Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Foraging Foraging


Foraging Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavior of animals in response to the environment in which the animal lives. Foraging theory considers the foraging behavior of animals in reference to the payoff that an animal obtains from different foraging options. Foraging theory predicts that the foraging options that deliver the highest payoff, should be favored by foraging animals because it will have the highest fitness payoff.

Robert MacArthur, J M Emlen, and Eric Pianka, first proposed an optimal foraging theory in an independent paper in 1966. This theory argued that because of the key importance of successful foraging to an individual's survival, it should be possible to predict foraging behavior by using decision theory to determine the behavior that would be shown by an "optimal forager" - one with perfect knowledge of what to do to maximize usable food intake. While the behavior of real animals inevitably departs from that of the optimal forager, optimal foraging theory has proved very useful in developing hypotheses for describing real foraging behavior. Departures from optimality often help to identify constraints either in the animal's behavioral or cognitive repertoire, or in the environment, that had not previously been suspected. With those constraints identified, foraging behavior often does approach the optimal pattern even if it is not identical to it.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Tagged Image File Format


Tagged Image File Format (abbreviated TIFF) is a file format for storing images, including photographs and line art. It is now under the control of Adobe Systems. Originally created by the company Aldus for use with what was then called "desktop publishing", the TIFF format is widely supported by image-manipulation applications, by publishing and page layout applications, by scanning, faxing, word processing, optical character recognition and other applications. Adobe Systems, which acquired Aldus, now holds the copyright to the TIFF specification. TIFF has not had a major update since 1992, though several Aldus/Adobe technical notes have been published with minor extensions to the format, and several specifications, including TIFF/EP, have been based on the TIFF 6.0 specification.

The TIFF is a flexible, adaptable file format for handling images and data within a single file, by including the header tags (size, definition, image-data arrangement, applied image compression) defining the image's geometry. For example, a TIFF can be a container file holding compressed JPEG and RLE (run-length encoding) images. A TIFF also can include a vector-based Clipping path (outlines, croppings, image frames). The ability to store image data in a lossless format makes the TIFF file a useful image archive, because, unlike standard JPEG files, the TIFF using lossless compression (or none) may be edited and re-saved without losing image compression; other TIFF options are layers and pages.

Although the currently accepted standard format, when the TIFF was introduced, its extensibility provoked compatibility problems. Programmers were free to specify new tags and options — but not every implemented program supported every tag created. Resultantly, the TIFF became the lowest common denominator image file. Today, the most TIFF images and readers remain based upon uncompressed 32-bit CMYK or 24-bit RGB images.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Eukaryotic cells

Eukaryotic cells consist of cell membrane, organelles which represent the functional components for storage, excretion, digestion and nucleus (centre of the cell), it contains all the vital information needed by the cell or the whole organism to function, grow and reproduce.
Eukaryotic cells are found in humans, plants and animals, also algae, and protozoa. Eukaryotic cells have both a cellular membrane and a nuclear membrane. Eukaryotic genome is more complex than that of prokaryotes and distributed among multiple chromosomes.

  • Mitosis: The division of the parent nucleus into two daughter nuclei, separating the duplicated genome into two sets, each identical to the parent cell's genome.
  • Cytokinesis: The pinching and division of the cell membrane and cytoplasm, separating the recently divided nuclei, the organelles, and other cellular components.
  • Meiosis: The division of the nucleus in sex cells that reduces the diploid number of chromosomes to a haploid number in order to facilitate sexual reproduction.
Examples of cell division in multicellular eukariotic organisms include repair, growth, and development. An injury or wound is healed when the cells exposed by the injury divide at an excellerated rate until they come into contact with other cells. After this the cells return to a more typical division rate. Cell division causes an organism to grow as long as the rate of cell division exceeds normal cell death. As cells divide and become more numerous they are located in more diverse physical and chemical environments. These variations in local conditions influence the cells to alter gene expression causing the cells to differentiate and become more specialized allowing an organism to develop

Monday, July 28, 2008

Modernism

Many advocates of capitalism agreed with Marx's analysis of capitalism as a process of continual change, but, unlike Marx, believed and hoped that capitalism would essentially go on forever.

Thus, by the beginning of the 20th century, two opposing schools of thought - Marxism and liberalism - believed in the possibility and the desirability of continual change and improvement. Marxists strongly opposed capitalism and the liberals strongly supported it, but the one concept they could both agree on was modernism.

Modernism is a trend of thought which affirms the power of human beings to make, improve and reshape their society, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation. It reaches its extreme limits with the Russian Revolution and the third Chinese revolution, inspired by Marxist ideology. Here, people claimed such confidence in the ability to change their world for the better, which they thought that, in a relatively short time, largely illiterate peasants could begin to build a just, egalitarian and socialist order in a conscious way, armed with science and technology.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Alphabets

An alphabet is a small set of symbols, each of which roughly represents or historically represented a phoneme of the language. In a perfectly phonological alphabet, the phonemes and letters would correspond perfectly in two directions: a writer could predict the spelling of a word given its pronunciation, and a speaker could predict the pronunciation of a word given its spelling. As languages often evolve independently of their writing systems, and writing systems have been borrowed for languages they were not designed for, the degree to which letters of an alphabet correspond to phonemes of a language varies greatly from one language to another and even within a single language.

In most of the alphabets of the Mid-East, only consonants are indicated, or vowels may be indicated with optional diacritics. Such systems are called abjads. In most of the alphabets of India and Southeast Asia, vowels are indicated through diacritics or modification of the shape of the consonant. These are called abugidas. Some abugidas, such as Ethiopic and Cree, are learned by children as syllabaries, and so are often called "syllabics". However, unlike true syllabaries, there is not an independent glyph for each syllable.

Sometimes the term "alphabet" is restricted to systems with separate letters for consonants and vowels, such as the Latin alphabet. Because of this use, Greek is often considered to be the first alphabet.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Breeding stock

"Breeding stock" is a term used to describe a group of animals used for purpose of planned breeding. When individuals are looking to breed animals, they look for certain valuable traits in purebred stock for a certain purpose, or may intend to use some type of crossbreeding to produce a new type of stock with different, and presumably superior abilities in a given area of endeavor.

For example, to breed chickens, a typical breeder intends to receive eggs, meat, and new, young birds for further reproduction. Thus the breeder has to study different breeds and types of chickens and analyze what can be expected from a certain set of characteristics before he or she starts breeding them. Accordingly, when purchasing initial breeding stock, the breeder seeks a group of birds that will most closely fit the purpose intended.

Breeding stock

"Breeding stock" is a term used to describe a group of animals used for purpose of planned breeding. When individuals are looking to breed animals, they look for certain valuable traits in purebred stock for a certain purpose, or may intend to use some type of crossbreeding to produce a new type of stock with different, and presumably superior abilities in a given area of endeavor.

For example, to breed chickens, a typical breeder intends to receive eggs, meat, and new, young birds for further reproduction. Thus the breeder has to study different breeds and types of chickens and analyze what can be expected from a certain set of characteristics before he or she starts breeding them. Accordingly, when purchasing initial breeding stock, the breeder seeks a group of birds that will most closely fit the purpose intended.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Sword

The sword is an evolution of the knife. Its name literally means “hurting tool” from the Old German “Swert”. It is one of the most universally recognised ancient weapons and has taken many forms across many different countries. It is used to both slash and stab in much the same way a knife does.

During the Middle Ages, most European swords had double edged straight blades made for both slashing and stabbing. Examples of these swords include the one handed arming sword and the two handed longsword. Curved swords such as the falchion existed in Europe during the Middle Ages but were not as prominent as the straight ones.

The primary sword used in Japan is the Katana, which has a curved blade that is short in comparison to the Rapiers or Longswords of Europe. It is known for its sharpness and formed an integral component of the culture of the Samurai. The weapon remained in use even as other weapons of the time were neglected. It eventually disappeared after The Satsuma Rebellion. The weapon had a renaissance during World War II where it was used by Japanese soldiers in the Pacific theatre. Although the katana is seen as the primary sword of the Samurai, many other types of swords were used by the Samurai. These include the uchigatana, the odachi, the nodachi and the tachi

In its use by Roman forces the sword was relatively short, but effective in combination with a shield, since the soldier could block a downward slash with his shield and then thrust from below and upward into the midsection of an opponent. This technique was extremely effective when in a closed formation. Examples of the successful use of this technique include the defeat of the outnumbering forces of Queen Boudica in the Battle of Watling Street in the year 60 CE.

The sword was used differently in more modern Europe. It was a very long, cylindrical, and narrow blade with no edge and was used to stab rather than slash. It is the source of fencing as we know it today. Most middle and upper class men would be trained in fencing with the smallsword as it was the primary duelling weapon.

The Scimitar was a curved but short blade used in the Middle East. Its name is derived from the Persian shashimir. The weapon is vaguely similar to the European Sabre in that it is a curved slashing weapon.

The sword fell into disuse after Europe discovered gunpowder and related projectile weapons. Duelling and fencing for social purposes continued well after the invention of the handgun. Duelling fell into disuse even before the end of the 20th century and with it the sword ceased to be used in any practical sense.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Morphogenesis

Morphogenesis (from the Greek morphê shape and genesis creation),( literally, "beginning of the shape"), is one of three fundamental aspects of developmental biology along with the control of cell growth and cellular differentiation. Morphogenesis is concerned with the shapes of tissues, organs and entire organisms and the positions of the various specialized cell types. Cell growth and differentiation can take place in cell culture or inside of tumor cell masses without the normal morphogenesis that is seen in an intact organism. The study of morphogenesis involves an attempt to understand the processes that control the organized spatial distribution of cells that arises during the embryonic development of an organism and that give rise to the characteristic forms of tissues, organs, and overall body anatomy. In the human embryo, the change from a cluster of nearly identical cells at the blastula stage to a post-gastrulation embryo with structured tissues and organs is controlled by the genetic "program" and can be modified by environmental factors. The term morphogenesis can also be used to describe the development of unicellular life forms that do not have an embryonic stage in their life cycle, or to refer to the evolution of a body structure within a taxonomic group. Morphogenetic responses may be induced in organisms by hormones, by environmental chemicals ranging from substances produced by other organisms to toxic chemicals or radionuclides released as pollutants, and other plants, or by mechanical stresses induced by spatial patterning of the cells.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Mitosis

Mitosis is the process by which a cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei. It is generally followed immediately by cytokinesis, which divides the nuclei, cytoplasm, organelles and cell membrane into two daughter cells containing roughly equal shares of these cellular components. Mitosis and cytokinesis together define the mitotic (M) phase of the cell cycle - the division of the mother cell into two daughter cells, genetically identical to each other and to their parent cell.

Mitosis occurs exclusively in eukaryotic cells, but occurs in different ways in different species. For example, animals undergo an "open" mitosis, where the nuclear envelope breaks down before the chromosomes separate, while fungi such as Aspergillus nidulans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) undergo a "closed" mitosis, where chromosomes divide within an intact cell nucleus. Prokaryotic cells, which lack a nucleus, divide by a process called binary fission.
The process of mitosis is complex and highly regulated. The sequence of events is divided into phases, corresponding to the completion of one set of activities and the start of the next. These stages are prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. During the process of mitosis the pairs of chromosomes condense and attach to fibers that pull the sister chromatids to opposite sides of the cell. The cell then divides in cytokinesis, to produce two identical daughter cells.

Because cytokinesis usually occurs in conjunction with mitosis, "mitosis" is often used interchangeably with "mitotic phase". However, there are many cells where mitosis and cytokinesis occur separately, forming single cells with multiple nuclei. This occurs most notably among the fungi and slime moulds, but is found in various different groups. Even in animals, cytokinesis and mitosis may occur independently, for instance during certain stages of fruit fly embryonic development. Errors in mitosis can either kill a cell through apoptosis or cause mutations that may lead to cancer.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

SSI, MSI, LSI

The first integrated circuits contained only a few transistors. Called "Small-Scale Integration" (SSI), they used circuits containing transistors numbering in the tens.

SSI circuits were crucial to early aerospace projects, and vice-versa. Both the Minuteman missile and Apollo program needed lightweight digital computers for their inertial guidance systems; the Apollo guidance computer led and motivated the integrated-circuit technology, while the Minuteman missile forced it into mass-production.

These programs purchased almost all of the available integrated circuits from 1960 through 1963, and almost alone provided the demand that funded the production improvements to get the production costs from $1000/circuit (in 1960 dollars) to merely $25/circuit (in 1963 dollars).[citation needed] They began to appear in consumer products at the turn of the decade, a typical application being FM inter-carrier sound processing in television receivers.
The next step in the development of integrated circuits, taken in the late 1960s, introduced devices which contained hundreds of transistors on each chip, called "Medium-Scale Integration" (MSI).

They were attractive economically because while they cost little more to produce than SSI devices, they allowed more complex systems to be produced using smaller circuit boards, less assembly work (because of fewer separate components), and a number of other advantages.

Further development, driven by the same economic factors, led to "Large-Scale Integration" (LSI) in the mid 1970s, with tens of thousands of transistors per chip.
Integrated circuits such as 1K-bit RAMs, calculator chips, and the first microprocessors, that began to be manufactured in moderate quantities in the early 1970s, had under 4000 transistors. True LSI circuits, approaching 10000 transistors, began to be produced around 1974, for computer main memories and second-generation microprocessors.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Trance production

Trance employs a 4/4 time signature, a tempo of 130 to 160 BPM, and 32 beat phrases, somewhat faster than house music but usually not as fast as rave music. Psychedelic Trance is sometimes faster and earlier tracks were sometimes slower. A kick drum is placed on every downbeat and a regular open hi-hat is often placed on the upbeat. Some simple extra percussive elements are usually added, and major transitions, builds or climaxes are often foreshadowed by lengthy 'snare rolls' - a quick succession of equally spaced snare drum hits that builds in volume towards the end of a measure or phrase.

Synthesizers form the central elements of most trance tracks, with simple sawtooth-based sounds used both for short pizzicato elements and for long, sweeping string sounds. As with other genres of electronic music, important synthesizers are the Roland TR-808, TR-909, and TB-303, which is the source of the "acid" sound. There are also several synthesizer sounds that are almost completely unique to its genre. One of these sounds is the "supersaw", a waveform was made famous by such classic trance synthesizers as the Roland JP-8000, the Novation Supernova, and the Korg MS2000. A technique called "gating" is often employed in creating lead sounds (turning the volume up and down rapidly in rhythm with the piece to create a stuttered, chopped sound). Rapid arpeggios and minor scales are common features. Trance tracks often use one central "hook" melody which runs through almost the entire song, repeating at intervals anywhere between 2 beats and several bars.

While many trance tracks contain no vocals at all, other tracks rely heavily on vocals, and thus a sub-genre has developed. The sound and quality of the production relies to a large degree upon the technology available. Vintage analog equipment still holds a place in the hearts of many producers and enthusiasts, with names such as Moog, Roland and Oberheim staples in the trance sound palette. However, the mainstream availability of digital technology has allowed a whole new group of producers to emerge because while top shelf digital (or analog modeling) synthesizers cost thousands of US dollars, high demand and a small supply of clean vintage analog synthesizers causes them to be extremely expensive.

Trance records are often heavily loaded with reverb and delay effects on the synthesizer sounds, vocals and often parts of the percussion section. This provides the tracks with the sense of vast space that trance producers tend to look for in order to achieve the genre's epic quality. Flangers, phasers and other effects are also commonly used at extreme settings - in trance there is no need for sounds to resemble any real-world instrument, and so producers have free rein.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Psychoactive mushrooms

Psilocybin mushrooms possess psychedelic properties. They are commonly known as "magic mushrooms" "mush" or "shrooms" and are available in smart shops in many parts of the world, though some countries have outlawed their sale. A number of other mushrooms are eaten for their psychoactive effects, such as fly agaric, which is used for shamanic purposes by tribes in northeast Siberia, Russia. They have also been used in the West to potentiate, or increase, religious experiences. Because of their psychoactive properties, some mushrooms have played a role in native medicine, where they have been used in an attempt to effect mental and physical healing, and to facilitate visionary states. One such ritual is the Velada ceremony. A practitioner of traditional mushroom use is the shaman and curandera (priest-healer) María Sabina.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Nomogram

A nomogram, nomograph, or abac is a graphical calculating device, a two-dimensional diagram designed to allow the approximate graphical computation of a function. Like a slide rule, it is a graphical analog computation device; and, like the slide rule, its accuracy is limited by the precision with which physical markings can be drawn, reproduced, viewed, and aligned. Most nomograms are used in applications where an approximate answer is appropriate and useful. Otherwise, the nomogram may be used to check an answer obtained from an exact calculation method.

The slide rule is intended to be a general-purpose device. Nomograms are usually designed to perform a specific calculation, with tables of values effectively built in to the construction of the scales.

Understanding the Context

Many different methods of communication are possible on the Internet; some use specific software and all involve text and/or graphics.

* Some activities take place in real-time while others allow for a delayed reply.

* Discussion areas may be public or exist for a particular group of people.

* Information can either be broadcast or targeted at a particular user.

As the technology develops, and users and providers become more proficient, the boundaries between the different Internet services are blurred. For example, email is used in chat rooms, web pages include discussion areas and newsgroups can have files attached.

Each Internet service has its own educational value, risks, and recommended ways of dealing with problems, and these are detailed in the following pages. They are not exhaustive and many apply across Internet services. Schools should consider the sum of the advice in these guidelines across all areas.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Overview of the Click Thinking Pack

Schools and government initiatives are encouraging the educational use of the Internet right across the curriculum and young people are taking readily to this way of learning and communicating.

At the same time, the media tends to focus on the rare occasions when use of the Internet causes distress. The Scottish Executive believes that young people need to be protected and informed; and that those responsible for them, whether teachers, parents or other careers, should be aware of the issues involved.

Previous Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) publications in this area have dealt with the need to protect pupils from misuse of computers (Information Ethics) and to understand copyright implications (Copyright and Ethics in a Digital Age).

This booklet focuses on personal safety and wellbeing. It attempts to clarify potential risks and to empower Internet users in schools so that they can keep themselves safe. Those who manage Scottish schools, and all teachers, whether responsible for a primary class or for teaching a subject, will find policy guidelines and background information which will prepare our pupils to take their safe and well-earned place in the Digital Age.

Much of the advice in these guidelines will be relevant to other Local Authority staff responsible for overseeing young people's use of the Internet (e.g. managers and staff in community education centers, residential homes for young people, libraries and other settings). These groups should take account of the messages about personal safety, and put into place the recommendations suitable for their setting.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY ALERT:

CPSC Urges Bicyclists to Wear Helmets

CPSC Document #5002

Each year about 800 bicyclists are killed and more than half a million are treated in hospital emergency rooms. In recent years, almost two-thirds of the deaths and one-third of the injuries involved head and face injury. About one-half the injuries to children under the age of 10 involved the head or face. Helmets may reduce the risk of head injury to bicyclists by as much as 85 percent. Yet, only about 50 percent of bicyclists wear helmets.

The purpose of a helmet is to absorb the energy of an impact to minimize or prevent a head injury. Crushable, expanded polystyrene foam generally is used for this purpose.

A bicycle helmet should have a snug but comfortable fit on the rider's head. Some helmets are available with several different thicknesses of internal padding to custom fit the helmet to the user. If a parent is buying a helmet for a child, the CPSC recommends that the child accompany the parent so that the helmet can be tested for a good fit.

For a helmet to provide protection during impact, it must have a chin strap and buckle that will stay securely fastened. No combination of twisting or pulling should remove the helmet from the head or loosen the buckle on the strap. Children should be instructed to always wear the helmet level on the forehead, not tilted back. The chin strap should be adjusted correctly and firmly buckled.

Helmets manufactured after March 1999, are required by federal law to meet the CPSC standard. When purchasing a helmet, consumers are urged to examine the helmet and accompanying instructions and safety literature carefully. Consumers should also look for a label stating conformance with the CPSC standard.

Bicyclists should avoid riding at night. If you must ride at night, install and use front and rear lights on the bicycle and wear clothing with reflective tape or markings. These precautions are in addition to the reflectors that the CPSC requires to be on the front, rear, pedals, and wheels of bicycles.

Many bicycle-car crashes can be avoided by applying the rules of the road and by increasing attentiveness of cyclists and motorists. Bicyclists have a legal right to share the road, but they are often not noticed in traffic. Drivers should always keep an eye out for bicyclists, especially when turning, merging, changing lanes, or entering intersections.

Monday, April 28, 2008

All-Terrain Vehicle Safety

Too many ATV riders -- young and old -- are dying or experiencing life altering injuries from incidents involving ATVs. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that all ATV riders follow the seven safety tips below every time they ride.

An estimated 740 people died in 2003* in incidents associated with ATVs. In addition, in 2004* there were an estimated 136,100 emergency room treated injuries associated with ATVs. About a third of all deaths and injuries involved victims under 16 years old. CPSC also reported that ridership has continued to grow, with 6.2 million 4-wheeled ATVs in use in 2003*.

The major ATV manufacturers agreed in Consent Decrees in 1988 and in subsequent voluntary action plans that they would not manufacture three-wheel ATVs; they would place engine size restrictions on ATVs sold for use by children under 16; and they would offer driver-training programs.

Children and young people under the age of 16 should not ride adult ATVs.

All ATV users should take a hands-on safety training course.

Always wear a helmet and safety gear such as boots and gloves while on an ATV.

Never drive an ATV on paved roads.

Never drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Never drive a youth or single-rider adult ATV with a passenger, and never ride these vehicles as a passenger.

There are some ATVs that are designed for two riders. Passengers on tandem ATVs should be at least 12 years old.

Monday, April 21, 2008

J-Hook Shaped Stake style (Anchor Types)

This style is used when holes are not pre-drilled into the ground shoes (bars) or rear ground shoe (bar) of the goal. Similar to the peg or stake style, this anchor is hammered, at an angle if possible, directly into the earth. The curved (top) portion of this anchor fits over the goal member to secure it to the ground (Figure 3.4). Typically, two to four stakes of this type are recommended (per goal), depending on stake structure, manufacturers specifications, weight of goal, and soil conditions. Stakes with larger diameters or textured surfaces have greater holding capacity.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Anchoring/Securing/Counterweighing Guidelines

A properly anchored/counterweighted movable soccer goal is much less likely to tip over. Remember to secure the goal to the ground (preferably at the rear of the goal), making sure the anchors are flush with the ground and clearly visible. It is IMPERATIVE that ALL movable soccer goals are always anchored properly (see Figure 2). There are several different ways to secure your soccer goal. The number and type of anchors to be used will depend on a number of factors, such as soil type, soil moisture content, and total goal weight.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Soccer Goal Injuries and Deaths

According to the 1994 National Soccer Participation Survey (Soccer Industry Council of America), over 16 million persons in the United States play soccer at least once a year. Seventy-four percent (over 12 million) of these persons are under the age of 18. Soccer ranks fourth in participation for those under 18, following basketball, volleyball, and softball and well ahead of baseball, which has an annual participation of 9.7 million.
There are approximately 225,000 to 500,000 soccer goals in the United States. Many of these soccer goals are unsafe because they are unstable and are either unanchored or not properly anchored or counter-balanced. These movable soccer goals pose an unnecessary risk of tip over to children who climb on goals (or nets) or hang from the crossbar.
The CPSC knows of four deaths in 1990 alone and at least 21 deaths during the past 16 years (1979-1994) associated with movable soccer goals. In addition, an estimated 120 injuries involving falling goals were treated each year in U.S. hospital emergency rooms during the period 1989 through 1993. Many of the serious incidents occurred when the soccer goals tipped over onto the victim. Almost all of the goals involved in these tip over appeared to be home-made by high school shop classes, custodial members, or local welders, not professionally manufactured. These home-made goals are often very heavy and unstable.
The majority of movable soccer goals are constructed of metal, typically weighing 150-500 pounds. The serious injuries and deaths are a result of blunt force trauma to the head, neck, chest, and limbs of the victims. In most cases this occurred when the goal tipped or was accidentally tipped onto the victim. In one case an 8-year-old child was fatally injured when the movable soccer goal he was climbing tipped over and struck him on the head. In another case, a 20-year-old male died from a massive head trauma when he pulled a goal down on himself while attempting to do chin-ups. In a third case, while attempting to tighten a net to its goal post, the victim’s father lifted the back base of the goal causing it to tip over striking his 3-year-old child on the head, causing a fatal injury.
High winds can also cause movable soccer goals to fall over. For example, a 9-year-old was fatally injured when a goal was tipped over by a gust of wind. In another incident, a 19-year-old goalie suffered stress fractures to both legs when the soccer goal was blown on top of her.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

B.C.-Canada Place officially closes doors

Monday, March 20, 2006 marks the official close of British Columbia-Canada Place, one of the most successful attractions of the 2006 Torino Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Over the course of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, British Columbia-Canada Place drew more than 100,000 visitors and journalists. These visitors were able to experience first hand the province’s culture, heritage, natural beauty and bustling cities. Also, more than 80 British Columbia businesses were able to connect with an international audience and showcase some of B.C.’s best products and services.

B.C.-Canada Place will be a legacy to the people of Torino. The official transfer took place in a ceremony yesterday, with Torino Mayor Sergio Chiamparino accepting a ceremonial key to the building.

“This generous gift from British Columbia will be a constant reminder of our friends in Canada and the celebrations that took place in our city during the 2006 Winter Games,” says Mayor Chiamparino. “We are honored to have this permanent B.C. presence in our city.”

Monday, March 24, 2008

Kent Kickin' Mini-Scooters

Kent is recalling about 90,000 scooters. The scooter handles can unexpectedly come out of the steering column if the clamp holding them in is not tight, causing the rider to lose control, fall and possibly suffer injuries.
Kent has received four reports of the handles coming out, resulting in four children suffering injuries, including broken arms, a broken wrist, bruises, abrasions and a cracked tooth.
These are Kickin' Mini-Scooters made of chrome-plated steel. A vertical decal on the steering column reads "KICKIN' MINI SCOOTER." The scooter's black plastic platform measures about 15 inches long, and it has 4-inch translucent in-line style wheels. "KENT" and "MADE IN CHINA" are written on the lower part of the steering column. The scooters were sold with black backpacks embroidered in white with the word "Kickin."
Toys R us stores nationwide sold the Kent scooters from May 2000 through September 2000 for about $60.
Consumers should stop riding these Kent scooters immediately, and call Kent International to receive a free replacement handlebar with pins to secure the handlebars. For more information, call Kent International at (800) 451-KENT (5368) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.
Kent has sold other models to Toys R Us such as the Street Craze, the Street Racer and Scoot that are NOT part of this recall. Scooters that Kent sold to Wal Mart, Meijer's, Target and AAFES are also NOT part of this recall.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Trampoline Safety Alert

The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wants you and your family to be safe when using trampolines. The CPSC estimates that in 2001 there were 91,870 hospital emergency room-treated injuries associated with trampolines. About 93 percent of the victims were under 15 years of age, and 11 percent were under 5 years of age. Since 1990, CPSC has received reports of 6 deaths of children under age 15 involving trampolines. Injuries and deaths were caused by:

* Colliding with another person on the trampoline.
* Landing improperly while jumping or doing stunts on the trampoline.
* Falling or jumping off the trampoline.
* Falling on the trampoline springs or frame.
Most of the trampolines associated with injuries were at private homes.
Here are the steps you can take to help prevent serious trampoline injuries, especially paralysis, fractures, sprains, and bruises:

* Allow only one person on the trampoline at a time.
* Do not attempt or allow somersaults because landing on the head or neck can cause paralysis.
* Do not use the trampoline without shock-absorbing pads that completely cover its springs, hooks, and frame.
* Place the trampoline away from structures, trees, and other play areas.
* No child under 6 years of age should use a full-size trampoline. Do not use a ladder with the trampoline because it provides unsupervised access by small children.
* Always supervise children who use a trampoline.
* Trampoline enclosures can help prevent injuries from falls off trampolines.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Accumulator

In a computer CPU, an accumulator is a register in which intermediary arithmetic and logic results are stored. Without a register like an accumulator, it would be necessary to write the result of each calculation (addition, multiplication, shift, etc.) to main memory, possibly only to be read right back again for use in the next operation. Access to main memory is slower than access to a register like the accumulator because the technology used for the huge main memory is slower (but cheaper) than that used for a register.

The canonical example for accumulator use is adding a list of numbers. The accumulator is initially set to zero, then each number in spin is added to the value in the accumulator. Only when all numbers have been added is the result seized in the accumulator written to main memory or to another, non-accumulator, CPU register.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Mercury

Mercury (pronounced /'m?kj??ri/) is the deepest and smallest planet in the solar system, orbiting the Sun once every 88 days. Mercury is bright when viewed from Earth, range from -2.0 to 5.5 in apparent magnitude, but is not easily seen as its greatest angular separation from the Sun (greatest elongation) is only 28.3°: It can only be seen in morning and evening twilight. Comparatively little is known about it; the first of two spacecraft to move toward Mercury was Mariner 10 from 1974 to 1975, which mapped only about 45% of the planet’s surface. The second was the MESSENGER spacecraft, which mapped another 30% of the planet throughout its flyby of January 14, 2008. MESSENGER will make two more passes by Mercury, follow by orbital insertion in 2011, and will survey and map the whole planet.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Grapefruit

The grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree grown for its fruit which was initially named the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados.
These evergreen trees are frequently found at around 5-6 m tall, even though they can reach 13-15 m. The leaves are shady green, long up to 150 mm and thin. It produces 5 cm fair four-petalled flowers. The fruit is yellow-skinned, mainly oblate and ranges in diameter from 10-15 cm. The flesh is segmented and acidic, unreliable in color depending on the cultivars, which include white, pink and red pulps of varying sweetness. The 1929 US Ruby Red (of the Red blush variety) has the first grapefruit patent.
The fruit has only become popular from the late 19th century; before that it was only grown as a decorative plant. The US quickly became a major creation of fruit, with orchards in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. In Spanish, the crop is known as toronja or pomelo.

Monday, February 11, 2008

What is Spamdexing?

Spamdexing has frequent methods, such as repeating unrelated phrases, to control the relevancy or prominence of resources indexed by a search engine, in a manner inconsistent with the idea of the indexing system. Some consider it to be a part of search engine optimization; though there are numerous search engine optimization methods that get better the quality and exterior of the content of web sites and serve content useful to many users. Search engines use a variety of algorithms to end relevancy ranking. Some of these contain determining whether the search term appears in the META keywords tag, others whether the search term appear in the body text or URL of a web page. Many search engines test out for instances of spamdexing and will remove believe pages from their indexes. In addition people working for a search-engine organization can quickly block the results-listing from entire websites that use spamdexing, perhaps alert by user objects of false matches. The rise of spamdexing in the mid-1990s made the majority important search engines of the time less useful.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Soil

Soil, comprising the pedosphere, is located at the border of the lithosphere with the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. It consists of mineral, organic matter, as well as living organisms. Soil formation, or pedogenesis, is the combined effect of physical, chemical, biological, and anthropogenic process on soil parent material ensuing in the configuration of soil horizons.
Soil is our most important natural resources because of its position in the landscape and its dynamic, physical, chemical, and biologic functions. While the general concept of soil is well recognized, the definition of soil varies, according to the viewpoint of the discipline or occupation by means of soil as a resource.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Rotogravure

Rotogravure (roto or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process, in that it involves etching the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is stamped onto a copper cylinder because, like offset and flexography, it uses a rotary printing press. The vast mass of gravure presses print on reels of paper, quite than sheets of paper. Sheetfed gravure is a modest, specialty market. Rotary gravure presses are the best and widest presses in operation, printing everything from narrow labels to 12-feet-wide rolls of vinyl flooring. Additional operations may be in-line with a gravure press, such as saddle stitching services for magazine/brochure work.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Multiple fruit

A multiple fruit is one fashioned from a cluster of flowers called an inflorescence. Each flower produces a fruit, but these grown-up into a single mass Examples are the pineapple, edible fig, mulberry, osage-orange, and breadfruit.

In the photograph on the right, stages of flowering and fruit development in the noni or Indian mulberry (Morinda citrifolia) can be experiential on a single branch. First an inflorescence of white flowers called a cranium is produced. After fertilization, each flower develops into a drupe, and as the drupes make bigger, they become connate (merge) into a multiple fleshy fruit called a syncarpet.

There are also many dry multiple fruits, e.g.

Tuliptree, multiple of samaras.
Sweet gum, multiple of capsules.
Sycamore and teasel, multiple of achenes.
Magnolia, multiple of follicles.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Batsman

A batsman in the sport of cricket is, depending on context: Any players will perform for batting. A player whose expert in the game is batting. During the play of a cricket match, two members of the batting team are on the field, although their team-mates wait off the field. Those two players are the existing batsmen. Each batsman stands near one of the two wickets also end of the cricket pitch near the centre of the ground.

The two batsmen have different roles:

The striker stands in front of the wicket nearest him and attempts to protect it from balls bowled by the opposing bowler from the other wicket. The non-striker stands stopped near the bowler's wicket. While protecting his wicket, the striker may also hit the ball into the field and attempt to run to the opposite wicket, exchanging places with the non-striker. This score a run, the two batsmen may continue to exchange places, scoring additional runs, until members of the fielding team gather and return the ball to either wicket.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Pawpaw

Pawpaw (Asimina) also known as a prairie banana or Ozark banana, is a genus of eight or nine species of small trees with large leaves and fruit, native to southeastern North America. The genus includes the largest edible fruit native to North America. They are understorey trees of deep fertile bottomland soils. The name, also spelled paw paw, paw-paw, and papaw, probably derives from the Spanish papaya, perhaps due to the superficial similarity of their fruit. Pawpaw is in the same family Annonaceae as the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, and soursop, and it is the only member of that family not confined to the tropics.

The pawpaws are shrubs or small trees, reaching heights of 2 to 12 m tall. The leaves are alternate, simple ovate, entire, 20 to 35 cm long and 10 to 15 cm broad. The northern, cold-tolerant common pawpaw is deciduous, while the southern species are often evergreen. The fetid flowers are produced singly or in clusters of up to eight together; they are large, 4 to 6 cm across, perfect, with six sepals and petals (three large outer petals, three smaller inner petals). The petal color varies from white to purple or red-brown. Pollinated by scavenging carrion flies and beetles, the flowers emit a weak scent which attracts few pollinators, thus limiting fruit production. Larger growers sometimes locate rotting meat near the trees at bloom time to increase the number of blowflies. Asimina triloba is the only larval host of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly.

The fruit is a large edible berry, 5 to 16 cm long and 3 to 7 cm broad, weighing from 20 to 500 g, with numerous seeds; it is green when unripe, maturing to yellow or brown. It has a flavor somewhat similar to both banana and mango, varying significantly by cultivar, and has more protein than most fruits.

History

The earliest documentation of pawpaws is in the 1541 report of the de Soto expedition, who found Native Americans cultivating it east of the Mississippi River. The Lewis and Clark Expedition depended and sometimes subsisted on pawpaws during their travels. Chilled pawpaw fruit was a favorite dessert of George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson was certainly familiar with it as he planted it at Monticello.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Polymer

Polymer is a substance collected of molecules with large molecular mass collected of repeating structural units, or monomers, connected by covalent chemical bonds. The word is resulting from the Greek, πολυ, polu, "many"; and μέρος, meros, "part". Well known examples of polymers contain plastics, DNA and proteins.

While the term polymer in popular usage suggests "plastic", polymers consist of a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a variety of properties and purposes. Natural polymer materials such as shellac and amber have been in utilize for centuries. Biopolymers such as proteins (for example hair, skin and division of the bone structure) and nucleic acids take part in crucial roles in biological processes. A variety of other natural polymers survive, such as cellulose, which is the major constituent of wood and paper.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster

The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster is the rocket that provides 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. It is the largest and most powerful solid rocket ever flown, and the most powerful rocket motor of any type ever flown. Each SRB produces 1.8 times the liftoff thrust of the F-1 engine used in the Saturn V moon rocket.

The two reusable SRBs provide the main thrust to lift the Space Shuttle off the pad and up to an altitude of about 150,000 feet . In addition, the two SRBs carry the entire weight of the external tank and orbiter and transmit the weight load through their structure to the mobile launcher platform. Each booster has a liftoff thrust of approximately 2,800,000 lbf at launch. They are ignited after the three space shuttle main engines' thrust level is verified. The two SRBs provide 83 % of the thrust at lift-off. Seventy five seconds after SRB separation, SRB apogee occurs at an altitude of approximately 220,000 feet , after which they land on parachutes; impact occurs in the ocean approximately 122 nautical miles downrange, after which the two are recovered.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Stock exchange

A stock exchange, share market or bourse is a corporation or mutual organization which provides services for stock brokers and traders, to trade company stocks and further securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for the issue and redemption of securities as well as other financial instruments and capital events as well as the payment of income and dividends. The securities traded on a stock exchange consist of: shares issued by companies, unit trusts and further pooled investment products and bonds. To be able to do business in security on a certain stock exchange, it has to be listed there. Trade on an exchange is made by members only. The initial offering of stocks and bonds to investors is by definition done in the primary market and subsequent trading is completed in the secondary market. A stock exchange is frequently the most important component of a stock market. Supply and demand in stock markets are determined by various factors which, as in all free markets, affect the price of stocks (see stock valuation).

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Art of Loving

According to Erich From, love is the most excellent reaction to the problem of human being. Love is the most satisfying accomplishment of humanity’s most powerful objective the desire of interpersonal union. Having a capability of grave thinking and self-awareness, humans realize their aloneness and separateness, their individuality and their short life span. The aspiration for interpersonal combination is the most powerful motivated in man. It is the most basic excitement; it is the force which keeps the human race together family, clan, society, nation, and world. As mentioned above, love, turns out to be the most fulfilling of all approach to go beyond limits of individual life. All forms of orgiastic unions are controlling and even violent; they are temporary and periodical. It is a union in which the individual self disappears to a large amount and where the aim is to belong to the group. There is orgiastic condition, which may have the form of sexual orgasm, alcohol, drugs and etc. Regrettably, equality today means similarity, rather that oneness. Orgiastic unions result in a rising sense of separateness. People try to be equal by performing tasks and feelings agreed by the system and trying to follow the similar rules, the same model of life from the age three or four. Union by consistency is calm and it is permanent.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Technology

Mobile phones and the network they operate under vary significantly from provider to provider, and nation to nation. However, all of them communicate through electromagnetic microwaves with a cell site base station, the antennas of which are usually mounted on a tower, pole, or building.

The phones have a low-power transceiver that transmits voice and data to the nearest cell sites, usually 5 to 8 miles away. When the cellular phone or data device is turned on, it registers with the mobile telephone exchange, or switch, with its unique identifiers, and will then be alerted by the mobile switch when there is an incoming telephone call. The handset constantly listens for the strongest signal being received from the surrounding base stations. As the user moves around the network, the mobile device will "handoff" to various cell sites during calls, or while waiting between calls it will reselect cell sites.

Cell sites have relatively low-power radio transmitters which broadcast their presence and relay communications between the mobile handsets and the switch. The switch in turn connects the call to another subscriber of the same wireless service provider or to the public telephone network, which includes the networks of other wireless carriers.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Aerial tramway

An aerial tramway is one or two set cables (called track cables), one endless loop of cable (called a haulage rope), and two passenger cabins. The fixed cables give support for the cabins. The haulage rope, by means of a grip, is solidly linked to the truck (the wheel set that rolls on the cables). The haulage rope is frequently driven by an electric motor and being connected to the cabins, moves them up or down the mountain.
Two-car tramways use a jig-back system: A large electric motor is situated at the bottom of the tramway so that it successfully pulls one cabin down, using that cabin's weight to help pull the extra cabin up. A similar system of cables is use in a funicular railway. The two passenger cabins, which carry from 4 to over 100 people, are positioned at opposite ends of the loops of cable. Thus, as one is coming up, the other is going down the mountain, and they pass each other midway on the cable span.
Some aerial trams have only one cabin, which lends itself better for systems with small altitude changes along the cable run.

Monday, October 29, 2007

water taxi

A water taxi or river taxi or aquatically disposed taxi is a boat used for public transportation in cities with plentiful water channels. Many cities, including New York City, Boston, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Winnipeg, Vancouver, London, and Tokyo have planned water taxis that operate in a similar manner to ferries or buses. Others, like Venice, have for-hire boats like to traditional taxis. Venice also has a vaporetto or waterbus system that operates in the same way to American water taxis.
Water taxis also activate in cottage areas where some cottages are available only by water. Visitors can drive to a local marina and take a water taxi to the final purpose.On March 6, 2004, a "Seaport Taxi," a water taxi service operated by the Living Classrooms Foundation, capsized through a storm near Baltimore's Inner Harbor; 5 passengers died in the accident.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, production mainly with collections of atoms, such as gases, molecules, crystals, and metals. Chemistry deals with the composition and statistical properties of such structures, as well as their transformations and interactions to become materials encountered in daily life. Chemistry also deals with sympathetic the properties and interactions of individual atoms with the purpose of applying that knowledge at the macroscopic level. According to contemporary chemistry, the physical properties of materials are usually determined by their structure at the atomic scale, which is itself defined by interatomic forces.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Computer printer

A computer printer, or more usually just a printer, is a device that produces a hard copy (permanent human-readable text and/or graphics) of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as computer peripherals, and are permanently attached by a printer cable to a computer which serves as a text source. Other printers, commonly known as network printers, have built-in network interfaces (typically wireless or Ethernet), and can serve as a hardcopy device for any user on the network.

In addition, many modern printers can directly border to electronic media such as memory sticks or memory cards, or to image capture devices such as digital cameras, scanners; some printers are combined with a scanners and/or fax machines in a single unit.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

A Need for Welfare

There is an old joke that asked where you find a welfare recipient’s check under his work boots of course. For a long time now, since the expert formation of a stable government, the U.S government has had the programs and passed laws that either dealt with issues of or influenced family. Many of these family programs and laws currently in place today are often and usually debated. One of the most debated and most labored over family programs or laws are welfare.

This is because there is now a smallest amount of income so the poor no longer have the need to go out and commit crimes to attain such money.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

E commerce

It is also referred to as EC, e-commerce or ecommerce. It consists first and foremost of the distributing, buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The information technology industry might see it as an electronic business application aimed at commercial transactions; in this background, it can involve electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing, online marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), automated inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Electronic commerce typically uses electronic communications technology of the World Wide Web, at some position in the transaction's lifecycle, although of course electronic commerce often depends on computer technologies other than the World Wide Web, such as database, and e-mail, and on other non-computer technologies, such as transportation for physical goods sold via e-commerce.

Monday, September 10, 2007

A cold winter morning

I am lying on a white, sandy beach with the glowing sun beating down directly on my tanned summer body. I notice the beautiful, Puerto Rican Cabana boy heading over to replenish my newly empty Margarita glass. I look around my private beach and at the crystal clear, sparkling ocean water tempting me warmly in to its open arms. I get up from my bed on the sand, walking gradually to the water. The sand is flaming my bare feet with such passion that I speed my walk up almost into a jog. As I reach the waterfront I stop, as a falling wave is heading toward my glazing body; I step closer to be in its direct path. I move smoothly in with such grace; I prepare myself for the cool, refreshing bath. I hear an alarm bell screaming, I look around in a panic as it is hurting my ears and giving me a powerful headache. My beach is wandering away, and then it is gone. The ‘warmness my body feels is gone. I open my eyes; I am gloomy, lifeless room. My alarm clock is going off and the sound can only be compared with exhausted your fingernails across a chalkboard.

Monday, September 03, 2007

Microscope

A microscope is a device for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the bare or unaided eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy. The word microscopic means minute or very small, not noticeable with the eye unless aided by a microscope. The microscopes used in schools and homes sketch their history back almost 400 years.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Flowers

A flower also recognized as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive configuration establish in flowering plants. The flower's structure contains the plant's reproductive organs, and its role is to make seeds. After fertilization, portions of the flower build up into a fruit containing the seeds. For the high plants, seeds are the next production, and serve up as the primary means by which individuals of a variety are dispersed across the scenery. The grouping of flowers on a place is called the inflorescence.

Many flowers in natural world have evolved to magnetize animals to pollinate the flower, the actions of the pollinating means contributing to the chance for genetic recombination within a dispersed plant population. Flowers commonly have glands called nectarines on their various parts that attract these birds.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Auditory clocks

For expediency, distance, telephony or blindness, auditory clocks here the time as sounds. The sound is either spoken normal language, or as auditory codes (e.g. numbers of sequential bell rings on the hour represent the number of the hour like the clock Big Ben). Most telecommunication companies also supply a Speaking clock service as well.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Donkey jacket

A Donkey jacket is a tiny buttoned coat, normally made of unlined black or dark blue woollen stuff; originally worn as a work jacket in the United Kingdom.
When used as a work jacket, it occasionally bears the name of the company which supplies the jacket, or the name of the company for which the wearer works. The jacket usually has two large hip pockets, and at times an inside poacher's pocket.
The donkey jacket is regarded as characteristic of the British manual worker.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Neck ring

A neck ring is a group of metal worn as an ornament around the neck of an individual. In a few African and Asian cultures multiple neck rings are worn usually to stretch the neck. The Kayan people from the country of Myanmar and Thailand begin to wear neck rings when they are children. Gradually with age the number of "brass coils” worn increases to elongate the neck. The girls of the Ndebele people of South Africa wear neck rings to signify their marriages.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Sunglasses

Sunglasses may be made with either prescription or non-prescription lenses that are darkened to offer protection against bright visible light. Good quality sunglasses should also protect against ultraviolet light. Due to changes in the atmosphere, ultraviolet levels are much elevated than in the past and ultraviolet protection for eyes and skin is even more important. It is possible to have lenses that seem very dark and yet offer little ultraviolet protection. Sunglasses fluctuate greatly and many offer more style than protection.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Clock synchronization

Clock synchronization is a problem from computer science and engineering which deals with the idea that internal clocks of several computers may be different. Even when initially set accurately, real clocks will differ after some amount of time due to clock drift, caused by clocks counting time at slightly different rates. There are several problems that occur as a consequence of rate differences and several solutions, some being more appropriate than others in certain contexts.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

A Personal portal

A Personal portal is a site on the World Wide Web that characteristically provides personalized capabilities to its visitors, given that a pathway to other content. It is intended to use distributed applications, different numbers and types of middleware and hardware to provide services from a number of different sources. In addition, business portals are intended to share collaboration in workplaces. A further business-driven requirement of portals is that the content be able to work on multiple platforms such as personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and cell phones.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Grafting

Grafting is a method of plant propagation extensively used in horticulture, where the tissues of one plant are encouraged to fuse with those of another. It is most usually used for the propagation of trees and shrubs grown commercially. In most cases, one plant is chosen for its roots, and this is called the stock or rootstock. The other plant is chosen for its stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits and is called the scion.In stem grafting, a common grafting method, a shoot of a chosen, desired plant cultivar is grafted onto the stock of another type. In another common form called budding, a dormant side bud is grafted on the stem of another stock plant, and when it has fused successfully, it is encouraged to grow by cutting out the stem above the new bud.For successful grafting to take place, the vascular cambium tissues of the stock and scion plants must be located in contact with each other. Both tissues must be kept alive till the graft has taken, typically a period of a few weeks. Successful grafting only requires that a vascular connection takes place between the two tissues. A physical weak point often still occurs at the graft, because the structural tissue of the two distinct plants, such as wood may not fuse.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Applied Micro Circuits Corporation

Applied Micro Circuits Corporation is a fables semiconductor company scheming network and embedded Power Architecture, optical transport and storage solutions. They bought assets, IP and engineers concerning the PowerPC 400 microprocessors from IBM in 2004 for $227 million and they now market the processors under their own name. The deal also included access to IBM's SoC design methodology and advanced CMOS process technology.

3ware is a producer of RAID controllers and storage products. Founded as an self-governing company in 1997, it was acquired by AMCC in April 2004.This division has usually been focused on SATA and PATA RAID devices. They were one of the pioneers in implementing "multi-lane" cabling for RAID systems which greatly reduced cable difficulty in systems with many hard drives.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Watercraft

A watercraft is a vehicle, vessel or craft designed to move across water for pleasure, recreation, physical exercise, commerce, transport of people and goods, and military missions. It is resulting from the term "craft" which was used as term to describe all types of water going vessels. Most watercraft would be described as either a ship or a boat. However, there are a number of craft which many people would consider neither a ship nor a boat, such as: canoes, kayaks, rafts, barges, catamarans, hydrofoils, windsurfers, surfboards (when used as a paddle board), underwater robots, torpedos and jet skis.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Fire

Fire is a rapid oxidation procedure that creates light, heat, smoke, and releases energy in varying intensities. It is commonly used to explain either a fuel in a state of combustion or a violent, destructive and uncontrolled burning (e.g., in buildings or a wildfire). The discovery of how to make fire is considered one of humankind's most important advances, allowing higher hominids to ward off wild animals, cook food, and control their own source of light and warmth.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is a pasture of applied science and technology covering a wide range of topics. The main unifying premise is the control of matter on a scale smaller than 1 micrometer, normally between 1-100 nanometers, as well as the manufacture of devices on this same length scale. It is a highly multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as colloidal science, device physics, and supramolecular chemistry. Much hypothesis exists as to what new science and technology might result from these lines of research. Some view nanotechnology as a marketing term that describes pre-existing lines of research applied to the sub-micron size scale.

In spite of the apparent ease of this definition, nanotechnology actually encompasses diverse lines of inquiry. Nanotechnology cuts across many disciplines, together with colloidal science, chemistry, applied physics, materials science, and even mechanical and electrical engineering. It could variously be seen as an extension of existing sciences into the nanoscale, or as a recasting of existing sciences using a newer, more recent term. Two major approaches are used in nanotechnology: one is a "bottom-up" approach where materials and devices are built from molecular components which gather themselves chemically using principles of molecular gratitude; the other being a "top-down" approach where nano-objects are constructed from larger entities without atomic-level control.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Common System Interface

The Common System Interface is a processor interconnect standard being developed by Intel, as a competitor to HyperTransport. It will replace the front-side bus for Xeon and Itanium 2 platforms. It is expected to release in 2008 and will first be used by Intel's Nehalem and Tukwila.Performance numbers for CSI are reported to be 6.4 Gig transfers per second per direction.
Many of the people that have worked on either the initial structural design of CSI or its implementation have decided to leave Intel. Some of the people include Brannon Batson, Benjamin Tsein, William Welch, Michael Pachos, and Brian Lilly .It was reported that Intel has renamed Common System Interface as "QuickPath" early May 2007.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Historical usage of Basket

Wood, bamboo, wheat, other grasses, osiers or wicker are often used to make baskets, but they are also made today from plastic. The first baskets were natural fiber by gatherers to collect fruits, grains, nuts and other edible plant materials, as well as for holding fish by early fishing peoples. A creel is a basket made particularly to hold fish. The plant life available in a region affects the choice of material, which in turn influences the weaving technique. Rattan and other members of the Arecaceae or palm tree family, the thin grasses of temperate regions and broad-leaved tropical bromeliads each require a different method of twisting and braiding to be made into an effective basket. Although baskets were usually created to serve men in bed rather than an artistic purpose, the practice of basket making has evolved into an art.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Description of Quick Ring

The basic Quick Ring system consisted of seven serial links, six of them carrying data, and one a 50 MHz clock signal. Two physical media were specified, sets of twisted-pair copper wiring embedded in a thin plastic strip for use inside a computer, or the same signals using frequency-division multiplexing in a single fiber optic cable for longer links between machines.

The data lines were clocked at seven times the clock signal, so each clock "tick" moved 42 bits of data over the bus for a raw data rate of 2.1 Gbit/s. Ten bits of the 42 were used for signaling and control, leaving the other 32 for data, resulting in a net data transfer rate of 1.6 Gbit/s, or 200 MBytes/s.

Each Quick Ring interface enclosed two of these 200 MB/s links, one for "upstream" and one for "downstream" connections in a point-to-point ring. Since the system was not a bus, machines could talk up and downstream at the same time without interfering with other users. The drawback was that each hop over an intervening point added a latency of up to 1.3 µs.

Since Quick Ring was built in a ring topology there was no need for a dedicated switch, or router, making the system lower cost. It used a circuit switching system, in which the message path is set up before the data is sent, and once set up the connection is very lightweight. This is as opposed to packet switching, in which every message contains all of the data needed to reach the destination, this is more flexible, but adds overhead. Of the 10 bits of control data, four were used to specify a circuit number, allowing for a total of 16 devices per ring.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Protein

Proteins are large organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acids in a protein is defined by a gene and encoded in the genetic code. Although this genetic code specifies 20 "standard" amino acids, the residues in a protein are often chemically altered in post-translational modification: either before the protein can function in the cell, or as part of control mechanisms. Proteins can also work together to achieve a particular function, and they often associate to form stable complexes.

Like other biological macromolecules such as polysaccharides and nucleic acids, proteins are essential parts of all living organisms and participate in every process within cells. Many proteins are enzymes that catalyze biochemical reactions, and are vital to metabolism. Other proteins have structural or mechanical functions, such as the proteins in the cytoskeleton, which forms a system of scaffolding that maintains cell shape. Proteins are also important in cell signaling, immune responses, cell adhesion, and the cell cycle. Protein is also a necessary component in our diet, since animals cannot synthesis all the amino acids and must obtain essential amino acids from food. Through the process of digestion, animals break down ingested protein into free amino acids that can be used for protein synthesis.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Shoe

A shoe is a thing of footwear worn on the foot or feet of a human, dog, cat, horse, or doll. Shoes may vary from a simple flip-flop to a multifaceted boot. Shoes may have high or low heels, although in western cultures, high heels are considered a woman's style. Shoe materials include leather or image. Athletic shoe soles may be made of rubber.
Dress and casual shoes
Casual shoes, made of leather Dress shoes are categorized by smooth and supple leather uppers, leather soles, and narrow sleek shape. Casual shoes are characterized by sturdy leather uppers, non-leather outsoles, and wide profile. Some designs of dress shoes can be worn by either gender. The majority of dress shoes have an upper covering, commonly made of leather, enclosing most of the lower foot, but not covering the ankles. This upper part of the shoe is often made without apertures or openings, but may also be made with openings or even itself consist of a series of straps, e.g. an open toe featured in women's shoes. Shoes with uppers made high to cover the ankles are also available; a shoe with the upper rising above the ankle is usually considered a boot but certain styles may be referred to as high-topped shoes or high-tops. Usually, a high-topped shoe is secured by laces or zippers; although some styles have elastic inserts to ease slipping the shoe on.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

history of willamete valley

100 The Willamette Valley is the section in northwest Oregon in the United States that environs the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence from mountains near Eugene to its confluence with the Columbia River. One of the most creative agricultural areas of the world, the valley was the destination of choice for the emigrants on the Oregon Trail in the 1840s. It has created the cultural and political heart of Oregon since the days of the Oregon Territory, and is home to nearly 70% of Oregon's population.


Description
The valley may be freely defined as the watershed of the Willamette, bounded on the west by the Coast Ranges, on the east by the Cascade Range. It is enclosed on the south by the Calapooya Mountains, which divide the headwaters of the Willamette from the Umpqua River valley. Because of the differing cultural and political interests, the Portland metropolitan areas, as well as the Tualatin River valley, are often disinclined in the local use of the term. Cities always considered part of the Willamette Valley are Eugene, Corvallis, Albany, and Salem.

The agricultural wealth of the valley is considered to be in no small measure a result of the Missoula Floods, which swamped the valley approximately forty times between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. The floods were caused by the episodic rupturing of the ice dam of Glacial Lake Missoula, the waters of which swept down the Columbia and flooded the Willamette Valley as far south as Eugene. The floodwaters carried rich volcanic and glacial soil from Eastern Washington, which was deposited across the valley floor when the waters subsided.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Microprocessor

A microprocessor is a programmable component. It incorporates the functions of a central processing unit (CPU) on a single semi conducting integrated circuit (IC). The microprocessor was born by dipping the word size of the CPU from 32 bits to 4 bits, so that the transistors of its logic circuits would vigorous onto a single part. One or more microprocessors typically serve up as the CPU in a computer system, embedded system, or handheld device.

Microprocessors made probable the beginning of the microcomputer in the mid-1970s. Before this period, electronic CPUs were typically made from massive distinct switching devices (and later small-scale integrated circuits) containing the equivalent of only a few transistors. By integrating the processor onto one or a very few large-scale integrated circuit packages (containing the equivalent of thousands or millions of discrete transistors), the cost of processor power was greatly reduced. Since the dawn of the IC in the mid-1970s, the microprocessor has become the most rampant implementation of the CPU, nearly completely replacing all other forms. See History of computing hardware for pre-electronic and early electronic computers.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Purely Way

Purely Way is a section of the A23 trunk road in Corydon, London and has given its name to the out-of-town shopping area alongside it with a catchments area covering most of South London. It was designed as a bypass for Corydon and was opened in April 1925. In 1932 Purely Way became the first road in the United Kingdom to be lit with sodium lights.

Industry History

The IKEA chimneysCroydon Airport is located on Purely Way.

The opening of Purely Way attracted industry to the area and it became the main industrial area of Corydon. Industry attracted to the area included Redwing Aircraft Ltd, Trojan Ltd (car manufacturers) and Tizer Ltd. There were also several metal companies including Standard Steel Co, Corydon Foundry Ltd, Metal Propellers Ltd and Southern Foundries Ltd.

Corydon 'B' Power Station was built in the late 1940s and opened in 1950. It shut down in 1984, was demolished in 1991 and an IKEA store was opened on the site. The large chimneys of the power station were retained and remain a local pointer.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Videophone

A videophone is a telephone which is able of both audio and video duplex transmission.AT&T conducted experiments and demonstrations of a "Picturephone" product and service in the early 1960s. Among the first manufacturers of commercially viable videophones was Toshiba.Videotelephony is frequently used in large corporate setups, and are supported by systems such as Cisco CallManager. Other companies such as Tandberg, Radvision, and Polycom also offer similar solutions. Videoconferencing has usually been limited to the h.323 protocol (notably Cisco's SCCP implementation is an exception), however newly a shift towards SIP implementations is seen. In accordance with the adoption of SIP telephony for home users, videotelephony is also slowly becoming available to home users.Another protocol using videophones is H.324; this allows videophones to work in regular phone lines, since the bandwidth is limited by the phone line. The quality is about fifteen Frames per second. This type of videophone is generally used because of the affordable price.Today the principles, if not the precise mechanisms of a videophone are employed by thousands of users world-wide in the form of webcam conferences using cheaply available webcams and microphones employed using software over the internet.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Willamette River

100 The Willamette River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 240 mi long, in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward between the Coastal Range and Cascade Range, the river and its tributaries form a basin called the Willamette Valley containing the largest inhabitants centers of Oregon, including Portland, which sits along both sides of the river near its mouth on the Columbia. Its lush valley is fed by prolific precipitation on the western side of the Cascades, forming one of the most productive agricultural regions of North America that was the destination for many if not most of the emigrants along the Oregon Trail. The river was an important transportation route throughout much of the early history of the state, furnishing a means of conveying the vast timber and agricultural resources of the state to the outside world.

Description

The Willamette rises in three separate forks in the mountains south and southeast of Eugene, at the southern end of the Willamette Valley. The Middle Fork and North Fork raise on the western side of the Cascades between Three Sisters south to Diamond Peak, with the Middle Fork in receipt of the North Fork northwest of Oakridge and flowing northwest from side to side the mountains to the southern end of the Willamette Valley. The Coast Fork rises in the lower mountains south of Cottage Grove, flowing north to join the Middle Fork 2 mi southeast of Eugene.

From Eugene, the joint river flows NNW across the plain of the southern Willamette Valley to Corvallis, and then follows a zigzag course past Albany and around the isolated hills in the central valley, passing west of downtown Salem. From Salem it flows north in a roundabout course across the northwest plain of the valley, reaching the hills at Newberg, where it turns sharply ENE along the hills, passing through an opening in the hills at Oregon City, the position of the Falls of the Willamette and the head of navigation. From Oregon City it flows northwest, past Lake Oswego and Milwaukie on the south edge of Portland, then passing between east and west Portland, where it is spanned by a series of urban bridges. Downstream of downtown Portland it flows northwest through the industrial port area of Portland Harbor, then splitting into two channels around Sauvie Island, both of which hook around to enter the Columbia from the west, with the main channel entering on the north edge of Portland and the smaller Multnomah Channel entering just about 15 mi NNW at St.Helens.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength shorter than that of the able to be seen region, but longer than that of soft X-rays. It can be subdivided into near UV and tremendous or vacuum UV.

When allowing for the effects of UV radiation on human health and the surroundings, the range of UV wavelengths is often subdivided into UVA, also called Long Wave or "black light"; UVB, also called Medium Wave; and UVC, also called Short Wave or "germicidal". See 1 E-7 m for a list of objects of similar sizes.

In photolithography, in laser technology, etc., the term cavernous ultraviolet or DUV refers to wavelengths below 300nm.

The name means "beyond violet", violet being the color of the unswerving wavelengths of able to be seen light. Some of the UV wavelengths are colloquially called black light, as it is imperceptible to the human eye. Some animals, including birds, reptiles, and insects such as bees, can see into the near ultraviolet. Many fruits, flowers, and seeds situate out more strongly from the background in ultraviolet wavelengths as compared to human color vision. Many birds have patterns in their plumage that are imperceptible at usual wavelengths but seen in ultraviolet, and the urine of some animals is much easier to spot with ultraviolet.

The Sun emits ultraviolet radiation in the UVA, UVB, and UVC bands, but because of amalgamation in the atmosphere's ozone layer, 99% of the ultraviolet radiation that reaches the Earth's surface is UVA.
Ordinary glass is see-through to UVA but is opaque to shorter wavelengths. Silica or quartz glass, depending on quality, can be see-through even to vacuum UV wavelengths.

The onset of vacuum UV, 200 nm, is defined by the fact that normal air is opaque below this wavelength. This opacity is due to the strong amalgamation of light of these wavelengths by oxygen in the air. Pure nitrogen is see-through to wavelengths in the range of about 150–200 nm. This has wide practical significance now that semiconductor manufacturing processes are using wavelengths shorter than 200 nm. By working in oxygen-free gas, the apparatus does not have to be built to withstand the pressure differences necessary to work in a vacuum. Some other scientific instruments, such as circular dichroism spectrometers, are also normally nitrogen purged and operate in this spectral region.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Beaver Coins

100 Beaver Coins, also known in Pioneer days as Beaver Money, were gold coins for a short time minted by the Provisional Government of the Oregon Territory in the not on time 1840's. The coins were obtainable in $5 and $10 dollar denominations. Their name comes from the important Beaver depicted on the face of the coins. Today these coins are quite rare and precious.

The influx of settlers into the Oregon Country produced a deficiency of circulating currency. The inhabitants at the time resorted to using gold specks or minting their own gold coins for use in trading. Many settlers began lobbying the territory's new government to correct this condition.

The Provisional Territorial Legislature at Champoeg then gave the appreciation for the Oregon Exchange Company to mint currency. Although the Oregon Exchange Company was more often than not a personal organization, the territorial government set the coin's values, authorized a mint, and chosen the officers to the mint. The mint was situated in Oregon City, Oregon.

After Oregon's administrator U.S. territory rank, the Oregon Exchange Company became an completely personal enterprise ongoing its operations until Governor Joseph Lane ruled the operation illegal.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Clock

A clock is an instrument for measuring time.Those used for technical purposes, of extremely high accuracy, are sometimes called chronometers. A portable clock is called a watch. The clock in its most common modern form displays the hours, minutes, and sometimes seconds that pass over a twelve or twenty-four-hour period.
The world's first self-striking clock was said to be invented by Chang Yeong-Sil, a chief enginner of Korea, in Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. It was called Chagyongru, which means "self-striking clock" in Korean
The development of electronics in the twentieth century led to clocks with no clockwork parts at all. Time in these cases is measured in several ways, such as by the behaviour of quartz crystals, or the decay of radioactive elements. Even mechanical clocks contain since come to be largely powered by batteries, removing the need for winding.

Clock

A clock is an instrument for measuring time.Those used for technical purposes, of extremely high accuracy, are sometimes called chronometers. A portable clock is called a watch. The clock in its most common modern form displays the hours, minutes, and sometimes seconds that pass over a twelve or twenty-four-hour period.
The world's first self-striking clock was said to be invented by Chang Yeong-Sil, a chief enginner of Korea, in Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. It was called Chagyongru, which means "self-striking clock" in Korean
The development of electronics in the twentieth century led to clocks with no clockwork parts at all. Time in these cases is measured in several ways, such as by the behaviour of quartz crystals, or the decay of radioactive elements. Even mechanical clocks contain since come to be largely powered by batteries, removing the need for winding.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Peach

The peach (Prunus persica) is a tree that bears a juicy fruit of the same name. It has a single large seed enclosed in hard wood (called the "pit" or "stone"), yellow or whitish flesh, a delicate aroma, and a velvety skin. Peaches, along with cherries, plums and apricots, are stone fruits (drupes). Cultivated peaches are separated into freestone and clingstone varieties, depending on whether the flesh sticks to the pit; both kinds can be any color. Peaches with white flesh characteristically are very sweet with little acid flavor, while yellow-fleshed peaches classically have an acidic tang coupled with sweetness. Both colors often have some red on their skin. Low-acid white-fleshed peaches are the most popular kinds in China, Japan, and neighboring Asian countries, while Europeans and North Americans have historically favored the acidic, yellow-fleshed kinds.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Kashmir

Kashmir is known as heaven on the earth. In the seventeenth century the Mughal emperor Jahangir set his eyes on the valley of Kashmir. He said that if paradise is anywhere on the earth, it is here, while living in a house boat on the mesmerizing Dal Lake. The pleasure of the Mughal gardens makes every minute one spends in Kashmir a joy to the soul. In Jammu and Kashmir the most significant tourist places are Kashmir, Srinagar, Mughal gardens, Gulmarg, Pahalgam-the valley of shepherds, Jammu, Ladakh.
Because of the quite tolerable climate on the higher planes of Jammu and Kashmir, and also because of its scenic beauty and bodies of water, Jammu and Kashmir are a tourist attraction. Until a few decades ago, "Going to Kashmir" was synonymous in India with going on a honeymoon, or for a tour to a cold place during hot summers.
Some areas need a special permit for non-indians to visit.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for comics and print cartoons. Outside of Japan, it generally refers specifically to comics initially published in Japan. As of 2007, manga represents a multi-billion dollar global market.Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and foreign styles of drawing, and took its current form shortly after World War II. It comes primarily in black and white, except for the covers and sometimes the first few pages; in some Animanga (Anime printed in Manga style) all the pages are colored.
Popular manga are frequently adapted into anime (Japanese for animation) once a market interest has been established (Manga is sometimes mistakenly called "anime" by those not familiar with the term). Adapted stories are often modified to appeal to a more mainstream market. Although not as general, original anime is sometimes adapted into manga (such as the Gundam franchise, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop and Tenchi Muyo).

Monday, March 05, 2007

Sit flying

Sit flying is a form of locomotion obtainable to skydivers and vertical wind tunnel flyers. It describes the ability to 'fly' ones body in any direction while in a 'sit' position. It's called a 'sit' because it looks like the flyer is sitting in a chair.
The correct position for flying a sit is to orient yourself feet first in the direction of the relative wind and maintain 90-degree angle bends at the knees, hips, and shoulders. Wind from the tunnel or from free-fall should be hitting the flyer on the feet, hamstrings, bottom, and the underside of the arms. To move about relative to the tunnel or other jumpers, the flyer simply redirects the airflow the opposite direction the jumper wants to go. Newtonian mechanics then push the flyer in the preferred direction. Fall rate changes (descending faster or slower) can also be made. This is done by presenting more surface area (wide legs and arms, higher drag, slower fall rate) or less surface area (arms up or even stand up, less drag, faster fall rate) from the flyers body to the wind.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Traditional animation

Also called cel animation, the frames of a traditionally animated movie are hand-drawn. The drawings are traced or copied onto transparent acetate sheets called cels, which are then located over a painted background and photographed one by one on a rostrum camera. Nowadays, the use of cels (and cameras) is mostly obsolete, since the drawings are scanned into computers, and digitally transferred directly to 35 mm film. The "look" of traditional cel animation is still preserved, and the character animator's work has remained essentially the same over the past 70 years. Because of the digital influence over modern cel animation, it is also known as tradigital animation.
Examples: The Lion King, Spirited Away, Les Triplettes de Belleville
Full animation
The most common style in animation, known for its realistic and often very detailed art.
Examples: All Disney feature length animated films, The Secret of NIMH, The Iron Giant
Limited animation
A cheaper process of creating animated cartoons that does not follow a "realistic" approach.
Examples: The Flintstones, Yellow Submarine
Rubber hose
The characters are usually cartoony, and the animators have a lot of artistic freedom as rubber hose animations don't have to follow the laws of physics and anatomy in the same degree as the other main styles in animation.
Examples: Early Mickey Mouse cartoons, Ren and Stimpy, Popeye
Rotoscoping
A technique where animators trace live action movement, frame by frame, for use in animated films.
Examples: Gulliver's Travels, American Pop

Friday, February 23, 2007

Erosion

Erosion is the displacement of solids by the agents of wind, water or ice, by downward or down-slope movement in response to gravity or by living organisms . Erosion is well-known from weathering, which is the decomposition of rock and particles through processes where no movement is caught up, although the two processes may be concurrent.
Erosion is an intrinsic normal process but in many places it is increased by human land use. Poor land use practices include deforestation, overgrazing, unmanaged construction movement and road or trail building. wever, improved land use practices can limit erosion, using techniques like terrace-building and tree planting.A certain amount of erosion is natural and, in fact, healthy for the ecosystem. For example,
gravels repeatedly move downstream in watercourses. Excessive erosion, however, can cause problems, such as in receipt of water sedimentation, ecosystem damage and outright loss of soil.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Magnetic field in Mercury planet

Despite its slow revolving, Mercury has a relatively strong magnetic field, with a magnetic field strength 1% as strong as the Earth’s. It is potential that this magnetic field is generated in a manner similar to Earth’s, by a dynamo of circulating liquid core material. However, scientists are uncertain whether Mercury’s core could still be liquid,although it could perhaps be set aside liquid by tidal effects during periods of high orbital eccentricity. It is also probable that Mercury’s magnetic field is a remnant of an earlier dynamo effect that has now ceased, with the magnetic field becoming “frozen” in solidified magnetic materials.
Mercury’s magnetic field is physically powerful sufficient to deflect the solar wind around the planet, that creates a magnetosphere within which the solar wind does not go through. This is in difference to the situation on the Moon, which has a magnetic field too weak to stop the solar wind impacting on its surface and so lacks a magnetosphere.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Reality, worldviews, and theories of reality

A common slang usage would have "reality" mean "perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes toward reality," as in "My reality is not your reality." This is often used just as a colloquialism indicating that the parties to a conversation agree, or should agree, not to quibble over deeply different conceptions of what is real. For example, in a spiritual discussion between friends, one might say (attempting humor), "You might disagree, but in my reality, everyone goes to heaven.” But occasionally — and mainly in the case of those who have been exposed to certain ideas from viewpoint, sociology, literary criticism, and other fields — it is thought that there simply and factually is no reality beyond the perceptions or beliefs we each have about reality. Such attitudes are summarized in the popular statement, "Perception is reality" or "Life is how you pick out reality" and they show anti-realism, that is, the view that there is no objective reality, whether acknowledged clearly or not.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Software

Software basically is the distinct image or representation of physical or material position that constitute configuration to or functional identity of a machine, usually a computer. As a substance of memory, software in principle can be changed without the alteration to the static paradigm of the hardware thus without the remanufacturing thereof. generally software is of an algorithmic form which translates into being to a progression of machine instructions. Some software, however, is of a relational form which translate into being the map of a recognition network.
Software is a program that enables a computer to achieve a specific task, as contrasting to the physical components of the system (hardware). This include application software such as a word processor, which enables a user to achieve a task, and system software such as an operating system, which enables other software to run suitably, by interfacing with hardware and with other software.
The term "software" was first used in this intellect by John W. Tukey in 1957. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all computer program. The perception of reading different sequences of instructions into the memory of a apparatus to control computations was invented by Charles Babbage as part of his difference engine. The theory that is the source for most modern software was first projected by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungs problem.
TypesPractical computer systems partition software into three major classes: system software, programming software and application software, although the division is subjective, and often blurred.
* System software is one of the major class helps run the computer hardware and computer system. It includes working systems, device drivers, analytical tools, servers, windowing systems, utilities and more. The intention of systems software is to protect the applications programmer as much as possible from the details of theexacting computer complex being use, especially memory and other hardware features, and such accessory procedure as communications, printers, readers, displays, keyboards, etc.
* Programming software usually provide tools to support a programmer in writing computer programs and software with different programming languages in a more suitable way.The tools comprise text editors, compilers, interpreters, linkers, debuggers, and so on, An incorporated development environment (IDE) merge those tools into a software bundle, and a programmer may not need to type various command for compiling, interpreter, debugging, tracing, and etc., because the IDE typically has an sophisticated graphical user interface, or GUI.
* Application software allows humans to complete one or more explicit (non-computer related) tasks. typical applications include manufacturingautomation, business software, educational software, medical software, databases and computer games. Businesses are possibly the biggest users of application software, but approximately every field of human action now uses some form of application software. It is used tocomputerizeall sorts of functions.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Journalism Basics

Journalism is a concrete, professionally oriented major that involves gathering, interpreting, distilling, and other reporting information to the general audiences through a variety of media means. Journalism majors learn about every possible kind of Journalism (including magazine, newspaper, online journalism, photojournalism, broadcast journalism, and public relations).
That's not all, though. In addition to dedicated training in writing, editing, and reporting, Journalism wants a working knowledge of history, culture, and current events. You'll more than likely be required to take up a broad range of courses that runs the range from statistics to the hard sciences to economics to history. There would also be a lot of haughty talk about professional ethics and civic responsibility too - and you'll be tested on it. To top it all off, you'll perhaps work on the university newspaper or radio station, or possibly complete an internship with a magazine or a mass media conglomerate.