Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Ingvar Ambjørnsen
Ingvar Even Ambjørnsen-Haefs (born May 20, 1956 in Larvik) is a Norwegian writer. He is best known for his "Elling" tetralogy: Utsikt til paradiset (1993), Fugledansen (1995), Brødre i blodet (1996), and Elsk meg i morgen (1999).
Brødre i blodet ("Blood brothers") was turned into a successful movie, entitled Elling, which received an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film category in 2001. The English translation of the novel is called Beyond the Great Indoors.
His debut novel was a semi-autobiography called 23-salen ("The 23rd Row"), in which he criticized Norway's efforts to take care of psychically challenged individuals. In all his novels he has spoken the outsiders' cause, as he did in his break-through novel Hvite Niggere ("White Niggers") in 1986. The novel is about a young man who leads a life somewhat on the edges of normal society.
He is also known for the youth's book series "Pelle og Proffen" which circles around two detective teenagers, getting involved in all kinds of mysteries or crimes, for example drugs, pollution and Nazism. He started this project after having read some of Franklin W. Dixon's books about The Hardy Boys which he thought vas kind of miserable. The books Døden på Oslo S, Giftige Løgner, and De Blå Ulvene of this series were also turned into successful movies. In 2005 the book Drapene i Barkvik ("The murders in Barkvik") appeared, about the teenager Fillip Moberg attempting to solve an axe murder in a small Norwegian village.
Ambjørnsen has received many prizes for his writing. Among them is the prize for the 80s best book for children and young adults (Pelle and Proffen books), the Tabu prize in 2001, Telenor's culture prize 2002, and the Brage prize 1995.
His three Samson and Roberto books have become particularly popular in Russia, in part due to the splendiferous illustrations by Nikolai Vorontsov, which also contribute carefully orchestrated local Russian-related colloquialisms to the stories.
He now lives in Hamburg with his German wife and translator Gabriele Haefs, where he has lived since 1985.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

DVI
A male DVI-I (dual link) connector A male DVI-I (dual link) connector.
The Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video interface standard designed to maximize the visual quality of digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer displays and digital projectors. It was developed by an industry consortium, the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). It is designed for carrying uncompressed digital video data to a display. It is partially compatible with the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standard in digital mode (DVI-D).

Overview
The data format used by DVI is based on the PanelLink serial format devised by the semiconductor manufacturer Silicon Image Inc. This uses Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS). A single DVI link consists of four twisted pairs of wire (red, green, blue, and clock) to transmit 24 bits per pixel. The timing of the signal almost exactly matches that of an analog video signal. The picture is transmitted line by line with blanking intervals between each line and each frame, and without packetization. No compression is used and there is no support for only transmitting changed parts of the image. This means that the whole frame is constantly re-transmitted. The specification (see below for link) does, however, include a paragraph on "Conversion to Selective Refresh" (under 1.2.2), suggesting this feature for future devices.
With a single DVI link, the largest resolution possible at 60 Hz is 2.75 megapixels (including blanking interval). For practical purposes, this allows a maximum screen resolution at 60 Hz of 1915 x 1436 pixels (standard 1.33 ratio), 1854 x 1483 pixels (1.25 ratio) or 2098 x 1311 (widescreen 1.6 ratio). The DVI connector therefore has provision for a second link, containing another set of red, green, and blue twisted pairs. When more bandwidth is required than is possible with a single link, the second link is enabled, and alternate pixels may be transmitted on each, allowing resolutions up to 4 megapixels at 60 Hz. The DVI specification mandates a fixed single link maximum pixel clock frequency of 165 MHz, where all display modes that require less than this must use single link mode, and all those that require more must switch to dual link mode. When both links are in use, the pixel rate on each may exceed 165 MHz. The second link can also be used when more than 24 bits per pixel is required, in which case it carries the least significant bits. The data pairs carry binary data at ten times the pixel clock reference frequency, maximum 1.65 Gbit/s x 3 data pairs for a single DVI link.
Like modern analog VGA connectors, the DVI connector includes pins for the display data channel. DDC2 (a newer version of DDC) allows the graphics adapter to read the monitor's extended display identification data (EDID). If a display supports both analog and digital signals in one input, each input can host a distinct EDID. If both receivers are active, analog EDID is used.
There is a length limitation of 15-foot (4.6m) in DVI cables. For longer distances, to eliminate the video degradation, the use of a DVI booster is recommended. DVI boosters may or may not use an external power supply.

Technical discussion
In Radeon HD, audio signals are carried through DVI when the video card detects a connected HDMI display, which is connected via the HDMI adapter which is optionally supplied by the manufacturer (it appears that the 2400 Pro models do not come with the required adaptor).[1]

Extensions
The DVI connector usually contains pins to pass the DVI-native digital video signals. In the case of dual-link systems, additional pins are provided for the second set of data signals.
As well as digital signals, the DVI connector includes pins providing the same analog signals found on a VGA connector, allowing a VGA monitor to be connected with a simple plug adapter. This feature was included in order to make DVI universal, as it allows either type of monitor (analog or digital) to be operated from the same connector.
The DVI connector on a device is therefore given one of three names, depending on which signals it implements:
The connector also includes provision for a second data link for high resolution displays, though many devices do not implement this. In those that do, the connector is sometimes referred to as DVI-DL (dual link).
The long flat pin on a DVI-I connector is longer than the same pin on a DVI-D connector, so it is not possible to connect a male DVI-I to a female DVI-D by removing the 4 analog pins. It is possible, however, to connect a male DVI-D cable to a female DVI-I connector. Many flat screen LCD monitors have only the DVI-D connection so that a DVI-D male to DVI-D male cable will suffice when connecting the monitor to a computer's DVI-I female connector.
DVI is the only widespread video standard that includes analog and digital transmission options in the same connector. Competing standards are exclusively digital: these include a system using low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), known by its proprietary names FPD (for Flat-Panel Display) Link and FLATLINK; and its successors, the LVDS Display Interface (LDI) and OpenLDI.
Some new DVD players, TV sets (including HDTV sets) and video projectors have DVI/HDCP connectors; these are physically the same as DVI connectors but transmit an encrypted signal using the HDCP protocol for copy protection. Computers with DVI video connectors can use many DVI-equipped HDTV sets as a display; however, due to Digital Rights Management, it is not clear whether such systems will eventually be able to play protected content, as the link is not encrypted.
USB signals are not incorporated into the connector, but were earlier incorporated into the VESA Plug and Display connector used by InFocus on their projector systems, and in the Apple Display Connector, which was used by Apple Computer until 2005.

DVI-D (digital only)
DVI-A (analog only)
DVI-I (digital & analog) Specifications
GTF (General Timing Formula) is a VESA standard which can easily be calculated with the Linux gtf utility.

Minimum clock frequency: 21.76 MHz
Maximum clock frequency in single link mode: Capped at 165 MHz (3.7 Gbit/s)
Maximum clock frequency in dual link mode: Limited only by cable quality (more than 7.4 Gbit/s)
Pixels per clock cycle: 1 (single link) or 2 (dual link)
Bits per pixel: 24
Example display modes (single link):

  • HDTV (1920 × 1080) @ 60 Hz with 5% LCD blanking (131 MHz)
    UXGA (1600 × 1200) @ 60 Hz with GTF blanking (161 MHz)
    WUXGA (1920 × 1200) @ 60 Hz (154 MHz)
    SXGA (1280 × 1024) @ 85 Hz with GTF blanking (159 MHz)
    WXGA+ (1440 x 900) @ 60 Hz (107 MHz)
    WQUXGA (3840 × 2400) @ 17 Hz (164 MHz)
    Example display modes (dual link):

    • QXGA (2048 × 1536) @ 75 Hz with GTF blanking (2×170 MHz)
      HDTV (1920 × 1080) @ 85 Hz with GTF blanking (2×126 MHz)
      WQXGA (2560 × 1600) @ 60 Hz with GTF blanking (2x174 MHz) (30" Apple, Dell, HP, Quinux, and Samsung LCDs)
      WQUXGA (3840 × 2400) @ 33 Hz with GTF blanking (2x159 MHz) Analog

      ADC – Apple Display Connector, a similar, now-obsolete connector that can still be found on some older Macs. Based on DVI, with USB and power capabilities included.
      VGA connector, analog video (an older standard, though very common on current computer hardware)
      High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a forward-compatible standard, that also includes digital audio transmission
      Unified Display Interface (UDI), a proposed future standard to replace both DVI and HDMI
      DisplayPort, another proposed standard, incompatible with DVI and HDMI
      DMS-59, a way to combine 2 analog and 2 digital signals in one connector. Commonly used to give 2 x DVI outputs from one graphics card connector.
      DFP, an older type of digital video link
      M1-DA, a proprietary plug used in some projectors and sometimes labeled as DVI-M1
      LCD TV
      List of display interfaces

Monday, December 3, 2007

Jahiliyyah Jahiliyya in Muslim Societies
Jahiliyyah has come to have a particular function in some radical Islamic circles, analogous to the idea of false consciousness in secular radical movements.
The threat this 'disease' poses to the survival of Islam might justify a more militant attitude towards Western influence in Islam's heartlands, and can be seen as permitting 'real' Muslims to attack Muslims who have succumbed to Jahiliyyah — who are therefore no longer true Muslims.

A Problematic Term

Arabic poetry
The Power of Nightmares, the first part of which also talks about an extremist interpretation of Jahiliyyah
Affluena - according to The Power of Nightmares, jahiliyyah is the muslim view on the painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more, also known as Affluenza.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Mount Darwin (Andes)
Mount Darwin, the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego at 2,488 metres (8,163 ft), forms part of the Cordillera of the Andes, South America, just to the north of the Beagle Channel. It is formed of crystalline schists and has massive glaciers down its steep southern slopes.
It is best climbed in late December, January, February and March, and was first climbed in 1961 by Eric Shipton, E. Garcia, F. Vivanco and C. Marangunic.
It was given its name during the voyage of the Beagle by HMS Beagle's captain Robert FitzRoy to celebrate Charles Darwin's 25th birthday on 12 February 1834. A year earlier Fitzroy had named an expanse of water to the southwest of the mountain the Darwin Sound to commemorate Darwin's quick wit and courage in saving them from being marooned when waves from a mass of ice splitting off a glacier threatened their boats.

External link

Mount Darwin, a climbers challenge and the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Events

1087 - John II Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1143)
1475 - Cesare Borgia, Italian aristocrat (d. 1507)
1502 - John Leland, English antiquarian (d. 1552)
1520 - William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, English statesman (d. 1598)
1604 - William Brereton, English soldier and politician (d. 1661)
1739 - Grigori Potemkin, Russian statesman (d. 1791)
1766 - Samuel Wilson, possible namesake of Uncle Sam (d. 1854)
1775 - Laura Secord, Canadian war heroine (d. 1868)
1802 - Arnold Ruge, German philosopher and writer (d. 1880)
1813 - John Sedgwick, American Civil War general (d. 1864)
1819 - Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (d. 1896)
1830 - Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer (d. 1916)
1842 - John H. Bankhead, U.S. Senator (d. 1920)
1851 - Walter Reed, American physician and biologist (d. 1902)
1857 - Michał Drzymała, Polish peasant rebel (d. 1937)
1857 - Milton S. Hershey, American confectioner (d. 1945)
1860 - John J. Pershing, American general (d. 1948)
1863 - Arthur Henderson, British politician and union leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1935)
1873 - Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (d. 1950)
1874 - Henry Fountain Ashurst, American politician (d. 1962)
1874 - Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian-born composer (d. 1951)
1876 - Sherwood Anderson, American writer (d. 1941)
1877 - Wilhelm Filchner, German explorer (d. 1957)
1877 - Stanley Lord, captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster (d. 1962)
1882 - Ramón Grau, Cuban president (d. 1969)
1885 - Wilhelm Blaschke, Austrian geometer (d. 1962)
1886 - Sir Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1975)
1886 - Amelie Beese, German aviator and sculptor. (d. 1925)
1887 - Lavoslav Ruzicka, Croatian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
1893 - Larry Shields, American musician (d. 1953)
1894 - J.B. Priestley, English playwright and novelist (d. 1984)
1894 - Julian Tuwim, Polish poet (d. 1953)
1895 - Morris Kirksey, American rugby player (d. 1981)
1899 - Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of the Iron Guard (d. 1938)
1903 - Claudette Colbert, French-born actress (d. 1996)
1911 - Bill Monroe, American singer (d. 1996)
1916 - Roald Dahl, British writer (d. 1990)
1918 - Dick Haymes, Argentine vocalist (d. 1980)
1917 - Robert Ward, American composer
1922 - Charles Brown, American singer and pianist (d. 1999)
1923 - Edouard Boubat, French photographer (d. 1999)
1924 - Scott Brady, American film actor (d. 1985)
1924 - Maurice Jarre, French composer
1925 - Mel Tormé, American singer (d. 1999)
1926 - Emile Francis, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
1929 - Nicolai Ghiaurov, Bulgarian opera singer (d. 2004)
1930 - Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron, British printing millionaire
1931 - Barbara Bain, American actress
1933 - Eileen Fulton, American actress
1936 - Stefano Delle Chiaie, Italian neo-Nazi
1937 - Don Bluth, American animator
1938 - Judith Martin, American etiquette writer
1938 - John Smith, Labour Party Leader 1992 - 1994. (d. 1994)
1939 - Richard Kiel, American actor
1940 - Óscar Arias, Costa Rican politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1941 - Tadao Ando, Japanese architect
1941 - Ahmet Necdet Sezer, 10th President of Turkey
1941 - David Clayton-Thomas, Canadian singer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
1942 - Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, aka Iron Sheik, professional wrestler
1944 - Jacqueline Bisset, British actress
1944 - Peter Cetera, American musician (Chicago)
1945 - Noël Godin, Belgian humorist
1945 - Andres Küng, Swedish-Estonian politician, journalist (d. 2002)
1946 - Frank Marshall, American film producer
1948 - Nell Carter, American actress (d. 2003)
1948 - Dimitri Nanopoulos, Greek physicist
1949 - Fred Sonic Smith, American musician (MC5) (d. 1994)
1950 - Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Polish politician
1951 - Jean Smart, American actress
1951 - Linda Wong, Asian adult actress (d. 1987)
1952 - Randy Jones, American musician (The Village People)
1952 - Raymond O'Connor, American actor
1952 - Don Was, American singer
1955 - Joe Morris, American musician
1957 - John G. Trueschler, American politician.
1957 - Vinny Appice, American musician (Black Sabbath, Dio, Heaven and Hell)
1960 - Greg Baldwin, American voiceover actor (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
1961 - Dave Mustaine, American musician (Megadeth)
1961 - KK Null, Japanese musician
1961 - Peter Roskam, Republican Congressman from Illinois
1962 - Tõnu Õnnepalu, Estonian poet and author
1965 - Zak Starkey, British musician
1965 - Annie Duke, American poker player
1966 - Maria Furtwängler, German physician
1967 - Michael Johnson, American athlete
1967 - Tim 'Ripper' Owens, American singer (Iced Earth, ex-Judas Priest)
1968 - Emma Sjöberg, Swedish model
1968 - Bernie Williams, Puerto Rican baseball player
1969 - Tyler Perry, American actor
1969 - Shane Warne, Australian cricketer
1970 - Louise Lombard, British actress
1970 - Jason Scott Sadofsky, American programmer
1970 - Yuki Matsuoka, Japanese voice actress
1971 - Goran Ivanišević, Croatian tennis player
1971 - Manabu Namiki, Japanese composer
1971 - Stella McCartney, English fashion designer
1973 - Christine Arron, French runner
1973 - Fabio Cannavaro, Italian footballer
1973 - Kelly Chen, Chinese singer
1973 - Marcelinho Paulista, Brazilian footballer
1974 - Craig Rivet, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 - Keith Murray, American rapper
1974 - Éric Lapointe, Canadian football player
1975 - Joe Don Rooney, American musician (Rascal Flatts)
1975 - Akihiro Asai, Japanese racing driver
1976 - Giorgos Koltzos, Greek footballer
1976 - Craig McMillan, New Zealand cricketer
1976 - José Théodore, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 - Fiona Apple, American singer
1977 - Ivan De Battista, Maltese Actor, singer and composer
1977 - Daisuke Tsuda, Japanese singer (Maximum the Hormone)
1978 - Megan Henning, American actress
1978 - Darren Kenton, English footballer
1979 - Geike Arnaert, Belgian singer (Hooverphonic)
1979 - Ivan Miljković, Serbian volleyball player
1979 - Catalina Cruz, American Pornstar
1980 - Han Chae Young, South Korean actress
1980 - Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japanese baseball player
1980 - Evangelos Nastos, Greek footballer
1980 - Viren Rasquinha, Indian field hockey player
1980 - Ben Savage, American actor
1980 - Michelle Nolan, American musician (Straylight Run)
1980 - Teppei Teranishi, American guitarist (Thrice)
1981 - Koldo Fernández, Spanish cyclist
1981 - Angel Williams, Canadian wrestler
1982 - Nenê, Brazilian basketball player
1982 - Rickie Weeks, American baseball player
1982 - Miha Zupan, Slovenian basketball player
1983 - James Bourne, English musician
1986 - Kamui Kobayashi, Japanese racing driver
1986 - Sean Williams, American basketball player
1987 - Luke Fitzgerald, Irish rugby union International
1988 - Keith Treacy, Irish footballer September 13thSeptember 13th Deaths

Roman festivals - epulum Iovis ("banquet of Jupiter"), on the Ides, during the Ludi Romani.
RC Saints - St John Chrysostom.
Also see September 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).