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Thanks Kerry. I get it now. FWIW, in my non-analog capacity I shoot a lot of stitched panoramas so the importance of a level platform is understood.
When I asked earlier about it going under a tripod head, I was alluding to mounting either a panning base or a ball head with an incorporated panning base to the leveling head.
Are the ballheads' balls marked in any way so that the neutral, vertical position can be found quickly?
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The women of Monroe High
When Yvonne asks all the women who've been whistled at, beaten up by a man, or called a bitch, whore or slut to cross the line, every woman in the room takes a step forward.
"I've been in situations where I felt so vulnerable as a woman and I had no power," Lisa says. "Every woman has gone through it."
As the men and women face each other, Yvonne asks the men to look into the eyes of their classmates and imagine that these women are their mothers, grandmothers or sisters. Many of the men are surprised that catcalls and sexist "jokes" have had such an impact on the young women in their school.
"Watching people cry because they've been whistled at, they've been honked at...it's not funny," Charles says. "It's not fun and games."
Riley, a male student who has an older sister and was raised by a single mother, says he would never want to see his family members go through the same thing as his female classmates and teachers. "It was horrible," he says.
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Documentation Center
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Plot Bode frequency response with additional plot customization options
h = bodeplot(sys)
bodeplot(..., plotoptions)
h = bodeplot(sys) plot the Bode magnitude and phase of the dynamic system model sys and returns the plot handle h to the plot. You can use this handle to customize the plot with the getoptions and setoptions commands.
bodeplot(sys) draws the Bode plot of the model sys. The frequency range and number of points are chosen automatically.
bodeplot(sys1,sys2,...) graphs the Bode response of multiple models sys1,sys2,... on a single plot. You can specify a color, line style, and marker for each model, as in
bodeplot(AX,...) plots into the axes with handle AX.
bodeplot(..., plotoptions) plots the Bode response with the options specified in plotoptions. Type
help bodeoptions
for a list of available plot options. See Example 2 for an example of phase matching using the PhaseMatchingFreq and PhaseMatchingValue options.
bodeplot(sys,w) draws the Bode plot for frequencies specified by w. When w = {wmin,wmax}, the Bode plot is drawn for frequencies between wmin and wmax (in rad/TimeUnit, where TimeUnit is the time units of the input dynamic system, specified in the TimeUnit property of sys.). When w is a user-supplied vector w of frequencies, in rad/TimeUnit, the Bode response is drawn for the specified frequencies.
See logspace to generate logarithmically spaced frequency vectors.
Example 1
Use the plot handle to change options in a Bode plot.
sys = rss(5);
h = bodeplot(sys);
% Change units to Hz and make phase plot invisible
Example 2
The properties PhaseMatchingFreq and PhaseMatchingValue are parameters you can use to specify the phase at a specified frequency. For example, enter the following commands.
sys = tf(1,[1 1]);
h = bodeplot(sys) % This displays a Bode plot.
Use this code to match a phase of 750 degrees to 1 rad/s.
p = getoptions(h);
p.PhaseMatching = 'on';
p.PhaseMatchingFreq = 1;
p.PhaseMatchingValue = 750; % Set the phase to 750 degrees at 1
% rad/s.
setoptions(h,p); % Update the Bode plot.
The first bode plot has a phase of -45 degrees at a frequency of 1 rad/s. Setting the phase matching options so that at 1 rad/s the phase is near 750 degrees yields the second Bode plot. Note that, however, the phase can only be -45 + N*360, where N is an integer, and so the plot is set to the nearest allowable phase, namely 675 degrees (or 2*360 - 45 = 675).
Example 3
Compare the frequency responses of identified state-space models of order 2 and 6 along with their 2 std confidence regions.
load iddata1
w = linspace(8,10*pi,256);
h = bodeplot(sys1,sys2,w);
setoptions(h, 'PhaseMatching', 'on', 'ConfidenceRegionNumberSD', 2);
Use the context menu by right-clicking Characteristics > Confidence Region to turn on the confidence region characteristic.
Example 4
Compare the frequency response of a parametric model, identified from input/output data, to a nonparametric model identified using the same data.
1. Identify parametric and non-parametric models based on data.
load iddata2 z2;
w = linspace(0,10*pi,128);
sys_np = spa(z2,[],w);
sys_p = tfest(z2,2);
spa and tfest require System Identification Toolbox™ software. sys_np is a non-parametric identified model. sys_p is a parametric identified model.
2. Create a Bode plot that includes both systems.
opt = bodeoptions; opt.PhaseMatching = 'on';
bodeplot(sys_np,sys_p,w, opt);
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
When I put images on my blog and they get included in social sites like Google plus it seems Google just grabs the first image it finds to include in posts. However I want it to include a specific image on the page. Is there a specific attribute to set for this on the image tags?
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1 Answer
up vote 0 down vote accepted
First, make sure you set a "Featured Image" for your post. You don't even need to include it in the body of your post, just set the featured image via the "Add Media" button.
Then you can add the og:image meta property to the single post header to have other sites pick up this image automatically.
The easiest way to do this is to install an SEO plugin like WordPress SEO by Yoast, which will automatically create the "og:image" property along with a few others targeted at other social networks.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm trying to extract specific hard coded variables from C source code. My remaining problem is that I'd like to parse array initialisation, for example:
#define SOMEVAR { {T_X, {1, 2}}, {T_Y, {3, 4}} }
It's enough to parse this example into "{T_X, {1, 2}}" and "{T_Y, {3, 4}}", since it's then possible to recurse to get the full structure. However, it needs to be sufficiently general so as to be able to parse any user defined types.
Even better would be a list of regular expressions that can be used to extra values from general C code constructs like #define, enums and global variables.
The C code is provided to me, so I have no control over it. I'd rather not write a function that parses it a character at a time. However, it'd be OK to have a sequence of regular expressions.
This is not a problem of getting files into MATLAB or basic regular expressions. I'm after a specific regular expression that preserves groupings by brackets.
EDIT: Looks like regular expressions don't do recursion or arbitrarily deep matches. According to here and here.
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7 Answers
up vote 0 down vote accepted
EDIT: Now that the question has been updated, it appears that my previous answer missed the point. I don't know if you've already searched the other regular-expression-related questions on Stack Overflow. On the chance that you haven't, I came across two that may help give you guidance for your problem (which appears to be a problem, at least partially, of trying to match and keep track of opening and closing curly braces): this one and this one. Good luck!
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It's easy enough to write an expression that matches a specific case, but I'm after something general that preserves groupings while separating the list. Thanks anyway. – Nzbuu Feb 13 '09 at 15:36
Ah, I understand better now from your new edit of the question. The problem appears quite a bit more difficult than the example you gave. Unfortunately, no immediate solution springs to mind. – gnovice Feb 13 '09 at 15:50
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Have you looked at the following site which provides extensive tutorials and examples on regular expressions :-
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The formal language that defines brace matching is not a regular language. Therefore, you cannot use a regular expression to solve your problem.
The problem is that you need some way to count the number of opening braces you have already encountered. Some regular expression engines support extended features, such as peeking, which could be used to solve your problem, but these can be tough to deal with. You might be better off writing a simple parser for this task.
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Maybe vim's syntax file would help in this matter. I'm not sure whether it has those elements you seek (I don't do C), but it's got a whole lot of elements, so it's definitely a starting point. Download vim (www.vim.org), and in vim/syntax/c.vim look around a little.
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I don't think regexps will work on arbitrary C code. Clang allows you to build a syntax tree from C code and use it programatically.
That could be readily used for globals, but #defines are handled by the preprocessor so I'm not sure how they would work.
cristi:tmp diciu$ cat test.c
#define t 1
int m=5;
int fun(char * y)
float g;
return t;
int main()
int g=7;
return t;
cristi:tmp diciu$ ~/Downloads/checker-137/clang -ast-dump test.c
(CompoundStmt 0xc01ec0 <test.c:6:1, line:10:1>
(DeclStmt 0xc01e70 <line:7:2>
0xc01e30 "float g"
(ReturnStmt 0xc01eb0 <line:9:2, line:1:11>
(IntegerLiteral 0xc01e90 <col:11> 'int' 1)))
(CompoundStmt 0xc020a0 <test.c:13:1, line:16:1>
(DeclStmt 0xc02060 <line:14:2>
0xc02010 "int g =
(IntegerLiteral 0xc02040 <col:8> 'int' 7)"
(ReturnStmt 0xc01b50 <line:15:2, line:1:11>
(IntegerLiteral 0xc02080 <col:11> 'int' 1)))
typedef char *__builtin_va_list;
Read top-level variable decl: 'm'
int fun(char *y)
int main()
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No external tools, sorry. But I still don't see how that helps me. – Nzbuu Feb 13 '09 at 15:37
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I assume you have access to the C code in question. If so, then define two macros:
Wrap all the data you want to extract between these macros. When the C code is compiled, they expand to nothing, so they won't harm there.
Now you can use a very simple regexp to get the data.
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This regular expression:
seems reasonable, but I don't know if it's enough for you. It's littered with \s* to allow arbitrary whitespace between tokens, from C's point of view that's allowable. It will match stuff that looks more or less just your examples; some kind of identifier followed by exactly two digit strings.
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Do you mean this? \{\s*\w+\s*,\s*\{\s*\d+\s*,\s*\d+\s*\}\s*\}. That only matches this specific example. I'm looking for something more general. – Nzbuu Feb 13 '09 at 15:35
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potc-stills-023.jpg potc-stills-024.jpg potc-stills-025.jpg potc-stills-026.jpg potc-stills-027.jpg
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Pennsylvania school installs D-Link solutions
IP surveillance system provide school with wider and faster coverage, increased storage capacity
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA--(Marketwire - February 10, 2009) - When SUN Area Career & Technology Center was seeking to replace its unreliable, crash-prone analog video surveillance system, it turned to D-Link for sophisticated Internet Protocol (IP) based security cameras and network switches for improved functionality, reliability and clarity without breaking the bank.
"The old camera system recorded frames at four to five frames a second, which didn't capture detail very well. It only allowed us to record two weeks of video before archiving, because the drive for that system could store only 60MB," said Tom Gray, network administrator at SUN. "We'd often realize that data was missing because the cameras were down. And it was a proprietary system that took a lot of time and effort to manage."
Located in New Berlin, Penn., SUN Area Career & Technology Center offers adult education classes, vocational education, and technical career training to more than 1500 people each year. The facility is dedicated to providing students with the skills needed to compete in today's job market and receive consideration for advanced college placement.
When seeking a new security system, SUN took its cue from another school -- Central Penn Institute -- that had recently deployed D-Link cameras and was very happy with the results. "We were impressed with the quality of the network cameras, and we realized we could get the number of cameras we needed with D-Link's pricing," said Gray. "Cost alone made it very attractive for us, especially considering the benefits it provided."
SUN purchased 23 D-Link DCS-1110 Power over Ethernet (PoE) network cameras, and networked them using three D-Link DES-3828P PoE managed stackable switches. "The PoE switches allowed us to put the cameras anywhere without worrying about electrical connections," said Gray. The cameras are all high-quality color devices that SUN runs at 10 frames per second for image quality and storage optimization, which he says is "significantly faster" than the old analog system.
Gray evaluated network cameras from Sony and Axis Communications. "Budget was a big issue for us," said Gray, "and those options were just too expensive. We could have gone small with the other vendors, but then we wouldn't have been able to purchase the number of cameras we needed for appropriate coverage."
"The D-Link cameras are perfect for hallway coverage," said Gray. The school now has reliable, court-quality video as visual evidence for disciplinary infractions. The students know that the cameras are recording 24X7, which helps curb unwanted behavior.
With the D-Link system, SUN doesn't need to hire security personnel to monitor surveillance screens. They record everything to a 2TB server that includes five SATA drives in a RAID configuration. The storage can handle an entire school year of recordings. The MPEG files generated by the cameras are easy to copy onto CD or DVD, and can be immediately played back for court, parents or anyone else that has a Microsoft Media Player installed on their computer.
"Since we're already network specialists here in the IT department, the whole system is easy to manage," said Gray. "A network-friendly system like D-Link's helps us reduce the amount of time we spend managing equipment. There's really not much that we have to do. That's important when you have so much other work to do supporting the network and the users."
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Bill summaries are authored by CRS.
Shown Here:
Passed Senate without amendment (11/05/2009)
Recognizes the celebration of National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month during November 2009.
Honors the heritage and culture of American Indians and Alaska Natives and their contributions to the United States.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have a database that has a table of Ingredients I and a table of Recipes R. The two tables have a many-to-many relationship, as one recipes uses many ingredients and one ingredient is used in many recipes. I have a third cross-reference table that uses the cross-reference validation pattern to enforce my many-to-many relationship, and is done using string foreign keys (instead of integers).
Assuming I have a collection of ingredients C outside of my database, how can I query Recipe table R for every recipe that can be made using ONLY the list of ingredients supplied in C?
Other things to consider
1) Speed will (of course) be a concern eventually, but correctness is what I'm stuck on at the moment.
2) The collection of ingredients C might be very large (~100 ingredients).
Any answers or even just pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
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What is the DB/Version? – Chandu Jul 25 '12 at 21:15
@Chandu, I haven't figured out any of that yet, I'm just working on this system as a hobby so I haven't laid out any specifications yet. For now, you can just assume the current stable MySQL 5.5.25 . But really, any answer you can provide I will try and port back to MySQL (or whatever DB I decide to use) – pghprogrammer4 Jul 25 '12 at 21:51
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up vote 5 down vote accepted
One way is to write:
select ...
from R
where ID not in
( select R_ID
from RI
where I_ID not in
( select I_ID
from C
That is: start with C. Select all recipe–ingredient cross-references where the ingredient is not in C. This gives you the set of all recipes that cannot be made using only ingredients in C. Then, select all recipes that aren't in that set.
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Good catch on my answer. I read the question to fast. I missed the point about only recipes that can be made with ONLY those ingredients. – RThomas Jul 25 '12 at 21:27
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have an object $this->user which is of model User. This object is populated by $this->Auth->user in my app controller like so:
$this->user = ClassRegistry::init('User');
Works like a charm. If I print_r out $this->user in my controller it gives me:
User Object ( [validate] => Array ( blah blah blah
A typical object. Now I have a Group model which belongs to a User, and users have many groups. These variables are properly set in the models. Now I want to find all Groups for this particular user who is logged in. So I tried this:
$groups = $this->user->Group->find('list', array('fields'=>array('id', 'group_name')))
The key is that I want to use $this->user to automatically filter the Group query based on the owner_id in $this->user. It makes sense to me that if I've got a specific object representing a user and I do a Group query based on that user ... it should only return the relevant groups.
The problem is that $groups contains all of the entries in the Groups table, rather than obviously the ones I only want from the current user. I don't see why I would need to add a "conditions"=>"user_id"=$this->Auth->user('id') parameter to the find function because I've already specified what user I'm using via the model chain.
Any ideas why this is not working? The sql statment it runs is simply a SELECT on Groups WHERE 1 = 1 (so not filtering at all).
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1 Answer
up vote 0 down vote accepted
No, the object User really acts more like a class than a object. You can say Cake doesn't fully implement Active Record pattern (I think Cake 3.0 may fix that, not sure). So yes, you still need to set the condition for the find. And you don't have to set($this->Auth->user);
You are probably not very familiar with Cake: in Cake, you hardly ever have to instantiate Model objects at all. They are created for you based on the current controller and model relationships that you specify.
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OK thanks for your answer. I am still learning cake, yes. The only reason I had that variable instantiated is because I wanted to use it in this manner - as that is not possible then you're right - I have no use for it. – MikeMurko Aug 26 '11 at 19:21
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
This seems like an ideal place to ask a question that has been keeping me confused for a little while now. But I apologize if I've posted in the wrong area.
My question is that I don't seem to understand the temperature trend that I am seeing from my temperature sensors. I'll start of with my setup: Essentially, I have a metal box with two temperature sensors. 1) Is mounted right at the base of the box [Temp Sensor #1] 2) The second temperature sensor is mounted 2 inches from the top of the box [Temp Sensor #2]. The box is about 6 inches in height.
I've placed a heating pad at the base of the box (Temp Sensor #1 lies right in the center of this pad. A graphic showing my setup:
I've also implemented a simple on/off temperature controller, that senses when the temperature goes above a certain set-point and turns off (hence you see the highs/lows for Temp Sensor #1).
As you can see from the image, the lower sensor (blue) has the peaks/troughs corresponding to when the heater turns on/off. The heater gets triggered every time the sensing temperature goes below the set point. What I don't understand is why the top sensor (red) has a periodically decreasing trend (it doesn't have highs/lows similar to the bottom sensor)? It doesn't seem to be affected by the heater turning on at all? Even though it is merely 4" away from the heater inside the metal enclosure.
I understand that Sensor#1 is probably changing immediately due to the heater very quickly affecting the metal base temperature via conduction. Whereas the second sensor is probably measuring the air around the metal enclosure at the top, and since air is an insulator, it takes longer to heat up. But there should be at-least some highs and lows I'd imagine. The continuous decreasing trend doesn't make any sense ...
Then, I suspected that perhaps my second temperature sensor was damaged. But that wasn't the case. I've tested both sensors and they work fine. Also here is a graph of the temperature trend, when I place the enclosure (with the sensors) in the freezer with no heater action. Intuitively as you can imagine, there is merely a decreasing trend for both sensors (shown below) due to the effect of the freezer:
Any suggestions please as to why I notice no temperature variation at Sensor #2 location when the heater turns on/off?
share|improve this question
Here is the trend with no heater and the freezer merely cooling: i47.tinypic.com/2430vp2.png , I couldn't post it in the original post since I do not have sufficient rep points. The heater pad type, I am using is this: winemakersdepot.com/Brewers-and-Wine-Making-Heat-Pad-P700.aspx – c0d3rz Jan 31 '13 at 0:32
I see when the heater is turned on an off, but when is the cooling activated? – mdma Jan 31 '13 at 1:32
What temp are you trying to stabilize at and is this metal enclosure insulated? Especially the lid. – brewchez Feb 2 '13 at 22:19
You've also inappropriately applied a linear fit to data that isn't behaving that way. You state that its a continuous decreasing trend. But it isn't, it has stabilize half way through the data collection period. – brewchez Feb 2 '13 at 22:24
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1 Answer
up vote 1 down vote accepted
It's to do with thermal inertia. If you look closely at the graph you'll see there are highs and lows for sensor #2 also - just much smaller than sensor #1, and they have the same period (time interval) as sensor #1, indicating they stem from the same heating oscillation.
You're of course right when you say that air is a poor conductor, and so it will essentially dampen the effect of the heater - there are rises and falls, just over a smaller, dampened range.
I'm not entirely clear on when the freezer switches on and why it would be on when the heater is also on, but it seems that's the case from the graph. Another reason for the imbalance is that the freezer has a far greater cooling effect than the 25W heater can heat. Most freezers are in the order of 120W or more, and have a Coefficient of Performance (CoP) of 2 or more when chilling to beer temperature, so you're getting about 240W of real cooling power vs 25W of heating power (resistance heating has a CoP <= 1) - so a 10:1 difference.
I imagine the main reason you're seeing any fluctuation in sensor 2 at all is because of the box, which confines the convection of heated air to within the box. I imagine if you removed the box and did the same thing, you'd see very little change in sensor #2 because of the large volume of cooler air surrounding it.
share|improve this answer
Hi mdma: The freezer is always switched on, it is never turned off. Also, I'm using a 120W heater instead, so the heating/cooling difference is not that large I think. If I go with the idea of thermal inertia, why is that the lower sensor (Sensor #1) changes so quickly then? Shouldn't it face the same problem? – c0d3rz Jan 31 '13 at 2:56
The lower sensor changes quickly because the rate of conduction through contact with #1 is much quicker than conduction through the air to #2. – mdma Jan 31 '13 at 2:59
Hmm, just one last question about this CoP. Why is that the CoP is greater than 1 in the case of cooling? – c0d3rz Jan 31 '13 at 20:59
The CoP for compressor/inverter systems like fridges and heating pumps because they are just moving heat from one place to another, so the net heat output can be higher than the energy consumed. With a resistance based heat pad, this turns electrical energy into heat, and so the amount of heat produced can never be more than the electricity consumed. – mdma Jan 31 '13 at 21:09
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FORT MEADE, Md. --Bradley Manning, the Army private who sent hundreds of thousands ofsecret U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks, was found not guilty onTuesday of the most serious charge against him -- aiding the enemy --but guilty of several other charges at a military trial in Fort Meade,Md.
Col.Denise Lind, the military judge in the case, made the ruling. Manninghad requested that a judge, not a jury, determine the verdict againsthim.
Lind found Manning guilty of five counts of theft, fivecounts of espionage, a computer fraud charge and other militaryinfractions.
Manning's sentencing hearing is set to beginWednesday. He still faces a potential 128 years in prison if he receivesthe maximum sentence for the charges on which he was convicted.
Inhis closing argument last week, military prosecutor Maj. Ashden Fein,told the court Manning was a traitor who joined the Army to stealgovernment documents, turn them over to the anti-secrecy organizationand enjoy adulation as a whistle blower.
Manning's lawyer, DavidCoombs, portrayed him as a soldier troubled by what he saw whiledeployed to Iraq and struggling as a gay man to serve before the repealof Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the policy that resulted in more than 14,000gay troops being discharged.
Manning, 25, had faced 21 charges,including the most serious - aiding the enemy, which carries a possiblesentence of up to life in prison. Manning has acknowledged givingWikiLeaks some 700,000 battlefield reports, diplomatic cables andvideos. But he says he didn't believe the information would harm troopsin Afghanistan and Iraq or threaten national security.
Theprosecution argued that Manning knew a- Qaeda terrorists could benefitfrom the leaks. Some of the information turned up in the search of Osamabin Laden's compound in Pakistan, they said.
Manning pleadedguilty in February to charges that he had misused classifiedinformation. Those charges carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison.
Manningwas a low-level intelligence analyst, working at a forward operatingbase in Iraq when he gained access to the files. He used his computersavvy to gain access to sensitive government documents andcommunications.
The material he released included footage of aU.S. Army helicopter attack in Iraq in 2007 that killed at least ninemen, including a Reuters journalist. Other documents revealed tepid for the government in Tunisia. Manning's supporters say thathelped bring about the revolution there that sparked the Arab Springmovement.
The verdict and sentence will be reviewed by thecommander of the Military District of Washington. A hearing on hissentence is set to begin Wednesday.
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Air TV vol. 1
ADV Films // Unrated // $29.98 // August 14, 2007
Review by Todd Douglass Jr. | posted September 3, 2007
E - M A I L
this review to a friend
Graphical Version
The Show:
Air is a show with a rich background which includes visual novel games and manga. Consisting of 13 episodes the series began air-ing (pun intended) in 2005 and went on to receive a movie around the same time. I heard about the show shortly after it was released but I do have to say I wasn't expecting to see the amount of hype surrounding it. It would seem that quite the fan base has been formed within the American audience and though I hadn't seen any of the show I had plenty of expectations when it came time to watch it.
Yukito Kunisaki doesn't have much in the way of possessions or wealth. He has the shirt on his back, the dirty puppet in his pocket, and a story about a girl with wings, as told to him by his dead mother. The series begins unsuspectingly enough with Yukito traveling from town to town attempting to make money with his bizarre puppet show. You see, he has a small-ish telekinetic ability that allows him to control inanimate objects and make them walk around or dance. You'd think he'd make a killing with this skill but more often than not he's scoffed at by onlookers. One day Yukito wanders into a seaside town and finds more than he bargained for.
While gazing blearily at the sky and bemoaning his lack of food a girl happens by and startles him out of a daydream. The girl's name is Misuzu and she takes a liking to Yukito rather quickly. She offers to buy him something to snack on and even brings him home so that he can sleep beneath a roof for the night. At first he's opposed to it but she seems so genuine and her mother eventually warms up to the idea so he decides to be a freeloader.
Misuzu is a strange duck indeed. She has a tendency to make dinosaur noises, behaves much younger than she is, and has virtually no relationship with her mother whatsoever. Through circumstances Yukito basically becomes Misuzu's babysitter and makes sure that she doesn't get into trouble. While she's in school he spends his time trying to earn money with his puppet show, which is less than successful to say the least. Fortunately he manages to meet another strange young girl, her dog Potato, and through these events lands a job with the local doctor.
It is quite obvious early on that some things are not all that they seem to be. The latest young girl he has met wears a ribbon on her wrist and merely says that it is there to keep her from using magic. When Yukito and Misuzu stumble upon her at the town's shrine enrobed in light with visions of grassy fields dancing around her we know right away that something is amiss. In between the daily insanity of Yukito's life this is merely another unsolved mystery that continues throughout this introductory volume.
As things progress we meet several other characters as well. More of Misuzu's classmates show up and some of the adults in town have their own way of doing things and rewarding people. Throughout the four episodes here you'll get the sensation that something is amiss in this seaside village. There is something beneath the surface that defies explanation and as Yukito spends more time with these people this becomes evident.
Air definitely skirts many issues as it tells its serene and somewhat bizarre tale. Things are peculiar, yet comforting, and the world surrounding Yukito is certainly robust enough to draw you in. So far some of the characters are fairly stereotypical but the story is intriguing enough to allow for that. Overall my expectations were met but not exceeded in the case of Air. I'm interested in seeing where the series goes from here since this volume was a great launching point but with such a limited perspective on the show it's hard to gauge the quality at this juncture.
The DVD:
Air originally aired in 2005 and features a very up to date presentation with pristine artwork and an impressive technical side to things. ADV has released the show on DVD with an anamorphic widescreen presentation and the image is practically flawless. This is one of the most vibrant shows I have ever seen with a color palette that titillates the senses. Quite honestly there are few shows out there as rich looking as Air and from the ground up the design here is marvelous. Technically speaking the video quality suffers slightly from some softness and grain here and there but neither really detracts from the experience.
Considering Air is a dialogue driven show devoid of action of any variety I was very surprised to see 5.1 surround sound being available for both English and Japanese. A show like this could have gotten by with a 2.0 stereo track just fine but it seems that the producers wanted to make this project a labor of love. The extra attention to the sound pays off with a well-crafted sound field that draws you in with ambient noise and keeps dialogue and music separated nicely. The sense of immersion isn't the greatest but it's certainly better than I was expecting when going into the show.
Clean animations and some trailers for other ADV products are all that you're going to find on the first volume of Air.
Final Thoughts:
Air is a highly unusual show that capitalizes on its detailed atmosphere and level of intrigue. So many aspects of the first four episodes are minimal in terms of how they are presented, yet somehow they all come together to craft an interesting and somewhat evasive story. The slow pacing and seeming lack of direction gives the world and characters the time they need to grow beyond their stereotypes but nothing satisfactory happens in this installment. I'm certain that every little detail is leading up to something much grander in scope by until we get there Air has the potential to merely string you along with a certain amount of frustration. For now this is a promising looking series with a strong start so we're going to recommend it.
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Veteran airline captain and GA legend Barry Schiff enters the paper versus electronic chart debate with Senior Editor Dave Hirschman.
November 1, 2013
Getting perspective
You can’t see that on a screen
By Barry Schiff
When I accepted Dave Hirschman’s challenge to defend paper charts in a debate against digital charts, I knew that I would be pitching him a softball. The economics and convenience of digital charts make it difficult—but not impossible—to argue against them.
Paper VFR charts obviously are best for spreading on the floor to gain a perspective of a planned cross-country flight. Yes, you can squish and expand a chart on your iPad, but detail and perspective are lost. The beauty of paper charts is that they don’t break when dropped or fail when you spill something on them. They don’t fade to black or get hung up for inexplicable reasons. I shiver just thinking about a tablet failure when in the clouds and about to begin an unfamiliar instrument approach. This is why airline pilots using them are required to have backups.
A paper chart doesn’t create glare in sunlight, doesn’t need batteries, is easier to use in turbulence, and often has a larger “screen.” It also cannot change function or switch programs by inadvertently touching something on its face. A paper chart is infinitely more reliable than anything electronic. (Notice that Hirschman prints approach plates before departing on an IFR flight. If I’m not mistaken, he prints them on paper.)
Another problem with electronic charts is that downloading revisions makes it difficult to detect changes made on commonly used approach charts. Nor can you easily compare charts that seem identical but are not (such as the Yankee and Zulu approaches to San Carlos, California). Also, you can’t use an iPad to swat flies. Well, I suppose you could, but it might be an expensive swat. Nor can it be used as a sun shield or an improvised instrument hood, as can a paper chart. The good thing about a failed iPad is that you can glue mileage scales along its edges and use it to measure distances and draw lines on a paper chart.
Tablets can be heavy to hold for long or even short periods, and mounting them in small cockpits is challenging. A chart can be conveniently tucked anywhere. I like writing and making notes on paper charts. You should have seen Hirschman’s face when I wrote on the face of his iPad with a black Sharpie. It wasn’t pretty.
Every pilot should have a Plan B, and “B” means “back to basics,” which to me means having paper charts in the cockpit.
Someday, though, none of this will matter. Paper charts eventually will be unavailable, another step off the cliff of excessive technological reliance—and I will miss them.
Visit the author’s website (
Paper is passé
Take a memo (electronically)
By Dave Hirschman
In case you haven’t seen the memo, the era of navigating with paper charts is over. Sure, aeronautical charts are astonishingly accurate and beautifully drawn wonders of cartography. The hand-painted silk maps they replaced are even more sublime, and a few treasured examples adorn my office wall. But in actual airplanes, electronic charts are far more useful, and they’re getting better and cheaper at a rapid rate. A single tablet computer today can easily store every VFR chart and IFR procedure for the entire country, and digital subscriptions are painless to keep current. Add an ADS-B receiver and tablet computers get even more miraculous with free weather, traffic, pireps, and synthetic vision.
Like other aviators of my generation, I learned to fly cross-country with a thumb held to my position on a VFR sectional. That was an interesting and perhaps character-building exercise, but cockpit chart-reading and folding skills are as useless today as typewriter ribbon. Open any aviation app and the blue dot shows your position (as well as heading, altitude, and groundspeed) with updates coming 10 times a second. I’m a pretty decent map reader, but not that good. Also, digital charts are one of those rare anomalies in aviation in which prices are actually falling, and dramatically so. A paper subscription for VFR and IFR charts used to cost in excess of $1,200 a year. Flight bags full of heavy approach plates meant job security for chiropractors, and countless trees paid the price. The same information is available in electronic form for $100 or less per year, weighs nothing, and never gets lost in the mail.
No technology is perfect, and tablet computers can stop working when they get too hot, or too cold, or run out of power. But paper charts are no panacea. They get ripped or smudged, lost, attract spilled coffee, and float away from open-cockpit airplanes. (I lost a New York sectional from a Waco somewhere over Saratoga Springs, and an Atlanta terminal chart near Stone Mountain.)
Today, tablet computers are our EFBs; handheld and panel-mount avionics contain their own moving maps and navigation databases; and we can print approach plates at just about any FBO for our destination airports, alternate airports, and any number of others. We can even get them in large print if desired. Paper charts had a good run, and they will live on as colorful keepsakes, conversation pieces, and gift wrapping. If Captain James Cook, the greatest cartographer and explorer of them all, were with us today, he’d carry an iPad.
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Time to get over my current lover and move on to my next victim. It turns out that I’m not in the market for a noncommital relationship. I want to be with someone who could potentially love me.
(I somehow manage to be cynical and ridiculously tender-hearted at the same time.)
About Jessica Smith
8 Responses to Romantic
1. François says:
I am mildly confused …
2. Jessica Smith says:
just venting… the guy i’ve been “seeing” (ehem) is emotionally unavailable, and that bothers me.
3. François says:
Ah, yes … Even though I’ve been often on the other side (“emotionally unavailable,” that is), I can kinda see why it could be annoying.
4. Jessica Smith says:
I tend to eventually want the whole person, even if it began as a purely physical relationship. It’s annoying when they don’t feel the same way.
5. François says:
Go slowly. Otherwise, you might end up very very bored of the person in question.
6. Jessica Smith says:
True. I do go through people passionately and quickly. But I’m not really bored with this one yet; in fact, I find him quite interesting, that’s why I want more out of him.
7. François says:
As a usually emotionally unavailable person (wow, that was a mouthful), I tend to resist when people want too much (out) of me. But that’s just me. I’m not sure it’s relevant with your boy.
8. Jessica Smith says:
Granted, a little resistance is better than being completely open. But eventually I want in those walls.
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Phil Shaw, victim's brother
Phillip Shaw was born on January 7, 1975, in Taylor, Mississippi, the eldest of two children born to Jane and Chad Shaw. He was seven when his little brother Jerry was born.
The age difference between the boys meant Phil spent a lot of time watching over his brother. He tried to teach Jerry the importance of honesty and integrity, but as the boys got older, Jerry increasingly resisted Phil's guidance.
Their parents held Phil responsible whenever young Jerry acted out, which Phil considered unfair, especially since he couldn't find any way to get Jerry behave, no matter how much he tried.
Other than his inability to control Jerry, Phil excelled in everything he did. He made top grades and had a lot of friends.
When Phil graduated from high school, he wanted to go to college but there wasn't enough money so he got a job as a busser at Taylor Grocery & Restaurant. He put every penny he could spare in a savings account that he planned to use one day to pay for college.
In 1994, his parents went to Memphis, Tennessee for the weekend to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Tragically, they were murdered during that trip, and the case remains unsolved to this day.
Phil became Jerry's guardian and used his share of their parents' large insurance policy and sizable savings account to support the smaller, sadder version of his family and to pay for his classes at Ole Miss.
Phil invested some of the insurance money, and when he graduated, he still had a large bank account. He leveraged that nest egg to build his own tax firm, which became a very successful business.
When Jerry dropped out of high school and proceeded to squander his inheritance like the proverbial prodigal son, Phil avoided him.
After that, the only time he heard from Jerry was when he came asking for money because he'd gotten himself into yet another financial jam. Phil always refused to lend him a dime and told him to get a job if he needed money.
Phil is single and lives alone. By his own account, he and Jerry hadn't seen each other for years at the time of Jerry's death.
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• Phil wasn't much of a brother to Jerry. It appears that Jerry was on his own totally when he dropped out of school. He was probably 16 years old. Who knows what kind of life he had besides the gambling.
Crime Scene
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Boiler Room Safety
Large industrial and commercial facilities often have dedicated boiler rooms that house boilers, water pumps, heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, and other mechanical equipment required to run a facility. The heated water or fluid used in boilers can be used in a variety of processes or heating applications, including central heating and local power generation. As boilers have been modernized to burn natural gas or a combination of fuels that are less expensive and more flexible than coal and oil, there are significant risks of leaks occurring in the gas plumbing and from the burners at the front of a boiler. Such combustible gas leaks create the hazardous condition of a potential explosion. An additional risk is the production and leakage of Carbon Monoxide (CO), an odorless, colorless and toxic gas that results from incomplete combustion, which occurs when there is not enough oxygen mixed with the fuel. All improperly ventilated or malfunctioning boilers have the potential to produce CO in varying concentrations. Consequently, the building facility manager must ensure that the boiler room is instrumented with a comprehensive gas detection, alarm, and mitigation system to protect the facility and its personnel.
Gas Detection
Hazardous gases found in boiler rooms include:
• Combustible Gases such as Methane
• Carbon Monoxide
Combustible gas leaks rapidly disperse throughout a boiler room, creating a hazard for any worker, who can act as an ignition source, by walking into the room. Fixed point combustible gas sensor modules are used to monitor boiler fronts and associated natural gas supply lines. The gas sensor modules are connected to controllers that provide relays to enable activation of visual and audible alarms for warning conditions and for boiler shutdown at emergency levels. Typical set points are 40% lower explosion limit (LEL) for warning and 60% LEL for emergency.
In addition, fixed point toxic gas sensors are used to monitor for CO leaks in boiler rooms. If not detected, the buildup of CO can pose a threat to any worker walking into the room. The sensor modules can be connected to the same controllers used for combustible gas, creating a complete hazard detection system.
Personal gas monitors are generally not appropriate for boiler room applications because they cannot detect buildup of combustible and toxic gases in a non-occupied area.
Automation and Integration Strategies
A gas detection system usually incorporates a controller that can drive various alarming devices such as strobes and horns to indicate hazard. However, as boiler rooms tend to not be accessed frequently, facility managers often need a remote monitoring solution as well. It is common for facility managers to connect the boilers to the central Building Automation System (BAS) so they can monitor the functioning and efficiency of the boilers remotely. But it is also necessary to integrate the gas detection system in the boiler room with the BAS so that the alarms can be displayed within the central facility management console and can be acted upon as part of a facility-wide control strategy.
Codes and Regulations
Various national and international codes pertain to the safe manufacturing and placement of boilers. In the United States, manufactured boilers and the rooms in which they reside are designed to comply with one or more of the codes written by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Other approval bodies, such as the Underwriters Laboratories (UL), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and International Code Council (ICC), could also be a regulating body.
Major codes governing boiler rooms include:
Products for Boiler Room Safety
Boiler rooms require a gas and fire detection system that includes gas and fire detection modules, a method to communicate to a controller, an ability to collect large amounts of data for subsequent analysis and flexible alarm handling with a method for communicating data to higher-level systems.
Gas Detectors
Fire Detectors
Fire and Gas Detection Controllers
Unlike most fire and gas vendors, we also include our leading FieldServer multi-protocol gateways within our controller to connect our Sentry IT system to the facility’s local BAS, and to the cloud for remote monitoring, control, and big data analytics.
FieldServer Gateways
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Nicole Kidman Diplomatic About Tom, Katie
Nicole Kidman (search), star of the upcoming movie "Bewitched," is carefully not casting judgment on ex-husband Tom Cruise's (search) relationship with Katie Holmes (search).
When asked in early May about Cruise's very public romance with Holmes, Kidman didn't address the subject directly.
However, when asked about photographic publicity stunts in general, Kidman tells Vanity Fair in its July issue, on newsstands June 14: "In terms of your life, if you start to exploit it, then what's real, and what's not? What's yours, and what isn't?"
Kidman and Cruise divorced in 2001 after almost 10 years of marriage.
"When it all exploded and we were in Cannes with 'Moulin Rouge.' ... `My sister and I slept in the same bed together. She would just hold me," Kidman told Vanity Fair.
"When we came out of the big screening and there were swarms of people, I felt like I couldn't breathe. So I just sort of eyeballed her as if to say, 'Help! Help!' Taking absolute control, she took me into the bathroom, unlaced my corset and the dress I was wearing, took my shoes off, and said, 'You're going to be OK.'"
Cruise and Holmes were photographed together in Rome in April and later confirmed they were dating. During an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last month, the 42-year-old actor exuberantly professed his love for the 26-year-old actress.
He stars in Steven Spielberg's (search) upcoming "War of the Worlds" and Holmes will co-star with Christian Bale (search) in "Batman Begins."
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Hey, a research report is due, so here it is.
Tuesday’s meetup was quite ordinary: we got together, had some coffee, laughs, and tinkering. Some activities were heads-down concentration, others were much more social.
We opened the box that held 10 phones and a PBX. No manual! Googling got us nowhere fast, so kugg just began tinkering with a hookup for a phone. Video was shot of the unboxing. Not so great footage, though.
These were not your regular RJ-11 jacks, but a thinner connector, like something out of your PC’s innards. Following color codes and using a crimp tool, he got it right. A red handset with a GNU sticker on it was quickly connected, and there was much rejoicing when we heard an audible click from the relay that did the connection to the phone-line inside the unit.
Forskningsavd.se IRC old-timer hossi, came by, and introduced some p2p ideas, and showed his mobile-phone streaming setup (quite sweet). Olle introduced him to Mercurial, and test-drove Mozilla Bespin.
Linda was tinkering with her uncooperative Win laptop’s wireless connection.
Gunde was building more audio infrastructure for multi-channel recording and mixing (with NetJack), there were new external soundcards for the Linux box, and before the meeting there had been a cleanup action, which prettified the whole physical setup of the computer.
Some library software was tested. It did not really pass our quality reqs: needs to run on a very old computer. Soon, we’ll have a pro librarian around.
phrst did something obscure with the computer.
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Mickey Rourke vows never to marry an actress
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Melbourne (ANI): After two failed marriages, Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke has vowed never to marry an actress. The 57-year-old star was previously married to actresses Debra Feuer and Carre Otis and the separation has left him badly bitten.
"I don't want to live with an actress again, no matter how they look," the Daily Telegraph quoted him as telling the Mail on Sunday newspaper. "I'm working opposite Megan Fox and Eva Green next, and I'm certainly not complaining. But I'll tell you, once bitten ..." he added.
The Wrestler star, who has four pet Chihuahuas, credits his dogs to help him get through the dark times. "My dogs really helped me get through the dark times. I lost everything at the same time - my wife, my career, my house, my credibility - and all I had left was the dogs plus just two or three people who stuck with me," he said.
"I was living under the mat - being known and then being known for being out of work, for having fallen from grace. You go and buy a pack of smokes and people say, “Hey, didn't you used to be that actor?" So it was a very shameful place, and the dogs (he has owned eight chihuahuas) were my friends.
“A lot of people you meet out there turn their backs on you once you're down, but the dogs don't. The one dog I loved, Loki, died last year, and she is deeply missed but with me in spirit," he added.
Topics: megan fox, debra feuer, mickey rourke, eva green, carla bruni
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am having a case in which I need to generate two CSharp code files with pretty the same code but different namespace of the input and output types of the methods. In fact each file is for a specific country and the types come from country specific WSDL's.
I am writing some wrappers around the services and the logic is exactly the same but the types automatically generated from WSDL's are different. How could I reduce the coding effort and write the logic at one place and get it generated for two different sets of types?
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2 Answers 2
up vote 5 down vote accepted
or you could use the T4 Toolbox and use the helpers to generate multiple files. -> Blog post with explanation.
Or if you don't want this dependency just for this functionality, you can use the T4 file MultiOutput.tt that you can find here with explanation.
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Thanks the link was useful. At least I realised that it is possible to get multiple output files from one template. – Rez.Net Feb 7 '11 at 23:39
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blown color channel
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how can you prevent this from happening when shooting flowers?
see discussion in the FLOWERS group
see discussion in the technique group
This picture is part of the set "pictures to learn from" see other ones here
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FAQ How do I use progress monitors?
From Eclipsepedia
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A progress monitor is a callback interface that allows a long-running task to report progress and respond to cancellation. Typically, a UI component will create a monitor instance and pass it to a low-level component that does not know or care about the UI. Thus, an IProgressMonitor is an abstraction that allows for decoupling of UI and non-UI components.
Each monitor instance has a strictly defined lifecycle. The first method that must be called is beginTask, which specifies a description of the operation and the number of units of work that it will take. This work value doesn’t need to be very precise; your goal here is to give the user a rough estimate of how long it will take. If you have no way of estimating the amount of work, you can pass a work value of IProgressMonitor.UNKNOWN, which will result in a continuously animated progress monitor that does not give any useful information to the user.
After beginTask, you should call subTask and worked periodically as the task progresses. The sum of the values passed to the worked method must equal the total work passed to beginTask. The subTask messages can be sent as often as you like, as they provide more details about what part of the task is currently executing. Again, you don’t need to be precise here. Simply give the user a rough idea of what is going on.
Finally, you must call done on the monitor. One consequence of calling done is that any unused portion of the progress bar will be filled up. If your code is part of a larger operation, failing to call done will mean that the portion of the progress bar allotted to your part of the operation will not be filled. To ensure done gets called, you should place it in a finally block at the very end of your operation.
Here is a complete example of a long-running operation reporting progress:
try {
monitor.beginTask("Performing decathlon: ", 10);
monitor.subTask("hammer throw");
//perform the hammer throw
//... repeat for remaining nine events
} finally {
The monitor can also be used to respond to cancellation requests. When the user requests cancellation, the method isCanceled will return true. Your long-running operation should check this value occasionally and abort if a cancellation has occurred. A common method of quickly aborting a long-running operation is to throw OperationCanceledException.
See Also:
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Behind The Scenes
Behind The Scenes
MC Ren
Now this is the bitch who makes straight A's,
but never got to leave out of the house back in de dayz
and when she was at school she gave people dirty looks,
she always carried books and thought me and my friends were crooks,
you always see the bitch in the classes,
she never wore pants she wore a dress and some glasses,
teachers used to rag, she was the teacher's pet,
every nigguz used to brag how much they want to make her wet,
straight to her butt 'cause yo she ain't tall,
but you would say fuck her when you saw the bitch walk,
ass hanging out by the pawn,
and that's another reason why niggaz wanted to get her panties down,
she kept to herself in the hallways,
and never looked at niggaz like old day,
and when the last bell rang she was gone,
so one day I decided to follow the bitch home,
her mother was at work she would'nt get home 'till 6,
so it was time for ren to put the bitch in the mix,
'cause back in the school it was every nigguz dream,
so now it's time to get a closer look behind the scene!
"all the pimps, the hores, the pulldaggers, the cocksuckers,
gave 100$ bill just to see"
now I made it to her house but she would'nt let me in yo,
so I said fuck it, smack around to the window,
she get into the room and start to undress,
now I'm biting on my lips saying "damn this bitch is blessed!"
the doorbell rang, it was the nextdoor neighbor,
and he was axing up could she do him a favour,
she grabbed de nigga's hand and took him in the room,
and laid on the back as he fucked her with a broom,
she said she wanted back up so then she said,
she wanted him to eat the pussy so she grabbed his head,
and he started eating it like a thanks-given dinner,
he made the bitch come and then he put his dick up in her,
she smashed up his back with the cloth,
but she was screaming so loud he had to gaggle with his toes,
but after they finish fucking yo the bitch took a shower,
to wash off the sweat from the last half hour,
the bitch put out some bud and then she started to smoke,
took his wicked jack daddy and made a few miles of cock,
the nigga said shit gotta go,
bcuz this innocent little girl is a whore!
"nobody in .. my neighborhood" MiX
now I went back to school the very next day,
and I knew that my niggaz won't believe what I had to say,
I told them what I saw and nigguz said "yeah right",
so I told the mothafuckaz to come over there tonight,
now there's 10 real niggaz at her window,
waiting to see a whore like alamat natio(?)
they thought that I was lying 'cause we waited 1 hour,
and when we started to leave the bitch walked out da shower,
ass on the round the bitch do it in her bed,
her bottomlips was hanging and she started fingerbanging,
her daddy walked in and started beating her with a belt,
the bitch was so hot she made the leather start to melt,
but she was liking it,
yelling "daddy give it to me harder",
then he took off all his cloth and start fucking his doughter,
my niggaz outside did'nt believe what they would see-some,
but when her mama got home, they turned into a threesome,
her mama ate the pussy while her daddy doggy sounded,
the family freak together and they also laid together,
I could'nt take them all 'cause I was too much of a man,
so I jumped back to the window with my dick in my hand,
The hand in the money kept to her neighbors' door,
'cause now it was even it was 2 against 2,
but a couple minutes after I was in,
all my niggaz jumped in all 10 yo behind the scenes!
"This is the bitches and the ho's crew"
"yes daddy I love you"
"She like suckin' on dicks .. and lickin' on nutts .. and they even take
the broomstick on her butt!"
Written by SCOTT, STEPHEN H.
Published by Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics Provided By LyricFind Inc.
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Legal Disclaimer: I don't own the Jett Jackson characters, they belong to Disney. The only character that's mine is Jackie, Booker's love interest... Booker never seems to get any action so I decided to take a chance...
A/N: Another fic! This one is for Nicki, Tiffany, Wishbear-chan, HAA, geanie, and everyone else! sorry if i forgot anyone!
A/N2: The Silverstone story deals with bioterrorism... if that bothers you because of recent events, don't read pwease. And there's a huge block of Silverstone in between the real life scenes for the continuity of the Silverstone story.
Shades Of Gray
"Sometimes, when you keep life in black and white, you miss the shades of gray,"
Me (yes, it's original... i think)
The bell rang at Wilsted High, and pandemonium broke loose.
"Summer!" someone yelled, and a massive cheer went up in the hallways. School was over for the next ten weeks.
"Finally," Kayla emerged from the lab, brushing a few stray curls from her eyes. "June twenty-third is now my favorite day."
JB walked out, looking over his shoulder at Jett. Kayla turned. "Are you coming?"
Jett walked out of the room on his hands. "You bet."
Kayla started to laugh. "Don't you have a set to get to?"
Jett flopped back down onto his feet. "Come to think of it, yeah, I do. Wanna come?"
"Are you kidding?" JB said. "It's the last day of school! I dunno about you, but I'm going home to enjoy my TV."
"I'm coming." Kayla said. "I wanna see what's going on."
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later, then." JB exchanged hugs and high fives with his friends and walked off in the direction of Halliburton's, the family store.
"So," Kayla said as they walked. "What do you plan to do this summer?"
"I don't know, truthfully." Jett realized that he really hadn't thought about it. "You?"
"I have no idea. Probably paint and hang out with you. And JB, of course." That part seemed to be an afterthought, almost, as if she had forgotten there was anyone but Jett. For some reason her answer made him smile. She wants to spend time with me... whoa, chill, Jackson. She said you and JB. Not you alone.
"Well, here we are for another long afternoon." Jett held the door open to Silverstone Studios. Kayla did a perfect cartwheel down the hall and Jett followed her to the set.
* * * *
Silverstone watched the computer screen. The red dots were spreading rapidly. "Those red dots are the Rat's virus carriers." Artemus said. "It seems our slippery adversary has come up with a new way to achieve his ends. Biological warfare."
"What kind of virus is it?" Hawk spoke up.
"No one is sure." Artemus answered. "Do you remember, Silverstone, when I was infected with that virus? It seemed that there was no cure?"
Silverstone nodded. "Well, there truly is no cure for this disease. It is mutating too quickly for us to catch. The only way we can combat it is to dispose of the rest of the samples, and..." Artemus trailed off.
"And what?" Hawk asked.
"To kill those who are already infected."
"What?" Silverstone was shocked. "Kill them?"
"It would be a mercy." Artemus said softly. "The disease, from what we have gathered, turns the victim slowly to a skeleton by eating away at the flesh and muscle. It is great pain, and the victim is conscious throughout the entire ordeal. It is so slow it may take weeks to happen fully. Weeks of pain and agony."
Silverstone put his head in his hands. "I can't believe you're asking me to do this."
"If there was anyone else, Silverstone, I would send them."
"What about you?" Silverstone asked. "You can't help us?"
"I can help you from here, Silverstone, but ever since I contracted that virus I am in grave danger if I am exposed to any other disease." Artemus looked as if he truly wanted to go with them. "But I am relying on you, Silverstone. And you, Hawk."
"We will make you proud." Hawk said.
* * * *
"I don't believe I'm doing this." Silverstone muttered to himself. He was dressed as a doctor, with all the protective gear to shield himself from the disease. He was in the ward of the hospital where all of the Rat's victims lay.
The visions he saw were terrifying. People were in agony, writhing and crying out. Some had just gotten sick and had a terrified look in their eyes, and others were so far along they were practically all bone. Their eyes were dead and staring.
Hawk was sobbing silently as they walked through the ward. Silverstone was fighting to keep his own eyes dry. Children, elderly, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, every one of them. Lives taken unnecessarily.
"We have to get rid of this." Silverstone whispered as a few other doctors walked by, their heads bent.
"Artemus said--" Hawk began.
"I know." Silverstone scanned the control panels that manipulated the temperature and oxygen flow in the closed-off ward. He found the lever he was looking for. He didn't reach out. It would be a mercy, Artemus had said. A mercy, a mercy, a mercy.... the worlds echoed in his head. If they die this way, it is cruel... a mercy, a mercy... a mercy... If he pulled that lever, the air supply would be cut off. And those people would die. His hand rested on the switch.
A mercy... the victim is conscious... Silverstone felt Hawk's hand on his. She pushed down, ever so gently, and the lever sank. A sob escaped from Silverstone's mouth, even though he was trying to hold it back. Hawk watched the ward through the window, tears leaving shining paths down her face. A small sound reached their ears, like a soft exhalation, and the pulsing hills of the heart monitors became straight lines. Silverstone and Hawk slipped away.
Part one done. Now it was time to hunt down the Rat.
* * * *
"Shhh," Silverstone silenced his comrade. Hawk clamped her mouth shut and watched from behind Silverstone, who was standing against a pillar. They were watching the Rat, who was holding a vial of an evil-colored liquid. "This is my ultimate creation," he was saying.
Silverstone's lip curled. "Bastard." He had to contain himself. If he moved now, the Rat's henchmen would be on him in a second.
It was amazing to Silverstone that the Rat would be such a big-time criminal now. He had specialized in petty theft and the like. It seemed he had found his break in bioterrorism.
Hawk tensed next to her partner. The Rat was laughing. "If I release this into the reservoir of New York City, I can easily annihilate the entire population in one stroke," The Rat continued.
"Not so fast, Rat." Silverstone and Hawk emerged from behind the barrel they had been hiding near. "Put the vial down."
The Rat started to laugh. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Never been more serious in my life."
"Well then, Silverstone, meet my friends, who will escort you out of here." The Rat snapped his fingers and five huge men came out of the shadows. Hawk fell into a ready position beside Silverstone, and they put their martial arts training to good use. Artemus had taught them well.
The men were short work, and Silverstone stood before their adversary, hardly breathing out of pace. "Put down the vial, Rat." Hawk was standing behind the little man, ready to spring if he made any fancy moves.
"Not a chance," The Rat flipped the little tube up into the air and caught it again, swiftly twisting off the top. He spun around suddenly, and threw the contents of the glass into Hawk's face.
Hawk screamed, a high, unearthly sound of pain and terror. Her hands flew to her face. Blood was streaming down between her fingers. With horror, Jett realized what the Rat had done. It wasn't the virus that was making her bleed. It was harmless until it was inside your system. It was the tube itself. The Rat had smashed it into her eyes with the force of a bullet.
"RAT!" Jett threw himself at his enemy, not caring anymore whether or not he killed him; just knowing that Hawk was hurt and bleeding was enough.
Laughing, the Rat dodged Silverstone's fists. "Poor boy," he taunted. "I've won, at long last."
Hawk was collapsed on the floor, soundlessly screaming, her mouth open. Blood was still flowing, mingled with tears. When she lifted her hands away from her face, a real scream erupted.
"I'm BLIND!"
Silverstone had the Rat pinned down below him. He turned his head to look at his partner and it took everything he had to keep himself from throwing up right there.
Hawk's eyes were gone.
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I've only played some multiplayer with a friend so far.
When I right click on the ground and on enemies, and I see there is a "Focus on Zone" command (along with a corresponding "Ignore Zone" command). However, these always appear to be grayed out.
What do these commands do, and how do I activate them?
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up vote 9 down vote accepted
The commands are grayed out because you haven't defined any zones yet. Use the hotkey 't' to create them. Put the cursor at a corner of where you want to start the zone, hold t, and drag to create the zone, letting go of t when you're done.
Now, when you have a unit selected, you can rightclick the zone and use focus/ignore on that zone.
You can create multiple zones, but I'm not sure how overlapping zones work.
As for the commands themselves: Focus on Zone: the unit will only target enemies within that zone, ignoring enemies outside of it. If there's no one in the zone, but someone out, I think they will ignore that enemy, even if its the only one (Not 100% sure on this). They continue to focus this zone until you cancel the command.
Ignore Zone: the unit will ignore any enemies within the zone. Pretty much the opposite of Focus on zone. This is helpful if you don't want your MG shooting at a far enemy emplacement (ie behind a window), but instead targeting whatever might be in front or around of it (since you'll lose the battle against that far window if you're walking up to your new firing position).
One final thing, I haven't tested this and don't know if its true, but just something to be aware of: I've heard that once you create a zone, your opponent will be able to see it next turn. I'll try to play a friend and try that out tonight.
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Silly new preemie mum question about feeding!
(11 Posts)
MultipleMama Fri 04-Oct-13 03:00:59
One of my preemie twins is in the process of latching. She's doing well on b/m through feeding tube and showing signs of wanting to latch.
I can't be there 24/7 as much as I'd like to be i.e night feeds etc.
I'm worried about when the time comes when she's feeding from the breast and I'm not there when she's hungry. Would the nurses introduce bottles? Can I say no to this? I really want to avoid bottles completely. If I can, how will she be fed, by tube?
I'm clueless and hesitant to bring it up with the nurses in case they look at me like I'm silly for even thinking of not doing bottles...
So, yeah. That really.
ljny Fri 04-Oct-13 03:30:34
I don't think you're silly at all. No idea whether the unit would be willing to continue tube-feeding when she's able to take a bottle.
If it helps, my premie DD1 went from feeding tube to special easy-to-suck bottles, then when her sucking got stronger, she had a few breastfeeds a day whilst still in hospital.
The first week home was a bit rocky, and a couple of times I gave her a bottle, but she adjusted in a week or so - and went on to be entirely breastfed, for about 9 months.
Guess I'm assuming you want to avoid bottles so she doesn't reject the breast - or do you have another reason?
Hopefully someone who knows more about current practices will be along soon. But please don't worry about the nurses thinking you're silly - you're her mum, you have every right to voice your concerns. She's your child - you're the one who will raise her.
And congratulations on your twins! Good luck.
Featherbag Fri 04-Oct-13 03:36:05
When my DS was at a point where he was actually hungry rather than it being 'time' for a feed, he was deemed ready to go home! I roomed in at the hospital for 48 hours to make sure he and I were able to bf well enough to feed him which didn't work but that's a whole other story and then I took him home! This was at 3wo actual, he was born at 32 weeks gestation and had been tube fed BM until then, with me bfing when I was there (usually 2-3 feeds per day).
JeneLew Sat 05-Oct-13 00:54:28
It's not silly at all. I didn't want my ds to be bottle fed so discussed it with the breastfeeding coordinator once we were in SCBU. They couldn't give a bottle without my consent so he had tube feeds during the night and on demand breast feeds through the day for a few days then I roomed into establish night feeds. He's been home 3 weeks now and is completely breastfed. The best thing I was told was to stick to my guns about it, depending on age it's easier for the nurses to give a bottle. If you don't have a breast feeding coordinator at the unit your in speak to the nurse you have the best relationship with. In my experience they want to help you be the mum you planned to be.
Congratulation on your early arrival.
PrincessScrumpy Sat 05-Oct-13 01:17:36
They gave up tube feeding dtd2 because dtd1 kept pulling the tube out but even with me being in the hospital 24/7 I couldn't get enough milk in her so she was cup fed by the nurse. We were in hospital for 8 days and I went on to breast feed for 6.5 months (with one bottle of formula a day). Good luck xx
laughingeyes2013 Sat 05-Oct-13 01:34:31
I had exactly the same situation with my prem baby. The only difference was that he isn't a twin.
I was in hospital with a girl who was also experiencing the same, and we were both given a bottle and told to try and feed to see how we get on.
I didn't want to bottle feed for fear of losing the chance to breastfeed, mostly because I was told they get used to and choose the easiest method of getting milk, and its easier to suck from a bottle.
The other girl fought hard (through spluttering and choking) to teach her baby to bottle feed. I gave it a half hearted attempt behind closed curtains and reported to staff that he couldn't tolerate the flow, it was too fast and making him choke.
For some reason they accepted this and waited for him to latch until he left the hospital. It only took 24 hours so I was lucky.
The other girl and I met up for coffee when out babies were a month old, and she still couldn't get her baby to switch from bottle to breast. She was trying valiantly and I really respected that, but she wast getting anywhere so I felt really sorry she had been so let down at the start.
The trouble is that when you're grateful for staff saving your baby's life, it's hard to complain about not being helped to breastfeed properly, but all hospitals have a duty of care to support women to be able to do this if they want to. Sometimes they just need reminding.
Mandy21 Mon 07-Oct-13 16:02:47
I think it depends on each unit but afaik, they wont introduce a bottle if you don't want them to. My DTs were given a cup feed if I wasnt there during the night, 1 DT was quite good and would take most of a feed that way (it was my expressed milk) but usually the other one didnt take very much and was tube fed. As others have said, roomed in when they thought they were ready, they actually lost a couple of oz each ( think they used too much energy taking all of their feeds from the breast) so they went back on the unit for a couple of days and then we tried again. B/f for 11 months. Good luck.
MrsCaptainJackSparrow Mon 07-Oct-13 23:15:03
The hospital continues to tube feed my ds over night and I was just expected to be there all day. I then stayed in the family room over the weekend when he got the gang of latching on and we went home on the Monday morning grin
I breastfed DS for the feeds when I was there at the hospital (9am - 7pm) while he still had his ng tube - when they were happy that he was taking enough that he no longer needed to be tube fed, they cup fed him overnight, then I roomed in for the next two nights before we took him home.
Do say to the staff that breast feeding is important to you and you don't want to bottle feed - you might still have to use them a little, we gave DS about 20ml a day in a bottle for his vitamins and iron - they should help support you. Ask to speak to the unit's infant feeding specialist if you want some extra support.
Good luck thanks hope you are taking your twins home soon smile
CMOTDibbler Tue 08-Oct-13 18:15:35
You can absolutely say that you want to avoid bottles as you don't want to do anything that might compromise bfing. The nurses can cup or spoon feed, or just continue tube feeds when you aren't there
Mama1980 Tue 08-Oct-13 18:18:00
Not silly at all. My ds kept his tube so he could be tube fed overnight but breast fed (when he was able to suck) during the day. I refused both bottles and formula top ups. I suggest you have a word with your nicu named nurse/contact but it should be possible.
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Let $G$ be an algebraic variety over an algebraically closed field $k$ (any characteristic). Suppose that: (1) the set of $k$-points has the structure of a group. (2) for any $g\in G$ the right-multiplication by $g$ is a morphism of algebraic varieties $G\to G$. (3) the inverse map is a morphism $G\to G$.
Does it imply that $G$ is an algebraic group? (i.e. is the multiplication $G\times G\to G$ a morphism?)
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you might specify if you have in mind characteristic zero or arbitrary characteristic. – YCor Nov 17 '12 at 18:01
What set are you using to be the elements of the group? – Will Sawin Nov 17 '12 at 18:03
The multplicative group of quaternions (presented as $\mathbb{C}\times \mathbb{C} \setminus \{0\}$ yields a non-algebraic example of your (1)+(2); yet it fails (3). – Mikhail Bondarko Nov 17 '12 at 19:02
@Mikhail: In char. $p$ such near-misses (losing (3)) abound. Let $H$ be a linear algebraic group and $H'$ an infinitesimal non-normal closed subgroup scheme of $H$. The quotient scheme $G = H'\backslash H$ is a smooth affine variety and the natural map $H(k) \rightarrow G(k)$ is bijective. If $G(k)$ is thereby equipped with the group structure of $H(k)$ then this is non-algebraic (as otherwise the quotient map $H \rightarrow G$ would be a homomorphism of algebraic groups and so its schematic kernel $H'$ would be normal), and (1) and (2) hold but (3) fails. – user28172 Nov 17 '12 at 19:25
Since there was some discussion about the extent to which the group structure is needed, the following might be relevant. If $k$ is a countably infinite field, then there is a function $f:k\times k\to k$ that is not a polynomial even though, for each fixed value of $x$ in $k$, $f(x,y)$ is a polynomial function of $y$ and, for each fixed $y\in k$, $f(x,y)$ is a polynomial function of $x$. (There is no such $f$ when $k$ is uncountable.) – Andreas Blass Nov 18 '12 at 2:21
1 Answer 1
up vote 12 down vote accepted
I predict that in whatever is the situation of motivating interest, you know more: for any algebraically closed field $K/k$ you likewise have a group structure on $G(K)$ functorially in $K/k$ making the translations and inversions by $G(K)$ also be morphisms on $G_K$. Under this additional condition the answer is always affirmative, by using a trick that I believe goes back to Hasse, namely base change to the function field of $G$ (or rather, in our situation, an algebraic closure thereof). This is a Weil-style way of getting at Yoneda's Lemma.
The inversion hypothesis implies that left-translations are also morphisms, and we will use this condition instead of the inversion hypothesis (and deduce at the end that inversion is a morphism too). In fact, in char. 0 we won't even need this condition with the left-translations (or inversion) at all, but we are using a stronger assumption on the existence of group laws on $K$-points for lots of $K/k$. This stronger initial assumption across many $K/k$ bypasses Bondarko's examples in char. 0. The near-miss examples avoiding the inversion condition in char. $p$ in the comments are not ruled out by our stronger hypothesis across all $K/k$, but they are ruled out by the left-translations being morphisms (!), so matters will be more delicate in positive characteristic. We need the left-translation condition in positive characteristic to circumvent some inseparability issues with function fields of $k$-varieties.
Before we begin the actual arguments, note that since $k$ is algebraically closed, so $G(k)$ is Zariski-dense in $G$, for any field extension $F/k$ the subset $G(k)$ inside $G(F) = G_F(F)$ is Zariski-dense $G_F$. Hence, $F$-morphisms among $G_F$, $G_F \times G_F$, etc. are determined by their effect on $k$-points promoted to $F$-points. I mention this at the outset for peace of mind in some later discussions.
The "translation is a morphism" hypothesis ensures that $G$ is smooth, so its connected components are irreducible. I will assume that the variety $G$ is connected, a harmless assumption since (i) for $g \in G^0(k)$ the right-translation morphism by $g$ preserves $G^0$ because it carries $e$ to $g$, (ii) inversion preserves $G^0$ since it fixes $e$, (iii) the morphism property on $G^0$ clearly implies the general case by using the "morphism" property for a few translations by points in the various connected components of $G$. Thus, now $G$ is irreducible and so has a "function field" $k(G)$.
By applying the functoriality in $K/k$ to $k$-automorphisms of $K$, we see via Galois descent that the initial hypothesis for algebraically closed extensions is actually valid for all perfect extensions of $k$ as well. Let $K$ be the perfect closure of $k(G)$, and let $\eta \in G(k(G)) \subset G(K)$ correspond to the generic point. This induces a right-translation morphism $\rho_K:G_K \simeq G_K$ (computing right-translation by $\eta_K$). Since $G$ is finite type over $k$, by expressing $K$ as a directed union of finite purely inseparable extensions of $k(G)$ we obtain a finite purely inseparable extension $F$ of $k(G)$ and an $F$-morphism $\rho_F:G_F \simeq G_F$ that descends $\rho_K$ and clearly computes right-translation by $\eta_F$. The normalization $X$ of $G$ in the finite extension $F/k(G)$ is a $k$-variety finite radiciel over $G$, and $X_{\eta} = {\rm{Spec}}(F)$ over $k(G)$. Thus, by expressing $k(G)$ as the directed union of the coordinate rings of affine opens around $\eta$ in $G$, we find such an open $U$ so that over its preimage $U'$ in $X$ (which is finite radiciel over $U$) there is a $U'$-morphism $\rho_{U'}:G_{U'} \simeq G_{U'}$ extending $\rho_F$.
The map $U'(k) \rightarrow U(k)$ is bijective, so for each $g \in U(k)$ let $g' \in U'(k)$ be the unique point over $g$. Consider the specialization $\rho_{g'}:G \simeq G$ of $\rho_{U'}$ over $g'$. I claim that this is the right-translation by $g$. To see this, pick $h \in G(k)$ and consider the morphism of left-translation $\ell_h:G \simeq G$ by $h$. This carries $\eta$ to another $k(G)$-point of $G$ (over $k$) that "spreads out" to a $U$-point of $G$ whose specialization at $g \in U(k)$ is $\ell_h(g) = hg$ (so if we work instead with the $U'$-point over this via the canonical $U' \rightarrow U$ then its specialization at $g' \in U'(k)$ is also $\ell_h(g) = hg$). Now inside the group $G(K)$ we have $\ell_h(\eta_K) = \rho_K(h_K)$, so $\rho_{U'}(h_{U'})$ is the $U'$-point obtained from applying $\ell_h$ to the canonical $U'$-point of $G$ (spreading out $\eta_F$) because this comparison of $U'$-points may be checked by working at the generic point of $U'$ (and this generic point is dominated by the canonical $K$-point, over which we have the equality $\ell_h(\eta_K) = \rho_K(h_K)$). Specializing this equality of $U'$-points at the point $g' \in U'(k)$ over $g \in U(k) \subset G(k)$ gives the equality of $k$-points $\rho_{g'}(h) = \ell_h(g) = hg$, as desired.
To summarize, we have constructed a $U'$-morphism $\rho:G_{U'} \simeq G_{U'}$ whose specialization at any $g' \in U'(k)$ is right-translation on $G$ by the corresponding point $g \in U(k)$. Suppose ${\rm{char}}(k) = 0$, so $U' = U$ and the composite morphism $${\rm{pr}}_1 \circ \rho:G \times U \rightarrow G$$ on $k$-points is the group law restricted to $U(k)$ in the 2nd variable. For any $g \in G(k)$ the right translation morphism $\rho_g$ carries $U$ to another open subscheme $\rho_g(U)$, and I claim that these opens cover $G$. It suffices to check the covering property on $k$-points, so for $h \in G(k)$ we seek $g \in G(k)$ such that $h \in \rho_g(U)$, or equivalently $hg^{-1} \in U(k)$. Pick any $u \in U(k)$ and let $g = u^{-1}h$. This proves the covering property, and the multiplication map $G(k) \times U(k)g \rightarrow G(k)$ arises from a morphism, namely the composition of ${\rm{pr}}_1 \circ \rho$ and the morphism $\rho_g$. We conclude (in char. 0) that the group law on $G(k)$ is induced by a morphism $G \times G \rightarrow G$.
Now we can deduce in char. 0 that inversion is a morphism (so we have a group variety), even though we never used the left-translation or inversion conditions. Indeed, the "universal right-translation" $G \times G \rightarrow G \times G$ defined by $(x,y) \mapsto (xy,y)$ between fppf $G$-schemes (via ${\rm{pr}}_2$) is a scheme isomorphism between fibers over all points in $G(k)$ and therefore is a scheme isomorphism (by fibral isomorphism criteria, adapted to the peculiarities of $k$-points when $k$ is alg. closed). This yields the morphism property for inversion for free! This was a char-free argument, but it required the composition law to be a morphism. Anyway, char. 0 is now settled.
Assume ${\rm{char}}(k) = p > 0$, so for sufficiently large $n \ge 0$ the finite flat $n$-fold relative Frobenius morphism $G^{(1/p^n)} \rightarrow G$ of $G^{(1/p^n)}$ dominates $U'$ over $U$ (namely, pick $n \ge 0$ so that the finite purely inseparable extension $F/k(G)$ is contained inside $k(G)^{1/p^n}$). Since the initial choice of $F$ could be replaced with a finite purely inseparable extension at the outset if we wish, we may therefore assume that $U'$ is open inside $G^{(1/p^n)}$. Using a covering and translation argument similar to characteristic 0, we arrive at a morphism $$m_r:G \times G^{(1/p^n)} \rightarrow G$$ that recovers the given group law on $k$-points via the natural identification of $G^{(1/p^n)}(k)$ with $G(k)$ (for some $n \ge 0$). Our problem is precisely to show that $m_r$ factors (in the sense of morphisms of varieties) through the $n$-fold relative Frobenius morphism in the 2nd variable.
Now we shall use that left-translations are morphisms too. At the cost of increasing our $n$ if necessary, we can run through the same arguments with "left" instead of "right" to arrive at another morphism $$m_{\ell}:G^{(1/p^n)} \times G \rightarrow G$$ which recovers the given group law on $k$-points (with the same $n$).
Returning to our task of checking that $m_r$ factors through the appropriate iterated Frobenius in the 2nd variable, since that iterated Frobenius is fppf (as $G$ is smooth!) we conclude via fppf descent that it is harmless to check the existence of such a factorization after precomposing $m_r$ with an fppf morphism in the first variable. So let's compose with the same iterated Frobenius in the first variable, arriving at a morphism $$G^{(1/p^n)} \times G^{(1/p^n)} \rightarrow G$$ that recovers the composition law of $G(k)$ on $k$-points. It suffices to show that this latter map factors through the $n$-fold Frobenius in its 2nd variable, but this factorization is clear: it is the composition of $m_{\ell}$ with that iterated Frobenius (as we may check by computing on $k$-points, since we're working with reduced $k$-schemes of finite type). QED
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This is a very nice answer ! – Olivier Benoist Nov 18 '12 at 2:41
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Iraqis Do It. Ukrainians Do It...
Let's vote right.
Deroy Murdock
After casting ballots in widely applauded elections January 30, Iraqis dipped their digits in ink, to prevent multiple voting, then pointed their purple fingers toward a brighter future. Ukrainians cleanly elected Viktor Yuschenko president December 26, after he lost an earlier, fraud-encrusted runoff. Afghans elected President Hamid Karzai in a properly run October 9 vote.
Too bad Washington State’s latest election failed Iraqi, Ukrainian, and Afghan standards. Washington’s November 2 gubernatorial race remains murky due to illegitimate ballots, others that were miscounted, and still more that emerged from…who knows where? This morass is prosecution-grade proof that America’s inadequate voting system screams for modernization.
Democrat Christine Gregoire took office January 12 after edging Republican Dino Rossi in a third recount by 129 of the 2.8 million votes cast. Rossi has sued for a re-vote, a reasonable request given that the number of dodgy ballots exceeds Gregoire’s victory margin.
Through January 28, Washington’s GOP said it found 996 illegal votes, “and we expect this number to grow in the days ahead.” This figure includes:
489 votes by ineligible felons. Dean Logan, Democratic election director in Seattle’s King County, seems unoffended by ex-offenders who may not vote but do so anyway. He told the Seattle Times: “I don’t think it’s the responsibility of the election administrators to essentially do background checks on registered voters.”
437 provisional ballots cast by voters of dubious eligibility. Rather than isolate these for later evaluation, 348 of these were fed into voting machines. “These provisional ballots could have been cast by unregistered voters or people who’d voted more than once,” Mary Lane, Rossi’s communications director, tells me, “but now we’ll never know because they’re in the general sea of ballots.”
44 ballots cast by dead voters. Some of these were apparent clerical errors, such as poll workers confusing live voters with their similarly named dead relatives. Other cases were less forgivable, such as Doris McFarland who told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that she voted for her 92-year-old blind husband who died October 7.
“I called up the elections board and said, ‘Can I do it because he wanted me to vote,’” McFarland explained. “The person…said, ‘Well, who would know?’” How heartwarming. How criminal.
26 voters cast multiple ballots, 20 strictly in-state and six others inside and outside Washington.
The pro-market Evergreen Freedom Foundation reports that, as of December 30, five counties discovered at least 8,419 more votes than voters who had voted. On January 18, that number inexplicably dropped to 2,200.
Also unusual: Some 500 voters claimed the King County Administration building as their legal residence.
Washingtonians deserve a governor chosen by transparent re-vote. Earth’s sole remaining superpower, meanwhile, should use this fiasco to exercise humility and adopt admirable voting procedures from overseas.
First, Congress should require clean voter rolls before every biennial federal election. If states need assistance to purge non-citizens, felons, the relocated, and the dead from registration records, Uncle Sam should scrap some farm subsidies and underwrite this vital improvement.
Second, electoral officials should inspect every voter’s photo identification. If Afghan, Iraqi, and Ukrainian voters must show picture ID, what’s our excuse? Some Democrats bellyache that this would frighten blacks from the polls. Please! Such condescending rubbish assumes blacks lack workplace or student IDs, bankcards, or drivers’ licenses. Keep it simple: Expect blacks, like everyone else, to vote with the same IDs we must show to board commercial jets.
Third, U.S. elections should require each voter to dip a finger in ink after balloting. This will stymie those who vote early and often. A purple index finger also offers a subtle civics advertisement: “I voted. Have you?”
Finally, absentee ballots are easily abused. Deceased-Americans and Alzheimer’s-ravaged seniors magically vote, thanks to relatives and caregivers who never see poll workers. Absentee ballots should be limited to mentally competent shut-ins and voters away on Election Day, not just impatient citizens who want to make this solemn civic ritual as mundane as ordering early from a mail-order catalog.
America proudly leads Earth in many spheres, but our vote procedures are a global disgrace. During the 21 months until the 2006 mid-term election, officials should work diligently to guarantee every state a ballot system at least as reliable as Iraq’s.
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Cormega :: The Realness :: Landspeed Records
as reviewed by Mr. S
Cormega is the very definition of someone who has been screwed over by the record industry. Upon his release from prison, he was slated to be a member of Nas's supergroup The Firm. Reports basically conflict as to what happened, but from Mega's own mouth, Steve Stoute was pissed that Mega wouldn't sign with him and started dicking him over, so he quit. But that was all good, because he had a record deal with the biggest and best label in hip hop history, Def Jam. But again, he got screwed over by the political side of the music business, and his album "The Testament," never got released. All of this time he had rebuilt his rep by numerous guest spots and mixtape appearances and the anticipation for a Cormega album was huge. And this year he finally hit us with it. He attacks the opening track in a manner befitting it's title, "Dramatic Entrance." Mega rips it up, saying:
"No more to say, words can't explain
Like Rich Porter's grave
This is a ghetto monument
My confidence more apparent... I'm too ill
Lyrically, I feel I'm too real."
Being "real" is a consistent theme throughout. The second cut is "American Beauty," which while ill, loses serious points because it is a straight jack of Common's concept on "I Used To Love H.E.R." Lyrically proficient, but... I don't know, you can't just take a concept like this, not alter it at all, and expect to get full respect for it. The beat flips the same sample used on Jadakiss's "Show Discipline."
Prodigy shows up on "Thun & Kiko" and drops one of the few good verses I've heard from him since H.N.I.C. He steals the show, with his verse obviously taking some subliminal shots at Jay-Z:
"You's a notebook crook, with loose leaf beef
A backseat criminal who pass the heat
To somebody that blast the heat
Man, it sound bad on the pad
What happened in the street?
A feeling on the vinyl, an analog outlaw."
Cormega certainly doesn't pass up the opportunity to take some subliminal shots as well. Though his are directed at Nas: "Who's tale you tellin? Are you frail or felon?/Was you making sales or watching niggas selling?/ You exploit niggas lives in your rhymes and then avoid em/You never felt the moisture in the air from coke boiling." This track is dope all around, from the hard hitting lyrics to the beat.
But the subject of Nas is one of this album's downfalls. If Mega had just kept it to one diss, fine. But he rides Nas consistently through the album, making numerous subliminal disses to him throughout, and it gets real old.
The whole album is heartfelt, and songs like "The Saga," "R U My Nigga?," "Fallen Soldiers" (particularly the Alchemist remix) and "They Forced My Hand" particularly so, but ultimately the album is unsatisfying. I think this album got overrated simply because people were happy to finally get a Cormega album. It's not bad by any means, but there are some glaring problems. For one, Cormega's flow and cadence get old; they're cool for about 3 or 4 songs but then it just starts getting boring listening to his monotonous voice. And the beats, while definitely "street" sounding are surprisingly soft with the exception of "Get Out Of My Way." Other than a couple more there aren't any tracks that you can just turn up and BUMP.
Basically, Cormega got cred for making a "real" hip hop album. He obviously made this album for himself, and he gets mad respect for that. But his continual talk about how he is the realest in rap gets old; okay, there are plenty of real cats out there, that doesn't make you a good MC, so you don't have to touch on the fact that you were a real hustler/criminal in EVERY single track. I was anticipating this album as much as anyone, but after listening to it a few times I realized that Cormega is much better suited to being an honorary member of Mobb Deep: come in, blaze a verse every once in a while, and that's cool. And pretty much every song on this album is tight as a stand-alone but after holding down an albums worth of tracks basically by himself, Mega's style just gets old. He may be realer than Nas - good for him - but that doesn't mean he's anywhere near him as an MC.
Originally posted: October 20, 2001
source: www.RapReviews.com
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My support for Amendment 4 to Florida’s Constitution known as the “Hometown Democracy Amendment” is very much related to my professional experiences over the last 60 years as a practicing architect, planner, participating citizen and educator. I have long observed myths related to continued population increase and economic growth in Florida.
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Ex-minor league exec, major leaguer Mincher dies
Mincher served as general manager, broadcaster and owner of the Double-A Huntsville Stars, a Southern League franchise.
He retired as Southern League president last October after holding the post since 2000. The league named Mincher its president-emeritus.
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Seeking Alpha
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With these words, Google went public in 2004 - and they have, since then, been true to their word. They have not been maximizing short-term profits; neither have they been stinting on long-term investments, especially in projects like the self-driving car which might not pay dividends for a decade or more. Today, Google (GOOG) spent $3.2 billion to acquire Nest. Once again, they're investing for the long term.
On the same day, Suntory (OTCPK:STBFY) spent even more money - a whopping $13.6 billion in cash, plus another $2.4 billion in assumed debt - to buy Beam (BEAM), a coveted whiskey company. Suntory doesn't need to worry about what its public shareholders think, because it doesn't have any. It's privately held, and can spend its money on anything it likes, while keeping an eye on long-term value rather than short-term profits.
Neither of these acquisitions makes sense if you approach them wielding earnings multiples or net present value calculations. I very much doubt that Nest has made a penny of profit in its entire existence, and the acquisition price works out at roughly $2,900 per Nest-boasting home, based on estimates that there are 1.1 million such homes. Meanwhile, Beam sold for 20.5 times EBITDA, and 6.4 times revenue. And it's not like some huge revenue boost is around the corner: the sale price even works out at 5.3 times estimated 2016 revenue. Neither of these deals are going to pay for themselves any time soon.
But that doesn't mean that they're bad deals. Both of them are attempts to, quite literally, buy the future. The case of Nest is pretty obvious: it's the foremost company in the hot Internet of Things space, and in its short life has already built up a valuable and much-loved brand. Its products are expensive, but they're very good-looking, and the user experience is fantastic. Nest is basically the OXO of internet-connected household gewgaws, and if it were to release a lightbulb, I'd buy dozens of the things in a heartbeat. Similarly if it offered to replace my alarm system.
Google is drowning in cash: it has more than $58 billion to spend, so this acquisition barely makes a dent in the company's war chest. And if the price is high, it is also ratified by the market: Nest would have had no difficulty raising hundreds of millions of dollars in new equity at a $3.2 billion valuation or even higher. Most excitingly for Google, it has now poached dozens of former Apple (AAPL) employees, all of whom understand how to design great consumer hardware in a way that Google clearly doesn't. If just a little of that magic rubs off onto, say, Motorola (MSI), that could justify the acquisition price right there.
Meanwhile, from Nest's point of view, this deal gives the company room to concentrate on developing great products, without being distracted by corporate affairs, patent wars, and the like. Google's lawyers can now deal with all of Nest's legal and licensing headaches, and Google's lawyers are not only very good but also have very deep pockets.
The Beam acquisition is also at heart about brand value: Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Laphroaig, Courvoisier, Sauza - these are resonant, deeply valuable brands, and they're brands which are only going to rise in value over the long term. Bourbon, in particular, is an incredibly hard market to break into, thanks to the many years it needs to spend in barrel before it's bottled. Beam's revenues are being artificially constrained, right now, by the fact that it can't sell more bourbon than it made seven years ago. But it has been ramping up production of late, and will surely continue to do so now it's owned by Suntory: the Asian market in general, and China in particular, is potentially almost unlimited.
In other words, Suntory isn't spending some multiple of 2013 earnings, or even 2016 earnings: it's looking to the 2020s and beyond, and it's betting that no matter how much it pays now, it's more than worth it for the advantage of being the first Asian company to own a major bourbon brand, in a world where demand for bourbon is sure to continue to rise inexorably.
The Suntory deal is similar to the Google deal in another way, too: neither company values balance-sheet cash particularly highly. In Google's case that's just because the company has so much of it; in Suntory's case that's because Japan is - still - stuck in a liquidity trap. A Japanese company with cash is a bit like an American traveler with frequent-flier miles: it's always a good idea to spend today, because the currency will be of less use to you tomorrow.
There aren't all that many companies out there which are dominant in spaces which are clearly going to be huge tomorrow, be they the Internet of Things or bourbon. So we're not going to see a lot more takeovers at these eye-popping valuations. But if there's one big lesson to be drawn from today's M&A activity, it's that there's still serious amounts of strategic cash on the sidelines if the right target comes along. As Charter's (CHTR) $37.3 billion bid for Time Warner Cable (TWC) proves.
Disclosure: None.
Source: When Patient Money Is Big Money
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Finding a Job
Answering the Unanswerable: Wacky Job Interview Questions
Answering the Unanswerable: Wacky Job Interview Questions
Photograph by Ocean/Corbis
Career experts tend to wax philosophical about what business school students should be doing to win over interviewers. Rarely does anyone ever turn the tables and focus on the outrageousness of those making hiring decisions—until now. Glassdoor, the online community for job hunting and recruiting, scoured thousands of questions shared by job candidates last year to come up with the “Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions,” which was released on Monday.
Ranging from the somewhat expected (“How would you rate your memory?”) to downright zany (“A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?”), the complete list is worth checking out, for chuckles if nothing else. Still, if one supervisor asked such a question, others might be doing the same. So how would you respond? Here, an MBA administrator and students try their hand:
No. 5: What songs best describe your work ethic?
Asked: Interview for a consumer sales position at Dell (DELL)
Answered: Brad Aspel, director of MBA career education and advising at Columbia Business School’s Career Management Center, who asked a group of students how they would answer the question
The Marine Corps Hymn, I Like It, I Love It (Tim McGraw), Girl on Fire (Alicia Keys), and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Kanye West), which was the most popular, were among the answers my students gave. The trick is to think quickly in the moment but realize the company also wants to see your creativity and even your sense of fun. So, even if you answer Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, there should be a sense of fun in the way you answer, so you don’t come off trying too hard by driving the point that you are incredibly dedicated to never stop working until everything is perfect. They want to know you’d be an interesting person to have around, and that merely by asking this question there is a sense of creativity and fun in their culture.”
No. 14: My wife and I are going on a vacation, where would you recommend?
Asked: Interview for an advisory associate position at PricewaterhouseCoopers
Answered: Stephanie Dozier, MBA Class of 2013, Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management
“I would recommend a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico. It’s a lovely, tropical area, and has a number of different activities that would interest both you and your wife. You can have a romantic dinner at the restaurant where the pina colada was invented, tour the historic city wall and fort, go shopping in Old San Juan, tour the Bacardi factory, or, for something more adventurous, you could take a rain forest tour and go zip-lining. The number of different activities all available in a relatively small area ensure that you’ll both have an enjoyable and memorable vacation.”
Answered: Shannon Lindgren, Owen MBA Class of 2013
“New Orleans because it is domestic yet exotic. The architecture, food, music, and people would all provide a draw individually, but together they make this city a fantastic destination for people of all ages and interests. Bonus: supporting an economy still recovering from Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon disaster.”
No. 16: Estimate how many windows are in New York.
Asked: Interview for an associate consultant position at Bain & Co.
Answered: Taylor Burroughs, MBA Class of 2013, University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business
“To estimate the number of windows in New York, I would first clarify if this was in relation to Manhattan, Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs, or the entire state. Assuming we were dealing exclusively with Manhattan, I recall the size of the island is about 200 blocks north-south by 10 avenues east-west. These avenues are longer than blocks; the ratio is maybe 4:1. At 200 blocks by 10 avenues, that gives us 2,000 square blocks. Including skyscrapers and walk-ups, perhaps, the average height of a building is 10 stories.
“I’ll further estimate 25 windows per floor each north-south block and thus 100 windows on an east-west avenue. The total perimeter of windows is thus 250 windows per floor per block. Given an average height of 10 stories, I calculate 2,500 windows per block. Multiplying by our 2,000 square blocks gives us 5 million windows. We’ll need to subtract for Central Park (which seemed sufficiently large enough when I tried to run around it). A discount of 500,000 windows seems fair given the park’s size in relation to the total island. Thus my final estimate is 4.5 million windows.”
Di Meglio is a reporter for in Fort Lee, N.J.
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When searching for items in complex JSON arrays and hashes, like:
{ "id": 1, "name": "One", "objects": [
{ "id": 1, "name": "Response 1", "objects": [
// etc.
Is there some kind of query language I can used to find an item in [0].objects where id = 3?
share|improve this question
not unless you make one. Leave the querying to the server, and use REST to get only the data you need. – zzzzBov Dec 12 '11 at 21:52
+1 good idea. Gonna write this tomorrow… – user142019 Dec 12 '11 at 21:53
Not XPath, but I've found JLinq pretty good (which makes code to read like in(...).where(...).select(...)): hugoware.net/Projects/jLinq. – pimvdb Dec 12 '11 at 22:00
This is frustrating because there's lots of libraries out there, but nothing approaching a commonly accepted standard. We have a library used by 3rd parties so we need to provide a query language that is widely known and used. – David Thielen Jun 12 '12 at 18:06
Some other options are suggested here: stackoverflow.com/questions/777455/… – Simon Jun 14 '13 at 3:09
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10 Answers
up vote 32 down vote accepted
Yup, it's called JSONPath:
It's also integrated into DOJO.
share|improve this answer
Also used by Kynetx docs.kynetx.com/docs/KRL_and_JSONPath – Eric Bloch Dec 13 '11 at 0:27
Brian's answer suggests that the jsonQuery module should be used instead of the jsonPath module in dojo. – missingno Dec 15 '11 at 16:51
How solid is this? And I can't find a Java or C# version which is a deal killer for us. – David Thielen Jun 12 '12 at 18:08
The site linked here provides for Javascript and PHP. If you need a Java implementation, there’s one here: code.google.com/p/json-path – Paramaeleon Nov 16 '12 at 7:20
I should mention that JSONPath is not based on the XPath formal semantic. JSONiq might be a better option. – wcandillon Jun 8 '13 at 10:45
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I think JSONQuery replaced JSONPath in dojo.
From Dojo documentation:
JSONQuery is an extended version of JSONPath with additional features for security, ease of use, and a comprehensive set of data querying tools including filtering, recursive search, sorting, mapping, range selection, and flexible expressions with wildcard string comparisons and various operators.
JSONselect has another point of view on the question (CSS selector-like, rather than XPath) and has a JavaScript implementation.
share|improve this answer
The github JSONQuery link seems to be dead. JSONSelect also has a JavaScript version now. – Henrik Dec 20 '12 at 15:06
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Try to using JSPath
JSPath is a domain-specific language (DSL) that enables you to navigate and find data within your JSON documents. Using JSPath, you can select items of JSON in order to retrieve the data they contain.
JSPath for JSON like an XPath for XML.
It is heavily optimized both for Node.js and modern browsers.
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Three other alternatives I am aware of are
1. JSONiq specification, which specifies two subtypes of languages: one that hides XML details and provides JS-like syntax, and one that enriches XQuery syntax with JSON constructors and such. Zorba implements JSONiq.
2. Corona, which builds on top of MarkLogic provides a REST interface for storing, managing, and searching XML, JSON, Text and Binary content.
3. MarkLogic 6 and later provide a similar REST interface as Corona out of the box.
share|improve this answer
There is now a JSONiq implementation: Zorba 2.6 officially supports it. – xqib-team Aug 29 '12 at 9:40
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XQuery can be used to query JSON, provided that the processor offers JSON support. This is a straightforward example how BaseX can be used to find objects with "id" = 1:
{ "id": 1, "name": "Response 1", "objects": [ "etc." ] }
]')//value[.//id = 1]
share|improve this answer
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To summarise some of the current options for traversing/filtering JSON data, and provide some syntax examples...
• JSPath
.automobiles{.maker === "Honda" && .year > 2009}.model
• json:select() (inspired more by CSS selectors)
.automobiles .maker:val("Honda") .model
• JSONPath (inspired more by XPath)
I think JSPath looks the nicest, so I'm going to try and integrate it with my AngularJS + CakePHP app.
(I originally posted this answer in another thread but thought it would be useful here, also.)
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ObjectPath is a query language similar to XPath or JSONPath, but much more powerful thanks to embedded arithmetic calculations, comparison mechanisms and built-in functions. See the syntax:
Find in the shop all shoes of red color and price less than 50
$..shoes.*[color is "red" and price < 50]
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Json Pointer seem's to be getting growing support too.
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Jsel is awesome and is based on a real XPath engine. It allows you to create XPath expressions to find any type of JavaScript data, not just objects (strings too).
You can create custom schemas and mappings to give you complete control over how your data is walkable by the XPath engine. A schema is a way of defining how elements, children, attributes, and node values are defined in your data. Then you can create your own expressions to suit.
Given you had a variable called data which contained the JSON from the question, you could use jsel to write:
This will return any node with an id attribute of 3. An attribute is any primitive (string, number, date, regex) value within an object.
share|improve this answer
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@Naftule - with "defiant.js", it is possible to query a JSON structure with XPath expressions. Check out this evaluator to get an idea of how it works:
Unlike JSONPath, "defiant.js" delivers the full-scale support of the query syntax - of XPath on JSON structures.
The source code of defiant.js can be found here:
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Your Answer
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Are you still atheist if you believe in a afterlife?
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Thank you.
Everything in existence is apart of the same thing so that could mean you are the universe and existence. I dont really see how hard it is for the universe to think it is one and infinitly many at the same time. I can start counting then have a lucid dream then my body is still counting numbers by itself.
Another is that everything in existence has nonphysical matter that doesnt follow the rules we live in right now.
What comes after is the rest of the universe continuing on with nary a blink. We eventually recycle back into the ground of existence. We've done our part. Hopefully, we've done the best we can do.
An atheist as I understand is the lack of belief in God. Buddhist and some sects of Hinduism could be considered atheistic.
I guess I got to accept the world for what it is and dont worry about what happens after death cause it happens to everybody. Afterlife or not everybody will end the same.
I think that's a great plan.
Hello, Travis.
I can read a bit of Biocentrism in this "afterlife" view that you are attempting to resolve. Here's a link to a fellow A|N member's take on the said topic.
The following is from my "attic"; an exchange on an email discussion list.
I've always wondered why people who think most of us go to be with God after we die are
so afraid of death. (I'm not eager for it, but am not afraid of it. Just would be really
disappointed to lose any good part of this life before my time.)
(JBH): It may be that the cause-and-effect goes in the other direction. They are very afraid of death, therefore they convince themselves that death really doesn't happen. In some invisible way, people go on living.
I once wrote a Leditor announcing a new revelation from God (i.e. Yahveh). I reported: God had decided that the system of Heaven and Hell was just not working. Torturing prisoners had grown boring, and hymns of praise even more boring. So he was abolishing Heaven and Hell and starting a new system of sequential reincarnation. When you die, your soul will go to the back of a line. When you reach the front of the line, you go into the next available human body.
He had declared a general amnesty for the residents of Hell, and put them into the line. Those who were good enough to get into Heaven, all twenty-seven of them, had volunteered to go into the line as well, so they could teach virtue and goodness by example.
He hopes that we will have enough sense to treat each other well and care for the Earth. If not, we will just have to live in the mess. He is turning his attention to other galaxies, where he as other children to raise. He said, "You're on your own now. It's time to grow up."
Thus endeth my revelation. I figured that if people believed it (not really expecting that) it would give everyone the incentive to create a just and sustainable society. It relieves the fear of death, replacing it with the fear that they might be reborn into a place where they will suffer poverty and injustice.
More seriously, I'm sure somebody by now has quoted Mark Twain: "I was nonexistent for millions of years before I was born, and I did not suffer the slightest inconvenience from it." Or words to that effect.
Talia expressed the same sentiment on page 1.
But what we're recycled into isn't exactly pretty...if you believe in reincarnation, I think that's a spiritual belief and you'd be more of an agnostic than an atheist, right??
We are our minds...there's a quote I like: "The mind is what the brain does". Without your brain and your memories, your emotional baggage, your intellect, your self-identity, etc YOU wouldn't be YOU.
I think the brain is a tool of the spirit that lets the spirit animate the body. I dont think that goes against anything being atheist. Whatever the spirit is has been in existence since the beginning of time. The universe exists rather then not being in existence.
Thats the way I feel. People cant think how the consciousness continues on after death and I cant think of how the consciousness stops after death. Either one is an opinion.
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Senator Inhofe and the difference between science and point-of-view
Fri, 2007-08-03 11:26Kevin Grandia
Kevin Grandia's picture
Here's the wiki definition of science, its about as clear as any I've ever seen:
Someone should send this to Senator James Inhofe (R-OK).
As most regular DeSmogBlog readers know, Inhofe is a well-known member of the global warming denial movement. Inhofe has gone so far as to claim that global warming “alarmism” is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.
Check out this recent review of a speech Inhofe gave at the National Conservative Student Conference.
According to the review, Inhofe makes the following claims to defend his position on global warming:
“the ground of the climate change debate is starting to shift their way, giving their views more exposure and effect.”
“… referred to a letter 60 prominent scientists sent to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2006, in which they claimed the Kyoto Protocol of the 1990s was a regulatory measure written out of ignorance and which is now unnecessary based on modern scientific discoveries.”
“…he himself used to tow the global warming line until a few years ago, he said, when he began researching the Kyoto Protocol and its potential economic effects.”
“… too many scientists disagree with the claims that man-induced CO2 emissions are primarily responsible for the phenomenon and that the results are going to be catastrophic.”
“… attributed what he calls the “myth” of global warming to an ulterior power-driven motive.”
We've all heard these claims by Inhofe a hundred times over and they're also the typical arguments made by others in the global warming denial industry.
You'll notice though that nowhere is there a mention of real science. Inhofe's proof lies entirely in the realm of viewpoints, opinion and rhetoric. Look at the first statement: “the ground of the climate change debate is starting to shift their way, giving their views more exposure and effect.”
Inhofe portrays the “debate” around climate change as something that can be shifted towards a particular group's way. Such a shift, Inhofe argues, provides like-minded individuals with more “exposure and effect.” Inhofe's spin-doctor, Marc “swift boat” Morano, then touts a letter by 60 prominent scientists sent to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen as proof that the human-induced theory of climate change is incorrect
This is not science, and this is the problem that science is struggling with today, especially in the United States. Science, in the eyes of Inhofe and many others, is just another viewpoint that can be manipulated, swayed, proven or disproved based on things such as letters or opinion.
Science is a “debate,” but that “debate” does not occur between two pundits on television, neither does it occur between congressmen on opposing sides of the house or in senate committee hearings. This type of “debate” does not acquire knowledge as science does, it merely debates the knowledge we've already acquired.
The “debate” in science (including climate science) occurs in the pages of peer-reviewed scientific journals where the hard work and years of dedicated research by scientists is put to the scrutiny of other scientists, published and then challenged through further research.
This is where new knowledge is acquired.
And as far as the peer-reviewed literature and the research on climate change (the acquired knowledge) it points to something that for various (most unknown) reasons, Inhofe is opposed to. Simple logic would state that a petition, viewpoint or opinion would be wholly inadequate as a means of refuting a scientific conclusion grounded in the scientific method, and standing the test of challenges by alternative hypotheses. And it is.
Unfortunately, Inhofe doesn't and probably never will accept the very simple, very straightforward difference between the two.
Previous Comments
Excellent commentary, though I would say he is playing the typical political game. Not overly shocking, politicians arent known for being overly honest as they seek to remain in power or get into it.
I also liked the analysis, and I think parsing Inhofe’s words is informative. But we shouldn’t follow that path too far because there will always be people who are too unskilled at language or just too plain nuts to represent the majority of any group (even the AGW science denial industry). I don’t feel like I’ve made much of a point, so I’m including this url (more about hoaxes and conspiracy theories!):
I’m trying out different arguments for”debunking” these guys. Notice I didn’t even mention that Inhofe (R-Exxon) receives the most funding from the oil and gas sector out of all senators.
I still find myself in a state of shock that this guy is still the highest ranking GOP on the EPW committee.
There must be something in the water in Oklahoma – or maybe it’s the toxic fumes from all the oil and natural gas they drill in that state – that explains why people there keep voting for nutcases to the US Senate. Forget about Inhofe, who’s totally clueless about the environment.
Consider his seatmate from the state, Tom Coburn; who a couple months back tried to filibuster the Senate from passing a resolution honouring the 100th birthday of Rachel Carson. And ten years ago, he tried to get NBC-TV’s FCC license cancelled because the network aired uncensored Schindler’s List, which Coburn said was pornographic. Seriously.
There are environmentalists in Oklahoma, the most ecologically diverse state in America (11 different terrains, according to the US Land Survey) – they just don’t have the muscle to outvote the whackos, yet.
I wish someone would expose Inholfe properly. I cant believe as a fairly intelligent man that he believes this. Its insane.
Is there any proof that Inhofe once “toed the line” and believed there is climate change from pollution?
I’d be interested in seeing any quotations or reports from those green-grass days.
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Author Topic: Playoff Seeding Question (Read 535 times)
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Offline Jedgi
• Posts: 135
Playoff Seeding Question
« Topic Start: August 09, 2012, 11:31:58 PM »
I know I know we're a far ways off so I'm not going to use the Nationals as an example for my question. I'll use the AL and give the following standings for an example of my question.
1. Texas Rangers 108-74 (West Winner)
2. New York Yankees 104-78 (East Winner)
3. Detroit Tigers 98-84 (Central Winner)
4. Oakland Athletics 95-87 (West WC)
5/6. Baltimore Orioles 93-89 (East WC)
5/6. Los Angeles Angels 93-89 (West WC)
First of all how would the 5/6 tie be decided? A playoff game before the wild card playoff game?
But on to my main question, lets suppose the Athletics got the wild card, would they then be placed against the Yankees in round 1 of the playoffs since they are in the same division as the Rangers? If so, isn't that inherently unfair as the 1st place team should get the benefit of playing the slightly depleted rotation of the Wild Card team? (The Athletics would likely use their top ace in their game against LA/BAL and would not be able to immediately start him again in the next series)
If this scenario holds true, the 1st place team is punished for playing in a strong division and winning. Or if you spin it another way, the 2nd place team gets rewarded for playing in an easier division and still not having as many wins as the 1st place team.
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Deathstroke Gets His Own Episode In ARROW
deathstrokeArrow is still beating bad guys up, and taking names in the ratings system. They also have a slew of upcoming episodes with some strong DC Universe implications. There has already been Heir To The Demon which featured Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter Nyssa, but there are others such as Birds of Prey, and Suicide Squad that we get to look forward to as well.
But that’s not all folks! Executive Producer, Marc Guggenheim has just released a the title page for episode 18 of season two (click the source link below to check it out). By the looks of the page it would seem to indicate we are getting an episode that centers around Slade Wilson because its titled, ‘Deathstroke‘. The episode was written by Guggenheim and Drew Z. Greenberg and will be direct by Guy Bee.
There has been no indication what exactly the episode will focus on, but I’m sure with the story still developing we will get little hints here and there. Arrow is currently on a break to let the Winter Olympics do their thing, so there will be no new episode tonight. However, you can catch the show most Wednesdays at 8 P.M. on The CW.
Source : Marc Guggenhiem
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Gallery: How To: 6 Steps To an Easy and Delicious Summer Fruit Pie
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface until it is 12 to 14 inches in diameter. Remember, this is a rustic pie, so do not worry about your pie dough being perfectly round!
Step One: Make the Pie Dough
You can use just about any recipe, but I use a modified version found in Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.
2 cups organic flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted organic butter (if you are vegan, try using Earth Balance spread or olive oil)
1 tablespoon maple syrup (you can use agave syrup or honey; if you are a traditionalist, use organic sugar)
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice cold water
Mix the dry ingredients. Using a pastry knife, fold the butter into the mixture, leaving pea sized butter cuts. Add the syrup and slowly add the water, kneading until the dough is no longer sticky. Shape it into a ball and let it rest in your refrigerator for 30 minutes.
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Umpires overturn homer after fan interference
Umpires overturn homer after fan interference
CINCINNNATI -- It wasn't exactly a Jeffrey Maier moment, but the spectator interference rule came into play at Great American Ball Park on Sunday.
Batting with one out in the second inning and the Reds already leading, 2-0, Cincinnati second baseman Ramon Santiago hit a Yovani Gallardo pitch to deep right field, where Milwaukee's Logan Schafer timed his leap. At the same time, a red-shirted fan reached his own glove over the wall and attempted a catch.
As the baseball fell to the ground, Schafer turned his gaze upward to see who had interfered. At the same time, Santiago circled the bases for what initially was ruled an inside-the-park home run. Not so fast. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke asked the umpires to confer, and crew chief Jerry Meals eventually initiated a review. After 3 minutes and 46 seconds, the call was overturned and Santiago was called out.
"It was the first time in my life I was truly confused in the outfield," said Schafer, who started because Ryan Braun had back spasms. "I literally was timing it the whole way, I knew I had it, I knew where the fence was and where I was and where my glove was going to be. I jumped up, waiting for it to come into my glove, and I just never felt anything.
"So I was like, 'Hmm.' That's why, when I came down, I was a little confused. I saw the ball come down, I looked up at the fans and was like, 'What just happened?' He was still running and [center fielder Carlos Gomez] was yelling at me to throw it in. … In retrospect, I probably should have just grabbed it and thrown it in anyway, just because I didn't know what was going on. I knew I had it off the bat. If it was playable, I knew I was going to catch it."
The rule in question was 3.16, which says:
When there is spectator interference with any thrown or batted ball, the ball shall be dead at the moment of interference and the umpire shall impose such penalties as in his opinion will nullify the act of interference.
APPROVED RULING: If spectator interference clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball, the umpire shall declare the batter out.
A comment to the rule provides further clarification, stating that, "No interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball. He does so at his own risk. However, should a spectator reach out on the playing field side of such fence, railing or rope, and plainly prevent the fielder from catching the ball, then the batsman should be called out for the spectator's interference."
After the play, Schafer said the man put a hand over his heart in a conciliatory gesture, "and kind of said, 'My bad, my bad,'" Schafer said. "I'm surprised he was still there the rest of the game. Not to say I like fans getting kicked out. I don't think he did it with any negativity. I think he just was like, 'Here's the ball, I'll try and catch it.' Usually they kick people out, but he sat there and enjoyed the rest of the game. Good for him."
The stakes were higher when Maier, then 12, deflected a Derek Jeter fly ball into the seats during Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series. In that instance, umpires ruled the play a home run, and the Yankees went on to win the game and the series.
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β-Cell Failure in Type 2 Diabetes: A Case of Asking Too Much of Too Few?
1. Peter C. Butler1
1. 1Division of Endocrinology, Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
2. 2Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Keck School of Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
1. Corresponding author: Safia Costes, scostes{at}mednet.ucla.edu.
The islet in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is characterized by a deficit in β-cells, increased β-cell apoptosis, and extracellular amyloid deposits derived from islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP). In the absence of longitudinal studies, it is unknown if the low β-cell mass in T2DM precedes diabetes onset (is a risk factor for diabetes) or develops as a consequence of the disease process. Although insulin resistance is a risk factor for T2DM, most individuals who are insulin resistant do not develop diabetes. By inference, an increased β-cell workload results in T2DM in some but not all individuals. We propose that the extent of the β-cell mass that develops during childhood may underlie subsequent successful or failed adaptation to insulin resistance in later life. We propose that a low innate β-cell mass in the face of subsequent insulin resistance may expose β-cells to a burden of insulin and IAPP biosynthetic demand that exceeds the cellular capacity for protein folding and trafficking. If this threshold is crossed, intracellular toxic IAPP membrane permeant oligomers (cylindrins) may form, compromising β-cell function and inducing β-cell apoptosis.
Islet pathology in TYPE 2 DIABETES
In type 2 diabetes (T2DM), the islet is characterized by a deficit in β-cells, increased β-cell apoptosis, and extracellular amyloid deposits derived from IAPP (1,2). The question has long been posed, is islet amyloid (Fig. 1) in T2DM the blood or the bullet (3,4)? In the neurosciences, the bullet hypothesis gained ascendancy under the moniker of the amyloid hypothesis in relation to Alzheimer’s disease (5). Arguably, the diabetes field was appropriately more skeptical because evidence in favor of a direct toxic effect of islet amyloid (6) was outnumbered by studies that did not identify such toxicity (7,8). However recent progress has seen a convergence of ideas by those pursuing insights into the possible link between protein misfolding and cellular degeneration in the neurosciences and the islet field. The emerging alternative but related toxic oligomer hypothesis can be summarized as follows.
FIG. 1.
A: Human islets from a nondiabetic subject and a subject with T2DM (upper panel) and from a wild-type (WT) and a human IAPP transgenic (HIP) rat (lower panel) stained for insulin (brown). Deposits of amyloid derived from IAPP are indicated by a white arrowhead. Original magnification: ×40. B: Alignment of IAPP ortholog proteins. Amino acid alignment of IAPP protein sequences identified in Homo sapiens (human, CAA39504), human mutant (S20G), Macaca mulatto (monkey, XP_001098290), Felis catus (cat, NP_001036803), Mus musculus (mouse, NP_034621), and Rattus norvegicus (rat, NP_036718). Dots correspond to conserved residues with human IAPP sequence. Red letters correspond to the amyloidogenic sequence. C: Sections of islets from human IAPP transgenic mice labeled for oligomers (A11) and IAPP (5 nm and 10 nm gold, respectively). IAPP- and oligomer-labeled aggregates were found adjacent to mitochondria (M), and mitochondrial integrity appeared to be compromised (black arrow points to the aggregates penetrating mitochondria). Original magnification: ×120,000. This figure originally appeared in an article by Gurlo et al. (50).
Amyloid deposits occur as a consequence of misfolding and mistrafficking of proteins with the propensity to form amyloid deposits. These proteins may form a variety of oligomers, the most toxic of which are those that form relatively early and form in or interact with cellular membranes (7,9). In contrast, if misfolded IAPP oligomers organize into amyloid fibrils, these are generally less toxic but also relatively inert and as such tend to accumulate in the extracellular space where they may play a role as a physical barrier and as such contribute to cellular dysfunction (4,10). In order to appreciate why some proteins have the propensity to form oligomers and amyloid fibrils, it is helpful to consider the physical interactions that these proteins share in common.
Protein misfolding and oligomerization
A common feature of amyloid proteins, including IAPP, is the ability to misfold into highly polymorphic oligomeric and fibrillar structures. In vitro experiments have shown that oligomers appear early during the misfolding process, whereas fibrils represent the end point of misfolding (11,12). Although some oligomers are likely to be on pathway to fibril formation, others are not (Fig. 2). IAPP fibrils exhibit the classical cross-β structure typical for amyloid fibrils (13), and structural models have been obtained using a number of experimental methods (1416). Best understood structurally are IAPP fibrils with striated ribbon and twisted morphology (17), for which detailed three-dimensional structural information has been obtained (Fig. 2) (14,15). In both cases, IAPP takes up two-stranded structures. The main difference lies in how the two strands are arranged with respect to each other (Fig. 2). In the model from striated ribbon fibrils, the strands are approximately in the same plane, whereas the strands from twisted fibrils are more staggered. As is typical for almost all disease-related amyloid proteins (18), both IAPP fibril types take up a parallel and in-register structure. In these structures, the same residues from different molecules stack on top of one another. This structure is stabilized by the stacking of the same hydrophobic residues, which is much more favorable than that of residues with like charges (18). Oligomer formation is also facilitated by the interaction of hydrophobic residues, but much less is known about oligomer structures in general. This is likely due to their often transient and polymorphic nature, which makes it more difficult to study them using structural methods (19). Nevertheless, it is clear that a large range of oligomers of varying sizes and structures exist and that they share the general property of cytotoxicity (1921). Different conformationally specific antibodies have been used to recognize different oligomer types (20,2224). Remarkably, some of these antibodies can detect oligomers from a wider range of amyloid proteins, including IAPP. A11 is a conformationally specific antibody that recognizes a subset of toxic oligomers from a wide range of amyloid diseases (20). Although no direct structural information is available for any disease-causing amyloid oligomer, Eisenberg and colleagues (25) recently reported a major advance. They were able to determine the crystal structure of A11-positive oligomers derived from a short αB-crystallin peptide fragment. As with amyloid oligomers in general, oligomers of this short peptide fragment were toxic. In the crystal structure, this peptide took on an overall cylindrical shape with antiparallel strands, which the authors termed cylindrin (Fig. 2). This study could provide important insights into the structure of other A11-positive oligomers.
FIG. 2.
IAPP misfolding pathways. A: Schematic illustration of a stepwise misfolding pathway of IAPP that generates toxic oligomers as well as a range of different fibril types. Although the structure of IAPP oligomers remains elusive, the crystal structure of an A11 antibody–positive oligomer structure has recently been reported (25) and is shown in panel B. C and D: The reported structures for fibrils with striated ribbons and twisted morphologies. The bottom shows the structure of single IAPP molecule (green). In case of the striated ribbon, the two strands are approximately in the same plane while the two strands in the fibrils with twisted morphology are offset. Individual stacks of monomers were built using MFIBRIL (http://chemsoft.hsc.usc.edu:8080/MFIBRIL/) and colored green, brown, and blue. MFIBRIL was then used to dock individual stacks together to better mimic the fibril structure (blue and magenta). Note that contacts in the striated ribbons are made between same monomeric subunits, whereas contacts in the twisted fibrils are more staggered by packing strands from one monomer subunit against strands from a monomer three layers above.
Based on the existing structural information available for IAPP fibrils and oligomers, it is clear that IAPP is a typical amyloid protein, which likely exerts its toxicities via the same mechanisms as other amyloid proteins. This similarity also includes membrane interaction. Membranes play an important dual role in the misfolding of amyloid proteins. Membranes are not only disrupted by the toxic action of misfolded oligomers, but they can also accelerate oligomer and fibril formation by orders of magnitude (26). In the case of IAPP, it was found that this acceleration is mediated by an α-helical intermediate that forms in the presence of negatively charged lipids (2729). A lipid that can potently activate this misfolding pathway is phosphatidyl serine, which is commonly found in the cytosolic leaflets of cellular membranes. Thus, IAPP molecules that escape the secretory pathway into the cytoplasmic space are likely to rapidly misfold and disrupt membrane integrity in vivo.
Defenses against protein misfolding and aggregation
The workload of a typical β-cell in protein synthesis, folding, sorting, processing, and then disposal by either secretion or degradation is remarkable (Table 1). An average human β-cell synthesizes, folds, processes, and then either secretes or degrades ∼10,000 proinsulin molecules per minute even in the basal nonfed state (30,31). In addition, each β-cell synthesizes, folds, processes, and then either secretes or degrades ∼1,000 pro-IAPP molecules per minute (32).
Estimated number of insulin molecules secreted per minute by a typical β-cell in a lean individual in the fasting state
IAPP is assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as prepro-IAPP, an 89–amino acid protein, and then processed to its mature 37–amino acid form within the secretory pathway (Fig. 3) (33). The microenvironment of the ER favors appropriate folding and maturation of ER proteins, avoiding protein aggregation (34,35). The rate of synthesis and delivery of proinsulin and pro-IAPP into the ER is adaptively constrained to the rate at which the ER can successfully fold and export these proteins into the secretory pathway by a feedback signaling system termed the unfolded protein response (34,35). The microenvironment and chaperones in β-cell secretory vesicles are also protective against IAPP aggregation (3643). Proteins that fail the ER quality control system are removed from the ER and degraded by endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD), also known as the ubiquitin/proteasome system (44). Misfolded proteins are translocated to the cytosol and ubiquinated. Polyubiquinated proteins are then deubiquitinated prior to passage through the proteasome (45). If misfolded proteins form aggregates, they are removed by macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy) (46,47). An isolation double membrane forms in the cytoplasm to surround such intracellular targets to generate an autophagosome that then fuses with a lysosome in which the sequestered material is degraded by hydrolytic enzymes (Fig. 3). The autophagy/lysosomal pathway is required for survival and function of β-cells and is adaptively increased under conditions of increased β-cell protein synthesis, for example in obesity (48,49). The autophagy/lysosomal pathway is particularly important for protection of long-lived cells against accumulation of toxic amyloidogenic oligomers such as IAPP and Alzheimer’s β-protein (4951).
FIG. 3.
Secretory pathway and mechanisms of β-cell defense against protein misfolding. The major β-cell secretory proteins, insulin and IAPP, are synthesized and folded in the ER and then processed within the secretory pathway (Golgi and secretory vesicles). Misfolded proteins are targeted to the ER-associated degradation, also known as ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), that involves ubiquitination of the targeted proteins, their deubiquitination by enzymes such as UCH-L1, and subsequent degradation by the proteasome. If the ubiquitin-proteasome system fails or if protein aggregates form, an alternative pathway of protein clearance becomes available: the autophagy pathway in which membranes surround the material to be degraded (ubiquitinated proteins and protein aggregates but also damaged organelles and aged vesicles) to form autophagosomes that fuse with lysosomes to allow degradation of their content.
Given the extraordinary workload of a typical β-cell, the high potency of human IAPP to form toxic oligomers, and the long lifespan of β-cells in humans (52), it is a remarkable tribute to the defenses against protein misfolding and aggregation that even in the setting of the further increased workload in obesity, most β-cells do not accumulate sufficient toxic oligomers to compromise β-cell function in most individuals.
Defenses against protein aggregation overcome: the threshold concept
In humans with T2DM, the formation of intracellular oligomers and extracellular amyloid fibrils implies that the mechanisms to prevent accumulation of misfolded proteins are overcome (50). There is a threshold of IAPP expression that if exceeded leads to formation of IAPP oligomers and the adverse consequences that accrue (5357). This threshold may be breached because the burden of protein synthesis is increased to a level that exceeds the capacity of a healthy β-cell to fold, process, and dispose of the proteins (by secretion or degradation) and/or because the threshold is decreased. Human IAPP transgenic rodent models and transduced β-cells imply that both of these contribute (5357). Human IAPP transgenic mice and rats develop diabetes in a transgene dose-response manner (55), or if human IAPP expression is increased by drug- or obesity-induced insulin resistance (56,57).
However once the threshold for successful protein synthesis and disposal is overcome, the ubiquitin/proteasome and autophagy/lysosomal systems for elimination of protein aggregates become defective, further compromising the capacity for protecting the cell from formation of toxic IAPP oligomers (vide infra) (49,58).
Threshold for successful protein folding and disposal overcome: a role for β-cell mass formed in childhood?
The most common risk factor for T2DM is obesity. With increasing obesity (BMI), insulin resistance increases, requiring increased expression of insulin and IAPP (59). To appreciate the synthetic workload placed on β-cells in an individual, it is necessary to consider not only the overall insulin demand but also the number of β-cells by which this demand is met in that individual. The number of β-cells in humans increases during early childhood through the mechanism of β-cell replication and then remains relatively constant through adult life once the capacity for β-cell replication declines after early childhood (1,2,60). An underappreciated but potentially important characteristic of the period of β-cell mass expansion during the postnatal period is the wide range of β-cell mass that then accrues (Fig. 4). A wide variance in pancreatic β-cell fractional area and/or mass has been observed in adult humans, monkeys, pigs, and rodents (1,6064). This variance is likely due in part to the intrauterine environment (65) and in part to genetic variance (vide infra) (66).
FIG. 4.
β-Cell mass growth varies widely in childhood. Postnatal expansion of β-cell number plays a major role in establishing β-cell mass in adult humans and is highly variable between individuals. Data are from Meier et al. (60). Total number of β-cells in 46 children aged 2 weeks to 21 years. Data are represented as individual data points. Individuals with high (A, blue), intermediate (B, green), and low (C, red) β-cell numbers are shown for consideration of β-cell workload in response to obesity in Fig. 5.
If we consider the interaction of obesity-induced insulin resistance and the wide range of β-cell mass after postnatal expansion, the increment in the protein synthetic burden per β-cell increases much more steeply in those with a low versus high number of β-cells (Fig. 5).
FIG. 5.
Interaction of postnatal β-cell mass and BMI on insulin and IAPP synthetic demand. Schematic representation of the risk of T2DM in individuals with high (A, blue), intermediate (B, green), and low (C, red) β-cell mass formed after postnatal growth (see Fig. 4) with consideration of their BMI. The increment in the protein synthetic burden per β-cell increases more steeply in those with low (individual C) versus a high number of β-cells (individual A). The burden placed on β-cells by obesity is thus higher in individual C, as is the risk to breach the threshold for protein folding and disposal, ultimately leading to β-cell failure in T2DM.
Threshold for successful protein folding and disposal overcome: a role for adolescence, pregnancy, and aging?
Transient insulin resistance and therefore increased β-cell workload occurs during adolescence in relation to high levels of growth hormone and sex steroid secretion (67) (Fig. 6). Obesity in adolescence superimposes additional insulin resistance and β-cell workload. We propose that in individuals with a low innate β-cell mass after childhood (individual C, Figs. 4 and 6), the β-cell workload may exceed the threshold for protein folding so that toxic IAPP oligomers may then form, leading to β-cell dysfunction and, with time, β-cell loss and diabetes. A similar argument can be made for the transient insulin resistance in the third trimester of pregnancy leading to diabetes in some individuals. If the period of insulin resistance is rapidly reversed (as in delivery of the baby), then provided that β-cell mass has not been sufficiently degraded, reversal of diabetes may occur. Moreover, if the gestational diabetes mellitus resolves, the risk for subsequent development of T2DM depends on the β-cell workload in that individual (68).
FIG. 6.
β-Cell workload and risk of T2DM. Schematic representation of β-cell workload (in black) and β-cell work capacity (green) throughout life. β-Cell workload increases transiently during adolescence and progressively with aging. The capacity for β-cell workload is defined by the β-cell mass after the postnatal expansion (high in individual A, intermediate in individual B, and low in individual C, see Fig. 4) and β-cell ability to defend against protein misfolding (declines in all individuals with aging). T2DM risk increases when workload exceeds capacity (light orange), in adolescence and early adult life in C, later in B, and only with advanced age in A.
The incidence of T2DM increases with aging (69). In most individuals, insulin sensitivity declines with aging (70). There are also age-related changes in long-lived cells, such as β-cells, that likely decrease the threshold for successful protein synthesis, folding, and disposal. Aged cells accumulate mitochondrial mutations leading to increased production of reactive oxygen species (71). The latter react with and damage proteins, placing an increased burden on the pathways for clearance of denatured proteins and damaged organelles (71). Furthermore, the mechanisms that defend against accumulation of misfolded or aggregated proteins in long-lived cells decline with aging (72). There is decreased chaperone protein availability and decreased function of the ubiquitin/proteasome system with aging (72). Acquired proteasome abnormalities such as pesticide exposure contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease, characterized by synuclein aggregation (73). Given the parallels between neurons in neurodegenerative diseases and islets in T2DM, it would be of interest to determine if age-related changes and environmental insults/pesticides inhibit proteasomal function in β-cells and thus contribute to the pathogenesis of T2DM.
The autophagy/lysosomal pathway also declines with age (74). In liver of old rodents, fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes is impaired (75). Several age-related brain diseases are also considered as disorders of lysosomal function, and the mechanisms of neurodegeneration are related to degradative failure and lysosomal destabilization (76). Decreased clearance of β-amyloid was reported in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (77). The autophagy/lysosomal pathway is impaired in β-cells in T2DM (78).
With the gradual increasing β-cell workload in a typical individual, the vulnerability of β-cells in that individual to cross the β-cell threshold for protein synthesis and folding will depend on the β-cell mass present at the end of childhood. Thus in individual A (Fig. 6), even in late life the relatively high β-cell mass that arose in childhood is sufficient. In individual B, with an intermediate β-cell mass, the capacity for β-cell protein folding is only overcome in late adult life with increasing insulin resistance. In contrast, in individual C, if he/she did not develop sustained diabetes due to obesity in adolescence or with pregnancies, diabetes onset is still likely at a young age. An implication of this model for T2DM is that if β-cell workload is maintained at relatively low levels by avoiding insulin resistance, then T2DM can be avoided in most individuals.
Lessons from genetics?
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have revealed a variety of T2DM susceptibility genes (e.g., KCNJ11, TCF7L2, CDKAL1) that are mainly involved in pancreatic β-cell maturation and function (rev. in 79). Of interest, several of these genes regulate the cell cycle and therefore may play a role in the β-cell numbers that arise during the period of postnatal expansion through β-cell replication (such as CDKAL1 and CDC123 [80]). Among other identified genes, WFS1 (encoding Wolframin) has an essential role in the ER unfolded-protein response and ER homeostasis (81) and is involved in granule acidification in β-cells (82). Any genetic alteration of WFS1, by its action to compromise ER function and intravesicular pH, might be expected to increase the risk of human IAPP misfolding and oligomerization. T2DM is also associated with gene variants associated with insulin-degrading enzyme. Insulin-degrading enzyme degrades IAPP and inhibits IAPP aggregation and toxicity in vitro (83). A rare missense mutation, S20G, that leads to increased propensity of IAPP to form oligomers is associated with T2DM, providing a proof of principal of the potential importance of IAPP in the pathogenesis of diabetes (84,85).
Although insulin resistance is a well-known risk factor for T2DM (86), GWASs have uncovered relatively few associations with T2DM attributable to insulin-signaling pathways. However the current model links insulin resistance from any cause to T2DM risk through formation of inadequate β-cell number in childhood and/or a reduced capacity for protein folding, and both these mechanisms are prominent in the GWASs to date.
Where do oligomers form, and how do they damage cells?
Amyloidogenic proteins such as IAPP appear to induce cytoxicity by disrupting cellular membrane integrity in the form of small nonfibrillar oligomers (7). Toxic IAPP oligomers form within the secretory pathway but are then found liberated from this compartment adjacent to disrupted vesicle membranes (Fig. 1C) (50). Moreover, membranes of mitochondria adjacent to these cytosolic IAPP toxic oligomers are disrupted, implying that β-cell function as well as viability is likely compromised by toxic IAPP oligomers (Fig. 1). This is supported by the decline in β-cell function that precedes loss of β-cell mass in the human IAPP transgenic rat model of T2DM (64).
It is unclear where the toxic oligomers form within the secretory pathway and even to what extent pro-IAPP has been processed before these oligomers form. Since toxic oligomers of amyloidogenic proteins form on an alternative pathway to the majority of amyloid fibrils, just because IAPP-derived amyloid is primarily composed of the 37–amino acid form of IAPP does not mean that the toxic oligomers are. A case has been made that these toxic oligomers might be composed of pro-IAPP (87). Pro-IAPP oligomers could form in the ER and/or Golgi, whereas IAPP oligomers would form in insulin secretory vesicles where pro-IAPP processing to IAPP is completed.
Toxic oligomers associated with ER membranes (50) may contribute to ER stress in β-cells of individuals with T2DM (88). Human IAPP transgenic rodent models of T2DM that form toxic IAPP oligomers have ER stress–induced apoptosis (88,89). In those models, toxic oligomers are found in association with the ER membrane, which is likely the cause of unregulated ER Ca2+ release to the cytosol and consequent hyperactivation of the Ca2+ sensitive protease calpain-2 (53). The presence of this deleterious mechanism in humans was supported by the detection of the cleaved form of α-spectrin, a marker of calpain hyperactivation, in β-cells of individuals with T2DM (53).
Once IAPP toxic oligomers are formed, they disrupt the pathways of protein clearance and likely thereby lead to further accumulation of protein aggregates. The ubiquitin/proteasome system is dysfunctional in β-cells of human individuals with T2DM, as demonstrated by the accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins (58). Increased expression of oligomerization-prone human IAPP leads to an accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins mediated by a deficit in the deubiquitinating enzyme ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) (58). UCH-L1 downregulation enhances ER stress–induced β-cell apoptosis, and UCH-L1 deficiency was observed in β-cells of individuals with T2DM (58). Therefore, defective protein degradation in β-cells in T2DM can, at least in part, be attributed to misfolded human IAPP leading to UCH-L1 deficiency, which in turn further compromises β-cell viability by exacerbating ER stress.
In summary, once the threshold for successful synthesis, folding, processing, and secretion of IAPP is breached and intracellular toxic oligomers begin to form, unless this is rapidly reversed, a cascade of events occurs that further compromises β-cell function and increases vulnerability to β-cell apoptosis (Fig. 7). Moreover, the resulting declining β-cell number adds an increased synthetic burden on the remaining β-cells exacerbating the accumulation of toxic oligomers.
FIG. 7.
Consequences of formation of intracellular toxic IAPP oligomers (cylindrins) in T2DM. Toxic IAPP oligomers (in red) are formed intracellularly in β-cells and escape from the secretory pathway leading to intracellular membrane disruption (ER, Golgi, vesicles, mitochondria), ER stress, alteration of proteasomal degradation through deficit in UCH-L1, and alteration of the autophagy/lysosomal degradation, ultimately leading to β-cell failure and apoptosis (49,50,53,58).
Extracellular islet amyloid as a diffusion barrier?
Although accumulating data suggest that toxic IAPP oligomers form intracellularly (50,55,90), and on a separate pathway to the majority of fibrils present extracellularly (25), this does not rule out a contributory role of extracellular islet amyloid in β-cell dysfunction. It is not known why extracellular islet amyloid forms in most islets in T2DM and occasional islets in nondiabetic individuals. The most obvious explanation is that it represents the debris from cell apoptosis trapped on the vascular endothelium where it appears to accumulate. Support for this is provided by the absence of extracellular islet amyloid in in vivo models of relatively rapid β-cell loss with high human IAPP expression (55) but accumulation of extracellular islet amyloid in more gradual-onset in vivo models (57,64).
However, islet amyloid develops rapidly in islets derived from a human IAPP transgenic mouse in vitro. Also in this model, it was reported that there was no evidence of ER stress and that toxicity was attributed to extracellular islet amyloid (91). It is difficult to interpret studies of β-cell apoptosis in isolated islets in which there is already a markedly increased frequency of β-cell apoptosis due to anoxia and nutritional deprivation of the majority of cells. In vivo, each β-cell is directly supplied by oxygen and nutrients via an afferent vascular capillary loop, whereas in isolated islets only cells at the out rim of the sphere of ∼3,000 cells have direct nutrient and oxygen supply, the remainder requiring diffusion through the sphere of cells given the loss of a vascular supply. It is also therefore perhaps not surprising that there is rapid accumulation of extracellular IAPP-derived islet amyloid in vitro because there is no means to export the secreted IAPP or IAPP debris from apoptotic cells that accumulates between cells. This rapidly accumulating amyloid between cells in vitro presumably also acts as a diffusion barrier and, as such, may contribute to β-cell apoptosis in islets in vitro.
The question arises, does the extracellular islet amyloid in vivo contribute to β-cell dysfunction or apoptosis in T2DM in the vascularized islet? We have found no relationship between islet amyloid and β-cell apoptosis in humans with T2DM (1) or transgenic human IAPP rodent models (8). On the other hand, Jurgens et al. (92) report an increase in a derivative of β-cell apoptosis (β-cell apoptosis/insulin-positive area/islet area) related to a score of islet amyloid in humans with T2DM and nondiabetic individuals in the same analysis.
A more compelling case for an adverse effect of extracellular islet amyloid can perhaps be made for transplanted human islets. Extracellular islet amyloid also develops rapidly in transplanted human islets (93), a circumstance that more closely mirrors islets in vitro, since transplanted islets take several days to reestablish a vascular supply (94). During that period there is rapid loss of β-cells, presumably in part because of anoxia and nutrient deprivation but perhaps exacerbated by the diffusion barrier of extracellular islet amyloid. A case can also be made that the extracellular islet amyloid might compromise cell to cell communication, known to be important for islet function. It is unknown at present to what extent this might be relevant in vivo.
Cross-sectional autopsy studies reveal a β-cell deficit and increased β-cell apoptosis in T2DM. Though an increased β-cell workload (insulin resistance) is a risk factor for T2DM, most individuals adaptively increase insulin and IAPP expression and secretion without β-cell failure. Experimental evidence supports the concept of a threshold of synthetic burden in β-cells expressing amyloidogenic human IAPP beyond which accumulation of misfolded toxic oligomers comprises β-cell function and viability. We propose that the wide range of β-cell numbers between individuals that becomes apparent after the period of postnatal β-cell mass expansion may serve as an important predictor of risk for T2DM. In those individuals with a relatively low compliment of β-cells, insulin resistance would markedly increase the already high burden for IAPP and insulin folding and disposal (secretion or degradation) per β-cell, potentially exceeding the threshold in at least some β-cells. In those β-cells, the accumulating toxic oligomers would compromise β-cell function and viability, leading to a progressive loss of β-cell function and number. As β-cell function declines in the presence of insulin resistance, hyperglycemia that develops can initially be reversed by an increase in insulin sensitivity (for example, delivery of child after gestational diabetes mellitus or introduction of an exercise regimen [95]) but eventually becomes irreversible if sufficient β-cell mass is lost. We thus postulate that the innate β-cell mass that arises according to intrauterine development and genetic imprinting may be an important predictor of risk for T2DM in the setting of insulin resistance. To rigorously test this postulate it would be necessary to measure β-cell mass in vivo in prospective studies of young adults over many years.
This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK059579, DK061539, DK077967) and the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation to P.C.B., and the National Institutes of Health (AG027936) to R.L.
No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
S.C., R.L., T.G., A.V.M., and P.C.B. researched the data and wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript.
The authors thank Bonnie Lui from the Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, for editorial assistance.
• Received September 25, 2012.
• Accepted October 24, 2012.
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Californians want to allow local taxes on cigarettes, other products
Nearly 60% of those polled support changing state law to allow voters to approve local taxes on cigarettes, sugary drinks, liquor and oil pumped from the ground.
July 25, 2011|By Shane Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times
• Legislators in Sacramento are debating bills that would allow local taxes on cigarettes, sodas, liquor and extracted oil.
Legislators in Sacramento are debating bills that would allow local taxes… (Los Angeles Times )
Reporting from Sacramento — Californians would let local officials put new taxes on cigarettes, sugary drinks, liquor and oil pumped from the ground if voters in their communities said it was OK, a new poll shows.
Local governments cannot tax such products in California now. But a proposal being vigorously debated in the Capitol would allow cities, counties and more than 1,000 school boards to add their own levies and give local voters final say. Nearly 60% of those polled supported such a change.
The sentiment spanned all age groups and every region of the state, according to the bipartisan survey by The Times and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
"Leave it up to the locals," said Paul Greenberg, a 54-year old Democrat in San Diego who said he was semi-retired. "Let the people vote on it. I don't see anything wrong on that."
Cities and counties do have some tax authority. Both can bump up sales taxes with voter approval, for example. Cities can enact hotel or utility taxes. And school districts can ask for voters' blessing to introduce or raise parcel property taxes.
But some lawmakers, citing the retrenchment made necessary by years of budget cutbacks in Sacramento, say it's time to grant local authorities more power to raise revenue.
"We have a responsibility to give counties and school districts the tools they need to fund public services," said state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).
He and others argue that municipalities need more money to preserve schools, healthcare and police. Business groups have lined up against the idea, saying higher taxes would hurt the economy and stifle prospects for job growth.
After voters in the survey were presented with both sides' arguments, support for new local tax powers dipped only slightly, from 58% to 55%. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats, 64%, approved; 42% of Republicans did.
Joanne Holt agreed with Steinberg. The retired teaching assistant from North Highlands, outside of Sacramento, said she doesn't want to see public safety or schools hurt further by the state's persistent financial troubles. If more tax authority for city councils and school boards is the answer, so be it, said the 69-year-old Democrat.
"It's more important that the children get an education," she said. "They're our future."
Another in favor was Republican Jamie Blossom, 47, a state disability insurance representative in Diamond Bar. She liked the idea that local tax money would stay in her community, where "I have a much bigger voice," she said.
Hidy Chui, a 20-year-old Democrat who attends UC Riverside, said he approved of a local cigarette tax. "I don't even smoke, so if it's an increase in that, it doesn't harm me," he said.
That is a typical attitude, said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC and a former GOP strategist. "People support tax increases on others."
Poll co-director Linda DiVall of American Viewpoint, the Republican half of the survey team, cautioned that a new rash of taxes is unlikely even if local governments gain the flexibility to request them.
"It's much easier to support higher taxes in theory than when it comes up for a vote," she said.
A local oil-extraction levy is also part of the debate in Sacramento. Some legislators want to allow municipalities, such as oil-rich Kern County, to tax every barrel pumped from the ground.
That didn't appeal to Mary Lou Curry, a 65-year old retiree. "Oil? Jeez, that would just be passed on to all of us," said the Yucca Valley Democrat, "as if we don't already pay enough at the gas pump."
Steinberg has introduced legislation that would go even further and allow local officials to also tax medical marijuana and residents' incomes and cars. His measure sparked a fierce outcry from taxpayer and business groups, which threatened to fight it at the ballot.
Steinberg said in an interview last week that he is tabling the measure until next year.
The Times/USC Dornsife poll surveyed 1,507 registered voters in California from July 6 to 17. It was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, a Democratic firm, and American Viewpoint, the Republican company. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.52 percentage points.
Los Angeles Times Articles
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Title: Orpheus Drowning
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Dean/Sam (Wincest)
Genres: Angst, First Time, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Sam has to come to grips with the deal Dean made. Dean has to deal with a broken Sam. Secrets are kept, admissions are made, all in the name of finding a way to break their pattern of each trying to die for the other. (Spoilers for Seasons 1 & 2)
Disclaimer: So not mine, if they were I would have better things to do then write about them.
Author's Notes: A/N: First time writing in this fandom. I just started watching the show and second season finale, of course, did me in. So I had to write something. This story is what came of it. Might be a chapter fic, if people like it, cause I definitely have a plot bunny in here somewhere with all the angsty porn. Thanks for reading, hope someone enjoys!
Sam is silent on the way to the motel. Every now and then he turns to look back at the headlights of Bobby's car as he and Ellen follow them. It's like a nervous twitch. He's waiting for something to attack the cars. He has images of giant bird like demons flying off with the only friends, the only family, he has left. He shudders hard and feels his stomach reel.
And that thought, always that thought, makes him turn his head just enough to watch his brother in his peripheral. Dean has the music cranked loud, the window open so that the chill night hair sends Sam's hair flying in all directions. His arm is out the window, beating the door of the Impala to the beat of Kansas' Carry on Wayward Son. He looks- happy, content. There's no fear in him; he doesn't check the rearview window or look to the sky for would be enemies, or even look sideways at Sam to make sure he's still there. Dean was goddamned Orpheus, bringing people back from the dead, only without the need to look back, to make sure.
He wants to say something. No, he wants to hit something. He watches Dean, openly now. There's still blood on his face from when the damned demon had thrown him and there's dirt on his hand as it grips the wheel of the Impala. Sam looks for something; some sign of the countdown that began just yesterday, the countdown to the end. But he can't see anything. Sure, Dean looks battered and not a little tired, but that's nothing more than usual after a job. Especially not after this, not after tonight.
All of his surety; that he could find a way out of this for Dean, that he could save his brother for once, is gone. There had been something in Dean's eyes when he said it, something more that Dean wasn't telling him.
His fury is near a boiling point. But it's more than that. There's an ache in his chest he can't make go away, a pain that makes it nearly impossible to breathe. He feels every minute, every second that passes.
"How could you?" He asks loudly, angrily, straining to be heard over the music. And he's shocked at how quickly the relaxation in Dean's face flees. How quickly his brother's features break again.
"Please, Sammy. Don't." Is Dean's broken reply. And Sam shuts his mouth, stiffens his jaw. He can't deny the plea in Dean's voice, because it's not something he hears often.
So Sam says nothing for the rest of the ride, says nothing as Bobby and Dean get rooms. He says his goodnights to Ellen and Bobby, giving them fierce hugs, knowing they'll be heading out in the morning and knowing he probably won't see them for a few days, maybe weeks.
And Sam is silent again after that. He follows Dean into their shared room, and sets a small bag on the table in the corner of the room. It's not a bad room; one bed that's more than large enough to share and Sam can't honestly say he minds sharing tonight, no matter how angry he is at his older brother, a TV against the wall, a large bathroom that Dean disappears into immediately, and the table that Sam is standing near. It's painted in light colors and something about that soothes Sam. He takes out the bandages and the peroxide from the bag and sits at the chair, staring at the items. He can hear the shower running in the bathroom.
When Dean comes out of the bathroom just a few minutes later he's wrapped in a towel and glistening wet. He stands in the doorway, staring at Sam for a long moment. Sam blinks heavily, but meets his brother's gaze. There's something in it, something he can't read, but desperately wants to. His chest seizes and he has to fight the urge to stand and take Dean in his arms. Instead he nods his head towards the bed. Dean nods his head once and goes to sit down.
Sam brings over the bandages and the peroxide. Dean is watching him, quiet and somber now, all traces of victory gone from his features. He looks paler somehow, weaker, and that terrifies Sam. What if this is how it happens? Dean taken away from him a little bit more every day until a year is up and there's nothing really left of the Dean he loves. Sam tries to push the thought away and kneels in front of Dean.
His hands are shaking as he cleans Dean's head wound, and by the time he's bandaged and taped it he can't keep them steady no matter how hard he tries. Dean's eyes don't leave his face, and in the soft light of the motel they are more green than hazel and Sam can't deal with that at the moment. There are tears blinding him and burning his eyes. And as he kneels in front of his brother he closes his eyes and lowers his head until it rests on Dean's still shower damp knee.
"Sammy." His name is hardly a breath; it doesn't even stir the air at all as it leaves Dean's lips. A hand rests lightly on his head, the fingers tangling in his hair.
The tears fall loose then, because he doesn't know how to stop them. But he doesn't want them either. He's shaking and breathing has become a task he can't seem to complete. He's shuddering and gasping and his vision is so blurred he can't see anything. It's all a blur. And then he's pushed and prodded a little and without knowing how they're both on the floor and he's wrapped up in his brother's arms, resting against his chest, Dean's legs bent, and surrounding him like a barrier from the rest of the world.
It's a strangling mix of rage and sorrow and hopelessness that claws its way up his throat. It escapes his lips in a ragged scream. And he's pounding his fists on Dean's chest, hitting as hard as he can, which isn't hard considering how badly he's shaking. And Dean just takes it, whispers his name, and touches him; hands brushing his hair back, touching his shoulders, grabbing his face. But he never blocks the blows and Sam loses count how many times he hears the solid thud of his fists hitting his brother.
It isn't enough. Nothing is ever going to be enough.
"How could you do this to me? You selfish, stupid, stubborn son of a bitch!" Sam screams, but it's strangled and barely coherent. A retched sob escapes his lips. His eyes are red ringed and swollen from his tears, and his jaw is clenched tightly. "You dragged me back into this. You came and got me and it was supposed to be you and me and how the fuck am I supposed to do this without you, Dean?" He snarls, but the sound is so weak, so broken that it physically hurts Dean to hear it.
He manages to wrap his arms around his struggling younger brother and pull him closer than he already is. He presses a desperate kiss to Sam's temple, and he tastes Sam's sweat and his tears and the faint copper of Dean's own blood that's somehow been smeared on Sam's temple.
He's shocked by how hard Sam shoves him away. And he's more surprised by how quickly Sam is up on his feet, long legs untangling, so that he towers over Dean. He stares down at him, and Dean is honestly scared of the light in his eyes. Not scared for himself, but for Sam.
He thinks, for the first time, that maybe he really did underestimate just how badly Sam would take this. He'd known he would be upset; angry, guilty, sad, terrified, all those things that Dean had felt when their dad had done this for him. But he wasn't expecting this; this total breakdown, this desperate madness, the helplessness that bleeds off of his little brother in drowning waves. It's suffocating Dean, and he can't imagine what it's doing to Sam.
"Sammy." He says softly.
Sam stumbles away as if he's been shot. He slams hard into the wall and leans precariously there, wipes his face on his shirt sleeve. He's staring at Dean, but he's not seeing.
"Sammy, please." He tries again, his voice is a ragged whisper; it's harsh to his own ears. It's hard to breath.
Sammy's eyes focus back on him, and his face crumples again, lips pulling back in something that is half grimace, half sob.
"I couldn't let you die!" Dean shouts. He gets off the floor, slowly, because he's lightheaded and not a little sick to his stomach, and there isn't a muscle in his body that isn't shaking. The towel is hanging precariously on his hips, but he doesn't notice. "I'm supposed to take care of you, damn it. That's my job. My job! It's always been my job; since before the fire, before mom, before all the fucking demons. Dad never had to tell me, if he'd never said anything I still would of known; you were mine and I was supposed to protect you!" He advances on Sam, who seems like he's trying to find a way to just meld into the wall.
"Fuck you." Sam grates out between clenched teeth. He's shaking so hard, so hard, and Dean can see it as he comes closer. His heart hurts, worse than it did when it was dying. This is all so much worse. "Fuck you and your job. It's my job too. You think I don't feel the same damn way, Dean? How am I supposed to- how can I-?" Sam's anger seems to slip away, just like that, and his face, his beautiful face, is breaking again.
He's sliding slowly down the wall, back towards the floor. Dean steps quickly and grabs him, wrapping him up in his arms, and keeping him up. He gets him standing again, and then backs away just enough to grab Sam's face in his rough hands. He leans forward and presses his forehead against his little brother's. With Sam slumped against the wall they're nearly even height.
"You got to live for me, Sammy. You have to. I need you to be alive." He says fiercely. He lets his hands move to tangle in the hair at Sam's temples, to pull his brother's face up just an inch so that they are breathing in each other's breath. "Only thing that's ever mattered is that you lived." Then he presses his mouth to his brother's, firm but soft, hesitant and yet not. He knows Sam won't push him away. It's just a question of how close he'll let him get.
A sob escapes past Sam's lips, bubbling thickly out of his throat. He sounds like he's dying. Dean pulls his lips back, stares into Sam's eyes, which are mere shades lighter than his own.
"I've got to save you." Sam whispers brokenly. He leans forward and lays a desperate kiss on Dean's lips. He pulls back a moment later and his hands have moved up lay flat over Dean's bare chest. "Can't let you die, Dean. I can't do it." He lets his head fall onto Dean's shoulder. Dean wraps him in his arms, holds him so tight he knows it must hurt, but he doesn't care.
"You can't save me, man." And Dean thinks it would hurt less to tear his own heart out then it does to say the next words. "That's part of the deal. If I try to get out of this- you- you-." He stops because he can't swallow around the words. He can feel Sam struggling again, trying to pull away from him, but Dean won't let him. And he's still got at least a few years more of training against Sam's exceptional height and size. "You'll die, Sam. Drop right dead at my feet. And you can't do that." Sam stops struggling, practically goes limp in Dean's arms.
"No hope then." He says softly, voice like a spirit, against Dean's neck. His breath on Dean's damp skin makes him shiver. "Dean." His name is a high, keening noise in his brother's voice.
He lowers his face, nudges at Sam's until Sam lifts his face enough for Dean to kiss him again. Sam's hands trail down his chest to rest on his hips, digging in hard as he opens his mouth to Dean. Dean's moan is swallowed by Sam's eager, fucking perfect mouth, and Sam's tongue is tasting and teasing. He lets Sam back him up slowly, moving step by careful step until the back of his knees hit the motel bed and he falls back onto it, with Sam falling heavily on top of him.
It should be harder to do this, to cross this unspeakable line. But it isn't. It's easy as breathing to run his hands down his brother's muscled body, feel the hitch of his breath in the sudden movement of his chest. It's easy to kiss his full lips fiercely, feel the life and the pulse of blood in his veins as he licks his way down his neck. It's easy and it's impossible.
He's breathing hard, and he can't seem to catch his breath. Dean is barely covered by the motel towel, but Sam can't help but grind his hips into his and try to get them closer. Dean makes a low noise, a sound that lands somewhere between a hiss and a moan. Sam raises his head to kiss it from his lips. Dean's hands tangle in his hair and pull hard.
"Dean. Dean, please." He doesn't even know what he's begging for; Dean's hands on him, his mouth, his life, the beat of his heart for more than a god damned year, all of it.
Dean flips him over easily, and he's got Sam's shirt off in one smooth motion. He lies down over Sam so that they're bare skin to bare skin. The feel of it, the heat of it, makes Sam's eyes roll back in his head and a desperate moan leave his lips. Dean's hands are slow and steady, not shaking the way they were before, against the wall. Sam keeps his eyes closed; he can't stand to look at Dean right now. He tries to concentrate on the feel of dry, somewhat calloused, hands as they run over his skin, and remove the rest of his clothes.
"Dean." The desperation is bubbling back up and it makes him shake twice as hard as before. "I can't- you can't- god, don't leave me, Dean. Please. I need you." Dean kisses him hard, but his hands are still gentle.
"Shut up, Sammy. I love you, but you have to shut up because I can't- I can't listen to your voice anymore, man." Sam opens his eyes and looks at Dean above him; his eyes are dark and clouded, still wet and glistening with tears. And that does shut him up, because he doesn't know what to say to that face.
Dean kisses his neck, nipping and licking over the sensitive skin. His hands move lower and his mouth bites the line of his collar bone. Sam bites his lip hard because he doesn't trust himself to stay quiet. He's so hard it hurts, and every sweeping brush of Dean's hand over his hips and down his stomach makes his cock jump. He can feel Dean's pressing into his thigh as they rock together.
It's too much, all this contact, everything laid bare, the tears between them. Sam can't keep his mind of any one thing and he can't, just can't get his breath back, or seem to stop shaking. Dean puts just enough space between them to look up at Sam, and Sam forces himself to watch his brother's face.
Dean reaches a hand up, softly tracing the lines of Sam's lips until Sam opens them slightly, sucks one long finger into his mouth. Dean's eyes flutter close for a minute and Sam sucks just a little bit harder, letting his teeth graze his brother's skin. Sam watches, fascinated and silent now, as Dean pulls his finger from Sam's mouth and brings that same hand back down his body, almost but not quite brushing over Sam's straining cock, before dipping down between his spread legs.
When Dean's finger enters him, slowly and carefully because they don't have lube or anything else to help ease the way, he cries out and bucks against Dean. He's torturously slow in prepping Sam, careful and easy, as if Sam were the one living on borrowed time. By the time he has three fingers in Sam, Sam is thrashing on the bed; moaning through gritted teeth, his hands clawing at Dean's shoulders because if he can't get closer to Dean soon he's going to lose his mind, or maybe die all over again.
"Dean, fuck, now, damn it." He growls out, reaching out to grab Dean's neck and pull him in for a kiss that's more violent than passionate but still seems to get the point across. Because the minute he lets Dean's lips free Dean is pulling his fingers out and reaching to the floor, to his jeans, where even Sam knows a condom is waiting. He grabs Dean's hand and stops him. He glares at the questioning glance Dean gives him. "No. Just you." Dean opens his mouth to argue. "I don't care, damn it, and you owe me. I want you, just you. And I don't care what fucking comes of it." He fights back the sob that closes off his chest, tries not to let the tears fall, but even as he closes his eyes he can feel them leaking past his lashes.
He doesn't actually expect acquiescence, but Dean doesn't fight him on this. He just wipes away Sam's tears, still silent except for his ragged breath and the occasional moan. He reaches between them again, and Sam opens his legs wider for him. He feels the head of Dean's cock against his ass and moans, biting hard on his lower lip and tasting blood.
And its heaven and hell and every single dimension in between when he starts pressing in, because he's bigger than his three fingers, and it's just not easy going. But it's worth it when Dean is finally buried deep inside him, body shuddering above him, breath coming in short, high gasps. He looks wild, looking down at Sam, and that would scare Sam a little except that Dean has never scared Sam and never could.
"Okay, Sammy?" Dean asks in a breathless whisper, the first words he's spoken since he told Sam to shut up. Sam closes his eyes, let's his brother's voice wash over him. "Sammy? I need to know you're okay."
"Just move. Need to feel you." He manages to get out. He moves his hands from Dean's shoulders to his face, his long fingers brushing over the high cheekbones, the almost roman nose, over his perfect lips. "Dean." And that's all the encouragement that Dean needs.
They move together after that and even though it's painful at times for both of them it only makes the pleasure all the more sweet. Every ache and burn let's Dean know they are alive. He can see the slight winces in Sam's features, the flaring of his nose, the tensing of his jaw, but whenever he slows the rolling motion of their hips the hands that run ceaselessly over his back and shoulders, pulling him closer, find their way to his face. And there's no mistaking the message in his little brother's eyes. The pain is the cost, those green eyes say, and it's a price Sam will pay.
Dean would stop to wonder if this means they are sincerely fucked up now, if the pleasure will ever be without the pain, but he doesn't want to think about anything other than Sam and the smell of his sweat, the taste of his skin, the feel of his tight heat wrapped around him.
He presses in deeper into Sam and leans forward to rest his forehead against Sam's. And then he can't shut up. He's close and no orgasm has ever felt like this one. Sex has never felt like this. And he can't shut the fuck up about it although he really wishes he could. But he needs Sam to know, needs him to hear.
And so, as Sam shoots hot and sticky between them, and as his ass seems to milk Dean dry so that he comes mere seconds after his brother he can only repeat, over and over again, against the flush skin of his brother's forehead, his lips, his neck;
He knows that the same words roll desperately off of Sam's lips. And it's all that matters, all that can ever matter from here on out.
For hours they doze; wrapped together, Sam around Dean's warm body and bundled under the blankets. It's quiet and peaceful, just for this precious stretch of time; the universe giving them an all too brief break.
When Sam wakes there are just a few streaks of light in the sky. It's too cold outside of the blankets and too warm underneath, they're sticky and he aches in places he never even imagined, but he doesn't care. He wants to stay in his brother's arms; Dean's grip seems to have only tightened as they slept. But his mind is working over time.
He already has several ideas forming in his head. Some of them he thinks might be good; some of them he knows are suicidal. All of them though, he knows, he can't tell Dean about. The way Sam figures it, Dean's the one who made the deal. So fine, Dean can't try to find a way out. And just to be safe Sam is assuming that means he can't knowingly let Sam try either. But that just means that Sam's going to have to be able to pull off the hardest scam he ever has.
He has to let his brother think he's accepting his death. And he needs to find a way to stop it.
(The End-Chapter One)
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I want to fake a file uploading form, e.g
<form action=upload.php method=post enctype='multipart/form-data'>
<input type=file name=userfile>
<input type=submit>
Normally you will have to click on the userfile object and select a file.
Now, is it possible to fake the content of that input? I mean, I've encoded file contents in javascript, and I don't want user interaction, just use the pre-defined value when the browser try to read the "fake file"
Is that possible?
I already tried Cross Domain AJAX posting with HTML5, but that would require CORS enabled on server side.
share|improve this question
Why is it all of a sudden cross domain? You won't be able to modify the input: stackoverflow.com/questions/5632629/… – Ian Mar 5 at 15:24
2 Answers 2
All file uploads must be user-initiated to prevent malware from sending unauthorized files. You many need to base-64 encode your file and send it via AJAX + POST.
See: Send a file with XmlHttpRequest: Streaming?
share|improve this answer
You cannot do that in javascript. Inputs with type="file" are read-only for security reasons.
I suggest you to encode your file to base64 and put content of it in hidden input.
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2012 Olympic Medal Count: Team USA Overtakes China With Pack Of Track Medals
The United States took back the lead in the overall medal count at the 2012 Olympics on Wednesday's Day 12. Seven medals from four events on the track, including gold medals by Allyson Felix, Aries Merritt, and Brittney Reese, helped propel Team USA past China.
Felix broke through for her first individual gold in the women's 200 meters on Wednesday, making her the first woman ever with three Olympic medals in the 200 meters and ending an eight-year rivalry with Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown. Merritt and countryman Jason Richardson won gold and silver in the men's 110m hurdles. And Reese won just the second U.S. gold in the women's long jump, giving the U.S. three of the four individual track and field golds awarded on the day. In the fourth event, Lashinda Demus won silver in the women's 400m hurdles.
Bronze medals from Carmelita Jeter in the 200 meters and Janay DeLoach in the women's long jump helped push the U.S. tally on the track to 20 medals. That's far and away the best effort by a nation in athletics: Russia is second to the U.S. with nine medals.
The U.S.'s 11 medals on Wednesday erased a Chinese lead in the medal count, and give Team USA a four-medal advantage after Day 12.
1. United States, 81 (34, 22, 25)
2. China, 77 (36 gold, 22 silver, 19 bronze)
3. Russia, 52 (11, 19, 22)
4. Great Britain, 48 (22, 13, 13)
5. Germany, 32 (7, 15, 10)
And for a more aesthetically-pleasing version of that, here's the Day 12 8-bit medal count video.
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