text:
Voyager Advanced
Add-on für TS20xx
Nur Download Neue Version 1.5
With their distinctive shape, effortless performance and striking liveries, the Voyager 220 and Tilting Super Voyager 221 passenger trains have been criss-crossing the UK for over a decade.
These two reliable DEMUs (Diesel Electric Multiple Units) now arrive on Train Simulator in the new Just Trains 'Advanced' specification. Extensive use of Just Trains' ActivScript technology bring you a high degree of realism and exclusive features to improve the realism of your driving experience.
Both the Voyager 220 and Tilting Super Voyager 221 are included, each in five liveries, and the Super Voyager 221 features switchable tilting round high-speed curves! Drive both units in twelve challenging scenarios for both default and add-on routes that employ our new ActivWorld scenario coding for a superior driving experience - be prepared for the unexpected!
Voyager Advanced is the third release in our Advanced range, bringing you advanced operating controls, realistic systems and authentic sounds. These top-quality Advanced renditions of the Voyager 220 and 221 are the ones to drive!
Class 220 (non-tilting) four-car formation:
Class 221 (tilting) five car formation:
Five liveries for both the Voyager Class 220 and the Class 221:
Voyager Advanced features high quality sounds recorded from real Voyagers. There are separate sound sets for the driver's cab and the exterior view - you can hear the difference. In the driver's cab you can even hear the air conditioning start up and run!
Both the 220 and 221 support the Just Trains ActivWorld scenarios that allow incidents and system failures such as passenger communication, fire alarm, engine failure on any of the units and brake failure.
Drive the Voyager 220 and Tilting Super Voyager 221 on 10 challenging and interesting scenarios that employ our exclusive ActivWorld scenario technology on both default and add-on routes.
Scenarios for default Train Simulator routes
London to Brighton Route
Brighton Voyager Farewell
Drive the last ever Cross Country service from Brighton to Birmingham using XC's 220 021 on the 14:30 to Birmingham New Street.
Freezing February
A Voyager that became stranded at Three Bridges due to heavy snow is to be used to work the final train of the night to London Victoria. The usual unit wasn't available and this is expected to be the final service until the early morning.
Oxford to Paddington route
New Kid on the Block
Today you are in control of a brand new Class 220 Voyager delivered earlier this morning. A depot instructor will lead you through the start-up procedure and the various new controls in this unit. We will then go out onto the main line to do some testing between here and Reading.
Caught in the Cold
This morning you are in charge of one of Arriva Cross Country's Class 220s on the first train of the day from Reading to Manchester. This service normally starts at Southampton but due to the snow it is starting here at Reading today. The train is 1M18 06:11 Reading-Manchester Piccadilly. It's just coming up to 6 AM and we are running late so need to get the unit started and set up ASAP ready to head into Reading with the empty train. Once at Reading we will reverse and head for Oxford where a Manchester driver will take over. It's not all going to plan, however; the weather has caused problems for other services and many are running late so you can expect further delays en route to Oxford!
Cajon Pass route
Across the Pond
Drive a Voyager on a tourist trip over the Cajon Pass. The unit is only on here on hire to show what keeps Britain moving - but it has gained a special US livery!
Castle Rock Railroad route
Castle Rock Experience
Take the Voyager on an express service along the length of the Castle Rock Railroad - it's rather different to the usual train on this service!
Hagen-Siegen route
German Tourists
Take a party of German skiers on a hired Class 221 Voyager from Hagen to Siegen on a very wintry evening.
Seebergbahn route
On Test in Germany
On a stunning summer's morning you are assigned to your first day of training on board the British Class 220 Voyager unit.
Scenarios for add-on routes - all available from Just Trains
Totham route
Driver Training
It's September 2002 and you have just finished with Class 47s on XC services around Britain. Today is your first day back after a two-week break and it's all changed! Gone are the oily, unreliable 40-year-old Brush veterans and in their place brand new Bombardier Voyager units. Mark, your driver instructor, will take you through the start-up procedure before you head out onto the line for an introductory drive. We will also be testing a few of the fault systems today so keep on top of your game at all times!
Bristol to Exeter route
Summer Saturday Service
It's a summer Saturday and, as always, the holidaymakers are out in force for their annual holiday to Devon. These are the busiest days of the year here on the Bristol to Exeter line and today is no exception. You are in control of two five car Super Voyagers on a new service for the type. These units are currently replacing the Class 47s on the main services and will eventually see off the HSTs too! However, all is not well. One of our engines has failed and the guard in the second unit says that the temperatures on two of the other cars are not looking good. A Class 47 is also struggling on a southbound service and, to top it off, a Black Five is out on a rail tour to Plymouth! These days are sent to test us!
Easy Like a Sunday Morning
Today your job is easy (just like a Sunday morning, although it's Monday!). You need to get your Class 220 Voyager prepared for service at Barton Hill depot before working a stopping service down to Weston-Super-Mare and returning to Bristol Temple Meads. We are on hire to FGW today. The commuters are getting a change from their usual Class 150!
Newcastle to York Modern route
Rush hour express
Take charge of a XC Voyager on 1S49 11:25 Plymouth-Dundee on a glorious summer evening. You will be in charge from York to Newcastle. Enjoy the trip - you should have no problems today!
Free Roam scenarios
Free Roam scenarios are available for these routes:


text:
Monday, October 26, 2009
Is it wrong to make your child wear a Bed, Bath & Beyond shopping bag for Halloween?
Let's say your little boy is obsessed with the color purple. "Ur-ul! Ur-ul!" he says approximately every 4.5 minutes, because that's his way of saying "purple." And let's say you are in Bed, Bath & Beyond on a Saturday and a salesperson walks by carrying this extremely large plastic bag. And it is purple. Gloriously, stunningly purple.
"Where's that from?" you hypothetically ask.
"It's from the bridal registry," she hypothetically answers. "You want one?"
You get excited. You're not sure you felt this giddy when you registered for china. Because the wheels are spinning in your head and you are thinking, "Wow, that could make for one cool Halloween costume." You nod enthusiastically and she hands you the bag. You have absolutely no idea what you are going to do with it, but hey, it is big. And it is PURPLE.
Would that be so wrong? Wouldn't your child be purple-tastic, the very thing that would make him happy? Wouldn't it be so recessionista fab of you to make a costume instead of shelling out money for a getup your child will wear for one day? Or would it be denying your child some quintessential child right to an amazing Halloween outfit—one that's not fabricated from a free plastic bag from a housewares store? Would it be Bed, Bath & Beyond Awful?
And, out of curiosity, what sort of costume could one make with a giant purple plastic bag, anyway? Hypothetically speaking, of course.
30 comments:
Hypothetically one could be an eggplant. Or perhaps a very ripe blueberry? Or a purple people-eater?ReplyDelete
A crayon, a plum-dandy, Barney, monster, a Barbapapa??ReplyDelete
- Barbara from BostonOctober 26, 2009 at 2:33 AM
Or if you were 6, you could cut a head hole in the bottom. You could guild your lily, get him knock off purple crocs and consider purple cosmetics, if you dare - eyeshadow, even lipstick or nail polish. Top it off with a multi colored (or purple) wig from Walgreens/Walmart. The two of you could have fun . Pair it with a boa perhaps,or a lei, costume jewelry... He could be the movie The Color Purple perhaps.ReplyDelete
I love the color too, you may have noticed. If the bag has the store name you could even attach items bought from such a store - a cute bath puppet, a pretty face cloth kitchen implements... one is only little and infatuated, could it be so bad? But, remember, I would like a picture. You two, HAVE FUN.
- Barbara from BostonOctober 26, 2009 at 2:35 AM
Pardon my ignorance- What is a Barbapapa?
isn't the grimace from MCdonald's purple? Or the shake thing- i forget what they're called. One of them is a big purple blob. THough arguably it is a lot worse to glorify mcdonald's then it is to make a costume. I ALWAYS had homemade costumes and I dont think it' s about the recession its about love and effort and the fun of the process.ReplyDelete
Hypothetically one could be a dinosaur, or a spider, or an aubergine (yes, I saw that already mentioned). And yes, totally, Barbapapa.ReplyDelete
My kids old preschool/school didn't allow shop bought costumes in the Purim constume contest, so all their costumes were handmade. They still are. And they are not traumatized, so Max should be fine, too!
- FeliciaOctober 26, 2009 at 4:19 AM
You could wrap that plastic bag around a tube with armholes and a cone hat, write CRAYOLA on the side, and he could go as a purple crayon!ReplyDelete
I found me a three dollar fat girl's prom dress at the Goodwill--I'm gonna be Glenda the Good Witch of the North!!! I'll be escorting Spiderman (a recycled store-bought costume) and Dracula!
I'm all for cheap! Addison was a marshmallow one year, and last year's costume was borrowed. I bought her a kitty costume this year because she preferred it over the monkey we already had.ReplyDelete
I'd do a purple crayon. Not sure how, so no help there. ;)
I'm reporting you to CPS. I think the new jumpsuits in the women's prison are purple so perhaps you could take that bag and wear that - save the taxpayers some money.ReplyDelete
*just kidding*...maybe.
As for Max - how about you put a vine on his head and he could be a grape!! :-)
- AnonymousOctober 26, 2009 at 9:08 AM
They have that little creature on PBS. I don't remember their names but they look like drops of rain, there are red, yellow, blue and purple ones I know. My little girls loves to make them dance on the website. She is going as a skunk. Recycled hand me down dance costume.ReplyDelete
Well, I hope it's okay. My two sons are going to be robots. This is due to a few facts: 1) I have a bunch of boxes in the garage 2) Kam's in a wheelchair and they are kinda hard to disguise and 3) Kobi (the other son) thinks being a robot would be cool.ReplyDelete
There you go.
I'm all for it!
I would cut leg holes in the bottom, put his arms through the handles(obviously have clothes underneath) and "fill" with items like he went shopping. He would be a shoppin bag:) Have fun with whatever you do!ReplyDelete
ohh he could be "galatic goo" or a poisonous jelly fish.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 26, 2009 at 12:15 PM
When I was in college, I filled a dark colored garbage bag w/ balloons, wore white gloves and went as one of the california raisin guys.... He could totally go as a blob of grape jelly... in search of some peanut butter and bread (or you could try to make those part of the costume...). Good luck!ReplyDelete
That's an excellent idea.. we were just talking about (at work here) how all kids costumes these days are so "fabricated." We we're all reminising about how our costumes as kids were made from pillow cases etc. etc. He could be a bunch of grapes... pair his purple bag outfit with pinned on (carefully of course) purple balloons!!! and voila he's a bunch of lovely grapes :) orrrr if you want something less produce like haha he could be a purple transformer!! I think you would have to use some creartivity for that one.. like hockey gloves and pads or something..? ?? Can;t wait to see the posted pictures after halloween!! :)ReplyDelete
I vote for California Raisin, all you need is some white gloves and giant silly sunglasses.ReplyDelete
I'm thinking a wizard--that looks a lot like a wizard's cape to me.ReplyDelete
I'm all about doing it on the cheap--Charlie is wearing the same costume he did last year because he was only in it for about half an hour last year.
What about just being purple, like a brush stoke? Or a jelly bean.ReplyDelete
Purple is as purple does.ReplyDelete
All Max probably wants to be is purple. So, let him be the thing that excites him the most!
(or be the crayon, since he does love Harold's purple crayon.)
What's wrong with just being a "concept" and letting him go as purple?ReplyDelete
And how do you know he isn't asking you to link a tweet to him; he might be saying "url"
Wow, great ideas! Particularly just letting him BE the color purple, because costumes don't get much easier (or cheaper) than that. But I'm thinking Max might prefer another idea here, so I'll just leave y'all in suspense till Friday (the day of our town's Halloween parade). Hammie, your tweet comment made me laugh.ReplyDelete
I love the idea of being purple as well. It's so representative of being a kid. Sometimes you want to be a fire truck when you grow up, sometimes you want to be purple for Halloween.ReplyDelete
I also think Harold and the Purple crayon might be fun. The bag already has squiggle-like crayon markings. You could wear the purple bag and just be Harold. Tape a few purple crayons to the front...maybe purple yarn to make a 3-d crayon line coming away from it. I loved that book when I was young.
One purple polka dot :-)ReplyDelete
This is Joyce. I just wrote a little post that you will want to check out.ReplyDelete
Oh. I love it!ReplyDelete
My first thought was a flying purple people eater....
But after reading through the suggestions, I love the idea of a crayon.
- AnonymousOctober 28, 2009 at 7:45 AM
How about a One-eyed, One-horned, Flying Purple People Eater like the song from the 50s? Lots of fun things you could do, and a song too!ReplyDelete
How about cutting the sides down and making a cape from it. He could wear a purple shirt and sweatpants. Put a yellow P on his chest and he's The Purple Avenger! or some other purple super heroReplyDelete
Yes! Max could be a "one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater." He'd love it, and so would everybody else. Now, about those wings...ReplyDelete
I love all of the creative ideas! If he tolerates ballons, you could add a bunch of them to the outside of the bag and have him go as a bunch of grapes. My sister did that one year and it was very cute!ReplyDelete
I love the frugal ideas!
I'm with Sheryl...I'm totally picturing Grimace from McDonalds. Get him some purple leggings, a purple long sleeve shirt....stuff the pejeebies outta the bag...and away he'd go!ReplyDelete
Or slit it open and just let him be Captain Purple in his Purple Plastic Cape!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
TWiki Web
(revision 19) (raw view)
---+!! Comment Plugin  <sticky>
 %TOC{title="Page contents"}%
</sticky> *The Comment Plugin lets users quickly post comments to a page without an edit/preview/save cycle.* __Related topics:__ CommentPluginTemplates, CommentPluginExamples ---++ Features Inserts an edit box into the page that allows users to type in and save comments. Comments can be made * in different formats (as defined by a template), * in both forward and reverse chronological order, * signed or unsigned, dated or undated (as defined by a template), * in other topics, or other positions within the current topic. ---++ Syntax #StandardAttrs Write =%<nop>COMMENT{attributes}%= anywhere in a TWiki topic. %INCLUDE{"%SYSTEMWEB%.VarCOMMENT" section="comment_attributes"}% (See also [[#MoreAttrs][additional attributes]]) ---+++ Positioning the comment =%COMMENT= supports several ways to specify _where_ a comment should be inserted in the target topic. This is referred to as the _location_ of the comment. ---++++ Location relative to %COMMENT tag The default _location_ is the =%COMMENT= tag itself. For example: <verbatim> %COMMENT{type="below"}% </verbatim> will add comments in the current topic, directly below the =%COMMENT= tag. ---++++ Location relative to a TWiki anchor The =target= attribute may specify a web, and may also specify an anchor within the target topic; for example, <verbatim> %COMMENT{type="above" target="%USERSWEB%.PersonalRemarks#InsertHere"}% </verbatim> This uses a standard TWiki in-topic anchor as the insertion location. See %SYSTEMWEB%.TextFormattingRules for more about TWiki anchors. ---++++ Location relative to an arbitrary text string Getting more sophisticated, you can also specify a regular expression for the target location using the =location= parameter. The target topic is searched for the regular expression, and the comment inserted relative to the string that the search matched. For example, <verbatim> %COMMENT{type="above" location="Flights of Fancy"}% </verbatim> will place comments above the first occurrence of the string =Flights of Fancy= in the current topic. *Warning* of course, if a user's comment contains the string "Flights of Fancy" they may and up _changing the location_ for the next comment! Also, if you use a tag in the location, then you've just inserted another tag in the page that contains the =%COMMENT=! So be very careful how you specify the RE for =location=. Note that the RE is matched using perl "multiple line" mode, so ^ and $ match the start of a line and the end of a line respectively. %BR% Also note that you cannot have the text =location="= just before the location. I look forward to someone leveraging this feature to create - for example - threaded conversations using =%COMMENT=. If you specify an anchor _and_ a =location=, the anchor will be ignored. ---+++ Default templates Templates are used to define the "comment style" i.e. how comments appear in the page. The default is to add comments in "Blog like" style using bulleted lists, with the most recent comment at the top, but many other styles are available such as tables or Wiki thread mode comments. It is easy to define your own customer styles as well. A set of default comment templates are shipped with the plugin - see also CommentPluginTemplates: | *Template type* | *Description* | | =top= | Comments, signed and dated (server time), added at top of the topic (the anchor is ignored) | | =bottom= | Comments, signed and dated (server time), added at end of the target topic (the anchor is ignored) | | =above= | Comments, signed and dated (server time), added immediately before the target anchor, or the =%COMMENT= if no anchor is specified | | =below= | Comments, signed and dated (server time), added immediately below the target anchor, or the =%COMMENT= if no anchor is specified | | =belowthreadmode= | Comments, signed and dated, added recurse after comment box | | =threadmode= | Wiki thread mode comment, signed and dated (server time) | | =tableprepend= | Comments, signed and dated (server time), formatted as an HTML table row, added below the anchor (which must be in an HTML
) | | =tableappend= | Comments, signed and dated (server time), formatted as an HTML table row, added above the anchor (which must be in an HTML
) | | =action= | Action added to action table directly above comment box (see [[#PluginInstallation][Plugin Installation Instructions]] below for important notes) | | =table= | Tablerows adding on end | | =toctalk= | Talk using TOC adding on end | | =bookmark= | Create a list of annotated bookmarks | | =return= | Post to a different topic and return | Your local installation may add more template types as well - see [[#TemPlates][Customization]], below. #TemPlates ---++ Customization Customization of the comment plugin requires * familiarity with HTML forms * some familiarity with the [[%SYSTEMWEB%.TWikiTemplates][TWiki templating language]]. To define a comment type, you have to provide two simple template definitions in the template file; one for the prompt box, and one for the generated output. If we have a template type "mytype", these are named =PROMPT:mytype= and =OUTPUT:mytype= respectively. See =comments.tmpl= in the templates directory for examples. The plugin picks up these template definitions from a standard TWiki template file, =templates/comments.tmpl=. This allows different templates to be defined for different TWiki skins. #CustomTemplates ---+++ Defining custom templates By default, =templates/comments.tmpl= includes the topic %SYSTEMWEB%.CommentPluginTemplate, which contains all the shipped standard templates and in turn includes %SYSTEMWEB%.<nop>UserCommentsTemplate that can include non-standard customizations. This allows for several levels of customization: 1 To *override all default templates, everywhere*, change =comments.tmpl= to include a different topic (this customization will be lost next time you upgrade, though). 1 To add *site-wide local template customizations*, add them to %SYSTEMWEB%.UserCommentsTemplate (create if it does not exist yet). You can redefine the standard templates here if you want, and your definitions will override the standard definitions. 1 To override templates on a *web-by-web basis*, add a topic =UserCommentsTemplate= to the web (this will replace %SYSTEMWEB%.<nop>UserCommentsTemplate) 1 To override templates *for a specific skin*, add them to %SYSTEMWEB%.<nop>UserComments<Skin>Template (where <Skin> is the name of the skin with the first letter capitalized, e.g. Pattern) #PerTopicTemplate ---+++ Per topic custom comment template You can also define a *comment template in a topic*, by passing the topic location with a =templatetopic= parameter. For example: <verbatim> %COMMENT{type="blogpost" templatetopic="BlogPostCommentTemplate" target="%TOPIC%" button="Add comment" }% </verbatim> =templatetopic= accepts =topic= or =web.topic= syntax. See an example in [[CommentPluginExamples#TemplateTopic][CommentPluginExamples#TemplateTopic]]. If you use any topic other than %SYSTEMWEB%.UserCommentTemplate, it is critically important that you include this line at the end of your comment template topic:
 %<nop>TMPL:INCLUDE{"%<nop>SYSTEMWEB%.CommentPlugin"}%
 Without this line your templates will not be picked up. %X% Templates are picked up by following the [[TWikiTemplates#Finding_Templates][standard TWiki rules]] for locating template files. Note that you can use =%<nop>TMPL:INCLUDE%= to include other files of templates. %BR% %X% Note that from TWiki release 4.1.0 leading and trailing whitespace is no longer stripped. This means that when you upgrade to TWiki 4.1.X you may need to remove the first line break in your custom comment templates. See TWiki.TWikiReleaseNotes04x01 for more information. ---+++ Customization example Provide both a =PROMPT= and an =OUTPUT= definition: <verbatim> %TMPL:DEF{PROMPT:myComment}%%TMPL:P{promptbox}%%TMPL:END% %TMPL:DEF{OUTPUT:myComment}%%TMPL:P{outputoneliner}%%POS:TOP% %TMPL:END% </verbatim> Call your custom comment with: <verbatim> %COMMENT{type="myComment"}% </verbatim> ---+++ The =PROMPT= template The =PROMPT= template defines the contents of an HTML form that is used to capture the comment. This form invokes the comment generator when submitted. Parameters to the comment generator are defined using standard HTML input fields, such as =input=, =textarea= and =select=. The user enters values for these parameters, and these are then available when the =OUTPUT= template is expanded, in the form of %<nop>URLPARAM%s. Only the input fields of the form need be defined. The plugin automatically generates the <form> and </form> tags, unless you specify =noform="on"=, in which case you have to provide them yourself. *Note* that you must define a "submit" button if you want the form to work! #MoreAttrs ---++++ Providing attribute values If an attribute is given to the =%COMMENT= tag that is not one of the [[#StandardAttrs][standard attributes]], then that attribute is taken as the name of a parameter to be expanded in the =PROMPT= template. Expressions in the template of the form %param|default% (e.g. %rows|3%, %button|Push me%) are expanded to the values given in the %COMMENT. For example, if the =PROMPT= template 'example' contains:
 <textarea rows=%rows|3% cols="%cols|50%" value="%tval|Rubbish%">
 and the %COMMENT tag is:
 %<nop>COMMENT{type="example" cols="75"}%
 then the template will be expanded as
 <textarea rows="3" cols="75" value="Rubbish">
 ---++++ Special variables As well as support for all the usual TWiki variables in templates, the following special variables are supported in the =PROMPT= definition: | *Variable* | *Description* | | =%<nop>DISABLED%= | Set to 'disabled' when you cannot comment (e.g. in preview mode). | | =%<nop>MESSAGE%= | The text specified by =default=. This may be overridden by a helpful message when the prompt is DISABLED. | *EXPERT* Note that when a comment is saved, the TWiki =save= script is invoked on the target topic, with a number of parameters provided by the comment form. Normally the CommentPlugin will provide these fields in the form, but experts can also provide the fields themselves in order to get finer control over what is submitted, or you might want to define your own HTML forms that do comment submission. The parameters that the CommentPlugin recognises are as follows: | *CGI parameter* | *Description* | | =comment_action= | Must be =save= to get the CommentPlugin to perform | | =comment_type= | Type of the OUTPUT template | | =comment_index= | Zero-based index of the %COMMENT in the source topic. Used to place a post relative to an existing %COMMENT. | | =comment_anchor= | Anchor taken from the =target= spec | | =comment_location= | As passed to %COMMENT | | =comment_nonotify= | As passed to %COMMENT | | =comment_remove= | Zero-based index of a %COMMENT to remove from the target topic | | =comment_nopost= | As passed to %COMMENT | | =comment_templatetopic= | As passed to %COMMENT | Note that =comment_location= overrides =comment_anchor=, and both override =comment_index=. Example, shows an "I Approve" button that adds your approval signature to the end of the topic: <verbatim> <form method="post" action="%SCRIPTURL{save}%/%WEB%/%TOPIC%"> <input type="submit" value="I Approve" /> <input type="hidden" name="comment_action" value="save" /> <input type="hidden" name="comment_type" value="bottom" /> <input type="hidden" name="comment" value="I Approve" /> </form> </verbatim> ---++++ Customization example!! with custom form template Write a custom form in a topic. * In the form set the location of the prompt with =%<nop>COMMENTPROMPT%=; the prompt will be positioned here. * In %COMMENT use parameter =noform="on"= * In %COMMENT use parameter =templatetopic= to point to the topic with the form template Example form: <verbatim> %TMPL:DEF{FORM:example}% <form method="post" action="%SCRIPTURL{save}%/%BASEWEB%/%BASETOPIC%" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" name="examplecomment" id="examplecomment"> <input type="hidden" name="redirectto" value="%BASEWEB%.%BASETOPIC%" /> %COMMENTPROMPT% </form> %TMPL:END% </verbatim> Example comment: <verbatim> %COMMENT{noform="on" type="example" templatetopic="Sandbox.CommentPluginTemplateExample" target="%TOPIC%" button="Add comment" }% </verbatim> ---+++ The =OUTPUT= template The =OUTPUT= template defines the format for the text that actually gets embedded into the topic. All the usual TWiki variables are available in the =PROMPT= definition, but note that they get expanded _when the comment is inserted in the text_, so time, date and username will refer to the time and date when the comment was made, and the user who made it. There are also four position tags that are used to indicate where the comment should be placed, relative to the =location= defined in the =%COMMENT= tag: | =%<nop>POS:TOP%= | If present, comments will be inserted *at the top of the topic* i.e. before any other text | | =%<nop>POS:BOTTOM%= | If present, comments will be inserted *at the end of the topic* i.e. after all existing text | | =%<nop>POS:BEFORE%= | If present, comments will be inserted immediately before the =%<nop>COMMENT%= tag | | =%<nop>POS:AFTER%= | If present, comments will be inserted immediately after the =%<nop>COMMENT%= tag | Note that these position tags are obviously mutually exclusive. If you define more than one, the result is undefined. If none is present, the default is taken from the plugin setting =COMMENTPLUGIN_DEFAULT_TYPE= | =%<nop>COMMENTPROMPT%= | Use with a custom form. If present, the comment prompt will be positioned here. | All the usual TWikiVariables that can be used in a topic template can also be used in an =OUTPUT= template. See %SYSTEMWEB%.TWikiVariables for details. ---++ Plugin Settings Plugin settings are stored as preferences settings. Do __not__ change the settings here, they are here only for illustration purposes showing the default values. Define the settings in [[%LOCALSITEPREFS%]], in a !WebPreferences or in individual topics. For example, to customize the =COMMENTPLUGIN_DEFAULT_TYPE= setting, add a =* Set COMMENTPLUGIN_DEFAULT_TYPE = ...= bullet in <nop>%LOCALSITEPREFS%. * Name of file in the =twiki/templates= directory that contains the comment templates. The default 'comments.tmpl' automatically includes user templates from [[%SYSTEMWEB%.CommentPluginTemplate]], which in turn includes [[%SYSTEMWEB%.UserCommentsTemplate]]. * Set COMMENTPLUGIN_TEMPLATES = comments * Default template type (above or below) : * Set COMMENTPLUGIN_DEFAULT_TYPE = above #PluginInstallation ---++ Plugin Installation Instructions * This plugin is pre-installed in TWiki releases. However if you need to upgrade the plugin for any reason: * Download the archive file from the Plugin web (see below) * Unpack the archive in your twiki installation directory. * You may need to correct file permissions * Run ==%TOPIC%_installer== to automatically check and install other modules that this module depends on, and enable the plugin. * Alternatively, * Manually resolve the dependencies listed below. None * Use =configure= to enable the plugin Note that if you want to use the =action= template then you must also: 1 Install the TWiki:Plugins/ActionTrackerPlugin; 1 Put the !CommentPlugin *before* the !ActionTrackerPlugin in the ={PluginsOrder}= configuration option (in =configure=) ---++ Plugin Info * Set SHORTDESCRIPTION = Quickly post comments to a page without an edit/preview/save cycle. | Plugin Author: | TWiki:Main.CrawfordCurrie http://www.c-dot.co.uk inspired by the work of TWiki:Main.DavidWeller and TWiki:Main.PeterMasiar | | Copyright: | © 2004, TWiki:Main.CrawfordCurrie; %BR% © 2009 TWiki:Main.SopanShewale; %BR% © 2004-2011 TWiki:TWiki.TWikiContributor | | License: | GPL ([[http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html][GNU General Public License]]) | | Plugin Version: | 21517 (2012-10-07) | | Change History: |  | | 2011-06-16: | TWikibug:Item6754: Fix for action comment template missing %<nop>ENDACTION% -- TWiki:Main.JohnRouillard | | 2011-06-12: | TWikibug:Item6725: Change global package variables from "use vars" to "our"; adding NO_PREFS_IN_TOPIC in plugin package -- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny | | 2011-03-28: | TWikibug:Item6672 - doc improvements: Adding link to HIDE | | 2010-12-11: | TWikibug:Item6530 - doc improvements -- TWiki:Main.ScottGutman | | 2010-05-16: | TWikibug:Item6433 - doc improvements | | 2010-03-19 | TWikibug:Item6404 Use $br in newline parameter for break tag instead of turning off encoding -- TWiki:Main/PeterThoeny | | 2010-02-27 | TWikibug:Item6276 Cannot specify percentBRpercent for newline value -- TWiki:Main/SopanShewale | | 2009-01-21 | TWikibug:Item6163 Fix for Comment Plugin losing data if target anchor is missing -- TWiki:Main/TimotheLitt and TWiki:Main/SopanShewale | | 03 Aug 2008 | The TWiki 4.2.1 release version | | 11 Apr 2008 | TWikibug:Item5518 corrected the template definition for bulletabove | | 5 Sep 2007 | TWikibug:Item3689 corrected =location= handling TWikibug:Item4181 added VarCOMMENT TWikibug:Item4402 corrected access check | | 22 Jun 2007 | Removed the long-deprecated =%TIME= (use %GMTIME instead). Minor doc changes | | 14021 | TWikibug:Item3755 Fixed incorrect handling of line terminators when targeting an anchor | | 13311 | Added option to define a comment template in any topic. Pass the topic location with =templatetopic= (either =topic= or =web.topic=). See an example in [[CommentPluginExamples#TemplateTopic][CommentPluginExamples:templatetopic]]. | | 12822 | TWikibug:Item3598 minor doc fixes | | 12750 | TWikibug:Item3510 added a note about the changed template spec in TWiki 4.1.0. Code remains unchanged | | 11358 | TWikibug:Item2802 moved SHORTDESCRIPTION to .pm. Coded up TWiki:Main/PankajPant's suggestions as =nopost= and =remove=. Added default text for the %COMMENT as requested by TWiki:Main.AndyGlew | | 11118 | TWikibug:Item2322 removed span tag around oneliner bullet output | | 8788 | TWikibug:Item1465 Item1577: reverted 8433 to fix inclusion of correct user templates | | 8787 | TWikibug:Item1573 renamed standard templates topic to avoid naming clash on Windows, where filenames are case-insensitive | | 8433 | TWikibug:Item1465 Fix 'TWiki.' to '%<nop>TWIKIWEB%.'; also fixed include 'UserComments' to 'UserCommentsTemplate' (at least that is what the doc suggests) | | 7427 | TWikibug:Item845 removed duplicate date in default comments; stick with server time | | 7251 | TWikibug:Item810 fix for user template inclusion; reorganised templates to make customisation easier | | 5906 | TWikibug:Item143 apache warning from comment plugin when !CommentsTmpl.txt not found | | 5519 | !CommentPluginOnAnchorsBroken: incorporated !JacobEisinger's fix | | 5518 | !CommentPluginOnAnchorsBroken: incorporated !OlivierBerger's fix | | 5455 | On Niels Kodslo's prompting, removed the global recursion prevention that I believe is no longer needed. | | 5280 | Removed templates, and some minor fixes | | 5250 | Removed newlines from prompt box | | 4902 | Changed to use viewauth. Moved templates into user topics. | | 4901 | Added templates in user webs support | | 4897 | Fixes for disabling during preview; re-enabled old legacy parameters | | 4889 | Chopped down from !PeterMasiar version, removing several parameters, savecomment script, changing way templates are done. Major rewrite, atcherly. | | 4882 | Update from !PeterMasiar's 2.0 version, plus documentation and small code improvements. | | 4745 | 06 Mar 2002 initial commit | | Plugin Home: | http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/%TOPIC% | | Feedback: | http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/%TOPIC%Dev | | Appraisal: | http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/%TOPIC%Appraisal | __Related Topics:__ CommentPluginTemplates, CommentPluginExamples, %SYSTEMWEB%.TWikiPreferences, %SYSTEMWEB%.TWikiPlugins
rint version
iew topic
Raw edit
More topic actions...
Topic revision: r19 - 2011-06-17
Log In
TWiki Web
RSS Feed
User Reference
Admin Maintenance
Reference Manual
Admin Documentation
Admin Tools
Developer Doc
User Documentation
User Tools
Copyright © 1999-2023 by the contributing authors. All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.
Ideas, requests, problems regarding TWiki?
Send feedback
Please contribute updates to this topic on TWiki.org at


text:
Whatever else you might think about it, Boston City Hall is an improbable building. Call it a giant concrete harmonica or a bold architectural achievement, but to walk by this strange, asymmetrical structure in Government Center is to wonder how on earth it landed there.
Boston City Hall has come in for significant criticism over the years. Mayor Thomas M. Menino has proposed selling it and investing in a more conventional headquarters. But the truly remarkable fact is that it was built in the first place. Experimental architecture, after all, is something we expect from museums and universities, not municipal governments. Take a look at other cities — Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles — and you'll find city halls adorned with columns and arches, domes and porticos. Some are made of marble. Some have giant clocks. Then there's ours, which looks like a fossilized spaceship.
Yet it wasn't aliens who brought it here. Surprisingly, it was a group of Boston politicians and businessmen, along with two young architects named Gerhard Kallmann and Michael McKinnell, who conceived of the building as a dramatic gesture intended to help usher in a new era in Boston history. This year marks the 50th anniversary of a decisive moment in that campaign: namely, an unusual design competition mounted by Mayor John F. Collins, in which architects were invited to imagine a brand-new, forward-looking home for Boston's city government.
Boston was a very different place then. Until the 1950s, it had been a city "dying on the vine," as US News & World Report put it, and the situation had improved only marginally when Collins took office in 1960. Economically stagnant, notoriously in thrall to political corruption, the city had seen little development for decades. As business owners decamped and residents fled to the suburbs, a fear took hold that Boston would soon be hollowed out for good.
It was in this context that the city decided to demolish the neighborhood known as Scollay Square and build in its place what would come to be called Government Center. Forceful and bewildering, Kallmann and McKinnell's Boston City Hall would be the centerpiece of this controversial plan to revitalize Boston's economy and convince its citizens — and the world — that the city was changing.
When the winning design was unveiled in the spring of 1962, "It sent a signal that the city was taking itself seriously," said Keith Morgan, an architectural historian at Boston University. "That the city wanted to be something better than it had been."
In the weeks after Kallmann and McKinnell's design was selected, their model was placed on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, and thousands of curious Bostonians dropped by to take a peek. What they found was like no government building they'd seen: a blocky, fortress-like thing made of gray concrete and covered with curious, geometric protrusions. Some said the building looked like a pigeon cage. Others said it reminded them of an Aztec gas station. The headline in the Globe said it all: "It Will Grow on You, 3 Architects Predict."
In the 50 years since, architects worldwide have declared Kallmann and McKinnell's City Hall one of the greatest buildings of the 20th century. And yet its relationship with the people of Boston has remained uneasy, even hostile: Many regard the building as unwelcoming, cold, and ugly, while those who work inside complain about its poor lighting, ineffective heating system, and labyrinthine layout.
The architects who dreamed it up, meanwhile, are both still here in Boston. McKinnell is now 76; Kallmann is 96. And as the 50th anniversary of their design for Boston City Hall approaches, they remain defiantly in love with it.
"Art is not what pleases you immediately," said Kallmann recently at his Cambridge apartment, speaking slowly in his faint German accent. "It is not pretty-pretty, easy on the eye . . . .That is operetta stuff. That is Rodgers and Hammerstein . . . .That is not what we did."
Even Kallmann and McKinnell's most passionate defense of their creation might not persuade critics to appreciate its bleak, windswept plaza or maze of concrete corridors. But the story of the competition that made them architectural stars goes far in explaining the presence of this polarizing building in our midst. Lifting the curtain on its history reveals not just the grand ideals that went into its design, but also that, however it may divide architects and regular Bostonians today, it played a pivotal role in bringing our once moribund city back to life.
EVEN AT 96, Kallmann vividly recalls the response to his and McKinnell's first project. Sitting at his dining table, he mentioned a news segment he saw after City Hall opened in 1969. In it, an elderly clerk who had just emerged from the new building was interviewed by a reporter. "The interviewer said, 'What do you think of all this concrete?' Already a leading question," Kallmann said. "And this old man looked at him and said, 'Goethe, the German poet, said that architecture is frozen music. And I think this building is frozen music.' That was the hum-drum clerk who was supposed to say, 'I hate this concrete.' The only thing wrong was that it wasn't Goethe who said this — it was Novalis, the Romantic poet." (The statement has also been attributed to Friedrich von Schelling.)
Kallmann was an architecture professor at Columbia University when he met McKinnell, then a 26-year-old graduate student recently arrived from Manchester, England. Despite the 20-year gap between them, the two became friends, united in their admiration of European architects like Le Corbusier, as well as their disdain for the "corporate modernism" then dominating New York City: sleek, dull skyscrapers held up by steel frames and wrapped in taut skins of glass.
By contrast, the buildings that most excited McKinnell and Kallmann adhered to the principles of an architectural aesthetic called Brutalism, whose practitioners favored exposed concrete above all other materials, and prioritized authenticity over gleam and ornament.
It was the spring of 1961 when the city of Boston announced a national design competition for its new City Hall, to be judged by a panel of local businessmen and architects. Such competitions were uncommon in the United States — the last time one had been held for a major public building was in 1912. But an influential Boston architect named James Lawrence convinced the mayor that instead of handing the contract over to a local firm, as Boston's tradition of political patronage usually dictated, the design of the new building should be decided through an open, public process.
The building itself would serve as the keystone of a massive urban renewal project, initiated by Mayor John Hynes during the 1950s, meant to transform Boston from a dilapidated backwater into a world-class metropolis. "Boston was a city standing on the abyss of mortal decline," said McKinnell. By building a new City Hall within a lively central complex that would also include federal and state office buildings, Boston's leaders sought to "demonstrate to everybody, to the world at large as well as to the business community and to Bostonians, that [they] were going to rebuild and reenergize the city."
MCKINNELL AND KALLMANN decided to enter the competition with two somewhat discordant goals in mind: to challenge people's concept of how a monumental civic building should look, and to evoke a sense of optimism about democratic government.
"You must remember this was 1962," McKinnell said. "John Kennedy had just been elected president. And at least in young people, there was a tremendous sense of faith and investment and trust in the idea of government." To capture that feeling, the architects sought to make their City Hall accessible and transparent. The design featured an open space in the center of the building that people could enter directly from the plaza, and external features — those large protruding bumps — showing the locations of the City Council Chamber and the Mayor's Office.
Neither McKinnell nor Kallmann possessed an architect's license, a prerequisite for entering the competition. To that end, Kallmann invited his friend Edward Knowles, an established architect with a firm in Manhattan, to join their team, providing them with credentials as well as a place to work. The architects spent the winter poring over sketches in Knowles's basement office, working at night and trying to clear out before the firm's staff arrived in the morning. Though the two men labored as equals, often sitting at one desk and drawing simultaneously on the same piece of paper, McKinnell addressed his partner as Professor Kallmann — a habit he would not break for many years.
In January 1962, the pair learned they were among the eight finalists chosen by the jury, from among more than 250 submissions. They had three months to provide a set of detailed new drawings as well as a model. They worked until the last possible minute; in the end, they put the model on a plane to Boston with one of their assistants, who finished it during the flight.
The jury deliberated for several days, holing up at the MFA while a police officer stood guard outside the door. Finally, rumor had it, the choice came down to two designs: one by the firm Mitchell/Giurgola, and the other by Kallmann, McKinnell, and Knowles.
On May 3, 1962, a crowd of 300 people, including city officials, journalists, and many of the competition finalists, gathered at the MFA to hear the results. Renderings of the eight designs hung on the walls, but all eyes were on the table in the middle of the room, where the winning model had been placed underneath a white sheet. No one but the jurors — not even Mayor Collins — knew which it was, and McKinnell and Kallmann peered at it, trying to ascertain whether it could be theirs.
When the sheet was lifted to reveal their model, there were gasps in the room. One person reportedly exclaimed, "What the hell is that?" Dazed and elated, the winning architects went to shake hands with a no less befuddled Collins.
Under the terms of the competition, the city was under no obligation to actually build the winning design. But Collins wanted to honor the process. After the unveiling, he is said to have taken the jury to dinner at Locke-Ober and, after several brandies, asked them to level with him. "He said, 'All right, do we build this?' And apparently they said yes,"
McKinnell said, cautioning that the story may be partly apocryphal.
"His attitude was: I told them to do it, they did it, so I'll go along with it," said Thomas O'Connor, the Boston College historian and author of "Building a New Boston." "And he accepted [it] with the best grace he could under the circumstances."
Reaction from the architectural community was rapturous. That this complex work of modernism designed by a pair of unknown iconoclasts would be built in Boston was hard to believe. Suddenly, said Yale School of Architecture dean Robert Stern, Boston was "seen as the great new urban experimental center, where new work could go side by side with Faneuil Hall."
Outside the architectural field, however, the jury's selection was more controversial. One memorable Boston Herald piece from the time quoted a woman saying she wished the building were "more simple and more dignified"; an architecture student retorted, "Life is not simple and the winning model reflects that fact." The story contained the kernel of what would become conventional wisdom: that, as Stern put it, City Hall "is a building that architects love and the public doesn't love." Indeed, there may be no better illustration of what the critic Ada Louise Huxtable called "the architectural gap, or abyss, as it exists between those who design and those who use the 20th century's buildings."
After City Hall's completion, Bostonians commonly complained that the place was an inscrutable, inhospitable eyesore. And yet the broader effort that had led to its construction was undeniably succeeding. Thanks in part to the development of Government Center, Boston was becoming a thriving city. Businesses were opening up downtown; developers broke new ground on buildings. "Whereas we can count on one hand the number of large-scale development projects in the city prior to the Boston City Hall competition, development in the decade following the competition flourished," said Brian Sirman, who teaches a course called Reviled Architecture at Boston University and is writing his doctoral thesis on the history of Boston City Hall..
Eventually, Boston's ramshackle past faded into memory. And while there's no doubt that City Hall was just one piece of a puzzle that also included the development of the Prudential Center, the Central Artery, and Faneuil Hall Marketplace, it went a long way toward changing the perception that Boston was a city with a past but no future. "It jump-started the city's sense of itself, and what it could be, and did it in a very dramatic, non-Boston way," said Morgan.
AFTER WINNING THE COMPETITION, Kallmann and McKinnell moved to Boston to oversee construction. They ended up staying for good, opening a firm, and going on to design many more local buildings. Today, while Kallmann has retired, McKinnell and his team are still going strong. They are currently at work on a new building in Jerusalem.
The sketches and plans for City Hall are now housed in the Historic New England archive. Sitting amid those sketches recently, McKinnell said he hopes City Hall will one day be renovated and improved. "We wanted the people to take it over and make it their own," he said. "Maybe it was wishful thinking."
Back at Kallmann's apartment, I asked the architect what he and his partner had imagined Boston City Hall would be like when it was built — what they were picturing as they worked on their sketches in that basement in New York.
"It had to be awesome," he replied, gesticulating in a way that made clear he didn't mean it colloquially. "Not just pleasant and slick." Great buildings, he said, should "remind you of ancient memories. History. Where you come from. Where your ancestors lived. Profound memories that root you to this planet."
But how did they want people to feel when they looked at it? I asked. What were they hoping it would evoke?
"A hell of a lot!" he answered. "Man's existence on the planet. No less. No less. Architecture to me is a metaphor for that. It's a metaphor for our existence on this earth . . . .What could be more important and complex? It's not a department store. It's not an office building. Come on."
Leon Neyfakh is the staff writer for Ideas. E-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Full Moon in Pisces Releasing
full moon releasing practice
lunar living
✨ Welcome to the 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 practice! ✨
We'll talk about the archetypes and themes of Pisces , and how you can use this full moon to:
✔ reconnect with your capacity for faith in the larger universe,
✔ identify where self deception is holding you back from achieving what you want, and
✔ release old, outdated beliefs that just aren't true for you anymore–if they ever were
so that you can let go of what is holding you back from accomplishing your goals and build a life of authenticity in alignment with what you really want!
Thanks for watching!
"Men should take their knowledge from the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars."
Welcome to the Mystick Physick Lunar Living monthly video series!
Join me every Full Moon for a guided journey to using each full moon to move past our limitations. Together we explore the astrological archetype of each full moon, identify the natal house affected and the themes invoked, and energetically release those things which no longer serve our highest good.
This Lunar Living Releasing Practice is based on a Western Sidereal approach using the Whole House system in conjunction with the Fagan-Bradley zodiac. You can get your free sidereal natal chart right here.
Remember you can join us live for the Lunar Living series every new and full moon in the Sidereal Insights Astrology community on Facebook:
Thanks for watching!
Shine on,
P.S. Don't forget to join me LIVE on Facebook every other Monday at 1:30 pm Mountain Time for your Sidereal Insights Astro Update!
This article was originally published September 24th, 2018. It has been updated.
"There will be signs in the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars."
The Mystick Physick Astrology Quick Reference Guide Puts Astrology to Work for You!
Download the Mystick Physick Astrology Quick Reference Guide so you can make sense of your horoscope and finally take the mystery out of reading your astrological forecast.
With the Mystick Physick Astrology Quick Reference Guide, you'll be able to:
- Understand the principle behind each of the Zodiac signs
- Quickly recognize the planets and personal points
- Instantly classify any planet's condition by placement
- Conceptualize each of the 12 Houses and their area of life
- Identify the energetic expression of nine different aspects
Plus you'll learn my favorite tip to easily synthesize a robust and accurate interpretation.
Get your Quick Reference Guide today!
Shine on,
about me
My astrological explorations began in 1994 and have taken me on an amazing, decades-long journey of discovery beginning with the teachings of Sybil Leek and continuing with those of Joanna Woolfolk, Nicholas Campion, Max Heindel, Ptolemy, Susan Miller, Carol Rushman, Steven Forrest, Cyril Fagan, Robert Powell, and Dane Rudhyar, to name just a few. I began reading privately for family and close friends in 2003 and following a profoundly transformational spiritual experience opened my practice to the public through Mystick Physick in 2014.
Now more than ever I see the need in the world for the life and soul guidance that astrology can offer to those who seek to understand its sublime language. Collectively we are waking up and determined to find meaning and purpose in our daily lives. This is the gift that astrology offers us.
I'm Phaedra, astrologer and artist of Mystick Physick. I make my home in Idaho's gorgeous Treasure Valley with my husband of 20 years, our dog Rocket and cat Jet. In my natural habitat I can usually be found meditating, continuing my ongoing astrological explorations, painting to the astrological rhythms of the solar system, or reading about the latest discoveries in the science of consciousness or astrophysics. You can find me at phaedrapaints.com and mystickphysick.com.


text:
Colorful layers of delicious cake, white frosting, perfect sprinkles, and shimmering candles, all set the stage for an outstanding birthday card. This card will get someone's day off to a great start and add joy to their heart. Let this special card wish someone an awesome day and remind them of how much you care!
A birthday should be fun and festive! After all, this special day only rolls around once a year. With this in mind, sending this amazing happy 32nd birthday card will be your best bet if you want to add excitement to someone's big day. It features spectacular celebration elements such as colorful confetti, perfectly wrapped presents, balloons, and of course, a fantastic birthday cake with brightly lit candles. This ecard has it all! Wish someone a happy 32nd birthday in style with this exceptional greeting card today!
Make their birthday fantastic with this birthday card! Bursting with energy and full of star power, this birthday card is guaranteed to make the day energized and spectacular. A day to remember. An event to recall in ten years with fondness. They will love this birthday card and the excellent birthday it promises to kick off!
Make them feel loved and appreciated for their birthday! Part of the beauty of flowers is watching them grow. From seed to seedling to a collection of leaves and finally a gorgeous bloom. Watching loved ones grow is just as wondrous, as they grow stronger and their petals, their personality, and souls, become more vibrant. Celebrate how far they've come by sending this garden birthday card!
Let someone know how much they mean to you with this festive birthday card! There are people in our lives who shine. Bright, shimmering souls full of kindness that we wish all the best for. Let them know how amazing they are with this birthday card. Full of wishes and love, it's the perfect gift for your special someone. Make their birthday a happy one and send this card.
Make their birthday wild with this adventurous card! It takes a party animal to know one, and there's no better time than a birthday to go all out. Eat all the cake, take a giant spoonful of ice cream. Crank up the music, hit the dance floor, and go crazy! Birthdays are meant to be celebrated; a party is the best way to go. Send this birthday card and make sure this year, the party is incredible.
Send a birthday card full of love this year! It's not cake and ice cream that make a birthday special, it's the celebration of an amazing person. Today's the day to shower them will love, to have as much fun as possible, and to let your loved one know they will always have you to count on. Let them know you love them with this bright birthday card.
Turn their birthday into a one-of-a-kind celebration with this gilded birthday card! Wish them a day full of splendor and happy memories, not just for today but the entire year! After all, they're an amazing person and deserve 365 incredible days. Do more than saying "Happy Birthday" this year. Make sure their celebration is sensational by sending this card!
Take their birthday to the next level with this birthday card! This large white balloon will elevate their day, raising the excitement and fun to sky-high levels. From loud versions of the Happy Birthday song to dozens of toasts to good health, this is the card that will encourage all of today's actions to be the best they could be. After all, every micro celebration will have to live up to how incredible this Happy Birthday card is.
Bring a smile to their faces with this beautiful floral birthday card! There are few things that can compete with a garden in full bloom on beauty, but the glowing smile of someone on their birthday puts all of Mother Nature to shame. Send this birthday card and make someone special ridiculously happy today. Their smile will light the world.
Let someone know how wonderful they are on their birthday this year! Birthdays are a day of celebrations, the anniversary of someone we care about coming into the world. Everyone we have met, from best friends to mentors to lovers, played an important part in our lives. We wouldn't be the same without them. So, on their birthday, celebrate their birth and everything they care with this birthday card full of love.
Share your love with this birthday bouquet! This birthday card is bursting with flowers, bight and eager to wish your loved one a happy birthday! Let their heavenly scent fill the day with joy and calm, making sure the birthday boy or girl has a fabulous day. Give them a display of flowers that will never die and send all your love for their birthday this year.
Make them smile with this sweet birthday card! Birthdays are special days because they're dedicated to the special people in our lives. It's time to celebrate them. Give them not just treats, but reminders that we love them. That we care for them. And that, as the years go by, they simply turn into a more incredible version of themselves. Celebrate their birthday properly by sending this cupcake card!


text:
Myers comfortable in transition back from bullpen
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The way Brett Myers sees things, his move to the Indians' rotation after working as a reliever all of last season is less of a transition and more of a return to his comfort zone. Starting games and chewing up innings is what Myers has done for most of his career.
"It's not really a transition at all," Myers said. "I've started my whole career. This is nothing new. Last year was actually the first Spring Training where I didn't work as a starter to prepare for the season."
Myers said he still does not know why Houston moved him to the bullpen in 2012.
On Saturday, Myers took the hill at Goodyear Ballpark for his first outing as a member of Cleveland's rotation. The right-hander logged two innings and allowed two runs (one earned) to open the Tribe's 13-10 win over Cincinnati.
Myers, entering his 12th big league season, worked exclusively with fastballs and changeups in his first appearance.
"I felt fine," said Myers, who signed a one-year contract for $7 million with the Indians this offseason. "I'm just trying to work on my fastball location and my changeup. I'll throw the other stuff later. I need those two pitches right now.
"The changeup is my fourth pitch, so I want to work on it and make sure it's there for the season."
Myers' first inning was not without a touch of drama.
With two outs, Myers hit Reds rookie outfielder Donald Lutz with a misplaced changeup to put runners on first and second. The pitcher said something from the mound and Lutz glared back as he slowly headed up the first-base line. Myers said he was not talking to the Reds hitter.
"I said something to the umpire," Myers said. "I said, 'He's got to get out of the way of that, doesn't he?' Because he didn't move at all. The umpire came out. I don't know if he said anything to [catcher Lou Marson] or whatnot. It wasn't anything. Maybe he thought I said something to him."
Cleveland is counting on Myers, 32, to provide some stability for its starting staff. In seven full seasons as a starter, the righty has logged 190 innings six times and 210 innings in three seasons. As a starter, Myers has gone 89-79 with a 4.27 ERA in 249 outings.
Myers went 21-22 with a 3.79 ERA as a starter across the 2010-11 seasons, during which he had 340 strikeouts and 123 walks over 439 2/3 innings for the Astros. Myers' production over that span was especially respectable given that Houston combined to lose 192 games in those two seasons.
"He will throw a bundle of innings," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "The one thing he's always prided himself on is staying out there through six [innings] at least. ... If you do that, you keep your team in the game."


text:
Most cyclists are eager to suffer through sprints, lactate threshold intervals or VOmax efforts—but few are enthused about working on pedaling technique. Perhaps it's because doing heart-pounding, leg-searing efforts feels like you're making a difference in your fitness. In the back of your mind, you know these efforts and feelings will surely be repeated on race day. But pedaling technique? B-O-R-I-N-G. Pedaling with one leg, doesn't feel like you are building fitness. It's just not hard enough.
I've said this many times before: anyone can ride hard—not everyone can ride fast.
The most effective use of force during movement, to create power, depends on not only the strength of the muscles involved, but also on a series of coordinated neuromuscular patterns. In short, you need to move efficiently.
Think of what a child looks like as they learn to ride a bicycle for the first time. The motions are jerky, the bike is weaving back and forth and the child is putting a lot of energy in keeping the bicycle upright and moving forward.
That visual is an extreme example of muscles not working in a coordinated effort to move the bicycle forward. Certainly, a child lacks the muscular strength and endurance to pedal a bicycle for any distance when they begin riding.
Another visual example to illustrate the point is to consider that experienced cyclists have very strong legs and good endurance. Ask an experienced cyclist to figure skate and likely you'd witness a muscular and strong athlete struggle to move across the ice, let alone complete complex skating maneuvers. Laboring to simply make it around the rink multiple times, a jerking, tentative cyclist would likely be exhausted in a very short time.
Take the experienced, muscular skater that can spend hours gliding about the ice, completing complex moves and put them on a bicycle. In short time, relative to their time spent in a skating workout, that skater would be exhausted. Of course this assumes the skater does no cross-training as a cyclist.
If you want to excel at cycling, you need to possess many aspects of fitness. One of the aspects is efficient movement. If you train your body to move in a pattern that is efficient for your sport, in this case cycling, you can improve race day performance.
Though your current form inefficiencies may not be as gross as a new cyclist, perhaps doing some fine-tuning now can help your summer riding season. In this column, I offer you a few drills to help improve your neuromuscular patterns for cycling with the goal of improved performance.
Isolated Leg Training
This workout helps work the dead spot out of your pedal stroke. After a warm-up, with light resistance on an indoor trainer, do 100 percent of the work with one leg while the other leg is resting on a stool. The bottom of the stroke is similar to the motion of scraping mud off the bottom of your shoe. The top of the stroke can be improved by driving your toes and knees forward. In all positions, keep the toes relaxed. Do not allow them to curl-up and clinch the bottom of your shoe.
- 1
- of
- 2


text:
Wikipedia to Scientologists: 'Get the F#@% Out!'
In a rather extraordinary effort to crack down on the Church of Scientology's obsessive policing of its online public image, Wikipedia has banned all IP addresses owned or affiliated with Scientology from making edits to entries on its website.
The muzzling of Scientology IPs marks the first time Wikipedia has officially barred edits from such a high-profile organization for allegedly pushing its own agenda on the site.
The Church of Scientology has not responded to our request for comment.
According to evidence turned up by admins in this long-running Wikiland court case, multiple editors have been "openly editing [Scientology-related articles] from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities." Leaning on the famed WikiScanner, countless news stories have discussed the editing of Scientology articles from Scientology IPs, and some site admins are concerned this is "damaging Wikipedia's reputation for neutrality."
The article goes on to explain how the Church Of Scientology operates their little internet spin operation, thanks to testimony provided by a former insider turned informant.
A former member of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs - a department officially responsible "for directing and coordinating all legal matters affecting the Church" - says the Office has organized massive efforts to remove Scientology-related materials and criticism from the web.
"The guys I worked with posted every day all day," Tory Christman tells The Reg. "It was like a machine. I worked with someone who used five separate computers, five separate anonymous identities...to refute any facts from the internet about the Church of Scientology."
This is all fine and good but sooner or later the Scientologists will learn out that all they need to do is send over Leah Remini or Jenna Elfman to give Jimmy Wales a blowjob and all of this will go away. Surely they'd take one for the Xenu team.
Or they could just go to the Apple Store and use their computers. That's what we do whenever we've got shady shit to conduct on the internet anyway.


text:
Installation issues / Problem with USB-UIRT learning unknown codes...« on: November 05, 2007, 09:45:44 pm »
In trying to install my Dish Network PVR501 and get the USB-UIRT to work with it, I have come across a bit of a problem. LinuxMCE says that it has no support for the PVR501 so I have to create a new codeset. When trying to learn new codes, LinuxMCE indicates that the code has been learned but the actual code is not written into the text window. Has anyone had this problem before and is there a work around? Or, is there another utility that can be used to learn the codes and allows for cut and paste the data?


text:
Dinwiddie, Colorado's star point guard, announced Thursday he's skipping his senior season and will declare for the NBA draft.
Dinwiddie said at a news conference in Boulder, Colo., that despite this year's deep pool of talent, ''I just don't feel there are that many people in this draft that are better than me.''
Dinwiddie's junior season was cut short when he tore his left ACL on Jan. 12 at Washington and needed reconstructive surgery. He said he expects to be back on the court by August.
''I think I've got first-round talent across the board,'' he said. ''Everybody of course is going to doubt my knee. [But, my] being able to go first week in August and being ready for the season ... you're going to get Spencer Dinwiddie, not Spencer Dinwiddie with a bad knee.''
A Los Angeles native, Dinwiddie was averaging 14.7 points and nearly four assists when he got hurt. The Buffs were 14-2 with a signature win against Kansas and ranked 15th at the time. They finished 23-12 and lost to Pittsburgh in their NCAA tournament opener.
Dinwiddie called it a bittersweet day, saying it was a difficult decision because he loves the program. Had he decided to return next season, the Buffaloes were expected to be a top-10 team nationally.
''Weighing the chance to do something special here versus something that is more what I would like to do probably, it was really tough,'' Dinwiddie said.
He said he was swayed last weekend when his doctor in Houston compared his recovery from knee surgery to that of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who returned from a torn ACL to win NFL MVP honors two seasons ago.
This is the third time in four years Colorado head coach Tad Boyle has lost a star underclassman to the prospect of NBA riches. Alec Burks bolted after his sophomore season in 2011 and was chosen 12th overall by the Utah Jazz and Andre Roberson left last year and was selected 26th overall by Minnesota before being traded to Oklahoma City.
''Well, it doesn't make it any easier,'' Boyle said, but he drops their names on the recruiting trail. ''You always have to use everything that happens in a positive light as best you can. It's hard as a coach when you look -- I don't let myself think about it as a coach too often -- but sometimes you're driving down the road and you're like, 'OK, if we had a healthy Spencer and Andre together this year with the rest of the squad that we got how special it could be. How good could we be with Spencer next year coming back?'
''Those are questions that kind of float into your mind, but they've got to get out of your mind quickly. This program, we talk about it with our team a lot, it's bigger than any one person, any one coach, any one player.''
The Buffaloes have four other point guards on their roster for 2014-15: juniors Xavier Talton and Eli Stalzer, sophomore Jaron Hopkins and incoming freshman Dominique Collier, who was named 2014 Mr. Colorado Basketball after leading Denver East to the Class 5A state championship.
Dinwiddie said the Buffs should still be good next season without him and he's seen Collier play and suggested he, too, has a bright future.
Boyle said the way the Buffs bounced back from Dinwiddie's injury and subsequent midseason slump to rally and make the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season was a testament to the program's strength.
''Like Spencer said, we've got good players in this program and we're going to continue to recruit good players to this program,'' Boyle said. ''It certainly doesn't make it easier ... but again, we try to build sustained success. At some point everything's going to come together and the stars are going to align and guys are going to be healthy and we'll hopefully have a couple of NBA players on the floor at the same time playing together at the peak of their careers.
''When that happens, we can make the next jump and blow the doors off this place.''
AP freelancer Monica Costello contributed to this report.


text:
The Giants won the pennant, won the pennant 55 years ago today.
Brad Clontz didn't even do as well as Ralph Branca 7 years ago today, unleashing a wild pitch that turned Melvin Mora into a de facto Bobby Thomson as the Mets tied for the Wild Card, tied for the Wild Card.
And on this date in 2004, Todd Zeile hit the shot heard 'round the Zeile household.
October 3 has been a fun date to take to a baseball game in my lifetime, even my pre-lifetime. Thomson's swing in the Polo Grounds ensured the New York Giants would become my historical fetish. Clontz's errant throw ensured the Mets would live to see another day in 1999 (it turned out they survived clear to past midnight on October 20). There was nothing more at stake than a warm feeling on 10/3/04, but in retrospect, your co-bloggers and their friends wound up watching a horrible Met era end on a poignant up note.
I was going to tie all of this together. I was going to plug [1] a remarkable new book by Joshua Prager called The Echoing Green, I was going to tell you how last week I saw the author along with his prime subjects, Mr. Thomson and Mr. Branca, in Manhattan and how astounding that was. I was going to tie the Brooklyn Dodger fan festering wound from that one-game playoff to something I just watched on HBO about the Cubs' sorry history and I'm sure I would have woven in Melvin Mora and Ralph Branca's son-in-law Bobby Valentine and Joe Hietpas and the death of the Expos and something about the Marlins and I would have helped us count down the hours until 4:09 tomorrow afternoon.
But now, unfortunately, I have real news to report: El Duque might not go tomorrow. Willie announced at his press conference that Orlando was running in the outfield, felt something in his right calf, is receiving an MRI and his start may be up for grabs. No definitive word on Hernandez's health or who might replace him.
October 3 giveth. Let us hope it doesn't taketh away.


text:
I took a connection on 12-10-09. I was really skeptic about their claim since i have never read a good review of PSU telecom products well, to my surprise the sim got activated within minutes.
I needed to submit ID/Address proof, PAN card copy and Rs149 and the new 3G SIM (they offered me a choice of numbers!!) was in my hand at that moment and very next it was in my NOKIA E 71.It had free bundled up 25 MB data plus 20 minutes video call to MTNL network.
FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH SPEED: speed was amazing, though I wanted to check the speed on mobile; i had no idea of any tool where I could check the speed test on mobile itself then i decided to connect it to mobile.
I called up customer care for help, the executive gave me a detail which I could not comprehend and obviously not working. It was an 18 steps detailed description which i first noted down on paper and tried to create a dialer, and never succeed. Finally I took a cue from my past experience with aircel gprs connectivity to laptop.
Tips:THERE IS AN EASY WAY TO CONNECT MTNL SIM TO NET (FOR NOKIA USER ONLY).
Open the pc suite >Go to settings
Select your phone modem, which will appear by default if connected then, there is select network, you will find a lot of network there of all the countries. Mtnl name is also mentioned but it doesn't work. I wondered first why?? But I found the reason soon.
So instead of selecting network, select the below mentioned option , configure the connection manually, on the next page fill the access point box with 'pps3g' and leave every other box blank and press the finish button. Now connect and here you connected.
Well, now regarding speed after connecting to laptop I tested the speed on whatismyip.com and found a speed of 392 kbps and upload of 124 kbps. Well, quite good. Since a speed more than 384 kbps DL is considered starting of 3g speed. Some time i found 400 kbps around. The highest I got is 625 kbps. Unfortunately i didn't took a screenshot of that.
Then I thought is there any way to test the speed on handset itself. After a lot of googling, I found two good website which offer mobile speed test. They are
1) mobilespeedtest.com
2) mobileinternetmeter( just enter the words in google and the website appear at very first no), you just need to click that and you get your speed.
You will be surprised to know that highest speed I got is 1026kbps (I have a screen shot of the same, which i am pasting here) average i got is around 400 kbps which is amazing for a handheld device.
Screenshots :
Video Call
I tried video call also video is smooth voice service is excellent. always keep it in dual mode instead of UMTS, because at times mostly inside the house 3g signal bar is 2-3 only (I found this problem in Kaushambi only, perhaps because of high-rise there). Call rates are quite competitive, as I have heard they are going to lower it again and it is going to be better than simply reliance, except the roaming.
Network Coverage
Coverage is excellent. I tried in most of the east central west (except Rohini/Dwarka and pashchim VIhar), south Delhi and I found everywhere 3g signal with full strength.
Only problem is roaming as i confirmed from mtnl, if you roam out of delhi network, you may be able to use 3g on bsnl and mtnl mumbai network, wherever it is available, but you will not be able to use your free data plan there you will be charged as per the bsnl or mtnl delhi data rate per mb uses. So when it comes to roaming airtel mobile office seems the best option.
Well, if you are hard core Delhiite, go for 3G and you will enjoy it.
If you would like to share a review email us email@example.com
-TelecomTalk take no liability for the views expressed by our readers.


text:
On today's episode of the Conspiracy Theories and Unpopular Culture podcast we get into the death of Doris Day and her connections to Charles Manson! We'll get into Terry Melcher, the Beach Boys and the allegations of sex tape rumors… Let's examine the white horse symbolism of Game of Thrones (no spoilers this time) and listen to more Beyonce conspiracies with my appearance on Infinite Fringe!
Support the show: 1. SUBSCRIBE! 2. Leave a review! 3. Join the IW Patreon team at Patreon.com/IlluminatiWatcher!
**Have you signed up for my FREE email newsletter at IlluminatiWatcher.com yet??**
Show Topics:
Doris Day's connection to Charles Manson (and all those sex tape rumors…)
Game of Thrones White Horse Prophecy
Beyonce interview on Infinite Fringe
Finally- here's the show!
If you like the show and want to give your support (*as well as that free download of my latest book that explains the entire scope of the "Illuminati" agenda with citations from occult literature; THE DARK PATH) become a Patreon Supporter! (**Tier 1 and up get access to the bonus content and full episodes through that private RSS feed)
Listen to the show on the iTunes or Stitcher feeds (**and don't forget to leave your reviews there as well!!**); or right here on the embed:
Listen to "Doris Day, Manson, Game of Thrones White Horse & Beyonce!" on Spreaker.
Thanks again for listening! If you want to support the show you can leave a review for the show on the iTunes or Stitcher feeds; this helps A TON and I've enjoyed reading all of them!
Website publisher of IlluminatiWatcher.com and top 5% Amazon author of THE DARK PATH; Isaac Weishaupt has been on the leading edge of conspiracy theories surrounding the elusive "Illuminati" and its infiltration of the entertainment industry. Using examples of familiar pop culture and works of entertainment, Isaac has been speaking and writing about the occult from a unique perspective that seeks to understand the big agenda while helping others along the way.
Isaac hosts the "Conspiracy Theories and Unpopular Culture" podcast (supported by the IW Patreons). He has been a featured guest on Tin Foil Hat podcast, Dave Navarro's "Dark Matter Radio," Richard C. Hoagland's "Other Side of Midnight", SIRIUS/XM's The All Out Show, The HigherSide Chats, BLACKOUT Radio, Freeman Fly's "The Free Zone", Mark Devlin's "Good Vibrations", VICE, COMPLEX magazine, Esquire, The Atlantic and many more radio shows and podcasts. His fresh perspective and openly admitted imperfections promotes the rational approach to exploring these taboo subjects and conspiracy theories.
Follow Isaac on Instagram: @IsaacWeishaupt, Twitter: @IlluminatiEyes, Facebook: @IlluminatiWatcher, or sign up for the free email newsletter!
Signed paperbacks available at Gumroad.com/IsaacW!


text:
Identity area
Reference code
- 1829-1949 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
77 files, 2 oversize items
Context area
Name of creator
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Along with the subject files and notebooks is a large body of research material that does not have any apparent order. It includes several draft manuscripts, card indexes, research notes, tracings, drawings, and photographs. Topics include predynastic Egypt, Egyptian antiquities including scarabs and seals, ancient Egyptian religion as well as relating to research on sites in Egypt including copies of inscriptions, plans and drawings.
In a letter on the transfer of the Newberry collection to the Griffith Institute Archive in 1951 Dr I. E. S. Edwards (Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum) lists: Tracings of tomb inscriptions and decorations (packed in brown trunk); A group of texts and other material dealing with the Second Intermediate Period; and a large collection of "scholar's notes" on various subjects for the most part classified but in some cases merely labelled "Miscellaneous notes". It is this material which now constitutes this series. This material was arranged during previous archival processing according to subject and evidence of this work is still visible by the grouping and labelling of material.
It has been difficult to determine the date of much of this research material. Where a date range is provided it is often based on publications referenced by Newberry in his notes.


text:
Germany's foreign intelligence agency eavesdropped on calls made by US Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor Hillary Clinton, German magazine Der Spiegel has claimed.
The respected news weekly reported that the agency, known by its German acronym BND, tapped a satellite phone conversation Kerry made in 2013 as part of its surveillance of telecommunications in the Middle East.
The agency also recorded a conversation between Clinton and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan a year earlier, Der Spiegel reported.
The magazine did not give a source for its information, but said the calls were collected accidentally, that the three officials were not directly targeted, and the recordings were ordered destroyed immediately.
In Clinton's case, the call reportedly took place on the same "frequency" as a terror suspect, according to Der Spiegel.
The tapping of Clinton's call was reported on Friday by German public broadcaster ARD and Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
If true, the revelations would be embarrassing for the German government, which has spent months complaining to Washington about alleged American spy activity in Germany.
Last year German media reports based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden prompted a sharp rebuke from Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was allegedly among the US intelligence agency's targets.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Berlin and the State Department in Washington declined to comment on the latest reports.
In its report on Saturday, Der Spiegel also cited a confidential 2009 BND document listing fellow NATO member Turkey as a target for German intelligence gathering.
The Germany intelligence agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Agencies


text:
Rhinestone Cutout Halter Neck Slit Dress
Rhinestone Cutout Halter Neck Slit Dress
Sale Sold out
Regular price $119.00
Regular priceUnit price per
Sale price
- Place An Order Plant A Tree
- High Comfort and Perfect Fit
- Feel Free Support 24/7
- Free Delivery orders $110+
- Hassle Free Return
30-Day Return & Exchanges
30-Day Return & Exchanges
Our Guarantee
Hassle-Free Returns
- Items can be returned within 30 days after delivery.
- Items must be unused, undamaged, and in their original packaging.
- Free returns for domestic orders >>
We have provided a return address along with your order confirmation email and the live tracking code of your order.
- If you need assistance, please contact our customer service for help.


text:
I'm taking baby steps with a new passion project: computer-generated fiction. If you're interested, check out my fledgling site: http://www.harible.com/
For Entrepreneurs: Disruptive Engagement
If you're an entrepreneur, you might be interested in this. After speaking with a number of influential entrepreneurs, I've come up with a B2B variation on this theme called Engagement Is Easy. It will be a way to "clone" yourself …
The Moon is Bigger Than an Orange
…or is it? 🙂
Are You a Chronic Procrastinator?
I'm a successful software engineer making decent living in my profession. I've won international programming competitions (Loebner Prize 2012 and MIX 10K 2009 Community Prize), have traveled the world and lived and worked in different countries (Switzerland, the Netherlands, France), …
Chip Taking a Vacation From Chatbot Competitions This Year
Just wanted to let you all know that Chip won't be participating in any chatbot competitions this year. I'm pleased with how things went with the Loebner Prize Competition last year and don't have anything new to add to the …
My Chatbots 3.3 Talk
I was in Philly this weekend giving an informal talk entitled Your Chatbot: Moonshot or Low-Hanging Fruit. It was an honor to meet the amazing people there, especially Dr. Richard Wallace, creator of A.L.I.C.E and AIML. (Although Chip doesn't use …
Decision Help Now!
Here's a new website I've created to help you make informed decisions and avoid decisions based on emotion or flip-a-coin-type methods: Decision Help Now! Website It's the living version and testament to a booklet my late father published thirty years …
empathynow.com Dramatically Improved
empathynow.com has been completely rewritten and improved. From the website: Chip can enrich your life in ways other techniques can't. You can talk to Chip and he'll respond to you with something loving and caring. Chip can help you through …
To The Best of Our Knowledge: Interview
Here's a link to the page containing the interview I did for To The Best of Our Knowledge. The content turned out to be the same as my Wisconsin interview, but is available nationally: http://ttbook.org/book/alan-turing
Wisconsin Public Radio Interview
Here's a link to an interview I did for Wisconsin Public Radio. A longer-format version is going to be broadcast nationally sometime in mid-August: http://wilife.tumblr.com/post/26351484037/turing-test-saturday-june-23rd-marks-the-100th


text:
With the advent of GPU-based computing, and now commoditized/dedicated SHA256 processors, what risk does this hardware pose to cryptography?
What security algorithms should be closely watched or upgraded?
Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.Visit Stack Exchange
Information Security Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for information security professionals. It only takes a minute to sign up.Sign up to join this community
With the advent of GPU-based computing, and now commoditized/dedicated SHA256 processors, what risk does this hardware pose to cryptography?
What security algorithms should be closely watched or upgraded?
Such hardware may make life more difficult for people who rely on PBKDF2 for password hashing. Password hashing functions are intentionally slow -- slow for the honest server and for the attacker alike. We want it to be as slow as is tolerable for the server which uses it, so that it becomes (hopefully) intolerably slow for the attacker.
The defendant's advantage in the password hashing game is the password complexity. The defendant wants a function which can be used to verify one password at a time, whereas the attacker must try millions or billions of them.
The attacker's advantages are:
Specialized hardware which is good at SHA-256 is thus an advantage for the attacker, if the password hashing function uses SHA-256, of course. Some other password hashing functions (e.g. bcrypt and, even more so, scrypt) are more GPU-resilient and will offer a somewhat better protection, as long as nobody begins to mass-produce specialized bcrypt-cracking hardware, of course (e.g. the Virtex family of FPGA from Xilinx, which have embedded RAM blocks and can thus compute bcrypt quite efficiently). See this answer for a more detailed discussion.
Note that while SHA-256 specialized hardware makes it theoretically easier to attack SHA-256 upfront (building collisions, computing preimages...), the work factor for these attacks is still far away in the unfeasible zone. See this answer for some analysis.
This lowers the time-cost tradeoff for brute forcing short passwords. I think this means you need to recalculate the cost to brute-force your settings. If the assets you are protecting are worth more than the cost to brute-force your current settings, you need to add more iterations, password complexity, or minimum length requirements.
How much does it cost to brute all 6-8 digit passwords in under 2 weeks? This definitely changes the economics and should affect how you protect your assets unless you already have a lot of margin.


text:
Size is, as the name implies, a series of tables made of solid wood that can be adapted to every conceivable size. Size tables can be round with either a pedestal, three or four legs – oblong, square or even triangular in shape. They can be large or small, high or low. And, whatever the form, the underframe has been designed to adapt easily to every imaginable shape and size.
Solid lacquered ash or oak, stained or oiled finish. Chrome-plated steel fittings (chrome III).


text:
Desso's Commercial and Consumer Carpets First Products to be Cradle to Cradle Certified[CM] Version 3.0
22 Apr, 2013, 12:26 ET
WAALWIJK, The Netherlands, April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Desso, the European carpet and sports pitches company reached a new milestone as its commercial and consumer carpet products became the first in the world to be certified under Version 3.0 of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard administered by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. A substantial part of Desso's commercial carpet tile range as well as commercial and consumer broadloom carpets have achieved Cradle to Cradle Certified Bronze.
The US-based Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII) is a non-profit organisation established to serve as an independent assessment, auditing and certification authority for Cradle to Cradle product certification.
The Institute works with leaders from the academic world, the NGO environmental community, government and industry to implement its standard for assessing and continuously improving products based upon five categories:
- Material health
- Material reutilisation
- Renewable energy and carbon management
- Water stewardship
- Social fairness.
With the aim of continuing to improve human health, resource scarcity and the climate, the Institute developed a new version of its Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard that takes the discipline to the next level. Companies currently certified under Version 2.1.1 must start to make the transition to the more advanced 3.0 version, launched in January 2013.
In Version 3.0 of the standard, a new Bronze level has been added to create a more logical progression for product optimization. This means that there are now 5 certification levels awarded to products: Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
At the Basic level of the new standard, a product is just starting out on the path to optimisation and a basic inventory of materials, energy use, water use, and social fairness issues is established. At the new Bronze level, product assessment goes deeper. At least 75% of the materials in a product are assessed for chemical safety and potential biodegradability and recyclability. In addition, Desso has met requirements for developing a strategy with respect to renewable energy use and carbon management, and has completed a facility-wide water audit and a full social responsibility self-audit.
"We are pleased to be first company to be awarded certification under Version 3.0, which will continue to help us create products that contribute to people's health and wellbeing and are positive to the environment," says Alexander Collot d'Escury, CEO of Desso.
The official certificates were handed over by Roy Vercoulen, Vice President Europe of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, to d'Escury and his team.
"At the Products Innovation Institute, we are delighted to see Desso, one of the first movers with Certified Cradle to Cradle products, make the transition to the latest version of the standard. We value Desso's commitment to make products that are positive to human health and the environment," says Bridgett Luther, President of the Institute.
More information on the new C2C Version 3.0 can be found online at:
Website: http://www.desso.com
SOURCE Desso Group BV


text:
Tuesday, 09 July 2013 04:30 PM EDT
The GOP-controlled House unveiled slashing cuts to the budget of the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday, punishing the beleaguered department after it targeted tea party groups and other non-profits seeking tax-exempt status.
The agency's 2014 budget would be cut by $3 billion, or 24 percent below, levels approved in March. Also, 10 percent of its budget for tax enforcement would be fenced off until the IRS implements recommendations by an agency watchdog designed to prevent further abuses.
The IRS cuts come after a wave of bad publicity for the agency including questionable spending on conferences like a lavish $4.1 million event in 2010 which included a "Star Trek" video parody and a $17,000 payment to a motivational speaker who was a painter.
President Barack Obama requested a $1 billion budget hike for the IRS.
"Right now I can't think of a federal agency in a worse position to ask for more money," said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas.
The Appropriations Committee also revealed cuts to NASA, White House salaries, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The full House took up a $30.4 billion measure funding the Energy Department and water projects that is about $3 billion below levels enacted earlier this year. Democrats protested cuts to clean and renewable energy programs.
Democrats controlling a Senate panel, meanwhile, went in a wholly opposite direction in giving a $1.3 billion increase to the agency chiefly responsible to implement Obama's signature health care law.
At issue are the annual spending bills funding the day-to-day operations of federal agencies. The GOP-controlled House and Democratic-led Senate are acting as if on different planets, with the Senate acting as though deep automatic spending cuts don't exist and the House promising even more punishing cuts to domestic programs while restoring cuts to the Pentagon.
The House is drafting spending bills in line with a $967 billion "cap" required by automatic cuts that took effect in March after Washington failed to agree on an alternative mix of tax increases and cuts elsewhere in the $3.5 trillion federal budget. The Democratic Senate is writing bills to a $1.058 trillion cap, almost a full 10 percent higher. But the House GOP cuts to domestic programs are greatly magnified by a $41 billion shift from non-defense programs like NASA, education and research on renewable energy to the Pentagon.
The result are night-and-day differences between the House and Senate spending bills illustrated most dramatically by a $164 billion Senate measure unveiled Tuesday by liberal Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa. The measure, which funds education, health and labor programs, is a full 26 percent more generous to such programs than an as-yet-unreleased House version.
So even as advocates for the poor worry about budget cuts forcing poor preschoolers from Head Start, the Senate measure promises to increase the program by $1.6 billion or about 20 percent. Health research would win a small increase, as would Title I grants to help educate disadvantaged school children.
Republicans say the Senate bills are filled with empty promises. Even if they were enacted over GOP opposition, they would be subject to across-the-board cuts known as sequestration that would bring them down to the $967 billion level embraced by Republicans. Sequestration is required because Congress and Obama have failed to follow up a 2011 budget pact with follow-up deficit cuts other than a bitterly fought tax increase on upper-bracket earners.
By contrast, the House measures revealed Tuesday are laced with painful cuts. While the FBI is exempted, NASA would absorb an almost $1 billion cut below 2013 levels. Spending on federal buildings would be cut $2.4 billion below Obama's request and the U.S. Marshals Service, the federal prison system and the Drug Enforcement Administration would also have to absorb cuts.
"At some point, there is no 'doing more with less,'" said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. "There is only less."
Absent a broader agreement on the budget, the rival chambers of Congress are on a collision course facing a potential government shutdown when current-year funding runs out on Sept. 30. A shutdown is unlikely, but avoiding one would require a stopgap funding measure to keep the government running after that date.
© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.
Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.