What is a Network Packet Broker?
A Network Packet Broker (NPB) is a switch-like network device ranging in size from portables devices to 1 and 2 RU units, up to massive chassis and blade systems. Unlike a switch, a Network Packet Broker does not alter the traffic passing through it in any way unless specifically instructed to do so. An NPB can accept traffic on one or more interfaces, perform some pre-defined function on that traffic, and output it to one or more interfaces.
This is commonly referred to as "any to any", "many to any", and "any to many" port mapping. The functions that can be performed can be as simple as forwarding or dropping traffic and as complex as filtering on Layer 5+ information to identify a specific session. The interfaces on an NPB can be copper connections but are frequently SFP/SFP+ and QSFP cages to allow a broad variety of media and bandwidth speeds to be used. The feature sets of NPBs are built around the principle of maximizing the efficiency of network appliances; particularly monitoring, analysis, and security tools.
What capabilities do Network Packet Brokers offer?
The capabilities of an NPB are numerous and can vary depending on the make and model of the device, though a core set of features are expected of any competent packet broker. The majority of NPBs, thus the ones most frequently encountered, function at OSI Layers 2 - 4.
Typically, you can expect to find the following features on an L2-4 NPB: redirection of traffic (or a specific portion of it), traffic filtering, traffic replication, protocol stripping, the ability to slice (truncate) packets, the ability to initiate or terminate various network tunneling protocols, and load balancing of traffic. As might be expected, an L2-4 NPB can filter on VLAN, MPLS tags, MAC address (source and destination), IP Address (source and dest.), TCP and UDP Ports (source and dest.), even TCP flags, as well as ICMP, SCTP, and ARP traffic. This is by no means an exhaustive list of capabilities but should offer an idea of how an NPB operating at Layers 2 - 4 can separate and identify traffic subsets. One critical requirement that a customer should look for in an NPB is that of a non-blocking backplane.
A Network Packet Broker needs to be able to support the full traffic throughput of every port on the device; in chassis-based systems, the interconnect to the backplane also needs to be able to support the full traffic load of the attached module. Your tools are only as good as the traffic they receive and if the NPBs are dropping packets then the tools do not have a complete picture of the network.
While the vast majority of NPBs are based on ASICs or FPGAs, due to the packet processing performance advantage and their purely deterministic nature, you will find a number that either incorporate or can accept (via modules) CPUs. This is usually to offer features that require flexibility in processing and therefore cannot purely be done in hardware. These features include functions such as packet deduplication, time stamping, SSL/TLS decryption, keyword searching, and regular expression search. There is a caveat with features that depend on CPU horsepower though; the performance of such functions is highly dependent on external variables (e.g. a regex search of the same pattern can net very different performance results depending on the type of traffic, match rate, and bandwidth)and is not easily determined prior to actual implementation. CPU dependent features will be the limiting factor in an NPBs overall performance if they are enabled. CPUs, along with the advent of programmable switching silicon (e.g. Cavium Xpliant, Barefoot Tofino, Innovium Teralynx), also serve as the basis for the expanded feature sets of the Next Generation Network Packet Broker, units that can handle traffic beyond L4 (commonly referred to as L7 Packet Brokers). Of the aforementioned advanced features, keyword and regular expression searches are a great example of Next Gen features. The ability to search the payload of the packet creates the opportunity to filter traffic at the Session and Application Layers and offers far more granular control than L2-4 units can provide to evolving networks.
How does a Network Packet Broker fit into the infrastructure?
A Network Packet Broker can be installed into the network infrastructure in two different ways: inline and out-of-band. Each of these roles offers pros and cons and enables traffic manipulation in ways that the other cannot. Inline, a Network Packet Broker has live network traffic traversing the device en route to its destination. This offers the opportunity to manipulate the traffic in real-time; for instance, duplicating the traffic to a second link while adding, modifying, or removing a VLAN tag or altering the destination IP Address. In an inline role, an NPB can also provide redundancy to other inline tools such as an IDS, IPS, or Firewall. The NPB can monitor the status of such a device and, in the case of a failure, dynamically reroute traffic to a hot spare.
Out-of-band, traffic is copied off of the network via Network TAPs or SPAN/ Mirror ports. This offers a lot of flexibility in how this traffic can be manipulated and replicated to multiple monitoring and security appliances without any impact on the live network. This offers an unprecedented level of network visibility and ensures that all devices receive a copy of the traffic needed to perform their duties properly. Not only does it ensure that your monitoring, security, and analysis tools get the traffic they need; it can also guarantee that they do not expend resources on traffic that is not needed. Maybe your Network Analyzer doesn't need to record the traffic from your backups, which uses up valuable disk space in the process. Something like that is easily filtered out of the feed to the analyzer while retaining all other traffic to that tool. Perhaps you have an entire subnet that you want to guarantee remains hidden from some other systems; again, this is easily dropped on selected egress ports. Indeed, a single NPB could handle some traffic links inline while handling other traffic out-of-band simultaneously.
What common problems do Network Packet Brokers solve?
We have already touched on the features and while doing so, some potential applications for Network Packet Brokers; now let's focus on the most common pain points that NPBs address.
The number one challenge that Network Packet Brokers address is that of limited access. Put another way, it is the challenge of getting a copy of the network traffic to each and every security and monitoring appliance that needs it. When you turn on a SPAN port, or better, install TAPs in your environment, you have a single source of traffic that probably needs to go to many tools. Furthermore, any given tool should really be receiving traffic from multiple points within the network in order to eliminate blind spots. So how do you get all of that traffic to every tool?
A Network Packet Broker remedies this in two ways: It can accept a traffic feed and duplicate an exact copy of that traffic out to as many tools as the Packet Broker has available ports. Not only that but the NPB can take traffic from multiple sources at separate points in the network and aggregate them together for output to a single tool. Put these two functions together and you can accept all feeds from your SPANs and TAP monitor ports into your NPB, aggregate them as needed and output a copy of that traffic to each and every tool in your environment, all while maintaining granular control of exactly what traffic is sent to each tool. This also includes traffic that a tool may not normally be able to handle.
As previously mentioned, it is possible to strip protocols from traffic that may otherwise prevent a tool from interpreting it. The NPB can also terminate tunnels, such as GRE, so that the traffic contained within can be parsed by your various tools.
The Packet Broker also serves as the central hub for adding new tools into the environment. Whether inline or out-of-band, a new appliance can be connected to the NPB and, with a few quick edits to the existing rule table, the new device can be receiving network traffic without any interruption to the rest of the network or any rewiring.
Network Packet Brokers help you get the most out of your monitoring and security appliances; both from an efficacy and ROI standpoint. Let's consider a few potential scenarios you may encounter with these tools. It's fair to say that a lot of your monitoring/security appliances are probably wasting processing power on traffic that is not relevant to that device. Eventually, you will likely get to the point where the device has reached its limitations processing both useful and not so useful traffic. At this point, the vendor for that appliance will certainly be happy sell you a beefed-up replacement with even more processing capability to solve your problem...for a time, anyway. What if we could just get rid of the traffic that is meaningless to the tool in question before it gets there.
Additionally, let's assume an appliance really only looks at header information for the traffic it receives. Slicing the packet to remove the payload and just forwarding the header info can reduce the traffic load to the tool dramatically; so why wouldn't we? A Network Packet Broker can do just that; extending the useful service life of your existing tools and reducing the need to upgrade as frequently.
You could find yourself in a situation where you have exhausted the available interfaces on a device that may still have plenty of processing overhead available. It could even be that the interfaces aren't carrying anywhere near their available capacity of traffic. Aggregation with the NPB will address this. By aggregating the data streams going to your appliance at the NPB you can make the most of each interface that device has to offer; optimizing the bandwidth utilization and freeing up interfaces.
Another similar scenario is one where your network infrastructure has, say, moved to 10G while your appliance only has 1G interfaces. The appliance may still be able to easily process the amount of traffic that is on those links but is simply unable to negotiate the speed of the link. An NPB can effectively act as a speed converter in this scenario and get the traffic to the tool. If bandwidth is becoming a constraint then the NPB can also drop irrelevant traffic, perform packet slicing, and load-balance the remaining traffic across the available interfaces of the tool, once again extending its useful service life.
Similarly, the Network Packet Broker can also serve as a media converter while performing these functions; if an appliance has only copper interfaces but needs to handle traffic from fiber links the NPB is once again able to get the traffic to that appliance by serving as an intermediary.
The preceding examples really build up to the next point. Network Packet Brokers allow an organization to get the maximum benefit from their investments. If you have a TAP infrastructure, then the Packet Broker extends access to the tapped traffic to all devices that require it. The NPB reduces wasted resources by eliminating irrelevant traffic and offloading various functions from network tools so they can handle the function they were designed for. The Network Packet Broker can be utilized to add an extra level of fault tolerance and even network automation to your environment; increasing responsiveness, reducing downtime, and freeing up personnel to focus on other tasks. The increased efficiency brought about by the NPB increases network visibility, reduces CapEx and OpEx, and strengthens your organization's security posture.
In this article, we took a broad look at what a Network Packet Broker is, what capabilities should be expected of any viable NPB, how an NPB can be implemented into the network and the most common problems that they address. This is by no means an exhaustive thesis on Network Packet Brokers but hopefully, this helped to clarify any questions or confusion about these devices. Perhaps some of the examples above illustrate how a Network Packet Broker can solve issues in your network or prompted some thinking about how you can increase efficiency in your environment. In future articles we will take a look at some specific problems and how we at Cubro have addressed them with our lineup of TAPs, Network Packet Brokers, and Probes.
Thank you to Derek Burke from Cubro for the article.


Why am I getting the "R6030 - CRT not initialized" runtime error on my Lenovo Windows 7 computer?
The same error may come out multiple times. Then another error box is displayed: "SynLenovo Helper tool has stopped working". And this error box may come out multiple times too.
The problem is caused by incompatible DLL libraries between the "SynLenovo Helper tool" and the Windows system. "SynTPEnh Caller Service" is a Windows 7 service provided by SynTPEnhService.exe program file.
One way to solve the problem is stop and disable the "SynTPEnh Caller Service - SynTPEnhService.exe" service, instead of troubleshoot which DLL library is causing the problem.
So run "services.msc", stop and disable "SynTPEnh Caller Service - SynTPEnhService.exe" service. The problem will go away.


Australia: Could a police officer claim damages for psychiatric injury after attending a fatal accident? Which case won?
The police officer had to deal with the arrival of the driver's parents at the scene of the accident and had to indicate to them that their son would not survive. The driver's parents had to say goodbye to him at the accident scene.
The fact of having to deal with the driver's parents added an extra level of trauma for the policeman, over and above the trauma of dealing with the driver's injuries, which proved to be fatal.
The police officer developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of what he witnessed at the motor vehicle accident scene. He made a claim under Queensland's Motor Accident Insurance Act�for psychiatric injuries that he sustained while dealing with the horrific circumstances of the accident and the parents of the driver.
It was reasonably foreseeable that any police officer who attended the scene of the car accident caused by the driver's negligence would suffer a psychiatric injury.
I was not a mere "bystander" to the driver's death. I comforted him, I tried to comfort his parents and I assisted them to say a final farewell to their son. Then I watched him die.
I did everything I could to keep the driver alive � I cleared his airway, encouraged him and alerted the firefighters not to cut him from his vehicle until the paramedics arrived, to reduce the risk of a heart attack. My role was that of a "rescuer".
Even though as a police officer I was trained in employing techniques of emotional detachment to guard against psychiatric harm at scenes of trauma, my "armour" of detachment was pierced by the intense humanity of the situation.


I'm not saying the original 3DS is bad. I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is that the New Nintendo 3DS seems so good. It would've been nice to have this from the get go.
But, wait, you say, what is this? What's so damn new about it?
The New Nintendo 3DS is a revamped 3DS with a corny "New" in its official name. There is nothing corny about this handheld, though. It's as though Nintendo took a long, hard look at what was lacking and then tried to address that with the New Nintendo 3DS.
The hardware comes in two flavors: standard-sized and XL (which is called "LL" in Japan, because there is no "XL" clothing size). These units are slightly different dimensions from the previous hardware.
Be aware that the New 3DS XL does not have a larger screen. If you need more comparison info, check here and here.
What's more, it does not have faceplates that can be swapped out like the smaller NN3DS.
In Japan, Nintendo is charging 1,000 yen for simple colored face plates and up to 3,000 yen for more elaborate ones. This is probably easier (and cheaper) for Nintendo than releasing special edition NN3DS handhelds. Those who like special edition hardware, take heart: Nintendo is releasing limited edition NN3DS XL units as the consoles don't have faceplates.
There are also new ZR and ZL buttons. They are fairly comfortable, and you can easily press them with the tips of your fingers and then press the R and L shoulder buttons with the middle of your finger, no problem. At least, I could.
For extra storage, the New Nintendo 3DS also uses a Micro SD Card, which is located under the handheld's cover. And what about juice? The battery life for the New Nintendo 3DS is from 3.5 to 6 hours, while the battery life for the New Nintendo 3DS XL is from 3.5 to 7 hours. In comparison, the "old" 3DS has a battery life of 3 to 5 hours, and the "old" 3DS XL has a battery life of 3.5 to 6.5 hours.
Let's suss out what I liked and what I did not. Ready?
Speed: Thankfully, the New Nintendo 3DS is faster. It downloads and boots games quicker, which is incredibly welcome. When Nintendo originally announced the NN3DS and trumpeted its "faster speed," I thought, eh, whatever. Big mistake! Going back to the original 3DS after using the New Nintendo 3DS makes you notice just. How. Slow. The handheld is.
C-Stick: For years now, players have been asking Nintendo for a second control input to control the in-game camera—and more. So far, the C-Stick seems to do a serviceable job as a camera control in Monster Hunter 4G and, more importantly, it's a welcome addition to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
How The New Nintendo 3DS's C-Stick Works in Super Smash Bros.
Oh, and Monster Hunter. Let's not forget that. Very important!
I'm very glad Nintendo added this stick. Granted, it's not perfect by any stretch—and I really hope the next Nintendo hardware iteration has a much better C-Stick. But for now, it'll do.
Larger Screen (on the regular-sized NN3DS): The NN3DS XL's screen is the same size as the 3DS XL's, but the standard-sized New Nintendo 3DS does get a larger screen. As with the increased speed, the larger screen is most welcomed. It makes the handheld a little easier on the eyes, and actually makes the NN3DS a decent compromise for those who want a slightly larger screen, but don't want a large handheld like the XL.
Better 3D: For years, I've hated the 3D effect for the Nintendo 3DS. Hated it! I didn't like how it felt like I was also adjusting the slider should my head move. It was not a pleasant experience—for me, at least. Yes, I realize many other gamers enjoy the effect. Well, good news, those folks should really enjoy how the Nintendo pulls off the 3D effect with the NN3DS. And grumps like me, who hated the original effect, might want to give it a second chance with the New Nintendo 3DS.
Since the NN3DS now has head tracking software, it adjusts to you—instead of you adjusting to it. This makes a world of difference, and I've found the 3D surprisingly comfortable. It might have been a cost issue at the time, but Nintendo should have launched the original 3DS with this tech. I feel like it finally fulfils Nintendo's original promise of 3D gaming.
The Touch Pen: Okay, it's...a touch pen. A stylus! Nothing revolutionary about that. But, the top end of it has a little tool that can help you pry off the changeable faceplates. It's a small touch, but clever.
Look and Feel: I'll tell you want: The white with Super Famicom-colored buttons New Nintendo 3DS looks utterly fantastic. It's really a lovely portable. The nice, matte finish is smooth to the touch, and the NN3DS is just a pleasure to look at and play. It's subtle and classy. I like it.
Power Button: I've previously addressed this, and it really feels like a design flaw. The power button is oddly...small. And because of that, you can press directly on it and not power on or off the consoles, because your thumb doesn't end up applying pressure to the small, round button.
It reminds me of using a toothpick to put in a hole on a CD-ROM drive to get it to eject. While some gamers might think it's great that the console is hard to turn on (and off, for that matter) because they always leave their handheld in sleep, I just wonder why Nintendo couldn't use a more oblong-shaped power button that would still prevent it from turning on or off accidentally, but give you more real estate to press on when you power on or off the machine. Not a deal breaker, but still.
Flappy Hinges: Likewise, not a deal breaker, but something I hope Nintendo will fix in future portables. There's already too much flap and flop!
Separates 3DS Owners: When not releasing new games, Nintendo is releasing new hardware. And sometimes, it can feel like Nintendo is burning the candle at both ends. So now, there are games that run on the 3DS and have NN3DS specific controls, like the camera in Monster Hunter 4G and the Smash Attack in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. But, in the future, there will be NN3DS exclusive games. Xenoblade Chronicles, for example.
Monolith Soft's 2010 open-world RPG is going portable.
How confusing is that for a regular consumer? Imagine buying a new Nintendo 3DS and Xenoblade, only to realize it is not a New Nintendo 3DS and your handheld cannot run the game. And as someone who now has a New Nintendo 3DS, I am happy (overjoyed!) that it will get games that will take advantage of its speed and power. If I did not have one (and wasn't playing on getting one), I'd be annoyed. Honestly, I don't like that.
So? Should I get one?
This is a nicely reworked handheld. It's still a 3DS, but it feels fresh, new, and most importantly, well thought-out. And you know what? So far, so good. The New Nintendo 3DS is the gaming equivalent of a tuned car. They might appear roughly the same, but open it up and look inside. It appears as though considerable work has been done on this handheld.
You didn't answer my question. Should I get one?
You know, you can simply enjoy your Nintendo 3DS and hope that this tanks so Nintendo doesn't release a buncha NN3DS exclusive titles.
But let's be honest, this is a handheld with a new stick, two new buttons on the back, and more powerful innards. That's a significant change from simply a brighter screen. As time grinds on, Nintendo is going to release more and more NN3DS exclusive titles, perhaps trying to move everyone over to the NN3DS—if anything, I'm guessing to sell more hardware. Nintendo is a business, not a charity, so I understand that. So, if you like Nintendo games and if this does well, you're probably going to end up with one of these. Eventually.
Okay, then. Which one should I get?
If you are simply going on appearances, the white one I got with Super Famicom buttons really looks the best. I think! The screen is bigger, so if you have a regular sized 3DS, the screen will obviously be a step up. Also, some people will get into the faceplates, no doubt, and those aren't available on the current New Nintendo 3DS XL units. Though, knowing Nintendo, I'm betting there will eventually be a faceplate NN3DS XL model. But if you are used to the 3DS XL's screen and like the GameCube color pattern, then go for that.
I like the New Nintendo 3DS. I'm glad I got one. But I would have been happier picking this handheld up in 2011 when the 3DS was originally released. Guess I'll just have to settle for 2014.
The New Nintendo 3DS is priced at 16,000 yen ($154), and the New Nintendo 3DS XL is priced at 18,800 yen ($181). It was released in Japan on October 11. Next month, the NN3DS will be released in Australia, and it is expected in North America and Europe sometime in 2015.


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pbReplaceScopeAll 2 All need to be replaced.
pbReplaceScopeNone 0 None need to be replaced.
pbReplaceScopeOne 1 One needs to be replaced.


A manufacturing company froze its defined benefit pension plan in 2005, but the plan did not have enough assets to terminate. In late 2009, the firm received some good news: It was sitting on a sizeable amount of cash, and its accountants informed it that for a variety of financial reasons it would be advantageous to make a large, deductible contribution to the pension plan. But the company's Milliman actuary gave it some bad news: The large contribution it could afford would not be quite enough to terminate the plan right away. The favorable financial situation would not last beyond early 2010, so how could the firm best take advantage of the opportunity to fund up its pension plan?
The pension plan had an unlimited lump-sum provision, and nearly all participants elected to receive a lump sum when they left. This meant that the bulk of benefits would likely be paid as lump sums when the plan terminated, rather than as annuities. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) changed the interest rates that are used to determine lump sum amounts. Prior to PPA, lump-sum interest rates were based on 30-year Treasury rates. With PPA, lump-sum interest rates are based on yield rates for higher-quality corporate bonds. The PPA lump-sum interest rates are generally higher than 30-year Treasury rates, which means they produce generally lower lump-sum amounts. But for 2008 through 2012, there is a transition from the 30-year Treasury rates to the corporate bond rates, with the corporate bond rates phased in by 20% each year. For example, 2009 lump-sum amounts are based on 60% of 30-year Treasury rates plus 40% of corporate bond rates. By 2012, the PPA lump-sum interest rates will be fully phased in. This means that, all other things being equal, lump-sum amounts will be lower in 2012 than they are in 2009.
The Milliman actuary suggested that the company take advantage of the lower lump-sum amounts that will apply in 2012. The actuary determined the amount that would be needed to fully fund the plan on a termination basis in 2009, but based on the fully phased-in lump-sum interest rates that would apply in 2012 rather than the partially phased-in lump-sum interest rates that actually applied in 2009. The company was able to contribute and deduct this amount, plus a cushion to cover the expected administrative expenses of the plan termination. The company could then sit back and wait for 2012 and the fully phased-in lump-sum interest rates that year would bring, knowing that it would be able to terminate the plan at that point without needing to contribute additional funds.
But in order for the future to unfold in this rosy fashion, the company needed to take one crucial additional step: change how the plan's assets were invested. There were two significant risks that the plan would face between 2009 and 2012. The first was equity risk, or the risk that the stock portion of the plan's portfolio would not perform as expected over the next few years. It is obvious that poor stock performance would be a problem, as it would cause the plan to return to an underfunded position. On the other hand, good stock performance could create a surplus that would not provide the plan sponsor any advantage because when it terminates, the surplus would either need to be allocated to the participants or be returned to the company and be subject to not only income tax but also a 50% excise tax. As neither outcome was desirable, the company decided to avoid equity risk completely by selling all of the plan's stock holdings.
The second risk facing the plan was interest rate risk, which affects both the plan's assets and the plan's liabilities. On the asset side, the plan's bond holdings would fluctuate in value based on how bond rates change over time. On the liability side, the lump-sum amounts that would be paid in 2012 would be higher or lower depending on corporate bond rates at that time. The Milliman actuary advised the company to change the plan's portfolio so that it consisted of the same types of high-quality corporate bonds upon which the lump-sum interest rates were based, and so that the mix of bonds at different durations matched the durations of the plan's liabilities. For instance, 15% of the plan's liability was for benefits expected to be paid within the next five years, with an average duration of 2.3 years; the plan’s portfolio should therefore be restructured so that 15% of the assets are invested in high-quality corporate bonds with an average duration of 2.3 years. This liability-driven investment (LDI) approach means that the plan's assets and liabilities would be affected to the same extent—up or down—by changes in bond rates, so the full funding achieved in 2009 would remain in place through 2012.
The company made the large, deductible contribution and shifted the plan’s portfolio into high-quality corporate bonds with the right mix of durations to match its liabilities. Whether bond rates rise by 2012 as many economists are predicting, bond rates fall, or bond rates stay about the same, both the plan's assets and the plan's termination liabilities will move in tandem, preserving the current funding level and ensuring that the company will be able to terminate the plan in 2012. Are all risks eliminated by the LDI approach? No—there is always the chance that the laws governing pension plans will change, that the plan will experience many more deaths or retirements than anticipated, that participants will elect more annuities than lump sums, or that the company will decide to restart its pension plan rather than terminate it. But the strategy devised by the Milliman actuary gave this company the comfort that it was controlling the risks it could control, and also put it in a position to terminate the plan in 2012.


New York (CNN) -- A collection of 46 never-before-seen photos from The Beatles' first concerts in the United States was auctioned off for more than $350,000 at a New York auction house on Wednesday.
The evening's biggest sellers included a close-up of John Lennon and Paul McCartney singing into a microphone, which sold for $30,000 and an image of the four Beatles shot from behind, which went for $68,500.
The auction, held at Christie's in Manhattan, was expected to bring in about $100,000, but the grand total ended up being $361,938.
The Washington, D.C.-based photographer behind the show was 18 when he took the photos.
Mike Mitchell, who is now 65, said that the thought of someday auctioning off the photos for such a large sum had never crossed his mind as a rookie photographer vying for a press pass to see the Fab Four.
"Nobody knew where The Beatles would go," he said. "They kind of marched and everybody fell in step behind them."
When Mitchell heard The Beatles were making their first trip across the Atlantic, he managed to get a press pass from a magazine he worked for.
"I had realized that the camera was really a ticket to a lot of places one might not be able to go otherwise," he said.
Some of the photos that were auctioned off were taken on Feb. 11, 1964, at the Washington Coliseum -- The Beatles' first concert in the United States. The others were taken at the Baltimore Civic Center in September of that year.
Mitchell chose the 46 photos to be auctioned from about 450 negatives that had been collecting dust since the 1964 concerts.
He chose group shots, close-ups and even photos without any faces.
One of his favorite photos is an image of Ringo Starr's jeweled hands. Another is a photo of one of The Beatles' boots on a stage littered with jelly beans.
Mitchell had to scan and restore the photos for the auction.
"I had to remove all the dust and scratches that had accumulated over that time," he said. He decided to release the photos because "it was time," he said.
Cathy Elkies, director of iconic collections at Christie's, said she was nervous going into the auction because Mitchell was a relatively unknown name, but that the photographs and their subjects spoke for themselves.
"They are beautiful, they are intimate, they are evocative," she said. "And the fact that he was 18 just is really a very sobering idea."
And the fact that the photos had never been seen added to the success of the auction, Elkies said.
"Beatles fans just think they've seen it all so to have the opportunity to bring something to market that was never seen before was great," she said.


Will Microsoft's HoloLens be the future of how creatives and gamers interact with their computers?
RRP: Developer Edition £2,719. Commercial Suite edition £4,529.
Will Microsoft's HoloLens be the future of how creatives and gamers interact with their computers? I got some time with a development version to find out, and while most of the demo was focussed on how the average person might use it in the home, I got some insight into how you could use it to create too.
I could look down, and see its rust-coloured soil beneath my feet. If I turned around, I could see rocks and soil stretching to the horizon. If I physically walked forward, I could see new objects, objects that I could explore if I knelt down.
Meet HoloLens, part of what Microsoft called Microsoft Holographic during its Wednesday morning introduction of the Windows 10 consumer preview. It's part of a project by Microsoft Research and Alex Kipman - the man who is credited with helping design the Microsoft Kinect - to rethink how users interact with machines.
"It's the virtual world blended with the real world," Kipman said during the keynote. He's exactly right. And we got to try it out.
HoloLens was conceived in the bowels of the Microsoft visitor center, and that's what a collection of reporters trooped downstairs to see. Unfortunately, Microsoft banned reporters from bringing audio or video recording equipment to document our adventure, so you'll just have to depend on Microsoft's concept shots and your own imagination.
The HoloLens prototype that Microsoft demonstrated onstage bears little resemblance to the development hardware down below. I was able to examine the keynote prototype closely: With an eyeshade surrounding it, it looks like something the Daft Punk might wear. Inside, there's a pair of lenses upon which images are projected, with a padded headband to secure it. Although Google's Glass uses an overlay to project information about the world, HoloLens feels far more interactive - it's a truer version of augmented reality.
The development version of HoloLens is much, much rougher. It's a two-piece operation, with a special "holographic processor" (HPU) mounted in what's essentially a large NUC, strapped to your chest. The goggles themselves are part of something that looks like a skullcap and is tightened to your head with straps. This hardware is far more about function than form. You'd probably call it ugly.
What you "see" is a smart version of augmented reality, confined to a rectangle about the size of a large phablet, about six inches in front of your face. Within that the magic happens: Virtual images spring to life. But the HoloLens "knows" where they are, so that you can walk around them, kneel, or stand over them, and they remain in place. It's uncanny. And a Kinect-like depth camera mounted in the HoloLens can "scan" the objects around you, too. More on that later.
There are several ways way of interacting with what you see. "Clicks" are triggered by holding your hand out a short distance from your face, and raising and lowering your index finger in a gesture. It then "clicks" where you're looking, using a cursor that follows your gaze. HoloLens worked perfectly for Microsoft employees used to the gesture, but I wasn't as proficient. You can also issue commands to the HoloLens, which can double as macros.
I saw the fruits of Microsoft's partnership with NASA last, but it's worth talking about first.
Sure, cynics may pooh-pooh it as just another version of Google Maps on Mars, with a little VR worked in. Nonsense. Any kid at heart--4 or 40--would love this.
After the HoloLens was attached, I dialed "Alice" using an (unfortunately) 2D version of Skype that floated in my vision. Alice appeared, and explained my mission: Using some physical tools and her instructions, I would install a new light switch. Her version of Skype allowed her to see what I saw, and draw arrows and diagrams to help me. And to make it easier, I could "pin" her Skype window out of my field of vision. I did as I was told, an engineer turned on the power, and voila! I was a handyman.
You're probably familiar with Project Spark, Microsoft's collaborative venture that aims to turn gamers into game creators. I'm not really sold on the concept of Spark, but the similarly polished Holo Studio looks fun.
Holo Studio posits that augmented reality is the gateway into 3D printing, and provides a collection of virtual objects to stick together, to form a koala (below) or a truck or an X-Wing fighter. The tools were robust and showed a surprisingly cohesive design aesthetic - this looked like a product, not a demo. We didn't have a chance to play with it, but Microsoft demo personnel created 3D objects on the fly, painting them and 'magnetising' them together, even using oral 'copy' commands to reproduce several steps again and again.
It's not exactly Mudbox, and we've covered the problems for professional 3D artists trying to model in 3D space before - but it would be great to see the likes of Autodesk or The Foundry overcome those problems and create a truly useful AR 3D modelling environment.
I asked one of our stylishly dressed guides: Would HoloLens be something she'd be seen in? No, another chimed in, because this wasn't designed to be worn outside, but inside, "for work and play." That's a smart answer, as it avoids the whole "Glasshole" insult and makes HoloLens a product to be shared among friends and colleagues.
Microsoft's HoloLens brings virtual reality closer to the consumer but it also has real attractions and opportunities for professionals in the creative industries.
Control an octopus with the latest Kinect hack Google I/O preview: Android to drive deeper into domestic IoT?


What are hydrophytes? In general terms, hydrophytes (hydrophytic plants) are plants that are adapted to survive in oxygen-challenged aquatic environments.
Hydrophytic plants have several adaptations that allow them to survive in water. For example, water lilies and lotus are anchored in the soil by shallow roots. The plants are equipped with long, hollow stems that reach the surface of the water, and large, flat, waxy leaves that allow the top of the plant to float. The plants grow in water as deep as 6 feet.
Other types of hydrophytic plants, such as duckweed or coontail, are not rooted in the soil; they float freely on the surface of the water. The plants have air sacs or large spaces between the cells, which provide buoyancy that allows the plant to float on top of the water.
Some types, including eelgrass or hydrilla, are completely submerged in water. These plants are rooted in the mud.
Hydrophytic plants grow in water or in soil that is consistently wet. Examples of hydrophyte habitats include fresh or salt water marshes, savannahs, bays, swamps, ponds, lakes, bogs, fens, quiet streams, tidal flats and estuaries.
Hydrophytic plant growth and location depends on a number of factors, including climate, water depth, salt content, and soil chemistry.
Several interesting carnivorous plants are hydrophytic, including sundew and northern pitcher plant. Orchids that grow in hydrophytic environments include white-fringed orchid, purple-fringed orchid, green wood orchid and rose pogonia.


Tahon Marie Lecorvé Gwénolé and Lolive Damien. Can we Generate Emotional Pronunciations for Expressive Speech Synthesis?, In IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 2018.
Elisabeth Delais-Roussarie, Damien Lolive, Hiyon Yoo and David Guennec. Rhythmic Patterns and Literary Genres in Synthesized Speech, In Speech Prosody 2016, 2016.
Katarina Bartkova, Denis Jouvet, Elisabeth Delais-Roussarie. Prosodic Parameters and Prosodic Structures of French Emotional Data, In Speech Prosody 2016, 2016.
Marie Tahon, Raheel Qader, Gwénolé Lecorvé and Damien Lolive. Improving TTS with corpus-specific pronunciation adaptation, In Proceedings of the International Conference on Speech Communication and Technology (Interspeech), 2016.
Marie Tahon, Raheel Qader, Gwénolé Lecorvé and Damien Lolive. Optimal feature set and minimal training size for pronunciation adaptation in TTS , In Proceedings of the International Conference on Statistical Language and Speech Processing (SLSP), 2016.
Pierre Alain, Jonathan Chevelu, David Guennec, Gwénolé Lecorvé and Damien Lolive. The IRISA Text-To-Speech System for the Blizzard Challenge 2016. In Blizzard Challenge 2016 Workshop, Sep 2016, Cupertino, USA.
Pierre Alain, Nelly Barbot, Jonathan Chevelu, Gwénolé Lecorvé, Damien Lolive, Claude Simon and Marie Tahon. The IRISA Text-To-Speech System for the Blizzard Challenge 2017. In Blizzard Challenge 2017 Workshop, Aug 2017, Stockholm, Sweden.
Raheel Qader, Gwénolé Lecorvé, Damien Lolive, Marie Tahon, Pascale Sébillot. Statistical Pronunciation Adaptation for Spontaneous Speech Synthesis. In Proc. of Text, Speech and Dialogue (TSD), Prague, Czech Republic, 2017.
Marie Tahon, Gwénolé Lecorvé, Damien Lolive, Raheel Qader. Perception of expressivity in TTS: linguistics, phonetics or prosody?, In Proc. of the International Conference on Statistical Language and Speech Processing (SLSP), Le Mans, France, 2017.
Aghilas Sini, Damien Lolive, Gaëlle Vidal, Marie Tahon and Élisabeth Delais-Roussarie. SynPaFlex-Corpus: An Expressive French Audiobooks Corpus Dedicated to Expressive Speech Synthesis, In Proc. of LREC, Miyazaki, Japan, 2018.
Marie Tahon and Damien Lolive. Discourse phrases classification: direct vs. narrative audio speech, In Proc. of Speech Prosody, Poznań, Poland, 2018.
Pierre Alain, Gwénolé Lecorvé, Damien Lolive, Antoine Perquin.
The IRISA Text-To-Speech System for the Blizzard Challenge 2018. In Blizzard Challenge 2018 Workshop, Sep 2018, Hyderabad, India.
Raheel Qader, Gwénolé Lecorvé, Damien Lolive and Pascale Sébillot. Disfluency Insertion for Spontaneous TTS: Formalization and Proof of Concept, In Proc. of the International Conference on Statistical Language and Speech Processing (SLSP), Mons, Belgium, 2018.
Antoine Perquin, Gwénolé Lecorvé, Damien Lolive and Laurent Amsaleg. Phone-Level Embeddings for Unit Selection Speech Synthesis, In Proc. of the International Conference on Statistical Language and Speech Processing (SLSP), Mons, Belgium, 2018.
Elisabeth Delais-Roussarie, Damien Lolive, Hiyon Yoo and David Guennec. Patrons Rythmiques et Genres Littéraires en Synthèse de la Parole, In Actes de la conférence JEP 2016, 2016.
Aghilas Sini, Elisabeth Delais-Roussarie, Damien Lolive. Annotation automatique des types de discours dans des livres audio en vue d’une oralisation par un système de synthèse, In Actes des Traitement Automatique du Langage Naturel (TALN), Rennes, France, 2018.


This article is about the semi-automatic pistol. For the Colt Model 1902 "Philippine"revolver, see Colt M1878.
The Model 1902 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by famous American firearms designer John Browning and produced by the Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company in the early 20th century. The Model 1902 was not a new design, but rather an incremental improvement upon the nearly identical M1900, and would transition from the 1900 into three distinct but related pistols with the same action and cartridge, the 1902 Sporting Model, the 1902 Military model, and the 1903 Pocket Hammer model. The 1902 Sporting model was so similar to the 1900 that it continued the serial number range, while the 1902 Military Model featured a different serial range as did the 1903 Pocket Hammer model. The 1902 Military Model featured a square and lengthened grip frame with an additional round in the magazine, while the 1903 Pocket Hammer featured a shortened barrel and slide but retained the Sporting model grip frame. The Colt M1905 .45 ACP pistol would be derived from the same lineage, also with a different serial number range.
In the late 19th century the militaries of many countries, including the United States, were evaluating or in the process of adopting a state of the art semi-automatic service pistol to replace the revolvers in use at the time which were perceived to be outdated. American gun designer John M. Browning wished to join contemporaries such as Hugo Borchardt and Georg Luger in designing a marketable semi-automatic pistol. Browning partnered with the Colt's Manufacturing Company which was hoping to capitalize on the interest in service pistol modernization by procuring large and profitable government military contracts. Their first collaboration produced the Model 1900; it interested the U.S. military enough to lead to the purchase of a few hundred Model 1900 pistols for testing, evaluation and limited field trial issue, however, the limitations of the design prevented its service-wide adoption. The Model of 1902 was basically the same pistol with some improvements meant to address these deficiencies.
The Mauser C96, 1900 Luger, and Colt 1902's had some occasion to be compared to each other in the field. The Mauser tended to be considered the most developed (or mature) in terms of mechanism, featuring a reliable action protected from the elements, manual safety, and a hold open indicating the last shot had been fired and easily convertible to carbine form, however the pistol had reached its developmental peak. The Luger, like the Colt, in 1902–1907, was not yet refined, although it was not only beautifully made, but it was ergonomically classic. The Colt was ergonomically the opposite, having poor balance and a crude grip, it also lacked safety mechanisms (the abandoned and unpopular sight safety was exchanged for no safety at all), and was considered more open to the elements. The Colt 1902 sporting model, used in 1904 Swedish tests (lost out to the FN Browning 1903 9MM), was also found to be not quite sufficiently reliable but the Swedes also mentioned the ergonomic drawbacks. The value of the Colt, however, was that its .38 ACP cartridge was considered superior to both German pistol's cartridges and a step in the right direction (the Swedes mentioned this virtue). The Colt 1902 had room to develop, while the Mauser was already mature and not subject to improvement. The Luger on the other hand would be developed at about the same pace as the Colt 1902, the competition peaking in 1907 when .45 ACP Colt 1905's and 45 ACP Lugers faced off, although in the end both pistols showed insufficient promise in the heavier caliber, and as the United States was committed to the .45 ACP, the basic 1902 design stayed terminally rooted to the .38 ACP and the Luger had a tad more stretch and would find the greatness with the 9 mm parabellum cartridge that would never come to the Colt 1900/1902/1905 series. However the Colt pistols helped sell the semi-automatic pistol concept in the United States and would contribute to the development of the Colt 1911.
The M1902 was a short recoil operated pistol derived from the Model of 1900 by the simplification of its internal mechanism and a reduction in the number of internal parts. Browning and Colt also adopted the suggestion of the U.S. Military to add a slide stop to the design. The problematic pivoting rear sight safety of the M1900 which swung back and down to physically block the arc of the pistol's hammer was also removed. Another shortcoming in the M1900 design was brought out by trials held by the British military, who discovered that the pistol had a tendency to fire when dropped. In the M1902, the firing pin's length was reduced to be less than that of the slot it moved in, decreasing the likelihood of such an occurrence unless the firing pin was actually struck by the hammer.
The Model of 1902 was chambered for the same .38 ACP cartridge as was the earlier M1900 pistol. The M1902 pistol for the most part also shared the same hard black rubber grips which were standard on the Model 1900, however, custom grips were also available, especially on presentation versions. The vast majority of Model 1902 pistols were produced with a highly polished, deep and lustrous Colt Royal blued finish, but rarely nickel and silver plated models are encountered, as well as various custom finishes. On some early production Model 1902s the trigger, pins, and grip screws were set off with a fire or nitre blued finish, giving those parts a beautiful cobalt blue hue. The hammer of 1902 pistols usually had a case hardened finish. Earlier production pistols featured either milled straight line or cross-cut checkered slide serrations on the forward end of the slide, which were deleted in later years of production. Although the M1902 was originally intended for the military market, Colt was progressive enough to recognize that commercial merchandizing of the pistol also offered potential revenue and introduced a sporting version of the pistol with a few minor changes. Neither the Military or Sporting versions of the pistol had a manual safety.
The Colt 1902's featured three distinctive hammers for the 1902 sporting model. Two, referred to by Colt as the "high" spur hammer and a rounded hammer, referred to by Colt as the "stub" hammer, were carryovers from 1900 production. Eventually, by 1904, at or just beyond serial 7184, the supply of "high" spur hammers was exhausted and the "stub" hammer became the norm for the sporting model. The 1902 Military Model, started production with "stub" hammers only. The third hammer, which did not see use until late 1907 or early 1908,was a lower profile spur hammer and replaced the stub hammer only in the very last of the sporting models but took position as the sole 1902 Military model hammer from about 1908-09, just prior to that being phased into production alongside the stub hammers.
Due to hand polishing of Colt Automatics through the 1905 Model .45, the depth of any pistol's markings might vary on the same pistol as well as the weight; pistols might vary as much as an ounce when compared. The 1902 Militaries were slightly heavier than the sporting models due to the extended square frame and lanyard loop.
Offered between 1902–1928, the Military Model 1902 differed from the sporting version in that the grip handle was a bit longer and square-shaped so as to house one additional round of ammunition in the magazine. The Military model featured the mechanical slide stop and had a lanyard loop on the heel of the grip, it was also slightly heavier. Military models produced prior to 1908 had rounded hammers, while post-1908 models had spur hammers. Colt presented one of these pistols to then-President Theodore Roosevelt. Overall, approximately 18,068 total units of the Military Model 1902 version were produced.
Available from 1902 to 1907, the Sporting Model 1902 variant was slightly lighter and smaller than the military version, with a more rounded grip frame. In 6 years of production a total of approximately 6927 Sporting versions were manufactured. In the period of 1902–1907 the Sporting Models still outsold the military models, 6,927 to 5,500 and when production of the Sporting Model ended in 1907, sales were still steady. Perhaps unexpectedly, with the end of Sporting model production, the Military Model sales actually began to decline until 1913, with the continued sales of the Model 1905 .45 ACP probably cutting significantly into sales improvement, and then the Colt 1911 .45 ACP came on in 1912 to directly eliminate the Model 1905, the Model 1905 not being able to hold a candle to the more modern pistol. Perhaps this contributed to a jump in sales, as demand for the Colt 1911 outstripped supply, and many pistols still went south to the Mexican Army in small lots or individually, and the excitement of World War I on the horizon probably also spurred a re-interest. However, the number sold only averaged about 1,100 units per year and after 1915, sales dropped steadily with only a trickle being sold, the Military Model's sales did more fading away than ending in 1928.
The 1902 Colt sporting Model was considered by Colt to be a continuation of its 1900 model. Serials picked up at the end of Colt 1900 Model production with serial 4275 in 1902 and continuing into 1907 with 10999. A final offering of the 1902 sporting model was made in 1907 with a special serial run of 191 pistols, 30000–30190.
Through approximately serial number 7184 in 1905, the even serial numbered 1902 sporting models featured the "high" spur hammer of the 1900 Model. Apparently Colt was using up the remaining Model 1900 hammers in Sporting Models while still utilizing the stub hammers with the odd numbered pistols. After the supply of the high Model 1900 hammers was exhausted in 1904, all the sporting models thereafter used rounded hammers until the end of regular production. At the cessation of production of the sporting model, the last 191, presumably non production line pistols utilizing spare parts and specially numbered 30000–30190. Certain deductions can be made giving approximate numbers of the three hammer variations of the sporting model: 1,450 "high" spur hammer pistols made between 1902 and 1904, 5483 round "stub" hammer models shipped up into early 1908. Any "extra" sporting models put together from part stocks and shipped after that period probably had low spur hammers.
The slide serrations on the 1902 sporting model initially continued the sixteen milled plunge serrations on each side as featured in the model 1900. The 1902 Sporting Models looked very much like the Model 1900, however all vestiges of the 1900 sight safety had disappeared. At approximately serial 8000 around April 1905, these serrations were changed to a more modern look of twenty instantly discernible cut serrations as they did not plunge into the slide but cut down to the bottom. The position of the cuts was relatively short lived as the cut serrations were moved to the back of the frame. Certain deductions for the 1902 sporting model can be made: Front milled plunge serrations, number made about 3,725 (1,444 high spur hammer/2,281 stub hammer) (approx); front cut serrations, only about 500? made (all round hammer); rear cut serrations 3,002 made (2,811 stub hammer/191 low spur hammer).
The last sporting model did not see delivery by Colt until 1912. However, its basic design with a shorter barrel survived long after with the continued production of the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer Model, a relative more closely related to the 1902 Sporting Model than the 1902 Military model. The number of Colt 1902 sporting models delivered to Mexico does not appear to have been great, the 1902 Military proving more popular.
In 1901, the military, in evaluating its test Model 1900 Colts, suggested a longer grip with an additional round in the magazine and a lanyard loop. This brought about the Model 1902 Military model which although inspired by military suggestions, was nonetheless primarily a commercial pistol. It eclipsed the sporting model in sales by about three to one. However, if one considers the production of the 1903 Pocket Hammer models as being just short barreled 1902 Sporting Models, which they basically were, then the 1902 Military comes in second-best.
The 1902 "Military" model was introduced with a new style of front serration, a densely checkered area on the front of the slide immediately discernible from the 1902 Sporting Model's plunge serrations. A longer, squarer grip with a lanyard loop also made it distinctive, and of course the magazine was longer than the sporting model's as it carried an extra round. Less distinctive, but significant, was the addition of a slide stop on the right side of the frame. The 1902 Military Model offered a bit more panache with all these bells and whistles, the 1902 Sporting Model being more plain.
Unlike the sporting model, the 1902 Military committed to the use of the stub hammers. Serial numbers started oddly, the first 300 pistols being numbered 15001–15200, then working backward to 15000–14900, and continuing backwards from 1903 into 1907 serials 14899–11000. In 1907 there commenced a serial run of 15201–15999, then production serials stabilized, in late 1907, starting at 30,200 and continuing to the production end in 1928 at 43,266. Yearly production peaked in 1907 at 1,400, and by 1917, large production numbers were pretty much done, but minimal production continued.
Use of the stub hammers ended approximately in late 1907, and there was a phasing in of lower spur hammers by until around 33000 where the spur hammers take over completely. The front checkered slides reputedly end around serial 11000 in 1906, where the slides then featured the more familiar vertical cut serrations on the rear of the slide. This leads to a deduction that the 1902 Military's with front checkered slides were produced 1902–1906 and numbered about 4,000, all with stub hammers; 1902 military's with rear cut serrations and stub hammers were produced 1906-1908ish and numbered approximately 2,000 (guesstimate); and rear cut serrations and low spur hammers being manufactured starting in 1907 number about between perhaps 11,000–12,000.
The Model 1902 was never adopted by the U.S. or any other world military organization, probably due to reservations regarding the design's robustness as well as its developmental nature. The largest military purchase (still commercially serialed but military marked) known to date were of 1902 Military Models, 800 pistols in 1908 to Mexico (Mexican Crest on top of slide-rear slide serrations but still round hammers—pearl grips) However, other unmarked 1902 Militaries were purchased in smaller lots, perhaps adding up to several thousand pistols if not more to Mexico alone. The second largest purchase was 500 marked pistols purchased in 1906 through the London Agency (in the 11000 serial range) by the Chilean Navy (round hammer, checkered front slide, slide marked). Sporting Models show occasional purchases also by individuals associated with various governments, but only in single or smaller lots. At least one American observer in Mexico in 1913 mentioned them as the standard pistol of the regular Mexican Army. The US government purchased 200 1902 Militaries (serials 15000–15201) in 1902 for service evaluation of type (round hammer, checkered front slide). The Mexican marked pistols undoubtedly saw service during the Mexican revolution along with other privately acquired Military, Sporting Model, and 1903 Pocket Hammer Colts. The U.S. Army's unsatisfactory experiences several years earlier with .38-caliber pistols used against Moro tribesmen during the Philippine–American War may also have been a factor against larger acceptance of the "large frame" automatics. Events of this conflict called into question the effectiveness of earlier pistols in the 1902's class, ultimately leading to the 1904 Thompson-LaGarde Tests which concluded that for military use, ".38"-caliber cartridges of the time were inadequate and recommended the adoption of a pistol cartridge of at least .45 (11.43 mm) caliber. Colt and Browning responded to these criticisms with the introduction of the Colt Model 1905 pistol chambered in a new .452 in cartridge Browning designed—the .45 ACP. Whether or not the .45 ACP was overkill, European countries, with the exception of England who also had experience with fanatical opposition in the empire, opted for generally lighter calibers.
One can only speculate on the type of commercial customer (excluding the military users) that would have purchased the Colt 1902 Sporting and Military Models: perhaps wealthier hunters, fishermen, and adventurers who visited remote areas of the wilderness; businesses, especially those with Latin American offices and projects in remote areas such as mining interests in the US as they had significant and occasional labor unrest (often with very good cause) in the early 20th century; the more modern leaning police of the era who might have evaluated the pistols (no known significant police sales); perhaps shopkeepers who preferred the flat pistol for the counter shelf plus the imposing long barrel and superior rate of fire over robber's revolvers; perhaps those who just liked the look and selected the pistol for personal defense or the home; and of course the casual owners and shooters who liked the novelty.
Prior to 1905, they were clearly "modern" holster pistols and the public and military already understood the value of about 1.5 seconds of seven/eight shot firepower. By 1906, however, unlike the Europeans (except the French and English) who were "sold" on automatics and had been buying them since the turn of the 20th century in a near frenzy, the North American customers were still waiting, perhaps taking their cue from the military, for more robust and powerful automatic pistols. The Colt 1905 .45 ACP, which was really being developed by Colt with military contracts in mind, supplied the most impatient and significantly supplemented Colt 1902 sales while setting the table for US government adoption of the Model 1911. Competition in Europe was overwhelming except in England. Although mainland European sales are noted, the admittedly excellent and safer Mauser M1896's and Lugers took the lion's share of the large frame automatic market. Steyr and others were at least regionally strong.
It is highly possible that the Military Model might have seen increased foreign sales during World War I had not Colt been concentrating on the 1911 (over 80,000 commercial 1911s were delivered to foreign countries during the war, 50,000 to Tzarist Russia alone). These sales might have otherwise gone to the 1902 Military Model.
Miller, David (2006). The History of Browning Firearms. Guilford, DE. ISBN 978-1-59228-910-3.
This page was last edited on 13 August 2018, at 15:09 (UTC).


The marriage covenant is intended to reflect God's un-ending covenant with man. We belong to our spouses permanently on earth in the marriage covenant. In the same way, we belong to God permanently in eternity.
Covenant. It's an intense word, isn't it? Readers of this passage in Romans would have had a cultural background pertaining to the concept of "covenant." Therefore in order to fully explore today's reading we must delve into the idea of a covenants and how this affects our relationship with Jesus.
Essentially, a covenant is an agreement. To covenant with someone means to agree or contract with another (New Oxford American Dictionary).
Covenant is a theme throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. One could even say that each Testament represents a different Covenant - a different way in which God chose to relate to man.
1. They are permanent: A contract has an end date ones its terms are fulfilled by each party. Covenants are different - they are permanent unless a party alters the terms.
2. They are ratified by blood: Interestingly enough, the Hebrew word for covenant, bĕriyth has its root in another word, bereth. Bereth means "to cut." Covenants were always ratified by blood. The Old Covenant between God and the Hebrew people was ratified by the blood of sacrifice and circumcision (Leviticus 19:11). The new Covenant between God and all peoples is ratified by the blood of Jesus shed on the Cross.
3. The Old Testament is a story of God's Covenant with Israel: Essentially, here's what happened: God revealed Himself to Abraham and promised to give Abraham descendants. He said that Abraham's descendants would be blessed by God in order that all the other nations would be blessed (Genesis 12). Abraham's descendants were given a law after being rescued out of slavery and given the land promised to them through the covenant. God promised to bless them and give them life if the obeyed the law, but also told them that disobedience would have grave consequences.
Because of human wickedness, this law had to be very specific. It covered aspects of civil society, ceremonial acts of worship, and moral responsibility.
New Christians in Paul's time were asking the question, "Does this Old Covenant apply to us?" Because not only Jews were accepting Jesus but also Gentiles (those who weren't Jews), questions arose. Were people converting to Judaism or some other way of life? How much of the Old laws given to Israel were Christians supposed to follow?
Paul gives the example of marriage to answer this question. He says that the marriage covenant stands as long as both the husband and wife are alive (7:2). Only when one spouse dies is the other released from marriage (7:3).
Marriage is permanent, and it is ratified by man and woman become "one flesh" - physically via sexual intimacy but also spiritually before God (Ephesians 5:30).
Author's note: This is obviously an uncomfortable topic today because of the common nature of divorce. If you have been through a divorce, there is grace from God to begin a new covenant before the Lord with your current spouse. But this is why God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16) - it breaks a covenant that was supposed to represent God's covenant with us.
The example of marriage teaches us something: if one spouse dies, the covenant is null and void. Remember the devotional "The Grateful Dead?" Someone did die: the old "you!"
When our old life died, we became a new creation in Christ and God made a New Covenant with us. We don't have to obey the laws of Judaism. Today, we live in the law of love (James 2:8).
In the New Covenant we BELONG to Christ and we BEAR FRUIT for Christ (7:5). The nature of the relationship, however, is not one of law but of grace.
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code (Romans 7:6).
Are you keeping your covenants? Your marriage covenant? Your covenant to God?
Ask God to show you any way you can keep the covenants He has brought into your life.


I would categorize the creation of this recipe as total kitchen experimentation. I had some Italian bread that was a day or two away from being thrown out if it wasn't used up so I baked it and threw some ingredients together to create this yummy, tangy pesto to top it off with. I used store-bought pesto to create this recipe but you're welcome to make your favorite classic pesto recipe to use. This is super quick and super easy to make. This recipe only makes a small amount so double, triple, or quadruple it if you're serving it at a party.
Combine all ingredients in a mini food processor and puree. Serve in small dish or bowl. Spread on Italian bread or use in a pasta dish.


Direction (Q. 1-10): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is 4) , ie no error.
Q. 1) He not only comes there /2) for swimming but /3) also for coaching /4) new swimmers.
Q. 1) There appears to be /2) very little liason /3) among the two of the /4) various wings of the party.
Q. 1) No king in that period /2) was so intensely involved /3) in the welfare of his /4) people as King Ashoka.
Q. 1) A more irrational world /2) to this one in which /3) we presently live /4) could hardly be conceived.
C. nature appear in majority of his plays.
Q. 1) Everyone of the survivors /2) of the ill-fated /3) aircraft have i iW /4) the same story.
Q. 1) He hujed to finish /2) the work in the last week /3) but in fact /4) he could not.
Q. 1) My neighbour along with /2) his children /3) are going to see /4) the Taj Mahal at Agra.
Q. 1) His ability to /2) talk to strangers /3) is one of his /4) stronger points.
Q. 1) Soon after their child /2) was born he /3) went of leaving /4) her in the lurch.
D. her in the lurch.


For starters, this film is definitely best viewed without any spoilers. Therefore, the following review is free of spoilers.
Avengers: Infinity War, directed by the Russo Brothers and starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Josh Brolin, and maaaaaaaaaany others, is perhaps one of the most anticipated films in recent years, especially since it’s a culmination of ten years of movies. After seeing it, it lives up to the hype. First, before watching this movie, watching or having knowledge of all of the previous Marvel Cinematic Universe movies is necessary to get the full experience. Watching this in a vacuum with no context will significantly bring down the experience as it depends on a viewer’s investment in the series. The film brings together nearly all of the major heroes from the Marvel productions of the past decade as they struggle to fight the pwerful warlord Thanos, including most of the Avengers (which include Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, and Spider-Man to name just a few), Dr. Strange, Black Panther, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. A good deal of background knowledge is necessary to fully appreciate the film.
One of the major improvements this film has over other MCU films is that the action is done a lot better. Too often in Marvel movies or in any action movies there are multiple jump cuts that make following the action really hard. In this film, the use of constant jump cuts are few and far between and incorporate longer wide shots to showcase the action. The movie also doesn’t fall into the trap of relying solely on the world ending and instead puts more attention on the personal stakes the characters have in the plot.
Another thing this movie has over most other MCU movies is a good villain. Thanos is definitely one of the best villains Marvel has had as the movie does a good job making the audience understand his motives. Thanos’ presence gives the film a distinct feeling of hopelessness and really presenting the question of whether he can be beaten or not. The visual effects were also very well done, bringing to life not only Thanos but the environment and other characters in the movie; however, there are a few times when the CGI could’ve used a little more work.
This movie does also have a few other flaws, one of them being having too many characters. Although it was fun seeing the unique character interactions and crossovers, not every character gets to shine due to the sheer amount of characters in the movie. Some characters don’t get as much screen time as one would think they would. Other problems this movie has is not all of the dramatic beats hit as well as several sidequests that can seem dragged out or take attention away from some of the cooler moments in the film. The movie also has a few plot holes or unanswered questions; however, this could be mitigated in the next part of the movie.
Overall, this movie was good and lives up to the hype despite all the pressure. This movie does have a few flaws, but those are outweighed by its many strengths.


Let’s, for a moment, seriously consider the two relevant questions: Was there a chemical weapons attack? Who did it?
In other words, We don’t know exactly what it is, and we don’t know who did it.
"Of the videos that I've seen for the last few hours, none of them show pinpoint pupils... this would indicate exposure to organophosphorus nerve agents," he said.
"We're not seeing reports that doctors and nurses... are becoming fatalities, so that would suggest that the toxicity of it isn't what we would consider military sarin. It may well be that it is a lower-grade," Winfield told AFP.
Chemical and biological weapons researcher Jean Pascal Zanders said…“I’m deliberately not using the term chemical weapons here,” he said, adding that the use of “industrial toxicants” was a more likely explanation.
Wow, none of them are Russian.
Western experts on chemical warfare…are skeptical that weapons-grade chemical substances were used.
There’s a whole lot of “Western” expert opinion, then, that there may have been some kind of chemical agent, or “industrial toxicant” used in this incident, but that it was probably not a weapons-grade chemical or nerve gas (“military sarin”), which would have had serious debilitating effects on responders, effects that were not in evidence.
It’s also acknowledged, even by the New York Times, that, whatever this substance was, it was delivered by some kind of rudimentary, homemade rocket: "Evidence from videos and witnesses suggested that the toxic substances in last week’s attack were delivered by improvised tube-launched missiles that could be used by smaller, more mobile units than were thought to be needed for chemical weapons." In the face of this evidence that points away from the Syrian army, which doesn’t depend on “improvised” rockets, the Times’ writer, Anne Barnard, does not skip a beat in maintaining her absolute credulity about the US government’s claims. She goes on to present as sensible various scenarios that keep the Syrian government in the frame: It was an attack “by a rogue commander,” or it was a “desperate and irrational” act by Assad. Anything to preserve the unshakeable presumption that the Syrian government did it because my president says so. No attempt to take seriously the evidence that points toward the “rebels” as the culprits. That’s establishment American journalism today.
Required to acknowledge how implausible it is that this was a deliberate act of the Assad government, the Obama administration has taken to insisting that, nonetheless, “the Syrian leader bears ultimate responsibility for the actions of his troops and should be held accountable.” State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, delivers the US government’s rigorous moral thinking: “The commander in chief of any military is ultimately responsible for decisions made under their leadership…[even if] he’s not the one who pushes the button or says ‘go’ on this.
This is the fruition of the ruthless and ridiculous logic that Obama laid out months ago, as Shamus Cooke pointed out, in an article I cited in a previous post: “No matter who is responsible, the Obama administration plans to hold the Syrian Government responsible for crossing the ‘red line’ of a chemical weapons attack…Susan Rice…’repeated previous American warnings that there would be ‘consequences’ if the Assad government used or failed to secure chemical weapons.’” So even if it the Syrian “rebels” were to use chemical weapons they had stolen from the Syrian government, it’s the Syrian government that the US will hold responsible, “for not securing chemical weapons.” Damned if you don’t.
One might consider the tiny question of motive. We are expected to believe, because Joe Biden says so, that the Assad government – which has been doing quite well without them – would use chemical weapons just as the UN chemical weapons inspectors were arriving in Damascus. WTF good does Assad think that will do for him? Oh, yeah, he’s “desperate and irrational,” that’s the ticket.
Somebody sure is. We’re supposed to not think about the huge motive the “rebels,” who are indeed desperate for decisive US/NATO intervention, have for shooting an “improvised tube-launched missile” stuffed with some “industrial toxicants” at a bunch of civilians. I’m sure you know – because I’m sure it’s been hammered home to you on every relevant occasion by the fiercely independent liberal voices of the NYT, and PBS, and MSNBC – what came of the March incident in which the Obama administration blamed a chemical attack on the Syrian government. I’m sure you have been made aware that United Nations investigators who looked into that incident said: “indications are that the rebel opposition, not the Assad regime, deployed the nerve agent sarin.” The head of the UN inquiry, Carla Del Ponte, said she “has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons,…[A]ccording to [our investigators’] report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas...This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities.” (“UN: Syrian Rebels Used Chemical Weapons”) Perhaps that’s why this incident was allowed quietly to fade away – until now, when it’s actually being referred to as a “previous” use of chemical weapons by Assad!
And it must have been well-reported in the US that, in May, Turkish authorities found a canister of sarin gas, “believed to have been heading for Syria,” in the possession of Al Nusra, the al-Qaeda-affiliated “rebel” group (Gearóid Ó Colmáin, Turkish Police find Chemical Weapons in the Possession of Al Nosra Terrorists Heading for Syria). It’s also, certainly, quite well-known among educated Americans that, in June, Iraqi authorities discovered a poison gas laboratory run by the group known as Islamic State of Iraq, another al-Qaeda-affiliate that has linked itself to al-Nusra, and is involved in setting up camps along the 600km Iraq-Syria border, for fighters opposed to the Syrian and Iraqi governments.
Considering the various “chemical weapons” incidents during the course of this conflict, as well as the growing ascendancy of jihadi ideology among the “rebels," it’s my opinion, and that of many others, that the preponderance of evidence suggests the “rebels” are much more likely to have used “chemical weapons” than the Syrian government. Not a certainty, but a strong preponderance. And I’m not suggesting that my government attack anybody on the basis of it.
It’s quite possible that definitive proof of responsibility for last week’s incident will not be available – and that’s OK with me, and should be with every American. The US is rushing to attack Syria, and preempt UN inspectors from doing their job, not because it’s “too late,” but because the US knows very well that, given enough time and support, disinterested inspectors’ findings are not likely to help American claims of certainty.
What’s most important to understand, however, is that, no matter who might have used whatever “chemical weapons” might have been used in Syria last week, a military attack on that country by the US would, as Alastair Cooke, former ranking Middle East MI6 officer, recognizes, “constitute an illegal ‘act of war’ against a sovereign state – and a crime.” Believe it or not, the United States has no right to “punish” another country, or teach it a “lesson” with bombs.
The issue facing Americans right now is not who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy in this vicious civil war. It’s whether there is any reason or justification for a military attack on a sovereign country, an attack that will have only destructive consequences on that country, that will likely lead to devastating effects in the entire region, and maybe even – oh, the real horror – on us peaceful, innocent, naïve Americans ourselves. ‘Cause, you know, when you, in violation of every statute and concept of international law, bomb the crap out of another sovereign country that poses no threat to you at all, that country has the right to strike back.
We can surely believe the promise made by today-Obama that his attack will be aimed at nothing but “reinforcing an international ban on the use of chemical weapons,” and is, as Michael Gordon assures us in the NYT, “not linked to its larger diplomatic [!] strategy of persuading President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to yield power.” (Moi, seeking regime change?) So, then, if it were irrefutably determined that it was the “rebels” who used those weapons, the shocked, shocked Obama would immediately launch cruise missiles at rebel bases. “Assad must go.”? "We're going to keep increasing the pressure on the Assad regime and working with the Syrian opposition…Assad needs to go."? Fear not, reluctant liberals, that was yesterday-Obama.
Lies cannot be more transparent than this.
Similarly, anyone who wants to assert that there is some transcendent right of “humanitarian intervention” – extra-legal, entirely bypassing the framework of international law and institutions, but nonetheless somehow still legitimate – must accept that China and Russia and their friends have as much right to get together and attack, for example, Egypt, to save its people from the “massacre,” as the US and its friends Britain and France have to attack Syria or Libya to save whomever. If there were, on this planet, a “humanitarian interventionism” which accepted that logic, then it might be something other than an equally transparent excuse for American/NATO imperialism. But there is not.
I’m heartened to see the news that, in “a stunning defeat” for poodle-ism, the British Parliament has effectively blocked British participation in any military strike on Syria. PM Cameron has been forced to say: “It is clear to me that the British parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action. I get that, and the government will act accordingly.” This is a wonderful victory for British democracy, and marks an unprecedented break from obedience to the American imperial regime. Let’s hope it’s not the last.
Of course, there’s also, “Obama Willing to Pursue Solo Syria Strikes.” Perhaps there will be a combination of domestic political pressure that, along with international reluctance, will create an effective pushback against Obama’s momentum towards war. I hope. (Come out for the demonstrations tomorrow.) It’s certainly the case that the American people don’t want this. Depending on the poll and how it’s read, 60%, 85%, 75% (or 91%), cutting across traditional political lines, oppose military intervention in Syria. There have even been some stirrings in congress, with one letter signed by 98 Republicans and 18 Democrats, and another letter from 54 House Democrats, both demanding that Obama seek congressional authorization before a strike against Syria.
Not likely. It’s not that Obama doesn’t “get it.” Short of widespread popular unrest, on issues like this, the will of the people counts for nothing against the exigencies of imperialism and Zionism, as understood by the American political elite. It’s folks who don’t understand that who don’t “get it.” To begin with, there would be no challenging debate in the US Congress like that in the British Parliament. All the congresscritters are looking for – the Democrats certainly – is some contrived display of oh-so-conscientious concern, as a prelude to the inevitable acclamation of patriotic consent. Please, Mr. President, let us approve it for you, and then it’ll be all constitutional and everything. Anyway, Obama is in a hurry. Can’t give people too much time to think about this. As the NYT article makes clear, he is determined to attack Syria as soon as the UN inspection team is wheels-up, whatever Britain, the UN, or Congress do (i.e., again, with fewer willing accomplices, and less credible cover than Bush). A “chemical weapons” incident is a pretext that’s been in preparation for a long time, and can’t be wasted.
Let’s please also recognize that all the talk about “discrete, limited” strikes is more claptrap, designed to assuage uneasy Americans who either don’t, or don’t want to, understand the extremely dangerous comprehensive strategy in play. This is not about “chemical weapons” or “massacres.” The United States military is not going to be sent to knock down a couple of buildings as a “lesson.” It probably will not even strike chemical weapons facilities. (What, and disperse poison gases!) The American armed forces will, as quickly and as massively as possible, destroy Syrian aircraft, tanks, ammunition depots, air defenses, and command and control capabilities. This will be done in support of the rebels, and the American, Jordanian, and Israeli “commandos,” who, according to Le Figaro, entered Syria on August 17th. Fortuitous timing.
Do you really think Obama is going to tell his general and admirals, “Don’t touch any of those things. I promised Congress and the people.”? Or do you think he’s going to come back and smoothly explain to us, “It’s because we were concerned about chemical weapons, and only chemical weapons, that we just had to destroy all kinds of valuable assets, too”?
The Obama regime will do this for a couple of reasons: first, to enable the victory of the jihadi-dominated rebels over the Assad regime (exactly what Obama denies is the purpose); second (not in order of importance), to remove any Syrian ability to defend itself, or be part of a regional defense, against Israeli aggressions. Those two purposes are, for the moment, infernally liked to a Saudi agenda of destroying the remnants of secular Arab nationalism, in favor of a fundamentalist Sunni hegemony in the region. The political and strategic purpose of American military intervention – previously clandestine and now overt – on behalf of the “rebellion” is to destroy the Syrian nation as a coherent political and military entity in the region. As the US already has done to Iraq and Libya. It’s the same war. If one doesn’t understand that, one just thinks it’s crazy.
If Israel or the US invades a rebellion-weakened Syria, it won’t be to destroy chemical weapons, but to destroy the Syrian army tout court, and eliminate the Syrian state’s ability to provide any significant resistance to future Israeli or American attacks, or any significant material support to other targets, like Iran, Hezbollah, or Palestinian resistance groups. This means destroying tanks, aircraft, anti-aircraft systems, communications systems, missile facilities, weapons stores, production facilities, and – especially if it’s Israel – as big a chunk of the social infrastructure as it can get away with. If the Syrian rebels can’t or won’t thoroughly destroy the military capacity of the Syrian state, and if the Americans (and their Arab and Turkish allies) want to avoid the embarrassing presence of the IDF in the Assad endgame, the US will have to do this dirty work on Israel’s behalf. “Chemical weapons” are nothing but a cover for that….
It’s been a long today.


Does Thanos not get all the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War? Here's why he only has two stones in the marketing. The new Infinity War trailer has almost everything fans wanted: more bearded Cap, more quips, more cosmic threat, more Wakanda. The only things really missing (aside from perennial absentee Hawkeye) is the Infinity Stones themselves.
The entire point of the MCU-capper is to have Mad Titan Thanos, who's been teased since the mid-credits scene of The Avengers in 2012, collecting the various MacGuffins from across the previous films. He's had six years to get ready, and after eighteen movies of hype, you'd be expecting a big threat. He's a being who in the comics destroyed half the universe's population just to impress Death, and based on Gamora in the trailer has similar finger-clicking goals here. However, MCU Thanos is slacking.
The first tease for Infinity War showed Thanos with two Infinity Stones: the Power Stone (from Guardians of the Galaxy) and the Space Stone (formerly the Tesseract). The former he presumably stole from Xandar, possibly in the film's opening sequence, while the latter is given to him by Loki in a scene following directly on from the end of Thor: Ragnarok. That was fine at the time: the film was still in the early days of its marketing so wasn't going to show much detail from later in the story. Everybody assumed we were just getting early-on glimpses. After all, the teaser also had Infinity Stone holders Doctor Strange and Vision coming under fire.
Now, though, the new trailer has deepened the mystery. Thanos still only has two Stones in this trailer, but we definitely see him from later in the movie this time; the money shot is Captain America blocking the Infinity Gauntlet during the Wakanda fight, and it still has only Power and Space in it. We know Wakanda is the film's third act, so while this is exciting confirmation Thanos does make it to Earth, it leaves some big questions about how well he's doing in his quest.
While that does make Thanos look bad at a job he was so confident in he proclaimed "I'll do it myself" in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it does fit with the known plot of Infinity War. Unlike the comic Infinity Gauntlet, which has Thanos already in possession of all six Infinity Gems and using their powers almost immediately, Avengers 3 is more of a heist film, showing his quest to get the prize. Wakanda is the staging ground for both the Mind Stone (in Vision's forehead) and Time Stone (in Doctor Strange's Orb of Agamotto), so he can't have a full set there. Besides, it wouldn't make sense for him to catch 'em all all if he's going to end half the universe the moment they're in possession.
Only having a third of the stones does tease a bit of Avengers' plot, though: it seemingly confirms that the Reality Stone (Thor: The Dark World's Aether) and Soul Stone (still a mystery, although some believe to be in Wakanda) won't be attained by Thanos yet, with him instead going for the Earth-based ones. That leaves where the movie's really heading at an impasse, possibly pointing to something cosmic after the jaunt in Black Panther's homeland. Indeed, Marvel 10 year promo teased a four-stoned gauntlet, suggesting he'll get more.
Related: Where Are The Infinity Stones?
All that theorized, it could all just be misleading advertising. Thanks to the amount of CG compositing involved in their shots, Marvel is the master of hidings things from trailers - see Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War's airport battle - and so you can never truly trust what they're showing. It may be that Thanos does have more ingots at this point but they've been removed from the trailer to preserve spoilers. After all, if he had the yellow Mind Stone, that would have some serious implications for Vision.
What Thanos' meager set of Infinity Stones reveals, ultimately, is that Avengers: Infinity War is a battle for the collecting, not the use of power. We knew that, of course, so this really only asks more forward-thinking questions: what's going to go down in that ending? After all, if Avengers 4 is going to be a time travel film, something has to go seriously wrong.


If you kick too high without having the required flexibility, there is a greater chance of pulling muscles in your lower body.
Over time your goal is to be able to perform the kick portion so that your foot in inline with your head.
It may take awhile before you get the required flexibility but just keep at it.
Step 1: Stand straight up and tighten your core muscles. Keep you back flat, and the shoulders pulled down and back. Look straight ahead. You are now in the starting position.
Step 2: Take a step backward by bending at your hips and knees. Lower your body until your back legs knee is almost touching the ground and pause at the bottom position. Make sure you keep your knee in line with your foot and your back straight.
Step 3: Drive through the heel of your front leg by extending at your knee and hips.
Step 4: As you are rising swing your back leg forwards into a front kick. You can make the kick portion harder by attempting to touch your toe with the hand on the opposite side of the leg kicked.
Step 5: Return your leg back to the ground to come back to the starting position. Congratulations you have now completed one repetition of the Lunge Kick.
You can do all repetitions on one side completely and switch, or you can alternate your legs with every kick.
Do not allow your front legs knee to go past your toe.
The primary muscles that this exercise uses are your Quadriceps, Hip Flexors, and your Glutes.
The secondary muscles that get worked by the Lung Kick are your Hamstrings, Abdominals, and the calves.
There are two variations of the lunge you can use when you are doing this exercise.
These are the regular lunge where you step forwards. The other is the reverse lunge. Instead of taking a step forwards you will move your foot behind you.
I recommend using the reverse lunge for two reasons.
The first is for your balance. When people perform the forward stepping lunge, they tend to lean forward. By stepping backward, their back tends to remain more straight throughout the movement.
The second reason has to do with keeping your knee behind the toe. When your knee passes your toe, there will be extra stress placed on your knee joint.
This increased stress will increase your chance of a knee injury much higher.
Stepping backward (reverse lunge) when you are lowering your body will help you to keep your back straight. Keeping a straight back will decrease the chance of your front legs knee going past your toe.
The exercise will help you to improve the muscular strength in your lower body.
If you spend all day sitting in front of a desk, it is common for your hip flexors to shorten and become weaker. Weak hip flexors increase your chances of injury and cause back pain for many people.
The Lunge kick will stretch your hip flexors and your quadriceps with each repetition you perform.
The stretching will help to lengthen and strengthen your hip flexors. The stretching and strengthening will contribute to lowering the chance of you having a back injury.
You will improve your balance by using this movement. If you find you are wobbling when you do this exercise keep practicing.
Over time you will gain the necessary balance and will get less wobbling every time you perform Lunge Kicks. Eventually, with practice, you will have the necessary stability and no wobbling at all.
Focus on improving the number of repetitions or the active time you are performing the exercise for from week to week.
I like to use this exercise with interval training. We offer a Free Online Interval Timer that you can use. No registration is required to use the tool so check it out.
If you do decide to give it a try, each week either increase the amount of time you are performing the exercise (Active Time) and keep the rest time the same each week. Alternatively, you can increase the number of rounds(sets) that you will perform each week.
Leave a comment and let us know what you thought of this exercise. Is there anything else you feel we should have added?


The Book Boat's In is a picture book about a boy named Jesse, in the year 1835. Jesse is excited over the arrival of Mr. Edwards' book boat, a floating library and bookstore that travels along the Erie Canal. There he finds a book that he desperately wants but hasn't the money to buy. Jesse decides to earn the money, but he has only a week until the book boat comes back on its last trip for the season.
Background: Cynthia Cotten is the author of many children's books, including Snow Ponies, At The Edge of The Woods, and Rain Play. She grew up in Lockport, New York, on the banks of the Erie Canal. She loves learning about the history of that area.
Author's purpose - What is the author's purpose?
What did you learn about the time when Jesse lives?
Characterization - What character traits describe Jesse? Give examples of his actions for these traits.
Define words you might not be familiar with, such as wharf, gangplank, jounced, livery stable, and fidgety. Come up with synonyms and read them in the sentences they appear in. Why did the author choose the words she did instead of the synonyms?
Find excerpts from The Swiss Family Robinson. Contrast to what you like to read.
Are there other books about this time period that you like? Tell the class about them and why you like them.
Write a paragraph or a story about a time when you wanted something and didn't have enough money to buy it. What did you do?
Write a journal entry as if you were Jesse.
Jesse was able to think of jobs he could do to earn the money to buy the book. What are some examples of jobs you could do?
Jesse did the extra jobs in addition to his own chores and studying. He had no time to play. Give an example of something you might work as hard as Jesse for, and tell why.
When Jesse went back to the book boat and found that the book he wanted was gone, he felt bad. Have you ever had a time when something didn't come out the way you expected? How did you feel? What did you do?
You have _____ (cents). What can you buy? Show pictures with prices. Circle or color those items that you can buy.
Research the time period (mid-1830s).
Use the library or the internet to research the Erie Canal. Research other canals. Is there a canal or other waterway near where you live?
Use the library or the internet to find out about the money in Jesse's time. Compare it to today's money. What was the same? What was different?
Find out about prices of things today and compare them to prices of the same things in Jesse's time.
Compare and contrast the wants and needs in Jesse's time to those of today.
Using the library or the internet, find pictures of the Erie Canal and different kinds of boats that traveled on it. Draw or paint your own canal scene.
Make a model or diorama of the inside of a book boat.
Display some of the above student art projects.
Create a mural of a shelf of books, with each student adding his or her favorite titles.
In Pixie, design a sort of Wants and Needs.
How are the events in The Book Boat's In similar to your own life? To people you know? How are they different?
Does Jesse remind you of anyone? Who? Why?
This guide was created with the help of Mary Jeanne Kellogg, library media specialist at John F. Pattie Elementary School, Montclair, Virginia, 2013.


Will Justice Kavanaugh support worker safety? His 2,900-word dissent in the SeaWorld case, made famous by the movie Blackfish (and in two articles in Outside magazine), is not encouraging. In 2010, SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau drowned when a trained killer whale pulled her off a platform into the pool, refusing to release her. OSHA cited SeaWorld for exposing trainers to recognized hazards and SeaWorld appealed. In a two‑to-one decision, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. Justice Kavanaugh dissented, likening Brancheau's work to sports like bull riding and claiming that close contact between trainers and whales is no different from "contact between players in the NFL or speeding in NASCAR races." Underlying his reasoning was a disdain for the idea that society should "paternalistically decide" that people like Brancheau should be protected from "the risk of significant physical injury." Kavanaugh claimed during his confirmation hearings that he was a "textualist" who was bound by the plain meaning of statutory language. It is impossible to square this assertion with the plain language of the OSHA statute, which provides that an employer must provided "employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees." 29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(1). It appears that not only will Justice Kavanaugh fail to protect workers from manifestly unsafe employment practices, he is willing to violate his principles of statutory interpretation to do so.