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Global Citizenship in ESN's spotlight
Between the 19th and 22nd of May, members of the Erasmus Student Network and the Erasmus Mundus Association gathered in Brussels for the GlobErasmus training. It aimed at educating the participants about global citizenship and global competencies developed through different organisations and reinforcing them through workshops and training sessions with external partners with an overall goal of empowering the Erasmus alumni and volunteers.
GlobErasmus is one of many steps ESN is taking in expanding own horizons and keeping up with the developments of the new Erasmus programme which aims to expand globally. The training allowed for new knowledge and a wider perspective on activities we are already implementing and the ones we could organise to ensure even larger impact and spread our mission of "students helping students" globally.
Right from the start, the participants had the opportunity to learn how different organisations approach the topic of global citizenship from guests such as Ajaree Tavornmas from Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), Sebastiano Putoto from Young European Federalists (JEF) and Jo Deman from World Organisation of Scout Movement (WOSM).
In the following days, participants continued to further explore the relation between their organisations and global citizenship education with a focus was on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Participants of GlobErasmus analysed activities of their own organisations that already tackle SDGs and explored new methods of approaching them. Together, they began building a set of recommendations that address each of the SDGs in relation to the fields of actions of the organisations.
Finally, the goal of setting the ground for potential collaboration between ESAA members focused on the topic of global citizenship and competence will result in a Toolkit about Citizenship Education in ESAA organisations based on the inputs from participants of the GlobErasmus.
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The event was organised by the Erasmus Student Network and the Erasmus Mundus Association, in partnership with ESN Greece and funded by the Erasmus+ Student and Alumni Alliance (ESAA).
Section in the Spotlight, June 2019: ESN Lisboa!
The winner of the last Section in the Spotlight of this semester takes us to the south of Europe where the land meets the Atlantic ocean. We will be transferred to one of the nicest European capitals which is famous for the dessert called pastels. Let's meet the winner of this month - ESN Lisboa.
The section was founded in 2008 by nine former exchange students. Even though there are multiple universities in the city, they decided to found only one section to establish good relations with all universities. ESN Lisboa has been growing quite fast, especially due to a high number of former exchange students. Nowadays there are 60 active members who work in eight section departments (e.g. Sports and Trips, Integration and Cultural Events, Human Resources) and are managed by six board members.
Every semester ESN Lisboa recruits new members. Whoever wants to become a member of the section has to go through an interview with experienced members. After that, potential members help for a month with the section's agenda and then they are evaluated and promoted to junior members. After 3 more months, the General Assembly votes on the seniority and junior members become full members of the section.
Not only do they have a strong team of current members, but ESN Lisboa also cooperates with section Alumni. The Alumni network provides the section with guidance and support whenever it is needed. To fully integrate Alumni into the section's work, there is an annual gathering called the History Day organised. Alumni have a chance to tell their stories to the current members and remind them of the history of the section itself.
As it was said earlier, section members are its most valuable asset, therefore, there are many events organised to strengthen their relationships, keep their motivation and teach them more about ESN. For example, the Team Buildings take place every semester and they are targeted especially at newbies. The event is aimed at teaching newbies everything about ESN through a series of workshops with examples of real-life situations and how to deal with them. Last but not least, there is an event called ESN Lisboa Upgrade. This event is also organised for its members and is dedicated to all section positions and their specifications, especially to the transition of new candidates who achieve the important positions within the section.
Apart from internal events, ESN Lisboa organises lots of events for exchange students. Working in a lively city like Lisbon brings many opportunities to integrate international students into the local way of living. It is worth mentioning that members of the section organise the event called Surf Days where international students can learn how to surf. Furthermore, there are trips to other Portuguese cities, hiking trips to national parks nearby, events like indoor climbing and many more sporting activities.
ENS Lisboa also organises parties during each semester. At the beginning of the semester, there is the biggest Mega Welcome Party where more than 1 000 students have fun and meet each other. In addition, the section organises PubCrawls, free live concerts, Quiz and Movie Nights and Pool Parties etc.
In ESN Lisboa members believe that integration is meant to be implemented not only between exchange students but also between exchange and local students. To maintain this they use Papaya Buddy System where there are more than 600 registrations per semester. In order to help international students with their start in the new city, the section members publish the Welcome Book. This almost 100-page guide consists of all information needed for better integration of international students. There are tips for moving abroad, information about the city, accommodation, universities, ESN events, traditions, must-see places and more.
ESN Lisboa also put an emphasis on social issues. They believe that the Erasmus+ programme is a strong tool to bring about change. Thanks to a successful application for an ESAA grant the members were able to help a disadvantaged community in central Lisboa, for example, help a family of a single mother with four children to rebuild their apartment. The section organises many more events aimed at social issues where they help local communities, homeless people, abandoned animals etc.
The principle 'students helping students' is taken very seriously in ESN Lisboa. The section with its 10-year-long history has been working ever since to become a place where members can find not only friends but become a family of ESNers who they can always rely on. And thanks to their hard work and tons of events organised every semester, they assure the unforgettable memories and experiences for international and local students.
Section in the spotlight, May 2019: ESN Oviedo!
The story of ESN Oviedo started back in 2011 when they became a section of ESN Spain. A year later, their voices were already loudly heard. A thousand voices to be exact - during a national event, a thousand people gathered and sang the regional anthem, the Asturian one, breaking a world record. What a way to start their journey that will sometime after lead them to spotlight!
ESN Oviedo works in an efficient team made out of a five-member board and a General Assembly - all section members that have the right to propose any topic and contribute to the development of the section with new ideas. This way, everyone is included in the work of the section. On the other hand, members work in committees specialised on certain fields, always bearing in mind to follow the causes of ESN. The events cover sports, parties, socially inclusive and cultural events. In fact, some of these events earned them recognition not just within the network, but all around their local community as well!
There is no better way to bond than through sports and culture.
To keep their students active and in good health, ESN Oviedo organises dynamic sports events, such as football, volleyball, basketball and rugby matches or hiking and promenades in nature. Not to forget the perks of being on the coast - beach volleyball and surfing are often on the 'events menu'.
Activities that serve to have students bond with the locals and between themselves are also numerous, and they include international dinners, speed friending, or the heartwarming "Host an Erasmus for Christmas". Making the students feel like an important part of the community comes with organising blood donations, strolls to animal shelters, and visits to the nursing home.
ESN Oviedo tries hard to introduce the incoming students to not only Spanish but also to the regional and local culture, by organising city tours telling the beautiful history of the Asturias region in order to let the Erasmus students know the area in depth. However, the Spanish culture gets its time to shine during events such as Tandem, Film and Poetry Evenings that also aim to improve the students' language skills.
Feeling the region through cultural exchange.
These inclusive and cultural exchange-pumped events do for sure make them constantly proud, but there is one certain activity that made noise all over the Asturias region. For two years, ESN Oviedo organised Rural Erasmus in Schools (EiS), while the next year's event is already in the making.
Last year, the section paid a visit to a school in Panes, a very rural village situated on the eastern boundary of Asturias that has only 568 inhabitants. The purpose of this Rural EiS was to show the Erasmus students another part of Asturias, its unique and ancient culture, and to give the local students the opportunity to have direct contact with other cultures which they may not have the chance to meet due to the isolation of their village.
This year, they tried to go even further. In March, they organised a whole Rural EiS Weekend in Grandas de Salime, a village of 853 inhabitants situated on the western boundary of Asturias, in a unique area with a very special cultural mixture of Galician and Asturian features. In this very traditional and rural landscape, there was only one school in the village, which they visited with eight international students.
Among other things, the international students presented their countries to primary school students through facts, traditional dances and food; had a chat and a debate with secondary school students; lived the experience as pilgrims; visited the "castros" (traditional and ancient houses of the inhabitants of these valleys) with local children to learn about the carnival traditions and "fala", the endangered language of the area. Thanks to this activity, ESN Oviedo appeared on the regional Asturian television (TPA), in the main regional newspaper (La Nueva España) and took part in an interview with a Youtube radio, where the international students talked about the weekend and the benefits ESN Oviedo brings for them.
Now, why is this activity so precious and valuable? Because ESN Oviedo managed to introduce international students to the rural and traditional areas of the region, to promote the culture of the region, to provide the locals with a touch of different countries' cultures, and to promote international students as the ambassadors of intercultural learning and global citizenship. What a way to work for the right cause!
Family and friendship above all.
Since they were founded in 2011, ESN Oviedo has achieved a lot. Last year alone, they managed to double the number of their members and days of Welcome Week and increased the number of their trips, showing unknown places in Spain to their international students.
They say for themselves that they are a small section, but able to make a real impact on the international students and the local society, especially by carrying out projects such as Mov'in Europe and Erasmus in Schools. As they are the only ESN section in Asturias, they consider themselves responsible for the internationalisation of the region. Except for making their region a better place, their motivation also comes from the inside, from the section itself. They believe everyone should feel like they belong to a family, and that is how they treat their members and international students.
ESN Oviedo is one big family of mobility ambassadors that tries hard to leave an impact on both Erasmus students and their region while having great fun on the road. What more can you wish for from your ESN section?
Section in the Spotlight, April 2019: ESN AGH Kraków!
This month's edition of Section in the Spotlight will take us to central Europe. To the section which organises countless events, shows the culture of the city, and cooperates with other sections to bring unique experiences to incoming and also, local students. Read more about the inspirational members of the section ESN AGH Kraków!
ESN AGH Kraków was founded in 2006 by two members of the Students' Council of AGH University of Science and Technology as an answer to the need of taking care of international students. Nowadays, the section consists of 72 regular members who do an amazing job every day.
There are many reasons for this. The first one being the carefully organised recruitment that takes place twice a year and consists of a couple of phases. Firstly, there is the promotion of the section consisting of public stands around the university with the introduction of the section and its function. Then, the students who are interested - both local and international - can fill in the application form and are invited to an assessment center. The last phase is a personal interview with potential candidates.
Also, there are many events organised for members. The most important one is the Newbies Camp. This event is a perfect way for newbies to get to know other members, boost their motivation, and pair with more experienced members as their buddies who are there to show them the ESN world in detail. Apart from this event, there are regular meetings such as 'Workshops Weekends' and 'Saturday with ESN' which three other sections from Kraków join and there are internal and external trainers invited, too. Finally, it is vital for ESN AGH Krakow to keep the family atmosphere so they usually organise celebrations of Easter and Christmas for all their members.
International students are fully involved in the section's work. They attend the recruitment events, help to organise the flagship project of the section and also help the university's Office of Foreign Affairs with leaflets, videos, etc. ESN AGH Krakow even has its own band run by international students!
To welcome international students there is the Orientation Week prepared for them every semester. Karaoke Party, City Game, visit to Weliczka the Salt Mine and weekend trips are not missing. Also, ESN AGH Kraków does their best to organise cultural events such as visiting local museums, going to philharmonic concerts, celebrating Christmas in a traditional way or planning cooking classes where international students can learn how to cook traditional Polish meals. A great weekly event which should be mentioned is the Tandem organised in cooperation with ESN Kraków United. During the event international students and also ESNers have a chance to try to talk to each other in several languages.
The flagship project of the section is Exchange Zone. It is a cyclical event which promotes mobility and culture among Polish students. The main idea is sharing experiences of students who have been on mobility in a chosen country and show its culture with the help of an international student from the same country.
The section also promotes events leading to inclusiveness. In the frame of ExchangeAbility the event called 'You don't need eyes to see' takes place. During this event, attendees experienced what it's like to visit a museum as a blind person. The section also works on video episodes of ABLE TO MOVie where Kraków is shown as an accessible city and mobility is promoted among people with disabilities. For the SocialErasmus project the section is involved in the Noble Box Projects where they collect money and prepare Christmas presents for people and families who struggle financially. Also leaving international students can give their stuff they don't need anymore to incoming students and help them to save some money. For all of this ESN AGH Krakoów within the ESN Kraków United was awarded as The Most Inclusive Section in Poland.
The section also promotes projects such as ErasmusIntern, ESN Survey where their alumni are the international coordinator, and ESNcard. Regarding ESNcard there is an ESNcard party held where partners and activities are promoted. Last but not least, ESN AGH Kraków contributed to the origin of International Erasmus Games in 2015.
The members of ESN AGH Kraków are not only visible within the section. Thanks to the promotion of the national and international level of ESN to the members, they are very active there. They even got the title as the best within the ESN Poland Association and the section with the biggest involvement. They eagerly implement new projects and best practices from both levels. There are regular meetings to discuss current projects and everything happening in the network.
The sentence which describes ESN AGH Kraków the best is: 'We never give up'. They eagerly work to bring the best experience to the incoming students, to involve local students and help the whole network. Their biggest success was the organisation of this year's CNR. Apart from their own events and activities planned every day they are also proud of the section cooperation which exists since 2012: ESN Uni Wien, ESN BME, ESN BFI, ESN BOKU, and ESN Usti. One can say that ESN AGH Kraków are unicorns among the ESN network - by the way, this thought is also proven by their choice of the mascot!


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Article 210 contains the requirements for conductor sizing, conductor identification, overcurrent protection, and GFCI and AFCI protection of branch circuits. It also contains requirements for receptacle outlets and lighting outlets. The sidebar, "Branching Out" below, lists other applicable Code sections related to branch circuits.
Fig. 1. A branch circuit consists of the conductors between the final overcurrent protection device and the outlet(s).
Branch circuits are the most commonly installed of all circuits, so a good working knowledge of Art. 210 is essential. That knowledge starts with understanding what a branch circuit is. It consists of the conductors between the final overcurrent protection device (OCPD) and the receptacle outlets, lighting outlets, or other outlets [Art. 100] (Fig. 1).
A key point to remember about branch circuits is that the overcurrent protection device (OCPD) defines the circuit. Thus, the rating of the OCPD determines the rating of the branch circuit; the conductor size does not [210.3].
Multiwire branch circuits. Multiwire branch circuits are circuits that have more than one ungrounded conductor sharing a common grounded (neutral) conductor. These circuits are very beneficial in that they use less material, result in a lower circuit voltage drop, and ultimately result in cost savings. They do, however, have some specific Code rules that can't be ignored.
To prevent inductive heating and reduce conductor impedance for fault currents, all multiwire branch-circuit conductors must originate from the same panelboard or distribution equipment [210.4(A)].
Multiwire branch circuits must supply only line-to-neutral loads [210.4(C)].
- Exception 1: A multiwire branch circuit can supply line-to-line utilization equipment, such as a range or dryer.
- Exception 2: A multiwire branch circuit can supply both line-to-line and line-to-neutral loads if the circuit is protected by a device (multipole circuit breaker) that opens all ungrounded conductors of the multiwire branch circuit simultaneously (common internal trip) under a fault condition.
If the continuity of the grounded (neutral) conductor of a multiwire circuit is interrupted (open), the resultant over- or undervoltage could cause a fire and/or destruction of electrical equipment. See 300.13(B) for the requirements relating to the continuity of the grounded (neutral) conductor on multiwire circuits.
Fig. 2. Multiwire branch circuits that supply devices/equipment on the same yoke must be provided with a means to disconnect simultaneously all ungrounded conductors.
Disconnecting means. Where two or more branch circuits supply devices (or equipment) on the same yoke, you must provide a means to disconnect simultaneously all ungrounded conductors that supply those devices or equipment. A "yoke" is the metal mounting structure for a device (e.g., switch, receptacle, pilot light). It's also called a strap. Locate it at the point where the branch circuit originates [210.7(B)] (Fig. 2 on page 60). Individual single-pole circuit breakers with handle ties identified for the purpose can be used for this application [240.20(B)(1)]. So can a breaker with a common internal trip. This rule prevents people from working on energized circuits they thought were disconnected.
Fig. 3. Multiwire branch circuits that supply devices (or equipment) on the same yoke must also be provided with a means to disconnect simultaneously all ungrounded conductors that supply those devices (or equipment) at the point where the branch circuit originates [210.4(B)].
Multiwire branch circuits that supply devices (or equipment) on the same yoke must also be provided with a means to disconnect simultaneously all ungrounded conductors that supply those devices (or equipment) at the point where the branch circuit originates [210.4(B)] (Fig. 3).
Dwelling unit branch circuits can supply only loads within (or associated with) the dwelling unit. Common area branch circuits for house lighting, central alarm, signal, fire alarm, communications, or other public safety needs must not originate from any single dwelling unit [210.25]. This rule prohibits common area branch circuits in two-family or multifamily dwellings from being supplied from an individual dwelling unit. In addition, this prevents common area circuits from being turned off by individual tenants or by the utility because of nonpayment of electric bills.
Identification. The grounded (neutral) conductor of a branch circuit must be identified per 200.6 [210.5]. Equipment grounding (bonding) conductors can be bare, covered, or insulated. Insulated equipment grounding (bonding) conductors sized 6 AWG and smaller must have a continuous outer finish that is either green or green with one or more yellow stripes [250.119]. Equipment grounding (bonding) conductors larger than 6 AWG, if insulated, can be permanently reidentified with green marking at the time of installation. This marking has to be present at every point where the conductor is accessible [250.119(A)].
Where premises wiring systems contain branch circuits supplied from more than one voltage system, each ungrounded conductor (where accessible), must be identified by system. Identification can be by color-coding, marking tape, tagging, or other means approved by the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). Such identification must be permanently posted at each branch-circuit panelboard or distribution equipment [210.5(C)]. The NEC does not require any particular color scheme (such as black, red, and blue for 120/208V, or brown, orange, and yellow for 277/480V).
Conductors with insulation that is green or green with one or more yellow stripes cannot be used for an ungrounded or grounded (neutral) conductor [250.119]. See the sidebar, "Phase Identification," below, for the normal wire marking color scheme.
Voltage limitations. In dwelling units (and in guest rooms or guest suites of hotels, motels, and similar occupancies), the branch-circuit voltage can't exceed 120V (nominal), if those circuits are [210.6(A)]: luminaires or cord-and-plug connected loads rated not more than 1,440 volt-amperes (VA), or less than ¼ horsepower.
In nondwelling units, you can use 277V (phase-to-ground) circuits to supply any of the following [210.6(C)]:
- Listed electric-discharge luminaires.
- Luminaires with mogul base screw shells.
- Lampholders other than the screw-shell type.
- Equipment rated at 277V.
If an Edison-base lampholder is rated for 120V, don't put it on a 277V circuit.
Conductor sizing. You must size conductors no less than 125% of the continuous loads, plus 100% of the noncontinuous loads [210.19]. Base this on the terminal temperature rating ampacities as listed in Table 310.16 before any ampacity adjustment [110.14(C)].
In addition, conductors must have sufficient ampacity, after applying adjustment factors, to carry the load — and they must be protected against overcurrent per their ampacity [210.19(A)(1), 210.20(A) and 240.4].
Overcurrent protection. Branch-circuit OCPDs must have an ampacity not less than 125% of the continuous loads, plus 100% of the noncontinuous loads [210.20(A)].
Fig. 4. If a branch circuit supplies two or more receptacles, receptacles must have an ampere rating that complies with the values listed in Table 210.21(B)(3).
Outlet ratings. A single receptacle on an individual branch circuit must have an ampacity not less than the rating of the OCPD [210.21(B)(1)]. A single receptacle has only one contact device on its yoke [Article 100]. This means you treat a duplex receptacle as two receptacles.
If a branch circuit supplies two or more receptacles:
- The total cord-and-plug connected load must not exceed 80% of the receptacle rating [210.21(B)(2)].
- Receptacles must have an ampere rating that complies with the values listed in Table 210.21(B)(3) (Fig. 4).
Permissible loads. An individual branch circuit can supply any load for which it's rated [210.23]. A multioutlet branch circuit can supply only lighting and/or equipment loads as summarized in Table 210.24 and as specified in 210.19, 210.20, and 210.21. If you're installing a multioutlet branch circuit, read those requirements carefully.
Cord-and-plug connected equipment not fastened in place, such as a drill press or table saw, for example, must not have an ampere rating more than 80% of the branch-circuit rating [210.23(A)(1)]. UL and other testing laboratories list portable equipment (such as hair dryers) up to 100% of the circuit rating. The NEC is an installation standard, not a product standard, so it cannot prohibit this practice. There really is no way to limit the load to 80% of the branch-circuit rating if testing laboratories permit equipment to be listed for 100% of the circuit rating.
Equipment fastened in place (not a luminaire) must not be rated more than 50% of the branch-circuit ampere rating if this circuit supplies luminaries, other receptacles, or both [210.23(A)(2).
To keep your mind clear when sizing conductors for branch circuits, remember that the OCPD defines the circuit. If a 20A circuit contains 8 AWG conductors because of voltage drop, it is still a 20A circuit — the size of the OCPD determines the rating of the branch circuit. That's because the conductors must be able to handle the current supplied by the OCPD. Going forward, you should now be able to handle branch-circuit requirements.
Sidebar: Branching Out
Other sections of the Code relating to branch circuits include:
- Air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment [440.6, 440.31, and 440.32]
- Appliances [422.10]
- Data-processing (information technology) equipment [645.5]
- Electric space heating equipment [424.3]
- Motors [430.22]
- Signs [600.5]
Sidebar: Phase Identification
Electricians often use the following color system for power and lighting conductor identification:
- 120/240V, single-phase — black, red, and white
- 120/208V, 3-phase — black, red, blue, and white
- 120/240V, 3-phase — black, orange, blue, and white
- 277/480V, 3-phase — brown, orange, yellow, and gray; or, brown, purple, yellow, and gray

subset: commoncrawl


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Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) can significantly enhance the educational experience, both in the classroom and online. A key aspect of ITS is the ability to automatically generate problems of a certain difficulty level and that exercise use of certain concepts. This can help avoid copyright or plagiarism issues and help generate personalized workflows. This project develops technologies for problem generation in various subject domains including math, logic, and even language learning.
This is an inter-disciplinary project that brings together researchers from different research areas, different MSR labs, and our academic collaborators across different continents. Our academic collaborators include Umair Ahmed and Amey Karkare (from IIT Kanpur, India), Krishnendu Chatterjee (from IST Austria), and Erik Andersen and Zoran Popovic (from Univ of Washington).
Computer-aided Education can help revolutionize the pedagogy inside/outside traditional classrooms, as well as enrich the experience offered by online classrooms [talk video]. This project focusses on one key aspect of computer-aided education, namely automatic problem generation. We have developed tools that can help teachers generate hundreds of problems that are similar to a given problem for use in exams (to prevent plagiarism). These tools can also help students by generating personalized workflows with a dynamic progression of problems of increasing difficulty. We believe that this technology will become an integral part of traditional/online classrooms, replace expensive books containing practice problems, and offer unique value with personalized instruction leading to better and quick learning.
We have developed automatic problem generation tools for a variety of subject domains including algebraic proof problems, procedural math problems, sentence completion SAT problems, logic problems, automata construction problems, and board-game problems. These tools build over state-of-the-art advances in multiple computer science disciplines including logical reasoning and natural language understanding, and also leverage domain-specific knowledge associated with a given subject domain.
Algebraic Proof Problems
Given an algebraic identity (like the red problem below), our tool [AAAI 2012] is able to generate fresh algebraic identities (shown as green problems below) that are similar to the input identity. In addition, the teacher can also enter a sample solution to the red problem, and our tool can generate sample solutions to the new green problems. This technology (which generates fresh problems and solutions to those problems from an example problem and its sample solution) can be likened to the Flash Fill feature in Excel 2013 that can perform string transformations by examples.
The tool works for a variety of algebraic domains such as trigonometry, calculus, determinant, and combinatorics.
The tool has an interactive setting. It generalizes the input (red) identity into a template (shown in orange), which replaces each operator in the input identity by a hole that can be instantiated with another operator of the same type, and some additional constraints (also shown in orange on the right side) that restrict the instantiation choices for the holes. The teacher can modify the constraints to control the variants that get generated. A more restrictive set of constraints will lead to fewer problems being generated, but those that might be more similar to the original one. A less restrictive set of constraints may lead to a generation of a larger number of problems, but the search process might take up more time.
The tool performs a brute force search over all possible instantiations of the holes in the template and validates the correctness of each instantiation by doing random testing on free variables of the problem. The correctness of this procedure follows from an extension of the classical randomized polynomial identity testing theorem.
Procedural Math Problems
Procedural problems, such as addition, multiplication, and computation of least common multiple, are those whose solution entails following a step-by-step procedure. These are unlike conceptual problems, such as proof problems, whose solution requires creative thinking as opposed to memorizing and executing a procedure.
Procedural problems are common in middle school mathematics curriculum. The standard pedagogy in teaching procedural skills involves presenting a student with a progression of problems of increasing difficulty. For example, an effective progression for addition procedure may first include problems that involve adding single digits, then problems that involve adding multiple digit numbers without any carry, then problems that involve single carry, double carry, and so on.
Our tool [CHI 2013] generates problems for a given procedural concept by using off-the-shelf test input generation tools (a classic technology from software engineering literature) that achieve various forms of coverage over the underlying procedure written as code, as shown in the following figure.
A partial order over program traces yields a partial order over corresponding test inputs or problems, which can be used to arrange problems into a progression. Our methodology, which characterizes a problem using its trace characteristics, can be used for various interesting applications such as filling holes in a given progression, comparing different progressions from different textbooks, and generating personalized progressions as part of interactive tutoring.
Sentence Completion Problems
Our sentence completion demo illustrates the way in which we can use natural language processing technology to generate candidate vocabulary questions, which a teacher can choose to accept or reject for use in the classroom. In this demo, we take a list of vocabulary words to test on, and then generate sentence completion questions that each use a desired vocabulary word. For example, for the vocabulary word "flouted," it might generate:
But there were rules, and purists irritably noted when they were __________.
a) installed
b) trapped
c) broached
d) flouted
e) fortified
To do this, the program first selects a vocabulary word, and then selects a sentence that uses the word from a database of over 2 million newspaper sentences. Since these sentences are chosen from published newspaper text, they illustrate a correct usage of the target word. To generate alternates or decoys, we analyze the sentence to determine the way in which the target word has been used. For example, in the sentence "He cleans his room every day, and it is always very orderly," the word "orderly" is used as an adjective. But in the sentence "The general asked his orderly for coffee," it is used as a noun. Once the specific linguistic usage of a word has been determined, the program selects alternates from amongst other words that are commonly used in the same way, and presents the question for a teacher to accept or reject.
In the past, generating sentence completion questions was a time consuming process requiring a great deal of thought to construct a good carrier sentence, and then to think up the alternates. With our technology, it takes just a few seconds to judge whether a question is acceptable, and a very large variety of questions can be generated.
Logic Problems
Natural deduction, which is a method for establishing validity of propositional type arguments, helps develop important reasoning skills and is thus a key ingredient in a course on introductory logic. A natural deduction problem consists of a set of premises and a conclusion, and the goal is to derive the conclusion starting from the premises using a given set of inference rules.
Our tool can help generate new variants of a given problem by generating valid replacement for one of the premises or the conclusion, as shown in the following figure.
Our tool also supports two other interfaces for problem generation (paper). These include: (i) generation of problems whose proof/solution structure is similar to that of a given input problem, (ii) generation of problems with given structural and solution characteristics that include number of variables, number of premises, size of each premise, size of solution, and the set of inference rules used in the solution.
The tool views problem generation as reverse of solution generation. It operates by searching for appropriate premises starting from a conclusion.
Our tool can also generate sample solutions to any given problem. It leverages the fact that the problem instances have small size, and hence it performs some offline computation and makes use of bitvector data-structures to alleviate the cost associated with symbolic reasoning.
Board Game Problems
Board games, like Tic-Tac-Toe and CONNECT-4, play an important role not only in development of mathematical and logical skills, but also in emotional and social development. Our tool can generate starting positions for a given game (specified as a set of rules) and a given expertise level of two players. Generating these starting positions allows for leveling the playing field between two players who may have different expertise levels. It may make certain game variants interesting (such as Tic-Tac-Toe 4*4, which when started from the empty board is heavily biased towards player 1). It also provides other benefits such as educational value in teaching certain strategies, prevents against memorization of moves, and enables faster finish time. The following figure shows starting positions of various difficulty level generated for a beginner player playing against an expert opponent for the game of Tic-Tac-Toe over a 4*4 board that involves making row and column matches of size 3.
Our tool for generating fresh starting positions can be likened to the above tools for generating fresh problems. Our tool operates by performing backward reachability on winning states (paper). Hence, it is very similar to the tool for logic problem generation in that it also views problem generation as reverse of solution generation.
Sriram Rajamani
Distinguished Scientist and Managing Director, Microsoft Research India Lab
Sumit Gulwani
Partner Research Manager
Ben Zorn
Partner Researcher


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Medianet at CA World '11 in Las Vegas
Cisco was a platinum sponsor at CA World 2011 that occurred Nov13-16, 2011. The medianet team had a booth and a session presented by Ulrica de Fort-Menares – TM100SN Enhancing Video and Application Experiences with Cisco Medianet. Thank you all who stopped by our booth and watched Ulrica's session. It was great to speak with all the visitors that came by the booth or attended the session.
At the booth we demo'd the recently released Cisco Prime Collaboration Manager 1.1 , our comprehensive application management tool that has live awareness of active telepresence sessions that allows operators to use medianet capabilities like performance monitor and mediatrace in the network to monitor service levels for these calls. Operators are alerted to issues detected by the endpoints and they can drill into the session to find the path and quickly determine what nodes in the network are contributing to loss or jitter. The tool also makes use of the IPSLA Video Operations feature that enables validation of a network path with more simulated video traffic. Yes this can be done to an extent with IPSLA, this new enhancement allows for more realistic traffic than previously available.
Visitors to CA World'11 had also a chance to see demonstrations of CA Unified Communications Monitor which also supports medianet features.
Now that your' back at the office and are ready delve deeper or if you missed us at CA World please visit the Cisco CA World site and the Medianet website to learn more!
If you want to check pictures of the event please visit: https://www.facebook.com/CiscoBorderlessNetworks?sk=photos
Learn more:
- – Medianet
- – Questions about medianet? Visit the: medianet support forum
- – Medianet Knowledge Base
- – Medianet Media Monitoring
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.
1 Comments
Jamal Spanos
pretty useful insights you are sharing. I admire the way you are sharing it. Is there any way I could sign up 4 more?


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he company paraded at the dawn of day and fired a salute very spiritedly; also at sun-up and again when the liberty pole was erected and the flag floated majestically to the breeze, another salute was fired the company having previously assembled, kneeling down and offering up their devotions to God. Afterwards there were many spirited speeches, songs, and toasts from many of the brethren. Then all were dismissed by prayer and went to perform our several camps duties.¹
John Steele, one of the first of the Mormon Missionaries to arrive at what became the "Las Vegas Mission," wrote the above in his journal to recount the activities of the first Independence Day celebrations in 1855. The group arrived from Salt Lake less than three weeks before on June 14, after being called by President Brigham Young to establish this mission to convert the nomadic Southern Paiute Indians to Mormonism and teach them new farming techniques. On the Old Spanish Trail between New Mexico and California, the Las Vegas Valley was an oasis in the desert. The Mormons wanted to establish a halfway station in the valley for travelers between Salt Lake City and the Pacific Coast. The area was particularly coveted for Mormon territorial expansion because it was located halfway between the Mormon settlements of Southern Utah and the San Bernardino Mission established in 1851 in Southern California.
After the mission closed, the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort served as a ranch, resort, and cement testing facility. Today, a small portion of the original fort wall, part of the bastion, the underground foundation of the ranch, and remnants of the testing lab, remain to tell the story of the origins of Las Vegas.
On June 11, 2005 the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort came alive again as re-enactors (many descendants of the original Utah Pioneers) brought Old Glory out at the fort yard as they had done 150 years before. Ranch owner, Helen Stewart, was seen on the grounds. Civil War re-enactors recalled the war's importance to Nevada's history. Lunch was served by the pioneers in Dutch ovens like they used in the past. All of this was done to honor the memory of the many faces that contributed to the history of the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort, and promote its legacy in hopes of preserving it for future generations.
¹ Excerpted from John Steele's diary reprinted in The Fortress, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Las Vegas, Nevada: Friends of the Fort, 2000); also cited in Our Pioneer Heritage.
About This Lesson
Getting Started: Inquiry Question
Setting the Stage: Historical Context
Locating the Site: Maps
Determining the Facts: Readings
Visual Evidence: Images
Putting It All Together: Activities
How the National Register
The lesson is based on the Las Vegas Mormon Fort, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.


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Fruit and cereal: it's a tried and true combo. You might even venture to call it boring. But damned if there's anything — anything — that can't be improved with a little liquid nitrogen and super slow-motion.
Chefsteps shows off the technique in this snazzy little video featuring icy raspberries shattering in slow motion like a flash-frozen robot assassin. And once the damage has been done, you can eat the druplets (a technical term!) frozen, or wait for them to thaw out and juicify. Or you can take the obvious route and smash some more frozen foodstuffs. Ain't no cooler way to cook. [Popular Science]


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Teenagers love drama. And there's nothing more dramatic in high school sports than a penalty-kick shootout in a playoff soccer game.
Spare me the nonsense about teenagers not being able to handle the pressure of making or blocking a penalty kick in a do-or-die situation. Kids choose to play sports. They know the rules beforehand. A soccer player to stepping up to the line in a penalty shootout is no different than a basketball player having to make a game-winning free throw, or a baseball or softball player coming up to bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning of a playoff game.
Might a kid who missed the deciding shot cry if things don't go his way? Sure, but so what? Spend any amount of time around the losing team of a high-school playoff game. Kids cry. A lot. Not losing in a shootout does little to mitigate that.
Penalty shootouts are a perfectly fine way to break a tie. It works for the World Cup, why should high schools be any different? After 120 minutes of soccer — that's two hours, folks — it's time to declare a winner. Shoot it out.
Don't even get me started on the "penalty kicks aren't soccer" argument. Kicking a ball into a net isn't soccer?
And stop saying "there has to be a better way!" There isn't. If there was, someone would have thought of it by now. The NHIAA has used corner kicks and replaying games as solutions, which they've abandoned. I've also heard the suggestion of declaring co-champions. Why? To spare a kid from finding himself in a tough situation?
Is a shootout unfair? I don't think so. Each team gets an equal number of shots. But even if it was, is that really the worst thing in the world? Sports overtimes should have a small element of unfairness to them. It's an incentive to win in regulation.
Do you know what else is unfair? Life.
Please follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/JohnDoyle603">@JohnDoyle603. If you'd like
to send me an email, please do so at email@example.com.
Just kick it, baby
Teenagers love drama. And there's nothing more dramatic in high school sports than a penalty-kick shootout in a playoff soccer game.


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Our Logos—Facebook Photo Contest—especially the picture of Ryan all decked out—got people asking about Logos gear and how they can get some for themselves. You may never have seen it before, but we actually have a product category on Logos.com called Logos Merchandise that will show you all of the items that we currently have available.
Right now we have five items in stock:
- Logos Water Bottle—Blue Polycarbonate/Stainless Steel (pictured to the right)
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And for a little bit longer, each item is on sale for only $1! But you need to act fast. We mentioned this special in our last Newswire, so our stock is going quickly.
To give everyone else a chance to get in on this special deal, please limit your orders to a quantity of one per item. You may order all five items, but just not more than one of each.
The discount is good through this Sunday, March 8, when you use coupon code LOGOSGEAR.
By the way, this is a good opportunity to remind you to make sure you're subscribed to the Newswire email list. We regularly mention cool deals there, and many don't make it to the blog. So be sure to sign up.


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Historic Restoration
Use the form on the right to contact us.
You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right.
1001 G Street Northwest 250W
Washington, DC, 20001
United States
(202) 333-4480
With a professional working relationship spanning three decades, Gary F Martinez FAIA and Thomas E Johnson FAIA founded Martinez+Johnson Architecture in 1994 to bring their design sensitivities to institutional and cultural projects in urban locations. The 25-architect firm has since established an expertise in three main architectural areas – the restoration and adaptive reuse of historic structures, institutional buildings in urban areas and community settings, and the design and planning of performing arts venues.
Known for a thoughtful design approach to public facilities, M+J develops an intimate understanding of the needs of users, patrons, and operators destined to inhabit the projects of the firm. M+J looks to the future in their design aesthetic even when the context may be firmly rooted in the past and executes creative solutions to facilities both new and historic, where flexibility, ease of operation, and high but versatile performance characteristics are requisite. Venues express aspirational values and goals of the communities within which they are located, and at the same time conform to issues of economic value at the highest levels of environmental sustainability.


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This means you get us unfiltered and raw.
Yeah, we're gonna carry around an SPL meter. Because we don't already have enough crap to carry around with us. No! We sit down, put in the disc, take the volume and adjust it by ear and LISTEN. If it sounds good, it is good. If it doesn't, then it isn't.
For a guy that is still at home while I'm waiting at the Marriott you sure are effusive Tyson. I'm hear ready to rock. Tyson is probably on his way. It's hilarious to me when you get to these shows and vendors are freaking out. Soldering irons, tools, multimeters are all out dealing with numerous problems. I thought this shit was supposed to be for consumers! guess you need to be an EE to buy this stuff. live coverage starts soon!!!!!
Tyson will be carrying his 13" MacBook Air, and using his iPhone for hotspot due to the terrible wifi at the hotel in previous years this setup should be as close to ideal as possible. As far as te SPL thing I find it both ridiculous and unnecessary. Not going to happen even in App form.
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© 2015 TRAX. All Rights Reserved, more...


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Uncyclopedia:Anniversaries/January 28
January 28: International No Anniversary Day. World I Am The Voice Of The Mysterons Day - Hi Im Ed Winchester Day (Austin Texas Only)
- 1800 BC - Brits invent the word 'reaulycing' from their caves. America criticized for improving it and accused of warmongering.
- 0 - The world was officially created, but nobody cares.
- 1591 - Queen Elizabeth I's personal confessor Abbot Costello is confused by cricket, shouting, "Who's on first?"
- 1987 - Happy Days Is Filmed In Front Of A Studio Audience - did you know that, I didnt know that !
- 1994 - God was re-born, he died a few seconds later.
- 1996 - Slap bracelets were re-introduced into the world and you became cool for just one moment longer.
- 2005 - INA Day founded and people celebrate it.
- 2006 - People realise that INA is an anniversary and so change it to 'International No Anniversaries Before 2005' Day.
- 2008 - People got so fed up of realising that January 28th was changed to 'International Realising Day'.
- 2009 - Dr. Mario is executed.
- 2010 - Americans change it to 'International Realizing Day'
- 3000 - After much deliberation Americans have realised they have realised nothing and revert back to International No Anniversary Day.


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Sorry for being fashionably late, but I've been suffering somewhat from WTFDISS ("where the fuck do I start?" syndrome). Although I still (perhaps optimistically) believe global moronitude to be in long-term decline, we do appear to be experiencing an upswing at present. One can only hope this is short-lived.
I've also decided, for reasons of fairness, that this year's prize should not be awarded to the American right, although they may well deserve it. Including them in a moron competition is akin to inviting Kenyans to join the Milton Keynes charity half-marathon. It doesn't seem quite fair.
However, no round-up of moronic outbursts would be complete without America's Craziest, so let's start there.
Oklahoma Tornado Madness
Extreme weather in the US always brings out the morons. The increase in extreme weather events couldn't – of course – be caused by greenhouse gases. What kind of gullible fool would believe what scientists say? So obviously, the explanation for the tornadoes in May that killed dozens of people, including 20 children in a school, lies elsewhere. Take your pick: our old friends at the Westboro Baptist Church said God did it because basketball player Jason Collins revealed he was gay. Another old friend, Pat Robertson, agreed that God did it, but because the people of Oklahoma weren't praying enough. And conspiracy loon Alex Jones said the government has the capability to create and steer tornadoes, but (modestly) said he wasn't sure if that's what had happened in this case.
White-ish Supremacist in North Dakota
The tiny town of Leith, North Dakota, which has one black resident, was shocked when Craig Cobb, a white supremacist, moved there with the stated aim of turning the place into a haven for anti-Semitism and white supremacy. His plans began to unravel when he was DNA-tested for a TV show and discovered he was 14% black, after which his home was attacked by white supremacists. He was then arrested after staging an armed patrol of the town with his remaining supporter.
A New Pro-Life Twist
A Republican congressman from Texas, Michael Burgess, found a new reason to reduce the abortion time limit, claiming that foetuses begin to masturbate from 15 weeks, and so can experience pleasure. Although, since God slew Onan for spilling his seed on the ground, one wonders why Burgess would show mercy to a sinful foetus.
Megyn Kelly and White Santa
Megyn Kelly, Fox News presenter and serial moron, claimed, in a standard piece of Fox race-baiting, that Jesus and Santa were both white, before rapidly backtracking and saying it had been a joke. As ever, Jon Stewart delivered. It was pointed out to me on Twitter that Jesus was Semitic and Santa is based on Saint Nicholas, who was Turkish, so technically Kelly was right; however, since when did Fox News and its moronic, Muslim-bashing presenters accept Semites (Palestinians, for example) and Turks as white people?
Government Shutdown
Having failed to overturn Obamacare by democratic means, the Republicans, led by idiot Tea Party Senator Ted Cruz, decided to act like petulant toddlers and close down the US government, costing the US economy an estimated $24 billion and threatening to unleash global economic havoc if the US had been forced to default on its debts. The tactic was not just moronic for being economic suicide, but because it would clearly backfire on the Republican Party. World leaders and markets watched in fascinated horror as semi-literate Tea Party baboons dragged the economy to the brink of disaster; panic was only avoided because nobody actually believed Cruz and his followers could really be that crazy. The Republicans were forced to back down after 16 days. Scarily, Cruz is seen as something of a rising star in his home state of Texas; watch this space for more fun and games.
NSA and GCHQ
Thanks to the bravery of Edward Snowden, a contractor at the National Security Agency, as well as the Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, we discovered what we had long suspected: "our" spies are spying on us. All of us. The extent of the spying was awesome (in a bad way), exceeding the guesswork of all but the most paranoid observers. The NSA, and GCHQ in the UK, are demanding vast amounts of data from email providers, tapping into key Internet connections, and breaking encryption that was previously assumed to be safe. As Greenwald comments, the NSA can literally watch every keystroke we make. Our data – phone calls, texts, emails and more – are being warehoused for future uses – whatever they might be.
North Korea and East Germany had previously been held up as the ultimate surveillance states, but the extent of the spying by the US and UK goes far further; only Orwell, in his book 1984, had accurately predicted what is now happening. While many world leaders reacted with horror, the British government merely tried to reassure us that we were being spied on for our own good. The endless stream of scare stories about paedophiles, immigrants and terrorists, from David Cameron and his ministers, is perhaps spurred by the need to build an even greater level of fear among morons in order to justify this new state terror.
The Labour Party once again proved itself worthless at defending civil liberties. In parliament, the Labour MP Keith Vaz, in almost fascistic terms, questioned the "patriotism" of Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger in choosing to make the information public. And sadly, the average British moron-in-the-street shows little interest in questioning or challenging the state's right to watch what we are doing.
Once upon a time, it was accepted that stronger tribes could expand and take land from weaker ones; thankfully, such situations these days are extremely rare, but Israel's genocidal treatment of the Palestinians and Bedouin stands out as a rare modern-day example of primitive land robbery, as well as unimaginable cruelty. While the world pretends not to notice, Israel has turned Gaza into a hellish prison camp, which is on the verge of collapse, deliberately deprived of clean water and power, and swimming in sewage. The US and EU avert their gaze rather than intervene to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. Separately, Israel is rounding up tens of thousands of native Bedouin people from the Negev desert and putting them into government-built towns away from their homeland.
Netanyahu, however, is increasingly being recognised for the dangerous moron he really is, and is becoming marginalised on the world stage – so much so, that he decided not to attend the Mandela funeral, using the flimsy excuse that the trip would be too expensive. Israel has long been resisting the "Apartheid state" label, but it is losing that battle, and attending Mandela's funeral would have tempted comparisons that Netanyahu is desperate to avoid.
Nelson Mandela
I had long been bracing for morons to revel in the death of Nelson Mandela, and of course they were ready to scream "terrorist" at the top of their voices. But when the moment came, there was nothing the morons could do: Mandela's legacy as the greatest leader of his era was set in stone. His former enemies went to pay tribute, fake smiles on their post-colonial faces. The African "terrorist" had secured his place in history ranking far above the "great" white Western leaders who had hated him. In dying a hero rather than a terrorist, Mandela cast new light on Ronald Reagan's legacy of terrorism conducted in the name of "freedom".
The attendance of America's black President at the funeral of a great black world leader sent America's "not at all racist" racists into a frenzy, and a meme quickly spread via right-wing commentators, especially Rush Limbaugh: why did Obama attend Mandela's funeral but not Thatcher's? To which the quick answers were: 1) Thatcher wasn't a head of state and 2) Her much-disputed legacy pales next to that of Mandela.
Welcome Africa!
Speaking of Africa… the arrival of high-speed digital communications on the continent has had two major results: the fast-growing African economy gets a new boost as it connects to the global economy; and a whole new legion of morons joins the global conversation. For moron-watchers, the highlight of the Mandela funeral was the signer who didn't know sign language, but perhaps should be nominated as mime artist of the year, as well as winning a story-telling award for claiming he had been under the spell of a schizophrenic episode (although he had been repeatedly hired previously for ANC events).
As I blogged in January, President Jammeh of Gambia probably should win the most-moronic-African-leader award in a highly competitive field. His recent achievements are legion, including the enforcement of a four-day working week for schools and public employees as an encouragement to attend mosque on Fridays.
As the year came to a close, Uganda's parliament passed a law that would jail people for life for the crime of "aggravated homosexuality". The law was first drafted four years ago but was shelved under threat of the loss of Western aid. As in other parts of Africa, the race card had been heavily played, with the fight against homosexuality being described as a war against immoral Western values. In his inauguration speech after being re-elected, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe took swipes at his two favourite targets: whites and gays.
War on Drugs
For most countries, 2013 was yet another year in one of mankind's most moronic achievements to date: the so-called war on drugs. However, a few places deserve plaudits for beginning to resist the idiotic tide. Uruguay became the first nation in history to fully legalise cannabis, and the US states of Colorado and Washington followed suit. These examples look to be the start of an unstoppable movement. Those states that decriminalise and tax recreational drugs will quickly reap economic advantages over those that do not.
Morons are naturally outraged by the move towards legalisation – they tend to be allergic to common sense in any form – and were quick to spread a spoof story about a spate of "marijuana overdoses" in Colorado. It is, of course, effectively impossible to overdose on cannabis, but morons and facts are like oil and water, especially when it comes to drugs.
So we enter 2014 with most of the world still pursuing stupid, expensive and dangerous policies against substances which are mostly safe; the world is still around 99% crazy, but a small chink of sanity has appeared.
Woolwich and UK Nationalism
In May, an off-duty soldier, Lee Rigby, was brutally hacked to death in Woolwich, London. The murder became a terrorist act when the killers asked passers-by to film it and the aftermath on their mobile phones. Terrorism only works if morons are terrorised, and on that measure, this attack was immensely successful, helping to further feed a growing tide of nationalism and racism in the UK. The attack was undoubtedly one of the events that has helped UKIP gain support; it may not make sense that a murder could lead to a rise in anti-EU sentiment, but morons rarely make sense.
One might observe that the attack was tiny – one dead, zero injured; or that it was only the second fatal terrorist attack in the UK in the 11 years since British troops have been stationed in Afghanistan. The attack highlights the lack of a serious "terrorist threat", rather than the existence of one. But morons have now swallowed the threat's existence, and it is being used to erode a range of British freedoms.
The Ascent of the UKIP Monkey
UKIP, presenting an "acceptable" (although judging from the appearance of its candidates, deeply inbred) face of nationalism, have drained the pool that the BNP and EDL swam in, and drawn away nationalistic supporters from both the main parties. Their arguments are laughable and based largely on false numbers, deep misunderstandings of economics and scare stories that play to closet racism. This year, the party made great mileage by claiming that there were 600,000 unemployed EU migrants in the UK – a false story run in various tabloids and quickly debunked. The Sun ran a small apology (see right), but the damage was done, and UKIP were in no hurry to admit their lie (the story is still on their site).
It may seem odd to conflate the issues of terrorism and the EU, but that is exactly what the nationalistic right are doing. In the absence of hard facts, a drumbeat goes on which is luring in morons in large numbers: "Terrorism… immigrants… EU… our jobs… housing shortage…" It may be an idiotic message, but it is still a potent one.
The idea that immigration causes economic problems is the reverse of the truth; when you do encounter economically-illiterate UKIP monkeys, it's worth sharing this lovely video with them.
Will Norman Tebbit Marry His Son?
The gay marriage issue was firmly on the agenda, but the tide is now flowing strongly in the right direction. Both France and the UK legalised same-sex marriage in 2013. In France (which despite its "secular" label is still deeply Catholic and conservative) the move prompted large protests, but not so in Britain. Instead, we were entertained by the ageing Thatcherite loon, Norman Tebbit, who mused about whether he might be able to marry his son and avoid inheritance tax (answer: No) and also asked the important question: "When we have a queen who is a lesbian and she marries another lady and then decides she would like to have a child and someone donates sperm and she gives birth to a child, is that child heir to the throne?"
The Global War on Sex Workers
While conservatives are being forced to concede on gay rights as well as racial issues, perhaps (as I blogged in August) the new civil rights front-line is being defined by sex workers. Sex worker advocates have long campaigned for the trade to be brought out of the shadows into the mainstream, where female and male sex workers can benefit from the full protection of the law, as experienced by most of the rest of society. Instead, in countries around the world, prostitutes are treated as lesser beings. Moralists of the religious right attack sex commerce as ungodly, while moralists of the left claim they want to "rescue" the workers – without, of course, first checking whether they want to be rescued.
In America, police in various states were found to be using the possession of condoms as evidence of sex work, and so prostitutes have been forced to work without them, and HIV rates have risen. Perhaps this year's most shocking case of official hatred of sex workers involved a Texan man who shot a prostitute for refusing to sleep with him; and was acquitted of murder.
Sweden has implemented a "progressive" attack on sex work, known as the "Nordic Model", whereby the client rather than the vendor is criminalised. But the end result is the same: prostitutes are considered to be working underground, and do not receive the full protection of the law, or respect from the authorities; this was demonstrated in July by the murder of Swedish prostitute and sex work campaigner Petite Jasmine by her ex-partner, who had previously been given custody of their children.
Undaunted by the failure of the Nordic Model to protect workers, France set out this year to do the same thing, cheered on by neo-moralists across Europe, notably the once-liberal Guardian. The Rescue Industry has declared a full-frontal assault on the rights and incomes of prostitutes; attacking their right to work while claiming to "save" them. in practise, they're being "saved" for lower paid work, or for deportation as illegal immigrants.
In Britain too, brothels were raided to "rescue trafficked women", but as ever, no "trafficking victims" were found; instead the raids were used to deport illegal immigrants and clean up Soho for gentrification.
In Canada however, the Supreme Court struck down the country's anti-prostitution laws on the grounds that they endanger sex workers. It is unlikely that Canada's insanely right-wing government will accept this situation, however: watch for more laws soon, probably couched in "anti-trafficking" language.
Miley The Slut
"Progressive" moralists were also in full voice this year to bully Miley Cyrus, who had the brass nerve to grow up from a sweet little girl into a young woman unafraid of flaunting her sexuality. She even dared to twerk and to employ black backing dancers! Which obviously makes her racist, right?
This was one of many moments in the year when conservative and liberal commentators became almost indistinguishable from each other in their joint hatred of sluttish behaviour, with the Guardian again excelling in couching conservative attitudes in liberal terms. Expect more attempts in 2014, from left and right, to push female sexuality back into the box from which it was liberated in the 1960s. Burqas for popstars, anyone?
And The Winner Is…
Commentators have asked in recent years whether Britain is sleepwalking into censorship. These days the debate is about whether we are sleepwalking, or running headlong.
In the summer, David Cameron announced an agreement with ISPs to introduce "porn filters". Those who had watched the rising moral panic over "sexualisation" were in little doubt that the filters were a big step towards full-blown censorship of the British Internet. Sure enough, when the filters were rolled out in December, they blocked – either deliberately or accidentally – vast amounts of content, and almost none of it was pornographic. BT's list of "adult" categories ranged from dating to drug information to sex education.
The filters are based on the premise that teenagers and children are the same thing, and thus block most "edgy" information that teenagers may want or need to access as they discover the world. The Internet had been a safe place for teens to explore their sexualities and psyches, but no longer. Whether parents have the moral right to block their children's access to this information is unclear; but the cowardly ISPs, who (with one honourable exception) gave in to Cameron's demands, have given them the ability anyway.
The initiative has caused concern globally, with exasperated American free speech advocates declaring the birth of the Great Firewall of Britain. As of now, many British people no longer have access from home to millions of websites. World censorship leaders, the Chinese have expressed their admiration for the UK's plans.
Claire Perry, the MP who campaigned for the filters, had vigorously argued that no overblocking would occur; so it was with deep joy that campaigners discovered Perry's own site had been blocked – presumably due to her obsession with pornography.
Ironically, the filters are very easy to work around; which means that teens will have no problem still accessing the pornography, sex education, drug information, "obscene and tasteless" and other content they wish to see, while their parents live in ignorant bliss.
So 2013's joint Moron Award winners, for their attempts to censor the UK Internet, their encouragement of censorship worldwide, and their attempt to turn Britain back into a safe, 1970s-style (Jimmy Savile anyone?) pre-Internet nation are David Cameron, Claire Perry, and the leading UK ISPs – BT, Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk – who agreed to go along with their plans.


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Kings Coach Darryl Sutter has been known to spring a surprise or two when it comes to his lineups, but based on Friday's morning skate at Staples Center it appeared the lineup for Game 6 of the Western Conference final will be the same as it was in the Kings' 5-4 double overtime loss to the Blackhawks on Wednesday at Chicago.
There was one old/new face on the ice: Defenseman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since he suffered a knee injury in the opener of the Kings' second-round series against the Ducks, participated in a full morning skate for the first time since he was hurt. He also experienced contact in some drills, again for the first time since the injury, and said he felt fine afterward.
Regehr said he doesn't think he's at a level where he can return to the lineup but said he feels better being around the team and practicing with his teammates.
"It's difficult when you're injured because you're on a different schedule and program than a lot of the normal guys, the playing guys," he said. "So you kind of feel like you're a little bit of a hobbit sometimes. It's nice to be back around the guys."
Regehr said he did some battle drills Friday morning. "Down low, two-on-ones, things like that, but I need more of that," he said. "I need more one-on-one contact and things like that before I'm ready to roll."
The Blackhawks, incidentally, did not conduct a morning skate. Coach Joel Quenneville was scheduled to meet with the media at 3:30 p.m. PDT.
The Kings' main goal Friday is to resist being drawn into a run-and-gun style again, as the Blackhawks did on Wednesday. The Kings also are intent on doing a better job of containing the line of Brandon Saad, Andrew Shaw and Patrick Kane, which contributed a goal and eight assists to the win that prolonged the Blackhawks' season.
Kane stood out with his four-assist effort. "He had the puck a lot more, which is a little bit related to special teams and a lot related to overtime," Sutter said.
"But he's a special player. He doesn't have bad games. He has good games or great games. Had three or four points, I think, so... Great players are going to do that."
Defenseman Jake Muzzin said the Kings will have a better chance to succeed if they dictate the style.
"We got exchanging some line rushes with them and that's not our game, so we've got to get back to tightening things up a little bit," he said.
He also acknowledged the problems the Saad-Shaw-Kane line had caused on Wednesday.
"We've got to be a lot better on that line," Muzzin said. "They had too much time and space with the puck. Especially, you give Kane and Saad room, they're pretty skilled guys so we have to have some better gaps on them on the rush and play harder on them."
Muzzin said Kane "does a lot of low swooping and gets the puck at their blue line and comes up. As a whole five guys on the ice we need to be aware and just kind of create a better gap with our forwards angling him away from the middle of the ice."


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Pasta Primavera
Primavera means "spring style" in Italian. Primavera dishes are made with a variety of fresh vegetables, and although this recipe uses fettuccine, you can replace it with any kind of pasta you want. This pasta primavera recipe incorporates a light cream sauce — much lower in fat than the traditional pasta primavera recipe made with heavy cream.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: Less than 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound asparagus
1 medium zucchini
1 medium carrot
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
1 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Fresh basil
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 green onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound hot cooked fettuccine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
Mince the onion and garlic.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil.
Cook the onion and garlic in the oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.
Trim the asparagus and slice it diagonally in 1/4-inch pieces.
Slice the zucchini, carrot, and mushrooms.
Slice the carrot very thinly.
Add the asparagus, zucchini, carrot, and mushrooms to the skillet and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Chop the basil.
Add the milk, broth, and 3 tablespoons basil, then cook over high heat until the liquid boils.
Chop the green onions.
Cook for about 3 minutes and then add the peas and green onions.
Simmer for 1 minute.
Add the salt and black pepper, and then add the pasta, cheese, and pine nuts, tossing until the ingredients are well mixed.
Serve immediately.
Per serving: Calories 368 (From fat 126); Fat 14g (Saturated 3g); Cholesterol 8mg; Sodium 272mg; Carbohydrate 71g (Dietary fiber 6g); Protein 21.


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Thanks to its impressive presence and sturdy construction, the new 113cm K113 delivers a rich, expansive sound with great depth and volume. Front and rear castors enhance movability and the beautiful, traditional cabinetry ensures that the Kemble K113 elegantly complements your living space. For serious performance at a modest cost, it's a perfect choice.
The superior 'crown' soundboard design ensures maximum resonance, and the specially selected ribs, matched to the characteristics of the soundboard, further enhance sound performance.
The 3-ply solid maple bridge guarantees optimum tuning stability and makes a significant contribution to the Kemble K113's tonal personality. Traditional cabinet in Black polish with Chrome fittings.
Why choose a Kemble?
We are justly famous for our rich and distinctive 'European' sound – a characteristic largely attributable to the quality of the wood used in our soundboards. We use 'Strunz' Bavarian Spruce soundboards which comes from sustainable managed forests and is widely regarded as the best tone wood available. The stability of the crown (curvature) of the soundboard is also important – to maintain this we use individually shaped spruce ribs. Our skilled technicians carefully 'tone' each of the premium felt hammer heads as part of the final preparation process.
Kemble touch is superbly responsive, being both smooth and even – the result of using our precision engineered action and its fine adjustment by our craftsmen. In addition, whereas some manufacturers compromise on their key material, our keys are made from spruce, a wood renowned for its stability in different climatic conditions.
Our own designers have been schooled in the long and rich tradition of British furniture design, and have created a rather special range of elegant designs. In addition, we have commissioned Conran and Partners, a premier British design firm, to create exciting new styles for us.
Kemble pianos are meticulously finished in satin or high gloss polyester. We are also famous for the quality of our hand selected wood veneers. The beauty of our cabinets speaks for itself.
Tuning Stability
The use of substantial spruce back grids throughout the range, combined with our vacuum process cast iron frame and Delignit tuning plank ensures that Kemble backs comfortably support over 20 tons of tension and provide excellent tuning stability.
The combination of high-quality components, great design, skilled and dedicated craftsman plus modern technology, means a Kemble piano represents unbeatable value for money.
Each piano goes through an exhaustive checking process with every note being tested at least 250 times. Our commitment to quality ensures that a Kemble will give you a lifetime of pleasure. Our pianos are played in many of the world's most famous music institutes including the Musikhochschule at Karlsruhe and the new Paris Opera House. Nick Gingell of the Royal Albert Hall, London wrote of our piano 'the durability and high quality of the instrument are testimony to the workmanship and skill of Kemble Pianos.'


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The Silent Epidemic
By Joel P. Engardio
Liver cancer kills more people in the Bay Area than anywhere in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- and by a wide margin.
Why? Because more Asian Americans live here. The connection? The hepatitis B virus. The Asian Liver Center at Stanford University estimates that 10 percent of Asian Americans have hepatitis B and don't know it. Of those, a quarter will die from liver cancer or failure; A staggering number, since the Bay Area is home to 1.3 million Asian Americans.
If these ominous statistics are true, we're facing the biggest health crisis to hit the region since AIDS. That epidemic took 19,000 lives in San Francisco in its first 20 years, as counted by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. But liver cancer or failure will kill 32,000 Bay Area Asian Americans in much less time.
So why haven't you heard about it? Why isn't this a top priority for San Francisco's health officials, politicians, community activists and media? You'd think something that threatens more than one-third of the city's population would warrant some serious inquiries, votes, rallies and front-page coverage.
Few are talking about hepatitis B in Asian Americans, however, because this is a silent epidemic. Silent because there are no symptoms until the cancer takes hold. Silent because most doctors -- using a Caucasian model for diagnosis and treatment -- fail to recognize this unique health risk among their Asian patients. And silent because an uninformed Asian community hasn't demanded better care.
Consider what happened to my partner, Mark Lim: Born and raised in suburban Chicago. Went to one of the best medical schools in the country. Became a doctor in the Bay Area. Died from liver cancer at age 31. If a Chinese American doctor in a largely Asian city can have hepatitis B and not get the tests or treatment that could have saved his life, where does that leave the other 250,000 Asian Americans in San Francisco?
The hepatitis B virus is rampant in Asia, and a large percentage of mothers pass it on to their children at birth. The virus infects males and females equally, but kills more often in men. Children grow up healthy because the dormant virus hides in the liver. But it unleashes its destructive power in young adulthood without warning, which is why Asian men in their 20s and 30s are at such high risk for liver cancer. Being born in the United States versus Asia doesn't matter. Hospitals here didn't even begin screening pregnant women for hepatitis B until the mid-1980s. So an entire generation of kids born in the United States to Asian mothers in the 1970s and 1980s are at risk for liver cancer now.
As a doctor -- and a victim -- Mark felt it was his duty to speak up about what has become the greatest health disparity between Asians and Caucasians. He was moved not only to fight the disease that was killing him, but to wipe out the ignorance that had allowed the problem to get so out of hand.
That's why he became a spokesman for the Jade Ribbon Campaign at Stanford University's Asian Liver Center. A small group dedicated to fighting this silent epidemic, Jade Ribbon is just one voice trying to sound the alarm of a health crisis to come. It was Mark's hope that his medical colleagues and his Asian community would equally rise to the occasion -- giving the politicians and the media reason to follow.
Had Mark learned in his medical training that Asians are at increased risk for chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer because they are typically infected as children, he would have gotten the specific blood tests and ultrasounds to catch the cancer that killed him. And he would have offered the same treatment to his many Asian patients. At the very least, he would have urged them to find out if they are among the 10 percent of Asian Americans who unknowingly have hepatitis B -- because with better education, prevention and treatment, carrying the virus doesn't have to be a death sentence.
Mark was dedicated to saving lives as a doctor. He can't do that anymore, but his story can. If only people will listen.


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In time for her performance at Above & Beyond's Group Therapy 350 and prior to the release of her 'Waves' EP, Qrion released single "Waves" on October 11. The title track is upbeat, and gets its name from the arpeggiated chords resembling the movement of ...[more]
Tokyo-based Desmeon released fun, dreamy chiptune single "我的 World" on October 4. The track features Chinese vocals from Minimalingee, who's voice perfectly compliments this bouncy, energetic track. "我的 World" comes after Desmeon's full-length album...[more]
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Tumbleweeds blew through theaters playing "The Lone Ranger" over the weekend, calling into question Johnny Depp's star power, extending Jerry Bruckheimer's troubled box-office run and probably leading to a write down of $100 million or more at Disney's film studio.
Even more humiliating for Disney: "Despicable Me 2," a relatively inexpensive cartoon from Universal — a new force in animation, the art form that Walt Disney perfected for the masses — was an immediate smash hit. "Despicable Me 2" took in about $142.1 million between Wednesday and Sunday, while "The Lone Ranger" had ticket sales of about $48.9 million over the same period.
Together they offer a striking portrait of modern Hollywood. Studios like Disney, searching for global audiences, are making fewer movies but spending more on the ones they do release. This raises the stakes to almost impossible levels; "The Lone Ranger," which cost at least $375 million to make and market, will need to take in an estimated $800 million worldwide to break even, after accounting for revenue splits with theater owners.
"Despicable Me 2" represents Hollywood's safety net — sequels, particularly animated ones that appeal to families looking for a guaranteed experience. The film also underscores an effort by studios not known for animation to dive into the field in a cost-effective way. Universal's Illumination Entertainment made "Despicable Me 2" for $76 million; major Pixar and DreamWorks Animation movies can cost twice as much.
"With animation in particular, you can clearly control costs while not diminishing the audience's pleasure," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president for distribution. "Did we expect a blockbuster? Yes. Did we expect one of this size? No."
"Despicable Me 2," which received largely positive reviews, has already taken in about $151.1 million overseas. Early worldwide results give the film a berth among some of the biggest animation franchises in Hollywood history, including "Shrek." Universal has a follow-up movie planned for December 2014.
As Universal was celebrating, Disney was trying to figure out how "The Lone Ranger" came up so lame — "the kind of bomb that people discuss for years to come," as Phil Contrino, chief analyst for BoxOffice.com put it.
Westerns are difficult to sell to modern audiences. "The Lone Ranger," directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Mr. Bruckheimer, follows "Cowboys & Aliens" and "Jonah Hex" as recent Old West flops. But "The Lone Ranger," starring Mr. Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer in the title role, was troubled from the start, with Disney scrambling to spend less on production than the planned $250 million. (The studio succeeded by a smidge.)
When Disney decided to move forward with "The Lone Ranger" in 2011 — the project had been gestating at the studio since 2007 — the hope was for another franchise in the vein of "Pirates of the Caribbean." Despite the western's cost, Disney was given comfort by the fact that many members of the original "Pirates" creative team were on board, including Mr. Depp, Mr. Bruckheimer, Mr. Verbinski and the writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.
But "The Lone Ranger," which received terrible reviews, suffered from tonal problems. Was it a campy comedy or a serious action film? Trailers seemed to play it both ways, said Doug Creutz, a media analyst with Cowen & Company.
Last week, Mr. Creutz predicted that Disney would eventually have to write off $100 million if "The Lone Ranger" did as poorly as prerelease surveys suggested. It actually performed worse; analysts had been bracing for as little as $65 million in ticket sales from the film's first five days in North American theaters.
Aside from "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" in 2011, Mr. Bruckheimer's track record of late has been dismal, with duds including "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." But Mr. Depp may have a bigger problem. Are audiences tiring of his oddball characters? "Dark Shadows," in which he played a vampire, was also a disappointment last summer.
"We are obviously disappointed," said Dave Hollis, Disney's executive vice president for distribution. "The frustrating thing for us is that it felt like the ingredients were there. We are holding out hope that word of mouth will propel ticket sales, particularly among older consumers, who remember the property fondly and don't have a lot of movies aimed at them in the weeks ahead."
Hopes for "The Lone Ranger" now rest on its overseas performance. Mr. Hollis said that the movie's continued foreign rollout would be staggered over the next two months and noted that Mr. Depp's movies have tended to overperform internationally. So far, however, interest has been soft; the movie opened in 30 percent of the foreign marketplace over the last week and took in about $24.3 million.
Disney's last two releases, Pixar's "Monsters University" and Marvel's "Iron Man 3," are both huge hits, together delivering more than $1.6 billion in ticket sales and still counting. But as Mr. Creutz said, "A bomb from 'Lone Ranger' could offset a lot of these benefits and sustain the perception that Disney's film studio has some serious problems away from the Marvel-Pixar axis."


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The international team of code-monkeying playboys known as the iPhone Dev Team gave a talk at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin recently, where they presented a comprehensive history of iPhone hacking to date.
Yes, all we have here is an annotated hour-long PowerPoint, and yes, almost all of the content is of interest only to the actual haxxors that gathered at 25C3 to watch, but for me, it's a thrill to hear these guys talk about the software that we've covered and used ourselves for so long. It's also a thrill to hear little tidbits like the 180 IP addresses inside apple that the Dev Team guys have tracked as frequent updaters of Pwnage and Quickpwn.
Up until this weekend in Berlin, most of the iPhone Dev Team had never met each other in person. And I only wish we could have gotten a quick camera pan over to the guys identified as the team members who wish to remain anonymous—in the corner, wearing "PwnApple" t-shirts, speaking Russian. [hackaday via BBG]


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This is an excellent 5 star property with easy access to the city centre making it suitable for all fit and group traffic. 07/2008jg
## Location
This hotel is located not only at the airport but in the airport with an entrance directly linked by a covered walkway. There are direct train links every 10 minutes to Central Station which take 12 minutes by fast train and 20 minutes by the slow train making it easily accessible to the centre of Amsterdam.
## Distance
15 kms to city centre
1 kms to the nearest airport (schiphol airport)
Close to the station (schiphol)
2 minute walk to the nearest bus stop
10 km to the nearest fair site (rai congress centrum)
## Rooms
All bedrooms are in exceptional condition and are medium sized. The decor is predominantly dark blue or dark red and the hotel has all the facilities one would expect from a deluxe, predominantly business oriented hotel. All rooms have the internet and Nintendo on their televisions. The bathrooms are also in exceptional condition with marble and wood decor.
## Restaurant
Located on the first floor, the restaurant serves a la carte and a buffet. A stunning room, its main feature being the domed sky at night ceiling. The bar is also on the first floor and is stunning in dark red and wood with open fire.
## Exterior
It is a very modern and large hotel with a distinctive and large logo.
## Lobby
The lobby is very large, modern and circular with an atrium and a glass elevator. There is extremely limited seating available in the lobby itself which is decorated with a marble floor and reception area, but adjacent to this is a cafe and on the first floor there is another, very large and attractive lobby area.
Club Travel Destinations


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After spotting Belmont wins in the first two sets by scores of 25-12 and 25-21, the Lady Bisons came back to win set three 25-16 and set four 27-25. In set five Belmont prevailed winning 15-11.
"It wasn't our best played match," said Lady Bisons coach Brandon Rosenthal. "Set one obviously speaks for itself. In set two I thought we were still a little short. I told the players we lost by four and we weren't playing our best.
"Sets three and four were just gutsy performances. What it came down to in set five was execution. We tried to do a little too much."
The 3-2 loss at the Curb Center ended a two-game winning streak for the Lady Bisons over Belmont. The Lady Bisons are second in the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 12-3 record. Belmont is close behind in third at 11-4.
"It was a good lesson," said Rosenthal. "We have to play within our system. We have to play with all 11 players. We can't just say it is one person.
"We had beaten them 3-0 at our place this season and we had beat them in the tournament. Belmont wanted it badly. We played a hard-fought match and came up a little short."
Rosenthal admitted he has never had a team so willing to give everything they have in a match regardless of the score. He also credited his assistant coaches, Ann Mullins and Samantha Sullivan, with providing important insights on the match.
"I don't know if I have ever had a team like this, a team that is willing to lay it out on the line," said Rosenthal. "We talked between sets two and three and said `whatever happens, happens'.
"I'm really proud of them. These players showed their character. We have been here before, but obviously you don't want to be down 0-2. But we were a team that was able to come back from that in somebody else's home."
Middle blocker Alex Kelly once again set the pace for the Lady Bosons with 18 kills and 12 digs. She also had a .354 hitting percentage, two service aces and three blocked shots.
Middle blocker Amy Trykowski finished with 11 kills and a .455 hitting percentage.
Setter Jake Pease made 34 assists and added 14 digs and two kills.
Libero Jessica Turner was credited with 11 digs.
Cat Mundy led the Belmont attack with a match-high 25 kills. She also had 10 digs, a .386 hitting percentage and one service ace.
Kayla Albritton also posted a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs.
Jenny Gray made 10 kills and Channing Salava added 12 digs.
The Lady Bisons were the first team to qualify this season for a berth in the A-Sun Tournament. Rosenthal doesn't think they are satisfied with where they are right now in the standings.
"I don't think we are satisfied with what we have done so far," said Rosenthal. "We just didn't execute down the stretch. But, even with that, it was a good match.
"Hats off to Belmont. They played a great match. In the end they beat us with a little bit more defense. We worked all during the match to get back even with them in digs and we were after four sets. But in the end they outplayed us by a couple of digs and in a 15-point set a couple of extra digs is all it takes."
The Lady Bisons are back home at Allen Arena Saturday to face Campbell at 3 p.m.


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Fidonet, and Fidonet Technology Networks (FTN), are international amateur networks of computer systems. They often operate a public access BBS and all are connected via modem and/or via the internet as well.
This system, ftn.rocasa.net, operates under the program MBSE BBS running on Debian Linux and is located in Lansing, MI, USA. It is a member of the following FTN networks: Fidonet (1:120/544, 1:120/0), FamilyNet (8:74/1, 8:74/0, 8:7480/0), LinuxNet (110:205/1, 110:20/0, 110:205/0), Sysops TechNet (STN - 111:4000/10, 111:4000/0), & Micronet (618:200/16).
- Information & links related to operations here at Rocasa FTN.
- Statistics related to operations here at Rocasa FTN.
- Fidonet/FTN related Software
- Various Fidonet/FTN related & other Files
- MI MetroNets - Fidonet in Michigan: r11/net120