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Diary of a Link-a-Pix addictFriday, September 6, 2002
After I printed out the puzzle, I started doing some of the small groups. I found the upper left area to be the easiest going at first since there weren't very many numbers in that part and I managed to complete it quickly; I'm probably about twenty minutes into the puzzle here.
The problem with completing that part of the puzzle so fast, however, was that I'd already made a mistake in the upper left where I colored in something a square too far and into another color's area. It wasn't an issue, as I found out, which is good because I didn't feel like starting completely over after getting this far into the puzzle. At this point it was getting late; I took a picture of it and went to sleep.
Day 2: about halfway through
I'm now about halfway through the puzzle after another hour of working on it. I haven't had that much difficulty with it yet and it's been pretty smooth sailing.
I can now make out the Statue of Liberty but nothing else in the puzzle (though I can tell the blue-black areas in the lower-half of the puzzle is water or night or something).
At this point I've had to sharpen my colored pencils a few times. Again, it's getting late, so I took another picture, posted it to my web journal to show people how far I'd gotten and went to bed.
Day 3: do something else for a while...
I'm starting to have trouble now. I've gotten the sky haze filled in and the tip of what appears to be a building or two, but I've now colored in almost all of the 1's, 2's and 3's that can be colored in, and most of the 4's and 5's that had only one path available in the areas that I'd be working in.
It's about now that the fun started turning into some frustration when I couldn't make any easy deductions and realized I would start having to make some assumptions, draw in paths lightly in pencil and see if everything fits together. I've found this is the best way to try out assumptions to see if they work.
Since colored pencil and ink pen do not erase,I had to think of a way to try things out without making an irreversible error, and writing paths in light pencil, so they could be easily colored over or erased seemed the best idea. I decided to take another picture and go do something else for a while, but the puzzle kept calling me back to finish it since I was so close.
Day 4: finishing a big puzzle
I gave up on doing other things that evening and finished the puzzle. At this point I'd realized I'd made another mistake in the book area of the image. There was a solitary yellow number with no matching end to it in the uncolored area I was working in, so I had to have made a mistake.
I figured I could either just color things in here to the best of my ability with the information given, or I could just toss the whole thing and say to heck with it. I decided to press on since I was close to finishing and I figured nobody else would really care if I screwed up too badly on the book section of the image as long as it looked reasonably like the actual solution.
I've now had to sharpen my colored pencils about seven times in the last two hours and I was getting tired of doing it. I wondered if felt-tip markers with pointed tips would work as well as colored pencils. Unfortunately, now was not the time to try this, as I'm picky enough to finish a puzzle in the same medium that I started with. After finishing up the book area all that was left was the rest of the water and the bottom of the green buildings. While coloring in a few blue paths, I realized I'd made another mistake as I had a lone 6 in that area with no matching 6.
I shrugged, thinking that I'm close enough, a blank square in the blue area won't matter much, continued coloring and finished off the blue section. After that, the rest of the green building part was quickly done and I was able to hold it up, take the final picture and go onto other puzzles.
There's something satisfying about actually finishing a big puzzle, even with a couple of mistakes in it. I finished it with a recognizable image, so that was good enough for me.
About the author
Jeffrey Hitchin grew up in Point Loma neighborhood in San Diego. He graduated from Point Loma High School in 1987 and went to Brandeis University, graduating in 1991 with a degree in Biology with a minor (believe it or not...) in Spanish.
After graduation he returned to San Diego for a couple of years before moving to Seattle in August of 1993 where he is currently employed as a software tester at Microsoft. Today Mr. Hitchin is a part of the Windows group working on the Help & Support Services application. Currently he lives in Redmond with his domestic partner, Greg. His "Diary of a Link-a-Pix Addict" article contains the impressions of his first encounter with Link-a-Pix puzzles. See Jeffrey Hitchin's homepage
Related resources


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Star Spangled
Not sure what to make of all this. Found these two sheets of paper, the first page has a list of names, some crossed out in red pencil, some checked off. At the top is a bold red "Bad."
The rest of the text is a typed copy of "The Star Spangled Banner," with some handwritten lines added at the end.
Found in an awful copy of "Building and Ruling The Republic" by James Boyd. Published by Bradley / Garretson, 1884.
-Click to enlarge photos-
6 comments:
Great, you stumbled upon a hit list. Make sure my name's not on it, okay? Kidding, I just couldn't resist.ReplyDelete
Yet another awesome find.
Maybe it's a list if the teacher assigned the student as a "name-taker" while she was busy. I remember in second grade, I wrote half the class down on the bad list for talking, and some probably had 50 checkmarks beside their names. LOL That's what the list looks like to me. Very interesting!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 21, 2010 at 5:14 PM
How interesting! You must have the best job in the world. I'd _LOVE_ to work at a rare bookstore.ReplyDelete
Why is the star-spangled one all spaced out? It has an eerie feel to it. Typewriter job methinks?
O, man, I vaguely remember the killer elementary/jr. high school days when I made lists like this with friends with checks and comments. It was absolutely awful when the list got in the wrong hands! Was that a "GRRRR"--growl--I detected next to the name at the bottom? Why are kids so cut-throat, I wonder?ReplyDelete
Mary, your explanation sounds very possible, too. What a thrill to be the monitor!
I think the "GRRR" is actually a "Gerr", as in "Gerry" or similar.ReplyDelete
I wonder if those are the people who are bad singers? Bad enunciators? :^)
And I wonder if the handwritten versions were the source for the typed one? All 4 verses are in each. Fascinating find!

subset: commoncrawl


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About 800,000 federal workers are being forced off the job and most nonessential federal programs and services are being suspended.
The shutdown, the first since one in the winter of 1995-96 severely damaged Republican election prospects, raised fears the political gridlock between the White House and a Republican Party influenced by hardcore conservative lawmakers would prevail.
National parks and museums in Washington will be closed, and agencies like NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency will be all but shuttered.
People classified as essential government employees—such as air traffic controllers, Border Patrol agents and most food inspectors—will continue to work, and the State Department will continue processing foreign applications for visas. Embassies and consulates overseas will continue to provide services to American citizens.
The health care law itself was unaffected as enrollment opened Tuesday for millions of people shopping for medical insurance.
The stand-off pits Democrats against a core of conservative activists who have mounted a campaign to seize the must-do budget measure in an effort to derail the 2010 health care reform they have dubbed "Obamacare."
There are few issues Republicans feel as passionately about as the health care law. They see the plan, intended to provide coverage for the millions of Americans now uninsured, as wasteful and restricting freedom by requiring most Americans to have health insurance.
Until now, such temporary spending bills have been routinely passed with bipartisan support, ever since a pair of unpopular shutdowns 17 years ago engineered by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich severely damaged Republican election prospects and revived then-President Bill Clinton's political standing.
The Democratically controlled Senate twice on Monday rejected bills passed in the Republican-majority House of Representatives that conditioned keeping the government open on delaying key portions of the law.
The House passed the last version again early Tuesday; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the same fate awaits it when the Senate reconvenes Tuesday morning.
Obama accused Republicans of holding the budget hostage to get what they want.
"You don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job, for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway, or just because there's a law there that you don't like," Obama said Monday, delivering a similar message in private phone calls later to Republican House Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers.
Boehner said he didn't want a government shutdown, but he insisted that the health care law "is having a devastating impact. … Something has to be done."
Republican leaders have voiced reservations about the effort and many lawmakers predicted it wouldn't work, fearing the public will blame their party for the shutdown. But individual Republican House members may face a greater risk by embracing a compromise. Many represent heavily partisan congressional districts, and voters in Republican primaries have ousted lawmakers they see as too moderate.
It wasn't clear how long the standoff would last, but it appeared that Obama and Reid had the upper hand.
"We can't win," said Republican Senator John McCain, adding that "sooner or later" the House would have to agree to Democrats' demands for a simple, straightforward funding bill reopening the government.
The order directing federal agencies to "execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations" was issued by White House Budget Director Sylvia Burwell shortly before midnight Monday.
The military will be paid under legislation freshly signed by Obama, but paychecks for other federal workers will be withheld until the impasse is broken. Federal workers were told to report to their jobs for a half-day but to perform only shutdown tasks like changing email greetings and closing down agencies' Internet sites.
The self-funded Postal Service will continue to operate and the government will continue to pay retirement benefits and health benefits for the poor and elderly.
Obama appeared in a video message assuring members of the military they'll be paid under a law he just signed and told civilian Defense Department employees who won't be paid that "you and your families deserve better than the dysfunction we're seeing in Congress."
The underlying spending bill would fund the government through November 15 if the Senate gets its way or until December 15 if the House does.
The prospect of a shutdown led US stocks to sink as Wall Street worried the budget fight could lead to something much worse for the economy—a failure to raise the nation's borrowing limit.
Republicans are likely to take up the health care fight again when Congress must pass a measure to increase the borrowing cap, which is expected to hit its USD 16.7 trillion ceiling in mid-October.
Obama has vowed not to negotiate over the debt ceiling, noting that a default would be worse for the economy than a partial government shutdown. The US risks a market-rattling, first-ever default on its obligations if Congress fails to raise that limit.


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Also in This Style
Iranian Trio Perishes Descending Broad Peak
Posted on: August 1, 2013
The southwest face of Broad Peak (8047m). On July 16, three Iranian climbers summited by a new variation, taking a direct line from Camp III on the normal route to the summit. During their descent, still high on the mountain, the three men disappeared after they ran out of food and water and one man sustained an injury. An exhaustive search was finally called off on July 25. [Photo] Wikimedia Commons
On July 13, having branched off from the normal route at Camp III, Iranian climbers Aidin Bozorgi, Pouya Keivan and Mojtaba Jarahi made a bivy at 7350m on an unclimbed swath of Broad Peak's (8047m) southwest side. The next morning, their path changed from snow to rock, slowing progress to a careful crawl. The trio made just 100 meters of vertical progress that day, leaving them perched at 8000m for the night, just 47 meters below the summit. The next morning, July 16, marked the completion of their upward journey and the creation of a new direct variation.
In 2009, according to altitudepakistan.blogspot.com, an Iranian team tried to climb a new southwest face route but were unsuccessful due to health problems. Since the initial endeavor, several Iranian teams attempted to summit Broad Peak via the same route.
To the right of the 2013 variation is a route authored by Sergei Samoilov and Denis Urubko, who described Broad Peak as "one of the most difficult mountains in my life." Together they made the alpine-style ascent of the route, the Southwest Face (5.10d A2 M6+ 70 degrees, 2546m), summiting July 25, 2005.
After summiting earlier this month, the Iranians planned to descend the normal route via the West Ridge in order to reach Camp III by the evening. But complex terrain held the trio at a bivy at 7700m for two nights while they waited for better conditions.
On July 18, the climbers hoped to climb 100m back up to the normal route and descend to Base Camp. They radioed Base Camp requesting food and water. But the support team waiting at Camp III were busy helping the unwell Ramin Shojaei to descend to Camp II.
According to the Iranian news website Kooh News, Bozorgi contacted Base Camp later that evening and reported his location at what they thought was Broad Peak Pass (7800m). He said that their tent had vanished, one of the climbers was hurt and that they desperately needed food and water. He shared their GPS coordinates to help facilitate the rescue team's mission.
The following day, Base Camp made contact with Bozorgi early in the morning. Two Pakistani porters had climbed up to Camp III the previous night and traversed toward Broad Peak Pass. By 9:00 a.m. Swiss climbers Mike Horn and Fred Roux reached Camp I to aid in the rescue operation. At 10:00 a.m. Bozorgi contacted Base Camp again reiterating their critical situation. Hours later, the Pakistani porters failed to reach the Pass and returned to Camp III. Meanwhile, the Swiss team was approaching Camp II. The Iranian Mountaineering Federation, along with Pakistani officials, Sherpas and other climbers were all working to facilitate the Iranian's rescue.
The next two days were chaotic: communication with the three Iranians had been lost, several climbers were on the mountain searching for them and a rescue helicopter flying around could only assist in taking photos, hoping they might spot the stranded men. Rescuers suspected the climbers had descended the wrong ridge. Two porters from the rescue mission found an Iranian flag on the summit confirming the trio's completion of their new variation up the southwest face.
After several unsuccessful rescue attempts and four days without contact with the climbers. The search was called off July 25, the climbers' bodies never found.
American climber John Quillen was on the mountain this year and shared Base Camp, logistics and meals with the three Iranians. His expedition on Broad Peak was cut short after his partner Brian Moran hurt his leg and was evacuated via a helicopter. During an interview with Raheel Adnan from altitudepakistan.blogspot.com he reflected on his time with Bozorgi, Keivan and Jarahi:
We shared our cultures and I asked days worth of questions about their life in Tehran. Mojtaba spoke of his upcoming marriage and we teased him considerably about it. His good nature was such that he joined us in our ribbing back and forth. I remember one particular time when I asked him about the leather pouch hanging from his neck which contained a miniature copy of the Koran. He happily opened the book and handed it to me to peruse while proudly conveying that his fiancee had made the purse for him. He was a devout Muslim and prayed several times per day.
Aidin was kind of the ringleader of the three. His English was better than most of the group although we never had any trouble communicating with any of them. Some things are just universal. Any time we would board a bus, begin a hike or commence with a meal, those guys always deferred to us out of pure politeness. And they would insist that we go or be served first. I would grumble and groan and Aidin's standard response was, "It's alright, you go!" There was simply no way to argue with his award winning and genuine smile."
Regarding Pouya, as mentioned, his English was minimal so all discussions with him were done through Aidin or Ramin's translation. However, I will always remember the day he came running up to me outside of Urdukas early in the morning to hand deliver my sun cap that I had left in the dining tent. It was important that he get that to me before the blistering sun inevitably beat down. He was always doing little things for others in that vein and always giggling. I teased him about giggling so much but was really envious. Since I was sick a large portion of the trip, I envied his joviality.
Scott Powri, a teammate of Quillen's, told Raheel Adnan:
Iran could not have picked better representatives for the country. These men were strong climbers, intelligent and not afraid. They were also understanding, compassionate and giving. In reality, I did not know them for very long. I am so affected by their loss because of how strong an impression they left on me. They were remarkable people that I will remember for the rest of my life and feel privileged for being able to spend time with them. Thank You for allowing me to know them.
Sources: Alpinist 15, altitudepakistan.blogspot.com
Here at Alpinist, our small editorial staff works hard to create in-depth stories that are thoughtfully edited, thoroughly fact-checked and beautifully designed. Please consider supporting our efforts by subscribing.


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Supporting language development in a child's first five years is one of a parent's most
important tasks. Children who learn to be effective communicators are more likely to be
successful in all areas of their later schooling.
Because children seem to naturally learn language, we often assume that language just
happens. Children actually learn to talk from direct and indirect interactions with more
competent speakers and their environment. Here are some ways you can build your
child's language capacity. Talk to your child during all daily routines, provide words to
go along with your actions and with things that your child is noticing in the
showing your child the pictures and pointing to words that go along with them. Help
them see the connection between the symbols we call letters and the words we speak.
Model good listening, and seek out meaningful conversations with children of every
schools and give your legacy the opportunity of a lifetime.


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Recently, I published with my colleagues from Te Papa Fish Team and Massey University some interesting findings about a fantastic group of species: hagfishes. Those primitive deep-sea fishes repulse any predator attack using their slime. I present examples of how hagfish stop the attack from shark several times their sizes. And it even looked easy… The paper also documents a first ever observed predating behaviour of hagfishes in the wild. We thought they were only eating dead or dying animals, but now we know that they can also hunt for preys. Combining this with the fact that hagfish have existed on Earth, almost unchanged, for 300 millions years and are the ancestors of all vertebrates, they are quite impressive animals! You can download the open-access paper here.
Those videos got National Geographic attention and were published on their website where you can find other examples of amazing animal behaviours. It is well worth having a look at. Follow this link to the National Geographic video.
In the meantime, our team is getting ready for another expedition. In about ten days, we are heading down South for almost one month of intensive sampling. This time, we will study fish biology and behaviours off the Otago Peninsula and around the Auckland Islands which are part of the Sub Antarctic islands. This is an amazingly wild place to work on! I will post in the coming days more information about this exciting survey.
Speak to you soon,


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Goofing Around in England's Lake District
Now out on DVD, The Trip, with comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, takes the road movie into the storied English countryside
If I'd known that The Trip, released last summer and now available on DVD, was a buddy movie I probably never would have rented it. But, of course, the title snagged me and I'm glad it did because it's a classic road flick, with a couple of endearing twists.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom and first released as a BBC2 television series, "The Trip" starts with British funny men Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (as themselves) taking off in a Range Rover for a culinary tour of the North Country. Coogan, who is writing up the excursion for The Times of London, planned to take his beautiful young girlfriend along, but when she cancels he asks his old friend Brydon. Both are actors and compulsive competitors whose dueling Michael Caine impressions and escalating battles for the best bon mot cannot disguise deep insecurities that make them immeasurably more likeable than the pair of losers who embark on a California wine-tasting tour in the 2004 movie Sideways.
As in any good road movie it's about the journey, not the destination: recitations of Wordsworth and Coleridge in the English Lake District, en route sing-alongs (including a Coogan-Brydon rendition of Burt Bacharach's vocals from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and strange encounters with small, tall portions of gourmet food. In one sequence especially beloved by fans the guys riff on a line from what could be Shakespeare: "Gentlemen to bed for we rise at daybreak" becomes "Gentlemen to bed for we leave at 9:30."
Their routines ensue amid glorious North Country settings. When I wasn't laughing I was remembering my own trips there, once hiking from barn-to-barn in the Lake District National Park, another time waiting out a downpour on 1,167-foot Honister Pass above Lake Buttermere. But the scenery is secondary in the movie, a world-class backdrop for human chatter and obsession that forms a satirical arch over the proceedings and puts The Trip on my short list of memorable road movies. My all-time favorites?
- Frank Capra's 1934 comedy It Happened One Night, starring Claudette Colbert as a runaway heiress tailed by reporter Clark Gable. Who could ever forget her teaching him how to thumb a ride?
- Two for the Road, directed by Stanley Donen in 1967, with Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn falling in love on a trip through the French countryside and then retracing their steps 10 years later to keep their marriage alive.
- Ridley Scott's Thelma and Louise, from 1991, which has Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis headed for oblivion in the Great American Southwest.


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Richard D. Jennings
President, Stem Cell Services
President, Stem Cell Services
Richard Jennings brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the biomedical and healthcare fields to the California Cryobank Stem Cell business. As president of the company, Richard has set the strategic vision which has resulted in tremendous growth of the FamilyCord business that provides cord blood and cord tissue services to pregnant moms. Prior to managing FamilyCord, Richard served as CEO of Mediscan Services, was an Administrator at Centinela Freeman Health System, and held a series of positions within the Child Care and Infant Care ...
Read more >>
ectors of Kimberly-Clark. Richard Jennings earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. He is also the father of two beautiful children.
Recommended Resources
- The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp
- Art of War by Sun Tzu
- Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff


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Explore the key capabilities of Quark Publishing Platform.
Quark Publishing Platform is comprised of modules that work together to enhance every aspect of enterprise publishing. From integrating with existing business systems to quickly enabling structured authoring, Quark Publishing Platform is an end-to-end publishing system that lowers costs, speeds time-to-market, and improves customer engagement and satisfaction.


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- 1x Greninja (THIS IS NOT THE TERA RAID VERSION) [SV]
- This Pokemon can be used in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet. (This Pokemon MAY be used in other Pokemon games via Pokemon Home, IF it is possible within the respective game. PokeGens does not offer support/advice for Pokemon Home transfers)
- Self delivery with our automated trading bot
- Delivered via Link Trade – no account details required
Note: Due to legality reasons – some Pokemon may not come with perfect 6IVs. This cannot be changed.


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I recommend a software pick of the week in each episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, but this one is particularly nice, so I wanted to toss it out in case you're not listening. It's called Windows 7 Logon Background Changer, and as the name suggests, it lets you easily replace the Windows 7 logon screen background with an image of your choosing.
Windows 7 Logon Background Changer is a free open source software that let you change the wallpaper of the Windows 7 login screen. It has been tested successfully with the final version of Windows 7 (RTM) and Windows 7 RC 7100.
On a side note, this small program is WPF based, it's a nice technical demo of Windows Presentation Foundation capabilities for those interested in WPF. It requires a decent GPU for the 3D animations to run smoothly. It runs fine with my Radeon HD 3200 on my laptop computer, but it should also work with lower end graphic cards, albeit slowly.
Developers can also download the source code. Thanks to Michael for the tip!


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Rather than shelling out hundreds of dollars on a new stroller (we already had two), I carried my son in his front carrier or on my hip. During these 3 weeks, I missed my stroller and I considered buying or borrowing one (Babies R Us sells some for $20, what a bargain!). Strollers fix a boatload of problems: need to charge your phone on the go? There's a stroller for that. Walking at night? There's a stroller with lights. Sun in your baby's eyes? There's a stroller that swivels 360 degrees.
In the end, I decided not to buy a new stroller because I realized that my son stilled loved to be carried everywhere we went (and I still loved carrying him). Carrying him around was like bumping him up from economy to first class. Not only was my son taller when held in my arms (so he could see more of the world around him), but we also got to cuddle for the majority of the day (and I got to reminisce about the newborn skin-to-skin contact days).
I don't need to tell you that carrying your baby has countless benefits. The Bay Area is exceptional for the number of parents who wear their little ones. However, I'm always on the lookout on how to get the best of both worlds - and that happened last week.
Last week at the San Francisco Zoo, my friends and I, each with toddler and stroller in tow, carried our children for a significant portion of the trip. All three toddlers got oodles of joy from pushing their strollers around (of course with the help of mommy). One flew like superman in his mommy's arms and pushed the handle bar with delight. The other two decided that pushing the stroller at the base would be most efficient. The toddlers found it incredibly satisfying to push their own strollers around. Of course it took us much longer to arrive at our final destination, but what we experienced in the mean time was pure joy.
This is a joy that they wouldn't have experienced if they were always strapped in a stroller or front carrier. So before you strap your child in, take a moment to decide whether you have a few minutes to spare and can walk at a toddler's pace while he takes the reins and "helps" you push his stroller to your destination.


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Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic--a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annex" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short. Praise for The Diary of a Young Girl "A truly remarkable book."--The New York Times "One of the most moving personal documents to come out of World War II."--The Philadelphia Inquirer "There may be no better way to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II than to reread The Diary of a Young Girl, a testament to an indestructible nobility of spirit in the face of pure evil."--Chicago Tribune "The single most compelling personal account of the Holocaust . . . remains astonishing and excruciating."--The New York Times Book Review "How brilliantly Anne Frank captures the self-conscious alienation and na ve self-absorption of adolescence."--Newsday
About the Author
Anne Frank was born in 1929 in Germany. Her family moved to Amsterdam in 1933, and she died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.


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Archive for the tag "Benjamin Grießmann"
Search for "Benjamin Grießmann" on Technorati.
Web Accessibility Toolbar 2.0 for Internet Explorer
A couple of days ago the German version of the Web Accessibility Toolbar 2.0 for Internet Explorer was released. It was developed by Steve Faulkner and translated by Benjamin Grießmann from Web for All with contributions from your humble host. Which reminds me that I also translated Gez Lemon's new and improved Colour Contrast Analyser for Firefox earlier this year.


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Cerbera Gallery presents: Terry Dixon "Kinetic Abstraction 2.0" | Sep – Oct '18
Kinetic Abstraction 2.0 is based on a continuation of work by artist Terry Dixon and his experimentation of lines, patterns, textures, color and animated paintings. Dixon started this body of work, while living in Guangzhou China for three months in the summer of 2017 for his extensive artist residency at Redtory.
In this body of work, he pushes things to the next level by continuing to work with his water color markers, adding wood, oil pencil, linen, canvas and wire to the surface of his work. As he combines all these various mediums, the viewer's eye is pulled in various directions across the surface of his creations.


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Darakhshan Andrabi granted MoS status
Kashmiri researcher to speak at UNGA Science Summit
Sufi poetry collection 'Ganji Asrar' released
International mother language day observed in Baramulla
Dal Lake an asset, collective effort needed to preserve it: Prof Talat
Global eCommerce boom and local traders of Kashmir
Women shaping informal sector in Kashmir
Rural mart inaugurated under NABARD scheme
Wood shortage, high prices due to Russia-Ukraine war affect timber business in Kashmir
Omicron, economy and budget deficits
Attention J&K Govt employees, others: Important things you need to do before March 31
No cess imposed on Kashmir apples in Union Budget 2021-22
Vehicles over 8 years old to be charged green tax
Centre's tax collection on petrol, diesel up by 48% to Rs1.96 lakh cr
Indicating economic slowdown, J&K's December GST collection declines by 22%
Industrial Association Lassipora dismayed over 'unprofessional behaviour' of J&K Bank branch manager
Desist from levying commitment charges: FCIK to J&K Bank
7 out of 10 industrial centres in Kashmir headless: FCIK
J&K Govt approves privatisation of JK Cements Ltd
FICCI holds workshop on ATA Carnet for J&K importers, exporters
PHD chamber Kashmir announces new team in first EC Meeting
PHD chamber holds capacity-building programme for artisans of chain stitch, crewel embroidery
PHD Chamber holds capacity-building workshop for crewel embroidery artisans
When machines shadow hand skills
KCCI seeks freight subsidy for Kashmir exporters
J&K Bank organised awareness programmes in Sopore villages
Banking Strategy: The Road Ahead
Young Kashmiri banker wins 'Shreyas Writing Contests'
CSC VLEs to collect HDFC EMIs
Canara Bank reports Rs 696 Cr net profit in Q3
Promoting diversity, equity and inclusiveness in veterinary profession
The Golden Flames Of Autumn Chinars
Lack of physical activity, stress affect well-being of children
MSMEs: Backbone of Indian economy
Editorial | Modernise Horticulture
Welcome to J&K
Editorial | Ambitious Budget
Editorial | Back to School
Third Wave: Precautions, not panic, please
'COVID-19 and We': The new book on pandemic from Kashmir
Scam 1992: Story of the Big Bull of Share Market
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Editorial: Srinagar needs public transport
Banihal-Qazigund highway tunnel likely to complete by March
August 15, 2022: PM Modi sets new deadline for completion of Udhampur-Baramulla Rail Link
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Dhaar Mehak M The informal sector is defined as the unregistered part of an economy. In a traditional economy, it is assumed that every business entity...


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Camera Hasselblad 70mm Apollo 11
By the end of Project Mercury, Hasselblad cameras such as this one, used in the Apollo 11 command module, became the standard for still photography on American space missions. Known for their high quality construction and ease of use, the electric Swedish-made cameras featured a motor-driven mechanism that prepared the film and shutter when the camera was activated. Hasselblad cameras could be modified for use inside the spacecraft or on the lunar surface, with easily detachable black and white or color film magazines.
NASA transferred this camera to the Museum in 1970.


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WesTech Engineering of Salt Lake City, Utah, has successfully utilized the SuperDisc™ Disc Filter in a pilot study to treat the effluent water from the Clinton Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to less than 0.1 mg/L of total phosphorus (TP).
The Clinton WWTP provides advanced wastewater treatment, including nutrient removal, for the towns of Clinton and Lancaster, Massachusetts. The plant effluent is discharged into the Nashua River where phosphorus reduces oxygen levels through eutrophication, which can inhibit aquatic life. With an average daily flow of 3 million gallons per day (MGD), Clinton removes phosphorus through a conventional activated sludge system followed by chemical coagulation.
The current regulation for the Clinton WWTP states that 1.0 mg/L of TP can be discharged into the Nashua River. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has released a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit stipulating phosphorus regulation changes to begin in 2014. The permit requires that the facility discharge less than 0.15 mg/L of TP from April through October, and less than 1.0 mg/L between November and March. To provide a safety margin and to improve environmental quality, Clinton set a treatment goal of <0.1 mg/L phosphorus year-round.
To optimize filtrate quality and chemical dose, WesTech used multiple dosing rates of alum, ferric chloride, and various polymers with the SuperDisc pilot study. Results showed that with the addition of a polymer and ferric chloride, phosphorus levels were consistently below the goal of 0.1 mg/L TP under all plant conditions while operating with an efficiency between 95-97%.
Through the range of loading rates tested, the SuperDisc handled elevated hydraulic loading rates while maintaining unvaried and consistent phosphorus removal performance. This type of filter is used for effluent polishing, water reuse, process water filtration, and cooling water filtration. This pilot study is another example illustrating that the WesTech SuperDisc effectively and efficiently removes total phosphorus.
We are pleased to demonstrate that disc filtration is a viable technology for treating phosphorus levels below 0.1 mg/L, said Brad Hansen, WesTech Wastewater Filtration Group Leader.
This provides a great option to Engineers and Plants that could benefit from features of the disc filter, including its ability to treat large flows in a small footprint, operate at heads less than 12 inches, and achieve low backwash rates.
For media inquiries, please contact us at email@example.com or by phone at 801-265-1000.
Interested in working with WesTech on similar projects? Please use the Contact Us form to submit your request.


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PEAR and PEAR2 calls its developers
maintainers, and
classifies maintainers by their level of contribution to a package, or
role. In addition, each maintainer must choose a
handle which can be used to refer
to them in package.xml and in bug reports. A handle is an alphanumeric
word with all lower-cased letters such as
tony2001. If you are developing for pear.php.net,
pear2.php.net or pecl.php.net, this handle is the account name you use
to log into the website.
Developer roles are
contributor and
helper. Only lead
maintainers have the permission to release a package. Both lead and
developer maintainers may create and modify package roadmaps, and
all developers can directly log into pear.php.net and change the status of
bugs for the packages that they maintain.
For channels outside of pear.php.net, pecl.php.net, and pear2.php.net, these handles are still required, and have no special meaning beyond what the channel defines them to be. However, both the Pyrus simple channel server and other external channel server implementations require the lead developer of a package to perform releases.


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Hi all I am back with another review. Today I would like to share my reviews on a Face-pack which I love these days. I always had a love hate relationship with Biotique products. There are couple of products I love and this product would top the list.
It is Bio Pistachio Ageless Nourishing & revitalizing Face pack – 55g for Rs 199 (I got it for 180)
That's how the pack looks. It comes in a green Tub/jar (don't know what to call it).
Let's see what Biotique says about this product:
A skin treat used by ancient Queens. The goodness of Almond, Pistachio, Saffron and Lentils nourishes the skin while making it fairer and smoother. It can be used every day.
Its light green in color, thick and I am sure will last a dozen uses.
Ingredients: Pista, Kesar, Jaiphal, Badam, Geru, Banhaldi, Mom & Surajmukhi
About Pistachio Nut Oil – It is ideally suited for moisturizing in the form of an emulsion. Pistachio nut oil also contains an appreciable amount of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid.
Now coming back to the Pistachio Pack – it is Nourishing and Revitalising Pack and is beneficial for even the most sensitive of skins. This efficient formula revitalizes your skin and provides all the nutrients it needs. Your skin immediately recovers its superb comfortable feeling.
Directions to use:
Apply a thick layer on cleansed face & neck for 15-20 mins and then wash it off with lukewarm water. Application of moisturizer afterwards is optional.
I have dry/ sensitive skin so not every facepack/ mask suits me. During winters problem becomes worse and no matter what all I apply (Day & night) it used to feel and look dry, stretched. One day an angelic SA suggested me this pack and as they say rest is history. I have been using this product for two months now and absolutely love the way it makes my skin soft & supple after each application. It has actually proved all the claims made by it absolutely true.
The bottle says it can be used daily for 5 – 10 mins, but hey, who's got the time. I use it for 30 mins about 2 times a week, and see instant results, which is more pronounced and noticeable the next day. It burns/ tingles for initial 5-7 seconds (which is normal) but end results are superb.
What I liked about Biotique Pistachio Face Pack
- Bio Pistachio is a face pack that will best suit dry or mature skin, especially during winters. I no more see flakiness or dry patches on my face as it gives required moisture to the skin.
- It's kind of creamy in texture and doesn't dries off and makes skin stretchy.
- Even after washing it off skin feels absolutely moisturized and supple. I can see my skin looking even & smoother after couple of applications. I have suggested it to couple of my colleagues (with my type of skin) and they too love the pack now.
- It hasn't caused breakouts and gives a radiant look.
- Product is thick and will last long. One spoon (Its weird but I use spoon to scoop out the product) if more than enough to cover entire face.
Dislikes about Biotique Pistachio Face Pack
- The packaging- A tube might have worked wonders. Pack gets into the nails.. ewww
- Smell – Intense. I like mild fragrances only.
- It claims to suit all skin types but I have my apprehensions and wouln't suggest it to people with acne prone skin/ oily skin, it might cause break outs due to its super-moisturizing tendency.
- I might not use it in summers when my skin tends to get little greasy and during that I would like to stick to mud packs.
All in all I am pretty satisfied with this face pack and surprised with the results. If you don't mind the price go for this. I would give it :-* :-* :-* +0.5 and yes would buy it again.
Have you tried Biotique Pistachio Face Pack? please rate in the box below
Also Read :
- Lotus Herbals Face Pack Review: Teatreeclear,Claywhite, Marinyouth
- Everyuth Home Facial- Papaya Face Pack Review
- Biotique Milk Protein Face Pack Review
- Biotique Face Packs Review:Anti Blemish, Skin Tightening and Fairness Packs
- Biotique Myristica Pack Review
- Biotique Musk Root Pack For Hair and Scalp Review


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President Barack Obama said Tuesday that North Korea can no longer create an international crisis with nuclear provocations, asserting the United States and South Korea are fully capable of defending themselves.
"The days when North Korea could create a crisis and elicit concessions, those days are over," Obama said at the White House after the two leaders met privately in the Oval Office.
Obama's comments came in a news conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on her first foreign visit as the country's leader. It marked the 60th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korean alliance.
Obama said that Pyongyang has failed to drive a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea or to garner global respect with its threats. He says the joint U.S.-South Korea meeting at the White House was evidence that North Korea has "failed again."
Ahead of the meeting, U.S. officials said North Korea has taken a step back from its recent escalation of regional tensions by removing from its launch site a set of medium-range ballistic missiles that had been readied for possible test-firing.
Park arrived at the White House, with a color guard lining the driveway. Her meeting, working lunch and joint news conference with Obama will be followed Wednesday by an address to a joint meeting of Congress.
Park has had something of a baptism of fire since she took office in February; two weeks after North Korea's latest atomic test ratcheted up tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula and undermined her hopes of forging a more trusting relationship with a difficult neighbor.
After the U.N. Security Council tightened sanctions on North Korea in response to the nuclear test - its third since 2006 - it claims to have scrapped the 1953 Korean War armistice and has threatened nuclear strikes on the U.S., prompting Washington to bolster missile defenses.
Two Musudan missiles at a site in eastern North Korea had been in what American officials described as launch-ready status for some weeks. Two U.S. officials confirmed their removal on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss a matter involving sensitive U.S. intelligence. It's not clear why they removed the missiles in recent days, but Pentagon press secretary George Little said on Monday that U.S. officials have seen a "provocation pause" by North Korea.
Park touched down in New York on Monday, meeting first with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister who praised her "firm but measured" response to North Korean provocations and determination to resolve their differences though dialogue.
However, Park made clear in an interview on the eve of her visit that she was willing to get tough on North Korea. She told CBS News that if South Korea came under attack, "We will make them pay."
Park, the first democratically elected female leader in Northeast Asia, is no stranger to Seoul's Blue House, as the residence of the chief executive is known. She's the daughter of the late South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, and in her 20s she took over the duties of first lady for five years after a gunman claiming orders from North Korea killed her mother in a botched attack targeting her father.
While focused squarely on the North Korean threat, Park's visit is a chance to build a rapport with Obama, who enjoyed an unusually close bond with the previous South Korean leader, Lee Myung-bak. The two presided over the adoption of a U.S.-South Korean free trade pact in 2012 that expanded the scope of an alliance largely built on security ties and deterring an attack from the North. Some 28,500 U.S. troops are still based in South Korea for that purpose.
Lee took a hard line on relations with Pyongyang, cutting aid to the impoverished nation. While his approach had Obama's firm backing, public frustration in the South has mounted over the North's continued weapons tests and provocations including attacks in 2010 that left dozens of South Koreans dead.
In a change of tone, Park, although a conservative, has advocated trying to build trust with Pyongyang through aid shipments and large-scale economic initiatives if there's progress on the nuclear issue, even as she and South Korea's military promise to respond forcefully to any possible attack from the North.
But to date, relations have only gotten worse. Most recently, North Korea has withdrawn its 53,000 workers from an industrial park on its territory run by South Korean companies. After Pyongyang rejected Seoul's offer of talks, the South last week withdrew its last staff from the facility, closing the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean cooperation that began during the "sunshine" engagement policy championed by Lee's more liberal predecessors.
On Tuesday, North Korea threatened the U.S. and South Korea over joint naval drills taking place this week in the Yellow Sea. The section of the Korean People's Army responsible for operations in North Korea's southwest said it will strike back if any shells fall in its territory during the drills. Should the allies respond to that, the statement said, Pyongyang's military would then strike five South Korean islands that stand along the aquatic frontline between the countries.
Daniel Russel, White House senior director for Asian affairs, said Obama would reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea. He said the joint appearance of the two leaders at the White House would make it crystal clear to Pyongyang that the allies stand shoulder to shoulder.
"In dealing with North Korea, it's vital we show unity," Russel told reporters.
Dealing with Pyongyang's secretive regime, never easy, has become increasingly tough under the unpredictable young leader Kim Jong Un, who came to power after the death of his father Kim Jong Il in December 2011.
Russel cautioned it was premature to judge whether North Korea's cycle of provocation "is going up, down or zigzagging." He said both the U.S. and South Korea support "incremental engagement" with Pyongyang, but it has to take "irreversible steps" signaling a commitment to end its nuclear program.
The past year has already seen disconcerting progress in the North's weapons development, including its first successful launch of a three-stage, long-range rocket, although it is not yet believed to have to have the means to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at mainland America.
The Obama administration has put increasing emphasis on the role the North's main ally and benefactor, China, can play to press Pyongyang to honor its previous commitments on denuclearization. In a significant move, one of China's biggest banks said Tuesday it has halted business with a North Korean bank accused by the U.S. of financing Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs in the latest sign of Beijing's displeasure with its estranged ally.
North Korea threatens 'sea of flames' retaliatory strike on SouthThe North Korean army threatened late Monday of an immediate retaliatory strike if "a single shell" falls on its side of the disputed ... World News
Washington calls for shutting down Iran, North Korea arms networksThe United States said yesterday that Iran and North Korea were trying to obtain high-tech materials linked to their nuclear programs in violation of ... World News
Pentagon report: North Korea could eventually reach U.S. with nuclear armsNorth Korea's continuing development of nuclear technology and long-range ballistic missiles will move it closer to its stated goal of being ... World News


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Thursday, 01 July 2010 10:08 AM EDT
More than 1.3 million laid-off workers won't get their unemployment benefits reinstated before Congress goes on a weeklong vacation for Independence Day.
An additional 200,000 people who have been without a job for at least six months stand to lose their benefits each week, unless Congress acts.
For the third time in as many weeks, Republicans in the Senate successfully filibustered a bill Wednesday night that would have continued unemployment checks to people who have been laid off for long stretches. The House is slated to vote on a similar measure Thursday, though the Senate's action renders the vote a futile gesture as Congress prepares to depart Washington for its holiday recess.
A little more than 1.3 million people have already lost benefits since the last extension ran out at the end of May.
"It is beyond disappointing that Republicans continue to stand almost lockstep against assistance for out-of-work Americans," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
The measure, however, stands a better chance of passing after a replacement is seated for Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., who died Monday. The measure fell two votes short of the 60 needed to advance Wednesday night, but only because Reid, a supporter of the bill, voted "nay" to take a procedural step that would allow for a revote.
"We will vote on this measure again once there is a replacement named for the late Sen. Byrd," Reid said.
Byrd's successor will be named by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, a Democrat.
Unable to deliver more stimulus spending for President Barack Obama, Democrats in Congress had hoped to at least restore the jobless benefits. Obama has urged lawmakers to spend about $50 billion to help states pay for Medicaid programs and to avoid teacher layoffs, but Democrats in Congress have been unable to come up with the votes.
Many Democrats see state aid and unemployment benefits as insurance against the economy sliding back into recession. However, many Republicans and some Democrats worry about adding to the growing national debt.
Republicans offered to support the unemployment bill if it was paid for with unspent money from last year's massive economic recovery package. Democrats rejected the offer, saying the money was needed for jobs programs.
"The only reason the unemployment extension hasn't passed is because Democrats simply refuse to pass a bill that doesn't add to the debt," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Republicans, who have argued that the economic recovery package was a failure, say it included plenty of lawmakers' pet projects that could be cut to cover the $33.9 billion needed to pay for extended unemployment benefits.
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said, "My concern is that the Democrats are more interested in having this issue to demagogue for political gamesmanship than they are in simply passing the benefits extension."
The unemployment bill would have provided up to a total of 99 weekly unemployment checks averaging $335 to people whose 26 weeks of state-paid benefits have run out. The benefits would be available through the end of November, at a cost of $33.9 billion. The money would be borrowed, adding to the budget deficit.
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Story highlights
NEW: Iran's Supreme Court orders a retrial in the espionage case, state media report
Amir Mirzaei Hekmati is accused of spying and was sentenced to death in January
His family and the U.S. government deny the allegations
The status of his case was not immediately clear Monday
An Iranian court has dismissed a lower court's death sentence for an American ex-Marine accused of espionage in Iran, state media reported Monday.
A lower court sentenced Amir Mirzaei Hekmati to death in January, but the nation's Supreme Court annulled that sentence and ordered a retrial, state-run Press TV said.
The lower court previously had convicted the 28-year-old of "working for an enemy country," as well as membership in the CIA and "efforts to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorism," the semi-official Fars news agency has reported.
The U.S. State Department has strongly condemned his conviction.
"Allegations that Mr. Hekmati either worked for or was sent to Iran by the CIA are simply untrue," department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said earlier this year. "The Iranian regime has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies, of eliciting forced confessions, and of holding innocent Americans for political reasons."
Hekmati's family also denies the allegations.
Hekmati was arrested in August while visiting his grandmother and other relatives, his family in Michigan said.
The Hekmatis said their son served in the U.S. Marines from 2001 to 2005. Later, he started his own linguistics company and contracted his services to the military as well as civilian businesses.
His military contracts included cultural competency training. He worked with troops at military bases to promote understanding and positive communication with people of other cultures, his family said.
CNN's Shirzad Bozorgmehr contributed to this report.


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I put all my wrap-up energy into this list of the best sex work writing of 2013, so this will be short and sweet. Mostly, because most of my writing this year is in this book, which you can have come March 11, 2014:
Which now looks like this:
Books. They are inferior to blogging only in that at present, you just have to trust me about what's in there.
Now here's what you can read right now:
The War on Sex Workers, my feature for Reason, was my most widely read piece this year.
Sex work at the Super Bowl: the myth and its makers, for The Guardian.
Girl Geeks and Boy Kings, my review of Kate Losse's book on Facebook for Dissent, runs right into my take on the branding of corporate feminism for The Washington Post. (Terminating in this brief follow-up, "Like" Feminism, at Jacobin.)
Who speaks for women who work in the adult industry?, for The Guardian.
For The Nation, I covered the Supreme Court case challenging the US's decision to make HIV funding contingent on opposition to sex work.
Anti-Prostitution Pledge Heads to Supreme Court
Ending Prostitution 'Central' to Ending AIDS, US Tells Supreme Court
How the Anti-Prostitution Pledge Hinders AIDS Prevention
Supreme Court Strikes Down Anti-Prostitution Pledge for US Groups
For In These Times, I reported on cases of violence against women in the sex trade, and on transgender women in particular.
Sex Workers Rise Up After Fatal Stabbings, on #justiceforjasmine and #justicefordora
Better Treatment of Trans Women by Philly Police Could Have Averted Brutal Murder, on the murder of Diamond Williams
Amnesty International, human rights, and the criminalization of sex work, a behind-the-scenes on sex work policy for The New Statesman.
Spitzer v. Sex Workers, on what his campaign would rather we forget about his politics, for The American Prospect.
Don't Trust Feminists Fighting to Keep Sex Work Illegal, on anti-sex work campaigners, for Talking Points Memo.
Betty Dodson's Feminist Sex Wars, a long and wonderful interview for Truthout.
What the New York Times (and France) Got Wrong About Prostitution, taking up the trend of forecasting "trends" towards treating sex workers as victims, for Slate.
The Red Light and the Cloud, a history of the future of sex work, and maybe my favorite of the year, for Medium.
One of the consequences of being so in the book is I gave better interview than blog (sorry, blog). Here's two using words I liked the most, for Guernica (by Zoe Schlanger) and for Autostraddle (by Carmen Rios). And one using the microphone: Radio Dispatch Live.
Along the way of writing, though, I got to travel and give some really rewarding talks, at Duke University and at Yale, and for the Labor and Working-Class History Association. Since those are folded into the book, you will have to wait.
So here's to 2014, when I get to hand you this book and do this in person, right? Let me know where you are. I might be there.


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Tick tock. Black Friday is over, Cyber Monday is history, and you've still got holiday shopping to do.
But that's OK -- we've got you covered. Our annual holiday gift guide showcases the gear that technology lovers on your list will most appreciate.
Tablets, smartphones, HDTVs and laptops (both ultraslim and all-purpose) were the most popular items in this year's reader poll of favorite tech gifts, and we've got plenty of those to suit a variety of tastes. We've also included a plethora of handy gadgets, fun gizmos and other useful gear, plus several inexpensive stocking stuffers to help you stay within a reasonable budget.
You'll find a description of each item by a Computerworld staffer or contributor, plus links to product pages, places to shop, tech specs, prices and more. When possible, we've included a range of prices as offered by various vendors, but be aware that prices fluctuate, especially at this time of year. As always, be careful of false deals and scams. (See these helpful tips for staying safe while shopping online or by mobile device.)
If you have a suggestion for a great tech gift that you don't see here, feel free to add it in the article comments. Happy holidays to all!
Tantalizing tablets
Computerworld readers have spoken: For the third year running, tablets have topped our annual poll as the tech gift that readers would most like to give or get for the holidays.
The playing field has widened considerably in that time. Apple's 10-in. iPad, which once stood alone in the field, has been joined by a snazzy new 7-in. model. There are a slew of Android tablets available in different sizes (including a couple of new Google Nexus devices), as well several 7-in. tablet/e-reader gadgets. And this year the competition has gotten even hotter as Microsoft joins the fray with a variety of Windows 8-based tablets.
The result? There's a tablet out there for everyone on your gift list -- just choose the operating system, pick the size, decide on the price and go.
iOS tablet: Apple iPad Mini
For many Apple fans, the tablet to get this year is the new iPad Mini. Featuring a vibrant 7.9-in. screen enclosed in a glass and black/slate or white/silver aluminum housing, the Mini measures 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.28 in. and weighs just 0.68 lb. As I wrote when I reviewed the Mini in October:
I really can't emphasize how great the iPad Mini feels in hand. It's very light while still feeling solid, not at all flimsy for a device so thin. (Read the full review)
It offers 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage, dual-facing cameras for video and photography (5-megapixel photographs and 1080p video using the rear camera; 1.2mp and 720p using the front camera), and a battery life of about 10 continuous hours.
And like all iPads, the Mini has access to Apple's digital ecosystem, where there are more than 275,000 dedicated apps in the App Store and even more selections of music, movies, TV shows and podcasts in the iTunes store.
Buying a Mini does involve some tradeoffs: With last year's dual-core A5 processor and a 1024 x 768 resolution, 163ppi display, it's basically a smaller, lighter version of the iPad 2. Although the more closely packed pixels in the Mini make its screen a little sharper than that of the iPad 2, it's a far cry from the high-end Retina display found on the newer full-sized iPads.
That said, the Mini's size and especially its weight make it much more comfortable to hold for extended viewing sessions. And screen differences aside, the Mini is just as capable as its larger brethren. For anyone who wants the iPad experience in a lighter, more portable (and less expensive) form, the iPad Mini is ideal.
The lineup starts at $329 for the 16GB model with Wi-Fi only, or $459 for the 16GB model with Wi-Fi and 3G/4G mobile data (with support for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint services in the U.S.). The 32GB and 64GB models are an additional $100 and $200, respectively.
You might also like: Looking for something bigger? Starting at $499, the 4th-generation iPad with Retina display boasts a high-quality aluminum and glass design, the fastest processor in the iPad lineup and a stunning 9.7-in. display featuring an incredible 3.1 million pixels.
-- Michael deAgonia
Price: $329 - $659 (depending on configuration)
Tech specs | Store locator | Phone: (800) MY-APPLE
Summary: The smaller iPad shaves off size, weight and cost without sacrificing quality.
Android tablet: Google Nexus 7
Who says bigger is always better? Google's Nexus 7 packs impressive functionality and appealing design into a stylish 7-in. form.
Available for $199 (16GB), $249 (32GB) or $299 (32GB with 3G/4G mobile data), the Asus-made tablet is the perfect size for on-the-couch Web surfing or on-the-go entertainment. Its narrow profile and texturized back make it easy to hold in one hand while swiping or tapping with the other.
The Nexus 7 features a 1280 x 800 IPS display. It runs pure Google Android 4.2 software and is powered by a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor along with 1GB of RAM.
Those elements add up to a silky smooth experience that, despite the tablet's low cost, rivals most high-end offerings. I summed it up in my hands-on analysis:
With the Nexus 7's level of hardware combined with its pure Google software, the tablet is a total steal at 200 bucks. You do make some sacrifices compared to more expensive options -- naturally -- but when you weigh everything out with the price, the Nexus 7 comes out looking like a champ. (Read the full review)
Like other Nexus products, the Nexus 7 receives fast and frequent OS upgrades directly from Google -- making it a gift that keeps on giving.
You might also like: Google's Nexus 10 ($399 to $499) delivers a best-in-class display and pure Android experience in a 10-inch tablet form. The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity ($450 to $630), meanwhile, offers top-notch hardware with more storage and connectivity options as well as an optional keyboard dock accessory.
-- JR Raphael
Price: $199 (16GB Wi-Fi), $249 (32GB Wi-Fi), $299 (32GB Wi-Fi + mobile data)
Tech specs | Phone: (855) 836-3987
Summary: The Nexus 7's narrow size and stellar user experience make it the ideal gadget for around-the-house Internet surfing -- and at $200, its value is unmatched.


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Please note that the next deadline for the AWM/NSF Travel Grant is May 1, 2017. The Association for Women in Mathematics travel program supports these opportunities for women:
1. Travel Grants in mathematics, for women mathematicians attending mathematics conferences.
2. Mentoring Travel Grants to help junior women to develop a long-term working and mentoring relationship with a senior mathematician.
For complete eligibility and application details please visit http://www.awm-math.org/travelgrants.html. All applications are now submitted via an online system.
The Travel Grant Program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS).
Please consider taking advantage of this opportunity yourself, if you are eligible, and encourage your eligible colleagues to apply.


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John Berger (1926-2017)
Episode 1: Psychological Aspects
Episode 2: Women in Art
Episode 3: Collectors and Collecting
Episode 4: Commercial Art
Notes by Nick Currie (Momus)
Ways of Seeing was a BBC television series consisting of visual essays that raise questions about hidden ideologies in visual images. The series gave rise to a later book of the same name written by John Berger.
It would be easy to say that Ways of Seeing is hopelessly dated -- made in 1972, the films come across as a puritan-groovy mix of Monty Python, the Open University and the Look Around You spoofs. And yet what's so remarkable about this series is that it seems more apposite, subversive and thought-provoking than ever. The Britain we glimpse in the films, already alienated by spooky BBC Radiophonic Workshop music by Delia Derbyshire, is alienated even more by the passing of time. Alienated usefully, in the Brechtian sense; we look at a capitalist society which is like, and unlike, our own.
One way our own society is unlike 1972 is in the fact that, despite the enormous plethora of TV and internet TV we have now, nobody has made anything quite like this. In art history, the treatment of women's bodies, in our relationship with objects and property and in advertising (the themes of the four films) the same mystifications and objectifications and manipulations carry on. What doesn't carry on is analysis of them on this level.
Sure, there are a thousand media studies courses out there. But several things have happened since Ways of Seeing was made. Firstly, Western societies have swung right; they're much less resisting of the capitalist beast -- much more infused with its values -- than they were in 1972. There's very little actually-existing socialism now, and perhaps globalisation has also eroded national differences quite a bit in the thirty-six years since the series was made. Secondly, postmodernism has made it much more difficult to critique popular culture now. Ways of Seeing is not just a Marxist take on representation, but a late Modernist one, informed by Benjamin, Barthes, Brecht.
Berger's authority here is a moral and poetic one, though, and he's at pains throughout to make us question the authority of commentarists seen and unseen, question the use of music and context in media, look at editing, make our own ethical juxtapositions (an ad for an aperitif next to images of refugees). There's a wonderful moment in the first episode where he mocks the commentary in a recently-published book about Caravaggio (it jumps straight from tediously specific formalist analysis to talk about "the human spirit" with nothing in between) then takes it to a group of schoolchildren, who immediately spot the epicene ambiguity of the central figures in the paintings -- who spot, in other words, that Caravaggio was gay. Berger also takes a group portrait by Franz Hals of some benefactors who saved Hals from starvation by feeding him, and reads out a formalist commentary critiquing the poor composition. I can't think of an art series since which has dared to criticize other art critics so directly, and so systematically.
The second episode, about the female nude, has some particularly troublesome and interesting things to say about structural narcissism ("men dream of women, women dream of themselves being dreamt of"), the difference between nakedness and nudity, and the institutionalised misogyny deep in our culture -- the tendency of men to desire women and simultaneously blame them for provoking that desire. Berger traces this back to the biblical tale of the expulsion from Eden. There's a great discussion at the end with a group of highly articulate women, including the writer Eva Figes. Episode three is about oil paintings, their relationship with saleable objects and property, and their fate as saleable property, valuable for depicting objects of value. And the last episode -- for me the most compelling -- is about advertising and envy.
I actually find it rather disturbing that -- despite our claims to be a culture that's increasing freedom of choice all the time -- we haven't come up with anything quite as astute, subversive or beautiful as Ways of Seeing since. Not on the BBC, and not even -- especially not -- on the internet.
I think this is still the most intelligent glance television -- a medium, ostensibly, about looking, but actually very bad at looking intelligently at looking -- has ever cast on the act of looking.


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We brought you the first hands-on with the BlackBerry Bold Touch yesterday, and now the devices's full specs have reportedly been leaked. BGR exclusively revealed the device's key specs back in January, but now N4BB has obtained a full specs for the phone, which show that it features a Qualcomm 8655 Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 8GB of on-board storage, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video, and a 2.8-inch 640 x 480-pixel touchscreen display. The documents also reaffirm the Bold Touch's 3G mobile hotspot feature we scooped, which will allow you to share its 3G connection via Wi-Fi. We've been told that RIM will announce the BlackBerry Bold Touch during BlackBerry World early next month and that the device will hit the market around June or July. Hit the jump for the full spec sheets.
Thanks, John


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Bubbly Gone Flat
Water bubbles created by ultrasonic waves can collapse fast enough to generate a flash of light [see "Sonoluminescence: Sound into Light"; SciAm, February 1995]. In 2002 Rusi Taleyarkhan, then at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, claimed to have triggered nuclear fusion in these bubbles; in 2006 he published a second report of successful bubble fusion. In both cases, other researchers could not duplicate his work, and many were suspicious because he did not share his data. Contamination with a radioisotope could also explain his 2006 results.
The tempest over bubble fusion may have finally fizzled out. After their second investigation, officials at Purdue University, Taleyarkhan's current institution, charged him in July with two counts of misconduct after concluding that he falsely created the appearance that members of his lab had independently verified the sonofusion effect. (An earlier inquiry cleared Taleyarkhan, but lawmakers requested a more thorough investigation into the research, which received $318,000 in government funding.) Taleyarkhan has appealed the charges.
In 2007 Kenneth Suslick of the University of Illinois and Seth Putterman of the University of California, Los Angeles, reconstructed Taleyarkhan's original experiment but found no fusion. At this point, scientists have given up, Suslick says: "These experiments were deeply flawed at best and have had no credibility for several years."
It's Alive?
For decades scientists have argued about the life status of viruses [see "Are Viruses Alive?"; SciAm, December 2004]. Researchers at the University of the Mediterranean in Marseille, France, and their colleagues have discovered that viruses can fall ill through infection by other viruses. The finding, published online by Nature August 6, provides an indication that viruses could be considered living.
The researchers looked at the giant mamavirus, which is as large as a small bacterium, about 750 nanometers. Electron microscopy revealed a tiny virus about 50 nanometers across that is closely linked with the mamavirus. Lacking the ability to infect cells, the satellite virus, dubbed Sputnik, relies on mamavirus to do the job. Then Sputnik hijacks the replication factory that mamavirus has set up in the cell. The result is more Sputnik and fewer and often deformed mamavirus. Genome studies suggest giant viruses and their "virophages" may be common in the oceans.
Light Work
Light-emitting diodes are making their way into everyday life [see "In Pursuit of the Ultimate Lamp"; SciAm, February 2001]. Still, LED versions of 60-watt incandescent bulbs can cost around $100. Engineers at Purdue University report a way to make cheaper blue LEDs, which are needed to generate white light. Conventionally, such LEDs require gallium nitride to be placed on a substrate of sapphire, with a separate reflector to direct the light. In the July 14 Applied Physics Letters, the researchers describe making LEDs on silicon with a built-in reflective layer, which reduces cost; with mass manufacturing, affordable LED lamps could appear in two years, they predict.
Family Guy
Lonesome George, the famous bachelor tortoise of the Galápagos, may soon be a father. The sole survivor of a population on Pinta, a northern island of the Galápagos—pirates and sailors had eaten the rest of his kind—George now lives at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz. In 1990 two females from Isabela Island joined him. Unfortunately, George showed little sexual interest or prowess. In July, however, one female produced nine eggs, three of which were undamaged and collected for incubation. Because turtles can lay unfertilized eggs, no one will know if George has sired offspring until mid-November, when the eggs should hatch if fertile. Success could mean the eventual restoration of the Pinta subspecies [see "On the Origins of Subspecies"; SciAm, March 1999].
Note: The article was originally printed with the title, "Bubble Fusion -- Tortoise Triumph? -- Virus-Infecting Viruses -- Cheaper LEDs".


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What is the teaching of the Church on the resurrection of the dead, and on reincarnation? Some theologians maintain that Jesus went to Hell after his death as a sinner. Is that possible? Question: What is the teaching of the Church … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
September 10, 2013 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP