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Brabus 1000 All Gray Sedan




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Patrick Stein: Ray Tracing In One Weekend (in Lisp, and n-dimenions)

Earlier this year, I started working through the online book Ray Tracing In One Weekend (Book 1). I have been following along with it in Common Lisp, and I have been extending it all from 3-dimensional to n-dimensional.

I reproduced 4-dimensional versions of all of the book images which you can see on my weekend-raytracer github page.

Here is the final image. This is a 250-samples-per-pixel, 640x360x10 image plane of three large hyperspheres (one mirrored, one diffuse, one glass) atop a very large, diffuse hypersphere. Also atop this very large hypersphere are a bunch of smaller hyperspheres of varying colors and materials. The image is rendered with some defocus-blur.

Final image of 4-dimensional scene

Caveat: This depends on a patched version of the policy-cond library that is not in the current Quicklisp distribution but should be in the next.




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One-Day E-Book Sale of Vacuum Flowers

 .



Once again, one of my e-books will briefly be on sale! Vacuum Flowers will be available in the US for only $1.99. Here's the news from Open Road Media:

Hello,

We are pleased to let you know that the following ebook(s) will be featured in price promotions soon.

ISBN13TitleAuthorPromo TypeCountryStart DateEnd DatePromo Price
9781504036504Vacuum FlowersSwanwick, MichaelORM - Portalist NLUS2024-11-132024-11-13$1.99



Open Road will promote the feature via social media. We hope you can share the deal with your network as well. You can subscribe to the newsletters at the links below so that you will get the direct link to the deal on the day that it appears.

NewsletterLink
  Early Bird Books    Subscribe Now  
The LineupSubscribe Now
The PortalistSubscribe Now
Murder & MayhemSubscribe Now
A Love So TrueSubscribe Now
The ArchiveSubscribe Now
The ReaderSubscribe Now



Please let us know if you have any questions. We are thrilled to be part of this promotion; hope you are too!

Best,
The Open Road Editorial Team


And because you've probably wondered . . .

I've been asked this many times, but the answer is no: I don't have a nude drawing of Gardner Dozois hanging in my living room. It's in the upstairs hallway. Anyway, he's wearing a sheet, so much of him is covered.

Robert Walters posed Gardner as the evil genius Jonaman for one of the illos (back when SF magazines had illustrations) that went with the serialization of Vacuum Flowers in Asimov's, way back when.

It's not the sightliest picture. But it is treasured.


*







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all the way up the hill

Today on Married To The Sea: all the way up the hill


This RSS feed is brought to you by Drew and Natalie's podcast Garbage Brain University. Our new series Everything Is Real explores the world of cryptids, aliens, quantum physics, the occult, and more. If you use this RSS feed, please consider supporting us by becoming a patron. Patronage includes membership to our private Discord server and other bonus material non-patrons never see!




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may you stay safe

Today on Married To The Sea: may you stay safe


This RSS feed is brought to you by Drew and Natalie's podcast Garbage Brain University. Our new series Everything Is Real explores the world of cryptids, aliens, quantum physics, the occult, and more. If you use this RSS feed, please consider supporting us by becoming a patron. Patronage includes membership to our private Discord server and other bonus material non-patrons never see!




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i pray the lord

Today on Married To The Sea: i pray the lord


This RSS feed is brought to you by Drew and Natalie's podcast Garbage Brain University. Our new series Everything Is Real explores the world of cryptids, aliens, quantum physics, the occult, and more. If you use this RSS feed, please consider supporting us by becoming a patron. Patronage includes membership to our private Discord server and other bonus material non-patrons never see!




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okay joseph

Today on Married To The Sea: okay joseph


This RSS feed is brought to you by Drew and Natalie's podcast Garbage Brain University. Our new series Everything Is Real explores the world of cryptids, aliens, quantum physics, the occult, and more. If you use this RSS feed, please consider supporting us by becoming a patron. Patronage includes membership to our private Discord server and other bonus material non-patrons never see!




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outta my way

Today on Married To The Sea: outta my way


This RSS feed is brought to you by Drew and Natalie's podcast Garbage Brain University. Our new series Everything Is Real explores the world of cryptids, aliens, quantum physics, the occult, and more. If you use this RSS feed, please consider supporting us by becoming a patron. Patronage includes membership to our private Discord server and other bonus material non-patrons never see!




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Mad Science Monday: Never Visit The Dentist Again

I think the next logical step is a pulled-tooth via skydiving.

~NSHA




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Wheelchair, The Early Days

It's a great budget option, unless you're leaking for comfort. Or functionality.

~NSHA




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How to Open a Beer the Drunken Woodsman Way!

Did you keep waiting for the moment where something was going to go horribly wrong?

Yeah, me too.




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Cavan hand debuts to five players

Cavan have handed debuts to five players for Sunday's Ulster senior football championship tie against Donegal.




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Tropicana Field can be fixed by 2026, but Rays must play elsewhere in 2025

A detailed assessment of the hurricane damage to Tropicana Field concludes that the home of the Rays is structurally sound and can be repaired in time for the 2026 season, but not by 2025 Opening Day.




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Lakers' Anthony Davis says his eye is fine, declines to wear goggles

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis says he has recovered from being poked in the left eye by Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl, and his latest eye injury still hasn’t persuaded him to wear protective goggles




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Kyler Murray, Brock Purdy move up, Caleb Williams on bottom of Mahomes Mountain | First Things First

Nick Wright reveals who climbs up and down his Week 11 QB Tiers, including Kyler Murray and Brock Purdy, who will face each other in the final game of the regular season with playoffs on the line. Watch as Nick explains why Caleb Williams is not off Mahomes Mountain yet despite a change in the Chicago Bears coaching staff.




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C.J. Stroud tops the list of best-selling NFL jerseys midway through 2024 season

Three quarterbacks lead the way in top NFL jerseys sales so far this season.




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Mavs' Klay Thompson cheered by 400 Warriors employees in return to Golden State

Klay Thompson was greeted by some 400 cheering Warriors employees showing their love and appreciation for the former Golden State star and lined up along his path to the Dallas locker room




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College Football Playoff Rankings: Oregon, Ohio State on top; Alabama enters top 10

The second set of College Football Playoff Predictions were released Tuesday night, with Oregon, Ohio State and Texas listed in the top three spots. See the complete rankings!




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Deion Sanders says he’ll intervene if ‘wrong' NFL team tries to draft son Shedeur

Coach Prime tells the "Speak" crew how he plans to handle the NFL draft process with quarterback son, Shedeur, and two-way star Travis Hunter.




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College Football Playoff rankings takeaways: Colorado's path, Indiana undervalued

FOX Sports' RJ Young offers up three takeaways from the second set of College Football Playoff rankings, including Colorado's path to the CFP ... and the national title game.




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Bedfordshire, the hay, and the sack

Inspired by Anatoly Liberman's Take My Word for It: A Dictionary of English Idioms (which I've reviewed for the International Journal of Lexicography), here's a quick dip into some ways of saying one's going to bed, where they've come from and who uses them now.

to Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire, a county north of London, has been a humorous synonym for bed since the 17th century.



Here's what the OED has (in an entry last edited in 1887):


Humorously put for bed.
    1665
    Each one departs to Bedford-shire And pillows all securely snort on.
    C. CottonScarronnides 19
  1. 1738
    Faith, I'm for Bedfordshire.
    J. SwiftComplete Collection of Genteel Conversation 214

This seems not to have made any inroads to AmE.  Here are go to Bedfordshire and off to Bedfordshire in Google Books. Of course some of them might literally be about going to the county where Luton Airport is, but it's pretty likely that most are the idiom.






Hit the hay

From Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (via Bad Robot)
Liberman says "the phrase seems to be an Americanism". The OED defines hit the hay and roll in the hay but its earliest citation for hay in this sense is crawl into the Hay (1903); the first hit the hay they have is from 1912 (though, of course, it probably existed in speech much earlier).  They also have leaving the hay (P. G.Wodehouse, 1931—English, but a great user of Americanisms) and being great in the hay (Norman Mailer, 1959). This all gives the sense that the hay might have been a more agile synonym for bed than it is today, when most of us are not so used to thinking of hay as mattress material.

Though still more used in AmE, hit the hay is no longer foreign to BrE. 



Hit the sack

Sack was a synonym for bed much earlier than hay (1829 first citation). The OED says of sack: 

(a) A hammock; a bunk; (b) a bed; frequently as the sackto hit the sack: see hit v. II.11cslang (chiefly U.S.; originally Navy).

Hitting the sack doesn't show up in citations till 1943, though, so it was probably influenced the use of hit in other expressions like hitting the hay. Its US/UK usage pattern looks much like hit the hay's: 


And others?

I was interested to learn that turn in is from the 17th century and, it seems, originally nautical slang. It comes from a time when sailors slept in hammocks rather than bunks—not sure if that's related. Going that far back, it's common to both Englishes. (Go to) beddy-bye(s) is also found in both Englishes in similar numbers. The first OED citation is from Australia in 1901.  






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THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY bye mom. Gonna psend the weekend over with some college friends







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What’s Wrong With Today’s Society Captured In 20 Brutally Honest Illustrations

This illustrator, John Holcroft, is genius! check out his website for more.

 





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Iowa Caucus's Delayed Results Have Churned Up Some Anxious Reaction Memes

Last night the 2020 Iowa Democratic Caucus stirred up quite the controversy when it was announced that the results would be delayed due to "inconsistencies" in a new app meant to speed up the reporting results of the caucus. Ironic, to say the least. 

But hang tight, because they're set to be released at 5 pm Eastern Time.

Ahead of the results being released, Pete Buttigieg gave what appeared to be a victory speech last night to the confusion of many. The bizarre move has lead many to believe that the system may have been rigged in Mayor Pete's favor.

As always, we have to give the disclaimer that we're not picking sides; we're merely reporting on what the internet has been saying, so scroll down to see some of our favorite reaction memes and tweets while we all wait impatiently for the results.




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'Today Years Old' Revelations That Might Teach Something New

The saying "you learn something new every day" may not always feel true, but on Twitter, that's definitely the case. People are very eager to share surprising and little-known facts that blow their minds - whether they're political or about something as trivial as the flavor of green Haribo gummy bears. These facts might not be revelatory for everyone, but they definitely aren't common knowledge. And it's nice to make that brain feel a little bigger. 




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Mexicana: Deadly Holiday

Exclusive offer from Giveaway of the Day and ToomkyGames! No third-party advertising and browser add-ons! Dia de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, provides a stunning backdrop for a thrilling supernatural adventure in Mexicana: Deadly Holiday! Guide a young woman as she sets off on a desperate search for her fiance amidst the annual celebration in Mexico. Moments after a spectral figure kidnaps her beloved during a card reading, she begins her journey to the afterworld, where demons will plot her demise and ancients gods will lend her a helping hand. As you travel through a stunning fiery wasteland on your way to a realm of peace and tranquillity, you'll search for cleverly hidden objects, solve skillfully designed puzzles, and crack dozens of devious mini-games. Along the way, you'll slowly unfold the astonishing truth of who the young woman really is. Set in a captivating world, and featuring visuals and music inspired by the Land of Enchantment, Mexicana: Deadly Holidays is packed with thrills unlike any you have experienced!




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How tech giants have been getting away with Age Discrimination

Corporate diversity initiatives have focused primarily on skin color, ethnicity, and gender thus far, but age should also be imperative.  Aside from it being an overlooked and unmonitored protected category, workforce demographics project a talent shortage for all diversity groups under 40. In the coming months, IBM could face hundreds of lawsuits (and/or a class […]

The post How tech giants have been getting away with Age Discrimination appeared first on DiversityJobs.com.




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NFPA President Jim Pauley addresses Grenfell Tower fire as evidence of shortfalls in addressing today’s global fire problem

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, where 79 people died or are presumed dead and many more were injured, serious concerns and questions around flammability of exterior cladding, the lack of fire sprinklers and the notion of “shelter in place,” among other subjects, have been brought to the forefront by the news media and the public at large. Jim Pauley, president and CEO of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), addressed these troubling fire safety issues in the upcoming edition of NFPA Journal, the association’s membership publication, which will be officially released next month.




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As today’s homes burn faster than ever, this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign presents critical home escape planning and practice messages

Knowing that today’s homes burn faster than ever, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) announced “Every Second Counts: Plan Two Ways Out” as the official theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, October 8-14, 2017. Experts say you may have as little as two minutes (or even less) to safely escape a typical home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds.




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Stay safe this Halloween with NFPA’s fire safety tips

Halloween is creeping up on us. The rush is on to find the perfect pumpkin, the spookiest costume, and the best candy for trick-or-treaters. However, along with all this excitement comes potential fire hazards related to seasonal decor and costumes. Fortunately, fire risks can be avoided by following the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Halloween safety precautions.




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Nick Harkaway’s playlist for his novel “Karla’s Choice”

"I use music as a way into writing; it's a bit of Pavlovian self-programming, and particularly handy if you've got a full day and only narrow windows in which to write. You teach yourself that a particular piece of music means work, and your brain will generally go along. It makes the transition from shopping list to fiction much faster and smoother, at least for me."




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Sung J. Woo’s playlist for his novel “Lines”

"Lines is my fifth novel, and it is the most formally challenging work I've written."




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Mike Fu’s Book Notes music playlist for his novel Masquerade

"Every song is a portal into the past, a chance to connect with countless mundane moments from before: where you were, what you felt, who you were with when you happened to be listening to the same thing."




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Andie Davis’s Book Notes music playlist for her novel Let Me Liberate You

"I didn’t listen to music while writing the manuscript, but I was attuned to its musicality. "




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Marguerite Sheffer’s playlist for her story collection “The Man in the Banana Trees”

"I’m always on the lookout for songs that include a gear-change moment in them: so useful for figuring out those climactic moments in a short story where a turn happens."




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S. H. Fernando Jr.’s Book Notes music playlist for his book The Chronicles of DOOM

"For an artist who departed way too soon, at age 49, Daniel Dumile aka MF DOOM also left behind a huge body of work for us to dissect, reflect upon, and enjoy from here ‘til eternity."




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Jordan A. Rothacker’s playlist for his novel “The Shrieking of Nothing”

"The Berlin Trilogy of Bowie albums (Low, “Heroes,” and Lodger) were a huge thematic and aesthetic influence on these books, especially his nods back to early 20th century futurism."




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Heidi Bell’s playlist for her story collection “Signs of the Imminent Apocalypse”

"For this playlist, I’ve strung together some favorite songs that reflect the subject matter and themes of the stories and that serve as fuel for my creative process."




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Megan Staffel’s Book Notes music playlist for her novel The Causative Factor

"...while I’m writing I need total silence, but even so, the music shares such a similar landscape with the text it’s hard to believe it wasn’t present from the beginning."




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C.H. Hooks’s Book Notes music playlist for his novel Can’t Shake the Dust

"My characters are real to me somewhere out there in the world and this is the soundtrack to their life."




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31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Translated Picture Books

They come and they go into our bookstores and libraries and out again without a whisper of awards or significant praise. Yet the true mark of whether or not you are opening up your child to the world is to show them books made internationally. Today we celebrate translations. Even the weird ones. I take that back. ESPECIALLY the weird ones!



  • 31 Days 31 Lists
  • Best Books of 2018
  • 2018 translated children's books
  • 31 days 31 lists
  • translated picture books
  • translations

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31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Books with a Message

The earliest American picture books had only one goal: To provide some form of moral instruction. These days books with clear messages are exceedingly common. The ones that do it well? Much rarer. Here are the 2018 titles that knew what they were doing this year.