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Posts Tagged 'Stirchley'
Does anyone remember the 1950s school of dance (ballet and tap) held above the shops?
I attended for years but gave up when I went to KNGS.
It was run by a blonde lady (maybe Ivy ?). Trying to remember her name is driving me barmy!
Also, can anyone recall The Fordrough… a way of getting from Cotteridge to Kings Heath, coming out just below Pineapple Bridge? Can recall walking with my mum to grandparents who lived in Priory Road, Kings Heath.
Reg writes:
I have been working on Haye House, a private house directly across the road from the old Breedon Bar pub.
Please could you supply any info of this lovely house? The plaque on the exterior of the building reads Haye House 1862.
Many thanks!
Roy writes:
We have a relation, Brian Lambert, over from Australia.
Could someone help please if anyone has any memories or photos of a company called R J Hunt, a foundry which was situated by the bridge close to the Breedon Cross pub.
Any help would be gratefully received, thank you.
Any information please leave a comment below or email us and we'll pass it on.
If you have any information, email us using the link above; or leave a comment below.
Kay (now in Australia) is researching her family tree and wonders if anyone has any information about:
– The Leavers of 29 Elm Tree Road, Stirchley
– Elizabeth Morgan of "56 Pershore Road" in 1911
– Any hotels in the area in the early 20th century.
Stirchley has its own forum, featuring lots of questions and discussions about its past, present and future.
See here for the site.
In response to a query on this site about Charlotte Road:
As you may already know this road runs parallel to Pershore Road and was mine, and loads of other young lads, rabbit run to Stirchley Senior Boys School, via Elm Tree & Ash Tree Road.
I recall that at the far end, from Cotteridge, was Ten Acres & Stirchley Co-op bakery, & their Works & Building Dept. By referring to the Stirchley Website I was able to confirm my own memories, that it suffered some bomb damage, and casualties by the name of Bishton(?).
During the 1939/45 war it was also my route, when reporting for duty at Stirchley Police Station in Victoria Road. Maybe because I associate this road with school and war duty I do not have any affection for it.
Police Aux M. S. This was the name displayed on the shoulder flash. We were trained by senior police officers and I now understand how they relied and trusted us with responsibilities and authority, far beyond our youthful looks. Anecdotes would fill a whole web page, some sad and serious, others a real howler. I can recall some of the names of the Police Messengers, based at Kings Norton and Stirchley Police Stations.
Back Row L to R: Lol Avery (well known neighbour to your contributor Doreen Hill), Cliff, Stan ___, Bob Sanford.
Front row, Roy Mosely, Stan Boraston, Ray Mosely (yes they were twins).
Stan Boraston achieved acclaim for organizing a dance (with gramophone records) at Selly Oak Institute where most of the "B" Division, including Senior Officers, attended. There was even a picture in the Birminham Mail.


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Catawba River
Lancaster County, South Carolina offers the ideal combination of access to big-city excitement with small-town style and outdoor pursuits. Whether you enjoy an urban vibe, suburban comfort, small-town neighbors, or being surrounded by acres of open space, you'll find the perfect lifestyle here. You can hunt with your buddy in the morning and join your date at the latest hit musical after dinner. And the entire region is infused with that traditional Southern hospitality and pride, so you'll feel welcome from the moment you arrive!
The spectacular Redstone development in Indian Land opened in April 2018. The 310,000 square foot retail center will have eight restaurants, shops and a 14 screen theater. The project is a joint venture between MVP Properties and Red Ventures. Also, the Promenade in Indian Land near Carolina Lakes, opened in September 2018. The 280,000 square foot shopping center is home to Burlington Coat Factory, Five Below, Hobby Lobby, Kirkland's, Panera Bread, Petco, Ross, Starbuck's, TJ Maxx and ULTA.
Nearby Charlotte is a hub of activity, including professional sports, the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway, and top-tier cultural attractions like the Charlotte Symphony and touring Broadway shows. Dining choices range from haute cuisine to down-home BBQ, and Center City shops keep you in today's fine fashions.
Life in Lancaster County is a bit more laid-back, but never dull. University of South Carolina - Lancaster draws top concerts and fascinating speakers, the Lancaster Playhouse has a full schedule of popular shows, and the number of retailers is growing. Recreational opportunities abound, including beautiful golf courses, the fascinating Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve, and the winding Catawba River, which draws fishermen and kayakers from all over. Plus, South Carolina offers every type of area you want, from forest-draped mountains to pristine ocean beaches, and everything in between.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cannes 2019: FCB/Six medals again, this time in Mobile
CCO Ian MacKenzie on Canada's potential in the category following the Bronze win.
For many ad agency execs, there are two moments they undoubtedly register as career highlights: accepting a Cannes Lion Grand Prix, and being part of a jury that gets to select a Cannes Lion Grand Prix.
Last night, Ian Mackenzie got to do both – at the exact same time.
Right smack in the middle of jury deliberations for the Mobile Grand Prix on Wednesday in Cannes, the CCO of FCB/Six (and Mobile juror) was whisked back stage mere minutes before it was revealed that his team's "Go Back to Africa" work for Black & Abroad was the top campaign in Creative Data. He walked on, accepted the Lion, posed for a photo, walked off and was back in the jury room to finish what he started last Friday.
And today, at the fourth awards gala of the week in Cannes, that same decorated campaign left with another memento: a Bronze in Mobile.
Clearly, MacKenzie was not privy to the discussions that took place in the room when his fellow jurors assigned a score to the work (which censored racist Tweets and placed them against the backdrop of culturally- and geographically-beautiful images, and also included a web-based image database of Black people travelling and then targeted to relevant audiences).
But he explains why and how mobile was the cornerstone of the campaign.
"We saw a lot of the work, across the board, start with a Tweet. And then that became the activation point for the whole campaign," says MacKenzie, referring to other Mobile-winning work like "Bagel-Gate" from Kraft-Heinz, which posted a Twitter poll to get users to weigh-in on whether the bagel emoji should be updated to a Philadelphia cheese-smothered one. That then led to a global online petition and ended with Apple succumbing to the pressure and finally updating the icon.
"'So 'Go Back to Africa' is the same in that it starts with a tweet, it drives to a website, which is then the centrepiece for a huge curated collection of images that represent modern black travellers. And all the photos are being taken on a phone, so mobile really threads throughout the entire piece," he adds.
Canada only had two chances at landing a Lion in the category this year (Jam3 was also nominated for its "Operation AirDrop at Coachella" execution for Adidas Originals). But MacKenzie sees potential to grow Canada's mobile expertise by calling upon the nation's growing field of experts.
"There's a lot of innovation happening generally in Canada, whether it's coming out of Waterloo or Toronto across industries. I think our industry has performed very well in the innovation space in the past. But these things go in cycles," he says. "I think if Canada wants to perform even better in Mobile next year, I would encourage the entire industry to look outward, and not just inward, to find the technology and mobile platforms that we can put our ideas on and empower our clients to buy into."
The Grand Prix
Prior to revealing the big winner in the Mobile category, jury president Ari Weiss, CCO, DDB Worldwide North America, recited, word-for-word, the manifesto that governed, from the very beginning, the jury members' task at hand.
"We [celebrated] the spirit of creativity and mobile this year – from evolutions and social commerce, to hacks that change perspectives for the better, to tweets that ignited a cultural conversation, and new experiences that blur the boundaries between digital and physical worlds. Mobile, for better or worse, is where we live our lives and it's our responsibility to make it for the better."
And with that, Weiss revealed the Grand Prix winner: Burger King, for its "Whopper Detour" mobile-driven campaign/stunt by FCB New York.
The (slightly antagonistic) campaign saw the QSR offer its Whopper for just a $0.01. But the deal came with a catch: hungry diners had to download the BK app and stand/park/drive near one of 14,000 McDonald's restaurants in order to unlock the offer. In just 48 hours, the brand's mobile application went from #686 to #1 in the Apple app store.
"It was mobile, mobile, mobile. It was a geo-fencing campaign that drove app downloads and it drove mobile commerce. It could not be more mobile. It also proved that mobile can drive movement and not be sedentary," said Weiss of why it was crowned the Grand Prix. "And the sheer audacity of [placing itself inside] 14,000 of its competitors stores couldn't have been more on brand for Burger King."


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BANNACK – "That was perfect, Mike, we'll take another one right through there," the radio dispatcher said after a helicopter dropped water on the wildfire.
Fire crews, with the help of air support, are busy this week trying to control the Bannack Wildfire burning southwest of Dillon, which is the first major wildfire in Montana that started earlier this week.
"We're making a lot of progress. The first night it grew to about 150 acres and it hasn't really grown since then," said Incident Commander Jackson Spooner.
A lightning strike started the fire about a mile south of Bannack and is burning in rocky terrain of sage, grass, and timber. More than 60 firefighters and two helicopters have been working throughout the day trying to stop the fire from spreading.
"Around noon or a little bit after noon, we're starting to enter our burning period, the prime time when fire behavior starts to increase, our relative humidity start dropping and our temperatures start to increase. Might start seeing more smoke off the fire, anywhere from this time to about 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon," said Don Copple, the Fire Management Officer for the DNRC.
Flames can be seen in the burn zone of the Bannack fire and there are hotspots all around the area. Crews say they have a handle on the fire, but they're not ready to say it's contained.
"We got a lot of spots on the northside of that fire and just getting a handle on those, trying to find them, that's our biggest challenge," said Spooner.
Officials said no structures in the area are threatened by the fire and the town of Bannack remains open for business.
-John Emeigh reporting for MTN News


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10 star kids who may rule Bollywood in 2025
Every year there is an influx of star kids and in 10 years down the line we will see more star kids taking Bollywood by storm. Shah Rukh Khan's kids Aryan and Suhana, Saif's son Ibrahim, Sridevi's daughter Jahnvi, Akshay Kumar's son Aarav are all busy in their own lives...living a life of their own. How we secretly wish that they join Bollywood. Then, a time will come when these kids would be compared to the present lot of young actors – Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Tiger Shroff, Athiya Shetty and others. Let's take a look at these 10 star kids who have every potential to make it big.
Jhanvi Kapoor, 18
Sridevi's elder daughter is a style diva in every sense. Jhanvi never goes wrong when it comes to fashion. This young girl has inherited her mother's good looks and very often she is spotted in parties and events by her mother's side.
Aryan Khan, 17
Shah Rukh Khan eldest son is ditto his father. And we would love to see him on-screen. His style and charisma already makes him paparazzi's favourite. There's calmness in Aryan which makes him our top favourite. Currently, pursuing studies in London, who knows, someday we might hear about his debut film.
Navya Naveli Nanda, 17
Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter and Shweta Bachchan Nanda's elder daughter is a talented lady topped with good looks inherited from family. Navya Naveli Nanda is a star in the making. She even stunned her grandfather with her musical talent. She'll give a tough competition to the present lot of actors, don't you think so?
Suhana Khan, 15
SRK's daughter has turned out to be an elegant lady. She is just 15 and very camera-friendly. Be in IPL matches or airport spotting, Suhana is very comfortable when captured on camera. Suhana looks all poised and we love how this daddy's girl carries herself.
Khushi Kapoor, 14
Sridevi and Boney Kapoor's younger daughter has grown into a fine teenager from a sweet and cute kid. Khushi resembles no less than a glam doll in her recent pics. We won't be surprised if this lady steps in Bollywood.
Ibrahim Khan, 13
Ibrahim Khan is a splitting image of his dad Saif Ali Khan. And he is quite bitten by the bollywood bug. Ibrahim likes his selfie moments with Bollywood celebs. Check them here.
Well, once he is of the right age, there is a strong possibility of this Khan stepping in Bollywood,
Mahikaa Rampal, 13
Arjun Rampal's elder daughter Mahikaa is a gorgeous teenager. Both the parents being super models of their time, we can only expect the acting bug running in Mahikaa's blood too. What do you think?
Agastya Nanda, 13
Agastya Nanda, Navya's brother has grown into a fine gentleman. He was recently snapped during a family dine out, and we were amazed to see this young lad.
Aarav Kumar, 12
Akshay Kumar's elder son Aarav is a handsome young man. He practices taekwondo and is also an adventure junkie like his father. And we have also learnt that he has a knack for painting. A cute face and a tough guy. Perfect package for Bollywood.
Hrehaan Roshan, 9
Hrithik's both the sons are adorable munchkins. 10 years down the line, Hrehaan will be a fine grown up teenager and we would love to see him on screen.


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(CNSNews.com) - The 2004 presidential election may be in the history books, but the left-wing protests and incendiary rhetoric that targeted President Bush in last year's campaign have not died down.
As attacks on the administration's policies continue, so does scrutiny of the finances of such groups, which some say pose significant questions as to whether their activities comply with tax law.
Anti-Bush groups like the International Action Center boast of their support for the "courageous Iraqi resistance that has derailed the U.S. Empire."
The IAC, which plans an anti-war demonstration in New York City Saturday, has also conducted mock trials and "convicted" President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair of "war crimes."
Those activities are significantly bankrolled by a non-profit group called the People's Rights Fund, whose tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service precludes it from engaging in "substantial use of inflammatory and disparaging terms."
The IRS's 501(c)(3) provisions, which govern thousands of non-profit organizations across the country, also warn groups involved not to "express conclusions on the basis of strong emotional feelings" at the expense of "objective evaluations."
It's these tax laws, among others, that have caught the attention of Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative group that monitors the activities of non-profits.
"You can have debates, you can do policy papers. It doesn't consist of a bunch of people running down the street shouting obscenities and all these other things," said Boehm. "That's not [non-profit] activity and it never has been."
Boehm told the Cybercast News Service that the tax code restrictions apply, even when groups like the People's Rights Fund provide financing and otherwise stay behind the scenes.
"Whenever you have a relationship between a (c)(3) and a (c)(4)," as in the case with the People's Rights Fund and the International Action Center, Boehm said, "the rule is, (c)(3)'s can give to (c)(4)'s, but they have to be for the types of activities that are (c)(3) activities."
Multiple calls seeking comment from the People's Rights Fund, the IAC, and other like-minded groups were not returned, in spite of the fact that in some cases, their offices share the same building address and telephone numbers.
While (c)(3) organizations are generally prohibited from engaging in overt political activities, (c)(4) organizations have more latitude in such matters.
The Capital Research Center, another conservative watchdog of non-profit groups, reported in its March Organizational Trends newsletter that, "the International Action Center (IAC), received $62,000 in 2002 from the People's Rights Fund" according to the most recent data provided by the IRS and that "The Fund claimed 2002 revenues of $447,045 and assets of $61,458."
'Educational purposes' called into question
The International Action Center, which was founded by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, pulls few punches on its website, promoting other groups like Troops OUT NOW.org (also financed in part by the People's Rights Fund) and No Draft No Way.org.
In its related links section, the IAC website includes a category called the "Iraq War Crimes Tribunal." Immediately below that headline is a hyperlink to another website called People Judge Bush.org.
The IAC's website also includes several requests for "[t]ax deductible donations," which the website clarifies, should be "over $50.00" and sent to the People's Rights Fund/IAC Project.
In advertising its Saturday "March to Central Park," marking the second anniversary of the U.S. invasion to topple Saddam Hussein's regime, the IAC boasts that "[t]he whole world will be marching and watching.
"We have a responsibility to respond with renewed determination and commitment in the face of the Bush Administration's launching of a new phase of the war against the Iraqi people," the IAC website states, adding that demonstrators will march to the military recruiting station in Harlem to protest "the economic draft."
There is no mention, for example, of this week's inaugural session of the Iraq National Assembly, the first session of freely elected Iraqi politicians in a half century.
Past IAC protests have been aimed at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, both of President Bush's inaugurations, the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston and that year's Republican National Convention in New York, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Yet, the IAC's benefactor, the People's Rights Fund, maintains its tax-exempt status with the IRS by claiming that its work serves "educational purposes," something Boehm disputes.
"An examination of their web pages, materials publicly available, a Nexis search, etc., shows that they are to a large degree an activist group that conducts street demonstrations, puts together political coalitions, uses enflamed rhetoric, and does not make any attempt to do any balance whatsoever," Boehm said of the People's Rights Fund.
Alan Dye, a Washington, D.C., lawyer providing services to non-profit organizations, also saw problems with the People's Rights Fund claiming an "educational" tax-exemption while funding a political protest. "It would seem to me that a protest is not charitable ... or educational," Dye said.
Dye said IAC's anti-Bush inaugural protests in 2000 and 2004 should also have alerted the IRS. "It's hard for me to see how the IRS would find a counter-inaugural protest to be educational or charitable. I don't see how you justify that."
Boehm said the IAC, "without question," presents its viewpoint in an emotional, rather than reasonable manner, in violation of the 501(c)(3) provisions. The IAC activity is "political, it's ideological, it's advocacy," Boehm said.
Dye agreed that IAC's style could be as problematic as its substance. "If the language is inflammatory enough, if the appeals are strongly enough based on emotion rather than reason [the IRS] certainly could, if they wanted, find the content not to be educational," Dye told the Cybercast News Service.
Because the People's Rights Fund is a 501(c)(3) and the IAC and other projects it sponsors are not, the People's Rights Fund is classified as a fiscal sponsor to those activities.
Fiscal sponsorship, according to IRS Ruling 68-489, 1968-2 C.B. 210, allows (c)(3)s to distribute funds to non-exempt groups, but the (c)(3) must maintain full control of the funds.
However, instead of retaining control of the money supporting the IAC's activities, Boehm wonders whether the People's Rights Fund is merely acting as a "funnel" for the funds. "What else is it doing?" he asked in reference to the People's Rights Fund.
"The (c)(3) seem[s] to be small, they don't have a paid staff, [and] a chunk of the money goes to (c)(4) activities," Boehm added. "It looks like this very hard-edged activist group (the IAC) is getting funding from a (c)(3) for their agenda."
In contrast to the IAC website, the People's Rights Fund site consists only of its mission statement, contact information, and a store for making donations to the sponsored projects. The People's Rights Fund advertises no activities of its own.
Boehm said he believes the solicitation of funds on the IAC website and affiliated sites are an indication that the donors intend for the money to go directly to the IAC instead of, as the law mandates, to the People's Rights Fund.
"The fact that they're touting that on the webpage for the activist group certainly does lend an appearance that there's a conduit arrangement," Boehm said.
Shared ideals, shared real estate
In a January 28 interview with the Cybercast News Service, Bob Huberty, executive vice president of the Capital Research Center, expressed concern about the fact that the IAC, the People's Rights Fund, and a number of other groups "are all at the same address in New York, all different groups."
Boehm agreed that the concept of a 501(c)(3) sharing an address with one of its sponsored projects was a cause for concern. The address, 39 West 14th Street in New York City, is also listed by the Troops Out Now coalition, People Judge Bush.org, Vote No War.org, Vote To Impeach.org, No Draft No Way.org, and others.
The People's Rights Fund is not the only 501(c)(3) group drawing attention for the projects it sponsors.
The Progress Unity Fund provides money to the anti-war International ANSWER Coalition, which until recently was listed as a project of the People's Rights Fund. Boehm noted similarities in the templates of the respective websites for the People's Rights Fund and the Progress Unity Fund.
There are also several connections between International ANSWER and IAC, both of which share office space in New York City and show a cross-pollination of leadership.
The International ANSWER coalition is directed by Ramsey Clark, who is also the founder of the IAC. Members of International ANSWER will also participate in this weekend's anti-war demonstration.
Similar to the relationship between the People's Rights Fund and the IAC, International ANSWER advertises events on its website and requests that tax-deductible contributions be directed to the Progress Unity Fund.
"Your contribution will help support the upcoming March 19 Day of Global Mass Action," the International Answer sales pitch reads.
The Progress Unity Fund shares headquarters with International ANSWER at 2489 Mission Street in San Francisco.
International ANSWER may also be sponsored by a second 501(c)(3) -- the Alliance for Global Justice (AGJ). International ANSWER requested donations for its January 20 counter-inaugural protest through AGJ.
AGJ appears to share office space with International ANSWER's Washington, D.C., headquarters at 1247 E Street Southeast.
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The Appearance and Disappearance of Ship Tracks on Large Spatial Scales
Download Record
Coakley, J.A.
Durkee, P.A.
Nielsen, K.
Taylor, J.P.
Platnick, S.
Albrecht, B.A.
Babb, D.
Chang, F.-L.
Tahnk, W.R.
Bretherton, C.S.
Hobbs, P.V.
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The 1-km advanced very high resolution radiometer observations from the morning, NOAA-12, and afternoon, NOAA-11, satellite passes over the coast of California during June 1994 are used to determine the altitudes, visible optical depths, and cloud droplet effective radii for low-level clouds. Comparisons are made between the properties of clouds within 50 km of ship tracks and those farther than 200 km from the tracks in order to deduce the conditions that are conducive to the appearance of ship tracks in satellite images. The results indicate that the low-level clouds must be sufficiently close to the surface for ship tracks to form. Ship tracks rarely appear in low-level clouds having altitudes greater than 1 km. The distributions of visible optical depths and cloud droplet effective radii for ambient clouds in which ship tracks are embedded are the same as those for clouds without ship tracks. Cloud droplet sizes and liquid water paths for low-level clouds do not constrain the appearance of ship tracks in the imagery. The sensitivity of ship tracks to cloud altitude appears to explain why the majority of ship tracks observed from satellites off the coast of California are found south of 358N. A small rise in the height of low-level clouds appears to explain why numerous ship tracks appeared on one day in a particular region but disappeared on the next, even though the altitudes of the low-level clouds were generally less than 1 km and the cloud cover was the same for both days. In addition, ship tracks are frequent when lowlevel clouds at altitudes below 1 km are extensive and completely cover large areas. The frequency of imagery pixels overcast by clouds with altitudes below 1 km is greater in the morning than in the afternoon and explains why more ship tracks are observed in the morning than in the afternoon. If the occurrence of ship tracks in satellite imagery data depends on the coupling of the clouds to the underlying boundary layer, then cloud-top altitude and the area of complete cloud cover by low-level clouds may be useful indices for this coupling.
RightsThis publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
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The Impact of Ship-Produced Aerosols on the Microstructure and Albedo of Warm Marine Stratocumulus Clouds: A Test of MAST Hypotheses 1i and 1ii Durkee, P.A.; Noone, K.J.; Ferek, R.J.; Johnson, D.W.; Taylor, J.P.; Garrett, T.J.; Hobbs, P.V.; Hudson, J.G.; Bretherton, C.S.; Innis, G.; Frick, G.M.; Hoppel, W.A.; O'Dowd, C.D.; Russell, L.M.; Gasparovic, R.; Nielsen, K.E.; Tessmer, S.A.; Őstrőm, E.; Osborne, S.R.; Flagan, R.C.; Seinfeld, J.H.; Rand, H. (2000-08-15);Anomalously high reflectivity tracks in stratus and stratocumulus sheets associated with ships (known as ship tracks) are commonly seen in visible and near-infrared satellite imagery. Until now there have been only ...
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A castle fit for a king
Explore the Chateau de Chambord
François I spent lavishly to fund the Chateau de Chambord project. In fact, construction alone took more than a quarter of a century.
Started in 1518, work was interrupted in 1525 when the coffers of the Kingdom were completely empty, and didn't resume until October 1526. From that date on, you could find up to 2,000 workers on the site at any given time. Having given up the totally unreasonable plan of rerouting the river Loire to bring it to the foot of his castle, François I settled for diverting one of its tributaries, the river Cosson. The castle was completed in 1547 and contains 440 rooms, 84 staircases, 365 fireplaces (one for each day of the year). It also has stables to accommodate 1,200 horses. The property is surrounded by 20 miles of walls which protect more than 13,000 acres of woods. This huge hunting reserve covers as much ground as all of Paris!
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Pretty villages and enchanting châteaux
This easy cycling holiday takes you past princely mansions standing next to picturesque farm houses, and fields of sunflowers merging with uniform rows of vineyards. Explore the biggest and the best of the Loire Valley châteaux and discover the...
Loire Prestige à Pied
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Live like a king on this luxurious holiday, which takes you through scenic countryside to some of the Loire's most prestigious châteaux. The easy walk follows pathways alongside the river and through vineyards, to luxury hotels...
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Explore quiet back roads and visit the fascinating old towns of Amboise and Blois with time to discover the classic wines of the region. Visit world famous châteaux and stay in luxury accommodation each night.
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With easy cycling along country lanes, this holiday enables you to create your own itinerary. Explore all the faces of the region from Montrichard, on the banks of the River Cher, to the peaceful village of Chitenay. Here are our...


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I accidentally unplugged data or power cable while PC was on. Discrete clinking sound since, PC won't see it anymore.
I had troubles with a hdd from a dvr, now I get recovered files on format vp6. I need a tool to view those files.
Could you help me with this issue?
I can access data but it will not transfer, I want all of the data on a new hard drive?
I have a broken hard drive from a iMac. I live in Norway and I considering traveling to London for fixing my disk and get my pictures back. Is it possible and whats the prices?
Dropped my 1tb Seagate external hard drive about 1ft ,you can here it spinning inside but wont load up , would this be able to be fixed ?I am offshore at present so can only be reached by email.
The portable drive is powering up and the HD is spinning but the PC is not recognising the device through the USB.
The computer does not recognize the external disk, it does not appear on the control panel. The disc light stays on. Sounds of clicks, or of the needle. Can you tell me how much this repair can cost? I'm desperate because i have very important photos
Light comes on, disk spins but the computer doesn't recongise the drive. It use to be temperamental with the actual micro drive port, a quick wiggle and it would work. Now it tries to work but to no avail.
My harddrive suddenly stopped working. When I plug it in to my macbook I hear these faint tiny beeps, that roughly go on for 11 times, then it goes quiet with no movement. The light stays on but that is about it. When it comes to plugging it into PC, the device can be ejected but doesnt come up, and the same symptoms as on the macbook occur
I have MY PASSPORT 500GB and I think it's damaged due to fall and I can't access my data now. Will it be possible to recover data out of it? How can I send it to you. I live in Chelmsford, Essex.
Hard drive is a WD My Passport for Mac 1TB. It has been dropped and my computer is no longer recognising it. It does make a whirring noise and lights come on.. just not able to be read. I presume that once you receive the hard drive you will then give me a quote for data recovery? I also need to know if and T&C's for the data being recovered.


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Yoga Hijacked by Saffron
|by Deepa Kozhisseri
As the sky turns a tawny orange with the setting sun, a few youth move with fluidity to match day easing into dusk. This is the time for a few brisk moves of yoga; an interplay of body, mind and consciousness at the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samasthana, Svasya University for yogic sciences at Jigni on the outskirts of Bangalore.
With almost all television channels plugging for an alternative lifestyle and large multinationals egging their employees to adopt new age health mantras to counter rising stress, the yoga Kendra has a steady stream of visitors from across the country, a large chunk from the south Indian states.
Chants at daybreak and the soiree of devotional songs with jingoistic messages make it clear that good health is, however, cloaked in rightwing conservatism.
Yoga practice has started at 5;30 am here with devotional songs and readings from Hindu epics. Devotion is the motif of wellness drawing from the Vedic tradition. The only prayers are Hindu and tone is fiercely nationalistic. The panacea for all the ills we have brought on ourselves is total surrender to a God, preferably Hindu God; the wellspring of all knowledge. The Bhagvad Gita is the cornerstone of spirituality imparted here leaving no pretext of being multicultural let alone secular or it turns out even historically accurate.
Historian of Science, Meera Nanda, in an article in The Open Magazine salvages the yogic tradition from its supposed ancient past and points out that Yogic asanas were never Vedic to begin with. Modern yoga was born in the late 19th and early 20th century . The Hindu nationalists and reformers including Swami Vivekananda had separated the asanas from its spiritual underpinnings to counter the image of the supposedly effete Indians. In this process the Hata yoga that of postures incorporated Western elements of gymnastics and body building. Nanda points out that Western contribution to modern yoga is not acknowledged.
"It is a child of Hindu Renaissance and Indian nationalism in which western ideas about eugenics, science, evolution and physical fitness played a role,'' according to Nanda. And the practice at Svasya mirrors this practice of yoga. Yoga is being traced back to 2000 year old yoga sutras and 5000 year old Vedas while in fact its hybridization with western and even Indian gymnastics and Eastern breathing practices is an unacknowledged facet of modern yoga.
The spiritual aspects of yoga were rationalized with the US based Theosophical Society in India and this was worked on by Swami Vivekananda who is seen as yoga's renaissance man in India. The physical aspects of yoga was modified by techniques borrowed from Swedes, Denmark, England and other Western countries. These innovations were crafted on the yoga sutras referred to by an Austrian mystic as, "the yoga cannon of those who have accepted Bhramin theology.''
Many throng the University, an almost pilgrimage site for rejuvenation and cure for ailments that range from arthritis and spinal disorders to gastrointestinal problems, psychiatry and even cancer. There has been a positive co relation in their research between yoga and a variety of ailments including cancer, arthritis and diabetes.
"Yoga is not just exercise but mindful exercise so it gets better results than physiotherapy,'' Ragavendra Rao who was instrumental in cancer research in the SVASYA Institute and is currently with Bangalore Institute of Oncology.
The institute's primary work has been on yoga for cancer patients. In 1998 it partnered with the Bangalore Institute of Oncology for work on cancer. Patients receiving chemotherapy were divided into two groups one was taught yoga and the other just counseling. It was found that yoga reduced toxicity from medication, improves anti- tumor immune responses and helps reduce inflammatory cytokines that aid cancer.
The institute also did research on asthma patients who benefitted from yoga. Its findings were published in the British Medical Journal in 1985.
Not without reason the modern age with its lifestyle disorders gets the whiplash from the practitioners of the yogic art form. They hark back to a glorious past of prosperity and richness. Gadgets might have simplified our lives from the drudgery of crushing, pounding and grinding from dawn to dusk but it is not seen so at the yoga retreat that prefers hark back to a golden period even if it is entirely in their imagination. 'The women were in excellent shape in the past as they ground grains sitting on the floor, they added twigs to the stove, got up to serve and sat down again to refill the serving bowls,'' said N V Raghuram one of their senior members.
The yoga retreat coincided with the decennial celebration of Svasya inaugurated by RSS pracharaks from Gujarat who sang songs in Kannada to turn on the nationalistic mood. They spoke of starting a Child University in Gujarat where a new generation would be raised with the values of ancient Indian scriptures. Also in a startling reminder of eugenics one the university's mandates was to get pregnant women would get to listen appropriate ragas in the different months of pregnancy. One of the building blocks at Svasya University was opened by Narendra Modi and the other by Murli Manohar JoshI. Modi has visited Svasya at least two or three times, said one of the founders proudly. His principal secretary has done a PhD from the yoga Institute.
While those like spiritual guru Deepak Chopra go with the belief that yoga existed in consciousness alone and cannot be a pure Hindu system, Western philosophy was summarily dismissed in the morning scripture readings at Svasya, "Freud said emotions have to be given vent to while the Hindu scriptures speaks of sublimating emotions and that is what leads to the de attached path,'' said H R Nagendra ignoring western branches of philosophy that dwell on manifestation of consciousness.
"We ensure the central nervous system is given complete rest for two weeks and then it is up to the individual on how they work on their body and mind,'' said R Nagaratna founder and consulting physician pragmatically.
During her medical training in England, Deepak Chopra's mind body medicine was gaining in popularity. Back home through the 70's and 80's the BJP was growing in strength in different states and its cultural arm was only too eager to establish itself with India's authentic mind body traditions. "I travelled the country meeting yogis. In Varanasi, the Benares Hindu University Medical College already had a Ayurveda center. Learning from all this we devised modules for practice at Svasya,'' she said. The institute was supported infrastructurally by the Karnataka state government. Its ongoing projects are supported by the center's Ayush Department and a large chunk from corporate donations. The ONGC is one of their primary sponsors.
She too echoes the rightwing view that yoga is a "part of Sanskrit philosophy but it has been accepted worldwide as a health and fitness practice."
But the practice itself is not without its own joi de verve. "More than the technique it is the attitude that makes the difference. A positive attitude is the first step to healing. Ayurveda health starts with a sense of wellness of mind,'' said Nitya a yoga instructor who lead the trataka or eye exercises for inducing sleep. A book discovered in the Mysore palace that contributed to the cultural and physical revival of yoga shows that it incorporated many Indian rope tricks and push-ups devised in Indian gymnasiums or akharas.
Internationally Yoga is being championed to enter the Olympics as a competitive sport and yet others feel due to its meditative nature it should be steered away from the harsh lights and remain a solo non-competitive endeavor.
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Celebrating the 110th birthday of Rotary, Charlotte Rotary, along with Rotary District 7680, will plant 200 trees at the Winding Springs Elementary School. Rotarians and family members, friends, and interested parties will work from 9:00AM to 12:00Noon.
Click Here to register.
The events will be held on Saturdays from 9 am to around 12 noon, rain or shine. Registration begins at 8:30 am. Each volunteer will receive an orientation from an arborist on how to plant trees. Tree experts will be available throughout the morning to guide you. Trees, mulch, t-shirts, tools, water, and snacks are provided by TreesCharlotte.
Volunteers are asked to bring gloves and to wear long sleeve shirts, long pants, and closed toed shoes. Volunteers will get dirty planting trees, particularly if its wet.
Tree planting events are held rain or shine. A modest rainfall actually provides ideal planting conditions.
Upon check in at the volunteer table, you will be asked to sign a liability waiver.
Contact Dave Cable – firstname.lastname@example.com or visit www.treescharlotte.org
Or Philip Volponi at firstname.lastname@example.com or Sean Gautam at email@example.com
On March 23, 2013, Charlotte Rotary planted 21 trees at Southside Park.


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Does my small business need multiple bank accounts?
Do you really need that other bank account?
I have read multiple articles by a variety of sources: HR Journals, Bankers, News Outlets, etc. explaining the need to be able to track specifically how you are spending the PPP Loan money. Yes, you will likely need receipts, payroll journals, canceled checks—all the good stuff. Then I read (and heard directly from a high-level local banker): "You should also open a new account just track it." Did you hear that noise? That is alarm bells in my head going off.
For years, bankers have been promoting the need to open new accounts for specific needs (highlighted most recently by the Wells Fargo scandal). Savings account paying 0.01% Interest? Check. Payroll account to track those 4 payroll transactions every month. Check. For most small business owners, all this does is add to my invoice every month.
There is some merit to having a separate savings account and it is not about interest but rather preservation of capital. If you write someone a check and then get your account hacked, your checking account could be drained. But if you only keep the bare minimum in your checking account and keep most of it in savings, then you severely reduce your risk of having your account drained completely before the banks can figure it out. But this situation is ideal for businesses with low volume but high balances, not high volume but low balances. Those payroll accounts, however, nothing good can come from that.
I remember a conversation I had when I was just starting out as a new business owner. I have no problem mentioning that I bank at United Bank here in the Tysons area and when I started out, I was in Arlington. Why United Bank? I have no idea—seriously. I know I had a PNC account until they charged me a monthly fee—and then I did not have one anymore. United Bank had a branch nearby and so that is what I chose—sometimes just being present is all you need to land a new account. Over time, I ended up developing a relationship with that bank manager and stayed there ever since.
This theory of mine that payroll accounts are pointless is not a new revelation. I had been wondering "why bother" ever since I saw my first client have the separate account and I was forced to reconcile this account which seemingly was unnecessary. Then one day many years ago, I was depositing checks at the bank and that bank manager asked me: "Are you interested in opening a payroll account today?" I smiled and asked her right back: "If you can tell me the benefit of doing so, I'd gladly consider it." She struggled with a response and mentioned simply that it would allow me to keep my transactions separate. As an accountant this has no benefit, especially for payroll: If you are with ADP or Paychex, you need to adjust payroll figures anyway to be accurate. If you are importing your data, then it flows through to your Profit and Loss anyway so why separate it?
Now is a good time for me to be upfront: I have never worked at a bank. I have no idea what banks need to be successful other than people with money depositing it into accounts in their bank. There is probably a research paper somewhere that was distributed 50 years ago to bankers saying, "the more accounts you have your clients open the more money you'll make." This is all probably likely, true, and correct. But what is also true is that if you ask banker "should I have an account for (insert reason here)" that banker will say yes.
This is not like planting seeds in a garden where if you plant two seeds in the same location, you will only get 1 plant but if you plant two seeds in two different locations you can get two plants. That is not how money works. So regardless of how many accounts you have the sum of the amount of money you have will be the same. Always.
There is one exception where your money actually could decrease: Banks can charge fees (sometimes hidden by reducing interest paid) based on the number of accounts you have. I have seen those fee disclosures and they are not easy to read, and I have way too much stuff to do to figure out why I only received $9 in interest last month rather the usual $12. Multiply that by 10,000 every month and this is how banks make their money.
That brings me to another topic about how money "works:" Cash is fungible (I googled that and came up with "mutually interchangeable"). Essentially if you give me a $10 bill to spend only on Chipotle, but I pocket that $10 and then use my debit card to pay for Chipotle instead—that essentially sums up how that concept works.
So, let us circle back to the PPP Loan topic again, do you need that new account? First there has been ZERO REQUIREMENT to do so by the SBA. They will want documentation for forgiveness but do not mention anything about a separate account.
These articles I have read state that you should get new checks created to use specifically for this purpose. I do not know about you but the last few times I've ordered checks it has taken weeks for them to arrive. Plus, that is one more cost not forgivable by that PPP Loan so if we do not have to pay it, why would we? You are not going to get that PPP money and then wait 3 weeks to spend it because you do not have the checks. You will take advantage of the "cash is fungible" principle and spend it out of any account, because you cannot wait on someone else to send you those checks.
And what about payroll? Before running your next payroll, you would have to go through the process of changing the bank account from which the money comes from. Let us go into that process because most small business owners have not had to do that in a very long time. And for this we will talk about payroll as two separate transactions: 1) The act of paying staff and 2) The act of paying taxes.
For large payroll companies like ADP or Paychex, they act as a clearing account and take all the money from you for both transactions before paying your staff. They take 2 drafts one for wages and one for taxes so changing the account is usually not more than changing your bank info. There could be a delay for a couple business days as they might need to authenticate that account again by making two sample deposits. I can handle a couple days, so this is not a huge problem if you plan ahead.
But smaller payroll companies like Intuit or myself (even though I'm trying to get out of it) rely heavily on the EFTPS.gov infrastructure to make payments. Bank accounts are tied specifically to PIN numbers and changing your bank account with EFTPS.gov takes at least 7 days to receive a PIN by mail. Have you ever not received one? I have, and then you must wait again! I do not recommend changing EFTPS bank accounts unless necessary. Also, the IRS isn't exactly open right now so will you get the PIN notice by mail?
Moving on, there are also other transactions that assuredly qualify for PPP Loan forgiveness but just will not come out of that account. Utilities for example are routinely set on autopay with a credit card. By changing accounts, you would no longer get those credit card points!! Ok, not a big deal but still a hassle.
There are many instances where business owners pay rent to themselves and have those buildings in LLCs (aka Real Estate Holding Companies). Now that rent payment is not forgivable for PPP but if that LLC pays a mortgage then the interest paid on that loan should count (at least as of today's writing). You are not going to be able to change that source account where the mortgage payment is made on that separate LLC to your new bank account.
So all of these examples I'm bringing up are there to illustrate one point: There is a very strong chance that even with a separate account, and doing the best you can, very likely you will have transactions that don't come out of that account. Knowing that, why go through the hassle of the remaining transactions?
If for you to receive that PPP Loan a bank REQUIRES you to make an account or banking relationship (for example: new accounts), then 100% you need that account because you need that money. But if you already have an account and you are going to need source documents anyway, I will re-ask that question: Do we really need that separate account?
According to the SBA regulations, it is not a requirement. If you ask a banker, they are going to tell you yes, always. If you ask me, as an accountant, my opinion is: Do not waste your time.
For more information on how your business can minimize the Paycheck Protection Program Loan, please contact Lipsey and Associates.


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The Anam is one of the six resorts in the world to be recognised as 'World Luxury' by World Hotels. Add its prime location on Vietnam's scenic Cam Ranh peninsula, Indochine era-inspired design, and private pools in (some) villas, and you have the perfect reason to plan a trip to Vietnam.
Indulge yourself with this picture for a moment: You are in Vietnam for a holiday that is full of walks on the beach, relaxing spa treatments, and gourmet dinners. A world away, the beachfront property shaded by 300 palm trees, The Anam, Vietnam is your cocoon. Here, you romance with the bygone Indochine era, admire the imperial-style design, and say chào bạn to nature.
The Cam Ranh peninsula enjoys more than 300 sunny days in a year. It is relatively unexplored, and away from the bustling city of Nha Trang. The Anam, Vietnam is one of the few luxury resorts here, and one of the only six resorts in the world to be recognised as 'World Luxury' by Worldhotels.
Heavily inspired by Vietnam's Indochine era, the resort's décor and design—in the villas, restaurants or even the pathways—reflects this bygone age and lends to the romantic and nostalgic appeal of the place, by capitalizing on Vietnamese craftsmanship. It features 117 villas and 96 rooms and suites, taking care of all segments from families to honeymooning couples to a group of friends. To nudge you to explore the coastline, there will be a beach bag, slippers, conical hats, and umbrellas in your room along with bathrobes and kimonos. Snooze time is blissful with the Sweet Dream A La Carte concept, that includes king-sized Sealy mattresses, plush 300 thread-count cotton Irish bed linen, and a pillow menu.
Its culinary prowess is evident in its restaurants and bars that offer experiences such as the good ol' barbecue and fine-dining. A variety of Vietnamese, Asian, and European fare is on offer at The Indochine and Beach Club. The Indochine Grill focuses on French cuisine accompanied by live renditions of traditional jazz and pop music. For more poisonous pursuits, the Saigon Bar and Sports Bar is your best bet.
For some serious laydown time, the Sri Mara Spa, named after the area's first Cham Leader, offers everything from traditional Balinese treatments to tea-inspired THÉMAÉ products. In addition, there is a movie theatre at the resort and guests can participate in various activities like beach volleyball, sepak takraw (kick volleyball) sailing, surfing, diving, and yoga. Kids, too, have options of indoor and outdoor games.
If you are travelling with your partner, ask for a Sea View Villa that has its own pool. For a large group of family and friends, the resort offers a spacious two-storey Ocean View Pool Villa with three bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a private pool overlooking the sea.
The Indochine, every Wednesday as part of the resort's 'Mamma's Cooking' initiative, opens its doors to five mothers of the staff; each don an apron and cook their specialties for guests.


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Since previous article about CSS text effects got really big attention I decided to research and find more interesting articles and websites just focused on CSS3, teaching you how to use it, showing pros and cons and much more. To be honest it's hard for me to keep up with technologies myself, but we really cannot not to use those new great selectors to make our designs even more beautiful, user-friendly and lightweighted. However since HTML5 is sort of tied with CSS3, I will soon continue with HTML5 article as well, so don't miss it and keep coming back! Enjoy!
1. Take Your Design To The Next Level With CSS3
In this article you'll learn why CSS3 should be used and how web designers use it already in good way. Great article for getting you started with CSS3.
2. Push Your Web Design Into The Future With CSS3
Here are five CSS3 techniques snatched from the future that you can put into practice in your website designs today.
3. Super Awesome Buttons with CSS3 and RGBA
Learn how to create super cool, scalable buttons with CSS3.
4. A Look at Some of the New Selectors Introduced in CSS3
5. CSS 3 Cheat Sheet (PDF)
This is printable CSS 3 Cheat Sheet (PDF), a complete listing of all the properties, selectors types and allowed values in the current CSS 3 specification from the W3C. Each property is provided in a section that attempts to match it with the section (module) that it is most actively associated within the W3C specification.(Download *pdf)
6. CSS3.Info
CSS3 is the new kid in the stylesheet family. It offers exciting new possibilities to create an impact with your designs, allows you to use more diverse style sheets for a variety of occasions and lots more. Also check excellent CSS3 Preview page there, which shows demos of new features.
7. Get Started with CSS 3
Beautiful CSS3 tutorial article explaining several new CSS3 features and giving solutions how to create them actually.
8. Introduction to CSS3 – Part 1: What Is It?
These six part series are providing an introduction to the new CSS3 standard which is set to take over from CSS2 from DesignShack.
9. Accessibility Features of CSS from W3
This document summarizes the features of the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), level 2 Recommendation ([CSS2]) known to directly affect the accessibility of Web documents. Some of the accessibility features described in this document were available in CSS1 ([CSS1]) as well. This document has been written so that other documents may refer in a consistent manner to the accessibility features of CSS.
10. Progressive Enhancement with CSS 3: A better experience for modern browsers
In this article you will look at how you can use graceful (or, progressive) enhancement techniques to make use of CSS3 features in browsers that support them, while ensuring that your code will still provide a satisfactory user experience in older browsers that do not yet support those features.
11. Conversation with CSS 3 team
In this article, xhtml.com interviews Bert Bos, chair of the CSS Working Group at W3C, about the next release of the CSS specification and how past design decisions are influencing the future of CSS. This interview offers a rare opportunity to learn more about the inner workings and thought processes of the CSS Working Group at W3C.
12. Six Questions: Eric Meyer on CSS3
Great interview with Eric Meyer about CSS3.
13. The fundamental problems with CSS3
This article brings up several problems and issues with CSS3, interesting reading.
14. CSS3 Exciting Functions and Features: 30+ Useful Tutorials
In this post you will take a look at some interesting properties of CSS3 that you can put into practice in your website designs today.
15. Old School Clock with CSS3 and jQuery
The CSS3 border-radius property (Not Valid Anymore) One of the CSS3 properties designers have been longing the most for is undoubtedly the border-radius property. With CSS3 border-radius property it's possible to create the so popular rectangles with rounded corners exclusively via CSS – no images needed.
17. Get the best out of CSS3
Craig Grannell turns into a cross between Jeffrey Zeldman and Russell Grant, taking a peek at what the future of CSS has to offer – with a little help from Opera, Safari and Firefox
18. How To Create A Sexy Vertical Sliding Panel Using jQuery And CSS3
19. Rounded Corner Boxes the CSS3 Way
20. #57: Using CSS3 by Chris Coyier
This screencast covers many of CSS3 techniques now possible, focusing on the ones that can be used for progressive visual enhancement. Border radius, @font-face, animations/transitions, text-shadow, box-shadow, multiple backgrounds, RGBa, gradients, border image.
21. HTML 5 and CSS 3: The Techniques You'll Soon Be Using
In this tutorial, your are going to build a blog page using next-generation techniques from HTML 5 and CSS 3. The tutorial aims to demonstrate how we will be building websites when the specifications are finalized and the browser vendors have implemented them.
22. 11 Classic CSS Techniques Made Simple with CSS3
In this tutorial from Nettuts you will learn eleven different time-consuming effects that can be achieved quite easily with CSS3.
23. CSS 3 selectors explained – Overview of CSS 3 selector syntax
24. 3 Easy and Fast CSS Techniques for Faux Image Cropping
25. CSS3 Borders Preview
CSS3 takes borders to a new level with the ability to use gradients, rounded corners, shadows and border images. Mozila, Firefox and Safari 3 have implemented this function, which allows you to create round corners on box-items.
26. CSS3 property tests
27. CSS3 Background Images (Sizing & Multiple Imgs)
Background images / textures are being used and implemented in many ways, often adding the nicest of finishing touches to a website. It is now proposed that in CSS 3, we can apply background image dimensions as well as use multiple background images. Along with the +/- quick list of compatible browsers, here is how
28. Overview of CSS3 Structural pseudo-classes
29. 5 CSS3 Techniques For Major Browsers using the Power of jQuery
30. jSlickmenu: A jQuery plugin for slick CSS3 menus
31. Multiple Backgrounds (CSS3)
32. CSS: border-radius and -moz-border-radius
33. Modernizr


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- This event has passed.
All The Buzz!
July 25, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Join us at the seaside home of Barbara and Walter Reitz in South Thomaston (featured on last summer's Gardens in the Watershed Tour) for our annual benefit ALL THE BUZZ! This year's event will feature live music, signature cocktails, and silent and live auctions of fine art, jewelry, trips and accommodations, and authentic experiences, including guided hikes and island camping. Tickets to the benefit are $100 per person, $75 for Land Trust members, and are available online (below) or by phone at (207) 594-5166.
The event is sponsored by The First National Bank and First National Wealth Management, and will be catered by Green Bean Catering.
Thirteen distinguished mid-coast Maine artists will be included in the benefit, with pieces representative of some of their most notable works. They are Andrew Wyeth, Nicholas Snow, Anna B. McCoy, Eric Hopkins, Peter Ralston, Jim Dugan, Loretta Krupinski, Jim Nyce, Stephen Porter, Chuck Paine, Douglas Smith, Greg Mort, and Ann Wyeth McCoy.
Offerings in the authentic experiences category include a guided hike and lunch with renowned Maine guide and Triple Crown Hiker Tom Jamrog (Appalachian Trail – Pacific Crest Trail – Continental Divide Trail); hosted camping on Crawford Pond's secluded 100 Acre Island; and a 3-night stay for a crowd (up to 11) at a Saddleback condo where the whole family can enjoy hiking, fishing, and ideal autumn color.
Golf packages, a Monhegan trip including overnight at the Island Inn, unique jewelry by Michael Good, Cape Air tickets, and gift certificates to everybody's favorite shops and restaurants round out the offerings. Thomaston Place Galleries auctioneer John Bottero will host the live auction portion of the evening.
Music will be provided by violinist Abigail Nash in the garden as guests enjoy a refreshing aperitif and preview the live auction items. On the south lawn looking out at the water, guests will be entertained by 3-piece combo The Extension Chords, as they gather under the big tent to enjoy Green Bean Catering's always popular appetizers and small plate selections. Both musical offerings hail from Midcoast Music Academy in Rockland.
All The Buzz will take place rain or shine – under the big tent – so please dress for Maine weather. Come prepared to be wined and dined and entertained. And don't forget to bring your checkbook in case you're one of the lucky ones who succeed in snagging a real steal in the fundraising auction part of the evening. All proceeds benefit the Land Trust's conservation, education, youth programming, and climate change initiatives.
Not a member yet? Click here to join. Thank you!


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The first requirement is a practical experience or work experience in the industry. You will benefit if you have experience in this field.
The second is to decide what type of equipment you will use. Will you hire a driver or owner operator with their equipment? Will you rent, lease, or invest in a tractor and/or trailer? You can find more details about transportation companies in the Midwest via https://www.jetttrucking.com/.
Image Source: Google
This is very important at the initial stage as it can be very expensive depending on the choice. Will you be going at full speed or will you start gradually and increase over time?
Third, get all of your power, licenses, and insurance to help you start your business. It depends on where you want your company to go, which one states you want to travel and get through. Do you want to cross the border into Canada or Mexico or all of them?
Creating a plan will help you with the cost and non-payment of various positions and unnecessary licenses. Knowing the obstacles to avoid and taking cost-saving steps can save you not only time but thousands of dollars.
Next and most important are billboards, contracts, and contacts. If you have an operator or have professional knowledge of the transportation business, you are way ahead. When you know that other attendees such as freight forwarders and dispatchers are getting you started, it's always good to get to know the people in the industry.
You will also want a high-quality charging board. There are many, easy to use and most offers a free trial period and some are free. This always helps when starting a business.


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Book Notes
Hyannis Public Library will offer two free workshops for adults this month. "iPad for Beginners" will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, and "Downloading Digital Materials to Your iPad" is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 10. Both workshops will take place at the library at 401 Main St. Advance registration: 508-775-2280.
Poet and teacher Rosalind Pace will again offer workshops on "The Art and Craft of Poetry" on six Thursdays beginning Feb. 13 at Wellfleet Public Library, 55 W. Main St. Times are 6 to 8 p.m. and dates are Feb. 13, 20 and 27 and March 6, 13, and 20. For more information, call 508-439-0310.
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are working on a children's book. Scholastic has announced that it has acquired the couple's "Roc and Roe's Twelve Days of Christmas," a picture story scheduled for release this fall. Illustrated by A.G. Ford, the book is a holiday tale featuring twins Moroccan and Monroe, to whom Carey gave birth in 2011.
James Frey is once again venturing into young-adult literature with a new series, "Endgame," acquired by HarperCollins. In an unusual twist, HarperCollins said "Endgame" would include three novels, nine digital novellas and multimedia elements such as YouTube videos, interactive games and puzzles, and social media. Google's Niantic Labs is one of the partners in the project. Frey has spent the last several years writing for younger readers and working on his own media and production company, Full Fathom Five. In 2009, HarperCollins bought the rights to "I Am Number Four," a young-adult novel by Frey. The first book, "Endgame: The Calling," will be released Oct. 7.
Wire and other reports


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News (August, 31): We are working on Scratchapixel 3.0 at the moment (current version of 2). The idea is to make the project open source by storing the content of the website on GitHub as Markdown files. In practice, that means you and the rest of the community will be able to edit the content of the pages if you want to contribute (typos and bug fixes, rewording sentences). You will also be able to contribute by translating pages to different languages if you want to. Then when we publish the site we will translate the Markdown files to HTML. That means new design as well.
That's what we are busy with right now and why there won't be a lot of updates in the weeks to come. More news about SaP 3.0 soon.
We are looking for native Engxish (yes we know there's a typo here) speakers that will be willing to readproof a few lessons. If you are interested please get in touch on Discord, in the #scratchapixel3-0 channel. Also looking for at least one experienced full dev stack dev that would be willing to give us a hand with the next design.
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You may have heard the term Quasi Monte Carlo or Quasi Monte Carlo Ray Tracing and wonder what it means (another one of these magic words people from the graphics community use all the time and each time your hear it you grind your teeth in frustration and think "damn if someone could just explain it to me in simple terms" - that's why we are here for). The math behind Quasi Monte Carlo can be quite complex, and it requires more than a chapter to study them seriously (entire Mathematics text books are devoted to the matter). However to give you a complete overview on Monte Carlo, we will try in this chapter to give you a quick introduction to this concept, and explain as usual, what it is, how and why it works.
We will revise this chapter, once all other lessons are completed. QMC (Quasi Monte Carlo) is a very interesting method and a lesson will be devoted to this topic in the advanced lesson at some point in time. Once we have completed the lesson on Light Transport Algorithms and Sampling, it will become easier to experiment with QMC and show with more concrete example why it is superior to basic MC.
Basic Monte Carlo works. We showed this in the previous chapters. It's a great technique, simple to implement and it can be used to solve many problems, especially in computer graphics. We also studied importance sampling in the previous chapter. It potentially reduces variance by increasing the probability of generating samples where the function being integrated is the most important. However both basic Monte Carlo and important sampling suffer from a problem known as sample clumping. When the samples are generated, some of them might be very close to each other. They form clumps. Our credit sample being limited we need to use it wisely to gather as much information as possible on the integrand. If two (or more) samples are close to each other, they each provide us with the same information on the function (more or less), and thus while one of them is useful the others are definitely wasted. Importance sampling doesn't save us from clumping. The PDF only controls the density of samples within any part of the integrand, not their numbers. An example of clumping is showed in figure 1.
When Monte Carlo is used, we know that samples are randomly chosen. On the other hand (and in contrast to using a Monte Carlo integration), you can use a deterministic quadratic technique such as the Riemann sum, in which the function is sampled at perfectly regular intervals (as showed in figure 2). So, on one hand we have perfectly regularly spaced samples (with the Riemann sum) and on the other, you have samples whose positions are completely random (with Monte Carlo integration) which potentially lead to clumping. So, as you may have guessed, you might be tempted to ask: "can we come up with something in between? Can we use some sort of slider to go from completely regularly spaced to completely random, and find some sort of sweet spot somewhere in the middle?" And the quick answer is yes: that's more or less what Quasi Monte Carlo is all about. Remember that the only reason why we don't use deterministic techniques such as the Riemann sum is because they don't scale up well: they become expensive as the dimension of the integral increases. Which is also why MC integration is attractive in comparaison.
In fact, nothing imposes us in a Monte Carlo integration to use stochastic samples. We could very well replace \(\xi\) with a series of evenly distributed samples in the MC integration, and the resulting estimate would still be valid. In other words, we can replace random samples by non random samples and the approximation still works. Note that when the points are perfectly evenly distributed then, the Monte Carlo integration and the Riemann sum are similar. If \({s_1, s_2, ..., s_n}\) is a sequence of evenly distributed numbers on the interval [a,b], then:$$\lim_{N \to \infty} {(b-a) \over N} \sum_{i=1}^N f(s_i) = \int_a^b f(x) \: dx,$$
where f is a Riemann-integrable function. Though in QMC the sequences commonly used are said to be equidistributed, a term we will explain later. But as an intuitive definition, we can say that equidistributed points are points which are more or less evenly distributed, where the measure of the difference between the actual point distribution compared to a squence of points perfectly well distributed is called in QMC jargon, discrepancy. In the world of QMC we won't really speak of variance but more of discrepancy. Again, these will be explained briefly in this chapter and in more details in the lesson on QMC in the advanced section. But in short, QMC blurs the lines between random and deterministic sequences. And in effect, the idea behind using these sequences of points, is to get as closely as possible to the ideal situation in which points are well-distributed, and yet not uniformly distributed. Figure 3 below illustrates this idea. The random sequence at the top shows some clumping and gaps (regions with no samples) and thus is not ideal. The sequence in the middle is purely regular and thus will cause aliasing. The sequence at the bottom is somewhere in between: while it exhibits some property of regularity, the points are not completely uniformly distributed. The idea of dividing the sample space into regular intervals and randomly placing a sample within each one of these sub-intervals is called jittering or stratified sampling.
Quasi Monte Carlo methods were first proposed in the 1950s about a decade after Monte Carlo methods (which makes sense because once people started to get familiar with Monte Carlo methods, they started to look into ways of improving them). QMC is used in many areas, engineering, finance and of course computer graphics (to just name a few), and even though few people can claim to be specialists of the subject, it certainly gained popularity over the last few years. Whether using QMC is better than traditional MC in rendering is often debated. It does converge faster than MC bit it has its own disatvantages. For example it can sometimes produce aliasing
Remember that in terms of visual artifact, deterministic techniques such as the Rieman sum produce aliasing while Monte Carlo integration produces noise. Visually noise is often considered as the lesser of two evils, compared to aliasing.
These visual artifact can easily be generated. Figure 4 shows the result of sampling a sine function with increasing frequency. When the sampling rate gets lower than the Nyquist frequency, noise or aliasing show up. A lesson of the advanced of the advanced section is devoted to aliasing in wich the concept of Nyquist limit is explained and we will explain aliasing from a mathematical point of view when we get to the topic of sampling and Fourier analysis (which we kept for the end).
Stratified Sampling
Before we look into generating sequences of quasi random numbers, we will first talk about a method which is somewhere in between random and regular distributed samples. This method is called stratified sampling and was introduced to the graphics community by Robert L. Cook in a seminal paper entitled Stochastic Sampling in Computer Graphics (which he published in 1986 but the technique was developed at Pixar in 1983). This paper is quite fundamental to the field of computer graphics and will be studied in depth in the lesson on Sampling (in the basic section). In this paper Cook studied the quality of different sampling strategies notably by using Fourier analysis which is with Monte Carlo theory, another one of these really large topics which we better keep for the end. In his paper, Cook didn't call the method stratified sampling but jittered sampling, but nowadays it only seems to be known under the former name.
The concept of stratified sampling is very simple. It combines somehow the idea of regular and random sampling. The interval of integration is divided into N subintervals or cells (also often called strata), samples are placed in the middle of these subintervals but are jittered by some negative or positive random offset which can't be greater than half the width of a cell. In other words if h is the width of the cell: \(-h/2 \leq \xi \leq h/2\). Technically though we generally place the sample on the left boundary of the cell and jitter its position by \(h * \xi\). In other words, we simply place a random sample within each strata. The result can be seen a sum of N Monte Carlo integrals over sub-domains.$$\langle F^N \rangle = { (b-a) \over N} \sum_{i=0}^{N-1} f(a + ( { {i+\xi} \over N } ) (b-a)).$$
Extending this idea to 2D is straightforward. The domain of integration (often a unit square, such as pixel for instance) is divided into N * M strata and a random sample is placed within each cell. Again, this can easily be extended to higher dimensions. In the case of stratified sampling, variance reduces linearly with the number of samples (\(\sigma \propto 1 / N\)). In almost all cases, stratified sampling is superior to random sampling and should be preferentially used.
Quasi Random Numbers and Low-Discrepancy Sequences
Quasi Monte Carlo integration relies on sequences of points with particular properties. As explained in the introduction, the goal is to generate sequences of samples which are not exactly uniformly distributed (uniformly distributed samples cause aliasing) and yet which appear to have some regularity in the way they are spaced. Mathematicians introduced the concept of discrepancy to measure the distribution of these points. Intuitively, discrepancy can be seen (interpreted) as a measure of how the samples deviate in a way from a regular distribution. Random sequences have a high discrepancy while a sequence of uniformly distributed samples would have a zero discrepancy. The sort of sequences we are after are the ones with the lowest possible discrepancy but not a zero discrepancy. There are sequences which minimize randomness (the deviation of the actual samples position from a uniform distribution should be a small as possible) but are not exactly uniform (i.e. we are obviously not interested in sequences with 0 discrepancy).
Example: the Van der Corput Sequence
Algorithms for generating low discrepancy sequences were found in the 1950's (it will hopefully be clear to you how computer technology has influenced their design). Interestingly, these algorithms are often quite simple to implement (they often only take few lines of code) but the mathematics behind them can be quite complex. These sequences can be generated in different ways but for this introduction we will only consider a particular type of sequence called Van der Corput sequence (many over algorithms are constructed using this approach). Having one example to play with, should at least show you what these sequences look like (and help us to study some of their basic properties). To generate a Van der Corput sequence, you need to be familiar with the concept of radical and radical inverse which we will now explain (we will also explain why it's called radical inverse further down).
Every integer number can decomposed or redefined if you prefer in a base of your choice. For example our numerical system uses a base ten. Also recall that any number (integer) to the power of zero is one (\(10^0=1\)). So in base 10 for instance, the number 271 could be defined as: \(\color{red}{2}\times\color{green}{10^2} + \color{red}{7} \times \color{green}{10^1} + \color{red}{1} \times \color{green}{10^0}\). Mathematically we could write this sum as:
$$n = \sum_{i=1}^N \color{red}{d_i} \color{green}{b^{i-1}}.$$
where \(b\) is the base in which you want to define your number (in our example \(b= 10\)) and the \(d\)'s which are called digits, are in our example the numbers 2, 7 and 1. The same method can be used with a base two which as you know, is used by computers to encode numbers. The first bit (the one to the right of a byte) represents 1 (\(2^0\)).
The second bit is 2 (\(2^1\)).
The third bit is 4 (\(2^2\)).
The fourth bit is 8 (\(2^3\)), and so on.
If you combine these bits together you can create more numbers. For example number 3 can be encoded by turning on the first and second bit. Adding up the numbers they represent gives 3 (\(2^0 + 2^1 = 1 + 2 = 3\)).
This byte encodes the number 11:
(\(1 \times 2^0 + 1 \times 2^1 + 0 \times 2^2 + 1 \times 2^3 = 1 + 2 + 0 + 8 = 11\))
Which we can write mathematically as:
$$n = \sum_{i=1}^{8} d_i 2^{i-1}.$$
where \(d_i\) in base 2 can either be 0 or 1. With this in hand, we can now decompose any integer into a series of digits in any given base (we call this, a digit expansion in base b). Now note that the number we can recreate with this sequence is a positive integer. In other words, you can see this number as being a series of 0 and 1 on the left inside of a "imaginary" decimal point.
The idea behind the Van der Corput sequence, is to mirror these bits around this imaginary decimal point. For example our number 11, becomes:
That can be done by making a slight change to the equation which we used for computing n:$$ \begin{equation} \tag{equation 1} \phi_b(n) = \sum_{i=1}^N { d_{i-1} \over b^i }. \end{equation} $$
which is equivalent to:$$\phi_b(n) = {d_0 \over {2^1}} + {d_1 \over {2^2}} ... + {d_{N-1}\over {2^N}}.$$
As you can see, instead of multiplying the digit \(d_i\) by \(b^{i-1}\), we divide it instead by \(b^{i} \) (we take its inverse). We call this function the radical inverse function \(\phi_b(n)\) in base b and it computes a one-dimensional Van der Corput sequence (why it's called "radical inverse" is explained further down in a note). The coefficients \(d_i \) are given as explained, by the digit expansion in base b of n:$$ \begin{equation} \tag{ equation 2} \begin{array}{l} n & =& \sum_{i=0}^{N-1} d_ib^i \\ & =& d_0 \times 2^0 + d_1 \times 2^1 + ... + d_{N-1} \times 2^{N-1} \end{array} \end{equation} $$
Keep in mind that:$${1 \over b^n} = 1 \times b^{-n}.$$
If n = 1 for example, \(\phi_2(1) = 1 \times 2-{1} = 1 \times 0.5 = 0.5\) (in base 2). If n = 3, \(\phi_2(3) = 1 \times 2^{-1} + 1 \times 2^{-2} = 0.75\). The following table shows the first few numbers of the the Van der Corput sequence (in base 2).
\(i\) decimal
\(i\) binary
\(\phi_2(i)\) binary
\(\phi_2(i)\) decimal
Implementing this algorithm is actually quite simple. The first task is to find a way of computing the digit expansion. The function we need is the modulus operator: num % 2 computes the remainder when num (an integer) is divided by 2. So for example 1 % 2 = 0, 2 % 2 = 0, 3 % 2 = 1, 4 % 2 = 0, and so on. So in essence num % 2 tells us whether the current value of n is a multiple of the base or not. In a binary integer, the only bit that is making the number odd or even is the right-most bit (the least significant bit which has the bit position 0). So if number is even (n % 2 = 0), this last bit should be 0.
The next step is to start adding up the result of the digit divided by the base raised to the power of the digit position plus one (as in equation 1).
The next step is to compute the next digit in the expansion. To do so, we will simply divide n by the base. For example if n = 11, then n / 2 = 5. Keep in mind we work with integers. Why are we doing this? Let's take an example. When the last three bits of a binary integer are set to 1 (and all the others to 0), we get the integer 7. Our test 7 % 2 gives 1, which set our first bit to 1. Now that we know the value for the right-most bit, we can as well remove it from the number by shifting it to the right. This gives us a new digit number and since we know that each bit in a digit number is twice the number represented by the bit on its left, shifting the least significant bit to the right (which is another way to say that we remove it) corresponds to dividing the number by 2. For example if we remove the right-most bit in 111 (the integer 7) we get 11 which is the integer 3 which is also, as you can see, 7 divided by 2. This idea is illustrated in figure 6.
As you can see with figure 6, by successively dividing n by 2, we will be able to test if the next digit in the expansion should be set to 1 or 0 by just looking at the result of n % 2. Let's take another example with n = 11:
n =
n % 2 =
n / 2 =
n binary
\(d_0 = 1\)
\(d_1 = 1\)
\(d_2 = 0\)
\(d_3 = 1\)
Finally here is the complete implementation of the algorithm:
The Van der Corput sequence has been extended to multi-dimensions by Halton (1960), Sobol (1967), Faure (1982) and Niederreiter (1987). For more information, check the lesson on Sampling in the advanced section. The Halton sequence uses different Van der Corput sequences in different bases, where the base is a prime number (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, etc.). For example if you want to generate 2D points, you can assign a Van der Corput sequence in base 2 to the x coordinates of the points, and another sequence in base 3 to the point's y coordinate.$$ P[n].x = vanDerCorput(n, 2)\\ P[n].y = vanDerCorput(n, 3)\\ ... $$
The Hammersley sequence uses a Van der Corput sequence in base 2 for one of the coordinates and just assign \(n / N\) to the other (assuming your point is a 2D point).$$ P[n].x = vanDerCorput(n, 2), \\ P[n].y = \dfrac{n}{N}. $$
The following code creates an Halton sequence for generating 2D points:
The figure above shows a plot of points from a 2D Hammersely sequence for different number of samples (N = 16, 24 and 32). Note that the point (0,0) in red, is always in the sequence and that points are nicely distributed for all values of N. The code used to generated the Van der Corput sequence can be optimized using bit operations (for instance dividing a integer by 2 can be done with a bit shift operation). Because the sequence is called with incrementing values of n, results of previous calculation could also be re-used (which could also speed up the generation of the samples). The next revision of this lesson will include an optimized version of this function.
Quasi Monte Carlo
The idea behind quasi Monte Carlo is obviously to use quasi random sequences in the generation of samples rather than random samples. These sequences are very often used to generate pixel samples. In this lesson and the lesson Introduction to Shading and Radiometry, we showed how Monte Carlo integration could be used to approximate radiance passing through a given pixel (figure 7). Random sampling is of course the easiest (at least the most basic) way of generating these samples. We can also use stratified sampling (which is better than random sampling) or of course quasi random sequences (like the Halton or the Hammersley sequence which we talked about in this chapter). When low-discrepancy sequences are used, we speak of Quasi Monte Carlo ray tracing (as opposed to Monte Carlo ray tracing which is using random or stratified sampling). Note that computing the radiance of a pixel is only one example of Monte Carlo integration in which low-discrepancy sequences can be used. Halton, Hammersley or any other such sequences are also commonly used in shading (this will be explained in the next lessons).
Pros and Cons of Stratified Sampling & Quasi Monte Carlo
QMC has a faster rate of convergence than random sampling and this is certainly its main advantages from a rendering point of view (we will explain mathematically why in a future revision of this lesson). Images produced with low-discrepancy sequences, have generally less noise and have a better visual quality than images produced with random sampling (for the sample number of samples). With stratified sampling it is not always possible to efficiently generate samples for arbitrary values of N (try to generate 7 2D samples for instance using stratified sampling) while with low-discrepancy sequences, this is not a problem. Furthermore, note that if you want to change the value of N, you can do so without losing the previously calculated samples. N can be increased while all samples from the earlier computation can still be used. This is particularly useful in adaptive algorithms in which typically a low number of samples is used as a starting point and more samples are generated on the fly in areas of the frame where variance is high.
Cons: as mentioned earlier in this chapter, QMC can suffer from aliasing and more over, because low-discrepancy have a periodic structure, they can generate a discernible pattern (figure 8). This is particularly hard to avoid as sequences are potentially re-used from one pixel to another. Getting rid of the structure can require additional work (such as rotating the samples, etc.). This potentially makes a robust implementation of LDS in a renderer more complex than the stratified sampling approach which is really simple to implement. QMC has been been a quite active field of research since the 2000's. While low discrepancy sequences are now considered as a viable alternative to other sampling methods, there is still an active debate in the graphics community as whether they are superior to other methods and really worth the pain. A. Kensler for instance, has recently published a new technique for generating stratified samples which is competitive with low discrepancy quasi-Monte Carlo sequences (see reference below).
Generally, generating (good) random sequences is a complex art and studying their properties involved complex techniques (such as Fourier analysis). A chapter can only give a very superficial overview of these methods. You will find a more thorough treatment of the subject matter in this lesson on sampling which you can find in the advanced section.
A Final World
This conclude our introduction to Monte Carlo methods. These lessons hopefully gave you a good understanding of what Monte Carlo methods are, how and why they work. While we spoke about Monte Carlo ray tracing a few times in the last few lessons, you may still want to see how all the things we learned so far apply to rendering and ray tracing in particular. This is the topic of our next lesson.
Stochastic Sampling in Computer Graphics, Robert L. Cook, Siggraph 1986.
Efficient Multidimensional Sampling, T. Kollig and A. Keller, 2002.
Correlated Multi-Jittered Sampling, A. Kensler, 2013.


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Hey babes, & welcome to the voguish gal!
As my first blog post back, I have decided to give you a quick little life update on why I decided to re-launch my blog and start completely from scratch again. Along my blogging journey, I've learned so much about the do's, the don't s, the good and the bad, and most importantly what works best for me and the message I want to send out to my followers. I reached a point where I was no longer satisfied with the content I was putting out, and I felt like I had to start all over and show you guys how much I've grown by bringing you all new content. A big decision I had to make was deciding whether to keep my logo or to make a whole new one. I felt I needed a new name to my brand, one that summarized me and who I am as a whole, not something specific to only fashion, or travel, but a name that I could carry for the rest of my career. I have found a passion for traveling and I have to share it with you guys. I feel I can bring more content with my travel blogs while still incorporating fashion into it. I want to keep things simple and fresh for my readers by only creating the very best content I can. I've put in a lot of hard work these past few weeks to bring you guys "The Voguish Gal" & I only hope to make you guys proud.
xo, the voguish gal.


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set apart as a symbol
Deuteronomy 15:19-23 (JDV)
Deuteronomy 15:19 "Commit to Yahveh your God every firstborn male produced by your herd and flock. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work or shear the firstborn of your flock.
Deuteronomy 15:20 Each year you and your family are to eat it before Yahveh your God in the place Yahveh chooses.
Deuteronomy 15:21 But if there is a defect in the animal, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you may not sacrifice it to Yahveh your God.
Deuteronomy 15:22 Eat it within your city gates; both the contaminated person and the pure may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or deer.
Deuteronomy 15:23 But you must not eat its blood; pour it on the land like water.
set apart as a symbol
We are used to looking at passages like this from the standpoint of the past— as reminders of God's rescue of the firstborn Israelites in Egypt. Or, we think about how the passage reflects on God's plan to rescue us in Christ— his firstborn— sacrificed on the cross.
But today I want us to focus on what God might be communicating every time a family chooses to set aside its first and best to enjoy it in God's presence. That firstborn animal would become a symbol of God's provision, and would remind the family of all their possessions.
Every time they saw that young bullock not allowed to pull a plow, or that conspicuously unshorn sheep, it would remind them of the animal's special purpose. In fact, that was another reason the animal had to be without defect. A flawed animal could never represent God.
All year they could imagine what it was going to be like to be in God's special place, and celebrate life with him.
More than just a symbol of God's provision, or a reminder of his rescue by grace— the firstborn of the flock or herd would be a reminder of God's existence. As they took care of the animal, they would remember how he was with them and took care of them. When they made sure their animals were safe, they would be reminded that he was keeping them safe.
Lord, in this age, you have given us one ultimate sacrifice and symbol of your goodness and grace. May our thoughts of Jesus always bring us closer to you.


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I recently needed to browse the Web from a friend's computer, and really didn't want to leave traces of where I'd been and what I'd done on his system. I know that normally, Web browsers keep cookies and history and do all sorts of tracking when I browse. Is there some way to temporarily disable this?
We know that some readers will be making assumptions about exactly what it is you were doing with your friend's computer, but the fact is that there are many reasons that you might want to be able to browse without being tracked. Perhaps you need to purchase an item and not have that item appear in the browser's cookies, or you want to log into a site and not have the browser save the password.
First of all, be assured that, by default, all modern browsers track and transmit information about every site you visit, and everything you type in the browser. Normally, this is benign behavior, but there are certainly times when you'd like to be able to browse without having the browser maintain information about the session.
Luckily, all modern browsers provide a means of browsing "incognito", so that all information tracked during the session is discarded at the end of the session. The technique for launching one of these sessions is different in each browser. For example, in Internet Explorer, You can start InPrivate Browsing from the Safety menu, by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P, or from the New Tab page. Learn more about Internet Explorer's InPrivate browsing here: http://goo.gl/ZNG86z. In FireFox, there are several ways to open a new private browsing window; check out the information here: http://goo.gl/N8Kgso. Chrome calls this mode "incognito browsing". For information on starting a new incognito session in Chrome, check out the information here: http://goo.gl/EkKhHy.
Doug also points out that there are reasons to use private browsing other than hiding information: We both often need to try Web features using different user accounts. Most browsers cache information about your current logged-in credentials, making it difficult to see what happens when you're not logged in with your own account. To make this simple, you can start a private browsing session, and the browser won't carry over your cached credentials. You'll have to log in again, and therefore emulate what others will see when visiting the page.
Beware (this information is lifted directly from the FireFox page): Private Browsing doesn't make you anonymous on the Internet. Your Internet service provider, employer, or the sites themselves can still track what pages you visit. Private Browsing also doesn't protect you from keyloggers or spyware that may be installed on your computer.