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Girls Who Code Helps Teenage Girls Do Great Things
By Keezy YoungAugust 18, 2015September 21st, 2015One Comment
We're just finding out about the games and apps that the teenagers who attended the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program are creating. They're pretty magnificent. The Washington Post's Faiz Siddiqui reported on the final showcase of the event.
The Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program is a 7-week intensive computer science course that embeds classrooms in technology companies and universities. According to their website, "girls learn everything from robotics to mobile development to HTML and CSS while gaining exposure to the tech industry and receiving valuable mentorship from women working in technology."
The attendees' goal was to "solve an everyday problem with coding." This particular camp took place this July and August with about 60 students attending. Overall there were 19 programs all over the country. Girls Who Code's mission to increase the number of women in technology.
According to the Girls Who Code website, in middle school 74% of girls express interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), but when choosing a college major, only 0.4% choose computer science. Women make up only 18% of computer science graduates. That's significantly down from 30 years ago, when that number was 37%. (Those numbers are also pretty bad for people of color and other marginalized groups, by the way. That's something Girls Who Code seems to be aware of given their call for a diverse range of applicants.)
There are many reasons for all this, but at least part of the equation is the lack of visibility for girls and women in the industry. The stereotype is that a computer scientist or programmer is a man (and typically a young white man). Younger girls have trouble visualizing themselves in those fields. And they are often made to feel unwelcome when they do make forays into computer science. The problems don't necessarily go away once they enter the professional workforce, unfortunately.
But on to the exciting part. The Washington Post interviewed some of the teams that attended the Girls Who Code camp about the apps that they are designing and building. There's some pretty neat stuff coming out of the project. India Bhalla-Ladd, 15, Sara Berrios, 17, Stephanie Villanueva, also 17, and Alyssa Berman, are creating an app called Plantech. They've hooked up houseplants to sensory technology. The app tells you when your plant needs water or is in less-than-optimal conditions. "Every person has, at one point, forgotten to water their plant," said Berrios. LED lights flash when the plant is upset about something, like a too-cold temperature or not enough light.
Another team is making an app where you navigate a stream in a kayak and clean up oil spills. There's one app that aims to set users up with their ideal pet and guide them to the correct shelter to find it. Li-Ting Song, 16, and Milena Orbach, 17, are making an app that helps users find restaurants based on any number of dietary restrictions. Taiylor Waysome, 17, and Devin McCoy, 15, are creating a website called "Curl Kind" in an effort to help girls with curly and textured hair take care of their locks. Waysome said she'd messed up her hair in the past, and didn't want others to go through that. More importantly, the website will offer emotional support. "If you don't see someone who looks like you, you tend to think it's wrong," said McCoy. "It's the same thing with hair. We want people to grow up feeling good about themselves and their hair."
These young women all have different reasons for their interest in coding. Some want to enter the workforce as computer scientists. Others enjoy gaming or tinkering with websites. Aditi Sundararaman, 15, mentioned (while laughing) that her initial interest arose from trying to get around her parents' parental control limits when she was younger. But many of them simply find coding empowering.
appscodingcomputer sciencegame developmentgames for goodgendergirlsgirls who codeprogrammingsexismsocial goodsummer campsteenagers
This article was written by Keezy Young
Keezy is a gamer, illustrator, and designer. Her background is in teaching and tutoring kids from ages 9 to 19, and she's led workshops for young women in STEM. She is also holds a certificate in teaching English. Her first memory of gaming is when her dad taught her to play the first Warcraft when she was five. You can find her at Key of Zee and on Twitter @KeezyBees.
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Pictured from left: Kieran Murphy and Martin Cole
A world-leading aerospace company has announced the appointment of two senior roles in its global innovation team to help drive its strategic long-term business plans.
Pattonair, the global aerospace and defence supply chain provider, has welcomed Kieran Murphy and Martin Cole into the newly-created positions of Innovation Manager at its Derby headquarters.
Their appointments come at an exciting time for the company, which has embarked on a $1.9 billion merger with US-based Wesco Aircraft Holdings and acquired aircraft spares company Adams Aviation.
It is also at the forefront of the transition towards Industry 4.0, leveraging the opportunities around digitisation and automation of the supply chain to drive improved performance, which has been dubbed the fourth industrial revolution.
Kieran, 37, from Nottingham, has more than 20 years' experience in the industry and has a widespread knowledge of digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI). A previous role saw him working at Rolls-Royce's R2 Data Labs identifying and implementing opportunities for digital transformation within the business.
"The opportunity is vast here, alongside a strong sense of drive and ambition," said Kieran, who has recently been an account manager at QiO Technologies, an AI start-up business, where he worked with industrial customers to provide AI driven solutions for complex technical cost and energy problems.
Martin, 36, from Wolverhampton, brings more than ten years' experience in the automotive, nuclear, aerospace and defence sectors to his new role.
Martin has acquired a strong technical knowledge base in manufacturing & supply-chain automation from his years of experience working as a consultant and system integrator. Martin previously helped large enterprises unleash potential, in his previous role as a managing consultant at the multinational professional service network, Deloitte.
Martin will be working with the global operations teams to utilise relevant opportunities to deliver greater efficiency, quality, and customer service via the application of new technology solutions within the warehousing network.
"I was engaged by this opportunity from the start," said Martin. "Not many companies are ready to invest in Industry 4.0 or to reap its benefits, there is real scope here to deliver change."
The men are joining a team of seven innovation and data specialists and will report to Jason Rance, Pattonair's Global Innovation Director. Their appointments build on the company's commitment to recruit the best talent in the region to maintain its position as the aerospace sectors leading provider of innovative supply chain solutions.
"We are delighted to welcome them both," said Jason. "They bring a wealth of experience and skills and will help to underline our reputation as an innovative leader in our industry.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I used to believe?courtesy?was a thing of the past. Very seldom have I encountered a courteous human being in this modern era of the so called Generation X.
Recently, I had to change my thinking, when I came face to face with just such a human being. I had gone to a happening coffee place, with two of my grown up daughters. The place was crowded with the usual loud crowd and we had to climb a steep flight of stairs in order to find an empty table. After enjoying coffee and snacks, we were at the steep descent down the stairs, where the narrow space made climbing down only possible in a single file, with hardly any space for another person to either climb up or come down.
Just as I was in the middle of my descent, a gentleman entered the main entrance of the restaurant which was right in front of the staircase. I was sure I would be pushed roughly by this man who will want to go up in a hurry. I kept coming down as fast as I could, holding on to the bannister, in lieu of my advanced years. My agile daughters were already down, looking up at me worriedly, hoping I would reach them before the stranger started up the stairs, knowing I was a nervous sort.
Nearly reaching them, I noticed the man still standing near the door. I reached my daughters and passed the stranger at the entrance door which he kept holding open. I looked back thinking he was still at the door, deciding whether to go in or find another less crowded place. I saw him going up the stairs, two at a time. I told my daughters about it and all three of us felt bad that we did not even thank the courteous gentleman who was actually holding the door open for us ladies to pass through before going up.
We applauded his chivalry for both, waiting for us to come down before going up himself and also holding the main entrance door open for us to go out. Such well mannered people are hard to find these days, when shoving, jostling and pushing is very common in our advanced but aggressive society. Till date, I remember this gentleman and pray to God to make more human beings like him.


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A New Approach to China: Google and Censorship in the Chinese Market
The first across-the-table negotiation between Google and China concluded successfully in 2006, when Google received a license to establish a local domain (google.cn) targeted at Chinese Internet users and not subject to the "Great Firewall". During these negotiations both Google and the Chinese government struggled to reach an outcome that would be acceptable to their constituents. Google was caught between pleasing its shareholders and preserving its reputation for free access to information, while China was balancing the desire for cutting-edge search technology and the concern that liberal access to information would undermine its political-economic model. In the end, the negotiation resulted in Google operating two domains in China: Google.com and Google.cn. On the .cn website, Google complied with Chinese legislation through self-censoring. Google's search market share in China grew to about 36 percent at the end of 2009.
In early 2010, Google announced that its corporate infrastructure had been the target of a series of China-based cyber attacks and accused the Chinese government of attempting to further limit free speech on the web. These incidents led to a public conflict and private negotiations between Google and the Chinese government, which culminated in July 2010 when the Chinese government renewed the google.cn license knowing that Google was redirecting all Chinese customers search to its google.hk.com site This case concerns the changes in Google and the Chinese government's environment that led to Google withdrawing services from google.cn and the Chinese government saving face by renewing the google.cn license.
Students will learn that across-the-table negotiations are often preceded by internal negotiations, based on conflicting interests within one party. The case is based on the publicly reported events surrounding two series of negotiations between the U.S. technology giant Google and the Chinese Government regarding Google's license in China.
Jeanne Brett, Lauren Pilcher, LaraChristina Sell
Brett, Jeanne, Lauren Pilcher, and LaraChristina Sell. A New Approach to China: Google and Censorship in the Chinese Market. Case 5-211-255 (KEL590).


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Ok, I loved this episode, I was just as touched as the rest of you, I went through all the confusing emotions and self examining questions and This show especially touched me because im emotional steel and I just learned I have a soft spot. Most of my assume I don't even have emotions... Now I set out to prove they will reunite, I just can't let it go. This is what I have so far,now this is either an inconsistancy or my only grasp for hope that seymour will reunite with Fry, when Seymour lay down and closed his eyes we all assumed he was dead, The Dolomite Seymour was STANDING, and this is the big stretch if you look at seymour head on in the episode he almost looks like he's grinning. If I'm dillusional well even if the show is canceled tommorow I will hold the hope that their was that one Reuniting episode in the works that we just never saw.
Yes, I am still touched by the episode and have re-watched it twice since Sunday and you are not alone in your feelings. But even though I would say I am depressed by it, it has made me value my two dogs more than ever and I have spent a great deal more time with them the last few days. I bought them special treats and took the time to do things with them that they love like playing fetch and scratching the tops of their heads. While the episode did leave me depressed, it also gave me a greater appreciation for the people and animals in my life right now and made me commit to cherishing the time I have with all of them right now. "It makes me want to be a better person". For a TV show to do that is astounding and a real tribute to its creators. So don't feel alone in your grief, we all share it with you and are bonded by it. Just remember that the world is not a sucky place, but a place full of opportunity and chances and we should take the time to see that while we have it.
futurama shall not make one chy.
I didn't get a chance to watch the episode on Sunday here on the east coast, due to football, but I was anxious to see it after noting how many good things people were saying reviews there were up here. I accidentilly read that Seymour doesn't come back by the end, and how so many people found themselves crying. Even with this knowledge in hand, I wasn't ready for what I felt when I saw the end myself, and I teared-up just like everyone else.
This was a fabulous episode...those of you who complain because the show had a sad ending should grow up a bit. It was a very touching episode. I have been a fan of the series since it started and this is definitely one of the best episodes done so far.
The episode was really sad :(, my girlfriend (who doesn't even like the show) cried at the end. Also, they showed us even more proof that Nibbler pushed Fry into the tube. Because there was an added scene where Nibbler's eye could be seen coming out of the trash can... surprised that it didn't make the screen grabs.
An ok episode but got anoyed about all the flash backs. One thing that I dont understand is why we can see Nibbler in one of the flash backs just before Fry gets frozen.
Btw keep up the good work with this website.
One of the few occassions my eyes got a little wet while watching TV, just like at the ends of Braveheart and Armageddon.
This episode was something new... it has never been there in this way in a Futurama Episode. True tragical comedy. A brave try, and a successful one. The end was very sad, but very meaningful.
No question about that: 5 stars.
And the water in my eyes are from... the wind!!! Yes! From the wind in my eyes!


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Justia › US Law › US Case Law › US Supreme Court › Volume 528 › United States v. Martinez-Salazar
United States v. Martinez-Salazar, 528 U.S. 304 (2000)
Audio & Media
Opinions Audio & Media
OCTOBER TERM, 1999
UNITED STATES v. MARTINEZ-SALAZAR
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-1255. Argued November 29, 1999-Decided January 19,2000
Respondent Martinez-Salazar and a codefendant were charged with a variety of federal offenses. As the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure instruct, the District Court allotted them 10 peremptory challenges exercisable jointly in the selection of 12 jurors, Rule 24(b), and another such challenge exercisable in the selection of an alternate juror, Rule 24(c). Because prospective juror Don Gilbert indicated several times that he would favor the prosecution, the codefendants challenged him for cause, but the District Court declined to excuse him. After twice objecting, unsuccessfully, to the for-cause ruling, Martinez-Salazar used a peremptory challenge to remove Gilbert. The codefendants subsequently exhausted all of their peremptory challenges. At the close of jury selection, the District Court read the names of the jurors to be seated and asked if the prosecutor or defense counsel had any objections to any of those jurors. Martinez-Salazar's counsel responded: "None from us." At the conclusion of the trial, Martinez-Salazar was convicted on all counts. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit agreed with him (and the Government here does not contest) that the District Court's refusal to strike Gilbert for cause was an abuse of discretion. This error, the Ninth Circuit held, did not violate the Sixth Amendment, because Gilbert was removed and the impartiality of the jury eventually seated was not challenged. But the Court of Appeals further concluded that the District Court's mistake resulted in a violation of Martinez-Salazar's Fifth Amendment due process rights because it forced him to use a peremptory challenge curatively, thereby impairing his right to the full complement of peremptory challenges to which federal law entitled him. Such an error, the Court of Appeals held, requires automatic reversal.
Held: A defendant's exercise of peremptory challenges pursuant to Rule 24 is not denied or impaired when the defendant chooses to use such a challenge to remove a juror who should have been excused for cause. Pp.311-317.
(a) Although the peremptory challenge plays an important role in reinforcing a defendant's constitutional right to trial by an impartial jury, see, e. g., Swain v. Alabama, 380 U. S. 202, 212-213, 218-219, this Court has long recognized that such challenges are auxiliary; unlike the right to an impartial jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, peremptory
challenges are not of federal constitutional dimension, see, e. g., Ross v. Oklahoma, 487 U. S. 81, 88. Peremptory challenges in federal criminal trials are governed by Rule 24 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rule 24(b) prescribes, inter alia, that for offenses "punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, ... the defendant or defendants [are] jointly [entitled] to 10 peremptory challenges." Rule 24(c) further provides that when, as in this case, an alternate juror is to be selected, each side is entitled to one peremptory challenge in selecting that juror. The question to which the Court turns is whether Martinez-Salazar was denied any right for which Rule 24 provides. Pp. 311-313.
(b) Ross dealt with a state-law question resembling the one presented here. This Court first rejected the Ross defendant's position that, without more, the loss of a peremptory challenge constitutes a violation of the constitutional right to an impartial jury. 487 U. S., at 88. So long as the jury that sits is impartial, the Court held, the fact that the defendant had to use a peremptory challenge to achieve that result does not mean the Sixth Amendment was violated. Ibid. The Court then rejected the defendant's due process objection that forced use of a peremptory challenge to cure a trial court's error in denying a challenge for cause arbitrarily deprived him of the full complement of peremptory challenges allowed under Oklahoma law. Id., at 89. An Oklahoma statute accorded the defendant nine such challenges. Oklahoma courts had read into that grant a requirement that a defendant who disagreed with the trial court's ruling on a for-cause challenge must, in order to preserve the claim that the ruling deprived him of a fair trial, exercise a peremptory challenge to remove the juror. Ibid. Even then, under state law, the error was grounds for reversal only if the defendant exhausted all peremptory challenges, and an incompetent juror therefore was forced upon him. Ibid. The defendant in Ross, the Court concluded, did not lose any state-law right when he used one of his nine challenges to remove a juror who should have been excused for cause; rather, he received all that state law allowed him, and the fair trial that the Federal Constitution guaranteed. Id., at 90-91. Pp. 313-314.
(c) This Court rejects the Government's contention that federal law, like the Oklahoma statute considered in Ross, should be read to require a defendant to use a peremptory challenge to strike a juror who should have been removed for cause, in order to preserve the claim that the for-cause ruling impaired the defendant's right to a fair trial. Although this Court has sanctioned various limitations on the exercise of peremptory challenges that could be viewed as effectively reducing the number of challenges available to a defendant, see, e. g., Stilson v. United States, 250 U. S. 583, 586, these cases address procedures under which such
Full Text of Opinion
challenges are exercised. None of them demands that a defendant use or refrain from using a challenge on a particular basis or when a particular set of facts is present. To date this Court has recognized only one substantive control over a federal criminal defendant's choice of whom to challenge peremptorily. Under the Equal Protection Clause, a defendant may not exercise a challenge to remove a potential juror solely on the basis of the juror's gender, ethnic origin, or race. See, e. g., Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U. S. 79. The Court declines to read into Rule 24, or otherwise impose, the further control advanced by the Government. Pp. 314-315.
(d) However, the Court agrees with the Government's narrower contention that Rule 24(b) was not violated in this case. The Ninth Circuit erred in concluding that the District Court's mistake compelled Martinez-Salazar to challenge Gilbert peremptorily, thereby reducing his allotment of peremptory challenges by one. A hard choice is not the same as no choice. Martinez-Salazar received and exercised 11 peremptory challenges. That is all he is entitled to under the Rule. After objecting to the District Court's denial of his for-cause challenge, he had the option of letting Gilbert sit on the petit jury and, upon conviction, pursuing a Sixth Amendment challenge on appeal. Instead, he elected to use a challenge to remove Gilbert. In choosing to remove Gilbert rather than taking his chances on appeal, Martinez-Salazar did not lose a peremptory challenge. Rather, he used the challenge in line with a principal reason for peremptories: to help secure the constitutional guarantee of trial by an impartial jury. See, e. g., J. E. B. v. Alabama ex rel. T. B., 511 U. S. 127, 137, n. 8. Moreover, the immediate choice he confronted comports with the reality of the jury selection process. Challenges for cause and rulings upon them are fast paced, made on the spot and under pressure. Counsel as well as court in that process must be prepared promptly to decide, often between shades of gray. Pp. 315-317.
(e) Martinez-Salazar and his codefendant were accorded the exact number of peremptory challenges that federal law allowed; he cannot tenably assert any violation of his Fifth Amendment due process right. See Ross, 487 U. S., at 91. P. 317.
146 F.3d 653, reversed.
GINSBURG, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which REHNQUIST, C. J., and STEVENS, O'CONNOR, SOUTER, THOMAS, and BREYER, JJ., joined. SOUTER, J., filed a concurring opinion, post, p. 317. SCALIA, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which KENNEDY, J., joined, post, p.318.
Deputy Solicitor General Dreeben argued the cause for the United States. With him on the briefs were Solicitor General Waxman, Assistant Attorney General Robinson, David C. Frederick, and Richard A. Friedman.
Michael D. Gordon, by appointment of the Court, 527 U. S. 1054, argued the cause and filed a brief for respondent. *
JUSTICE GINSBURG delivered the opinion of the Court.
In Ross v. Oklahoma, 487 U. S. 81 (1988), this Court reaffirmed that "peremptory challenges [to prospective jurors] are not of constitutional dimension," id., at 88; rather, they are one means to achieve the constitutionally required end of an impartial jury. We address in this case a problem in federal jury selection left open in Ross. See id., at 91, n. 4. We focus on this sequence of events: the erroneous refusal of a trial judge to dismiss a potential juror for cause, followed by the defendant's exercise of a peremptory challenge to remove that juror. Confronting that order of events, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment requires automatic reversal of a conviction whenever the defendant goes on to exhaust his peremptory challenges during jury selection. 146 F.3d 653 (1998).
We reverse the Ninth Circuit's judgment. We reject the Government's contention that under federal law, a defendant is obliged to use a peremptory challenge to cure the judge's error. We hold, however, that if the defendant elects to cure such an error by exercising a peremptory challenge, and is subsequently convicted by a jury on which no biased juror sat, he has not been deprived of any rule-based or constitutional right.
*David A. Reiser and Barbara Bergman filed a brief for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers et al. as amici curiae urging affirmance.
Respondent Abel Martinez-Salazar and a codefendant were tried by a jury in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona for a variety of narcotics and weapons offenses. As Rule 24(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure instructs, the District Court allotted the codefendants 10 peremptory challenges exercisable jointly in the selection of 12 jurors. Martinez-Salazar and his codefendant also received an additional peremptory challenge exercisable in the selection of an alternate juror. See Fed. Rule Crim. Proc. 24(c).
Prior to jury selection, the District Court gave the prospective jurors a written questionnaire to complete. See 146 F. 3d, at 654-655. A potential juror, Don Gilbert, indicated on his questionnaire that he would favor the prosecution. Id., at 655. In a discussion with the trial judge, Gilbert restated: "[A]ll things being equal, I would probably tend to favor the prosecution." Ibid. The judge explained that the burden of proving a person guilty rests with the Government. Gilbert said he would not disagree with that proposition. The judge next asked Gilbert whether, if he were a defendant facing jurors with backgrounds and opinions similar to his own, he thought he would get a fair trial. Gilbert answered: "I think that's a difficult question. I don't think I know the answer to that." Ibid. MartinezSalazar's counsel then inquired whether Gilbert would feel more comfortable erring on the side of the prosecution or the defense. Gilbert responded: "I would probably be more favorable to the prosecution. I suppose most people are. I mean, they're predisposed. You assume that people are on trial because they did something wrong." Ibid. The judge then told Gilbert that his response was "contrary to our whole system of justice. When people are accused of a crime, there's no presumption ... of guil[t]. The presumption is the other way." Ibid. Gilbert replied, "I understand that in theory." Ibid.
At the completion of this colloquy, Martinez-Salazar and his codefendant challenged Gilbert for cause. The Government opposed the challenge. The District Court declined to excuse Gilbert for cause, stating: "You know about him and know his opinions. He said ... he could follow the instructions, and he said ... 'I don't think I know what I would do,' et cetera. So I think you have reasons to challenge him[,] ... strike him if you choose to do that." Ibid.
After twice objecting, unsuccessfully, to the for-cause ruling, Martinez-Salazar used a peremptory challenge to remove Gilbert. Martinez-Salazar and his codefendant subsequently exhausted all of their peremptory challenges. The codefendants did not request an additional peremptory challenge for selection of the petit jury (a request Rule 24(b) expressly permits a district court to grant when there are multiple defendants). See Tr. of Oral Arg. 34-35. At the close of jury selection, the District Court read out the names of the jurors to be seated and asked if the prosecutor or defense counsel had any objections to any of those jurors. Martinez-Salazar's counsel responded: "None from us." App. 182. At the conclusion of the trial, Martinez-Salazar was convicted on all counts.
On appeal, Martinez-Salazar contended that the District Court abused its discretion in refusing to strike Gilbert for cause and that this error forced Martinez-Salazar to use a peremptory challenge on Gilbert. The Ninth Circuit agreed (and the Government here does not contest) that the District Court's refusal to strike Gilbert for cause was an abuse of discretion. 146 F. 3d, at 656. This error, the Court of Appeals held, did not violate the Sixth Amendment, because Gilbert was removed and the impartiality of the jury eventually seated was not challenged. Id., at 657. But the Court of Appeals further concluded that the District Court's mistake resulted in a violation of Martinez-Salazar's Fifth Amendment due process rights. According to the Ninth Circuit, the District Court's error in denying the for-cause
challenge forced Martinez-Salazar to use a peremptory challenge curatively, thereby impairing his right to the full complement of peremptory challenges to which federal law entitled him. Such an error, the Court of Appeals held, requires automatic reversal. Id., at 659.
Judge Rymer dissented in part. She observed that nothing in the text of Rule 24(b) suggests that the exercise of peremptory challenges is impaired if the defendant uses a challenge to remove a juror who should have been excused for cause. Id., at 659-660. Martinez-Salazar, she emphasized, never asserted in the District Court that he wished to strike some other juror with the peremptory challenge he used to remove Gilbert, nor did he question the impartiality of the jury as finally composed. Id., at 660. Assuming, arguendo, that there was a violation of Rule 24(b), Judge Rymer "would not engraft [onto the Due Process Clause] a common law remedy of per se reversal for a Rule violation." Id., at 661. The court's decision "[clonstitutionalizing the impairment of peremptory challenges," she underscored, ran counter to this Court's decision in Ross and was hardly "inconsequential" in view of the reality that "[t]rial courts, state and federal, rule on cause challenges by the minute." Id., at 659, 661.
The Courts of Appeals have divided on the question whether a defendant's peremptory challenge right is impaired when he peremptorily challenges a potential juror whom the district court erroneously refused to excuse for cause, and the defendant thereafter exhausts his peremptory challenges. The First and Fifth Circuits have indicated agreement with the Ninth Circuit that this circumstance constitutes an abridgment of the right to exercise peremptory challenges. See United States v. Cambara, 902 F.2d 144, 147-148 (CAl1990); United States v. Hall, 152 F.3d 381, 408 (CA5 1998). The Tenth and Eleventh Circuits, on the other hand, have found in this situation no impairment of the right to peremptory challenges. See United States v. Brooks, 161
F. 3d 1240, 1245-1246 (CAlO 1998); United States v. Farmer, 923 F.2d 1557, 1566 (CAll 1991).1 We granted certiorari, 527 U. S. 1021 (1999), and now reverse the Ninth Circuit's judgment.
The peremptory challenge is part of our common-law heritage. Its use in felony trials was already venerable in Blackstone's time. See 4 W. Blackstone, Commentaries 346348 (1769). We have long recognized the role of the peremptory challenge in reinforcing a defendant's right to trial by an impartial jury. See, e. g., Swain v. Alabama, 380 U. S. 202, 212-213, 218-219 (1965); Pointer v. United States, 151 U. S. 396, 408 (1894). But we have long recognized, as well, that such challenges are auxiliary; unlike the right to an impartial jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, peremptory challenges are not of federal constitutional dimension. Ross, 487 U. S., at 88; see Stilson v. United States, 250 U. S. 583, 586 (1919) ("There is nothing in the Constitution of the United States which requires the Congress to grant peremptory challenges.").
Legislative provision for peremptory challenges in federal criminal trials dates from 1790. See Act of Apr. 30, 1790, ch. 9, § 30, 1 Stat. 119. Since 1946, Rule 24 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure has provided the governing instructions. That Rule, reproduced in its entirety below,2
1 There is a corresponding conflict among the Circuits in civil cases.
Compare Kirk v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 61 F.3d 147, 157 (CA3 1995) (right to peremptory challenge is impaired when a party exercises such a challenge to strike a prospective juror who should have been removed for cause), with Getter v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 66 F.3d 1119, 1122-1123 (CAlO 1995) (no impairment).
2 Rule 24. Trial Jurors.
"(a) EXAMINATION. The court may permit the defendant or the defendant's attorney and the attorney for the government to conduct the examination of prospective jurors or may itself conduct the examination. In the latter event the court shall permit the defendant or the defendant's attorney and the attorney for the government to supplement the examina-
prescribes that for offenses "punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, the government is entitled to 6 peremptory challenges and the defendant or defendants jointly to 10 peremptory challenges." Fed. Rule Crim. Proc. 24(b). In a multiple-defendant case, the district court "may allow the defendants additional peremptory challenges and permit them to be exercised separately or jointly." Ibid. The Rule also provides for further peremptory challenges when alternate jurors are to be impanelled; when, as in MartinezSalazar's case, an alternate is to be selected, each side is entitled to one peremptory challenge in selecting that juror.
tion by such further inquiry as it deems proper or shall itself submit to the prospective jurors such additional questions by the parties or their attorneys as it deems proper.
"(b) PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES. If the offense charged is punishable by death, each side is entitled to 20 peremptory challenges. If the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, the government is entitled to 6 peremptory challenges and the defendant or defendants jointly to 10 peremptory challenges. If the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year or by fine or both, each side is entitled to 3 peremptory challenges. If there is more than one defendant, the court may allow the defendants additional peremptory challenges and permit them to be exercised separately or jointly.
"(c) ALTERNATE JURORS. The court may direct that not more than 6 jurors in addition to the regular jury be called and impanelled to sit as alternate jurors. Alternate jurors in the order in which they are called shall replace jurors who, prior to the time the jury retires to consider its verdict, become or are found to be unable or disqualified to perform their duties. Alternate jurors shall be drawn in the same manner, shall have the same qualifications, shall be subject to the same examination and challenges, shall take the same oath and shall have the same functions, powers, facilities and privileges as the regular jurors. An alternate juror who does not replace a regular juror shall be discharged after the jury retires to consider its verdict. Each side is entitled to 1 peremptory challenge in addition to those otherwise allowed by law if 1 or 2 alternate jurors are to be impanelled, 2 peremptory challenges if 3 or 4 alternate jurors are to be impanelled, and 3 peremptory challenges if 5 or 6 alternate jurors are to be impanelled. The additional peremptory challenges may be used against an alternate jury only, and the other peremptory challenges allowed by these rules may not be used against an alternate juror."
Fed. Rule Crim. Proc. 24(c). The question to which we now turn is whether Martinez-Salazar was denied any right for which Rule 24 provides.
Our most recent decision in point is Ross v. Oklahoma.
That 1988 decision dealt with a question resembling the one presented here, although the issue in Ross arose in a statelaw setting. The defendant in Ross exercised a peremptory challenge to cure the trial court's error in denying a challenge for cause. We first rejected, as the Ninth Circuit rightly did in the decision under review, the position that, without more, "the loss of a peremptory challenge constitutes a violation of the constitutional right to an impartial jury." 487 U. S., at 88. "So long as the jury that sits is impartial," we held, "the fact that the defendant had to use a peremptory challenge to achieve that result does not mean the Sixth Amendment was violated." Ibid. We then took up the defendant's due process objection. He argued that forced use of a peremptory challenge to cure a trial court's error in denying a challenge for cause "arbitrarily depriv[ed] him of the full complement of ... peremptory challenges allowed under Oklahoma law." Id., at 89. An Oklahoma statute accorded the defendant nine peremptory challenges. Oklahoma courts had read into that grant a requirement that "a defendant who disagrees with the trial court's ruling on a for-cause challenge must, in order to preserve the claim that the ruling deprived him of a fair trial, exercise a peremptory challenge to remove the juror." Ibid. Even then, under Oklahoma law, "the error [was] grounds for reversal only if the defendant exhaust[ed] all peremptory challenges and an incompetent juror [was] forced upon him." Ibid. The defendant in Ross, we therefore concluded, did not lose any right conferred by state law when he used one of his nine challenges to remove a juror who should have been excused for cause. Because the defendant received all that state law allowed him, and the fair trial that the Federal Constitution
guaranteed, we rejected his due process challenge. Id., at 90-91.
Underlying the Court of Appeals holding in this case was the notion that the District Court's error in denying the challenge for cause "forced" Martinez-Salazar to use a peremptory challenge to remove the objectionable venire member. 146 F. 3d, at 659. Starting from this premise, the Court of Appeals reasoned that Rule 24(b) was violated because Martinez-Salazar could effectively exercise only nine of the ten initial peremptory challenges for which the Rule provided. The Court of Appeals further concluded that "due process is violated when a defendant is forced to exercise a peremptory challenge to cure an erroneous for-cause refusal." Id., at 658.
The Government urges us to reverse the Court of Appeals judgment on the ground that federal law, like the Oklahoma statute considered in Ross, should be read to require a defendant to use a peremptory challenge to strike a juror who should have been removed for cause, in order to preserve the claim that the for-cause ruling impaired the defendant's right to a fair trial. Brief for United States 19-22. In support of its position, the Government points to various limitations on the exercise of peremptory challenges that this Court has sanctioned-limitations that could be viewed as effectively reducing the number of challenges available to a defendant. See Reply Brief 3 (citing Stilson, 250 U. S., at 586 (sharing of peremptories among codefendants); St. Clair v. United States, 154 U. S. 134, 147-148 (1894) (requirement that parties exercise or waive peremptory strike as each potential juror is selected at random and qualified); Pointer, 151 U. S., at 409, 412 (simultaneous defense and prosecution strikes)). The cases on which the Government relies address procedures under which peremptory challenges are exercised. None of them demands that a defendant use or refrain from using a peremptory challenge on a particular basis or when a particular set of facts is present. To date
this Court has recognized only one substantive control over a federal criminal defendant's choice of whom to challenge peremptorily. Under the Equal Protection Clause, a defendant may not exercise a peremptory challenge to remove a potential juror solely on the basis of the juror's gender, ethnic origin, or race. See, e. g., J. E. B. v. Alabama ex rel. T. B., 511 U. S. 127 (1994) (gender); Hernandez v. New York, 500 U. S. 352 (1991) (ethnic origin); Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U. S. 79 (1986) (race). We decline to read into Rule 24, or otherwise impose, the further control advanced by the Government.
We agree, however, with the Government's narrower contention that Rule 24(b) was not violated in this case. Reply Brief 2-3. The Court of Appeals erred in concluding that the District Court's for-cause mistake compelled MartinezSalazar to challenge Gilbert peremptorily, thereby reducing his allotment of peremptory challenges by one. 146 F. 3d, at 659. A hard choice is not the same as no choice. Martinez-Salazar, together with his codefendant, received and exercised 11 peremptory challenges (10 for the petit jury, 1 in selecting an alternate juror). That is all he is entitled to under the Rule.
After objecting to the District Court's denial of his forcause challenge, Martinez-Salazar had the option of letting Gilbert sit on the petit jury and, upon conviction, pursuing a Sixth Amendment challenge on appeal. Instead, MartinezSalazar elected to use a challenge to remove Gilbert because he did not want Gilbert to sit on his jury. This was Martinez-Salazar's choice.3 The District Court did not demand-and Rule 24(b) did not require-that MartinezSalazar use a peremptory challenge curatively.
In choosing to remove Gilbert rather than taking his chances on appeal, Martinez-Salazar did not lose a peremp-
3 The choice would be less hard, of course, if, as JUSTICE SCALIA hypothesizes, the "defendant had plenty of peremptories left." See post, at 319 (opinion concurring in judgment).
tory challenge. Rather, he used the challenge in line with a principal reason for peremptories: to help secure the constitutional guarantee of trial by an impartial jury. See, e. g., J. E. B., 511 U. S., at 137, n. 8 (purpose of peremptory challenges "'is to permit litigants to assist the government in the selection of an impartial trier of fact''') (quoting Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., 500 U. S. 614, 620 (1991)); Georgia v. McCollum, 505 U. S. 42, 57 (1992) (peremptory challenges are "one state-created means to the constitutional end of an impartial jury and a fair trial"); Frazier v. United States, 335 U. S. 497, 505 (1948) ("the right [to peremptory challenges] is given in aid of the party's interest to secure a fair and impartial jury"). Moreover, the immediate choice Martinez-Salazar confronted-to stand on his objection to the erroneous denial of the challenge for cause or to use a peremptory challenge to effect an instantaneous cure of the error-comports with the reality of the jury selection process. Challenges for cause and rulings upon them, as Judge Rymer observed, see supra, at 310, are fast paced, made on the spot and under pressure. Counsel as well as court, in that setting, must be prepared to decide, often between shades of gray, "by the minute." 146 F. 3d, at 661.
In conclusion, we note what this case does not involve. It is not asserted that the trial court deliberately misapplied the law in order to force the defendants to use a peremptory challenge to correct the court's error. See Ross, 487 U. S., at 91, n. 5. Accordingly, no question is presented here whether such an error would warrant reversal. Nor did the District Court's ruling result in the seating of any juror who should have been dismissed for cause. As we have recognized, that circumstance would require reversal. See id., at 85 ("Had [the biased juror] sat on the jury that ultimately sentenced petitioner to death, and had petitioner properly preserved his right to challenge the trial court's failure to remove [the juror] for cause, the sentence would have to be overturned."); see also Parker v. Gladden, 385 U. S. 363, 366
(1966) (per curiam) (a defendant is "entitled to be tried by 12, not 9 or even 10, impartial and unprejudiced jurors").4
We answer today the question left open in Ross and hold that a defendant's exercise of peremptory challenges pursuant to Rule 24(b) is not denied or impaired when the defendant chooses to use a peremptory challenge to remove a juror who should have been excused for cause. Martinez-Salazar and his codefendant were accorded 11 peremptory challenges, the exact number Rule 24(b) and (c) allowed in this case. Martinez-Salazar received precisely what federal law provided; he cannot tenably assert any violation of his Fifth Amendment right to due process. See Ross, 487 U. S., at 91. For the reasons stated, the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is
JUSTICE SOUTER, concurring.
I concur in the opinion of the Court. I write only to suggest that this case does not present the issue whether it is reversible error to refuse to afford a defendant a peremptory challenge beyond the maximum otherwise allowed, when he has used a peremptory challenge to cure an erroneous denial of a challenge for cause and when he shows that he would
4 Relying on language in Swain v. Alabama, 380 U. S. 202 (1965), as did the Court of Appeals in the decision below, Martinez-Salazar urges the Court to adopt a remedy of automatic reversal whenever a defendant's right to a certain number of peremptory challenges is substantially impaired. Brief for Respondent 29 (a "'denial or impairment of the right [to exercise peremptory challenges] is reversible error without a showing of prejudice''') (quoting Swain, 380 U. S., at 219). Because we find no impairment, we do not decide in this case what the appropriate remedy for a substantial impairment would be. We note, however, that the oftquoted language in Swain was not only unnecessary to the decision in that case-because Swain did not address any claim that a defendant had been denied a peremptory challenge-but was founded on a series of our early cases decided long before the adoption of harmless-error review.
otherwise use his full complement of peremptory challenges for the noncurative purposes that are the focus of the peremptory right. Martinez-Salazar did not show that, if he had not used his peremptory challenge curatively, he would have used it peremptorily against another juror. He did not ask for a makeup peremptory or object to any juror who sat. Martinez-Salazar simply made a choice to use his peremptory challenge curatively.
JUSTICE SCALIA, with whom JUSTICE KENNEDY joins, concurring in the judgment.
I agree with the Court's analysis of the issue before us:
Respondent has been accorded the full number of peremptory challenges to which he was entitled. The fact that he voluntarily chose to expend one of them upon a venireman who should have been stricken for cause makes no difference.
I do not join the opinion of the Court because it unnecessarily pronounces upon the question whether, had respondent not expended his peremptory challenge, he would have been able to complain about the seating of the biased juror. See ante, at 315 ("Martinez-Salazar had the option of letting Gilbert sit on the petit jury and, upon conviction, pursuing a Sixth Amendment challenge on appeal"). Since he did expend the challenge, that issue is simply not before us.
I am far from certain, moreover, that the Court's suggested resolution of the issue is correct. It is easy enough to agree that we have no warrant "to read into Rule 24," ibid., a requirement that peremptories be used to remove veniremen properly challenged for cause. The difficult question, however, is not whether Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24(b) requires exercise of the peremptory, but whether normal principles of waiver (not to say the even more fundamental principle of volenti non fit injuria) disable a defendant from objecting on appeal to the seating of a juror he was entirely able to prevent. I would not find it easy to overturn a conviction where, to take an extreme ex-
ample, a defendant had plenty of peremptories left but chose instead to allow to be placed upon the jury a person to whom he had registered an objection for cause, and whose presence he believed would nullify any conviction.
The resolution of juror-bias questions is never clear cut, and it may well be regarded as one of the very purposes of peremptory challenges to enable the defendant to correct judicial error on the point. Indeed, that must have been one of their purposes in earlier years, when there was no appeal from a criminal conviction, see Bessette v. W B. Conkey Co., 194 U. S. 324, 335-336 (1904)-so that if the defendant did not correct the error by using one of his peremptories, the error would not be corrected at all. It is certainly not clear to me that the institution of appeals exempted defendants from using peremptories for this original purpose, thereby giving them (in effect) additional challenges.
Because the question is not presented (and hence cannot be authoritatively resolved), I would leave it unaddressed.
Oral Argument - November 29, 1999
Opinion Announcement - January 19, 2000
First Party
Second Party
Martinez-Salazar
Argued


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If you happen to use the widget for something cool, send me a screenshot.


text:
Notices of Foreclosure
Properties are listed as described in Parmer County Real Property Records with date and time of sale.
Foreclosure April 4, 2023
Notice of Sale Feb. 7, 2023
Foreclosure 2-7-2023
Foreclosure June 7, 2022
Foreclosure May 4, 2021
Foreclosure 12-1-2020
Vol. 87 P. 425.030519.10:00 a.m.


text:
Mobile payment firms struggle to dethrone cash in Southeast Asia
By Reuters &nbspMay 24, 2018 | 06:59 pm PT
More than 90 percent of Southeast Asia's internet access comes through mobile devices, according to a Google-Temasek study. Photo by VnExpress/Dat Nguyen
Cash remains king in the region and is likely to remain the most popular payment option in the next 3 years.
Bui Mai Phuong is an avid online shopper, ordering anything from clothing to personal-care products from her smartphone. But she prefers to pay with cash.
She is among hundreds of millions of people whom firms such as Softbank Group-backed Grab and China's Tencent want to win over as they try to tap into Southeast Asia's burgeoning internet sector.
More than 70 percent of the region's 600 million-plus people do not use banks - higher than the global average of about 30 percent - and e-commerce is projected to hit $88 billion by 2025.
But convincing consumers like Phuong, who lives in Hanoi, could be tricky.
"I have never tried using mobile payments because I don't know how to use it and it seems a bit complicated to use," said Phuong, 36, a manager at a construction material supplier in Vietnam.
Mobile payments are ubiquitous in China; a consumer can spend a day without using cash at all in Beijing or Shanghai, and even some beggars accept mobile payments. But cash remains king in Southeast Asia.
Hard currency, paid on delivery, accounted for 44 percent of total e-commerce transactions last year and is likely to remain the most popular payment option for at least the next three years, according to data by research firm IDC.
"The biggest challenge for users and merchants to adopt cashless is the fact that cash remains ubiquitous, easy to use and inexpensive," said ride-hailing firm Grab, which has ventured into e-wallets.
And the mobile payment marketplace in Southeast Asia remains wide open, with no dominant players.
Indonesia's ride-hailing firm Go-Jek's Go-Pay, Singapore-based Grab's GrabPay, Japan's messaging app Line's Line Pay, Momo e-wallet owner M_Service in Vietnam and Voyager Innovations, which operates Paymaya in the Philippines, have all entered the fray. The gaming company Razer Inc has also indicated it is eager to play a role.
Cash on delivery costs e-commerce businesses more than other payment methods, said Alibaba Group Holding-backed e-retailer Lazada Group.
For example, sometimes a customer does not have enough cash on hand, or is not home to pay for the delivery. In those cases, the product must be sent back to the seller, adding logistical costs, Lazada said.
Mobile payments address some of those problems. They can also benefit buyers by keeping payment in escrow and releasing it only on delivery.
But it can be difficult to persuade users to switch from cash when they earn about $200 on average a month in economies like Vietnam and Indonesia, according to economic data provider CEIC.
"To break habits of using cash, Grab is creating more daily use cases for cashless payment – commuting, food delivery, paying at food and retail stalls - to drive more usage of the GrabPay e-wallet," Grab said in an email.
Mobile payment companies bet they can transform their platforms into financial supermarkets, offering everything from loans to insurance on top of payment options.
Slow going
At the moment, usage is spotty. E-wallets will account for 16 percent of total e-commerce transactions in Southeast Asia by 2021, up from last year's 9 percent, according to IDC.
In countries like Vietnam, where the informal economy has long been a key part of the social fabric, many consumers do not bother to get a bank account.
Some want to stay under the taxman's radar or, like Quang Thi Si, simply do not see the need for a bank.
Si, a 48-year-old scrap collector near Ho Chi Minh City, said her business is all cash.
"Sometimes I need to send money to my relatives at home, and I often send in cash through my friends," she said. "I don't think I will have a bank account in the future because I don't think I need it."
But Si does have a smartphone. More than 90 percent of Southeast Asia's internet access comes through mobile devices, according to a Google-Temasek study.
Even so, in countries like the Philippines, which is known for having some of the slowest Internet speeds in Asia-Pacific, connectivity is a major hurdle for digital payments to clear.
'Late to the party'
Such challenges are likely to pose a setback to Ant Financial and Tencent, which are looking outside China for growth.
Ant, which has 600 million customers and aims to reach 2 billion worldwide in the next decade, has stepped up investments in the region, including a stake in Thai financial technology firm Ascend Money.
But its services are largely limited to Chinese tourists.
"Most of our customers are from China and they are usually very happy to know that we accept AliPay and WeChat Pay. This makes them more willing to spend money too," said Daphne Tan, a staff member at a shop selling durian-flavored coffee and snacks in Singapore's Chinatown.
Tencent plans to make its first foray outside China with an e-payment license in Malaysia for local transactions.
The Chinese players are "kind of late to the party," said Michael Yeo, research manager for IDC.
"By the time they come in with a local version, if they do, the local players will have a significant advantage," said Yeo.
Razer, which said last month it would buy the remaining stake in payments processor MOL Global that it did not already own, also signed a deal with Singtel to link its e-payments network with that of the telco.
Other recent deals in the sector include Go-Jek's acquisition of three financial technology businesses, while Grab's purchase of a handful of companies as well.
"It's a highly fragmented market. Later on, there will be acquisitions, there will be shutdowns, there will be mergers," IDC's Yeo said. "The market will consolidate."
Reading: Mobile payment firms struggle to dethrone cash in Southeast Asia


text:
Q: Excluding properties from the JSON (during Jackson serialization) in the Spring MVC Problem:
An easy way to exclude class properties (ex. fields that shouldn't be exposed to public without authorization) while object returned in the @RestController method.
class Article {
     String title;
     String content;
     List<Comments> comments;
     int status;
}

I would like to be able to easily return Article objects accordingly to the three scenarios I have (that's just a dummy foo bar like example):

*

*Include all the fields

*Include title, content, comments

*Include title and content

Current ideas
Right know I've had three ideas how to solve this issue.
Idea #1
Use @JsonView. It works but it's far from being an easy and straightforward approach (unless I've misunderstood the documentation)
I can annotate all the fields with the @JsonView which seems easy at first but it gets really complicated in the future development.
class Article {
     @JsonView({ArticleView.List.class, ArticleView.Detail.class, ArticleView.Admin.class})
     String title;
     @JsonView({ArticleView.Detail.class, ArticleView.Admin.class})
     String content;
     @JsonView({ArticleView.Detail.class, ArticleView.Admin.class})
     List<Comments> comments;
     @JsonView({ArticleView.Admin.class})
     int status;
}

It does require me to modify a new property with a view each time I do add a new one. I would also need to annotate every single property (I'd like to be as POJO as possible.
Idea #2
DTO - I'd like to avoid creating DTOs especially because adding new field might mean adding it in all classes (it seems to be my current choice though)
Idea #3
https://github.com/monitorjbl/json-view
It just doesn't seem to me like a mature enough to use it in the production. Author is active though.
I believe that my problem is rather common and there has to be an easier approach around.

A: You can take a look at one small project that I have create for this purpose. Probably it's matching your need:
https://github.com/Antibrumm/jackson-antpathfilter

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I need to admit up front that I am an alcohol marker virgin. Yes, that's right.While everyone else has been playing with those *other* brands – you know what they are – I've been sitting here happily coloring with my watercolor crayons and pencils. But I've still been wanting to know what the buzz was about, wanting to try these fascinating markers that everyone seems to love so much…and I do love to color! So I was pretty excited when I was sent a package of the new Spectrum Noir alcohol based markers – the 24 pack of "Brights" – to try out!
Spectrum Noir markers are made by Crafter's Companion, and are distributed by Crafter's Companion in the United Kingdom, and by Crafter's Companion and Darice here in the United States.
As you can see, the ends of the Spectrum Noir markers are colored and marked with a letter/number combo.
Being completely new to alcohol markers, I figured that had something to do with the colors and values, but since I wasn't really certain, I went on a hunt to get my answer…which was easy to find. On Crafter's Companion's website, they have a great chart showing all of the color families, what each letter combination stands for, and how the number represents the value of the color – with 1 being the lights and 11 being the darkest (and not every color family has all 11 values). There are currently 168 colors available in all.
The marker barrels have a sort of square shape to them, and there are two ends. Each end is colored, and each end is labeled, so that you can easily identify the marker. One of each marker has a chisel-type tip, for coloring large areas, and the other has a small bullet-type tip, for more detailed areas. I noted that the markers have a grey band on the bullet-tipped end, which makes it really easy for grabbing the right end of the marker quickly when coloring.
I tried out just a bit of scribbling t0 see what kinds of lines you can get with the two different nibs, and this is what I got.
One of the big questions everyone seems to have about alcohol markers is how well they can blend with each other. So I stamped a large flower (how silly of me…it took forever to color in!), and started coloring with the lightest color I'd chosen. I then went back and added medium and then darker tones, and finally, went back in with my original color and blended them out. I was pleased with the results…especially being a total beginner.
This is mid-way through You can see that I've already shaded the lower right part of the flower.
This was the finished image. I realize it's rather bright…that's because I hadn't found the color chart yet and didn't realize that I was using the "fluorescent" colors. Sigh…I told you…virgin alcohol marker user!! None the less, I did feel like the blending went well!
I did want to mention that I had picked up a pack of the Crafter's Companion card stock at my local scrapbook store…and that's what I used for all of my coloring and testing, unless specifically mentioned otherwise.
You could also alter the color of metal objects, plastic buttons…pretty much anything you can think of that is non-porous! Talk about opening up a world of possibilities!
Here's one last completed tag I did, after I stamped the flower/bottle image onto the card stock and colored it in using the Spectrum Noir markers. I love the effect I was able to get on the bottle using the markers!!
So let's get to the nitty gritty on the price details…because I think you're going to LOVE this part! Spectrum Noir markers are sold in sets…you can buy a set of 6 in a color family, for $11.99 (that's only $2 a marker – compare to the other brand at about $5-6/marker!!). Or you can buy a set of 24 in Brights, Pastels, Lights, or Darks, for $49.95. Again, that comes out to $2/marker. (Of note, none of the packs will repeat colors – so you aren't going to end up with 3 BT3's if you get the Blues, and the Turquoises, and the Brights.) AND, there are places you can even find them for less! The refills run $5.95 each if you purchase them individually, or you can purchase them in bundles like the markers, and the price varies a bit. You get 6-8 refills though from ONE bottle of refill ink!! Wow!
So, I know I'm new to alcohol markers…but I'm impressed. What about you? Â I wonder if they'll be adding to the colors, because I know that's one area where people will be complaining…but for the price, I don't know how you can beat it! Â Especially if you are just joining the alcohol marker movement! Talk to me…what do YOU think?
This is such a helpful review….thank you! I'm also sitting on the fence and haven't bought alcohol markers….yet. But the price of these is pretty convincing.
So far this is my opinion of these markers.
They are great markers for the low end pricing.
They are comparative to color to the Copic.
Copic is a better marker.
Copic is higher in cost and hard for some to afford.
I am still waiting for the rest of these to arrive.
I will then begin my testing.
Thanks for chiming it. But I have to ask, what makes Copics "better?" I've compared Copics to Prisma Color and Leteraset, and I find them all pretty comparable in quality, color, and blendability.
I've been wondering about alcohol markers too. And I noticed these were a lot cheaper than the others. Now I really want these! LOL You did a great job for your first time! You made it look so easy too!
I'm off to order some!
so refreshing to read a review from an alcohol ink newbie. the experts tend to focus on blendability, which isn't my goal. i have 4 copics i bought to decide if i liked the sketch or ciao better. they are nice but i cannot justify the cost of a big set of them. you created really cool looks with the noir. think i will get a set and see what happens.
I am also new to alcohol markers…but I did get a beautiful set of these Spectrum Noir from my hubby for Christmas. I am tickled at how easy they are to use. They actually have a pretty big range of colors (the basic set is like…72 markers, I think) and they have just expanded with brights, darks, pastels and florescent. They are a great value for the money! Look at PaperWishes.com…they have excellent prices for the sets. And right now, they have a 15% off your largest order coupon as a Mother's Day special.
Kathy- thanks for sharing. I noticed, though, that Consumer Crafts has them for $34.99 /set… PW is $44.99! Happy shopping!
I just love how you colored the bottleand butterfly.Can you tell me the numbers of the pens you used? Thanks!
I loved your review–it seems pretty thorough. I tried these out at the Scrapbook Expo, and liked them. I REALLY liked their numbering system–so much better than Copics.
I'm going to check out the prices on the internet so I can try them. Thanks for your review. You did a great job coloring, especially on the bottle.
I love alcohol markers! I have the complete Copic collection, so that is what I use. I, too, used to use water color crayons but really haven't much since getting into Copics. I'm still learning, but I love to use them and the blending is awesome!
The Noir markers are also sold at JoAnn's. If you use one of your coupons you can get a discount.
I just seen Acmoore ad for a pack of these for 7.88. Thanks to this review I'm on my way to get a few packs!
Hi there ,, I have these pens and was wondering can you use them on wood??
Shelly- you can indeed use them on wood. The effect will be more of a stain than a paint ( you won't getopaque coverage. ) Have fun!
My fear was the demonstrations show the results an experienced user gets with the markers. I was concerned the cost may be a waste for a newbie into the world of alchohol markers. Thank you so much for your review and sharing your first coloring samples! It really encouraged me to purchase these markers! Great job!
Thanks for the review. Guess I'm out of the loop; I didn't know there were other alcohol markers out there besides copic.
I've been on the fence, wanting some Copics, and buying some of these instead. The one thing that doesn't compare is that the Copic Sketch markers (specifically the Sketch set) have a nice brush tip that these don't have. I think a brush tip would be a nice feature. But at this massive price difference, I'll definitely begin experimenting with these (and my Prismacolors).


'Another penny,' I thought as my wife dragged the pick point in a well practiced motion from one side of the target to the other and the coin flipped out neatly into the open. As dedicated coin and relic hunters it's always good to start the day with a coin (especially an old one) and this coin was very old judging from the corrosion. However, upon closer inspection and a quick clean, it was apparent that this was not an English penny but rather some kind of token.
The words were very hard to read but I could make out the date 1855 on the bottom of the token as well as a hole that was neatly punched just inside the rim. The name 'Hank and Lloyd, Sydney' was just legible on one side. Finding tokens are just as good as finding pennies in my book because not only were they a form of currency during the gold rush era but they provide an informative glimpse into the past.
But something puzzled me because on the other side of the token I was sure I could just make out the words 'Sydney Railway' and I wondered why, back then, a private business would have had some association with a government body.


An artist's impression of the merger of two neutron stars. Short duration gamma-ray bursts are thought to be caused by the merger of some combination of white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes.
More than 1,200 years ago, some mysterious event was recorded in tree rings in a Japanese cedar forest.
While one study suggested a solar flare was to blame, a new group of researchers are pointing toward a gamma-ray burst, a powerful space explosion.
The ancient cedar trees record a rare event around 774 or 775 A.D. This shows up in a sharp rise in the amount of radioactive carbon-14 and beryllium-10 recorded in the trees' rings, which can be created by incoming particles from space.
But what caused an influx of radiation?
These bursts can be caused when two compact objects, such black holes or neutron stars, slam into each other and release a flood of high-energy gamma-ray radiation.
Such an interpretation, the scientists argue, fits the tree ring mystery, because a gamma-ray burst would be powerful enough to cause the uptick in carbon-14 and beryllium-10. It also fits with the fact that no rare celestial event was observed that year on Earth, at least according to records available now.
The researchers calculated that a gamma-ray burst at a distance of 3,000 and 12,000 light-years from Earth best fits the data.
"If the gamma-ray burst had been much closer to the Earth it would have caused significant harm to the biosphere," Neuhauser said in a statement. "But even thousands of light-years away, a similar event today could cause havoc with the sensitive electronic systems that advanced societies have come to depend on."
The rare forms of carbon and beryllium, which are heavier than the normal varieties of those elements, are created when radiation from space collides with nitrogen atoms in Earth's atmosphere, which then decay into carbon-14 and beryllium-10.
Both chemicals are unstable and decay on predictable time scales, allowing scientists to trace these particular tree rings back to such a specific time in the past. The fact that the jump in carbon-14 and beryllium-10 was only seen in one year's rings means whatever sparked their creation was short-lived.
"The challenge now is to establish how rare such carbon-14 spikes are, i.e., how often such radiation bursts hit the Earth," Neuhauser said. "In the last 3,000 years, the maximum age of trees alive today, only one such event appears to have taken place."
The researchers say a gamma-ray burst explanation fits better than a solar flare, because most flares from the sun would not be powerful enough to create such a spike. Plus, they argue, a super-strong solar flare would likely have created extra-special aurora displays, which were not seen, according to historical records.
However, astrophysicists Adrian Melott of the University of Kansas and Brian Thomas of Washburn University say a flare would have to have been only about 10 or 20 times more powerful than the greatest flare on record, the so-called Carrington event of 1859. Since the records don't go back very far, such an occurrence is not out of the realm of possibility, they say.
To distinguish between the different interpretations, historians will have to look for further hints in the historical records. Neuhauser and Hambaryan also suggest looking for the object that might have resulted from the merger that caused the gamma-ray burst, which would be a 1,200-year-old black hole or neutron star that lies between 3,000 to 12,000 light-years away, but lacks the characteristic gas and dust clouds of a supernova remnant.
They report their findings Jan. 21 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.


text:
Tag Archives: Alicia Fox
WWE Evolution (2018) – Ladies Night
By Chewie November 18, 2018 November 18, 2018 PPV Recaps
I'm WAY behind on my PPV recaps but I really enjoy doing them so even though Survivor Series is right around the corner (this Sunday, November 18th) I'm going to go back and recap the last show WWE Evolution (2018). The event took place on October 28th, 2018, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York. It was the WWE's first ever all women's PPV event and I have to say I really enjoyed the show. Mark was … Continue reading
Tagged Alicia Fox, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Dakota Kai, Io Shirai, Kairi Sane, Lita, Mickie James, Natalya, Nia Jax, Nikki Bella, NXT UK Women's Championship, NXT Women's Championship, Rhea Ripley, Riott Squad, Ronda Rousey, Sasha Banks, Shayna Baszler, Toni Storm, Trish Stratus, WWE Evolution, WWE Raw Women's Championship, WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
Clash of Champions (2016) – RAW PPV That Looks Like RAW
By Chewie October 7, 2016 October 7, 2016 PPV Recaps
Clash of Champions took place on September 25, 2016 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. This was the first Raw branded PPV since the brand split and was the first known as "Clash of Champions". The event was formerly known as Night of Champions. I'm finally getting around to posting my recap nearly two weeks after the event partly because I've been sick and partly because I didn't watch the event until a couple … Continue reading
Tagged Alicia Fox, Bayley, Brian Kendrick, Cesaro, Charlotte, Chris Jericho, Clash of Champions, Karl Anderson, Kevin Owens, Luke Gallows, New Day, Nia Jax, Roman Reigns, Rusev, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, T.J. Perkins, WWE Cruiserweight Championship, WWE Network, WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, WWE Raw Women's Championship, WWE United States Championship, WWE Universal Championship
WrestleMania 32 (2016) – Bigger. But Better?
By Chewie April 6, 2016 April 6, 2016 PPV Recaps
Sunday evening, the WWE rolled into Arlington, Texas and AT & T Stadium and put on their version of the Super Bowl – WrestleMania 32. This is the weekend that the world of professional wrestling revolves around as it only only includes what has become a day long event (more on that later) but also a NXT show on Friday night and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday night. 2016 inductees included Sting, … Continue reading
Tagged AJ Styles, Alicia Fox, Baron Corbin, Battle Royal, Becky Lynch, Brie Bella, Brock Lesnar, Charlotte, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, Divas Championship, Dolph Ziggler, Dudley Boys, Emma, Erick Rowan, Eva Marie, Hell In A Cell, Intercontinental Championship, Kalisto, Kevin Owens, Lana, League of Nations, Naomi, New Day, Roman Reigns, Ryback, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks, Shane McMahon, Sin Cara, Stardust, Summer Rae, Tamina, The Miz, The Rock, Triple H, Undertaker, United States Championship, Usos, World Heavyweight Championship, WrestleMania 32, WWE Women's Championship, Zack Ryder
Thoughts On The Rumble
By Chewie February 8, 2012 January 20, 2016 PPV Recaps
We're a few days removed from the 2012 WWE Royal Rumble pay per view. As this is the official start to the Road To WrestleMania (and happens to be my favorite PPV of the year) this is one of the 2 shows per year I get (with Mania obviously being the other). There's been quite a bit of bad press out there for this show and I really don't get it. This was a very … Continue reading
Tagged Alicia Fox, beer, Bella Twins, Beth Phoenix, Big Show, Brodus Clay, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Eve Torres, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, John Cena, Kane, Kelly Kelly, Kharma, Mark Henry, Marko, Natalya, Pip, PPV, Royal Rumble, Rumblemid, Sheamus, steel cage, Tamina, The Rock, World Heavyweight Championship, WrestleMania 28, WWE, Zack Ryder
WrestleMania 25 Recap – Lackluster Show With A Couple Of Standouts
By Chewie April 7, 2009 January 8, 2015 Commentary, Random Stuff, Rants
Pip, my brother and I got together and carried on our tradition of watching WrestleMania together. This was the 25th anniversary of the show so were expecting big things and a great show. What we got (with a couple of exceptions) was neither. Overall I'd have to say it was a pretty bad show with just a couple of high spots – certainly not what we were expecting from the biggest show of the year… … Continue reading
Tagged Alicia Fox, Battle Royal, beer, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella, Carlito, Chris Jericho, Christian, CM Punk, Diva, drinking game, Eve Torres, Fit Finlay, Gail Kim, Hall of Fame, Jackie Gayda, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Jillian, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, John Morrison, Joy Giovanni, Kane, Kati Lea, Kelly Kelly, Kid Rock, Kofi Kingston, Koko B. Ware, Layla, Maria, Mark Henry, Marko, Maryse, Matt Hardy, Melina, Michelle McCool, Mickey Rourke, Mickie James, Miss WrestleMania, Molly Holly, Money In The Bank, MVP, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Pip, Primo, Randy Orton, recap, Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Rosa Mendez, Santina Marella, Shawn Michaels, Shelton Benjamin, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Sunny, The Miz, The Streak, The Wrestler, Tiffany, Torrie Wilson, tradition, Triple H, Undertaker, Victoria, WrestleMania 25
Art Imitating Life
Bumblebee (2018) Trailer
The Best of 2015 – A Look Back At 406Northlane.com
Star Wars: Episode IX Teaser and Title – The Rise of Skywalker
Deadpool is Coming May 10th – TWSS


text:
Q: Facing issues while calling Azure cognitive API's I have small test app, which I am using to call the Azure cognitive(TTS) API. I have deployed this app currently on VPS (HostGator), where it is working fine as expected. The voice files are also converted and able to download them.
However, I am facing issues with OVH France dedicated server. I have created VPS out of this and deployed the application, everything works fine like the dashboard and login/ logout function. The problem is with Azure API, every time the API is called, the request is pending and times out after ~2 minutes. There are no error messages as well.
I have tried disabling the ddos protection on OVH IP as well, but I am not sure what is wrong at this point. This is problem with Azure and not with other provider, the Google auth and captcha API work fine.
Is there I am missing something? Is it something related to EU location or GDPR or something that needs to be done/ configure on Azure?
Because I have tried the same thing on DigitalOcean and Vultr droplet, everything works fine.
Thanks!

A: This kind of problem is common in cloud platforms and especially with EU region. It is not because of the platform like azure, GCP or digital ocean. In other cloud service providers also the EU region is facing issue. Try to avoid operating on those availability zones and re-map to new region.


The Best Play In-Depth Games Analyses by Feng Yun covers two games played on the Internet. The first game is between an AGA 3-dan and an AGA 4-dan; the second game is between two AGA 4-dans. Each analysis spans about 25 pages with numerous diagrams and notes explaining the game, the errors committed in play, and the proper line of play.


text:
\section{Introduction}

Water is polluted all over the world by highly toxic chemicals that are poured directly into it or into the ground by agriculture, industry, military and other sources. Since the toxicity of chemicals generated by these activities depends on their nature and ranges from highly toxic (e.g. organophosphorous pesticides or herbicides, such as Parathion, Diazinon or DDVP) to moderately toxic (e.g. halogenated hydrocarbons or ammonium perchlorate), it is not only necessary to detect their concentration but also to identify them inside a water system. A useful monitoring system should facilitate online monitoring in remote locations (e.g. inside water pipes or reservoirs), be sensitive, selective, robust, affordable and easy to operate.

Mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool to identify organic molecules as most of them exhibit molecular fingerprints due to  roto-vibrational modes absorbing in the mid-IR range~\cite{lin1991handbook}. Quantum cascade lasers (QCLs)~\cite{faist1994quantum} have demonstrated their ability as light sources for the spectroscopic detection of chemicals in the atmosphere reaching the part-per-billion sensitivity with the proper absorption cells~\cite{curl2010quantum}. Previous experiments were performed with such lasers operating in the mid-IR range for chemical sensing using a direct absorption method to detect phosphates~\cite{lendl2000mid}, adenine and xanthosine ~\cite{kolhed2002assessment}, glucose and fructose~\cite{edelmann2001towards}, or carbon dioxide~\cite{schaden2004direct} in aqueous samples by using a specific flow cell and a propagation path of the order of $100 \, \upmu \mathrm{m}$. This short optical path is constrained by the large absorption coefficient of water~\cite{hale1973optical}, being about $500 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$ (i.e. $20 \, \upmu \mathrm{m}$ attenuation length) in the spectral range from $8 \, \upmu \mathrm{m}$ to $10 \, \upmu \mathrm{m}$, resulting in unpractical measurements using standard macroscopic transmission cells. On the other hand, the use of miniaturized cells would hamper the monitoring of large volumes of water. Measurement systems based on fiber-optic evanescent wave spectroscopy (FEWS) have been previously reported, either at visible wavelengths by using a surface plasmon resonance based sensor to detect pesticides~\cite{chand2007surface}, or in the infrared by using a silver halide fiber to measure in-water absorption of chemicals over a distance of few millimeters~\cite{Raichlin:08}. The latter system is based on attenuated total reflectance method allowing to measure the absorption of samples next to the fiber and relies on the high transparency~\cite{mizaikoff2003mid} in the mid-IR range, non-toxicity and non-hygroscopy of silver halide fibers.
By combining QCLs with silver halide optical fibers, droplets of specific chemicals in liquid phase were directly detected~\cite{chen2005silver} by measuring the transmitted light spectrum, with a total immersed length below $25 \, \mathrm{mm}$.

Here, we present a sensing system for the \textit{in-situ} and real-time monitoring of chemical substances dispersed in water based on FEWS. The system integrates a multi-wavelength QCL array, a 80 cm-long silver halide fiber (AgClBr) contained in a PVC tube, and a fast mercury-cadmium-telluride (MCT) infrared detector. As the fiber is core-only, the evanescent tail of the electric field overlaps with the chemical diluted in the water (or any other fluid such as air) and the variations of the transmitted intensity can be detected on the infrared detector. We first explore the sensitivity of such a system with a theoretical analysis, then we demonstrate in-water transmission of a mid-IR evanescent wave and the detection of traces of ethanol. This chemical is chosen as a sample chemical for the safety of the experimental protocol but its absorption properties in the mid-IR range can be considered as representative of the class of highly toxic molecules that we are targeting in this study. Two configurations were used for the experimental study: a time-resolved transmission measurement at a single frequency that allows to characterize the time response of the system, and a static multi-wavelength study aiming at the spectroscopic identification of the molecular fingerprint of the chemical at different concentrations.

\begin{figure*}[ht]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{fig1}
  \caption{\label{fig:fig1}
  (a) Schematic of the fiber-optic system for in-water chemical sensing. A silver halide fiber lies in a PVC tube (inner diameter $6.4 \, \mathrm{mm}$, length $80 \, \mathrm{cm}$.) Water flows between two tanks propelled by a peristaltic pump.
  (b) Principle of fiber-optic evanescent wave sensing: as the light propagates along the immersed fiber (wavevector $\vec{k}$) with a confinement factor $\Gamma$, the evanescent tail overlaps with the liquid causing optical absorption.
  (c) Series of emission spectra produced by the different elements of the QCL array showing monochromatic emission from $1020 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$ to $1085 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$.
}
\end{figure*}

\section{Measurement setup}

A schematic of the measurement set-up is shown in Fig.~1(a): a multimode AgClBr fiber ($\diameter=0.9 \, \mathrm{mm}$, $L=80 \, \mathrm{cm}$) is fed inside a clear PVC tube (capacity 30 mL), with tee-shaped connectors at both ends. One port of the tees provides the interface for the fiber with the outside of the tube where light is coupled in/out of the fiber. Epoxy glue is used to guarantee a water-proof interface. The other port of the tees allows the fluid to flow in/out of the tube upon the propulsion generated by a peristaltic pump.

The mid-IR light source of the system consists of a QCL array based on the master-oscillator power-amplifier array geometry~\cite{rauter2013high}. The array is composed of 14 devices comprising two individual electrical sections: a power amplifier, and a distributed feedback (DFB) section.  The active region of this device is a GaInAs/AlInAs broadband bound-to-continuum heterostructure grown lattice-matched on a conducting InP substrate by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE). The grating period of the DFB section is varied for each device in order to obtain single-mode operation at specific wavelengths between $9.2$ and  $9.8 \, \upmu \mathrm{m}$.
The QCL array is operated in pulsed mode with a repetition rate of $10 \, \mathrm{kHz}$ and a pulse width of $80 \, \mathrm{ns}$. The emission spectrum of each device is measured using a Bruker 70 Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (cf. Fig.~1(c)).

The optical transmission of the fiber in the mid-IR is monitored by measuring the transmitted light generated from the different devices of the QCL array by using a thermoelectrically cooled mercury-cadmium-telluride (MCT) detector (Vigo PVI-4TE-10.6). The light pulses measured by the MCT detector are averaged using a box-car averager (Stanford Research Systems SR280) synchronized with the pulse generator and averaging over 300 pulses. The output signal of the box-car averager is acquired using a DAQ card (National Instruments BNC 2110).

The principle of FEWS is illustrated in Fig.~1(b): as the light generated by the laser propagates along the core-only fiber, the evanescent tails of the modes supported by the fiber overlap with the surrounding fluid and lead to a wavelength-dependent absorption of light in the fluid. As a consequence, the intensity decreases in the light wave along the whole fiber length. The efficiency of the evanescent wave absorption mechanism is determined by the fiber geometry (e.g. shape and size)~\cite{Raichlin:08}.

\section{Results and discussion}

\subsection{System analysis}

The performance of the sensing system is limited by a compromise that depends on the fiber length $L$, the laser power $ P_{\mathrm{laser}} $, the noise level of the detector $N_0$ and the power coupling efficiency in and out of the fiber $\eta$.
The bandwidth of the system for which the noise level is defined corresponds to the integration constant of the box-car averager used. This setting (300 samples at 10 kHz rate) is kept constant in all experiments leading to a bandwidth of approximately $30 \, \mathrm{Hz}$. This specific value was chosen to ensure fast response (within 100 ms) for the real-time study of the optical transmission.

The first constraint on the spectroscopy set-up requires that a transmitted signal larger than $N_0$ must be detected in presence of pure water, i.e. in absence of the chemical, which translates into the following relation:

\begin{equation}
P_{\mathrm{det}}^w =  \eta  P_{\mathrm{laser}}   e^{-\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}} L} > N_0
\label{eq:rule1}
\end{equation}

where $\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}$ is the effective absorption coefficient of water for light propagating in the fiber and $P_{\mathrm{det}}^w$ is the power measured by the detector when the tube is filled with pure water.

Eq.~\ref{eq:rule1} implies that the fiber length should be smaller than a critical length $L_c$:

\begin{equation}
L < \frac{1}{\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}} \log \left (  \frac{\eta  P_{\mathrm{laser}} }{N_0} \right ) =L_c
\label{eq:rule1l}
\end{equation}

The chemical to be detected absorbs light with an effective absorption coefficient $\alpha_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}$ for the wave propagating in the fiber that follows the Beer-Lambert law and is thus proportional to its concentration. By using $\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}$, $\alpha_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}$ and the volumic concentration of the in-water dispersed chemical introduced in the fiber ($x$), the effective absorption coefficient due to the chemical dispersed in water is $\alpha_{\mathrm{eff}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}(x)= x \alpha_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{fiber}} +(1-x) \alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}$. The power transmitted by the fiber when the tube is filled with water containing a volumic fraction $x$ of the target chemical, and measured by the detector $P_{\mathrm{det}}^c(x)$ is

\begin{equation}
P_{\mathrm{det}}^c(x) = \eta  P_{\mathrm{laser}}  e^{-\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}} L - x (\alpha_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}-\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}) L}
\label{eq:powerdetc}
\end{equation}

In order to successfully detect the target chemical, the change in transmission due to the chemical should be measurable, meaning that the difference in the power measured by the detector among the two previous situations must be larger than $N_0$.

\begin{multline}
P_{\mathrm{det}}^w - P_{\mathrm{det}}^c =
\eta  P_{\mathrm{laser}}  e^{-\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}} L}\times \\
[ 1- e^{-x (\alpha_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}-\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}) L}]   > N_0
\label{eq:rule2}
\end{multline}

Combining Eq.~\ref{eq:rule1} and Eq.~\ref{eq:rule2} we can extract the minimum volumic fraction $x_{\mathrm{min}}$ that can be detected by the system:

\begin{equation}
x_{\mathrm{min}} = - \frac{1}{L(\alpha_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}-\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}})} \log \left ( 1 -  \frac{N_0}{P_{\mathrm{det}}^w} \right )
\label{eq:rule2l}
\end{equation}

Assuming the condition stated in Eq.~\ref{eq:rule1} is strongly fulfilled  (i.e. $ P_{\mathrm{det}}^w  \gg N_0$ ), Eq.~\ref{eq:rule2l} can then be approximated by:

\begin{equation}
x_{\mathrm{min}}(L) \approx  \frac{e^{\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}} L}}{L(\alpha_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}-\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}})}  \frac{N_0}{\eta  P_{\mathrm{laser}} }
\label{eq:cminapp}
\end{equation}

By taking the derivative of the Eq.~\ref{eq:cminapp} one can show that this expression is minimal for a fiber length given by $L_{\mathrm{opt}}=1/\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}$, and the absolute minimum fraction of the chemical that can be detected with our system assuming all other parameters fixed becomes

\begin{equation}
x_{\mathrm{min}}(L_{\mathrm{opt}}) =  \frac{e~\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}}{(\alpha_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{fiber}}-\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}})}  \frac{N_0}{\eta  P_{\mathrm{laser}} }
\label{eq:cminopt}
\end{equation}

\begin{figure}[htp]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{fig2}
\caption{\label{fig:fig2}
(a)
The different steps of this procedure are the following:
(b) At $t = t_1$, the tube is empty and the fiber transmission is the highest.
(c) At $t=t_2$, the tube is partially filled and the transmission decreases.
(d) At $t = t_3$, the tube is completely filled and the transmission is the smallest.
}
\end{figure}

In order to determine the effective absorption coefficient of the fiber immersed in water or ethanol we performed a time-resolved measurement of the fiber transmission as the tube (initially purged with nitrogen) is progressively filled with the liquid. The transmission of the fiber at a wavenumber of $1044\, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$, close to an ethanol absorption peak, is measured as a function of time as shown in Fig.~2 for ethanol and de-ionized water. During these measurements the tube is progressively filled with a regular pump flow of $60 \, \mathrm{mL/min}$ preventing the creation of air pockets. We can thus linearly map the time with the length of fiber immersed in the liquid (see secondary x-axis in Fig.~2). Fitting the exponential decay of the transmission signal as a function of the immersed fiber length we extract $\alpha_{\mathrm{w}}^{\mathrm{fiber}} = 9 \times 10^{-3}  \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$ and $\alpha_{\mathrm{e}}^{\mathrm{fiber}} = 1.1 \times 10^{-1}  \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$.
We also observe that when the tube is filled with pure ethanol, the transmission reaches the noise level at $t\approx20$ s. By taking the standard deviation of the noise signal we can determine the ratio of the noise level over the transmitted power as $N_0/(\eta  P_{\mathrm{laser}} ) = 2 \times 10^{-3}$.

With the parameters extracted from this experiment we can determine using Eq.~\ref{eq:cminopt} the maximum sensitivity of the system. Considering the optimal fiber length $L_{\mathrm{opt}}= 111 \, \mathrm{cm}$ (close to that of our system: 80 cm), the minimum concentration that could be detected by the system is $x_{\mathrm{min}} \approx 0.048 \% $.

The system performance can be further increased by using more powerful lasers, more sensitive detectors, a larger integration time or flattened fibers to increase the overlap with the surrounding liquid~\cite{Raichlin:08}.

\begin{figure}[htp]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.43\textwidth]{fig3}
  \caption{\label{fig:fig3}
Real-time monitoring of the fiber transmission when injecting a given volume of water or ethanol in the water flow. The laser wavenumber is $1050 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$.
}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Real-time monitoring}

In a second study, while a continuous flow of de-ionized water goes through the tube we inject using a Y-shaped connector (see Fig.~\ref{fig:fig1}a) a small volume of ethanol in the flow, either 0.5 or 1 mL, and simultaneously monitor the change in the fiber transmission at the wavenumber $ 1050 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$, close to an absorption peak of ethanol. The injection occurs between $t=15 \, \mathrm{s}$ and $t=17 \, \mathrm{s}$ (see Fig.~3). We observe a rapid drop in transmission as the chemical comes in contact with the fiber. After approximately 1 min the ethanol diffuses (due to both the water flow and the physical diffusion) and the transmission increases back towards the previous level. For both injected volumes a sizeable drop in transmission (i.e. $>5\%$) is observed within the injection time. In a control experiment we inject 1 mL of water in the flow and no significant change in transmission occurs as the composition of the fluid surrounding the immersed fiber is unchanged. This result shows that injecting ethanol in the water flow leads to an immediate detection by a steep decrease in light transmission demonstrating the effectiveness of the system for real-time monitoring applications.

\subsection{Spectroscopic study}

\begin{figure}[htp]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.40\textwidth]{fig4}
\caption{\label{fig:fig4}
Spectroscopic study of the fiber transmission for different wavelengths in presence of various concentration of ethanol in the tube: $0.17 \, \mathrm{mol/L}$ in blue circles and $1.7 \, \mathrm{mol/L}$ in orange diamonds. The inset shows for comparison the mid-IR absorption spectrum of a solution of ethanol diluted in carbon tetrachloride (NIST, reproduced from Ref.~\cite{Plyler1952}).
}
\end{figure}

To demonstrate the full capacity of the system, we use the QCL array to measure the wavelength-dependent transmission of the fiber with different concentrations of ethanol in the tube. The resulting data, normalized by the transmission in pure water, are shown in Fig.~\ref{fig:fig4} for two different concentrations of ethanol, $0.17$ and $1.7 \, \mathrm{mol/L}$. The spectra measured by the FEWS system are in good agreement with the molecular fingerprint of ethanol in this spectral range (cf. inset of Fig.~\ref{fig:fig4}): a main pronounced transmission dip around $1045 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$ and a local transmission maximum at $1070 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$ are observed.

The study presented here focused on the detection of ethanol as a sample chemical diluted in water for the safety protocol of the laboratory environment. Harmful organophosphorus chemicals like pesticides (such as Parathion, Diazinon or DDVP) exhibit resonances in the spectral range considered in this manuscript with magnitudes even stronger than those featured by ethanol~\cite{tanner1996spectral}. Therefore the system presented here may be used to monitor drinking water sources, such as wells, in remote places where these pesticides have been used.

We also expect the proposed system to be suitable for the detection of harmful chemicals absorbing at different wavelengths in the mid-IR range~\cite{lin1991handbook} where the fiber is transparent and where QCL emission can be tailored~\cite{Yao2012}. Some examples of such chemicals accompanied by the wavenumber of their absorption peak are: cyanide ($2170 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$), ammonium perchlorate ($1100 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$) and trichloroethylene ($940 \, \mathrm{cm}^{-1}$).

For higher resolution spectroscopy, one may consider using QCLs with sampled grating distributed reflectors either for long wavelength~\cite{mansuripur2012widely} or shorter wavelength~\cite{kalchmair2015high} operation.

\section{Conclusions}

We presented a system providing fast detection of a chemical dispersed into water. A theoretical analysis provides insights into the main parameters relevant for the sensitivity of the apparatus and can guide future design optimization. We demonstrated both an alarm-type function by real-time monitoring of a single-wavelength transmission, and a spectroscopic function by measuring the transmission of the fiber at different wavelengths.
While the alarm-type response provides a prompt alert about the introduction of a foreign chemical into the water, the spectroscopic ability allows to discriminate and identify the nature of the chemical provided that its molecular fingerprint lies within the spectral range of the sensing system. Finally the AgClBr fibers used in this proof-of-concept are non-toxic and non-hygroscopic.
These feature makes this apparatus suitable for applications related to the online monitoring of drinking water systems.

\section*{Acknowledgments}
The authors acknowledge Patrick Rauter, Stefan Menzel, Anish Goyal, Christine Wang, Antonio Sanchez and George Turner for fabricating the devices used in this paper.
This work was supported by the government of Israel, Ministry of Defense, Mission to the USA (Grant  no. 100313604) and  the  Defense  Threat  Reduction  Agency-Joint  Science  and  Technology  Office  for  Chemical  and  Biological  Defense  (Grant  no. HDTRA1-10-1-0031-DOD)
\section*{References}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv