The Manbottle Library  :  Humor  :  IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS

IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS? As a result of an overwhelming lack of requests, and with research help from that renowned scientific journal SPY magazine (January, 1990) - I am pleased to present the annual scientific inquiry into Santa Claus.

1. No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.

2. There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to to 15% of the total - 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.

3. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seemes logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc. This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.

4. The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal anount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.

5. 353,000 tons travelling at 650 miles per second creates enourmous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecrafts re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250- pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force. In conclusion -

If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.

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In 'Teers in the Hood, the Planeteers go back to high school to find out who shot Gi's teacher friend. The school has a problem with violence, and the Planeteers get caught between rival gangs. Can they solve the mysetery before someone else gets hurt?

Take the 'Teers in the Hood quiz!

"Captain Planet" is an animated series created by Ted Turner in the 1990s. is the primary source for "Captain Planet" episodes on the Web.

Captain Planet is a superhero whose powers are implemented by a team of five Planeteers (as well as himself), each of whom helps combat environmental catastrophes like pollution, animal poaching, water scarcity and more. Each episode of "Captain Planet" involves the captain and his planeteers tackling different dilemmas and nefarious eco-villains.

Numerous celebrities contributed voice work to the show, including Meg Ryan, Jeff Goldblum, Whoopi Goldberg and many others. You can watch all the Captain Planet episodes on MNN  and you can learn more about the series by going behind the scenes with the creators and major players.


4 Elements II

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4 Elements II is a tile-matching game which contains additional mini-games including hidden object, jigsaw and find-the-difference picture puzzles, object rearrangement as well as other puzzle types.

This game is very similar to its predecessor, but has four fairies instead of one. A wizard unwittingly cast a charm which trapped the four fairies inside the Book of Magic. The book is divided into four main chapters for Air, Fire, Earth and Water and each has a corresponding fairy. Each main chapter starts with a hidden object game which must be solved to free that particular fairy. These hidden object games also contain additional puzzles inside them.

The sixteen sub-chapters are based on mythical creatures (i.e. faun, mermaid, unicorn). Each creature has four tile-matching levels that, when solved, will unscramble its description and present a final puzzle for solving.

Players of the first game will recognize the level mechanics. Energy flows like a river through channels and rooms filled with multi-colored tiles. The screen follows the path of the river so it is not possible to go back to earlier sections. When the stream is stopped by solid areas, unblock them by matching at least three identical tiles in a click-hold-drag-release action. There are multi-layered blocks, blocks covered in ice, as well as stones that must be avoided or exploded. Explode large groups by matching five or more tiles, or by directing the flow to bombs and magical arrows.

While traversing the labyrinth-like levels, there will be other things blocking the path. For instance, open a sluice gate by directing energy to green and blue lock mechanisms; rearrange stone blocks or turn pieces of pipe so the energy will flow through them.

Four power-ups become available as the game progresses but must be charged in full first by clearing corresponding colored tiles. The Spade removes the background from a single tile; Magic Fire does the same but for a group of tiles, Swap changes the places of two selected tiles, and Reshuffle rearranges all of the tiles on the current screen.

There is no score as such, but achievements can be gained for special feats, such as long chains of tile matches. These are noted on a separate chart accessed through the main menu.

The default game is timed, but players can opt to change to an untimed, "relaxed" mode at any time. The game features a total of 64 new tile-matching levels, new graphics, visual and sound effects plus an original musical score.

4 Elements II Windows Find the differences between these two pictures.
4 Elements II Windows Find specific objects using the clues.
4 Elements II iPad Now I need to decipher each riddle and locate that item.
4 Elements II iPad I need to rotate the pipes so the power will flow through.

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Critic Reviews

GameZebo Windows Aug 14, 2011 4.5 Stars4.5 Stars4.5 Stars4.5 Stars4.5 Stars 90
IGN Windows Feb 09, 2012 7.5 out of 10 75

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Contributed to by Kabushi (141380), LepricahnsGold (104500) and Jeanne (75486)


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Students investigate how much greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide and methane) their family releases into the atmosphere each year and relate it to climate change. To address this, students use the Environmental Protection Agency Personal Emissions Calculator to estimate their family's greenhouse gas emissions and to think about how their family could reduce those emissions.

This interactive map allows the user to explore projected alterations of land surfaces in coastal communities, based on different scenarios of sea level changes over time.

This lesson plan engages students in a real-life exploration of climate change as it is affected by greenhouse emissions from vehicles. The aim of this activity is for students to realize the impact of vehicle use in their family and to give students the opportunity to brainstorm viable alternatives to this use.

This video describes how Colorado has planned for and uses clean energy resources to reduce its carbon footprint.

This video examines what will happen to crops as Earth's temperature rises and soils dry out because of changing climate. Students learn that a loss of soil moisture causes stress to plants, leading to crop withering. Since humans and animals depend directly or indirectly on plants for food, many societal problems can be expected to arise due to the impact of climate warming on crops and the societies that depend on them.

This activity engages learners in exploring the impact of climate change on arctic sea ice in the Bering Sea. They graph and analyze sea ice extent data, conduct a lab on thermal expansion of water, and then observe how a scientist collects long-term data on a bird population.

These five short videos are an introduction to the pros and cons of energy issues, including cost, choices, efficiency, environmental impact, and scale. The videos are segments of a feature documentary entitled, Switch: Discover the Future of Energy.

In this activity, students construct a Global Warming Wheel Card, a hand-held tool that they can use to estimate their household's emissions of carbon dioxide and learn how they can reduce them. One side of the wheel illustrates how much carbon dioxide a household contributes to the atmosphere per year through activities such as driving a car, using energy in the home, and disposing of waste. The other side shows how changes in behavior can reduce personal emissions.


Automotive Engineer is the magazine of the EAEC

Automotive Engineer

Connected on the go

James Allen, .

The pressure on OEMs and their suppliers to provide drivers with the latest electronics systems is growing. Industry experts from across the spectrum offer their thoughts on how vehicle e/e architectures will evolve over the next decade

Out of our hands

James Scoltock, .

Audi is investing heavily in autonomous vehicle technology, which could help to decrease the stress that drivers feel, and improve safety. But the systems are still in their embryonic stages

Pressure game

James Scoltock, .

Gasoline direct injection has helped to improve efficiency, but as engines are further downsized pressures will go far higher than 200bar

Pushing forward

James Allen, .

Gasoline engines have traditionally delivered higher CO2 emissions than diesels, but legislation is pushing the technology to achieve ever greater efficiency levels. Five gasoline experts address what the future holds and which technologies will be relevant as OEMs seek to meet targets

Linked in

James Scoltock, .

Toyota’s vision of the connected future involves linking its vehicles to the emergency services, internet service providers and the wider community

Ahead of the game

James Allen, .

Demand for ever greater vehicle connectivity is proving insatiable. Volvo’s electric systems chief, Thomas Müller, explains why the firm wants to be a front runner in satisfying this need

Smart choices

James Scoltock, .

PSA Peugeot Citroën wants to make greater use of smartphones and the cloud to power its infotainment systems, allowing the OEM to increase functionality and keep systems up-to-date

Realising the vision

Ben Sampson, .

Volvo’s next car launch and the company’s investment in testing facilities are important steps towards its ambitious goal of cutting the number of accidents involving its vehicles

Data blending

James Scoltock, .

As the number of sensors on cars grows, data fusion will become more important in order to process information and make driving safer

Achieving the impossible

James Allen, .

Advanced driver-assistance systems are pushing the boundaries of what vehicles can do. Improved sensors and better mapping are helping to avoid hazards, and the combination of both is leading to greater autonomy


Eric Davis -What he’ll bring to the broadcast booth

Possibly a little more entertainment and a little less analysis. Plummer could diagnose a play and tell you why the left guard missed his assignment. Davis might have that ability, but it will be difficult to equal Plummer’s level of analysis and perception.

Meanwhile, Davis is capable of ripping off a brilliant one-liner. He relishes self-deprecating humor as evidenced by his comment about working with veteran play-by-play man Ted Robinson. “I told him your career has gone well so far; now you’re stuck with me. Good luck.”

Davis will also likely equal Plummer’s meticulous preparation. Davis said he wants to be dog tired during the season as he works as a broadcaster. Plummer poured over game films and read everything even remotely associated with the team and the opposition.

I covered both men as players and they were among the hardest working in the locker room. Plummer was obsessive about his conditioning (he still is). He would attach patches to his body while he ran on a treadmill to test his vital signs and would often burn through the machines within months. Davis was greatly influenced by Ronnie Lott and kept Lott’s spirit alive in the locker room with his work ethic and the seriousness with the way he went about his task.

Davis will likely provide more insights on what it means and what it is like to be a player, something he relayed often in his work at Comcast Sportsnet.

What was missing in Plummer’s somewhat mysterious dismissal was an acknowledgment of his contribution over the past 13 years. In the team release, Plummer wasn’t even mentioned. In my view, he did an excellent job, both in his sharp-eyed criticism and his revealing of the small battles within the big one that occurs on every play. Davis will be good and I look forward to hearing him, but he’s got some big molars to fill.

Categories: 49ers
Kevin Lynch


Totally Captivated
Rating Average 9.4 / 10 out of 2260104 total votes.
Rank 393th, it has 6332 monthly views.
Alternative 完全吸引 ; 완전무결하게 사로잡히다 ; Totally Captivated by Mookyul ; Wanjeon Mukyeol-hage Saro Japhida
Author(s) Yoo Ha Jin
Artist(s) Yoo Ha Jin
Genre(s) Action ; Comedy ; Drama ; Romance ; Slice of life ; Yaoi
Type Korean Manhwa - Read from left to right.
Release 2005
Status Completed

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"I'm pretty sure that the downfall of humans can be completely attributed to their curiosity", such is Ewon Jung's philosophy.
Because of his curiosity and his "affectionate nature", Ewon somehow finds himself, after cheating one time too many on Jiho, dumped and threatened into working as a caretaker for Jiho's new boyfriend, Mookyul... who just so happens to be a Mafia Boss.

And it is just the beginning of Ewon's troubles.

Between Jiho, who still burns at Ewon's infidelity, and Mookyul, gang-leader with movie star good looks who starts to take a keen interest in him, Ewon slowly gets entangled in a net more intricate than that of the dangerous underworld, how will he survive it?

Your reading place :

Volume 6Chapter 39 - 48

Volume 5Chapter 32 - 38

Volume 4Chapter 24 - 31


Saturday, 29 August 2009

Grammar syllabuses for ESP

(Apologies to purists who'd say the plural of syllabus is syllabi. To my mind, the word syllabus looks silly enough already without a fancy plural ending.)

One of the biggest differences between general English (GE) course books and ESP course books is that GE books tend to be driven by what I'd call a traditional grammar syllabus: Unit 1: Present Simple and Continuous; Unit 2: Past Simple; Unit 3: Present Perfect; Unit 4: The Future ... The syllabus may be prominent or disguised to varying degrees, but it always seems to be there.

Not so with ESP course books. Take International Legal English, for example. Here, the syllabus is very much topic-driven. We have units on contract law, company law, intellectual property law, and so on. The aims of the units are to help lawyers and law students to communicate in real-life professional situations such as lawyer-client meetings, contract drafting and discussions with colleagues. There may be some grammar input and practice to support those aims, but it's never the other way round (with the grammar aims leading the course and dictating the topics). What's more, the grammar is often field-specific, i.e. covering grammar topics that are unique to that ESP field. For legal English, field-specific grammar includes things like said/such, wherein/herewith/thereupon, and techniques for switching between legalese and plain English.

Another example comes from Cambridge English for Jobhunting, which teaches students how to write CVs and cover letters and how to perform brilliantly in job interviews. Now, imagine when we were creating that book we had started with a traditional grammar syllabus, and we were planning practice activities for present perfect. Hmmm ... how about job interviews? "Have you ever worked with children? How long have you worked for XYZ?".

The problem is, if you look at strong examples of authentic job interviews (as we did when we were researching the book), you find that present perfect isn't actually used in this way in real life. If the interviewers want to ask you about your experience, they'll ask you to "tell us about a time when you demonstrated ...". In other words, you'll need past simple, and perhaps some narrative tenses, but not present perfect. (There's also the issue that they won't ask if you've ever worked with children - that should come out of your CV, not the interview).

So what grammar do you need for job interviews? Let's look at this question: "Tell us about your weaknesses". It turns out there are several great techniques for answering this question. One is to talk about a weakness that you've actually overcome ("Well, I used to be a bit disorganised, but now ..."). In other words, it's worth teaching/practising used to. Another technique is to play down your weaknesses using phrases like "a bit", "very slightly" and "occasionally" ("Well, I can occasionally be a little bossy, but ..."). The interesting thing for me here is the use of can to show that the weakness is an occasional bad habit rather than a permanent character flaw. I've never seen can explained in those terms in a traditional grammar course, presumably because it's not an especially useful or common use of can. But it is an extremely useful piece of grammar for this particular situation.

So where does that leave the tradional grammar syllabus that I mentioned at the top of this post? I'd say that in modern ESP course books, there's no room for it. There are so many other teaching materials that contain systematic grammar syllabuses that we don't need to include them yet again in ESP books. Another way of looking at it is that there's so much specific language work that does need to be taught in ESP books (because it isn't taught in any other published materials), that it would be a waste of space to include traditional grammar. (This relates to my wish-list for ESP course design - we want course books to cover the difficult things like authentic listening materials and original language work, rather than the easy things that we teachers can make for ourselves).

What's more, ESP course books are often aimed at students with a much wider range of grammar needs than other books. For example, International Legal English will work well with students from B2 to c1 level and above, precisely because it doesn't focus on traditional grammar: the situation-based course aims will be broadly the same for both levels, where grammar-based aims would be very different.

The same goes for books aimed at different nationalities. My students in Poland need a lot of work on articles and present perfect, while native speakers of Spanish at the same level of proficiency would find that grammar work embarrassingly easy. And so on ...

BUT ... the key word in the above paragraphs was course books. There may be no room for a traditional grammar syllabus in the ESP books we use, but I'd argue we still need such a syllabus (tailored to our own students' needs, of course) in the courses we teach. But where do you get a grammar syllabus if not from your course book? You've got two options:

  1. Create your own worksheets to teach and practise all the target grammar structures. This is what I do, although I'll admit it's very tough to be systematic and to actually integrate a whole grammar syllabus into an ESP course.
  2. Supplement your ESP book with another book that does have a strong, systematic grammar syllabus. I'm talking about buying the book, of course, not photocopying it. Aside from the moral/legal issues surrounding photocopying, you and your students are more likely to be systematic if you have an actual book to work through. A grammar classic like Murphy would be fine, as would a GE or business English course book with a strong grammar syllabus. [My favourite used to be Business Opportunities, which had the best grammar syllabus of any book I've used. But it looks a bit dated nowadays, unfortunately.] So you could use your ESP course book on Mondays and your grammar-based book on Thursdays, for example.
Of course the ideal situation would be if ELT publishers brought out grammar books for each of the ESP areas, but for the time being at least, it seems there's not enough demand to justify the investment.

Perhaps one day in the future when I've got too much time and money on my hands I'll write them myself ... (I'll also try to post some grammar activities on this blog as I write them - look out for the 'grammar' label in the list of postings.)

So, what about you? Do you agree with my views on topic-based and grammar-based course books? Where do you get your grammar syllabus from (if you use one)? Or should we ESP teachers forget about grammar and leave it to the general English teachers? Add your comments below.

PS I've just been having an idle look around the blogosphere (still a very new experience for me, being very slow on the uptake) and I came across Alex Case's bank of 500 worksheets. I haven't checked them all out, but it seems to me you could make a pretty good free grammar syllabus for your ESP course just by exploring all the great ideas here.

  1. I've just been having an idle look around the blogosphere (still a very new experience for me, being very slow on the uptake) and I came across Alex Case's bank of 500 worksheets ( I haven't checked them all out, but it seems to me you could make a pretty good free grammar syllabus for your ESP course just by exploring all the great ideas here.

    (I can't work out how to embed a real link in a comment, so either copy and paste the url from this message or go straight to Alex's blog, which I'm just about to add to my Blog List in the sidebar.

  2. Thanks for the mention and link. I do occasionally do a complete "greatest hits" course with my already existing worksheets, but more commonly I write specific worksheets for ESP courses or, frankly, even more often than that I just choose the best textbook I can from the (usually limited) information I have on their needs and wants and then just ignore the book if it turns out not to be at all suitable

    TEFLtastic blog-
    (not sure how to make that a link either, on Wordpress just starting a new line after it usually works, but not confident it is working here...)

  3. I guess the point is that once you've got a nice idea for a grammar worksheet (say, relative clauses in a financial English course), it'll only take half as long to come up with a similar worksheet on the same grammar point for a completely different ESP field.

    As for clickable links in comments ... I've given up trying to work out how to do it, so from now on I'll put any good links that come up in comments as a PS at the end of the main posting.

  4. i want to know,the example of ESP book work...
    so how the way to make it more..? thank you

  5. I Wanna know the differences ESP and GE....
    simple version


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Social Care Abuse Essay

Below is a free essay on "Social Care Abuse" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples.

Define the following types of abuse:

Physical abuse is an act of another party involving contact intended to cause feelings of physical pain, injury or other physical suffering. Symptoms/signs include punching; kicking; slapping; pushing; burning/scaling; restraint; causing bruising.

Sexual abuse, whether adults or children, can also involve abuse of a position of power. Sexual activity is abusive when consent is not freely given. Signs/symptoms include sexual penetration of any part of the body; exposing body parts; sexual exploitation; sexual threats/comments.

Emotional/psychological abuse is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in physiological trauma. Signs/symptoms include humiliation; putting down; bullying; threats; shouting at another; swearing; racial abuse; insulting abusive remarks.

Financial abuse is unauthorized use of a person’s property, money, or other valuables. Signs/symptoms include stealing money/belongings; refusal to access money; withholding money; failing to support individuals to manage financial affairs.

Institutional abuse

Self neglect/Neglect by others neglect happened when care is not given and an individual suffers as a result. Self neglect is when a service user fails to care for themselves. Signs/symptoms include lack of personal hygiene; failure to eat; weight loss; lack of care; inadequately clothed.

2.3 Identify ways to ensure that evidence of abuse is preserved.

3.1 Identify national policies and local systems that relates to safeguarding and protection from abuse.

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MLA Citation

"Social Care Abuse". Anti Essays. 10 Oct. 2015

APA Citation

Social Care Abuse. Anti Essays. Retrieved October 10, 2015, from the World Wide Web: http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/Social-Care-Abuse-355537.html


Emergency Suspension of Time Limitations Applicable to Benefits, Emoluments,
Entitlements, and Opportunities Available to Public Employees

WHEREAS, Hurricane Katrina struck the southeastern part of the state of Louisiana and Hurricane Rita struck the southwestern part of the state causing severe flooding and damage which has threatened the safety, health, and security of the citizens of the state of Louisiana, along with private property and public facilities;;

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act, R.S. 29:721, et seq., a state of emergency was declared through Proclamation No. 48 KBB 2005, as amended by Proclamation No. 54 KBB 2005, and Proclamation No. 53 KBB 2005;

WHEREAS, public employees enjoy benefits, emoluments, entitlements, and opportunities as a result of such employment which are established and governed by state statutes and/or orders, rules, and regulations that contain time limitations applicable to the enjoyment of those benefits, emoluments, opportunities, and entitlements;

WHEREAS, the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and the potential effects of Hurricane Rita, will prevent many public employees whose work domicile is in a parish subject to an official closure from meeting the requirements of those time limitations;

WHEREAS, the Department of State Civil Service has requested the governor to suspend the running of those time limitations;

SECTION 1: All time limitations contained in any statute, order, rule, or regulation affecting any benefit, emolument, entitlement or opportunity available to public employees as a result of their public employment and whose work domicile or location, whether permanent or temporary, was at an office or institution subject to an official closure at any time during the declared emergency are hereby suspended until the state of emergency is lifted, or the particular office or institution reopens, whichever occurs first.

SECTION 2: This Order is effective upon signature and shall be applicable from Saturday, August 27, 2005, unless amended, modified, terminated, or rescinded by the governor, or terminated by operation of law.

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco

Al Ater
Secretary of State


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The Big Score

April 1, 2011

For many film composers, nothing is more exhilarating than standing in front of an orchestra and hearing one''s music come alive. However, recording the live orchestras heard in today''s blockbuster releases is no easy feat. It requires both a good crew and reliable gear. This article takes a look at the people and technology that go into preparing for a Hollywood scoring session.

For much of the film-scoring process, the composer is working on a computer, but during the weeks of recording, much of the focus is given to traditional music notation. Although computers are an excellent way to create music, nothing is more satisfying, efficient, or creates better results than recording live acoustic instruments playing music off the page. Of course, to get the music onto the page, there are a number of technical steps that need to be addressed.

FIG. 1a: Sibelius MIDI file before quantization.

FIG. 1a: Sibelius MIDI file before quantization.

FIG. 1b: After quantization.

FIG. 1b: After quantization.

If the music was written in a computer sequencer, the composer or music programmer will export a MIDI file and send the file to a copyist or orchestrator along with an MP3 of the mockup (a demo of the music using sampled instruments). The copyist will import the MIDI file into his or her notation program of choice and begin to stylize the layout of the score page while cleaning up the raw MIDI musical data. To assist in the cleanup process, notation programs will quantize the MIDI on import, which reduces the note''s rhythmic value to a set length, such as 8th notes or 16th notes (see Fig. 1).

The Sibelius notation program allows copyists to set up a “house style” with all of the composer''s score preferences. This helps the copyist quickly conform the MIDI into the composer''s preferred score layout. After cleaning up the MIDI in the notation program, the composer or orchestrator can add written expressive elements such as dynamics or techniques. Depending on the preferences of the composer, files can go back and forth between the composer and the copyist, with the composer making updates or orchestration changes to the score by hand.

FIG. 2: The action line on a film score.

FIG. 2: The action line on a film score.

There are a few elements specific to film scores that are useful to incorporate into the notated score. Unlike a concert score, it is helpful for a film score to have an action staff at the top of the score that indicates hit points—places in the film that need to be highlighted with accents or other musical hits (see Fig. 2). These are very useful for the composer and the conductor in shaping the music and orchestration.

Hit points are usually created when composing in a sequencer such as MOTU Digital Performer, which uses these hit points to calculate tempo and meter changes. In the pre-digital days, a music editor would often have to calculate tempos using a stopwatch, but these days the software can determine tempos for you.

When the MIDI file is imported into the notation program, the hit points are also imported and incorporated onto the action line at the top of the score. Sibelius imports these hit points directly, whereas Finale requires the inexpensive plug-in TGTools. The hit points will later be imported into Avid Pro Tools when these same MIDI files are used to create the recording templates.

FIG. 3: Big time signatures are important for conductors who are sight-reading a score.

Because creating tight synchronization with the visuals often means changing the number of beats in each measure, or speeding up or slowing down some sections, film music can often have a lot of tempo and meter changes. To assist the conductor in sight-reading the written score, it is often helpful to have large meter changes (see Fig. 3). Finale and Sibelius default to small time signatures, but with some tweaking, one can create custom layouts of time signatures to allow for quick reference of meter changes. To also assist in quick reference, it is very helpful to have measure numbers listed on every measure of every score and part. It is useful to include each cue''s start time on the written score as well. Starts get changed often due to picture edits during the scoring process, and if the start is clearly stated on the written score, the technical staff can all be sure that their equipment is set to start at the right time.

After the scores have been created in Finale or Sibelius, the digital files are sent to a music librarian at the recording session who will supervise the printing, binding, organization, and delivery of the music to the musicians. The librarian is often hired by the music contractor, who also hires all the musicians for the recordings.

The film scoring process often feels as if it''s devoted to the management and wrangling of time: there is the start time of the musical cue in the film measured in SMPTE timecode (hours, minutes, seconds, frames); the running time of the cue; the bars, beats, and tempo of the music; the sample rate and frame rate of the audio and video; not to mention the short deadlines for finishing the work.

The music editor has a central role in managing all of these timing details. The role of the music editor can vary widely depending on the film and the composer, but there are a few responsibilities which most music editors share. The first is the spotting of the film, at which point the music editor, composer, director, and sometimes the producer, review the film and decide on basic start and stop times for each scene, as well as a general character and feel for the score.

FIG. 4: A typical SMPTE
start-time sheet.

FIG. 4: A typical SMPTE start-time sheet.

Once the general start times have been determined, the music editor can begin the temp music, which is the process of placing existing music cues into the soundtrack to create a temporary score. This is increasingly common on many films, as the movie studios often want to screen the film to select test audiences before recording the score, and music is needed to sell the emotion of each scene. As the music editor assembles the spotting notes and temp music, he or she begins to compile a list of the start times for the music cues. This list is often called a SMPTE start-time sheet and lists important technical information about each cue such as the title, video reel, name, length, and the start time (see Fig. 4). As the film is edited, this list must constantly be updated to ensure the start time of the music is correct with each new picture version. In addition, many music editors are also asked to conform the music to fit new picture edits by cutting sections out, changing meters or tempos, or requesting that the composer add new sections of music to go under added footage.

As the week of the recording session gets closer, the music editor will start to prep recording templates for Pro Tools. Although much of the composing process is done in Digital Performer, Logic, or a variety of other sequencers, the majority of top-notch, film-music recording studios work with Pro Tools. These templates can be made in Pro Tools LE as well as HD. The Pro Tools session templates need to have the proper frame rate and start time, the tempo and meter map, and any guide tracks such as mockups or other pre-records.

FIG. 5: Setting the session
start time and frame rates in
Pro Tools.

FIG. 5: Setting the session start time and frame rates in Pro Tools.

Each cue in the film will have it''s own Pro Tools session. Pro Tools sessions should be created using the film standard of a 48kHz or, more commonly, 96kHz sample rate, 24-bit resolution, and Broadcast WAV (BWF) file formats. BWF files place a timestamp on the audio files, so that when files are later imported into new sessions at the mix, the file will automatically synchronize to the correct start. Once the session is created, the editor adds in the Session Start Time and the picture frame rate. This is done in the Setup > Session Menu (see Fig. 5).

The session start time is determined by the reel of video that is being used. Each video reel will start on an hour marking. For example, Reel 1 will start at 1:00:00:00 (1 hour, 0 minutes, 0 seconds, and 0 frames), Reel 2 at 2:00:00:00, and so on.

FIG. 6: The Audio Rate pullup/
down menu in Pro Tools.

FIG. 6: The Audio Rate pullup/ down menu in Pro Tools.

Next, the music editor will set the time-code rate. Most projects shot on HD video these days use the 23.976 frame rate, which has the 24 frames per second (fps) look of film, but accommodates the 29.97 specification for US television using a technique known as a 3:2 pull-down. While the film rate of 24fps is often used for projects shot entirely on film, the final mix, or dub, is often at 23.976fps. In these cases, the score recording, or more often the layback of the final mixes, will be done using a pull-down (see Fig. 6). This pull-down process will slightly slow down the audio to make it compatible with the different frame rate being used at the dub. If the score is recorded and mixed at the wrong frame rate, the dub stage can accommodate this mistake using sample rate conversion at the final mix, but this is not as desirable.

Once the session start time has been created for the reel, the music editor needs to set the cue''s start time and import the tempo/meter map. Because film music is usually recorded to a click track to ensure sync, the bar numbers in Pro Tools have to align with the bars in the score. This also allows the composer to do “pick-ups” at the recording session by starting a recording in the middle of a take. The easiest way to set the tempo and meter changes in the Pro Tools templates is to import a MIDI file either from the music programmer or composer. Import the MIDI file and set it to the SMPTE start time for the cue. This will place all of the meter and tempo changes directly into the Pro Tools file. With any technical process, it is usually a good idea to check the tempo and meter in Pro Tools against the written score to make sure no mistakes were made in the MIDI file import.

Once the template sessions have been created they can be delivered to the Pro Tools operator for the recording session, who will import the templates into his or her recording layout template, using File > Import Session Data.

Conducting is a skill that requires not only a great ear and deep musical knowledge, but also a lot of coordination. Cueing orchestra members, coaxing an emotional performance, listening for mistakes, and counting the beat of the music is a difficult task. Film composers not only have to accomplish this, but they also have to synchronize the music to the film at the same time. To assist in this task, many conductors use visual cues such as punches and streamers.

Since the early days of film music, punches and streamers have been used to assist the conductor. Music editors in the pre-digital days would literally punch a whole in the film at designated lengths to flash the downbeat, providing a visual metronome. Using this method, a bright flash would appear over the film that would keep the conductor in time. For important musical hits, a vertical line, called a streamer, would slowly progress across the screen to indicate the entrance of the next musical section. This was accomplished by marking a diagonal scratch across the film stock. When the film was played back, this would manifest itself as a moving line across the screen.

In these modern days of video, these early film techniques have been long abandoned, and now computers provide these important visual cues for the conductor. One of the more beloved systems used by established film composers is the Auricle Time Processor. This is a DOS 3.0-based computer system that was developed by Richard Grant in 1983, who would later go on to receive an Academy Award in 1987 for his creation. This computer chases (or generates) SMPTE timecode created by the master recording computer, and generates MIDI messages that create the visual punches and streamers at designated times. Like much in the film music recording process, proper Auricle setup relies on having the tempo/meter maps from MIDI files, the start times, and the frame rate settings. The Auricle operator converts the MIDI file into an Auricle file for each cue, and sets the start time and the frame rate. Based on the composer''s or conductor''s preferences, streamers, punches, flutters, and other visual indications are added in the Auricle program. During the recordings, an NTSC QuickTime video is played out of Pro Tools via Firewire and through a digital-to-analog converter, such as a Canopus ADVC, and then to the Auricle system. When the Auricle receives the start time in the SMPTE timecode, it starts generating the proper visual indications, all while following the tempo and meter of the MIDI file. The conductor can then watch the movie after it has passed through the Auricle with all of the proper visual overlays.

MOTU Digital Performer has also been implementing visual streamers and punches into their software and can output these visuals right onto the QuickTime movie. Figure|53 also makes a software solution for visual cues called Streamers.

Although the technology for creating mockups has been available since the 1960s, delivering mockups has only been common practice for the past 10 to 15 years. Composers used to play demos on solo piano to illustrate the musical themes, or they''d use small instrumental ensembles. These days emulations of entire orchestras can be convincingly created using a computer. In addition, many composers now compose using a sequencer, and use the mockup as a composition tool in the process. As the quality of mockups has improved over the past few years with the advances in sampling technology and sequencer proficiency, many film scores include the pre-recorded electronic elements in conjunction with the live orchestra to make a fuller, more modern sounding score. These working in the MIDI domain, but once the arrangement is completed, the electronic instruments should be rendered as multitrack audio files. Before the MIDI is converted to audio, the music programmer will want to confirm that the orchestra is tuning to A440 (many European orchestras prefer to tune to A442 or even A444). Almost all modern software samplers allow the user to pitch up or down the samples a few cents to match the live orchestra.

When recording the MIDI into audio tracks in the sequencer, it''s helpful to give the mix engineer as many options as possible. Some music programmers provide the multitrack stems based on the orchestral section—strings, percussion, brass, synths, guitars, and so on. If the stems can be broken down further into instrument sections (violin I, violin II, horns, trumpets, etc.), it provides the recording engineer with greater control over the mix. How the samples are routed to the audio tracks depends on the music programmers''s setup, and will be determined by what samplers are used, whether it is a host-based sampler such as Native Instruments Kontakt, an inter-application sampler running over Rewire or Vienna Ensemble Pro, or an external sampler running on another computer.

Recording engineers usually prefer to have the samples printed dry, without any effects processing. If the processing is a key element to the sound, such as an amp simulator, pattern generator, or audio mangler, then the samples should be printed after passing through the effects plugin. If desired, the music programmer can also create separate audio tracks of only the reverb.

There are a growing number of European studios and orchestras that tailor to film music recording and provide all of the technical and music services required for a film music recording. One such orchestra, known as the F.A.M.E.S orchestra based in Macedonia, provide a large orchestra with conductor, recording and mix engineers, and music preparation services.

With the use of remote recording technology such as Source Elements'' Source Connect audio plug-in, the composer can even attend the recording sessions from his or her own studio by listening to the live playback in MP3 quality over the Web. With the addition of a talkback microphone, the composer can lead the recording sessions just as if he or she were in the actual control room.

James Sizemore is a professional composer and producer in NY, and has been the Scoring Technical Director for recent films The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and The Edge of Darkness.

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Hey everyone,

Whenever I startup rtorrent I press the 2 key so the names of the torrents will be shown alphabetically. Is there anything I can put into my .rtorrent.rc so this will happen automatically on startup?

On the rtorrent site there is a section on custom views, but I tried many combinations and I couldn't get this to work. And after a lot of searching, I've came up empty handed.

Hopefully someone will know how to do this.

Thank you for any and all help.


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The operating standard for McLaurin Transportation is to benefit the event by offering of exemplary service far beyond expectations.


Archive for January 2nd, 2014

Giraffe leg on the menu for Pompeii middle class

Thursday, January 2nd, 2014

A multi-year University of Cincinnati excavation of two city blocks in the shadow of the busy Porta Stabia gate has revealed an unexpected variety of foods from cheap local forage like nuts to expensive imported meats like giraffe leg. The team studied artifacts discovered at Insula VIII.7.1-15 and Insula I.1 during the 19th and early 20th century excavations, tracking them all down in various museums and adding them to a database, and excavated waste collected in drains, latrines and cesspits. The kitchen discards and mineralized excrement provide a direct window into the diets of the middle and lower classes who frequented and lived in the neighborhood.

Adjacent to the Large Theater, the Triangular forum, the Covered Theater and the Quadroporticus (probably an open air gymnasium), by the time of the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius that sealed the city’s doom, the two insulae included 10 building plots and 20 shop fronts. They were in the heart of the city’s entertainment district, a bustling area for the hospitality and food trades with a lot of foot traffic from the Porta Stabia, Pompeii’s oldest gate. Indeed, excavations discovered evidence of very old buildings in the center of Insula VIII.7 dating back as far as the 4th century B.C. when they appear to have been dedicated to industrial use. This was small scale stuff, cottage industries, basically. Most of them appear to have been salted fish operations, although one tannery was unearthed, a significant find since it’s only the second tannery ever discovered at Pompeii.

A gap in the record after the 4th century B.C. suggests the area (other parts of Pompeii have the same gap) was abandoned only to resume bustling in the mid-2nd century B.C. with the untrammeled rise of Roman control after the Third Punic War. The Porta Stabia neighborhood saw a major revival in the early 1st century A.D. The factories were demolished and floors and walls built over them. The small-scale industry was replaced by retail operations, storefronts and restaurants, to cater to the crowds in the neighborhood to see a show or traveling through the gate. Not all storefronts and restaurants are created equal, however, and there were big differences in quality and expense of products from one shop to then next.

“The material from the drains revealed a range and quantity of materials to suggest a rather clear socio-economic distinction between the activities and consumption habits of each property, which were otherwise indistinguishable hospitality businesses,” says [University of Cincinnati associate professor of classics Steven] Ellis. Findings revealed foods that would have been inexpensive and widely available, such as grains, fruits, nuts, olives, lentils, local fish and chicken eggs, as well as minimal cuts of more expensive meat and salted fish from Spain. Waste from neighboring drains would also turn up less of a variety of foods, revealing a socioeconomic distinction between neighbors.

“That the bone represents the height of exotic food is underscored by the fact that this is thought to be the only giraffe bone ever recorded from an archaeological excavation in Roman Italy,” says Ellis. “How part of the animal, butchered, came to be a kitchen scrap in a seemingly standard Pompeian restaurant not only speaks to long-distance trade in exotic and wild animals, but also something of the richness, variety and range of a non-elite diet.”

I love these kinds of studies because a) ancient poop is awesome, and b) because they underscore how wide-reaching the improved standard of living was for people in the Roman Empire. There were haves and have-nots to a huge degree, of course, what with the vast heaving mass of slaves underpinning the economy, but you didn’t have to be rich to have access to expensive delicacies like giraffe leg and imported Spanish fish. Trade networks and mass production allowed regular people to live with day-to-day comforts like a constant supply of staples (olive oil, bread, bacteria-fermented fish intestine sauce aka garum), lamps, roof tiles and weird takeout.

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Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome

Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome (VHL) causes multiple tumors to form throughout the body, many of which are vascular. Although most of the tumors associated with VHL are non-cancerous, they can cause damage.

There is high risk for the following tumors:

Adrenal gland tumors (pheochromocytomas)
High blood pressure and otherwise unexplainable sweating and anxiety
Brain and spinal hemangioblastomas
Abnormal growth of blood vessels; symptoms include headaches, vomiting, dizziness, and irregular gait
Ear tumors (endolymphatic sac tumors)
May cause hearing loss
Kidney cancer
Clear cell type
Non-cancerous cystadenomas of the epididymis
Occurs in males
Pancreatic tumors and cysts
Generally do not cause symptoms unless they press on other organs
Retinal hemangioblastomas
Usually do not cause symptoms; small risk of vision loss

VHL is caused by mutations in the VHL gene. Our cancer genetic counselors can determine whether genetic testing for VHL is appropriate for you. Identification of a person’s VHL mutation is the first step in alleviating disease progression.

Most people with VHL also have a parent with VHL. Each child of a person with VHL has a 50 percent risk to also have VHL. Genetic testing can be used to determine which family members have VHL.


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The Study of Myopia and Photorefractive Keratectomy

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The Study of Myopia and Photorefractive Keratectomy

Myopia is defined as nearsightedness, which exists when the refractive elements of the eye (cornea and lens) place the image in front of the retina. The myopic condition is common in infants but generally levels off to normal vision as the infant ages (Vander & Gault, 1998). Myopia occurs in about 25% of the adult U.S. population. Many adults use corrective lenses or contacts to correct their myopic vision to 20/20 vision (Drexler et al., 1998). Many people find contacts or glasses hindering in their personal and/or professional lifestyle. For example, military pilots cannot wear glasses while flying and some firemen may find glasses too dangerous to wear during a rescue attempt. There is refractive surgery available to correct myopic eyes, like Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK). Why do people have myopia, what can be done to correct myopia, and what are the results of corrective surgical procedures? These are a few questions that will be addressed and analyzed.

For an eye to focus correctly on an object, it must be placed in a certain position in front of the eye. The primary focal point is the point along the optical axis where an object can be placed for parallel rays to come from the lens. The secondary focal point is the point along the optical axis where in coming parallel rays are brought into focus. The primary focal point has the object's image at infinity, where as the secondary focal point has the object at infinity. For people who have myopic eyes, the secondary focal point is anterior to the retina in the vitreous. Thus, the object must be moved forward from infinity, in order to be focused on the retina. The far point is determined by the object's distance where light rays focus on the retina while the eye is not accommodating. The far point in the myopic eye is between the cornea and infinity. The near point is determined by which an object will be in focus on the retina when the eye is accommodating. Thus, moving an object closer will cause the perception of the object to blur. The measurement of these refractive errors are in standard units called diopters (D). A diopter is the reciprocal of a distance of the far point in meters (Vander & Gault, 1998). The myopic condition manipulates these variables in order to ultimately make a nearsighted individual.

Research shows that myopia is caused by refractive and axial conditions, yet the vast majority of research focuses on the latter condition. Refractive myopia is caused by too much refractive power and axial myopia is due to an elongated eye. It has been expressed that axial myopia (eye elongation) is more commonly studied than refractive myopia. Research seems to link eye elongation as a common factor among people who have myopia. It is proven that for every millimeter in elongation, there is an increase of three diopters in myopia (Vander & Gault, 1998). When an infant is born, the eye is naturally longer than a normal adult eye, and as the child ages the eye retracts to a short, oval shaped eye. Some adults' eyes never retract to a short oval shape, but the eyes reside in a long, elliptic shaped myopic eye. Research has shown that some individuals can actually induce this longer shape by eye accommodation to near work or by the amount of light that reaches the eye. These ideas have been researched and studied.

Drexler, Findl, Schmetterer, Hitzenberger and Fercher (1998) researched the idea that an important role in the development of axial myopia is the amount of near work and the accommodation associated with the progression of myopia. Drexler and his colleagues studied 23 pairs of human eyes, 11 were emmetropic while 12 were myopic. The far and near points were manipulated, and measurements were taken in order to determine if accommodation elongated the eye. He moved a target past an individual's far point, where the target could still be fixated upon without a blur. He estimated that eye elongation happens when one is trying to adjust and to adapt to visual stimuli that is close to one's eyes. This accommodative effort causes the eye's corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth and lens thickness to change shape to induce elongation. He found that all the eyes that were tested and investigated were found to change their shape and become more elongated. Drexler and colleagues also explained this phenomenon by the contractionary pull of the ciliary muscle. This muscle is adjacent to the sclera and is involved in forward pulling of the choroid. This pulling action can possibly cause a decrease of the circumference of the sclera which can cause an elongation of the axial length. Other researchers agree that axial myopia is caused by eye accommodation to near work.

Gwiazda, Bauer, Thorn and Held (1995) agree that there may be a causation between the amount of near work and the onset of a myopic eye condition. Not just near work causes the elongation, but that the blur that is not accommodated properly for causes eye elongation. Gwiazda and colleagues did a longitudinal study on 63 children ranging from 6 to 18 years of age. They measured accommodation and refractive error of the right eye only, where the left eye was covered with an occluder. The researchers used different lens thickness to test the accommodation efforts to a blur. The participants were periodically asked to read a row or column of letters while wearing the different lenses. The eye was shown to not properly accommodate to the blur itself. Not being able to accommodate to the blur was said to induce myopia. Besides accommodation efforts, other researches studied the idea that axial myopia was caused by the amount of light that reached the eyes.

Stone, Lin, Desai and Capehart (1995) agree that myopia is caused by eye elongation, but it is due to the amount of light that reaches the eye. Stone and colleagues studied myopia with an outbred and inbred group of chicks. Their theory emphasized that the amount of light the eye received causes an enlarged vitreous cavity. The greatest myopic condition occurred when medium amounts of light reached the eye. For Stone and colleagues, medium amounts of light were defined between 8 to 18 hours of light. Most axial length occurred during this 12 hour photoperiod, and the majority of length was in the vitreous chamber. When the amount of light (photoperiod) interacted with visual deprivation, eye elongation was also induced. The interaction showed that altering the proportion of light and dark affected ocular growth. When one eye was covered, the uncovered eye was more myopic than when both eyes where not covered. Gwiazda's (1995) research consisted of testing only the right eye, while the left eye was covered (described above). Unknowing to Gwiazda, her research could have been skewed according to Stone's findings of a more axial elongation due to an occlusion of one eye. Other research has found similar findings on exposure to a certain amount of light and visual deprivation in the eye to cause myopia.

Napper, Brennan, Barrington, Squires, Vessey and Vingrys (1995) found that occlusions over the eyes prohibit a natural amount of light to enter which will ultimately induce axial myopia. Napper and colleagues studied three separate batches of chicks. The experiments were to determine the minimum daily period of normal visual exposure to prevent myopia. Normal vision includes not looking through any types of occlusions. Occluders included transparent plastic domes and translucent adhesive film over the eyes. Napper and colleagues found that the chicks who had constant occluders to the eyes were more myopic than those chicks who had no occlusions. This could be similar to Gwiazda's (1995) findings based on blur-driven accommodation. Looking through occluders will not only limit the amount of light, but will also cause the line of vision to be blurry. Napper and colleagues found that short periods of normal vision without any occluders reduced myopia. They also found that the minimum amount of normal visual stimulation needed to reduce myopia included approximately two hours each day in a twelve hour light/dark cycle. Research on axial myopia has provided clues for surgical procedures, in order to shorten the length of the eye.

One surgical procedure that can correct the myopic eye is Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK). This surgery involves using an excimer laser photoablation to remove tissue from the outer surface of the cornea for refractive purposes. The excimer 193-nm UV laser causes flattening of the central cornea through a photoablation process that removes central tissue. Also, the stromal tissue is removed to achieve the patient's best refractive effect. Research has shown that a certain ablation rate must occur to produce the best corrected vision (Huebscher, Genth and Seiler, 1996). Huebscher and colleagues researched 11 patients by doing PRK procedures to determine the ablation rate that is the most effective. They found that the best results to produce the best correction of the myopic eye was an ablation rate of .23 to .3 Êm per pulse of the laser. Any pulse rate less would result in undercorrection of the myopic eye. As with any surgery, PRK produces positive results as well as complications.

PRK results include positive and negative research reviews. After surgery, research has shown that 80% of myopia is corrected. Vander and Gault (1998) showed that there was an 80% correction of low to moderate myopic patients. The major advantage to PRK is that the cornea is not weakened by the laser, whereas it is weakened with other myopia surgical procedures, like LASIK or RK. PRK is a better option than the other procedures for people who do physical activities. Physical activities, such as jogging or heavy swimming, may further weaken the cornea (Vander & Gault, 1998). Complications are often a result of PRK. Pedersen, Li, Petroll, Cavanagh and Jester (1998) found that after six months of surgery the eye restored the corneal tissue to the natural myopic state. They found that starting two weeks after surgery that the stroma rethickened to 98% of its natural thickness. Some other problems discussed by Vander and Gault (1995) include a low to moderate stromal haze. This haze was shown to occur during the first 3 to 6 months after the surgery. Stromal haze was said to make patient's vision blurred and distorted. Although myopia is a common problem, it can be corrected with Photorefractive Keratectomy, which has positive and negative effects.

The current direction of research tends to be toward axial myopia and the correction of this eye condition. Research supports that axial myopia, elongation of the eye, is shown to be caused by the accommodation effort of the eye as well as the amount of light that enters the eye. Although axial myopia is studied more thoroughly, research may need to direct its attention to another form of myopia, refractive myopia. Few research reports acknowledged refractive myopia exists as a myopic condition. A common surgical procedure that is used for the correction of myopia is Photorefractive Keratectomy. Few research reports were found on PRK within the last five years. More attention should be directed to the PRK technique as well as the benefits and drawbacks of this laser procedure. Myopia is a common eye condition, and PRK is often used in correcting this axial elongation of the eye.

Drexler, W., Findl, O., Schmetterer, L., Hitzenberger, C. & Fercher, A. (1998). Eye Elongation during Accommodation in Humans: Differences between Emmetropes and Myopes. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 39, 2140-2147.

Gwiazda, J., Bauer, J., Thorn, F. & Held, R. (1995). A Dynamic Relationship between Myopia and Blur-driven Accommodation in School-aged Children. Vision Research, 35, 1299-1304.

Huebscher, H., Genth, U. & Seiler, T. (1996). Determination of Excimer Laser Ablation Rate of the Human Cornea Using In Vivo Scheimpflug Videography. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 37, 42-45.

Napper, G., Brennan, N., Barrington, M., Squires, M., Vessey, G. & Vingrys, A. (1995). The Duration of Normal Visual Exposure Necessary to Prevent Form Deprivation Myopia in Chicks. Vision Research, 35, 1337-1344.

Pedersen, T., Li, H., Petroll, W., Cavanagh, H. & Jester, J. (1998). Confocal Microscopic Characterization of Wound Repair after Photorefractive Keratectomy. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 39, 487-501.

Stone, R., Lin, T., Desai, D. & Capehart, C. (1995). Photoperiod, Early Post-natal Eye Growth, and Visual Deprivation. Vision Research, 35, 1195-1202.

Vander, J. & Gault, J. Opthalmology Secrets. Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, Inc.; 1998.

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Glaucoma is an eye disease in which the optic nerve is damaged in a characteristic pattern. This can permanently damage vision in the affected eye(s) and lead to blindness if left untreated. It is normally associated with increased fluid pressure in the eye (aqueous humour). The term 'ocular hypertension' is used for people with consistently raised intraocular pressure (IOP) without any associated optic nerve damage. Conversely, the term 'normal tension' or 'low tension' glaucoma is used for those with optic nerve damage and associated visual field loss but normal or low IOP.

The nerve damage involves loss of retinal ganglion cells in a characteristic pattern. There are many different subtypes of glaucoma, but they can all be considered to be a type of optic neuropathy. Raised intraocular pressure (above 21 mmHg or 2.8 kPa) is the most important and only modifiable risk factor for glaucoma. However, some may have high eye pressure for years and never develop damage, while others can develop nerve damage at a relatively low pressure. Untreated glaucoma can lead to permanent damage of the optic nerve and resultant visual field loss, which over time can progress to blindness.

Glaucoma can be roughly divided into two main categories, "open angle" and "closed angle" (or "angle closure") glaucoma. The angle refers to the area between the iris and cornea, through which fluid must flow to escape via the trabecular meshwork. Closed angle glaucoma can appear suddenly and is often painful; visual loss can progress quickly, but the discomfort often leads patients to seek medical attention before permanent damage occurs. Open angle, chronic glaucoma tends to progress at a slower rate and patients may not notice they have lost vision until the disease has progressed significantly.

Glaucoma has been called the "silent thief of sight" because the loss of vision often occurs gradually over a long period of time, and symptoms only occur when the disease is quite advanced. Once lost, vision can not normally be recovered and so treatment is aimed at preventing further loss. Worldwide, glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness after cataracts. It is also the leading cause of blindness among African Americans. Glaucoma affects one in 200 people aged fifty and younger, and one in 10 over the age of eighty. If the condition is detected early enough, it is possible to arrest the development or slow the progression with medical and surgical means.

The word "glaucoma" comes from the Greek γλαύκωμα, "opacity of the crystalline lens." (Cataracts and glaucoma were not distinguished until c.1705).

This text uses material from Wikipedia licensed under CC BY-SA

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The Sun's Heartbeat

Sun's HeartbeatBrowsing the new science books, I came across The Sun's Heartbeat. I picked it up expecting a rather dry collection of facts and was immediately engaged by a chapter titled "The Wild Science of the Bearded Men."

Not only can Bob Berman write but he also has that gift shared by all the best science writers: the ability to translate complex scientific terms into language that anyone can understand.

This book provides a compelling overview of several thousand years of sun research including the great sunspot controversy of the 17th century. The invention of the telescope in 1608 spurned a race to discover facts about the sun. Johannes Fabricius and his father discovered little spots on the sun and excitedly watched them for days until they burnt out their retinal cells. An English astronomer who had voyaged to Roanoke with the English explorers also began recording sunspots. And Galileo himself entered the fray. In fact, Galileo engaged in a decades-long fight with the German professor Christoph Scheiner over sunspots. Over who discovered them first--in fact, neither had, over whether the sun has an atmosphere, and many other topics.

Soon after, European universities set up the first programs to count sunspots daily--or as daily as you can under northern Europe's grey skies. But then the number of sunspots observed tanked to nearly zero. From 1645 to 1720, even with astronomers across Europe searching for them, very few sunspots were counted. At the same time, the world's weather deteriorated. Canals in Venice froze solid for the first time recorded. In France, Louis XIV, ironically known as the Sun King, watched many of his people suffer. Boston recorded thirty-eight blizzards between Nov. and April. Sweden's fishing industry failed. Even China recorded brutally cold winters and crop failures.

Another great yarn shared by Berman is how the first Royal Astronomer of Britain, William Herschel, who also discovered Uranus, believed that people-like inhabitants lived on the sun's surface. This scientific "fact" was taught in schools until well into the nineteenth century.

Winter is a great time to keep warm and enjoy this captivating book about our unique star that makes life on our lovely green orb possible. For a book that delves into the history of the moon and how people from many cultures celebrate it, try Nocturne: a Journey in Search of Moonlight.


image Influential People

King John of England

Key Facts
Other names "Lackland"
Born 1166
Location Le Mans, France
Bloodline House of Plantagenet
Married Eleanor of Aquitaine
Children William, Henry Richard Geoffrey, Matilda, Leonora, Joan, John
Position King of England (1199-1216)
Died October 1216 (Aged 50)

Source of Facts and Important Announcement

John was born the youngest of four sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Acquitaine. His childhood was peppered with turmoil as his older brothers Henry, Richard and Geoffrey were all involved in rebellion against their father at different times. Even his mother, Eleanor was imprisoned in 1173 when John was just 7 years old.

As a result, there was no love lost between John and his brothers, particularly Richard whom he hated deeply. In 1184, Richard contested the claim of John over his right to the lands of Acquitaine which he lost to his brother. Similarly, when John became the ruler of Ireland, he was forced to leave in less than a year--hence the derogatory nickname "Lackland"--a prince without lands.

When his father (King Henry II) died in July 1189, Richard became the new King and left by 1190 on the Third Crusade (1190-1194). As had been the tradition since the reign of his father, it was the Lord High Steward--the highest of all officials that held rule in the absence of the King, in this case old Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester.

When John approached London with his militia, Robert de Beaumont was thrown into the Tower of London and died within the year. However, John did not have the support of the majority of Barons, nor the church and could not convince enough for his crowning in opposition to his absent brother. Instead, Robert (the younger) de Beaumont (4th Earl of Leicester) took up the mantle as new Lord High Steward rallied the barons in support of Richard against John forcing him to abandon London for Gascony and the protection of Simon IV (Montfort), Duke of Gascony by 1191.

Contrary to some of the myths surrounding the death of King Richard in March 1199 at Limousin, there is every evidence that John had a part to play in the demise of his older brother. This would also explain why his legitimate claim as the only surviving son of Henry II was still rejected by many nobles.

Lord High Steward Robert (the younger) de Beaumont sought the support of the English barons to have the son of Geoffrey, Arthur of Brittany crowned as the new sovereign. In response, John convinced King Philip of France to launch and offensive against the English barons on the west coast of France, limiting the ability of Arthur to pursue his claim. In 1200, Philip signed the Treaty of Le Goulet recognizing John over Arthur and soon after John was crowned King of England.

The repercussions of the brief war of succession burst to the surface two years later in 1202, when Philip of France used a largely technical and minor argument of feudal law to summons John of England to his court. When John refused, Philip proclaimed John had forfeited his rights over the English territories and declared all of John's French territories forfeit, except Gascony. Philip then quickly invaded Normandy, granted the fiefs to Arthur including betrothing to him his daughter.

Urgently needings ships and crew with which to launch an invasion of Normandy, John entered a historic agreement with the Venetians, granting them several new trading rights in exchange for the Venetians establishing Portsmouth--the first Venetian ship building works for outside of the famous Arsenal in Venice. Thus John is responsible for founding the Royal Navy.

By 1203, the Venetians had helped England construct and lease 45 large galleys. Prior to the planned invasion Arthur was captured and handed to John, who had him executed soon after. The invasion was postponed and instead, the ships were used as the main body of transport of knights for the Crusade (with both the British and Venetians profiting). John appointed his best commander Duke Simon IV of Gascony in charge of the English forces and joint commander of the Crusade along with Boniface I of Montferrat.

Following the capture and destruction of Zara for the Venetians, followed by the sacking of Constantinople by 1204, the joint business venture known as the Fourth Crusade generated enormous wealth for the Venetians, the Roman Cult and its knights and the English.

Upon his return, King John took the opportunity to appoint his firm Basque ally Simon IV Montfort as his new Lord High Steward--a Basque as the most senior official and noble of the English crown following the sudden death of Lord High Steward Robert de Beaumont.

The wealth generated by the piracy of the Fourth Crusade for England cannot be underestimated. Without this influx of wealth, it is doubtful that King John would have survived past 1205. It also strengthened the bonds between the Roman Cult, the Venetians and England.

AntiPope Innocent III and the Venetians were keen to repeat the succesful partnership, this time to pillage the Languedoc region and destroy the profitable French trading cities along the Gulf of Lions in the Mediterranean, which competed with the Spanish and North African trading ports of the Venetians.

Contrary to the great myth created by the Roman Cult, there was no spontaneous explosion of heresy in Southern France. The residents were Catholic--traditional Catholic and the Cathar religion itself emerged not before the Crusade, but because of the Crusade by the Roman Cult and its Venetian and English allies.

This time English Lord High Steward Duke Simon IV Montfort was put in charge of the Crusade and 1209, using the new Royal Navy, the English and Basque militia invaded by the sea, plundering and destroying Béziers. However, the quick victories were soon turned as Toulouse failed to fall under the command of Raymond of Toulouse.

In spite of the new found wealth of England, matters had not yet been resolved concerning French occupation of Normandy and Anjou. To make matters worse, John was faced with a revolt in Wales under Llwelyn the Great by 1211. A shaky truce in Wales enabled John to focus on an invasion of Normandy by 1212, which turned out to be a disaster. Sensing the English king was badly weakened, the Welsh rebelled again and now John was in dire circumstances. It was then that through the Franciscans, John sent word to AntiPope Innocent of a plan.

In May 1213, John surrendered England and Ireland to become the legal property of the Roman Cult and antiPope Innocent III as his feudal overlord. In exchange, the Pope pledged to wage a Holy Crusade against France in defence of the rights of his English vassal. The terms of granting ultimate ownership of England and Ireland to the Roman Cult was then formalized in the document Bulla Aurea (Golden Bull).

The signing of the deed to give England and Ireland to the AntiPopes in Rome caused massive rebellion across English lands. But as promised, AntiPope Innocent II called upon his other vassals to support John against Philip II of France and the two armies met at the battle of Bouvines (Northern France) in July 1214.

Unfortunately for John, the battle was a resounding victory for the French and in spite of the best efforts of Lord High Steward Simon De Montfort, the barons succeeded in pressing their advantage and forced John to sign and seal the Great Charter (Magna Carta) on June 15 1215 at Runnymede, near London.

As soon as John was free again, AntiPope Innocent approved his vassal in breaking the agreement, prompting the 1st Baron's War and the subsequent French Invasion of Prince Louis of France.

John died suddenly from illness around October 1216. His nine year old son Henry III of England (1216-1272) succeeded him after the English barons switched sides to support Henry against Louis.


Dr Desmond Layne, associate professor of pomology, tree fruit specialist, and state program team leader for horticulture at Clemson University

Stone Fruit

Are You Stressed?

Desmond R. Layne

When you drive through the orchard and see trees that are performing poorly or dying, it can be a source of tremendous stress to you as a grower.  For the trees you just observed, they too, may be experiencing significant stress!

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Factors that impact the assimilate dynamics in trees.  View larger image.

Plant stress is driven by numerous factors that adversely affect plant health, growth, productivity, and survival.  Some stress factors directly impact tree assimilate dynamics (acquisition and utilization of water, nutrients, energy, and carbohydrates) (see figure on right).  These factors are living (biotic) or non-living (abiotic).  Often, multiple stress factors can occur simultaneously or successively.  Some stresses are chronic (systemic viral infection) while others may be acute (temporary drought).

Avoiding Stress
The first key to managing orchard stress is to avoid it in the first place through good management.  Indeed, many stressful orchard conditions can be avoided if you choose a good site, pre-plant fumigate the soil, and choose the proper rootstock.  Further, choosing the correct cultivar based on chill hours for your region and pest/disease tolerance is vital.  Planting trees at the proper soil depth (graft union 4 inches above soil line) is necessary to keep feeder roots in the proper soil zone and to enhance tree stability.

Careful use of orchard machinery and proper timing and use of pruning tools can minimize damage to tree trunks and promote rapid healing of wounds on scaffold branches and limbs, respectively.  Proper crop load management through pruning and thinning can facilitate strong scaffolds that won’t break under the pressure of a heavy crop. Finally, careful weed, pest, and disease management combined with adequate water and fertility can help to keep trees productive and healthy.

When speaking about orchard stress, it is also important to make several distinctions.  It may be localized (part of a single tree or a few trees near each other) or it may be widespread (hundreds of trees in a low spot where there was standing water).  One type of stress can exacerbate another—for example, trees that have been hit by hail causing numerous bark and trunk wounds provide attractive sites for lesser peach tree borer females to lay eggs or disease entry.

Some types of stress are reversible (i.e., nitrogen deficiency) while others (systemic viral infection) will persist throughout the life of the tree.  It is also important to consider the timing of stress relative to key phonological growth stages.  For fruit during the period of final swell (last two weeks before harvest), drought stress could have a very significant adverse impact on final fruit size.  In severe cases of heat/drought stress, trees may actually drop fruit prematurely.

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Identifying Stress
A key to managing orchard stress is being able to identify what is occurring with the goal of rectifying the situation or managing it to the greatest extent possible.  There are numerous biotic stresses that adversely impact peach trees.  These include insects, fungal diseases, bacterial diseases, viruses, viroids, mycoplasmas, nematodes, weeds, and even browsing animals (i.e., deer).  There are numerous abiotic stresses, as well.  These include solar radiation (sunburn), air and soil temperature (too hot or cold), inadequate chilling, rainfall (too much or too little), soil pH (too high or low; 6-7 usually best), soil nutrition (deficiency or excess), soil structure and aeration, excess wind, hail, herbicide drift, and even air pollution (ozone, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen fluoride).

Finally, it is of vital importance to deal with factors that you can control and to consider the long-term impact on the tree.  For example, if a block is compromised by hail, abandoning it until next year without a minimal fungicide/insecticide program to protect the tree and help minimize wound infection or boring of insects would be unwise.  Some modest efforts could help to facilitate healing and significant recovery for cropping next year.  Keeping good records from one year to the next by block will help to remind you of trees that had problems, what corrective measures were taken, and what the response was.  Lastly, try to learn from and not repeat errors.  We all make them but the wise person learns from them and doesn’t repeat them.

Download the printable PDF of this article (524 KB)

This column by Dr. Desmond R. Layne, “Are You Stressed”, appeared in the March 2011 issue of The American Fruit Grower magazine on page 52.

Desmond R. Layne, Ph.D., is an associate professor of pomology, tree fruit specialist, and state program team leader for horticulture at Clemson University.  He is also president of the American Pomological Society.

For more information, go to www.clemson.edu/peach.


Server Classroom and Desktop Services

What is a Master Classroom?

Students and faculty at Middle Tennessee State University are exploring new ways of teaching and learning in "master classrooms." These specially-equipped classrooms combine powerful computing, effective display, and the wealth of information available through networks to provide a more flexible and exciting learning environment that accommodates different teaching and learning styles. Studies show that students tend to retain more as well as learn faster if they see, hear, and interact during the learning process. Master classrooms help provide these pathways for learning.

The concept of the master classroom was developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by Kathryn Conway. Conway defines the master classroom as a specially-equipped classroom that provides a wide range of computer, media, projection, communication, and control capabilities, including connection to the campus network. The master classroom differs from a computer classroom in that it usually does not have individual computers for each student, but rather has a single computer that can be used by an instructor or student(s) for presentations, simulations, on-line access, and multimedia.


This is a natural form of chemical warfare between plants to reduce germination of seeds and it can reduce the ability of other plants to compete. Allelopathic plants and plant material restrict germination or growth of other plants through releasing chemicals.

Allelopathy can be desirable, such as using mulch to inhibit the germination of weeds in a vegetable bed.

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free from omissions
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nor as advice.
But it is not always desirable, for example black walnut trees can kill nearby apple trees.

Lettuce seedlings can be suppressed by ryegrass mulch.

Technically allelopathy applies to more than plants because it is the influence one living organism exerts upon another by releasing chemical exudates that affect another population or individual. These effects are allelopathic effects.

Allelopathy is most commonly seen in farming as effects between plants, such as those that:
Barley can make a good "cleaning crop" to get rid of weeds in a cropping field, because it
Barley is high in allelopathic chemicals when it is growing and as the straw breaks down. Many other winter cereals also have allelopathic effects

You can get the benefit of barley's natural allelopathic effects to reduce weed germination and competition, particularly in later crops.

Certain plant residues provide exceptional weed control. For example, sorghum and Sudan grass straw can reduce weed weight by 90% and 85% respectively, where peat moss will provide only a marginal reduction. So you can suppress weeds with certain straws as mulches in orchards and on vegetable beds.

And the straw can be grown between the rows and slashed and thrown onto the trees or tomato plants rather than being brought-in straw. There is more about this in Green manures in orchards and vineyards and Green manures under sweet corn or tomatoes

Allelopathy is a common characteristic in cereals and other grasses as well as in many weeds and in pine trees and Australian eucalypts.

Effect of crop stubbles on weeds
. Dry weight of weeds (g/sq m) 47 days after applying crop residues
Residue type Wild oats Grass weeds Broad-leafed weeds
Nil 14 227 7
Field pea 90 100 3
Canola (rapeseed) 34 139 11
Sorghum 65 116 8
Sunflower 54 94 8
Wheat 138 71 2
Reference: Purvis, Jessop and Lovett (1985)

This page was updated on December 27, 2007


Magazine article Ideas on Liberty

Dworkin's Unbounded Legalism

Magazine article Ideas on Liberty

Dworkin's Unbounded Legalism

Article excerpt

For a number of reasons, libertarians should be interested in the legal philosophy of Ronald Dworkin.1 Of course, he is a leftist who seeks to implement the American "liberal" agenda through judicial activity. But it is not often realized that the legal doctrine that underlies this is not much different from classical liberalism. He believes in rights as the pre-eminent doctrine that should constrain all political action.

These are individual rights, not group rights (though he is not entirely consistent on this), and he is normally anxious to protect these against the claims of the communitarians.

Dworkin's faith in legal processes has brought scorn from Critical Legal Studies writers whose juvenile Marxism drives them to condemn Western law as a subtle mechanism by which the bourgeois property owners oppress the benighted proletariat. His defense of an almost unlimited free speech has drawn the ire of the feminists who say that the open display of sexuality is equivalent to physical offenses against women.2 Most important is his use of the law and the Constitution to counter that majoritarianism which is sometimes a refuge for American conservatives.

However, there are great differences between Dworkin and classical liberals.

These relate to his activist social agenda, to be pursued by the courts; his overt disrespect for economic rights; and his refusal to use the law to protect private property. But many of the similarities and differences between Dworkin and classical liberalism go back to fundamental jurisprudence.

At the theoretical level, there is some similarity between Dworkin and F. A. Hayek on the meaning of law and its role in a free society.3 Both oppose legal positivism and propound the autonomy of law. That is, they believe that legal processes have a validity independent of, and untainted by, politics.

Legal positivism separates law from morality, and the meaning of law is independent of any ethical purposes a purported legal rule might have. Its validity depends exclusively on the objective procedures that validate it. Under classical English jurisprudence, genuine law was a product of an allpowerful sovereign, that is, any institution that can secure obedience. In its most sophisticated form, however, in the jurisprudence of H.L.A. Hart, valid law is distinguished by its pedigree: did it emanate from an authoritative set of rules accepted by a community?4 The final source of authority is the "rule of recognition." Thus a legal order that does not have a sovereign, such as America's, could still be incorporated into the model of rules, again with no reference to morality.

The rules) of recognition here comprises the Constitution and appropriate Supreme Court decisions.

However, Dworkin makes a distinction between rules and principles. Principles, unlike rules, do not apply all the time, but are called on by judges to settle hard cases.

They are not expressed formally, but are immanent in the morality of a community.

Nevertheless, they are intrinsically a part of its law. To a positivist like Hart, when the rules run out or are indecisive, judges have to innovate and invent new rules. Of course, there is a danger of retroactive legislation here, and positivists recommend that judges implement what they anticipate the legislature's likely response to a particular conundrum will be, or make their decisions consistent with current values. But, nevertheless, such an invented rule is not strictly speaking law until it has been incorporated into the system by statute or case law. In other words, judges have strong discretion.

For Dworkin, this is not a feature of judicial activity, which is always constrained by precedent, by the necessity to interpret principles correctly, and by the need to make decisions "fit" the prevailing legal structure.

As he says, "I insist that the process, even in hard cases, can sensibly be said to be aimed at discovering, rather than inventing, the rights of the persons concerned. …

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I was pleased and proud to have published Ken’s last book, The Servile Mind: How Democracy Erodes the Moral Life, which has some deep things to say about the melancholy fact that “while democracy means a government accountable to the electorate, our rulers now make us accountable to them.” How did that happen?

The evident problem with democracy today is that the state is pre-empting—or “crowding out,” as the economists say—our moral judgments. Rulers are adding moral judgments to the expanding schedule of powers they exercise. Nor does the state deal merely with principles. It is actually telling its subjects to do very specific things. Yet decisions about how we live are what we mean by “freedom,” and freedom is incompatible with a moralizing state. That is why I am provoked to ask the question: can the moral life survive democracy?

Can it? The jury, Ken argues, is still out but the signs are not encouraging.

Ken was also frequent contributor to my magazine The New Criterion on subjects social, moral, and philosophical.  He wrote brilliant essays on Friedrich von Hayek, the sorry bitterness that is feminism, and, more generally, the many counterfeits of freedom that modern liberalism had inveigled us with. His most recent piece, published in March 2013, was about Noel Malcolm’s magisterial three-volume edition of Hobbes’s Leviathan.

Ken never simply reviewed a book. He used the subject under consideration as a springboard for his own reflections. One of his most searching essays, from June 2003, was called “‘Christophobia’ and the West,” which dilated on “the rising hatred of Christianity among Western peoples.” Ken’s subject was not secularism — that reliable coefficient of Enlightenment self-infatuation — but something more visceral: a species of histrionic narcissism Ken denominated “Olympianism.”

If Olympianism has the character of a religion, as I am suggesting, there would be no mystery about its hostility to Christianity. Real religions (by contrast with test-tube religions such as ecumenism) don’t much like each other; they are, after all, competitors. Olympianism, however, is in the interesting position of being a kind of religion which does not recognize itself as such, and indeed claims a cognitive superiority to religion in general. But there is a deeper reason why the spread of Olympianism may be measured by the degree of Christophobia. It is that Olympianism is an imperial project which can only be hindered by the association between Christianity and the West.

There is, Ken observed, a curious political side to the progress of the ethic of Olympianism. It is epitomized by the multicultural imperative: the contention that all cultures are equal, but that Western culture is somehow less equal than others. You can see this at work in the phenomenon of globalization, which operates by spreading Western rationalism along with a deep suspicion of the values that made rationalism possible. The resulting confusion is that “wonderland of abstractions”  that whose guiding prejudice is the belief that prejudice has been overcome and consigned to the dustbin of history. “It reminds one,” Ken concluded, “of Aesop’s frog, who wanted to be as big as an ox, and blew himself up more and more, his skin becoming thinner and thinner, till he burst.”

“I wonder what Ken thinks about this?” It was a question I have often asked myself and could hitherto satisfy by making a phone call or sending an email message. It is a great sadness to me that that question will now have to go unanswered. RIP.