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Lady Gaga Goes Delusional (Or Not?) in 'Marry the Night' Prelude
Finally! Lady Gaga has released the prelude to the long-germinating (make that "Germanotta-ating") video for 'Marry the Night.' She's been teasing this bad boy forever, and released a still photo of herself being wheeled on a hospital gurney last week.
This minute-and-a-half long precursor features a Gaga voiceover, as she is being wheeled on that same gurney. Wearing a short, Louise Brooks-style brown bob with bangs and bright orange lipstick, Gaga declares: "When I look back on my life, it's not that I don't want to see things exactly as they happened. I prefer to remember them in an artistic way. Truthfully, the lie of it all is much more honest because I invented it."
She then spouts off a few statements about clinical psychology's assertion that "trauma is the ultimate killer" and the thought-provoking assessment that "memories are not recycled like atoms. They can be lost forever." The Mother Monster calls her past "an unfinished painting" and then proceeds to go on a fashion rant.
Stay with us – it'll all make sense in the end. Her logic and non-linear thought is beyond compelling.
Gaga's point is that she prefers fantasy to reality and to embellish what actually happened in her mind. While that is a dangerous thought process, who hasn't engaged in such thinking? She illustrates that line of reasoning by pointing out the nurses guiding her gurney. She suggests that "they are wearing next season Calvin Klein and so am I" and argues that her white Mary Jane shoes are "custom Giuseppe Zanotti." Which they clearly aren't. But if she thinks they are, in her brain, who's to say they aren't?
Gaga also says that the green gauze hairnets that nurses wear are cocked to the side in emulation of stylish Parisian berets, and she mentions that she thinks mint will be big in fashion next spring. She later says that the caps are meant to keep the blood out of their hair.
We don't know where she is going with this, what's next or what's going to be performed on her, but she mentions Gummy Bears and how one of the nurses has a great a—.
To be continued…
Watch the Lady Gaga 'Marry the Night' Preview


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Australia's Rio Team Welcomed Home
Australia's Olympic team has been given a rousing return to Australia following their Rio campaign.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Governor-General Peter Cosgrove greeted chef de mission Kitty Chiller and flag bearers Anna Meares and Kim Brennan as the left the plane.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Sport Minister Sussan Ley also greeted the lead team.
Cycling champion Meares, who won a bronze medal, says leading the team was a career highlight.
Medal winners travelled business class on the Qantas charters, which rowing gold medallist Brennan described as a "real treat".
"This has been a wonderful team to be a part of, a great team to lead and I couldn't ask for a better way to start Rio and come home," she told Seven.
Family members greeted the other athletes with hugs and kisses in a ceremony at the Qantas hangar at Sydney airport.
Swimmer Mack Horton, who won gold in the 400m, said he was excited to be home but "sad to be leaving the team".
His mum Cheryl was delighted to have him back and proud of his and the team's achievements.
"The whole team has done an amazing job, in particular the way they handled themselves when things haven't gone as they had hoped," she told Seven.
And there was special praise for her son: "He is amazing, what can I say? He takes after his mother."
Surprise gold medallist Chloe Esposito said she was glad Australia could watch her win the country's first medal in the modern pentathlon and her achievement was still to hit home.
"It's so special and it really is sinking in now, seeing all of this," she said.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ready for a butt-and-thigh burner that you can do anywhere? Meet the air squat. It's like your regular squat, only 10 times harder. Bob Harper, best known for his work on NBC's "The Biggest Loser," says the air squat can't be beat for getting in a lower body workout that will also boost your heart rate.
What it does
Tightens the lower body — the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and inner thighs — in a powerful way, because the range of motion is much deeper than with the typical squat. It also tightens the core, especially the lower abs, and raises the heart rate.
What to do
Stand with your feet a bit wider than your shoulders, toes turned out about 45 degrees. Reach your arms forward and lower your butt down past your knees as you keep your weight back and over your heels. (You should be able to wiggle your toes, a sign that your weight is in your heels.) Chest up, eyes forward during the movement. Bring your hands down to your side as you stand. Repeat.
This movement can feel weird for those accustomed to the typical squat, which ends when the upper thigh is parallel to the floor. Beginners might not be able to get that low. Just do what you can, Harper says. Keep working at it, and soon you'll be able to drop your butt to the back of your calves.
How much
Harper employs a Tabata method, which he calls the hardest workout you can do in the least amount of time. It looks like this: 20 seconds of movement, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for eight rounds. So: Air squat for 20 seconds, rest for 10 and then get back to it, for eight rounds in all.


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With a single step inside the historic landmark Warwick Melrose - Dallas, guests know what it means to be in the right place at the right time. Warwick Melrose Dallas's uniquely Texan charm features a new, fashionable brand of comfort.
Built in 1924, on farmland originally owned by American Civil War veteran, Confederate Col. George Mellersh, and designed by Chicago architect C.D. Hill in the classic Sullivanesque Chicago style. The Melrose Court Apartment Hotel opened in late 1924, and quickly became known for its elegant atmosphere and gracious hospitality.
The red brick and flat roof of Warwick Melrose - Dallas has stood as testament to an age of stately grandeur while the city has continued to grow outside its doors. Located near the Uptown, Oak Lawn and Turtle Creek areas, the ultimate hotel experience means enjoying Uptown Dallas to the fullest in an intimate and personable way.
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Grace Reynolds
Mortgage Agent
7676 Woodbine Ave Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario
Why work with a mortgage agent, you ask? As your experienced licensed mortgage professional, I work on your behalf, my clients and not the bank! With access to over 50 lenders, I can help you find the best mortgage solution that suit your specific needs.
Nationally recognized as the winner of Canada's Best Newcomer Agent at the Mortgage Awards of Excellence and one of Canada's Top 50 Young Guns! (1 of only 10 females)
I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work together to assist you or someone you may know, regarding their mortgage financing.
Please feel free to contact me, 24/7, with any questions or concerns you may have.
Thank you!
Grace : )
BLOG / NEWS Updates
BOC maintains overnight rate target at 1/2 per cent; projects moderate growth in Q2
The Bank of Canada is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent. Inflation is broadly in line with the Banks projection in its April Monetary Policy Report (MPR). Food prices continue to decline, mainly because of intense retail competition, pushing inflation temporarily lower. The Banks three measures of core inflation remain below two per cent and wage growth is still subdued, consistent with ongoing excess capacity in the economy. The global economy continues to gain traction and recent developments reinforce the Banks view that growth will gradually strengthen and broaden over the projection horizon. As anticipated, growth in the United States during the first quarter was weak, reflecting mostly temporary factors. Recent data point to a rebound in the second quarter. The uncertainties outlined in the April MPR continue to cloud the global and Canadian outlooks. The Canadian economys adjustment to lower oil prices is largely complete and recent economic data have been encouraging, including indicators of business investment. Consumer spending and the housing sector continue to be robust on the back of an improving labour market, and these are becoming more broadly based across regions. Macroprudential and other policy measures, while contributing to more sustainable debt profiles, have yet to have a substantial cooling effect on housing markets. Meanwhile, export growth remains subdued, as anticipated in the April MPR, in the face of ongoing competitiveness challenges. The Banks monitoring of the economic data suggests that very strong growth in the first quarter will be followed by some moderation in the second quarter. All things considered, Governing Council judges that the current degree of monetary stimulus is appropriate at present, and maintains the target for the overnight rate at 1/2 per cent.
Canadian home sales drop in April
According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales declined in April 2017. Highlights: National home sales fell 1.7% from March to April. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in April was down 7.5% from a year earlier. The number of newly listed homes jumped 10% from March to April. The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) was up 19.8% year-over-year (y-o-y) in April 2017. The national average sale price rose 10.4% y-o-y in April. Home sales over Canadian MLS Systems fell by 1.7% in April 2017 from the all-time record set in March. April sales were down from the previous month in close to two-thirds of all local markets, led by the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and offset by gains in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was down 7.5% year-over-year, with declines in close to 70% of all local markets. Sales were down most in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, where activity continues to run well below last years record-levels. The GTA also factored in the decline, with faded activity compared to record levels set in April last year. Sales in Vancouver are down from record levels in the first half of last year but the gap has started to close, CREA President Andrew Peck. Meanwhile, sales are up in Calgary and Edmonton from last years lows and trending higher in Ottawa and Montreal. All real estate is local, and REALTORS remain your best source for information about sales and listings where you live or might like to. Homebuyers and sellers both reacted to the recent Ontario government policy announcement aimed at cooling housing markets in and around Toronto, said Gregory Klump, CREAs Chief Economist. The number of new listings in April spiked to record levels in the GTA, Oakville-Milton, Hamilton-Burlington and Kitchener-Waterloo, where there had been a severe supply shortage. And with only ten days to go between the announcement and the end of the month, sales in each of these markets were down from the previous month. It suggests these housing markets have started to cool. Policy makers will no doubt continue to keep a close eye on the combined effect of federal and provincial measures aimed at cooling housing markets of particular concern, while avoiding further regulatory changes that risk producing collateral damage in communities where the housing market is well balanced or already favours buyers.


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by Alex Cooper, sports information student assistant
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia College softball team (34-14, 13-9 PBC) enters the 2014 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Tournament as the No. 4 seed, coming off a championship game run a year ago. The single elimination tournament will be hosted by Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C. and pits the top eight teams in the PBC against each other for an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.
The Bobcats will begin play taking on No. 5-seed Flagler College in the first round, with the winner taking on the winner of the No. 1-seed University of North Georgia and No. 8-seed GRU Augusta in the semifinal. The other half of the bracket pits No. 3-seed USC Aiken against No. 6-seed Columbus State University and No. 2-seed Armstrong Atlantic State University against No. 7-seed Francis Marion in the first round.
The Bobcats swept Flagler earlier this year at the Peeler Complex, winning 8-0 and 14-7. Georgia College also took both games at GRU Augusta this year, both by scores of 3-1. The Bobcats were only swept twice themselves this season, one of those coming at the hands of North Georgia, 2-1 and 7-3 on March 27.
Georgia College has made it to the championship game in the tournament four times, winning in 2008, when they defeated North Georgia 4-3 in nine innings.
As a team, the Bobcats rank in the top-3 in the conference in six different categories. On the offensive side, they are first in stolen bases with 104, second in batting average and on base percentage at .299 and .376, respectively and third in runs scored with 238 and hits with 381. The Bobcat pitching staff is ranked third in the PBC with an ERA of 2.27 as a team.
Offensively, the Bobcats have been led this season by senior Whitney Okvist (Kennesaw, Ga.). Okvist hit .441 in the regular season, good for third in the conference. Her 44 runs scored, 67 hits, 74 total bases, .487 slugging percentage and 43 stolen bases all lead the team.
In the circle, freshman Carly Lewis (Seymour, Tenn.) has been the star of the Bobcats, going 16-8 this season with a 1.73 ERA. Lewis has thrown 15 complete games in 19 games started and 145 1/3 total innings. She ranks second in the conference in ERA, tied for fifth in wins, eighth in strikeouts with 102 and first in saves with three.
The Bobcats first round game against Flagler will take place at 1:30 p.m. Friday April 18 in Florence, S.C.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at @GCBobcats on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.


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LIFT Performance Enhancement
- Some days I'm at the end of my rope, others the end of the line. Today I'm at the other end. Of the lane line. • I got to contemplate the koshas...MY koshas...as I got back in the pool (again). My physical body has been rehabbing, so I knew a good swim stroke was in order. My physical body fatigued. Rapidly. My emotional body was saddened that I have let a skillset lapse. • I invited some stellar looking young man to share my lane (because one person per lane while people are waiting is kind of ridiculous). I immediately began swimming better and faster. No I didn't. I thrashed crazily and still tired, needing to cling to the kick board every couple of laps. • My emotional body then felt joy in the thought of being more decent than I am at this moment. And then I just felt silly as I thrashed around hoping I was moving. Which told my intellectual body to just sit this one out. And then, for the love of god, it just all felt right again. Not the swimming...just being at the (starting) end of the lane. • #swim #justkeepswimming #koshas #balance #takeabalancebreak #dailybalanceHappy to be teaching Yin I: Principles of Yin Yoga at @bellapranayoga in June/July. • This 50-hr course is heavily weighted with techniques, training, practice, and methodology of structuring a Yin-based yoga class. The science of stress will be presented and remedies for the ramifications of stress will be covered through a multi-disciplinary approach. Learn how the evidence based biopsychosocial approach, the koshas of Ayurveda, and the energetics of the chakras are related. Also introduced is body reading, sound healing, and use of scents. • June 8-9 June 29-30 July 27-28 See link in bio or at BellaPranaYoga.com/events/ for pricing. • This 50-hr course can be used as YA continuing education credit, as part of the 150-hr Yin Yoga certification, or as part of the 200-hr Yin/Restorative yoga teacher training. See link in bio for more info or contact me with questions. • #yin #yinisin #takeabalancebreak #yoga #yogatampa #tampabayyoga #tampayoga #ayurveda #soundhealing #yogateacher #yogateachertraining #yogateachertrainingcourse #breathe #justbreathe #breathGetting some use from my #plexuswheel, which I keep in front of the telly (stretching and Netflix, duh!). Was inspired by the antics of @julzycorn. Yin is my jam in the post-work hours, in case you haven't noticed. • #yoga #tampayoga #yin #balanceI've been channeling my inner Richard, so I went to purchase some gasoline. And I do believe he was here in full bloom. Who else was a recipient of a beautiful potted plant? • #welcomeghostsCan you have too much selenite? Said to contain healing properties, selenite can affect the emotional body. • I like to wave those Reiki infused wands around like a "magic eraser". Or maybe just give you one to hold for emotional support. Maybe it's just something to look at on my shelf as you contemplate a more balanced emotional state. • Accept you healing however it comes. • #healing #massage #reiki #selenite #meditation #contemplation #massagetampa #yoga #yogatampa #wands #handsnotwands #wandsnothands @amourandlightTools. • The lapis bowl of the healer coupled with rhythmic sound. • #soundhealing #sound #healing #iamyoursandyouaremine #lapis #teyataombekanze #massage #massagetampa #yoga #yogatampa #tampayoga
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Tag Archives: the road less taken
When in Rome
Roam where the journey takes you. While driving around the other morning I got listening to a program on Catholic radio. The man speaking was a former Protestant. (What do you call a former Protestant? I've heard many Christians call … Continue reading
Posted in Sunday Tagged Dr. God, God complex, Jesus, medical advice, the journey, the road less taken Leave a comment


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The Broncos have confirmed what Jay Glazer reported earlier today: John Fox is returning to work on Monday.
"John Fox has been cleared by doctors to return as head coach of the Denver Broncos beginning Monday," the Broncos said in a team-issued statement. "We are very pleased that his recovery from a heart procedure on Nov. 4 has progressed so well.
"Our organization is confident that his health will allow him to meet his head coaching responsibilities. While no formal restrictions will be placed on his workload upon return, he will continue to be monitored by our medical staff as his well-being remains our No. 1 priority."
The Broncos face the Chiefs in Kansas City on Sunday. They have back-to-back home games against the Titans and Chargers in Weeks 14 and 15, respectively.
It's still not known whether Fox will spend a game coaching from the booth before returning to the sidelines.


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Get DVD Talk Feeds
There's no better B-actress on the scene than Debbie Rochon. She also wears her scarlet "B" with a great deal of pride. In fact, she's a devoted fan of fringe cinema and a gifted writer who once had a regular genre column and co-authored the B-Movie Survival Guide. Debbie left Vancouver before her 18th birthday to study acting in New York, where she appeared in many off-Broadway productions, but truly blossomed as a genre actress in the early '90s. What's most striking about Ms. Rochon is her chameleon-like versatility which allows her to slip effortlessly from one well-formed character to another -- a tattoo'd, pierced gothic lesbian in Tromeo and Juliet, a sex-crazed B-starlet in Terror Firmer, a no-nonsense movie censor in Erotic Survivor and a boogie-woogie chimpanzee in Play-Mate of the Apes. OK, so maybe that last one was a stretch, but Debbie eclipses them all as serial killer Jane Toppan in American Nightmare (2000, 91 minutes). Her performance is so raw, so crazed that the shear force of it makes this, well, NIGHTMARE of a flick worth enduring.
The movie: An oily FM reject has himself a "pirate" radio show called "American Nightmare" (a.k.a. the lamest horror conceit of recent memory) where folks phone him up and gab about their deepest fears. Perfect Halloween programming for a group of friends lounging around a totally believable coffee shop (with set decoration by the same folks who do religious "Say No to Nookie" videos). They goad each other into humoring "Caligari" (Chris Ryan) by taking turns being the ninth caller. Get used to this yahoo and his love affair with the microphone, because his show is the thread that strings this whole mess together, as Jane overhears and makes good on her victims' curiously theatrical fears. She derives the most pleasure from tormenting Doug and Wendy Whiner (Brandy Little and Johnny Sneed) who don't die NEAR soon enough. She's a babysitter who squeaks and sobs every other moment because it's the anniversary of her sister's murder. He's a computer geek who doesn't have the gumption to mount her hard drive. So in between killing off their friends by burying them alive, or hacking off their Mr. Happy mid-diddle, she plays hide and seek with the crybaby, has phone sex with Caligari and sends the joystick jockey to ImKillingYourFriends.com. It's horrible. Well, not the deliciously demented kill scenes, or the schizoid weirdness exuded by Ms. Rochon, but everything else reeks. CineSchlockers shouldn't blink when Wendy arrives for her babysitting gig, because B-Queen Brinke Stevens has a cameo as the mom (in wardrobe bound to bring back memories).
Notables: Four breasts. Eight corpses. Phone nookie. Killer cam. Gratuitous goth-rock band. Face painting. "I've been slipped a Mickey" cam. Gratuitous psycho photo and newspaper clipping gallery.
Quotables: Bruce has such a way with words, "Man, I'd tag her so hard her mom would feel it!!!" Time-tested horror dialogue, "What was that?!" and "Be safe!"
Time codes: Time for a nice soapy shower (20:30). Quick! Don't miss Brinke! (24:30). Self-gratification with hunting knife (30:25). Doug and Wendy find love (1:14:25). The entirely groan-worthy ending (1:27:10).
Audio/Video: Presented in a widescreen (1.85:1) print that's almost TOO sharp during those mind-numbing coffee house scenes, but the crisp blues toward the end of the shower scene are as stunning as squeaky-clean actress Rebecca Stacey. Robust Dolby Digital 2.0 track.
Extras: Behind-the-scenes documentary featuring first-time writer/director John Keyes' insights on the development of his story, casting and the hardships of never-ending night shoots. Interviews include most of the supporting cast who also sing Ms. Rochon's praises, but she only appears in clips from the film and on-set footage (25 mins). "Killer in Texas" music video by Ghoultown (4 mins). Static menus without audio. No printed insert or liner notes.
Final thought: Lift Debbie's icy ferocity as Jane Toppan out of the flick and this two-star nod vanishes. Watch her fly this featherless turkey. Recommended.


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British Lords A-Strumming? [VIDEO]
Look at Canadian Member of Parliament Graham Evans, over the speaker's right shoulder, holding the newspaper in both hands. He was caught on camera playing a little air-guitar in the House of Commons as Canada's Defense Secretary was presenting a speech on military cuts.
Evans denies strumming on an imaginary axe, and instead claims he was "just tapping" his fingers on a rolled up program, but it would appear that he is playing the solo of something or other! Watch this video!
[via The Daily What]


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Linux Boot in 5 Seconds (with subscriber link)
The lwn article turned out to be not as impressive as I had hoped and expected from lwn - usually their articles are of excellent quality. Don't get me wrong - I do like what they've done. But the documentation level is too low for my taste. It is far from a howto that someone in the comments then asked about.
But I can recommend the flame war in the comments about how to correctly measure the boot time of a distribution. Come one guys, it's still so far away from 5 seconds, it doesn't matter how you measure it. And yes, some serious changes arelikely needed.
I hope Ubuntu puts a lot of the boot time improvement into the next release. I would put up with a couple bug in the release for that.
Arjan van de Ven Interview
I think that will change. At some point voice detection has to come around and get better than the keyboard and we will finally start talking again - as nature wants us to - instead of quietly sitting in front of our computer.
And at some point there will be developments to directly transfer sentences from your brain to the computer without the need to talk - though I'm not sure if that's really an improvement, language is just too cool an invention imo.
Well, for now I really look forward to improvements in booting time and on latency issues. That's another point were Windows has a really hard time to compete. The drivers' and applications' code is mostly proprietary and hidden somewhere behind closed doors and servers.
It's simply a great technical advantage to be immediately able to look at all the code, see how it works and find out where's the best point to fix a certain problem. And then being able to fix the actual root cause of the problem. That's one of the neatest things about open source.
Registration Hell
Now more and more I notice myself not bothering to register somewhere to add a comment to a bug, or file a new bug if it doesn't really matter that much to me. I've got probably a hundred or more accounts at different places by now and it's so bothersome. I really hope something's going to eliminate that problem at some point...
The actual page that made me write this was a pidgin bug ticket, which is related to pidgin using fsync way too often and causing very bad latency in the process. (~300+ms on my system). I found it using latencytop after reading this interesting interview. And I was wondering if something has been done about the problem. It doesn't look like it...
Bashrc Tipps
Quick Transcoding with Mencoder and Xvid
e.g. bash mencode.sh dvd://
# mencode.sh (c) 2008 linux-tipps.blogspot.com
# settings
BR=1400 # bitrate
lang=en # your language code for the DVD audio track, e.g. en/de/es
OUT=`basename "$1"`"-xvid-fast.avi" # output file in current directory
XVID="lumi_mask:interlacing:nochroma_me:me_quality=4:vhq=1:autoaspect:chroma_opt:bitrate=$BR" # xvid settings
# settings end
[ -f "$OUT" ] && echo File exists && exit 1;
echo Encoding $i
screen -O mencoder -alang $lang -cache 32768 -ovc xvid -oac copy \
-xvidencopts $XVID "$1" -o "$OUT";
You may want to compile xvid and mencoder for your machine to speed it up even more, but I've already set the xvid settings to a reasonably fast mode. I get around 25-30 fps when doing a DVD to Xvid backup on my notebook.
You could add -vf scale=640:-1 but it doesn't really increase speed, but makes it look worse. I use screen, so I can detach(Ctrl-a, Ctrl-d) from the encoding when I have to e.g. exit the current X session.
Detaching also helps to decrease unnecessary screen updates which eat cpu in many terminals. And it's better than passing -quiet as command line argument, because you now have the choice between seeing what's going on and how long it'll take or not. Screen is great... You can re-attach with screen -r. If you have several cores, try adding threads=x to the xvid options.
Black borders are not removed. If you have an idea how to do that automatically, let me know. Interlacing is kept for a good reason: Deinterlacing slows down the process and usually also degrades the quality. Deinterlacing while playing is usually the better alternative.
By the way: The most important parts are the xvid setting me_quality=4 and vhq=1 - they speed it up a lot - and compiling xvid for your processor, because some distributions don't properly compile it, even for amd64.
You may not use this script for content you do not have the rights to transcode.
Iron - Chrome after Rehab
And don't forget to disable the Google Ad cookie (permanent link in my links box on the right side of the webpage)! ;-)
OpenOffice Tips
I always recommend continually saving with a new filename if you're working on a big document, e.g. Important00, Important 01, (...). This means that if your current document should for some reason get lost (which happens a lot with MS Office, but rarely with Openoffice), you can use the last save. I actually had Openoffice corrupt a document once I think.
Syntax Highlighting in Nano
include "/usr/share/nano/c.nanorc"
include "/usr/share/nano/patch.nanorc"
include "/usr/share/nano/sh.nanorc"
See what else is available with ls /usr/share/nano/
Found here.
Chrome Developer's Channel
Multiseat Display Manager Out Now
I have always wondered when a software such as the MDM would come out, as the Unix and X architecture is already perfectly prepared for cases as this and even over Network it is already possible.
Now you need only one computer with several displays, keyboards and mice to let several users e.g. surf the internet at the same time.
I will post my experiences as soon as I get to trying it out. For the curious of you here is a link to installing instructions, packages for debian and ubuntu are provided, as well as the sources of couse.
Update: The packages is very large at 20K, but unfortunately at this point available only as i386 package...
Update2: I've quickly assembled a Ubuntu 8.04 package for AMD64 systems ;-).
Ubuntu Restricted Extras
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras
You must of course first check the legal situation of these packages in your country.
Chrome on Linux Now Really Easy
Update: In my experience the package is not really worth trying. I had much better results running it with normal wine as mentioned before. The CodeWeavers package is really easy and comfortable.
But the AMD64 version I tested is also much slower and less responsive and I think it crashes more often than, but that's hard to tell with Chrome ;-). And the tabs often hang after loading a webpage and the webpage disappears until you press reload. And the letters are not on the same line, but always higher or lower.
But the cool thing about the port: SSL works. That means you can actually use google webpages with login like GMail. I hope that is ported back to wine, making chrome actually usable in Linux.
Update2: The problems I had seem to be related to 64-bit, as other webpages don't mention these issues.
Don't try Multi Head Configurations with KDE 4.1
See these bugs for more:
Plasma Crash on Start Since Last Update
So my recommendation: Skip the KDE 4.1.1 upgrades for now.
Correct Ink Printer Usage
- Keep the Printer connected to the power outlet. (Do turn it off, though.) The energy this costs should be low on any modern printer. And if you disconnect your printer it will most likely clean it's ink tank the next time you turn it on or print something. And cleaning the ink tank once takes a lot of ink.
- Print something in every color at least once a week. This keeps the tank clean and ensures the printer doesn't need to use the ink cleaning program, which uses a lot more ink than most things you will print. The best thing to do it to print the test pattern once a week if nothing else. It usually activates every ink once and has a very low ink usage.
- Use printing modes like "draft" for uninportant things. They are not only faster, they also use much less ink. Also use your printer's duplex feature if it has one. This saves 50% paper and therefore is good for the environment and your wallet. And you can always print several pages on each side of a paper.
- Get your ink cardridges refilled. This is good for the environment, your bank account balance and it doesn't hurt your printer. Sometimes alternative ink is even better than the original one. E.g. Pelican ink works with printers with a chip now and the results are even better than with Canon's original ink.
Safely Reboot a Crashed Linux
Alt + Print, hold it and press
(without the spaces).
Now your kernel *should* sync and unmount the filesystems and then reboot.
Found in 10 tips for lazy admins.
Sysctl for Network Perfomance
net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeout = 15
net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_time = 1800
net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 0
net.ipv4.tcp_sack = 0
net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 0
net.ipv4.icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses = 1
net.ipv4.conf.all.log_martians = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog = 1024
net.ipv4.tcp_max_tw_buckets = 1440000
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 8388608
net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 87380 8388608
net.core.wmem_max = 262143
net.core.rmem_max = 262143
net.core.rmem_default = 262143
net.core.wmem_default = 262143
Or less with more comments:
# Decrease the time default value for tcp_fin_timeout connection
net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeout = 15
# Decrease the time default value for tcp_keepalive_time connection
net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_time = 1800
# Turn off the tcp_window_scaling
net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 0
# Turn off the tcp_sack
net.ipv4.tcp_sack = 0
# Turn off the tcp_timestamps
net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 0
# Enable bad error message Protection
net.ipv4.icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses = 1
# Log Spoofed Packets, Source Routed Packets, Redirect Packets
net.ipv4.conf.all.log_martians = 1
# Increases the size of the socket queue (effectively, q0).
net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog = 1024
# Increase the tcp-time-wait buckets pool size
net.ipv4.tcp_max_tw_buckets = 1440000
An excerpt from Webhostingtalk.
The Great Sysctl Mystery
So I just thought to myself:
It would be great to have a program which has all the values and explanations to them. It could then create configuration files and let sysctl parse them. "Linux Kernel Tuning" would be a cool name. If I had more time... ;-)
The World in Danger
Also check out this comic.
Git Bisecting the Linux Kernel to Find Bugs
git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git
And then you can compile the kernel normally. To fetch the newest updates you enter the directory (linux-2.6) and enter git pull.
Then if you find a bug that wasn't there before you can find out which patch caused it with a git bisect search. It's relatively quick through a binary search algorithm, it only needs around 14 compiles and boots for about 4000 patches, and the complexity is logarithmic I believe (so it's always relatively quick, even with a lot to test).
Also see this quick intro and the man page.
Compiling really takes most of the time. You can decrease that time by creating a minimal kernel configuration (it's worth it!) with only the features activated that are needed to trigger the bug.
I recommend compiling everything directly into the kernel, you can then just do "make bzImage" instead of make and save the time for making and installing the modules (over and over again).
When Community does not Help: Ubuntu Maintainers keep their hands still about NetworkManager Memory Leak
There are several people watching the bug and of course thousands affected with NetworkManager being in the standard installation of at least Ubuntu and Kubuntu, but the maintainers keep their hands still. A fix is also out and has been successfully applied and a package was released, too. It just never went into the current distribution.
This shows how the community can care so much about important bugs, if the appropriate people don't respond, many Linux users are just as helpless as when they use Windows. But I really doubt that such a major memory leak would remain unfixed for such a long time even in any current Microsoft product.
A shame...
If you want the bug fixed for you, you can do so manually, I posted links to the fixed packages a while ago.
Latencytop Explained
Debian Packages the Easy Way
sudo checkinstall -D
You may of course need to apt-get install the package checkinstall first.
Using IrDA on Linux
A very useful website was this one: http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/IrDA/#debug
You have to do most things as user root. Otherwise they might now work because you don't have the permissions but you won't know that because the programs won't tell you.
- You need to load all the appropriate modules for your driver, also ircomm_tty irtty_sir sir_dev.
- Then you need to activate the network interface irda0: ifconfig irda0 up.
- You should now be ready to establish a connection (as root).
#reprobe irda kernel moduleNotes
rmmod nsc-ircc
modprobe nsc-ircc dma=3 io=0x02F8 irq=3 # these are standard settings for the 5220. they might work for you, too.
# activate interface
ifconfig irda0 up
# enable discovery
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/irda/discovery
#wait for results
sleep 2
#check results
cat /proc/net/irda/discovery
#attach irda stack
irattach irda0 -s
#you should now be able to watch the transfer stats with irdadump
# for mobile phone connectivity problems I need to reduce the connection speed
echo 9600 > /proc/sys/net/irda/max_baud_rate
- cat /proc/net/irda/* shows you some information about the irda devices.
- Be aware that the connection device is /dev/ircomm0.
- You should first try everything as user root. Otherwise it might fail just because of missing permissions. Then in a second step when it works, try to use it as a user.
- obexftp claims it doesn't need the -i parameter for irda. Well, it does, though.
- I still haven't been able to get ppp over GPRS to work with Linux.
- Irda currently works only after rebooting into Linux from Windows.
Memory Usage - Pidgin vs. Kopete
The GTalk outage gave me some time to run another test of pidgin vs. kopete in memory consumption. Pidgin used to always win this competition, which is - next to the then better working file transfers - why I use pidgin.
I tested it again today and this time the Kopete coming with KDE 4.1.1 in Kubuntu won!
- Kopete used about 18 MB ram
- Pidgin used 23 MB ram
These results and the differences were reproducible. They were tested with "free" in the console. I started one program, then the other and in between ran free in the shell - several times.
Of course these results apply only if you're running a KDE 4.1.1 desktop. If you're a gnome user, pidgin is very likely to use less memory for you.
Also reproducible was that Kopete ate a lot of memory when opening the - currently very slow - configuration dialogue.
There seems to be a bug somewhere, as this memory is not freed until after you restart kopete. So after configuring something in Kopete 0.60.1 make sure you quit and restart it.
Feel free to test it yourself and post your results. Make sure to include what distribution, program versions and desktop environment you use and that you have the same amout of accounts active in each program.
Google Server Problem
Google Chrome under Linux with WINE
- Get a current wine version (1.1.3+)
- Download the Chrome offline installer.
- Install normally, best with a fresh wine installation.
- Go into the install directory (e.g. #cd ".wine/drive_c/windows/profiles/
/Local Settings/Application Data/Google/Chrome/Application") NOTE: this path is not exactly the same for everyone
- Start chrome like this: wine chrome.exe --new-http --no-sandbox
- Disable URL typo correction.
- Disable website suggestions.
- Disable Google Ad cookies.
- Quit Chrome. Then change the browser's unique identifier in "User Data/Local State" to the values from Google Chrome Portable to (hopefully) prevent Google from identifying your personal browser copy:
"client_id_timestamp": "1220449017",
And now finally enjoy your privacy-enhanced Google Chrome browser! :)
Unfortunately there's no guarantee that Google hasn't hidden even more spying features in this otherwise pretty neat little browser.
Strip Mining of Open Source
It makes for an interesting read and I think his article is much better researched than my own I posted here recently. And showing the dangers of some open source licenses he concludes developers should be careful in their choice of open source licenses.
The GPL, he concludes, not only protects from "strip mining" companies, but also (though IMO less well reasoned) from fragmentation and forking of the code.
It seems Hillesley's article is a response to an article by Fleury.
Power Save Script
SUDO=`which sudo`
SU=`which su`
EXEC="$SUDO $SU -c"
echo Activating power saving mode...
# Automatically suspend USB -- How to automatize?
# usbcore.autosuspend=1 to kernel cmdline didnt work
$EXEC "echo 1 > /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/autosuspend"
# Disable CD autodetection by hal
# sudo hal-disable-polling --device /dev/scd0
$EXEC "ethtool -s eth0 wol d"
# reduce disk writes
$EXEC "echo 1500 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs"
# SATA powersaving mode
$EXEC "echo min_power > /sys/class/scsi_host/host0/link_power_management_policy"
# AC97 power saving
$EXEC "echo 1 > /sys/module/snd_ac97_codec/parameters/power_save"
# Intel-HDA power saving
$EXEC "echo 1 > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save"
# optimize scheduling for dual-core cpus
$EXEC "echo 1 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/sched_mc_power_savings"
# Remove fixed network adapter, intel watchdog
sudo rmmod iTCO_wdt iTCO_vendor_support tg3
# set minimum frequency
#$EXEC "echo 866664 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_min_freq"
sudo killall guidance-power-manager.py
xrandr --output TV --off
for i in /sys/bus/usb/devices/%s/power/autosuspend; do $EXEC "echo 1 > $i"; done
$SUDO iwconfig wlan0 power on
Actually I think a part of the script might be from someone else...
Reducing Power Consumption for Linux Laptop
Thinkwiki is a great Wiki with lots of power saving information I recommend.
Second Thoughts on Google Chrome
- is not (yet) available for Linux
- spies what webpages you visit
- has a unique browser identifier
- can be crashed completely by a single webpage
- has some (so far minor) security issues.
Open Source Donation Center
Imagine there's a simple single place where you can donate to different software projects and for different purposes. They could of course also offer memberships, bounties and support contract models, mascots, licenses etc. And the software projects wouldn't have to deal with the legal and financial issues involved but just get the money.
Especially Xorg needs more support and I guess a couple paid employees wouldn't hurt. Situations like that could be sought out and dealt with by a Linux task force. I guess someone like the Linux Foundation might be a good starting point.
(Not) Giving Back to the Community
Among the current examples of using free software are many big names
- Apple's OS X operating system
- the Safari browser
- Google's Servers (Linux-based)
- Google's new Chrome browser
- AnchorFree's Hotspotshield software.
Apple only publishes the changes made to the Darwin operating system every once in a while, only that few people really care. Of course Apple doesn't want people to be able to run Mac OS X on normal PC hardware and thus does everthing to discourage too active community involvement here.
But you can only wonder how come the Safari browser, based on KDE's Konqueror KHTML engine, is still not available for Linux. Even worse, most of the enhancements made by Apple are never incorporated back into KDE. And Apple even managed to draw developers away from developing KHTML to working only on Safari. (I know, this is a big debate and flate-prown.)
Google claims to give back much more to the community than it would have to and proudly states that Chrome is made open source. But it's not like it really was their free choice. Chrome is based upon Firefox and KHTML and both are open source and at least HTML is GPL-licensed and may thus not be published as a closed source software. And most other Google software products are closed source: Google Desktop, Picasa, etc.
And one has to wonder about the big picture. If companies do not return code enhancements and help to the open source projects, the result will not only be a major frustration in the projects, but also a financial detriment for the global economy. Because only if the project members are encouraged to write free software and not only used, they will enjoy working in their free time. In their work they help to prevent a constant reinventing of the wheel in different areas of software development and fix many bugs.
In the end good open source collaboration can free up many resources and enable programmers everywhere to create new, better software much more quickly, dynamically and freely. This is something a company must consider when getting involved with open source projects and keep in mind to provide help back to the projects in terms of a significant part of the employee time, code and money they saved.
Google Chrome is Out
Try either http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html or http://dl.google.com/update2/installers/ChromeSetup.exe.
Or the Offline installer: http://dl.google.com/chrome/install/149.27/chrome_installer.exe
(not verified backup: http://rapidshare.com/files/142199853/chrome_installer.exe)


text:
Right now there is a march heading from the journalists syndicate to Tahrir square against the Constitutional declaration and draft constitution.
There will be also another rally led by the tourism sector workers in Tahrir square against draft constitution.
Now there will be two set of rallies today , one to Heliopolis and another one to Tahrir square. The Constitution Party will have rallies in Tahrir but its students will head to Heliopolis Palace.
Heliopolis Palace is now a military zone with huge security measures and barbed wires.
Banks , schools and ministries made its employees leave earlier today and ATMs are emptied.
The MB and Salafists hold ElBaradei and Sabbahi responsible for anything happy today !!
More coverage coming on the way.
Today there will be four rallies heading to Heliopolis palace :
- One from El Fatah Mosque in Ramasis at 4 PM
- One from El Nour Mosque in Heliopolis at 5 PM
- One from Rab'a Al Adawiya Mosque in Heliopolis at 5 PM
- One from El Rashideen Mosque also in Heliopolis at 5 PM


text:
The Home of Fashion Film and Live Fashion Broadcasting
Report by Adam Goodison on 11 September 2013.
Looking to his girlfriend's suitcases for inspiration, Theyskens' noticed a recurring theme – an assortment of tank and crop tops, button-down shirts, singlets and loose tees that while alone appear inconsequential, yet make a statement when layered together.
First exit @theyskenstheory http://t.co/vSCt6jzkJb
Theyskens Theory a bit of a limp rag. A few interesting bits like long striped shirts but much looked recycled and repurposed w styling.
Theyskens' Theory finale https://t.co/AyGVlavPkw
Photo: Theyskens Theory: New York Collections S/S 2014. The show. One word review. Gothic. By Antony Miles... http://t.co/Cov50QJjCK
Final look at @theyskenstheory. Recreate using two coats of 'allure.' Photo cred: @JulieKnailsNYC #essieNYFW #TTSS14 http://t.co/E8jlIJiFiN
Theory dress http://t.co/5lQrtPDu64
Theory starts http://t.co/zQj9lfYmTK
Photo: Theyskens Theory: New York Collections S/S 2014. The invite. Its a big one. By Antony Miles Sent via... http://t.co/rYTXqlNHVw
Wait till you see the finished look from @Theory__ . We'll be sending out pictures later in the day. You won't want to miss it!!
Everyone's getting ready backstage at @theyskenstheory… #nyfw http://t.co/aVPJZjVr2i


text:
Regular price
Hot Agate pattern custom designed by Windy O'Connor.
Dressmaker details and luxury backing fabrics. Full down inserts and hidden zippers for a beautiful quality luxe pillow. Self-backed pillows have a $35 up-charge. Our indoor/outdoor pillow fabric is water resistant and backed in Sunbrella fabric. The indoor/outdoor pillows come with outdoor simulated inserts.
Estimated lead time 4–6 weeks depending on stock.
Hot Agate pattern is the property of Windy O'Connor and cannot be replicated or reproduced without her express permission. Due to all pillows being custom made to order, there are No Returns.


text:
A nation is an evolving spiritual entity, subject, as a man is, to the impact of energies. These energies influence the national consciousness, encouraging recognition of soul destiny and cooperation with that evolving process. The spiritual destiny of many nations and their predisposing soul and personality influences are discussed in this book.
Destiny Of The Nations
World problems are increasing in
complexity as the population of the world increases, and as nations
become inter-related and interdependent. It is important for the future
of mankind that we understand and cooperate with the spiritual laws and
forces at work within the interwoven structure of civilisation, so that
the individual part--human and national--can be rightly related to the
evolving whole.
A nation is subject, as a man is, to the impact of energies emanating from solar and cosmic sources. These energies influence the nation as a whole through the "mechanism of response" equivalent to the Monad-soul-personality constitution of a man. Different nations are more receptive to some energies than to others; and all nations, subject to the evolution of national consciousness. have a destiny before them which is literally based on the qualities and the principles of the particular ray energy seeking expression through the national soul.
ln this book the ray energies affecting certain nations, world groupings and major cities are analysed in relation to meaning and purpose, and to the emergence of ideas appropriate to energy influences dominant at the end and at the beginning of an age.
The world of humanity is shown as a state of becoming, guided and given opportunity by the spiritual Hierarchy--the inner government of the planet--from a stable state of Being. The understanding, acceptance and fulfillment of spiritual possibilities weaves the destinies of all peoples together into a synthesis, in which each contributes to the whole the unfoldment of individual potential. A recognition of the soul destiny of nations in the light of the teaching in this book, has a practicality to day in our search for international adjustments. The ray qualities affecting the peoples of the world can be used intelligently to promote understanding and unity.
We are given a glimpse in this book of the beauty of energy synthesis when all component parts work together according to their own ray combination and to ~the glory of the One".
"The future will see right relationships, true communion, a sharing of all things ... and goodwill; we have also a picture of the future of humanity when all nations are united in complete understanding and the diversity of languages--symbolic of differing traditions, cultures, civilisations and points of view--will provide no barrier to right human relations. At the centre of each of these two pictures is to be found the Christ."


text:
144th Session of the WHO Executive Board
The Executive Board is composed of 34 individuals technically qualified in the field of health, each one designated by a Member State elected to do so by the World Health Assembly. Member States are elected for three-year terms.
The Board meets at least twice a year; the main meeting is normally in January, with a second shorter meeting in May, immediately after the Health Assembly. The main functions of the Executive Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, to advise it and generally to facilitate its work.


text:
Monday, April 25, 2011
If Sugar Land's Indie team does well, you may be able to watch organized baseball all over Houston
If the Skeeters are a success, there likely will be more teams added within two or three years. Baytown has been mentioned for a franchise. So have The Woodlands, Conroe and Waco.
And if you were hoping that Sugar Land would be a minor-league stop for the Astros, you can thank Drayton for not allowing that to happen:
Astros owner Drayton McLane rejected the idea, saying a team so close to Minute Maid Park would hurt his attendance.
McLane was firm in his opposition even though the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles have farm teams a short drive from their ballparks.
Since McLane has veto power over any team affiliated with the 30 major league clubs, Sugar Land was forced to go for an independent league franchise.
This is tremendously short-sighted. It takes 48 minutes to drive from the Ballpark in Arlington to Frisco, TX. It's 46 minutes from Turner Field to Gwinnett, GA - home of the Braves' Triple-A affiliate. It's 39 minutes from Camden Yards to Bowie, MD - home of the Orioles' Double-A affiliate - and 44 minutes to Aberdeen, MD, where the Orioles have their NYPL short-season team.
Hurt attendance? If your favorite prospect was playing 45 minutes down the road, and climbed the ladder to Minute Maid, wouldn't you check out the guys you're invested in? Chalk it up, Drayton. Another fantastic idea.
4 comments:
How far is it (in minutes) from MMP to the new stadium in Sugar Land?
- April 25, 2011 at 11:06 AM
- Astros County said...
34-ish minutes
- April 25, 2011 at 11:07 AM
- Andrew said...
This argument wasn't near as prominent when AAA was in Round Rock. 3 hrs to Round Rock isn't too bad (this is Texas after all). Of course we have Drayton and Nolan to thank for losing that connection. I wonder if a new owner will have a different perspective and change that, but I dont see how they could logistically relocate a AA or AAA team closer to Houston.
It will be interesting to see how the team in Sugar Land will do. I think everyone is excited with the idea of family friendly baseball at family friendly prices, but how long will their attention span be kept when they see the talent level playing there.
- April 25, 2011 at 11:51 AM
Andrew, indy baseball evidently is not particularly driven by talent level so much as it is entertainment value... a lot of indy baseball teams exceed professional minor league teams' attendance nationwide.
- April 25, 2011 at 2:49 PM


text:
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Maple Platforms with Isoblock Suspension
19-1/2" x 16-1/2" x 4" Finished Maple Platform (Natural)
Item Number: TARGET4-CL
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* set of four Original Isoblock 1s $290.00
set of four Black Isoblock 1s $293.00
set of four Black Isoblock 2s $314.00
set of four Original Isoblock 2s $306.00
Detailed Description
A set of four Isoblocks. Choose weight capacity and color options from pull-down menu. Use Isoblock 1s for up to 99 lb. load, use Isoblock 2s for up to 199 lbs.
Dimensions with Isoblocks: 19-1/2" wide x 16-1/2" deep x 6" tall. This item typically ships within 1-2 weeks.
30-Day Money Back
Because maple is an organic material, the exact weight of each platform varies slightly. The figuring and natural grain coloring of each platform is unique. Our Amish craftsmen hand-planed down every Mapleshade platform from rough-cut 2-1/2" and 4-1/2" maple to remove coarseness and imperfections from the sawmill. Typically this process yields a finished 2" or 4"thickness. But, because of variations in the rough-cut timber, the exact thickness can vary by 3/16".
The Mapleshade Vibration Control System For Electronics
Our Vibration Control System has three elements: brass footers drain vibration out of the component or speaker and down into a platform; air-dried maple platforms receive and dissipate that vibration; and Isoblocks under the platform isolate it from resonances below it (except for speaker platforms which must be rigidly mounted via brass footers to the floor below). Each element alone will upgrade your sound. Used together, they yield startling improvements. Here are the fundamentals:
Electrical signal currents create unwanted vibrations (through both magnetic and piezo-electric forces) inside every electronic component and speaker cabinet. Carefully controlled listening tests prove that these internal vibrations muddy the music signal far more significantly than external airborne or floor-borne vibrations.
Mounting components on standard isolating and damping devices (like springs, rubber feet, sand boxes, magnetic suspensions, or air cylinders/bladders) traps the sound-degrading vibrations inside the component, exacerbating muddying of the music signals, especially in the bass frequencies.
Hybrid isolation/coupling devices like Roller Blocks, IsoBearings, magnetic couplers, etc. purport to serve three essential functionsvibration transfer, vibration dissipation and external isolationall in one convenient footer. Unfortunately, such all-in-one devices can serve none of the three functions well. They may change, perhaps even improve, sound a bit in one area, but with penalties in other areas, e.g better midrange detail but soggier bass, less edgy treble but slower, duller transients, etc.
Mapleshade's Vibration Control System serves the three functions using three different components, each optimized for one and only one function:
our brass footers are designed only to cleanly drain out as much internal vibrational energy as possible from electronics and speakers. We specifically optimized our footers shape, material, alloy, and mass to maximize the vibrational energy transferred out of the gear and minimize the energy reflected back. Fifteen years of customer shootoffs have shown they do so more effectively and sound better than any competing footer or hybrid at any price.
maple platforms (or SAMSON shelves) serve as the optimal sink for receiving and dissipating the vibrational energy transferred out of the component by the footers. Surprisingly, exhaustive testing against every space age damping material and composite used in high-end platforms today shows solid wood (not plywood or MDF) to be better sounding sink. And, among the wood species available, the same tests show maple to have, by a sizable margin, the most detailed and uncolored sound.
the specific size and laminate composition of Isoblocks was designed, by ear, to best isolate the maple platform from resonances or vibrations in the supporting shelf or floor below. The final six-laminate design proved to sound better than any of the myriad suspension systems we've tested, even the megabuck magnetic or air suspensions. One exception: Mapleshade DOES NOT recommend using Isoblocks on carpet or rugs. Isoblocks on carpet will let the component and platform rock slightly -- significantly hindering the effectivness of our system. Here, we always recommend using
Maple Platforms For Carpet
. This is just one example of the attention to detail that has gone into the development of Mapleshade's deceptively simple looking component mounting system.
Product Reviews
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Superb value upgrade !
Ordered 4 inch platform for my digital player and headphone amp with 2 inch platform for my S-booster and Kemp power strip. Bought Micropoint brass footers and weights as recommended by Pierre. What a difference it made ! Wasnt expecting such improvements. Bass is rich and deep, easier to follow those bass lines. Imaging improved and heard more details in all my tracks. Vocal feels more alive and tugs your heart ! Music is suddenly much more involving and thats music lovers want. Really make me enjoy all songs more now. Thanks Mapleshade #thumbsup
- Felix Lau, INT
Money well spent
I was looking for a solution to a foot fall problem with my Linn Sondek LP12. I had no problem at all with acoustic feedback and really didnt want to go the wall shelf route. I thought perhaps the mass of the 4 inch maple platform would help and boy was I right...no more foot fall skips. I ordered on Sunday and the platform arrived on Thursday. Now I can walk in the room while playing lps and not worry. The finish and quality of the maple are first rate...I can find nothing to complain about.
- Dr. S, IL
You may also like:
Clearview Excalibur Analog Ribbon Interconnects
Micropoint Heavyfoot (set of three)
Micropoint HeavyHat Set
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text:
Online Shopping 101: How to Take Your Own Measurements
That sizing chart on your favorite shopping website isn't just there for decoration. Once you get a grip on your proportions, you can (and should) consult it to ensure you arrive at the perfect fit.
You will need:
A soft tape measure, like the ones used for sewing
A pencil and paper for notes
Underwear and a bra (so measurements are more accurate)
A can-do attitude
Twenty Tees Viscose Lycra Tank Dress ($98) in Black


text:
Ender Dragon
|Health points
|Attack strength
First: 12,000
|Internal ID
|Namespaced ID
The ender dragon is a versatile, flying boss mob found in the End, and is the first boss added to Minecraft.
Initial spawning[edit]
A single ender dragon spawns naturally in the End, immediately as the first player enters the dimension. It will spawn on any difficulty, including Peaceful, but will be unable to directly harm a player with its body in Peaceful difficulty (although it will still fire fireballs).
Players can re-spawn the ender dragon once the fight is completed, by placing four (or fewer) end crystals atop the exit portal, one on each side.
/summon ender_dragon command, by default, summons a harmless ender dragon that hovers in place. Setting the
DragonPhase tag (for instance by issuing
/summon ender_dragon ~ ~ ~ {DragonPhase:0}) will create a normal ender dragon, but it will have no health bar since the bar is managed by the End's dragon fight status rather than by the dragon entity itself. If spawned away from the center of the map (X:0, Z:0), the dragon will first fly to the center before resuming normal behavior (see #Behavior).
Once defeated, the ender dragon will slowly ascend and begin to appear tattered, while having beams of light spontaneously erupting from its body. It will then explode and drop 12,000 experience (10 drops of 960 experience, one drop of 2400), enough to bring a player from level 0 to level 78. Subsequent ender dragons (ones re-spawned via the end crystals) only drop 500 experience.
It will also activate the exit portal, and drop a dragon egg onto the top. This portal is found at X=0 and Z=0 on the surface of the island. The dragon egg is only dropped by the first dragon, and never by subsequent dragons.
Every dragon kill will also create an End gateway portal within 75-100 blocks of the exit portal, up to a maximum of 20.
The dragon has four main states of behavior:
- Circling - the dragon begins in this state. When circling, the dragon will circle outside the ring of pillars if end crystals remain, or inside the ring of pillars if not.
- As crystals are destroyed, the chances of it switching to another state are increased.
- Targeting - Whenever the dragon finds itself less than 10 blocks or greater than 150 blocks to its current target, it will attempt to choose a new target. When damaged it will target a point just behind itself, causing it to turn away and choose a new target.
- Strafing > Circling - the dragon will fly towards a target player within 64 blocks of the portal. When it is within 64 blocks, it will fire a fireball and resume circling.
- If a player destroys an end crystal, the dragon will immediately switch to this state to fire a fireball at them.
- Diving > Circling - the dragon will fly rapidly towards the target player's position at the start of the dive, then resume circling whether or not the player was actually hit.
- Perching - the dragon flies towards the empty portal (approaching from the side opposite the player if possible) and lands on the highest block of (X:0,Z:0). The dragon is immune to arrows in this state; any arrows that hit the dragon will bounce off and be on fire.
- Dragon's Breath - After 1.25 seconds, if a player is within 20 blocks of the portal, the dragon will roar and use its breath attack for 3 seconds, damaging players similarly to a lingering Potion of Harming.
- The purple clouds emitted from the ender dragon's breath attack can be collected in an empty bottle to obtain dragon's breath.
- Charge - If player(s) are not near the portal within 5 seconds, the dragon will charge at a player within 150 blocks.
- Take-Off > Circling - After four consecutive breath attacks, or if it does not find a player within 150 blocks, the dragon will take off and begin circling again.
- Escape > Circling - If cumulative damage taken while perched exceeds 50 ( × 25), it will take-off and reset the damage accumulator. The accumulator is not reset if the dragon does not take enough damage.
- Dragon's Breath - After 1.25 seconds, if a player is within 20 blocks of the portal, the dragon will roar and use its breath attack for 3 seconds, damaging players similarly to a lingering Potion of Harming.
The dragon is not hostile towards any other entities except the player. However, other mobs may turn hostile to the ender dragon if struck. Any entities hit by the dragon's wings will be dealt 5 () damage (10 () damage if hit by its head) and thrown into the air, sometimes to fatal heights or even off the island. Neither of these effects are applied for 1⁄2 second after the dragon takes damage.
If it takes fatal damage, the ender dragon will fly to within 10 blocks of the portal before actually dying, unless it is over 150 blocks away or inside blocks. When the dragon is respawned, a series of explosions resets the obsidian pillars, iron bars, and end crystals.
The dragon can pass through all blocks, destroying most types. Blocks not destroyed are those that naturally generate on the central End island and those that are intended to be indestructible:
- Obsidian
- End stone
- Bedrock
- Command Block
- Barrier
- Iron bars
- End portal (block)
- End portal frame
- End gateway (block)
The ender dragon has a light purple health bar that appears at the top of the player's screen. Its health is periodically healed by nearby end crystals, indicated by a white beam connecting the dragon and the crystal. Destroying an end crystal while the ender dragon is being healed by it will cause the ender dragon to take 10 () damage. The ender dragon can only take damage from explosions and player based damage. The ender dragon takes 1⁄4 normal damage when hit in any part that is not its head. Suffocation cannot be used, as the ender dragon will destroy most blocks it comes into contact with and doesn't take suffocation damage otherwise.
By using the F3+B shortcut, the dragon's bounding box appears, though the dragon cannot be damaged at just any spot in this large volume. Eight green hitboxes also appear, which indicate the locations on the dragon where it can be damaged: the tail, body, head and wings.
The dragon is immune to all status effects, such as poison, and even "instant" effects like instant damage.
Dragon Fireball[edit]
|Internal ID
|Network ID
|Namespaced ID
Dragon fireballs are special fireballs that the ender dragon shoots while strafing. They cannot be deflected, and do no damage on impact, except that they emit purple clouds similar to a lingering Potion of Harming II. Like the dragon's close-ranged breath attack, the clouds emitted by dragon fireballs can also be collected in a bottle to obtain the dragon's breath. In the Console Edition, dragon fireballs come from the sky rather than the dragon itself.
Fireballs fired by ender dragons also have entity data associated with them that define various properties of the entity.
- Entity data
- Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
- direction: List of 3 doubles. Should be identical to Motion.
- life: Increments each tick when the projectile is not moving; resets to 0 if it moves. Has no effect, though is still saved/read
- power: List of 3 doubles that adds to
directionevery tick. Act as the acceleration.
Data values[edit]
Ender dragons have entity data associated with them that contain various properties of the mob.
- Entity data
- Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
- Tags common to all mobs see Template:Nbt inherit/mob/template
- DragonPhase: A number indicating the dragon's current state. Valid values are: 0=circling, 1=strafing (preparing to shoot a fireball), 2=flying to the portal to land (part of transition to landed state), 3=landing on the portal (part of transition to landed state), 4=taking off from the portal (part of transition out of landed state), 5=landed, performing breath attack, 6=landed, looking for a player for breath attack, 7=landed, roar before beginning breath attack, 8=charging player, 9=flying to portal to die, 10=hovering with no AI (default when using the
|In-game description
|Actual requirements (if different)
|Xbox points earned
|Trophy type (PS)
|The End.
|Defeat the Ender Dragon
|Enter the end exit portal.
|PS3, PSVita
|You Need a Mint
|Collect dragon's breath in a glass bottle
|The End... Again...
|Respawn the ender dragon
|In-game description
|Actual requirements (if different)
|Internal ID
|Free the End
|Good luck
|The End
|Kill the ender dragon.
|The Next Generation
|Hold the Dragon Egg
|Free the End
|Have a dragon egg in your inventory.
|The End... Again...
|Respawn the Ender Dragon
|Free the End
|Summon an ender dragon using ender crystals.
|You Need a Mint
|Collect dragon's breath in a glass bottle.
|Free the End
|Have a bottle of dragon's breath in your inventory.
|June 14, 2009
|Notch believed that Survival mode should have some sort of goal, which he had not yet formulated: "While it could be fun to just see how long you can survive in survival mode, I believe there might be a need for some kind of goal. Make the most money in a month? Kill a big evil mob in the shortest time? I don't know yet."
|June 30, 2010
|In a video called "Minecraft Flight" posted by Notch on YouTube he mentioned that dragon lairs may be an addition in the video description.
|August 31, 2010
|Later in an interview on MinecraftCon 2010 Notch hinted at dragons as a possible planned mob. Then for about one year there was no more mention of it and dragons solely remained a potential work-in-progress.
|June 18, 2011
|Notch has stated in the past that if dragons are added, they will not be mountable as it would put too much pressure on multiplayer servers.
|September 1, 2011
|Notch stated that "dragons will be added eventually".
|October 6, 2011
|Notch revealed the existence of the Ender Dragon.
|October 7, 2011
|Notch reveals a screenshot of the "progress so far" on the Ender Dragon: the dragon flying through the skies of the End. He also shared an album of images of the Ender Dragon in flight through the overworld, showcasing its animation.
|October 9, 2011
|Notch tweets an example of a "texture packer tool" he wrote for the purpose of giving the Dragon its skin. He shared his progress midway through designing the skin, later announced when the base texture was done, and posted when he had enlarged the wings.
|October 10, 2011
|Notch released a video showing a small clip of the End that also shows the Ender Dragon fly into the top of the frame. "Brightened version here" – via YouTube
|October 12, 2011
|In a Reddit post Notch also said, "They will be different dragons. The Ender Dragon will probably become larger, and the ones in the main world will be this size, won't go through terrain, and will be red because dragons are red."[2]
|Notch stated in a twitter post that "Dragons have 6 limbs", consisting of 2 wings, and 4 legs.[1]
|Java Edition
|Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4
|The name "ender dragon" was first made known through a tweet by Notch reading "raqreqentba", which could be decoded using the ROT13 cipher, translating to "enderdragon".[3]
|Added the Ender Dragon. The Ender Dragon existed in the code, mostly functional, however the dragon had not been enabled in-game yet and players were unable to damage it. Certain mods would allow the spawning of the Ender Dragon, but again, no physical interactions were available.
|Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5
|Added the ability for players to damage Ender Dragons. They required mods or a mob-spawner to be brought into the game however. The ender dragon's health was changed to 1 () to test its new death animation.
|Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6
|Officially implemented Ender Dragons into the game. This includes a single Ender Dragon as a boss battle, spawning naturally when the player first enters the End.
|April 28, 2012
|Jeb mentioned that he wouldn't be adding any more boss mobs until he makes the Ender Dragon "more fun first". Despite this, the Wither was added before any major changes were made to the Ender Dragon.
|Fixed the bug where after being damaged once, Ender Dragons would do no contact damage.
|Experience drop reduced from 20,000 to 12,000
|"Boss Health" now says "Ender Dragon".
|Before this update, Ender Dragon used the same damage sound from the Player. Ender Dragons now have their own sound.
|Fixed a bug where swords take no damage when used on the Ender Dragon.
| Before this snapshot, the gamerule mobGriefing doesn't prevent the Ender Dragon from destroying blocks when they fly through them. Now, mobGriefing from the
/gamerule command prevents the Ender Dragon from destroying blocks at their sight.
|2013 Music Update
|A music track now accompanies the Ender Dragon boss fight.
|The Ender Dragon no longer breaks barriers.
|Revamped boss fight to be similar to the Legacy Console Edition.
|The dragon no longer destroys iron bars.
|The ender dragon's fireballs now give off Ender Acid particles upon exploding and no longer light ground on fire.
|The ender dragon's charge/knockback attack has now returned.
|The ender dragon's wings now damage the player, prevent side and back melee attacks when the dragon lands on the portal.
|Dragon breath now shoots out farther.
|The ender dragon will now immediately charge at you after finishing the ender acid attack.
|The ender dragon's ender acid attack now goes around the whole portal.
|The ender dragon will now not stop attacking from single hits.
|The ender dragon will now fly back to portal before finishing the death animation.
|The ender dragon will no longer take damage from snowballs, eggs, or other attacks that normally do no damage.
|When fatally damaged, the ender dragon now flies to the portal and dies rather than resetting to 1 () and landing.
|Wings no longer deal damage while the Ender Dragon is landed.
|The ender dragon is now immune to arrows while landed.
|No longer destroys end portal blocks, end portal frame blocks, or end gateway blocks.
|Breath attack lasts longer.
|The ender dragon's fireball attack is now more or less equivalent to a Lingering Potion of Harming II.
|Respawned ender dragons will now drop 500 experience.
|Respawning the dragon will also respawn the pillars and end crystals.
|Respawning ender dragons now require placing 4 end crystals near the exit portal.
|The ender dragon will no longer travel through portals.
|The ender dragon no longer rides rideable entities such as minecarts or boats.
|The ender dragon no longer affected by status effects.
|The entity ID is changed from
EnderDragon to
|The fireball's entity ID is changed from
DragonFireball to
|Hitboxes of the damageable portions of the ender dragon are now visible using F3+B.
inTile and
inGround were removed from the dragon fireball entity data.
life tag is no longer used for anything, but still saved/read.
|The ender dragon is now able to draw from its own loot table.
|Pocket Edition
|alpha 0.17.0.1
|Added the ender dragon.
|alpha 126.96.36.199
|The ender dragon now goes to the nearest end crystal.
|alpha 126.96.36.199
|The entity ID is changed from
dragon to
|Legacy Console Edition
|Patch 1
|Added the ender dragon with new attacks (dragon's breath and ender charges).
|New Nintendo 3DS Edition
|Added the Ender Dragon.
Issues relating to "Ender Dragon" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
- Name tags cannot be used on an ender dragon.
- The ender dragon's hitbox is larger than the ender dragon itself, causing players to be pushed away from it.
- If the player kills a summoned dragon in the Overworld or Nether, it will not create a portal, nor an egg.
- In Spectator mode, the player cannot view the perspective of the ender dragon, unlike any other mob.
- Using F3+B to show hitboxes reveals that the ender dragon's head rotation faces in the opposite direction to that which its real head faces. This is also why the ender dragon faces the wrong way when set in a monster spawner.
- When ender dragon is spawned in the Overworld, it will fly to coordinates x=0 and z=0 and dive at the ground.
- On Reddit, Notch referred to the ender dragon as a she, and suggested her name to be "Jean?" in the same manner he called the Player "Steve?".[4]
- Dinnerbone later stated that he thinks the name is officially "Jean?"[5]
- The Xbox avatar item 'Ender Dragon Pet' has the description 'A cuter, friendlier version of his bigger, less playful Minecraft sister.'- revealing that the ender dragon is female.
- Before it was textured, Notch reported that he was afraid to texture it as it was a complicated model.[6] In the end, the dragon model was so complex Notch stated that he gave up making the texture manually and wrote a texture packer tool to aid him in adding the texture to the model. Notch also uploaded the code for the tool so others could use the pack.[7][8]
- Notch joked about how Minecraft was "going next gen" when deadmau5 mentioned this.[9]
- Notch has uploaded a video showing why ender dragons will not spawn in the main world, as they would destroy any block they come into contact with.[10]
- On Reddit, Notch explained why ender dragons destroy matter.[11]
Dozens of player-spawned Ender dragons and withers fighting each other.
The ender dragon's death inside netherrack
The ender dragon dying as seen when the player has night vision
- ↑ https://twitter.com/notch/status/124246459775328257
- ↑ http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/l9m8m/why_ender_dragons_wont_spawn_in_main_world/c2qxhwh
- ↑ https://twitter.com/notch/status/122088904793927680
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/l9m8m/why_ender_dragons_wont_spawn_in_main_world/c2qxl5z?context=1
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Dinnerbone/status/558263033173389313
- ↑ https://twitter.com/notch/status/122600570170249216
- ↑ https://twitter.com/notch/status/122978062143979522 Twitter; texture packer
- ↑ http://pastebin.com/0AcY6YV2 link to the texture packer
- ↑ https://twitter.com/notch/status/122980577832992768
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTpFDRZExAg
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/l9m8m/why_ender_dragons_wont_spawn_in_main_world/c2qx6qk?context=1