text:
Whiteout (UK - BD RB)
Just as the snow melts Marcus puts on his woolly hat and goes back out there...
Antarctica: the coldest, most isolated land mass on the planet. U.S. Deputy Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) is getting ready to go back to civilisation again after spending two years sorting out the minor crimes in her snow covered region. That is until a body is found under mysterious circumstances.
Now, racing against time before winter sets in and the dreaded 'whiteout' hits the area (whiteout being 'an unholy set of weather conditions that converge and the world falls away'). Stetko's investigation leads her down an icy path that she has to see through to the end.
For the first forty minutes or so, I was actually quite surprised how much I was warming to Whiteout. After the pretty clichéd opening shootout to set the story up, we're presented with an Antarctic base full of characters that are actually quite pleasant to be around. Tom Skerritt, who plays the base's doctor, is always great to see in a movie and brings a lot to a fairly typical character, and Beckinsale's Stetko is a little bland as a lead but it works for the movie. The basic nature of these characters and the fairly loose directorial approach to introducing us to the life at the base was a little easier to swallow than most of the thrillers out there and when the dead body in the snow is found and the story really begins, I found myself actually pretty invested for the rest of the ride.
Sadly, somewhere around the forty minute mark my attention slipped a little. It could have been the moment I realised this wasn't going to go anywhere out of the ordinary or that crime solving in the snow isn't always that exciting. As an example the first big thriller moment in which Beckinsale is chased by a masked snow axe wielding murderer was all going well enough, that is until they go outside and because of the heavy snow they have to attach themselves to a line between two buildings in order not to lose their way. Health and safety wise that all makes sense, but seeing two characters trudge through the snow isn't exactly exciting and when the only thing slowing down our heroine and indeed our enraged killer is connecting and disconnecting their link to the line, it really started to come across as goofy as opposed to exciting.
As the story moves along and we go through all of the expected snow induced moments (trapped under the snow, big blizzard coming, freezing to death etc.) the possibilities the story had continue to slip away and we're left with a series of whodunit moments and strong reliance on the audience doubting everyone around Beckinsale. This all comes to a head with a face off with a bad guy in the heart of the whiteout. This combines a large amount of not really knowing what's going on in amongst the heavy snow and not really getting how the wind is strong enough to blow them for miles if they are lying down in the snow but at the same time it's not strong enough to affect them that much when they are standing up.
Whiteout ends up being pretty much a straight down the line thriller with a snowy backdrop. Its simplicity works, but it doesn't really do anything to get excited about, making for a good watch once romp but very little else.
With vast white nothingness as the main backdrop, the clean transfer does well looking crisp, sharp and pleasing to the eye. Admittedly this clean image can also go against the transfer a little, with many of the effects shots or colour manipulations looking a little too obvious/fake in places but of course this isn't really the transfer's fault.
Inside the Antarctic bases the cool blue, green and mustard yellow sets all look sharp and bright and while textures and small details aren't always that noticeable, the well lit characters that reside in the rooms can look pretty damn great (but then saying that, when doesn't Beckinsale look great?). Skin tones are pretty natural, even if the lighting on faces is pretty heavy and the textures stay pretty hidden but small details like Tom Skerritt's beard and the marks on the frozen dead bodies are captured well in 1080p HD.
The only difficult element that's hard to sum up here is the whiteout snow storm moments. The screen is so full of the white stuff it's hard to tell if the HD is doing its job or if I was watching a VHS. I'd actually be interested in weighing it up against a standard definition version to see what difference HD makes to this sort of visual chaos but once again the only shortcoming here is filmmaking techniques as opposed to the actual transfer itself.
Whiteout comes with a strong, fairly dynamic DTS-HD Master Audio track. The strings within the score are immediately impressive with a lot of range and a whole lot of oomph behind them. The opening shoot out on the plane has some booming gun blasts and a whole lot going on in the surrounds and for the most part the movie never has a quiet moment after that.
There's always the incidental score hovering around the room to keep things moving along and dialogue sits comfortable in the front speakers creating a pretty constant use of all five speakers. Of course the 'whiteout' comes with its own attack on the senses. There's plenty of howls and roars and sweeping, screeching blankets of snow (wow sounds like Hampshire over the last couple of weeks), creating an effective presence for the largely under used background of the movie.
The only real negative point I found with the track was that in the closing scenes the whiteout sound effects seemed to dip in and out of effectiveness. I can't quite work out if this an intentional part of showing off the extreme weather or if it was literally a sloppy way of letting us hear the characters grunts and groans as they battle each other and the elements. Either way it was a weird sensation in what is for the most part a pretty good audio track.
'Whiteout: The Coldest Thriller Ever' (12:02 HD) has the cast in their arctic wear freezing their toes off whilst filming in Canada. This shows off the extreme vastness of the shooting locations and at the same time, just how much they manipulated the visuals to boost the movie's effects. The making of footage looks typically white with the only colour being the blue sky, whereas cutting to and from the movie, the skyline and general colouring is almost a world away from the actual shooting location. Beyond that, there's plenty of cast and crew talking head comments about making the flick and all in all this is twelve minutes of everyone involved using terms like "it's white, it's vast, I didn't guess how cold it would be and you can die in this sort of weather".
'Whiteout: From Page to Screen' (12:04 HD) shows the comic book creators (yes, this is based on a comic book) commenting on how good it is too see their story realised on film. The background to how the story was written and how it developed is covered and generally it's good to see the creators' glee in seeing their work come this far.
Lastly there are deleted scenes (04:11 HD) which are little more than a few more filler base moments and the trailer (02:02 HD).
Whiteout is a very typical, very straightforward, but generally entertaining thriller. It hints at bigger things but never really goes there and has a cast that don't play it bigger than is required for this sort of thing. I'd be surprised if I was ever inclined to watch it again but as a watch once, it kept me onboard for most of its one hundred minute run time.
The disc itself has a great transfer and a fairly impressive audio track and while the extras aren't exactly meaty, there's just about the right amount that they don't outstay their welcome. Whiteout's definitely worth a watch but once again, the underused Kate Beckinsale turns up in a movie that will probably end up disappearing in the snow.
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray release and resized for the page.
Review by Marcus Doidge
rebel-scum Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,101
A load of arse and not even the lovely Kate's, apparently.
Marcus1138 Contributor Join Date: June 2008 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 910
If that was ass double (which I'm not sure why they'd need one??) the cut is almost invisible. She's leaning over and then turns to camera with no cut away at all. I assume this is the scene where they may have used a double, if it was when she was wrapped up in hoth gear, that seems a little pointless
Suitable only for persons of 15 years and over
Disc Details
Release Date: 25th January 2010
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.40:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English, Stereo LPCM 2.0 English
Subtitles: English
Extras: Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Trailer
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Dominic Sena
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Tom Skerritt, Gabriel Macht
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Length: 100 minutes
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13 are injured and two are dead, including Seton Hill's pregnant head coach, after a bus carrying the Seton Hill University women's lacrosse team crashed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike this morning. Three of the injured players were airlifted from the scene by helicopters, and seven others have already been discharged from the hospital. From The Sentinel, of Central Pennsylvania, which also made the above video:
Apparently the bus ran off the road near Carlisle. Assuming the winter weather had something to do with it. Yikes.

subset: commoncrawl


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this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; The euphoria of winning the Super Bowl is still prevalent virtually anywhere you travel around the New Orleans Area. Whether it is in the city, Kenner, Metairie, the north shore, the river parishes, St. Bernard Parish or on the entire ...
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: New Haven Ct
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The euphoria of winning the Super Bowl is still prevalent virtually anywhere you travel around the New Orleans Area. Whether it is in the city, Kenner, Metairie, the north shore, the river parishes, St. Bernard Parish or on the entire West Bank, Saints fever is still contagious.
With the banquet circuit, parades and endless interviews finally subsiding for players, coaches, ownership and front office personnel, the business of improving the roster for 2010 is well underway.
Gone are Scott Fujita, Charles Grant and Mike Bell. Each case was different. Fujita received a lucrative offer he could not refuse from Cleveland.
While he was not a star, Fujita was a solid player and had a huge presence in the community. The rangy linebacker saw his numbers decrease annually in New Orleans. In 2006, he had 96 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions. In 2007, he had 94 tackles and three sacks with no picks. In 2008, he had 80 tackles, no sacks and two interceptions. In 2009, he missed five regular season games with injuries, recording 60 tackles with one sack. He will be missed but he can be replaced.
Grant was simply too expensive for an average, descending player. He is entering his ninth season. Injuries have caused him to miss several games over the past three seasons. His last good season was in 2006, when he recorded 65 tackles and six sacks while recovering a pair of fumbles. His best season was in 2004, when he had 10.5 sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble while recording a career-high 80 tackles.
Unlike Fujita and Grant, Bell was not a starter. In fact, by seasons end, he was the teams fourth running back, behind Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Lynell Hamilton.
Bell started the 2009 season quickly, rambling for143 yards on 28 carries in the season opener against Detroit. He rushed for 86 yards and a score in a week two win at Philadelphia. In week 11, he scored a pair of touchdowns at Tampa Bay but after that, he was not as productive and eventually disappeared from the rotation with Lynell Hamilton filling the void. It was a no-brainer for the Saints not to match the offer for Bell by Philadelphia.
Also released were reserve guard Jamar Nesbit and veteran linebacker Mark Simoneau, who was injured in 2009.
While Darren Sharper has complained about not feeling the love from the Saints after a brilliant 2009 season, New Orleans has approached his situation correctly. Sharper will turn 35 years old during the 2010 season. That is up in age for an NFL defensive back. He is entering his 14th season. Sharper was tremendous in the first half of the 2009 season before injuries slowed him in the second half of the season. He had seven of his nine interceptions and all three touchdowns in the first seven games of the season.
Still, his nine interceptions, including three returned for touchdowns, along with his big hits and leadership are still valuable commodities for the Saints. Based on a lack of attention from potential suitors, look for Sharper to swallow his pride and don the black and gold again in 2010. There are worse things than playing for a defending Super Bowl champion.
The NFL Draft is approaching, set for three days from April 22-24. The Saints have clear needs at defensive end, defensive tackle and at outside linebacker. Should Sharper depart, safety would be another possible area to explore.
New Orleans has nearly a full complement of picks, one in each of the seven rounds with the exception of the fifth round. The Saints surrendered that pick in the deal to get punter/kicker Thomas Morstead a year ago which proved to be an outstanding investment.
Other areas to watch include guard, where Jamar Nesbit is gone. New Orleans would like to add depth behind Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks. Keep an eye on running back as well. While Thomas and Bush were good in 2009, this is still a position where the Saints would take a flyer on a prospect in the middle rounds if the right player was available.
As for what the Saints will do with their first-round choice, the best player possible approach has proven to be a sound one. Obviously, you hope that the pick fills a need as well.
I have scoured the web and publications to see what folks are projecting the Saints to do with their first round selection, the 32nd overall.
Names that pop up frequently with the Saints at #32 include defensive lineman Jared Odrick of Penn State, defensive end Everson Griffen of USC, defensive end/outside linebacker Brandon Graham of Michigan, defensive end Jerry Hughes of TCU, defensive end Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech, defensive tackle Brian Price of UCLA, outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon of Missouri, safety Taylor Mays of USC and tight end Aaron Hernandez of Florida.
Odrick is 65, 304 pounds. NewOrleans.Com/Sports draft analyst Al Dupuy, owner and purveyor of Draft Day Report, has the Saints taking Odrick in his latest mock draft. Some have Odrick going earlier. If he is there at 32, he would be a nice fit. Despite his size, he moves pretty well, clocked at under 5.0 in the 40. He was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year this past season. He has big hands and can bull rush.
Griffen is 63, 278 pounds. He has good speed and pass rushing ability. He runs in the 4.65 range, very good speed for a defensive end. He is an excellent athlete who had eight sacks for the Trojans in 2009 and 18 in his career. He is forgoing his senior season at USC and would be a nice player to develop. He started at USC since his freshman season.
Graham is 62, 268 pounds, very big for an outside backer. He is more of a striker than a runner. Graham is a disruptive force. He had 29.5 sacks and 56 tackles for loss at Michigan.
Hughes had 26.5 sacks at TCU in his final two years with the Horned Frogs and was a mainstay on one of the nations best defenses.
Morgan is 64, 275 pounds. He had 12.5 sacks and 18 tackles-for-loss for the Yellow Jackets in 2009. He is an intelligent player who plays hard and never missed a game at Georgia Tech.
Price is 62, 300 pounds though he can easily play at 315-320 pounds. He has strong hands and is quick for his size. He is described as tough and plays very hard. He could be a bookend for Sedrick Ellis for years to come.
Weatherspoon is 61, 239 pounds and runs well. He has been clocked under 4.5 in the 40 on several occasions. His stock has been rising for the last few months. He is described as a natural leader with a strong personality.
Mays is a splendid athlete. He is huge at 63, 230 pounds and looks great, in or out of uniform. Despite his size, Mays runs extremely well. He covers lots of ground and is a big hitter. He is not a ball hawk, having recorded just one interception in his last two seasons at USC but get thishe has been timed consistently in the 4.43-4.45 range. For his size, thats tremendous.
Hernandez is your prototype NFL receiving tight end. Forget about blocking. Hernandez is a pass-catcher. Hernandez is 62, 250 pounds. If he reminds me of anyone at the pro level, it would be Dallas Clark. He has good speed, good hands and understands coverage quite well. Some see him as an H-Back type. He is a good receiving tight end. He had 68 catches for 850 yards and five touchdowns for Florida this past season.
With an uncapped year in 2010, you can expect several trades to be made prior to the draft or during the draft. The Saints have quality depth at wide receiver and offensive tackle to dangle as bait, if they choose to do so.
Of all of the mock drafts out there, the name that shows up most frequently for the Saints with their 32nd pick is Griffen.
When assessing the 2010 NFL Draft, you can add a pair of players to the mix from last year. A pair of 2009 fourth-round draft picks out of Wake Forest, Chip Vaughan and Stanley Arnoux, missed all of last season with injuries. Vaughn had surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus while Arnoux ruptured his left Achilles tendon during the first practice of rookie minicamp.
Vaughn is huge, a 62, 221 pound safety. If Sharper returns, he can be brought along slowly. Arnoux He figures in the mix at weak side linebacker, if healthy.
The NFL is set up for the weak to get stronger and the strong to get weaker. Over the past decade, only the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts have sustained a high level of excellence while winning Super Bowls. Only the Patriots and Steelers have won more than one Super Bowl.
Can the New Orleans Saints join those ranks? It will take sound personnel decisions, smart spending and excellent talent evaluation and procurement to do so. The 2010 draft will go a long way in determining their fate.
New Orleans Saints look to stay on top with solid 2010 draft
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WARSAW, Poland (AP) – Poland will upgrade its roads, improve law enforcement and take other steps as part of a new government program designed to improve the country's miserable road safety record.
In 2011, Poland had Europe's worst road safety statistics, with 110 deaths per 1 million citizens, or almost 4,200 people killed, Interior Minister Jacek Cichocki said Wednesday.
Europe's death average from traffic accidents was 60 per million people, while Britain is safest with 32. In the United States, Census Bureau figures for 2009 show 11 fatalities per 100,000 residents.
Traffic accidents cost Poland about $6.5 billion in 2012, including medical costs, pensions for families of victims and lost workers. Transport Minister Slawomir Nowak said the figure was 'shocking' and 'brutal,' but illustrated well the scale of losses in the nation of 38 million.
The new government program is due to be implemented later this year. It aims to toughen the country's driving regulations, upgrade roads and increase the penalties for speeding to raise road safety to European Union standards.
About 43 percent of accidents in Poland are caused by speeding, according to government figures. Car crashes are the most frequent cause of deaths of young people between the ages of 18 and 25 in Poland.
The government wants to cut the number of deaths in half and the number of seriously injured by 40 percent by 2020.
About 500 million zlotys ($160 million) will be invested in road renovations this year. The country's road sign system will be improved and police controls stepped up, including using cameras to catch speeders.
The announcement came days after a journalist received a three-year prison term—subject to appeal—for causing the death of a colleague when he speeded and crashed a borrowed Ferrari in Warsaw in 2008. Many Poles believe that punishment was too lenient….
While traffic has rapidly increased in recent years, Poland has been slow to build highways and widen its narrow roads, a legacy of decades of communism, which did not encourage travel. The number of private cars has increased rapidly, with many households having at least two cars.


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John Tracy Clinic
806 West Adams Blvd
Los Angeles, California, USA 90007-2505
(213) 748-5481
Mission: John Tracy Clinic is a private, non-profit education center founded by Louise Tredwell Tracy in 1942. Its mission is to offer hope, guidance and encouragement to families of infants and preschool children with hearing losses by providing free, parent-centered services worldwide. The Clinic has over 60 years of expertise in the spoken language option.
If you know or suspect that your baby or preschool child is deaf or hard of hearing, contact John Tracy Clinic immediately. If you live outside Southern California, visit www.jtc.org to enroll your family on line.
Hope for hearing foundation and hearing aid bank: The Hope for Hearing Foundation Hearing Aid Loan Program is available only in the Southern California area at this time. The program collects used hearing aids of all kinds. The hearing aids are inspected and if still viable, they are put into working order and given away. The hearing aids are intended for people that are hearing impaired but have no other resources for obtaining an instrument. Since they do not test hearing, the applicant must send a copy of a recent audiogram with his/her application.
John Tracy Clinic/University of San Diego teacher education program: The John Tracy Clinic is a world-renowned center for parents and their young children with a hearing loss. The Teacher Education Program reflects the mission of the Clinic in providing candidates with specific skills in building collaborative partnerships with parents and their young children from birth through age 5.
Tuition for the University of San Diego is currently $1,120 per unit for 2008-2009. There are 44 units in the program, with a total cost for tuition of $49,280. Books and materials usually run about $1500 for the program. Then there are the living expenses incurred. For Onsite candidates, living expenses over the 10-month program would include room and board in Los Angeles, reliable transportation (a car, fuel and maintenance costs, car insurance), and miscellaneous costs (for example, an application fee to apply for the credential, etc.). For Distance Learning candidates, the same living expenses (as listed for the Onsite Program) are required over the two 4-week summer residencies in Los Angeles.
Scholarship information: U.S. citizens may receive substantial scholarship support, which may cover the full cost of tuition. Available grant monies vary from year to year, so scholarship support varies from year to year. Student loans may also provide additional monies for the candidate. The candidate may obtain a student loan, and if employed in an eligible California school for two years, the APLE program will forgive a significant part of the loan. Students may also benefit from the HERA Program (Higher Education Reconciliation Act).
Mary McGinnis, Cand.Ph.D., LSLS Cert. AVT.
Director, Teacher Education
John Tracy Clinic
806 W Adams Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90007
Voice: (213) 748-5481 TDD: (213) 747-2924 firstname.lastname@example.com
Preschool for children who are deaf and hard of hearing: This program is for ages two through five and is offered to families free of charge Monday through Thursday, September through May. Parent education and parent participation are emphasized in a rich, English language environment. Social, emotional, cognitive, and physical growth opportunities are nurtured and activities are planned that encourage children to use their amplified residual hearing, and develop speech and receptive and expressive language skills.
Every child meets daily with a speech and language teacher for individual training. Parents work in the preschool one day per week and observe the speech and language sessions to learn how to teach language effectively at home. Parents also schedule weekly conferences with their child's preschool teacher and biweekly meetings with their speech and language teacher.
Parent Class and Support Group are attended by all parents twice a month. In this way, parents are given the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to foster their child's overall development, and to share with others the feelings, triumphs and obstacles their family is experiencing.
To enroll in the Preschool Program, parents must first attend the Parent/Infant Program on a consistent and regular basis.
Contact Person: Angie Stokes, email@example.com


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|2010-07-03, 17:57
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|2010-07-03, 21:33
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|2010-07-03, 23:13
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They really made her eyes stand out more in the anime, compared with the game version. Her eyes are just a blueish grey in the game while they are bright blue in her anime version. The change was for the better though
|2010-07-03, 23:18
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Age: 36
I wonder if there's a significance to all those wind turbines. They're quite commonplace, and maybe there really isn't anything special about them, but there are a few shots of them from time to time, between scenes and so on.
As for the episode itself, I think it's a good start... pretty solid for the most part. Haruka immediately brightens whatever scene she's in—a perfect fit for her voice actress. Kaoru also caught my attention, and I'm looking forward to that playful attitude of hers.
Poor Tachibana though. The guy practically got friendzoned. That's one nasty situation to be in, but maybe there's still some hope yet.
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worshipping the pantyhose
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I can see it now, once her arc comes around "Kaorutron" is going into that ever growing list of my nicks
That hair.
I had to say it lol
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|Link #232
Senior Member
A pretty decent episode. So itr seems like each heroine will get a 4 episode focus and end up with the hero and then the story will reset itself. Similar to Kimikiss manga. Personally I think such adaptation is better than Kimikiss anime one with a very generic drama attempts thrown in (and the major fail of Kimikiss anime in terms of sales just prove that it wasn't the best way top covert the game).
I think such way is much better than trying to force everything into a singular plotline. The danger of this way is that each heroine will only have 4 episodes which can make the characters and the plot make rather flat and rushed.
|2010-07-04, 00:41
|Link #233
worshipping the pantyhose
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines
|2010-07-04, 00:45
|Link #234
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 61
|2010-07-04, 00:56
|Link #235
from head to heel
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 36
Ah, those good ol' jet planes... That's a good comparison, I think.
Well, I would certainly love to live in a town or in some part of the city with such things. There is indeed a calming and peaceful charm to them.
|2010-07-04, 03:33
|Link #236
Beautiful fighter.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 32
|2010-07-04, 03:35
|Link #237
Baka Gaijin :P
IT Support
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Ceridia
Age: 38
Something different is nice. It's why I enjoyed True Tears and KimiKiss at the same time, they were a little different and the stories were realistic. What can I say? I'm a sucker for love stories, especially good ones.
Wouldn't it be nice to know "what if" Tomoya ended up with each of the different girls of Clannad instead of just Nagisa? We got Tomoyo and Kyou, but it'd be nice to see the others.
Or how about Rin of shuffle?
This omnibus approach is nice because for people like myself don't get a chance to play Japanese-exclusive VNs unless you're fluent in Japanese to play them. I know I'll probably be unable to play Amagami unless I know and understand Japanese fully.
From the looks of it after episode 1, definitely looking forward to Tsukasa Ayatsuji's story for some reason I haven't figured out yet. She just seems like a nice girl from her outward appearance.
Also, I can't get enough of the OP song, it's so calm and the melody is catchy. Hopefully the single comes out soon. I actually ended up ripping the audio and converted it to an MP3 to listen to. XD
|2010-07-04, 10:21
|Link #238
Join Date: May 2010
First episode
Well I did my GIFs of this one here: http://francismeunier.blogspot.com/2...pisode-01.html of which I am sure like I said in my BLOG people will have perverted ideas just with this scene:
The 2 girls that I like are: Rihoko and Sae. Mostly because Rihoko has the wild looks I like and Sae's shy side is for me=> My problem is the wuss type Junichi is while confessing so fast I was like simply because I knew he was going to be rejected.
That was way too fast but nice planetarium design he did. Another problem would be Miya and I detection of a brother complex. Did you all see how she reacted with her brother suddenly liking Haruka. She also calls him Nii-nii. I don't know about you all but I get brother complex vibes. Tsukasa also looks interesting the way she goes around. Umehara looks to me the typical perverted friend. Would be interesting to see how he helps out Junichi. Kaoru......looks to me the tomboy type but also the wild type a little.
Finally this whole series looks like Kimi Kiss and Hatsukoi. The only difference that is amazing and makes me would be the realism and serious depth it offers. The girls look much more gorgeous and captivating. Also.......hope the fan service does not go over board......we all know it can ruin some series if it's too much.......looking at you Seikon no Qwaser!
Forgot to mention something.....Junichi you got so rejected right here =>
|2010-07-04, 10:41
|Link #239
worshipping the pantyhose
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines
For once, I too am hoping this series doesn't go overboard with the fanservice/ecchi stuff. I... would like some kids in the future to be able to look back to this series, you know
Last edited by relentlessflame; 2010-07-04 at 12:15. Reason: remove manga off-topic trail
|2010-07-04, 10:49
|Link #240
Join Date: May 2010
Also give me the manga link in my profile and also is the game like a 18 over thing? If so direct to some pics of it in PM if you want and yeah.....so busy with farming but doing catch up on the GIFs!
|romance, seinen, shounen
|Thread Tools


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Farmingdale State - 94, The Sage Colleges - 89
Albany, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team won their fourth consecutive game after defeating The Sage Colleges, 94-89, on Saturday afternoon. The Rams improved to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in conference action, while the Gators dropped to 8-3, 5-1.
Trailing 45-41 with 17:19 remaining, a 12-0 Farmingdale State run that included a pair of 3-pointers by senior guard Timothy Johnson (Queens, N.Y.) gave the Rams a 53-45 lead.
Sage closed within three, 63-60, before senior guard Jonathan Annan (Staten Island, N.Y.) connected on a 3 and freshman forward Weldon Irvine (Queens, N.Y.) made a pair of free-throw's to bring the Rams lead back to eight with 8:21 left on the clock.
With 4:53 remaining, The Gators cut the deficit to 74-73 on a Troy Nwanna (Washington, DC) 3-pointer. Farmingdale State answered with four straight points to quickly bring the advantage back to five.
In the final 53 seconds, the Rams scored nine points from the free-throw line to secure the 94-89 Skyline victory.
Annan scored a team-high 19 points and added seven rebounds and four assists, while senior guard Terence Henderson (Bronx, N.Y.) had 18 points. Senior forward Curtis Williams (Stony Brook, N.Y.) tallied 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and senior center Donald Lawes (Queens, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 12 points (6-of-8) and 12 boards.
Sage was led by junior forward Kai Deans (Miami, Fla.) who scored a game-high 20 points, while senior guard Jeff Stopera (Scotia, N.Y.) had 14 assists.
Farmingdale State next will host Old Westbury on Tuesday, January 14th at 7:00 p.m.


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Nirvana is a term used to describe the profound peace of mind that is acquired with liberation. It is the state of being free from suffering.
The word literally means "blown out" (as in a candle) and refers, in the Buddhist context, to the imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished. (loosely quoting Wikipedia here...)
So...I'm curious if you all believe that Atheists as a general rule are able to reach this level of liberation? Do you think it's possible for Theists to do so? Do you believe that all/most Atheists reach Nirvana? How do you know when you've reached it? Once you've reached it how do you know you'll be able to stay there? Is it just in your mind or is there more to it? What could be a scientific explanation for the state of Nirvana?....Do you believe that Nirvana is attached to any kind of religious dogma since it's roots are found in Buddhism? Isn't Buddhism a religion? If not, then why not. If you believe Nirvana is rubbish, then tell me why.
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@Simon Paynton Belief and intellectual knowledge are distinct from awareness. Awareness is what people try to reach during meditation.
Awarenessm but not awareness that amounts to knowledge or conjures up any beliefs? Hmm,..
It's what they mean by "the void", "wisdom in emptiness" etc. By definition, it's not possible to actually spell out in words. It's awareness beyond conscious intellectual thought and words. "Don't think - see!"
You're right, Un-One - it's imparseable --
Awareness - here's a simple analogy I like to use: You're walking down your town's main shopping street. You look in the window of a sporting goods shop (or a shoe shop, if you're female ;-) and you form opinions about what you see. However 50% of the light that is actually hitting your eyes is reflected by the window - images of people walking behind you, of cars going by, of shops across the street. But because of the purpose you have of looking at the latest fishing reels or pumps, your mind filters out that other 50%. You don't even notice it (unless you choose to). The Awareness you're shooting for in meditation is to "treat" all; the light the hits your eyes equally - judge nothing - have no purpose - just be aware. Seeing things as they actually are can be a real teaching experience.
Again ANALOGY - not a lot of point in jumping on exceptions to applicability.
Mike - I agree, seeing without judging or imposing opinions upon it.
A lot of religious "thinkers" master the art of gobble-de-goop.
Since Buddhism is a non-theistic tradition, I feel entirely safe in saying that anyone who is willing to give enough dedication and practice to meditation can reach a such a state, and that's certainly what the Buddha taught. I imagine also that anyone with an idea of God or deity might have a harder time. There is an old Zen koan (a short saying or story with a purpose): if you meet the Buddha while walking down the road, then kill him. It's completely figurative of course. It means that any preconceived notion will prevent you from reaching enlightenment. It is better to be rid of those notions and instead see what is as it is. If you have notions of what enlightenment is like, then be rid of them, because what you think it is is probably not what it really is. The Buddha described it as a turtle trying to explain to a fish what it was like walking on land, and being in the sun and air.
I spent a year and studied quite a bit into Buddhism. I find it really interesting and a completely practical way for managing day to day stress. There have been all kinds of studies into meditation and what it does to the brain. It's also an incredibly useful tool for self-awareness and self-assessment. On the other hand, there are some supernatural aspects that I don't find useful. Buddhist cosmology hangs somewhat on Hindu cosmology (they did grow side by side) as far as devas and devils and the different heavens and hells. In the end, that doesn't really matter. The Buddha taught that one should take what is useful in the practice and discard what is not. Even the basic tenets the four noble truths and the eight-fold path are not above being tossed aside if they hamper you in your journey. This has led to Buddhism becoming quite varied over its 2500 year lifespan so all kinds of things are taught from place to place. I prefer the Vipassana tradition rather than the Mahayana tradition like Zen and Tibetan Buddhism.
If you'd like to find out more I recommend: What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula or In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (the Pali Canon is the oral teachings of the Buddha passed down until it was written 300 years later. Unlike the Bible, it is not taken as dogma or doctrine.)
Hope that gives you a starting point at least!
"I think a lot of my preconceived notions I have about the concept of Nirvana..." -
it's more like going to a place, rather than working something out. It's like going to the Garden of Eden. That said, I think a little knowledge goes a long way.
The best way I can describe from what I know is that Nirvana is a state of mind. From studies of fMRI of people who have for a long time been practicing meditation, certain parts of their brains are activated more often than parts of people who don't. It has to do with the plasticity of the brain and being able to reinforce certain neural connections over time. I think it's all really fascinating. So in a sense, yes, there is some evidence that may indicate a state like nirvana in possible to achieve.
While feelings are subjective, people respond physiologically in similar ways. Anger, fear, joy, arousal, sadness, all elicit a standard response from the body and certain areas of the brain activate to give those feelings. What you experience as fear may not be exactly what I experience as fear, but the how of experiencing it is generally the same from person to person.
In all, it's not necessary to understand the concept of nirvana in order to practice meditation, and you are probably better off not worrying about it. Zen Buddhism has some interesting things that it teaches about Nirvana. It's said that those experienced in Zen can pass the understanding of Nirvana with a smile or a look. I don't know about that, but I do know that trying to achieve it is taught as the surest way to fail. All that is important is focusing on your breathing. You'll mind will wander. Let the thoughts come and go and just stay focused on your breath moving in and out.
I've been studying it. The definition I like is "perfect awareness and perfect love". Desire and aversion get in the way of awareness, they cut you off from other people, and while you've got that going on, you are distracted from the love that exists in nature, just from being alive.
"perfect awareness and perfect love."
Yes, providing the the love has no object, because then it's an attachment. The way to achieve perfect awareness is to stop thinking (through meditation).
IMO nirvana is a chemical state of the brain that results once you, by releasing all attachment, become just another lump in the pudding.
My objective in life is to emulate my dog. He "thinks" ONLY of making others happy. He carries no resentment - EVER. If I'm happy, he's in heaven. His second priority (after me) is playing.
"Yes, providing the the love has no object, because then it's an attachment."
So - you're saying we shouldn't love anybody? That's a fallacy that many Buddhists seem to fall into (I'm not saying you're a Buddhist). Everything hinges on the words in systems like this, and each word can have several meanings. So everything gets confused. To say that non-attachment trumps love is a tragic mistake. You end up like this guy. As I understand it, the true sense of non-attached love is unselfish love.
I believe the Zen Buddhists say that thinking is not the same as awareness, in the same way that reading a book about something is not the same as experiencing that thing. This makes sense. But we don't just go into Nirvana when we're meditating. How lame would that be? It should be an everyday way of living your life - by taming the ego and putting it in its proper place. I believe "mindfulness" may be useful here.
Even your dog has an ego, super-ego and id. What if he was terribly abused as a puppy? Then he would be a nasty dog, or maybe a terrified one. His id would be horribly wounded, he would feel constantly threatened, and his ego would be on high alert all the time. The ultimate challenge would be to straighten out the id. I believe the best way is to "reap what you sow" - there's no other solution.


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The 110th Annual Iowa State Picnic is being held on Saturday, August 14th from 9:30 to 2:30 at the Long Beach Lawn Bowling Club, 1109 Federation Drive, Long Beach, CA 90804. At about 11:30 the potluck
will start. Bring a dish to share, your own beverage, and your own eating utensils. Let us know if you are coming by calling 562.421.0726 or E-mailing: email@example.com.
The Lawn Bowling Club has several picnic tables, is handicapped accessible with plenty of parking. However, extra chairs may be needed.
Take East Anaheim Street West, Left on Park Avenue, and left on Federation Drive. Or the 22 Freeway-West turns into 7th Street. Take 7th Street West, and Right on Federation Drive.
Thanks to Liz Myers for notifying us of this event.
28 June 2010
Attention All with Iowa Roots!
Posted by Paula Hinkel at 1:30 PM
Labels: Iowa
2 comments:
My grandmother, Minnie Wallace Hague, from Des Moines, IA used to attend these picnics. She lived near Echo Park in Los Angeles. I have a photo of a large group of the attendees one year - maybe from the 1930's(?). If you would like a copy, I'll find the photo and email you a copy if you'd like. Let me know where to email it to. Please let me know. Sincerely, Donna Hague WendtReplyDelete
donwen at aol.com
Donna, I'd love to see it. You can email it to me at email@example.com. I have read about these picnics many times in the Historic LA Times and the other old-timey newspapers. It will be fun experiencing that kind of history first-hand.ReplyDelete
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text:
New: Citizens to Save the Berkeley Post Office Will Withdraw from Berkeley Post Office on Sunday to Move Forward in Their Fight
Citizens to Save the Berkeley Post Office worked for the last year to prevent the sale of our historic Civic Center Berkeley Post Office building. They count among their successes the local and national press coverage of the issue, broad public support and continued pressure on the U.S. Postal Service.
To build on these successes, Citizens to Save the Berkeley Post Office are now concentrating on the lawsuit challenging the Post Office sale, legislative action by our State and Federal representatives, and a city of Berkeley effort to rezone the downtown as a governmental, cultural and educational district. The group is also working with other communities across the nation who are threatened with the sales of their post offices. From the Bronx to Santa Monica, the USPS is selling the historic post offices that were entrusted to it.
Because of the need to focus on legal, legislative and community matters, Citizens to Save the Berkeley Post Office finds that it is time to withdraw from participation in the camp at the Main Post Office as of noon, Sunday, August 18. 2013. We deeply appreciate the commitment of those in the encampment, but need to withdraw to work on other priorities. The encampment or In-Tents Defense of our Post Office is self-governed by Berkeley Post Office Defense which shares our goals of public ownership of our historic post office and a United States Postal Service that serves the common good.
Several thousand Berkeley citizens have signed letters to our legislators and support the fight. The whole community--the city of Berkeley, the California Assembly and Senate, and federal representatives have supported the efforts to prevent the sale of this historic building. Media coverage includes the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Nation, KTVU, KRON, KABC television. Congressional proposals are in process by Senator Bernie Sanders and from our own Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
Recently, the U.S.Postal Service notified Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates that the appeal of the Downtown Berkeley Post Office is under consideration by the U.S. Postal Service Postal Regulatory Commission, and it will make a decision within 120 days. If the USPS finds that they will continue with the sale, we may return to the encampment.
Citizens to Save the Berkeley Post Office would like to thank its many supporters and encourage them to join with us in the continuing effort. We will still have tables and information in front of the post office to keep people aware of the issues.
In Berkeley, work proceeds at several levels to prevent the sale of our cultural heritage.
o Legally: Save the Berkeley Post Office is joining with the National Post Office Collaborate to take legal action with other communities, such at La Jolla, the Bronx, and Chelsea, NY, to stop these sales.
o Legislation: Senator Bernie Sanders is being asked to amend his bill to prevent the sale of historic post office. Thirty Senators and 167 Congressman are co-sponsoring his bill and the companion bill in the House. We are also trying to rezone the area.
o Education and Outreach: The Committee continues to table and leaflet in front of the Post Office to encourage Berkeley residents to support efforts to save the building for the public which it was meant to serve and which paid for it.
o Fundraising: the public is asked to make a tax-deductible donation to the National Post Office Collaborate to support the legal efforts to stop these sales. Please go to http://www.
"We want these post office buildings to stay within the public domain," said Jacquelyn McCormick, who organized the National Post Office Collaborate to prevent these sales. It is working with Harold Hughes, retired USPS General Counsel, now an attorney with Utah-based Ford & Huff, to look at legal strategies.
In April the Postal Service approved the sale of three other historic post office buildings: the Wall Street post office in La Jolla, Old Chelsea on West 18th Street in New York City, and the Bronx General Post Office on the Grand Concourse. As in Berkeley, these three post offices contain New Deal public artworks. The murals in the Bronx by Ben Shahn are masterpieces, monumental in scale and extremely well-known. We, along with these cities, are legally challenging the U.S.P.S.' right to sell these historic buildings.
There is no real financial need for the USPS to sell off its assets. As of 2003, the USPS real estate portfolio had an estimated worth of $110 billion. The process of privatizing USPS real estate holdings may yield enormous commissions to CB Richard Ellis, the giant commercial realty firm that was awarded an exclusive contract for USPS property sales. University of California Regent Richard Blum is the chairman of CB Richard Ellis and the husband of California Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Margot Smith
Save the Berkeley Post Office


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When Jennifer Lopez delivered twins Emme Maribel and Maximilian David in 2008, husband Marc Anthony received a whole lot more than two beautiful babies! The singer also inherited Lopez's much-loved pregnancy pillow.
"Carrying twins was really uncomfortable because you lay on one side and you feel there's a baby, and you lay on the other side and you feel there's a baby," The Back-up Plan star, 40, tells PARADE.
"I actually had this really big pregnancy pillow … that I used at night and Marc still sleeps with it to this day."
Having just celebrated their second birthday in February, Max and Emme have become increasingly aware of their surroundings.
As a result, Lopez notes, she is determined to consistently double up the love — and treats! — she dishes out.
"It's like if I give one a little bit of candy or food or whatever, I give the other one a little bit too. If I kiss my daughter I go, 'Oh, I don't want my son to see me kissing her without kissing him,'" she says. "So you just have to make sure that they both feel equally loved."
— Anya Leon


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I ran across an excellent article today entitled "Goodbye GeoCities: 7 Retro Things We'll Miss Forever." It lists mid 90s web conventions that have fallen from favor (for good reason), such as "under construction" GIFs, guestbooks, "webmasters" and the marquee tag. Looking over this list, I remembered just how Wild West those early days were, and how home-grown the internet was, and what an earth-shattering milestone the popularization of the internet was in the history of computing.
When OSNews had its ten year anniversary in 2007, I created a live archive of old OSNews pages, and I think both the news and the the design of the site hold up pretty well, but slick design was by no means the norm back then. But in the earlier days of the internet, the Web was only one of several ways to view internet content, and in fact, earlier on, was the worst way. The net experience back then was much more desktop-centric, and each internet user had a quiver of desktop apps to perform various tasks. Let me actually take a step back and mention that in the early nineties, it was more common to actually use only the terminal to connect to the internet. My first few years on the net was viewed through a terminal window to an aging VAX/VMS machine. But later on, it was desktop apps for email, FTP, Usenet, (and later) IM and Napster. And, of course, a Web browser. As the internet has become more Web-centric, and the computing landscape has become more internet-centric, the browser has replaced not only many of the old internet apps, but has started to replace all desktop apps. In the unlikely case of a marketing slogan becoming reality, the Network really is the Computer.
I think that one of the reasons that people get nostalgic about how the network used to be is that, just like the great indie band that goes mainstream, old-time fans are simultaneously prideful about having known them before they were popular and resentful at having to share with all the latecomers. It's about losing the sense of wonder and community that used to exist. I remember that, years ago, I used to buy and sell things on the various "forsale" Usenet groups. The internet was a relatively tight-knit community back then, and you could generally know who someone was by looking at their email address. Their domain name was either a school or company, and their username was a short version of their real name. firstname.lastname@example.com was A. Smith, a student or faculty member at University of Michigan, and if they were on the internet, it pretty much meant they were a member of the geek elite. Because of this, often when I bought something on the internet, the seller would mail it to me, and when I got it in good condition, he would trust me to send a check.
I went back to Archive.org today to see whether my very first website was stored there. It was a site that I'd made as part of a school project on Western US Land-use issues and wilderness preservation. It's on there, but all of the images have been lost to time. When I made it, I had recently made the move from Gopher to the WWW, and I was still bristling at the difficulty of creating an aesthetically-pleasing web site. HTML was easy to learn, but very difficult to use well, even for a master. Its layout capabilities were rudimentary, and your page would look different in every web browser. Sites like Geocities, and the software that I helped create, ShopSite, attempted to make creating a web site easier for the non-technical, but the tools that we had to work with ensured that we wouldn't be able to help people very much - either we bound them with overly-restrictive templates that didn't let them express their creativity, or we handed them a loaded gun and let them shoot themselves in the face.
While I feel nostalgic about the internet of the past, I wouldn't want to go back. Just like I wouldn't want to go back to a 486 running Windows 3.1 or a Performa running System 9. If I never saw another "under construction" icon being used un-ironically, I could live my life in complete contentment. But I treasure the memories, and I'll miss GeoCities, even though I had been scarcely aware that it was still up, and can't remember the last time I ever visited.


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You can see here a basic map of California from OpenStreetMap, but you can switch easily to other types of the map: Just choose the second option above the map and you can see Bing Maps, which offer other types of detailed maps of California, related countries, geographical places etc. You can also switch to aerial and birds eye maps of California there.
You may remember we offered other types of maps here also in the past, for example Google Maps, Nokia Maps and MapQuest Maps, and many kinds of their infomaps, like the traffic map, bike trails, weather map, map with photos and map of public transport from these sources. But some of these services cancelled their operations or changed the conditions under which their maps may be displayed. We sincerely hope you appreciate these new kinds of maps here, as you can see, for example, the difference between the OpenStreetMap vector map tiles from Mapzen shown by Leaflet here and the bitmap tiles from Bing Maps. We are considering adding more maps of California in the near future again.
You may not only switch among different types of maps using the switches above the map, but you can also change settings of the map using controls on the map. See more details of California using the zoom control on the left side or see street or terrain map of California using the controls on the top of the map (Bing Maps). In the past you could also place the yellow figure (Google Maps) to see a street view of any interesting place, but this feature is not available here anymore. But you can see the Birds eye view on the Bing Maps here. Notice: Not all features are available everywhere. Some maps offer more details then the others.
Look below to see more useful information regarding California and the map of California. You can find links to other places related to California, but there are also tips about how to easily print the map of California, where to find detailed information about California, how to plan your journey and much more. Our primary target is to allow you to compare different types of maps, but we would also like to offer you more when considering your travels and learning about the World.
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The Who wrote:Whoooo are you? Who, who... who who?
In the spirit of new beginnings (and that classic song), I thought it would be nice to have a thread where everyone introduced (or re-introduced) themselves. Who are you? Where are you from? What do you do? What about that crazy username, where did you come up with that at? What are your interests? Think of this like the first day of school. While you may recognize a few people from last year, there are new faces as well (and some of those old faces have terrible memories ) Feel free to post as much or as little about yourself as you feel comfortable (remember, this is the internet and anyone can read it).
I'll start. As you may have gathered from my username, my name is Jude. My username started as a line from the movie "The Big Lebowski" in which Jeff Bridge's character "The Dude" (who refers to himself in the third person) says "The dude abides." I've always like that simple line for a couple of reasons. First, it has a nice cadence. Secondly, I like the simple idea behind it. You don't have to like everyone you meet (especially on the internet), but I've always felt one should do more than simply "tolerate" each other. To that end, I try abide others. What's the difference? Basically, "tolerating" someone essentially means you don't do mean or bad things to them. However, when you abide them, you treat them with the same dignity and respect that should be afforded all humans. How do you prefer to be treated: like someone who is simply there (much like a rock in their way), or to be acknowledged as a person like anybody else? I know how I'd like to be treated.
So, by simply changing "dude" to "Jude," I have a username that sums me up fairly nicely while keeping that same cool cadence that I like so much.
I'm from Minnesota, generally around the Twin Cities area (I prefer not to give any more details than that). I've always been a fan of computers, video games, and sci-fi movies and shows. To name a few of them: Starcraft, Homeworld, Half Life (1 & 2), Mario Bros, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fringe, and Heroes. I fervently support Linux and open source while despising all things Microsoft (while I'll abide my fellow humans, I won't abide terrible bloat-ware). Such is the way of computer scientists.
So, who are you?


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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 1st Jul 2013 22:02 UTC
"In June of 2013, I made an interesting discovery about the Android phone (a Motorola Droid X2) which I was using at the time: it was silently sending a considerable amount of sensitive information to Motorola, and to compound the problem, a great deal of it was over an unencrypted HTTP channel."
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Comment by Nelson
by Nelson on Tue 2nd Jul 2013 11:29 UTC
OEM which is notoriously bad at software makes elementary software engineering and security mistakes. News at 11.
Seriously, we've all known for a while that OEM software chops is a steaming pile of crap. This is just one example. Another is Samsung's unbelievable copy and paste bug in TouchWiz.
I don't think its an overt move by Motorola to capture personal data for nefarious purposes, but it does show how dangerous letting just any vendor go crazy in an OS is.
Google's strategy is to allow many chefs to cook Android up any way they'd like -- the problem is that those same chefs can often poison the batter.
RE: Comment by Nelson
by moondevil on Tue 2nd Jul 2013 15:43 in reply to "Comment by Nelson"
RE: Comment by Nelson
by Bill Shooter of Bul on Tue 2nd Jul 2013 17:39 in reply to "Comment by Nelson"


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The comedy sketch show started on a serious note with words of support to France a day after a suspected group of extremists coordinated the worst attacks on the country since World War II by Nazis.
"Paris is the city of light and here in New York City we know that light will never go out. Our love and support is with you tonight," Cecily Strong said in both English and French during the show's introduction.
Paris was stormed by shootings and explosions that targeted people eating in a cafe, concert-goers watching a California rock band perform and fans cheering at a French-German soccer game. The orchestrated attacks left 129 killed, including one California student and 352 wounded—99 people are in critical condition.
Cities around the world lit up monuments with blue, white and red to show support for France.


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Wireless Monitoring of Rainforest Carbon Flux
Deep in the Costa Rican rainforest, researchers at the La Selva Biological Station are studying the exchange of CO 2 between the atmosphere and dense plant life. This carbon flux study hopes to deepen understanding of the effects of greenhouse gasses on the environment. It has already resulted in the development of a new wireless sensor system that collects a variety of environmental measurements, offers remote configuration capabilities, permits future expansion, and gives researchers around the world access to the measurements over the Internet.
The area under observation lies within a 3,900-acre tropical rainforest that averages more than 150 inches rainfall per year. Rain forests are carbon sinks, meaning they function in a manner that is opposite of a human lung: absorbing CO 2 and releasing oxygen into the environment. Carbon flux in rainforests is unusually complex because of the multilayered, diverse forest structure. Due to the difficulty in making measurements from multiple points on the forest floor and corresponding points in the canopy, a balanced budget for CO 2 fluxes has been historically difficult to measure.
The wireless measurement technology deployed at the site is a networked infomechanical system (NIMS) based on National Instruments LabView software and CompactRio hardware. The NIMS application was developed at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) by the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS). CENS develops embedded network sensing systems for critical scientific and social applications. It is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Science & Technology Center with an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional support structure that involves hundreds of faculty, engineers, graduate student researchers, and undergraduate students from partner institutions throughout California.
Getting the sensor where it's needed
To increase the accuracy of the measurements being taken and to determine the effects of uneven carbon flux, we developed a mobile, wireless, aerially suspended robotic sensor system capable of measuring the transfer of carbon and other materials between the atmosphere and the Earth.
There are a wide range of measurements necessary to characterize the carbon flux including temperature, CO 2 , humidity, precise three-dimensional wind movement, heat flux, solar radiation, and photosynthetic active radiation (PAR). In the past, acquiring this breadth of measurements required the use of multiple data loggers from different vendors. CENS selected a modular approach using CompactRio to support a wide range of measurements using C Series modules from National Instruments and third-party vendors.
All of the environmental data necessary to conduct the carbon flux study is acquired through a modular approach. The wireless sensor systems are arranged at points on the forest floor and on aerially suspended robotic shuttles. This creates the first environmental monitoring system capable of taking measurements three dimensionally.
Three SensorKit systems ( www.sensorkit.net ) were deployed for the first phase of field trials. These are equipped with a variety of instruments, including tools for conducting basic meteorological measurements, sonic anemometers, infrared sensors, and radiometers.
In the initial test deployment, the wireless mobile sensing platforms traversed cables along three separate transects of the forest understory. During the deployment, the shuttle stopped at 1 m intervals along each transect for 30 seconds to allow sensors to equilibrate and take the required measurements. Each transect pass required 30 minutes and each transect ran for 24 hours.
By implementing the system using National Instruments' modular hardware and software, we developed a flexible system with the additional communication and configuration advantages available with LabView software. CompactRio was selected as the central measurement collection unit and the Compact FieldPoint network interface with cFP-180x controllers were selected for distributed wireless measurements. A WAP-3701 wireless access point was chosen to transfer data between the distributed sensors, towers, and canopy floor.
Using LabView, we can supply measurements to local researchers in different data formats so they can perform post-analysis. We can configure measurement types, select channels, and even add scaling from a laptop connected to the system. Advanced analysis tools for real-time embedded processing can perform local mass flux analysis and post-processing for remote researchers.
LabView is also equipped with an HMI, so we can see real-time measurements. Prior to the development of this real-time analysis system, researchers typically spent a long time collecting large amounts of data on-site to bring the information back to their respective labs for further analysis.
In conjunction with the system designers at CENS, we plan to expand the system by adding high towers approximately 45 m above the forest floor with canopy walkways and increasing the total number of measurement systems in the upcoming months. Additionally, we plan to deliver remote data access through the Web to researchers and students at other locations. Using a Web browser and the Web capabilities of LabView, researchers everywhere will be able to access and download live and archived data for their own analysis.
Performing additional measurements using a three-dimensional measurement system will provide the data needed to validate our Gap Theory hypothesis that carbon transfer occurs unevenly across the rain forest. Gaps in the forest canopy are sources of carbon loss while the canopy is a source of carbon absorption. With this research, scientists will better understand the carbon absorption impact of rain forests.
|Author Information
|Dr. William Kaiser is in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Dr. Philip Rundel is in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, both at UCLA.


text: Maybe a little exploitative but well done nevertheless, these shots from photographer Allan Teger are done in single exposures. Natural, bodily curves take the place of hilly landscapes as miniature "people" go about their business perfectly naturally. A nice way to celebrate the human form through re-contextualization, or just pretty shots of naked people- what do you think? Whenever I see these little plastic guys being used in such a way, I always think of Slinkachu's "Little People Project". I guess this is a common thing now. But Teger's been doing it for a while. (via)


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home > archive > 2004 > this article
Propaganda value
By James Ruhland
Overlooked last week in the uproar of Abu Ghraib was yet another display of American arrogance. When the government of Sudan was elected to the UN Human Rights commission, U.S. representative Sichan Siv said "The United States is perplexed and dismayed by the decision to put forward Sudan -- a country that massacres its own African citizens -- for election to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights" and then walked out of the vote in yet another display of American unilateralism and contempt for the international community.
Which only goes to show that unilateralism in the face of the international community is no vice. It's useful to pair these two episodes, one that received blanket coverage worldwide and another that received almost none. It isn't that the abuse of Iraqi prisoners should not receive attention, but global outrage can be highly selective. This is because for many what is important is not so much a principled concern for human rights, but an opportunity to criticize the United States. They see this issue in terms of its propaganda value. That is why there are such double standards – Sudan elected to the UN's Human Rights Commission in the same week that the world is condemning America for the behavior of some of our soldiers. The pictures showing American soldiers mistreating Iraqi prisoners allows many both at home and abroad to say what they always wanted to anyhow, that America is no better than its foes.
Even countries that insist they are America's allies are quick to believe the worst about our government, while they are full of understanding for other governments with far worse human rights records. Overlooked is the fact that the real distinction between America and countries which receive far less scrutiny is that we punish people for such behavior that many other governments reward. The difference between America and its enemies is that while Palestinians and Islamist terrorists are proud of killing women and children or decapitating Jewish journalists like Daniel Pearl, we apologize for the abuse of people by Americans. But somehow sophisticated world opinion rationalizes the former and describes those who inspire such attacks as "spiritual leaders" (of Hamas, for example), but no American apology is ever good enough.
European governments that are full of outrage over Abu Ghraib often want America to tone down its condemnation of regimes that encourage torture as an instrument of control because it harms dialogue with them, upsets relations or isn't "even-handed". International condemnation of such regimes is muted or absent altogether, quite the converse of their overblown fury at the United States. That really displays a distinction between the America they can condemn in the most strident terms and the dictatorial regimes that are coddled by comparison. They know that harsh criticism of America brings no negative consequences while governments that are too critical of practices in China or Iran might lose commercial deals of economic importance, and media organizations might lose "access" they consider vital. This is why CNN, to name just one example, ignored savage violations of human rights in Ba'athist Iraq in order to maintain their access to officials in that brutal regime, and why France and Russia turned a blind eye to the same in exchange for lucrative oil deals. They mute their criticisms of far worse behavior in the world and show near indifference to the election of a genocidal regime to the UN's Human Rights commission, while demanding American deference to that institution's "moral authority". They engage in moral preening so long as there is nothing really at stake, because all the criticism aimed at the U.S. government as uniquely reprehensible is a sign that those making the charges don't really believe the outlandish accusations. They know they won't suffer for it the way they would for expressing harsh condemnation of truly despicable regimes. It is the international version of Americans who loudly and vocally proclaim that their dissent is being stifled, knowing they will face none of the things that routinely happen to dissidents in other countries.
A lot of conservative Americans see this, but the reaction of some is to minimize the reprehensible nature of what happened at Abu Ghraib. We need to be careful to avoid responding to the hypocrisy of all too many of America's critics with hypocrisy of our own. I've heard some compare it to fraternity hazing, but this minimizes the abuse. The distinction we need to make is a clear one: Americans are not perfect, but when wrongdoing occurs, our nation responds properly. There was no cover up here. Indeed the Department of Defense "scooped" the media and the world on this, reporting the investigation of Abu Ghraib in January, long before it before it became an international cause celeb. What makes America an easy target is our faults are publicly scrutinized, revealed to all both at home and abroad. This is a virtue not a vice as it allows us to correct things that other nations often bury and hide.
As Donald Rumsfeld said in House testimony, "America is not what's wrong with the world." But apparently that's not what the world thinks. Instapundit blogger Glenn Reynolds wrote that "there are dark moments, however, when I wonder if the world doesn't hate us because we hold the moral high ground, and if many wouldn't breathe a secret sigh of relief if we started living down to their standards." Such dark moments can lead to another temptation that lures some conservative Americans, isolationism. The desire to "come home, America" when faced with a world that ignores and forgets the good we do to create benefits they share in at little cost, a world that prefers to castigate America at every opportunity, a world where even supposed friends are quicker to criticize than understand.
It is a desire to say "fine" and leave them to their fates can be strong. Those fates would be dire, but we would have to live in the resulting world as well. The very behavior of the global village that we find so repugnant is why we need to remain engaged. Absent our leadership the hypocritically lax standards of much of the world would become the governing norm. It is the efforts of America and its closest allies which creates an international climate vital not just to the people of other countries but to ourselves as well. We have to live in no matter and will be faced with whatever norms of international behavior exist. In the absence of another nation that would not only fill our international role but promote the same values we would suffer if we withdrew. So we must continue to bear the burden and pay the price – even when that is the contempt of our so-called allies and friends.
We would be better advised to make a stronger effort at telling our side of the story to the world, not just on Abu Ghraib but on every issue. To that end, we should bring back the United States Information Agency. But small-government conservatives should understand better than anyone that this is not a job for the government alone. One of the isolationist reactions to the rest of the world that is indulged in even by conservatives who favor an active foreign policy is to tune it out and decide that it is not worth the effort to try and persuade foreign audiences, that the effort to engage in debate and counter-argument with them is pointless. They devote efforts to engage in the battle of ideas at home but not abroad. It is true that the devoted anti-Americans are not open to reasoned debate and persuasion, but there are many in the world whose views of America would be different if we didn't cede the discussion to the vocal polemicists who despise us. This is a lesson that too many conservatives who admire Ronald Reagan seem to have forgotten. The people of Eastern Europe were endlessly propagandized to hate our country, but Reagan was unflagging in his efforts to counter this propaganda and defeat it by engaging in rhetorical battle with our enemies. That needs to be part of our response here and conservatives need to emulate his example.
We must also not forget that our integrity is not determined by their behavior. Sure, the heated outrage of so many of America's critics is overblown to the point of self-parody. That says a lot about the type of people they are. But it does not determine the type of people we are. Only our own reaction to the despicable acts of a few American soldiers determines that. We show our respect for the vast majority of America's military personnel, the ones who serve with honor, by clearly distinguishing them from the few who dishonor the uniform and the flag. We cannot allow excuses and rationalizations to stand in the way of justice. This will show that we mean what we say about the rule of law. Americans are not perfect and Americans are not either, but we punish wrongdoing rather than turning a blind eye to it or excusing it the way so many often do.
James Ruhland writes Porphyrogenitus.net and will be entering the U.S. Army this week.
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Wrong For That: Vancouver Rioters Fxck Up Girl's BMW When She Steps Out Of It! (Poor Girls Trying TO Save Their Car & No One Helps)
Women defend their BMW. Submitted by Newidd
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