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Plan to transform queries and order results in SharePoint Server
APPLIES TO: 2013 2016 2019 Subscription Edition SharePoint in Microsoft 365
You can add query transforms to a Web Part, add query rules that transform queries when certain conditions are met, and you can transform all queries directed to a result source to create a specialized search experience.
SharePoint Server contains a number of predesigned search experiences, or search verticals, such as "Videos", "People" and "Conversations". These all contain predefined query transforms to optimize the search experience. You can also design your own search experiences that include your own query transforms, for instance for "Music" or "Pictures".
Understanding query transforms and query variables
You can configure a query transform to replace certain properties of a query, such as the result source that the query will use to get search results from, or the sort order that it will use when it displays search results.
A query transform can contain query variables. Query variables are placeholders for values, and when a query is actually run, the query variables are replaced with specific values.
The following table shows some examples of query variables.
|A query transform replaces this query variable:
|With this:
|The name of the user who typed the query.
|The site where the user typed the query.
|Today's date.
|The query that the user typed.
|The query that the user typed, as changed by the most recent transform.
See Query variables in SharePoint Server for an overview of all the available query variables.
When a query transform replaces the incoming query, it uses a query template . A query template is a query that includes query variables, for example "{searchTerms} contenttype:picture".
If you, for example, want to create a Pictures search vertical that only returns pictures in the search results, you could configure a query transform that uses the query template "{searchTerms} contenttype:picture" to add "contenttype:picture" to all queries. If a user then types the query "moon" in the Pictures vertical, the transform replaces the query variable "{searchTerms}" with "moon" and changes the query to "moon contenttype:picture".
You can configure query transforms in three places:
In a Web Part
In a query rule
In the result source
A user query is transformed first by the Web Part, then by any query rules that apply, and finally by the result source. When you configure a transform in a result source, you know that the transform changes will not be discarded or overridden, because the result source transforms the query last.
Using the Query Builder to write and test query transforms
The Query Builder helps you write and test query transforms. To build queries you use Keyword Query Language (KQL), and you can also add query variables. You can test the query from within the Query Builder by setting temporary test values for the query variables, run the query and preview the search results.
For more information about building search queries and for KQL syntax examples, see Building search queries in SharePoint 2013 (MSDN). For an overview of all the available query variables, see Query variables in SharePoint Server.
Transforming queries for a Web Part
You can transform queries in search Web Parts, such as the Content Search Web Part and the Search Results Web Part. Query transforms on a Web Part can be overridden by a query rule or by a query transform on the result source.
Query transforms in a Web Part are most often used to specify the result source that the queries should be sent to. For example, if you want to create a search experience that is customized for searching for pictures only, you would first create a result source with a query transform that returns only pictures. Then, you would create a Web Part that has a query transform that changes any query run in that Web Part to use your new Pictures result source instead of the default one.
Another common use of query transforms in Web Parts is to make changes that are specific to one Web Part. For example, after creating the Pictures result source, you could add a Web Part with a query transform that uses the Pictures result source and in addition restrict the search results to only show recently modified pictures.
Transforming queries with query rules
You use query rules to try to capture the real intent behind a user query, and to return results that better match that intent. For each query rule you can specify under which conditions the rule should be applied, and also which actions the rule should trigger when it is applied. Most often you create query rules that apply to one site, but you can also create query rules that apply to a site collection or to all site collections in a Search service application.
The first step in creating a query rule is to specify the context of the rule. The minimum requirement is that you specify which result source the query must target for the query rule to be applied. To create a rule that only applies to people search, for example, you would specify that the context is the result source Local People Results. Optionally, you can include a user segment or topic category in the context of a query rule.
The next step is to specify the conditions that will cause the rule to be applied. If you want the query rule to apply to all queries, you can remove all conditions.
The following table shows the available query rule conditions.
|Query rule condition
|Query matches keyword exactly
|Apply the query rule when the query exactly matches a word or phrase that you specify.
|You specify "picture; pic" as the keywords. The query rule will apply when users type the query "picture" or "pic" in a search box. The rule will not apply if a user types "pictures" or "sunny picture".
|Query contains action term
|Apply the query rule when the query contains a term in the form of a single word or phrase that indicates that the user is trying to do something. The term must be at the beginning or end of the query and might be a verb, a command, or a filter.
|If a query contains the phrase "download", the user is probably not looking for items that contain the word "download", but is probably trying to download something.
|Query matches dictionary exactly
|Apply the query rule when the query exactly matches a dictionary entry. This entry can be a term in the term store, or an entry in the people names dictionary.
|Query more common in source
|Apply the query rule if the user's query is more commonly performed against a different result source than the current one. This condition uses an analysis of queries that users entered in the various result sources.
|You can create a query rule that checks if a query is more commonly performed in a Video vertical. It will make video results more prominent if it is.
|Result type commonly clicked
|Apply the query rule if the query often ends in users clicking results of a particular result type. When you create a new result type, you can indicate that these clicks should be recorded to be used in query rules.
|If this is a query where people often click the result type "pictures", it may be appropriate to provide picture-related results in a result block.
|Advanced query text match
|Apply the query rule if the query matches a regular expression. It also allows you to use variations of the keyword, dictionary and action term conditions explained earlier, but with more advanced control.
|To match all phone numbers that are in the format nnn-nnn-nnnn, you specify the regular expression "(?(\d{3}))?-?(\d{3})-(\d{4})".
The final step is to specify which actions the query rule should trigger when it is applied. Optionally, you can specify the start and end date for a query rule to be active.
The following table shows the available query rule actions.
|Query rule action
|Add promoted results
|Show promoted results (known as Best Bets in earlier versions of SharePoint Server) above ranked results. Promoted results are best used when an item is not indexed or if it has a poor document summary. In other cases, consider changing the ranking of the results.
|For the query "sick leave", you can for instance add a link to a Human Resources site above all ranked results.
|Add result blocks
|Add a block of results that contains a small subset of results that are related to a query in a specific way. You can promote a result block, or you can rank it with other search results.
The query transform specified for the result block transforms a copy of the original query.
You can also specify which display template should be used to display the result block.
|For a query that contains "Contoso sales report", a query rule could use a taxonomy dictionary to recognize "Contoso" as a customer, and then display a result block with results about "Contoso" from your customer relationship management (CRM) system.
|Change ranked results by changing the query
|Add a query transform that changes the original query. For example, the transform can promote or demote certain results.
Changing the ranking of search results, such as boosting appropriate results by their site or URL, is a common alternative to adding promoted results. Changing ranked results by changing the query has the advantage that the results are security trimmed and refinable. Also, the search results will disappear if the document is no longer available. You can change the sorting order of the search results dynamically, based on several variables such as file extension or specific keywords. You can either promote or demote results, and you can specify how much the results should be promoted or demoted.
For more information, see the section Influence the ranking of search results with query rules in Overview of search result ranking in SharePoint Server.
|For a query that contains "download toolbox", a query rule could recognize the word "download" as an action term and boost search results that point to a particular download site on your intranet.
Transforming queries in result sources
For each result source, you can specify that all search results from that result source should be transformed in a specific way. For example, the pre-configured "Local Video Results" result source uses a query transform to return only video results from the local SharePoint index.
SharePoint Server provides a number of preconfigured result sources with predefined query transforms out-of-the-box. You can also create new result sources and apply different query transforms on them. You can create more than one result source per search provider, and you can set different query transforms on each result source.
A user query is transformed first by the Web Part, then by any query rules that apply, and finally by the result source. When you configure a transform in a result source, you know that the transform changes will not be discarded or overridden, because the result source transforms the query last. You can re-use a result source query transform in Web Parts or result blocks, and you can create query rules or result types that are only applied to results from certain result sources.
Changing the way results are shown by using result types
With result types, you can conditionally change how search results are displayed. To customize the appearance of a group of related results, you can create a display template in HTML and associate the display template with a result type. You can create rules to specify when to show the display template, and you can prioritize these rules.
How the search system processes a query
When someone enters a query or clicks on an element that triggers a query, the search system sends the query to the query processing component. This component processes the query and then sends it to the appropriate search providers to retrieve results. A search provider can be a local search index or a remote source. After the results are collected from the search providers, the query processing component performs additional processing and then returns the results so that they can be displayed.
The search system processes a query by doing the following:
Applying any Web Part transforms.
Applying any query rules. A query rule action can either transform the original query or it can trigger a parallel query that is transformed for a result block.
Applying any query transforms on result sources.
Parsing the query and creating a query syntax tree for internal use.
Processing the query linguistically by performing word breaking, stemming, spelling correction, and synonym expansion.
Appending user-access information to the query. This specifies the user who is performing the query and the permissions that the user has.
Sending the query to the search index or another search provider.
Collecting and merging search results from all search providers and sending them back to the query processing component.
Evaluating the search results against result types. If a result matches a particular result type, the result is displayed by using the display template that you have specified for the result type.
Applying additional security trimming, if appropriate.
See also
Manage query rules in SharePoint Server
Configure result sources for search in SharePoint Server


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A short trip to Beijing for business provided only one and a half days of being a "tourist" and taking photographs. The first two shots are from the flight over Siberia - not really "China" but part of the trip. The last day was spent in the Forbidden City.Read More
7 / 11
Forbidden City - Ornate Roof Decorations

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal judge on Monday dismissed most of a lawsuit filed against chemical giant DuPont Co. by Parkersburg residents over the pollution of their city's water with the toxic chemical C8.
U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin dismissed claims of negligence, nuisance, trespassing and battery, almost a year to the day after refusing to allow Parkersburg residents to pursue their case against DuPont as a class-action lawsuit.
Goodwin allowed residents to continue to pursue only a part of the lawsuit that seeks to force DuPont to pay for medical monitoring for early detection of any illnesses linked to C8 contamination."
Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette September 28, 2009.


text:
2008 Summer Olympics in China
Dear EarthTalk:
The 2008 Summer Olympics in China are drawing a lot of attention right now for political reasons. I've heard, though, that one ray of light is China's effort to make the event as green as possible. What's going on in that regard?
— Josh Rogers, Concord, NH
It's true that China is using the upcoming Beijing Olympics as a sustainability showcase, going so far as to dub the event the 'Green Olympics'. Through a partnership with the U.S. government and the Maryland-based International Center for Sustainable Development, China is giving Beijing a green makeover to make the city a model for net zero pollution, green building and sustainable community development.
According to China's Technology Minister Wan Gang, the Beijing Olympics are expected to generate some 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide, in large part because of the flying the world's athletes will do to get to and from the games. To offset these potent greenhouse gases, China will take a series of measures, Wan says, including planting trees, closing 1,000 small coal mines before and during the games,and banning up to a million cars from city streets.
Beijing's Olympic Village, where the Chinese government has been busy erecting dozens of stadiums and other structures according to rigorous green standards, is emerging as an example of sustainable community development. The steel-looped Beijing National Stadium, for instance, includes a rainwater collection arrangement, a natural ventilation system and a clear roof with inflatable cushions made from ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene), a kind of plastic that increases light and heat penetration.
Another example is the 'Water Cube', a spectacularlooking structure that looks like a building made of bubblewrap. Officially known as the National Aquatics Center, it is completely surrounded with ETFE pillows and is expected to cut energy use by 30 percent. And when it has finished serving its purpose as an Olympic venue, it has been built to be converted to a shopping area and leisure center, with tennis courts, retail outlets, nightclubs and restaurants.
All seven main Olympic stadiums are equipped with solar generators capable of outputting 480 kilowatts of energy.Ninety percent of the lighting outside the stadiums, as well as the entire hot water supply for the Olympic Village, will be powered by solar energy. Also, the main stadiums will receive power from Beijing's first wind farm.
While the Olympic Games will last only two weeks,environmentalists hope the greening of Beijing will continue beyond the summer of '08. Proposals include building 14 wastewater treatment facilities to achieve a 90 percent treatment rate in Beijing, and extending potable water to the entire city.
Also, the municipal government of Beijing has invested in expensive energy-efficient heating and transportation equipment that will greatly improve environmental quality for decades to come. Beijing, where 1,000 new cars roll onto the streets every day, also plans to source clean energy from other parts of China and through the purchase of pollution offsets via a quickly expanding international market.
Contacts: ICSD Beijing 2008 Green Olympics Initiative, solarcities.org/beijingolympics.htm; Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, http://en.beijing2008.cn.
Got an Environmental Question? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or email: [email protected]. Read past columns at
Source: Earthtalk


text:
The list of Republican candidates vying to challenge President Barack Obama in next year's election has shrunk by one. A former state governor, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, has dropped out of the race.
Tim Pawlenty says he had hoped to boost his campaign with a strong showing in Saturday's non-binding test vote in Iowa, which will hold the nation's first party caucuses to start the 2012 presidential election cycle.
"We [my campaign] needed to get some lift to continue on and to have a pathway forward. That did not happen, so we are going to end the campaign," he said.
Pawlenty spoke on ABC's This Week television program. He placed a distant third in the Iowa straw poll behind a fellow-Minnesotan, Representative Michele Bachmann, and Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.
Pawlenty said his record as a two-term governor in a Democratically-leaning state "was not sufficient" to excite Republican voters and attract large financial contributions to his campaign. He congratulated Bachmann and Paul for their strong showings in Iowa.
"Congratulations to them. But this is a long journey," he said. "The [Republican] Party is going to be discussing more broadly who they want for their candidate, not just in Iowa but in other places around the country. So we do not know what this [nomination race] will ultimately look like."
Two Republican hopefuls with strong name recognition received votes, but did not actively compete in the Iowa straw poll: former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry. Perry formally entered the race Saturday.
The straw poll winner, Michele Bachmann, has substantial backing from social conservatives as well as the virulently anti-tax, anti-spend Tea Party faction of the Republican Party. Bachmann was one of several Republican lawmakers who voted against raising the U.S. debt ceiling earlier this month as the United States teetered on the edge of a potential default.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Bachmann was asked if she bears some responsibility for the recent downgrade of U.S. credit worthiness, which Standard & Poor's blamed in large part on chronic political intransigence in Washington.
She said it is spendthrift Democrats, not Republicans, who bear responsibility for America's financial woes.
"You cannot spend money you do not have. We have to start paying our bills. That is what Standard & Poor's is telling us," she said.
President Obama faces no Democratic Party challengers for his nomination to a second term. Although polls show more Americans disapprove of his job performance than approve of it, such numbers are not uncommon for an incumbent president one year before a reelection bid.


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McCain grasps for critical red states with 8 days to go
Where to go with just eight days left?
If this were a monopoly game, you'd head toward the properties that are still up for grabs.
Boardwalk, Park Place
The big properties are already gone. California with its 55 electoral votes is like Boardwalk – and it looks solidly in blue territory. Texas with its 34 would be Park Place – and it's dyed-in-the-wool red. New York with 31? It's Pennsylvania Avenue, and it's Obama territory.
Up for grabs
But Florida is like North Carolina Avenue, and it is still up for grabs with 27 electoral votes. So, the Sunshine state will see a lot of the two campaigns.
Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana and Missouri are all targeted as well. The other thing these states have in common? These are all states that President Bush won in 2004. So McCain is playing a lot of defense. The only offense McCain is playing is in Pennsylvania.
How do the candidates stack up so far?
Joe Biden is all over the Sunshine state. Floridians will see him for a solid three days. Biden has proven to be non-partisan in this year's contest, attacking John McCain and Barack Obama equally.
No word if he will continue to warn voters of international crises if he and Obama are elected to the Oval Office. Perhaps he will pivot and begin attacking his running mate for ties to Tony Rezko.
If Barack Obama had a big crowd in Denver yesterday, then who knows how the big the crowd will be in Orlando on Wednesday. Obama will be joined by President Bill Clinton. Obama and Hillary Clinton attracted 50,000 people last week.
According to CNN's Poll of Polls (and there should be a poll to determine how well that poll polls), Obama has a three-point edge in Florida.
Sarah Palin was there Sunday, and in front of a raucous crowd warned Obama not to turn out the lights quite yet.
"This thing isn't over yet." Palin said, "Where I come from, you have to win the game before you start cutting down the net."
McCain is in Cleveland and Dayton today while Obama is in Canton. The poll of polls shows Obama to have a five point edge in the Buckeye state.
Obama, according to his campaign, will deliver his closing argument for his candidacy today in Canton.
He will, in his prepared remarks, continue to use a tweaked version of Ronald Reagan's old "Are you better off" line.
"The question in this election is not: Are you better off than you were four years ago? We know the answer to that. The real question is: Will this country be better off four years from now?"
We're assuming as it is delivered by Obama and not his running mate, the answer to this question would be favorable to his campaign.
The one blue state McCain hopes to grab will see a lot of attention from both campaigns. McCain is in Pottsville today while Obama visits Pittsburgh.
The poll of polls? Obama is up 51 to 41 percent. However, the McCain camp says internal polls show the race much closer.
How will McCain grab Pennsylvania? Although the odds are against the steal, he's pinning hopes on playing to the electorate's distaste for one-party rule which would be likely occur with an Obama win.
"My opponent is out there working out the details with Speaker Pelosi and (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid, their plans to raise your taxes, increase spending and concede defeat in Iraq," said McCain. "We're not going to let that happen."
North Carolina
Biden yo-yos from Florida to North Carolina then back to Florida. In North Carolina he will visit Greenville and Greensboro.
Last week, the Delaware Senator spent some time in Winston-Salem and used a North Carolina-friendly analogy to discuss the race.
"I know NASCAR is big in North Carolina. And ... to use NASCAR parlance for those of you who are NASCAR fans, we've been trading a little paint with the McCain, with the McCain-Palin ticket lately. And and quite frankly, John's been driving a little loose lately," he said.
The state is considered a toss-up currently which is saying a lot for Obama. Four years ago, President Bush won the state by 12 percentage points.
Virginia hasn't voted for the Democratic nominee since 1964. The Old Dominion state leans Obama. A new Washington Post poll shows Obama up by eight points.
Noting that the Obama campaign has a huge organization in Virginia (almost 50 offices and 250 paid staffers), the Post reports the outreach appears to be fruitful.
The poll indicates that Obama's staff and volunteers have made staggering gains in reaching out to Virginia's 5 million registered voters. More than half of all voters surveyed said they have been contacted in person, on the phone or by e-mail or text message about voting for Obama, far more than said so about McCain.
Sarah Palin is all over the state today with visits in Leesburg, Fredericksburg, and Salem.
Could Indiana actually go Obama? The McCain camp has a lead in the Hoosier state but it is a state that Obama has targeted.
Palin visited the state on Saturday and is making a return trip on Wednesday with Hank Williams, Jr. (a musician who has not sued their campaign) in Jeffersonville.
Six weeks ago it was solidly McCain. Now it is a toss-up, with RealClearPolitics showing Obama with a one-point lead.
Game's not over
John McCain is right. Many pundits and pollsters have written him off. And Obama's sky-high stack of orange $500 bills doesn't help the McCain campaign. But, to use a way overused cliche', the only poll that matters is the one done a week from tomorrow.
And the Republican nominee shows no signs of giving up.
"We are doing fine. You're going to be up very late on election night," McCain told NBC's Meet the Press. "This is going to be a very close race and I believe I'm going to win it."


text:
Oops, I thoroughly meant to post Super Bowl recipes on Friday but evidently Friday has come and gone (when did that happen?). This atypical workweek has got me all mixed up. My office was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the blizzard/snowpocalypse/macaroon-fest, and I'm working ten hours a day non-stop through Valentine's Day to make up for it. The day of the week is irrelevant at this point.
If you are scrambling for last-minute ideas, here is a collection of my most Super Bowl-worthy recipes:
Black Bean Salsa Recipe
What are your Super Bowl plans? Once I bust out of the office, I'm heading to my best friend's house to watch the game with my best girlfriends. And by watch, I mean chat and eat pizza while the game is on. Yeah!


text:
Tamron announced a new 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens (Model A010). You can see the patent for that lens here. Additional information:
Tamron is developing an advanced new all-in-one ™ wide-angle to telephoto zoom lens for full-frame DSLR cameras
28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD (Model A010)
Innovative all-in-one™zoom integrates state-of-the-art optical design, PZD (Piezo Drive)*1 and Tamron's exclusive VC (Vibration Compensation)*2 system to achieve superb image quality in a remarkably compact, lightweight package.
February 6, 2014, Saitama, Japan – Tamron Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Morio Ono), a leading manufacturer of precision optics, has announced the development of 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD (Model A010), an advanced new all-in-one™ zoom lens for full-frame DSLR cameras. The lens sample will be on display at the Tamron booth at the CP+ 2014, which will be held from February 13 to 16 in Yokohama, Japan.
Since the launch in 1992 of the 28-200mm (Model 71D) high-power zoom lens – which featured a revolutionary compact, lightweight design – Tamron has been continually expanding its portfolio of world class optics to benefit consumers.
Having revolutionized the optical design of the previous 28-300mm (Model A20), Tamron is developing a powerful new, high-power zoom lens for full-frame DSLR cameras that enhances image quality and incorporates the PZD (Piezo Drive)*1—a standing-wave ultrasonic motor system optimized for swift, quiet AF—and the acclaimed VC (Vibration Compensation)*2 mechanism in an amazingly compact configuration.
Featuring a new, sophisticated external finish, this lens complements the performance and style of full-frame DSLRs, while delivering the practical advantages of an all-in-one™zoom lens.
Product Highlights
- State-of-the-art optical design technology delivers superior image quality
The advanced optical construction of this lens includes four elements of LD (Low Dispersion) glass, three Molded-Glass Aspherical elements, one Hybrid Aspherical element, one XR (Extra Refractive index) glass element, and one element of UXR (Ultra-Extra Refractive Index) glass, which has greater refractive index than XR. The full use of specialized glass elements in its design contributes to making this outstanding lens as compact and lightweight as possible, while minimizing aberrations, resulting in superior image quality. Particularly impressive is the thorough compensation of chromatic aberrations at the telephoto end, yielding images of enhanced clarity and crispness.
- Focus on portability – The lens is now even smaller and lighter
In addition to state-of-the-art optical design that facilitates downsizing of the lens body, the mechanical design, which incorporates a highly sophisticated multi-stack-cam layout that takes up far less space, and PZD (Piezo Drive), an autofocus drive system with a simpler, more compact structure, has made it possible to reduce the overall dimensions of this lens compared to the existing Tamron 28-300mm (Model A20). These technologies are the fruit of Tamron's more than 20 years of research and development in the high-power zoom lens field.
- Advanced anti-reflection coating
The application of BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) coatings for suppressing reflections on lens element surfaces minimizes unwanted flare and ghosting to deliver sharp, crisp, high-contrast images.
- Upgraded cosmetic design – Elegant tungsten silver brand ring
Tamron has upgraded the cosmetic design and finish of this lens to create a more sophisticated, high-end look in keeping with the demands of discerning full-frame DSLR users. Employing a sophisticated linear pattern rubber grip on the zoom and focus rings and an elegant tungsten silver name-brand ring, this newly designed model accentuates its visceral presence with understated elegance and class.
- PZD (Piezo Drive) delivers faster, quieter autofocus action
The PZD (Piezo Drive)*1, a standing-wave ultrasonic motor system, delivers faster, quieter, more precise action when the autofocus is engaged. The full-time manual focus system is easy and intuitive, enabling quick and convenient manual focus at any time.
- VC (Vibration Compensation)
Tamron's acclaimed VC (Vibration Compensation)*2mechanism reduces image blur caused by camera shake to deliver significantly sharper images even when shooting handheld.
- Circular diaphragm facilitates achieving spectacular blur effects
Using a circular diaphragm*4, this lens achieves spectacular background blur effects that enable creative use of depth of field.
- Moisture-resistant construction for outdoor shooting
Moisture-resistant construction helps prevent moisture from penetrating the lens.
|PZD (Piezo Drive) is a standing-wave type ultrasonic motor system developed by Tamron. It delivers outstanding speed and quiet operation in the AF mode. It also provides greater flexibility in design compared with ring-type ultrasonic motors, thus contributing to reduced lens size.
|VC (Vibration Compensation) is Tamron's proprietary tri-axial image stabilization mechanism.
|The Sony mount model does not include VC, since the bodies of Sony DSLR cameras include built-in image stabilization functionality. The name of the Sony mount model is "28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di PZD" without the VC designation.
|This circular diaphragm retains a nearly circular shape even at two stops down from its maximum aperture.
|Focal Length
|Maximum Aperture
|Angle of View (diagonal)
|75°23' – 8°15' (for full-frame format)
|52°58' – 5°20' (for APS-C format)
|Lens Construction
|19 elements in 15 groups
|Minimum Focus Distance
|0.49m (19.3 in)
|Max. Magnification Ratio
|1:3.5 (at f=300mm: MFD 0.49m)
|Filter Size
|Maximum Diameter
|96mm (3.8 in)*
|540g (19 oz)*
|Diaphragm Blade Number
|7 (circular diaphragm)
|Minimum Aperture
|Standard Accessory
|Flower-shaped lens hood
|Compatible Mount
|Canon/ Nikon/ Sony


text:
|Welcome to Uncyclopedia's People portal.
This is by far the most biographical portal you will ever find.
People are evil. Fear people. They are known to eat oranges. People are everywhere these days, as they constitute the final phase of the STD "baby". Their prevalence in history is rarely notated, so we're going to drop some knowledge, old school style.
Featured Biographical Article
Karl Lagerfeld
To you
You are happy to meet me. This disappoints me. My presence should take you beyond mere happiness. Let me tell you the truth; you are ecstatic! How could you not be? I'm Karl Lagerfeld!
Listen to me when I speak. Listen baby. Do you mind that I call you "baby"? It does not matter! It is not your place to choose such things! I'm Karl Lagerfeld! Other babies would be delighted if I were to take time out from my day and call them "baby". Do you think that you are special? No! Only I am special!
Follow Karl Lagerfeld and let me show you my power. Pause and look...
Selected Picture
After the scientist invented the time-travel machine, Vin Diesel goes back in time to pose for Leonardo Da Vinci in 1508. Tabloids read: "MONALIESEL is complete!" though the actual title of the painting was Manalisa.
People in the news
- Proof the CIA is using leprechauns to keep the black man down (pictured)
- Airport staff want to see your junk.
- Organized crime, America's farmers, no match for millions of bored Facebook users.
- America's politicians decide to become disc jockeys.
- Satan lets loose evil opossums, demon-possessed proctologists.
- Kanye wins an epic battle against Lil Wayne in a Twinkie eating Contest
- Charlie Sheen arrested for assaulting the fat kid from Two and a Half Men
- Even Dick Cheney may become a Wolf when the Wolfbane blooms
- Boxer Mike Tyson new spokesperson for General Mills cereals.
- Aliens shut down high-value UFO sighting reporting unit, now prepared for all-out invasion of UK.
- Gary Kirsten presents his revolutionary methods of training for Indian cricketers.
- Tigger Woods Loses His Bounce in the Pooh Sticks Gate Scandal.
- Europe has a new Emperor with a funny name - ideal for tabloid headlines.
- British actor dies . Americans may know who he was.
- Grim Reaper commits suicide after massive week of celebrity deaths
- Some old guy died, or something (ask your parents)
Other remarkable people
Below is a list of popular people:
Quote of the Day
"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are the whole damn ocean. "
- ~ Ryunosuke Satoro
Did you know...
- ...that the original name of Bank of America was Bank of Italy.
- ...that every 23 seconds a Tupperware party starts somewhere in the world.
- ...that not everything you read is true.
- Template:Politicquote1
Things You Can Do
- Find a remarkable article about someone and suggest it for promotion.
- Help re wright articles about people. Some will be healed by a simple spell check, others need something a little more drastic.
- Be as social as you possibly can.


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(RNS) As countless men grow mustaches this month to raise money and awareness for men's health issues, women and girls of all ages have put away their blush and mascara, seeking to remember they are beautifully made by God — even without the makeup.
"I think a lot of times we get so caught up in 'God made the world and the trees and the beauty and nature' and we see God's handiwork in the leaves changing in the fall, or we see his handiwork at the beach," said Becca Daniel, team leader at Rave Ministries.
"What we forget is we're told in all those other Scriptures that God made us, down to the last detail too."
Women and girls from 37 states and seven countries are participating in "No Makeup November," which is coordinated by Rave Ministries, a Christian girls ministry associated with the Churches of Christ.
Although 1,000 people have registered at Rave's website, Daniel estimates that the number of women participating in the challenge is closer to 4,000.
"This campaign in no way is an anti-makeup campaign, because let it be known that it is not the makeup that we are battling," said Rave's website. "Instead, it is a culture that we are trying to fight. A culture that tells our young girls, mothers, and yes, even grandmothers that they are not close to being good enough."
No Makeup November follows in the footsteps of "Movember," when men grow mustaches during November to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues, and "No Shave November," which raises awareness and funds for cancer prevention.
Although No Makeup November is not about raising money for a cause like prostate cancer, Daniel said it's still an awareness-raising campaign.
"It's bringing awareness to true beauty and to taking off the mask," Daniel said. "I believe that there's a need because of the culture that we live in. It's just very much beauty-saturated: 'beauty' meaning what's on the outside."
Rave Ministries first coordinated the campaign a year ago after Lauren King, another team leader and Daniel's sister, saw videos made by Brooke Ferguson, a student at Lipscomb University. Ferguson had gone without makeup for 40 days during the summer of 2011 and made video blogs about the experience.
This November is the first year the campaign has really taken off, Daniel said.
Participants have built a community across the world as they encourage each other over Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #NMN. The team leaders at Rave have also posted regular devotionals and other words of encouragement to participants.
"There are some people who don't go out of their house without it on," Daniel said. "It has been difficult for some. Overall, I would say the most difficult place for girls and for women — for women especially — the place that is most difficult to go is church. And I found that ironic. I find it ironic because that's the place where we're supposed to feel the most comfortable about the way God created us."
When her sister proposed that Rave run No Makeup November, Daniel did not initially want to participate. Although she did not wear makeup often, she needed it to feel put together for special events and work.
But now Daniel is glad she joined the event.
"Personally, I've learned to be just confident," Daniel said. "God made me. He made my eyebrows, my eyelashes. He made my freckles. He made me."


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In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.
Common terms and phrases
advertising Agency AGVA American AMUSEMENT announced Art Mooney ASCAP BELL Berle Billboard Blue Broadcasting Company NBC Broadcasting System CBS Buddy Clark cabinet Capitol cash cent Chambles CHICAGO coin machine coin-operated Columbia Columbia Broadcasting System Commission contract dealers Decca Detroit Dick Haymes disk diskery DISTRIBUTOR ELECTRIC SCOREBOARDS emsee equipment featured film firm fleboard giveaway HOLLYWOOD horsecollar ILLINOIS Jackpot juke box Kaye Lever manufacturers maple MERO Mills Monday month National Broadcasting Company night niteries old-time dancing operators pact Phone plastic numeral players president prexy production promotion pubbers radio record reported Rock-Ola SABC Sammy Kaye Seeburg Seeco selling shuf shuffle shuffleboard song sponsor spot star stations talent tele television Theater thru tion tour ture unit vaude vending Victor week-end weekly WFIL YORK


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US identifies anti-Muslim filmmaker
WASHINGTON - The Associated Press
A police car and media are seen outside the home believed to be the residence of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man behind the controversial film "Innocence of Muslims." AP photoFederal authorities have identified a Coptic Christian in southern California who is on probation after his conviction for financial crimes as the key figure behind the anti-Muslim film that ignited mob violence against U.S. embassies across the Mideast, a U.S. law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
The official said Thursday that authorities had concluded that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, was behind "Innocence of Muslims," a film that denigrated Islam and the prophet Muhammad and sparked protests earlier this week in Egypt, Libya and most recently in Yemen. It was not immediately clear whether Nakoula was the target of a criminal investigation or part of the broader investigation into the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya during a terrorist attack.
Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed Thursday that Justice Department officials were investigating the deaths, which occurred during an attack on the American mission in Benghazi.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation, said Nakoula was connected to the persona of Sam Bacile, a man who initially told the AP he was the film's writer and director. But Bacile turned out to be a false identity, and the AP traced a cellphone number Bacile used to a southern California house where it located and interviewed Nakoula.
Bacile initially told AP he was Jewish and Israeli, although Israeli officials said they had no records of such a citizen. Others involved in the film said his statements were contrived, as evidence mounted that the film's key player was a Coptic Christian with a checkered past.
Nakoula told the AP in an interview outside Los Angeles on Wednesday that he managed logistics for the company that produced the film. Nakoula denied he was Bacile and said he did not direct the film, though he said he knew Bacile.
Federal court papers filed against Nakoula in a 2010 criminal prosecution noted that he had used numerous aliases, including Nicola Bacily, Robert Bacily, Erwin Salameh and others.
During a conversation outside his home, Nakoula offered his driver's license to show his identity but kept his thumb over his middle name, Basseley. Records checks by the AP subsequently found that middle name as well as other connections to the Bacile persona.
The AP located the man calling himself Bacile after obtaining his cellphone number from Morris Sadek, a conservative Coptic Christian in the U.S. who has promoted the anti-Muslim film in recent days on his website. Egypt's Christian Coptic populace has long decried what they describe as a history of discrimination and occasional violence from the country's Muslim majority.
Pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla., who sparked outrage in the Arab world when he burned Qurans on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, said he spoke with the movie's director on the phone Wednesday and prayed for him. Jones said he has not met the filmmaker in person but added that the man contacted him a few weeks ago about promoting the movie. Jones and others who have dealt with the filmmaker said Wednesday that Bacile was hiding his real identity.
"I have not met him. Sam Bacile, that is not his real name," Jones said. "He is definitely in hiding and does not reveal his identity."
The YouTube account under the username "Sam Bacile" was used to publish excerpts of the provocative movie in July and was used to post comments online as recently as Tuesday, including this defense of the film written in Arabic: "It is a 100 percent American movie, you cows."
Nakoula, who talked guardedly with AP about his role, pleaded no contest in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges in California and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution. He was also sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and was ordered not to use computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Leigh Williams said Nakoula set up fraudulent bank accounts using stolen identities and Social Security numbers; then, checks from those accounts would be deposited into other bogus accounts from which Nakoula would withdraw money at ATM machines.
It was "basically a check-kiting scheme," the prosecutor told the AP. "You try to get the money out of the bank before the bank realizes they are drawn from a fraudulent account. There basically is no money."
Prior to his bank fraud conviction, Nakoula struggled with a series of financial problems in recent years, according to California state tax and bankruptcy records. In June 2006, a $191,000 tax lien was filed against him in the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds office. In 1997, a $106,000 lien was filed against him in Orange County.
American actors and actresses who appeared in "Innocence of Muslims" issued a joint statement Wednesday saying they were misled about the project and alleged that some of their dialogue was crudely dubbed during post-production.
In the English-language version of the trailer, direct references to Muhammad appear to be the result of post-production changes to the movie. Either actors aren't seen when the name "Muhammad" is spoken in the overdubbed sound, or they appear to be mouthing something else as the name of the prophet is spoken.
"The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer," said the statement, obtained by the Los Angeles Times. "We are 100 percent not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose. We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred."
One of the actresses, Cindy Lee Garcia, told KERO-TV in Bakersfield that the film was originally titled "Desert Warriors" and the script did not contain offensive references to Islam.
"When I found out this movie had caused all this havoc, I called Sam and asked him why, what happened, why did he do this? I said, 'Why did you do this to us, to me and to us?' And he said, 'Tell the world that it wasn't you that did it, it was me, the one who wrote the script, because I'm tired of the radical Muslims running around killing everyone,'" she said.
Garcia said the director, who called himself Sam Bacile, told her then that he was Egyptian.
The man identifying himself as Bacile told the AP he was an Israeli-born, 56-year-old Jewish writer and director. But a Christian activist involved in the film project, Steve Klein, told the AP on Wednesday that Bacile was a pseudonym and that the man was Christian. Klein had told the AP on Tuesday that the filmmaker was an Israeli Jew who was concerned for family members who live in Egypt.
About 15 key players from the Middle East - people from Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran, and a couple of Coptic Christians from Egypt - worked on the film, Klein said.
"Most of them won't tell me their real names because they're terrified," Klein said.
Bishop Serapion of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Los Angeles said Thursday that the church opposes the views expressed in the inflammatory movie, and, initially, none of his priests recognized Nakoula as a congregant. On Thursday morning, Nakoula called Serapion and said he had attended services at the church in Bellflower, Calif.
Serapion told the AP that Nakoula immediately claimed innocence on the phone call, saying there had been a mix-up with his name and he had no involvement with the movie.
"This is the first sentence he mentioned, that is 'I want to tell you I am not part of it,'" said Serapion.
Serapion told the AP he confirmed with the priest in Bellflower that Nakoula had once gone to the parish but hadn't been to services in a very long time.
Serapion said only "God knows" if Nakoula was truthful, but the holy man told Nakoula the filmmaker must take responsibility.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, said Klein is a former Marine and longtime religious-right activist who has helped train paramilitary militias at a California church. It described Klein as founder of Courageous Christians United, which conducts protests outside abortion clinics, Mormon temples and mosques.
Google Inc., which owns YouTube, pulled down the video Wednesday in Egypt, citing a legal complaint. It was still accessible in the U.S. and other countries.


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Baseball & Softball Bat Bags
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- Rawlings Workhorse Wheeled Players Bag by Rawlings$119.99
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- Franklin Slingbak Bat Pack by FranklinOut of stock
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Bags Buying Guides
There are tons of baseball and softball bags on the market, but not all bags are created equal. The ideal bag for individual ballplayers can vary, depending on style preferences, space-needs and other key factors. Read on if you're looking for the best baseball bat bags and best softball bags for transporting your equipment to and from the diamond.
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When it comes to the best baseball helmets, you have plenty of brands and styles to choose from. So how do you know what to get? In order to help you find the best helmet for your game, we'll break down our favorites to help you decide.
Other Great Choices
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text:
Jay Pavlina recently released a sensation of a video game, a remix called Super Mario Bros. Crossover that allows gamers to play Super Mario Bros. as the heroes of Mega Man, Metroid and Castlevania. Other legends almost made it in.
From a GameXplain interview with Pavlina about the making of the game
GameXplain: Mario, Mega Man, Simon, Samus, Bill, and Link—that's a fantastic selection of characters, but were there any others you were considering adding? Were any cut for time or developmental reasons?
Pavlina: Yes, originally there were nine characters, and I'd really like to get these characters in at some point if possible. The other three characters were going to be Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden, Luigi, and the SOPHIA battle tank from Blaster Master. I also considered the guy from Bionic Commando. Most of the characters got cut due to time, but Luigi got cut due to a different decision. Originally, the game was going to have a story where Mario got captured, so Luigi recruited his friends from other videogame worlds to help get Mario back. But I decided not to worry about the story and just focus on making the gameplay awesome.
Play the game as is, at Newgrounds. Dream of what it could have been.
Super Mario Bros. Crossover Xplained: An Interview with the Creator [GameXplain]


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The NESDR Nano 3 USB OTG bundle includes everything you need to get started with mobile SDR with your existing USB On-The-Go compatible device! The NESDR Nano 3 is compatible with most host devices, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android and Raspberry Pi.
- NESDR Nano 3 Software Defined Radio (RTL-SDR) installed inside an aluminum enclosure
- Nano-sized antenna
- Nano-sized USB OTG adapter
- USB OTG Y-adapter
- USB OTG cable
- USB OTG Y-cable
- Right-angle SMA female antenna adapter
- SDR heatsink (optional)
The included accessories allow for a wide variety of installation and configuration options. The included Y-cable and Y-adapter will allow for an auxiliary power source to be connected (USB charger or additional battery) to provide power to the SDR and prolong the battery life of your host phone or tablet. The nano-sized USB OTG adapter & antenna allows for the smallest possible installation footprint of any SDR available anywhere.
NOTE: Please verify compatibility! For USB OTG usage, you will need a host device with USB OTG support, Android 3.1 or higher, and a microUSB port.
SDR Description:
Say goodbye to blocked USB ports! The tiny NESDR Nano 3 is the ideal SDR for portable and embedded applications. Quad SDRs on a Raspberry Pi? USB OTG? Not a problem for the NESDR Nano 3! The Nano 3 is just 17mm x 8mm x 20mm weighs only 15g!
The Nano 3 is built into a high-quality brushed aluminum enclosure. In conjunction with the 2 internal silicone heat pads, this ensures that heat is removed from board-level and to the exterior where it belongs. The aluminum enclosure ensures that EMI is kept out out of the sensitive SDR circuitry, and emissions from the digital circuitry are contained within the SDR enclosure. The latter is especially important in EMI sensitive environments like automotive and flight applications!
An articulating, right-angle female SMA connector is included to allow you to attach both male SMA and male MCX antennas directly to your SDR.
The NESDR Nano 3 contains the same custom TCXO we include in our NESDR SMArt series. This 0.5PPM, ultra-low phase-noise TCXO is by far the highest performance TCXO available in ANY low-cost SDR.
We are so confident of the reliability and stability of this SDR that we offer a full 2-year warranty--the longest in the industry.
CAUTION: The enclosure will get hot! This is by design, and will not affect performance of the SDR. Please be cautious when touching the SDR after prolonged usage! A custom heatsink, which can optionally be affixed to either side of the SDR to further improve heat dissipation, is included with your purchase.
This RTL-SDR is based on the R820T2 tuner IC made by Rafael Micro, which means an approximate tuning range of 25MHz-1700MHz . There is also an RTL2832U IC on board to provide basic demodulation and USB interface functionality.
Full compatibility with a wide variety of popular SDR software packages, such as Matlab, CubicSDR, HDSDR, SDR Touch, Stratux and Planeplotter; for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android & Raspberry Pi.
Additional Info
Additional Info
|USB Interface IC
|Tuner IC
|Frequency Range (approximate)
|25MHz - 1750MHz
|TCXO clock
|Antenna Connector Type
|Antenna Included?
|Remote Included?
|Additional Accessories
|Includes anodized aluminum enclosure, heatsink, articulating adapter for SMA antennas, nano-sized antenna and 4 USB OTG adapters.


text:
Sunday, August 22, 2010
In My Mailbox: Birthday Edition
I haven't posted an In My Mailbox yet this month and thought it would be fun to have a birthday edition of IMM to show off all the fab books I am getting for my birthday.
The Iron Daughter (Iron Fey, book 2) by Julie Kagawa
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, book 2) by Cassandra Clare
City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, book 3) by Cassandra Clare
A Spy in the House (The Agency, book 1) by Y.S. Lee
One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, book 2) by Jeanienne Frost
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (Eclipse Novella) by Stephenie Meyer
Strange Neighbors (Strange Neighbors, book 1) by Ashlyn Chase
The Hollow by Jessica Verday
Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, book 1) by Rachelle Cain
Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, book 2) by Maggie Stiefvater
Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, book 1) by Stacia Kane
From my publisher: I received bookmarks, postcards and an ARC of She Smells the Dead. I also learned that the trade paperback and kindle editions will be available at Amazon for my birthday! What more can a girl ask for her birthday? ;)
It's the beginning of senior year and Yuki's psychic awareness of ghostly spirits is threatening to ruin her life. Her ability to sense spirits of the dead isn't glamorous like the ghost hunting on television.
The smell impressions are becoming stronger. Yuki is being visited in her dreams, and she suspects that her friend Calvin is involved in something strange. To make matters worse her crush on Garrett is going unrequited, Yuki's friend Emma is on a rampage against bee oppression, and Calvin Miller mysteriously disappears.
Will Yuki be able to focus her powers in time to save the lost soul who is haunting her? Meanwhile, who will save Yuki from following the spirits into the light?
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. To join in the fun, visit The Story Siren's In My Mailbox page.
71 comments:
Aww no photos? Still looks very impressive. Happy reading! & Happy birthday!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday!! And congrats on being an author...although im not sure how long ago that was. My mailbox is here. Not as awesome as yours though. XDReplyDelete
Thanks for the post and happy reading!Btw, I just followed you and am looking forawrds to more!
●▬▬▬๑۩Tina @ Book Couture۩๑▬▬▬▬●
Happy birthday! Great books! And congratz for your book.ReplyDelete
Here's what's In My Mailbox
Great titles, and Happy Birthday, it already looks like you have plenty to celebrate.ReplyDelete
Happy Bday! Hope you are going to have a fun and wonderful day. ;)ReplyDelete
The Hollow is GOOD. :)
Love Cassandra Clare & Jeaniene Frost! Happy Reading =)ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday!ReplyDelete
I loved The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner! Enjoy :D
Happy Birthday!!! These are great books! Enjoy!ReplyDelete
P.S. I love your header!
Happy Birthday! Hope you enjoy all of your incredible books :)ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday!ReplyDelete
Your IMM is amazing!!! So many good books. I'm just about to read The Iron Daughter. Unholy Ghosts is an amazing book. I hope you enjoy it and the series as much as I did. Cassandra Clare is just beyond fantastic. Happy Reading :)
It looks like you had an excellent birthday week! Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy all of the books you received! Congratulations on having your book released for your birthday! Happy reading! :)ReplyDelete
Happy birthday! You have a great list of books. I have or have read all of them except Unholy Ghosts. I guess I'll have to add it to my TBR stack. Happy reading!ReplyDelete
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You got tons of amazing books and I hope you enjoy them<3ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 22, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Happy Birthday, E.J.! I hope you will celebrate / celebrated with a bunch of very good friends ;=) Enjoy your next years of Life without regrets, have fun!ReplyDelete
And I'm interested in "The Hollow" since I found a book-description somewhere - Can't wait to see your review ;)
Have a good reading time, enjoy your presents!
Great books this week! Linger, City of Ashes & Glass were all amazing. I really need to buy The Iron Daughter. Okay then, hope you enjoy and happy reading!ReplyDelete
♫ ~ ♪♫ ~ ♫ нαρρÿ вιяτн∂αÿ ♫ ~ ♪♫ ~ ♫ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! Awesome book list! I will hopefully be getting a package of books along with my Mockingjay VERY soon (including some of the ones on your list)! I will die if everyone has read it before me!ReplyDelete
Happy, happy birthday to you! Enjoy your books - looks like you got quite a few!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! Thanks for stopping at my blog. Looks like you have lots of spooky reading ahead of you :) Enjoy!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday. What a great book haul you have :DReplyDelete
Linger is awesome, Bree Tanner is fab, The Hollow is great :D I think I have the rest either on my TBR shelf or the wishlist ;)
Thank you for being my 100th follower :D
Happy Birthday! You got LOTS of super awesome books!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! Love your book collection.ReplyDelete
Bonne Fetes!ReplyDelete
Nice loot for the Birthday celebration! Green with envy and now go out there and dance away to enjoy the B Day month!
I should kick in a B Day month celebration too.
Happy Birthday E.J.!!!!!!!! You're blog looks Awesome!!!!!! Not to mention all your books!!!! I hope I'm that lucky for my b-day ;) I'm a new follower--I hope you have an amazing birthday!!!!! I can't wait to see more of your blog!!!!ReplyDelete
Niiiiice. You did well. I hope that you will enjoy them all. Here's what was In My Mailbox.ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! Those are all great books! Have read and really liked almost all of those!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! And have fun reading! :)ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! You're a lucky birthday girl for getting so many books and the great news from your publisher must have been extra special.ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday!ReplyDelete
Great mailbox! I absolutely loved The Iron Daughter! Strange Neighbors is in my TBR pile, I love the cover for it. Amazing news from your publisher too!
Wow, happy birthday! You got a ton of great books and you books looks beautiful!! I'll be on the lookout for it when it releases!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! That is a great assortment of books!ReplyDelete
First off Happy Birthday and secondly GREAT books this week. Spy in the House is really great. Happy Reading!ReplyDelete
Ah, some great books! I love the Morganville vampire books and Linger was delish!ReplyDelete
And your own ARC arriving? How cool is that?
Oooh love the Iron Fey, Morganville Vampires and Night Huntress series!! I've just started reading the Mortal Instruments series and it's really addictive. So should've started reading it ages ago. Love your collection of books!ReplyDelete
Ooh, I loved The Iron Daughter, I hope you enjoy it! You've got some great reads this week, happy reading.ReplyDelete
happy birthday! ooo, the cover for she smells the dead looks awesome! goth, creepy, but so innocent looking gal ;-DReplyDelete
Thanks for stopping by! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! What a great haul of books! Happy reading!ReplyDelete
EJ Thanks for stopping by my mailbox earlier and a very Happy Birthday wish to you, you got some really nice reading goodies enjoy them all!ReplyDelete
jackie ^_^
Happy Bday wishes. You've got lots of great stuff to read & getting your own ARC for your bday is the best ever!!!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday!! Thanks for stopping by my mailbox... I see you have Strange Neighbors, which is on my wishlist, so I look forward to your review of it...ReplyDelete
~Book Obsessed
First off, Happy Birthday! What a fantastic group of books you are getting - I am a little jealous!ReplyDelete
Thanks for stopping by Fiction Folio!
Happy birthday! :)ReplyDelete
City of Ashes and City of Glass are amazing books, you're going to really enjoy them :) Following!
happy birthday!!ReplyDelete
wow! what a great week for you. you got so many amazing books. i hope you enjoy them all!
and congrats on having your book published! i'll have to keep an eye out for it.
Happy Birthday! Enjoy all of your birthday books!ReplyDelete
Happy birthday!ReplyDelete
Fab haul!
Happy Birthday! You got a ton of great books!ReplyDelete
Happy birthday! Great selection of books!ReplyDelete
Alison Can Read
Happy Birthday! There's nothing better than a load of books for presents!ReplyDelete
Great books...Thanks for checking my mailboxReplyDelete
Happy B-day! Thanks for the visit!ReplyDelete
I haven't read any of those titles but I keep seeing other bloggers gushing about them. Great haul and congrats on the new editions of your book--I like the cover-- creepy and sweet at the same time.
Happy Birthday and that is a fantastic book haul there! I hope you enjoy all of your books! :)ReplyDelete
Happy birthday! Thanks for visiting my blog! :)ReplyDelete
Ooh, you have City of Ashes and City of Glass. I loved City of Glass -- best book I read in the trilogy that is no longer a trilogy! ^^ I hope you enjoy that, too.
And your book seems very interesting! Seeing the dead is one thing, but smelling them? Hm, I wonder.
Hope you had a great birthday, and many more to come! :)
You got a lot of great books this week!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! What an amazing haul! =D
- AnonymousAugust 23, 2010 at 5:33 AM
Happy Birthday (: Thank you for stopping by. It was my birthday yesterday, too. (But I didn't get any books at all. ): Everyone thinks I have enough books, but how could you ever have enough books? (; ) The Mortal Instruments is a great series, I loved it all the way through. Same with The Morganvlle Vampires. It gets better every time. Have fun!ReplyDelete
Great books - I've got Linger and Shiver on my TBR pile too. Happy Birthday!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 23, 2010 at 8:27 AM
What a fab bunch of books - especially The Mortal Instruments and Night Huntress, love both series so much! Have a lovely week, Bella xxReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 23, 2010 at 8:48 AM
Ooh! Some great books there :) Happy Birthday (in advance or Belated?) Happy Reading!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! ...and what a great pile of books that is! Lots of excellent titles. And congrats on your own work as well, that's very exciting :)ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday!! Nice pile of books there!! Congrats on your book also!! Love your blog!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! Congrats,too on your publisher news. That's fantastic!ReplyDelete
Happy birthday! Those look like some awesome books! I've read a few of them. Nice blog :)ReplyDelete
Great books! I loved City of Ashes and City of Glass plus Linger was amazing! I enjoyed Glass Houses and Bree Tanner also :)ReplyDelete
That's a lot of awesome books!! Happy reading and Happy Birthday!! =)ReplyDelete
Books are always a great gift to get!ReplyDelete
Great IMM!!
Happy reading and happy b-day!!
Happy Belated Birthday! Nice IMM! I can't wait for Clockwork Angel next week. Yay! Congrats on your book news. Great B-day present :)ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday!! Wow, lots of great titles on your mailbox list. Enjoy them all. Thanks for visiting my blog.ReplyDelete
Thanks for stopping by my blog!ReplyDelete
Happy Birthday! She Smells the Dead sounds amazingly cute. A bit gory, but still cute! :) Enjoy your birthday books, they're great reads :)ReplyDelete
Birthday books are the best! Enjoy!ReplyDelete
Happy Belated Birthday and Fab Flippin'!ReplyDelete


text:
Published June 20, 2013 This content is archived.
Tracking how far volcanic debris flies during an eruption, even a small, simulated blast filmed by powerful cameras, is not easy.
It appears, though, that an international research team led by UB volcanologist Greg Valentine has found a way—but only after visiting a sporting goods store.
"I got a laugh from the guy at Dick's when I walked in to buy 150 ping pong balls," says Alison Graettinger, a postdoctoral associate at UB who helped facilitate the 12 simulated eruptions last month in Ashford, roughly 50 miles south of Buffalo. The team also used tennis balls to trace where the mock debris travelled after each blast.
The experiments were designed to increase our understanding of what happens during volcanic eruptions, one of Earth's most powerful and mysterious natural occurrences. Researchers are still analyzing the results, but Valentine, professor of geology and director of UB's Center of Geohazards Studies, says the tests are a rarity for a field that relies heavily on computer modeling.
He expects them to produce a first-of-its-kind dataset that will yield results that garner worldwide attention and, ultimately, yield data that will help safety officials better prepare for and respond to volcanic eruptions.
Working on land owned by Cheektowaga-based Calspan Corp., the research team, which consisted of 17 scientists and nine students from five countries, dug two trenches—one 30 inches deep, the other 45 inches deep. They filled the trenches with different layers of gravel and sand to measure how deep the blast's impacts would be.
On test day, researchers hammered into the trench creating 12 small holes 18 inches deep. They placed an explosive about as powerful as a firecracker into each hole and covered the hole with more gravel.
The researchers then set ping pong balls and tennis balls on the surface above the explosives. Graettinger previously had injected mixed limestone sand into the ping pong balls to create three weight classes distinguished by white, orange and red markings. The 42 tennis balls were of uniform weight.
Researchers then detonated the explosives, which buried some ping pong balls in the impact crater and sent others as far as 100 feet into the woods. In addition to measuring where the ping pong balls and tennis balls travelled, they monitored each blast with high-speed cameras, infrasound microphones, seismometers and other high tech equipment.
The researchers collected the same type of information they would during an actual volcanic eruption. The idea, Valentine explains, is to use the data to determine the energy of each blast.
Controlled experiments like those at Ashford can provide clues into what causes volcanoes to act the way they do. For example, many volcanoes erupt repeatedly from the same crater, yet few experiments have been done to examine how the pre-existing craters affect the later eruptions.


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I am infected with the werule virus...i do not know what this virus does exactly i haven't researched it yet, but i know my firewall asked me if i wanted werule to access the net and of course i said no. the application is schdprfp.exe.
should i do a search and delete the .exe file, or how do i totally get rid of this?
thanks for your help!!!


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ACM SIGGRAPH is pleased to announce that open access links to conference proceedings from SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia will now be available to the public at no cost, beginning two weeks before each conference and running for four weeks. During this period, conference proceedings may be accessed by members and non-members alike, through the ACM Digital Library.
This year, after the conclusion of each conference (SIGGRAPH 2013 and SIGGRAPH Asia 2013), the ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG) conference proceedings will continue to be available to the public at no cost until the commencement of the next year's conference. These proceedings can be accessed through special open access links available only on SIGGRAPH.org.
Beginning in 2014, the SIGGRAPH one-year open access program will expand to include not only the ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG) conference proceedings, but all of the conference content.
Visit the SIGGRAPH.org ACM Transactions on Graphics SIGGRAPH 2013 open-access page now to view and download the technical papers from SIGGRAPH 2013.
Conference proceedings from years prior to 2013 are available in the ACM Digital Library, to which ACM SIGGRAPH members have unlimited access. Join ACM SIGGRAPH now to unlock access to thousands of technical papers, conference proceedings and media files detailing the latest advances in computer graphics and interactive techniques.


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text:
The self-adhesive Perla film is decorated with an ebbing granular motif that will allow you to tastefully customise windows and glass partitions.
1. High optical quality polyester with printed design
2. PS adhesive, glass polymerization within 15 days
3. Protection release liner, disposable after installation
Soapy water solution (ref. 600-F0355 Film on), do not clean for at least a month and do not apply any type of sticker or adhesive on the film.
Data calculated based on film applied to clear glass 3 mm thick (*on double glazing 4-16-4)
|Ultraviolet transmission
|Visible light transmission
|0 %
|Reflection of external visible light
|0 %
|Reflection of internal visible light
|0 %
|Total solar energy rejected
|Total solar energy rejected 2*
|Solar ratio :
|Solar energy reflection
|0 %
|Solar energy absorption
|0 %
|Solar energy transmission
|0 %
|Reduction in Solar Glare
|0 %
|Heat loss Reduction (Winter)
|Rejected Infrared (760-2500 nm)
|Shading coefficient
|Installation type : Interior
|Roll length
|30,5 m
|Film composition
|40 μ
|Colour from the outside : FROSTED
Vertical installation and on standard glass surface*
|Clear single pane
|Tinted single pane
|Reflective tinted single pane
|Clear double pane
|Tinted double pane
|Reflective tinted double pane
|Gas-filled double pane - Low E
|STADIP EXT. clear double pane
|STADIP INT. clear double pane
|Yes Caution Not recommended
*Recommendations provided on the basis of a glazed surface covering up to 2.5m².
Non-contractual data. We reserve the right to modify the composition of our films at any time. Consult our warranty documents.


text:
Thu'umcast Errata
The iTunes feed may show episode 1 as being absurdly long; it's not. The actual duration is just over 36 minutes; when I posted the show, I managed to paste the file size (in bytes) into the show length field in my tool, and iTunes took that as a seconds count. I've since repaired the feed, but there's no telling when iTunes will notice. Sorry about that!


text: A Stradivarius fetched $2.4 million at auction yesterday but anyone with the proper chops got to take a climate-controlled test drive before the auction. The violin's minders at Christie's screened potential players, in part, by looking for "the telltale bruise under the jaw that comes from resting on the chin rest of the violin", which Lilly calls a "violin hickey". There are several theories as to why Antonio Stradivari's instruments sound so wonderful, but no one has cracked the mystery yet.


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William "Bill" Ramsdell
William (Bill) Richard Ramsdell, of Corvallis OR, passed away December 31, 2012. He was born at Mercy Hospital in Janesville, WI, April 26, 1957. Bill was raised in Janesville and graduated from Craig High School in 1976. He received a geography and resource management degree from Central Washington University. Bill worked at Trek Bicycle Company in Waterloo, WI, as well as Basics natural foods in Janesville. Bill was employed at the Ellensburg Recycling Center until completion of his degree when he was named the recycling coordinator for Kittitas County, WA. He was also active in recycling and compost education in the Ellensburg area. Bill was an attendant to individuals with cognitive disabilities in Ellensburg and Corvallis. Bill was a freelance videographer and the owner of a video production company Worldview Productions, which specialized in end of life directive videos. Bill had gained skill in metalworking and created welded and fabricated metal artwork. He had a passion for bread making , dutch oven cooking and home brewing and was an active member of Heart of the Valley Homebrew club and the Corvallis Dutch Oven Cookers. Bill was an accomplished toastmaster and emcee and the coordinator of an entertainment stage at the Da Vinci Days celebration in Corvallis. He was an active volunteer at the Unitarian Universalist church in Corvallis. Bill inherited a love of water from his father that manifested in his assembling an impressive armada of rafts, canoes, and kayaks, which he would employ to organize group water outings and events. Bill was a proud and loving father whose face would brighten when discussing or in the presence of his son Michael. Bill desired deep connections with his friends and family and strove towards it openly.
Bill's spirit is as colorful and unique as it is generous and loving. His absence leaves a vacuum in the hearts of his family and friends.
Bill was preceded in death by his mother Marjorie June Ramsdell(Campbell) and his father Richard Vernon Ramsdell of Janesville, WI. He is survived by his son Michael Anderson, Tacoma, WA.; his siblings Debra Ramsdell (Michael Lang), Bozeman, MT.; James Ramsdell, Bayfield, WI.; Robert (Helene) Ramsdell, Janesville, WI.; Tammy (Gene) Boersma, Madison, WI.; Kathleen (Dan) Mandelas, Ellensburg, WA.; and John (Helen) Ramsdell, Janesville, WI, and beloved nieces and nephews; Phoenix and Ben Ramsdell, Lexy and Dalton Mandelas, Kristy Martinez, Logan and Lauren Ramsdell; stepmother Mary Baban-Ramsdell, and his beloved dogs Marley and Liam.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at the Schneider Apfel Schneider & Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, Janesville, WI. Friends may visit with family on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the funeral home. For online obituary and registry: www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com


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Previous version Apple Music 2.2.1 apk for Android will help you to downgrade or install older app easily. This is one of the best Music & Audio apps.
You can have it for free and some songs only cost for about a cup of coffee. Then, as you develop your sense of music, you will surely have some tendency to love certain genres of music. This app will be able to lead you to a group of music genres that are in your interest. Besides its music player features, you also have the radio features in the Apple Music apps.
You can enjoy music and interviews, radio shows, and many kinds of broadcasts which are commonly found in radio and it is all over the world. Then, you can also get some information about your favorite artist or bands so you can stay in touch with the development of their career. When you have this Apple Music for android, you do not always need to find the song that you want to hear over and over. Here, you can have the playlist features that will let you save the most favorable music that you commonly hear in ITunes. Some country may also have special features according to the developments of technology in the branches of certain country.Features of Apple Music APK 2.2.1
- New: Browse and play the latest, greatest new music available—curated by our editors.
- Radio
- Connect
- Playlists
- My Music
- Much more
Developer: Apple Inc. Version: 2.2.1 Requirement: 4.3 and up Price: Free


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A 'ragtag team' of scientists, rangers and citizens works to save whitebarks
Our management of whitebark pine has a melancholy history, shaped by ignorance and mistakes as well as by the determination to rescue a species we have sent into a downward spiral.
Foresters accidentally introduced white pine blister rust, an Asian fungous disease, to North America around 1900, by importing infected pine seedlings for tree plantations. Since then, blister rust -- which kills a tree's cambium, eventually cutting off the flow of nutrients by girdling the trunk -- has become one of the most troublesome conifer diseases on this continent.
Land managers tried to stop it. From the 1920s to the 1960s, for instance, federal agencies killed millions of native plants in the Ribes genus (mostly currants and gooseberry) on federal lands in the West, because those plants help spread blister rust. Ultimately, that war was abandoned because it was too difficult to eradicate currants and gooseberry, and other common plants such as Indian paintbrush were also spreading blister rust.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies carried out another policy that was bad for whitebarks -- the aggressive suppression of wildfires beginning in the early 1900s. Whitebark pines evolved to be somewhat fire-resistant and able to colonize burned areas, so the war on wildfires effectively limited the amount of ground where they could spread and allowed competing species of trees to invade their stands.
In recent years, manmade climate change -- largely caused by the buildup of fossil-fuel emissions in the atmosphere -- is putting even more stress on the whitebarks. The general warming will reduce the cold mountain habitat preferred by whitebarks. It's also allowing another executioner, the mountain pine beetle, to tear into whitebark forests that used to be too cold for beetles.
For those reasons, last July, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the whitebark pine "appears likely to be in danger of extinction." Ruling on a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the agency found: Blister rust has already killed up to half of the whitebarks in northern Idaho and northwestern Montana and has infected nearly all the rest in those areas; it's also killed or infected 30 to 40 percent of the whitebarks in Oregon and Washington. The explosion of beetles killed a half-million acres of whitebarks in 2007, and another 2 million acres' worth in 2009. The tree's range will likely shrink by 70 percent within two decades, and as much as 97 percent by 2100. (Whitebarks in Western Canada are experiencing a similar decline.)
A key federal court in the West, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, raised more alarms on Nov. 22: It ruled that, because of the decline in whitebark pine seeds -- a crucial food source for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park region -- the Fish and Wildlife Service must put Yellowstone grizzlies back on the endangered species list.
Despite the dire trends, the Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to formally list the whitebark pine for protection under the Endangered Species Act, due to lack of funds for doing a comprehensive, time-consuming recovery plan.
So an unusual assortment of scientists in the agencies and academia, district rangers, environmentalists, consultants, and volunteer "citizen scientists" is trying to save the whitebarks. Their efforts include:
• The Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, founded by some alarmed researchers in 2001 and based in Missoula, Mont., has promoted a multi-pronged strategy: Spread the word about the ecological importance of whitebarks; thin and burn whitebark stands that are overrun by fir and spruce, to simulate natural fires and encourage the growth of healthier trees that produce more cones and seeds; plus collect cones and seeds from trees that show some resistance to blister rust, grow seedlings and plant them to spread that resistance throughout the range of whitebarks.
"We're a science-based organization working behind the scenes," says Diana Tomback, a biology professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, and the foundation's director. Her doctoral research in the 1970s nailed down some fascinating details, including how the Clark's nutcracker, a Western songbird in the crow family, plants nearly all the whitebark seeds that successfully grow into trees.
Right now, the foundation is working with American Forests, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that is embarking on a five-year "Western Forests Campaign" to raise millions of dollars to restore whitebarks on tens of thousands of acres. (The campaign is so new that even basic details are still up in the air.) "There's no way to restore every stand (of dying or dead whitebarks)," Tomback says. "We have to be highly strategic" choosing locations.
• A "ragtag team" that includes environmentalists, a pilot, and two science-oriented backcountry skiers has greatly advanced the understanding of the whitebark crisis in the Yellowstone region: Their effort was triggered by a 2007 Fish and Wildlife Service estimate that only "16 percent of the total area of whitebark pine (in and around Yellowstone) has experienced some level of mortality due to mountain pine beetles." Jesse Logan, an entomologist who headed the Forest Service's mountain pine beetle research from 1992 until he retired and moved to Montana in 2006, believed that figure was far too low, partly drawing from his experience as a frequent skier in whitebark habitat. Logan hooked up with Louisa Willcox, the Natural Resources Defense Council's Montana-based point person for whitebarks; Wally Macfarlane, a Utah-based backcountry skier who makes his living as a consultant in GIS and GPS mapping; and Bruce Gordon, head of EcoFlight, a Colorado-based environmentalist air force.
"(Our) ragtag team came together with very little funding. It was kind of unique," says Macfarlane. To get accurate data on Yellowstone's whitebarks, they made test flights over the region in 2008, using a small plane rigged with special cameras and GPS technology, and then, in 2009, systematically flew over all the Yellowstone watersheds. They took more than 4,500 aerial photos, mapped their data, developed a system for classifying mortality, and sent hikers to verify it on the ground. A stunning 95 percent of Yellowstone's whitebark sub-watersheds were being hit by beetles, they found, and 46 percent showed "severe mortality." (The stands were defined at the "sub-watershed" level by discrete ridgelines within watersheds.)
Due to agency delays in initiating funding, "Wally and Louisa basically funded the (2009 flights) with their credit cards," says Logan. Eventually NRDC and the Forest Service each spent about $150,000 on the effort (reimbursing Willcox and Macfarlane). "It was pretty shocking," says Willcox. "A lot of people's jaws hit the ground, because from the ground you can't see the whole story -- you have to go up in a plane."
Logan, now 67, continues to be a leading voice in the whitebark effort, saying that beetles are even more of a threat than blister rust. Some species of pines -- especially lodgepoles -- have evolved chemical defenses against the beetles, but very few whitebarks have such defenses, because whitebarks didn't have to deal with beetles much until the recent onset of climate change. "It's not something I can walk away from," Logan says.
• TreeFight, a tiny group in Jackson, Wyo. -- founded in 2009 by David Gonzales, a skier who works in moviemaking, photography and writing -- is trying to protect individual whitebarks from beetles. With a budget of about $30,000 so far -- a few grants from foundations and donations from individuals -- TreeFight has recruited hundreds of volunteers to staple about 1,600 packets of verbenone, a chemical that discourages beetles, to whitebarks near Jackson. Each packet lasts only one summer, so each tree needs to be treated every year.
Gonzales has also made an award-winning video documenting the TreeFight effort. He hopes that next year, TreeFight volunteers will plant 1,000 to 2,000 whitebark seedlings. "Everyone is really excited about citizen science -- it's a buzzword now -- but the implementation is really difficult," Gonzales says. "Most people are not interested" in doing fieldwork, so he's going to concentrate on recruiting more schoolkids. Perhaps because it's their future that's threatened, they seem more enthusiastic than their elders about trying to alleviate the seemingly irresistible impacts of climate change.


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The purpose of Bahá'í study circles is to provide participants with the knowledge, spiritual insights and skills to enable them to contribute to the betterment of society, starting with their own neighbourhood. This is done through systematic study of a sequence of courses based on the Bahá'í Writings using the courses of the Ruhi Institute.
Study circles are held in an uplifting environment conducive to the spiritual empowerment of individuals, who come to see themselves as active agents of their own learning. The role of the study circle facilitator is not to impart knowledge, but to assist discussion. Study circles feature participatory learning, involving discussion with others, and the use of the arts.
Antonio Smith will be starting Ruhi Book 1 for Bahá'í Youth (high school age and older). If you or anyone you know is interested in this please reach out to Antonio Smith at (662) 874-0942.
Study circles are not restricted to Bahá'í, anyone may attend. For more information, email email@example.com, or call 901-219-1110.
Book 1: Reflections on the Life of the Spirit
The first book in the sequence of courses is largely concerned with the question of identity. What is the real identity of the "I" in the sentence "I walk a path of service"? A group of people progressing through this book develops their capacity to read and reflect on the Bahá'í Writings, to study prayers, and to shape a pattern of life known for its devotional character.
Book 2: Arising to Serve
Book 2 of the main sequence explores the nature of a path of service and the manner in which it is to be trodden. An essential feature of community life is unity and fellowship. Participants think about the joy of service, teaching the Faith, and acquire the skills and abilities, knowledge and qualities, needed to enter into conversations with others that are uplifting to the mind and spirit.
Book 3: Teaching Children's Classes, Grade 1 (Grades 2, 3, & 4 forthcoming)
The second act of service addressed by the Institute is in the area of the spiritual education of children. The education of children is essential to the transformation of society. Book 3 focuses on some of the knowledge, skills and qualities necessary for those wishing to enter this important field of service. Participants learn to foster the development of spiritual qualities in small children with love and discipline.
Book 4: The Twin Manifestations
Book 4 in the main sequence returns to the question of identity, the "I" in the statement "I walk a path of service". History shapes much of the identity of individuals, as well as entire peoples. The second and third units in the book are dedicated to the study of the life history of Bahá'u'lláh, the Author of the Bahá'í Faith, and His Forerunner, the Báb. Seeing clearly the elements that characterize the past enables individuals to contribute more effectively to shaping the future.
Book 5: Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth
According to the Bahá'í teachings, an individual reaches the age of maturity at 15, when spiritual and moral obligations become binding. The years immediately before this age, then, take on special significance. This is the time when fundamental concepts about individual and collective life are formulated in the mind of an adolescent struggling to leave behind the habits of childhood. Youth between the ages of 12 to 15 have much to say, and whoever treats them as children misses the opportunity to help them form a proper identity. Book 5 focuses on some of the concepts, skills, qualities, and attitudes that experience has shown are required by those wishing to implement a program for the spiritual empowerment of junior youth.
Book 6: Teaching the Cause
People from every walk of life are welcome to explore the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and learn how they can apply them to better their lives. All Bahá'ís, then, share liberally and unconditionally the teachings and precepts of their Faith. Although the propagation of Bahá'u'lláh's message is one of the most essential services to be rendered, teaching is also a state of being—a state of being in which one is constantly sharing with others that which one has been so bountifully blessed.
Book 7: Walking Together on a Path of Service
Book 7 is dedicated to an act of service crucial to the functioning of the Ruhi Institute itself, namely, helping a group of individuals go through the initial six courses in the sequence. That individuals accompany one another on a path of service to their communities is central to the process of capacity building set in motion by the courses. Participants study the spiritual dynamics of advancing along a path of service, examine some of the concepts, attitudes, skills and abilities needed to accompany a group a friends on this path, and consider the role of the arts in the activity of a study circle.
Books 8 – 13 (forthcoming, in development)
Upcoming Study Circles
– Used by permission of the Bahá'í Faith


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The Most Surprising Fruits Commonly Mistaken for Vegetables
Merriam-Webster defines "fruit" as "the usually edible reproductive body of a seed plant." Most often, these seed plants are sweet and enjoyed as dessert (think berries and melons), but some surprising plant varieties with a savory flavor are also considered fruits due to their seeded nature. From eggplants, commonly seasoned and served as vegetables, to olives with their oily texture and salty flavor, unexpected fruits are all around us.
Check out the slideshow above to uncover the most shocking fruits that are typically treated as vegetables.


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Day One
Dear Nuala,
Thank you very much for your lovely present of a partridge in a pear-tree
We're getting the hang of feeding the partridge now,
Although it was difficult at first to win its confidence
It bit the mother rather badly on the hand
But they're good friends now and we're keeping the pear-tree indoors in a bucket
Thank you again
Yours affectionately, Gobnait O'Lúnasa
Day Two
Dear Nuala,
I cannot tell you how surprised we were to hear from you so soon again and to receive your lovely present of two turtle doves
You really are too kind
At first the partridge was very jealous
And suspicious of the doves and they had a terrible row the night the doves arrived
We had to send for the vet but the birds are okay again
And the stitches are due to some out in a week or two
The vet's bill was 8 but the mother is over her annoyance now
And the doves and the partridge are watching the telly from the pear-tree as I write Yours ever, Gobnait
Day Three
Dear Nuala,
We must be foremost in your thoughts
I had only posted my letter when the three French hens arrived
There was another sort-out between the hens and the doves,
Who sided with the partridge, and the vet had to be sent for again
The mother was raging because the bill was 16 this time
But she has almost cooled down
However, the fact that the birds' droppings keep falling down
On her hair whilen she's watching the telly, doesn't help matters
Thanking you for your kindness
I remain, your Gobnait
Day Four
Dear Nuala,
You mustn't have received my last letter when you were sending us the four calling birds There was pandemonium in the pear-tree again last night and the vet's bill was 32
The mother is on sedation as I write
I know you meant no harm and remain your close friend
Day Five
Your generosity knows no bounds
Five gold rings! When the parcel arrived I was scared stiff that it might be more birds, because the smell in the living-room is atrocious
However, I don't want to seem ungrateful for the beautiful rings
Your affectionate friend, Gobnait
Day Six
What are you trying to do to us? It isn't that we don't appreciate your generosity
But the six geese have not alone nearly murdered the calling birds
But they laid their eggs on top of the vet's head
From the pear-tree and his bill was 68 in cash !
My mother is munching 60 grains of Valium a day
And talking to herself in a most alarming way
You must keep your feelings for me in check
Day Seven
We are not amused by your little joke
Seven swans-a-swimming is a most romantic idea but not in the bath of a private house
We cannot use the bathroom now because they've gone completely savage
And rush the door every time we try to enter
If things go on this way, the mother and I will smell as bad as the living-room carpet Please lay off It is not fair
Day Eight
Who the hell do you think gave you the right to send eight,
Hefty maids-a-milking here, to eat us out of house and home?
Their cattle are all over the front lawn
And have trampled the hell out of the mother's rose-beds
The swans invaded the living-room in a sneak attack
And the ensuing battle between them and the calling birds,
Turtle doves, French hens and partridge make the battle
Of the Somme seem like Wanderly Wagon
The mother is on a bottle of whiskey a day, as well as the sixty grains of Valium
I'm very annoyed with you
Day Nine
Listen you looser!
There's enough pandemonium in this place night and day without nine drummers drumming, while the eight flaming maids-a-milking are beating my poor, old alcoholic mother out of her own kitchen and gobbling everything in sight
I'm warning you, you're making an enemy of me
Day Ten
Listen manure-face,
I hope you'll be haunted by the strains of ten pipers piping
Which you sent to torment us last night
They were aided in their evil work by those maniac drummers
And it wasn't a pleasant sight to look out the window
And see eight hefty maids-a-milking pogo-ing around with the ensuing punk-rock uproar
My mother has just finished her third bottle of whiskey,
On top of a hundred and twenty four grains of Valium
You'll get yours!
Gobnait O'Lúnasa
Day Eleven
You have scandalized my mother, you dirty Jezebel,
It was bad enough to have eight maids-a-milking dancing to punk music on the front lawn but they've now been joined by your friends the eleven Lords-a-leaping
And the antics of the whole lot of them would leave
The most decadent days of the Roman Empire looking like Outlook
I'll get you yet, you loud bag!
Day Twelve
Listen slurry head,
You have ruined our lives
The twelve maidens dancing turned up last night
And beat the living daylights out of the eight maids-a-milking,
'Cause they found them carrying on with the eleven Lords-a-leaping
Meanwhile, the swans got out of the living-room,
Where they'd been hiding since the big battle,
And savaged hell out of the Lords and all the Maids
There were eight ambulances here last night, and the local Civil Defence as well
The mother is in a home for the bewildered
And I'm sitting here, up to my neck in birds' droppings, empty whiskey
And Valium bottles, birds' blood and feathers,
While the flaming cows eat the leaves off the pear-tree
I'm a broken man