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GSMA sees 2.6GHz future
Digs knife a little deeper into WiMAX
The GSMA argues that the majority of the 2.6GHz band should be LTE-friendly, conceding that WiMAX needs some space to play in the interest of neutrality.
The details come in a report (pdf) from the GSMA, the industry body representing GSM-based-mobile operators, which argues that 340MHz of the 2.6GHz band should be allocated on a Frequency Division basis - ideally suited to LTE - though it's prepared to see 50MHz handed over to the WiMAX crowd even if it ends up empty, as WiMAX itself probably won't last the age of the licence.
The band, which runs from 2.5GHz to 2.69GHz, was allocated (worldwide) for mobile communications back in 2000 when it was popularly expected that 3G services would expand there once 2.1GHz was full up with everyone making video calls. That didn't happen, but there is demand for more data now; so the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has proposed three options for dividing up the bands between Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD):
The difference lies in how handsets communicate with the network. In FDD systems one frequency is used for the uplink, and a different one for the downlink: that's how existing 3G systems work and LTE (the GSMA's preferred 4G technology) also uses it to provide easy coexistence with 3G. TDD systems use one frequency over which the base station and mobile take turns to speak; much like a traditional walkie-talkie. TDD is what the current version of WiMAX uses.
Obviously the GSMA would prefer Option 2, but that doesn't even pretend to be technology neutral so must be discounted. Option 3 would seem the most flexible, but FDD and TDD systems don't like to be too close to each other, and should neighbouring countries allocate the same spectrum to different multiplexing systems the result will be a right mess, so the GSMA is forced to recommend Option 1 while predicting that it will leave 50MHz of spectrum fallow.
And that's what some countries have already adopted, with the notable exception of the USA and Canada who forged ahead allocating spectrum before international agreements had been reached. In the USA that means TDD services, much to the disdain of the GSMA, which sniffily reckons that "at some point it may well become desirable to make better use of the 2.6GHz band in the United States than is represented by the current investments of Clearwire and Sprint Nextel".
In the UK 2.6GHz was supposed to have been auctioned off 18 months ago, but got caught up in a series of legal complications and delaying actions by the operators, and now it's part of the Digital Britain project. During that process the TDD allocation has been significantly reduced, and the UK now endorses Option 1 if Ofcom ever gets round to selling the block.
Ofcom is supposed to be technology neutral, but while the next version of WiMAX could use the FDD spectrum it's much better suited to LTE. So the way in which the spectrum is sold (in pairs or blocks) determines the technology for which it's best suited.
But Ofcom also carries the legacy of last time it did this, when 20MHz of spectrum was allocated to TDD services over the 3G networks. Every UK operator except Vodafone bought 5MHz of that spectrum and it still lies empty. The GSMA expects the same fate to befall the 50MHz of spectrum allocated to TDD at 2.6GHz, as WiMAX dies, but sees no way to avoid that outcome without giving up any pretence of technology neutrality. ®


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Jasper is on the hunt for Bella. This time, Edward is by Bella's side - but there is no telling for how long Edward can keep her safe... Don't read Inexplicable until you've (In order) read:
1.) Tears Don't Fall
2.) Unforgettable DISCLAIMER: All characters, real or fake, or content taken from the twilight series belong to Stephenie Meyer. This story is a result of my untamed imagination. Please don't sue me.
This is going to be interesting... Please review!
1. Chapter 1
Rating 5/5 Word Count 339 Review this Chapter
Edward refused to explain anything to me. I tried threatening him… but there is very little to threaten Edward about; besides me leaving him, and I would never leave Edward.
He stashed some bags containing clothes and money into the trunk of Carlisle's Mercedes, and took off. It didn't bother me so much anymore that he drove like a madman; it bothered me that he didn't tell me where we were going.
"Edward!" I said when he narrowly made hairpin turns. "When are you going to tell me what's going on? When we're in Mexico?"
Edward didn't look away from the road; he didn't even glance at me. He closed his eyes and then spoke. I tried to keep my mind off the winding road. "Jasper… He wants you."
"And so?" I remembered when James hunted me. It had been the most terrifying experience of my life; mainly because I Edward was not by my side. It didn't even bother me that James wanted to torture me to death…
"You don't understand, Bella. Jasper wants you. For a mate." My mouth dropped open at Edward's shocking deliverance of words.
"A m-mate?" I couldn't bring myself to think of the words. "W-Why?"
Edward seemed to be in pain as he spoke. "Alice… is dead." I wanted to scream. Alice, my best friend, was dead.
"How can that be?" I managed to choke out.
"Jasper - killed her. I don't know why. When I was reading his mind, he told me that he killed Alice." If Edward could cry, he probably would be at that moment. The memories of Alice's cheery demeanor flooded my mind, and tears began to fall. Edward held me to his chest in attempt to stop the flow of tears.
I knew there would be no more explanations.What bloody man is that? He can report,
As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt
The newest state. Duncan - Macbeth

subset: commoncrawl


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Damn Bob, if your butt is 215 lbs., what's the rest of you weigh!?
Actually I do total out @ 215 butt only because I'm an air head
So it all works out in the unh.. end
Big kite recommendation
Post general kiteboarding discussion topics here!
Moderator: BayAreaKite
Depnds on where it is located and the type of hole.
If it is near a valve they are hard to fix. If it is in the body of the bladder and small hten its no problem. Long rips can be repaired but obviously the quality of the repair matters in how well it is going to hold.
You might want to think about it as if it were a bycycle tire what kind of tube repair would be comfortable starting a long trip on...same idea with a kite.
I would be sure of where the leak is before I bought the kite otherwise deduct the cost of a replacement bladder. They do not fly so well with saggy struts and leading edges.
You can also buy a new bladder from a dealer or a place like airtime up in the gorge.
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Shepherd Survival Supply is a family-owned Survival Kit and Supply company. Our main offerings include: Survival Packages, Every Day Carry Kits, Emergency Water Filters, Long Term Food Storage, First Aid Kits, Survival Tools, and Radiation Survival Supplies, including the popular Nukalert and RADsticker, for emergency and disaster preparedness.
Common Tags: Multitools, Multitool, Leatherman Wave, Squirt, Crunch, Survivor Tool, Survival Tools, Equipment, Gear, Store, Supplies, Supply, Preparedness, Multi Tools, Knives, Knife, Goods, Weapons, Wilderness


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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# CT20101
Mfg# 7116
Be the First to Review
OPGI Price: $249.99
Part Type: (P) High Performance, designed to improve performance
Years: 1964-1977
Sold As: EACH
Designed for 262-400 small-blocks. This manifold will make maximum horsepower with a broad torque curve. Manifold has provisions to add oil fill tube. Accepts late model water neck, AC, alternator and HEI. Has an rpm range of 1500-6500. Available with a satin aluminum finish.


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|General Hardware General hardware related questions.
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Personal Super Computer
It may sound very absurd but this is true. I'am only 20 years old but I have a plan to order a Personal Super Computer from the US within next two years. SW Technology's Personal Super Computer Series seems the right option. On the other it isn't the only option. Money isn't problem at all. The only problem is that I may need an power adapter to get it working here in Finland. It would be more than usable at least more than 20 years for me or actually so far it works. Is it worth of money?
They don't appear to be offering anything that you probably couldn't locate locally in "Southern Finland".
Looks like they're just offering rackmount cases with off the shelf hardware.. what's so special?
EDIT: The inclusion of NVidia GPU hardware is an instant sign to avoid them without a second thought.
EDIT2: So it would seem the NVidia hardware is what classifies this these systems as personal super computers, but it seems very likely that it's proprietary and requires using kernel blobs.. if that doesn't bother you, go for it.
Last edited by BSDfan666; 25th August 2009 at 06:15 PM.
those machines are not silver bullet - that is, there are build for specific task. that task may eat a lot of cpu but less memory and little need to speak to other nodes over the network. it can be memory hungry and average use of cpu.. and so on and so on. to build/bуy such thing as super computer first you had to have problem to solve and you have to be fluent on that problem on paper. that is complete understanding of the problem to be solve and later build calculating unit to solve this problem. you can use nvidia;s cuda for massive parallel calculations - of course it has it's own limitations. you can build cluster from of the shelf hardware, with 100/1000mbit network. or go wit blade server and inifiband switch.so.. get to now math - it's sound pathetic but you need it to solve any problem you have. then make yourself competent enough in computer hardware - there is more than one architecture - i386 or AMD64 and take right decision about your super computer architecture. get to know programming - c/c++, fortran .. etc.. languages.
aaaaaaaaaaaand in the end - formulate your problem, and take appropriate approach in solving it, at lower as possible cost for you as money and time.
Verbose mode can also be turned on for SSH2 with the (surprise!) VerboseMode keyword.
agrr slow typing...bsdfan was first
Verbose mode can also be turned on for SSH2 with the (surprise!) VerboseMode keyword.
I've explained why in my second EDIT, but it is a simple preference.. and I also happen to use OpenBSD.
Just look at the cost per megaflop 20 years ago.
I would suggest buying a nice high end workstation or gaming system with all the newest top of the line stuff since money is no object. That way you have a machine that can last 10 or more years.
I did this five years ago and have not had a need to even look at upgrading or replacing my workstation. Which kind of sucks since I don't have an excuse to buy a new machine.
"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words." -Philip K. Dick
DIY following this example:
Have fun!
If you had started with "Problem xyz is typically done on this type of supercomputer, & I really want to learn about this...", then the answer might be "maybe".
As with other responders in this thread, get something current. Computers are tools & commodities. Most people trade-sell-buy a new computer every ~five years. After you have bought your supercomputer & your friends are tired of hearing, "Hey, I bought me a supercomputer!", what will you do then?
If you do end up buying a supercomputer, please take care of it & keep it maintained. Once you tire of it, please donate it to a museum where it can be used for educating the public. A number of computer museums restore hardware if they have multiple copies, & make them available online for educational purposes. You can help teach the next generation learn from innovations made in the past.
If money is not a problem then it is absolutely fine to go for the Supercomputer but if you think that you are going to use that computer for 20 Years then I would say you should not invest your money thinking of so long especially in the ever changing world of technology.
After the nine months of consideration
I have now considered the upcoming "super computer" for nine months. I can admit that usability of 20 years was rather exaggerated. Now I expect usability for between from 8 to 14 years. "High-end workstation" could be better definition for this computer than "super computer". I'am not anymore planning for purchasing my workstation from overseas when I can purchase it from my location (Southern Finland) althought there's only one retailer.
This is my selection:
Supermicro SuperWorkstation 7046A-T
motherboard: Supermicro X8DAi
maximum RAM: 192 Gb
maximum amount of CPU's: 2
My configuration:
- One Intel Xeon 5680 (6-core 3.33GHz) processor (second CPU is planned to buy later)
- 4 Gb's of random access memory (will be expanded later to 16 Gb)
- One 2 Tb and one 750 Gb SATA hard disk drive
- PCI-E display adapter, video memory something between 512 Mb's and 2 Gb's
- Writing DVD/CD drive with LightScribe support
Operating System:
primary: 64-bit BSD
- NetBSD/amd64
- PC-BSD or DesktopBSD amd64 port
secondary (yet unclear): 32-bit Windows XP or 64-bit Linux
- Windows XP Professional with SP3 (only for some commercial games)
- GNU/Linux (used if display adapter problems or if UMTS/3G Internet access requires)
Price: something between 3000 and 4000 euros
What will you use that box for?
IMHO You would do much more better with Quad Core Intel Nehalem (8 threads), 2 x Intel SSDs for RAID1 for / filesystem and next 9-12 VelociRaptor HDDs for RAID50 for ZFS storage, and another 2 Intel SSDs for L2ARC, along with 16-32GB RAM.
But personally, I think that You just got too much cash and do not know how to spread it ;p
religions, worst damnation of mankind
"If 386BSD had been available when I started on Linux, Linux would probably never had happened." Linus Torvalds
Linux is not UNIX! Face it! It is not an insult. It is fact: GNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not UNIX".
vermaden's: links resources deviantart spreadbsd
I don't have any money, can you give me some money?
Or if you're in the mood to spend a ton of money on hardware, check this out:
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Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman "Ruff Fetches The Fetchers" Season Five is about to start but Ruff has been so busy trying to find his long-lost parents, he's forgotten to choose his Season 5 FETCHers! In this casting special, viewers get a behind-the-scenes look at how Ruff goes about picking his contestants. Unfortunately, shortly after selecting his intrepid kids, Ruff loses them on the way to Studio G!. D
5:30 pm
5:56 pm
NewsHour Promo NULL
6:00 pm
PBS NewsHour NULL
7:00 pm
Antiques Roadshow "Orlando, FL - Hour Three" In the final hour from Orlando, appraisers view a circa 1975 aerial photo of the entire Disney property before Epcot was built. Cecil Stoughton, official White House photographer during the Kennedy administration brings a collection of original photographs worth up to $75,000 that document JFK's family life. Part 3 of 3G
8:00 pm
Live From Lincoln Center "One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch" The New York Philharmonic rings in 2013 with this celebration of the life and work of Marvin Hamlisch. The late composer-conductor was scheduled to conduct this concert before his death in August. Guest star appearances include violinist Joshua Bell, Raul Esparza (Company), Michael Feinstein, Maria Friedman, Josh Groban, Megan Hilty, Audra McDonald, Kelli O'Hara and Frederica Von Stade.G
9:30 pm
Downton Abbey Revisited This special presents some favorite scenes from the series' seasons 1 and 2 to savor before Season 3 begins in January. Key actors and creative staff tell their stories of the depiction of life on an English country estate from 1912 into the 1920s. There are also behind-the-scenes footage and a sneak peak at what is yet to come.G
10:00 pm
Independent Lens "Men Who Swim" In 2009, Sweden's all-male synchronized swimming team, inspired by classical techniques used by 1950s-era swimmer Esther Williams, entered the first international championship for the sport. The move would require increased training for what started as a weekly escape from the daily grind - and in a year several of them turned 40.G
11:00 pm
Diana Ross: for One and for All In 1983 before an audience of thousands of fans in New York's Central Park, the singer gives an all-out performance, even braving a downpour until lightning ends that day's performance. The next day, Diana Ross and her fans return and she performs the entire concert again. Andy Warhol, who attended the storm-tossed concert, said, "The sky darkened and the rain came and it was the most incredible thing I've ever seen. Just the event of the century - her hair blowing and soaking wet ... it was like a dream, like a hallucination, watching this spectacle."G


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12:00 pm
Connect with English "The Lost Boys/A Very Good Year" Alex and Vincent go ice skating on their big night without telling anyone and Alex falls and hurts his ankle. The two boys go to a hospital whilst their families search everywhere for them.G
12:30 pm
Connect with English "Introduction/Rebecca's Dream" The program begins with an overview of the course and an introduction to the main characters in the drama.G
1:00 pm
Ethics In America II "Risk, Reward, Responsibility: Ethics In Business" Should the executives at Casablanca Cruise Lines have asbestos removed from their ships by a company based in the former Soviet republic of Novostan? The cost would be $80 million less than if an American company were used, but Novostani standards of worker safety are far less rigorous. What should executives at MaxiCorp disclose about accidents in cars using their device, which doubles the mileage of cars in which it is installed, when they have no idea whether their device is contributing to the accidents? And what should executives at Wowie Info do when the authoritarian government of Jaigunda demands the name of a Jaigundan customer who has been using Wowie?G
2:00 pm
Unfinished Nation "A New Corporate Order" Explosion of U. S. industry after Civil War, and factors which motivate unprecedented growth. Power and wealth amassed by corporate magnates. Recruitment of labor force. Women and children in the workforce. Workers attempts to organize for better wages and working conditions. Measures used to stifle worker discontent.G
2:30 pm
Unfinished Nation "The Age of the City" Industrialization shifts economic power and population to cities. Increase in immigration and ethnic neighborhoods; nativist reaction. City planning and infrastructure; urban transportation. Housing for wealthy, middle class, poor families. Threat of poverty, fire, disease. Growth of political machines, bossism. Consumerism. New leisure pastimes.G
3:00 pm
Biography of America, A "Slavery" While the North develops an industrial economy and culture, the South develops a slave culture and economy, and the great rift between the regions becomes unbreachable. Professor Masur looks at the human side of the history of the mid-1800s by sketching a portrait of the lives of slave and master. D
3:30 pm
Biography of America, A "Coming of the Civil War" Simmering regional differences ignite an all-out crisis in the 1850s. Professor Martin teams with Professor Miller and historian Stephen Ambrose to chart the succession of incidents, from 'Bloody Kansas' to the shots on Fort Sumter, that inflame the conflict between North and South to the point of civil war. D
4:00 pm
DragonflyTV "Games" Lara pulls her own weight (and more!) when investigating how her tug o'war team can trounce the big kids. New York divers make a splash with a motion analysis investigation. D
4:30 pm
Biz Kid$ "You Are The Target!" Every day, kids and teens are subjected to thousands of commercial messages from advertisers. This episode helps you recognize when you are being targeted, how to resist manipulation, and when to apply good consumer skills to cut through the commercial fog. D
5:00 pm
The Electric Company "Wiki Wiki Walter" Hector challenges Manny to find a beatboxer better than Shock. Shock panics! After his last beatboxing competition with his best friend WikiWiki Walter, their friendship was ruined! When Manny finds a competitor who turns out to be Shock's old beatboxing pal, Wiki, and with Doug E. Fresh as the beatboxing judge, the competition gets a little more interesting. D
5:30 pm
Cyberchase "The Grapes of Plath" A terrible cyberglitch afflicts the young prince of the Crab Kingdom and the CyberSquad must cure him and stop Hacker before all is lost. D
6:00 pm
Lidia's Italy In America "St. Louis's Little Italy" Everyone loves a warm plate of Spaghetti & Meatballs, and today Lidia teaches the viewer how to take that classic and make it the way she loves to eat it. She also adds a Sicilian specialty - arancini - or Rice Balls to the menu. D
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Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen "Upscale Meat and Potatoes" NULL
7:00 pm
Pati's Mexican Table "Puebla: Food from a Colonial Jewel" Travel with Pati to the state of Puebla to see why it isn't just the site of the legendary Cinco de Mayo battle - it's also home to some of Mexico's most luscious, delectable culinary treats. Creamy Poblano Soup; Chicken Tinga; Glazed Santa Clara Cookies. D
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8:30 pm
Rick Steves' Europe "South Ireland: Waterford to the Ring of Kerry" As Rick travels the southern coast, he visits Waterford's crystal factory, the Kennedy family homestead, the Dunbrody famine ship, and Kinsale's star-shaped fortresses. Then he drives the Ring of Kerry.G
9:00 pm
Travelscope "Ontario, Canada's Far North" In this relative desolation, the MoCreeBec and Moose Cree struggle to keep their cultures alive.G
9:30 pm
Lidia's Italy In America "St. Louis's Little Italy" Everyone loves a warm plate of Spaghetti & Meatballs, and today Lidia teaches the viewer how to take that classic and make it the way she loves to eat it. She also adds a Sicilian specialty - arancini - or Rice Balls to the menu. D
10:00 pm
Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen "Upscale Meat and Potatoes" NULL
10:30 pm
Simply Ming "Caramelization with Guest Jody Adams" This week on Simply Ming - Caramelization - a technique that enhances both savory and sweet cooking. Done right it enhances a dish, and done wrong will turn it bitter. Joining Ming in the kitchen is Chef Jody Adams. D
11:00 pm
Mexico -- One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless "Chiles Rellenos: The Stuff of Passion" At the romantic San Angel Inn, a lush hacienda-turned-restaurant in Mexico City's Coyoacan District, Rick enjoys what might just be the most passion-infused food in the Mexican canon: a quintessential plate of perfect chiles rellenos. From there, we visit La Merced - the sprawling, spectacular central market that's the culinary soul of a city with 20 million mouths to feed - where chiles are bought and sold by the thousands. Americans are passionate about chiles rellenos, too. D
11:30 pm
Rick Steves' Europe "South Ireland: Waterford to the Ring of Kerry" As Rick travels the southern coast, he visits Waterford's crystal factory, the Kennedy family homestead, the Dunbrody famine ship, and Kinsale's star-shaped fortresses. Then he drives the Ring of Kerry.G


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1. Re: downsizing from 300 dpic.pfaffenbichler Feb 20, 2012 5:05 AM (in response to JTRVeldman)1 person found this helpful
Maybe you are wasting your time.
The essential thing is the effective resolution – often dependent on the scaling of an image in a layout application.
If you set the resolution to 300ppi (it is ppi, by the way, foir digital images) with »Resample Image« turned off is the resultant size too small for your needs.
For my work I need high quality pictures.
So you upsample them?
2. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiJTRVeldman Feb 20, 2012 5:17 AM (in response to c.pfaffenbichler)1 person found this helpful
I looked on google and it said for paper 300+ ppi is considered Hi Res. For web usage 72 ppi is considered Hi Res.
So I used that information.
I don't upsample Hi Res images, only the images that aren't Hi Res yet. I put them on 300 ppi because I don't want to much quality loss.
But if I understand your comment correctly I can put my work on 300 ppi without making the file extremely large?
3. Re: downsizing from 300 dpic.pfaffenbichler Feb 20, 2012 7:14 AM (in response to JTRVeldman)1 person found this helpful
I put them on 300 ppi because I don't want to much quality loss.
If you upsample and it is not actually necessary you are reducing the image's quality unnecessarily.
Edit: Actually the title states »downsizing« – still, unless one knows the final requirements fairly exactly down- or upsampling are both not recommended in my opinion.
But if I understand your comment correctly I can put my work on 300 ppi without making the file extremely large?
Once again: The effective resolution is the relevant one!
And that is dependent on the output size – which often is not decided by the photographer but by customers, graphic designers … later on.
Basically the resolution of an image itself is close to irrelevant, the pixel dimensions are relevant.
A 10px by 10px image with 300ppi is still fairly small and a 4000px x 3000px image with 72ppi is still OK for A4 (if the image section is not set too narrow).
4. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 20, 2012 7:30 AM (in response to JTRVeldman)1 person found this helpful
Hi Ralph,
The first thing that came to mind when I read your question was that scene in Star Wars, A New Hope where Yoda exclaims to Luke, "You must unlearn what you have learned."
1. My first and best advice to you is to put your thinking about ppi aside, and just concentrate on the actual pixel count in your images.
2. Secondly, do NOT try to minimize the size of your images while you're working on them or storing them. If anything, you want to raise it.
What I mean by pixel count is simply this: Keep in mind the number of horizontal pixels by number of vertical pixels in your image.
Trying to reduce the size will net you reduced quality. If your computer struggles with processing large images, get a better computer or just grin and bear it. You said you wanted quality. If you want speed in processing, prepare to sacrifice quality. There is no free lunch.
To take this explanation a bit further...
Your image capture equipment (e.g., camera, scanner, download, or whatever) delivers an image to you with a particular pixel count. This defines how detailed your image can be. For the sake of argument, let's say it's 3000 x 2000 pixels. While your'e preparing that image for whatever use you have in mind - e.g., printing - if you are primarily concerned with image quality consider upsampling that image, to even double the pixel count in each dimension and working with it in 16 bits/channel. At 6000 x 4000 pixels and 48 bits per pixel yes, that makes it HUGE to work with, but modern computers have been up to the task of working with large, deep images for quite a while now.
The advantage to working on upsampled images is that it gives you more room to work and it minimizes the data loss due to round-off error or other processing artifacts.
Now let's say you've got your big, beautiful image all prettied up and you're ready to print. Except in certain very specific instances where printer drivers are outdated or faulty, if you just set the image size, in inches without resampling, and even at this point ignore the ppi, this will give you quite possibly the best print you're going to get from your image. You might see Photoshop show you a ppi value of 600 or more when you do this. Not a problem. Just leave it.
Now: Please go and actually try this and see how the quality comes out on a real print.
P.S., I shoot using raw format, and I set Camera Raw to deliver 6144 x 4096 pixels and 16 bits/channel in every case, even though my camera's "native" size is smaller than that.
5. Re: downsizing from 300 dpic.pfaffenbichler Feb 20, 2012 7:34 AM (in response to Noel Carboni)
Hurray for 16bit!
6. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 20, 2012 2:41 PM (in response to c.pfaffenbichler)
Why on earth would you upsample?
7. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiTrevor.Dennis Feb 20, 2012 3:54 PM (in response to JTRVeldman)
When you consider how much confusion we see in this forum about image size, ppi, dpi, up-sampling etc. etc. then it stands to reason that people who are not interested in Photoshop, or serious about photography, are going to even more confused – which is probably a nice way of saying 'clueless'! We even experience it in Camera Clubs right up to National Photographic Society levels, where digital competition entries are submitted to large or too small.
Some email clients have routines that automatically downsize attached images. Or at least, they might ask the first time you attach an image, but subsequently take your input as defaults for future attached image files.
Then there is scanning. I suspect that the multipurpose printer with built in scanner is the norm for the home office nowadays, but I bet not many people fully understand how to use them.
In summary, a lot of people - probably most people – don't have a clue about image size, and need a bit of careful nudging in order to coax a decent sized image out of them. So keep on asking and explaining until you get images you don't need to resize.
8. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 20, 2012 3:58 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
Lundberg02 wrote:
Why on earth would you upsample?
Why on Earth would you not?
Assuming your computer is up to it pretty much everything that's pixel-based just works better / more accurately at an upsampled size.
9. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 20, 2012 4:26 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
Any resampling is destructive.
10. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 20, 2012 4:46 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
May I respectfully suggest two things:
1. Try not to state things as oversimplified absolutes. Did it occur to you that performing editing steps on an image with a smaller number of pixels also introduces "destruction" that editing on upsampled data might minimize? It seems to me the world is too complicated to be boiled down into 4-word rules-of-thumb.
2. Please consider couching your statements in a little humility. As it is, terse posts such as those above come across as confrontational. Understand that there might actually be folks here with more experience than you, who understand this stuff better than you do, and who give advice that has merit.
Thanks for considering my thoughts.
11. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiTrevor.Dennis Feb 20, 2012 4:49 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
I've known actual married couples get on better than you two.
12. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 20, 2012 4:57 PM (in response to Trevor.Dennis)
Nah, Lundberg's still nicer than my wife.
13. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 20, 2012 4:59 PM (in response to Trevor.Dennis)
Well, he's a Windows guy, and we all know they are.
14. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 20, 2012 5:16 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
Are what? More tolerant?
We are both incredibly privileged to be computer users, Lundberg, and not having to be out hunting with spears or gathering rotten fruit. I'm thankful that I can sit on my behind here and type with you. Peace.
15. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 20, 2012 5:33 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
Lundberg02 wrote:
Any resampling is destructive.
Back on subject, please provide any evidence that upsampling during raw conversion through Camera Raw is destructive. It is, in every way I can see, a creative process, producing an image where there was none.
I understand that you may feel that a "native-sized" conversion could be better than an upsampled conversion.
For my part, I did an extensive study back two years ago when Photoshop CS5 first came out about how to get the maximum image detail and quality from raw images through the then new Camera Raw 6.
After converting various images for a week, adjusting parameters, and objectively comparing results both on screen and in prints, I concluded that Camera Raw can be coaxed into producing both a higher level of detail and more realistic looking detail if set to upsample the data to a resolution up to about double the size of the camera's native output. With, for example, my Canon EOS-40D, that's 3888 x 2592 pixels upsampled to 6144 x 4096 (not quite double, but it's the biggest Camera Raw will produce). Now I get results I will put up against anyone's.
16. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 20, 2012 9:31 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
I realize that you are the inventor of sliced bread, but show me how
upsampling recovers information from the dematrixed Bayer sensor layout
of two greens and a blue and a red. There is probably twice as much
brightness information in the four original pixels but it has been lost
by the time you upsample.
17. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiD Fosse Feb 20, 2012 10:40 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
I'm not taking part in this particular discussion, but I'd like to introduce a new variable: the lens.
I do a lot of work zoomed in to pixel level, and there is a big difference in how much useful detail my various lenses will capture. With the 10-20mm wide zoom, I estimate useful resolution at about 3000 x 2000, and that's stopped down to f/10 or 11. The primes are much better with their simpler construction. The 50mm could probably carry detail up to 6000 x 4000 at f/8, which is why I use that whenever possible.
So I'm not too concerned with the pixel race. My camera outputs 4288 x 2848, and that's plenty enough for a magazine or book spread. But I don't do gallery prints.
Aside from that, I think Noel's argument about doing detail work on an upsampled file has merit, assuming that the upsampling itself works as advertised.
18. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 20, 2012 10:55 PM (in response to D Fosse)
But where is the additional scene information content? It has already
been dematrixed.
19. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 21, 2012 6:09 AM (in response to Lundberg02)
It's not so much that information is added, but...
1. Less is lost in the conversion to an image when more pixels are available into which to put the data.
2. Less is lost during ongoing processing of the image when more pixels are available to work on.
And keep in mind that the ongoing processing starts right in Camera Raw. For example, it does a form of deconvolution sharpening and having more pixels to work with yields a better result. Do you dial any sharpening into your conversions?
If you want to try it yourself, go for it. The differences are subtle, but they're there. If not, that's fine - I'm sure you can make pretty pictures the way you do it as well. No one's trying to force anything on anyone here.
20. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 21, 2012 1:56 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
The dematrixing algorithm uses estimates of the brightness information
in the red and blue pixels, I only remember that the blue pixel is
assumed to have 18% of the brightness of a green pixel in the same
location. As this is only a statistical data point , the overall effect
is a loss of resolution compared to the number of Bayer sensor pixels.
Up sampling can only make this worse, unless you can show how adding
more pixels that are not an even multiple is somehow improving the image.
21. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 21, 2012 4:44 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
Lundberg, I really don't have more to say on the subject, and I don't feel compelled to show anything more. If you don't want to believe working on upsampled data nets good results that's entirely up to you. No one's twisting your arm.
I will say this about your matter-of-fact "it works like this" statements, though: Nobody outside the development team knows the details of the Camera Raw implementation.
But I do know the results I've gotten by doing all manners of testing, and I stand by them. If you'd like to compare techniques on actual data some time, please by all means start a thread on it. I'm up for any processing challenge. Maybe we can get Dag to post one of his super sharp raw files, which would be perfect for such a thing.
22. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 21, 2012 6:58 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
The book "Color Constancy" by Marc Ebner tells anyone all they need to
know about Bayer sensor processing and Von Kriess algorithms. Von Kriess
was one of those turn of the century genius polymaths who was into all
sorts of science. He was a physiologist by profession, but he developed
the mathematics of color constancy a hundred years before the digital
camera was based on his work. Amazing.
You simply can't get more information out of an image than the original
sampling has in it. Any resampling that is not a even multiple will lose
23. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiD Fosse Feb 22, 2012 4:38 AM (in response to JTRVeldman)
I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle. Methodology becomes very tricky here, and it's hard to know exactly what you are comparing by putting two examples next to each other.
Here are two instances of the same file opened from ACR. One is opened at native resolution, and the other going two steps up in resolution. Note the zoom levels in displaying the two. This is to get them to same scale.
Sharpening is a complicating factor too. Without any sharpening this would be too blurry to make anything out of it at this zoom level. But the same setting would produce different results in the two resolutions, so the higher resolution has slightly more sharpening at higher radius (perhaps a bit too high).
What this tells me is...very little, actually. I certainly don't see any quality loss, aside from a little edge softening. But that can be brought back by sharpening.
OTOH I don't really see any gain either - except for large format exhibition purposes, where the reduced pixelation would be a big plus.
It also tells me that resampling isn't nearly as destructive as one might think. The algorithms apparently work extremely well, so maybe it's nothing to be afraid of.
EDIT: I see the one on the right - the upsampled one - was a little oversharpened compared to the other. But I don't have time to make up new examples.
24. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiD Fosse Feb 22, 2012 4:56 AM (in response to D Fosse)
25. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 22, 2012 5:54 AM (in response to D Fosse)
You've started to touch on it, Dag. In each case above does or does not the image with the higher pixel count look more real?
I can appreciate the desire to try to test theories A and B separately. You now see, as I did, that upsampling during conversion (which may not be upsampling at all, but just the placement of conversion results in a larger number of pixels) doesn't lose anything.
Now ask yourself, how many photos do I actually convert without using sharpening in ACR?
Try this methodology: Take each method - converting the image at "native" size and converting the image at upsampled size - and subject both to the processing you typically do when preparing images for actual use. In the converter, specifically use the 0.5 Radius setting for Sharpening, which calls up ACR's deconvolution sharpening. When all done, objectively compare the results. That will take you to another step I have already visited. At first you might feel there's little difference, then you might find - as I did - that with slight tweaks to the processing workflow you are able to achieve even better results from the upsampled conversion. After a while you consistently see results that are clearly superior to what you were getting with native sized conversions. After a while you figure out that it's a bit like getting a new camera with a few more megapixels.
Why? If you find it a necessity to explain these results, I have already done so above... What folks sometimes don't realize is that in the process of preparing images for for use, in the pixel manipulation (which starts in the converter) we actually stand to LOSE a lot of good information if it is already tightly packed into the pixels. Just look closely at the pixels of an oversharpened image if you doubt this.
26. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiD Fosse Feb 22, 2012 9:24 AM (in response to Noel Carboni)
Just so we're clear, then...we're really talking about damage control?
The underlying assumption is that by the time you're finished you have already thrown out a lot of information anyway, whether intentional or not, but this (working on an upsampled file) gives you better control over what you're throwing away, and what you're keeping?
OK, I could buy that...with one reservation: noise. If you do any noise reduction, you really want to keep the noise as crisp as possible. One single pixel standing out is just perfect. A diffuse 5 pixel blob, however...noise or detail?
And I think it's pretty clear that what happens here is an upsampling, there is such a thing as native resolution. The edge softening shows that unambiguously. Yes, I know that demosaicing from the Bayer filter is in itself an interpolation, but I also think that a good demosaicing algorithm takes all the pixels into consideration when reconstructing the color image, not just interpolating from one red pixel to the next red pixel, completely ignoring the green and blue pixels in between.
In any case, I certainly agree that you don't lose anything. So if for some reason you need a higher resolution file than what the camera delivers natively, there's little or no risk. It will look perfectly plausible.
(But I would of course shoot for a Photomerge if the subject doesn't move. That gives you the additional detail as well).
27. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiGernot Hoffmann Feb 22, 2012 9:33 AM (in response to D Fosse)
For ordinary image processing (improving already good images)
I can't see any benefit, upsampling the images.
But for morphing or warping
I found it very useful to apply upsampling, followed by down-
(please use zoom 200%)
The underlying idea: an area of pixels in an image has to be
distorted according to a vector field. Each pixel has to be
shifted in both directions. It's IMO quite clear that such a
geometrical transformation will work much more smooth
in an upsampled copy. After the transform, the upsampled
part will be downsampled and fit into the original image.
Best regards --Gernot Hoffmann
28. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 22, 2012 10:04 AM (in response to D Fosse)
D Fosse wrote:
Just so we're clear, then...we're really talking about damage control?
Nope. I'm just talking about results. I'm only vaguely trying to guess at why, after being prompted to do so.
And there's no question it would be no more than a guess because we simply don't know how ACR works under the covers. You may think they convert then upsample, but they may well consider each pixel in the output image in succession and derive its color/luminance from the nearby source photosites. I have no idea. Nor are we likely to learn how it actually works any time soon. It's proprietary.
All I know is that whatever I do, I get better results from working at upsampled resolutions and either use those results directly or downsample at the end to make the work products. I'm not talking about night and day better, but incrementally so.
People seem to want to reconcile their understanding of how they think things work, and that's great, but just remember it's the results that count.
29. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiD Fosse Feb 22, 2012 12:08 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
OK. I'll keep looking into this. But as you know, I'm never happy until I know how and why stuff works
At any rate, I have just gotten the go ahead for looking into digital backs for a Mamiya 67 (film) camera that we have (a beautiful piece). Resolutions range from 22 all the way up to 80 megapixels, but of course I can't go completely overboard. The problem is that the lower resolution sensors are also physically smaller - turning the lenses we have for it into extreme telephotos. Hopefully I can hit a sweet spot. The funny thing is that even though these backs are very expensive, getting the money for that is possible simply because we already have the camera. If I asked for a spanking new Nikon D4 at probably the same price it would be turned down flatly I'm sure. Psychology is funny stuff...anyway, fingers crossed.
30. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 22, 2012 3:00 PM (in response to D Fosse)
Yes, the demosaic takes all the pixels into its grasp, but it uses
ESTIMATORS of the brightness of the blue and red.
31. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 22, 2012 3:03 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
We may be talking about what we in the aerospace business called
"management physics".
32. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 22, 2012 4:25 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
I really don't know what you mean, Lundberg, but it doesn't sound like you meant that as a compliment.
I like to think this is about what we in the engineering business call "observed results" with a certain amount of "helping others" thrown in.
It would be nice if we could talk about it respectfully.
33. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 22, 2012 5:05 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
Please repeat silently to yourself "He is not trying to piss me off",
when reading my posts.
No sampling is lossless, just like no measurement can avoid affecting
the measurement, just ask Heisenberg if you see him around.
34. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiChris Cox Feb 22, 2012 5:19 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
>> just ask Heisenberg if you see him around.
I think I saw him over at H-bar... oh, no, I guess that was just his momentum.
35. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 22, 2012 5:31 PM (in response to Lundberg02)
Lundberg02 wrote:
Please repeat silently to yourself "He is not trying to piss me off",
when reading my posts.
Okay, I'll do that. I'll ask you in return to consider using enough words in your terse posts so that others can understand what you're saying. I might ask as well that you consider the consequences of starting into a conversation by saying "Why on earth...".
Lundberg02 wrote:
Yes, the demosaic takes all the pixels into its grasp, but it uses
ESTIMATORS of the brightness of the blue and red.
I'll point out again that, unless you're actually on the Adobe Camera Raw design team, you simply cannot know what they're doing in the process of creating an image from a raw file. It seems you believe you do, and are trying to convince others of that by throwing about terminology.
I do understand the mechanics of debayering, by the way. If it were all done the same way, that's documented in some book somewhere, there wouldn't be significant differences between products, now would there? There are even differences within products, e.g., the ACR 2010 method vs. 2003 method. HOW it's being done in ACR is undocumented, defies being oversimplfied, and it's simply up to us to discover the best ways to use it.
36. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiNoel Carboni Feb 22, 2012 6:22 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
Noel Carboni wrote:
I'm just talking about results.
I get better results from working at upsampled resolutions
Just as an example, two results from the same file, the one on the left converted to a higher-than-native size of 6144 x 4096, and the one on the right to the native size of 3888 x 2592 pixels.
Which do you think would make a cleaner looking large print?
37. Re: downsizing from 300 dpiLundberg02 Feb 22, 2012 8:13 PM (in response to Noel Carboni)
The upsampled is less pixelated, but of course it would be. Zoom it by
the same ratio.That does not change the fact that information was lost.


text:
Seaside Boardwalk Hot Pockets Flare Up As Investigation Continues [VIDEO]
Several hot pockets flared up overnight on the Seaside Boardwalk as the investigation into finding a cause of the 10-alarm blaze continues.
Ocean County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Al Della Fave says fire crews from Seaside Heights and Seaside Park were able to take care of the flare-ups and are normal with large fires.
Thursday's fire consumed 4 blocks and 20 buildings, destroying nearly two dozen businesses.
Della Fave also denied reports that investigators from the Prosecutor's office consider the circumstances around the blaze "suspicious." "No one at the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office has labelled the fire suspicious. Our only comment is that the investigation continues," he said in a statement, adding that no further information will be released until their investigation is complete.
Governor Christie warned that it will be several days before business owners can return to their burned out stores as investigators do their work.
ABC News reported on Friday that investigators are looking at a number of factors surrounding the blaze including the fact that many firefighters were out of town for the annual New Jersey Firemen's Convention in Atlantic City. They are also considering the timing of the fire, which started in the middle of the afternoon at 2:15 p.m. on a sunny day and that the structure got through the summer season without incident.
"As facts unfold, then you make the determination," Ocean County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Della Fave told The Record. "That's on top of interviews with area business folks who were witnesses. The top two things are determining the point of origin and any related accelerants that might have caused it to spread."
The Associated Press contributed to this report


text:
Deir ez-Zor is perhaps Syria's most underreported city; while originally largely under Free Syrian Army control after the start of the civil war, the city was taken over by the Islamic State in early July, which subsequently faced a little-reported Republican Guard offensive aimed at encircling the city. In early December, the Islamic State made a push in the direction of Deir ez-Zor's airbase, a vital lifeline to the city.
Deir ez-Zor is perhaps best known for its oilfields, and previously much of the fighting around the city involved fighting for control over these strategically important objectives. As the oilfields used to provide much of the fuel for the Syrian Arab Army, the Republican Guard, the National Defence Force and Suqur al-Sahara (Desert Falcons), their takeover about a year ago was a serious blow to all forces loyal to Assad and endangered the fuel supply badly needed to mount new offensives. While Russian contractors belonging to the Slavonic Corps were intially sent to protect these oilfields, they did not even manage to reach Deir ez-Zor.
The dwindling fuel supplies already forced the widespread introduction of tank trailers, as there simply isn't enough fuel for the tanks to drive to their deployment zone by themself. A situation that isn't going to improve unless the oilfields around Deir ez-Zor are recaptured.
A number of reasons explain why there's still a large Syrian military presence in Deir ez-Zor. Firstly, Deir ez-Zor was reinforced by elements of the Republican Guard's 104th Brigade led by Brigadier General Issam Zahreddine in early 2014. Secondly, the airbase is still in government hands; it has proven vital to quickly resupply the city and fighter-bombers stationed there also provide much of the air support to forces in and around the city. Thirdly, the Damascus - Palmyra - Deir ez-Zor highway remains under government control. This highway is used to ferry reinforcements and supplies to the city. Lastly, the high ground around the city remains in the hands of the Syrian Arab Army (SyAA). The SyAA positioned numerous howitzers, field guns and multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) here, which can fire at any target within the city and also cover the approaches to the airbase.
The 104th is sometimes classified as the 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard, and while a few soldiers in the brigade were indeed trained as what one would call paratroopers, and others were learned how to deploy from low-flying helicopters, the 104th is believed to have been "airborne" only in name, displaying the characteristics of a mechanised brigade instead. The fact that Syrian military doctrine does not envisage airborne operations supports this theory.
During the initial operations in Damascus, the 104th operated several TURMS-T equipped T-72s (Syria's most modern tanks) but all appear to have been transferred to another unit within the Republican Guard. While the brigade thus lacks large amounts of modern tanks, it did receive a sizeable batch of Sayyad-2 anti-materiel sniper rifles and AK-74Ms, Syria's most modern assault rifle.
Unsurprisingly, the 104th Brigade contingent boosts a significant amount of Druze fighters. Issam Zahreddine's bodyguard unit is also believed to consist mainly of Druzes. The need for bodyguards is a direct result of his popularity in Syria and more importantly, the $200,000 bounty on Zahreddine's head.
The 104th came to Deir ez-Zor with two important tasks: Securing the airbase by pushing back the fighters of the Islamic State and encircling them within the city centre so a new offensive on the oilfields could be initiated. The first goal was accomplished quite quickly after the 104th arrived. After Tabqa fell, Issam Zahreddine remarked: ''Deir ez-Zor airbase is not Tabqa airbase. We will bury IS here.''
Ground forces already operating in Deir ez-Zor were limited to 137th Mechanized Brigade, which already lost most of its fighting power and tanks during two years of heavy fighting, yet remained in control of parts of the city and the strategic hills. Along with NDF troops, made up of civilians, reservists and a few regular soldiers they were already busy with defending the remaining parts of the city and airbase, and did not have the power to launch an offensive themselves.
The 104th contingent deployed to Deir ez-Zor was also quite small, and was forced to carefully balance its troops in order to be able to fend off any assauls on its flanks during its own offensives. So while much of the 104th was mostly on the offensive, a part was distributed along the city permiter to reinforce the SyAA and NDF soldiers already present here. The battles fought within the city centre were extremely fierce. Local offensives usually saw both sides fighting for housing blocks, during which neither sides could really advance. The Islamic State also made extensive use of tunnels, some of which were ultimately destroyed. The SyAA and NDF could count on artillery support from the nearby hills, which subsequently destroyed most of the city and due to the close proximity of both sides, did also occasionally result in SyAA casualties.[1] Footage of the fighting inside Deir ez-Zor can be seen here.
The underreported offensive was aimed at cutting off the city centre from Islamic State-held territory at the opposite side of the river. The 104th was split into two, with both parts attacking from a different direction.
As seen in the map, one part attacked from Al Filat while the other part crossed the river to Saqr (Saqer) Island. Contrary to the fighting in the city, the battle for Saqr Island was fought between thick layers of trees, bushes and crops. Footage from the Battle of Saqr Island in chronological order can be seen here and here.
During his operations, Issam Zahreddine used tactics the SyAA and NDF could only dream off, especially in the early stages of the Syrian Civil War. T-72s moving up while followed by infantry and covered by other T-72s and ZSU-23s, the infantry clears the housing, again supported by T-72s and ZSU-23s and the process is repeated again and again. This in sharp contrast to the use of tanks in the early days of the Civil War, when they were used as battering rams charging through cities, often falling prey to RPG fire. One of the T-72M1s deployed to Deir ez-Zor can be seen below. The flag seen on the right belongs to the Druze community.
[2] Trained at the base of the 137th Mechanized Brigade, it would have consisted of people not yet fighting with the Syrian Arab Army or National Defence Force.
The downside of this offensive for the SyAA, NDF and 104th was that it exposed the weak flanks even more. As the forces were already stretched thin here, it was just a matter of time before the Islamic State would attempt to benefit from this situation.
Although some suggest the push on the airbase is a direct result of the stalemate in Kobanî, which brought the need for another victory, this could be questioned as Kweres airbase would be better suited for a quick victory. Kweres, formerly the main training base of the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF), has been under siege since December 2012 and is now nothing more than a runway littered with plane wrecks and troops only capable of defending the base.
Deir ez-Zor's airbase is home to the SyAAF's 8th Squadron operating the MiG-21. Around a dozen decommissioned MiG-21s can be seen on satellite imagery, suggesting 8th Squadron received more MiG-21s from other Squadrons within Syria to stay operational. 8th Squadron also suffered several losses because of ATGM teams around the airbase, which destroyed at least two MiG-21s within their hardened aircraft shelters (HAS). This forced the SyAAF to hide most its planes behind raised sand covers.
Deir ez-Zor also sees regular deployments of Mi-8/17s, Mi-25s and even MiG-23BNs. Furthermore, the 104th can call upon the SyAAF's 819th Squadron, flying recently upgraded Su-24M2s, for precision attacks.[3] [4] These aircraft have been frequently spotted over Deir ez-Zor.
Deir ez-Zor used to house four 2K12 SAM sites for the protection of the airbase and city. While one of these was destroyed by the Free Syrian Army while retreating to regime-held territory and another inactive site was overrun by the Islamic State (one of the inoperational captured launcher units can be seen below), two still remain under regime control. Of these two, only one remains partially operational.
The Damascus - Palmyra - Deir ez-Zor highway, which was used by the 104th to reach Deir ez-Zor, also remains under government control and has proven to be of vital importance as it is the city's primary lifeline.
Holding on to this road, the strategic airbase and surrounding hills is of great importance for the SyAA, NDF and 104th in and around Deir ez-Zor. Previously gained ground might have to be abandoned to free up forces for the defence of Deir ez-Zor's airbase. The SyAA, NDF and 104th's ability to call in air support and artillery due to their control of the high ground might be just enough to ensure their presence in Deir ez-Zor is there to stay.
But as the magnitude of the Islamic State's offensive remains unknown, it is as of yet impossible to judge if they've embarked on a large scale offensive aimed at finishing the regime's presence in Deir ez-Zour once and for all, or if they're simply probing the defences of the SyAA, NDF and 104th around the airbase, hoping to gain a direct line of sight of the runway via the neigbourhoods of Jaffra and Al-Mari'iyya, making it impossible for the SyAAF to take off. It is also possible the assault is a diversion for a future offensive aimed at retaking some of the ground it lost in the recent months, thus preventing possible encirclement.
Recommended Articles
Battlefront Syria: Kweres airbase


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Thread: Roster construction
Roster construction
There is a big debate at SOSH about roster construction. Coincidentally, I just wrote a computer program which allows for very quick, simply analysis of a similar question.
The question is as follows. Will a team with an uneven distribution of player talents score more runs than a team with an even distribution? Put another way, would you rather have 3 players with a 130 OPS+, 3 with a 100 OPS+ and 3 with a 70 OPS+, or 9 players with a 100 OPS+? Clearly, the two teams have nearly similar OPS+ numbers. They won't be exactly the same, though, since I assume that both teams will also maximize lineup effectiveness. Therefore, the lineup for team 1 will be, by OPS+, 130, 130, 130, 100, 100, 100, 70, 70, 70, and as a result, team 1 will actually have an OPS+ closer to 102 than 100.
I ran some numbers. I computed that last year, a 130 OPS+ was very close to .380/.493 OBP/SLG, a 100 OPS+ was .330/.430, and a 70 OPS+ was .280/.370. I assumed, for all teams, that no basestealing, sacrifice flies, double plays or productive outs occurred (it's a real bitch to write those things,) and also: no one goes first to third, or scores from first on a double, but they always score from second on a single. Finally, the starters play every single at bat of every game. Park effects are obviously not included.
What I do is for each batter, find the likelihood of an event (for a walk, for example, it's BB/PA.) I then run a random variable. If it's in the correct range, it's a walk, or a single, or a double, or a triple, or an out. Obviously, this leads to the possibility that the two teams will have wildly different OPS+ numbers. This program simply looks at how these teams will fare given their actual level of talent, and with the luck that occurs every year.
Here's what I found:
I've run 200 season simulations. Team 1 scores, on average, 775 runs, with a standard deviation of 44, a maximum of 889, and a minimum of 678. Team 2 scores, on average, 761 runs, with a standard dev of 42, a max of also 889, and a min of 650.
Some issues with my study: I need to reduce Team 1's OPS+, and that will be very easy if I just input 64 OPS+ for the 70 OPS+, which will give Team 1 an OPS+ of 100. 2 points of OPS+ can probably describe 14 runs, so when I finish that, I'll write about it, if people are interested.
Also, ignoring double plays probably helps Team 1 a little too. That team will get a couple of more base runners on, and their crappy players are more likely to hit double plays (because they hit more balls in play.)
So, what does everyone think? Is my method alright? Intuitively, which team should score more runs? What does all this mean? Any other questions?
Re: Roster construction
Fascinating. I would expect Team 2 to do better than Team 1, actually.
Re: Roster construction
First thing that must be addressed, because I now see how wrong one point was. A 2% OPS+ difference, if a linear relationship is assumed, leads to a 2% difference in runs. 2% of the average 800 is 16 runs. I had a spread of 14 runs. So, I'll change that and run it again.
Re: Roster constructionOriginally Posted by gdn
Re: Roster constructionOriginally Posted by PaulieIsAwesome
Re: Roster construction
oh no....Team #1 wins this every time.Standings: Big Inning 32-16; Blue Cut 27-21; Shoo Fly 26-22; Husk 22-26; Frank Pierce 21-27; Iowa City 16-32.
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There is no danger of these sheets shrinking when washed or of the cotton wearing out, so they will provide the same warmth for your baby as when they were first bought.
As mentioned, the material used is only of the utmost best quality and the low price makes them an absolute bargain for your Lullago. Tumble dry is also perfectly suited to these sheets so there are no problems if that is how you wish to clean them.
Overall, our sheets will be the perfect choice for your nursery bedding and will provide your newborn with everything needed for a cosy night's sleep, including the much needed warmth and comfort for every baby out there.
100% Cotton Washable at 40 °c
|Amazon barcode
|Model OF Pushchair
|Hauck Capri
|Brand To Fit
|Weight Units
Chicco is a registered trade mark of Chicco


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Speedo Girls' Medalist Swimsuit, Black
Product description
Product code: 53273501
This one-piece black girls' swimsuit from Speedo has crossover strap detail at the back and a small Speedo logo in white on the chest.
Product specifications
- Brand
- Speedo
- Eligible for International Delivery
- Material
- 50% polyester, 50% PBT polyester
- Sport & Fitness Activity
- Swimming
- Washing Instructions
- Machine washable at 30°C
Brand information
Speedo has a long and impressive history dating back to the early 20th century when the company was created in Australia in response to a growing beach culture down under. Since the birth of the brand, Speedo have always made headlines thanks to the style and the performance of their swimwear.
Speedo dominate competitive swimming with a staggering history in relation to the Olympic Games. Since the 1950s Speedo have had a powerful connection with Olympic athletes, culminating in the Beijing Olympic Games where 92% of all swimming medals were won by athletes wearing Speedo swimwear.
Speedo use the ground-breaking technology they develop for athletes in their commercial ranges to give you a competitive edge and a more enjoyable swimming experience. For example, the Endurance range is developed to be chlorine resistant so you won't have to replace your swimwear time and again.More from Speedo
Delivery options
- Standard delivery within 5 working days
- £3.50
- Next or named day delivery
- £6.95
- Named day UK delivery pre-10.30am
- £14.95
- International delivery available
- From Free
- Click & collect
- £2.00
- Click & collect from John Lewis and Waitrose shops from 2pm tomorrow
- Collect+
- £3.50
- Collect+ from a local shop from tomorrow
- Returning an item
If you've changed your mind about keeping your purchase, please return it in its original condition with proof of purchase and we'll exchange or refund it. Unless faulty, this should be within 35 days of receiving your order. By original condition, we'd expect this to mean that you've kept packaging and labels, and that the item is undamaged and unused.
You can return for free in the UK via John Lewis and Waitrose Shops, Royal Mail, Collect+ or MyHermes. If you need to arrange collection of large or heavy items, call us on 03456 049 049. For international returns queries, call us on +44 1698 545 454
You'll find returns information on your delivery note. Exceptions apply to certain products - find out more about our refund policy
- Free
|Ireland (ROI)
|Selected EU
|Rest of World


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Dan Lundgren Construction, excavating contractor, listed under "Excavating Contractors" category, is located at Po Box 7214 Bend OR, 97708 and can be reached by 5413857942 phone number. Dan Lundgren Construction has currently 0 reviews.This business profile is not yet claimed, and if you are the owner, claim your business profile for free. If you are not the owner you can invite this business to join by email or by phone.Browse all Excavating Contractors in Bend OR. Discover census data for Bend, OR.
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Hartzell, Ruhwedel Named To All-College Hockey News First Team
SIOUX FALLS, SD -- Former Sioux Falls Stampede players Eric Hartzell and Chad Ruhwedel have been named to the All-College Hockey News (CHN) First Team after record setting seasons that have both players in the NCAA Frozen Four.
Hartzell has set numerous goaltending records at Quinnipiac this season while leading the Bobcats to an ECAC regular season title and first ever Frozen Four appearance. The St. Paul, Minn. native leads the country in wins with 29 and ranks third in Goals-Against-Average (GAA) at 1.54. He is second in the country in minutes played (2042:38) and third in shutouts with 5.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Hartzell turned aside 17 of 20 shots in a 4-3 victory over Canisius and then stopped 18 of 19 shots in a 5-1 win over Union in the East Regional championship game. Hartzell was in goal during the Bobcats 21-game unbeaten streak that began in early November and ended in early February. He is one of the final three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award which is presented to the top college hockey player each season.
The 6-foot-4, 188-pound senior played in Sioux Falls from 2007 to 2009, recording 39 career wins. He holds the franchise record for most consecutive minutes played without allowing a goal (201:06) and is second for most shutouts in a season with 5.
Ruhwedel is an assistant captain this year with UMass-Lowell and has also helped lead his team to their first ever Frozen Four appearance. U-Mass Lowell won the regular season and post-season Hockey East titles and earned the #1 seed in the Northeast Regional. The River Hawks enter the Frozen Four with a 28-10-2 record and enter has the hottest team in the country having won seven straight games and 14 of their last 15 overall.
The San Diego, CA native is the top scoring defenseman for the River Hawks, posting 23 points (7g, 16a) and team best pluls-23 while appearing in all 40 games. Ruhwedel helped guide UMass-Lowell to a 6-1 victory over Wisconsin in the first round of the Northeast Regional and then helped set up the eventual game-winning goal on Saturday in a 2-0 victory over New Hampshire in the regional championship.
Ruhwedel played in Sioux Falls from 2008 to 2010, recording 33 points (5g, 28a) and was a plus-33 in 113 career games.
Courtesy: Sioux Falls Stampede


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The engineer in V. Mac Baldwin is always looking for a better system. Baldwin and other producers like him in the South are part of a "back-to-grass" movement in cattle production who are taking advantage of the consumer's desire for locally grown beef with health benefits.
Cattlemen and other producers of sheep, goats and bison in Southern states are latching on to this movement because it fits the South so well, Baldwin says. "For the most part, we can pasture animals year-round in the South."
Auburn University and others are really getting hot on pasture-based systems. Grazefest '04 was a big kickoff in Montgomery, Ala., this past summer with more than 600 grazers attending. This year's meeting is scheduled in Jackson, Miss.
Baldwin, a retired engineer, who farms south of Yanceyville, N.C., in Caswell County, began his operation about 35 years ago with two-bred Charolais heifers and no land. Today, his operation encompasses 650 acres of deeded land and 500 acres of leased pasture. He points to 1992 as a pivotal year for the farm.
That year they began to replace fescue with winter rye and Marshall ryegrass for winter grazing and Red River crabgrass for summer grazing. The move essentially gave him year-round grazing and doubled his capacity.
In 1996, the addition of four, 500-foot hen breeder houses gave him the cash flow and nutrients needed to expand the farm. The layer houses annually yield more than 1,200 tons of the "finest organic plant food that feeds over 500 acres of top-quality grass."
Bypassing the traditional middleman, Baldwin sells direct to the consumer, using savvy gleaned from direct-marketing gurus and a down-home, easygoing, word-of-mouth approach that has built a loyal consumer base.
He also sells some truckloads to Laura's Lean Beef, an all-natural beef company based in Lexington, Ky.
Baldwin says it's all about tapping into a better informed consumer.
"The housewife of today is very health conscious and is doing research on the Internet about her family's food," Baldwin says. "She has learned that grass-fed beef is higher in Omega-3 fatty acid and in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is reported to aid the human immune system in fighting off disease.
"She is also having problems with other things than can get into beef such as hormones, antibiotics and preservatives," Baldwin says.
On a recent trip to the supermarket with his wife, Peggy, Mac noted up to seven different sodiums in free beef. "I was shocked! This does not help the consumer's high blood-pressure problems," Baldwin says.
His goal is to direct market his all-natural, grass-fed Charolais and create a "buzz" with his customers that makes them tell their friends, eventually making them customers. Armed with direct marketing books with titles such as The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell; Permission Marketing by Seth Godin; and The Anatomy of Buzz by Emanuel Rosen, Baldwin focuses on making strangers into friends and friends into customers and letting word-of-mouth do the rest.
"The hard part is first getting the attention of strangers and moving along to the first sale," Baldwin says. "Then the product must be contagious enough, with enough inherent value, to create the buzz and keep them coming back."
The per captia consumption of beef in the U.S. is about 65 pounds. Baldwin starts by selling his customers a 10-pound to 18-pound box of assorted cuts he calls "Family Pacs." The he gradually works them up into a lifetime customer by selling them 40-pound boxes, quarters, sides or whole steers. The larger the purchase, the lower the price.
The Baldwins produce their steers from a herd of about 300 purebred Charolais cows that calve in April-June. "We calve late and wean early by Thanksgiving and keep the young, growing cattle — we call them kindergartners — on the very best grass," Baldwin says.
"The 'football team' is the big 1,000-pound to 1,200-pound steers that are getting close to harvest. We don't give the football team the ice cream." These steers graze behind the calves and move through a rotation over 35 paddocks. The dry cows are moved to "sacrifice farms" where they over-winter cheaply on stockpiled grass and byproduct feeds. The Baldwins feed very little hay. "Hay's too expensive to make or buy for dry cows."
An old airplane hanger on the farm houses byproduct feeds bought in tractor-trailer loads. Feeds like soy hulls, wheat midds, peanut hulls and corn bran are used mostly to keep the cattle in good condition. Baldwin uses this system to extend the grazing when winter grass is short or in case of a summer drought. He stockpiles rye/ryegrass September through December and feeds it over the rest of the winter.
"Grass-fed steers can be supplemented on grass with some of this high-fiber, high-protein products without flipping the rumen bugs and losing the Omega-3 and CLA benefits," Baldwin says.
Mac and Peggy began their operation in 1969 on rented land and Peggy's 19-acre home place. Baldwin was working as an electrical engineer for Bell Labs and Peggy as a registered nurse. "I didn't want to marry a farmer, but he tricked me," Peggy says.
Baldwin tells young people who want to farm, "First get a good job, and then rent a good farm and do what you can, where you are, with what you've got. If you will go to work, God will do the rest. After all, he is the one who thought of work.
Baldwin publishes a free monthly e-newsletter he calls "V. Mac's Beef Tips." You can subscribe by sending him an e-mail at email@example.com The Web site is www.baldwincharolaisbeef.com. Beef can be purchased on-line, at their On-Farm Beef Outlet and several Farmers Markets.


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WORCESTER, Mass. – In its first New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match of the season, the MIT women's volleyball team defeated host Clark University, 25-16, 25-14, 26-24, on Tuesday night. With the win, the Engineers improved to 8-1 on the year and 1-0 in league play while the Cougars' record lowered to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the NEWMAC.
After capturing the first set, MIT jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the second stanza and then established a commanding 20-8 advantage. Despite a Clark timeout, the Engineers went on to close out the frame by a score of 25-14.
The Cougars opened the third set with five unanswered points en route to a 9-3 cushion. The Cardinal and Gray slowly chipped away at the deficit, eventually narrowing the gap to 18-16. Following its own timeout, Clark maintained its slim edge but MIT evened the score at 24 and then picked up the next two points for the victory.
Junior Tatiana Berger (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) paced the Engineers with seven kills to go along with seven digs as freshman Meryl Gibbs (Bellaire, Texas) racked up five kills, three aces, and three blocks. Junior Kristine Bunker (Falmouth, Mass.) and freshman Morgan Stewart (Powell, Ohio) both tallied five kills while Bunker added four blocks and two aces. Junior Emma Gargus (Columbus, Ohio) contributed two aces and two blocks as freshman Lindsey Wang (Cupertino, Calif.) posted nine digs, followed by eight from senior Katie Spielbauer (Lakeview, Mich.) and seven courtesy of junior Jess Fessler (Shortsville, N.Y.). Sophomore Nicole Gagnier (Atlanta, Ga.) and senior Alyssa Rothman (Plainview, N.Y.) shared setting duties, dishing out 15 and 12 assists, respectively.
Clark, meanwhile, was led by Mel Conde (Union City, Calif.) who totaled seven kills of her own and Rachel Spera (North Hollywood, Calif.) who recorded a game-high 20 assists.
MIT sets its sights on its first home matches of the season on Saturday, Sept. 15 when it hosts NEWMAC rival Smith College and local foe Simmons College.
Release Courtesy of Clark University Sports Information


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Chase Park 2002 Ltd, Adult and other education not elsewhere classified, listed under "Adult And Other Education Not Elsewhere Classified" category, is located at Grosvenor Road London London, E7 8JA, United Kingdom and can be reached by (020) 8470 1925 phone number. Chase Park 2002 Ltd has currently 0 reviews.This business profile is not yet claimed, and if you are the owner, claim your business profile for free. If you are not the owner you can invite this business to join by email or by phone.Browse all Adult And Other Education Not Elsewhere Classified in London London.
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Romania's spy agency monitors gold mine protests
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's domestic spy agency has been monitoring a planned Canadian gold mine for years, its chief acknowledged Monday, saying that some demonstrations against the project had been manipulated by people he called "eco-anarchists."
Spy chief George Maior's comments before a parliamentary committee came after the head of Romania's foreign intelligence agency said last week it had been monitoring foreigners who allegedly paid locals to agitate for and against the massive gold mine project in northwest Romania.
The disclosure by Maior was surprising because it was reminiscent of Romania's dreaded Securitate secret police, which once used an estimated 760,000 informers from all walks of life.
Maior said his agency had sent 500 memos to decision-making authorities from 1999 to 2013 about the planned gold mine, which has sparked large street protests in recent weeks. He insisted the agency's actions were legal and were taken because the mine in Rosia Montana is "a problem of national security."
On Sunday, however, President Traian Basescu said the protests opposing the mine were genuine while rallies in support of the mine in Transylvania were "fabricated."
The open-top mine, run by the Canadian company Gabriel Resources, is sitting on an estimated 314 tons of gold and 1,500 tons of silver. It would be the biggest gold mine in Europe. Proponents have been trying to get permits for 14 years but so far no date has been set for it to begin operating.
The mine has been widely criticized. Environmentalists complain that it would use cyanide in the extraction process and say four mountains must be razed to build it. Financial critics say Romania stands to earn too little from the project, while some locals say the gold, which has been mined there since Roman times, would be depleted within 20 years.
Supporters argue the mine would bring vital foreign investment and jobs to a deprived area. Prime Minister Victor Ponta says Romania has a duty to benefit from its natural resources.
Last week, Teodor Melescanu, chief of Romania's foreign intelligence, said his agency had sent dozens of memos to officials about foreigners or foreign publications who were paid to support or oppose the controversial project. He also said a foreign government had a slanted view of the project — an apparent reference to neighboring Hungary, which opposes the mine due to the use of cyanide. He did not reveal any names or details.
Basescu, formerly a strong supporter of the mine, recently declared he is adopting a neutral position. He accused Ponta, who now appears to favor the mine after initially opposing it, of accepting money to promote it. Ponta has denied the charges.


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The carefully overlaid images of our world on Google Maps is an impressive sight even on the dullest computer screen, but one artist has taken Google's documentation of Earth one step further … and the results are breathtaking. Dublin-based artist David Thomas Smith's Anthropocene series is currently on display at the Copper House Gallery in Dublin and features notable locations reconfigured as striking Persian rug-like patterns woven together with images from Google Maps.
The results are astoundingly intricate and beautiful. Smith's series features reconfigured images of Three-Mile Island, Las Vegas, Silicon Valley, and Beijing National Airport, as well as other notable locations. Each "rug" is made up of thousands of screen grabs of Google Maps and then reconstructed piece-by-piece with Photoshop. According to the gallery's description of the project, "Anthropocene itself reflects upon the complex structures that make up the centres of global capitalism, transforming the aerial landscapes of sites associated with industries such as oil, precious metals, consumer culture information and excess. Thousands of seemingly insignificant coded pieces of information are sown together like knots in a rug to reveal a grander spectacle."
Persian rugs date all the way back to 500 B.C. and are an important form of art and culture throughout the history of the Middle East, which makes it especially cool to see this centuries-old tradition combined with modern technology. In fact, we recently saw another artist who used computer parts to create rug-like sculptures, resulting in a colorful array of a PC's internal organs. With Smith creating rugs with Google Maps, perhaps there's a new trend of tech-influenced floor coverings on the way?
[Images via Copper House Gallery]


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Developer - Ixigo
Home page - ixigo.com/ixibaba
ixigo introduces ixibaba
Published on Jul 21, 2016
We've just launched 'ixibaba' - an artificial intelligence chatbot designed to simplify the lives of travellers. Along with the human-like- persona of a savvy 'baba', ixibaba provides quick, quirky answers to all travel planning and booking related queries. ixibaba will help Indian travellers find the best ways to plan their trip by conversing with them on topics across flights, hotels, buses, cabs, places to visit and vacation destinations.
Article "Ixigo Launches AI-powered Personal Travel Assistant Ixibaba"
Travel search marketplace Ixigo has launched Ixibaba, an artificial intelligence chatbot to provide quick answers to travel planning and booking-related queries
July 22, 2016


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I guess this is the best place to post this...mods, move at your discretion please...I have several announcements to make, but they are related so I'm condensing them into this one thread.
I'm happy to announce the establishment of a new Lego Users Group, LibertyLUG. We are a non-geographical LUG for people who share an interest in pro-liberty issues. Though we are not located in a single area, that doesn't mean we aren't interested in community activism or participation with other LUG's. We've just completed a set of membership guidelines, which also explains our raison d'entre, to be provided to anyone interested in joining. Reply or PM if you are interested. This group does not have any member fees or junk like that. As we're just beginning, there yet exists no website for the group.
Incidentally, Stone Goblin and I have established our own Bricklink shop named the LibertyLUG Store. There's no intention to associate store operations with the LUG, though we don't exclude the possibility of working with other members so that the store is beneficial to group participants (read: discounts, etc). We'll add a link to the store once its open to the public.
SG and I are discussing the possibility of running a grand opening sale with discounts for CC members, so please stay tuned!


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When I Come Around by Timesbold
i wish i had a nice house like yours..ReplyDelete
orchids, banker lamp, athletic frame, *sigh*ReplyDelete
empty desks = yay
you have such a nice home to take photos in!ReplyDelete
those yellow flowers really make this photo. I like the lamp too!
love this Pascal (:
Beautiful picture, very intense and with this music.
An amazing, experience.
perfect for a sunday afternoon! :)ReplyDelete
visuelles VergnügenReplyDelete
erinnert einem an (nie erlebten) hausarrest.ReplyDelete
nice, very nice :)ReplyDelete
love ur photos
relaxing sound, well mixed with pictures. :)
is this taken by a film camera?ReplyDelete


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Risa Robinson
Dr. Robinson is an RIT alumna, having graduated with her BS degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MS in Imaging Science. She earned her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Buffalo in 1999, joined the tenure-track faculty in the Kate Gleason College in 2000 as an Assistant Professor, and was promoted to full Professor in 2012. Dr. Robinson has held several leadership positions in recent years, including a three-year appointment as Associate Department Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Chair of the department's Curriculum and Assessment Committee. She recently served as co-Chair of the Institutional Academic Portfolio Blueprint Task Force. She is currently involved in innovative curricular development for first-year students, and was previously sponsored by the National Science Foundation to incorporate industry standard data acquisition techniques into the freshmen year. Through these educational and leadership activities, Dr. Robinson has played an integral role in cultivating and disseminating new models for curriculum development and assessment strategies within her department and the college, and in defining a strategic map for future academic programming for the university.
Dr. Robinson's research interests, generally speaking, are centered on the dynamic behavior of inhaled particles as a means to study the toxicological effects of various tobacco products and nicotine delivery devices. Her expertise is in aerosol mechanics, fluid dynamics and particle transport and deposition in systems, including the respiratory tract. Dr. Robinson established and directs the Respiratory Technologies Laboratory (RTL) in the college which is engaged in a variety of fundamental and applied projects relating to smoking and particle inhalation. In particular, the Lab develops systems to evaluate new tobacco products against manufacturer's claims for reduced emissions and addictive potential. It develops novel surveillance systems to monitor user's smoking behavior in natural environments, to evaluate the user's exposure to harmful constituents upon switching to new purportedly safer products. Additional activities include the design of replica lung models for healthy and diseased lungs and their analysis, with both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and particle image velocimetry, to map two-phase flow in these models to assess dosimetry of toxic constituents. This research will inform regulatory policy regarding improved standards for testing new tobacco products, and will ultimately have a positive impact on public health. Dr. Robinson's work has been sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the Phillip Morris External Research Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Her work currently is sponsored by the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The major thrust of these current efforts involves the evaluation of electronic cigarettes, a product whose market is rapidly expanding to now include teenagers. Her work will aid the FDA in regulating these new and widely untested products.
Select Publications
Norton, M. M., Robinson, R. J. and Weinstein, S. J. 2011 Model of ciliary clearance and the role of mucus rheology, Physical Review E. 83, 011921.
Berg, E. and R. Robinson. Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry Analysis of Healthy and Emphysemic Alveolar Sac. J. Biomech. Eng. 133(6), June 11, 2011.
Harding, E.M. Jr. and Robinson, R.J. Flow in a terminal alveolar sac model with expanding walls using computational fluid dynamics. Inhalation Toxicology. 22(8): 669–678 , 2010.
Berg, E.J., Weisman, J. , Oldham, M., and Robinson, R.J. Flow fields in a compliant acinus replica model using particle image velocimetry. Journal of Biomechanics. Journal of Biomechanics. 43(6): 1039-1047. 2010.
Robinson, R.J. Russo, J. and Doolittle, R. 3D Airway reconstruction using visible human data set and human casts with comparison to morphometric data. The Anatomical Record, 292: 1028-1044, 2009.


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Panisse, Pumpkin, and Duck Magret: French Cooking with Rosa Jackson and Les Petits Farcis
Rosa Jackson is a Canadian who took up residence in Nice, France, with her charming French husband Philippe and her young son Sam. She runs market tours, meet-the-producer field trips, and cooking classes in Nice, and they are more than worth the price. She and her husband were warm hosts — her husband efficiently washed every dish and prepped most of the pans. She joked that she should create a Philippe action figure for her soon-to-open boutique.
We started with a morning tour at Nice's famous market, the Cours Saleya. Rosa pointed out much of the local produce, oils, and honey, and explained why Nice is not actually a very good town for seafood – despite its coastal location.
Then we went back to her cozy apartment in the old district of Nice, where we cooked a three-course meal. We started with a salad made with cherry vinegar from England and a lovely hazelnut oil. Then there was a pumpkin tian — a French word for casserole. This was actually my favorite dish of the meal. We cooked squash gently until soft, then mixed it with rice and egg and baked the whole thing with herbed breadcrumbs on top. I've made it three more times, and it's already made squash lovers out of some inveterate squash haters.
After that came the main course of panisse, duck magret, and glazed turnips. Rosa explained that chickpea flour is a common ingredient in what used to be a very poor region, and old traditional foods often include it. Socca, the famous street food of Nice, for instance, is made with chickpea flour — it's a giant, thin, hot chickpea crepe. Delicious. Panisse, on the other hand, is more like polenta. We cooked chickpea flour with water and oil until it was thick, then let it cool in saucers. When completely cool we sliced it into fingers and fried them for a crispy, custardy savory treat.
The duck magret was also delicious — an incredibly rich dish of duck breast made with a chestnut honey glaze. Duck magret is breast of a duck that was raised for foie gras, so it's much fattier than usual. We rendered down the duck fat then cooked it until tender inside and crispy outside, and made a chestnut honey sauce. Chestnut honey is dark and slightly bitter — a good match for the rich, sweet duck.
We also had turnips braised in water and a little sugar, reduced until glazed and shiny. We also drank plenty of the local rosé wine; this is a very different kind of rosé from the sweet sorts usually available here. This was a great bottle; it was quite dry, and it tasted like apricots and peaches. It complements the local foods very well.
After a great cheese course the final dish was poached pears — simmered in red wine with vanilla. They were simple, delicious, and a perfect way to end such a wonderful meal.
Rosa made each of us in the cooking class feel warmly welcome; she was hospitable, knowledgeable, and welcoming all at once.
Have you ever taken a cooking class in another country? This was my first, and while I was hesitant to do so, I am so glad I did. It was a warm day of new friends, new ideas about food, and some wonderful new recipes to try. In fact, my husband and I hosted several of his colleagues for dinner the next evening in our apartment, and I was so glad I had had the class because I just made two of the dishes! They were still fresh in my mind.
And if you are anywhere near Nice, I highly recommend a tour or a class with Rosa — you won't regret it.
• Rosa's blog: Rosa Jackson's Edible Adventures
• Take a cooking class in France: Les Petits Farcis


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From the looks of it, GOD EATER is Namco's take on Capcom's Monster Hunter. A game that looks to borrow so heavily from the MH franchise really needs to create its own identity as a PSP title.
What better way to do that than via customised bullets and customised clothes.
The "Bullet Edit" feature allows players to customise their bullets with five different "Modules" with settings like Type, Elemental, Distance, Path, etc.
There are also custom costumes, which do not affect your character's abilities, but might affect yours.
GOD EATER is out this February in Japan.
『GOD EATER(ゴッドイーター)』弾丸を自由にカスタマイズせよ - ファミ通.com [Famitsu via PSPHyper]


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The most popular personalized stationary set in my shop! Every tutor deserves the very best personalized gift. On her birthday, Christmas or just to say thank you, you can give this thoughtful and personal gift.
"So beautiful. Will make a great engagement gift! Would definitely recommend."
"I bought this for someone else as a holiday gift; looking at it in my hands, I'm thinking I might just want to keep it for myself instead. The designs are beautiful and what originally influenced me to buy it, and I love even more how the product turned out."
"I love my new stationary! Can't wait to write some letters:)"
6 personalized and custom blank cards with 6 white matching envelopes
✽ Size: 5.5 inches x 4.25 inches
✽ Handstamped letter and dahlia flowers
✽ Choice of 12 color options or custom color
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✽ All my cards are 100% handmade, designed, hand stamped, hand cut, hand assembled and hand colored by me.
✽ https://www.etsy.com/shop/CardsByLela?ref=hdr_shop_menu§ion_id=20204121
✽ Select your quantity, color and letter from the drop down boxes
✽ During checkout, if you have any special requests, including your custom color, write in the 'note to cardsbylela'
Additional quantities and colors are available. Custom orders are always welcome. Message me with any special requests here: https://www.etsy.com/conversations/new?with_id=8162324&ref=pr_contact
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✽ Sets are shipped in a bubble mailer, cardboard reinforced envelope or box to ensure they arrive in excellent condition.
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1 week
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But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
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Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
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Yes! I love custom and personalization. Nearly all my shop items can be customized or personalized. Please contact me if you are interested in another color, quantities or sentiment.
Some of my items can be remade in large quantities. Please contact me if you are interested in ordering any item in bulk.
The dimensions of each product are mentioned in the product description. However, if you are not clear about the dimensions or would like further details on them, please do not hesitate to contact me.
All my cards and stationery are blank inside. If you'd like an inside message added to your card, please order this personalization listing: http://etsy.me/2nEQXq5 and the card of your choice. Please leave your personalized message in 'message to seller' at checkout.