the Susanna Blunt Effigy of Queen Elizabeth II
|Colourized Superman™ lifting a tank above his head with one arm and the words "Canada 20 Dollars 2015"
|90.00 x 90.00 x 30.00
|Susanna Blunt (obverse)


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Reckless Drivers: Young Woman Hits OldTimer Car While Speeding During TV Show! (Owner Says He's Been Restoring It For 13 Years)
During a television show, two girls with cameras aboard their Suzuki car will have a traffic accident while driving too fast and hitting a driver.
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DataPoint: Clash of Clans Generates the Most Revenue on iOS
Clash of Clans has unseated Candy Crush Saga as the top revenue generator on iOS.
Ever since March of 2013, King's Candy Crush Saga enjoyed a consistent spot as the top-grossing app on iOS. However, the game's reign seems to have ended. Supercell's Clash of Clans has been the top-grossing app on iOS since February. In the past week, Clash of Clans has raked in over $7 million in revenue, according to AppData. Candy Crush earned about $6.1 million in the same time period.
Both games are free to play, and both offer in-app purchases as a way to generate revenue. However, Clash of Clans uses Apple's Game Center for sharing, while Candy Crush uses Facebook. King leverages Facebook Connect, making Candy Crush a cross-platform game. Clash of Clans, on the other hand, must develop a different sharing system for different platforms, as Game Center is only available on iOS.
Which game do you enjoy playing most?
For more information about AppData click here, or call 415-230-2558.


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Ceres, Syngenta to collaborate on sweet sorghum market development
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. announced that its Brazilian subsidiary Ceres Sementes do Brasil Ltda., has signed a sweet sorghum market development agreement with Syngenta. The companies will work together to support the introduction of sweet sorghum as a source of fermentable sugars at Brazil's 400 or more ethanol mills.
Sweet sorghum is a hardy crop that can extend the ethanol production season by up to 60 days in Brazil. It can be grown on fallow sugarcane land and processed using the same equipment. Since it grows in just 90 to 120 days, it requires less water and other inputs than sugarcane. Last season, Brazilian mills planted Ceres sweet sorghum on more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) — about the size of nine New York City Central Parks. Due in part to increased demand for ethanol and sugarcane shortages, Brazil's government recently announced in its annual agricultural plan for 2012-2013 that sweet sorghum would be considered a strategic crop.
Under the agreement, Syngenta and Ceres intend to collaborate on small-scale trials as well as larger demonstration-scale field evaluations with mills this season. Syngenta will provide its considerable agronomy resources to evaluate its portfolio of crop protection products alongside Ceres hybrids, and Ceres will provide both seed and research support. Both companies will coordinate outreach to ethanol mills and develop industry training programs.
"By working together with Syngenta, we believe we can advance the development of sweet sorghum crop management practices and provide a more complete package of advanced hybrids and leading crop protection products to our mutual customers," said Michael Stephenson, Vice President of Operations for Ceres.
"We are committed to helping our customers to optimize their operations throughout the season. The cultivation of sweet sorghum enables growers to use land and water resources more efficiently. In collaboration with Ceres, we aim to develop this opportunity by deploying our crop protection portfolio to achieve consistent yield improvement," said Daniel Bachner, Syngenta's Global Head of Sugarcane.
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Market Watch
Headline crude prices for the week beginning 26 August 2019 – Brent: US$59/b; WTI: US$54/b
Headlines of the week
Natural Gas/LNG
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Join NrgEdge and create your own NrgBuzz today
According to 2018 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) for newly constructed utility-scale electric generators in the United States, annual capacity-weighted average construction costs for solar photovoltaic systems and onshore wind turbines have continued to decrease. Natural gas generator costs also decreased slightly in 2018.
From 2013 to 2018, costs for solar fell 50%, costs for wind fell 27%, and costs for natural gas fell 13%. Together, these three generation technologies accounted for more than 98% of total capacity added to the electricity grid in the United States in 2018. Investment in U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2018 increased by 9.3% from 2017, driven by natural gas capacity additions.
The average construction cost for solar photovoltaic generators is higher than wind and natural gas generators on a dollar-per-kilowatt basis, although the gap is narrowing as the cost of solar falls rapidly. From 2017 to 2018, the average construction cost of solar in the United States fell 21% to $1,848 per kilowatt (kW). The decrease was driven by falling costs for crystalline silicon fixed-tilt panels, which were at their lowest average construction cost of $1,767 per kW in 2018.
Crystalline silicon fixed-tilt panels—which accounted for more than one-third of the solar capacity added in the United States in 2018, at 1.7 gigawatts (GW)—had the second-highest share of solar capacity additions by technology. Crystalline silicon axis-based tracking panels had the highest share, with 2.0 GW (41% of total solar capacity additions) of added generating capacity at an average cost of $1,834 per kW.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Generator Construction Costs and Annual Electric Generator Inventory
Total U.S. wind capacity additions increased 18% from 2017 to 2018 as the average construction cost for wind turbines dropped 16% to $1,382 per kW. All wind farm size classes had lower average construction costs in 2018. The largest decreases were at wind farms with 1 megawatt (MW) to 25 MW of capacity; construction costs at these farms decreased by 22.6% to $1,790 per kW.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Generator Construction Costs and Annual Electric Generator Inventory
Natural gas
Compared with other generation technologies, natural gas technologies received the highest U.S. investment in 2018, accounting for 46% of total capacity additions for all energy sources. Growth in natural gas electric-generating capacity was led by significant additions in new capacity from combined-cycle facilities, which almost doubled the previous year's additions for that technology. Combined-cycle technology construction costs dropped by 4% in 2018 to $858 per kW.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Generator Construction Costs and Annual Electric Generator Inventory
Fossil fuels, or energy sources formed in the Earth's crust from decayed organic material, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal, continue to account for the largest share of energy production and consumption in the United States. In 2019, 80% of domestic energy production was from fossil fuels, and 80% of domestic energy consumption originated from fossil fuels.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes the U.S. total energy flow diagram to visualize U.S. energy from primary energy supply (production and imports) to disposition (consumption, exports, and net stock additions). In this diagram, losses that take place when primary energy sources are converted into electricity are allocated proportionally to the end-use sectors. The result is a visualization that associates the primary energy consumed to generate electricity with the end-use sectors of the retail electricity sales customers, even though the amount of electric energy end users directly consumed was significantly less.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review
The share of U.S. total energy production from fossil fuels peaked in 1966 at 93%. Total fossil fuel production has continued to rise, but production has also risen for non-fossil fuel sources such as nuclear power and renewables. As a result, fossil fuels have accounted for about 80% of U.S. energy production in the past decade.
Since 2008, U.S. production of crude oil, dry natural gas, and natural gas plant liquids (NGPL) has increased by 15 quadrillion British thermal units (quads), 14 quads, and 4 quads, respectively. These increases have more than offset decreasing coal production, which has fallen 10 quads since its peak in 2008.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review
In 2019, U.S. energy production exceeded energy consumption for the first time since 1957, and U.S. energy exports exceeded energy imports for the first time since 1952. U.S. energy net imports as a share of consumption peaked in 2005 at 30%. Although energy net imports fell below zero in 2019, many regions of the United States still import significant amounts of energy.
Most U.S. energy trade is from petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products), which accounted for 69% of energy exports and 86% of energy imports in 2019. Much of the imported crude oil is processed by U.S. refineries and is then exported as petroleum products. Petroleum products accounted for 42% of total U.S. energy exports in 2019.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review
The share of U.S. total energy consumption that originated from fossil fuels has fallen from its peak of 94% in 1966 to 80% in 2019. The total amount of fossil fuels consumed in the United States has also fallen from its peak of 86 quads in 2007. Since then, coal consumption has decreased by 11 quads. In 2019, renewable energy consumption in the United States surpassed coal consumption for the first time. The decrease in coal consumption, along with a 3-quad decrease in petroleum consumption, more than offset an 8-quad increase in natural gas consumption.
EIA previously published articles explaining the energy flows of petroleum, natural gas, coal, and electricity. More information about total energy consumption, production, trade, and emissions is available in EIA's Monthly Energy Review.
Principal contributor: Bill Sanchez
It was an innocuous set of words published in a newspaper in Germany on Sunday. "I hope the Russian do not force us to change our position on Nord Stream 2", the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was quoted as saying. A day after that, Angela Merkel also issued a single sentence: "The German Chancellor agrees with the Foreign Minister's comments from the weekend." Simple words with a bold message. And potentially devastating consequences.
The incident that hardened the hearts of Germany , which had become increasingly isolated over the issue of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that connects Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, was the hospitalisation of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Airlifted to Berlin following a medically-induced coma, German doctors concluded that Navalny, who is no stranger to intimidation tactics by the Putin government, was the victim of the Novichok nerve agent. If that name sounds familiar, that's because it made headlines in 2018 over the attempted assassination of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, UK. A lethal nerve agent developed in the 1970s in Soviet Russia, Novichok is among the deadliest poisons ever developed and is banned under the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The Kremlin, predictably, denies involvement in the alleged poisoning, dismissing the German allegations as untrue.
That this could be the straw that broke the Nord Stream 2 back is perhaps surprising. The Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline has survived many obstacles. Many, many obstacles. The sequel to the original 1,222km Nord Stream that was inaugurated in November 2011, Nord Stream 2 will add 1,230km more pipeline between Vyborg in Russia and Lubin in Germany, with nearly all of the entire 2,452km length already being laid. Championed by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and inherited by Merkel, the Nord Stream pipelines were developed to meet Germany's growing energy demand, as it moved away from burning coal and nuclear fission. However, it has attracted criticism from many quarters. From Germany's neighbours including Poland, Denmark and Estonia concerned over the pipeline that passes through their waters. From the EU, concerned about making Germany too energy dependent from a 'politically unreliable' country. From the US, which has threatened and, indeed, imposed sanctions on companies involved in the project. Some would argue that the vociferous US involvement, championed by President Donald Trump is self-serving, meant to allow US energy exports to muscle in, but it still fits neatly into Germany's Russian dependence issue.
Throughout all this drama, Angela Merkel has stood firm. She, and her centre-right party CDU, have supported Nord Stream somewhat unenthusiastically with the primary concerns being the business element. It will unravel Germany's plans to become a natural gas hub, as it tries to drive an EU movement towards cleaner energy. Many of Germany's largest companies, include petrochemicals giant BASF and its energy arm Wintershall are also heavily invested in Nord Stream and the raw gas it will bring. It would also be a reputational risk to pull the plug on a project that is almost complete and set to be launched by the year's end, and still leaves the critical question on how Germany will be able to address its energy deficit.
The business argument has overridden political concerns so far. But now a moral imperative has arisen through the attempted murder of Alexei Navalny, with his subsequent medical treatment in Berlin. This resonates in Germany particularly, since the country understands the historical consequences of authoritarian governments and the dangers it bring. The shifting of the political landscape, especially the rise of the Green Party has triggered a ferocious debate with high-ranking politicians from both the left and right calling for the project to be scrapped. Some are even arguing that Nord Stream 2 gas supply is no longer necessary, as the country's energy requirements are now fundamentally shifting in a post-Covid 19 world.
If, and that is a very big if, the Nord Stream 2 is scrapped, that is at least US$9.4 billion down the drain and plenty more in collateral damage from peripheral activities. It will rock the boat when the usual Merkel instinct is to steady it. But the furore over an attempted assassination by one of the world's deadliest methods no less, might be a stand that Germany is willing to take. After all, it knows first-hand the effects of an iron fist. Berlin has so far stood alone in advancing Nord Stream 2, even after the chorus of critics surrounding it grow louder and louder. If it were to kill the project, Germany could find plenty of supporters for that move and would be more than happy to offer themselves up as a role to scupper this ship. The options are varied, but one question remains that will influence the whole issue: how is Angela Merkel willing to go to take a stand over democratic ideals or business reality?
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PGT Develops First R-5 Impact-Resistant Window Line
Highly Insulating Windows Provide Superior Energy Efficiency and Noise Reduction
N. VENICE, Fla., - PGT Industries (Nasdaq:PGTI), one of the nation's leading providers of custom windows and doors, and the nation's leading supplier of residential impact-resistant windows and doors, today announced the development of the first impact-resistant windows having a U-factor of less than 0.22, thus satisfying the requirements of the Department of Energy (DOE) R-5 program. As a result, these windows will provide the highest levels of energy efficiency and noise reduction found in the impact-resistant market. They will be ideal for those customers who desire hurricane protection, security, noise reduction and energy efficiency in one high performance package. PGT will be able to participate in the R-5 program on selected vinyl-framed awning, casement and fixed lite window styles.
"The core of our business is innovation, which is what first put us on the map as the market leader for impact-resistant windows and doors. The development of an R-5 window line is the result of our commitment to provide new, cutting-edge technologies that meet and exceed evolving customer needs," said Debbie LaPinska, PGT Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Today's residential and commercial markets demand energy efficiency, lower costs, noise reduction and structural integrity, and we are the first to provide this in one complete window package."
This development enables PGT to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) R-5 Windows Volume Purchase Program, which is designed to save energy, reduce the costs of R-5 windows, increase market demand for energy-efficient products and help create jobs. PGT will have the opportunity to be listed as a DOE preferred vendor for associations, K-12 schools, local/state agencies, federal government, builders/contractors, non-profits and universities.
PGT will unveil more details on its new R-5 window line and participation in the DOE's R-5 Windows Volume Purchase program in the coming weeks.
PGT® pioneered the U.S. impact-resistant window and door industry and today is the nation's leading manufacturer and supplier of residential impact-resistant windows and doors. Founded in 1980, the company employs approximately 1,000 at its manufacturing, glass laminating and tempering plants in Florida and North Carolina. Utilizing the latest designs and technology, PGT products are ideal for new construction and replacement projects serving the residential, commercial, high-rise and institutional markets. PGT's product line includes PGT® Aluminum and Vinyl Windows and Doors; WinGuard® and PremierVue(TM) Impact-Resistant Windows and Doors; PGT® Architectural Systems; and Eze-Breeze® Sliding Panels. PGT Industries is a wholly owned subsidiary of PGT, Inc. (Nasdaq:PGTI). For additional information, or to find a distributor near you, visit pgtindustries.com or call 800-284-6019.
PGT Industries
Carole Reams


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