City Officials To Discuss Storm Preparedness
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Now that the effects of the major ice storm of last week are wearing off, local governments and public works agencies are taking note of what worked, and which area they can improve for response.
In Fort Worth, members of the joint emergency operations center will meet in the coming weeks for an after action report.
“It was a challenge for all of us. We got through it. We’re going to learn and do the best we can next time,” said Eric Carter, an emergency manager for the City of Fort Worth.
Carters points to three areas the city will be looking to improve upon based on the last storm.
First, they will look at the sheltering of the homeless population. The dangerously cold temperatures led to community shelters quickly filling up. Carter says they’ll look at options for expanding the city facility.
A second issue Carter points to, was staffing during the ice storm, when many employees who were crucial to the response were trapped at home because of ice, and unable to get to the Emergency Operations Center.
Cobblestone ice also proved to be a unique challenge, one Carter says, he’s never experienced with an ice storm before.
The ice build up was blamed for causing accidents and highway backups throughout North Texas.
“Now [road crews] know how to clear it off. They’ll be quicker about marshaling the resources to do it,” Carter said.
A spokesperson for TxDOT says their crews who worked 24/7 during the ice storm, will also be going through best practices and what areas need improvement.
Crews were still busy clearing bridges and overpasses as late as Wednesday.
There are other challenges. For example, in Parker County some roads remain icy. Judge Mark Riley says they don’t have the money, or resources to quickly clear 1200 miles of country roadway.
North Texas residents, like Tanner Bridgeman say they’ve never seen anything like it.
Jupiter House Coffee in Denton, was the only business on the square to remain open to customers during the ice storm.
“I don’t think people were prepared for everything that happened. I don’t think the city was prepared for everything. All though we’re North Texas we don’t really get ice storms that often,” Bridgeman said.
Not storms like this one.
(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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DGGS PN 5
Title:Mineral occurrences in northwestern Alaska
Publisher:Alaska Territorial Department of Mines
Ordering Info:Download below or please see our publication sales page for more information.
Quadrangle(s):Ambler River, Barrow, Bendeleben, Candle, Howard Pass, Meade River, Nome, Norton Bay, Saint Lawrence, Selawik, Solomon, Teller, Wainwright
Keyword(s):Amber; Antimony; Asbestos; Beryl; Beryllium; Bismuth; Calcite; Chromium; Chrysotile; Coal; Copper; Crystals; Garnet; Gold; Graphite; Iron; Jade; Kyanite; Lead; Mercury; Meteorites; Mica; Mining; Molybdenum; Nuggets; Oil Seeps; Pegmatite; Petroleum; Platinum; Quartz; Silver; Tellurium; Tin; Topaz; Tourmaline; Tungsten; Zinc
Anderson, Eskil, 1942, Mineral occurrences in northwestern Alaska: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Pamphlet 5, 40 p. doi:10.14509/2248
- pn005.pdf (1.6 M)


Online charter schools are, with few exceptions a sham. They waste taxpayer dollars and, worse, they waste students’ lives.
Here is an especially egregious example. Pearson’s Connections Academy graduated a blind student who could neither read or write. they took the state’s money, but the young woman did not get an education nor did she get appropriate accommodations for her disability.
Where are the lawyers for students with disabilities?
Who will stop these zombie schools from gathering up dollars intended to educate the state’s children?


Pronunciation: (blOO'it), Strict Standards: Non-static method FenSites::linkTo() should not be called statically in /site/html/dictionary/bluet.html on line 73 [key]
1. Usually, bluets. Also called innocence, Quaker-ladies. any of several North American plants of the genus Houstonia (or Hedyotis), of the madder family, esp. H. caerulea, a low-growing plant having four-petaled blue and white flowers.
2. any of various other plants having blue flowers.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.


Pronunciation: (kā'sēn, -sē-in, kā-sēn'), Strict Standards: Non-static method FenSites::linkTo() should not be called statically in /site/html/dictionary/casein.html on line 71 [key]
1. Biochem.a protein precipitated from milk, as by rennet, and forming the basis of cheese and certain plastics.
2. Fine Arts.
a. an emulsion made from a solution of this precipitated protein, water, and ammonia carbonate.
b. a paint in which this emulsion is used as a binder.
c. a picture produced with this paint and emulsion.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.


Date: November 19, 2003
Creator: Tittle, Dennis & Corey, Harold
Description: Interview with businessman Harold Corey. The interview includes Corey's personal experiences about the Texas International Pop Festival. Corey talks about his parents' reaction to the social, political, and cultural changes of the Sixties, his early interest in popular music, protests against the Vietnam War, conflicts with the redneck culture, the influence of the Beatles on the music of the Sixties, the influence of the "British Invasion," meeting the Grand Funk Railroad at the festival, Hog Farm, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, the sale and use of drugs, the trip tent, festival security, activities at the campgrounds, comments about Ten Years After, and the lasting effects of the festival on his life. The interview includes an appendix with a campground map and festival advertisement.
Contributing Partner: UNT Oral History Program


The Washington Supreme Court in In re Grantsought to determine whether life sustaining treatment could be legally withheld from a terminally ill, non-comatose, incompetent individual. In its December 1987 slip opinion, a majority of the court expanded on its previous decisions empowering third parties, including guardians, families, and physicians, to withhold and withdraw life sustaining treatment from incompetent individuals. This was accomplished by characterizing artificial nutrition and hydration as removable, life sustaining medical treatment. The court also gave third parties the power to remove artificial nutrition and hydration before the incompetent individual in question slips into a coma or persistent vegetative state. After numerous, bizarre procedural twists, however, any semblance of a majority opinion disappeared, and the resulting decision serves only to further complicate an already complex and controversial issue.
Stephen P. VanDerhoef, In re Grant: Where Does Washington Stand on Artificial Nutrition and Hydration?, 13 SEATTLE U. L. REV. 197 (1989).


'Jhead' extracts digital camera settings from Exif format files. It handles the various ways these can be expressed, and displays them as F-stop, shutter speed, etc. It also reduces the size of JPEGs without loss of information by deleting integral thumbnails that cameras put into the Exif header. It extracts an integral low-res Exif thumbnail, shutter speed, F-stop number, Flash used (yes/no), Focus distance (not all digital cameras store this element), focal length (most zoom cameras store their zoomed-to focal length), equivalent 35mm focal length (calculated from focal length, CCD size, and CCD resolution), image resolution, time and date of picture, and camera make and model.
DocumentationUser guide available in HTML format from http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/jhead/usage.html
released on 7 July 2005
|License||Verified by||Verified on||Notes|
|PublicDomain||Janet Casey||29 August 2002|
Leaders and contributors
Resources and communication
This entry (in part or in whole) was last reviewed on 7 July 2005.


Church prayerful ahead of family reunions
The reunions meant to bring together families and relatives separated by partition will be the first since 2010.
Catholics are praying for reunion of families divided by the partitioning of the Korean peninsula in 1953, scheduled to take place at North Korea’s Mount Kumgang resort from February 20-25.
A day after the Koreas agreed upon the reunions at a meeting held on February 5, North Korea’s top military body said in a statement that it would reconsider the family reunion deal if joint US-South Korea military exercises went ahead. They are due to begin around the same time as the reunions.
The reunions meant to bring together families and relatives separated by partition will be the first since 2010. The programme was suspended after the North's shelling of a South Korean border island in November 2010.
"We hope that the latest agreement will be smoothly carried out to ease the suffering and pain of separated families," the Korean Ministry of Unification stated.
An estimated 72,000 South Koreans are on a waiting list for a chance to participate in such family reunions, where only a few hundred are able to take part.
In the past, North Korea had cancelled reunions after the South took actions it opposed. It has been accused of using the reunions, which are highly emotional events, as a bargaining chip.
A South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman confirmed last Thursday that the military drills with US would go ahead.
North Korea views the exercises, held every year around this time, as aggressive. Last year, the exercises led to a prolonged surge in tensions, with North Korea threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes and cutting a military hotline with the South.
Several thousand Koreans were displaced and separated during the 1950-53 Korean War. Normal direct communications across the armistice line are prohibited since the 1953 partition agreement and many separated families have lost contact with each other.
Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul is known for his dedication to reconciliation between North and South Korea.
The South Korean Bishops’ Conference had dedicated June 2013 as a month of prayer for the reconciliation and unity of Koreans. Bishop Peter Lee Ki-heon of Uijongbu had led the prayers for reconciliation, aiming to reignite passion for unity.
A prayer chain ran throughout South Korea, beginning in Seoul and ending in Wonju. The prayer chain sought the intercession of Blessed Virgin Mary for peace between the Koreas.
Source: Catholic News Agency & BBC


In her new book Completing Our Streets: The Transition to Safe and Inclusive Transportation Networks, Barbara McCann notes that “the fundamental philosophy behind the complete streets movement can seem painfully obvious: roads should be safe for everyone traveling along them.” But as McCann, who served as the founding executive director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, also tells us, “the history, political standing, habits, and orientation of the transportation industry in the United States have made it extraordinarily difficult for any policy movement to shift the way transportation projects are planned and built.” Her book reflects on how the movement towards safer, more inclusive streets has started a positive movement in communities across America, as there are now more than 500 localities with complete streets policies.
McCann describes the complete streets movement as essentially a policy initiative that seeks to change the way all roads are built in the United States. It developed from an effort by advocates who wanted to put a directive in federal law to include bicycle facilities in all road projects. This was challenging because driving and biking were considered separate modes of transportation supported by different systems. What emerged from this effort became a movement to radically reframe transportation infrastructure. The focus turned to broadening transportation safety to include all people traveling along a corridor. It also widened from the individual road corridor to a jurisdiction’s entire network.
According to McCann, the movement’s success to date is not rooted in a simple definition of a new kind of street. There’s no one answer to the problem. She emphasizes that “defining the problem is not a design issue.” Lasting change only comes from addressing the primary problem, which is both political and cultural. The complete streets movement is succeeding not because it lays out a compelling design paradigm, but because it uses three key strategies to help change the way transportation projects are chosen, planned, and built. These three strategies are: shifting the focus from project design to values and policy; building a broad base of support for policy change; and creating a clear path to transform everyday practice.
McCann attributes much of the complete streets movement’s success to the ability to “reframe the conversation about transportation in a simple and powerful way.” Complete streets have multiple benefits, such as improving the health, sustainability, and economic vitality of communities. But the movement’s most potent argument is that safety on streets is a problem that effects everyone, both drivers and non-drivers. One third of the population does not drive, including children, older adults, people with disabilities, and those without the financial resources to own a car. These individuals need safe and effective means of transportation via walking, biking, or public transit. Discussing safety is a highly subversive way to introduce new ideas. Introducing it as a topic immediately broadens the conversation around transportation development.
The movement has also been able to “build a broad base of political support.” McCann says that all too often elected officials adopt new policies that stall out in implementation. A whole new effort is necessary to bring them into daily practice. Complete streets policy advocates like ASLA make explicit the values surrounding the effort and build strong coalitions to support cultural and institutional change. They focus on building a network of support that includes not only politicians but also practitioners within transportation profession who are already trying to change the system from within. They also work to build support in communities by clarifying policies and helping people to understand, affirm, and support new approaches.
Complete streets initiatives then “provide a clear path to follow in transitioning to a multi-modal process.” To be actionable, the movement offers participants a map for building multimodal street networks that support driving as well as walking, biking, and public transit. Historically, transportation development since the the Federal Highway Act of 1956 has made a habit of building projects that are specific to a single method of travel. Complete streets initiatives provide a three-phase guide for action to break this habit. This guide provides technical information for building streets. More importantly, it includes information on writing and passing a policy commitment supported by the community, and outlines a process for changing the systems, culture, and practices inside transportation agencies.
With this three-part strategy, McCann argues, the complete streets movement offers every community a viable framework for improving their street network. In 2012, a nationwide public opinion poll showed that 63 percent of Americans would like to address traffic congestion by improving public transportation and designing communities for easier walking and bicycling. Cities across America face different challenges to addressing these issues. Older cities generally have a structure more conducive to a transportation refit, whereas newer cities are dealing with hundreds of miles of mostly disconnected street networks. Many of the communities within newer cities are far from reaching a progressive development ideal.
McCann’s book demonstrates how, regardless of the obstacles they face, communities of all kinds can begin to make lasting and effective changes using the principles of the complete streets movement.
This guest post is by Shannon Leahy, former ASLA summer intern and recent Master’s of Landscape Architecture graduate, University of Pennsylvania.
Image credit: Island Press


This is another Jim Dine project I did this year that was a fun one for the kids and with a very successful outcome too! I brought in several different sizes and shapes of paint brushes and had them do a detailed drawing of each. (similar to Dine's print below) I had them spend 10 + minutes on each brush and really notice all the details, especially size and shape in relation to the other brushes. This was a good project to talk a little about proportion and composition.
They had a choice to leave with only a sharpie (extra fine line) outline or use watercolor or colored pencils. I did this project in K-6 grades and even the younger kids had good luck with it.
Jim Dine prints


This manual provides reference information about database initialization parameters, static data dictionary views, dynamic performance views, database limits, and SQL scripts that are part of the Oracle Database.
Oracle Database Reference contains information that describes the features and functionality of the Oracle Database (also known as the standard edition) and the Oracle Database Enterprise Edition products. The Oracle Database and the Oracle Database Enterprise Edition have the same basic features. However, several advanced features are available only with the Enterprise Edition, and some of these are optional. For example, to use application failover, you must have the Enterprise Edition with the Real Application Clusters option.
See Also:Oracle Database New Features for information about the differences between the Oracle Database and the Oracle Database Enterprise Edition and the features and options that are available to you.
This preface contains these topics:
Oracle Database Reference is intended for database administrators, system administrators, and database application developers.
To use this document, you need TO BE FAMILIAR WITH THE FOLLOWING:
Oracle database management system (DBMS) concepts
Your operating system environment
Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible to all users, including users that are disabled. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Accessibility standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For more information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at
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For more information, see these Oracle resources:
Oracle Database Concepts for a comprehensive introduction to the concepts and terminology used in this manual
Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for information about administering the Oracle Database
Oracle Database Upgrade Guide for the procedures for upgrading a previous release of Oracle to the new release
Oracle Database SQL Reference for information on Oracle's SQL commands and functions
Oracle Database Application Developer's Guide - Fundamentals for information about developing database applications within the Oracle Database
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Siebel Communications Server Administration Guide > Configuring Communications Templates >
Creating Simple Templates
This section describes how to create a simple template. Simple templates are used for the Send Email, Send Fax, or Send Page commands. These commands may be accessed from the File application-level menu, from the communications toolbar, or using keyboard shortcuts. Simple templates also apply to replies in Siebel Email Response.
For information about the fields for the Templates list and the Simple tab, see Fields for Templates.
Outbound communication requests use advanced templates. Template items are supported for advanced templates only. For more information, see Creating Advanced Templates and Specifying Template Items for an Advanced Template.
To create a simple template
- Navigate to Communications > My Templates.
- In the Templates list:
- Add a new record. (Alternatively, you can add the record in the Simple form below.)
- Specify the name of the template for which you added a new record.
- Specify the channel type, such as Email, Fax, or Pager.
- Specify the language and locale that is applicable to this template.
- Optionally, provide a short description for the template.
- In the Simple form:
- Specify the name of the template, if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
- Specify the channel type for the template, if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
- Specify the template type, such as Greeting, Body, or Closing:
- When using the Send Email, Send Fax, or Send Page command, users can choose specific templates of type Body to insert into the message.
- When replying to an inbound email message using Siebel Email Response, users can choose specific templates of each type to insert into the reply.
- Specify the language and locale for this template, if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
- For an email or fax template, specify whether this is an HTML template or a plain-text template.
For a simple template, this setting determines whether the template is listed in the Body drop-down in usage context. Templates are listed only when they correspond to the user preference setting for Default Message Format. For more information, see Template Visibility and Access.
- For a template that is intended for public use, check the Public box when the template is ready to be publicly available.
- Optionally, specify for Pick Available Substitutions the appropriate business object (Object) as the template's recipient group:
- Specify a subject line for the template, as applicable for the channel type.
The subject line is overridden by any subject line specified by the user in the context in which the template is used—for example, in an email message in the Send Email window, or in a reply in Siebel Email Response.
- Enter the template text. As appropriate, copy and paste fields from the list of available field substitutions. Include the brackets around the field names.
The Text field allows you to use editing and formatting controls, as described in Editing and Formatting Controls for Template Text. For an HTML email or fax template, formatting you apply is preserved. For a plain-text template, formatting is stripped when the template is saved.
The Substitutions list is populated with field names as described in Fields for Templates (for the Simple tab).
- Test the template to verify that it functions as required and that field substitution behavior works correctly. Do this before you make a template publicly available.
To test a template, send it in the intended context: that is, by using the applicable Send command, or by specifying a test reply for Siebel Email Response.


The topics in this document provides information about the LDAP Binding Component.
What You Need to Know
These topics provide information about the functional behavior of LDAP Binding Component.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), is an Internet protocol used to access information directories. LDAP runs over TCP/IP. A directory service is a distributed database application designed to manage the entries and attributes in a directory.
LDAP allows clients to access different directory services based on entries. These LDAP entries are available to users and other applications based on access controls.
The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Binding Component (BC) is a comprehensive solution for interacting with a LDAP Directory running on a LDAP server. The design time component of the LDAP Binding Component is a NetBeans module that allows configuration of the Binding Component. The runtime is based on Java EE and JBI. It implements all the necessary interfaces available in the JBI specification.
An LDAP directory has entries that contain information pertaining to entities. Each attribute has a name and one or more values. The names of the attributes are mnemonic strings, such as cn for common name, or mail for email address.
For example, a company may have an employee directory. Each entry in the employee directory represents an employee. The employee entry contains such information as the name, email address, and phone number, as shown in the following example:
cn: John Doe
telephoneNumber: 471-6000 x.1234
Each part of the descriptive information, such as an employee's name, is known as an attribute. In the example above, the Common Name (cn) attribute, represents the name of the employee. The other attributes are mail and telephoneNumber.
Each attribute can have one or more values. For example, an employee entry may contain a mail attribute whose values are email@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.org. In the previous example, the mail attribute contains two mail values.
The organization of a directory is a tree structure. The topmost entry in a directory is known as the root entry. This entry normally represents the organization that owns the directory.
Entries at the higher level of hierarchy, represent larger groupings or organizations. Entries under the larger organizations represent smaller organizations that make up the larger ones. The leaf nodes (or entries) of the tree structure represent the individuals or resources.
An entry is made up of a collection of attributes that have a unique identifier called a Distinguished Name (DN). A DN has a unique name that identifies the entry at the respective hierarchy. In the example above, John Doe and Jane Doe are different common names (cn) that identify different entries at that same level.
A DN is also a fully qualified path of names that trace the entry back to the root of the tree. For example, the distinguished name of the John Doe entry is:
cn=John Doe, ou=People, dc=sun.com
A Relative Distinguished Name (RDN) is a component of the distinguished name.
For example, cn=John Doe, ou=People is a RDN relative to the root RDN dc=sun.com.
DNs describe the fully qualified path to an entry
RDN describe the partial path to the entry relative to another entry in the tree.
The figure illustrates an example of an LDAP directory structure with distinguished names and relative distinguished names.
LDAP Directory Structure
A Directory Service is a distributed database application designed to manage the entries and attributes in a directory. A directory service also makes the entries and attributes available to users and other applications. OpenLDAP server is an example of a directory service. Other directory services include Sun Active Directory Service (Sun Microsystems) and Microsoft Active Directory.
A directory client uses the LDAP protocol to access a directory service. A directory client may use one of several client APIs available in order to access the directory service.
Set of rules that describes the nature of data is stored
Helps maintain consistency and quality data
Reduces duplication of data
Object class attribute determines schema rules the entry must follow
Schema contains the following,
The method to compare attributes
Limit what the attribute can store, that is, restrict to integer
Restrict what information is stored, that is, stops duplication
User id : uid
Common Name ; cn
Surname : sn
Location : l
Organizational Unit : ou
Organization : o
Domain Component : dc
State : st
Country : c
Street address : street
Criteria for attributes that must satisfy for entry on return
Base dn = base object entry search relative to
LDAP String Representation of Search Filters
LDAPv3 Search Filters
AND : &
OR : |
NOT : !
Approximately equal : ~=
Greater than or equal : >=
Less than or equal : <=
Any : *
LDAP (v3) is the Light weight directory Access protocol (RFC 3377). An Internet standard for accessing a directory (such as an address book) over TCP/IP. The Binding Component wraps the JBI interface. Users use this component to access operations that the LDAP provides to the open-esb world.
LDAP Binding Component provides the services to add, search, update, and delete on LDAP directory. The Binding Component conforms to the JBI specification and enables LDAP server integration in a JBI environment. The LDAP component consists of two modules: run-time JBI module and design-time NetBeans plugin.
LDAP Binding Component run-time module implements interfaces defined in the JBI framework and interacts with the external LDAP server for managing the directory services. The run-time uses LDAP v3 to interact with LDAP directory server.
Design time NetBeans modules provides visual configuration of the binding component. It also defines how other components can integrate within the JBI framework. Users can update properties for the component and incorporate LDAP components with others in deployable service assembly.
The LDAP Binding Component helps the JBI components to communicate with the LDAP server. The LDAP Binding Component provides a bunch of features for interacting with the LDAP server. LDAP Binding Component uses the JBI (Java Business Integration JSR 208) specification developed under the JCP (Java Community Process) for implementing Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) based Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). open-esb is the Sun's implementation of the JSR 208.
The LDAP Binding Component provides a comprehensive solution for configuring and connecting to the LDAP server within a JBI environment. The design-time component is a NetBeans IDE 6.1 module that plugs into the NetBeans Enterprise Pack project system. The runtime component provides the physical connectivity between the Normalized Message Router in the JBI framework and the external LDAP server. This component implements all the required interfaces available in the JBI 1.0 specification. The runtime component can act as a service provider, supporting Outbound services sending requests to the LDAP server from the JBI framework.
LDAP Binding Component allows anonymous and authenticated connections. Users can perform numerous tasks when connected to an external LDAP system. These tasks include adding an entry, adding an attribute, and adding a value. Similarly, users have the privileges to modify, delete and search for a value, and attribute entry.
The following features are supported in the LDAP Binding Component.
Standard JBI Binding Component
Component lifecycle Management: Install, Start, Stop, Shutdown, and Un-install
Service Unit lifecycle Management: Deploy, Start, Stop, Shutdown, and Un-deploy
Service Assembly Generation
Support Component Status Monitoring
Installation Time Configuration
Service Provisioner and Consumer
Anonymous Connections are those that are not categorized as authenticated, trusted, suspect, or blocked.
Add Entry Node
Use the AddEntry node to add entries to a directory. There are different options available when adding an entry. Specify the name of the entry to add (RDN relative to the initial context), an entry with its attributes and values for each attribute.
Add Attribute Value
Use the Add Attribute Value to modify the values or attributes.
Use Add Value to add any value to any attribute of an entry.
Use the Remove Attribute to remove attributes from an entry.
Use Remove Value to remove values from any attribute of an entry.
Use the Replace Value to replace all the existing values of any attribute with any new value for an entry.
Use Search to perform searches for an entry or multiple entries of the LDAP directory.
This feature helps you to search for an attribute among many LDAP servers. Set up the LDAP referral to another LDAP server. This means after the search fails to locate the search string on one server, it automatically searches over the referred server.
A credential file contains the appropriate referral credentials. Use the RCF command line utility to generate the credential file.
Use the Ignore attribute to ignore the referral server.
User the Follow attribute to connect to the referred system and continue the search operation.
Use this attribute to generate a referral exception, which the client can catch and initiate any action.
The Search corresponds to performing searches for an entry or multiple entries of the LDAP directory.
The OBJECT_SCOPE method defines the search method only within the named object that is defined with ContextName. The object scope essentially compares the named object for some particular attribute and/or value.
The ONELEVEL_SCOPE method defines the search method for entries that are one level below the named object.
The SUBTREE_SCOPE method defines the search method for all entries starting from the named object and all descendants below the named object.
Use the Search filter to specify the context or the first entry for the search, the scope of the search, or any other search criteria and the boundaries to which the search is limited.
The Page control specifies a collection of control that are set.
Use Sort to request for the search values to be sorted as per the specified attributes. Set the Sort Attributes field with a pipe (|) separated character string consisting of attributes to use sort control.
Example: Set SortAttributes with the string cn|mail to sort entries by cn and later by mail..
The LDAP server stores user names and passwords. Hence all transactions have to be secure. The following are configured with the LDAP Binding Component:
Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is a cryptographic protocol that provides privacy and data integrity for communications over TCP/IP networks such as the Internet.
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol that provides privacy and data integrity for communications over TCP/IP networks such as the Internet.
TLS on Demand
Selecting this option allows users to establish an SSL connection on demand.
Use the startTLS function to initiate a secure SMTP connection between two servers using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) (also known as TLS).
Once the connection is established all future communication between the two servers is encrypted.
Use the stopTLS function to stop an SMTP connection between two servers using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) (also known as TLS).
KeyStore and TrustStore Management
The Keystore is used for key or certificate management when establishing SSL connections.
The TrustStore is used for CA certificate management when establishing SSL connections.
Credential File Management
The Credential File Management feature allows users the credentials needed when authenticating log-ins other than anonymous log-in
WSDL 1.1 Wrapper Support in ME Normalizer and Denormalizer
WSDL Extensibility Element
LDAP WSDL Extensibility Element Support
Design-time WSDL Validation
LDAP WSDL Generator/Wizard
Composite Application Integration
System requirements come in two basic forms: functional and nonfunctional. Functional requirements define what a system does. These include event driven capabilities which provide specific observable functions to users of the system. Nonfunctional requirements on the other hand, use pervasive nonfunctional qualities like reliability, availability, and security, to define a system functionality.
This feature is used when the application is deployed and configuration of the WSDL takes place. This can be done through Application Configuration without redeploying the application.
Custom GUI Configuration
Logging varies based on the situation:
Administrators can use the log to monitor system state, monitor for errors, and troubleshoot errors
Application developers can use the log additionally to troubleshoot their own application code
Support, sustaining and development can use the log to troubleshoot the product code
Security often plays a role in interacting with various external systems, protocols, and implementations. Security may take the form of authorization, authentication, or encryption. The Password Handling feature also provides a common mechanism for components that need to handle authorization and authentication through the use of user names and passwords.
Common Fault, Error Strategy
Establish a common fault or error framework. This ensures consistency in fault behavior and content.
The user has the provision to monitor the component and the application. After deploying and starting the server, it provides statistics like endpoint statistics, component statistics and performance measurement.
The recovery feature helps components to recover from failure gracefully. This includes failure of other components internally and externally. It can also deal with faults or errors in a manner that does not compromise message reliability.
Use Dynamic addressing to extend the scope of an application dynamically through dynamic addressing or invocation.
Binding Configuration Panel
LDAP Search Page Control
LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) File Parser
LDAP Custom Control
Wizard Re-factoring to describe Multiple Operations
Fix Add Operation (wizard and runtime) to Return Results
Multiple Operation Support
The LDIF parser implementation allows creating a WSDL from a LDIF file, The WSDL can be created with all the four operations in the same WSDL.
The following operating systems are supported:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 32–bit
Red Hat Linux AS4 64–bit
Sun Microsystems Solaris 10 SPARC 64–bit
Microsoft Windows XP SP3 32–bit
Microsoft Windows 2003 R2 SP2 32–bit
Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1 32–bit
Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 32–bit
Sun Microsystems Solaris 10 64–bit (X86)
Sun Microsystems Open Solaris 10 32–bit (X86)
Sun Microsystems Solaris 9 SPARC (64–bit)
Red Hat Linux AS4 32–bit
Open Solaris 2008
LDAP Binding Component is certified to work with the following servers-
Windows Server 2003 Active Directory
Sun Java System Directory Server v6.3


Callback methods are the key elements provided by the API for implementing a resource type. Callback methods enable the RGM to control resources in the cluster in the event of a change in cluster membership, such as a node boot or crash.
The callback methods are executed by the RGM with root permissions because the client programs control HA services on the cluster system. Install and administer these methods with restrictive file ownership and permissions. Specifically, give them a privileged owner, such as bin or root, and do not make them writable.
Control and initialization methods
Administrative support methods
Monitor control methods
Although this section provides brief descriptions of the callback methods, including the point at which the method is invoked and the expected effect on the resource, the rt_callbacks(1HA) man page is the definitive reference for the callback methods.
The RGM invokes callback methods as follows:
method -R resource-name -T type-name -G group-name
The method is the path name of the program that is registered as the Start, Stop, or other callback. The callback methods of a resource type are declared in its registration file.
All callback method arguments are passed as flagged values, with -R indicating the name of the resource instance, -T indicating the type of the resource, and -G indicating the group into which the resource is configured. Use the arguments with access functions to retrieve information about the resource.
The Validate method is called with additional arguments (the property values of the resource and resource group on which it is called).
See rt_callbacks(1HA) for more information.
All callback methods have the same exit codes defined to specify the effect of the method invocation on the resource state. The scha_calls(3HA) man page describes all these exit codes. The exit codes are:
0 – Method succeeded
Any nonzero value – Method failed
The RGM also handles abnormal failures of callback method execution, such as time outs and core dumps.
Method implementations must output failure information using syslog(3) on each node. Output written to stdout or stderr is not guaranteed to be delivered to the user (though it currently is displayed on the console of the local node).
This required method is invoked on a cluster node when the resource group containing the resource is brought online on that node. This method activates the resource on that node.
A Start method should not exit until the resource it activates has been started and is available on the local node. Therefore, before exiting, the Start method should poll the resource to determine that it has started. In addition, you should set a sufficiently long time-out value for this method. For example, certain resources, such as database daemons, take more time to start, and thus require that the method have a longer timeout value.
The way in which the RGM responds to failure of the Start method depends on the setting of the Failover_mode property.
The START_TIMEOUT property in the resource type registration file sets the time-out value for a resource's Start method.
This required method is invoked on a cluster node when the resource group containing the resource is brought offline on that node. This method deactivates the resource if it is active.
A Stop method should not exit until the resource it controls has completely stopped all its activity on the local node and has closed all file descriptors. Otherwise, because the RGM assumes the resource has stopped, when in fact it is still active, data corruption can result. The safest way to avoid data corruption is to terminate all processes on the local node related to the resource.
Before exiting, the Stop method should poll the resource to determine that it has stopped. In addition, you should set a sufficiently long time-out value for this method. For example, certain resources, such as database daemons, take more time to stop, and thus require that the method have a longer time-out value.
The way in which the RGM responds to failure of the Stop method depends on the setting of the Failover_mode property (see Table A–2).
The STOP_TIMEOUT property in the resource type registration file sets the time-out value for a resource's Stop method.
This optional method is invoked to perform a one-time initialization of the resource when the resource becomes managed—either when the resource group it is in is switched from an unmanaged to a managed state, or when the resource is created in a resource group that is already managed. The method is called on nodes determined by the Init_nodes resource property.
This optional method is invoked to clean up after the resource when the resource becomes unmanaged—either when the resource group it is in is switched to an unmanaged state or when the resource is deleted from a managed resource group. The method is called on nodes determined by the Init_nodes resource property.
This optional method, similar to Init, is invoked to initialize the resource on nodes that join the cluster after the resource group containing the resource has already been put under the management of the RGM. The method is invoked on nodes determined by the Init_nodes resource property. The Boot method is called when the node joins or rejoins the cluster as the result of being booted or rebooted.
Failure of the Init, Fini, or Boot methods causes the syslog(3) function to generate an error message but does not otherwise affect RGM management of the resource.
Administrative actions on resources include setting and changing resource properties. The Validate and Update callback methods enable a resource type implementation to hook into these administrative actions.
This optional method is called when a resource is created and when administrative action updates the properties of the resource or its containing resource group. This method is called on the set of cluster nodes indicated by the Init_nodes property of the resource's type. Validate is called before the creation or update is applied, and a failure exit code from the method on any node causes the creation or update to be canceled.
Validate is called only when resource or resource group properties are changed through administrative action, not when the RGM sets properties, or when a monitor sets the resource properties Status and Status_msg.
This optional method is called to notify a running resource that properties have been changed. Update is invoked after an administration action succeeds in setting properties of a resource or its group. This method is called on nodes where the resource is online. The method uses the API access functions to read property values that might affect an active resource and adjust the running resource accordingly.
Failure of the Update method causes the syslog(3) function to generate an error message but does not otherwise affect RGM management of the resource.
Services that use network address resources might require that start or stop steps be done in a certain order relative to the network address configuration. The following optional callback methods, Prenet_start and Postnet_stop, enable a resource type implementation to do special startup and shutdown actions before and after a related network address is configured or unconfigured.
This optional method is called to do special startup actions before network addresses in the same resource group are configured.
This optional method is called to do special shutdown actions after network addresses in the same resource group are configured down.
A resource type implementation optionally can include a program to monitor the performance of a resource, report on its status, or take action on resource failure. The Monitor_start, Monitor_stop, and Monitor_check methods support the implementation of a resource monitor in a resource type implementation.
This optional method is called to start a monitor for the resource after the resource is started.
This optional method is called to stop a resource's monitor before the resource is stopped.
This optional method is called to assess the reliability of a node before a resource group is relocated to the node. The Monitor_check method must be implemented so that it does not conflict with the concurrent running of another method.


Each eventspace has its own instance of snip-class-list<%>, obtained with (get-the-snip-class-list). New instances cannot be created directly. Each instance keeps a list of snip classes. This list is needed for loading snips from a file. See also Snip Classes.
Adds a snip class to the list. If a class with the same name already exists in the list, this one will not be added.
Finds a snip class from the list with the given name, returning #f if none is found.
→ exact-nonnegative-integer? class : (is-a?/c snip-class%)
Returns an index into the list for the specified class.
→ (or/c (is-a?/c snip-class%) #f) n : exact-nonnegative-integer?
Returns the nth class in the list, or #f if the list has n classes or less.
Returns the number of snip classes in the list.


PC Matic says that it could potentially save you from having to replace your slow, unreliable computer by cleaning it up like new. There are several different programs out that that make similar claims, but this is one of the most popular. Let’s see if it’s actually working for real users.
There are a ton of problems a computer can have, all of which will slow it down and reduce its capacity to provide you with the service you expect from it. Viruses, scumware, scamware, adware, malware, and spyware, just to name a few, can all seriously debilitate your computer. You may also have programs on your computer that are always running, and don’t need to be, and this can slow its performance.
They say that you can use the software on up to 100 computers, and that it provides security for your computer without slowing it down. They also claim that it will make your computer more reliable, and that you’ll have faster Internet speeds once it’s done cleaning things up. In the advertisement they run they insinuate that you’ll be able to keep the computer you have rather than having to buy a new one. It’s easy to see that computers can get slogged down over a period of months and years, so the real question is can this get rid of the problem?
The hype comes from their national television advertising campaign, as well as a ton of online ads that ask you if your computer is running slow. It also seems like this product is geared towards those that would dub themselves “computer illiterate”, as it performs many tasks that can be done without paying for a software, such as defragmenting your hard drive. Of course it is much easier to let the software do it for you instead of completing each task on your own.
It’s free to download PC Matic, and they’ll scan your computer for you for free. If you want to fix the problems it costs $50. It’s unlikely that your computer will be problem-free if you’re looking into getting a product like this, so you should be prepared to get it because it’s likely to find a host of problems and you’re going to want to remove them and not leave them on your system.
The entire user interface is easy to navigate, so you don’t really have to spend a lot of time learning how to use it. Downloading the software takes seconds on a high speed connection, and it’s only a few more seconds until you’re running the initial scan. It runs on its own, and once it’s set up you don’t have to keep running it, it runs in the background and keeps your computer running smoothly, rather than letting problems stack up again.
PC Matic gets great reviews overall, with a few complaints here and there. What we did notice though is that several of the complaints were from older reviews, and have been resolved with current updates. It’s nice to see a software company that is trying to improve upon itself and keep the product updated. A lot of software out there gets out of date, so you always want to make sure that you’re not trusting a beta release, or a piece of software that has never seen a new release.
The reason that some people are not happy with the way this functions, saying that it’s slow and causes even more problems, is most likely because their computer has so many problems it’s going to take a while for it to fix them all. Sometimes fixing a virus and removing malware and adware will make your computer function worse, as those programs are equipped to resist being removed. But some people think that it’s just a matter of deleting them and the process should be easy and smooth. Once your computer is returned to its factory state it should run much more easily.
Final PC Matic Review
We’re giving PC Matic our Thumbs Up review. Cheesy commercials aside it seems to do a decent job of identifying and fixing the problems that are present on most computers. Some of the problems out there are pretty severe, with trojan viruses that attempt to take over your computer. Others are more mild, like spamware or even cookies that don’t really need to be on your computer. Deleting those and keeping them off of your system is easy enough, and it’s nice to have a program that handles it all for you, rather than having to use several different ones in conjunction with one another.
If you’re not savvy when it comes to keeping your computer clean, and haven’t cleaned it up since the day you got it, this would be a good software to run to make sure there aren’t a bunch of unnecessary programs slowing you down and keeping you from enjoying your computer like you used to.
What do you think? Does PC Matic work or not?
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Domestic pets, in a similar manner to wolves, often try to establish dominance over other members of their household, including humans and other animals. Dogs may be dominant if they try to keep others away from their toys or food, growl or show their teeth, do not follow commands even though they are trained, insistently try to get their owner to pay attention to them and/or act in other dominant ways. It is possible to reduce or eliminate dominance in your dog if you behave in certain ways towards your pet.
Training a Dominant DogStep 1
Use obedience training techniques to teach your dog or puppy manners. Teach your dog basic commands, such as staying, coming when called and sitting. Then move on to more advanced commands, such as rolling over. According to an article by Mary W. Alward on Puppy-training.info, training your dog establishes that you and other members of your household are the leaders, while your dog is the subordinate in the group.
Talk to an animal behavior specialist, a type of counselor that deals with behavioral problems in pets, if your dog is just starting to display dominant behavior. An animal behavior specialist may be able to give you an idea of why your dog is acting in a dominant manner and give suggestions on how to stop your pet’s aggressive behavior.
Take your dog to a veterinarian to get examined if she is frequently acting in a dominate manner around you and others. She could have a neurological condition or another health problem, such as rabies, epilepsy or dental disease, which causes her to display aggressive and/or dominant behavior.
Try to keep your dog out of places and situations that cause him to try to display his dominance, such as public places with children and/or other dogs. Do not hug your dog, groom him, touch his face or other parts of his body, bother him when he is sleeping or act in other ways that trigger his aggressiveness. If you take your dog outside of your home, put a muzzle or harness on him so that you have control over him.
If your dog starts to act aggressively, speak to him in a positive voice to get him to calm down. When he tries to be dominant with you, walk away or do not respond to his behavior, and do not reward him for his dominance, according to the Hilltop Animal Hospital.
Items You Will Need
- Obedience training
- Veterinarian and/or animal behavior specialist
- Pet owner
- Dominant dog
- While many dogs respond to positive reinforcement methods, such as giving your dog a treat or an affectionate gesture when he listens to your command, some dogs are more dominant than others. You may need to use a firm voice with an overly dominant dog to get him to respond to your commands.
- Warning signs that your dog is trying to display her dominance, include growling, snarling, showing her teeth, tensing her body and/or biting.
- Do not hit your dog when you are trying to train him to be less dominant because you may cause the dog to become more dominant and/or fearful, according to Alward.
- When you are teaching your dog a command, such as to sit, do not try to force him to follow the command. Instead try to guide him with verbal and nonverbal cues, according to an article by Kathy Diamond Davis for VeterinaryPartner.com.
- Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images


Curly tails aren’t a feature reserved for pigs. Multiple breeds of dog sport tightly curled tails. Big dogs and little dogs alike rock curly tails, and although this list is not all-encompassing, it highlights a few of the more popular curly-tailed breeds.
Small Curly Tails
The pug is one of the most notable of all small, curly-tailed breeds. Their tails curl completely around itself like a corkscrew, staying curled even when the dog is in full wag mode. Pomeranians have long, fluffy tails that curl up over their back, giving them a distinct, plumed appearance.
Medium Curly Tails
Hailing from the harsh plains of Africa, the Basenji’s tail curls just like a pig’s tail. This distinctive breed is unique in the fact that it yodels rather than barks, like most breeds. The affectionate, aloof Keeshond sports a curly tail as well, although this breed has such a thick coat, the tail seems to disappear in all the fluff.
Large Curly Tails
The tail of the Karelian bear dog, a hunting breed originating in the Karelia region of Europe, often has a white tip that accentuates it curliness. The Akita is one of the largest of the curly-tailed breeds, often standing more than 24 inches tall at the shoulder. The standard for this independent breed is so strict that dogs with uncurled tails can be disqualified from competition.
- Photos.com/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images


Canada drops Iranian group from terror list
Canada's government said Thursday that it has removed an Iranian opposition group once allied with Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime from its official list of terrorist organizations.
The government's move to delist Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, follows similar moves by the United States and the European Union.
The MEK, a small, armed exile group, has said it wants to replace Tehran's clerical regime with a secular government through peaceful means.
The MEK carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran's clerical regime in the 1980s and fought alongside Saddam's forces in the Iran-Iraq war. But the group says it renounced violence in 2001.
The United States noted when delisting the Paris-based group in September that the MEK had not engaged in terrorism for more than a decade.
Any person or group on Canada's terrorist list may have their assets seized, and there are criminal penalties for assisting organizations that are on the list.
Critics of the MEK say it has cult-like characteristics and that delisting it would be seen even by moderate Iranians as an endorsement of terrorism.


What if you never had to do a smell test for spoiled milk again? Instead of having to take a whiff of the sour liquid, you could just check the color of a small tag placed on the container.
This is exactly what researchers at Peking University in Beijing, China, are working on: color-coded "smart tags."
These corn kernel-sized tags can be stuck to containers of food or medicine and have the capabilities of determining whether the food has gone bad or if the medications are still active. What's more, these tags will reportedly cost less than one penny each. … Read more


gd is a graphics library. It allows your code to quickly draw images complete with lines, arcs, text, multiple colors, cut and paste from other images, and flood fills, and write out the result as a PNG or JPEG file. This is particularly useful in World Wide Web applications, where PNG and JPEG are two of the formats accepted for inline images by most browsers. gd is not a paint program. If you are looking for a paint program, you are looking in the wrong place. If you are not a programmer, you are looking in the wrong place. gd does not provide for every possible desirable graphics operation. It is not necessary or desirable for gd to become a kitchen-sink graphics package, but version 1.7.3 incorporates most of the commonly requested features for an 8-bit 2D package. Support for truecolor images, including truecolor JPEG and PNG, is planned for version 2.0.
What's new in this version:


Failure to adapt to the digital era costs Zenza Bronica dearly
Read the press release: Tamron Announces The Discontinuation Of Bronica SLR Cameras
Dpnow sadly marks the news of the ending of the era of Bronica medium format cameras this week with the news that Tamron, who own Bronica, have discontinued the Bronica range, blaming the rise in digital photography.
Zenza Bronica was founded in 1959 by Zenzaburo Yoshino. The 'Bronica' brand, it is speculated, was formed from the words 'Brownie Camera'. Mr. Yoshino had made his money manufacturing cigarette lighters and ladies' powder compacts but he was also a keen photography enthusiast and had even opened a camera store in Tokyo. Despite having no experience in the camera industry, he invested his own fortune in designing what he hoped might become the 'perfect' camera.
The first Zenza Bronica, a 2¼ square inch format roll film SLR might be regarded as a Japanese copy of a Hasselblad, but it featured a number of desirable improvements, including an automatic mirror return and aperture reset after each exposure. The mirror mechanism was also novel in its action.
Bronicas quickly became best-sellers in their market sector. The Bronica EC-TL made its mark by being the first 2¼ square format SLR to feature through the lens automatic metering coupled to an aperture priority automatic exposure system.
Originally, Bronicas were square format cameras with focal plane shutters, but from 1976 the marque established a strong presence in the more economical 6x4.5cm (645) format camera sector with the ETR, which used interchangeable lenses with integral leaf shutters. Pictured in this article is an example of an ETRSi, first introduced in 1989 and, until this week, remained a current model.
The unit pictured belongs to my neighbour, Paul Watkins, who uses it regularly for wedding photography. If you look closely you can see there is a gold badge – this signifies that Paul's camera is a Fox Talbot 150th Anniversary special edition.
Commercial pressure has been mounting on the medium format world for a long time. Steady improvements in the technical quality of 35mm SLR system cameras and films persuaded many to abandon heavier and slower medium format cameras, like Bronicas. In 1995, lens manufacturer Tamron, acquired the ailing Bronica camera business.
Alas for Bronica, the digital photography revolution was just around the corner and Bronica cameras did not adapt sufficiently. In the same week that rival Mamiya announced a new 22 megapixel medium format digital camera model, the Bronica brand expired.
The words of Takashi Inoue, president of Tamron USA, inc., quoted in this week's press release sum things up all too efficiently: "Since the advent of digital photography, medium format sales have declined at a rapid pace. Imports today are just a fraction of what they were even two years ago," stated Inoue. "For Bronica, that slip has been faster since our core customer base, portrait and wedding photographers, has adapted well to digital SLR equipment."
For Tamron, the digital era represents new challenges and new opportunities for its interchangeable lens business, but for its Bronica division, time has run out.


|Mercury Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)|
The Mercury Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons) is a type of dragon in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. It is a metallic dragon. Mercury dragons are a little bit crazy–but there's definitely a method to their madness. A mercury dragon craves variety above all else. If another creature offers a wide array of food to hunt and the opportunity to gather a hoard, a mercury dragon will serve that creature in an arrangement of convenience. Thus, mercury dragons can be found as champions, bodyguards. and assassins in the employ of greater powers.
Lairs and Terrain
Mercury dragons hail from volcanic mountain ranges in tropical climates, and though many of them remain in such locales throughout their lives, the variety has spread far and wide. Many a mercury dragon spends its youth scheming for a way to reach the Elemental Chaos and establish a lair there. For a creature that craves variety, the ever-changing landscape of the Elemental Chaos is the perfect place to construct a lair.
But the most common lair for a mercury dragon is one proVided and maintained by someone else. As long as they receive the variety they crave, mercury dragons serve as bodyguards, messengers, or assassins for powerful mages, priests, or rulers–and sometimes more sinister forces. When a mercury dragon works for another creature, the dragon takes part of a larger fortress and makes a section its own, filling it with traps to frighten off any curious lackeys and to keep its personal hoard safe.
Like any dragon, a mercury dragon hates when interlopers or thieves enter its lair. But that hatred is tempered with curiosity about why "lesser creatures" would dare to invade its domain. The traps and guardians on the periphery of a mercury dragon's lair are often nonlethal, intended to capture, wound, or frighten intruders rather than kill them outright. These protections enable the mercury dragon to toy with intruders and extract some sort of unusual experience from the event, instead of just cleaning more corpses out of the bottom of a pit trap.
It should surprise no one that mercury dragons aren't good at assembling matched sets or cohesive collections. A mercury dragon's hoard is a hodgepodge of coins, jewelry, and items from scores of lands and dozens of eras. Older mercury dragons might seek out some items they've heard about but never seen, and they're avid treasure traders. If adventurers can acquire some rare item from a far-off land, a mercury dragon is often willing to part with treasures from its hoard in exchange, especially if the dragon is trading away a duplicate.
A carnivore through and through, a mercury dragon always craves something different from whatever it just ate. This compulsion is more than just instinct; a mercury dragon forced to eat the same food meal after meal quickly becomes listless and difficult to awaken from sleep. Mercury dragons are enthusiastic hunters, cunning enough to plan elaborate traps for their prey. They toy with weaker prey before killing and eating it. From the viewpoint of the prey, this behavior amounts to cruelty. To the mercury dragon, it's another expression of its need to experience something different.
A mercury dragon has scales of whitish-silver and a sleek and serpentine body. Its frame lacks some of the muscular bulk that other dragons have, and its scales are smaller and more closely set. Mercury dragons are peerless shapechangers, capable of taking both a humanoid form (to blend in among civilized people) and an amorphous, liquid form (for defense and to slither where others cannot go).
Personality and Motivations
A mercury dragon acts differently from time to time, depending on how much variety it has experienced lately.
If the dragon feels as though it's in a rut, it might attack an adversary right away, then snarl, "Tell me why I shouldn't finish you off." Because the magic of its breath weapon renders a mercury dragon invisible to its prey, it can boast while hidden. What sounds like garden-variety draconic arrogance is, from the dragon's perspective, legitimate questioning. If its adversaries can engage the dragon's interest, it might regard them as more than just a meal and a momentary diversion.
If a mercury dragon thinks its life has been varied enough lately, it talks first and fights later, using its breath weapon, natural maneuverability, and quicksilver form to elude those who challenge it. Even if the challengers are trying to kill it, the dragon talks to them to understand the stakes. After all, it would be a shame to kill someone who's more interesting when alive. And a mercury dragon shows some cunning when placed in the position of prey. It happily engages in a cat-and-mouse game with hostile pursuers, confounding them and getting them to exhaust themselves before turning the tables and attacking with its full might.
An adult or older mercury dragon can magically alter its shape to appear as an ordinary humanoid, and these dragons tend to be more circumspect when not in their draconic forms. A mercury dragon might take humanoid form when hunting, serving its master on a specific mission, or when it craves to experience "life among the lesser races" for a time. But a mercury dragon lacks the steel dragon's affinity for civilized life, and the nuances of specific cultures are often beyond its understanding. Sometimes, even the basics of humanoid life are foreign to a mercury dragon. For instance, a shapechanged mercury dragon might walk into a butcher shop craving something new to eat, purchase a leg of lamb, and consume it raw on the spot while the butcher looks on in horror.
Relations with other Creatures
A mercury dragon will enter into a working arrangement with almost any creature stronger or smarter than itself. Such arrangements tend to be feudal in nature: The mercury agrees to serve as a guardian, messenger, or hired killer in exchange for some combination oflair space, treasure, food, and the promise of varied experience. Such relationships last as long as the master can maintain the mercury dragon's interest–and not one moment longer. Draconic folklore is replete with tales of mercury dragons that eventualIy turned on their masters "just to see what happens."
Mercury dragons have a natural affinity with other creatures that split their time between the natural world and the Elemental Chaos, such as efreets. Mercury dragons often bargain with efreets for passage to the Elemental Chaos (and eventually for a place to start a lair). But efreets don't offer favors lightly, they and tend to be more shrewd negotiators than mercury dragons. Many a mercury dragon seeks vengeance on a particular efreet for a bargain that didn't turn out the way the dragon thought it would.
Jump to another metallic dragon:


Remove DRM from audio files fast
DRM or Digital rights management (and also digital restrictions management) is a type of expression which often talks about access command engineering utilised by writers along with various other copyright holders to help control using of online digital video and music.
Remove DRM to stop troublesome restrictions.
Lots of internet music file merchants employ DRM restrain using of acquired or maybe copied tunes.
The best way to convert protected tunes?
Caused by DRM structure you won't convert DRM records. You'll be able to merely playback these items.
On the other hand you'll find wide range of expedient why you should convert protected tunes.
The program is known as a alternative meant for converting protected tunes, for those who have bought that tunes. To remove protection away from any songs.
The key reason why to take out protection and also convert protected tunes?
Cause you actually are restricted! Another person requires you precisely what you can make utilizing your tunes and what shoudn't.
It's legitime to copy your iTunes tunes (which inturn you have recently ordered!) towards your handy device.
Apple inc asserts that that player needs to be Apple ipod. Remove DRM. Why?
What if you love an alternative media player? - You ought to obtain this specific music again in a audio format made for a person's media player. And again - you'll be able to remove protection away from these tunes additionally.
Beyond doubt you do not want it.
This amazing software package does not just remove protection from a music, although can be capable of convert all of them to media format of your media player (MP3 or WMA).
Typically the application is capable of doing multiple audio data file conversion available for you. According to the speed of your own Laptop or computer this wonderful program may easily encode from three to six audio files synchronously plus with up to 40x more rapidly when compared with playback rate. You'll find lots of ways to remove protection, including music CD burning up and then ripping and many others. Removing protection can be easy and fast having DRM removing application - made especially to remove protection.
Remove DRM from tunes and video using this cool software package: simply remove protection
Now have you been recently lured inside file protection entice? You give out your dollars and obtain digital media data files (tunes or maybe video clip) and you really are pretty sure this media data is actually yours (because you have bought it for). Nevertheless DRM tells "No" - you'll be able to merely apply it with only one Laptop or computer plus playback it with just a single media player. You happen to be definitely not permitted to backup this music and film for some other unit, you are unable to post online it, there are numerous rules!
How to handle it in order to make use of your videos and don't need to become a violator and get tunes and video media totally free?
This fascinating application allows you remove protection!
With this great application you aren't going to be tied to play protected computer files merely on your laptop. You'll be able to convert video files to almost any media format you may need and even remove protection.
The tool works by using exclusive know-how that provides the feature to convert protected songs into standard tunes and video recording file formats which in turn can be played out at a lot of agreeable players and software.
It is really definitely legal!
Exactly how is it working?
Launch the software tool and choose on the video files you desire to switch by simply clicking on "Select file" or maybe just drag and drop the entire group to the application window. One can certainly organize an output file media format in the "Configuration settings" menu. And then click on "Convert" and your video files will be converted through a batch method and additionally at a quite high speed.
The program definitely will remove protection from i-tunes video files, from Kazaa, Audible along with different copyright-protected video files.
Take note of this application can certainly eliminate protection typically from video files you really are willing to play in Windows Media Player/QuickTime Player/Real Player on your main Laptop or computer.
Supported Output media files formats are:
Tunes output formats: WAV, MP3, M4A, WMA
Video output formats: DivX, AVI, MP4, MPEG 4, WMV
Immediately after conversion process you actually own non-protected video files and you'll be able to switch them to almost any digital product and then enjoy them not having limits and restrictions!


A person has metabolic syndrome when they have a combination of three or more certain health risks. These health risks include:
- high blood pressure
- high blood sugar levels
- excess body weight
- low levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL)
- high levels of triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood)
Each of these factors alone can increase a person's risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and stroke. But the risk is much higher when these factors are found in combination.
Approximately one-quarter of Americans have this condition, although the rate is higher for certain groups of people. For example, people of American Indian and South Asian descent have higher rates of metabolic syndrome than Caucasians.
Other major risk factors that may lead to the development of metabolic syndrome include:
- age (the risk of metabolic syndrome increases as you get older)
- a family history of type 2 diabetes
- other medical conditions including high blood pressure, heart or blood vessel disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (a condition where a woman's body produces too much male hormones)
Metabolic syndrome is believed to develop due to insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas (an organ located near the stomach). It helps blood sugar enter cells, where it is used for energy. With insulin resistance, the body fails to recognize the insulin that is produced, causing the sugar to accumulate in the blood instead of being absorbed into other cells. Because blood sugar levels remain high, the pancreas keeps producing more and more insulin, leading to high insulin levels. While blood sugar levels are not high enough to be classified as diabetes, they do increase the risk of developing serious health problems.
Scientists are not certain why insulin resistance develops but they believe it may be partly inherited. They do know, however, that being overweight and inactive contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome.


Malaysia is one of three Southeast Asian nations including Indonesia and Brunei that does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, though limited economic ties exist between private companies in both countries.
“Some refuse to recognize the state of Israel,” he said, “but I think our policy should be clear – protect the security [of Israel] but you must be as firm in protecting the legitimate interests of the Palestinians.”
The comments triggered a storm of debate and criticism, with members of the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and other groups accusing the leader of abandoning the Palestinian cause – an emotive cause long-supported in the majority-Muslim Southeast Asian nation.
Lawmakers called on Mr. Anwar’s opposition coalition to release an official statement on the issue, while president of the right-wing Malay group Perkasa Ibrahim Ali said he would raise the issue in Parliament.
Mr. Anwar responded by saying he supported a “two-state solution” with Palestine, a policy he said was no different from the official stance adopted by the United Nations and Malaysia itself.
“I am issuing a stern warning to anyone trying to twist my statement just so that they can say that I have betrayed the aspirations of the Palestinian people,” he said in a statement to the press. His party’s stand “is to defend the rights of whoever it is that has been victimised,” the statement said.
Though an ethnically-diverse nation that practices freedom of religion, Malaysia has
declared Islam as its state religion and tensions over Israel-Palestine issues often boil over. A large percentage of the country’s population supports the Palestinian cause, and jumped to criticize Israel after it launched raids on Gaza in December 2008 and stormed a flotilla in May 2010 that was carrying activists and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Tensions over the issue are even more on edge now, as Malaysia gears up for its next general election, which must be called by early next year, giving politicians more incentive to argue their views in the press than usual.
“The issue is tied in with Malaysia being an Islamic country,” and the idea that “therefore it should support Palestine,” said James Chin, a professor at the Malaysian branch of Australia’s Monash University. He added the caveat that support for the Palestinians became a much larger issue in Malaysian politics after the era of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has been accused by world leaders of holding anti-Semitic views, which he disputes.
In a statement to the local press, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, a member of the ruling UMNO, disputed Mr. Anwar’s claim that Malaysia’s current policy on Israel is the same as his own. Although Malaysia officially supports a “two-state solution” in settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict, it has also sharply criticized actions taken by Israeli forces in the past, which the foreign minister indicated means Malaysia isn’t supporting “all steps” to protect Israeli security.
“[Anwar’s comments] show a blanket support for anything Israel does,” said Khairy Jamaluddin, the chief of UMNO’s youth wing, who disputed any suggestion Malaysia’s ruling party was trying to politicize the issue ahead of an election. “The issue of Palestine is a top foreign policy priority for my party, it would be an issue during the election year or otherwise… timing doesn’t matter.”
In 2010, Mr. Anwar – who in the past has been described as the face of liberal democracy in Malaysia – found himself on the other side of the argument after he lambasted UMNO for its relationship with a public relations firm called APCO. In Parliament, he said the firm was “controlled by Zionists” and working on behalf of the American government to influence Malaysian government policy – a charge denied by both the government and the public relations firm.
At the time, American-Jewish groups such as B’nai B’rith accused the opposition leader of “anti-Jewish” and “anti-Israel” slanders, and called on American officials to suspend their ties with Mr. Anwar.
Still, many analysts believe the latest kerfuffle is largely electioneering on the part of the ruling coalition, preoccupied with the looming possibility that the next election will be the hardest-fought yet.
“They’re just using it as a weapon to bring (Mr. Anwar) down,” said Mr. Chin at Monash University.
Artikel berkaitan di sini, di sini. Kenyataan rasmi Anwar di sini.
P/s: Jelas? Perlukah TM menterjemahkan artikel di atas?


President Barack Obama on Wednesday paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights activists who marched on Washington 50 years ago in the name of justice as he called for renewed courage to battle today’s challenges on issues like economic inequality.
“The arc of the moral universe may bend toward justice but it does not bend on its own,” Obama said. “To secure the gains this country has made requires constant vigilance, not complacency.”
Obama, along with Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, civil rights leaders, Oprah Winfrey and tens of thousands of people descended on the National Mall on Wednesday to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s revolutionary “I Have a Dream” speech.
“Their victory was great,” Obama said of leading civil rights leaders, noting that some who lost their lives for the cause “did not die in vain. … But we would dishonor those heroes as well to suggest that the work of this nation is somehow complete.”
(PHOTOS: 20 March on Washington moments)
The presidents spoke in the afternoon from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered his famous civil rights address during the 1963 March on Washington.
“This march and that speech changed America,” Clinton said. “They opened minds, they melted hearts and they moved millions, including a 17-year-old boy watching alone in his home in Arkansas.”
Celebrities including Winfrey, Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker also addressed the crowds.
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who at 23 was the youngest speaker at the 1963 march and is now said to be the only speaker from that event still living, delivered a rousing return speech.
(PHOTOS: Scenes from the March on Washington)
“Fifty years later we can ride anywhere we want to ride, stay anywhere we want to stay, those signs that say white and color are gone,” he said. “You won’t see them anymore except in a museum, in a book or in a video.”
But, he said “there is still a gulf between us,” blasting New York’s stop-and-frisk policies, incarceration rates and the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case, among other issues.
The morning kicked off with interfaith services amid a light drizzle. The public ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial followed, beginning at 11 a.m., and was hosted by broadcaster Soledad O’Brien and actor Hill Harper. A bell-ringing ceremony took place in the afternoon to commemorate King’s call to “let freedom ring.”
“So as the bells toll today let us reflect on the bravery, let us reflect on the sacrifice, [of] those who stood up for freedom, those who stood up for us, whose shoulders we now stand on,” Winfrey said. “Let us ask ourselves, how will that dream live on in me, in you, in all of us?”
(Also on POLITICO: Oprah: 'Took me 50 years, but I'm here')
Other bell-ringing events were scheduled around the world, including in London’s Trafalgar Square.
All three presidents discussed how the legacy of the civil rights movement should shape today’s debates on income disparities and voting rights.
“In some ways… the securing of civil rights, voting rights, eradication of legalized discrimination, the very significance of these victories may have obscured a second goal of the march,” Obama said. “For the men and women who gathered 50 years ago were not there in search of some abstract idea. They were there seeking jobs as well as justice. Not just the absence of oppression but the presence of economic opportunity.”
(PHOTOS: Realize the Dream March and Rally)
Carter, a Georgian like King, said “we all know how Dr. King would have reacted” to voter ID requirements and stand-your-ground laws, among other policies.
“Well, there’s a tremendous agenda ahead of us, and I’m thankful to Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dream is still alive,” Carter said.
Clinton also took to task people who dwell gridlock in Washington, instead of focusing on a way forward, like King did.
“Oh yes, we face terrible political gridlock now,” he said. “Yes, there remain racial inequalities, in employment income, health, wealth, incarceration, in the victims and perpetrators of violent crime. But we don’t face beatings, lynchings and shootings for our political beliefs anymore.
(Also on POLITICO: Obama, race and class)
“And I would respectfully suggest that Martin Luther King did not live and die to hear his heirs whine about political gridlock. It is time to stop complaining and put our shoulders against the stubborn gates holding the American people back,” Clinton added.
“Fifty years ago today, this place was a battlefield,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who attended the first March on Washington, told the crowd. “No shots were fired, no cannons roared, but a battlefield nonetheless. A battlefield of ideas. The ideas that define us as a nation.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) offered a pledge to the veterans of civil rights struggles.
“As somebody of a younger generation of Americans, I want to promise you that all the struggles, all the fights, all the work, all the years you put in to making this country a better place, to helping our leaders understand that freedom and democracy are prerequisites to opportunity — I want you to know that this generation of Americans will not let that dream down,” he said.
Actor Jamie Foxx fired up the crowd by urging a new generation to fight for justice and name-checking a list of African American celebrities such as Will Smith, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, and Kerry Washington.
Maryland Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley detailed societal challenges still remaining, calling for gun control, gay marriage and abolishing the death penalty among other liberal priorities.
“Yes, thanks to Dr. King, America’s best days are still ahead of us,” said O’Malley, who could mount a presidential bid in 2016. Drawing on some language featured in civil rights ballads, he continued, “Love remains the strongest power in our country. Forward, we shall walk hand in hand, and in this great work, we are not afraid.”
Labor and interfaith figures as well as leaders in the African American community were also featured prominently during the program, with singers and other performers interspersed throughout the day.
”Dr. King said 1963 was not an end but a new beginning,” said Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. “Let us make today the start of a new chapter of history in this country. Let us march forward toward justice together.”
For Linda Nixon Haughton, whose sister was a civil rights activist with the Freedom Riders, the chance to see Obama speak 50 years after the battles fought by King and other civil rights leaders was especially moving.
She said it was gratifying “to be here today to hear a black man, a black president and all the ancestors that went before him.”
At the ceremony, some event goers in the diverse crowd sported T-shirts featuring the faces of both Obama and King, along with shirts bearing the Obama campaign slogan, “Forward.”
Wednesday’s events cap days of reflection in the nation’s capital, where remembrances have played out everywhere from cable television specials to high-profile events.
On Saturday, several members of Congress and other officials addressed a large rally on the Mall, where the discussion often turned to gay rights and voting rights.
“I think it’s significant because now we are celebrating the anniversary,” said Clifford Curtis, who attended the march 50 years ago. “But I think we have lost a lot of the gains that have come about. When you look at the gridlock in Congress and a lot of the legislation concerning voting and so forth, limiting the ability to vote for some people, I think that if we are not careful and we are not vigilant, there is a chance we may lose a lot of what we have gained.”
Florine Bell, who also was at the 1963 march, said despite feeling poorly, she was back to mark all that had been achieved in 50 years.
“Today, I’ve been struggling,” said Bell, 82. “I don’t feel well, but I wanted to come back from Powhatan, Va. — that’s where I’m from — to come back to this commemoration. I’m so proud of what we have accomplished, ’cause you know, we have come a long way. But we still have a lot to do.”
Charles Arterson, who saw King get arrested in Georgia in 1962, said the event highlighted the progress made since then.
“He was leading a march and got arrested and they took him away, and I have that memory,” Arterson said. “I was a small boy. To live and to see this going forward after 50 years, how many people we’ve lost but how much change. That’s beautiful.”
The 50th anniversary events on Wednesday are hosted in part by the nonprofit King Center and a coalition of other social justice organizations.
The ceremony also drew some side activity: The anti-war Code Pink protesters were in attendance, objecting to possible military action in Syria, and a cluster of young, racially diverse marchers paraded through the mall bearing signs with messages on education, the DREAM Act, and chanting calls for citizenship.


One of the more unusual repercussions from last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan may be a change in the way office towers are designed to rely less on electric illumination and more on natural light. A new window glass technology developed over several years by MIT and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is now being used in a Tokyo skyscraper to direct daylight as deep as 15 meters into the building’s interior.
Amid concerns about the ability of Japan’s cities to withstand another major power outage like the one experienced after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, EPFL’s Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Performance-Integrated Design (LIPID) began working with real estate developer Hulic to retrofit six floors of an existing modern office tower in Tokyo with the new windows. As a result, natural light is being drawn more than twice as far into the building as typical windows, which usually bring light only 6 meters into the interior, thus reducing energy usage.
The key to the technology is the enhancement of reflectivity on the top portion of the windows so that light bounces onto the office ceiling rather than into the eyes of the office workers. The glazing method in these window systems incorporates two materials that help channel the light: 1) an array of horizontal aluminum slats that reduce glare and block rays from pointing downward and 2) a clear acrylic cylinder attached to the slats that acts as a prism to diffuse the light laterally into the room. The top and bottom of the windows include two parabolic curves to catch light and point it toward the ceiling, which is also coated with reflective material to help draw the light farther into the interior.
This patented window system was developed by LIPID chief Marilyne Andersen, who began work on the technology several years ago with the cooperation of Hulic at MIT. This research was then developed further at EPFL before the windows were installed in September.
According to EPFL, most modern office buildings in Japan that have conventional windows function with their blinds closed to prevent glare and use twice as much artificial lighting as European skyscrapers. The hope, EPFL says, is that these windows will help Japanese developers reduce their reliance on electric lighting systems to meet stricter standards.


“Give me liberty or give me death!” So said Patrick Henry at the Virgina House of Burgess on March 23, 1775. Though an American uttered this statement, Egyptians are now embodying the same ideal. But there is reason to take pause. Though Egyptians have gained their independence, there are some responsibilities associated with this new found freedom.
As a proud Ahmadi Muslim American, I was appalled to see Muslims attacking an Alexandrian church a few weeks ago. Now that there is a need for a new government, Egyptians need to ensure religious freedom prevails. While Muslims might be the majority in Egypt, non-Muslims must have the same rights. Freedom should not give way to tyranny.
Saad Ahmed, Gilbert


Well, as I said before, the Universe is BIG, I mean really, really BIG. It's bigger than you or I can imagine!
So, Deep Space really is a "catch all" for anything that is outside of our Solar System. It is synonymous with what we call the known Universe.
Our Solar System is big enough with all the planets, minor planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and human built spacecraft and debris. To demonstrate the size of our solar system, the National Optical Observatory has what they call, the thousand yard model. It's a bit dated, but in a nutshell, our solar system is about 1 light-year across, or about six million million miles. The nearest star from us is Proxima Centauri, which 4.2 light years from us.
The edge of the solar system varies depending on the strength of the Solar Winds which strengthen and abate on the sun's 11 year cycle. If generally accepted the Termination Shock varies from 85 to 105 AU. That is 85 to 105 distances from the Earth to the Sun. This is between 85 and 105 billion miles (give or take). (The discrepancy between the 100 billion just quoted and the 1 light year above is that the solar system is not static, nor particular circular. And the size depends on whom you ask.
But our Solar System is part of the Milky Way galaxy. This is a rather large galaxy, and extends about 100,000 light years across. The Milky Way can be considered deep space.'
But it's only one of millions of galaxies and other objects that we can see and detect in the known universe. The picture at the top of this window is a galaxy. It’s called the “Sombrero Galaxy" and the picture is a composite of images from the Hubble and the Spitzer Space Telescopes.
There are also clusters of stars that are close together that have not formed into galaxies. (Star Clusters).
There are also huge pockets of gas that are coalescing to form stars (Planetary Nebulae) and even huger ones that are slowly forming new galaxies (Nebulae).
Stars like everything have life cycles. There are young stars, middle-age stars (our sun is a middle age star), and old ones.
Depending on the type of star, when they are old, they can collapse or explode. Stars that collapse can become pulsars, and stars that explode can become nova or, if they are really big stars, they can explode and become SuperNova.
The problem is that all of the known material in the known universe (everything just mentioned), accounts for a small percentage of matter.
So what's left? Well, there is a great question, and to be honest -- while we are theorizing today -- we honestly don't know the full answer.
There are theories of dark matter, anti-matter, black holes. This branch of science is called "Cosmology". There is another branch of science which ponders the why of the Universe. How did this happen? This branch is called "Cosmogony".
All of this is "Deep Space".
The following pages explore some of the elements that make up "Deep Space" I hope you enjoy them.