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Infrared Photoelectric Photometry Program
What is Infrared Photometry?
Infrared astronomy is an exciting new area of observation and study for the amateur astronomer, and there is huge potential for amateur astronomers to break new ground and contribute important observations to this exciting field of research. The infrared region of the spectrum is typically defined as light with wavelengths greater than 1.1 micron. Human vision ends at about a wavelength of 0.75 micron. Members of the AAVSO and Optec, Incorporated have worked together to develop the SSP-4 infrared photometer. The SSP-4 photometer is designed to precisely measure light in the J (1.25 micron) and H (1.65 micron) bands. More information about the SSP-4 photometer can be found at the link above.
So why would the AAVSO want to measure variable stars in the J and H band? The infrared bands give information about variable stars that cannot be determined from the visual bands (CCDV or PEP). For example, a Mira type variable star measured in the infrared has a much smaller amplitude of variation. The infrared light curve relates more closely to the actual temperature and radius change of the star as it pulsates, unlike the visual light, which traces the opacity of the atmospheres. This gives theoretical astronomers a better understanding of the physical processes that occur in pulsating stars. (Mira variables also radiate the vast majority of their light at infrared wavelengths, and in infrared light, many of these stars are among the brightest in the sky, making their smaller amplitudes easy to detect.)
Observations of certain kinds of eclipsing binaries are also very useful because they can help us better determine the properties of binaries. When the stars in the system have very different temperatures, such as in the case of Algol, it is very important to be able to estimate the separate temperatures. In the ultraviolet, the secondary eclipse of Algol is barely detectable but in the IR, it is quite deep, this leads to a more accurate solution. Studies of binaries with spots -- such as the RS CVn stars -- benefit from IR observations because they enable us to better determine the temperatures of the spots.
Observation in the infrared region of the spectrum has a few advantages over photoelectric photometry in the visual bands. The atmospheric extinction is much less in the infrared when compared to the visual. As a result, differences in airmass between the comparison and target star don't introduce as much error as in the visual bands. In a light polluted city sky the infrared sky is much darker because most of the man made light pollution is in the visible band. And some stars are far, far brighter in the infrared, making it easier to perform high signal-to-noise photometry.
Current Status of AAVSO IR Photometry Group
A list of target and comparison stars for the Infrared Photoelectric Photometry Program may be found at this link: SSP-4 Targets and Comparison Stars.
The AAVSO Infrared Photometry is currently a small group of observers, but it has a lot of potential for breaking new ground and doing good science. Hundreds of J and H band observations have already been submitted to the AAVSO database for archive. In 2010, IR-PEP observers submitted over 300 J and H observations of the following stars: epsilon Aurigae, beta Lyrae, U Aurigae, NO Aurigae, NSV 2537, rho Persei, zeta Aurigae, PU Aurigae, R Lyrae, UU Aurigae, lambda Andromedae, R Leporis, and miu Cephei.
Many thanks to all of our IR PEP observers for participating in the AAVSO Infrared Photoelectric Photometry Program!
If you are interested in trying IR PEP, please let us know -- we have a waiting list of observers, and if one of the AAVSO's SSP-4 units becomes available, you can obtain one on loan for as long as you continue to make observations. If you are a researcher at a college or university with a campus telescope, or you belong to an Astronomy club with a private observatory, please contact us about collaborating on small research grant proposals to obtain a photometer.
Further reading
- Doug West's 2003 performance review and discussion of the SSP-4
Return to the AAVSO Photoelectric Photometry Program

subset: commoncrawl


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by Yara SimonApril 16, 2014
These women have all taken action in different ways, but they have one thing in common: They believe in what they're fighting for. Here are the 10 most inspiring Latina activists:
Brought to you by Orgullosa
1. Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers along with Cesar Chavez. Her organization and negotiation skills proved instrumental in bringing attention to migrant workers. She officially stepped down from the UFW in 1999, but she wasn't done yet. She created the Dolores Huerta Foundation in the early aughts, and is still fighting inequality. "You can see we have a long road to travel despite all our achievements since the 70s, a long way to go in terms of our numbers compared with our representation," she told wire news service Efe.
2. Bianca Jagger
The former actress is a human rights activists, and as such, she has been vocal about genocide, women's rights, climate change and corporate social responsibility. She also founded the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, which is dedicated to research, education and advocacy. Late last year, she talked about violence against women in a lecture. "We are deluding ourselves if we think we have eradicated discrimination from the so-called developed world," she said. "I fear that under the surface of our western democratic, egalitarian societies, embedded deep in our culture, still lurks an institutionalised belief that women are inferior."
3. Rosie Perez
Rosie Perez became an AIDS/HIV activist after seeing her friends and mother battling the disease. "As a child that wasn't treated properly and was not presented with opportunity, proper healthcare, food...I never want anyone to have to experience that," she said to us. "For me to be able to help, it's a blessing and it's an honor." This has been a close cause to her since the early days of her celebrity.
4. Elizabeth "Betita" Martinez
Betita Martinez has played a role in the Civil Rights and the women's liberation movement. She's now helping a new generation of organizers. Martinez explains that her work has required a little bit of luck. "That has been a wonderful opportunity, to be at those intersections," she said to Colorlines.com. "The intersections have always been there, people were waiting to see that the intersections were being made. I was just lucky, I happened to come along during those moments."
5. Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson is not interested in being a mysterious Hollywood persona. She has no problems getting political, and she has been this way since she first came on the scene. The actress cites her background as the reasonshe's so passionate about so many causes. She is the co-founder of Voto Latino, and she supports the Lower East Side Girls Club, V-Day and Amnesty International. "I want to make sure that I'm as effective as possible and it's hard because I care about so many different issues," she explains.
6. Rocio Muñoz
Rocio Muñoz came from humble beginnings, and it has motivated her to keep working for the people in her community. Her parents were migrant workers, and even from a young age, she had to fill out Medicaid and food stamp applications for her mother. After she graduated college, she started helping people on a larger scale leading her to becoming very involved in her community of Benton County, Oregon. She is known to attend 15 to 20 meetings a week. "I'm way out there in the community," she said. "It feels like I am never in the office. It hasn't been easy. I have been working on this for five years. Building the trust and raising awareness."
7. Angelica Salas
Angelica Salas challenged President Barack Obama when he said that his administration was focusing on deporting criminals. She argued that its focus was actually on heads of households and young people. Salas is the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, and she works with unions and student groups. She played an important part in the passing of crucial bills in California, such as letting undocumented immigrants access driver's licenses and making public financial aid available to undocumented college students.
8. Jessica González-Rojas
Rojas is the executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and her work has touched gender, immigration, reproductive health, LGBTQ-liberation and labor rights organizations. She works to break down barriers and has helped disprove stereotypes about what matters to Latino voters and also about the way this group views sexual health issues.
9. Joan Baez
Joan Baez has been inspiring change through her music since the 1960s. Her own experiences drew her to nonviolence and civil rights advocacy. In late 2013, she joined the Dalai Lama and others in the annual Forum 2000, a conference which promotes human rights. When asked if artists should feel compelled to speak out on social and political issues, she said: "All I can say is from my own experience – that it is the connectedness with the people, the prisoners, the people in the war; that I was able to speak where a lot of people couldn't speak. But that's what's given my life the richness that it has."
10. Sylvia Mendez
Sylvia Mendez has been an education activist ever since she was a child. Her parents wanted to enroll her into an all-White school, but she was told she needed to go to the all-Mexican school. Her parents refused and sued the school, and it was Mendez's testimony that really helped them win. It wasn't until her mother was dying that she was inspired to tell the story of her father and to dedicate her time to education activism. She says more history, art and music are needed in schools, and parents need to play their part, too. The number one thing that the parents have to do is apoyarlos," she told us. "Encourage them to stay in school and let them know that's how they're going to be successful in life."


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Female Rapper 'Beach' - Pop That/Theraflu Remix [Unsigned Artist]
SPIN MAGAZINE quotes this female rap artist is flying under the radar
Checkout BEACH- youtube.com/beachraps & theartistbeach.com, Free Downloads @ theartistbeach.com
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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The best, most effective presentations capture the audience quickly, hold their interest effortlessly, educate and entertain them in equal measure, and sometimes even inspire them. This tutorial explores simple and practical techniques for achieving those goals in any kind of technical presentation.
The class explores seven basic principles of good presentation, covering preparation, content selection, delivery techniques, and handling questions (or the lack thereof). It also explores a dozen simple and practical techniques for making your slides not suck.
In past years, this class has been available only to official OSCON speakers. This year we are once again opening it up to all attendees.
Damian Conway is an internationally renowned speaker, author, and trainer, and a prominent contributor to the Perl community. Currently he runs Thoughtstream, an international IT training company that provides programmer training from beginner to masterclass level throughout Europe, North America, and Australasia. Most of his spare time over the past decade has been spent working with Larry Wall on the design and explication of the Perl 6 programming language. He has a PhD in Computer Science and was until recently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University, Australia.
Comments on this page are now closed.
Awesome talk. Get a bigger room.
Really a great framework for how to look at every talk you've seen or given, what didn't work and how to improve. Thanks again Damian for the fantastic talk.
The best presentation I've attended in OSCON this year!
Easily the best presentation on presenting I've seen. Please invite Damian back for this next year.
Excellent presentation! I would've loved to have heard the long version.
Fantastic, useful content and presentation, unsurprisingly. Room was too small and (ironically) the presentation went a bit long. Clearly high demand for this content by OSCON attendees.
This talk was awesome!
Hi OSCON. This session is fantastic! The only problem is that it was scheduled for a room that is much too small for the interest!!!
For information on exhibition and sponsorship opportunities at the conference, contact Sharon Cordesse at (707) 827-7065 or email@example.com.
View a complete list of OSCON contacts


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Getting Kids Active: Physical Activity in Schools
Oct 31, 2012, 10:30 AM
Get kids active now and often was the message at a session on childhood obesity at the American Public Health Association 2012 Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
"Students are not getting enough exercise," said Christina Economos as she opened the session, though "physical education develops skills." Childhood Obesity 180 created the Active School Acceleration Project, which works to promote exercise inside as well as outside of school.
The Active Schools Acceleration Project works to increase quality physical activity in schools to combat childhood obesity and to get the beneficial health, behavioral, and academic outcomes that follow. American children today experience far fewer daily opportunities for movement and exercise because there is a decreased emphasis on physical activity in schools.
Economos noted that physical education is often one of the first programs to go following school budget cuts. Their goal is to reverse the trend of childhood obesity, one generation at a time—the benefits of which, aside from healthier, longer lives, include improved academic performance in school. This makes childhood obesity prevention a priority for schools, despite strapped budgets.
Economos and her team developed a four-pronged process—to find innovation, identify best practices, support existing and start up new interventions, and make plans for long term sustainability. They looked at grassroots programs in local schools as well as established national movements. The result was an "American Idol" type contest to solicit entries that showcase best practices for encouraging vigorous physical activity among students.
The ultimate goal is to showcase the best approaches to physical activity in schools. Practitioners hope to influence school policy change on physical activity from the bottom up.
This commentary originally appeared on the RWJF New Public Health blog.


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Thu, 12/12/2019 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Every other Thursday, from 3-5 p.m., area teens, ages 12-18, are invited to Rodman Public Library to play their favorite video games on the Xbox One, Xbox 360 with Kinect, Playstation 3 & 4, Nintendo Wii & WiiU, and Nintendo Switch. Visitors will have the opportunity to play a different game each week. Games with ratings from "E" for Everyone, up to"T" for Teen level, will be offered. Along with the video games, iPads are available to teens. No registration is required for these free gaming events. For more information, call the library at 330-821-2665, ext. 214. Video gaming is in partnership with Synergy Alliance.
Event type:


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I just registered to Oracle OpenWorld in October in San Francisco… Well, I know it is a long long long way to the west, but I will survive again, but this time I will avoid Delta Airlines, they refused to serve me a glass of wine last year in the plane! I am going to take maybe Lufthansa.
As an ACE, I got the Oracle Develop for free this year too. I also took the gold pass, well, waiting hours for keynotes is just too much boring. Since it is the only thing I pay myself (ok wine in the plane too), I guess this 150$ investment is ok.
If available, I will try the Oracle Application Server OCP Beta exam 1Z1-312 in SF. Also, I will ask them why this OCM 10g upgrade is still not available.


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Home > Products > UTV > Military UTV > vehicle military 4x4 utv 1000cc buggy farm UTV
|Unit Price:
|USD 6900 / Set/Sets
|Payment Type:
|Min. Order:
|1 Set/Sets
|Delivery Time:
|7 Days
Basic Info
Model No.: UTV 1000
Transmission Type: Automatic
Displacement: Other
Fuel: Other
Certificate: Other
Color: Red
MOQ: 1 Set
Max Power: 63kw(81hp)/6500rpm
Max Torque: 95N.m/5500rpm
Drive System: Shaft, Selectable 4x4, Front Differential Lock
Engine Type: V-twin , 4-Stroke , SOHC
Front Tires: 29×9-14
Rear Tires: 29×11-14
Front/Rear Barkes: 4-Wheel Hydraulic Disc With Dual-Bore Front And Rear Calipers
Product Name: Vehicle Military 4x4 Utv 1000cc Buggy
Additional Info
Packaging: Iron Frame, 20ft HQ and 40ft HQ container for vehicle military 4x4 utv 1000cc buggy farm UTV
Productivity: 20 sets per week
Brand: DW INDUSTRIES
Transportation: Ocean
Place of Origin: China (Mainland)
Supply Ability: 20 sets per week
Certificate: ISO9001
Port: Qingdao
Product Description
| Engine & Drivetrain
| Cooling
| Liquid
| Cylinders Displacement
| 996.6cc
| Drive System
| Shaft, Selectable 4x4, Front Differential Lock
| Compression Ratio
| 10.5 : 1
| Engine Type
| V-twin , 4-Stroke , SOHC
| Max Power
| 63kw(81hp)/6500rpm
| Max Torque
| 95N.m/5500rpm
| Transmission
| Starting system
| Electric start
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| Gasoline/Petrol
| Dimensions
| Overall Length×width×Height
| 2898 mm ×1680 mm ×1900mm
| Cargo Box Dimensions
| 820 mm ×1410 mm ×250mm Dump 35°
| Estimated Dry Weight
| 830 kg
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| 50kg/200kg
| Fuel Capacity
| Wheelbase
| 1915 mm
| Ground clearance
| 340 mm
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| 4-Wheel Hydraulic Disc with Dual-Bore Front and Rear Calipers
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Here, 2nd grade worksheet2 on math is given. You can do the problems on this work sheet and also check whether the answer you have got is correct.We have already given the direct answers to all he question paper.
Some ideas to develop maths skill to your child:
In this age 4 to 6 years children are introduced to numbers and some shapes.Numbers are initialization in counting.To improve interest in any subject children need some initial encouragement.
Because this gives a pleasure to them and we can easily involve them to the subject.we need to appreciate the students.This will give positive approach to the child any thing and the child will become ready to face that.Everything is about attitude.
Even the parents are weak in the subject math the parents should not tell to their child that "I am weak in the subject math". Because this will give negative approach in math.To improve counting to the children we have to show the different things to them and ask the to count.For example if we have any flower plant in our home,we can ask the children to count the number of flowers in that plant.We should not given pressure to them.
Recognizing numbers are also important in this age.To develop this we can show cereal pack to the children and ask them to find how many ounces it is.Initially we should give pressure to the children they must tell the answer on time.we have to give some extra time to them and we should compare them with other child.Because this will not give interest in learning that subject.
By considering these points we have prepared these 2nd grade worksheets to improve interest on the subject math.This will be very useful to the kindergarten students.These worksheets will give more fun in learning.Teachers and parents also can encourage the students to do these worksheets.
In this 2nd grade worksheet2, you can find 10 problems on math which are in the level of 2nd grade
Here is 2nd grade worksheet2
1.Find the missing number.


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Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet following Google's public accusation of patent bullying on the part of Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, and others. In a series of tweets sent Wednesday evening, two senior Microsoft executives implied that Google had actually declined an invitation to join the consortium that formed to buy Novell's patent portfolio, with one representative posting a screenshot of what looks like e-mail proof of Google's decision to not play along.
In a post to the Official Google Blog on Wednesday afternoon, Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said that the aforementioned companies had waged "a hostile, organized campaign against Android" by snapping up patents and demanding high licensing fees for Android devices. Google specifically noted that Apple and Microsoft had not only tried to buy a number of Novell patents late last year, they were also part of a larger consortium of companies that ended up making a $4.5 billion winning bid on Nortel's patent portfolio in July "to make sure Google didn't get them." Google had initially made a $900 million opening bid on the Nortel patents and later bid $3.14159 billion before bowing out of the auction.
Though Microsoft initially declined to comment on the accusation, the temptation was apparently too great for some of the company's higher ups. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith was the first to break the silence with a tweet that read, "Google says we bought Novell [sic] patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no." (It appears Smith fat-fingered Nortel or had it auto-corrected in his tweet.)
Them's fightin' words, and Smith would not say them unless there was proof. Indeed, Microsoft Corporate Communications lead Frank X. Shaw followed up with his own tweet directed at Google's Drummond. The tweet included a screenshot of the following e-mail sent by Google VP and General Counsel Kent Walker to Shaw on October 26, 2010:
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you—I came down with a 24-hour bug on the way back from San Antonio. After talking with people here, it sounds as though for various reasons a joint bid wouldn't be advisable on this one. But I appreciate you flagging it, and we're open to discussing similar opportunities in the future.
I hope the rest of your travels go well, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Assuming the e-mail is legit—and we have no reason to believe it's not—then what does it mean for Google? In its attempt to portray itself as a victim of an anti-Android campaign from Microsoft and Apple, Google has ended up with a self-inflicted black eye. After all, why would companies on an anti-Android campaign extend an invitation to Google to join the consortium?
Neither Google nor Apple has yet responded to our request for comment on Microsoft's rebuttal.
The public row over Android, smartphone patents, and the US patent system in general comes just as Google, Apple, Samsung, and others are reportedly considering making bids on 8,800 of InterDigital's wireless network patents. (Do those not count as "largely questionable"?) With Google still stinging from the last auction defeat, the search giant may decide to get out the checkbook and acquire some ammo for the ongoing smartphone patent wars.
Update: Google has now posted a rebuttal to Microsoft's rebuttal. In an update to its original blog post on the topic, Google wrote:
It's not surprising that Microsoft would want to divert attention by pushing a false "gotcha!" while failing to address the substance of the issues we raised. If you think about it, it's obvious why we turned down Microsoft's offer. Microsoft's objective has been to keep from Google and Android device-makers any patents that might be used to defend against their attacks. A joint acquisition of the Novell patents that gave all parties a license would have eliminated any protection these patents could offer to Android against attacks from Microsoft and its bidding partners. Making sure that we would be unable to assert these patents to defend Android — and having us pay for the privilege — must have seemed like an ingenious strategy to them. We didn't fall for it.
Ultimately, the U.S. Department of Justice intervened, forcing Microsoft to sell the patents it bought and demanding that the winning group (Microsoft, Oracle, Apple, EMC) give a license to the open-source community, changes the DoJ said were "necessary to protect competition and innovation in the open source software community." This only reaffirms our point: Our competitors are waging a patent war on Android and working together to keep us from getting patents that would help balance the scales.


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by jencsajko | Mar 11, 2015 | 0 comments
Hi there lovely, I'm Jen Csajko.
Self-love coach, intuitive, healer and spiritual warrior.
I teach young women to show up in the world fearlessly knowing that they are supported entirely in love. Learn More
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A useful chart from GMO, showing gold demand from Emerging Asia over the past decade. I would comment that here in the West, both gold trading and gold investment demand remain over-focused on quantitative easing, and track more closely the policy decisions of the Federal Reserve. To this point, it bears mentioning that OECD investment demand for gold still remains far, far below historical highs from 30 years ago. But the broader view suggests, in contrast, that reserve-accumulating economies in Asia are the larger drivers of demand, as they must offset their long exposure to OECD currencies. Indeed, according to the GMO chart, emerging Asia has now crossed the 50% threshold as a portion of global demand. This underscores again that the current bull market in gold has few similarities to the previous example, and analysts should use caution when drawing on the experience of the late 1970′s. | see: Emerging Asia's Share of Global Gold Demand, 1999-2010, from their January 2012 piece titled: Emerging Consumers Drive Gold Prices: Who Knew?
Read more posts on Gregor.us »


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AL CENTRAL: Indians catcher close to return
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Indians catcher Carlos Santana will get at-bats in a minor league game, the next step in his return from a concussion.
Santana has not played since May 25, when he was struck in the mask by a foul tip during a game in Chicago. Santana was placed on Major League Baseball's seven-day concussion list last week. He will serve as a designated hitter for Lake County (A) on Monday night against Fort Wayne.
Santana caught a bullpen session and took batting practice on Sunday. Indians manager Manny Acta is optimistic Santana will be able to play Tuesday night when the Indians open a three-game series in Detroit. Santana must pass mandatory MLB tests before he can be cleared to play.
Santana is batting .245 with five homers and 24 RBIs.


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How can we help you?
We matched that to:
If I have limited credit history, can I still apply for a TD credit card?
TD Canada Trust is always willing to consider new immigrants, people with little or no credit history and young people, including students, for a personal credit card. Customers who are new to Canada should apply for a TD Credit Card at a branch. Students can apply in-branch or by calling the TD Credit Card Customer Service Centre. Responsible use of your first credit card can be a good way to start building a positive credit record. Once you have a track record of good credit history, you may consider choosing from our suite of TD credit cards, as well as many of our other financial products.
If you have special circumstances that you think may affect your ability to obtain credit, one of our branch representatives would be happy to discuss them with you. To find a branch near you, please visit our TD Canada Trust Branch Locator.
Thank you.
Please note that the answers to the questions are for information purposes only for the products discussed. Individual circumstances may vary. In case of discrepancy, the documentation prevails.


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SKU:15760Artist:Compatible Figures:GenesisCompatible Software:DAZ Studio 4.12Install Types:
- Daz Connect
- Manual Install
Optional License Add-Ons:$35.00
*Unless otherwise specified, no discounts or offers will apply to License Add‑Ons.SKU:15760Artist:Compatible Figures:GenesisCompatible Software:DAZ Studio 4.12Install Types:
- Daz Connect
- Manual Install
Optional License Add-Ons:$35.00
*Unless otherwise specified, no discounts or offers will apply to License Add‑Ons.
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- Pants_Fit_Front_Loosen
- Pants_Fit_Front_Width
- Pants_Fit_Left_Loosen
- Pants_Fit_Right_Loosen
- Pants_Fit_Waist01
- Pants_Fit_Waist02
- Pants_Fit_Width
- 10 Texture Options:
- Black Leather
- Black White
- Camo Leather
- Camouflage
- Pink Dove
- Pink Leather
- Plain Dark
- Plain White
- Pumpkin Chocolate
- White Black
- 2 Visibility Presets: (.DUF)
- No Sleeves
- Shorter Sleeves
- Textures Include
- 2 Bump and Reflection Maps (1024x1024)
- 8 Texture and Bump Maps (2048x2048)
- DAZ Studio Material Presets (.DUF)
- This product includes:
- 1 DSON Core Installer
- Real Feel Work Shirt (.DUF)


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It is "extremely likely" that human activities are the "dominant cause" of global warming, according to the most comprehensive study ever of climate science by U.S. government researchers.
The climate report, obtained by NPR, notes that the past 115 years are "the warmest in the history of modern civilization." The global average temperature has increased by about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit over that period. Greenhouse gases from industry and agriculture are by far the biggest contributor to warming.
The findings contradict statements by President Trump and many of his Cabinet members, who have openly questioned the role humans play in changing the climate.
"I believe that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in an interview earlier this year. "There's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact."
That is not consistent with the conclusions of the 600-plus-page Climate Science Special Report, which is part of an even larger scientific review known as the fourth National Climate Assessment. The NCA4, as it's known, is the nation's most authoritative assessment of climate science. The report's authors include experts from leading scientific agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and the Department of Energy, as well as academic scientists.
The report states that the global climate will continue to warm. How much, it says, "will depend primarily on the amount of greenhouse gases (especially carbon dioxide) emitted globally." Without major reductions in emissions, it says, the increase in annual average global temperature could reach 9 degrees Fahrenheit relative to pre-industrial times. Efforts to reduce emissions, it says, would slow the rate of warming.
"This is good, solid climate science," says Richard Alley, a geoscientist at Penn State University, who says he made minor contributions to the report's conclusions on sea level rise. "This has been reviewed so many times in so many ways, and it's taking what we know from ... a couple of centuries of climate science and applying it to the U.S."
The assessments are required by an act of Congress; the last one was published in 2014. Alley says this year's goes further in attributing changes in weather to the warming climate, especially weather extremes. "More heat waves and fewer cold snaps, this is very clear," he says. The report also notes that warmer temperatures have contributed to the rise in forest fires in the West and that the incidence of those fires is expected to keep rising.
Some of the clearest effects involve sea level rise. "Coastal flooding, you raise the mean level of the ocean, everything else equal you get more coastal flooding," Alley says. The report notes that sea level has risen 7 to 8 inches since 1900, and 3 inches of that occurred since 1993. The report says that rate is faster than during any century over the past 2,800 years.
The report also points out that heavy rainfall is increasing in intensity and frequency across the U.S., especially in the Northeast, and that is expected to keep increasing.
Other connections are harder to nail down, Alley says, such as whether a particular hurricane can be attributed to climate change.
"The Climate Science Special Report is like going to a doctor and being given a report on your vital signs," says environmental scientist Rachel Licker of the Union of Concerned Scientists. She notes that the authors assessed more than 1,500 scientific studies and reports in making their conclusions.
Alley adds that the new report "does a better job of seeing the human fingerprint in what's happening." He says that while he hasn't read all of it yet, he sees no evidence that it has been soft-pedaled or understates the certainty of the science.
Alley notes that "there's a little rumbling" among climate scientists who are concerned that the Trump administration will ignore this effort. "I think the authors really are interested in seeing [the report] used wisely by policymakers to help the economy as well as the environment."
The report has been submitted to the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House. Trump has yet to choose anyone to run that office; it remains one of the last unfilled senior positions in the White House staff.
NPR has obtained a copy of the U.S. government's most comprehensive report to date on the state of climate science. The report is scheduled to come out tomorrow. It says that humans are the dominant cause of global warming over the past 60 years. And it also states that our weather is already being affected from droughts to flooding.
NPR science correspondent Christopher Joyce is with us to discuss the findings. Hi, Chris.
CHRISTOPHER JOYCE, BYLINE: Hi, Ari.
SHAPIRO: We know the climate has been warming. So what does this report add to our understanding of climate change?
JOYCE: First off, it's a summary of the very latest science. It's based on over 1,500 scientific research papers. And it's unequivocal. It says that human activities are the overwhelming cause of warming that the world's experiencing. And that warming is extraordinary. The last century is, quote, "the warmest in the history of modern civilization," and temperatures have increased over the last century by two degrees and will continue.
Another important thing is the report points out that the scientific community has looked at all the alternative explanations for warming. And they insist, quote, "there's no convincing alternative explanation." And that's important because the Trump administration has a different view. Earlier this year, in fact, President Trump's EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, said there's tremendous disagreement about whether humans are causing climate change.
SHAPIRO: So help us understand the origins of this report. Was it intended as a message from government scientists to the Trump administration?
JOYCE: I wouldn't say that it was intended. I mean, this has been three years in the making. The last one was in 2014. These aren't voluntary. They're not just ginned up for political reasons. They're mandated by an act of Congress. And the government's best scientists - several hundred of them - are required to do this to inform policymakers of what the scientific consensus is. I mean, it's as thorough as anything that's offered from the scientific community. It is the first one that's come out during the Trump administration. So it's anybody's guess. You know, given the political situation, I expect it'll be controversial.
SHAPIRO: You've described the scale of climate change that the report describes. What does the report say about the effects of climate change - for example, on the weather?
JOYCE: Well, that's one thing that's happened in the last few years is that science has been able to get more granular in terms of the effects of climate change. What does that mean for people on the ground, coastlines in the arid parts of the West, that sort of thing? So this assessment goes into more detail. Sea level is now about 8 inches higher than it was a century ago. And that's causing more flooding. And we can see it. We can measure it. There are more heat waves. There are more forest fires in the West. And also heavy rainstorms - the really heavy ones are getting even more intense and dropping more water. That's what we saw with Harvey.
SHAPIRO: It seems like we're seeing examples of all of those just in the last year. Does this report make any recommendations?
JOYCE: Not specific ones. I mean, these reports aren't designed to make recommendations. I mean, the idea is to just deliver the latest best science from - get the consensus of the community. However, it does point out that greenhouse gases are indeed the main culprit here, the greenhouse gases coming from fossil fuels - mostly carbon dioxide, for example. And it notes that the best computer models still predict that unless the emissions are somehow reduced in a major way, you know, the warming and its effects are just going to continue to get worse. So you could interpret that as being - you know, if things aren't done, it's going to get worse.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Christopher Joyce with that exclusive preview of this report. Thanks very much, Chris.
JOYCE: You're welcome, Ari.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE POLISH AMBASSADOR'S "TAKE WING") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Declaring a Winner!Comments
Assuming that Florida doesn't manage to fuck it up again, the final number are:
Obama 332 electoral
Obama 50.5% national
Six entries took 332. Two entries took 50.8. One entry took 50.23, winning the tiebreaker by 3 hundredths of a percent.
gakke says:
Obama gets 332, 'cause I'm an optimist.
50.23 to team O nationally
gakke should contact me for prize information at the administrative address (under "Contact") on the far right sidebar. Congrats!


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Question of the Day: Guitar Riffs
12.18.12 6:59am
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is celebrating his 69th birthday today. So, in the Question of the Day we ask for your favorite guitar riffs (as opposed to extended guitar solos), think "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Include your song suggestion below along with your first name and town.
1. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" -The Rolling Stones
2. "Johnny B. Good" -Chuck Berry
3. "Day Tripper" -The Beatles
4. "Impossible Germany" -Wilco


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'Less' is more: Less Than Kind to end on quiet, poignant note
If goodbyes were easy, they wouldn't mean as much. Less Than Kind, the gentle-hearted Canadian-Screen-Award-winning comedy about one family's determination to hold together and keep the family business afloat in Winnipeg's North End, is about to call it a day for good, with an hour-long sendoff July 14.
Less Than Kind has come a long way since it debuted on Oct. 13, 2008, the same night Corner Gas ended. On a bittersweet spring morning, the irony was not lost on Mark McKinney, Less Than Kind's head writer and an occasional director for the past several seasons, and Wendel Meldrum, who played family matriarch Anne Blecher, and won back-to-back Canadian Comedy Awards for her efforts.
The past season — Less Than Kind airs Sundays on HBO Canada — has seen both the best of times and worst of times, as the Blechers face upheaval and turmoil, all the while holding onto each other for comfort as they cast an uncertain eye to the future.
Sheldon Blecher, the shy, awkward teen and Less Than Kind's emotional centre, played by Jesse Camacho, graduated from school and is about to embark on a gap-year adventure, far from home. Older brother Josh, played by Benjamin Arthur, is newly engaged and newly determined to move out and start his own family with his increasingly demanding fiancé Shandra, played by Lisa Anne Durupt.
"Somewhat by design and somewhat by life happenstance, we dove deeper and deeper into our story, and each successive season managed to be about something," McKinney explained. "Before we sat down to write this season, we were alerted that this would be our last season. So it focused the writers' room fantastically. It made us really think about what we wanted to do.
"It didn't take long to digest the idea that we were doing our last season. It felt like, wow, what a great year for it to happen. We knew we wanted to set it in the August following high-school graduation, which has enormous implications for his widowed mom. We would have done the graduation anyway, but this allowed us to curve the storylines into an ending that felt like the ending of the series. We don't get to end the season; we get to end the series. And in a particularly great way, I think. How many people get to do that?"
Less Than Kind will remain true to its Winnipeg roots to the end, Meldrum promised.
Meldrum played Miss White/Mrs. Heimer on The Wonder Years and famously played the "low talker" on The Puffy Shirt episode of Seinfeld, but Less Than Kind was special, she said. Her four years on Less Than Kind provided some of her fondest acting memories.
"I think this ending is very much like the weather in Winnipeg," Meldrum said, laughing. "You have this long, grinding winter, followed by a glimmer of hope. In the beginning, there was all this anxiety about change; every character had their arc. And then at the very end you get these tiny little beginnings, after the avalanche of horror.
"Playing a family of Winnipeggers in Winnipeg, where we were actually in the city — we weren't trying to be something else — was really important to me. We flew in, pretending to be these people, and were actually walking these streets that were their home. There was something very resonant in the work, to me, about that.
"I would like to play a character from every province."
The final season has played out more like a short story than a sprawling novel, McKinney added.
"I think it's very 'new audience' friendly, because it really is one short story based around the theme of the empty nest and the gulf you find yourself in about eight weeks after you leave high school, when the future seems to be beckoning but not seen. We wrote a short story in nine parts and gave it an hour finale.
"I think Less Than Kind was ahead of its time in a way because it's both serialized and self-contained. The new way of watching TV, which is what I do, is binge viewing. I think Less Than Kind is very open to that; you can't just watch one season. Personally, I hope people are still discovering it 10 years from now."
Less Than Kind airs Sundays on HBO Canada at 8:30 ET/T, 7:30 PT. The hour-long series final is July 14.


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Hi everybody!
Please don't be mad because of this article. Im writing this because I have a school project, well, its an investigation really. We have been assigned to investigate anything about anything, so me and my friend decided to go with favourite letters!
Since we want as many sources as possible I'm writing this thread so that we might be able to add to the numbers a little bit.
We will not include any names or any other information except the letter you (hopefully) submit to this thread.
This is hopefully the right topic for this, since this is TOTALLY off topic from the java language!
I'm also sorry for all the wrong grammar, after all, english isn't my native language!
Answer as quickly as possible, since it's a quite short deadline!
Thanks in advance!


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Discussion in 'Audio, Video & Electronics' started by Lil Red Wagon, Jan 27, 2010.
Just purchased a 05 325iT and want to get dvd for the kids, anyone recommend anything.
Individual ipods. That way, there's no fighting over what to watch and it keeps the little buggers occupied in other places (outside the car), as well ...
I was thinking that also. I am not huge on having some shop hack up the electronics. Not that all are bad but hard to find a good one.
Never mind that as soon as you spend $5k on adding a beautifully installed headrest dvd system it will be hopelessly outdated (in your kid's minds anyway) and they'll be clamoring for the broadband mobile satellite movie download service to their mega-gazillion gigabyte subcutaneous-scalp retinal-nerve-tap flash e-prom systems.
Yeah. What he said ...
true, but they're kids, they don't get a say
This is probably the best suggestion, and it certainly costs a lot less.
Separate names with a comma.
BMW Car Club of America is the largest single-marque car club in the world.
640 S Main St, Ste 201Greenville, SC 29601864-250-0022Contact Us
Copyright © 2014 & All Rights Reserved by BMW Car Club of America


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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Every Time a Bell Rings, an Angel Gets His Wings
Perhaps that explains my initial reaction when --on a whim-- I downloaded Aion and began tinkering around with the game.
I'd read a few articles on Massively extolling Aion, and while I'll admit the premise sounded interesting --kind of a simplified MMO version of the In Nomine RPG and Exalted RPGs*-- the reason why I finally decided to give it a whirl were the magic words "free to play". I'd seen the game at stores, examined the reviews online, and yet I didn't have the money in the budget to spend trying yet another game out.**
Well, I could handle 'free', and I could even shoehorn the MMO into my existing disk drive without too much pain. Therefore, I set up NCSoft's launch software, clicked 'install' on Aion, and went to bed.
I'd have gotten things done without anybody noticing too, if it weren't for my youngest who wandered over when I was checking the weather forecast and asked "Aion? What's that?"
"Just some maintenance I'm doing," I replied.*** When her back was turned I muttered and waved my hand. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."
Sometime later that morning the game finished installing and this evening I took a quick peek --four levels worth-- at Aion.
Okay, given the graphics at the NCSoft website, I expected a certain look. No, not quite the Alexstraza bikini bottom + leggings outfit, but the "poofy upper-calf skirt that somehow manages to not actually move" clothing. But what I didn't expect during character creation was to see either the "childlike body" or the "refugees from a Super Mario game" head.
Really? I mean, really?
Who would think "You know, a game like this just needs a completely over-the-top head that looks like it came from one of those mushroom people" anyway?
Thankfully, I didn't see anybody in the starting zone who thought it was a good idea.
Another thing that bothered me quite a bit was that the character selection kind of left the concept of non-human race in complete limbo. Oh sure, you can select something that looks kind of like an Elf, but it's never identified as such. I stared at it for a bit, then saw it was "face selection number whatever", and then shook my head. Of course humans have pointy ears that stick out perpendicular to their heads! I should have figured that out!
Well, tinkering with the character creation options, I must admit that Aion got one thing absolutely totally right: female breasts. There's a slider (yeah yeah, insert joke here) to adjust the size of a female toon's breasts, much like the slider in Age of Conan. But in AoC, where the size begins in the C/D cup range and goes from there to... well... huge, the slider in Aion starts in the A/B range and goes up to D/DD. I don't know about you, but the Aion cup sizes are much more realistic than the teenage fantasy AoC version.
After I created a Scout toon, I pretty much jumped right into the game. It starts out with a very brief overview of the fighting between the two celestial factions and their common foe, then your character wakes up. Seems the toon has been napping on the job, and you'd better get going into the starting zone.
Questing is straightforward: if you've played an MMO before, you know how it works. Compared to other more recent MMOs, Aion takes a page straight out of WoW (and older console games) with the scrolling text for quest info. The quests are mainly of the kill ten rats variety, so that's very familiar ground. There's a quest log, a map that slowly gets revealed as you travel through the world, and oh yeah, there's gold farmers too.
But what's up with the mouse buttons, anyway?
Every other MMO I've played has the left button for window movement and the right button to move your toon and/or select things. In Aion, it's almost reversed except for the left mouse button being unable to move your toon at all. It's such a jarring transition that the next time I log in I'm going to see if I can keybind this sucker properly.
But my impression of the game?
It just feels so... Anime to me. Perhaps that's not exactly the right word, but I can definitely tell that it was developed in Asia as opposed to the other MMOs I've played. The feel of the quest text, the graphics, and especially the sound remind me more of a Super NES game than anything else. There's a lot more that Aion has in common with Zelda than with Mass Effect; when I read that first quest text, I blurted out "Nintendo!", even though the thrust of the story was more adult than any of the games I'd ever seen my brother play on the S-NES.****
I can see where this game would appeal to people who grew up playing those games, but for someone who cut his teeth on Ultima and Baldur's Gate, it just feels too cutesy. The toons and NPCs and quests may look adult, but everything else about the game just feels oriented toward a different demographic.
I'm still going to play it a little bit --free is free, and I might change my mind after a bit more time with the game-- but I can't help but think that Aion isn't really targeted to me.
But I'm going to tweak those key bindings, even if it kills me.
*In Nomine is a pencil and paper RPG, published in the U.S. by Steve Jackson Games, wherein players assume the roles of Angels and Demons. As you may have guessed, it relies heavily upon Christian and other Near East sources for background material. Exalted is an RPG put out by White Wolf --the Vampire: the Masquerade and World of Darkness people-- wherein the PCs are avatars of the gods. They start out being pretty much badass from the beginning, much like in Aion.
**Which is why I've never tried Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2, in spite of them being single purchase games. Okay, there's also the issue of disk space, but I digress.
***I actually was cleaning up some old programs that people hadn't touched in a few years, so it wasn't a complete fib.
****I'm kind of glad that nobody was within hearing range at the time, or I'd have had some explaining to do.
2 comments:
LOL! I used to play that maintenance program Aion too. It's been a few years but all I can remember was the volume of gold spam and the vehement hostility in chat, way worse than WoW. The one thing I do remember I liked was crafting.ReplyDelete
Finally quit because I was getting too bloodthirsty, all I was doing was ambushing the enemy on the road. Don't know what that was about, maybe revenge for chat although they were on my side.Replies
Oh yeah, the gold spam is pretty bad. I haven't seen it that bad since I started blocking Trade Chat. The thing that gets me is that they're so blatant about it, too, and this is in spite of the extra security measures that I definitely approve of. (Like the PIN number you have to enter in by clicking on the keypad, and the keypad order changes from login to login.)Delete
I haven't gotten to the PvPvE areas yet, but yes, I can see where this would make WoW look like a kiddie game.


text:
CountersteerYour true stories of good and bad things that happen in cars.
Some people read British car magazines for their outstanding gloss photo spreads, their access to forbidden-fruit hot hatchbacks, and their breathless reviews of the Jaguar X-Type. The proper reason is, of course, for the names.
Jethro Bovingdon. Harry Metcalfe. Ollie Marriage. Dickie Meaden. David Lillywhite. They're all absolutely fantastic. The question is - which one has the most absurdly British name?
My personal vote goes to EVO's fellow sideburn enthusiast Henry Catchpole, which sounds like the kind of name you'd hear at a Isambard Kingdom Brunel Appreciation Society convention.
Who's your pick?
Photo Credit: EVO Magazine


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DUBAI and LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Iraq and Iran boosted crude exports in September, taking advantage of a slower pace of shipments from rival Saudi Arabia to win buyers in key markets like China and the U.S.
Iraq shipped 3.98 MMbopd, the highest since December, while Iran's exports rose to 2.28 MMbopd, the most since February, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Saudi Arabia's exports were 6.68 MMbopd, the second-lowest for this year, the data show.
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Exports of natural gas to Mexico by pipeline are the largest component of U.S. natural gas trade, accounting for 40% of all U.S. gross natural gas exports in 2019. EIA expects these exports to increase with the completion of the southern-most segment of the Wahalajara system, the Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara (VAG) pipeline. VAG began operations in June 2020, connecting new demand markets in Mexico to U.S. natural gas pipeline exports.
The Wahalajara system is a group of new pipelines that connects the Waha hub in western Texas, a major supply hub for Permian Basin natural gas producers, to Guadalajara and other population centers in west-central Mexico. The Wahalajara system provides U.S. natural gas to meet growing demand from Mexico's electric power and industrial sectors. With the 0.89 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) VAG pipeline entering service, EIA expects utilization of the Wahalajara system to quickly ramp up, resulting in increased U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico out of western Texas and additional takeaway capacity out of the Permian Basin.
Since 2016, Mexico has been expanding its natural gas pipeline system, which has supported continual growth in U.S. natural gas exports. Most of this growth has been in U.S. natural gas exports from southern Texas after the existing U.S. pipeline infrastructure was expanded and the Los Ramones Phase II pipeline in central Mexico was completed.
Since the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan pipeline was completed in September 2019, U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico reached a record 5.5 Bcf/d in October 2019. U.S. natural gas exports from the border at Brownsville, Texas, to the southeastern state of Veracruz in Mexico averaged 0.6 Bcf/d during the last quarter of 2019, or about 20% of the pipeline's capacity.
Overall, U.S. natural gas exports from this region have only increased by 0.2 Bcf/d from 2016 to 2019 because of delays in pipeline construction in Mexico. In particular, two regional pipelines were completed in 2017 but have not been used near their capacity:
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Monthly
The Comanche Trail pipeline has been delivering an average of 0.1 Bcf/d of natural gas to Mexico since the San Isidro-Samalayuca pipeline entered service in June 2017. Pipeline operators do not expect flows to rise until the 0.47 Bcf/d Samalayuca-Sásabe pipeline is completed in either late 2020 or early 2021 in Mexico.
The Trans-Pecos pipeline, the U.S. segment of the Wahalajara system, did not transport significant volumes of natural gas until October 2018; it is currently only operating at 10% to 15% of its total capacity. Most of the demand centers are in southern Mexico, waiting to be connected to the VAG pipeline. Three of the project's four pipelines in Mexico that are currently in-service include
Before the economic impacts and uncertainty associated with COVID-19 mitigation efforts and declining crude oil prices, S&P Global Platts expected U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico to increase immediately by 0.3 Bcf/d to 0.4 Bcf/d on the Wahalajara system. However, given the decreased demand for natural gas in Mexico in response to the economic impact of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, growth is likely to be slower than expected. Beyond these volumes, additional export volumes will be limited by how quickly customers in Mexico can be connected to the pipeline system.
These connections include new natural gas-fired combined-cycle generators and the scheduled 2020 completion of the 0.89 Bcf/d Tula-Villa de Reyes pipeline, which will deliver natural gas to central Mexico. Deliveries from the Wahalajara network are likely to partially displace higher-cost liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports into Mexico's Manzanillo terminal, which serves markets in Guadalajara and Mexico City.
As U.S. natural gas exports on the Wahalajara system rise and crude oil prices remain low, EIA expects the price at the Waha hub in the Permian Basin, which had been steeply discounted to the Henry Hub national benchmark, to continue to strengthen.
Officially, we are past the half point of 2020 and with that the end of the second quarter. And what a quarter it has been. WTI prices plunged into negative territory (as low as -US$37/b) then recovered to US$40/b as OPEC+ moved from infighting to coordinating the largest crude production cut in history. In between, the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc with the global economy, setting off a chain reaction within the oil world whose full impact is still unknown.
Opinions on a post-Covid oil world are divided. Some voices, the more optimistic ones, think that oil demand could recover to pre-Covid levels within a year or two. The more pessimistic ones think that this will never happen, that Covid-19 has hastened the trend away from fossil fuels to sustainable energy against the backdrop of climate change. Either way, this has thrown a spanner in the works of the giant, multi-billion oil and gas projects that were announced over the past two years as the energy world began to wake up from its post-2015 price crash investment hibernation. Those projects were made at a time when oil prices were at US$50-60/b. Since oil prices are now only at US$40/b, the current value and the future worth of these assets have now declined. Energy companies account for this by adjusting the value of their portfolios in accordance to the projected value of crude: an upward adjustment is known as a revaluation, and a negative one is known as an impairment.
This is a term that will crop up many times over 2020, as energy companies close their quarterly financial books and report their results to shareholders. The plunge in crude oil prices and the uncertain outlook for oil demand means that publicly-traded companies must account for this to their shareholders. Chevron was the first supermajor to book an impairment, in late 2019 when it took a US$10 billion hit to its oil and gas assets. It wasn't the only one: firms all across the oil chain also reduced the value of their assets, from Repsol to Equinor.
Further impairments were made in April 2020 when the Q1 financial results were announced, mainly in response to the triggering of the OPEC+ price war (which saw crude prices halve from US$60/b to US$30/b) and the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating to a point where over half of the world's population went into lockdown. But the major impact will come in Q2 2020, when the roil in the oil markets truly began to boil uncontrollably. BP has announced that it may take up to a US$17.5 billion impairment in its Q2 2020 financial results, while Shell has just admitted that it may have to shave US$22 billion from its asset value.
This has roots not just in the depressed demand for energy due to Covid-19, but also the ongoing conversation on climate change. Almost all supermajors have announced intentions to become carbon neutral by the 2050 timeframe. That may be good news for the planet, but it is bad news for the companies' portfolio. Put simply, it means that some of the assets that they have invested billions in are now not only worth a lot less (due to Covid-19) but they may in fact be worth nothing at all, because climate change considerations mean that they will never be exploited. Challenging projects such as Total's deepwater Brulpadda discovery in turbulent South African waters or Pertamina/ExxonMobil/Total/PTTEP's beleaguered and complicated East Natuna sour gas asset in Indonesia may never be commercialised, either because of uneconomic prices or because they run counter to the goal of becoming carbon neutral. The Financial Times estimates that the amount of unviable or stranded hydrocarbon assets could reach as much as US$900 billion; that figure is pre-Covid, and could now become even higher.
There is one supermajor bucking the trend though. The biggest supermajor of all, in fact. Unlike its peers, ExxonMobil has not yet succumbed to impairments. If fact, it has not announced any negative revaluations at all over the past decade, even during the 2015 oil price crash. ExxonMobil claims that this is because it books the value of new assets 'very conservatively' and does not 'adjust values to short-term price trends', but critics say that it has an ongoing history of vastly overestimating its assets' value. Along with Chevron, ExxonMobil does not disclose price assumptions in its financials. But unlike Chevron, ExxonMobil has not yielded to climate change through an official emissions target or asset revaluations.
On paper, that will make ExxonMobil look better than its supermajor brothers. But behind the scenes, this reluctance to admit that the future is less rosy than expected could be trouble waiting to be unleashed. Impairments are a necessary reality check: an admission by a company that things have changed and it is starting to adapt. Most have accepted that reality. ExxonMobil seems to be resisting. But even it is not immune. In pre-Q2 2020 results guidance that was just announced, ExxonMobil admitted that it expects to take a hit of some US$3.1 billion and slump to a second straight quarterly loss. In terms of Covid-19 impairments, that's small. But it is, at least, a start.
Market Outlook:
End of Article
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The sale of a mere 5% stake in the oil world's crown jewel, Saudi Aramco had captured the attention of the entire investment community last year. Pushing through after years of debate and delays, the sale on the Tadawul stock exchange valued Aramco at a whopping initial US$1.6 trillion. Investors were mainly connected Saudi individuals and wealthy families, with international buy-in limited as a planned parallel listing on the London or New York Stock Exchange fell through. Still, the deal was enough to unleash several thousand pages of speculation and opinion over potential liberalisation of the oil and gas complex in the Middle East, especially the upcoming post-oil and carbon-neutral environment.
Aramco may have captured all the main headlines, especially with its huge acquisition of fellow Saudi jewel SABIC but the true entity pushing the boundaries of privatisation and deregulation in the Middle East is elsewhere. Specifically, just east of Saudi Arabia, in Abu Dhabi – the largest and most influential of the seven emirates that make up the UAE.
The latest headline involving ADNOC, Abu Dhabi's state oil firm, hasn't really made the rounds beyond the industry's eyes but it is crucial to understanding how the Middle East oil sector could adapt to the changing industry over the next few decades. Partnering with a consortium of six investors, ADNOC has sold a 49% stake in its ADNOC Gas Pipeline Assets subsidiary, retaining a 51% majority stake and control. The sale had been bandied around for over a year, seen as a sign of a gradual opening of a tightly controlled oil and gas region, and follows three other significant sales involving ADNOC. The first was in 2017, when ADNOC raised nearly a billion US dollars through an IPO of its fuels distribution unit on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, offering up 10% of its shares. Then late 2019, ADNOC partnered with Italy's Eni and Austria's OMV to nearly double oil refining capacity in Abu Dhabi to 1.5 mmb/d – the largest foreign participation in the Middle East downstream industry since the Shell Pearl GTL project in Qatar and Total's Jubail refining and petrochemicals push over a decade ago. Around the same time, ADNOC also pocketed US$4 billion from US investment giants BlackRock and KKR through the sale of a 40% stake in its ADNOC Oil Pipelines subsidiary. And now it is the turn of ADNOC's gas pipelines.
The chronology and regional aspect of ADNOC's moves is interesting. While Aramco looks local, Abu Dhabi went abroad. The refining expansion involved established oil market players, Eni and OMV – and parallels a gradual unbundling of Abu Dhabi's upstream concessions, where stakes have been offered to Total, PetroChina, Eni, Cepsa and India's ONGC over the past five years. But the choice of new investors are now not from the industry. After the deep-pocketed BlackRock and KKR, ADNOC has once against turned to institutional investors for its latest, and largest, sale, with the US$20.7 billion gas pipeline and infrastructure deal going to a consortium consisting of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Brookfield Asset Management, Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan Board, Singapore's GIC sovereign wealth fund, NH Investment and Securities and Italy's infrastructure operator SNAM. ADNOC called the deal a 'landmark investment (that) signals continued strong interest in ADNOC's low-risk, income-generating assets'. But it also illustrates two other points: institutional interest in strategic Middle East assets and the challenging environment within the industry because of Covid-19 that has led investment interest expanding to new capital that is currently reluctant to make risky bets in an unstable economic environment. So the choice of ADNOC's safe assets and a captive domestic market is rather attractive.
ADNOC's strategy differs from Aramco's fundamentally. Where Aramco sold a stake of itself, ADNOC has parcelled out different parts of itself while keeping control of the main body intact. This is what Malaysia's Petronas has done to a great degree of success, listing subsidiaries through IPOs and partnering with foreign investors on upstream/downstream projects, using the proceeds to finance a global expansion that now stretches across all continents. Replicating this strategy, as ADNOC looks to be doing, could pay dividends, particularly since ADNOC has a wider domestic base, as well as stronger export markets, than Petronas. Between Saudi Aramco and ADNOC, the OPEC duo seems to have kickstarted a liberalisation drive within the Middle East energy complex. Kuwait Petroleum and Bahrain's BAPCO are already reported to be considering similar moves. Which model could this second wave follow: Aramco's or ADNOC's? Aramco's is a shock-and-awe move, a potential wow factor at the size of any possible deal. But ADNOC's more piecemeal approach could actually be far more stable and sustainable over time.
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) has earmarked 50.2 billion euros ($64.7 billion) of investments over the coming three years as it accelerates plans designed to help it become the world's largest car maker by the end of the decade.
As the company strives to replace Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) as the No.1 auto maker globally, it is expanding its presence outside Europe, building or planning new factories in markets such as China, Mexico and Russia.
It is also stepping up investments in products and technology to consolidate its lead over stricken western European peers, which have slowed or shelved whole programs, engine technologies and platform revamps while grappling with high costs in a shrinking European market.
"Despite the challenging economic environment, we are investing more than ever before to reach our long-term goals," the German group's Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said in a statement on Friday.
Volkswagen's total spending equals an average 16.7 billion euros for the three years from 2013 through 2015. Last year, it had said it would invest 62.4 billion euros in the five years from 2012 until 2016, or an average 12.5 billion per year.
The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said its capital expenditure would total 39.2 billion euros, or 6 to 7 percent of sales for the period, broadly in line with analyst estimates.
That means Volkswagen will invest almost as much in property, plants and equipment over the next three years as analysts see Toyota and U.S. rival General Motors Co (GM.N) spending together, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
VW's strong sales outside Europe have allowed it to offer cut-price deals and swell its share of the battered European market to almost a quarter.
Yet while the multi-brand group is less exposed to austerity-hit Europe than rivals Peugeot SA (PEUP.PA) and Fiat SpA FIA.MI, finding the cash to achieve its goal is becoming harder and it has to balance keeping a tight rein on short-term costs with the need to develop new products.
VW, which had a net cash cushion of 9.2 billion euros at the end of September, will spend 10.6 billion euros on development, for instance on the introduction of new models and the design of alternative drives.
More than two thirds of overall investments will go towards increasing vehicle efficiency and the development of more environmentally friendly products.
In addition, 9.8 billion euros will be invested in new production facilities and products at joint ventures in China. As these joint ventures are not consolidated, their spending is not part of VW's overall plans.
($1 = 0.7761 euros)
Editing by Mark Potter and David Holmes


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Southern California's housing market lost steam in May, with sales falling from the month before and a year earlier as investor buying dropped amid rising prices and tight inventory, a market tracker said Wednesday.
Prices continued to rise, but the gains were half as large as a year earlier.
Last month 19,556 new and previously owned houses and condos sold in the six county region, down 2 percent from April and down 15 percent from a year earlier, La Jolla-based DataQuick reported.
Sales across Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and San Diego counties have now fallen on a year-over-year basis for eight consecutive months. Last month's turnover of homes was 23 percent below the May average of 25,393 sales, the company said.
The continued tight inventory is perplexing to some analysts because rising prices typically stimulate owners to use their equity to trade up to a better house.
"We expected rising prices to unlock more inventory this spring, and that's happened. But the supply of homes for sale still falls short of demand in many markets, contributing to a rise in prices and a below-average sales pace, said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage.
Michael Carney, executive director of the Real Estate Research Council at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, said that the market is not acting in typical fashion.
"I really don't understand it. Why is there not more inventory?" Carney mused. "One possibility is that they (owners) are waiting because they see home prices going up."
That is likely to change, soon.
Last month, the region's median price rose 11 percent to $410,000 from $368,000 in May 2013.
But a year ago annual price gains of 20 percent or more were occurring on a regular basis. Now prices are rising at a "substantially" slower pace than a year ago, DataQuick said.
In Los Angeles County, the median price rose 10 percent to $450,000 from $410,000 a year earlier.
May's median sale price was 19 percent below Southern California's median peak of $505,000 in the spring and summer of 2007.
Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist at the Kyser Center for Economic Research in Los Angeles, notes that the county median price is just 20 percent under its pre-recession peak of $562,300, which was reached in August 2007.
That indicates a market on the mend.
"Four or five years ago, if we were having a conversation about when we would get back to this price level I would have said later in this decade, sometime after 2015 and not before. The (price recovery) we've seen so far has been fairly pronounced, Kleinhenz said.
Sales in L.A. County fell 16 percent from a year ago to 6,460 properties.
San Bernardino County is still seeing healthy appreciation. It's median price rose 21 percent, the region's biggest gain, to $295,000. And it had the region's smallest sales decline — 10 percent to 2,382 properties.
The influence of distressed properties, which helped drive the market as it climbed out of the Great Recession, continued to fade in May.
Homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months accounted for 5 percent of the Southland resale market in May, down from a 6 percent in April and from 11 percent a year earlier. Foreclosure resales are at their lowest level since early 2007, DataQuick said.


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Future holds job cuts for Maine city as Farmers' Almanac firm to sell manufacturing operations
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) � The Farmers' Almanac predicts it will no longer be printed in Lewiston, Maine.
The family-owned Geiger Bros. publishing company says it plans to sell its manufacturing operations in the city.
Geiger Bros. says it will keep producing annual editions of the nearly 200-year-old almanac, which contains long-term weather forecasts. But it says "someone else will do the manufacturing."
Executive vice president Peter Geiger tells WMTW-TV (http://bit.ly/Uj4fF5) his company has about 400 employees and the end of its printing and binding operations could cost 75 jobs. He says workers were notified Tuesday.
Geiger's main business is promotional items such as those with logos on them. It has the manufacturing done elsewhere.
It says by spring it also will stop printing calendars, pocket diaries and planners because demand has dropped as consumers have turned to computers and hand-held devices.
Information from: WMTW-TV, http://www.wmtw.com


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Writer and director Mary Harron made Patrick Bateman a household name in her American Psycho adaptation, and brought historical figures to life in I Shot Andy Warhol and The Notorious Bettie Page. Now she's out to see if she can make you care about vampires again in her indie boarding school horror flick The Moth Diaries.
The Moth Diaries is Marron's adaptation of Rachel Klein's novel of the same name. Sarah "Mary Tudor" Bolger plays Rebecca, a student at an all-girls boarding school who becomes suspicious Ernessa, played by Doctor Parnassus star Lily Cole, after Ernessa becomes suspiciously close to fellow classmate Lucie. The trailer gives us a peek inside the bloody boarding school horror, with a side of Scott Speedman.
We interviewed Lily Cole about the film a few years ago, before filming even began. Now we'll finally get a chance to see the film when it hits theaters on April 20th.
[via First Showing]


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March 7, 2010
1967: Vikings Trade Fran Tarkenton to Giants
Following a 1966 season that was the worst in franchise history, the New York Giants had a need for a capable quarterback. The Minnesota Vikings and their erratic but talented quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, were ready to part ways. On March 7, 1967 a deal was struck that sent Tarkenton to the Giants for four draft picks (two first- and two second-round choices spread across three seasons).
Tarkenton was an original Viking, having been selected in the third round of the 1961 draft out of Georgia. Even as a rookie, it didn't take him long to push veteran George Shaw aside as the starting quarterback. From the beginning, he showed a distinctive style of play, especially in being quick to abandon the pocket and scramble for time. Considering the lack of quality of the offensive line in this expansion season, it made sense and Head Coach Norm Van Brocklin showed tolerance.
Van Brocklin, a good but stubborn coach, had not been at all mobile during his great career as a pro quarterback and made an effort to alter Tarkenton's style of play in the next few seasons, to no effect. To be sure, while he might have been overly quick to scramble and improvise, his performance was solid – he went to the Pro Bowl following the 1964 and '65 seasons and was the third-ranked passer in the league in '64 as the Vikings finished with their first ever winning record at 8-5-1. While many questioned the wisdom of the 6'0", 190-pound quarterback's willingness to run out of the pocket so often, he didn't lose any time to injury during his first six seasons.
Van Brocklin had valued Tarkenton enough to veto a trade to the Eagles for Sonny Jurgensen after the 1963 season. While he couldn't alter his quarterback's style of play, he did have success in teaching him how to read defenses. But there was friction between the two strong-willed individuals, and the antagonism spilled out when on various occasions the head coach accused his young quarterback of playing selfishly and showboating. While Tarkenton could make exciting things happen through his scrambling, Van Brocklin believed that less improvising and a more conventional approach could yield better results.
After peaking in '64, the Vikings dropped to 7-7 in 1965 and 4-9-1 in '66. The situation between head coach and quarterback became untenable during the 1966 campaign. After leading Minnesota to an upset of the Green Bay Packers, Tarkenton followed up with a five-interception performance in a loss to Detroit. Van Brocklin benched Tarkenton in favor of fourth-year backup Ron VanderKelen the next week in a loss to the Rams, and two weeks later Bob Berry, in his second season, was given the start at home against the expansion Atlanta Falcons. Much was made at the time of Tarkenton being benched for a game that was being broadcast back to his native Georgia, although it was unlikely that that had played a factor in Van Brocklin's thinking.
Following the season, Tarkenton demanded to be traded and was accommodated with the deal to the Giants. In the meantime, Van Brocklin abruptly resigned as head coach, to be replaced by Bud Grant, who had been successful in the Canadian Football League. The feuding had resulted in the departure of both of the antagonists.
Meanwhile in New York, the Giants had struggled since winning three consecutive Eastern Conference titles from 1961-63 (and losing the ensuing NFL title games) while the outstanding veteran quarterback, Y.A. Tittle, set records. The aging team crashed in 1964, Tittle's last, forlorn season. While veteran Earl Morrall was acquired from Detroit and led the team to a respectable 7-7 finish in '65, he suffered a broken wrist during the 1966 season. Gary Wood and Tom Kennedy proved inadequate as fill-ins as the Giants went 1-12-1.
Tarkenton had a Pro Bowl season in 1967, passing for 3088 yards and 29 touchdowns as the Giants, who had far too many holes to fill to contend, improved to 7-7. A particularly productive target was WR Homer Jones, who caught 49 passes for 1209 yards for a 24.7 yards-per-catch average and 13 touchdowns. In five seasons in New York, Tarkenton was selected for the Pro Bowl four times and led the team to a 9-5 record in 1970 – the club's best between 1963 and 1985. He was traded back to Minnesota following the 1971 season.
The Vikings stumbled badly out of the gate in '67 as VanderKelen proved inadequate as the starting quarterback. However, Joe Kapp, a CFL veteran, joined the club early in the season and took over the job. With Kapp's scrappy leadership, a good running game, and an outstanding defense, Bud Grant's team made it to the postseason for the first time in 1968 and won the NFL championship in '69 (although they lost to the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl).
The draft choices obtained for Tarkenton were used to pick HB Clint Jones from Michigan State (1st round in '67, second overall pick), HB Bob Grim from Oregon State (2nd round in '67), OT Ron Yary from USC (1st round in '68, first overall pick), and G Ed White from California (2nd round in '69).
Yary and White became mainstays on the offensive line, with Yary garnering six consecutive consensus first team All-Pro selections and going to seven Pro Bowls on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and White going to the Pro Bowl three times (and once more with the Chargers). Jones was a useful halfback and good kickoff returner. Grim, who was converted to wide receiver, had a Pro Bowl season in 1971 when he caught 45 passes; ironically, he was part of the package sent to the Giants in the trade that brought Tarkenton back to the Vikings.
Posted by Keith Yowell at 9:02 AM 2 comments:
Labels: 1966 NFL season, 1967 NFL season, Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Norm Van Brocklin
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Delby is a gorgeous young Peke.
We all want to keep our dogs as safe, happy and healthy as possible - but there are so many dangers out there. Debbie Matthews founded Vets Get Scanning after her dogs were stolen, and has spent the last 14 years campaigning to increase the chance of missing and lost dogs of being reunited with their owners. You can help make our dogs safer. Dr Michael Becker is a critical care veterinarian who has everything you need to know about heatstroke in dogs. Plus the DogCast Radio News.
In this episode you can hear Mark Winik talk about his debut novel, The Dog Healers, and listen to Julia Robertson explain why she founded the charity War Dogs remembered. Plus there's the DogCast Radio News, and what Mischief the German Spitz puppy has been up to.
In this episode you can hear about Service Dogs UK, a fantastic charity which trains assistance dogs to support veterans of any service - military personnel, police, firefighters, paramedics and the coastguard - who develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to their job. Also, listen to Dr Jody A Dean, a clinical psychologist talk about how her book, Roxie the Doxie finds her Forever Home, is helping children understand and talk about adoption and other family issues. Plus the DogCast Radio News and some thoughts on the alpha dog myth.
In this episode you can hear about Muffin's Halo for Blind Dogs, and what motivates people to enter their dog in a fun dog show. In the DogCast Radio News, listen to stories about the latest dog related research. Plus there's a new member of the DogCast Radio team!
In this episode you can hear trainer, behaviourist, writer, broadcaster and wolf expert Maxwell Muir talk about what wolves mean to him personally, their plight in a modern world, and his hopes for their future. Plus we have the DogCast Radio News.


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"Diamonds" is Rihanna's first single off her upcoming album Unapologetic. A slightly different sound than we're used to from the Barbadian singer, she said she wanted fans to feel the right emotion though the song.
"It was just the perfect first single, it was a very powerful record," she told MTV News. "It was hopeful. It was also different from what people are used to hearing for me, I guess what they would expect as a first single."
Rihanna said it was important to transfer the song adequately into a music video for the Sia-penned track.
"With 'Diamonds' it was just a series of vignettes that we put together to help get the emotion across though out the song because the song changes and it builds," she said. "You just want people to feel it. I wanted little cutaways of interactions that would give you the right emotion."
The video sees Rihanna battling the elements — earth, water and fire. As she sings her opening lyrics we see her pulling away from a tattooed man. Perhaps a reference to Chris Brown, the viewer can't be too sure.
"Find light in the beautiful sea/I chose to be happy/ You and I we're like diamonds in the sky/ You're a shooting star I see/ A vision of ecstasy/ When you hold me I'm alive," she sings.
Rihanna is soon found running away from the destruction that follows her. Left in a sea of darkness she is only guided by "diamonds in the sky."
Rihanna says the song mirrors many of the tracks on her upcoming release.
"That's the whole theme throughout the album. Every song is it's own story. Every song is special and it means something. It's very emotional at times but it's a quite mellow album compared to my previous albums."
-Annie Reuter, CBS Local
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Bless her sweet little heart…and then grab Real Houswives of New York's Aviva Drescher a muzzle. Sometimes I cannot believe the things that come out of this woman's mouth. After President Obama was sworn in for his second term, Aviva had some suggestions for our nation's leader…and his wife.
Aviva, an Obama supporter, is comparing slavery to those jailed for selling drugs. Yes, that's right. She thinks those who have been arrested for possession of any illegal substance are being treated like slaves. I can't imagine a more skewed or inaccurate comparison. Has she read anything at all about American history? It's like comparing the family tree of Alex Haley to that of Lindsay Lohan, and I think it's shameful. Also, she wants Michelle Obama to grow out her bangs. Who is this woman?


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Hi all,
I posted a topic similar to this some months ago but it was never resolved so I thought I might try again.
I have a series of monochrome images that I have to dynamically recolor in my application. There are about
20 images, and a total of 8 possible color schemes for all of them- meaning either I recolor in Java or create
160 images in total, which I'd rather not do if I need to change the colors for whatever reason.
The following code shows the method I'm using, with a printout showing where things go wrong:
//Our image has been loaded from file and displays fine as is, and the color is an sRGB value extracted from a Color object. It's //values are tested and work correctly. protected final void colorizeImage(BufferedImage image, int color){ for(int i = 0; i < image.getWidth(); i++){ for(int j = 0; j < image.getHeight(); j++){ if(image.getRGB(i,j) != 0){ //0 represents a transparent pixel, and should not be painted image.setRGB(i, j, color); if(image.getRGB(i, j) != color) System.out.println("Incorrect- Expected " + (new Color(color)) + ", but found " + (new Color(image.getRGB(i, j)))); } } } }
I find when running this code at present the call will happen quite frequently, usually uniformly for one image indicating
one color is incorrect. The color for the whole image is the same, but not the color I specified. I cannot seem to determine
any consistency from the errors occurring either; some colors will work fine in certain circumstances and others will be
completely incorrect.
I expect the problem has to do either with the way I'm using/working with buffered images, but I really can't tell.
If anyone reading this post has a bit of experience working with dynamically recoloring images, please let me know.
I'm more than happy to provide the images or additional source code if it would help the problem.
Thanks for reading,
Nitrogen Fingers


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This article is part of UnNews, your source for up-to-the-microsecond misinformation.
3 August 2012
Stanford, USA -- We all like to orgasm, we all love orgasms, we absolutely require an orgasm, orgasms are free! Every other pleasure in life costs something. Nature wasn't stupid. Some people like to "relieve" on a daily basis and some are hourly like Bill Clinton. "I did not just come again within the hour". Have I promoted orgasms enough?
For people with no interest in universities - listen up. There is a very famous university called (it's in the headline) "Stan-ford" (I'm being a condescending lecturer of course). This name doesn't mean Stan Laurel in a Model T, it means Stanford - a place of learning. Sometimes these places just discover something quite useful to humanity; recently it was the Virtual Orgasm (0V for short - invented by Japanese who say stuff the other way). I went there to investigate as I like to do my job properly.
Professor Isoa Honda (I also thought: "are you?") has created a program which induces an orgasm in the user - I had to have a go. The way the program works is through light-emissions: directly to the retina and down to the loins. It will work exactly the same for females but "loins" with a C. Professor Honda initiated the program and by-Fuji!, immediate relief without touching a single part of my journalism. I asked the Professor why it only lasted two seconds? "We try now to fix this problem we call: 'premature programming', we want user have good fun long time".
After I had gone to the laundry in Stanford's Faculty of Sciences, I returned to question Honda further. I started by asking whether this would really catch-on if they didn't manage to fix the bug? "We know you westerners, you think more than us... You take time have fun before orgasm... Japanese like orgasm and go out to sushi bar quick". I wasn't sure what to make of his statement, to think of all those gorgeous Japanese girls "going without" on the foreplay front - made my thoughts race towards the nearest travel agency.
I had to get a second opinion of the program and asked a female volunteer to step up to the computer.
Through the door came the most beautiful girl (of oriental descent) I had ever seen. Her name was Iono Honda (I also thought: "do you?") it was the Professor's wife! This was going to be weird. The weirdness soon dissipated when the Professor leaned in quietly and sad sadly: "My programme not work on woman yet". Ha! All this time, men have struggled to get the right microscopic button working (you know? wife says "no not there") on the female genitalia and even a powerful computer programme can't get it right either!
Mrs. Honda demonstrated the failure by looking like a Japanese woman watching the Super Bowl. Nada, no reaction. I (while bowing with respect) asked the Professor if HE can make her orgasm naturally? "Yes of course but this is my wife, I have a girlfriend as I'm Japanese and a man." Mrs. Honda went home with me that evening - I got it to work too.
So readers, if you are a man, you can enjoy a virtual orgasm but the downside is that it lasts only 2 seconds before rockets fire. Until they work out this glitch, I advise you to do it naturally and to get at least the full four seconds you are accustomed to. As for girls: our attempts are at least better than nothing at all....
This is an extremely satisfied reporter for UnNews.