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Authentic Behavior in User Testing
Summary: Despite being an artificial situation, user testing generates realistic findings because people engage strongly with the tasks and suspend their disbelief.
It's a miracle that user testing works: You bring people into a room where they're surrounded by strangers, monitored by cameras, and asked to perform difficult tasks with miserable websites. Often, there's even an intimidating one-way mirror dominating one wall. Under these conditions, how can anybody accomplish anything?
In fact, all experience shows that people can and do use websites and other user interfaces during test sessions, and that many valuable usability findings emerge from such studies. Why?
Two main reasons: the power of engagement and the suspension of disbelief.
User Engagement
When test participants are asked to perform tasks, they usually get so engaged in using the interface that the usability lab's distractions recede. Users know that there's a camera, and maybe even a one-way mirror hiding additional observers, but their attention is focused on the screen.
It's a basic human desire to want to perform well on a test. We can say, "we're not testing you, we're testing the system" all we want. People still feel like they're taking a test, and they want to pass. They don't want to be defeated by a computer.
Because they want to be successful, users allocate their mental resources to what's happening on the screen, not what's happening in the room. Of course, this concentration can easily be broken, which is why it's a cardinal rule of user testing to have observers remain absolutely quiet if they're in the room with users. Also, in fancy usability labs, I've seen users distracted by the noise of cameras moving along ceiling tracks, so that type of thing is best avoided. But, generally, as long as observers stay quiet and out of view (behind the user or behind the mirror), participants will remain engaged in their tasks.
One downside of users' tendency to engage strongly is that they sometimes work harder on tasks in a test session than they would at home. If the user says, "I would stop here," you can bet that they'd probably stop a few screens earlier if they weren't being tested.
Suspension of Disbelief
In user testing, we pull people away from their offices or homes and ask them to pretend to perform business or personal tasks with our design. Obviously, an artificial scenario.
As part of the full usability life cycle, there are good reasons to conduct field studies and observe users' behavior in their natural habitats. Unfortunately, field studies are much more expensive than lab studies, and it's typically difficult to get permission to conduct research inside other companies. During a design process, most usability sessions involve user testing; we're therefore lucky that users can typically overcome a lab's artificial nature and pretend to be at home.
The tendency to suspend disbelief is deeply rooted in the human condition, and may have developed to help prehistoric humans bond around the camp fire in support of storytelling and magic ceremonies. In the modern world, TV shows like Star Trek only work because of our propensity to suspend disbelief. Consider the number of untruths involved in watching Star Trek:
- You're not looking at people, you're looking at pictures of people, in the form of glowing dots on a video screen.
- You're not looking at pictures of real people, you're looking at pictures of actors pretending to be characters, like Mr. Spock and Captain Picard, that don't exist.
- You're not looking at pictures of actors using transporters, shooting phasers, and flying faster-than-light starships. All such activities are simulated with special effects.
You know all of this, and yet you engage in the story when watching the show.
Similarly, in usability studies, participants easily pretend that the scenario is real and that they're really using the design. For this to happen, you obviously need realistic test tasks and to have recruited representative users who might actually perform such tasks in the real world. Assuming both, most usability participants will suspend disbelief and simply attempt the task at hand.
Suspension of disbelief goes so far that users engage strongly with paper prototypes where the user interface is purely a piece of paper. As long as you can move through screens in pursuit of your goal, you will behave as if the system were real and not simulated.
In fact, sometimes users go too far in suspending disbelief and try to role play other users' potential performance. You must put a stop to this immediately, as soon as you hear users speculate about what "some people" might do or might not know. Politely tell such users that you're testing many other people as well, but that you invited them to the test because their personal experiences are very important to the project. You can say to such users, "be yourself" and that "you know what you know," then ask them to use their own job situation as the usage scenario's background legend.
When Engagement and Suspension of Disbelief Fail
User testing typically works, but there are exceptions. Occasionally, test participants are so lazy and difficult to engage that they never suspend disbelief and work on the tasks for real. For example, if you ask such users to select a product to solve a problem, they'll typically stop at the first remotely related product, even if it's basically unsuitable and wouldn't be bought by anybody who really had the target problem.
In rare cases, such nonrealistic usage is serious enough that you must simply excuse the participant and discard the session's data. If users haven't suspended disbelief and performed conscientiously, you can't trust that anything they've done represents real use.
More commonly, you can rescue the situation by employing a few facilitation tricks to encourage authentic behavior.
The easiest and most common approach is to ask the user whether this is what he or she would do at the office (or at home, for a consumer project). This small reminder is often enough to get users engaged. Variants of this technique include:
- Ask users if they have enough information to make a decision (when they stop after finding the first nugget of information about the problem).
- Ask users if they are sure that they've selected the best product (if they stop after finding the first likely purchase, without evaluating alternative options).
If users fail to take the tasks seriously in your first few test sessions, you can usually rescue the study by modifying the test instructions or task descriptions. For example, it's often enough to add an introductory remark such as, "Pretend that you must not only find the best solution, but justify the choice to your boss."
Including an absent boss in the test scenario encourages suspension of disbelief and usually works wonders. I've also found it effective to ask users to "write five bullet points for your boss, explaining the main pros and cons of this product." (You can also ask for three bullets of pros and three bullets of cons.)
In our tests of the investor relations areas of corporate websites, we used a variant of this technique, simply asking the financial analysts and individual investors to decide whether they thought the company would do better or worse than the stock market and state the main reasons why.
Other times, you can induce constraints to better engage users with the task. For example, we once tested an e-commerce site that sold office supplies. In pilot testing, a test task for administrative assistants was to stock the office for a newly hired employee. Unfortunately, the pilot participant wanted to be really nice to this hypothetical new colleague, and bought all the most expensive pens, office chairs, and so on. Although in this case, we could have asked users to pretend that they had to answer to the boss, we chose instead to give them a specific budget. This small change was enough to make users consider each item carefully, which let us discover how they assessed product quality and value.
Despite the artificial nature of user testing, we typically see enough authentic behavior to easily identify design flaws that would diminish an interface's value for real customers. Getting to actually use something is so powerful an experience that most users provide good data. When they don't, you can typically prod users lightly with verbal reminders, or alter the task a bit to get them fully engaged.
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1932 Ford Roadsters - His And Hers RoadstersWritten by Eric Geisert on October 20, 2008 Bookend '32s For Bob And Gina Adams
You've probably seen it before: wives riding shotgun to their other half while they cruise the fairgrounds in his hot rod. What you won't find in that situation is Bob and Gina Adams. The couple has their own '32 roadsters, and the two vehicles are about as different from each other as you can get.
Bob has been involved with hot rodding in one way or another for as long as he can remember. When he was a 14-year-old kid, he lived with his family in Royal Oak, Michigan, and would ride his bicycle over to the famed Woodward Avenue to watch the muscle cars cruise by. Though he graduated high school in 1967, Bob was already driving before he was legally allowed to do so. Watching the Big Three come by Woodward with factory race cars and prototypes are some of Bob's favorite memories of his youth. Gina grew up a little later than that, when Mustangs and Vettes were the hot cars to have, and she really identifies with that era.
Bob had already began collecting hot rods (he now owns a '27 track roadster, a custom '48 Chevy truck, a '64 Chevy Impala 409, a '34 Ford cabrio, a '39 Ford coupe, and more) before they met, but soon Gina really got into the whole hot rodding experience, including the social aspects.
They agreed it would be great if she had her own car to drive to the runs with their rodding friends, so they began to look around at what they could have built. Having been friends and customers of Ohio's Barry Lobeck for many years, the Adams contracted him to build a '32 Ford cabriolet using one of the Dearborn Deuce convertibles as a base.
Bob, on the other hand, was continuing on with his collection, which already contained a couple of roadsters, including a Flathead-powered ride that was outfitted with Du Vall windshield. One thought was to build another roadster that would be a distressed version of his expertly detailed Deuce. But fate intervened when, a few years ago at the Louisville Nats, he came across a primered, traditional-type 'glass roadster for sale that had been built in Kansas.
With a build style that already said "vintage," Bob decided to take the car even further in concept to the level of "long lost, barn-find hot rod." Over the next couple of years, Bob scoured the swap meets and garage sales looking for items that he could add to his roadster to make it look even older.
With both cars now complete, the Adams take their roadsters to events all over the Midwest, each behind the wheel of their own car, which enables them to have their cake and eat it, too!
The lineage of this roadster started in Leavenworth, but then went to Florida where rodder Gary Moore started the process to make the roadster look more traditional, and then finally to just outside Detroit, Michigan, where Bob Adams perfected the look. Some of the work was easy (a simple handmade pitman arm connects to a Schroeder steering box mounted under the dash), and some of it required a bit more attention (finding a dented, rusty panel and bringing it home to beat on it some more before sectioning it into the perfect 'glass door (that's right-the whole car is actually fiberglass).
There really isn't a smooth section of body within eyeshot, mostly because Bob added rust shavings to the paint he sprayed. Then, with a little bit of sand and mud caked on, you get a 60-year-old patina! The look fools most onlookers, with only some thinking it was a recent build. But hardly anyone will come up and say "Why did you do that to a fiberglass body?" Quite the opposite. There was one event where an older gentleman swore up and down he'd seen the car way back when, so Bob quizzed him to find out what he supposedly knew.
During the build, Adams would find parts and pieces at various swap meets to add to his ride, and he feels that time was some of the best spent "working" on his roadster. Bob became adept at distressing the parts and, as some might observe, may have gone overboard when going to the lengths he did. Using old cloth tape from his dad's garage and strategically leaving it on the car is one thing, but to drill out the 'glass body and dimple the hole with Bondo to make it look like bullet holes is just genius.
For a guy who has a nice collection of glossy, litter-free vehicles in his oversize garage, having so many people gather around such a ratty roadster sometimes baffles Bob. But they all see the same thing: either a diamond in the rough (and in need of saving) or, for those who actually know Bob, believe it to be the "before" version of one of his restorations (Oh, he'll fix that later!).
... and Hers
After deciding on the type of car Gina wanted, a trio of drawings was produced to help identify the look. The major styling cue of her roadster would be the same that carried the look of the Mustangs through multiple decades: the side scoop and spears. Barry Lobeck's shop in Ohio located some '66 replacement quarter-panels and then went about grafting them into the steel Dearborn Deuce sides. The scooped sides not only fit the quarters, but fade forward into the door, which made modifying some of the doors mechanicals imperative.
The rest of the build is what you'd come to expect from one of hot rodding's pioneers: a clean and precise assembly with a handful of subtle adjustments to make the car truly unique to its owner. In this particular case, a steel Brookville three-window Deuce dash was installed instead of the standard roadster's dash (which does not have the working glovebox door that the coupe's dash does) and recessing the taillights are just two of the items customized at Lobeck's.
When it came time to paint the car, green was the only shade Gina was interested in. Being her favorite color (things in the house carry the hue, as well as some of her clothing), Bob and Gina checked out what PPG had to offer and found a lime that had a fair amount of gold running through it. Contrasting dark green leather was found for the interior, which features a Wise Guys bench seat with fold-down armrest and purse-like door flaps that conceal more storage.
Not too interested in having some junkyard motor power the roadster, Ford Racing was contacted for one of their 302 crate engine that was tested at 360 horsepower, which was backed to a Tremec five-speed (that's right-three pedals for the lady). The valve covers were modified at Lobeck's to carry three mini-spears, a look carried over from the car's side scoops. A minor styling cue that helps keep the Mustang theme alive are the Cobra wheels from Wheel Vintiques, which were shod in BFGoodrich rubber in 15- and 17-inch diameters.
Having already driven the 200-plus miles to the Columbus nationals in 2007 (where it made its debut), Gina has had no problem rolling up a few thousand miles on the odometer, and Bob finds he has to ask her if he could borrow the car for local runs as she's highly protective of it. You can find both of the Adams on any given hot rod weekend enjoying the hobby, and it's easy to spot Gina: she's usually the one out in front.
More Photos From This Article View Slideshow
Bullet holes in a 'glass car? It's amazing what you can do with a drill and a little bit of Bondo. Bob even wacked the '48 Chevy taillight lenses and filled them with dirt to get the distressed look just right.A bench seat out of an old school bus fits right in with the decor of Bob's interior, and there is a lot to take in. Old oil cans litter the floorboards, but they were placed there intentionally. The dash is '32 Ford (though the ashtray is '36 Ford), but a '32 Stude gauge insert was used, and various parts and pieces from numerous junkyard and swap meet trips fill in the rest. Though you can't see it when standing outside the car, Bob does have a set of contemporary gauges hidden in panel under the dash that can be pulled out when he's driving so he can check the engine's vitals.Vintage steel signs were used as patch panels wherever possible (Bob says locating them at swap meets was one of the best parts of building his roadster) and, remember, this is a fiberglass car. The '32 frame is an original unit, though now boxed.A few hammer marks leave dents that make the new gas tank seem old, plus the vintage license plate and club plaque all aid the ruse.A Maverick 8-inch, transverse springs, and tube shocks can be found under the rear, while the front uses a Magnum I-beam axle, a pair of radius rods, and tube shocks. The car rolls on '35 Ford wires wrapped in 525 and 650 bias ply rubber.You can find dependability in crate motors, and Gina found hers at Ford Racing. The engine is a 302, but pumps out 360 horsepower with the addition of some performance goodies. Lobeck's Springfield, OH, shop fab'd the air cleaner and valve covers (copying the look of the quarterpanels) and the rest of the motor was outfitted with a Walker radiator, a SPAL fan, a polished Edelbrock intake manifold, a Mallory ignition system, and a stainless exhaust system (done at Lobeck's) that empties into a pair of Flowmaster mufflers. The whole shebang bolts to a Tremec five-speed trans.
Little accents unique to this car are found both fore and aft-from the recessed '48 Chevy taillights to the abbreviated bull nose grille trim (which is actually a trim section of a '36 Ford hood side).Lobeck's paid special attention to the interior of Gina's ride, and goes as far as saying "it's a lady's car" because of its ease of function. A Brookville '32 three-window dash was used expressly due to its glovebox, so Mrs. Adams can keep her things from flying around the open cockpit. One of the knobs on the dash pulls out, which starts the car, eliminating the chance of keys scratching the dash. Being a Dearborn Deuce, when the top is folded out and power windows are up, a Vintage Air climate control system allows Gina to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Creature comforts include a Wise Guys bench seat (covered in the same green leather as the door panels by Portage Trim) complete with fold-down drink tray and armrest, and a Juliano's '40-type steering wheel bolted to a Flaming River tilting column.Growing up when Mustangs and Vettes were in their heyday, Gina wanted a little Mustang influence in her '32, too, and got it when Lobeck's sectioned real Mustang quarters to the Dearborn Deuce steel body. The rollers only reinforce that concept: they're Wheel Vintiques' Shelby wheels, 15x6 and 17x8, wrapped in BFGoodrich hides (165R-15 and P255/60R-17).

subset: commoncrawl


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Top Vehicle Models Better Purchased Pre-Owned than New
There are several ways to ensure that you get a great deal on your next vehicle. One way is to shop pre-owned vehicles.
10 Steps to Finding the Right Car for You
The Motor Trend Certified experts at our dealerships are trained to find the perfect car for your needs and to fit it comfortably into your budget. Edmunds.com has broken down the decision making process into just a few simple steps.
Safety tips to keep in mind after earning your license
After years of being chauffeured around town by your parents, you've finally earned your right to climb behind the wheel.


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If you are reading WoW blogs you are probably trying to squeeze the last drop of DPS/Heals/Threat etc out of your gear.
You possibly use Rawr or the plethora of gear advisory websites. You may even read Elitist Jerks religiously.
If you are 80!
If you are yet 80.
If you are somewhere between 1-79 you are probably feeling a little neglected.
Be Neglected No More!
I'm going to tell you how to min/max your pre-level cap character!
Min/Max =/= Min/Max
Most importantly, the further you are from 80, the less the traditional Min/Max definition applies.
Traditional: Minimizing less important/irrelevant stats, while maximizing the important ones, the ones that will give you the last dps/hps/tps.
Gnomeaggedon's definition of pre-level cap Min/Maxing:
Expending the minimum amount of effort/gold to achieve the maximum gear result.
Some rules to gear by when leveling.
It doesn't matter!
- There is a good change that you will replace your latest "epic" with the next quest handin/drop. So don't worry about the small stuff.
- When aiming for upgrades look for anything 3,5 even 10 levels ahead – especially quest rewards. The speed at which you can level these days means that you will most likely out level an item as you hand in the quest.
- You can live in starting gear. It's been done before. People have leveled to max level in their starting gear, or even naked. So don't worry too much if you are level 60 wearing level 50 gear.
- Sometimes the old gear is as good, if not better than the new. High end Vanilla gear is better than early Burning Crusade. High level BC gear is better than early Northrend gear.
BUT, it may not be worth the effort to get it!
- Sometimes an item looks too good to be true… It's a quest reward? How easy can that be! Just check that it isn't a reward at the end of a long chain – you will probably be 3 levels past it and into the next expansion before you get it!
I'm the kind of guy that is happy to abuse his tools. If I have a hammer in my hand and a screw driver in the shed, I will use the hammer to get that screw in.
You are going to be doing a bit of that with these tools, so don't be a perfectionist!
- Wowhead
- Spreadsheet (Excel, GoogleDocs, whatever)
- Character Profiler
- Rawr
Until around level 70, Wowhead will be your tool of choice. You could use Rawr, but it is tuned for 80 and Northrend. Sure it has legacy Vanilla and BC data, but now you are using a sledgehammer for get that screw in.
You don't need a spreadsheet for this stage, but I find it helps to keep it "all on one page". You are only using it for copy & paste… Don't panic if you don't know how to use them!
How to Wowhead your gear into shape.
- Create a profile
- Refresh from armory
- Right click on the item and find upgrades
- Tune the filter
- Go shopping
Create a Profile
You can create a profile after you get yourself a (free) Wowhead account. Do it!
Just search for your character and save it.
Refresh from armory
If you are returning to your profile, you will probably need to resync your character. Sometimes I find this a little buggy, so to force it to refresh, I search for my character again.
Right click on the item and find upgrades
If you right click on any of the items you will get a menu which includes searching for upgrades.
Tip: Middle click on that option to open it in a new tab – that way you can repeat the process and have all your slots ready for review, while keeping your original page.
Tune the filter
You will find that the filter is already pretty much tuned for your class and spec. Some things to change…
Level required: 0-x (x being your current level).
You want to be looking ahead, so change the x to a few levels ahead, leave the 0 as that includes quest rewards which don't have a level requirement (quests do, quest rewards don't)
Additional filters
Some worth considering:
- Available in: BC, WoLK (this will exclude the stuff that's out of your zone range and harder to get items from previous releases)
- Source…
- Quests, Honor, Crafted by… etc. Understand that with this choice you are really cutting down your options – but maybe, just maybe that's what you need to do.
Go shopping
Get the items that give you the best bang for your buck. Ignore the items that are too hard/expensive etc.
Get items ahead of your level if they are cheap at that point of time, but be prepared to AH, Shard, Vendor items by the time you can use them as you may have found something better – and you will out level it very very fast.
Dual Spec Delight
If like Squidly and Gnomeaggedon, you are dual spec'd you can flick the Spec selection and refresh the search to find gear for your other spec.
This is where having a spreadsheet helps, because your currently equiped item will have different value based on your spec, so being able to track down the spec-specific item's wowhead value from last time is handy.
OK, enough for today, I should be able to finish the guide off next time as there is less setup required.
- Min/Maxing gear before 80 part 1 (you are reading it!)
- Min/Maxing gear before 80 part 2: Introducing Rawr
- Min/Maxing Gear Before 80 Part 3: Eyeballing the upgrades
Gnomer and Out, Squidly and Stout!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.


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Demisa Plain Moc
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The Demisa Plain Moc is the next best thing to staying in your slippers all day. This moccasin was crafted with superior construction for all-day softness and comfort. The OthoLite footbed provides extra cushioning, while helping prevent moisture and odors to keep feet dry and comfortable. The unlined interior ensures maximum breathability and flexibility, but also provides shock absorption to help reduce foot and leg fatigue. Choose from a variety of colors and textures in durable leather or soft suede. It pairs nicely with jeans, khakis, or even a skirt.
- ADIPRENE® by adidas sport technology helps provide shock absorbing heel cushioning
- ADIPRENE®+ by adidas helps provide all day comfort and forefoot cushioning
- Moisture absorbent and odor resistant OthoLite® footbed helps keep foot dry and comfortable
- Moccasin construction wraps around the foot for slipper-like comfort
- Unlined structure offers great flexibility and breathability
- Durable shock absorbing Polyurethane sole helps reduce foot fatigue
- Heel height: 22mm (1 inch)
Highly shock-absorbent cushioning protects the heel at impact
Resilient forefoot cushioning provides a responsive, dynamic push-off
From the outsole to the upper materials, each element has been engineered to flex in all directions, the way you do. You have the freedom to move confidently.
Every element is hand selected for best in class lightness while exceeding all of your functional and durable requirements. It's everything you want in a shoe and nothing you don't.


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Just received an RD16 to upgrade my existing NN5 rotator. The unit came with a bunch of parts but no instructions, nor have I been able to locate any instructions for download on the main web site.
I suppose I could just mess around with everything I now have and see what permutation and combination of parts go where to make the thing work, but I'd rather have actual instructions on-hand to put the thing together properly without damaging something.
Did the instructions get missed in the shipment?


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I've noticed references to different kinds of editors such as copy editor, line editor and development editor. I'd like to know the different categories of editors and their job descriptions.
A copy or content editor is the main editor for a project. They're the one looking at the big picture. Are there plot holes? Are the characters consistent throughout the piece? They also do editing for grammar, spelling, typos, etc. but they focus mainly on the story itself.
Line editors edit the piece line by line. They're looking primarily for grammar and spelling problems. They're generally paid less than copy editors since their job is usually easier.
A formatting editor does all the formatting for the book. They do the headers and page numbers, line spacing, and any special formatting that the publisher wants for their manuscripts.
A proofreader is usually the last person who goes over the book. They're looking for anything the others would've missed. They'll look and see if a page number got messed up some how, a typo that got missed, a sentence that got cut off, etc. They're generally unpaid interns or people who are paid with a free copy of the book.
The different kinds of editing come about through differences along two dimensions: first, the role of the edit in the journey from author's first draft to final typeset; second, the constitution of the editing as a process.
An answer of mine to a different question explains a difference in terms of role:
The next big difference is in terms of what activity the edit unit is. The most important difference here is between line edits, which means the activity starts with the editor receiving the manuscript, who then works through the text and ends when the edited manuscript is handed back. The alternative is an edit which involves some kind of interaction and iteration. Proofreading almost always consists of a line edit, but earlier editing might follow one or other form. Cheapskate publishers might have a "copy-editing" process that consists of the project editor delegating a first line edit to someone, passing the edited version back to the author to correct, and then perform a second line edit themselves. Such a minimalist editing process would not be called developmental editing, which is more of a collaborative, exploratory process between editor and author. Developmental editing generally is a kind of high-grade copy-editing.
Note that there's lots of hedging words, like "traditionally" and "generally", excepting only the definition of line edit. That's because the variously named roles are not fixed, but evolve as the publishing workflow changes, as it inexorably does. For instance, the proofreading activity is quite different now, where electronic formats allow much more automation in the typesetting process, than was the case thirty years ago, when proofreading most often meant a demanding reconciliation of the final draft approved by the project editor to the original version submitted by the author, to eliminate the many errors that the editing process was sure to have introduced. So it is no surprise that there is difficulty finding crisp, widely agreed-upon definitions.
Formal definitions vary. Here are some resources explaining various versions of the distinctions:


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GREENWOOD, S.C. – Despite earning three singles victories, Anderson University women's tennis fell just short as the Trojans dropped to Lander 5-4 in nonconference action Monday afternoon at the Joe Cabri Tennis Center.
Leading the way for AU was freshman newcomer Rebecca Bruning as she claimed a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Lander's Renata Mello at No. 3 singles. Prior to the singles win, the freshman was paired up with Lindsay Gregory at the No. 2 doubles spot, as the duo defeated Marion Courbis and Ivanka Mocic, 8-2, for Anderson's lone doubles win.
In the singles round, after Bruning's second singles triumph of the season, junior Karen Ching posted a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Carolina Lainez at the No. 1 position. Sophomore Alexandra Ebner matched Ching's performance with a 6-3, 7-6 triumph over Tiffany Vanhpraseuth at No. 4. With the victories, both Ching and Ebner claim their first singles wins of the 2014 season.
Despite the singles wins, the Trojans were unable to find their clinching victory for their first win of the season, as Gregory (No. 5), senior Avery Owens (No. 2) and sophomore Nikkola Wichenko (No. 6) all suffered straight set setbacks.
Anderson looks to get into the win column on Wednesday when it hosts USC Aiken. First serve is set for 2 p.m.


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Have big problem in finding NPP.
I followed 2ND link posted by Heinz and cannot get it correctly after many tries.
What am I doing wrong?
Have big problem in finding NPP.
I followed 2ND link posted by Heinz and cannot get it correctly after many tries.
What am I doing wrong?
Last edited by Adamo; 11-20-2010 at 01:06 PM.
The curving lines on the floor in the second image indicate that the optimization has gone awry. You should check that control points have not been assigned on the tripod and head. If they have, delete them and reoptimize. You can also try using the "Delete worst control points" option on the Control Points menu. It may be necessary to reset the lens parameters a,b,c to 0 before doing a further optimization. To do this, switch into Advanced mode via the button on PTGui's Project Assistant tab, and select the Lens Details tab.
Looks like you are taking 6 shots around? You only need 4 shots around tilted down at -15degs plus one shot up tilted up at 60 degs for a full 360 x 180 with this lens and the D300. What software are you using to stitch? Are you telling it the correct initial lens parameters?
to get you out of frustration on a sunny sunday morning: Try 60 for LRS and 97 for URS. D300s Samyang 8mm NN5.
But check the setting with your own equipment with the links you know. Samyang only needs 4 for shots around. You should get familiar with the way to find the settings on your own as well
BTW.: One of the basic links: http://www.frankvanderpol.nl/fov_pan_calc_de.htm
Last edited by hindenhaag; 11-21-2010 at 02:23 AM.
Also, is the CP line running up/down above white screw supposed to indicate 97 on upper arm? Then I had correct setting there, but lower was set at 63. Is LRS indicated by left edge of a support arm? A little confused would be under statement.:001_unsure:
Thank you all!
Here are two more images after correcting my setup to suggested settings. I think it's much better. 4 around at +15, 1 at +60 and 1 at -60.
Hi Adamo,
The line on CP is indication the upper rail setting. 97 is right. But your thumbnail shows the teeth of the saw cut to the left, so you have to move to the left, which means you have to reduce the distance, it has to be set to something lower than 63: try 60 as I recommended.
Focal length has to be set to 8mm. PTGui will determine it self after the first arrangement. Just came back home right now, so an answer being a little bit later, but better than no answer?
BTW: John answered as well while I was looking up my database. So Adamo, you see we are watching... Because of the special construction of the Samyang lens it is more a 9mm, and with a good stitch adding manual control points to the outside of the lens, corrected Chromatic Aberration and a very small crop, you get a FOV of around 190°.
Last edited by hindenhaag; 11-21-2010 at 02:55 PM.
PTGui evaluates the focal length of the Samyang 8mm to approximately 9mm, so it's best to initialize it to that.
John and Heinz,
Thank you for helping me here. Close, but no cigar, so far
I've already set LRS to 60 in the last images I attached. I shall try 59 today or tomorrow.
Should I shot 4 around at -15, zenith at +60, nadir -60? Total 6? :001_unsure:
Here is my latest test. URS at 97 and LRS at 59. According to Autopano I get 2.47 RMS excellent.
Here are two images. Please comment.
How do I delete old attachments? No room for second image.
RMS of 2.47 doesn't seem quite so wonderful to me. I expect to get figures in PTGui like average distance <1 and maximum <2. There didn't seem anything wrong with your previous test result with a LRS of 60, so why not try shooting some real panoramas?
Thank you for your reply.
I thought that I still had "saw blade" effect, so I changed to LRS 59.
How do I delete images I previously uploaded, so I can upload some other images?
I was never able to get better RMS than 2.4 in Autopano. I input lens focal length as 8.7. Still learning, but it's tough, because of lack of recources. Any suggestions for reading / looking. It's all magic to me right now.
I think I made a mistake and shot my images as mixed bag of 45 and 90 deg. That's why I got 6 including zenith.
The thumbnail looks a bit rare to me. The rail to the right is incomplete. Did you photoshop? Try to focus to the corner of the rotator. But anyway, LRS should be right around 59 60.
I have the same problems to delete uploaded images. I already contacted Derek, he is working on this problem.
Concerning the set up for shots: When you say you are shooting 6 around, this means 6 shots in one row without changing pitch : means up and down of upper rail. So your 6 is better explained by 4 around + Zenith and Nadir. Cause the Samyang has a Field of view of nearly 190°, you could also shoot 4 around at +5°, which gives a good Zenith. To get a good Nadir, I use the Nadir Adaptor and shoot 2 nadir shots, one in normal position -90°, second shot with open Adaptor and replaced tripod. But you have to find you own workflow, there are different methods to shoot the nadir: viewpoint correction, handheld, or with the nadir adaptor, which I prefer personally.
There are tutorials at Autopano homepage as well as on www.PTGui.com .
John's very useful info's: http://www.johnhpanos.com/tuts.htm
and this: http://www.rosaurophotography.com/html/technical0.html
Last edited by hindenhaag; 11-23-2010 at 09:50 PM.


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8 Effective Ways to Bully-Proof Your Child
8 of 10
Monitor Internet and Phone Use
The anonymity of the Internet makes cyberbullying a modern day threat. To help keep your child from being bullied online, keep all computers in a common area of your house and monitor his Internet use. Tell your child not to accept any texts, instant messages or friend requests from people he doesn't know. If he does receive a harassing message or email, teach him not to reply or play into it, and to tell you right away.
Online services often have a "block" or "ban" option to keep certain people from contacting you. Talk to your phone and Internet provider for additional privacy settings.
Next: Be Available


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On my last bike ride I was riding on a trail and I was going pretty fast, fast enough that I went around a corner really fast and there was a doe right in front of me. I stopped as fast as I could. We both looked at each other and it looked more scared than I was. I was looking around to make sure there wasn't a buck near by. If it was a buck I had run into, it would have been more likely to attack me. So now my question is, what should I do if I run into a buck? Should I bring anything to protect myself that won't kill the animal? Pepper spray perhaps?
Specifically for biking, they do make spray cans to keep dangerous animals away. Most of my experience with these products have been dealing with loose dogs. I would think it could be used for an animal the size of a buck, but obviously more research than my word should be taken there.
Dog repellent
I haven't seen any spray specifically for deer. There are ultrasonic deer repellers for cars, not sure how that would work.
Personally I don't use any of the things I mentioned because it has never been an issue for me. I have had many similar experiences of running into deer on a mountain biking trail. Usually they stare for awhile and then run off. Very rarely I have tossed rocks/sticks in their general direction and that worked to scare them off.
Time of year is very important
I'm assuming white tail deer. There are other deer, but generally people here mean white tails when they say deer. This should generalize to mule deer, but probably not to elk, moose, etc.
From everything I've seen and heard, a doe is likely more dangerous than a buck. Deer in general are quite skittish, and bucks usually more so than the doe. I think generally the only reason one would attack you is if you separated a doe from its fawn and the deer attacked to protect its baby.
I have heard of a couple goreings in Yosemite, but I think most attacks are doe perpetrated.


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Wild For WillysWritten by on August 22, 2012
Truckin'. In 1963, Bob Panella owned a fast, loud, pretty red truck that hauled buns. Now he's got 350 of 'em hauling freshly picked produce from "the Land of Fruits and Nuts" to plants throughout the West. Wherever you live, chances are that something you've eaten lately got its first ride in a trailer that was dispatched—and built entirely in-house—by Panella Trucking of Stockton, California. At last count, the company owned about 2,000 of them.
None of this seems to impress the guy whose name is on the sides. Bob Panella Sr. politely answers each business-related question from a prying reporter, then power shifts the conversation back to hot rods, race cars, and personal heroes spanning 55 years. When a teenage farm kid first dumped the clutch at Lodi's Kingdon Drag Strip in 1957, he was also launching one of the longest, greatest door-car careers enjoyed by any hobby racer. Indeed, precious few professionals can claim such consistent success at the highest levels of competition.
However, we didn't come to Stockton to talk about big rigs or big wins. What inspired the visit was a casual reference by employee (and ex-Kingdon manager) Gary Cox to a "whole warehouse full of Willys" that barely anyone has seen, let alone photographed. Luckily, the boss is a fan of HOT ROD Deluxe and agreed to share the Willys wealth with his fellow readers. Bob Panella's personal tour starts here.
More Photos From This Article View Slideshow
We counted a baker's dozen Willys coupes, trucks, and sedans in this building. The cherry Chryslers are a '55 C300 (left) and a '56 300B. Everything either runs or "can run," assures Bob.Every '33 to '36 model in the Willys 77 line is represented, including a rare sedan delivery and a Phaeton manufactured in Australia. All but one are completely stock. The collection began in the early '70s, after Bob Jr. was born and Bob Sr. retired from drag racing (the first time). He came to appreciate stockers after seeing gasser bodies altered in every way imaginable.More Willys are stashed on the second floor: '40 and '33 sedans, a Holden-badged '35 sedan delivery from Australia, and the steel parts from Bob's '41 race truck that he replaced with fiberglass.Besides being the finest Willys truck we've ever seen, this '41 boasts a radio, a heater, and overdrive, all rare factory options. The late Dexter Bennett restored it. Bob drives it.How many sets like this were simply scrapped in favor of ill-fitting, fragile fiberglass? The yellow undercoat is the only trace of the injected-Chevy gasser that local hero John Errecalde ("The Alan Johnson of his time," raves Panella) built around 1957 for Al Dal Porto.Here's the show-'n'-go winner that Bob would buy in 1963 for $600, less engine, but complete with a LaSalle trans and everything you see in this '59 March Meet photo of Tom Arcoleo launching. Note the absence of a helmet and the shortened, bobbed pickup bed and rear fenders. If you think you've seen this distinctive metalwork somewhere, please contact Panella Trucking before Bob starts sawing on the back of his primered '41 pickup.Although Bob's brother is credited on the freshly candy-appled, gold-leafed doors, Gene Panella (left) wasn't much interested in racing or trucking. Two years after their dad died in 1981, Bob bought out Gene, who's built a successful career in real estate."I can tell you right where I was when I heard that JFK was shot," Bob recalls. "I'd just arrived at Iskenderian's to pick up this engine, which came out of Mazmanian's Willys." The blower motor followed an injected small-block borrowed from friend Fred Miner and, originally, a 426-Wedge that exploded and blew shrapnel into the cockpit. After that near miss, Panella recalls, "Fred said, 'Bob, let's get a Chevy before you kill yourself.'"
A poorly cropped action photo that wouldn't have been considered for publication during drag racing's golden age looks OK today, eh? Because Bob usually drove in local events, he's likely in the seat against the Airoso Bros.Under pressure from the trucking company's insurance carrier to stop driving supercharged gassers, Bob reluctantly turned the wheel over to Joe Morris for the few major events he entered. At the '66 Winternationals, Joe enjoyed the spoils of a major B/GS upset.For a couple of seasons in the mid-'60s, Bob also campaigned a '33 coupe locally. Walt Orr, a mechanic at the trucking company, built its Algon-injected, 292ci Chevy and drove.Bob's first purpose-built racer was a superlight, state-of-the-art Anglia from Exhibition Engineering, the Southern California Funny Car factory operated by the late Pat Foster and recently departed Ronnie Scrima. Shown on an early shakedown pass, Bob banged gears behind an injected small-block in 1967 and into 1968 before giving Ken Dondero his big career break.Dorothy Panella gets credit for saving and sharing these vintage pictures. She started building scrapbooks of racing photos and clippings even before she and Bob married in 1969, continued throughout their son's NHRA career, and is still at it today, documenting the oval-track results of two grandsons.Who says front disc brakes violate tradition? The Anglia's chassis was state of the art for door cars in 1967. Amazingly, all that motor fit under a flat hood.First injected, later blown, El Padron ("The Boss" in Italian) dominated West Coast class and Comp Eliminator racing. Incredibly, driver Ken Dondero did it with the only manual transmission in a competitive Super Gasser—a stock Muncie, no less!Just when we thought that gassers couldn't possibly get any smaller or lighter than an English Ford, GM started importing Opels from Germany. Bob seized upon the swoopy GT's shape to replace his Anglia in 1972. Ronnie Scrima started the chassis, Tom Chambliss finished it, Fiberglass Trends molded the body, Fred Miner destroked an early Hemi to 301 ci, and Phil Fetherston worked the B&M ClutchFlite behind a Crowerglide (note face mask). Fred's twin-Rajay setup produced major Comp wins, the '73 BB/GST e.t. record (8.98), and 8.64/159.26 bests before NHRA penalized the turbo gassers out of existence.Despite being forced by new rules into a supercharged setup and AA/GS (after BB/GS and BB/GST were eliminated), the Opel continued winning and setting records in 1974 and 1975—after which NHRA killed off its last Gas Supercharged class. Because it held both ends of the national record at the time (8.44/163.33), it remains the quickest and fastest legal Super Gasser in history. (It also survives and is under restoration by Dave Kroona and Dave Sandberg, rival racers who bought the running car for $13,000 just in time to enter CC/Altered at the '76 Winternationals—where Phil Fetherston repeated his '75 Comp Eliminator win for its new owners.)
You saw it here first: The Panella racing legacy is to be continued, if Bob Jr. ever finds time between engine customers to finish a small-block Chevy for the family's return to Pro Stock Truck (now a class within Comp Eliminator, retaining 2001's basic rules). "We want to see how much better we are than 11 years ago," his dad explains.During Pro Stock Truck's four seasons as pro category, Bob Jr. won 14 national events and three straight NHRA championships, as well as concurrent Car Craft All-Star Team awards (1999-2001). This success also boomed Bobby's fledgling business, Panella Racing Engines (whose NHRA customers have won three Comp and Super Stock world championships the last three years, notes his proud papa).Behold the oldest brand-new SS/AH Barracuda known to exist, which is unlikely to ever turn a tire in anger. The Panellas painted it to honor Ronnie Sox and Buddy Martin, old family friends, before deciding against the travel demands of a series mostly contested 2,000 to 3,000 miles from home. As we go to press, Rick Hendrick is expressing interest in both the Super Stocker and a new, class-legal Panella Hemi—reportedly for cackling in his museum.Here's what happens to a drag-racing family after all the local dragstrips close: Grandpa and Dad resort to oval tracks that afford youngsters two to three monthly opportunities to compete (April through October) close to home. Bob Sr. and Bob Jr. flank Alex Panella (left), age 11, last season's 5⁄8-Restrictor (600cc) points champ, and brother Nicholas, 7, rookie of the year in Jr. Sprinters (powered by Briggs & Stratton).Yeah, it looked like a whole lot of heavy metal to us, too, until employees advised that our visit came just as "ag season" was ramping up, when this 80-acre yard is relatively empty. Each winter, all 350 of Panella's tractors and 1,000 sets of doubles come home for inspection, maintenance, and repair. The trailers and hoppers are manufactured on site, from scratch.If Panella Trucking's control tower seems strangely familiar, Bob's inspiration was his first visit to the third level of Orange County International Raceway's iconic timing tower, as Joe Pisano's guest. While other VIPs chatted at the open bar, Bob made mental notes about duplicating the basic design. His drivers work out of the ground floor, management has the second level, and dispatchers keep 24-hour watch from the third floor. Those rooftop electronics help coordinate five satellite yards and up to 700 workers at the height of growing season, when drivers work 12-hour shifts in trucks that roll 24/7.To fully appreciate the size of this shop, consider how much space nine big rigs occupy—with room for more. Panella's talented mechanics and machinists can and do repair any damage short of a total wreck (in which case they've been known to successfully combine multiple cadavers into a shiny red truck).Yes, they're all this sanitary! Ferrari-red paint and chrome everything are Panella traditions. (So was gold-leaf door lettering, until the price of real gold compelled a switch to decals.)


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I've seen the term 'the fairer sex' being used in a number of areas to refer to females. How did they get that title?
What does 'fairer' refer to in this case?
OED will provide a citation, I'm sure. Chaucer used fair maid and fair maiden, but the earliest use of fair (or fairer) sex I can find is from Ivanhoe (Sir Walter Scott, 1771–1832):
The word fair is here used in its original sense. It is not uniquely applied to women, although this is what the fair/fairer sex has largely come to mean.
The following is an excerpt of the relevant senses, with only a few each of citations, from the OED regarding all this:
You can still find occasional uses of fair applied to men, such as in Twain above. But be careful what you Google for — especially at work. 'Nuff said.
It refers to looks...'nuff said; anything more will get me into trouble I'm sure.
[Sorry, should be comment on Jon of All Trades' answer] I have to say I always thought that 'fair maid' etc. had some reference to lack of tan in certain contexts. It is only in the twentieth century that tanned skin on a person of light skin tone has become admired, probably to do with the fact that, once plane travel came into being, most people in could not afford to go abroad and get a good tan after working indoors fifty weeks of the year. Before that, untanned skin was admired because only well-off people could afford not to work in the fields.
Having said that, I am happy to accept that the primary meaning is not really to do with class. It may be that the class explanation is a misconception that some of us have taken as the gospel truth. I suspect the down-voters did so in the belief that they were serving the cause of political correctness.
I read somewhere that females need to absorb more vitamin D for calcium absorption during pregnancy and lactation so maybe they evolved with fairer skin than men of same geographical location to aid in that absorption. Vitamin D - absorbed more efficiently through lighter skin.


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Paris Hilton Wears Terry Richardson's Glasses On The Cover Of Vogue
- Here it is! A scant two weeks after Paris Hilton Tweeted about her Vogue Turkey cover shoot, the official artifact has arrived. Somehow, we imagined the combination of Paris Hilton and Terry Richardson would lead to something more...kitschy. [Models.com]


text:
I want to prove the following: The structure $(\mathbb{Z},\equiv,0)$ has QE (with $\equiv$ a relation such that for all $m,n\in\mathbb{Z}$: $m\equiv n$ iff $m-n$ is even). I thought hereover in the following way: Suppose you have a formula $\phi$ in the language of the structure. Then bring this formula to the disjunctive normal form. The basis formulas in the language are: $$a=b,\neg(a=b),a=0,\neg(a=0),(a\equiv b),\neg(a\equiv b),(a\equiv 0),\neg(a\equiv 0)$$ and also combinations with $\wedge$. But than i have to find for all possible combinations a quantifier free formula. But how to do this?
Wat shall I do if i want to prove that a given structure has no QE?
Thank you ;)


text:
I have written a simple script.
When I run
sh <myscriptname.sh>, i got the correct output, but when I run
./<myscriptname.sh>, I got an error.
What is difference between when I do
sh and
I have written a simple script.
When I run
What is difference between when I do
When you run any script by passing the filename to the script interpreter program, you are running the interpreter program with the script as an argument passed into it. For example this would look like the process 'sh' with the argument 'filename.sh'. The
On the other hand if you run the script itself, the system calls out to the interpreter program specified and feeds in the scripts contents. In this case the process looks like 'filename.sh' with no arguments.
You should make sure you have a bang line:
A bang line is the very first line in the script and starts with the same two characters
Once you have your script, make sure you have set execute permissions:
Then you can run the script as its own process:
Or put the file into a known location with a nice program name, like
And this is really the practical benefit of using the bang line with the right permissions - it's all about deployment. It's very hard to get users to run a script if they have to remember what program to run the script with. Remember to give a full path to the script every time they want to run it. Where as putting it in
It's also good for identification. If you go into the
Note: If you want to distribute a script that's accessible to everyone, then please create a man page and a deb package to install it. We need to reduce the number of random scripts online and increase the number of debs which can be uninstalled.
The short version:
There are three main reasons you might be getting an error:
If your first line looks right, but still isn't working, make sure the file doesn't have DOS line endings.
The error would look something like this:
You can fix it by running
The difference you do is,
And the answer is that sh is name for very popular shell. But outdated and replaced by others. Nowadays sh is linked to others shells installed on machine. e.g. I have bash putted there. Running any shell from sh usually trigger some 'compatibility' mode with original 'shell' behavior.
So solution is quite simple. Look what's behind sh command (ls -al /bin/sh), and put #!/bin/whatever_you_find_there as first line (or if there is something like that in your script edit it).
And alternatively there may be some bug in script itself. Like dependence that is met by sh, but not interpreter that is actually used.


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History |
View |
Annotate |
Document destructor and format code.
Added doxygen comments to the overloaded init_bound_number and init_bounded_number_vector
Overloaded init_bounded_number_vector with a matrix argument containing input from data_matrix
Remove end of file blank lines.
Big change: remove end of line spaces.
Copy VERSION .
Revert src back to r413 keeping changes in r420.
Reverted conversion of line endings from r414, back to Linux style
Changed almost all CPP HPP and H files to reduce warnings from Ubuntu build involving whitespace in code. All assignment operators should now be surrounded by spaces, all comments should be preceded by a space, all for loop constructs should have whitespace surrounding all statements.
Really put svn:keyword Id...
Add svn 'Id'.
Copied revision 1006 from shibi to nceas. Old version control will now be only read only. This will be the primary version control.


text:
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15mm Round Paua Cabochon - Light Blue
The resin covering the paua shell within this 15mm round cabochon adds a light blue tint to its naturally iridescent coloring. The result is a gorgeous display of purple, green, blue and marbled black. The cabochon is made by trapping a paua shell between a black resin back and a transparent light blue curved resin front. Use this cabochon for craft projects or fashion accessories. Paua shell comes from New Zealand, where its coloring and iridescent properties have made it popular with tourists. Because the shells are natural, each cabochon will have a different pattern. Feel free to browse for other
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Let $G$ be the nilpotent Lie group consisting of matrices $$ \begin{pmatrix} 1 & a_{12} & \cdots & a_{1,n}\\ 0 & 1 & \ddots & \vdots\\ \vdots & \ddots & \ddots & a_{n-1,n}\\ 0 & \cdots & 0 & 1 \end{pmatrix} $$ where $a_{ij}\in\mathbb R$.
I would like to find a presentation of the group $\Gamma=G\cap\mathrm{GL}_n\mathbb Z$.
The entries on the superdiagonal play a crucial role, in that the $n-1$ matrices with a single $1$ on the superdiagonal ($1$s on the diagonal and $0$s elsewhere) generate all of $\Gamma$.
Trying to write down a presentation, I would start by choosing $n-1$ generators, $a_{12},\dotsc,a_{n-1,n}$ (named after the matrix entries). It is also clear that we need commutation relations, like $$ [\cdots[[[a_{12},a_{23}],[a_{23},a_{34}]],\ldots]\cdots]=\cdots=e. $$ (If $n=3$, this would just be $[[a_{12},a_{23}],a_{12}]=[[a_{12},a_{23}],a_{23}]=e$.) I am just not sure, though, if I explicitly need to require that, say, $$ [a_{12},a_{34}]=e, $$ which seems to be directly related to the embedding I am thinking of. I would like a presentation in which any generators can be mapped to any of the matrices with a $1$ in the $(i,i+1)$ position. Is this possible?


text:
Kieran Kennedy
Date of birth
23 September 1993
Place of birth
Manchester, England
Joined City
July 2000
Centre-back Kieran Kennedy has spent the past decade at the Academy after originally joining at under-6 level.
The 18-year-old began his career at Urmston Town and rates his best goal scored as one against neighbours Manchester United a couple of seasons back, a 20-yard stunner.
Kieran enjoyed his first England Under-19 call-up in January 2011, and has since made seven appearances for his country.
Kennedy had an injury hit 2012/13 season but will be hoping to kick on against in 2013/14.


text:
Alex Reeve Givens '08 of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
will discuss government legal careers on Capitol Hill.
Non-pizza lunch will be served. Hosted by SJI.
© Copyright 2016, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.
For questions or comments, please contact the web administrators.
435 West 116 Street, New York, NY 10027 — 212-854-2640


text:
I've heard that there are games where the units on the board are secret -- that the other player doesn't know where they are. How does this actually work? How can you have units on the board without the other players knowing their location?
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There are a few popular ways.
In Stratego, you don't know which units are which, but I am sure that isn't what you mean.
Scotland Yard and Clue: The Great Museum Caper have a player record their moves secretly, and only reveal their location at the end of the game.
Battleship does it with independent boards.
You could also institute a Fog of War by placing unit tiles facedown among blank tiles. Moving unit tiles on your turn (only you know the location of your units) when your opponent isn't in the room. When you maneuver a unit adjacent to another you flip the tile and reveal an opponent's unit or a blank. At the end of your turn, you replace the blanks and your opponent returns to the room and takes their turn.
The Ravensburger game Pyramid has a fairly creative solution to this problem: The board is stood vertically, with all the pieces attached by magnets to respective sides.
All but one of the players sit on one side and move their pieces to collect treasure inside a pyramid. The other player is a mummy and is trying to capture them, but he only knows where they are when they reveal treasure. In practice, the mummy sits on the other side.
Additionally, there is a mummy magnet on the adventurers' side as well, so that when the mummy moves, the other players can see where he moves to, making the mummy's location known to all, but the adventurers' locations secret to the mummy.
Not a particularly deep game, but one I really like just for this creative approach to secret piece movement!
ASL has two levels of secrecy: the simpler is concealment, where you place a blank counter (actually marked '?') on top of every stack, and have a few stacks consisting only of blanks; when the other player 'would see' the stack (it moves in the open, is successfully fired at, etc.), you take the blank (or blanks) off. Hidden requires you to write down a hex number for each hidden unit, with any relevant information (equipment, facing...). When you want that unit to act, you have to put it on the board (possibly concealed).
It is also possible to have one board for each player, with a barrier between them. On your board you place your own units and your guess as to the enemy dispositions. A neutral referee checks each move (ideally having his own board, which will be right for both sides), and reports what is visible.
Some game resolve this with having your units as cards, with a monogenous backside. The player will have a stack of cards with units on them, ranging from strong to weak. He also have a stack of blank decoy cards, and when he places the cards on the battlemap, only he knows which contains units and which are blanks.
With this method, you can also make some sneaky bluffs with the number of cards you put in each stack, which order you place them in and so forth.
One idea for keeping secret units, well, secret on a shared board would be for the player controlling said units to maintain a notepad with current (and past) unit locations. Keeping track would be trivial on a grid-based board where you could note "Spy is moving from A-2 to B-4".
This could be even simpler if combined with some variety of rules-enforcing system like a small computer application, a game master, or even a numbered turn counter to add to the notes.
The simplest way is for units which cannot move while hidden. They can simply start off hidden with a counter one every location. When you want to activate a hidden unit, turn over one of the counters. If people can search a location for hidden units, then let them look at a counter and discard/replace it. Alternatively you can merely write down where they are and reveal them whenever you want.
Written approaches lack the transparency of the counter method though, since you could easily cheat or forget a unit is in a location where it should have been revealed.
If you want to move hidden units, you could swap two neighbouring location counters. This will give clues to the other players where units might be moving, however. You could possibly allow more then one move at a time so some might be real and some fake. This approach has the advantage that you cannot accidentally lose track of your hidden unit, and forget they should have been killed/revealed.


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"The sum of strategies to use the least amount of energy possible, while maintaining or improving comfort levels and environmental quality"At UFV, our engagement in Energy Management stems from our ongoing commitment to sustainability and the environment, in line with the desire to reduce utility costs where possible. The benefits of energy management are well proven at UFV. As an example, in 2002 an energy study was conducted to find ways in which energy consumption could be reduced at the time. In 2005, after the measures identified in the study were implemented, the verified savings showed that energy consumption at the Abbotsford campus had been reduced by 10%. In the 2005/2006 fiscal year this yielded an annual cost saving to UFV of approximately $40,000 per year in utility bills, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of more than 120 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year - that's equivalent to driving a mid-sized car around the world 15 times!
At UFV, the engagement in Energy Management stems from an ongoing commitment to sustainability and a focus on our environment, in line with the desire to reduce utility costs where possible. The benefits of energy management are well proven at UFV.
The hire of UFV's Energy-Project Manager will continue to improve UFV's commitment to a sustainable future by finding more solutions for UFV to reduce energy, energy waste and decrease its carbon footprint at all of its campuses over the years to come, as well as promote energy awareness throughout the university community.
Blair McFarlane comes to UFV following roles in Healthcare and K-12 Education. Blair can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com and 604-504-7111 ex. 4200.
June 2013- UFV has met and exceeded their energy reduction target 2.5 years early!
In June 2013, UFV had reduced energy consumption by 10.6% compared to 2009/10 levels (adjusted for weather). The original target was to save 10% by 2014/15, and UFV achieved the target 2.5 years early! While this is a cause for celebration, there is still plenty more to do to reduce UFV's energy usage.
June 2013 - Energy Management Video
Read more about the video here and click on the link below!
March 2013 - Last out, Lights off
Thank you for spreading the word about the 'Last out? Lights off!' campaign to colleagues and students during the week of the 18th March.
As a part of the campaign we accomplished:
Let us know your bright idea for saving energy on campus! The contest ended November 30, 2012, but you can send in ideas at anytime on how to save energy at UFV.
Sam Thomas, Energy Manager, and Green Team members attended three welcome back events in August and September. Sasq'ets, UFV's mascot, joined them in handing out cookies, promoting the green pledge and reminding everyone to turn it off!
July 2012 - UFV Staff and Faculty Green TeamFor a PDF copy of the presentation given at the latest meeting on July 19th 2012, click here (allow half a minute to download). To find out how to get involved with the Staff and Faculty Green Team click here.
March 26 - 30, 2012 - TURN IT OFF WEEKThe last week of March 2012 was Turn It Off Week on campus. The week was a success, with our "Caught Green Handed Campaign" (congratulations to prize winners), "Green Cupcake" event, media communication, and a surprise tour of the campus by none other than our furry mascot, Sasq'ets. Thanks to all of those who got involved, and remember that just because the week is over, it doesn't mean you can stop turning off those lights!! Keep up the good work and let's help make UFV green(er).
February 9th 2012 - National Sweater DayJoin UFV in supporting National Sweater Day. On Thursday February 9th wear your UGLY sweater to work, and be prepared for the heat to be turned down slightly in some areas. Launched by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), this initiative raises awareness around the simple actions that can help to save energy and combat climate change every day. After a hugely successful 2011 event, WWF will again celebrate National Sweater Day which calls for all Canadians to turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater for the day to show their commitment to the environment.
While the sweaters represent the fun, turning down the thermostat is the key to National Sweater Day. Space heating is a major contributor to the changing climate. If every Canadian turned down their thermostat by two degrees Celsius each winter, 2.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved every year - equivalent to taking 350,000 cars off the road, permanently.
So grab your ugly sweater and pull it on this Thursday 9th February at UFV to show how you do your bit for the environment. For more information look for posters around campus, see www.sweaterday.ca, or email your Energy Coordinator at firstname.lastname@example.com. Brought to you as part of the BC Hydro sponsored Workplace Conservation and Awareness Program for the UFV Abbotsford campus.
June 2011 - Programming change for gym air handling unit saves $7,000 per yearAfter a closer look at the programming code of a suspiciously behaving air handling unit for the new gymnasium, Energy Manager, Ken Holdren, identified an error in the outside air damper operation. That is, considerably more outside air was being brought into the gymnasium than necessary, costing UFV an estimated $7,000 per year in additional heating load. After a few programming changes by UFV's building controls contractor, this problem was rectified and the savings realized immediately.
As part of UFVs ongoing commitment to energy efficiency and conservation, the university has recently committed to reducing the Abbotsford campus energy intensity by 10% from 2009/2010 levels by the 2014/2015 fiscal year. This May, UFV released a Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP), which provides information on how and where energy is used on campus, as well as strategies for meeting the energy reduction target. At this point in time the document and the reduction target focus on the Abbotsford Campus and Aerospace Center only, with other campuses to be included shortly. See the link on the right-hand side of this page for a copy of the SEMP.
In March the Residents of UFV Baker House entered into a province wide energy efficiency challenge called 'Do It In The Dark', organized by the goBeyond Campus Climate Network. UFV placed third out of eight participating institutions with a 20.1% reduction in electrical consumption in comparison to the February base-period (not normalized for weather). First place with 29.4% in reduction was Okanagan College, with second place going to the University of Northern BC with 27.4% reduction. This is a great achievement, thanks to the efforts put forward by the Residents, Student Staff, and Professional Staff of UFV Baker House. Thanks and appreciation is given to Lyle Yolkowski from Facilities for his assistance with meter readings. A Stair Climbing Challenge was one of the initiatives used to help reduce electrical consumption, as well as reminders to turn out lights and turn down heaters when students leave their rooms. BC Hydro also brought their Outreach program to Baker House at the beginning of the challenge to help spread the word about saving energy.An online dashboard was set up for the challenge which shows results and standings.
UFV's Chief Financial Officer, Jackie Hogan, has signed a letter expressing UFV's commitment to energy efficiency and conservation. Having this support at an executive level is crucial for creating a successful energy management program. Jackie's support is greatly appreciated. A copy of this letter can be viewed by clicking the link at the top-right of this page.
UFV hired a dedicated Energy Manager, Ken Holdren, and Energy Coordinator, Sam Thomas, both of Prism Engineering. These positions involve finding more solutions for UFV to reduce energy waste and its carbon footprint at the Abbotsford campus and Aerospace Centre, as well as to promote energy awareness throughout the campus community. The role has been funded by BC Hydro under its Energy Manager program - click here for more information.
Energy Coordinator, Sam Thomas, raising awareness about energy efficiency and conservation at the Welcome Back BBQ, September 2010.
Submit Your Bright Ideas! Tell us your energy saving idea and help us reduce our impact ________________________


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Star Wars Yoda Bathrobe for $57.97
Drip on the floor I must not
5 Comments add a comment
Super nerdy this is mmmm.
Seems like a lot of money for a bathrobe. Even one with Yoda ears.
And oh yeah, the link is dead.
@rayray8822: not sure why it won't work, I just went directly to the web site, found it and tried to attached it and it still did not work
The force she will feel when disrobed he is.
@txag98: Does he quote Yoda, "Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm."


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The Vine - December 2010 - 12-23-2010, 06:38 PM
What's New?
Happy Christmas, folks! This edition of the Vine also includes a gift doll on the occasion of the wintertime holiday of your preference.
Overall, the forums have been in a festive mood. A Secret Santa event is being held, as usual this time of year, and the deadline for turning in gifts is today. If you signed up but haven't yet turned in your gift, do so quickly!
There have also been some rather big updates. Namely, the official Dollsters website is up, though under construction, and can be viewed here. Suggestions for additions and improvements are welcome and should be posted in this thread.
Work has also begun on the Dollsters community dollmaker. If you want to contribute, check out this thread.
In other news, the results for the Halloween contests have finally arrived. The overall winner was Miranda, second was antimaie and third place was a tie between Aussiemum777 and Elanorea (that's me!). Results for individual contests can be seen in their threads.
The Miss Mary Sue pageant is also over. The winners of the handdrawn and dollmaker competetitions are spirit_queen and Kiwi_Kat, respectively. Congratulations!
Doll of the Month
Radiance Twinkle Bella Glorious Dream by LancasterPrincess (Miss Mary Sue round 3 entry) - This doll displays an excellent use of colour, containing mostly gold hues with just enough variety to not appear too monotone. The shimmery shading for the mermaid's tail is also very nicely done. But what really makes the doll stand out is the use of scenery, showing how a rather plain (if well-made) doll can be made much more interesting by giving it some context. The waves crashing against the rock are beautifully done, and that little starfish is just adorable.
This month's dollmaker award goes to everybody participating in the Dollsters community dollmaker project! Thank you for all your lovely contributions.
Art of the Month
Bandit Queen by AaronShadows - Looking at this pencil drawing, one has to admire the clean lines and the intricate detail on her weapons and armour. Yet her face remains in shadow, giving her an air mystery. Her pose is badass, seemingly relaxed but ready for battle. All in all, this drawing does a marvellous job at portraying a character who is dangerous and enigmatic.
Want to comment? His thread is here.
Guess the Member
Haven't managed to get in touch with Wolfie yet, so this month's Guess the Member is going to be delayed. Sorry about that!
Happy birthday to Heva_Banana_Mad, princessmeplz, nslaney, Panic_Overload and CatTheNinja!
Holiday gift
Adoptable for all members!
You will be afflicted with diarrhea as a result of eating some Latvian confectionery of dubious quality. It would be a good idea to move to a different country, like, RIGHT NOW.
Your likelihood of being abducted by aliens is twice as high as usual. Of course, zero times two is still zero. Bad luck will follow you around like a piece of toilet paper stuck to the sole of your boot.
You're probably going to get fired anyway, so why not quit your job in the most spectacular fashion possible? At any rate, it would be a good idea to carry a baseball bat at all times.
To ensure a healthy sex life for the following month, print out a copy of this newsletter and fax it to everyone you know. Remember not to eat the yellow snow.
You will dislocate your shoulder in an attempt to lick your own elbow. This month, you should work on your people skills. PROTIP: Avoid babbling incoherently.
You will discover that money doesn't bring happiness, and neither does spending it all on novelty paperclips. Now is a good time to think of founding your own political party.
You will discover that even common garden tools can be lethal in unskilled hands. According to the state of the planets, there will be delicious cake in your future.
Success makes you happy, while failure makes you sulk and throw tantrums. Unfortunately, we foresee more of the latter in the coming month. Consider showering more frequently.
You often try to act cool, but frankly, you're just embarrassing yourself. Stop it while you still have some dignity left. A life-changing event may possibily occur in the near future.
Your friends will post an extremely embarrassing video of you on Youtube, and you will become an instant internet celebrity. You will break every single one of your new year's resolutions within the first week of January.
There is disaster looming in your future; however, trimming your eyebrows and/or staying away from flammable objects may help avert it. You may be ugly, but your personality is hideous.
You will inadvertently view an episode of a TV-show you hate, and end up enjoying it. This will cause an existential crisis. Venus (the planet, not the razor brand) is totally out to get you.
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OBIS is looking to expand its network of partners that coordinate the data collection at a local, national or international (regional) level. Currently, the OBIS network consists of 22 OBIS nodes, which connects the international OBIS with nearly 500 data providers in 56 countries.
OBIS is a project of the International Oceanographic Data and information Exchange (IODE) programme of IOC-UNESCO. OBIS nodes operate under the IODE network as either National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs) or Associate Data Units (ADUs).
Any (national or international) project, programme or institution can join OBIS.
Some information on OBIS, the activities of OBIS nodes and instructions on how to apply to become an OBIS node is available in a presentation at: http://www.slideshare.net/OBIS-IOC/becoming-an-obis-node
The application form can be downloaded here.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need any further information.


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Hotel Safe for Laptop computers and other personal valuables. Color may vary Motor driven locking mechanism User friendly LED monitor. Reliable and easy operation. Convenient power back up system. Four bolt down holes. Solid steel construction Code setting: 1 – 10 digits. Motorized opening. Code hiding function. Rust-resitant powder coat finish Override emergency key/ master code equipped. Exterior Dimensions: 6"H x 15"W x 10"D Interior Dimensions: 6"H x 14"W x 7"D Weight: 21 Lbs
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If your depression persists for more than a couple of months, you may find it worthwhile to seek professional help.
Feeling depressed? Wishing that you could share in the joy of having a new baby, but you're feeling left cold for some reason? You're not alone. More than half of new fathers experience their own version of postpartum depression. Fortunately, the depression of new fathers, like that of new mothers, usually passes relatively quickly.
Although you have ample reason to feel happy and exhilarated, you probably have plenty of good reasons to feel depressed, too. The following sections address some of the most common causes of depression for new fathers.
Having a baby changes relationships within the whole family. You may find it difficult to adjust to these changes. For one thing, you probably won't make love with your partner as often as you did before having the baby. Even worse, you will both no longer have as much energy to invest in each other physically, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually.
With all the dramatic changes that your tiny new tenant has wrought in your household, you may wonder, "Where do I fit in?" With no clear sense of purpose in your home, you may suddenly feel like an observer of events that seem outside your control. If so, then stop sitting on the sidelines. You may be able to shake a good deal of your depression by taking action. Define your role more clearly by participating as an equal partner.
If you're out of the house working most of the day, try to assume more than your share of caregiving when you get home. Especially if your partner works outside the home, too, you should increase your share of child care and other parenting responsibilities. Help out with household chores, too. Recognize that your partner has a full-time job even if she's "only" with the baby all day. Do some cleaning and cooking and diapering and work your way out of depression.
Any financial worries you may have had before the conception of your child have only gotten worse since. Paying the hospital bills, setting up a nursery, buying clothes-none of these come cheap. (And then there's the cost of a college education down the road.)
You undoubtedly have a greater financial burden, especially if you've lost a big portion of your household income for some time because your partner is staying home to care for the baby.
Breadwinning is an enormous responsibility for new fathers. Despite some changes in women's and men's roles, things haven't changed all that much. Even if your partner plans to return to work in just a few months, you probably feel as though the entire burden of bringing money into the home falls on your shoulders.
Do whatever you can to alleviate some of the financial burden you feel. Cut down on whatever expenses you can, at least until you feel afloat once again. (You certainly won't be going out as much as you once did, and that should help a little.) For instance, you might want to spend your vacation at home instead of traveling anywhere.
Many people still don't know how to regard a man who participates fully in baby care. Many mothers are very accepting of fathers that they get to know through play groups with their babies. Yet in the playground, many mothers are very wary of "strange men," even those accompanied by a baby.
Complete strangers may approach you in the grocery store and ask if you're babysitting today. (Would they even think of asking a mother the same question?) You can't control other people's responses and reactions to your involvement in your baby's care, but you don't have to feel awkward just because other people don't know what to make of you.
Too many late-night calls and all-nighters (even if you're not physically getting up) may leave you feeling extremely fatigued, and exhaustion contributes greatly to depression. Try to take good overall care of yourself so that you can better take care of both your baby and your partner, both of whom will need some special care in the first year of his life. Get as much rest as you can, eat right, and try to get at least two to three hours of exercise a week.
You may have almost no social life anymore. If you work outside the home, you may have no social contacts whatsoever that aren't related to your job or business, especially if, as a conscientious parent, you rush straight home after work to be with your family. If, on the other hand, you work part-time, work at home, or have taken time off (temporarily or permanently) from outside work so that you have more time to devote to baby care, you may feel a different kind of isolation: gender isolation. You may be the only dad at your local "Mommy and Me" group or the only man you see at the playground in the middle of the morning.
If you feel cut off from others, seek out support groups for new fathers. You might also want to check with your local adult education program, a community college, or the YMCA to see if they offer courses aimed exclusively toward fathers. Don't give up on your relationships with other men. Arrange with your partner to trade off nights every two or three weeks so that you can have a "boys' night out" with some of your friends and she can have a "girls' night out" (though this trade-off may be difficult to manage until your child is weaned).
Whatever the cause of your depression, you owe it to yourself, your partner, and your baby to deal with it. Seek out financial counseling, emotional support, and the good advice of your partner. Take good care of yourself now, emotionally as well as physically. Make your emotional, physical, and spiritual health a priority. After all, you want to stick around for as much of your baby's life as possible, don't you?
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Bringing Up Baby © 1997 by Kevin Osborn. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit the Idiot's Guide web site or call 1-800-253-6476.
© 2000-2016 Sandbox Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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I have read that flushing a glass full of rock salt down your toilet every month is good practice if you have a cast iron sewer line. Reason being is that the salt will kill off any tree roots in the pipe and also prevent more roots from coming in and causing blockage. Is anyone currently doing this and if so how has it worked for you?
I was able to find a reference to this in chapter 22 of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Household Solutions.
Though honestly, I've never heard of this approach until now. I'm no expert on the corrosiveness of salt, but I would imagine the levels of salt in the sewer would not be high enough to rust the pipe. I'm also skeptical that the salt levels would be high enough to completely kill and prevent the roots. While I wouldn't recommend pouring a bag for rock salt down the drain, a handful once or twice a month will probably not hurt the pipe.
There are other tried and true methods to remove roots from sewer lines.
Augers can be used to effectively remove roots from a sewer line, by cutting the roots out. This is not likely a solution for a DIYer, since it involves expensive specialty tools. This method will not prevent roots from growing back into the sewer.
A hydrojetter is essentially a power washer with a rotating mechanical "sweeper", that is designed to be fed into the sewer line and blast and sweep roots away. Again, this is not likely a DIY option and does not prevent the roots from regrowing.
In some cases roots may have caused too much damage to the sewer line, and the only option available is to dig the line up and replace it. This can be very expensive, and will almost certainly not be a DIY project.
Contact Herbicides
Contact herbicides are chemicals that will kill the roots, and in some cases prevent them from regrowing. These are typically a more DIY friendly option, and can be found as simple "pour down" solutions.
Contact herbicides can include:
A common product recommended by plumbers is RootX. This is a herbicide in a foaming carrying agent, that allows the herbicide to reach roots at the top of the pipe. RootX uses Dichlobenil, and is non-caustic, non-fumigating, and non-systemic. Unfortunately, it's not readily available to homeowners, so you'll likely have to contact a plumber for this treatment.
Searching around, I stumbled upon a product similar to RootX that is available to homeowners. Roebic® Foaming Root Killer is available at Lowes for about $20.00. It foams up, and uses dichlobenil as the herbicide just like RootX.
Make sure you check with your local municipality and environmental agencies, before pouring chemicals down your drain
One of the best ways to prevent roots from entering your sewer line, is to carefully plan where you plant trees and other deep rooting plants.
I have never done this. The first thought that comes to mind is an auto from the "rust belt" where rock salt is used to treat icy roads. the result is corrosion. I would think that the pipes would be damaged. If you don't have municipal sewerage I don't see it being healthy for your septic system.
no its gonna be bad in the long run----a lot of piping underground is made from cast iron---the salt water will be an electrolyte and it will eventually eat the pipe ,atom by atom (or ion by ion ) if your piping is plastic based it connects somewhere to a cast iron line----if you flooded the soil around the outside of the pipes it would (i think ) keep roots out of the pipes but then again you have the galvanic reaction with the salt water acting as an electrolyte
I would venture that a cup of salt once a month would have no effect, considering the amount of waste/water also flowing through the sewer line. Don't bother.


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Law students who attend another ABA-accredited law school can use their winter break to earn credits toward graduation by registering for the 2013 Winter Session at Rutgers School of Law–Newark. Classes will take place during the first week of January.
Intensive Deposition Advocacy, Legal and Administrative Research, and Non-Profit Corporations and Tax-Exempt Organizations, which is taught in the Dominican Republic as part of a service trip, are offered to students who have completed the first-year program or its equivalent at an ABA-accredited law school.
Intensive Deposition Advocacy, which will be held from 9 am to 5:30 pm on Monday, January 7th, through Thursday, January 10th, is an advanced civil practice course focusing on planning for discovery depositions through analysis of legal, factual, and persuasive theories as well as witness psychology, conducting information-gathering and admission-seeking depositions, defending depositions through ethical witness preparation, making appropriate objections, and dealing with obstreperous opponents. Participants will have opportunities to perform in a simulated deposition setting, followed by individual faculty critique.
Legal and Administrative Research, which will run from 1 pm to 5 pm on Monday, January 7th, through Thursday, January 10th, will consist of online lectures and quizzes (one-third of class time) and in-class, hands-on training in research methods. Students will learn to use research as a tool for legal advocacy and study the theory and methodology of performing legislative and administrative law research. The course will focus on both federal and state materials. Each student will produce a legal memorandum that analyzes the legislative history of a particular statute and its associated regulations.
Non-Profit Corporations and Tax-Exempt Organizations will cover the organization, management and governance of such corporations; the indirect subsidy of tax exemption; the scope of charity, both nationally and internationally; and the consequences of such organizations engaging in commercial activities. Taught in the Dominican Republic, the course partners Rutgers Law School with UMDNJ and Cambiando Vidas, a 501(c)(3) modeled on Habitat for Humanity that operates principally in inland D.R. Students will spend mornings building a home and afternoons and evenings in the classroom. The class will use the case study as its focal point, examining Cambiando Vidas itself, and will explore developing two new organizations in partnership with the other student group participating in the program. If you are interested in this class, contact Dean Rothman (firstname.lastname@example.com) as soon as possible, as space is very limited.
Registration instructions for visiting students can be found at http://law.newark.rutgers.edu/visiting-student-winter-session-2013-registration.


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I want a command line program that prints the title of a website. For e.g.:
Alan:~ titlefetcher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7dQh8u4Hc
should give:
Why Are Bad Words Bad?
You give it the url and it prints out the Title.
I want a command line program that prints the title of a website. For e.g.:
should give:
You give it the url and it prints out the Title.
You can pipe it to GNU
To remove the
To point out some of the limitations:
There is no standard/portable command to do HTTP queries. A few decades ago, I would have recommended
HTTP protocol and redirection handling
The request sent by wget/w3m/GET... is going to be different from the one sent by firefox. If that's an issue, you can alter
The most important ones here in this regard are:
Here, out of laziness, we have
That way, awk stops reading after the first
Parsing of the HTML
That will work for most HTML pages that have a
By contrast coffeeMug's solution will parse the HTML page as XML and return the corresponding value for
Both my solution and coffeeMug's will fail for a variety of corner cases, sometimes the same, sometimes not.
For instance, mine will fail on:
While his will fail on:
(valid html, not xml) or:
(again, valid
(incorrect html, but still found out there and supported by most browsers)
interpretation of the code inside the tags.
That solution outputs the raw text between
Which is taken care of by GNU
But a web client is also meant to do more transformations on that code when displaying the title (like condense some of the blanks, remove the leading and trailing ones). However it's unlikely that there'd be a need for that. So, as in the other cases, it's up to you do decide whether it's worth the effort.
Character set
Before UTF-8, iso8859-1 used to be the preferred charset on the web for non-ASCII characters though strictly speaking they had to be written as
So, that means that out there, you'll find
If your system charset is utf-8, chances are it's going to be alright most of the time as that tends to be the default charset used out there nowadays.
But if you want to cover for other charsets, once again, it would have to be taken care of.
It should also be noted that this solution won't work at all for UTF-16 or UTF-32 encoded pages.
To sum up
Ideally, what you need here, is a real web browser to give you the information. That is, you need something to do the HTTP request with the proper parameters, intepret the HTTP response correctly, fully interpret the HTML code as a browser would, and return the title.
As I don't think that can be done on the command line with the browsers I know (though see now this trick with
While using regexps to parse HTML is often frowned upon, here is a typical case where it's good enough for the task (IMO).
You can also try
You can install
STDERR redirection is to avoid the
In order to get rid of "- YouTube", pipe the output of the above command to
You can also use
The pattern to
More complex situations
Sample file.
And a sample run:
If the
The above finds the case insensitive string
A real HTML/XML Parser - using Ruby
At some point regex will fail in solving this type of problem. If that occurs then you'll likely want to use a real HTML/XML parser. One such parser is Nokogiri. It's available in Ruby as a Gem and can be used like so:
The above is parsing the data that comes via the
A real HTML/XML Parser - using Perl
You can also do something similar with Perl and the HTML::TreeBuilder::XPath module.
You can then run this script like so:
Using simple regex to parse HTML is naive. E.g. with newlines and ignoring special character encoding specified in the file. Do the right thing and really parse the page using any of the other real parsers mentioned in the other answers or use the following one liner:
(The above includes a Unicode character).
BeautifulSoup handles a lot of incorrect HTML (e.g. missing closing tags) as well, that would completely throw of simplistic regexing. You can install it in a standard python using:
or if you don't have
Some operating systems like Debian/Ubuntu also have it packaged (
It seems to be possible with
Because that's a real life web browser, it doesn't suffer from many of the limitations I mention in my other answer.
Here, we're using the fact that
Above, we're giving a configuration file (as a pipe) that defines a lynx "printer" called
Then we use
Maybe it's "cheating" but one option is pup, a command line HTML parser.
Here are two ways to do it:
Using the
and another way using the
Simple way:
Few alternatives: