PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night as a figure at once beloved and reviled.
In her decades of public life, adversaries have maligned her with conspiracy theories and venom, leaving her public image badly bruised even as she finds herself on the cusp of making history as the first woman president.
These were among the biggest burdens that followed her on stage in Philadelphia. She tried to take them on with a combination of uplift and aggression, portraying herself as a fighter for the middle class and downtrodden.
And she launched a direct counterattack on the GOP rival who's painted her as "Crooked Hillary."
"Ask yourself: Does Donald Trump have the temperament to be commander in chief? Donald Trump can't even handle the rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign," she said. "A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons."
Clinton relied heavily on testimonials all week to soften and bolster her image. When her own turn came on Thursday night, she sought to project a seriousness of purpose, a depth and resolve to put Trump's bombast and fear-mongering into sharp relief.
"America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart," she said. "We are clear-eyed about what our country is up against. But we are not afraid. We will rise to the challenge, just as we always have."
Over the four nights of the Democratic convention, two presidents, a daughter and a parade of celebrities, friends, political allies vouched for the Hillary they know — the good friend, the loving mom, the lifelong advocate for children, the policy wonk, the tough minded diplomat.
Chelsea Clinton called her "my wonderful, thoughtful, hilarious mother," a grandma who'll readily delay a campaign speech to FaceTime with granddaughter Charlotte, not yet age 2.
"This November, I'm voting for a woman who is my role model as a mother and as an advocate. A woman who has spent her entire life working for children and families," Chelsea Clinton said.
The convention started out bumpy. The party chairwoman resigned after Wikileaks trove of hacked emails affirming what Sen. Bernie Sanders' had long complained: that instead of strict neutrality, there was at minimum a hostility toward his campaign emanating from party headquarters. Monday night's opening session was raucous and unruly.
Chants of "Lock her up!" punctuated the proceedings, an echo of the venom aimed at Clinton the previous week at the GOP convention.
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, a former chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, shrugged off the lingering mistrust.
"This is typical. There was mistrust of Mitt Romney and with Barack Obama and with George Bush and Al Gore," he said. "There were many lies that Donald Trump made that are now surfacing. People are seeing that he is a great liar. Nine out of 10 Sanders people will pick Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump."
Even Thursday, bright yellow "Enough already!" T-shirts sported by diehard Sanders supporters glowed whenever the arena lights went low. Many view Clinton as overly cozy with Wall Street, too eager to flex American military muscle and not progressive enough.
"As Berners, we need some time to come to grips with the situation and accept where we're at. We can't just overnight stop and decide that we're in. We need time for the healing," said Connecticut delegate Mercedes Alonzo, a lawyer.
Sanders encouraged his supporters to set aside their reservations about Clinton and back her with enthusiasm. But it's not enough for some.
"We're not robots," Alonzo said. "We're not so thrilled with Hillary. But at the end of the day, we recognize she is not Trump. Logic may overrule emotion."
But for all the noise and fury in Philadelphia, Democrats enter the general election more unified than Republicans.
Trump is such an outsider and disrupter, so inflammatory and offensive that he has alienated much of the party's establishment. The Bushes all stayed away, along with all but one of the party's previous nominees and many of the rivals Trump dispatched in the primaries.
Clinton sought both to define herself and her opponent — herself as a bold and compassionate fighter, him as a bigot, a charlatan and a bully.
"For the past year, many people made the mistake of laughing off Donald Trump's comments - excusing him as an entertainer just putting on a show," she said. "It was just too hard to fathom - that someone who wants to lead our nation could say those things.... But here's the sad truth: There is no other Donald Trump. This is it."
Trump's campaign blasted back throughout and after her speech, saying she had worked on behalf of major donors and was part of the political status quo.
"At Hillary Clinton's convention this week, Democrats have been speaking about a world that doesn't exist. A world where America has full employment, where there's no such thing as radical Islamic terrorism, where the border is totally secured, and where thousands of innocent Americans have not suffered from rising crime in cities like Baltimore and Chicago," Trump said in a written statement. "I propose a different vision for America, one where we can break up Washington's rigged system, and empower all Americans to achieve their dreams."
In terms of image building, Clinton is far less a self-promoter than Trump. Why bother, after a week of virtuoso testimonials, warm-ups for her own turn on stage?
There was first lady Michelle Obama's emotional passing of the baton from one history-making president to the next. Vice President Joe Biden's regular Joe takedown of Trump — "He has no clue." Independent Michael Bloomberg calling out his fellow New York billionaire as a con man and a demagogue. Bill Clinton talking about the girl he met in law school, softening his wife's image.
And the capstone, President Barack Obama, whose most famous put down may be the one aimed at Clinton back in the 2008 primaries: "You're likable enough." He vouched for her passion and judgment.
One key mission for each of these speakers was to show the Hillary they know and love - the one who's not as bad as you think, the one who'll fight for you.
None of this would be needed if she were widely beloved and trusted.
Neither Clinton nor Trump now tops 40 percent in favorability ratings. Even within their own parties, they're each at about 70 percent. That's significantly below the norm for a nominee at this point in a campaign cycle; after all, they're the ones who rose to the top in their respective primaries.
That makes this very much a choice between the lesser of evils. Republicans uncomfortable with Trump and utterly averse to Clinton have relied on the mantra that this has become a binary choice, and one of the options is, for them completely unacceptable.
While that's not exactly the formulation Democrats offered up in Philadelphia, that was very much the subtext Thursday night.
"Both candidates have challenges," Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said in an interview. "But voters are far deeper than just this personality, this likability. ... Trump has reached his high water mark. You just cannot have someone saying and doing the things he's doing and become president."
The entire week was devoted to introducing Clinton to voters, or reintroducing her, with a parade of speakers famous and not so famous vouching for her warmth and commitment.
"After this convention, America will see a woman that has dedicated her life to public service. That woman is much different than the one the Republican hate machine has shown," said Gilberto Hinojosa, the Texas Democratic chairman.
The GOP convention gave Trump the chance to put his best foot forward. His elegant and articulate children and wife did him a great service in puncturing the windbag image. Employees and business colleagues vouched for his acumen, decisiveness and commitment to meritocracy.
And it was only a few days before Trump shot himself in that foot. Urging Russia to hack into Clinton's emails on Wednesday reinforced concerns that he's unserious.
"How stupid this guy is," Hinojosa said.
Trump, Clinton argued, proves the point behind the book she penned 20 years ago, It Takes a Village.
"None of us can raise a family, build a business, heal a community or lift a country totally alone," she said.
She blasted him for portraying himself as the lone answer to the nation's woes.
"Really? I alone can fix it?" she said. "Americans don't say I alone can fix it. We say `we can fix it together.' "


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Binance Joins Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists
By Astha Singla January 10, 2023 83 views
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has become a member of an organization providing training for sanctions compliance. With the move, part of efforts to improve its capabilities in this field, the largest trading platform for digital assets joins a club of multinational corporations and financial institutions.
Crypto Exchange Binance Seeks Additional Sanctions Training for Its Compliance Team
Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume, has joined the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS) which works to improve the qualification of sanctions compliance professionals employed by global companies.
"We will be leveraging the training materials, comprehensive databases, and deep networks within ACSS to further enhance the skills and expertise of our team," Binance said in an announcement. It also pointed out that it's the first crypto exchange among the members of ACSS, which was established in 2018.
As part of the certification process, all compliance specialists on Binance's sanctions team as well as the money laundering reporting, compliance operations, and special investigations leads will be required to undergo training with the ACSS, the company explained.
The exchange expects the training to equip its sanctions team with the latest guidelines issued by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on how to develop compliance programs and ensure that its experts understand the risks of violations in various jurisdictions.
"The blockchain industry is still in its early years, and it's our priority to continue upholding the highest level of compliance amid a fast-evolving space," commented Chagri Poyraz, Binance's global head of sanctions. He emphasized that the company wants to continue to be among those that set the standard for security and compliance in the industry.
"ACSS, as an organization specializing in providing sanctions training for multinational corporations and financial institutions, will ensure the highest quality of training to the team at Binance in this dynamic sector and help advance compliance in the crypto industry," added the association's Executive Director Saskia Rietbroek.
Binance Maintains Focus on Regulatory Compliance
In the past couple of years, Binance has been focusing on efforts to improve regulatory compliance and in 2022 increased its compliance team to 750 members. The exchange has been licensed, registered or obtained approvals to operate in 14 different jurisdictions, including France, Spain, Bahrain, Dubai, and Australia, the exchange detailed.
Binance has been also engaged in joint initiatives with national authorities in new markets. In December, it offered to support Azerbaijan in attempts to introduce regulations for digital assets and launched a blockchain education program in Kazakhstan after offering advice on crypto regulations to its government, too.
The collapse of FTX, a major competitor of Binance which filed for bankruptcy protection in Nov. 2022, led to increased regulatory scrutiny over the crypto industry around the world. Earlier last year, Binance complied with EU sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine by limiting services for Russian residents and entities.
What do you think about Binance joining the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
Airtm Winds Down Cryptocurrency Trading, Exchanges All Funds to Native Stablecoin
Hong Kong Reaffirms Commitment to Become Regional Crypto Hub

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Annals of Correction
A Brony Correction in The New York Times
By Kat Stoeffel • 12/29/11 7:14pm
Twilight Sparkle, left, and Fluttershy, right.
While the New York Times Guild battles company chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. over frozen pensions, Times reporters are putting their copy where their mouths are, producing conversation-starting stories despite tighter resources.
Sure, there's the occasional first-person cat training memoir, but there are also blockbusters like Amy Harmon's "Navigating Love and Autism," an intimate portrait of Jack and Kirsten, two college students on the Autism spectrum in love.
"This piece is an important example of why big journalistic institutions like The New York Times are such a vital part of our society," media reporter Seth Mnookin wrote on his science media blog.
In the comments section, Jack's father, John Elder Robison (the author of a bestselling Asperger's memoir), praised Ms. Harmon's reporting as well as the work of staff photographers and videographers.
"Their dedication is most impressive," he wrote, "and it makes clear why the Times remains The paper of record."
The Times is so committed to its watertight reporting, in fact, that it did not allow a slip-up about a character on the cartoon series "My Little Ponies: Friendship Is Magic" to mar her otherwise flawless 5,000-word piece.
Describing the therapy Kirsten undergoes in hopes of making her relationship with Jack more stable, Ms. Harmon wrote:
"When she found herself in a bad-mood rut, she had agreed with her therapist, she would visualize Fluttershy, the nerdy intellectual character in the animated children's show 'My Little Pony' — of which her knowledge bordered on encyclopedic and whose goofiness made her laugh."
But, as any self-respecting Brony will tell you, Fluttershy is the kind, animal-loving Pegasus pony character. It's actually Twilight Sparkle, the Ponyville librarian and Apprentice of Princess Celestia, who's the brainy one.
"As an adolescent with Asperger's myself, all I can say about this article is they got the pony wrong," joked Times commenter Ganondox, from Brazil.
It appears the Times' new commenting system (trusted readers only) is paying for itself already. Today the following correction was appended:
"A previous version of this article misidentified the "My Little Pony" character that Kirsten Lindsmith said she visualized to cheer herself up. It is Twilight Sparkle, not Fluttershy."
"I hate to get anything wrong, but I confess to some enjoyment in finding the right way to phrase this one," Ms. Harmon wrote The Observer in an e-mail.
"I heard from one My Little Pony fan by email who praised the story but wanted me to know this for my own edification," she continued, "and at least one other called the Times and spoke, I gather at some length, with an editor who handles calls from readers."
Filed Under: Media, News & Politics, New York Times, Bronies, TIMES OF THE TIMES, Annals of Correction
SEE ALSO: Navigating Pop Culture's Eulogy-Industrial Complex


Volunteer Maryland and Rural Maryland Council are hosting information sessions throughout Maryland to share about opportunities for grant programs and how to become a partner organization and leverage your volunteer program.
It is extremely encouraged that sites who are applying for our AmeriCorps program attend one of these events. This is a great opportunity to meet with us, discuss, and Q&A. Volunteer Maryland and its partners mobilize community volunteers to address critical community needs. Discover how a strategic partnership with Volunteer Maryland can strengthen your volunteer program and increase community engagement. Volunteer Maryland place AmeriCorps Members who serve as Volunteer Coordinators full time for 11 months.
The Rural Maryland Council will share information on its two grant programs, the Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) and the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund (RMPIF). RMC will discuss grant eligibility requirements, past recipients, and timeline for applying.
Please be sure to register online!
For more information about partnership or session times visit the website here.


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As Trump prepares for North Korean talks, US test launches ICBM from California
by Alex Hollings Apr 27, 2018
Plans are underway for what could be historic talks between President Donald Trump and North Korea's Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un. After months of escalating tensions between two two nations and their respective figureheads, North Korea has made a significant effort to appear ready for a diplomatic resolution to a conflict that once made war seem unavoidable.
Kim Jong Un recently announced a halt to most ballistic missile tests and an end to test detonations of nuclear weapons — however, some intelligence reports seem to indicate that North Korea's Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, located beneath Mount Mantap, may have been too damaged by their most recent test that the facility is no longer viable anyway. North Korea's September detonation of what experts believe was the nation's first hydrogen bomb, or dual stage nuclear weapon, caused tunnel collapses that claimed the lives of an estimated 200 workers, and according to some Chinese based intelligence outlets, the damage to the mountain may have been sufficient to render the facility unsafe for further testing. Satellite images have shown excavation work at the site that has slowed recently, potentially as a result of this realization.
"In view of the research finding that the North Korea nuclear test site at Mantapsan has collapsed, it is necessary to continue to monitor any leakage of radioactive materials that may have been caused by the collapse," the Chinese report stated. It's important to consider a possible bias, as China remains North Korea's primary ally, however the paper was peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the U.S. Based Geophysical Research Letters, a bi-weekly scientific publication.
In other words, despite Kim's overtures toward peace, he has thus far offered very little indication via national behavior to suggest he truly intends to dismantle North Korea's nuclear arsenal — and while it's important that America pursue diplomacy in the face of what would potentially be an incredibly costly war, it's clear that the Defense Department isn't operating under the assumption that peace has already found its way onto the Korean peninsula. While the diplomats pursue peace, America's war fighting apparatus must always be prepared for war.
America periodically test launches unarmed ICBM platforms for training and quality assurance purposes, and this year is no exception. Despite diplomatic pressure on North Korea to halt their testing and development of nuclear capable platforms, the United States made an indirect statement on Wednesday: North Korea's nuclear days may be numbers, but America remains a global nuclear powerhouse.
At 5:26 a.m. PST, an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile tore out of its silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California and headed out over the Pacific Ocean. No announcement has been made about the distance covered by the missile before splashing down in an undisclosed area of the Pacific, but the last test, which was conducted in August of 2017, traveled a reported 4,200 miles before splashing down near the Marshall Islands.
You can watch a video of the launch below:
Read Next: Should We Be Afraid of North Korea's Massive New ICBM?
Image courtesy of the U.S. Air Force
Should We Be Afraid of North Korea's Massive New ICBM?
North Korea accuses Trump of delaying nuclear talks for political gain
North Korea's new "tactical guided weapon" test likely had nothing to do with nuclear arsenal
The US sent 4 spy planes to monitor North Korea's Christmas bluff
North Korea debuts mobile ICBM launch platforms among other nukes in annual military parade
Despite talks with South Korea, satellite imagery confirms Kim is continuing ballistic missile, nuke programs


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Tune Talk Sdn Bhd, DBA Tune Talk, is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) riding on the network of Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad. Tune Talk entered into an MVNO agreement with Celcom in December 2008. Tune Talk appointed Ameen Amaendran Abdullah as their CEO in 2018, taking over from Jason Lo who is credited with developing the company to its modern state.

Tune Talk Sdn. Bhd. officially launched its commercial service on 19 August 2009 with a pre-fix "010" cellular service by offering lower IDD calling up to 10% cheaper compared with competitors.

As of today, Tune Talk is the largest  mobile prepaid MVNO service provider in Malaysia.

Tune Talk's business model emphasises customer care service and customer experience. It has an in-house customer care department and social media team.

Works are underway to enter into MVNO deals with network operators in Singapore, Indonesian, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines between 2010 up to 2013. Tune Talk is a MVNO and a licensed Network Service Provider and Application Service Provider with Numbering Block sanctioned by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). On 21 June 2021, Celcom Axiata Berhad announced the sale of its 35% stake in Tune Talk to Digi.com.

Data Roaming

Tune Talk offers an unlimited data roaming plan for RM38 a day across Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macao, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.

Top shareholders
 Celcom - Owning 35%
 Tune Ventures - Owning 35.7%
 Gurtaj Singh Padda- Owning 9.6%
 East Pacific Capital Private Limited - Owning 5.85%
 Datuk Seri Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan
 Lim Kian Onn
 Mark Lankaster (CEO of Tune Hotels)

Celcom controls the largest equity stake in Tune Talk with over 35% while another 32% is held by Tune Group Sdn Bhd, of which Fernandes and Dato' Kamarudin Meranun jointly hold a 100% stake. The remaining shares are held by Tune Strategic Investments Limited, and various individuals including Dato' Sri Kalimullah Hassan, Lim Kian Onn, Jason Lo, Gurtaj Singh Padda and Mark Lankester.

Tune Talk Jimat
Tune Talk announce new Jimat plan in early 2023. These new prepaid plans consist of the following;

 Hi15
 Call20
 Hi35
 Fokus33
 Fokus40
 Bebas55

References

External links

 Shopee

Telecommunications companies of Malaysia
Mobile phone companies of Malaysia
Internet service providers of Malaysia
Axiata
Mobile virtual network operators
Tune Group
Privately held companies of Malaysia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's a cherry-wood tray with areas to put photos under a protective plastic sheet. The plastic is held down by tiny magnets.
Pretty neat design for photos and all, but the plastic was scratched beyond repair, so this cute little tray would see no more photos.
I wanted to keep the plastic, but I had to deal with the scratches.
Enter Mod Podge! Here it comes…to save the dayyyyy! Mighty Mod Podge!
I also got my behind over to Hobby Lobby and picked out some pretty scrapbook paper for 20c a sheet.
Now I have a reversible, water-proof tray liner!
Then I had to do something with the tray itself, since cherry-wood is just a little too red for our decor. I grabbed some "Oregano" Rustoleum and sprayed painted on Sunday during a calm spell in the afternoon.
to stain the paint and scuffed areas and make the tray look a little more weathered (I also used this stuff on my homemade guest room headboard, and while I had it out, I went over the top of the cedar chest as well, and it did a GORGEOUS job of hiding scratches and shining it up). You just rub it on with a rag and then toss the rag. Couldn't be easier. Because of the cherry stain on the wood, the scuffed areas on the tray turned out a little bit pinkish/reddish, but I'm ok with that.
It's in the guest room for now, until I find a better place for it. I figure it will be nice to be able to put those tschotschkes on it to quickly get into the top of the cedar chest.
Not bad for $4 and a little patience!
Wonderful job, love the oregano color!!!
Katie, so smart to put a different paper on each side of the plexi insert to give yourself options. Love that shabby green!
Great idea with the paper inside- I have one and put contact chalkboard inside!
Cute project! I have never been to Hobby Lobby, but have heard so much about it. I think we have one in my area... I have to track it down I think!
Love it and great color of paint I'll have to check it out, looks great in your guest room!
I love how that turned out! Great job and the color is so pretty.
Thanks for linking up to We Can Do It Cheaper!
Very creative. I would never have thought of both sides! A girl has to have options, right?


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96% of Marketers Achieved ROI Goals with Out-of-Home Marketing Campaigns, Says New Research
October 17, 2022 October 14, 2022 Stuart Mitchell
OneScreen.ai, the marketplace provider for buying and selling out-of-home (OOH) advertising, recently released its third research report in a series of studies, this one citing nearly all (96%) respondents are satisfied (50%) or very satisfied (46%) with the ROI of their current OOH marketing campaigns. On average, these companies have seen monthly revenue increase by more than 50%. The findings also reported 78% of companies using OOH plan to increase their OOH budget over the next 12 months. In partnership with Kickstand Communications, OneScreen.ai surveyed more than 600 marketing professionals…
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MasTec Releases 2021 Sustainability Report
MasTec, Inc. has announced the release of its 2021 Sustainability Report. MasTec is proud to support our customers' needs in transitioning to renewable power generation, modernizing power grid systems, and supporting more carbon neutral activities, while also focusing on employee safety, health and wellness, environmental stewardship, community and social matters and corporate governance. Jose Mas, MasTec's CEO commented, "Sustainability principles and practices are embedded within our strategy, risk management and day-to-day operations. This document summarizes our long-term commitment to sustainability, along with our framework of programs and initiatives." MasTec's "2021…
News2021 Sustainability Report, MasTecLeave a comment
Pinsent Masons advises SOLA Group on renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement
Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons was appointed as sponsors legal counsel and advised South African energy company SOLA Group on its solar power initiative with Tronox, which will transform the manufacturing business' electricity supply and support its 2050 net zero targets. The projects see Tronox enter into long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) with SOLA Group which will provide 200 Megawatts of solar power to Tronox's mines and smelters across the country. Via the PPAs, the solar projects are expected to provide approximately 40% of Tronox's South African electricity needs. A…
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HEINEKEN Africa Foundation and WaterAid renew partnership after reaching over 37 million people with Covid-19 response work
HEINEKEN Africa Foundation and WaterAid have announced a new €1.125 million partnership centered around pandemic preparedness, focusing on handwashing facilities in five countries, as an important line of defence against the spread of disease and future pandemics. The partnership follows the organisations' joint COVID-19 response programme, which reached more than 37 million people across Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Mozambique and Ethiopia. Since 2020 the Foundation has donated €2.8 million to the international charity, supporting its emergency response work to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable communities in sub-Saharan…
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PepsiCo, ADM Announce Groundbreaking Agreement Aiming to Reduce Carbon Intensity by Supporting Regenerative Agriculture Practices on Up to 2 Million Acres of Farmland
ADM, a global leader in sustainable agriculture and nutrition, and PepsiCo have announced a groundbreaking 7.5-year strategic commercial agreement to closely collaborate on projects that aim to significantly expand regenerative agriculture across their shared North American supply chains. This strategic partnership is expected to reach up to 2 million acres by 2030, and represents a trailblazing effort by two global companies that share ambitious carbon reduction goals. The companies' capabilities span the food and agriculture value chains, creating a unique, large-scale platform to support farmers' transition to regenerative agriculture, while…
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A common problem for automated microscopy is to quickly image an extended region that is larger than the camera field of view. This can be done by rapidly moving the stage between successive fields, stopping to snap an image at each location. Rapid stops and starts expose the inherent limitations in the mechanical system. These limitations include the inertia of the motor rotor and stage, current limitations of the motor, and how quickly the system can detect and correct motion errors.
The MS2000 stage and controller provides several advantages over conventional stepper stages for this type of application. The coreless DC motors used in the MS2000 stage have very lower rotor inertia with an overall mechanical time constant of only 10ms. Stepper motors with steel and copper armatures are inherently much more sluggish. The servo loop time of the MS2000WK controller can be as low as 1ms for a single axis system, allowing plenty of opportunity for control compared to the mechanical time constant of the system. In order to take full advantage of the hardware capabilities that are inherent in the MS2000 system, we offer specialized control firmware and provide for custom servo loop tuning. The rest of this note will discuss these specifics and provide some example applications.
Best performance can be obtained if there is close synchronization between the camera and the stage. A camera that can be externally triggered with a TTL signal allows the stage controller to initiate the exposure command. The stage has the most temporal jitter and uncertainty because of its inherent mechanical nature. Using the stage to trigger image acquisition provides the tightest synchronization. If TTL camera triggering is not possible, then the camera control software will need to poll the stage "Busy" state over the serial interface, or act on the TTL signal from the stage controller to know when to trigger the camera.
With the ARRAY MODULE included in the firmware, the controller will support functions associated with moving to specific locations in a 2-dimensional XY array of positions. The module includes support for commands to define the size and spacing of the array and the location of the first position in the array. There are also commands to address particular positions and sequence through the array either automatically, or with external TTL or serial command control.
The location of the first position in the array, the 1,1 location, is specified by the AHOME command. The default value for the coordinates of the 1,1 position are 0.0, 0.0 in the controller's coordinate system. You need not even use the AHOME command if the stage is manually moved to the location of the 1,1 array position and then the ZERO button is used to set the coordinate zero to that location. The AHOME command, without arguments, will establish the current stage position as the 1,1 array position. Hence, if you move the stage manually to the 1,1 location and issue "AH", the stage will maintain its original coordinate system yet have the correct offsets for the fixed array moves.
The array can be traversed in order with moves made "on command" using either a serial command or TTL trigger pulse. Using the TTL command, set the TTL input function to the array trigger using TTL X=7. Either a TTL pulse on the IN0 input, or the RM command without arguments, will send the stage to the next array position. Move to the 1,1 array position and gracefully start this scanning mode is the command "RM X=0". When started this way, the sequence will complete after the last position is processed and subsequent commands (TTL pulse of "RM") to move to the next position will be ignored.
When the state characters are displayed in lower case on the LCD display, the TTL IN0 interrupt is disabled pending completion of the current move operation.
The ideal stage moves exactly to target in no time and stays put once it is there. In reality, motors have to push and pull the mechanics, sensors have to read position, and control electronics need to coordinate the motion. All of this takes time, and timing uncertainty leads to position uncertainty; rapid acceleration leads to jerky motion and further position uncertainty. To make matters worse, stages often don't like to stay put on the sub micron level.
For array scanning applications especially when generating montages, it may be important that the rows of scanned images be well aligned. When scanning in a serpentine pattern, mechanical backlash in the system can lead to systematic row-to-row errors because of the opposite direction of motion along the row as the images are obtained. This problem will be much more noticeable when using rotary encoders on the stage motors than with linear encoders on the stage plates. With rotary encoders, systematic errors of several microns from row to row are to be expected when scanning in a serpentine pattern. Despite the backlash errors, repeatability and relative spacing between frames can be quite good. Linear encoders can be used to largely eliminate backlash errors and provide excellent absolute positioning accuracy across the entire array, but at a significant added cost. If one wishes to avoid the added cost of linear encoders, and still get good row-to-row frame alignment, then scanning in a raster pattern rather than a serpentine pattern will ensure that all of the frames are acquired when moving from the same direction.
The MS2000 controller default is to use a backlash correction algorithm with rotary encoded stages. This ensures that the move as the stage reaches target is always from the same direction. This works well for moves to arbitrary locations, but is not recommend for array scanning, and should be turned off with the serial command "B X=0 Y=0". The added little movement jog of the backlash correction takes time and stresses the motors more than just using a raster scan pattern, which can accomplish the same goal as the backlash correction algorithm.
Faster speed lead screws can lead to quicker moves, but the speed advantages decrease when high landing precision is required or when the move distances shrink.
Stage acceleration is set by specifying the time for the stage to ramp up to maximum velocity. Typical default value for this parameter is 100ms. When making lots of small moves, reducing the ramp time can improve throughput. Very short ramp times (<20ms) could potentially damage the motors due to excessive motor commentator current. Ramp times >20ms are generally safe our microscope stage motors.
The speed/accuracy tradeoff becomes clear when setting the motion error tolerances. As a rule of thumb, the stage will arrive on target with no hunting when the finish tolerance is 5 to 10 encoder counts. For rapid scanning you want no hunting, so in general specify the finish error at about 10 encoder counts and the drift error slightly higher. The INFO command will show the value of the Finish Error (PC command), both in units of millimeters and as the number of encoder counts.
Upon reaching the target position to within the Finish Error tolerance, the move is considered complete. The BUSY flag is released for subsequent serial STATUS requests, and if programmed, a TTL pulse will be provided to indicate the end of the move. Default behavior is for the motors to be turned off at this point, and only turned on again if the encoder error becomes larger than the Drift Error parameter setting. Alternatively, the motors and servo loop can remain active by using the command MA x=2 Y=2. See the MAINTAIN command.
The table above shows typical performance for a stage with rotary encoders making moves of various distances. Notice that for very short moves, typical for one field of view with a high power objective, faster lead screws provide very little overall speed improvement and significantly degrade the stage accuracy performance. For longer move distances, faster screws make a marked difference in the time per move and may be worth the loss of accuracy. The highlighted row shows the common configuration for microscopy scanning applications that represents an optimal compromise between speed and accuracy.
Additional tuning of the servo loop giving analog feedback to the motors can be done with the PID parameters (KI, KP, and KD). The KA setting is also helpful; it gives an extra boost on acceleration and extra brake on deceleration. Changing these parameters can do badly so normally it is not recommended for users to adjust them, or if so to adjust them slowly starting with KP.
ASI has a test setup for tuning these parameters and we are happy to perform the tuning for particular applications if needed. It is important to know the leadscrew pitch and move distance (the optimum amount of KA depends strongly on distance). Usually sample mass is negligible. Contact ASI for more details.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
using MoaiUtils.MoaiParsing.CodeGraph;
using MoaiUtils.MoaiParsing.CodeGraph.Types;

namespace MoaiUtils.MoaiParsing.Parsing {
    public static class MethodParser {
        private static readonly Regex methodDefinitionRegex = new Regex(@"
            # Documentation (optional)
            (?>
                /\*\*\s*
                    (?<annotation>@(\S@|\*(?!/)|[^@*])*)+
                \*/\s*
            )?

            # Method definition
            int\s+(?<className>[A-Za-z0-9_]+)\s*::\s*(?<methodName>[A-Za-z0-9_]+)\s*\([^)]*\)\s*\{
            ",
            RegexOptions.IgnorePatternWhitespace | RegexOptions.ExplicitCapture | RegexOptions.Compiled);

        public static void ParseMethodDefinitions(string code, FilePosition filePosition, TypeCollection types, WarningList warnings) {
            // Find all method definitions
            var matches = methodDefinitionRegex.Matches(code);

            // Parse method definitions
            foreach (Match match in matches) {
                string className = match.Groups["className"].Value;
                string nativeMethodName = match.Groups["methodName"].Value;
                var methodPosition = new MethodPosition(filePosition, className, nativeMethodName);

                // Parse annotations, filtering out unknown ones
                Annotation[] annotations = match.Groups["annotation"].Captures
                    .Cast<Capture>()
                    .Select(capture => Annotation.Create(capture.Value, methodPosition, warnings))
                    .ToArray();
                foreach (var unknownAnnotation in annotations.OfType<UnknownAnnotation>()) {
                    warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.UnexpectedAnnotation,
                        "Unknown annotation command '{0}'.", unknownAnnotation.Command);
                }
                annotations = annotations
                    .Where(annotation => !(annotation is UnknownAnnotation))
                    .ToArray();

                // Get method body
                int openingBraceIndex = match.Index + match.Length - 1;
                int blockLength = BlockParser.GetBlockLength(code, openingBraceIndex);
                string methodBody = code.Substring(openingBraceIndex + 1, blockLength - 2);

                // Parse annotation block
                MoaiClass moaiClass = types.GetOrCreate(className, methodPosition) as MoaiClass;
                if (moaiClass != null) {
                    if (annotations.Any()) {
                        ParseMethodDocumentation(moaiClass, annotations, methodBody, methodPosition, types, warnings);
                    } else if (nativeMethodName.StartsWith("_")) {
                        warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.MissingAnnotation,
                            "Missing method documentation.");
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        private static void ParseMethodDocumentation(MoaiClass moaiClass, Annotation[] annotations, string methodBody, MethodPosition methodPosition, TypeCollection types, WarningList warnings) {
            Method method = CreateMethod(moaiClass, annotations, methodPosition, types, warnings);
            if (method == null) return;

            // Fill method body
            method.Body = methodBody;

            // Create compact method signature
            CreateCompactSignature(method, warnings);

            // Determine if overloads are static
            foreach (MethodOverload overload in method.Overloads) {
                var firstInParam = overload.InParameters.FirstOrDefault();
                overload.IsStatic = firstInParam == null || firstInParam.Name != "self";
            }
        }

        private static void CreateCompactSignature(Method method, WarningList warnings) {
            try {
                method.InParameterSignature = GetCompactSignature(method.Overloads.Select(overload => overload.InParameters.ToArray()));
                method.OutParameterSignature = GetCompactSignature(method.Overloads.Select(overload => overload.OutParameters.ToArray()));
            } catch (Exception e) {
                warnings.Add(method.MethodPosition, WarningType.ToolLimitation,
                    "Error determining method signature. {0}", e.Message);
            }
        }

        private static ISignature GetCompactSignature(IEnumerable<CodeGraph.Parameter[]> overloads) {
            List<Parameter[]> parameterOverloads = new List<Parameter[]>();
            foreach (CodeGraph.Parameter[] overload in overloads) {
                // Input parameters may be optional. In these cases, create multiple overloads.
                for (int index = overload.Length - 1;
                    index >= 0 && overload[index] is InParameter && ((InParameter) overload[index]).IsOptional;
                    index--) {
                    parameterOverloads.Add(ConvertOverload(overload.Take(index)).ToArray());
                }
                parameterOverloads.Add(ConvertOverload(overload).ToArray());
            }

            return parameterOverloads.Any()
                ? CompactSignature.FromOverloads(parameterOverloads.ToArray())
                : new Sequence();
        }

        private static IEnumerable<Parameter> ConvertOverload(IEnumerable<CodeGraph.Parameter> overload) {
            return overload.Select(parameter => new Parameter { Name = parameter.Name, Type = parameter.Type.Name, ShowName = true });
        }

        private static Method CreateMethod(MoaiClass moaiClass, Annotation[] annotations, MethodPosition methodPosition, TypeCollection types, WarningList warnings) {
            // Get @lua annotation
            var luaNameAnnotation = GetNameAnnotation(moaiClass, annotations, methodPosition, warnings);
            if (luaNameAnnotation == null) return null;

            // Check that there is a single @text annotation
            CheckTextAnnotation(annotations, methodPosition, warnings);

            // Parse annotations
            var method = new Method {
                MethodPosition = methodPosition,
                Name = luaNameAnnotation.Value,
                OwningClass = moaiClass,
            };
            moaiClass.Members.Add(method);
            MethodOverload currentOverload = null;
            foreach (var annotation in annotations) {
                if (annotation is LuaNameAnnotation) {
                    // Nothing to do - name has already been set.
                } else if (annotation is TextAnnotation) {
                    // Set method description
                    method.Description = ((TextAnnotation) annotation).Value;
                } else if (annotation is ParameterAnnotation) {
                    if (currentOverload == null) {
                        currentOverload = new MethodOverload {OwningMethod = method};
                        method.Overloads.Add(currentOverload);
                    }
                    var parameterAnnotation = (ParameterAnnotation) annotation;
                    string paramName = parameterAnnotation.Name;
                    if (annotation is InParameterAnnotation | annotation is OptionalInParameterAnnotation) {
                        // Add input parameter
                        if (currentOverload.InParameters.Any(param => param.Name == paramName)) {
                            warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.UnexpectedValue,
                                "Found multiple params with name '{0}' for single overload.", paramName);
                        }
                        var inParameter = new InParameter {
                            Name = paramName,
                            Description = parameterAnnotation.Description,
                            Type = types.GetOrCreate(parameterAnnotation.Type, methodPosition),
                            IsOptional = annotation is OptionalInParameterAnnotation
                        };
                        currentOverload.InParameters.Add(inParameter);
                    } else {
                        // Add output parameter
                        var outParameter = new OutParameter {
                            Name = paramName,
                            Type = types.GetOrCreate(parameterAnnotation.Type, methodPosition),
                            Description = parameterAnnotation.Description
                        };
                        currentOverload.OutParameters.Add(outParameter);
                    }
                } else if (annotation is OverloadAnnotation) {
                    // Let the next parameter annotation start a new override
                    currentOverload = null;
                } else {
                    warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.UnexpectedAnnotation,
                        "Unexpected {0} annotation.", annotation.Command);
                }
            }
            return method;
        }

        private static void CheckTextAnnotation(Annotation[] annotations, MethodPosition methodPosition, WarningList warnings) {
            int textAnnotationCount = annotations.OfType<TextAnnotation>().Count();
            if (textAnnotationCount == 0) {
                warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.MissingAnnotation, "Missing @text annotation.");
            } else if (textAnnotationCount > 1) {
                warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.UnexpectedAnnotation, "Multiple @text annotations.");
            }
        }

        private static LuaNameAnnotation GetNameAnnotation(MoaiClass moaiClass, Annotation[] annotations, MethodPosition methodPosition, WarningList warnings) {
            // Check that there is a single @lua annotation and that it isn't a duplicate. Otherwise exit.
            int luaNameAnnotationCount = annotations.OfType<LuaNameAnnotation>().Count();
            if (luaNameAnnotationCount == 0) {
                warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.MissingAnnotation, "Missing @lua annotation.");
                return null;
            }
            if (luaNameAnnotationCount > 1) {
                warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.UnexpectedAnnotation, "Multiple @lua annotations.");
            }
            var nameAnnotation = annotations.OfType<LuaNameAnnotation>().First();
            if (moaiClass.Members.Any(member => member.Name == nameAnnotation.Value)) {
                warnings.Add(methodPosition, WarningType.UnexpectedValue,
                    "There is already a member with Lua name '{0}'.", nameAnnotation.Value);
                return null;
            }
            return nameAnnotation;
        }

    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Roger Bacon goes for first place in the GCL Central when they travel to McNicholas to play the unbeaten Rockets. Dave Mitchell has the call.
Roger Bacon goes to overtime in a non conference High School basketball game with Newport Central Catholic. Dave Mitchell has the play by play.
Roger Bacon goes on the road for a GCL contest at Dayton Chaminade Julienne. Dave Mitchell has the call.
The Roger Bacon Spartans host Bishop Fenwick in Boys High School Basketball action. Dave Mitchell calls the game.
For the 90th time, Purcell Marian and Roger Bacon meet in high school football. Dave Mitchell and Rob Rickebaugh call the play by play.
Roger Bacon goes on the road for the final time in the 2017 High School Football season in playing Bishop Fenwick. Hear the game with Dave Mitchell and Tommy Watkins.
Roger Bacon breaks their 5 game losing streak with a big win at home over Carroll. Dave Mitchell and Rob Rickenbaugh have the play by play.
The Roger Bacon Spartans are on the road playing in Dayton against the first place Chaminade Julienne Eagles. Dave Mitchell and Rob Rickenbaugh call the action.
Roger Bacon has a home game with Alter. Dave Mitchell and Rob Rickenbaugh have all the action.
Roger Bacon plays a GCL contest against Hamilton Badin at Fairfield High School Stadium. Dave Mitchell and Rob Rickenbaugh call the action.
High school Football returns to ultimatesportstalk.com with the McNicholas Rockets playing the Roger Bacon Spartans. Dave Mitchell and Rob Rickenbaugh call the action.
Two of the best area Girls basketball teams face off in Wooster as the Chippewa Chipps play the Lady Generals. Dave Mitchell has the play by play.
The East Canton Wizards play the Strasburg Lady Tigers for the second time this season. Dave Mitchell has the play by play.
Strasburg and Hiland went into overtime Tuesday night. Dave Mitchell calls the action.
The Waynedale Boys Basketball team hit the road and broke their 4 game losing streak at Chippewa over the Chipps. Dave Mitchell has the play by play.
The Waynedale Lady Bears break their losing strea Saturday afternoon over the Smithville Lady Smithies. Dave Mitchell calls the game.
The Waynedale Golden Bears host the Northwestern Huskies on homecoming night. Dave Mitchell calls the action and has the ceremony.
The Rittman Lady Indians come to Apple Creek to take on the Waynedale Lady Golden Bears. Dave Mitchell calls the game.
The Waynedale Golden Bears host the Triway Titans in the first meeting between the two local schools since 2012. Daqve Mitchell calls the game.
The Waynedale Golden Bears travel to Dalton for a contest with the Dalton Bulldogs. Dave Mitchell has the play by play.


text:
Senate Will Launch Probe Into Emails Allegedly Linking Joe Biden To Son's Work With Ukrainian Gas Company
by News Kick in News 0 comments
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Fox News Wednesday morning that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will take up an investigation into whether former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, wielded the elder Biden's influence inappropriately in a business relationship between Hunter and Ukrainian gas company, Burisma.
The news comes on the heels of a story from the New York Post revealing that a Delaware computer repair shop had made a copy of a hard drive allegedly containing emails from Hunter Biden to Burisma executives. The emails, the Post reports, include "a message of appreciation" from Burisma executive Vadym Pozharskyi, thanking Hunter for introducing him to Joe Biden."Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It's realty [sic] an honor and pleasure," Pozharskyi wrote. The email was a follow-up to another message in which Pozharskyi reportedly offered to advise Hunter Biden on how to use his "influence," though there are no background details on that message.
"The Post noted that the revelation comes after Biden has repeatedly denied speaking with his son, Hunter Biden, about his overseas business dealings," the Daily Wire noted earlier Wednesday after the Post story broke.
Questions remain about how the laptop ended up in a Delaware repair shop, why a copy was made of the hard drive, and who passed the emails to the Post. Fox News notes that "the FBI reportedly seized the computer and hard drive in December 2019. The shop owner, though, said he made a copy of the hard drive and later gave it to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's lawyer, Robert Costello…the FBI referred questions about the hard drive and laptop to the Delaware US Attorney's Office, where a spokesperson told the [New York Post] that the office 'can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.'"
Johnson told Fox News that the committee's first order of business will be investigating and verifying the emails, and that they have been in contact with individuals in the chain of possession.
"We regularly speak with individuals who email the committee's whistleblower account to determine whether we can validate their claims," Johnson told the network. "Although we consider those communications to be confidential, because the individual in this instance spoke with the media about his contact with the committee, we can confirm receipt of his email complaint, have been in contact with the whistleblower, and are in the process of validating the information he provided."
The Senate Homeland Security Committee is already in the process of investigating Hunter Biden's and Joe Biden's complicated relationship with Ukraine and, last month, released an interim report detailing Hunter Biden's foreign financial entanglements, including alleged business dealings with Ukrainian oil and gas executivesThe current report, though, does not focus on Joe Biden but rather implicates the full Obama Administration in allegedly underhanded dealings.
"This investigation has illustrated the extent to which officials within the Obama administration ignored the glaring warning signs when the vice president's son joined the board of a company owned by a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch," the report says.
News Kick
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text:
Advertise About
Food/Drink/Shop
Boring but Important
Gov. Offices & Elections
Home Entertainment What a wonderful world
HIGHLIGHTS: June 15-16
HIGHLIGHTS: June 20
by Kayla Zastrow
Federico Uribe creates an unforgettable, delightful landscape at the Woodson Art Museum
The first thing you see when you walk into The World According to Federico Uribe exhibit at the Woodson Art Museum is a shiny ostrich sticking its long neck into the floor… its head and face emerge several inches later. It's playful, fun, and sure to put a smile on anyone's face.
Take a closer look, and you'll see it's not an ordinary sculpture, but one formed from hundreds, maybe thousands of bullets and shotgun shells that have been cut, painted and transformed into the feathery details and texture of the huge bird.
Everywhere your eyes roam reveals wonders in this installation by Columbia-born, Miami-based artist Federico Uribe, who creates colorful, exuberant animal and natural environment sculptures from every day objects.
It's not just the large showcase sculptures that evoke such an extraordinary sense of wonder in this exhibit; it's also thanks to the site-specific immersive installation Uribe has created. Jungle backgrounds and art dangling from the ceiling fill each of the four gallery spaces: a sun, birds above, a zebra herd relief mural, and more.
It's an over-the-top art experience, in all the best ways you couldn't even imagine.
And then you take in individual pieces themselves. Uribe often repurposes items associated with a particular use into beautiful, playful pieces that are unpredictable and sometimes contrary to the raw material. These every day objects, such as colored pencils, wine corks, zip ties, piano keys and shoelaces, have been transformed, but not so much that they're unrecognizable—you can still read the printing on the shotgun shells, the titles on the book spines and see the Puma logo on the shoes. But it may take you a moment to realize the sheep's wool is made from scissors and that the cactus is constructed from piano keys.
You'll see fake fingernails glued to the eraser ends of pencils, creating bees emerging from a chicken-wire hive. Paintbrush handles become fish, shoelaces form the rays of a sun, and a construction hat becomes a turtle shell. While your eyes immediately jump to the large-scale installations and sculptures—some life-size or taking up an entire wall—don't forget to look up and see birds made from books, handles and shoes dangling from the ceiling.
Most of the artworks are three-dimensional, like the giraffe busting out of a wall or the free standing full-size leather-crafted horse sculpture. But some are flat relief sculptures, integral to the landscape, such as the large face of an elephant made from bullets, zebras made from tires, or men's neckties quilted and formed into a nature scene.
There's also some irony in the materials Uribe uses in his art. He turns books into trees, leather into animals, horseshoes into horse hooves—all unexpected juxtapositions. It's fascinating to see symbols of violence such as bullets turned into an exotic animal, and wheelchairs and crutches transformed into a bicycle.
See The World According to Federico Uribe thru Aug. 26. Gallery hours Tues.–Fri. 9 am–4 pm, Sat.–Sun. noon–5 pm; open until 7:30 on first Thursday of each month. Free admission. 715-845-7010, lywam.org.
art Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum Federico Uribe


text:
Q: How much do the parameters in the Holt-Winters model matter? When fitting a Holt-Winters model, I usually take the approach of retrospectively "predicting" some known historical values for the series, and optimising the coefficients for the parameters by changing these until I reach values which minimise the SSE for the retrospective forecast period.
I usually try to ensure that the coefficients chosen cause the parameters to have commonsensical values - e.g. a level which is broadly close to the actual level over time, etc.  However, I have found that even if you input coefficient values which cause the parameters to go haywire and return nonsensical values, the model still actually has good predictive power, provided the parameters and coefficients chosen come close to minimising SSE.
Intuitively, this does make sense, since there is no reason why a crazy coefficient value and crazy parameter value can't collectively cause the prediction equation to generate sensible results - results which are close to optimal.
I guess my question is, apart from being obviously "wrong", what is actually wrong with this in a statistical sense?  Is there anything to stop someone from using any old coefficient values, provided they come close to minimising SSE and generate accurate forward predictions?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Прилага́тельное в неме́цком языке́ — это самостоятельная часть речи, отвечающая на вопросы welche(r, s) или wie. Как часть речи немецкое прилагательное сочетает три признака: семантический, то есть прилагательное имеет качественные и другие свойства; морфологический, то есть наличие грамматических категорий; синтаксический, то есть роль в предложении.

Наибольшую группу составляют качественные прилагательные, которые характеризуют качество предмета. Они являются наиболее полноценными в плане морфологии, так как способны к изменению по степеням сравнения или к сочетанию с наречиями. Второстепенные разряды прилагательных — относительные и притяжательные.

Склонение
Немецкое прилагательное в своей синтаксической роли выступает в качестве предикатива, если его положение в предложении не определено согласовательной связью. Например, в сочетании с глаголом (ist leicht, tut gut) прилагательное играет роль именной части составного сказуемого. Когда имеет место согласование, то прилагательное играет роль определения и изменяется (то есть склоняется) по трём типам:

 Слабое склонение характерно для словосочетаний с наличием перед определением определённого артикля, указательных местоимений. В большинстве случаев (за исключением Nominativ единственного числа всех родов и Akkusativ среднего и женского рода единственного числа) употребляется окончание -en.
 Сильное склонение наблюдается в тех случаях, когда перед определением нет артиклей или местоимений. В этом случае окончания, принимаемые прилагательными, сами соответствуют определённым артиклям (за исключением Genetiv мужского и среднего рода). Ср.: цепочка артиклей мужского рода der — des — dem — den и цепочка прилагательных перед существительными мужского рода при сильном склонении heller Raum — hellen Raums — hellem Raum — hellen Raum.
 Смешанное склонение имеет место при наличии перед определением неопределённого артикля, притяжательного местоимения или отрицания kein. Окончания прилагательных встречаются характерные как для слабого, так и для сильного склонений: слабые окончания в Genetiv и Dativ, сильные — в Nominativ и Akkusativ.

Степени сравнения
Степени сравнения в немецком языке — это грамматическая категория немецких прилагательных и наречий, выражающая качественные отношения между основными формами, то есть степенями. Всего степеней три: положительная (Positiv), сравнительная (Komparativ), превосходная (Superlativ).

К образованию степеней сравнения приспособлены далеко не все прилагательные, поскольку многие из них выражают не качество предмета, а характер, принадлежность к той или иной классификации и другое.

Положительная степень
Положительная степень указывает исключительно на качество предмета (явления), не принимая во внимание его отношения к другим предметам (явлениям), то есть никак не сопоставляя и не сравнивания один предмет с другим. Так, прилагательное streng в словосочетании strenger Frost никак не показывает, что существительное имеет «конкурентов». Оно употребляется в своём обычном виде и приспосабливается только под род существительного.

Сравнительная степень
Степень сравнительная указывает на те качества одного отдельно взятого предмета (явления), которые проявляют себя в большей или меньшей мере, чем в другом предмете (явлении). Таким образом, эти предметы сравниваются друг с другом.

Образование форм сравнительной степени в немецком языке производится преимущественно синтетически, присоединением суффикса -er и получением корневым гласным большинства односложных слов умлаута. Например: kalt — kälter, groß — größer, alt — älter и так далее. Соответственно, там, где умлаут неуместен, используется только суффиксация: klein — kleiner, ruhig — ruhiger. Особыми случаями образования немецкого компаратива являются прилагательные с дифтонгом au, суффиксами -ig, -er, -et, -bar, а также некоторые односложные прилагательные (froh, klar, voll). Синтаксическая роль второй степени сравнения неоднозначна: прилагательное может быть предикативом, а может играть основную роль определения.

Превосходная степень
Превосходная степень указывает на то, что предмет (явление) обладает исключительным качеством, достижение которого в ряду других подобных предметов невозможно. Такие прилагательные образуются через присоединение суффикса -(e)st, причём корневая гласная также принимает умлаут. О нюансах образования см. выше. Во всех случаях перед прилагательным в превосходной степени стоит артикль. Если употребляется артиклированный предлог am, то на конце -en. Например: laut — der (die, das) lauteste — am lautesten, jung — der (die, das) jüngste — am jüngsten. Роль в предложении та же, что и у прилагательных в сравнительной степени.

Исключения
Существуют прилагательные, которые образуют степени сравнения отлично от других слов. Это прослеживается и в других языках, причём слова-исключения зачастую одни и те же. Например, прилагательное gut имеет отличные степени, как в латинском (bonus — melior — optimus) или французском (bon — meilleur — le (la, les) meilleur(e, s)).

 gut — besser — der (die, das) beste — am besten
 hoch — höher — der (die, das) höchste — am höchsten
 nah(e) — näher — der (die, das) nächsten

Ссылки
 Немецкий язык
 Грамматика немецкого языка
 Имя прилагательное

Литература

Ссылки
 Немецкие прилагательные

Части речи в немецком языке
Имя прилагательное
Имя прилагательное по языкам


Darwin considered an understanding of the evolution of the human mind and brain to be of major importance to the evolutionary sciences. This groundbreaking book sets out a comprehensive, integrated theory of why and how the human mind has developed to function as it does. Geary proposes that human motivational, affective, behavioral, and cognitive systems have evolved to process social and ecological information (e.g., facial expressions) that covaried with survival or reproductive options during human evolution. Further, he argues that the ultimate focus of all of these systems is to support our attempts to gain access to and control of resources - more specifically, the social (e.g., mates), biological (e.g., food), and physical (e.g., territory) resources that supported successful survival and reproduction over time. In this view, Darwin's conceptualization of natural selection as a ""struggle for existence"" becomes, for us, a struggle with other human beings for control of the available resources. This struggle provides a means of integrating modular brain and cognitive systems such as language with those brain and cognitive systems that support general intelligence. To support his arguments, Geary draws on an impressive array of recent findings in cognitive science and neuroscience as well as primatology, anthropology, and sociology. The book also explores a number of issues that are of interest in modern society, including how general intelligence relates to academic achievement, occupational status, and income. Readers will find this book a thought-provoking read and an impetus for new theories of mind.


text:
Charlton is een Brits historisch merk van motorfietsen.

De bedrijfsnaam was: Charlton Motor Co., London.

Charlton begon in 1904 met de productie van motorfietsen. Bij gebrek aan Britse producten kocht men Franse 402cc-Buchet-inbouwmotoren in. De machines hadden allemaal riemaandrijving, maar klanten konden wel kiezen uit verschillende opties waar het versnellingen betrof. De verkoop van motorfietsen liep in die tijd slecht, en bovendien vond rond 1905 de overgang naar Britse inbouwmotoren plaats. Dat kunnen redenen zijn geweest dat Charlton in 1908 de productie stil moest zetten.

Brits historisch motorfietsmerk


So your bestie is getting married and of course, who else would be the Maid of Honor besides Y.O.U.? The bride-to-be has selected you to assist her with the many tasks of planning a wedding as well as to be there for her for emotional support throughout the entire process. And let's be honest, aside from the romantic ceremony and amazing reception that is soon to come, right now it's a little scary. Since you're going to be right by her side throughout the whole process, here are some helpful tips that will make your life (and the bride's) a little easier.
#10. Create a Timeline - This will help you stay organized and manage the many tasks coming your way. Check in with the bride and make sure you have the right dates that she is available for the bridal shower and bachelorette party. Staying on top of things will allow you to be the dependable Maid of Honor that the bride so desperately needs you to be.
#9. Plan the Bridal Shower - Be sure to do this well in advance so that everyone can attend. Also be sure to pick a venue that the bride deems convenient. Although bridal showers are typically held a few weeks prior to the ceremony, the bride may have family coming into town for the wedding. Therefore, you may need to plan for a shower closer to the date of the ceremony.
#8. Plan the Bachelorette Party - Like the bridal shower, this location needs to be a place that the bride is comfortable with. Ask her what she has in mind and then come up with a few suggestions. If she's looking for a quiet get away with some R and R, then Las Vegas isn't going to be an option. Also find out ahead of time if the bride's fiancé is attending because chances are he probably won't enjoy a Magic Mike themed bachelorette party.
#7. Keep a Record of Gifts Received – The bride will be receiving tons of gifts between the bridal shower, bachelorette party and wedding. Keep a list of these gifts so the bride and groom can write thank-you notes. Extra Tip: Maintain the RSVP list ahead of time to make this task a little easier.
#6. Offer Additional Help – Yes, you already have a long to-do list but there are sure to be additional tasks that the bride needs help with. Be sure to check in with her periodically leading up to the ceremony and be specific. Instead of, "What can I do to help?", try "Would you like me to stuff invitations?" or "Do you need help packing for the honeymoon?". You are much more likely to be of greater assistance to the bride by asking for specific tasks than simply waiting for one to be assigned to you.
#5. Prepare the Toast Early - "Winging it" is NOT an option. Your best friend has just married the love of her life. This is your one chance to tell her and everyone else how much she means to you and how happy you are for her and her new husband. Start out the toast strong, keep it short and sweet, and when in doubt, leave it out. No one wants to hear about that one time in college...especially the bride's in-laws.
#4. Not All Eyes Are on the Bride…- Even though you will be just as happy to celebrate the nuptials as the bride and groom, don't go too crazy at the reception. You hold a very important role and you will be receiving almost as much attention as the happy couple. The ceremony isn't the end of your duties. Keep in mind that you still have to give a toast and wish the bride farewell at the end of the night.
#3. Minimize Gossip – Between the hideous dresses, the bride's many whims and the happy couple's ups and downs throughout the process, the wedding party is sure to gossip. Remind the fellow bridesmaids (and yourself) that the bride and groom's romance is not for entertainment. And while the bride is sure to be wearing on everyone's nerves with her many requests, planning a wedding would be stressful for anyone. And finally, let the bridesmaids know that maybe one day they will love burnt orange, shorten the dress, and wear it again!
#2. Remember She's Your Best Friend – The bride chose you to be the Maid of Honor because she trusts you and values your friendship. She is going through a big change in her life and planning a wedding is very stressful and time consuming. Be there for her not only with the planning but also as her best friend. If it seems like she needs a breather, take her to your favorite nail salon or plan a wine night for just the two of you.
#1. It's about the Bride - No matter what, never forget that it's the bride's special day and no one else's. So the other bridesmaids are complaining about the butterflies they have to wear in their hair? Too bad. The last thing you need is a bestie turned bridezilla. So remember that it is her day and regardless of other opinions or preferences, whatever the bride wants is your priority.


Google has entered the browser wars with Chrome, its concept of an open-source browser. And it's no lightweight.
At first glance, it's easy to think that Chrome is targeting Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari and Opera. But, if you probe into Google's own story behind Chrome, they seem to be positioning it to transform the very way we use a computer. And, the real target is the very core of Microsoft – Windows and Office. Let's take a look at typical computer usage today, and Google's vision for the future.
• Use a PC running a version of Windows or an Apple running Mac OS.
• Use Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, Apple iWork or Sun StarOffice for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.
• Use Microsoft Outlook for email and calendaring.
• Browse the Internet using IE, Firefox, Safari or Opera.
• Run applications from software developers who typically use Microsoft Visual Studio for development of both off-line and online applications.
• Are connected to the Internet some of the time, while some are connected to the Internet all of the time.
• Be able to run Chrome from any platform, but can get a free version of Linux on a low-cost PC to run it.
• Use free Google Docs for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.
• Use free Gmail for email and free Google Calendar for calendaring.
• Browse the Internet and access everything else from free Google Chrome.
• Want to be connected to the Internet all of the time to maximize the Google experience.
This is a direct and potent threat to Microsoft's operating systems, business applications, browsers, email, calendaring and development tools. So, what should Microsoft do to thwart the attack?
generating additional ad revenue with their other ventures.
3. Privacy concerns. Many people are wary to give Google any of their business or personal data for the very reason they seem only concerned with generating additional ad revenue – through the plethora of data collection.
4. Security concerns. By using an older version of WebKit for development, Chrome has several reported security flaws that leave users open to intrusion. Google has nowhere near the experience of Microsoft, Mozilla, Apple or Opera in dealing with security issues. Users will want to know these concerns have been addressed before making Chrome their primary browser, or even having it run on their computer.
recently auctioned the US 700 MHz wireless spectrum. With the strategic need to have people connected to the Internet full-time, Google actively participated in the auction, working to ensure that part of the spectrum was dedicated to open access from any wireless device. Because the 700 MHz spectrum has a long range and is able to penetrate walls easily, it has been considered by many to be the key to providing nationwide Internet access. Google has announced they were not the winning bid for any of the spectrum, and it's likely that AT&T and Verizon will control most of it. But, they did win an open access concession on part of the spectrum.
Microsoft is in an enviable position of dominant leadership in operating systems, browsers, development tools, and office applications. They are also strong in enterprise applications, server operating systems and database management. But, Google owns the dominant search engine market share position, as well as online advertising and several of the most visited websites on the Internet.
1. No strategic changes at all. Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo to bolster the only areas in which they trail Google – search market share, online ad revenue and traffic on multiple Web properties. In hindsight, the failed bid may have been a blessing in disguise, as the recent financial crisis is deeply affecting Internet traffic and online ad revenue. As stated previously, Google faces significant challenges in Microsoft's market. It may well be that Microsoft can change nothing, and continue to maintain market leadership in the areas they currently possess.
2. Embrace the Cloud. Many of us use multiple devices (work computer, home computer, handheld devices, etc.) and we're tired of having disparate systems and data. The browser with our favorite bookmarks provides a sense of familiar access from multiple devices. With so many of us living in our browsers more often than our operating systems, cloud computing becomes all the more attractive.
3. Get the Justice Department involved. Microsoft has been the target of the Justice Department for years, and must have some very high ranking contacts there. Google would have us believe that privacy is overrated. The company's mission statement is to organize all the world's information, and make it universally accessible and useful. Their approach is at the very least open to scrutiny from Justice. And, Google and Yahoo have struck a deal to have Google provide ads for Yahoo Search now pending government review. With this deal, Google will control advertising for 90.91% of all searches. Microsoft, along with many others, is already claiming Google has a virtual monopoly in search.
So, how has Google Chrome affected browser market share since its launch?
Net Applications Global Internet Usage Market Share is tracking Google Chrome by the day, as can be seen at http://marketshare.hitslink.com.
While Chrome got off to an impressive start – 1.48 percent usage market share within the first 24 hours of its launch – the early adopters are fading.
Usage share has been dropping since the third day after its launch, but has recently stabilized at approximately 0.7 percent to 0.8 percent market share. Initially, Chrome claimed its market share came at the expense of Internet Explorer. However, as of last week, Chrome's share was coming fairly evenly from all the other major browsers except for Safari. But, since Chrome doesn't yet work on Mac OS that may be the reason why Safari is currently immune.
Microsoft has been the target of Apple as well. Apple's "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" ad campaign has won rave reviews. And, it has arguably been a key component to Apple's gains in market share. Microsoft took a while, but is fighting back with proud "I'm a PC" counterattacks. That's a more conventional market share battle, and conventional marketing strategies likely apply. The battle with Google is anything but conventional though, and requires far more creative strategies and tactics.
So, while it's too early to see any long term impact from Chrome, there's little doubt about the real target. How long will it take, and by what means will Microsoft respond? Time will tell, and we'll be tracking the results.


Filipinos are known to be helpful and resourceful. Even if it means sacrificing our own resources, we always lend a hand to someone who is in need.
That is what Filipino Netizen Glen Andrei Coquilla Laplana is doing now. He posted a video of a cancer patient asking people from abroad and those who are residing in the Philippines to help a fellow Filipino.
A cancer patient named Angelo is currently bedridden and is suffering from seminoma, a rare case of cancer where a tumor grows from the germ cells, the cells that make sperms. Seminoma is a slow-growing form of testicular cancer that is found in men between their 30's and 40's.
Other than asking for financial assistance, Glen is also asking help to get in touch with government agencies who can lend a hand with Angelo's current situation.
Angelo's family, who is residing in Valenzuela, are just ordinary citizens and cannot sustain the medication and maintenance that he needs. Anything that we can provide to Angelo and his family will be of huge help.
Kindly share this message and let everyone know about Angelo's situation. This is the season of giving and the best form of gift that we can provide is a gift of life. Let us help Angelo see the light at the end of the tunnel and let him live a longer life.
Why is Maine Mendoza Missing in Action?