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One of the most enduring elements of the debate over Net neutrality is the rhetorical fluidity that enables the opposing sides to start with a very general and entirely non-controversial goal, and then argue with breathless urgency that either the enforcement or absence of regulations threatens to stifle innovation, sap investment in the Internet economy, squelch competition, and on down the line.
So this week the debate lurched into First Amendment territory, with high-profile members of the pro and con camps sparring over the impact Net neutrality rules would have on freedom of speech.
It began with a speech the head of the cable industry lobby delivered at the Media Institute think tank, where he argued that nearly all Net neutrality proposals would entail government oversight of ISPs and, by extension, the Internet.
For much of his address, Kyle McSlarrow, the president of CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), made an ipso facto type of argument, framing government regulation in any form as principally opposed to the spirit of the First Amendment.
"By its plain terms and history, the First Amendment is a limitation on government power, not an empowerment of government," McSlarrow said.
The latest salvo from the cable industry comes as the Federal Communications Commission is in the midst of a rule-making process that could produce Net neutrality regulations enacted some time next year.
The timing of McSlarrow's First Amendment argument was no coincidence. On Tuesday, the FCC has a workshop scheduled that aims to "examine the relationship between the Internet's openness and democratic speech and participation."
Of particular concern to McSlarrow is the vague allowance in the FCC's notice of public rule-making (NPRM) for managed services, or applications delivered with a guaranteed rate and reliability of delivery.
"While the FCC's NPRM acknowledges the need to carve out 'managed' or 'specialized' services from the scope of any new rules, it also expresses concerns that 'the growth of managed or specialized services might supplant or otherwise negatively affect the open Internet.' Meaning what? Well, the strong implication is some kind of guaranteed amount of bandwidth capacity for services the government deems important," he said.
And that, McSlarrow warned, invites the prospect of forced speech, hinting at the dark conspiracy theory that envisions the Internet becoming a mouthpiece for government-approved content.
But while managed services have a place in the rules, the FCC could also bar the practice of content and application providers brokering deals with ISPs to ensure that, say, certain video content is guaranteed a zippy enough transmission to ensure a basic quality of viewing.
"And so the effect of such a rule would be simply to prevent the offering of services consumers might want that require such enhancements," McSlarrow said. "Does the First Amendment really allow the government to prohibit a content or applications provider from paying to acquire the means to distribute its content in the form or manner it wishes? Such a rule would ultimately decrease the overall amount of speech on the Internet, thus harming, not helping, First Amendment interests."
A silly, offensive argument?
That didn't sit well with Free Press, a Washington media-reform group that has been one of the most vocal advocates of rigid Net neutrality rules."
"Just repeating his argument shows how silly — and offensive — it is," Marvin Ammori, a law professor at the University of Nebraska who organized Free Press' Net neutrality arguments before the FCC in last year's Comcast case shot back today in a blog post. "McSlarrow specifically said that cable companies would "speak" by offering priority-treatment to some Web sites that pay cable companies more, at the expense of other sites that don't pay them. Really."
Ammori also rebutted McSlarrow's "forced speech" argument by pointing to case law that has upheld the government's right to mandate communications providers to deliver content or businesses to release certain information, such as nutrition facts or financial disclosures.
"Let me tell you about this Supreme Court case law. It applies generally to humans, not cable corporations," Ammori said.
He went on to offer a history lesson on free speech precedent, dating back to the violent mistreatment of Jehovah's Witnesses during World War Two.
Ammori acidly described a contrast between the free speech arguments of individuals and the rhetoric of McSlarrow and the cable companies his organization represents:
"They don't want to express their deep personal or religious convictions. They want to block and control speech. They want to determine winners and losers on the Internet. They want to break the Internet. They want to break your Internet, not theirs. And, to do so, they're raising a First Amendment argument based on protections for forced-speech and freedom of conscience."
So, when McSlarrow said the following, you might count Ammori as a skeptic:
"I don't know how to say it any more clearly than this: Internet service providers do not threaten free speech. Their business is to enable speech and they are part of an ecosystem that represents perhaps the greatest engine for promotion of democracy and free expression in history."
And so the debate goes on.


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© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.
Veterinary phone shoppers: What's your role?
Whether you're the receptionist, technician, practice manager, or veterinarian, you play an important role in hooking phone shoppers.
When a phone shopper calls, everyone can play a role to help make sure you're offering up the best information to capture these callers as future clients. Jennifer Graham, a client services team member at Bradford Hills Veterinary Hospital in Wexford, Pa., offers these suggestions to handle these sometimes challenging callers.
Create a practice protocol for how your team will handle these callers. Because a pet's specific condition—age, breed, sex and so on–will help determine the care the doctor recommends, you may remind team members to caution callers that only the doctor can determine the care the pet needs. Practice role-playing common phone shopper calls, including questions about the cost of spaying and neutering and vaccinations.
First, ask if the phone shopper is a current client with your practice. Depending on your practice's policy, you may pass current clients on to a technician, who may be able to review the pet's chart and offer an estimate—with the caveat that the doctor's exam will determine the best course of action for the pet. If the caller isn't a client, you will explain the practice's procedures. For example, for a spay or neuter, your practice protocol may include a presurgical exam (to establish the pet as a patient) and blood work (to check body chemistries for abnormalities and to make sure the patient's liver and kidney function is OK for anesthesia). Remind the caller that the pet's individual needs determine the fee.
Since veterinary medicine isn't a one-size-fits-all kind of service, you can help receptionists help price shoppers by creating itemized estimates—if the shopper is already a client you've seen before and this matches your practice's protocol. Remind clients the doctor will perform an exam before a procedure to offer the most accurate treatment plan.
You can help your team help price shoppers by being open to talk to potential clients and inviting them to the practice to meet your team. Then, after collecting a pet's history and performing an exam, you can offer the most accurate estimate.


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Barack Obama spent much of his presidential campaign decrying the influence of Washington lobbyists. In the 10 days since he was elected, he already has had an impact: He has touched off a mini-boom on K Street.
Top lobbying firms are gearing up to handle increased demand from corporate clients who fear that the Obama administration will expand its regulatory reach and target them for tax increases. Some firms, such as Patton Boggs, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and Alston & Bird, are also preparing for new business resulting from the ongoing effort to stabilize the economy.
And who is cashing in on this boom? Democrats who supported Obama, such as Jaime R. Harrison.
Harrison helped mobilize voter turnout for Obama in South Carolina, and for the past two years he directed floor operations for House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) — credentials that made him a sought-after addition to firms looking for an edge in a new administration.
"I built a lot of strong relationships with members, as well as their staff, and some of my very best friends worked on the campaign," Harrison said. He will start with the Podesta Group next week.
For some Republicans, this is bad news. Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Comcast have recently replaced Republicans in top corporate lobbying posts with Democrats. But most Republicans, especially prominent ones, profess little concern about Obama's desire to shake up the culture in Washington, or seem chastened by strict new rules aimed at weakening their influence.
This week, Obama transition chief John D. Podesta told reporters that the president-elect would impose "the strictest and most far-reaching ethics rules of any transition in history," including a series of rules defining how the group that is planning the new administration will interact with the lobbying industry.
Political scientist Norman J. Ornstein said that while the rules "may exclude some good people with deep experience in their fields . . . it will also exclude those who see government service as a springboard to financial success, or who are more intent on pleasing future potential employers or clients than making tough choices in the public interest."
But almost from the start of his campaign, Obama made clear that he would not be slamming the door on interactions with lobbyists. In a December 2007 speech in Iowa, he said he was "running to tell the lobbyists in Washington that their days of setting the agenda are over. They have not funded my campaign. They won't work in my White House." But the candidate quickly backed away from that second part. A few days later in Waterloo, Iowa, he changed the phrasing to say that lobbyists "are not going to dominate my White House."
One bright line Obama will continue to draw is his prohibition on campaign contributions from lobbyists, now extended to cover the nonprofit accounts he has set up to pay transition costs and fund inauguration festivities. That is in keeping with the ban on donations Obama enforced during the campaign.
Read it all…


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Afghanistan war: Battle for Kandahar as much political as military
The battle to regain control of Kandahar from the Taliban this summer will depend more on evolving political negotiations than on a decisive military campaign. In Afghanistan, war will be conducted differently than in Iraq, say NATO officials.
| Kabul, Afghanistan
After a smoother-than-expected military operation to take the southern Afghan town of Marjah from the Taliban, the U.S. military is aiming to quash Taliban resistance in the Islamist group's spiritual home of Kandahar by the fall, two senior NATO officials said Tuesday.
They added, however, that success in Afghanistan's second-largest city would depend more on evolving political negotiations than on a decisive military campaign like the one that ousted Sunni Muslim militants from the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
"This is not Fallujah. This is not Baghdad," one senior NATO official said. "There is not going to be house-to-house clearing."
Instead, military officials are looking to minimize urban fighting by encouraging political leaders to lead the way.
"The solution to Kandahar will not be done through security," said the other NATO official, who's a senior U.S. military official in Kabul. "It will be enhanced through security. But the change, the real dramatic change for Kandahar, will have to happen politically."
The officials briefed reporters in Kabul in part to counter reports Monday out of Washington that the coalition will start an intense two-month Kandahar military offensive in June.
Both spoke only on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the developing military operation more freely.
As officials are discovering in Marjah, a farming area with less than 10 percent of Kandahar's population, clearing the Taliban out is easier than establishing a competent and respected Afghan government and keeping the militants out, however. Kandahar is a center of opium trafficking, the local government and police are widely considered corrupt, the provincial governor is a half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Army and national police aren't yet able to operate without U.S troops.
The political push to strengthen the weak Afghan government in the area will come in conjunction with a beefed-up American military presence that aims to establish a stronghold in large parts of central Kandahar where no Afghan or coalition forces operate now.
Kandahar is Taliban 'jewel'
"This is the jewel," the U.S. official said of central Kandahar. "If the Taliban lose effective control of the city — their ability to harass, intimidate and control the outcomes of what happens on the normal days of life in Kandahar — (then) they've lost."
In coming weeks, the American-led coalition will boost the international military force by nearly 45 percent in Kandahar by sending about 3,500 more fighters to the city of some 1 million people.
There already are about 11,000 Afghan police officers and soldiers there working alongside 8,000 members of the international coalition, military officials said.
Coalition forces in Kandahar have started to clamp down on the city by working to close Taliban supply lines and escape routes.
In recent months, coalition forces have arrested or killed about 70 mid- to high-level Taliban leaders in Kandahar, the U.S. official said.
While there's no "D-Day" for launching intensified military operations in Kandahar, the military officials said the goal was to get the upper hand before the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan began in mid-August.
What will Wali Karzai do?
One of the looming complications in Kandahar is the role played by Karzai's half-brother, an influential power broker in the city.
Ahmed Wali Karzai is respected and feared in Kandahar, where he plays a central role in southern Afghan politics and business. He's steadfastly rejected long-standing allegations that he's involved in southern Afghanistan's drug trade, and President Karzai repeatedly has challenged Western officials to produce proof to back up the claims.
"There are plenty of people in Kandahar who say, 'I owe everything to Ahmed Wali Karzai,' " the U.S. official said. "There's plenty of other people who say, 'If we just get rid of the guy, I could finally live the life I want to.' "
On surprise Kabul visit, Obama presses Karzai on corruption
U.S. forces pin hopes on new Afghan civil police
Afghan soldiers way below standard, exasperated Marines say
Afghan poppy harvest is next challenge for U.S. Marines
Follow Afghanistan news at McClatchy'sCheckpoint Kabul
[Editor's note: The original version of this story misspelled the name of the province.]


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Looking good, thanks for loading here
just an edit: have been trying to set up a prc 3.5 + cep 2.4 module as a base module. Problem is when I use the uploader it fails even on a completely new module with no haks, it says a file is missing and I'm not sure what I am doing wrong. If anyone could either give me a hak order list, or how to fix this issue I would appreciate this... really stuck and lost


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Hello, I'm Wabbit, and I own two lovely humans–Sotos and Helen. We all live in a comfortable apartment with a balcony which I also own. When Helen brought me home four years ago I was just a dainty little dame. I let my humans know right away that I was feisty and curious, and with a few exceptions I have always been given free reign of our living room.
When I was young, I gave Helen and Sotos plenty of work around the house. I kept Sotos busy patching carpets and repairing phone cords. For some reason they were constantly devising techniques to prevent me from doing my work. I took great joy in outsmarting them. Oh, I liked chewing on the little pieces of wood bought for me, but nothing was more fun than digging up the carpet or jumping on desks and bureaus to chew up papers and clothes.
I'll never forget the time they tried to prevent me from hopping on the bed. You see, the bed was rabbit heaven: soft blankets and pillows good for hours of cuddling. The only problem was that the blanket and sheets were without holes and required some work on my part. Strangely, Helen and Sotos couldn't see the value in sheets with hundreds of holes. They seemed embarrassed to hang such sheets on the line.
The humans tried draping a barrier of fabric from the ceiling and tucking it under the mattress. To them it looked formidable, but when they were asleep or away, I just untucked the drapery with my wonderful teeth and went about my shredding business. They got irritated and took turns shooing me off the bed, but as far as I was concerned they slept too much–and there was work to be done. Five- foot board barriers were next. That was easy. Using the nightstand as a springboard, I jumped over the boards and landed plop in the middle of the bed.
In my mature years I give Sotos and Helen less work. I still teach slow people the right way to play Scrabble, but whereas I used to flip their racks into the air, sending their tiles flying into a real scrabble, today I am content with gently lifting the corner of the board. I have even stopped chewing on the phone and electric cords. Mellowness, though, has not diminished the amount of love, licking and laughter that I give.
All in all I am happy and healthy, and gets lots of attention. I do wonder what life would be like if I shared it with a long-eared short-tailed darling. I daydream about bunny love in my spare time–on breaks from my busy schedule.
by Helen Weiss
House Rabbit Journal Volume II No. 5


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Bendithion a chroesawa! (Blessings and welcome!)
The Ways of Avalon have not been forgotten. They have slumbered in the psyche of all women, awaiting, perhaps, a time to reemerge. A time when, once again, Avalon may serve as a path of healing, of empowerment, of self discovery. A time when a woman, dedicated to her personal growth, can once again climb the Tor's spiraled path and find the Goddess within.
The Sisterhood of Avalon (SOA) was founded in 1995 to serve as a receptacle of lore and wisdom for all aspects of the study of Avalon, as well as to act as a medium for community building for all who are beckoned to Her shores. Over time, the SOA has evolved to become a Sisterhood in truth, united in disciplined work and dedication, and committed to re-establishing women's connections to a strong Celtic-based Western tradition. Through study, research, and personal workings we are once again recalling our heritage.
Today, the SOA is a fully incorporated, non-profit, Celtic Women's Mysteries organization. Through wisdoms shared and insights gained, we seek to provide learning opportunities to women who wish to follow a path that balances intuitive wisdom with scholastic achievement. Our offerings include study via the online Avalonian Theological Seminary; training intensives; spiritual pilgrimages to Wales, Glastonbury, and other Celtic sacred sites; a member's barter program, and a vast web of networking. The SOA publishes the member newsletter, The Barge, and the e-zine, The Tor Stone: A Quarterly Journal for Women's Mysteries.
The Avalonian Tradition
It has been long since the chord of Avalon has sung out in the hearts of women. In the centuries since her end, we find scattered notes come down to us through the stream of time — in art, literature, music and legend. The past 150 years especially have heralded her re-emergence. The Pre-Raphaelites movement and the writings of Yeats and Tennyson beautifully illustrate the Victorian romance with the Arthurian mythos. The magickal traditions which emerged at the turn of the last century also began to tie into the energy of Avalon, most especially as seen in the work of Dion Fortune.
The power of Avalon, and indeed, the entire Arthurian legend, is not a fancy of days gone by. We need only look around us to find ample proof of its relevancy. Tales of Arthur, Morgan Le Fay and Merlin fill today's bookshelves. Psychologists, fantasy writers, Celtic scholars and personal growth proponents have all gained insight from this mythic cycle. There are many Wiccan and Pagan groups which draw heavily from the realm of Arthur and find a path of spiritual growth symbolized in the Quest for the Grail and the Code of Chivalry.
Yet, from all of these, we gain but mere glimpses of the totality of Avalon. At the end of his life, Arthur was borne on the barge to her shores to await Britain's need. So too has Avalon's memory been kept alive through the tales of that once and future king. Hidden in shadow, the barest glimmer of all which once was Avalon whispers to us from the traditions of Arthurian legend. And, like Arthur, her re-emergence comes at a time of great need.
We live in an era when opportunities for women stand almost unrivaled in Western culture since the dawn of patriarchy. The societal support of a woman's worth, however gradually and hard won, has encouraged many women to seek a spiritual path of female empowerment. No longer are these women contented with religious forms which do not allow them to participate in the ecclesiastic realms, or which teach them that they are fl awed beings by virtue of their misfortune of being born female. The renewed concept of Woman as Sacred has truly transformed mindsets and dissolved outdated paradigms of a woman's place, human purpose, and the nature of the Divine.
Women seeking the Goddess turn to the ways of their ancestors, the ways of Earth-honoring living peoples, and to the Cosmic Mother whose path of Creation is constantly being revealed. The path is one which leads within, but is not without its manifestation in the material world as well. For it is too, a time of great need for the Earth herself. Many women turning to environmentalism and embracing the concept that the Earth is a living being, see the plight of Gaia as a mirror of the station and freedom of women. They see the healing of the Earth and of Self as one and the same.
For many women seeking a spiritual home, the legend of Avalon has called to them across the ages. An island of Women's Mysteries … A sanctuary of service to the Goddess … An honored haven of learning and healing … A place of solitude … A center for women to come into their personal power through their inner wisdom … The images these invoke have resonated with innumerable women, and the resulting quest for her shores has served to pull Avalon even further out of the mists.
Many seek to answer the question: What is Avalon? Is she an allegory for women's empowerment — a goal for which to strive? Is she a myth whose legend serves to inspire us so that we may draw wisdom from her symbolism? Is Avalon another guise of the Celtic Otherworld? There are many traditions which connect her with the Fortunate Isles, the Gateway to Annwn, the Apple Island Paradise. Is she, as some have posited, a feminist's pipe dream — a romanticization of a matriarchal ideal spun out of a need to believe that such places did indeed once exist? Was Avalon, in fact, a physical place, where priestesses trained to keep the Mysteries and manifested a place of growth and healing?
In truth, it may not matter.
The varying perspectives and the scholarly quest to prove or disprove her existence pale in comparison to the greater purpose of Avalon. Whatever she may once have been, she serves today as a resource for women seeking to come into their power. She holds the keys of women's wisdom, once honored and sought after, now returning to the consciousness of those with the courage to seek it. She is a focus for all the Mother's daughters — a goal, a template, an endless source of inspiration. Avalon is a beacon, shining out from the maternal waters, promising connections between the women of today, continuity of the forgotten knowledge of the women of yesterday, and serving as a promise of constancy for the women of tomorrow. The mists are thinning, sisters. Who knows the way back home to Avalon?


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Newswise — A University of Houston professor takes the phrase "pay it forward" to heart in his quest to advance science in Third-World countries.
Once a budding physicist seeking opportunities 30 years ago in his native Panama, Carlos Ordóñez, an associate professor of physics at UH, recruits up-and-coming scientists from Mexico, Peru, Cuba, Brazil and other countries, matching them with UH's top researchers in biology, chemistry and physics for post-doctoral fellowships. During these two-year fellowships, the Latin American students gain valuable experience working with prominent faculty and using state-of-the-art facilities often not available in their home countries.
"Third-World countries are making great efforts to get up to speed on science and technology, and cultivating these collaborative links enhances the human infrastructure in those countries," Ordóñez said. "Most of these UH fellows return home after the program, equipped with new contacts and colleagues to help strengthen scientific partnerships between the United States and Latin America."
Ordóñez is passionate about building these partnerships because he also was the beneficiary of a life-changing opportunity to come to the United States. He graduated from the University of Panama with honors and excelled at physics, yet he had little exposure to research until he came to the University of Texas for doctoral studies.
"Competing in such a distinguished research program forced a sharp learning curve," Ordóñez said. "I was used to solving problems I was given, but now I had to come up with my own questions. Being a student is a passive process, but in research you have to be creative and proactive. The realization that I could go beyond simply acquiring knowledge to actually producing it was an eye-opening experience."
While Ordóñez was an excellent physics student in his homeland, it was the opportunity to study in the United States with world-class researchers that helped launch his accomplished career as a theoretical physicist. He now works to extend those same opportunities to promising young scientists from Latin America.
His efforts earned him the American Physical Society's 2009 John Wheatley Award, which recognizes physicists who have contributed to the development of science in Third-World countries. The selection committee not only noted his extensive contributions to developing physics throughout Latin America, but also his work with World Laboratory to expand exchange and cooperation between the United States and Latin American.
Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1986, World Laboratory is an international organization that promotes science in developing countries, operating on the premise that one of the driving forces behind social progress in a society is scientific discovery. With more than four times as many people living in developing countries as compared to industrialized nations, scientists such as Ordóñez and his World Laboratory colleagues seek to eliminate this gap that separates the two. One way to accomplish this is by giving promising new scientists in Third-World countries the means to confront and resolve their problems through such methods as giving them access to learn in some of the world's most prestigious laboratories. They can then bring what they learn back to their homelands to help them with innovative scientific and technological projects in their own countries.
Ordóñez' research at UH centers on high-energy theoretical physics, and his work in theoretical nuclear physics is widely cited. He and his collaborators also are engaged in researching quantum field theory, with applications in nuclear, condensed and high-energy physics. His current interests include investigating how our universe works through researching the thermodynamics of black holes, as well as string physics.
"Recently, I started investigating how to apply some of the tools learned in studying these cutting-edge topics in gravity and particle physics to the understanding of cold atoms and molecules and other condensed matter systems," Ordóñez said. "This is a very exciting and recent development to which I hope to make a contribution."
Joining UH in 1997, he also has taught and done research at the University of Texas at Austin, The Rockefeller University, New York University, Vanderbilt University, The Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Santa Barbara, as well as having had short-term visits to many other institutions. Ordóñez received his B.S. in physics from the University of Panama in 1979 and his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Texas in 1986. He has been a World Laboratory Fellow and a Simon Guggenheim Fellow, is a member of the American Physical Society and a founding member of the National Society of Hispanic Physicists.
Ordóñez formally will be presented with the 2009 John Wheatley Award at the next general meeting of the American Physical Society in Denver, Colo., where he will give a talk " "Building bridges instead of fences: Renewed science cooperation with Latin America." " at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, May 2 at the Sheraton Denver Hotel during the conference's "Physics in Latin America" session. The award is given biennially and includes a $2,000 stipend.
For more information, visit http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/APR09/Event/101661.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A photo of Carlos Ordóñez is available on the Web at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/news-photos/022709carlos_ordonez. A high-resolution photo is available by contacting Lisa Merkl.
About the University of HoustonThe University of Houston, Texas' premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 36,000 students.
About the College of Natural Sciences and MathematicsThe UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, with nearly 400 faculty members and approximately 4,000 students, offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in the natural sciences, computational sciences and mathematics. Faculty members in the departments of biology and biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, geosciences, mathematics and physics have internationally recognized collaborative research programs in association with UH interdisciplinary research centers, Texas Medical Center institutions and national laboratories.
For more information about UH, visit the university's Newsroom at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/.


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Daniel Shanks' Square Form Factorization Algorithm
August 24, 2010
In the mid-1970s, Daniel Shanks exploited the binary quadratic forms introduced by Legendre in the late eighteenth century and perfected by Gauss in the early nineteenth century to create a method of factoring integers. Binary quadratic forms are expressions of the form Ax2 + Bxy + Cy2 with A, B and C integers, normally represented as the triple (A, B, C). Binary quadratic forms are often called square forms.
We won't discuss the mathematics of square forms, but we do need to know how to reduce a square form. A discriminant delta is calculated as Δ = b2 − 4ac. A single reduction step is called a rho reduction, and is given by ρ(a, b, c) = (c, r, (r2−Δ)/4c) where r is that unique integer b mod 2c such that −|c| < r <= |c|, if √Δ < |c|, or √Δ − 2|c| < r < √Δ, if |c| < √Δ.
A square form is in reduced form if |√Δ−2|a|| < b < √Δ; this reduction is accomplished by continually applying ρ until the reduced form is achieved.
Shanks' method uses two loops. First, an initial square form is calculated, based on the number to be factored, which must be odd, composite, and not a perfect square; the details of that initialization are tedious, and appear in the solution on the next page. Then the square form is repeatedly reduced (this is the "forward" loop) until it is in proper form, which is described below. Then the reduced inverse square root of the square form calculated in the forward loop is reduced in a "backward" loop until a factor is identified when two successive square forms (A, B, C=c2) have the same B; the factor is then c, if c is odd, or c/2, if c is even. The reduced inverse square root of (A, B, C=c2) is initially (−c, B, −cA), which is then put into reduced form as described above.
Shanks defined a square form as proper using a queue of values derived in a rather complicated way. We will use a simpler method known as a sufficient list. Let L be the integer square root of the square root of the discriminant. If a square form (A, B, C) is encountered with |C| < L with C even, or |C| < L/2 with C odd, then C is placed on the sufficient list. Then a square form (A, B, C=c2) is proper if c is not on the sufficient list.
Your task is to write a function to factor integers using Shanks' square form algorithm. When you are finished, you are welcome to read or run a suggested solution, or to post your own solution or discuss the exercise in the comments below.


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Posts Tagged 'society'
Women in science
Everyone has something to say about this :-)
Anyway, I was reading a post by Terence Tao about the book Math Doesn't Suck, which is aimed at girls in middle school. There is a review of the book here, which, in passing, says
As an aside, this freedom of choice for smart girls certainly accounts for some of the variance in the percentage of Nobel Prizes won by women in the pre- and post-women's liberation periods. Once women were allowed to enter the professions, they won fewer "hard" Nobel Prizes, indicating that some of the female scientists and mathematicians of the past would likely have preferred to practice medicine or law, but had no other choice than to conduct research. McKellar, her sister, and most of the women from the testimonials are cases-in-point: they are all great at math, yet only one has chosen a career as a research scientist.
The author herself majored in math at a prestigious university, graduated summa cum laude, and shares credit for a math/physics proof — how much more positive encouragement could she need if she truly wanted to be a research mathematician? She just prefers what more women than men prefer to do with their lives: to work more with people than objects, and to help and nurture more than to figure out how things work.
This reminds me of Philip Greenspun's "Women in Science" essay, where he argues that being a scientist is basically a shitty job, and
A lot more men than women choose to do seemingly irrational things such as become petty criminals, fly homebuilt helicopters, play video games, and keep tropical fish as pets (98 percent of the attendees at the American Cichlid Association convention that I last attended were male). Should we be surprised that it is mostly men who spend 10 years banging their heads against an equation-filled blackboard in hopes of landing a $35,000/year post-doc job?
1. young men strive to achieve high status among their peer group
2. men tend to lack perspective and are unable to step back and ask the question "is this peer group worth impressing?"
Must give this more thought…
See also: "Today's girls prefer to look sexy rather than be clever":
'Girls […] they're actually living in a profoundly anti-feminist landscape where girls compete for attention on the basis of how much they are sexually willing to do for the boys.'
See also: Women and Mathematics: Mathematics is too fiercely competitive. But of course, women can be competitive too…
Also: Beliefs affect performance: Women told they are bad do badly.
Edit: see also this post by Scott Aaronson.
Men and women
Is there anything good about men?
Full speech, more context, and better (and more to disagree with).
See also: Helen Fisher's TED talk (video).
Ayn Rand: The Unlikeliest Cult in History
The Unlikeliest Cult in History, Michael Shermer
See also:
Guardians of Ayn Rand, Eliezer Yudkowsky
Mozart Was a Red: A Morality Play In One Act, Murray N. Rothbard [Video, although reading the play is better.]
The complement of Atlas Shrugged, Scott Aaronson
The Routerhead: a fable, Scott Aaronson
How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon: The perverse allure of a damaged woman, by Johann Hari
Also, if you wish, Romancing the Stone-Cold Killer: Ayn Rand and William Hickman, Michael Prescott
Continued gender bias in science
11011110: Continued gender bias in science and lots of links from it…


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I used to trust police. I used to think that 'to protect and serve' was a motto that was uttered more or less free of irony. In other words, I used to be a blinkered fool (which is not to say that I am not still – just less so about this). One of the first albums I ever bought was Public Enemy's classic Apocalypse '91: The Enemy Strikes Black. I nearly wore that casette out listening to it over and over again. Before I knew anything about hip-hop music, before I knew about any music really besides classical and whatever my parents listened to, I knew the lyrics to 'Get The Fuck Outta Dodge':
Even then, I didn't really absorb the full implication of what Chuck D was talking about: racial profiling and abuse of power by law enforcement. It didn't filter through. After all, I was brought up to have a very different understanding of the relationship between civilians and police. Police were there to catch bad guys, to protect regular folks like me, and were who you called when you needed help. And maybe that's true for some people, but I'm not so naive anymore to think that it's the case for everyone.
It certainly wasn't the case for Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.:
Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a 68-year-old African-American Marine veteran, was fatally shot in November by White Plains, NY, police who responded to a false alarm from his medical alert pendant. The officers broke down Chamberlain's door, tasered him, and then shot him dead. Audio of the entire incident was recorded by the medical alert device in Chamberlain's apartment.
Some of y'all are sensitive, and prone to react emotionally to disturbing descriptions, so I won't link to the full account of what happened. I like to think of myself as being sufficiently steeled through my own skepticism and cynicism to not let stuff get to me, but I couldn't read this story without being sick. The brief synopsis is that Mr. Chamberlain accidentally rolled over on his medical alert pendant in his sleep, which triggered an alarm sending emergency responders to his home. Police arrived first, and despite being told by Mr. Chamberlain and members of his family that everything was fine, kicked in the door. After failing to sufficiently appease the officers, Mr. Chamberlain was tasered, then shot to death.
This is not the deep south, where we can blame "racists". This is not 50 years ago, where we could say "it was a different time". A man was murdered by cowboyed-up cops who burst into his home and, for reasons that beggar understanding, shot him to death in his underwear. He was not carrying a weapon, he had broken no laws, and the police had no warrant. There have been no charges brought against the police officers involved, and the case is nearly 6 months old. This is despite the fact that the entire encounter was caught on a live microphone in the form of the medical alert device.
Now as we discussed yesterday, it's always at least partially the victim's fault they got shot, right? After all, police are trustworthy and honourable law-enforcement professionals who simply wouldn't just burst into an old man's home and kill him for no reason. He wasn't wearing a hoodie, nor did he attack the officers (who would be hard pressed to find a mortal threat in a half-naked 68 year-old). He wasn't wandering 'suspiciously' around the neighbourhood, and he hadn't been suspended from school for an empty dime bag. We are sadly unable to level the same type of blame at Mr. Chamberlain as we could at Trayvon Martin.
Nor, it seems, can we blame an unnamed black Englishman whose vehicle was stopped by police, and who was strangled and subjected to racist abuse by police officers. He had committed no crime.
Nor, it seems, could we level those same criticisms at Yao Wei Wu, who was dragged out of his home at gunpoint and beaten nearly unrecognizable by two Vancouver police officers. These officers were responding to a domestic call and went to the wrong address.
Nor, one would imagine, could we blame Manjit Singh, a 51 year-old resident of Vancouver who was thrown to the ground and kicked repeatedly by police officers investigating a bank robbery. Mr. Singh was taking out the garbage in front of his home when police happened upon him. There was, in fact, no robbery.
In all of these cases, the police officers involved with physically abusing completely innocent civilians (in one instance fatally) due to the police's own incompetence faced no charge. Two of these cases involved the Vancouver Police Department, which is one of the more progressive police forces I've seen or heard described. We cannot find common geography, offense, mitigating factors, or history to link these 'bad apple' cases together, nor can we find any reasonable explanation for why none of the perpetrators have been charged with assault.
The only explanations we can find are unjust ones – police are immune from prosecution because they are the arbiters of the law. And because of attitudes like the one I once held, we blithely grant the police an undeserved level of respect. We treat them according to the myth that they are protectors and guardians of the peace, rather than recognizing that this is an image airbrushed over a cartel of wanton thugs who are subject only to their own authority. Provided they can put on a sufficiently clean public face to charm enough of the populace into believing that people like Mr. Chamberlain somehow 'deserve' their treatment, they can sweep cases like this under the rug without ever having to deal with the consequences.
Mr. Chamberlain and his family dealt with the consequences of failing to find a way to put the police 'at ease' enough to not kill him in cold blood. He wasn't being threatening, he was in his own home and the cops kicked his door down. He didn't have a weapon, and he is on tape pleading for his life. But still, the Geraldos of the world, not able to find the magic hoodie defense, will blame Mr. Chamberlain for failing to look innocent enough, thus giving police no choice but to murder him. It's simple: the cops kick in your door and shove a gun in your face, you'd better get down on your knees and kiss their boots and thank them for their mercy when a pistol whipping is all you get.
I used to trust police officers. Hell, I've had many positive interactions with the VPD. Despite that, I can no longer defend them with a clear conscience. Police are not your allies, they are not your friends, and their function is no serve and protect no-one but themselves.
Like this article? Follow me on Twitter!


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Common wisdom says that Facebook makes you sad and lonely because it forces you to compare yourself with others — people often cite a study that came out last year which claimed to prove this. But new research suggests that any emotions on Facebook spread quickly, just like viral videos or pictures of cute cats, and that positive feelings spread even more than negative ones.
RELATED: 9 Things You Didn't Know Were Contagious
The University of California San Diego study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, analyzed data from 100 million Facebook users, who posted nearly a billion updates between 2009 and 2012. For every positive emotion in a status update, there were one to two additional updates in the average user's network expressing similar emotions. Each "I love my life!"-type post also reduced the number of "I hate everything"-type posts by friends by nearly one-half, while negative updates lowered positive posts by 1.3 times.
More From Good Housekeeping
"Our study suggests that people are not just choosing other people like themselves to associate with but actually causing their friends' emotional expressions to change," said study lead author James Fowler, a professor of medical genetics and political science. In previous research, Fowler has found other things to be socially contagious, such as obesity, smoking habits, happiness, generosity, and even eating disorders.
Since bad weather has been shown to put a damper on the mood of Facebook posts, researchers also wanted to see if peoples' rainy-day blues affected the moods of their friends in sunnier places. They did. "For every one person affected directly, rainfall alters the emotional expression of about one to two other people," says the research.


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New vaccine features a needle-free delivery system.
Merial has introduced the first and only USDA-approved swine respiratory vaccine administered by a needle-free delivery system. SWIVAX-MH was approved to aid in the reduction and control of Mycoplasmal pneumonia, and has been specifically formulated to be administered exclusively with the DERMA-VAC NF Transdermal Vaccination System, also new from Merial. SWIVAX-MH is prepared from inactivated cultures of mycoplasma combined with an adjuvant. The vaccine cannot be administered with a conventional needle and syringe. The needle-free system works to deliver vaccine by release of a small amount of pressurized gas upon triggering, which forces the vaccine through the nozzle orifice of the delivery system. An ultra-fine stream of vaccine, moving at high initial pressure and speed, penetrates the skin and is dispersed into the animal tissue. There are many advantages to using transdermal delivery. "This mode of administration will allow for a targeted immune response, reduction of broken needles and increased worker safety," explains Frank Milward, Merial Biological Research and Development. "Also, less product is required for vaccination — 0.5 ml vs. a typical dosage of 1.0 ml to 2.0 ml." For more information, contact your local Merial sales representative or call (888) 637-4251.
Handheld Computers
Tripod Data Systems has introduced two mobile handheld computers. TDS Recon is an extremely rugged pocket PC that runs applications outside in all kinds of weather. It features advanced technology with Windows Mobile 5.0, and provides over 15 hours of continuous operation at 68° F. TDS Recon operates at -30° F to well over 100° F. It weighs just 17 oz. and comes with a rechargeable PowerBoot. Two models are available, Recon 200 and Recon 400. The TDS Ranger combines a Windows operating system, an ergonomic keypad and military-grade durability. Two models, 300X and the powerful 500X, offer the latest technology. Windows Mobile runs thousands of applications, while wireless capabilities let you connect without cables. With CompactFlash and Secure Digital, you can add multiple accessories and increase data storage. For more information, call (541) 752-9000 or log onto www.tdsway.com.
Space Heater
Chore-Time Hog Production Systems has added the DURA-THERM 250 Space Heater to its line of livestock and poultry production products. This upgraded heater provides improved heating capability and quicker warm-ups for greater animal comfort. The heater provides 250,000 Btus of heat and is designed to heat 2,750 to 4,400 sq. ft. of space. The new heater was redesigned with the help of customer input and engineering changes to provide the increased Btus. The DURA-THERM 250 is available for use with LP or natural gas and features a direct spark ignition or hot surface ignition system. For more information, call (574) 658-4101, e-mail [email protected] or log onto www.choretimehog.com.
Reproductive Data Management
Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC) of Iowa State University has developed Sow Tracker, their new swine reproductive data management software. This entry-level software is designed to assist the swine producer in managing the breeding, farrowing and weaning aspects of a swine production enterprise. Written in MS-Access and compatible with USB printers, Sow Tracker is comprised of more than 14 reproductive data management reports to assist the producer in his farrowing operation. Data entry is simplified using a drop-down, menu-based system. It's easy to modify sow numbers in full view of the sows' full reproductive history. All basic events such as entry, mating, pregnancy check, group identification, location identification, farrow, foster, pig death, wean, part wean, nurse on, nurse off and sow removal are included. Data can be extracted for upgrading to more comprehensive software applications. For more information, contact IPIC Director John Mabry at (515) 294-4103 or [email protected].
Send product submissions to Dale Miller, Editor (952) 851-4661; [email protected]


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Government shutdown: Lawmakers reach agreement 'in principle' to avoid shutdown as Friday deadline looms
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers negotiating to avoid another government shutdown reached an agreement "in principle" to keep federal agencies open after Friday, when current federal funding is set to expire.
The bipartisan group did not provide details of the agreement on Monday. However, congressional aides said it included $1.375 billion for a structure along the southern border – well below the $5.7 billion President Donald Trump has demanded for the wall that he made a central promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Congress has given enough funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pay for 40,520 detention beds, but the agency has routinely exceeded that number, currently detaining closer to 50,000 immigrants per day. The deal would force ICE to return to that 40,520 number by the end of the year, representing a big drop for ICE. Those beds can be either on the border or in the interior of the country, according to a Democratic aide.
Democrats had hoped to create a cap of 16,500 beds in the interior, which would have put the number of detention beds closer to 35,000 overall. But there will be no cap in the total number, according to the Democratic aide. A GOP aide said there was enough flexibility in the deal that the number of beds can rise significantly if needed.
Speaking at a political rally in El Paso, Texas, shortly after the deal was announced, Trump spoke at length about border security and continued to argue for a wall.
He did not say whether he would sign the agreement to avert a shutdown if it reaches his desk.
"They said progress is being made," Trump said, referring to aides who briefed him before he began speaking in El Paso, where signs hanging from the rafters read: "Finish the wall."
"We probably have some good news. But who knows?" he said.
The emerging agreement was announced by a group of lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey, after a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill.
"We're talking about serious, serious, serious things, and we're hopefully making some progress," Shelby, R-Ala., told reporters earlier at the Capitol after the group met for a second time Monday.
The bipartisan group is part of a bicameral committee of appropriators selected to find a solution that can pass Congress and get support from the president before some of the government's funding lapses Friday at midnight.
"I don't think Democrats or Republicans want a shutdown. One option or another, we will resolve this," Lowey, D-N.Y., said earlier in the day.
Until this past weekend, the biggest sticking point for the group had been how to deal with the president's demand for a $5.7 billion wall along the southern border. During the last shutdown, Democrats refused to give him the money, saying the wall would be costly and ineffective.
Last week, the bipartisan group explored a compromise involving some sort of structure, though the figures discussed were far less than Trump's initial request.
On Sunday, the talks hit a snag amid disagreement over Democrats' demands for a cap on detentions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Democrats said ICE routinely detains more immigrants than it needs to, imprisoning those who don't have criminal backgrounds and pose no threat to national or domestic security. That's why they want to set a hard cap on the number of immigrants ICE detains, the goal being to force the agency to focus its resources on violent criminals.
"This agency needs checks and balances, so the Republicans want to get more wall money and Democrats want to get controls on ICE. This is what a negotiation looks like," said Kerri Talbot of the advocacy group Immigration Hub.
Republicans said a detention cap would force the release of undocumented immigrants in custody and warned of the risk that many might not show up for scheduled hearings on whether they should be deported.
In a tweet Monday morning, Trump accused the Democrats of a brand new demand, and he told reporters ICE was "very disrespected by the Democrats."
Later in the morning, on the Senate floor, McConnell piled on, accusing Democrats of "a poison-pill demand" at "the 11th hour."
Lowey expressed surprise at McConnell's comments Monday afternoon: "I've worked with Mitch McConnell, and we've accomplished a lot together. I'm sorry that is his interpretation of where things are."
House Democrats pointed out that the 16,500 cap on interior ICE beds has been part of the Democrats' proposal since it was first included in their opening offer Jan. 31.
"How the government deals with ICE is a very important issue, and that's why the beds are so critical to this negotiation, period," Lowey said.
Contributing: Alan Gomez, John Fritze


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Greetings and salutations readers,
There has been a lot that has conspired since the last time I have written to you. I've gone through a career change, I've changed my eating habits, I have decided to face financial items head on that should've been addressed a long time ago, and I have a completely different view on life. Being a holistic teacher has taught me a lot about myself and about those that I educate. I realize it is not only my responsibility to enlighten you with knowledge of business and human resources, but with actual, practical, tactical life skills to help you get to where you need to be in life.
I have been doing a lot of research on the need for understanding the basics. Without the basics of anything, we have a foundation for nothing. The basics provide us with the understanding of why we are doing what we're doing and where we need to go with what we're doing. If you've been following me or reading my articles for a while, you know that my life mantra is "more being, less doing." By that I mean we need to decide to be more and stop thinking that just because we say we're "busy" means that we're doing something of meaning. In actuality, we are doing nothing if we are not deciding to be more in every moment for the purpose for our own lives.
It is time to think more, challenge more, understand more, realize more, interact more, empathize more and be more. I know firsthand that many of you are going through many different struggles, we all have things and situations that we're currently dealing with on top of finding our purpose in life. What you must ask yourself in every moment is "Who am I being and what are my doing?" Einstein said something that resonates with me since I have been researching and studying holistic thinking. He said "If you can't explain something in the simplest terms, in the lowest common denominator then you don't have a true understanding of it."
These are the times that we are currently in. We must understand and acknowledge things from the lowest common denominator to get to solutions for the big problems. These are my thoughts, and this is how I will continue to research, think, grow and learn. I thank you for your support, and I hope that you would provide your feedback and input on different topics that you would like me to research, discover and share with you.
Peace and blessings to you and all of your endeavors,
Dr. Armstead


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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.
A prestigious prize for poets
CHESTERTOWN, MD—Undergraduates at Washington College can now compete for a prestigious poetry prize established through the Academy of American Poets. Administered by the Rose O'Neill Literary House and the Department of English, the new Jude and Miriam Pfister Poetry Prize will each year award one student a $100 cash prize for a single poem. A member of the English Department will judge the submissions, and the winner will be announced at the annual Senior Reading in the spring semester.
"This is the kind of award that can offer a young writer encouragement at the moment she most needs it," says Literary House Director Jehanne Dubrow, who as a graduate student won university prizes through the Academy of American Poets. "I'm thrilled that our students here at Washington College will now have the same opportunity to compete for an award that receives national recognition and that is connected to one of the most prestigious literary organizations in the country."
"This is a major award," agrees English Department chair Kathryn Moncrief, "important enough that career and academic poets include it on their resumes."
The donors who are funding the prize have long ties to Washington College. Jude Pfister graduated from Washington College in 1993 with a master's degree in history, and Miriam Pfister's great-grandfather George Emmet Wood was a member of the Class of 1885. The couple's deep fondness for the institution has been reflected in their ongoing support of scholarships and the Miller Library, as well in their donation of items such as 19th and early 20th-century documents to the George Emmet Wood Collection of Washington College Memorabilia.
Founded in 1934, the Academy of American Poets has awarded more money to poets than any other organization. It creates literary events such as National Poetry Month and the annual Poets Forum in New York City and facilitates more than 200 annual prizes for poetry at colleges and universities nationwide.
Students interested in entering an original poem in the first Pfister Prize competition should email their poem to Lindsay Lusby, assistant director of the Literary House, (email@example.com) by Friday, March 22, 2013. Emails should include POETRY PRIZE and your name in the subject line. All electronic files must be saved as .pdf files with 12-point type and one-inch margins. Applicants are limited to one entry, with only one poem, each. For more information, please visit the Rose O'Neill Literary House's website (http://www.washcoll.edu/centers/lithouse/the-jude-and-miriam-pfister-poetry-prize.php).
For more information about the Academy of American Poets, please visit poets.org.


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Find out when Training Fund staff will be at employer campuses, see upcoming program deadlines, and learn about other Training Fund events.
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Training Fund Tuesday
December 22, 2020 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Are you attending school or planning to in the near future? We are here to support your educational and career goals! Please join us for Training Fund Tuesday, our weekly Virtual Information Sessions, to learn more about how to apply to the Training Fund and what you need to know about being eligible for Tuition Assistance.
Our Regional Education Navigator team will be available to share information regarding Tuition Assistance support and other programs and services that you may be eligible for at the Training Fund. We will be available to answer questions and to help members access the amazing benefits offered through the Training Fund.
We have virtual information sessions at various times every Tuesday — pick one that fits your schedule.
Register for the one that works best for you! If you need help registering, please call us at 425-255-0315.
Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwkc-mprz0vHtWWF0IiKdbh8PRACR9MPu5e
Language Interpretation services are available upon request.


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If you belong to a student organization or are involved in various community charities and causes, then you should become familiar with the process of organizing a fundraiser in order to financially benefit and raise awareness of the program(s). From student council organizations to sports teams to animal rescue causes, fundraisers are a vital source of needed revenue for these groups. Here is what you need to know in order to fundraise for organizations, charities, and causes.
Organization is a key factor in having a productive fundraiser. Review the following tips to ensure your fundraiser is a success.
A multitude of ideas exist for raising funds for organizations, charities, and causes. The most popular fundraising ideas can be categorized into three groups: sales, activities, and services.
Sales. Sales are the most common method to raise funds because they are easy to plan, require little set-up, and can be done several times a year. From homemade crafts to vendor products, consider this list for your selling endeavors:
Activities. Hosting an event for an evening or over a weekend is a fun and energizing way to raise awareness of your group or cause and to bring in funds. Activity fundraisers may include:
Services. Providing services is another productive way to raise needed funds. Service fundraisers can include:
Fundraising is an excellent way to benefit your school organization or favorite charity or cause. Just remember to follow any guidelines set by your school or the charity you are helping.
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Ford RS200. Ferrari 250 GTO. Opel Manta 400. Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Dodge Charger Daytona. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion. These are some of the most wonderful and soul-stirring vehicles we've ever encountered, and they have one thing in common: They're all homologation specials, built and sold to the public solely so that their manufacturers could take even hotter versions racing.
While some began as cars solely for homologation purposes, the marques took on lives of their own—witness the Evo and the Z28. The former is no longer campaigned in the World Rally Championship, while the latter went from a fire-spitting 302-inch monster in the late 1960s to a smog-choked key-party cruiser by the end of the 1970s.
Others, like the Daytona and its near-twin, the Plymouth Road Runner Superbird, languished on dealer lots, sometimes for years. And some, like the RS200, never got a true chance to live up to their potential. Group B rallying was practically shot out from underneath the car before Ford had a chance to work through the car's first-season teething troubles.
Porsche has not been one to shy away from building cars to suit a given set of rules. When the brand decided to contest Le Mans' five-liter class, twenty-five 917s were constructed for eligibility's sake. We use "constructed" liberally, as there are rumors that Ferdinand Piëch's offer to the FIA inspection team that members were free to drive any of the 25 cars Porsche had built to meet the specification might've been a bluff that he was hoping the inspectors wouldn't call.
By 1972, a rules change had forced the 917 out of competition at La Sarthe. Figuring that there was still life in the old beast, Porsche added turbochargers to the car's flat-12 and went on to conquer the Canadian-American Challenge Cup. Nevertheless, Porsche wasn't done with sports-car racing in Europe.
The company's next trick was less radical than the kill-everything-now sports prototype. Ferry's engineers took the nearly decade-old 911, punched out the 2.4-liter 911S engine to 2,687 cubic centimeters of displacement, added a ducktail spoiler, ballooned the rear arches to fit wider Fuchs wheels and scrawled "Carrera" down the side. The result was the 1973 Carrera 2.7 RS.
The RS then spawned the even wilder Carrera RSR, which carries the amusing distinction of having a name that translates to "Race Racing Race car"— Carrera" is "race" en español, while "RSR" stands for "Rennsport Rennwagen." "Rennsport" means "racing" in German, and "Rennwagen" is, of course, "race car." The Race Racing Race car was ultimately replaced by the turbocharged 934 and 935, which took the top four overall positions at Le Mans in 1979.
Years ago, a group of automotive journalists—your author among them—founded an informal organization to promote awareness of the inherent greatness of brown cars. At the time, shades of the storied hue were found on very few manufacturers' option lists. Porsche, however, had been keeping the faith. We noted at the time that practically any Porsche—save for the 914—looks wonderful in the shade.
While Brown Car Appreciation Society members had seen later 1976-77 Carrera 3.0s done up in brown and had discussed how utterly, absolutely, unflinchingly rad a 2.7 RS in the hue would be, it felt like a mere daydream until we stumbled upon this particular machine.
One of the first 500 RS cars built for homologation, this 2.7 is on offer at RM's upcoming Monaco auction. The 2.7 RS came in two flavors—a hard-core, lightweight variant featuring thinner glass and steel and a Touring specification that was designed to be more day-to-day liveable. This car was built to the latter spec, but we really don't mind, as we'd be driving the thing all over tarnation.
It's a 2.7 RS, the road-going 911 we covet most. It's brown. That's really all that needs to be said. If you'll excuse us, we're off to sell everybody's everything and hop a plane to Monaco. See you there on May 12. Please don't hate us for hocking your heirlooms. Prince Albert is already first in line for a ride in our new can, but we'll give you the second spin. We promise.


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Caring for Newborns
Having and raising a baby is one of the most incredible and challenging things that many people ever do in their lives. All new parents go through the process at least once, and can often use whatever help, suggestions, tips and time savers that they can find. "Caring for Newborns" offers 17 projects to make this transition smoother, from keeping your babies entertained to early potty training! All projects come from Instructables.com, are written by newborn-having experts, and contain pictures for each step so you can easily do it yourself.
Instructables is the most popular project-sharing community on the Internet. We provide easy publishing tools to enable passionate, creative people like you to share their most innovative projects, recipes, skills, and ideas. Instructables has thousands of projects covering all subjects, including crafts, art, electronics, kids, home improvement, pets, outdoors, reuse, bikes, cars, robotics, food, decorating, woodworking, costuming, games, and more. Check it out today!
Sarah James
Editor, Food & Living


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UCM's Performing Arts Series Announces 2013-2014 Season
September 16, 2013
(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) — Building on the success of 25 years of bringing exciting, quality entertainment to the University of Central Missouri and area communities, the University of Central Missouri's Performing Arts Series announces its 2013-2014 season.
Following the success of the President's Gala at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City in April 2013, PAS has formed a new partnership with the UCM Department of Music, according to a press release. The result is the new Fanfare Series, four premier performances by UCM's talented music students and faculty, in addition to an exciting lineup of Mainstage performances that have become the trademark of PAS.
Kicking off the season is the Provost's Faculty Showcase, a UCM tradition. UCM's music faculty will take to the Hart Recital Hall stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, to present a variety of solo and ensemble performances that will demonstrate the unrivaled skill and expertise of UCM's nationally recognized music faculty. The performance is free of charge, and tickets are not required.
"A Thai Tale," a UCM Children's Theatre production, is planned for 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, in UCM's Highlander Theatre, followed by "The French Connection: Virtuoso Music for Trumpet," the first in the Fanfare Series, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, in Hart Recital Hall. The performance features UCM faculty members Alan Wenger and Mia Hynes on trumpet and piano. The Fanfare Series continues at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, in Hart Recital Hall as Hynes and Tian Tian, UCM's piano faculty, present "When Worlds Collide: Scenes, Swords and a Pair of Steinways."
The PAS Mainstage performances present "Letters Home" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in Hendricks Hall. Sponsored by the UCM Office of Military and Veteran Services, the award-winning Griffin Theatre Company examines the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by exposing the humanity within the war through the eyes of those who serve.
The Mainstage performances continue on March 25 with Jim Henson's "Sid the Science Kid LIVE!" at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25 in Hendricks Hall. Science and the answers to the question asked by curious kids are the theme of the day in the special program sponsored by KMOS-TV.
Jen Chapin returns to UCM for an encore PAS performance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, in Hendricks Hall. The daughter of folk music legend Harry Chapin, Jen brings her own style of jazz-tinged, urban folk-story songs that search for shared meaning.
The Mainstage series of PAS performances concludes with another encore performance by a PAS favorite. Matt Lewis presents "Long Live the King!" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 18. Presented by the UCM Center for Religious Studies as part of its introduction of a new course, "Elvis: Memphis Messiah," Lewis brings his tribute to The King to Hendricks Hall stage with his exciting presentation of Elvis' best-known hits.
Concluding the 2013-2014 season is the fourth Fanfare Series performance, "Opera: Music from the Old Country." The UCM Opera Theatre presents tenor David Adams, UCM artist-in-residence, and his students as they transform the UCM Alumni Memorial Chapel into a historic opera house at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 25-26.
Individual and season tickets are available at the Performing Arts Series box office, Administration 100, Monday through Thursday from noon to 4 p.m., by calling 660-543-8888, or online at ucmpas.com. Tickets also are available at the box office one hour prior to each event.


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Well. That was a day-brightener, eh?
I love when a show like this earns its cynicism. I'm an optimist by nature, but I love when a show sits down and says, ideally via Mandy Patinkin, "Kid, the world is all kinds of fucked up, and you don't even know." Here's an episode of television where the protagonist saves the world and will never know she did, where her mentor figures out the big secret everybody's been trying to keep from him but he's ultimately powerless to do anything about it, and where the one terrorist who actually carried off his part of the plan gets shot in the head by the other one at the behest of his leader. It's an episode that ends with the protagonist realizing she was right all along—only to have that get buried beneath memory-erasing electroshock treatments. It's an episode where the show figured out a way to end its season one storyline satisfyingly while still setting up a season two with lots of loose ends. It's an episode where a lot of people have just enough information to put Brody away, but they won't realistically be talking to each other any time soon.
But let's get to the elephant in the room. In a fall season when a lot of serialized dramas have had stories where it really seemed like one of the characters would have to die in the finale, even if that death would fundamentally alter the status quo of the show, I've seen people writing this episode off because Brody doesn't die, because, indeed, he figures out a way to play his utter failure to blow himself up to his advantage. And I get that impulse, particularly after this fall, where only a couple of shows had the guts to pull that trigger, and one of them was a show where the dead could stay in the cast. Yet I thought the use of showing why Brody doesn't ultimately do it was pretty masterful, all the same.
For starters, the show didn't simply have the vest malfunction. It had the vest malfunction in such a way that we got to see that Brody was completely willing to blow himself up to take out the vice president. (I also bought that in the hubbub, when he was thrown around to get in the building, one of the wires would come loose.) Secondly, the show actually has him repair the vest, then head back into the room to do the deed again, when Dana reaches him on the phone. Was this a little convenient? Sure. (The Secret Service is totally going to make time for some teenage girl who needs to talk to her dad.) But it was also a moment that played off of what we knew about Brody and his family and a moment that randomly incorporated the season's least compelling plotline—the teenage rebellion of Dana Brody—into the main plotline masterfully, paying off two storylines at once.
Finally, this show is just more interesting if it continues to be about Carrie and Saul vs. Brody. If Brody had died, season two would have had to come up with some newer, bigger terrorist threat, just to top what season one did. (For an example of this, look at how the show that leads in to Homeland, Dexter, has been forced to play crazy games of one-upmanship just to keep the show humming after it killed off the primary antagonist in season two.) Homeland has never particularly been a plot-driven show. It's always been a character-driven one, first and foremost. And even though the show is able to do pretty interesting thriller plots—Abu Nazir's plot to get a suicide bomber inside that safe room by exploiting the panic of the situation was ingenious—it's primarily most interested in what makes its main characters tick. That's what makes it a great show, and Brody not blowing himself up worked because it was a character moment, first and foremost. If this had been a show where we didn't give a shit about any of these people, then, yeah, I could see the idea that this is some betrayal of what was set up here. But it's not. I, at least, came to care about Carrie and Brody and Saul very much.
Let's return to that cynicism, though, shall we? For me, this crystallized in that scene where Saul has figured out about the drone strike that killed the 82 children, and he threatens to go to The New York Times. Estes scoffs. Saul would never do that because it would put his agents in harm's way. And Saul would never deliberately endanger his agents—or the country—like that. He's bluffing. Homeland is best when it vividly paints these portrayals of its characters, then suggests the worlds they operate within don't really give a shit about them. Saul—a fundamentally decent man (maybe the only decent person on the show)—isn't going to drop what he knows on the Times simply because to do so would place people he aims to protect in danger. And that's all the cover that cynical, nasty men like Estes and the vice president, men who see career opportunities in massive intelligence failures, need to keep moving up the ladder. (What I liked about the politics of the moment is that Walden is very obviously a younger Dick Cheney, but the whole "do we know enough to say whether or not this is the right move" moment most resonates with the recent raid to take out Osama bin Laden, which in an alternate universe—like this one—could have gone disastrously. In the world of Homeland, it doesn't matter who's in power because power becomes a perpetual motion machine.)
All of which brings us back to Carrie, poor, damaged Carrie who goes in for electroshock because she thinks it's the right thing and realizes too late that she may be doing the wrong thing after all. The scene where she and Dana saved the world—and Carrie got arrested for her troubles—might have been my favorite in an episode filled with terrific ones, and if Claire Danes didn't clinch her Emmy win next summer in last week's episode, well, this is the perfect back-up argument for her to win, even though she's not in the episode a whole lot, compared to, say, Brody. (That said, this is a great tape for Damian Lewis, maybe even one that could beat the venerable Bryan Cranston.) Carrie accomplished everything she'd always wanted to accomplish, but she also lost everything, from her job to the man she loved. And even if the quick flashes to the relationship between her and Brody were kind of cheesy, they culminated in that great Issa reveal.
Look, I could pick nits about this season or this finale. I could find stuff that didn't work and worry about where season two will go with all of this out there for us to deal with. (I can already tell I'll probably be irritated by how the writers make use of the "Carrie's forgotten she knows about Issa" card.) But right now, I just want to luxuriate in a season of TV that not only explored a bunch of great characters but also told a thriller plot that worked about as well as you could expect one to work stretched over 12 hours. It was a season that featured exactly one episode I found even a little bit questionable, and one that produced a bunch of moments and scenes I know I'll think back on time and time again. The first season of Homeland wasn't perfect, but somehow, its raggedy edges made it even better to me. I'm going to miss it.
Finale grade: A
Season grade: A
Stray observations:
- Favorite moment, hands down: Walker pats the woman whose apartment he just used to carry out his assassination attempt on the head as he leaves.
- I can't say I'm going to miss Elizabeth, who always struck me as kind of a nothing character, though I entertained for a while the idea that she was in league with Abu Nazir. (Without her, I really have no idea how Abu Nazir figured out that Brody would be running for Congress.)
- Loose thread: Just who was the mole? I know a bunch of you might still say Saul, but I just don't see why he'd work so hard to accomplish what he did in this episode without being one of the good guys.
- Then again, this show at least feints at having you wonder who the "good guys" are. But I think it's essentially arguing that the powerful are almost always corrupt, no matter which system produces them. For as much as the show suggests Walden and Estes are bad guys, Abu Nazir isn't ever presented as a saint either, and at the earliest opportunity, he gets rid of the guy who actually carried out his half of the mission, in order to pursue a new mission. (Also, is season two of this thing going to be more like The West Wing or what?)
- I've seen some grousing that it's strange that Abu Nazir immediately agrees to Brody's plan like that, but I'd be surprised if he didn't do so. How often does a terrorist get a chance to have a man with the ear of the president?
- Acting moment of the episode: Brody's daughter talks him out of blowing everybody up, even without knowing she's doing it. Damian Lewis beautifully played the man coming apart at the seams, then making a decision. (I also liked how the show portrayed the aftermath, with him seeming really pissed at himself for not having the guts.)
- I hadn't realized how skillfully the show had kept much of the main cast from each other until this episode suddenly saw Carrie facing off with Jessica.
- Virgil's got some illegal shit in his van, and he'd rather you not root around in the back.
- Todd's crazy theory corner: I don't even want to think about what season two will look like. There are so many ways it could go wrong, but the show's done such a good job of steering right so far that I'm going to assume it will nail the storyline, as per usual.


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From Hurriyet:
A marble sculpture head of Artemis from the fourth century BC has been uncovered in the ancient city of Alabanda as the archeological excavations there come to a close. In some of the excavations made at the site, the doors of the ancient city were uncovered, the head of the excavation team, Aydın Adnan Menderes University Archeology department academic Suat Ateşlier said. The walls from the Byzantine era were also found, he added.
These walls and the road were uncovered near the Temple of Apollo, said Ateşlier. "We have also found a very valuable sculpture head in the same area. The quality of the sculpture is very good, and it is in very good condition. This is a goddess sculpture." He added that experts believed it was of the goddess Artemis, the sister of Apollo.
Ateşlier said they had started in July and this season many newly excavated artifacts has been uncovered at the site. The team closed the excavations on Dec. 20.
This year also geophysical analysis was done in the area and another goddess' temple was found, added Ateşlier.
The location of the temple was determined, and next year the excavations will be done in that area, he said.
The site is located in Çine, in the Aegean province of Aydın.
- via: Alabanda reveals a Goddess sculpture (Hurriyet)
The original article has a nice photo of the head in situ … I suspect the identification is made based on the apparent fillet in the hair (which rules out Aphrodite, perhaps); not sure if I detect an earring there or not which might suggest this is an empress of some sort. Even if there is no earring, compare the hairstyle, e.g., to this image of Sabina (Hadrian's wife)… Alabanda, by the way, was the ancient Antiochia of the Chrysaorians …


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Today is the last day of Fashion For Life, and Cajsa and her team have done an incredible job, the builds, the stores and just the overall wellbeing. It has been a great group of chatters in there, so nice and excited leading up to and during the event, lovely to see. You can visit my store, and SySy's who is on the same sim, as well as all the great stores surrounding us.
I went shopping at TLC the other day, Whimsy and I were in heaven, Bali heaven. She bought a resort, and I made myself a cozy little escape on our studio roof. I love this furniture by Junk, it is fantastic, the colours, the style, and that its mod, just made me so happy. The candle is smaller when purchased, but with some modification it became beautiful oversized lanterns. Also seeing as I rezzed three benches and the throw and cushion are not texture change, I was able to select face and tint those manually, to give them a little less samey samey look….