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|Bill Allombert on Mon, 15 Dec 2003 20:47:34 +0100
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|Some patches I have
Hello PARI-dev, I have three patches in my PARI tree. 1) patch for factormod to use 3 times less memory for small primes. 2) patch for polrecip to take an extra parameter: polrecip(P)=x^poldegree(P)*subst(P,x,1/x) polrecip(P,n)=x^n*subst(P,x,1/x) 3) patch of a function to compute all the squareroot of an integer modulo an arbitrary integer (require the factorisation). 1) would be best done with a new API (Fl_x). Unfortunately I don't have a complete pattern of what this API should be. 2) can be used for a simple Montgomery reduction implementation. Maybe not terribly useful. 3) lot of messy code for a messy functionality, lot of special cases. I wrote it to expand qfsolve() to non-prime integer, but this will be still more messy. Opinion? Cheers, Bill.


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Standing Song
Abandoned pier with morning fog behind on a coastal inlet, Oregon.
Available as:
- 15" x 20" - $295 shipping included
- 24" x 32" - $395 shipping included
- 30" x 40" - $495 shipping included
- Little Gem 9" x 12" - $50 + shipping (select 'Little Gem' shipping option at checkout)
Purchasing: These beautiful prints are created using Lucida EX inks and fine art photographic paper by Canson or Ilford, all of which have a WIR Display Permanence Rating in excess of 75 years.
Please note that all prices are for print only.
Delivery: North American delivery is included for all print sizes except 'Little Gem'. You will receive your print within two weeks of order date. Delivery outside of North America is calculated and quoted by location.

subset: commoncrawl


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Crowne Plaza Den Haag – Promenade
Van Stolkweg 1
2585 JL Den Haag (The Hague)
The Crowne Plaza Den Haag is a 5-star hotel, located a few minutes from the Dutch Parliament, World Forum Convention Centre, Madurodam and Peace Palace.
This luxury hotel venue offers excellent business amenities, including a business centre and excellent meeting/conference rooms.
Accommodation includes modern rooms with air-conditioned and balcony. They feature a desk, seating area, minibar and flat-screen TV. All bathrooms are fitted with a bath and shower.
We are delighted that Critical Infrastructure Protection & Resilience Europe will be held in this prestigious hotel venue, which offers easy access, convenience and a wonderful environment to discuss business.
Booking Your Room
Download Hotel Booking Form >>
Alternately, rooms can be booked via email at E: firstname.lastname@example.com or call +31(0)70 3511711
Please supply the following information for each guest to secure your room reservation:
> Name
> Arrival day
> Departure day
> Code: CIPRE2017
> Room category


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GMA TV, a network here in the Philippines, sent a film crew to Corregidor for a couple of days this week. They were filming for a segment on one of their news shows, "Brigada." In addition to interviews with Corregidor Foundation staff regarding the Philippine government funds recently allocated through the Department of Tourism for preservation of the "Cine Corregidor" ruins as well as several related Topside projects, they expressed interested in the story behind our stay on the island. The crew spent several hours with us, asking many questions about the motivation for our decision, about our life here and some of the ways we spend our time, and the efforts we make to support the Corregidor Foundation in its mission to protect, preserve, and promote the island as a War Memorial and tourist destination.
The segment will be one of three shown during a one-hour time slot, airing initially at 8:00 P.M. on Monday, November 21, on Channel 11 in the Manila area and throughout the country. It will also be aired internationally on GMA-LIVE and/or GMA-PINOY, so, if you have access to these channels, watch your scheduling information We cannot predict if we will be featured, since, as you know, hundreds of minutes of footage are shot for each minute that is actually aired. We will try to watch the show on Monday, probably at the Corregidor Inn. We rarely see live TV while on the island – some of Manny Pacquiao's fights – so we would appreciate if someone could record this week's Brigada episode for us "just in case."
Due to holidays and other vacation days, the basketball league schedule was suspended for two weeks. This week the weather forced a postponement of Tuesday's game and the suspension of a game on Thursday, rescheduled to be completed the following evening. In spite of the rains, the teams managed to complete another five games.
For the second time, the Battery Way team had to play with only five of its players, and they lost their second game. Battery Crockett finally gained their first win, beating Battery Hearn 55-50 in a very close game. The best game so far – the most exciting for the spectators – saw Battery Geary lose by 1 point in overtime to Battery Hearn. When competing teams have each had a good complement of players, the games have been quite close. For example, Battery Geary has lost its two games by a total of 3 points. We won't even try to predict which team will win the tournament. Currently they are only half-way through the regular season, with players and fans enjoying the competition.
Going into the final ten preliminary games, the team records are as follows:
Grubbs 3-1
Hearn, Way and Geary 2-2
Crockett 1-3
Recently a bird flew into our glass front-door. It was a Hooded Pitta, pronounced PEE-tuh – similar to the Middle-Eastern pita bread. Before it regained its composure, Marcia was able to get some pictures. As you can see, it has a striking green on body and wings, a black head and neck, bright turquoise bands on its wings, and red-orange on the vent-area of its belly. We were very glad to see it fly away into a tree after a few minutes rest.
Several weeks back, Steve was able to photograph a member of the largest butterfly species we see on the island. It was lazily flying from plant to plant near the former butterfly garden. The body and the upper surface of the wings are mostly black, with a bold slash of orange-red on each wing. The undersides of the wings have larger areas of the orange-red, marked with black dots. As you can see, this one was not as shy as your typical butterfly, being attracted to Marcia's brightly colored blouse. We do not know the name of this species, but trust that one of our readers will inform us.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Brigada, basketball, birds, and butterflies
Posted by Steve and Marcia on the Rock at 12:00 AM
1 comment:
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The spring craft faire was held March 2017 with over 45 vendors showing their wares. This event, open to the public, included a wide variety of items available for purchase: jewelry, clothing, crocheted items, bags, wooden items, food, essential oils, kitchen items, and much more. Many door prizes were awarded to those in attendance. Patrons and vendors donated non-perishable food for the Food Bank of Santa Maria in exchange for an additional door prize ticket. Pioneer Valley Drama Club had food available for purchase and the students did a terrific job emceeing. The next scheduled craft faire is set for November 15, 2017. Mark your calendar and we'll see you there!
Santa Maria Elks Lodge
Wednesday – March 8th, 2017
A fun evening of food, shopping & friends!
There was a wide array of vendors
Raffle prizes were distributed.
Guests enjoyed baked Goods, hot dogs, nachos & drinks
For more information, call or text:
Dawnette Cress (909) 226-4562 or
email: email@example.com


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The first time I had to produce an 'author biog' for a book I had written, it began:
Caroline Taggart was born in London of Scottish parents, spent most of her childhood in New Zealand and went to university in Sheffield. Confused for some time, she now thinks of herself as a Londoner, but continues to change allegiance whenever it suits her, particularly during the rugby season.
Having worked in publishing for 11 years, she gave up a perfectly respectable job to become a freelance editor in 1989. Since then she has worked bizarre hours, gone out to lunch a lot and indulged her lifelong dislike of getting up in the morning.
That was in 1994, and I don't go out to lunch as much as I used to, but most of the rest is still true. Particularly the bizarre hours.
I worked happily as a freelance editor for nearly 20 years, focusing on adult non-fiction. My two proudest boasts are:
• that I edited the BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs. I had been freelance for perhaps eight years and it was a great joy finally to be able to say, 'Well, yes, actually…' when people asked, 'Have you worked on anything I would have heard of?'
• that I have worked with Jonathan Scott of Big Cat Diary fame since his first venture into publishing in 1982 and have edited perhaps 20 of his books – with, we both hope, more to come.
Then, about eleven years ago, two things happened in quick succession. One, I was asked by David and Charles to edit the second edition of their Writer's Market UK, a directory for aspiring writers, and to promote it by giving talks at writers' conferences. And two, I was asked by Michael O'Mara to write a book about 'stuff you forgot from school'. It was called I Used To Know That, it hit the Sunday Times best-seller lists and sold something over 250,000 copies. It, and some other titles in the same series, have been reissued in paperback and have been published in Spanish, Dutch and German and as audio books.
I have been doing much less editing (though deep down inside I still think of that as my day job), much more writing and quite a lot of talking in order to publicise my writing ever since. My record, on the publicity front, is sixteen interviews in a day talking about exclamation marks.
Since I Used To Know That came out, I have had a further 23 books published, have been series editor of another five and have three more due out later this year. Did I mention I work bizarre hours?


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I write a lot about copywriting. Why? Because content is the most important thing, and words are the most important content.
Get the copywriting right, and your marketing is likely to work as well as it can (assuming you know your audience and have identified their pain and motivation!)
The first rule in copywriting has to be…
*** They don't care about you ***
If you had to tattoo one phrase on the inside of your eyelids, this would be a good choice!
It's easy to think that human beings are terribly sophisticated, but we aren't.
The Biological Imperative
People are animals. We are most motivated by our most primitive lizard brains, which are only concerned with the biological imperatives of:
- Stay alive, so that you can
- Pass on your genes
That's it. In marketing, it really boils down to what we call "the four Fs"…
- Is it Food?
- Do I need to Fight it?
- Do I need to Flee from it?
- Can I – uh – Mate with it?
We are biologically programmed to do what it takes to stay alive (which means food and security), to protect our family and loved ones, and to have sex.
Security and sex… They're what really motivates people.
Anything we find that seems like it can make us more secure or more successful at finding a mate gets our attention. We don't even think about it consciously. Thinking is done by our more evolved ape brain, but the much simpler and more ancient lizard brain is responsible for the 4 Fs and reacts immediately to those signals.
That's why the following markets are perennial money-makers:
- Dating (sex)
- Porn (sex)
- Beauty (sex)
- Weight loss (sex)
- Get rich quick (security)
- Loans (security)
These days, most of us have a roof over our head and more food than we need, but that little lizardy brain still needs to make us anxious about security, so we've translated our security need into the need for money.
Now for the important question…
Where do you and your products and services come into all this?
Well, you don't, not directly.
What People Really Care About
You see, we all really just care about ourselves, first and foremost, and then our immediate family. (Sure, we're all more evolved than that, we're all conscious and globally-aware 21st-Century enlightened beings, but underneath all that we're still running lizard OS!)
So, consider the real benefits that motivate people.
Is this going to make me more secure, or is this going to make me more attractive?
How can what you sell make someone more secure or more attractive? That's the question you need to be asking.
Do they really care about what your product does (its features)? Not usually, no.
They care about what it does FOR THEM – its BENEFITS!
Particularly, how buying your thing can make them richer, save them money, or help them to feel more attractive.
That's why the phrase "No One Ever Got Fired for Buying IBM" was so successful in the 1980s! Because it skipped over the same old features and benefits, and went straight for what the buying manager really cared about… his security!
Let that sink in.
Don't Talk About You!
One of the most common mistakes in copywriting is talking about yourself too much.
Why is it a mistake? THEY DON'T CARE!!!
Your customers don't REALLY care who you are, what you've done before, why you do what you do, or any of that stuff…
What they REALLY care about is, "What's in it for me?"
Now, your story may be helpful in showing why you're reliable or trustworthy or an expert.
But here's the rub… ONLY in the context of what's in it for them!
They don't actually care about you or your business, for your sake… If they care at all, it's for THEIR sake.
Because, deep-down, we're motivated by the selfish gene. Stay alive, reproduce. There's no avoiding it.
This even applies when you're building a tribe. People follow celebrities, or want to be part of something, not for the thing's sake, but for THEIR sake. Because it feels good to be part of something special. Because it makes them feel more interesting. Because whatever…
Check Your Copy
So take a look at your website's copy.
How much you talk about yourself? How much do you talk about your visitor?
Which language do you use most:
- "me" and "us" and "my" and "our"?
- or "you" and "your" and "yours"?
Tip: Talk about them. Put your message in the context of THEM, and you'll get better results.


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New Club Penguin Mascot is a Sasquatch?
8 comments:
- Anonymous8/4/14, 8:19 AM
Hmm.... It looks like an app picture! Yknow when the icon for the app shows up on I-pads and Apple Products? Maybe it will be an app! OR maybe it is new party coming! Camp Club Penguin...? An expedition...? Hmmm......ReplyDelete
- Anonymous8/7/14, 7:26 AM
I saw a beta hat with a twig on it and a lil bit of bown hair I thnk I saw sasquatch! im meandgames23 on club penguin!ReplyDelete
What?! Where did you see it?ReplyDelete
- Anonymous8/9/14, 3:32 PM
hey the anonymous at the very top the next party is the music jam and then frozenReplyDelete
- EPF agent ????8/11/14, 4:41 AM
This is a Report from an EPF agent named Tom Ponk1 today i was living the casual life in Cp when i saw the Sasqauch it was a friendly creature but couldnt talk all it did was blink scratch its belly and grone but it also waved at meReplyDelete
- Anonymous8/11/14, 7:00 AM
This is the Cp report i am a anonymous sorce but you can trust me and the sasqauch is real i saw him myself add me on Cp By Tom Ponk1 and look at my BG he has no name yet all you see is ??? just like you did with sensei in 2008... i assure you if you see him you are entirely safe. keep a look out in the woods, its the only place he likes.ReplyDelete
Waddle On,
And Stay Safe, your flippered friend
Tom Ponk1
- Anonymous8/14/14, 2:58 PM
Oh my gosh that is so cool. But dont they have a pin for him.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous8/14/14, 2:59 PM
Wow that is cool. But if hes a mascot where is his pin.ReplyDelete


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No. 60 Survives Close Calls in 1996 Win, Sixty Days Until Racing Returns to the High Banks
Mark Martin piloted his No. 60 Roush-Fenway Ford to victory lane for the second consecutive race in Bristol Motor Speedway's 1996 Goody's Headache Powder 250.
The Batesville, Ark. native survived six cautions, crossing the line a mere three-tenths of a second before runner-up Terry Labonte.
Afterwards, Martin remembered the intensity of battling inside the legendary bullring.
"Close calls?" he said. "Shoot, every inch of this place is a close call."
In just 60 days, NASCAR returns to the Last Great Colosseum as the sport's modern-day gladiators race door-to-door on the high banks.
Tickets start at just $99 for a full weekend of racing at the World's Fastest Half Mile, with single-day tickets beginning at $75.Cost to attend the expanded Food City 300 and NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying start as low as $35 and half-price for youth 15-and-under.
For those looking to attend one of the most competitive double-headers in racing - Wednesday night's Whelen Modified race and Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by ZLOOP - tickets start at just $30 with free entry for youth 15-and-under.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call (855) 580-5525 or visit www.BristolTix.com.


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Our Huntsville Office
Our Madison Office
Our Franklin, TN office
Johnson & Hayes Physical Therapists offers three convenient locations for our Huntsville, AL, Madison, AL and Franklin, TN patients.
The Huntsville, AL clinic features a spacious floor plan and plentiful parking, both of which help us continue to provide our clients with the standard of excellence they deserve and have come to expect.
Our physical therapy clinic in Madison, AL, conveniently located on Hughes Road, will continue to serve our patients in that area. It has plenty of dedicated parking right in front of the facility. The clinic has a wide open gym area with the latest physical therapy equipment.
The J&H Franklin, TN is located in the heart of Cool Springs. This clinic is located in a medical plaza on the east side of I-65 and will continue the J&H trend of state of the art facilities.
Huntsville Location:
4240 Balmoral Drive, SW
Huntsville, AL 35801
Phone (256) 883-1970
Fax (256) 883-1336
Madison Location:
97 Hughes Road, Suite P
Madison, AL 35758
Phone (256) 774-2978
Fax (256) 774-2979
Franklin, TN location:
740 Cool Springs Blvd.
Suite 215
Franklin, TN 37067
Phone (615) 236-9956
Fax (615) 472-8623


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PORT CHESTER, N.Y. Salvatore Caputo, a resident of Port Chester, died Wednesday, July 22. He was 71.
Caputo was born on Nov. 12, 1943, to Rocco and Concetta Pennetta Caputo in Morra, De Sanctis, Italy.
He emigrated to the United States in 1961, settling in Port Chester. He retired as a landscaper.
Caputo is survived by his wife Concetta (Delfico); two children, Rocco and his wife, Renee of Waxhaw, N.C., Tina Allmashy and her husband, Stephen of Danbury, Conn.; five grandchildren, Rebecca, Rachel and Michael Caputo and Angelica and Alex Allmashy; brother Frank and wife Vincenza of Rye Brook; and mother-in-law Rosa Delfico.
Visiting hours will be at 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday at Craft Memorial Home.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Corpus Christi Church, 136 S. Regent St. in Port Chester.
Entombment will follow at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Rye Brook.
Click here to sign up for Daily Voice's free daily emails and news alerts.


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The secretary general of the Ministry of Education and Universities, Manuel Marcos SÃnchez, visited this week the CEIP Sacred Heart of Librilla, which are being developed improvement actions during the summer months with an investment exceeding 30,000 euros.
Among the actions being undertaken highlights replacement of the roof of the center, in an area of ãã468 square meters.
This is one of the actions that are being developed during the summer months in 54 schools in the Region of Murcia.
Source: CARM


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We had a full crowd on Sunday. And fresh food, with cake and watermelon for dessert.
Check out the cute little boy with a chocolate ice cream mustache.
Please join us in July!
This blog is our way of letting you know about the delicious and free meals available in the Derry, New Hampshire area. We hope you will join us for an enjoyable meal in an inviting community setting.


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Providing inside career opportunities may also help organizations maintain prime talent from seeking those alternatives elsewhere. The plan focuses on the employees' needs for growth and development and the assistance the organization can provide in order that the worker has the opportunity to develop his or her profession. To progress intentionally by way of a selected career path career growth is considered to be an important factor. An example of this is likely to be an applicant with prior statistical expertise proposing to take a comparatively introductory statistics course.
Brown, Lum, and Voyle (1997) argue that Roe's concept has been too easily deserted via misconstrued, invalid empirical tests of her hypotheses about father or mother/little one interactions and their relation to career choice habits. With a rising number of obesity circumstances amongst Americans, quick food chains like McDonalds will continued to be overshadowed by their earlier products choices, for instance Supersized Meal, no fruit or yogurt, slim salad choice.
Typically educational institutions present profession counsellors to assist students with their academic improvement. This continuing career growth is separate from traditional coaching as a result of it offers with future wants and any possible promotions. As an employer, it is his responsibility to take care of his work drive and their development. The program affords players workshops on resume preparation, career evaluation, and interviewing abilities.
On condition that the purpose of this evaluation is the re-design of jobs in the area of gross sales and we've the benefit that we know the market goal and have the profiles of current staff in each corporations, we give emphasis to job efficiency. The Profession Development Plan contains this feature for trainees to shape a Research Independence Plan, at the side of their school mentor, articulating the targets and targets that may lead to their very own unbiased analysis program.
We have now come far from the times when only expressed ideas were used to predict a teenager's future. The Career Growth Plan, as described right here, is usually a very useful tool for career development practitioners working inside organizations. However, taking a proactive method in your profession won't only make you stand out among the crowd, however will let you attract the perfect employers on the earth!
I only refused one efficiency eval once I was nonetheless instructing and it was solely three years into my teaching career. Reduces Hoarding: With out career planning, it's easier for managers to hoard key subordinates. The most benefits appear to come back from taking part in with reasonably gendered and impartial toys, which price highest in encouraging development of cognitive, scientific, musical and creative skills.
Since coaching and growth of staff is an integral facet of profession planning, it prepares more competent professionals within the organization on an ongoing basis. Since 2005, LiveCareer's workforce of profession coaches, certified resume writers, and savvy technologists have been growing profession tools that have helped over 10 million users construct stronger resumes, write extra persuasive cowl letters, and develop higher interview skills.


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is the author of the marketing strategy blog "Strategy
Stew" and a contributing expert to
Business Trends.
Her boutique strategic consulting firm,
Third Force specializes in
helping companies find their best customers and be the one they
choose – regardless of price.
Howard has more than 36 years of journalism and marketing communications
experience. He joined International Data Group (IDG)—the world's leading technology media, event, and research company--as director of corporate communications in 2003.


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Never mind the clutter in the bottom left hand corner. This is just the z-axis numbers written on top of one another because we are looking straight down on the graph. Small price to pay for the cool result and you can edit the picture afterward if you need something for presentation purposes. An additional problem I observe is the aspect ratio. It should look square because my chosen room is square (8' × 8'). Dauntless, I press on.
To implement this program with your own example you need:
- Maxima: a free computer algebra system.
- Light data
- A room and light configuration.
Light Selection
You need to select a light and find the manufacturer data. I am using the Cooper RPN3MR-E3MRC. This is a combination of the light fixture and the lamp in the fixture. The data you need will indicate how the candle power changes with vertical angle. The assumed situation is that the light is pointing down. The vertical angle is measured between the vertical line passing through the center of the light fixture and the line drawn through the center of the fixture to a location on the floor (or incident surface). This vertical angle affects the "amount of light" (measured in candelas) that is going in that direction. To input the data for your luminaire-lamp combination you enter it on the line that says "lampData:". The data is in the form of a list of lists where the nested lists (two items each) represent points. The pattern for each point in the master list is [angle in degrees, candle power in candelas]. If your data doesn't go all the way to 90 degrees, then put a final point [90, 0] to indicate there will be no light going in that direction.
Considerations in the Calculation
The vertical angle not only affects the "amount of light" in that direction but the angle of incidence with the floor. We are assuming the light is "facing" the floor. (The floor is horizontal. The light is shining straight down onto it, although, of course it "spreads out" as it goes down.) Remembering that the "angle of incidence" is measured relative to the normal line (perpendicular to the floor), you can see that the angle of incidence is an alternating angle with the vertical angle and therefore equal to it. An angle of incidence affects how the light "spreads out" across a surface because the same amount of light gets spread out more if the surface is at an angle (not "facing head on") to the beam of light. Also, not every point of the floor is the same distance away from each light. As light travels it spreads out in two directions. If you spread the same amount of anything (sound, light, peanut butter) over a larger area, there isn't as much of it in a given area. The basic formula is:
\[fc = \frac{cp}{d^2}\cos{\theta}\],
fc = foot-candles (a measure of illuminance: cd/ft2)
cp = candle power (candelas: cd, same unit in metric and imperial, relates to the Watt)
d = distance (in feet)
θ = angle of incidence (measured from the normal).
The formula is the same if you use metric, but the units change. Instead of entering feet and getting foot-candles, you enter meters and get lux. You use the same lamp data which is in candelas. Candelas are the same in metric and imperial. To put it very simply:
lux = cd/m2
fc = cd/ft2
Using the Program
If you want metric, enter all distances in m (you will get lux). If you want imperial, enter all distances in ft (you will get foot-candles).
- As always, choose a coordinate system and stick to it. Pick a corner of your room to be (0,0) and one of the sides to be the positive x-axis.
- Enter the length and width of your room. I have called these x_length and y_length to avoid misunderstandings based on the usual understanding of width < length. Just pick a dimension to be the x direction length and one for the y direction length. Doesn't matter which is set to which. Just be consistent with step 1. Sorry, only rectangles. You're welcome to program something more interesting if you get bored some day. Or, maybe your room can pretend to be a rectangle?
- Enter the locations (positions) of your luminaires. These are in terms of [x, y, z]. I have entered the height of the luminaires for the the z value (12.5 feet). You could instead enter their height above a work surface (the results would only be correct for the work surface). Alternatively, you can change the Illum(x,y) function definition to use a z-value of the height of the work surface instead of 0 (same caveat as previous suggestion).
Note: P2P_Illum() means Point-to-Point Illuminance. Illum() is the sum of the illuminance contributions of each luminaire to a given point.
Possible Improvements to the Program
- Change the color selections for the plot. Perhaps yellow for higher values. Might be a fiddly thing to get right.
- Include a more explicit boundary (wall) definition mechanism. A list of vertices would satisfy the wall definition needs. But then some programming would need to be done to determine which lights have a line of sight to a given x,y point. There would also be a need to either crop the end result or indicate some neutral value for places in the plot area but not within the boundaries of the room.
- Allow the incident surface shape to be specified.
- This might be as simple as allowing inputs of areas at different heights. This would be the simplest and most widely useful approach. It would be helpful to indicate the locations of the different surfaces on the plot as well. It might be necessary to directly use the draw package to do this. [First, load(draw). Then learn how to use draw. I haven't looked much into it yet.]
- More complex surface entry would require more complex angle of incidence calculations. The angle of incidence would not necessarily be equal to the vertical angle. If the incident surface (or part thereof) was represented as an analytic function of two variables, you could use the partial derivatives to determine the tangent plane and thus the direction of the normal. Given the direction of the normal and the direction toward a given luminaire, you take the dot product of these (normalized/unit) vectors to get the cosine of the angle of incidence (which is what you need; see formula above).


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At many a party, there is someone who comes and crashes the whole thing for a spell. Wimbledon is no different and today, the unwanted guest was, as always, the rain, which delayed the start of the matches by more than an hour on the outside courts, then stopped them for three full hours.
The visit of this very unwanted guest at the tennis party resulted in the completion of only 12 of the matches on today's schedule. Of course, four of them were Centre Court matches, and contrary of during the tournament, they did not hesitate to close the roof as soon as it started to rain. Hence, the first match started relatively on time.
The indoors conditions of the court when the roof is closed, as usual, made the ball heavier and slower than usual, which ended up causing the second major surprise of the tennis tournament, as Julia Görges of Germany defeated World no 2 and Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, in three sets.
It was, really, the only surprise of the day.
Andy Murray passes with flying colours
The favourites in action today all passed more or less easily. Andy Murray escaped what was, on paper, a very difficult first round against Stanislas Wawrinka.
To be fair, Wawrinka did not have a good match, serving way below par (48% for the whole match), making a lot of errors, all in all, not playing very well.
After a shaky first game, it was all the contrary for Andy Murray, who played really like he did at Wimbledon: fearlessly, working his way into cracking the opponent's serve, although his break point conversion could have been better (3 for 13). For a first match, and under the roof, it was, nonetheless, more than acceptable.
His 6-3 6-3 win over the Swiss sends Murray into Round 2, where he will face a rival he knows well: Jarkko Nieminen, who defeated Somdev Devvarman 6-3 6-1. It was Devvarman's first match since last October, after undergoing a shoulder surgery in November.
Murray leads the head-to-head with Nieminen 4-0, their last match this memorable French Open second-rounder, where the Finn proved unable to finish a rival who started barely able to walk due to back problems.
Shaky start for Tsonga and Djokovic
The second and fifth seeds had a little more difficulty in their opener and, like Roger Federer did on Saturday, they both dropped a set en route towards the second round.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was made to battle against slippery conditions on Centre Court (which only seemed to bother the men today, incidentally) and a very inspired Thomaz Bellucci, who really gave all he had during the match. In the end, however, the World no 6 triumphed, 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4, and awaits the winner of Milos Raonic/Tatsuma Ito in the second round.
As for Novak Djokovic, he started the match against Fabio Fognini as we've seen him start many a match of late: slowly, letting his opponent install his game, and not taking the control of it like he should, maybe, have done. Broken back as he was serving for the set, he ended up losing it in the tiebreak, which was interrupted at 7-7 because of the rain.
After that, the slippery conditions of the court did nothing to improve his mood, but a fall seemed to kill every fighting spirit in Fognini, who slipped, dropped serve and opened the door very wide to the domination we've seen from the Serbian until the end of the match, which he won, 6-7(7) 6-2 6-2.
In the second round, Djokovic will face the winner of the match opposing Andy Roddick to Martin Klizan, postponed until tomorrow.
Pospisil fought hard in a losing cause
There were four matches involving Canadians scheduled today. Due to the weather conditions, the only one who could play, in the end, was Vasek Pospisil who, into the main draw of the singles as a wild card (he was already into the doubles, partnering World no 1 Daniel Nestor), was drawn to face fourth-seeded David Ferrer.
In other words, an impossible task for the 22-year-old from Vancouver.
This is not knowing Vashy, another of those players who just doesn't give up easily. Down an early break in the first set, he broke the Spaniard back a couple of games later, only to be broken again the next game. Even though he tried, Ferrer would never give up on this break, this time, and took the first set 6-4.
The second set was interrupted at 40-40 on Pospisil's first service game, who was quickly broken when play resumed, a break that Ferrer doubled seven games later. Serving for the match at 5-2, many were we to think that it was all over for the young Canadian, but he hung on and recuperated one of the breaks, then held to force Ferrer to serve it out a second time, which he did with more success, taking the match, 6-4 6-4.
Nevertheless, I must say I'm really proud of having "seen" (we could only see a part of the first set and the middle of the second on TV here in Canada, and not even the end of the match) Pospisil fighting the way he did against one of the toughest players he could be drawn against at his first Olympic Games.
We can only wish him and Daniel Nestor the best of success in the doubles, which they will start tomorrow, when they will face the Romanian team of Horia Tecau and Adrian Ungur.
Hopefully for the packed schedule that awaits on Day 3, rain will stay home and won't come disturb the party, this time. They say Wimbledon is not Wimbledon without a rain delay. I think the Olympic tournament has had its share of it now, and hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate.


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Durable Goods Orders Rise in May
New orders for manufactured durable goods in May increased $2.3 billion or 1.1% to $217.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced in its advance report. This increase, up following two consecutive monthly decreases, followed a 0.2% April decrease.
Transportation equipment, up three of the last four months, had the largest increase, $1.7 billion or 2.7% to $63.1 billion. This was led by non-defense aircraft and parts, which increased $0.4 billion.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in May, up five of the last six months, increased $1.5 billion or 0.7% to $224.1 billion. This followed a 0.7% April increase.
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in May, down two consecutive months, decreased $0.4 billion to $984.5 billion. This followed a 0.1% April decrease.
To read the full advance report news release, click here.


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Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle may have believed he had nothing to prove to his former Chicago White Sox teammates on Monday night at the Rogers Centre, but he still found it strange being on the other side of the field.
Saddled with a 10.24 ERA after two subpar starts, Buehrle rebounded for a 4-3 win over his former squad, with which he spent 11 years of his career.
"Walking in, I don't want to say nerves, but not knowing what to expect, what to do," Buehrle recalled of his feelings as he strode to the mound. "It was weird looking over and seeing all those guys. I'm nervous before every game, but once I get on the field and start throwing, the nerves kind of leave. It was just weird seeing them on the other side."
Buehrle was not overpowering — he never is — giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks in 6.1 innings, his longest outing of the season. But the wily veteran made enough big pitches when it counted. As he left the mound, the crowd of 15,755 gave him a respectful standing ovation and he saluted them. Despite his personal stats, the Jays have won all three of his starts.
"The weather in Detroit, you can just take that (start) down and throw it out," Buehrle said. "It just seemed like everything was working (Monday) and J.P. (Arencibia) called a great game. We had a good game plan going in. Knowing that they know me, we kind of changed a few things up."
The Jays have pulled back to one game under .500 at 6-7 and will receive a huge boost Tuesday with the return to the lineup of Brett Lawrie — at third base. Lawrie has rehabbed for 40 days since suffering a strained left oblique in a World Baseball Classic exhibition on March 6, but on his final two days at Class-A Dunedin he played at second base. Strange days, indeed.
To make room on the roster, right-hander Sergio Santos was placed on the disabled list with a strained triceps, retroactive to April 14. Earlier in the day, right-hander Ramon Ortiz was purchased from Triple-A Buffalo and outfielder Casper Wells was designated for assignment. The Jays have seven relievers.
The Lawrie move was inevitable but the timing was up in the air, seemingly accelerated when Jose Bautista was forced to miss Monday's start with a sore back suffered Sunday in Kansas City. In fact, Bautista's back may have been the most fortunate Jays injury of the season. It convinced management to reconsider the ill-conceived idea of moving Lawrie to second base, while keeping Bautista at third, where he played on the weekend following the injury to Jose Reyes.
The demands of the infield may or may not have contributed to Bautista's soreness, with all the bending and side-to-side movement, but he had not played third since May 27 last year in Texas — coincidentally the same day that Lawrie played his only Jays game at shortstop. The bottom line is that making two position changes with two key defensive players, in-season, is not good.
"(Jose's) a great player, so you lose his arm in right field, his instincts and everything else he brings," Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said before the game. "The great players you want to clone, but you can't. But we have the ability to mix and match (defensively) with certain players. They're premium players, so if you take one off one position you lose something at one of the other spots."
One other thing the Bautista injury, as minor as it seems, accomplished is that it accelerated the return of Lawrie. But if he's going to play third for the Jays, why was he at second base on his minor-league rehab? The fact is, the Jays sent Mike Mordecai to work with him on playing second base and they do not want to discard the versatility aspect, so that when he returns he can play second.
"The way we looked at it, put Brett over there at second base just to see if he can do it," Gibbons explained. "We just want to look at it and see how we may be stronger. Brett playing second in the minor leagues, where the games don't matter, you can see what he can do down there."
Gibbons acknowledged that his own preference has been towards returning Bautista to the outfield for his next start. There is a strong chance the decision was helped by input from the player himself.
"You run the risk you start moving guys around here and there," Gibbons said. "From everything I've heard, Jose is a good third baseman, but you get so many guys out of position from where their norm is, that can cause some problems too. You make your name in this business, (Jose) has come into his own, who he is as a right fielder."
The fact that Jays management is suddenly looking for versatility from its star players is not a good sign for the most versatile of the current Jays, Emilio Bonifacio. The 27-year-old, touted as a super-sub who just needed the chance to win a regular position, has shown five tools that all come up just short. The Jays are looking for defence at shortstop and Bonifacio seems like the best chip in trade. If he is dealt, others will have to become more versatile.
Maicer Izturis played second base on Monday and homered against Gavin Floyd. Meanwhile, with a renewed emphasis on defence to get the rotation back on track, Munenori Kawasaki has been installed as the one to dislodge at shortstop. The diminutive Japanese infielder tripled and scored on a Bonifacio sacrifice fly. The way Kawasaki loses his job is if Anthopoulos can find a better glove.
"If you find a bat, it's usually a guy playing there, but he's not a shortstop," Anthopoulos said. "The ones that can hit and play defence are the ones that are all-stars and you can't find them. If we brought somebody in, it would be an upgrade in terms of the glove. But for now (Kawasaki's) going to make the plays, grind an at-bat, foul off some balls, bunt, slash, slap the ball around."