text:
Mobilizing the sun
For almost 10 years, Intivation has been developing integrated power management solutions for embedded solar power.
We have developed the industry's leading DC/DC convertor for low power energy harvesting solutions. By working closely with our clients to develop optimally integrated products we've accumulated know-how and experience in a broad range of embedded solar applications.
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Boele de Bie
Chief Executive Officer


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Two comic characters, Camilla Corona, a rubber chicken, and Colours O'IRIS, a peacock, explore spectrographs. This comic is part of the series Tales from Stanford Solar.
Keywords: Doppler effect; Spectroscopy; Emission and absorption lines; Zweeman effect; Visible light; Colors of the spectrum; Graphic novel; Reading
Audience: Elementary school, Middle school, Informal education
Materials Cost: Free
Materials Cost: Free
This is a video to accompany the Stanford Solar Center's Build Your Own Spectroscope activity. It serves as an introduction to several aspects of the Sun, including information about solar activity, effects of solar activity on Earth and other... (View More) systems, and how astronomers look at the Sun using filters and spectrographs. (View Less)
Keywords: Spectroscopy
Audience: Elementary school, Middle school, High school

subset: commoncrawl


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OuSob - File: /wwwroot/clipx/usr/include/php5/ext/gd/libgd/gdcache.h
/* * gdcache.h * * Caches of pointers to user structs in which the least-recently-used * element is replaced in the event of a cache miss after the cache has * reached a given size. * * John Ellson (email@example.com) Oct 31, 1997 * * Test this with: * gcc -o gdcache -g -Wall -DTEST gdcache.c * * The cache is implemented by a singly-linked list of elements * each containing a pointer to a user struct that is being managed by * the cache. * * The head structure has a pointer to the most-recently-used * element, and elements are moved to this position in the list each * time they are used. The head also contains pointers to three * user defined functions: * - a function to test if a cached userdata matches some keydata * - a function to provide a new userdata struct to the cache * if there has been a cache miss. * - a function to release a userdata struct when it is * no longer being managed by the cache * * In the event of a cache miss the cache is allowed to grow up to * a specified maximum size. After the maximum size is reached then * the least-recently-used element is discarded to make room for the * new. The most-recently-returned value is always left at the * beginning of the list after retrieval. * * In the current implementation the cache is traversed by a linear * search from most-recent to least-recent. This linear search * probably limits the usefulness of this implementation to cache * sizes of a few tens of elements. */ /*********************************************************/ /* header */ /*********************************************************/ #include
#ifdef HAVE_MALLOC_H #include
#endif #ifndef NULL #define NULL (void *)0 #endif /* user defined function templates */ typedef int (*gdCacheTestFn_t)(void *userdata, void *keydata); typedef void *(*gdCacheFetchFn_t)(char **error, void *keydata); typedef void (*gdCacheReleaseFn_t)(void *userdata); /* element structure */ typedef struct gdCache_element_s gdCache_element_t; struct gdCache_element_s { gdCache_element_t *next; void *userdata; }; /* head structure */ typedef struct gdCache_head_s gdCache_head_t; struct gdCache_head_s { gdCache_element_t *mru; int size; char *error; gdCacheTestFn_t gdCacheTest; gdCacheFetchFn_t gdCacheFetch; gdCacheReleaseFn_t gdCacheRelease; }; /* function templates */ gdCache_head_t * gdCacheCreate( int size, gdCacheTestFn_t gdCacheTest, gdCacheFetchFn_t gdCacheFetch, gdCacheReleaseFn_t gdCacheRelease ); void gdCacheDelete( gdCache_head_t *head ); void * gdCacheGet( gdCache_head_t *head, void *keydata );


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Tagged: Washinton Nationals
6/24/12 Nationals at Orioles: Camden Yards
Oh, 'twas a frustrating day at National Park at Camden Yards. First, I missed my train from Washington's Union Station due to a failure in the DC Metro system. I would say the DC Metro is usually a good transit system, but when it comes to construction and weekend schedules, it's questionable at best. I had both things going against me.
Once I finally walked to Union Station, I got a ticket on the next train to Baltimore. The problem with this train was it was scheduled to arrive in Baltimore-Penn Station at 11:10. Walking, it is usually half an hour from there to Camden Yards. I was going to have to run down to make the gate time of 11:30. To make matters more uncertain, I texted the person who usually gets tickets for me in Baltimore, Avi Miller, and he somehow didn't know I was coming. He said he was waiting for people to maybe buy his last two tickets from him. The first thing that came to mind was, " Ruh-roh."
Thankfully, I was running down hill and managed to get there at 11:21. When I got there, though, I didn't see anyone I recognize, most importantly, I didn't see Avi. As I may have have mentioned in another entry from this week, Avi goes to a LOT of Orioles games, and I don't really, so I thought he had left the country to escape my ticket-grabbing self.
Then at 11:27, Avi miraculously showed up with a ticket. Yes, my day was indeed saved. I wouldn't have to wander the streets of Baltimore for the next six hours. There you have it people, Avi Miller keeps kids off the streets and on the ball field. I should have gotten a picture with him there, but I was probably thinking the gates were going to open any minute.
Why do I bore you with all the things going up to the game? Well because once I got in the stadium, there wasn't anything more exciting going on:
The only action on the field for about the first ten minutes was the Friday's starter, Jason Hammel throwing warming up and throwing a bullpen session (at least I think that's what it was):
I waited around, until suddenly there was movement on the Nationals side of the field. I put on my Nationals gear and headed over there to set up behind these guys:
The far right person would be Craig Stammen. After he finished playing catch, the coach with whom he was throwing ended up with the ball and tossed it back with the other two you can see in the lower left part of the picture.
The far left person was Tom Gorzelanny. After he finished playing catch, his throwing partner, Ryan Mattheus, held onto the ball. At this time, all other people were allowed into the seating bowl besides season-ticket holders, so when Mattheus finally did toss the ball up, I had a lot more competition, and lost out as a result.
The next pair to start throwing was Tyler Clippard and Sean Burnett, so I tried to set up deeper, and hope Burnett would end up with the ball since Clippard is underrated as an "unfan-friendly" player:
Clippard ended up with the ball and of course ignored a request for the ball.
The next two players to start throwing were Jordan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg. I tried the same tactic, this time hoping Strasburg got the ball. While he is not that generous with toss-ups himself, Zimmerman has a reputation as not tossing balls into the crowd:
Of course Zimmerman ended up with the ball, and I still had nothing.
Probably the most frustrating thing about this day, though, was that had I gotten a ball from the first throwing group, I could have gotten about 5 signatures of prolific pitchers. Here you can see Strasburg signing:
but he was hardly the only one. If he was a pitcher for the Nationals, he probably signed on this day. Let me list off all the names that signed for fans:
Sean Burnett, Tyler Clippard, Mike Gonzalez, Gio Gonzalez, Tom Gorzelanny, Edwin Jackson, Ryan Mattheus, Stephen Strasburg, and Jordan Zimmerman. I was waiting to snag a ball to get signed… but that never came.
I was still at zero balls when the game went under way, so I camped out here for the whole game:
Even as the Nationals fan that went up every inning after the third out, I got nothing. Of course, I was in the spot perfect for getting a ball from the first baseman Adam LaRoche, and only one inning ended in a ground out.
I should just show an example of Camden Yards fans being nice. The people whose seats I had been sitting in actually let me keep sitting there and themselves sat behind me, "until someone shows up." That ended up being the whole game. They offered me peanuts and to buy me something to drink. They then lauded my "ambition/ passion" and said they wished their son had as much as I do.
In New York, people who saw me in their seats would have probably just given me a "get outta here". Well not really that specific phrase, but they would have asked me to move.
Maybe it was because I was simply enjoying going after the third out balls, or talking with these two fans, but unlike other games where I had zero balls during the game, here I wasn't nervous at all.
As the game winded down, I left my seat to get an "Orange Chill" and to got to the umpire's tunnel. There I called out to the umpire, David Rackley, and after giving away a few balls to kids at the mouth of the tunnel, he tossed one up to me:
I then headed over to a restaurant whose name I believe was California Tortialla and watched the PSO for Italy- England along with Avi and his friend Zevi, who had also accompanied to the gates and as far as I can tell, throughout the game. When they had to catch their ride, I headed up the hill to Baltimore-Penn Station with the water and chips they had so graciously provided, where I would catch my bus back to New York.
Bye, bye Camden Yards. Until next time:
• 1 Ball at this Game
• 74 Balls in 15 Games this season= 4.93 Balls Per Game
• 24 straight Games with at least 1 Ball
• 1 Ball x 41,794 Fans= 41,794 Competition Factor
• 8 straight Games at Camden Yards with at least 1 Ball
• Time Spent On Game 8:30 AM- 11:45 PM= 14 Hours 15 Minutes


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology played host to the 2009 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Tennis Championship today at the duPont Tennis Courts. The two-day event continued with semifinal matches as the #6 seed Engineers of MIT faced the #2 Blue of Wellesley College and the #4 Pioneers of Smith College played the #1 Lyons of Wheaton College. After Sunday morning's matches, the Lyons and Blue secured spots in the afternoon's championship, leaving the Engineers and Pioneers with only the opportunity to watch from the bleachers.
In the second semifinal, #6 MIT hoped to repeat their upset victory from Saturday afternoon with a win over #2 Wellesley. A rematch of last year's NEWMAC tournament championship, both teams vied for a chance to face eventual-finalist Wheaton College in this year's title match.
In doubles play, MIT's Leslie Hansen and Anastasia Vishnevetsky avenged their regular-season loss to Mahona Siddique and Jacqueline Shen with an 8-2 victory in the #1 position. The Blue responded by picking up both of the other doubles matches to give Wellesley a 2-1 lead.
Shen was the first to pick up a singles win as she beat MIT's Anisa McCree [6-0, 6-0] to put the Blue up 3-1. Vishnevetsky responded for the Engineers overcoming Siddique [6-3, 6-3] to close the lead to 3-2. Just as the MIT fans were getting hopeful, Wellesley closed out the match as Meghan Stubblebine won the #4 match [6-3, 6-4] and Julia Cole won at #6 [6-4, 6-3], giving the Blue a 5-2 victory and a spot in the championship.
#1 Wheaton College and #2 Wellesley College will face off Sunday at 2 p.m. to determine the 2009 NEWMAC Women's Tennis Champion.


text:
DailyDirt: Crack A Puzzle And Score Some Cash (Or A Cool Job)
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
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- The next James Bond is apparently supposed to apply online and solve a puzzle for the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Just don't break any laws to crack the code, or else you're disqualified (or worse?). [url]
- To discover more interesting business-related content, check out what the deal is on StumbleUpon. [url]


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Opinion: The Petraeus Plot Thickens
Editorial board member Matt Kaminski on the latest developments in l'affaire Petraeus and how the scandal could factor into the Congressional hearings on Benghazi. Photo: Getty Images
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... the ... I ... I'll ... we all be about sex scandal involving General David trams ... and how concerned should Republicans be about the Latino vote ... him in last Tuesday's results welcome to Opinion Journal Live ... on Jason Riley in joining me to discuss the latest ... in welfare for trance is editorial board member Matt Kaminski welcome that ... to be here ... so I keep wanting this thing to go away but it seems like other new developments everyday sometimes double the moments ... his two hundred and one day I aam ... and now Marine General John Allen was next in line become ... NATO commander in Europe so a big deal ... op ... is being investigated which isn't all ... that he was the he's the commander in Afghanistan and he was the case is deputy ... Fuentes was head of Central Command in Tampa that he was being investigated because the FBI after he came across a ... a a a mountain of of e mails between kin and Jill Kelly ... who was the woman can untangle this summer ... from obit ... who to complain to the FBI over the summer because she had gotten threatening e mails ... from David betray this is on ... par or more ... Apollo problem of Broadwell ... and that every day Joe Allen and defense officials say ... there is nothing ... on for between two of them that they were friends socially as had been that Reyes family ... I Shiyou Joe Kelly and tempo as a volunteer liaison between the military there and welcome ... community but it's a ... bead is holding up to figure out exactly what happened ... is putting on his confirmation hearings to become the commander in Europe ... so let's let's try and separate the salacious from serious heart ... that I mean are there security concerns and in what's going on here ... and and how does this particular ... impact that can cause the ... investigation ... was a big secret ... that there's a big to carry conservative activists last whenever most decorated ... young army officers probably the most since Eisenhower and the cost of Christmas and ... he did do you Could Jon CIS that's obviously ... knows he was right to align in your view ... I he I guess so I think so since you know the potential for blackmail but also another question is whether ... he had ... and from the river in the ... cold ... Paula Broadwell things that she didn't ... it went public with right that she's a public figure cell is a writer and analyst on the snow Don ... Thompson that's a concern for Joe Allen the same theme in his attorney's of very experienced officers ... and and that's a ... beautiful job on CD in Afghanistan and into in detail ... and the guys in itself ... you know um ... Patrice was suppose to testify this week and close Senate intelligence Committee hearing on the gauzy ... he's not going on to this and the deputy and acting director now ... but um ... I just don't think I know I mean there are lot conspiracy is updated based on what we know ... it just seems to be coincidence that he has fallen in such a ... dramatic way ... just after the election ... but it doesn't stop Congress from me calling him to testify ... and ... to stop ... Congress from Greek unanswered summaries unanswered questions about the guy is very quickly have about thirty seconds but the timing of this there are people who know about this in Congress ... write for some time that the FBI obviously for some time ... but the White House says we just found out on election day at five pm ... the plausible ... it's possible it's it's curious aam ... I mean did ... the Department of Justice I mean I don't think this'll be one of the DOJ Mexico's and the FBI which comes under justice ... to be telling the White House about ... every time it's investigating someone because they are supposed to be separate ... to guard against unto White House influence on investigation honestly ... but in this case it's it's curious that says that ... the case with such an important ... member of the national security team ... and he is being investigated for on any server security breaches of concerns which were unproven incidentally the FDA said there weren't any ... that something you think the present should know sooner than the day after work two days after his own election


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Today marks the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day– a holiday to reflect on ways to lessen our carbon footprint. There are many small changes you can make to help the environment, most are very easy:
- Instead of plastic bags to hold your groceries, grab a couple of reusable tote bags to carry your goods. Check out Prestige Medical's Large Canvas Bag— it comes in several fun designs and is perfect to take on those shopping trips.
- Pack your lunch for a week. Many restaurants often use Styrofoam containers for take-out. This material is usually non-biodegradable, which in turn creates a lot of environmental waste. Use washable plastic containers for your food and store everything in a lunch bag like this one. You'll be saving money and the environment too!
- Go green with your scrubs! Look for recycled and eco-friendly fabrics. IguanaMed's Green Line uses a combination of bamboo and cotton fabric for their apparel. I'd recommend their comfy V-Neck 2-Pocket Top and Trugreen Boot Cut Pants as great "green" options to add to your closet.


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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of participating in a conference call with Mets Executive Vice President of Business Operations, Dave Howard. I was joined by Matt Cerrone, Ed Marcus, Shannon Shark and other notable Mets bloggers. There's a link to the entire transcript at the end of this post.
I knew going in that the call was basically to discuss the new dynamic pricing the Mets announced on Tuesday as well as the new rescaled ticket pricing which you can read about here. But my bigger concern was not so much about the lower ticket prices and all the perks for season ticket holders, as it was about getting attendance up again by putting a better product on the field.
I know that this concept is lost on many, but consumers in any industry want value for their dollars, especially their discretionary and entertainment dollars. All baseball fans, particularly in this market – the grandest and most storied of them all, want to see a competitive product. At minimum, you want a better than 50/50 chance that you will see the team win that day – in other words a better than .500 club. That's the minimum most fans will accept.
I used to manage a big box store in New York that had 12 million dollars in annual sales, but was bleeding cash badly. When I accepted the transfer to the store, after a few weeks I gave our front office my overall assessment and action plan for making one of the top stores in gross sales in our region profitable again. Most of them were shocked when my top recommendation was to increase payroll 15%. I explained that we needed to have people on the floor offering better customer service and that their increased presence on the sales floor would have the cumulative benefit of increasing security and reducing shoplifting, which I concluded was very high based on previous years inventory shrinks. I was willing to risk my career that this strategy of increasing payroll would not fail and I emphasized to them not to look at it as simply escalating our already high expenses, but as making a very smart investment in one of the company's most valuable assets. In one year the store was number one in the region in net profit and I was off to fix another problem store in New Jersey the following January, along with a fat bonus envelope and a 15% raise.
That same principle could be applied to the Mets. Yes, the Mets had an extraordinarily high payroll going into this season, that much is certain, but it might have been more prudent to spend a little more to make the team more competitive and thereby keeping the fans engaged for a full season instead of a half season. And of course, the season-long fan interest would have led to higher revenues and increased profit margins… And maybe lucking into a Wild Card… That was the basis for my question.
Joe D: My question is, last offseason you rolled out Amazin' Mets Perks as an incentive to increase ticket sales only to see attendance drop a reported 8% from 2010.
I'm of the belief that the longer a team stays in contention, the more the fans will continue go to the park, support the team and buy tickets.
I would imagine that these new reduced ticket prices, the Amazin' Perks programs, and all the free tickets that were given away this season cost the organization a very significant amount of money.
In the grand scheme of things, might it have been better to simply invest an additional five-to-ten million in improving the roster so that we could've kept the season more relevant through September? Wouldn't it have been more beneficial, and maybe profitable, to spend just a few more million at the front end in exchange for tens of millions more at the back end, even with the high payroll?
Dave Howard: Obviously, you can't predict what's going to happen before the season begins. Things played out as they did, Injuries played a significant role as well. If you looked how well Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy were performing, in particular, before their season-ending injuries. That's something you can't predict.
With regard to what we have done from a promotional standpoint, the Amazin' Mets Perks program was intended to bring added value and benefits to our season ticket holders because they are so critical to the success of our business. We wanted to treat them sort of like we treat our major corporate sponsors, in a very special way, give them exclusive access, exclusive benefits. There was some cost there. I wouldn't say the cost is extraordinary. The primary benefit of that program is, number one, to provide incentive to renew season tickets. That was effective, because we renewed last year at over 85%, which was a very good renewal given the performance of the team. From that standpoint, that was successful.
Obviously our payroll was high last year, at about $145 million. The value wasn't there – we did have two players who were released in spring training in Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, we had Johan on the disabled list all year, so we didn't get the full benefit of that high payroll. Again, I don't think anyone can criticize our ownership for not supporting a high payroll. Perhaps you can criticize us for not spending the money wisely.
That's where I'm very optimistic that Sandy Alderson and his team will be doing that much more effectively as we move forward. I think we have to balance everything and it's very important for us to treat our fans, season ticket holders, and sponsors in a first-class way on the business side, and obviously baseball operations is charged with elevating the value of the team and getting appropriate value out of the money that we are spending on players.
* * * * * * *
I'm not sure that Mr. Howard grasped the totality of my point, but he did bring up some valuable points in his response and I thank him for the opportunity to engage him. Maybe someday we can both talk again so we can establish a clearer understanding of what I was trying to convey. By no means would I ever criticize the organization for not supporting a high payroll, in fact we may have the highest in the league if you tallied up the last ten years. His point on spending all that money more wisely is valid and of utmost importance, and may have avoided this quagmire we now find ourselves in.
Thanks to the guys at Amazin Avenue for transcribing the whole conference call which you can read here.


text:
Nov. 17, 2008
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The MIT rifle team traveled to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) over the weekend and picked up a pair of victories over the Buccaneers. The Engineers won by scores of 2214-2037 in smallbore and 2241-2135 in air rifle, to improve their overall record to 10-6 on the season.
In the smallbore category, MIT recorded the four highest point totals en route to the convincing victory. Emily Houston led all shooters with a score of 567, surpassing the 90-point plateau on each of her six attempts. Nigel Kojimoto was not far behind, carding a 560, including three shots of at least 96 points. Joseph Lane registered a total of 547 and Jennifer Paek rounded out the scoring for the Engineers with 540 points. Kevin Geisel was the top scorer for MMA with 536 points.
In air rifle, Houston continued her dominance, posting a high-score of 573, aided by two 96-point shots and a pair of 97-point shots. Lane also fared well in this gun, totaling 567 points, including one 99-point effort. Kojimoto (559) and Laura Fallon (542) also helped contribute to the MIT win.
MIT will host MMA, VMI and Wentworth on Saturday, December 6 at 9:00 a.m.


text:
ATLANTA (AP) - Don't call these guys the Fab Five.
Michigan's latest group of young stars is determined to leave its own legacy.
Attacking Syracuse's suffocating zone defense in the first half with 3-pointers, crisp passing and a fearless attitude, the Wolverines advanced to the national championship game with a 61-56 victory over the Orange in the Final Four on Saturday night.
Michigan (31-7) will be going for its first national title since 1989 when it faces Louisville on Monday at the Georgia Dome. Syracuse (30-10) failed to complete an all-Big East final in the fabled league's last season before breaking up.
The Wolverines got sloppy in the second half and barely hung on at the end, winning despite a tough night for Associated Press player of the year Trey Burke. He scored only seven points.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Wolverines top Syracuse, Cards are next
ATLANTA (AP) - Don't call these guys the Fab Five.


text:
Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2005 News Releases > November 2005 > International Education Week to spotlight student programs
International Education Week to spotlight student programs
PLAINVIEW – Events planned at Wayland Baptist University will help celebrate International Education Week, a worldwide emphasis planned for Nov. 14-18.
According to Debra Sherley, international student advisor for the admissions office at Wayland, the events are aimed at showing American students the importance of international exchange and how they can benefit from not only pursuing study opportunities abroad but also studying alongside students from other nations.
"We are a strange country because we have so many cultures here," Sherley said. "We're rabid about our freedom and democracy, and not all other countries have that. This emphasis is not just about meeting our international students but about creating positive relationships between nations.
"When you understand each other and have a relationship, you're less likely to go to war with that country," she added.
Sherley said Texas is ranked No. 3 in the nation in terms of its population of international students. Of the 570,000 total college students in Texas, roughly 45,000 were from other countries in the 2003-04 academic year. It's a $13 billion industry, Sherley added, with those funds coming into America from primarily their personal and family funds.
A major focus of International Education Week, especially at Wayland, will be to spotlight the global view and encouraging American students to learn about other cultures.
"We need to understand that the majority of our world lives outside the United States, across oceans and seas. Our perspective here is so limited," she said. "International education helps us understand that the world doesn't live like we do. They aren't seeing the same world we are."
Events planned for students during International Education Week include a food emphasis planned each evening in the university cafeteria, spotlighting cuisine from other nations; an international scavenger hunt; the weekly chapel service featuring Udo Middlemann of the Francis Schaeffer Foundation and students praying and reading scripture in their native language; seminars on study abroad opportunities, and an international movie night. Sherley said she and the faculty advisory committee who have helped organize the event are also asking faculty to incorporate international themes into their classes during the week, highlighting the global role in all academic disciplines.
This global viewpoint, Sherley said, is vital for students to have as they graduate and begin seeking out jobs and may, in fact, have to compete with international students for those jobs.
Sherley pointed out that Dr. Bill Marshall, Wayland's president from 1947-53, was a huge advocate of international education and brought the first international students to Wayland during his tenure.
Wanting to return to that emphasis, Sherley said she'd like to eventually be able to display flags of each country with students enrolled at Wayland and use those in events on campus. With the cost of full-size flags running between $150 and $200, however, Sherley said the school is hoping local and area civic organizations will help purchase flags or add to a fund to do so. Eventually, she hopes the flag display will also represent students who have ever studied at WBU.
Sherley also hopes to garner speaking engagements at organizations, churches and other places about international education and the changing world. For information on this or donating to the flag fund, contact Sherley at 291-3502.


text:
Montreal – 1943 Mary Angela (Molly) Buggy, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Buggy, married Leo James Cogan on 5 June 1943. Patrick Buggy is from Kilkenny, Ireland. The marriage took place in the Lady Chapel of St. Patrick's Church.[1]
Renfrew County, Ontario – 1881 Patrick Buggy is listed as 'Commissioner for taking affidavits in the Queen's Bench, in and for the county of Renfrew' on a Chattel Mortgage for the selling of two horses.[2]
Toronto – 1881 William Buggy was before the police court on Monday morning accused of having been drunk on the previous Saturday. When asked if he had been drunk he shook his head. However, he was found guilty and given thirty days in jail.[3]
[1] Author Unknown, Social and Personal in The Montreal Gazette, 5 June 1943, p.15; Google News http://news.google.com accessed 16 June 2011
[2] Dooling, Vi. Peep into the Past from the Files of the Renfrew Mercury in Mercury Advance, 23 May 1973, p.18; Google News http://news.google.com accessed 16 June 2011
[3] Author Unknown, The Law Courts in The Toronto Daily Mail, 17 May 1881, p.5; Google News http://news.google.com accessed 20 June 2011


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I have blogged on the Media ownership in India,US aware of the fact that, in a Democracy who controls information decides power equation.
This morning it struck me that I never bothered to check on the ownership pattern of Google.
While Googling, the information I obtained was very meager and sanitized.
I did a search with Bing, with slightly better results.
After going through the material, I feel that if you r to be secretiveness, you have something to hide.
You try talking to some one in Google office India, you would be surprised that how people can refuse to part with any information without being offensive-even if the information you ask for is very mundane.
Standard answer 'Google it'
Now Read on .
'That being said, I have noticed how little users actually know about Google. We all use it everyday, but when it comes to who owns it or what the company does own-people are sometimes clueless. With the recent merger talk of Yahoo and Microsoft, I saw countless questions as to if Google already owned Yahoo. The answer of course is no, but Google does own so much more. The company is said to own over 500 domain names some bought by Google themselves, others bought by companies that were bought by Google.
As for the acquisitions Google has-the list is endless. According to mydigmedia.com, Google owns:
Pyra Labs-Blogger
Neotonic Software-for CRM
Applied Semantics-for search
Kaltix Corp-for context sensitve search
Genius Labs-for blogging
Ignite Logic-web templates for law firms
Picassa-digi photo management
Keyhole Group-digital mapping
Where 2 Technologies-digital mapping
ZipDash-maps and traffic for mobile devices
2Web Technologies-spreadsheets
Dodgeball-mobile social networking
Reqwireless Inc.-Java browser
Current Communications Group-broadband internet
Android-software for mobile phone o/s
Transformic Inc-search engine for deep/invisible web
Skia-graphics software engineering
DMarc Broadcasting-digital radio broadcasting
Measure Map-analytics for blogs
Upstartle-Writely, document editor for the web
@Last Software-SketchUp 3D modeling
Orion-Referral search engine
Neven Vision-automatic information extraction from jpgs
Jotspot Ind-wiki platform for websites
YouTube-online video company
Endoxen-geomapping software
Xunlei-filesharing app for the web
Adscape Media-in-game advertising
Gapminder's Trendalyzer-presentation software
Doubleclick-ad platform for the web
Tonic Systems-document conversion technology
Marratech-video conferencing technology
Green Border Technologies-secure web browsing tech
Panoramio-photo site sharing for Google Earth
Feedbumer-RSS feed distribution analytics and management
GrandCentral-mobile voice management
Postini-communications security and compliance
As you can see, Google does not own Yahoo. That can of course change in the upcoming months. Google has a lot of initiatives still to come. They recently released what they refer to as Android operating system, which very well could take over the Iphone market as well.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page both started Google while in their twenties. The two met in the science program at Stanford. They dropped out of school and started Google from a friends' garage in 1998. Brin currently serves as president of technology at Google and Page heads product division. The two are said to be worth $18 billion.
Google controls the majority of the Internet. I happen to think this is not a bad thing. They seem to be innovative, responsible, generous and just plain brilliant. I think if anyone can keep moving technology forward, it is Google. I would not mind them controlling the net. They seem to be doing an excellent job so far. Only time will tell though as far as the future is concerned. I, for one, look forward to seeing what Google controls or comes up with next!"
Read this apt comment.
"Anything this powerful is a threat to liberty. They can do what they like, and are intruding more and more into our personal information. Now I'm told by Google that the ad I was running with Adwords is not being allowed because my site lacks enough content and too many ads! The site is a business site and provides the information to visitors I wish it to. It has pages of content and only two small square box ads apart from the Google adsense skyscraper! Yet they claim it 'violates' Googles policy of too many ads to content as if it's just an ad farm which it isn't.
It is no business of Google's to judge sites. It's arrogance, and it's what you get from the too-powerful. Forget governments, Google could become the police state all on its own, it is gathering vast amnounts of information, holds archives not just of websites but of our searches. It is inherently dangerous and I don't share the writer#s sanguinity or optimism. Facebook is showing the same tendency to megalomania."
Will some body from the IT Industry send me information on Google ownership?
'The first funding for Google as a company was secured on August 1998 in the form of a $100,000USD contribution from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, given to a corporation which did not yet exist.[24](wiki)
Look at the above-' given to a corporation which did not yet exist"
List of Companies acquired by Google.
There are 119 Companies. Visit.


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Market Warriors "Antiquing In Pasadena, CA" The experts take the field at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California, for its monthly flea market. They are looking for Native American wares and other treasures.G
9:00 pm
Globe Trekker "Mid-Atlantic States" Brianna Barnes visits Atlantic City and Wildwoods in New Jersey before heading to Delaware with stops in Lewes and Annapolis, followed by crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay. She journeys through the Brandywine Valley into Pennsylvania where she tastes cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, visits Amish country and checks out Pittsburgh's Andy Warhol Museum.G
10:00 pm
Independent Lens "As Goes Janesville" Filmmakers spend three years documenting the changed lives of residents in the Wisconsin town where General Motors has shut down a century-old plant. Workers try to reinvent themselves. Business leaders align with the governor to promote a pro-business agenda that they believe will woo new companies to town. A state senator caught in the middle tries to bring peace to the warring state and protect workers' rights.G
11:00 pm
Charlie Rose NULL


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Optimism is in the eye of the beholder in the commercial real estate industry. In a city plagued with high vacancies and scarce speculative development, investors have Memphis on its radar – and Memphis should too.
That was a message a room full of real estate professionals received when The Daily News hosted its Commercial Real Estate seminar Thursday at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, sponsored by Financial Federal and Glankler Brown PLLC.
"We really are in an enviable position as far as growth in our community," said Larry Jensen, president and CEO of Commercial Advisors LLC.
Jensen touted recent economic development deals like Electrolux and Mitsubishi, telling the audience to write to their congressman about their plans for small businesses, which create 80 percent of new jobs.
"We need a solution that's apolitical … stop pointing across the aisle," Jensen said.
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge ahead for commercial real estate sectors across the board is the loss of 7.5 million jobs nationwide since the end of 2007.
"There is a one-to-one correlation between job growth and office occupancy," Jensen said. "Structurally, I don't think we're set up for job growth. If we have jobs, vacancy will take care of itself."
While Memphis saw 1.3 million square feet of office leasing activity in 2010, its absorption rate remained negative 223,537 square feet with a 19.6 percent vacancy rate. The East Memphis submarket saw the most activity at 462,963 square feet.
Brad Kornegay, president and CEO of Colliers Management Group, echoed the assessment of Memphis' progress, saying both mayors have "entered the arena with their gloves off."
He also addressed the significance of the Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board's efforts with the new retention payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program, which has kept companies such as Cargill Inc. and Riviana Foods Inc. from moving elsewhere.
"The key is, we're doing deals where the rest of the country is not," Kornegay said.
Industrial vacancy rates topped 13.7 percent in 2010, with 211.3 million total square feet absorbed. But more than 1 million square feet is backfill that doesn't hit absorption, including BP, Technicolor and ASI's major deals.
The big box remains on top, with more than 4.5 million square feet of Class A leases above 200,000 square feet executed in the Southeast and North Mississippi submarkets. Meanwhile, Class B vacancy is expected to remain high with no significant decrease until 2012 due to the nature of the product, with absorption hoping to break even.
Investment sales, however, will see a significant uptick in 2011. Capitalization rates are decreasing, although investors will also look at "price per pound," Kornegay said. With Norfolk Southern Corp. breaking ground on its new intermodal facility, Fayette and Marshall counties are emerging as major players.
As with the other sectors, retail speculative development will be minimal, said Scott Barton, senior vice president of retail services for CB Richard Ellis Memphis.
Memphis saw a 13.1 percent vacancy rate in 2010, with 518,338 square feet absorption at an average $9.49 lease rate. That's compared to an almost 15 percent vacancy rate in 2009, with 367,725 square feet absorption.
But decreasing vacancies come at the expense of rent. The national average is 46.6 square feet of retail per person, and Memphis' average reaches 35 square feet – a sign that speculative development will continue to be non-existent in 2011.
Renewal options will continue to equal negotiations, and tenant improvement dollars will involve the risk being placed back on the landlord.
"More than ever, landlords are having to bend over backwards to make these deals occur," Barton said.
One area that has thrived in the downturn is discount retailers, including thrift, vintage and dollar stores; beauty supply companies; and medical use facilities like dialysis centers. Consumers are also becoming more and more concerned with the quality and value of goods – in everything from food to T-shirts – not just the price.
"In general, retail for the next 20 years – we all haven't seen anything yet," Barton said.
The multifamily sector shares that ambiguity. 2010 marked the completion of the fewest apartment units ever in the Memphis market, said Pierce Ledbetter, president and CEO of LEDIC Management LLC.
Last year saw 250 units, only 93 of which were conventional. And that's excluding hundreds of destroyed units and hundreds more with copper stolen and too expensive or obsolescent to repair.
The multifamily sector can expect compounded years of rent growth ahead, and double-digit growth for Class A properties. Occupancies in that rank are 93.2 percent and climbing, compared to 91.4 percent overall.
Street rents and absorption are also growing, while construction is the opposite. But before building gets started again, Memphis needs less single-family inventory, and more blight, crime and employment programs.
"The bleeding has stopped, but we haven't seen the full recovery yet," Ledbetter said.
Copyright 1995 -
by The Daily News Publishing Co. Inc. - All Rights Reserved


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Created in homage to Populous, Reprisal lets you take control of a tribe, guiding them, building land and making them grow in number. Using special totem powers you can control nature itself unleashing its full fury on anyone that stands in your way. But be warned, other tribes may not take too kindly to your intentions and will put up a fight! Desktop edition includes: Enhanced full stereo chip tunes to nod along too, Unlock-able challenge islands, Offline local storage and Enhanced full screen display features! It also includes a full standalone PC installer and Mac App version. Includes 'The Making of Reprisal', a 38 page digital book charting the highs and lows of over a years development! ★★ download.reprisaluniverse.com ★★
A good game, not too difficult, easy to understand it, but i liked it. Only the music, what is turned off


text:
Masafi, the leading producer of pure natural mineral water in the entire Gulf, was established in 1976 with a paid-up capital of approximately $5.5 million. The company has retained its market leadership for over three decades by providing world-class products which are renowned for their pure natural freshness. This has seen Masafi become the premium reference for bottled mineral water in the entire region.
Contact Information:
Business Center,
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Khaled Bin Walid Street,
P.O. Box 5603
Dubai ,
United Arab Emirates


text:
Saturday, January 09, 2010
The Gingerbread House Chronicle
Ever since the success of my first gingerbread house, I'd been itching to make another one. Living in hot and humid Singapore, however, presents its challenges. With the humidity level constantly hovering around 90% , everything turns soggy so a gingerbread house will no doubt collapse within hours of being constructed when the walls absorb moisture and give in to the weight. Two years ago I made a gingerbread tree with the yummiest, most buttery recipe I'd ever tried, but making a gingerbread house with that recipe is out of the question.
After some research I found two "structural" recipes. They are supposed to be very sturdy and humidity proof. In the end I chose one that had very simple ingredients because the alternative is one that contains honey, which is bad news because the house will be an ant magnet.
Time spent searching for recipe: 2hrs
Once the recipe is chosen, the next step is to finalize the design of the house. The cottage I built in Tokyo was cute, but for my second house, I had grander plans. I wanted Victorian, with two sections, a bay window, and maybe a porch. I found a basic template on the internet but to make sure everything fit, I cut out some foam boards and fine tuned the design. The pitch of the second roof that joins the main roof proved the most troublesome. I knew I should've paid more attention in three-dimensional geometry, but who would've thought you'd need that for anything, let alone baking? After endless tweaking, the roofs finally fit together, but I made the executive decision to forgo the porch this year. After all, I need to keep something for next year, don't I?
Time spent building and fine-tuning the foam model: 4 hrs
Just like landscaping is an integral part of building a real house, some thoughts need to be put into building a garden for the gingerbread house. A snowman is a must, of course, and since the house will sit on a big board (13") there's space to place a girl making a snow angel, plus Princess Libby doing a doggie angel in the snow. But why limit yourself to just outside the house? Since I had all those big windows, I made a Christmas tree for the living room too.
Time spent making fondant figurines and ice-cream cone trees: 4 hrs
At this point, I was spinning a little out of control. Never mind I had no idea just exactly how sturdy this supposedly "structural" recipe is, and whether it can really stand up to the Singapore humidity, I must have light in the house! Here is where I ran into some trouble. You see, once upon a time in high school physics, I clearly recall yours truly wiring light bulbs and building circuits, but that part of my education must've been permanently deleted from memory. It didn't help that there's no true DIY stores like Home Depot back home, so I wasn't able to find any electrical wires even if I were capable of wiring the house. Dear hubby, whose Electrical Engineering degree from M.I.T. had been collecting dust since the day he graduated, offered this when I asked how come he could once build a robot but now can't even wire my house: "Do I look like an electrician to you?" Plan B: I bought a mini flashlight to be stuffed inside the house through the doggie door in the back. Whatever works, right?
Time spent pondering the myriad of products on display at Home Fixe and other DIY stores: 30 minutes
Baking the cookie pieces with this recipe was so easy. Since there's no baking soda or powder in the dough, whatever shape I cut out, baked the same exact shape after it came out of the oven. There was no need to trim after baking!
Time spent baking: 3 hrs
After baking the cookies, I let them rest overnight in a spare bedroom with a dehumidifier running before decorating them. The one lesson I learned from making my first house: it's much easier to decorate the walls and windows BEFORE you put them up. I had a lot of fun dreaming up how the house should look. I knew I didn't want a childish rendition, but I also didn't want a pure brown and white house, so I went with a classic look. I knew I wanted windows this time, but didn't want to melt candies inside the window holes (again, fear of ants), so I used gelatin sheets instead. Simple! To decorate the roof, I decided not to cover it with candies or cookies. I was afraid that the added weight would cause the walls to buckle, so instead I piped snow "garlands" and small designs inside. The inspiration was from a flickr member's gorgeous gingerbread house designs, and it worked out well. Another decision I made was to not leave the back wall blank, because, even though nobody will look at the back, I thought the back deserves some attention too. Since I'm planning to have Santa stuck upside down in the chimney, I thought I'd pipe Santa's sleigh and his reindeers on the back wall, to make it look like they're waiting for him. To fill up space, I also did a Star of David, and a doggie door through which the light source is to be stuffed inside the house to light up the rooms.
After decorating the pieces, however, I was horrified to find some of the cookie pieces starting to sag. NOOOO!!! The culprit, after I calmed down to find cause, was the flooding of royal icing. The extra water used to thin out the icing was absorbed by the cookies and made them soft. Horrified that I may not have a house after all, I laid out all the pieces on cooling racks and placed them into the spare room, with not one but TWO dehumidifiers running around the clock. I went to bed with my fingers crossed, hoping the pieces would dry out the next day.
Time spent decorating cookie pieces: 7 hrs
D-Day: will the house stand up or will it collapse? Holding up the walls with royal icing was very easy, but you know sometimes you have this nagging feeling but couldn't really put your finger on it? For days I'd been thinking the position of the doggie door was weird, but didn't know why I thought so. Then it came the time to put up the back wall, where I painstakingly piped Santa's sled plus reindeers, along with the beautiful Star of David that almost caused the wall to collapse, and it hit me! I had forgotten to flip the template when I cut out the back wall, so now, all the piping details are INSIDE the house! I was so sad I could've cried, but construction must go on. Besides this major blunder, the only other minor hiccup encountered was that after putting up a weight-bearing support wall between the two parts of the house, I realized that I needed a hole in that wall for the light to shine through, because (didn't I say the position of the doggie door was bothering me?) the doggie door where the light was going to be pushed in was on the other side of the house! So that wall quickly came down and I managed to saw an opening in it. Boy, now was the first ray of hope that this house just might stand up after all, because that wall was so tough to cut through!
After I had gotten over the trauma of the inside-out back wall, I started to enjoy the process of putting all the pieces together. I took one last look at the Star of David that is now a wall mural for the living room, and placed the roof on. Now it's looking like a house! Even with all the tweaking and fine tuning, the two roofs still didn't fit exactly, but the beauty with gingerbread house is that you can fill up any holes with royal icing and call it snow! I know I did a lot of planning for this house, but this is where I improvised. I added candies to the bay window roof, made extra bushes with gummy candies, put down a Quaker oat square doormat, and placed a pretzel fence around the house. I was having so much fun it was hard to stop adding stuff to the house!
Time spent assembling the house: 2 hrs
So there you have it, the gingerbread house that cannot be eaten and has to live in the spare bedroom where the humidity level is maintained at 50% by two very hard-working dehumidifiers. It did sit in the living room front and center during my dinner parties and will go to Palate Sensations for a photo shoot. After that, it will live in the reception area of the school until the humidity gets the better of it.
Until next year!
6 comments:
Hmmm... Sounds like lots of hardwork and fun. Give yourself a BIG pat on your back Lynn, you deserve it!
- dapan said...
what a great job you did. you always amaze me!
- Fri at WEDDING NOUVEAU said...
Hi Lynn,
love, love, LOVE your photos. I just wanted to let you know that one of your pieces was featured today on Wedding Nouveau, the new style guide for intercultural brides and multi ethnic weddings.
Happy Spring.
- Suzanne said...
Looks fantastic! You are very talented!
- Heather said...
This was amazing! I also live in Singapore and was wanting to do this for my kids. They will just want to decorate and not eat so I'm thinking of just using some kind of thin board!!! Yours looks wonderful!
- Heather said...
This looks just wonderful I also live in Singapore so will face the same challenges. As my kids will just want to decorate and not eat it, I may just use some form of thin board!!!!


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Right, time to install XE on Ubuntu 9.10. Here goes….
Before we go any further, I think I should point out that I'm running the 32-bit desktop version of Ubuntu – Ubuntu Server is for another machine on another day.
My reasons for installing Oracle are simply to have a database to play around with, so I don't have to worry about multiple concurrent connections, or even setting up the Oracle client on machines I want to be able to connect from. I'll be connecting from the machine I'm running the database on.
Update – since I wrote this post, Oracle have released 11gXE. You can find installation instructions for this newer version for Mint and Ubuntu here.
Something else worth mentioning is that I've got a bit of "previous" on this score.
I installed XE on Ubuntu 8.10 a while back, and hit a few issues with being able to run the menu options that get added to the Applications menu.
Something else I noticed about the process was the need to run lots of commands that were doing stuff I wasn't necessarily up to speed on. This meant lots of referencing various man pages to make sure I wasn't doing anything rash.
So this time, I'm going to try and do as much as possible through GUI tools…and try to get everything working properly.
One of the big pluses in getting Oracle to run on Linux is that you can then mess around doing clever things with shell scripts. However, interacting with the database via a script does require that you've configured everything to allow SQL*Plus to be invoked from the command line.
Bearing all this in mind, I'm approaching the task this time with the following objectives :-
- Get Oracle XE up and running with minimal command-line intervention
- Get the menus working from the Ubuntu desktop
- Get SQL*Plus up and running from the shell
Getting the software
Right, first thing we need is the software itself. Rather than following the usual routine of going to the oracle site and downloading the software, I thought I'd see if I could take advantage of the Linux software package management utilities.
We're in luck. Oracle does indeed provide a repository containing a variety of goodies, including XE.
So, what we'll need to do first is to add the repository to the package repository database.
In 9.10, there's this new utility called the Ubuntu Software Centre, so I thought I'd start there.
- From the Ubuntu Applications menu, select Ubuntu Software Centre
- From the Edit menu, select Software sources…At this point you'll be prompted for your password
- In the Software Sources window, select the Other Software Tab.
- Click Add
In the pop-up window, type in the following as the APT line :-
deb http://oss.oracle.com/debian unstable main non-free
and click Add Source
You should now see this repository in the list.
- Check the box next to the repository and click Close
- Close the Ubuntu Software Centre window
If you want to double-check that the repository is now added, just open a Terminal session and type :-
cat /etc/apt/sources.list
You should see the new repository as the last entry in this list.
Unfortunately, the Ubuntu Software Centre doesn't recognise this repository , so in order to actually obtain the software, we'll need to use Synaptic Package Manager
To actually download the software from the repository :-
- From the Ubuntu System menu select Administration and then Synaptic Package Manager. Enter your password when prompted.
- In the Quick search field, type
- Remember, I'm going to be running the database and connecting to it all from one machine, so I don't need the oracle-xe-client package. So, as I just want the Western European Edition, I just select the
NOTE – if you want a language other than English, I think you need to choose the
oracle-xe-universalpackage instead.
- Once you've marked the appropriate package, hit the Apply button.
- Synaptic now downloads two packages – libaio and oracle-xe.
Once the download is complete, we're ready to install the software.
At this point, we really do need to go to the command line.
In a new Terminal session type the following :-
sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe configure
You will now be prompted for 4 bits of information :-
- the Oracle Application Express (APEX) http port ( defaults to 8080)
- the port for the database (TNS) listener ( 1521)
- the password to be used for the SYS and SYSTEM database accounts
- whether or not you want the database to start on boot (y)
NOTE – I've made a couple of changes to the default – I already have Apache installed so I need to use a different port. Also, I want the database to start when I choose, rather than automatically.
The TNS listener port can safely be set to 1521 ( or 1526) as these ports are known as defaults for the TNS listener so no other automatically configured software on your system should be using it.
The session looks something like this.
Oracle Database 10g Express Edition Configuration
This will configure on-boot properties of Oracle Database 10g Express
Edition. The following questions will determine whether the database should
be starting upon system boot, the ports it will use, and the passwords that
will be used for database accounts. Press <Enter> to accept the defaults.
Ctrl-C will abort.
Specify the HTTP port that will be used for Oracle Application Express [8080]:8081
Specify a port that will be used for the database listener [1521]:
Specify a password to be used for database accounts. Note that the same
password will be used for SYS and SYSTEM. Oracle recommends the use of
different passwords for each database account. This can be done after
initial configuration:
Confirm the password:
Do you want Oracle Database 10g Express Edition to be started on boot (y/n) [y]:n
Starting Oracle Net Listener...Done
Configuring Database... Done
Starting Oracle Database 10g Express Edition Instance...Done
Installation Completed Successfully.
To access the Database Home Page go to "http://127.0.0.1:8081/apex"
To check that the database is up and running, try accessing your database home page via a web browser.
If the page comes up, you're up and running.
Getting the Menu Options to Work
You'll also notice that the Ubuntu Applications Menu now has an entry called Oracle Database 10g Express Edition which has a number of options in it's sub-menu…none of which will work right now.
In order to run these options, you'll need to make yourself a member of the os DBA group that's been created as part of the installation.
To do this :-
- Go to the Ubuntu System menu and select Administration and then Users and Groups
- Click the button with the picture of the keyring and enter your password
- Go to the dba group and then click Properties
- Click the checkbox next to your user
- Exit the Users and Groups tool.
Hey presto, the menu options will now work.
To test this :-
- Go to Applications / Oracle Database 10g Express Edition and click Stop Database This will stop the tns listener, shutdown the database, and the http listener.
- To verify this, try accessing the Database Home Page again. This time you should get a Page Not Found error.
- Now go back to the menu and this time click on Start Database. Give it a few seconds then try to access the Database Home Page again.
This time, it should come up. If it doesn't, it's possible that the database is still starting up, so give it a bit more time and then try again.
Getting SQL*Plus to run from the shell
There is a menu option in the Oracle Database 10g Express Edition menu that lets you connect to the database via SQL*Plus.
All you need to do is click on this then at the SQL prompt type :-
connect system/password_you_set_during_install@XE
What I'm trying to do here is a bit different. I want to be able to invoke SQL*Plus from a Terminal session ( or a batch script).
Once again, we have to go to the command line to achieve this.
Remember, Oracle "sort of" supports Ubuntu as an OS for XE, but only sort of. The oracle supplied shell script that sets the environment variables to allow it's command line utilities ( including SQL*Plus) to run, isn't especially happy in the bash shell. So, you need to make a minor change to one line to get it to execute.
The file in question is
Open this file in whatever editor takes your fancy and change the line :-
To :-
NLS_LANG=`. $ORACLE_HOME/bin/nls_lang.sh`
Assuming you're using the default Ubuntu setup ( bash is your shell), you can either copy the contents of this file wholesale into the
.bashrc file in your home directory, or you can point to it in this file. Either way, after saving the change to
.bashrc the next time you start a terminal session, you'll find three new environment variables set on startup. To check this, open a Terminal session and type
echo $ORACLE_HOME
This should return
echo $ORACLE_SID
This should return
echo $NLS_LANG
This will return the character set for your database setup ( in my case
And finally, you can now invoke SQL*Plus from the command line :-
$ sqlplus uid/pwd
SQL*Plus: Release 10.2.0.1.0 - Production on Mon Dec 7 01:16:38 2009
Copyright (c) 1982, 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved.
Connected to:
Oracle Database 10g Express Edition Release 10.2.0.1.0 - Production
Conclusion…and an acknowledgement
Oracle XE is now up and running on Ubuntu. Now I can do some real damage 😀
My initial ( mostly) successful installation attempt on 8.10 was done with reference to the guide at http://mediakey.dk/~cc/ubuntu-howto-install-oracle/
If you prefer your installations done on the command line, this is worth checking out, but I hope I've brought this a bit more up to date.
One final note of caution – Oracle XE is pretty much delivered "as is". Whilst it is wonderfully useful for playing around with an Oracle database, it does have some limitations. Not least of these is that, unlike it's big brother (currently Oracle 11g Release 2), Oracle don't produce quarterly security patches for it. This means that you should think carefully before you go and use it in a production environment.
I was lucky enough to attend a presentation by Alexander Kornbrust at UKOUG in 2006 in which he graphically demonstrated these limitations. You can find his presentation here.
Edit – Cannot reach Database Home Page after restart
Hmmm….I thought that was too easy !
After re-starting my computer, I found I could no longer get the Database Home Page coming up.
After much cursing and puzzlement, I've tracked down the problem to the listener.ora file.
This file is used to control the configuration of the TNS Listener which process traffic to APEX, which sits inside the database.
To fix this annoying glitch…
Open up a Terminal session
cd $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin sudo gedit listener.ora
change the line
Effectively you are commenting out this line.
Save and exit.
Go to the Start Database option in the Oracle Menu (under applications).
You need to give it a couple of minutes because the TNS listener gets started after the database does.
You should now be able to get to the Home Page.
Please let me know if this works for you.
UPDATE – I've now written an Installation Troubleshooting Guide, which you may want to check out if things still aren't working as they should.
There's also an introduction to PL/SQL here if you're interested.


text:
Selecting your vehicle's make, model, and year allows us to display only parts and items specific to your car's model and year.
Part# CH22433
Mfg# 22040
Be the First to Review
OPGI Price: $389.99
Part Type: (A) Aftermarket product, usually an enhancement product
Years: 1969-1977
Sold As: SET
2018 Chevelle Catalog Page: 542
All drop-shipped orders must be prepaid. Rates vary depending upon weight.
These sets are designed for standard rotation long water pumps. Performance sets require a 41" alternator belt and 33-1/2" power steering 5-rib belt size. Increased water flow sets require a Dayco 6-rib, 42-1/2" alternator belt and 35" power steering belt size for cars without AC. For cars with AC, a Dayco 6-rib 56" AC belt is required.
Crank pulley, alternator pulley with alternator fan and nose cover, water pump pulley with nose cover.
Part #'s CH26512 and CH26513 also include: AC bracket, idler and AC nose cover. These require the use of an aftermarket Sanden 508 or 508 AC compressor. Sets that include the power steering pulley, also includes the bracket.
AVAILABLE IN: Black or clear powder coated finish.


text:
Peru Interim
ART 315: The Art and Archeology of Ancient Peru
January 4-26, 2014
- This course will explore Peru, one of the most culturally significant and biodiverse regions on the planet. Coursework will combine selected readings with site visits to museums, galleries, artists' studios and world-significant archeological sites and biosphere preserves. Students will participate in on-site field research and creative projects, focusing on field sketching, watercolor painting and journaling.
- Highlights include visits to six UNESCO World Heritage sites, ancient desert cities, paragliding and backpacking Colca Canyon and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
- Explore Andean aesthetics of earth and sky, including Incan constellations and contemporary expressions in the visual arts.
- Analyze how humans have responded with varying degrees of success to extreme environmental stress, such as El Niño, and discuss the profound implications such crises bring to cultural systems and apply this to our contemporary global situation.
- This course requires physical conditioning and vaccinations beforehand, and a flexible mindset for budget travel in a developing country. A physician's examination and release stating that you are in excellent physical condition and capable of hiking at altitudes above 15,000 feet is required.
- January is mid-summer in the Southern Hemisphere and we do visit a number of coastal sites (aka beaches)!
Week 1: The Northern Coast of Peru
- Explore Chan Chan along the northern desert coast, the largest city in pre-Columbian America.
- Visit the Moche Sun Pyramid, the largest adobe pyramid in the Americas. View 1,000 year old paintings covering the outside of the Pyramid of the Moon.
- Painting at Huanchaco Beach, a laid-back fishing village with friendly dogs and lots of reggae music.
Week 2: Central Peru
- Lima, the Spanish colonial capital of South America.
- View the Cordillera Blanca, the longest mountain range on earth.
- Paraglide near Pachacamac, the famous pan-Andean religious center and oracle site to the Inca Atahualpa. You will pilot your own wing.
Week 3: Southern Peru
- Fly over the Pampas and view the earth drawings at Nazca.
- Painting in the Convento de Santa Catalina.
- City of Arequipa.
- Watch condors and hike to the bottom of Colca Canyon, a canyon almost twice as deep as Arizona's Grand Canyon.
- Painting around the town of Cabanaconde.
Week 4: The Sacred Valley of the Incas
- Qoricancha, Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Tambomachay, Pucapucara.
- Maras, Moray, Pisac, Q'Allaqasa, Ollantaytambo, Intihuatana.
- Painting in Cuzco.
- Four days and three passes backpacking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We will visit lots of sites along the way, including: Runkuracay, Sayacmarca, and Phuyupatamarca.
- Hot Springs after the Inca Trail in Aguas Calientes.
$5,466 for 23 days.
Student Requirements:
- Deposits by September 15
- Passport by September 15
- Physical by September 15
- Payment in full by October 1
- Minimum 10 students
- Maximum 15 students
Cost Details:
- Cost is $5,466 for a 23 day course.
- We fly out of and back into Sioux Falls.
- Course includes all breakfasts, four nice group lunches, four nice group dinners, and all food for 7 days of hiking.
- Students will only need to buy lunches and dinners for approximately 11 days.
- The Financial Aid Office has student loan money available for Augustana study abroad, including spending money.
Course Details
- 4.0 credit hours.
- This course will be led by two Augustana faculty and members of the art department: Gerry Punt and Scott Parsons. Both professors have led this course to Peru previously.
- No prerequisites. Course limited in size to 15 students.
- Deadline is September 15 to sign-up, including a $500 deposit and a doctor's consent form with physical. Course fee due October 1.
- This trip requires good overall health and physical conditioning. On the Inca Trail we will hike with backpacks six to eight hours per day. Trails lead to passes over 15,000 feet with substantial changes in elevation each day.
- This trip is meant for people who enjoy the outdoors, sleeping in tents, and can be flexible and adaptable to adventure-travel in a developing country with infrastructure, lodging, food, and transportation limitations.
- You will need a passport, most likely vaccinations, and an ISIC International Student ID. More info will be provided at a required orientation session. If you do not have a passport, you should apply now.
- Grading: Letter grade.
- Readings: Cut Stone and Crossroads, The Heights of Machu Picchu.
- Participation: An engaged presence (beyond mere attendance) and active participation in all guided visits and discussions, both formal and informal. 100 percent attendance is required.
- Observation: Timely, daily, articulated responses will be entered into student's personal sketchbooks or journals, including notes and observations on museum and site visits, lectures, etc.
- Watercolor Component: Complete a small portfolio of plein-air "in the open air" paintings.
- Analysis: Required readings and group discussions will form the core component for processing and evaluating the relationship of human cultural systems and their adaptations and interactions with the Andean landscape over time.
Creative Research Component and Synthesis:
- All students will work in a sketchbook on a daily basis and create a portfolio of watercolors through direct concentrated observation and creative response to the Peruvian landscape. All students will create a descriptive, contemplative, and well-structured image/word-based field journal of Peruvian visual culture and experience, including a comparative iconography with references to contemporary Peruvian society. Art majors may emphasize the watercolor portfolio and sketchbook, non-art major may emphasize their field journals.
How many days will we be camping?
- Please understand this is an adventure travel course in Latin America. It is important that you are ready to do lots of hiking and maintain a positive outlook and sense of humor about getting wet, being tired, eating strange food, long days on buses, etc. We will do two hikes with five nights in tents. Don't come on this trip if you don't like sleeping in a tent.
Who goes on this trip?
- About half the students will be art majors. Most students will have never left the country, or even backpacked, but have an adventurous spirit and want an amazing experience. This trip will be physical, but endurance is more important than athleticism. You will be pushing yourself physically and you will need to be remain flexible with accomodations and schedule. This is Third World travel with local transport and no five-star accomodations.
Do I need to be an art major to go?
- We need students with a sincere desire to try watercolor. You do not need to be an "artist" or art major, but there are a number of days when we will spend the entire day painting. Field instruction in watercolor painting and drawing will be given for all levels of experience. Interim exists for students to try something they might not do otherwise in their normal course of study or area of expertise at Augustana. The point is to go and experience the wonder and awe of another country, the history and the culture. Watercolor will allow you to see things you would have otherwised not noticed and adds to the experience.
Can I go if I just graduated?
- Yes, this has worked in the past, including eligibility for student loans. Discuss this with Gerry and Scott first.
How do I sign up?
- If you are interested, see Gerry or Scott in the art department. We expect this course to fill rapidly. Enrollment will close for this course prior to the general Augustana Interim registration in the fall.
- Apply online here.
- A $500 deposit (check made out to Augustana) and a recent physical (past six months) stating you are fit to hike at 15,000 feet in elevation are required by September 15. You must disclose all medical conditions beforehand that would prevent you from engaging in all physical activities related to our travels.
Are the deposits refundable?
- No, unless you find someone to go in your place or the course is cancelled.
What do I need to bring for the Inca Trail?
- A backpack and a sleeping bag. Your backpack should have some frame to it and be as light as possible. I recommend the GoLite's Jam 50, which weights less than two pounds!
- The sleeping bag should be a good three season bag rated to 30 degrees (or 15 degrees if sensitive to the cold). Carry it in a plastic bag.
- Other items: A water bottle and a good pair of shoes to hike in—cross-trainers or heavier with mid- to full-ankle support. It's no fun to twist an ankle two days out. We hike over lots of rocks and through streams and in the rain, so they will get wet. A Vibram sole is recommended.
- A rain poncho is essential.
- Hiking poles are optional.
- Other camping items like tents, stoves, fuel bottles, insulate pads, food, etc., will be provided.
Do I need to be able to speak Spanish?
- It helps, and it's great practice if you're studying Spanish, but you can go without knowing Spanish. All lectures and tours given in Spanish will be translated. Both Yrene and Scott are fluent in Spanish and are able to assist when needed. We have students go on the trip who are also very good in Spanish.
Do I need to start working out?
- Yes. I think every student who went has said hiking the Inca Trail was the hardest thing they have ever done in their life, and perhaps ever will do. To arrive in the manner of the Incas to Machu Picchu is both physically and spiritually exhilarating. You will climb three passes. On day three, you will hike though a cloud forest, then on day four you will climb to the Sun Gate at dawn exhausted. As you make the descent, Machu Picchu appears below you through the clouds and it is a mystical experience—you will have such a sense of wonder, accomplishment and pride in yourself. Students have said hiking the Inca Trail became a spiritual journey. Altitude will be a factor on the trail and we would recommend running several miles, several times a week at a minimum or a similar cardio activity to build endurance. You can ask your doctor to recommend a personal training program when you get your physical.
You said that we shouldn't wear shorts in the towns, but can we still bring some to hike in?
- Yes, bring a pair to hike in. The lightest, efficient way is to bring a pair of travel/cargo pants with the legs that zip off—it is a convenient way to have both shorts and pants, plus you don't have to take your shoes/boots off to switch to shorts or pants. You may also want to have a pair of shorts to go along with your swimsuit to the beach, the orphanage, and the hot springs that we will visit.
Is it okay to wear capris in the town areas and while we are hiking?
- Capris could also work if you want to bring a pair for around town. They are not so common, but okay. On the Inca Trail, you can wear anything you want as long as it's comfortable to hike in. Watch out for any sewn-in belts or such things when carrying a backpack, that could be very uncomfortable.
What is the ideal pair of pants to wear?
- Cotton cargo pants. As mentioned, wearing shorts around town is not such a good idea.
What kinds of shirts can we wear? Can we hike in thick strapped tank tops?
- The best thing for the Inca Trail is to think in layers. A tank top is fine if it's hot and you use sun block. I would try on your pack and see if your shoulders are going to get rubbed raw by the straps. If it is cold and we are at altitude, I will put on a long sleeved polyester running shirt. The polyester type of running shirts do a better job of wicking away moisture than cotton does. Last time, I brought two polyester short sleeved, one polyester long sleeved and a couple of normal cotton T-shirts for the month. On the trail, I used running shirts only. A sweatshirt or fleece could be nice to have when it is colder. And then some kind of nylon, rain and wind protection, shell jacket. Whatever you bring, bring thin layers that are easy to take on and off. You will want to have a dry set of clothes to sleep in on the trail, including socks, as it can drop below freezing at night.
What if someone needs to contact me while I am in Peru?
- You will receive a detailed itinerary with names of hotels and phone numbers for each night of our stay. You will also receive the address and phone number of Yrene Parsons' family in Lima. Internet cafes for email are in most towns and we can tell you about international calling cards you can buy before you go.
Have you been to Peru?
- This is our third time offering this course. Gerry Punt and Scott Parsons have traveled to Peru and elsewhere in Latin America on many occasions. Yrene Parsons, is from Peru and will help lead this course. Scott has studied, lived, and painted in Latin America for years and has been to Peru over a dozen times. Scott pursued graduate studies in South American archeology while completing his M.F.A. at the University of Colorado and has performed archaeological field work in northern Chile.
What else will we do?
- Gerry may offer surfing lessons when we stay at the beach, and Yrene and Scott have been known to give impromptu salsa lessons.
Contact Us:
- Scott Parsons 605.274.5025, studio 185C between the drawing and printmaking studios in the Center for Visual Arts.
- Gerry Punt 605.274.4333, studio in the ceramics studio in the Center for Visual Arts.
Photos credits and special thanks to Jessica Wentz, Kat Burdine, Annie Youngers, Nick Jackson, Gerry Punt, Scott Parsons, Blake Thompson and Ben Jensen!


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text: This will no doubt reek of newbie hubris, but I wonder if someone would mind explaining why the addicts forum can't even be read until one has 275 posts under one's belt? I am no guru, just someone who recognises this place as a great learning resource, and I would love to be able to eavesdrop on the musings of the true tech-gods. If the addicts forum were strictly read-only prior to 275 posts, would that not prevent it being cluttered up with inane drivel, such as I might post, while still making available the accumulated wisdom of those qualified to post there? I don't want this to sound whiney or ungrateful, but I am curious, and I love extending myself by reading stuff thatgoes well beyond my current understanding.


text:
The hometown crowd is watching Michael Phelps and his unprecedented Olympics success in near-record numbers, making Baltimore the highest-rated TV market for this year's Games and helping WBAL, Channel 11, absolutely trounce the prime-time competition since Friday night's opening ceremonies.
On average, nearly 275,000 Baltimore-area homes have been tuned in to NBC's prime-time Olympics coverage - roughly a quarter of the entire viewing market.
Of homes where the television was actually turned on, more than 40 percent have been watching Phelps and his fellow Olympians.
On Tuesday night, as Phelps was winning his fifth gold medal of these Games and 11th overall, nearly 440,000 Baltimore-area homes were tuned in.
Those numbers might not be the highest ever earned locally for a sporting event. When CBS carried the Ravens' win in Super Bowl XXXV in 2001, the broadcast earned a 43 rating.
But the Super Bowl was a one-day event. NBC and its local affiliate, WBAL, have been getting impressive ratings for six straight days. The Olympics won't be over until Aug. 24, and Phelps still has three days of racing left (his last expected event, the 4x100 medley relay, will be broadcast Saturday night).
"Those are not Super Bowl numbers, but for August, they are through the roof," said Douglas Gomery, scholar in residence at the University of Maryland's Library of American Broadcasting. "In this fragmented universe, for the Summer Olympics to get a 25 rating is unbelievable.
"Now you're talking American Idol and Oscars and Super Bowl - the few events left that can gather tens of millions of Americans around a television set at the same time."
Baltimoreans aren't the only ones watching - numbers are up nationally as well. The average rating for the Olympics through Tuesday was 17.8, higher than the opening days of the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens games. Viewership Monday night, according to figures provided by NBC, averaged 34 million, with a rating roughly 9 percent better than Athens.
"We know the ratings for TV spike when Michael appears," Alan Wurtzel, president of research for NBC Universal, said in a telephone news conference yesterday. "There's no question he's the dominant story. He's a great driver of Olympic interest. But what we're finding is that people might come to see Michael Phelps, but they stay to see lots of other Olympic content."
"He's the reason for NBC's great ratings success," Gomery said of Phelps. "TV is built on the star system, and he's the star of these Olympics. ... If he had lost a couple of these races, it would be a very different story today for our interest in the Olympics and NBC. Right now, he's beyond a star. He's the most famous person in the world - Michael Phelps of North Baltimore!"
The ratings are welcome news for an industry faced with a fragmented viewing audience and declining ad revenue. Officials at WBAL, which has long been battled WJZ, Channel 13, for local ratings dominance, can appreciate the boost those numbers provide.
"We knew that these Olympics would be special," said Jordan Wertlieb, WBAL's president and CEO. "The combination of the Michael Phelps and [fellow Baltimore Olympian] Katie Hoff aspect, and the intrigue of Beijing, we knew interest would be really high. But this has exceeded expectations."
For the Olympics' first five days, WBAL earned a 25.2 rating, the highest in the country. Tuesday from 10:15 to 10:30 p.m., while Phelps was swimming the opening leg of the 4x200 freestyle relay, WBAL had a 38.9 rating, 53.2 share.
Ratings measure the percentage of households with televisions watching a particular program; each ratings point in the Baltimore market translates to roughly 11,000 homes. Share is the percentage of televisions in use that are tuned to a particular program.
Local TV fans are clearly taking notice. For the first five days of the Olympics, when they're on, the other local stations might just as well be broadcasting dead air.
Friday's opening ceremonies earned a 24.1 rating, 800 percent higher than the nearest competition. Tuesday night, when Phelps won two gold medals, the prime-time coverage averaged a 29.4 rating, more than seven times the nearest competition and nearly twice the rating for all other local network programming combined.
Granted, interest in the Olympics is always high, and this year is proving no exception. NBC's prime-time coverage is averaging a 22.9 rating in the nation's top 20 markets, and last week's three highest-rated programs were, in order, the Games' opening ceremonies (35 million viewers), Sunday competition (32 million) and Saturday competition (24 million).
But in Baltimore, especially, ratings for this year's Olympics are showing a serious growth spurt when compared with the 2004 Athens Games. Ratings for the opening ceremonies were up 38 percent over 2004, while prime time numbers so far are up 61 percent.
NBC officials were understandably nervous as the Olympics approached, concerned whether the ratings would validate the $894 million they spent for broadcast rights to the Games.
Swimming is always a major draw, and it was clear that Phelps' pursuit of Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record of winning seven golds in a single Olympics could prove the Games' marquee attraction. So they pressured Beijing organizers to schedule swimming finals in the early morning, making it possible to air them live back in the States.
Wertlieb says WBAL has tried to ensure that local viewers know exactly when hometown favorites Phelps and Hoff will be racing. Thousands of visitors to the wbaltv.com Web site signed up to be notified via text message when either of the two North Baltimore Aquatic Club alumni swims.
"This has been one of the busiest weeks I think I've ever experienced," Wertlieb said. "Honestly, the only Olympic Games I can remember where a story captured a local market's interest like this was Nancy Kerrigan in Boston, back in 1994."
For their part, NBC officials realize they've happened upon something extraordinary - and not just in terms of the athletic competition. "I really believe now it's fair to say that this Olympics has become a really significant cultural event that the country is sharing," says NBC's Wurtzel. "And, honestly, you almost never get that in this day of fractionalized audiences and fractionalized media.
"There are very few events that everybody seems to share and want to talk about. I think it's extraordinary, and I don't think you will see too many more of these things in our future."


text:
Seller Services
Selling in San Francisco is not a chore; it's an adventure! We live in one of the most in-demand and complicated real estate markets in the country. With careful planning, attention to detail and consistent follow through, I excel at getting my clients the highest price and best terms when it comes to the sale of your most important asset.
As a seller, I am both your agent and your:
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Negotiator. I work with the Buyer's agent in negotiation to maximize your sales price and optimize your terms. I'll be tough on your behalf and enjoy every minute.
Coordinator. I will arrange all inspections, appraisals, escrow and closing. I leave nothing to chance.
Lifeline. I am available throughout the entire transaction to answer any and all questions that may arise. I am here to take care of you.


text:
The amazing mash up that blended Grand Theft Auto's cinematic violence with Super Mario Bros. lore, The Brothers Mario, has spawned a sequel. This time, in The Brothers Mario 2, the fight goes to Donkey Kong Country.
The Brothers Mario 2: Kong Country pits a more streetwise and strapped Mario, Luigi, Toad and Yoshi against Candy, Cranky, Diddy and Funky in a vicious war for Mushroom Kingdom territorial control. The references are increasingly thick in this sequel, with a few more cameos that aren't worth spoiling here.
The machinima has even spawned a theme song, Rawn's "Do The Mario," which you can actually purchase via iTunes if Nintendo inspired hip-hop is your cup of tea.
Watch the Country Club's latest smart Grand Theft Auto IV machinima and see how many Nintendo gags you can spot.
Brothers Mario 2: Kong Country [YouTube]