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HESWALL business owners and members of the local community took to the streets on Friday to protest against the increased parking charges in the town.
Members of Heswall and District Business Association (HDBA) have mounted a legal challenge against the increases which were implemented in April 2013 and saw the cost of parking for one hour shoot up from 30p to £1.05. All day parking rose to £8.
The parking charges apply seven days a week from 8am until 6.30pm, which campaigners say is in contrast to other local towns where free parking is offered every day.
Despite a drop of more than 8,000 ticket sales in 2013/14 compared with the same period in 2012/13, the total net income from Heswall's 488 car parking spaces has risen from £123,365 to £189,392, according to figures from Wirral Council.
Campaigners say the telling statistic is how long people are now parking, with figures showing the average time spent in Heswall's car parks has fallen from between three and four hours to just one hour.
Speaking at the peaceful protest today, Karl Mullins – chair of the HDBA – said the charges are "destroying" the town.
He said: "£1.05 is just theft, it should be down to a maximum of 50p.
"It's destroying our community and it's affecting all our businesses – it's destroying the town and businesses are closing as a result."
Abbas Hussain, HDBA member and owner of Principal Pets on Telegraph Road, said: "Some businesses have reported a downturn of over 25% since the increased charges were introduced.
"If the charges are not urgently decreased we will inevitably lose some local services such as the library and community centre through lack of use.
"If we lose these services and a couple of retailers, a vicious circle could ensure, with fewer people attracted to the town due to lack of services."
The HDBA believe the increase is in contravention of the 1984 Road Traffic Regulation Act.
Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Wirral's cabinet member for highways and transportation, said the authority is "acutely aware of businesses' concerns" and has been talking to those involved to "seek a solution".
He said: "In 2013, following public consultation on a series of budget options in light of deep cuts to our government grant, the council standardised parking charges across the borough.
"This brought charges in areas like Heswall, West Kirby and Liscard in line with charges already in place in Birkenhead town centre. This also allowed us to reduce some charges, and gave us a fairer system overall.
"We are currently developing a long term car parking strategy for the borough, and a scrutiny review is underway and will take on board all views.
"Car parking income helps to pay for our road maintenance work, repairing potholes and making our roads safer. The income the council receives from car parking charges is reinvested in maintaining the highway network and keeping traffic moving."
A petition has attracted more than 3,000 signatures and will be presented to Cllr Phil Davies, leader of Wirral Council. It is available to sign in many shops around Heswall.


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RBDRaf-like Ras-binding domain
|SMART accession number:
|Interpro abstract (IPR003116):
|This is the Ras-binding domain found in proteins related to Ras. It is found in association with the PE-bind and pkinase domains.
|GO process:
|signal transduction (GO:0007165)
|GO function:
|receptor signaling protein activity (GO:0005057)
|Family alignment:
There are 1355 RBD domains in 1054 proteins in SMART's nrdb database.
Click on the following links for more information.
- Evolution (species in which this domain is found)
Taxonomic distribution of proteins containing RBD domain.
This tree includes only several representative species. The complete taxonomic breakdown of all proteins with RBD domain is also avaliable.
Click on the protein counts, or double click on taxonomic names to display all proteins containing RBD domain in the selected taxonomic class.
- Cellular role (predicted cellular role)
Cellular role: signalling
- Literature (relevant references for this domain)
Primary literature is listed below; Automatically-derived, secondary literature is also avaliable.
- Ponting CP
- Raf-like Ras/Rap-binding domains in RGS12- and still-life-like signalling proteins.
- J Mol Med. 1999; 77: 695-8
- Display abstract
Ras proteins play critical roles in regulating cell growth and differentiation, and mutated Ras genes are expressed in a variety of human cancers. Consequently, much interest has centered on the binding partners of Ras, including the Ras-binding domain (RBD) of Raf kinase. Here evidence is presented that domains homologous to the Raf RBD are present in tandem in RGS12, RGS14 and LOCO, and singly in molecules similar to mouse Tiam-1. In addition, RGS12, RGS14 and LOCO are shown to contain single "LGN motifs" that are guanine nucleotide exchange factors specific for the alpha-subunit of G proteins. These findings indicate "cross-talk" interactions between signalling pathways involving Ras and Rap and pathways involving Rho, Rac and G alpha GTPases.
- Block C, Janknecht R, Herrmann C, Nassar N, Wittinghofer A
- Quantitative structure-activity analysis correlating Ras/Raf interaction in vitro to Raf activation in vivo.
- Nat Struct Biol. 1996; 3: 244-51
- Display abstract
Binding of Ras to c-Raf-1 is a pivotal step of many mitogenic signalling pathways. Based on the recent crystal structure of the complex of Rap1A with the Ras-binding domain of Raf, mutations were introduced in c-Raf-1 and their effects on Ras/Raf binding affinity in vitro and Ras/Raf regulated gene expression in vivo were analysed. Our data reveal an empirical semilogarithmic correlation between dissociation constants and Raf-induced gene activity. The functional epitope that primarily determines binding affinity consists of residues Gln 66, Lys 84 and Arg 89 in Raf. This quantitative structure-activity investigation may provide a general approach to correlate structure-guided biochemical analysis with biological function of protein-protein interactions.
- Muslin AJ, Tanner JW, Allen PM, Shaw AS
- Interaction of 14-3-3 with signaling proteins is mediated by the recognition of phosphoserine.
- Cell. 1996; 84: 889-97
- Display abstract
The highly conserved and ubiquitously expressed 14-3-3 family of proteins bind to a variety of proteins involved in signal transduction and cell cycle regulation. The nature and specificity of 14-3-3 binding is, however, not known. Here we show that 14-3-3 is a specific phosphoserine-binding protein. Using a panel of phosphorylated peptides based on Raf-1, we have defined the 14-3-3 binding motif and show that most of the known 14-3-3 binding proteins contain the motif. Peptides containing the motif could disrupt 14-3-3 complexes and inhibit maturation of Xenopus laevis oocytes. These results suggest that the interactions of 14-3-3 with signaling proteins are critical for the activation of signaling proteins. Our findings also suggest novel roles for serine/threonine phosphorylation in the assembly of protein-protein complexes.
- Han L, Colicelli J
- A human protein selected for interference with Ras function interacts directly with Ras and competes with Raf1.
- Mol Cell Biol. 1995; 15: 1318-23
- Display abstract
The overexpression of some human proteins can cause interference with the Ras signal transduction pathway in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The functional block is located at the level of the effector itself, since these proteins do not suppress activating mutations further downstream in the same pathway. We now demonstrate, with in vivo and in vitro experiments, that the protein encoded by one human cDNA (clone 99) can interact directly with yeast Ras2p and with human H-Ras protein, and we have named this gene rin1 (Ras interaction/interference). The interaction between Ras and Rin1 is enhanced when Ras is bound to GTP. Rin1 is not able to interact with either an effector mutant or a dominant negative mutant of H-Ras. Thus, Rin1 displays a human H-Ras interaction profile that is the same as that seen for Raf1 and yeast adenylyl cyclase, two known effectors of Ras. Moreover, Raf1 directly competes with Rin1 for binding to H-Ras in vitro. Unlike Raf1, however, the Rin1 protein resides primarily at the plasma membrane, where H-Ras is localized. These data are consistent with Rin1 functioning in mammalian cells as an effector or regulator of H-Ras.
- Nassar N, Horn G, Herrmann C, Scherer A, McCormick F, Wittinghofer A
- The 2.2 A crystal structure of the Ras-binding domain of the serine/threonine kinase c-Raf1 in complex with Rap1A and a GTP analogue.
- Nature. 1995; 375: 554-60
- Display abstract
The X-ray crystal structure of the complex between the Ras-related protein Rap1A in the GTP-analogue (GppNHp) form and the Ras-binding domain (RBD) of the Ras effector molecule c-Raf1, a Ser/Thr-specific protein kinase, has been solved to a resolution of 2.2 A. It shows that RBD has the ubiquitin superfold and that the structure of Rap1A is very similar to that of Ras. The interaction between the two proteins is mediated by an apparent central antiparallel beta-sheet formed by strands B1-B2 from RBD and strands beta 2-beta 3 from Rap1A. Complex formation is mediated by main-chain and side-chain interactions of the so-called effector residues in the switch I region of Rap1A.
- Sprang SR
- How Ras works: structure of a Rap-Raf complex.
- Structure. 1995; 3: 641-3
- Display abstract
The three-dimensional structure of the complex between Rap and the 'Ras-binding domain' of Raf could be the prototype for a G protein-effector interaction.
- Metabolism (metabolic pathways involving proteins which contain this domain)
% proteins involved KEGG pathway ID Description 7.11 map04810 Regulation of actin cytoskeleton 4.44 map05219 Bladder cancer 4.44 map05210 Colorectal cancer 4.44 map05213 Endometrial cancer 4.44 map05212 Pancreatic cancer 4.44 map05220 Chronic myeloid leukemia 4.44 map04910 Insulin signaling pathway 4.44 map05215 Prostate cancer 4.44 map04012 ErbB signaling pathway 4.44 map05214 Glioma 4.44 map05211 Renal cell carcinoma 4.44 map05221 Acute myeloid leukemia 4.44 map04720 Long-term potentiation 4.44 map04730 Long-term depression 4.44 map05223 Non-small cell lung cancer 4.44 map05218 Melanoma 4.44 map04650 Natural killer cell mediated cytotoxicity 4.44 map04914 Progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation 3.11 map04010 MAPK signaling pathway 3.11 map04510 Focal adhesion 1.56 map05216 Thyroid cancer 1.56 map04664 Fc epsilon RI signaling pathway 1.56 map04370 VEGF signaling pathway 1.56 map04912 GnRH signaling pathway 1.56 map04150 mTOR signaling pathway 1.56 map04540 Gap junction 1.56 map04916 Melanogenesis 0.22 map04320 Dorso-ventral axis formation
This information is based on mapping of SMART genomic protein database to KEGG orthologous groups. Percentage points are related to the number of proteins with RBD domain which could be assigned to a KEGG orthologous group, and not all proteins containing RBD domain. Please note that proteins can be included in multiple pathways, ie. the numbers above will not always add up to 100%.
- Structure (3D structures containing this domain)
3D Structures of RBD domains in PDB
PDB code Main view Title 1c1y CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF RAP.GMPPNP IN COMPLEX WITH THE RAS-BINDING-DOMAIN OF C-RAF1 KINASE (RAFRBD). 1gua HUMAN RAP1A, RESIDUES 1-167, DOUBLE MUTANT (E30D,K31E) COMPLEXED WITH GPPNHP AND THE RAS-BINDING-DOMAIN OF HUMAN C-RAF1, RESIDUES 51-131 1rfa NMR SOLUTION STRUCTURE OF THE RAS-BINDING DOMAIN OF C-RAF-1 1rrb THE RAS-BINDING DOMAIN OF RAF-1 FROM RAT, NMR, 1 STRUCTURE 1wfy Solution structure of the Ras-binding domain of mouse RGS14 1wxm Solution Structure of the N-terminal Ras-binding Domain (RBD) in Human a-Raf Kinase 2l05 Solution NMR Structure of the Ras-binding domain of Serine/threonine-protein kinase B-raf from Homo sapiens, Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium Target HR4694F 2mse 2MSE 3kuc Complex of Rap1A(E30D/K31E)GDP with RafRBD(A85K/N71R) 3kud Complex of Ras-GDP with RafRBD(A85K) 3ny5 Crystal structure of the RBD domain of serine/threonine-protein kinase B-raf from Homo sapiens. Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium Target HR4694F 4g0n Crystal Structure of wt H-Ras-GppNHp bound to the RBD of Raf Kinase 4g3x Crystal Structure of Q61L H-Ras-GppNHp bound to the RBD of Raf Kinase 5j17 5J17 5j18 5J18 5j2r 5J2R
- Links (links to other resources describing this domain)

subset: commoncrawl


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On Wednesday, April 25, Fr. Frank Pavone received the "Proudly Pro-life" award from the National Right to Life Committee. While the awards banquet was taking place inside the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, an assortment of pro-abortion groups gathered outside to protest Fr. Frank, Priests for Life, and the National Right to Life Committee.
Leaders from NOW, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and Catholics for a Free Choice were present, as were a number of New York pro-abortion politicians. Below are some photos from the event.
Gallery 1
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LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.—David Cohen, the new president and COO of American Security Systems, comes from outside the security industry. But Cohen is experienced at growing businesses, and he wants to double the growth of the security and fire company, based here.
BROOKLYN, N.Y.—By August, anyone who inspects, tests or services fire alarm systems in New York City must be officially certified to do so by the city's fire department.
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.—American Security Systems recently announced new developments for its fast-growing fire division, including winning a New York City Housing Authority contract to service 231 community and day care centers and other buildings in the city's five borou
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.—Kenneth Gould, who took over as president of American Security Systems here, believes this diversified company is ripe for growth, particularly its fire division.
© 2018 United Publications Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


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Paiute Palace announces jackpot winner
The Paiute Palace Casino in Bishop announced its most recent jackpot winner, Jeanette S. of Bishop. She won $771,170 on one of the newly installed Godzilla slot machines.
According to casino officials, Jeanette is a regular customer. The casino's Bill Macdonald was happy that a local regular customer won the huge prize.
The Paiute Palace Casino is owned and operated by the Bishop Paiute Tribe. For current casino promotions visit www.paiutepalace.com


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Sign up for the season's best travel ideas from in-the-know experts.
Sign up for the season's best travel ideas.
Explore the best of the world. Access insider tips and hotel recommendations from our travel tastemakers
22 Gifts for the Wellness-Obsessed
Find Your Own Paradise at These Stunning Turks and Caicos Hotels
Laguna Lodge Eco-Resort & Nature Reserve
Solola, Guatemala
11 Warm-Weather Vacations to Take This Winter
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico | Cartagena, Colombia | Hamilton, Bermuda | Havana, Cuba | Kauai, HI | Key West, FL | Martinique, Caribbean | Negril, Jamaica | Palm Springs, CA | Panama City, Panama | Tenerife, Spain


text:
Hi, I'm researching my first camera enclosure for my Canon EOS 60D. I heard great things about the Nauticam but its very pricey for my current budget.
I was looking at the IkeLite underwater housing (Canon 60D DSLR - Product # 6870.60) and it looks like its a good possibility but I was wondering if folks would recommend it. Its direct URL is:
If I did get the IkeLite housing does it make sense to go with a matching IkeLite strobe or is that not necessary?
I also need to decide if for my first setup, if I need two strobes or if one is sufficient for starting out.
Thanks for any tips,


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My Party: Addie
Warning: monster parties may lead to breakdancing. Melissa sent in photos of her daughter Addie's fourth birthday party: For as long as Addie has had an opinion on things, I've let her choose the theme for her birthday party. This year, she wanted a monster party.
Since her birthday is just after Halloween, we tried to stay away from anything too Halloweeny (i.e. orange and black, pumpkins, ghosts, etc.). The homemade invitations and cake featured purple and green monsters that coordinated nicely with the purple and green balloons, we danced to "Purple People Eater," we drank green soda with our pizza, and we colored homemade coloring books filled with silly monster pictures. Instead of taking home goody bags filled with candy or tiny toys, each party guest got a monster t-shirt made just for them!
Thanks, Melissa!


text: I have a false bottom on my brew kettle and I put the hose into a double mesh strainer on the output side going into the fermenter. That, coupled with hop bags, really allows me to start out pretty clear and to get a good harvest of yeast after fermentation is completed. Just a thought... Cheers!


text:
Item description:
- 5 JPG files at 2800×2800 pixels – 300 dpi of resolution.
- Use them for backgrounds, patterns, futuristic or high tech topics, technology, etc.
Don´t forget to rate my items if you consider them useful. If you have any question feel free to contact me at: email@example.com


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Just kidding. A beauty though, isn't it? This page of tastefully arranged number signs comes from a type specimen book issued by the Schelter & Giesecke foundry of Leipzig, around 1900. In a good type specimen, no piece of typographic material is too insignificant to merit proper attention, but to see such a peripheral symbol treated with this kind of thought and artistry is really touching. —JH
The actual H&Co FAQ, in case you're looking.


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Coach-Net is Moving Its Call Center to Texas
July 21, 2010 by RVBusiness · 1 Comment
Coach-Net, a leading provider of 24/7 emergency roadside assistance and other services for RV owners and manufacturers, autos and commercial vehicles, recently announced plans to relocate its call center operations from Lake Havasu City, Ariz., to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area over the next nine months.
The relocation takes place as part of an initiative by the National Motor Club, Coach-Net's Irving, Texas-based parent company, to implement its strategic growth plan and better align several closely related sister companies, according to a news release.
The vast majority of Coach-Net's Lake Havasu City employees will have an opportunity to relocate to call center operations in the Dallas area, ensuring continuity in service and preservation of the company's deep industry knowledge. Coach-Net's DFW-based call center operations will be managed by National Motor Club's sister company, Stellar, which will leverage its global expertise in call center management for the benefit of Coach-Net's valued customers. The process of transitioning calls will begin in October, and the process is expected to be completed by March 2011.
"As we transition these operations to the Dallas area, where our corporate headquarters and accounting functions are already based, we are pleased to be keeping these critical jobs in the U.S. and offering an opportunity to keep much of our outstanding team intact," said Matt Krzysiak, CFO. "As a consequence of this expected employee retention and our phased transition plan, our customers will experience no disruption to service over the coming months. Ultimately, this relocation will position us for positive growth and allow Coach-Net to be even stronger in delivering outstanding customer service, drawing on our employees' deep knowledge base and the geographic advantages, telecom technology, network infrastructure and business resources available in the Dallas/Fort Worth area."
Coach-Net is a leading provider of 24/7 emergency roadside assistance and other travel-related services for various RV, commercial vehicle and automotive segments. Founded to meet the demanding needs of RV travelers throughout the U.S. and Canada, Coach-Net pioneered RVTech Advantage, providing RV owners and OEMs with the premier roadside assistance plan that allows access to a team of RVIA- and ASE-certified and master certified technicians. As the service provider of choice for major RV chassis manufacturers, Coach-Net has a superior reputation for supporting specialty products and components to both the manufacturer and the end customer.
Stellar is a leading global provider of call center and business process solutions. Dedicated to building long-term collaborative client partnerships, Stellar has forged enduring relationships with many successful high-profile companies across the world to deliver innovative solutions. In bringing its unique philosophy of Open Book Management (OBM) to this new Texas flagship facility, Stellar is building a strong business partnership with its sister company, Coach-Net. The combination of OBM and state-of-the-art technology will enable Stellar to provide Coach-Net, its clients and their customers world-class service.
Stellar employs over 5,000 people across 17 centers, managing over 300 million customer interactions on behalf of its clients every year.


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Now available on NCSE's YouTube channel: Eugenie C. Scott's "Creationism: Still crazy after all these years," a presentation at the 2009
Atheist Alliance International conference in Burbank, California. Scott describes the evolving history of the antievolution movement in the United States, from attempts to balance the teaching of evolution with "creation science" or "intelligent design" to the present spate of stealth creationist tactics such as "academic freedom" and (in Texas) "all sides of scientific evidence."
NCSE shifts from .org to .com domain
NCSE is now using ncse.com—shorter and easier to remember than ncseweb.org—as its primary domain name. The change is already in effect on NCSE's web site and e-mail. But never fear: links and e-mail to ncseweb.org will be automatically forwarded to ncse.com.
NCSE is now using ncse.com — shorter and easier to remember than ncseweb.org — as its primary domain name. The change is already in effect on NCSE's website and e-mail. But never fear: links and e-mail to ncseweb.org will be automatically forwarded to ncse.com.
NCSE is grateful to Jeff Bennett, president and chief operating officer of NameMedia, Inc., for extending a substantial discount on the ncse.com domain. Said Bennett, "We understand that you are a non-profit organization with a big mission." It's a mission that you can support by joining or renewing today — at ncse.com.
Did Ray Comfort plagiarize part of his "special introduction" to the Origin of Species?
Adding to the recent celebrations of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species on November 24, 1859, were three members of NCSE, writing for their local newspapers.
National Center for Science Education, Inc.
1904 Franklin Street, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94612
fax: 510-788-7971
For Reporters | Store | Events


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Contact: Betty Lieurance, 970-529-4608
Mesa Verde National Park is pleased to welcome Gary Johnson as an Artist-in-Residence. Gary is a nationally known wildlife and landscape painter who paints the beauty and inspiration of the natural world. His artwork has been juried into the prestigious, Arts For The Parks Top 100 competition (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2005), winning the Grand Prize Gold Medal Miniature Top 100 in 2005. He has also been juried into Art and the Animal at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Vermont and the Pastel Society of America exhibition.
Gary's paintings have received awards at the San Dimas Festival of Western Arts and the Phippen Museum of Western Art. He has exhibited at a number of top wildlife and western art shows in the nation and his artwork is included in numerous museum collections. In 2005, Gary was selected as the Artist-in-Residence for Rocky Mountain National Park. Gary's artwork has been featured in Western Art Collector magazine, Wildlife Art magazine, Southwest Art, Sporting Classics, Art of the West, Western Art & Architecture and Safari Times magazines as well as the Charlie M. Russell Museum Auction and the Sotheby's of London auction house. He is represented by the following fine art galleries: Fredericksburg Art Gallery in Texas, Plainsmen Gallery in Florida, Glacier Gallery in Montana, Manitou Gallery in New Mexico, Art for Wildlife Gallery in California and Journeys West Gallery in California.
On Friday, September 21, at 5:00 pm, Gary Johnson will have a presentation at the Cortez Cultural Center of his artwork, how paintings are made, and a brief history of how American art has been influenced by the National Parks System. Gary will have some original paintings and limited edition prints on view and for sale. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Cortez Cultural Center.
Begun during Mesa Verde National Park's 2006 Centennial, the Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program provides accomplished writers, composers, and visual and performing artists the opportunity to pursue their particular art form while being surrounded by the inspiring ancient architecture of the Ancestral Pueblo People and the sweeping natural landscape of the park. The park provides a historic, rustic residence to selected participants for 4 two-week periods each year. For additional information about the Mesa Verde AIR program, go to the park's Artist-In-Residence webpage or call AIR Coordinator, Frank Cope at 970-529-4607.


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Great track cut from big, huge famous band with famous (other) songs
Led Zeppelin - How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin I)
Don't even hafta be by big, huge famous band
Like, Bon Iver's 'Brackett, WI' is a solid choice, too ... and you'll get your internet indie points for that kinda post.
I've done all I can do here. Let's see some imagination. Cos I'm gonna play every track listed and keep a mental score on each of ya's.
^ although
that wasn't really a track cut was it? Fuck it, let's not be pendants... WE'RE making this too complicated now... name some fucking songs, eh
Not sure I really understand the question but
'Cuttooth' is brilliant and that was cut from Amnesiac during the late stages


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Annoyances of the Computer World Article
I wanted to take a moment before the introduction and give partial credit for this article to forum member Kamikaze Badger. While this article has been in the works since before I took time off to get married, it wasn't until he posted a message about Adware/Spyware removal (topic) in our forums that I picked back up to work on this article. Granted, he wasn't the first (nor will he be the last) to discuss these topics. Nonetheless, thank you Kamikaze Badger. Your post was both inspiring, and the swift kick that I needed to get this article finished. ;)
This article is intended to be a more in depth look at spyware and other annoyances of the computer world, however Kamikaze Badger's message is a good stop for anyone looking for some basic information that contains feedback from OCC members. I'd also like to encourage OCC members and guest to stop by his thread and contribute to it.
Computers are practically an essential part of everyday life for a majority of the world. We use them at work, at school, at home, and even when on the road. Computers can bring a lot of useful information to you at the press of a button. However, computers can also bring a lot of useful information about you to corporations or even those with malicious intents.
While a majority of our visitors are familiar with the terms like spyware, adware, and virus, there are still a large number of computer users who have never heard those terms, or have no idea how to protect themselves.
In this article, we hope to inform and educate the less knowledgeable about the darker side of technology, and provide some resources on how to keep your computer safe. At this point, we won't be reviewing the various antivirus or adware-removal utilities; however that may come sometime down the road.
Virus & Worm Information
This is probably the term that most people are familiar with, so will start here.
So, what is a virus? In medical terms, a virus is any of various simple submicroscopic parasites that often cause disease. Beyond that, Virus has also been the name of a number of bad movies.
OK… the definition of virus that we are talking about (Computer Virus) is a program (or code) that or infects (or imbeds into) an operating system or application. Depending on the intent of the virus, it can do multiple things. Such as send out spam emails, allow others access to your system and data, erase information, corrupt files, or display text messages, amung other things.
The term virus has a negative meaning; however there are antivirus-viruses out and about that while still makes use of an exploit in code or software try and remove or disable harmful viruses. Whether it's a virus or antivirus-virus you still don't want it on your system.
Thankfully, a virus cannot be spread without the involvement of a person. That's right, if you spread a virus to someone else, it's no one else's fault but your own.
However there are virus-like worms out there. Worms are really nothing more than a sophisticated virus that have the ability to propagate itself on a network (be in a local or wide are network). Most of the time when you hear about a virus in the news, it's actually a worm.
How can you protect yourself against viruses and worms? It's actually very simple:
- Be aware
- Keep your Operating System and applications updated/patched
- Don't open email attachment from an unknown sender
- Don't open a file if you don't know the person you got it from
- Use an antivirus program
- Keep the antivirus program updated
- Use a Firewall
- Keep the firewall updated
The first step is to be aware. Most people would argue that antivirus software is the key. Hate to break it to you, but its not. Fact is, by simply being aware of what you are doing/opening and keeping the system and apps up to date, you can prevent viruses.
The next thing, and probably the hardest thing to do is to keep you operating system and other applications (specifically your web browser and email client) up to date. It doesn't matter if you use Windows or Linux, keeping the OS and the apps that you use up to date is essential.
Updates and patches for the Operating Systems appear almost daily at times (especially for Windows users). These updates usually contain any number of bug fixes and security fixes. While I'm not a fan of the Windows Automatic Update, I do suggest that you run Windows Update at least two times a week.
The next two items really tie back the first step, "Be Aware", but I wanted to list them separately.
Opening an email attachment from someone you don't know is a sure way to get (and send) a virus. Actually, some of the more cleaver viruses didn't even need to be sent in an attachment, they could be embedded into the email itself.
Another preventive measure to prevent from email viruses is to disable the preview pane (Outlook and Outlook Express users specifically). By using the preview pane, you might as well be opening the email anyway.
One other way to help against email viruses is to disable HTML in emails. Most people I know don't like color, images, or background in the email, so is there any other reason to use HTML in the email?
Warez and specifically peer-2-peer (P2P) networks are another major source of viruses. Staying off the P2P networks will not only reduce the risk of getting a virus, it'll also reduce the threat of a lawsuit with the RIAA. ;) OCC doesn't condone the distribution or promotion of warez, however if you are going to do download illegal software (warez, appz, music, etc.) then get it from a reliable or verified source.
While it isn't the key in virus protection, antivirus software is extremely helpful. It's more of the last line of defense your system has, and should your system become infected by a worm or virus a good antivirus program may be the only thing that keeps you from losing your important files (or more important same game data).
If you are going to use an antivirus program, it's important to keep it updated, otherwise it's a useless waist of system resources. Again, this step ties back to keeping your OS and other apps updated.
Firewall probably should have been listed above (or with) "use an antivirus program." While a firewall won't remove viruses, it can stop them from being sent to you or, if used right, being sent out from you. I prefer Norton Internet Security for my Windows systems, simply because I can configure it to block anything and everything from accessing the internet until I give it specific permission. There are other firewalls that can accomplish this same thing, I just prefer Norton.
And again, we're back to keep it updated. Hopefully you now get the idea to keep things updated. If you don't keep your apps updated, you might as well not even try to prevent viruses.
Now that we've discussed Viruses and Worms, as well as how to protect against them, we'll move on to some virus-like software, Spyware and Adware.
Spyware Information
What is Spyware? Before giving the actual definition, we'll dissect the word so you have a better understanding of it.
The word spy is probably something everyone has heard. There are several definitions of the word spy, the best ones are these:
- One employed by a company to obtain confidential information about its competitors.
- One who secretly keeps watch on another or others.
- To observe secretly with hostile intent.
- To seek or observe something secretly and closely.
The suffix "–ware" has one real definition that applies:
- Commonly used to form terms for classes of software. Examples: careware, crippleware, crudware, freeware, fritterware, guiltware, liveware, meatware, payware, psychedelicware, shareware, shelfware, vaporware, wetware.
Put the definitions of the two together, and we get the definition of Spyware; Software that observes and obtains confidential information, sometimes with hostile intent.
What kind of information? Well, it could be something as simple as your IP Address or the web sites you visit, or it could be as malicious as passwords and credit card numbers. Either way, it's unwanted and can cause performance degeration on your computer as well as eat up bandwidth.
I classify spyware as a virus, or a Trojan horse because of the havoc it can wreck. While a majority of the spyware "programs" do nothing more than monitor and report on your surfing habits, there are some forms of spyware that change your browser's home page or search page (mainly a problem with Internet Explorer), alter your host file to send all traffic to a specific site, read cookies, and numerous other things.
Most spyware is installed along side other programs, and in some case you might actually see a warning about the spyware in the End User License Agreement of a program.
The most common method for spyware to be installed is along side IE toolbars, browser plug-ins, or system utilities (including some spyware removal programs).
How do you prevent against spyware? Well, the first thing you can do is not use IE. Most spyware is currently targeted against IE, so simply switching browsers will help. Though it's anticipated that as Opera and FireFox/Mozilla gain popularity more spyware companies will target those browsers specifically. Thankfully, the development teams at Opera Software and the Mozilla foundation are more committed to fighting Spyware.
There are a number of ant-spyware programs out there, however most of which are passive scanners. This means that they will only detect installed spyware when you have the program run a scan, much like running an antivirus scan.
There are also a few active scanners, which run in the background and try and prevent spyware from being installed in the first place.
As with antivirus programs, it is essential to keep your spyware scanners up to date. Most people will actually tell you that the best way to prevent spyware is to use multiple scanners. I've yet to find one scanner that will catch everything.
Adware Information
Adware is much like Spyware, but in some case much more annoying. Where spyware transmits data back to companies, Adware mainly causes pop up advertisements to be displayed. In addition, programs that contain advertisement banners in them are also said to contain adware, examples of this would include Opera Web Browser, AOL Instant Messenger, and ICQ.
Some free programs that contain Adware may be purchased to remove the adware, the Opera Web Browser is a prime example. Many of the other adware programs, such as the ones that cause pop-up ads may be removed by running spyware scanners.
Spam Information
The other pink meat, and comes in a variety of flavors.... and of course, that's not what we're talking about here.
The spam we're talking about also comes in a variety of flavors. IM Spam (aka SPIM), mobil phone spam, fax spam, and the most popular email spam... I've also heard people talk about telemarketers as "spammers."
Spam is really nothing more than the sending of bulk messages to people without their permission. And by bulk, we're not meaning sending messages to a dozen people, usually it's sent to hundreds to even millions of people. Again, the key is that the messages are without the permission of the recipient(s).
So what makes spam so bad? First and foremost, it's rather annoying. Deleting one or two messages a day isn't that bad, but I've seen people (usually on Hotmail or Yahoo mail) who get 10+ spam messages a day.
So it's annoying, that can't be the only reason it's bad, right? Right. In addition to just being annoying, spam messages can spread viruses, contain fraudulent messages and even scams, or contain inappropriate material for the recipient.
How does your email get to the spammer? Well, once upon a time your email address might have been sold to a marketing group from your bank, credit card company, ISP, phone company, or any other place you freely gave the information to. Thankfully, that process has almost ceased, however there are still cases of individual employees stealing and selling email addresses.
While most "reputable" companies no longer sell or share information without your permission, other places like porn web sites, and most fly-by-night businesses will sell your information before you've ever hit the enter key. One site that I receive a majority of spam from was actually a place I went to get information regarding the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer certification. Got the information I wanted, but a lot of email I didn't. :/
Just a note, OCC does not and will not sell our members information or share it with anyone. We are committed to your privacy, and any information you provide to us for overclockersclub.com, overclockermail.com, or the for the OCC LAN Party is treated as confidential.
Another popular method for spammers is just the guessing game. Send an email to 10,000,000 randomly generated emails. Cover a large area and you're bound to get a few real email addresses.
Probably the fastest growing method for spamming is due to viruses, worms, and spyware. Yes, because of spyware, your email address, or the email address of people you talk with could end up in the hands of a spammer. On the other hand, viruses and worms can use your own email address to send spam (which usually contains the virus that infected you) out to anyone in your contact list.
While there are many more ways for your email to end up in the hands of spammers, there is one more method that is quite common, and prays upon unsuspecting people. Many spam messages may contain an opt-out link toward the end that says something to the effect of "click here to remove your email from our mailing list." While it sounds perfectly safe, this may actually be confirming the existence of your account and setting you up to receive ten times more spam. If it isn't a newsletter you signed up for, or you don't remember signing up for it, DON'T CLICK THE LINK. Just delete the email and move on.
Also, as stated in the virus protection section, if you don't recognize who an email is from, don't open it.
So, other than not clicking the remove link from suspicious emails, how can you prevent spam? Well, the first tip is to protect your email. You don't go giving out your SSN or phone number to anyone do you? Why would you do so with your email? While it isn't as confidential as a SSN, treating it as it was is a sure way to protect yourself.
When providing your email address to forums (such as OCC) or other web sites, make sure that the privacy policy states how your email address will be used. Many sites will also ask for your permission to share you address.
Set up filters in your email client. Many email clients contain pre-built filters that will filter potential spam from your inbox and sort it some place else. These filters usually can be updated or edited by the user allowing for new spammers to be blocked. If your email client doesn't have filters, set up your own, or change clients.
There are also a number of third-party programs that will integrate with many email clients and help filter spam. This includes firewalls, antiviruses, or stand-alone applications. Some applications will even help filter IM spam.
Pop-up & Pop-in Advertisement Information
Pop-up Ad's or simply pop-ups are probably the one thing that annoys people the most about surfing the web. They are traditionally used to push advertisements in your face, but can also have malicious intent, such as infecting you with spyware, or even a virus (if you are gullible enough).
Oddly enough pop-ups tend to turn people away from products more than it encourages people to buy the advertised item. X-10 would be a prime example of this. Though of you who have been around the net for a while know exactly what I'm talking about.
Unfortunately, there isn't a sure fire way to stop all pop-ups. There are many third party applications out there that will help stop pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Netscape, and other browsers. Most of these applications will come with a pre-built list and allow you to "train" the software to kill future pop-ups. More powerful web browsers such as FireFox, Mozilla, and Opera include built in pop-up stoppers, but they don't always catch everything.
As the pop-up blockers have begun to become more sophisticated and useful, advertisement companies have had to come up with additional ways of pushing advertisements on you.
Pop-ups are now becoming what I call "pop-ins" that use Macromedia Flash, ActiveX, or even Java plug-ins to display an advertisement inside the page you are viewing, usually taking up the entire area of the web page for a few seconds. Weather.com is a good example of this, but thankfully, the ads don't come up every time you visit (other sites do).
Currently the only real way to stop pop-in advertisements is to disable ActiveX and/or Flash. However these plug-ins are usually required for a large number of sites, and the advertisement companies know that.
Third party applications are making their way out to the public that will help fight pop-ins, but I've yet to find one that is decent.
Malware Information
I saved this definition for last. Malware is short for malicious software, and is a generic term that can be used to reference viruses, worms, and even spyware. Some people have even called spam malware, however spam isn't software.
Malware is more of a generic term. To defend against Malware is no different than protecting from viruses and spyware.
Useful Software
Well, hopefully you are now a bit more informed about the darker side of computers. Giving you the information about viruses, spam, and spyware is only part of the key. Throughout this article, I've mentioned using various applications such as firewalls, antivirus software, spyware removal tools, and spam blockers. Next you will find a list of many of the most popular utilities. Which program to use will actually depend on your personal needs and preferences. If you have any questions about any of the software, feel free to ask in the OCC forums or IRC channel, chances are you will find someone who has used the software.
The applications listed in this article are unaffiliated with OverclockersClub.com and listed in no particular order. We are providing the links to the applications for you as a resource, but cannot guarantee the effectiveness or reliability. Always read the user agreement, and get feedback on any of the applications before using them.
Also, this is not a complete list of all software available for theses functions, feel free to search for additional software that may be more to your liking.
Well, that's it for this article. I hope you've found it somewhat useful and informative. By being smarter about your computer you can actually help prevent spam and the spread of viruses, as well as keep your personal data safe. As always, if you have any questions about any of the software mentioned in the article (or even that unmentioned) feel free to ask in our forums or IRC channel.
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Law School Admissions / Transferring to traditional law school after 1st year online« on: April 14, 2013, 04:35:36 AM »
Say you went to Taft or Northwestern California online for one year and after 1 year have a 4.0 gpa. What will happens if you apply to traditional law schools? Will you have to take the lsat, be admitted as 2n year, etc. What exactly... Just curious.


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Much of my family was in the path of Superstorm Sandy this past Halloween. Despite the dismal predictions, few in the Northeast expected the storm's fury or the extent of destruction that would be left in its wake.
Much of my family was in the path of Superstorm Sandy this past Halloween. Despite the dismal predictions, few in the Northeast expected the storm's fury or the extent of destruction that would be left in its wake.
My elderly parents lost power for half a week, and my sister had no power, no heat or access to gas for two weeks. Other family members had storm surge bringing the ocean into their homes above window level, resulting in a total loss of their homes and possessions.
Even those who faced no permanent damage to their possessions and their lives were totally devastated from the vulnerability that the storm exposed. Basic things like filling your tank with gas took three to five hours every day since even gas stations that had gas had no power to pump it out.
We tend to go about our lives with certain expectations: When we turn up the thermostat, heat comes out. When we drive to the gas station, the petroleum flows into our gas tank. When we drive to the store, the shelves are full.
We rarely consider where our creature comforts come from to feed our belly or keep us warm — until they are no longer there. In WNC, the twin wraths of hurricanes Frances and Ivan in 2004 woke up many to how vulnerable we are to massive flooding, landslides, and food and gas hoarding during hurricane season. More recently, Hurricane Ike in the Gulf shut off the gas spigot for nearly a week, and thousands in WNC wondered how they'd get to work and where they would find food.
There has been a disturbing trend of growing volatility in weather patterns around the world and in the U.S. A majority of the nation suffered from a massive drought, others from torrential rains and ferocious storms. All of us have suffered with greater unpredictability. Our climate is changing, and only those who still live in the "land of denial" can dispute this clear fact of life.
We are also vulnerable as a society in many other ways. Our nation has an aging electric grid and an ever-increasing number of electronic devices that control our lives. What many consider an asset, apps for everything we do, has created a dependency that makes us more vulnerable in the future since storms, economic uncertainty and the depletion of "cheap oil" will directly impact the availability of the electric power we take for granted.
In an increasingly nonresilient world, its more important than ever that we be prepared for contingencies. This means not only having an emergency plan at the ready, but it means talking with friends, neighbors and family on how we might weather any future storms, in whatever form they take.
It also means that we seriously evaluate our own personal contributions to climate change. Are there ways we can cut our energy use, buy more goods locally, or decide not to buy at all? Have we created redundancies in our lives to help us overcome any future obstacles that might impact our ability to getting heat, food and water? Here are some things to consider:
u Food availability: One of the first things to run out during threat of an emergency is food. Grocery stores tend to have only a few days of food on hand. Are you connected to a community garden, or do you grow your own food? Canning your veggies during the season will offer a cheap, healthy backup supply during the winter months. Do you have dried and canned goods on hand to last for two to four weeks, as emergency managers suggest?
u Heat: Many assume, given recent news reports, that fracking will provide us with all the gas we'll need for some time to come. Don't count on it. Many recent reports suggest that the shale gas supply is greatly overblown and that cheap natural gas could vanish quickly. In the event of temporary loss of heat, consider an alternative heat supply such as wood-burning stoves, high-efficiency fireplaces or even kerosene heaters.
u Power and water: We live in an ice storm-vulnerable area that tends to affect our power. What's your backup plan? Backup generators are important to have before a storm occurs. Small-scale solar can also provide a green source of backup power. Make sure you have on hand old-fashioned telephones that don't need electricity, and hand-cranked radios and flashlights so that if power should fail you will be ready. Those who are dependent on well water also need power in order to pump it. Having water supplies on hand or access to a water ram if you live near a stream can make a big difference in being prepared.
Ultimately establishing plans with neighbors and close-by friends or family on ride-sharing, food-sharing and resource-sharing in the event of a temporary weather or economic event will serve you very well in the future.
Our world is changing, and as a community we need to change along with it. ECO can help you cut your energy footprint to your home or business, enabling you to be proactive rather than reactive. To learn more about the ECO's green energy and sustainability work, contact us at 692-0385 or eco-wnc.org.


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Chapter 1.
From the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, the N subway line turns north in the direction of Queens, bends west over the East River, and winds straight up through the center of Manhattan. As subway lines go, the N is a good one – it is relatively uncrowded on weekdays, even during the hectic early-morning and late-afternoon hours, and the Straphangers Campaign recently reported that the N was cleaner than average and extremely unlikely to break down.
On an unseasonably warm Saturday in January, I rode the N line with a woman I'll call Parker Twain. Ms. Twain is 24. She has bright, restless eyes and brown hair, which she wears cut straight across her forehead. Twain lives in Brooklyn and works in the offices of a major publishing house in Manhattan. In her spare time, she is a spy. More specifically, she is the Book Spy, an anonymous blogger who spends between 12 and 14 hours on the subway every week, chronicling the reading habits – and sartorial predilections – of her fellow New York commuters.
The typical post on the Book Spy runs between 150 and 200 words. Twain begins by identifying the train where she spotted the book in question – usually a Q or R train, but sometimes an L train, and sometimes an N train. Next, she offers a pithy and colorful description of the reader. (One reader was recently described as "a woman with a friendly smile, mole-spangled cheeks, and excellent bone structure.") Lastly, Twain will offer a couple of comments on the book in question. (On "The Lacuna," by Barbara Kingsolver: "So apparently it's the story of a dude just sort of tumbling around North America in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, just kind of going wherever the wind takes him. Tumble tumble.")
Twain can be a little snarky – she jokes that she has "perfect" taste in books and is thus qualified to pass judgment on the tastes of others. But she is also an unabashed cheerleader for reading in all its forms. "The more I look around," Twain wrote recently, "the more I see people smiling on the train. It's weird, because I've learned to expect glassy-eyed stares and miserable 'I'm-barely-tolerating-this' sort of expressions from my fellow straphangers. Perhaps those who read have well and truly shrugged off the drudgerous spirit that hangs so heavy over the subway. Hooray for books!"
Chapter 2.
According to the Department of City Planning, the average resident of New York City spends 40 minutes on his or her commute, which is about 15 minutes longer than the national norm. New Yorkers have a complex relationship with the subway. On the one hand, most of us love to complain about our hellish daily journeys – the dilapidated stations; the stench and the peeling paint; the crowded cars; the guy who jammed his elbow into our gut; the woman who ate a Big Mac six inches from our ear, just close enough that we could hear each wet chomp. (It says a lot that one of the most popular videos among New Yorkers in January was a clip of a rat apparently alighting on the face of a subway commuter.)
On the other hand, New York is a big and frantic city, and New Yorkers are busy and overworked people, and sometimes the 40-minute commute is the only 40 minutes of downtime we get all day. On most subway lines, you can't receive calls, texts, or e-mails. So as straphangers, we spend a lot of time indulging in decidedly prehistoric forms of entertainment. We stare. We people-watch. We talk to fellow riders on those rare occasions when we know them – or want to. And we read. New York commuters are great readers – stolid, steadfast, and immune to distraction. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail, nor three-piece mariachi band shall keep us from our reading.
We read on our Kindles, our iPhones, and our iPads. We read books, magazines, novels, newspapers. We read the spines of the books being read by the commuters in the bench opposite ours. We sneak furtive glances at Kindle screens. In fact, one could make the argument that the only thing New Yorkers read as much as their own books is other people's books.
And that's where the Book Spy comes into the picture.
Chapter 3.
For a Saturday afternoon, the N train is jammed, and Twain and I squeeze into a bench near the window, behind a pair of elderly Eastern European men, both of whom clutch rolled-up newspapers emblazoned with Cyrillic script. I look around frantically for the nearest book reader (newspapers don't count), but Twain, who is a much better spy than I am, has already found her quarry – a dark-haired woman peering intently at a Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader.
"Can you see the title?" Twain asks in a stage whisper.
When I shake my head, Twain stands up and leans conspicuously over the screen of the Nook, her brow furrowed in concentration. This is how it should be, she tells me later in an e-mail message – a true Book Spy must never be skittish. "Don a mask of indifference," she explains. "You don't care what other people are doing, you don't care about anything. You are far too Busy and Important for such foolishness. If you believe it, so will the reader, and once he or she feels secure that no one's watching, you can swoop in like a Ninja-Eagle and purloin the information you desire."
Unfortunately for us, no matter how close Twain gets to the Nook – no matter how much Ninja-Eagle magic she invokes – she can't make out a title, so we decide to change trains at Atlantic, in hopes of finding a more plentiful supply of readers.
The Atlantic station is buzzing with energy – near the turnstiles, a jug band is performing for a small group of bystanders, and past the jug band, down a long flight of stairs, a man is handing out pamphlets on the coming of the apocalypse. We settle on a northbound 2 train, which will take us up through Union Square, one of the busiest parts of lower Manhattan.
Chapter 4.
Parker Twain is a woman of many ideas. In fact, she is a woman of so many ideas that she keeps a jar on her office desk into which she regularly deposits crumpled-up pieces of paper, each one bearing a kernel of inspiration for a new book, a new blog, a new scheme to take over the world. For a long time, the Book Spy project existed only as a piece of paper in a jar. And then in November of last year – "on that fateful dark afternoon" – Twain decided to inaugurate her career in espionage. Her mission, as she saw it, was simple: Be a book evangelist. Draw attention to random acts of reading.
"In the publishing world, everyone is always freaking out – you know, 'Why aren't people buying books?' and stuff like that," she says. "But for all this talk about a dying industry, I see people reading all the time. I see tons of readers. And I find that to be uplifting and exciting."
The first title documented by the Book Spy was "Second Glance," by Jodi Picoult. The train was the N. The reader was "a 20-ish young woman with soft black hair and a warm olive complexion. She wore a fuzzy blue, plaid coat and a peaceful expression." The post was short.
Subsequent posts were longer. At first, Twain considered soliciting sightings from other commuters, but gradually she settled into her own routine – she established a tone (somewhere between archness and jubilance), and refined her own strategy (aggressive but friendly).
"Most people will go to great lengths to not acknowledge their fellow subway riders," Twain told me. "You can get away with a fair amount of nosiness before anyone so much as lifts an eyebrow. If you do get caught, what's the worst that could happen? A conversation between strangers? Heaven forbid."
Chapter 5.
As we had hoped, the 2 train is rife with readers.
An elegant, well-dressed woman – who steps off the train near Wall Street – is flipping disinterestedly through "Franny and Zooey," by J.D. Salinger. A 20-something woman with the posture of a graduate student is slumped over "The Museum of Innocence," by the great Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. A denim-clad man peruses the pages of "Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul," by the New Age guru Deepak Chopra. At Union Square, we hop off the 2 train, and climb on the Brooklyn-bound 3 train, which will deposit us back in Park Slope.
All this book spying has exhausted me, and I fall into one of the orange bench seats. Twain elbows me in the stomach and cocks her head toward one shoulder. Near the rear of the car, a teenage girl is flipping through the pages of a novel; a woman, presumably the girl's mother, dozes nearby. But the train is a little wobbly on the rails and the cover is lowered toward the ground, and neither Twain nor I can decipher the entire title, which is written in a looping white cursive script.
"I think it's called 'Alta in the Wings,'" Twain says.
"How about 'Elta in the Wings'?" I suggest.
Twain turns her attention toward her notepad, logging one line of script, and then another. The next week, I log on to the Book Spy, and see that Twain has posted a short item about the book, which turns out to be "Asta in the Wings," a critically acclaimed novel by Jan Elizabeth Watson.
"She bent forward in concentration," Twain has written of the reader in question, "a sleek curtain of hair swaying as she scanned the pages, while her dozing mother rested a heavy head upon her shoulder."
Accurate, lyrical – and a kind of literature of its own.


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Mandelbrot set, the most popular geometrical fractal. There are lots of sites that
generate this fractal, why should you choose this one? Here are few of them:
you can set your own color scheme, this is something that I haven't
seen, and its very useful and cool and another one is that you can make custom size fractals,
including king size fractals for posters. Also, you can make optimum size fractal images
for posters and mouse pads with your fractal.
Ok, lets talk a bit about the Mandelbrot set itself. Actually lets start with the
geometrical fractal, because this is what the Mandelbrot set is. A geometrical fractal
is a set of points in the complex plane that have different colors according to
an algorithm.
The Mandelbrot set is calculated based on this formula Z2 + Z0.
To create the Mandelbrot set we have to move through the complex plane between its
borders and apply that function (actually apply the function multiple times) for
each point. Usually the start up interval is -2 to 2 on both real and imaginary
axis. So, we are talking about quite a few computations. Luckily this is a simple
recursive algorithm and a computer program has no problems running it.
We have 2 types of points in the Mandelbrot set: points that are in the set and
points that are outside the set. The points that are in the set are the black points,
and the rest are points outside the set.
The interesting points are those outside the set, those are colored and can generate
very nice images. So, how are those calculated and what does that color means?
The color means the number of iterations it takes for the function to escape to
infinity. The points inside the Mandelbrot set (the black points) are points that
never escape to infinity, and the rest of the points are points that escape to infinity
in a certain number of iterations. The number of iterations it takes to escape to
infinity defines the color of the respective point. We assume a point escaped to
infinity when the distance between the point and the origin is greater than the
value 2.
Lets take an example, actually 2 examples to understand better.
Lets start with the point -0.5 + i. For this, the distance to the origin is 1.12,
so less than 2. So, we will apply the Mandelbrot function to compute the next point
like this: Z2 + Z0 where Z = -0.5 + i and Z0 =
0.5 + i. We will get the value -1.25. This is less than 2, so we move to the next
point. Now, we will compute the Mandelbrot function Z2 + Z0
for Z = -1.25 and Z0 = -0.5 + i. This means 1.06 + i. The distance to
the origin for this point is 1.46, so less than 2. We move on so forth. You can
look at the table bellow for a better understanding.
So, in this example it took us 4 steps to escape to infinity. All the points that
need 4 steps to escape to infinity will have the same color with this. For the color,
we can either have a fixed set of colors for each iteration or is computed dynamically
based on gradients like in this site.
PS: I won't get into details of how the color is computed, but its related to the
total number of iterations. The bigger the number of iterations, the closer is the
color to the color that escapes to infinity. The less number of iterations, the
closer is the color to the color that never escapes to infinity.
Lets start with 0.2 + 0.5i. II will present directly the table, the algorithm is
identical with the one above.
As you can see, the point never escapes to infinity. We well assume this after we
reached the maximum number of iterations.
So, basically that's it. This is how the Mandelbrot set is calculated. For all the
other sets, it's an identical algorithm, but it just starts with a different complex


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Turning Digits
by Peter Grabarchuk
To demonstrate this illusion make a simple
device. Its two sides are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 2 will help you to draw the exact patterns on the both sides,
or you may use our
Print 'n' Play PDF Version for this.
Take the device in such a way that to hold the pieces of string
between your fingers as shown in Figure 4. Now turn the pieces of
string very quickly to make the rectangle turning (place the cursor
over the figure 4 to see this motion).
How do you think, what image will you see instead of the question
Step Through: