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Thursday, December 16, 2010
Shed Skin 0.7, Type Inference Scalability
There are also two nice new examples, one of which is over 1,000 lines (sloccount), for a total of 52 examples. Both are ray tracers, and it's always nice to look at the output of ray tracers. The larger one has a GUI and uses the multiprocessing module in combination with a Shed Skin generated extension module to do its heavy lifting. The other one uses a very slow but more realistic ray tracing technique, for a very nice result. Thanks to Eric Uhrhane and Jonas Wagner for sharing their programs!
I'd like to take the opportunity to talk a bit about type inference scalability. This graph shows the time Shed Skin needs for each of the current examples (seconds versus sloccount; the point on the right is the C64 emulator). I have to mention that two examples are left out here, because of a non-termination issue - that is, Shed Skin aborts after a certain amount of iterations. The reason I haven't looked into fixing this issue yet is that they do compile and run fine after Shed Skin aborts, because the type analysis is already precise enough at this point (though it takes some time). Precisely because of that, I don't think this issue would be hard to fix.
So while the current type analysis is obviously not perfect, I think this graph shows that type inference may not be all that hard as some people would have thought, at least for statically restricted code (the restriction does make it easier!). And I'm sure a team of programmers or someone smarter than me could do a much better job.
For those with some knowledge of the type inference literature, I'd like to explain at this point how Shed Skin achieves this scalability. Who knows this might be useful to people starting out in this area. It is actually quite simple conceptually (but don't think you can implement this correctly in a few weeks or even months for a large language such as Python!).
Shed Skin combines Ole Agesen's Cartesian Product Algorithm (CPA) with the data-polymorphic part of John Plevyak's Iterative Flow Analysis (IFA), both published in 1996 if I'm correct, and as suggested by Agesen. Because the CPA algorithm has a the tendency to explode for larger programs (usually in combination with the first, very imprecise iteration of IFA), Shed Skin 0.6 adds an incremental approach to the mix. It simply repeats its analysis for increasingly larger versions of a program, starting at nothing, essentially, and slowly adding to the callgraph until the whole program is analyzed. This seems to greatly avoid the CPA from exploding.
37 comments:
- victorg said...
Ok, this is going to sound stupid, but have you tried speeding SS up by compiling some of its code? Or, say, Cythonizing it, using Psyco or PyPy?
I guess I'm more interested in knowing whether you have toyed with other "faster Python" projects than about whether type inference is a bottleneck or not :)
- srepmub said...
no, this is a good question. I'm afraid Shedskin is not such a good target for itself, because of using some unsupported modules and some dynamic constructs (mostly the visitor pattern). it would also be quite a bit of work to separate out the type inference part. I don't really mind, because Shedskin really isn't meant to compile arbitrary code, and I'm satisfied with the current speed.. :-)
it'd be nice if PyPy or similar could speed Shedskin up, but I haven't tried. I absolutely hate type declarations (this is actually part of why I started Shedskin ;)), so I certainly won't try Cython.
- Enzo said...
Thank you again for keeping Windows release!
So, the last time we had a talk you told me to use the -e option, I tried it, and it still gives me the same error....
It says:
"cannot locate module:"
What I need to do?
- Nimrod said...
Even Haskellers add *some* type declarations. Especially to functions inputs / outputs.
Adding some support for type hints would probably speed up the type inference algorithm.
It would also give some of the advantages (safety?) of static typing.
On another subject... Does Shedskin support Numpy? How does it compare to Cython when compiling tight loops?
- srepmub said...
@enzo: what kind of module are you trying to import?
@nimrod: there's no doubt type declarations are practical, and it's good we have cython for that.. :-) but shedskin really is an experiment in how far we can go with type inference alone for suitably restricted code. so you'll have to excuse me for not having much interest in type declarations..
numpy is and may never be supported either. it may be useful to combine a shedskin-generated extension module with a numpy-using 'main' program, but it depends on the situation if that performs well. please see the tutorial for an overview of the limitations of using shedskin.
if you'd like to compare the peformance for a simple program with cython:
shedskin blah.py && make && time ./blah
- Unknown said...
Very happy to hear you're still improving SS, and also happy that you're supporting Windows again!
Similar to Enzo, I also have a problem: when I try to import the simple_module example from the tutorial (after running "shedskin -e simple_module" and "make"), i.e.
from simple_module import func1, func2
I get the following error (using Windows 7 and Python 2.6.5):
ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified procedure could not be found.
The problem persists even when I copy all the relevant simple_module files, including the .dll files, into a directory in my Python path. If I remove all files except simple_module.py from this directory, then of course I am able to import the standard CPython version of the module.
Any ideas on why this might be happening?
- srepmub said...
@james: nice to hear you are still following the project! :) and thanks for reporting the problem. I'm unable to reproduce it under XP, so it may have something to do with using windows 7. unfortunately I don't have access to windows 7 at the moment, but I will ask a colleague to test it on his windows 7 PC.
- victorg said...
Last one...
As expected, PyPy is getting faster at higher LoCs. However, the memory usage was less than 30% over that of CPython 2.5 in this case.
Not sure the number of iterations is the same in both cases... the PyPy run jumped from 65% to 100% (didn't watch CPython that closely).
# Python pylot
time python ../scripts/shedskin -boe SimpleGeometry
*** SHED SKIN Python-to-C++ Compiler 0.7 ***
real 7m23.747s
user 7m18.431s
sys 0m2.120s
# PyPy pylot
time pypy ../scripts/shedskin -boe SimpleGeometry
*** SHED SKIN Python-to-C++ Compiler 0.7 ***
real 3m59.646s
user 3m54.371s
sys 0m1.600s
- srepmub said...
interesting, thanks for the comparison! I don't think there's much variation in the compile time for this example, so it looks like pypy is able to speed up shedskin by quite a bit..
- victorg said...
The reason I wrote 'last one' is because I submitted a longer post before that is missing :/
About twice the memory usage of CPython here, less for pylot. Needs a tiny patch to cpp.py (some build info is missing in PyPy).
# Python Go
time python scripts/shedskin go.py
*** SHED SKIN Python-to-C++ Compiler 0.7 ***
real 1m39.719s
user 1m38.650s
sys 0m0.432s
# PyPy Go
time pypy scripts/shedskin go.py
*** SHED SKIN Python-to-C++ Compiler 0.7 ***
real 1m8.771s
user 1m5.556s
sys 0m0.496s
# Python TonyJpegDecoder
time python scripts/shedskin TonyJpegDecoder.py
*** SHED SKIN Python-to-C++ Compiler 0.7 ***
real 2m25.783s
user 2m23.137s
sys 0m0.776s
# PyPy TonyJpegDecoder
pypy scripts/shedskin TonyJpegDecoder.py
real 1m29.834s
user 1m28.690s
sys 0m0.628s
- chemist69 said...
Hi, Shed Skin is a great project!
Since I am using a Debian based linux distro, are you going to make a .deb package available again, like for 0.6 ?
- srepmub said...
thanks for asking. the person who usually makes these seems a bit busy at the moment. I will ask him next week if he is still planning on packaging 0.7.
- Enzo said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Enzo said...
Sorry for replying too late, I was out for holidays.
Here, I did a batch in CMD to process all the files in my project folder...
I checked twice to see if the commands I was passing to ShedS was right, and it seems all OK, I also used the option you recommended me "-e", I tried the same CMD in code examples from ShedS, and it was all OK. But, for my project files, none of them got translated, there is something like 386Kb of codes in 102 files[not considering the modules]. If I consider also the size of modules, I think the whole size would pass 2 or 3 Mb, so, this means that there are more codes in external files than in my own codes.
I dont remember all the modules I used. But some of them are not standard python modules, and I cant tell what modules they are because project issues. The project itself is for commercial and industrial purposes, so, it is natural that I cant reveal too much details, but I will make a list of the standard python modules was used in it, and I will hope that this is enough to solve the problem in ShedS, or at least, help make it better.
- Enzo said...
Hi, it is the list of modules you asked me... I know that you will tell me that ShedS will not be capable to help me, but, if you take support at least for OS, string, and regular expression modules, it will be enough for me.
The List:
from appscript import app, k, CommandError
import appscript.defaultterminology
from collections import defaultdict, namedtuple, deque
from distutils.extension import Extension
from operator import attrgetter
from optparse import OptionParser
from PyQt4.QtCore import Qt, QCoreApplication, QSize, QProcess, SIGNAL, QUrl, QRect, QModelIndex, QEvent, QPoint, QAbstractTableModel, QSettings, QVariant, QTimer, QObject, pyqtSignal
from PyQt4.QtGui import QStyledItemDelegate, QMouseEvent, QBrush, QStyle, QStyleOptionComboBox, QStyleOptionViewItemV4, QDialog, QDialogButtonBox, QVBoxLayout, QHBoxLayout, QLabel, QComboBox, QSlider, QSizePolicy, QSpacerItem, QWidget, QCheckBox, QLineEdit, QApplication, QFileDialog, QHeaderView, QTreeView, QAbstractItemView, QPushButton, QMainWindow, QMenu, QPixmap, QIcon, QToolButton, QMessageBox, QInputDialog, QDesktopServices, QAction, QMenuBar, QToolBar, QStatusBar, QFont, QColor, QItemSelectionModel, QItemSelection, QTableView, QImage, QImageReader
from setuptools import setup
from tempfile import mkdtemp
from unicodedata import normalize
from xml.etree import ElementTree
import aem.kae, compileall, difflib, gzip, hashlib, importlib, io, itertools, logging, multiprocessing, os.path, plistlib, py, re, shutil, sip, sqlite3, string, subprocess, sys, time, unittest, urllib.parse, yaml
- srepmub said...
those are a lot of modules.. :-) thanks for making this list. I'm afraid you are right that I can't help with many of these. code that uses PyQt directly, for example, will never compile. shedskin just isn't meant to compile arbitrary python code. but please note that os, string and re should be mostly supported at the moment (os has some limitations on windows). again, please see the tutorial for more details about what is and what is not supported.
- srepmub said...
btw, to perhaps better answer your question about using -e, please have a look at the shedskin example set (and the README file in there). several of the examples use 'unsupported' modules, but it doesn't matter, because we only compile the parts of these examples that have to be fast (using shedskin -e). this way, the (uncompiled) 'main' program is not restricted in its use of libraries or typing. for example, the C64 emulator example uses pygtk this way for its frontend, where some other examples use pygame.
- Enzo said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Enzo said...
Ok, I saw your tutorial, and I did the list again, filtering the modules related to GUI, [read the "full explanation" for a background]:
from collections import namedtuple
from distutils.extension import Extension
from operator import attrgetter
from optparse import OptionParser
from tempfile import mkdtemp
from unicodedata import normalize
from xml.etree import ElementTree
import aem.kae, compileall, difflib, gzip, hashlib, importlib, io, itertools, logging, multiprocessing, plistlib, py, shutil, sip, sqlite3, subprocess, unittest, urllib.parse, yaml
There still a lot of modules not supported... but, it does not explain why ShedS was giving me the error message for all files in my project, also as you told me that some examples in shedskin example set have used unsuported modules, and, noticed that not all the files in my project is using unsupported modules... So, something is very wrong, right?
[Full Explanation]
I know that your app doesn't aim to be perfect and complete, but even the most simple "real life" application [build in any language] tends to be complex.
I also know what you said, but you asked me what was all the modules... so I shared the list of *all* the modules, not the "private" ones.
The approach you pointed me, of only compile the parts of the codes that have to be fast, would be a good idea if I had *only* to speed up some parts and keep most of the whole application intact, and if I not had to migrate the entire solution to C++, by the way, thanks for the idea! But, I really need to migrate the entire solution from python to C++, and if I had enough money, I would hire some skilled programmers... but, it is not a option to me... so, I will depend on ShedS or any other similar solution, but I dont found anything better for what I need to do.
The actual version of my app was done to work only in Desktops, and it was done to be better for usability, not speed. But now, my project will be split into 2 forks, one aim to be executed in servers for a online service, and the other fork will be for desktop, with a good eye'candy GUI, but also speed in mind [The modules related to GUI and interface in the actual app will be droped when I convert all the codes to c++]. The core of the engine will be the same for both forks, but, only the core depends on much modules. And most of these modules that it depends is in the list I shared to you.
For the online service fork, I have a good reason to be betting in it. The reason is very simple, today is too hard to sell commercial softwares, and very few people have interest to spend money in a software, and download it, and install it in their own computer and in worst case uninstall it, but, for a online service, very cheap, fast and easy to use, it is another thing, the chance to have more profit in a online service is very high.
- Enzo said...
For ShedS, I have a good idea that can make it better and more flexible for complete migration. Both we know that some Python codes rely on C codes, right?
What if you use the relying C python codes to make it possible to do a "complete" Python to C/C++ code migration? I mean, it is near to impossible to simple migrate a solution from one language to other, because the stantard libs/modules each language depends on... but python rely in C codes... and it is a good thing, and, if you take advantage from this, it would be possible to do nearly to a complete migration. Also, I think that the current translation that ShedS do for py codes, is quite good, and I dont expected it to be better, I think the only one problem comes when you need to process many interrelated codes and modules at once.
For example, if I need to compile my python app, and it uses the standard python modules that are built upon C codes, you could do these steps:
1 - First scan the current python code to check what modules it use;
2 - Find the base C codes from Python modules;
3 - Copy it to the folder where will be located the converted codes;
4 - Resolve the calls in the converted C/C++ codes from Step 1, to reflect to functions from modules;
5 - Avoid the use of any Python wrapper to load C/C++ codes, or C++ wrapper to load Python codes;
In the case of the modules are not standart Python modules, and does not have a C/C++ replacement, you could make it try these steps:
1 - First scan the current python code to check what modules it use;
2 - Locate the python modules, check if it is not a Python Standard module, check if its code is available, check if it is not alread converted;
3 - If the code of the module is available, and not converted yet, convert it;
4 - If the module is converted, so convert the file of the step 1;
5 - Resolve the calls in the converted C/C++ codes to reflect to functions from converted modules;
I know that both demonstrations is very rough, but the end result would be a complete migration... and the C code from Python modules could be simple hand-replaced for better ones to fit the purpose. And a good C/C++ profiler would tell what modules is slow, and what need optimization.
What I can offer to you, if you have interest in make ShedS better, is a donation of a percentage of the First year profits when I launch my online services using codes converted by ShedS.
But, dont feel pressured, all this work is planed to be done in 1 or 2 years...
Best Regards.
- srepmub said...
thanks for all your comments. but please consider using the discussion group, if they get this long.. ;)
if you think you've found a bug (for example, a module that should be supported doesn't work), or you have other problems, please send in a reproducible test case. otherwise, I have no idea what could be wrong..
I'm afraid it's theoretically impossible to write a 'magic' compiler that takes python code and outputs a source-level translation to C++ code, for arbitrary programs. that's why shedskin has all these restrictions..
so if it's not about performance, it would probably be better to look at other solutions for distributing your code (such as bundling a python interpreter and all required libraries).
- Enzo said...
Ok, sorry for the long message...
What is your discussion group?!?! :-)
I will check here the codes, and I will tell you later...
Thanks for all.
- srepmub said...
http://shedskin.googlecode.com -> link on the right
- Enzo said...
Ok, I opened a new topic there.
- Coyote said...
I got the same problem as James above. Checking the Shed Skin-produced .pyd file with DependencyWalker showed the following missing dependencies (I am using Windows Vista):
- srepmub said...
thanks for reporting. IIRC, james solved the problem by adding ..\shedskin-0.7\bin to the system PATH. are you running from a command-line opened via ..\shedskin-0.7\init.bat? because this one should setup the PATH correctly.
- Coyote said...
Hey, thanks for your quick response and for the excellent work.
I am running the init.bat file as per the tutorial instructions in order to compile the .pyd file (no problems here). However, moving the .pyd extension to the same folder as my project will not allow me to import it, producing the error message: ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.
I tried importing sys and appending C:\shedskin-0.7\bin to sys.path, but that resulted in the same error message. Leaving the .pyd in the shedskin-0.7\shedskin directory and adding that and the \bin directory to path also did not solve the problem.
Thanks for your help.
- srepmub said...
I verified under windows xp at work, that on the command-line opened by init.bat, it doesn't matter where you place the .pyd, and it works. and that if you wish to import the .pyd elsewhere you need to add the following to your path:
or you can copy the following files (at least?) to the same place as the .pyd (iirc):
does this work for you?
I should probably mention this in the tutorial for 0.8. thanks for triggering!
- Coyote said...
Your solutions worked perfectly! Thanks! However, I am now running into another problem. I am able to compile the module I need to use successfully. However, when I call the single function in the module within my project code, the engine completely crashes without producing any debug code. I know that the code itself works because I tried importing it as a CPython extension module.
Here is the code: http://fallout-mux.wdfiles.com/local--files/start/expand.py
The dictionaries I'm importing all meet the single-type requirement that Shed Skin depends on. Any idea why I might be getting the crash?
- srepmub said...
hrmm, dict conversion was apparently broken since the dict rewrite for 0.5.. too bad nobody mentioned this sooner, and silly me for not catching it with a test.. :S so I just fixed the problem and added a test in GIT (http://gitorious.org/shedskin). thanks for triggering!!
btw, please note that string formatting and inserting items at the beginning of a list probably won't become much faster in C++, if any.
- ovuncuzun said...
I want to convert a python code to c++. I tried Shed Skin 0.7, but it says "cannot locate module: base64 and zlib. What can i do for this?
- srepmub said...
I'm afraid these modules are not supported at the moment, so there's not much else to do about it other than to implement them yourself.. ;-)
- Unknown said...
after take the following steps with shedskin 0.7 :
( Under Windows, first execute (double-click) the init.bat file in the directory where you installed Shed Skin.
To compile the following simple test program, called test.py:
shedskin test
i have this error
'python' n'est pas reconnu en tant que commande interne ou externe
thanks for help !!!
- srepmub said...
thanks for asking. which version of python do you have installed? init.bat assumes it is installed in c:/python25/6/7, iirc.
its a great work!!
i am trying to convert a python code in cpp which uses PIL library.
but after compilation i am getting an error that-
"can not locate PIL library"
i know shed Skin is asking for PIL libray. But i dont know where to put this library.
kindly suggest how can i solve this error.
Thank you
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With all the action around here, it's amazing to me we're already at the midpoint of the 21-Day Challenge [1]! The flood of feedback, comments and contest participation has been awesome, and it's all a reminder of how great a community this is. It never ceases to amaze me actually just how positive a group we have. Seriously, in all the blogosphere, I've never stumbled upon anything like it, and I have people tell me as much all the time. Sure, the growth and engagement that all the web number crunchers measure are stellar, but I'm talking deeper than that. I mean the genuine support that is shared here.
From day one of this blog (hands for how many of you were with us way back in 2006!), it's been the case. People want to help people. There's great conversation and healthy challenge on the boards, but the spirit of exchange is impressively constructive. Readers themselves have told me how much that collective energy impacts them – how they've tapped into it to get them through rough patches or to help motivate them toward bigger visions of thriving [2] and transformation [3].
The fact is, it's all too easy to isolate and live with the misguided view that we have to do it all alone – that we should do it all independently. Sure, maybe some of us can conceivably get to our goal without the support, guidance, sharing, etc. But why would we? What are we trying to prove to ourselves? Some people find it noble, but I think it's just unnecessary. There's something small and surrendered about the self-contained approach. The fact is, when you open yourself and your process to others, your view of that process and your vision of what's possible become more expansive.
Likewise, when you're feeling discouraged because of a setback or crisis of confidence, others can hold that promise for you. They can be the mirror for you. You may not be able to envision great progress on certain days, but seeing it in others – and imagining it for others as you encourage fellow readers on their paths – makes your own possibility of success feel less remote. A community holds optimism – and wisdom – collectively.
On that note, how goes the journey? What is everyone up to – trying, cooking, lifting, feeling, enjoying etc.? I want to encourage each and every one of you out there to interact today (and every day would be cool, too) on the comment board. In fact, it's the focus of today's Contest….
The Prize:
The EPIC bar [4] is a 100% grass fed animal based protein bar. It's paleo friendly, gluten free, and low in sugar. The names of their bars alone leave the mouth watering: How about a Bison Bacon Cranberry bar, a Beef Habanero Cherry bar, or a Turkey Almond Cranberry bar? Yes, please. To all three, thank you very much.
Catch EPIC bar on Facebook [5].
The lucky winner of this contest will win 3 boxes of EPIC bars plus an EPIC bar t-shirt. Retail value: $125.
BONUS: Use the code EPICHEARTSMARK at EpicBar.com [4] and get free shipping on your order. Valid for five days.
The Contest:
Leave a comment on the board about what you've struggled with lately in the Challenge, and/or give your advice to others. Share your anecdotes, stumbles, questions and successes. Share the totally random and nagging craving you're having, the annoying vestiges of low-carb flu [6], the odd sleep disturbances or dream patterns (not unheard of), the strangest comments you've gotten from various people, the hardest part in the process so far.
Likewise, offer your suggestions and encouragement to others. What strategies did you use to kick cravings? How did you motivate yourself to exercise on days you were tired and it was raining buckets outside? What did you tell naysayers that seemed to get them off your back? If another reader has a struggle or a question and you have an answer–go for it! A winner will be randomly selected from all the comments.
So, there you go! Throw in your questions and responses, and see the support of the MDA community at full throttle! I'm looking forward to reading how everyone is doing and what comes of all the great community feedback. Thanks for stopping in today, everybody. Here's to an even more amazing and successful second half of the Challenge [7]!
The Deadline:
September 26, midnight PDT.
Who is Eligible:
U.S. residents only for this one. Sorry international readers!
How the Winner Will Be Determined:
A winner will be randomly selected.


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Courtesy Albert Einstein Wikiquote King of Observation
Chris Brogan's latest post "How Hotels Can Win More Business Travel" is a look at how all social media marketers, social media consultants, entrepreneurs, and large companies should be looking at applying social media networks to their challenges. Implementing new processes in order to meet a business challenge is often a matter of observing and re-engineering. In Chris's post, search is the main tool with an open mind to possibilities. Let's take a look at 3 of Chris's steps.
While Chris addresses hotels, I will plug in his first 3 Steps for restaurants:
1. Get Aggressive with Search: Chris utilized a Twitter search that found conversations surrounding lodging in Austin, Texas for the SXSW conference. He found folks who were having a problem finding accommodations. Chris's idea: "If I were an Austin, TX hotel property with open beds, I'd go after each and every one of them with a rate quote and an easy link to make the reservation.
Restaurant's Strategy: (dg) If I were a Austin area restaurant, I would also tap into these travel conversations on Twitter. Here is how I would engage:
A.) Welcome each traveler to Austin
B.) Promote Hotel(s) that you wish to partner with by tweeting their facilities with a link to reservations with contact information
C.) Welcome them to my restaurant with an added incentive, give away, or special that makes them feel compelled to investigate
2. Improve Your Concierge Service: Chris's idea here is simple yet few are doing it. He talks about chronicling and then databasing a travelers tendancies, wants, and needs. "How hard would it be to database your guests a little bit, and start to understand their recurring business travel needs? How difficult would it be to share them across properties?
Restaurant's Strategy: (dg) Like inventory control when chef's order their supplies, a customer's preferences for dishes would be a database that could be very impressive to both local and business travelers. With these tendencies, a restaurant could Tweet specials, special nights, or offers with confidence. Create a database of your customers.
Real Strategy to Connect: At the restaurant location, offer them the opportunity to actually login and sign up to be your fan on Facebook and connect on Twitter. This is the next generation version of those stale paper "How Did We Do" evaluation forms so many restaurants use.
3. Get Aggressive with Offers: CB "Right now, there's no reason why not to build incentives into property loyalty. Hotels.com has a book 10 nights through them, get 1 night free (without any loyalty required to any particular chain). It's a really clever offer. It could be countered easily and retain chain loyalty fairly easily."
Restaurant's Strategy: Due to the economic crisis we all face, eating out today is often a luxury for most people. Restaurant's should consider leveraging their food as a commodity by offering special value items, menus, or incentives. Granted many restaurants offer value but do they do this strategically? Often the value offer is something that is seen as less value and more fluff. The free dessert, apertif, or side dish just isn't going to get it in today's world.
Restaurants must give something their customers actually want and give it to them with the idea that they can make up the costs in return visits, alcohol sales, and viral marketing word of mouth.


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SpaceX and NASA are moving ahead with the scheduled April 30 launch date of the Dragon spacecraft and its historic docking with the International Space Station after the flight readiness review was approved at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The comprehensive evaluation of the SpaceX mission is one of the last major steps before the company becomes the first commercial carrier to deliver payloads to the ISS. Although SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk was careful to remind everybody that the flight is a test and success is far from guaranteed.
"I think we've got a pretty good shot, but it is worth emphasizing that there's a lot that can go wrong in a mission like this," Musk told reporters after the review.
The Falcon rocket being used to launch the Dragon has been used twice, once inserting a Dragon capsule into low earth orbit. But Musk and NASA did emphasize that this is not an actual mission. The goal is to demonstrate SpaceX's capabilities to launch, rendezvous with the ISS and return to earth. And while there will be some cargo on board and some cargo will be carried back from the space station, nothing on board is considered critical or irreplaceable. Musk reminded reporters of the difficulty of the mission, but he remains confident SpaceX will succeed.
"I think it would be a mistake to put too much weight on this flight because there are hopefully going to be two more flights later this year to the space station, which will be almost identical configuration," Musk said during the press conference. "So if this one doesn't succeed in getting to the space station, I'm confident that one of the other two will. There should be no doubt about our resolve. We will get to the space station."
The mission will take roughly four days until the Dragon will dock with the space station in orbit and combines two separate tests into a single flight. The capsule will then remain attached to the station for 18 days. The first demonstration test will be a flight around the space station to test and verify maneuverability, navigation and communication capabilities.
On flight day three, the Dragon spacecraft will begin a series of maneuvers that will take it on a lap around the ISS beginning with a relatively close 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) pass underneath the station. During this close pass the Dragon and the ISS will communicate with each other for the first time. "An absolute requirement for proximity operations," according to NASA flight director Holly Ridings.
The crew on board the space station will send a test command to Dragon to confirm those on the ISS have the ability to control the capsule when necessary. The communication tests are to make sure the crew would be able to command the Dragon to hold or abort if needed when it is in close proximity to the station.
After the 2.5 km pass, the Dragon will move out to 200 km as it continues the lap. It will then again maneuver closer as it passes over the top of the station, this time getting as close as 7 km. The entire lap should take a full day, 22-24 hours according to Ridings.
On flight day four, the Dragon will once again be guided to 2.5 km underneath the station as preparations are made for the final tests before finally docking with the ISS. Once inside this 2.5 km zone, Ridings says the NASA team in Houston has final authority over the mission due to the proximity to the station and the safety of the crew on board.
The next parking spot will be at 1.4 km as the Dragon prepares for the approach initiation. Once everybody agrees for a go, the Dragon will maneuver to a point just 250 meters (820 feet) from the station, which will serve as its hold point for the final tests in very close proximity to the station. According to NASA, the hold point is outside the critical KOS, the acronym-happy agency's simply named "Keep Out Sphere."
The next demonstration objectives include interaction with the crew on orbit. From the 250 m hold point, the Dragon team at SpaceX's Hawthorne, California headquarters will issue a command to slowly begin approaching the station, after which the ISS crew will issue a retreat command as the first test. The demonstration will be repeated, this time with the ISS crew issuing a hold command at 220 m.
"That will be the last of our go/no go objectives in terms of the demonstration objective," according to Ridings.
After these demonstrations are complete and everybody at NASA and SpaceX are satisfied, the Dragon will then make the final maneuvers towards the station. With all the functionality of the Dragon checked out, the spacecraft will be commanded by the SpaceX team to cross the KOS boundary for the first time.
The Dragon will then stop at 30 m, where the go/no-go decision will be made by everybody on the ground as well as the crew on the station to make the final approach. Though the Dragon is an automated spacecraft and is capable of performing the entire mission autonomously, Ridings emphasized that the station crew will be heavily involved and is there as a safety net, especially on the first flight.
After maneuvering to just 10 m from the station, the Dragon will park in its final hold position, known as the capture point. Once a final decision is made for capture, the station crew takes over the final steps using the robotic arm to reach out and grab the Dragon and move into its berthing spot on the station.
The final step of the mission from the 2.5 km point to docking is expected to take around seven to eight hours. On the following day, the station crew begins the laborious cargo transfer as 521 kilograms (1,146 pounds) are offloaded from the Dragon, and 660 kilograms (1,452 pounds) of cargo from the station are placed into the capsule to be returned to earth. Thankfully, it's mostly the motions that are laborious and not heavy lifting.
Representatives from the NASA side of the review meeting also reminded reporters of the test nature of the mission. But all sounded confident based on the preparation, simulations and tests that have been completed. NASA space station program manager Mike Sufferdini told reporters there are still some verifications that need to be done, but everything is looking good.
Sufferdini said the past few years has been a positive learning experience for both organizations and he's excited to see a new vehicle arrive at the station. One of the differences during the flight readiness review he pointed to compared to past NASA missions is the bottom line. "There were no requirements for mission success," he said. The simple comment in many ways marks NASA's transition from shouldering the responsibility to deliver payloads to orbit, to a consumer of space delivery services. This point is driven home as today marks the last flight of the space shuttle discovery as it was flown to Washington, D.C., where it will be handed over to the Smithsonian.
SpaceX has one more launch simulation to complete before the launch. Sufferdini said there are some verifications that still need to be completed, but nothing that indicates there should be any issues.
The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program to develop a less expensive way to deliver payloads to orbit. As part of the program NASA has invested $381 million in SpaceX. Musk didn't give a specific number, but he estimated the SpaceX program has cost around $1 billion in total to date. SpaceX and Orbital Sciences are the two companies selected by NASA to provide commercial cargo delivery to the ISS.Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.


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|Classic Atlantic Salmon No pursuit rivals salmon rivers, flies & legacy
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Quebec's New ZEC Preseason Draw Specs
I understand starting in 2007, the Quebec ZEC's preseason draws for salmon fishing in their controlled sectors will be awarded on a 75% Quebec resident and a 25% rest of the world basis. Quebec outfitters will also be granted a certain amount of rods in these controlled sectors too. For us nonresidents, it doesn't make these preseason draws too attractive. I wonder if the 48 hour draws will be awarded on the same basis? Maybe the Matane had it right after all------make it a "free for all" for every pool.
You've got it wrong !
I believe you ARE aware from where and how the 75/25% thing got started and why it did . If not ,dig into the archives here and SAOL. The outfitter thing ONLY applies to a certain very few sectors ,and I believe, certain days on three rivers,The York ,Bonaventure and Petite Cascapedia. IMHO (and quite a few others ) THERE AIN'T EXTRA ROOM on the e(a?)ffected sectors on either the York or the Bonnie. As for the Petite, the outfitter that will have the right there ,could easily double his clientele from 2 to 4 on the sector without any problem.
I would like to understand this issue a little clearer...
first of all it sounds like only "controlled sectors" are affected; what percentage of the good water in Gaspe does this represent? Or maybe the question is what percentage of each river's sector allocation is subject to 75% resident draws?
Secondly, how does 'free for all' apply to this favored draw for the subset of water? Do you refer to the fact that residents kill their salmon?
thanks in advance
IFFF Certified THCI @ 2005
Capeflyfisher Guide Service
Island Hopper, Guitarist, Incurable Dreamer
and Founder, Worldwide Flyfishing Forum
A Book By It's Cover
O.K. Sports fans. Another Quebec Salmon issue to talk about.
I would welcome a 25/75 split as a non-resident. If you look at this year's draws you will find results something like this:
Glenn Emma 5% non-resident
Patapedia 0% non-resident
Causapscal 0% non-resident
Petite Cascapedia 5% non-resident
The York, Dartmouth and St. Jean are somewhat higher, not much, because some very good business people have promoted the economy of their hometown. This has put a greater ratio of ballots in the draw from outsiders. I hope all the good people of Gaspe understand this.
I do not think this would ever happen because it would mean that just about all the outsiders who apply would be accepted. The fact is that anglers from Quebec support the draws in far greater numbers. I have seen stranger things happen in Quebec and would not be surprised at the result.
As far as the Outfitters are concerned, they deserve the rights to fish good water all the time. If you think about it, the government of Quebec has sold them something called a licence. Should they then have to fight for the right sell what is already public. They pay taxes, support the economy and support the river every day of the season. The total number of rods per day for all the Salmon outtfiters in Quebec on all the rivers in Quebec total about 30 with most sharing a guide and boat. I don't see the problem here.
I love Quebec since my first trip to the Matapedia in 1980 and will visit for the rest of my life. I just wish these continuous controversies would stop.
To answer a couple of the questions that have be raised: The Matane River ZEC does not have a preseason draw. You pay your daily rod fee and you can fish any pool under their jurisdiction. On the best pools, you may have to share (rotation) with 20 other fishermen, but that's the way they do it. They also lose out on the money the preseason draws generate for the local ZEC's. The preseason draws are for the best pools/sectors for a limited number of rods, and if you are lucky, you are in for a quality Atlantic Salmon fishing experience for a very reasonalble price. The basis for the 75/25 rumor is an article, "Winds of Change" on page 72 of the latest Atlantic Salmon Journal and Bruce Patterson's post on his "Go Gaspe" website stating this change was going into effect next year.
The 75 % to 25% split is only proposed for next year and not accepted yet by the ZECs.
The Grande Cascapedia used to use a 90% resident and 10 % NR split (this may still be the practice) This certainly was not a fair deal for non-residents.
The ZEC Gaspe has always defended their right to hold a fair public drawing non-residents and residents equally.
Here is my Opinion and how we got to where we are and where we may be going.
In 2004, Outfitters overloaded the drawing to the tune of some 4,000 cards in the winter draw out of around 7,000 total cards. Since non- residents are a majority of those using an outfitter, there was a greater than 50 % chance that a non-resident won a winter reservation.
Residents complained about the results. Too Many Non-resident winners. Add to this that the same outfitter purchased 20 % of the rods throughout the season on some other rivers and a portion of those in ZEC Gaspe, The Result - far too many Non resident winners.
In 2005, the ZEC changed the rules somewhat for the winter reservation system by forcing the actual winners (by name) to fish the days they had won and not there partners while they might be somewhere else fishing. Thereby all rods must be fished and "selective" zone fishing and overloading of the winter drawing with "nameless" non-resident winners was reduced but probably not eliminated.
This year the outfitters were awarded a small percentage of the winter reservations?? Not really, they were awarded extra rods on certain sectors of one river throughout the season during specific periods. Were these rods awarded because the outfitter was unwilling to enter the drawing with no gaurantess on whom would fish and when?? No not really, The outfitter was awarded rods because the outfitter has a right to have a business and provides some local jobs for running the camp (guides, cooks, etc). The govenment minister made that decision and forced the ZEC Gaspe to add the rods despite their argument that they should be able to manage their river as they always have. Result - More non-residents in certain zones on a rotational basis.
I have heard rumors that ther is a proposal that all non-residents will need to use an outfitter in the future. Nobody wants that either - especially the do-it-yourself non-residnets that have been supporting the ZEC for 25 years +/- and that have learned how to play the game and where to be and when. Like ME
I have two recommendations for consideration:
1) Allow the outfitter to have a percentage of the river reservations throughout the season without participation in the winter drawing. That means completely remove all of the outfitters clients from the winter reservation. ( This will automatically eliminate a lot of non-residents) This also will improve greatly the chances that a RESIDENT wins the winter reservations. This will also increase the chances that a non-resident "do it yourself" (non-outfitter) fisherman has to win.
2) Keep the Zec public drawing just that - a fair and honest drawing that gives equal chance to the public, non-resdient and resident anglers equally. !! (you know us, we are the minority, the little guy, the underdog).
Should the ZEC adopt a policy that discriminates against non-residents by endorsing the 75% to 25% split; it is clear that they also choose to forfeit the extra revenues: 15% surcharge on purchased water for a non-resident, the necessary travel expenditures to the community for Hotels, Gasoline, Groceries, Flies, Beer, TAXES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that the non resident has to pay.
The outfitter wants a business, give it to them, just do not make the remainder of the participants suffer.
A wet fish is a Happy fish
WRONG on the results !!
The Patapedia is ONLY open to Qc. residents for sector 3 and is 50/50 with NB residents for the canoe run !
The Causap ??
WOW !!!!I WISH IT WAS 0% non resident !!! Your comment here is ,indeed ,quite humerous (AND false)
The Petite I am TOTALLY uninterested in until a few things change there !
AS for yor Outfitter comments .I would agree IF the outfitter IS a Qc. resident AND the money STAYS in Gaspe ,or at least the province !!
Nothing else equates to "supporting the economy" An influx of money is desperately needed in the region .
Pardon my math here, but I just cannot figure out how a (as quoted below ) SMALL increase in #'s in a FEW sectors would continue to provide QUALITY fishing These #'s were determined in the past at a certain number to provide QUALITY fishing and cannot continue, with the INCREASED fishing pressure continue to provide that quality. Don't get me wrong.I'm definately NOT anti outfitter .I use one for 5 to 9 days each year. THAT outfitter 2 years back publicized their fishing to the extent that this year fishing on their waters were ruined due to pressure, and if it continues for another 2 years their rugular clientele will not be going back !
I too pay dearly the taxes ! support the economy and support the rivers EVERY DAY of the year
Dear Brian,
The numbers came from the CGRMP web site for Glenn Emma, Casaupscal and Patapedia. The Pat is open for non residents as stated by the Corporation. Below is a Causap & Pat price structure from the Zec. It is not listed as New Brunswick Resident. So please note that I think you have your sectors mixed. According to CGRMP sector 3 is open to non residents. Has been for as long as I can remember.
www.cgrmp.com if you would like to check.
1 37,50 $ n/a #2
2 90,75 $ n/a #3
3 113,00 $ 153,00 $ #3
Guest 34,00 $
You seem to have taken my comments in a negitive way. I was in no way suggesting that Quebec should be taking action to take something away or make it more difficult for local people. Other than this I don't understand the cut of your reply. I have nothing in my heart but the desire for the people of Quebec to be prosporous.
Shoulda prrrof-rrread but was bounced off while posting/typing
Yer right. Sector 3 might be open to all and is one our the jewels of Qc. fishing.9 or 11 kms of WILDERNESS fishing ,all for 6 fishemen!!. Hit it one year 4 days after Millionaire's Pool emptied out and fish ran the Matapedia AND the Pat !Had three days of incredible fishing ! Albini ,however, has changed dramatically this year and I here no longer holds the U.S. Navy sub. fleet of 80+ 25 to 30lbers. One year we counted 200 fish in that pool ! Sector 2 (the canoe run) IS however open only to Qc. and NB residents.Quebecers and NBers alternating each other day.Therefore the 50/50 that I mentioned .Sector one is ,as I remember ,open water. Off the top of my head right now I can count 3 non residents that were in the top 35 in the Causap. draw.
Last edited by Salar-1; 01-12-2006 at 05:54 AM.
Juro, the controlled sectors cover quite a bit of the water in the main rivers in the provence, especially in Gaspe proper. The Matapedia is the only river I've fished that has a very large sequential public sector and my understanding is that it can become a free-for-all after June. I've found many pools occupied after the 15th. There still are a lot of salmon killed after C&R, I think that does politicize the issue more for the longer open season. My early season experience is that we all get along and there is enough water on the peninsula for everybody. Whether they hold fish or not is the question.
Needless to say it's a powerful issue for the Quebecers and as you can see there are more than two sides to it. The residents want [reasonable] access to fish their own water and the outfitters want to bring in business. It's a tough call and I don't envy the Quebec Government their jobs on this one.
While I'm on the soapbox, and there's talk of controlling access to fish, what about controlling the numbers of fish that can enter the river. I love early June on the Matapedia, but when the nets go out the run [obviously] stops until they come out. Anyone checking tonage or numbers harvested? Or am I just talkin' crack again?
BTW - I'm actually surprised to hear the Patapedia is open to non-residents. I thought that was residents only. Have to look into that. And Glen Emma is only %5 non-resident? I find that hard to believe, documented though it is.
With the low numbers running your rivers you still allow netting?
I thought the Irish were mad.
To follow this thread,
I have been fishing in Quebec on public and private and ZEC water for a long time now. I feel I have a pretty darn good understand of the process and the available waters. I know what it feels like to want to fish in the beauty of Quebec's gleaming waters.
I have been on the Matapedia forks on June 1st and stood as the only outsider fishing for 45 minutes out of each 3 and one half hours. I have been on Hepel in the middle of July as the only outsider getting 15 minutes each pass. Does anyone think that all the boats on the upper Matapedia and Bonnie are owned by Americans? I have put my name into draw after draw after 48 hour draw with very little results to show for my money and effort.
J'essaye d'apprendre le français ainsi je peux avoir la meilleure expérience.
I have been at the Bonnie when it is just too crowded. How many parking spots do you have to find full on the York to understand what crowded fishing is like.
I have turned my attention and money to private water over the last number of years because I cannot stand the lack of solitude. I want to choose when I sit and when I cast.
So Brian, I full well understand your frustration. But I want you to take a broader look around this season. Maybe in Gaspe you are seeing a few more license plates from outsiders but this is not the case for most public sectors. You are seeing Quebec plates for the majority and you are blaming a few outsiders for your crowd. Also just for clarification on the Causapscal, there are only 25 draw cards accepted. I was number 28 and did get a consolation call. Only 3 days for 2 sports were left at that time. I would have taken it but I was lucky enough this year to get a prime time spot on Glenn Emma that was the same dates. If you call Anne or Richard in Causap a lot of these things could be understood.
I think the main reason why outsiders could be eliminated from the lottery draws without much cause for hardship is self evident. The independent guides would suffer. A little gas a little food and a little hotel space would be hurt. But the general well being of the area would not suffer all that much. The truth is that there are not as many outsiders on the rivers as some might have you believe. And the number on non residents that win spots in the draws is low.
The fact of the matter is that there are just too few salmon. Look at the counts on some of these rivers. I have been following a number of web sites from across the pond. Single rivers where the fish count is greater than the entire Gaspe from Matapedia to Matane. All Private, No Public. Catches so great yet the number of sports are limited with a fishing day that starts at 8am and ends a 5pm. Jacket and Tie fishing at it's very best. The time it takes for me to get to Matapedia is about the same as Edinburgh.
Juro, the answer to being successful in the November draws is to put your name in all of them at a cost of about $500.00 US and then hope you get picked on one. The revenue that is now generated by these draws is a substantial amount. Also you must know the river by sector and pool to make a smart decision. This year the person on the draw must be present as one of the sports. Non transferable unlike as in the past that created the problem with ballot stuffing in Gaspe. You pay a deposit to hold the spot and then the balance in the early spring. The ZEC has the money even if the water goes fallow.
So I will state again. I would welcome a 25/75 rule. The issue is that the good people of Quebec will not.
Dear Malcolm, as far as the netting is concerned. It is the right of the First Nation people to carry on their traditional culture. This is a topic that has roots as deep as Bannock Burn. Every year one person's rights over another's are discussed on both sides. As an outsider, I choose not to take sides in this matter. Do I want more salmon in the river? Yes. Do I want a people with ancient history to prosper? Yes. So to answer your query on why there is netting, some will answer why not.
Last edited by Salar 33; 01-12-2006 at 08:50 AM.
Thanks for the reply re netting.
If the river will stand the netting I suppose it is ok, but I am not sure that with the figures I have seen that it can.
The Irish netsmen use the same excuse...................our famillies have been netting for generations it is in our blood. Simply no salmon no netting.
The extiction curve on salmon stocks has a very flat plateau but a very deep drop, move too far to the left and the salmon will be lost in no time at all.
Dear Malcolm,
To cull out the netting as a problem we must also make sure that we understand all the other problems. If only the limited netting that was in place by First Nation people were happening then what would be the problem? Please remember, and I mean this in no way to demean Scottish heritage, that when the family was told to stop netting they did not loose a part of their religious path.
What has happened in Quebec is more like if all the Scottish commoners got together and forced by their vote for the owners of the beats to make them public. This is done by taking away the river leases and rights. Then hire a company(ZEC)to control who gets to use the land and water. Not too long ago the rivers of the Gaspe were wholly leased by aristocrats and the well to do. If I were to compare the Aberdeen Dee to the Matapedia it would go something like this. Up to and including Park would be public. No limit to access and only a daily fee of about 25 pounds. Boats with motors are legal. Among the public and the beginning of the controlled zone were two private sporting lodges with some river access that limits the public access. From Park to Inchmarlo would be run on a lottery basis with a total of 10 rods per day at the price of the Junction on the Tweed. Above that would be all public again for a daily fee where boats without motors were present. Residents would pay about 60% of what no residents pay. The Gairn tributary(Causapscal) with it's run of huge fish would be controlled by a ZEC for 300 pounds per day. It would be a very different situation than the river you know now.
Add to this the PH value changing many rivers, angler taken fish, angler released fish that do not spawn, foul hooked fish, degraded habitat, seals, cormorants, change in climate, and deforestation.
Shall I go on?
We all have a personal level of value to what we do. We all want to have a justification for our actions. We all want the right to do what we love. To be able to all do this we must have some one to point a finger at and say they are the problem when it comes to our pursuit of Salar.
If there could ever come a point when we collectively understand this then the need for one groups rights to mean more than another's rights may have a chance of becoming equal rights.
Again I state that I am not taking sides, only trying to discuss a topic from the center.
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اشترى أحجار كريمة على شكل مربع 13x13 ملم(6)
أحجار فردية
مربع أخضر ملاكيت
مربع أخضر حجر الدم
مربع أخضر ماو-سيت-سيت
مربع أخضر حجر الدم
مربع أخضر حجر الدم
مربع أخضر حجر الدم
أحجار كريمة على شكل مربع 13x13 ملمSome people by gems by color or price, but for many, it is best to buy gems by shape and size - especially if you're in need of a gem to replace a previous item that was lost or damaged. Calibrated Square shapes, facet cut and cabochon gems available now in 13 mm x 13 mm size range. Shop a wide range of calibrated gemstones by size online at wholesale from GemSelect.
As a general guideline, when it comes to 'calibrated' gems, they are not meant nor expected to be cut to exact measurements. For calibrated gemstones weighing under one carat, most jewelry settings will accommodate a gem which is within 0.2 mm of the calibrated size in order to fit a standard setting. For gemstones that weigh over one carat, a larger variance is acceptable, often around 0.3 mm or slightly higher even. This small variance can usually be accommodated for standard style settings. Round-cut gemstones should also have a greater variance in acceptable size when it comes to calibration; in fact it is usually possible to mount a round stone of any size in the closest standard setting.
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text:
Giving money to baby Laura
Until recently, when friends or family of someone facing a serious medical crisis wanted to lend a financial hand, their options were limited: Dig into their own pockets, place empty mayonnaise jars at cash registers to collect spare change, or, if they were really ambitious, organize a spaghetti or barbecue fundraiser, perhaps with a local band providing entertainment.
Today, like so much of modern life, such efforts have moved online.
When Paula and Antonio Villarreal lost their 6-month-old daughter Laura to a rare and aggressive brain tumor in December, acquaintances set up a "Giving for Laura" page on the crowd-funding website GiveForward.com. Their goal: to raise $5,000 in donations to help defray medical bills expected to total $100,000 to $200,000.
"I get new bills in the mail every day," says Paula, sitting in the family's tidy, comfortable kitchen on the near South Side recently. "Just today I got another one for $4,000.
The Villarreals are fortunate to have medical insurance. Still, they'll be responsible for about 15 percent of the total cost of their daughter's treatment — which could add up to $15,000 to $30,000. So whatever the "Giving for Laura" page raises is sure to help.
Crowd-funding websites are online "mayonnaise jars" where interested parties can donate money to any number of causes: a band looking to produce a CD, a small business needing funds to expand or, in the case of the Villarreals, a family facing daunting medical bills. That's what GiveForward.com's founders intended when they launched the site in 2008. According to company president Ethan Austin, GiveForward soon became the go-to site for medical fundraisers.
And there's plenty of need. Medical debt is a contributing factor in 62 percent of all personal bankruptcy filings, according to a 2009 American Journal of Medicine study. That's not surprising, considering the out-of-pocket cost of one year of cancer treatment for someone with medical insurance can run as high as $8,500, according to Austin.
"At any moment we have about 5,000 campaigns in play, and we've raised a total of $30 million since we were founded," he says. That includes $10 million in the last year alone.
Crowd-funding websites such as GiveForward.com have been around for about a decade, but the past few years have seen explosive growth. A total of about 525 platforms raised an estimated $2.8 billion in 2012, double the amount in 2011, according to Scott Steinberg, author of "The Crowdfunding Bible" (Read.me, $13.99). More than 1 million campaigns have been successfully crowd-funded.
"The beauty of crowd funding is you can reach the public at large without any filters to request money for virtually any cause," says Steinberg, who is also a professional speaker on health care innovation.
Not every crowd-funding site accepts every campaign, however. Perhaps the best-known, kickstarter.com, serves creative projects exclusively, the performing arts, photography, design and the like, according to spokesman Justin Kazmark. If your campaign doesn't fit into any of the site's accepted categories, it will be rejected.
To ensure those running the campaign are properly motivated, some sites pay out only when the initial target is reached. This prevents donors from being disappointed when an under-funded project fails.
Austin from GiveForward.com says the site will accept nonmedical fundraisers, although they won't be promoted on its homepage. And recipients get whatever is pledged, even if the campaign doesn't meet the target.
"Any amount raised will still be helpful," he says.
While many donate to crowd-funded projects out of pure altruism, some are looking for a more concrete payback. That struggling band may offer donors a complimentary copy of the CD they helped make possible. The newly expanded company may extend special discounts to its donors. People have gotten producer credits for crowd-funded movies.
Such benefits soon may get even more lucrative. A provision of President Barack Obama's JOBS Act will allow companies to sell up to $1 million in equity via online crowd-funding platforms.
Of course, crowd-funding websites are in business to make money, and most do so by taking a portion of funds raised, usually between 7 percent and 12 percent.
Laura Villarreal died on Dec. 2 from a rare type of brain tumor called atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor, or ATRT. The cancer usually strikes children younger than 2 and only about 30 new cases are diagnosed each year. It's scarily aggressive: Even with surgery and chemotherapy, the survival rate for children younger than 3 is less than 10 percent, according to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The rate approached 70 percent in older children.
As of the second week of January, the Giving for Laura page had raised $1,540 of a $5,000 target, mostly from donations of $25 to $200. Many donors are either anonymous or they're people the Villarreals have never met.
"I look at the list of people and I know only one or two," says Paula.
Indeed, Dana Boyd, the woman who set up the page, has never met the Villarreals face to face.
She'd heard their story through mutual friends from It Works!, a multilevel marketing company that specializes in a line of body contouring products. Both Villarreal and Boyd are sales associates with the company.
"Several women in my network and I wanted to do something for Paula," she said. "But something more than send flowers."
They talked about making a donation or hosting a fundraiser, and Boyd volunteered to do some research. That's when she happened upon the GiveForward.com website.
"It was easy to set up," she says. "You get an online coach and there are plenty of tips on how to do it.
Because Boyd has other commitments, Paula Villarreal recently took over administration of the site, renaming it "Giving to Baby Laura" and raising the fundraising target to $25,000. She knows that's an optimistic goal, but she's an optimistic woman.
"Whatever amount people give, we're thankful," says Paula. "Knowing people care makes it all a little easier."


text:
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text:
Playing My Song
"Harei Yehuda" is the name of an album dedicated to the music of Yehuda Gilden and serves as a heartwarming example of what Jews are prepared to do for one another.
A gifted pianist, composer and vocalist, Yehuda spent several years at Yeshivat Ohr Somayach before returning to his native Toronto with his family. He quickly became a fixture of Toronto's Jewish music scene and remained so for over twenty years, entertaining at happy occasions and teaching Jewish music to thousands of local children.
Several years ago he was stricken with Parkinson's disease and had to abandon his regular activities. In the summer of 2006 his friends and co-workers in the field of Jewish music initiated a project to help Yehuda help himself. Some of the top names in Jewish music contributed their efforts to recording Yehuda's compositions. The magnificent album they produced includes a 19-minute long video documentary describing how all of this was accomplished. Everyone who purchases "Harei Yehuda" is in for a special musical treat and a heartwarming exposure to Jewish camaraderie.


text:
Uniform building code
International Conference of Building Officials, 1985 - Building laws - 817 pages
From inside the book
85 pages matching compression members in this book
Where's the rest of this book?
Results 1-3 of 85
What people are saying - Write a review
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Part IIDefinitions and Abbreviations
Fireresistive Substitution
Pedestrian Walkways
121 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
accordance with Section applied approved assembly ASTM automatic sprinkler system bars beam bending bolts building official building or structure ceiling cement Chapter column comply compression members computed concrete conform corridor Decking diameter distance Division doors edge enclosure exceed exit exterior walls factor fire flange Formula framing gauge glazing grade Group grout gypsum height horizontal installed joints joists lath length less live load located masonry materials maximum metal minimum modulus of elasticity nails noncombustible occupant load openings panels particleboard percent permitted plaster plastic portland cement prestressing protected ratio requirements of Section resist roof rooms Select Structural shear reinforcement shear strength shear stress sheathing slab smoke detector space span specified in Section splices square feet square inches stairway Standard Specification steel stress studs surface Table tensile tensile stress tension thickness Type U.B.C. Standard unit vertical welds width wire wood wood shingles yield strength


text:
Generally excellent video quality and a straightforward.
Excellent color and noise results with great motion and sharpness in 60p.
Great image quality in most conditions.
Has a 700x digital zoom, which is the highest of any of the HDV camcorders we looked at.
Capable optical image stabilisation
'Comprehensive enthusiast features.'
'Input/output terminals.'
'Images were really smooth with very few jagged edges and no visible pixellation.'
'huge zoom and superb image stabilisation'
'Lots of internal recording space - a whopping 220GB. '
'intuitive all-touch screen interface'
'It fits snugly into the hand and is nicely balanced.'
Excellent video quality
'Some edge artifacts in video .'
'relatively healthy 12x optical zoom'
'The TM700's on screen menu is fairly easy to navigate although it does require a bit of scrolling to get at some functions.'
'Good range of manual features.'
Shoots two whole Full HD frames in 3D mode
Excellent set of features
Stunning 2D and 3D image quality
'The clever bit with the SDT750 is a bolt-on attachment for the lens.'
'The 35-420mm range is a good one and more than enough for all-around use. '
'bizarre and eye-catching appearance'
'This protruding front-end lends the HDC-SDT750 a bizarre and eye-catching appearance. '
Manual controls
Good amount of manual controls
Light and easy to handle
Optical zoom
Videos are sharp and vibrant
Intelligent Auto and menus are both user-friendly
'No accessory shoe'
'Manual features.'
'Missing external mic input, HDMI cable. '
Well designed touch-screen interface
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text:
Designer Interview: Oxford Garden
Posted by
Becky |
View all posts by Becky
Leave a comment! | Published in Designer Interviews, Landscape Design
March has come in like a lion but it's time to start thinking about outdoor spaces. Go to the garage or shed and dust off that garden furniture, figure out what you need to repair or replace, then check out the fantastic selection from Oxford Garden to fill in the gaps. The Louisville, Kentucky based company offers up styles from traditional classics to contemporary, inspired by a range of precedents from English cottage garden to Scandinavian modern.
Today we're sitting down with the President of Oxford Garden, Randy Meek, to learn more about the brand and what they have available.
Where did the name Oxford Garden come from?
Oxford Garden began as Oxford Garden Designs and the name developed from the romantic, centuries-old English gardens that nearly always included a finely crafted sitting bench.
How did Oxford Garden come about? What are your goals for the brand?
Oxford Garden began in 1997 as the interest in outdoor living had huge growth in America and the availability of quality outdoor furniture was in short supply. After establishing itself with high-quality wood benches during its first few years, Oxford Garden methodically expanded furniture collections, offering a wide range of items, styles and materials.
Our products are designed and produced to provide a well-styled unique visual appearance, while maintaining quality materials and workmanship. Of equal importance is our goal to deliver these quality products at moderate prices.
How would you describe the Oxford Garden style and how does this help freshen up outdoor spaces? What inspired your current collection?
The Oxford Garden style is a refinement of comfort, shapes, simplicity and practicality. We aim to produce outdoor furniture that is comfortable, applies practical use of materials through simplicity of design and delivers a captivating appearance.
For example, in one of our current collections, Siena Deep Seating, we use straight and simple shapes with just slight emphasis on key areas of the furniture; the subtle lines of the arms and angled legs add interest to an otherwise simple design, creating a striking and graceful piece.
Did you see a hole in the outdoor furniture market? If so, how are you filling it?
We believe we fill the narrow space where good design and practical pricing meet.
Where should homeowners begin when furnishing a patio, deck, balcony or garden?
The key question for homeowners is "What atmosphere do you want to create?" Think of space outside as outdoor rooms and work from there.
For example, some homeowners want a relaxing environment that brings their indoor living room to the outdoors. In this scenario, we would recommend a warm, comfortable conversation set such as our Siena Deep Seating group:
Others may love to entertain and desire a large dining group where they can enjoy parties and family dinners outside and need a versatile dining set such as the Travira or Hampton:
Thanks to Randy for taking the time to introduce us to Oxford Garden today!
Hi, I'm Becky. I live in Atlanta. Besides acting as the Editorial Director here on Hatch, you can find me talking design over at Houzz. Make me happy — leave a comment!
Filed under Designer Interviews, Landscape Design


text:
Orb's been out for a while, but now there's OS X 10.5 and 10.6 compatibility. Mac users can finally use the app to stream all sorts of media from iTunes to nearly any internet-connected device. Oh, and it's completely free.
You can download the Orb application right here. You'll have to look for porn to stream on your own. [Orb via Engadget]


text:
Ty Brennan
Ty Brennan
FORT COLLINS — A Loveland couple accused of a plot to rob a pedophile and kidnap his child were released from jail on their own recognizance – as long as they have no contact with each other and their activities are monitored.
The bond for 20-year-old Dustin Ray Canup was modified in 8th Judicial District Court on Friday from $100,000 cash, property or surety to personal recognizance in part because of an expensive medical condition.
He was diagnosed with Gaucher's disease at age 4, and his medicine for the ailment, which if untreated can cause liver failure, would cost Larimer County up to $30,000 per month were he housed in the jail, noted Patrick Esser, his public defender. Last year, the jail spent $180,000 total for medications for all inmates over all 12 months.
Judge Thomas French agreed to change Canup's bond so he does not have to pay anything up front but would be liable for the money if he does not show up in court as long as he lives with his brother or sister and is monitored by a global positioning system.
The woman accused with Canup, 18-year-old Sareena Michelle Morrison, too, was granted a personal recognizance bond. Hers was reduced from $75,000 cash, property or surety to $20,000 personal recognizance bond co-signed by her father.
She must live at home with her parents, keep at 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and submit to electronic home monitoring.
Both Morrison and Canup cannot use a computer or Internet while on bond because their alleged crime involved looking for victims on the web.
Loveland police say an undercover police officer answered an ad Canup and Morrison posted on the Internet and agreed to met them at a hotel for sex with his 6-year-old daughter. The duo planned to rob the man and kidnap his child, according to their statements to police.
Instead, they met with the undercover officer, who arrested them Jan. 25. Authorities claim they had set up another meeting with a man who thought Morrison was underage and was willing to pay her for sex. Again, they told police they planned to rob him, according to an arrest affidavit.
Both are charged with attempted kidnapping, attempted robbery and conspiracy to commit extortion, all felonies. And both are due in court Feb. 22 for possible plea agreements, she at 8:30 a.m. and he at 2 p.m.


text:
Power crews turn to preventing future outages
Warm temperatures helping crews win in battle against outages
Warmer temperatures are starting to melt the ice from trees in Gardiner.
"I'm hearing the ice melting. I know it's probably (a) great sound to your ears. As soon as we can take the weight off the branches, that's always good," said Kurt Keller, of Central Maine Power.
The warm weather is helping tree and line crews win in the battle against power outages. And while they're at it, tree trimmers are also cutting low-lying tree branches before they fall on utility lines.
"It kind of gives us a snapshot of what can come in the future, so now is the time to clean it up and take a pre-emptive strike against something in the future," Keller said.
Keller said maintenance work is even more dangerous, especially when they are dealing with utility lines.
"Everything is energized so obviously, there's a risk factor with that," Keller said.
Crews said the maintenance is important, especially since another potential storm is heading to the region over the weekend.


text:
Here's something to howl about: Hugh Jackman may be raring to strip down and fuzz up as Wolverine again.
The Australian hunk is in talks to reprise the role for director Bryan Singer's upcoming "X-Men: Days of Future Past," the sequel to "X-Men: First Class" (which, in turn, was a prequel to the trilogy that starred Jackman as the brooding mutant in the first place), Jackman's rep confirms to E! News.
We could probably use a superhuman mastermind to sort this all out for us, but we'll do our best.
U.S. & World
Hugh Jackman hints at The Wolverine story line
In addition to Singer's "X-Men" and "X2," the Brett Ratner-directed "X-Men: The Last Stand" and an uncredited appearance in "X-Men: Origins," Jackman also starred in his own spinoff, 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and has "The Wolverine" coming out next year.
So he could probably do "Days of Future Past" in his sleep.
Anne Hathaway says Les Mis haircut made her look like her "gay brother"
But why would he want to? Singer revealed Monday that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are onboard to join his worlds-colliding addition to the sprawling franchise, so Jackman will get to work with some of his old cronies again.
The cast also includes "First Class" alums Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy.
Long before we're cheering for Wolverine again, however, Jackman will be making us weep into our popcorn as Jean Valjean in the sweeping musical adaptation of "Les Misrables" that will be storming the theater barricades on Christmas Day.


text:
NTSB timeline gives rapid, 20-second glimpse at West Texas train crash that killed 4 veterans
MIDLAND, Texas (AP) � A harrowing train crash in West Texas that killed four war veterans unfolded in a rapid-fire 20 seconds � from the time the crossing bells and lights activated to the collision.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a detailed timeline Saturday, pieced together from video images on the train, a sheriff's car and the train's equivalent of a black box.
The parade was organized by a group called Show of Support. Group member Michael McKinney says the truck was donated.
According to the timeline, the truck entered the tracks after the warning lights had gone off.
The veterans and their spouses had only seconds to jump off. At the same time, the train conductor pulled the emergency brake in an attempt to come to a screeching halt.


text:
Hey, guys,good morning.
got saved by a superherolast night ?
They say itwas The Coon.
Who's The Coon ?
I know, right ?Who is The Coon ?
It's what everyone mustbe asking themselves.
Somebody isdressing up at night
and taking the lawinto their own hands.
As for me, I certainlydon't agree with
The Coon's reckless ways.
If you ask me, there'sno room in this world
for vigilantes.
I believe The Coonis a menace.
Yeah, and dressing upand running around at night
is faggy anyway.
You're a fag, Kyle !
Fuck you !
Dude, what ?
He's not a fag !
Why do you care ?
Oh, I, uh...
Well, I'm just mad'cause you shouldn't ever
use the term "fag,"Kyle.
That's a hate word
and it's insensitiveto butt pirates.
Anyway, what doyou think about
The Coon,Stan and Kenny ?
Do you think he's the saviorthis town needs
or do you think he'sa dangerous vigilante ?
Kenny ?
( Cartman )And, of course, the most commonquestion asked is,
"Just who is he ?"
Is he a heroor a menace ?
While we can all admitthat The Coon
is obviously really cool,
we should also beasking each other,
"Why does he care so much forthe people of this town ?
"Why does hesacrifice himself every night
"to rid our streetsof crime ?
And does hereally have the right ?"
What we all need now--
Clyde, Clyde,could you wake up please ?
This is important.
What we all need now is proofthat The Coon exists.
I believe that tonight,from approximately 5:00 to 5:45
The Coon is going to be onthe roof of Walgreens.
I know I'll bethere will my camera.
I'm sure many of youwill too.
Cartman tries really hard to stir up interest in The Coon.


text:
I made a special joystick for a boy with a disability using TeensLC and it works nicely on the PC,
however when i attach it to the XBOX adaptive controller
the joystick does not work at all. (i tested other devices including gamepads and also USB composite devices - they all worked).
I cloned the device-/configuration- and HID-descriptors of working devices (by modifying the teensyduino source code accordingly)
but that did not solve the issue.
i tracked the problem down into the send-routine of the joystick implementation:
int usb_flipjoystick_send(void)
uint32_t wait_count=0;
usb_packet_t *tx_packet;
while (1) {
if (!usb_configuration) {
return -2;
if (usb_tx_packet_count(FLIPJOYSTICK_ENDPOINT) < TX_PACKET_LIMIT) {
tx_packet = usb_malloc();
if (tx_packet) break;
if (++wait_count > TX_TIMEOUT || transmit_previous_timeout) {
transmit_previous_timeout = 1;
return -1;
transmit_previous_timeout = 0;
memcpy(tx_packet->buf, usb_flipjoystick_data, 3);
tx_packet->len = 3;
usb_tx(FLIPJOYSTICK_ENDPOINT, tx_packet);
return 0;
this always runs into the timeout - it seems that usb_tx() does not succeed in sending the packets !
i tried the same with teensy 3.1 and also teensy 2++ (using an AVR MCU) - same problem:
works on PC, does not work on the XBOX adaptive controller !
BTW: the HID joystick implementation in Arduino for the Leonardo/Pro Micro devices works fine...
any ideas what could be wrong or what we could try to solve the issue ?


text:
It has become fashionable as of late to mock food allergies as a "trendy" condition, a construct of over-protective parents or attention-seeking adults. I simply can't think of any other serious, sometimes life-threatening condition that is dissed more often.
Take last month, for instance. There we were smack in the middle of Food Allergy Awareness month: the Food Allergy Initiative in New York had organized a huge fundraising drive and pledges were pouring in for five runs across Canada, all in support of research.
Then, on May 12, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a review of several food allergy studies and concluded that the lack of a common definition of this disease and inconsistent test methods make diagnosis and management of food allergies difficult.
Hardly earth-shattering news to most people. But here's where the dismissiveness begins: A senior science reporter for The New York Times decided to write an article on the JAMA review, taking as her angle a new "fact" – that 30 per cent of the population "believe" they have food allergies, while "only" 5 per cent of adults and "only" 8 per cent of kids actually do.
At Allergic Living magazine, we were skeptical of that 30 per cent statistic. Think about it: That would mean about 93 million Americans (or three times the population of Canada) are claiming to have largely imaginary allergies. Sure, some people confuse intolerance to certain foods or heartburn with a true food allergy. But 90 million?
Such is the clout of The New York Times, however, that within the weeks that followed everyone in the media, from the CBC to the American networks, the Discovery Channel and an English website out of Beijing, was repeating that 30 per cent of Americans "think" they have food allergies – and that JAMA had said so.
You could practically hear the tsk-tsking about "picky eaters." But if you, like me, have a couple of actual, diagnosed, serious food allergies, what can you do to counter such coverage? Do we have to get T-shirts that say: "I am allergic. Really"? Such is life with the disease that gets no respect.
Junk figure
The 30 per cent figure, however, turns out to be junk. It does not appear in the JAMA review of studies and now, a couple of weeks later, nobody seems to want ownership of it. Here at Allergic Living, our senior editor e-mailed Dr. Marc Riedl of UCLA, one of the lead authors of the JAMA paper.
Had he given such a statistic to New York Times' reporter Gina Kolata during their interview? He wrote back and said that The Times was "sloppy with the details" of the figures, especially the 30 per cent "believing" they have allergies.
Reidl acknowledges that some countries seem to have high "belief levels." But, at the worst, he said, "most data suggest that self-reported food allergy is in the 10 to 17 per cent range for the U.S." But even that information wasn't in the actual JAMA study, which everyone was citing.
So I wrote to Gina Kolata and asked where she got the 30 per cent figure. Dr. Reidl, she replied. He said, she said. Only her tape recorder knows for sure.
But this isn't an academic question about journalistic accuracy. The issue I have with articles like Kolata's, as well as that infamous Harvard professor's column from late 2008, which used personal anecdotes to charge that food allergy's rise was "hysteria," is the damage they do to food allergy as a legitimate disease.
It is clearly a condition that needs to be taken seriously in schools, workplaces and restaurants because of the potential for severe reactions, including death. It is also something that desperately needs more research funding.
As I write this, there is extraordinary, innovative work underway that could lead to the first-ever treatments for food allergies – from desensitization to Chinese herbal tablets to a vaccine containing "altered" peanut. But this research takes money, lots of it, since the immune system is a complex and less than predictable beast.
Mangled facts do not help when it comes to raising funds, and they certainly do nothing to help the general public's comprehension of a disease that is a growing, modern phenomenon.
The Bigger Story
Unfortunately, The New York Times and its media followers missed the real news on the rates of food allergy.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the allergists' bible, has just published two long-awaited prevalence studies in its June issue. The one on U.S. rates for peanut and tree nut allergies, emanating from the highly respected Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, finds that peanut and nut allergies have more than tripled in children between 1997 and 2008. That's right, tripled.
The second article contained the results of what's called the SCAAALAR survey, Canada's first official tally of allergies to peanuts, nuts, sea foods and sesame. In this country, the rates for peanut and tree nut allergies were comparable to the U.S., even slightly higher in kids.
Dr. Ann Clarke, a professor at McGill University and one of SCAAALAR's lead investigators, recently observed that between 6 and 8 per cent of Canadians have a real food allergy. Even at the low end, that's about two million Canadians. The higher figure translates to just over one in every 12 people.
Sorry, NYT, but there's no "only" to qualify a rate like that. Let's make that, wow, as much as 8 per cent of the Canadian population has a food allergy, a disease that can threaten your life.
Now that cries out for respect. Not to mention some answers as to why we have so much food allergy today, especially in children. There are plenty of theories, but nothing definitive to solve the puzzle. It's time we stopped pestering the scientists with skepticism, and let them get on with the answers and the treatments.