since collapsed. Yet it seems the Lins were trendsetters, because it wasn't long before other branches of the Lin clan started building their own tulou in the village. Of the many earthen structures that rise up out of the village grounds, Zhengcheng Lou, Fuyu Lou, Kuiju Lou, and Rusheng Lou have garnered the most fame.
Zhengcheng Lou was built in 1912 according to the Eight Diagrams of Bagua theory. The two wells within this tulou represent Yin and Yang, while its three gates symbolise heaven, earth and human beings respectively. The external ring of the compound is a four-storey building that has been divided into eight units or "gua". The branch of the Lin family that established Zhengcheng Lou had also studied abroad in Europe and thus incorporated many Western features into their tulou to make it stand out. It seems T. S. Eliot's famed proverb "good poets borrow, great poets steal" can also be applied to architects!
Fuyu Lou, on the other hand, is a completely different style of tulou known as a "Wufeng" or "Five Pheonix" tulou. Built in 1882 by three brothers, it was designed to look like a phoenix spreading its wings and its appearance was heavily influenced by Han-style architecture. The exterior supposedly looks like three mountains rising towards the sky, as the brothers wanted to imply that they were as magnificent as mountains. Modesty evidently wasn't a family trait!
From mountains to mansions, Kuiju Lou is a large, square-shaped tulou that was built to resemble a palace, earning it the alternate name "Potala Palace". Unlike many of the other earthen buildings, the interior is bedecked with sculptures, colourful murals, and complex architectural features. After all, a man's house is his castle, and a family's tulou is their palace!
Size may have mattered to the owners of these first three tulou, but Rusheng Lou is famous precisely because it is the smallest tulou in existence. It was built sometime between 1875 and 1908, and is just 17 metres in diameter, with only three-storeys and 16 rooms to house its inhabitants. The name "rusheng" means "as if to rise"; perhaps because the optimistic owner hoped it would grow over time!
Encompassed by towering mountains, dense forests, and bubbling brooks, the village of Gaobei in Yongding County may seem like the most unlikely place to meet royalty. Yet here, hidden like a gem within the countryside, lies Chengqi Lou; the "King of Tulou". Around the streams that wind through Gaobei, a cluster of these fortress-like earthen dwellings rises up and adds new magnificence to the landscape. They resemble fortified villages and were initially designed to protect the inhabitants from bandits and wild animals, although nowadays the only thing threatening them is the occasional door-to-door salesman!
The grandest and largest in Gaobei is Chengqi Lou, which is four-storeys high and over 62 metres in diameter. Construction of this tulou began in the late Ming Dynasty (_PHONE_) but it wasn't completed until 1709, during the Qing Dynasty (_PHONE_). It took three generations of the local Jiang family to build this spectacular tulou. In three generations, my family have barely managed to pay off a house, let alone build a fortress! Chengqi Lou is a circular tulou and is renowned for its four concentric rings; one that surrounds the complex and three within it.
The first or outer ring is four-storeys high, with the ground floor made up of kitchens, the second floor acting as grain storage rooms, and the third and fourth floors being used as living quarters and bedrooms. In its heyday, this complex could support over 800 people, and nowadays it still houses an impressive 57 families and 300 people. The second ring is two-storeys high and is comprised of 80 rooms for general use. The third is only one-storey high and its 32 rooms make up a community library. After all, when you're being besieged by bandits and the tulou is locked down, how else would you entertain yourself? Nothing like a good book to get you through a potentially hostile takeover!
The final ring is just a covered corridor that surrounds the ancestral hall, where inhabitants still worship their venerated ancestors. In total, Chengqi Lou contains a staggering 370 rooms. This means that, if you spent one night in each room, it would take you over a year to get through the whole complex!
Other famous tulou in the area include Wuyun Lou, which was built during the Ming Dynasty and is currently uninhabited, and Qiaofu Lou, which was constructed during the 1960s and acts as a hotel for tourists. So if you fancy a real tulou experience, don't forget to book a room at Qiaofu Lou. Or perhaps just squat for free in the empty Wuyun Lou!
Fujian Tulou (Earthen Structure)
The Fujian Tulou or Fujian Earthen Structure is a type of dwelling built by the Hakka and Hoklo people in the mountainous regions of southern Fujian. A Tulou is a large, enclosed structure that is usually circular or rectangular in shape and is used to house multiple families. They are usually between 2 to 5 storeys high and the largest Tulou can hold up to a hundred families. Every family in the Tulou community enjoys perfect equality because every room in a Tulou is the same size and has exactly the same design.
There is a famous story about a group of Fujian Tulou: In 1986, during the Cold War period, the US satellites found many strange circular and square shaped structures, resembling a group of nuclear bases, hidden in the valleys of southern China, near Taiwan. Fearing an impending nuclear attack from Communist China, the US sent a unit of CIA spies to China to investigate, and eventually they were embarrassed to find that the "nuclear bases" were just simple Tulou:
The Fortified Walls of the Tulou:
These large clay buildings are usually two to five storeys high and have a specific, defensive function. There are no windows on the external walls of the ground and first floors, while there are small windows on the walls of the second floor and above. The base of the wall is about 3 meters thick. The wall of the first floor is 1.5 meters thick, so the wall reduces in thickness slightly as it ascends.
Fujian Tulou, defensive function
A Brief history of the Tulou:
From the beginning of the Western Jin Dynasty (307-12 BCE) onwards, there were several significant immigrations from central China to Fujian. Among these immigrations, there was a particularly large scale one that took place during the late Tang Dynasty (7th-8th centuries). It was those immigrants that settled down in the southeast of Fujian Province and subsequently became the Hoklo people. During the Song Dynasty, due to the conquest of northern China by the Jin ethnic group, many people fled from central China yet again, bringing with them their culture and language. These people finally settled down in Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi and formed the Hakka ethnic group.
In the beginning, the newcomers built houses following the traditional Han-style of architecture. However, during the Ming (_PHONE_) and Qing (_PHONE_) dynasties, society was unstable because of frequent fighting between ethnic groups, and all the while robbers and thieves were running rampant. The Hakka and Hoklo people improved their homes gradually so that they eventually became a perfect defense against attackers and trespassers. These fortress-like dwellings were called Tulou.
The first Tulou appeared at some point between the 11th century and the13th century. The design for the Tulou was developed from the 14th century right through to the 16th century, and reached its peak between the late Ming Dynasty and the late Qing Dynasty (17th – 18th centuries).
Different types of Tulou:
1. Round or Circular Tulou
According to national records, there are more than 1,100 circular Tulou in Fujian. Among these circular Tulou, nearly 800 of them adopt the "connected rooms" design, where each room on the same floor is connected by a corridor, and more than 300 of them are composed of separated rooms, in which each family has their own "apartment". Generally speaking, the Tulou inhabited by the Hakka people mostly follow the "connected rooms" design, while the Hoklo people prefer Tulou that have separated apartments.
Each floor in the Tulou has a specific function and follows the same general design rules, regardless of whether the Tulou has "connected" or "separated" rooms. The kitchens and living rooms are always on the ground floor, the first floor is for food storage, and the second and third floor rooms are used as bedrooms. In some Tulou the food is stored on the top floor to keep cereals dry, but this can be somewhat inconvenient when cooking as the kitchens will still be on the ground floor.
Most Tulou have an Ancestral Hall in the middle of the yard for inhabitants to worship their ancestors. Around the Ancestral Hall there are usually rooms that used for studying.
The most famous circular Tulou:
Huaiyuan Lou
Huiyuan Lou was built in 1909 and is a typical example of a Tulou that follows the "connected rooms" design. Because of its short history, the whole building is well preserved


text:
INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday is International Women's Day, and Indiana educators are celebrating with the announcement of plans for an all-girls STEM academy.
The kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school will open on the north side of Indianapolis next year.
"Today, being International Women's Day, we wanted to celebrate a very unique, first-of-its-kind educational opportunity that's going to be focused on girls in central Indiana K through 8," said Danielle Shockey, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana.
Paramount Schools of Excellence announced Girls IN STEM Academy in partnership with the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, Every Girl Can Stem and Purdue Polytechnic High School.
"This has been a 2019 seed of a dream," Shockey said.
"The school will be a free public school," Shockey said.
School officials said this will bridge the gender gap in STEM careers.
"When you look at STEM careers in the future, there is already an inequity in the number of females entering the STEM workforce," Shockey said. "Between now and 2030, the job opportunities in STEM are going to grow 10%, and that is more than all other occupations combined."
Shockey said girls form their STEM science and math identity by grade three.
"We know that now with all the growth and opportunities in the future, and the growth that exists, we need to give girls this unique, single-gender environment, to give them STEM role models, STEM instruction and a really beautiful way that prepares them for the future," Shockey said.
The curriculum will focus on robotics, math, engineering, science and technology. There is also a strong focus on diversity.
"Paramount and Polytechnic, both serve students that are 70% minority and socioeconomically challenged," Shockey said. "We hope to continue to achieve that because those inequities are even greater in STEM than gender inequity."
Girls IN STEM Academy will be located in midtown. A specific location will be announced in the coming months.

source: m-a-p/FineFineWeb


text:
Definition of Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty: A type of operation designed to tighten up flabby tissues and enlarge the upper air passages. The operation involves reshaping the uvula (uvulo-), soft palate (-palato-) and throat (-pharyngo-).
The uvula is a small piece of soft tissue that can be seen dangling down from the soft palate over the back of the tongue. The uvula is described variously shaped like a U, a tear or a grape. (Its name comes from the Latin word for "grape," uva.) The uvula has its own little muscle, the musculus uvuae, to help it stiffen and change shape, so it helps fill in the space at the back of the throat. It helps keep food from going down the wrong way down the breathing passage when one swallows. Singers credit the uvula with letting them produce a vibrato, a wavy up-and-down sound.
The uvula is one of the soft-tissue structures commonly blamed for snoring and for sleep apnea (a break in breathing during sleep). Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is a treatment for these conditions.Source: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionary
Last Editorial Review: 6/14/2012
Find out what women really need.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
Drawing your Design
Drawing your design
Proportional graph paper
Most stitches are not square!
In a tension square of stocking stitch where the length and width is the same, you will have more rows than stitches. Typically this stitch ratio will be between 1.3 and 1.4 so the stitch is wider than it is tall. Other stitch patterns produce different ratios.
This is why proportional graph paper is useful since you can exactly draw to scale the stitch you want to use. This means you can calculate shaping or the design of a motif or intarsia exactly so it does not distort when you knit it.
Proportional graph paper can be purchased in standard sizes or you can download a simple programme from the internet , for example Print-A-Grid from Knitting Software Inc


text:
A self-erecting tower crane is a type of crane with tower and boom/jib elements that do not dismantle into component sections. Self-erecting tower cranes can be transported between sites as a complete unit. The erection and dismantling process is a fundamental part of the cranes function.
Self-erecting tower cranes lift themselves from the ground or lift an upper, telescoping section using jacks, allowing the next section of the tower to be inserted at ground level or lifted into place by the partially erected crane. Therefore they can be assembled without outside help, and can grow together with the building or structure they are erecting.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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The Bc meson is the bound state of bc̄ (or b̄c) whose recent detection is the first step toward completion of the spectroscopy of heavy quark mesonic states. The b-c states have properties that conveniently fill the gap between the J/ψ and the γ states. Thus it is probable that at RHIC the Bc mesons will serve as a probe of deconfined matter. We find that significant differences arise for Bc formation in deconfined and confined matter. Our initial calculations suggest that: (a) The rates of normal hadronic production mechanisms at RHIC energies are not sufficient to produce a detectable number of Bc mesons. (b) If a region of deconfined quarks and gluons is formed, the production (and survival) rate can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude. (c) The observation of Bc mesons at RHIC would signal a source of deconfined charmed quarks, and the rate of Bc production will be a measure of the initial density and temperature of that source.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all)


text:
Fireflies inspire cheaper LED lamps
Inspiring light South Korean scientists have copied the structure of a firefly's underbelly to create what they say is an improved and cheaper LED lens.
They hope the discovery will one day be used in smartphones, televisions and other devices.
In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, the scientists describe how they were inspired by the firefly, a bright and efficient source of natural light.
"We made a new LED lens (copying) the nanostructure of the firefly lantern," says lead author Ki-Hun Jeong, associate professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science of Technology's department of bio and brain engineering.
By copying the structure of the firefly's three-layered lower abdomen, Jeong and colleagues managed to do away with an expensive component in existing LED (light-emitting diode) lamps.
Fireflies produce light from the lower abdomen to attract mates and prey.
"By having this structure, it is comparable to the conventional anti-reflection coating of existing LED lights which is very expensive," says Jeong.
"Our lens has a curvature, which is very similar to the anti-reflection coating, so we can minimise the lens price."


text:
In Louhi the program development environment is managed using the modules package. For example, user's shell environment variables for different compiler suites, software packages and libraries are set up using the module tool.
Currently loaded modules are listed with command
The environment changes induced by a particular module are shown with command
module show PrgEnv-pgi
The example above shows the effects of the default version of PGI programming environment. All available modules are listed with command
Loading and unloading modules files is done with module commands load and unload. Changing from the PGI programming environment to GNU programming environment, for example, is accomplished with the command
module swap PrgEnv-pgi PrgEnv-gnu
This, among other things, sets the Cray wrapper scripts to launch GNU compilers and link appropriate libraries for them. More examples of using the modules are provided in the chapter Program development of this User's Guide.


Drought Stress lawn conditionDrought Stress
Drought Stress is a condition that usually occurs during the summer months when periods of high heat and reduced water-fall take their toll on turfgrass. Initially it usually begins along edges of driveways and sidewalks where the combination of the above factors and the surrounding concrete or blacktop aid in the loss of moisture to those areas. While turfgrasses are very resilient and will usually recover from moderate periods of stress, regular watering during extended dry periods are crucial to preventing serious damage from drought stress.


text:
Some aspects of the energy balance closure problem
- Department of Micrometeorology, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
Abstract. After briefly discussing several reasons for the energy balance closure problem in the surface layer, the paper focuses on the influence of the low frequency part of the turbulence spectrum on the residual. Changes in the turbulent fluxes in this part of the turbulence spectrum were found to have a significant influence on the changes of the residual. Using the ogive method, it was found that the eddy-covariance method underestimates turbulent fluxes in the case of ogives converging for measuring times longer than the typical averaging interval of 30 min. Additionally, the eddy-covariance method underestimates turbulent fluxes for maximal ogive functions within the averaging interval, both mainly due to advection and non-steady state conditions. This has a considerable influence on the use of the eddy-covariance method.


text:
China's Health Weather:
Understanding and Predicting Connections Between Climate, Extreme Weather, Air Quality, and Health
Developing a causal understanding of how climate change dynamically influences weather and human health is a grand challenge that is urgently connected to China.
This project seeks to understand and predict how climate affects "health weather" in China. Exploration of acute health weather events will be pursued through diagnosing relationships between large-scale climate patterns, their effects on local weather and air pollution, and consequently, their relation to human health. This understanding of current acute conditions will then be merged with projections of climate change to provide insights into changes in chronic health weather over the coming decades.
Developing such a causal understanding of how climate change dynamically influences weather and human health is a grand challenge that is urgently connected to China. The project team has extensive expertise in climate, weather, atmospheric chemistry, and public health, and the project's approach combines theoretical investigations, model simulations, observational analyses, and field studies. Collaborations with Chinese scholars, joint symposia, and student exchanges will foster China-Harvard connections and aid in meeting this challenge.
Partner Affiliations in China
Nanjing University of International Science and Technology


Wonder and Inspiration Delivered — Since 1942
Floating Ball Game
(Click image to enlarge)
Item Number: _PHONE_
Price: $3.00
This item is available for giftwrap!
Game, Floating Ball
Floating Ball Game - Demonstrates Bernoulli's Principle - Law of Pressure Differential
Another classic science toy that is not only fun but teaches real scientific concepts. Made of wood. Comes with two styrofoam balls. See how long you can make the ball float. Challenge family and friends. Great party favor or holiday gift.
The floating ball game is an excellent example of "Bernoulli's Principle". As air is forced around the ball it must move faster in order to "catch up" on the other side. The result is a decrease in air pressure around the ball that in turn keeps the ball in place. The force is strong enough to resist other forces acting on the ball such as a subtle tap from your finger. The force can also overcome gravity if the flow of air is strong enough. This can be demonstrated by turning the base of the pipe 15-20 degrees - the ball will remain suspended in the air flow even though it is not directly above it.
Give it a try and see what you can discover!
Warning: Choking Hazard -Small Parts. Not for children under 3 years. /!\ Warning: Choking Hazard -This toy is a small ball. Not for children under 3 years.
SKU _PHONE_
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Synonyms for chess opening
Synonyms for (noun) chess opening
Synonyms: chess opening, opening
Definition: a recognized sequence of moves at the beginning of a game of chess
Usage: he memorized all the important chess openings
Similar words: sequence, succession
Definition: the action of following in order
Usage: he played the trumps in sequence
Visual thesaurus for chess opening


text:
Design and experimental validation of a compact collimated Knudsen source
In this paper we discuss the design and performance of a collimated Knudsen source which has the benefit of a simple design over recirculating sources. Measurements of the flux, transverse velocity distribution and brightness at different temperatures were conducted to evaluate the performance. The scaling of the flux and brightness with the source temperature follow the theoretical predictions. The transverse velocity distribution in the transparent operation regime also agrees with the simulated data. The source was found able to produce a flux of s at a temperature of 433 K. Furthermore the transverse reduced brightness of an ion beam with equal properties as the atomic beam reads A/(m sr eV) which is sufficient for our goal: the creation of an ultra-cold ion beam by ionization of a laser-cooled and compressed atomic rubidium beam.
Collimated sources for atomic species are used in many physics experiments such as laser cooling and compression, spectroscopy and beam collisions. Depending on the application, properties such as total flux, brightness, lifetime and simplicity are important. This paper discusses the design and evaluates the performance of a collimated Knudsen cell that will be used in the atomic beam laser-cooled ion source (ABLIS) Wouters et al. (2014). Although others have built such sources Lin et al. (2009); Bell et al. (2010), modifications of the design were made to make the device more compact. This paper also presents measurements of the flux, transverse velocity distribution and brightness of the source.
The simplest form of a thermal source is the Knudsen cell Pauly (1988). This device consists of a container in which material is heated to create a vapour pressure. Atoms in the gas phase can effuse from the Knudsen cell trough a small hole. This results in an atomic beam with a large angular spread which is not efficient for applications that require some degree of collimation. This low efficiency leads to an unnecessary high load on the vacuum system and a short lifetime of the source requiring frequent refilling with reactive (alkali-)metals. Placement of a skimming aperture some distance from the source and recycling of the atoms that do not make it trough this aperture can solve these problems. Such recirculating ovens have been constructed Hau, Golovchenko, and Burns (1994); Walkiewicz, Fox, and Scholten (2000); Pailloux, Alpettaz, and Lizon (2007) but are reported to be difficult to operate Bell et al. (2010).
A different, and less complex, approach is the use of a heated tube connected to the Knudsen cell Pauly (1988); Olander and Kruger (1970); Lin et al. (2009); Bell et al. (2010). Atoms that hit the wall of the tube are adsorped and, due to the high temperature, emitted again following a cosine angular distribution. Particles entering the tube with a small angle with the axis of the tube as compared to twice the opening angle will hit the wall beyond the middle of the tube and are therefore most probably transmitted. Particles with larger angle however have a larger probability of being sent back. Due to the large angular spread the atoms have when entering the tube, the majority of the atoms will be recycled. Both the recirculating oven and the collimated Knudsen cell leave the center part of the angular distribution, which is most relevant for most experiments, unaltered and thus increase the efficiency of the source.
In ABLIS Wouters et al. (2014) a thermal beam of rubidium atoms is laser-cooled and compressed in the transverse directions to create an atomic beam with a high transverse reduced brightness. When photo-ionized, this beam can be used to create a high-resolution Focused Ion Beam (FIB) surpassing ten Haaf et al. (2014) the current industry standard Liquid Metal Ion Source. At the start of the proposed device a suitable thermal source is required. This source should have a long lifetime and provide an atomic beam that can be laser-cooled and compressed to yield a high-brightness beam with sufficient flux to create a 1 nA ion beam. Furthermore a compact and simple solution is preferred. These requirements lead to the choice of building a collimated Knudsen source. The source presented in this paper is based on the design by Bell et at. Bell et al. (2010). Some modifications were done to make it more compact and make use of as many off-the-shelf components as possible. Although the design was optimized for our goal it can be used in other applications as well.
In section II of this paper a summary is given of the relevant theory of the collimated Knudsen cell. Furthermore simulations that are used for comparison with the measurements are explained. The design of the source is described in section III. Section IV presents the measurements of the flux, transverse velocity spread and brightness of the source and shows comparisons with analytical and simulated predictions. The conclusions of this work are presented in section V.
Ii Theory and simulations
This section gives a summary of the relevant theory of the collimated Knudsen cell that will later be used for comparison with the experimental results. Furthermore, Monte-Carlo simulations are introduced that will be used for comparison as well.
The flux effusing trough a circular aperture with a radius from a Knudsen cell in which a gas is present with a density of is given by Pauly (1988)
with the average speed of a gas in thermal equilibrium in which is the temperature of the Knudsen cell, Boltzmann's constant and the mass of the atom. For alkali metal vapors above the melting temperature, the atomic density can be approximated by Haynes (2014a)
with and constants for the specific atomic element (the values for rubidium are given in table 1). When a circular collimating tube is attached to the source and the density in the tube is low enough that inter-atomic collisions play no role, the flux out of the tube can be approximated by , with the Clausing factor Beijerinck and Verster (1975) given by
in which is the length of the tube. Although the total flux from the source is reduced, the center-line intensity is unaltered thus increasing the efficiency of usage of the atoms from the source.
Depending on the density in the Knudsen cell, inter-atomic collisions may play a role on the longitudinal () or transverse () length scale of the tube. The importance of collisions is determined by the Knudsen number Olander and Kruger (1970); Pauly (1988) which is defined as the ratio between the mean-free-path and the relevant dimension :
where is the Van der Waals radius of the atom (given in table 1). The regime in which the collimating tube is operated is described by the Knudsen numbers relating to the length () and the diameter() of the tube:
|Pressure constant ( Pa)|
|Temperature constant ( K)|
|Van-der-Waals radius Haynes (2014b) (pm)||303|
|Natural linewidth (MHz)||6.07|
|Saturation intensity (W/m)||31.3|
Although analytical expressions have been reported that describe the angular distribution of the atoms Pauly (1988); Olander and Kruger (1970), the full distribution function is not available in analytical form. Therefore, in order to predict the performance of the collimating tube and to verify the experimental results a Monte-Carlo simulation was set up to find the distribution function of the atoms at the end of the tube for a given geometry (, ) and temperature of the Knudsen cell and collimation tube . These simulations assume a uniform (in and ) circular spatial distribution of atoms at the entrance of the tube with angles chosen to match those of a cosine emitter Pauly (1988). Then the simulation finds the trajectories of these atoms trough the tube using geometrical calculations while taking the inelastic collisions with the walls (following a cosine emitter perpendicular to the wall surface) into account. In Wouters et al. (2014) this implementation was verified by comparison with theoretical predictions for the angular distribution function. The Monte-Carlo simulations can be used to compare the experimentally determined flux, transverse velocity distributions and brightness to values that can be expected from a source in the transparent regime.
Figure 1 shows a detailed design of the source, which for easy manufacturing is designed with as many off-the-shelf components as possible: only the tube (g) and thermal insulator (e) needed to be fabricated from scratch while the remaining parts can be used as-is or with minor modifications. The Knudsen cell is formed by several stainless-steel 16 mm Conflat (CF) pieces: a cross piece in the center (a), blank flanges on the top and left and flexible bellows on the bottom (b) in which the rubidium resides. By flexing the bellows a glass ampule filled with solid rubidium can safely be broken while the source is under vacuum. On the right side a double-sided blank 16 mm CF flange (c) has a hole large enough to just fit the copper tube outer diameter (4 mm). The tube (g) is secured to this flange by means of two screws going into the right side of the double-sided flange. The double-sided CF flange is connected to a 16 mm-40 mm CF reducer flange (d) by means of a copper gasket.


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Peach Blueberry Crumble
Summertime and fruity desserts go together and one of my family's favorite is a Peach Blueberry Crumble. Sweet, juicy fruit is very important – large white or yellow peaches and plump blueberries – but for me it's all about the crumble – the more the better. A few years ago I started making a peach crumble from a recipe in Cooks Illustrated but adapted it to my tastes:
- more crumble topping
- blueberries and peaches instead of just peaches
- more almond flavor by using almond flour (not toasted) and almond extract
- instead of corn starch I use a product called "Pie Enhancer" made by King Arthur Flour to help thicken the juices from the fruit
There are two parts to making this dessert: partially pre-baking the crumble and then compiling and baking the fruit crumble. It's very simple to make.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper so that it covers and overhangs a standard cookie sheet.
- In a food processor, blend the flours, sugars, and salt for 15 seconds.
- While running, pour the vanilla and almond extract down the feeding tube and blend for 10 seconds.
- Add the butter and mix in the food processor until the crumble starts to come together, about 30 seconds.
- Add the slivered almonds to the crumble and process 1 second.
- Pour the crumble on the parchment paper.
- Bake for 20 minutes – the crumble should be a beige color, not a brown color.
- Remove from the oven and turn the oven heat up to 350 degrees.
- Place the peach slices in a large mixing bowl.
- Add blueberries and gently stir to mix the fruit.
- Pour the lemon juice over the fruit and gently stir.
- Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit and gently stir.
- Sprinkle the pie enhancer over the fruit and gently stir.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt over the fruit and gently stir to blend.
- Lightly butter the bottom and sides of an 11 x 8.5 x 2 inch glass baking dish (the glass allows you to see the fruit which is an important part of the presentation – expect major oohs and aah's when placed on the table).
- Pour the fruit into the greased pan.
- Scoop the pre-baked crumble on top of the fruit. Lift the parchment paper up by the sides and pour the crumble that can't be scooped up, to cover the fruit.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 30 minutes before serving.


text:
This 25 minute lesson is intended to give teachers a sense of what equitable representation for the GLBTQ community might feel like through text selection. It's based on "Reading LGBT-Themed Literature with Young People: What's Possible?" by Caroline T. Clarke and Mollie V. Blackburn. (PDF)
(Estimated Running Time: 23-25 Minutes)
Teachers will be able to identify how text selection can represent their classroom by building ideal decks representing their students.
Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized
- A deck of standard cards for every 4 students. Not all cards will be used. The distribution of cards should be 1/2 spades (16), 1/3 clubs (10) and 1/6 hearts (6). Of the four decks, one will have 3 hearts, one will have 2 hearts, one will have 1 heart, and one will have no hearts. Clubs and spades will be evenly distributed.
How can we engage students in GLBTQ literature without actively or tacitly supporting a homophobic, heterosexist environment?
- Using GLBTQ literature in a classroom only once or twice makes it stand out as different from the norm.
- Deliberately citing the GLBTQ nature as a purpose for reading makes it stand out as different from the norm.
- By making it regular and representative and queering other texts, GLBTQ lit can be normalized.
- Some GLBTQ literature presents a heterosexist view of the GLBTQ community.
- Older GLBTQ lit is often not representative of the current GLBTQ culture.
I'm assuming you're all card players, that all of you have played a type of card game or has friends who do. What card games do you play at home, with your family, with friends? What makes a card game fun and engaging?
Lead students toward recognizing participation, cooperation, equal competition, and possibly the ability to play it their way.
Introduction to New Material:
Before we begin, I want you to know two terms: heteronormative and heterosexist. Heteronormative means relating to a world that promotes heterosexuality or straightness. Heterosexist refers to active bias against same-sex relationships.
Blackburn and Clark's article states that because LGBTQ literature and issues are so new to the classroom, teachers do not have adequate means of introducing them that doesn't tacitly support the homophobic social norms currently in place. There are however, four things you can do to make it easier. The first of which, I've already done by assuming you're card players. Blackburn and Clark state that if you enter a classroom assuming kids are LGBTQ allies already rather than treating them as homophobic, it sets a precedent where the class can engage in the conversation from a positive standpoint. The rest will be shown in our activity for the night and I'll explain them after.
The decks of cards you have represent the books we might teach over the course of the year. Don't think about this too hard. For right now, they're just cards. In these decks are hearts, spades and clubs, no diamonds. The cards go from five to ace. Each deck is a unique set of eight cards taken from this distribution.
Choose one suit, number or face card (King, Jack, Queen, etc) to represent yourself. Don't show or tell anyone right now. Take a minute to write down what represents you, why you chose it, and three adjectives you would use to describe yourself/what represents you. For example, I'm represented by 8s because it's my favorite number, it becomes the infinity sign when turned on its side, and it can symbolize glasses and wisdom; my three adjectives would be wise, infinite, and observant.
Look through your deck of eight cards and analyze its makeup. Take a minute and write down what you think sets your deck apart. What sort of cards comprise it? What stands out?
Group up (groups of 3 or 4). Compare your decks. Do not reveal what represents you. Discuss what's different. Compare what stood out to each of you.
Now, without revealing what represents you, let's build a communal deck. Your job is to make sure you're represented in the deck. The communal deck will also be exactly eight cards. Decide together how to build this deck drawing from each of your decks.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not actually going to play a card game. Instead, I want you to write about your experience today. How did you feel you were represented in your original deck? How about in the communal deck? What problems did you have making sure you were represented in the final deck? How do you think the others felt?
If spades represented the traditional heteronormative canon, clubs represented minority focused heteronormative texts, and hearts represented LGBTQ literature, how does that affect the way your look at your communal deck?
Collect writings as the exit ticket.
Blackburn and Clark's essay points out that treating LGBTQ literature as special rather than normal already sets a classroom up for failure. If you only read one LGBTQ book or article, it will stand out, much like a single heart will stand out in a sea of black suited cards. By making LGBTQ-friendly literature and concepts a regularity normalizes the students to its existence.
In addition, you want to make sure that the books you read reflect your class and allow them to explore their own experiences. Just as you were represented in the decks, your students are represented in the books you read. Blackburn and Clark divide LGBTQ literature into three categories: "homosexual visibility," in which the story revolves around the LGBTQ characters' sexuality and the response to it, often battling homophobia; "gay assimilation," in which LGBTQ characters appear, but their sexuality isn't key to the plot; and "Queer consciousness or community," where LGBTQ characters are shown to be in supportive communities and families regardless of the plot. Just because a book has a LGBTQ character doesn't mean it's representative of the LGBTQ members of your classroom, so presenting multiple and positive LGBTQ experiences is important for varied representation.
Lastly, books, like card games, are supposed to be pleasurable. Choosing a book simply because it deals with a difficult topic is like playing solitaire: it'll take up some time, and you might feel accomplished at the end, but who's going to call it fun? Really. If you choose LGBTQ books that are enjoyable, your students will be more engaged and more willing to explore other books that are queer-friendly.


2 =
v x2 + v 2y =v02x + v02 y + 2 gh =v02x + v02 y + 2 gh =
v02 + 2 gh
Then you see that indeed we have each time for the final speed=
v
v02 + 2 gh , independent of the
direction of the initial velocity vector. What we can learn from this double-check step is two-fold. First,
our energy and work considerations yield the exact same results as our kinematic equations from Chapter
3 did. Second, and perhaps more important, the energy and work considerations required much less
computational effort to arrive at the same result.
5.28.
THINK: The object moves at constant speed so the net force is zero. The force applied is then equal to the
force of friction. Ff = 180 N , d = 4.0 m , m = 95 kg.
SKETCH:
RESEARCH: W = Fd cosθ
SIMPLIFY: θ =⇒
0
W=
−Fd =
Ff d
CALCULATE: W
= F=
(180 N)(4.0 m)
= 720 J
fd
ROUND: 2 significant figures: W = 720 J
DOUBLE-CHECK: If we applied a force greater than 180 N, the object would accelerate. 720 J is
reasonable for pushing a refrigerator 4.0 m.
5.29.
THINK: The maximum amount of work that the hammerhead can do on the nail is equal to the work
that gravity does on the hammerhead during the fall. h = 0.400 m and m = 2.00 kg.
SKETCH:
RESEARCH: The work done by gravity is Wg = mgh and this is equal to the maximum work W that the
hammerhead can do on the nail.
SIMPLIFY: W = mgh
CALCULATE: W (2.00
=
=
kg) ( 9.81 m/s 2 ) (0.400 m) 7.848 J
ROUND: Three significant figures: W = 7.85 J.
DOUBLE-CHECK: This result is reasonable. If the hammerhead had an initial velocity, more work could
be done.
228
Chapter 5: Kinetic Energy, Work, and Power
5.30.
THINK: Only those forces that have a component along the couch's displacement contribute to the force.
You push your couch with a force of F = 200.0 N a distance of d = 4.00 m. The frictional force opposes the
motion, so the direction of Ff is opposite to F .
SKETCH:
RESEARCH: W = Fd cosθ . Friction:=
θ 180° , Wf = −Ff d ; You: θ = 0° , Wyou = Fd ; Gravity: θ= 90° ,
Wg = Fdy ; Net: Wnet
= Fd − Ff d .
SIMPLIFY: Wyou = Fd
Wf = −Ff d
=
Wg Fd cos90.°
W=
d(F − Ff )
net
4.00 m )( 200.0 N ) 800.00 J
(=
=
− ( 4.00m ) (150.0 N ) =
−600.0 J
CALCULATE:
=
W
you
Wf
Wg = 0
=
Wnet
=
N)
( 4.00 m )( 200.0 N − 150.0
200.0 J
ROUND: Since the distance is given to three significant figures, W
= 8.00 ⋅ 102 J, Wf =
−6.00 ⋅ 102 J,
you
Wg = 0, and W=
2.00 ⋅ 102 J.
net
DOUBLE-CHECK: The work done by the person is greater than the work done by friction. If it was not,
the couch would not move. The units of the work calculations are Joules, which are appropriate for work.
5.31.
THINK: Only the component of the force parallel to the displacement does work.
SKETCH:
RESEARCH: W = Fd cosθ
SIMPLIFY: Not applicable.
CALCULATE:
=
W Fd =
cosθ (25.0 N)(25.0 m)cos30.0
=
° 5.4127 ⋅ 102 J
ROUND: Three significant figures: =
W 5.41 ⋅ 102 J .
DOUBLE-CHECK: The magnitude of the work done by the person is greater than the magnitude of the
work done by friction. The units of the work calculations are joules, which are appropriate for work.
5.32.
THINK: Neglect friction and use conservation of energy. Take the zero of gravitational potential energy to
be the bottom of the swinging arc. Then, the speed at the bottom of the swinging motion can be
determined from the fact that the initial potential energy is all converted to kinetic energy.
229
Bauer/Westfall: University Physics, 2E
SKETCH:
RESEARCH:
1 2
mv + mgh =
C
2
SIMPLIFY: Initial: v =0, h =l − d =l(1 − cos θ ) ,
1 2
mv + 0 =
E
2
1
Ei = Ef ⇒ mv 2 =mgl(1 − cosθ ) ⇒=
v
2
1 2
mv + mgh =
0 + mgl(1 − cos θ ) =
E
2
Final: h = 0,
CALCULATE: v
=
2 gl(1 − cosθ )
2 ( 9.81 m/s 2 )=
(3.00 m)(1 − cos33.6°) 3.136 m/s
ROUND: Three significant figures: v = 3.14 m/s.
DOUBLE-CHECK: The result is independent of mass here because both potential and kinetic energy
depend linearly on mass.
5.33.
THINK: The scalar product can be used to determine the work done, since the vector components of the


force
=
F (4.79, −3.79,2.09) N and the displacement
=
r (4.25, 3.69, − 2.45) m, are given.
SKETCH:
 
RESEARCH: W= F • r
SIMPLIFY: W = Fx rx + Fy ry + Fz rz
CALCULATE:
=
W
=
−2.45)]
[(4.79)(4.25) + (−3.79)(3.69) + (2.09)(
ROUND: 3 significant figures: W = 1.25 J .
1.2519 J
 
DOUBLE-CHECK: The work done is much less than F ⋅ r since the force and the displacement are not
parallel.
230
Chapter 5: Kinetic Energy, Work, and Power
5.34.
THINK: Take the zero of gravitational potential energy to be at the bottom of the swinging arc. The final
speed can then be determined using conservation of energy.
SKETCH:
1 2
mv + mgh =
constant
2
1
SIMPLIFY: At θ1 =
: v 0,=
h h1 ⇒ m(0)2 + mgh1 = const. = E ⇒ mgh1 =
E
2
1
1
At θ2 : h = h2 ⇒ mv 2 + mgh2 =
E=
mgh1 ⇒ v 2 = g ( h1 − h2 ) ⇒=
v
2 g (h1 − h2 )
2
2
RESEARCH:
⇒ =
v
2 g [l(1 − cosθ1 ) − l(1 − cosθ2 )=
]
CALCULATE: v
=
2 gl(− cosθ1 + cosθ2 )
2 ( 9.81 m/s 2 ) (3.50 m)(=
− cos35.0° + cos15.0°) 3.1747 m/s
ROUND: 3 significant figures: v = 3.17 m/s
DOUBLE-CHECK: The result is independent of mass and the final velocity seems reasonable.
5.35.
THINK: The work done by gravity is mgh . In the absence of friction, the potential energy mgh will be
converted to kinetic energy. The actual kinetic energy, when friction is included is less than this. The
"missing" energy is the work done by friction. If the work done by friction is known, the frictional force
and the coefficient of friction can be determined.
SKETCH:
1
RESEARCH: W
= Wg + Wf = mv 2 , Wg = mgh , Wf = Ff d
2
1
1

SIMPLIFY: W=
Nd m  v 2 − gh 
=
W − Wg ⇒ Ff d= mv 2 − mgh ⇒ − µ
f
2
2


1 
1 2
1 2

But
θ d m  v − gh =
=
=
N F=
mg cosθ ⇒ − µmg cos
g cosθ
 gh − v 
 ⇒ µ
gd cosθ 
2 
2

CALCULATE: g
=
 1 ft 
9.81 m/s ) 
(=

 0.3048 m 
2
32.185 ft/s 2 ,
( 32.185 ft/s )(80.0sin30.0° ft) − (0.5)( 45.0 ft/s )
( 32.185 ft/s )(80.0 ft)cos30.0°
2
µ=
2
2
= 0.123282
ROUND: Three significant figures: µ = 0.123 .
DOUBLE-CHECK: This is a reasonable result for the friction coefficient. If I had used SI units, the result
would be the same because µ is dimensionless.
231
Bauer/Westfall: University Physics, 2E
5.36.
THINK: The molecule's initial speed can be determined from its mass and kinetic energy. At the highest
point all the initial kinetic energy has been converted to potential energy.
SKETCH:
1 2
1 2
mv + mgh = constant. When
=
h 0,=
Ei
mv . When
=
v f 0


text:
California has long had one of the nation's higher poverty rates, as calculated by the federal government for decades on a formula tied to food prices. But it may actually be the highest in the nation under one proposed new way of calculating it.
The National Academy of Sciences has recommended a new methodology for calculating poverty in the 1990s, using costs of housing and other factors in addition to food. It has gained impetus because President Barack Obama, as a White House candidate, advocated a change in formula.
A Washington-based advocacy group called the Center for Law and Social Policy has applied the proposed NAS formula to the states and then added another factor: differential housing costs.
The result is that California's poverty rate, 34th highest under the current formula, drops to 32nd under the NAS methodology but soars to 50th when housing costs are included in the calculation.
"This report provides a hint of how poverty rates might change if a more comprehensive poverty measure was implemented," The author of the CLASP report, Dorothy Smith said in a statement as results were released today. "While a new poverty measure itself won't change the circumstances of Americans, it will better help policymakers and advocates understand the full dimensions of poverty at the national, state and local levels, and it can help inform policy decisions on how to tackle poverty."
The results for California - relatively little change under the NAS proposal but much change with housing costs - were mirrored in many other states with high housing costs. New Jersey, for instance, had the second lowest poverty rates by the first two measures but jumped to 31st with the housing cost adjustment. New York wound up with a poverty rate second only to California's.


text:
At the time emergencies at sea, maritime distress signals are used by ships. These distress signals help to identify and pinpoint the location of the emergency scenario, whereby faster rescue operational measures can be ushered in.
Marine distress signals can be of two types – the pyrotechnic signals and the non-pyrotechnic signals. A brief detailing about the two can be explained as follows:
Pyrotechnic Signals: These signals incorporate the usage of fireworks or materials that involve flame and smoke. Usage of flares is the most commonly used method of pyrotechnic signalling.
Non-Pyrotechnic Signalling: The very opposite of pyrotechnic signals, the non-pyrotechnic signalling methodology involves the usage of flags and radio transmissions as marine distress signalling.
The various variants of non-pyrotechnic signals can be listed down as follows:
Orange Signal Flag: The Orange distress signalling flag, as the name suggests, is an orange flag with a black-coloured square with a black-coloured circle placed below it. Generally, the orange distress signal flag is waved or hung in order to indicate an emergency. The non-pyrotechnic signal however can be used only during daylight as nightlight renders it inconspicuous.
As an alternative to the orange flag marine distress signal, colour coded flags are also used as non-pyrotechnic maritime distress signals.
Marker Dyes: Marker dyes indicating the area where the emergency has occurred are also used as non-pyrotechnic methods of distress signalling. A marker dye is put in the sea and it generally covers around 50 metres of the area where it is dropped in the water.
SOS: The SOS signal is another method of non-pyrotechnic signalling. Incorporating the usage of the Morse code, the SOS signalling consists of dots and dashes interspersed at regular intervals. The SOS code is flashed by electric lights during the night hour.
Radio Signals: Using marine radio frequency, Mayday distress messages can be sent to avail help during marine emergency situations. Alternatively, using the Digital Service Calling (DSC) facility through radio channels also acts an effective maritime distress signalling.
Mirrors: With the help of mirrors that are dropped in the water, distress signals can be sent. These mirrors not only reflect the light to pinpoint the location of the emergency but are also non-corrosive at the same time. This helps to prolong their usage for a longer period of time.
Other known maritime distress signals that do not involve the usage of pyrotechnic signalling are arm-waving, usage of SOLAS-sanctioned whistle-blowers and blowing through fog-horns to avail rescue and aid.
All non-pyrotechnic methods of signalling need to comply with the USCG standards in order to be utilised. Users therefore need to be very careful in the usage of these signalling devices so that they do not encounter any problems even after using them appropriately.
Pyrotechnic signals have been regarded as the best maritime distress signalling methods. However, unprecedented accidents on account of their usage have led to the rise of non-pyrotechnic signalling methodologies. And in spite of their deficiencies, these methods are very important marine distress signalling options available at ships' disposal.
You may also like to read-SOLAS requirement for GMDSS


text:
16 August 2010 | Fact sheet
Central Highlands of Sri Lanka World Heritage Site
The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka (CHSL) has been a serial World Heritage site since 2010; three protected areas situated in the south-central part of the island. The three protected areas are Peak Wilderness Protected Area (PWPA), Horton Plains National Park (HPNP) and Knuckles Conservation Forest (KCF). CHSL includes the largest and least disturbed remaining areas of the submontane and montane rain forests in Sri Lanka's south-western wet zone. Its largely undisturbed forests are home to the unique Sri Lanka leopard, and the only habitats of many threatened plants and animals. The site also holds immense spiritual significance as Adams Peak in HPNP is well-known for the Sri Pada "sacred footprint", a 1.8 m rock formation near the summit which in Buddhist tradition is held to be the footprint of the Buddha, in Hindu tradition that of Shiva and in Muslim tradition that of Adam. The whole of the World Heritage site is managed by the state of Sri Lanka
View slide show of the park
Flora and fauna
The Sri Lankan montane rain forests represented by CHSL can be considered a super-hotspot within the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot. More than half of Sri Lanka's endemic vertebrates, half of the country's endemic flowering plants and more than 34% of its endemic trees, shrubs, and herbs are restricted to these diverse montane rain forests. The altitudinal range and location of the Knuckles has a diverse range of vegetation, with flora so distinct that it is recognized as a separate floristic region within Sri Lanka. At least 10 of the 23 endemic bird species that make Sri Lanka an Endemic Bird Area also occur in the Knuckles range. The Peak Wilderness and Horton Plains, together with surrounding forest areas, comprise Sri Lanka's most important water catchments from which almost all of the country's major perennial rivers originate. Up to 13 of the 23 endemic bird species that make Sri Lanka an Endemic Bird Area occur in the Peak Wilderness and Horton Plains.
The world heritage site is home to the endemic purple-faced langur of Sri Lanka (Semnopithecus vetulus), the Endangered Horton Plains slender loris (Loris tardigradus nycticeboides) and the Sri Lankan leopard, a unique sub-species (Panthera pardus kotiya) as well as a number of other endemic vertebrate species including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. It may contain more than a third of the Sri Lankan amphibian species, including two dozen or more Sri Lankan endemics, 23 endemic frog species of which at least seven species are completely confined in the site and a number of globally threatened plant and animal species.
The nature and magnitude of existing and potential threats to CWSL varies between the protected areas. In the case of PWPA, the major human use is from 2 million pilgrims who visit Adam's Peak annually and contribute to both forest and environmental degradation along the pilgrim trails leading up to the peak. Illicit gem mining with no ecological restoration also takes place in some sections in the periphery of PWPA. The Forest and Wildlife Departments have recently taken steps to address these issues. Wide ranging protective legislation has been enacted rationalizing the legal status of the various constituents of PWPA, which give adequate mandate and powers to both DWLC and the Forestry Department to regulate the forest and environmental degradation. More efforts are needed to address the issue of environmental legislation, in which the Department of Culture and other relevant stakeholders can play a major role.
In HPNP the major threat is from the spread of invasive species European Gorse (Ulex europeus), forest die-back, occasional fires and vandalism on the nature trail by visitors. DWLC efforts in the abatement of these threats needs to be further strengthened.
In KCF, the major threat is from cultivation of cardamom inside the forest. This spice crop was planted in some sections of the natural forests many decades ago; starting on a small scale eventually extending beyond the leased areas. Maintenance work to sustain the cardamom crop resulted in degradation of the natural forests. The Forest Department than took a series of measures to address this threat: the lease agreements were terminated and all resident cultivators were relocated elsewhere. The areas that were planted with cardamom are now reverting to their natural forest state. Eleven of the former non-resident and influential lessees continue to harvest cardamom from the land using hired labour, in spite of the expiry of their leases. The Forest Department has initiated legal action and court orders have been received against this illegal activity, which are now being implemented.


text:
In the 2019 election cycle, the Parish Pastoral Council received four self-nominations for four open seats. In the absence of a competitive field of candidates, the PPC Elections Committee, in consultation with the pastor, will forgo balloting and name these parishioners to the Council by acclamation. Over a three-year term, these four candidates will work with other PPC members and the pastor in discerning, articulating, and communicating to other parishioners the identity and mission of our parish.
We asked candidates to respond to three questions:
- Why do you want to be a part of the PPC at Holy Trinity? What gifts, visions, and talents would you bring that would contribute to the work of the parish?
- Which activities, such as social justice service, parish-sponsored prayer opportunities, or other ministries that you have been a part of at Holy Trinity have been the most meaningful to you? Why?
- Based on your involvement at Holy Trinity, what are some high-priority issues that might need to be addressed in a long-term plan for the parish?


Which ants should we target for genome sequencing?
This weekend, Arizona State University is hosting a slate of myrmecologists to brainstorm on ant genomes.Â I'd link to the meeting information, but apparently the gathering is so informal that they've not given the event a web page.Â In any case, the topic is this:Â in the age of (relatively) cheap genomes, which ants should we sequence? And, what should we do with the assembled data?
I originally planned to attend, but life intervenes and I'm frozen to the tundra of central Illinois.Â Instead, I will register here a few suggestions about which species should considered, in addition to the already-funded projects (Harpegnathos, Camponotus, Solenopsis and Pheidole).Â My criteria are twofold.Â First, the ant must occupy a phylogenetic position that will maximise insight when considered with the exisiting genomes.Â Second, the ant should have some additional property whose study will benefit from genomic information.Â Here's the list:
1. Linepithema humile (the Argentine Ant) will likely be sequenced soon.Â But as the funding is not yet secure, I'll push for Linepithema anyway as the most logical next genome.Â Reasons to sequence the Argentine Ant abound.Â It is a model species for nestmate recognition and for biological invasions, already employing dozens of scientists in many countries.Â It causes considerable economic damage.Â It will be the first ant sequenced from the great and speciose subfamily Dolichoderinae.Â And it will also be cheap:Â Linepithema humile has one of the smallest measured ant genomes.
2. Myrmecia pilosula (Jack-Jumper) is the most deadly Australian ant, owing to a sting with a particularly allergenic blend of enzymes.Â But that's not the main reason to sequence Myrmecia.Â The complex of species associated with M. pilosula has an astounding range of chromosome variants, from a highly fragmented 90 chromosomes to a species with the entire genome linked together, astonishingly, on a single giant chromosome.Â A project here would be of great benefit to understanding the morphology of genomes, and how and why genomes are partioned into chromosomes.Â Myrmecia are also large enough for physiological, neurological, and developmental research. Plus, as a member of the more recent formicoid clade with a relative simple social structure, they will serve as a nice control for teasing out which of the differences between the ASU project's Harpegnathos and Camponotus/Pheidole are due to social structure and which are merely phylogenetic carryovers.
3. Atta (Leafcutter Ant). No shortage of reasons to sequence Atta. The leafcutter ants, their fungi, and the constellation of associated microbes have become a leading model system for co-evolution of complex systems, and several laboratories are devoted to their study.Â Atta also has an unusually well-developed caste system whose secrets could be answered through a bit of genomic sleuthing.Â As a bonus, Atta keeps well in captivity.Â That, and Atta is the most damaging agricultural pest in the new world tropics.
4. Paraponera clavata (Bullet Ant).Â Not a pest, or a model species for anything, but an ant that should be included simply for the evolutionary insight of having a relictual early lineage to serve as a counterpoint for the more socially complex formicoids.Â Plus, this ant is huge and hence suitable for the physiological/developmental spin-offs of a genome project.Â As an alternative early lineage, I'd also consider Amblyopone.
5. Cataglyphis. A great deal has been learned about insect navigation in this desert ant.Â A genome project would allow researchers a very powerful toolkit for probing at a molecular level how ants process information.
6. Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Harvester Ant). This insect has become something of a workhorse for desert ant research, hosting scores of studies on ecology, task allocation, and more recently, some funky genetics relating to hybridization and speciation.Â A genome would assist all of these areas.Â Plus, P. barbatus is a monomorphic myrmecine that can balance out the polymorphism of the other sequenced myrmicines, as well as spanning the root node for the subfamily.
7. Formica rufa-group species (Wood Ants). The emblematic Formica of the boreal northern hemisphere was the first ant named under Linnean taxonomy, and these ants continue to be subjects of interest in ecology, physiology, and behavior.Â Formica are used in biological control of forest pests, and some species are among the very few ants protected by endangered species legislation.Â The genus is an enormous group containing many degrees of social parasitism among its members, and a genome would help researchers gain a foothold into the molecular side of life history evolution.
8. Finally, we need desperately to sequence a non-ant.Â Scientists are peeing themselves in the excitement over insect sociogenomics, but we need to keep perspective.Â Everyone wants to do the sexy experiment but no one wants to run the boring control.Â Our ability to say anything about the genetics of social behavior is greatly hindered by not having a nonsocial point of reference.Â If all the aculeate genomes we have are socialand it looks now like we'll have Apis (social), Harpegnathos (social), Camponotus (social), Pheidole (social) and Solenopsis (social), then we still won't be able to finger the genes that drove the evolution of the insect societies.Â Only through comparing the genomes of social and related non-social species will we be able to pick out the key differences between the groups.Â So we should do Pepsis.Â Or Sphex.Â Or Dasymutilla.Â It'll add value to all the other genomes.
More like this
Figure 1. For the 32 most-studied ant species, the percentage of publications _PHONE_ in various contexts. In thinking about where the myrmecological community ought to devote resources in the age of genomics, it occcured to me that putting some numbers on where researchers have previously…
Last week the Howard Hughes Medical Institute announced that they will be funding Danny Reinberg, Shelley Berger, and Juergen Liebig to sequence three ant genomes.Â Their interest is research on aging, hoping that solving the puzzle of why genetically identical ant nestmates can either live for a…
My earlier list of the most-studied ant species contained a few omissions.Â Here is a more inclusive list: Ant species sorted by number of BIOSIS-listed publications, _PHONE_ The Top 10 Species Publications Solenopsis invicta 984 Linepithema humile 343 Lasius niger 250 Formica rufa 167 Atta…
Meet Ectatomma tuberculatum. This tropical insect has the largest genome of 40 species of ants measured in a study by Neil Tsutsui et al in BioMed Central. Weighing in at 690 megabases, E. tuberculatum has nearly twice as much DNA as most other ant species, leading the authors to suggest that a…
a species with the entire genome linked together, astonishingly, on a single giant chromosome
Wow. Just... wow.
I'd probably put my vote in for Linepithema, though.
That one, single chromosome is pretty astonishing, but I'll go with the bullet ant. I got stung by one of those things in the Amazon - it was not only the most painful insect sting I'd ever experienced (and is still so), but it left me with flu-like symptoms for several days. Any study that takes members of this species and mercilessly kills them to amplify their disarticulated genome gets my vote!
What about a solitary bee that likes to nest in communities, as well a totally solitary insect.
So you'd have your social ant, a semi-social bee, and something totally solitary.
By MrILoveTheAnts (not verified) on 16 Jan 2009 _TAG_
By robertmo1 (not verified) on 23 Feb 2009 _TAG_
Much useful food can be grown by filtering out and using methane gas as a by product of protein agriculture that harvests Soldier Termite Bodies from termite mounds cultivated in climate controlled chambers.
Much organic material from tree agriculture and forest and brush fire clearing efforts could be used. Since people always need protein for themselves or livestock or pets and also thinking of future space livestock, It just makes sense to record the different variant subspecies Gnenomes of termites.
Chimpanses do poke a Termite mound with a stick to get Soldier termites to lock there jaws on the stick so when pulled outside the termite mound the Soldier termite bodies can be harvested as protein.
Just simulate the Soldier Termite losses to Termites natural preditors so this new livestock of Termites doesn't become a supertermite if accidentally released
By Jeff Scherer (not verified) on 13 Jun 2009 _TAG_
You forgot fire ants. Laurent Keller's group has already done a deal of genomics work on these.
I bet you it'll be the fire ant first.


Switching Application Required System Properties According to Deployment Environment
Any serious application depends on a number of configuration properties, such as JDBC connection properties, caching properties etc. They should change according to target deployment environment.
People employ different methods to take those properties outside their web applications. Among them, one commonly used method is to create a properties file and collect any property, whose value should change depending on the current deployment environment, then create variations of that properties file for each deployment environment. During build process, which property file should be taken into account is specified via another parameter, for example an environment property or system property.
We currently employ a similar method in our current project. We use ant in our build process, and have defined an ant global property named target.environemt, taking values dev, test, or prod accordingly. We, then, use following construct in our build.xml to customize our build process according to target deployment environemt.
Thus, we load specified build properties file to customize our build process according to the target environment. We use, for example, tomcat as web container and its ant tasks to deploy, stop, and start our web application. Development, test and production environments are simply located in different physical servers, and accesible with different user credentials. In order to make use of same tomcat ant task for each target environment, we keep tomcat server url, port, credential information in this build properties file.
When it comes to customize our application configuration properties, we simply copy specified project.properties.${target.environment} file into web application classpath while stripping off the suffix at the end. As the old saying goes, a layer of indirection solves every problem in computer science.
Karl Baum has a nice blog entry about this topic and gives a solution based on above method, but it is much more flexible as it enables us to switch between configurations without a new build or deployment at all.a


TriangleCurve Command
From GeoGebra Manual
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TriangleCurve( , , , )
Creates implicit polynomial, whose equation in barycentric coordinates with respect to points P, Q, R is given by the fourth parameter; the barycentric coordinates are referred to as A, B, C.
Example: If P, Q, R are points, TriangleCurve(P, Q, R, (A - B)*(B - C)*(C - A) = 0) gives a cubic curve consisting of the medians of the triangle PQR.
Example: TriangleCurve(A, B, C, A*C = 1/8) creates a hyperbola such that tangent, through A or C, to this hyperbola splits triangle ABC in two parts of equal area.
Example: TriangleCurve(A, B, C, A² + B² + C² - 2B C - 2C A - 2A B = 0) creates the Steiner inellipse of the triangle ABC, and TriangleCurve(A, B, C, B C + C A + A B = 0) creates the Steiner circumellipse of the triangle ABC.
Note: The input points can be called A, B or C, but in this case you cannot use e.g. x(A) in the equation, because A is interpreted as the barycentric coordinate.
© 2021 International GeoGebra Institute


text:
Wholesale manuka honey is a natural product from New Zealand made by bees that pollinate the leptospermum scoppartum bush. It is renowned globally for its healing properties and superior quality. The unique properties of this honey are attributed to the active ingredient Methylglyoxal (MGO) found in it.
Is Manuka honey worth the money?
MGO-enriched honeys have been shown to have antibacterial properties against a wide range of bacteria including MRSA, E. coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The MGO content of the honey also affects bacterial growth, with higher MGO levels showing greater antimicrobial activity.
In addition to its antibiotic properties, MGO-enriched honey has been shown to have other beneficial effects on wounds. The MGO in the honey inhibits inflammation, promotes fibroblast migration and collagen deposition, and sterilizes the wound. This has led to the use of honey as a topical dressing on ulcers and burn wounds.
Research has shown that the MGO content of the honey significantly influences its ability to disrupt established biofilms and kill bacteria. For example, Marckoll et al. used a multispecies wound biofilm model to test the ability of non-diluted Manuka and Norwegian Forest honey to penetrate and kill biofilm-embedded MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis, ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. They observed that both types of honey penetrated the established biofilm matrix and killed bacteria in a dose-dependent manner. MGO-enriched honeys were found to be more effective in a dose-dependent manner than methylglyoxal-rich honeys, suggesting that a factor other than methylglyoxal is responsible for the antibiofilm activity of MGO-enriched honeys.


Like many of his 1950s era space-piloting contemporaries, Rocky Jones was pretty popular with the kiddies. And why not? Despite its low budget and standard Space Ranger plots, every kid watching the 39 original episodes, which aired between 1953 and 1955 and were later recut and rereleased as a full-length feature, believed in the heroism and deep space adventures of the dashing star.
Richard Crane starred as the title character, a man whose record and reputation were so pristine, he was rarely (if ever) proven wrong or reprimanded by a superior.
Joined by his sidekick Winky (played by original Our Gang member Scotty Beckett), his on-again, off-again flame Vena Ray (played by Sally Mansfield), Rocky Jones's chief objective was to defeat the alien supergroup, the Officians (said to embody and reflect an anti-communist sentiment).
One of the series' distinguishing factors was that it was continuous, instead of episodic – so that it ran in a sort of soap opera-like sequence that never repeated or deviated from the developments of the plot before it.
Though he's rarely remembered today, Rocky Jones's legacy as a Space Ranger par excellence remains in tact. He even flirted with rekindled fame when his film work was briefly featured in two Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes.


text:
The Carribean hold many different languages depending on where you travel. Each Island has it's own culture, heritage and history. The three main langauages are English, Spanish and French Patois.
There are many beautiful Islands and locations to go to and experience, some of the most popular cities and towns when visiting are;
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - 2,799,600
Port-au-Prince, Haiti - 1,728,100
Kingston, Jamaica - 925,000
Santiago, Dominican Republic - 458,000
The Outer Region
There are many amazing countries that border the Caribbean and it's sea, their cays, inlets, islands and inhabited reefs stretch off of their immediate coastline into Carribean waters and are considered as part of the region.
The Caribbean is mostly a sunny and warm, tropical climate throughout the year.
Usual temperatures for this region are around 27°C (80°F). Very few places in the Caribbean experience high temperatures above 38°C (100°F).
During the winter months temperature can fall to an average of 15°C (60°F).
Rainfull usually occurs between May to October, with November to April the dry part of the year. Tropical showers and a daily experience though.


text: The wavefunction for a hypothetical quantum box of size Planck length (L), when inverted through L, models the universe with this lower bound required by quantum gravitational constraints. The initial quantum box solutions are given by: [tex]\phi_n=\sqrt(2/L)\\sin(n \pi x/L)[/tex] However, having inverted the scale (so L-->1/L), the now "inverse quantum box" generates permitted states, all above L, i. e. those which obey this "ultraviolet" limit to quantum gravity: [tex]\phi_n^-^1=\sqrt(L/2)\\sin(L/n \pi x)=\sqrt(1/2P)\\sin(1/Pn \pi x)[/tex]. This new wavefunction represents an envelope that modifies other wavefunctions when considering gravitational effects. It applies the correspondence principle, using the reciprocal Planck limit in terms of probability P=1/L, to find a particle outside the Planck region. The correspondence principle is, in effect, a manifest transformation of such forbidden quantum gravitational states (those


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Creating a Basic Winsock Application
ms737629.wedge(en-us,VS.85).gifTo create a basic Winsock application
 1. Create a new empty project.
 2. Add an empty C++ source file to the project.
 3. Ensure that the build environment refers to the Include, Lib, and Src directories of the Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) or the earlier Platform Software Development Kit (SDK).
 4. Ensure that the build environment links to the Winsock Library file Ws2_32.lib. Applications that use Winsock must be linked with the Ws2_32.lib library file. The #pragma comment indicates to the linker that the Ws2_32.lib file is needed.
 5. Begin programming the Winsock application. Use the Winsock API by including the Winsock 2 header files. The Winsock2.h header file contains most of the Winsock functions, structures, and definitions. The Ws2tcpip.h header file contains definitions introduced in the WinSock 2 Protocol-Specific Annex document for TCP/IP that includes newer functions and structures used to retrieve IP addresses.
 Note Stdio.h is used for standard input and output, specifically the printf() function.
#include <winsock2.h>
#include <ws2tcpip.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#pragma comment(lib, "Ws2_32.lib")
int main() {
 return 0;
}
Note
The Iphlpapi.h header file is required if an application is using the IP Helper APIs. When the Iphlpapi.h header file is required, the #include line for the Winsock2.h header this file should be placed before the #include line for the Iphlpapi.h header file.
The Winsock2.h header file internally includes core elements from the Windows.h header file, so there is not usually an #include line for the Windows.h header file in Winsock applications. If an #include line is needed for the Windows.h header file, this should be preceded with the #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN macro. For historical reasons, the Windows.h header defaults to including the Winsock.h header file for Windows Sockets 1.1. The declarations in the Winsock.h header file will conflict with the declarations in the Winsock2.h header file required by Windows Sockets 2.0. The WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN macro prevents the Winsock.h from being included by the Windows.h header. An example illustrating this is shown below.
#ifndef WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
#endif
#include <windows.h>
#include <winsock2.h>
#include <ws2tcpip.h>
#include <iphlpapi.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#pragma comment(lib, "Ws2_32.lib")
int main() {
 return 0;
}
Next Step: Initializing Winsock
Related topics
Getting Started With Winsock
About Servers and Clients

Build date: 11/16/2013
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text:
Expansionary monetary policy constitutes a transfer of purchasing power away from those who hold old money to whoever gets new money. This is known as the Cantillon Effect, after 18th Century economist Richard Cantillon who first proposed it. In the immediate term, as more dollars are created, each one translates to a smaller slice of all goods and services produced.
How we measure this phenomenon and its size depends how we define money. This is illustrated below.
Here's GDP expressed in terms of the monetary base:


text:
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In a sensor-aided cognitive radio network, collaborating battery-powered sensors are deployed to aid the network in cooperative spectrum sensing. These sensors consume energy for spectrum sensing and therefore deplete their life-time, thus we study the key issue in minimizing the sensing energy consumed by such group of collaborating sensors. The IEEE P802.22 standard specifies spectrum sensing accuracy by the detection and false alarm probabilities, hence we address the energy minimization problem under this detection accuracy constraint. Firstly, we derive the bounds for the number of sensors to simultaneously guarantee the thresholds for high detection probability and low false alarm probability. With these bounds, we then formulate the optimization problem to find the optimal sensing interval and the optimal number of sensor that minimize the energy consumption. Thirdly, the approximated analytical solutions are derived to solve the optimization accurately and efficiently in polynomial time. Finally, numerical results show that the minimized energy is significantly lower than the energy consumed by a group of randomly selected sensors. The mean absolute error of the approximated optimal sensing interval compared with the exact value is less than 4% and 8% under good and bad SNR conditions, respectively. The approximated optimal number of sensors is shown to be very close to the exact number.


text:
Where we work / Environment / Forest /
Forest inventoryForest inventory is a systematic data collection, processing and analysis on forest land and forest stand. It is recommended for forest owners to know the forest's wood-pulp and its value; it is also used in cases determined by legislation. For example, in Latvia, forest inventory is carried out for forest areas larger than 0,1ha and forest owners have to perform that every ten years.
Inventory is necessary:
- to carry out any economic activity in the forest, e.g., cutting;
- to determine forest's cadastral value;
- to perform forest land transformation;
- to receive tax remissions according to the legislation.
Information on tree height, growing density, conifer and deciduous tree territories, volume of damaged trees is obtained by 3D data modeling on the orthophoto map of the territory and processing material by specific software. Data obtained are important for forest inventory at the private and state forests. We are performing aerial photography, laser scanning, and data processing and producing forest inventory.


6116 in-depth character profiles from comics, games, movies
Speed Demon (Spider-Man enemy) (Marvel Comics)
Speed Demon
Best-known as a Spider-Man foe and a Thunderbolts member, Speed Demon is the main super-speed villain in the Marvel Universe.
 - Real Name: James Sanders.
 - Other Aliases: Whizzer, Harvey James.
 - Marital Status: Single.
 - Known Relatives: None.
 - Group Affiliation: Formerly Squadron Sinister, Sinister Syndicate, Thunderbolts, and Supreme Power.
 - Base Of Operations: New York.
 - Height: 5'11" Weight: 175lbs.
 - Eyes: Brown Hair: Grey
Powers and Abilities
Speed Demon can act at speeds far greater than normal people, due to the effects of a chemical he created under the Grandmaster's guidance.
It changed his physical structure, strengthening his muscles and bones. It also increased the efficiency of his nervous system, including his brain, making his thought processes and reflexes six times faster than those of the average person.
Capable of moving at a speed of 160 mph for around three hours, he can move faster for shorter periods. These heightened speeds allow him to run up vertical surfaces, or even run on the air if he has enough of a run up.
Sanders has a master's degree in chemistry. He is a skilled fighter, especially at using his speed.
Chemist James Sanders was contacted by the Grandmaster, who offered him super-powers in exchange for his services. Agreeing, Sanders created tablets based on information the Grandmaster provided, which granted him superhuman speed.
Given the identity of the Whizzer by the Grandmaster, he was introduced to the rest of the Squadron Sinister. This team was modelled on the Squadron Supreme, a superhero group from an alternate reality. The other members were Hyperion, Nighthawk, and Doctor Spectrum.
The Squadron were pitted against the Avengers, themselves pawns of the Grandmaster's opponent, Kang. Split up, Whizzer was pitted against Goliath (Clint Barton) in London. The battle was interrupted by the Black Knight, who knocked Sanders out, believing he was helping, but the action actually broke the rules of the contest, preventing the Avengers from winning at that point.
While the Avenger's challenges continued, the Squadron were released from the Grandmaster's service, and returned to Earth.
When Hyperion sold the Earth to the alien, Nebulon, the Squadron initiated a plan to melt the polar ice caps and flood the Earth. Nighthawk betrayed them, however, warning the Defenders of the Squadron's intentions.
They were eventually stopped, Doctor Strange casting a spell over them which caused them to forget their powers and identities.
Stolen memories
Believing himself to be a chemist called Harvey James, Sanders got a job at the Hudson Pharmaceutical Company in West Caldwell, New Jersey. This false personality remained in place until the Avengers turned up looking for information about Doctor Spectrum's Power Prism, which had taken control of the Wasp.
As soon as he saw Captain America, Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch, Sanders remembered who he was, and instantly attacked. Running circles around them, he nearly escaped, until Captain America tagged him with his shield.
Speed Demon (James Sanders) vs. Sea Leopard
It's unclear what happened to him next. If he had been turned over to the authorities, he escaped. Experimenting on the speed formula allowed him to become even faster. He adopted the new identity of Speed Demon, using his powers to carry out thefts from shops and museums.
This type of crime would often bring him into conflict with Spider-Man, on his own or partnered with the Human Torch. Sanders would often be arrested, but never for that long.
Sinister Syndicate
He later joined the Sinister Syndicate, alongside the Beetle (Abner Jenkins), Rhino, Boomerang, and Hydro-Man. Their first job was to kill Silver Sable, which ran into complications when Spider-Man turned up with her, and the Syndicate were beaten.
Speed Demon with his Whizzer costume
The Syndicate, led by Doctor Octopus, helped rebels overthrow the oppressive government of the European country of Belgriun. However, this was part of a plan to make off with the treasury. Silver Sable and Spider-Man turned up to oppose them again, but fell afoul of the public, who saw the Syndicate as heroes.
Spider-Man and Sable managed to foil the theft, resulting in the treasure being dropped over the public. It's uncertain whether the truth of their intentions became known to the public, so Sanders may still be welcome in Belgriun.
Sanders was one of the speedsters invited to race by the Runner, alongside Black Racer, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Makkari, Quicksilver, Super Sabre, and the Whizzer of the Squadron Supreme. While he outlasted the Black Racer, and Super Sabre, Speed Demon fell at around 81,000 km.
The race was won by the latecomer, Buried Alien, far faster than any of them.
Again working with the Sinister Syndicate, Sanders began making moves on Boomerang's girlfriend, Leila Davis, when Boomerang was arrested. Leila turned out to actually be the wife of the late Ringer, who blamed the Beetle for her husband's death, and had only infiltrated the group to gain revenge on him.
Her plans exacerbated rifts in the group, splitting them into two opposing factions, and they soon disbanded.
Working for the Man
Recruited by Justin Hammer, Speed Demon was part of a group of super-villains Hammer lent to his current co-conspirator, the Sphinx, and they battled the New Mutants and Spider-Man, who were trying to foil the Sphinx's plans.
Speed Demon (James Sanders) vs. Spider-Man
When they realized how dangerous the Sphinx's plans were, directly threatening their lives, Speed Demon was one of the villains who teamed with the heroes to oppose him, rather than fleeing. They stopped the Sphinx, and Sanders left.
Again employed by Justin Hammer, Speed Demon was teamed with Whiplash, Hydro-Man, and the Blizzard (Donnie Gill), as protection from the 'new' Beetle, who'd been raiding Hammer's facilities.
They fought the Beetle when he attacked, and the Thunderbolts, when they arrived tracking him. They were eventually overwhelmed and were forced to flee, leaving the Thunderbolts to drive the Beetle away.
Deciding to start using throwing knives, Speed Demon took part in the Bloodsport tournament in Madripoor. In the first round he was pitted against Patch (Wolverine), within a giant cylinder. He was doing well until Patch used his throwing knives against him, leaving him bleeding from a bad neck wound.
Patch refused the audience's calls to kill him. Surviving, Sanders decided against continuing to use weapons.
Hired by Baron von Strucker, head of Hydra, he was tasked with infiltrating the Thunderbolts, currently led by Mach-IV (Abner Jenkins), to keep an eye on them. Coming to the team's aid against the Wrecking Crew, he was accepted into the team, although not without suspicion.
Justice, like lightning
Eventually coming into conflict with Hydra when their plans threatened Manhattan, Speed Demon betrayed Strucker, siding with the Thunderbolts. Reaching speeds beyond what he normally could, Sanders managed to reach all the bombs Strucker had set around the city, getting the final one miles away from the city within seconds.
Speed Demon (James Sanders) dodging Spider-Man's blows
He spent a lot of time trying, unsuccessfully, to hit on team mate Joystick. Fellow new Thunderbolt, Blizzard (Donnie Gill), uncertain at his new role, seemed to latch on to Sanders, looking up to him as a kind of older brother figure. When he learned that Sanders was considering pulling a job with the Shocker, Gill tried talking him out of it.
Sanders pulled the job, using his old Whizzer suit, not knowing Blizzard had planted a tracker on him. Blizzard tried to stop him during the heist, but Sanders beat him, leaving him tied to the Throgs Neck bridge, half-naked, with a note thanking him for trying.
Following the job, Sanders informed the police of the Shocker's location. Snatching his weapons and the loot the moment they arrived. The loot he then gave to Jenkins to support the Thunderbolts, since their funding, which had originally come from Strucker, was running low.
He continued stealing money to support the group, including from the company of old team mate, Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond). Nighthawk soon found him, confronting him with his crimes in front of the other Thunderbolts.
Before the matter could be settled, they were interrupted by new versions of Hyperion and Dr. Spectrum (Alice Nugent), who abducted both Speed Demon and Nighthawk.
They were told of the new Squadron's plans (although Nugent wanted them to call themselves Supreme Power) to solve the worlds problems. It would first require them to take over the world. Learning that their plan to take over was more to make the world better than to feather their own nests, Sanders decided it sounded too much like work.
Speed Demon and Nighthawk tried to play along, but their subterfuge was quickly seen through. The Thunderbolts arrived just as battle broke out, and Hyperion and


,tti
 TTI rangeRemarks
 0 – 3.8 secondGood
 3.9 second – 7.3 secondImprovement Needed
 > 7.3 secondPoor
 Why is Google Pagespeed Insights score important for your website?
 Let's dive into the importance of a high Google PSI score for your website.
 1. User Experience
 A higher pagespeed Insights indicates a fast-loading website, which leads to a better user experience for your visitors. A user is more likely to engage with your website's content and stay longer on your website. It will increase the average on-page time of your website.
 pagespeed score
 1. SEO Ranking
 Google considers the pageSpeed as one of the important factors in its ranking algorithm. A fast-loading website tends to rank higher in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), which can boost organic traffic.
 1. Conversion Rate
 The conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors who convert to lead. A fast-loading website can positively impact conversion rate, as users are more likely to complete the desired action.
 Conversion rates
 The desired action might be completing a purchase, downloading an ebook, filling up a form, signing up for a trial, booking a demo, subscribing to a course, or something else.
 How to Measure Your Website's PageSpeed Insights Score?
 PageSpeed can be measured easily in Google Pagespeed Insights (PSI). Let's dive into the process of measuring PageSpeed in Google PSI.
 Step 1: Go to Google PageSpeed Insights. Enter any web page's URL and click on Analyze.
 Pagespeed Insights
 Step 2: After analyzing the web page's page speed performance, It will provide a mobile score as well as a desktop score based on the overall performance of the core web vital matrix.
 Step 3: you can also see the suggestion for improvement of the pagespeed performance.
 What is considered a good PageSpeed Insights Score?
 1. If the PageSpeed insights score is greater than 90, it is considered a good score.
 1. A Pagespeed insights score between 50 to 89 indicates the webpage's pageSpeed performance needs to be improved.
 1. A pagespeed insights score of less than 50 is categorized as a poor score. It means the web page fails the site speed test.
 PageSpeed Insights Score
 The Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) dataset provides Real-user experience data in Google PSI. PSI reports are based on real users' FCP, LCP, FID, CLS, SI, TBT, and TTI experience.
 Let's see the weightage of each performance metric for Google pagespeed insights.
 Performance metricsWeightage
 First Contentful Paint (FCP)10%
 Speed Index (SI)10%
 Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)25%
 Total Blocking Time (TBT)30%
 Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)25%
 There are several alternative tools are also available like GTmetrix, and Lighthouse that you can use for website speed tests.
 The difference between Pagespeed insights vs lighthouse
 While Google PageSpeed Insights and Google Lighthouse, both tools are used for pagespeed performance, their scores differ based on certain factors. Let's understand these performance factors and how they make the score different.
 img-34
 Google PSILighthouse
 Data Sourcing MethodsGoogle PSI scores are based on controlled environment data(lab data) as well as real-user data (field data).Lighthouse uses only lab data. (real-user data).
 Test LocationGoogle page speed Insights is an automated tool that runs from the Google server.Lighthouse is a manual tool that runs from a local Chrome browser.
 Number of pages AccessedIn PSI only one webpage can be analyzed at a time.In Lighthouse, multiple pages can be tested at a time.
 Network ThrottlingGoogle Pagespeed insights runs the website without throttling a fast network connection.
 Then, it simulates how the web page would have loaded on the slow connection.
 Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools allows a user to select between simulated and browser-level "applied" throttling.
 CPU performancePagespeed Insight measures the CPU performance of a web page by evaluating the time to fully load the web page's content (HTML, JavaScript, and media files).Lighthouse reports include the data on the web page's CPU performance, FCP, and DOMContentLoaded time.
 Chrome versionPagespeed insights uses the latest version of Google Chrome. So it can be different from the user's Chrome version.While Lighthouse uses the same Chrome version as the end user.
 7 ways to improve your website's pagespeed score?
 Now, you have a brief idea about Google PageSpeed Insights score. Also, you have seen the importance of a high pageSpeed insights score. Let's dive into the strategies to improve the page speed performance by optimizing the website performance.
 1. Optimization of all images is the most effective way to improve your website's pagespeed score:
 Images are the most powerful form of communication. An image can convey a message very quickly. So, for any website, images are one of the essential resources.
 However, large-sized images can decrease the pagespeed insights performance score by increasing the load time of the web page.
 To improve the website's pagespeed performance, you need to reduce the image size as much as possible. You can convert your large image files to WebP, AVIF format.
 If your website has 10 images of 2 MB, that indicates a total of 20 MB images need to be downloaded. But when these images are converted in WebP and AVIF, it will likely reduce the total size to a maximum of 500 KB. so, automatically the page loading time will be reduced.
 img-35
 RabbitLoader converts your large PNG and JPEG images into modern webP and AVIF formats. It will compress the images without losing quality. You don't need to optimize the images one by one. Bulk image optimization will be done automatically when you are using RabbitLoader.
 If you have a WordPress website, you just need to install and activate this plugin. Apart from the WordPress website, RabbitLoader is also available in Woo-Commerce, Shopify, PHP, and Laravel websites.
 1. Minification of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files can reduce page loading time:
 HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the fundamental elements of any web page. HTML creates the content of a webpage whereas CSS Stylshhets make the webpage stylish. And finally, JavaScript is used to make the webpage interactive.
 Usually, the file sizes become large due to unnecessary uses of spaces & comments in the code to make the code more readable. These large files increase the page load time.
 minify css,js,pagespeed insights
 Minification is the process of removing all unnecessary spaces, Comments, and characters from a file. When a file is minified, the file size will reduce, which leads to a faster loading website.
 The best way to effortlessly minify these files is by using RabbitLoader if you don't have any coding knowledge. RabbitLoader will manage this minification of your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
 1. By enabling lazy loading you can improve your pagespeed insights score:
 RabbitLoader will also help you to speed up your website by enabling lazy loading. Lazy loading (also known as on-demand loading) is an optimization strategy to improve the website's performance if your website has a lot of images.
 lazy load,pagespeed insights
 Instead of loading the entire webpage, Lazy loading only renders the images that are visible above the fold
 Lazy loading also is applied to other media files such as videos, and the webpage's content like text as well as comments.
 1. Using browser cache to speed up your website:
 Browser caching is the most common optimization technique. Browser caches temporarily store the static resources of a web page such as HTML files, CSS Stylesheets, images, and scripts. So, the browser doesn't need to load from the first to render a web page.
 Let's understand with an example.
 - You are visiting RabbitLoader.com for the first time.
 - Your browser downloads the static contents(images, CSS stylesheets, JavaScript) into the cache.
 - The next time you revisit RabbitLoader.com, these static contents are loaded from the browser cache.
 - Thus, significantly decreasing this loading time.
 Implementing a browser cache manually requires a lot of time as well as effort. There are several cache plugins available like RabbitLoader, W3 total cache, and many more.
 However, when you are using RabbitLoader for other optimization techniques, then why do you invest extra money in other cache plugins? RabbitLoader will also take care of this browser caching.
 1. By Generating Critical CSS you can improve your website's performance:
 Eliminate render-blocking resources, the most popular warning in Google Pagespeed Insight can be fixed by generating critical CSS.
 critical css generator
 When a browser encounters a CSS stylesheet in HTML files, it typically blocks the rendering process. Not all CSS stylesheets are needed in the viewport. That's why it's crucial to generate critical CSS for your web page to boost PageSpeed.
 But, how to create Cricial CSS to speed up your website?
 Don't worry! RabbitLoader automatically grabs the required CSS to visualize the view-port content and inlines it. By creating critical CSS files for every web page, RabbitLoader optimizes the CSS stylesheet size with