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Review Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2015
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The Dish
All the News That's Fit to Eat
Go and Stop In at the Green Light Bistro—Taking yet another savory step towards vegetarian world domination, Annapurna just opened an organic, all-vegetarian restaurant, called the Green Light Bistro (2209 Silver SE, 254-0100). It's easy to forget that just a few months ago, this tiny casita in the newly designated "Brick Light District" was a dark and fragrant bakery storeroom, packed clear to the ceiling with exotic spices. Now, it's a cozy café that's as cheery and bright as a cup of their Silver Street organic coffee.
Dining Out Special
Valentine's Dining Guide
You don't need to be a great lover to knock the socks off your Valentine—just be punctual. Valentine's Day is less than two weeks away and restaurants are filling up fast, so start calling around right now for a reservation. (That is, unless you want to get caught with your pants down. ...)
Restaurant Review
Trombino's Bistro Italiano
Marinara-nate your plate
When little kids sit down for a history lesson, it is imperative that they be told about the days long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Italian food was all that Homo sapiens had to eat. They could slay a giant Lasagnasaurus for supper, or gather meatballs from the ample bushes near the rivers that flowed with Alfredo sauce. Or perhaps even take down a huge Spaghettisaurus Rex to feed the entire clan, or die trying.
The Itis
CBD-Infused Dinner
Chowtown Restaurant Guide
Whether you're more familiar with the French Riviera or the French Quarter, there are plenty of places in Albuquerque to get a taste of authentic French cuisine. Read Hosho McCreesh's review of Le Quiche Parisienne in this issue, and check out these other restaurants in the city that will cater to your wanderlust and make you feel, if only for the evening, that you're dining in the City of Lights. Bon appetit, mes amis.

subset: commoncrawl


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Don't think you understand It. On the other hand, don't think you don't understand It.
It? What is It, a pronoun capitalized this way? What is It, pronounced with the kind of emphasis that communicates great significance?
Alternatively It is called the Great Matter, Prajna Paramita, Enlightenment, Emptiness, Suchness. These are ways we refer to different aspects of It.
When I write these words, what do you think to yourself?
You probably think to yourself EITHER that you don't understand these things, "Wow, I wish I understood those things, maybe I will someday." Or, perhaps, "I will probably never understand."
OR when you hear these words you have a sense that you do understand these things, at least to some degree; the words conjure up for you a memory of an experience, a mind-state, an insight, or you think of images or sensations that you find comforting or inspiring.
It is difficult to say which of these – a sense that we don't understand, or a sense that we do understand – is more detrimental to spiritual practice.
Buddhist understanding – prajna paramita, the perfection of wisdom – is completely different from ordinary understanding. It is so different that even though it is here under our noses all the time, we miss It. Even though this Understanding is free and available, we revere Shakyamuni Buddha as a once-in-a-universe amazing person because he came to It without even having a teacher who pointed it out to him.
This is the central teaching of Buddhism – that there is a kind of wisdom, a kind of insight, "which removes all suffering, and is true, not false." (Quoting from the Heart Sutra.)
The Buddha studied suffering – old age, disease, death, loss, dissatisfactoriness – and asked whether there was any way out of it. He was not the first to ask this question by any means. Almost every religion and social movement has tried to offer people a remedy, a way out, at least a mitigation of this human experience of suffering.
What the Buddha realized was, in a sense, it's all how you relate to it. It's all how you see it and understand your place in it.
However, this is not about adopting some arbitrary positive outlook! (Well, you could look at things that way and suffer, but if you adopt this philosophy or view things don't look so bad…) This is about seeing the true nature of reality.
What is it that we see? A textbook answer would be something like, "we see that we, and all beings and things, are empty of inherent, enduring self-nature." But this description is so inadequate to convey what we end up understanding.
We could also say "we see that things-just-as-they-are, without the filter of our self-concern, are precious."
Or we could say "we see that there is only this moment, and this moment is free from suffering."
Intellectual understanding of these descriptions, or faithful belief in these descriptions, do not convey the release from suffering that the Buddha found. They must be personally and directly experienced for that to occur. And once they are personally and directly experienced we are forever changed, but no experience in the past conveys lasting release from suffering either.
Perhaps when you hear It – the Great Matter, Prajna Paramita, Enlightenment, Emptiness, Suchness – you recall the spacious, unself-conscious feeling you experience in the wilderness.
That's not It.
Perhaps you think of the "zone" you get into while doing a body practice or artistic activity.
That's not It.
Perhaps you think of how vast space is, or how we are made up mostly of space, between our tiny atomic particles.
That's not It.
Perhaps you think of how everything changes, so you can't really draw a boundary around who you are.
That's not It.
Perhaps you think of how it is impossible to trace all the causes and conditions and beings that brought you the meal you eat, and how dependent you are on all these different aspects of the universe.
That's not It.
Now, it would be good for all of us, myself included, if I left you with that message and shut up. But in the West, especially in Soto Zen, we explain things. It is the gentle way.
It is so easy to be satisfied with just an intellectual understanding. It is so easy to fool ourselves that ours is not just an intellectual understanding – after all, if it is associated with emotions, it's not just intellectual, right? It is so easy to allow what was once a real experience to devolve into a mere memory, a mere view.
Most of us walk around with a largely intellectual understanding of It. As Dogen would say, we are "playing in the entrance way."
This is why Zen Masters through the ages have pulled out all the stops and done all kinds of strange things to try and wake their students up from their dreams. They yanked their students' noses, offered riddles, put slippers on their heads. What is that about? Some kind of ridiculous code? A contest to see who was least inhibited?
It says Right Here, Right Now, Do You See?
In a sense it doesn't matter what is said or done to express it; if both people can experience It, the arrows have met in mid-air. This is extremely important. There is no god in Buddhism that is going to condemn us or even be disappointed in us because we just play in the entrance way. But what a shame.
But thinking you do not understand is just as bad.
When I think like that, I am here, and understanding is over there – in that [other person's] head, or in the past, or in the future. This can be one of the most painful beliefs. It can also be one of the biggest obstacles.
We are intimate with It every moment of every day. It is never anywhere else.
Once I was questioning whether I should be seeking so hard, feeling so much longing, when I was (supposedly) already Buddha. Gyokuko, my teacher, threw me a pillow. I caught it. She asked, "Did Buddha catch that pillow?" I can't remember if I answered or just looked dejected, but I certainly did not have the experience of Buddha catching a pillow.
We experience the perfection of wisdom when we stop looking anywhere else.
When the Zen Master comes and challenges us, we answer her in kind. Perhaps we say, "Yes! Buddha caught the pillow!" Perhaps we throw the pillow back. Perhaps we laugh. But the challenge does not send us off in our minds to abstractions or memories, concepts, images, metaphors or teachings. We know the Buddha is nowhere else, and have dropped the self-concern that wonders how "I" relate to Buddha.
Being at home with oneself like that is an immense relief from suffering.
We must struggle to understand, unfortunately there are no shortcuts. But what we do in that struggle is exhaust all of our dreams until finally there is no place left to go. Then we see It is something we have understood all along. We just didn't know what kind of understanding to look for.
And a final note – having answered the Zen master's challenge one day does not mean we will be able to do so the next. This is not an understanding that is of any use to us in the past.
The post Don't Think You Understand appeared first on Bright Way Zen.


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1. Re: GTX 660 TIBaz R Aug 16, 2012 4:27 PM (in response to Dirck)
the memory is best to be 1.35v for stability if OC.
also I would spend the little extra and go for a gtx 670.
2. Re: GTX 660 TIHarm Millaard Aug 16, 2012 4:28 PM (in response to Dirck)
The 660 Ti has great specs, but I have not yet seen benchmark results. Well, it is completely new, so it will take some time for results to appear, but from the looks of it, it is indeed a very nice card. It would be a good combination with the rest of your components.
3. Re: GTX 660 TIBaz R Aug 16, 2012 4:30 PM (in response to Harm Millaard)
Difference in Memory interface and bandwith. & GPU Rop compared with 670
Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Specifications
Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 4GB GPU Codename GK104 GK104 GK104 2 x GK104 Base Clock 915MHz 915MHz 1,006MHz 915MHz Boost Clock 980MHz 980MHz 1,058MHz 980MHz Stream Processors 1344 1344 1536 1536 Layout 7 SMs, 4 GPCs 7 SMs, 4 GPCs 8 SMs, 4 GPCs 2 x 8 SMs, 4 GPCs Rasterisers 4 4 4 2 x 4 Tesselation Units 7 7 8 2 x 8 Texture Units 112 112 128 2 x 128 ROPs 24 32 32 2 x 32 Transistors 3.54 Billion 3.54 Billion 3.54 Billion 2 x 3.54 Billion Die Size 294mm² 294mm² 294mm² 2 x 294mm² Process 28nm 28nm 28nm 28nm Memory Amount 2GB GDDR5 2GB GDDR5 2GB GDDR5 2 x 2GB GDDR5 Frequency 1.5GHz (6GHz effective) 1.5GHz (6GHz effective) 1.5GHz (6GHz effective) 1.5GHz (6GHz effective) Interface 192-bit 256-bit 256-bit 2 x 256 bit Bandwidth 144 GB/sec 192 GB/sec 192 GB/sec 2 x 192 GB/sec Card Specifications Power Connectors 2 x 6-pin PCI-E 2 x 6-pin PCI-E 2 x 6-pin PCI-E 2 x 8-pin PCI-E Stock Card Length 240mm 240mm 257mm 279mm TDP 150W 170W 195W 300W Typical Street Price £250 £300 £400 £840
4. Re: GTX 660 TIDirck Aug 16, 2012 5:25 PM (in response to Baz R)
Thanks for the quick responses. I have been reading this forum for a while and it has been most helpful.
5. Re: GTX 660 TISteven L. Gotz Aug 16, 2012 10:38 PM (in response to Dirck)
I agree that you might want to go with the GTX670. I did, and I am quite pleased. I went with the 4GB in case I can get my hands on some seriously large and complex video - like RED.
Having said that, I was in Fry's the other day and they were practically giving away the GTX580 - which is a decent card. If money is a big issue, then going back a generation sometimes works out OK.
6. Re: GTX 660 TIRjL190365 Aug 17, 2012 6:06 AM (in response to Baz R)
Thanks for the info on the GTX 600 series GPUs. It appears that the GTX 660 Ti would be slightly faster than a GTX 560 Ti, but its memory throughput would fall just shy of a GTX 570 or GTX 560 Ti 448 (as its memory interface is only 192 bits wide instead of 256 bits on the full-blown GK104 GPUs). The GTX 660 Ti also has eight of its Raster Operator Units (ROPs) disabled in comparison to the GTX 670.
7. Re: GTX 660 TIHarm Millaard Aug 17, 2012 6:40 AM (in response to RjL190365)
While I agree that the 670 is faster than the 660 Ti, this statement by Sharon:
It will be used primarily for Photoshop CS6/Lightroom 4 but will also be used for Premiere Pro CS6.
led me to refrain from mentioning the 670. For PS/LR the 660 TI is more than adequate and I wonder if the secondary purpose, PR has suffcient weight to justify the extra cost.
8. Re: GTX 660 TIVHC-CO-IT Aug 17, 2012 8:48 AM (in response to Baz R)
The #1 stat is oddly named, considering those aren't Radeon cards. By "stream processors" they mean CUDA cores.
Given the price difference and the spec difference, comparing that to past differences in actual benchmarks in Pr with earlier cards, you can expect the % in price to almost exactly mean the same % drop in performance. The 680 actually looks a bit in line with that too but the 690 is well into luxury surcharge land.
[Personal comments deleted]
Don't overclock your video system unless you like spending more money on cooling instead of a better chip, ending up with corrupted final projects, and blue screening in the middle of rendering and encoding. Of course, overclocking 4% won't do that, 20% would, but why bother wasting time finding that point? Overclocking is for hobbyists who want to make their PC run faster for fun. There's a reason professionals don't typically do it, and the main reason is they like their system to actually work and live for 3+ years lol.
I've overclocked a pair of Radeon Sapphire Extremely Edition 5830's from 800MHz to 1040Mhz and 990Mhz to run a bitcoin mining rig and got it up to 633 Megahashes per second but if you did pretty much anything else in the system, the graphics driver would crash. "Oh wait, I have to start over. It crashed" is not something you want to tell your boss at a video editing company though I'm not saying you can't get it to run stable, I'm saying it's hard on your system in the long term and it's very difficult to find a flawless level of overclocking that never has memory corruption or blue screening problems. Once you do find it, prepare to change it 6 months later when your motherboard and PSU capacitors start to wear down a little and your system starts crashing at OC levels that were previously stable.
I have a system in my shop with a wimpy little GT440 in it but I got it from 810MHz to 1000Mhz on air at low fan speed at 43Celsius! Amazing! But, the graphics driver would crash after an average of 30 minutes of Rainbow 6 Vegas 2. I turned it down to 950MHz and it seems to be running better. I also got the onboard FSB on the AMD AM2 4800+ to 220Mhz so it's 2.75Ghz instead of 2.5 and it benched 0.2 higher on the WEI rating! Woohoo! But if I go to 225, as soon as I move the mouse after booting, it blue screens So is 220 really a stable level? I don't know. I do know I don't have 30 hours to test it properly though. So my point is, for a video editing system, 55 minutes into a 60 minute encoding job is NOT a good time to find out that your overclocking settings were a little more than your system could handle You can run Prime95 for 5 hours as a burn in test and still have your system crash while editing a video later. Just stay at or very near stock speeds and you won't have any headaches.
9. Re: GTX 660 TIDirck Aug 17, 2012 6:58 AM (in response to VHC-CO-IT)
Harm, you are correct. The vast majority of what we do is stlll images. I do want to be able to produce short videos for clients, but I want to keep costs down.
VHC-CO-IT, thank you, I don't plan on overclocking anything. Looking at these benchmarks on Tom's Hardware, the 660 seems to do pretty well http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-benchmark-review,3279-15.html
I also noticed that the radeon cards are much better for image processing but they aren't included in the approved graphic's card list for Premiere Pro. Rats!
10. Re: GTX 660 TIRjL190365 Aug 17, 2012 7:08 AM (in response to Dirck)
In this case, Sharon, you will have to compromise.
Which is more important to you? Still image processing performance or video rendering (not to be confused with encoding) performance?
11. Re: GTX 660 TIDirck Aug 17, 2012 7:11 AM (in response to RjL190365)
Definitely still image processing. But maybe I'm confused - if I got a radeon card, would I be able to use Premiere Pro?
12. Re: GTX 660 TIBaz R Aug 17, 2012 7:12 AM (in response to VHC-CO-IT)
Before you make comments about igonoring other members, just look at the facts first. I only mentioned an option as do other members when giving advise.
13. Re: GTX 660 TIVHC-CO-IT Aug 17, 2012 7:19 AM (in response to Dirck)
Yeah, Radeon cards (and Firepro lol) do pretty much nothing for Premiere other than processing certain particular OpenCL operations faster. It's not like a Radeon product wouldn't run Premier but it wouldn't really help much. Really, Adobe focused on CUDA which is strictly Nvidia. A really dumpy CUDA card like a 440 or whatever is 8x faster than two 8-core Xeon server chips at rendering CUDA-friendly effects (according to that one website those other people keep obsessively link to because they own it).
I don't know how nobody mentioned this yet but I'm 99% sure that CS4 and everything after it supported CUDA for certain photoshop filters. I have no idea which ones but let's take noise reduction for example. On my i5 PC with 8GB of CL7 1333 memory, it still takes about 2-3 seconds to do a noise reduction filter on an entire 12MP photo. That's in CS3. If i had CS4, my GTS450 would render it so quickly I wouldn't even see a progress bar if it was a CUDA-capable filter. So even for Photoshop, I wouldn't even touch an AMD card.
Also, Nvidia made some pretty cool free plugins for photoshop.
14. Re: GTX 660 TIRjL190365 Aug 17, 2012 8:01 AM (in response to Dirck)
Yes, you can use a Radeon with Premiere Pro CS6 - but you'll have to live with the editor being locked into the MPE software-only mode. This can increase render (as opposed to encode) times by a factor of 10 or more versus an otherwise comparably performing GeForce GPU with MPE GPU acceleration enabled.
15. Re: GTX 660 TIDirck Aug 17, 2012 8:27 AM (in response to RjL190365)
That would be awful - I'll stick with Geforce. Thanks!
16. Re: GTX 660 TIjamesp2 Nov 6, 2012 8:41 AM (in response to RjL190365)
"Which is more important to you? Still image processing performance or video rendering (not to be confused with encoding) performance?"
Is there any actual evidence that video rendering is measurably faster with a 670 or80 as opposed to a 660 TI; or whether, in the course of the daily workflow, which usually doesn't include exporting to other formats, there will be any noticeable difference?
(Of the handful of 660 TI card reporting results at PPBMS, they show about the same variation of MPE acceleration as the 680s and 670s.)


text:
I've been using Redis extensively in a project in the last couple of weeks. And this post is on a small trick I had to resort to while using sorted sets. If you don't already know, the rank of an element in a Redis sorted set is its index in the sorted order. And rank starts at 0.
Let's create a sorted set of three members A, B, C with scores 40, 10 and 40.
redis.zadd 'myset', 40, 'A'
redis.zadd 'myset', 10, 'B'
redis.zadd 'myset', 40, 'C'
And when you do
redis.zrange 'myset', 0, -1, you get
["B", "A", "C"] and you can see that B is ranked first (rank 0), followed by A (rank 1) and then C (rank 2). This can also be verified by calling zrank on each item.
redis.zrank 'myset', 'A'
=> 1
redis.zrank 'myset', 'B'
=> 0
redis.zrank 'myset', 'C'
=> 2
My use case required the same rank for same scores and this is how I made Redis do what I wanted:
- I created a sorted set with the scores being the members themselves.
redis.zadd 'newset', 10, 10
redis.zadd 'newset', 40, 40
- Then I saved the member-score mapping in a hash separately.
redis.hset 'myhash', 'A', 40
redis.hset 'myhash', 'B', 10
redis.hset 'myhash', 'C', 40
- Now, when I need the rank of a member, I just need to look up the member's score in the hash and find the rank of that score from the new sorted set.
r = redis.hget 'myhash', 'A'
=> "40"
redis.zrank 'newset', r
=> 1
r = redis.hget 'myhash', 'B'
=> "10"
redis.zrank 'newset', r
=> 0
r = redis.hget 'myhash', 'C'
=> "40"
redis.zrank 'newset', r
=> 1
That is, rank(A) and rank(C) are equal to rank(40) and rank(B) is equal to rank(10). This gives rank 1 for A and C and rank 0 for B which is exactly what I wanted. Yay!


text:
Carr allegedly advised 2008 commit to flip to Iowa
Lloyd Carr allegedly advised 2008 Michigan QB commit John Wienke to flip to Iowa during the Rich Rodriguez transition because it would better fit his style of play as a pro-style QB. And it clearly worked out as Wienke is now a punter at Iowa. I wonder if Carr will finally address the story from Three and Out about his willingness to sign off on any transfers. Doubt it.
Scott Dochterman @ScottDochterman
Former Michigan coach guided QB to Iowa | TheGazette http://thegazette.com/2012/08/22/former-michigan-coach-guided-qb-to-iowa/ …


text:
King of Hearts
- The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery
- Letto da: Patrick Cullen
- Durata: 7 ore e 43 min
- Versione integrale
- Data di pubblicazione: 25 04 2003
- Lingua: Inglese
- Editore: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Sintesi dell'editore
Few of the great stories of medicine are as palpably dramatic as the advent of open heart surgery, yet until now, no journalist has ever brought to life all of the thrilling specifics of this triumph. G. Wayne Miller tells the story of Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, who, along with colleagues at University Hospital in Minneapolis and a small band of pioneers elsewhere, accomplished what many experts considered to be an impossible feat: he opened the heart, repaired fatal defects, and made the miraculous routine.
Miller draws on archival research and exclusive interviews with Lillehei and legendary pioneers such as Michael DeBakey and Christiaan Barnard, taking readers into the lives of these doctors and their patients as they progress toward their landmark achievement. Beginning in the 1950s with highly unorthodox operations simultaneously on two people - experiments that in today's political climate might not be possible - Lillehei and his colleagues took risks that resulted in rivers of blood and cost the lives of several early patients. But ultimately this is a story of triumph: King of Hearts is a true life-and-death drama about the surgeons who risked their reputations, and the patients who risked their lives, to revolutionize health care.
"Miller skillfully describes the years of research that finally led Lillehei to his first cross-circulation operation on a human...a sturdy telling.'' (Boston Globe)
Highly recommended for all readers, particularly those who owe their lives to Lillehei's path-breaking research." (Library Journal)
"Written with clarity, simplicity, and grace." (Associated Press)
Cosa ne pensano gli iscritti
- Brian
- 05 02 2008
Loved every minute
This is the amazing story of the development of the first open heart surgery in the 1950's. The medical background is easy enough for a non-medical person to understand but remains highly engaging even for a medical professional. I am a medical history enthusiast and this book goes right near the top of the list and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys understanding how scientific and medical breakthroughs occur. Perhaps the only book I enjoyed more was "The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat" chronicling the development of penicillin.
King of Hearts is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
6 su 6 utenti hanno ritenuto utile questa recensione
- Russ
- 10 11 2003
Fascinating Book
This book was excellent. The narration was superb. The story was interesting and captivating. This story exemplifies the idea that fact can be more intriguing than fiction.
3 su 3 utenti hanno ritenuto utile questa recensione
- Roger
- 01 01 2011
Amazing Story
This is an amazing story about the invention of open heart surgery and the artificial heart. Highly recommend that everyone listen to this, as well as Splendid Solution on the invention of the polio vaccine.
2 su 2 utenti hanno ritenuto utile questa recensione
- Nicholas Bentley
- 16 03 2004
Great narration!
Great story, but what I want to say is: great narration! First American narrator I've found who has a sense of pace and does not find every word of every sentence freighted with meaning. I'm sorry if that sounds un-American because I am one, but I'm constantly looking for books narrated by Brits. Or, from now on, Patrick Cullen.
6 su 8 utenti hanno ritenuto utile questa recensione
- 09 01 2017
Great book, great narrator.
I fully recommend this book to anyone interested in heart surgery or cardiovascular perfusion. It details, with clear description, the interesting story surrounding heart surgery and the journey to its perfection. Very well-written and interesting throughout. The narrator has a pleasant voice which (uncommon for me) I found to actually improve the character of the story.
1 su 1 utenti hanno ritenuto utile questa recensione
- Satoru
- 16 11 2004
if you're a medical student this book is a must listen.this book motivated me to a great extent.now we can learn how to practice open heart surgeries with books and ive never wondered who did it first.this story was so enlightening that i decided to specialize in cardiovasculolgy in the future.
2 su 3 utenti hanno ritenuto utile questa recensione
- Patricia Ferrer
- 20 11 2018
PETA members read this! for the love of dogs!
The history of the of open heart surgery will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you or anyone you have ever loved had open heart surgery, pace maker or valve replacement you owe these Minnesota doctors and electrician and the sacrificed dogs (learned on them first and honed their technique) your time to hear their story. Daring, learning, persistence and sacrifice has saved the lives of so many children and adults. Thank you Wayne Miller for bringing this story to print in the 21st century! Patrick, your voice fits perfectly. Unforgettable!
- Teresita Farkas
- 09 06 2017
very informative and unforgettable
I had no idea how open heart surgery developed and now I will never forget.
- Tony Yao
- 01 01 2017
Odd chapter layout for audiobook
Fantastic book overall. My only gripe is that the book chapters don't get their own audio book chapters. Seemed odd for me, and could be potentially confusing if I wanted to go back to a particular part of the book.
- Janet
- 23 03 2016
Quite a life!!!
I have listened to this book several times and each time I have learned more about the history of open heart surgery. The procedures, time, experiments, inventions of Dr. C. Walton Lillehei are truly amazing to me. I am thankful for all that Dr. Lillehei accomplished in his life. My dad benefitted from Dr. Lillehei's passion and perseverance.
- Lumo
- 11 02 2012
Good biography of Walton Lillehei
A well written biography of the surgeon who saw advanced heart surgery change from a dream to a common occurrence.
I found the first chapters a bit tedious - lots of details and times and places, but that sets the scene for the rest of the story, and it is a truly fascinating story of the trials and tribulations of the relatively small groups of people with not much more than inspiration and lab dogs who came up with the tools and ideas to pioneer heart surgery. It is amazing how such advanced surgery became possible with such seemingly primitive techniques. Beyond the story of the surgeries there are more than a few twists and turns in the personal life of Walton Lillehei.
The story is also well read - however I did find the speed of narration slow and ended up listening to it at 1.5 speed.


text:
Creaate SKP file
Presupuesto $30-250 AUD
Needing a skp file of a car wash to be created
Adjudicado a:
Hello, Thank you for the information about this project. The price is as discussed earlier. Kind Regards, Luiza
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text:
|2007-05-12, 07:34
|Link #802
Two bit encoder
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Chesterfield, UK
Age: 34
Threading optimisations may benefit regardless of platform, but I think anymore than that is a waste of time IMO (eg. specially recoding parts to make better use of Cell, when that time could be spent tweaking other aspects - as you know pengvado and the other devs are all very busy).
Basically what I'm saying is that I don't think it's worth the time rewriting parts of the program specially for a machine that will never get any faster, whereas optimisations for x86 etc will benefit people now, and down the line in years to come.
It may even be a simple job, then again it may require almost a complete rewrite; programming not my area so I can't and won't say. If it is a small job, then I guess you might as well, but I can't see the point in investing a decent amount of time for the PS3, unless it really is head and shoulders above any CPU out there currently.
I wish we could have faster cores instead of just more though :/ There is only so much you can do with multithreading.
I did come across a Japanese site once with encoding results for Cell; does anyone have the site out of interest?
|2007-05-12, 07:50
|Link #803
makes no files now
Join Date: May 2006
EDIT: Actually, I think I've seen another site than that, but they were using mencoder. I wish I could find it now, it was quite interesting.
Last edited by martino; 2007-05-12 at 08:01.
|2007-05-12, 10:31
|Link #804
Two bit encoder
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Chesterfield, UK
Age: 34
Yes, that's the one, so thanks to xat for that. Didn't mean to claim it as my find; I forgot that xat had linked to this site, but I came across it at doom9 the other day when I was just checking stuff out:
|2007-05-12, 12:22
|Link #805
Gendo died for your sins.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Was fooling aroud on AVSForum and saw this thread and this post. High bitrate HD h264 caps without modification seem to play straight off. Interestingly m2ts works as well so any decrypted AVC/MPEG2 BD could be whacked on there or a network drive and play fine. But VC1 doesn't. :/ Someone in the thread mentions a post by a support dude saying that MKV could be implemented and work, but on another model. (No ASS support either but SRT is there of course)
Only somewhat relevant but I thought it was nice to see these sorts of things start to hit the market.
|2007-05-12, 14:05
|Link #806
Translator, Producer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 38
One mystery is solved. From the mouth of akupenguin himself (the author of x264 (mostly)):
So, whereas Zero1's chart about profiles and levels above seems to be true, it seems like there are "certain restrictions" to where and how p4x4 blocks can be used which x264 does NOT check for. That's why megui doesn't let you set the level to 4.1 AND set p4x4 macroblock searching on at the same time. It's more about the specific workings of x264 than the standard itself.
Which is crappy news, since all my previous encodes used that feature . Well, we'll just need to see if this is more a precaution about extreme circumstances or one which is not really the case. More info is needed.
|2007-05-12, 17:07
|Link #807
Two bit encoder
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Chesterfield, UK
Age: 34
Well I know I always bang on about doing things to spec, but I don't see why a player would refuse or have problems playing back a level 4 encode using p4x4, if the player is supposedly capable of email@example.com.
I'm sure there is good reason to it, perhaps just stops the video getting that little bit too complex in the higher levels when the bitrates start to rocket; but for the purpose of fansubs that use a low bitrate in comparison to what 4 and 4.1 cover; I don't see why it should be an issue. IMO it's not breaking spec to play such a file, merely bending. After all, you are telling the player that it's high profile and uses features X, Y and Z, and is level 4 which supports up to A x B resoltion at C frames per second.
Well to put it another way, I don't think (or hope) that hardware players will be intelligent enough to think, "This looks like a level 4 encode but has p4x4, therefore I won't play it"
For instance it implies that up to level 3 may have p4x4, but level 3.1 may not. Now one of the differences between level 3 and 3.1 is bitrate; 10mbps vs 14mbps max respectively. Are you telling me that a hardware player will play a 720x480 encode with p4x4 if the bitrate is no higher than 10mbps, but suddenly becomes allergic to it if the bitrate is 14mbps, despite the fact that the player is capable of 20mbps (or 50mbps for level 4.1) at 1080p? I don't think so.
If you have two identical encodes both using p4x4 but only bitrate being the difference, then in theory one should play and one should not. The only way the player would know would be the level specified in the bitstream, but if those were purposely set the same, it would not know; so in this case I think it has to try and decode it or not regardless of level specific limitations on encoding tools/features.
I think taking the profiles and levels so seriously as to make a player refuse certain encodes because of what it says in the bitstream is silly. They should be used as a guide as to what the software or hardware is capable of, and as a guide as to the complexity or features used/required by an encode, but not to restrict encodes that the player may be perfectly capable of.
If you ask me, it's a stupid grey area. Profiles should define the tools and levels the complexity of the scene; not mixing both by saying, "Well if this encode is such a bitrate, you aren't allowed to use this partition type, but under that bitrate is fine". Maybe I'm far out on that, but that's my opinion right now.
|2007-05-12, 18:24
|Link #808
Translator, Producer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 38
To translate the answer so non super nerds can understand it, basically there is a limit of 16 total motion vector calculations per 2 consecutive macroblocks for level 3 and HIGHER. That seems backwards, with the higher levels being more restrictive, but that's what's in the specs, read 'em for yourself.
Right now, x264 doesn't check for this issue when encoding at all. So, for example, say you have 2 p4x4 blocks in a row. That's 16+16 = 32 total subblocks, which each could theoretically have a motion vector needed to be calculated for it. Of course, some of the sub blocks could be skip blocks (i.e. no mv needed), so it's not like every sequence of 2 p4x4 macroblocks would violate the spec. Plus, even a p8x8 followed by a p4x4 could violate it (16+4 = 20).
But, like akupenguin said, this is more a total calculation burden issue, and since p4x4 is so rare it amortizes over the entire frame, i.e. in the real world going over this limit wouldn't affect total decoding time much. But technically it WOULD violate the level specs.
|2007-05-12, 23:19
|Link #809
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
The problem is how to get there. To my understanding, the cell requires a bit of a different philosophy to program for, stressing throughput over simplicity (in code). See here:
|2007-05-15, 04:35
|Link #810
makes no files now
Join Date: May 2006
Recently I became somewhat interested in the ISO standard, and I'd quite like to know whether VFR MP4 files can be played on standalone devices, like the XBOX360, PS3 and so on. Therefore I have encoded one of the files that were lying around on my drive. Here's the link to it. It contains a read me file too.
I'd be really glad if someone could try that out on their device. So far it has been reported to play correctly in QuickTime under Mac OS. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding between me and the person who tested it, where I thought that he had an AppleTV. However he said that as Apple claims, that whatever plays in QT works in iTunes and AppleTV too, so I'll just take his word for it then...
|2007-05-15, 04:47
|Link #811
Translator, Producer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 38
Framerate is actually a derived quantity for mp4s, and not stored directly anywhere (except for the header, but that's mainly for show, and isn't used in playback).
|2007-05-15, 20:18
|Link #812
King of Hosers
Join Date: Dec 2005
Age: 35
You wouldn't very well be able to make a compliant file if the standard didn't allow it :P. I think its quite obvious if the standard was implemented fully it should play the file. The question is, does it in fact work? Was the standard implemented correctly and fully or not? Though I would like to live in a perfect world where everything is done to standard, I find it more fun to know if it actually does work n_n. I've yet to see someone other then fansubs and hobby'ists work with and test VFR content as well :P. Its not as though mistakes are impossible by "the industry".
Not that I have any reasoning or theory as to how someone could support MP4 without looking at each frame's timestamp, but we've seen other standards deviated from quite easily.
|2007-05-16, 15:34
|Link #813
Two bit encoder
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Chesterfield, UK
Age: 34
However, I don't blame Nicholi for being sceptical on this occasion. You know what they say, "Around Macs, never relax."
So earlier I encoded a low res VFR MP4, and tested it on a 5th gen 30GB iPod. The verdict was that it played perfectly. I was somewhat surprised, not that the fact it played fine with the VFR, but the fact it played fine when it was hitting 1800kbps in parts. I thought the max bitrate for iPod was something like 768/1500kbps (never looked into it because portables wasn't something that interested me).
I think what Quarkboy was trying to explain is that if a device can play CFR MP4, then due to the structure of the format, it automatically qualifies as VFR capable too since to play the CFR it grabs the timestamp for each frame and holds it for said duration; the only difference with a VFR video being that these timestamps can be different for each frame, so rather than the parser reading the timestamps and holding all frames for the same duration, it reads the same timestamps and holds them for varying durations. In other words, VFR doesn't require any additional support, it's basically covered within the ability to read MP4 files or timestamps.
I think next I'll find someone with a PSP. If anyone can screw up anything, it has to be Sony in recent years.
On another note, although the idea of using Baseline profile pains me just to think I am losing out on CABAC and B-frames, one thing that softened the blow is that I found my Baseline H.264 encodes were still smaller than your regular XviD/MPEG-4 ASP (yes, B-frames) encode at Q18/Q2 respectively. I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
|2007-05-16, 20:31
|Link #814
King of Hosers
Join Date: Dec 2005
Age: 35
We can obviously glean from looking at the standards what should be working, but by no means should that be the answer to the questions asked. What Quarkboy answered to me just sounded like circular logic. "1: Can VFR MP4 files be played? 2: How did you make them? 1: By following the standard. 2: Then you can play them because its in the standard." That should have been obvious in my opinion. Variable framerate MP4s are not something created outside of the standard, they are an inherent part of it.
Good to hear it works in iPod at least. I would only assume other Apple products it is likely working as well then. I would rather like to know if the knew Xbox360 update with MP4 support works with them. I braww at joo Zero!
|2007-05-16, 20:39
|Link #815
Translator, Producer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 38
For them to NOT support VFR would seem to me to take MORE work than for them to support it. Since I always assume the hardware people do the least work possible, it would be very surprising to me if it didn't work.
|2007-05-16, 20:48
|Link #816
King of Hosers
Join Date: Dec 2005
Age: 35
|2007-05-16, 21:09
|Link #817
Part 8
IT Support
|2007-05-16, 22:00
|Link #818
Translator, Producer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 38
Well, this is a moot point to argue over my certitude. If I had any of those devices I would love to try them out . I was just saying that I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
|2007-05-19, 09:23
|Link #819
Two bit encoder
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Chesterfield, UK
Age: 34
Well today my Nokia N95 arrived, and naturally I wanted to put it through it's paces.
First test was to download and playback a "portable" fansub. Well actually it was a 5 minute promo, but length is irrelevant, especially since this was so high motion (to give you some indication, the original is about 57MB including ~100kbps VBR audio for an insane settings x264 encode at 704x480. The average P-frame was Q19).
This was the same VFR MP4 that played on the iPod fine, and it plays on the N95 fine. In fact fine is being generous. Despite it peaking at 1900kbps, there wasn't any sign of lag. 1900kbps is perhaps not much of a feat, but it exceeded my expectations from a phone.
Also the LCD is pretty awesome. If I could get one like this in 24" at something like a sensible price, I'd be tempted to kick my CRT into touch.
I suppose the next test will be to see if it supports main profile. Who knows; but again, I'm not expecting much.
It's pretty neat to be able to connect to a WLAN, browse the intarwebs, download and playback a video - although the ability is there; I don't think portable fansubs will happen (but seeing how some people are content with YouTube's shitty quality, anything is possible). I just love gadgets and stuff
Just thought I'd throw in that I found a couple of opensource IRC and Bittorrent programs for it - of course it'll probably slay your battery (although I have two), but I thought it was cool anyway.
Main profile (or at least a baseline encode + B-frames and CABAC) did not work. There is another media player called SmartMovie (which I had on my old 6260) which plays MPEG-4 ASP in AVI (the old XviD AVI's we had for so long); so it'll be interesting to see if this has enough in it to play a good old 640x480 XviD encode. I may just download one using the BT client too
Last edited by Zero1; 2007-05-19 at 13:24.
|2007-05-19, 18:16
|Link #820
I see what you did there!
I have two questions.
1. Why is framerate reflected in the container rather than in the video stream component?
2. Is it possible to create a raw MPEG-4 ASP stream or is bound to the container?
|Thread Tools


text:
It would break me.
Join in the fun on Facebook and Twitter!
Join in the fun on Facebook and Twitter!
I can tell you that you never want to see the face of a mother who has lost her child. Ever. My mom will never be the same.ReplyDelete
I'm so sorry. I remember your post about your brother. I can't even imagine.
I have seen the face of a mother who lost her child... that girl who killed herself when I was a teenager, and I got to watch her mom find out? I don't know if you remember that post, but it was truly awful to see, and something I never want to see again. Especially in my own mother's face. I can't even imagine your family's grief. I'm so, so sorry.
That's a great article - and good reminder to everyone.ReplyDelete
I don't know when it was but I remember reading that post too. It's hard to even think about this stuff. Thank you for writing this.ReplyDelete
It's so hard to think about! Thank you for reading it!Delete
I love comments! And feel free to share any post you like or if you know someone who would like it, too!


text:
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Point Nitrogen Loads
Estimated nitrogen loads (t/a) in rivers, based on the model GREEN. Values refer to the year 2005
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LF421 - Share of ICS areas over the total land area (LUISA Platform REF2014 )
The share of industrial-commercial-services areas over the total land area indicator aims to assess the proportion of land used for economic activities over the total surface area. The...
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Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) records
The objective of this content type is to complement the information of the OEF records with the technical details of the related nuclear facilities.
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LF422 - ICS economic output per unit of ICS area ( LUISA Platform REF2014)
The industrial/commercial/services (ICS) economic output per unit of ICS area- is the ratio of the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the industrial, commercial and services sectors by the...
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Operating Experience Feedback (OEF) records
This is the core content of the information system as they refer to operating experience feedback. The objective of this content type is to make available and disseminate relevant...
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Russets knock off Knights 82-72
IDAHO FALLS — The Shelley Russets entered the Dungeon at Hillcrest High School on Thursday night, looking to knock off the top seed in the 4A High Country Conference tournament.
At the end of a thrilling, foul infested affair, Shelley did just that, advancing to the conference title game with a 82-72 victory over the Knights.
"This was incredible," Shelley head coach Dave Hadley said. "Hillcrest are big, a great shooting team and they play hard. I'm really proud of my kids. They had discipline and even though their coach didn't do a very good job of putting a smile on his face because I was pretty stressed out, the kids did a good job of staying calm all night."
Free throws were huge for the Russets as they knocked down 26 of 31 attempts from the line, including 20 makes in the second half when the pressure was on.
"That was awesome to watch us step up like that in a pressure situation and make those free throws down the stretch," coach Hadley said. "You knew that when Hillcrest got down that they would gamble a little bit to try and get back in it."
Hillcrest led for the entirety of the first half, but a late surge, keyed by back-to-back treys by McKay Cannon, closed the gap to 32-28, sending the Russets into the locker room with the momentum on their sideline.
"We didn't run offense in the first half," coach Hadley said. "We really felt coming in that we had an advantage with Chad [Cather] on the inside and that they would play behind him on the post and when he got touches, we got shots and then we would go for a 2 to 3 minute stretch where we didn't get a good shot so I told the kids that we have got to run the offense and I thought that in the third quarter we had great offensive execution and it made a difference."
Out of the break, Shelley exploded as Cannon did his best John Stockton impression, finding open man, after open man for easy baskets. An acrobatic lay in by Chad Leckington tied the game for the first time since the opening minutes and Chad Cather gave the Russets the lead for good, three minutes into the third quarter as he drew the foul, plus the basket, making the score 39-38.
After a stop, Cannon found Jason Christensen in the corner for a three ball as Shelley eventually pulled out to a 16-point lead over the stunned Knights.
"McKay did a really good job of running the pick and roll stuff tonight," coach Hadley said. "I thought the biggest point in the game was that set when he hit Chad inside on the pick and roll and the next time down we ran the same play and he made a ball fake to Chad and then hit Jason [Christensen] in the corner for a three that then got Jason going."
Hillcrest showed their metal however, scratching a clawing to within 4-points late in the fourth quarter, but there was no denying the Russets on this night as a parade of players sank their charity tosses for the win.
Shelley (13-9) will take on Madison Tuesday for the conference title at 7:30 P.M.
Shelley - Kyle Killpack 2, Jason Christensen 19, T. J. Stommel 2, Chad Leckington 11, Chad Cather 21, Will Higham 6, McKay Cannon 21; rebounds (24) Chad Cather 7; assists (15) McKay Cannon 6; FT - 26/31; 3pt- 8/14 (Jason Christensen 3, McKay Cannon 3, Will Higham 2); fouls - 22; fouled out - Will Higham
Hillcrest - Taylor Roe 2, Tyson McDonald 6, Taylor Brooks 16, Blake Phippen 7, Matt Hansen 10, Austin Christensen 1, Ian Johnson 9, Scott Baldwin 9, Tyler Cunningham 12; rebounds (18) Taylor Brooks 6; assists (12) Ian Johnson 3; FT - 21/34; 3pt - 5/17 (Scott Baldwin 3, Tyson McDonald 1, Blake Phippen 1); fouls - 24; fouled out - none


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Venezuelan government rejects Trump´s `egregious belligerence´
Venezuela's government has rejected US president Donald Trump's talk of a potential "military option" to resolve the country's political crisis, calling it the most egregious act of belligerence against Venezuela in a century and a threat to Latin America's stability.
Foreign minister Jorge Arreaza's response came during a meeting with overseas diplomats, which included Lee McClenny, the head of the US embassy in Caracas.
Mr Trump had made comments about Venezuela at the end of a national security briefing he hosted in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Mr Arreaza called Mr Trump the "boss of the empire" and said his comments fit a pattern of aggression against Venezuelan sovereignty and violate international law and the UN charter.
He accused Washington of seeking to destabilise and divide Latin America and the Caribbean.
Protests have been raging across Venezuela (Ariana Cubillios/AP)
The foreign minister also thanked several governments, including ones recently critical of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, for condemning Mr Trump's comments.
Mr Arreaza called on "good-minded" Venezuelans to put aside their political differences and unite in rejecting the US leader's comments.
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Event: Bollywood celebs attends actress Ayesha Takia and Farhan Azmi's wedding reception held in Mumbai.
Guest List: Ayesha Takia, Farhan Azmi, Abhishek Bachchan, Nauheed Cyrusi, Imtiaz Ali, Raj Babbar, Nagesh Kukunoor, Sunil Shetty, Ritesh Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Dino Morea
Date: 02-Mar-2009
Bollywood celeb Aamir Khan along with wife Kiran Rao were spotted at PVR.
Bollywood producers-directors Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Krishan Kumar, Ravi Bahl, Divya Khosla Kumar, Sajid Nadiadwala, Wardha Nadiadwala celebrate diwali with Bhushan Kumar
Bollywood celebs Kareena Kapoor Khan, Malaika Arora, Sonali Bendre, Nimrat Kaur among others were snapped by paparazzi.Bebo looked super cool in a casual look. She wore a white t-shirt with yoga pants...
Bollywood actress Shama Sikander celebrated Diwali festival at her residence.
Bollywood celebs Aamir Khan, Zaira Wasim, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Anil Kapoor, Nitesh Tiwari, Aparshakti Khurrana, Bhushan Kumar, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Sachin Tendulkar, Rajkumar Hir...


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Anyone who knows me, and my story, knows that I have no tolerance for child abuse – with very compelling reasons why. Nothing so horrible was alleged in the case of the late David Dewees. While no doubt serious the charges, which led to him taking his own life long before they would go to court, seemed to have more to do with the question of intent and yet something else about all this has been bothering me. It turns out it was a memory, stuck like food between my teeth. The sudden, widely-publicized nature of his death (usually treated with anonymity in the media) was starkly seen for what it was, at least in part – a direct result of the media's over-the-top coverage of his arrest.
Back in 1985, when I was a radio reporter in St. Catharines, thirty-two men were charged in a bust of the Fairview Mall washroom. One of the men, a Sunday school teacher, married with two kids, committed suicide when his name was released to the public. What also upset me, however, and the feelings have returned with the coverage of this case involving the Jarvis Collegiate teacher, was that the local St. Catharines newspaper, The Standard, was the only major media outlet in the region not to release all the names to the public – including the man who, on the morning the charges were announced, burned himself alive when he torched his car out in farm country to the west.
Our newsroom had a very vigorous discussion as to whether the names should be released – I was dumbfounded but tried to make my case for the feelings of those involved, their families, and the minor-unless-sensationalized charges involved. I lost and, although I was never compelled to read the names myself, I was deeply ashamed of my boss and his it's-all-about-the-ratings excuses. I don't remember much about the follow-up other than most of the accused pleaded out and were given non-custodial sentences.
Back to the now deceased Jarvis teacher – the Sunday evening edition of Global News included a reporter going up to the front door of David Dewees' parents in west-end Toronto for a reaction to their loved one's suicide that morning. I don't know how the person who answered the door maintained her composure long enough to say that, under the circumstances, there would be no public statements. That reporter, Lama Nicolas, probably would have asked next when they might begin to feel a sense of closure – a phrase that should be lobotomized from every reporter's vocabulary. Such is the calibre of journalism in its ugliest, sensationalist form – television.
Late addition: CTV Toronto reporter John Musselman also knocked (very loudly) on the door of the family home Monday. No one responded and Mr. Musselman is now on my list of media cake-holes, speaking of which The Star's Rosie DiManno – who I will not dignify with a link (but who is properly handled here) – should be ridden out of town along with the idiot there who incorrectly overstated the charges against Mr. Dewees, which may or may not have influenced his final decision.
Suicide column sparks reader fury – thestar.com
Here's a link to the shallow, intrusive Global report.
Regardless of how upsetting the now-forever-unproven charges against David Dewees may have been to Global viewers – and the same home visit likely would have been made whether or not Mr. Dewees had ended his life – I fail to see any need to get a comment from a family member in such circumstances. Were "journalists", whether they be beat or "spot" reporters, to have consciences that they might examine they would know that any thinking viewer, which admittedly might not be among theirs, has no need for first-hand evidence that the accused had a family, much less what they have to say. Getting their refusal to talk on the record merely satisfies the reporter's ego, cementing the already unsettling report in tabloid form, as if the refusal to answer questions is beneath the morally-bereft urge to ask them.
CTV quoted Jarvis Collegiate teacher Mary Jane Purcell on Monday, speaking of her colleague, "He was an extremely good man and a brilliant teacher — and he was driven to his death. And I'm very sad about this."
Now I only hope that his family doesn't have to run a media gauntlet during the next few days of such acute mourning. I found it particularly ironic that the Star was selected to carry the notice of his death but the words are dignified and loving:
David James Redington Dewees February 16, 1977-October 3, 2009 Born Toronto, February 16, 1977, died October 3, 2009, in Toronto. Beloved son of Don and Ann Dewees; brother of Jonathan (Sarah); grandson of Margaret Taylor; nephew of Don (Lynn), Nancy (deceased) (Greg), Mary Kay (John), Richard (deceased); cousin of Christy (Steve), Katie (Mike), Jamie, Daniel (Karen) and Robert (Shannon). David showed an early love for both language and music, passions he pursued throughout his life. He attended Pioneer Camp as a camper, then served as a leader in various capacities. He graduated from Royal St. George's College in Toronto and Queen's University where he majored in English and Classics. He taught English and Classics, first at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute and then at Jarvis Collegiate in Toronto. He was beloved and respected by students and teachers. He sang in choirs throughout school and was a member of the tenor section of the Mendelssohn Choir in Toronto. He devoted his life to teaching and mentoring. His sudden death is a great sorrow to his family, friends and students, both past and present. Friends may call at the Turner & Porter Yorke Chapel, 2357 Bloor St. W., at Windermere, east of Jane subway from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Thursday. Funeral Service will be held at Runnymede United Church, 432 Runnymede Rd., on Friday, October 9 at 11 a.m. If desired, donations may be made in David's memory to Ontario Pioneer Camp staff bursaries or Toronto Mendelssohn Choirs.


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Sammy Jiang talks about her fun-packed days as CoCo Kid's Club Captain at Mandarin Oriental, Sanya
My working day begins when our CoCo Kid's Club opens at 9am. The focus of my role is to take care of the children who come to the club to play and have fun throughout the day. There are many activities for the children to do – CoCo Kids' Club is a pirate-themed play area, with board games, puzzles, books, Lego, computers and cartoons on TV.
Many of the children want help completing their own personalised 'passport', which they receive upon arrival at Mandarin Oriental, Sanya. The passport encompasses a variety of activities, such as fun games around the resort and special tasks that educate children about Coral Bay's abundance of fauna and wildlife; it encourages them to explore and interact with the staff. The 'Find the Tree' activity leads little ones around the landscaped gardens to locate and identify different kinds of fruit trees; a wildlife page highlights the diverse animal species that exist in the region, while the 'Coral Knowledge' section turns their attention to our own coral bay, where they can learn about marine life and make a coral necklace or bracelet. Additionally, the passport features gift tokens and other goodies to surprise and delight children throughout their stay.
My day also involves assisting our recreation team, who oversee a range of sporting activities for the more active children, such as table tennis, Kung Fu Panda (Shaolin kung fu for children) with our Shaolin kung fu master, Wii games and swimming lessons. For the more adventurous, kayaking and snorkelling is on offer at Coral Bay, as is the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the exotic marine life, and bicycles are available to explore the stunning beauty of the surrounding area. Many children also enjoy the more hands-on educational activities at the Kid's Club, like calligraphy, handicrafts (many based on the local Li and Miao cultures), and Little Chef cooking classes.
Every day at 10.30am, we go to the swimming pool where we offer a complimentary framed photo at the 'CoCo the Pirate' picture board, to help the children cherish the memorable moments they've had at the resort. For winding down in the evening, we also arrange children's outdoor movie nights at the weekend, and should parents wish to go out we provide a babysitting service.
The school holidays are the busiest times of the year for us at the Kid's Club. This is when we also host the MO Kid's Camp – full days of games, educational activities, and creative arts and crafts for 4-12 year olds. The camp has been running for four years now and is always popular with all the children who take part.
12 Yuhai Road,
Sanya City 572000, Hainan, PRC China
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Culture, nature and beaches abound in Sanya, on China's Hainan Island. Our correspondent is lured by its many delights >


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Michael wrote:That's just goofing around in the backyard. I haven't been impressed with one person here either so no worries. Not impressed at all with the other thread on breaking up dog fights. Just reinforces everything that I already know. Most of you either never had to break up dog fights, or your dogs get ripped up because you use techniques that allows that to happen.
Really? By all means, please go post in that thread. You keep alluding to all of the stuff you "already know" about dog training but then don't seem to actually say much about it... This is a discussion board. Please, go discuss all of the topics that you have experience in because so far you've said a whole lotta nothing about all the stuff you have claimed to be an "expert" in.
My real specialty is offleash training.
I doubt many of you guys even try that. In the real world. Meaning not in a park or in your backyard. You'll probably say it's too dangerous and irresponsible. Yada Yada blah blah blah
And back you go to your thin ice. I will warn you again to watch your mouth, and I'm actually getting REALLY tired of telling you the same thing over and over. You have NO IDEA who you are talking to, nor have you bothered to learn; and I am not the only one getting tired of your attitude.
Jackie Brown is phenomenal. And so are my methods which don't rely on shock collars.
Start a thread about your training when you feel like doing more than posting vague cryptic things that are just meant to piss people off. And you might want to consider that there are a number of people on this forum who are active competitors with their dogs in sports that require high levels of on and off leash control of their dogs. So you're not talking to a bunch of wide eyed novices, and I expect you to keep that in mind. Oh, and very few people on the board use remote collars.


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Warning — this kind of hobby could turn you into a hoarder.
Hobby and hoarder aren't usually found in the same sentence but to the members of the Four Corners Miniatures Club, everyday items could be their next big project. Altoids tins, buttons, sprinkles, peanut cans, silk and ribbon, nothing is spared or thrown away.
"One thing about miniatures, is it can make you look at things differently," said Sharon Hansen, Cortez club member. "I can use anything to turn into a mini. It drives my husband crazy!"
Miniatures are scaled at 1 inch, 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch and 1/144 of an inch with each inch representing one foot. The smaller they are, the less detail there is, similar to a photo losing resolution.
The club was founded in 2006 by Marilyn White. What began as an online search for people just like her, quickly spread around the area as a circle of camaraderie and friendship. White lives in Durango, but over half of the club members are from Cortez.
"I had just moved here in 2005 and I was in a chat room forum," White said. "I was trying to find others who were also interested in dollhouses."
The club now has 11 members, all from the Four Corners area. There are five members from Cortez, three from Durango, one from Mancos and one from Bayfield. They currently have several of their handmade vignettes on display at the Cortez Public Library. They also take part in the annual Denver Dollhouse and Miniatures show where, as a group, they make a themed miniature display. Almost all of the women are retired and although not all of the members are veteran crafters, the newest members have been in the club for at least two years.
White and Karen Severn, of Bayfield, are considered by some of the members to be the go-to gals. They extend much of their expertise to the group by offering up craftier and thriftier ways to recreate everyday items. The most used items are paper, sculpey clay, glue, foam, tweezers, scissors and basically anything else you can find. They do not use magnifying glasses.
"You have to have an imagination to do this," Severn said. "And then once you use your imagination, and something doesn't turn out the way you thought, you have to have more imagination to fix it."
The club invests the majority of their spare time into miniature making. They use dollhouse magazines to purchase items or find ideas to create them. They spend hours on websites searching for accessories or furniture to purchase or for projects they can make at home.
"There are so many projects and kits out there that you can buy or get from a book," Severn said. "But then you read them and wonder if this person has ever tried to put together a miniature."
White agreed. "I'll read through the instructions then think I can do this in a much easier and less expensive way."
Jan McGrath and Sharon Hansen are two of the newbies. McGrath does not have a dollhouse like most of the other members do. Instead, she said she chooses to make vignettes or displays of miniatures that can be made with any household item and have a theme of the creator's choosing.
"I'm not good at the construction part," she said with a laugh. "At my first meeting they said you need to make a booth for our county fair theme (for the annual Denver Dollhouse and Miniatures Show) and I said OK, how!"
McGrath laughed as she recalled cutting foam board to put together her first vignette.
"Karen was great. She told me to put this there and that here and no one will notice."
The ladies are there to have fun. Mistakes are made but they simply laugh them off. They meet twice a month during the summer and once a month during the winter at a different members' home each time.
It can take a few hours to complete one small display and years to complete an entire dollhouse. Especially if the pieces are made instead of purchased, which the women prefer to do. Dollhouse kits can cost $400 to $1,000, bare-boned. Siding, windows and doors are separate and a simple piece of furniture could cost $30 or more.
However, you don't have to have lots of money to be a miniaturist but you do have to love it. The detailed precision on the house and displays are immaculate. Singular items such as food, books and flowers are incredibly lifelike. Books are made by fanning paper in between tiny velvet bindings with gold lettering. Food like loaves of bread are made with clay that has to be baked in a toaster oven before being painted.
Severn recalled a meeting, where Neely suggested trying their talent at creating hollyhocks. The flower petals and leaves had to be glued individually onto the long stem using tweezers and paper punches. Many fingers were glued together.
"Every single hollyhock that we made had a curse word that went with it," she said. "And there's a lot of petals on a hollyhock!"
All the ladies have different backgrounds and interests. They each bring something different to the table in order to teach, educate and help new and existing members.
McGrath worked at and is now retired from the Cortez Public Library. Neely is approaching 92 and has been collecting dollhouse pieces since she was a young girl. Items in her existing collection are not sold anymore. Hansen enjoys creating southwestern adobe style minis. Severn has been a collector of dollhouses and miniatures for 18 years. And White has three completed dollhouses and is working on her fourth.
The women all agree space is a big limitation for their collections because once they were hooked, the passion grew and grew. But they aren't worried about space, limits or time. They do what they can, when they can and enjoy every second. They are more than a club. They are a group of friends who want nothing more than to get together, have fun, make memories and share a small connection.
The club have several of their miniature creations on display at the Cortez Public Library. The display will be up until the end of October. For more information on the club members and their little hobby visit 4cornersminis.com.