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6 Tiny Computer Glitches That Caused Huge Disasters (Part 2)
Whether it's paying our bills, keeping up with our friends, or unleashing vicious verbal attacks on random strangers with little to no provocation, you can bet there's a computer involved somewhere along the way. But as we've mentioned before, the line between "computerized utopia of the future" and "utter chaos" is just a line of computer code.
#6. California Unleashes a Horde of Violent Prisoners on Its Unsuspecting Citizens
Thinkstock Images/Stockbyte/Getty
The Tiny Mistake:
Prisons can only hold so many human beings before they're so tightly packed as to be too cruel even for murderers. As common sense would suggest, prisons have a system for releasing low-risk, nonviolent criminals first and making sure the truly dangerous ones -- the violent felons and rapists -- are pushed so far to the back of the line that they'll never board the freedom coaster. Like everything else these days, the prison system runs off of a database, so it's just a matter of asking it to spit out a list of the guys with the least scary arrest and disciplinary records. Then a human skims over it and says, "Looks good!"
David Smith/iStock/Getty Images
The dispatcher clicks "Like" and then moves on.
But in 2011, investigators for the California prison system discovered that the computer determining release priority apparently didn't feel the need to look all that closely. In some cases it couldn't access the full arrest records; in others, the prisoners never had the appropriate conviction information entered into the system at all. And whenever the computer hit a big ol' blank space while reading a prisoner's conviction history, it gave that record a big red "PAROLE PARTY!" stamp and moved right on to the next.
The Fallout:
More than 450 high-risk, violent criminals were plopped out onto the unsuspecting streets, as well as an additional thousand or so deemed likely to traffic in drugs or wreck people's property. So ... time for the cops to get to work rounding these guys back up, right?
Tetra Images/Tetra images/Getty Images
"Can't you just get a posse together? It's taco night."
Nope! That's the best part: Even though the glitch was eventually identified, the California legal system couldn't do a damn thing about those who had already been released. See, this computer system was nothing if not thorough in its glitchiness -- in addition to releasing the unreleasable offenders, it had also placed them on the "non-revocable parole" list, meaning that they never had to check in with a parole officer and could only be reimprisoned if they were caught, say, murdering someone. You know, in addition to however many someones they had already murdered to get thrown into prison in the first place.
It doesn't take a master's degree in criminology to see that this situation was not destined to turn out well. Take Javier Rueda, a documented violent gang banger who had been placed on non-revocable parole: He went down in a blaze of glory when police tried to pull him over for a DUI. One officer was shot but survived; another officer received a fracture (the bullet didn't hit him too hard, we guess?), and Rueda himself arrived at the hospital in much the same manner as a Swiss cheese sandwich (in a baggie).
Sergiy Rudenko/Hemera/Getty Images
So, prison overcrowding still solved, right?
For those Californians keeping count, that means there are about 449 still out there. Sleep tight!
#5. A Hospital Accidentally Declares Thousands of Patients Dead
Darrin Klimek/Digital Vision/Getty Images
The Tiny Mistake:
When Saint Mary's Mercy Medical Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, performed a routine upgrade of their patient management software back in 2003, the project went just swimmingly. That is, except for one tiny data field in a certain batch of patient records dropping a single digit during the transition. It's what a patient management software nerd might call a "mapping error" and we might call a "numberfuck."
isak55/iStock/Getty Images
Bigger than a smathfu, yet far from a mathastrophe.
But it's just one little digit, right?
The Fallout:
That one little digit meant that 8,500 unequivocally living people were declared deceased. You think insurance is a pain in the ass now? Try filing a claim when you're dead.
That's what happened to scores of patients who had recently been discharged from the hospital because they were in fact the exact opposite of dead. They started receiving letters from their insurance companies inquiring as to how precisely they were still receiving medical treatment when they were no longer among the living (and the only cure for zombism is an inexpensive bullet to the skull). The errant death notifications were also sent to the Social Security office, which is in turn responsible for determining whether disabled or elderly patients are eligible for Medicare (being a corpse is a big disqualifier).
Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
Looking like a corpse is fine; being one is a step too far.
The hospital was quick to point out that it only took them a few days to fix the errors, but as anyone who's ever dealt with a government agency or an insurance company can guess, this was followed by months of having to untangle the mistake. After all, declaring customers dead is something these agencies do on a daily basis. Convincing them that a dead patient is back among the living presumably means that some poor bastard at the hospital had to listen to a shitload of hold music.
#4. A Computer Summons a Small Army to Jury Duty
chuyu/iStock/Getty Images
The Tiny Mistake:
Jury duty is an annoying thing that we force ourselves to tolerate in order to live in a society featuring "justice for all" and all that jazz. Usually it entails waking up early, driving across town, and spending an inordinate amount of time with a group of strangers who would rather be doing something -- anything -- else. Yet, ass canker that it unquestionably is, it turns out that jury duty can get much worse.
moodboard/moodboard/Getty Images
And Peter Fonda won't be there to save anyone's ass.
If you've ever been called to perform said citizenly chore, you probably noticed that the little card you received in the mail wasn't handwritten with a quill pen and sealed with wax -- no, it was printed out from a computer (quite possibly on an '80s-style hunk of dot matrix, the next best thing to a quill pen). Well, back in 2012, the computer at an Auburn, California, courthouse that was responsible for summoning jurors glitched and went into its "default mode," and apparently, in jury selection software terms, "default mode" translates to "summon every-damn-body in the database."
The Fallout:
Instead of the usual dozen or so, the computer summoned 1,200 people for jury duty -- all at the same bat-time, same bat-channel. Two-thirds of those people gave enough of a crap about doing their duty as upstanding American citizens and asked off of work, cancelled appointments, and freed themselves of those shackles known as friends and family to report to jury duty at the local courthouse ... and instead found themselves trapped in gridlock traffic. The roads weren't prepared for a sudden surge in cars all going to the exact same place, and the would-be jurors couldn't even get to a restroom, let alone the courthouse.
ampak/iStock/Getty Image
She's not a convict. They had to give her a change of clothes.
People late to jury duty were stuck in traffic with other people who were late to jury duty, and everyone was calling the courthouse to say that they'd be late for jury duty. When a small, confused, and frustrated army finally congregated at the Auburn courthouse, people began to suspect that this whole mess was the work of one summons-happy computer, which was later found skulking under its desk, quietly snickering. Court officials apologized "profusely" to the jury/mob and thanked them by informing them that they really would be summoned for jury duty that week -- just not all at once.
With all of those annoyed people in one place, we're kind of surprised a riot didn't break out. The people in this next example weren't so lucky ...


text: Here is a simple tutorial on "how to draw a cartoon cow" step by step. Again this animal is going to be very simple to learn from because all the steps and instructions are easy to follow and read. Cartoon cows can be so cute if you draw them to be. I already have a lesson on a baby cow and that came out simply adorable. I enjoyed sketching out this animal because he looks so generic, and that is what most people look for when they want a tutorial on a cartoon cow. If you guys have any request for a cartoon person, place or thing, don't hesitate to do a shout out in the live draw chat, or just leave a comment on one of the tutorials. You can even instant message me through the instant chat box here on the site. I have three more tutorials to upload which means I have to leave momentarily once again. Have fun with this submission on "how to draw a cartoon cow" step by step. Peace out and happy drawing folks!

subset: commoncrawl


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16 Fashion Pieces You'll Fall For
This fall, the sky's the limit for handbags, with bright colors, unique shapes and playful textures coming to the fore. Slip one on your shoulder to instantly update your look at a fraction of the cost for a new wardrobe. Here, we've rounded up 10 of our favorite affordable finds.
This bright bag is your one-stop-shop for accessorizing. But its on-trend shade isn't the only thing to love about it: the roomy interior and zip-top closure make it a cinch to carry everything you need in one convenient tote. Agra in
7 Must-Have Fall Beauty Finds


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The Julia Ideson Library was a fitting scene for the 22nd Annual Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee, which featured dinner and friendly competition put together by chairs Nicole and Evan Katz to benefit the Houston Center for Literacy. This year's event honored H-E-B for their constant support of the cause, and welcomed Nic Phillips and comedian Courtney Davis as the moderators. For the second year in a row, Houston Bar Association team members Linda Marshall and Ben Wickert took home the winning title. With proceeds totaling nearly $200,000, the spelling bee generated lots of great, er, buzz! –Photos by Wilson Parish Photography


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Professor Moriarty is generally known as the greatest villain Sherlock Holmes has ever faced. I know that Sherlock was planned to end after the third season, concluding with the death of Sherlock, but plans were changed and it was decided to not kill off Sherlock. However, after everything was changed they still kept with the story line of Moriarty being killed in order to force Sherlock to commit suicide to save his friends. Why was the decision made to go ahead with this storyline instead of preserving Moriarty for further plot lines?
+1 for this very good question.
I will try to answer this question from the storyline of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Conan Doyle and my first guess would be on the fact that the creators of the show are so faithfully ardent to the original source material written by Doyle. The first reference to Moriarty in the novel comes on one of the 4 long stories of Sherlock Holmes namely The Valley of Fear.
If you look at the time line specified in this website ( I have read all the short and long stories of the author I think this timeline looks approximate if not precisely accurate). and then reference to Moriarty is made again in the Final Problem. As a reader we can assume that they had their intellectual duel in these 2 years. The creators already put a thorough illustration of this duel in the first 2 seasons. if you look at the list there are still plenty of notable adventures which remains after Moriarty's death such as the Empty House, World War stories etc. (An ardent reader might argue that the best of the stories happened only either before or during the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, that's a different topic altogether)
THe creators only made 2/4 Long stories (A Study in Pink and Hound of Baskervilles) so far in the series and from Moriarty's death we can safely assume that Valley of Fear won't be adapted which still leaves room for The Sign of Four (A significant story where Watson meets Mary Morstan who becomes his wife) and if you read Moffat's comments here we can safely assume that creators want to focus on other villains created by Doyle.
Either that or the creators are playing coy and bring Moriarty back alive to settle the Final duel once and for all. We never know, but I think Moriarty is gone and from his comments the next Season might start with loose adaptation of The Adventure of the Empty House which is the first of the Return of the Sherlock Holmes series so they stay in tune with Doyle's timeline and to possibly focus on Other Villains in the story.
Have a look at how many different Sherlock Holmes stories there are, there is lots for Sherlock to do other than battle Moriarty.
I think that the producers of the show knew that they had a good villain and wanted to end before it became stale. One of the bravest and best tricks writers can pull off is to end a good thing when it is still a good thing.
If you are old enough and live in the UK contrast Fawlty Towers with Bread. Fawlty has few episodes which are all very funny, Bread started well but eventually got repetitive and - ahem - stale.
Sherlock was put together series-by-series, following a principle of no delayed gratification - after all, there was never any guarantee of the series being renewed and/or the key actors continuing to be available.
For more, see:
Also, in the original Conan Doyle stories, Moriarty dies shortly after being introduced, since his (original) purpose is to perish with Holmes and end the canon. You could therefore argue that the TV serial is being respectful of that tradition.


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Vandalia, Ohio (CNN) -- Mitt Romney defended his campaign's television ads Tuesday, saying they've been "absolutely spot on," including ads deemed false by independent fact checkers.
"Anytime there's been anything that's amiss we correct it or remove it," Romney told CNN.
Ads from Romney's campaign have hammered President Barack Obama for supposedly "gutting welfare" by removing the work requirement from the federal assistance program.
An independent and non-partisan fact-checking organization, PolitiFact, rated the ad's claim as "Pants on Fire." And the Obama campaign, the White House and former President Bill Clinton, who signed the original legislation into law, all attacked the Romney spot, saying the claims were false and misleading.
On Tuesday, Romney said those analyses were flawed.
"It has been shown time and again that the president's effort to take work requirement out of welfare is a calculated move, the same thing that he did in regard to food stamps," Romney said.
Pushed on the fact checks that claim Romney's ads are false, the GOP nominee maintained that Obama's administration was making a concerted move to remove work requirements from welfare.
"You look at the facts," Romney said. "Did he take the work requirement out of welfare?"
The Obama administration directive, issued July 12, allows individual states to experiment with changes to their welfare-to-work programs, which are federally funded. The intent, according to the directive, is to "challenge states to engage in a new round of innovation that seeks to find more effective mechanisms for helping families succeed in employment."
The welfare-to-work program affected by the directive - the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) - was created by the welfare reform law signed by Clinton in 1996. That measure was considered a win for conservatives, who long pushed for a provision that required work training for Americans receiving government assistance.
The Obama administration argues the potential changes would help people move quickly from welfare rolls to paying jobs by reducing burdensome requirements, including excessive paperwork.
Romney said Tuesday that argument was bogus.
"You always have the capacity to add work," Romney said. "There's never been a requirement that you can't have more work. The requirement that they're waiving was saying that people don't have to work to get welfare. That's the change that they proposed. I disagree with that direction."
"Taking work requirements out of government assistance is a very bad course to take and creates a culture of dependency," the Republican nominee concluded. "We help people who need help, we want to help people who need help, but the idea of removing work requirements I think is a mistake."
In Tuesday's interview, Romney also hammered Obama again for suggesting that recent events in the Middle East, including the killing of the American ambassador to Libya, were merely "bumps in the road."
"I'm not sure what developments in the Middle East he would consider bumps in the road," Romney said. "I consider the developments in the Middle East a very troubling course."
The GOP candidate also said Obama's wasn't treating Iran "like the pariah that they are," saying more could be done to prevent the nation from developing nuclear weapons.


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Ten Best Intranets of 2003
Summary: This year's winning intranet designs emphasized workflow support, self-service content management, and offloading tasks from email to collaboration tools. On average, companies spent three years between redesigns, and one year on the redesign itself.
This is the first year in which several submissions had implemented many of the usability guidelines and best practices for intranet design that we've featured in our previous intranet design annuals and intranet usability test reports. We didn't start publishing these reports until late 2001; considering the turn-around time to redesign a big intranet, it's understandable that our previous recommendations have only now begun to impact real projects.
It is in the nature of awards that only a few winners can be singled out for praise, but this year's intranet design competition proved that excellence can now be found in many intranets. Every year it becomes harder to select the winners, and harder to be unable to acknowledge the many great designs that didn't quite make the top ten.
The Winners
The ten best intranets of 2003 are:
- Amadeus Global Travel Distribution, Spain
- ChevronTexaco
- Design Matters, Inc., a Web design agency
- FIGG Engineering Group, a consultancy specializing in bridges
- Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Germany
- Landor Associates, a brand strategy consultancy
- Mayo Clinic, a non-profit medical center
- North Tyneside College, U.K.
- United States Coast Guard
- Wachovia Corporation, the 5th largest US bank
We also awarded an honorable mention for excellent redesign of a previously winning intranet to silverorange of Canada, a 2001 winner.
Winning Characteristics
Most of this year's winners are big organizations with tens of thousands of employees, though we don't have any 100,000+ companies like we did last year. Big companies can afford substantial investments in intranet usability, since their ROI is enhanced when their many employees become more productive.
Still, good design doesn't always require big budgets. Our winners include three fairly small consulting companies, of which only one has the "unfair" advantage of being a Web design agency. Such knowledge-intensive companies benefit disproportionally from the increased communication and enhanced awareness that a well-designed intranet can bring.
North Tyneside College provides the ultimate proof that good intranets depend more on will, talent, clarity of mission, and commitment to usability than it does on having lavish funding. This winning intranet, which supports 300 staff and 15,000 students, was designed and developed by a single person -- Adam Liptrot -- who might be the true hero of this year's design competition.
Good intranets are found all over the world. The thirty winners for the years 2001-2003 are distributed as follows (for multinational organizations, we count the headquarters location as the country):
- United States: 57%
- Canada: 10%
- Europe: 27%, of which
- Germany: 3%
- Spain: 3%
- Sweden: 7%
- Switzerland: 7%
- Australia: 7%
We've had several close runners-up from Asia and Latin America, but no winners from those regions yet.
Mergers Can Produce Good Intranets
Three of the ten winning intranets this year were the outcome of corporate mergers. Mergers are typically very stressful for the employees of both the acquired and acquiring organizations, so it might seem initially puzzling that good intranets could result. Four explanations come to mind:
- After a merger, it's obvious that something needs to be done to create a new, unified intranet. Thus, resources are often made available for a more or less clean-slate design that has the mandate to go beyond "business as usual" for the two previous intranets.
- A merging intranet can draw on the best features and ideas of both pre-merger intranets . In contrast, the average company intranet team only has its own design as inspiration. (The need to expose intranet designers to additional good designs is the main reason we publish the Intranet Design Annuals.)
- The newly merged organization will be in flux and have less established fiefs and ways that things must be done to satisfy entrenched political interests. Many of the most severe intranet usability problems stem from the intranet team's inability to overrule the narrow interests of individual departments.
- The CEO of the merged company typically establishes an explicit one-company program to create a single corporate culture and encourage all employees to commit to the new organization. This executive directive provides a mandate for the intranet team in its attempts to create an integrated and consistent user experience.
We obviously don't recommend that you go through the upheavals of a corporate merger simply to get a better intranet, but it's worth trying to find ways to get similar benefits within your existing organization.
Logistically speaking, mergers can require a fairly rushed "Day One" design that can be rolled out the minute the merger takes effect, bringing employees up to speed on the new company's identity and policies. It's often good to have a two-stage strategy that explicitly recognizes the Day One intranet as an interim solution and leaves more time for the long-term intranet's user-centered design.
Workflow Support
Intranets are changing from being document repositories to being work support tools. Many of this year's winners had changed their information architecture (IA) from one determined by how documents are produced (usually the company's department structure) to one determined by users' tasks. But the work-support trend goes further than IA.
The client relationship management features on Landor's intranet are a good example of workflow support. The system tracks current projects and provides access to rich case history records and visual assets from past brand development. The system also tracks client correspondence, who works on what, and integrates with sales force applications to track potential future projects and wins and losses throughout the sales process.
Monitoring tools abound, letting intranet users keep track of important events at a glance. Examples range from Design Matters' green-yellow-red coding of project stages, to the Mayo Clinic's indicator of various facilities' bed availability, to the Coast Guard's indicator of current force protection conditions. The trend is to have the information come to the user as the task requires it, rather than have it sit somewhere waiting for users to track it down when they need it.
This trend is easy to describe, but hard to implement. To truly bring people what they need, when they need it, requires a deep understanding of their work. To deliver, intranet teams must analyze tasks much more extensively than usual. In the past, IA was the main concern of intranet design: it's not easy to develop a taxonomy for the millions of pages on a big intranet. While IA will remain an issue for intranet projects, the emphasis is likely to change to the more traditional human factors concerns of understanding work behavior, both on the individual level and on the workgroup and collaborative level. This change in design focus will drive an associated change in usability activities, with more use of methods like field studies.
Several projects explicitly set out to reduce the amount of email and supplant it in certain areas, such as attachment circulation. Email is a highly informal collaboration technology. Being unstructured has some advantages, but email usually turns into a big mess where nobody can find anything, especially later in a project. In contrast, many of this year's winning intranets have begun integrating explicit collaboration tools. Discussion groups are becoming common because they combine a degree of informality with permanence, searchability, and a bit of structure. Intranet discussion groups have a further advantage: they can be offered in the context of project areas or other targeted intranet sections.
Self-Service Content Management
Most of the winning intranets have recognized the importance of providing employees with simple tools for adding and maintaining content. Intranets live by content currency and contain large amounts of specialized information that originates in widely diverse departments and teams. The more people can take care of their own content creation, the more the content will be up-to-date.
Several winners built special wizards to support complex content management tasks, such as creating a new project's support area. In general, I'm not a great believer in wizards as a user interface mechanism because they force a very restricted interaction style on users and reduce the interface's flexibility and power. For complex tasks that are performed infrequently, however, wizards have their place. One winner originally had a wizard that took up to an hour to complete. After recognizing that this was too tedious, the designer redesigned a significantly shorter wizard. If you use a wizard, it's best to provide features that let you modify the results later and tweak advanced areas.
Most winning intranets chose a more application-oriented approach to day-to-day content management, such as adding a news item or letting employees update their directory listing. Wizards would be overkill for such tasks.
Companies varied in the approval processes associated with the widespread publishing that self-service technology supports. Some companies required explicit approval by designated managers or review boards. Others restricted the most important capabilities to special "power users" who could then assign more localized update rights to other users in their group.
Enforced or Guided Consistency
Many winners ensured a unified look and feel and a consistent user interface by using a content management system (CMS) that generated all the pages from templates. Others created detailed user interface standards that departments must follow in designing their intranet areas.
Consistency is still a challenge for a big intranet, but year after year, we do see a trend toward more unified designs.
Technology Platform
The only conclusion here is that there is no conclusion. Each of the winners used different platforms to build their intranets, and most teams felt a need to heavily customize or write their own software add-ons. Intranet technology is clearly not mature yet.
Half the winners used some variant of Microsoft technology as a major platform component. This is the first year we've seen such widespread use of Microsoft, which traditionally was not considered robust enough for enterprise-wide solutions. Simultaneous with this growing Microsoft influence, however, we saw an opposing trend: some winning projects abandoned proprietary servers and platforms in favor of open-source tools that provide added flexibility, lower cost, and perceived long-term stability relative to commercial products.
Several projects chose unified technology to support both their intranet and extranet, sometimes even adding the external website to the unified solution. Unification lets users update information once and have it reflected in multiple systems. Designers typically add filtering to ensure that internal information stays on the intranet, and only client-related information is published on a client's extranet site.
As intranets move from being a nicety (where users can look up vacation policy) to necessities (that run the business), reliability and uptime requirements increase. If you're preparing to bid a multi-multi-million dollar bridge contract, for example, you don't want to lose your access to the library of photos and engineering docs from past bridge-building projects. Furthermore, enhanced usability almost always leads to substantially increased intranet use. Thus, any project to improve an intranet should include a serious technical effort to strengthen the underlying hardware and software, both of which should be tested under intensive loads.
Design Process
On average, the winning projects spent twelve months on their intranet redesign. This is substantially faster than the two-year projects that dominated our earlier design annuals. Hopefully, this quicker turn-around indicates that intranets are becoming less of an ordeal to design.
Excluding projects resulting from mergers, the new intranet designs were launched an average of 35 months after the previous intranet designs. Thus, we basically see three years between major redesign projects, with the redesign itself taking one year. Obviously, the intranet teams are not idle during the intervening two years. All the winners used a continuous improvement strategy, with minor enhancements launched from time to time and a continued emphasis on converting hold-out department subsites to the standard corporate design.
The design projects' main usability methods were as follows:
|User testing of new design prototypes
|Surveys (typically by email)
|User testing of the old intranet
|Heuristic evaluation (expert review)
|Card sorting
|Field studies
The numbers add up to more than 100% because many teams combined multiple usability methods -- a strategy I recommend.
The teams used several other methods to engage users in the design process. One winner employed participatory design and determined the final design by letting all employees vote for their favorite from among a set of alternatives. Another winner placed a prototype design on a staging server and invited twenty volunteers to try it out and provide feedback. Note that such feedback is more credible when people actually use a functional design, rather than simply view screens and comment on them.
Several winners took special care to include users from international locations in their usability activities. This was typically done through some kind of remote technology such as WebEx; only one team conducted actual site visits to offices in multiple countries. International considerations range from making sure that pages download fast enough in Amadeus' Nigerian office to selecting navigation labels. For example, the term "white pages" didn't make sense as an employee directory description for many of ChevronTexaco's employees outside the US.
Improvement Metrics
There continues to be a paucity of detailed usability metrics for intranets. Most teams focus on doing a good job, not on justifying their existence. Overall, intranet use typically increased substantially after the winning redesigns, with growth rates between 47% and 1,500%.
More narrowly defined usage metrics increased dramatically as a result of usability improvements. For example, use of the Mayo Clinic's search engine grew by 700% after the team added better summaries to the results page. The Mayo intranet also made sending a pager message 20 seconds faster. Given how often paging is used at Mayo, this seemingly small savings added up to the equivalent of a full-time staff member in one location alone. Landor Associates decreased the time to collect and distribute sales wins, losses, and pursuit status from 30 days to 5 days, for a task performance gain of 500%.
Even though I'd like to see more ROI metrics, there is no doubt that good intranet design -- as evidenced by this year's winners -- can offer employees a much-improved user experience. Most intranets around the world are operating far beneath their potential. I thus believe that the intranet age is still to come in terms of seeing how work life will change once most companies invest in elegant and usable intranet designs.
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Morty's Haunter
13,169pages on
this wiki
this wiki
This Haunter is a Ghost/Poison-type Pokémon used by Morty, the Ecruteak Gym Leader.
It battled Ash's Cyndaquil and Noctowl. Haunter was able to use its hands independently from the rest of its body since its hands were not physically linked to the rest of it. It was able to reach into Cyndaquil's Smokescreen and pull it out before using its Lick. It also attempted to use this strategy against Noctowl after defeating Cyndaquil. Haunter was eventually knocked out by Noctowl's newly learned Confusion.
Known moves
|Mean Look
|From Ghost to Ghost
|From Ghost to Ghost
|From Ghost to Ghost
|Confuse Ray
|From Ghost to Ghost
|Night Shade
|From Ghost to Ghost
|+ indicates this Pokémon used this move recently.*
- indicates this Pokémon normally can't use this move.


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Gator A-Go-Go (Paperback)
That's right: Serge and Coleman do spring break
One spring break location obviously isn't enough for Serge A. Storms, so he must hit them all, traveling through various historic locales, spewing nuggets of history at anyone who won't run away, and dispensing his own signature brand of Sunshine State justice.
Along the trail, he and his sidekick, Coleman, attract a growing following of the nation's top college students . . . and a mysterious gang that leaves a trail of young bodies in its wake.
Then there are the coke smugglers gone legit and a pair of the most dangerously sexy bartenders ever to mix a rum runner. After years of quiet, a legendary Miami kingpin from the anything-goes eighties is suddenly back in the news . . . along with one of the state's most psychotic monsters. So pack the cooler, load the car, and head to where the water is warm for a spring vacation you won't soon forget no matter how much you might try
About the Author
Tim Dorsey was a reporter and editor for the Tampa Tribune from 1987 to 1999, and is the author of eighteen other novels. He lives in Tampa, Florida.


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15 Aug 2012 2:10 AM #1
Looping video
Is it possible to loop a video in a scene??
I placed an action at the end of the scene to 'restart' but the video doesn't loop.
I tried adding '50' to the iterations on the video element but still nothing.
Can anybody help me??
20 Aug 2012 7:35 AM #2
If you want to a loop a video when it ends, you could do something like this for the custom JS start action of the scene. Make sure you video id is "my-video-id" or matches that in the code.
if (!this.videoListener) { //so we only call this once this.videoListener = true; var videoContainer = controller.getElementById('my-video-id'); var videoElement = videoContainer.querySelector('video'); videoElement.addEventListener('ended',function(){ videoElement.play(); },false); }
5 Oct 2012 2:34 PM #3


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Re-Admission Policy
New York
High-school seniors applying to elite institutions like, say, Princeton University have ample reason to find the experience nerve-jangling. The competition is fierce, the hurdles high, the admissions officers a hard bunch to impress.
Gloria Reuben sympathizes. She was similarly aquiver when she applied—that is to say, auditioned—for the role of Corinne, a decidedly hard-to-impress Old Nassau gatekeeper, in the feature-film comedy "Admission." It opens Friday.
"This was my first time doing anything in this genre, so it was a little terrifying," said Ms. Reuben, 48, who gave a well-regarded performance as the first lady's dressmaker and confidante, Elizabeth Keckley, in the Oscar-nominated drama "Lincoln," but is best known to most of us as HIV-positive physician's assistant Jeanie Boulet, the role she played for five seasons on "ER" before decamping from the series in 1999.
"I mean just the audition part. I didn't even think about the Tina Fey thing," Ms. Reuben continued with a laugh, referring to the star of "Admission" and her on-screen rival. "That would have been too daunting because she is so hilarious. But she was so welcoming and generous. I had finished 'Lincoln' a few months prior, and I still carried Elizabeth very close to me. Doing 'Admission' was the exact opposite. I could just go to work and have fun and not take anything home with me."
"I was lucky enough to have Gloria come in and read for the part and she was just so sharp," said the movie's director, Paul Weitz. "When you're auditioning actors for a character who has an element of villainy, a lot of them fall into the trap of playing the evil element as opposed to the smiling, charming element. Gloria knew exactly what to do. I have even more respect for her after seeing 'Lincoln.' She's very versatile."
Being cast as Elizabeth Keckley obviously made Ms. Reuben part of a prestige project; its great success has been a career tonic. "From what I understand, the general feeling prior to 'Lincoln' was 'Oh, gosh, what happened to her,' even though I've been continuing to work for years and years," said Ms. Reuben, who post-"ER" starred in the short-lived Lifetime series "1-800-Missing" and the TNT legal drama "Raising the Bar," and did guest shots on series like "Law & Order: SVU" and "Drop Dead Diva."
"If they haven't seen you, you don't exist. But there's no question that the movie helped kick-start things again. Now, when I walk into a casting session one of the first things that comes out of people's mouths is 'you were terrific in "Lincoln."' It's great that it was this project."
Ms. Reuben's identification with her "Lincoln" character makes her triumph all the sweeter. "We had extraordinarily different challenges, but there is something about her story that I could connect with," she said over cappuccino at an Upper East Side restaurant. "We both had to grow up quickly. Elizabeth's biological father was her master, so she was the 'second family.' My father, who was white, was married before he met my mother. So I, too, was part of an interracial second family. For both of us there was sexual abuse at a young age," she continued, declining to elaborate.
The daughter of a Canadian-born architect and a Jamaican singer, Ms. Reuben was born in Toronto, where her first love was music. "I would almost set up camp under the piano," she recalled. Ballet lessons followed. So, later, did the title "Miss Black Ontario," modeling gigs and small roles on local television shows. A move to Los Angeles was the next logical step.
The annals of show business are filled with performers— Lisa Bonet, Gary Burghoff, David Caruso, Larry Linville, Shelley Long, McLean Stevenson among them—who left a popular TV show for what they mistakenly hoped would be greener pastures.
But Ms. Reuben would not be pleased to see her name on such a list. She insists that she was far more interested in moving on than moving up. Sure, it meant a lot to be on "ER," to be part of a storyline that was so ahead of its time—heterosexual African-American woman contracts HIV from her husband. And yes, the show's great success "catapulted me into the stratosphere. But a part that was very important was too much after five years. The emotional weight of it all—I was so done, so spent. I needed to take a break," said Ms. Reuben, who extracted a promise from the producers that her departure wouldn't mean her character's death.
"People from all over the world would watch and come up to me and talk about the show," she added. "There was no way I would let the message of Jeanie Boulet be that HIV equals death, because it doesn't have to be this way. Clearly it happens—but not on that show. Not with that many viewers. And not with the storyline that we did."
Ms. Reuben came up with a antidote for her "ER" overdose: becoming a backup singer for Tina Turner, whom she met at a "VH1 Divas" concert in 1999. "She saw me backstage and she said, 'You have great legs.' She said that to me! I mean, come on—Tina Turner saying that to me. And then she said, 'You should come on tour with me.' And I said, 'OK!' And we both laughed."
But it was no joke. A few months later, Ms. Reuben auditioned for the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, singing her own rendition of "I Can't Stand the Rain" and displaying terpsichorean know-how to the accompaniment of "Nutbush City Limits." She got the gig, performing backup for Ms. Turner during the North America segment of her "Twenty-four Seven" World tour in 2000.
"It was pure joy and the complete opposite of what I had just finished," Ms. Reuben said. "It was like going from 'Lincoln' to 'Admission.' And I think it extended what I thought I could do as an actor or musical performer. It made me think, 'Yeah, take a chance and see what happens.'"
So here's what's happening. Ms. Reuben has a fledgling career as a jazz singer—she's done a few tributes to Shirley Horn and is about to record her second album. She's co-starring with Samuel L. Jackson in the feature thriller "Reasonable Doubt," will be appearing with Geena Davis in a comedy pilot for TNT, and has a recurring role during the third season of that network's sci-fi series "Falling Skies," a gig that reunites her with "ER" alum Noah Wyle.
But fans won't let Ms. Reuben forget that they knew her when. "They'll say: 'I love you. I loved "ER." I watched every episode for 12 years,'" she said. "I thank them. But I'm thinking, 'You are watching way, way, way too much TV.'"
Ms. Kaufman writes about culture for the Journal.


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SPOTLIGHT ON:(Back to Menu)
In Redistricting Work, Students Engage in the Intersection of Law, Policy and Politics
Once Dean John J. Farmer, Jr. was unanimously selected by the bipartisan New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission as its independent 13th member, he soon turned to Vice Dean Ronald Chen to serve as his counsel. The Constitutional requirement that House district boundaries be redrawn once every 10 years to reflect the results of the national census can raise difficult legal issues. And when population shifts mean the gain or loss of congressional seats, as happened in New Jersey, the political interest is particularly keen.
|Dean Farmer (right) meets with some of the 20 Rutgers law students who worked on the redistricting project.
Seeing a valuable learning opportunity for law students, Deans Farmer and Chen recruited upper-class students from the law schools at Rutgers–Newark and Rutgers–Camden to provide legal counsel services and general recommendations. Over a period of almost four months, 20 law students helped guide the commission to its adoption of a new map of 12 Congressional districts (one fewer than that mandated by the 2000 census) of equal population.
The value of their work was broadly acknowledged. As Hon. Joseph Roberts, former New Jersey Assembly Speaker who chaired the Democratic caucus on the Commission, stated at the conclusion of the process: "I want to begin by acknowledging your [John Farmer's] hard work and commitment to the process, of the unique role that the Rutgers Law School students played. I think it was extraordinary; a great idea on the part of Dean Farmer to involve students from Rutgers and, frankly, give them a skill set and an exposure to this process so that in the next cycle we're going to have a whole host of folks who have that experience and can contribute significantly."
The students' redistricting work proved to be not only an academic exercise but a practical exercise as well. In addition to applying the legal principles they learned, the students also had to act as advocates for the two parties. Most importantly, they were required to argue for positions on both sides of the aisle. As one student said, "The ability to advocate effectively for a position, regardless of whether we agreed with it ideologically, was an invaluable experience with practical effects, which was beneficial to our growth as legal thinkers."
The Rutgers students were divided into several teams. For some, their first assignment was to draft a memorandum on current challenges to another state's newly-adopted congressional or legislative map. That was not as easy as it may sound, as the status of the cases was often in flux. Others studied and wrote reports on New Jersey's 13 current congressional districts, an assignment that included meetings and interviews with their specific district's elected representative and local political leaders.
In the second phase of the project, students were assigned to research and write a memo about the legal principles of redistricting, including protecting various communities of interest, partisan fairness, compactness, contiguity, compactness, and continuity of representation.
For several students, the most intensive assignment was to become competent in "Maptitude," the mapping software used for redistricting. The mapping team met with students who had researched the existing congressional districts and discussed their conclusions as to where district lines should and should not be drawn in order to preserve the state's diverse communities of interest. The software enabled drawing variations on the existing districts to aid in future discussions with the entire Rutgers redistricting team.
In early December, some students met in between studying for exams to focus Dean Farmer's thinking in his discussions with the Republican and Democratic commissioners and their staffs. Later in the month during the final week-long negotiation session at New Brunswick's Heldrich Hotel, students reviewed the demographic and political data provided by each party and used the mapping software to analyze and critique maps developed by the partisan teams in order to ensure they were in compliance with the redistricting principles the courts have applied in voting cases.
|Participating Rutgers–Newark & Rutgers–Camden Students
|Joseph Bock
|Alexandra James
|Craig Bronsnick
|Nicholas Jensen
|John Burzynski
|Nicole Johnson
|Isabel Chou
|Ernest King
|Timothy D'Arduini
|Eugene Kirman
|Michael Edelman (Camden)
|Christopher Martin
|Kevin Fitzpatrick
|Henal Patel
|Andrew Gimigliano
|Brian Quigley (Camden)
|Mark Heinzelmann
|Michael Scarduzio (Camden)
|Benjamin Hochberg
|James Woodson
One student found that his research of the Ninth Congressional District and the surrounding areas in northern New Jersey proved very helpful in understanding "what came to be seen as inevitable by the middle of the final week: the elimination of a northern New Jersey district because of the slower population growth in this area of the state."
On December 23, with Dean Farmer casting the tie-breaking vote, the Redistricting Commission adopted a new map, more than three weeks before the official deadline. Wrapping up the official process, Dean Farmer said: "I personally have been greatly assisted by counsel provided by 20 law students from Rutgers in Newark and Camden, under the supervision of former Public Advocate, current Vice Dean Ron Chen. I cannot thank them enough."
Rutgers law students had enjoyed the rare experience of researching and applying redistricting law, of discussing the legal issues with some of New Jersey's most powerful elected officials and political players, and of witnessing the negotiating and compromising that occur in such a politically important event. Finally, after months of work and the nail-biting of the final week, they were free to enjoy their winter break.
As one student characterized the project: "Overall, it was a great learning experience and just one more example of the opportunities that Rutgers–Newark School of Law provides for law students interested to the gateway where law, policy, and politics meet in New Jersey."


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There's a lot of pages if on wants to contribute to Ubuntu:
- http://harvest.ubuntu.com/
- http://developer.ubuntu.com/
- http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/
- http://askubuntu.com
- http://ubuntuforums.org
- https://lists.ubuntu.com/
- https://launchpad.net/ubuntu
How are they all interlinked and how do they facilitate organisation of teh community? Are they all equally watched by developers? What is the first hand portal to submit improvements and get ones voice heard?
I find it currently a bit confusing.
Thanks in advance for clarifying.


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KMUD is listener sponsored. We depend on memberships and donations.
During our pledge drives we encourage listeners to become members of Redwood Community Radio, and to renew their memberships. They do this by calling our pledge line (707) 923-3911 or toll free 800-568-3723. During the rest of the year please call the office at (707) 923-2513.
If you like, you could send a check or money order to KMUD, PO Box 135, Redway, CA 95560. Or visit our station at 1144 Redway Drive during business hours.
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Home > Bentley > Bentley EXP 9 F SUV Concept
Below you will find the high resolution car pictures for Bentley EXP 9 F SUV Concept. You may use the car pictures for any of the following standard screen resolutions:
1600x1200 | 1400x1050 | 1280x1024 | 1280x960 | 1152x864 | 1024x768 (iPad) | 800x600 Full Car Details
Bentley EXP 9 F SUV Concept
At this year's Geneva Auto Show Bentley unveiled their first take on an SUV, the Bentley EXP 9 F Concept . It appears that the carmaker aims big from the very start, and plans on making their debut on this particular segment with a super-premium crossover that offers the highest degree of luxury and outstanding performance.


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18 Nov 2012 2:58 PM #1
Can't find COPY option in new build 676
The old Sencha architect allowed me to Deploy a copy of my app that I could then load into eclipse and from there I could add phonegap. The new build 676 doesn't seem to give me the option of copying and including the necessary Sencha files. Is this actually missing or is there a better way for me to do this.
18 Nov 2012 6:56 PM #2
publishing is like deploy, open a url to your localhost(127.0.0.1/path to your deploy folder(assets/www/)
most likely it is in assets/www/app and so on, just set your deploy path to there. then you are all set, when you hit publish, your files in assets get updated.
19 Nov 2012 3:00 AM #3
Thanks, I guess what has me confused is the difference between two output locations. The first output location is defined under SETTINGS/PROJECT/Publish_path.
The second output location is defined within project inspector under RESOURCES/PACKAGER/Output_Path.
I see both of these destinations being populated. Not sure what Sencha intends the difference to be. I notice that the output_path default setting is ../build, and that it includes some architect files.
In terms of what I should use as a starting point for eclipse, my gut feeling is that I should use the files that sencha outputs to publish path?
Thanks again!
24 Nov 2012 6:46 AM #4
Now I understand!
Architect uses output location defined within Settings Publish Path.
I used this to create a file set that I then included within a Phonegap 2.2 project. Actually worked very nicely.
BTW, I had been using a dated version of eclipse. I updated to the latest version from the google android site and this really helped me. If you have not taken a look at this new eclipse IDE with build in ADT/SDK I would recommend that you do.


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I had always thought that the Japanese didn't have a word for surrender before WWII. It seemed to be plausible given their culture. However, I can't seem to find any solid evidence of this. Is it just a myth?
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降伏 (こうふく) is borrowed from Classical Chinese and probably has many centuries of history. After all, in the Sengoku period there were probably many, many surrenders of lords to other lords.
I think this question is relevant: What do you mean, "In Japanese there are no words for "I'm suffering""?
Also a little googling leads to a quote where this is clearly being used metaphorically by the speaker (presuming this is even an accurate quote/translation and not made up):
This link talks about leaflets scattered during the second world war to encourage Japanese soldiers to surrender. Initial leaflets said "I surrender" but later ones said "I cease resistance", and were more successful. Whether or not this was really down to the implications of 降伏 versus more euphemistic terms is hard to say, but this is probably the original source of 'no word for surrender'.


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when 3 fair dices roll, let Y be a Random Variable of which value is the minimum result of all 3 dices results. for example if the results are (2,3,2) then Y=2.
how do i find, in the most elegant and reasonable way the P(Y) function?
i tried tackle this for a while, so the more explanations the better! thanks!
this is my professor answer (which i don't get).
(ignore the related foreign letters)


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When I was taught to write in school, my teacher told me to start with an introductory paragraph and end that paragraph with my thesis. I understand what I was writing in school was very elementary writing. But I noticed that in more sophisticated pieces of writing, I am unable to find the a thesis at the end of the first paragraph in articles from the New York Times or New York. My question is how would I go about finding the main idea or thesis of more sophisticated pieces of writing?
I think you need to understand different writing styles and types. So, for instance, in poetry, you would not expect a thesis at all, and may well need to read the entire poem to grasp the meaning or purpose. Similarly, in fiction, if they told you everything that was going to happen at the start, it would not make for a good read.
What your teacher was talking about was - broadly speaking - academic articles. This does not necessarily mean scholarly research publications, but articles whose purpose is to educate and inform. Some journalism falls into this, but a lot does not - as per @Aerovistae, journalistic articles are another writing style. Longer, serious, magazine-like articles may count.
Definitely in "proper" academic work, you need to state your thesis early on, and work towards this throughout the article/document/book. My PhD thesis needs a simple tagline, that I define at the start, and relate to throughout - my core thesis that I am setting out to prove. That is the way academic material is done.
So your teacher was right in respect of the work you were expected to do for the next 10 years through school. But it is not appropriate to apply this to all forms of writing.


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Discussion in 'Writing' started by PaxNoctis, Apr 6, 2004.
Woohoo, Chris. Keep 'er going!
last night I finished a 4200 word short story I knocked out in 2 days.
Great work! Something for one of the forum contests or for something else?
I hadn't thought of submitting it to a contest. It is a fictionalized version of a scenario I ran in a A Traveller Role Playing Game (Traveller is kind of a Science Fiction version of Dungeons and dragons.)
I was cleaning up some old computer files and came across my notes for the game and said to myself, "Self, that might make for an entertaining story." My thinking was just to submit it to an on line magazine for the game. A lot of the action and terms are very game specific, but the story could be understood by anyone who likes SF. (I hope)
Right now I'm gonna stay away from it for a few days and go back and give it another polishing.
Started my book.
I have started my novel. Again. I think this makes the 5th attempt in roughly 10-15 years. Vastly different story line than the first few editions. I started writing when I my view of fantasy was fairly limited in scope. After a few 100 fantasy books later...I'm hopefully using a different system of magic than has been done before. Its presence is important, but it use is muted, if that makes any sense. (not as muted as ASOIAF, maybe less or on par with AWOT, for popular reference)
I think I may even have a semi original plot! Way better than my first drafts so many years ago. I'm not exactly sure what sub genre it would fit in. Certainly some amoral protags, conflicted antags, very dark and dreadful and full of death and despair. No hero farmboys, or young maidens in distress. I'm still figuring out if there is going to be a "dark lord" or not, or if I'll just keep it with "dark sub-lords". I honestly dont think I have the chops for "epic fantasy" with all its prophecy and the like. I am just trying to figure out the main antag and make sure he is "dark lord" enough but not Sauron or "the dark one".
Today, I finished a 2,500 word prologue. I'm concerned there may have been too much telling and not enough showing, but I always find that difficult when "summing up" the previous several months of adventures. The prologue is set roughly 100 years in the past (of my chapters) and sums up the previous 4 months of that timeline, and in those 2500 words I pretty much kill off the establish magic system with a plague. Here goes nothing!
Enjoy the ride, chinookpilot77. See ya on the other side.
I've been away for a little bit... had a deadline and now finally, I've managed to complete my final edit and shoot my ms to the publisher. Done and done. Elflings out at 93.5k. Due out in December!!!
Now I can relax! (and keep working on the next book... my home made, just for fun, book teaser, maybe some short stories... oh, and amongst all that now I'm 17 weeks pregnant, working on our first baby too)
So what can I say? Life is good.
Sold an article to my favorite, best-paying magazine. Got all Textbroker articles accepted by the clients, five in total. Now I'm only waiting for the last two article to be reviewed by the staff. I'm allowed payout now. That's rewarding.
I'm 4,500 words into a short story, which is functionally complete. I'm making a couple rounds of edits in the next few days, and then sending it off to a competition here. Pretty pleased at my progress, I've just got to stay disciplined and keep at it every day.
Just uploaded my book, The War Gate, to Amazon Kindle. This is the first time I've ever self-published a book, out of the 17 I've written. I'm nervously awaiting for it to show up, and I've been told this can take some time. I can't believe I've done this. I had help with the formatting and the cover was donated to me. Truly blessed by these people.
I'm about 28k into a new WIP which is pretty much writing itself so far. It's... different.
I'm jealous. I want to start something new so bad, but can't at the moment with self-pubbing and promotion in full steam. I yearn for the story days.
Elflings' book teaser
Finished my book teaser for Elflings... so that was fun. You can check it out on my link through my blog (on sff world), or you can go to my website google mlsawyer (be aware that there is also a M Sawyer who writes lesbian... not quite my style).
Always looking for feedback.
Working on book 4 (upteenth draft) and book 6 at the same time - the very first draft).
First draft for novel "Tracks" (American fantasy) completed. Refined plot synopsis for second draft completed. Embarking on second draft to sew things together nice and tight.
Good luck Kerry - sewing can be painful!
Painting yourself into corners is an opportunity...
...to get that, "WOW" moment when you figure out how to paint yourself back out again! WHAT A MIND-BLOWING RUSH! LIKE LITERARY CRACK COCAINE! Im not killin' any of my "darlings"! With a little cerebral vaseline, EVERYTHING FITS!
Just passed 50k on my first draft. Halfway point! Feels like I climbed a mountain, but its all downhill now.
Should we be thinking of our projects...
...as a marathon? You just made me realize that I could fall into this.
Would my writing suffer from the mindset of seeing it as a chore, or would it benefit, if I saw it as an opportunity to root around in a bathtub full of rocky road ice cream, lapping at it at my leisure (which would be all the time).
I wrote like a madman possessed tonight. 1858 words.
I'm making good progress on my first YA novel - 30,000+ words since July 23rd, my most productive period in over ten years. I feel like I could be getting even more down than my approximate average of 1000 a day (holidays not included...) but I'm enjoying it too much to want to browbeat myself.
Separate names with a comma.


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What do you do with an old public wading pool after its usefulness has waned?If you are the folks in Salina, you turn it into a patchwork quilt pattern that can be seen from space. The bright colored design provided a unique place for my two boys to run, run, run… on a recent visit to Oakdale Park in that city. It was our first taste of the public art woven into the landscape throughout town.When I was younger, my knowledge of Salina was limited to the Bosselman truck stop and the Bicentennial Center. (It had something to do with college days and a Big 8 basketball tournament - - don't ask). While both are quite nice, I had no idea that the area was home to a vibrant arts scene that creates a fun experience for families.
The Art of Enjoying Salina
Posted on September 11, 2012 4:05PM by Karen Ridder


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If $X$ and $Y$ are Riemann surfaces (not necessarily compact), and $f:X\to Y$ is a holomorphic function, then it is obvious that the ramification points of $f$ in $X$ form a discrete subset of $X$. Is the same true of the branch points of $f$ (the set made up of the images of the ramification points)?
Dear Robert, there exists a holomorphic function $X\to Y $ having non discrete and even dense set of branch points, with $X=\mathbb C^\ast \setminus \{0\}$ and $Y=\mathbb C$.
Bibliography and comments The version of Mittag-Leffler used above is not so easy to find in the literature (I just checked). It is proved in Ash-Novinger's Complex Variables ( theorem 6.3.3 ) where they deduce from it some algebraic properties ( due to Helmer) of the ring $\mathcal O(D)$ of holomorphic functions on an open connected $D\subset \mathbb C$. It is a non-noetherian domain, not a UFD but any collection of elements of $\mathcal O(D)$ has a GCD and all its finitely generated ideals are principal.
This is true if $f$ is proper (the preimage of a compact is compact). Indeed, any compact neighborhood of $y\in Y$ contains only finitely many branch points because its preimage in $X$ contains only finitely many ramification points.
If $f$ is not proper, ramification points in $Y$ may not be discrete. Take for $X$ the union of copies of $\mathbb C$ indexed by $n=1,2,3,...$ and let $f:X\to \mathbb C$ be the holomorphic map which on the $n$--th copy of $\mathbb C$ in $X$ is given by $f(z) = (z-1/n)^2$.
No: $f: \mathbb{C}\setminus \{0\} \to \mathbb{C}$, $f(z):= \frac{1}{z} sin (z)$.
Here is another example using only algebraic and not transcendental functions. Take three distinct complex numbers $z_1,z_2,z_3$ and let $X$ be the Riemann surface obtained by integrating the form $\sqrt{(z-z_1)(z-z_2)(z-z_3)}dz$. The map $g: X \to\mathbb C$ which sends each germ $\varphi_z\in X$ to $z$ is a covering with infinitely many sheets above the $z$-plane. (The ramification points are exactly above $z_1,z_2,z_3$, and there are infinitely many; each one is of order 2. This is so because near $z_k$ the form is like $(z-z_k)^{1/2}dz$ and therefore the primitive is like $(z-z_k)^{3/2}+cte$.) Now consider the holomorphic map $f: X\to\mathbb C$ which sends each germ $\varphi_z\in X$ to $\varphi_z(z)$. The branch points of $f$ are exactly the same as the branch points of $g$, but whilst they are of order 2 for $g$ they are of order 3 for $f$. (To see why this is so resolve the equation $\zeta=(z-z_k)^{3/2}+cte$ in $z$.) Now comes the important point: For nearly all choices of $z_1,z_2,z_3$ the periods $a_1,a_2,a_3$ of $ydz$ on the elliptic curve $y^2=(z-z_1)(z-z_2)(z-z_3)$ are such that the lattice $\mathbb{Z}a_1+\mathbb{Z}a_2+\mathbb{Z}a_3$ is dense in the plane. This means that the set of the images of the branch points of $f$ is dense in the plane.
In this way you can construct many other examples...
Another very concrete answer but without any formula:
I suppose you know how to construct "with papers, scissors and glue" a Riemann surface with a single branch point of order 2 (for example the surface of the function $\sqrt z$). Now take the Riemann surface of the logarithm. It has a countable infinite number of sheets. On each sheet you can add "with papers, scissors and glue" a branch point of order two, and this at any place you wish except above the origin. In this way you construct, for any given countable set $A\subset\mathbb C$ a Riemann surface $f : X \to \mathbb C$ which has a branch point above every point of A.
Moreover you see in the same way, that you can prescribe any (finite or infinite) order to each branch point (just glue more sheets, as you would do for $\sqrt[n]z$ or $\ln$); and you can also prescribe the number of branch points you want to have above each point of A (above each point of A you may want to have a countable number of distinct branch points).


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This is my ninth year of teaching. After 7 years in 5th grade, I am now the technology specialist at my school teaching grades 1-6. I have my technology endorsement and am eMINTS certified. I spent 3 years in the Teachers of American History grant program, have been a presenter at my district's summer literacy institute, and taught a class at the Utah Coalition of Educational Technology conference. Blogging is my hobby and you can find me at www.whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com, I love creating resources for other teachers to use. I have been a seller on TPT for over two years and have loved the new challenge that it brings.
I like to have fun with my students. I teach using hands-on, inquiry based lessons. I prefer collaborative learning and love integrating technology as much as possible.
Teacher of the Year for my school in 2009. Served as my grade level PLC leader for 6 years. Named "Rookie of the Year" during my first year of teaching.
BS in elementary ed with a social studies composite minor. Technology endorsement.
Teacher, mom, blogger. Check out www.whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com for more ideas, lessons and downloads! What the Teacher Wants!!
PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, Homeschool, Staff, Not Grade Specific
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Creative Writing, Writing-Expository, Reading, Spelling, Specialty, Math, Fractions, Geometry, Measurement, Numbers, Other (Math), Science, Basic Principles, Chemistry, Social Studies - History, Government, Native Americans, U.S. History, Arts & Music, Graphic Arts, Other (Arts), Computer Science - Technology, Drama, Other (Specialty), Other (Social Studies - History), Other (ELA), Critical Thinking, For All Subject Areas, Literature, Classroom Management, Professional Development, Character Education, Study Skills, Instructional Technology, General Science, Physical Science, Short Stories, Writing, Reading Strategies, Writing-Essays, Holidays/Seasonal, Back to School, Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanzaa, Poetry, Autumn, Halloween, Winter, Valentine's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Decimals, Black History Month, St. Patrick's Day, Place Value, Products For TpT Sellers, Tools for Common Core, For All Subjects, Summer, Informational Text, For Administrators, End of Year


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Dakota Wesleyan University had more than 600 people volunteer for its fifth annual Service Day – despite the rain and cold.
Students, staff and faculty gathered Tuesday morning at the Christen Family Athletic Center on campus for a group photo and marching orders. With the rain the night before and constant drizzle Tuesday morning, some groups were called indoors, decreasing the number of blue Service Day T-shirts outside, but that doesn't mean they didn't have jobs to do.
Click here to see a photo gallery of the day.
"With the rain, some of our coaches asked to be moved indoors to keep their students healthy, while others are planning to do service projects on a less rainy day," said Diana Goldammer, director of student life and one of the coordinators for Service Day. "We had 586 DWU people out in the community and working on campus this morning, most of whom were outside picking up trash around the lake, by Wal-Mart, at Dry Run Creek, and the soccer and baseball fields."
Other locations where DWU teams volunteered include: L.B. Williams, Gertie Belle Rogers and Longfellow elementary schools; the Middle School and Senior High School; Wesley Acres and Avera Brady Health and Rehab; First United Methodist Church; the Abbott House; Dakota Discovery Museum; YWCA; Big Brothers/Big Sisters; Snack Pack Program; Area Community Theatre; and Mitchell Area Safehouse.
Twenty-three DWU members of the golf teams will volunteer at the two Mitchell golf courses later this week, as well.
The total participation for the event was 615, including 29 nursing students and staff from the Huron campus who volunteered on Monday.
"You just never know what to expect in April," Goldammer laughed. "But honestly I'm proud of the students, because we actually left it up to the individual teams to decide if they wanted to proceed with their outdoor projects in the rain and most of the groups, if they could, still did. Those who didn't still wanted to work so we tried to find them jobs indoors."
The Tuesday before graduation was traditionally known as "Reading Day" before 2010, when Dakota Wesleyan established "Service Day."


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Mike Skow
Contact email@example.com
Mike Skow is the KTXS Sports Director. He is a veteran of both news and sports reporting at KTXS.
He made the transition from news to sports in September 2010. He joined KTXS News as a weekend anchor and reporter in April 2008, and is originally from Tucson, Ariz. He is now the weekend sports anchor and reporter.
Mike started his journalism career at Tucson's ABC affiliate, KGUN 9 News. During his senior year of high school, he shadowed reporters, photographers, producers and editors. Even before he received his high school diploma, he was hired part time.
He received his degree in journalism from the University of Arizona in December 2007. As a UofA Wildcat and a member of the marching band, The Pride of Arizona, Mike says he will forever bleed red and blue!
During the summer of his junior year in college, Mike interned at KOLD News 13. While there, he learned what it takes to be a reporter and anchor. At the end of his internship, Mike was hired to work as an assignment editor and photographer.
He covered local sports and spot news in Tucson, until coming to the Big Country.
Mike was raised on Wildcat basketball and football and is an avid sports fan. He enjoys playing football, basketball and ultimate frisbee. He also enjoys fine arts and was heavily involved in acting, singing and marching band in both high school and college.
"Life is a journey worth enjoying, so why not smile along the way," he says. "I'm excited to tell your stories and learn what makes Abilene amazing."
You can also connect with Mike here.


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Please enter a maximum of 5 recipients. Use ; to separate more than one email address.
The startup of new LNG import facilities in China, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea may provide a boost for Asian spot prices during the final months of 2013, according to a report.
By ERIC YEP
Asia's spot liquefied natural gas prices are steady at
around $15/MMBtu this week, supported by strong regional demand
and tight supply, Singapore-based traders said.
Long-term LNG prices, which are typically indexed against
oil at a slope of around 15% of Brent crude plus a premium, are
averaging over $17.00/MMBtu in line with strong oil prices,
according to traders.
"[T]he start-up of new LNG import facilities in China, Singapore,
Malaysia and South Korea may provide a boost for Asian spot
prices as we move closer to the fourth quarter," JBC Energy
research said earlier this week.
It said China alone is set to add three new import terminals
with combined capacity of almost 10 million tons before the end
of this year, taking the country's import capacity to more than
30 million tons.
The spot LNG market in Asia has been tight this year because
of supply constraints. Algeria's Skikda and Angola's Luanda gas
projects were the only new projects to start production, while
higher gas output in Australia offset the decline in Indonesian
gas exports.
"With no further liquefaction capacity additions scheduled
until the second half of 2014, we expect global LNG supply to
remain broadly unchanged in 2013," Barclays said in a note.
The bank expects four liquefaction projects--for exporting gas--to
start next year with a combined capacity of 2.5 billion cubic
feet/day, boosting LNG supply. However, regasification or
import capacity growth next year is expected at 2.8 billion
cubic feet/day, with all terminals but one located in Asia.
"The supply growth we project next year should be easily
absorbed and we do not expect supply-demand balances to loosen
significantly," Barclays said.
Japan and Korea, the world's largest LNG importers, roughly
account for half of the global LNG demand and are expected to
continue pulling the bulk of LNG cargoes as their nuclear power
plants remain offline.
North Asian LNG markets will also move from the current
post-summer season to peak winter demand, which is generally
bullish for LNG prices.
However, given that LNG prices failed to surge despite
unexpected supply shortages and a recent heat wave this year,
peak winter demand may also fail to boost LNG premiums.
"Asian demand is peaking right now, but the added weather
stimulus is coming too late in the season to produce a
large-scale buying panic in the already tepid market," PIRA
Energy said in a recent report.
Dow Jones Newswires
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A searchable database of project activity in the global hydrocarbon processing industry
Engineers and designers are highly skilled individuals. Forcing them to enter design changes using tables, forms and spreadsheets is unproductive and uneconomical, and it increases the likelihood of human error—this is the way that most instrumentation software systems currently work. For too long, software vendors have denied engineers and designers the simple practicality of a graphical visual engineering interface with "drag and drop" capability and inbuilt intelligence, ensuring changes are automatically replicated into all the associated data and databases.
Is 2016 the peak for US gasoline demand?
Too soon to tell
July 2016


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- Material: winddicht, wasserabweisend, atmungsaktiv, robust, maximale Haptik, Feuchtigkeit transportierend, schnell trocknend, wasserabweisende Lederinnenhand
- Ausstattung: Anziehhilfe, Handschuhclip
- Funktion: elastisches Handgelenk, Seitenfalte zum leichten Anziehen mit Reißverschlusssperre, Minimalnahtkonstruktion
Fabric: WINDSTOPPER® soft shell, 94% nylon, 6% spandex face fabric with 100% polyester backer // Water-resistant goat leather palm // 100% polyester tricot lining
Avg. Weight (oz./g): 4.1oz / 115g (L)
- Comparison with Sensor Gloves (Review by Rudy)
I compared the Stormtracker gloves to the OR Sensor Gloves. Both are similar weight gloves. The Sensor gloves are considerably cheaper, do not use waterproof/windproof material on the back of the hand, have less of a wrist cuff, and use cow leather instead of goat leather. However, the gloves feel very much the same on the hand in terms of warmth (when dry) and dexterity. The Stormtrackers feel somewhat tougher and definitely more weatherproof because of the waterproof/windproof material, so they are what I would choose for climbing or other activities where dexterity and constant use of hands in all conditions are imperative. My primary function for these gloves, however, is shoulder season backpacking in Alaska, which demands much less of a glove than climbing does. For this, the Sensors win easily, because of their cheaper price, their slightly more breathable feel, and most importantly, their touchscreen comparability (which is really quite good.) The touchscreen compatibility isn't so important to me in the mountains (to some it might be), but it makes these gloves just as useful around town as in the back-country. I hope this review helps anyone who was debating between these two gloves like I was.
(Am 29.09.15 gepostet)
- Tactile and fit (Review by Bestbuilder)
Great pair of gloves-
The fit for my hand is almost perfect. They fit and feel like a pair of car racing gloves with a little more insulation. The tactile feel and dexterity make these a must for spring climbs and warmer winter ascents. Excellent for ascending or glissading on corn snow that would normally tear you hands to shreds. The Leather is not as bulky as the photo shows, its very supple but not fragile. They dry very quickly.
Ditto on what the other review have said-
(Am 04.05.15 gepostet)
- If you need dexterity look no further (Review by bonnell123)
This is an OUTSTANDING glove! I work as a mailman in Wyoming, so i spend many of my days in sub-zero temps. My job requires hand agility in these conditions. However; one sacrifices warmth for dexterity in these conditions.
This glove will hold it's own down to about 20F. After that point I recommend adding a PL liner for extra insulation. I am currently using PL 100's; I am able to retain warmth without sacrificing hand dexterity.
I did not have to go larger or smaller for the liiner. The medium PL fits fine in the Medium glove. This combination has so far held to down to -5F.
The glove is very rugged and will take a pounding without tearing or coming apart. They are light enough to be shoved in a pocket when not needed. For what I use them for there is no better glove!
(Am 31.01.15 gepostet)
- Great fit and dexterity (Review by Jason)
Upgraded from the PL400. The windstopper is great. Leather on fingers and palm is great. Fit is great. I am 6' and 175lbs and wear a medium. I have hands that fit in both mediums and large size gloves. The medium is a little better fit and i have no movement really in the glove. Reason I purchased these was for the fit and dexterity. They keep your hands warmer and have less bulk than the PL400 in my opinion. Worth the price.
(Am 19.11.14 gepostet)
- Zipper done broke! (Review by Namesnick)
I had these gloves for about two weeks submitting fourteeners and they performed great. Warm, wind proof and very grippy. I was very persuaded by the fit of these gloves. The way the cuff zipped down cut out any bulk around the cuff, unfortunately this was also the downfall of the glove. The zipper failed. The unit came off of the teeth as I zipped it down as there was no stopper at the end of it. Really like the gloves, wish they'd have worked out. OR was awesome about it though, just hope they fix that issue!
(Am 19.09.14 gepostet)
- I love them as backpacking gloves and mitt liners (Review by Tgrabs)
I originally bought these as backpacking gloves. I'll get back to that in a moment. This winter I found an unexpected use that changed my winter: mitt liners for my Meteor Mitts. They are tactile and dextrous enough to allow for some fine work and yet warm and compact enough that they work better for mitt liners than the mitten shaped mitt liners that come with overmitts like Meteor Mitts. Here's why: you never need to expose your fingers to the cold like you do with the finger-exposing Meteor Mitt liners. I buy most insulating gloves and mitts in large but on a hunch got these in mediums and the hunch was perfect; I sized down and they are tighter and fit a little better and allow for better tactility because of it.
Next, I just got back from 7 days on Isle Royale and the island and Lake Superior threw all kinds of weather at us: rain, thunderstorms, 45 F and rainy, warm and lovely. I used them when it was cold b/c I use trekking poles and need to keep my hands warm and used them around camp to handle hot pots (the leather fingers and palms are perfect for that) and to keep me fingees warm. They performed all tasks wonderfully. These are my new favorite gloves!
(Am 21.06.14 gepostet)
- Great! (Review by Ageorge)
These are awesome gloves for many uses, but particularly great ice climbing. They are light weight gloves and can get beat up doing lots of climbing and rappelling, but I have found a great solution to add life and warmth to these awesome gloves. Buy a pair of Luminary gloves, take the liners out and then wear those over the stomtracker when belaying and rappelling. This will keep your hands warmer at the belays and you will get some extra mileage out of the stormtrackers!
(Am 16.12.13 gepostet)


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Another Summer (Paperback)
Weaving together love and laughter, heartache and hope, promise and passion, Another Summer returns to the world of The Beach House with new stories entwined in a powerful emotional journey.
A twentieth high school reunion reunites lovers who must learn to trust again. Teenagers from opposite worlds discover that having a chip on their shoulder only makes it harder to get through doors. An ambitious corporate attorney finds herself falling for the man she has vowed to destroy in the courtroom. A young family, reeling from a devastating loss, meets a mysterious older couple and a half-starved stray cat that will guide them back to each other.
None of these people will leave the beach house the same as they were before. . . .
About the Author
Georgia Bockoven is an award-winning author who began writing fiction after a successful career as a freelance journalist and photographer. Her books have sold more than three million copies worldwide. The mother of two, she resides in Northern California with her husband, John.


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Cheap Recipes for a Crock Pot (Slide 1)
(Slide 1 of 22) Start at the beginning | View recipes as list
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna
View as: Thumbnails List
Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna
Sure, the slow cooker's great for stews and soups, but it also happens to make a mean lasagna! In …View slide
Hungarian Beef Goulash
This streamlined goulash skips the step of browning the beef, and instead coats it in a spice crust …View slide
Slow-Cooked Brisket in Onio…
This brisket is cooked with beef broth and loads of onions that melt down into a luscious gravy. Ser…View slide
Pulled Pork with Caramelize…
Traditional pulled pork is barbecued, which gives it a smoky flavor. But the slow cooker happens to …View slide
Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken
Here chicken thighs cook in a simple herb-infused tomato-and-wine sauce. The bone-in thighs give it …View slide
Chinese Pork & Vegetable Ho…
The richly flavored red braises characteristic of Chinese cooking make warming winter meals that can…View slide
Eggplant & Chickpea Stew
This tasty vegetarian stew, studded with plenty of eggplant and protein-rich chickpeas, is reminisce…View slide
Barley Risotto with Fennel
This convenient alternative to traditional stovetop risotto uses healthy, fiber-rich whole grains—…View slide
Greek Chicken & Vegetable R…
Chicken thighs stay moist and succulent during slow cooking, infusing the accompanying vegetables wi…View slide
Irish Lamb Stew
Lamb stew is Irish penicillin: a rich stew full of potatoes, leeks and carrots that'll cure whatever…View slide
Barbecue Pulled Chicken
This BBQ pulled chicken recipe is a fanciful reinterpretation of pulled pork that slow-cooks chicken…View slide
Squash, Chickpea & Red Lent…
Modeled on North African stews, this aromatic vegetarian main course can be served over brown rice o…View slide
Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew
Here's a dinnertime warmer with a hint of spring's sweetness, designed for that day when you'd rathe…View slide
Slow-Cooked Beans
By cooking your own dried beans, you save money, reduce sodium and get better flavor along with, sur…View slide
Slow-Cooker Quinoa-Summer S…
As this layered slow-cooker squash casserole recipe cooks, the liquid from the tangy tomatillo salsa…View slide
Slow-Cooker Honey-Orange Ch…
This slow-cooker chicken recipe makes a perfect alternative to standard tomato-based barbecued chick…View slide
Nonna's Spaghetti & Meatb…
The meatballs and sauce are cooked in the slow cooker for this traditional Italian spaghetti and mea…View slide
Swedish Yellow Split Pea So…
This yellow split pea soup has fresh ginger to give it a bright flavor. Use the best ham you can fin…View slide
Fennel & Pork Stew
This meltingly tender pork shoulder ragout has a savory broth that's full of fennel. White wine gi…View slide
Slow-Cooker Stout & Chicken…
Chicken thighs can take plenty of cooking without getting tough or drying out, which makes them perf…View slide
Ethiopian-Spiced Chicken Stew
This spicy chicken stew, generously seasoned with the Ethiopian spice mix berbere, is loaded with to…View slide


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Overview 2012
Tags: Blender, BOINC, burp, development, distributed rendering, linux, optimizations, renderfarm.fi
It's been a while since I last wrote to my blog, so here's an overview of what has happened during 2012.
Blender 3D
During 2012 I've gradually stepped down of many of my Blender 3D development and maintenance tasks. I used to run the build-bots for MingW64 and MSVC, but they were moved to the Blender Institute, so I could fully use my own machine again. Other work is currently more priority, so I thought it wise to move to the background, and not hold back important development, just because I didn't have enough time to invest next to family, day job … Continue Reading


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Being new to Ubuntu I try to avoid any install without looking for problems others have experienced. The upgrade to 12.04 seems to have had quite a few users experience problems. Do these generally get resolved or are they sometimes bugs? Is there an approach that can be used to determine the impact on particular applications, or a list of known problem apps?
Update: Desktop, new with on board graphics. I guess I am just trying to get a handle on how smoothly upgrades are in general with Ubuntu. I am on 11 and shortly after got advised of the upgrade to 12 being available.
I do not think I have any special apps yet, but did install kubuntu too. Although switched back to Ubuntu most of the time. But seeing lots of the problems relate to basics like ethernet connections got a little nervous as I have no idea of the size of userbase and whether the experienced problems are a rarity or common issues. Do such issues feed back to devs and result in a maintenance release if a bug is uncovered for example.