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Itís often claimed that a particular artist is ďborn to singĒ, but rarely is it so literally true as in the case of Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva. Her future as an opera singer was foretold the moment she arrived in the world in December 1989, in a hospital on the Russian island of Sakhalin.
ďApparently when I was delivered, I shouted out so suddenly that the doctor almost dropped me and he said to my mum Ďsheís a born opera singer!í Imagine that! Itís such an amazing thing.Ē
Anyone who witnessed Ms Lezhnevaís ravishing performance of Rossiniís Fra il padre at 2010ís Classical Brits, or has heard her early recordings on the Naive label such as her award-winning disc of Rossini arias†or Vivaldiís Ottone in Villa, will need no convincing of the 23-year-oldís already awesome abilities. Her debut CD for Decca, a collection of motets by†Vivaldi, Handel, Porpora and Mozart, looks set to become one of the musical events of 2013.
ďI recorded the CD in Barcelona with Giovanni Antonini and Il Giardino Armonico,Ē she reports. ďThe idea of doing motets came from Mozartís Exsultate Jubilate, which is a special piece for me because Iíve been singing it for many years.
At first we thought of recording an all-Mozart album but, having further explored sacred motets with Giovanni Antonini, I completely fell in love with the idea of taking one motet from four of the great composers across the 18th century and showing the stylistic development of this genre: Vivaldi and Handel from the Baroque linked to Mozart by Porporaís contrasting Ďgalantí style.Ē
Despite her Russian background, itís the music of the European Baroque and classical periods that has always held the strongest allure for her. Partly she attributes it to hearing Cecilia Bartoliís The Vivaldi Album when she was very young Ė ďit made a really huge impression on me because Iíd never heard any coloratura beforeĒ ? but also she has found that ďmy voice somehow always showed me that Russian music is not ideal for it, but itís effortless for me to sing Baroque repertoire.Ē
Whatever the style or period, it seems that she was predestined to sing. Her parents, Alfiya and Mikhail, were both eminent geophysicists ? geologists who study the earthís physical properties ? and wanted her to follow in their own professional footsteps, but Julia understood instinctively that her future would be in arts and music.
ďIt was difficult for me to do simple mathematical things at school,Ē she recalls. ďMy mother is very theoretical, and she had to really work with me so I could learn how to do them. Also, because I was so energetic and couldnít sit still for a minute, it was difficult for me to concentrate on learning these things. But I had a natural feel for writing and an interest in poetry and literature.Ē
Fortunately, her parents were also enthusiastic classical music fans, so Julia was bombarded with it from her earliest days. ďI believe when youíre pregnant and you listen to a lot of music the child hears it and learns musicality,Ē she reflects, ďso when I was born my mother knew which music I liked to wake up to or go to sleep to. We used to have a lot of those old things like huge CDs which you put on the old equipment.Ē
LPs, you mean? On the Russian Melodiya label, perhaps?
ďYes! Melodiya, exactly. I listened to a lot of them when I was a child and I was very sensitive to music. One of my favourites was the ďDance of the SnowflakesĒ, from Tchaikovskyís Nutcracker.Ē
Her musical gifts were initially channelled into learning the piano, but again her childhood hyperactivity caused problems.
ďIím getting a little bit more relaxed now Iím older,Ē she laughs, ďbut when I was a child I was always over-active. I was always crushing my fingers or banging my head, and my mother realised that I cannot be a pianist because it would be too stressful for both of us. By then I had discovered I had a voice and felt I should work on it.Ē
Even on the exotic but remote island of Sakhalin, which has had a long and complicated history of being struggled over by the Russians and the Japanese, Julia was able to get a first taste of a solid Russian musical education. But everything changed when she was seven, because the family moved to Moscow, where theyíre still based. After finishing her school studies at 14, she entered college and continued learning piano while starting to work at singing too. Her voice had matured unusually early, and as early as age 11 she had a sense that an operatic future lay ahead of her. She remembers how one day she amazed her mother by standing in the bathroom and doing impersonations of famous opera singers (ďshe said ĎI thought it was someone on the TV, how did you do that?íĒ).
One of her college music teachers recommended that she should audition for a specialist vocal professor, and despite not yet having reached the official minimum age of 15, she was enrolled on a full-time singing course. She instantly began to blossom, and caught the attention of some influential musical opinion-formers. At 16 she entered the singing competition held by renowned Russian mezzo-soprano Elena Obraztsova (where the judges included such legends of the operatic stage as Christa Ludwig, Renata Scotto and the bass-baritone Bruno Pratico), and†Obraztsova†told her ďyou have such agility, you have to sing Rossini, you are a Rossinian voiceĒ.
The following year she entered the competition again and won it, which earned her an invitation to appear at the Rossini festival in Pesaro, Italy. Doors were suddenly swinging open for her, and ďthey offered me everything to sing, but I agreed just two pieces, the Rossini Stabat Mater and the opening gala with Juan Diego Flůrez. What I remember is that I knew nothing about how to do it! I was only 18 and I just had to trust my impulses about how to perform the music. I was not strong enough even to sustain a big duet scene from La donna del lago, although itís fantastic for my voice. But Flůrez was very sweet, and completely respectful of my age, and I never felt pressured with him.Ē
She gained an honours degree from the†Moscow State Conservatory Academic Music College†in 2008. Then, to give herself a more international outlook, Julia came to the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, where she studied under the tutelage of veteran Welsh tenor Dennis OíNeill supported by the generous†Kempinski Arts Support Programme.
ďI was so shy and Iíd never lived abroad before,Ē she remembers. ďIt was quite a big step in my life. But working with Dennis was one of the best experiences Iíve had. Heís a great person, his heart and soul†are full of generosity and he is fantastic teacher, whoís still singing beautifully. I am so happy I had this chance to meet and study with him.Ē But when she planned to spend a third year at Cardiff,†she was aghast to learn that courses were being suspended owing to financial problems. By now sheíd met Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and appealed to her for help.
ďShe has a reputation for helping young talent, and I asked her Ďwould you please help me find a place maybe in London, perhaps the Guildhall or the Royal College of Music?í She said of course, and she called both colleges. I went to auditions for each of them and finally chose Guildhall.Ē
It was Dame Kiri, too, who would recommend Julia for an appearance at the Classical Brits, and it was through her that Julia would first make contact with Decca. But it was inevitable that so prolific a talent as Juliaís should find itself in demand from many directions, and already she has performed with some of the leading names in the classical and Baroque fields.†She worked with Fabio Biondiís Europa Galante on Vivaldiís LíOracolo,†performed with Philippe Jaroussky under Diego Fasolis and I Barrochisti,†gave recitals with J. C. Spinosi and his Ensemble Matheus, sang with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Moest and performed with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra under Louis Langrťe. She toured and recorded Vivaldiís Ottone in Villa with Il Giardino Armonico with great acclaim, and is planning concerts for 2013 with†Renť Jacobs, Sir Roger Norrington and Giovanni Antonini.
She has found a particular champion in Marc Minkowski. It was he who introduced Julia to the international stage and invited her to make her first recordings: Bachís B-minor Mass when she was only 18 and, two years later, her first solo album of Rossini arias. Minkowsi has subsequently invited Julia to Salzburgís Mozartwoche and Festspiele as well as offering her leading roles Ė such as Fiordiligi in CosŪ fan tutte Ė and, perhaps most memorably, the part of Urbain in Les Huguenots in Olivier Pyís production at La Monnaie in Brussels. This gained Julia one of operaís most prestigious awards: Opernweltís ďNachwuchssšngerin des JahresĒ 2011. Marc persuaded Julia to sing the role of Asteria in Handelís Tamerlano in Salzburg in 2012, opposite PlŠcido Domingo singing Bajazet. Julia was worried that she wasnít ready for the role, but looking back, sheís delighted she did it and has been particularly praised by the exceptional press.
ďIt was PlŠcido Domingo who made us a real team. He was like a father for all of us, and he was generous and kind to everyone as if we were all his children or his relatives. I was very impressed by him, and I think it made a big impact on my quality in this role. I think sometimes you have to take a risk when you see itís the right time to do it.Ē
We can take it for granted that plenty more risks and rewards lie ahead of her.†


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03 October 2016
The Coaches Corner with John Hardy Ep37 – A Challenging Question
0 Comment|
101 Business Radio and Television's resident Business Coach, John Hardy has true innovation in how he helps business owners. His goal for you, is to Empower, Encourage and Support so you can climb the mountain and see the view. You can watch John's show on 101 Business Television 'The Coaches Corner' right HERE.

subset: commoncrawl


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In an interview with Japanese site Impress Watch, Sony's Vita development staff explained the reason behind choosing the highly expensive proprietary memory cards, rather than supporting SD cards, as well as discussing the handheld's custom soundtrack support.
Sony's Division 2 Software development head Muneki Shimada tried to explain why they opted for a costly memory format, saying that everyone would have the same product, and conditions would be equal for everybody. Sony were also concerned with the security of other memory sticks.
Despite Adobe announcing that it won't be further developing its Mobile Flash Player, Shimada said that they're continuing negotiations with Adobe and have not given up yet.
Custom soundtracks will also be supported by first using the system's Media Player to play music, and switching back to the game. There are still some limitations, but the game's sound effects 'should' be able to overlay directly over the custom sound. The feature is said to work with all games.
Finally, product division chief Hiromi Wakai explained that the PC will recognize the Vita as a mass storage device at launch, but Mac support will come at a later date.


text: East London - Proteas captain Faf du Plessis says New Zealand deserved to bounce back in the T20 series after Martin Guptill's unbeaten century drew the tourists level in East London. Guptill smashed 101 runs off 69 balls on Sunday as the Black Caps chased down their target of 169 on the Duckworth-Lewis method, with the match reduced to 19 overs a side after a brief power outage, to win off the last ball. The eight-wicket victory drew the New Zealanders square at 1-1, after South Africa coasted to victory in the series opener in Durban, with one match to play in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.VIDEO: South Africa v New Zealand, 2nd Twenty20 "I've always said that New Zealand has always been a great fighting team and we have never taken them lightly," Du Plessis said. "They have match winners in their team, which was the case with Martin Guptill tonight. He played a fantastic innings. "To score a hundred in a game like that, I think your team deserves it (the win)." South Africa's bowlers struggled in challenging coastal conditions, with spinners Robin Peterson and Aaron Phangiso going for more than nine runs an over. "I actually thought our seamers bowled really well but the ball was really wet so that made it tough for the spinners," the skipper said. "That is something I didn't anticipate, I didn't think the ball would skid on as much as it did for the coast. "The seamers, I thought, bowled well under pressure in the last four overs. Those were good conditions to bat in because the ball was skidding off the pitch." Earlier, Henry Davids, who made 55, scored a maiden T20 half-century, with Du Plessis contributing 63 off 43 balls as the hosts set a challenging target. "I was very happy with the batting," the skipper said. "The conditions weren't as good batting first, and it was a little bit slow so I thought 169 was a match-winning score. Obviously that wasn't the case."


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This originally appeared on xojane.com
xoJane asked Margaret Cho to shed some positive light on the Michelle Shocked controversy by talking about what an honor and a privilege having a large queer fanbase truly is.
Why is it great to be a queer icon? I would never say myself that I am an "icon," but I am definitely queer, to the bone. Nothing is going to change that, but because I am part of the queer community and feel loved and cherished here.
OK -– me, little old me –- I am a queer icon! (I am totally blushing right now — OMG!) And I love it.
The main reason I love it is because when I am performing for my mostly queer and awesome straight ally audiences, I feel safe. Safety is something I need because I have never felt safe in my skin, in my mind, in my heart.
Whenever I enter a comedy club, my natural habitat and spiritual home when I am performing becomes suddenly hostile when I am not. There's always a chance that the comic onstage is going to attack me, or someone like me. As a queer Asian American feminist, I am always at risk, as my existence, or whatever, is perceived to be some kind of fodder for bad jokes from hack comedians.
The homophobia, racism and sexism I hear and feel constantly is taken as trivial. I have been told time and time again, it's just a joke. Who cares?
Well, I care, and it hurts me. It dehumanizes me and adds to the invisibility I already feel, which also doesn't make sense. How can being singled out and abused make you feel like you aren't even there? In the alchemy of bigotry, it does.
Safety is important to people like me, and my shows are where people can truly feel safe and visible and real and I am grateful I can do that. It's better than magic. It's relief. The burdens of race, sexuality and gender are lifted. It's OK to be you and me when we are together.
Once, this beautiful gay boy told me that at his new school he felt bullied and alone and too scared to come out to anyone, fearing he was what everyone already suspected and taunted and teased him for. He put my picture on his binder, and held it in front of him as he walked down the frightening lonely halls and he knew that if anyone commented favorably on my presence there, that he was safe with them.
This way, he found other kids just like him, they became friends, and they felt brave together. I was able to make them safe, by not even being there. He thanked me and I cried.
I cried again when I heard that Michelle Shocked hates gays. I thought I was safe with her. "Anchorage" really got to me, as I took it to be a song about a gay girl and a straight girl who were once in love and then went their own ways ("Hey Chelle, we was wild then…").
There are girls I dreamed about singing that song to, and now I can't, and I never will.
Of course I am projecting, and maybe that song is not about that, but she still made me feel safe, and now she doesn't.
That is a lot to lose. It's OK. We got Ani Difranco, we got the Indigo Girls, we got Chely Wright!!! Replace your old Chelle Shocked with your new Chel -– Chely Wright!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know what I am trying to say.
No, actually I do.
Listen, whoever you are, you are still safe with me. You will always be. Xo m


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Broadcasting legend and Iowa State Professor Emeritus Jack Shelley passed away earlier this week. To learn more about renowned radio and television correspondent Jack Shelley, read the tribute by ISU Greenlee School of Journalism Director and Professor Michael Bugeja and other colleagues, detailing the remarkable life and career of John D. "Jack" Shelley. Shelley worked for many years at WHO (1935-1965) and was a war correspondent (1944-1945) in both Europe and the Pacific during World War II. Among his many accomplishments, he interviewed hundreds of combat soldiers, recorded one of the first broadcast interviews with crew members of the airplanes that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was aboard the battleship U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay to cover the Allies' acceptance of the Japanese surrender, and was one of twenty reporters chosen to cover the atomic bomb tests at Yucca Flats, Nevada (1953).
The University Archives holds the Papers of Jack Shelley. The materials from Shelley's time as a war correspondent in World War II comprise the majority of the collection. There is not a lot of material from his time here at Iowa State University as a journalism professor, except in the folder of biographical material. The collection includes biographical information and personal memorabilia from his travels as a war correspondent, radio broadcast scripts, war documents, cablegrams, news releases and clippings, personal accounts and reports of events witnessed, family correspondence, photographs, and audio recordings. Four broadcasts by Shelley are available on iTunes U, including interviews with the atomic bomb crews, reports on the Japanese surrender on the Battleship Missouri, and Yucca Flats interviews before and during the atomic blasts.
Below are just a few of the artifacts and records from the John D. "Jack" Shelley Papers:
War Correspondent pin
War Correspondent patch
Cable transmission from Jack Shelly announcing that the troups had heard the news of Japan's surrender.
First page of the broadcast script in which Shelley describes the official Japanese surrender, including some of the "sidelights of the ceremony" and what it was like as a war correspondent witnessing the event. To see the rest of the script, as well as other materials within Jack Shelley's collection, please come visit the Special Collections Department. The collection's finding aid/description is available online.
In addition to the Jack Shelley Papers briefly described above, Jack Shelley donated the papers of his aunt, Kate Shelley, to the department. Kate Shelley is known for heroically crawling across a railroad bridge during a severe storm to warn the local railroad station about a fallen bridge before an express train was to cross, saving the lives of its passengers and crew. Her collection is available for viewing in our reading room, and the collection's finding aid is also available online.


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Difference between revisions of "Lightning Retrospective Guide"
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* Releasing on a friday afternoon before a long weekend (in Canada/USA) is boring (IMHO)
* Releasing on a friday afternoon before a long weekend (in Canada/USA) is boring (IMHO)
Revision as of 16:36, 6 September 2006
This page provides both a sample of a good retrospective and a natural place to add your retrospective for the Europa Build Workshop. You won't need to make slides to present at the workshop. We'll provide access to these pages and a big font.
(your project name here)
Describe yourselves, your project and your relationship to other developers on the team. Consider describing ...
- years of experience in development, doing release engineering, and specifically building Eclipse projects.
- how you work, on a good day, or on a not so good day. how does your work change as you ramp-down toward release.
- what automation you use and how often you change it. how late in a project you would consider automation changes and how you would know that they work.
Describe your Callisto experience. Consider describing ...
- special adjustments you made because of your participation in the simultanious release.
- tactical communication regarding inbound and outbound bits.
- strategic communication with respect to the Callisto planning team.
Describe your hopes and ambitions for Europa. Consider describing ...
- facilities you wish you had and how they might work and who you would trust to build them.
- precedures that would make your life less stressful or more efficient. also when and how you would escape those precedures in an emergency.
- communication mechanisms that would support both routine and exceptional circumstances that are sure to arise as more projects join the release train.
Eclipse Foundation / IT
I'd like to offer a retrospective from the Foundation's point-of-view, as we were heavily involved in (and impacted by) the actual release. These are some observations we wrote down:
- Having all the mirrors ready for the release saved us tens of thousands of dollars in bandwidth and server resources.
- The last minute builds introduced big delays. How can we avoid this?
- Communication: we need key contacts for each project (perhaps two) with Instant Messenger and cell phone access.
- We need a way to test the download experience from a user's point-of-view before going live. Wayne was able to wing this with Callisto, but a better, broader process is needed.
- Birt: the Birt build team went MIA for a while, which introduced delays.
- How to withdraw a project: what happens if, for some reason, a project cannot commit to the release at the very last minute?
- Backup for final build/release: we had a hard time reaching David Williams during the final Daze, as he was stuck on a plane. No one else knew what magic he needed to perform to promote everything to a state of readiness.
- Releasing on a friday afternoon before a long weekend (in Canada/USA) is boring (IMHO)


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Week #10 Challenge: Windows Presentation Foundation
What is Windows Presentation Foundation? WPF is a component part of Microsoft .NET Framework (introduced in version 3.0 of .NET) that is a sub-feamework itself. It was designed to introduce rich UI capabilities to Windows applications. In WPF, the application UI is separated from the code. The UI is designed in a derivative of XML, called XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language), while the application code can be written either in C# or VB.NET (managed C++ is not supported at this point). WPF offers support for 2D and 3D graphics in an application - in fact, applications built with WPF are rendered using Direct3D.
Challenge: Create an application in WPF that uses some of the new WPF features (customized UIs with 2D/3D graphics, WPF Broswer applications etc.)
What willl you need?
- Visual Studio 2008 at least (Visual C# 2008 Express and Visual Basic 2008 Express work as well)
- Basic knowledge of C# (or VB.NET) and XML
- An application to save TODO notes
- A photo browser
- An UI for an application that works with databases
- A drawing application
- A simple messenger
Here are a few screenshots of applications made using WPF:
To get started, take a look at this list of WPF resources. Also, we have a WPF & Silverlight forum here, so if you have any questions, you are more than welcome to ask those.
Also, we have a tutorial section for WPF & Silverlight, so you might want to check that one out first before you start.
We are looking forward to see your entries for this challenge!


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Dear Randall Munroe,
Your latest comic, "Literally," was so bad that it literally made me want to gouge out my eyes with a red-hot, rusty spork. Oh wait, no, that's wrong! I just figuratively wanted to commit grievous bodily self-injury. Ha! How ironic is that? It's like ra-ay-ain, on your wedding day, isn't it? No! Because rain on your wedding day isn't ironic at all! Oh, I'm in stitches right now! Figuratively, I mean. I didn't literally require stitches for, let's say, cutting open my face to try to remove that part of my brain in which the memory of "Literally" is now forever seared. That wouldn't work, would it? Because you didn't literally take a hot branding iron and press your shitty comic against my grey matter.
Oh, the hilarity! Oh, the comic misunderstandings! Also, what's up with airplane food, am I right?
Look, Randall, I'm not Carl Wheeler. I don't want to fault you for covering material other, funnier people have worked with before. It's hard to find utterly unmined veins of comedy, especially without any real day job and access to the largest store of information humanity's ever known. But the fact is, much like airplane food or Alanis Morrisette, the misuse of "literally" is such a trite "comedy" staple -- especially on the Internet! -- that even pointing out how trite it is has become trite. And since you literally spend half your time on the Internet (NOTE: Check this for accuracy) I'd expect you to have picked up on this. But it's obvious you haven't.
For the first three panels, you're not really even pointing out how stupid it is to get all uptight about misusing "literally." You're just making fun of its misuse. I say "fun," but since there's not really a joke, you're basically just going "And what's the deal with people misusing 'literally'?" (Imagine a Jerry Seinfeld voice there, of course, but it's not Seinfeld Seinfeld. It's The Marriage Ref Seinfeld. For shame.) Now, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of prescriptivism! I'm for Donald Duck, vaudeville, and variety, too, and the "cool" position -- inasmuch as there is one in linguistics, I guess -- is to be ultra-descriptivist, so hell, a little bit of linguistic conservatism might even be considered rebellious.
But in the last panel, you predictably make effortless fun of the prescriptivist stance. He's literally the craziest person ever! No, really, literally! Oh, I'm falling out of my seat laughing! (That was sarcasm, Randall. Isn't it funny how in a text-based medium, we don't have recourse to the usual ways of conveying sarcasm? Wait, no it's not, because it's not 1997.) This is a joke that's literally -- no, actually literally -- been made thousands of times before online, and you have nothing new to add to it.
Randall, I don't have time to check, but I think this might literally be the laziest comic you've ever done. [no, it's not --Carl ]
A few other things, in no particular order:
1. The first time I read this comic, I assumed for some reason that the bearded guy was a time-travelling version of Normal, "Literally"-Misusing Guy. Which left me pretty fucking confused. Much of this is my fault, yes, and I realize you have a certain aesthetic and want to stick to it, but: If you're drawing a comic with time travellers and alternate universes and that sort of shit, would it really kill you to GIVE PEOPLE SOME FUCKING DISTINGUISHING FEATURES?
2. While we're on the "distinguishing features" thing: Out of context, it's pretty much impossible to tell who's who in panel 3. I know, this is why we have a little thing called "context," and good on you for at least making it apparent on a second reading. (Also, at least you didn't give the girl a moustache this time. Or explicitly show her seventh-grade genitalia. Let's all give silent thanks for that.) But really, Randall, we both know you're not writing Gravity's fucking Rainbow, here. Don't make it harder on your reader than necessary.
3. I actually sort of liked the alt-text, though. Yes, it still deals with the beaten-to-death "literally/figuratively" thing, but it's a reasonably clever twist on it, and it creates an amusing image. That said, I'm less inclined to chuckle at it, coming as it does after a (figurative, thankfully) pile of total shit.
Are you a baseball fan, Randall? Opening Day was a couple days ago, and I think there's an analogy here (not a literal equating, though! That'd be wackily comic! Wait, no it wouldn't.) XKCD fans -- and yes, even after this long, terrible run, I still consider myself a fan -- are kind of like Chicago Cubs fans. They have to be willing to take a lot of disappointment, and at the end of it all, say: Well, there's always the next comic.
So: There's still next comic.


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Obama Administration: $1.5 Million For Sharing 24 Songs Is Perfectly Reasonable
from the out-of-touch deptIn the latest round of the fight over how much Jammie Thomas-Rasset should pay for sharing 24 songs online, we have the federal government weighing in to say that $1.5 million for those 24 songs is perfectly reasonable and Constitutional. Must help that the White House Solicitor General was previously a litigator for the RIAA in the case, huh (though, he did not write the filing)?
If you don't recall, there are statutory rates for copyright infringement, which are ridiculously high, and it seems reasonable to question if those awards, which seem totally disproportionate to any "damages," could be seen as excessive under the Constitution.
The district court judge, Michael Davis, clearly felt so. Ditto Judge Nancy Gertner in the Joel Tenenbaum case. However, the government apparently is going to argue that the statutory rate is the statutory rate and we must respect that. The argument is basically the same behind the implementation for statutory rates in the first place. To paraphrase: "man, it's freaking hard to have to show actual damages (since there might not be any) and thus we shouldn't have to do that -- but should just be able to use these crazy high numbers." This argument seems silly frankly. It's basically saying that even if you could look at damages, you should never have to. That's a big part of the problem. It leads to cases like this where people are heavily pressured to settle just to avoid the risk of crazy high statutory damages.
But where the government's argument goes off the rails, is the idea that when it comes to statutory damages, there's never a due process question over whether the rates are excessive. That makes no sense, but it's the argument being made:
Contrary to defendant's contentions, the Due Process Clause does not require that the statutory damage award be proportional to the actual harm defendant has caused the plaintiff. Defendant attempts to derive this rule from BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559 (1996). But as the district court held, Williams, not Gore, establishes the applicable framework for determining whether an award of statutory damages under the Copyright Act comports with due process.To summarize this argument, it's that Congress can do whatever the hell it wants in setting statutory rates, and no one can ever question if those rates are "excessive." Effectively, it's saying that Congress doesn't have to obey the Constitution. That makes no sense. And yes, it relies on this Supreme Court ruling from 1919, which is a pretty narrow ruling, concerning conditions under which you could measure such regulatory fines against the due process clause. However, this argument really tries to make that case do a hell of a lot more than it was designed to do -- while also trying to pretend that a whole series of other cases involving excessive fines as they relate to due process don't matter.
Gore is inapposite. It imposes limitations on a jury's authority to award punitive damages in circumstances where the legislature has not constrained the jury's discretion. It thus requires that the jury award not be grossly disproportionate to the plaintiff's injury or defendant's misconduct. Absent such limitations, the Gore Court reasoned, defendants could not have fair, constitutionally sufficient notice of the magnitude of potential sanctions.
The Gore framework, however, does not apply to a statutory regime in which Congress has specified in advance the range of appropriate damages. In that circumstance, the statute itself supplies the constitutionally required notice deemed missing in Gore. Moreover, unlike jury awards of punitive damages, an award of statutory damages is based on legislative judgments that must be accorded deference by the reviewing court. Williams, not Gore, sets forth the appropriate standards for conducting such review.
Either way, the end result is that the administration is effectively saying that a $1.5 million award for sharing 24 songs isn't just perfectly legal and reasonable, but that it's what Congress intended. All it really does is reiterate just how out of touch the White House is to reality.
Filed Under: jammie thomas-rasset, joel tenenbaum, michael davis, nancy gertner, statutory damages
Companies: riaa


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Chateau Beauvais Collection:
The influence of French Rococo design comes to life with the signature pierced carvings, intricate inlaid marquetry, bombe shaping, and a duo tone finish called Noble Bark. French Rococo came to creation during the late 17th and late 18th centuries, with the word originating from a combination of the French word "rocaille," or shell, and the Italian "barocco," or Baroque style. It is most well known for its use of asymmetrical compositions, undulating lines, and S-curves.
Rococo furniture took on a role of comfort and versatility, and Chateau Beauvai follows the example. Throughout the collection, the accent furniture pieces can be moved from room to room, seamlessly blending into the decor. As well, each piece has been carefully designed for maximum comfort.
The bedroom group showcases a mansion bed with unique pillowed wood headboard and footboard, and dresser with bombe styling.
Like its predecessors, this Rococo styling contains lighter elements, with plenty of curves, and natural, intricate patterns. It is scaled and proportioned to suit any home with impressive elegance.
See Similar Products:
- View all products from AICO / MICHAEL AMINI
- View all products from Chateau Beauvais Collection
- View more Fabric Sofas
Located in Southern California, Amini Innovation Corporation, AICO, is committed to providing the world with original, high quality home furnishings. With a state-of-the-art facility in Pico Rivera, California, we stand for unbeatable customer service.
Since 1988, AICO has strived to lead by example with innovative designs and product development. Innovation is a cornerstone to how AICO has been able to create intricate, delicate designs filled with hidden extras and extraordinary features and benefits, all at an incredible value. Rather than take the path already traveled by others, time and again AICO has forged its own trail, creating interesting and exciting furniture recognizing and satisfying the needs of consumers.
Our expansive 322,000 sq. ft. warehouse is a model of efficiency. Rest assured that you will be getting the very best in products and services in a timely and consistent manner. Our talented team of specialists are eager to perform to the task at hand. Give us a try, you'll be glad you did.
No matter how near or how far, AICO stands by its products. Through careful planning, meticulous concern and constant refinement, every AICO product is a symbol at the heart of its founder and CEO Michael Amini. We challenge you to find better, more innovative furnishings anywhere in the world.
All of our products are created with the belief that you will get more than you can imagine-more style, more features, more selection and more value. We invite you to view all our collections and visit this site often. Let us help you enrich your life and your surroundings.
Michael Amini Original Furniture Designs:
Michael Amini Original Furniture Designs is a division of case good collections that are traditional in style, with heavy carvings, curved shaping, and opulent designs. The collections are richly romantic, and are influenced by Amini's travels around the world. Within his furniture pieces, Amini incorporates elements of wood, metal, marble, and leather. Together, these elements create a harmonious product that is difficult to find elsewhere.
To fabricate the unique upholstery, bedroom, living room, and dining room furniture, within the division, old-world craftsmanship and modern production techniques are united, along with careful planning, meticulous concern, and constant refinement to ensure that every product is of the highest quality, and will transform the look of any home. The durable, high quality home furnishings are perfect for the truly discerning, who demand the very best for their home, and are searching for pieces that will immediately enhance their interior surroundings.
Shipping Information
Our commitment to you, our customer, is to provide the best customer service available. We understand it can seem like a hassle to have something large shipped to you. That's why we have cultivated a system that is simple for the customer. We only partner with domestic delivery companies who are well-known experts in white-glove furniture delivery - by dealing with the best, we can provide the quickest delivery times, guarantee on-time delivery, and more than 99% of our orders are claim-free. We also offer 100% pre-inspection of all pieces prior to loading.
Our delivery agent removes the packaging and inspects every piece BEFORE delivery. This avoids any surprises that the customer would have been exposed to at time of delivery.
Most damage to furniture occurs in transit, where improperly protected, unsecured or improperly loaded merchandise can shift causing damage. Our delivery agents will blanket-wrap the order for the safest transportation possible to your home.
The delivery company provides a delivery window. The day before delivery a customer care staff will call with a four hour window and upon request, will provide a same day half hour or one hour call to alert the customer that the driver is on his way.
Our professional and polite uniformed drivers are fully trained to provide exceptional customer service. Our delivery teams are experienced in the movement of furniture and how to install the furniture. Likewise, our customer service representatives are available seven days per week to meet customers' special requests and to update any changes to delivery times. Customers can also access delivery information online to know the exact status of their furniture orders at all times.
White-Glove Home Delivery Services Include:
Our delivery agent will ask the customer to clear the area between the entryway and the room(s) in which they would like the furniture placed, as well as, the room itself be cleared out prior to our arrival. We also ask the customer to measure the pathways, stairways, etc. to make sure the furniture they have ordered can be easily placed into the location they choose. We require 3" of clearance on all sides of the furniture in order to make the placement without risk of damage to the customers home or furniture. This is communicated to the customer during the confirmation with the customer.
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Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th June 2019 to mark the 75th Anniversary of the D Day landings.
Transport yourself back in time to the 1940s, against the backdrop of a Second World War railway, to experience the 'Blitz Spirit'. See timetable below for basic departure times.
Enjoy unlimited train travel and mingle with civilian and military re-enactors, hop off at each station to explore period displays, music, dancing, vintage vehicles and stalls selling retro wares.
Each station provides you with a different experience of life in wartime Britain. Help run the recreated RAF Plotting Room, dance alongside GIs, learn about the 'Home Front' and wartime railway manufacturing or have your hair styled for the 40s.
'Pearl's Pin-up Parlour' will be on hand at Ropley Station to give guests the 40s look, with nostalgic hair-dos and vintage make-up and there will be an American-styled Donut Wagon for all those visitors with a sweet tooth at Alresford Station.
Ropley station will be decorated with vibrant, crochet poppies to commemorate wartime soldiers and the Saturday event will even feature an exciting Spitfire flying over Ropley.
A self-guided walk will explore the local market town of Alresford; exploring places with links to American troops, passing an exhibition in the Goods Shed at Alresford Station and visiting the war memorials.Local Alresford businesses are also immersing themselves in the event, by dressing their shop window displays with an 'Americans in Alresford'. There will be a competition for the best-dressed, most creative period display, which will be judged by Major 5X5 and the Now That's Jive dance troop.
War on the Line is as much about reliving this period as enjoying the rush of the steam engine.
Whether the day out means the chance to dress up in your own period costume, or just to come along to soak up the atmosphere, War on the Line is a unique way to enjoy a day on the railway.
Take a look at the day sheet to start planning your day!
Keep up-to-date with the latest War on the Line news by joining our event page on Facebook
Adult £18
Child (aged 2-16 yrs) £10
Child under 2 yrs FREE
Family (2 Adults & 2 Children) £46
- FREE parking in the field at Ropley SO24 0BL
- Entry to this special event is by travel ticket only. Once tickets are purchased they cannot be changed or cancelled for any reason. Tesco Clubcard vouchers are not valid for this event.
- Please note that AXIS troops are not permitted.
Display and trade applications via email@example.com please.
Click here for news for our regular re enactors. Applications for re enactor passes have now closed.


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We typically have seminars on Wednesday at noon in Malone 228. All seminar announcements will be sent to the theory mailing list.
Speaker: Ori Rottenstriech, Princeton Title: Novel Approaches to Challenges in Emerging Network Paradigms Abstract: SDN (Software defined networking) and NFV (Network Function Virtualization) are two emerging network paradigms that enable simplification, flexibility and cost-reduction in network management. We believe that the new paradigms will lead to many interesting research questions. We study how to rely on them for dealing with two common network challenges. We consider switches that imply network policies in SDN through rule matching tables of limited size. We study the applicability of rule caching and lossy compression to create packet classifiers requiring much less memory than the theoretical size limits of semantically-equivalent representations. We would like to find limited-size classifiers that can correctly classify a high portion of the traffic. We address different goals with unique settings and explain how to deal with the traffic that cannot be classified correctly. Network functions such as load balancing and deep packet inspection are often implemented in dedicated hardware called middleboxes. Those can suffer from temporary unavailability due to misconfiguration or software and hardware malfunction. We suggest to rely on virtualization for planning and deploying backup schemes for network functions. The schemes guarantee high levels of survivability with significant reduction in resource consumption. We discuss different goals that network designers should take into account. We describe a graph theoretical model for finding properties of efficient solutions and developing algorithms that can build them. Bio: Ori Rottenstriech is a postdoctoral research associate at the Department of Computer Science, Princeton University. He received his Ph.D. from the Electrical Engineering department of the Technion. His research interests include the intersection of computer networking and algorithms.
Speaker: Sepehr Assadi, UPenn
Speaker: Dana Dachman Soled, UMD
Abstract: In a recent result, Dachman-Soled et al.~(TCC '15) proposed a new notion called locally decodable and updatable non-malleable codes, which informally, provides the security guarantees of a non-malleable code while also allowing for efficient random access. They also considered locally decodable and updatable non-malleable codes that are leakage-resilient, allowing for adversaries who continually leak information in addition to tampering. Unfortunately, the locality of their construction in the continual setting was Omega(log n), meaning that if the original message size was n, then Omega(log n) positions of the codeword had to be accessed upon each decode and update instruction.
In this work, we ask whether super-constant locality is inherent in this setting. We answer the question affirmatively by showing tight upper and lower bounds. Specifically, in any threat model which allows for a rewind attack-wherein the attacker leaks a small amount of data, waits for the data to be overwritten and then writes the original data back-we show that a locally decodable and updatable non-malleable code with block size Chi in poly(lambda) number of bits requires locality delta(n) in omega(1), where n = poly(lambda) is message length and lambda is security parameter. On the other hand, we re-visit the threat model of Dachman-Soled et al.~(TCC '15)-which indeed allows the adversary to launch a rewind attack-and present a construction of a locally decodable and updatable non-malleable code with block size Chi in Omega(lambda^{1/mu}) number of bits (for constant 0 < mu < 1) with locality delta(n), for any delta(n) in omega(1), and n = poly(lambda).
Speaker: Mohammad Hajiesmaili
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Title: Online storage management in electricity market
With unprecedented benefits in terms of efficiency, economy, reliability, and environmental awareness, in the recent years, there has been a rapid proliferation of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind in electric power systems. Despite these benefits, the inherent uncertainty in renewables places severe challenges on the management of the entire energy systems, including electricity market. Leveraging energy storage systems is a promising approach to mitigate the uncertainty of renewables, by charging and discharging during the mismatched periods. Energy storage systems, however, offers a new design space for additional optimization. That is, a storage system can capture energy during periods when the market prices are low and surrender stored energy when energy prices are high.
In this talk, we consider different scenarios of storage management in both supply and demand sides of the electricity market. The uncertainties in both renewable output and electricity market price, emphasizes the need for online solution design. The underlying theoretical problems could be described as extensions of conversion problems in financial markets, i.e., the search for best prices to buy and/or sell assets. The difference with the conversion problems, is that in addition to the uncertainty in the price, our problems suffer from another uncertainty originated from renewable output. We follow online algorithm design and use competitive ratio as the performance measure of our algorithms. We present our recent results in designing competitive online algorithms that achieve constant competitive ratios. In addition, we briefly talk about the case of utilizing aggregate potentials distributed small-scale storage systems, such as EVs or residential storages, to participate in electricity market through an aggregator. This setting is more challenging than the previous one, since the distributed sources also arrive in online manner with heterogeneous profiles.
Overall, we believe that changing the landscape of electric power system from a centralized predictable system to a distributed uncertain system opens a new research direction for leveraging online framework designs in this relatively under-explored area.
Speaker: Kuan Cheng
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Title: Near-Optimal Secret Sharing and Error Correcting Codes in $\AC^0$
We study the question of minimizing the computational complexity of (robust) secret sharing schemes and error correcting codes. In standard instances of these objects, both encoding and decoding involve linear algebra, and thus cannot be implemented in the class $\AC^0$. The feasibility of non-trivial secret sharing schemes in $\AC^0$ was recently shown by Bogdanov et al.\ (Crypto 2016) and that of (locally) decoding errors in $\AC^0$ by Goldwasser et al.\ (STOC 2007).
In this paper, we show that by allowing some slight relaxation such as a small error probability, we can construct much better secret sharing schemes and error correcting codes in the class $\AC^0$. In some cases, our parameters are close to optimal and would be impossible to achieve without the relaxation. Our results significantly improve previous constructions in various parameters.
Our constructions combine several ingredients in pseudorandomness and combinatorics in an innovative way. Specifically, we develop a general technique to simultaneously amplify security threshold and reduce alphabet size, using a two-level concatenation of protocols together with a random permutation. We demonstrate the broader usefulness of this technique by applying it in the context of a variant of secure broadcast.
Based on a joint work with Yuval Ishai and Xin Li.
Speaker: Ilan Komargodski
Affiliation: Cornell Tech
Title: White-Box vs. Black-Box Complexity of Search Problems: Ramsey and Graph Property Testing
Abstract: Ramsey theory assures us that in any graph there is a clique or independent set of a certain size, roughly logarithmic in the graph size. But how difficult is it to find the clique or independent set? This problem is in TFNP, the class of search problems with guaranteed solutions. If the graph is given explicitly, then it is possible to do so while examining a linear number of edges. If the graph is given by a black-box, where to figure out whether a certain edge exists the box should be queried, then a large number of queries must be issued.
1) What if one is given a program or circuit ("white-box") for computing the existence of an edge. Does the search problem remain hard?
2) Can we generically translate all TFNP black-box hardness into white-box hardness?
3) Does the problem remain hard if the black-box instance is small?
We will answer all of these questions and discuss related questions in the setting of property testing.
Joint work with Moni Naor and Eylon Yogev.
Speaker: Ran Ben Basat
Affiliation: Technion
Title: Classic Network Measurement meets Virtual Switching
Abstract: In modern cloud infrastructures, each physical server often runs multiple virtual machines and employs a software Virtual Switch (VS) to handle their traffic. In addition to switching, the VS performs network measurements, such as identifying the most frequent flows, which are essential for networking applications such as load balancing and intrusion detection.
Unlike traditional streaming algorithms, which minimize the space requirements, the bottleneck in virtual switching measurement is the CPU utilization. In this talk, I will present new hardware-oriented algorithms and acceleration methods that optimize the update time for software, at the cost of a slight memory overhead.
Bio: Ran is a Ph.D. candidate at the Technion, Israel. He does research in streaming algorithms for networking applications, focusing on efficient processing and query speeds.
Speaker: Samson Zhou
Affiliation: Purdue University
Title: Pattern Matching over Noisy Data Streams
Abstract: The identification of low-complexity structure in strings is a fundamental building block for many algorithms in computational biology or natural language processing. The general paradigm in these algorithms is to find either highly repetitive structure, in the form of periodicity or palindromes in a pre-processing stage, to filter out locations where a certain pattern cannot occur, thus improving efficiency.
Unfortunately, we must expect massive data to contain a number of small imperfections, such as through human error or mutations. This motivates the need to study structure in models of sublinear space, resilient to sources of noise. In this talk, we introduce several types of structure and noise, and discuss efficient algorithms to identify these structures over data streams.
As a warm-up, we provide an algorithm for identifying a longest common aligned substring of two inputs, resilient up to d errors of insertions, substitutions, or deletions. We then present a streaming algorithm for identifying the longest palindrome, resilient up to a threshold of d substitution errors. Finally, we discuss the problem of finding all periods of a string including up to d persistent changes or erasures. For each of these scenarios, we also provide complementary lower bounds.
Joint work with Funda Ergun, Elena Grigorescu, and Erfan Sadeqi Azer.
Samson is a PhD candidate in the Department of Computer Science at Purdue University, under the supervision of Greg Frederickson and Elena Grigorescu. He received his undergraduate education at MIT, where he obtained a Bachelor's in math and computer science, as well as a Master's in computer science. He is a member of the Theory Group at Purdue, and his current research interests are sublinear and approximation algorithms, with an emphasis on streaming algorithms.
Speaker: Venkata Gandikota
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Title: NP-Hardness of Reed-Solomon Decoding and the Prouhet-Tarry-Escott Problem
Abstract: Establishing the complexity of Bounded Distance Decoding for Reed-Solomon codes is a fundamental open problem in coding theory, explicitly asked by Guruswami and Vardy (IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, 2005). The problem is motivated by the large current gap between the regime when it is NP-hard, and the regime when it is efficiently solvable (i.e., the Johnson radius).
We show the first NP-hardness results for asymptotically smaller decoding radii than the maximum likelihood decoding radius of Guruswami and Vardy. Specifically, for Reed-Solomon codes of length N and dimension K = O(N), we show that it is NP-hard to decode more than N-K-O(log N / log log N) errors.
These results follow from the NP-hardness of a generalization of the classical Subset Sum problem to higher moments, called Moments Subset Sum, which has been a known open problem, and which may be of independent interest. We further reveal a strong connection with the well-studied Prouhet-Tarry-Escott problem in Number Theory, which turns out to capture a main barrier in extending our techniques. We believe the Prouhet-Tarry-Escott problem deserves further study in the theoretical computer science community.
This is a joint work with Badih Ghazi (MIT) and Elena Grigorescu (Purdue).
Speaker: Amirbehshad Shahrasbi
Affiliation:Carnegie Mellon University


text:
Press Release
World AIDS Experts Call for Urgent Action, Say Leaders Must Demonstrate Financial and Political Commitment
May 10, 2001
Mont Pelerin, Switzerland -- Some 30 world class experts on AIDS have met with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in an effort to help shape the next phase of the global response to the epidemic. The high-level private meeting in advance of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS sought to clarify global goals and targets under discussion by UN member states and to set priorities in defining how to deal with AIDS.
"There has never been a more important opportunity for concerted world action against the HIV epidemic," said Gordon Perkin, Director of the Global Health Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "There is an urgent need for a massive increase in access to proven prevention and care tools."
The call for urgent action comes at a time when antiretroviral drugs are becoming more affordable in the wake of commitments made recently by some of the world's major pharmaceutical companies.
While calling for antiretroviral therapy to be made as widely available as possible, the expert group warned against unmonitored or careless use. "Antiretroviral therapy is an integral part of the response to AIDS, so we must strengthen health systems in the poorest countries to make it accessible," said Stefano Vella, President of the International AIDS Society, "Antiretroviral therapy must be applied with care and consideration. Without careful use it can do more harm than good, as the therapy rapidly loses its effectiveness if the virus becomes drug-resistant."
The group also called for urgent action by the world's leaders to commit both the financial resources and the political will to bring the AIDS epidemic under control. The experts reviewed statistics on the costs of the epidemic and endorsed the US$ 7-10 billion figure estimated to be needed to mount an effective response to AIDS in developing countries. According to the expert group, investment now would prevent tens of millions of new infections while extending the lives of additional millions of people already living with HIV.
"The world does not need to make a choice as to whether to care for AIDS patients or prevent the spread of HIV," said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "The two are complementary and work in tandem -- this is not an either/or situation."
The expert group was convened by UNAIDS, the International AIDS Society, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and met with the UNAIDS Cosponsors -- UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNDCP, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank -- government representatives, and medical, behavioural and policy experts worldwide.
At the close of the meeting, the experts issued a declaration calling on leaders to take advantage of the UN Special Session on AIDS in New York from 25-27 June to mobilize funds and commitment to halt the spread of the epidemic.
"AIDS is a crisis of unprecedented proportions," the declaration warned. "It is the most devastating pandemic in human history. But the world is not powerless to respond. We now have an historic opportunity to commit the political will and the billions of dollars required to change the course of the epidemic."
This article was provided by UNAIDS. Visit UNAIDS' website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.


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Wanted: Uilleann Drones to add to Practice Set
Sell your pipes, reeds, bellows, whatever, here.
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Wanted: Uilleann Drones to add to Practice Set
Looking for a half set of Drones to add to my practice set (Benson). I am looking at ordering a set of drones from Daye but thought I would try here first. Just looking for something to accompany me when I am playing. Based on the cost of a new set of drones from Daye you can determine what my budget is. Thanks for reading.
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| Architecture | XML | RDF
In October 1997, I demonstrated to the RDF Model and Syntax Working Group that if somebody wants to use RDF in a valid XML document, they can:
By way of reviewing the recent RDF draft [members-only; @@update to public draft], I constructed a conforming SGML document consisting of the following files (attached):
- test.rdf
- the examples from the spec (transcribed by cut/paste) plus a prologue with element/attribute declarations for elements such as DC:Creator used in the examples; The prologue refers to...
- rdf.dtd
- a DTD fragment that is a transcription of the grammar in the rdf spec. It allows the RDF: namespace qualifier to be redefined by the document from which it is referenced by the normal SGML parameter entity rules. (Some might call this overengineering, but I believe it is a correct literal interpretation of the RDF spec)
- rdf.dcl
- an SGML declaration that I frankenstiened together from the HTML 2.0 spec and the XML spec, since nsgmls burped on the one from the XML spec and I wasn't in the mood to figure out why
I don't think rdf.dcl expresses the recent case-sensitivity decision.
I congratulate the RDF spec editors: the examples all parse correctly without modification. Output of nsgmls is attached.
I present this to the w3c-xml-sig as evidence that the layman namespace proposal[members only @@update to Jan '99 REC] is completely compatible with SGML '86.
I have not attempted to validate the document with an XML processor (I don't have one installed in a way that's convenient to operate like my nsgmls setup). I invite others to do so and report thier findings.
My nsgmls installation reports:connolly@beach ../rdf9710[1206] nsgmls -v I: nsgmls version `0.4'


text: Josef, Barry was right on the money with the ts2ps suggestion below. It's part of the libdvb package. You don't have to use the dvb-mpegtools app, you can just use the lib in yours - no pipes, etc. rgs > Thank you for the extensive answer, Barry! > > On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 05:10:10AM -0700, barry bouwsma wrote: >> --- On Wed, 8/20/08, Josef Wolf <jw at raven.inka.de> wrote: >> >> > > >I'd like to convert live mpeg-ts streams from DVB-S on the fly into >> > > >a mpeg-ps stream. I know that (for example) >> > >> > In principle, yes. But there is a big drawback to such a solution: >> > the pipes (and demuxing/muxing in a different process) will introduce >> > lots of context switches. Since I want to convert four full >> > transponders at the same time (about 25 channels), this will certainly >> > kill my 450MHz PII machine. Let alone the 25 additional mencoder >> > processes all running in parallel. >> >> Can I ask for more details? As I'm using a 200MHz and similar >> machines for full- and partial-TS work from 4 DVB cards, I have >> some concerns, that may or may not be a problem. >> >> What sort of cards are you using -- internal PCI or external USB? > > Technotrends internal PCI budget cards. > >> When I'm handling a high bandwidth (BBC-HD) program on my internal >> PCI card, not even a full transport stream, I start to feel the >> CPU pinch, which will be far worse for USB streams. > > I am not interested in HD (yet). But surely this will change at > some point in time. > >> Given about >> 36Mbit/sec per transponder, you'll be schlepping quite a bit of >> data, which may give you concern. Keep an eye on idle time. > > Grabbing 18 TV TS streams from 3 transponders gives 60% idle at the > moment. (my fourth card has died and I have not bought a replacement > yet. AFAIK they have stopped manufacturing the cards :-(( ) > >> Of course, my machine is only an MMX Pentium, and only 32MB RAM, >> so will by far reach its capacity well before yours; mine seems to >> max out with a 15Mbit/sec HD stream (internal PCI), a full 16Mbit/ >> sec transport stream via USB of DVB-T, and two filtered USB1 partial >> radio streams, doing nothing but writing files to internal disks. > > Watch out for a catch when writing to internal (ext3) disks: When > the commit-interval is reached and the journal is flushed, write(2) > blocks for a significant time. You risk buffer overruns on the > incoming TS if you are reading in the same thread. I had this problem > a long time ago when I did my first experiments with DVB drivers. > >> Are you intending to use the PSen in real-time like it seems you >> describe, or will you/can you be recording for later use? > > Both. But the recording would probably be by grabbing the already > converted real-time stream via > > wget http://dvb.local:1234/zdf.ps > > or something. Decoupling recording from demuxing saves me from the > above mentioned catch. In addition, recording can be done on every > host in my network. I could even roll a script based on LWP to get > the start/end time of the recording correct. > >> It sounds like you may, given your example of ZDF, be streaming >> the oeffis from 10744 (arte & Co), 11836 (ARD & Co), ZDF, and some >> Dritte programs at 12110. > > 11836 + 11954 + 12188 + 12545. Unfortunately, they have moved arte > from 12188 and a fifth card is not supported by the drivers :-( > >> If I'm not mistaken, your program stream should include the video PID >> data, plus an audio PID (only one, I'll assume the primary mp2 audio, >> though you may choose the AC3 where present) from each channel, so no >> worry about second/alternative audio, teletext, or additional program >> tables sent in the full stream. > > No, I want to get all the streams so I can select language on the client > (vlc or something). > >> The program `ts2ps', part of the dvb-mpegtools suite, or something >> similar from those programs, can be used to repack the data into >> PS, and should be a lot more lightweight than mencoder. > > This would still need the pipes. Introducing pipes would introduce > significant context switching since pipes are (AFAIR) only 8kbytes. > So, assuming 500kbytes/sec, I would get 240 context switches per > second for every program. This gives a total of 6000 context switches > every second. You need _really_ big iron to cope with this. > >> Timing data is partially within each PID, so you should be able to >> get a usable PS from just the two PIDs. > > Yes, timing is within the PID. But there are lots of times there: > - PCR, OPCR, DTS_next_AU from the adaptation field > - PTS, DTS, ESCR_base, ECSR_extension, ES_rate from the PES header > - there's the possibility that the PCR is carried in a different > PID (indicated by the PCR_PID field in the PMT) > > Which one do I have to use to create the PS header? I guess I have to > use the PTS from the PES, but I fail to deduce this from the iso-13818-1. > >> Given the amount of data you'll be handling on your 450MHz machine, >> you may see lost packets and thus corruption at full load, so test >> by working your way from a single functioning transponder up to the >> full workload. > > I don't have lost packets, but still artefacts in the video. Looks like > the additional stream_id's on the video-PID disturbs vlc's decoder. > > _______________________________________________ > linux-dvb mailing list > linux-dvb at linuxtv.org > http://www.linuxtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linux-dvb >


text:
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text:
starting in the box
So how does this thing work? Well, it runs on a Dell Optiplex I keep under my desk.
I run Fedora 10 on my day-to-day laptop and absolutely love it. That's why, after months of collecting dust (and a few very short weeks of running MINIX, but that's another post) I popped the Fedora 10 LiveCD into my Optiplex's drive and…waited. If I was dead-set on Fedora, I would still be waiting today because, for some reason, the LiveCD never finished loading.
My box being as old as it is, I took a stab in the dark and guessed that my hardware just wasn't up to par with the latest Fedora drop. Shame.
This was around the turn of the year, and at that same time a group of very bright gentlemen that I work with had resolved to learn Haskell. Following along, I dove into the Haskell community a bit and became very impressed with the things that Haskellers had to say about Arch Linux. I burned a quick CD, installed it and played around with it a bit.
The Arch Linux LiveCD isn't anything fancy. The more time I spend on my laptop, though, the more I find myself shutting things off or disabling notifications or swearing at software when I find I can't do either. My tastes run towards the simple and substantive. Software is one thing I feel that, with increase in quality, should decrease in weight.
Arch Linux starts you off very low to the ground. The full install doesn't even give you X11, much less a Desktop or windows or Minesweeper, which is disorienting. One thing that delighted me, however, was that it set me up with the filesystem of my choice, XFS. I remember very sharply that Fedora did not give me the option to install the XFS file system out of the box.
My daily programming touches maybe 10-20 userspace programs and I installed those about as quickly as I could think of them. With a package manager, though, it makes great sense to me to only install the programs I need when I need them. Anything else is just taking up space and processor that it doesn't need to.
Beyond that, Arch Linux's wiki was an invaluable and easily navigable resource. I spent about 12 hours over one weekend setting up my box. My final effort was installing stumpwm. In 12 hours of installing and configuring, it was the first program that gave me a wince of trouble. Turns out, though, that there was an active forum post on the Arch Linux forums that night discussing the very problems I was having. A few posts later and I not only had a sweet, minimal, emacs-like window manager installed, but I felt like I had left behind some advice useful to anyone who might follow in my footsteps.
After the Arch Linux installation, I had a CouchDB instance and sbcl to run my imagined lisp scraper. I just needed to (1) make my box visible to the internets and (2) fill it up with data.


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Gay Man Faces Navy Discharge
with Petty Officer Derek Morado, the servicemember who
was facing discharge today in California despite "Don't Ask,
Don't Tell" having been repealed 100 days ago. By a vote of
3-0, Derek was recommended for retention. Derek gets to not
only save his career, but walk prouder without the burden of
discrimination on his shoulders. This is Great News….:)
In December when President Obama signed the "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010," we thought this was
the game-changer. Of course we were a bit skeptical about
Obama dragging his feet about the transition to make the
repeal fully inclusive & get it implemented. Especially
when the Obama administration refused to drop their
appeal against the Log Cabin Republicans after their case
found DADT unconstitutional in Federal court.
Today Derek Morado, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class who was
outed by a fellow sailor in 2009, still faces discharge from
the Navy. The 26-year-old sailor will appear at a hearing on
the base today before a three-member panel that will rule
whether he should be discharged for homosexual conduct.
The hearing is not open to the public. Morado said he's heard
that no one has been discharged from the military for being
gay since October. He hopes not to be the first since then,
because he wants to make the Navy his career. "It's all I really
know," he said. "I've done it since high school. I just want to
keep doing it." Updates to Come…:)
For More Info: getEqual.org
Audio Action w/ 15 Celebs on the Red Carpet
@ the '11 NYC GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS chat
Gay Rights & Dish @ OUTTAKE VOICES™
Hear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
Support Our Vision @ OUTTAKE™ EQUALITY STORE...:)
View Our Historic Short Trailer on Gay Marriage


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Keep in apperception that acquaintance after-effects in greater after-effects and faster outcomes. Which agency cleanup experts will apple-pie the architecture rapidly. Charwoman companies accept the best equipment, accomplished charwoman aliment and instruments that are appropriate to yield affliction of small, moderate, and huge businesses. They accomplish use of the greatest accessory and they'll accomplish assertive the assignment gets done right.
5 Takeaways That I Learned About Companies
Keeping a business bright is not simple. There's appropriately abundant that absolutely needs to be achieved. A able charwoman association is advised for any blazon of job for archetype attic scrubbing, dark and computer abode dusting, vacuuming, decay removal, escalator and stair-cleaning, aliment account cleanliness, and harder apparent attic care. Their casework additionally cover burden washing, recycling solutions, appliance cleaning, rug shampooing, bath cleaning, and window washing. A janitorial account aggregation may aswell apple-pie and freshens the complete architecture or bathrooms and annihilate carrion and crud from your plan amplitude as frequently as you like. They could accord with your bartering vehicles, strip, feel, and enhance your surfaces, and abrade your carpets. They can abolish snow from your parking lot. In the case of fire, deluge, or emergency, they are able to restore your surfaces rapidly. Evidently, such companies can yield affliction of a lot of your able charwoman account needs. Many able charwoman businesses can be begin twenty four hours anniversary day, 365-days annually. You're able to await on a able charwoman close whether you'll charge an advancing aliment or a already abetment contact. Short appellation and continued appellation agreements can be found. A able charwoman alignment will be there if you wish a daily, weekly, or account charwoman support. Several firms present top cleft casework for bargain premiums and they'll accomplish assertive their functionality meets your top expectations. Do not overlook that aboriginal impressions abundantly affect new customers. Abode your complete best face advanced and apply an able janitorial company's casework if you are able for spotless outcomes! Whether you accomplish a baby business, automated facility, bartering business, or an institutional facility, a charwoman aggregation will accord you friendly, quick, dependable abutment anniversary time! Just attending for the best appointment janitorial account provider and you will adore the aloft benefits.


text:
BioShock Infinite Trailer: Caught up in the Rapture
You wanted more BioShock Infinite? Well today my friends, you got it. The first episode of Burial at Sea arrived, and with it came a new trailer.
Set in an alternate timeline than that of BioShock Infinite, the events of Burial at Sea take place in Rapture before its underwater society collapsed. Booker is there, and so is Elizabeth, but there's a new mystery at foot involving a young girl named Sally. It's not clear just how much this version of Elizabeth knows about her abilities and her connection to this world's Booker, but as with any great noir story, the dame definitely knows more than she's letting on.
Irrational has returned to its roots in more ways than one with Burial at Sea, as the DLC will also see the weapon wheel make a comeback, and more traditional Plasmids are here as well. As you can see in the trailer above, the always creeptastic Sander Cohen makes an appearance, and it's only a matter of time until the Little Sisters and Big Daddies start bullying their way around the underwater city.
Burial at Sea is available on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $14.99, but if you happened to pick up the season pass, you'll be able to download it for free.


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3. Are there any unique but irreplaceable abilities/skills for certain professions that will make this profession "must have" in the team
There are many unqiue skills, which support your group in different ways, but they aren't that strong that its a must have to take them with you. Overall you won't have to take a special setup or class in your team to be viable just for one unique skill. You will just have to take a look to your whole team, creating synergies and things like roamer, supporter and damage dealer will be a must have. Not a certain class or skill.
Edited by Lyr_1337, 11 August 2012 - 07:28 PM.


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These pages will provide you with all the needed information on the studies and services we offer, on student life and the campuses environment.
If you cannot find the information you are looking for, do not hesitate to send an email at InfOR-études, our Guidance and Information desk.
Exchange students: some procedures may differ according to your study plans at the ULB. If you are an exchange student (incoming student), we invite you to check the information provided by the Mobility Office.
Each year, almost 26.000 students – 33% of whom are foreign students – come to build their future at ULB, in the capital of Europe. More than 100 nationalities are represented, making it a place where cultures, philosophies and religions intermix. As a wide-ranging university extremely active at the European level, ULB has based its teaching and research on a long tradition of tolerance and defence of freedom.


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Barge-style self-drive hire boat for 6+ peoplePenichette FB boats such as this 1160FB model are arranged with a front accommodation section (cabins and facilities), a central sitting-galley area and steering position and an aft cabin accommodation section. There are large windows, good visibility and lots of natural daylight.
Outside, there is a raised aft sun deck and steering position, safe side-decks to move about on and a raised front deck that's also great for sun-bathing, lounging around and taking in the passing scene.
Locaboat Penichette self-drive hire boats are unique in their barge-style appearance and the range has been refined and developed continuously since its original creation in 1977, being designed specifically and perfectly for use on the French waterways. They have excellent, predictable handling.
Key Features:
- Forward double cabin with en-suite shower compartment with shower, handbasin and toilet
- First aft cabin with two single beds
- Second aft cabin with twin bunk beds
- All cabins have hanging cupboards and storage
- Separate shower and handbasin
- Separate toilet compartment
- Raised sitting-dining area, with fitted galley kitchen, twin sun roofs and inside steering position
- Dinette converts into an additional double bed
- Saloon with 230v socket (using a quayside connection)
- Upper, open aft deck with seating and steering position
- Bow thruster
- Boat full capacity : up to 7 persons
- Maximum comfort : 6 persons
- Length: 11.6m – 38ft 0″
Locaboat Penichette® 1160FB regions - Ardennes-Champagne | Alsace | North Burgundy-Nivernais | South Burgundy-Saone | Camargue-Mediterranean | Midi-Languedoc | Aquitaine-Gascony | Charente | Brittany | Anjou
Hire Boating – Alsace
► Self-drive boats available in Ardennes and Alsace
■ Nicols: Harskirchen and Saverne
■ LeBoat: Hesse and Boofzheim
■ Locaboat/Linssen: Lutzelbourg
Canal Marne au Rhin – Canal Rhone au Rhin (N) – Canal de la Sarre
The waterways of North-East France are set against striking backdrops – the forests of the Ardennes, the Vosges mountains, the beautiful Doubs valley – with the River Rhine marking its eastern-most edge. Being so close to Germany and Switzerland, these influences and references are strong: castles, steeply pitched roofs, decorative timberwork, hearty cuisine, Riesling wine, plus a big selection of beers – no more so than in the regional capital of Strasbourg, where French poet and novelist Victor Hugo described the 12th century cathedral as, "a gigantic and delicate marvel."
At Saverne the Lalique Museum is home to more than 500 exceptional pieces of glassware by French designer René Lalique. The Arzviller boat lift is a marvel of engineering that carries boats 450 feet up the Vosges Mountains and for the perfect end to a day's strenuous sightseeing, try sipping a glass of Riesling wine in Place Stanislas, the gilded, UNESCO listed central square in the Art Nouveau city of Nancy.
– [below] In the region: Strasbourg, Nancy, Lalique Glass, Arzviller Boat Lift, Canal Marne-Rhine –
Hire Boating – Ardennes
► Self-drive boats available in Ardennes and Alsace
■ Locaboat: Pont a Bar
Canal des Ardennes – Canal de la Meuse
Located in north eastern France, the Canal des Ardennes was constructed in the early 19th century to link the valleys of the River Aisne and the River Meuse, and the Canal de la Meuse which is 272 km long, travels south east from the French border with Belgium to link with the Marne au Rhin canal.
This region was bitterly fought over during the 20th Century and the town of Verdun, where the French suffered swingeing casualties in 1917, is a moving and instructive place to visit. There are many diversions in Charleville-Meziers, which is not only the capital of the Ardennes, but the self-proclaimed capital of the world of puppetry. Across the border in Belgium, the city of Namur which straddles the confluence of the rivers Sambre and Meuse, is one of the most fortified in Europe and the work of the military architect Vauban can be seen in its dramatic hilltop citadel.
– [below] In the region: Verdun, Namur, Canal des Ardennes, Charleville-Meziers, Canal de la Meuse –
Hire Boating – The Saone and Franche-Comté
► Self-drive boats available in South Burgundy-France Comté
Hire Fleets and Bases
■ Locaboat/Linssen: Scey s/Saone
■ Nicols: Dole and Port s/Saone
■ LeBoat: Gray, St Jean de Losne and Fontenoy
River Saone – River Doubs – Canal Rhone au Rhin – Canal de Bourgogne
The Saone is one of the most peaceful rivers in France: wending its way from the mountains of the Vosges to the Rhone, linking up with the Burgundy Canal, the River Doubs and the Rhone au Rhine Canal and passing through ravishing countryside replete with wildlife.
Formerly an outpost on the border between the historic kingdoms of France and Burgundy, Verdun sur le Doubs is now better known for the delicious stew made from locally caught river fish – Pochouse. Also on the River Doubs, Dole retains much of its medieval character and Besancon, with its spectacular citadel designed by the French military architect Vaubun, is worth the journey further upstream. Auxonne also has military associations – it was where Napoleon was trained as a soldier.
– [below] In the region: Mantoche, Besancon, Dole, Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, Auxonne –
Hire Boating – Loing Valley, Briare and Loire
► Self-drive boats available in Northern Burgundy-Nivernais-Upper Loire
Hire Fleets and Bases
■ Locaboat/Linssen: Briare and Dompieerre s/Bresbre (also Corbigny*)
■ LeBoat: Chatillon-sur-Loire and Decize (also Tannay*)
■ Nicols: Rogny-les-Sept-Ecluses and Plagny
Canal de Briare – Canal Loire Lateral – *Canal du Nivernais
South of Paris, where the western part of Burgundy blurs prettily with the Loire Valley, a cruise along the Canal de Loing, the Canal de Briare and the Canal Loire Lateral reveals a number of hidden treasures in a landscape that inspired the painter Alfred Sisley. There are engineering feats to marvel at along the waterway –the elegant aqueduct at Briare, once the longest in the world, and at Rogny an atmospheric flight of seven locks, no longer in use but full of echoes of the past.
The Palace of Fontainebleau originally served as a hunting lodge and of all royal residences it is the only one to have been continuously inhabited for seven centuries. Thousand year old castles are plentiful – Saint Fargeau and Sully-sur-Loire boast breathtaking examples. Equally charming is the ancient town of Montargis, which with its network of narrow canals and bridges invites comparisons to Venice.
– [below] In the region: Briare, Moret-sur-Loing (Sisley), Chateau de Sully –
Hire Boating – Northern Burgundy and The Nivernais
► Self-drive boats available in Northern Burgundy-Nivernais-Upper Loire
Hire Fleets and Bases
■ France Afloat/Linssen: Vermenton and Tonnere
■ Locaboat/Linssen: Joigny and Corbigny
■ LeBoat: Migennes and Tannay
■ Nicols: Brienon and Venarey-les-Laumes
Canal du Nivernais – River Yonne – Canal de Bourgogne
A hundred miles south east of Paris, North Burgundy is a region steeped in culture and history and is considered by some to be the gastronomic heart of France, with its Boeuf Bourguignon, its buttery garlicky snails and its Coq au Vin, not to mention its stunning Chablis wine. To the west of it, the Nivernais Canal links the Loire and the Seine basins and crosses the remote and beautiful heathland of the Morvan.
Among the Nivernais' natural wonders are the Rochers de Saussois, a limestone bluff that soars above the River Yonne which feeds the canal as it goes, while man-made highlights include the Chateau de Tanlay with its romantic moat and famous trompe l'oeil frescoes. The breathtaking abbey at Vezelay is the starting point for one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago di Compostella , while Fontenay Abbey was built by St Bernard of Clairvaux in 1118 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Still on a religious theme, Auxerre is a historic city of such astounding loveliness that it boasts not just an 11th century cathedral, but a 12th century abbey too.
The lives of more ordinary folk are evident Villeneuve sur Yonne and the beautiful half-timbered town of Noyers-sur-Serein with its characteristic mediaeval arcades, where walnuts and truffles were traded and enjoyed as a complement to the fine local wine.
– [below] In the region: Villeneuve sur Yonne, Fontenay, Tanlay, Noyers-sur-Serein, Auxerre, the Morvan, Saussois, the Canal du Nivernais –
Hire Boating – South Burgundy
► Self-drive boats available in South Burgundy-France Comté
Hire Fleets and Bases
■ Locaboat/Linssen: Dompierre s/Bresbre, St Leger s/Dheune and Macon
■ LeBoat: Branges
Canal du Centre – River Saone – River Seille
The Saone is one of the most attractive rivers in France: wide, sleepy and unhurried, it wends its way from the mountains of the Vosges to the Rhone, linking up with the Burgundy Canal, the River Doubs and the Rhone au Rhine Canal and passing through delightful countryside replete with wildlife. Macon offers an ideal base for discovering the Beaujolais – an undulating crest of hills famous for the production of light red wine, while fans of photography will be keen to visit Chalon-sur-Saone, the home of Nicéphore Niepce and thus regarded as the birthplace of this popular art form: the colourful Sunday market offers perfect opportunities for taking vivid holiday snaps.
A bucolic tributary of the Saone, the River Seille leads to the heartlands of Bresse, famous for its delicious chickens which have appellation d'origine contrôlée status, while the Canal de Centre which links the Canal Lateral a la Loire with the Saone, passes through the rolling verdant vineyards of the Cote Challonais.
– [below] In the region: River Seille, Chalon-sur-Saone, River Saone, Macon, Canal du Centre –
Hire Boating – Camargue and Mediterranean Coast
► Self-drive boats available in Camargue-Languedoc
■ LeBoat: Beaucaire and St Gilles
■ Locaboat: Lattes (Montpellier)
■ Nicols: Aigues-Mortes and Bellegarde
Canal Rhone a Sete – River Lez
The River Rhone rises in the Swiss Alps and is joined by the Saone at Lyon becoming one of Europe's major waterways, and as it heads south it passes memorable and famous towns such as Valence, Viviers (a beautiful hilltop medieval village overlooking the river), Avignon with its famous bridge and papal palace, and finally Arles, where Van Gogh created his most iconic sun-drenched paintings. Here, the Petit Rhone branches off into the Camargue, Europe's largest river delta where the reed marshes are teeming with wildlife – including over 350 species of waterbirds, wild black bulls and the famous white Camargue horses. Not to be missed is the fortified crusader town of Aigues Mortes, founded by the French King Saint Louis in 1242.
Heading west from Aigues-Mortes, just metres from the Mediterranean, runs the lock-free Rhone-Sete Canal arriving at France's own Venetian-style seaport, Sete, and the Etang de Thau, a large inland lagoon, where waterborne visitors may live like kings on fresh moules marinières and bouziegues oysters, washed down with Muscat wines and Noilly Prat vermouth.
– [below] In the region: Sete, Mediterranean, Camargue, Van Gogh/Arles, Avignon, Pont du Gard, Aigues-Mortes –
Hire Boating – Midi-Languedoc
► Self-drive boats available in Midi-Languedoc
Hire Fleets and Bases
■ LeBoat: Port Cassafieres, Narbonne, Homps, Trebes and Castelnaudary
■ France Afloat / Linssen: Capestang
■ Locaboat: Bram, Argens-Minervois and Negra
■ Nicols: Le Somail and Port Lauragais
Canal du Midi – Canal de la Robine
The Canal du Midi has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of the achievement of architect Pierre-Paul Riquet in linking the Etang du Thau in the south east with the River Garonne in Toulouse, effectively connecting the Mediterranean with the Atlantic. His engineering prowess can be seen in the flight of nine characteristically oval-shaped locks at Fonserannes near the ancient city of Beziers, and if ticking off UNESCO sites is your thing, then you get two for one in Carcassonne, where the canal passes close to the ancient citadel that forms one of the most iconic skylines in the whole country.
The canal meanders between the vineyards of Corbieres to the south and the Minervois to the north and a visit to the wine town of Minerve, one of the most beautiful in France, is a treat. A diversion along the Canal de la Robine leads to Narbonne, which dates back to Roman times when it was a strategic trading centre, and even today its covered market, supplied by local producers, is a kind of foodie heaven.
– [below] In the region: Minervois, Minerve, Canal du Midi, Beziers, Narbonne, Carcassonne –
Hire Boating – Aquitaine
► Self-drive boats available in Aquitaine-Charente
Hire Fleets and Bases
■ LeBoat: Castelsarrasin and Mas d'Agenais
■ Locaboat: Agen and Valence s/Baise
■ Nicols: Buzet s/Baise
Canal de Garonne – Canal de Montech-Montauban – River Baise
Aquitaine covers the far southwest corner of France and its capital Bordeaux is a stately presence on the estuary of the Garonne river and is ineffably associated with fine wines, claret in particular. The Maison du Vin in the city centre offers an introduction to many vintages, but a visit to some of the prestigious vineyards themselves is hard to beat.
Helping to link Bordeaux to Toulouse, the Canal de Garonne shadows a popular pilgrimage route to Compostella and one of its outstanding waystations is the town of Moissac, world famous for its Romanesque abbey cloister. There are exquisite country villages to discover, including Serignac with its curiously twisted church spire, and as you travel inland from the Atlantic the vineyards are replaced by orchards growing apples, pears and particularly Ente plums. Agen has become synonymous with prunes and the Pruneau d'Agen is so fine that it has earned itself a Protected Geographical Indication, which governs the location and means of its production.
– [below] In the region: Moissac, Wine Tasting, Canal de Garonne, Serignac, Agen –