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Uttarakhand (Hindi: उत्तराखण्ड) [1], until 2007 known as Uttaranchal, is a stunningly beautiful state in the Himalayan North of India. It is broken up into a western part, named "Garhwal", and an eastern part named "Kumaon".
Two main regions of Uttarakhand are :
Each region has its own distinct culture and language.
Other destinations
Uttaranchal in the Himalayan region is one of the most picturesque states of the country and has in store several tourist destinations that range from hill stations to popular towns to pilgrim destinations.
The local languages are Kumaoni and Garhwali, but everyone also speaks Hindi,except in remote villages in north and eastern Kumaon. English is not so common, but well-understood and spoken , especially in Kumaon.
Get in
There are many ways to enter Uttrakhand. If you are interested visiting the Kumauni regions you can either take a direct train from Delhi to Kathgodam or come by air from Delhi to Pantnagar, from these places you will have to go around by Taxi or Bus as in Hill regions we don't have any other transport. Nainital is very near from both of these stations and would be the first place you would like to visit. If you are interested in seeing the extreme range of Himalaya and interested in knowing local people then you can go to Munshyari via Chokori. If you are interested in seeing the Garhwal region you can enter through either Haridwar or Kotdwar. Haridwar is the more popular entrance. For both options there are regular bus and train services available from New Delhi.
Get around
Nainital, Mussoorie and Ranikhet Uttarkashi though it's better to treat these slightly overcrowded only in summers, touristy 'hill stations' as base camps to explore lots of other hidden jewels further afield. There are some peaceful places you might want to visit in Kumaun which are Chokori, Berinag, Munsyari. Although these places are little far and you might not get better facilities but they are worth visiting and local people are amazing. In Garhwal, Pauri and Gwaldam there are very peaceful & scenic places. In the Kumaon region if you are near Almora and want to stay in a secluded area, try Peora or Mukteshwar. Dunagiri in Almora district is a stunningly beautiful area off the beaten track. But do remember in Uttarakhand the journey itself is destination.
Bhowali: 11kms, from Nainital, at an altitude of 1706 mts. This place provides a panoramic view of the nature. This place if famous for its panoramic view as well as hill fruit mart, which was established in 1912.
Dunagiri: Few places are left where we can enjoy nature experiences in such pristine, tranquil and calm environment amidst ancient forests. A spot of stunning natural splendor, being one with nature is easy to do at Dunagiri Nature Retreat. Its greatness lies not merely in its fascinating history and captivating beauty, but also the serene and spiritual atmosphere of this place. Known by various names such as Drongiri, Dronagiri and Doonagiri.
Kuflon: Quietly nested in the heart of the Garhwal Himalayas, half an hour from Uttarkashi, Kuflon is a postcard village with a population of less than 30 people, set amid pristine terraced valleys. A place to get away from civilization (literally for there is little phone connectivity and no shops here), enjoy the grandeur of the snow-capped Himalayas and the warm hospitality of the locals. Kuflon Mountain Homestay, perched on the edge of the village and run by a friendly couple, offers unexpected indulgence and comforts at this altitude.
Rajaji National Park: Rajaji National park always attracts to wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers. This place is located around 208km from Delhi and around 9 km from Haridwar. This park remains open from November to June for the tourists. The tourists can book a jungle-safari from Different Places Like Rishikesh.
Badrinath Temple: This beautiful temple is located near to Alaknanda River, at an altitude of 3133 meters above from the sea level. This temple is dedicated to the Lord Vishnu.
Dehradun: Dehradun is the capital city of the Uttaranchal state. This is one of the oldest cities of India, located in mountain range of Himalayan. This city is also termed as the "Oxford of India", as it is best known educational centres of India.
Uttarakhand is a great place for trekking. At the lower levels, there are forests and wildlife. At the upper reaches, you go past the tree line to snow clad mountains. There are many trip designs which can be conceived of, but there are perhaps around 20 trips which are the most popular. See also: Leave-no-trace camping and Wilderness backpacking
Reputable tourism Provoders Near Deoriatal are Forest eco Resort , Chopta Meadows Heritage Camps , Pebble hills
Uttarakhand is also a great place to learn yoga of all forms of (as it also encompasses Rishikesh, the world capital of yoga).
There are many yoga schools in Rishikesh that offer yoga teacher training certification as a part of a 200-hour program. These programs typically last a month and include room and board, food, and days filled with instruction on the various aspects of yoga.
Reputable schools in the Rishikesh area include Vinyasa Yoga School , Ved Niketan Ashram Gyan Gang Yogpeeth
Kumaoni food is very simple but very nutritious completely suits the hard environment of the Himalayas.Pulses like gehet are fashioned into different preparations like ras-bhaat, chains, faanda and thatwaani all are unique preparations from the same pulse. Jholi or curry seasoned with curd.
Food available includes Garhwali, Indian, Chinese, Tibetan
In the tourists centers such as Badrinath, Gujarati, Marwari, other regional cuisines are available for the religious pilgrims that descend on the holy sites every summer.
Uttarakhand has high excise taxes on beer and alcohol: a bottle of beer can cost 80-90 rupees, nearly double the price of some other states in India. Quite a few holy towns including Haridwar and Rishikesh are officially dry. Cannabis is illegal, but widely used anyway, especially in Kumaon.
Stay safe
The roads are a bit tricky, and taxi rides in the hills may appear dangerous, but otherwise Uttarakhand is a pretty safe place for tourists. However, tourists are known to encounter problems in the urban centers and the plains districts such as Haridwar.
Get out
One may take up one of the trekking tours to have a walk in Chopta, Tungnath, Deoria Taal and Chandrashila. Such tours are fun packed trekking package for Chopta, Tungnath, Chandrasheela and Deoria Tal by Travel Tour Packages. Visit very spectacular destinations with a crystal clear view of the Himalayan range. Indulge in the beauty of mirror-like reflections of Himalaya from Deoria Tal. Feel the sound of Himalayan mountains at 4000 ft high Chandrashila. Enjoy the warmth of Tungnath temple on way back to Chopta. Or, simply dive in the natural garden of Buransh - a destination considered to be the Switzerland of India. The package includes a night stay in swiss tents, awesome Himalayan food, photography sessions and support of professional mountaineers. The package is ideal for a group of friends looking out for fun-packed adventurous exploratory trekking trips.
Whitewater rafting on the Ganges can be an exciting experience. Apart from the Ganges, Tons River and Kali River are also good for rafting. there are several other rivers in Uttarakhand. There are a lot of operators offering Rafting day trips on the Ganges at Rishikesh.


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CSS for Windows 8 App Development
Book Description
CSS for Windows 8 App Development is your learning guide for CSS – the language of great Windows 8-style apps. Learn the built-in styles that make the built-in controls shine, how to define them, and how to use CSS to give your custom app assets that beautiful Modern UI style.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is the clear standard for styling web applications, and with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript now powering apps on Windows 8, it's the clear standard there as well. CSS is a powerful styling and layout language that greatly simplifies the selection of page elements and their visual display, layout, and animation. Additionally, Windows 8 apps appear on a large variety of screen formats, and CSS is the primary means for uniquely defining these layouts.
- Learn the language of great Windows 8-style apps
- Raise your knowledge of the CSS3 standard
- Use the styles built-in to Windows 8 style apps
- Apply CSS styles to your app
What you'll learn
- Master the use of powerful CSS selectors
- Learn new CSS3 functionality such as flex boxes, grids, animation, and transforms
- Control your styles from JavaScript for really powerful interactions
- See the styles implemented by built-in controls like ListView and override them
- Learn style rules that will help you implement good Windows 8 style
- See how to use LESS in your Windows 8-style app
Who this book is for
CSS for Windows 8 App Development is for software developers of all skill levels working with web applications. If you're new, the foundational CSS examples will bring you up to speed quickly. If you're more familiar with CSS, you'll gain critical insight into its application in Windows 8 for creating a great Modern UI.
Table of Contents
- Windows 8 Design
- Introduction to Windows 8 Development
- Selectors and Style Rules
- Text Properties
- Box Properties
- Transforms, Transitions, and Animation Properties
- Layout Properties
- Global Styles
- WinJS Control Styles
- Overriding and Defining Styles
- CSS Libraries and Resources
- Styling SVG
Book Details
- Title: CSS for Windows 8 App Development
- Author: Jeremy Foster
- Length: 312 pages
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- Publisher: Apress
- Publication Date: 2013-02-13
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subset: commoncrawl


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Other companies are trying to do their best impersonation but Apple is still expected to dominate the ultrabook market next year.
Jonathan Ive's MacBook Air is expected to again be the dominate ultra0thin notebook in 2012, according JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz.
Moskowitz said in a letter to investors that despite a slew of competitor's ultra thin computers expected to hit the market next year, that Apple's MacBook Air will continue to dominate the arena, according to The Los Angeles Times.
"We highlighted the MacBook Air as potentially becoming a $2-[billion to] $3-billion-plus revenue opportunity," he said in a previous letter to investors. "Our latest view is that this ultra-thin notebook PC appears on track to becoming a $7-billion-plus revenue driver at Apple.
"In our view, Apple's first mover advantage and optimized feature set and form factor command a higher price that early adopters, productivity users, and Apple enthusiasts are willing to absorb," he said. "In contrast, we think that the first round of ultrabook offerings lacks the right blend of features and attractive price points to grab market share from Apple."
He said for rivals to compete, they would have to undercut Apple's high price for the MacBook Air, which runs between $999 to $1,599.
Apple's MacBook Air Will Rule 2012: Analyst
Other companies are trying to do their best impersonation but Apple is still expected to dominate the ultrabook market next year.


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Now that it has been over two weeks and the dust has settled on another crushing playoff defeat, Capitals fans can look forward to the Stanley Cup Finals and the exciting things to come for their team following it. This Caps off-season will be like no other in the recent past because General Manager George McPhee not only has to select a new coach, he has two first round choices in the 2012 NHL draft (11th and 16th overall picks), and he also has a lot of salary cap room to work with for the first time since perhaps the summer of 2008. With the Alexander Semin departure freeing up $6.7M on the books and Dennis Wideman's $3.5M hit expiring along with some other smaller contracts that have ended (see Mike Knuble and Tomas Vokoun), GMGM has some flexibility to reshape the team and hopefully fill the holes that has prevented the club from advancing past the second round of the playoffs over the last five years.
So with that as a stage setter, here are 10 thoughts on the Caps, the NHL, the Memorial Cup, as well as my Stanley Cup Finals prediction:
– With the Finals starting Wednesday (8 pm on NBC), Tuesday was media day at "The Rock" in New Jersey. One of my favorite quotes of the afternoon came from Kings coach Darryl Sutter when he was talking about what turned it around for his club after it struggled during much of the regular season. He began by talking about guys starting to understand his system but then focused on center Mike Richards ability to find his game again in mid March after suffering a concussion earlier in the campaign. He then said the addition of Jeff Carter from Columbus at the trade deadline was the final piece needed since it allowed him to spread the offensive wealth. Specifically, he was talking about Kings superstar forward Anze Kopitar, who was having a hard time scoring goals. "At that position, you can't be great all by yourself," said Sutter. That excellent quote, which explains a lot, could easily be uttered by several other teams in the league who struggle to win consistently without two true scoring lines (see the Caps and Alexander Ovechkin).
– It is always tough to watch the playoff round following the one in which your team is eliminated and that was truly the case this spring once Washington was bounced by the Rangers in seven games. I fully expected the Caps to knock off the Rags but the bounces did not go the Capitals way at all in games three and five and Henrik Lundqvist was superb in net. Coach John Tortorella also received excellent play from defensemen Michael Del Zotto and forward Marian Gaborik in that series. Against the Devils, it was a different story and New Jersey dominated the Blueshirts before dispatching them in six games. Del Zotto was terrible against Peter DeBoer's club and Gaborik disappeared like Jimmy Hoffa. On Frozen Blog's John Keeley, before the Devils series against New York, penned a super blog on Lou Lamoriello's club. John was spot on about the Devils talent and style of play and had the Caps beaten the Rangers, I don't think they would've have been able to defeat the three time Stanley Cup Champions, but I sure would have liked to have seen Dale Hunter and company try!
– Speaking of Tortorella, there is no doubt that he is a super hockey mind but his abrupt and abrasive press conferences following playoff defeats became a hot topic in the Washington and then the New Jersey series. It got so bad that super NHL Network analysts' Kevin Weekes and Craig Button finally called him out on it. Everyone knew Torts was trying to deflect criticism of his club and put the heat on himself, but the Rangers bench boss clearly took it too far. However, the man who has a very classy side, as was displayed on HBO's 24/7 series, smartly changed his ways and was insightful and more patient with the media even while his team lost the last three contests to give away a chance to play in the Stanley Cup Finals. He was even more revealing and truly honest this past Monday during his club's breakdown day. He talked about how certain players get what the team is trying to do while others do not. He said it would be up to the organization to get rid of those not on board. You can't be much more up front than that and it was certainly refreshing to hear a truthful assessment of a team following their defeat with no excuses offered (such as Phoenix blaming the referees in the Western Conference Finals). Kudos to Tortorella, who also FULLY endorsed assistant coach Mike Sullivan for any NHL head coaching opening. Well done John, I was tough on you this post season but you've gone way up again in my book with your late playoff changed ways with the media, who work hard to promote the game many of us truly love. Perhaps I'll take a cue from Torts and go easier on the referees next season??!! On second thought, I will have to think a little bit more on that one. 😉
– As for Sullivan, it is rumored that Calgary is the leading destination for the former Boston Bruins bench boss given his past relationship with Flames GM Jay Feaster in Tampa. Many once fired coaches learn and improve the second time around (see Bill Belichick and Joe Torre) and "Sully" seems to be the hot prospect this spring. I imagine the Capitals have strong interest in the New York assistant too given that the style Washinton played under Hunter is similar to what Sullivan and Tortorella were using in New York. With all of the moving pieces McPhee has going on this summer it will be interesting to see if Washington's GM sets up his roster first before picking a head coach (the patient route that New Jersey took last summer with DeBoer) or he selects a coach and shapes the roster to fit the new coach's style. Put me in the first category as I think the Capitals need to play a style like they played this post season. They need to continue to be responsible in their own end. Now if GMGM adds some offensive talent, and there is no doubt he has top six forwards in mind, then the club can be more aggressive offensively like New Jersey and Los Angeles are doing now, but both teams still have a STRONG defensive foundation at the root of their respective systems.
– When it comes to defense, I have to wonder what the heck happened to the Pittsburgh Penguins this spring?! That club was most people's pick to go to and win the Finals this June but Coach Dan Bylsma's squad fell flat on their faces. The Pens clearly lost their focus down the stretch and their play away from the puck, especially in their own end, was just awful. They had the most talented roster in the Eastern Conference and laid an egg in the first round. It is more proof that you have to be responsible defensively if you want to win the Stanley Cup and Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and company seemed to have forgotten all of the good defensive lessons former coach Michel Therrien taught them before being dismissed during their 2008-09 Cup winning season. Wide open hockey does not work in the post season, plain and simple, just ask the 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers and they will confirm that axiom.
– After Hunter left his post here in Washington, he immediately went to sit in the press box and watch his London Knights battle for the Memorial Cup, which is the championship tournament featuring a pre determined host city and the three winners of Canada's top junior leagues (the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMHJL), and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)). London won from the OHL, Edmonton represented the WHL, while the defending Memorial Cup champs, the Saint John Sea Dogs, represented the QMHJL. The host city, Shawinigan, was the fourth club. The host Cataractes ended up defeating Hunter's club in overtime of the final game to capture the Cup in a 2-1 thriller. Both goalies (Michael Houser of London and Gabriel Girard of Shawinigan) were impressive in the final match as were several other already NHL drafted players. Jarred Tinordi (Montreal), Austin Watson (Nashville), and Brandon Gormley (Phoenix) really stood out for me and seem poised to have good NHL careers. Russian Krill Kabanov (Islanders), who had one crazy junior career, did some nice things as well but it remains to be seen if he turns out to be an every day NHLer. The undrafted player that was high on my radar was Max Domi of London, son of former Leafs and Rangers tough guy, Tie. The 17 year old, who is draft eligible in 2013, was all over the ice with his speed and tenacious play. He isn't big right now size wise, but he plays large and I have to think many teams will be very interested in him next June.
– Stan Galiev, of the Caps, played again for Saint John in the Memorial Cup, and the 2010 third round pick seems to have a bright future. He projects to be a top six offensive player but personally I think it would be wise for Washington to let him get at least a year in Hershey to properly develop and gain size and confidence. The Russian forward will definitely help the Bears next season, who will not have former AHL Calder Cup MVP Chris Bourque back next year. Bourque, who very recently became a first time father, was traded on Sunday to Boston for center Zach Hamill. Hamill was the 8th overall pick in the 2007 draft and is still just 23 years old. He should help Hershey next season, as well.
– After last February's NHL trade deadline I asked an NHL scout, with over 20 years in the business, why Tampa didn't get a goalie this season when it was clear that it was their biggest hole and was certain to prevent them from making the playoffs despite the great goal scoring year Steven Stamkos was having. The scout said something that was quite telling. "It is not as easy as it seems to find what you need." I expect Tampa to go after Vokoun or some other veteran goalie this summer to go along with youngster Dustin Tokarski, who won the 2008 Memorial Cup with Spokane.
– By the way, that scout's quote is clearly relevant to what McPhee has been dealing with when it comes to second line center. GMGM knows he needs a center, but he's been unable to get one for many reasons. As I said above, this summer might be his best chance, given the flexibility he finally has in terms of salary cap room. However, it takes two to tango and you can bet that other GM's may not be willing to give what the Capitals desperately need without getting something significant back. Recent history shows though, that getting the superstar player while sacrificing lesser players, draft picks, and prospects is a recipe for success. Los Angeles, who did that to get Richards and Carter, and New Jersey, who did the same in acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk, both went that route and have been rewarded with a shot at the Cup. Pittsburgh did the same when it plucked Marian Hossa from Atlanta back in 2008. So it seems to make sense for GMGM to be aggressive and try and hit the home run on the center position this summer by giving up some assets to finally get an elite player to complement Nicklas Backstrom up the middle and alleviate some of the pressure on Ovechkin.
– Finally, I am going with the Kings in five games in the Stanley Cup Finals. Los Angeles is just rolling right now and my only concern with them is their eight day layoff. I can't see their power play continuing to struggle the way it has to date in the post season. I love the way the Devils play the game and Zach Parise is one of the best players in the NHL right now. However, I think they are over matched in this series and if they don't win game one, then this thing could be over quick. However, if New Jersey holds serve at home against a LA squad that is perfect on the road this post season, then anything can happen. That is why they play the games. Enjoy!


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If Betty White's "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig becomes a reality – the iconic comedienne might have some company.
While Betty is reportedly "this close" to her first hosting gig, she wouldn't be taking the stage alone.
According to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, the folks at "SNL" are considering a "Women of Comedy" episode that could include the likes of Betty, along with "SNL" alums Molly Shannon, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, a grassroots Facebook fan campaign was launched earlier this month begging "SNL" brass to get the former "Golden Girl" on their stage.
The "Betty White To Host SNL (please?)!" fan page currently boasts over 427,000 supporters.
In an interview with Matt Donnelly of the LA Times, White said she's ready to go "Live from New York" – it's just up to the man who created "Saturday Night Live."
"That would be up to Lorne Michaels," she said at the time.
When contacted by Access Hollywood, a rep for Betty wasn't immediately available for comment on the story.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Saturday Night Live'
PLAY IT NOW: 2010 SAG Awards: Sandra Bullock 'Betty [White] And I Are Like Gangsta'
PLAY IT NOW: Dish Of Salt At 2010 SAG Awards: Betty White 'Thrilled' Sandra Bullock Will Present Her With Lifetime Achievement Award
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Betty White - Saturday Night Live - Golden Girls - TV - Comedians


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The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board plans to meet on Thursday to consider adopting a series of audit-related standards for broker-dealers that one lawyer says will add yet another layer of compliance on BDs' plate.
The PCAOB, which was given authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to oversee the audits of BDs registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, will consider at an open meeting adopting attestation standards for auditors of BDs, an auditing standard for supplemental information, and related amendments to other PCAOB standards.
The Board says it will also consider two attestation standards related to the auditor's examination of compliance reports and review of exemption reports of BDs, as well as consider a new standard on auditing supplemental information that accompanies financial statements audited in accordance with PCAOB standards.
Josh Horn, a partner and co-chairman of the Securities Industry Practice at Fox Rothschild in Philadelphia, told ThinkAdvisor that the standards, if adopted, "will have wide impact" on BDs, adding yet "another layer of compliance."
On July 30, the SEC amended Rule 17a-5 to require, in part, that audits of broker-dealers' financial statements and supplemental information, and exams of broker-dealers' compliance reports, and reviews of broker-dealers' exemption reports be conducted by firms registered with the PCAOB and in accordance with PCAOB standards.
The Board initially proposed the attestation standards and auditing standard on July 12, 2011.
Check out SEC Adopts Stricter BD Custody Rules on ThinkAdvisor.


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Saturday, June 27, 2009 - No comments
Make Yourself at Home
Coupla days ago, I was in the market for a tailor. I am in the habit of stuffing my carry-on to the limit with all my heaviest stuff (and acting as if it is light as a feather, even though it is killing me)so as to avoid having overweight bags when I travel, and as a result, my backpack had some torn bits that needed mending. (Side note: Since I am a pretty skinny person, I am toting less pounds per capita on those airplanes, and on more than one occasion, I have tried to use that logic to convince the airline personnel that I should therefore be allowed more luggage. Hasn't worked yet.)
Anyways, the backpack.
Ok, so I found an ayakkabici (Shoe Repair Man) who said he could fix my backpack. Even better, it was only going to take a few minutes, so I sat down and watched him work. Then came a rather amusing exchange. As is customary, he asked if I wanted some tea while I waited. I said yes, and he said, "Great, there's the sink. Wash yourself a glass, and wash one for me, too." I chuckled to myself, did as I was told and then waited for the tea to steep. (At which point the man said, "You can't really be a foreigner." He was so impressed that I knew the word for "steep.")
Shortly after I had poured tea for me and the old man, a woman came in to have her belt fixed, and I figured I may as well have fun with my new role as the "cayci" (tea lady), so I offered her a cup, too. And there we sat, all chatting and sipping our cay as he pumped away expertly on the sewing machine, "as if we were old friends and not what we actually are....which is....strangers who don't even know each other's names." (Bonus points to anyone who knows which movie that's from.)
I had to laugh when the lady asked the guy if I was his daughter. Nope, just a helpful customer who is amused daily by her second culture. :)


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TMNT Birthday Invitation- chalkboard, turtles, ninja,mutant, green, Leo, Raphael, Donatello, Mikey
This listing is for a 5X7 high resolution digital file only.
Color can be adjusted upon request
When you checkout, please provide the following information to be included on your card:
1. Child's name & age
2. Date, time & location of party
3. RSVP to ...
4. Anything additional that you would like included
Once you have placed your order, you will receive a digital proof within 1-2 business days. Once your proof has been approved, you will receive your high resolution digital file via email within 24 hours.
I also offer a fully printed version sold it sets of 25. Please inquire of you are interested. Should you be interested in coordinating stickers, magnets, or return address labels, please let me know and I will be happy to provide proofs & pricing information.
Thank you!


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How to Read Other People's Code — and Why
If you are a professional software developer, or aspire to be one, you will need to know a lot of of things. Various maths, stats, languages, frameworks, methodologies, tools, etc. Fads and buzzwords will come and go, all during your career. You'll master some, ignore some, laugh at some.
But aside from the desire and ability to work in abstracts for concrete results, there is one skill that is an absolute must-have.
You have got to be able to read other people's code.
Reading other people's code is hard graft. Few young developers look forward to perusing other folks code, to mapping out the functionality, to learning the ins and outs of how it works.
But it is absolutely necessary.
We've all been there: faced with a mountain of code (which, by the way, is currently working in production) written by the guy who left, the girl who is on vacation, the guy whose wife is having a baby, who is on his honeymoon, who has won the lottery. The boss needs a new feature added or a bug fixed, and you've never looked at the code.
But you're on the hook for it. What to do?
The essence of reading code is fairly simple: build a reasonable mental model of the code in question. If you have a working model of how the code works, you can make changes with some expectations as to how it will react. There is no magic bullet; it is sometimes harder to read and understand code than to write it in the first place. Here are some approaches that can pay off:
First — Do No Harm
This is a simple prohibition against common temptation. Go ahead and add logging code, maybe some stats recording, etc. But test rigorously to ensure you don't change how the code works; understanding working production code is hard enough without mutating its behavior. This prohibition also includes resisting the temptation to "just write it from scratch" yourself. Bad, bad idea to do so under the gun, with a deadline, in a domain your not expert in. And if you haven't written code for the problem domain, you are not expert in it.
Unit Tests — Use'em if you Got'em
Unit Tests are wonderful if they exist. Twenty years ago, they were rare in software — nowadays they are much more common. If you have them they are the best, truest documentation of how the code works. Start here, play here, make changes to the unit tests and observe what happens, take notes, learn all you can. Try to write some new tests to test your understanding. This is your chance to poke and prod at the code and observe how it responds. Think of Unit Tests as the petri dishes of software lab research.
And if there aren't any Unit Tests, write some.
Read the comments, but don't believe them
This goes for design documents, requirements, user stories, etc. Code documentation has an aging component to it, and artifacts like design documents are rarely representative of the code. Comments are "younger" in some sense, but we've all seen tons of comments that make no sense. So read the comments and such, but think of them as archeological hints at best. They tell you what the code might have been trying to do, sometime in the past.
Make a separate model of the code
This is the goal of reading the code in the first place, but here I mean make a real model. On a whiteboard, with a mind-map, on a pad of paper, with small action figures, I don't care. But make a model of some sort. Seeing it outside your head in some form will help you firm it up and point out wholes.
Don't Hate the Code
You can get sucked into hating the code, merely because it is not yours. Software people tend to be equipped with ample egos, and other people's code can offend. But realize, their working code is better than your imagined code, because their working code exists right now. So put your ego aside and learn the code in front of you.
There is an important but oft-overlooked point to keep in mind when looking at other people's code: the folks who built it the first time had a model for it, and it made sense to them. Respect them enough to look for that model. I will concede some peoples' minds work in strange ways.
Reading other people's code can be an overlooked skill in these days of rapid prototyping, shoestring start-ups, and hero coders. But you'd be well served to learn to read code. One might diffidently point out that the much of the open source software movement (is it a movement?) requires you to read other people's code.
Learn to read code quickly and well; it'll make you a better developer.
Update: this turned out to be my most popular post ever. I completly attribute this to me writing it while at Strange Loop 2009 in St Louis. Great conference!Explore posts in the same categories: Tech
Tags: Artisan, Design By Gravity, Software DevelopmentYou can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
75 Comments on "How to Read Other People's Code — and Why"
October 23, 2009 at 2:50 am
I agree. In real life, most programmers need to read other people's code. Perhaps the most difficult part for me was not to hate the code. It needs getting used to.
"And if there aren't any Unit Tests, write some."
– Would be a big problem if the code you are working on is un-testable. UGH! 😉
October 23, 2009 at 3:11 am
"…archeological hints" classic. I gotta use that!
October 23, 2009 at 3:39 am
"the folks who built it the first time had a model for it, and it made sense to them"
Unfortunately in my experience, this is rarely the case. This comes through very painfully when you actually ask people to explain their code. What it comes down to a lot of the time is that they just kept hacking away at it until it worked. Any mental model they had was abandoned along the way, and they have almost just as much of a hard time understanding their own code as you have.
Of course "their working code is better than your imagined code" still applies, no matter how crap the code is. But looking for some kind of model in there could be rather futile.
(The fun part of playing with this kind code, if the circumstances allow, is that you can often reduce it to a fraction of it's original volume and it still works… Which is also a good way of understanding what the code actually does, even if you don't put the result back into production because god knows what little detail you might have overlooked or new bugs you've introduced along the way.)
January 27, 2010 at 6:55 pm
"The fun part of playing with this kind code…is that you can often reduce it to a fraction of it's original volume and it still works…"
That is true in a way as I had experienced that before. But there is a caution to this. Depending on how it was written, the "excess code" is there for optimization purposes or for specific client cases or both which you might not see due to your limited test cases or testing. Or it can be due to other portability reasons. Happened before.
October 23, 2009 at 3:57 am
I was just today thinking that the greatest leap forward I made in my development career was when I got to the point where I could comfortably solve a problem by opening some project's source code looking through it instead of hunting for the right tutorial online …
October 23, 2009 at 6:00 am
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Commonsense but needed to be said and you said it in the right way.
October 23, 2009 at 10:04 am
Any thoughts about tools for the job, e.g., code visualizers?
October 23, 2009 at 11:09 am
The issue with understanding mental model of the code is that code decays over a period of time or the mental model gets skewed. I have run into situations where a certain section of code did not make sense to me. Removing/Refactoring the code however broke a section of code that is not related to the feature at hand.
Poorly written code becomes worst very quickly and copy-paste solutions become a norm. Feathers book on legacy code helps a little, but it is hard to pull the weight in an organization where code quality is valued by a select few.
October 23, 2009 at 12:05 pm
You forgot to mention Version Control systems.
It's helpful to review history of changes and differences between versions.
It's also important to read code not only when code developer is gone, but also when s/he is present, but need your feedback on the changes that s/he just made in the code.
October 23, 2009 at 3:14 pm
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October 23, 2009 at 8:25 pm
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October 24, 2009 at 3:37 am
What if we need the programmer to do an eloquent documentation? Pair program and put both to document, ask the supervisor(project lead etc) to check in only after that, and viola!! I was able to read a stored procedure's documentation, find exactly the programmer was going wrong, and this in functional error, correct and get the results in an hours time!!
Document the code, programmers, document!!!!
October 24, 2009 at 8:06 am
[…] How to Read Other People's Code — and Why […]
October 24, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Interesting. I'm now pondering whether there's some taxonomy of mental modes that could help with the process of understanding Other People's Code. For example I tend to cook up data structures and use them to drive the code. (Sometimes I end up overabstracting.) I find it hard to understand code that's (IMHO) poorly abstracted or uses the "wrong" abstraction (i.e. not the one I'd have used); I wonder if people who write that sort of code would find mine to be overabstracted and hard to read.
October 26, 2009 at 8:37 am
Very well said. Definitely agree with your remarks especially with not believing comments. Like you said, treat them as "archeological hints". Definitely true. With all credit given to commenting, this is often the source of misinformation. People write and update code quickly forgetting to keep comments in sync, so they soon fall far behind.
"Don't Hate the Code" is something that would present more obstacles. You can keep friendly with the code for as long as it is just different. When the code starts to interfere with your work and exposes all those hacks and tricks that were meant to solve an immediate problem without thinking about future maintenance, you won't probably be able to help yourself. But you should of course try.
October 28, 2009 at 12:03 am
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November 15, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Here's a pickle for you:
You get code for a project that's 60% done, but the quality is bad of the compiled code is bad. The source code, looks worse. Granted, it kinda works.
I strongly encourage writing things from scratch, since the people before you seem to have amateurs.
Would you agree?
December 18, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Tough call IMO as I have had to take over a number of code bases from previous programmers who clearly had less experience than myself, amateurs as you state. I'm not fan of rewriting code and a HUGE proponent of reading and understanding code first. That said if you are going to rewrite some functionality, not code, because you don't rewrite code you rewrite functionality, then you had better FULLY understand the requirements of the piece of functionality.
This is the most difficult part of rewriting a piece of functionality because often people have forgotten how much a certain part of a system actually does. Those details are also often overlooked by the business persons who which to have a piece of functionality changed.
I still think you should avoid a rewrite whenever possible but if you do, get full buy in from the business or users of the software, to your new model for the functionality. The simple act of communicating will save you a lot of trouble. This is of course just my opinion based on my experience.
Oh and great article BTW!!
November 16, 2009 at 2:35 am
Good Post!
I worked on maintaining COBOL + .NET project. I am not proficient in COBOL but I know .NET and C# very well. Initially I suffered a lot understanding the COBOL code – as I don't know the hacks in that language – though I can deduce what the original coder intended to do. So, I start off writing small algorithm for every function – activity. That way I could understand the part I need to work with thoroughly.
November 27, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Howdy! . Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂 🙂
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June 18, 2012 at 8:49 pm
The problem with code reviews that I face is that sometimes team members don't understand OO design concepts. When they design a class containing methods like "getProductData() // @return Gets product data.", what am I supposed to say? I spend time explaining the concepts of OO design, then when they inevitably don't understand (because if they did, they wouldn't have done it that way to begin with), I spend loads more time getting intimately involved with their project in order to help them design it right. This is soul killing for me.
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text:
The last couple of blogs I've had a lot on serving. Now let's talk about receive. Below are links to ten articles I've written on receive. Receive is the hardest part of the game to learn, and the most under-practiced. When players drill, they work on their strokes, their footwork, and they even practice serves. But how often do they systematically practice receive? To do so, you need to find practice partners who is willing to let you practice against their serves, and many players are protective of this - they don't want to give potential rivals a chance to get used to their serves. Sometimes the best way to practice serves is to find a stronger player (one who doesn't consider you a potential threat) and ask to practice against their serves. Or hire them as a coach. As to the receiving itself, enjoy browsing or reading the below. Any questions? C'mon, I love questions!!!
Getting back to my old level
Now that my back problems are over, I'm toying with how serious I should take my own playing. If I want to get back to my old level, I'm going to have to:
*Sigh*. It seems like a lot of time and work. There's a reason most coaches stop competing. (And the huge majority of my match play these days is as a practice partner for local juniors.) Maybe I'll just continue to focus on coaching, and let others do the above. (Like I've been doing for years.) On the other hand, I can rely on 35 years of playing experience to win matches. There's some pride to winning a match when the opponent has you completely outgunned, and they come off the table wondering, "How the heck did I lose that?"
Coach Tao Li teaches the forehand counterloop (8:35). If you like this, here are seven coaching videos by Coach Tao
Joo Se-Hyuk
Here's a profile of South Korea's Joo Se-Hyuk, the best chopper in the world (really a chopper/looper, since he's often all-out looping on the forehand), and a men's singles finalist at the 2003 Worlds.
National Physical Disabled Table Tennis Association
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Send us your own coaching news!


text: Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - A downward spiral Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today! Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in A downward spiral Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> General Africa Forum View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message once againJoined: 27 Jan 2003Posts: 815 Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2003 8:11 am Post subject: A downward spiral In one of my last posts I suggested we not reply to the flamers, trolls etc. and other such inflamatory posts. There is a difference between a difference of oppinion expressed in a "civilized" manner, which we each have with many or few as the case may be, and outright goading, racism, on and on and on. Looking at a few of the posts again today, I see a worrying trend on these forums. There seem to be more aggressive posts than ever. If we are not careful there will be nothing left here other than the goading by the few and the responses of the many. There is no need to define what is an obvioulsy inflamatory post because, to steal a phrase, "We can't define it but we know it when we see it". Those seeking a response by goading are happy when others take the bait. If the bait isn't taken then maybe they will stop fishing. Back to top once againJoined: 27 Jan 2003Posts: 815 Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2003 8:16 am Post subject: oops so sorry to everyone on this forum..I posted the message to the wrong site..or at least it appeared on the wrong site..not sure how or why it happened,,but the post is nothing to do with anything here..sorry., Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> General Africa Forum All times are GMT Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Where to Begin----------------General DiscussionNewbie ForumCurrent Events ForumTechnology ForumOnline Teaching Forum Africa Forums----------------General Africa Forum Asia Forums----------------CambodiaChina (Job-related Posts Only)China (Off-Topic)Hong KongIndiaIndonesiaJapanMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeTaiwanThailandGeneral Asia ForumVietnam Caribbean Forums----------------General Caribbean Forum Europe Forums----------------Czech RepublicFranceGermanyGreeceItalyMacedonia and the BalkansPolandRomaniaRussia & C.I.S.SpainTurkeyUkraineUnited KingdomGeneral Europe Forum Latin America Forums----------------ArgentinaBrazilChileColombiaCosta RicaMexicoMexico (off-topic)PeruGeneral Latin America Forum The Middle East Forums----------------BahrainEgyptIsraelKuwaitOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesGeneral Middle East Forum North America Forums----------------General North America Forum Oceania----------------Australia/New Zealand You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Contact Dave's ESL Cafe Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved. Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group Teaching Jobs in China


text:
Happy Anniversary TOS Digital!
A year ago, the new digital version of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine came in the world.
And I had an opportunity to review the digital version in the past. At first, I was a bit against the digital part of the magazine. I'm the kind of person who loves to have the magazine in my hands. But then I rapidly discovered some advantages of it. Like being able to forward a specific article to a friend or have instant access on the website of some advertizers. Also, having a digital copy of a magazine permits to reduce the number of trees that are cut to produce the paper magazine.
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What to say to a 5 year old?
I got a complicated question at supper time from my almost 5 year old... A hard one for me to be honest.
So we are eating and Dominic looks at me and ask "Are we going to see mamie soon?".
This is a touchy subject... If you are wondering why just click here to know more about the situation.
So I looked at my hubby and then turned to Dominic and told him. "I'm not the one deciding you know. Hopefully soon..."
Then he looks at me again and says "Well, I would like to see her before she dies."
Ouch! Got tears in my eyes... Don't know what to say to that. I had to got in the kitchen so I didn't cry in front of the kids. It breaks my heart... but I can't do anything about it.
Oh Lord! Please soften my mom's heart. Break the walls she had built around her. Reach out to her. Bring someone she trusts who would explain your marvelous gift to her in words she would understand... (she rejected it from us a few years ago) Oh Father, give me strength... If by any chances, my son is prophetic in any shape or form, I pray that you give a dream to some of our leadership team members about it (not hubby of course - someone outside of the family who have no clue this would be a confirmation...). Show me what to do... We do talk on the phone. No e-mails since she refuse to give me her new e-mail address... I hurt... feeling alone in this (I don't have any brothers and sisters, my dad left many years ago and dead since 2000). I'm lost and don't know what should be my next step. Amen.
One thing for sure... I don't want to be like that for my kids in the future! I love them too much for that...
99 things I could have done....
My bold answers are the one I did... which reminds me I do a have a list of things I want to do in my lifetime... I should dig this up and post it on my blog!
Have fun - try to go through the list and see how much you have done so far...
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band/orchestra
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - from Romania to Hungary
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - both
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies –It was calendars in my time…
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (I used to work for an attorney, so I was involved in a lot of them LOL)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
Storytime Writing Contest
Exciting News from TOS!
Attention writers!
Grab your pencils and get those creative juices flowing!
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is hosting our second Storytime Writing Contest! We have two creative fiction categories: adults (16 and up 2,500 words or less) and children (15 and below 1,500 words or less). Deadline to enter is March 16, 2009. $7.95 fee per entry.
Grand prize winners in both the adult and child categories will receive prize packages valued at over $1,000, publication in the Summer 2009 issue of TOS, and publication in our Storytime 2009 Compilation E-Book. Eleven Honorable Mentions from each category will also be included in the E-Book in addition to receiving gifts from top homeschool companies.
We look forward to reading your entries!
For a detailed list of prizes, official contest rules, to meet our judges, and to upload your story, please visit: www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/Short_Story_Contest.php.
Need help teaching writing? We have over 200 writing products in the Schoolhouse Store!
OUI, WE or Wii ?
Well a bit of everything...
OUI (that stands for yes in French), WE got a Wii for Christmas.
And since then, WE are including the Wii for homeschool. How you may ask? Simply with the Wii Fit (another thing we got for Christmas). It is amazing. Unfortunately I still can't use it because my cast is still on but I am planning to try the Wii Fit as soon as it is gone (which is Thursday btw). We created a Mii for Alexandre and he is doing his fitness routine regularly. Mind you I am not sure if it will last but I think it will. There is another training game we want to get - it's called Personal Trainer and on it there is something like 500 training exercises. Another one came out called Boot Camp 2009 but between you and me the trainer need to get dress a bit more. I wouldn't get that one just because of how Jillian is dressed.
We also discovered Wii games for the young ones who are learning color and shapes and so on with them. And we bought Endless Ocean to learn about scubadiving and animals from the ocean. Apart from the Wii Fit, the rest of the Wii will be awarded based on the fact the kids have completed their homework or not.
On another note, I was able to go out with hubby and the kids during a little shopping spree. At the Wal-Mart, we looked into the games bin and I found the two Nintendo DS BrainQuest game - one for grade 3-4 and another one for grade 5-6 - for 9.96 each instead of the 35$ previously found... So I am very happy with this discovery. I use the Nintendo DS as a motivation. Our games are education once again. Did you know there were game such as Spelling Challenge, Math Play, even the Flash Focus is something Alexandre can us. For Dominic, we got a little game for younger kids but he will get it on his birthday only.
We used to have 2 Nintendo DS but unfortunately, one of them disappeared the day I had surgery back in November. My husband thinks he might have dropped it and I called the hospital a few times but they don't have it. So we lost it. Hopefully, someone will enjoy the games that he had in there - including my Bible Game. Now if I can only put my hands back on that game.... I was enjoying it!
Planning Strategy for Walt Disney World...
My friend Heidi has an interesting weekly thing called Destination Disney and this week (well okay maybe last week... I'm a bit late) it was about planning your trip.
It has been 10 years last June since we went to Disney - that was before kids! On our honeymoon... I had bought books back then to plan our trip. I'm a MAJOR planner and I like to figure out what to do when... know what I mean?
So while going through our stuff to see what would go back in the basement and what we are getting rid off, we found the old planning books... These we didn't keep because 10 years have gone by since then. But we were planning to buy other books when we would bring the kids to Disney.
It is possible that we do that in 2009. It will depends of many things but it is one of our potential trip. The kids don't know... so shhhhh! Don't tell them. It will be a surprise.
While going to Costco not too long ago, I stumble on a special book there. I showed it to hubby and we decided to buy it. You've guessed it! A planning book for Disney!
The PassPorter's Walt Disney World is packed with interesting information and planning guides. I can't wait to see if we will be able to go this year and then pick up the book and plan our trip! What a surprise it would be!!!!
You can find this wonderful book at Amazon.com
Blog Archive
- ► 2011 (467)
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- ▼ 2009 (38)
- ► 2008 (123)


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According to Amazon, the DX will last as long on a full charge as the Kindle 2 does: a week with the wireless left radio on, two weeks with it off. That seems about right - we noticed no discernible differences in battery life between the two devices.
Before you start adding shipping costs, the DX will set you back $489 - £308 at the current exchange rate - or, put it another way, $230 (£145) more than the standard Kindle. That is a fair old chunk of change for an e-book reader, even one with a huge screen.
Nice... but pricey
It also means the DX is pretty much the same price as the soon to arrive entry-level iPad. While the the iPad is not a dedicated e-book reader - making direct comparisons pointless - both devices are large screened handheld electronic gadgets competing for a finite discretionary consumer spend.
Another potential fly in the DX's ointments is Sony's hopefully-coming-to-Blighty-soon $399 (£252) Reader Daily Edition, which has a 7.1in, 600 x 1024 screen, 3G wireless communication, and PDF file support complete with variable text sizes and reflow.
Spend time with the 9.7in Kindle DX and your won't ever want to go back to a 6in e-book reader but blimey you've to pay a hefty price to be paid for such luxury. If money is no object, you won't regret the outlay, but you may want to consider waiting to see if the arrival of Apple's iPad causes Amazon to re-think its pricing strategy. ®
More E-Book Reader Reviews...
Sony Reader
Pocket Edition
Sony Reader
Touch Edition


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This is something you don't see every day: Two fighter jets landing simultaneously in perfect synchronization on the same runway.
Two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 35th Fighter Squadron land in sync after a training sortie Feb. 13, 2014, at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. The pilots faced different training scenarios to further reinforce their ability to fight off aggressors. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Armando A. Schwier-Morales/Released)


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Dave Roberts is the Greatest Human Being Ever:
Screw this crap about teaching the American Revolution in our public schools. Sit kids down on day one, show them The Steal, and remind them how lucky they are to live in these magical times.It's true. That revolution thing never really panned out, but the Steal and its aftermath will resonate for centuries.
Red points us to this cool USA Today interview with the Man of Steal:
If I came to your house, is there a continuous video loop of that play?I know July 19, 2005 was covered.
(Laughs) No. I would be divorced if there was. I've got one room which is a sports room or my wife calls it a "dig me" room . There is the helmet I had when I stole the base and there is also my spikes and picture. But that is it. A continuous loop? No. ...
How often do people remind you of the play?
I played four seasons after the '04 season and there is not a day that went by during the baseball season where a member of Red Sox Nation would not say thank you. That is a fact. Unless I'm in my house and by myself, I'm pretty much hearing it all the time.


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July 1, 2020Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Endemic to the African tropics, the Ebola virus has killed thousands in recent years, putting the World Health Organization and major donor countries in the limelight as they've grappled with how to …
June 30, 2020China
More than a million Muslims have been arbitrarily detained in China's Xinjiang region. The reeducation camps are just one part of the government's crackdown on Uighurs.
February 5, 2020Ukraine
Ukraine has struggled to forge an independent path, torn between Europe and the United States in the West and its long-standing ties to Russia in the East.
November 15, 2019Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Antibiotics are facing an existential crisis less than a century after their introduction. Increased bacterial resistance is putting the world at risk of an era in which routine infections are untreatable.
March 12, 2019United States
With economic inequality at an all-time high, some U.S. presidential candidates are proposing dramatic shifts to the U.S. tax code. How have similar plans worked elsewhere in the world?
March 8, 2019United States
President Trump has made reducing the U.S. trade deficit a priority, blaming trade deals like NAFTA, but economists disagree over how policymakers should respond.
May 4, 2018South Korea
South Korea's megaconglomerates have helped lift the country out of poverty, but their extraordinary influence could put the health of the Korean economy at risk.
June 7, 2017Brexit
As the United Kingdom recovers from a string of terror attacks, the country's parliamentary elections could determine the course of its Brexit negotiations, trade and economic policy, internal border…
August 10, 2016Islamic State
With Iraq weakened and a civil war raging in Syria, it's unclear whether local forces and a U.S.-led international coalition can roll back the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
July 22, 2016United States
Foreign policy issues regularly come to the fore at the national political conventions, especially during periods of global instability. Sometimes the events are marked by bitter disagreements within…


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OpenMPT 1.21.01.00 released
The latest version of OpenMPT has been released today.
Even though the version jump is big (from OpenMPT 1.20 to 1.21), this version brings just a few new features and improvements, but they are crucial enough to deserve a new version number. These are the highlights of the OpenMPT 1.21 "Christmas release":
- Support for FLAC samples (both reading and writing) has been added!
- The treeview can now be used to rearrange (drag and drop), insert and duplicate (through the context menu) samples and instruments (yes, this was supposed to be possible in OpenMPT 1.20 already, but it was really buggy).
- An option to quantize recorded notes has been added. Notes that are recorded live through MIDI or the computer keyboard can be quantized, i.e. they are shifted up or down to the closest row that is a multiple of the quantize setting. Even with a quantize value of 1, this provides much more accurate results that not using quantization at all!
- New Data Entry shortcuts can be used to increase or decrease the value of the currently selected pattern cells (note, instrument, effect parameters), either by +/- 1 or by a coarse value depending on the column.
- If no selection has been made, interpolation shortcuts now interpolate between the nearest notes / instruments / commands above and below the cursor position.
- New stereo to mono sample conversion modes: Keep only left / right channel, split stereo sample into two mono samples.
- It is now possible to drag and drop multiple samples / instruments from explorer.
- Moving the envelope tail (using Ctrl + Drag) in the instrument editor also works properly if the distance between the moved point and the following point is small.
- Usability improvements when click-dragging the mouse over the sample map.
For a complete list of changes, have a look at the release notes and the full version history.
Changing Midi
I just installed the "arachno-soundfont-10-sf2" and it makes all my midi sound awesome in media player but when I load midi into OpenMPT it does not sound so good. Tried to change the output port to "CoolSoft_VirtualMIDISynth_1.6.3" but I could not find where to change it or indeed if it was possible. Works in Anvil Studio though. Please find time to add this or make it easier to find.
For me this is the best tracker of them all so I would love it if you could eventually find the time.
Then how about the soundfont
Then how about the soundfont support? The samples that they contain is exactly the reason I use soundfonts in OpenMPT (they export to plain sample files afterwards anyway), and some soundfonts just open up with very off-key notes.
I'm not asking for MIDI support, that's not what OpenMPT is for (though the support that IS there is a nice bonus). But MPT has been opened up for so long I expected at least someone start working on the wonky soundfont support. If the reasoning for not doing so is "OpenMPT is not for making MIDI", then that reasoning is flawed since sf2 provides a perfectly valid use outside of MIDI. Though fixing soundfont support would incidentally also fix imported MIDIs that don't sound too good.
Of course, I might be one of the VERY few people out there trying to use soundfonts with OpenMPT. But there just are some out there that sound so good! :P
My experience on SoundFont support in OpenMPT
Hello Denis, Hi all,
I'm the author of the Arachno SoundFont and I'm glad you liked it ;)
I've also been a devoted user of ModPlug Tracker/OpenMPT some years ago, so I guess that I should be quite able to answer your questions!
Back when I was actively working on Arachno SoundFont and composing some tracked music on MPT (my last released track, "Green Hills", was published in 2007), I also had a painful experience using SoundFonts on OpenMPT. I actually opened some forum threads about it on French forums, such as AudioFanzine or TrackersAtWork, just to find that I was the only one wanting to compose music with a tracker and SoundFonts...
The main problem I had back then (OpenMPT was just brand new) was that its SoundFont import module couldn't properly import multi-layered SoundFonts, like mine. If you have a few minutes, let me explain what it means.
A multilayered instrument is built from several samples covering the same note ranges, with different parameters, to obtain a richer sound. If you take some examples from Arachno SoundFont, like the pads (Fantasia, Soundtrack...), most are built using a strong sound for the main part (e.g. the original sample from the Roland D-50 synth) and some string samples to obtain a continuous (looped) sound with sustained notes, until you choose to cut them off (== on MPT).
So, the problem is (as I assume that it's still the case) that MPT usually imports the first part(s) of the multilayered instruments while you're grabbing them from a SoundFont. As a result, once converted into a module instrument, you'll only hear the first sample while playing it. If you're importing a SF2 preset on which the first sample is the biggest (louder) one, it will sound somewhat close to what you're hearing on your MIDI synth. But if the first sample is some "background" stuff, it'll sound weird.
I tried EVERYTHING I found back them, just to properly import my SF2 instruments on MPT and compose using them: converting them to DLS or some other bank format, using some VSTi software synths (e.g. sfz - BASSMIDI Driver and VirtualMIDISynth weren't available back then) or even hardware ones (eg. Sound Blaster Live!, X-Fi...) to reproduce sounds using MIDI events... I always was out of luck.
So, for my latest tracks, I ended up sampling the instruments I had on Arachno SoundFont as plain wave sounds (one per note range...) and rebuilding new raw module instruments from them, just to obtain the sound they had on my MIDI synths. But it was an extremely long process which clearly discouraged me. I took the time to compose four tracks using this process from 2006 to 2007, but was so bored that I didn't go on.
Later, with the enhancements brought by OpenMPT, I actually succeeded having great sounds using a software synth and VSTi "instruments". But, it came with other problems related to MPT's VSTi management (e.g. VSTi settings not being recalled when reloading a song, random crashes). I retried many times later, using quite professional software and hardware (E-MU Emulator X3 and MOTU UltraLite) but I gave up due to buggy rendering with MPT - REAPER being the only DAW on which I had somewhat satisfactory results with both.
The problem being that I can't get used to sequencers... So, I'm still sticking with OpenMPT, and nearly stopped composing music because of all these issues. I love MPT and the tracker approach, but handling VSTi with it for all instruments is quite painful. I somewhat retried the process with my (then) brand-new Core i7 PC, but nothing had changed.
So, just like you - and that's why I was so happy to read your experience - as of today, I still dream of a new version of OpenMPT which would definitely fix the SoundFont import process, so I can enjoy composing with it again, without having to deal with the power-hungry and buggy VSTi technology (just keeping it for effects).
The solution could be to actually import ALL samples from the SF2 preset as several instruments (one per wave sample) and create a "meta" master instrument without samples, which would be here only to drive all the other instruments while being triggered. Don't know if I'm clear... as far as I can remember, the new MPTM format had somewhat close to that "multilayered" instrument approach, but I'm not sure about that.
It's even more frustrating when you know that I'm actually a professional developer (working mostly in C# .NET, but with a good experience in C++/Qt and Delphi) but I don't know if I'll ever have some time to look into OpenMPT's code and check whether I could help on this point. Even if I know that the rock-solid SoundFont software synths we have nowadays (BASS engine, BASSMIDI Driver, CoolSoft VirtualMIDISynth, SynthFont...) might come with useable source code I could also explore.
Or, just like you said, enhancing MPT on the pure MIDI side (so we can use it to produce pure MIDI tracks, triggering note on/note off events, program and channel changes...) could also help having, at least, a nice piece of software which could produce music using an external SoundFont synthesizer for sound output. But it's a quite tricky task too. I tried some MIDI-enabled and enhanced trackers as well (eg. BeRoTracker, MIDI Tracker, Renoise...) just to find that their MIDI implementation wasn't really close to what I was expecting.
Well, sorry for a so long message. But I'm so glad to find *at least* someone who understands music composition just like I do! I don't want to blame MPT for anything (having spent so much good time with it) but the dream I had some years ago woke up while reading your messages... so, let's hope!
My experience on SoundFont support in OpenMPT
I had reported some of these issues (if not all), as some of them were effectively fixed in some OpenMPT version. I used to communicate mainly with rewbs, IIRC.
I also remember of this menu focus issue in Emulator X... I think that I found a workaround back then, but don't really remember the trick.
I'll have to retry using Emulator X or other VSTi in the latest version of OpenMPT, as I still have all the MPTM projects I made.
PS: I also own some nice synths I've used to sample some instruments in Arachno SoundFont (Roland D-550, MT-32, Sound Canvas SC-8850 / Korg M1R-ex, X5DR / Yamaha MU1000) along with a few software stuff. So, I only have to find the time experiencing OpenMPT again, now :)
Re: Soundfonts again
Wow! This was a little while ago, but I guess I'll pop in anyways. Back when I used my poor little single-core netbook, I often had to make compromises with resources. I found that Font! player runs lighter than sfz (search for "Font!sf2" and you'll find it). I still avoid piling on the vstis, but after that the only issue is making the different instruments play nicely with each other. (I usually have to put a vst amp of some sort on the soundfont player, since they can be so quiet in comparison to everything else).
It'd be nice if MPT could import soundfonts as sample instruments or something, but I understand that it's not likely to happen very soon, if at all.
I would like to see a playlist incorporated into openMPT. Yes I know it is an editor..but with my experiences using it, it is also an excellent playback program. Just a thought :)
Yeah I agree too, there are
Yeah I agree too, there are many excellent programs, but will libopenmpt still support VST and ASIO?
Soundfont issues
I can't drag certain soundfonts into the instrument window in order to use them, is there any particular reason for this?


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Robert Milstein
Get in Touch
Academic Groups
Academic Area
Bobby Milstein is a Visiting Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also a director of ReThink Health for the Fannie E. Rippel Foundation.
With an educational background that combines cultural anthropology, behavioral science, and systems science, Milstein concentrates on challenges that involve large-scale institutional change and the need to align multiple lines of action. He led the development of the ReThink Health Dynamics model and a suite of regionally-configured simulations that are used by leaders across the country to explore the likely health and economic consequences of policy scenarios.
From 1991 to 2011, Milstein worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he founded the Syndemics Prevention Network, chaired the agency's Behavioral and Social Science Working Group, and was coordinator for a wide range of new initiatives. He was the principal architect of the CDC's framework for program evaluation and published a monograph entitled Hygeia's Constellation: Navigating Health Futures in a Dynamic and Democratic World, recommended as "required reading for all health professionals."
Milstein has led several award-winning teams that bring greater structure, evidence, and creativity to the challenge of health system change. He is a cofounder (with Patty Mabry) of the NIH Institute on Systems Science and Health, and a codeveloper of several other widely used health policy simulation models including HealthBound and the Prevention Impacts Simulation Model. He has received CDC's Honor Award for Excellence in Innovation, the Applied Systems Thinking Prize from ASysT Institute, as well as Article of the Year awards from AcademyHealth and the Society for Public Health Education.
Milstein holds a BA in cultural anthropology from the University of Michigan, an MPH from Emory University, and a phD in interdisciplinary arts and sciences with a specialization in public heath science from Union Institutes and University.


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The Big Bear Lake Race is on the Big Bear Lake Campground grounds. This is a 6.5 mile loop. It is a nice, pretty flat, technical trails. Very rocky!
Race morning dawned hot and humid. We had a good turnout of WV Trail Runners at the race, although we were all surprised at each other-maybe we should communicate more LOL!
For the 12 hour race, there were solo runners and team relays. Heather Parks, the Race Director, had an increase from 17 runners in the inaugueral year to about 67 runners this year. There were 17 solo male and 7 solo female runner fools. The relay runners took off while the solo runners dawdled around at the back of the pack. I chatted with Angela, a runner friend that I had met at Rocky and Umstead, before moving a bit ahead of her down the trail.
I had no goals for this race, although Dan Lehmann gave me some right before the race. He said I should be about to finish 6 or 7 loops. I wasn't really setting any goals until I saw the loop. And then, since I forgot my watch, I figured I would just go out there and run and have fun!
It's a beautiful trail, a great day to be in the woods. This trail is very runnable, a nice gradual downhill in the first few miles, a little climb. It's very technical (or very technical to me). We're up on top of a mountain, kinda, so it's mainly many rocks. The woods were nice and lush and it was just nice to be out in nature. I kept my eyes peeled on the first loop for the bear-there was a momma bear and cub spotted the day before. (The first two runners on the loop-the bear was on the trail!!!)
With this being a loop course, I carried just one handheld and did not wear my waistbelt-boy that was nice not to have that constriction! I did stuff some ClifBlok Shots and a gel into my skirt's pockets. I did drain my handheld as I came up to the first water stop around 3 miles in.
The next section, to the next unmanned water stop was my favorite. I think the unmanned water stop must be around mile 5 or so, because it's then a short distance back to race headquarters. This also contains the pine woods maze that I so enjoyed in the 20K race there. After the unmanned water stop, I pop back out of the woods in no time back to race HQ.
Nutrition: WIth this being a short loop course, AND it being so hot out (we had a high of 90 degrees!!!) I went with liquid nutrition. I had Boost on ice in my cooler. I drank one of these on each trip back to HQ, and did also eat some gels and Shots and a few bananas on the rounds.
As I started loop # 4, I found I was really getting hot. I was getting a headache, which I hoped was not the start of heat exhaustion or stroke. I was stupid enough to still only be carrying one bottle of fluids between AS, which gave me the dilemma off cooling off my head, or putting the fluid inside of me.
Tony really helped me out here. He was on a relay team, and feeling the heat of the day too. We walked and ran a mile or two together, which made the loop go by much quicker. He pulled away in the pine woods, but I felt much better having had his company-thanks Tony!
As I came out of the woods on this lap, I saw most of the West Virginia Trail Runner contigency lounging in the shade at the edge of the woods. I called out to them "you better not be drinking beer yet!" Bradley indicated that he was only on rootbeer, and he had stopped after five laps, he'd had enough of the heat.
I entered the extremely hot HQ tent, and they asked if I was done. "Heck no!" was my answer, and got a little cheer from the runners. Heck, sure it was hot, but this was a 12 hour run. The idea was to run most of the 12 hours, wasn't it?
It's funny, as I kept running laps, that I would notice something different in the woods on each lap. I saw some really cool mushrooms that I missed on a previous lap. I spotted three deer stands on loops five and six previously unnoticed. The loops were long enough so that I didn't get bored on them, yet recognized enough landmarks to know how far away each water station was-ultra running is ultra running, whether it's point to point or loops, you run them AS to AS.
As I was finishing loop five, I wondered what time it was. I figured if it was past 530pm, I wouldn't go back out again. Imagine my surprise when I got back to the HQ and found out it was 358 pm! Of course I'm doing another lap!
Dan snapped a pic of me as I finished up the race:
and I am my usual happy self out there. I really had fun, even though it was extremely hot.
On the whole, I managed my nutrition very good. The icy Boost, supplemented with some gels, bananas, and some jelly beans provided enough nutrition. It was much easier to get down than dealing with a bunch of solid food.
To my surprise, as the awards were announced, I was 3rd of the 7 females! Top female ran 9 laps, 2nd was 7 laps, and I ran 6 laps for 39 miles. I think, if the weather had been a bit cooler, I could have ran a bit more, and a bit faster. I was very pleased with my performance. It was a rocky, technical course, and I enjoyed being on it.
There was plenty of pizza after the race also! For a 25 dollar fee, aid station, pizza afterwards, and free camping at the race start, this was a very good deal!
Post race, the WV Trail Runners settled in around the campfire for hotdogs, hummus, marshmellows and some of us had a beer or two. I actually was very good, (and really tired) and didn't over drink, knowing that I was still dehydrated. In fact, my last drink of the evening was Gatorade!
I love this bar


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Dr. Patrick Thaddeus Jackson's anti-scientific critique of rational choice theory made me think more of Academia, and its relationship to Science.
Academia and Science are not the same thing. Indeed, for a long time most U.S. government science funding was channeled thru the Department of Agriculture. Many of the great scientific advancements in the United States were likewise made outside the typical academic environment, such as Bell Labs, General Electric, the Manhattan Project, and the Apollo Program. While academia were involved in these places to varying extent, none of them ran on the basis of academic freedom.
How Academia works is not the only way of how Science works. Science already has too many enemies to be dragged down into the political muck with Academics who themselves attack science in addition to creating political enemies. Academia is already under too much attack — such as from teachers union attempting to harvest profits from the public school system – to stay healthy under the anti-Scientific strain.
The proper role of non-Scientific academics is teaching, service, and research that builds useful things. The digital humanities are an amazing and lucrative example of such useful, non-Scientific work in Academia. Jason Heppler of Stanford University runs an awesome blog on such things, Likewise, the cool Geographic Travels blogs emphasizes the utility of spatial and cultural geography. There's plenty of room for such activity in Academia, too.
But that space is threatened by the anti-scientists — especially elite anti-scientists — who simultaneously attack Science and also generate political enemies. Dr. Jackson's post titled "The Society of Individuals," for instance, is an attack on Rational Choice research programs while also attacking politically relevant philosophers for being sexist and morally repugnant.
Science in the Academy is too precious for those who attack Science and the foundations of the Academy. It is a tragedy such parasitic rhetoric is found in the system. It is a waste of resources all around.
A further tragedy is that when non-scientific academics engage in tangential political debates, the (natural) political reaction can be ineffective, counterproductive, and chaotic. Dr. Jackson's piece is surely an example of the sort of research that Senator Coburn hoped to put a stop to by taking away National Science Foundation support for political science." But the NSF supports actual scientific work, so the consequences of the defunding are to weaken the Academy, weaken Science, but previously strengthen the voices of those anti-scientific talking heads who might otherwise be drowned out by scientific Academics.
Over at gnxp, Razib Khan has surged that anti-science cultural anthropology "be extirpated from the academy." More generally, anti-scientists of all types should be too. But there's no easy or obvious way to do this without risking the Academic Freedom that anti-scientists use to attack science
In conclusion, anti-science should be extirpated from the academy. But I have no idea of how this should be done.


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|Most of the classroom
|Other side of the room view, classroom library and storage
|Small group meeting area, other than the floor
|My desk area, still a work in progress though
|Some of my buckets in use! LOVE these!
|My listening center. I hot glued the top of the ribbon to the
wall, attached name tag clips to the headphones
(they snap on), and then clipped them to the ribbon
|The sign I made (sayings from Pinterest).
Tutorial soon to come!
|Close up of Calendar and Homework. Homework white boards from Walmart,
Calendar from Target
|Where my students hang their hats from AR
|More of my buckets in use, on my white board
|Student organization center. Book boxes (IKEA), notebooks, and pencil boxes.
|another one of my products, they came out so cute!
|My new candy jars, they came out so cute!
My outside wall display (remember the fire marshal), clothespin tutorial soon to come.


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1887 cigarette card Kinney Bros New York.
1887 cigarette card Kinney Bros New York.
another of your great posts Ron, this should also be very interesting.
Note that the card says England, didn't they know it was the Scots who wore the Kilt lol
You will find lots of inaccuracies in these cards Al.
Keep watching Ron.
Lambert & Butler Types of the Army 1897.
Even nowadays people refer to England when they are talking about the UK.[/QUOTE]
chalky,when i was out in switzerland working,my chef(boss) used to say i was english..my reply every time was are you german?..NO he would scream...same here am scottish...lol
American Tobacco Co Military Uinforms "C" 1900.