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Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto anime or manga.
Note: This is the final chapter of this fanfic. Also, remember that the first chapter diverged from canon right after the time-skip. I also took a tiny bit from an anime filler arc, specifically episode 148.
Chapter Three:
Learning to Listen
Sunsets at the Konoha training grounds are beautiful. The high elevation gives a breathtaking view of the sky over the Hokage monument. Right now, it looks like a painters daydream. A few streaks of vibrant orange were painted on a canvas of deep purple. The thick summer air sparkled with fireflies.
Once, during the quiet moment of a mission, I asked Shino-kun, 'What do fireflies talk about?'
His response had been interesting to say the least. He'd taken a moment to contemplate my question seriously and after several minutes finally responded, 'Fireflies lives are short-lived and focused primarily on procreating their species. I suppose they would all repeat the same mantra. I must mate. I must mate.'
I was much more cautious about asking Shino-kun bug questions after that.
There are so many fascinating questions in the world! How ever did I survive so long in silence? It's like I can't stop asking questions now, like a flood gate's been opened and every question I've ever wanted to ask has come tumbling out of me at once. I finally have the courage to scream… well I don't actually scream most of my questions because that would be terribly rude and just a bit crazy. But there is definitely a raised decibel level to my voice!
I'm talking so loudly now, that even Naruto can hear me! For months now, we've been meeting twice a week when neither of us are on missions at the ramen stand and having long conversations. It's not just there though, anytime we see each other in the street he comes over to me and talks to me!
I've come to really look forward to our bi-weekly ramen chats. Goodness, does Naruto LOVE ramen.
I remember as a child if you ever expressed a great attachment to something, another child would often reply, 'Well if you like it so much why don't you marry it?'
If ramen was a woman, Naruto WOULD marry it.
… if ramen was a man he'd probably marry it then as well.
My greatest rival is a bowl of soup.
Although, I do wonder if his love of ramen partly stems from the way the ramen shop owner and his daughter treat him. He isn't just a customer to him. He's treated like a long lost relative and that's not because he's must be single handedly paying several of their utility bills.
I wonder if Naruto spent the day training as well? Today was a wonderful day for training. My muscles ache from practicing throwing kunai and doing katas on the surface of the nearby lake. Practicing katas of the surface of the lake barely even feels like training. Gliding on the water, moving with the ebb and flow of chakra pulsing through your body… it feels like freedom. I'm exhausted, but it's a pleasant sort of fatigue. Every cut, scrape, and sore muscle are proof that I'm becoming stronger.
I sat down upon a nearby fallen log and rubbed my sore bare arms. Well, perhaps training isn't all an uplifting grrl-power experience. The heat forced me to shed my jacket sometime in the afternoon… I know I shouldn't be embarrassed, but I can't help it. I've grown.. in places that… boy's notice. Part of me knows that I should never let anyone make me feel uncomfortable about my own body… but I can't seem to make my heart stop feeling self-conscious even if my mind knows better.
Well, perhaps if it was Naruto looking… What if he was staring at me right now with my jacket off? The stars are starting to come out, and the moon is shining off of the surface of the lake… it'd be really romantic and the perfect setup for a--Eeep! Stupid Icha Icha Paradise! Will I ever be free from your thrall? Besides, who am I kidding? Even if I did want him to look, I'd still probably pass out in a pool of my own blood from embarrassment!
A flash of color and movement out of the corner of my eye jolted me out of my thoughts. Something was in the bushes! It's probably only a rabbit or a fox… To be certain I activated my bloodline limit.
It… was a person.
A BLONDE person.
Wearing orange.
Staring at me.
From the bushes.
Right now.
W-What's he doing!? Why is he hiding in the bushes and frowning?
I turned around and resisted the urge to push my fingers together. "Naruto-kun? Um… you do know that I can see chakra through bushes, don't you?"
Naruto bounded into the open like a spooked rabbit. "Of course!" Twigs and leaves were sticking out of the sides of his hair. "I was just tying my shoes! Untied shoes can be real dangerous, ya know." He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.
He had not been tying his shoes.
"Oh. Of course, Naruto-kun. Is there anything I can help you with?" Why do I have to sound so formal all of the time?
Naruto frowned and walked up to me. "Jeez, Hinata, ya sound like a store clerk."
I blushed and he smiled again, the kind of smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the edges.
"So uh… Naruto-kun what brings you to the training grounds this late in the afternoon?" Had he been looking for me? No, he couldn't possibly be… I caught myself about to push my index fingers together and hastily pushed my hands in my pants pockets. I will NOT fall back on old nervous habits.
"I was looking for you!"
"Eh?" My hands left my pockets and my index fingers pushed together of their own accord.
"I've got a joke to tell you! And then I'm going to listen to you talk."
Huh? This is rather random, even for Naruto. "W-What do you want me to talk about?"
Naruto looked panicked for a moment, as if he had not thought it out that far. "You can talk about um, yourself. If you want. It's for um… Hokage training."
Is it simply my imagination, or is something wrong with his ears? They look terribly red. Perhaps Haruno-san punched him in the head again. She can be rather rough sometimes.
Naruto scratched his nose. "A leader has to be able to talk good right?"
"Speak well, not talk good." I smiled softly. When he becomes Hokage, it's really going to be a public relations nightmare isn't it? I can already picture my father's shock at having a Hokage with such atrocious grammar.
I can't wait.
"See? I need help! So will you help me train?"
This situation is so odd. Why is he worrying about this now? He is right, but it seems strange for Naruto to be worrying about such things at all. Perhaps, Tsunade-sama suggested he needed improvement?
"Of course I'll help you Naruto-kun! So you want me to teach you how to speak properly?"
"Yeah, you can teach me the proper way to use my mouth." His grin grew wider and he wiggled his eyebrows at me.
Is… is… he flirting with me? I haven't had much experience with that sort of thing but that definitely sounds like flirting to me. What should I do? Um… I have to act coy and flirt back!
… how am I going to do that?
I started with my mouth slightly open as a mini panic attack landed a lethal blow on my composure.
My idea of coy is apparently a lot like an impression of a fish.
Oh! Like a KOI fish!
Naruto laughed. "Thanks for the help!" He stepped back and stood several feet in front of where I was sitting. "I'll show you my joke first."
"Alright." I sat down and folded my hands in my lap. This is strange, even for Naruto-kun. Did I get hit in the head during training and now I'm hallucinating? …No, if this was a dream there would be a lot more Icha Icha Paradise influences.
I really have quite a love/hate relationship with that book.
Naruto made a big wide sweeping gesture with both of his hands. "Ladies and gentleman! I will now present the greatest joke ever created… five minutes ago."
Naruto shrugged. "I'm sure some of these glowing butt flies are guys!"
I smiled. Shino would have been very annoyed.
"Anyways…" His hands made seals. "What do you get if you take Sakura." A kage bunshin who looked just like Haruno-san appeared. "And Lee." A kage bunshin of Lee appeared wearing his typical green leotard. My eyebrows rose. What in the world? "Aaaaaaaand you marry them off?" The Lee and Haruno-san bunshin were suddenly in wedding attire. The Lee bunshin was crying hysterically. "Then what do you get?
Naruto leaned forward like he actually expected a real answer. I looked up and met his sapphire eyes for a moment. I felt my heart beat start to race. Behind him, the bunshins popped out of existence.
"Oh, you get… um… a very happy Lee-san?"
Naruto leaned back on his heels and sighed with mock disappointed. "Tsk. Tsk. No you get…" He made some hand-seals and his grin became slightly… evil. "THIS!"
A cloud of smoke erupted before my eyes and when it finally cleared this… thing stood before me.
Oh. My.
"Yo! I am Rockette!" The thing had these giant furry pink growths extending from its large shiny forehead, bright pink bowl cut, and the most unflattering bulgy pink leotard I have ever seen.
It was… It was….
Sakura and Lee's future child.
I laughed so hard, I snorted like a pig.
"Oh! Hehhehee… um ah… heheheheh…. excuse me!" I covered my mouth and nose quickly as another snort escaped. For some reason, this seemed to immensely please Rockette who grinned like a maniac every time I snorted.
When I finally managed to recover from my unsightly state, Naruto-kun had sat down next to me, still grinning from ear to ear.
"It's okay." He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Its cute when you snort like a pig!"
Oh! Naruto thinks I'm cute! ….and that I remind him of a pig.
"All right!" Naruto punched the air. "The joke thing's done." Twigs and leaves were STILL in his hair. "Now I'm going to…" He paused. "Listen to you talk!"
I froze. "Listen to me… talk?"
I have to talk to Naruto-kun?
For an EXTENDED period of time?
With only the two of us?
In the Darkness?
Under the moonlight?
In the perfect set-up scenario for a… oh curse you Icha Icha Paradise!
"How about you speak and I listen?" I put my hands back in my pants pockets otherwise I was going to start fidgeting again.
Naruto scowled. "It's not supposed to work like that! A girl is supposed to talk and then a guy is suppose to try to listen, then she complains that he's not listening. Then he tries harder. You've got to take turns talking if you want to get to know somebody better. I've seen it in stories all the time, Hinata. And possibly on a greeting card once? Anyways, it's common knowledge."
"I thought this was Hokage training?"
"Uh, it is! It is!" I saw his adam's apple bob up and down. "I was just talking in general terms and stuff. It's definitely training." He rubbed his ears absently.
"Oh. All right." I can do this! I think… possibly? "What would you like to hear about?"
Naruto scratched his nose and shrugged. "Eh, how about your last Chunin exam? Your whole team got promoted right?"
"I heard you really beat the hell out of the guy you fought!" Naruto punched the air several more times.
"Oh well… it was certainly a decisive victory." That horrible Lightning nin, I had really lost control of myself. But he had been just so… he had no right to say the things he did. And with Neji watching! How DARE HE… Oh it just makes me so angry…
Naruto must have picked up on my anger because his eyes narrowed. "Is something wrong?"
"I was…" I swallowed and fought through the butterflies swarming in my stomach. "I was emotionally invested in the fight. The Hyuga clan has a dreadful history with the Lightning nins. The Lightning ninja I fought with voiced many cruel remarks regarding this history and I got a little… upset."
"You mean he royally pissed you off." Naruto snorted. Who sounded like a pig now? "So what went down in the past to make you want to break him into itty bitty Lightning ninja pieces?"
"Well…" This is so hard to talk about, even though I don't remember it happening. "When I was a baby I was almost kidnapped by Lightning Country ninjas." Naruto looked up and I lost my nerve and looked down at my hands. "They wanted to know the secret of the Byakugan… and maybe have some kind of political leeway against Konoha."
I rubbed my arms as a cold chill went threw me. What would my life have been like if they'd succeeded? Or would they have simply dissected my dead body?
"My father stopped their attempt and killed the kidnappers. However, killing them created a political scandal and there were threats of war… The Lightning Village demanded retribution… they wanted a life for a life. Neji's father, my father's twin brother, died in his stead."
Naruto scowled. "But they attacked you first! Why didn't Konoha just kick their assess?"
"But that would have resulted in a war Naruto-kun… We're not really old enough to remember a real war. Our lifetimes have been relatively peaceful. The Sound Village attack was just that, an attack. It was over in hours… a war is an endless series of attacks with both sides forever trying to even the odds…" I gulped. "I have heard stories from a few of the Hyuga elders of finding children dead in the streets…"
Naruto looked stricken and I regretted being the one to put that serious expression on his normally cheerful face. But… if he truly wants to be Hokage he needs to think about these kind of decisions, doesn't he?
"It's still not right! You can't just give up one of your people because another village threatened you!"
"You have to understand Naruto-kun… It wasn't a matter of who was stronger than who. Maybe Konoha could have won a war with Lightning, maybe not. But either way, more people than one man would die. He knew it was either his life or the lives of many others. He was sacrificing one life for the safety of the entire village."
Naruto looked even more stricken and for one terrible heart-wrenching moment, I thought he was going to cry. Then he blinked rapidly and smiled softly. "Yeah, I can understand that…"
I somehow had the courage to put my hand over his. "The Lightning ninja I fought with made several cruel remarks about Neji's father's sacrifice and I … won a very quick and decisive victory."
Naruto's smile lost its shadow. "You mean you made him wear his ass for a hat."
"Naruto-kun!" I shocked myself by smacking him lightly on the arm. "That isn't language very befitting of an Hokage!"
"What?" Naruto-kun tried to look innocent and failed utterly. "I can use it in future negotiations with Lightning Village! I can see it now… Dear Raikage, mess with us and I will make you wear your ass for a hat, signed, Naruto the Awesome-Kage."
Oh dear mother in heaven. Please let him be kidding.
"I suppose I will have to find a position in the Konoha messenger division and intercept all of your mail."
"Hey!" Naruto looked deeply offended, but I could tell he was actually quite pleased. "So, what have you been doing all day?" Naruto idly scratched a mosquito bite on his arm.
"Oh well, training mostly. Kurenai-sensei has been feeling a bit ill lately, so we decided to take a week off while she takes time to recover."
"What kind of training? Like secret Hyuga glowing and spinning techniques?"
"We don't just glow and spin!"
"Oh I stand corrected. You spin and glow… at the same time." Naruto waggled his eyebrows at me again.
"I'll have you know, that I was doing katas on top of the lake. It helps coordinate taijutsu with chakra control."
"Dancing on water huh…" Naruto paused and looked thoughtful for a moment.
"It's not dancing, it's training." Honestly… I crossed my arms.
"Glowy spinny dancing?"
"It's not dancing it's training!" Oops! I didn't mean to say that so loudly.
"Whoa, check it out. Hinata-chan's using her outside voice." Naruto brought a hand to his heart and feigned a heart attack.
Hmmf! "I doubt you even know how to dance."
Naruto's head snapped up. "I can SO dance! I'm like a dancing machine!"
I shrugged. "If you say so…"
"Feh, you don't believe me do you? Well I can prove it!" He stood up, walked to the nearby lake, and leaped onto the surface of the water. "Would you like to dance?" He raised one eyebrow. "If you CAN dance, that is."
I can't.
"Ah um… of course I can!" I leaped and landed next to Naruto-kun, using chakra to stand on the surface of the lake.
I'm going to trip and knock both of us into the lake.
"I'm like a um… a swan."
A dead swan.
I stepped closer, and then Naruto stepped closer… then we stared at each other for a few seconds. My heart thumped so loudly in my chest I thought for sure he could actually hear it. Finally, Naruto reached out and hesitantly put his hands in mine, keeping several inches between us. "Um… Is this okay?"
I squeaked out something that sort of sounded like yes.
Somehow, I was able to rest my hands on his shoulders. His jacket was warm and he smelled… nice. Like ramen and sweat and something else I just can't put my finger on, but it reminded me of trees. "Is this okay?"
Naruto's eyes snapped back up to my face. He had been staring… well lower than my face. "Y-Yeah."
I'm going to pass out in a pool of my own blood.
Naruto took a small step to the left and I followed, slowly but surely falling into a rhythm. I desperately wanted to look down at my feet, but at the same time I was transfixed by the edge of his jaw line. A soft patch of blonde stubble lined the right side of his jaw. It made me a little light headed and was just so very… grown up.
He picked up the pace a little, sending me along his glide to the music only he could hear but we both could feel. Like a dream, we glided along with no signs of comically falling into the lake or even stepping on each others feet.
Just… just wow.
"You… you CAN dance." I raised my eyebrows at him. I hadn't really expected him to know how to dance at all, to be honest, I had just wanted to see him try. I certainly hadn't expected him to be so… good.
"Yeah, but don't tell anyone ok?" Naruto surprised me again by twirling me and then grasping my hands with his again. "Ero-sen—well my teacher the Frog Hermit devised this weird training to work on my agility and coordination with my clones. But I gotta say…" I almost passed out as he dipped me a little. "This is a LOT more fun and less stupid looking than dancing with one of my clones."
"Your secret is safe with me." Is it my imagination or are we standing closer than before? His muscular thighs briefly brushed mine and my face took on a brand new never seen before hue.
Yes, we definitely are closer.
"So…" Naruto casually turned my palm over where a long jagged white scar stood out against the top of my hand. For one crazy moment, I thought he was going to kiss it. "Was the fight in the chunin exam where you got this scar?"
If this is a dream, I hope I'm in a irreversible coma.
"Yes. Do… do you have any scars Naruto-kun?" That will give me an excuse to touch you?
"No, not really." He lowered my hand and slowed down the dance pace again
Darn it.
"Not even one?" How can someone not have a single scar? And be a ninja no less? Unless it's in an unmentionable place…
… I'm not even trying to fight the Icha Icha Paradise influence anymore am I? I've become a fallen woman.
"I… heal fast. Really fast."
His hands were shaking.
"Is it like a bloodline limit?" I've never heard of him being part of any clan. Then again, he is an orphan. He's never mentioned any family…
"Well it's sort of like an… inheritance I guess." His gaze focused to a point somewhere over my shoulder.
His hands stopped shaking.
"You know about the lightning nin situation…" Naruto-kun frowned. "There's always another way and if the Hokage can't find it, then he should have put himself up instead. You can't expect your men to make a sacrifice that you're not willing to follow through with yourself."
He's not talking about… if he died I… no… I wouldn't let that happen… No… NO…
"NO! I won't let you!" My hands tightened around his, as if I could physically keep him here, wrapped up safe in this moment.
"You won't let me?" Naruto's mouth was smirking, but his eyes looked misty like he couldn't quite decide what emotion to feel and his face had settled somewhere in between.
"I'll-I'll… beat you up and not let you go to the negotiations!"
What am I doing?! What in the world has happened to this conversation?
I jumped a little as Naruto stepped closer to me, brushing our thighs together. Lightning jolted through my body despite my worry.
"So ya think the Hokage's life is more important than one of his ninjas?"
I almost opened my mouth to say yes but hesitated… I know it's supposed to be but… do I really believe that? Do I really believe that one persons life has more intrinsic value than another just because of his station?
But… Naruto-kun dead…
I just couldn't…
No… I can't allow that to happen. I WON'T allow that to happen!
"Yours is…" I turned my head away unable to meet his gaze as my heart pounded loudly in my ears. "…to me…"
Silence stretched out for what felt like lifetimes, until finally I heard a soft… "Oh."
I looked up, but Naruto was looking away.
Only the sounds of crickets and night owls could be heard while my faced burned like wild fire. I just… confessed didn't I? Was I direct enough? Is his silence a rejection? Please say something, anything!
Finally, he looked back at me and our eyes met. And then Naruto did something I never would have expected.
He blushed bright red.
And then something in my head just clicked. Everything suddenly made sense and my eyes were open so wide even the Byakugan's blind spot didn't exist. It was so simple, so true, that I don't know how I never noticed it before.
Naruto was just like me.
But he wasn't the same type of shy that I was. Naruto shyness came through in his smiles that he didn't truly feel or in his laughter that came in inappropriate situations. It came through in his constant talking… He often wasn't saying much, just filling in the void by talking to distract others from seeing how lonely he was, from seeing that maybe he didn't believe everything he boasted of, talking so that he could hear some human voice close to him even if it was his own, wanting… no NEEDING someone else to listen but knowing that there wasn't anyone there. He's embarrassed and nervous, too...
Just like me, he needs someone to listen.
Finally, his voice broke through the night air. "Well, I guess I have something like a scar… it's more like a birth mark though." Naruto's hands tightened to match my own vice like grip.
"When I was a baby, there was a terrible Kyubi attack on the village." His gaze became distant. "Many people in the village died. The Fourth Hokage in a last ditch effort to save everybody used a forbidden jutsu to-"
"Are you talking about being the vessel for the Kyubi?"
Naruto-kun froze and nearly dragged both of us into the lake.
"Tsunade-sama already told everyone you're the vessel for the Kyubi while you were on your training trip."
"There was a presentation on an overhead projector with graphs and charts… It was quite informative.
"There was a little commotion with a few of the older ninjas, claiming that you were the Kyuubi and not just the vessel. Tsunade-sama was quite… persuasive."
"I thought the whole argument was quite strange. How could they think you were anything but Naruto-kun?" Many ninjas seemed to have a change of heart that day, but I suppose having the Hokage threaten to detach your arms from your body is enough for anyone to reevaluate their opinions. "Are you alright Naruto-kun? You look a little pale."
I found the whole debate difficult to fathom. What was wrong with those people? How could anyone think that Naruto was the Kyubi? How could you look at Naruto and see a blood thirsty beast? Did they live their whole lives with their eyes closed and their hands covering their ears? I had always wondered why many of the villagers treated him so badly… Many of them treated him quite horribly… And for something he had no control over!
Hmmf! Well, the Hokage isn't the only one who knows how to revaluate someone's opinion!
Naruto was staring at me, eyes wide open and mouth hanging open. I shook his right arm a little, but he just continued to stare at me in shock as if… as if a bowl of vegetables had mysteriously morphed into a bowl of ramen.
He's… but he couldn't be could he? It's impossible… isn't it? Naruto-kun can't be… it's just not possible for him to be… struck speechless?
I must have broken him!
I shook him harder.
"Naruto-kun! Are you okay? Um… ah should I get a doctor or—"
"I…" His voice came out a squeak and I saw him finally close his mouth. His hands went slack and I released my tight grip. Slowly, both of his hands came up to cup my face. He stared in my eyes, eyes wide open and gently rubbed circles with the pads of his thumbs. His hands were warm, wet and calloused. I watched transfixed as he wet his lips and opened his mouth. "I think I…"
He was leaning in closer, his deep blue eyes were locked with mine. Our noses touched.
"I think I like you as much as ramen."
And then he kissed me.
His lips brushed mine softly, our noses got in the way, his lips were chapped and his hands on my face were shaking but it was… it was… I threw my arms around his neck and his shoulders were firm and solid like a… He tasted like ramen and smelled like trees and he was just… Naruto-kun. It was imperfect and wonderful.
All I ever wanted.
Finally, he pulled away and I gasped, needing to catch a breathe I hadn't even realized he'd stolen. His face must have been as red as mine, his crimson blush went all the way to the tips of his ears. He smiled, and then I smiled, and I suppose we smiled like idiots for several minutes.
It was wonderful. Did I mention that already?
I just can't believe it! Naruto-kun said he liked me! Naruto-kun likes me! He likes me as much as ramen! He likes…
Oh my gosh…
He must REALLY like me!
"So um… you want to um… be my girlfriend and stuff?" Our bodies were pressed softly together, and I could see Naruto's blush extended all the way down his neck as well. But oddly enough, even though my hands were around his neck and his taste was on my lips I felt… calm. As if I'd borrowed some of his confidence through the kiss and he'd borrowed a bit of my shyness. Or maybe I've finally peeled back his layers to see the true Naruto? Like an onion. Oh gosh, he's MY onion now!
"Yes, I want you to be my onion!"
"Huh?" Naruto's eyebrows sky rocketed towards his hairline.
Oh no!
"I just mean um… that you've got layers like an onion that I want to peel off. To get to know you better." My hand went to my mouth in shock.
Oh god. I'm burning every copy of Icha Icha Paradise in Konoha!
"You want to peel off my layers eh?"
"I didn't mean, it's just…darn Icha Icha Paradise!"
Naruto eyes became as big as dinner plates. I've surprised the most unpredictable ninja twice in one day. If I wasn't about to die from embarrassment, I might have felt impressed. Naruto gasped. "YOU'VE READ ICHA ICHA PARADISE?"
"No! I mean I-I just… It was for research!" Naruto's grin was turning slightly lecherous so I smacked him on the arm lightly. "I was just wondering about the man that you went off to train with but I…" Naruto was wriggling his eyebrows at me again. "Oh fine! Yes, I read Icha Icha Paradise! Twice! I'm a fallen woman!"
I turned away, and willed the sky to fall down upon me.
"Not only are you beautiful and kind…" I heard faint splashes behind me and felt Naruto gently hug me from behind. "And accept me being the host of the Kyubi… but YOU'RE A CLOSET PERVET TOO?" Naruto laughed happily, grabbed my waist, and spun me around. "YOU'RE AWESOME!"
I turned around and he captured my lips again, and all thoughts fled from my mind and it was only me, him, and the night.
Is he kissing me to distract me because…
Well I'm perfectly alright with that in all honesty.
I broke away and smiled. My head still felt like it was wrapped in soft cotton. "Um, don't tell anyone okay?"
Naruto, stepped back from me and led me off of the lake. "I promise. Your secret is safe with me. Don't tell anyone about my mad dancing skills either okay? It's not manly."
"I promise." We held hands as we continued to walk out of the training grounds.
"So… do you want to go get some ramen?"
"Naruto-kun! You just ate ramen!" I grabbed my jacket off the log on our way out.
"Hey, I've got to visit ramen to let her know our relationship is changing. Tell her there's a new girl in my life and let her down gently ya know." He tugged me into his side and wrapped his arm around me.
"How do you know ramen's a she?"
"You haven't been talking to Sakura have you? Cause I told her, me and Neji are not…"
"Err, nevermind."
And so, we walked off into the night, toward the ramen stand where I'm sure we will walk to many many times in the future. We had finally learned when to speak up and when to listen. And what we didn't know, we could learn together.
"You know, any time you want to peel my layers you just gotta ask."
The End
C&C is greatly appreciated! Please, review. Thanks for reading everyone!


text: Article | July 01, 2007Vowel Characteristics: The Potential Effect on Assessment and Treatment Sandra Levey Author Affiliations & Notes Sandra Levey Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Lehman College of the City University of New York, Bronx, NY © 2007 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Article Information Speech, Voice & Prosody / Articles Article | July 01, 2007 Vowel Characteristics: The Potential Effect on Assessment and Treatment SIG 1 Perspectives on Language Learning and Education, July 2007, Vol. 14, 25-27. doi:10.1044/lle14.2.25 SIG 1 Perspectives on Language Learning and Education, July 2007, Vol. 14, 25-27. doi:10.1044/lle14.2.25 View Article Figures Tables PDF PDF Supplemental Data Supplements Multimedia Share Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest Tools Get Citation Citation Levey, S. (2007). Vowel Characteristics: The Potential Effect on Assessment and Treatment. Perspect Lang Learn Educ, 14(2), 25-27. doi: 10.1044/lle14.2.25. Download citation file: RIS (Zotero) EndNote BibTex Medlars ProCite RefWorks Reference Manager © 2018 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association × Alerts User Alerts You are adding an alert for: Vowel Characteristics: The Potential Effect on Assessment and Treatment You will receive an email whenever this article is corrected, updated, or cited in the literature. You can manage this and all other alerts in My Account The alert will be sent to: Confirm × Sign In or Create a free account to receive alerts. × Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an essential factor in assessment and/or treatment of speech or language disorders, determining whether a clinical assessment and/or treatment approach is effective (Apel & Wolter, 2004). Practitioners must be aware of the characteristics of vowels when choosing vowels to be used in assessment and/or treatment of second language learners with speech or language difficulties (Rochet, 1995). Practitioners frequently concentrate exclusively on oral production. This emphasis on production ignores the possibility of difficulty in the perception of vowel differences by native English speakers or by learners of a new language. EBP requires more careful consideration of factors that may influence a valid assessment of speech or language abilities. First Page Preview × View Large Subscribe to view more For full access to this article, log in to an existing user account, become a SIG affiliate, or purchase a short-term subscription. Become a SIG Affiliate Join a SIG Pay Per View Entire SIG 1 Perspectives on Language Learning and Education content & archive 24-hour access $25.00 Buy Now This Issue 24-hour access $17.00 Buy Now This Article 24-hour access $10.00 Buy Now Sign In or Create an Account Please sign in using your ASHA.org login. If you do not have an ASHA login, you may register with us for free by creating a new account. Sign In or Create an Account We've Changed Our Publication Model... The 19 individual SIG Perspectives publications have been relaunched as the new, all-in-one Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups. Learn more > Related Articles Effects of Intensive Voice Treatment (the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment [LSVT]) on Vowel Articulation in Dysarthric Individuals With Idiopathic Parkinson Disease: Acoustic and Perceptual Findings Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, August 2007, Vol. 50, 899-912. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2007/064) Patient Acceptance of Invasive Treatments for Tinnitus American Journal of Audiology, June 2018, Vol. 27, 184-196. doi:10.1044/2017_AJA-17-0015 Examining Acoustic and Kinematic Measures of Articulatory Working Space: Effects of Speech Intensity Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, May 2018, Vol. 61, 1104-1117. doi:10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0388 Consonant and Vowel Identification in Cochlear Implant Users Measured by Nonsense Words: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, April 2018, Vol. 61, 1023-1050. doi:10.1044/2018_JSLHR-H-16-0463 Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus Parameter Optimization for Vowel Acoustics and Speech Intelligibility in Parkinson's Disease Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, March 2018, Vol. 61, 510-524. doi:10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-17-0157 Related Topics Speech, Voice & Prosody

subset: commoncrawl


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Training Opportunities in BCB
Participation in Computational Biology related conferences is an important part of the PhD training experience in BCB at Iowa State University. Many BCB faculty take part or help organize these conferences. Current students from BCB participate in many of them. Current 2017-2018 conferences which may be of interest include:
- 2017 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine, Nov. 13-16, 2017, Kansas City, MO, USA, http://muii.missouri.edu/bibm2017/
- 10th International Conference on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology 2018 (BICOB). The CFP and other useful information about the conference can be found at http://sceweb.uhcl.edu/bicob18/index.html.
Here is a list of several conferences important to the BCB program which may be completed but helpful to search for the current conference:
- ACM-BCB http://acm-bcb.org/
- IEEE-ICCABS http://www.iccabs.org/ -- 6th Year - Oct. 13-15, 2016, GA Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA
- ISBRA http://alan.cs.gsu.edu/isbra16/
- RECOMB http://www.crg.eu/en/event/15th-recomb-comparative-genomics-satellite-workshop, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain, Oct.4-6, 2017
- BICoB http://www.cs.umb.edu/bicob/
- ISMB https://www.iscb.org/ismbeccb2017
- PSB http://psb.stanford.edu/
- BIBE http://bibe2016.asia.edu.tw/
- APBC http://www.sfasa.org/apbc2016/apbc2016.html
- CIBB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Meeting_on_Computational_Intelligence_Methods_for_Bioinformatics_and_Biostatistic
- MLDM www.mldm.de July 15-21, 2017 in New York
Here is a list of conferences contributed by BCB students:
- ASCB's Cell Biology Annual Meeting 2016, Dec. 3-7, San Francisco, CA
- ASPB's Plant Biology: http://plantbiology.aspb.org/ [Plant Biology]
- ASPB's Midwest Meeting: http://midwest.aspb.org/ [Plant Biology; only universities in midwest]
- RECOMB/ISCB Conference on Regulatory and Systems Genomics, with DREAM Challenges: https://www.iscb.org/recomb-regsysgen2016 [highlights from DREAM challenges plus Systems and Regulatory biology]
- Great Lakes Bioinformatics Conference: https://www.iscb.org/glbioccbc2016 [Broad topics in BCB]
- Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS): https://nips.cc/Conferences/2016 [Machine Learning]
Computer Science oriented conferences:
- COCOON http://optnetsci.cise.ufl.edu/cocoon16/
- IWOCA http://iwoca2016.cs.helsinki.fi/cfp.html
- WABI http://conferences.au.dk/algo16/wabi/
- SODA http://www.siam.org/meetings/da16/index.php
- STOC http://acm-stoc.org/stoc2016/
- AICoB http://grammars.grlmc.com/AlCoB2016/
- CPM https://faculty.biu.ac.il/~cpm2016/


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Ultrasound produces sound waves that are beamed into the body causing return echoes that are recorded to "visualize" structures beneath the skin. The ability to measure different echoes reflected from a variety of tissues allows a shadow picture to be constructed. The technology is especially accurate at seeing the interface between solid and fluid filled spaces. These are actually the same principles that allow SONAR on boats to see the bottom of the ocean.
How do patients prepare for an ultrasound?
Preparation for ultrasound is minimal. Generally, if internal organs such as the gallbladder are to be examined, patients are requested to avoid eating and drinking with the exception of water for six to eight hours prior to the examination. This is because food causes gallbladder contraction, minimizing the size, which would be visible during the ultrasound.
In preparation for examination of the pelvic ultrasound, it is recommended that you drink at least four to six glasses of water for approximately one to two hours prior to the examination for the purpose of filling the bladder. The extra fluid in the bladder moves air-filled bowel loops and the organs are more visible during the ultrasound test.
Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships and fishermen. When a sound wave strikes an object, it bounces back, or echoes. By measuring these echo waves it is possible to determine how far away the object is and its size, shape, and consistency (whether the object is solid, filled with fluid, or both).
In medicine, ultrasound is used to detect changes in appearance of organs, tissues, and vessels or detect abnormal masses, such as tumors.
How does the procedure work?
In an ultrasound examination, a transducer both sends the sound waves and records the echoing waves. When the transducer is pressed against the skin, it directs small pulses of inaudible, high-frequency sound waves into the body. As the sound waves bounce off of internal organs, fluids and tissues, the sensitive microphone in the transducer records tiny changes in the sound's pitch and direction. These signature waves are instantly measured and displayed by a computer, which in turn creates a real-time picture on the monitor. One or more frames of the moving pictures are typically captured as still images.
Doppler ultrasound, a special application of ultrasound, measures the direction and speed of blood cells as they move through vessels. The movement of blood cells causes a change in pitch of the reflected sound waves (called the Doppler effect). A computer collects and processes the sounds and creates graphs or color pictures that represent the flow of blood through the blood vessels.


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TVC #1: Diplomas in Chinese Media & Communication / Optometry
TVC #2: Diplomas in Child Psychology & Early Education / International Business
TVC #3: Diplomas in Clean Energy Management / Advertising & Public Relations
Produced by Intuitive Films for Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP).
A catchy and colorful series of TVCs introducing Ngee Ann Poly's newly-launched courses. It also serves as an invitation to all prospective students to check out NP's Open House and Career Counselling sessions in January 2009.
The three-ad campaign can also be seen in McDonald's outlets islandwide, as well as over TV Mobile.


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Love it or hate it, it's that time of year again – Valentine's Day. And thanks to Hollywood blockbusters and numerous Christmas movies, the idea of a fleeting romance on wintery slopes is ingrained into the public psyche.
Pipe dreams of sexy ski bunnies and hot instructors come to mind, and many long for an evening cuddling up on those furry fireside rugs. But whether you have that special someone or are more commonly referred to as the Valentine's Grinch, there's plenty of fun options at ski resorts around the world to get you caught up in the Valentines spirit.
Grouse Mountain Snowshoe Fondue
This Valentine's Day, Grouse is offering a Valentines adventure for all of you nature lovers. Enjoy an hour long guided snowshoe tour followed by chocolate fondue in their Altitudes Bistro. You can also top the day off with an intimate 5* candlelit dinner at the Peak of Vancouver restaurant.
Skier Speed Dating at Mt. Norquay
Mt. Norquay will play the role of matchmaker this Valentines with their fresh approach to speed dating. Skiers [and boarders] can line up in the 'Singles Love Lane' and board the lift with other lonely hearts. The lift ride will provide some quality one-on-one time and at least participants will have the common interest of snow sports as a conversation starter to avoid any icy moments. Once the ride is over they can either ski off happily into the sunset… or off in opposite directions.
Loveland's Mountaintop Matrimony
If you want to ski for free on Valentines you can do it at Loveland ski area – but you have to get married first. 2015 marks their 24th Annual Mountaintop Matrimony where they conduct annual 'mass weddings" on Valentine's Day. After their ceremonies, the newlyweds can ski or snowboard down the mountain for an after party with wedding cake and prizes. The best-dressed couple even wins a honeymoon.
Reno's Valentines Pyjama Crawl
For those spending their Valentine's in Tahoe, why not get along to the annual Reno Pyjama crawl? The night will combine the joys of relaxing in your PJ's with the ultimate Après nightlife of Reno. This is rumoured to be one of the most fun nights of the year.
Rochester's Romantic Candlelit Ski
Enjoy a sparkling alpine landscape while skiing a candlelit trail in Rochester. Come along with your sweetheart, or simply come with friends for an fun evening out. After skiing you can warm up by the crackling warm fire and sip away at a glass of Champagne.
The Steamboat Ski & Snowboard School will treat local revellers to a spectacular on-snow parade on Valentines night. Skiers and boarders will parade down the mountain by torchlight and the spectacle will be followed by a fireworks display.
Black diamonds are a girl's best friend and skiing in scenic Colorado is a perfect way to spend your Valentines and maybe even propose. Or for a more 'eventful' holiday try out the Sweetheart Snowshoe at Vail Resorts Colorado, or the Cupid's Course Fun Race at their Northstar resort further west. See here for more of my content on Vail.
Get lucky on the chairlifts of Verbier this year with their special Valentines Ski Dating event. Single skiers meet at 9am to get their arm bands, before pursuing other arm-bang wearing sexy singles on the slopes. Meet-ups are also organized throughout the day for coffees, snacks and après.
Some other fun Valentines ideas include the Squaw Valley Moonlit Snowshoe Tour and the Val Thorens Ice Sculpture Demonstration with FREE mulled wine for the ladies. What's not to like? Don't be the Valentine's Grinch this year – get out and enjoy a day on the slopes.
This paid post was commissioned as part of the #HipmunkCityLove project but the winter inspiration was my own. 🙂


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My first typology of property is here. In it I differentiate between contract enforcement among family/friend, anonymous strangers, and government. Adam Gurri responded, postingray ban sunglasses Best Price
You are definitely correct that the literature and experience has demonstrated that voluntary mechanisms are possible and widespread. Instead, it's a matter of whether you can stop strangers from breaking into your house and stealing your stuff without government, which to my mind is a separate question from how behavior within the context of transactions is disciplined. I'm not sure the answer is as clear there; certainly *some* sort of threat of force is often required.
His point made me realize my typology was incorrect. We must not only consider the enforcement of contracts, but also immediate violence and theft. Therefore, the typology can be further broken up. Below is a table illustrating the possibilities.
|Anonymous strangers
The first question is what protects against breaking contracts or violence and theft among family and friends, 1 and 2 in the table. The answer, repeated interaction. It is a losing strategy to defect when the person is able to defect the next round. This is a consensus among economists that state enforcement is unnecessary for small homogeneous groups.
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The second part is more interesting, how to enforce contracts among anonymous strangers, 3 in the table, and how to ensure there is no violence and theft against anonymous strangers 4. Most economists are unclear on the distinction between the two options, however it is an important one. There is much evidence, international trade being the primary one, that state enforcement is unnecessary to protect contracts among anonymous strangers. However, as Gurri pointed out, the state is likely necessary to protect against violent expropriation from anonymous strangers.
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As such, the state exists less to protect private property per se, and more to protect against a specific type of encroachment on private property. In fact, given that many major American cities did not have police departments until the mid 19th century, it seems state exist primary to prevent large scale violence.
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The last section is less interesting. Government has little incentive to violate contracts because it is usually easier to directly expropriate wealth. The disagreement is how to ensure government does not expropriate wealth.


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If you've ever been dazed and confused by home financing options, or just wanted a handy resource for mortgage tips to help you save money and improve your financial situation, help is here.
In the Lending Café, New Penn Financial's mortgage experts offer their advice and insights into the complex world of mortgage lending-to make things simpler for you. No financial jargon here, just straight talk in simple layman's terms. Stop by our blog often for information on all things mortgage related. We hope you find the Lending Café a helpful resource that helps you make the best decisions regarding your own mortgage needs.
At the Lending Café, you'll have to supply your own cup of coffee, but we'll supply plenty of food for thought.
Financial Literacy Guide New Penn Financial, LLC is committed to helping consumers increase their own capability to make sound financial choices. Being able to manage one's financial life and make the financial decisions that will serve one's life goals require a combination of knowledge, skills, and action. Learn More
One of the best things about owning your own home is that, simply by buying it, you are investing in your future. Unlike renting, every time you make a payment on your mortgage, you are building more equity and own more of your home.
This makes homeownership a potentially important element of retirement planning. With Social Security in some hot water and people living longer, the need to save up for your post-retirement life is paramount. If you have done the math and need extra income in your golden years to bridge the gap between your savings and your expenses, then your home can be a viable and valuable asset to maintain a high quality of life.
But how exactly do you access the equity in your home in retirement? A home offers possible value to retirees in several distinct ways:
Sell your home Maybe the home you bought was perfect for a growing family, but now that the kids have found their own places, it may be too big. Heating, cooling and powering a larger home can be costly. Not to mention that multistory homes may pose difficulties for older residents with mobility issues. One of the simplest ways to generate extra income is to sell your home and downsize to something that matches your current lifestyle.
One of the best things about owning your own home is that, simply by buying it, you are investing in your future. Unlike renting, every time you make a payment on your mortgage, you are building more equity and own more of your home.
This makes homeownership a potentially important element of retirement planning. With Social Security in some hot water and people living longer, the need to save up for your post-retirement life is paramount. This is on top of a troubling new finding by the Employee Benefit Research Institute that claims that the Baby Boomer generation and their children remain "woefully unprepared for retirement."
"Homeownership is an important element of retirement planning."
A leg up in retirementGoing into their golden years, many Americans struggle to build up a sufficient reserve of funds. By being able to turn the equity in your home into cash you can live on if you need it, homeowners have a serious leg up when it comes to retirement savings.
"That is really going to improve a retiree's cash flow, especially for people relying on withdrawals from their savings because they don't have a pension," Jamie Hopkins, co-director of the retirement income program at the American College of Financial Services, told Bankrate.
On April 18, 2016, Business Insider reported that rental prices in major markets, including San Francisco, had finally begun to drop. But let's face it—the sub $1,000 one-bedroom apartment in major markets is now merely a story for millennials to tell their grandkids.
For those thinking about becoming a first-time homeowner, the long-term benefits of home ownership make more sense on paper than renting. However, to a renter who already has a full-time job to worry about, the idea of mailing a check once each month can sound far less stressful than worrying about a down payment, private mortgage insurance, and closing costs, among many, many other things.
One constant formula used in the housing industry states that the less daunting home ownership feels, the more likely renters will become homeowners. Even amid increased regulation, private lenders have been working for years to make home ownership comprehensible, simplifying the process with state-by-state training and testing requirements that ensure loan officers are able to handle a wide index of scenarios. With top lenders, it is even common for borrowers to have their loan officer's cell phone number.
Although borrowers who take advantage of these highly skilled loan officers are never alone in the home buying process, it is critical for first-time homeowners to go into this process with an understanding of some of the unique aspects and costs that go into a mortgage. Here are the most important ones:
No matter what side of the homebuying process you are coming from — buyer or seller — the home appraisal is an essential step. Even if a buyer has been pre-approved for the full value of a home that they love, getting it inspected can have an impact on the deal in many serious ways.
A home appraisal is primarily important in establishing the true value of a home. Just because a seller is looking for $300,000 doesn't mean a home isn't actually worth $200,000. An unfavorable appraisal can stop a sale dead in its tracks.
"A home appraisal is primarily important in establishing the true value of a home."
A home is one of the biggest investment you can make in a lifetime. This refers not just to the cost of the property and land itself, but also to maintenance costs. To maintain or build a home's value, homeowners will be required to spend on renovations and upkeep.
But what if you do not have the excess income to spend on a major renovation? That's where home improvement loans can help.
"To maintain or build a home's value, homeowners will be required to spend on renovations and upkeep.
A home improvement loan is, as the name implies, a loan made for the express purpose of allowing a borrower to upgrade their home. Typically, you are borrowing against the equity currently in your home, thus have a similar process of approvals as a mortgage refinance.
Touching nearly every American at every level is the crisis that is student loan debt. As college education has become an important requirement for most well-paying jobs, the cost of higher education has grown dramatically over the last several decades. Americans now owe a total of nearly $1.3 trillion on student loans — with roughly seven million borrowers currently in default, and millions more behind on their payments.
As temperatures start falling, your home runs the risk of pipes freezing. A frozen water pipe is no small inconvenience: besides reducing healthy water flow to a trickle, as the water cools and expends, pipes run the risk of bursting. A burst pipe can cost you serious money when it comes fixing the pipe and the water damage.
To avoid the expensive disaster caused by frozen pipes, follow these simple tips:
Drain all outdoor and underinsulated pipes completely and turn off water flow from the main source. Do not fill the pipes with antifreeze as it is poisonous and could leak into your water supply.
For indoor pipes in unheated areas, wrap pipes with heat cables, heat tape or pipe sleeves to preserve warmth. A heater lamp can also work to keep pipes flowing.
For homeowners and even aspiring homebuyers, having insurance for a property is essential. But one incredibly useful form of insurance is often ignored until it's too late and the damage is done: flood insurance.
It is important to consider flood insurance because your typical homeowners or home insurance policy rarely includes flood coverage under their standard policy. Many consumers are not aware of this face, as shown by a recent study conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners which revealed that 33 percent of homeowners mistakenly believe that flood damages are covered under a standard homeowners policy.
Even in areas not known for flooding, the risk is palpable: floods are the number one natural disaster, in terms of frequency, in North America. Making matters worse is the fact that only a tiny fraction of homes are covered in case of flood.
As the cold weather starts rolling in across the country, it becomes increasingly important to prepare your home for winter. Not only will it save you money on your utility bills, but it can also help avoid preventable weather damage associated with the season.
Here are a few simple and effective tips for winterizing your home:
Turn off water to any outdoor areas via the main supply point, then drain any excess water that may be lingering in pipes. This will keep pipes from freezing and potentially bursting as the water expands.
Disclaimer: All loans are subject to credit, underwriting and property approval. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions apply. New Penn Financial, LLC. 4000 Chemical Road, Suite 200, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462. Corp NMLS#: 3013. Licensed by the AZ Department of Financial Institutions (license no. 919777). Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Financial Lenders Law license. GA - Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee #22847. IL - Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee. KS - Kansas Licensed Mortgage Company (license no. MC.0025382). MA-New Penn Financial, LLC is licensed in Massachusetts as a Mortgage Lender. Massachusetts Mortgage Lender License - License Number: ML-3013. NJ- Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance. NY- Licensed Mortgage Banker - NYS Department of Financial Services. RI - Rhode Island licensed lender. Additional licenses available at https://www.newpennfinancial.com.
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text:
|22 Apr 2011
ATI 5670, AVIVO, Catalyst
Just got a new HTPC system with a Sapphire HD Radeon 5670 graphics card.
Everything seems to work very well and I can even play Blu-ray 1080P DVD rips
downloaded from the internet, although I have to use the Windows port of MPlayer
since MP doesn't seem to have the ability.
After having played a Blu-ray version of Avatar, I ran SiSoft Sandra and found a
temp of an unnamed component was 79C (174F) and a fan (also not indicated)
was not functioning or functioning poorly. Turned off the computer and felt the case
which was cool to the touch. I don't know if this is some sort of anomaly or mistake
but it got me thinking (not like I wasn't going to do it sometime anyway) about
offloading part of the CPU load to the GPU with ATI AVIVO.
Looking in the Catalyst Control Center, I couldn't find any menu for AVIVO or any
indication that the card was AVIVO capable although that was what the advertising
said. I thought maybe I needed the lastest version of Catalyst and drivers. The
versions or the software that came with the card are:
Driver Packaging Version 8.771-100825a-104559C-ATI
Catalyst Version 10.9
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1071
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0779
OpenGL Version 22.214.171.12488
Catalyst Control Center Version 2010.0825.2146.37182
Surfing on over to the ATI(AMD) website I found the latest Catalyst/driver package
was 11.3 so downloaded it. However I also noticed in the optional downloads
section, the AVIVO Codec package.
Now I'm confused! I thought that AVIVO was a set of software programming and
hardware capabilities that were present on every Radeon card since 4200 I believe
and that the ability to control or refine these capabilities was part of the Catalyst
Center software/driver package. I find myself wondering whether or not I am
somehow getting GPU offloading in playback and I just can't see it or the capability
is just not there but I can obtain it by installing the latest Catalyst/driver package.
Or can I just download the optional codec package. If so, will MPlayer use it to
provide playback, or will this somehow magically enable MP to work.
Can anyone provide a good explanation of how all this fits together and tell me
what I need to do?
|My System Specs
|22 Apr 2011
Win 7 Ultimate x64
rhinse, welcome to the Seven Forums.
AVIVO is a separate download to reduce the overall size of the monthly Catalyst update for those that don't want or use it. For those like you that do then you have to download and install the separate package. Assuming you are running the 11.3 with AVIVO installed and it has the new Catalyst Control Center (CCC) you should find the setting for it under Video (don't mind that it isn't called CCC, they changed the name of it for those with completely AMD systems; both GPU and CPU/chipset),
If yours doesn't look like that click on Preferences near the top right and set it to Advanced view.
As for those temperature readings, get rid of Sandra as it always has been and still is a buggy mess as far as hardware monitoring goes. You aren't the first I have seen have it give wrong or misleading info (try having it outright tell you that your CPU fan isn't spinning, when you know it very well is). A better option for overall system monitoring and not just the video card would be something like this,
HWiNFO32 Download
Also for just monitoring the video card you already have what you need in the CCC. Click on Performance and then click on AMD Overdrive, and there will be gauges and numeric readout for the temp and fan speed.
|My System Specs
|22 Apr 2011
Not a guru on this but as I understand it. The GPU has a built in UVD (Unified Video Decoder)which is a hardware processor. AVIVO is the software codex that UVD uses to encode or decode your video. See the following site for more information.
ATI Avivo
You can try this program to monitor what is going on. Run it with your current setup and then install AVIVO and see if it changes the loads.
AMD System Monitor Version 1.0.5
If you decide to update your drivers, uninstall the old drivers first and then install the new ones. Do not use Driver Sweeper as some people recommend as it can dork your system.
|My System Specs
|22 Apr 2011
Thanks for the input!
I think I'd like to install the latest version of Catalyst and drivers.
If I uninstall the current Catalyst manager, will that remove the drivers also or is that a separate removal?
What happens to my screen if I remove the drivers?
Do I install the new Catalyst Manager and drivers and then install the optional AVIVO codec package?
Can I install the optional package on top of my current Catalyst Mgr and drivers or do they have to come from the same package?
I'm still a little bit confused by AVIVO. I have read that UVD decoding is present in hardware and is always utilized by the video card to process HD video. I'm not sure what AVIVO does other than provide a codecthat somehow works in tandem with UVD and insures that video is processed by the GPU rather than the CPU. I have also read that playback software must be able to utilize the AVIVO components (I assmue that means the codec) or at least interface with the codec to insure offloading tasks to the GPU. I iassuming that if the AVIVO components (whatever they are) cannot be utilized, all video processing will be performed by the CPU.
Am I even close to understanding this?
|My System Specs
|22 Apr 2011
Yes you are getting close. The UDV is hardware and normally will handle the video. The Avivo is an enhancement to the UDV for higher quality and also has options that can be tweaked by CCC.
The Catalyst Manager handles the uninstall and install of all the drivers and related software. Go to Control Panel/Programs and Features and click on CM and it will let you uninstall all the programs or just some. When updating I use CM and let it uninstall everything. Then a new version of CM will be installed with the new software. When installing Avivo it opens the CM and shows what is installed and lets you install Avivo.
When you uninstall the ATI drivers the system will revert back to default Windows driver and your screen will blank out for a few seconds and then come back using the default drivers. That is why I don't recommend Drive Sweeper since it could remove the default Windows driver also.
Read this link to replace the drivers. Express will install everything in the package and Custom lets you choose individual components.
GPU-33: Graphics Driver Installation Instructions for Microsoft Windows 7
|My System Specs
|22 Apr 2011
8 Pro x64
But for the OP's needs, driver sweeper is unnecessary as already mentioned, a standard removal and installing the latest drivers will suffice.
|My System Specs
|22 Apr 2011
Uninstalled the original Catalyst and drivers as suggested. Went soothly. Installed the 11-3 Catalyst and
drivers. It established a new directory on the HD: ATI/Support/11-3_vista32_win7_32_dd_ccc_ocl. The CC
had a slightly different appearance but similar to the one in the removal and reinstall description on the
website. Aslo installed the AVIVO optional package. It added another directory to the HD: ATI/Support/
11-3_vista_win7_32-64_xcode. Reenteing CC, I didn't notice anything different.
I don't know know whether this has had any effect as far as transferring part of the processor workload to
the GPU. I re-ran Avatar Blu-Ray 1080P in MPlayer while running the Performance Monitor simultaneously.
I think it measures CPU workload and ran consistently at less than 40% as I played the video. It would
appear that some of the processor workload is being offloaded but, unfortunately I did not run the PM prior
to adding AVIVO.
If you know of some other test to indicate whether or not AVIVO is functioning properly, I would love to
hear about it. Thanks for all your help.
|My System Specs
|Thread Tools
|Similar help and support threads
Saphire HD 5670
Does anyone know of a fix for display drivers for this card? just installed and keep getting fail logs for the display drivers in the CCS ....Tried installing from the CD and latest/previous version from AMD's site....card seems to work fine otherwise but my monitor isn't recognised so can max at...
|Graphic Cards
HD 5670 problem
I've got a friend who has an almost similar setup to me, except that he has 2gb ram, processor athlon II x2 245 and motherboard is Asus (budget),450 w psu , his problem is the new XFX HD 5670 he has purchased is making games stutter and then the screen goes blank for a few seconds ('No Signal' on...
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Avivo HD isn't existent.
Back then before i reformatted my computer (Around 5 days ago), i had avivo HD in CCC and i never used it but i want to use the video converter feature now. the thing is, i can't find it. I went to catalyst (mobile) 10.6 but i went back to 10.4 because of a brightness problem. Still, in both...
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Win 7 x64 not detecting 5670.
Hey guys, not sure if I've got the right section so I thought I'd give this a go here. Trying to install a 5670 my parents' computer, their motherboard's a Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H. They're currently using the on-board video of the motherboard so I disabled that, installed the card and booted...
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HD5770 Vapor-X no avivo video theatre option CCC menu
saphire hd5770 vapor-x no avivo video theatre option in CCC menu dear sirs; hd2600XT was broken.. than i bougt a new saphire hd5770 vapor-x but today installed the card my pc gigabyte p35cds3r q6600 8gb ram with windows7 64bit.. catalyst 10.2 version than i saw there is no option avivo...
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Program To Track New Mexico School's Progress
Program To Track New Mexico School's Progress
A computer program allows parents to track their children's' schools performance.
The New Mexico Coalition of Charter Schools plans to take the program, called Dashboard, to Santa Fe this Legislative Session.
Dashboard is a pilot program that allows parents to see information about how well the schools are meeting educational expectations. It's one of a kind in New Mexico and is designed to identify problem areas so they can be improved.
"We have to stop making excuses. Educating and finding ways to fix this, that's really what we're pushing," said Michael Vigil of the coalition.
The coalition hopes bringing Dashboard to Santa Fe will show how tax dollars are being spent to educate New Mexico's students.


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This week we're both sporting knitted joggers and we're obviously in love with them. They're so comfy and can quite literally be worn with any type of top, dress them up or down! We went for more of a casual vibe with them this week so we whipped out the trainers, an oversized shirt, a basic tee and we were good to go! We hope you like these chilled out looks guys and thanks for reading as always! Lovee,
S & C xo
Shop The Post!


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Order Pickup
Our pick up location is at our Le Print Express main office, located at 2446 Sycamore Road in DeKalb, Illinois. Le Print Express is open from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday.
Order Shipping
Special arrangements can be made for shipping of completed jobs. If shipping is desired, make certain to discuss it when placing your order.


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Schelde Sports uses cookies to provide you with the best possible service. More about cookies Hide
We gladly help you!+31(0)492530944
Last weekend the FIBA 3x3 European Championships took place at the famous Amsterdam Museum Square. Latvia's men and Russia's women win FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup 2017.Schelde Sports was proud partner of this event. The SAM 3x3 was used during this event.
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Cicero, Indiana REO Properties, Cicero, Indiana Bank REO Homes, Cicero, Indiana Foreclosure Properties
Find foreclosure property in Cicero, IN, all types of REO homes and foreclosed properties including Cicero, IN HUD homes and government foreclosures, VA foreclosure and FHA foreclosures in Cicero, Indiana.
Cicero is great place for buying of foreclosed home. There is a lot of good properties to review!
All visitors can freely search for foreclosed homes and bank owned properties in Cicero. Full details about bank foreclosure you can find on Property details page which is free to view and have no restrictions and limitations. All property data is absolutelly free, contains realtors contacts, so you can call or email for more specific house info.
Use map to research nearby area and even street view mode (if available) to look panorama view of the house and all nearby district.
Buying of a REO home is may to be very profitable investment and REODEV bank owned homes website provide you useful tools to make you investment search more complete and easier!
Indianapolis, IN reo (13590), Fort Wayne, IN reo (3365), South Bend, IN reo (2202), Evansville, IN reo (1685), Anderson, IN reo (1578), Elkhart, IN reo (1504), Kokomo, IN reo (1261), Gary, IN reo (1253), Hammond, IN reo (1219), Muncie, IN reo (1048), Greenwood, IN reo (910), Lafayette, IN reo (859), Terre Haute, IN reo (781), Noblesville, IN reo (734), Merrillville, IN reo (683), Mishawaka, IN reo (683), New Albany, IN reo (664), Valparaiso, IN reo (649), Richmond, IN reo (622), Greenfield, IN reo (600),
REO in all Indiana Cities


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The Humanities Faculty consists of Geography, History, Modern Studies and Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies.
The Principal Teacher is Miss Miller (Modern Studies Teacher).
There are a number of teachers in each subject area within this faculty. They include:
Fuller details about each of the different areas of study will follow shortly. Please visit the site soon.
© 2010-2018 Education Services, Inverclyde Council


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The Leading eBooks Store Online
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Forensic Signature ExaminationCharles C Thomas 1995; US$ 31.95
What exactly is forensic signature examination? Is the comparison of signatures really a science? How is it done? How can one become trained in this discipline? What are the parameters which guide the expert in reaching an opinion? What effects do health, drugs, or alcohol have on signature skills? Can a signature include obvious differences and still... more...
The Police Traffic Control FunctionCharles C Thomas 1996; US$ 38.95
The sixteen chapters of this completely revised Fifth Edition provide a definitive and detailed survey of all phases of traffic control and highway safety. Three completely new chapters highlight the revision: Street and Highway Safety, Zero Tolerance-Driving Under the Influence, and Speed Management. The focus of the text is still on the police role... more...
The Techniques of Observation and Learning RetentionCharles C Thomas 1973; US$ 27.95
Evidential DocumentsCharles C Thomas 1978; US$ 44.95
A Guide to the Development of Special Weapons and Tactics TeamsCharles C Thomas 1982; US$ 31.95
By John A. Kolman, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. With a Foreword by Peter I. Pitchess. CONTENTS: Organization and Structure; Selection of Personnel; Equipment Requirements; Training the Special Weapons and Tactics Team; Hostage Negotiations; Suggested Response to Tactical Situations; The Future of Special Weapons and Tactics Teams .Appendices:... more...
Traffic Accident Investigation and Physical EvidenceCharles C Thomas 1976; US$ 35.95
By D. R. McGrew, Certified Legal Investigator, Peoria, Illinois. With a Foreword by Anthony M. Golec. This comprehensive training manual, reference guide and checklist fills the need that has long existed for a usable text on the recognition, significance and utilization of physial evidence resulting from a traffic accident. It tells how to interpret... more...
Homicide InvestigationCharles C Thomas 1977; US$ 58.95
By LeMoyne Sriyder, Paradise, California. Having undergone a complete revision and updating for this Third Edition, this classic text of homicide investigation becomes even more useful to medical examiners, police investigators and members of the legal profession. Keeping pace with the great advances in scientific methods and changing legal requirements,... more...
Blood SecretsSt. Martin's Press 2010; US$ 6.79
Blood Secrets reveals how forensic experts read the story of a murder told in the traces of blood left behind, providing crucial evidence that has helped convict criminals who might have otherwise walked free. When Rod Englert began his career in law enforcement, virtually no police force in the world knew how to correctly examine blood spatter.... more...
Windows Registry ForensicsElsevier Science 2011; US$ 68.95
Windows Registry Forensics provides the background of the Windows Registry to help develop an understanding of the binary structure of Registry hive files. Approaches to live response and analysis are included, and tools and techniques for postmortem analysis are discussed at length. Tools and techniques are presented that take the student and analyst... more...
The Police Composite SketchHumana Press 2010; US$ 117.45
Complete with illustrations and drawing tips, this seminal work offers a general composite session philosophy and specific session strategies to both experienced and aspiring forensic artists as well as any lay reader intrigued by this fascinating skill. more...


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Porno Dianno (or Polno as the incorrect-but-less-offensive romanization ^_^ ) is the sexy general from the manga "Bastard!". She was an enemy of the protagonist Dark Schneider, but after he defeated her she eventually joined him (literally 😛 ) She's recently one of the more popular character from that manga.
The sculpt is pretty good in terms of body proportions and details, but the pose was lacking. Therefore I spent some time modifying the pose. Some of the details were bad though, so I also reworked them. Details in Makling of Polno.
She's one of the most time-consuming kits, mostly because I worked and reworked some of the details. But I do like her attitude now ^_^
I bought a new digital camera (Powershot G3) and took this series of pictures, and all I can say is it's an amazing DC! I used to take hours and hours on my Kodak just to get the right angles, color and focus. But the G3 is very versatile, and for models and close ups, the Av mode is invaluable since it allows me to get shots that requires focus across different depths. All in all, I'm very impressed.
| Seam lines: 3/5 Pinholes: 3/5 Casting: 4/5 Fit: 3/5 Part Break: 4/5 Help
This kit is very misleading. You see these cleanly cast pieces and think you can shake the box and get a great fitting kit, but it's totally false. Some pieces don't fit well, like the head to hair and head to body, as well as legs and thighs. Yikes! Some random pinholes too.
|Please see Makling of Polno.


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Viewer's Discretion: Pre-Nazi Germany series, ghost's story worth the effort
<b>'BABYLON BERLIN' (NETFLIX)</b>
So much historical drama about Germany, particularly the works that reach our shore, focus on the Nazi years, but "Babylon Berlin" takes us the era before, the Weimar Republic, a period of legendary decadence that ensued following the first-time democratization of the country. It was an explosion that could not be contained.
Officials tried, though, and "Babylon Berlin" follows one, Kommissar Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch), who comes to Berlin to chase down compromising photos of an official from his hometown. Rath becomes embroiled with a pornography conspiracy, as well as the iron hand of police corruption and the underbelly of anti-Stalinist communists from Russia who operate in Germany.
Trapped amidst this sweep of historical events along with Rath is Charlotte Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries), who to support her poverty-stricken family works in a secretarial capacity at police headquarters by day and as an elite call-girl in a debauched nightclub at night. But Charlotte has aspirations — she's a natural investigator, and her energy at getting the job done is helping her possibly make something more of her life.
"Babylon Berlin" captures the excitement of living in this era. It's musical, and dance scenes are particularly unique and skillfully realized for television, rousing and dark and intense and inviting, functioning well as a representation by movement of the broader culture it portrays. Bruch and Fries are also engaging in their roles, rounded out by Peter Kurth as Oberkommissar Bruno Wolter, neither a good guy nor a bad guy, but one of those gray creatures that inhabit the space between and, in the end, usually end up being the pivotal ones in defining how the world operates.
Most movies that claim to be ghost stories are not. They are the stories of hauntings, since they are told entirely from the point of view of the living human. These narratives depend on the distortion of perception to portray events that in the story of a ghost might not be so immediate or even prevalent.
David Lowery's "A Ghost Story" seeks to rectify this situation by telling the biography of an actual ghost. It's a quiet, contemplative film that portrays the obsessive monotony of a ghost's existence, the unsettled emotions that collide with the locational imprisonment that create momentary disturbances in the human realm.
At its most basic, "A Ghost Story" is about a couple, played by Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, who are having slight issues about moving out of their house. After Affleck dies in a car accident, he becomes a ghost, we follow what happens to him as he lurks around the house.
Lowery delivers a poetic representation of this concept. When a person dies, they rise with the blanket they die in as a shroud with eyeholes. At first, it's an absurd nod to our traditional representation of ghosts, but this becomes a visual that is almost too much to bear as the spirit is draped with an object signifying separation from its own life. It's a barrier, a mark, that separates the ghost from its former life.
Lowery plays with the perception of time to get the ghostly experience across fully. It's one of singular purpose that makes all of history seem like a wisp of action, with occasional moments of focus that accentuate the themes of contemplative stretches of the film. Either as metaphor and literal presence, Lowery's ghost has a lot to reveal about our place within our own existence.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


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Megan, of course, attended George W. Bush's coming-out as a motivational speaker Monday at the Fort Worth Convention Center; we've also got the slide show to prove it. Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart weighed in; the Star-Telegram's reporting on the Get Motivated! founders gets a brief shout-out. And, by way of a bonus video, after the jump you'll find, as promised, Rachel Maddow's follow-up piece on The Lodge's close encounter with Newt Gingrich. Says reporter Kent Jones, "Best assignment ever."
|The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
|Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
|George W. Bush Hits the Lecture Circuit
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QWK LN2 (P&P Tuning) wrote:
Yes and no..... Take a look at my how to....
Leafy (Club Jeffie FEA man) wrote:
Ha, it will hardly ever see WOT. Thats a lie.
Also how do I determine if its ALPHA N or a speed density tune to start with
Emry wrote:
Wouldnt the speed density be easier to work with? Is it possible to find a speed density file and reflash the pcm to use this?
Addicted to meth wrote:
Emry wrote:
Wouldnt the speed density be easier to work with? Is it possible to find a speed density file and reflash the pcm to use this?
Some 97's have speed density from the factory (some being the key word). The ones that have speed density in 97 are also missing some other files that the alpha-n ones have.
I have tuned a couple cars with 97 speed density files. Both cars were driveable and performed well. 1 had these little hiccups that we could never get out in normal driving. The other car was perfect.
Yes you can flash a 97 speed density file to your 97 ecu if it is not already speed density.
QWK LN2 (P&P Tuning) wrote:
The injector constant formula is in my how to.... As for the pulsewidth modifier, if yours is SD, there is a good chance the multiplier is not even there.... The best thing to do is pull the file from the truck... Send it to me so I can take a look and I'll tell you what your working with... email is email@example.com
Emry wrote:Its in the tune......
My question on the constant is where do I locate the stock constant?


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South Chapel
Aleksander Furman
September 18, 1923 - September 30, 2017
(519) 253 - 7234
Passed away peacefully at the age of 94. Beloved husband of 57 years to Genowefa, loving father of Alice Bochus (Paul) and Diane DelZotto (Frank), devoted grandfather of Monica, Michael, Alana and Robert. Fondly remembered by nephews Zenon, Ryszard and Darek. Survived by two brothers,three sisters, and many nieces and nephews in Poland. Aleksander was predeceased by younger sister Helena (2006), brother Jozef (2007) and sister Jozefa (2014). Aleksander was born in 1923 in Blazkowa, Poland and at age of 19 was taken under guard to work in a labour camp in Westphalia, Germany from1942 to 1945. When liberated, Aleksander worked for the British military in forestry in Germany. Officials from the League of Nations advised that he could come to Canada to work in forests, farms, mines or construction. Aleksander chose to work in forestry and immigrated to Canada in 1948 under contract to Ontario Hydro in Renfrew. In 1951 he moved to Lac St. Jean, Quebec where he worked on a Hydro plant. In 1953 Aleksander moved to Windsor and soon obtained employment with Chrysler and remained with the company for 33 years. Aleksander was very active in the Polish Peoples Home Association (Dom Polski) for over 60 years during which he served in various capacities including recording secretary, treasurer and on other committees. Aleksander faithfully attended Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. The family would like to extend special thanks to the PSWs at Paramed North and to the staff at WRH Ouellette Campus for their excellent care. Visitation was held at Windsor Chapel (South Chapel) 3048 Dougall Ave, on Sunday, October 1 from 5:00-8:00 pm with prayers at 7:30 pm. Funeral Mass was held on Monday, October 2, at Holy Trinity Polish Catholic Church, at 10:00 am. Interment was held at Heavenly Rest Cemetery. In kindness, donations may be made to C.N.I.B. Aleksander was an avid reader and inspired all by his dedication to family and community, his devotion to faith, his deep passion for history, geography and current affairs. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends who loved him dearly.
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1700 Tecumseh Rd. East, Windsor, Ontario N8W 1C7 :: (519) 253 - 7234


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Anyone who attended George W. Bush's campaign events over the last few days heard a number of familiar themes, including tax cuts, defense spending, education and tort reform.
But he or she perhaps picked up on something less predictable as well: Mr. Bush is homesick.
During a speech on Tuesday night, he lapsed into a reverie about the morning rituals he misses and how long it had been since he visited the swath of land in Texas where he and his wife, Laura, are building a ranch.
At other times he talked about his cats. He pined for his dog.
He was off his game on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday, and again today. He sniffled through speeches. At one point, characterizing the relationship between the United States and Israel, Mr. Bush mused, ''They're our buddy.'' Today, visiting an elementary school in Nashua that was celebrating what it called Perseverance Month, he told the gathered schoolchildren: ''This is Preservation Month. I appreciate preservation. This is what you do when you run for president. You've got to preserve.''
And the most difficult part of that endeavor, he said, was being on the road.
It all made for an interesting contrast. Vice President Al Gore comes off as one of the most ardent, ambitious aspirants to the Oval Office in quite some time, a man who would crawl across broken glass to get there.
Mr. Bush comes off as a man who wants it, but not at any price, and sometimes not as much as he wants to wake up in his own bed at the Governor's Mansion in Austin, Tex., wander downstairs to make a pot of coffee, let out the pets and fetch the newspaper.Continue reading the main story
Maybe that is one of the reasons why many Americans like him. And maybe it was what the person who introduced him at an event on Wednesday had in mind when he said, ''Governor Bush, William McKinley was elected president by sitting on his front porch. You were born 100 years too late.''
More Degrees of Separation
Mr. Bush is happy to separate himself from both Mr. Gore and President Clinton, and has been more aggressive about it lately.
Last week, a new line appeared in his speeches, and that does not happen too often. To rally voters in Iowa, Mr. Bush began talking about what this election really means.
''It's the beginning of the end of the Clinton era,'' he said.
It was a freighted statement, because one of the signals it sent to Republican voters was that if they wanted the White House back, as they surely did, it was time to unite around the front-runner and send him into the general election as unscathed and unbowed as possible.
It also made a tacit claim to morality at the same time that Mr. Bush was facing questions about abortion and giving answers that might not be wholly satisfying to religious conservatives.
In Mr. Bush's victory speech after the Iowa caucuses on Monday night, he went a step further, not only referring to the Clinton era but also appealing to Americans ''weary of scandals and alibis.''
On Wednesday, in Concord, someone in the audience played into his hands, asking Mr. Bush how he would handle the baggage of Mr. Clinton's behavior if he were in Mr. Gore's position.
''I wouldn't have been in his position,'' Mr. Bush said. ''I wouldn't have accepted the vice presidency under Clinton.''
Today, when he was asked a similar question by a reporter, Mr. Bush said of Mr. Gore: ''I don't think he can figure out how to handle his relationship with the president. He distances, he doesn't distance. He distances, he doesn't distance.''
Bush's Greatest Hits
In the semiotics of political campaigns, perhaps nothing is as revealing as the music that plays at a candidate's events. Mr. Bush's aides have assembled an entire soundtrack, which made its debut last week, and the song list is almost a synopsis of Mr. Bush's persona and strategy.
''La Bamba'' is on it, with Spanish lyrics that evoke both Mr. Bush's ability to speak the language and his outreach to Hispanic voters.
The singer John Fogerty's ''Centerfield'' is on it, a reminder that Mr. Bush loves baseball, was once the managing general partner of the Texas Rangers and is ''ready to play.''
There is plenty of country and western for that down-home, folksy feel. There is a bit of mild disco, just to show that Mr. Bush can groove.
Van Morrison's ''Bright Side of the Road'' telegraphs Mr. Bush's optimism, while Tom Petty's ''I Won't Back Down'' claims a certain degree of tenacity.
And Sting's ''A Brand New Day'' promises precisely that. Never mind that the song is more romantically than politically inclined.
After a miscue several weeks go, when ''Cat's in the Cradle,'' about a son who grows up to be like his aloof father, played at several campaign appearances, all the lyrics were carefully vetted this time around.Continue reading the main story


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Jesus served the physical and spiritual needs of people. Ringgold Church is committed to doing the same and we don't have to travel far to do so.
At Ringgold, we call our local missions "Out Reach" events. Throughout the course of the year, we have multiple outreach events lined up to serve and support our surrounding communities. God has truly blessed Ringgold Church with a location that can reach thousands of people. Check out some of the current and upcoming Out Reach Events and join our team as we go and love on our communities by serving and sharing the love of Jesus.
OutReach Events
Random Acts of Kindness
RACK is a special way our church family is able to support local families during the Christmas Season. If you would like to support us in out mission to provide christmas to local families, please click the button below to see how you can serve.
REACH SHELTER - February 11th - 17th
Each winter, Ringgold serves at the Hagerstown Reach Shelter in various capacities: Serving dinner, laundry, hospitality, and overnight volunteers who assist the staff throughout the night, help prepare/serve/and clean up after breakfast.
Micah's Backpack
A partnership between Washington County Public Schools, HARC, MD Food Bank, and 45 sponsoring churches and community organizations providing backpacks of food to feed hungry students over the weekend.
Tabitha's Table
The mission of Tabitha's Table is to end hunger in the Smithsburg school district. To give towards Tabitha's Table, bring non-perishable foods to church in coming Sunday and place in the grocery chart located in the Go Cafe.


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Enquiries and bookings
For prices and dates, please visit the Course Overview
Mrs Gillian Elsworth
Centre for Power Transmission and Motion Control
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath BA2 7AY
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Tel: +44 (0)1225 386371
This course is run in conjunction with the IMechE.
FP1 - Introduction to Hydraulic Circuits and Components
This introductory course provides a good working knowledge of hydraulic circuits and components by introducing their principles of operation, their performance characteristics, and standard ISO symbol representation. On completion, participants will be able to draw circuit diagrams, and design simple circuits for linear actuators, hydrostatic transmissions and velocity control. They will also appreciate the characteristics of hydraulic fluids, the need for contamination control, and understand the functions of auxiliary devices such as accumulators and coolers. A number of tutorials and extensive laboratory work strengthen the material and show how the new theoretical knowledge can be applied in practice.
Who should apply
Professional engineers, graduates, technicians, managers and supervisory staff, particularly those new to the field of hydraulic fluid power systems. Although the course material is more descriptive than mathematical, a basic mathematical knowledge is helpful.
Further details
Upon completion, participants should be able to do the following:
- Understand the operation of a wide range of hydraulic components and circuits, and be aware of the underlying principles
- Analyse hydraulic circuits from schematic drawings and draw diagrams using standard ISO notation
- Design and analyse simple linear actuator and hydrostatic transmission circuits
- Understand different methods of velocity control, and evaluate circuits for given applications
- Select hydraulic fluids based on their classifications and properties
- Be aware of the effects of contamination, and achieve, monitor and maintain appropriate system cleanliness levels
- Have knowledge of the construction, operation principles, and uses of auxiliary equipment, such as filters, oil coolers, and accumulators.
Fundamental principles
- Comparison between hydraulic, mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems in terms of performance, reliability, efficiency and versatility
- Units for hydraulic and mechanical quantities
- ISO symbol representation of hydraulic components and circuits
- Causes and effects of pressure generation, pressure losses, heat generation, fluid leakage, cavitation, noise, and vibration
- Mathematical relationships between:
- linear actuators: pressure, piston area and transmitted force; flow rate, cylinder dimensions and rod velocity
- valves: orifice area, pressure losses, fluid viscosity and flow rate; flow rate, pressure differential and thermal power
- pumps: displacement, shaft speed and flow rate; flow rate, operating pressure and hydraulic power
- hydraulic motors: pressure, displacement and motor torque; flow rate, displacement and motor speed
Hydraulic actuators
- Construction of linear actuators - cylinder tubes, piston assembly, seals, bearings, end covers, mounting arrangements, cushioning, position transducers
- Actuator sizing - force, velocity, buckling, side loading
- Rotary actuator types (rack and pinion, vane, helical) and applications.
Directional control valves
- Applications for 2-position 2/3/4-way valves and 3-position 4-way valves in open/closed/tandem centre configuration
- Construction of DCVs - stand alone, sub-base, stacking, cartridge designs
- Operating forces and valve actuation
- Logic elements, poppet valves.
Pressure control valves
- Construction, characteristics, and applications of single- and dual-stage relief valves
- Description of sequence valves, unloading valves, and pressure reducing valves including practical circuit examples
- Use of counterbalance valves for braking overrunning loads and winch applications.
Positive displacement pumps
- Types of pumps - external and internal gear pumps, fixed/variable displacement vane pumps, fixed/variable displacement radial and axial piston pumps
- Flow and pressure control, constant power compensators
- Limitations on pump performance - cavitation, mechanical strength, lubrication, bearings, heat dissipation
- Flow, power, and torque equations, pressure/flow characteristics.
Linear actuator circuits
- Principle of operation and function of components in basic circuits, incl. actuator, directional control valve, pump, and pressure relief valve
- Circuits for single and double acting actuators, incorporating 2-position 3-way and 3-position 4-way valves in open-, tandem-, and closed-centre configurations
- Methods for dealing with leakage - use of pilot operated check valves and counterbalance valves
- Over-run protection, dynamic braking and decompression.
Velocity control circuits
- Relationship between piston areas, pressure, and flow on retraction and extension to force/velocity for symmetrical and unequal area actuators
- Influence of relief valves
- Velocity control with simple restrictor valves - flow control and effects of load change
- Circuits with pressure compensated flow control valves
- Meter-in, meter-out, and bleed-off systems
- Deceleration control, transient behaviour.
Modulating valves
- Characteristics and operating principles of proportional, direct drive and servo valves
- Spool characteristics (overlap, underlap) and valve flow ratings
- Valve actuation and open/closed-loop control, time responses
- Multistage valves.
Hydrostatic motors
- Description and comparison of high-speed low-toque motors (e.g. axial piston swash plate, bent axis) and low-speed high-torque motors (e.g. orbit, radial piston, radial piston cam)
- Ideal motor equations
- Causes and effects of volumetric and mechanical inefficiencies
- Motor specifications and selection criteria.
Hydrostatic transmissions
- Open and closed loop systems - example circuits for mobile and industrial applications
- Output speed control
- Performance - power availability and efficiency.
Hydraulic oils and fluids
- Functions, properties, performance classification, and fluid selection
- ISO viscosity grades, effects of temperature
- Fire resistant and biodegradable fluids.
Contamination control
- Sources, types, and effects of solid contaminants; prevention of contamination
- Contamination related failure modes
- Specification and monitoring of system cleanliness levels; establishing, achieving, and maintaining cleanliness targets
- Filter types, rating, location, and performance.
Oil coolers
- Construction and characteristics of oil-to-water and air-blast coolers
- Thermodynamic principles of surface heat exchange
- Energy losses, effects of oil temperature
- Cooler selection and circuit considerations.
- Types and construction of pneumatic accumulators (piston, bladder, diaphragm)
- Application examples - supplementing pump flow, leakage compensation, emergency supply, shock alleviation, suspension, etc.
- Accumulator cycles.
- Linear actuator circuit computer animations
- Velocity control computer animations
- Velocity control tutorial
- Linear actuator circuit design exercise.
- Velocity control circuits
- Proportional valves
- Relief valve characteristics
- Contamination examples
- Hydrostatic transmission
- Circuit design and build exercises
- Linear actuator circuits
- Gear pump characteristics


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Just like the must-have black dress in our wardrobe closet, it's also a must-have to keep a black album in our scrapbook stash! You will always have a need for a basic black 12" x 12" three ring classic leather album.
This versatile album by We R Memory Keepers is perfect for storing your photos or pages for special events such as graduations, anniversaries, vacations, holidays, family events and other celebrations.
Features of the Black Three Ring Album:
Be sure to check out the We R Memory Keepers 12" x 12" Page Protectors - 100 Pack for adding additional pages to this album (ac-660025). If you already have a black album on-hand, you will want to check all of the other fun colors that we have available too.
Very nice
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text: It was one of our regular weekend camping road trip, towards the end of a long Indian summer. Four of us were heading back to home from an obscure village on an obscure road in the interiors of Maharashtra. Coming across a roadside Dhaba, where we had least expected it, we halted for some freshly cooked food. We had been having packed food brought from home since last couple of days. We stuffed ourselves full with spicy jhunka, solid jowar rotis (called bhakar) and varan bhaat topped with ample ghee, prepared by a middle aged man who looked starkly different from locals of the area. Intrigued as to why someone would open up a Dhaba at such an odd place we started chatting with this guy who not only owned the place but also played the role of chef, cleaner, waiter and maître d'hôtel. To us, it was clearly not a wise business decision. Continue reading