text:
Introduction to Data Science I
- 1 Course outline for COMPSCI 4414A/9637A/9114A
- 1.1 Objective
- 1.2 Prerequisites
- 1.3 Logistics
- 1.4 Important Dates
- 1.5 Materials
- 1.6 Topics (anticipated)
- 1.7 Evaluation
- 1.8 Accessibility and Support Available at Western
- 1.9 Missed Course Components
- 2 Timeline (Tentative)
Course outline for COMPSCI 4414A/9637A/9114A
The University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, Canada
Department of Computer Science
Course Outline - Fall (September - December) 2017
From Dan: This is a very high-demand course that interests students in various programs across campus. I think this is great because the diversity of backgrounds assembled in the class makes for a better learning experience for all. (Myself included!) However, space is limited. Because of the volume of requests I receive, I am not able to manage a wait list. Students will have to monitor the registration website for available spots. However, all are welcome to sit in the room if there is space.
The objective of this course is to introduce students to data science (DS) techniques, with a focus on application to substantive (i.e. "applied") problems. Students will gain experience in identifying which problems can be tackled by DS methods, and learn to identify which specific DS methods are applicable to a problem at hand. During the course, students will gain an in-depth understanding of a particular (substantive problem, DS solution) pair, and present their findings to their peers in the class. Although this course does not assume prior machine learning or visualization knowledge, it does require students to show substantial initiative in investigating methods that are applicable for their project. The lectures give an overview of important methods, but the lecture content alone is not sufficient to produce a high quality course project.
This course is designed for students who:
- Like to read - have a desire to understand substantive problems
- Like to think - make connections between methods and problems
- Like to hack - be willing to munge data into usability
- Like to speak - teach us about what you found
At least one undergraduate programming course (e.g. CS2035) and at least one statistics course (e.g. STAT1024.) This course entails a significant amount of self-directed learning and is directed toward fourth-year undergraduate and graduate students.
- Instructor: Dan Lizotte – dlizotte at uwo dot ca – Office MC363
- Teaching Assistant: Brent Davis - bdavis56 at uwo dot ca - Runs Q/C Hour (see below)
- Time: Tuesday from 2:30PM – 4:30PM, and on Thursday from 2:30PM – 3:30PM
- Place: Middlesex College MC-105B
- Question and Collaboration Hour: Tuesday from 4:30pm - 5:30pm Location MC 320
- Communication: We will be using OWL for electronic communication.
Important Dates
- Pick Brainstorming Slot by Friday, 6 Oct at 5pm
- Project Proposal Due Friday, 27 Oct at 5pm
- Project Draft Due Friday, 17 Nov at 5pm
- Project Report Due Friday, 8 Dec at 5pm
- Paper Reviews Due Friday, 15 Dec at 5pm
Register for a wiki account. You will need to use the wiki to let us all know about data sources you find, indicate which dataset you are using, and slot yourself in for brainstorming. Also, everyone should free to make improvements to any part of the wiki. (E.g. if you find some useful software or other resources.)
Slot yourself in for a brainstorming session in the Timeline portion at the bottom of this page before end of Friday, 6 Oct at 5pm or Dan will pick a slot for you.
- Required Texts
- JWHT: James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An introduction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer. [Free through Western]
- HTF: The Elements of Statistical Learning by Hastie, Tibshirani and Friedman. Expanded version of required text. [Free online]
- LW: Leland Wilkinson's The Grammar of Graphics (2005). [Free from Springer]
- ggplot2 book by creator Hadley Wickham (2016). [Free through Western]
- Review if you need to catch up:
- Calculus Review from Penn State University. Includes basic mathematical notation.
- linear algebra review - up to and including Section 3.7 - The Inverse
- Larry Wasserman's All of Statistics. [Free from Springer]
- Devore, J. L., & Berk, K. N. (2007). Modern mathematical statistics with applications. 2nd ed. Springer. [Free through Western]
- Other Resources
- The Data and Software Page
- Cheat Sheets
- ggplot2 cheat sheet
- Data Wrangling cheat sheet
- Texts
- Phil Spector. (2008). Data Manipulation with R New York: Springer. [ Free through Western ]
- probability review from Stanford University by way of Doina Precup.
- List of resources from COMP-652 at McGill (courtesy Doina Precup)
- C. M. Bishop, Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning (2006)
- R. S. Sutton and A. G. Barto, Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction (1998)
- Ethem Alpaydin, "Introduction to Machine Learning", MIT Press, 2004.
- David J. C. MacKay, "Information Theory, Inference and Learning Algorithms", Cambridge University Press, 2003.
- Richard O. Duda, Peter E. Hart & David G. Stork, "Pattern Classification. Second Edition", Wiley & Sons, 2001.
- Other Links
- Software
- The dplyr package documentation. The "vignettes" are particularly good.
- The Tensorflow Library (Python, C++) [1]
- Deep Learning Resources (courtesy Ethan Jackson)
- Tutorials on Word2Vec in Python. Learns semantic relationships between words in very large corpora by mapping each word to a high-dimensional word embedding. Semantic relationships are estimated using contextual frequency, i.e. how often a word appears given a context of other words.
- Some ideas about using t-SNE for visualization
- Digit classification on MNIST dataset using TensorFlow
- Autoencoders for MNIST in Keras (a very high level interface for deep learning libraries including TensorFlow)
- Convolutional neural networks for image recognition on CIFAR-10 dataset in TensorFlow. Great starting point for image classification using deep learning.
Topics (anticipated)
- Introduction to Data Science
- Definitions
- Components
- Relationships to Other Fields
- Data Munging
- Working with structured data: selecting, filtering, joining, aggregating
- Web scraping
- Simple visualizations
- Sanity checking
- (Re)-introduction to Statistics
- Data Summaries
- Randomness, Sample Spaces and Events, Probability
- Random Variables, CDF, PMF, PDF
- Expectation
- Estimation
- Sampling Distributions: Law of Large Numbers, Central Limit Theorem, The Bootstrap
- Inference: Hypothesis testing, P-values, Confidence Intervals
- Multivariate Statistics: conditional probability, correlation, independence
- Supervised Machine Learning, Predictive Models
- Supervised Learning
- Regression
- Classification
- Reinforcement Learning and Sequential Decision Making
- Supervised Learning
- Evaluation
- Variance: Test set, cross-validation, bootstrap
- Bias: Confounding, causal inference
- Unsupervised Machine Learning, Representations, and Feature Construction
- Clustering
- Dimensionality reduction
- Domain-specific Feature Development
- Images
- Sounds
- Text
- Visualization
- Topics to be determined
There will be a midterm test but no final exam. Each student will lead a brainstorming session, produce a proposal, draft, and report for a course project. Graduate students (9637) will additionally submit peer reviews of other class projects. For detailed requirements, see Project Guidelines.
Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at this website: [2].
Daily Quizzes – 5%
Starting on the second lecture, there will be a very short quiz at the beginning of class covering the previous day's materials. The final quiz will be on 31 Oct. The lowest quiz mark will be dropped. Quiz marks will only be excused for medical reasons.
Midterm - 35%
Assessing competencies from the fundamentals taught in the first half of the class.
Brainstorming Session – 5%
Each student will prepare a presentation explaining an applied problem, as well as some potential data science methods that could be applied to the problem. The presentation should be no more than 10 minutes. We will then discuss the problem as a class, along with possible approaches for solving the problem using data science methods. The student is expected to be prepared to answer deep questions about the nature of their problem to ensure that they receive high quality feedback from the brainstorming session.
Project Proposal – 4414: 15% 9637: 10%
Document detailing the plan for the project. See Project Guidelines for detailed requirements.
Report Draft – 5%
A draft of the final report will be due approximately midway through the term. The purpose of the draft is to allow the instructor to provide feedback on the quality of the writing and the direction of the project.
Project Report – 35%
Each student will prepare a research paper detailing a substantive problem, the data available, the applicable data science methods, and empirical results obtained on the problem.
Peer Review – 9637 only: 5%
Each graduate student will prepare two reviews of their classmates' work.
Participation and Effort
Success of the course as a useful learning experience hinges on active participation and effort of the students. Students are expected to attend all classes and are expected to actively participate in the brainstorming sessions.
Accessibility and Support Available at Western
Please contact the course instructor if you require lecture or printed material in an alternate format or if any other arrangements can make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 661-2111 ext. 82147 if you have questions regarding accommodation. Support Services Learning-skills counsellors at the Student Development Centre (http://www.sdc.uwo.ca) are ready to help you improve your learning skills. They offer presentations on strategies for improving time management, multiple-choice exam preparation/writing, textbook reading, and more. Individual support is offered throughout the Fall/Winter terms in the drop-in Learning Help Centre, and year-round through individual counselling. Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western (http://www.health.uwo.ca/mental_health) for a complete list of options about how to obtain help. Additional student-run support services are offered by the USC, http://westernusc.ca/services. The website for Registrarial Services is http://www.registrar.uwo.ca.
Missed Course Components
If you are unable to meet a course requirement due to illness or other serious circumstances, you must provide valid medical or supporting documentation to the Academic Counselling Office of your home faculty as soon as possible. If you are a Science student, the Academic Counselling Office of the Faculty of Science is located in WSC 140, and can be contacted at 519-661-3040 or email@example.com. Their website is http://www.uwo.ca/sci/undergrad/academic_counselling/index.html. A student requiring academic accommodation due to illness must use the Student Medical Certificate (https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/medical_document.pdf) when visiting an off-campus medical facility. For further information, please consult the university's medical illness policy at http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/accommodation_medical.pdf.
Timeline (Tentative)
- 7 Sep - Lectures: Welcome
- 12 Sep - Lectures: Data Preparation, Introduction to Statistics
- 14 Sep - Lectures: Introduction to Statistics
- 19 Sep - Lectures: Supervised Learning
- 21 Sep - Lectures: Supervised Learning, Performance Evaluation
- 26 Sep - Lectures: Performance Evaluation, Model Selection
- 28 Sep - Lectures: Classification
- 3 Oct - Lectures: Classification, Performance Evaluation for Classification
- 5 Oct - Pick Brainstorming Slot by 6 Oct 5pm - Lectures: Nonlinear Classification
- 10 Oct - Fall Reading Week
- 12 Oct - Fall Reading Week
- 17 Oct - Lectures:
- 19 Oct - Lectures: Guest Lecture by Amanda Holden of SAS. Topic TBA.
- 24 Oct - Lectures:
- 26 Oct - Project Proposal Due 27 Oct at 5pm - Lectures: Guest Lecture by Dr. Kemi Ola on Visualization
- 31 Oct - Lectures:
- 2 Nov - Lectures: Midterm Review/Q&A
- 7 Nov - Midterm
- 9 Nov - Brainstorming: Ethan Jackson, *Zaid Albirawi*
9637 Slots 3:30pm-4:30pm: Mahtab Ahmed, *Nick DelBen*
- 14 Nov - Brainstorming: Ashutosh Mishra, Brandon Glied-Goldstein, Jonathan Tan, Duff Jones, Patrick Carnahan, Nathan Phelps
- 16 Nov - Brainstorming: *slot1*, Gurpreet Singh, Erica Yarmol-Matusiak
9637 Slots 3:30pm-4:30pm: Ruoxi Shi, Valeria Cesar, Mingda Sun, Xindi Wang
- 21 Nov - Brainstorming: Cole Fisher, Angela Zhao, *Xiaoyu Yang & Sachi Elkerton*, Nanditha Rao, Felipe Urra, *TianzhiZhu*
- 23 Nov - Project Draft Due 24 Nov at 5pm - Brainstorming: *slot*, Jumayel Islam, Sabyasachi Patjoshi
9637 Slots 3:30pm-4:30pm: Roopa Bose, *Hao Jiang*, *Abdelkareem Jaradat*, *Debanjan Guha Roy*
- 28 Nov - Brainstorming: *Yancong Wang*, Mohammad, Yanbing Zhu, Yu Zhu, *Gagan Verma*, *Zeyu Wang*
- 30 Nov - Brainstorming: *Marios-Stavros Grigoriou*, *Jiayi Ji*, *Paul Bartlett*
9637 Slots 3:30pm-4:30pm: CANCELLED
- 5 Dec - Brainstorming: (Sanjay Ghanathey, Jenna Le, Tanvi Kumar), *Kun Xie*, *Nasim Samei*, *Jacob Hunte*, *Rifayat Samee*
- 7 Dec - Brainstorming: *Nima khairdoodt*, *Sana Ahmadi*, *Mohsen shirpour*
9637 Slots 3:30pm-4:30pm: *Hengyu Yue*, *Zhongwen Zhang*, *Yifang Liu*, *Andrew Bloch-Hansen*
- Project Document Due Friday 8 December 5pm
- Reviews (graduate students only) Due Thursday 15 December 5pm


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With their division lead long gone, playoff hopes fading and coming off perhaps their most bitter loss of the season, Coach Hue Jackson and the Oakland Raiders' season essentially comes down to one game.
Jackson, a former Glendale Community College quarterback, and the reeling Raiders (7-7) travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the bitter AFC West Division-rival Kansas City Chiefs (6-8) on Saturday, needing a win to stay in the race for the playoffs either as the division winner or by clinching a wild-card berth.
With the Denver Broncos leading the division at 8-6 and the San Diego Chargers right in the mix, as well, at 7-7, all four teams are still alive, although the Broncos can control their destiny just by winning out, while the other three would need to win while also keeping an eye on the out-of-town scoreboard. The Chiefs enter Saturday's tilt with some clear momentum, having just knocked off the previously unbeaten defending Super Bowl-champion Green Bay Packers, while the Raiders are mired in a three-game losing streak that was prolonged by last week's 28-27 home loss to the Detroit Lions.
"Three weeks ago we were 7-4 and feeling pretty good about ourselves and now all of a sudden we've gotten to .500, so that's not where we want to be," Jackson told STATS. "I think we understand the predicament that we have put ourselves in. So what we need to do is get the ship riding and go to Kansas City and play well."
Easier said than done, perhaps, for a team that has seen little go right since vaulting into first place with a 25-20 win over the Chicago Bears on Nov. 27 and now faces a rivalry game against a defending division champion in one of the most hostile road environments in the league. On Sunday, Oakland held a 13-point lead and was 7:47 away from ending a skid that began with consecutive losses to the Miami Dolphins and Packers. But the Lions quickly closed the gap with two scores, including the go-ahead 98-yard drive culminated with 39 seconds left in the game.
To make the loss all the more heartbreaking, kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who booted an NFL-record tying 63-yarder earlier this season, got a shot at a 65-yard field goal as time expired, but the attempt was blocked.
"Obviously it was a tough loss; I mean that was probably as tough a loss that I've been involved with in a long time," Jackson told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday in a transcript posted on the team's official web site. "We did some really good things and obviously at the end didn't do enough good things to finish the game. Obviously, when you go back and you look at a game like that there's plays you wish you had back, there's calls you wish you had back. But at the end of the day you lost, 28-27, you don't get those back. So, tough and we got to keep learning and growing from it."
The Raiders, who close out the regular season with a home game against the Chargers on Jan. 1, will again be without standout running back Darren McFadden, who hasn't played since spraining his foot in the Raiders' 28-0 home loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 23. Receiver Jacoby Ford is also doubtful, leaving running back Michael Bush and receiver Darius Heyward-Bey as the top weapons for quarterback Carson Palmer. Meanwhile, the Chiefs will continue to look to improve under newly acquired quarterback Kyle Orton, who passed for 299 yards in his Chiefs debut on Sunday.
"I think it's the focus. I think we got to go in there focused and play Raider football," Jackson indicated to reporters as the key to the game. "Which is we can't turn it over, we have to get turnovers, we have to do a great job on special teams, and then we have to finish consistently every play. Whether it's a play that's two yards or whether it's a play that's 20 yards, we got to play consistently for four quarters and finish the game."

subset: commoncrawl


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In-house Reward Consultant
- Recruiter
- Huxley Associates
- Location
- London
- Salary
- £38000 - £45000 per annum
- Posted
- 28 Feb 2013
- Closes
- 28 Mar 2013
- Ref
- Contact
- Sarah Murray
- Sector
- Banking, Finance & Insurance
- Function
- HR & Training
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full Time
Group Reward Analyst 40-45k - Global insurance company - City of London
A leading insurance firm based in the City is currently looking for a Reward Analyst to join their global function.
This is an excellent opportunity for a Reward Analyst to step into a more strategic position, building relationships and acting as an advisor on international Reward issues.
Key responsibilities:
* Interact with the top 200 Executives of the business, maximising their Reward packages
* Proactively analyse policies and advise internationally on Reward issues
* Play a key part in the delivery and improvement of all Reward processes on a global scale
* Provide reports and support presentations for Remco
Essential criteria:
* Degree qualified
* Experience with salary surveys - e.g. MacLagen, Towers Watson etc
* Ability to work on an advisory basis with senior stakeholders
* Experience in data analysis and presentation, ability to concisely draft documents
* Advanced Excel skills
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
To find out more about Huxley Associates, please visit our website.
To find out more about Huxley Associates, please visit our website.


text:
On Tuesday, Rams G.M. Les Snead expressed optimism regarding his team's ability to land veteran receiver Kenny Britt, putting the chances at more than 50 percent. Snead also suggested that a decision could be made within 48 hours.
The 48-hour window has come and gone, and no decision has been made.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Britt is still evaluating his options. The source says that the Rams are "certainly" in the hunt.
Britt has visited the Rams, Redskins, Patriots, and Bills. The Panthers also reportedly have interest in Britt, but no visit has occurred.
The 2009 first-round pick of the Titans has overcome a smattering of off-field incidents in recent years. The biggest question is whether he'll overcome a dip in production that dates back to the ACL tear he suffered in Week Three of the 2011 season.


text:
DNR to Crack Down on Drunken Boating
ST. PAUL (AP) - With the Independence Day holiday approaching, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is ramping up enforcement this weekend against drunken boating.
The stepped up patrols are part of Operation Dry Water, a national weekend of boating-while-intoxicated education and enforcement directed toward reducing alcohol and drug-related accidents and fatalities.
The DNR says impaired boating is one of the leading factors for boating accidents and injuries in Minnesota. Alcohol was a contributing factor in 33 percent of the deadly boating accidents in Minnesota last year.
The maximum blood alcohol level for operating a boat in Minnesota is the same as the legal limit for driving a car.
Last year, 158 people were arrested for BWI in Minnesota, mostly in Hennepin County.


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Ulmon needed a new button or icon design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 92 designs submitted by 28 freelance designers.
We are a software company specialized on developing iPhone apps. Especially in the field of mobile maps and tour guides.
iPhone and iPod touch users pretty much everbody. Preferred audience however are people travelling a lot to different cities. Or user which need an offline map in theire home town (iPod touch users).
We need a new main icon for our "City Maps 2Go" iPhone app. See our website to see the current icon (http://www.ulmon.com) and logos of other apps.
What we like about the current icon:
- the map
- something symbolizing 2go (in this case the coffee cup)
What we don't like:
- it is not shinny enough
- it looks blurry on the small screen
What does the app do:
City Maps 2 Go is a perfect application for tourists on city trips and locals who need an offline-available, quick and cost-effective map on their iPhone and iPod Touch. City Maps 2 Go is not limited to one city. Pay just once for the application and you will download maps for a constantly growing number of cities at no additional charges.
iPhone logos have a mask auto-applied by the OS to generate the "gloss" and rounded-rectangle effect. This is an optional thing; we can disable it if it gets in the way of the design, but the rounded-rectangle is a requirement.
The icon needs to look good at 512x512 and 57x57. The former is displayed in the iTunes store, and the latter is displayed on the home screen.


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Stressless Legend Chair by Ekornes - Low Back - Custom Order
These custom orders must be special ordered from Norway and will take several months to arrive. See the overview tab for material descriptions.
Ekornes Showroom Specials are also available in limited quantities!
- Stressless glide system that allows each seat to recline
- padded arms
- lowback design for a more subdued look
- Size: 38.5"W x 34.25"H x 34.5"D
- Seat height: 17.75"
"Custom Order" models and colors must be shipped in from Norway and will take 12-16 weeks to arrive.
In-Home Delivery and Setup: Delivery and setup of product inside home, and removal of debris.
Ground Curbside Delivery: Delivery to your curb.
We guarantee the internal mechanism of our recliners for a period of 10 years from the date of purchase of the product. The 10 year guarantee covers the Plus™-system and the internal metal frame, including the metal springs and gliding system. It does not cover damage to leather or woodwork or any faults or damage caused by the use of the product other than in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, as well as any faults or damage arising from any repairs made by any persons not authorized by the manufacturer.
The warranty period begins at the time you receive the Ekornes® product in your home. If you notice a manufacturing defect, it is necessary for you to promptly notify the authorized retailer. If it is impossible to notify the retailer, please submit your claim in writing and fax or mail us (or email us, firstname.lastname@example.com):
Warranty Claims, Ekornes Inc., 615 Pierce St. Somerset, NJ 08873 Fax:800-EKORNES
Ekornes® makes no implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose and all other implied warranties are specifically disclaimed. The limited warranty offered by Ekornes® is your sole and exclusive remedy and in lieu of all others, express or implied. In no event, will Ekornes® be liable to you for any damages, including incidental or consequential damages, arising out of the use or inability to use the Ekornes® product.
This warranty only protects you when you purchase an Ekornes® product from one of its authorized retailers.
This warranty only applies when you have purchased Ekornes® furniture for your own normal indoor use.
This warranty does not cover floor samples or products designated "AS IS" at the time of purchase.
Ekornes warranty covers the cost and shipping of replacement parts. Ekornes is not responsible for any other costs incurred while repairing the product, including but not limited to service/repair charges.
Stressless Legend Chair by Ekornes - Low Back - Custom Order


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To the Editor:
A few short years ago, Chelo's on the Waterfront was a family restaurant that did a brisk business. There was occasional live entertainment, but nothing that was unduly objectionable to the neighborhood.
Today, Chelo's has become an outdoor nightclub with very loud musical acts catering to the 20-something crowd. Mr. Chelo tells us that he made a significant investment in his property to bring it to its current state. The discussions that are now going on regarding the lack of fit between the new Chelo's and its location should have happened before Mr. Chelo invested one dime. It is not the fault of the neighbors that Mr. Chelo created this unacceptable nuisance without consulting anyone. While the noise is perhaps the biggest nuisance, there are also other significant problems with parking and all the normal problems that flow from having a drinking establishment that caters to a young crowd, such as trash being routinely strewn all over the place and urination on people's lawns, etc.
While no one wants to see a business suffer losses or have to reduce staff, we have to live here. There is no way that Mr. Chelo would accept this situation in his own backyard and neither will we.
Lisa McDuff
Arnold's Neck Resident


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My Novell Hack Week project: Implement support for Mono in Automake
This week was hack week for all the
Open Source hackers at Novell, where we got to work on ideas and
projects that we were personally interested in. I decided to work
on something that I've been planning for a long time, ever since I
joined the Mono project, in fact:
add support for Mono in Automake.
It has been a while since I hacked on the automake source tree, but I didn't have too much trouble getting started. In the end, I got most of the features I intended for it: support for building Mono exes and dlls support for installing them in the GAC support out-of-tree builds dependency tracking on sources support for specifying resources, and tracking dependencies on them support for specifying references, and tracking dependencies on them support for multiple languages, include C#, VB.NET, Nemerle, Boo easy extensibility of the support to other languages -- essentially, just need to add the filename extension of the language to SUFFIXES bundled autoconf macro to detect installed compilers and other tools ... and some examples, test cases, and documentation to explain how to use all of it
Stuff missing include autoconf macros to detect if libraries are installed or not support for Microsoft's compilers -- basically a question of replacing '/' with '\' in filenames, where appropriate support for response files -- mainly wrt distributing sources mentioned in them real life experience with actual projects using all the above features
The whole effort took up most of the five days. I spent much of
Monday checking out the code from CVS into git
and looking at how support for C and other languages was
implemented. I had most of the basic support done by Tuesday, got
all dependency tracking working by Wednesday, and added
documentation, autoconf support, and GAC-installation support by
Friday afternoon. I'm very happy that I spent the time upfront to
import the project into git, since it saved me from spending a lot
of timeslices tracking my changes.
The code is available as a series of patches to Automake (packed conveniently in a tarball), and there's also an example project that shows how to use it. I also have a "lightning talk" short video about the project.
As much as I enjoyed the coding, I also thoroughly enjoyed working with the whole Bangalore open source team, all in the same conference room for five days, with everyone having a good time, and good food.


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College of Arts and Sciences
The Department of Geosciences offers B.S. and B.A. degrees in Geology. The B.S. provides rigorous general background in the field of geology and allied disciplines. The degree is designed for students who wish to prepare for graduate school or employment as a professional geologist in the private sector, government sector, or environmental science and other related fields.This degree offers a more extensive requirement in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics compared with the B.A. and is designed to optimize student opportunities.The B.A. provides a general background in the field of geology and requires a diversified liberal arts education in place of some of the allied disciplines.It is an appropriate choice for those who wish to teach earth sciences at the secondary school level and those who wish to gain a general knowledge of the geosciences and their relationship to the other sciences. The department offers the learning experience through the traditional lecture series, laboratories, seminars, independent study in the field, laboratory and library, and through field trips to local sites and to geologically intriguing areas of North America. Each course for majors contains a field trip, and the department conducts one trip of two weeks duration after the spring semester.


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The Nightly News
An Astronomy blog by Joe Bauman, Salt Lake City
Blog 34: Planetary nebulas ... and Baby!
Joe Bauman
More Posts
27 Dec, 2018
Blog 72: Depth
Sometime in the early-to-mid 1960s, when I was a teenager on the American missile base at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, I snorkeled beyond the drop-off on the lagoon side; this is the descending slope where the water gets deeper the farther you swim from the reef. The sandy bottom tilts gradually until suddenly it plunges. Beyond that, the lagoon is too deep to see the bottom. Shimmering dim green shafts of sunlight sliced down all around me, reaching farther and farther into the depths, until
17 Dec, 2018
Blog 71: Bennu
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at the asteroid called Bennu on Dec. 3, and already has made scientific discoveries: Bennu has few craters, boulders litter the surface like chocolate in a chocolate chip cookie, and the asteroid shows signs of the presence of water at some time in the past. NASA's ludicrously-named spacecraft -- the acronym stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer -- cruised past the asteroid, having traveling 1.2 billion
07 Dec, 2018
Blog 70: A beautiful green comet
Friday night was a great one for comet peepers and conditions should only improve throughout the next week. Comet 46P/Wirtanen has reached naked-eye visibility from dark sites in the northern hemisphere. The short-period comet is approaching closer than usual to Earth, brightening by the night on its orbit, and should be most easily seen on December 16, according to NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. On December 16, the comet will be only 7.2 million miles away. It should be simple to find,
27 Nov, 2018
Blog 69: Landing on Mars
Around three dozen visitors were scattered throughout a University of Utah auditorium Monday witnessing first-hand one of NASA's greatest triumphs, the descent and landing of the InSight Mars probe. The program was hosted by the U.'s Department of Physics and Astronomy and its South Physics Observatory. Some sat with laptops or notebooks; some checked out displays about physics and space, which had been set up at the entrance and at the front of the auditorium; others stood chatting. The voice


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G1 Test 5: Free Ontario G1 Practice Test Online 2019
An Ontario G1 driver's license can be achieved by passing a 40-question written knowledge test that is divided into two sections: road signs, and road rules. To pass this multiple-choice test you'll need to answer at least 16 questions in each section correctly; questions are based on the 2019 Ontario Driver's Handbook. You'll pay a $158.25 testing package fee at your local DriveTest Centre, which will cover your first attempt at the knowledge test and your G2 drive test, as well as being required to pass an eye exam. If you need to retake your written knowledge test, it will be an additional $15.75. The graduated driver's license (GDL) program requires that you must be at least 16 to take your G1 license test, and then hold your license for a year, or eight months if you're in a driver training program, before you can do a driving test for your G2 license. The entire process to become a fully licensed G driver will take about two years. Your G1 license will allow you to practice your driving skills under the supervision of a licensed driver.


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MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry women's tennis team swept Eckerd, 9-0, Saturday at Buccaneer Tennis Center.
The No. 5 Bucs (5-0, 3-0 Sunshine State Conference) wrap up the weekend with a big match against No. 12 Saint Leo 9 a.m. Sunday.
Emma Onila beat Carson Trapp, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 1 singles. Linda Fristchken beat Gipson Hawn, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 2. Karina Goia swept Manon Ironside, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3. Kimmy Twelker delivered a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Taylor Bullock at No. 4.
Akemi Maehama defeated Erika Fridrik, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 5. Isabela Miro returned to the court after taking last weekend off, beating Amanda Teets, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 6.
Barry's No. 1 doubles team of Elisabeth Abanda and Onila rolled to an 8-0 win over Hawn and Fridrik. Twelker and Fritschken defeated Bullock and Teets, 8-1. Miro and Goia recorded an 8-2 victory over Ironside and Trapp at the No. 3 flight.


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'Jersey Shore' Star Arrested
In news that really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, a cast member from the much derided television guilty pleasure 'Jersey Shore' was arrested today, just another in a long line of the show's stars to do something stupid and find themselves in handcuffs for it.
Deena Cortese was arrested after a police officer saw her standing in the middle of the road, slapping cars as they drove past her. Naturally, she was intoxicated. She was dragged to police station, issued a summons and released back into the wild, free to slap more cars and continue to make a moron of herself on national television.
Incidents like this serve as a reminder that the show is currently filming its latest season, which will begin its assault on the world sometime this year. Cortese has company in the "'Jersey Shore' Cast Members With Rap Sheets" club. Jonathan "The Unit" Manfre was charged with felony drug possession earlier this year. "Ronnie" Ortiz-Magro was arrested for unpaid parking tickets in 2010. That same year, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi was was arrested for disorderly conduct.
But hey, what is 'Jersey Shore' without a cast of meatheaded morons with no self awareness bumbling through life and making asses of themselves? An arrest only adds to their special brand of anti-mystique. See why below.


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Scientists from WHOI and the University of Delaware recovered and analyzed messenger RNA from a sediment core collected by the ship JOIDES Resolution in 2002 during Leg 201 of the Ocean Drilling Program. (Courtesy of the Ocean Drilling Program) [ Hide caption ]
The deep biosphere—a realm of sediments buried far below the seafloor—harbors diverse, thriving communities of life, according a new study by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of Delaware (UD).
The researchers analyzed messenger RNA (mRNA) from 16 to 522 feet deep below the seafloor off the coast of Peru in 2002. They found evidence of bacteria, archaea, and fungi actively metabolizing, proliferating, and moving. Their work was published June 12, 2013, in Nature.
This first glimpse into the workings of the heretofore hidden ecosystem was made possible by the first successful extraction of total mRNA, or the "metatranscriptome," from the deep biosphere, said WHOI postdoctoral investigator Bill Orsi, who was lead author of the study.
Messenger RNA is highly sought after by microbial ecologists because its presence indicates that the cells that made it are still alive, and because it carries the instructions for cells to manufacture proteins. That gives researchers valuable information about the biochemical processes the organisms are using to function.
According to Orsi, extracting enough mRNA to conduct the studies was a difficult task because metabolic rates of microorganisms in the deep biosphere are very low and mRNA is only about 4 to 10 percent of the total RNA they make. "There's a certain amount of banging your head against the wall before it works," he said.
Among the proteins they found coded for in the mRNA, many are involved in cell division, indicating that the cells that made them belong to growing populations.
The scientists also identified mRNAs for specific biochemical processes that use sulfates and nitrates, revealing new insights into the workings of the deep biosphere ecosystem. Particularly surprising was the discovery that fungi were metabolically active players contributing to the subseafloor ecosystem, along with bacteria and archaea.
The researchers also found evidence that cells in the deep biosphere are eating amino acids, which are a rich source of carbon and nitrogen and can only have come from other living or recently deceased organisms. The scientists think those amino acids came from cells that lived and died in the deep biosphere, rather than remnants that drifted down through the water.
The finding of so much activity in the deep biosphere has implications for understanding how chemicals cycle through the Earth system, said WHOI microbiologist Virginia Edgcomb, Orsi's mentor.
The experiment turned up another surprise: Many of the cells in the deep biosphere are making proteins to make flagella, the whip-like "tails" that propel them through a fluid environment. The researchers were even able to show that cells making flagellar proteins occurred in areas of the sediment where the pore spaces are large enough to permit flagella-driven movement. Other cells produced mRNAs related to gliding and twitching, providing strong evidence that cells in deep sediments are capable of a variety of locomotion.
"The take-home story there is, if there's room to move, they move," Orsi said.
This research was funded by a National Science Foundation Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations grant.
To collect a core of sediments, a long tube is dropped from a ship or derrick and driven into the seafloor. When the tube is drawn back up to the surface, sediments come with it. In some cases, a drill bit is placed on the end of the tube to allow penetration and collection of rock as well as mud. Core sampling is valuable because it preserves the vertical structure of the sediments. Generally, sediments deeper down are older than those near the top.


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Brace yourselves y'all! In just a short while, Britney Spears will face Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon at an L.A. court and battle to regain shared custody of her two kids. It's bound to be one of craziest courthouse scenes of all time!
We'll have live streaming video of the Britsanity, starting at 3:00 PM EDT, which will run until she leaves the building.
Git yer bag o' Cheetos and orange sody ready -- this one's gonna get wild!
CommentsClick To View
Hot Video


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I agree with much of what a recent letter writer said of Sun City residents.
But not all. First of all, there are many people in Sun City who respect our government and our president and want programs like Obamacare to continue. Unfortunately, the naysayers speak with a louder voice in this state. That is a shame - many are unwilling, even afraid, to speak out in favor of social programs that help all our citizens. So don't lump all of us in the clown car with the tea party.
Also, many Sun City residents give back to the community in a variety of ways. Hundreds of volunteers work in the community and spend hours helping others. Schools, hospitals, hospice, churches, animal shelters, and many others get the benefit of these volunteers.
Selfishness doesn't belong to any one generation. There are many selfish young people as well. Until we all learn to care for "the least of these"
that will continue.
On the bright side, these people are not the future. They are on the way out.
So our educational system would do well to teach compassion along with basic skills. And the arts, which help children develop a larger view of the world.
A more aesthetic view.
I have a suggestion for those who live off the government in their old age and do little more than complain. Get off the government programs. Give back your pension, Social Security, and Medicare. Put your money where your mouth is.
I prefer a society that lives by an old Indian belief - that everything we do should benefit the 7th generation to come - so caring for nature, children, and each other is paramount.
Wouldn't that be a better society for all?
Sun City


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Guide to the Emerson Shaw Photographic Slide Collection
Guide to the Emerson Shaw Photographic Slide Collection
Collection number: MSS-2010-10-30
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection Contents
Scope and Content Note
Carmel Mission 1944
Point Lobos 1944
Sutter's Fort n.d
Weed, California 1944
Shasta Dam n.d
Yosemite Valley undated
General Sherman Tree undated
San Juan Capistrano undated
Army Day 1940
Emerson's First Picture undated
Geisenhoff Ranch undated
World's Fair undated
Golden Gate Park undated
Golden Gate Bridge undated
Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill from "Russian Hill" undated
Legion of Honor Art Gallery undated
San Francisco Aerial Views undated
Napa Valley undated
Sonoma Mission undated
Western Pacific undated
San Juan Town and Mission undated
Desolation Valley undated
Road Races 1951
Hollywood Hills September 1951
Mt. Waterman undated
San Simeon undated
Route 1 Half Moon undated
Saratoga Summit 1948
Fort Ross 1950
Trinity County undated
Virginia City undated
Scope and Content Note
Chicago 1939
University of Chicago 1939
Bridges, Barges, and Boats 1939
Niagra Falls 1939
Statue of Liberty 1939
Hudson River 1939
West Point 1939
Norris Dam, Tennessee 1939
Painted Desert, Arizona 1939
Superstition Mountain 5/24/1947
Coolidge Dam 5/25/1947
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 5/28/1947
New Orleans, Louisiana 5/28/1947
Atlanta, Georgia 6/1/1947
Warm Springs, Georgia 6/5/1947
Cherokee Indian Chief 6/9/1947
Smoky Mountains 6/9/1947
Lincoln Memorial 6/12/1947
Jefferson Memorial 6/15/1947
Mount Vernon 6/13/1947
Washington Monument 1947
Valley Forge 6/20/1947
New London, Connecticut 6/22/1947
Maine 1947
Lake Chocorua and Mt. Chocorua 6/25/1947
Scituate Harbor 7/2/1947
Bristol, Rhode Island 7/4/1947
New York City- Central Park 7/17/1947
Statue of Liberty and New York Skyline 7/18/1947
Niagra Falls 7/28/1947
Boston 1947
Plymouth, Massachusetts 7/23/1947
Cranberry Bog 7/23/1947
Hudson River Looking North 7/26/1947
Niagra Falls 7/28/1947
Barberton, Ohio 7/30/1947
Chicago and Lake Michigan 8/3/1947
Rocky Mountain National Park 8/9/1947
Scope and Content Note
Lake Tahoe and Lake Angora, seasonal scenic views 1952-1957


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Paul Bunyan Toastmasters- Pequot Lakes 2018
Name: Paul Bunyan Toastmasters- Pequot Lakes 2018
Date: December 25, 2018
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CST
Website: http://toastmasters.org
Event Description:
Paul Bunyan Toastmasters Growing to meet the needs of busy people
Do you want to become a confident public speaker? If so, Toastmasters is the place for you. You'll find a supportive learn-by-doing environment that allows you to achieve your goals at your own pace.
"We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth."


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Pulse Shift is a first person puzzle platformer which allows players to control and cheat physics. The game allows to play with physics, gravity and manipulating time. Primary goal is find right way and get to the arrow location as fast as possible. It is a game where you finding, trying, jumping, collecting, avoiding, thinking, running and trying again. It is 3d puzzle game where you really playing with three dimensions.
Hello here is Pulse Shift dvd cover and label available to download.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus Overview:
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus presents a radical redesign into the flagship Galaxy S line. With a renewed focus on premium looks and cutting edge specs, the Galaxy S6 sports a Quad HD display, an improved 16MP camera, and – finally – super-fast UFS 2.0 based internal storage starting at 32 GB up to 128 GB. The Galaxy S6 runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop with the company's proprietary TouchWiz skin on top, and it will be the first 64-bit Samsung flagship, coming outfitted with a homemade octa-core chip.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus Sim Unlocking:
Unlock Rogers Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus to use any where in the world with any supported service provider like
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus Unlocking instructions:
1: Turn on phone with Not Accepted SIM card.
2: A menu will pop up to Insert the code.
3: Insert the provided code and press OK
4: Device is now unlocked.
How to Factory Reset/ Hard Reset Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus:
How to Reset Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus Pattern Lock:
All described operations you are doing at your own risk.
First Method:
- Start by turning on the device by holding the Power key for a short while.
- In the next step find and select Settings and tap Backup & Reset.
- Afterwards tap Factory Data Reset and then Reset Phone.
- Choose Erase Everything if you are sure you want to clear all your data.
- Next, select OK to confirm the whole operation.
- Well done! The hard reset has just been performed.
How to Update Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus to latest Firmware:
Update your software using PC Companion:
- Connect your device to your computer using the USB cable. …
- Open Kies. …
- Click Firmware upgrade to start the upgrade process.
- A pop-up message may also display when you connect your device to Kies. …
- You will be taken through the backup process to preserve all of your data.
How to Root Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus:
You will lose all your data and it is possible that you may brick your device
All described operations you are doing at your own risk.
ANY Sony Xperia Z Series(maybe work on T series or other)
An app called "Kingroot" you can download here: https://android.xda.com/download-kingroot-application latest version recommended
- On your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus device, enable usb debugging ( setting – developer option – and tick on usb debugging option ) if you don't have developer option, you can enable it by tapping on build number 7 times ( setting – about phone – tap on "build number" 7 times )
- Enable "unknown source" on your Xperia device ( setting – security – and click on "unknown source"option)
- Download the LATEST Kingroot.apk ( https://android.xda.com/download-kingroot-application )
- Once downloaded, install the Kingroot.apk,
- Open kingroot and press on "Start root"
- Wait until 100%, and then there you go!
- Enjoy your Rooted Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus device with LOCKED bootloader!


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Get the Look: Talia's Rustic Chic Summer Dinner Party
What is the perfect setting for summer entertaining? The key elements are comfort and rustic elegance, plus a certain easy-breeziness. Talia's winning formula involves a burlap cloth, gold flatware and a marble cheeseboard. Here's how you can get the look:
Talia is one of those hostesses who is totally at ease and relaxed and yet somehow manages to pull off a flawless dinner party. Her table setting perfectly reflected this combination in its chic and rustic elements. A burlap tablecloth and sweet plaid napkins were naive counterpoints to matte gold flatware and a simple marble cheese board for charcuterie.
The purple and orange buds in vintage vases picked up on the napkin print and the colorful Iznik pattern on the tiny bowls, while the glimmering flatware was matched by champagne bubbling away in flutes. Obviously it helps that the food was both simple and scrumptious and that the outdoor setting was balmy and verdant — the perfect summer evening.
If you want to put together a similar summer dinner party, you can follow the same formula:
Just add prosecco!
Images: As linked above.


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ReleasesBack to
Paul Chambers
The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 5), also known as The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 5: The Scene Changes, is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, released onBlue Note Records in 1959, featuring a session Powell recorded at the Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey on December 28, 1958, with Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums.[2]
The album was digitally remastered in 2003 by Rudy Van Gelder and re-issued as part of Blue Note's The RVG Edition series.


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This blog discusses current weather, weather prediction, climate issues, and other topics
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Media claims are wrong. WE have the record storms!
There has been a lot of media attention regarding the storm in the Midwest with claims it was the strongest (lowest pressure) non-tropical storm in U.S history. DON'T BELIEVE IT FOR A MOMENT. This is classic eastern U.S. media myopia....we have had the deepest and most violent storms!
So here is the story. The media is raving about this storm in the Midwest in which the lowest pressure reported was 28.20 inches or 954.8 mb at Bigfork Airport in Minnesota. This is the lowest pressure ever observed in Minnesota! Here is a surface analysis of the storm at its height.
Now this storm has very low pressure but the pressure gradients (pressure changes with distance) are not that impressive and pressure gradient drive winds. Thus, the winds were really not that exceptional.
But we can top that without breaking a sweat. Now take a relatively recent storm around here: December 12, 1995. During that event the sea level pressure at Buoy 46041 , 52 miles west of Aberdeen, WA got to 28.31 inches (958.8 mb) and certainly that did not sample the center of the storm. Since the storm was farther offshore the pressure would to had to have been considerabley less. The estimate of local storm uber-expert Wolf Read was the pressure had dropped at least to 953 mb (see track map below).
There are other examples I could cite. The great January 1880 storm was probably much deeper as well and I bet I could find others. In fact, David Ludlum's Weather Record Book, published by Weatherwise in 1971, reported 28.20 inches /954.96 mb at Reedsport, OR, on January 9, 1880.
And I haven't even mentioned the Columbus Day Storm of 1962, which clearly was the most powerful extratropical cyclone during the past century. Furthermore, our storms generally have larger pressure gradients and thus more extreme winds.
The media is going nuts about a storm that had maximum gusts of 81 mph. Big deal. Our storms regularly have winds over 100 mph and sometimes over 125 mph
If you want to read detailed accounts of major NW windstorms, check out the WONDERFUL web pages created by Wolf Read available on the Washington State Climatologist website:
Hours of good reading there.
And Bri Dotson and I recently published a paper on our storms--found at:
Now I know how these tricky east-coasters work. They will say that our storms are generally over water during their early lives and don't count. Don't let them get away with this. Their fabled "Nor'Easters" --which they count--spend plenty of time of water. And don't forget the Great Lakes! And why did they call one of their storms "The Perfect Storm" when many of ours far outrank it by any mark?
35 comments:
- Crown City Rental said...
Isn't Minnesota in the mid west?? Not the east
- October 26, 2010 at 9:00 PM
- M'sFan said...
Dr. Mass, what was the lowest pressure recorded during the December 2007 storm that KO'd the coast for days? Is it possible to see a pressure gradient map from that storm? I've sure seen NOTHING like that. Thank you, sir!
- October 26, 2010 at 9:26 PM
- Charlie Phillips said...
Ok, I understand that the media is overhyping this storm, 81 mph is not that impressive, that storm is a baby compared to the Great Coastal Gale, but I think they are right on the pressure, at least officially. Was December 1995 pressure ever officially measured below 955? At Tatoosh Island or Destruction Island or something? Also, these storms produce tornadoes, which our storms don't. But they always seem to be bigger too, and therefore, less windy.
Also, 00UTC GFS, crazy flooding for the Northern Cascades, and that location will switch around a bit... see if that forecast holds true. Is that MJO-related?
- October 26, 2010 at 10:09 PM
- Charlie Phillips said...
Oh, and I LOVE Wolf Read's website, but do you think you could get him to include floods and snowstorms and other stuff as well? I emailed him and never got a response. It's a mistake to talk about the "January 29-30, 2004 Minor Windstorm" when we could be talking about much bigger storms, like the November 2006 Pineapple Express, or the January 1950 blizzard! Wind is just one part of a storm.
Also, do I need to be in the AMS to access your Hanukkah Eve Storm page? I can't seem to get it.
- October 26, 2010 at 10:18 PM
- JewelyaZ said...
Cliff, I heard the reporters say that it was the second-strongest storm on record FOR THE MIDWEST US. I didn't hear anyone claim the biggest/baddest ever. Hell, I think anyone sane would argue that those giant strings of thunderstorms that kick off dozens of damaging tornadoes in a single day in the southern midwest states are MUCH worse.
Was it a big storm? Yes. Was it a yawner by say, Hurricane Ridge standards? Absolutely. Midwesterners are landlocked flatlanders and their idea of a hellish storm is necessarily different than ours. (I say that as a person who grew up as a somewhat landlocked flatlander).
Let's not act like three year olds, stomping our feet because someone said they were bigger and cooler than us. LOL I'd rather hear you analyze what made their perceptions of this seemingly ho-hum storm so severe. Was it a terrible storm for Illinois and Indiana as the media said it was?
- October 27, 2010 at 3:08 AM
- Tim said...
I just e-mail Jeff Masters (Weather underground founder and blogger) yesterday about this..... He was talking about this east coast storm getting to 960 mb and we just had one this last week end get to 966 mb... Just last year we had winds close to 80 mph. :^)
- October 27, 2010 at 6:51 AM
- maxwell said...
It seems that the data confirm your claim that Pacific originating storms that hit the Northwestern US are routinely centered around lower pressure than we've seen so far from this Midwestern storm.
I do think it's confusing to claim that because the Midwest contains the Great Lakes, we can compare large storms over the Pacific that affect places like Seattle to what we have seen the past couple days.
This entire storm could be contained within the Pacific Ocean while it is currently covering a dozen Midwestern states. The same storm is causing both blizzards in North Dakota and tornado warnings in Northern Ohio. This extent includes much of the surface of the Great Lakes, but much more dry land.
So it's not 'over water' so to speak as a Pacific storm or Nor'easter would be. It's mostly over land and that it distinctly different for whatever that fact is worth.
- October 27, 2010 at 6:52 AM
- Targhee said...
Cliff- I forwarded this link to my brother in law, who works for Minnesota Public Radio. In turn, he forwarded it to MPR's meteorologist. That person's response is below. Sounds like you all need to talk!
From Paul Huttner, MPR:
I think Cliff has missed the point on this one....OUR storm is over
land...not the ocean. Big difference. He cites a pressure of 28.31" 52
miles out over the open ocean...and still not as low as the 28.20" in
Big Fork and Orr yesterday.
Regarding his blog.
1) The storm he lists says.... "But we can top that without breaking a
sweat. Now take a relatively recent storm around here: December 12,
1995. During that event the sea level pressure at Buoy 46041 , 52 miles
west of Aberdeen, WA got to 28.31 inches (958.8 mb) and certainly that
did not sample the center of the storm. Since the storm was farther
offshore the pressure would to had to have been considerabley less."
I don't agree with his assessment here. And respectfully, I don't think
reporting accurately on the deepest low in Minnesota history is "hype."
Paul Huttner
Chief Meteorologist
Minnesota Public Radio
Updraft Weather Blog
Jet Streaming Podcast
- October 27, 2010 at 7:15 AM
- FUR said...
Great post. I grew up back East sailing in and around NYC. I did not experience strong wind till I came out West.
But I'm wondering, how do we rack up to Alaska? I assume they get pummeled worse than us, but don't really know.
- October 27, 2010 at 7:30 AM
Awww, Cliff, you are so proud of our storms! We most assuredly have the biggest windstorms. But the Midwest is dealing with powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes and blizzards as I type. I much prefer our storms which are more or less predictable as they travel across the open sea to get here. No tornadoes or blizzards.
Question: I noted that they are saying the Midwest storm system blew in from the Pacific Northwest on the jetstream. How does that work?
- October 27, 2010 at 7:48 AM
- Bob said...
Those culpable east coast media types, what do they know about the weather or for that matter the news!
You are right about the east coast geographic centric propensity of the MSM. They are "headquartered" on the east coast and their "field offices" are here on the west coast – what a joke – as though we westerners offer little to be reported, like to weather.
- October 27, 2010 at 8:28 AM
- Cirrus Driver said...
Sometimes those tricky East Coasters send their native sons to infiltrate the Atmospheric Science departments of West Coast universities. But you can always tell because a slight accent remains...
- October 27, 2010 at 9:48 AM
- Brad said...
The Weather Channel promotes this bias, it seems as if there is more emphasis on the Eastern United States than Western. For example in any given hour on the show there will be 40 to 50 minutes spent describing in great detail the forecasts for the Eastern side and then some brief insignificant report on temperatures, airport delays and generalized forecasting of weather conditions for the Western side. Growing up in California and living in Washington for 20 years I still know more about tornadoes and hurricanes than extratropical cyclones or anticyclones.
- October 27, 2010 at 9:49 AM
- LorbeerTLC said...
Congratulations Cliff!
Your Blog has been reposted on "The Front Page", the Blog for the AMS.
Great article!
- October 27, 2010 at 9:56 AM
- Davey said...
Can I have a copy of the full .pdf file for the NW windstorm publication?
- October 27, 2010 at 11:12 AM
- Suzanne said...
Is the storm in the midwest related to the storm we had here on Sunday? The timing makes me think it might be the same storm system.
- October 27, 2010 at 11:17 AM
- Steve Scolnik said...
Do any of your storms have credible barometric readings of 28.20" or below over land?
- October 27, 2010 at 11:28 AM
- Matt said...
Jewelyaz, I think from the later information from Minnesota meteorologists and other news posted, you can see why this is more than just poo poo-ing from Dr. Mass.
This is about accurate reporting and not giving in to hype. This is about having meaningful measurements and discussions of weather phenomena. Pressure gradients are KEY when we're talking about wind, just as much as the actual lowest pressure recorded. You can cherry pick and say "tornadoes hit here, here, and here" and I can say, well, 30 foot waves hit here, here, and here, oh, and a 120+ mph gust hit here, here, and here, oh, and urban flooding hit here, here, and here. It's meaningless. In terms of large fields of high winds speeds, the Midwest has a very hard time competing with the North Pacific. That is not to say that their storm is not noteworthy. But come now, would anyone want to compare the raw power of this storm with the Columbus Day Storm? That's the big daddy that will likely not be equalled or surpassed until another Pacific storm comes along sometime in the next 100 years.
This coverage reminds me a lot about the ridiculously named "perfect storm" over a decade ago.
- October 27, 2010 at 12:06 PM
- Cheryl said...
Go get 'em Cliff!
Btw, My BF is from Mankato MN & I'm from Long Beach CA, we argue about the "severity" of storms here in Seattle ALL THE TIME. I always point him to your blog, but he always poo-poo's me. Not this time!
- October 27, 2010 at 12:40 PM
- Scott said...
The 1998 storm -- to which this storm has been compared --- did have a bigger pressure gradient owing to High Pressure over Arkansas. That's missing from this now-dying event.
Either mainland WA had a pressure lower than this storm, or it didn't. Had the MN storm "only" been in the 965 mb range in MN, but strengthened as it moved into Ontario, would it still be the strongest in MN history, or over the USA? No.
Someday, perhaps soon, a storm will move onshore in the PAC NW with very low pressures, perhaps below the 954.8. I'm sure you'll be very proud when that happens.
- October 27, 2010 at 9:24 PM
- ever daddy said...
Would be interested to hear some comparisons (and pictures) on waves in our recent storm and the one now hitting the midwest (not the East Coast as others have pointed out). I heard Lake Superior got 35 foot waves and because it's a lake, the frequency of these waves is higher than ocean waves of similar height. I also heard that the SW winds over Green Bay caused the water level in Green Bay Harbor to fall by 42 inches. No matter how you slice it, that's impressive for a body of water as big as Green Bay.
- October 27, 2010 at 9:27 PM
- Elizabeth said...
Is there a way to get a copy of your paper and not just the abstract?
- October 27, 2010 at 9:36 PM
- Dano said...
Cliff, your assertions may be superficially true.
However, there is much, much more friction over land than over sea.
(word verif agrees: uroptia)
- October 28, 2010 at 7:04 AM
- John Franklin said...
Cliff - when you are discussing the "strongest (lowest pressure) non-tropical storm in U.S history" do you include Alaska? Or is there some Alaskan meteorologist who thinks you are being as parochial as the folks in Minnesota?
- October 28, 2010 at 7:27 AM
- ScottB said...
Seattle's all-time record low temperature is 0 F (-18 C)? Here in Wisconsin (which is not on the East Coast), we can easily beat that without breaking a sweat. Heck, on some days our daily *maximum* temperature doesn't even reach 0 F.
This pressure record is for a mid-latitude cyclone located well inland over the Lower 48 states (meaning, not on an island located near an oceanic coast), non-tropical storm.
Why can't we all just get along?
- October 28, 2010 at 9:36 AM
- John Franklin said...
Matt at 12:06:
If this is about "accurate reporting" then you should be correcting Cliff. A sampling of the news articles about this storm shows that most put the severity of the storm in the correct geographic perspective i.e. biggest for a state or a region but not claiming a national title. Some blogs may have claimed it was the record for the U.S. but blogs are famous for spreading misinformation :). And I agree with JewelyaZ that I look to Cliff's blog for intelligent discussion of the weather. There is no reason to be hyping a "my storm is bigger than your storm" "fight" based on misquoting others.
- October 28, 2010 at 9:56 AM
- Tino said...
Wow… you feel the need to have to compare "your storms" to other storms just because those "tricky east-coasters" may not care about storms on the west coast? Hilarious!
Yes, all smart meteorologists know that ocean storms (tropical or non-tropical) typically become stronger than land-based storms, but that is not the point. It WAS a strong Midwest storm… one that set many records in the Midwest… but to have to write a blog about how "our storms are better than your storms" is pretty childish.
But of course, you won't publish this comment.
And no… I'm not from the "tricky east coast". Just a Midwest boy in fly-over-land between all of you "attention getting coast dwellers"! ;-)
- October 28, 2010 at 10:23 AM
- Cliff Mass Weather Blog said...
There are a few individuals who have taken my last blog a little too seriously. Folks, sometimes I need to have a little fun. And name calling is REALLY not appropriate.
I do believe that using reasonable measures of wind and pressure gradient that our top storms would lead the pack...and a big part of the reason is that we have an ocean, with low friction, upstream of us. Please read my windstorm paper in Monthly Weather Review...I talk about such issues.
- October 28, 2010 at 10:28 AM
- Jessica said...
It WAS a funny post. In the same vein as "my cat is smarter than your honor student".
But I would argue that my cat IS smarter..... tee hee.
- October 28, 2010 at 12:12 PM
- JewelyaZ said...
Here's an interesting article about how this storm came from Alaska to impact the midwest... CSM Storm Article
- October 28, 2010 at 12:45 PM
- John Franklin said...
For those interested in the issue of record low pressure in the U.S. The lowest barometric pressure in Alaska was 925 mb (27.31 inches) at Dutch Harbor on October 25, 1977.
- October 28, 2010 at 2:10 PM
- Matt said...
RE: Green Bay and Lake Superior Waves..
The western half of green bay (perhaps 1/4 the size of Lake Michigan) averages 30 feet in depth. During extreme wind events the basin can drop by many feet. This is a seiche and can be above 7ft in Lake Erie (So the western half drops 7ft while the eastern side rises by that much). And yes, the waves have a much shorter frequency in the great lakes, especially Lake Erie that is so shallow.
- October 28, 2010 at 4:07 PM
- Jay said...
And now for something completely different...Wednesday's sunny weather was a nice break from the long rainy storm. I was impressed how long in advance the National Weather Service predicted the nice day on Wednesday. Weather forecast accuracy has become truly amazing, even many days in advance.
- October 28, 2010 at 7:18 PM
- catman306 said...
I can believe that waves in the Great Lakes are different than ocean waves. Can someone please provide a link to an explanation of why this is?
- October 29, 2010 at 10:48 AM
- u10int said...
The record claim was for the lowest CONUS land-based pressure (between the Rocky and Appalachian mountain ranges), not the lowest pressure ever recorded overall for non-tropical storms.
In fact, although the PNW has had it's fair share of record storms, the winner is definitely Alaska with the record storms. Here's more info from NOAA: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dlh/?n=101026_pressurerecords
- November 4, 2010 at 6:54 AM


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Changing How We Handle Advertising And Sponsorships
from the advertising-is-content deptWe're excited to announce today that we've moved in a new direction with the advertising and sponsorships we do on Techdirt, partnering with SAY Media to provide compelling, interesting and engaging forms of advertising and sponsorship. Let me just say, up front, that I recognize that there's a common thread among many who visit this site that all internet advertising is "bad." And I'll be the first to admit that all too often internet advertising is terrible. It can be annoying, intrusive, irrelevant or just plain useless. Because of that, most of us have pretty complete ad blindness. We either automatically ignore all of the ads we see, or we use tools like AdBlocker to avoid even having to deal with the ads.
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Thanks for being a part of what's been a fantastic, lively and educational community for so many years. We will always strive to provide as much value back to you as possible, and this partnership will help continue that process.
Filed Under: advertising, techdirt


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10 Must-Read Summer Books
Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden
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Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" is a historical biopic more concerned with depicting the 16th president's log-rolling politics than his log-splitting childhood.
"Lincoln," one of many high-profile films this season based on real events, has been warmly embraced by critics and audiences. But there's another group whose opinion matters — historians.
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