Thursday, September 13, 2007

Jeon Do-yeon
This is a Korean name; the family name is Jeon.
Jeon Do-yeon (전도연) (born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She won Prix d'interprétation féminine du Festival de Cannes (Best Actress) for Secret Sunshine in 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007


Awendaw is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,195 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Awendaw is located at 32°59′11″N, 79°38′36″W (32.986445, -79.643451).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 21.9 km² (8.4 mi²). 21.4 km² (8.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (2.01%) is water.

Geography
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,195 people, 400 households, and 312 families residing in the town. The population density was 55.7/km² (144.3/mi²). There were 443 housing units at an average density of 20.7/km² (53.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 64.60% African American, 34.39% White, 0.08% Asian, 0.59% from other races, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.92% of the population.
There were 400 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 19.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.47.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,250, and the median income for a family was $42,917. Males had a median income of $31,696 versus $21,422 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,781. About 13.5% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.

Awendaw, South Carolina Demographics
The city is run by an elected Mayor-council government system.
Mayor William H. Alston.
Council Members
Town Clerk

Jeffrey Coan, Sr., Mayor Pro Tempor
Delores Cooper
Miriam C. Green
Bryan McNeal, Jr.
The council is said to soon pass an ordinace to establish council districts and add two new council seats.
Samuel Brown The Blue Crab Festival
William H. Alston - African American Mayor of The Year for 2005 and mayor of Awendaw since 1992.
Sam Thompson - Opened Awendaw's first grocery store, Sam's Store. In 1929 it later became E & A Grocery & Gas and a National Landmark. It was burnt down in July 2005 by robbers who set it on fire, broke into the store after hours and stole the cash register.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Michel Rolle
Michel Rolle (April 21, 1652 - November 8, 1719) was a French mathematician. He is best known for Rolle's theorem (1691). He also invented the current standardized notation
sqrt[n>{x} to denote the nth root of displaystyle x.

Life
Rolle was born in Ambert, Basse-Auvergne. In 1675, he moved from Ambert to Paris and was elected in 1685 to join the Académie Royale des Sciences and became a Pensionnaire Géometre of the Académie (1699). He had then already been given a pension by Jean-Baptiste Colbert after solving one of Jacques Ozanam's problems.
Rolle was an early critic of calculus, arguing that it was inaccurate and based upon unsound reasoning. He later changed his opinion.
Rolle died in Paris.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Gretna, Nebraska
Gretna is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,355 at the 2000 census; the population was estimated to be 4,860 in 2005. Gretna has the fastest rate of growth of any Nebraska city since 2000.

Geography
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,355 people, 889 households, and 642 families residing in the city. The population density was 770.6/km² (1,996.2/mi²). There were 917 housing units at an average density of 300.0/km² (777.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.64% White, 0.04% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.
There were 889 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $50,112, and the median income for a family was $56,410. Males had a median income of $37,868 versus $27,569 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,729. About 2.3% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.



In ancient times as well as today, Feng shui, pronounced in English as [fʊŋ'ʃweɪ] ("fung shway"), was known as "Kan-Yu" which means 'The Law of Heaven and Earth.'
Feng shui is a discipline with guidelines that are compatible with many techniques of architectural planning. Space, weather, astronomy, and geomagnetism are basic components of feng shui. However, many believe there are inexplicable factors involved and so consider it a metaphysical art. Proponents claim that feng shui has an effect on health, wealth, and personal relationships.

Instrumentation
The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The "perfect spot" is a location and an axis in time. Some areas are not suitable for human settlement and should be left in their natural state.
Some current techniques can be traced to Neolithic China, while others were added in later times (most notably the Han dynasty, the Tang, and the Ming). Today, to determine a perfect spot, local manifestations of qi must be assessed for quality. Quality is determined by observations and by using a compass (Luopan).

Foundation theories
Qi is a difficult word to translate and is usually left untranslated. Literally the word means "air". In feng shui, "Qi" means "flow of energy". Max Knoll suggested in a 1951 lecture that qi is a form of solar radiation.

Qi (ch'i)
Polarity is expressed in feng shui as Yin and Yang. The polarity within feng shui is buildings of the living (yang) and buildings of the dead (yin).

Polarity
Two diagrams known as bagua (or pa kua) loom large in feng shui, and both predate their mentions in the Yijing or I Ching. The Lo (River) Chart (Luoshu, or Later Heaven Sequence) and the River Chart (Hetu, or Early Heaven Sequence) are linked to astronomical events of the sixth millennium BCE, and with the Turtle Calendar from the time of Yao.

Bagua (eight symbols)
An often-misunderstood term in Feng Shui is that of schools. A school (at least in Feng Shui) is a technique. The concept is well known to Chinese -- for example, the "Thousand Schools of Thought" mentioned by Mao Zedong. But Westerners often confuse the term with a physical school, when something less tangible may be meant. There are many 'masters' of the different Feng shui schools. However, some maintain that authentic masters impart their genuine knowledge of Feng shui only to selected students.

Bagua (relationship of the five phases or wuxing)
Five phases (wuxing relationships)
Xuan Kong (time and space methods)
Xuan Kong Fei Xing (Flying Stars methods of time and directions)
Xuan Kong Da Gua ("Secret Decree" or 64 gua relationships)
Xuan Kong Shui Fa (time and space water methods)
Zi Bai (Purple-White Flying Stars methods)
Ba Zhai(Eight Mansions)
San Yuan Dragon Gate Eight Formation
Major & Minor Wandering Stars
San He Luan Dou (24 Mountains, Mountain-Water relationships)
San He Shui Fa (water methods)
Qimen Dunjia (Eight Doors and Nine Stars methods)
Zi wei dou shu (Purple King, 24-star astrology) Fundamental techniques
One of the grievances mentioned when the anti-Western Boxer Rebellion broke out was that Westerners were violating the basic principles of Feng shui in their construction of railroads and other conspicuous public structures throughout China. At the time, the Westerners concerned had indeed little idea of or interest in such Chinese traditions.
Since Richard Nixon journeyed to China, Feng Shui has been rediscovered by Westerners. It has been reinvented by New Age entrepreneurs for Western consumption. Feng shui speaks to the profound role of magic, mystery, and order in American life. BTB Feng Shui has a unique and specially created bagua, with each of the eight compass segment directions representing a particular area of one's life.
Shen Dao Feng Shui - Developed in the late '70's by Harrison G.Kyng.
Shen Dao style became the first school of its type in the UK. Based upon both 'Form' and 'Compass' styles, Shen Dao utilises the Five Element modality to assess its clients health as well as their buildings harmony. This relationship is said to create a unique 'viewpoint' that can then be used to create a greater sense of harmony both inwardly and outwards. Shen Dao's unique compass uses the former heavenly sequence and expands the Ba Gua into over 300 harmonics that help to fine tune its results.

New Version
Victorian-era commentators on feng shui were generally ethnocentric, and as such skeptical and derogatory of what little they knew of feng shui.
Penn & Teller did an episode of their television show Bullshit! that featured several Feng Shui practitioners in the US, and was highly critical of the inconsistent (and frequently odd) advice. In the show, the entertainers argue that if Feng Shui is a science (as some claim), it should feature a consistent methodology.
People have reacted skeptically towards the alleged benefits of crystals, wind chimes, table fountains, and mirrored balls, etc., on one's life, finances, and relationships. Often, these claims are dismissed as New Age, pseudoscience, relying on the placebo effect, or even outright fraud.

Criticism
A growing body of research exists on what is now called "traditional" or "classical" feng shui.
Landscape ecologists find traditional feng shui an interesting study. that is feng shui.

Feng shui Current research
Architects in Sydney and Hong Kong were surveyed by researchers regarding their selection of the environment for a building and interior layout. The architects generally concurred with the ideal feng shui model.
It has also recently been included in the Lockie Leonard TV series.

Running Gags

Friday, September 7, 2007

Connie Chung Tonight
Connie Chung Tonight was a television newsmagazine with Connie Chung that aired from 2002 to 2003 on CNN/US. The show aired from 8 to 9 p.m. EST weeknights, at first live, then previously taped in a move the network hoped would improve the program's flow.
Although it achieved moderate audience ratings, her show was suspended with the start of the 2003 Iraq War, Chung's role shifting to reading news headlines. When CNN generally resumed regular programming, they did not bring Connie Chung Tonight back to air. The program was cancelled and Chung did not return to air on the network, despite a considerable period of time left on her employment contract.
In an interview, CNN founder Ted Turner once called the series "just awful."

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Light-year
A light-year or lightyear (symbol: ly) is a unit of measurement of length, specifically the distance light travels in a vacuum in one year. While there is no authoritative decision on which year is used, the IAU recommends the julian year.

Light-year Other light years
Distances measured in fractions of a light-year usually involve objects within a star system. Distances measured in light-years include distances between nearby stars, such as those in the same spiral arm or globular cluster.
One kilolight-year, abbreviated "kly", is one thousand light-years, or about 307 parsecs. Kilolight-years are typically used to measure distances between parts of a galaxy.
One megalight-year, abbreviated "Mly", is one million light-years, or about 306,600 parsecs. Megalight-years are typically used to measure distances between neighboring galaxies and galaxy clusters.
One gigalight-year, abbreviation "Gly", is one billion light-years — one of the largest distance measures used. One gigalight-year is about 306.6 million parsecs, or roughly one-thirteenth the distance to the horizon of the observable universe (dictated by the cosmic background radiation). Gigalight-years are typically used to measure distances to supergalactic structures, such as clusters of quasars or the Great Wall.
(The moon is roughly 384400 kilometers from Earth, on average. 384400km ÷ 300000km/second (roughly the speed of light) ≈ 1.28 seconds)