text:
This work in some measure is intended to open up this world to you, the reader. If you have read carefully, you at this point should realize that there are things that look like questions but aren't. I can write ``Is there a God?'' and it looks like a question, but this question cannot be answered in any way that can be ``proven'' correct, an answer can only be asserted with no possibility of proof either way!
The best thing to do is likely to assume that the answer is yes, and see how the worldview that you derive from the assumption (together with other assumptions - axioms - you add along the way) works out. Then assume that it is no and repeat the process. Then just see which system you like the most. That's right. I'm not going to ask you to adopt any particular set of axioms as ``obviously right'' as I have no idea on earth which set are ``right'' in the sense of absolute truth myself. In fact, I don't think that any set is ``obviously'' right - quite the contrary.
One of the first things one has to do to decide what you like, to be able to judge, is to come up with a few meta-axioms, axioms to help you comparatively evaluate axiom sets. These are henceforth presented in a list with no particular order. I urge you to give these axioms a try; start to use them as the basis of questioning your own personal beliefs and axioms. This process may prove so uncomfortable you blind your inner eye and return to a state of absolute adherence to one of the old sets (likely the one you were raised with). Or you may find it exhilarating and liberating - for the first time you may find yourself actually understanding your own beliefs; why you believe what you believe, what the consequences of your beliefs are. You may find, for the very first time ever, that consistency of your belief set becomes important to you, rather than practicing the sort of spiritual schizophrenia experienced by many Christians, Moslems, and Jews, for example, when trying to reconcile ``irrefutable'' scientific evidence that the Universe is 13 billion years old or thereabouts and that we all evolved on this planet over roughly a billion years with Genesis.
Let us therefore begin with perhaps the most important meta-axiom - one this whole article has been working towards:
The Axiom of Open Mindedness: All axiomatic systems with any degree of complexity are likely self-referential, incomplete and inconsistent (including this one, as this axiom just referred to itself). I will therefore provisionally reject all Axioms or sets of Axioms (but this one) that claim completeness, overtly refer to themselves, or are explicitly and obviously inconsistent.
The provisional part is because (like any good jigsaw puzzle or crossword puzzle) one sometimes has to try different pieces in different places because an inconsistency could occur because a lot of the existing pieces are wrong, but the piece being tried is right.
This is a lovely axiom. It asserts that I Don't Know The Answer, and that You Don't Know The Answer EITHER so give it all a rest. I might, possibly, adopt an axiom you propose because it is appealing. I will NEVER adopt an axiom you propose because it ``has to be correct''. It doesn't. It is an irrational assumption we make as the basis for further consideration using reason and logic. That's what the word means.
It also means that if we don't agree on our axioms before we start any discussion on e.g. religion or politics, we are as silly as a plane geometer trying to convince a curved-space geometer that the theorems of plane geometry are correct. Theorems true in one space are false in another and vice versa, and there is no absolute where space is curved or flat - both are just what they are: ``geometries'' derived from differing but similar sets of axioms. In particular, we have to agree on a way of judging axiom sets themselves, as a lot of our discussion will inevitably be coming to agreement on a common axiom set so that we can sanely proceed to derive conclusions and make judgements.
So I urge you to start a process of self-exploration by opening your mind. What you've been taught is not necessarily true. Make yourself into a child again, free from any preconceptions about how the Universe and God ``have to be''. Then you can try looking yourself to discover the answer for you, instead of being told an answer, that may not be correct or even consistent, by somebody else.


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The BSD License Problem
The two major categories of free software license are copyleft and non-copyleft . Copyleft licenses such as the GNU GPL insist that modified versions of the program must be free software as well. Non-copyleft licenses do not insist on this. We recommend copyleft, because it protects freedom for all users, but non-copylefted software can still be free software, and useful to the free software community.
There are many variants of simple non-copyleft free software licenses, such as the Expat license, FreeBSD license, X10 license, the X11 license, and the two BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) licenses. Most of them are equivalent except for details of wording, but the license used for BSD until 1999 had a special problem: the "obnoxious BSD advertising clause". It said that every advertisement mentioning the software must include a particular sentence:
3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software must display the following acknowledgement: This product includes software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its contributors.
Initially the obnoxious BSD advertising clause was used only in the Berkeley Software Distribution. That did not cause any particular problem, because including one sentence in an ad is not a great practical difficulty.
If other developers who used BSD-like licenses had copied the BSD advertising clause verbatim—including the sentence that refers to the University of California—then they would not have made the problem any bigger.
But, as you might expect, other developers did not copy the clause verbatim. They changed it, replacing "University of California" with their own institution or their own names. The result is a plethora of licenses, requiring a plethora of different sentences.
When people put many such programs together in an operating system, the result is a serious problem. Imagine if a software system required 75 different sentences, each one naming a different author or group of authors. To advertise that, you would need a full-page ad.
This might seem like extrapolation ad absurdum, but it is actual fact. In a 1997 version of NetBSD, I counted 75 of these sentences. (Fortunately NetBSD has decided to stop adding them, and to remove those it could.)
To address this problem, in my "spare time" I talk with developers who have used BSD-style licenses, asking them if they would please remove the advertising clause. Around 1996 I spoke with the developers of FreeBSD about this, and they decided to remove the advertising clause from all of their own code. In May 1998 the developers of Flick, at the University of Utah, removed this clause.
Dean Hal Varian at the University of California took up the cause, and championed it with the administration. In June 1999, after two years of discussions, the University of California removed this clause from the license of BSD.
Thus, there is now a new BSD license which does not contain the advertising clause. Unfortunately, this does not eliminate the legacy of the advertising clause: similar clauses are still present in the licenses of many packages which are not part of BSD. The change in license for BSD has no effect on the other packages which imitated the old BSD license; only the developers who made them can change them.
But if they followed Berkeley's lead before, maybe Berkeley's change in policy will convince some of them to change. It's worth asking.
So if you have a favorite package which still uses the BSD license with the advertising clause, please ask the maintainer to look at this web page, and consider making the change.
And if you want to release a program as non-copylefted free software, please don't use the advertising clause. Thus, instead of copying the BSD license from some released package—which might still have the old version of the license in it—please use one of the other permissive licenses, such as Expat or FreeBSD.
You can also help spread awareness of the issue by not using the term "BSD-style", and not saying "the BSD license" which implies there is only one. You see, when people refer to all non-copyleft free software licenses as "BSD-style licenses", some new free software developer who wants to use a non-copyleft free software license might take for granted that the place to get it is from BSD. He or she might copy the license with the advertising clause, not by specific intention, just by chance.
If you would like to cite one specific example of a non-copyleft license, and you have no particular preference, please pick an example which has no particular problem. For instance, if you talk about "X11-style licenses", you will encourage people to copy the license from X11, which avoids the advertising clause for certain, rather than take a risk by randomly choosing one of the two BSD licenses.
When you want to refer specifically to one of the BSD licenses, please always state which one: the "original BSD license" or the "revised BSD license".

subset: commoncrawl


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Edit Prompts
You can edit prompts as needed. Use these steps to edit prompts.
- Locate the prompts pane at the top of the panes in the dashboard.
- Located the different prompts and the drop-down menus next to them.
- Select the prompt you want to edit and choose an alternative prompt from the drop-down menu. The prompt changes, causing the graphs and charts in the dashboard to change appropriately.


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This guide for building effective visual arts lessons is based on the Getty Museum Education department's approach to curricula, which is informed by national and California state content standards and current child development theory. We support classroom experiences that encourage students in all grades to:
- create art and reflect upon what they have made.
- seek and construct meaning through encounters with art.
- create narratives about artworks.
- understand the historical and cultural contexts of works of art.
- discover the significance and value of art in their lives.
The Grade-by-Grade Guide also provides suggestions for students at different skill levels based on child development theory. On those pages you'll find ideas for art production, incorporating language arts into lessons, and assessment.
Building a Visual Arts Lesson
Step 1: Generate Learning Objectives
First generate the learning objectives, or goals, for your lesson. The more specific each objective is, the better. Each objective should describe a specific skill, map to a specific activity in the lesson, be measurable, and support one or more state or national standards. Set only two or three objectives for each lesson to keep students focused and reinforce skills.
Step 2: Identify Activities to Support Your Goals
Identify an activity or two that will teach the skills and concepts required to meet your objectives. Use the Grade-by-Grade Guide to find ideas and activities for your students' grade level.
1) Learning Objective: Students identify the elements of art in a painting.
Activity: Students work in pairs to chart different types of lines (thin, thick, smooth, broken, etc.), colors (warm, cool, primary, secondary, bright, subdued, etc.), and other elements of art they see in a specific work of art. You can teach this in the same way you might teach the parts of speech, for example by having students chart nouns or adjectives in a sentence.
2) Learning Objective: Students research the life and work of an artist and speculate about his or her artistic intention in a given work.
Activity: Students read information about the artist's history and look at other works of art by the same artist. They use the information they learn from this research to speculate about why the artist used certain elements and imagery. For example, student research about Monet's painting Wheatstacks, Snow Effect, Morning will reveal that the work is part of a series depicting the same subject at different times of year and day. This information helps students speculate about the artist's choice of color and line and use of light in this painting.
Step 3: Determine Assessment Criteria
Develop criteria that will help you know whether your students have achieved the learning objectives. Each assessment criterion should describe the results you expect from a student who has achieved the objective. The assessment criteria should be easily measurable.
1) Learning Objective: Students identify the elements of art in a particular painting.
Assessment: Students can verbally point out and name one example of each of the elements of art in a single work of art. A rubric will help you to measure student success. For example: Students who can name one example of all elements of art have excellent understanding. Students who can find examples of 3–4 of the elements have sufficient understanding. Students who can only find 1 or 2 examples need more practice!
2) Learning Objective: Students research the life and work of an artist and speculate about his or her artistic intention in a given work.
Assessment: Students can formulate a theory about why a single element or image is included in a work of art and support their theory either with information from the artist's biography, or information found in other works of art by the same artist.
Step 4: Write Lesson Steps
Fill in the details of the lesson steps that will teach the skills. You now know exactly what your goals (learning objectives) are for the lesson and what kind of outcome you'll be expecting from your students' work (assessment criteria).
The following resources were consulted for the creation of this guide.
Grinder, Alison L. and E. Sue McCoy. The Good Guide: A Sourcebook for Interpreters, Docents, and Tour Guides. Tucson, AZ: Ironwood Press, 1985.
Henry, Carole, ed. Middle School Art: Issues of Curriculum and Instruction. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association, 1996.
Herberholz, Barbara and Lee C. Hanson. Early Childhood Art. 5th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill, 1995.
Linderman, Marlene Gharbo. Art in the Elementary School: Drawing, Painting, and Creating for the Classroom. 5th ed. Dubuque, IA: Brown & Benchmark, 1997.


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Plot Interface: Using the Interactive Plot Builder
The Plot Builder provides functionality to build and display 2-D and 3-D plots interactively. This feature works using a control panel that emerges dynamically from the right side of the Maple window. Using this panel, you can select the plot type and specify plot options.
Activating the Plot Builder
Using the Plot Builder
Animations in the Plot Builder
You can activate the plot builder from the Tools menu or the Context Panel.
From the Context Panel
To activate the interactive plot builder using the Context Panel:
Select an expression in 2-D math input or output. Ensure that the entire expression is selected.
In the Context Panel, select Plot Builder. The plot builder panel appears.
From the Tools Menu
To activate the interactive plot builder from the Tools menu:
From the Tools menu, select Assistants and then select Plot Builder.
In the Interactive Plot Builder: Specify Expressions window, click Add.
Enter the expression you want to plot in the Add/Edit Expression window.
Click Accept.
After you activate the Plot Builder, either from the Context Panel or the Tools menu, a panel appears from the right side of the Maple window. The panel contains embedded components that allow you to select the type of plot and to specify plot options.
When you select a plot type, a plot is displayed in the worksheet's main window. The plot is updated upon changing the interactive controls related to plot options.
Note: You can always go back and select a different plot type from the panel. The selection will update automatically in the worksheet.
The set of displayed controls depends dynamically on the valid plotting options for the currently selected plot type. Selecting some specific plot options choices may cause some related controls to change. For example, when the control for style is set to point then the control for thickness becomes hidden and is replaced by controls for symbol and symbol size.
The embedded controls in the panel have tooltip descriptions to facilitate their use.
show command: The panel contains a button that toggles (on or off) the display of the plotting command in a text area beneath the displayed plot. This command may be copied and reused elsewhere in the worksheet. Plotting options whose controls are set to their respective default values are not included in the plotting command, with the exception of the computational ranges for the independent variables.
assign to name: To assign the plot to a name, in the assign to name field, enter the name.
Tip: You can zoom in or out in the Plot Builder panel by holding Ctrl (Command, on Mac) and using the mouse scroll wheel.
If you want to revist the Plot Builder to modify the plot and the Context Panel is not currently open, click the plot region and the panel reappears.
Note: When the panel reappears its components are in the same state as when they were last changed. This includes the case of restarting the kernel engine or closing and reopening the worksheet.
However, re-executing a page or selection with Plot Builder plots resets the Plot Builder.
More than one such interactive plot can exist in a single worksheet, but only one instance can be created within any single execution group.
Combining different types of plots can be accomplished by first using the interactive plot builder to produce and assign them separately, then using the plots[display] command to show them together.
To build animations interactively through the Plot Builder:
From the context panel for an expression, select Plot Builder.
Select the animation toggle button to create an animation.
Specify options as desired in the context panel.
Click build animation to create the plot animation.
Use the animation toolbar to play the animation.
Note: If you are animating a plot with more than one parameterized variable, you can change the sequence order of these variables using the options in the context panel.
See Also
Plots and Animations
Plotting Tutorial
Download Help Document
What kind of issue would you like to report? (Optional)


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Berhalter, LA defense look to shine in qualifier at HDC
Luis Bueno MLSsoccer.com
July 26, 2010
July 26, 2010
The basics
LA Galaxy (MLS Cup 2009 runners-up) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (2010 CFU Club Championship winners), CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round
TV Info
10 p.m. ET; Fox Soccer Channel
What's at stake?
A berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. This is the first of two legs in the series, with the winner advancing to Group D. The second leg is Aug. 4 in Puerto Rico.
LA Galaxy
The Galaxy overcame two deficits to tie San Jose 2-2 on Thursday and have compiled a 2-1-2 mark in league play since the World Cup break ended. In those games, World Cup veterans Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan have combined for five of the club's seven goals. This match is the second of five games during a busy 17-day stretch that includes the return leg of this series and an international friendly against Real Madrid.
Puerto Rico Islanders
Puerto Rico enter the match on the heels of a win, having topped Rochester 3-1 on Saturday in D2 action. Nicholas Addlery, David Foley and Kendall Jagdeosingh scored the goals for Puerto Rico, who improved to 6-7-5 in league play with the win. Puerto Rico, however, hold a meager 1-4-4 road mark this season heading to Home Depot Center.
Heroes & Villains
Gregg Berhalter vs. David Foley: Even though this is an aggregate-goal series and a convincing rout could all but seal the series at home, Galaxy players are more concerned about shutting out Puerto Rico. Enter Berhalter, who rested on Thursday against the Quakes and should have no physical setbacks entering the game. Foley, meanwhile, leads Puerto Rico with six goals. At 5-foot-7, his shiftiness and pace could cause problems for the Galaxy's backline.
Stat that makes you go "Hmmm":
MLS clubs are 1-4 all-time in CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round series.


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A task is a collection of activities that users interact with when trying to do something in your app. These activities are arranged in a stack—the back stack—in the order in which each activity is opened. For example, an email app might have one activity to show a list of new messages. When the user selects a message, a new activity opens to view that message. This new activity is added to the back stack. Then, if the user presses or gestures Back, that new activity is finished and popped off the stack.
Lifecycle of a task and its back stack
The device Home screen is the starting place for most tasks. When a user touches the icon for an app or shortcut in the app launcher (or on the Home screen), that app's task comes to the foreground. If no task exists for the app (the app has not been used recently), then a new task is created and the main activity for that app opens as the root activity in the stack.
When the current activity starts another, the new activity is pushed on the top of the stack and takes focus. The previous activity remains in the stack, but is stopped. When an activity stops, the system retains the current state of its user interface. When the user performs the back action, the current activity is popped from the top of the stack (the activity is destroyed) and the previous activity resumes (the previous state of its UI is restored). Activities in the stack are never rearranged, only pushed and popped from the stack—pushed onto the stack when started by the current activity and popped off when the user leaves it using the Back button or gesture. As such, the back stack operates as a last in, first out object structure. Figure 1 visualizes this behavior with a timeline showing the progress between activities along with the current back stack at each point in time.
If the user continues to press or gesture Back, then each activity in the stack is popped off to reveal the previous one, until the user returns to the Home screen (or to whichever activity was running when the task began). When all activities are removed from the stack, the task no longer exists.
Back press behavior for root launcher activities
Root launcher activities are activities that declare an Intent
filter with both
ACTION_MAIN and
These activities are unique because they act as entry points into your app from
the app launcher and are used to start a task.
When a user presses or gestures Back from a root launcher activity, the system handles the event differently depending on the version of Android that the device is running.
- System behavior on Android 11 and lower
- The system finishes the activity.
- System behavior on Android 12 and higher
The system moves the activity and its task to the background instead of finishing the activity. This behavior matches the default system behavior when navigating out of an app using the Home button or gesture.
In most cases, this behavior means that users can more quickly resume your app from a warm state, instead of having to completely restart the app from a cold state.
If you need to provide custom back navigation, we recommend using the AndroidX Activity APIs, rather than overriding
onBackPressed(). The AndroidX Activity APIs automatically defer to the appropriate system behavior if there are no components intercepting the system Back press.
However, if your app overrides
onBackPressed()to handle Back navigation and finish the activity, update your implementation to call through to
super.onBackPressed()instead of finishing. Calling
super.onBackPressed()moves the activity and its task to the background when appropriate and provides a more consistent navigation experience for users across apps.
Background and foreground tasks
A task is a cohesive unit that can move to the background when a user begins a new task or goes to the Home screen. While in the background, all the activities in the task are stopped, but the back stack for the task remains intact—the task has simply lost focus while another task takes place, as shown in figure 2. A task can then return to the foreground so users can pick up where they left off.
Consider for example, the following task flow for a current task (Task A) that has three activities in its stack, including two under the current activity:
The user uses the Home button or gesture, then starts a new app from the app launcher.
When the Home screen appears, Task A goes into the background. When the new app starts, the system starts a task for that app (Task B) with its own stack of activities.
After interacting with that app, the user returns Home again and selects the app that originally started Task A.
Now, Task A comes to the foreground—all three activities in its stack are intact and the activity at the top of the stack resumes. At this point, the user can also switch back to Task B by going Home and selecting the app icon that started that task (or by selecting the app's task from the Recents screen).
Multiple activity instances
Because the activities in the back stack are never rearranged, if your app allows users to start a particular activity from more than one activity, a new instance of that activity is created and pushed onto the stack (rather than bringing any previous instance of the activity to the top). As such, one activity in your app might be instantiated multiple times (even from different tasks), as shown in figure 3. If the user navigates backward using the Back button or gesture, each instance of the activity is revealed in the order they were opened (each with their own UI state). However, you can modify this behavior if you do not want an activity to be instantiated more than once. How to do so is discussed in the later section about managing tasks.
Multi-window environments
When apps are running simultaneously in a multi-windowed environment, supported in Android 7.0 (API level 24) and higher, the system manages tasks separately for each window; each window may have multiple tasks. The same holds true for Android apps running on Chromebooks: the system manages tasks, or groups of tasks, on a per-window basis.
Lifecycle recap
To summarize the default behavior for activities and tasks:
When Activity A starts Activity B, Activity A is stopped, but the system retains its state (such as scroll position and text entered into forms). If the user uses the Back or gesture while in Activity B, Activity A resumes with its state restored.
When the user leaves a task using the Home button or gesture, the current activity is stopped and its task goes into the background. The system retains the state of every activity in the task. If the user later resumes the task by selecting the launcher icon that began the task, the task comes to the foreground and resumes the activity at the top of the stack.
If the user presses or gestures Back, the current activity is popped from the stack and destroyed. The previous activity in the stack is resumed. When an activity is destroyed, the system does not retain the activity's state.
This behavior is different for root launcher activities when your app is running on a device that runs Android 12 or higher.
Activities can be instantiated multiple times, even from other tasks.
Manage tasks
The way Android manages tasks and the back stack, as described above—by placing all activities started in succession in the same task and in a last in, first out stack—works great for most apps and you shouldn't have to worry about how your activities are associated with tasks or how they exist in the back stack. However, you might decide that you want to interrupt the normal behavior. Perhaps you want an activity in your app to begin a new task when it is started (instead of being placed within the current task); or, when you start an activity, you want to bring forward an existing instance of it (instead of creating a new instance on top of the back stack); or, you want your back stack to be cleared of all activities except for the root activity when the user leaves the task.
You can do these things and more, with attributes in the
<activity> manifest element
and with flags in the intent that you pass to
In this regard, these are the principal
<activity> attributes that you
can use:
And these are the principal intent flags that you can use:
In the following sections, you'll see how you can use these manifest attributes and intent flags to define how activities are associated with tasks and how they behave in the back stack.
Also, discussed separately are the considerations for how tasks and activities may be represented and managed in the Recents screen. See Recents screen for more information. Normally you should allow the system to define how your task and activities are represented in the Recents screen, and you don't need to modify this behavior.
Defining launch modes
Launch modes allow you to define how a new instance of an activity is associated with the current task. You can define different launch modes in two ways:
When you declare an activity in your manifest file, you can specify how the activity should associate with tasks when it starts.
When you call
startActivity(), you can include a flag in the
Intentthat declares how (or whether) the new activity should associate with the current task.
As such, if Activity A starts Activity B, Activity B can define in its manifest how it should associate with the current task (if at all) and Activity A can also request how Activity B should associate with current task. If both activities define how Activity B should associate with a task, then Activity A's request (as defined in the intent) is honored over Activity B's request (as defined in its manifest).
Define launch modes using the manifest file
When declaring an activity in your manifest file, you can specify how the
activity should associate with a task using the
<activity> element's
launchMode attribute.
launchMode attribute
specifies an instruction on how the activity should be launched into a task.
There are five different launch modes you can assign to the
launchMode attribute:
"standard"(the default mode)
- Default. The system creates a new instance of the activity in the task from which it was started and routes the intent to it. The activity can be instantiated multiple times, each instance can belong to different tasks, and one task can have multiple instances.
If an instance of the activity already exists at the top of the current task, the system routes the intent to that instance through a call to its
onNewIntent()method, rather than creating a new instance of the activity. The activity can be instantiated multiple times, each instance can belong to different tasks, and one task can have multiple instances (but only if the activity at the top of the back stack is not an existing instance of the activity).
For example, suppose a task's back stack consists of root activity A with activities B, C, and D on top (the stack is A-B-C-D; D is on top). An intent arrives for an activity of type D. If D has the default
"standard"launch mode, a new instance of the class is launched and the stack becomes A-B-C-D-D. However, if D's launch mode is
"singleTop", the existing instance of D receives the intent through
onNewIntent(), because it's at the top of the stack—the stack remains A-B-C-D. However, if an intent arrives for an activity of type B, then a new instance of B is added to the stack, even if its launch mode is
The system creates the activity at the root of a new task or locates the activity on an existing task with the same affinity. If an instance of the activity already exists, the system routes the intent to existing instance through a call to its
onNewIntent()method, rather than creating a new instance. Meanwhile all of the other activities on top of it are destroyed.
Same as
"singleTask", except that the system doesn't launch any other activities into the task holding the instance. The activity is always the single and only member of its task; any activities started by this one open in a separate task.
The activity can only be running as the root activity of the task, the first activity that created the task, and therefore there will only be one instance of this activity in a task. In contrast to the
singleTasklaunch mode, this activity can be started in multiple instances in different tasks if the
FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_DOCUMENTflag is set.
As another example, the Android Browser app declares that the web browser
activity should always open in its own task—by specifying the
launch mode in the
element. This means that if your app issues an intent to open the Android
Browser, its activity is not placed in the same task as your app. Instead,
either a new task starts for the Browser or, if the Browser already has a task
running in the background, that task is brought forward to handle the new
Regardless of whether an activity starts in a new task or in the same task as
the activity that started it, the Back button and gesture always take the
user to the previous activity. However, if you start an activity that specifies
singleTask launch mode, then if an instance of that activity exists in a
background task, that whole task is brought to the foreground. At this point,
the back stack now includes all activities from the task brought forward, at the
top of the stack. Figure 4 illustrates this type of scenario.
For more information about using launch modes in the manifest file, see the
<activity> element documentation,
where the
launchMode attribute and the accepted values are discussed more.
Define launch modes using Intent flags
When starting an activity, you can modify the default association of an activity
to its task by including flags in the intent that you deliver to
The flags you can use to modify the default behavior are:
Start the activity in a new task. If a task is already running for the activity you are now starting, that task is brought to the foreground with its last state restored and the activity receives the new intent in
This produces the same behavior as the
launchModevalue, discussed in the previous section.
If the activity being started is the current activity (at the top of the back stack), then the existing instance receives a call to
onNewIntent(), instead of creating a new instance of the activity.
This produces the same behavior as the
launchModevalue, discussed in the previous section.
If the activity being started is already running in the current task, then instead of launching a new instance of that activity, all of the other activities on top of it are destroyed and this intent is delivered to the resumed instance of the activity (now on top), through
There is no value for the
launchModeattribute that produces this behavior.
FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOPis most often used in conjunction with
FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK. When used together, these flags are a way of locating an existing activity in another task and putting it in a position where it can respond to the intent.
Handle affinities
An affinity indicates which task an activity prefers to belong to. By default, all the activities from the same app have an affinity for each other. So, by default, all activities in the same app prefer to be in the same task. However, you can modify the default affinity for an activity. Activities defined in different apps can share an affinity, or activities defined in the same app can be assigned different task affinities.
You can modify the affinity for any given activity with the
attribute of the
attribute takes a string value, which must be unique from the default package name
declared in the
element, because the system uses that name to identify the default task
affinity for the app.
The affinity comes into play in two circumstances:
When the intent that launches an activity contains the
A new activity is, by default, launched into the task of the activity that called
It's pushed onto the same back stack as the caller. However, if the intent passed to
contains the
FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASKflag, the system looks for a different task to house the new activity. Often, it's a new task. However, it doesn't have to be. If there's already an existing task with the same affinity as the new activity, the activity is launched into that task. If not, it begins a new task.
If this flag causes an activity to begin a new task and the user uses the Home button or gesture to leave it, there must be some way for the user to navigate back to the task. Some entities (such as the notification manager) always start activities in an external task, never as part of their own, so they always put
FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASKin the intents they pass to
startActivity(). If you have an activity that can be invoked by an external entity that might use this flag, take care that the user has a independent way to get back to the task that's started, such as with a launcher icon (the root activity of the task has a
CATEGORY_LAUNCHERintent filter; see the section on starting tasks).
When an activity has its
allowTaskReparentingattribute set to
In this case, the activity can move from the task it starts to the task it has an affinity for, when that task comes to the foreground.
For example, suppose that an activity that reports weather conditions in selected cities is defined as part of a travel app. It has the same affinity as other activities in the same app (the default app affinity) and it allows re-parenting with this attribute. When one of your activities starts the weather reporter activity, it initially belongs to the same task as your activity. However, when the travel app's task comes to the foreground, the weather reporter activity is reassigned to that task and displayed within it.
Clear the back stack
If the user leaves a task for a long time, the system clears the task of all activities except the root activity. When the user returns to the task again, only the root activity is restored. The system behaves this way, because, after an extended amount of time, users likely have abandoned what they were doing before and are returning to the task to begin something new.
There are some activity attributes that you can use to modify this behavior:
- If this attribute is set to
"true"in the root activity of a task, the default behavior just described does not happen. The task retains all activities in its stack even after a long period.
If this attribute is set to
"true"in the root activity of a task, the task is cleared down to the root activity whenever the user leaves the task and returns to it. In other words, it's the opposite of
alwaysRetainTaskState. The user always returns to the task in its initial state, even after leaving the task for only a moment.
This attribute is like
clearTaskOnLaunch, but it operates on a single activity, not an entire task. It can also cause any activity to finish, except for the root activity. When it's set to
"true", the activity remains part of the task only for the current session. If the user leaves and then returns to the task, it is no longer present.
Start a task
You can set up an activity as the entry point for a task by giving it an intent
filter with
"android.intent.action.MAIN" as the specified action and
"android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" as the specified category. For example:
<activity ... >
<intent-filter ... >
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
An intent filter of this kind causes an icon and label for the activity to be displayed in the app launcher, giving users a way to launch the activity and to return to the task that it creates any time after it has been launched.
This second ability is important: Users must be able to leave a task and then
come back to it later using this activity launcher. For this reason, the two
launch modes that mark activities as always initiating a task,
"singleInstance", should be used only when the activity has an
ACTION_MAIN and a
filter. Imagine, for example, what could happen if the filter is missing: An
intent launches a
"singleTask" activity, initiating a new task, and the user
spends some time working in that task. The user then uses the Home button or
gesture. The task is now sent to the background and is not visible. Now the user
has no way to return to the task, because it is not represented in the app
For those cases where you don't want the user to be able to return to an
activity, set the
"true" (see the section on clearing the back stack).
Further information about how tasks and activities are represented and managed in the Overview screen is available in Recents screen.


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Simon Calder from the Independant newspaper took a Stonehenge 'inner circle' tour recently – here are his comments:
You know Stonehenge, of course: a haunting silhouette from the past that stands gaunt and defiant on the chalky grassland of Wiltshire, just where the busy A303 and A344 meet. This inspirational stone circle, a triumph of the human spirit, was bequeathed millennia ago. It is now protected by English Heritage and forms part of a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Last year, almost 900,000 visitors stepped from their cars and coaches to get closer to the neolithic wonder. An enriching experience, set to become better still when a new visitor centre opens next year. It is tantalising, though, to be so close to the stones, yet unable to wander through them and wonder at the forces that brought them here. Since 1978, they have been off-limits because of worries about vandalism and erosion caused by rising visitor numbers.
How much more rewarding it would be to be able to walk unfettered beyond the "velvet rope" that keeps visitors at bay. Well, an average of 1,000 people a month are lucky enough to get up close for a personal experience of the stone circle. On a range of days throughout the year, people who book ahead can get access to the heart of the site, in groups no larger than 26.
I signed up for the last such tour in September – which is why at dawn on Monday, I could be seen cycling north from Salisbury station in order to make the appointment of 8am sharp.
A brief history of Stonehenge, I mused as I huffed and puffed, is an impossible task. Suffice it to say that around 5,000 years ago, a circular ditch and mound was created. The site's initial purpose seems to have been as a cremation cemetery. Perhaps half a millennium later, around 2500BC, standing stones were introduced – including the massive slabs topped by lintels that give Stonehenge its popular profile.
By the time the Romans arrived, the site had long lost its ceremonial significance – and spent most of the Christian era being regarded as about as much use as a pile of old stones. Yet in a remarkable early 20th-century conservation effort, a campaign succeeded in preserving the site, removing latter-day buildings and saving the signature site for the nation.
The 21st-century explorer needs the Ordnance Survey Landranger map 184, "Salisbury & The Plain". The place names provide a mix of excitement (Old Sarum, Druid's Lodge, Longbarrow Cross Roads) and foreboding (Breakheart Bottom). A gothic font pops up a lot, highlighting a remarkable density of earthworks created by ancient Britons as gifts from the living to the dead.
Stonehenge is just one element in an elaborate network of ceremonial sites scattered across Wiltshire, but it is by far the most prominent. When first they appear on the horizon, the raw reality of the stones makes you gasp – especially if you happen to be on a bike: Stonehenge is about 300 feet above sea level.
Everyone else on my tour had the good sense to arrive by coach: a company called Premium Tours has a regular day-trip schedule from London, which also includes Laycock and Bath. With a moment of trepidation, I stepped past the "No admittance" sign and on to the soft, springy grass, unwittingly triggering a faint mist of dew.
Like latter-day pilgrims, we followed the tour leader, Jason Ridgley, to the "altar stone" at the centre of the circle. Up close, you are overwhelmed by the scale of the construction: blocks of hard sandstone from 25 to 50 tons, quarried from the Marlborough Downs and dragged by weight of numbers and sheer determination around 4,000 years ago, to form a circle of 30 massive stones. They were topped, thanks to primitive but effective inventiveness, with huge lintels. Many of them have fallen, but here in the centre of the circle you can easily envisage its completeness.
The brute physical achievement is matched by remarkable sophistication about the workings of the cosmos. The stones appear to have been aligned so that at dawn on the summer solstice, the sun rises directly in the line from the "heel stone", set beyond the circle close to the road, and the altar stone.
"It's my favourite tour," says Jason, who conducts a wide range of trips. "Everyone has planned their visit months in advance, and is psyched up for something they have waited their whole lives to see."
The noise from the traffic seems to evaporate with the dew, with the silence broken only by the staccato of shutters. You feel strangely awed, reverential even, at being in the heart of such a profoundly mystical monument. Some places in Mayan Mexico and Guatemala feel like this, but they are tougher to reach, and much younger.
Time to take in the detail: the lichen in the tones of autumn that clings to the stone, bestowing texture and colour on sandstone worn pale by the elements. Early tourists painstakingly and shamefully carved their initials on one of the tallest stones, which – just below the waist-high messages – also bears ancient carvings of axe-heads.
The smaller slabs of bluestone within the circle are remarkable more for their provenance than their scale: the Preseli Hills in Wales, about 200 miles away – or, possibly, brought closer by glaciers. The more we know about Stonehenge, the more there is to know.
"It's exactly as I thought it would be," said David Gray from Manitoba in Canada, as we reluctantly walked back to the 21st century. Is that that a good thing, I wondered?
"Yes, it's a very good thing," he replied.


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SENIOR NIGHT - Conard vs. Hall - Complimentary Family Photos
Senior Parents - You can right-click on any photograph to save it to your computer. You may also order prints through my site at minimal cost and have the prints shipped directly to your home. I've cropped them for 5"x7", please let me know if you have any questions or need a shot cropped a little differently (you can also crop them yourself during the checkout process if you order prints). Enjoy!Read More


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1-Mattis Justo Quam
1-consectetur. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit.
Alum's $5 Million Legacy Gift Will Greatly Boost the Teaching of Ethics
CHESTERTOWN, MD—A Washington College alumnus with a passion for service and ethics has made a $5 million legacy gift to establish an academic program dedicated to teaching the principles and practice of doing the right thing.
The gift from pediatric dentist Richard E. Holstein '68, believed to be the largest legacy gift ever made to the 232-year-old liberal arts college, will greatly expand an existing program in ethics established in his name a decade ago. Vice President for Advancement Gary Grant says it aligns perfectly with the history and ethos of Washington College, whose original 1782 charter specified that, "institutions for the liberal education of youth in the principles of virtue, knowledge and useful literature, are of the highest benefit to society, in order to raise up and perpetuate a succession of honest men and women, for discharging the various offices and duties of the community, both civil and religious, with usefulness and reputation."
"It remains an integral part of the College's mission to develop ethical sensitivity and civic responsibility," says Grant. "In Richard, we have an alum who thinks deeply about ethical integrity. His extraordinary legacy gift will ensure that future students learn the intellectual and practical skills to live with integrity and to influence the behavior of others in a positive way."
Holstein practices pediatric dentistry in Princeton, N.J. and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. His interest in ethical behavior dates to his college years in Chestertown, where he majored in philosophy and was mentored by faculty members such as philosophy professor Peter Tapke.
That interest grew as he developed his career in dentistry, working with his young patients, teaching future dentists, and volunteering with Operation Smile, the volunteer medical services organization that offers reconstructive facial surgery to indigent children and young adults around the globe. (Holstein was awarded the Washington College Alumni Citation in 1999, largely to recognize his work as founder of the Central New Jersey Chapter of Operation Smile.) His definition of an ethical life includes environmental stewardship, which is why he drives a Prius and powers his home mostly with solar cells.
"I really believe that the ultimate goal of any educational institution should be developing its students' potential for critical thinking, and the concept of ethical behavior is essential to that goal," says Holstein. "I want Washington College to become even more extraordinary than it already is in doing so. I am 'paying forward' the efforts of my parents, teachers and mentors, with the hope of exponentially increasing the contributions of Washington College graduates to humanity."
Holstein made a $100,000 gift to Washington College in 2004, a donation that was matched by funds from the Hodson Trust, to establish the Holstein Ethics Program. Its purpose is to bolster the College's teaching of ethical sensitivity and to promote a deeper appreciation for the value of ethics in American life. The program brings figures of national significance to campus to meet with students and lecture publicly about ethical issues in society; sponsors the Holstein Prize in Ethics, awarded each year for the senior thesis that best demonstrates an appreciation for ethics in a chosen field of study; and supports faculty who design or revise their courses to incorporate ethical issues.
"Richard is a hero of mine, and his focus on the importance of living an ethical life has stimulated me to rethink the content of my classes in a way that puts students in contact with ethical dilemmas," says psychology professor George Spilich, who until recently directed the Holstein Ethics Program and now is director of the Barbara and George Cromwell Center for Teaching and Learning on campus. "I know he thinks back fondly on his biology, chemistry and other classes, but the most important lesson that Richard took away is that one should lead a life of purpose and that we derive our purpose from our sense of values."
Dr. Holstein's $5 million legacy gift, which will go to the college at the time of his death, will dramatically expand the ethics program that bears his name. Assistant Professor of Philosophy Matthew McCabe, the current director of the Holstein Ethics Program, worked with Holstein, Spilich, Provost Emily Chamlee-Wright, and others on campus to shape how the $5 million legacy gift will one day supercharge what Washington College already offers in the way of ethics education and programming. "The big piece will be adding up to three new faculty positions, to be Holstein Chairs," McCabe explains. "They will be oriented around ethics and will foster interdisciplinary examination of ethical issues in all three divisions: the social sciences, the natural sciences and the humanities. We also envision a programmatic endowment fund of at least $500,000 to fund such things as an expanded speakers series, student internships, and support for a student Ethics Society.
"Dr. Holstein is a man of great character," McCabe continues, "and his gift will enable the college to continue to engage students in exploring the motivation, the intention and the justification of ethical behavior during their four years here and, most importantly to Richard, as they move forward on whatever walks of life they pursue."


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(Reuters) - Communist Vietnam is suddenly Apple Inc's hottest market after its sales growth tripled in the first three months of the year, a rate five times faster than in Indiawhere it is spending heavily in a battle for market share.
Vietnam has barely received a mention from Apple executives in their regular briefings for financial analysts. But in a quarterly conference call on Wednesday, they were talking up the potential of the country.
Quarterly iPhone sales more than doubled and the strong growth appears likely to continue given Vietnam's predominantly young, tech-savvy population, rapid growth in internet and mobile phone use and a projected doubling of the middle class by 2020.
Vietnamese tech firms are fast cropping up, churning out apps such as Flappy Bird, which rose from obscurity to become one of the world's most downloaded mobile games.
Young Vietnamese thronging stores to buy iPhones worth up to half of their country's 2012 gross per-capita income say it's worth it.
"This cost more than two months worth of my salary," said officer worker Pham My Linh, 23, moments after agreeing a payment plan for an iPhone 5. "But I need it, to feel more confident when hanging out with friends and colleagues."
The surge in demand comes against a backdrop of sluggish economic growth exacerbated by high levels of bad loans and business closures.
The economy grew 5.4 percent last year, a rate economists see as underwhelming given Vietnam's fast population growth and its retail and manufacturing potential.
But Vietnamese smartphone sellers say a hunger for higher social status is driving Apple's sales, helped by price cuts and payment plans that make it easier to digest handset prices that exceed the monthly income of most urbanites.
The growing thirst for slick technology is not just benefiting Apple, but most firms offering tablets and smartphones, among them HTC and Samsung. Slower growth for standard mobile phones shows local appetite for upgrades to trendier handsets, industry experts say.
"I've seen no signs of an economic recession in this shop," said the manager of a Hanoi branch of FPT, Vietnam's biggest listed tech company. "People buy $1,000 items with ease and a family buying three iPads isn't uncommon."
According to data released in January by market research firm GfK, smartphones accounted for 77 percent of mobile sales in Vietnam last year and the number of units sold grew nearly 135 percent from a year earlier. Tablet sales soared 250 percent in 2013 as prices fell by close to 27 percent.
Many companies are looking closely at Vietnam, where 15 million people live in two main cities, only 30 million use the internet among a 90 million population and two thirds are under 30 years of age.
Apple isn't the only beneficiary of its own brand appeal.
Fake iPhones with a near-flawless appearance are on sale for just 2 million dong ($95).
"There are a lot of people out there who can't afford an iPhone but still want to look rich, which is why shops like mine can do well," said shop owner Nguyen Duc Hai, 33.
"Why pay 10 times more for a real iPhone just to build a luxury image and show off?"
($1 = 21,085 dong)
(Writing by Martin Petty; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)


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Updated: Now with a page comparing the Fuji X-E1 with the Fuji X-Pro1.
In recent years, Fuji has enjoyed great success, especially critically, with its premium series of X cameras. The Fuji X-E1 is the second in the lineup to feature interchangeable lenses, and is an addition to, rather than a replacement for, the Fuji X-Pro1.
Technically, it sits below the Fuji X-Pro1, both in terms of specs and cost, and as such there are notable differences between the two.
Widely praised by both critics and the audience, the Fuji X-Pro1's sensor is comparable to some full-frame sensors in our lab tests, and the images it produces are fantastic.
It is this 16.1 million pixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor that is also included in the Fuji X-E1.
There's always been one huge drawback for the consumer audience when it comes to the Fuji X-Pro1 - the price. It currently retails for around £1,200/AU$1,200/US$1,700, body only, with each of the three prime optics retailing for around £500/AU$650/US$600 each.
By comparison, the Fuji X-E1 can currently be bought, body only, for around £729/AU$1,198/US$999.
Or, for roughly the same price you pay for the Fuji X-Pro1 body only, you can pick up an Fuji X-E1 with the brand new 18-55mm f/2.8-4 kit lens. In short, this is the Fuji X-Pro1 for consumers.
Another big criticism of the Fuji X-Pro1 was its autofocusing speed, which could be pretty sluggish at times. Fuji was well aware of this issue, and has now issued a firmware upgrade for the Fuji X-Pro1, which should go a long way to solving that problem.
This version of the firmware is already included on the Fuji X-E1 as standard. Fuji claims that with the new 18-55mm lens, this enables focusing speeds of 0.1 seconds.
Along with the sensor, some of the other specs from the Fuji X-Pro1 are also shared with the Fuji X-E1. Because the image processor is also the same, image quality should be more or less identical.
Technology adapted from analogue film has been used to create the sensor, which features a unique colour filter arrangement to produce low-noise images even at high ISO settings.
Unlike the Fuji X-Pro1, though, the Fuji X-E1 doesn't use a hybrid optical and electronic viewfinder, instead relying on an electronic device only.
It does, however, have a higher resolution. Its 2.36 million dots makes it comparable with the Sony NEX-7, and one of the brightest EVFs currently on the market. Because it doesn't have the hybrid device, the overall body size is smaller.
Available in two colours, Fuji's designers say that the X-E1 has been designed with two different kinds of photographer in mind. The all-black version is thought to be appealing to discreet street shooters, while the silver and black version - with its retro style body - is designed with more image-conscious users in mind.
With its lower price, the Fujifilm X-E1 is a more direct competitor of the Sony NEX-7 and Olympus OM-D.


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These are just some questions and thoughts I've had rattling around in my head since my Sell By, Use By, Bye Bye article, spurred by Syp's No Game Lives Forever… not all questions are dichotomous, and "right" answers are personal. I'm just in a musing mood lately.
"Needing is one thing, getting's another"
Do we play something because we want to play it, or because we want to have played it?
Do we explore to see new sights or to take screenshots of them?
What do you do when the world changes beneath you, or when you change… or both?
Why do we want stuff that we can't take with us, whether it's "real life" stuff we can't take with us when we die, or stuff in games that we can't keep when the games die?
Why do we value "virtual goods"? (I really want a grey dragon familiar, for example… but its utility and permanence is very narrow and potentially fleeting.)
Is that stuff important for the connected memories, or for future bragging rights?
Why do we care about what other people say, and why they say it?
Why do we help others?
Why do we play?
I recently sold a handful of my SNES, GBA and DS games to finance the repair of my computer, the purchase of Guild Wars 2 and some Christmas gifts for my children. Once upon a time, I had hoped to share those games with my kids, since they are classics, but they were less than impressed. Instead, I've sold those games and their ability to make more memories for tools for my children to make their own memories, somewhat cheered by the idea that those games will hopefully entertain someone else who valued their potential to do so enough to buy them.
Life goes on, and sometimes memories are all we get to keep.
In the end, that might be all we get to keep.
…and I'm OK with that.


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Leah Cutter writes page-turning, wildly imaginative fiction set in exotic locations, such as a magical New Orleans, the ancient Orient, rural Kentucky, Seattle, Minneapolis, and many others.
She writes fantasy, science fiction, mystery, literary, and horror fiction. Her short fiction has been published in magazines like "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine" and "Talebones", anthologies like Fiction River, and on the web. Her long fiction has been published both by New York publishers as well as small presses.
Read more books by Leah Cutter at www.KnottedRoadPress.com.
Follow her blog at www.LeahCutter.com.


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The B.C. government and Lower Mainland municipalities have completed a fast-track permit system to allow oversize loads and trucks with up to 13 axles to carry massive equipment components to the Alberta border via Highway 16.
The "superload" route connects with Alberta's high load corridor, a network of designated routes built to haul drill rigs, tanks and other heavy industrial loads that can't be broken down into smaller segments. On the B.C. side, the new "project cargo corridor" permit eliminates a wait of up to 12 days that was required to assess each oversize load and route to see if it can be allowed to hit the road without damage.
"This is expected to save the trucking industry time and increase confidence for carriers and shippers in order to attract more specialized products through B.C. ports," the transportation ministry said in a statement Monday.
The new permit system allows trucks with between eight and 13 axles, gross vehicle weight up to 125,000 kg, width up to five metres and height up to 4.88 metres to make the trip.
The new permits allow travel by oversize loads between two ports, Fraser Surrey Docks and Lynnterm East Gate in North Vancouver, and the highway system through the Fraser Valley to Alberta.
The ministry has signed information-sharing agreements with municipalities along the corridor, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford.
The change takes effect as work gets underway on the Trans Mountain pipeline twinning project that runs from Edmonton to Burnaby.
B.C. previously approved the use of 13-axle oversize trucks to haul logs on the Highway 16 corridor in northwestern B.C. Canfor began using the nine-axle trailers, built at Freflyt in Vanderhoof, to make transport of timber from remote locations more efficient.
The large loads also helped the industry deal with a shortage of truck drivers, as well as reducing fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.
The log trailer and a 10-axle trailer for hauling chips were developed with assistance from FPInnovations, a private not-for-profit research and development organization specializing in wood products.
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Message Board
T. Dawn Richards Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Richards has written!
Author Richards's Book Reviews
Death for Dessert
Five Star, Oct 2003, 25.95, 204 pp. ISBN: 159414060X Following her husband's desertion her for a younger model after thirty-five years of marriage, May List moves into the Active Senior Living Apartment Complex. She almost immediately runs afoul of her weird new neighbor Mrs. Berkowitz over a typewriter. Still she settles in only to find the place boring except for her nosy neighbor who knows thins about her no one should know. When she buy...


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Price: $9.99
Seller: Clozure Associates
Tablet: iPad
Educational Aspects:
- Fine Motor Control
- Letter Recognition
- Phonemic Awareness
- Word Recognition
- Reading Fluency
- Object labeling with nouns
- Sentence Formation
- Wh-questions
This app works on teaching children core vocabulary sight words to help improve reading fluency. Based on the Dolch Word List, First Sight Words Professional consists of over 300 of the most common words in the English language.
The First Sight Words Professional app is simple to use and allows for individualized sight word practice. You can choose from seven sets of sight words, including the following: "All Words," "Pre-Primer" "Primer" "Grade 1" "Grade 2" "Grade 3" and "Nouns." Once you choose your sight word set, a target sight word appears with a Minspeak icon/picture. Although ideal for most words, some of the Minspeak icons are abstract and may be difficult for the user to attach meaning to the target sight word. After you correctly drag each given letter into the corresponding box and spell the word, the Minspeak icon spins to the top of the screen and makes a short sound effect, which may be rewarding to some users. This app is great in that it has many options for word management to help personalize the sight word sets, such as: choosing word order (i.e. shortest to longest), presentation of letter sound (phonic) or letter name, the maximum word length, letter hints, and auto advance to the next word. From a speech therapist's perspective, this app is great to work on academic speech goals such as learning letter names and sounds in order to help with word recognition and reading. It can be fast-paced and used as drill practice in order to learn sight words. However, if you turn off the 'auto advance' option, it can also be used to work on speech goals such as sentence formation with the target sight word, object labeling of nouns, and answering wh-questions related to the target sight word.
- Simple to use
- Six sets of sight words
- Several options for word management
- Good for drill sight word practice
- Not free (costs $9.99)
- Some abstract Minspeak icons
- User needs decent motor skills to drag letters
- Lacks a variety of sound effects or picture movements
First Sight Words Professional is a fun and interactive app, great for individuals who are beginning to spell and read. With its many options, it can be individualized to each user's level. However, it has a high price point for the simplicity of the app.
Click to view and/or purchase First Sight Words Professional!
Provided by: Stefanie Meyer, M.S. CCC-SLP


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Look here for a variety of helpful documents concerning our products, and for
other useful information. Download to your computer for printing and reference.
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Residential Tile Roofing Experts
There are two common types of tile roofing systems. They are concrete tile or clay tile. Concrete tile shapes are most commonly referred to as Small Barrel, Large Barrel and Flat tile. Clay tile shapes are most commonly referred to as "S" tile, Barrel tile and Flat tile.
Colors & Style
Concrete Tile by:
- Hanson
- Monier
- Mextile
Clay Tile by:
- Claymex US Tile
- Specialty/Salvaged Tile and Slate by:
- The Roof Tile & Slate Company


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Today in History - Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013
Today is Wednesday, Sept. 4, the 247th day of 2013. There are 118 days left in the year. Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sunset.
Today's Highlight in History:
On September 4, 1888, George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film box camera, and registered his trademark: "Kodak."
On this date:
In 1781, Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers under the leadership of Governor Felipe de Neve.
In 1886, a group of Apache Indians led by Geronimo (also known as Goyathlay, "One Who Yawns") surrendered to Gen. Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.
In 1893, English author Beatrix Potter first told the story of Peter Rabbit in the form of a "picture letter" to Noel Moore, the son of Potter's former governess.
In 1917, the American Expeditionary Forces in France suffered their first fatalities during World War I when a German plane attacked a British-run base hospital.
In 1948, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicated after nearly six decades of rule for health reasons.
In 1951, President Harry S. Truman addressed the nation from the Japanese peace treaty conference in San Francisco in the first live, coast-to-coast television broadcast.
In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus used Arkansas National Guardsmen to prevent nine black students from entering all-white Central High School in Little Rock. Ford Motor Co. began selling its ill-fated Edsel.
In 1962, The Beatles, with new drummer Ringo Starr, recorded "Love Me Do" at EMI Studios in London. (The more familiar version with substitute drummer Andy White and Starr on tambourine was recorded a week later.)
In 1963, a Swissair Caravelle III carrying 80 people crashed shortly after takeoff from Zurich, killing all on board.
In 1971, an Alaska Airlines jet crashed near Juneau, killing all 111 people on board.
In 1972, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won a seventh gold medal at the Munich Olympics, in the 400-meter medley relay. "The New Price Is Right," hosted by Bob Barker, premiered on CBS. (The game show later dropped the "New" from its title and expanded from a half-hour to an hour.)
In 1998, Internet services company Google filed for incorporation in California.
Ten years ago: Miguel Estrada, whose nomination had become a flash point for Democratic opposition to President George W. Bush's judicial choices, withdrew from consideration for an appeals court seat after Republicans failed in seven attempts to break a Senate filibuster. Verizon Communications and two unions, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, reached a tentative, five-year contract agreement after four months of talks.
Five years ago: With a pledge that "change is coming," Sen. John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in St. Paul, Minn., vowing to vanquish what he called the "constant partisan rancor" gripping Washington. The Dow industrial average fell 344.65 points to 11,188.23 on gloomy economic data. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a sex scandal, forcing the Democrat out of office after months of defiantly holding onto his job.
One year ago: Democrats opened their national convention in Charlotte, N.C., by ridiculing Republican Mitt Romney as a millionaire candidate who "quite simply doesn't get it"; first lady Michelle Obama lovingly praised her husband as a devoted spouse and caring father at home and a "man we can trust" to revive the nation's weak economy as president. The Treasury Department reported the national debt had topped $16 trillion.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Mitzi Gaynor is 82. Actor Kenneth Kimmins is 72. Singer Merald "Bubba" Knight (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 71. World Golf Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd is 71. Actress Jennifer Salt is 69. World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Watson is 64. Rhythm-and-blues musician Ronald LaPread is 63. Actress Judith Ivey is 62. Rock musician Martin Chambers (The Pretenders) is 62. Actress Khandi Alexander is 56. Actor-comedian Damon Wayans is 53. Rock musician Kim Thayil is 53. Actor Richard Speight Jr. is 44. Actor Noah Taylor is 44. Actress Ione Skye is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Richard Wingo (Jagged Edge) is 38. Actor Wes Bentley is 35. Actor Max Greenfield is 34. Singer Dan Miller ("Making the Band") is 33. Singer Beyonce (bee-AHN'-say) Knowles is 32. Country singer-musician Tom Gossin (Gloriana) is 32. Actress-comedian Whitney Cummings is 31. Folk-rock musician Neyla Pekarek (The Lumineers) is 27. Actor Carter Jenkins is 22. Actor Trevor Gagnon is 18.
Thought for Today: "I am one of the people who love the why of things." -- Catherine the Great, Russian czarina (1729-1796).


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The following are excerpts from an explorer hiking the Gartner Hype Cycle for Enterprise Content Management (ECM) technologies.
Day 1, Reached the Peak
Today we finally reached the Peak of Inflated Expectations. The view is simply amazing. This technology is going to revolutionize everything. Everyone is excited and teaming up with their friends. Documentum just got some great new equipment from EMC. I suspect that those two will be very happy together for a long time.
Life is good.
Day 2, Getting Crowded
Apparently everyone is excited and more and more people are joining us on the Peak. While the view is still lovely, the ground is starting to get muddy from all the people trampling everywhere.
Stellent showed up with their new pal Oracle. Everyone thinks they are a bunch of posers but they are mostly keeping quiet because Oracle has a bit of a temper.
There seems to be a new noise. I'm going to go check it out.
Day 4, Ooops
That noise from the other day? That was the beginning of an avalanche that carried the entire group off of the Peak. According to our maps we are in the Trough of Disillusionment. It is hard to validate because nobody can get a clear signal anymore. It is a bit gloomy but some people seem to think we can get out.
OMG! Open Text ate Hummingbird while we were sleeping! They must be panicking already.
Tensions are very high.


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The 2014 abalone season is upon us and all concerned Mendocino Coast citizens are hopeful for a quiet and peaceful season. And, where there is hope, there is healing. New regulations have been put in place and old demons have been exorcised if not totally obliterated.
All signs point to a renewed hope for tough and standard sentencing for those who violate state regulations for abalone.
The back story
Since the early years of the present century up until this very day, the word "abalone" has conjured up images of unfair or unequal punishment for those convicted of violating the rules and regulations memorialized by the California Fish & Game Commission. According to many coastal residents, those rules have been applied too loosely and the punishment meted out to the offenders of the rules have been so ambiguous and unpredictable as to be laughable.
The "unfair" tag has been applied mostly to Judge Clayton Brennan, the presiding judge at Ten Mile Court. What his detractors usually mean by "unfair" is really best defined by the phrase "a slap on the wrist," sometimes, according to those same detractors, little more than a lecture.
What his accusers mean when they point the finger at Brennan is either, 1. He"s too lenient or, 2. He"s not uniform in his sentencing. It is time to take a closer look at this situation where egos may or may not rule.
End of 2013 season
About the middle of last abalone season, sometime in August, Judge Brennan lectured a large group of MAW supporters who appeared in court in their trademark yellow slickers with Mendocino Abalone Watch printed on the slickers in clear black lettering.
What was their offense? In spite of clearly marked displays of court rules, they visibly and audibly showed their displeasure at one of the judge"s abalone sentences. That kind of behavior is strictly forbidden in court. MAW did not return to court en masse again at any time during the remainder of the season.
Perhaps they should have returned to court because Judge Brennan did the research and tedious work of learning the bail schedule and the statewide parameters for abalone sentencing. And, with one or two rare but notable exceptions, he stayed the course and administered tough, severe punishment.
He said that he toughened up, not because of pressure from any group but because of, for lack of a better term, the learning curve. He said that because of what he has learned about the resource, i.e., abalone, and how it is being abused, he has become more protective of it; therefore, the tougher and more uniform sentencing.
Of course, no group of concerned citizens is allowed to mandate anything to any judge in the state. They certainly are within their constitutional rights to recommend certain sentencing parameters within the limits of state law but those recommendations are just that, recommendations.
After having read the five-part series on abalone this newspaper published in 2008, Brennan said that he would no longer dismiss on his own motion an undersized abalone charge as a frivolous charge because he learned that the most productive time in the life of an abalone is when they are from 6 to 7 inches.
To take an abalone that is half an inch under the legal limit of 7 inches is not a frivolous matter. It has every possibility of reducing the abalone population radically and it would certainly have a negative impact on future generations of abalone lovers.
New regs for 2014
The state Fish & Game Commission has made four major changes in the abalone rules and regulations for the 2014 season.
All statewide starting times have been changed to 8 a.m. when they previously had been fixed at half an hour before sunrise. That should create a much better situation for Department of Fish & Wildlife wardens. Although Lt. Dennis McKiver has said that the starting time had nothing to do with daylight and dark, it should nevertheless help with enforcement of the rules.
Should rock pickers and divers choose to jump the gun in order to take abalone illegally, they will have to do so in at least one-half hour of daylight. Advantage wardens, disadvantage poachers and cheaters.
Another major change involves abalone report cards. Although the annual limit in Sonoma County has been cut to nine, their report cards will still have 18 tags. That means that it will be perfectly legal for them to come to Mendocino County and take nine more.
McKiver said that the DFW had wanted two sets of report cards, one for Sonoma with only nine tags and another for Mendocino County allowing 18 tags, but that request went unheeded. The possibility of getting a "fly in the ointment" where Mendocino coastal residents are concerned makes this change somewhat dubious.
The change is good for the Mendocino Coast because it will bring more dollars to the local economy, e.g., hotels, motels, restaurants, service stations, grocery stores, hardware stores, dive shops and other businesses. It is bad only to the extent that it will stiffen the competition for each abalone that awaits its transfer from a rock or the ocean floor to a picker"s bag.
Although the trade-off has many local vocal detractors, it should provide a net gain for the Mendocino Coast.
After a "die off" of abalone at Fort Ross, the Fish & Game Commission declared a complete and indefinite moratorium for that very specific area. Will there ever be a moratorium in Mendocino County?
One can never say never but it is very unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.
Why? The local economy for starters. The aforementioned businesses would be adversely affected. Add to that scenario the loss of revenue from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses, abalone licenses, abalone report cards and abalone tags.
Surprisingly, the loss of revenue to the courts also has the potential of limiting research by marine biologists at the Department of Fish & Wildlife, reducing the number of jobs needed to educate, enforce and mete out judgment to offenders, cut into the staffing of the DFW and defunding other entities involved.
But, hope does indeed spring eternal and the new season is ready to bring about a modicum of healing where egos no longer need rule.


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Eotech is a well-known brand in the firearms industry, renowned for its high-quality optics. One of its latest offerings, the EFLX, is a game-changer in the world of optics. In this article, we'll delve into what makes the Eotech EFLX so special and why it's worth considering for your next optics purchase.
First, let's start with the basics. The Eotech EFLX is a red dot sight that uses holographic technology to project a reticle onto a glass window. This allows for quick target acquisition and accurate aiming, even in low light conditions. The EFLX is designed to be used with both eyes open, which helps to increase situational awareness and reduce eye strain.
One of the standout features of the Eotech EFLX is its reticle. The reticle is a 68 MOA ring with a 1 MOA dot in the center. This reticle is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. The large ring allows for quick target acquisition, while the small dot in the center allows for precise aiming. The reticle is also parallax-free, meaning that the point of aim will stay on target, even if your head is not perfectly aligned with the sight.
Another key feature of the Eotech EFLX is its durability. The sight is constructed from high-quality materials and is designed to withstand even the toughest conditions. It is waterproof and shockproof, making it ideal for use in a variety of environments. The EFLX also has an impressive battery life of up to 3,000 hours, thanks to its low-power consumption technology.
The Eotech EFLX also has a number of customization options. The sight can be adjusted for both windage and elevation, and the brightness of the reticle can be adjusted to match the lighting conditions. There is also an auto shut-off feature that helps to conserve battery life.
So, what makes the Eotech EFLX a game-changer? For starters, it offers a level of accuracy and speed that is unmatched by traditional iron sights. The holographic technology allows for quick target acquisition, even when shooting on the move. This can be especially useful in tactical situations where split-second decisions can make all the difference.
The Eotech EFLX is also incredibly versatile. It can be used on a variety of firearms, from pistols to rifles. Its small size and lightweight design make it easy to mount on a variety of platforms. This versatility makes it an ideal choice for hunters, sportsmen, and tactical operators alike.
Another reason the Eotech EFLX is a game-changer is its ease of use. The reticle is designed to be intuitive and easy to use, even for novice shooters. The large ring and small dot allow for quick target acquisition and precise aiming, without the need for complicated adjustments or calculations.
Overall, the Eotech EFLX is an impressive piece of technology that is well worth considering for anyone in the market for a new optic. Its combination of accuracy, durability, and versatility make it an ideal choice for a variety of shooting Eotech eflx applications. Whether you're a hunter, sportsman, or tactical operator, the Eotech EFLX is sure to impress.
- 15 Visitors


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TAMPA, Fla. — Republicans kicked off Mitt Romney's national convention Monday with the banging of a gavel before a smattering of delegates as Tropical Storm Isaac led them to cancel most of the opening-day program.
Party Chairman Reince Priebus pounded the gavel, cited the convention rules requiring a 2 p.m. Monday start and then immediately recessed the session. It took less than two minutes.
Priebus then instructed delegates to look up at two "debt clocks" – one that reflects the actual national debt and a second that counts up rising debt during the convention. It was quickly in six figures.
The convention will hit full speed on Tuesday, just as forecasters say the storm could reach hurricane strength and make landfall somewhere between Mississippi and New Orleans.
"Our sons are already in Tampa and they say it's terrific there, a lot of great friends. And we're looking forward to a great convention," Romney said as he prepared to rehearse his convention speech Monday at a New Hampshire high school auditorium.
He said he hoped those in the storm's path would be "spared any major destruction" but indicated there were no thoughts of canceling the convention in Tampa, where Isaac's heavy rain had all but passed.
Tom Del Beccaro, a California delegate and chair of the state GOP, predicted the one-day delay in full convention events would supercharge the rest of the week's meeting.
"I think there's going to be a lot of bottled up energy, and I think that's going to show," he said.
But Sally Bradshaw, a Florida Republican and longtime senior aide to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was not so sanguine. "It's a mess all around and it's fraught with risk," she said. "It's not good for anybody – particularly the people impacted by the storm."
It was hardly the opening splash that convention planners had hoped for, and it risked the juxtaposition of Republicans partying as the storm batters toward land — almost exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
"Obviously we want to pray for anyone that's in the pathway of this storm," Party Chairman Priebus said Monday on NBC's "Today" show, "but the message is still the same: that all Americans deserve a better future and that this president … didn't keep the promises he made in 2008."
The party hastily rewrote the convention script to present the extravaganza's prime rituals and headline speakers later in the week, and further changes were possible. Planners said Monday's speakers would be worked into the schedule later in the week.
"We're going to continue with our Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday schedule," said Russ Schriefer, the chief convention planner.
At least one speaker bowed out. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Monday that he would not attend as the storm gathered strength and bore down on his home state.
As the weather threat to Tampa diminished, delegates focused on party message and the near-term task of making Romney the nominee and working to defeat Obama in November.
"There's a mission here," said Gary Harkins, a delegate from Brandon, Miss. "We have to nominate a candidate for president. Our mission is to save America from becoming a socialistic state."
Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, speaking in his hometown of Janesville, Wis., before heading for the convention on Tuesday, delivered a message that echoed at meetings and news conferences all across Tampa – the Obama presidency has been a failure, and Romney offers a different course.
"We're not just picking the next president for a few years," he said. "We are picking the pathway for America for a generation."
Ryan warned the United States under Obama has faltered.
"It's a nation in debt, it's a nation in doubt, it's a nation in decline," he said.
Sen. Rob Portman reinforced the message in Tampa, telling the Ohio delegation it was time for Obama "to stop blaming others and take responsibility."
"There are families all over Ohio that are suffering as a result. He hasn't measured up to his own standards," he said.
Democrats, for their part, said that if the Republican convention proceeds as planned Tuesday, they would resume their on-site efforts in Tampa to counter the GOP message. Democrats planned to focus Tuesday on Romney's record at Bain Capital and had several employees who worked for companies impacted by Bain in Tampa to talk to the media.
Democrats halted activities in their so-called "war room" Monday after Republicans essentially canceled the first day of the convention.
The weather was a constant concern for some. Jeanne Luckey of Ocean Springs, Miss., whose family lost a beachside home to Hurricane Katrina, said friends were helping secure their inland home for Isaac.
"It's a very busy time, certainly, but we've got to take care of the business of the party and make sure we get Governor Romney nominated," Luckey said. "We have a lot of work to do between now and November."
The storm was a complication, at best, for a party determined to cast the close election as a referendum on Obama's economic stewardship and Romney as the best hope for jobs and prosperity.
The concern was two-fold: that Tampa, hosting thousands of GOP delegates, would get sideswiped by the storm; and that it would be unseemly to engage in days of political celebration if Isaac made a destructive landfall anywhere on US soil.
"You can tone down the happy-days-are-here-again a bit," said Rich Galen, a veteran Republican consultant in Washington. "Maybe you don't have the biggest balloon drop in history."
In Washington, aides said Obama was being updated at the White House on the storm. He was still planning his two-day campaign trip to Iowa, Colorado and Virginia, beginning Tuesday morning.
In a boost to Obama's convention next week, Florida's former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist was added as a speaker. Crist had announced on Sunday that he was endorsing Obama, saying he was the correct choice and criticizing his former party for its move to the right.
For all the weather concerns, a mix of partly sunny skies, fast-moving clouds and occasional rain covered Tampa at midmorning Monday as the outer bands of the tropical storm delivered unsettled conditions.
Traffic was light as streets around the arena were blocked off and security patrolled the area.
The roll call of state delegations affirming Romney as the party's nominee now is to unfold Tuesday, an evening capped by speeches from Ann Romney and an assortment of GOP governors. Ryan gets the prime-time spotlight Wednesday, and Romney closes out the spectacle Thursday night, his springboard into the final leg of the contest. That's all if the storm brings no further complications.
Polls find a tight race, and it's one that is likely to be settled in a small number of battleground states.
Republican office-holders past and present say the economy is the key if Romney is to expand his appeal to women and Hispanic voters.
"We have to point out that the unemployment rate among young women is now 16 percent, that the unemployment rate among Hispanics is very high, that jobs and the economy are more important, perhaps, than maybe other issues," said Arizona Sen. John McCain, who lost to Obama in 2008.
The Romney campaign released a Spanish-language radio ad with son Craig's testimonial to his father.


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Tuesday, November 15th – Sunday, November 20th ,Davis Family Library, 110 Storrs Ave., open at 9:00 AM on first day, continuing during regular library open hours thereafter.
LIBRARY BOOK SALE— The Davis Family Library at Middlebury College is offering withdrawn and duplicate copies of books, music scores, CDs and other media for sale at great prices. Choose from a wide variety of items for scholarly work or recreational reading, listening, and viewing. Proceeds from this year's sale will be donated to the Vermont Public Library Foundation's Emergency Relief Fund, assisting libraries that were impacted by the recent floods. (Because the low price asked for materials is in part a service to the college community, anyone purchasing items on the first day of the sale will be required to show a Middlebury College ID. Book dealers are not welcome to purchase items for resale on Tuesday, Nov. 15th). FMI, contact Joseph Watson 443-5487 email@example.com


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Somerset Berkley will accept 42 out-of-district students for 2014-15 school year
SOMERSET — A limited number of students from surrounding communities, not just Somerset and Berkley, will have an opportunity to attend the new $82 million Somerset Berkley Regional High School that opens in September.
That's because school choice will be offered for the first time.
The Somerset Berkley Regional School Committee unanimously adopted interim Superintendent Thomas Lynch's recommendation Monday night to offset enrollment losses by instituting the state's school choice initiative.
"I'm very enthusiastic about it," Lynch said Tuesday. "It will allow us to provide an outstanding education to students (from out of town), and to sustain technology and other vital programs at the high school."
It means a limited number of openings will be offered for students in grades 9 to 12, with the participating towns paying the flat $5,000 per student the state set as a standard tuition.
Lynch recommended 42 students from outside Somerset and Berkley be allowed entry to the school for the 2014-15 year.
The driving force for the decision is that a graduating class of 248 seniors will leave the district, and only 202 freshmen are projected to take their place.
"That's quite a swing," Lynch said.
Other SB Regional High School classes this year are within a similar range, with 234 juniors making up the smallest class among the school's 949 students.
Next year, projections show the school will barely reach 900 students total without the option of school choice, Lynch said.
A longtime advocate of offering school choice, Lynch said he considered the typical impact that occurs in September and October, when some high school students who had opted for private or parochial school return to public school.
"That's why we're opening 20 seats instead of 40" for the freshman class, he said.
The school choice numbers in the four grades that Lynch proposed and the School Committee adopted were:
• Grade 9, 20 out-of-town students.
• Grade 10, four.
• Grade 11, seven.
• Grade 12, 11.
If all 42 slots are filled, the amount of money generated from tuition for out-of-district students would generate over $200,000, Lynch said.
In Lynch's town of Berkley, where he's in his eighth year as superintendent and in the second year of a six-year contract, school choice had been offered for years, and Berkley has 64 out-of-town elementary and middle school students this year. Most come from Taunton, Lakeville and Freetown, and there are a few from Somerset and Fall River, he said.
While the $5,000 per student is less than half the actual per-pupil cost to educate a Somerset Berkley student, Lynch said there would be significant gains without adding students to cause overcrowding or hiring more staff.
The additional students and funds this year have enabled the Berkley School Department to pay salaries for five teachers and pay for $50,000 in computer learning initiatives, as well as bolster other vital programs, he said.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education allows individual and regional school districts to adopt school choice. The participating districts pay the $5,000 tuition, and the out-of-district families provide school transportation. School districts reserve the right to withhold adding new out-of-district students if enrollments change.
Once an out-of-district student joins the school system, that student retains the right to remain there, Lynch said.
A scan of the current hundreds of schools throughout the state shows that a majority offer school choice. Both Somerset and Somerset-Berkley did not. Most in the immediate area, except Berkley, do not. The closest that do are Bridgewater-Raynham and Freetown-Lakeville regional school districts.
Lynch said parents interested in the program may contact Patricia Silvia, the Berkley superintendent's executive secretary. She handles the elementary-middle school choice program.
Lynch expects registrations to be open through the second or third week in June, to give administrators time to complete fall class schedules. If there are more applicants than available spots, a lottery would be held in the respective grade.
A secondary benefit of school choice pertains to students suspected of not living in Somerset or Berkley but attending the regional high school. After hearing citizen complaints, Lynch said school officials plan to investigate and crack down on students not living legally in the district but attending the regional high school. With school choice, they'd have another option.